Wash Day (Johnnie Guilbert x Black!Reader)
A/N: I had a dream about this last night so I gotta write it even though this probably will not resonate with a lot of people, idk how much of Johnnie's fanbase is black but if I exist there's gotta be more of us!
It was that dreaded day that almost every black girl hated, Wash Day, and (Y/n) was no exception. People thought because she had locs that that made wash day less of a stressful problem due to the frequency she had to wash her hair. And why yes, locs were convenient for day to day life as all she had to do was mist her shit and go, wash day was not any less stressful for her.Ā
After years of growing out her hair and keeping it natural, she had finally taken the steps to loc it and from the beginning, she had been the one in charge of her loc journey. She started them herself, dyed them herself, and did every retwist and style by herself (along with help from youtube of course). But she was tired and what do you do when youāre tired? Get your man to do it for you! Walking down the hallway, her freshly washed hair tossed up into an old and raggedy t-shirt, she busted through the bedroom door.Ā
Johnnie was used to her antics at this point, barely budging from his spot on the bed. His blue eyes peered up to look at her, eyes focusing on the t-shirt on the top of her head. āRan out of towels?ā he asked, confused. (Y/n) rolled her eyes at him, walking over to the drawer (that was formerly for Johnnieās t-shirts) and started to pull out all the products she needed for her hair. Metal clips, gel, ponytail holders, that ratty black comb for her roots, spray bottle with the combination of oils and conditions that worked for her hair, and oil for her scalp.
āCotton shirts are better for your hair. You should probably switch to them too since white men tend to bald prematurely.ā she quipped, peeking over her shoulder to smile at him. He laughed at her sass, shaking his head as he kicked his legs over to the side of the bed to face her. āYou busy?ā
āNot necessarily, I already filmed and edited my video for tomorrow. Why?ā she hummed at his response, pondering for a moment before dropping all the hair on the bed next to him. Dropping the towel from her body and ignoring the feeling of the long stare on her backside, she grabbed one of Johnnieās shirts and a pair of gray gym shorts. It didnāt matter to either of them that his shirts clung to her body, leaving little to the imagination, spots of the already dark shirt growing a bit darker from her wet skin.
āIf I teach you how to do my hair, will you do it for me?ā she asked, removing the soaked shirt from her head and tossing it into a random corner of the room. Johnnie froze, body stiffening up a bit. He had years and years of doing his own hair, dying it and cutting it since he was 13. Hell, he had even helped some of his friends with their own but never had he done anything with hair of (Y/n)ās texture, let alone locs. From what she had told him, locs could handle a lot but they can also be quite tedious and in some cases even be more fragile.And she had lovely ones, they were healthy, shiny, and reached just beyond her shoulders. He had watched his girlfriend style her locs into intricate styles, the hours itād take her, and how tired sheād be afterwards.She never let anyone do it but herself, saying she didnāt trust anyone to not āmess her shit upā.Ā What if he- āYouāre not going to fuck it up, donāt worry. Imma walk you through it all, okay?ā she said, stroking his cheek gently, the tip of her acrylic thumbnail lightly dragging across his cheek.
āBabe, I donāt knowā¦ā
āPleaseee? Pleaseee? PLEASEEE?ā
He sighed, walking behind the chair she had pulled in front of the bed, patting the headrest. āFine, fine. Only if I can control the music.ā
(Y/n) had taken 2ponytail holders, sectioning off the middle and front of her head, leaving the back down. āOkay, you see how my roots are kind of stuck together almost? What Imma need you to do first is gently pull them apart so we can have clean parts.ā she instructed, demonstrating herself. Although she couldnāt see his face, she could tell by his silence that he was watching her intensely.Ā
And she was right, with his lip pulled between his teeth, he watched the movements of her skilled hands. He nervously lifted his hands to the back of her head, grabbing two locs like he had seen her do. āLike this?ā he asked, pulling a lot softer than she had instructed. She giggled some, leaning her head back to look at him.
āYou gone have to pull it a bit harder than that, baby. Youāre not gonna hurt me. Trust me, Iāll let you know if you were.ā she reassured, readjusting her head. He nodded at her words, pulling and massaging at the connected roots, celebrating silently as the parts formed a clean line. āThere ya go! Now, take some of that gel, and put it around the base of the loc and a little on the root. We do that so the retwist will hold and help the roots loc but also so itāll be neat.ā she said, demonstrating what to do. āThen, youāre gonna take the comb and run it through the root a little bit, use the edge to smooth it out, and then roll it in your hands like this.ā he made a small noise of amazement as her hands rolled the loc between her palms. He knew she put a lot of work into her hair, but never did he realize exactly how much was going into it. That explains all the times heād find her passed out on the couch, products scattered all along the floor and table.Ā
āI never realized how much you had to do. I wish you wouldāve told me sooner. I wouldāve loved to help you out.ā he said softly. Her heart soared at his words.
āItās okay. This is only one row out of a shit ton more so letās get through this!ā
The sun had begun to set as they got to the front of (Y/n)ās head.Johnnieās nerves had gone down a lot with (Y/n)ās constant encouragement and all of her jokes and by the time he got to the last row of the back, he felt like he was a pro!Ā All the metal clips jingled as she turned the chair to face him, figuring itād be better that way for him to get the front done. (Y/n) watched her loverās face, a soft smile on her own at how focused he was. His tongue stuck out the side of his mouth as he misted her hair. Leaning forward, she softly planted a kiss on his lips which he gladly reciprocated. It was short and sweet, full of appreciation for him helping her out. āThank you, Johnnie.ā she said softly.
āIt was my pleasure, really. Iām glad you trust me enough to help you out. Plus, Iām a high school drop out. Iāll need another career option after Youtube dies.ā he joked, causing them both to laugh at the thought of him as an emo loctician. āAnnnd Iām done. Whatādo you think?ā he asked.
Standing up, (Y/n) stretched, groaning as her body snapped, crackled, and popped from how long she had been sitting. Turning around, she looked in the mirror gasping a happy smile taking over her face. Johnnie had done an amazing job despite never doing anything of the sort. He watched happily as his girlfriend twirled around, admiring his work from all the different angles. The clips were still on, but you could still see from the preview that it was going to look great when it dried. Lunging forward, she threw herself into his arms, causing him to fall backward onto the bed. He made an āoofā but reciprocated, wrapping his pale arms around her, burying his face in her neck, heart racing at the scent of shea butter and vanilla.
āPut your bonnet on before you mess it up!ā