Erik Deserved Better(TM)

so, here’s the thing:

as erik’s bff, u are under his protection whether u like it or not. it’s been that way since u were children. it was nice when u were bullied and erik jumped in without hesitation, but when u started to date it became less endearing and more annoying.

“ERIK COULD YOU STOP CHASING OFF POTENTIAL PARTNERS?????”

“THEY AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU!!!”

and i mean, yeah, he was right.

he doesnt get like that when ur with someone nice. in fact he’s pretty friendly and accepts them as a de facto friend, and remains their friend after the breakup if it happened amicably.

and if it didnt? well theyre dead to erik then.

he’s lost so much, and he doesnt want u to experience that kind of heartache.

once erik found himself fully settled in wakanda, he immediately invited you to join him.

you were absolutely ecstatic. like erik you had grown up fantasizing about visiting the closed off country and now your childhood dream was coming true.

except it was better because, for one, the royal fucking jet was sent to pick you up, and it only went up from there.

erik took you to the market and showed you the vendors hawking jewelry and clothing and ornaments, all of which containing vibranium in some way or another, the food carts that had the most incredible smells coming from them that it made you dizzy, and the fact that everyone, absolutely everyone, looked exactly like you.

at one point you saw children playing some kind of game, and it was like witnessing the physical embodiment of childhood joy. most of them wore their hair in it’s natural state, or else in braids or knots or another kind of hairstyle that seemed to be native to wakanda as it was utterly foreign to you. you remember how often you had been mocked for your hair and nearly cry.

when you visit the palace you find yourself overwhelmed with nerves, as it hadn’t occurred to you until just then that you would be meeting royalty. even though erik did his best to calm you, your nerves were still going crazy and when you entered the throne room your whole body was shaking and your palms were sweaty (knees weak, arms are heavy, there’s vomit on your sweater already, mom’s spaghetti). but when queen ramonda embraced you and t’challa and shuri treated you like family, every ounce of tension left you.

he introduced you to the dora milaje and that experience could only be described as transcendent. you saw fierce and proud women, like the women you had grown up watching and admiring, who were so brave and strong and devoted that it was unlike anything you had ever experienced. the whole time you’re in a bit of a daze and can barely string two words together, but your heart and soul had never been so full.

and at the end of the day, erik took you the highest point of the palace, and you both watched the sunset together, legs dangling over the edge like when you were children back in oakland and sitting on the roof of the apartment block as the sun fell beyond the horizon, and trying to imagine how different it would be in wakanda.

it was a whole world full of difference. from the lush green jungle to the futuristic city that seemed better than any fairy tale utopia your younger self would be able to conjure. and you cried and cried and cried, while erik held you.

“i know.” he whispered, hugging you so close you could feel his chest rumble and knew that he was crying too. “i know.”

you would never ever pretend to know the kind of pain erik goes through each day. beyond losing his parents, one at the hand of his uncle for no real reason, he was left with no connection to wakanda, effectively stranded on a tiny island in a vast ocean. beyond losing his father, he lost a part of himself.

but your empathy could only go so far.

as you both got older you began to see just how obsessed with revenge erik was. at first you ignored it, not wanting to really think about it. then you brushed it off as just the usual adolescent angst. but when you were both adults and erik still harboured that anger in his heart, you could no longer do nothing.

“erik you’re my best friend and i love you but i cannot let this go on.” your eyes fill with tears as you gently hold his face. “i would go beyond the edges of the universe for you, you know that, but i won’t take a single step if this is the path you choose. i’m sorry about your dad. he deserved better, and you do too. and this anger won’t get you there. you say you want to know wakanda, but how can you do that when you have so much hatred for your family there? t’challa would’ve been your age when this happened, how will taking your anger out on him solve anything? it won’t bring your dad back and it won’t undo all the wrongs wakanda is responsible for. you can’t keep living like this eirk. it will kill you.”

it took a while but after some time, arguments, tears, and therapy, erik was able to let go, little by little. he still grieved his dad, you wouldn’t expect anything less, but he was no longer calling for out and out revenge a la hamlet, and that was a vast improvement.

maybe it’s an innate royalty thing but erik has always been a Fashion Icon. i mean his parents both served Looks (although his dad was able to go the extra mile when he was younger because, yknow, prince of wakanda) so he had pretty good style role models.

(plus as a black man he’s aware of the fact that how he dresses affects how he’s perceived so it’s a survival tactic as well lmao)

the shopping trips you two go on are insane, with erik acting as your personal stylist, who is, at times, a little too honest.

but no matter how critical erik is he is Always Right.

he loves to encourage you to experiment with your looks and to especially play with bright colours (because as we all know bright colours against dark skin are a match made in heaven), and your wardrobe colour palette ranges from bright yellows to vibrant reds to rich purples to mesmerizing greens, just all of it. and beyond just clothes he helps you pick out accessories too (he has a weakness for metallics).  you two look like a pair of fabulous male peacocks and never waste an opportunity to post selfies.

ahhh hi!!!! tbh i fuckin love erik he deserved so much better than wht he got in the movie rip so hopefully i’ll be able to achieve that here