Justification | Deetranada AU

intermediary: an innamission (4)

(Brief note: intermediary: an innamission is a four-part intermissionary chapter. It will be given in the order best applied to the present timeline and the times given are an indication of how long it's been since the break-up.)  

Nine Days Post

Dee lies against Mani's arm, intently watching a movie. They're both comfortable, their closeness not out of the ordinary. She shifts, pulling the blanket more toward her. Mani chuckles, 'Always tryna take all the cover.' 'It's mine anyway,' she replies, her eyes never leaving the screen. Loud footsteps overpower the television as Nuz enters the room with urgency. 'Aye, y'all almost done,' he questions. 'It's like fifteen minutes or somethin' left,' Dee responds, still focused on the television.

'Aight, I got a game in like twenty minutes,' he explains. She sits up, turning to him. 'Why you ain't say nothin' before,' she asks. 'Nah, not like a game game, we 'bout to do a tournament.' She rolls her eyes, resuming her position. 'Bye, Nuzzle.' He bounds back up the stairs and she returns her attention to the screen just as a commercial starts.

'Man, I don't even know what happened,' she complains. 'Nothing,' Mani begins. 'They was still talkin' 'bout who they think did it.' 'The say that dude?' she questions. 'Nah, they still think it's the girl that died before.' Dee shakes her head, sitting up. 'Y'all found all her stuff gone with his fingerprints in the room yet y'all stuck thinkin' it's her? Dummies.' He chuckles, nodding in agreement.

'You want something?' she says, removing her blanket. 'Nah, I'm good. You?' he answers. 'I don't know if I got more pineapple juice,' she murmurs. 'I got you,' he says, standing and leaving for the kitchen. She grabs her phone and checks her notifications until he returns, a glass in hand. 'Thank youuu,' she drawls, taking it from him. She takes a satisfying sip before putting it out of the way.

He sits back, putting up his arm as she snuggles against him. He gently lowers it, thumbing the soft material of her shirt. 'What you wanna do when it's over?' he asks. She shrugs, 'Up to you.' He sighs, scratching his head. 'Just pick somethin', Dee.' She laughs, flicking her nails as she thinks. 'Food?' 'Obviously. McDonald's?' he replies. 'Obviously,' she mimics. They share a laugh as another commercial begins.

She shifts, pulling her cover to her neck, comfortable in his embrace. Her eyes start to slowly drift closed as the commercials continue, their murmur neverending. 'Dee. Dee,' a low voice says. She stirs, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. 'You done missed the end,' he explains. 'Why ain't wake me up?' she responds groggily.

He rubs his neck, looking away. 'Kinda fell asleep too.' 'Damn,' she replies. 'It probably ain't even gon' come on again. You suck.' He shakes his head, starting to stand. 'Come on,' he says, holding out a hand for her. 'Let's hurry up and get back.' She takes his hand, pulling herself up. 'Nuzzle,' she yells, starting out of the room. 'Come play yo stupid game.'

Nuz comes down the stairs, a few friends in tow. 'Where y'all going?' he asks. 'The usual, you want some?' Mani responds. 'Get me some fries,' Nuzzle yells behind him, starting to turn on the gaming system. 'You ready?' she questions as she returns, a smile on her face. He smiles back 'Yeah, let's go.'

****

Dee and Mani sit next to one another on the porch steps, the sun slowly setting. The comfortability of the silence is one-sided, Dee nervously biting her cheek. 'I um...I can't hang out tomorrow. I gotta do something,' she says quietly. 'Just let me know you doin' good,' he replies. She nods, looking down, her admission far from over.

'You gon' have to pick a day like everybody else,' she explains hesitantly. He sighs, looking at her quizzically. 'You act like I'mma be mad. Just lemme keep Thursday and we good.' 'Nah, it's not that,' she replies.

'I'm just sayin', we not gon' be like this every day,' she further explains. Her tone softens as she continues. 'I don't want you thinkin' I'm pushin' you away,' she says quietly. He starts to speak but she cuts him off. 'I don't know how they gon' be either. Easier to just chill with you.' She can feel her anxiety rising as she pictures them trying to make her feel better, none of them keen to the truth.

  'Chill, Dee,' he says, taking her hand in his. 'You thinkin' too much.' She nods, taking a deep breath. 'It's probably gon' be weird but you can figure it out.' She gives a weak smile, not convinced. 'Plus you not gettin' rid of me that easy,' he teases.

She sucks her teeth, shoving him. 'Shut up, Mani.' He laughs and she joins him, the feelings starting to subside. They sit quietly, their attention back on the setting sun.  'You mind not tellin' them?' 'I wouldn't do that,' he confirms. 'When you ready, you got it.' She tries not to smile, his loyalty heartwarming. 'Told you, ma, whatever you need...' 

He doesn't finish his statement, the rest ringing in her mind. 'You don't have to.' 'I want to though,' he replies. She smiles at his words, the warmth behind them raising her spirits. She leans back onto his shoulder, his arm finding a place around her waist. 

Her gaze follows his to watch the final moments of the sunset, content. She feels their communication continuing wordlessly as she settles more into him, his hand softly caressing her waist. 

She looks up at him, taking in the moment. 'Mani,' she says softly. He turns to face her. She leans into him, placing a hand on his cheek as she kisses him. He's surprised but kisses back, their movements gentle, slow. She giggles, pulling away.

She bites her smile as he looks at her in disbelief. 'You uh...you meant to do that?' he asks. She nods, leaning forward for more. She wraps her arms around his neck as his hands grip her waist, pulling her deeper into the kiss.

Her eyes widen at the change but quickly close, enjoying the moment more than she thought she would. His hands grip her tightly but gently, sure not to hurt her, as does his kiss.

They maintain their slow pace, enjoying every move, every change, every sensation. She brings her hands to his chest, starting to end the kiss, kissing his lips a few final times.

She leans back, giggling as he tries to compose himself. 'Damn,' is all he manages to say. She laughs, covering her mouth. He makes a face, still confused by her actions.

'Just wanted to say thank you. For everything.' He shakes his head, his perplexed expression remaining. 'Yeah, you welcome.' She resumes her prior position, her worries nonexistent in his arms.

*

Hello again lovelies 💛 Here is your intermission chapter, intermediary. Yes, I know that it says (4) and yes, you're probably hella confused. But, there's a reason for the madness so take the information that's given and use it for future chapters.

I'm honestly not gonna ask any questions in the 4 intermediary chapters, these are purely for giving more information/context.

So with that being said, I hope you enjoyed and as always, comment, vote and share. 

See you in the next one!

-bdk