#𝑛𝑎𝑖𝑗𝑎 𝑑𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑠 ╱ ft. dimitri starling

[saccharinepet]

All she could do was smile and wait for Dimitri to allow her a chance to speak. Before Naija could open her mouth to answer his questions, he added onto it by answering it himself. The moment made her shoulders shake with a silent chuckle, but she continued to wait patiently until she could speak. Naija had always joked about Sebastian and Dimitri being too alike one another. In moments like this, where he seemed keen on avoiding the towering elephant in the room, she could see it so clearly. From the nervousness in his speech pattern, to his resign at the end as he finally mentions Sebastian. “That’s great,” she said, almost instinctively, “It’s a bit of a change between Minnesota and here, huh?” 

Naija’s eyes traveled over to the cosmetics section where she could barely make out the top of his daughter’s head moving about. She was glad that at least they were all holding it out together and that they’d all be around for the holidays. On more than one occasion she’d stressed over just how fast she could get Ozma’s christmas present delivered by mail. 

“What? No, stop.” Naija shook her head, refusing to let him take blame over absolutely nothing. Despite everything happening between Sebastian and her, Naija couldn’t begin to explain just how grateful she was that Dimitri chose to stay by her husband’s side. That her sweet Bash wouldn’t be alone during such a horrid time in their lives. “There’s no reason to apologize, D. Honestly. He needs you. Much more than I do. I’m glad he’s not shutting you out.” She had to resist the urge to correct his words. That there was no divorce. That she hadn’t signed any papers and didn’t plan on it. That nothing was finalized and Sebastian was still her husband, no matter the major shift in their union. “Besides, we’re all here now, right? Focus on that. Maybe we can catch lunch?” she asked, “I’m about to head out, either way. I don’t start until next week.”

Dimi thought at first that maybe he was imagining this. He hadn't seen Naija in awhile, even before leaving Minneapolis. After everything that had happened with Naija and Sebastian and...well everything, it had been challenging for Dimi to figure out how to be friends with both of them. And admittedly, he hadn't been a good friend to Naija. It wasn't that he had chosen Sebastian, but...well actually, he kind of had, and thinking that caused Dimi to feel deeply ashamed. Naija had deserved better than that. "This is so wild," Dimi said, smiling at his friend, but there was a sadness to it. "Do you work here now?" At that, Dimi broke into laughter, acknowledging, "Yeah, okay, of course you do. Why else would you be behind the counter?" He was nervous, stumbling over his words. "I live here now too," Dimi replied. "I'm staying with - " He stopped abruptly, but then he realized he was being silly; he could say Sebastian's name to her. "I'm staying with Sebastian," he finished.

Naija's almost slip-up hadn't gone unnoticed either. Dimi gave his friend a sympathetic smile, and at first he didn't acknowledge it. "Ozma is over by the nail polish," he answered. "I'm sure she's going to be really happy to see you." Dimi and Ozma had always felt like part of Sebastian and Naija's family. But then Dimi decided to stop playing coy, adding, "Sebastian isn't here though." There was no one else around, and Dimi decided he had something he needed to say before Ozma returned. "Listen Naija," he began, "I...I owe you an apology. I know I haven't been a good friend since the divorce, I just...I think maybe I didn't know how to be a good friend to both of you. And then there were things going on with Ozma, and I just got so caught up in my own life. It wasn't fair to you though, and I'm really sorry." As soon as he'd apologized, Dimi felt a little better, and he just hoped Naija would forgive him.

[saccharinepet]

Moving back to Cardinal Hill hadn't been on her cards anytime soon, but Naija did whatever was best for her in the moment. Being as vulnerable and emotional as she was, there was only one place that made her feel better, and that was in the arms of her loving mother. When all other forms of self preservation fail, her mother would be there. When nothing else in the world made any sense, her mother would. So it went without saying that the moment her entire life laid in crumbles at her feet, Naija would return. Just until things started to look up again, she’d tell herself time and time again over the last two weeks, this move wasn’t permanent - simply necessary. 

Which is how she found herself back at her old job - asking for her job back, or rather finishing up paperwork for her return. She wasn’t meant to start until the following week, but seeing how busy the morning had been, Naija decided to stay and help out instead. As she gathered her belongings, her name was called and so she turned expectedly, waiting for the next task. Work was an easy enough distraction from all the thoughts in her head. 

Coming face to face with Dimitri wasn’t in the cards though, so she gazed back in mimicked shock. “Uh- hi!” she said, after what felt like a deafening moment of silence and words returned to her, “Not too long, about two weeks or so. What are you doing here? Is-” Naija couldn’t help the quickness in which her gaze shifted from him to the space around him as if Sebastian would manifest. Clearing her throat after catching no sign of her husband she offered Dimi a strained smile, “Is um, Ozma with you?” 

Closed starter: Naija ( @saccharinepet ) Location: Plinth Family Drugs

Well, this is going to be a more expensive trip than I'd expected, Dimi thought. He was at the drugstore with Ozma, and they were both looking at a huge display of various kinds of makeup and such. And what had really caught their eye - for different reasons - was the large section that was exclusively nail polish. Dimi knew his daughter well, so he knew that Ozma loved nail polish. She was quite the artsy young girl, and one way she expressed that was with nail polish; it wasn't uncommon for her to have every nail on her hands and toes painted a different color. Already Dimi planned to keep an eye on which of these colors Ozma chose because he was going to buy some of the others to put in her stocking. For now though, the pair looked at them, Ozma in complete awe. It was cute to see her like this, and Dimi just smiled. Before his daughter could ask, he said, "Alright, you can choose five colors. Five, and no more." Ozma looked at Dimi excitedly, and he knew what else was on her mind: "And yes, you can paint my nails when we get home," he told the girl. That was something Ozma had been doing for years.

As his daughter excitedly perused the various nail polish options, Dimi looked around. This was his first time in the drugstore, and he needed to pick up his prescription, so he told Ozma to meet him at the pharmacy counter when she was ready. Dimi had talked to his daughter all about stranger danger, and Cardinal Hill was a small town that felt much safer than Minneapolis had been, so he felt like it was alright to let Ozma have a little more independence. She wasn't a little girl anymore, a thought that made him equal parts proud and sad. As Ozma looked through the nail polish, Dimi headed toward the pharmacy counter, and he stopped dead when he saw her there. "Naija?" Dimi asked, barely able to believe it. "Is that really you?" Picking up his pace, Dimi walked quickly toward the counter, almost wondering if he was hallucinating. But of course he wasn't, and Dimi just looked at the woman in shock. "How long have you been here?" he asked, stunned.