Disclaimer: I own none of the characters - all rights belong to the owners!

Authors Note: Okay this came about through a chat conversation with MsWriter07 and this supposedly tiny story of about 1,000 morphed into something a lot longer.

Betas: If this is readable then thanks has to go to ConstanceTruggle and Mswriter07

Brian O'Conner had come to LA a few years before, a very angry young man . Some days he wondered what he'd been thinking. He was a street racer who'd done time in Juvie whilst in Arizona. He knew exactly why he had done it. After his release from Juvie, his Uncle had come to visit him and showed him the path he was going down - one that would see him do hard time behind bars. Therefore with his mother's blessing - he had gone to live in LA with his Uncle, as it was hoped that the presence of a male would help straighten him out. At the time he'd been doubtful but his Uncle hadn't stifled him. In fact he'd encouraged his love for driving, but his Uncle had been sneaky - he'd gifted him with a rusted Mitsubishi Eclipse. The deal had been that if it was ever to be road worthy then he would need to do the work and pay for it himself - through legal means. Brian had poured his earnt money and time into it. Oh, and just like his uncle had hoped, with all his effort being poured into the car - he hadn't been able to mess about, and get in trouble with the law.

When he'd graduated, and that had been in doubt at one time. He thought long and hard about what he'd wanted to do. He hoped that he could go into the Academy but hated the idea he'd be judged by his juvie record. However when his Uncle had appealed to a judge, a deal had been reached. The record was sealed for him to enter the Academy and if he graduated, the record would be expunged. The judge felt that a cop who had learnt from his misdeeds would be a true benefit to the force.

Brian had been at the academy and was entering his final year. Brian had found it slightly ironic that it was all the skills that he'd picked up in his misspent teenage years that made him so valuable now. He'd blitzed through the first few years and now was being given more specialized training; he kept hearing the words 'undercover' and more intriguingly 'SWAT' being thrown around. He was starting to adjust to the idea of being a responsible adult but it was slow going and he was starting to chafe. Brian knew what he needed to do but there was a small problem. What he really wanted to do was race or at least make his Eclipse go hundred plus. Trouble was that he needed to do it in a way that wouldn't see him arrested. After all, it wouldn't look good for a trainee cop to get arrested for illegal street racing.

He'd worked on the Eclipse he'd been gifted with and it was now finally race worthy. Even his Uncle had been impressed and told him how proud he was that Brian had put the work into his vehicle. He spoke honestly and he'd never treated Brian as if he was stupid. Brian made sure that his Uncle knew how grateful he was for being given a second chance. He figured that he could kill two birds with one stone so to speak. He really needed to taste some speed and he needed to see if the restored car was truly race worthy. He looked over a map and smiled seeing a solution.

-

Brian grinned as he pulled onto the abandoned runway strip. The best part about the runway was that it was littered with junk and as it was private land - it meant that he could race and do crazy illegal shit and not one of his instructors could say jack shit. It was made of win as far as he was concerned. There was also the other cool part where he would soon meet his soulmate. Not that he'd ever say that shit out loud - ever! He would grimace at saying such saccharine shit, it was enough to give him cavities but it was true.

He didn't care about observers, at the moment all he cared about was feeling some serious speed. He built up speed before turning into the junk and doing evasions, the car handled smoothly and could keep up with his reactions. The grin that lit his face would tempt even a saint.

Twenty one year old Dominic Toretto, who was watching from the hood of a rebuilt Plymouth, was most definitely not a saint. Like his companion, his car was completely rebuilt and could enjoy the sheer enthusiasm for driving being shown by his mysterious blonde. He didn't know the man, but when he caught sight of that blinding grin as he hit top gear - Dom wanted to, and for more than just the tightening of his pants.

His Pops was building up to one of the biggest races of his life, and had told his restless son to go and do something about his restless energy. His Pops would assume that he would just drive but seeing the beautiful blonde - he might just try channeling his energies in another direction. At least in his fantasies, for now Dom was content to watch this new driver. He wondered who the blonde was driving the car because whoever they were - they had talent.

He was going to get his answer soon enough as the car pulled to a flashy stop almost next to him. Dom smirked and started slow clapping, catching his first true glimpse of the driver. And damn, it was even better in full view, he didn't know eyes could be that blue. He truly didn't know what was more entrancing as he got a full look, his blonde was tall, lithe with a hint of muscle, and blonde curls. The man simply put - was gorgeous, and amazingly given that he was so pretty; he still managed to look manly, which was quite a feat. Dom knew that it was a hard act to pull off and yet this guy could. Dom was not a walking cliche, he lived in LA and unlike some had an enlightened attitude to sex. His father and sister would kick his ass if he hadn't. As he often said, he could appreciate the make no matter the model.

"I'm impressed, nice driving."

The blonde guy smirked, and wow killer smile, "Thanks man, nice car ... it's making me feel insignificant."

Dom was liking the guy more and more, which was strange, as he never liked strangers. He didn't want to analyze why but he had family and friends and to get close to him- it took a while. However he was standing here, and could sense that if he wasn't careful this guy could lead him to trouble. He decided to see if the guy could handle humour, "Well if you drive rice-rockets then you can expect to feel that way."

Brian shrugged, "I like speed not muscle," his wicked smirk saying much more. Yeah, there was the tightening of his trousers again. It wouldn't take much for his attraction to become noticeable.

Suddenly Dom had a feeling that they were no longer just talking about cars, and he was more than okay with that - this was getting fun. He rose to the challenge, "True, but you can have both, this has done 9 seconds at Palmdale. I'm Dom"

"Brian."

Dominic sensed that the guy, who seemed to be a little younger than him was a man of few words. That could be a good thing and considering that day in, day out - he was surrounded by his yappy friends and his sister. Well, let's just say that Dom was glad to finally meet someone, who definitely had learnt to appreciate silence. He loved his sister but she was firecracker with a hell of a temper, and her best friend Letty was just the same.

"Well Brian when you don't drive what do you do?" He asked curious and wanting to learn more about his new acquaintance.

Brian pouted and his face shifted, truly mercurial, "I'm at the academy."

Dom like many in his neighbourhood had little love for the cops, but even learning that little tidbit didn't stop him from liking the guy. He couldn't put his finger on why but he got the impression that there was more to the choice than a burning desire to put away the bad guy. "You don't sound like you want to be there?" He said, not sure where the insight was coming from, after all he barely knew the guy. Dom knew that he should be freaked by this small bit of knowledge as in his life; he dealt with absolutes as it made life easier, but even this wasn't freaking him out.

Brian couldn't help but answer the stranger, no, not a stranger, Dom, and this was weird as he never shared anything. The only way to stay safe was not to share anything - he'd learnt that lesson a long time ago in Arizona. Instead, almost against his own will he shared a little piece, "I'm not, but I did time and my Uncle, the only one who gave a shit is a Cop. Looks bad for his nephew to be a criminal."

As Brian finished explaining he couldn't help but smile a little and saw Dom shift. This friendship was about to get interesting.

Dom was in real trouble, the guy looked like an angel but had a wicked side. Life was unfair. He was currently trying to picture Letty as his dream girl but the image kept morphing into this sunny blonde standing next to him. As the image morphed his own body was starting to react. The only reason why he wasn't freaking was that given the way Brian was licking his lips he wasn't unreceptive to the attention.

Wanting to see how he handled the challenge Dom had to ask, "Fancy a race?"

Brian snickered, "You got me beat."

Dom shrugged modestly - he was proud of the work he and his dad had done. "Maybe but you won't know unless we race." It wasn't explainable but he really wanted to race this guy.

Brian pouted, which was just plain distracting and worse of all, Dom was sure that he wasn't doing it deliberately. "I don't like to lose," was his simple response.

Dom needed the race and his wager was simple, if Dom won then they would meet up again same time, same place next week. It was kind of predictable that Brian inevitably lost, but somehow it was not a hardship. He certainly didn't begrudge losing as much as he normally did. Although, personally he figured that was more to do with his bet being so easy to fill and something he wanted to do anyway.

-

A week later, and people around the Toretto house knew something was different with Dom - they just couldn't tell what was different. His father looked at him bemused, out of all of them. Vincent Toretto had managed to drag the most information out of his son. It was kind of easy being the father and all, but Toretto's always played to win and used any advantage that they could. He could also read between the lines and more importantly, listened to what was not said. Vincent could only hope that Dom would follow his heart and not let anything stop him from following what was meant to be.

Torettos' loved with their whole heart, he had with Dom's mother. Dom had mentioned the young driver he'd befriended but Dom's face when he spoke about Brian - told him everything. His boy was falling in love and therefore Vincent Toretto wanted to meet the boy who had seemingly stolen his son's heart. He never believed any of the stupid prejudicial nonsense that many of his generation had been brought up to believe. In his eyes, love was love, it didn't matter what form it took as long as both parties were consenting.

-

It was time for Dom to meet up with Brian and was glad when he saw the rice-rocket up ahead of him. The asphalt from the runway groaned under the weight of his Plymouth braking. The meetings were fast becoming a very valued time by both men. For Brian, it offered him respite from the strictness of the academy and for Dom it offered him time where he could be himself. Oh don't get him wrong, he was never forced into a role but there were expectations upon him that could be draining. He was a good son to his father; a good brother to his little sister; and took the lead amongst his small circle of friends. As his Pops said it was only with him showing the the way would most of his friends stay out of trouble. He would do it without complaint as he loved his friends and family but sometimes, he just needed to be Dom.

Tonight was the first night they hadn't done much racing instead Dom had just handed a Corona over and started talking. It was quite ironic the two individuals who were known to be quite taciturn at times could hold the most liveliest of conversation between themselves. Brian couldn't help but notice that as the night progressed his friend started to squirm. At first, it had been amusing but then it had been annoying and finally Brian just asked, "What's up with you?"

Dom shifted uncomfortably, "My dad wants me to invite you over." Then he shook his head wanting to give Bri more detail, " No, more demanded, you can't say no to my Pops."

Brian had to fight back the instinctive response that it was too early for meet the parents but he sure as hell thought it. Still all jokes aside, Brian didn't want to say no and before he'd even registered what he was saying, he said, "Sure why not ... It could be fun."

Dom had to work hard not to smile for two reasons. One he could see the surprise on his friend's face; Dom was sure that he was trying to figure out a polite way of saying, 'hell no' instead of what actually come out of his mouth. The other part was that secretly Dom was pleased that he'd said yes. Brian was someone he liked but he recognised that family was somewhat of an awkward issue for Bri. However family was everything to him and he wanted Brian to meet them. He was smart enough not scare away Brian by explaining all about his family and friends. He was tentatively looking forward to it, and knew that his Pops would be pleased as the date was set.

Wait date? Nah, he wasn't thinking about it like that - was he?

Authors Note 2: Okay this is not really a WIP, there will be four maybe five chapters and will be posted as I edit them. So I envision one a day until it is done! However I would love to hear thoughts and opinions about the story!