Title: The Way Things Should Be
Author: Ebau12 (formerly o-dubya-o, or zukuchiri)
Rating: M
Summary: Previously posted story to this website. Dom & Letty were married and got divorced. Now their married to other people and live across the country from each other. But is it really the way things should be? Set way after the first movie.
Author Note: This was my last work in progress before I fell out of fanfiction writing and into original fiction writing. This was also the first story of mine I read after seeing the most recent Fast and Furious movie, Fast 6, and I kind of fell back in love with it. It's been two years since I started this story, so I'm not sure if I've got any of the original readers, which will be especially hard to determine since I'm uploading this as a new story, but I don't plan on changing much… just doing some small edits. However, as always, I don't use a beta, so I do make mistakes.
- x -
"Letty," he whispered, pushing the door to their bedroom open. Adjusting the weight of the tray in his hands, he smiled at her sleeping form and approached slowly, making sure the bedroom door shut behind him. "Letty," he whispered slightly louder, watching her stir, "Letty, wake up. I brought you food." He smirked at her light moan at the mention of food and watched her open an eye. "I made pancakes."
"With blueberries?" She questioned, voice still rough with sleep. She opened her other eye to see him nod and she smiled happily. Rolling onto her back, she stretched with her arms over her head. She sat up and watched him sit beside her with the tray, slipping it in front of her. "Oh, baby, you're the best." She took the fork from his hand and smiled more. "Did I ever tell you that?"
"I think you may have mentioned that last night," he whispered. She smirked and started cutting her pancakes with her fork. He leaned in and kissed her temple softly and she frowned, not liking the action. "What's wrong, baby?"
"You're leaving again, aren't you?" She asked, poking a piece of pancake already cut and pushing it into her mouth hungrily.
"Plane leaves at 8, I should really be out of here within the hour." She frowned down at her pancakes and nodded a little, accepting the answer, but not really wanting to. She set the fork down beside her plate and smiled softly at him. "I should be home by the weekend. Maybe we could all go to the zoo?" He asked, not really sure.
"That sounds like a good idea. We haven't been to the zoo in ages." Letty watched her husband carefully as he took her hand in his and kissed the band on her finger. She hated when he had to leave, but she'd understood that it was just a part of his job. "You know what?" She whispered, pushing the tray off of her lap and moving it to the bedside table. "I'm not hungry for pancakes right now."
"Is that right?" he grinned as she slid out from under the sheets and straddled his lap, pushing down gently. His hands slid to the small of her back, rubbing gently, loving the feel of her silky gown under his rough fingers. Leaning in, he kissed her lips softly, pulling back before she could return the kiss, just to tease her playfully. She chuckled lightly and stared into his eyes.
"I want some of you." She leaned in to place a soft kiss at his collarbone. He had to take a deep breath to collect himself as she started a path of kisses down to the waistband of his boxers. As she pulled his boxers down just enough, he slid his eyes shut, enjoying her touch.
"Oh, Letty," he groaned softly, rocking his hips gently against her.
He froze when he heard footsteps in the hallway, but she seemed oblivious. After hearing a door close, he turned his attention back to his wife. His hands slipped to her long, dark curls and his head rolled back in ecstasy. His mouth was now gaping open and he was taking longer, deeper breaths, willing himself not to cry out.
"Letty," he moaned, rocking into her again. Deciding he'd had enough, she sat up and eyed him seductively. He smiled and moved his hands from her hair to her cheek. "You're beautiful." She chuckled softly and pushed him to the side, knocking him to his back.
Hitching her gown up to her waist, she slid herself down onto him, slowly, enjoying the feeling. She grinned and bit her bottom lip when his head went back. Leaning down, she kissed along his collarbone, grinning more as he moaned. His hands moved to her hips, guiding her up and down as she continued to kiss his neck.
"Mommy!" Both of them were so into the pleasure, neither of them heard the door open or the footsteps approach the edge of the bed. Letty looked over her shoulder quickly, and sprung apart from her husband. She looked down the bed at the wide-eyed boy, whose mouth was gaping. "Mommy?" He whimpered. She slid off the bed and made sure her gown fell down beyond her hips.
"Come on, baby." She whispered, taking his hand in hers, and pulling him gently in the direction of the door. When he didn't move, she looked down at him. "What's wrong, baby?"
"What were you guys doing?" He questioned, looking at the bed.
"Um…" Letty looked back at her husband and chuckled nervously. She wasn't sure how to handle it, and judging by his face, neither did he. "Baby, we were just messing around. We were wrestling."
"But mommy, you were winning." Letty chuckled softly and nodded, kneeling down in front of the boy.
"Mommy always wins," she whispered, looking up at her husband. "Sometimes girls like to win. Remember that." He nodded, not fully understanding the concept, but then she understood he was young. "What did you need, honey?"
"I wanted to show you something, mommy." He whispered, tugging gently on her hand. She let him lead the way to the bedroom across the hall, giving a small smile to her husband before exiting the room. "Come on." He pushed the door open and Letty blinked at the lack of light, trying to figure what he wanted to show her. "Look at it," he gasped, almost in amazement.
"What am I looking at?" She questioned, venturing further into the room. The boy moved across the room to a bed that was still occupied by another sleeper. "Oh," Letty said, quietly, after finally seeing what the boy wanted to show her. "Honey…"
"Isn't it amazing?" He questioned, reaching to poke at it. Letty smacked his hand away and he frowned up at her. "What?"
"Don't touch that," Letty muttered, reaching for a pillow. Tossing the pillow over the older, sleeping boys lap, she turned back to her son. "Don't even look, okay?" He frowned a little.
"What is it?" He whispered. She stifled a laugh and knelt down to be eye level with the young boy. She sometimes had trouble remembering he was only eight, and thought about how she should word her explanation.
"That's his penis." She said with a small nod.
"But it was so hard." He whispered, as if it was still a secret.
"I know."
"How does it get hard like that?" Letty took a deep breath and eyed him carefully.
"I think that's an explanation that needs to be saved for when you're a little older, Ty." He gave her a funny look and she took a deep breath. "Trust me, okay?" He nodded a little and looked around the dark room. "Let's get you back to bed, it's too early. You still look sleepy." He nodded and started toward his own bed. Following him, she watched him get into bed sleepily. Letty picked up his stuffed giraffe off the floor and tucked it under his arm, pulling the sheets up over him. "Get some more sleep."
"I love you mommy." He whispered as she leaned down to kiss his forehead.
"I love you too baby." She stood, and turned toward the door. Before exiting the room she stopped and took one last look at her son before heading back to her own room.
Pushing the door open to her own room, she leaned against the frame, watching her husband get dressed. Kicking the door with her toe as she entered, she walked over to him, slipping her arms around him from behind. She looked at his reflection in the mirror and smiled.
"You look good," she whispered, reaching up to fix his tie.
"What did Tyler want to show you, babe?" He questioned, looking at her in the mirror. She chuckled and kissed his neck.
"Morning wood."
"What?" He asked, turning toward her. "Tyler? Already? He's eight."
"No, your son." Sighing quietly, he nodded and moved around her to his suitcase.
Sighing sadly, Letty sat on her side of the bed and moved the tray of now cold food onto her lap. She was hungry, and she loved when he cooked for her. She poked at some blueberries and pancakes and stuffed the fork into her mouth.
"What do you mean anyway?" He asked, looking at her from his suitcase.
"He's got this huge boner. Tyler was even poking at it." He chuckled and Letty shot him a serious face. "It's not funny, Chris. I don't want him traumatizing my son with his boner." After she'd said it, she realized what she said.
"Hey," He said, catching her attention and making her look up at him. "Tyler is my son too, okay?" Letty nodded a little and looked down at her food. Letty sighed and poked at her food.
"Will you at least talk to him about it?" She questioned, looking up. He frowned down at his watch and then back at her.
"It's almost 6 and I need to get out of here." Taking in the disappointed look on her face, he sighed and stopped. "I'll talk to him about it when I get back. Is that okay?" She nodded a little, but couldn't fight the frown that was now stuck on her face.
"Baby, it's the best I can do, I have to get out of here." She nodded again and watched him walk to the door. "I love you."
"I love you," she whispered back as he exited the room. After he was out of sight, she set the food aside and lay down. She hated when he had to leave on long business trips, even more so when he'd just gotten home from a month long trip to Omaha.
- x -
Stepping into the kitchen, Letty sighed when she saw all five boys sitting at the kitchen table. Anthony had his nose in a book, like usual. Gavin was multi-tasking, trying to finish his math homework and eat breakfast at the same time. Taking her usual seat between Anthony and an empty chair where Chris usually sat, she sighed, catching the attention of all five boys. She smiled, sleepily, at each of them and poured herself a bowl of cereal.
"Are you guys ready for school?" Letty questioned looking between Gavin and Anthony. They should already be gone, but Letty knew it was her fault; she'd fallen back asleep after Chris had left.
"My Algebra teacher wants to have a meeting with my dad before school today." Letty looked up at him from her cereal.
"Gavin, why didn't you say that last night at dinner?" She questioned in irritation. "I'm sure yu were the first person to know your dad would be leaving."
"I just forgot." He stood up and walked to the sink with his bowl. "It's okay. I can just skip his class today."
"Alright boys… Let's get ready to go. You've all got to be ready to walk out that door in ten minutes. Or you're all grounded." Letty stood with her bowl and watched the boys scatter to do what they needed, except Gavin, who stayed to glare at her. "You're not skipping any classes."
"But my dad isn't here to meet with him."
"That's where I come in, Gavin. I'm not your stepmother for nothing. Go get ready." He grumbled loudly and left the kitchen. She sighed and leaned against the counter. Reaching for the phone nearby, she dialed a number and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Pat, it's Letty. I need a really big favor."
"Anything. What's up?"
"Gavin got into trouble at school and I need to go meet with one of his teachers. Chris just left for Los Angeles on business. Can I drop off the boys?"
"Yeah, no worries. Henry would be happy he has somebody to hang out with before school starts. And I'm making pancakes if they haven't eaten yet."
"I think they all had cereal, but I wouldn't be surprised if they would eat more, especially when pancakes are thrown into the mix. How about I take Henry after school today?"
"Oh, his dad is taking him out. Late birthday present or something."
"Well that's good. He always has good words about his dad. How about tomorrow?"
"That sounds good. I would really appreciate that."
"I really appreciate you taking the boys this morning. It'll help me out a lot."
"It's never a problem."
"I'll be there in about 10, okay?"
"I'll see you then."
"Bye."
"Bye." Letty hit the end button and set the phone on the counter with another sigh.
"Ready." Letty looked up at the door to see Tyler.
"Here." Letty handed him her car keys. "Go ahead and go get in the car. You, Pat and Kyle are going over to Henry's this morning before school."
"Sweet!" Letty chuckled as he jumped to head out the back door.
"Come on, guys!" Letty shouted through the house. "You've got five more minutes."
"I'm in here, mommy." Letty crossed the kitchen and leaned into the living room eyeing her youngest son. He gave her a toothless grin and she chuckled softly. He eyes shifted when she noticed bodies descending from the stairs.
"Why don't you three go outside with Tyler and wait?" Anthony smiled and the three of them started toward the front door. "Anthony, hang on a minute." He looked at her and turned toward her when his younger brothers were out of the house.
"What's up, mom?" He questioned. Letty heard the back door slam shut and rolled her eyes, figuring Gavin was mad at her – like usual.
"You're not in any trouble at school are you?" He raised a brow and she nodded. "Go on out. I'll go lock the back door." He nodded and left the house. She turned toward the kitchen and sighed at the lack of communication between her and her oldest son. She pushed the back door closed and locked it, then turned back toward the living room.
The entire ride to Gavin and Anthony's school was quiet, even when she dropped the younger three off at her friend's house. Anthony was occupied with his new book and Gavin with his headphones.
Parking her car in the lot in front of the school, she took a deep breath and started getting out of the car, followed by the boys. Glancing back at them as they headed for the main entrance, Anthony had stuffed the book in his backpack and Gavin was now putting away his iPod.
"Hey Mrs. Toretto." Letty's heart leapt in her chest as she turned to face the voice. She hadn't been called Toretto since before she and her first husband divorced. When Anthony started toward the person, she nodded, figuring that to be the reason.
"Ah, Mr. King," Letty turned to see an older teacher with an impressed look on his face, "Are you Mr. King's mother?"
"She's my step mother." Gavin snapped bluntly and quickly. He didn't want anybody to think he'd shown up at school with his mother.
"Ah, well, right this way, ma'am."
"Do I have to come?" Gavin questioned, almost rudely. Letty eyed him angrily for his rudeness, but he didn't care. This was his school. He had a reputation to keep here.
"No, go to class Mr. King. And you'd better not skip out on my class later. And your homework had better be complete as well." He nodded sarcastically with an eye roll and walked away before anybody saw. "Follow me."
She followed him into the office and down a hall to a room with a lady sitting at a nice desk.
"This is Principal Marcus. This is Gavin King's stepmother." The teacher, who hadn't properly introduced himself, exited the room quietly, pulling the door shut.
"His father couldn't make it?" She questioned looking up at Letty from the papers.
"Oh, he left on business this morning." Letty smiled a little.
"Wonderful," the lady replied, sounding less than thrilled. "Well, have a seat Mrs… um… King?"
"Yes, King. Letty King. Call me Letty, please." Letty took a seat across from the woman and eyed the folders in front of her. "So, why am I here? What's Gavin gotten himself into?"
"He's being expelled."
"What?" Letty half shouted out of confusion. It was the first she'd heard of this from anybody. "What do you mean expelled?"
"We've made several attempts to contact both you and your husband on this matter."
"Have you?" Letty questioned, having no memory of the phone ringing and it being the school. "Then why is this the first I've heard of it?"
"All the numbers you've given on emergency contact papers have been disconnected. We've tried work numbers and cell numbers. We never get any answers and our calls are never returned." Letty was now confused.
"That doesn't make any sense. You have no trouble contacting me when it comes to Anthony."
"Who?" She questioned.
"Anthony Toretto." She arched an eyebrow at Letty and she took a deep breath. "My son."
"Anthony is your son?" Letty nodded. "He talks so fondly of you." She nodded. Letty opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by the school bell ringing. "Well… I really should go peruse the halls and keep an eye out for class cutters." The woman started to stand but stopped when Letty spoke.
"Excuse me?" Letty snapped quietly. "What about my stepson, I'm quite interested in why he's being expelled and how you've never managed to get a hold of us, especially me, at home, when I'm a stay at home mom the majority of the time. I've always got my cell phone on me."
"You care?"
"What do you mean 'you care'? Of course I care. He may not be my son, but I'm the only person he's had in his life as far as a mother goes. And if you'd like to go ahead and 'peruse' the halls, go right ahead, I will be sitting here when you return." If only Gavin could see her now, she thought, smirking slightly inside. Gavin no idea how hard she tried for him and how much shit she put up with for him. "You know what?" She questioned, shaking her head. "Forget it. Expel him. I don't give a shit anymore." With that, Letty stood and exited the office quickly, not really caring if the woman had anything to say about it.
"Is there anything else I can help you with this morning, ma'am?" Letty turned from her quick escape and eyed a student sitting behind a desk, who leaned back a little at her glare.
"I'm sorry. Yes, you can help me. How do I go about withdrawing my son from this school?" She questioned just as the principal was exiting the office. She stopped and looked between the two.
"His name is Anthony Toretto." The principal now sounded upset, but Letty didn't care at this moment. Gavin was her son whether it was by blood or not. She'd been raising him since he was six and it wasn't her fault he turned out the way he did. At the moment, she blamed her husband entirely.
"You just need to fill out these papers. Signing the last page pretty much says that you're going to have him in another school within two weeks." Letty nodded and reached for a pen and started filling out the papers.
- x -
Letty and the boys stared at each other over dinner, none of them wanting to bring up the events of the day. None of them jumped out of their seats when the phone rang. In fact, Letty cringed, already knowing whom it was. Whenever he was away on business, Chris would always call right around dinnertime. By the third ring, Letty stood from her seat, crossed the kitchen to pick up the phone.
"Hello?" Letty questioned. "Hey, baby. Yeah, we're…" she looked at the boys, "…we're all doing good." The boys exchanged glances and she turned her back to them. "Baby, can you call my cell phone a little later? There's something kind of important we need to discuss."
"Mommy?" Tyler asked from the table.
"Shh…" Gavin hushed, watching his step mom carefully.
"Alright baby, I'll talk to you later." Letty smiled though she wasn't sure why. "I love you too. Bye." She dropped the phone onto the counter then headed back to the table. "What did you want baby?" Letty questioned Tyler as she took her seat at the table again.
"I just wanted to talk to daddy." He whimpered, his bottom lip quivering.
"Daddy was actually really busy, hun. He was just calling to let us know he got there safely." Tyler nodded and Gavin rolled his eyes.
"May I be excused?" Gavin questioned.
"After we're finished. You've got dish detail." Letty smirked lightly, pushing her empty plate toward him.
"What?" He questioned. "Isn't that your job?" Letty blinked over at him and Anthony coughed, watching his mom.
"I'll do the dishes, mom." Anthony offered, wanting to avoid the conflict at any cost.
"No, Gavin can do them. And for that comment, Gavin, you can do the dishes all week. No excuses."
"You can't make me do that, Letty. You aren't my mother." Letty arched a brow and Gavin stood, leaving the table. After he'd exited the kitchen, Letty looked at Anthony.
"Don't you touch those dishes, okay?" Once he nodded, she stood with her plate and deposited it into the sink. "When you guys are finished, put your dishes in the sink. Gavin will do these dishes. Then head up to your rooms. No computer, no video games, no television. Lights out at 8."
- x -
Letty stared at the clock and sighed impatiently. Chris was supposed to call a couple hours ago and she was now getting antsy. Picking up her cell phone, she dialed his number and put the phone on speaker, knowing the boys were already asleep.
"Hello?" She sighed when she heard his voice. At least she knew everything was okay. "Hello?" He questioned again and she noticed the aggravation in his voice.
"Chris, it's me." She whispered, and then frowned when she heard him sigh. "You said you'd call a while ago, and I was getting a little worried. Everything okay?"
"Yes, Letty, I'm just in a meeting." Letty glanced at the clock on the bedside table and thought about it.
"Still? It's almost ten o'clock there." She questioned. California was three hours behind New York; she knew that for a fact.
"Letty…" He sighed. She finally caught the dismissive tone in his voice. "Let me call you tomorrow. We need to talk." Letty's breath hitched in her chest and she nodded to herself. "Bye." Before she could say another word, she heard the dial tone. Frustrated and slightly angry, she dialed the number again and waited.
"Christopher King's phone." Letty looked down at her phone in her hand and raised a brow.
"Where's Chris?" She questioned.
"May I ask who's calling?" Letty had never heard the lady's voice before and she felt her anger rise a little, though she wasn't sure why.
"Letty, his wife."
"Oh, he's just taking a shower."
"Taking a shower?" She questioned. "I thought he was in a meeting."
"Oh," she whispered, "he will be. That's where we're headed when he gets out of the shower."
"Can I ask your name?" Letty questioned.
"Oh, I'm…" she stopped herself and made a humming noise, which Letty figured was her thinking of a name that sounded professional.
"Forget it." Letty flipped her phone closed and took a deep breath, letting it out heavily.
"Knock, knock." Letty looked up at the door to see Anthony. She looked at him with a small smile and he smiled back. "Bad timing?"
"Why aren't you in bed?" She questioned, glancing up at the clock again, "it's nearly one in the morning." He shrugged a little and she sat up, patting the bed beside her. He entered the room and slowly made his way over to her, taking a seat where she'd patted.
"Couldn't sleep." She nodded and ran her fingers through her hair, knowing she was a mess. "There was just a lot on my mind."
"Need somebody to talk to?" She questioned. He nodded a little and she smiled, leaning back into her pillows again. "Talk away, I'm all ears."
"Is everything okay with you and Chris?" Letty figured with him standing there when she hung up the phone, he'd heard the conversation. She nodded and forced a smile. "Because he seems to be gone a lot lately. I mean, more than usual. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with you two."
"We're fine, sweetheart. Why?"
"Well… I know you and my dad divorced. I mean, I don't remember it, but… I know it was hard for you. If you and Chris got a divorce I think it would be bad for Patrick, Tyler and Kyle. But I think Gavin would finally be happy." Letty chuckled and hit Anthony upside the head playfully. "How come you never talk about my dad?"
"You never ask about him."
"Tell me about him." She looked at him and took a deep breath.
"What do you want to know about him, Anthony?" She was confused why he was bringing it up so randomly, but understood that by his age, he was just curious.
"What happened? Why did you two get divorced?" Letty bit her lip and looked at him, not really wanting to answer his question. Judging by his face, however, he wasn't going to retract the question.
"I met Chris and I just kind of fell for him, right on the spot." Anthony hung his head and Letty frowned. "Anthony, I'm always going to love your father, I just don't think that we were supposed to be together in the long run."
"But what if you were?"
"We weren't." Letty snapped quickly.
"Yeah, but what if you were?" He had the same pushiness as his mother and she smirked lightly at it, nodding. "You would never know because now you live across the country and you haven't talked to him since… Who knows when."
"Things are over between your father and me, trust that." Letty swallowed. "And as long as Chris and I are happy, we're not going to get a divorce." Anthony started to stand and she grabbed his wrist gently, pulling him back down. "I'm sorry that my temper got in the way of your education. I promise that I will have you back in school within a week, okay?"
"Yeah, whatever." He pulled away from her and exited the room quickly. Letty sighed and hit her head on the headboard.
"Damn."
- x -
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