A/N: I know it's late af, but Happy New Year, lovelies! Xo
Some of you may have heard that Fast 8 will take place in NYC so that's where this one shot is set. Most of this story is based on a dream (yes, I dream about them) and I thought with a little editing it'd make for a great Christmas ficlet. It's just pure fluff, which I hope you enjoy.
"This is the worst Christmas ever," Dom growled, rolling over to face the apartment window, which was almost completely covered in snow – the only thing he really hated about New York City.
He would never get used to this cold weather. It had been heavily snowing for days on end. All airports were closed down for safety reasons and so they were stuck in the snow in their East Coast home, far away from friends and family who all resided on the other side of the country.
"Why?" Letty asked, looking at Dom from across the room, as she pulled a woolen jumper over her head and down her body to get comfortably warm. She let her hair fall naturally around her shoulders and seemed to be in a relaxed state of mind, flashing a smile.
Unlike Dom, she didn't really hate the weather. Like Dom, she just wasn't used to it. But it was so different from what they usually experienced that she started to feel like she could really enjoy this for a change. Besides, she had another reason to believe this Christmas would be the best she and Dom had ever had. He would agree, if he knew...
"Because no one's here. I mean, don't get me wrong, having you here with me means everything, but I would've loved, if Mia and Brian came too... And Tej and Roman. If everyone would've just come here like they promised they would," Dom answered and sat up straight, resting his back against the bed's headboard.
"It's not their fault, they didn't make it," Letty told him, walking back over to Dom. She sat on his side of the bed and leaned forward to place a kiss on his cheek. "Stop being so grumpy, bubba, you know they're just as sad about this as you are... We... As we are. I'm sad too," Letty admitted, "but we're still gonna have a great Christmas."
Dom stared at her, wondering if there was anything he didn't know that made her so sure of that. The last time he had spent Christmas away from his family was when he'd been in jail. It had been awful. And this Christmas would probably suck too, but at least he wasn't completely alone. He got his girl, so, since there was nothing he could do about the situation now, he had to make the best of it – and that definitely included Letty.
"So, you're gonna come back to bed and cheer me up?" Dom grabbed her arms, pulling her down, his hands already on her back, wandering up under her pullover to the soft skin beneath.
Letty let out a delightfully sweet laugh before their lips crashed together for a small, passionate kiss. "You remember what we just did? We can't have sex all day, Dom," she breathed against his lips, pulling away from him again.
"Why not? You got better things to do?" Dom countered, smirking. He folded his arms behind his head and looked at her with a curious expression on his face. "Is that what you're sayin'?"
Letty got up from the bed, her body shaking with laughter. "Actually, I do," she declared, disappearing in the bathroom. "It's past noon and–"
Dom didn't hear the last part of the sentence, as the sound of her voice was completely drowned by the loud noise of the city's midday traffic. He put his feet on the floor and took a look at the clock. 12.47pm, Letty was right. They had slept in, eaten some breakfast and then gone straight back to bed to revel in excessive love-making. If they had actually stuck to the plan, they should've been done with grocery shopping by now.
Dom launched himself off the bed, put on some clothes and glanced out the window. Everything but the streets was covered in snow. He had never seen so much of that white substance in his life – and he didn't need to ever again. He could already feel the cold congealing his body. God, he definitely needed to turn up the heater!
"We need to go, Dom. You comin?"
Dom hadn't even noticed that Letty had entered the room again and was now standing close to the door that led into the hallway of their cosy, two-bedroom apartment. She looked really cute in that winter outfit of hers; that was one thing he could enjoy about this time of the year. Anything else was hard to get used to for him, even though he liked living in this city.
"What? No way I'm gonna set a foot outside," Dom protested. "Have you even taken a look at what's going on out there? All that snow? It's freezing!" He shuddered at the mere thought of having to walk through the wintriness. "You know I don't do cold weather, Let."
"Well, you're already here," Letty stated the obvious, trying hard not to burst out laughing, "in New York… and it's winter," she grinned, "Now stop whining, you little wuss, and get going."
She loved how Dom acted; how bummed out he was that he didn't get to walk around in his favorite wife beaters, flexing his muscles everywhere he went, because of the cold outside. It was adorable how he let a bit of snow determine his mood. She couldn't help but smile to herself. However, she really needed him to make an effort right now. She wanted him with her.
"Dom, we need to be there soon or we're gonna miss it," Letty heaved a sigh, approaching him. "And I don't wanna go alone, so please... just this once... do cold weather," she pleaded, cupping his face.
"Be where? Miss what? Letty, where you wanna go?" Dom didn't understand what was so important to her that she couldn't be more specific. His hands wrapped round her waist. It wasn't something he did self-consciously but rather as a matter of routine.
"I can't tell you," Letty explained, "I need to show you." That wasn't a very good explanation, she knew that, but it was all she could give him right now without ruining the surprise. Unfortunately, they were both pretty stubborn. "Please, Dom, let's go!"
Dom looked her deep in the eyes and all his determination to stay inside was tossed out the window immediately. He couldn't deny her anything, if she looked at him like that. Letty knew that, yet he was sure she hadn't used that look on him on purpose to get it her way, like she often did. She was sincere.
"This better be worth it," he sighed, placing his lips on hers. "Because if not, you're gonna have a lot of making up to do, missy, I'm telling you."
Letty chuckled against his mouth, happy that he had given in after all and was willing to tag along. "It's worth it, baby. It's really worth it," she assured him, "And I can't wait for you to see."
Her face lit up with a beaming smile, as she spun round and walked out the door. She was nervous as hell, not only because of what she was about to show him, but also because she had been waiting for so long to see his reaction and, finally, she would get to. This made her extremely happy.
Dom followed her slowly, still wondering what it was that Letty was so wired about. Something was clearly going on with her and if he knew what, then maybe her behavior would make more sense to him. Not that he minded seeing her so happy. He loved nothing more than that. He just wanted to understand.
She had definitely made him very curious and so Dom tried getting her to talk more on the way to their destination, but Letty wouldn't give him that. She wouldn't even drop him a hint. She stayed tight-lipped about it and he hated that, because it only made him wanting to know all the more. The constant grin on Letty's face thereby seemed like a deliberate provocation.
As they arrived at a small building complex after a short cab ride, Letty turned to Dom. "How do you feel? It wasn't that bad, right?" she said with a grin on her face and got out of the car.
"It's still freezing," he murmured, following her.
Letty laughed, nudging him with the elbow. "Wait till you see what's inside," she teased, smiling when she realized that the last word she had spoken actually had a double meaning. She enjoyed this way more than she had imagined she would. It was a bit surprising to her, but it felt so damn good, she just couldn't hide her excitement.
"You're really annoying right now," Dom noted amused with a shake of the head. "You know that?"
He was slightly confused about how she acted; all that giggling and paroxysm of joy. It wasn't exactly like her, not that much at least, and he got no clue where that came from, because she definitely hadn't been drinking. But her behavior was so infectious it was impossible for him to wipe that smirk off his face.
The sign at the building's entrance was covered in snow. Thankfully, Letty thought. It meant that Dom would have no idea where they were until they walked through that door. The man she was with hesitated to follow her at first, still seeking answers, yet did so nevertheless since he was too curious not to find out what her behavior was all about.
Inside, Dom quickly noticed that they were at a doctor's office, but took a lot longer to become aware of the posters and flyers on the wall that left no doubt about which kind of doctors worked around here. He stopped moving, his jaw dropped and his eyes were wide open as he stared at his wife in disbelief. Could this be real? Was this really what he thought it was?
"Letty, why are we– Is this– " he stammered and the woman in question could practically hear the wheels turning in Dom's brain. Letty loved that after all these years she still managed to surprise her man every once in a while, and not just a little – big time.
"The ultrasound is scheduled for two... which is now... so you still wanna go home or...?" she dropped a very obvious hint. Letty enjoyed seeing Dom's expression, like he still wasn't exactly sure whether she was just playing him for a fool or not. "I mean, no one's keeping you here, but I'd be thrilled if you'd stay," she continued, "because I'm honestly a bit scared to meet our baby for the first time and I was hoping not to have to go through that alone."
"Wait, so you're– We are– I mean, you're really–"
"Pregnant? Last time I checked, yes," Letty chuckled lightly. Just then, her name got called up – Mrs. Toretto. She would never get used to people calling her that, but she'd never get tired of hearing it either. "That'd be me," she grinned. "So you're in or out?" Letty asked, nodding towards the door.
When he realized that this wasn't some kind of joke, Dom smiled like he always did, wide and happy. "Of course I'm in," he answered, a grin spreading across his face. He was going to be a father and there was no way in hell he was going to miss this, so Dom stepped towards her with a quick move and grabbed Letty's hand. Squeezing it tight, he dragged her along. "Let's go see our baby."
Letty smiled to herself as they walked into the examination room. She was on top of the world right now, but at the time seriously worried that something could be wrong with their unborn child. She didn't let Dom know, though. This whole becoming-a-mother thing scared the shit out of her for sure, but she hadn't imagined being this excited about a baby. This would be another great adventure for them, their ultimate ride, and she loved it. She really, really loved it.
The ultrasound was the greatest experience that she'd had in a long, long time. Letty had thought the wedding was it; that was as happy as she could get, but she had obviously been wrong. Being in that room and feeling Dom hold her hand as they looked at the monitor to see their precious baby on the screen was everything. It meant the world to her that she got to share this moment with him after all they had been through. She had never expected her life to turn out like this.
Back home, it felt like it had all just been a dream and if it weren't for the little photo in her pocket, she still wouldn't believe it. Dom hadn't talked much. It seemed like he was worlds away. During the screening, he'd had a hard time holding back tears. Letty was sure, if the doctor had been a woman, he had cried. But he couldn't shed crocodile tears in front of another guy, could he? That probably was what Dom had thought when he'd felt himself starting to get emotional. Still, his long silence made her feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Dom?" She watched him closing the door behind them. He didn't look up at her. "You're okay? Because if you worried about something, we need to talk about–"
Without a word, he walked past her. What the hell is wrong with him, Letty wondered. He was happy about this baby, wasn't he? This is what he wanted, right? They both wanted this. She had seen it in his eyes. But his behavior really didn't make any sense to her right now. Letty closed her eyes for a moment, but opened them again just a second later when she heard his voice.
"Mi, it's me. You're not gonna believe this, but… I'm going to be a dad."
Letty turned around, her eyes looking for Dom. Then she saw him sitting on the couch. He held his cell phone in one hand while he ran the other one over his head multiple times. She smiled at the sight of him. Of course he had to call his sister before doing anything else. It was surprising that he had even made it this far without sharing the great news with someone. There still was an expression of disbelief on his face, Letty noticed, but she could see a sparkle in his eyes when he spotted her. Yeah, definitely happy, she thought. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him. He was just really happy.
"I saw it at the ultrasound, it's– It's really there. You're gonna be Auntie Mia soon," Dom smiled. He knew how much his sister wanted to be an aunt. She had begged him to make it happen for her one day and by some miracle he now had without even intending to. "Oh, I'm sure Letty wants to hear all about that," he laughed, eyeing his wife, who looked like she expected him to tell her what Mia had just said. He didn't. Instead he just smirked at her teasingly. "Okay, well, tell Brian I said hi. I love you and… Merry Christmas." After he hung up, Dom walked over to start a fire in the fireplace, which was in front of the couch he had just sat on.
"What did she say? C'mon, tell me," Letty demanded, grinning, as she sat down. She felt chilly, but soon the fire was roaring and the room filled with warmth; exactly what she needed. Dom just knew how to take care of her. He had always known. And he would know how to take care of their baby. He would be such a great father. She didn't know if she would actually be the mother she wanted to be, but she knew Dom would always make her believe she could. And she definitely had Mia to count on, if she ever needed the advice of another mother. She was goddamn lucky to have the family she had.
"She told me to prepare for war, because when the hormones kick in, you'll be a fucking pain in the ass," Dom's chest rumbled with laughter. He dropped down next to Letty and settled back into the cushions. "Apparently Mia became one when she was pregnant, so she worried you might be worse since– Well, you know how you are when you're not pregnant, so my sister thought, maybe she should tell you what to expect and how to handle yourself during the bad times."
"Really?" Letty uttered with a raised eyebrow.
Dom mockingly gave her the raised eyebrow back. "You know, she's right, though," he teased. "If you take your personality and mix it with pregnancy hormones, it's like playing with fire. You might end up getting burned."
He captured a wavering strand of her hair and smoothed it gently over her shoulder. When he saw Letty trying to look offended, and how she quickly gave up fighting the urge to show her amusement, he laughed. Smirking at him, Letty shook her head. She opened her mouth to say something, but Dom didn't hear anything. A silence started to linger between them instead. Neither spoke. They just stared into each other's eyes, neither of them even grinning anymore.
After a while, Dom's mouth curved in a slight smile. Letty's did too. It was like they both had thought of the same thing at the same time. So, maybe they would annoy the living fuck out of each other, being completely stressed out by their new job as parents, but as long as they were together nothing really mattered. It was ride or die for them. It always had been.
Dom leaned towards her and whispered, "I can't wait to get to hold our baby in my arms," into her ear. He placed a kiss on top of Letty's head and closed his eyes, breathing in her scent. He tried to picture life with a baby, to picture her as a mother and immediately had to smile. Who would've thought that wild girl Leticia Ortiz would end up being Leticia Toretto, a loving mother and wife.
"Who said you get to hold her? I'm the mama, so I'm first in line," Letty set him straight.
"Him," Dom muttered under his breath, stroking her arm before he backed away to be able to see Letty's face.
"What?" She frowned as she moved to sit with her legs tucked under her thighs, tailor-fashion.
"Him. Get to hold him," he added a few words to make her understand.
"Oh, so you think it's a boy?" Letty asked curiously.
"I know it's gonna be a boy," Dom announced. "And I'm gonna teach him all about cars and women."
As the picture began to form in his mind's eye, Dom harkened back to tender scenes of him and his father in the garage he had enjoyed so many times. Everything he knew about cars, and women for that matter, he had learned from his dad. Even if he hadn't used this knowledge in a way his father really appreciated, without him, he certainly wouldn't be who he was. Whatever he had done wrong, he wanted his son to do right. He wanted to make sure that Toretto junior would not do the same mistakes he did – and if he should do regardless, Dom would be there to help him correct them.
"Cars and women... Because that's your area of expertise, huh? You sure about that?" Letty mocked him, slapping him with her hand against the shoulder while she laughed at him. "What if it's gonna be a girl? You're gonna protect her from all the bad boys like you?" Letty didn't care much about the sex of the baby and she knew Dom didn't either, but teasing him was always fun.
"Hey, I turned out okay, didn't I?" Dom tried to defend himself, tickling the sides of her body.
Letty pulled away quickly. "Don't!"
Dom was relentless, tugging her down on the couch and laughing. All the while, his fingers tickled her into a frenzy of laughter. Letty took a pillow, fighting him like crazy. She was squealing so loud between giggles as she tried to get away, Dom thought the neighbors would soon come knocking at their door, complaining about the noise. When she almost managed to slip out of his reach, Dom caught her wrists and pinned them above her head firmly.
"Oh, no, baby… You're not going anywhere," he smirked, tickling her belly until tears of laughter flowed down Letty's cheeks. The giggle-snort she then let out, which was one of the cutest things he had ever heard, gave Dom all the more reason to continue. Writhing beneath him, Letty soon started begging for mercy, telling him to stop and that she was sorry. He tortured her for a few more seconds before he finally did stop the tickling and just looked at her in silence. Letty was still giggling, but the longer he gazed at her the more she quieted down.
Lying on top of her, Dom put both hands up and into Letty's hair, felt it slip through his fingers and let his fingertips caress her scalp. Then he took his hands away, cupped her face and looked into her eyes. "You know, suddenly this cold weather outside doesn't feel so bad," he said in a husky voice. "It gives me a very good reason to be close to you. I mean, it's pretty cozy in here... I like that."
"So, this isn't the worst Christmas ever after all?" Letty asked, giving him the beauty of her smile.
Dom looked down between their bodies, right where her stomach was, touching it with one hand while the other one was still holding one side of her face. "Letty... this is the best Christmas I ever had," he whispered, his voice breaking, and when he looked up to her again, his eyes had filled with tears. But Letty wasn't worried about it; it only put an even bigger smile on her lips. Taking Dom's face in her hands, her thumbs caressing his cheeks, she gave him a loving kiss.
As she let go, Dom was smiling like one smiles for a photo in front of a touristy monument. It was her favorite kind; that kind of smile that made her weak at the knees and that no other man could show off so beautifully. "I love you… Both of you," were the last words she heard from him before her husband, and the father of her child, decided that they had done enough talking for the next few hours.