Shackles

by BBQkitten

"When was the last time you ate?" "Lunch." Dom frowned, "And before that?" Brian's brows scrunched together as he thought; trying to remember the last time he ate. It felt like so long ago and at the same time as though no time had passed at all.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Brian couldn't help but smile as he looked around the people littering the Toretto's back yard. This was quickly becoming his family. He had long ago stopped informing the FBI of the Toretto's movements, and had begun to lead them in the direction of the Trans it didn't take more than a few weeks and some well-placed illegal merchandise before Jonny was being arrested for the truck hijackings. Dom had seen this and took it as a good time to cut their losses and be done with the heists. And Brian never had to reveal his cop status. After the case closed the FBI began to work on extracting Brian however the blonde quickly made it known that he was done with the police force and handed in his resignation, getting a small apartment near Harry's garage whom he still worked for.

Brian was at one of Dom's Sunday BBQs when Dom walked over to him, a beer in hand. He gave Brian a calculating look before asking, "You feeling okay, California?"

Brian gave him a confused glance and nodded his head.

Dom's eyebrows rose, "Well then, you gonna eat, Spilner?"

The blonde shrugged uncomfortably, "'M not hungry, Dom."

The older man's eyes narrowed and he nodded towards the house, "Come help me get some more beers."

Brian nodded and followed Dom into the kitchen. As soon as the door closed behind them Dom turned around and gently placed a hand against the blonde's forehead.

He frowned, "Well you don't have a fever." Brian laughed and shook off Dom's hand, walking into the kitchen to grab more beers. Dom followed, a worried look on his face. "Does your stomach hurt?"

Brian shook his head again, "I told you, I'm fine. I was hungry earlier so I went to have a snack and I ate more than I should have, ergo, I'm not hungry now."

Dom chuckled and playfully pat at Brian's stomach, pausing when he felt Brian's ribs poking out from under his baggy t-shirt. "Looks like that snack didn't hurt ya any." He motioned towards the backdoor where everyone was socializing. "Let's go see if we can pack a little more on you." Brian let out an uncomfortable laugh and shook his head as they walked back outside.

The next day, Dom stops by Harry's where he knows that Brian is working. When Brian asks what he's doing there, Dom tells him that he is taking him out for lunch. Brian tries to tell him that he has a lot to do there but Harry comes up behind him and says that he should go and take a lunch break because he never does and that the cars will still be there when he gets back. Brian sullenly agrees, unable to find a way out of it and Dom leads him towards his car. They get in and Dom takes them to a roadside diner. Dom orders for himself and Brian when he notices that Brian didn't even look at the menu and Dom gives him a calculating glance.

"How much do you weigh, Brian?" Dom asked. Brian looked up, startled before looking down at the table and shrugging his shoulders lightly.

Dom shook his head and asked the question again to which Brian mumbled, "126."

Dom's eyes widened as he took a closer look at the blonde in front of him. "That's lighter than Jesse."

Brian shrugged again and shifted his gaze out the window. "I've always been small."

Dom shook his head, "That's not small, that's unhealthy."

The food came and Dom began to eat, motioning towards Brian's plate when he didn't move to do the same. "You're gonna eat, California. Even if I have to spoon feed it to you."

Brian sighed and picked up his fork, slowly beginning to eat what was placed in front of him. Satisfied, Dom returned his focus to his own plate, casually bringing cars into the main focus of their conversation. Brian gladly accepted the change of topic and dove headfirst into the discussion. At the end of the meal, Brian had eaten about half of his food which Dom could settle with but still wasn't completely happy about. Dom drove him back to Harry's and said, "Mia requested you come to dinner tonight."

Brian opened his mouth to protest but Dom had already started driving away, shouting out the window that he would pick him up at six.

That night, Dom pulled into Harry's, who greeted him at the door. "I sent the kid home, Dom. He nearly collapsed on me." He gave the larger man a friendly pat on the back, "You work 'im too hard."

Dom grunted in thanks towards the older man and drove the few blocks to Brian's apartment, getting the address from Harry after belatedly realizing that he didn't know where the blonde lived. He found the blonde's apartment quickly and wrinkled his nose in distaste. The paint on the side of the building was faded and chipped, covered in gratified gang signs. Brian's door had a large dent in the frame and had been patched up using duct tape.

'No wonder the kid never told anyone where he lived. This place is a slum,' Dom thought.

Dom knocked on Brian's door and waited for an answer. After a few minutes of muffled shuffling, Brian opened the door. He was pale and had dark circles under his eyes and was wrapped in a worn green blanket. Dom invited himself in and put a hand on the blonde's forehead, frowning when it came back warmer than usual. He wrapped an arm around Brian's shoulders and led him to his small couch, frowning further when he saw what poor state it was in.

He laid Brian down and told him to stay put, heading towards what he thought was the bathroom. He found a clean washcloth and wet it, bringing it back to the living room where he knelt next to Brian's head and gently pressed it to his forehead. Brian moaned in obvious relief and closed his eyes. Dom sighed and gently ran a hand through Brian's hair causing him to tense momentarily at the soft contact. Dom cast him a nervous glance at his reaction but continued his ministrations for a few more minutes before getting up carefully, as to not disrupt the dozing blonde before him.

He made his way to the kitchen, intent to make some soup for the blonde. The first cupboard Dom opened was empty. He frowned in confusion and moved on to the next one which was also empty of food. As he moved on through the empty cupboards, his frown became increasingly more concerned. After searching through the entire kitchen Dom was alarmed to have only found a roll of stale, half eaten crackers and a can of pineapples.

He returned to the living room where Brian had sat up and was rubbing at his stomach with a pained look on his face. When he caught sight of Dom leaving the kitchen, he stood abruptly, causing his body to sway. Dom hurried over to him and braced Brian with his own arms who shook his head, trying to show Dom he was fine.

"I haven't gone grocery shopping in a while."

Dom gave him a disapproving look and shook his head, "I noticed."

Brian shrugged as Dom lowered him back onto the couch, "I've been busy."

"Too busy to buy food, Brian?" He asked, getting up to pace in front of the couch. "That's a load of bull, and you know it."

Brian winced at Dom's tone and looked down, refusing to say anything.

Dom sighed and sat down next to the blonde, gently wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "You don't have to be embarrassed if you're short on cash, Brian. A mechanic, even an illegal one, still has a hard time paying their bills sometimes."

The blonde shook his head. "I'm not broke."

"Then why don't you have food?"

He looked up at Dom briefly, seeing the concern blazing in his eyes. "I just haven't been hungry," he mumbled, looking back down, unable to look the man that has done so much for him in the eyes.

Dom grabbed Brian by each of his shoulders and turned him to face him, forcing him to look at him. Brain flinched at the worried look in Dom's eyes, willing the concern to go away. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Lunch."

Dom frowned, "And before that?"

Brian's brows scrunched together as he thought; trying to remember the last time he ate. It felt like so long ago and at the same time as though no time had passed at all. "I ate a bit at the barbeque."

Dom shook his head, "I would hardly consider that eating."

Brian shrugged, unable to come up with a better answer.

The older man shook his head in disappointment and stood up, stretching out an arm towards the blonde. Brian stared at the hand apprehensively before slowly grasping it. Dom gently heaved Brian into a standing position and wrapped an arm around his waist, holding him up.

He began to lead the blonde to the door who asked, "Where are we going?"

"Home."

Brian had been set up in the guest room at the Toretto house and everyone had taken turns exchanging Brain-duty as he sweat out the fever rampaging throughout his body. Nearly a week later, Dom was trying to get a slightly looping, incoherent Brian to eat some dinner with little success.

Dom sighed and rubbed at his eyes tiredly, "Please, Spilner. Just eat the damn soup."

The blonde mumbled and shook his head, muttering, " 'M not Spilner."

Dom looked at him questioningly and asked, "What do you mean Brian?"

Brian shook his head again, "My name's not Spliner. 'S O'Conner."

Dom ran his fingers through the blonde's sweaty hair in a soothing gesture, "Why'd you lie about your name?"

"Had to."

"What do you mean?" Dom prodded.

"Was a cop. 'Supposed to get close to you to find out who was hijacking trucks. When I fig'red it was you, I pin'd it on Tran 'n quit the force."

Dom's eyes hardened momentarily, before Brian's confession sunk in. "You could've gone to jail for pulling a stunt like that, Buster."

Brian nodded, blinking tiredly, "Better me 'n you. Said you wouldn't go back. Your family needed you."

Dom shook his head, "And we don't need you?"

Brian shrugged, his eyes half-closed and clouded over, " 'M expendable. Always have been."

Dom felt his heart clench as he nimbly lifted the blonde into his arms and shook his head. "You're not expendable to us, O'Conner. You're family."

The next morning, Brian woke up to find an amused Dom standing over him, his arms folded over his chest, "Something you'd like to share with the class, O'Conner?"

Brian eyes clouded over in confusion for a moment before Dom's words sunk in. His eyes widened comically and he shrunk back into the bed, expecting to be ripped from the sheets and pummeled. Dom chuckled and sat down on the edge of the bed, running his fingers through blonde curls, ignoring the flinch that accompanied the gesture. "You sure talk when you're upped on cold medicine, kid."

Brian slowly opened his eyes when those tender fingers in his hair didn't turn vicious. "Wh-what did I say?"

Dom raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Enough." Brian tensed again. "Enough to know you're family." The blonde hesitantly realized into Dom's tender touches. Dom paused, "You went to great lengths to protect us, Brian."

The blonde nodded, "I did what I felt was right."

Dom chuckled, "You have a strange definition of what is right."

Brian joined him in laughing, "Maybe, but I saw you guys, how close you were. You are a family, and you're not even blood related. I've never had something like that and I guess I envied it."

Dom gave him a sad smile, "That why you starve yourself?"

Brian's eyes widened, "I don't starve myself."

Dom snorted, "And I didn't jack those semis." The blonde closed his eyes, flinching when Dom's fingers shifted in his hair. "Talk to me Brian. You saved me—the least you can do is let me return the favor."

Brian shuddered, trying to repress the sobs that were threating to claw their way up his throat. After a few minutes of silence, Brian spoke up, his voice just barely above a whisper, "My uncle. Whenever I think of food, all I can see it my uncle."

Dom lifted Brain off of the bed slightly and wrapped his arms round the smaller man. "What did your uncle do?"

"He-he used to beat me—as a kid. I ran away when I was fourteen. He would starve me and stuff his face in front of me. He always told me that I would get fat if I ate, that he was keeping me from food for my own good. Now every time I try to eat I hear my uncle telling me how fat and ugly I am. I know that it isn't true but I can't stop hearing his voice."

Dom closed his eyes in pain, "You're beautiful, Brian. And if I need to, I will spend the rest of my life telling you." He enclosed the blonde in his arms tighter. "You're family, Brian. And we're gonna get you through this. Together."

AN: Well that's the end. Obviously, Brian was not magically cured of his anorexia but now that he has a family to support him I think it will be a hell of a lot easier. This was just a quick oneshot and I might come back to it later and revamp it or continue it but for now I am marking it as complete and I would love to hear what you think of it.

Thank you for reading and please review!