Short shot on what a future-fic in the F&F series could be. Everyone Lives.
And unbeta-de work, so all mistakes are mine.
Teens
When Mia still gets no reply after three calls for lunchtime, she decides to fetch her son herself. Maria is smirking, like all good little sisters do when their eldest is about to get in trouble.
Brian is out today, working on some new prototype with Dom and Letty, so it's up to her to install the rules in the household. And sending Mari to her brother will only end in another fight between the siblings.
Jack's bedroom door is shut closed. The music is blaring, hence why he mustn't have heard her calling. Mia ignores the flashy 'Keep Out Losers' hanging under 'Jack's Room' and pushes the door open. She expects him on his computer, playing some virtual games with strangers online, or reading the last popular comic like every decent sixteen year old does –or even some of those magazines. She does not expect him to be curled on his bed, reading a hardcover book. Even less a 'Midsummer Night Tale's' from Shakespeare.
When he notices she's here, he snaps the book close and jumps off his bed. The way he discreetly hides the title in his back suggests he does not want her to know. Mia briefly wonders if the book is hiding more than just English literature, but decides not to dwell on it. For a brief moment, she contemplates how much he takes after Brian: the shape of his face and the blonde hair, the lean athletic build, the way he slightly slouches when he feels embarrassed about something…the mouth and the eyes are hers though.
"Lunch is ready," she says sternly and puts her arm on her hip. Jack swallows and says, barely audible over the music:
"I'm here in a minute."
Mia rolls her eyes and shuts the door. In spite of the loud singer's voice, she hears him shuffle around the room. She's not the kind of parent who will search their kids' room for compromising stuff, but sometimes, she wishes she had a meaner streak.
Lunch is relatively quiet. Jack is sulking for some reason and Maria preening like she knows something Mia doesn't –which is probably true. In the middle of the meal, her daughter spurts casually:
"Ya know, Nico is stopping by Uncle Dom's this afternoon."
Nico is Rosa and Vince's son. Ever since the latter died in their hasty escape from Rio, Dominic returns at least once a year to visit the boy named after him. Sometimes, Nico comes to visit too. He and Jack usually hit off well, as they were born around the same time and have been pen pals since they could use a keyboard.
So Mia is positively surprised when a scowl grows on his face.
"What's he coming here for?" he snaps. "He's not supposed to come till next week."
Maria grins wider.
"Well, I heard from Maya he came earlier because she asked him to. She wants extra practice in Portuguese, ya see."
Maya is Gisele and Han's daughter, and one year younger than Jack. At the mention of her name, Jack's expression turns positively thunderous. He stands from the table, carries his half-full plate to the sink.
"Not hungry anymore," he mutters and before Mia can stop him, is halfway opening the front door and storming outside. Mia stares at her daughter, silently asking for guidance. Maria's smirk grows as she looked more entertained than with her favorite TV show.
"What is going on?" Mia asks. Maria chuckles.
"Nico's been flirting with Maya last time he came here. Jack's not happy about that. Jack and Maya, sitting in a tree," she sings before digging back into her food.
Gisele can't stop laughing when Mia calls her to tell her about her suspicions.
"You're serious?" she asks for the third time, still giggling. "Oh this is so cute!"
Mia can't help chuckling in turn. It is true that, from a certain point of view, the situation is amusing. Jack and Maya have basically grown up together since her parents had fled Tokyo in a rush. Han and Gisele had settled down near LA, and the two young parents have been relaying babysitting duty whenever something came up. The funny thing was that while Maya and Maria got along fairly well, Jack and Maya could not stand each other.
Mia suspects the mutual dislike started the day Jack stole Maya's plastic car toy, and Maya had thrown sand in his face in retaliation. The animosity had turned into rivalry in every step. They both fell in love early on with engines –though Maya is still more interested in riding bikes like her mother than racing cars like Jack is. Both do well enough in school –and Mia counts it a blessing that Maya is actually a year younger; she'd spare a prayer for their teachers if they had to share a class. But they can't stay in the same room without bickering about a thing or another.
So that Jack develops a crush on her does surprise her.
"Maya has been asking Nico for Portuguese lessons," Gisele goes on, confirming Maria's version. "They've been chatting a lot online, but it won't go further. Nico has a girlfriend back in Rio. She gave him some girl advice too."
The Harabo-Lue kids thinks their parents cool enough to confide to them. Gisele is teaching self-defense and Han sometimes works in a garage. All the kids on the block knows you Don't Mess with Maya or her brother, just as they know Toretto's and O'Conor's are off-limits.
It helps that neither Gisele nor Han are overly severe with them. Both kids are deemed responsible enough to care of themselves unless they really cross the line, so their parents lets them be most of the time.
Mia doesn't think she is a bad parent, but she wishes Jack would open up more too. Perhaps he takes after Dominic in that regard, keeping everything to himself.
"You think she might have a crush on Jack?" she asks eventually. Gisele hums pensively.
"She's very determined to crush him in every domain," she says slowly. And then, Mia hears the smile in her voice. "I think part of her wants to impress him. And another part wants him to be able to grow a backbone." Personally, Mia thinks Jack has plenty of backbone. Then again, Maya has a strong personality and her son is more laidback unless provoked. "Did Jack tell you about that one time she called him a layperson because he couldn't tell that some singer had made a reference to artwork in his lyrics and he didn't pick it up?"
"Something to do with Shakespeare?" Mia guesses. Gisele laughs again.
"I'm not sure, but most likely, if you caught him reading it."
She rolls her eyes. Teenagers.
"Moving forward, barbecue is still on next Saturday?"
"Yeah. Han brought this brand new grillbot he's dying to try," Gisele says drawly. "We have enough to feed a regiment, so just bring your appetite. Samantha will be stopping by too."
"Not Hobbs?"
"Busy on a new case somewhere in Mexico, last I heard. Sorry, I gotta go. Classes start in fifteen minutes and I want to have a little heart to heart with one of my punks beforehand. See you on Saturday."
"See you on Saturday," Mia echoes and hangs up. She snorts. She can't wait to tell Brian about this.
Saturday is a blast. The whole family –minus Hobbs senior –is in the Harabo-Lue garden. Toni, Maria and Dom's kids -little Brian and Vincent, the latest addition to the family –are running around in a game of tag. The adults regroup and talk about cars –shocker –and kids and planning on vacations or projects upcoming.
Mia starts worrying when she can't spot either Maya or Jack in the lot.
She's not worried at first –the food is good with Roman behind the grill, and she and Elena are catching up while enjoying the men being beaten raw at darts by Gisele and her magic flick of a wrist. But when they still hadn't appear twenty minutes later, she feigns needing the bathroom and goes in search in the house.
She doesn't find a trace in the living room or the kitchen. The toilets are free. She climbs up the stairs and finally hears some movement in Maya's bedroom.
Mia is not the kind to snoop into others' business, but this is her son and her best friend's daughter and she is terribly curious. She knocks and immediately pushes the door.
The two teenagers are there, but they aren't fighting. Instead, Jack is sitting on the bed and Maya is straddling his thighs. His arms are loose around her waist and they seem in the middle of a very heated-looking kissing session.
When they hear the door open, they split faster than lightening.
If Jack is his father's son, Maya definitively takes after her mother. The shape of her eyes shows her Korean lineage, but the rest is Gisele's spitting portrait. For a brief moment, Mia is pulled back to nearly a decade, when she had accidentally walked on her friends making out like horny teenagers. Both Gisele and Han had that slightly embarrassed deer-caught-in-headlights expression that she finds on Maya's face. The resemblance is so uncanny she barely bites back a laugh.
Instead, she clears her throat and announces:
"There is still some food downstairs. You should come before your uncle Roman cleans everything."
The last sentence is more directed to Maya; the girl might be thin as a needle, she eats an impressive amount and still keeps in shape. Her parents' barbecue is a sacred thing.
As she expects, she detangles from Jack's embrace, rearranges her shirt and walks past Mia with her head high and unapologetic. Jack tries to follow, but she steps in the room and shuts the door. Her teenage son is not thrilled.
"Look mom-" he starts.
"You do know that if you break her heart, you will have a trained ex-Mossad mother and a meaner-than-he-looks father on your ass?"
Jack narrows his eyes. She goes on:
"Not to mention, Toni is getting creative with his pranks. So I hope you aren't just playing her."
Jack rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, and what if she breaks my heart?" he retorts. Mia raises an eyebrow.
"Maya is a lot more levelheaded than you are. If she starts something with you, then she means it. Do you?"
He shifts under her gaze. Not in a 'yeah I'm actually playing with her feelings', but more in a 'god I'm a guy I don't talk about feelings!' kind of way.
Someone knocks at the door. It opens and Gisele peeks inside. Her face brightens at the sight of them two and she says:
"We've all been wondering where you've disappeared. C'mon its sunny outside."
They are in California. It's always sunny. Jack jumps on the distraction and sneaks out mumbling a 'thank you' under his breath. Mia stares at Gisele. The other woman steps inside and closes the door behind. When she turns around, she's grinning.
"Aren't they cute?" she asks, stars in her eyes, and Mia thinks Gisele must secretly be a romantic at heart.
"My son is dating your daughter. You're alight with that?"
Gisele shrugs.
"Sure. Maya's a big girl. If Jack hurts her, she can let you deal with the leftovers." Mia makes a face. Gisele rolls her eyes. "They are teenagers, Mia. Impulsive, hormonal, that kind of stuff? Don't tell me you tried to get loose in your younger years."
Either Gisele was a terror in her teen years, or she and Mia have a different definition of 'getting loose'. She sighs, rubs her eyes.
"God I hope it won't end in a bloodbath."
Gisele taps her shoulder good-naturally.
"Have faith in your kid Mia. Show them you trust them, they won't disappoint you. Most of the time. C'mon, let's get something to drink."
Perhaps she's frightened of how fast time had gone since she has hold Jack in her arms for the first time. Gisele is right though. Her baby is sixteen, not quite a man, but old enough to get in his own brand of heart trouble. It's their life now, and there's not a goddamn thing she can do about it.
Except maybe drink it off.