Oil Paint


It had been nearly four weeks since Dom had been home, and everything was almost back to normal.

Almost

He and Letty were still at an impasse, and while he wasn't seeing anyone, he'd given into desire three days ago and let a chaser blow him in the alleyway after a race. She'd wanted more, but he couldn't bear to touch another woman until he knew where he and Letty stood.

He'd been at the shop everyday it'd been opened since his homecoming, and quickly realized that Saturdays, Letty never showed up. At first, he didn't want to get in her business, but after three weeks of it, he became irritated with not knowing her whereabouts.

Friday night after dinner, he made his way up to Mia's room and sat down with a sigh.

"I have a question." He began, waiting for Mia's eyes to meet his.

"What's up, Dom?" she asked, looking up from her book.

"Saturdays, where does Letty go? Is she seeing anyone?" he asked, letting out a nervous breath. Mia stared at him, a smile on her face as she watched him try to remain uncaring.

"Ask her, Dom. Not my business." She chuckled.

"Mia!" He whined, a soft pout on his lip.

She rolled her eyes at him then, closing her book.

"It's her business, Dom. But if you should happen to show up at the Community Center tomorrow at 9, you might find out." She replied cryptically, opening her book again, and going back to her reading.


Next Morning, 8:58AM

Dom parked his Mazda on the curb and jogged across the street, making his way to the entrance of the Community Center. His mind had been puzzled all night, thinking of what she could be doing there every Saturday. Maybe there was a guy she met up with every weekend, maybe she played basketball, or perhaps community service?

He didn't know what the hell the deal was, but he was prepared to crush all competition to have her back.

He walked in and immediately heard her voice, even though he couldn't make out what she was saying. He followed it until he came upon a room and stood there, completely shocked.

There was a class full of children, all ages and ethnicities. Some he recognized from the neighborhood, others he did not, but all were completely engrossed in what she was saying.

"I know we had fun with acrylics and water paint, but my favorite is oil paint." She smiled, passing out small canvases to the students. "We have to be very careful and very safe, because this paint is not water based. That's why I said to bring an old t-shirt to put over your clothes."

He then noticed she was in a pair of cutoff jean shorts and one of his old wife beaters. He had to stop himself from smiling at the vision of her.

"Ms Letty, why do you like oil best?" a little girl in front asked, her eyes wide and inquisitive.

"Teiler, I like oil best because it's messy, and unforgiving. Every stroke you make with it has to count. You can't take it back or wish it away." She smiled, and Dom felt like she was talking about their relationship. "Okay, everyone get ready. I want you guys to get a feel for the medium. There's turpentine up front if you run out."

And just like that, all kids went to work.

He couldn't stop his heart from swelling. She was teaching art classes to kids in the community on Saturdays. He suddenly felt stupid for intruding on her personal life and turned to leave.

It was just his luck that before he managed to get his hulking form out of the doorway, she looked up in time to see him.

"Dom?" she asked, completely caught off guard, until a knowing smirk replaced her surprise.

"Hey." He said simply, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Lost again?" she teased, remembering his first night home.

"No, again." He smiled.

"Since you're here, might as well come in. Grab a canvas and take a seat in back next to Alejandro." She ordered, arching an eyebrow, challenging him to try to get out of it.

"Yea, ok." He snorted, walking to the back, sitting next to a kid.

"Sup. My name's Dom."

"You're big."

"Yea."

"You like her?" Alejandro asked, eyeing him curiously.

"Why? Do you?" Dom asked, remembering his earlier promise regarding competition.

"Yea. We all do. That's why we come every week." He admitted.

"How old are you?"

"Twelve. How old are you?" He asked back, and Dom tilted his head.

"Old enough to date her. Keep painting, Junior." Dom summed, turning his attention to the canvas.

"You've never painted before?" Letty asked, walking up to him as he sat with brush in hand.

"Nah. I paint with a wrench, not a brush." He admitted.

"It's not so different. Dip your brush in the turpentine. Choose a color." She instructed softly, and he watched her intensely before looking away to follow her direction.

He dipped his brush in red, putting the brush to the canvas and stroked awkwardly.

"Easy." She whispered, bringing her hand to his as she guided his strokes. "It's like a bolt. You turn to hard, you strip the socket. You paint too hard, you've defeated the purpose."

"Purpose?"

"Yea, painting is therapeutic. You use your emotions as your muse. Paint what you feel." She advised, releasing his hand and walking towards another student.

Dom stared at the red on the canvas and let his mind run wild.

He missed her and he needed her. In the month he'd been home, he hadn't gotten her to budge on anything concerning their relationship. She wasn't mean or bitter with him, but she wasn't sweet on him like she had been before.

Before he knew it, his brush kept moving. It dipped into burgundy, red, then black as his hand moved swiftly, yet gently over the canvas.

Before he knew it, time was up, and the kids were packing up to leave.

"Goodbye Miss Letty!" He heard the children bid as they shuffled out of the door.

He sat staring at the picture he painted and waited until she closed the door, leaving the two of them in the room together.

"I'm surprised to see you here." She began, cleaning brushes and putting them in her case.

"I'm sorry to invade your space." He sighed from the back of the room, standing to look at her at the sink.

"No, I'm surprised it took you this long to come. I've been expecting you for weeks." She smiled. "You asked me when I came back what I've been up to. This is one of the things I started."

"I didn't know you were into art." He admitted.

"I know. There are a few things you don't know about me."

"I want to know all of those things."

"I know you do. I want you to. I just don't know where to let you in anymore." She confessed, turning to look at him.

Instead of answer her, he decided to divert attention to his painting.

"I took your advice, about the technique and it worked better. I also did what you said and let my emotion inspire me."

She set the brushes down in the sink, walking over to his canvas and let her eyes roam the painting.

"What is it?" she asked, looking at the texture in the amounts of paint he used.

"It's my heart. The black part is where you're supposed to be." He informed, watching as she looked intently at the picture. She frowned, then turned to look at him.

" I miss our friendship." She confessed.

"Maybe I can come to some classes?" He suggested. "This is good work that you're doing. I was lucky to have my dad and the garage. These kids are lucky to have you."

"Thank you. I'd like that." She smiled.


That Night, Toretto House, After Races

The music blasted through the windows as Letty pulled into the driveway. Sighing she didn't bother grabbing the box with the art supplies out. She got out, and stood in the driveway for a few moments staring at the house.

She really wasn't in the mood for festivities and alcohol and groupies. As a matter of fact, she was almost irritable that she almost had no choice.

Before she took a step towards the door, she heard a deep chuckle behind her and found Dominic sitting on the curb across the street.

Walking towards him she took in his smile and instantly calmed. He rarely smiled these days, so it made her happy to see it.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked.

"Sometimes the noise gets too loud and I have to get away. Clear my head. Inside, lots of loud noises usually meant something was being covered up. A fight? A murder? Something else. So I'm accustomed to loud noises making me defensive." He hunched, his hands clenching.

"Why don't you tell them that?" she wondered.

"Doesn't happen often. And it's something normal that they think I feel normal doing. I can't take that away from them."

"Hmm." She hunched, taking a seat next to him on the curb.

"I'm tired. I just want to get into my bed." She confessed, letting out a loud, annoyed sigh.

"I know the feeling." He replied, hinting at wanting into her bed as well.

"How was the race?" she asked, changing the subject.

"You really asking me that?" he asked arrogantly, and she saw hints of the old Dom, which made her smile through his haughtiness.

"It's just a question."

"Yea. Race went well. We're 10 G's richer tonight."

She let out a whistle, looking at him, then down to her hands as she noticed the remnants of dried paint.

"Let me." He began, grabbing her hand, rubbing the skin of her fingers as the paint slowly rolled away.

She couldn't deny the warmth at him touching her or the flutter in her tummy as his fingers slid against hers.

"What are we doing?" He asked, working the smudges of her fingers.

"We still have a lot to work on, but I don't want you to think my intentions at this split are to end it with us apart. I just need to know that I'm not gonna end up by myself when you hurt so much you can't take it or you think you need to spare me. I'm not made of glass. I'm strong. I can handle anything as long as I have your commitment." She confessed, turning to look at him.

He didn't say anything or give her a chance to say anything else. His hands slid up her neck and into her hair as he brought his lips over hers, kissing her sweetly, his tongue pushing past her teeth.

He groaned at the feeling, 'Welcome Home', finally filling him as her hands wrapped around his neck, her nails grazing down the back of his bald head.

She noted how aggressive yet gentle his kiss was, as though he were starved for her and holding back his hunger.

"Don't protect me!" she growled into him and like a chain on a caged tiger, he broke.

He leaned into her predatorily and dropped his hands to her thighs, lifting her into his lap as his hand found her breast, fondling her through her tank top.

Letty realized his tongue was so far down her throat, she almost choked.

God, nothing and everything about him had changed. He was so much bigger now than before but his ability to drench her panties with a kiss was definitely still the same.

She pulled back, gasping for breath and squealed when he didn't miss a beat and immediately latched onto the skin of her neck.

"Jesus!" she hissed, completely enraptured in his pent up passion that was quickly consuming her.

"Dom!" she gasped, almost trying to scurry off his lap to get away from the intenseness. He was having none of that.

He growled low in his throat as he grabbed at her, repositioning her in his lap so that she as straddling him as he sealed their lips together again.

Was this what he'd been walking around with? She suddenly felt like a bitch as he situated her against his chest, holding her upright against him.

"I love you." He sighed, pulling back as she gasped for air again, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Wow." She sighed, her breath catching in her throat as she swallowed.

"Yea." He agreed, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing.

"I love you too." She promised, wrapping her arms around his neck as his fingers made circles on her back. They sat together, like that for a while, until Dom stood, her body still wrapped around his as he walked towards the house.

He made his way up the stairs and into his bedroom.

When his door shut, he felt her lips on his neck then his lips as she suckled at them erotically.

"I miss your hands on me, Dom." She whimpered through her actions, as they both began clawing at the others clothing.

His first instinct was to make sure this was ok and to make sure this was what she wanted, but he was scared.

Scared of giving her a way out of her passion and scared of her stopping them. He was so starved and crazed for her, he'd turn to ash and blow away if she denied him.

As their shirts came off and then her bra, he closed his eyes in wonder at the look of her body, and then the feel of her skin as she grabbed his hands, putting them over the globes.

He massaged the flesh slowly, watching as her hair cascaded down her back as she whimpered in pleasure. Removing them, he put his hands on her waist and lifted her until her breast were eye level, taking an erect nipple into his mouth and tonguing it.

He didn't know where her pants had gone, and didn't care when he felt her legs encircle his waist, her hips gyrating against him as she sought out pleasure. He kneeled on the bed, kissing further down her body as he pulled her underwear from her hips.

She was so engrossed in his hands and mouth, neither heard the heavy footsteps coming towards his room.

Dom dipped his head down to taste her, his senses exploding as she surged against him, her juices coating his lips and tongue as he ate at her.

Before he could insert two thick fingers into her weeping center, the door to his room flew open as Mia rushed through it, immediately halting at the sight of her brother between her best friends legs and turned.

Dom pulled away, slower than Letty would have liked and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, licking his lips like a lion after dinner. Letty sat up quickly, noticing the shudder in Mia's form.

She was crying.

"I am so sorry! And really grossed out! We need you downstairs now Dom. Some ass pulled a knife and cut Vince's hand pretty deep, and now Leon 's raging, trying to find the guy. There's a lot of blood." At her sniffles and embarrassment, Mia stood still as she stared at the opposite wall, knocked slightly off balance when she felt Dom rush past her in his jeans only at the first mention of 'knife'.

"I'm decent Mia." Letty informed, pulling her pants over her hips and buckling them. "What the fuck happened?"

Letty grabbed Mia's hand, squeezing it tightly as she led the girl down the hall and back down stairs to make sure Dom didn't go back to prison.

"Letty, I'm really sorry to interrupt you guys. But I couldn't handle it on my own. We need to get Vince to the hospital."

Letty nodded in agreement, her eyes darting wildly looking for Vince. They found him out back pacing, a towel wrapped around his hand as he muttered curses to no one in particular.

"Vince! You alright coyote?" Letty asked, running over to Vince. "Who was it?"

"Some punk, drunk off his ass. Where's Dom?" he asked suddenly, worried that his brother would find himself in more trouble.

"Looking for Leon. We need to get you to the hospital." Mia summed, walking over towards her car and unlocking the doors.

"You go on Mia. I'll make sure everyone knows party is over." Letty sighed, walking back into the house and cutting the music off.

"Sorry everyone, party is over. Get the fuck out now!" she yelled, opening the front door and shooing them out. At her hard glare, no one dared challenge her as she eyed them all.

Once the house was empty, she sighed, sitting on the couch and waited.

At the sound of heavy boots, she looked up in time to see them charge through the door, Leon pissed, huffing.

"Punk ass bitch! Came into our home and pulls a weapon on one of our own?" Leon growled, pacing.

Dom looked at Letty with a small smirk, before turning his attention to Leon.

"I know you're angry. Let it go for tonight. Don't force it. Where's Vince, Letty?"

"Hospital. We should go." She said evenly, standing. "Everything ok, Le?" she asked.

"Yea baby girl. Let's go check on Coyote. I just get lost when there's violence in the home. You know what I mean." He replied back, smiling brokenly. She didn't say anything, but she nodded her head as she took Dom's hand and they all left out of the house.

"We're messy and unforgiving, Lett." Dom sighed as he started the engine. "Like what you said in class today."

"Yea, oil paint." She summed, staring out the windshield as they navigated towards the hospital.

Fin


A/N: So we didn't get them laid yet….but boy does it happen next installment! Review and enjoy!