Force of Gravity

pairing Dominic Toretto/Brian O'Conner
word count 1,358
summary Mia has always had this thing on her eyes when she was lying. Dom knew her damn too well to be fouled by anything she would come out with and he never hided.

Mia has always had this thing on her eyes when she was lying. Dom knew her damn too well to be fouled by anything she would come out with and he never hided. All the time they were forced to be together – even before they truly cared about each other – Mia knew her brother could read her as a piece of paper left behind.

It wasn't what she would call a good feeling. Even though she trusted his brother he was always caring for him too much either and it kept her in a vulnerable position. What if he knew every single thing about her and she never gets the change of knowing him at all? She wouldn't be a liar, at least not by lying for herself – she loves Dominic. She can't even pretend she doesn't. But everybody loves him, it's predictable that the person who is always by his side loves him too – more than everyone else.

But the vulnerability was in loving him more than everyone else but for the same reasons: For being a tuff guy, best pilot around and way too scary. This was the Dominic everybody falls for and sure as hell, this wasn't her brother.

And that's was exactly what she was thinking when he made that question and she refused to look into his eyes.

"Do you trust him?" Dominic questioned her.

She has just spent the night with Brian. He has gone to take care of his things, she couldn't tell what, and she was arriving home when Dom looked at her from the sofa and asked the damn question. What would she say? "Yes, I do" would be a lie. The worst kind of it and Dom, oh, he would see it clearly in her eyes. But this was never about Brian being a cop or Brian being a newbie around there. She couldn't care less, she trusted him about it.

The thing is, women know when men are making love with them or loving them. She could tell everything that was in Brian's mind while he was touching her, kissing her, and it never had anything to do with her at all. She couldn't say she trusted a man who lied her down while thinking about someone else – about her own brother.

"Why do you bother?" She answered it with a question because that's what you do when you can't affirm anything.

But damn, Dom could read her as a piece of paper, couldn't he?

"You don't." He got up and looked straight into her eyes. It was like being invaded – it hurt. She wished she could step back but Dom wouldn't play nice if she acted like a coward so she kept standing there while her heart was slowing breaking inside her chest.

"I didn't say that." She tried. "I asked you why do you bother because it's not like it's your business at all."

"You're my business, y'know that." He replied so immediately that she could almost believe.

But she wouldn't, so she headed to the stairs and said – a bit too hurt for it to be only about an almost fight with her brother – "Don't treat me like that, Dom."

And while trying to sleep, avoiding the thought that Dominic had never the guts to go up after her and tell her she was being stupid – tell her he wasn't doing what she was thinking he was – Mia concentrated on the fake words Brian has said to her just to see if that way they could become true.

"Dom's like gravity. Everything just gets pulled to him. Even you."

"No, the only thing that pulled me in was you."

(Just to see if that way they – Brian and Mia – could become true.)

Dominic spent the day in the living room. Sometimes a suicidal though would cross his mind but it was always too extreme to be relevant. Sometimes he would just wish he had the guts to get up and go find Brian, kill him for what he has been doing to him and his sister. But he was too afraid to admit for himself Brian was doing anything. Even though Brian knew it, Mia knew it and every one of them knew Dominic was a part of that mess too, admitting was too much. Too much for everyone, too much for him.

Hours went through and Dom was there, staring at the television, getting one beer after another from Letty. He was sure she asked him some things – about the garage, about the cars, about love, about Mia – but he hasn't turned to face her and answer. What would he say? He was being a shitty boyfriend, he was being a shitty friend – Vince couldn't still talk to him properly – and not to begin with the brother's part.

He had no excuse and he couldn't find one because while his sister was crying in the top floor and his girlfriend was getting more and more pissed at him, the only thing he could care to think was what time would Brian drop by that day. If he would drop by at all.

"Brian called." Letty said. "But Mia didn't wanna talk to him. Would you tell me what's going on? What did you say to her?"

She was being polite – probably because she has already asked it – and the pain in her voice made Dom notice how lost she was feeling. He blamed himself for letting her in the dark and looked at her, gazes meeting so lightly it was a picture of the fragility they were in these days.

"That's not big deal. She'll be fine."

Letty sit by his side and took his hand which made him think if he was looking that bad, and she kissed it slowly (but deeply). Enough to realize she was asking for cherish.

He held her close, she laying her head on his chest, and the love they both had for each other since forever was trusted to heal their bruises.

But Dom knew Letty, she wasn't the kind of woman who would sit and wait for healing. She needed to mess with the blood and dirty and get things fixed the right way, so it wouldn't get ugly again. She couldn't accept it when Dominic refused to talk about the things he didn't want to.

"That's not what I asked. I know she'll be fine, I wanna know why she isn't fine right now."

He closed his eyes. There was no answer he could give her.

And he didn't know when he started being a man who can't say the things he feels because he is too ashamed of being who he is.

"I don't know." He simply answered and became a liar to his own girlfriend, to his own bridge.

"I know I've said to you she was big enough to make her own choices and mistakes. I still think she is but.." She stopped for a second.

Dominic couldn't believe what she was going to do because Letty was never stupid – she knew what was happening – and she never chose to hide anything or avoid. She came here and hugged him with only one intention and now she was backing off.

Letty turned around to look on his face and said the last words, blamed the wrong person. "But I think you should talk to Brian. He's no good to her and I don't want him to be around anymore."

"Sentence was delivered", Dominic thought, "And now he has to go".

And Letty won. Because that way was easier, that way there was no need for a fight.

Mia would die eventually because Jesse would arrive after Dominic went searching for him (there was no Brian to stop him) and she would go outside to hug her friend right when Tran would shoot the house.

There would be tears on Dom's eyes when they burry Mia with Vince by his side (and there would be no Brian to touch his shoulder and say everything's gonna be fine) and he would realize he has done the right thing.

Letty would be his girl. They would have babies and buy a house in a Mexico's beach with the money that has left from the cars they have stolen.

And they would never ever be happy.

sorry for... but we know that's not how it goes, right? hoping you like it ;)