Summary: "I can't do this without her Brian, I'm sorry but I can't. She's my best friend and we always said we'd be there for each other whenever this happened." She couldn't go through her wedding without the one girl who had been there from the very beginning.
Storyline: The LA heists happened and Jesse died. They split up before joining together again in Mexico a few months afterwards. Although Letty left a year after they reunited. The current scene is set after Fast and Furious Six. The gang are rich from Rio but Dom never killed Fenix for Letty nor did he go to London to save her. They don't know where she is.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Fast and Furious which is quite disappointing but maybe this time next year?
A/N: It has been so long since I have posted anything really. Very sorry. This has been in process for three months already and it's finally done! Enjoy.
The church stood proudly, surrounded by freshly cut green grass and blossoming flowers. The petals had escaped from their buds and now were proudly on display, giving a more cheerful air to the sometimes upsetting location. The atmosphere was peaceful, birds tweeting in their trees as the rain thankfully stayed away from the important venue and the sun provided warmth and an overall happiness to the occasion. The leaves on the trees were given a shiny coating and the old grey bricks of the church were lit up by the strong July summer sun. Outside, it was the calmest day possible, inside however was a completely different story.
Men and children ran around like headless chickens, busy preparing the inside of the church for the upcoming wedding. The chairs were all aligned in a neat formation with each and every one expiring a makeover as the back was wrapped in a hot pink mesh, the two ends tied into a big and flamboyant bow. Big, elegant flower displays had been set up by the front doors and the pink Poinsettias made the entrance a little more eccentric. Leon was currently checking in on the decorations before Mia exploded. A message from Gisele to Han had notified them of her panic and Leon had soon been sent out to reassure her.
Despite being sent to reassure, Leon was not sure that Mia would like the information sent back to her. Bows and ribbon were strewn all over the floor and three packs of balloons had yet to be blown up. Leon's eyes widened in panic and he rushed off to find Hector. Mia had invited all the old neighbourhood gang and had put them in charge of making sure the church was decorated and ready for action – a task they were obviously struggling with. Hector was currently sitting on the floor, surrounded by three children, all under the age of ten, and was trying to get them to sort the opened packets of balloons into matching coloured piles.
"Hector, buddy, it looks like nothing has been done," Leon quickly rushed out, grabbing a balloon and quickly blowing it up and passing it to Jessica so she could tie string around the end of it.
"Trust me Le, this looks a lot better than it did before we got here."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing was done. Something obviously happened yesterday, probably why we couldn't get the keys until this morning and nobody had tidied up. We spent about an hour cleaning everybody else's mess up," Hector explained, silently hoping the reason would get them out of trouble. He knew for a fact that Mia had sent Leon out and he was not keen on getting on the wrong side of Mia's fiery temper, especially today.
"I'll speak to the vicar later, let him know."
"Thanks man, look tell Mia that everything's under control and that we'll have the church exactly how she wants in time for the wedding."
"Cheers bud," Leon thanked, exchanging a brotherly hug with Hector before walking off and out of the church to deliver the news.
As Leon pulled up outside the old Toretto house, he could already hear the old nineties classics blaring out of the stereo. The living room and front bedroom windows were pushed wide open and he smiled as he heard the infamous pop of a champagne cork – he had arrived just in time for refreshments. Slamming his car door, he attracted the attention of Gisele as she stuck her head out the window, wine glass in hand as she waved him in. Leon jogged lightly to the back door and was greeted by the sight of Rosa holding a struggling Nico as he tried to pull at the wedding shirt he had been placed in.
Leon pulled a face at the child and grabbed at his cheeks, smiling as the two year old reached out his chubby hands for his uncle. Rosa passed him over to Leon who received him with welcoming arms, cooing at the baby as he made his way upstairs. Giggling could be heard from the top of the stairs and Leon tapped his knuckles on the bedroom door, trying to avoid a repeat of the previous week when he had burst into the bathroom just as Gisele had been getting into the shower. Least to say, neither her or Han was happy with his antics, even though they happened to be accidental.
"Come in," Mia's voice floated through the door.
Leon pushed open the door and was automatically met with a flurry of questions. Ignoring the natter, he turned to the enfant in his arms and whispered, 'women, always asking questions. Stick by me yeah buddy?' Leon held out his hand for a fist bump and casually moved it to bump into Nico's fist, making an enthusiastic face as he did so.
"Leon, how is the Church?" Mia asked. She had been worried that they would not get it all set up in time.
"Mia, stop worrying. The Church is fine and everything is going according to plan. Now all I need is for you to doll up that pretty little face of yours so you can walk down the aisle."
Mia gave Leon a mock salute and he turned away, placing Nico in the awaiting arms of Rosa before waving goodbye and heading down the stairs. Running through the kitchen, he swiped a cookie form the plateful on the kitchen counter and slowly bit into it, instantly groaning as the slightly gooey insides covered his teeth. Leon finished the cookie and wiped his hands down his front before pulling out his car keys and sliding into the vehicle. He really hoped that Hector would pull everything together.
Jack gurgled as Roman tickled his tummy, the older man gripping onto the small rolls of baby fat as Jack tipped his head back and let out a string of baby-like giggles. Roman stared at the young boy in admiration before attacking his mid-riff again, this time gently running his fingers down the front of Jack's bare stomach. An incident with a tub of yogurt and Jack's desire to feed himself was responsible for the shirt removal as the top was coated in a thick layer of food. Brian had just been thankfully he had decided to feed him before Jack was dressed in his smart tuxedo.
Dom poked his head out of the patio door and smiled as Roman interacted with his nephew. Making his way over to the pair, Dom prepared himself to cover Jack's eyes in a reversal of the young boy's favourite game – peek-a-boo. Dom crept up behind the boy, offering a quick thumbs up to Roman and pressing a finger to his lips in an indication to be silent. Roman gave a small nod to Dom in acknowledgement and continued to entertain Jack as Dom slowly inched closer towards the pair.
"Ahh, I got you," Dom said as he clamped his hands around Jack's eyes. The young toddler squealed with delight as he pried Dom's hands away from his face, staring at them intensely before pulling on them to make Dom walk around into his line of vision.
"Brian still panicking?" Roman asked Dom as he watched the muscular man pull silly faces at his nephew.
"Yeah, you know how he is. He wants things to be perfect for Mia. Starting to think he sent Leon for his own reassurance along with Mia's." Roman laughed with Dom before turning his head abruptly to the sound of an incoming car. The vehicle came to smooth stop as the experienced driver exited the car and jogged over to the trio, instantly smiling at Jack as he exchanged bro-hugs and high fives with Dom and Roman.
"Hey man, where's Groomzilla?" Leon asked, looking around for any sightings of the worrying groom.
"Upstairs with Han, when I came out Han was trying to convince Brian that the ties matched the colours of Jack's blanket."
"Well, bit of a problem," Leon said before carrying on at Roman's signal to hurry up. "Church is a state. Hector said that the last people didn't get rid of their sh- things before leaving last night. Apparently, they spent an hour cleaning up before they even started on our decor and to be honest, I'm not sure if they'll pull it off."
"Come on Le, have a little faith. Hector's never let us down before," Dom mentioned, reminding himself and Leon of the countless times Hector had saved their asses or set them up with the 'wannabes', also known as easy money and good reputation builders.
"Yeah, I guess. Just fingers crossed yeah," Leon replied, still anxious in the ability of Hector and his team. He knew they would work their hardest yet the time window was slowly decreasing and there seemed to be an awful lot to do.
"Fingers crossed."
Roman lifted Jack out of the high chair and situated him on his hip, announcing to the group that it was time to 'get the little man ready and prepare him for his role of heartbreaker'. Dom gave Roman a 'seriously man' look and Roman held up his only free hand before heading into the house, loudly talking to Jack as he went. Leon turned to follow before Dom grabbed his arm and pulled him back until Leon was standing directly in front of him. Dom's height would have intimidated a stranger but Leon's close friendship to the friendly giant eliminated any threat.
"I want to know seriously, how bad?" Dom asked, knowing Leon had dimmed down the effect for the sake of Roman, aware that Roman wouldn't be able to lie to Brian if asked.
"The chairs are almost done but the walls look like they haven't even been started and the dedication table hasn't even been set up. And if it's being set up where I think it is, there's a huge pile of trash from the previous guests."
"This is not good," Dom muttered as he rubbed a hand over his bald head. Small beads of sweat were starting to accumulate along his forehead through the stress of the situation and the factor of the bright sun was not helping.
"Look, we've got two hours. Let's just crack open a few beers and relax for a bit then in an hour we'll ring Hector up or I'll drive down and just see how it's going," Leon told Dom, his companion slowly nodding as he explained his plan.
"Okay, fine."
Mia relaxed into the cushioned chair as her head tilted back against the frame of the seat. Her brown eyes were closed as Gisele ran her fingers through the Italian girl's hair, detangling it as she reached over to grab a comb in order to tackle a rather large tangle. Mia hummed in content as the Israeli's long fingernails slowly massaged her scalp while the last of the water droplets dripped onto the floor, creating a small pile that slowly sunk into the carpet. Gisele grabbed the hair blow dryer and flicked the switch, a gush of hot air blasting onto Mia's head.
"Do you think Leon was telling the truth?" Mia asked, her eyes still closed as Gisele moved the hairdryer from side to side to avoid burning Mia's scalp.
"About the church? Yeah, from what I have heard, Hector seems to be unwilling to let you down."
"I suppose."
Gisele smiled gently at Mia's words before the corners of her lips turned that smile into a smirk. "And if all else fails, I bet Dom is more than willing to leave a few lasting reminders of your wedding day."
"He better not. For once, it's him behind my shadow and not the other way round," Mia said, making reference to the many years where Dom was 'top dog' and she had just been the fit sister who was out of bounds to everyone that looked, let only touched.
Gisele laughed as she blasted Mia's hair with a cold gush of air for the finishing touches before flicking off the switch and placing the hair dryer on the edge of the bedside cabinet. She picked up the comb and smoothed down Mia's locks, trying to avoid them going frizzy before she styled her hair. Mia reached over to the side and grabbed her glass of champagne, taking sip. Gisele clicked her fingers in a teasing way and Mia grabbed Gisele's glass, passing it back to her as a bright smile covered her face.
"I'm thinking natural hair and minimal make-up. Let the dress do the talking," Gisele commented, perching herself against the window sill as she peeked her head out the window, watching as Nico ran into the front garden, an angry looking Rosa dashing madly after him.
"I can agree on that. As my hair and make-up person for the day, you can just go with what feels right. I know you wouldn't go crazy and that," Mia said, before adding an afterthought. "You wouldn't do that, would you?"
Gisele laughed. "No way, you are going to look stunning. I think just basic foundation, bit of eyeliner, obviously no flicks, and mascara."
"Don't forget the smoky eyes. I want to blow him away."
"Well then, let's start the process of making you into even more beautiful. Once I'm finished with you, you'll be stunning."
"Hour's up, Leon let's go," Dom ordered, his voice rough as he rose to his feet and grabbed his car keys off the side.
"Hold up, where are you going?" Brian asked from his seat on the sofa. Jack was currently dozing on his lap and Brian did not want to move and jostle him. All hell could break loose if the little man was awoken from his sleep too early.
"Just a little something for the wedding, don't worry about it. Leon, let's move."
Once Leon had pounded down the stairs and said a quick goodbye to the boys, him and Dom were off, Leon riding shotgun as Dom tore down the streets. He pulled up next to the church and was out the door before the car even halted to a stop, shooting off towards the entrance, calling Hector's name as he went. Dom had already made it inside the church by the time Leon had even made it out of the car and the slower man closed shut his door before jogging after Dom, silently praying that Hector had kept his promise and sorted it out, for both their sakes.
"Hector, I hope you've-" Dom let his voice trail off as he was met with the inside of the church. He had seen the pink Poinsettias positioned by the front doors but had deemed them as 'hardly difficult'. It was only when he saw right inside that he realised the effort and organisation behind the decoration.
All the chairs had now been positioned by the side of the aisle, each an equal distance away from each other with every chair bearing a hot pink bow at the back. The Poinsettias at the entrance were now not the only flower decorations as the white pillars down the far sides of the church had been decorated with the pink flowers, the stems winding up the thick posts. Extra flowers had been pushed into the vines, adding colour all the way up as opposed to just the original circle of flowers whilst the vines added a Midsummer Night's Dream influence into the old Church.
The balloons had now been all blown up and grouped together, a mixture of different shades of pink bunched together and tied together with simple silver string. One of the strings had been attached to a weight, the mass holding the bundle to the ground as they stood at the end of every other row of chairs until they reached the front of the Church. The previous rubbish had all been swept to the side and the only reminder was two black bags that were currently being dragged out of the Church, only actually noticeable by the loud jostling that came along with it.
"Hector," Dom started before trailing off, he really was speechless. "I don't know what to say."
"Something along the lines of, I have more than a few six-packs waiting for you after the wedding, will do absolutely fine," Hector joked, looking around to admire his handy work.
"You can have more than a few six-packs for this work," Dom joked back, finally finding his voice again. "But seriously man, thank you. Mia is going to love you forever."
"Hey, what about me?" Leon interrupted, looking slightly offended.
"And what exactly did you do?"
"I blew up a balloon," Leon said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"How generous of you," Hector said before turning to Dom. "If you think you've seen it all, trust me you haven't."
Hector turned and started to walk down the aisle, tracing the steps that Mia would be taking in a matter of hours. The walkway looked even more impressive as the width gave enough space for both Mia and her companion, along with the slight puff in her dress. However, it was not the aisle that had Dom's complete attention as him, Hector and Leon neared the end of the aisle.
"Oh my God."
The dedication table stood proudly to the left of the centre and on it rested five framed photographs, each frame painted white with Poinsettias wrapped around the bottom, the frames perched one next to the other on the table. A candle was placed next to each picture as five bright, smiling faces beamed out to the crowd. Four of the five photos were recognisable to Dom, him having known them all in person and he had had an incredible bond with them for at least a few years. The fifth photo however was not unknown to Dom but he had never met her, her personality a mystery although her presence complimented the rest perfectly.
"Dom, man. Mia is going to love this," Leon said, blinking quickly to banish the tears that wanted to crawl out of his eyes.
"Hector, again I don't know what to say. Thank you for making this so spectacular."
"Trust me, there's no one else I would dream of doing this for except you brother, Mia deserves it."
There was hustle and bustle in the old Toretto house, last minute preparations being made and Rosa's last-ditch attempt to get a grass stain off Nico's shirt. She knew that it had been a bad idea to put him into the shirt so early but she needed to get his dressing out of the way before she could dress herself. It was far too complicated trying to get herself and a two year old boy dressed and ready, especially if Mia needed help with any aspect of her dress, after all, she was the bride. Rosa scrubbed the shirt one last time before holding it up to the sunlight, sighing in defeat and quickly pushing it into the tumble drier and whacking it on full heat.
Upstairs Mia was shifting the top of the dress around her bust to make it a bit more comfortable before letting her arms drop to her side and turning sideways to look at herself in the mirror. The strapless dress complemented her skin tone perfectly and a sharp gasp could be heard as the door clicked shut. Mia turned at the sound to see Gisele standing there with her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide as she held back the tears gathering her eyes, speechless at the beauty presented in front of her.
"Oh Mia, you look gorgeous," Gisele said as she walked over to Mia. Her helping hand with the hair and make-up made Mia look even more stunning.
"You think?"
"I think? I know."
"I can't believe this is actually happening," Mia said. "We've been planning it for a while but it's never felt this real before. It's like everything is sinking in at once."
"Not chickening out are you?" Gisele asked, silently worried.
"Of course not, wouldn't dream of it," Mia quickly reassured before taking another glance at herself in the mirror.
"You do truly look gorgeous. Now final touches."
Gisele grabbed the lip gloss from the side and gently pushed Mia back into her seat, standing over her and taking her brush out her tube. Making a pout with the instruction for Mia to repeat it, Gisele layered on a generous coat of the pale pink gloss before telling Mia to rub her lips together and giving her a quick smile. Gisele took a step back to admire Mia in her full beauty as the bride pushed herself out of the chair, taking a deep breath before reaching over and grabbing her champagne and downing the last half of the glass, her last alcoholic drink as a single woman.
Rosa rushed into the room and gave the same reaction as Gisele, a sharp gasp and the action of her hand flying to her mouth. Muttered Portuguese spun from her mouth as she circled around Mia, looking at her from a three-hundred-and-sixty degree angle, a tear managing to slide down her cheek as she smoothly stroked Mia's cheek in a motherly way. Suddenly snapping to attention, Rosa took a step back and wiped the tears from her own face, pointing a finger at Mia.
"Right, you need to get to the Church. You can't be late to your own wedding. I just need to put a shirt on Nico and we'll be ready to go. You get your shoes on and I'll get Nico ready," Rosa instructed, smiling at Mia and Gisele before rushing down the stairs, calling Nico's name.
"Listen to the lady Mia."
Gisele acted for a support to Mia as she slipped on her shoes, the white, four-inch heels giving her more height. Mia grabbed her flowers from the box and held them in her hands, turning to look in the mirror for one last glance before becoming a married woman and an official O' Connor. As Mia walked down the stairs, Rosa pulled the shirt over Nico, his teddy in his hand as he sucked his thumb. Rosa picked the boy up and situated him on her hip and walked towards Mia and Gisele.
"Let's go get you married then."
Brian and Roman stood at the front of the aisle, both dressed in top of the range suits as they waited for the future to start. The guests had filled their seats and had become engrossed in their own conversations, the chatter filling the potential silence. Brian wrung his hands together, his fingers linked as he shifted his weight from side to side, anxious for the ceremony to start. He had every confidence that Mia would arrive looking gorgeous after all she looked stunning in everything yet he wanted to see her in the flesh, firstly so he could admire her beauty and secondly so they could finally be hitched.
"Man would you please stand still," Roman hissed while pulling faces at Jack, making the little boy laugh.
"I can't help it, I just want this to happen already."
"Gee, I don't think I would have been able to work that one out myself," Roman said, earning him a look from Brian. "Just chill out bro."
"How can I chill out when we were supposed to start twenty minutes ago?" Brian asked, lifting his eyebrows as if to prove a point.
"You know Mia, she's never on time for anything, especially when it involves getting ready."
Brian laughed. "Yep, you're right there man."
Roman went to open in mouth to reply when he was cut off by the sound of Here Comes The Bride pouring out the church's organ. The guests stopped all conversation and stood up, all eager to catch a glimpse of the bride. Tej quickly dashed across to the other side of the aisle to join Brian and Roman, his job of moving the balloons back into place after one of the younger guests had decided to move them all put on hold. Tej and Roman both offered Brian confident smiles before Tej picked up Jack and waited for Mia to walk down the aisle, accompanied by Dom.
Outside the church doors, Gisele was making the final adjustments to Mia's hair as Dom held the chief bridesmaid's flowers. Gisele stepped away from the perfected bride and grabbed her flowers from Dom before going to stand next to Rosa and Nico at the doors. The plan was that Nico would enter the church first, followed by Gisele and Rosa and then finally Dom and Mia. Since the only presence of Anthony Toretto was on the dedication table, Dom had taken up the task of walking his baby sister up the aisle.
"You ready for this?" Dom asked his sister.
"I'm ready," she replied.
The sound of the music drifted through the church doors and Rosa and Gisele pushed the heavy wood forward, revealing themselves to the crowd. Nico automatically set off at a fast pace, earning his laughs and smiles from the crowd as he showed his toothy grin. As Nico ran to the front row, Gisele and Rosa started to walk forward, earning themselves wolf-whistles and a particularly loud one from Han. The guests once again erupted into laughter before quieting down as Mia and Dom took their first steps down the aisle.
Mia hung tightly onto Dom's arm as they walked, her legs shaking whilst they walked slowly up the carpet. Dom glanced at his sister and his heart automatically swelled. His baby sister was walking away from the roost yet he was happy for it to happen because he knew that she was going to a good place, where she would be loved and cared for, exactly like he loved and cared for his sister himself. So when they approached the end of the aisle, Dom gladly handed his sister's arm to her future husband so she could start her new life.
"Good luck," he whispered before taking his place.
Mia looked at Brian and together they smiled, joined once more as their hands joined in unison. As they enjoyed the moment together, a thought suddenly struck Mia and she began to look around, panic on her face as she pulled on Brian's hands to get a look around the church to find one particular person within their guests. Yet she could not find them.
"She's not here is she?" Mia asked, tears coming to her eyes as she realised the one person she wanted to be there desperately had not turned up.
"I'm sorry. I thought she'd come," Brian said apologetically.
"I can't do this without her Brian, I'm sorry but I can't. She's my best friend and we always said we'd be there for each other whenever this happened."
"Mia, please don't do this."
"I'm sorry," Mia said as she turned to walk away.
"Mi, I am so sorry I'm late."
And there she stood, with rosy cheeks and box in hand the one they had all been looking for.
Letty Ortiz.
R&R.
Chapter 2 will be up soon (it's already written which is why it took so long).
Sympathy welcome, I take my real French GCSE on Monday. Eek.
