All I Got Was A Crappy T-Shirt?
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the figments of my own imagination.
Summary: Dom finds out that Letty is alive, and goes to Berlin to find her. (This was started long before spoilers for Fast Six began, so most of it will be surrounding their past, and not necessarily what's been mentioned.)
Chapter 4
In the morning when Dom woke up, he was alone. And every trace of Letty had been removed from the room. There was a small pile of cash on the dresser and a cell phone on top – and the dress that he had ripped off her the night before was tossed next to it. He cursed under his breath, and only managed to pull on his boxers before storming into Leon's room to wake the sleeping man roughly.
"Where the fuck is Letty?" he snarled.
Leon just blinked in confusion. "What? Where's Letty?"
"She's gone. Letty cleared out her shit, and she's fucking gone!"
Leon shoved the covers back and stumbled out of bed to the other bedroom and yanked back the area rug and pulled up a few loose floor boards. The space was empty. "She took her gun and the emergency cell phone", he said flatly as he stood up and kicked things back into place.
"What the fuck does that mean?" Dom growled tensely.
"That she probably went looking for trouble", Leon answered seriously. "Look, Dom, you ain't been here long, man, so I'm just gonna say it straight out. Let's kinda fucked up, has been for a while… and you showing up outta the blue… I'll call Adriane and see if we can trace her. She's been getting careless lately, and I've been digging around trying to pull us all out of this mess. Whatever she thinks she's got to prove isn't worth all this."
"This is mostly my fault", Dom acknowledged quietly. "Anything you need me to do, say the word."
Leon nodded before disappearing into his room again and slamming the door.
Dom to another visual inventory of the room and glared at the cash. Letty's version of a 'fuck you', he decided aggravatedly.
She was his woman, and he loved her – would do anything for her, but she was also his best friend. And when he found her again, he was going to kick her ass.
00
When Letty wasn't outside waiting for him at the curb when he pulled up to the high school, he groaned and pulled into the parking lot and headed inside to look for her. Or, more specifically, he was looking for a crowd of rowdy teenagers watching Letty swing fists at some unfortunate instigator… maybe he should try the principal's office first…
But he turned a corner and found what he was looking for: a fight.
A quick sigh of relief and annoyance escaped his mouth when he saw that Letty was fighting with Martina – again. It wasn't one of the senior boys this time, but that might have been in her favor. There was five months before graduation, and Dom thought sometimes that Letty was doing her damndest to get expelled before she could get her diploma.
He looked around curiously for any signs of authority figures, but saw none. They were probably peering through the Plexiglas rectangles on their doors waiting for it to be over so they could go home.
Dom raised his voice over the raucous and shoved the crowd back from the battle. Martina lived in the neighborhood behind theirs, and could be even rougher around the edges than Letty sometimes. They had been fighting since Martina transferred sophomore year. He didn't even want to know how this had started, but he was sure as shit ending it. Now.
His fingers caught in the belt loop of Letty's cargo pants, and he yanked her behind him almost roughly as he stepped between the enraged girls.
"Enough!" he demanded tersely. He glared at the lingering onlookers. "Show's over", he growled. "Get out of here."
He fought back a grin as he heard Letty cursing in Spanish under her breath behind him as the crowd dispersed. "Let, get your shit", he growled over his shoulder.
Her fingers dug into his back hard as she tried to get around him. "I'm gonna give her a fuckin' black eye first!" she snarled.
Dom spoke before Martina opened her mouth to antagonize Letty further.
"No one is asking you two to get along", he rolled his eyes exasperatedly. When the hell did he turn into a counselor? "Just stay the fuck away from each other."
He turned to leave and take Letty with him, but she lunged again, and he hoisted her roughly over his shoulder. "Knock it off", he warned.
Someone cleared their throat behind him and Letty groaned loudly. "Shit."
"Miss Ortiz", Mr. Reynolds said dryly.
"Mr. Principal, sir", she muttered, giving a mock salute, appearing like she wasn't completely uncomfortable slung over Dom's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
Dom sighed exasperatedly as he turned around. "Shut up for once, Letty, would you?"
Mr. Reynolds ignored her sarcasm and glanced towards the lockers. "Miss Sanchez, my office now", he said sternly before turning back to them as Martina scurried down the hall. "Mr. Toretto, you are aware you have graduated, correct? By the skin of your teeth, but you did receive a diploma. What are you doing here?"
"Just getting this one out of your-" a discreet glance at the principal's balding head forced him to go in a different direction, "school, for the day. So, if you'll excuse us…" he leaned slightly and grabbed Letty's backpack from the floor where it had been disregarded in the tussle.
Letty smacked his back. "Put me down, asshole!" she demanded.
He slapped her ass quickly in retaliation and she shrieked with indignation, letting out a string of Spanish curse words that nearly made his ears burn. Mr. Reynolds looked like he was planning painful deaths for both of them. He just pulled out a pad of pink slips and signed one before handing it to Dominic.
"She has another week of detention", Mr. Reynolds says pointedly.
"Of fucking course I do", Letty grumbled.
Dom almost snickered, but just dropped Letty unceremoniously to her feet. She punched his chest hard. He had just smacked her ass in front of the principal. Then she leaned up on her toes and caught his mouth in an indecent kiss that lasted all of three seconds, but it was enough for Dom's higher brain functions to leave until he realized what she had done.
He shoved her towards the door ahead of him before she got another week of detention for PDA, and followed her down the hallway and to the parking lot which was now nearly empty. They were silent until they got into his car and he started the engine. Letty rolled down her window and propped her elbow against the sill, twirling the string of gum in her mouth around her finger. He stared at her pointedly.
"What?"
"Give me my fucking gum back, you bitch", he laughed.
She jabbed his side roughly. "Don't call me a bitch." But she held it between her teeth and let him lean over to take it from her with his own mouth. "What's with the Juicy Fruit?" she complained.
He rolled his eyes. "Mia."
"Oh", she chuckled and grabbed her sunglasses out of the glove box. Mia always depleted their Big Red, and switched it with her favorite.
Dominic sighed and gave her a look of frustration. "Jesus Christ, Letty, it's only Tuesday. Didn't you get sent home early Friday? Are you trying to get expelled?"
She stared out the window and chose not to acknowledge his anger. "Don't swear", she murmured.
He raised an eyebrow and finally pulled onto the street. "What, like you're such a good little Catholic girl?"
She glared at him over her shades. "I didn't say that. I said 'don't swear'. We do enough cursing without taking the Lord's name in vain."
He grunted a nonverbal agreement and kept driving.
"Your house empty?" he questioned as he neared their block.
"Yeah… why?" she asked warily.
"Because I'd rather you get cleaned up before we go to the garage", he rolled his eyes. "And everyone's always in and out of my house."
"I'm fine", she muttered. "Just go to the garage."
"Uh-huh, and when we're done, I'm gonna have to scrub the oil, grease, and garage dust out of your scrapes", he said sarcastically. "And you're gonna whine and bitch like a six year old."
"Alright", she snapped. "Drop me off at my place and I'll walk over to the garage in a bit."
"Because you rock at a First Aid Kit", he shot her a look, "Quit being stupid."
"Dominic-"
"Letty, just shut up, would you?"
She stared out her window, mouth twitching in amusement. "Fine, but we're not best friends anymore", Letty teased, then nearly screamed when he squeezed her knee in her ticklish spot.
0
Twenty minutes and a few phone calls later, Leon went back into Letty's room and crouched on the floor to look under the bed.
Dominic just stared in confusion. "What the hell are you doing?"
Leon snorted and tugged out a large duffle bag and stood to drop it on the bed. "Good news, bad news", he said blandly. "Good news? I know where Letty is. She had a business arrangement this morning, and now she's back at the warehouse. Bad news…" he gestured to the duffle pointedly. "That's all her stuff. She's fucking with you."
Dom glared at the bag. "I'm gonna kill her", he muttered.
"She's Letty, and she's pissed that you left her", Leon pointed out. "Weren't you expecting this?"
"Point taken", Dom admitted. "I just didn't think she'd be so bitchy after she got a few punches in."
Leon grinned. "Did I mention she's pissed?"
"Yeah, well now so am I. So, we're gonna have it out. And if I have to glue her ass to a chair until she listens to sound logic, I will."
"You know", Leon grimaced, "I think I'll find something to do today that doesn't involve going to the warehouse. You want me to clear the place out? We can do some recon today instead."
Dom raised an eyebrow. "That might be a good idea."
0
"You're pretty pleased with yourself, aren't you?"
Letty was under the hood of her car when Dom got to the garage that Leon had cleared out with a text message.
"I don't know what you're talking about", she answered, voice echoing slightly when she didn't lift her head.
"That wasn't funny, Leticia", he warned darkly.
Out of sight, her mouth twisted. "Would you quit talking like my dad did before I got put over his knee?" she said dryly.
"You know-" he started teasingly.
"Don't even", she hissed.
"Would you come out of there so we can have an adult conversation", Dominic demanded roughly.
She continued working for another few minutes before cursing and pulling back with a groan. She glanced at him, trying to rein in her lemon face, and gestured under the hood. "Can you- the piston's fried", she complained. "I'm really sick of staring at it."
He smirked and walked over, bumping her out of the way easily with a hip-check. "You've got grease on your face", he offered mildly. He stared at the piston rings for about five seconds and looked back at her. "They're fucking fried."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I noticed that. Can you loosen the bolts? I'll put in the replacement later."
"I'm guessing I shouldn't ask why you're running your car so hard?" he said offhandedly.
"Nope", she called over her shoulder as she rummaged through a few boxes to find her replacement part.
"Of course not", he murmured sarcastically from under the hood of her car.
"I heard that!"
"You were supposed to!"
Letty chuckled suddenly coming back to stand next to him with her piece. "We're out of practice."
His lips curved upward slightly and he passed her the bolts he had gotten off. "Let's get that in; then we'll talk."
0
A bit later they had finished up and were washing up at the utility tub, Dom spoke.
"You want to explain to me why you thought that stunt of yours this morning was necessary?" he demanded flatly, "Because I'm running out of patience with your bullshit."
"My bullshit?" she repeated incredulously, arching an eyebrow in the same way that she had taught his sister when they were growing up.
He glared. "Mother of god- yes, I left you to keep you safe. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean I was wrong. I wasn't exactly thrilled about it either. Do you honestly think I wanted to leave you? You want to be pissed. Fine, I get it. But you need to stop trying to torture me for it. Because you let me think you were dead, Letty. And everything else pretty much pales in comparison. How could you do that to me?"
"That wasn't on purpose", she muttered half-heartedly. "I barely got away when Fenix tried to kill me. I just ran, Dom. I needed to find somewhere safe."
He crossed his arms over his chest and eyed her dubiously. "Yeah, about that", he drawled. "You almost got taken out by a guy running his car on nitro-meth? That's pretty fuckin' lame, Let."
She burst out laughing in surprise. "Oh shit."
"Reckless", he accused seriously.
"I know", she admitted quietly. "I was pissed and on a mission – you know how I get. But at least I left cities in tact when I passed through", she smirked.
He smiled somewhat sheepishly. "Free pass?" Dom suggested.
She shrugged. "Make it two."
He gave a long-suffering sigh, "Fine."
Letty rolled her eyes. "Anything else?" she asked sarcastically.
He raised both eyebrows. "You know, I'm kind of… disgustedly intrigued that you've got yourself a boy toy."
She blinked, "I've got a what now?"
"Would you like me to refer to him as 'that guy whose nuts are going to get shot off if he tries to touch you ever again'? And mixing business with pleasure? That's just plain stupid."
"Let's get one thing straight, pal", Letty glared. "My vagina did not join a nunnery just because your dick wasn't available. Get over it!"
Dom laughed abruptly. "How do you expect me to take you seriously when you talk like that?"
She groaned. "You're an ass. It's been almost two years. I never thought I would see you again. You don't get to judge my sex life."
His hand landed purposefully on her rear when he grabbed her, pulling her roughly to him. "Your ass is mine", he said seriously.
"Oh, you think so, huh?"
"No question about it", he said firmly. "And possession is nine-tenths of the law."
She smirked. "Since when do I follow the rules?"
"Let, we need to talk."
"I know."
00
It wasn't until a few days later, when Letty came back to the flat with Leon yelling after her angrily in German that Dom began to realize something was really wrong.
He cornered Leon, who was just angry enough to share the details. Dom realized he needed to change his tactics. He had been more than ready to just fight it out with his best friend, but after his conversation with Leon, Dom wasn't sure that was possible.
0
"What happened?"
Leon sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. "She's acting stupid", he answered finally. "Pure, deluded stupidity. She's going to get herself killed."
"Le, you're gonna have to spell it out for me", Dominic said tiredly.
"She's tired, man", Leon shook his head. "She's got no fight left in her for any of this. You broke her heart when you left her. Letty just wants to feel alive again. You know how we got into this shit?"
Dom raised an eyebrow in question.
"She was bored", Leon said flatly. "You left her and she's been fucked up ever since. She literally became someone else. And when she found out about Vince, she's only gotten more reckless. Her fire is gone, bro. She can put up a good tough act… but do me a favor and be careful with her. She's hurting."
00
A/N: Wow! Okay. So… was this believable? Yes, no… like a unicorn? Let me know what you think. Thanks for the reviews so far!