Life in the Empire
Summary: A/U. Dom and Letty have a different life in the City of Angels.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the 'FAF' franchise, or anything that may be vaguely similar to this story. Hold on, maybe if I yell into this large, empty cavern, some writers or actors might be in there… Nope! Sorry.
Rated: M for content and language
A/N: Well, I'm glad you guys like this so far! Thanks for the reviews, guys!
Chapter 6
Dom and Letty had slept in the next morning. Theresa had gone to her own home, and Mia had gone with her for the night for some mother/daughter bonding. Theresa had told Letty and Dominic to take a break the next day and come to the hospital later in the afternoon.
That was how they found themselves on their balcony making lunch on the grill just after twelve.
"God, I fuckin' love L.A.", she sighed happily as she stepped out onto the balcony with two more beers after her quick shower.
Dom grinned at her over his shoulder. "You're welcome." He took in her outfit appreciatively. If he didn't know better, he might think Mia had wrangled her into the outfit. But he knew his fiancé had a style all her own.
She had dressed in a white, spaghetti strap baby-doll top with a dark purple ribbon around the high waist with faded jean shorts that showed off her shapely legs, and her hair fell in a wavy, dark waterfall down her back.
"Hey. What have I told you about taking credit for shit you didn't do?" she teased.
He just smirked. "If it weren't for me, I'm pretty sure your ass would be freezing in New York right now."
Her mouth twisted. "Okay, I'll give you this one."
Letty approached him, arms sliding around his waist from behind, handing him one of the cold bottles as he flipped their steaks over on the grill. Her forehead rested against the middle of his back contentedly as she felt one of his hands twist his fingers through hers. She stood up on her toes and kissed the side of his neck. He tugged her wrist gently, and she ducked under his arm to fit against his side.
"You're extra cuddly today", he mused. "What's up?"
"Are you really giving me shit right now because I'm having a particularly feminine lapse in judgment?" she tilted her head back to cock an eyebrow at him. "I can go back over there-" she gestured to the cushioned lounge chair.
"I wasn't complaining." He kissed the top of her head, arm tightening around her waist. "You stay right here."
She huffed out a laugh.
Then they both heard a knock on their apartment door.
Letty pressed a quick kiss to his mouth and stepped out of his embrace. "I'll get it. Check the steak."
As she approached their front door, the pattern of knocking got more obnoxious, and she silently promised whoever had come to ruin her and Dom's day a slow and painful death.
She peered out the spy-hole, because Dom had yelled at her enough for not doing it when they moved in, it had become a habit. Letty was surprised to see the person on the other side of the door.
Mia.
Mia, who had walked in on one of their trysts that had only made it as far as the kitchen counter… She now warranted a text alert for their date nights so she wouldn't come over unless it was an emergency.
But Mia had not only not used her key, but appeared to be grinning like a loon.
Letty unlocked the door and opened it.
She was immediately wrapped in a bear hug, lifted off the ground completely.
Her squeak of surprise didn't go unnoticed, and she recognized the laugh.
"Sorry, Let", Mia chuckled, shutting and locking the door. "Vince wanted to make an entrance."
"Entrance made", she insisted, slapping his back. "Put me down already."
He set her on the ground, hands sliding down her body playfully.
"'Ay! Watch the hands, man!" she laughed, pushing him away. "What are you doing here?"
"Mia called me and I got on a plane." Vince shook his head. "What have I told you guys about letting me know when you're stepping in shit?" he glared.
She groaned. "I'm sorry. Things have been crazy. You're gonna yell at Dom too, right?" she teased.
"Damn right", he rolled his eyes. "Besides, I was thinking about heading back this way anyhow. It was about time to come see Mia and our love child." He looked down at Jack a bit fondly before crouching down to pet him and take his leash off, telling him to 'go find Dom'.
When Mia had been nineteen, she and Vince had nearly had… a thing. It had started with a very drunk Vince asking her if she would have his babies. She had originally blown it off, but a few conversations later had put them in an awkward place. And Vince had taken off for a scenic road trip to Vegas that had lasted almost six months. He had come back with a new tattoo – so had Letty, after she'd taken a trip to visit him as soon as she'd found out where he'd gone.
It had taken a series of phone calls between him and Mia during the last three months of his trip for them to get through the weirdness, but Vince had eventually come home. And he'd brought Mia a puppy – Jack – as an apology for missing her birthday. The fact that they were now close enough to joke about that painful time period was a testament to the strength of their friendship.
Vince had, however, met a few interesting characters in Vegas, and made short frequent trips to visit.
Mia shook her head in playful exasperation, while Letty laughed silently.
"Don't let Dom hear you say shit like that", Letty muttered. "He doesn't need to know about that crap."
"He already does."
Dominic's voice carried from where he was standing inside the patio door.
Mia went impossibly pale as her brother approached. "Shit."
Letty detected a bit of amusement on his face, well-hidden. That didn't mean they weren't in trouble. But she knew that he would deal with them separately in his own time.
"Mia, as far as I'm concerned, you're not having sex until you're married and over thirty-five", Dom said seriously. "And do you really think I wouldn't find out why my best friend took off for Vegas without an explanation?"
Mia smacked Vince's shoulder. "You told him?!"
"Uh, did I forget to mention that?" he asked sheepishly.
"Apparently!"
Letty smirked.
"Don't laugh", Dom warned her, despite the arm around her shoulder. "I'll deal with you later."
"That's hardly fair", Vince chuckled. "Her blowjobs make you stupid."
"Don't be jealous", Letty teased. Then she ducked as he tried to put her in a chokehold.
He grimaced. "No problem."
Dom shook his head. "You guys hungry?"
"Tell me you didn't burn the steaks", Letty sighed.
"I'm offended by that accusation", Dom frowned at her.
She chuckled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "I'm very sorry that I questioned your grill skills."
Vince pantomimed vomiting. "You two are disgusting. But points to Dom for making Letty act girly."
Letty landed a lightning fast slap to the back of his head.
"Ow! Damn, woman!" he yelped. "That wasn't necessary."
"I am not girly."
Dominic just buried a grin and kept his mouth shut. He had experienced more than enough of Letty's 'girly' moments to know she was lying through her teeth. But he was smart enough not to share. "Come on outside", he said. "Let's eat."
00
Thursday, following the last flashback:
Dom let her pretend to avoid him for a few days, but finally tracked her down in her bedroom Thursday night while Mia was taking a turn cleaning up the kitchen.
"Trust you to get all kinky about a foot rub", he teased.
Her jaw dropped. "I didn't- you're a jerk!"
He just laughed. "Done ignoring me now? You're crazy, girl."
Letty groaned. "You're impossible."
"You're just embarrassed because I know you got turned on while I was touching you", he mused.
"Ugh- you don't have to make it sound so dirty. Stop saying you were touching me", she shuddered dramatically.
His mouth twitched. "And here I was thinkin' you weren't a prude… I guess I should have realized it was just a bunch of talk."
Her eyes boggled at him. "Excuse me?"
He crowded her against her dresser. "Talking about shit is different than doing it. I know. You wanted me to tell you that you got me horny? If you want us to be all 'open communication' about that, you gotta return the favor."
"Way to take this way too seriously, Dominic", she rolled her eyes. "What was I supposed to say, sitting in the living room with Vince and your sister in the room? 'Yo, Dom, quit rubbing my ankles; apparently it gets me hot and bothered real quick'?" she growled exasperatedly.
He grinned and ruffled her hair, "'Atta girl!"
She glared at him and pushed him out of her immediate space. "Motherfucker! I can't believe I fell for that."
"Me either, but it was sexy as hell", Dom chuckled, watching in amusement as her face went red. "Mia's spending the night with Jana down the street tomorrow night", he said thoughtfully. "We should celebrate."
"Celebrate what, exactly?" Letty asked warily.
"Freedom, Let", he rolled his eyes. "Barring this weird shared custody thing I have with Mom over Mia, you and I can do what we do, and as long as we take care of shit, no one is going to be up our asses."
Her mouth twitched. "Maybe…"
"That's the spirit!"
She watched him walk out of her room and shook her head. "I'm going to regret this", she mused under her breath.
00
Saturday morning Dominic was in the kitchen cooking breakfast when he heard the thump and the litany of Spanish curses that followed. His mouth twitched. Letty was hilarious when she was tired. Her brain crapped out on English for her sometimes, and Spanish was her default setting.
Now she was not only tired, but hung-over… and had probably fallen out of bed.
The hiss and squeak of the water pipes was heard as she turned the shower on.
He had only been up for twenty minutes, and it was nearly noon.
0
Last night had been the first night that they had spent alone in the Toretto household, and Dom had procured a bottle of tequila, saying they should celebrate.
To her credit, Letty had put up a token of protest, saying that her father would sense her misbehavior and fly back just to drag her to New York, never to be heard from again.
Half a pizza and some well-place taunting later, she had picked up the first shot. Letty looked over at him. "This never happened", she said seriously, staring at him from the spot she had taken on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee table. "My father does not think I'm too old to get an ass beating."
His mouth twisted with a bit of amusement. "Oh, come on, Let. How long has it really been since you got into that much trouble?"
Her eyes narrowed, and she gnawed on the inside of her bottom lip. He was her best friend, but there were things that almost felt too personal - if not awkward – to talk about, especially as they got older. And this was one of those things - but for a different reason.
She downed the shot of tequila quickly, grimacing at the burn and the taste.
"Two years ago… about a weeks after the anniversary of... the funeral", she said quietly. "I left the house one night without telling him. I just got in my car and... drove. When I finally stopped, I could see the Nevada state line. I would have come back eventually. It was after three a.m. when his car pulled off to the side of the road in front of mine."
"Let-"
"I thought he would make me leave the car there – I only had my learner's permit", she almost laughed. "He just told me to follow him back home. I knew he was pissed. And he was worried about me... Something I didn't get when I had left. He would have understood if I'd been able to say something about it. He made it count though. I didn't sit comfortably for four or five days afterwards. And on top of that, I was grounded for a month. But after all that... he was there for me, Dom. More than he had been since my mom left. I lost it. I cried for the first time since the funeral. For hours. He held me like he hadn't since I was a kid. He was supposed to go to New York for a few weeks. I know he said he was keeping up with my punishment, but he stayed because I needed him."
Dom was staring at her incredulously when she looked over.
"Get that look off your face right now", she ordered.
"Excuse me?"
"I know what you're thinking, so don't bother playing stupid. My father never gave me anything more than I deserved, so quit looking like you want to punch something."
He reached a hand in her direction. "Come here", he said quietly.
She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Stop it. I'm not Mia. Cuddling isn't going to put me in a good mood."
"Would you quit pretending you're such a hardass and get over here", he ordered.
"Dammit, Dominic", she muttered as she settled beside him reluctantly. "You never leave well enough alone."
"Not when it comes to you", he said seriously. He poured her another shot and handed her the small glass.
"I meant what I said earlier. You can't say anything about tonight."
Dom's mouth twitched. "No worries, girl. I got you."
"You better. I catch you running your mouth about how you got me drunk, and I'll cut off your cajones and put them in a trophy case", she muttered.
He chuckled. "Drink up."
0
She entered the kitchen a bit later with a groan. "How are you cooking?"
He leaned against the counter, a slight smirk on his face. "There she is. How you doing, champ?"
She glared balefully. "Ricky Ricardo is doing the Lambada on my brain. And it felt like a squirrel died in my mouth before I brushed my teeth."
His smile widened, and he nodded at the pills on the counter. "Take those, and then get yourself some coffee. And this, is a pure hang-over remedy", Dom gestured to the food cooking on the stove.
Letty swallowed her Advil and water. "So's not drinking", she muttered, taking the coffee cup he handed her and going to fix her caffeinated drink. "Remind me not to listen to you next time", Letty groaned.
"Why would I do that when I know I've got peer pressure going for me?" he joked.
She rolled her eyes, and gestured to whatever mess he was making for breakfast on the stove. "You want me to do something here?"
He shook his head. "You can grab a couple plates."
"'Kay."
00
A/N: Did a slight correction on Feb. 1, for anyone who notices, or is poking through to figure out what is going on, lol. I'm just trying to keep my timeline in order!