An hour after closing time at the garage, Brian was needling with the Supra still and the rest of the crew were hanging around. He'd taken a quarter of it apart by then, laying the parts out for inventory. Jesse was coming and going checking parts, seeing what was salvageable but needing to know what was crap. Overall, it needed a complete strip right down to the chassis and Brian was glad he had all that experience working at a garage during college and in his garage on the GT-R under his belt.

Dom was helping out. He was in the body of the Supra taking out the front seats. The broken glass windshield had already been thrown in the bin out back and the shards vacuumed up. He was quiet, glancing between Brian and his meticulous work of taking out the seats.

It was Leon, while fiddling with getting the doors off, who was most comfortable speaking to the new mechanic. Something about Leon was different than the rest. Jesse had it too. These two weren't as old in the group as the rest. Leon was open, patient, willing to listen. Jesse and Mia were alike in that they expected to be involved but knew it would be uncomfortable most of the time, so they weren't quite as forward. Dom and Letty were alike in that they would wait for the information to come to them. Vince was off by the cooler, sitting and sipping a soda, not really joining in at all. Leon was the clear spokesperson.

"I figured it's our comeuppance of kicking it so close to the wire," Leon said casually. "Getting a cop working to build an illegal street racing car, you know? We've been too lucky getting away with speeding fifteen miles over the limit that now we need an in-house cop to keep us on the straight and narrow."

This didn't come as a total surprise to Brian. He'd been waiting for it to be mentioned that this was an odd situation.

"I haven't seen any kilos of cocaine or boxes of unlicensed weapons, so I don't think we'll have any real problems," Brian grimaced briefly. "The subject at hand is giving Dom the car I owe him. Clear my ledger. I'm not looking for faults in you guys."

"Will it ever start interfering with your day job if you do?"

That got Dom to pause momentarily to roll his eyes.

"Like what, Leon? Find our stash of cocaine and unlicensed weapons? If you tell him we don't have one, then where will the fun be in any of this?"

"Well, I'll figure I've overstayed my welcome if I ever come across it," Brian said with a smile. "And you really look like someone who was once an altar boy, Dom. That Catholic vibe, for sure. You want me to believe you're a drug smuggler?"

Dom smirked, willing to drop the topic.

"How long have you been a cop?"

This was his first personal question.

"I was accepted when I was eighteen," he said, open about it.

Leon's follow up question. He was curious. "Why? Someone who races illegally doesn't usually go in for a cop badge. Well, I would have thought."

"Wanted to be a cop long before I started racing," Brian clarified.

Unperturbed, he asked, "Spell it out for me. Why?"

Brian pulled back from being half inside the engine cavity, using a rag to take the grease off the wrench he was using. He was already a bit messy with the dirt and grime they were up against.

"Kids need cops. Simple fact. When they call and when cops show up for them that's a big deal. Made a big impression on me."

"You called the cops when you were a kid?" Leon bent his head away to get a look at Dom, checking to be sure he was in on this.

He paused to stare hard at Brian.

Brian shrugged a shoulder then dove back into the engine. His voice carried out to them casually, "One of my mom's boyfriends needed to get lost. With cops who actually show up to answer those phone calls life gets a bit better. Still not perfect, but at least they took him away."

It looked like Leon had enough sense not to ask, considering Letty. There was a look about her. Strong and dark and she was nodding to herself about something. The feline from earlier was back, fir spiked and looking at Brian with understanding. Letty had a few too many gun toting gang members for uncles and older cousins. She found and kept Dom in high school and had been by his side ever since. Loyal as Vince.

Dom leaned against the soiled dash looking down through the open gap where there was no longer a windshield and down onto the back of Brian's head. His question was withheld, but then again it wasn't. Brian heard it loud and clear through the silence of his tools.

"Look, it's in the past," Brian said, coming up to meet only Dom's eyes. "No need to make a big deal out of it. The two officers who showed up when I called were my heroes. All they did was take him out of the picture. Her boyfriends still came and went, but she at least set a limit on them after that. Even she knew the cops were there to enforce those rules if they didn't want to follow them. It made her life easier and my life better."

"No one can say all cops are bad," Leon said, breaking the ice once again. "It's like I've been trying to tell you: some cops are alright. It's when they start showing up sabotaging other people's perfectly harmless fun that I may start to take issue."

Brian smiled because there was an opening to, then turned to the engine and picked up where he had left off. He stayed only until five-thirty, by then it was only Dom and Letty still hanging around and even Brian was hungry and felt like a third wheel, catching Letty's lustful looks at Dom. He made promises to come back the next day when the shop opened, the start of his three days off. He took himself home in his Mustang.

Dom pressed speed dial nine. It rang four times and was answered. A deep breath. A hiccup.

"Yeah?" Jesse's voice was sleepy and high.

"Jesse. Mind looking up on Brian a little more for me?"

"Wha…? Yea…?"

"Yeah," Dom said. He was in his room after a shower, towel around his waist as he looked in the mirror at his reflection. Letty sometimes slept over, but tonight she went home. "Wonder if you could find out anything on his family?"

"That's some hard digging, man."

"His last name is O'Conner and he's from Barstow. Maybe not so hard?"

"I can try," his words cleared up a little. "You could just ask him, too? He seems willing to talk."

Dom sighed. "Yeah. Probably could. Sorta think he'd rather not talk about it."

"Sorta know how he feels…" Jesse had it rough growing up, too. Not Letty-rough. Not Brian-rough, or so it was seeming.

"Find out if he had any friends growing up, too."

"There wasn't MySpace back then, Dominic. That's not really possible."

Dom rubbed his abs, flexing a bit. "Maybe there's something, though. If you can't find anything, that's alright."

"Cool. Later, Dom. See ya…tomorrow…?"

Dom thought maybe Jesse would be coming in late, though. "Yeah. Night brother."

Dom dropped the call and the towel and looked fully at himself. He was vain enough to know he'd made it to a real sweet spot in the balance of bulk and strength. He spent hours working out. Letty liked it well enough. And…looks like if he fished someone like Brian up, a clear prize if there was one, it was worth it.

"What the fuck?" Dom whispered to himself, turning away from the mirror quickly, pressing a hand over his eyes.

How could he deny these thoughts even in the quiet of his own room? He could try, though.

Three full days in Dom's shop was enough to make the body absolutely unrecognizable. After it was all apart they took a hose to the parts, washing off an extraordinary amount of mud into the LA drainage system. This was the moment when the full list of parts was ready and the order placed. Brian had been working diligently, loving every moment and it showed, but he respectfully gave everyone space. Mia, Dom, and Letty were pretty much fine with him, Leon and Jesse stayed busy with their cars but chatted nonetheless, but Vince kept isolated and quiet.

Jesse warmed up in no time. He could say he was nervous at first, but it was pretty clear that Brian was a nice guy. Put up with him. No…that was too incongruent; Brian just gave him the time of day.

Jesse started up a model of the new look, bathing it in 3D light for Brian to drool over. Brian was really enjoying Jesse and was hanging on his shoulder more once he sensed Jesse's ease grow. Jesse was twenty-two, not unaware of the preferences people had and not spooked by them either…it was just that Brian was new, charming, single. By the third day, Jesse's initial trepidation of Brian - of his cop status, of his calm demeanor and that hidden little nugget of information about his personal preferences - left entirely.

On another note, Jesse gave Dom his review of the cop.

In hushed voices, with Brian across the room but no one else around them, Dom had come over to inquire.

"Two years in juvie for boosting cars, Dom. Cops don't usually have a rap sheet like that, do they?"

Dom was impressed despite himself, even if it had become clear Brian was keeping secrets that he could have shared by now. Keeping the record confined to juvie meant he wasn't affected by the real world's judgment like adult offenders. Dom had his own business, but he knew what it was like for people coming out of hard time without that.

"Maybe he stopped boosting them, but he didn't stop driving them," Dom saddled Brian with a sovereign expression that went unawares as they guy kept up on the machine halfway across the room. "And he drives like a wheelman. A juvie record doesn't count against a cop's employment, apparently. Anything about his parents?"

Jesse nodded. "Birth certificate and death certificate for his mom in 1992. Looks like an overdose."

And wasn't that something chilling for both Jesse to read about and Dom to hear. That little stint that involved the two of them meeting was nearly Dom's last night on the planet.

They both took a pause.

"Anything on his dad?"

Jesse shook his head. "Nah, not even on his birth certificate. And before you ask he didn't finish high school, so no records there. He got his GED in juvie. Honest Dom, not much else to find."

Statement. But Dom knew otherwise. There was something otherworldly about Brian's charm, like he was a perfect fit somehow. It was pure flattery how much attention he gave them all even when he was trying to keep his profile down. And Dom had noticed. Noticed how he kept to himself but ate up attention when it was given to him, ready to have a relationship with them all when they were good and ready.

Letty sauntered over to Dom and Jesse, looking over their shoulders and catching a glimpse of the birth certificate on Jesse's computer before he closed the window.

"Uh-huh," she intoned. "Thought that's what you were doing, man."

Dom didn't think she had any reason to look pissed, but there it was.

"Letty, we're just checking up on him."

She narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, like you would with any new mechanic? Fuck you, Dominic," she hit him in the shoulder, then pointed directly at Brian while keeping a steely eye on him. "You better go over there and apologize for this. Know what it looks like from here? He's not some blonde bambi. Not some damaged goods. Guy's not afraid of a little stripping and hustling…body parts aside, that happens to a lot of us who've been fucked over by the people who are supposed to take care of us. But he's an adult. Give the guy a little more trust than this, Toretto!"

Jesse looked about as miserable as Dom suddenly felt.

"Didn't know you cared," Dom told her, awed a little by her defense of him. But Letty took a liking. Same as all of them. She never had someone in the group go through what she'd gone through as a kid…as they suspected but never outright asked, anyway.

Letty looked pissed that he said that.

"Do you want me to call him over? Tell him you ran your own little version of a background check on him instead of just asked him what his situation was?"

"I told you," Jesse muttered, accusatory to Dom.

Dom stood up. He didn't need to be told twice.

Brian was at the workbench, assembling a part. Dom made his presence known by leaning his elbows back on the table, facing out towards the shop. He was almost rubbing shoulders with Brian, who stopped what he was doing and looked up at him. He'd been in the middle of it, deep in thought, and he looked intense even now, ready to get back to it. But he was polite.

"Let me guess," he said, looking back behind him at Jesse and Letty stilled huddled. Vince was making his way over to them, squeezing in to catch the latest gossip that kept him up to date but not involved directly. "Something they want an answer to?"

Dom held his eye. "You could say that. Really something I was curious about and didn't have the balls to ask."

"Nice to see you grow a pair," Brian smirked, then went back to fiddling with his hands on the machine. "So, is it that you ran a background check and found out where I was when I was sixteen and seventeen years old? Or is it before that? Do you just want to chat a little and see how willing I am to talk about learning all the uses for a cock before I was ten years old?"

Dom cringed a little. It took him a good minute to find his voice again.

He came to a conclusion and said to Brian, "I'm sorry I didn't do it the better way."

Brian shook his head. "Don't sweat it."

Dom turned around and picked up a part, examining it. Not needing to look closely to tell that it was in full working order.

"I'm a dick, what can I say? Letty told me to come over and tell you as much."

Brian looked behind him at the now heavy whispers that were going on between the three at the computer station. Letty looked livid. Jesse looked ready to run. They were starting to catch even Leon's eyes, but he was wise enough to stay out of it all.

Brian didn't say anything, but it looked like he could have.

Dom asked, "So, I take it you understand about Letty, then?"

He nodded. "Sort of sounds like we may have something in common."

Dom nodded. "I can't say I have any story to match."

"You sort of do, though," Brian clarified. "You lost both your parents, too."

Dom nodded in agreement.

"Mom died when I was in high school. Mia was just twelve. Cancer took her quick. From diagnosis to the finish line, just six months. Dad was sort of everything after that…with help from a few aunts and uncles who helped at the store.

"Vince used to come over and mom would make us sundays and root beer floats. He loved that sort of thing; his family wasn't really the supportive kind, but he was always welcome around our place, mom made sure he knew that. Mia's like her, just not a fond of Vince as she was. I can't decide if Vince remembers all my mom's kisses on him and thinks he can also have that from Mia, but she's not giving it. He's in love with her in a way that probably won't stop, though."

"She's warm and friendly. Even I want kisses from Mia."

Dom chuckled. "I don't think someone like you really exists, man. You're in my garage! You're invited here. And I didn't even hesitate…Race Wars?" Dom shook his head. "Man…why do we like you so much?"

"My good looks?" Brian asked with a stupid grin.

"You're good. Maybe just that. Sorta like finding a lost puppy that we know is going to tear up the furniture."

Dom had made that analogy to himself, but was glad Brian found it fitting and laughed. Dom felt better about going behind his back. For what it was worth, he was willing to listen to what Brian had to say about the matter. It was just that…Brian had moved on somehow from it. It was clear as day. He had a colorful life up until this point, so clearly there was some strength that got him through and thriving. Dom was humbled by that strength, which also resided in Letty.

On the fourth day of coming in after work, Brian came by closer to closing time than his usual just-after-three. He was rather stiff, moved a bit slower and had a few less things to say. He went right in to working on the Supra. He looked mostly his same old self. Blond curls, tanned skin, those dorky ordinary shirts and always jeans. Dom noticed the difference though. He finished up with a consultation with a customer about a Corvette Grand Sport and went over.

Brian was getting ready to solder the suspension arms. He was comfortable using the tools and was getting the gun set up. Dom saw the broad planes of his back moving under the fabric of his shirt. He was a little sweaty but not as drenched as the rest of them. The fans were going but this was summer in LA.

"What's wrong with you?" His tone of voice was full of concern; he didn't mean it in any bad way.

A few of the others on the team were moving around close by. Brian checked them out subtly and looked sheepish. Dom recognized the uncommon emotion and let his eyes linger where Brian fiddled with the solder gun.

Brian leaned in and whispered to keep the conversation personal.

"SWAT training…" and he turned a bit and lifted his shirt somewhat, showing off a smattering of black and blue dots on one side of his back, just in the beginning stages of a real rainbow of bruises. "Dummy bullets sting."

Dom couldn't wipe off the downright startled look that bloomed on his face. He automatically reached out and touched, registering hot skin. Brian's back was well toned, his jeans dropped enough to see the dimples above his buttocks, the skin shiny with sweat. His mind was oddly separated suddenly, left behind somewhere.

The shirt lowered.

"Signed up when I first came over to LAPD. The idea is to move toward a detective badge next, but that's going to take a lot more work. If anything, it's years in the making and years still until anything comes of this. Dom?"

Dom's eyes still lingered on the impression Brian's skin had left on his vision. He wasn't exactly listening.

"You're SWAT?" Dom asked, catching up late.

Brian nodded, willing to chat onwards as if Dom wasn't suddenly shocked by - as far as he could tell - the words he was saying. Little did he know.

"On the one hand it's worth it. One of the hardest things to do is stay calm, especially if there's a crisis raging around you at the time. I race a lot better after some of the things I've gone through in training and in the field."

Dom took a step back with a perturbed expression, "Be back…" he muttered.

Brian furrowed his brow, watching Dom go to the fridge and pull out two Cokes in glass bottles, only to make the return trip direct. Brian put the solder down just as Dom lifted Brian's shirt and pressed one cold Cokes against the ribs of his back, making him flinch and smile. He held it on. Also, Dom cracked the other and passed that over.

"Thanks. If this what you call nursing someone back to health, I'm all in."

Dom only slinked back against the workbench and looked him over again.

As Brian drank and held the other beer to his side, his eyes wondered and he saw Vince looking mortified. Dom's old friend turned when he was caught, kicked a stool out of his way and left the building in a mood.

"My fault, sorry," Brian said.

"He's still getting use to you being around. He never liked new people."

"If I go talk to him, do you think he'd punch me?" Brian wondered.

Dom smiled. "I'll have another Coke waiting for you when you come back if he does."

Brian passed over his already-open, already-sipped bottle and Dom took it and took a swig, because now it had passed ownership. Brian left, following Vince out with the "icepack" no longer against his skin. He was ready to offer it up. Better than a sacrificial lamb, anyway.

Brian found him around the back on the shady side leaning against the building. He looked pissed, kicking up a storm of dust that blew away in the light breeze. He spotted Brian, spotted the soda he held and he knew a peace offering when he saw one. He just didn't want it.

"Get the fuck away from me! Get back in there and finish Dom's car and then give him the keys and piss the fuck off!"

Truer wishes never said. That was exactly what Vince wanted. Brian shook his head.

"I can't guarantee that's how this will end."

Vince was livid, and when he was this angry he was stupid. He marched up to Brian and got right in his face.

"Fuck that, cop! You think I don't know what you want out of all of this?! You're not here to sleep with Mia. You're here for Dom. You're just a stupid faggot cop chasing tail, aren't you? But you don't get that he doesn't swing that way! You're wasting everyone's time!"

Brian held the gaze without backing down.

He was starting to register a little extra attention from Dom, sure. He'd put in enough effort to garner a bit. Could a guy risk it all on one other person, though? Risk - really - all of it? That was a scary thought. It was better he split his attention between the brother and the sister and play it safe.

"Dom's with Letty, I know that. And you're right about Mia. Right about the Supra, too. And maybe I won't get any tail out of this, but that's not what keeps me around. I'm here because I was asked to be, Vince. Because Dom and Mia aren't holding my job against me."

Vince snarled and backed up, not taking the bottle.

"What are you?" Vince tried a new tactic. "You get up, you get your cop clothes on, get into your black and white, light the red and blue lights and play Superman? You actually think anyone appreciates what you do?"

Brian tried again, too.

"I get that you hate that I'm a cop. And 'off duty' is never off duty, but I'm not in uniform right now, doesn't that count in my favor? I do my job by the book and if that means playing Superman then so be it," and here, Brian raised his shirt, showing off three heavy bruises on his ribs. "Or if that means getting shot by crossfire in a gang bust while I provide cover for a fellow downed officer shot in the shoulder, then so be that!"

He'd told Dom it was training for SWAT, but really it was a real bust on the other side of town that had started around midnight and didn't let him get away until recently. He just didn't want to let on about the truth of it. But it sort of needed telling right now. He put his shirt down, staring intently at Vince who mellowed considerably suddenly. Brian started to draw a few tactics from training to calm Vince down more.

"I'm here at DT's and working on that Supra, and I haven't felt this good in a really long time, Vince. And a few weeks ago, I walked into Toretto's Market for lunch and Mia didn't shout at me to leave. Normally cops can only go into chain fast food places for service like that. She even had something on the menu I liked. So I stuck around. It would have been enough, Vince, except then you lot show up in your cars and it all makes sense suddenly: you're street racers. Of course you wouldn't want a cop around. But you wouldn't know I had a Skyline that could make it nearly past Dom's Mazda RX-7, and that I wouldn't bust you guys for what you get up to after dark."

Vince was almost affronted. "There's no way in hell you'd ever have something to beat him."

"I'm making something in there with Dom's, Jesse's, Mia's, Leon's and Letty's help right now that will, Vince! It'll beat your Maxima, too! And if you just become a part of it, then you'll have a piece of pride of making something stunning for Dom when he takes ownership!"

Brian was glad Vince let those words sink in.

Vince pointed out, "Mia's not in there helping."

Brian shook his head, almost disappointed in him. "She's choosing the color, man. Mia's in this, too. Look, she might have tried to flirt with me that day at the market just to piss you all off, but because I really didn't want to be used like that I let you all know what I was into. It meant I would have to put up with some shit. I knew that. I ran the risk of losing her, too, but I liked her too much to play her. I won't fail her or Dom or even you, Vince, if you are at all waiting for that to happen. If you are, then you're going to be waiting a long time, man."

He got a big feel of Vince's hatred when he was showing his true colors to Mia at the store that day. But right now, he was starting to make some headway into calming that hatred.

Vince narrowed his gaze. "What's with you? You can't be in love with her, so what's with you and her?"

Brian shook his head. "I do love her, if you want to put a name on it. Just not lusting for her. What's not to love about her?"

Vince held there silently. At last, he had an answer to that. "Nothing, man."

Brian held out the Coke. "Come back inside with me?"

Vince shook his head. He was holding onto something still, then. Something maybe unmovable in his history with cops, Brian couldn't tell.

"You're playing some game," Vince stated as if it was fact. He took a step away. "You're up to something. Cops don't act like you. Nobody acts like you! Nobody stands there making good just for the sake of a girl they just met and won't fuck!"

Brian took a step forward, angry but not at him; angry at stubbornness, maybe? Because Brian recognized his own stubbornness never faltering, just like Vince's wasn't now. It's part of what kept him and Rome so separate, truth be told.

"That's the reason you can't land someone as good as her, Vince! I'd put up with you forever if it meant making a friend as good as her! As good as Dom, too! As good as the rest of them! I'd put up with the drugs and the concealed weapons, strangers paying for sex even if it does go against every part of me that says how wrong that is! That shit bleeds into households, Vince! People are shitty. Even you thinking I'm shit for being a cop is shitty! And if anything I'm saying is too complicated, I'll say it plainly for you: if you respected Mia you'd put up with me like it wasn't a problem either!"

Vince hissed, taking that extra step forward and snagging a handful of the cheep shirt Brian had thrown on that morning. Brian didn't even flinch, he just glared more angrily.

"Those are the big words you're saying, but they only apply to family! And you're not family! If you hurt anyone in there, you're hurting my family. Not yours! I'll slice you ear to ear if you mess with them!"

Equally dark, Brian said, "I'm not going to hurt them, Vince. And I'm not afraid of knives."

"Then I'll put you down with a bullet!"

Still, Brian shrugged. "Still won't do, man. Not where it's at for me. Hold me down and stick a gun down my throat like my mom's boyfriend use to do, and I'll play it your way." And Brian made a motion of opening his mouth and rubbing his thumb up his slimy wet tongue, selling the death glare with a venomous look, wiping Vince's threat clear off the planet with that retort.

Brian gripped the neck of the Coke tight as he walked back into the garage alone. Dom was still by the Supra, looking disappointed when Brian came back with it still closed and a sour look on his face.

"Vince doesn't like me," he stated. And I took that too far…

Dom agreed. He patted Brian on his slumped shoulder. "He doesn't like anybody at first, but he usually comes around before the end."

Brian sighed then winced when he felt it in his ribs.

Dom asked, "Those really practice rounds? They do that under a bullet proof vest?"

Brian signed again, shaking his head. He turned away from any onlookers and closed his eyes.

"No, Dom. I'm sorry, man. I lied. It wasn't fucking rubber bullets…" he opened the still-cold bottle and took a sip. "I'm not supposed to talk about it, but it was a bust with SWAT. My vest took three for me today."

Dom sat up, looking intent. Brian shrugged like it was hardly a big deal, only he made it one when he lied the first time.

"I think I told you about a detective working a murder of a dock worker? He found enough evidence for a raid. That's one more reason I want one of those detective badges…they're the ones who gather the info, and I like that part of the job. If I ever did go in after a promotion to detective, it'd be after SWAT already cleared it and I'd get nothing but the glory. All they need is a real hard lead and a group like us swoops in - "

"Hold up!" Dom held his hands up, stopping Brian right there. He raised Brian's shirt again, getting another look at his bruised side. That glistening skin couldn't even distract him this time. He forgot to keep his voice down this time. "You were shot three times today in your vest? And you're chatting on and on about how great it is to be SWAT and how much you still want to be a cop?"

Dom looked around like there was also a clown about to pop out and start dancing. Vince had returned to the building, but not in face paint. He looked as pissed off as one, though.

Brian said thoughtfully, "Thanks, Dom. Sort of sounds like you're worried about me?"

Dom dropped his shirt and wiped a hand down his own face, looking stressed. "I'm worried. Jesus. Who wouldn't be?"

Brian let Dom know this, then, because he was being so friendly. "Gangs and angry people are the biggest threats to cops, you know? If I make detective and show enough initiative doing that, I can apply for this other job that gets the opportunity to go after some real bad guys. Maybe make a bigger difference than what I do now. It's bigger than homicide detective, more intense than SWAT."

And Brian looked like a kid about to reveal a big secret. A really juicy and exciting one. Something he was really into.

Dom was almost afraid to ask. "What's the job, Bri?"

"It's a task force for the FBI. It's run by this badass named Hobbs. The guy's young, too. I don't even have to worry about him retiring before I'd get my chance at working with him, even if it takes me ten years to get the job."

His grin was glittering, eyes vibrant. Dom didn't know what to say.

At last he patted Brian's shoulder.

"Where do you get the guts?" Dom asked, pushing off.

Brian looked a little worried as he walked away, heading back to the fridge to replenish his empty bottle. Brian picked up the solder gun again, turning back to work quietly again.

He passed Vince by, laid a hand on his shoulder as he went. He sensed Vince had cooled down a bit, so maybe something Brian said appeased him. Vince started on the Mustang brought in for a service and didn't look over, at either Dom or Brian, but looked thirsty. Dom went over with another one for him. Vince's eyes stayed on the engine, but he took the drink.

"SWAT?" Vince opened with, maybe sounding more neutral than pissed. That was good. Vince was funny like that. Dom said he took awhile to warm up. It was true. But it was easy for him to chat with Vince. Their friendship went back too many years not to make it easy.

"Uh-huh. Took three in the side today while we were getting oil under our fingernails. And now he tells me there's this special ops team he wants in on." Dom shook his head. "He's got guts. Don't know where they come from."

Vince maybe knew now where. He looked cagily at Dom. "Don't tell me you're thinking of signing him on to our little special ops team, Dom?"

Dom shook his head. "He's a cop, Vince. Stay cool about that. He doesn't suspect anything."

Vince glared. "Maybe that's why he's here, Dom. A spy in sheep's clothing. Something's fucked up with him for him to be here with us. Something really shitty."

Dom leaned himself against the worktable closest to Vince. He eyed him seriously. Easy to talk, easier to know when the talking didn't need to be put into words. Vince grew uncomfortable.

"Something he said…" Vince muttered.

"What'd he say?" Dom's voice grew husky, quieter.

Vince took a long drink. "Just…better not threaten him with a gun, I guess. Knives are fine, though."

Dom couldn't find any humor in that statement. "Just what did you two talk about out there?"

Vince shrugged. "Dunno how to tell you, Dom. The buster is freaky cold when he has to be. Maybe that special ops thing he was talking about is a good fit?"

Dom wondered just what part of Brian Vince was getting to know.

Another week more of this and the Supra's body was back in place and the pieces almost all put together. Vince worked on it…barely. He'd put the oil in anyway and got a sarcastic round of applause from Leon for his trouble, so hadn't gone back to do any more after that. Brian hadn't been in the shop when that happened, but it made the cop smile to hear he'd finally touched it at last. She was nearly there, but the dead orange was still scuffed, patched. The primer coat was happening tomorrow. Brian tried to keep cool, but there was still something up for debate…something no one seemed to have an answer for other than for him to "talk to Mia. You're the one who asked her."

They'd found it funny.

The crew from DT's had just come in for lunch at Toretto's Market, basically at Brian's behest. He rode with Dom, who had the music on loud, and who kept out of the Supra's business for the most part, liking Brian and the others put her together; his gift. But Brian had convinced Dom to go to Mia's for lunch, because he needed to see her, and so that's why they were all on the road.

The others went about collecting drinks as soon as the engines and music died. Brian went right up to crowding the lunch bar. He didn't usually get to come to Mia's place anymore, too busy.

"Got a color picked out?" Brian asked Mia first thing, before even saying hi like the rest of them.

"Can't you see I'm studying?" she said with a smirk, not looking up from her text book.

Brian leaned in. "So, will it be pink?"

"No."

"Yellow? Red?"

"No. No."

Brian heard chuckles. Letty and Dom had taken seats close by, watching them closely. Brian tapped the counter in frustration, then leaned forward to see what she was reading. Something medicine related that he could probably comprehend if he wasn't too antsy right now.

"Mia?"

"Hmm?" She didn't look up.

"Mia? We've got a week until Race Wars. The primer is going on tomorrow, did anyone tell you that?"

"Um-hmm…" Affirmative.

More chuckles from Dom and Letty. Leon and Vince joined the counter spectator seats, with only Leon really into the show. Vince still had kept apart from Brian…at least not storming off anymore. Still, he didn't speak more than two words to Brian on any given day. Right now, he was still cagy, silent.

Brian bit his lip, looking back down again at Mia's textbook. He didn't want to demand anything from her, or annoy her, so he took a more subtle approach. He leaned in again, this time taking in a few of the words.

"Cell biology?" he asked. "As in, chemistry and anatomy? How are you liking this class?"

She shrugged. "It's pretty thorough for an entry level class. It's preparing me for next semester's human anatomy and physiology."

Brian nodded. He leaned back. He waited expectant, knowing he couldn't win but wouldn't give in. She sighed and looked up at last.

"It's not pink, yellow, or red, Brian. Did you come all the way down here to ask me?"

"Yes," he confirmed, jittery now with excitement.

She rolled her eyes then shot Dom a tired look. "You didn't show him?"

The anticipation. Dom was grinning, shaking his head. Enjoying this way, way too much.

"I like him like this," was all Dom said as answer.

Brian was dying inside. Mia knew what he meant. The look of dying looked real funny on Brian. Satisfied something inside of her. She looked for Jesse, picking him out standing by the open door to a cooler. "Jesse!"

He jumped, looked caught. He had been wasting cool air. "Yeah, Mia?"

"When you get back to DT's, will you show Brian the paint job you mocked up?"

"You have it mocked up?" Brian asked incredulously. "I asked you if you did!"

Jesse looked a bit caught in the headlights. "Dom told me to keep it on the hush-hush, Bri!"

Brian rushed over and wrapped his arms around Jesse, pulling him up to the lunch bar and sitting him down. He sat across from him, their knees knocking. Brian grabbed Jesse by the shoulders and looked him right in the eyes.

"Okay, Jesse. God's honest truth. What's the color?"

"Don't tell him, Jesse!" Leon cat called, grinning while he chomped on chips from a bag.

"Make him beg!" Letty also whooped.

Brian never let Jesse go, staring him down more intently. "Don't listen to them, Jesse," he said ever so urgently. "Tell me the color. Tell me the color."

Jesse rolled it over in his head, enjoying the game like the rest of them, but also thinking it was a bit too much.

"Details!" Brian warned, still not smiling, still quite serious.

Jesse nearly moaned, "This is starting to not be so funny, Dom! Did you bring the printout with you?"

Brian's eyes darted to Dom.

Playing it cool, Dom reached into the breast pocket of his vest and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He held it between two fingers, elbow on the counter. Brian left Jesse and went over, stools scraping on the floor each time. He sat in the spot right next to Dom, now squishing him between himself and Letty. Dom didn't mind.

"Can I see that?" Brian asked, not reaching for the paper, but his eyes were drooling.

"Hand it over, Dom," Mia said in pity.

Dom shook his head. "But you have no idea how much I like this," Dom said with a smile.

Brian snatched for it. Dom was quicker. Brian tried again. Dom was quicker again.

The wait started over. Dom was grinning wider.

A bead of sweat dripped down Brian's temple and his eyes were glued on Dom, not the paper.

"Dom, please?" Brian asked.

Dom leaned in, smirking, getting real close - a cell phone rang.

It was a generic ring, one that had everyone reaching for their pockets to see if it was them. Only the screen on Brian's glowed. The little window on the front was lit up with a number: 7. It was speed dial seven. Work. Brian opened it and pressed it to his ear.

"Brian O'Conner."

The others settled down while he listened, the humor fading and an intenseness dawning on his face. A moment later, "10-4. I'll be there in thirty. I'm not at home."

He hung up.

"Thought it was your day off?" Letty said, right in Dom's ear, leaning onto his back with an arm going around his neck. She looked disappointed he was going, but she was glued to Dom…she was both coming and going whenever Brian was around lately. They all maybe noticed and didn't say anything. Dom especially.

Brian stood up, looking around at all of them. "Could one of you drive me back to my car? I gotta get going."

"Where are you going?" Dom wondered, getting his keys out and untangling himself from Letty - only to be shoved back down by Vince's iron palm.

"I'll take him," he stated, instantly shoving Brian for the door.

And Dom looked like he wanted to object. His head swung around only, leveling Vince with an open look that clearly read with a touch of surprise: have you now?

"I got it!" Vince snarled, shouldering past Dom and catching a hit on the buster's arm, sending him toward the door.

Brian could protest, but it was the first time Vince offered to do anything for him and it was the first time Brian would get to ride in his car. He buckled himself in and Vince got them out of park and showed how his turbos really could speed down the sun bleached LA road.

The music had been on, but Vince shut it down. "This SWAT calling? You heading in to raid someone again?"

Brian didn't hesitate, and he didn't flavor his words. He was speaking in an almost clipped cadence. "Got a call to come in. That's all I can tell you."

SWAT then. Vince and everyone knew it. It was the one thing he couldn't go around talking about, but they knew he was on that taskforce. Vince had looked it up online…that shit was spooky intense and real picky about who it chose.

Vince looked at the clock. 11:20 in the morning.

"How long will it take?"

Asking like he cared. Made Brian come back into the moment enough to speculate, but DT's was only up the block; no time to ask.

"Hours. They're twelve hour shifts usually, but sometimes they need overtime. Or less. I don't know, Vince. Always depends."

DT's was coming up, Brian's convertible the only one left out front with the cover on, under the only tree on the street, getting some shade at least. Vince didn't have much time to either think about this offer or make it, but he gave it a shot. The days of working with this guy in the shop, tiptoeing around Vince and vice versa…it needed to stop. Plus, even he wanted to laugh and join in with busting the buster's balls about the paint job. He couldn't do that with all this tension between the two of them. Even the rest of his family wanted it to stop and Vince was running out of excuses to keep hating the guy. Cop - still. Fag - still. But he didn't come around in uniform and Letty was keeping a tight hold of Dom, so the risk was minimizing.

"If you're done before nine tonight…come by the house. Something's starting there around six, but it's okay to be late. Or early. You remember where that is?"

Brian looked over at him, brow furrowed. Vince was…inviting him to something? "Yeah, I remember where it is. You're offering?"

You're offering. Like, Vince is. Not the others. The others couldn't offer because Vince had just come up with the idea.

Vince shrugged. "Don't get any ideas, gay cop," he demanded gruffly, but looking at him now, the guy wasn't thinking they were biting words. They weren't. "Just show up to eat some food if you can. Can't? Fine."

Vince stopped the car right by Brian's driver's side with enough room for him to squeeze out and not clip anyone on his way, and Brian took his belt off and opened the door, ready to fly out of there and get going to his house to get his gear, then get going to the office, but Vince reached out and gripped his shoulder, keeping him planted in the seat. Brian held back, sparing Vince an extra moment. It was totally odd behavior for the guy, but Brian almost thought…yeah, did think he was seeing the softer side of Vince everyone said he had. Even Mia said it.

For someone dressed in a net shirt, with tattoos up his arm, with such a scruffy look and mean expression, he looked sympathetic right now.

"Neon orange. Platinum from the rear arch panel back. Black and neon green decals on the doors."

Brian looked confused. He had to really process that.

"Now, go get 'em, cowboy." Vince didn't even crack a smile.

"What?! Cowboy?" Brian repeated, and it was like he was gut punched. But he didn't have time for this, he had to go. He got out and hopped over his door into his seat, Vince's door closing only just then behind him. But the window was open. Vince heard him again. "Cowboy?"

And then Vince laughed. And that was the first time Brian heard it. He felt a little embarrassed to say, but Vince got the better of him right then. Brian started up his engine and drove off in a hurry, eyes stuck on his rearview mirror until Vince and his Maxima was out of sight.

He had to tell Bilkins…make sure he could get out of this thing before six.