Disclaimer: I own nothing I swear. Just a love for the terrific movie this
fic is inspired by
CLOSER STILL
The air was getting thicker with dust as the roads got quieter and quieter. Vince was having problems breathing but naturally wasn't saying anything to Brian about it. Brian could see the laboured way he drew in breath and the pain twisting his face as he coughed and coughed. It was getting worse and worse and though Brian waited, Vince said nothing, staunchly staying in silence to suffer alone. With an inner eyeroll and more concern than he'd admit to Vince, Brian pulled over.
"What you stopping for? Gotta make tracks if you want to see Mia again" Vince asked, this voice a lot weaker than normal though still containing its usual ring of animal mocking
"Vince, you can't breathe, I'm stopping to make sure you don't die and I get charged for murder"
Vince tried to laugh but ended up coughing. Hurriedly Brian unscrewed the cap off the bottle of water and handed it to his passenger. Vince glugged down a healthy few shots before letting out a relieved sigh. Neither of them said anything for a few awkward moments.
"Why can't you breathe Vince?" Brian asked quietly
"Lousy operation" Vince muttered after a beat of silence "they had to cut a lot out of me when they fixed the bullet holes, makes it hard for me to breathe for a while, maybe a month or two till I can do it on my own"
"On your own?"
"Without my pills, nurse probably gave you some right?"
Brian pulled the white paper bag out of his jacket pocket and shuffled through it until he found a small dirty pill bottle. He studied the label carefully before lifting his eyes to stare at Vince
"This is serious Vince, if you don't take them at the right time then it's gonna cause a lot of problems for you"
"Yeah well, I have a lot of them already so one more makes no different to me"
Brian shook a couple of small round pills out of the bottle.
"Take some now Vince ok? I'm sure the team want you breathing when you see them again"
With a grunt, Vince took the pills from Brian and washed them down with more water. There was silence as he did, Brian not really knowing where to look or what to say. Vince handed him the bottle back and stared straight ahead at the road in front of them. The sun was painting the sky a warm apricot, making everything seem tinted.
Slowly Brian started the car again and drove it smoothly back onto the road. Vince was silent, his forceful steely gaze fixed on the misty horizon. There was so much Brian wanted to ask him; about the team, how everything seemed to fit so cleverly together, why he had loved Mia for so long and treated her the way he did, why he and Dom were as close as brothers and why, to his and the hospital's knowledge, he hadn't even cried about Jesse's death. But that would have to wait. Vince barely trusted him and the only brotherly affection he showed was through growled cracks under his breath and hoarse laughter. It was something, it was better than blatant distrust and a punch in the mouth.
"Wonder if Letty fixed the corroborator?"
Brian looked at Vince. He was talking slowly under his breath, almost like in a dream. It must be the affect of the pills. He was supposed to take them every few hours; the greasy burger a while back probably hadn't helped. Vince slumped down further in his seat, his eyes glazing slightly as he continued mumbling. His eyes fluttered shut as he slipped further into his memories.
"Need to get the meat for the barbeque for tonight, Jesse's got to fix the cash register"
Then his face contorted with pain.
"Dom! Help me brother! I can't get my arm free, it's gonna tear it out of its socket!"
Brian felt like he could see what Vince was seeing, through vivid pain filled eyes. The image of Vince hanging from that truck by his arm was one that wouldn't go away quickly. Dom's helpless expression as he had to pull back with a burst tyre. Then the sight of a rifle lifted up to the smashed window as he hastily untangled Vince and the sound of the bullet as they leapt into the car.
"All I can feel..."
Vince clutched at his chest, feeling for the blood that had poured out and was blocked by Dom's vest. Brian took the wheel with one hand and shook Vince with the other
"Vince snap out of it!"
"Why aren't I dead?"
"Vince wake up!"
There was a pause and then Vince started violently. He looked around with clearer eyes. Brian sighed and handed him the bottle again. There was silence coating them now. Brian had seen and heard what Vince suffered. Vince drank more and kept silent. He didn't seem surprised at the way he'd jerked out of his realistic thoughts. Maybe, Brian thought, it had been a regular occurrence in hospital. It had to be mentally and emotionally painful to relive it all again. Vince suddenly sat up, trying to peer over the dusty hills that the strip of deserted road ploughed over.
"Holy shit" he hissed out "we're almost there"
"What?!"
"We're almost there Golden Boy, we're real close, just over the hill and give or take a few miles, we're there, you'll see the house soon"
Brian found his heart racing hard. He would see Mia soon. He didn't feel prepared for it or her or Dom, just an excited ache inside of him. Vince looked through the windscreen eagerly. His expression was intense to the max but completely focused on the road ahead. He was going home.
"There! There it is"
He pointed awkwardly at a small bright smudge in the distance. Brian strained to see that details. It looked small from this distance. Vince was oblivious to Brian's taut silence, immersed in the thought of being back with the team again.
"Have you thought yet Vince, what you're going to say when you walk back through the door with me?"
*
Food was what kept Mia focused now. She'd changed into a worn blue jeans and a simple blue tank as she worked in the kitchen. Her soaked dress lay on her bed, she wasn't going to deal with it yet. Besides, if Dom found her sat besides the bathtub as she cleaned it he'd probably think she was trying to drown herself in it. Steam sizzled all around her as she worked, banging the pans as she did. No one dared come into the kitchen. Not even Dom, he'd come back soon after her and had stayed out the front fixing the cars up with Letty. They were all walking on eggshells.
With a vicious smile, she cracked an egg into the frying pan. She pretended the shell was Dom as she dropped the dripping halves into the trash. He had no idea what she was going through, none at all. Before she'd been full of sadness and incredible loneliness. Now it was just pure rage that swelled inside of her. How dare they think they could save her life when she wanted to be left alone to drown? It was her decision, not theirs. She slammed another egg into the pan and threw the shells away without looking.
*
"You think she'll be ok?" Letty asked, sprawled beneath the car
"Maybe" was Dom's singular answer
They'd been working on the car for the best parts of an hour. Dom had been incredibly quiet since coming back from the beach looking deeply angry. Leon was sat watching TV again though no drink was clutched in this hand this time. He was at least not trying to drown himself in the beer again. Letty felt empty, she couldn't explain it. Just empty, like she'd lost part of herself. They'd nearly lost Mia; it felt like they had anyway. The look in her eyes as she tearfully raged against them had been almost animal in its ferocity and that had scared Letty. She hadn't known Mia had it in her.
*
Mia furiously wiped the tears out of her eyes with the back of hand as she worked. It as the onions she told her herself as she worked. It was the onions making her cry, not the feelings bubbling inside of her. She knew it wasn't them but she was practicing in case one of the others asked. More than anything else, she was determined to find Brian. Even if it meant going back to where she'd came from to find him. If it meant getting arrested she thought she could even handle that despite seeing how Dom had looked when he'd come out. Like a haunted animal.
Life wasn't the same she knew and she could deal with that ok. She'd just wanted to pass onto a different life where things made sense again and if she was lucky, where she'd be reunited with Brian eventually. She stirred the pot with a fresh bout of anger. She'd nearly made it if Leon hadn't pulled her out and Letty hadn't given her life again. What did they know of her love anyway? They assumed it was puppy love, something that could pass away easily. What did they know?
Then she heard the sound of a car engine, very far away.
CLOSER STILL
The air was getting thicker with dust as the roads got quieter and quieter. Vince was having problems breathing but naturally wasn't saying anything to Brian about it. Brian could see the laboured way he drew in breath and the pain twisting his face as he coughed and coughed. It was getting worse and worse and though Brian waited, Vince said nothing, staunchly staying in silence to suffer alone. With an inner eyeroll and more concern than he'd admit to Vince, Brian pulled over.
"What you stopping for? Gotta make tracks if you want to see Mia again" Vince asked, this voice a lot weaker than normal though still containing its usual ring of animal mocking
"Vince, you can't breathe, I'm stopping to make sure you don't die and I get charged for murder"
Vince tried to laugh but ended up coughing. Hurriedly Brian unscrewed the cap off the bottle of water and handed it to his passenger. Vince glugged down a healthy few shots before letting out a relieved sigh. Neither of them said anything for a few awkward moments.
"Why can't you breathe Vince?" Brian asked quietly
"Lousy operation" Vince muttered after a beat of silence "they had to cut a lot out of me when they fixed the bullet holes, makes it hard for me to breathe for a while, maybe a month or two till I can do it on my own"
"On your own?"
"Without my pills, nurse probably gave you some right?"
Brian pulled the white paper bag out of his jacket pocket and shuffled through it until he found a small dirty pill bottle. He studied the label carefully before lifting his eyes to stare at Vince
"This is serious Vince, if you don't take them at the right time then it's gonna cause a lot of problems for you"
"Yeah well, I have a lot of them already so one more makes no different to me"
Brian shook a couple of small round pills out of the bottle.
"Take some now Vince ok? I'm sure the team want you breathing when you see them again"
With a grunt, Vince took the pills from Brian and washed them down with more water. There was silence as he did, Brian not really knowing where to look or what to say. Vince handed him the bottle back and stared straight ahead at the road in front of them. The sun was painting the sky a warm apricot, making everything seem tinted.
Slowly Brian started the car again and drove it smoothly back onto the road. Vince was silent, his forceful steely gaze fixed on the misty horizon. There was so much Brian wanted to ask him; about the team, how everything seemed to fit so cleverly together, why he had loved Mia for so long and treated her the way he did, why he and Dom were as close as brothers and why, to his and the hospital's knowledge, he hadn't even cried about Jesse's death. But that would have to wait. Vince barely trusted him and the only brotherly affection he showed was through growled cracks under his breath and hoarse laughter. It was something, it was better than blatant distrust and a punch in the mouth.
"Wonder if Letty fixed the corroborator?"
Brian looked at Vince. He was talking slowly under his breath, almost like in a dream. It must be the affect of the pills. He was supposed to take them every few hours; the greasy burger a while back probably hadn't helped. Vince slumped down further in his seat, his eyes glazing slightly as he continued mumbling. His eyes fluttered shut as he slipped further into his memories.
"Need to get the meat for the barbeque for tonight, Jesse's got to fix the cash register"
Then his face contorted with pain.
"Dom! Help me brother! I can't get my arm free, it's gonna tear it out of its socket!"
Brian felt like he could see what Vince was seeing, through vivid pain filled eyes. The image of Vince hanging from that truck by his arm was one that wouldn't go away quickly. Dom's helpless expression as he had to pull back with a burst tyre. Then the sight of a rifle lifted up to the smashed window as he hastily untangled Vince and the sound of the bullet as they leapt into the car.
"All I can feel..."
Vince clutched at his chest, feeling for the blood that had poured out and was blocked by Dom's vest. Brian took the wheel with one hand and shook Vince with the other
"Vince snap out of it!"
"Why aren't I dead?"
"Vince wake up!"
There was a pause and then Vince started violently. He looked around with clearer eyes. Brian sighed and handed him the bottle again. There was silence coating them now. Brian had seen and heard what Vince suffered. Vince drank more and kept silent. He didn't seem surprised at the way he'd jerked out of his realistic thoughts. Maybe, Brian thought, it had been a regular occurrence in hospital. It had to be mentally and emotionally painful to relive it all again. Vince suddenly sat up, trying to peer over the dusty hills that the strip of deserted road ploughed over.
"Holy shit" he hissed out "we're almost there"
"What?!"
"We're almost there Golden Boy, we're real close, just over the hill and give or take a few miles, we're there, you'll see the house soon"
Brian found his heart racing hard. He would see Mia soon. He didn't feel prepared for it or her or Dom, just an excited ache inside of him. Vince looked through the windscreen eagerly. His expression was intense to the max but completely focused on the road ahead. He was going home.
"There! There it is"
He pointed awkwardly at a small bright smudge in the distance. Brian strained to see that details. It looked small from this distance. Vince was oblivious to Brian's taut silence, immersed in the thought of being back with the team again.
"Have you thought yet Vince, what you're going to say when you walk back through the door with me?"
*
Food was what kept Mia focused now. She'd changed into a worn blue jeans and a simple blue tank as she worked in the kitchen. Her soaked dress lay on her bed, she wasn't going to deal with it yet. Besides, if Dom found her sat besides the bathtub as she cleaned it he'd probably think she was trying to drown herself in it. Steam sizzled all around her as she worked, banging the pans as she did. No one dared come into the kitchen. Not even Dom, he'd come back soon after her and had stayed out the front fixing the cars up with Letty. They were all walking on eggshells.
With a vicious smile, she cracked an egg into the frying pan. She pretended the shell was Dom as she dropped the dripping halves into the trash. He had no idea what she was going through, none at all. Before she'd been full of sadness and incredible loneliness. Now it was just pure rage that swelled inside of her. How dare they think they could save her life when she wanted to be left alone to drown? It was her decision, not theirs. She slammed another egg into the pan and threw the shells away without looking.
*
"You think she'll be ok?" Letty asked, sprawled beneath the car
"Maybe" was Dom's singular answer
They'd been working on the car for the best parts of an hour. Dom had been incredibly quiet since coming back from the beach looking deeply angry. Leon was sat watching TV again though no drink was clutched in this hand this time. He was at least not trying to drown himself in the beer again. Letty felt empty, she couldn't explain it. Just empty, like she'd lost part of herself. They'd nearly lost Mia; it felt like they had anyway. The look in her eyes as she tearfully raged against them had been almost animal in its ferocity and that had scared Letty. She hadn't known Mia had it in her.
*
Mia furiously wiped the tears out of her eyes with the back of hand as she worked. It as the onions she told her herself as she worked. It was the onions making her cry, not the feelings bubbling inside of her. She knew it wasn't them but she was practicing in case one of the others asked. More than anything else, she was determined to find Brian. Even if it meant going back to where she'd came from to find him. If it meant getting arrested she thought she could even handle that despite seeing how Dom had looked when he'd come out. Like a haunted animal.
Life wasn't the same she knew and she could deal with that ok. She'd just wanted to pass onto a different life where things made sense again and if she was lucky, where she'd be reunited with Brian eventually. She stirred the pot with a fresh bout of anger. She'd nearly made it if Leon hadn't pulled her out and Letty hadn't given her life again. What did they know of her love anyway? They assumed it was puppy love, something that could pass away easily. What did they know?
Then she heard the sound of a car engine, very far away.