A/N: Hehemm.. I just won $300.. Go me! Anywho, thankyou oh so much to the wonderful people who read and/or reviewed the last chapter. Your kind words have inspired me to post earlier than I planned.

The music for this chapter was a mixture of Fuel's "Falls on Me", "Half Life" by Duncan Sheik and "Possession" by Sarah McLachlan. Those three songs kinda made it for me as I was writing. Happy reading.

Vince shifted the towel over his lap. For the first time he could remember since he lost his virginity, he felt shy about being naked in front of a woman. Well... Almost naked. He was having too much trouble wrapping the towel around him one handed, so he settled for spreading it over his lap after he sat on the edge of the bed. Water was still dripping from his hair, fresh out of the shower. Tiny rivulets of moisture trailed down over his neck and onto his chest, then ran a trail down over his abdomen and soaked into the towel below his navel. He nervously avoided looking at Tala as she picked the remnants of neon pink silly string out of his hair. If he did look up, he would be nose first into her cleavage. She was close enough for him to smell her, a mixture of soap, perfume and something sweeter that was distinctly her. Her body heat seared at his exposed bicep as she leant closer. He squirmed, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Baby, sit still. You've got a blob of this crap stuck here." Her gentle fingers worked through his hair with the comb, tugging slightly beneath the patch of neon pink goop. "God, this is worse than chewing gum. What did he do? Just hold it there until it bonded with your scalp?"

Vince rolled his shoulders, squeezing his eyes shut and keeping his head down. He didn't answer verbally, only grunted in response. Tala's fingers stilled on his scalp.

"You ok, V? You're kinda quiet." She sounded suspicious. Vince bit at his fist and looked at her out of the corner of his eye, wincing silently.

"'M fine," he mumbled quietly. His eyes rolled shut when her blunt nails scraped across his neck. It was her patented move to calm him. Those nails dragging lightly from his scalp all the way down his spine. Most of the time it put him to sleep. But this time…

Vince jerked away, his good hand coming up to grab her wrist. "Tala, stop.." He growled, not meeting her eyes. His fingers circled her wrist easily, holding it away from him.

Her voice was hurt when she spoke. "If you wanted me to leave you to it, Vince, you only had to say so." She made no move to get away from him.

"Firefly.." his fingers tightened around her wrist, "I don't want you to leave." He told her firmly, sterner than he had ever been with her. Her fingers clenched loosely in front of his face.

"Are you angry at me?" she asked in a small voice. Her breath caught in her throat audibly when he released her, his hand coming to rest on her hip, slipping beneath her shirt to sit on the skin. "Vince?"

He could hear the waver in her voice as his fingers traced the waist of her jeans, tugging at the button until it popped open. He nosed the flap of her button down shirt out of the way.

"I love you," came his quiet murmur against her stomach. His beard scratched at her skin with each movement of his jaw. Vince dragged his lips across the skin just above her navel, nuzzling and he smiled against her when he felt her hands tangle in his hair. The zipper rasped almost loudly in the quiet room, his thick fingers dragging the tiny tab lower. His tongue darted into her belly button wetly. Tala's breath caught and her grip on his hair tightened dramatically. Vince groaned at the added stimuli.

"Vince.."

His hand gripped the leg of her faded jeans, "Off." He demanded, pulling at them. Obediently she shucked them off and stepped out of them, leaving her standing in front of him wearing little more than her panties and her shirt.

"Baby, are you sure?" she asked, allowing him to drag her forward. Vince's wicked smile sent fire through her veins, his eyes dark on her. His large hand curled around the back of her thigh, pulling her closer until she was almost straddling him. One last tug forward and she was in his lap, pressed flush against him. Her thighs draped around his hips and with one swift movement, he drew Tala as close as humanly possible. She could feel him everywhere.

Her eyes widened ever so slightly. Oh. My. God.

He nuzzled her throat, nipping at her ear. "If you'll have me." He whispered against her ear, his mouth latching on to the skin just behind it. His arm curled tighter around her back and at her gentle urging, he lay back on the bed.

Vince's hand ghosted over Tala's arm, nearly touching her skin but not quite. His gift to her, the pendant, was pooled in the hollow of her throat, the white gold stark against her caramel skin. He smiled faintly when she squirmed in her sleep and rolled toward him, curling herself against his side with a small, quiet sigh. Her hand slid across his stomach and came to rest over his right hip, her head tucked beneath his arm. Seeing her shiver slightly, Vince pulled the covers higher over her bare skin, tucking her in snugly against him. He pressed a kiss against the top of her head, holding her closer.

Tala was the only person he had known in all his years who could tolerate his moods. She listened when he ranted, she accepted him with a smile when he was fall down drunk and more importantly… She loved him and took care of him. Not because she had to, because she wanted to. She didn't belong to him, as far as he was concerned, he belonged to her for as long as she'd have him. She was the only one who could merely brighten his day with a smile or a touch, calm him when he was stressed or ease his pain when he was hurting. She was his world. His everything.

Vince swallowed thickly, trying to comprehend how someone he had only known for a matter of months could become so important to him so quickly. If anyone had asked him a year ago if this is where he would be, he would have laughed in their faces and gone in search of another beer. Hell, a year ago he'd thought he would still be chasing Mia.

His thoughts darkened when he thought of her now, the only thing he could muster being a lingering sense of pity and loathing. He used to think everything about the youngest Toretto was beautiful, inside and out. Then everything had changed. Spilner, or O'Connor as he now knew him, came into the picture, sending their entire world into disarray. Mia's brush offs turned cruel instead of just dismissive, she no longer just rolled her eyes whenever he hit on her. Instead he was met with scathing remarks and spiteful comebacks. Mia had no regard for anyone's feelings but her own. Spilner's arrival brought out Mia's true colours and they were some of the ugliest ones he'd ever seen. Vince glowered into the darkness, his hold tightening slightly on Tala's slight shoulders.

Mia had lied to him. She had made a promise to him while he was vulnerable that she had no intention of keeping. She had lied.

Screw her, Vince thought, feeling Tala's legs intertwine with his. I don't need them any more. I've got all I need right here.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," he whispered against her hair, running his large paw like hand across her back. She sighed against his skin, a tiny smile on her face in her sleep. "I love you so much." His fingers tangled in the sparkling chain around her neck. "My firefly."

Leon flopped on the couch, tiredly eyeing the completely trashed living room. Colourful wrapping paper littered the floor, as it did every Christmas, but this year he knew he would be the one cleaning it up. He looked up when he heard Letty shuffle into the room, dragging his eyes from the mess on the floor.

"I've decided that Vince is a bastard." He stated, moving his legs for her to sit down beside him. He swung himself into an upright position and leaned his head against Letty's shoulder.

"And what evidence do you have to support these claims?" she asked lightly, picking some glitter from his hair. He and Vince had gone nuts with the party favours earlier and both of them ended up looking like living Christmas trees. Leon gestured wildly to the mess on the floor.

"He left us to clean this up and took of to spend the night at Tala's! He knew he was on clean up duty!"

"Le!" Letty scolded, "Let him have some alone time with his girl."

Leon grunted, annoyed, but left the subject alone. His ire was quickly forgotten when he noticed some of the torn paper moving, a loud ripping sound coming from somewhere in the pile of pretty garbage. There was a dull thud, then a little whine. He grinned, squeezing Letty tight.

"Did I thank you for my present?" He asked, beaming at the snow white puppy that emerged from the gift wrap, smacking her chops trying to rid herself of an errant piece of tape. The puppy, christened 'Winter' on account of her snowy white coat and her one icy blue eye, bounded over to him.

"Maybe once or twice," Letty mumbled, smiling as she recalled the stunned expression on his face that morning when presented with the wriggling, partially gift wrapped dog. Vince had insisted on wrapping her legs and belly, or rather he insisted that Tala do it on his behalf. Letty grinned as she watched him pluck the sticky tape from her mouth. "Am I losing you to a dog?" She asked with a grin.

For a minute, Leon looked to be considering it, then he shook his head. "Never happen." He stated.

Letty slouched, watching him contently. "You sound so sure."

He stopped and eased Winter onto the floor. She plodded off to play in the paper some more.

"Letty," he turned to face her. "Nothing short of killing me could make me leave you."

She felt herself start to tear up. "Really?"

"Really. Even then I'd probably haunt you though," he smiled lecherously at her, "I could watch you in the shower.." and like that the moment was broken, both laughing and Leon trying to shield himself from her attacks with a cushion.

"Letty! LETTY!" He grabbed the cushion off her. "Its not like I don't see you in the shower already." He reasoned, pulling her to him. She settled against his chest, fingers fisted in his shirt.

"It was different than I expected," she said after a while, resting her chin on his chest so she could look up at him. Leon stroked her hair out of her face.

"What was?"

She looked around the quiet room, the colourful lights on the Christmas tree flashing, casting artful shadows against the walls. "Our first Christmas alone."

Leon pulled a face. "We weren't alone though. There was you, me, Vince, Tala, little Winter here.."

She slapped at him. "I meant without the team." She said quietly. Leon fell silent, absently stroking her hair.

"Do you miss them?" He asked suddenly.

Letty sighed, pressing a kiss over his heart. "I miss Jess." She laughed sadly to herself. "I had to remind myself not to buy him somethin."

"I did." Leon admitted, his voice a little hoarse. Letty sat up, propping herself up on his chest.

Her question was quiet and a little watery. "…You did?" She noticed Leon's eyes glass up as he nodded.

"I forgot," he said, "It wasn't till I got home that I realised what I'd done and.." he trailed off, closing his eyes. As hard as he tried he couldn't stop a few tears from slipping free. His chest tightened painfully.

Letty looked at him sadly, a hand over her mouth. "Oh, Le.." No sooner had she gathered him into her arms did the flood gates finally open. All the months of grief, pain and hurt he had been repressing poured out.

Neither moved from the couch for the rest of the night.