Letty woke slowly as she felt the sun's warm rays welcoming her from the deepness of her sleep. Stretching leisurely she let her brown eyes scan the room. The bed next to her held no evidence that anyone had ever slept in it, Mia must've straightened it after she woke. The room was full of girlish items, the walls were a pale pink with flowers on them and the furniture was both white and pink. Taking a deep breath of air she could smell bacon and eggs in the air. Somebody was cooking and it smelled good. Getting out of the sleeping bag she walked out of Mia's room and down the stairs, yawning as she did so. When she got downstairs she headed into the kitchen was rewarded with an elbow to her chin. She fell onto the floor as the person turned around to see what they bumped.
"Whoops, sorry Letty." Vince said as he reached down to pull her back up. As he did so Mia came over and knocked him out of her way, promptly making Letty fall back onto her butt.
"You big oaf! You knocked her over!" She exclaimed as she took Vince's place in helping Letty up.
"I apologized for it Mia, no need to chew me up about it!" He said in turn as Mia gave him a cold glare.
"Brotha, I think you just got burned." Dominic said as he threw an arm playfully around his best friend's shoulders. Vince nodded his agreement and shook his head.
"Girls, I can take mosta them, but jeez Dominic, yo' sista is gonna knock the socks offa her first boyfriend." The big man at the stove cooking laughed at the boy's assesment and turned towards them with a plate of full of stacked high food in his hands.
"I agree, now getcher butts to the table." The man turned to Letty as the other's sat at the table as ordered. "What's your name little lady?"
"Leticia." She introduced herself to him as she shook his offered hand.
"Well little Miss Leticia," He said her name with a smile on his face. "I am Mister Ray Toretto, but you can call me Ray. Why don't you take a seat next to Mia?" He suggested after introducing himself to her. Letty smiled and nodded her head before sitting next to Mia. Dominic reached for the spoon so he could put some eggs on his plate when his hand was smacked by his father. "Because you reached for the eggs first, you get to say grace Dominic."
"Aight, dear Heavenly Spirits, thank ya for the food, house, clothes excetera excetera, and most especially the really hott girls down the street. Amen!" He added quickly and ducking so the smack his father aimed for the back of his head missed.
"Ya got that last one right brotha!" Vince said inbetween his laughter. Mia rolled her eyes and shook her head at her brother's prayer before muttering amen with the rest of the family.
"Must you worry so much about girls?" She asked her brother sarcasticly. He looked at her with a smirk.
"Heck yes!" He and Vince said in unison. She sighed and returned her attention the food before her.
"You're crazy Dom." Letty whispered, everybody stopped in motion and turned to look at her with confusion on their faces. There was silence until Mia started giggling.
"And why am I so crazy Letty?" Dom asked with an eyebrow cocked.
"Cause ya act so big." She said simply in answer. At their still confused faces she continued to explain. "You act so big and tough and dangerous, and ya hang out with all these random chicks, but you're just a big softie." At her answer Ray cracked a smile and chuckled while Mia was full out laughing. Vince stared from Letty to Dominic and back again before falling to the floor with laughter.
"Oh she gotcha good brotha!" Vince said as he struggled to get back in his seat from the floor still laughing his head off.
"Yeah yeah yeah!" Dominic said back, irritated that he'd become the laughing stock of the morning. He snorted before shoving the remainder of food in his mouth. Rising from the table he excused himself and stormed from the house. Letty bit her lip as she watched him leave.
"Um, did I do somethin' wrong?" She asked innocently causing everybody to start laughing again.
"No, no Letty, you didn't do nothin' wrong." Ray said as he continued to eat. "It's about time somebody put Dom in his place, I'm just amazed that someone so young did it! You can't be more than ten?" She nodded the affirmative and he smiled. "A ten year old beat Dom at his own game." He chuckled before continuing to eat. "A ten year old." He mumbled to himself still smiling like a fool.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
News passed quickly through the neighborhood about Dom's humiliation and Letty was constantly confronted by people asking her how she did it. She always shrugged and told them she didn't know before going back to doing whatever she was before they interupted. She had known the Toretto's for several weeks now and she had become basically part of the family.
"Hey Letty, we're going to the garage with Daddy today, ya wanna come?" Mia asked of her as she pulled on her shoes.
"Sure!" She replied enthusiastically as she pulled her own shoes on. Mia, Letty, Vince and Dom walked as a group to the nearby garage that Mia and Dom's father owned. A block away from the building they started hearing the tell tale signs of cars being worked on. The smell of oil was in the air as they neared the garage. Mia went straight to her father's office to sort out his papers, she always helped him with organization she was just naturally good at it. Vince and Dom went to help Ray with the car he was currently working on which left Letty to watch and learn. She listened to every word that passed from Ray's lips as he taught the boys about cars and how to fix what was wrong with them. She sat there the whole day, just watching them work on the random cars that had been brought in with one problem or another.
When the lunch break came Letty wasn't really hungry so she watched the others while they ate. Dominic captured her interest though, he ate seperately from the others, a sandwich in one hand while he worked on something with the other. He was utterly lost in his project as she watched him silently. He finished his sandwich with another bite and realized how sweaty he was. Dom stepped into the sun and Letty watched in amazement as he pulled his shirt off. She had never been one to like guys, until a while ago she had figured that boys had cooties but she couldn't resist but be amazed at how wonderful Dom's body was. He was like a demi god, his bronze skin rippled with muscles that he struggling to maintain as he lifted weights. Sweat dripped down his body, following the trails of his muscles causing her mouth to drop. He was hott!
"Hey Letty, want a pudding?" Mia broke Letty's train of thoughts with her innocent question and she pulled her mind together so she could answer.
"No thanks Mia." She replied shaking her head. Leaning back against the wall she wondered why she was so attracted to Dom. He was just cute, she figured. Decided that was her reason for liking him so much she sat back down on the crate that had become her chair. The others came back from their lunch break and started working on cars again while Mia came to join her on the crate. They watched the boys while Mia would occasionally make a comment about something pointless and Letty would agree or disagree and add a comment. Her mind was never fully on the subject though, it was on Dominic.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
The next couple weeks flew by in a rush, during the time Letty did everything she could to find more about cars and Dom. She would read in magazines about cars and how they worked and what made them run. She studied at first just because Dom liked them but after a while she became obsessed with them just because they were interesting. She was constantly at the garage with Ray, even if the rest of the group wasn't there, she was always working with him. While they worked alone she would ask him questions about Dom, it was no mystery to him that she had a crush on his son, in fact he thought it was cute.
The day before Letty's eleventh birthday she had stayed the night at Mia's because she didn't want to go home to her brothers and mother. The sun was pelting down on her face brutally and she realized that the sun seemed to be a lot brighter in the summer. Feeling somebody jump onto her stomach her eyes flew open and she yelped.
"Happy birthday Letty!" Mia yelled out with a huge grin on her face as she climbed off of Letty's stomach. She moaned in response to the abrubt awakening and glared at Mia. "C'mon sleepy head! Outa bed with you!" She grabbed Letty's arm and yanked her out of the sleeping bag.
"Aight! I'm up I'm up!" She exclaimed as Mia dragged her to a standing position. Opening up her closet the younger girl searched around and finally found what she was looking for.
"Here, you can borrow my clothes for the day!" Letty's friend squealed as she handed her the clothing. "Now get dressed!" Mia ordered as she pushed Letty to the bathroom. Inspecting the clothes she had been given she was glad that Mia hadn't given her something too girly. She pulled on the blue jean shorts and the dark blue tank top quickly, she was excited for the first time that it was her birthday. Grabbing Mia's brush she ran it through her hair and put it in a messy ponytail to get it out of her face. Exiting the bathroom Mia was waiting for her.
The girls excitedly ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. Ray was at the stove cooking breakfast like everyday but today he was making cinnamon rolls, Letty's favorite. Dom was setting the table and only glanced at the girls as they came in. Letty was immediately pulled into a tight hug by Ray as he took a break from cooking.
"Happy birthday Letty!" He said as he released her. Letty didn't think she could smile any wider. Vince entered the kitchen from the living room and gave Letty a hug as well giving her a happy birthday too. Still Dom didn't look at Letty but continued setting the table. "Alright everybody, sit sit sit!" He ordered. They didn't waste any time taking their seats at the table. Ray set the plate full of cinnamon rolls onto the table and being eager Letty forgot completely about the grace rule. Ray tapped her hand slightly and gave her a half grin. "Since you grabbed first, you get to say grace this morning Letty." Taking a deep breath she put her hands together in a tight clasp and thought for a moment.
"Dear heavenly Spirits," She began quietly, still unsure about what for what she would thank. "thank you for Ray's yummy cinnamon rolls, for my best friend Mia, her brother Dom and his best friend Vince, even though they all can be a pain in the butt they're still nice and I love them lots. Thank you also for the awesome cars at Ray's shop 'cause they're really cool! Amen." Chuckles followed her prayer and she blushed.
"Aight lets eat already." Vince growled as he made a grab for the cinnamon rolls. He earned several more laughs from the family before they all dug into the food awaiting them. Breakfast was delicious and Letty thanked Ray for the cinnamon rolls several times. They all piled into the living room where there was a pile of presents sitting on the coffee table. Letty stared at them in amazement before Ray urged her to go open them. Grabbing the first present she stared in wonder, the last time she'd had presents was when her father was alive, when she was only five.
"Open it up Letty!" Mia encouraged with a smile. Ripping at the paper Letty eagerly tore the gift open. Inside was a new pair of jeans without any holes and a red tank top to match them. She smiled broadly and thanked Ray for her gift. The next gift was from Mia and she wondered what her friend got her before she opened it as well. Seeing a new pair of sneakers in her size she knew that Ray had bought them with Mia choosing them. She hugged Mia while sharing a wink with Ray. The next gift was from Vince and she opened it up without hesitation. Letty lifted the silver necklace out and grinned, on a charm that was shaped like a ribbon it said 'Tomboy and proud!' in bold letters. She thanked him and threw her arms around Vince in a tight hug.
The last gift was from Dom and she bit her lip in anticipation. Opening it up eagerly she discovered a pair of keys in the box. Inspecting the keys she was confused. He gave me keys? She asked herself in question. Letty looked at Dom with a raised eyebrow.
"The keys are for the house and garage. So now you don't have to come bug me for the keys anymore." He smirked at her surprised expression. Getting up she launched herself into his arms and gave him a tight hug.
"Thanks Dom!" She exclaimed before giving him a quick peck on the cheek. He pushed her away gently before rubbing his cheek where she kissed him. Letty was oblivious to his blush as she and Mia ran upstairs with her gifts so they could play. Ray smiled at Dom before going into the kitchen to clean up the breakfast mess he had made. Vince punched Dom on the arm and laughed at him.
"Ya gotta kiss from a eleven year old dawg!" He yelled out in laughter. Dom growled at his best friend before punching him back lightly on the arm.
"Yeah yeah yeah, you'll get your turn too brotha." Dom said back to Vince with attitude. The other boy chuckled and started cleaning up the mess Letty had made opening her gifts.
"Whateva man, now help me pick up this mess." He ordered.
"Nah, you can do that yo'self!" Dom said as he ran out of his friend's reach.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
(A/N) Hey everybody, like the chapter? Most of you are gonna give me a big head with all the ego boost, only one of you had complaints and that was mainly stuff I've already been trying to fix. I admit I'm not so sure how a ten year old would talk in Letty's situation. Sure my sister's gonna be ten this year but that dosn't mean she acts like Letty! This is frustrating cuz speach is a big factor in my book, oh well, if you wouldn't mind helping me with the speach issue I would be eternally grateful. Also I'm aware that a boy Dom's age wouldn't compare a girl of Letty's age with somebody older but I'm thinking that since she acts older than she is it causes him to momentarily forget. So don't chew me out pleeeeeeease.
And don't worry people, this is NOT another story that makes Dom and Letty be together all cuz it's sexual. That honestly bugs me how most people believe that's what their relationship is based upon. But if you remember in the movie Dom tells Letty that he loves her? Yeah, that might be a factor as well! Well I'm done making this author's note extremely long and I'll leave to update my other stories. -Sabeybaby