A/N: 1) You guys know with me, it's fair game. If Dom can meet someone new, you know my girl Letty can't be left out. 2) I'll be updating this Tuesdays (and occasionally Thursdays as well) unless something insane comes up. 3) Just a reminder this is semi-AU, so some canon events happen, others didn't. But all will be explained in time. Be patient with me.
Part II
Legends The Barber Shop, Saturday
"Hey, everybody watch your mouths, my nephew is here!" Rome shouted in the bustling shop.
"'Sup, tío?"
"How's school?"
"It's school." Mateo shrugged. He hopped into his uncle's chair.
"How's soccer practice going?"
Mateo's face lit up. "It's awesome! I made four goals on Monday."
"Whaaat? My man." Rome bumped fists with Mateo.
"Last shore weekend, Rome. You know what that means." Dom mentioned.
"Oh, for sure. I'm leaving here early to finish packing."
"Why do you guys get so excited about the last shore weekend?" Mateo asked.
"That's for us to know and you to never find out." Dom laughed.
The family's last weekend at the beach house always coincided with the end of summer drag races. Mateo knew his father and uncles were into cars, but he had no clue about their past lives.
He had no idea about their country-hopping lifestyles when they raced fast cars, dated fast women, stole oil from the rich to give to the needy of the Dominican Republic, and brought Letty home from London.
It's how Rome bought the barbershop. Tej bought stocks in Apple and Samsung. Brian and Mia opened a quaint bed and breakfast. But it was also how they lost Gisele. And Han was doomed to live the rest of his life working night and day at the two restaurants, Gisele's and Yashar, that he opened, thinking of his one true love.
They had used what they'd earned to get what they needed to secure a future for themselves and their children.
It seemed like a lifestyle ago. Now, all they had were the end of summer races. A chance for the team to feel like they used to.
Toretto Family Beach House, Los Angeles, Saturday
"Mia, that smells amazing." Letty kissed her sister's cheek. "How you livin', girl?"
"Always good when I'm with family." She replied. "Where's my nephew?"
"Out back. He cracked open a cold one with the boys." Letty replied, trying to sneak a taste of the chicken Mia was making. Mia popped her hand.
"You're saying grace."
Letty shrugged a shoulder, unbothered. "Where's your idiot brother?"
"If he's an idiot, why do you want to know?" Mia smirked.
In the backyard, Dom found his family at the playground that had been built on the property when Jack was born. Mateo sat on the swing set and Han sat on top of the monkey bars. Tej and Rome sat on the picnic table. Mateo held a glass bottle of root beer in his hand, appraising his uncles and father. He attempted to sit how they did: relaxed, but still able to steal the attention of their women.
"How's school, Tay?" Tej asked.
"It's okay. I like my teacher. She lets me come up to board to solve math problems a lot."
"Yeah? She nice to you?"
"Yup. She says I'm one of her best students so far." He kicked at the wood chips under his feet. "I don't know if that means much because she said Dad and Mom were her favorite parents at back to school night."
Dom cleared his throat and drank from his beer.
"Did she now?" Rome's ears perked up. He knew gossip when he heard it. And Dom's body language wasn't helping his case.
"Rome. Leave it." Han warned as he popped a handful of cashews into his mouth.
"She was nice."
"Mateo Anthony Toretto, where is my hug?" Mia yelled from the sliding door that led to the kitchen.
"Coming!" He hopped off of the swing and ran to her. "Hi, tía. Where's Jack?"
"I think he's upstairs playing video games with tío Brian. Go tell them that dinner's almost ready."
And with that, he was gone.
"So? The teacher." Roman urged.
"What about her?"
"Is she hot?"
"She's not ugly."
Han. Tej and Rome took turns looking at each other before turning their attention back to Dom.
"So, how long before you're grabbing that ass and holding onto it?" Tej asked, making an obscene gesture with his hands.
Dom laughed. "I don't know, man."
Rome added, "Y'all are forgetting the part when Letty kills him and the teacher."
"Letty wanted this divorce. She can't dictate what I do anymore."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, bro."
"A duck!"
"Chicken!"
"Chickenhead?" Rome asked.
"What is wrong with you?" Tej asked, completely amused.
They were loud. They were laughing. They were playing one of the funniest games of Pictionary. It was what they needed. Letty had been quiet throughout dinner after being last to the table and stuck between Mateo and his father. The tension was palpable, but no one commented on it. Tej had forced everyone to take a shot of the strongest liquor they had in the house. Then Mia declared that it was time for an impromptu game night.
"Times up!" Mia shouted.
Brian looked indignant as he pointed to his permanent marker drawing. "Are you kidding me? It's a swan. Look how graceful this thing is?"
"A swan? Is that a sick joke?"
"Whatever, this is a masterpiece. I'm framing this." Brian said.
"And where do you think you're hanging it?" Mia asked, crossing her arms.
"Right in the bedroom." He replied, suggestively.
Dom threw a decorative pillow at his brother-in-law. Brian caught it, laughing.
"That's my sister!"
"What? They mate for life!" The blond responded with a cheeky grin.
"Still flagged."
"Who's next?" Brian wondered.
Han looked at the brunette next to him. "Letty, you're up."
Letty grunted dramatically as she got up from the couch. Brian tossed her the black marker which she caught with ease. Standing in front of the easel, she reached into the box that Mia handed her. She ruffled through it before producing her topic.
"No way. Let me pull another one." She begged of Mia.
"Nope. You know the rules."
"Fine."
"Ready! Go!"
Letty started drawing. An altar, two stick figures. One with a top hat, for some odd reason.
"Monopoly!"
"Dolls!"
A cross necklace around two hands.
Dom leaned forward, forearms resting against his knees. "A wedding." He said, and the tone of his voice caused everyone to quiet down.
Mia broke the silence first. "Is that it, Letty?"
"Yeah." She replied in the same thoughtful tone as Dom. "It's a wedding."
It was the worst. When they were reminded of their past together. Nothing was the same now. And the constant strain of pretending they were okay with being confined to the same house together was becoming too much.
No one had agreed with their decision to divorce. Everyone assumed they were just going through a rough patch and would get better with time. But they didn't. They only got worse, bickering over every little thing; from replacing the toilet paper roll to a dish being left in the sink. It wasn't healthy for anyone involved.
Mia and Brian suggested marriage and family counseling. Letty and Dom didn't think they needed it. They were old school, prefering to deal with their problems by themselves. But their problems, Mia had reminded them, affected everyone, especially Mateo.
Dom and Letty never talked. That was a major problem. When they were younger, that was okay. But the older they got, the bigger their problems were. It was no longer Letty finding Dom in a bar in the DR sandwiched between two skanks in skimpy clothing. There were bills to be paid and decisions to be made about Mateo's well-being. Parenthood. It had forced them to grow up quicker than they had anticipated. They butted heads until one either relented or just did what they wanted regardless of the other's feelings.
Dom's motto became "it's better to beg forgiveness than ask permission". And the sex had gone from anytime and any place to constant headaches and fatigue that left them both too tired to do anything..
So, when Mateo was five, Mia forced them on a second honeymoon. Afterwards, they were good. For a while. No one knew where they went or what they did, but when Dom and Letty returned, they were more romantic again, showing more affection. Little did anyone realize that their increased sexual lifestyle was only a bandaid for the underlying problems that still was still lurking just beneath the surface.
"It's late, you two." Mia told her son and his cousin. "Time for bed."
Jack, sensing the shift in mood as well, stood from his seat on the floor and summoned Mateo. Rome and Tej started cleaning up the game while Mia straightened up the couches.
"Letty." Dom said, catching her attention. She looked at him and he nodded his head towards the side patio door. Together, they headed out, shutting the sliding door behind them.
"So, that sucked."
"It didn't suck."
"Let, come on. You can be honest with me."
"Fine," acquiesced Letty, "it sucked."
Dom pulled himself up on the wooden banister and Letty sat on the swinging chair, pulling her feet under her bum and a pillow to her chest.
"We have to stop doing this."
"Doing what?"
"Making things awkward for everyone else who just want to have a good time."
"I know. What do you suggest we do?" She asked.
"I know we said we wouldn't do it, but Mateo's older now. He'll understand."
"Understand what?"
"Maybe we should just switch off on what each of us are there for. Maybe I can have him for Thanksgiving and you can have Christmases."
"My son—."
"Our son." Dom corrected.
"—will not have separated holidays. Holidays are for family. His entire family. He deserves that."
He knew she was right. "Fine. Not holidays. But everything else like vacations and school trips. The small things."
"And what about his soccer games?"
"I said small things, Letty. Soccer is a major part of the our son's life. He should know that we both support him."
"For the record I think this is stupid."
"So now I'm stupid."
"I didn't say you were stupid. Just this idea."
"Because it wasn't yours."
"Because we're supposed to be a family!"
"We are. A little dysfunctional, but we are."
"A little dys—. Jesus." Letty huffed pushing her hair from her face. "Whatever you say, Dom. You're the man."
"Seriously?"
"That's how you have to feel all the time, isn't it? Like you're Zeus, king of the gods."
"That's bullshit and you know it."
"Really?" She looked him dead in the eyes. "The DR?"
"The DR? Letty are you fucking kidding me right now? You know I did that to keep you safe."
"Because you always think you know what's best. Even if it negatively affects the rest of us."
"It may hurt but nothing is going to stop me from protecting my family."
"Except stay."
"You left me!"
"Because you left me a long time ago!"
They weren't talking about the DR anymore.
"Say what you really mean."
"It doesn't matter anymore. I shouldn't be here. This is your family's house." She stood from the swinging chair. "I'll get Mateo from the garage on Monday."
"Are you at least going to say goodbye and goodnight to him?"
She shot him a look and if it could kill, he would've been dead. "Of course, I am. I'm not a horrible mother."
Before he could respond, the sliding door was closing and he watched as she disappeared from view.
"You're not a horrible anything, Let." He mumbled.
Costco's, Tuesday, 6:54PM
"Go pick out cereal. One fun, one healthy." Letty told Mateo. He hopped off of the back of the shopping cart and headed down the aisle. She looked down at the piece of scrap paper she'd written the list on.
Milk, check. Veggies, check. Cases of water, check. Toilet paper, no check.
She turned back around and read the signs above her head.
Shit. They had passed right by the personal care aisle.
"Mateo, meet me in aisle two. Do not talk to strangers. Scream if someone approaches you."
"I know. Stranger danger. I remember." He told her as he looked for his favorite cereal.
Letty turned it the toiletries aisle and nearly collided with another car. She huffed.
"Jesus. Make some noise next time."
"Me? You're the one who had her head in the clouds." A deep voice, thick with an accent.
"My head is just fine, thank you very much." She sassed and finally looked at him. He was shorter than Dom and leaner, and while Letty wasn't really a fan of facial hair, it looked good on him. His light brown eyes twinkled with amusement.
"Anyway, sorry for almost killing you just then."
"It-it's fine. I should really watch where I'm going."
He didn't say anything but he kept staring.
"Right, so, should I bob and you weave?" Letty tilted her head in one direction and pointed her thumb in the other.
"Sorry, yeah." He headed to the left, so Letty headed for the right. Before she went any further, the handsome stranger stopped her. "Sorry, if I let you go without at least knowing your name, I think I'll get home and never be able to look myself in the mirror again."
Letty looked confused, so he put his hand out to shake and said, "Shaw. Owen Shaw."
"Is that like Bond, James Bond?" She laughed, but shook his hand anyway.
"Shaken, not stirred." He smirked.
"Letty. Ortiz."
"It's nice to meet you, Letty Ortiz."
"Likewise."
"Mom! They don't have my favorite, so I got my second favorite."
"Is it healthy?"
Mateo made a face and held up a box of Wheaties. "No, so I got these, too."
He turned to the man that had been talking to his mother. "Hi. I'm Mateo. Sorry for interrupting."
"That's quite alright." He held his hand out to Mateo. "I'm Owen."
"Nice to meet you. Are you a friend of my mom's?"
"I'd like to be. Is there anyway to convince her that I'm the kind of person she should take a chance on?"
Mateo shrugged. "She likes Cuban food."
Owen looked back to the stunning brunette before him. "Well then, Letty Ortiz, may I take you to Cha Cha Cha?"
Letty's mouth opened and then she shook her head once, trying to clear her mind.
"Yes." Mateo replied for her. "Pick her up Friday at seven."