Word Count: 1,083/27,373


Chapter 19
Just as Dom said, Mia pulled into the driveway not even ten minutes after they had gone back to working on the Charger. A movement at the door caught Brian's attention and he looked up to see Mia watching them with a pained expression on her face before disappearing into the house.

He hesitated. He needed to talk to her, just in case something happened, but he didn't want Dom to think that he was still pining after Mia.

He felt Dom staring at him and glanced over. Dom held his gaze for a moment before jerking his head towards the house. Brian sent him a grateful smile and slipped out of the garage. He found Mia in the kitchen, unloading the groceries.

"Hey," he said cautiously, not entirely sure of his welcome, even though they seemed to be okay before Mia had left the trailer.

She didn't respond, though she set the jar down on the counter, harder than was necessary.

"Hey, come here," he said, moving closer and gently pulling her into his arms.

"How do you say goodbye to your only brother?" she asked and he mentally cursed Dom when he heard the tears in her voice.

"You don't," he said, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "I won't let anything happen to him."

She pulled back and looked up at him. "You promise?"

"I promise."

She searched his face carefully before leaning in for a kiss. At the last second, Brian turned his head, allowing her lips to land on his cheek instead. She pulled back, confused.

"I'm sorry," he said simply, willing her to see what he couldn't bring himself to say out loud.

"It's my brother, isn't it?" she asked with a weary sigh.

He nodded. "I'm really sorry, Mia. I really like you."

"But you like him more."

"Yeah."

"This is why I don't date my brother's friends. Did you ever-"

"No. I'm not built that way. When I'm with someone, I'm with them and no one else. And I would never try to move in on someone else's man. Maybe before we went out, if he hadn't been with Letty. But he was, so there was no chance of anything happening. Not for me."

"And now?"

"Now, I- After the qualifying race, Letty told me to go after him once we brought him home. She said that I was exactly what he needed and that she didn't mind, as long as it made him happy."

"What if I mind?"

"I- Mia, you liked Brian Spilner. That's not who I am. I'm Brian O'Conner, a completely different person than who you knew back then. He's not a good man."

"And he's in love with my brother."

Brian tensed for a moment before letting his shoulders slump. "Yes," he admitted. "I am."

Mia sighed, but nodded. "Take care of him, okay?" she said, pressing another kiss to his cheek.

"I will," he said. "Are you okay with this?"

"I will be. Eventually. Just give me some time, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, pulling her into his arms and resting his cheek against the top of her head. They stood there in silence for several minutes before movement in the doorway caught his attention. He looked over and found Dom in the doorway, an unreadable expression on his face as he watched them. Brain wondered just how long Dom had been standing there and how much he may have heard.

Mia heard him too and turned, reaching one hand out to him. Dom slowly entered the kitchen and wrapped his arms around both of them, Mia cradled protectively between the two men.

"Take care of each other," she said. "And be careful. I can't go through another funeral."

"We will, Mia," Dom said, kissing the top of her head.

"You better be. You keep in touch, wherever you end up. Otherwise I'll worry."

"We'll contact you as soon as we can," Dom promised.

"Good."

The three of them stood there in silence for a few minutes before Brian spoke up. "Hey, Mia. I've got a couple of boxes from my place. I was wondering if I could leave them here."

"Yeah, sure," she said, pulling out of the hug and wiping her eyes. "Dom, do you want me to throw some things in a bag for you?"

"I'll get it," he said before looking at Brian. "Come on. You can keep your boxes in my room."

They went out to Brian's car and each retrieved a box from the trunk before Brian followed Dom upstairs. Once inside the room, Dom put his box in the closet and stacked Brian's box on top of that.

Brian stood in the middle of the room, looking around. He hadn't been up here before. He had seen Mia's room, of course, and the guest room once, but he hadn't seen Dom's. It was very Spartan, with only a handful of personal touches, including a picture of the team, taken one afternoon while they were working on the Supra, and the photo of what he could only assume were Dom, Mia and their parents.

He felt Dom come up behind him, but didn't turn.

"How long?" Dom asked.

Brian closed his eyes briefly. Of course Dom had heard that. As if he didn't have enough power over Brian already. "I don't know," he said. "The beginning, maybe? I didn't admit it to myself until Letty confronted me after she won the qualifying race."

"That why you let me go?"

"I don't know. Probably."

Dom took the last step that was separating them and pressed up against Brian's back, wrapping his arms around Brian's waist. "You and Letty?"

"Just once. She was high on adrenaline and horny as hell. I don't know what she was seeing, but I know I was only using her as a substitute for what I really wanted."

"You imagined it was me."

Brian nodded. "It didn't work, not really. She's too tiny. But she was the closest that I could get."

Dom bit down on Brian's neck, the same place he had out in the garage. Brian shuddered as the feeling rippled through him. "Never again, Bri," Dom growled. "Like I said, I don't share."

"I know. I have what I wanted. I don't want anyone else."

"Good," Dom said, tightening his hold and reattaching his mouth to Brian's neck, making sure the mark was large enough to get the point across to anyone who cared to look.