A/N: Thanks to Lou14, 2furious4u, Trickster707, tanya2byour21, Ms. Lori Reznor, tfatfreak207, kiersten2009, AllieKat21, emma134 and Mazda for their reviews of the last chapter and also to everyone who added this/me to their favs & alerts!
I want to say a big thanks to all of you who've stuck with my EPIC slowness, I WILL finished, never fear!
I love that you guys love Bella too :)
Big hi to the new readers, I'm glad you like!
I have...*shifty eyes*...plans...to add a little action soon, still ironing out the kinks, but fingers crossed!
Review and Enjoy!
They stood in front of the mildly run-down house, leaning against the hood of his car, tattooed arms crossed over their chests. The California sun was bright and warm on their backs, but with a light breeze dancing over their skin and taking the edge off the heat.
"Well?" Rae prompted after a moment's silence. The two of them had done a thorough walk through of the house, and Vince hadn't said a word the entire time, just poking and prodding, looking closely at things and nodding whenever she added something or explained something.
It was driving her nuts, because she'd spent the last week thinking about the house every waking moment, imagining it fixed up just the way she'd want it, and filled with their daughter's laughter. She'd found herself getting excited about it with more than just the grudging acceptance she'd felt when Mia had shown it to her. She'd fallen in love with what it could be for her, and she was desperate to hear what Vince thought.
He shifted a bit, his elbow brushing hers, taking his own sweet time before he finally responded. "It's good."
She waited for him to say more, but he just kept staring at the house, a thoughtful look on his face. Sometimes it was like pulling teeth to try and get more than two words out of him. Then other times he'd be more than happy to talk, he'd just say the wrong thing and piss her off. She reflected once again that communication was not Vince's strong suit.
"Got anything more to add or is that all?" she asked a tad sardonically, turning her head and watching his hard profile.
She saw the glare he shot her briefly out of the corner of his eye. He shrugged one shoulder, still focused on the building before them. "I still think you need a professional to double-check the structure, just in case. But the rest looks pretty simple, if you hire someone who knows what they're doing. A few loose roof slats, some refinishing, a lick of paint, a new banister – although the stairs themselves seem okay – and that one window needs a new panel. It'll probably cost a bit to get it fixed right, but not a huge amount. The rest is just paint and flooring."
And that was it. His verdict. All she knew she was going to get out of him and more than enough for her. She had a sneaking suspicion he was trying not to get involved because he was worried she would blame him if something went wrong. It was sort of sweet, in a mildly annoying sort of way. Still, she'd follow his advice and get someone in to check the structure before signing on the dotted line. These old wooden places could have all sorts of hidden problems, dry rot, termites, god know what else. She definitely didn't want to buy her first home just to have it crumble around her the second she crossed the threshold.
"All right V. I'll get someone in," she agreed softly, an excited smile tugging at her lips. This was it, finally a place to call her own, a family home for her daughter. She'd loved her apartment in Chicago, but it had always felt like a temporary thing. She'd always told herself that one day Bella would have a yard to play in, a home that was more than just four rooms and a half-decent view.
Of course, she might never have taken that final leap if she'd hadn't been moving to a new city and forced to look for a new place. She'd never admit that to Mia though. The girl had already gloated enough when she'd found out she was going back for a second look.
"Thanks Vince," she added, pressing a chaste peck to his cheek before he could pull back. "C'mon, I'll buy you lunch before we head back."
They were both silent as he drove toward a local diner, lost in their own thoughts. Rae was already working it all out in her head, what color she wanted the kitchen to be, which room should be Bella's, and what kind of furniture she wanted to get. She wasn't going to ship furniture all the way from Chicago when it was just random non-sentimental stuff anyway. Plus, she'd still need to get other things too. Like a kitchen table, something she'd missed about her old kitchenette. She'd liked the breakfast bar, but it wasn't much use come Thanksgiving or Christmas, and Bella was getting to the age when those sorts of things were important to do right. Most of all, Rae wanted a house that they could grow into, something that would stand up to having kiddie parties and eventually surly teenagers. Somewhere that would be a constant in Ella's life and memories when she was all grown up. Somewhere she felt safe, the way the Fort had been for Rae.
Vince's thoughts were somewhere else altogether, and he kept his moody silence for most of their meal, other than to gruffly give his order to the waitress. Rae just let him keep his silence, used to Vince and somewhat secure in their friendship now that everything was out in the open and he understood why they couldn't be more than friends. She didn't have the same doubts and worries bubbling incessantly in her mind like she used to, the old worry that he'd figure it out from some slip she'd made, or that he'd get the wrong idea from a badly chosen word.
She when he finally spoke as she was mopping up the ketchup on her plate with her last fries, she barely batted an eyelash at his random question, knowing he'd been building up to it the whole time.
"So Mia's moving in with you?" he asked gruffly, his eyes oh-so-casually glancing around the room, anywhere but on her.
She swallowed her last bite slowly, watching him as she took a sip of her Diet Coke before answering him. "Yeah," she replied cautiously, wondering where he was going but knowing he'd come to it in his own sweet time.
He nodded, looking down at his empty plate and tapping his fingers silently on the chipped Formica table, looking for all intents and purposes completely relaxed in the red vinyl booth.
But Rae knew better.
"So is Brian moving in too?" he asked finally, the slight momentary twitch in his jaw the only sign that the question was anything but casual.
She kept her own silence for a few moments, watching him curiously until he finally met her eyes. Was he still jealous about Brian's relationship with Mia? Was he still angry with the ex-cop? Was he worried about him being around Ella? Or maybe...she barely dared to wonder...was he possibly jealous of her living with another guy, even if it was someone as platonic as Brian? She wasn't sure how she felt if that were the case, she was still firmly of the belief that they should stay strictly friends. She couldn't deny the slight thrill she felt at the idea of Vince being jealous over her though, and it worried her. She was always weak around him, she always seemed to forget all her well thought out arguments when he was in the vicinity.
"No. Though I expect he'll be around a lot," she answered honestly. "Mia told me she wants to know what it's like being a normal couple before taking it further, even though they've practically been living together at the Fort," she added with a shrug, not entirely following Mia's logic herself.
It seemed to be something about living on her own (so to speak), paying her own rent and making her own way separate from her brother. Like she needed to prove she was her own person before moving on to be Mia & Brain. Though the two were just as madly in love as ever, and Brian seemed happy enough to give her time and space, as long as they were still a couple. Rae suspected he might need a little time to find himself as well, after all the major changes that had taken place in his life so far. It seemed obvious to her that it would only be a matter of time before they both took the next step, but she understood their shared need to be doing it for the right reasons and not just because it was the next thing to check off the relationship list.
He just nodded again and they lapsed back into silence, broken only when the waitress came to clear their plates and take their order for desert. Rae looked idly out of the window as she waited for her caramel fudge sundae to arrive. She wondered if she should push him further, to find out what was really bothering him, but worried that he might just clam up even more. Whatever it was, it seemed to really be bothering him.
But being a coward – although she liked to think of it as being patient – she let it ride, hoping that eventually it would eat away at him until he finally spilled. She ate her sundae quickly, feeling a little awkward since he hadn't ordered anything, but quickly relaxed as he proceeded to steal bites of hers with the second spoon the waitress had thoughtfully left him, with only an arched brow in response to his theft.
Whatever tension there had been was gone by the time she was scraping the last sauce from the bottom of the glass, smacking his hand away as she fought fruitlessly to get the spoon into the tiny dip at the bottom. Thoroughly convinced that they designed them that way on purpose just to dupe poor innocent ice cream lovers like herself, she finally pushed away the glass with a sullen pout and pulled out the cash to pay for her share before they headed back to his bright, low car.
When they got back to the Fort, it seemed like everyone was already there, just doing their own thing. Vince saw Dom's feet sticking out from under the Charger in the garage, Letty leaning over the open hood and helping from the other side. Rae shouted hi beside him, earning herself a flash of smile and a quick wave from Letty before she turned back to her work.
He figured they'd come inside in a few, once they had finished whatever they were working on. Mia hadn't exactly stayed quiet about her find, and surprisingly enough Dom hadn't weighed in yet about the prospect of her moving out. Since Rae wasn't technically living at the Fort anyway, no one was particularly shocked that she was looking for her own place, and as much as everyone loved Bella, having a three-year-old around could certainly put a cramp in more grown-up plans.
But when Mia had quietly added that one way or the other, she was moving out too, everyone had expected Dom to quickly counter and forbid her. But instead the big guy had looked at her in silence for a few moments, then stood up and walked out. Not storming out in a temper, but just...thoughtful. They'd all had a lot of changed to deal with recently, and at the core of all of them was the realization that not everything could stay the same, and that the longer they clung to the past, the more they'd miss out on in the future.
So of course, being the family that they were, everyone – including Rome, who'd slid right in like he'd been there all along – felt it was obviously their business to follow every detail of the potential move. Vince figured that at least there'd be plenty of help around for moving and painting and shit.
They jogged up the front steps and through the unlocked front door, greeted with the sights and sounds of Jesse, Leon and Rome goading at each other as they raced in PlaystationLand, leaning back and forth as the cars on the TV did their twists and turns around the circuit.
"Kitchen," Leon said when he saw the two of them out of the corner of his eye, not even looking away from the screen as he spoke, followed by a victorious bellow as he overtook Jesse.
Vince hung back to walk a second, then followed Rae through to the kitchen in time to see her scoop up Ella with a laugh. He nodded at Mia and Brian who were standing by the counter surrounded by bowls and jugs and what he was guessing was powdered sugar.
"We were making cupcakes," Mia explained, dusting off her skirt.
"CUPCAKES!" yelled Ella, clapping her own icing-covered hands excitedly.
Vince raised an eyebrow at Brian, who just shrugged as if to say 'who was I to say no?'.
"Well I ain't cleanin' it up," he grumbled, eyeing the mess they'd made. Mia just stuck out her tongue, and he would have teased her right back, only Ella chose that moment to make a kamikaze dive from her mother's arms and right at him. He managed to catch her with a strong arm banded around her little waist, but somehow she ended up upside-down and he found himself staring at daisy-embroidered jeans and a pair of tiny pink sneakers. With powdered sugar all over them.
Right then Rae's cell started ringing and she grinned at them before slipping into the dining room to take the call. Vince looked down and met his daughter's little upside-down gaze, a big smile beaming on her face as she waved at Mia and Brian.
"Y'know, if you stay like that all the blood's gonna rush to your head and your brain will explode," he informed her casually, but it only made her giggle more, her pigtails swinging wildly, and, from his position at least, looking like they were sticking straight up from her head.
Grinning, Mia waved right back, setting off another fit of giggles. "So...?" she asked him, nodding towards the dining room door.
"So nothing. Ain't my choice," he shrugged, figuring it was Rae's choice what – and when – she told people about the house, even Mia.
"Gah! Fine. You two are impossible," she grumbled good-naturedly. "I'll go get Dom and Letty. She won't be able to keep quiet if everyone's here bugging her," she smirked, slipping out the back door before anyone could try and stop her.
Brian just chuckled, turning back to the counter and making a half-assed attempt to clean up, mostly putting the bowl in the sink and scraping some of the mess off the counter. Shaking his head, he swiped a roll of paper towels and carried Ella through to the living room. The guys all stopped as soon as they saw them, eyebrows rising as she kept giggling and waving.
"JESSE!"
"Ah, here we go again..." Leon muttered with a grin as the little girl started squirming in Vince's arms. The second he set her down she was off towards Jesse, and Vince just smirked, tossing his friend the roll of paper towels and letting him deal with the sticky mess her hands were.
He slipped into the dining room just as she was saying goodbye to whomever it was, and waited quietly until she'd hung up before speaking. "I figured you should know Mia's gone to gather the troops for the interrogation."
Rae gave a somewhat unladylike snort, but didn't look too bothered, at least not about Mia. "Everything okay?" he asked, gesturing at the cell still in her hand.
"Hmmm? Oh yeah. That was just my old boss. I guess I forgot how hard it was going to be to say goodbye," she admitted with a sigh.
He took a step forward, leaning his hip against the table. "It doesn't have to be goodbye forever, I mean...you'll be back it town to visit Alex and Viv plenty, 'specially when the kid comes, right?"
"I guess..." she admitted grudgingly, though he could see she was still a little unhappy about it.
But Vince knew it wasn't something he could fix, and pushing her would only make it worse. She'd made a choice, and while he was more than happy with her decision to stay, he couldn't stop her from caring about the people she'd left behind. But there was one thing he could fix right now...
Grinning her pointed a finger at her cheek. "You got iced."
"What?" she frowned, her hand automatically reaching for the spot he was pointing at. "Arg! Ew..." She wiped of a splodge with her finger, but there was still a nice little trail along her jaw.
"Here...let me..." he stepped closer, cupping her face gently and running his thumb across her skin.
He met her eyes, and watched as her eyes widened, her lips parting slightly before his digit finally lifted from her skin. He felt a little smug, it was nice to know that despite her choice not to make things complicated, she was still affected by him. Deciding that he could at least have a little fun, he leaned closer, his eye flicking over her face before he muttered, "Good enough to eat..."
Then he stood back and licked the icing off his thumb, flashing her an insolent grin and earning himself a scowl in return. But the scowl lasted for only a second before something flashed in her eyes, and he knew that once again, he was going to lose. Lifting her own icing-covered finger, she brought it to her mouth, her full lips closing as she slowly – achingly slowly – pulled the finger out of her mouth, now clean of the offending icing.
Shit.
A low groan echoed through the room, and he realized the second she gave a triumphant grin that the sound had come from him. With that victory, Rae sauntered out of the room, and Vince took a second, resting his head against the cool wood before he followed her back out.
Letty bit down on her lower lip and gripped the wrench hard, the lean muscles on her arms straining as she tightened the bolt. Beads of sweat were forming on her brow, the loose strands of hair escaping her ponytail clinging to her skin.
"Pass me the half-inch torque wrench," Dom called from under the car.
"Get it yourself man, it's like a half-foot from your knee," she snapped, grunting as she finally got the bolt into place. She was enjoying spending a little one-on-one time with Dom, but that didn't mean she was going to start waiting on him hand and foot.
She heard Dom grumbling, but a second later he slid out and grabbed the wrench before sliding back. Grinning to herself, she bent back over her work. They'd been taking things slow, like they'd agreed upon, spending little snippets of time together and just letting the bond for between them.
Mostly, she was bored out of her skull.
Things with Dom had never been easy, but they'd sure as hell been fun. Although at some points she could have done with a little less near the end there. Sure, she appreciated that he was giving her time, trying not to push her, but seriously? Every time she even felt like they were close to finally getting somewhere, he'd pull back.
Maybe she'd knock a little sense into him. Yeah, that would work.
Still it felt nice to be put first for once. He could get this work done in no time if he called the other's in to help, but he didn't. Sure, part of that was because it was his dad's car, something he felt was his to fix, but that made it all the more special that he asked her to help. Like he was sharing something that was just theirs.
Not that Dom ever thought about things like that. No, he'd probably just woken up one morning and decided it would be fun. But the fact that he'd thought of it at all was enough for her. She wasn't a romantic. She didn't need grand gestures and promises of forever. That had never been what she wanted from him. She just wanted to know that she was enough, that she was the one he was with. That she could trust him.
Smiling and waving at Rae's callout, she turned back the engine to finish what she was doing. "That's Rae and V back," she told him.
She heard an unintelligible grunt from the depths of the car, but a second later he was rolling out and wiping off his greasy hands. He'd played it cool, but the fact that no one had needed to drag him away from the car in order to talk about houses was a sure sign that he was worrying about it all.
Grabbing an oil rag herself, she wiped the majority of the dirt off her hands and cocked a hip against the hood, watching him closely. "You know she'll be fine, right? Somehow, despite your best efforts, she's managed to get a smart head on her shoulders, and it's not like she's moving to another city."
Silence. He didn't seem to react at all, picking up his tools and getting to his feet, his eyes focused on his task.
"If it weren't for...everything..." she hedged, not wanting to air their dirty laundry over this. "She'd have moved out when she finished high school, you know that. At least now you know who she's with. It's not like she's moving to a party house or anything. Kinda the opposite, Dom."
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, just a flick of his dark eyes, but enough to show he was listening.
She put down the rag and walked towards him, tugging on his big arm until he turned to face her, his eyes still stubbornly avoiding hers. "Talk to me, Dom. We're gonna walk in there, and no matter what Rae says about this place, eventually Mia's gonna leave—"
"I know that!" he snapped, pulling away and kicking over a bucket. Letty just watched him in silence. He'd finally decided to join the conversation and she wasn't about to stop him.
"I get that she has to grow up, Let. And I get it – moving in with a single mom and her three year old kid is about as far from wild as our lives get. But she's not gonna be under this roof anymore, and I can't stop from thinking that maybe this is it," he growled, sitting down heavily on the old battered lazyboy in the corner.
"It...what?" she asked cautiously, not really understanding what he meant.
He shrugged his broad shoulders. "Mia moves out. Vince and Rae are...whatever the hell they are." Letty snickered at that. "Le's talking more and more about going off to find Han. Soon everyone's gonna be doing their own thing. We've struggled through all this bullshit and stayed together, and now it's a fuckin' normal life that's pulling us apart."
Letty tried not to laugh, she really did. But he looked for all the world like a stubborn little boy – okay, not so little – who'd just been told it was time for his friends to leave after the party. Pretty close to reality, come to think of it. He shot her a glare and she glared right back before stepping forward and sitting in his lap, her knees straddling his hips.
"Dom...it's too late for that. We're all gonna have our own lives, that's the way it works. But you're forgetting the most important part," she added.
"What? You?" he guessed, his hands resting on her hips and a smile in his eyes despite their serious conversation.
"Well yeah, but you already know I'm not going anywhere," she smirked. "No," she said, cupping his stubborn face between her hands. "What you're forgetting is that we're family. Rae's not living here, but she still spends most of her free time here. She still comes over for most meals, for every cookout, every party. Mia won't be any different. She's still work at the Cafe, still be a part of our lives. If Le goes off to find Han, you know what will happen? He'll bring him right back here. Right back home," she said firmly, looking right into his eyes so he could see the honesty in her statement. "If we weren't family, we wouldn't have survived this long, through everything that's happened. And we wouldn't be able to drive each other completely crazy the way we do, either," she added with a grin.
"So when we go in there, you're gonna be your regular, surly-assed self, but you're gonna tell your sister that you love her, and that it's okay. Because she'll do whatever she wants, but she still needs you to support her choice. You're always be her big brother, Dom. Nothing can change that."
He took a deep breath and nodded. And that was it.
And when she leaned forward to press a soft kiss to his lips a moment later, it didn't take much to set them off. By the time Mia came to get them, Letty was groaning against Dom's lips as his hand slipped up under her tank top.
"Oh god! Please tell me you've got your clothes on!" Mia interrupted from where she'd spun to face the wall.
"Unfortunately," Letty grumbled, sitting up and swinging off Dom's lap, taking a few deep breaths to cool down.
Dom just shot her a slightly confused look, but it's not like she was going to tell him in front of his little sister how good it felt to get anywhere with him. Yes, she was definitely going to have to do something about it. Soon.
"Alright, let's go."
