Sorry it has taken me so long! I've been changing this chapter around and editing it and I still don't think I like it very much. Let me know your thoughts! :)

Many, many, many thanks to the incredibly awesome reivewers: xxxlil-miss-mercerxxx, Lola427, Violet201, Sassy Ava, and MistressxCandelightxChaos! You guys inspire me to write more, faster! :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Mickey and Alex

Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 19: Taking Care

By: LoveInk

Michaela sighed as she walked into the fort. The team minus Vince and Mia were all laying around in the living room watching a movie. She knew Mia was on her date with Brian, but she had no clue where her brother was. "Anyone seen V?" she asked, dropping her dance bag near the door.

"He's not here," Jesse said simply. "And his car isn't in the drive."

"Hmm," she said in response.

"He'll be around later. We have a job tonight," Dom explained on a sigh. The bruise around his eye had faded significantly. Probably because Letty insisted he put ice on it the second she saw it.

Vince had avoided him the whole day, giving them both some time to cool down. By the time they saw each other again, it would be forgotten. Michaela never understood that about their relationship. They could do the crappiest, lowest, most awful things to each other and be fine the next day, as long as they had some time apart.

Dom's statement got groans from all of the team. Truth be told, they were all sick of the heists despite the huge amounts of cash they earned from them. Michaela sighed before gently nudging Leon's thigh with her toe. "My house is empty."

He was busy tinkering with a toy engine and hadn't really heard her. "That's great, Princess," he mumbled distractedly. She kicked him a little harder this time so that he finally looked up at her. "What?"

"My house is empty," she stated again.

"She wants sex, Lee," Letty stated bluntly, irked that their exchange was interrupting the movie they were watching.

A blush turned the tops of Leon's ears a bright red as he stood up slowly. "Thank you, Letty," he shot at her. He grabbed Michaela's outstretched hand and together they made the trek across the street.

"To be clear, Letty was wrong," Michaela said with a smile. "I just want some alone time."

He gave her a grateful smile. "Sex wouldn't be bad either."

"We'll see," she sang, swinging their hands back and forth as they walked. "You think something shady is going on with Alex?"

Leon shrugged a shoulder. "I think she finally got over Vince."

"I don't know," she said as she thought. "You don't think she found someone new do you?"

He scoffed and shook his head. "Nah, we would've heard about it."

"Hmm." Once inside, she dragged him up the stairs. "Lie down," she ordered, gesturing to the bed.

"This some new dominatrix thing?" he asked, looking mildly revolted. He wasn't as kinky as people thought he was.

She smiled at him and shook her head. "I was going to give you a massage, but if you don't want it…"

Leon let out a sigh of relief. "Yes please," he said, pulling his shirt off before falling face first onto the bed. He smiled when he felt her hands start to run her hands over his back. She was an expert at massages; the skill was something she'd picked up in Vegas. "I love you," he said on a content sigh.

"I know," she said, smiling as she dug a knuckle into a particularly big knot, eliciting a small groan from him. "How were things with Bri today?"

"Dom showed him the Charger," he replied.

She sighed. Like her brother, she didn't trust Brian. There was something off about him. The fact that Dom showed him to see the Charger troubled her; it meant that he trusted him. "I don't trust him."

"That doesn't bode well for the punk," Leon mused. Michaela was always right about her hunches. If she didn't trust someone, it was usually for a good reason. "You think he's a cop too?"

Michaela was surprised by the question. She'd never considered that option before. "Who thinks that?"

"Your brother."

"Oh he's definitely a cop then," she replied, her tone completely serious. "Vince can spot pigs from a mile away. That used to be his job a few years ago."

"Spotting policemen?"

"Uh-huh," she said nodding her head enthusiastically. "He was the middle man for this dealer. He'd take the drugs to the meeting place and watch whatever fool he was supposed to meet. If he was a cop, he'd go home. If not, he'd deliver the drugs. He was really good at it too."

"What happened?"

Michaela sighed. "One day the copper found him. He had some weed in his back pocket or something and he got thrown into jail for a few months."

"For weed?" Leon questioned. He doubted the police gave such a long sentence for possession of marijuana.

"I don't know. That's the story he's always told me," she said shrugging it off. She knew her brother left parts out of the story, but she didn't mind. She knew he'd only done that job to make money to support them after Mr. Toretto died and while Dom was in jail.

"Mmm," Leon said for lack of a better response.

"I'm worried about him, Lee," she admitted quietly. "He's lost almost everything. Now, he's starting to lose Dom to Brian. What's he going to have left?"

"He'll always have her," he answered softly.

"Alex?"

He nodded in response. "She loves him. I can see it on her face. They were both at the store today and she was just couldn't stop glancing at him. It was ridiculous. He hurt her so badly that she cries herself to sleep, but she was still looking at him like he was the best thing she'd ever seen."

"She was in the same room with him?" Michaela asked on a gasp.

"You're kind of missing the point," Leon grumbled in response.

She shook her head despite the fact that he couldn't see her. "No, no, I got it. He totally messed her up but the fact that they were at the same place at the same time, that's progress!"

Leon chuckled sighing as her fingers worked themselves into his hair. "You think they'll get back together once this is all over?"

"I don't know," she said softly. "I sure as hell wouldn't take him back."

"Yeah, you know, dumping a person for no reason, that really sucks," he commented, hinting at the fact that Michaela almost the exact thing to him just a few years before.

Michaela rolled her eyes; he was not going to let her live that one down. "I had a good reason. He did not."

"Whatever you say, Princess."

Michaela smiled, leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing her cheek to his back. "If I hadn't done it we wouldn't be here right now. I think it's the best mistake I ever made."

He chuckled, lifting his head to kiss her hand. "You're sort of right."

"Pssh," she scoffed, squeezing him tighter. "I'm always right."

Alex felt the bed shift as he moved to get out of it. Groaning slightly, she opened her eyes to check the clock. It was almost 4 in the morning. "V?"

He looked back at her, his bare torso illuminated by the moonlight slipping in from the curtains. "Go back to sleep, Tiny," he whispered, reaching out a hand to gently caress her face

She rubbed at her eyes, now fully awake and worried. "Be safe, big guy," she said, propping herself up on an elbow as she watched him get dressed.

After pulling on a black shirt, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Always," he said, though the guilty look in his eyes did nothing to assure her. "Go back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

"You're coming back here?" she questioned, a little surprised. She would've thought he'd stay at home after whatever it was he was doing. It would probably be easier that way.

He nodded. He couldn't think of a place he wanted to be more. "If that's all right with you."

"Yeah, of course," she said on a yawn. "I'd love that."

"Good." He caught her lips with his own once more before disappearing out the door.

Alex turned over and tried to go back to sleep. She found she couldn't. No amount of counting sheep would distract her from the fact that her boyfriend was doing something dangerous. She gave up after an hour and stared at the ceiling. Different ideas of what he could be doing flashed through her head, each more dangerous than the one before it.

She heard his car pull up in front of the house and let out a sigh of relief. He was home, he was safe. It took all of her self-restraint not to fly down the stairs to greet him with a big hug.

Vince sighed as he opened the door to his car and made his way up the walk. The heist had gone over smoothly, but it still wore on his nerves. He tried to steady his hands as he pulled out his keys and put the right one in the lock. The house was still dead silent and dark as hell. He tried to walk quietly to her room, but his heavy boots clunked no matter how lightly he stepped.

When he finally opened the bedroom door, he stepped in quietly. Her back was to him so he guessed she was asleep. As silently as he could, he stripped off his clothes until he was just in his boxers and a wife beater. He kept the shirt on since he knew he'd have a few bruises and he didn't want her to see them. When he looked back at the bed, he was met with her green eyes. "Did I wake you?" he asked, getting into the bed and turning on his side.

"No," she whispered, scooting in closer to him. "I was already awake."

He laid his palm on her cheek, his thumb stroking over the slowly fading bruise that was there. "Why?"

"Worryin' about you," she answered, her voice sleepy.

Vince sighed, moving so that he was flat on his back. She cuddled closer, resting her head on his chest. The rapid beat of his heart made her nervous, but she didn't comment on it. His hand gently stroked her hair as he tried to calm down. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" she asked, trying to keep her eyes open. Now that she knew he was safe, it was getting hard to stay awake.

Everything, he answered in his head. He hated worrying her, hated lying to her, and hated having to leave her in the middle of the night. "Keepin' you up, I guess."

"Don't worry about it, big guy," she said softly, her hand trailing over his stomach. The bruises she had found there only days earlier were still clear in her mind, though they had faded significantly. "Did you get hurt tonight?"

"No," he lied. The trucker had gotten him good with a steel bat, but he wasn't about to tell her that.

Her hand slid down the front of his the beater before she lifted it. The big red welts were fairly visible despite the darkness of the room. She gasped a little, shocked at the size of some of them. "Liar," she said, lifting her head to look up at him. "Want ice?"

He shook his head. "Nah, stay in bed, Tiny," he tried, but she was already out of it. She came back a few minutes later with two bags of frozen vegetables.

Alex sat down on the bed next to him, gently pushing up his shirt. She couldn't keep him from getting hurt, but she could sure as hell take care of him when he was. He gave her a reluctant look. "Tiny, you don't have to…"

She gave him a soft smile before leaning forward to catch his lips in a soft kiss. "Just shut up and let me take care of you."

So did you like it? or was it complete trash? Should I redo it?

Let me know in a review!

~Love Ink