An End and a Beginning
Life Unaccounted For Universe: Part 9
Summary: Part One of a series of one-shots in an AU setting inspired by a picture I found and put in the top corner.
Disclaimer: Hahaha, I wish! I own nothing.
Dom was sitting on top of a picnic table at the park watching Letty chase their son around the playground area. She stayed a few steps behind him until they got to an open area then dived after Aiden to scoop him up and spun them around until they were both dizzy and Aiden was giggling madly.
He grabbed his cell phone and managed to capture the perfect picture as she stopped, still holding their son against her to get enough balance back before setting him down. Her head thrown back, eyes sparkling as they both laughed.
She was beautiful.
He laughed under his breath as she set Aiden down and they both stumbled dizzily towards the swing set.
His phone vibrated as he got a text from his sister.
What are you doing?
He snorted. Like he didn't know exactly what that was about.
You knew our plans yesterday, Mia. Quit fishing.
I love you, she texted back with an innocent smiley face.
He smirked and put his phone back into his pocket as Letty came jogging in his direction. "Holy shit, I'm exhausted", she panted. "Why did I think this was a good idea?" Dominic just grinned at her. "I think it's your turn", Letty said pointedly, grabbing her purse off the table.
"Yeah?" he chuckled. "C'mon, let's go."
"It feels like we've been here six days. What time is it?" she muttered, following him back to the swing set.
"We've been here an hour", he raised his eyebrow. "And weren't you going to bring him yourself?"
"I would have made Mia come with me", she smirked. "Besides, I didn't have time for coffee this morning."
"Poor baby", he teased.
"Daddy, come push me!"
Letty grinned, "Told you it was your turn."
0
They stayed at the park until after four-thirty, and Dom suggested they go track down something for dinner, and the three of them piled back into his car. He drove them to the pier, and they ended up with corn dogs and waffle fries for dinner and sat down to eat at a picnic table. Normally they had a firm vegetable policy, but every once in a while they let it go.
Aiden, of course, had still not gotten to the end of his energy reserve, and was rambling about some kids he had played with at the park. Dom and Letty traded half-incredulous looks. They had yet to figure out how the two of them had managed to create such a talkative child.
Letty finally interrupted when the kid stopped to breathe. "So, school's out in a month. What do you want to do this summer?"
Aiden got more excited, if that was possible. "Oh! We can go to the beach, and chase the ice cream truck-"
"Uncle Vince will help you chase the ice cream truck", Dom said with a smirk.
"- and have water balloon fights, and go to the pool", Aiden continued rambling.
"I was thinking", Dom nudged her.
She raised an amused eyebrow. "Were you?"
He gave her a mock glare which made her chuckle before continuing. "I was thinking", he repeated. "We should go buy one of those adult-sized inflatable pools and put it in the backyard."
She blinked, a slow lazy grin crossing her face. "Do I get to spend all summer working on my tan?"
"Like hell would I say no to you spending three months in my backyard in a bikini", he rolled his eyes.
She let out a surprised laugh, "Valid point." If she didn't know any better, she'd think he might be flirting with her.
"You gonna come help me get one?"
Letty shrugged, "Yeah, sure. Why not?"
0
To end the day, they stopped for ice cream cones on the way home. Letty shot Dominic an incredulous look when he said they could just eat them in the car, but he just shrugged.
"It's your car", she muttered, rolling her eyes. But when they stopped to grab them, she hopped in the backseat to make sure Aiden didn't drop his if they went over a bump.
God knows she didn't let Aiden eat in her car unless it was an emergency. The kid ate like a Tasmanian Devil sometimes.
Dom drove them back to the apartment listening to the two of them behind him, and tried not to laugh. He parked next to Letty's car and let Aiden unbuckle.
Letty crawled out of the backseat after their son, got a good look at him, and started laughing. "Oh, man. You need a bath, kiddo."
"I'm all sticky", Aiden grinned proudly.
Dominic scooped him up, holding him over his shoulder like an airplane making Aiden laugh hysterically. "I'm on it", he said dryly.
"I'm pretty sure it's on you", Letty retorted mildly. "Alright, come on."
Letty let Dom have bath time, not just because she was exhausted. She grinned, hearing the happy sounds echoing through her apartment, and went to lay out her son's pajamas. Was Dom making monster noises?
Twenty minutes later, when Letty was putting things together for Aiden's lunch the next day, Dom came out holding Aiden who was sleepily holding Señor Frog and in his pajamas.
"Hey, buddy. All ready for bed?" she asked.
"I think we actually wore him out", Dom said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, but come six tomorrow morning, he'll be bouncing on my bed to wake me up", Letty rolled her eyes.
"Mama, can Daddy tuck me in?" he asked sleepily.
She nodded. "You bet. I want a kiss first though." She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek and ruffle his hair. "I'll see you in the morning."
A while later, Dominic came back into the living room where she was flipping through television channels. Letty had finished her list of tasks the day before, and only needed to shower and fall into bed. "How many books did he sucker you into reading?" she teased.
"Three", he admitted grudgingly.
"So…"
"I should go", he said quietly.
Letty pushed herself off the couch with a sigh as he opened the door, "Okay."
He stepped out but paused before she closed the door. "Hey."
She raised an eyebrow. "What?
"Today was nice. We should do it again some time."
She smiled slightly nodded once. "Yeah… we should."
He leaned down and brushed her cheek with his lips so quickly she might have missed it if her eyes were closed. Then he was out the door, and she saw Mia in the hallway. Letty groaned under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, Mia."
"My, god", Mia complained as she threw her shoes in the closet. "You guys are so damn slow, it actually hurts."
"We have a child", Letty growled. "And right now, we're doing the best we can. Neither of us wants to make it any more complicated than it has to be. There's no magical switch to flip here, Mia. Please stay out of it." She went for her bedroom before she said something she couldn't take back, and locked her door for good measure.
Trial and error had got them this far. By the time their son was learning words, they had more or less gotten their shit figured out as far as co-parenting went. Letty could admit now - even if it was only to herself - that she had taken the easy way out, letting them stay broken.
They didn't hate each other, far from it. But her being around Dominic without being with him, could be almost physically painful sometimes. She wondered what it might cost her later to have spent the day with her guard down.
00
Roughly six months before Letty got pregnant:
It was a Friday evening at the beginning of summer, and Dom was spending it with his friends around a fire pit on the beach. It wasn't a racing party, so it was just some of their closer friends and Hector's crew.
Dom was talking with Vince and a few of Hector's cousins near a cooler of beer. When Dom asked Vince the same question for the third time and realized he was staring at something, he tilted his head in that direction. He saw Letty dancing with Edwin near the bonfire and sighed.
Dom reached out to cuff the back of his friend's head. "Stop staring at Letty's ass!"
Vince grinned shamelessly, but focused elsewhere, "Can't help it, man. Girl's got rhythm."
"I'm aware", Dominic said wryly. "Should I go tell her you're perving on her?"
Vince snorted. "I ain't scared of her. Besides, she's having fun. And Edwin might be having more fun."
"Yeah, I think I'm going to go interrupt that", Dom smirked.
"Have fun man", Hector said easily, clapping his friend on the shoulder.
"And you try not to have too much fun", Dom said with a laugh before heading down the beach. He slid behind Letty, wrapping an arm around her waist and trading a fist bump with Edwin over her shoulder. "Mind if cut in and get a dance with my girl?"
Edwin just grinned. "No problem, dawg. See ya, Let."
Letty nodded at him and tilted her head up to kiss Dom's jaw playfully. "Miss me?" she teased as Edwin walked away, and she was spun around.
"You know I did", he dipped down to tease a kiss from her mouth and then gripped her thighs, hoisting her up against him. Her arms went around his neck and she wrapped her legs around her waist. "You wanna come take a walk with me?" he grinned.
She cocked an eyebrow, liking her vantage point of being able to look down at him. "Do I actually have to walk?" she laughed.
"You want me to carry you on our walk?" Dom asked, sounding amused.
She smirked. "We both know we're only getting out of sight before you start pawing my clothes off."
"Busted", he growled playfully. He set her down gently and turned for her to hop on his back.
Letty pointed over his shoulder down the beach. "That way", she ordered decisively.
"You got it."
00
A/N: Yay for a quick update! Thanks for all the reviews so far! You guys are awesome. And I'm already working on chapter ten so it should be up by the end of next week.