An End and a Beginning
Summary: They didn't work out the first time around, but they have something tangible between them that forces them to be in each other's lives forever. They are getting a second chance, but with Dominic and Letty, nothing comes easy.
Rating: M
Chapter 21
Letty and Mia were having a much needed girls' night in. Letty wasn't quite sure how they ended up watching Mama Mia, but she had been plied with Ben & Jerry's, so it was more or less tolerable. Her best friend was so girly sometimes. But they had grown on each other growing up, and as adults, they had weathered the worst phases of their lives together.
They sat on the couch, only half watching the movie, in favor of catching up with the daily news.
"So… you've been busy lately", Letty observed mildly, sipping on her rum and coke.
"So have you", Mia arched an eyebrow.
Letty made a noncommittal humming noise. "Don't change the subject."
"I'm not", Mia defended. "I'm just expanding it."
"Nice try, Mi", Letty shook her head. "Now, tell me who you took the train to sexy town with."
Mia went bright red. "Letty", she sputtered, scandalized at her friend's cavalier tone. "I don't even know how to answer that. 'Sexy town'? Really?"
Letty smirked. "I get better answers when I catch you off guard", she admitted.
"That's evil", Mia grumbled.
"You know I'm sure Dominic would be interested that you've been hiding a boy-toy-" she taunted, reaching for her cell phone.
Mia yelped and lunged for her. They grappled for Letty's phone, giggling like they used to when they had sleepovers and pillow fights. Mia finally got the phone by exploiting her friend's one ticklish spot, nearly making Letty fall off the couch, and promptly stuffed the phone into her bra.
Letty raised an eyebrow. "Don't think I won't go after that."
"You would, wouldn't you", Mia shook her head wryly, laughing as Letty waggled her eyebrows.
"Come on, Mia, dish", she prodded. "It's been ages since we've talked boys."
"Don't tell my brother", Mia said seriously. "I actually like this guy."
Letty's mouth twisted into a secret smile. "As long as this guy treats you right, I'll happily beat some sense into your over-protective brother if I need to", she smirked.
"Uh, Let-" she started hesitantly.
Letty's eyes widened. "What did you do?"
"What do you mean what did I do?"
"I know that look Mia", Letty said dryly. "You had the same look on your face when you drove Dom's car without asking when you were fifteen – without a license – and scratched it. V and I both had to tackle him when he went to chase after you. So? Is this worse or what?"
Mia chewed on her bottom lip. "This guy I've been seeing… he's a cop", she mumbled finally.
Letty froze in momentary shock, and then snickered. "Shit, girl, we might need a tranq gun."
"Dom's gonna lose it, isn't he", Mia groaned.
She shrugged, "Maybe. But he loves you, and wants you to be happy. He'll get over the idea."
"You sure about that?"
Letty grinned, "Yep."
"You've been… strangely giddy lately", Mia observed suspiciously. "That's not like you."
"I'm watching a movie", Letty gestured to the screen pointedly.
"Letty, I will pry it out of you eventually", Mia threatened.
Letty threw a handful of popcorn at her. "Whatever you say, cutie", she teased. "Invite your guy over for dinner next weekend. I wanna meet him."
Mia buried her face in her hands. "Whoever you're seeing must be amazing in bed."
She just smirked.
0
Later that night after Mia had gone to her room for the night, Letty laid across the middle of her bed, feet propped on the edge. She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed the familiar number.
He answered almost immediately, "Hey, sweetheart."
Letty grinned, glad he couldn't see her face at the moment, and know she was having a girly moment. "How's my baby?" she asked finally.
"Oh, I'm fine. Thanks for asking."
She laughed under her breath. "I meant Aiden."
Dominic chuckled. "He's asleep."
"How the freaking hell do we have a kid?" she asked incredulously. "It still blows my mind."
"If I remember correctly, we got into a fight over some girl flirting with me at the mall", he mused.
"While I was standing right there", Letty grumbled. "Stupid slut."
He snorted, amused at her jealousy, "Yeah, yeah. I remember you giving me the silent treatment for the rest of the weekend, and then when I started ignoring you back, you got pissed."
"Well, I don't like being ignored", she grinned.
"So you jumped me?" he asked incredulously.
"I also wanted to get laid", she said diplomatically. "No reason my lady parts should suffer just because I was mad at you."
"Yeah, there was that too", Dom laughed. Then he turned serious. "You know… I really don't like being away from you."
She sighed. "I'm not exactly thrilled about it either. But either we do this, or we tell everyone, and we have to tell Aiden. We can't just do this the way we used to and fuck each other's brains out until we get caught."
"Letty, the best thing for our son is to have two parents who love each other", he said seriously.
"I know that. Do you know how to do this?" she asked with an undertone of frustration, "Because I sure as hell don't."
"No, I don't. But we need to decide how we're going to move forward."
"Can we just decide what we're doing tomorrow?" she asked wearily.
He chuckled. "Tomorrow, you're gonna drag your ass out of bed and come over here for breakfast."
"Am I?"
"Coffee and pancakes, baby. You can't say no to that."
"No, I guess I can't. Besides, a family breakfast sounds really good", she said softly.
"So… how was girls' night in?"
Letty smirked, "Interesting."
"Plan to share?"
"Hmm, nope." Mia would kill her.
"Letty", he complained.
She laughed.
0
"Mom!"
"Oof", Letty huffed out a laugh as she got her son's head in her stomach as she let herself into the Toretto house the next morning. "Hey, buddy. Nice bed-head", she attempted to smooth down the messy bits, and stopped herself just short of giving her son a spit bath, deciding to ruffle it and make it worse instead.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, ducking under her hands.
She grinned. "I heard your dad was making pancakes, so I thought I'd come have breakfast."
"Dad makes good pancakes, huh?"
Letty nodded, and spun Aiden around to propel him into the kitchen in front of her. "Yeah, he does. And I bet he was really nice and even made me some coffee."
Dominic was at the stove when they entered the kitchen.
"Daddy, Mom's here and she wants coffee!"
Letty sputtered an unexpected laugh. "Kid, I didn't say it like that!" she poked her son's sides, making him laugh.
"I've got your coffee, Let", Dom said with amusement. "I know better than to get between you and caffeine in the mornings."
"My longest relationship", she drawled, stepping around Aiden to head towards the stove. She tugged Dom's tank top playfully as she passed behind him to the coffee maker. "Man, you coulda told me it was pajama day."
"Your son woke me up bed at five-thirty this morning", he said under his breath.
She frowned. "Why? That's early even for him."
"I don't know. I think he had a nightmare, but he doesn't remember."
Letty glanced back towards the living room where Aiden was back to watching cartoons. "I'll see if I can get anything out of him later. Did you get any coffee yet?" and then she grabbed another cup from the cupboard when he shook his head. She shoved a filled mug in his hand. "Sit down and drink your medicine", she teased. "I can flip a few pancakes as long as you don't grab my ass", she murmured under her breath.
"Aw, where's the fun in that?" he joked. Dom handed her the spatula and slipped behind her, hands grabbing the counter on either side of her preventing an escape she had no intention of taking.
Her head tilted as he brushed her hair out of the way and kissed the side of her neck. A quick glance told her the sizzling bacon and the last batch of pancakes was good to go for a few minutes. She tilted her head back to catch his mouth briefly. "Hi", she murmured softly.
He slid one arm around her waist, squeezing gently. "Hi back."
She chuckled and unwrapped his arm from her stomach and handed him the tongs. "If you're gonna stand here, get the bacon off before it burns."
"I thought I smelled breakfast."
Letty flipped her last pancake and turned around. "Hey, Tony."
"You're not burning down my kitchen, I hope."
"You know, this whole 'Letty can't cook thing is getting old'", she observed mildly.
He grinned. "Sorry, sweetheart."
"Yeah, yeah", she teased. Letty nudged Dom with her elbow. "Go get our kid. Breakfast is ready."
00
St. Patrick's Day was on a Thursday this year, but they didn't really celebrate it as a holiday. But they did gather at the Torettos for dinner after work was done.
Dominic had taken Aiden back to the house with him and Letty had run home to shower and change clothes.
She found Dom sitting in the recliner watching TV with Vince when she stepped into the living room almost an hour later. Leon and Jesse had somehow gotten sweet-talked to help Mia, Tony, and her mother in the kitchen. She heard her son's giggles coming from the kitchen.
Letty raised an eyebrow at the tall green and white striped hat Dominic was wearing that had a four-leaf clover sticking out from the top. "Lose a bet?" she teased.
He raised an eyebrow, eyeing her steadily. He was waiting for her to make the first move. And she really owed him one – or five.
She shrugged, and glided across the room to curl up in his lap, tucking her feet up against the arm of the recliner.
"What the fu- heck?!" Vince sputtered, nearly choking on his beer.
Letty snorted in amusement. She always appreciated when Vince attempted to censor himself when Aiden was in hearing range. But right now, she was even more appreciative of the particular shade of purple his face was turning. "What's your problem?" she asked lazily. She could feel the vibrations of Dom's silent laughter.
"You just- he- what the hell is with the snuggling?!" Vince shouted.
"When two people like each other very much-" Letty started in a patronizing tone until Dom's hand covered her mouth.
"We're working shit out", Dominic answered evenly.
Vince blinked. "Huh", he muttered.
Letty giggled at the stupid look on his face and shoved Dom's hand off her mouth.
"What's going on?" Mia walked into the living room from the kitchen. "I could hear Vince freaking… out", she trailed off when she spotted Letty on her brother's lap. Suddenly that was more important than the eggplant purple Vince's face was turning. "You two! Are you-?"
Letty rolled her eyes. Maybe if she downplayed it slightly, her friend wouldn't erupt like a volcano. "God, Mia, who did you think I've been with? That morning I texted you last month- that was Dom."
Her jaw dropped. "You two are evil! And sneaky", she accused. "I can't believe you didn't say anything!"
"We had some things to talk about first", Letty said softly. "Don't be mad."
"Mad- I'm not mad", she shook her head. "It's about damn freaking time", she grumbled. "So", Mia continued casually, "The morning you texted me, that was two weeks after Valentine's Day… wasn't it?"
Dominic eyed her shrewdly. "Who won the betting pool?" he asked finally.
"What- no, okay", she admitted, rolling her eyes. Mia went back to stick her head in the kitchen. "Dad, we all owe you fifty bucks", she called.
Letty's jaw dropped.
Dom groaned. "And here I was gearing up to give out some ass kickings", he muttered.
Tony appeared in the doorway and eyed the couple with wry amusement. "Out in the open now?" he teased. "Letty, does that mean you're done tiptoeing around my kitchen in the mornings?"
She chuckled, mildly embarrassed. "Hey, I stopped tiptoeing after you caught me the first time, and started turning on your coffee pot."
"I'm a little uncomfortable with the fact that you were betting on our sex life", Dom grumbled.
"You two always did have your own thing about Valentine's Day", he mused. "I'll just take the money you guys owe me out of your pay checks."
"Ohh, shit", Letty laughed.
"Dad! You've known about them for nearly a month?" Mia accused. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Tony gave his daughter a shrewd look. "The same reason I haven't mentioned to your brother that you've been seeing someone behind our backs."
Mia's mouth opened and closed in a fish-like manner, "But I- how?"
"You're my daughter", he chuckled. "And you've got the same starry-eyed look your mother had when we began dating. Bring him around", Tony said with a tone the offered no room for argument. "If it's that serious already he should meet the family."
She sighed, knowing there was no getting out of this one, "Alright."
"Mia?"
She turned warily at her brother's questioning tone. "What?"
"This kid at least has a job, right?"
Mia rolled her eyes, "Of course."
"Hey!" Letty interrupted before things got out of hand. "Do us all a favor and keep your mouths shut until we figure out how to talk to our kid."
Mia frowned. "You haven't-"
"And say what exactly?" Letty shot back irritably, answering the oncoming question before it was asked.
"Okay", she murmured, turning back into the kitchen. "You guys always have drama."
"I love you. You know that right?" Dom murmured in her ear.
"You know, my dad always told me not to let a man make me fall in love with him if he wasn't going to love me back. I think I always knew, Dom", she answered quietly.
His fingers raked through her hair as she leaned her head back against his shoulder. "Then we'll figure it out." He chuckled. "I still find it funny that Luis is a Bob Marley fan."
She grinned.
"So?" he asked quietly. "The family knows. What now?"
She shifted slightly to look at him. "We have to talk to our kid, and let him know things are changing. And we need to make some decisions about the future."
"Are you gonna be okay with some changes?"
"I like to think that I can at least learn from my mistakes. You need to know that the way I shut you out, that hurt me too. And I don't want to do that again – to either of us. I was just trying to protect myself, and it was the only way I knew how to do that."
"Let-"
"You've always known exactly how to shove my bullshit back in my face, Dom. And I had shit I didn't want to deal with. I wasn't ready. So much of what happened was about me letting my fears make decisions for me. And then I thought I would have to live with the consequences of my actions… I'm done avoiding living my life."
"You sure?" he raised an eyebrow.
"We move forward, and we make decisions together. I'm ready to fight for the life we want. I know you're still uncertain about my commitment issues, and we'll have to deal with that. What we had was damaged because I walked away to try and put myself first the way I needed to, but then I was too chicken to work things out. I'm in this. I won't walk away again. You need to know that."
00
A/N: Omg, finally! Sorry, this one took forever and it was giving me major grief. But I was writing ahead, and you'll love what I have planned for them. Thanks for reading! Leave me a review!