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 - eventually
Chapter 22
Letty rushed back to the apartment, cursing because she was half an hour late, and Mia was definitely going to kill her because this had been her idea in the first place. But she had stopped at the good bakery, so Letty had a feeling Mia would forgive her.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry", Letty grumbled, kicking her shoes into the closet and setting the handled paper bag against the wall.
"Letty, you're late!" Mia sang pleasantly from the kitchen.
"Blame Dominic!" she called back. Apparently, Mia's friend was already here, otherwise she would have yelled. "And our twenty minute quickie", she added under her breath with a grin before raising her voice as she headed down the hall to change her shirt. The missing bottom button from her blouse was obvious enough to raise more than a few suspicions – at least from Mia. "Give me five minutes!"
Letty changed into a tangerine colored tank top and checked her jeans before running a brush through her hair. A quick glance in the mirror told her she had no love bites to hide, and she left her bedroom, grabbing the pink bag and setting it on the counter.
"Why is it my brother's fault you're late?" Mia raised an eyebrow when Letty entered the kitchen.
"Well, Dom's suspicious, and tried grilling me about what we were doing tonight", she rolled her eyes, and then gestured to the blonde man standing in her kitchen leaning casually against the counter. "Do i get an introduction or are we playing a rousing game of charades for me to guess his name? And don't say charades", she sighed.
Mia grinned. "Letty, this is Brian O'Conner. Brian, this is Letty Ortiz – the woman who would be my sister-in-law if she and my brother could get their shit together."
"Funny, Mia", Letty rolled her eyes.
"I only speak the truth", Mia said innocently.
Letty eyed Brian appraisingly. "You're a cop, and you're blonde… you'd better have a spine of steel, man", she said seriously.
"Letty", Mia hissed warningly.
Letty flashed her a look that was both irritated and amused. "Out of Vince, your brother, and me, I'm going to be the nicest in this situation because I know you can take care of yourself. That's why we started here, right?" She glanced at Brian who was doing a good job keeping a straight face. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt unless you prove me wrong", she said, her voice dead calm. "That ever happens, you'd better move to an entirely different country before I catch up with you. You prove you're worth it, and I might give you a few tips on dealing with the overbearing men in our family who are going to make you earn their trust. And fair warning, if you make her cry, you're toast."
She leaned against the opposite counter calmly, having said her piece, and waited with her arms folded across her chest.
Brian met her gaze steadily and then nodded once, "Understood."
"You might do alright", Letty conceded, the corners of her mouth twitching into a ghost of a smile. She went to the fridge and grabbed a beer. "Hey, Mi- go look in that bag on the counter", she raised her eyebrows.
"What is it?" Mia asked suspiciously before crossing the kitchen.
"I had another reason for being late", she shrugged.
Mia peered into the bag and went a bit wide-eyed. "Dessert?" she asked over her shoulder.
"Maurice says hello", Letty said casually.
Mia giggled. "Did he kiss you again?"
"Only on the cheek!" Letty protested mildly. "You know Dom scared him off from hitting on me years ago. He's always been good to us. Besides, his pastries are to die for."
"They are that", Mia agreed.
"Are you saying I have competition?" Brian asked wryly.
Letty couldn't help the surprised laugh that tumbled out of her mouth. She might actually like this one. She hadn't approved of the last guy Mia had brought home. Brandon was probably still watching over his shoulder for Letty to come after him with a cleaver.
Mia just smiled slightly and shook her head, pausing to kiss his cheek as she passed on the way to the stove. "There's no competition", she promised softly. "And don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
He grinned at her. "Good to know."
Letty went to open one of the cupboards. "I don't know about you two, but I'm starving. Let's sit down and have dinner, yeah?"
00
The beginning of April:
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Letty often got an extra hour or so of sleep in the mornings because Mia's schedule usually allowed her to take Aiden to school before her morning classes started. Mia would be graduating at the end of this semester, and they were all anxious for her.
One of these mornings in particular found Dominic in her shower. Letty had woken up when the water turned on, and she lingered in bed long enough to stretch and wonder absently if Mia had left her any coffee – she usually filled her thermos instead of sharing on the mornings she left early.
Letty got out of bed and pulled on her black silk robe before making her way into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She was sitting on the counter near the sink, legs crossed lazily, when Dom got out of the shower.
He smirked. "Now, what's the point in covering up the goodies when I'm going to get at them again anyways?"
"Yes, I'm sure if you had your way we would get stranded on a deserted island where we would somehow mysteriously lose all of our clothes, and you could have your way with me twenty-four seven, but-"
"You've been reading too many romance novels", Dom laughed.
"Mia keeps leaving them on my bookcase", she grumbled.
"No one said you had to read them." He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the mouth, "Morning."
Letty kissed him back, laughing when his hand slid up her thigh, "It was a good morning."
"I like waking up to you in the morning", he mumbled, sucking on her bottom lip.
She grinned as his hands slipped inside her silky excuse for a robe to grope her. "I have to shower", she protested. "Aiden will be up soon. And you have to at least not be half naked if you're in my bedroom."
"Why the hell-?"
"We're his parents, but he doesn't exactly remember us being together, Dom. It's going to be confusing for him. And I'd rather this wasn't completely awkward. And having to answer the question, 'why is daddy half-naked in mommy's room' when we're still living in separate houses, is not a question I want to answer."
"We're in this, aren't we?" Dominic asked seriously.
"Yeah."
He ran a hand through her hair. "Let, we need to talk to our kid."
She sighed and nodded. "Okay. How do we do this?"
"We'll talk about it tonight, okay? And we can talk to Aiden tomorrow."
"Go put a shirt on", she insisted, hopping down from the counter. She slid her robe off and dropped it on the cushioned dressing chair. "Tell Aiden you came for breakfast", Letty said as she stepped into the shower.
0
She was toweling off twenty minutes later and heard her cell phone ringing. Letty answered it, paying more attention to the sounds coming from her kitchen than her caller I.D. By some miracle, Dominic had managed to get Aiden to let her wake herself up this morning.
And she smelled coffee.
She resisted the urge to yank him back into the bedroom for another round, and answered her phone.
"Hello?"
"Letty", her mother's voice on the other end of the line.
"Mom- it's early", Letty sighed as she found a t-shirt and jean shorts to wear.
"Anything you'd like to tell me?" Susana asked with a hint of amusement.
Letty groaned. "Who told?!" Then she shook her head knowingly. "Tony called you?"
"He and I have been single parents of some unruly teenagers for a good portion of our friendship, Letty. Banding together was the only way to survive. Just because you've all grown up – more or less – doesn't mean we are any less involved."
"So… are you mad? Or do you just want to say I told you so?"
"Neither", she answered softly. "I'm proud of you, mija. Choosing to risk your heart again, and allowing old wounds to heal… it takes a lot of courage. Dominic is a good man; and you love each other."
"Mami, I was going to tell you-"
"Just promise you'll give me a heads up before there's another little one on the way, alright?"
Letty choked. "I'm not pregnant!"
"I have to go", Susana said with a laugh. "Tell Dom I said the three of us should have dinner. My treat."
"Mother!"
Susana hung up on her.
Letty scowled and finished dressing quickly and shoved her phone in her pocket. She headed through the small dining room, pausing to kiss the top of her son's head and ruffle his hair.
"Mom, Dad came over to make me waffles!"
She grinned. "I see that."
"I knew Mia snitched the waffle maker", Dom rolled his eyes and handed her a large cup of coffee as she entered the kitchen.
"Thanks."
He frowned at her. "What is it?"
She shook her head. "My mom called. Seems Tony gave her an informative call before I got to it."
"Dad did?" Dom repeated curiously.
"Old habits die hard, I guess", she muttered.
"So, what's the verdict? Is Susana in ass-kicking mode?"
Letty snorted. "She invited us to dinner."
"That's good, right?"
"It's not bad", she admitted.
"You're getting stressed over nothing?" he raised an eyebrow.
She grinned. "Yeah, maybe."
"Mhm", he hummed playfully leaning down to steal a quick kiss. "Any day your mom isn't threatening my balls with a machete or metaphorically kicking my ass, is good."
Letty snickered. "Yeah, I know. You've been on the other end of her switch-swinging arm at least once. Ass burning in such a bad way… Worse than that time I tried tanning in the buff."
He smirked at her. "I was rubbing aloe on your sensitive bits for a week."
She groaned. "I was such a whiny bitch. You took good care of me."
He laughed. "You spent four days lying naked in my bed. I wasn't complaining."
"Good point", she conceded mildly.
Her cell phone rang again.
Letty pulled it from her pocket, glancing at the I.D. "It's Kelly." She frowned slightly, swiping the screen to answer her phone. "Kelly? What's up?"
"Letty, I'm glad I caught you. I was wondering if you could do us a favor?"
"Sounds serious", she teased. "What do you need?"
"David and I have our anniversary coming up in a few weeks. How much would you hate me if I asked you to take the kids for a long weekend?"
"And the dog?" Letty raised an eyebrow. Dom was watching her with interest.
Kelly groaned in realization. "We can board her if it's a problem."
"Don't worry about it." Letty chuckled. "When?"
"Thursday through Sunday, the weekend after next… They've gone to stay with one of our parents' over the years, but we've never taken more than one night away. It's just too long for either of them to handle for so long. I hate to even ask-"
"Kel, I'm writing it on my calendar", Letty interrupted with a laugh. "I've got you covered. Besides, Dom will help."
"Help with what?" Dom asked suspiciously.
She just grinned back at him.
"Is he right there?" Kelly asked suspiciously. "You two are the worst ever at acting like separated parents", she teased.
"Yeah… about that", she murmured sheepishly.
Kelly gasped. "Keeping secrets from your friend isn't nice!"
"Are you busy tomorrow morning?" Letty offered. "I can meet you for brunch somewhere after my yoga class. Around eleven-thirty? Bring Sarah. Maybe we can swing by the park for a bit and tire her out."
"Sounds good", Kelly agreed. Letty heard a clatter in the background, and her friend groaned in frustration. "I gotta go", she said exasperatedly. "Sarah's in the pantry again."
Letty snorted as the line clicked off and set her phone on the counter.
"Do I want to know what you just offered me for?" Dom asked, sounding a bit amused.
"Uh… helping me?" she batted her eyelashes innocently.
"Mhm", he hummed encouragingly, crowding her against the sink.
Letty grinned. "Not that kind of help, pal." She swatted at his groping hands. "Aiden is around the corner!"
He leaned down and nipped her bottom lip. "You're no fun."
"That's not what you were saying this morning", she smirked. "Kelly asked me to take the kids for a few days. It's their anniversary in a few weeks, so they wanted a long weekend away."
"So I'm going to help you wrangle the kids?" he laughed.
"Yes, please."
He shook his head in amusement, but gave in easily. "Okay."
She rose up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
00
A/N: During the next few chapters, Letty goes to brunch, Dom and Letty talk to Aiden and go to dinner with Susana, Brian meets the Toretto family, and another quick glimpse into the flashback dinner in the beginning of this chapter. Okay, so I didn't edit the beginning section, so I'll probably have to fix it later, but I think you've all waited long enough for this. We're heading in a nice direction.