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Finding Home	By : ellia Category: 1 through F > Fast And The Furious, The > Male/Male Views: 5022 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the fast and the furious. My stories are works of fiction and are written for fun not profit. Feedback and Concrit always welcome

Chapter List
- 1-Finding Home
- 1
After everything that went down in LA, the worst thing for Dom was how lost he’d felt. His whole life he’d never doubted himself, had always known exactly who he was and where he fit. He’d had his family, the one he’d been born with and the one he’d made, his garage, and their home. And on nights when he’d felt it all closing in, when he’d needed to let loose, there’d always been a race. He’d slip behind the wheel of a car, fire up the engine and just fly. It’d never been about the money, the bets were just a way of keeping score, of proving that he was still the best.

The hijackings had just been an extension of that need for a challenge, it’d been their way of pushing past their limits and showing they could do anything they wanted. It had been a game to them, and they’d never really considered the consequences. He should have, he knows that, but they’d seemed invincible, and right up to the moment he saw Vince bleeding out on adeserted road he’d believed they couldn’t lose. Jesse’s death should have warned him, but he’d been too angry, too hurt to think past the moment, and it had almost cost him everything.

He’d hightailed it out of town, like the hounds of hell were at his back, and it’d been days before he felt safe enough to stop looking over his shoulder every time he stopped for gas. He’d put a call into Mia and found out that Vince had made it through his surgery and was going to be okay. She’d put him in touch with Letty and Leon, and he met up with them a couple of weeks later. Having them back had made things better, at least for a while.

They ‘d drifted from small town to small town, picking up work at any garage that’d give them the time of day, but it hadn’t been easy. After the first month he and Letty were sniping at each other morning, noon and night, he’d wanted to find a place to settle down, to start putting down roots again. At the back of his mind had been the thought that he could recreate their old life, make everything just like it’d been before.

Letty had wanted more, she’d thought that they should keep moving; after everything that had happened she’d wanted to live every moment like it was their last, to grab every opportunity that came their way, and damn the consequences. He hadn’t been able to do it, hadn’t been able to stop thinking about what would happen if they all got caught. Had seen his old cell, and felt the bars closing in on him, every time he’d closed his eyes.

In the end it hadn’t mattered how much they loved each other, they needed different things, even after Mia had told him that the heat had died down, and nobody was really looking for them any more, he hadn’t been able to relax. So Letty had gone, off in search of new thrills, new places to explore and new friends to dazzle with her presence.

Leon had gone with her, ostensibly to watch her back, but truth be told, Letty could take care of herself just fine. Leon was the one that needed a keeper, and Dom knew he could trust Letty to keep his oldest friend safe. He missed them, but knew it was for the best; he couldn’t be what Letty wanted him to be not without killing a part of himself.

He still talks to them from time to time, picks up the phone to hear Letty bragging about her latest victory, laughing and joking, sounding happier than he’s felt in years. Or finds messages from Leon in his voicemail, that familiar voice bitching about some stunt that Letty’s pulled, or telling tales of all the places they’ve been and the people they’ve met. He’s glad they’ve found what they want, but hearing their voices just reminds him how alone he is now.

Vinnie had finally been released from hospital, and according to Mia, there’d been some sort of deal struck, which meant his sentence had been commuted to time served. She thought that Brian might have had something to do with it, but Dom couldn’t figure out how that could be true.

What it meant though was that Vince had moved in with Mia, so she could help him with his recovery. He’d opened up the garage again, and had found a couple of kids to help out as he built the business back up. They’d begun to make a life together without Dom, a life that doesn’t really have a place in it for him. Mia’s doing just fine, well on her way to becoming a doctor, and it seems like Vince’s brush with death has given him the impetus to get his life on track.

He knows they love him, and if he ever gets clear, they’d welcome him back with open arms, but they don’t need him anymore. It’s the first time in his life that he’s got no responsibilities, when the only person he has to take care of is himself, it’s freedom, the likes of which he’s never known, and he doesn’t have the first clue what to do with it.

He thinks sometimes that he’s forgotten how to feel, that he’s shut off from everything, locked tight behind a cell door of his own making. He can’t bring himself to trust anyone, can’t unbend even a little, and so he protects himself by not feeling anything at all. If he doesn’t risk the highs, he can’t be kicked in the teeth by the lows. It isn’t the best way to live, but for now it’s all he has, and he doesn’t see any reason to change.

So he just kept drifting, looking for something to give him a new purpose, a person or a place he could anchor him self to, and start re-building his own life. Mia’s theory about Vince’s freedom crosses his mind from time to time, but he tries to ignore the thoughts. Brian is like the elephant in the corner of his brain, and Dom’s doing his level best not to think about him at all.

He’d trusted Brian, had been happy at the way the younger man had slipped into their world and slotted neatly into their lives. Dom had always trusted his instincts to guide him, and his gut had told him to let Brian in. Finding out it had all been a lie, had thrown Dom so far off kilter, that he’s not sure he’ll ever be able to trust himself again. It’s all twisted together in his mind, Brian and Mia getting together; the night he told Brian about his father, how he trusted him with the story of his past, the look on Brian’s face when he’d shown him the Charger.

Then there’s the heart-stopping image of Brian flinging himself onto a moving truck to save Vince’s life, the way Dom had thought his heart would burst with pride at Brian’s bravery. And the way his heart had broken when Brian had pulled out his phone and Officer O’Conner had called for backup and Dom had realised that they’d all been played. The events of that day replay themselves over and over again in Dom’s dreams; and he’s never going to get over how betrayed he’d felt at the moment when he’d found out the truth.

And then Brian had gone and twisted him all around a second time. Just when Dom had gotten him all filed away in his head as a traitor and a cop; Brian had surprised him once again. He’d stood up to Dom the way nobody ever had before, had challenged him both on the road and off it. And just when he had Dom beat, when he’d raced him into submission, he’d tossed Dom a set of keys and let him drive away. He still doesn’t understand why, and thinking about it too much just makes his head hurt. If he’s honest with himself, he misses Brian as much as the others, and there are times he hates himself for that. He doesn’t know how much of the man he thought of as a friend was real, and how much was just part of the role Brian had played.

Six months later and he finds himself in Miami, and decides to stick around for a while. The city’s big enough to get lost in, and he’s gotten tired of drifting. He finds a job tending bar and busting heads, and settles into a tiny apartment. It isn’t home, but it’s enough for now.

He slowly starts to relax, to open up a little, and begins to settle into a routine. He’s stayed away from cars and racers since he left LA, but he misses the thrill of the race and decides it can’t hurt to call a few old friends and track down a local contact or two. It isn’t that hard, Miami’s got its own scene, and it doesn’t take him long to find where the car crowd hangs out. He meets a guy, who knows a guy, who tells him that the man he needs to talk to is Tej.

A couple of nights later he joins a crowd of locals on a deserted street corner, waiting to watch a race. He’s not planning on throwing his hat in the ring just yet, wants to spend some time checking out the way things work here, seeing how good the competition is. He knows he doesn’t quite fit, Miami’s all about the pretty, and both he and his car are a little too rough around the edges for this crowd’s tastes. But it’s the drivers he’s interested in, ‘cos once a race starts, appearances don’t count for shit, and he doubts they’ve got anyone around here who can give him a serious challenge.

The whispers start the moment the last car comes into view, and Dom realises that this must be the one to beat. It looks good, the silver and blue paint job as slick as any of the other cars parked up for the race. The lights and the smoke are a little flashy for Dom’s tastes, but the crowd seems to like the effect, so who’s he to complain.

It takes him a minute or two to notice what the others are saying, and when he does it hits him like a knife in the gut. Brian, it’s Brian, Brian’s here coming at him from every side. He tells himself that it’s just a coincidence, that there are a lot of Brian’s in the world. Reminds himself that his Brian is a cop, and he’s pounding a beat back in LA, not racing in Miami; wonders when the hell Brian became his, and swears to God he’s going to stop obsessing about this now.

Then the door to the car swings open and Dom sees him; long legs, blond hair and an all too familiar grin. It is his Brian, and for the first time in months Dom feels alive. He doesn’t know whether he wants to hug Brian and thank him for saving Vince and letting him go, or punch his lights out for lying to them all, and for hurting Mia; but he does know that seeing him again changes everything. That cell door around his heart unlocks and swings open, and for the first time in months Dom really feels something; he’s happy, hurt, relieved and pissed off all at once.

Dom’s been hiding, from himself as well as the law, and he’s done with that. It’s past time for him to stop drifting, and start living his life. Dom’s still got a lot of questions, and now he can finally get some answers, once he knows the truth about everything, he figures he’ll be able to move on; and make a proper life for himself.

********************

It’s only while he’s watching the race that Dom starts to second-guess himself. The familiar sight of cars going hell-for-leather along deserted streets reminds him of LA, and the race where he’d first met Brian.

Mia had told him that Brian wasn’t a cop any more, but he can’t get the doubts out of his head. Can’t stop wondering if this is all an act, if Brian’s running a play on his new friends, just like he played Dom.

He wants to believe it isn’t true, but the thought of Brian betraying him again is just too much for him to ignore, So when the race comes to a close, he slinks back into the shadows, unwilling to risk being seen. He watches as Brian collects the congratulations of the crowd, and his not inconsiderable winnings from his opponents, seems racing is a sight more lucrative in Miami, than it is in LA.

He spends the next couple of weeks trying to figure things out, tries to find out as much about Brian as he can, to try and help himself decide whether or not he can take a chance on talking to him, or if he’d be better off heading for the hills. He hangs around the edges of the racing crowd, buying drinks and asking questions, and quickly finds out that Brian’s a pretty popular guy with the locals.

Apparently he’s been around for months, and Dom figures he must have come out almost directly after everything fell apart in LA. He’s got a good rep, and despite the fact that he can drive rings round most of the other drivers, nobody seems to resent him. Once Dom finds out that Brian’s been working at Tej’s garage, his snooping gets easier. He parks up just out of sight and watches as Brian goes about his day, sees him laughing and joking with his friends, and working on the cars, looking like he belongs.

He sticks close for the next few days, calling off his own job in favour of following Brian round Miami. He finds out that Brian really isn’t a morning person, he rarely rolls out of his driveway before eleven, and when he does get up, his first stop is always the local coffee shop, where he grabs a coffee and sits at a table, head down, surly and unresponsive, until he’s finished at least two cups.

He usually heads straight from there to the garage, and works through to late evening, sometimes heading out with his co-workers to a quiet bar a couple of streets away, but mostly driving back to his house alone. Dom watches as Brian goes about his life, and little by little starts to believe that this isn’t an act. That when Brian fixes his neighbour’s porch-swing or talks some kid into fixing up their car, he’s for real. That this isn’t another cover, Brian really has moved on, and made a new life for himself here in Miami. There are no clandestine meetings in deserted warehouses, no out of place faces hanging out at Brian’s home. His life’s an open book, and there isn’t any hint that he’s still a cop, Dom’s gut is telling him that Brian’s on the level, but somehow that isn’t enough.

Dom still can’t quite bring himself to trust his instincts, so instead of walking up to Brian and saying something, he’s back at work, serving cheap beer to the local meatheads and wondering just when he became such a fucking coward. He hears someone pull out a stool, but doesn’t bother to look up just says, “What can I get you?”

“Funny, that was going to be my line? I mean the way you’ve been following me around the last couple of weeks I figured you must want something.”

Dom can’t quite believe it, but when he looks up, Brian’s standing right there, leaning against the bar, staring at Dom, like he doesn’t have a care in the world. For a second or two he just stares back, not knowing what the hell to say, now that they’re finally face to face.

“Nothing to say, well why don’t you get me a beer, while you try to figure it out.” There’s an edge to Brian’s voice this time, and Dom’s grateful for the excuse to turn away, he grabs a couple of bottles from the fridge and pops the caps, before sliding one across the bar to Brian.

Brian takes a long swallow, and Dom can see his face twist up a little at the taste of the cheap beer. “Well I suppose it was too much to hope that a dive like this would be serving something drinkable, but why in the hell don’t you have a stash of the good stuff for your friends?”

“Round here it’d be a waste, most of the regulars are just looking to get off their heads, no point wasting a decent beer on one of them, and I don’t drink when I’m working.” Dom’s pretty proud of himself both for keeping his voice steady and for the way he’s not leaping across the counter and demanding his answers.

“Well you’re drinking now, so I guess I’m a special case. So how about it Dom, feel like telling me what you’re doing in Miami, never really had you pegged as a stalker, but following me out here seems a little extreme even by your standards?”

“I didn’t follow you here, I’ve just been moving around a lot, drifted into Miami a couple of months back.”

“And the stalking, can we focus on the stalking for a second, ‘cos I’ve got to say I’m not real thrilled about that part. I mean I figured we were even after I gave you the keys, isn’t it a little late for the pissed off beat down?”

“I’m not gonna…fuck Brian if you thought that’s why I’m here, why in god’s name did you come see me?”

“Might as well get it out there, couldn’t stand another night wondering what in the hell you were up to.”

Brian just shrugs his shoulders and takes another drink, he’s doing his best to look like he’s relaxed, but Dom can see the worry in his eyes and Dom doesn’t know whether he wants to hug the guy, or slap him upside the head for having the self-preservation instincts of a lemming. The fact that he’d come down here and confront Dom, despite everything that happened and knowing what he does about Dom’s past is just incredibly stupid.

Not that Dom’s got any intention of getting violent, but Brian doesn’t know that, coming down here was ballsy and reckless, and so very Brian, and Dom feels his last few doubts slip away, this is the Brian he thought of as his friend, and he’s damn glad to see him.

“I wasn’t looking for you, but I saw you at a race one night…”

“Did I win?” Brian interrupts the confession Dom’s struggling to get out.

“Don’t you always? At least that’s what I heard.”

“Almost always, even I’m not perfect, so is that one of the things you found out while you were busy stalking me?”

Brian seems fixated on that word, and it’s starting to get to Dom. “I wasn’t stalking you, I saw you race…” His voice trails off as he realises he still isn’t sure how to explain his actions.

“You said that already. So come on you saw me race, and then…”

“I wasn’t expecting it, couldn’t figure out what you were doing here. I just…needed to be sure before I talked to you.”

Brian goes quiet, and Dom wonders if he’s screwed this up, knows it was a piss poor explanation, and that Brian’s going to want more than that, going to want a proper answer; and Dom doesn’t really have it all figured out in his own head yet, so he’s no clue how to explain it to someone else.

But Brian surprises him all over again, “So are you sure? Or do you need to keep stalking me a bit longer?” There’s amusement in Brian’s voice, and Dom feels himself relax as he realises that Brian isn’t going anywhere, at least not right now.

“I told you I wasn’t stalking you.”

“So what would you call it; excessive coincidence? I mean if we were really just running into each other a couple of dozen times every day, we should probably call Ripley’s or something, ‘cos that’s all kinds of weird.”

“Not stalking,” Dom’s really starting to hate that word, and he can’t stop a little irritation slipping into his voice. “I just needed to see how you were doing. Make sure you hadn’t gotten into your usual trouble.”

“So you were just what…looking out for me?”

“Some law that says I can’t check up on a friend?”

“A friend.” Brian takes a deep breath and goes quiet for a minute, and Dom can’t figure out what he’s thinking. “So we’re friends again now are we?”

This is the big one, Brian's gone all in, staked everything he's got on that question; and Dom realises that everything hinges on him finding the right words. He doesn't care about the risk, just knows that if he gets this one wrong, Brian will walk away, maybe for good this time, and Dom will be left with nothing. Knowing what's at stake makes things easier, there's really only one answer for Dom to give, so he looks right into Brian's eyes and says, “You're my friend, always were. Things got a little screwed up, and there were a few kinks to work out. But I don't turn my back on my friends, not for any reason.”

“A few kinks..jeez talk about an understatement.” Brian mutters the last part so quietly that Dom almost doesn’t hear it. “So in the interests of friendship, how about you close-up and let your friend introduce you to a better bar. You know, one where they serve real drinks, not horse-piss masquerading as beer.”

Dom looks around, realises that the bar’s empty except for them. “Why the hell not. Though this place better have Corona.”

“Would I take you somewhere that doesn’t?” Brian smiles then, open and honest, and it’s the best thing Dom’s seen in months. It isn’t all fixed, sooner or later, they’re gonna have to actually talk things out, but Dom thinks that everything’s going to be okay.

As he walks towards the door, Brian falling in next to him matching him stride for stride, like he belongs there, Dom realises that he feels at ease, that Brian's presence makes him feel like he's finally come home. He’s been running and hiding for so long, never relaxing for a second; but now he's done with that. No more drifting for him, he feels more alive than he has since the night he left LA, and he’s not giving that feeling up for anything. Brian risked everything to show up at the bar, and Dom can do no less, he doesn’t know what the future holds for the two of them, but he bets it’ll be one hell of a ride.

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Finding Home