Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Brian grinned as he enjoyed the LA heat at one of the famous Toretto family dinners. Dom was at the grill and Leon was inside with Mia helping her cook.

It was almost unbearably hot and Letty made her dissatisfaction known as she glared at Brian and Vince who were both lounging on the shitty lawn chairs Jesse had insisted that they get for a beach day they still hadn't gone on yet.

Jesse was currently sitting at the table, sitting in shorts and bare of a shirt with a cigarette tucked behind his right ear, humming as he tapped away on the laptop he had gotten for his birthday less then a month ago.

He was dimly aware of Letty taking a long swig of her beer a few feet away before getting up from her seat and disappeared into the house just as Mia and Leon were starting to bring out the food.

Brian himself was stretched put on a lounge chair and was pleasantly warmed in the spots where the sun lapped at his skin. His eyes were closed and next to him he could hear Vince snoring softly in his seat. He ignored the sounds of the grill sizzling in the background and even the faint sound of Mia and Leon's laugh leaving the kitchen as he dozed lightly.

The next thing he knew cold water was raining down on him in a sudden wave making his gasp and jack knife out of his seat. Next to him he could hear Vince spitting curses as he sat up, looking much like a pissed off, rain soaked cat. They seemed to come to the same conclusion at once because suddenly Vince was chasing Letty around the yard while the others laughed. Feeling bold Brian approached Dom with a shit eating grin. The bald man raised a questioning eyebrow at him. A challenge.

Never one to back down thanks to the crazy ass white boy tendencies that Rome proclaimed he had he went in, wrapping his arms around Dom's broad chest, hands resting on the older Toretto's back between his shoulder blades and sufficiently wetting the older man's front. Dom laughed and even returned th hug. Neither of them noticed Mia disappearing into the house for a moment or notice her come back with her camera. She snapped pictures of them discreetly before moving on and taking pictures of Leon and Jesse and obviously of Letty and Vince running around the yard. He and Dom separated at some point and watched and laughed as Vince grabbed the garden hose to use in his revenge.

He managed to not only wet Letty but Leon and Mia as well but thankfully not her camera, leaving Jesse as the only one hundred percent dry, laughing as he turned away from his computer and watched his adopted family laugh as they wer soaked, a large grin on his face. Making his way over to the youngest and managing to get even more wet in the process Brian smiled, a devilish spark in his eye. "Hey Jesse why don't you take a break and come join us"

"Ohhhh no, nope, not happening." He shook his head even as a boyish smile lit his face.

"Come on Jess take a break, you've been working all day. Come on" The Blond grabbed the others hand and pulled him up. Dragging him towards the spray of water currently being directed at Leon. Even as the younger man resisted he still laughed, trying in vain to stay away from the refreshingly cool spray of water.

"No No No, Brian!!"

"Yo Vince, over here man" The blond grinned and lightning fast he had Jesse trapped in his arms, and Vince was turning the hose their way, Jesse was still trying to yell even as he laughed. He didn't worry about the kid actually being against getting wet because Jesse wasn't putting up as much of a fight as he could have.

"NO PUT ME DOWN! BRIAAN!" He shouted as he was soaked in the cold water, causing his shirt and jeans to stick to his skin as water doused the front of his body, his hair plastering itself to his forehead the same way Brian's was making the two men look similar thanks to their close looks and age.

Everyone enjoyed the sounds of Brian and Jesse's laugh as they started rough housing. Laughter of their own mixing in and filling the backyard with the sounds of warmth and family and safty.

Brian wasn't the only one enjoying the heat of the day.

Chapter Text

He'd been sitting in the same uncomfortable plastic chair for 3 days now, watching over one of his own, a member of his family. Only leaving his seat to go to the bathroom. So far Dom had only left the hospital once because Mia had yanked him up and shoved him out the door with all the fiery determination of a Toretto, claiming that if he didn't shower and take care of himself she would have the team mess with his car.

The team stopped in often to see there hurt team mate, at least one of them stopped in every other hour like clockwork, bringing Dom food and clothes to change into when he finally decided to get up and use the bathroom. He spent most of his time watching the blond in the bed in contemplation.

From what Brian's Sargent, a man named Nick Tanner, told him that Brian had pulled someone over for a busted tail light, not knowing the guy had a rap sheet, a suspended licence, and a couple dime bags of coke in the front seat next to him. According to witnesses Brian approached the car and the guy shot him and drove off without a second thought as to what he was doing.

Mia said they caught the guy and Brian just had to Id him when he woke up.

If he woke up.

The bullet had torn through his abdomen, tearing through his stomach and up into his diaphragm, nicking his left lung. Dom and the team had broken several laws while trying to get to the hospital that contained half of the precinct in it. The had all given the team pitiful looks when they got there, looking like kicked puppies that had lot their best friends.

It didn't make Dominic feel much better.

No one had been allowed to see the blonde since he was in surgery and there were not status updates to give so they all sat in a privet waiting room till an officer, Thackary Burnham and Jason Michaels started talking. Just telling stories about all the times they and Brian got into trouble and how Brian had saved them or helped them with little things. Told them about how Thackery's wife and kids adored the other officer and slowly they all had started sharing stories about Brian.

Officers stopped in all the time now to see how Brian was doing and even brought Dom coffee and food and asked if he or their family needed anything, claiming it was their duty to take care of Brian's family. That he would do the same for any of them.

Since he refused to leave and their wasn't much to do at the hostial aside from wait he spent his thimthinking. He thought of how the blonde had pulled him in with charming words and shit eating grins, how he and Vince -after a cold war period- finally started getting along and had become brothers of sorts. How Leon was fond of him and how Letty thought he was a great person to have around, which was saying a lot since she was never very found of new people.

He though of how Jesse and Mia and even himself had been drawn in so quickly by the blond. From bringing him home that first night after the blonde's car got blown up that first night to working with him in the garage and bringing him home for dinner at the end of the day.

He had heard a conversation between Mia and Brian in the garage once before they had learned the truth. Back when he had first brought in the supra with a shit eating grin, he could hear his little sisters voice clear as day 'He owns you now'. He remembered stopping dead in his tracks in confusion, unsure of what she meant

He smiled sadly, thinking about just how wrong she had it.

Brian O'Conner was not owned by Dominic Toretto, not in the way that everyone thought. Brian O'Conner was Gravity he would always pull people in and once you were in you would never want to let go of the blonde you would end up knowing. You would get attached to him and all the people around him. The waiting room when the he was in surgery was a great example of that along with past memories of races and parties Brian had went to with them. No he wasn't gravity but Brian was and sooner or later you would start to feel the pull towards him

It was inevitable

Chapter Text

In hind sight, crashing his car onto a moving yacht was not one of his best ideas. Sure it had paid off, with Carter in custody and Monica alive and well, back where she belonged, but it had a bad outcome for his body. He and Rome were alive and finally made up, lifting years of guilt and regret off of the blonds shoulders, simply knowing that his honorary brother forgave him after all the years they've had to grown apart was great, but that didn't mean he appreciated the injured ribs or concussion.

Currently he stood in the middle of the boat house, bare chested and medical tape in his hands as he took deep breaths and tried to keep himself from wincing to much as he taped up his ribs. He had known how to take care of his own injuries for a long time now, from broken bones and concussions to even stitches, meaning he didn't have to go to the hospital as often as he really should have.

But that didn't mean it wasn't any less of a bitch to deal with.

He already had colorful bruises sprouting out across his chest that climbed up and decorated his shoulders, neck, and face from his impromptu meeting with the steering wheel thanks to a faulty air bag that had only half inflated. His chest felt tight and moving hurt but he could manage. Rome with a broken arm was already drugged up and passed out on the couch in the garage, with Tej and Jimmy watching over him.

The neon pink tape stood out against his tan skin and forming bruises but he didn't really mind the color. It was cheap at the time he bought it and it worked well enough for him. He stared down at his colorful chest and stomach and sighed as he reached for the medical tape again so that he could finish up but he froze in his tracks when he noticed someone standing in the doorway of the boat. Tej.

"Yo Brian, some people are here to see you" Tej nodded his head in the direction of his left shoulder, and sure enough, behind him stood the very people Brian thought he would never see again

"Hey Brian"

He felt his breath freeze, causing his chest to ache more as he stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do or say. His snowman ice cold persona flew out the window the moment he saw the people behind Tej. Dominic Toretto with his gaze hard and heavy as he stared Brian down. His sister Mia Toretto and the rest of the Toretto crew standing behind him, including two people he thought were dead

Vince and Jesse

One was scowling and the other was grinning, grinning so hard it made Brian's own cheeks hurt just looking at the 20 year old. He looked a bit skinnier then he had the last time Brian saw him but then again thats what happened when you got shot twice in the abdomen. The memory of the young man laid out on the sidewalk, bloody and unresponsive was seared into his memory. He hadn't been able to stay around long enough to find out if Vince had even made it to the hospital alive or if Jesse had lasted till the ambulance had gotten to him. The events of that faithful day were fuzzy with adrenaline but still so clear. Vince hanging off the side of that truck, Mia holding Jesse's head in her lap. Dominic and Brian nowhere in sight, chasing people and racing trains but now...they were standing in front of him and very much alive. He could feel something thick and suffocating in his chest loosen, something that wasn't caused by his screwed up ribs.

Tej had left at some point while Brian's thoughts were raging so it was just him and the team in the boat house now. The first words he could think of flew out of his mouth before his common sense could kick it "what are you guys doing here"

He winced and then grimaced as he saw Mia's smile fall and he briefly wondered why she was smiling at all. He lied to her about his feelings, about his past and who he was.

He lied about family.

"Told ya he wouldn't think we'd go lookin' for him" Leon mumbled, just barely loud enough for Brian to hear him.

"What your not happy to see us Buster" Vince huffed, arms crossed over his chest, drawing Brian's eyes to the Japanese dragon tattoo on his arm and the fresh, raw looking scars marring the once pristine ink. The gruff man looking...almost offended

Guilt washed through him at the sight of the scars and he turned back around. Grabbing another piece of horribly pink medical tape and sucked in a breath as deep as he could manage he finished what he had been doing so that whatever was about to happen could happen. Once he was done he tossed the tape in the direction of the duffel bag he'd been living out of ever since he had gotten to Miami before going to the small mock kitchen the boat house had.

Opening one of the strangely barren cabinets he pulled out a small orange medicine bottle, shook two of the pills out into his hand, and knocked it back, swallowing it dry before going to the cooler and pulling out a beer. He popped the top off on the counter ledge and knocked it back so quickly that Mia couldn't even work up a proper glare before half the bottle was gone.

"Brian" Her tone was exasperated.

"You guys shouldn't be here"

"And you shouldn't poison yourself" She crossed her arms over her chest, looking like every bit the Toretto she was. "what did you just take"

"Don't worry it's prescribed" He had thrown a fit. Bitched and complained and cursed but in the end Suki got her way and Brian got his ribs checked out by a medical professional, she had been the one to put the meds in the cabinet for him when they got back to the garage. She could be just as scary as Mia at times.

He grinned fondly as she huffed at him before his attention was drawn back to Dom, stepping forward and giving Brian a hard look "We need to talk Bri"

His heart stuttered at the nickname but he nodded his head, he knew this would happen eventually, that they would find him if he stayed in Miami to long he couldn't bring himself to leave though cause a part of him that he kept shoved in the back of his mind hoped that they would come and find him. He knew they would find him eventually, probably beat the crap out of him an leave him alone and bloody somewhere, all his guilt and regret would settle in then, settle in and refuse to leave.

He nearly got Vince killed and almost got Dominic arrested and Jesse almost died, he couldn't even think of entertaining the thought that either Dom or Vince might still want him again after what he did. He couldn't fathom any other explanation as to why they were here besides to beat the crap out of him.

Sure he had hidden evidence and had lied and made sure that no one would bother Vince and Jesse while they were in the hospital even though he hadn't been sure if they were alive at the time, and sure he planted everything on a dead Johnny Tran and his just as dead cousin. Sure he got them pardons and kept Dom from getting arrested but he never should have had to do it in the first place, he should have pulled out of the assignment and not gotten more involved then he already was. He could have pulled out and continue to ignore his feelings and pretend that he didn't miss the feeling of home and family and belonging.

Pretend like he didn't miss them

"So talk"

"why didn't you come with me when I asked you to" Dom pushed without missing a beat, his eyes holding something deep and raw in them.

"Someone had to stay had to take care of the mess"

"You damn well know that that isn't the truth busta" Vince gruff voice rang out, it was obvious that his hackles were raised and his infamous temper was rearing its head. It was that temper that had reeled Brian in, as unhealthy as that sounded.

"What do you want me to say Vince" His own voice was getting higher. He could feel the meds and beer kicking in. He was tired and sore and did not have the emotional capacity to even begin to process what was happening much less deal with it.

"I want you to stop lying to yourself and to stop lying to us" They were shouting now "I want you to come home!"

"I'm not family!" He shouted back "I lied to all of you. I nearly got you arrested" He made a vague gesture to Dom "I nearly got you and Jesse killed. Family doesn't do that. I'm not family"He finished softly, looking just to the left of Letty's shoulder at the wall because he couldn't bring himself to look any of them in the eye

"You still don't get it do you" Dom took a heavy step forward, close enough to reach out to the blond but giving him enough space so that he didn't feel caged in.

"You'll always be family"

Chapter Text

Brian has always been a fast driver, quick reflexes and a lead foot so he never really worried about crashing his car accidentally. In hind sight, driving down a deserted and heavily wooded road so late at night while angry wasn't one of his better ideas but defiantly not one of his worst. He had gotten into a small spat with Vince at the garage, working his muscles to the bone on his off day and then getting into it with Dom about gus job not even a full hour ago. He had been on the news as one of the brave officers involved with a shoot out. Of course Dom heard about it and instantly started to baby him, asking if he was alright and insisting that he take it easy the moment Brian walked through the door.

Unwilling to take the offered affection and in his honest opinion unnecessary concern he brushed it off, of course that didn't end well and they argued, causing Jesse to go hide out in his room with his laptop and Leon and Letty to flee the house under the false claim that they needed more beer, taking Mia with them to drop her off at the library Vince got grouchy and tucked himself away in his own room, probably playing the guitar to drown out his thoughts in the safety of his sound proofed room in the basement.

Of course with no one to stop them and pull their heads out of their asses it blew up, and in his anger Dom brought up when they'd all met and how he had lied to them, in a single moment of utter anger and a lack of thought. From the look on the older man's face he instantly regretted his words but Brian didn't give him the chance to speak, just turned on his heel and out the front door, passing a stunned looking Jesse who stood on the second bottom step looking dumbfounded.

He got into his car and drove, just driving and never once thought of stopping, ignoring his tear blurred vision and his chest that ached from holding in his breath and letting it out in shaky, puffs, rapid and ragged. he drove for what felt like days when really it was only an hour.

It had only taken moments for things to go oh so wrong.

He took in a steady breath, dimly aware of the headlights several yards in front of him and brought his right hand up to rub across his tear stained face, hand dragging down from his eyes and over his mouth and slam, his foot pressing against the break as he furiously spun the wheel as the headlights that had been yards in front of him came at him, only feet in front of him now. The front of the other car slamming into the his driver side door and jerking his car to the right and half off the road.

It couldn't have taken more then a couple of second but to him it felt like everything was moving in slow motion.

The force of the impact caused his body to slam forward because he was to occupied earlier to put on a seat belt, his head and chest slamming into the steering wheel and then into the door, his shoulder and chest and face screaming in pain and discomfort as the car finally came to a stop and he groaned. The other car was somewhere on his left and he could swear he could see movement from the other car but he was to out of it to do anything, to move. His car was in ruins, the windshield decorated an intricate spider web like patterns even as all the side windows were smashed and missing, leaving glass shard everywhere.

He could feel an odd sort of wetness on his forehead and under his shirt and taste bitter metallic copper in his mouth. There was a throbbing in his head that made it hard to focus a sharp stabbing in his shoulder to go along with it.

He had to have blacked out at some point because when he woke up again he was laying flat on his back and he wasn't in pain anymore even though his head still felt foggy.

Brian stared up at the dark bight sky, illuminated by the stars and the flashing of red and blue lights. He couldn't hear much aside from an annoying wailing that was drowned out by the blood rushing in his ears.

He didn't try to move, to tired to care about the odd softness under his body or the odd warmness surrounding him, to mesmerized by the sky until a face came into view, he couldn't focus on it's blurry form or it's moving lips, just that it seemed to be a guy talking to him.

"Sir you were in an accident, can you tell me your name" The voice was muted, far to jumbled for him to understand

A light flashed in his eyes and he would have winced if he could "Sir can you hear me"

No

The answer was no

Chapter Text

Brian was the only one awake in the house.

The house had long since gone quiet for the night and the clock on the nightstand was steadily approaching 1Am and the others had fallen asleep long ago.

Brian was quite and steady in his task of climbing out from under Dom's arm and out of bed to mile around the darkened bedroom as quietly as he could as not to wake the bald man in his bed.

He grabbed his duffel bag from the closet and started shoveling his clothes into it. His tooth brush and comb and anything else he needed from the bathroom before changing from his pajama pants and throwing a t-shirt on his bare chest. He ran a hand though his sleep mused hair as he pulled on his sneakers.

He looked over at Dom, sleeping peacefully on the right side of the bed, laying on his side and facing the door sound asleep. The tan skinned man wasn't wearing a shirt with the sheets pooled around his waist.

I'm doing this for them

He felt like he was trying to convince himself that he was doing the right thing because god it hurt to leave. He had a home and a family that he couldn't keep. They accepted him for who he was and accepted what he did and in return he put them in danger.

Sure he hadn't know that the guy he had arrested weeks ago had a brother that would try to take away the only family he had the way brian had unintentionally done to him. The team had nearly died at the garage a week ago and since then he couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't belong with them. That he was endangering them by being near.

Standing up from where he sat on his side of the bed he walked around to the other side and leaned over carefully. He didn't dare to reach out and touch his lover no matter how much he wanted to. Leaning over Dom he pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, and whispered in his ear.

"I hope you never regret me"

Moving away he picked up his duffle off the floor and crept his way out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him with a soft snick and moved silently down the dim hallway, he could see light peeking from the bottom of Jesse's door and he knew that the just turned 19 year old fell asleep with his light on again and he couldn't help but smile fondly.

He was careful walking down steps, avoiding the fourth last step because he knew that it had a tendency to squeak.

He left his house key to the house on the in table by the door and didn't turn back to look at the house before he stepped out and closed it behind hi. the air was unnaturally cold for a summer night in LA but it was refreshing to feel against his skin. Walking down the walk he turned left and started on his way, He left the skyline back at the station because if he left at 2 in the morning with the skyline as loud as it was then someone would definitely going to wake up.

taking in a deep breath he sighed, willing himself to keep moving and in the morning, when the sun was up in the sky and shining he hoped to any god that would listen that he didn't regret it in the morning

Chapter Text

It started when Dominic Toretto agreed to Let Brian O'Conner drive to the store.

They were running low on beer and snacks and Letty insisted that they go so that they could have more snacks for the movie they would be watching later that night and Brian had volunteered to go. Mia demanded that Dom go as well to get her groceries that she would need for dinner so he agreed because he loved his sisters cooking. He agreed obviously and he even let the blond drive there and back and once everything was bagged and paid for they could easily get on there way.

Throughout the whole trip they talked and joked, leaving the atmosphere of the skyline light and relaxed, like they had absolutely no where else they had to be.

They were at a red light and everything was comfortably quiet, the engine was nothing but a soft and healthy, pleasant, hum that seemed to drown out the noise of the outside world. Brian turned towards Dom, his snowman ice calm persona taking hold as he decided to try something insane. He hadn't done it since he rolled with Roman when he was younger buta part of him just needed to prove something, maybe it was his white boy craziness that his childhood friends and even the team, branded him famous for.

"Do you trust me"

"What kind of question is that Spilner"

"Just tell me, do you trust me, Dominic" Brian repeated, he was still calm but his curiosity was growing. He really needed to know or a reason that was beyond him.

"Yes I trust you, what are....BRIAN"

Dom's voice was tight when he spoke and a slight bit higher then it normally would be on any other day, more forceful, like he was willing Brian to slow the damn car down with just his voice as the blond drove. He wasn't staring at the road, but at Dom's dark brown eyes as he pushed the skyline faster as he weaved in and out of cars without looking. Dom's eyes flickered between his and the road occasionally, his brow furrowed slightly as if he was trying to figure Brian out, like the very first time they say each other back at the market, a lifetime ago.

They stayed like this, with their eyes locked for what felt like hours till Brian jerked the wheel harshly to the right and pulled into his spot in the driveway before he got out quickly and grabbed his share o bags out of the backseat before Dom could even fully open the passenger side door. He turned and headed up the walkway, the rustling of bags and the sounds of his ever present Converse thudded softly against the pavement.

Dom was just getting his share of the bags when Brian got to the door, but he didn't open it. Instead the blonde turned and looked at Dom, His lips parting to speak "O'Conner, my last name is O'Conner"

Dom stood there for a moment, momentarily shell shocked at the information he was receiving. Before he could speak he watched as Brian turn back towards the door and spoke, his voice, smaller then it had been before when he spoke or even back when they had still been speeding down the road.

"I trust you to"

He opened the door and went inside before he bald man could even respond, leaving Dominic Toretto to think on the mystery that was Brian O'Conner.

Chapter Text

The beeping ways annoying and needed to top. That was the first proper thought Brian could string together, the second was that there was something tapped to his face and tickling his nose. his eyes felt heavy and blue eyes blinked open slowly, trying to adjust to the overly bright lighting of the room. His throat felt painfully dry and his mouth had to have been made of cotton to be this dry.

He turned his head slowly to the left, his gaze landing on the heart monitor next to him with a furrowed brow. What happened that he was in the hospital? the last thing he remembered was laying on his back, looking up at the stars, where was Dom, where was his family, why was he her? He didn't feel hurt, or like anything was wrong internally with his body.

He became quickly annoyed at the sting of the IV needle in his arm moving every time he moved his arm so he took it out and when it was discarded and dangling to the floor from the IV bag he settled some, he brought his hand up to his face and started to tug on the nasal canal that was tapped to his cheeks. He peeled the tap off of his left cheek and went to remove the tape from his right when a voice spoke and startled him.

"Don't mess with that, its pure oxygen, it's helping your lungs heal" Dom stood leaning against the doorway of Brian's hospital room, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked tired, much different then he had the last time Brian remembered seeing him.

"Dom..." His voice was rough and his throat hurt, forcing him to swallow quickly before speaking again "What happened"

"You were in an accident out on a road headed to Santa Monica, my guess is that you were going to go night surfing to blow off some steam" The bald headed man looked guilty and frustrated and Brian wondered what could put such a look like that on his lovers face.

"Hey what's wrong, I'm alright. Pretty sure nothings broken or to seriously damaged....what's wrong Dom" Being in a car accident was nothing new to Brian so he wasn't to surprised that he would have such misfortune he had to have hit his head pretty hard to cause his lapse of memory of what seemed to be several hours of time.

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?" Brian couldn't possibly think of what could have happened between them, he knew Dom wasn't made about the night surfing because he did that thing all the time whenever he couldn't sleep or needed time to clear his head "What aren't you telling me Dom"

"We had a fight Brian, things got pretty heated...you said you wouldn't be coming back"

"Was it important?"

"What?"

"The fight...was it important?" Brian repeated with a serious look

"God I hope so, I really hope so Bri"

"Then everything's copacetic Dom, now can you go get a nurse for me, I sorta ripped my IV out earlier" Brian gave his lover one of his million dollar smiles that looked a tad bit sheepish. He outright grinned when Dom huffed at him, moving close enough to him to press a kiss to his forehead then turn on his heel and leave the room in search of a doctor or a nurse.

Yeah...everything was copacetic.

Chapter Text

Brian O'Conner did not miss being human.

He was all blond hair and blue eyes and eye catching looks, all making him look irresistible to humans. Carter always cooed that he and Monica would always do well when it came to luring in prey and Owen agreed. They taught him and Monica to be ruthless when it came to hunting because without blood they wanted them to be able to survive when they decided to leave Miami behind.

Brian was finally ready and currently he was rather enjoying the feel of the sun against his face. The whole crap about Vampires not being able to stand sunlight was rather far fetched to him and true some younger fledglings had trouble with being in the sun for long periods of time but they wouldn't combust into balls flames the moment there skin saw a speak of natural light.

So far he liked California, he thought of it like home in a lot of ways and thanks to having such an influential dam he had a new car, a job and a decent sized one bedroom apartment to call his own within two days of being in LA. Of course that's what happened when your dam and sire happened to be a well known drug lord and a retired, not so retired, mercenary that loved to take care of all of his partners problems as ell as anyone that posed a threat to his coven.

Tonight, he was checking out the racing scene, more then happy to find out that it seemed be an equal space much like the racing scene had been back in Miami, werewolves, vampires, humans, shifters, anyone and everyone. He had already met a Latino man named Hector and some of his pack of shape shifters, all of them ranging from dingoes and coyotes to wolves and a few humans here and there. All around they seemed to be good people.

He found the amount of chicks that threw themselves at him disturbing, they were all delusional young girls that had read to many bullshit romance books that glorified survival and immortality. No one caught his eye aside from two possibly human girls that had no clue what subtlety was. In all honesty he couldn't care less and once he raced, an overly cocky human a kid around 17 or 18 that thought he knew how to drive a tricked out BMW M3 E30 that wasn't his named Sean, he forgot about the girls completely, just shaking his head at the kid that had bet his pink slip and told him to go home and to stop racing a car that wasn't his.

The kid had been ecstatic in thanking him with his thick southern draw to his voice and Brian had watched him hurry off with something akin to a smile. He didn't race anymore that night and stopped at a local bar on his way back to his apartment. He could say the place was his but he still had yet to call it home, bringing back a pencil brunette with him. Some flirting, an offer to buy her a drink and flash of fangs was all it had taken for her to melt to his will, willingly going back to his den with him and begging to be turned.

He hadn't done that of course and he drained her dry and dump her body outside of the bar they had been at when he was done, not the least bit worried about being caught and charged with murder considering humans and other being died every day due to being someones lunch.

It was all about survival and the part of him that hated the killing had disappeared about fifty years after he had been turned when he realized himself just how long eternity was. humans didn't see time for what it was or realize how precious it is till your out of it or just how long it can go for when you have to much of it. He had been around for a millennia now, give or take 24 years. Compared to many, like Carter and Owen he was still just a fledgling, a baby.

He spent his night unpacking and talking on the phone with his sire when he was done purely because he was bored and found the apartment a tad to quiet for him to bear at the moment. Throughout the day he felt like he was just going through the motions, he started working at a local car shop called racers edge, owned by a human named Harry that was nice enough if not wary of Brian whenever his eyes darkened or his fangs flashed but the human was good people to have around and Brian couldn't say that about most humans he knew given that Carter's people were only ever competent when the older vampire was threatening to kill them.

That night he went to another race and it was just as great a the one the night before. The brunettes girls were once again present and so was Sean, who came to talk to him along with a calm looking Asian man that was chewing a piece of gum. Another teen round Sean's age that reminded Brian of an over excited puppy joined them, smelling of werewolf or a dog shifter but his fangs flashed constantly and his eyes were an unnatural dark brown, almost black color that showed hunger. He looked young by human standards, just like a fledgling really. Their names were Han and Jesse, from the Toretto Coven.

Han was an interesting Vampire, wise beyond his human years with unique views on humans, life and everything in between. Sean, the only human present, looked at Han as if he hung he moon and stars and by the looks Han shot the blonde when he was occupied it was obvious the feeling were mutual. Brian was highly amused by them, Like carter was when he Brian or Monica would bring a human home as a source of entertainment. He found Jesse absolutely fascinating, he was 21 in human years and was only a few decades short of being the same ago as Brian himself, the second youngest of his coven aside from Sean.

The young man was absolutely obsessed with cars and was brilliant when it came to mathematics and engineering, he also seemed to be a car genius if the way he analyzed Brian's car was anything to go by. Brian was quickly becoming fond of the 2 fledglings and could see himself coming to respect Han as a fellow vampire and friend.

"You should meet our Coven, they would absolutely love you, especially Dominic and Mia, Dominic basically runs everything and Mia's like an over protective mother so be prepared for tons of questions, Mia and Leon are human to and Vince and Letty are shifters, Vince is a tiger and Letty's a-Hey look there's Dom, come on!" Jesse grabbed Brian's hand in one of his own and excitedly tugged him along, leaving Sean and Han to catch up leaving Brian grinning in amusement.

"Hey Dom look, we made a friend, this is Brian. Brian meet Dominic" The kid was practically buzzing out of his skin and neither Brian nor Dom could resist mimicking his smile. The fledgling had that natural ability to make people grin

"It's a pleasure" Brian stiffly stuck out his hand to shake

"Pleasures all mine, you new to LA"

Brian nodded "just got here from Miami a few days ago"

"Oh yeah" Dom nodded "I got a couple friends in Miami, who's your sire and Dame"

"Owen Shaw and Carter Verone" Brian grinned, not missing the slight twitch in Dominic's eyebrow

"Well welcome to LA, I can tell you now this ain't nothing like Miami"

Brian simply grinned "I'm counting on it"

Chapter Text

Brian knocked back the last of his beer, placing it carelessly on the floor next to the rest of the empty beer bottles. He'd been at this for a little over an hour now, sitting by himself an a shitty lawn chair behind Tej's garage. The others disappeared a long while ago, giving him the space he actively pushed for these days.

He wasn't the same. Not after LA and especially not after his most recent encounter with Carter Verone.

he could feel shame wash through him for a quick moment before it was drowned out by the buzz of the alcohol in his system. He had walked away from the assignment with a lot more then a couple of bruises. the dark bruising marks on his arm were proof of that.

The first time Carter gave him heroine it had been at one of his lavish parties at the pearl. Rome and Monica were no where in sight and Verone had spent the night filing Brian with beer and expensive alcohol and at first Brian resisted but with each drink he got more and more amoral and it had only taken a little coaxing from Carter to get Brian to agree to taking a needle up the arm.

From that first night he was hooked and he kept going back, leaving Rome behind more often then not and shooting up and slowly the investigation slowed down and Agent Markham started riding his ass for more results and Bilkins joined him soon after, threatening to throw Rome back in jail and Brian too. The added stress didn't make him work faster, just made him more tense and the more tense he got the more heroine Carter gave him.

He started pulling away, just thoroughly no longer giving a shit. Suki was no longer able t mother or bully him into putting down a wrench or whatever else it was he was doing in favor of eating or sleeping and Tej could no longer bate him into racing random people who thought they were hot shit. He pulled away and pushed people away simultaneously.

If anyone figured out that he was a heroine addict they certainly didn't say anything.

"Brian" It was Rome.

"What Rome" It took everything in his not to slur and he probably failed terribly.

"Bri whats going on with you man, ever since we locked Verone away you've been...different" Leave it to Rome to not beat around the bush.

"Nothing's wrong Rome, just need to clear my head"

"so pushing everyone away is clearing you head"

"It none of your concern Rome" He was quickly sobering up and damn if he didn't need a fix soon, he didn't want t deal with withdraw sympomes, not tonight

"I'm just concerned Bri, me and you have been together since we were practically in diapers and i know somethin' up with you man"

"Goodnight Rome" Brian's tone was harsh, like he was no longer talking to his brother of years but a complete and total stranger that had just attempted to kill his puppy or something along those lines

"You've alienated everyone you love Brian...and now...your all alone"

"...I know" Yeah, he knew.

It was the goal after all

Chapter Text

If anyone was actually bothering to look for Brian O'Conner, after months of moving around from apartment to apartment in LA, they would find him on the shitty side of town in a even shittier apartment building with an equally shitty apartment that he was always sure to lock up on even the calmest of days. The kitchen was barely functional and the bedroom was tiny and cold. The heat in the apartment was once again not working and it was a miracle that he had hot water.

Icey cold blue eyes stared into the bathroom mirror, unable to recognize the far to thin figure looking back at him. His chest and arms had become skinnier in the months after the Toretto case and became more scarred, some thick pale lines stretching over his skin while others were hair sized in width. The nastiest one was the one over the left side of his chest, scaring the skin of his nipple, it had happened a few days after he first moved into the building when the wrong people found out he was a cop and decided to beat on him.

His face looked better then his body, lacking scares and held just a tad bit more color to them. His eyes, once a light ice blue, have darkened into that of a lake. They seemed to stand out against the dark bruising under his eyes from his lack of sleep. turning on the water, not even waiting for it to warm up, he lent down over the sink and cupped his hands in the flow of it, gathering as much as he could before bringing them up to press his face into the chilling water.

He repeated the action a couple of times before gripping the edges of the sink with a white knuckled grip and looked up again, noting the his appearance didn't look any difference besides the fact that he was now dripping wet and cold.

Grief and sorrow washed through him, thinking of the actions that lead him here, that lead him to looking like death and hating every second of the day. Anger swept through him as he looked at the stranger in the mirror and suddenly he was striking the mirror, listening to the almost metallic sound of the glass shattering and falling into the sink and the floor around it.

His chest heaved slightly as he took deep breaths in an attempt to calm his racing heart.

with a sigh he reached into the sink and started pulling out the mirror shards, hissing as his hand slid across a piece of glass, cutting shallowly into his palm. ignoring the sting of his bleeding hand he continued to clean up his mess, quickly becoming numb to the sting of glass in his hands.

once it was all out of the sink he dumped it into the nearby trash, leaving the glass on the floor where it was he left the shitty little bathroom, dragging his hand across the walls as he used him to steady himself on unbalanced feet. He couldn't bring himself to care that he was leaving streaks of red across the walls everywhere he touched. As soon as he was within falling distance of the couch he let himself collapse, half on top of it half on the floor.

pulling himself up with the softest of sounds he aloud himself to stretch out on the crappy couch that he slept on instead of a bed.

he fell asleep just like that.

thinking of blue eyes, scarred bodies, wet cheeks, and stained walls

Chapter Text

LA had been abnormally rainy all week, Brian was able t keep it in mind and so had Mia but the others had learned quickly enough when they had to go somewhere and couldn't make it to there cars without getting soaked that the rain would be around for a while. Letty, hated the bad weather, claiming it was far to boring to be stuck inside while nature threw a royal bitch fit.

Leon and Vince didn't seem to mind the rain when they weren't soaking wet, spending there free time playing video games and doing this and that, random things Brian wasn't willing to ask about, sometimes Letty was with them while other times she was at the apartment she had moved into when Brian had moved into the house, They got along well enough now but she was still weary of him, he couldn't blame her for her feelings, he had kicked her out of Dom's bed after all. Jesse didn't seem to notice the weather for the most part and when he did it was because someone pointed it out to him.

The young man usually spent all his time in his room or in the living room typing away on his computer, working on specks for dream cars and hacking into Brian's car radio so that he and the team could keep up with what Brian was doing during the day while at Work. Brian didn't mind and no one at the precinct seemed to care as long as Jesse stopped hacking into every ones radio and filled the channels with mindless bullshit. Tanner had been amused to no end when Brian had brought the sheepish teenager to the precinct so that they could talk about why hacking police scanners was illegal and wrong.

Brian knew the older man was just as fond of Jesse as he was of Brian

When it was this rainy and dim out Dom was usually out back with The Beast, tuning her up and trying to work up the courage to drive her again, or just remembering the times with his dad when he helped build the thing from the ground up. The other half of the Toretto siblings was somewhere in the house, maybe in her room doing her homework or in the basement doing the laundry or in the kitchen cooking, or just staring out at the muddy backyard through the kitchen window over the sink.

Brian himself was on the front porch steps. bare chested and bare foot because he had no sense of self preservation when it didn't involve cars and bullets flying at his face. He was wearing a pair of Dom's sweatpants though, cinched tight at the waist to keep them from hanging low because they were a little lose around his slim hips and a little short at the leg but they were warm and comfortable and a little warn around the edges. it was one of hi favorite things to wear.

Brian didn't hate the rain like Letty or ignore it like Jesse and Dom or use it as an excuse to ignore the outside world and play video games like Leon and Vince. He didn't outright love it the way Mia did either. Sometimes he hated the rain, but...there were always those nights where he preferred the rain over people. Because the rain would remind him of how he felt, how at times when he wanted to be alone with the rain that he missed people.

Right now, didn't miss people

He found peace in the rain

Chapter Text

In his opinion being anemic sucked.

He got headaches and lightheaded all the time and he didn't exactly count shortness of breath or tiredness a plus either but there was one thing he hated the most.

Being cold.

having an iron deficiency always left him cold and he hated it ever since he was a kid. it's why he always wore long sleeves and jeans even in the summer. He managed to get away with not telling the team for months till Rome had opened his big mouth. The others had been surprised but didn't make a big deal out of it and he appreciated it to no end. He didn't mind the teasing he got from Letty or the constant reminders from Mia to take his pills.

He even grew to appreciate them.

Currently LA was in the middle of a heatwave and of course he was freezing. He had forgotten his meds that morning so he felt especially tired and he couldn't get up to fast without getting dizzy. He spent the morning with Jesse in the back working on car designs and then after lunch, greasy pizza with so much cheese that it was falling off, he worked with Letty and Dom on a 1989 Nissan 240SX that Letty had won in a race for pinks. The car needed some serious works but it would be worth it when they were done, planing on selling it to Hector who had been looking for a new ride.

His hands felt stiff and cold and he constantly had to flex his fingers to keep the feeling in them. He had already downed a can and a half of Nos and a couple of pixi sticks he had gotten from Jesse so he wasn't expecting to crash for another hour or two at most.

Looking over his shoulder from where his head had been tucked under the hood he cast his gaze over to Dom who was elbow deep in a clients engine block, his mind in another world. He took a moment to appreciate the sight before an idea popped into his head. Flexing his fingers he set down the pair of pliers in his hand and quietly made his way over to his lover.

Pressing up behind Dom he rested his hands on the older mans hips and his head on the spot right between his shoulder blades. He felt Dom startle slightly, moving to pull his hands out of the engine block just as Brians hands slipped under his grease stained shirt to rest on his bare abs, causing Dom to his slightly in displeasure.

"Jesus, your hands are freezing, love" Dom murmured, relaxing slightly into Brian's hold.

"I know" Brian whispered back, mischief dancing happily in his voice

"We need to get you gloves and hand warmers" Dom's hands set down the tool he was holding and his hands slipped down to join Brian's resting on his lower stomach

"Who needs gloves when they have their own personal space heater"

Dom snorted "Asshole"

"You love me" Brian shot back

"Yeah...I do"

Chapter Text

When Brian and his partner, Jason Michaels got dispatched to a house because of a noise complaint he didn't expect things to go sideways so quickly. When they had knocked on the door everything had been quiet for a moment but the second time he knocked they heard a thump and shouting and Brian had been forced to force the door open, which took quiet a bit of effort since it seemed to be prone to getting jammed.

They had gone in to find an empty family room with an equally empty kitchen but the dinning room lead to the backdoor and when Brian went in he'd been shot. The man was dead a few feet away with a bullet in his neck and Brian would have to thank Michaels later for keeping him from getting shot more then once.

"Jesus O'Conner" He spoke into his radio "Dispatch, this is Officer Jason Michaels I have a 10-24 at West Bermon street, we need a bus here immediately"

"I'm not gonna lie, this is not how i planned this would go" Brian's breathing was ragged but he was grinning up at Michaels like he had just won some great prize.

"Does anything you do, ever go to plan O'Conner" His partner sounded exasperated and worried to no end as he crouch downed, pressing his hands on top of Brian's causing the blonde to hiss.

"I'll have to get back to you on that" He grunted and glared slightly as Jason pushed down on his wound more and his vision started to go grey and fuzzy around the edges

"You hear that Brian, the ambulance is on the way here, your gonna be just fine just keep talkin' to me me...man Mia is gonna kill you if you die and then she'll kill me for letting you die"

Brian snorted a quiet, hitched laugh that caused his abdomen flare in pain "Yea...She would..."

"Hey Brian, man, come on perk up, the ambulance is almost here"

Brian's breath hitched slightly, his vision more gray then not, looked a Jason with the best grin he could muster up "Don't worry Jason...your not getting ride of me...that easily"

Chapter Text

Mia had been watching her brother for over half an hour now as he attempted to do the books while he ate his lunch.

He had finished his beer a while ago and now he was just staring blankly at the barely touched tuna sandwich she had mad for him, a pensive look on his face as his chin rested on his linked fingers. With his broad shoulders slightly hunched he looked like he was praying.

She watched him as he sat back in his chairs and run his hand over his face. Pushing off of the counter she made her way through the doorway into the makeshift office and coming up behind her older brother she rested her hand on his shoulder. His much larger hand reached up and settled on top of hers and she sighed.

"Finally realize that you miss him" She spoke gently because it had only been a month since the buster had revealed his secret and it still got certain members of the team angry, Letty and Dom specifically.

Vince was surprisingly calm about the situation and even Leon and Jesse were routing for their lost blonde

"I don't miss him Mia, I hate him" Dom's argument sounded weak even to his own ears and Mia sighed as she shook her head. Her older brother was a lot of things and hard headed was definitely one of them

"You don't hate him...you hate what he did" Mia patted her older brothers shoulder as she picked up his unfinished plate from the desk, a half finished tuna sandwich still sitting on it.

Leaving the office she picked up half the sandwich and started to eat it as she leaned over the counter.

Dom wasn't the only one that missed the blonde

Chapter Text

Leon's hair was bright pink as it refected off the bathroom mirror and Jesse couldn't control his laughter from where he stood in the bathroom doorway.

Leon glared at Jesse, going so far as to reach out and flick the teen in the ear causing him to scowl slightly as he rubbed at his ear

"Oww!! What was that for"

"You turned my hair pink!!!" Leon was practically shouting now as he turned back to the mirror looking scandalized and furious with his new look

Jesse looked affronted and insulted "I didn't do it"

"Then why are you laughing!" leon shot back, his voice so loud that downstairs at the foot of the steps Mia had second thoughts about going to her room to study for her exams

"Because whoever did it is a freaking genius"

Leon gave Jesse a contemplative look before realization dawned on him and he shouted as he rushed out of the bathroom and went volting down the steps and shouting, leaving Jesse laughing as he leaned against the bathroom doorway

"VINCE!!!"

Chapter Text

Roman Pearce stood next to his older brother Richard, looking dumbfounded as they both stared at the kid sitting on the curb in front of them, around the same age as himself, maybe a little younger, perhaps by a year or two.

The kid had blonde hair, blue eyes and was just far to pretty for his own good. He had a busted lip and a jaw that was sure to be bruised tomorrow, Rome was sure that the blood on his shirt wouldn't be coming out anytime soon. He and his brother had spotted the teen getting the crap beat out of him by a couple of the neighborhood kids, known for picking on those who were caught around the neighborhood alone, and now Rome was looking down at him, hips cocked as he held his hands on his hips, looking at the blonde sternly.

"You need to learn how to fight better kid" Richard shook out his hand, his knuckles slightly bruising from punching a kid in the jaw

"Then teach me" Brian spoke boldly

"What?" Rome couldn't believe what he had heard from the blonde boy

The blonde looked up, blue eyes sparked with determination as he looked at Rome straight in the eye and repeated himself "Teach me how to fight"

Rome looked between the blonde and his older brother who looked rather amused with the situation as he smirked at his kid brother and shrugged his shoulders as he nodded his head towards Brian.

Looking back at the blonde Rome shook his head before he stuck out his hand, he couldn't believe he was about to do this. He waited for the blonde to take his hand before he yanked him to his feet and clapped him on the back

"Well white boy, my names Roman Pearce, thats my older brother Richard"

Brian nodded back, grinning impossibly wide now "Brian O'Conner"

Rome shook his head, his own shit eating grin forming on his face "Come on white boy, we got work to do"

Chapter Text

Confess

Get milk and orange juice

Get laundry detergent

Head to the shop

Stop by harry's

Get a haircut

Call Tanner

He had a list of things he needed to do, the very first thing was always Confess.

Everyday it went unchecked

It was by pure luck that Johnny Tran and his crew had tried to pull a heist of their own and got caught. Brian had submitted any evidence he had and turned in his resignation before anyone could think twice about it. He started working at Harry's full time for real and when Dom had offered him a job and a place to stay he was over come with the thing that he had been missing all his life.

He and Vince were no longer at each other's throats and he was greatful for the fact. He still worked for Harry and it was easier then he thought it would be to split his time between the two shops and the discount he got at Harry's was always appreciated.

He was happy, he finally had the thing that he wanted ever since he was a kid.

Then why did he feel so heavy

Confess

Get Mia a Birthday Present

See how Tanner was doing

Change the oil in the skyline

Help Jesse at the shop

stop by harrys

He had a list of things he needed to do, the very first thing was always Confess

Everyday it went unchecked

Chapter Text

Dom couldn't help but stare at his lover, Brian's once full head of hair was bare, his blonde curls were gone, leaving the 27 year old with an even buzz cut

Dom raised an eyebrow as Brian as he sat down next to him on the couch that smelled like metal, car oil and something that smelled distinctly of home and placed his feet up onto of the coffee table as he leaned into Dom's side, a Corona placed firmly in his right hands as he looked at the tv.

Dom couldn't help but comment "umm....what happened to your-"

"I lost a bet."

"What bet

"I Don't wanna talk about it" Brian pouted, bringing his beer up to his mouth as he took a long pull from it.

He didn't prod any further, simply chuckled as he ran a hand through the mans shortly cropped hair as he pulled his head closer and placed a kiss on his temple as he turned back towards the tv and went back to watching the college football game of the day.

He would find out what the bet was eventually.

Chapter Text

Carter Verone was not a fool.

He knew from the very beginning that the pretty blond with the pretty blue eyes wanted nothing to do with him.

Monica had been slipping up for weeks now and she was far too close to Brian to not have at least known of him before he came to work for Carter.

Of course the man that the feds sent to him was no fool either but Carter had been playing this game far longer than a 25 year old Brian O'Conner had.

To Cater,like everything else, it was a game with far to many nights filled with far to many drinks and suggestive talks that were specifically meant to pull the blond in. Brian may not have been a straight A student in school but he knew the dangers of refusing to give a man like Carter Veron what he wanted. It was nothing serious at first.

Just a convenient fling to scratch a particular itch that both of them had been feeling but the more time that Brian spent at his compound and in his club he found that he had a certain appeal to him. Carter quickly found himself growing...attached. Brian was good looking obviously but he had a sharp tongue and a certain darkness that a man like Carter could appreciate. It came as no surprise to anyone when Carter started to pursue Brian.

It did surprise everyone when Brian didn't fight against Carter and his possessive nature. While their peculiar little game of chase had been interesting Carter was far more pleased when he finally had the blond in his grasp.

They clashed terribly with each other to the point where they were toxic. Carter was nothing if not a possessive and jealous bastard and Brian couldn't help but be the same flirtatious tease that he has always been so it was only natural that they often found themselves at odds about one thing or another.

After a rocky adjustment period they started to get comfortable with each other and to Carter that made Brian far more dangerous than the strange undercover that he was knowingly allowing into his presents. So naturally he did his best to throw the blond off his game as much as possible.

A particular argument about Carter making an off handed remark about Brian being a cop stuck out the most and was the most successful when trying to get under Brian's skin.

As the weeks turned into months Carter found that he wanted nothing more than to wreck Brian O'Conner. Call him what you will but he was a selfish bastard and as a powerful drug lord what better way to tell the Feds to fuck off than by sending them a drug addict in replace of the agent they sent to his front door practically gift wrapped.

He knew that a man like Brian would be hard to sway but he would also want to save face for the sake of his assignment. A few well placed comments about his waning trust and a challenge would be all it would take to get Brian to try something that far to many men would lose themselves in. There was no way it could fail thanks to the blond's need to prove himself and Carter being who he was it would be easy to get Brian to do what he wanted without the blond knowing that he had been played.

His plan worked almost too well.

Brian was nothing if not stubborn but eventually Carter got him hooked.

He worked his way into Brian's head the way a psychiatrist worked their way into the minds of their patient's. Brian never particularly lost the fire that he had but he never really directed it at Carter anymore and instead aimed it more at himself because Brian had been self destructive before they had met and adding in a relationship that was nothing if not toxic and pair it wait drugs and you were creating a living, breathing, bomb that walked around on two legs.

Whenever he and Brian got into a spat the blond would swear up and down that he was going to leave. He would leave Carter and leave Miami behind and get sober and once again start over somewhere new. He never did of course, he would go on tangents where he would leave for a day ot two and he wouldn't ever tell Carter where he went or who he had gone with, but it didn't matter because by the end of the third day Brian was back. Shaky and heading for destruction as withdrawal truly started to set in. Carter never particularly cared for the reason why Brian never stuck to his word, all he cared about was that the blond would still be in his bed by the end of it.

He chalked it up to being the results of L.A weighing down on him. Carter didn't know much about what happened in L.A but he found out enough to know that it had been a complete shitshow that practically lead Brian right to him. He knew how different things could have been for the both of them. One simple choice could have been made and Carter would never have even bothered to remember the name Brian O'Conner if he ever heard it. At one point in time Brian O'conner could have been happy.

Even now as the blond stood with his back to Carter he could tell that Brian was unraveling.

Brian had long since stopped denying that he was a cop whenever Carter mentioned it but he never confirmed either and that suited Carter just fine.

Brian looked like hell.

He had been gone for two days after throwing a hissy fit at the club because Carter had refused to let him stray further than few feet the whole night. He was shaky but still clear minded and as Carter wrapped his arms around the blond and pulled them close enough for his chest to touch Brian's back he couldn't help but share his musings out loud.

This was not the same blond that had come to him all those months ago. Brian was no longer a burning sun but a star on the verge of its violent death.

"Things could have been different you know...you didn't have to fall so far"

Chapter Text

Penning was strongly displeased as he looked between Michael Stasiak and one of his best agents.

The dislike between the two agents was a familiar topic in the building. Everyone and their grandmothers knew that Stasiak hated O'conner and the dislike was mutual because Brian was never one to deal with anyones bullshit. The amount of altercations that the two managed to get into created more than enough paperwork to last him a lifetime and the current incident report sitting on his desk was just the tip of the iceberg since three more reports were bound to end up on his desk before the end of the day.

"Why is it that the two of you manage to double the amount of paperwork that I have to do"

"It's a gift sir" O'Connor wore a shit eating grin that managed to both respectively amuse and piss off both people in the room.

"I swear to god O'Connor y-"

"Why is he bleeding" Penning interrupted. Stasiak's nose was obviously broken. There were dark racoon like bruises starting to form around his eyes and a sort of crookedness to his nose that indicated that he hadn't had it properly set yet.

He had no soft spots for any of his agents but Stasiak somehow always managed to get on his nerves with his arrogance and constant need to be right about things he knew nothing about. Penning couldn't blame Brain for tiring of his shit. Brian tolerated very few people and while sure he worked well with just about everyone that didn't mean that he didn't have issues with those he worked with.

Aside from Sofie Trinh Brian had virtually no colleges that he could call his friend.

"Because he's an idiot"

Stasiak looked ready to either lose his head or start another forty minute rant about why O'Conner was the worst, most disrespectful, agent they had and that he needed to be fired but once again Penning cut him off before he could start.

"I didn't know that idiocy caused people to just start spontaneously bleeding from the nose"

"I think it's a new phenomenon, sir."

It was becoming rather obvious that O'Conner was trying to hide just how please he was to be the one to hand Stasiak's arrogant ass to him.

Penning had read the reports long before he called the agents to his office to reprimand them and it was pretty damn obvious that cold to the touch O'Connor had not been the one to start the argument that quickly turned physical in one of the conference rooms.

"This better not happen again, there will be disciplinary actions the next time that another report hits my desk is that clear"

Stasiak spluttered in outrage "he broke my nose and he's not even going to get punished!"

"You're acting like a child Stasiak now get out before I write you up for insubordination"

Brian stood up with a polite nod towards his superior and left the office without a single complaint and a smug smile on his face.

Chapter Text

It had started out as small pranks here and there.

First it was Jesse early that morning. At some point during the night he had snuck into the kitchen and switched out the orange juice with a watery cheese mix he had taken from an old box of mac and cheese he had found in the back of the cabinet. He had mixed it well and none of them had been able to tell that Mia had poured herself anything other than orange juice that morning as she was putting together breakfast.

She had been shocked to take a drink from her glass. She had gagged, spitting the cheese liquide back into her cup while scowling at everyone at the table.

"Who switched the orange juice out for mac and cheese mix"

Her gaze had bounced between Brian and Lean, the resident tricksters, only for her gaze to Jesse.

Jesse had given himself away as he tried to hide his laughter, only making it more obvious when he finally cracked and started to laugh.

Vince had clapped their youngest on the back as he and Leon quickly joined in on the laughter. Letty, who was far from a morning person, had simply snorted at the childishness as she drank her coffee from where she stood leaning against the kitchen counter drinking her coffee, Looking rumpled and ready to fall asleep where she stood.

Dom shook his head with an amused smile as he continued to eat his breakfast and listen to Mia's amused and grumpy pouting. Brian himself had taken her glass and dumped it, replacing it with a glass of actual orange juice. He even poured himself a glass. Before he put the carton away he pulled a black marker out of the kitchen junk drawer and wrote 'ORANGE' in capital letters on the front of the carton before sliding the old milk carton back into the fridge with a knowing smirk.

--

The Next prank to be played that day was hours later at the garage.

Brian and Leon had been sent out to get a late lunch to bring back for everyone and they had settled for getting sandwiches for everyone. They had come into the garage carrying bags of sandwiches from Vinces favorite shop a couple blocks away from the shop. They had even swung by the store and grabbed 2 family sized packs of Oreos and a couple of bags of chips to go with it.

In reality, Brian had gone to the store and Leon had gone back to the house and grabbed the Oreos that Leon, Jesse, and Brian had spent hours before pulling apart and refilling with mint toothpaste. They had let the cookies sit for half an hour to let them harned a little before resealing them into the packs so that the toothpaste smell wouldn't be as strong when they went to give them out later.

They had all taken some but the three pranksters had tucked into their chips and sandwiches as opposed to the oreos.

It had only taken five minutes after all the food was passed out for letty to start curing furiously in spanish as she spat out a part of an oreo cookie into a napkin. Moments later she was turning her glare to Leon and Brian, waiting for one of them to crack under her glare.

Brian had cracked first this time.

He went to offer her another oreo as she continued to cure him out in spanish but the moment she had caught sight of the oreo package in his hand she had reached for the closest throwable object to her and launched it at him.

The wrench clattered harmlessly to the floor as his laughter increased. She had continued to curse at him even as a small smirk of her own had pulled at the corner of her mouth. Dom shook his head in amusement as he continued to eat his sandwich. Leon and Jesse found themselves caught in a dare with Vince that they were too chicken shit to try one of the cookies, little did the gruff mechanic know that only one pack of cookies had been used for the prank. Of course Vince had been disgusted that they both managed to eat an entire cookie each with no problem.

Mia shook her head as she watched Letty chase Brian around the garage, trying to get him to eat one of the toothpaste cookies while Brian laughed his head off.

--

No one knew when the three had found the time and opportunity to play their third and final prank.

It hadn't been until they had all been back at the house that they found the third and final prank of the day. Vince had been the one to discover the prank when he had gone to his room in the basement to find all of his stuff covered securely in plastic wrap.

At first the others had been impressed as they shook their heads and continued on to go about their nights but with two people in the house like Brian and Leon, and having them live with someone as easily corruptible as Jesse they had become used to the days full of harmless pranks and dozens and dozens of reasons to laugh at each other. It wasn't so funny when Mia walked into her room to find that everything had been plastic wrapped too. Letty shared her sentiment when she herself walked into the bathroom to find everything from the toilet  to the mirror wrapped on thick layers of plastic.

"Who the hell wraps the toilet in plastic!"

Dom could only stare at disbelief as he split his attention between a sheepish but amused looking Jesse, an unapologetic Leon and a highly entertained Brian.

He could hear Mia and Letty stomping around somewhere upstairs, faintly curing us a storm. While Vince was much more subtly glaring his displeasure as he made trips from his room to the kitchen to grab a trash can in order to start disposing of the copious amounts of plastic spread out across the various objects in his room.

The three of them knew that between Mia and Letty they were looking at a decent amount of payback at some point or another and they honestly looked forward to the retaliation.  They always enjoyed the prank wars they managed to spark.

"Did you at least leave my room alone?" Dom asked with a raised eyebrow

Brian only grinned wider while Leon and Jesse exchanged looks as they tried to appear innocent.

Dom shook his head as he made to go upstairs and check the damage done to his room, all the while muttering. "You've all lost your minds"

Chapter Text

Brian O'Conner was an entirely different creature when he was high.

Rome had only seen it a time or two when they were younger and more often than no it was the funniest shit ever.

He had learned from a young age that he needed to keep his cool. He learned to pick his words carefully and learned to get under peoples skin until they gave him the upperhand. Brian could talk shit as well as Rome himself and he could be as cold as a winter in canada when you pissed him off. Even when he was fighting he was controlled.

He could pull the strings of his own body better than any puppet master ever could. His punches were strong, and he could wrap his legs around a person's body just as tightly as any snakes, trapping his opponent and using his advantage to beat whoever he was fighting into the ground.

On the rare occasions that he had seen Brian surfing he could see the balance that Brian had. how he controlled his board and road out even the most volatile waves Rome had ever seen

Emotions were something else that Brian had often kept close to his chest. That had been a gradual thing that Rome and his family had gotten to watch develop as they grew up. Brian used to wear his emotions openly but as he got older and experienced more shitty things, he learned how to mask his annoyance and his anger behind a unnerving smirk. He learned how to cover up his hurt and insecurities behind a solid mask of cold apathy that only few people ever learned to see past.

Rome watched as Brian's wide grins and expressive eyes faded into guarded half scowls and epic bitch faces.

The Brian in front of him was something that he hadn't seen since he was a child.

Brian was high off his ass as he laughed openly at something Tej said. Brian had cracked a rib after crashing the yenko into Verones yacht. Brian had never been one for pain meds but between Suki and Tej they had managed to get him to swallow the meds and sit his ass down.

Now brian was open and expressive and far more like the Brian Rome had gotten to see on a regular basis when they were running the streets together.

This Brian was open. he didn't compartmentalized every thought and more often than not he blurted out the first thing that popped into his head. He guarded his facial expressions and hid his feelings.

His eyes were a little hazy when he looked Rome in the eye but under the fuzziness Rome could see the glint of excited happiness that filled Brian's eyes. They're was a lazy smile tugging at the corners of Brian's mouth. There wasn't a hint of attitude or Brian's sarcastic sass. Rome couldn't help but return Brian's dopey smile with one of his own.

Brian O'Conner was always controlled.

He compartmentalized every thought and always picked his words carefully. He guarded his facial expressions and hid his feelings.

This Brian O'Conner was not controlled...Rome didn't consider it a bad thing