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jedibuttercupT; 1800 words; set between Fast 6 and Furious 7. Part of my Brian/Hobbs/Mia series.
They weren't in their twenties anymore, and they were in picket fence territory now. Time to see if they actually had things in common when sex and adrenaline weren't on the table.
Title: A Whole Different Level
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Disclaimer: The world belongs to Justin Lin, Vin Diesel, et. al. The words are mine.
Rating: T
Spoilers: Pre-Furious Seven (2015)
Summary: Brian had been Luke's before he'd been Mia's, but the man was a Toretto now in all but name, and it was going to take some time to get comfortable with whatever new balance they might find. 1800 words.
Notes: A scene set between Fast & Furious 6 and Furious 7 in my "Hell of a Mess" Brian/Hobbs/Mia 'verse. Because I'm still wallowing in my comfort fandom this week. More to come; maybe an update to the Transformers crossover next. :)
"Until next time, huh?"
Luke looked up from the box he was unpacking at his desk, a smile already tugging at the corner of his mouth. The tall, dark-blonde ex-cop propping a shoulder against the metal-framed doorway of his office might not have been the most unorthodox guest ever to cross the threshold of the DSS' LA division, but Luke wouldn't have cared to wager on it; probably no use even asking how he'd got in, either. He looked like a sunny afternoon breeze captured and brought indoors: all jeans, screen print tee, and Converse standing out amidst the flock of suits and 'functional' gear in the coolly lit, glass-partitioned, relentlessly modern workspace.
"Eavesdropping, Brian?" he replied, dryly. That had been the last thing he'd said to Toretto at the family barbeque where he'd delivered the last of their pardon paperwork; Brian had already wandered off with his son in one arm and the other wrapped around a vision in a red knit dress. It hadn't seemed like the right setting for the tricky conversation he needed to have with Toretto's sister and brother-in-law.
Or maybe it was just that Luke had wanted a chance to adjust to the changes time had wrought on all of them as much as the setting, before he pulled his car up to that line. Brian might have the same devil-may-care grin and casual attitude toward his wardrobe as ever, but there was a relaxed warmth behind those electric blue eyes Luke hadn't seen even during their time in DC, and all the brittle edges had gone out of Mia's smile. Like there'd been something always holding them back, even that night in a certain beach house between Rio and the Canaries when they'd teamed up to turn Luke's world on its ear.
He wasn't going to lie, though. It did him good to see Brian here, rather than waiting for Luke to come to them. Brian had been his before he'd been hers, but the man was a Toretto now in all but name, and despite the fact that Luke had mostly come to terms with that, it was going to take some time to get comfortable with whatever new balance they might find.
"Like I was going to just let it go at 'good luck'," Brian shrugged, affecting nonchalance. "A guy might be forgiven for getting the impression that you were planning on jetting back to DC now that everything was over. Imagine my surprise to find out about your transfer, when I asked Tej to make sure Elena's job offer was legit."
Luke popped an incredulous eyebrow at him. The first part of that explanation he could buy; but the second part threw him a little. "You thought I would actually give her a fake badge?"
"Nah, I thought there might have been an agenda behind it, a little further up the food chain-- like there was with me, when I got a job with a federal agency after ditching my cop career to go on the run for a Toretto," Brian snorted. There was a world of things left unsaid there; what had sent Brian to DC to meet Luke in the first place, and why he'd found it so easy to ditch his badge a second time. They'd never really discussed that; though they'd have to eventually, if things continued the way it looked like they might.
"And she wasn't even an American citizen to start with," Brian concluded. "So sue me for having a little brotherly feeling, even if she isn't officially part of the team anymore."
"I trust you're satisfied now?" Luke replied dryly, taking the last item out of the box-- a framed picture of his daughter, whose situation was the other half of the reason he'd taken the transfer. Another thing they'd have to discuss, sooner or later-- though he was a lot less apprehensive on that subject. Devotion to family was the one thing the Toretto clan would understand, above any other connection.
"About Elena? Yeah. About everything else?" Brian grinned again, a white flash of teeth lighting up his face. "How about you ask that again after dinner. Cha Cha Cha, assuming it's still there? Mia and I haven't been back yet, but she's always loved the food there, and the ambiance."
"Brian O'Conner. Are you asking me on a date?" he fired back.
Brian shot a casual glance over his shoulder at the rest of the office, sparsely populated at that hour of the afternoon, then shrugged. "Dom and Letty said they'd watch Jack for a few hours this evening, and we thought, why waste the opportunity for a meal we don't have to cook?"
"Uh-huh," Luke tipped his chin up, affecting a skeptical expression. Wasn't like he was going to say no, but the principle of the thing demanded he make the man work harder than that. "You sure you remember how a date's supposed to go? Especially considering I don't think we've ever actually been on one before. Aren't there supposed to be flowers on a first date?"
"Big bad Luke Hobbs wants flowers? I can get you flowers. Just say the word," Brian made an expansive gesture. "Seriously, though; that's kind of why I'm here. We all know each other pretty well... in some respects. But we're not in our twenties anymore, and we're in picket fence territory now. Mia figured it might be a good idea to see if we've still got enough in common when sex and adrenaline aren't on the table."
"Smart woman," Luke acknowledged. "Remind me why she ever took you back, again?"
"Why'd you?" Brian snorted, eyes crinkling in amusement. "C'mon, what do you say?"
"Just to clarify," he held up one finger consideringly, "they will be on the table again eventually, right?"
"I don't know if we have a table that'll hold you, but if that's your kink, man...." Brian waggled his eyebrows at him.
Luke laughed and gave in. Samantha was with her grandparents for a few more days until he finished settling; he did have the evening free, and the prospect of not having to spend it alone in his new place was lifting his spirits considerably.
"All right. Tell your better half she wins. I'll have to meet you there, though; still got some things here to do. Text me the time when you've made the reservations?"
Brian's eyes darkened, and for a second Luke wondered if he was going to take a few steps forward for a farewell kiss... but he nodded instead, then pushed back from the doorframe with a grin even more self-satisfied than the one he'd walked in with. "See you there," he said, then turned and sauntered away with his hands in his pockets.
Luke watched him go, wondering at his own jolt of disappointment, then shook his head with a rueful smile and went back to work.
He thought about time, chemistry, and starting over off and on for the rest of the day; fending off questions from the few who'd noticed Brian's visit, arranging the next segment of Elena's training, and checking the files to get a sense of how the job would differ locally from what he'd been doing before. Even staring into his closet in the brief window between the office and setting out to meet them, picking through the clothes he'd already unpacked for something not made by Underarmor to wear.
He'd told Toretto he'd never thought he would trust a criminal. But the truth was a little more complicated than that, as proven by his consistently complicated reaction to a certain blue-eyed blond with a flexible last name.
Luke wasn't blind to the way people usually reacted to him; it was the ones who didn't who always got his attention. In his bed partners; on the job; and out on the mean streets with the caliber of opponents the DSS usually assigned to him. It always made him want to see more. Much rarer, though, were the people who reached back; who stood up to him and with him as equals. Who proved he could give them his back, and that turnabout was fair play. It was why he'd arranged the job for Elena, after the rotating quota of temporary partners he'd put up with since the loss of his team in Rio. It was why he'd gone to Toretto and his team when Fuentes had brought him that picture of Letty Ortiz, regardless of personal entanglements. And it was why he wasn't turning away from what Mia and Brian seemed to be offering him, now.
He settled on slacks and a dress shirt without a jacket, open a couple of buttons at the throat, and was gratified a short while later to see that Brian had done the same. It wasn't what he was wearing, exactly, but the effort that mattered. Mia, of course, was as gorgeous as ever... and holding a bouquet of daisies in the crook of her arm as she got out of their car at the restaurant.
"Hey, mama. Looking good," he greeted her, grinning as he took the flowers, then bent down to offer a properly appreciative hello. She tasted of lipstick, red wine... and something a little more elusive that could quickly become addictive, if he let it.
"Hey, hey. What am I, chopped liver?" Brian half-heartedly objected, chuckling as Luke lifted the hand holding the bouquet to give him the finger.
Mia gave her husband a speaking look a moment later. "You can wait your turn, is what," she said, eyes sparkling. "You remember that time I told you it's nice to come in first every once in a while?"
"Man, you are never going to let me forget that, are you?" Brian started to shake his head, then shut up gratifyingly as Luke reached for him next.
Someone had read him a quote once that love was like war; easy to begin, much harder to stop. He could testify to the truth of that himself. And if they were starting over here... well, then, to bastardize another quote, he was determined to begin as he meant to go on.
"So. I heard there was dinner and conversation on offer?" he said as he let go his grip on Brian.
"For starters," Mia said, in amused tones. "Escort me in?"
Luke took the offered elbow with aplomb, then turned and offered his own to Brian with a challenging smile.
"Nah, that's all right, man. I'll just get the door," Brian grinned, then danced on ahead of them to open the door to the restaurant with a flourish.
Luke still wasn't sure exactly what they were letting themselves in for, here. But he did know he was looking forward to the ride.
(x-posted at AO3)
They weren't in their twenties anymore, and they were in picket fence territory now. Time to see if they actually had things in common when sex and adrenaline weren't on the table.
Title: A Whole Different Level
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Disclaimer: The world belongs to Justin Lin, Vin Diesel, et. al. The words are mine.
Rating: T
Spoilers: Pre-Furious Seven (2015)
Summary: Brian had been Luke's before he'd been Mia's, but the man was a Toretto now in all but name, and it was going to take some time to get comfortable with whatever new balance they might find. 1800 words.
Notes: A scene set between Fast & Furious 6 and Furious 7 in my "Hell of a Mess" Brian/Hobbs/Mia 'verse. Because I'm still wallowing in my comfort fandom this week. More to come; maybe an update to the Transformers crossover next. :)
"Until next time, huh?"
Luke looked up from the box he was unpacking at his desk, a smile already tugging at the corner of his mouth. The tall, dark-blonde ex-cop propping a shoulder against the metal-framed doorway of his office might not have been the most unorthodox guest ever to cross the threshold of the DSS' LA division, but Luke wouldn't have cared to wager on it; probably no use even asking how he'd got in, either. He looked like a sunny afternoon breeze captured and brought indoors: all jeans, screen print tee, and Converse standing out amidst the flock of suits and 'functional' gear in the coolly lit, glass-partitioned, relentlessly modern workspace.
"Eavesdropping, Brian?" he replied, dryly. That had been the last thing he'd said to Toretto at the family barbeque where he'd delivered the last of their pardon paperwork; Brian had already wandered off with his son in one arm and the other wrapped around a vision in a red knit dress. It hadn't seemed like the right setting for the tricky conversation he needed to have with Toretto's sister and brother-in-law.
Or maybe it was just that Luke had wanted a chance to adjust to the changes time had wrought on all of them as much as the setting, before he pulled his car up to that line. Brian might have the same devil-may-care grin and casual attitude toward his wardrobe as ever, but there was a relaxed warmth behind those electric blue eyes Luke hadn't seen even during their time in DC, and all the brittle edges had gone out of Mia's smile. Like there'd been something always holding them back, even that night in a certain beach house between Rio and the Canaries when they'd teamed up to turn Luke's world on its ear.
He wasn't going to lie, though. It did him good to see Brian here, rather than waiting for Luke to come to them. Brian had been his before he'd been hers, but the man was a Toretto now in all but name, and despite the fact that Luke had mostly come to terms with that, it was going to take some time to get comfortable with whatever new balance they might find.
"Like I was going to just let it go at 'good luck'," Brian shrugged, affecting nonchalance. "A guy might be forgiven for getting the impression that you were planning on jetting back to DC now that everything was over. Imagine my surprise to find out about your transfer, when I asked Tej to make sure Elena's job offer was legit."
Luke popped an incredulous eyebrow at him. The first part of that explanation he could buy; but the second part threw him a little. "You thought I would actually give her a fake badge?"
"Nah, I thought there might have been an agenda behind it, a little further up the food chain-- like there was with me, when I got a job with a federal agency after ditching my cop career to go on the run for a Toretto," Brian snorted. There was a world of things left unsaid there; what had sent Brian to DC to meet Luke in the first place, and why he'd found it so easy to ditch his badge a second time. They'd never really discussed that; though they'd have to eventually, if things continued the way it looked like they might.
"And she wasn't even an American citizen to start with," Brian concluded. "So sue me for having a little brotherly feeling, even if she isn't officially part of the team anymore."
"I trust you're satisfied now?" Luke replied dryly, taking the last item out of the box-- a framed picture of his daughter, whose situation was the other half of the reason he'd taken the transfer. Another thing they'd have to discuss, sooner or later-- though he was a lot less apprehensive on that subject. Devotion to family was the one thing the Toretto clan would understand, above any other connection.
"About Elena? Yeah. About everything else?" Brian grinned again, a white flash of teeth lighting up his face. "How about you ask that again after dinner. Cha Cha Cha, assuming it's still there? Mia and I haven't been back yet, but she's always loved the food there, and the ambiance."
"Brian O'Conner. Are you asking me on a date?" he fired back.
Brian shot a casual glance over his shoulder at the rest of the office, sparsely populated at that hour of the afternoon, then shrugged. "Dom and Letty said they'd watch Jack for a few hours this evening, and we thought, why waste the opportunity for a meal we don't have to cook?"
"Uh-huh," Luke tipped his chin up, affecting a skeptical expression. Wasn't like he was going to say no, but the principle of the thing demanded he make the man work harder than that. "You sure you remember how a date's supposed to go? Especially considering I don't think we've ever actually been on one before. Aren't there supposed to be flowers on a first date?"
"Big bad Luke Hobbs wants flowers? I can get you flowers. Just say the word," Brian made an expansive gesture. "Seriously, though; that's kind of why I'm here. We all know each other pretty well... in some respects. But we're not in our twenties anymore, and we're in picket fence territory now. Mia figured it might be a good idea to see if we've still got enough in common when sex and adrenaline aren't on the table."
"Smart woman," Luke acknowledged. "Remind me why she ever took you back, again?"
"Why'd you?" Brian snorted, eyes crinkling in amusement. "C'mon, what do you say?"
"Just to clarify," he held up one finger consideringly, "they will be on the table again eventually, right?"
"I don't know if we have a table that'll hold you, but if that's your kink, man...." Brian waggled his eyebrows at him.
Luke laughed and gave in. Samantha was with her grandparents for a few more days until he finished settling; he did have the evening free, and the prospect of not having to spend it alone in his new place was lifting his spirits considerably.
"All right. Tell your better half she wins. I'll have to meet you there, though; still got some things here to do. Text me the time when you've made the reservations?"
Brian's eyes darkened, and for a second Luke wondered if he was going to take a few steps forward for a farewell kiss... but he nodded instead, then pushed back from the doorframe with a grin even more self-satisfied than the one he'd walked in with. "See you there," he said, then turned and sauntered away with his hands in his pockets.
Luke watched him go, wondering at his own jolt of disappointment, then shook his head with a rueful smile and went back to work.
He thought about time, chemistry, and starting over off and on for the rest of the day; fending off questions from the few who'd noticed Brian's visit, arranging the next segment of Elena's training, and checking the files to get a sense of how the job would differ locally from what he'd been doing before. Even staring into his closet in the brief window between the office and setting out to meet them, picking through the clothes he'd already unpacked for something not made by Underarmor to wear.
He'd told Toretto he'd never thought he would trust a criminal. But the truth was a little more complicated than that, as proven by his consistently complicated reaction to a certain blue-eyed blond with a flexible last name.
Luke wasn't blind to the way people usually reacted to him; it was the ones who didn't who always got his attention. In his bed partners; on the job; and out on the mean streets with the caliber of opponents the DSS usually assigned to him. It always made him want to see more. Much rarer, though, were the people who reached back; who stood up to him and with him as equals. Who proved he could give them his back, and that turnabout was fair play. It was why he'd arranged the job for Elena, after the rotating quota of temporary partners he'd put up with since the loss of his team in Rio. It was why he'd gone to Toretto and his team when Fuentes had brought him that picture of Letty Ortiz, regardless of personal entanglements. And it was why he wasn't turning away from what Mia and Brian seemed to be offering him, now.
He settled on slacks and a dress shirt without a jacket, open a couple of buttons at the throat, and was gratified a short while later to see that Brian had done the same. It wasn't what he was wearing, exactly, but the effort that mattered. Mia, of course, was as gorgeous as ever... and holding a bouquet of daisies in the crook of her arm as she got out of their car at the restaurant.
"Hey, mama. Looking good," he greeted her, grinning as he took the flowers, then bent down to offer a properly appreciative hello. She tasted of lipstick, red wine... and something a little more elusive that could quickly become addictive, if he let it.
"Hey, hey. What am I, chopped liver?" Brian half-heartedly objected, chuckling as Luke lifted the hand holding the bouquet to give him the finger.
Mia gave her husband a speaking look a moment later. "You can wait your turn, is what," she said, eyes sparkling. "You remember that time I told you it's nice to come in first every once in a while?"
"Man, you are never going to let me forget that, are you?" Brian started to shake his head, then shut up gratifyingly as Luke reached for him next.
Someone had read him a quote once that love was like war; easy to begin, much harder to stop. He could testify to the truth of that himself. And if they were starting over here... well, then, to bastardize another quote, he was determined to begin as he meant to go on.
"So. I heard there was dinner and conversation on offer?" he said as he let go his grip on Brian.
"For starters," Mia said, in amused tones. "Escort me in?"
Luke took the offered elbow with aplomb, then turned and offered his own to Brian with a challenging smile.
"Nah, that's all right, man. I'll just get the door," Brian grinned, then danced on ahead of them to open the door to the restaurant with a flourish.
Luke still wasn't sure exactly what they were letting themselves in for, here. But he did know he was looking forward to the ride.
(x-posted at AO3)
