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After Miami and all the shit that went down with Verone, the last thing Brian expected was a job offer from the FBI. He'd half thought they'd try to lock him up after the way he and Rome completely trashed their plans; instead he'd gotten an invite to an interview where they'd told him he was just the type of agent they were looking for.
Turns out that wasn't entirely true, they'd wanted parts of him - the Brian that could keep his cool undercover and the Brian who could solve investigative puzzles with little evidence. They did not want the Brian that races on the weekend, or the one who broke all the rules to get the job done - so he treated it like another undercover gig, pulled on the persona of FBI Brian the way he pulled on the cheap suit they expected him to wear. It worked, at least for a while, he said Yes Sir when given even the dumbest orders, played it strictly by the books, became just another worker bee, right up to the day Letty came roaring back into his life.
He'd tried to keep up the act, but Letty didn't want to deal with FBI Brian, she couldn't read him, and bit by bit the layers stripped away, until there was no place left to hide. The higher ups liked her offer enough that they let him run the op with barely any supervision; seemed like Braga was someone they'd take a few risks to catch.
From there it was like slipping back in time as he and Letty worked their way in. The bureau set them up with the basics, but to sell the cover Letty had to make a splash at the races. Working on the cars, just the two of them, away from the bureau's prying eyes, seemed right in a way he'd not felt since he'd picked up his badge, half the time he almost forgot that it was supposed to be just an act.
They talk, but they don't really say anything important, both of them avoiding the Dom shaped ghost in the room. It's comfortable, and Brian relaxes into this new relationship, working with Letty is so much easier than the partners he's been stuck with at the bureau.
Everything changes after the first race. Letty cuts through the pack early on and wins easily, Braga's men aren't around, but she's made enough of a show to get the rumours starting. They don't stick around the after party, slipping quietly away first chance they get. Checking the car over doesn't take long, but they're both too wound up on adrenaline to call it a night. Brian digs out a bottle of tequila, and they park for a while, passing the bottle back and forth, just enjoying the quiet of the night.
"Did you love him? Is that why you let him go?" the softly spoken question hits him like a punch in his gut, and when he shifts to look at her, he doesn't have it in him to lie.
"I don't know if it was love, I think it could have been... if I'd let myself feel it." it's the first time he's admitted it, and there's a sick sense of relief in having finally said the words out loud.
Letty's quiet for a moment, as she drains the last few drops from the bottle before hurling it over the edge to smash on the rocks below. "So that's why you're doing this, you thinking maybe that when he comes back you'll get the chance to find out."
"He loves you."
"He does, but Dom loves lots of people in lots of ways, I know how he feels, what he wants, I was asking about you. Is all this, Braga and our plan, just about him? Did I figure into this at all, or do I only matter because I can get you what you want? Did you hope I'd just walk away when we're done?"
"Jesus Letty, of course not." Brian doesn't know how to make this right, whatever secret fantasies he might have in the privacy of his mind, he's always known that Dom and Letty belong together.
"So if that isn't it, why are we here? You could have turned me away, passed me off to someone else."
"I couldn't have," it hadn't even crossed his mind, trusting her life to some stranger, who wouldn't care about keeping her safe, no that had never been an option.
Letty steps right into his space, "Because of Dom, or because you cared about me?"
"I..." he doesn't know what to say, how to explain it. Truth is Brian's always had a type, and it's less to do with gender or looks than it is the way they appeal to the part of his heart that craves the rush a race and the thrill of the hunt, he falls hard for people who match that wildness all the way. He wants her every bit as much as he wanted Dom, but he's always known he can't have either one of them.
"You want me." it's not a question, she says it with complete certainty, "I'm right here, so all this time, why didn't you do something about that?"
"You love Dom."
"I do, but he doesn't own me, that's not how we work."
"You came back for him, to trade for his freedom."
Letty leans closer still, presses their foreheads together, raises one hand to stroke his cheek; her next words are practically breathed against his lips, "I came to LA to trade, I came to you because I trusted you to do right by us, and because I didn't want to be alone through this."
"Letty, what do you want from me?" he needs to get away, before he says or does something he shouldn't. When he tries to move Letty doesn't allow it, she lets the weight of her body hold him in place, and the feel of it is almost too much for him to take.
"Me and Dom got a lot of history, a lot of future too if this shit with Braga comes good. We work because no matter how much we fight, we want the same things, and we love the same things - cars, beer, men, family, and one thing we learned early on is that it's better to share. He'd never stand in the way of something or someone I want and I'd do the same for him."
"And you want me? After everything I did, I lied to you."
"You lied to us, but you bled for us too, and in the end you showed us your heart when you saved Vince and let Dom go. I'm not going to stop loving Dom, but there's room enough in both our hearts for more - for you. You're not the first we've both wanted, but you are the first we've wanted to keep. To answer your question, I want everything you've got to give."
He can't quite believe what he's hearing, what she's offering, she's everything he shouldn't want, not if he's going to keep this new life, but when she leans in and kisses him none of that matters - he just fucking melts into it. The taste of her, the feel of her body pressed against his own, it all feels like coming home; he doesn't care about the job or the rules, he feels alive again for the first time in months. This might actually be the craziest thing he's ever done, but his questions and worries can wait; for now he's going to trust Letty, she can take the wheel, while he just hangs on for the ride.