Cupid's Wings

by CCL

This story was written as part of the AoVD Lyric Wheel Project. The theme for the wheel was "Valentine's Day." Lyrics were provided by L.

Summary: We've all speculated on why Brian let Dom go at the end. Here's my take on it.

Dedications: Okay, so I got the lyrics today from L and was a bit stumped until I talked to Khayman on AIM. He said it screamed Brian and Dom and after we chatted a bit I had to agree. Then the poor thing sat up with me while I picked at this plot bunny and shaped it into this. Khay, sweetie, I love you to pieces for planting this idea! Also gotta thank Dallas for giving it a read through before I posted it. Love you hon!

Dom walked towards the row of tiny metal boxes mounted in the wall of his apartment building and quickly inserted his key. Various envelopes sat waiting inside, and he grabbed them and stuffed them under his arm before locking the mailbox and walking up the two flights of stairs to his small 2-room apartment.

The air was nearly stifling and he dropped the mail on the banged up coffee table before raising the windows and cranking up the only dilapidated fan he owned. Then he pulled the dirty gray work shirt over his head and wiped at his chest, mopping up the beads of sweat there. Casually he threw the shirt into a pile of similar items and strolled into the kitchen to grab a beer from the dingy green refrigerator.

He lingered in the open doorway, sighing as the cool air bathed his over-heated skin. Can't cool the whole apartment like this. He reached in with one banged up hand and grabbed two of the long neck bottles before slamming the door closed and moving to collapse on the sofa. The tops clattered to the floor, skittering across the linoleum when the toe of his boot caught one on the way down and half of the first bottle was gone before he managed to finally sort through the mail.

There was nothing too spectacular in the bunch. The electric bill that would have to be paid soon or even the beer wouldn't be cold. A note from Mia checking up on him. He'd recognize that scrawl anywhere. And another plain white envelope with his name just as Dom on the front. No address. No stamp.

He downed the rest of the beer while staring at the strange envelope. His mind drifted over the few people he'd actually met in his building that might put a note in his box. Probably the lady from downstairs bitching about the music. He groaned aloud and rolled his eyes. Not even bothering to open it, he tossed it to the side and settled to read Mia's letter first. After the hellish heat and long hours, Dom wanted something good to come home to, not some one bitching about the volume level on his meager stereo.

Mia's letter pulled at his heart. She spoke of school, Vince, the other racers, and filled him in on how his world was doing fine with out him. Apparently she'd been to see Vince in prison. She said he was miserable but always tried to put on a brave front while she was there. Dom chuckled to himself at the way, even behind bars, Vince was still trying to impress his little sister. Occasionally, Dom's eyes drifted towards the unmarked envelope on the table but he shrugged off the desire to open it and delved further into Mia's letter, looking for signs that she wasn't doing as well as she'd have him believe.

When he got to the second page, he found a smudged word or two and knew they came from where a few tears had dropped on the page. This made his own eyes water and he rubbed at them angrily. A few more gulps of the fresh beer and he tried to go back to her letter. Finally after staring at the same words for an hour he tossed it on the table and walked to the window, tears glistening in his eyes. So Letty and Leon are together? Guess I should have seen that coming.

Apparently the tears were because Mia didn't want to tell him about the new couple. Dom couldn't blame her. If he hadn't suspected it all along, the news might have hurt even more. Perhaps driven him to rage. But he'd realized when she asked to go with Leon that there was nothing between the two of them and that the friendship between her and Leon had gotten stronger during the hijackings. So why they hell am I crying?

The darkness settled rather quickly outside and Dom just leaned on the windowsill, staring down at the people walking past and letting the slight air currents dry the tears on his face. For some reason he saw more couples out on walks tonight than he had seen since the tourist season ended a few months back. An idea tugged at his mind and he wandered over to the calendar on the fridge. If his calculations were right that made the date February 14, Valentine's Day.

"Well no fucking wonder!"

Dom jerked open the fridge and this time grabbed a slice of cold pizza and another beer. He stuck the pizza in his mouth and flipped off the top of his third corona of the night before resuming his position on the couch and glaring at the still unopened envelope on the table. With a growl he bit off part of the slice and dropped the rest on the table next to his beer before snatching up the white rectangle and ripping off the narrow end evenly. With a puff of air, the sealed paper inflated and he deftly reached in and extracted...a card?

He could barely make out what was on the front of it, but the fact that it was a card and not some crumpled sheet of notebook paper still had him confused. Since when does the lady downstairs use Hallmark to bitch at me?

Dom fumbled for the switch on the lamp and when his pupils finally stopped contracting to adjust to the light, he gazed down at the card, trying to focus on the fuzzy shapes. Eventually the red foil outline of a pair of wings could be seen and Dom's confusion twisted and settled in his stomach as hope. He almost felt like the wings symbolized the butterflies he now seemed to be suffering from and without realizing he was holding his breath, he opened the card to see what was inside.

The message couldn't have been more simple or to the point.

I told you that we could fly, cause we all have wings. They could never tear us apart. Apt. 2C. I'm waiting.

Dom's fingers suddenly let go of the card and it fluttered to the floor without a sound. He inhaled deeply and then the memories of the world he left behind came crashing back in like the tides.

Dom didn't want to believe it when they all sat in that field off HWY 86 and heard from Brian's own mouth that he was cop. The news sent cold chills down his spine and all he could do was stare in horror at the man he'd called friend. Vince was bleeding to death in front of him and the fact that Brian had betrayed him was the forefront in his mind.

When the chopper arrived Dom and Mia stood back and let Brian help the EMTs load Vince up. Then he turned away and walked to the car. Turned his back on the man that had sat at his table and had dinner. He paused at the car and called out to Mia never making eye contact with Brian. When she finally walked towards Dom, he got in the car without ever looking back again. The less he looked at Brian, the easier it was to push the betrayal away. To say that it hadn't happened. To deny that he had assured Vince, who'd been right all along, that Brian was not a cop.

The drive back to the house was a blur. Hell, even the confrontation with Brian in the yard was fuzzy. He remembered every detail of the Tran's shooting Jesse, remembered the way he'd had that shocked look on his face as the bullets went flying by him and finally through him. Dom could still feel rage boil over inside him as he thought about the justice Brian had helped him dish out to Johnny and his cousin. And then the race. That final drag race that had nearly killed him.

But he'd been ready to accept his fate. Ready to go to jail for the crimes he'd committed until Brian had handed him the keys to the car and said simply, "I owe you a ten second car."

At the time it was all the apology Dom had expected. If he'd only known.

It took some time to get back to the house with his shoulder dislocated. He found Mia shaking and still cradling Jesse's body, smoothing his hair and rocking slightly. Dom just rushed into the house, grabbing some money and clothing and tossing them into a duffle bag. He picked up the phone and carried it out to Mia, handing it to her while stroking her back.

"You'll need to call them about him. I can't. I can't even wait around with you, Mia. I'm sorry."

The apology seemed empty to his ears and her tear-stained face told him she didn't really want his apologies anyway.

"So that's it then? You're just gonna leave? Just walk out?"

He dropped his gaze and winced at the pain and anger he heard in her voice. Silently he nodded before chancing a glance up at her and discovering she wasn't even looking at him anymore.

"Mia, listen... I need your help. My shoulder, it's..."

She just nodded. Her hands moved from Jesse's lifeless face to Dom's shoulder and with a precision any doctor would admire, she jerked his arm and rotated it just enough to slip it back in. It hurt like hell and she smiled at his growl.

"There. You got what you needed. So leave already. And don't come back."

Dom nodded and got back in Brian's car, taking a last look at his home before pulling away while Mia sobbed into the phone.

He took the back roads and alleys to get him to the garage without being seen. He had more supplies there and he needed to clean up and change before heading out of town. Then Dom hid the car inside and began grabbing things out of the trailer when he heard another car pull up. All his instincts screamed for him to run, but he stood there, rooted to the spot, until he heard that voice.

"I know you're in there, Dom. Open up."

Dom threw the switch on the nearest bay door and Brian quickly darted under it before Dom could change his mind.

"What do you want? Change your mind about turning me in, Spilner?"

"I need to talk to you."

Dom shook his head and waved a finger at Brian. "No, I think you got that wrong. You said all you needed to say on the side of the road out there. Unless you have changed your mind?"

Brian shook his head and stepped closer to Dom, holding his gaze.

"No, I didn't change my mind. But we still need to talk."

Dom moved around him, shoving the bags into the back of a different car. "I don't think so Arizona. Or was that a lie, too?"

"Everything wasn't a lie, Dom. Can't you believe that?"

Brian sighed and ran his fingers through the tangled blonde curls and paced in a small circle. The apparent lack of concern in his actions made Dom's control snap and before he could think he grabbed Brian by the front of his teeshirt and slammed him against the nearest wall, snarling.

"Believe what, Brian? Why don't you tell me what to believe? You tell me what part was real and what was total bullshit! I don't know any more!"

Brian struggled in his grasp but didn't try to really resist as Dom yelled out his frustration. The rage oozed from every bit of Dom's body language and he made no attempts to rein it in.

"Dom, our worlds collided. We got thrown together in this mess and after getting to know you, I knew you weren't the monster they tried to make you out to be. Why do you think I tried to get there before the hijacking happened? I didn't want anything bad to happen to you. Any of you."

"Don't lie to me, Brian! Not now! You were just looking to impress your cop buddies and earn a promotion! You set me up!"

Dom watched as Brian's eyes flittered back and forth. He tightened his grasp on the smaller man's shirt and pushed him harder into the wall.

"No! Don't you get it? After knowing you I realize I don't belong in my world. But without you, I don't belong in this one either. This life, this friendship is my world. You, Mia, Leon, Letty, Vince, even Jesse..."

"DON'T SAY HIS NAME!"

"Dom, I'm sorry about Jesse. Hell I'm sorry about all of it! But I can't fix that. The only thing I could do was give you those keys and let you leave. I couldn't let them take you down like that."

Brian's voice was softer then, filled with remorse for the way things had gone down. And in spite of himself, Dom felt his anger fading. He grappled with his thoughts looking for anything to help him cling to the edge of hatred he was walking and as the image of Mia crying over Jesse replayed in his mind, Dom found what he was looking for.

"So you did it for Mia? You did it so maybe she'd forgive you and take you back after you ripped her family apart? Is that it?"

Brian shook his head and tried to look away, his blue eyes clouded with something Dom couldn't discern past the haze of his own torment. He jerked his hands in the shirt, twisting the material tighter and forcing the blonde to look at him while he spoke.

"No? Then why? Cause you cared about me so much, Brian? Cause you didn't want to see me behind bars?"

"Don't ask me that. Don't ask me that because you know it's true. C'mon Dom. Don't play dumb with me now."

The answer was enough to send Dom reeling and he immediately released Brian and pulled away. The waver in Brian's voice was unmistakable. And Dom shook his head, trying to dispel the words he was hearing.

"It's true, Dom. And you know it. Here."

The words were a whisper and the feel of Brian's hand on his chest was like fire, covering his heart and forcing it to hammer madly in Dom's chest. It was surreal. Almost too much after the events of the day. Brown eyes met blue and held for an eternity until finally Dom had nowhere left to hide. Not in Brian's eyes or in his own mind.

That first kiss was hesitant. Brian's lips barely brushed Dom's. Then quickly it escalated. Hands touched and massaged. Bodies pressed together as soft moans and whispers echoed in the deserted garage. Dom poured out his frustration and loss into Brian and the man accepted it, every bit, without question or judgment. They spent the rest of the day embracing the new world they had created, together, but all too quickly, it was time for Dom to leave.

"I could go with you. Mexico, anywhere. We could be down there a thousand years and they'd never find us."

"Brian..."

"No! No, Dom. I won't lose this now. I won't let them tear us apart, now! Christ I just found you!"

Dom dropped his head and shook it again. He walked to the car and opened the door, then stopped and turned back to his new lover and looked down with a furrowed brow.

"Brian, I don't have to tell you..."

He looked up Dom then and smiled. It was strained and Dom recognized that, leaning to kiss those sweet lips again.

"You must be some kind of guardian angel sent to keep my ass outta trouble, Spilner."

Dom's voice was heavy and thick, barely carrying the words to his own ears, but apparently Brian heard him.

"Nah, we've all got wings. But some of us don't know why. Not until we meet that one person worth saving, ya know?"

"Yeah, Arizona. I know."

Dom pulled away and hit the lever for the bay door on his way back to the car. He cast a long look back at Brian before sliding into the seat and bringing the engine to life. As he pulled away from the garage, Dom wondered if he'd ever meet anyone who'd surprise him like that again.

Slowly the memories receded and Dom was left staring into space. He recalled the card slipping from his fingers and bent to pick it up. His eyes lingered on the last part.

Apt. 2C. I'm waiting.

Brian was here. In his building. Waiting on him. Had been waiting on him. Probably since the mail had been picked up.

"Fuck!"

He leapt to his feet and ran towards the bathroom, stripping out of his clothes along the way and jumping into the shower to wash away the dirt and grime from the day at the garage.

That task completed, Dom toweled off quickly and began rambling through his sparse closet for something that wasn't a work uniform to go and greet the ex-cop. He had just pulled on a simple pair of black cargo pants, when a knock at the door made him pause and grumble.

"Now what?"

Dom grabbed the first tank top he found and stormed through the main room to jerk open the door, a half muttered curse spilling from his lips.

"What the f--"

"Good to see you too, Dom"

The tank top fell from Dom's hand as his eyes widened in shock. There, in the doorway, stood Brian. Hair more blonde than ever, skin darkened to a deep honey color that was accentuated by the white teeshirt and jeans he wore. In his hands were two six packs of coronas and he had this giant smile plastered on his face.

"You're a long way from home, Arizona. How'd you find me?"

Dom didn't try to hide the suspicious hint in his words. He even leaned out to check the hallway but found it deserted save for the sun god now propped in his doorway.

"Like the card said, they'll never tear us apart. Can I come in?"

Dom paused for a moment, looking Brian over from head to toe and sighing loudly.

"Just check your wings at the door, cupid. You won't be flying anywhere for awhile."

The Song

Never Tear Us Apart
Performed by INXS

Don't ask me
What you know is true
Don't have to tell you
I love your precious heart

I
I was standing
You were there
Two worlds collided
And they could never tear us apart

We could live
For a thousand years
But if I hurt you
I'd make wine from your tears

I told you
That we could fly
'Cause we all have wings
But some of us don't know why

I
I was standing
You were there
Two worlds collided
And they could never ever tear us apart