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Dom spent six years in Lompoc and got out when he was thirty-six. It was the first time he had been caught during one of his heists, the first time he ended up in prison.
Six years was a long time; a lot could happen—and a lot had happened.
Jesse and Leon opened their own art store not far from the Toretto house, and they still came on weekends for barbecues.
Vince found a passion for truck fights because he met Roman, someone Dom hadn’t known before going to Lompoc, and learned to know once he was out.
Mia married Brian, and Brian was just a name. She met Brian a few months after Dom entered Lompoc and married him just before Dom was released.
Dom didn’t know him.
When Mia came to visit Dom in prison, she talked about him, and Dom witnessed the evolution of their relationship from afar. During those six years, she told him how much Dom would like Brian, and Dom doubted it—the guy was with his sister, and Dom would always be wary of anyone near her.
He learned that Brian loved cars and was into racing, and Dom thought the world was small.
Then he was out of Lompoc, and he met Brian.
Dom hadn’t been someone who believed in fate. He was religious enough to think someone was observing them from above, but he believed they were the masters of their own choices in life, only answering to Him in the afterlife. Nothing was pre-destined to happen.
When Brian smiled and awkwardly introduced himself, he carried the same uncertainty anyone would feel meeting their brother-in-law for the first time, especially after already being married into the family. But that awkwardness didn’t last—something clicked instantly. It just worked. They spoke the same language, and Dom understood why Mia had said they would get along.
It wasn’t fate that had brought Brian into Dom’s life. Dom didn’t know what had led him there, but it felt cruel, and he refused to believe that the God he loved could be that unkind.
:::
They drove, they laughed—they quickly entered a world of their own, with Mia watching, happy to see her brother and her husband connecting so well.
Dom saw all the good things Mia had mentioned: Brian was calm and composed, charming, and a bit childlike. He remembered the first time Mia had met Brian and how she had laughed about him asking for a sandwich with no crust, just like a kid would.
Dom also noticed all the quirky habits Mia hadn’t mentioned—how Brian sniffed every cup and piece of clothing before using them, how he apologized to a chair when he bumped into it, and how, when he drove the slower family car instead of his usual fast one, he gently tapped the steering wheel as if encouraging it to pick up speed when he accelerated after a red light.
He observed how Brian often whistled and drummed his fingers against his thighs to whatever rhythm played in his head, and how he was doing it on purpose when Vince was around, knowing Vince hated it. How Brian sang and hummed when he thought he was alone, yet refused to do karaoke, insisting his singing was the worst.
And yet, Dom could stand in the doorway, listening to him softly sing to himself for hours.
Dom noticed that when Brian was angry, he maintained a blank expression, shutting down his external emotions, but his gentle blue eyes turned icy.
He recognized the restless tapping of Brian’s thumb against his four other fingers, a repetitive motion that could last for minutes, as a way of expressing his craving for action.
Dom wondered what Brian saw when he watched him, if Brian noticed all his little habits too.
They were so different and yet so similar at the same time—speed, adrenaline, and an unspoken understanding that let them finish each other’s sentences and deeply resonate.
They were on the same wavelength, while everyone else was either a bit off or out of tune—even Vince or Roman. Even Mia.
:::
Brian loved the ocean, and Dom loved watching him surf, captivated by the sight of Brian enjoying the waves with a contagious smile on his face. Then they would build a sandcastle because Jesse wanted one, and everyone chipped in until the waves eventually washed it away.
Afterward, they would play beach-volley, and Dom enjoyed having Brian on his team just as much as when they were opponents. When they teamed up, they were unbeatable, intuitively knowing what the other would do. When they faced off, Dom knew Brian would give it his all, relentless and matching Dom’s determination.
Then, Brian would lay down directly on the hot sand next to Dom, stirring a bit before lazily drifting off to sleep.
In that moment, Dom would turn onto his side, watching Brian, and he would feel his heart telling him that everything he wanted in life was embodied in one person, right there in front of him.
And the ring on Brian's finger would serve as a constant reminder to Dom that he was too late.
:::
Since he was now living a calm, domestic life, Brian had taken up the hobby of creating resin art featuring underwater scenes with marine creatures.
Dom was captivated by how Brian focused on molding the clay around the aluminum and metallic structure of the future creature. He watched, mesmerized by Brian's hands, feeling tingles in his mind. Brian always needed to keep his hands busy, and Dom found himself helplessly staring.
Jesse often came to help with the creations. Dom joined them, making the wooden base by carefully following the measurements Jesse and Brian had given him. He cut and sanded the wood, adjusting it until he formed a sturdy base to hold the resin structure, and then painted it.
Staying far from Brian’s hands—the hands he longed to catch, hold, and kiss. Hands that didn’t belong to Dom.
:::
Dom watched from a distance as Brian held his sister. He was aware that his gaze lingered on Brian a bit too long, and he knew that their eyes met too often for it to be just a coincidence.
Brian wanted to race against him once more, and Dom gladly obliged. For those few minutes, they escaped the rest of the world and their obligations. Dom knew that Brian was entirely focused on him, forgetting everything and everyone else, and that thrill was intoxicating. It felt even more exhilarating than the race.
It didn’t mattered who won the race—Dom had already lost the real fight anyway. Still, he always made sure to win, wanting to keep Brian’s attention, to be his goal, and to be the only one on his mind for those brief moments, just as he was the only one on Dom’s mind all the time.
When they got out of their cars, alone at the end of the race and the adrenaline still rushing through their veins, Dom felt that he could reach for Brian, and Brian wouldn’t push him away—Dom would be allowed to hold him with the same care and love that Brian held Mia.
He knew Brian felt the connection too–how could he not, when Dom was aching for him?
But then he would have to let him go, so he never tried. Brian was his brother-in-law. It wasn’t Dom’s life, it wasn’t his right, and Brian wasn’t his.
He didn’t know if Mia was aware of it, and he didn’t dare to ask.
:::
Brian sat right there, sleeping in his chair with his head resting on his arms at the table, a bit too drunk after celebrating his birthday. Roman and Tej were sprawled out on the couch, while Jesse had dozed off on the floor. Leon had picked him up to take him to the guest room.
Mia and Vince were in their room, and the house was silent at this hour, leaving Dom alone with his thoughts. He took a blanket and draped it over Brian, letting his hands linger on Brian’s shoulders. He was so close that he could breathe in his natural scent, mingled with the smell of alcohol.
He’s his sister’s husband—and Dom pulled back, pressing himself against the wall as if the distance could save him.
No one was there to judge him as he gazed at Brian, filled with yearning for what he could never have.
No one was there to share his sadness and despair, to cry alongside him.
:::
During another barbecue, Brian was so close that Dom wanted to reach for him but stopped his hand.
While in prison, he had occasionally regretted his reckless attitude that had landed him there for six years. But he never lingered on those regrets; what was done was done. Everything was an experience, a lesson to be learned from to become better.
However, since meeting Brian, he found it impossible to escape the weight of his regrets, constantly thinking about what could have been instead of what was.
If he had been there when Mia met Brian, if he had been around during those six years—maybe Brian wouldn’t have married her.
Maybe Brian would have chosen Dom. There was no denying their deep and obvious connection; if Dom had been there with Brian from the start, perhaps things would have been different. Or maybe they wouldn’t have discussed their feelings, like two cowards, and maybe Dom would have been doomed to watch Brian marry Mia anyway.
But not knowing what could have happened was eating him alive. That was why he hated dwelling on things he couldn’t change, and he understood why Jesse often felt anxious—because Jesse was caught in that cycle all the time.
Or maybe fate did exist, and perhaps Dom’s destiny had been to end up with Brian. That was why Brian had found himself in Mia’s store that day, ordering his tuna sandwich. He and Brian were meant to be together, and Dom was certain of that. There was nothing he felt more sure about.
It never happened because Brian had respected his narrative arc and had ended up exactly where he was meant to be, but Dom hadn’t been there to cross his path; he had messed things up along the way by landing in Lompoc, and now they were paying the price for it.
Sometimes, Dom sensed that Brian felt the same way; it showed in his actions, even if Brian was less aware of it than Dom was. Dom often caught those longing eyes and noticed how Brian's hands sometimes reached for him, even when Mia was present—as if instinct guided Brian’s movements, drawing him naturally to Dom. When Brian was realizing what he was doing unconsciously, he would quickly pull his hand back and turn to Mia.
Dom never called him out on that, just as Brian never called him out on all the things Dom shouldn’t be doing. Roman once joked about how they were made for each other after witnessing another one of those conversations between Brian and Dom that made no sense to anyone but them—sentences left unfinished, ideas only half-explained, yet they always reached the same conclusion while everyone else looked on in confusion.
Brian’s laugh had been bitter, and Dom’s smile had felt forced. Roman was just joking, but the underlying reality felt like a wound that will forever refuse to heal.
But Brian was family, at least. That meant he wouldn’t leave, that Dom could see him every day. He could help raise their baby. A baby that was half Brian, half Mia, and if Dom drowned in alcohol, he could lose himself in the illusion of a different reality, one where he could believe he was part of it all, because the baby was also half O’Conner, half Toretto.
:::
He could see the eager gleam in Brian’s eyes, the part of him that craved a dangerous life—seeking adrenaline and death-defying situations—stirring within him. But Brian was holding back that urge now because he was married to Mia, with a baby and responsibilities to consider, even if Dom knew he still longed for it.
Dom could have offered Brian that dangerous life; they could have lived as fugitives together after pulling off a heist, with the police hot on their trail. They could have traveled from country to country, evading capture, racing through the streets of Tokyo or drifting along the coast of Rio. They would have soaked in the thrill of each close call, adrenaline pumping as they navigated through chaos and uncertainty, always just one step ahead. But always together, with Brian safe in Dom’s arms.
Instead, Dom looked at Brian with the baby in his hands. For a moment, he could pretend Mia wasn’t in the kitchen. Brian looked at him, and Dom looked back.
He was family. That was better than nothing.
Unreachable family, because this love story wasn't about them.
:::
THE END