Title: Come Back Home
Author: obuletfury302
Beta: drace_hunter (lj) - who has consequently labeled me comma-compulsive. Lol… Thanks for the help hun.
Disclaimer: *snorts* Seriously… You think I'd be in a dorm studying for finals and stressing over papers if I owned these boys? Ahahahaha!
Summary: AU from the end of the first movie. Brian's been at war and he wanted nothing more than to come back home. He doesn't expect what he finds waiting for him when he finally does make it home.

'You know the place where you used to live,
Used to barbecue up burgers and ribs,
Used to have a little party every Halloween with candy by the pile,
But now, you only stop by every once and a while,
Shit, I find myself just fillin' my time,
With anything to keep the thought of you from my mind'

Pausing and taking a breath, Brian pulled off his hat and scrubbed a hand through his military style, cropped hair, grimacing as his fingers brushed a sutured gash behind his ear. The gash had been a parting present from the war, and from the gash bruising led down his neck and under his shirt to mar half his chest in mottled blues and purples.

Fitting the cap back on his head, he reached down and smoothed his fatigues before readjusting the strap to his duffle with a wince as it pulled on his shoulder and his abused ribs, sighing he moved on.

As he walked through the entrance of the San Bernardino airport he was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of families waiting there, smiling faces and brightly colored signs welcoming him and his squadron back from Iraq.

Blowing out a breath, Brian turned away from the commotion and headed for the exit. He didn't see his family there, which, while not exactly a surprise after the whole LA fiasco, still hurt.

After everything had gone down in 2001, he had lost his family, all of his family. His parents wanted nothing to do with all the controversy surrounding his dismissal from the force. Tanner and the rest of the force had distanced themselves from him. Not wanting to have any part of the department's wrath transferred onto themselves.

He tried not to think about Dom and the team. He knew they were probably all relaxing and rebuilding cars on a beach in South America somewhere, just having a good time and not even thinking about him anymore. It hurt more to think about losing Dom and the team than it did to lose his own family.

The simple fact of it was, Dom and the team had treated him more like family than anyone else in his life, with the exception of Rome, ever had. They had treated him like he belonged, and even Vince had felt like a brother. Brian was devastated when he realized that closeness was lost to him.

Shaking himself from the thoughts, Brian continued his slow trek towards the door. Every step jarring his ribs and shoulder, his boots landing heavily on the floor. Breathing in quick pants through his nose, jaw tight, biting back the pain. Brian pushed through the glass doors, ignoring the calls to him from his squad and keeping his eyes on the sun brightened pavement.

He hadn't been in the states for close to eighteen months, and just seeing the gum and soft drink stained sidewalks made him breathe easier than he had in the whole of those eighteen months. Tension that had been knotting his shoulders for the last two years; through letting Dom go, his dismissal from the department, Basic training, and eventually Iraq; eased.

Seeing a couple cabs lined up on the curb thirty yards away Brian turned and headed in their direction, each step breathing new fire through his injuries. Shifting the bag from his shoulder, Brian lowered it down to hang at his side hoping the change would ease the pain in his ribs and shoulder.

Ten feet from the first cab Brian stopped dead in his tracks. A navy blue Supra was parked behind the cabs and though the color was different, Brian would know that car anywhere. Looking closer he could see a silver cross hanging on the rearview mirror and a grease stained work shirt lying on the dash.

There was no one sitting in the car and Brian didn't know what to think. That meant Dom was either in the airport looking for him or someone else, or he was lurking around a corner. He tried to convince himself, heart thumping wild in his chest, of a third possibility. One that had Dom nowhere near the airport and some poor mechanic having Brian staring at his car.

Looking around, Brian didn't see the big man at first and was about to breathe a sigh of relief and climb into the cab when he caught sight of Dom leaning back against the wall just next to the doors. He was staring in Brian's direction, his mouth flat and his eyes hard as they roamed the parking area.

When he saw Dom's eyes slide away and then double take, Brian knew he had been spotted. Before he had even taken a breath, the other man had pushed off the wall and was heading toward him. He wanted to walk away or ask what the hell was going on, but his feet were rooted to the spot and his mouth was busy trying not to gape.

When the bigger man was standing in front of him Brian swallowed hard and lowered his gaze to his sand worn boots. A warm hand settled itself on his cheek, fingertips just barely brushing the gash; it was enough to make him grit his teeth in pain when that hand guided his gaze back up to Dom's.

Brian could see the concern in Dom's eyes as he spotted the gash and the bruising leading under Brian's fatigues. Pursing his lips tightly against the comments that wanted to come, Dom turned back to meet his eyes.

"Dom?" He asked, his stomach twisting tightly, wondering just what the other man was doing there and if he was here to kick the crap out of him.

"You okay?" Dom asked hoarsely, catching him completely off kilter. Brian could see the question for what it was, loaded. Concern, anger, relief and something else underlined Dom's eyes and tone, the combination making a shiver run a path up Brian's spine.

"Yeah." His answer was soft and simple, but even as Dom's eyes bored into his, searching for any deception in the answer, Brian knew he was telling the truth. He hadn't been okay since he had watched Dom's taillights disappear at the railroad crossing, but just seeing that the older man was alright and the fact that he was waiting for Brian at the airport it made something in his chest click into place.

Dom looked at him for a moment more before nodding to himself and bending down to pick up Brian's duffle. It caught the younger man off guard enough that Brian didn't even have enough time to mutter a protest before Dom was heading towards the Supra, clearly expecting Brian to follow.

Feeling a little like a confused puppy, Brian trailed after Dom. Sliding into the passenger seat just as Dom started the ignition.

"Where're we goin'?" he asked after a few minutes in the car, trying his hardest not to cling to the seat as his chest clenched in fear. The last time he had been in a car…

"As soon as we hit a gas station I have to fuel up and grab a few things but after that we're headed over the border." Dom told him, effectively drawing Brian from his thoughts of Iraq and the IED only days before.

"I need to change." Brian said simply, pushing away all the questions that were bubbling up. Not wanting to get into the reasons Dom was there and why he had risked jail time by coming back over the border just to get Brian.

Dom threw him a look he couldn't figure the meaning of, studying him out of the corner of his eye for a moment before nodding. He knew Dom wanted to ask him just as many questions as he wanted to ask the other man, but for the moment Dom was holding back and Brian was infinitely glad for that fact.

Even if it was only for a few hours the reprieve from thinking about how bad things had gotten and just how much he wanted to be in something other than uniform, it was enough for now.

XXXX

Five minutes later Dom smoothly glided the Supra into a Sunoco station and parked at the pump. Turning to look at Brian, Dom gave him a once over before seeming to settle on a decision. "Put on some sweats if you have 'em, it's a bit of a drive from here and I don't plan on stopping until tonight. We should get there sometime tomorrow." Brian found himself nodding in agreement before he had even processed the information, when it sunk in, the fact that Dom was taking him back with him startled him.

"W-where?" he asked. Why? The question was unasked, but even as he thought it, he could see Dom reading his mind.

"Loreto. It's a little place in Baja. 's where we've been since everything happened. You're coming home Brian." Dom's voice lowered to a gravel that rose a warm flush in Brian's chest.

"Wait," he protested, even as Dom was pulling himself from the driver's seat. Scrambling out of his own seat, Brian hissed as his injuries pulled, but pushed on. "Why?" To his own ears the question sounded stupid but Brian needed to know. He needed to know why after he had basically helped to ruin Dom's life the big man was taking him home. Why wasn't he beating him to a pulp?

Dom's long strides had him around the car and in front of Brian in seconds. A strong, calloused hand gripped his jaw, thumb running soft brushes over his cheekbone. "You're family Brian, and family stays together." Dom's voice brooked no argument and Brian stood there, momentarily stunned.

Before he knew what was happening, Dom had pulled him forward, their brows resting together before the bigger man took his mouth with his own. Brian whimpered, a low, half broken sound in his throat even as Dom's tongue pushed between his lips, plying and twining with Brian's coaxing him into surrender.

A hand found it's way to Brian's lower back, the other sliding gently, careful of the gash and bruises, from his cheek to his nape, both working in tandem to pull Brian closer. Moaning, he acquiesced, pushing closer and wrapping his own arms around Dom.

When they pulled away, panting for breath, Dom leaned closer, nipping at Brian's ear. "You're mine." he breathed, pulling back to look Brian in the eye, making sure the younger man knew exactly what he meant.

Seeing the dark, possessive look in Dom's eyes, Brian swallowed, "yours," he rasped, dropping his forehead to Dom's shoulder and holding on.

END.

'I miss you so,
Seems like it's been forever,
That you've been gone.
Where'd you go?
I miss you so,
Seems like it's been forever,
That you've been gone,
Please come back home…'

XXXXX

If anyone actually likes this take, please let me know… I have a loose outline of a series this could be formed into…