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On a standard Saturday night, the coaches would be set up in front of the radio, lounging on the couch. Belle was half-awake, head in Tassita’s lap as Pearl recounted today’s shift with Orange Flash and Slick. Pearl thought they were a very funny combination and had a whole set of jokes to retell.
Dinah had been off the past two days and had no interesting gossip for the couch. Their yard had not been running enough long-haul trips lately to require a dining coach for passengers, and she was getting bored.
Every day the other coaches were out, the engines were always on shifts and not even the freight had been available to spend any time with her.
She was one more day off away from pleading with Momma to put her on shift for an afternoon. Sometimes Momma was her only company during the days lately so she was working on a way to seamlessly mention her boredom in conversation, although she was certain Momma could already tell.
“What did you get up to today, Dinah?”
“Two days off doesn’t sound so bad to me,” Belle mumbled, curling up on her side. “Want to take my shift for a day?”
Dinah laughed. Getting out on the rails as a sleeper coach would be just as boring as staying at home as far as she was concerned. No cooking or passenger gossip!
A knock on the door.
The coaches exchanged looks for someone who seemed to know what was going on. Whose guest was this?
Dinah, who’d been itching for a chance to use her wheels, got off the couch to answer the knocking.
“Hey, dollface. Just who I was hoping to see.” Greaseball stood on the opposite side. When the door opened she propped up an arm against the doorframe, grinning. “You look stunning tonight.”
Dinah froze, eyeing up Greaseball’s purposeful display of her biceps. She was wearing her fancy plating: the polished, unscathed plating she saved specifically for accepting trophies and presenting to the press after a successful race. “Stunning? Me?” She echoed. Oh my starlight, was she talking about her?
Frantically, Dinah patted herself down, combing a hand through her hair. She was hardly stunning! Here Greaseball was prepared for something while Dinah hadn’t left the house in two days, nor brushed her hair or gotten properly dressed. She pulled up the zip of her uniform tight to her neck in an effort to look presentable. “Greaseball! Have I—“ did she forget something? It wasn’t an anniversary, Greaseball didn’t have any events coming up. “What’s happening, have I forgotten something?”
Greaseball grinned, showing off a sliver of her canine. “Surprise. Ready for a night out?” She crossed through the entry way, arms slipping around Dinah’s waist to pull her in close and plant a quick kiss on her lips.
Red in the face, Dinah couldn’t speak. Was this real? “Night out?” She was very aware of the eyes of the coaches burning into her back, Pearl trying and failing to quiet a delighted giggle.
Dinah yanked her hands through her knotted hair. “Greaseball, I’m not ready, would you give me ten minutes? I wasn’t expecting this!” Her voice had jumped two octaves up in her surprise.
A sly smile crept up Greaseball’s face, hand slipping down Dinah’s side to squeeze her thigh. With a swift movement the engine hiked Dinah’s thigh up to set it on Greaseball’s hip, her other hand supporting Dinah’s back as she pulled her waist closer. “Doll, you’d look good with just a smile on your face,” she winked, placing a kiss on Dinah’s temple that made the coach laugh.
“Greaseball!” She lowered her voice to a hiss, batting a hand against Greaseball’s shoulder plate. “Not in front of the coaches!”
Greaseball gave her another kiss on the lips before letting her free, one arm remaining comfortably around Dinah’s shoulders. “Good evening, coaches.” She waved to them so confidently, the sort of confidence that was reserved for showing off to her sponsors at the finish line.
Belle and Tassita stared. Pearl waved back. “Hi, Greaseball!” She chirped.
“Mind if I borrow Dinah for the evening? I’ll have her home by midnight.”
Dinah stopped processing what Greaseball was saying halfway through the conversation, her head hot. This side of Greaseball was almost strictly for those short interactions with fans, waves at the finish line, interviews or photoshoots. It wasn’t that Dinah hadn’t been on the receiving end before, and Starlight, it was so hot, but her Greaseball was a little different.
The Greaseball she trained with, had breakfast with, got out on the rails with was a bit quieter, more snappy. Prone to being reserved if she wasn’t starting up a fight or showing off. But this dashing and gallant Greaseball was making her wires short-circuit — it always did — and they hadn’t even made it out the door yet.
“Let me get ready!” Dinah tried to excuse herself. Where were they going? She didn’t know what to bring.
“Don’t make me wait too long,” Greaseball winked.
So Dinah hurried back to her room to tidy up and brush her hair. Greaseball had ten minutes max in her of keeping up her TV personality, and the coaches knew better than to buy it. Chances were they were having an awkward stand off on the other side of Dinah’s door.
Greaseball playing nice with the other coaches made Dinah’s heart warm though, as if her hot water dispensers weren’t already boiling.
Fortunately by the time Dinah returned to the main room, no one was fighting. Pearl was making pleasant conversation with Greaseball while Greaseball kept a respectful distance from the first-class coach.
Despite their past, Dinah still adored seeing the two of them hang out, not that it didn’t make her itch with jealousy at times, but Belle and Tassita were past entertaining Greaseball and the journey to getting them to spend positive time together was a slow crawl.
“There you are, doll.” Greaseball rose from her chair to present her couplers to Dinah. “Come on, let’s hit the tracks.”
The railroad around the yard was silent. All of the overnight freight trips were already long down the rails on their journeys and the tracks were cool under their wheels.
It wasn’t dark enough for Greaseball to turn her headlights on, only the low lighting of her engine was glowing.
Often, a gesture like this would leave Dinah lovestruck and stumbling for words, but this was odd enough behaviour that she couldn’t help but question it.
Where had it come from?
“Why’re you so quiet back there?” Greaseball’s couplers tightened around Dinah’s hands. “Something on your mind, doll?”
Dinah leant in closer, listening to the purr of Greaseball’s engine. “I love you, Greaseball. But you make me weak when you go all ‘knight in shining armour’ on me.”
Greaseball snickered, careful to keep her engine at a low rumble while Dinah was hovering her head near the motor. She glanced at Dinah over her shoulder, winking. “Your wish is my command.”
Dinah giggled, her internals sparking up with excitement. “What’s all this about?”
“You,” Greaseball answered without missing a beat.
“You’ll fry my wires if you keep sweet talking me like that. You’ll have to haul me home like freight.”
Greaseball laughed. “All according to my master plan. Am I doing good then?”
The wording made Dinah blink one eye open. Maybe it was just how usual this behaviour was tonight, but it made her internal lights flicker. “Why are you doing this?” she asked. Best to be upfront with Greaseball. “This isn’t an engine shed dare is it? You haven’t been put up to this?”
It’s not that it was entirely out of character or impossible for Greaseball to behave this way, but Dinah could usually pinpoint where a behaviour had come from. It was just simply far more likely that Orange Flash had put her up to some ‘most romantic date’ challenge and that the orange diesel was zooming by the shed to pick up Belle right now.
Greaseball’s engine stuttered, rolling on in silence for a beat longer, shoulders stiff. Dinah bit down on her lip — maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. Just enjoyed it.
And then Greaseball glanced over her shoulder, frowning. “Is that what you think when I’m being nice to you?”
Dinah almost let go of her couplers. “Oh! No! It’s not— it’s not that, it’s just hard to believe this is all for me? This isn’t a competition or anything, is it?” She rubbed her thumb over Greaseball’s couplers, surprised to see her so crestfallen. “What I meant is that it’s very champion behaviour of you.”
Greaseball seemed to roll that over in her mind, brow knitting. “Huh! Yeah, it is, ain’t it?” Her engine grumbled as she slowed down, wheels bracing against the rails. “A champion is nothing without their race partner though.” That was a new thought Greaseball had seemed pretty proud of realising after the championship (Greaseball would tote it around like she was the first train to ever realise it, and not one of the last horses to cross the finish line).
They drew to a halt a few feet further up the tracks and Greaseball turned her headlights on. The evening air was cool between the trees as Greaseball uncoupled Dinah and stepped down off the tracks onto the grass.
Before Dinah could follow, Greaseball turned around to swoop Dinah off her wheels and up into her arms in a bridal carry.
“Oh!” Dinah hadn’t meant to let a sound escape her mouth, clinging to Greaseball’s arms. “Greaseball!”
“I just want to give my pretty little coach some attention tonight, will you let me?” Her orange eyes were focused on Dinah, casting a warm glow on her cheeks as she grinned.
Anyone rational would’ve told Greaseball to turn her headlights down before she blinded Dinah, but Dinah’s wires were burning up and she not rational, so, staring right back into Greaseball’s headlights, she said “Oh Greaseball, I’d let you any time.”
Greaseball chuckled, carrying Dinah off the tracks and onto the grass where she sat them both down, legs tangled up so they could lean into each other.
Greaseball cupped Dinah’s chin, tilting it up to kiss her.
It was delicate, a kiss that simply said ‘I’m glad you’re here.’
When she pulled back she kept her hand cupped to Dinah’s chin, thumb feathering over her cheek. Her eyes worked over Dinah’s features, tracked from her eyes, to her cheek, to her lips, to her jaw.
There was a focus in her eyes that Dinah could’ve drowned in. Her showmanship put aside for a moment, the real Greaseball that Dinah only saw behind closed doors peered through for just that moment, taking Dinah in while Dinah admired her right back.
Most of the time, Dinah was a very humble dining car. She did her duties the way a coach should, she’d let others walk all over her in the past, and she often acted in others best interest before her own. But right now? Entangled with the champion diesel engine — the fastest, strongest diesel in the ranks, her lips hovering moments from hers as she took her in like she was the prettiest coach in the world? She felt pretty damn important.
“I’ll tell you something, just while I’m being all brave,” Greaseball finally whispered, eyes drifting down to study her knuckles.
“Hm, yeah?” Dinah was only sort of listening. Her head was elsewhere, enjoying the warmth from Greaseball’s frame, edging slightly forward for another kiss.
“I wanted to treat you tonight because I’ve been thinking about you lately.”
“Mm.” Dinah couldn’t get any words out, shoving one palm against the grass to muffle the sparks zapping through her wiring.
Oh my Starlight. Greaseball was going to talk about her feelings. Dinah’s water tanks might combust, or she might throw up. She didn’t know.
“Thinking about how I’m a better engine when I’m with you, that I’d be lost without you.” She ran one hand down Dinah’s arm, her head close enough that the coach could hear her paced breathing. “Thinking about how I love being around you, and I like it when you smile.” Her eyes drifted up only enough to catch the tilt of Dinah’s lips, not the dizziness in her eyes.
Greaseball came in for a kiss, drawing herself as close to the coach as she could. One hand tangled around Dinah’s, the other rising to hold her jaw as her tongue slipped into Dinah’s mouth.
Dinah pressed a hand to her internal compartments, metal burning under her palm.
Greaseball pulled back for a breath, foreheads pressed together. Her voice was languid and whispery, words spoken only for Dinah. “Love being around you. I even love when you stand up for the other coaches,” she snickered, and Dinah giggled too.
“Love when you laugh, I love your face…” her eyes focused in on Dinah’s lips again, closing the distance and sinking into Dinah. “You’re hot,” she laughed through the kiss, one hand travelling to Dinah’s stomach.
Dinah chuckled and squirmed, “me or my hot water system?”
“You know what I mean.” Greaseball snorted, both of her hands moving to Dinah’s face to hold her still as their kiss deepened.
———————————————————————
Belle and Tassita had been listening to the radio — a racing broadcast from somewhere overseas. Pearl had been the one who’d put it on but she’d fallen asleep on the couch ten minutes before midnight.
The shed door had slid open nine minutes later at 11:59 and Greaseball was holding Dinah’s hand to help her through the door. “See? Promised I’d bring her home before midnight.”
Dinah was chuckling lowly to herself, a slight shake through her chassis and a wide grin on her face. Her eyes were dizzy and unfocused, hooked on looking her engine up and down.
“Hey,” Greaseball whispered to her, fixing her bodice with one hand.
Tassita and Belle stared.
“I’ll see her to her bed,” Greaseball said, coupling up with Dinah any hurrying the wobbly coach to her room.
Tassita sighed.
“Oh she’s…” Belle started.
“I’m not gonna be the one to tell Greaseball she’s got Dinah’s lipstick all over her,” Tassita put in. “She can go back to the engine shed like that.”
Belle lowered her voice. “You really think she’s gonna go back to her shed tonight?”
Tassita sighed, leaning forward to inch up the radio volume. “Let’s just listen to the rest of the race.”