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Damon Salvatore is complicated. (flipstheswitch) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-03-30 08:22:00

Who: Tink, Elena, Damon
What: Painting the car
When: 3/1 - After the ash
Where: Tink’s shop
Rating: Family friendly
Status: Complete


Damon Salvatore had a problem. He had a 1969 Camaro Convertible, and it was covered with ash. He could see the scratches, and it made him frustrated. The car was special, something he had purchased while he worked and went to college at UCI, a step up from the old Honda which was the gift his father gave him at 16. It hadn’t been cheap, and most of the interior had been torn up when he bought it. Damon put money into it, making it a ride that anyone would be jealous of, and now there were scratches, just like there were on him.

He was happy to find Tink, who came with a recommendation from Dean. He trusted the man’s opinion with all things mechanical, and was willing to give her a shot at making the car look decent again. He checked the rearview mirror, watching Elena pull into the space beside him. He stood waiting while she got out and reached for her hand. “Ready to get this done?” he asked, giving the car a last look.

Elena knew how special Damon’s car was to him--she didn’t have to hear the story, it was just obvious, especially from how upset she’d seen him when they went out to look at his car. It wasn’t the kind of upset anyone would be able to see, but Elena could. She was glad that Damon had found someone trustworthy to redo the baby blue paintjob on the convertible though, especially sooner, rather than later. Everything would be good again once the car was back to the way it should be.

She pulled her Jetta up beside Damon’s Camaro, parking and shutting off the vehicle before she opened the door. The brunette smiled up at her boyfriend who was waiting outside for her, placing her hand in his so he could help her up onto her feet. “I’m very ready,” she replied, kissing his cheek and then wrapping her arm around his waist, allowing the man to lead her inside the shop. “It’ll be fine. She’ll look perfect again,” Elena comforted a bit, rubbing her hand along his hip slowly.

Dean was absolutely right. While she may have worked at a shop that did mostly oil changes and battery replacements, Tink knew her way around a car. The inside and out. She could take the engine apart and reassemble it in two shakes, and that was just a warm-up. She’d done a whole bunch of paint jobs recently--because of accidents or customers wanting something new, and yes, because of the ash, too.

In the back of the garage there were a bunch of the machines that she’d tinkered with and put together from spare parts and other things. She had one that looked like a rake, but made of tubes. And they sprayed paint in an even layer. That’s how she did the outside of the car. It was pretty amazing, and it looked even better. When she saw the cars pull up from her spot inside the garage, she came out, wiping her hands on a towel and giving her new friends a smile. “Hey! Welcome.”

Damon reached out to shake her hand. “Hi, I’m Damon, this is Elena, and this - ,” he motioned behind him, “needs help.” From a distance, it didn’t look as bad, but up close, the damage was obvious. It looked scratchy, and just completely wrong for what it was. The classic camaro was his baby. “So what do you think you can do for me? I like that color. I don’t really want to go with any kind of stripes or anything.” He was pretty sure it had always been blue. He looked down at Elena, who seemed to approve of the blue as well.

When her boyfriend introduced them, Elena gave a little wave and smiled at the blonde from his side. She stayed quiet, looking around the lobby of the shop, brown eyes soon traveling back to the woman when Damon brought up his car’s color. The teenager nodded eagerly and grinned. She couldn’t imagine the convertible with anything else but the baby blue paintjob. It was perfect and simple and classic--it also fit Damon. Everyone who knew Damon or went to the high school he taught at knew that car when they saw it.

Tink had a hearty handshake. She nodded, tucking stray wisps of hair behind her ears, and gave Elena a bright smile. After all, Tink was nothing if not friendly. Well, and knowledgeable about cars. And loyal. Okay, so Tink was nothing if not a lot of things. She turned to look at Damon’s baby, and moved a little closer, giving a low whistle. “She’s beautiful. 1979 Chevy Camero, right? We’ll absolutely keep the color.” Tink produced a small device from her pocket and moved over to the car to hold it up. “This thing will read this blue, and help me to reproduce it exactly.” She added, and held the device--which looked a lot like a small, digital camera or cell phone--up to the blue paint. It took a picture, and then started to process.

Damon nodded, running a hand over the paint when they reached the car. He had most of the ash off, but those little scratches remained there. “‘69 actually. The body styles were similar. I got it for a steal before I went to college. I had some friends help with the interior and the paint.” He put the money he earned at a summer job into the rest of it.

He looked down at her device, watching it closely. He arched a brow, offering a nod of approval. “So, how did you get into cars anyway?”

Elena didn’t know anything about cars really, not that her boyfriend ever seemed to mind. Her interests laid in other things, but if she needed car help, Damon was the first person she called--thankfully her’s was pretty easy to take care of anyways. So Elena was pretty much what you might expect of a girl in California, there was nothing wrong with that. She’d be fine with leaving the car talk to her lover...whom she was following after and wrapping her arms around from behind as he spoke to the older woman.
~~~~~~~
Damon watched Tink work on the car, getting the color ready, getting the car taped so the paint wouldn’t stray from it’s intended target and splash the windows or the roof. He hadn’t been planning to stay, trusting her to her work, but in the end, he and Elena had watched the entire process. Damon started to relax as the scratches disappeared. He was talking more, even laughing as he stood behind his girlfriend with arms wrapped around her waist.

Once the paint was applied, he helped remove the tape so it could be buffed, enhancing the shine and removing any streaks that remained in the drying process. He actually enjoyed the work, although he wouldn’t have attempted it himself. He was strictly an assistant. When the project was finished, he looked it over meticulously, smiling at Elena. “What do you think? I think it looks better than it did before the ash hit it.”

Elena noticed how mellowed out Damon got as his car was being worked on. She knew that it was something important to him and she was happy that he was happy with the paint being redone, making the ‘69 Camaro as beautiful as she was sure it had been when it rolled off the lot decades ago.

When her boyfriend went to examine the car and give a little help, she sat back and returned the grin he gave her as the car was finished. “It’s gorgeous,” she replied, a giggle coming to her lips as she stood up and came over to him, arms wrapping around his neck to pull him into a kiss. “Now it’s once again fitting for my handsome history teacher.”