kiss_it_better (kiss_it_better) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-09-29 23:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, tinkerbell, vala mal doran |
Who: Tinkerbell and Vala
When: Second week in August
Where: Tink’s Garage
What: Random Encounter
Rating/Warning: Low/None
Status: Complete
Normally Tink wasn’t happy unless her body was half-way under the hood of a car. Sometimes she had to do paperwork in the office of the garage, and those were not the best of days. Today was one of those days. She was stuck in the office far more than she wanted to be, working on the computer or printing and filing random papers that the boss wanted her to print and file. It’d been really slow all day, so she was absorbed in the busy work. Hopefully something or someone would come along to distract her from her thoughts.
Not that they were bad thoughts. Tink spent a lot of time thinking about Neal today, and breaking into random blushes. Those were the times she got distracted from whatever she was doing, and ended up filing the wrong file into the wrong letter drawer. Didn’t really matter. It wasn’t like the old man was coming in to check up on her work.
Vala loved her car. When it worked. When it didn't it was the worst thing to ever happen to her. It had started making some random sound as she was driving back home after her last appointment and when she had seen the garage she pulled in. She'd parked out front and headed back to what looked like an office area. Poking her head round the door, she knocked on the door frame and saw a pretty young blonde girl bent into a drawer sorting something out. "Well hello there,"she grinned, surprising the blonde.
Tink was, indeed, surprised. She jumped and nearly dropped a file of papers. Old receipts, actually, that the Old Man wouldn’t throw out. She had to keep shifting them from one filing system to another, rather than going all digital like she wanted. Her body turned instinctively toward the voice, her heart starting to thunder in her ears. “Oh! God, you scared me.” She said, breaking into a grin. “How can I help you?”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you jump,” Vala grinned at the girl. “I was hoping that maybe I could trouble someone to look at my car?”
“Oh, yeah, no problem.” Tink said, breaking into a bright smile at the request. Something she could do! That was easy. She came around the desk. Looking at cars was so much better than filing paperwork. “Outside?”
“Oh wow, you? Ok then,” Vala grinned, pleasantly surprised. She hadn’t met a female mechanic before so it was a bit of a surprise when the girl offered to look herself. “Yeah follow me,” she turned and headed back out to the forecourt and her car. “Here she is, my pride and joy,” she announced.
Tink raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, me. I’m the only one here today, so…” She followed Vala outside. Why were so many people surprised that Tink was a mechanic? It was slightly irritating. But she was mostly used to it by now. Mostly.
Those thoughts were wiped from her head by the sight of the car. “Oh, nice wheels,” Tink said, breaking into a grin. “What’s troubling her?”
“Thanks,” Vala smiled proudly, slipping her sunglasses back on her face and crossing her arms as she gazed at the car. “I’m not sure to be honest. He’d been running fine and then when I left my last appointment, coming down the road here, he just started making this rattly, grumbling noise. I saw the garage, pulled in and voila,” she explained. “Here you go, play to your heart’s content,” she held out the keys to the other woman.
Tink accepted the keys with a gentle “thanks,” her mind already spinning as to what may have been going wrong with the engine. She had ideas simply because of the make and model of the car, the description of the noise, all the other clues. It was fun to diagnose cars, actually. A really fun part of her job was stretching those brain muscles, working her way through the possibilities. She climbed into the front seat and turned on the engine, listened for a moment to the rattling sound, then turned it off and came around to look under the hood.
“Got an idea what it is then?” Vala asked, stepping up beside the mechanic and peering into the engine of the car. She’d always been curious, even if she didn’t know exactly what she was looking at.
“Yeah.” Tink said, ducking her head under the hood. She babbled a bunch of mechanic mumbo jumbo, pointing to different parts of the engine. “If we just replace the part, that should solve the problem.”
Vala grinned at her. “You realise I have next to no idea what you just said, right?” she joked. Vala was curious, but she wasn’t someone who needed to know all the details. Mostly: yes it could be fixed and how much would it cost. “How much is that going to be then? It’s not something you have to order in is it?” she looked at the watch on her wrist to check the time. “I’ve got another two appointments this afternoon is all.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Tink broke into a grin. “Nah, it’s a really simple fix. I’ll just double-check to make sure I’ve got the right part in our storage closet.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Do you have a couple hours? I can get you out of here in no time. Or there’s a coffee shop down the street. You could walk there. Or, you can come back on a day when you don’t have stuff going on. I mean, it’s mostly safe to drive around.”
“I don’t have a day when I don’t have stuff going on,” Vala laughed, checking her watch again out of habit. “No, I’ve got just over two hours until my next appointment if you think you can do it,” she shrugged. “Gives me some time to catch up on my reading, or chat while you’re under the hood,” she smiled at the girl. “I’m Vala by the way,” she held out her hand to introduce herself.
“I think ninety minutes.” Tink said, thinking about it for a moment. “Good to meetcha. I’m Tink.” She shook Vala’s hand quickly. “Time me. I’ll be right back.” She grinned brightly. “There’s a Keurig in the waiting room, and air conditioning!” She called out as she turned to trot into the garage storage room to find the right part.
Vala chuckled at the girl as she hurried off. She headed to the passenger side of her car and pulled out her handbag and her phone, shutting the door and stepping back to wait for Tink to come back. Tink was definitely enthusiastic, much more than any other mechanic she’d ever come across and prettier to boot.
Tink found the right piece, brought it into the office, and ducked behind the computer. She punched a bunch of buttons in, and then printed out an estimate for Vala. As soon as the other woman signed the paperwork, Tink could do the repair. “Here. This is everything, including new part, labor, and visual and manual inspections of the vehicle.” She handed over the paper.
Vala glanced over the paperwork, not taking much notice of the price. Money didn’t matter when it came to her baby and she liked Tink. Signing the paperwork, she handed it back with a smile. “There you go, may as well book it in for its winter service while I’m here,” she suggested.
“Oh, I can definitely do that, too.” Tink said with a smile. She moved back over to the computer to input more information, then came back with an adjusted estimate. “I’ll go get started. Shouldn’t take me too long. Feel free to have some coffee, or put on the tv, or whatever.”
“Great, thanks,” Vala smiled at her. “Time to catch up on some Mills and Boon,” she winked at the girl before turning to head for the coffee machine.