Author's Notes: I've had an idea for this fic going for a while now. Roughly about the same time that Lucky Tonight was still in RP format (or roughly about the time that Call Me Rusty or Until They're Older were being written/formulated), I had been debating how to do this particular idea, or how to go about it where it wasn't just some awkward sudden thing. Unfortunately, I had managed to get a pretty good ways into the fic until either an error on my part or on my computer's part resulted in the whole fic being lost. (That has happened before on another fic in which I learned that mobile typing is HARD. Now, if I remember rightly, I wrote that first version in an entire night, so whether it would've been error-ridden is beyond all of us. But I managed to rewrite the majority of it to fit closely to what I had planned, and that's this version. I've worked on and off on it, so I hope it stays pretty coherent during it.

Idea-wise, it's something that wasn't really brought up during the show. I mean, it ends right before we find anything out, so we really just assume from there what happened. Then again, Control's just dreaming all this stuff, right? Surely he wouldn't be able to dream up such deep conversations... right? ... Theeeeeen again, I've dreamed of a pizza monster coming out of a live TV screen with sand falling out of it and coming after me. Dreams don't usually make sense. Also note later on that there's a bit of canon-mixing going on, but I wanted to kind-of expand the show's universe a bit. I hope it makes sense, I really do.

"Is Dinah there? This is Pearl."

It was late afternoon at the AV trainyard, the temperature slowly falling into a comfortable degree. It was quitting time for many trains, some having already finished up their jobs for the day, while others milled about to enjoy what was left of the setting sun. At the depot area, where cars retired to for the night, Pearl was on the phone in her depot, hoping to catch her friend Dinah right after work.

"Oh, hey Pearls." Instead, Dinah's boyfriend Greaseball answered the phone. "Dinah's not in yet, she won't be for a while later." Apparently, he had decided to wait for her at her house this evening. "Why, you need her for something?"

"Ah, no, I just wanted to talk to her!" Well, she wasn't lying about that. The truth was that Pearl needed to make amends for something.

Or at least, she thought she needed to. It had been three months since the championship race, and it seemed to her that Dinah was... well.. unhappy in her presence. Anytime Pearl showed up to chat or get something, either Dinah couldn't talk then or she was very short with her. She thought maybe it was because of what happened during the race: Pearl has coupled up with Greaseball for the final, which upset Dinah greatly; the observation car ignored her feelings by telling her it was "only fun" and to stop crying.

Pearl figured that things were okay after the final; she saw the two get back together after he was released from the repair garage along with Electra and the Red Caboose, and she had even managed to patch things up with Rusty despite breaking his heart before the races even started. So why did it seem like things weren't okay? "I think I'll try catching her before she leaves work. Maybe she hasn't left yet!"

"You sure?" Greaseball queried. "You could just wait here, she won't take long gettin' home. It's gettin' late, anyway.."

"No, I'll be fine. Even if she's already on the way back, I can still walk back with her."

"O-kay then.. You be careful now. Don't let anyone give you two hell!"

After saying their goodbyes, Pearl hung up the phone and rolled into the kitchen area of her depot. Opening the fridge, she pulled out a package of pound cake, a box of strawberries, and a can of whipped cream, and sat them into a plastic bag, then placed that bag into a larger tote bag. After checking to make sure her hair and makeup was still in good shape, she got her keys and left the depot, turning off the lights and locking the door as she left.

The trainyard was set across a large amount of land, so it took some time for Pearl to make it to the coaches' actual cars. She neared Dinah's diner just as the sun was barely halfway set, but it looked as thought the lights were already off. Before Pearl could knock on the door, it swung open as Dinah made her way out, her purse and a few items in her hands. She locked the door behind and turned to find herself a few feet from where Pearl stood, giving her a jump and cry.

"Oh gosh, Pearlie, ya nearly gave me a heart attack," she said, smoothing out the skirt on her dress. "What are you doin' out here? It's gettin' late!"

"H-hi, Dinah! I was just wondering... If I could walk home with you? So we could get to talk for a bit?" Pearl fidgeted, playing with a strand of her hair. "It seems like we haven't been able to sit and chat for a while, is all."

Dinah shifted her weight onto one of her wheels as she stood on the steps to the diner. "Well, I don't see why not! I don't usually get someone to walk home with!" The dining car stepped off the steps and rolled up to Pearl, giving her a brisk hug as they both started back towards the housing depots.

They started with some small talk for a while, but before either of them knew it, the sun had gone completely down and the lampposts surrounding the tracks of the yard had all lit up as they do when nighttime settles in. Pearl began to think they'd been out too long and almost thought to just head home and talk to her another time, but couldn't quite finalize her decision; yes, she could do this some other time, but wouldn't it be better to just get it over with rather than let their friendship rot over mistakes of the past? The thought paced back and forth in her mind for what seemed like ages..

"... You ok, Pearl?"

The small query shook Pearl from her thoughts. She looked over at Dinah, who stared back at her with a worried expression on her face. "H-huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine... I just have a lot on my mind." She flashed a small smile, trying to mask whatever uneasiness might show on her face.

"Hun, I'm sorry...," Dinah shook her head, stopping in front of the observation car and laying her purse and things beside her feet. "But you're a lousy liar, just as bad as your boyfriend!"

They had stopped in front of the main hall, where the trains would clock in and out for the work, the light of the clock tower positioned in the middle of the front yard showing that it was fifteen minutes past 9, much later than they thought it was.

"I... I don't know what you're talking.." Pearl's cheeks began to turn a light shade of red under the darkness of the night sky, but even if you couldn't see that, the sound of her light voice showed her uneasiness.

"Pearl, cut that out. I know somethin's got you all wound up.." Dinah directed her over to the steps of the hall as they both sat down. "Ya know you can come talk to me if you got some troubles, so just go on and say what's on your mind, girl!"

Pearl's head hung down, watching as she fiddled with the hem of her skirt. She didn't expect for things to turn out like this, and she hadn't even said or asked anything!

"Earth to Pearl! Have ya adopted your guy's sense of going to the clouds while someone's talkin' to ya as well?" Dinah slid the tote bag off of Pearl's arm and sat it down beside her stuff. "I know the two of y'all like to daydream, but I didn't think it was that ba-"

"I'm sorry!"

"...What?" Dinah stood in slight shock, then shook her head as she tried to process what she just heard. "What do ya mean by 'sorry'?" She reached over to lift Pearl's face up, revealing tears starting to fall under her eyes. "..Hun, what's wrong?"

"I just.. I-I've been so nervous about talking to y-you after everything that happened," the observation car sobbed under her tears. "A-and it seemed that w-when I did come over to talk to you, you d-didn't want to see or talk to me.."

"Oh Pearl, that-"

"And I figured it's b-because I didn't apologize for everything- *hic* I d-did back then during the championship, what w-with Greaseball and Rusty-"

"Hun, you don-"

"And I know I messed up b-back then, and I didn't want to *hic* l-lose you as a friend over that, s-so that's why I came down to the d-diner, because I wanted to s-say- *hic* I was sorry for what I di-

"STOP."

Pearl looked over to Dinah to find her close to tears, her hand covering her mouth. "Dinah... I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay... You don't hafta apologize over that..." The dining car pulled a tissue out of the pocket of her apron and used it to dry the pink-clad coach's tears. "I figured, way back then... You didn't really understand just how much Greaseball meant to me... *sniff* I don't think you knew just how much I treasured that place behind him..."

"I know... I-I just thought the whole thing was in fun... I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings..." Pearl hugged her knees close to her chest. "I know I hurt Rusty's when I coupled with Electra, b-but we'd already talked over that after we had t-time to ourselves following the races..."

"I know... He told me about that night.."

Pearl looked at her friend, lines of makeup running down her face. "He told you?"

Dinah nodded her head, reaching for her purse and pulling out a few things. "He did... That morning after, while you were restin' at your depot, he came by for his mornin' coffee before he went off to work... Had some time to spare before freight clock-in, so he stayed to chat 'bout the races and other things on his mind, and actually got breakfast for once... And y'know what?"

Pearl sniffled, feeling much less relieved than she'd hoped. "What?"

"It was the happiest I'd seen him in a long time... Beamin' almost as bright as the midday sun! I nearly had to smack him with a menu to get him to calm down, he was so cheerful."

Pearl released her knees and sat up straight. "I didn't know that... Wait, what all did you guys talk about?"

"Well, he told me about how you were still worried that people were still upset with ya, but I told him not to let you fret 'bout it... 'Cuz in the end, even though we act like it's some big serious business, all the races really are are just a big ol' game. One where we can have fun for a change.." Dinah pulled out a tissue from a small package and started dabbing at her face with a palm-sized mirror in the other hand. "And I shouldn't have been so upset with ya when you coupled up with Greasy, but you know how people do when they're in love.."

"S-so then we're... we're okay?"

Dinah looked at Pearl with one eyebrow slightly raised as she brushed a finger across her cheeks. "Does Electra take way too long in the bathroom when he preps for the day?"

Pearl couldn't help but laugh, but it was a feeling that she readily welcomed. "Yes!"

"Then we're as good as peanut butter and jelly together, girlfriend!" She turned and started dabbing at Pearl's face with the tissue in the light of the main hall's front lights.

"Ooh, why is that wet?"

"Hold still now, Pearlie. We can't make it home with our makeup runnin', or the guys will think something bad happened!"

It was nearing a quarter 'til 11 when the girls finally made it to Dinah's depot. As they rolled up to the door, they could see that the lights were off.

"I guess Greaseball's either gone home or gone to bed.." Pearl said as she stepped up onto the small porch

"He may have fallen asleep watchin' TV again. He does that so often, I think that's usually how he gets to sleep!" Dinah giggled before looking back at Pearl while searching for her keys. "If you want, you can come inside and have somethin' to eat before you head back?"

"No, that's okay, I've got stuff at-" Pearl's eyes widened as she remembered her bag. Oh gosh, I forgot!"

"Forgot what?" Dinah asked as she unlocked and opened the door.

Pearl slid the straps of her tote off her shoulder and looked into the bag as they rolled in. "I forgot I had stuff with me... I was gonna give you something for your-"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DINAH!"

The sound of noisemakers going off and the click of the lights turning on revealed that the house was not in fact empty or silent as they thought. The two looked forward to find a room full of their friends, each with a smile, grin, or halfway attempt at either of the two. Behind a couch in the living room stood Ashley, Dustin, and Joule, next to them behind a reclining chair was Rocky 1 and Hopper 2. Hiding in the nearby hallway was Volta and Rocky 3, while Flat-top and Buffy peeked out from the doorway of the utility room. Electra draped himself lazily over the small dining room table while Krupp watched silently behind him with a noisemaker in his mouth and Rocky 2 holding a used popper in his hands. Balloons were lightly scattered throughout the room, and a large bouquet of flowers sat on the coffee table with a blue bow on the front.

"Oh my Starlight..." Dinah stood with her mouth covered by her hands, Pearl's mouth also open.

"It sure took you guys long enough!" Rocky 1 stood up behind the chair and leaned onto it. "We thought you two got lost somewhere!"

"Ah, no... we just were talking and I guess we lost track of time..." Pearl rolled out from behind Dinah, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Dinah looked over to Pearl, an accusing look on her face. "Did you have any-"

To her shock, Pearl shook her head; she was just as surprised as her friend was.

"But... if you guys are here, then where is-" Before she could finish, arms clad in grey wrapped around her chest in a warm hug.

"And here I thought the boogeyman got a hold of ya!"

"Ooh!" Dinah squealed in delight as she turned around to face Greaseball, with a slightly mad, yet very relieved look on his face, with Purse right behind him. She stood on her tiptoes to hug and kiss her engine, finally resting her head on his shoulders as he picked her up and held her in his arms. "Oh, y'know no boogeyman can handle little ol' me!"

While Dinah and Greaseball acted as thought they'd been apart for years, Pearl moved to the kitchen, greeting the others as she went by. She placed the plastic bag holding the cake, whipped cream, and strawberries into the fridge and sat her tote bag on a nearby storage bench by the back door. She turned around to find herself face to face with Hopper 3, making her jump and cry out. "Oh! Don't do that," she said as she playfully swatted him on the shoulder.

"Sorry, sorry," Hopper 3 rubbed his shoulder. "Didn't mean to scare you. But where were you guys? Greaseball and Rusty went out looking for y'all when it was just after 10."

"We just got a little sidetracked, that's all." Pearl moved a strand of hair out of her face. She wouldn't have been surprised if anyone could tell that she or Dinah had been crying.

"Sure doesn't seem like a little," came a voice from behind before Hopper 3 could say another word. The two looked to face Rusty, who looked a tad bit concerned. "Can I talk to you in private, Pearl?"

Pearl nodded her head slowly as Hopper 3 maneuvered his way out of the kitchen and Rusty rolled over to the back door. Opening it, the two trains made their way out to the darkness of the night. Sitting on the steps of the back porch, they sat in a tiny moment of silence.

"... So what exactly kept you and Dinah out so late?" Rusty asked. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine." Pearl once again began to fiddle with the hem of her skirt, this time with a smile on her face. "I was just talking with a very dear friend of mine, that's all."

The steamer took a second to process what he was told. "... So you told her?"

".. I did. It was hard, and it hurt to think I might have hurt her to the point that she didn't like me any more... But I told her. And she said it was okay. And that's all I really cared about..."

Rusty pulled his girlfriend into a hug, keeping her warm against the light chill of the night. "That's good."

Pearl sighed, enjoying the embrace of her engine beside her. Earlier, she'd felt as if nothing would ease the pain of possibly wrecking one of her greatest friendships, just as she'd felt when she found out just how much hurt she'd caused during the finals. But now, knowing that everything was okay between them, between her and Dinah... It gave her a kind of peace she hoped to cherish forever.

"... She also told me about that talk you two had."

Rusty's head darted up, surprised at himself that he even remember that morning. "She did?"

"Yep. She told me about how worried I'd been, and how happy you were after we had our little talk the night before..."

Rusty's face turned red as he looked away to hide his embarrassment. "Well, I was worried about you! It just drove you crazy thinking about all that-"

Pearl gently turned his head back around to face her. "I know. And I'm glad you two did. I'm glad to know that you care, and that she cares." Pearl rested her head on his shoulder. "And that gives me great peace of mind."

Rusty rested his head on hers, taking Pearl's hand in his. "Me too, Pearl."

The two sat in silence once more before it was broken.

"... She didn't say anything about me eating breakfast that morning, did she?"

Pearl laughed at her boyfriend's comment. "Yeah, you definitely need to get something other than coffee in the morning!"

"Are you two going to join the party or not?" Pearl and Rusty turned to face Flat-top peeking out at them from the back door, Joule giggling behind him. "Jeez, Pearl, it's like you just disappear every chance ya get!"

"If only you'd do the same, Flat-top," Rusty retorted, slightly miffed at his alone time being interrupted, before Pearl stood up and offered her hand.

"Well, he's got a point," Pearl pointed out. "We are kinda missing all the fun..."

Rusty huffed exaggeratedly, but smiled as he took Pearl's hand and stood up, heading back towards the doorway as Flat-top and Joule returned to the party. Before they went back inside, Pearl turned around and gently laid a kiss on Rusty's cheek. Turning to look at her, Pearl only laughed and hugged Rusty once more.

"It's okay. I wouldn't mind having more alone time with you."

The two went back inside and rejoined the group, where Dinah was finally presented with a cake by Belle and Poppa. As she blew out the candles to the cheering of those present, she glanced over to Pearl, who met her eyes in slient happiness. Despite the tears they had shed, it was a night that the two coaches would come to remember fondly as a night that they'd keep in their hearts forever.