Chapter Text
CB found herself drawn to Dustin more and more often these days. They seemed to work together all the time now. Even when they weren't working, CB seemed to end up wanting to hang around Dustin. Even if it meant being forced to spend time around Flat-Top, or Rusty.
In the back of her mind, she knew the reason she'd been feeling this way. She could never quite admit it to herself. If it wasn't true, then it didn't matter what happened.
The more time they spent together, the harder it got to deny. Despite herself, CB felt herself falling. It was inconvenient and infuriating. She didn't have time to get weak in the knees at Dustin leaning against her shoulder, at the way she patted CB's knee when they sat together, how she was just close enough to yearn after when CB brought up the end of the train behind Dustin.
She spent a lot of time around Greaseball and Electra too, though usually in far different, less…professional contexts. And she didn't yearn for them to look at her tenderly…Did she?
Greaseball didn't love her. CB wasn't sure Greaseball loved anyone, even Dinah (although she'd tried to convince Dinah of the opposite on countless occasions). CB didn't think Greaseball was capable of loving anyone besides herself.
Not that she wanted Greaseball to love her. She was sure Greaseball only liked her for their shared lack of morals, and how easy it was for Greaseball to fuck her. That was fine with her.
And despite her crush on Electra, CB wasn't particularly interested in pursuing anything that could be construed as a relationship with them. She preferred her business without attachments, promises, liabilities.
But Dustin…
It was all different with Dustin.
Fuck. She wasn't a romantic. She needed to quit having these thoughts.
There was no way she could resolve this her usual way- by having sex- with Dustin. Which was why she'd settled for stroking her handbrake behind the freight shed late at night.
Her back to the shed, CB unlatched her codpiece and pulled out her already-aching handbrake. She'd started fantasizing about Dustin without trying.
She shut her eyes and leaned her head back, starting to touch her handbrake. She thought about Dustin kissing her and shivered. There was no way she'd ever get that far with Dustin, no world in which Dustin wanted to kiss her too. But then she thought of Dustin patting her on the back, or hugging Dustin when she was upset. CB thought of how that touch might feel on the more sensitive areas of her paneling, and her handbrake pulsed with need. It was far, far too exciting to imagine that Dustin wanted to touch her. She tightened her hand as she stroked the burning metal of her brake. Her vents pulsed around nothing.
In her mind, Dustin kissed her gently on the mouth, then the cheek. She reached between CB's legs and touched her codpiece so lightly she could barely feel it. It made her hips jerk anyway.
Outside the shed, CB sharply yanked her handbrake once, twice, and then she was coming before her fantasy even got anywhere interesting. A drop of fluid rolled out of her vent and splashed on the track ballast below her. She shut her codpiece and went to rejoin the other freight in the shed.
Since CB had tried to masturbate away her problem, it seemed to have only grown in intensity. It was hard to see Dustin in the yard without imagining what her lips would feel like pressed against CB's own, what noises she might make if CB kissed her neck, what she smelled like, what she tasted like. It was all very distracting.
Dustin must have noticed by now how strangely CB was acting. She could usually keep her cool when there was information she was trying to hide, but something about the way she felt about Dustin made that impossible. She couldn't hide how she was feeling at all. She'd taken to speaking less to reduce the risk of saying something idiotic around Dustin.
At the end of a long day of work, Dustin found CB at the edge of the yard. Her face was cheerful, clearly trying to mask her concern.
Dustin gently bumped her arm against CB's. CB barely kept herself from stumbling, warmth flooding through her at the contact. She smiled up at Dustin, not sure if it reached her eyes.
"Is everything okay?" Dustin asked, her beautiful eyes worried in CB's direction.
CB turned her best grin on Dustin. "Of course! Why do you ask?"
Dustin smiled at her weakly. "I don't know, CB, you've just seemed less…yourself, lately. You don't talk as much as you used to. You're never in the shed like you used to be. I just thought…it seemed like there might be something wrong. Like with- with Greaseball, or something-"
Dustin looked away, like she'd said too much.
CB blushed, which was a stupid response. Of course Dustin knew about her and Greaseball. Very few trucks in the yard had failed to notice at this point. Why would Dustin be any different?
(Not to mention that the whole yard probably also knew about her and Electra, her and Coco, her and Greaseball's gang…and it made sense that Greaseball was the one Dustin had picked to voice her concerns about. Even the whole gang couldn't wreck CB like Greaseball could.)
"It's really nothing, Dustin," CB said, giving Dustin a reassuring pat on the arm. "I'm fine!" She didn't add that Greaseball couldn't really hurt her in a way CB didn't want, even if Greaseball tried.
"Are you sure?" Dustin said. Her eyes wanted so badly to believe CB was telling the truth, that everything was okay. But she wasn't certain.
Something in CB ached to tell her what was really going on. That it wasn't any of the trains who treated her like shit that had caused the change in her behavior. It was the kindest one she knew that had made her absolutely lose her mind.
"Dustin," CB said, forcing herself to meet Dustin's eyes. "There's something that I haven't told you."
Dustin's brow furrowed. "CB, I know about the races. I was there."
"No, it's not that." CB had hardly considered that she might need to feel bad about the things she'd done in the last tournament. It wasn't anything she hadn't done before. This time it just happened to be someone Dustin cared about. "Dustin, I…"
She trailed off, not sure what she was meant to say here. She wasn't sure if she'd ever actually done this part before, declaring her feelings to the object of her affections. She usually let someone else chase after her, or bypass the need for words altogether and just get on her knees. None of that would work now. She was the one angling after Dustin, and she wanted something more substantial with Dustin than a quick fuck in an alley.
She turned so their faces were just inches from each other. "Do you want to kiss me?"
Dustin turned bright red. She immediately looked away from CB.
"I've…I've thought about it…" she said, her voice not much louder than a whisper.
Energy shot through CB's system. She had? She held her breath, not daring to move.
Still looking away, Dustin reached out and grabbed CB's hand. Her hand was warm on CB's, trembling slightly. "I'd like to," she whispered. "I just need a minute."
CB breathed out. She wanted to. It would just be the longest minute of CB's life. That was fine. She could wait.
After forty-nine seconds, she felt Dustin squeeze her hand. She looked back to Dustin's face. Dustin was facing her now, but she squeaked and looked away when she made eye contact with CB.
"Sorry!" she said, looking to the side again. "Just give me a second." Her face was bright red.
CB reached out and touched Dustin's jaw. She gently turned Dustin's chin so they were face to face again.
She slowly closed her eyes and angled her head, letting Dustin come to her. She heard a sharp intake of breath, and the heat of Dustin's frame grew closer.
Dustin pressed her lips to CB's. CB fell into the feeling of her soft mouth, the heat radiating between them. She needed to hold back, she thought, keep herself from going too fast and scaring Dustin off.
But Dustin was so eager, her breath so hot and expectant in CB's mouth. Her air of nervousness was palpable, but so was her excitement.
CB never wanted to stop kissing her now that she'd started. It was so new. She didn't think she'd ever get used to the feeling of Dustin's soft lips against her own. She didn't want to.
It had been a very long time since she'd kissed someone purely for the sake of kissing them, not as the hasty precursor to something more.
She didn't need to rush through this part. She didn't want to. If all Dustin wanted to do was kiss, that was fine with her. That was more than she deserved, anyway. She felt incredibly lucky just to be able to kiss her, to hold her face, to feel Dustin's warm hand on her arm.
She had no idea what to do with her own hands. She wanted to touch Dustin. Of course she wanted to touch Dustin. There was nothing she'd ever wanted more. But she didn't know what Dustin wanted from this. Usually when she did this, sex being the end goal was assumed. Why else would whoever it was be kissing her? But now…
Now she wasn't sure if Dustin wanted to do anything other than kiss her, and she didn't want to damage this fragile, beautiful thing between them. It was too important to ruin with her usual behavior.
She could test the waters a little, though. She kissed Dustin deeper, then gently bit her bottom lip.
Dustin squeaked. CB immediately pulled back, her heart rate spiking. That must've been too much. "Sorry! I should've-"
Dustin shook her head. "No, I-" She avoided CB's gaze. "I liked it." Her face was burning.
Oh. She liked it. That sound- that meant she liked it. CB filed that fact away for later.
This might go a little differently than she'd thought. They hadn't actually talked about anything yet, just that they wanted to kiss each other. CB wanted to ask a question that she didn't quite know how to get out, didn't even know what words she would say. She didn't know what to say now that she'd gotten here. There wasn't usually a lot of…talking by this part.
CB leaned forward and kissed Dustin again. That was all she wanted, really. The feeling of Dustin's soft lips against hers was intoxicating. She cupped Dustin's face with her hands. That was touch she knew she could do, that would make Dustin flush just a little but not pull away.
She slid one hand to the back of Dustin's head, pulling her in to deepen the kiss. She pressed her fingertips into the sensitive plating at the back of Dustin's neck. Before she could really think about it, she tugged gently at the roots of Dustin's hair.
Dustin sighed, her voice coming out thin and high and shaky.
CB held herself perfectly still for a moment. If she moved, she was certain she would devour Dustin, and that just wouldn't do this early on. She could feel coolant dripping in her codpiece. Her handbrake burned with need.
She had to control herself. She couldn't move too fast, no matter how much she ached. She loosened her grip on Dustin's neck. Dustin sighed again, quieter. CB let herself fall into kissing her again. She felt warm all over.
CB tugged a little harder at Dustin's hair. Dustin moaned softly, the smallest noise escaping her lips. This was so much harder than CB had expected. Absolutely everything that Dustin did was driving her insane, every blush, every gasp, every twitch. How would she get any further without absolutely losing her control?
"CB," Dustin whispered, and every system in CB's body froze. She'd never dared to imagine what her name would sound like, whispered desperately, almost reverently, between Dustin's lips. Heat rushed to her head and between her legs.
She pulled back. "Can I kiss your neck?" Her voice was firm, all the tension in her body leaking into her words.
Dustin squeaked. Her face somehow turned even more red. "…..yes," she finally whispered. "Please." Her thighs squeezed together. CB tried not to salivate actively.
A plan was beginning to form in her head. CB pressed a kiss to the corner of Dustin's jaw. Dustin whimpered.
CB had to clench her own jaw to keep from screaming. The noises Dustin made were impossibly arousing to her. Fuck. There was something about the way her face scrunched up, her trembling lips, her bright red cheeks. CB had to keep taking deep breaths.
She kissed the spot just below Dustin's ear. Another small sound escaped from Dustin's mouth that made CB tremble herself. CB kissed lower on Dustin's neck, eliciting yet another noise. Another kiss, another whispered moan. CB already felt utterly undone, and all they'd done was kiss. She might not survive this.
CB kissed the top of Dustin's chest, just above her coal rack. She wasn't sure how much further Dustin would let her go.
A warm hand pressed gently into the small of CB's back. CB nearly whimpered at the contact. She hadn't expected Dustin to touch her, not really. The warm feeling inside her pooled in her codpiece and bloomed in her chest. She couldn't believe Dustin was actually touching her.
She kissed across the top of Dustin's chest, gentle pressing a kiss to the base of her throat. She began kissing up the other side of Dustin's neck, Dustin's noises steadily getting breathier.
CB also couldn't believe that Dustin was letting her touch so much, either. Dustin must really like her. Trust her, even. That was new for CB. Usually all the trust extended to her by people she fucked was that she'd let them finish in her tight hole.
Which she usually did.
She kissed down the side of Dustin's neck, trailing to her shoulder. She traced her fingers down the other side of Dustin's neck.
Dustin shivered. "CB," she whispered again.
CB paused, but it didn't seem like Dustin wanted her to stop, so she didn't. Heat kept building inside CB's chest as she kissed along Dustin's throat, across her chest, down the other side of her neck. The longer she kissed Dustin, the more she wanted. She wanted to touch Dustin—everywhere. She didn't want to keep being chaste. She wanted to put her head between Dustin's legs.
Even as the thought crossed her mind, she dismissed it. It was a bridge too far. There was no way Dustin would let her do that. She trusted CB, but her trust couldn't stretch that far. She wouldn't-
CB looked up at Dustin. Her eyes were closed, and she was panting, her face bright red, her hair a mess. She looked so much more depraved than CB had ever seen her before. Nothing about this had gone the way she'd expected. CB was suddenly burning hot. Maybe-
Before she could stop herself, she said, "Can I go down on you?" Her voice came out in a rush, breathier than she'd intended, but it didn't matter. The words hit their target.
Dustin's eyes snapped open. Her face had somehow gotten even redder. "I, um-" She faltered, then looked away.
"I'll go slow," CB rushed to say, desperately needing to reassure Dustin. "I'll be gentle, I promise."
The words sounded strange coming out of her mouth. When had she ever said something like that to someone she was fucking?
But everyone she'd ever fucked hadn't been Dustin.
Dustin was still avoiding her gaze. She nodded, a shy smile playing across her lips.
Wait- she nodded? That was- a yes? She wanted CB to-
It was CB's turn to flush. All her years of slutty exploits, and here she was, blushing at the mere idea that Dustin wanted CB to go down on her.
She cleared her throat. "I need to hear you say yes," she said, her voice gentle.
Dustin squeaked, covering her face with her hands. A pause. Another, and CB thought she'd changed her mind. Then-
"Yes," Dustin whispered between her fingers.
CB grinned, wider than she maybe ever had. Heat rushed through her. Her head felt a little fuzzy. Her handbrake was suddenly aching.
She got on her knees, not really able to believe that she was here, between Dustin's legs.
Dustin looked down at her, then quickly looked away. Her face was still bright red, but she was smiling, too.
CB undid Dustin's belt, not forcing her to make eye contact. She needed Dustin to trust her. She slowly unzipped Dustin's pants.
She looked away quickly. Was this really happening? Was Dustin really letting her do this? The thought alone was too much for her to handle, and the reality-
"CB?" Dustin whispered. CB looked back at what she was doing.
"Sorry," CB said. "You're just so beautiful, I couldn't handle it." Her handbrake burned.
Dustin smiled and looked away, just like CB had thought she would. It was true, of course—Dustin was very beautiful. CB found the sight of her quite distracting. It also gave her the chance to steady herself mentally.
The scent of warm metal and rubber pulled her in closer. She took in the sight before her, one she hadn't even let herself dream about: Dustin's discharge gates slick and shining in the low light. Her warmth was palpable, and CB could see the flecks of coal dust lingering from her work that day. CB couldn't wait to taste her.
Closing her eyes, CB kissed the joint where Dustin's discharge gate met her hip. She trailed a line of kisses down the soft, flexing rubber door seal on the right seam of her gate. Dustin gasped.
Her noises were utterly intoxicating to CB. Each time something she did elicited a moan from Dustin, heat rushed through CB, pooling in her handbrake. It was incredible that something as simple as her touch, her mouth, her breath hot on Dustin made her come undone like that.
CB kissed back up the seam and across the beam in the middle. She continued down the left seam. Dustin's chassis was warm where CB kissed it, tasting faintly of dusty gravel and acrid coal. The scent made CB's head spin, and she hadn't even reached the apex of Dustin's discharge gate. One of her hands rested on Dustin's thigh, the other reached across her hip. Her fingertips brushed the edge of Dustin's T-handle insert valve.
Dustin jerked and moaned, surprising CB. Her moan was a little higher than it had been before.
CB moved her hand off the valve. She waited.
Dustin let out a shaky little breath. "Um," she whispered.
CB froze. "What is it?"
Dustin looked away. "It's okay…to touch it." The embarrassment coming off of her was as palpable as the heat coming from between her legs. "Just…gently."
Oh. "Okay," she said, brushing her fingertips over the valve again. Dustin trembled again.
CB couldn't help smiling to herself. This was too easy. She looked up at Dustin, and stuck her fingers in her mouth. Dustin's mouth parted in surprise.
Grinning, CB sucked on them for a moment before touching the valve again, this time with the benefit of added slickness.
Dustin whimpered. She looked down at CB. With an unsteady hand, she reached out to touch CB's face. "You really are always smiling, aren't you?"
CB had no response to that, other than to smile at her and get back to what she was doing. She licked down the partly opened discharge gate. Dustin pressed a hand over her mouth. "Oh-!"
CB reached Dustin's apex, using the broad, flat side of her tongue to wet the hot metal. She sucked on the joints, the tip of her tongue swirling into the head of a screw. Dustin squeaked into her hand. Her other hand rested on CB's head, fingers curling in her hair.
The metallic tang on her tongue was incredible. She swallowed to keep herself from drooling. She flicked her tongue across the sensitive seams of Dustin's gate.
Dustin's fingers curled in her hair. "CB!" she whispered, her thighs trembling around CB's head.
CB reached one hand up to Dustin's valve. She traced a circle around it with the lightest brush of her fingertips. Dustin shook.
"CB!" she said again, her voice even higher this time. "I'm gonna- please-"
CB took her hand away. She wanted to draw it out just a little longer.
Dustin whined. "CB…" she whispered. "Please, CB, it feels so good."
CB's head spun again. Those words coming from between Dustin's lips, whispered in an almost reverent tone, was going to kill her. She wrapped her lips around the central screw of Dustin's discharge gate. She wanted nothing more than to watch Dustin come right this instant, but she couldn't resist the opportunity to see how long she could keep Dustin teetering on the edge.
Dustin's discharge gates had opened slightly, the gap between them tantalizing, releasing a warm, metallic scent.
She should probably be nice for their first time and let Dustin come quickly.
On the other hand, this could be her only chance to do this with Dustin. Shouldn't she get the most out of it that she could?
CB slid her tongue into the gap, making the hot metal wet with her spit.
Dustin's words had devolved into just vaguely word-shaped sounds.
CB licked the center beam of Dustin's discharge gates. Dustin wailed through the hand over her mouth. Her hand grabbed at CB's head, rubbing against her antenna. CB quivered at the unexpected contact, her handbrake throbbing. Dustin's thighs squeezed around CB's headphones. Thankfully, CB's mouth was occupied, so no one could hear how she moaned at the tremble in her antenna.
Sounds leaked out of Dustin's mouth, though. Her discharge gates opened and spurted hot air at CB's face. CB breathed it in.
When Dustin's thighs loosened from around her head, CB pulled her head back. Dustin's gates hung open a little wider than they had before.
CB sat back, grinning. Dustin's eyes slowly came back into focus, and then she grabbed CB and pulled her up to her chest to hug her close. CB let out a breath of surprise as she was pressed against Dustin's chest, but she wasn't complaining. They stayed like that for a few moments.
Wrapped in Dustin's arms, CB's mind and heart were racing. Did Dustin have any idea what she was doing to CB, pressing their chests against each other? Did she know CB would gladly stay there as long as Dustin would let her? Did she know what CB thought about to lull herself to sleep most nights?
Dustin released her, slowly and reluctantly. She glanced at CB before looking away, her face still red. "Do you want me to, um…"
Something cold rushed through CB. She had done what she'd come here to do—give Dustin everything she wanted. She hadn't expected Dustin to want anything to do with her the other way around.
Her handbrake ached between her legs. It felt obvious, clear to anyone that she was burning to be touched. But the thought of Dustin touching her handbrake, slipping a finger inside her, watching her come, her hands and mouth always gentle, never painful…
CB's vents squeezed at the thought. What would it be like to let Dustin take care of her?
What if she didn't like it? Everyone else she fucked treated her so roughly, always pressing her up against fences and walls and sides of sheds and platforms. If Dustin touched her in a way that just felt good, that felt like someone loved her in an uncomplicated way—
"No, that's okay," CB said. "I should get going, anyway."
Dustin frowned slightly as CB turned away and sped into the darkness of the yard. She wasn't happy about it, either, but that didn't matter. There was no way Dustin could see her like that.
But if Dustin ever wanted a repeat encounter, maybe things could be different.
As if there would be another time. She'd just run away from Dustin without even saying goodbye properly. Dustin had no reason to think that she would want to do it again.
Behind a deserted shed far away from where Dustin had been touching her, CB swung open her codpiece. She pulled out her aching handbrake and stroked it, hard. She wished she could have let Dustin touch her, fuck her the way she really wanted her to. She thought about Dustin on top of her, pressing her thighs against her chest and fucking deep into her vent. Dustin would be panting, but smiling, her cheeks red. She leaned down so her chest was against CB's. In her dream, Dustin pulled her close while pressing deep inside her, kissing her sweetly.
It only took a few slick strokes of her handbrake before she was coming, curling in on herself with a quiet groan, liquid splattering on the gravel beneath her.
It took a few seconds for her vision to swim back into focus. She straightened up and moved her codpiece back into place.
Like that would ever happen.