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It had been approximately two weeks since the big championship race took place, and two weeks since Greaseball had uncoupled from Dinah, and later apologised.
Dinah had been through a whirlwind of emotions that day, ranging from sadness, happiness, anger and probably more that she was forgetting. Even after all of that, after everything that had happened, what she chose to focus on was something that was arguably the most important thing that had happened to her that day.
Greaseball's apology.
If Dinah was honest, she could admit that Greaseball spelling sorry the way she did did still make her giggle a bit looking back on it. Though, what mattered most to her wasn't the spelling, but the apology itself. Greaseball had apologised. She still wasn't fully over that.
Sure, it wasn't the biggest apology, Dinah could've been a lot more harsh and demanded something a lot more (she knew that's what her friends had wanted her to do, and it is what she said she would do) but she was honestly just happy that Greaseball had apologised at all. Not only that, but she had apologised in front of the whole yard. Greaseball never did things like that; she never wanted to look weak or soft in front of the others, mostly the engines in all fairness, but the fact that she had openly apologised and showed that she at the very least cares meant so much to Dinah.
They still had a long way to go, both of them had agreed to that, but to Dinah this was a step in the right direction. She had a feeling that something about the championships had changed Greaseball for the better, even though she hadn't ended up winning and had in fact crashed. Greaseball seemed like she wanted to change her behaviour, and Dinah was ever the more happy for it.
Dinah had been thinking about all of this as she was sat in the coach shed living room, waiting for a batch of cookies she had made to be done baking. She had made them mostly for herself and the other coaches, but she had made a few extra for a few other specific citizens of the yard (mostly Greaseball, honestly, but she could keep that as a surprise). They'd been in the oven for around five minutes now, so she had to leave them in there for a bit longer before they would be ready. This was honestly her least favourite step of baking, but she understood it was necessary.
A few more minutes passed as Dinah continued to sit in the living room, practically counting the seconds before her baking timer would go off. She bounced her leg, sighing. She just wanted them to be done already so she could go deliver the extra ones to Greaseball, was that so bad? She was going to keep most of them here in a container for the other coaches when they got back, but Dinah knew that Greaseball didn't have anything scheduled today, so she figured she would go and deliver the cookies to her personally.
She was honestly very excited; it felt like she hadn't seen Greaseball in forever, as she had been on multiple trips these past few days and it seemed like she hadn't had a moment to relax. The two of them had spoken quite a few times in passing, but they hadn't been able to actually spend proper time together.
Dinah had properly zoned out when the timer pinged, it pinging a few more times before she properly took notice. She practically jumped out of her skin when she finally heard it, springing up from the sofa and rushing over to the kitchen. She opened the oven so hard and quickly that the door felt like it was about to come off of its hinges. She grabbed her oven mitts, pink ones gifted to her one birthday, and pulled the tray out of the oven. They looked and smelled absolutely perfect, making Dinah beam widely.
She placed the tray on the kitchen counter in the middle of the room so they could cool off, sighing. She couldn't wait to see the look on Greaseball's face when she delivered them; she knew that Greaseball liked her baking a lot, especially when she was surprised with it. Dinah smiled again and giggled a little to herself imagining the whole thing, she couldn't wait to see Greaseball.
Dinah continued to look at the cookies, almost admiring them. These were the best she had made in a while, she was honestly very proud of them. She would've continued staring at them until they properly cooled down, but a knock at the door took her out of her trance.
Huh, weird. Dinah wasn't expecting anyone today. Whatever, she didn't mind a surprise guest! It was always fun to get a surprise visit from one of her friends, and if it was someone just coming to annoy her or try to sell something she could just say she was busy and shut the door. It was a win-win, basically.
Dinah made her way over to the door, finally managing to tear her eyes away from the cooling down cookies. She could've sworn that she saw a glimpse of yellow through the window near the door, but she didn't think too much of it. After the person at the door knocked another time Dinah opened it, and she couldn't be more surprised about who she saw on the other side.
Greaseball was stood just a few feet from the door, looking surprisingly soft and tender (a look that, on Greaseball, had to be seen to be believed with how she usually acted). Dinah grinned upon seeing her, happiness and warmth filling her system.
"Greaseball! Hi!" Dinah practically jumped for joy, continuing to smile widely. Greaseball gave her a small, slightly bashful, wave in response.
"What are you here for?" Dinah asked, rolling backwards to allow Greaseball to come in.
"Just wanted to-" Greaseball started, before stopping suddenly. She immediately sped to the kitchen, causing Dinah to follow quickly after her. Dinah arrived at the kitchen a few seconds after Greaseball, who was looking at the cookies sitting on the counter. There goes them being a surprise, then.
"Oh yeah! I just finished making those," Dinah exclaimed proudly, skating over to Greaseball and hooking her arm through the engines.
"I was going to deliver some of them to you, but you're here now so I guess I don't have to!" Dinah giggled.
Greaseball silently rolled forwards a few more inches, still connected to Dinah and bringing her forwards with her. She took in a large breath through her nose, breathing out with content.
"Doll, these smell amazing," Greaseball said breathlessly, making Dinah blush even more. She loved how Greaseball admired her baking, it made her want to bake for years on end and never stop. Greaseball had also started complimenting her a lot more after the championships, which was something that Dinah especially liked.
"Thank you," Dinah beamed, face still warm.
"Do you want one?" she asked. "Don't eat too many of them though, I need to save some for the coaches," Dinah added humorously.
"Haha," Greaseball said sarcastically, though not in a rude or malicious way. She looked over at Dinah who nodded, and Greaseball reached out to take one of the cookies. She held it up to her mouth and slowly took a bite, though not without smelling it again one more time. She took a few seconds to chew, and Dinah braced herself for her reaction.
She was positive that Greaseball would enjoy them, but there were still many small fears in the back of her mind of possible things she could've messed up. What if she added too much salt? What if there weren't enough chocolate chips? However, these fears were immediately erased, when Greaseball's face lit up. She held the cookie out in front of her in two hands, looking at it like it was some kind of treasure.
"Dinah." Greaseball turned to face Dinah, still holding the cookie in two hands.
"This is the best thing you've ever made," Greaseball said seriously, looking Dinah right in the eyes. Dinah was sure she was going to die on the spot.
"Really?" Dinah beamed. She was trying her very best not to freak out, but she was grinning so wide that her cheeks were beginning to hurt.
"Really!" Greaseball replied, chuckling slightly. Before Greaseball could say anything else, Dinah surged forwards, enveloping her in a tight hug. Greaseball was startled for a second, before reciprocating and wrapping her arms tightly around Dinah. Dinah started lightly shaking, small tears rolling down her face as she smiled. Greaseball continued to hold her close, rubbing her back. They soon broke away from the hug, Dinah slightly giggling as she wiped the tears from her face.
"Thank you." Dinah smiled, still teary eyed, as Greaseball smiled back at her. Dinah wiped her face one more time, before she had an idea.
"Hey, if you're not doing anything right now, do you want to stay here and watch a movie?" Dinah asked, looking at Greaseball hopefully. "I might let you have some more of the cookies too," she winked.
"Yes!" Greaseball blurted out eagerly, before awkwardly clearing her throat. "I mean, yeah, sure." Greaseball shrugged, slightly avoiding eye contact as Dinah giggled.
Dinah gathered a few of the cookies into a container to keep back for the others, before grabbing the tray, Greaseball keeping a very close eye on it. They got to the living room in short time, Greaseball sitting down in the corner of the sofa. Dinah soon joined her, after grabbing the remote from the television stand. She placed the tray so it was balancing on both of their knees as Greaseball swung an arm around her shoulder, Dinah leaning into the touch.
The movie began to play, Dinah pretty much putting her whole weight onto Greaseball. She was very happy at where their relationship was right now, and she wouldn't change it for the world.