Chapter Text
Tassita thought he liked the cold. He'd gotten a little thrill the last time a certain tanker's hand had brushed his, and chalked it up to the temperature difference. Yes, that had to be the reason; it certainly could not have been anything else.
It was a theory he needed to put to the test, obviously.
So naturally, any cryogenic would do. Making out with one should be nice. And luckily for him, there was a new one around the yard, who had a boss? Partner? Friend? Well, whatever they were to Volta, they were throwing a party at their guest shed to celebrate their good health and release from the repair shed. Sneaking away from said party to fool around with Volta should be thrilling. Exhilarating.
But it wasn't.
Through no fault of Volta's own really. He had zero complaints where the freezer truck was concerned, except that there was no real spark. That Tassita couldn't muster any real passion to respond in a way that wasn’t rote and mechanical. Even the cold he'd expected to revel in felt off, the freezer truck's lips just a touch too clammy.
Thankfully, Volta picked up on it, pulling back. “Not enjoying ourselves?” He asked, and Tassita was surprised to see that he didn't look too put off by it. “Its not the cold, is it?”
“...I’m not, actually,” he admitted. “And I don't think the cold's the issue. It's just… I'm sorry.”
“Don't be,” Volta said, leaning back against the pillows of his bed. “It does happen from time to time, disappointing as it is.”
“Right, well…I should…” he slipped towards the edge of the bed, trying to maintain some grace and dignity, while painfully aware that he almost certainly wasn't.
“You can stay a bit. If you want,” Volta said. “Honestly, I was glad to have an excuse to take a break from everyone else and you seemed entertaining enough.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” Tassita said.
"Don't give up just yet,” Volta said, smirking in amusement. “Not that you're obligated to, or anything but…you could tell me about the other prospects in the yard. I still don't really know anyone well.”
“Prospects? Anyone in particular?”
“Anyone really,” Volta shrugged. “I have…wide interests.”
Tassita considered as he settled back down on the bed. Engines seemed like the best place to start. “Well, you raced with Green Arrow, right?”
“Yes.” Volta seemed to not like to be reminded of that fact, but Tass pressed on regardless.
“So you know him and Golden Eagle are obsessed with one another right?”
“I picked up on that, yes.”
“Technically not together, though, if you really wanted to insert yourself into that mess.” Neither of them were bad-looking and Green Arrow wasn't too bad, but Golden Eagle was generally a massive asshole. “Silver Bullet is…fine, but just kind of dull, to be honest. Orange Flash and Blue Lightning are dating, so it’s fairly safe to assume they’re off the table.” He wasn’t positive of that, since it had been just a week or two since they'd made things official. He knew in general Flash tended to get a bit jealous, though, at least from what Belle had told him when they’d dated.
“Hmm,” Volta said. “Greaseball's also off the table as far as I'd be concerned, I assume?”
“Definitely.” Tassita said. Even if his sister had the slightest interest in men, Tassita certainly wouldn’t be going around recommending her to anyone. “Dinah, too.”
“What about Rusty?”
“He and Pearl claim they're trying not to be exclusive or anything just yet, but I don't think he has it in him, to be honest.”
Volta tilted his head, intrigued. “Would you ever…?”
“Technically Rusty and I are exes. If you can count kissing a few times and then ‘dating’ long distance for two weeks when you're fourteen as a relationship.”
“Cute.”
“We're still friends, though. He's sweet, really.”
“Might not be what I'm after,” Volta said. “He seems the sort to get attached easily, from what I've seen of him.”
“Yeah, that's true,” Tassita agreed. “Belle might be more your speed, in that case.” She’d mentioned wanting to spend more time exploring her options since she’d broken things off with Orange Flash. “I can put in a good word, if you're interested.”
“Glad to know I've earned a good reference,” Volta hummed.
“You have. Because you've been thoughtful and respectful, which is in tragically short supply around here.” He eyed Volta carefully. “But if you go around letting the whole yard know what we did or didn't get up to –”
“I won't say a thing,” Volta promised, and Tassita believed him. “Speaking of references, any interest in Electra, or Killerwatt? Or have I turned you off from electrics in general?”
“Killerwatt…maybe?” He said after a moment's consideration. After seeing how cozy Killerwatt had looked with someone else tonight, just before he'd sought out Volta, he wasn't sure he was really interested. Electra he realized would probably be interesting, at least. But they were far too full of themself for Tassita’s taste.
“I can let you know if he seems interested,” Volta said. “That just leaves the fuel trucks, doesn't it?”
Tassita tensed. He hadn't been avoiding that group of trains purposefully, exactly, but he wasn't eager to discuss them either. Not that there was a good reason for that, of course, not that there was one fuel truck in particular that he didn't want to think about at the moment.
“Lumber's handsome,” Volta supplied when Tassita didn't immediately respond.
“Yes, he is,” Tassita nodded. “I think he might be a little into guys at least, but I’m honestly not certain about that.” He’d tried flirting with him once or twice to little success, but he saw no reason why Volta shouldn't try his luck if he wanted.
“Slick?”
“I don't think I've ever actually seen her with anyone,” Tassita said, furrowing his brow. He thought she might have had a crush on his sister at one point, but that hadn’t gone anywhere as far as he was aware. But for all Tass knew, she might just be more private about her love life than the rest of the yard.
Volta nodded, looking far more intrigued at that information that he would've expected. “Porter?”
“Porter is…fine. I've caught him staring at Electra a few times lately, if that matters to you at all.”
“That is…interesting,” Volta purred, looking for all the world like a cat that had just caught a particularly juicy mouse. “Who’s left, then? Hydra?”
“...they're annoying,” Tassita said. He'd taken much too long of a pause when he answered, he knew. “I'm sure they'd be alright, if you could put up with the constant hydrogen talk. It gets tiring fast, I swear - ”
“You like them,” he interrupted, amused. “You like them and you're trying to talk me out of them.”
“No, I'm not! Take him for all I care.” He did care. A lot. Far more than he was about to admit to Volta.
“Oh, stars, you weren't just using me because I'm the closest thing you can get, were you?”
His cheeks burned orange, mortified at being found out. “Of course not,” Tassita snapped. “I could get Hydra if I wanted.” He was positive he could, in fact. Quite easily. He’d seen the way Hydra looked at him when they thought he wouldn’t notice.
They hadn’t glanced his way at all tonight.
“Then do it,” Volta said. They crawled off the bed and stretched. “I'm not sure Killerwatt's up to anything with them. If you were worried.”
“I wasn't.” Hydra could go off and be very happy with Killerwatt or with any other train in this or any yard for all he cared. What did it matter to him?
“Sure,” Volta said, clearly not believing them. “Well, this has been amusing." He turned back towards him, offering a genuine smile. "We should talk more, you and I.”
That, at least, Tassita was willing to agree with.