#pyp chamberlain ; threads

[hiddenxrituals]

closed starter for @frcmbelow (dmitri) location: outside dmitri's house

"DIMO! LET'S FUCKING GO," Pyp leaned on the horn briefly; he was impatient. The whole neighborhood was lucky he didn't decide to pick his friend up any earlier than 9 am. They weren't doing anything particularly time sensitive; maybe play some hockey, definitely drive around, possibly even head to the city. But Dmitri wasn't in the car yet, so they weren't going anywhere.

"I'M AGING RAPIDLY OUT HERE."

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"So I could have gone to the city. Like I said," the slight snarl was back, but it wasn't as pulled back as Pyp could make it be. "I know you can fix things. You fixed my exhaust last spring." Not like he expected her to remember him - but it was true. She had. "I don't t think he does have one. Or he got it in some office snafu." He exhaled slowly, giving her a cautious look. "Maybe.... what's the catch? Just gas money?"

"oz didn't want to fix your truck. neither did pyotr. you got stuck with me by proxy." iris sighed, leaning against a nearby work bench so she could fixate her gaze on pyp. she liked watching the way his face twisted in negative emotions, full lips tugging into a devilish smile. but in the next moment her expression cooled, and she released the deep sigh that had bubbled up in her chest. "do you want me to be your chauffer? because i can do that; i've seen the way dima drives and it makes me wonder why he has a license to begin with. all i ask is you flip me a few bucks for gas every now and again."

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His own annoyance mirrored hers, but there was something else - a little bit of fear. He was more attached to the truck than anyone should be, and he knew it was stupid, but he was stubborn, and he would do just about anything he could to avoid getting a new one. "Well you made it seem like you couldn't," it was said as almost a taunt. "That's fine; you can walk to most places around here anyway." He huffed against, turning his back to her. "I'm - gonna be outside. I probably need to figure out a temporary car situation then."

iris wasn't a moron; she could feel four sets of eyes on her, and it was making her skin crawl. she was convinced that if she listened close enough, she could hear wilde whispering something into pyotr's ear and giggling, and could hear oz let out a prolonged sigh despite his entertainment with the whole situation. iris was used to being put into scenarios like this, and as she turned to look at pyp, her expression was both annoyed and unreadable all at once. "i can fix it; don't get your damn panties in a twist. it'll take me a while though."

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"Oh yes, elbow deep in grease and on your tiptoes under hoods," Pyp commented dryly, but he was entertained all the same. "I - what?" He could feel the flush creeping up the back of his neck. "You - for money? Do you win a lot?"

He rarely trusted anyone with his truck. He could do some minor repairs himself, or ask his dad to help, but even if Oz or Pyotr would touch his truck, he only trusted Iris with it at this point. He moved to the other side of the hood, peering in at her. "I thought you were calling us burnouts. And you can't tell me you don't have a life because of my repairs; I'm not in here that often."

"once or twice maybe, but only when the lake is frozen over. i'm trapped in here most of the time, remember?" she was mostly teasing, grabbing a nearby rag to wipe her hands off, mostly using it as a distraction from the giggle she heard wilde burst out into. she just knew they were still making fun of iris and pyp, and she had to remind herself to crab at them later. "i race," she confessed, tuning back into pyp just in time. "cars, mostly. sometimes motorcycles. can't really do that around here."

iris wasn't stupid to the fact that he was avoiding her gaze, and instead of continuing to watch him, she stepped back up to his truck, lifting onto her toes to peer under the hood of it again. despite always being told that she would be working on pyp's vehicle, iris kind of enjoyed it, even if they spent most of the time bickering. she knew his truck like the back of her hand, and she didn't want anyone messing it up. "doing donuts and leaving tire marks behind is considered doing a burnout," she scoffed, looking over at him again. "i'm not knocking your fun, i'm just telling you that we all know about it. at least you have a life."

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"Yeah? You ever see me and Dima play?" He seemed to perk up a little bit. While they weren't professionals by any means, the rag tag league they did put together for community purposes had a lot of fun together. "You can come to our games, too. Obviously. Since we'll need a ride. Why do you head up to the city so much?"

He was overly aware of her eyes on him, as well as the stifled giggles and whispers from the other side of the truck. He did his best to avoid her gaze, though his ears and cheeks were burning. He had thought it was a joke; both Wilde and Iris working here. They were both way too pretty to be doing this kind of work. And yet.... it seemed like every time Pyp came by, not only was Iris the only one who would touch his truck... she'd also be the one he wound up bickering with. "We are not burning out.... we're just trying to make fun."

"i don't mind hauling you to the city for hocky practice. i'm there three times a week minimum anyway, so it's nothing i'm not used to. besides, hockey is my favorite sport so i wouldn't mind sitting in on your practices." iris sighed, leaning against the nearest surface as she studied pyp's features. she did that a lot, but it was embarrassing to think about.

if you asked her verbally what she thought of him, iris would say pyp chamberlain was the most annoying person to exist. but if you listened to her heart race and watched the way her cheeks turned pink, you'd be able to call her on her bluff. "yes, the whole town knows. y'all are loud when you're burning out and smashing bottles."

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He trotted after her around the truck, idly running his fingers over it. He could have sworn he heard an audible giggle just as they disappeared from the shop's view. "Alright; sure. But that does mean sometimes we go to the city for hockey practice. They never thought to build a rink all the way out here, and it's summer, so the lake isn't an option. So you're either tagging along, or committing to letting me take yours til we're done." He gave her a look. "Does - the whole town know we do that?"

it seemed that they had finally reached an understanding, and iris let her shoulders relax. following pyp's gaze, she couldn't help but roll her eyes on the little crowd that had drawn, and without thinking she reached out to grab his arm, pulling him towards the truck so they were hidden from view. "so i'll be your ride for the foreseeable future. or if i'm stuck here, you can just borrow my truck to get where you're going. but i swear if i catch you and dima doing drunken donuts, i'll chop your head off. got it?"

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"Tell me about it," he cast a sidelong glance at Oz and Pyotr, who were still whispering with Wilde and Hennessy. When did he get here? Pyp shook his head. "And I was pretty stubborn about the truck back then, too. I guess we really are bound to repeat history if we don't learn from it." He let out a slow exhale before shrugging. "Honestly, the only reason my truck isn't a mess is because most of it is truck bed and my dad will insist I'll attract raccoons and possums and like... I don't know. Fae folk or something."

"must suck to have to go all the way to the city because we have stubborn assholes in town." iris wasn't effected by pyp's tone, her eyebrows raising as she looked up at him. "i know i did, i very clearly remember spending a lot of time trying to fix that thing. it fought me tooth and nail." she was smiling to herself now, head shaking in his direction. "just some gas money, and you're not allowed to judge the state of my truck. i'm working on cleaning it but at the end of the day, i'm a girl who commutes a lot."

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He just let out a huff - not dissimilar to a horse - and he could feel the eyes of everyone else in the shop on them. But when he turned to glare at them, they all somehow had something they were doing. "I don't care about saving money." He should - it's not like he made a lot. But that didn't matter. Pyp loved his truck and he idea of getting a new one made him want to tear off his skin. "Look, thanks and all, but I just want you to fix it, if you can. I don't really want to drive out to the city where I'll have to pay for gas and whatever the hell they upcharge me."

"no, i don't think i'll be doing that. you can keep parading your platonic lifemate around." she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him; iris wasn't a stranger to pyp chamberlain and his attitude, but she was one of the only people that refused to give into him. "god forbid someone try to save you a little money. but hey, it's your truck and your money, so who am i to argue?" she paused for a second, turning her back to him so she could face the truck. "i don't upcharge."

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Pyp just gave Dmitri a fond smile as he cracked open the redbull. "We're in the middle of nowhere, Dima. Normally, I'd agree with you. But it kind of feels like we can drink, spin donuts, and then just leave the car in the parking lot and walk home." He laughed as Dmitri shuddered. "Today? Heard about a supposedly cursed house. Other side of the lake. You wanna check it out?"

dmitri had to all but run and jump in the truck, his legs dangling out of it for a moment before he got settled in his seat. "some old people like to sleep in," he pointed out, happily taking the red bull and grinning at the loud POP it made when he cracked it open. "i prefer this over a beer any day; besides, you know i hate when you shotgun a beer and then we drive around. we need to be responsible adults, pyp, and that doesn't include dinking and driving." he paused to take a sip, shuddering as it sent a tingle up his spine. "where are we going?"

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"Yeah, that's called having fun. You're free to hop in the back and test it out some time." His snarl turned into a wrinkle as he shook his head. "No. I don't want a new truck. I don't care what it costs, or if I just have to duct tape pieces back onto it. It's not like you guys sell cars here anyway, why do you care if I spend more than it's worth? Isn't it kind of your job to upcharge me anyway?"

"i've seen you driving this thing around with dmitri kowalski hanging out the back of it; you may think you're nice to it, but you would be wrong." iris's features turned into an expression of annoyance as she set her torque wrench aside, arms crossing and one hip popping out as she practically glared at him. "i hate to be the bearer of bad news here, but fixing this thing will cost you more than just getting a new truck. maybe if you beg, they'll put it up in some museum for you so you can press your nose to the glass and drool over it."

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He had been impatiently drumming his fingers on the steering wheel and had even debated lying on the horn again when Dmitri burst from the house.

"It's 9 am; the old people should be up by now. Maybe I even helped them figure out it was time to turn on their hearing aid," Pyp argued back, extending a Red Bull to the boy. "Want one? I got a bunch in the truck bed; it's a little too early to start shotgunning beers. At least while we're still in view of anyone who could judge us for it."

admittedly, dimo hadn't been anywhere close to ready to go. he knew pyp would be right on time, and yet he still chose to fuck around with no pants on. dmitri's hustle to pull the denim up was interrupted by him tumbling over, the panic setting in as he heard his best friend yelling. it was two full minutes before he was upright again, clothes haphazard and shoes barely pulled on as he rushed towards the truck.

"anyone ever tell you how fucking impatient you are? i think you just woke up every old person in the neighborhood."

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There was little else Pyp could do but pace as Iris worked on his truck. He loved that truck more than just about anyone else, and the idea of losing it made him ill. As she approached him, though, his own face pulled back slightly in a snarl.

"I didn't do anything to it. I drive it. That's it. I don't take it off roading, I try to avoid as many potholes and shit roads as possible, and I service it when needed. It's just old. And I don't want a new one."

location: grind my gears auto shop

closed starter for: @hiddenxrituals (pyp)

iris's head had been under the hood of that truck for well over an hour, and she still couldn't figure out what the fuck was wrong with it. every time she plugged one hole, another would sprout up, earning the vehicle a loud and dramatic groan. she could hear oz and wilde snickering behind her, each earning a middle finger pointed blindly in their direction. nobody had wanted to work on pyp chamberlain's truck, and everyone underestimated iris. she was bound to prove them wrong.

"whatever the fuck you did," iris growled, jumping down from her step stool to approach pip, a torque wrench in her hands and the attitude all over her face. "you royally fucked up. this thing is barely holding on."

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"I don't think you can't fix anything," Pyp rolled his eyed. "Otherwise I would have insisted Oz work on my car or something. "You work here - you've gotta be good at your job. This town is too small for fuck arounds." His expression turned from irritated to something between curious and irritable. "I hate the way Dima drives. There's a reason I'm the one that picks him up all the time." He didn't really feel the need to correct her - not like she was saying it to try to figure out if he was single with the venom she was spitting his way (not that he was doing any better).

"yeah, well, most people assume that i can't fix anything, so what's one more?" she was rolling her eyes again, but with his back turned to her, it was more for herself than anything. however, as she caught wilde's gaze and watched her snicker, iris let out what could only be described as a growl. "if you're gonna be outside, you may as well just leave for the day. this ain't getting solved in one day, chamberlain." she reached for a wrench, tapping it against her palm as she turned to look at him. "m'sure your boyfriend could help you out with a ride."