Octavia sighed in relief as she bowed; the sounds of polite hoof stamping filled one of Canterlot's Grand Music Halls signaled the end of the last Hearths Warming Eve performance of the year. Once her fellow ensemble-mates and herself left the stage and out of sight of other ponies, Octavia then proceeded to roll her shoulders and pop her neck.
"My goodness does it feel good to finally get that crick out of my neck." Octavia exclaimed.
"I'll say," Frederic rang in, "Whose idea was it again that we accept this request on such short notice? Especially for a 3-hour, non-interrupted performance?"
"Certainly wasn't me. I was the one who was oppose to us doing a show on Hearths Warming Eve," Beauty stated as she carefully pulled an ear plug out of her left ear.
"In either case, another job well done for all of us," Octavia then trotted over to her belongings, which included her personal cello, and prepared to go, "We can now rest easy and enjoy the holidays until our next performance in Spring."
Frederic then smirked and asked, "Speaking of the holidays, did you-?"
"The answer is 'no'," She responded almost immediately, cutting Frederic off.
"What? I didn't even ask yet."
"No need to, Beauty and yourself always ask the same question year after year. Ever since I moved to Ponyville and decided to cohabitate with Vinyl, you both have asked the same question. The only one who hasn't asked is Parish, and apparently that is because he prefers to be a stallion of few words."
Beauty giggled, "Come now, Octavia, we're just curious if Miss Scratch and yourself might have moved past being 'just friends' over the past year; and, of course, we're also interested in being happy for you once you do find somepony special to you."
Octavia nodded in understanding, "I see, and I suppose this isn't just the three of you seeking out some juicy new rumor to possibly gossip about?"
"Of course not, no. We would never."
"I can already see how that will look in the headlines once the new year starts, 'Famous Cellist Snogging Night Club DJ'," Octavia remarked with a smirk.
"In our defense, Octavia, we would never use the word 'snogging'," Frederic rang in, "far too uncouth sounding for us, I think. Perhaps a more elegant phrase like, 'lovingly caressing their lips'." earning a chuckle from Beauty and Parish.
Octavia shook her head and rolled her eyes, then quickly gathered up all her things before turning to leave, "I'm leaving now. I wish you three a Happy Hearths Warming."
The others bade her farewell as Octavia left and trotted out into the snow-covered city.
She did know that the others were merely joking around, and any personal information she decides to share about her life would be kept between them, but really wished they wouldn't try prying into her love life. Vinyl and herself were merely friends, and housemates, or at least that's what Octavia wants to believe.
Sighing as she made her way towards the train station, Octavia thought about her relationship with Vinyl. Despite her own personal feelings that the relationship between them was simply platonic, she couldn't quite deny that there had been a few moments that she had wondered the possibility of there being more.
It had been years since Vinyl and herself decided to cohabitate, mostly out of interest of splitting the bills, and in that time she had come to really know the highly-energetic DJ and the little quirks in her personality. Such as, despite her loud and boisterous attitude in public, Vinyl can be rather quiet and reserved when she felt like it, and at times seemed to take comfort in wrapping herself in a blanket to quietly lay down in her chair.
Octavia quietly giggled at the thought.
"Hey, Tavi!" a voice suddenly rang in, as Octavia felt somepony body bumping right into the side of her body, almost throwing her off balance.
"Vinyl!" she scolded the other mare once she was sure she had her balance back and was no longer concerned that her cello was going to fall off her back.
"Finally finished your concert? Did it go well?" Vinyl asked.
"Yes, the concert went well. Though I'm quite ready to go home and lay down in my bed."
"Yeah, I think I catch your drift, Octy. Long gig, long time in bed."
Octavia smirked as the pair continued their way towards the train station, "So, what about you, Vinyl? How was your gig at the palace?"
"Not bad. Might've been more interesting if I had time to set up some lights to go with the music, but not exactly easy to do that without...ya know, possibly damaging a few pillars and walls."
"You say that as if you've never done that before, Scratch." Octavia jokingly remarked bumping Vinyl a bit as she did.
Vinyl chuckled as she turned her head away with her ear flat against her head, "In my defense, most property damage claims at my gigs aren't my fault."
Octavia noted Vinyl's body posture, particularly how Vinyl seemed to be looking away from her. Vinyl's signature glasses usually hide her eyes quite well, especially since they're fairly opaque from the front, but as mentioned before Octavia knew Vinyl well enough by now and could tell that Vinyl was averting her gaze.
The pair then remained silent as they trotted side-by-side to the train station. All the while, Octavia occasionally looked at Vinyl with a confused expression. It wasn't typical of Vinyl to be this quiet, especially if she didn't have her headphones over her ears.
Upon arriving at the station, they didn't need to wait long before their train back to Ponyville arrived at the station. The silence continued even as they boarded and found their seats. At this point Vinyl had noticeably cheered up significantly and was now smiling as usual, though Octavia had the feeling that the smile wasn't fully genuine, and wondered if Vinyl was merely wearing a mask to preserve her public image.
Still, Octavia was tried, so she decided to welcome to the silence from her cohort for the time being, in spite how out-of-character it seemed for Vinyl at this time.
"Vinyl, I'm going to take a nap for a second. Would you mind waking me if we arrive at Ponyville and I'm still asleep?"
"Hm? Oh..., um, sure thing, Octy."
"Thank you," Octavia stated, before adjusting herself in her seat to get more comfortable and closing her eyes to rest, and eventually fell asleep.
After a long while, Octavia started to stir from her slumber, which was quickly noticed by Vinyl.
"Sup, Octy. You sleep well?" Vinyl greeted her.
"Yes, I think so," She responded as she sat back up, before looking out the window to see the snow-covered landscape still rolling by, "I see we're not at Ponyville yet."
Vinyl gave a brief nod, "Yeah, we're still an hour out from Ponyville."
"I see," she then paused as she looked at Vinyl, everything looking like it had been before she fell asleep, "Did something happen while I was sleeping?"
"Nah, nothing worth really mentioning."
"So, you've just been sitting there the entire trip so far?"
"I guess time just flies watching the landscape go by," Vinyl offered with a shrug.
Octavia remained silent for a moment, before letting out a sigh, "Okay, so what is bothering you, Vinyl?"
"Wha? Huh...?"
"You're only this quiet when something is on your mind or something is bugging you."
Vinyl forced a chuckle, "Come on, Octy, you've seen me quiet before."
"Yes, I've seen you quiet before, but I've also known you long enough to know that you're only THIS quiet, meaning without any form of distraction such as you working on something for your next gig or without any music, when something is bothering you. So, what's wrong?"
Vinyl remained silent, the slight movement in her head meaning she was looking away from Octavia again.
"If it's about the nobles in Canterlot, I know some of them can be quite outspoken about their dislike for most modern musical pieces, but-"
"Oh, no it's not that," Vinyl interrupted her, using a forehoof to wave away the notion, "Even if she is new at the job, the fact Princess Twilight and her friends like hiring me for performances is good enough to keep most of those stuffy ponies out my mane. Besides, not like they can say much when the job request is for a private party."
"So, if it isn't about any of Canterlot's nobility bothering you about your taste is music, what pray tell is bothering you enough to be unusually silent today?"
Vinyl once again fell silent as she tried getting her thoughts in order, and her ears gave a nervous twitch. All the while, Octavia patiently awaited Vinyl's response.
"It's just...I've been thinking about..." Vinyl then started to trail off.
Octavia waited for Vinyl to continue, but when she didn't, "Careful, Vinyl, if you think too much, you might break something up there," she joked with a bit of a smirk.
"Oh, come on! You know this isn't the first time I've been deeply lost in thought, and nothing bad has happened before."
"As the saying goes dearest Vinyl, 'There's a first time for everything'," Octavia rebutted.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
Octavia then giggled, "In all seriousness, Vinyl, whatever you have to say is clearly important enough to keep you pre-occupied. Ultimately, if you choose to tell me, I'll be willing to hear you out."
"Thanks. It's just that, I've had this thought going on in my mind for a while now, and it's really starting to even interfere with my work."
"Really now?! That's actually more than I expected you to say, Vinyl. It really must be something important."
"Yeah, and it sort of includes you."
"Me?" She asked in a surprised tone.
"Yeah...Look, you're free to answer however you want, but..." Vinyl then sighed and looked back outside at the passing landscape, "In your opinion, Octy, what are we?"
"I...beg your pardon?"
"What are we?" she repeated, "I mean, we've known each other for so long, we practically know each others' little tells. Are we, you know...friends? Or are we more than that?"
Octavia blushed, "O-Oh, you meant this sort of topic. I see...Well, I would assume that we are friends, rather good friends to be more precise."
"Oh...right...gotcha, Tavi," Vinyl responded as her ears flattened against her head.
"What brought this on, Vinyl?"
"Like I said, we've known each other for a long time, and I think we really have bonded well despite our different tastes of musical preference."
"Yes, to that I agree, but why are you asking about more now? Have you always seen me as a potential romantic interest?"
"No, of course not. Don't get me wrong, Octy, you're not unattractive or anything like that. It just...it didn't cross my mind at first since I figured we were just living together to cut costs. Celestia knows that doing that helped immensely in keep a roof over my head early on in my career as a DJ."
"So, why now?"
"It was just after Lyra and Bons tied the knot. It just got me thinking about how close they were to each other, and well they just 'clicked' in most situations, and how...I sort of felt the same way with you."
"..."
"Don't get me wrong, I know we don't interact with each other the same way they do, but it just got me thinking about how close we were and how we interact with one another," Vinyl then turned her attention back to Octavia, "We just sort of get each other, you know? I know what makes you tick, what your favorite tunes are to relax, and what I can do to cheer you up after a bad day; and the reverse is true too. Horseapples, I think you know my little tells to figure out my mood better than my own family does."
"Hm, that is true. I do seem to have developed a skill in predicting your mood," Octavia agreed with a nod.
"So...yeah...now you know what's going on in my head, and that I would...really like to be closer to you," Vinyl remarked as she scratched her forelimb.
Octavia silently thought about what Vinyl had just said, and how clearly she wasn't the only one between them who was wondering the same thing.
"Well, the ball is in your court, Tavi."
"I'm aware of that," She then paused to think further then took a deep breath before slowly letting it all out, "Well, I suppose for the sake of our friendship, I'll be fully honest also. The idea of us being more has crossed my mind more than once."
"Really?!"
"Not as early as you, but, yes, I've often thought about how close we are as friends, and how I do find many moments with you to be rather endearing."
"So..." Vinyl tried pushing her to continue.
"And perhaps even entertained the thought of us being a couple, but I'm not certain if I would like to be serious about us being a couple."
"Oh..." Vinyl immediately looked down again, until Octavia raised a hoof in front of her.
"That is unless, you let me see your eyes."
"My eyes? Why do you want to see my eyes? You can already tell my expressions when I have them on."
"True, but if you really desire us to be more, I want to see you at least once without your glasses."
Vinyl forced a chuckle, "Can't just love me unconditionally, huh?"
"'Love' is such a strong word, Vinyl, so I wouldn't say that so early on," Octavia remarked with a smile, "It's more like...I want to see the pony I'm going to open up to fully, not the masked unicorn I've known so far."
At that point, Octavia raised a hoof, gesturing for Vinyl to give her, her signature glasses. Vinyl merely looked at Octavia's hoof before looked back up at her.
"You're serious...? You really do want to see me without my glasses?"
Octavia nodded in response.
"Alright, but please, don't...freak out, alright?"
Before Octavia could ask what she meant by that, Vinyl was already looking around them to see if anypony else was here before using her magic to remove her glasses and putting them in Octavia's hoof. Upon seeing Vinyl's eyes, Octavia had a surprised look as she noted their color. While Vinyl's eye color had a magenta appearance, it also seemed a little darker than that, almost red in color.
"Oh my, your eye color certainly wasn't what I was expecting."
"Yeah, I know..." Vinyl remarked as she nervously grinned, "They're suppose to be like...dark magenta, kinda like Rainbow Dash's, but they sort of changed a bit as I got older."
"It certainly is quite the unique appearance, Vinyl. They rather look almost like a vivid maroon color. It's actually quite fetching in my opinion."
"You're not bothered by my eyes? I would've figured you'd think I'm some sort of weirdo for having a weird eye color."
"Just another reason why I think you're a unique individual," Octavia stated as she put Vinyl's glasses back on her face, "And, another reason why I can find myself smitten with you at times."
"So, you want to be...you know, more than friends?"
"As you said, we know each other better than many others, and you clearly have enough conviction that you trust me with knowing something you keep from everypony else." Octavia then scooted closer and cuddled with Vinyl, "It will take some time for us to adjust, but I am open to having a stronger relationship with you past being just your friend."
Vinyl gave a happy smile as she reached around and held Octavia closer to her, "Promise, I won't make you regret this, Octy."
"Oh, right, I do have one more condition, if you would humor me."
"Oh? What is that?"
"Obviously, I'm sure certain ponies in your inner circle will pick up on it sooner or later, but if you could refrain from calling me your 'special somepony' till after New Years day, that would be appreciated."
"Sure, but why until after New Years?"
"I just don't want to hear it from my ensemble-mates that I had purposely deceived them when they asked if we had become more than friends this year," Octavia chuckled, "You know, the same question they've asked me every year for some time now, and I have denied every time."
Vinyl just laughed, loud enough to attract attention if there were anyone else in the train car with them.
Octavia did get a bit annoyed that Vinyl had laughed that loudly, and so close to her ear no less, but she felt happy all the same to hear that laugh from her. Afterall, it was that same energy that she found charming the first time they met, and was open to having her as a housemate.
Author's Note
As mentioned this is a Jinglemas request for Sonicsuns, who asked for a romantic story with Octavia and Vinyl.
I do hope that this did the request justice, and you guys all enjoyed this little story, especially Sonicsuns. Happy Holidays, all!
-Blueninetails
