Octavia had always considered herself to be an early riser, unlike Vinyl. She knew from experience that the pony would stay in bed until well beyond noon. The sight of Vinyl sprawled out over her sofa, snoring loudly, the blanket in tangles around her form, was something that Octavia had simply grown accustomed to, once upon a time.

She still couldn't believe that the pony had simply trotted back into her life. Octavia had always assumed that every bridge had been burned, that both of them had, in turn, salted the earth and left, never to look back. Now, here she was. Again.

Octavia paused at the couch to look her over, trying to ignore her feelings. That part of her life was over, done with. Vinyl however, looked the same. She could almost predict what would happen. When she woke up, she would drag herself to a sitting position, run her hooves through her mane in a futile replacement for brushing, and ask for coffee. Well, she hadn't kept coffee in the house since...well, since she left. Let Vinyl be disappointed. She should be glad that she didn't simply close the door.

Yet, when she was sleeping, Vinyl always looked so...lonely. And there it was, that urge to fix the blanket, take her sunglasses off of her face, and snuggle up to her. Gently, slowly, she lifted the glasses up, which had fallen askew while she slept. She set them on the table. She should have done this last night, but the blanket had been enough.

Hadn't she cared for her enough back when they were...

Octavia shook her head as she moved to the kitchen. Those thoughts were corrosive, and would lead nowhere productive. They were over. Done with.

She filled her kettle with water, putting it on the stove and turning the heat on. She picked up an apple from the bowl on the kitchen table. She smiled at it. Sweet Apple Acres had the best apples in all of Equestria, and even though the prices for them in Manehatten was ridiculous, the taste was worth it.

Octavia set the apple down, uneaten, looking towards the living room.

“Vinyl.” She spoke softly, in a wistful sigh. “You came back. With nopony else to turn to, true, but...you came back.”

Now, Octavia simply needed to decide on, was if she had been correct in allowing her back. Was she still in love with Vinyl Scratch? She had been, once upon a time. The time they had shared as roommates (and something more, she realized with a hint of a blush) was intense, with emotions running high. Even now, the sight of her on her sofa brought back memories. It made her heart jump, but it also made her remember the screaming and the insults. The fight.

The fight that had broken them both, driven them apart for what should have been forever. Octavia had waited for her, but Vinyl never came back. So she had moved on.

Octavia should have turned her away. Slammed the door in her face, let her sleep on a park bench for all she cared.

A part of her still did care, however. Vinyl had mentioned a fire, and something told her that the saddlebag may have been all she had left. There certainly didn’t seem to be room for her turntables in there. Certainly some feelings must have remained in her.

Vinyl had said hurtful things. Broke something near and dear to her. Octavia realized however, that she was far from innocent herself.

“Celestia, it must have been...three years now? Four?” Octavia contemplated her apple. “How long since we saw each other? What were we even fighting about?”

Octavia put her apple back in the bowl, her appetite gone.

“And whose fault was it?”

Vinyl woke up just after two, sitting upright with a groan. Dreams lingered on the edge of her mind, but they were slipping away with each blink of her eyes. They hadn’t been bad, she could remember that much. She gave a yawn, stretching her forehooves up to her mane, giving it a few strokes to brush it back into position. She didn’t bother looking for a mirror. It’d look good enough.

Vinyl blinked sleep out of her eyes, looking around. She could see Octavia through the kitchen door, who had turned to look at her with an expressionless face.

“Coffee?” she muttered out as she reached for her sunglasses, tossing them over her eyes.

She could have sworn there was a hint of a smile on Octavia’s face, but then it was replaced by the cold, calm expression she had seen last night.

“I have tea.”

“No coffee?”

“No coffee.”

“Did I die in the fire, and is this hell?”

A teacup and saucer thumped down on the coffee table. “Vinyl, what did I tell you about trying my patience?”

Vinyl was silent for a moment. She picked up the teacup, ignoring the saucer.

“Sorry.” She took a sip of the tea while she contemplated what to say next. “Thank you.”

“It’s black tea.” Octavia said, as she went back into the kitchen. “It should have enough caffeine in it to get you moving in the afternoon.”

Vinyl gave a nod, and in one scalding motion, drained the rest of the tea.

Octavia shook her head. “You’ll never change, will you?”

Vinyl gave a shrug to that. She simply stared ahead at the fireplace, which had since burned down to embers. Just like her apartment, she thought with a pang. It, and everything she had owned. Except what was in her saddlebag. It wasn’t much. Two records, a scarf, an extra pair of glasses. A small bag of bits. Nothing important. No necklace, and no picture.

Octavia’s voice shook her out of her thoughts.

“Huh?” she said, turning to look at her.

“I said, what are you going to do now?” Octavia watched her over her teacup. Vinyl wasn’t sure if she had imagined the concern in her voice or not. Maybe it was just wishful thinking.

Vinyl turned back towards the fire. “I dunno. All my music...my turntables...”

She fell silent. It was gone.

Octavia watched her in silence, watching as the mare slowly came to terms with losing everything. It was hard to keep the feeling of anger in her mind, watching her like this. Like Octavia, Vinyl’s special talent was music. It may not have been music that she agreed with, but it was what she liked. It was her livelihood.

The display did not move her to comfort her, however. Too much had been said, and still remained between them, hovering unseen.

Yet it still tugged at her.

Octavia had nothing to offer. She had contacts in the music world of course, but considering the gap in their styles, it was nothing that her contacts would be willing to embrace. Octavia busied herself with the kettle, setting another cup of tea on the table.

Vinyl picked it up, but didn’t drink it.

“I still have...some prospects.” Vinyl spoke finally. “I’ll ask around. Call in some favors. We’ll see. I’ll try to be as quick as I can.”

Vinyl set the still full cup of tea down, and slid off of the couch. She rummaged through her saddlebag, throwing her scarf around her neck; blocks of color in varying shades of blue, matching her mane.

“Vinyl?” Octavia spoke, as the white mare trotted towards the door. Vinyl turned around.

“I have a recital tonight. I’ll...leave the spare key under the flowerpot for you.”

Vinyl looked like she wanted to say something, hesitating at the door. Then she nodded, gave a slight smile of thanks as she opened the door, and was gone.

Seven hours later, Vinyl’s hooves were killing her.

She had trotted all over town, not bothering with public transportation. Until she got out of this mess, that little bag of bits was going to have to last a while. Celestia forbid she ask Octavia for money. Even asking her for somewhere to sleep had been a stretch. It was amazing that she hadn’t simply left her out on her flank.

Her prospects were evaporating left and right. Without her records and her turntables, she couldn’t put on any show. Even one new turntable would cost more than she could afford. A few clubs had offered to provide equipment, but they didn’t exactly have any music to spare.

Most of the radio stations in town weren’t hiring. One of stations she had spoken to thought that there may have been an opening for a technician job, and Vinyl certainly knew her way around a sound system, but it wasn’t anything solid.

She had stopped by her apartment. The rubble was still smoking.

Her trot had slowed to a depressed walk. Just one job, and she’d be able to work herself up again. New equipment, new records, and then she’d be back to doing what she loved. Until then, though...

Vinyl gave a shout of anger. She had run herself ragged all over town, and had nothing to show for it. Now, it was the walk of shame, back to Octavia’s townhouse. The lights were off, and the door was locked.

“Right! Flower pot!”

Just as promised, there was a silver key hidden underneath the flower pot. A part of her had wondered, during her travels around town, if it was going to be there when she had got back. She pictured Octavia debating whether or not to put it there.

Vinyl closed and locked the door behind her, flipping on the lights. Octavia wouldn’t be back for another hour or so. Vinyl could feel the emptiness in the house.

“This how you felt, Tavi?” She asked aloud. “When I walked out, and left you all alone?”

Vinyl had been angry. She had shouted. Octavia had shouted back. They yelled. Insulted each other. Broke things, things that they knew would hurt each other. Then Vinyl had left, stormed out, leaving Octavia in an empty apartment.

Vinyl should have come back right after. However, anger had given way to shame, and shame to embarrassment. The more she had thought about it, the more she had been convinced that Octavia would never forgive her.

So she tried to move on. But she couldn’t. She had kept the picture. And the necklace. She never wore it. She couldn’t bring herself to do so. But it was the only tangible link she had had to Octavia. A link to a time when she was happy.

Vinyl couldn’t help herself. She felt a tear roll down her cheek, sliding along the curve of her muzzle. She trotted over to her saddlebag, pulled the sack of bits out, and dashed out of the townhouse at a full gallop. She couldn’t handle this alone. She needed something.

Octavia smiled as she stepped down from the carriage. It had been a delightful night. Her recital had gone perfectly, as usual, and she had handled it with poise and grace, and had even managed to keep thoughts of Vinyl from clouding her mind. Then dinner and drinks with Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis! She had flagged herself after her third glass of wine. A lady needed to keep a clear head.

Carefully, she carried her cello case up the steps. She tried the door, finding it unlocked. It seemed that Vinyl had remembered where she had placed the spare key. A nice soothing cup of tea, and then bed. She leaned her cello into the corner, stepping into the living room.

“Hey Tavi. How’d it go?”

The words sounded slurred, but Octavia couldn’t find where they were coming from. Then she noticed it; a white hoof poking out from under an armchair. She moved the chair aside to find Vinyl, slumped in the corner. She looked up at her, eyes unfocused, her sunglasses laying forgotten next to her.

Tear tracks ran down her cheeks and muzzle, her eyes were bloodshot from a combination of drinking and crying. Vinyl raised a bottle to her mouth, throwing it back and gulping down the last third of the bottle, letting it clatter to the floor as she lowered it.

It joined another empty bottle.

“Lost it. Lost it all, Tavi. I lost it.” She muttered, making no move to get up.

“It’s....It’s okay, Vinyl.” Octavia had seen Vinyl drunk before. When you worked as a DJ, drinking was an unwritten part of the job description. It had never been like this, though. Wild and loud, yes. Sobbing, no.

“Not. Not. Not okay. S’not.”

Vinyl staggered as she climbed up, but her hooves couldn’t seem to find any placement under her. Octavia stepped back as she stumbled, one hoof against the stone of the fireplace. She started forward again, but slid sideways. Octavia reached out, letting Vinyl lean against her.

“Easy, Vinyl.” What could she say? The mare was beyond drunk in her home. She should have been furious. Looking at her, though...It was pitiful. It must have been the wine. More than two glasses always did this to her; made her relaxed, and mellow. “You’ll get it all back again. A new apartment, new records.”

Vinyl pushed away from her, falling onto her side on the carpet. “Who cares! About the place. I don’t.”

“Lost it all. Lost what mattered. Lost the picture. Lost the necklace. All of you I ever had left. I lost it. And it’s gone. Gone, gone...” Vinyl choked out, before her voice was lost in sobs.

Octavia sat down next to her, reaching out to touch Vinyl’s side, trying to reassure her. The picture and the necklace. An entire apartment burned to the ground, and that was what she was concerned about. The anniversary present.

“Remember, Tavi? Remember the necklace?”

Octavia closed her eyes. She hadn’t thought about that in a long time.

“Yes. I do.” She couldn’t help but smile at the thought. It was a pleasant memory, one that brought back both happiness and pain. “I...I had gotten it for you. For us. I wanted to get us something special for our first year anniversary.”

Octavia knew the necklace well. It was simple, an extremely basic accessory by all standards. A plain, silver medallion on a matching chain. One side of the medallion had been engraved with a treble clef, the other, a bridged pair of eighth notes. Their cutie marks.

“Loved that necklace. Loved you. Never stopped.”

Octavia looked down at her. Her eyes were closed, but tears still streamed from the closed lids.

“I ruined it. Ruined us. I’m sorry. So sorry.”

Octavia closed her eyes, fighting back her own tears. “You left, Vinyl. You broke my cello, and you left me waiting. And you never came home. I waited. I wanted you back. And you never came back.”

“What was it?” Vinyl asked. “What’d we fight about?”

Octavia let out a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob. “I was hoping you remembered.”

They could both remember the fight. They had shouted at each other. Vinyl’s unicorn magic had snapped the neck clean off of her cello. Octavia, as an earth pony, didn’t have the luxury of magic. She had, however, used her powerful legs to shatter an entire box of her records in just one buck, and had turned her attention to Vinyl’s turntable while Vinyl broke her bow in half.

However, neither of them could remember which one of them had broken something first.

“You broke my cello...and then you left. That’s what hurt, Vinyl. That’s what hurt more.” Octavia said, letting her tears flow freely. “It was just an instrument.”

Octavia trailed her hoof across Vinyl’s mane, gently stroking it. She wasn’t sobbing anymore, but she was still crying.

“Do you remember our special place?” Octavia asked.

“The hilltop. The park.” Vinyl said softly. “Always looked forward to the rain.”

“Every time it rained, we’d go there.”

“And all the other ponies would go home...” Vinyl sniffed, opening her eyes and looking up at her. “And we’d sit.”

Octavia looked down at her, meeting her eyes, the lovely magenta eyes. “And we’d sit. We’d watch the rain over the city, while we got soaked. We’d stay out there until we were freezing.”

Vinyl gave a laugh. “We...We were the only ponies in town...who looked forward to a rainstorm!”

“And we were always alone, just you and I...”

“And when we couldn’t take it anymore...”

“We galloped home.” Octavia said with a smile. “We would dry off, and get warm.”

“Together.” Vinyl said.

Octavia smiled at the memories.

“I...I never went back there.” Vinyl said quietly. “I...I couldn’t. Couldn’t handle it. Didn’t deserve it.”

“Vinyl. I went back.” Octavia said, leaning down to pull her up and into her arms. “I still went. Every rainstorm, for months afterward. Hoping I’d see you there.”

Vinyl’s hooves wrapped around her neck, pulling herself closer to Octavia, nuzzling into her neck and letting out a sob. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Octavia stood up now, easing Vinyl towards the couch. “Come, Vinyl. You need sleep. I think...We’ve had enough reminiscing for one night.”

Vinyl groaned, but didn’t protest. It wasn’t the first time Octavia had carried a drunken Vinyl. Was that what they had fought about? Octavia wished she could remember. It seemed so...so idiotic, looking back on it. Whatever they had fought about had been so tiny that they couldn’t remember it?

Vinyl let out a grunt as Octavia moved her onto the couch. Vinyl’s body sprawled out across the cushions. As Octavia moved to get up, Vinyl’s hoof grabbed her own.

“Stay with me tonight?” Vinyl asked, looking up at her, with those beautiful eyes. “Please?”

Octavia couldn’t help it. A smile crossed her face. “Sure.”

She gently eased Vinyl’s head up, sitting down, letting Vinyl’s head rest against her legs. Vinyl nuzzled into her.

“Tavi?”

“Yes Vinyl?”

“Can we fix this? Us?” Vinyl asked, and Octavia could hear the pain in her voice. The hope.

“I don’t know.” Octavia said truthfully, stroking over Vinyl’s mane in smooth, soft strokes. “Just enjoy the moment, Vinyl.”

“Kayyy.” She said softly. So much still drifted in the air between them, left unsaid, but the tension had lifted. “Missed you, Octy.”

“Missed you too, Vinyl.” Octavia said, smiling fully for the first time since Vinyl had shown up on her doorstep.

It didn’t take long for Vinyl’s breathing to become slow and even, before giving way to the snore that Octavia had grown used to so long ago. Carefully, she extracted herself from under her head, looking at her, considering her. Vinyl had kept the necklace, and now it was gone.

“Can we fix this?” Octavia whispered. “I really don’t know. But I’d like to try.”

Octavia trotted up the stairs, knowing exactly what she was looking for. Octavia had kept her necklace as well, tucked in her jewelry box. After all these years. She looked at it as she descended the stairs, spinning the medallion around, to view the engraved musical symbols on either side. She paused just enough to turn off the lights, before she loosened her bow tie collar, setting it on the table.

She contemplated the necklace. It was simple, but Octavia had requested it that way. She knew that Vinyl never wore anything flashy and ornate. Would it be enough to help? She slid the necklace over her head, the first time she had worn it in years. It seemed to bring her comfort, and just a bit of hope.

Carefully, she slid alongside Vinyl. The couch was less than roomy, but it’d be enough for now. She pulled the white mare into her hooves, holding her close as she slid the blanket up over both of them. She took in her scent, hidden under the alcohol.

She relaxed against her, listening to her breathing. It wasn’t perfect. But it was a start.

Author's Note

Maybe I should have broken this up into two chapters. Oh well. A bit more sappy romance. For those waiting for sex, patience. We'll get there in time.