"Four in the morning?" Octavia craned her head to look at the time for herself, keeping her hooves busy with the preparations. "Sheesh is right. I hope you know that this is your fault, Vinyl. Remind me why we're making breakfast from scratch at four in the morning instead of- oh, I don't know- getting a bowl of cereal and some toast? That would seem much more practical... Then again, nothing seems practical at four in the morning. At least I'm off for the next couple weeks until recitals pick up again." The cellist tapered off, returning to her work as the DJ nipped at her ear. With the exception lightly swatting Vinyl with her tail, the mare didn't seem to react to it all that much.

And there's that question again... Octavia knew she couldn't keep dodging it, but the DJ's last statement earned a soft, sarcastic laugh from the mare. "Dear Vinyl. I hate your stinkin' guts. You make me vomit. You are the scum between my soles. Love, 'Tavi." The mare threw a backwards glance at Vinyl as she quoted a rather famous line from an old comedy, hoping she would catch the reference, or even better, the implication she was providing. In the film, a school-aged filly was writing a letter to his crush, reciting the aforementioned statement in front of his two friends. What he actually wrote, however, read:

I can't live without you...
Really...
I'm not kidding.

Octavia watched her curiously for a moment before busying herself once more, knowing that if Vinyl hadn't seen the film, things were fixing to get much more awkward. "I can explain the reference if you don't get it... Anyways..." She cleared her throat, turning around to fetch the strainer from one of the bottom drawers. "You know as well as I do that we both drove each other crazy when we first met. You thought I was a pompous dork, and I thought you were a crude drunk. Our music clashed. Our lifestyles clashed. WE clashed on several occasions. I don't think I need to bring up that time with the rolling pin and the TV again..." Octavia scoffed, now washing the potatoes that were already stripped. "We were constantly looking for ways to get revenge on one another, and I even considered moving back to Canterlot... But then you did something that piqued my interest." The mare's violet eyes darted over Vinyl's features again as she reminisced, earning a soft smile.

"You were experimenting with those terrible synthetic symphony sounds one night... I hated it so much that I offered to record the sounds for you. We ended up working together, composing what you might say our first collaboration, which were- oh how did you say it- 'smashing'? Anyways... I started to attend some of your performances to see how the track sounded, and you started attending mine in return. We began to see past our differences and become friends. It was sometime between that and when I declined my invitation to return home to Canterlot that I've wanted to outright kiss you..." Octavia paused, turning around once more to retrieve the grater from the same drawer. "I bet you didn't know that one, did you... I turned down a free pass home just to stay with you. So... the time between that moment and now... That's how long I've been waiting. There's your answer." The mare returned to the counter, proceeding to grate down chunks of potatoes into small slivers. "Can you turn on the stove for me, dear? We'll almost have this ready by the time it heats up."

Octavia simply stared at Vinyl as she chuckled to herself, her expression remaining serious and straight as an arrow as the DJ fumbled through her words. Not even a hint of amusement crossed her features, even when Vinyl was going through her lists of reasons... Granted, the mare was practically burning up with all of her compliments, but Octavia kept it hidden, at least for the moment. But one particular comment struck a rather odd chord with her... "A lot more fun than I seem? What is that supposed to mean?" Octavia edged closer, ignoring Vinyl's intermittent questions for the moment. "Question two," she continued, not even giving Vinyl the chance to recover, furrowing her brows in thought once more.

What she did next might come rather surprising... While Octavia had Vinyl's full, undivided attention, and undoubtedly had her on the ropes, the cellist moved forward and planted a kiss right on Vinyl's muzzle. Up until now, the DJ had given her small tokens of affection, but this time, Octavia made the move, making it much more prominent and longer lasting. After a few moments, the mare finally pulled away, a small smile adorning her lips. "Do you regret it?" Once again, a simple enough question... It was the same, yet different at the same time considering its context. This time, it was Octavia who blushed and stood nervously.

Octavia quirked a brow, eyeing Vinyl curiously as she seemed to trip over her own words. She wasn't too surprised, honestly, given that much of what happened was a direct result of alcohol on both her and Vinyl's account. Now that its effects had worn off, Vinyl seemed to be a bit at a loss, perhaps even nervous. "I see," Octavia replied in short, more addressing her own thoughts than Vinyl. The cellist wasn't very proficient in these kinds of discussions, but one thing was definitely for certain: this was something Vinyl had wanted for a long time... And perhaps even Octavia herself, although it would be much harder for her to admit as such. The mare broke away from Vinyl, ears forward and head bowed deep in thought as she paced around the room. "You know what I think?" she finally continued, halfway turning to lean against the counter. "If my hunch is correct, you've wanted this to happen for quite some time, Vinyl." Octavia pushed herself off the counter, now returning to Vinyl's side so she could get a good look at her face. "I'm not even going to ask why it happened the way it did, but I will ask you one thing, Vinyl Pon-three Scratch..." Now there was something that would catch her attention. Octavia rarely utilized the DJ's name in that form, but one might say it has the same effect as a mother addressing her foal by their full, un-abbreviated name. "Put that down and look at me for a moment."

Octavia murmured quietly in some form of protest as Vinyl lifted her head, blushing as scarlet as a grey pony could as the unicorn leaned forward to kiss her cheek, followed by a series of small, tired 'mehs' as she began to poke her side. Blinking slowly, Octavia finally sat up a little and rubbed her eyes, yawning heavily as she nodded sleepily in response to Vinyl's questions. "I probably slept better than I have in a long time... Certainly much better than I've been in Canterlot..." Octavia put a hoof to her head, blinking again as she sat up all the way and dangled her hind legs off the edge of the couch. Although generally frowned upon in Canterlot, the position was rather odd, yet comfortable. "No headache, but I do feel lightheaded... And thirsty as a horse... Is it really morning already?" The mare looked around for a moment, gauging the sun's brightness that filtered through some nearby curtains. "I suppose I can let you do that," she said with a coy smile, gingerly hopping off the couch as she stood and yawned for a few moments. "I trust you won't set fire to anything? We don't want a repeat of the pudding incident."

Octavia froze for a moment, face flushed and blinking absently as the words she just heard didn't quite register properly at first. "Whoa there, Vinyl, hold your horses. Shouldn't we--uh, I mean... Uh... Oh....." She nearly flustered herself until she saw Vinyl yawn sleepily, ears drooping in embarrassment as she sighed quietly in relief. "N-nevermind, just forget that I said anything." Laughing nervously, the cellist adjusted herself to lay comfortably across Vinyl, tucking her head just underneath the DJ's snout and the crux of her shoulder. It was truly a comfortable feeling, and even though the pair had never really cuddled in this sense, it wasn't a foreign feeling due to the amount of time they've spent together.

"You know, you were zipping around earlier... Did this wear you out that much? We've hardly done a thing... Although a nap does sound lovely." Octavia moved her head slightly, glancing up to see Vinyl's reaction. "There you go with those glasses again... How do you even sleep with those?"

Octavia couldn't help but snicker at Vinyl's high pitched voice, but she otherwise remained relatively silent and still as the DJ continued to speak and re-situate herself... Her gaze never really returned to Vinyl, however, as they were now locked on a nearby pillow. She was in deep thought, her brows furrowed slightly as she wrestled both mentally and emotionally with the idea, weighing out the pros and cons of dedicating herself to such a commitment. On one hoof, they were bound to be happy... But how long would it last? What if something went wrong? Was it something one or both would regret come tomorrow? Octavia blinked and sighed quietly to herself. Too many questions and 'what ifs' came to mind, yet despite all these questions, she somehow felt more comfortable with Vinyl than anypony else she had been with for any length of time.

"You know what?" You're silly!" Octavia glanced down at Vinyl for a moment, wondering just how comfortable she was.... And then a sly grin crept along the mare's face as she slowly leaned in closer and closer... And then suddenly turned the tables as she wrapped herself around Vinyl like a vice and began to tickle her. "I asked you not even an hour ago if you were hitting on me, and you said no. What's this, then? Hmm?" The mare stopped for a moment, now grinning ear to ear as she relaxed her hold. "Well, since you're obviously giving me no choice in the matter, I suppose I'll just have to accept," she stated jokingly, perhaps even playfully. "You're a braver mare than I. And by the way..." Octavia lowered her voice to a whisper. "We're all fuzzy."

With a rather loud grunt, Octavia heaved the cello off of her shoulders to prop it up against the corner, nearly losing her balance completely as she stumbled and caught herself against the wall with a loud thud. Smooth... The mare sighed, allowing her senses to readjust before flopping on the couch herself, which only proved to further disorientate her. She lied still for a moment, eventually sitting up as Vinyl shifted over to lean on her again. "You didn't see that...," she said sorely, or even perhaps a little embarrassed. The cellist wasn't accustomed to not having absolute control over herself, and it kind of bugged her. This was probably the last time she would drink for awhile...

Octavia's ears perked a bit as Vinyl began to speak, questioning to herself why Vinyl was revisiting the subject. Her soft gaze drooped in thought as she attempted to weed out Vinyl's words apart from her usual drunken statements, which surprisingly seemed to be rather tame this time around. Even if she answered the question, where was this particular line of conversation leading, anyways? Octavia smiled to herself... She'll play Vinyl's game and see where it would lead... "Do I ever think about it? From time to time... Although I'm reminded of it every so often when I stroll around Canterlot. Some ponies up there made it a point to remember and like to poke fun at me, but it doesn't bother me. I'm actually rather fond of that memory, shenanigans and all." Octavia turned her gaze on Vinyl, wondering how long it would take for her to sober up again. "By the way... Those shades still look silly."

Octavia peeped open an eye as the silence began to linger, but she didn't pull away to look at Vinyl... The mare didn't even need to look at her to tell that something was digging underneath her skin. As much as the DJ tried to hide it, Octavia could see right through her, too. While her sudden change in mood could be a product of the alcohol, something was telling Octavia that there was a bit more to the untold story. Just the way Vinyl spoke and dropped off was enough to tell her something was wrong, even the way she wore those silly glasses. She sighed, trying to think of something to say to alleviate the mood a bit...

"You make it sound like I have a leg up over you, Vi. Your music may have been different, and despite how often I tease you about it, it's still music." Octavia spoke softly, giving her friend a bit of a hug. "Do you know how many ponies would give their two front hooves to be as good as you? Just the fact that you're the best, and still the best, despite all the other artists clamoring for that number one spot... Now that takes some hard work and talent. I've been to some of your shows... And let me tell you, that's something else. I only wish I could get that kind of turnout for my performances and command that stage like you do." Octavia grinned, giggling softly to herself as she recalled the last performance she attended where Vinyl literally dragged her on stage by the tail for her finale. "You certainly know how to turn everything into a fun time, even for a pony like me. Like dragging me on stage." She chuckled again, hugging Vinyl even tighter.

After a bit of thought, Octavia pulled away a little bit, reaching a hoof around to lift Vinyl's shades up a bit to look clearly into her eyes. "You say this to me all the time, Vi, so I'm going to say it to you now. What do you do when you start feeling sad?" She paused for a moment, watching Vinyl's reaction. "You stop being sad, and you start being awesome instead!~" The cellist smiled warmly and leaned into her again, letting Vinyl's shades fall back into their original position. "We can get more drinks... If you want. As long as we don't get kicked out. Or we could go back home and relax. Or... We could stay like this for a little bit. It's... nice. Perhaps we should do this more often, but without the sad." Octavia moved her hooves down a bit, now wrapping around Vinyl's waist. "One more thing... If I don't see you smile, I'm going to be forced to tickle you until you do.~"