The bar was cast in a soft grey light, just enough so Octavia could see the girl in front of her without squinting. So far, she had managed to make five drinks last as long as Vinyl's five, and the poor girl didn't seem to accustomed to drinking. Her smile was already growing lopsided, if just barely, and her consonants were beginning to soften. One dress strap had resigned it's post and had slid halfway down Vinyl's arm, though she seemed not to notice, or care. For some reason she could not explain, Octavia wanted nothing more than to reach over and pull it back up. The dress wasn't beginning to fall, as Vinyl's modest bust seemed up to the support task by itself, but something about the haphazard image edged on Octavia's mind. Too much time in the conservative crowd, Octavia thought to herself. Not everyone has to be perfectly prim all the time. As this thought crossed her mind, she realized she was tugging at the hem of her shirt, begging it to fall evenly. She forced her hands and mind back to the table and Vinyl, respectively.
"Would you like another drink, Vinyl?"
"Sure, but something virgin. You're not taking me home that easily."
With a wink and a wave, Vinyl shrugged off Octavia's momentary befuddlement and subsequent blush. Attempting and most likely failing to make a graceful save, Octavia grabbed both their bottles and walked over to the bar. She took care not to meet the eyes of any of the males on her way, as they all looked sleazy and looking for an easy night. Far too hard to find a respectable man these days, Octavia thought, before she remembered that she was at a bar, and guys came to a bar for that solitary definition. At least the bartender was a woman, which made it far less of an ordeal to buy a drink.
Leaning against the fine veneered oak, Octavia waved one of the bottles at the bartender when she looked up from the other end. Nodding, the young woman finished glaring malevolently at the cash register and walked towards Octavia, nimbly plucking two bottles out of the ice chest along the way. She wiped the excess slush off the bottles with a rag, and somehow pulled the tops off with an extension of the same movement. Setting them down in front of Octavia, the woman winked.
"These two on the house."
And walked away without another word or backwards glance. Octavia, not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, grabbed the drinks and turned back to her table. Vinyl cooed softly as the cold bottle was deposited in front of her.
"Awesome. I actually was kidding when I said virgin, but I wasn't sure if you'd realized."
Octavia blinked and paused in the middle of her swig. She very carefully swallowed and set the bottle down, lest she choke on her words.
"Actually, I didn't. I was going to get you a root beer, but the bartender just set these two in front of me and said this round was on the house."
"That's awful nice. What for?"
"I haven't a clue."
Vinyl turned and stared at the bartender for a few moments, who was thankfully busy pecking at keys on the cash register. After a moment, Vinyl turned around, barely able to suppress the gut wrenching guffaws she was clearly dying to let out. Octavia cast her gaze to the bartender, trying and failing to find the source of the humor.
"What? What is it?"
"Her patch!"
Octavia looked back to the bar, not understanding.
"I don't get it."
"On her right sleeve."
Squinting, Octavia was barely able to make out a sewn on patch, high on the bartender's t-shirt.
"It seems to be some sort of rainbow design."
"Yeah..."
Vinyl leaned forward, a gleam in her eye suggesting a hidden meaning that she apparently thought Octavia grasped. After a moment, she leaned back and took a sip of her drink.
"You don't get it, do you?"
The gleam in Vinyl's eye was now positively nefarious, and her cocky smile was making Octavia's mind race. What was it? What suppoedly obvious message was she missing?
"No, not at all. All I can say is that I know two of the clarinet players have similar stickers on thier travel cases, but I have no idea what it means. I thought it was just a cute design."
"Mmmhmm. These clarinet players, they both of the same sex?"
"Why, yes, they're both male. I'm afraid I don't understand?"
"Describe them."
Octavia had to pause for a moment and ponder. Not the clarinet players, as she saw them far too often, but the motives behind this line of questioning. This Vinyl character was proving to be very devious. Hopefully the answer to this riddle would be forthcoming.
"Well, Braeburn, younger fellow. Tall, strong, muscular build. Looks fairly silly holding the tiny clarinet, but he does so with poise and precision. The other, Glow, older. Bits of grey in his hair. Very small guy. Quiet. Bit shy, but plays perfectly. He would be section leader of he weren't so demure."
"Mmmmm."
Vinyl bit her lip and wriggled in her seat a little. She was obviously weighing some information in her head against what Octavia had just given her, but it still had no connection to the confused conductor.
"Come on, please tell me?"
"Anything else about these two? Anything a bit different than normal? Are they close?"
"Oh yes, they're very close. I thought they were related for the longest, as much as you see them together. I later learned such was not the case, and they are simply good friends."
"Friends, huh."
"Are you going to tell me what's so funny about the rainbow?"
Vinyl was taking an impish delight in teasing Octavia, and ordinarily she would have begun to get agitated. But she just couldn't get even vaguely annoyed at something as cute as this girl, so Octavia humored her.
"Well, I'll tell you that those two are close for the same reason we just got free drinks."
"I need facts, Vinyl. I am lost in the fog here."
"Think real hard. Either of those two guys seem, well, a bit softer than other guys? Bit more delicate, maybe even feminine? Put a lot of effort into their hair, stuff like that?"
This question certainly caught Octavia off guard, but she rallied enough for a reply.
"Braeburn, not so much, but Glow, yes. He's very... Pretty, for a guy."
"Makeup?"
"I always thought so, but it's never been proven. He could just have been born with perfect skin."
"Well, what if I told you that he was putting effort into looking pretty?"
Octavia blinked. She had no answer for that, for it made no sense.
"Still not following."
Vinyl sighed and reclined in her chair. Her countenance was now one of insufferable smugness, as if she were about to teach Octavia a valuable lesson.
"Jeez, you are quite sheltered, aren't you?"
Octavia almost took offence, but decided at the last moment not too. Vinyl was a lighthearted girl, not one to purposefully insult someone in such an offhand manner.
"Please, educate me."
"They're gay. Probably with each other."
Octavia had chosen that exact moment to take a drink, and quite immediately, the contents of her mouth were violently expelled. Unfortunately, Vinyl had the luck of sitting directly in the spray's line of fire. The misting had been relatively light, but it was enough to make her light dusting of makeup run. Octavia sat, frozen, mortified. Vinyl sat just as still, in what seemed to be a state of shock. Octavia managed to regain her motor control first, and began grabbing napkins from the dispenser in the middle of the table and crossed over to kneel beside Vinyl, gently dabbing about her face.
"I am so, so sorry! I don't know, I just... I am so sorry! Please, I'll buy all your drinks tonight, I am so sorry!"
Vinyl regained control of herself too, but it was only to start laughing. It wasn't the kind of restrained, modest laughter they had so far enjoyed this evening. No, it was the raw and raucous laughter of one who had experienced something so damn funny, there was no hiding it. Several other patrons turned and stared or glared, and Octavia could do nothing but crouch there with a handful of napkins, blushing fit to light a match. After a minute of severe awkwardness that Vinyl seemed completely unaware of, the huge guffaws died down to a decent giggle and the other patrons turned back to whatever they had been doing.
"Thanks. I needed a shower."
"Oh please, I am so sorry, I-"
"Don't worry about it, darling. It happens."
They faded back into silence as Octavia delicately dabbed Vinyl's face. Vinyl seemed to be enjoying the attention, closing her eyes and rolling her head to one side and Octavia did her best to clean the majority of the spill off Vinyl's neck. Because of the dim lighting, it was only once she was nearly done that Octavia realized that some had dribbled down onto Vinyl's dress.
"Oh dear, there seems to be some on your dress. I do hope it'll wash."
"It'll probably dab right out. Where at?"
"Right there, on your chest."
Octavia would have sworn that she had never seen such an evil smile as Vinyl wore when she spotted the single drop on the dress, just over her right breast. Vinyl raised her arms up in the air.
"Hey, you've got the napkins."
"We are in public!"
Octavia set the napkins on the table as she hissed at Vinyl. Her cheeks were threatening to turn red again. What is with the blushing tonight, Octavia dimly wondered. She was ordinarily a very composed woman. She would typically just scoff away the thought of rubbing another woman's breast in public, but now she could feel her face burning. She returned to her seat and quickly took another drink, looking around the bar and hoping the darkness would hide her rosy cheeks. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Vinyl had taken one of the napkins and was gently brushing at the spot. She couldn't prove it, but it seemed to Octavia that Vinyl was trying to make the procedure as seductive as possible. Maybe it was how the softly rubbed the napkin in a circular pattern, or how the other hand was gently cupping her chest. No, Octavia thought, she's just trying to be nice to the pretty dress, and holding it up so she doesn't push it deeper into the fabric. That's all. I'm just seeing things. Octavia barely noticed Vinyl's eyes, which had flicked towards her own for a split second.
"There we go. A quick run through the washer, and it'll be just fine."
Now that Vinyl had thankfully finished massaging herself, Octavia turned back, eager to return to the conversation that had been interrupted.
"So, you think those two are gay? How do you know?"
"The patch. It's not an ordinary rainbow. See the colors? It's recently kind of became the symbol for the gay pride movement."
Octavia looked back to the bartender with wide eyes. Her strangled whisper barely reached across the table.
"So, she's got... So do... Oh my goodness, she thinks we're a couple!"
"Hey, free drinks taste best anyways!"
Octavia knew her mouth was hanging open in an unattractive manner, but as she stared at Vinyl in shock, she couldn't help it.
"You know, a fly will land in there if you're not careful."
Octavia finally closed her mouth, but still couldn't get a real word out.
"I just... She just... I didn't... Do we seem like...?"
"I suppose. Fits that facts, doesn't it?"
Octavia shook her head, forcing her thoughts into order through mental prowess. Unfortunately, her vocabulary was somewhat slower in reviving.
"Right. So. That's an interesting thing that happened."
"It's an interesting thing, indeed."
Octavia giggled and took a sip of her beer, only to realize that it was empty. A glance revealed that Vinyl had finished hers as well. Another glance showed that it was past midnight.
"Tell you what. Let's do a shot of something hard, to keep us warm, then I need to head home. Long day, and all."
"Agreed."
Octavia made her way to the bar and ordered two shots, and both tabs closed on her card. The bartender winked as she poured the shots, and Octavia noticed that there was more than a standard ounce and a half in those little glasses. She picked her way back to the table with the utmost care, as she had let the waitress choose the alcohol, and whatever it was, it had been expensive. She set the shot in front of Vinyl, who eyes it trepidatiously.
"What is it?"
"Dunno. Let her pick. It was twenty bits a shot though, so drink up!"
Vinyl lifted her glass in a salute, and Octavia did the same.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Octavia downed her shot with the aplomb of much practice, but even her experience had to struggle to overcome the urge to cough it all back up.
"By the Princesses! This is good stuff!"
Vinyl wasn't as lucky or good, coughing as she set her glass back on the table. She didn't cough any up, and it was all gone, so maybe this girl had a bit more experience drinking than Octavia had guessed.
"How's it taste, Vinyl?"
"Like sunshine and hatred."
"Good shit."
"If you wanna call it that."
A few minutes later, they were outside, trudging down the sidewalk. A gentle breeze tugged at them, blowing ice their way. Octavia pulled her jacket tighter, and realized Vinyl didn't have one at all.
"I hope you don't live far."
"No, not too far. I was thinking about cutting across the Royal Center Park. It's not really shorter, but the trees block the wind."
"That's a good idea. I'm going that way as well, so why don't we go walk the park a bit?"
"Sure!"
Vinyl might have been cold, but after a few blocks, the shot made it's way around their bloodstreams and helped them both forget all about it. Damn, Octavia thought, that was worth every bit!
"So tell me more about you."
Octavia looked over at Vinyl, caught off guard.
"Uh, not much to tell, I guess. I'm the conductor. I was a cello player for about seven years. I joined the orchestra when I was still in college, studying music. I've been in various orchestras and symphonies. I've been playing cello since I was very young."
"Hmm."
"Hmm?"
Octavia attempted to make sense of Vinyl's reply. Her head was cocked gently to one side, lips pursed.
"Sounds posh."
"I suppose, yes, at times. We do put shows on for mostly the rich suits."
"Yuck."
"Yuck, what?"
"That means you always have to be prim and proper, all clean and modest and boring and stiff. All the silly things people think upper class has to be."
Octavia was about to respond, defending her clientele and lifestyle. But, her own mind intruded, it's not YOUR lifestyle. You don't live in a swanky penthouse and have four cars. You pay the bills and get drunk. Not really high class.
Octavia pursed her lips and tried to think of something to say to Vinyl, but the alcohol kept throwing wrenches in her argument before it was even formed. I hate dressing up formal. It's not comfortable. Too many rules.
"Yeah, I guess."
"You guess what?"
"I always have to be so formal."
"I always hated being formal."
"Me.... too."
Octavia realized she had spoken the truth as soon as she said it, and it was as if a great dam of suppressed feelings burst, punching her in the back of her eyeballs.
"Yeah. I hate being so formal, all the time. Everyone is always expecting me to be the perfect poster of conservative, and it's tiring. I don't get to choose my own clothes. I get a catalog at the beginning of every season, full of outfits approved by the board of directors. The musicians are the same way, only a much thinner catalog. We always have to present this perfect image, and any deviation form the expectations is met with the harshest of criticism. I hate it, I really do. I just want..."
"Just want what?"
Octavia met Vinyl's deep blue eyes and realized she didn't know how to end the sentence. She thought, long and hard, fighting the alcohol's haze. After almost a whole block in silence, she found a word.
"Free."
"Free."
"I want to be free. Free to make at least some of my own decisions."
"You're a caged soul."
"Huh?"
"Oh, road cross!"
Octavia desperately wanted to have Vinyl explain further, but she was right, there was an obstacle. The park lay on the other side, but between here and there were four lanes. It was late, so the roads weren't choked, but there were some cars, whizzing this way and that every few seconds.
"Let's see, I think there's a crossing a few blocks that wa-"
"There's one right here!"
Before Octavia could react, Vinyl darted out across the road, Octavia looked both ways, expecting a blaring horn and tires squealing, but none were forthcoming. There was a considerable gap, with at least thirty seconds before another car would reach them.
"Come on, hurry!"
"I am not running across a four lane road!"
Octavia had to yell back at Vinyl, who was already safe on the far side. Headlights were getting closer, but there was still time. With a thin squeak, Octavia took off at a dead sprint. She kept her eyes on Vinyl the whole time, who was laughing. Before she knew it, Octavia was tripping over the far curb and into Vinyl's arms. Blushing furiously, Octavia stood, and turned around. She had made it across with more than enough time to run back and then forth again, but for some reason it had felt so much more intense.
"There! Come, there's a trail right over here that cuts right through."
Octavia just shook her head and matched Vinyl's pace, who didn't seem concerned at all about what had just happened.
"Like I was saying though, you're a caged soul."
"Explain further, if you please."
Vinyl did a little hop-skip and a jump, twirling in midair.
"You're caught in all these silly regulations and expectations. Some people handle them just fine, some need them to give a substance to their life. But you, no. You're a bird in a cage, and you just want to fly. Here's the trail."
They turned onto the path, and the first thing Octavia noticed was the blessed lack of wind. The trees were think, and blocked most of it. The trail was wide, and lit every few yards by a lamppost. They were alone on the trail, and Octavia couldn't help but slow her pace, enjoying the relaxed scenery.
"Maybe you're right. I've spent so much of my life listening and obeying. I rarely get to play music of my choosing. I don't even get to hardly listen to what I want! I have to listen to one arrangement after another, trying to decide which sounds better. A caged bird sounds like an appropriate metaphor."
"Well then, little birdie, break out! Fly away! Do your own thing!"
"But what would I do? I don't have any practical skills. I'm a musician, always have been. Where would I go? The majority of the people I know are from work, and I don't count most of them, or hardly any, as friends. The rest of the people I know are family, and are just as stuffy and uptight."
Octavia wasn't sure why she was spilling her guts out to this girl, or really where it was all coming from. Was this just the stuff that she tried to drink away every night, pushing so far into a corner of her mind that she forgot it existed? Maybe so.
Her delicate introspection was broken by a soft giggle. She looked over, and saw Vinyl giggling, looking down at her chest. Following her eyes, Octavia saw that Vinyl's nipples had grown stiff in the night air, and were pushing two little bumps out of the dress.
"Cold?"
"Just a little."
Vinyl reached up and gently flicked both of the small bumps, giggling again. Octavia felt herself blush again, for the umpteenth time that night. She leaned over and whispered to the silly girl.
"Vinyl, we are in public!"
"Hardly."
Vinyl looked up and pointedly looked around. Surely enough, they were alone on the path. They were far enough into the park that cars were distant, almost inaudible. Not a single soul could be seen braving the brisk autumn air. Vinyl flicked her erect nipples a few more times and Octavia looked away, or she was afraid her cheeks would literally catch on fire.
"Oh, I get it. You're jealous."
That got Octavia's attention, so much so that she stopped walking for a moment as she turned to Vinyl.
"I... hardly! I just chose to wear a thicker bra. Pencil erasers under one's shirt is hardly seen as classy or attractive these days."
Vinyl laughed again, the clear, chiming laugh that Octavia could learn to love.
"Exactly! You're jealous that I'm over here with my free nipples, and you're over there in your tight, constrictive, cagey nonsense."
"That is not what I meant by saying I wanted to be more independent!"
"Is it not?"
They had resumed walking, but only for a few steps, cause now Vinyl stopped and faced Octavia full on, her smile somewhat distant. Thankfully, she had stopped flicking her nipples.
"How is it not? What you said was that you wanted to be free, not caring what anyone thought of you or what you did. Well, here we go. If someone were walking down the path while I was playing with my tits, would I care? Not really. I don't care what they thought about me, whether they thought I was some stupid slut, or just a strung out junky, I don't care. I know that I'm just me being goofy, and that's all that matters."
Octavia had to stop and think. Vinyl did have a point, as odd of a subject as it was for the point to be brought up on. She was attempting to formulate a reply, something wise and thoughtful, but she was once again interrupted by Vinyl doing something ridiculous. This time, she had put her arms behind her back and puffed her chest out, stiff nipples casting little shadows in the lamplight.
"Here. Your turn."
"What!? No. That's just... No."
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, grasshopper."
"So, you're saying that if I flick your nipples, that I will somehow begin my transformation into a free spirit?"
"Yes."
Octavia couldn't help it, this whole situation was far too outlandish. She started laughing, the same kind of uncontrollable outburst that Vinyl had employed back at the bar. Pretty soon, she had her arms wrapped around her middle as she kneeled in the middle of the path, tears springing from her eyes in mirth. She was aware of Vinyl in front of her, hands on her knees as she too struggled to regain proper control of her breathing. At length and with great difficulty, Octavia stood. She wiped had face in her hands to regain her composure, and put on a blank face and stiff posture.
"Very well, Master. If I may be allowed to flick the Nipple of Wisdom, to better learn the path of individuality."
Vinyl was having a harder time bringing about a wise and dour face, if only because of Octavia's dramatically formal reply. But eventually, she did, returning to the same posture as before, hands behind her back and chest thrust out.
"Yes, Padawan, you may. Flick the Nipple, and so you shall learn. The left one, if you will."
Octavia had to concentrate to make sure her hand would stop shaking, from the cold, she told herself. She slowly reached forward and ever so gently tweaked Vinyl's nipple with her index finger. The moment she did, Vinyl let out a loud and deep moan, biting her lip. Octavia jumped back a step, and Vinyl resumed laughing maniacally.
"You should have seen your face!"
The laughter proved too much for her legs,and Vinyl sank down onto a nearby bench. After a moment of sheer terror, Octavia's legs felt rather soft as well, and so she joined her companion. They sat near silence for a moment, occasionally broken by Vinyl's soft giggles.
"I should be an actor."
"Only soap opera actors can get away with such over dramatization."
"Hey, it's a living!"
"And I swear, I've never seen a soap opera where a woman reacts so... violently about her nipples being touched."
"Hey, some people get off in weird ways. I knew a guy back in college who would get a massive woody if you pulled on his little toe just right."
"No way!"
"Serious as a heart attack! A friend of mine was dating him and she told me about it. So, obviously, one evening when he was relaxing and watching some television, I walked over and just pulled on it. Sure enough, pup tent central. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen."
"That poor boy must have been mortified!"
"Nah, he was cool. We laughed about it and had some beer."
"My word."
"Free souls."
Octavia turned to look at Vinyl, who she now realized she had sat very near to.
"This free soul thing, it's going to take a lot of learning."
"Well, you already had lesson one! You touched my boob! You're well on your way!"
"Maybe that will make more sense in hindsight."
"Hopefully this will, too."
"Wha-"
Vinyl had suddenly risen from the bench and stood directly in front of Octavia, hands on her hips.
"A free soul doesn't care. Both of my parents raised me to be comfortable as me, no matter were I am or who I am with. I live my life happily because I don't waste time worrying about whether I come off as a dork or an idiot. I am me, and that's enough for me. I might not be the smartest, or prettiest, or strongest, or most graceful. But I am unique, and that's more than enough reason to love me. Now, obviously, I have to care about my image on occasion, such as a job interview or with my boss, but this is not then and you are not, so I am free to be me. Nothing more, nothing less. All I can do is hope that you accept me. If not, I'll go on my merry way and you on yours."
Octavia wasn't sure what would follow such a deep and heartfelt soliloquy, but it sure wasn't what Vinyl did next. Reaching up, she slid the narrow straps of the yellow sundress down and pulled her arms though, letting the dress fall from her chest to girdle her waist. Vinyl put her hands back on her hips and looked at Octavia, a small grin dancing in her eyes. Octavia couldn't resist, try as she might, to look. Vinyl's skin was clean and smooth, glowing a pale white in the lamplight. Her breasts were perky and goosebumped. Octavia also couldn't resist noticing that the bra was one she had herself almost bought last week, a lacy, dark green, strapless affair she had seen in a shop window on the way to work one morning. She also had to think that she never could have worn it like Vinyl was, with sheer and unbounded confidence. Here they were, in the middle of the park on a chilly night, and Vinyl was in her bra.
"Stand."
Octavia was still dumbfounded, so she did without thinking. Vinyl took a step back and raised a single eyebrow, completing an almost comical image, before opening her mouth and once again spouting some sort of mystical wisdom and knowledge.
"Do you have sex with the lights off?"
"Y.. Yes."
"We need to work on your confidence."
"How?"
"Do as I did."
Octavia was sure her cheeks were glowing. She looked around and began to stammer. She began to to get angry, almost yelling at Vinyl. This girl was clearly off her rocker. Take her shirt off in the middle of the city, how could she be so crass!? Wait, the little voice in her head said. It was the voice she always tried to ignore, but there it was. You're not in the middle of the city, you're in the middle of an empty park. She's trying to help you. She wants you to be confident. She wants you to be free.
A look around the park assured Octavia that they were indeed alone. The path was straight for a ways in either direction, and Octavia saw no one. The foilage on either side was thick. The only views were straight ahead, where she was looking, and straight behind, where Vinyl was looking. Why not?
Octavia absconded her jacket, tossing it on the bench. She carefully unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it back. She didn't want to take it completely off, if only for the chill in the air, which immediately tugged at her breasts, raising sandpaper surfaces. She looked down at her plain tan bra, then back at Vinyl's cutesy lace. She suddenly felt very self conscious about her choice of underwear.
Meanwhile, the smile on Vinyl's face threatened to tear her face in half. She happily bounced on the balls of her feet, making her breasts bounce hypnotically in her bra. Her voice rang out, echoing in the trees.
"And here we have Octavia, illustrious leader of the Canterlot Orchestra, topless in the park! Such a sight, too. I'm jealous!"
Octavia laughed and looked down, then at Vinyl, comparing their breasts. True, she had at least a whole cup size advantage.
"Uh oh!"
Octavia instinctively wrapped her shirt and looked around, searching for the source of Vinyl's outburst.
"No, don't cover them up! I saw a stiffy!"
Finding no witnesses, Octavia pulled her shirt back again. Looking down again, she saw that indeed, the cool night air was working it's magic. Hers were much more grandiose than Vinyl's, as her bra was already fairly tight attempting to contain her bust. The nipples poked out with alacrity, and Octavia couldn't resist reaching up and flicking one. Looking up, she saw Vinyl do the same to hers, and laugh. Octavia flicked her other nipple and laughed.
"Can't have one get left out."
And so they both dissolved into more raucous mirth, flicking their nipples at each other and giggling maniacally. Pretty soon, they were laying on the frigid brick path, uproar fading away. Octavia looked up at the sky, and more than anything in the world, she wished that she could see stars. She suddenly realized that she was laying immediately beside Vinyl, topless, in the park, at night. An abrupt sensation rushed her, one akin to being drunk, but without the double vision and loss of coordination. Butterflys danced in her brain, and a smile refused to leave her lips alone. An epiphany hit, and she realized that she felt free.
"Flick my nipple, Master, so I may understand the path of independence."
Vinyl looked over with eyes the size of saucers, her smile all but gone. She whispered in a serious tone.
"Are you sure you are ready for such a trial, Padawan?"
Instead of speaking, Octavia stood and mimicked Vinyl's posture from before, hands behind her back and chest thrust out. With her, of course, the posture was much more enticing, as she had much more dramatic curves, even with a boring bra. She even had the perverse pleasure of feeling the bra straps stretch dangerously as they struggled to hold dear. Vinyl stood, hand on hips, a single raised eyebrow.
"Yes, Master. I feel free."
Vinyl wordlessly reached forward and softly poked Octavia's nipple. As she did, Octavia let out a loud, sensual moan, once again mimicking Vinyl. Octavia doubled over in laughter as Vinyl jerked her hand back as if Octavia's breasts had become poisonous snakes.
"I hope like hell my face wasn't half as surprised as yours!"
"Octavia, you're drunk."
Octavia straightened. Vinyl had adopted the same pose again, hands on her hips, so Octavia decided to make it more dramatic. She made a gesture of throwing her hair back, eyes to the sky, legs spread defiantly, chest puffed to the max. She was trying to pose like a superhero, and from Vinyl's jealous eyes, it was working. She winked at Vinyl.
"So are you."
Vinyl scrunched her eyebrows together and looked down at her goosebump covered breasts.
"That would indeed explain why I don't feel cold."
They smiled at each other, acknowledging the truth. They were drunk, in the middle of the park, posing like idiots, in their bras. Octavia felt more free than she ever had in her life, and it was thanks to this amazing girl right here.
It was, of course, in that moment of rumination, that Octavia's bra straps lost their fight. They were being stretched too much, and summarily broke. She had a momentary sensation of lightness and a bite of cold before looking down, scooping her bra and holding it up in place, but she had been too slow. Her bare breasts had been visible for a full second. She blushed again, deeply, and looked at Vinyl, who was actually blushing as well, for the first time that night.
"Dammit."
Octavia stood still, holding her bra up. She felt partially embarrassed, partially irritated. This was a good bra, and she had broken it, being dumb. She smiled a weak half smile at Vinyl, who was still slack jawed. After a moment, though, Vinyl's shock wore off, and she replaced it with a cocky half grin. Before Octavia could wonder what this wild woman was going to do, she did it.
Vinyl reached one hand behind her back, and in one smooth motion, unhooked her bra and yanked it off. She held it over her head in triumph, breasts bare in the lamplight. Octavia was paralyzed in shock for only a moment. Oh, what the hell.
Reaching back, she unhooked her bra and let it fall into her hands. The cold nipped her breasts more fiercely than before, but she ignored it. Enjoyed it, even. She smiled at Vinyl, who was eyeing her appreciatively, then decided to do something even more wild. With a whoop, Octavia turned and tossed to broken bra high into the limbs of a tree. It caught and hung, waving gently in a breeze not felt down below. It was soon followed by another whooping cheer, and pretty green lace soon joined it, if a few branches higher. Vinyl laughed and fist pumped.
"Ha! Mine's higher!"
Octavia returned the fist pump with a cocky grin of her own.
"Ha! Mine's bigger!"
Vinyl stuck her tongue out, but her eyes were on Octavia's chest.
"I will not argue. My, you really do have some glorious tits."
"Thank you, although I say, yours look so much easier to live with."
"Trade!"
"Deal!"
A tiny breeze blew through the trees then, making both the girls shiver and wrap their arms around themselves. Octavia pulled her shirt back up front and buttoned enough of the buttons to hold it in place. Vinyl pouted a mock pout.
"Aww! I was admiring them!"
"Any more, and I'll have to charge. Besides, I am freezing. Aren't you cold?"
"A bit."
Vinyl made her admission and pulled her dress back up, the thin straps going back over her shoulders. Octavia picked her coat up off the bench, and was about to pull it on, when she saw Vinyl shiver and realized the poor girl didn't have a jacket. Vinyl was facing the opposite direction, looking up at the bras dancing in the tree, so Octavia was able to sneak up behind her and throw the jacket over her shoulders.
"Here. It's thin, but you look cold. My shirt's long sleeved, I'll be fine."
Vinyl tried to pull the jacket off, but Octavia held it in place.
"No, Vinyl, I insist."
"Oh, it's okay, I don't live far."
"Neither do I."
"Really, I'm fine."
"Really, me too."
Vinyl simply stuck her tongue out again, and Octavia knew she had won.
"You can't win against me. I've had far too much practice at arguing."
"I'll remember that. Which way do you live?"
"That way, off Eleventh."
"Me too! I live on Eleventh as well, but several blocks down."
"Well, I'll walk you most of the way home, then."
They smiled at each other and began the walk. It wasn't far, but to Octavia it wasn't far enough. She enjoyed this girl; this wild, silly, free individual. Far sooner than she wanted, they parted ways, Vinyl promising to bring the jacket with her to work Monday, and Octavia telling her not to worry about it. Then Vinyl was gone, hop-skipping into the darkness.
Octavia rushed home, where she immediately turned the heat up and wrapped up in a blanket on the couch. She was dozy, and felt herself drifting to sleep. Her last thought before losing consciousness was a happy one.