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Don't Start a Band (Las Pegasus, ATTN: Icy)


Blueblood

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Giggling softly, Yù stepped her way into the taxi with a smile. "Ah, such a gentlecolt." the mare had to admit she wasn't entirely used to the hospitality, sure some of her clients may have been interested in her but even with her proclivities she had standards. Had to keep professionalism between therapist and client. The last time she could think of that someone opened a door for her, she was still in college. It was refreshing, even more so it was heartwarming because it was a genuine gesture.
 

The ride was short and sweet, and Yù Xīn couldn't help but to laugh a little at the Torii gate. "My, they really went all out for the Neighponese feel didn't they?" the qilin shook her head and glanced around at the area. "I can't say that I have actually. This is my first trip to Las Pegasus. But if they put as much effort into the food as they do the decor, I could certainly see us making a return trip or two."

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"Well, there's little use for going halfway with some things.  Who go up on stage at all if you're going to leave half of yourself in the dressing room?"  Kahz offered a leg to escort Yu into the restaurant, certainly going the full way to being a gentlecolt.

 

The Torii gate actually crossed into a small garden, carefully constructed to present a 'zen' atmosphere.  Carefully raked and weeded gravel, koi pond, and that little bamboo thingy that goes 'donk' every once in a while.  The facade of the building made it look as if the walls were made of rice paper, though the careful eye could detect that they were thick enough to keep the coolness in.  

The dark interior required a moment or two for the eyes to adjust, then a pleasant young kirin stallion showed the couple to a table by the kitchen.  "You want to get it as absolutely fresh as possible.  Not that a few feet is likely to make that much of a difference, but still.  No going halfway, eh?"

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  • 4 months later...

Graciously, Yù took the offered leg with a smile, allowing her date into the restaurant proper. The mare was doing her best to keep her cool, but having lacked this sort of thing for quite some time, it truly made her feel like a school filly again. Thankfully the sights and sounds of the venue kept her at least a little more grounded. In some ways it reminded her of home, her father kept a similar koi pond albeit smaller in scale. "Very true, when you're passionate about something, you should try your best to put your whole heart into it." the qilin replies with a smile and a playful wink.
 

When the couple were finally lead to their table Yù settled in contently next to Kahz, rather than simply across from him. Leaning softly against her date she'd give the changeling a gentle nuzzle. "Thank you for this, Kahz. Not just the date, but all of it. Sometimes it's hard to realize just how stressed you are until someone helps you relax for a little while. It's nice having a weight off my shoulders, at least for a while."

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The couple, as they sat, were served a complimentary pot of green tea, which Kahz then took upon himself to pour into each of the cups set on the table.  The steaming scent of the matcha within the brew was stimulating, for him exotic, for his date, familiar.  "You bear much weight in your profession, then?  I suppose having other ponies bring their own problems and stresses into your office all day does that.  There's more of a rhythm in my own work, practice and prep building to a show, and all the problems are only my own."

He put a forehoof around Yu's shoulders as she nuzzled against him, squeezing a bit to feel the tension spoke of in there, as he drank in the flavor of her affection while the tea cooled in his cup.  "In any case, I'm happy to be here for you... I only wish you were here more regularly."

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  • 2 months later...

Sure enough, the mare felt tense, but the warmth and comfort and the gentle touch from her friend was helping that as she relaxed against Kahz, practically melting away with the passing moments. With a small breath of magic towards the table, she'd pour a cup of her own after Kahz fixed his own "In many ways. I've been mostly fortunate, living in Canterlot, that many of the problems my clients have are things like minor addictions or habits they want to break. But some have quite a deal of stress, and when you work with someone for years, it's hard not to get at least a little affected by how they're doing." Yù replies as she settles in against Kahz, resting her head on his shoulder as she watched the tea cool.
 

"I've considered moving a time or two, really. Canterlot's lovely but aside from my clients, I don't have much holding me there." the mare smiled up at her date before resting her head again. "Maybe I'll take it into more serious consideration. I know a few therapists in Canterlot with openings that my clients would likely be happy with...

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As the tea cooled, Kahz levitated his cup up so he could continue his relaxing kneading of Yu's shoulder as he sipped.  "Well, I can tell you that you won't lack for a clientele in this town, though I have to confess, you're more likely to hit 'problem patients.'"  Las Pegasus, for all the tourist-friendly glitz and glamour, was not without its dark side.  After all, an economy that billed itself on catering to indulgences would have its fair share of addicts in the population, either to gambling or to substances.  And the presence of showbiz ponies too brought with it their own set of issues.  It wasn't exactly something Kahz could wish on the mare in good conscience, even if he did want her around more.

But that was too gloomy a thought for a date!  "Fortunately, I can say that I won't be one of them at least."  He bent his head over to whisper in her ear.  "I've only got one addiction, and that's you're sweet love~"  He puctuated the point with a tickling flick of his forked tongue, pulling back only when the waitress arrived back with the miso soup and salad, and a printed list of all available sushi rolls.

 

"Ah, thank you!  Now, what looks good to you?  I have to confess, I'm pretty open in terms of preferences here, so I'll defer to you."

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  • 5 months later...

"Oh you~" the mare chuckled softly at Kahz' affection, leaning back over after he withdrew to place a little kiss on the changeling's cheek. Can't get away without retaliation that easily! "The stories I could tell about some of my clients." Yù rolled her eyes and shook her head as she picked up the list of rolls, nodding her head in thanks to the waitress. "I swear, some of them feel straight out of a stage production."
 

With a little hum, the qilin's eyes trailed down the menu in thought. "I've always been rather partial to Rainbow Rolls myself, as well as the Shrimp Tempura Rolls..." Yù tapped her chin in thought as she continued browsing the selection. "Truth be told there's a few on here I've not tried before though. I wonder if it would be too much of a hassle for the chef if we got a sample platter of sorts. One or two of each for both of us?" she asked with a curious tilt of her head to her date.

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"Oh?"  Khaz smiled at the kiss, compound eyes twinkling with humor and delight.  "Best save those for days when you don't have anything to say when your little lovebug asks 'How was work today, dear?'"  Had the tone not been in jest, Yù might have thought the suggestion of future domesticity presumptuous.  All the same, it would be useful just to put the idea out there to float; Kahz wasn't sure where or how this relationship could possibly end up, but it couldn't hurt to explore possibilities...

 

Returning to the meal, he pointed out an option.  "Sushi Ship for two; if you've got an appetite, that's one of the best sampler platters in down.  Comes on a neat-looking wooden boat too!"

 

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  • 3 months later...

One could almost hear Yù's heart skip a beat inside her chest when her brain caught up with Khaz's little quip. The mare blinked, jest or no her cheeks flushed a bright red as a number of stereotypical domestic life scenarios played out in her head, a hoof placed against her cheek as she let out a giddy giggle. One could almost see little hearts floating up from her head just before she managed to snap herself back to reality, clearing her throat softly. "That ah, that sounds wonderful." she'd say with a nod as she glanced down at the menu. Briefly, she paused for a beat before continuing, glancing up to her little lovebug with a smile. "And the Sushi Ship sounds nice too."

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Kahz, being a changeling, could in fact sense Yù's heart skip that beat, and all those tasty little heart shaped candies floating off of her were just... ah, he couldn't resist!  She would feel his tongue slip out around her ear and give a little slurping sound before pulling back, his dark chitin still somehow reddening in a blush.  "Heh, sorry, couldn't resist snapping up a little appetizer.  You're just the sweetest thing~"

He put flirtations on hold as the waitress returned, and he put in their order for a sushi boat.  "It'll be be a bit, they make it fresh here.  Meantime... if you don't mind me asking, if the mere suggestion of domesticity has you feeling like I just sensed... where do you want to end up, relationship-wise?"  He smiled disarmingly over his teacup as he sipped.  "I know it might seem a little soon to ask, but... well, I've seen enough in my time to know that the amount of time you think you have is... never quite as much as there's going to be."  He smiled, but his eyes were the eyes of one who had seen war.

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  • 3 months later...

Yù smiled softly, chuckling a little as she took a deep breath and calmed herself as best she was able, given the circumstances. Idly fiddling with her teacup she glanced down at her reflection with a small dreamy sigh. "Cliche as it might sound, I've always liked the idea of a storybook romance. Of sorts. It never really had to be a prince whisking me away, or rescuing me from a tower. Just something... real." the qilin took a sip of her tea and paused for a moment before speaking again. "I always figured it would be something I'd have to take for myself, grasp it in my hooves no matter what, like I always do. Never expected to find it naturally."

 

Smiling up over at Kahz, she nodded in agreement as she met his eyes. Her own gaze wasn't as haggard by shadows of the past, but she carried no small part of a guilty past. "That being said... If things go well, and you don't get terribly bored of the taste." the mare gave a little wink, blowing a kiss to the changeling for emphasis. "I wouldn't mind a wedding someday. Proper or no. A ring doesn't make the relationship, it's more about what it symbolizes. Now, mind you, I'd not say that we'd have to just settle down and domesticate ourselves if this happened. After all, there's a lot of things left to do, a lot of world to see... But having a home to come back to together would certainly make it all the better." Yù's tone expressed both desire and patience, she didn't want to rush a good thing, she wanted to savour every moment she had while she had them.

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"Storybook romance, hm?"  Kahz gave a little smile, inwardly trying to remember any of the storybooks he'd read.  Growing up as a grub in the hive, of course his mother didn't read to him.  Chrysalis not exactly being the fairy-tale reading sort, perhaps because she so fitted the 'Evil Queen' trope one saw in them.  "Lot of ponies will tell you that they're not realistic, but I don't know.  I think they're real in a way most realistic fiction is not.  Like, you can easily find novels about somepony who takes love for themselves and grasps for all its worth, because that's an interesting story.  But you can't write a fairy tale where the pony who does that lives happily ever after, because all those who's relationships actually work out don't treat it like that.  There's always a bit of serendipity there, you know?"  It was just possible that Yù didn't, actually.  Kahz well knew there were lifestyles that didn't let you intersect all that often with happy families...

 

Nuzzling in for a reassurance, he asserted "I don't see myself ever getting bored, at least of you."  A wedding, though... that was definitely a thought.  A stage bug like Kahz could definitely appreciate the need and desire for the pageantry of it all... "Well, if I go on tour again, I'd like to have you with me.  I mean, we might not collab like Wind Dancer and Sky Sailing, but there's many a rock star's career that could have been extended a few decades for having a bespoke therapist!"  He laughed, taking a sip of tea before getting control of his face again.  "And you know, this is the wedding capital of Equestria?  Short notice hitchings their specialty.  Any night you want, we pop over to the jewelers, dressers, and venue.  You might laugh, but if I go through one more near-death experience, I swear I'll make you my wife before the week is out!"

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  • 2 months later...

Yù Xīn smiled softly as she listened. There was always a grain of truth in those fanciful tales of wonder and romance. Living in Equestria long enough easily proved that. Some of the things the country had gone through sounded like the impassioned writings of novelist, rather than truth. Then again she did suppose the idea of a floating city full of nigh on immortal dragons dispensing wisdom to an empire from on high had the makings of a rather interesting fairy tale itself.

 

The mare's smile grew as Kahz leaned in and nuzzled her. It rescued her, of sorts, from getting lost in her fantasies for overlong. She did have to admit though, Kahz looked great in shining armor. Yù Xīn chuckled. "A therapist for the road ah? Well I suppose I could front you a discount." she remarked playfully, grinning as she started to take a sip. Her cheeks flushed again though, and that steam wasn't just from the tea. She kept the cup to her lips for a few moments longer to keep herself from stammering like a lovedrunk fool. She could hardly believe she could be so easily flustered by the idea, and yet here they were.

 

Composing herself enough to swallow her mouthful of tea mostly successfully, Yù managed to pull back her playful grin and lean on a forehoof, smiling over at her beau. "Well I certainly hope that we can keep you out of more harrowing experiences, given I think you've had more than your fair share. Buuuuut. I'll hold you to that." she leaned in and kissed Kahz' cheek before nuzzling against him. "There's one request I have for when the day comes though. I want you to be you. No glamours or disguises. I want those there to see the stallion I fell in love with." With another nuzzle, the mare would set back up straight. "I won't force you to do that, of course. Your comfort on the matter is paramount. And I promise I won't hold it against you if you don't wish to."

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Kahz, too, was finding it a little unbelievable that was so quickly flustered by the suggestion of merely accompanying him on tour, though the offer was serious.  He was going to be leaving town in a few weeks, and if the Qilin could accompany him, it would make travel that much better for him.  How it would affect the rest of the band... well.  The precedents were, admittedly, not great.  But surely her being a therapist meant that the more psychological difficulties were more easily overcome?  

 

Ah, but what did it say of them both to be talking of weddings at this point?  Well, mostly that they were serious about making it work, he supposed.  That had to be kept in mind with her request.  It was one Kahz had to consider seriously, even as he nuzzled back, half-distractedly.  "I get it.  You don't want it to be... just another performance on my part.  But a showing of who I really am."  He tapped a hoof on the table, thinking.  "You know, I've put my real face on stage more and more.  Or, at least, my changeling face.  It still feels like I put on the mask and perform, even when I don't have any glamour up.  I've always had to, even when I was back in the Hive, just so no one important would squish me."

 

A sobering thought, but thankfully an interrupted one, as the waitress brought back an impressive looking wooden boat, absolutely laden with finely crafted pieces of sushi and sashimi.  "Ah, that looks good now!  And plenty of it, too!"

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  • 2 weeks later...

"I've never felt like I was just part of a performance, dear. You make me feel like a leading role." Yù Xīn smiled as she placed her hoof atop Kahz' tapping one, giving it a gentle rub. "I understand that it can be difficult, being your true self, after having to mask to survive for so long. It's something we all do to an extent. I just want you to know that I've fallen for you, not just the parts you play." the mare leaned over and placed another kiss on the stallion's cheek just as the food at last arrived.

 

"Oh, it does look delicious. Thank you very much." the kirin nodded her head gratefully to the waitress before turning her attention back towards Kahz. "Now on another note, hehehe, I'd be delighted to come along with you on your next tour, so long as your band mates don't protest. The last thing I want to do is cause turmoil like that." Yù smiled, casually picking up a pair of chopsticks she breathed out a small cloud of magic that soon surrounded the wooden implements. With a little tilt of her head they would dip down and carefully fetch up a piece of sashimi which she would gingerly dip into the soy sauce before fetching a touch of wasabi to the center part of the slice before finally eating it. "But so long as they've no objections, I don't mind tagging along."

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Yù Xīn's pair of encouragements and affirmations were welcomed with a happy little chipr from Kahz, who grinned as he took up his own pair of chopsticks.  "Like I said, I'm sure they won't mind, but we'll make it a short tour, just in case something comes up.  Just for a trial, you know?"  It wasn't that the changeling at all lacked confidence, but he valued his relationship enough now to exercise a little caution in getting it right.  For the first time in his life, he really did have a lot to lose by screwing up...

 

Pfeh!  Enough negative thoughts, time to feast on tasty love and tasty sushi!  He was a little less delicate than his marefriend in his dipping and muncing, scattering some rice grains in his obvious enjoyment.  "Mmm-mmm, really good!"

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  • 1 month later...

Yù smiled to herself as she ate, watching Kahz do the same, a little chuckle slipping forth. He wasn't the dapper prince or the knight in shining armor like the fairy tales and romance novels she used to read. He was more than that, he was real. Charming, funny, sweet, caring. Everything she ever wanted to take, what she felt she deserved. Perhaps that was the problem though. She had always been thinking to take without earning, take without giving in return. Until him. It was something she had parroted to her clients before. How one small change can go on to change your life for the better. The qilin never thought it would happen to her though. But boy she was thankful it did.
 

Smile growing and another titter escaping her, Yù leaned over and kissed Kahz, snatching up a rice grain that cling to the side of his lips. "Missed a spot there." she teased before taking up another piece of sushi of her own to enjoy.

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Kahz actually blushed a bit as  snicked up a grain of rice from the corner of his mouth, and that had to take a little conscious effort and glamor, considering his black chitin.  But it was a fairly novel use of changeling glamour, used to reveal the inner 'ling rather than conceal it under disguise.  "Heh, well, I'm more than happy to leave the lion's share to you.  Your sweet loving's meal enough."  He cooed, returning the kiss.  Sure, it was sappy, but what was the use of being in love if you couldn't be unapologetically cliche?

 

Still, healthy appetites soon began to strip the sushi boat of its piscene crew, leaving Kahz leaning back against the booth, replete and grinning.  "So... there's karaoke in the back.  I don't think I've ever actually heard you sing, and I have to say I would like to.  I'll buy you a bottle of sake if you don't feel up to it sober!"

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  • 1 month later...

Yù didn't bother to hide the happy little sigh from Kahz' return kiss, nor the smile that spread across her face. The qilin had read many a romance novel in her day, and seen and heard most every corny cliche. But being on the receiving end of the sweet nothings was a whole different feeling. No longer was she living vicariously through some cookie cutter character, she was getting to write her own story. Here was hoping they could earn that Happily Ever After. For the time she contented herself with the Happily Here and Now, enjoying the company and the sushi in kind. The atmosphere of the restaurant was cozy which certainly helped as well.
 

As Yù finished off the last of her portion of sushi, the mare's ears perked up at Kahz' suggestion. "Karaoke mm?" she mused on this. She liked to sing, usually just in private. Shower singing, singing while she cooked, that sort of thing. But she wasn't really sure if she had much in the way of skill, especially when put up beside someone who did it for a living!... Still though, today was a day for breaking out of one's shell it seemed. "You know what, I think that sounds like a fun idea, sober though! I'm not entirely confident with my ability without being drunk, I don't want your first impression of my voice sounding like a drenched cat yowling." Yù replied, giggling softly.

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Having finished his own part of the sushi boat, Kahz took the lion's share of the pickled ginger, to clear his palate and brighten his breath.  "They do say you never get a chance to make a good first impression... though, given that I'm in it for the long haul with you, maybe starting with a feline yowl's the right move, you know?  Every day I hear you sing you'll just sound better and better to me.  Practicing together would also improve both our perfomance and enjoyment...."  He leered as he leaned in to whisper, "Just like certain other little activities, eh?"

 

He backed off chuckling, though his compound eyes watched keenly for a reaction.  If this date went well, who knows where it might end up, after all?

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  • 1 month later...

Yù had just picked up her glass to take what was supposed to be a small sip while Kahz spoke, that last little line however caught her far off guard and had the mare minorly choke on her drink as he cheeks flushed a bright red, thoughts going on a roller coaster as she sat her glass down and coughed to catch her breath. Once she composed herself from her small coughing fit the qilin brushed back a lock of her mane that became displaced and smiled. "A-ah! Ahem, hah. Apologies. You are correct though, practice does make perfect, and I have to say I do look forward to the prospect of being able to practice with you long into the evenings." she would answer, reaching to take another sip of her drink. She was feeling quite thirsty after all.

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Kahz chuckled at the reaction provoked, stealing another kiss on Yù's cheek.  "Same, I have to say~  But just like that, it wouldn't do to push you if its really too far out of your comfort zone.  I just think both are things everyone should be able to enjoy, you know?"  Allusions to the parallel would finish out the meal to the check and breathmints, though an evening of sake and song was Kahz' idea of a good time; if Yù wanted to join him on stage.

 

"The Karaoke bar's in the back; we can do a duet if you're not comfortable alone... otherwise, got any requests for me?"

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