"Madoka… what are you doing right now?" Homura asked as she adjusted the straps of her pajamas.
"Right now? I mean… I'm not doing anything. You were absent at school today, and I got worried." The girl on the other line replied, which made Homura's heart sink.
"You don't need to be worried, Madoka. I was just feeling a little under the weather. But if you have a moment, I'd love to see you tonight."
"Okay, Homura!" Madoka hung up the phone, and from her bed, Homura gave a soft sigh. She was dressed in a sleeping gown and some socks, but she felt the need to change.
"Should I…?" She got out of her bed and examined herself in the mirror, realizing that she could just make up some excuse. Although… she wasn't too concerned if Madoka saw her like this…
She heard a knock at her door, and she gasped. "Already?" She asked, walking towards the front door.
She answered it, and standing on the other side, looking as happy as ever despite the rain, was Madoka.
"Madoka…" Homura did her best to hide a growing smile as she saw the other girl. Madoka had on her typical grin and she stepped in to Homura's house.
"I came here as fast as I could. I'm sorry I'm tracking water in!" She apologized and bowed to the other girl. Homura couldn't help but giggle (which caught her off guard) and close the door.
"It's quite alright." Madoka shivered and rubbed her elbows- the rainwater more than likely having chilled her to the core. "Madoka, you're soaked. Please change into something warmer- the last thing I want is for you to get sick because of me." Homura mused, finishing the sentence with a dainty cough. Madoka looked at the girl, then at the signs of her body betraying her and shivering.
"I guess that wouldn't be such a bad idea. If it isn't too much trouble…" Homura smiled.
"It's no trouble at all. Follow me."
After a few moments, Madoka came into Homura's room, dressed in sleepwear that looked to be a size too big for the girl- considering how far the sleeves had to be rolled up. She stifled a giggle as Madoka sat down on the couch beside her.
"I apologize in advance, Madoka." Homura remarked, trying her best to keep her composure. "But that was the smallest set of pajamas I had." Madoka giggled and smiled at the other girl.
"Oh relax, Homura!" She announced. "Since it came from you, I don't mind." A blush appeared on Homura's face and she tried her best to regain her failing composure.
"Madoka…" Homura trailed off, trying to desperately think of a way to change the subject. "Do you always sleep with your ribbons in your hair?" The pink-haired girl tilted her head in confusion- did she really not notice?
Homura sighed and, albeit slowly, pulled out one of the ribbon's from Madoka's pink hair. Homura's hand grazed Madoka's cheek as it did, and she had to do her best to remain calm and collected after the touch sent warming shivers down her spine.
"Oh no, did I leave those in?" Madoka remarked, looking embarrassed. "I should get the other one…"
"T-that won't be necessary. I can get it, after all." Homura used her other hand and tugged out the other ribbon in Madoka's hair, causing her lovely pink locks to freely flow. She smiled as she did so, Homura passing the ribbons back to her.
"Thanks, Homura." She bowed from her spot on the couch, which led to Homura's face turning a brighter shade of red.
"C-can I get you anything?" Homura rocketed up from her spot on the couch, feeling a mixture of pleasure, confusion and embarrassment. "Some tea? I think I have some around here…" Homura walked into her kitchen area to look for cups before Madoka shook her head.
"Its fine Homura- please, sit down." Admitting defeat, Homura returned to her spot on the couch, gasping only when Madoka moved closer to her and nuzzled up to her.
"M-Madoka!" Homura gasped.
"You're so warm, Homura…" Madoka whispered as her head rested on Homura's shoulder. The other girl tentatively wrapped an arm around Madoka's waist, and when the action was met with no resistance, pulled the smaller girl closer to her.
Madoka, despite being in heavy rain, was also nice and warm on Homura's skin. The two of them sat like this in silence, cuddled up next to one another and enjoying each other's company.
Homura didn't hear the silence however, as she was instead subjected to her heart beating loud and fast within her chest. This was her moment- why was she hesitating?
"Madoka?" Homura whispered to get the other girl's attention. When she perked up, Homura moved her head closer to hers, hoping for their lips to meet...
"No…" Homura whispered to herself as her eyes shot open. She rose up in her bed, looking at the electronic clock she kept at her nightside table…
"Was it all a dream?" Upon reading the time on the clock, Homura exhaled sharply and dropped back down on the bed, her head resting on the pillows.
"Of course it was a dream." She shook her head. It was 11:30 in the evening now, which meant that she had been asleep for all of an hour.
Homura sighed. Throughout this whole damn month, no matter how hard she tried, she could not get a decent night's sleep. Whether it be a horrendous nightmare or heart-wrenching flashback from a previous timeline, Homura was capable of only getting an hour or two of sleep at a time. But this time… this time was different.
"Is it even worth it at this point?" She thought to herself. She examined one of her hands from her bed, before deciding that sleep was simply not possible tonight. Shaking her head at just how pleasant this dream was, Homura was able to find one of her greyish-purple sweaters and slipped into it. Not buttoning it up, she walked down the stairs from her room to her little kitchen area.
"You were woken up from your dream again, weren't you?" Homura paid no attention to the alien abomination that appeared and disappeared on its own whims. Instead, she chose to ignore him as she turned her electric kettle on.
"No… this one was different, wasn't it?" Homura continued to say nothing as she prepared her coffee- scooping some ground coffee into a mug and waiting for the kettle to boil.
"Did you… enjoy this one?" Homura blushed- she was able to remember that dream fully well, and while a part of her did enjoy it…
"…Go away." She growled at Kyubey as she spotted the white creature sitting in her room, swishing his white tail back and forth absentmindedly.
"Now, now…" The creature remarked, in his typical voice that got on Homura's nerves.
"I mean it." She announced, this time with more emphasis in her words. Her kettle went off, but she ignored it in favour of giving the creature a stony, hateful glare with her purple eyes. "You know you are not welcome here." Kyubey gave a yawn and jumped down from the spot he had made home.
"Suit yourself." He then walked off into the shadows, more than likely to teleport and harass some other girl. She shook her head and poured the boiling hot water into her mug.
Overjoyed by the smell of coffee, Homura sat down at her kitchen table, rubbing her temples and taking a small sip from her drink.
"…What made that dream so different?" She sipped the warm beverage and sighed softly. The warming sensation she felt from the drink caused her to smile.
It wasn't a wide smile though, like from her dream involving Madoka. She drummed her fingers on the table, yet again finding her mind drifting towards the thought of Madoka.
"Madoka…" She whispered, taking another sip from her coffee. "…Why?" Her expression turned into a frown as her fist collided with the table. She shook her head and closed her eyes- she knew why. She knew why better than anyone else.
"Sometimes…" She thought to herself. "Sometimes, I forget what this is all about. But, whenever I see her…" Homura began to rub her temples. "When I see her smile… I am reminded of why."
Homura was ripped from her thoughts when she heard the low-pitched buzzing of her doorbell going off. Out of curiosity, Homura shot a glance at the clock- it was quarter to twelve.
"Who could that be?" Pulling her sweater close, Homura walked towards her front door and opened it, unprepared for whoever could be on the other side.
"M-Madoka!" Homura gasped, her violet eyes locked onto the smaller, vibrant-looking girl. The only difference was that poor Madoka looked almost soaked to the bone from the rain, and her initial expression was a sour-looking frown.
"…Hello, Homura." Madoka refused to look into the other girl's eyes, which made Homura feel upset. "Do you mind if I come in for a bit? I just want some shelter from the storm." Homura opened the door further and ushered Madoka in within an instant. A surprised expression on her face, Madoka entered and began to shiver.
"Please." Homura remarked. "I don't want you to catch a cold. Let me get you some other clothes." Madoka looked like she was about to say something, but Homura was already up the stairs, looking for any spare clothes she had that could possibly be Madoka's smaller size. Finding an old sweater and some pants, Homura rushed down the stairs again and tossed the garments at Madoka, who was still standing in the doorway.
"Homura…?" Madoka had genuine confusion in her pink eyes, to which Homura shook her head.
"There is a bathroom upstairs. Don't worry about tracking water in- I'll have some tea ready by the time you come back down." Madoka bowed to her and she followed Homura's direction to go up the stairs. Homura, in the meanwhile, had found another mug and was in the process of brewing some tea for her guest.
Her heart began to race within in her chest, like it always did whenever Madoka was around. However… this time was different. She was happy she was feeling this way- excited to hear the anxious beat of her own heart resonate in her chest. And yet, she had no explanation for feeling this way.
She poured the cup of tea for Madoka, and brought it to the table where her coffee was. She set Madoka's mug next to hers and sat down at the table, sipping from her coffee.
"Okay." She began to think. "While this may not be the same like your dream, it's getting close." She pinched herself, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. When she found she wasn't, her smile only grew.
"I have to say Homura, your room is rather nice." Homura shot up in her seat, woken from her thoughts by Madoka's heavenly voice.
"T-thank you, Madoka." The pink-haired girl sat down, sipping from her tea and staring at Homura. "May I ask what you were doing out so late?" Madoka exhaled and suddenly found the contents of her mug rather interesting.
"W-well…" Madoka sighed. "I just haven't felt the same since Sayaka and Kyoka died fighting that Witch." Homura placed one of her hands over Madoka's trembling ones, and this sudden contact caused Madoka to look Homura in the eyes.
"All Magical Girls, whether they want to or not, will become a Witch. That is the nature of the contract." Madoka shot up from her chair, her eyes looking like they were ready to start shedding tears.
"So that means you'll become a Witch like they did, right?" Now it was Homura's turn to refuse to look Madoka in the eye. Avoiding eye contact only caused Madoka's grip on Homura's hand to tighten and her voice got louder and more commanding. "Tell me, Homura!"
"…Yes." She whispered. Madoka gasped, and Homura got up from her spot and forced her lips against Madoka. Both of the girls were caught off guard by Homura's action, but Madoka didn't shove her away or break the kiss. Instead, she wrapped an arm around Homura's neck and Homura wrapped an arm protectively around Madoka's waist.
Their kiss was brief, but full of love and happiness on both sides. Homura's lips had engulfed Madoka's in a warm, loving sensation that was foreign to them both, but they still relished in it.
Homura broke the kiss, and found that against all her mental protesting, she was crying. Madoka wiped the tears away from her puffy violet eyes, but more only came.
"That is why I never wanted you to become a Magical Girl…" Homura's forehead dropped to Madoka's shoulder as more tears flowed from her violet eyes. "I never wanted you to have to feel this pain…"
"Homura… please. Please don't cry…" Madoka whispered to the other girl, but not before she found tears coming from her pink eyes. Homura looked up from Madoka's shoulder and gasped.
"Why… why are you crying?"
"I'm crying… because you're crying, Homura." They kissed again, both of them wiping streams of tears from the other girl's eyes.
It may have been nothing like her dream, but Homura was happy she was able to see Madoka tonight. It only renewed her resolve and love for the girl, and she would do this as many times as she needed to until the two of them were happy and together.
A/N: Puella Magi Madoka Magica, after marathoning the whole series (and later Rebellion) in the course of an evening is an anime I can say a lot about. I can honestly say that it's a must-watch anime, but be prepared for various sucker punches that it throws at you. I wasn't, and boy did I suffer the consequences. Of Nightmares and Heartache was an idea that hatched in my mind at 1AM the evening after watching the whole series (sans Rebellion) and crying about how Homura and Madoka didn't end up together. I got really sad and depressed for a day or two, in which I wrote the general outline for this. My heart still hurts from this series, but its a hurt I'm okay with it. If you've stumbled upon this fic without having watched Madoka Magica, I highly suggest watching it. If you have seen it, but haven't seen it for a while, watch it again.