Golden Sunrises, Clear Blue Waves
Only a short period of time had passed since two important successes in Sayaka Miki's life. Those being her effective rescue of Mami Tomoe and Kyouko Sakura from an unusually fearsome witch, and the defeat of Walpurgis Night that occurred shortly thereafter.
A relative calm had now returned to Sayaka's life, but with one important exception. And that exception was Sayaka acting on her decision to try to have a romantic relationship with her dear friend and mentor, Mami Tomoe.
During a particularly low point in Sayaka's life, Mami and Kyouko had been there to help her through it. This was when Sayaka was feeling shame over losing a literal fight to Hitomi Shizuki. The way Sayaka lost that made it clear that she felt sexual attraction for girls, and that attraction is what Mami and Kyouko sought to help Sayaka with. In doing so, both of them showed interest in Sayaka, intentionally helping to raise her self-esteem while leaving her aware of the fact that she was far from alone as a "girl that likes girls" in Mitakihara Town.
With Madoka providing helpful advice, Sayaka chose the glistening golden gunner over the swashbuckling scarlet spear-wielder. With Walpurgis Night safely in the rear-view mirror, Sayaka and Mami went out on their first date together. Mami had been overjoyed at Sayaka asking her out like this, even if Sayaka was a bit shy in doing so.
The two girls did some shopping together, listened to some music together, ate at a restaurant together, and watched a movie together. The movie was a decidedly pretty one, that cured whatever small touch of boredom that either felt. And boredom was the farthest thing away from either girl's mind, as Sayaka walked Mami back to her home after their date was over.
"Would you like to come in for a bit?" a warmly smiling Mami asked Sayaka, as they reached the front door to Mami's apartment.
"Sure." Sayaka replied to that, "I can probably spare a few more minutes at least."
Mami and Sayaka then whisked in to Mami's home. Shortly thereafter, Mami turned on the tea kettle, to eventually return with tea and cake for her and Sayaka to eat.
"You never run out of these, do you?" Sayaka asked in gently joking reply, an amused look on her face.
"Just like some men need their sake, I need my tea." Mami admitted with a wide smile.
"And sweet things." Sayaka added with knowing grin, while rising her cup up to take a sip of it.
"That would be why you're here, yes…" Mami replied playfully, with closed eyes and a subtle grin, deciding to have some fun.
Mami's line caused Sayaka to cough a bit, almost spitting out her tea.
"S-Sorry…" Sayaka said, while shyly and nervously rubbing the back of her head, "I-I guess it didn't go down quite right, ha ha!"
"Don't worry" said Mami, while she reached over towards Sayaka's face with a napkin, "I'll wipe off what spilled on your face."
Mami then slowly wiped spilled tea from off of Sayaka's chin and moist lips. It briefly caused a great but sparkling tension in the room.
"There we go, all good." Mami said with a wide smile, after sitting back down.
"…Thanks." Sayaka said with a soft smile, blushing a bit.
Feeling a bit shy, Sayaka became strangely quiet by her standards, and decided to focus on her cake and tea to try to relax the mood.
Mami was good at picking up on such changes in mood, and so played along, by eating some cake and drinking some tea herself.
"It's very good, Mami." Sayaka said with a friendly smile, looking Mami straight in the eyes, after a couple minutes of eating.
"I'm glad you like it." Mami replied, holding eye contact with Sayaka while making the same sort of smile back at her.
"I hope I don't gain weight from this though…" Sayaka said, "Meat buns, popcorn, chocolate, now cake..."
"Don't worry. Being Puella Magi keeps us very physically active, enough to make up for eating a lot." Mami replied, "After all, just look at Kyouko!"
"Ppffft!" Sayaka replied to that, before the two girls started laughing loudly together.
Sayaka and Mami then finished off their cake and tea. With a slight sigh, but one displaying ease and comfort, Sayaka moved to a standing position.
"Again, thanks a lot for the great date." Sayaka said to Mami, "Hopefully we can go on another date soon. But I really should be heading home now."
Sayaka then started walking towards the exit, while Mami briefly and tensely paused. There was something Mami wanted to ask, but she wasn't sure if it was appropriate. In a rare moment of putting emotional needs in front of 'good manners', Mami decided to ask what she had been planning to.
"Wait." Mami called out to Sayaka with a touch of urgency.
"What is it?" Sayaka asked Mami, turning around just enough to make eye-contact with her.
"Why don't you…" Mami began in answer,"…Stay for the night?"
Mami's face betrayed an emotional vulnerability that Sayaka was unaccustomed to seeing. But even more important than that, was how Sayaka took Mami's words.
"T-That's very flattering…" Sayaka replied, while blushing up a storm, "But geez, Mami, it's only a first date! Ha ha ha! I don't think I'm ready for that step yet…"
"Oh, no, I didn't mean it that way." Mami replied, wanting to quickly clear up this misunderstanding, "It's just that… it's lonely, sleeping alone, night after night in this apartment. I think I would really like to have someone to… keep me company throughout the night. For a welcomed change."
"Oh." Sayaka replied, "So you just meant more like a conventional sleepover sort of thing?"
"Exactly." Mami answered.
"Well, unfortunately, I don't have a change of clothes with me, so…" Sayaka began in reply.
"What about the new clothes you bought while shopping?" Mami suggested with a smile.
"That's a good point…" Sayaka replied, "I even bought a new pair of pajamas, so that should work perfectly. …Ok, tell you what. I'll call mom and dad and see if it's Ok if I stay the night. I can tell them you want to play video games with me or something like that."
"To make it honest, I do have a PS Nanoha, with a "Befriend or Die" FPS game for it!" Mami replied.
"Playing that does sound like fun!" Sayaka shouted, "Ok, hopefully mom and dad will let me stay the night."
Sayaka then called her parents, and gained their approval for Sayaka to stay over Mami's for the night.
Sayaka and Mami took turns using the washroom to change into their pajamas. They then watched some TV and played some PS Nanoha together. But it wouldn't be long until it was time to go to bed.
"I can sleep in my parents' bed tonight." Mami said, "It hasn't been used in a long time, but it's clean. You can sleep in my bed if you want."
"Ok." Sayaka replied, blushing a bit, "…Still, aren't sleepovers more fun when people sleep next to one another?"
"You're right." Mami answered, blushing a bit, "My parents' bed is big, of course, so you can sleep next to me on that bed if you'd like."
"Sure." said Sayaka.
Mami and Sayaka then climbed into bed, both feeling nervous enough that they couldn't help but giggle a bit. After they were in bed, they faced each other, as their backs were faced at opposite sides of the room. They smiled warmly at each other.
"Thanks a lot for agreeing to this Sayaka." Mami said, "It's so nice to not be sleeping all by myself, for a change."
"I guess Kyubey doesn't make the best company, huh?" Sayaka asked.
"He's friendly, but… has quite a poker face, you could say." Mami replied.
"Whereas I don't hide my feelings well, huh?" Sayaka asked.
"You wear your heart on your sleeve, but I like that about you…" Mami replied, "I wish I could be more open like that myself."
"You have been like that tonight, Mami." Sayaka said reassuringly.
"Yes, I guess I have." Mami replied, "I guess I've come to feel very… comfortable around you."
"I feel the same way about you." Sayaka stated.
The sentiments stated by both girls were sincere, but there was also an ironic tension in the air, as both were still unready to act any further on their emotional needs… and physical desires. It was enough, for now, for them to briefly touch on their growing feelings for one another.
"Good night." Sayaka said to Mami.
"Good night." Mami replied.
Both of them then closed their eyes, and slowly drifted to sleep, dreaming of each other.
….
-a
-b
The following morning, Sayaka woke up to the smell of eggs being cooked and bread being toasted and buttered. Mami awoke about thirty minutes before Sayaka had, and had decided to prepare breakfast for the two of them.
After Mami and Sayaka wished each other good morning, Sayaka casually settled into a sitting position next to one side of the triangular transparent table of Mami's living room.
"Mmmmm…" Sayaka hummed groggily, "That smells nice."
"Hopefully it'll taste as good as it smells." Mami said cheerfully, as she carried over two plates of breakfast to where Sayaka was sitting, and joined her for breakfast.
"Yeah, it does taste as good as it smells!" Sayaka exclaimed, after taking some bites of her food, "You really are good at cooking, Mami."
"Thank you, but it really isn't anything special." Mami replied, "There's few fancy dishes I'm good at preparing. I mainly just keep to basic meals, and, of course, cake."
"Basic works fine for me!" Sayaka stated cheerfully, "Hitomi is into fancier stuff, and Madoka experiments a lot, but I prefer things that are simple and predictable."
"Oh?" Mami asked with a playful grin, "Does that mean that you find me simple and predictable?"
That question took Sayaka off-guard, leaving her uumming and aahhing uncomfortably, and then chuckling nervously while searching for a good answer.
"I wouldn't say you're predictable…" Sayaka finally managed, "Just… reliable. Yeah, that's more like it! I like people and things that are reliable. When we fight alongside together as Puella Magi, I feel that you're someone I can always rely on."
"Thank you." Mami said softly, startled to find herself so moved by an answer to a question she posed primarily for a tease.
"Besides, I certainly didn't find it predictable for you to ask me to stay over last night!" Sayaka said with a large smile.
"Did you mind that? Did you…" Mami began asking, betraying her own insecurities.
"It was a nice experience." Sayaka replied, "I've slept over at Madoka's and Hitomi's places before, of course, but this time over your place was… special."
That reply caused a sort of romantic thickness to hang in the air, enchanting yet also vaguely uncomfortable. Deep longings and desires were gradually gaining steam in the hearts and minds of both Sayaka and Mami, but a wall of shyness and inhibition still remain, albeit slowly but surely crumbling down.
"I guess I should be heading home now." Sayaka said after a tense pause, "I do have a lot of homework to catch up on this weekend."
"Can we go witch-hunting together though?" Mami asked.
"Sure." Sayaka answered, "I'll also send you some texts later today. …Oh! And there's a classical music song that I'm going to send you later today!"
"What's it called?" Mami asked.
"Credens Justitiam" Sayaka answered, "It's a really popular new song created by pop artist Yuki Kajiura! She does a phenomenal job of mixing classical with modern music styles."
"I'll look forward to it then." Mami said with a smile, while holding her head over hands relaxingly rolled over each other, "Talk to you later."
"Later." Sayaka said, grinning a bit, while getting up, and somewhat hurriedly exiting Mami's home.
After walking a short distance from Mami's home, Sayaka had a strange mix of high-energy exuberance with a sense of deep relief. She felt that her date and sleepover with Mami went pretty good! This was huge for Sayaka as she had worried she would screw up her date.
'That one question really took me off-guard…' Sayaka thought to herself, 'But I think I handled it pretty well. I was content just fighting alongside Mami and being her friend, but it's really exciting to think of where our relationship could soon go!'
For her part, Mami was already growing deeply attached to Sayaka, and Mami's thoughts in the quieter hours of a mostly lonely day would keep going back to Sayaka. In sharp contrast to the nervousness and uncertainty that Sayaka privately felt, Mami was starting to see Sayaka as this impeccably smooth and strong knight in shining cape that was sweeping her off her feet.
'It's so pleasant having her around.' Mami thought to herself, while she pressed one palm on a window, and looked longingly into the bright blue sky beyond, 'It's so comforting and soothing. I hope I can maintain her interest and companionship. I…I truly do long to be with her, as much as possible.'
The weeks to come would determine if Mami's hopes and dreams would be realized…