With Madoka's soft and tiny hand in her own, Homura's eyes were lowered to the sidewalk. The pink haired girl seemed to think of it as nothing more than a friendly gesture. Homura, on the other hand, was surprised they were doing it in the first place. 'I could've sworn this was something only couples did. Other people probably think we are one...' The reality pained her, though. Every day Madoka would refer to her as the amazing friend with the "super cool name".
'Each time I start a new timeline, I can feel myself falling for her even more. And then it hurts even worse when I have to see her die...'Forcing back tears, Homura came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk.
"Hm? What is it?" Madoka asked, tilting her head with curiosity. She zipped up her winter coat as she felt a cold breeze; a light snow had begun to fall. "Your eyes look so sad..."
Homura suddenly tightened her grip on Madoka's hand and pulled her close. She then released her grip and touched her rosy cheeks for a moment, then brought their lips into a kiss. The other girl didn't protest; in fact, there was no reaction at all.
Once the kiss parted, however, Madoka's eyes grew wide with shock. "W-what... Why did you do that?!" To Homura's fear, her tone sounded anything but happy.
"I... I'm sorry. We were holding hands, and you've given me cheek kisses in the past, so I just kind of assumed you shared my romantic feelings-"
"I don't! We're... we're just friends, Homura." Madoka replied, her voice low and shaky. "Friends can hold hands, can't they...?"
Homura quickly nodded. "O-of course! I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. It was just a random urge. Can we... pretend this never happened?"
Madoka's gentle smile returned. "Sure... I'm sorry for snapping at you... B-but um, if you like girls, there's nothing wrong with-"
"I don't. Like I said, it was just a strange thought." Homura replied quickly.
"A-alright then! So, I should be heading home now..."
"Okay."
Once Madoka was gone, Homura decided it'd be best to start over again. 'That was too awkward... I won't be able to face her tomorrow.'"And I lied. I'm in love with you, Madoka. No matter how long it takes, I'll save you. And if I'm lucky, you'll be mine someday..." was the last thing she whispered before resetting the time line.