These two are adorable children and tied for my favorite PMMM pairing. Don't get me wrong, I love me some madohomu, you can't not ship it, but these two are sweet dorks who would just get along so well together.

It was a warm late spring day in Mitakihara, warm enough that Kyouko was kind of regretting her usual hoodie. Still, she was glad for its pockets because they gave her a place to stick her hands when she wasn't sure what to do with them. Like right now, as she waited outside the mall for the rest of their group to assemble.

"So, uh… What did Mami say?" she asked her companion.

"She's busy today too," said Madoka, pocketing her phone. "It looks like it's just you and me, Kyouko-chan!"

"Er, yeah…" It wasn't that Kyouko didn't like Madoka, it's just that… what the hell did she have in common with the little creampuff? Madoka was a sweet, kind-hearted girl, kind of clumsy and naive, but always in good spirits. Kyouko was… well, none of that. She knew quite well that she was jaded and bitter and too rough to be around someone like Madoka. What if she hurt the kid's feelings somehow?

"Do you still wanna go to the mall?" Madoka asked.

"Guess so… They got an arcade here, yeah?" Games, she was good at. Games let Kyouko take her mind off everything but achieving an objective. And maybe she would impress Madoka. Not that that was the point or anything.

"Yeah, I think so." Madoka started into the building, and Kyouko followed.

It was much cooler inside. They'd turned on the air conditioning, which was a relief for someone wearing long sleeves like Kyouko. Madoka had on a short-sleeved blouse and crop pants, paired with a cute purse and sandals.

What a dork, Kyouko thought to herself, but with no malice. The sight of cute Madoka was soothing, a reminder of a world without tragedy. Kyouko's life had been hell, and she was glad that her new friend hadn't been similarly crushed. And when Madoka turned to her with a smile, Kyouko almost couldn't focus on Madoka's words.

"There's a really cute store that has shirts and accessories! Wanna check it out?" Madoka clasped her hands and gave Kyouko an eager grin.

"Up ta you. I don't really care." She caught how Madoka's smile began to fade. "I mean, it won't bother me. I don't mind. We can look at cute stuff. Could, uh, could be fun, I guess."

She let Madoka lead the way and glanced in all the shop windows they passed. A game store with a huge Nintendo display, a more generic electronics store, a gourmet chocolatier (they'd have to swing by later), men's clothing, books…

"Here we are!" Madoka stopped outside a store that was so cute it'd make Hello Kitty look grunge. Everything was pink.

Kyouko clamped a hand on Madoka's shoulder as the other girl made to enter. Madoka gave her a puzzled look. "You're so pink that if I don't hold on, I'll lose ya in there," Kyouko explained. Madoka laughed and nodded. "I wasn't really joking," Kyouko muttered under her breath, but she followed Madoka inside.

Clothes shopping was usually a harrowing experience. Mami had a definite sense of style and would throw countless garments at Kyouko for her to try on. Sayaka could never make up her mind and would spend hours deliberating. Madoka… managed to pick out items that were cute but not revealing, girly but still kinda sporty, not super pink, things that wouldn't be irritating to wear or that Kyouko couldn't pair with her regular clothes. She listened when Kyouko rejected most stuff, coaxed her into trying outfits that turned out to be not so bad, and encouraged Kyouko to pick out what interested her, not just what Madoka thought looked good.

"That wasn't too bad," Kyouko told Madoka as they were finishing up. "Hey- What are you-"

"You really liked this shirt, right, Kyouko-chan?" asked Madoka. "So I thought-"

"You don't gotta buy me anything," Kyouko said, trying to take the shirt from Madoka.

Madoka turned away, blocking her. "I know, but I want to." She smiled. "I had fun today, and, um…" She ducked her head. "Please don't take this the wrong way, okay? But I know you don't have a lot of money for new stuff. It's not charity!" she added quickly. "I just want to do something nice for a friend, and I thought maybe you could use it…" Madoka trailed off, her face red. "Was that wrong?"

Her anger deflated. Kyouko bumped her shoulder against Madoka. "Nah, it's okay. If you wanna, it's fine. I'll just owe ya one."

"You don't have to owe me anything," said Madoka.

Kyouko grinned and pulled out a box of pocky. She always felt better with something to munch on. "Humor me, okay? Lemme owe ya a favor, at least."

"If that's what you want." Madoka's normal good humor was back.

They purchased the shirt and went back to drifting around the mall. The bookstore had a good manga section, so the two girls spent about a half hour browsing. They bought milkshakes at a vendor and then visited the music store. ("Sayaka-chan asked if I could pick something up for her since she couldn't come today.")

It was approaching evening, and the two girls were ready to wrap up their outing. As they were leaving the mall, Kyouko caught sight of a UFO catcher game. "Hang on a minute," she said, veering over to the game. Madoka obligingly followed.

Kyouko scanned the contents of the game. A grey cat plushie with a bow around its neck was nestled in a good position, not caught under anything, fairly close to the drop point. She could do this. Kyouko pumped a coin into the game and took up the joystick. The claws closed on the plushie but slipped off. That was okay. Kyouko was just getting a feel for the machine. The next time she managed to pull the cat a bit closer to the drop.

A few more tries. More coins. Kyouko was getting frustrated. She didn't have that much spare cash left. Kyouko stepped back, took a deep breath. She wiped her sweaty palms on her hoodie and faced down the game one more time. Coin in. Careful… Careful… Grab it by the head… Slowly, time it just right… The cat hovered over the drop point - release! The prize rattled into the little cubby at the bottom of the machine and Kyouko retrieved it with a grin.

"Aaah, how cute!" Madoka beamed at her. "You did it, Kyouko-chan!"

Kyouko shoved the stuffed animal at Madoka. "There ya go."

"For me?" Madoka's face went pink with pleasure. "Thank you!"

"We're even now," Kyouko said, jamming her hands in her pockets and trying to will away the blush that rose in her cheeks. "That's all it is, okay?"

"Heehee. I think I'll call her Anko-chan," said Madoka, holding the cat at arm's length.

"Huh?" The alternate reading of Kyouko's name was something her friends occasionally used to tease her. "Wh-what kinda name is that?"

"A cute one," Madoka said. She bit her lip and leaned towards Kyouko. Kyouko froze on the spot, but at the last moment, Madoka shifted and merely bumped her shoulder against Kyouko. "Um… Th-thanks, anyway. I had a fun time today."

"Y-yeah, me too." Kyouko fumbled for some pocky to eat. She had to try twice to succeed in withdrawing a piece. "You're not bad to hang out with."

"Neither are you." Madoka reached toward the pocky, stopping with her fingers hovering just over the box. She shot Kyouko a questioning gaze. Kyouko nodded. Madoka smiled and took a piece. "We should, um, hang out again some time, okay?"

"Y-yeah."

"Just the two of us, I mean."

"Yeah."