Summary: Mami takes Homura out on a date to three different cafes. They're both a little rough on dating.

Nothing initially felt different when Mami woke up the following day. She got up, got dressed, prepared her food, snapped her hair and makeup in place with a dash of magic, and made her way out the door. But it was something about walking into the cold air that reminded her what happened yesterday, and pushed her into a daze.

She had asked Homura Akemi out on a date.

It ate up her entire walk to the school asking herself just how lonely she must be to ask out someone she genuinely doesn't know. Sure, she had gotten a glimpse of sincerity from Homura yesterday - a first glimpse after three years of cold stares from the distance and carefully avoiding each other while wraith hunting. But if she paused for half a second (or mulled on it for an hour), she couldn't find any evidence that she was truly interested in Homura. By the time she reached the campus, she had all but talked herself into texting Homura to ignore everything she had said after their battle yesterday.

"Mami! MAMI!"

Madoka's voice cut through Mami's rumination, and Mami glanced around. Madoka waved, Sayaka and Kyouko in tow, until they said their greetings and started walking in a line like any other day.

Relax. Stop thinking about Homura, it's time to-

"Homura, hey," Madoka greeted.

For a brief moment, Mami thought she might have been projecting her thoughts for everyone to hear, but then Homura appeared in view, walking briskly past the line of magical girls. She slowed, casting a glance back and a brief, "Hello." Before Mami could even try a warm greeting and maybe casually add Homura into the line, Homura sped off again.

Mami knew, now, that Homura probably wished she could walk with the others, talk and laugh like they did every morning. Maybe, if she shared this desire with the others - even just Madoka - it would be enough for them all to be more friendly towards her.

She settled on talking less and smiling more.

Homura: where are we going this weekend?

The text came halfway through lunch and Mami felt utterly unprepared for it. Did Homura actually want to go out with her? Or was she being cautious?

Mami: I have three ideas.
Mami: But I can't really narrow them down.

Homura texted back almost immediately.

Homura: why not try all three, then?

Mami: That will take a while...
Mami: Probably hours?

Homura: I'm not really doing anything but hunting wraiths this weekend

Mami stared dumbfounded for a moment. Was Homura providing excuses to spend even more time with her?

Mami: OK
Mami: Let's do it :)

Mami sat on the last message, finger hovering over the Send button.

"I don't think I've ever seen you text this much when we're all here."

When Mami looked up, Sayaka stared back with smug mischief.

"Pardon?"

Sayaka quirked her eyebrows and stage-whispered, "When'd you get a boyfriend?"

Mami just replied with a flat stare and an even flatter, "That isn't very funny."

Thankfully, Sayaka let it go before it drew the others' attention. When Madoka glanced over to figure out what was going on, Mami just gave her a reassuring smile and shook her head.

It's nothing, Mami said to her, and Madoka just nodded.

Mami picked her phone back up and hit Send.

The domains of magical girls were always odd. The longer they maintained them, the more warped they became to fit their psyche - something to do with the constant presence of magic, according to Kyubey. Mami had never stepped inside Homura's domain, but Homura had lived here for years, and even the exterior - the architecture, the streets - was warped into sharp, unnerving symmetry. Stepping towards the door made Mami felt like she was entering the painting of a child who had just learned two-point perspective drawing, and everything looked both flat and slanted.

She knocked on the door and waited quietly, unable to ignore the feeling that the neighbors were watching her, had no choice but to watch her.

Homura appeared in the portal a moment later. She wore a black turtleneck, a pleated purple skirt, and dark purple tights; if Mami ever saw her in bright colors, she just might die of shock.

"There was really no need for you to escort me to the tea shop, you know," was the first thing out of Homura's mouth, which Mami took to mean Wow you look so cute!

Mami just gave a benign smile and took a step back so Homura could lock up her domain - the place had an awful lot of key holes.

"Perhaps not - but as your senior, it's only right that I make sure you reach your destination safely, isn't it?"

For a brief second, Mami thought she saw a smirk cross Homura's face, but by the next it was tranquil again.

"So, Homura, what do you like to do - outside of being a magical girl?"

She stared down at her tea while considering that one, stirring slowly.

She said, "Well . . . I didn't exactly have many hobbies when I was younger. But I spent a lot of my time being sick at home, so I read a lot. I also kind of like people watching . . . I know that's a little weird."

Mami shook her head to dismissively, and Homura tacked on, "I also started watching anime in middle school, but I haven't really had the time in . . . a while. What about you?"

"Hmm."

Mami was doing her best to savor the tea, but knowing that she was going to have a minimum of two more cups plus snacks made her feel like she had to drink it down as quick as she could.

"Well, I suppose I mostly bake when I'm not trying to catch up on school work. I liked all sorts of crafts as a kid, but since I got my conjurations, I mostly make stuff with magic. I like being able to make little characters - key chains, dolls, and stuff - out of nothing. It's not intrinsically rewarding in the same way baking is, but it makes the girls happy. Makes them feel normal, I think."

Homura kept looking down at her tea. She swept her hair back and asked, "How are the girls doing?"

Now that was something easy to talk about. Mami set her cup down and leaned against the table, propping her head up on her hand.

"You've probably met somewhere along the line, but Nagisa Momoe joined us recently."

Homura tilted her head to the side curiously and asked, "The . . . sweets girl?"

Mami nodded. "That's right - she used her wish on a cake, so she has a rather adorable theme. We're still not totally sure what kind of magic she has, though. Support-oriented, whatever it is. I'd hate to think about her as a lone magical girl."

Homura didn't reply, so Mami just continued, "Plus, there's Sayaka and Kyouko - they're fighting all the time about dumb stuff, unfortunately."

"Oh," Homura cut in, "That sounds like it could get dangerous."

Mami shrugged. "Mostly for the furniture? And like, Kyouko's arcade machines I suppose."

A smile crept up on her face, sparked by all the times they spent not actively destroying their environment. Kyouko had been so slow to confess her feelings and Sayaka had been even slower to pick up on them, much to their friends' annoyance. They were also terrible at acting like a couple, still picking on each other and chasing each other around like a pair of middle schoolers instead of feeding each other pieces of each others' lunches or whatever they're supposed to do.

She said, "They're awfully cute when they're not fighting, though."

"Cute?" Homura asked, clearly confused by the word choice.

Mami waved away the question before reaching down for her tea. "Oh, you know. I just like it when they do coupley stuff. Makes hanging out more fun."

Homura's face turned blank, unreadable. After a moment, she asked, "Couple-y?"

"Um. Yes." Mami took a sip of her tea and placed it back down. "Sayaka and Kyouko . . . they're a couple. As in the dating kind."

"I had - I had no idea. When did that even start?"

Mami glanced up, trying to remember - and trying to ignore how uncomfortable Homura looked. "Maybe a year ago? Maybe a little longer . . . but they were definitely both first-years at the time."

Homura looked absolutely mortified. By the time her expression brought up enough discomfort in Mami to ask if she was all right, Homura said, "I thought they were rivals who barely managed to work as a team, not . . . girlfriends."

Mami laughed, delighted at that description. "I suppose they do look like that most of the time, but no. Maybe they were a little hostile for the first few weeks, but they're about as in love as two kids can get. It's adorable, really. Especially Sayaka - she's so hesitant to admit that she loves Kyouko, but once she starts talking about it she's just an absolute wreck."

Homura just looked baffled, which was worth its weight in gold for how much it made Mami laugh. By the time she'd calmed down and Homura had wrapped her head around the news, Homura had a new question.

"How is . . . Miss Kaname, then? Madoka."

"Hmm." How is Madoka doing?

As far as Mami could tell, Madoka was well. Every recent memory she could think of involved lots of smiles and laughter, even when it was mixed in with fighting - despite all of Mami's cautions, Madoka wasn't even scared of fighting. For a long time, Mami thought that meant she was being reckless, but Madoka was more likely to bail the rest of them out of trouble than the other way around.

"She's good. She's better than ever, I think - she's doing well in school, and she's happiest when she has her friends together, which is . . . just about every day."

Mami took the final sip of her tea and said quietly, "To be quite honest, I don't think I've ever made a better decision than asking Madoka to become a magical girl."

Homura didn't reply, her face characteristically sullen and empty. Mami knew she had heard her, but if there was anything going on beyond that endless stare, she had no way of knowing.

After more than a minute of silence, Homura murmured, "It sounds nice."

The crack in Homura's façade brought with it a feeling of déjà vu. Instinctively, Mami placed her tea cup down and lay her hand halfway across the table, as if offering it to hold.

"You know, Homura, if you wanted to be, I'm sure you'd be welcomed into the group. We'd all be happy to have you with us." She wasn't entirely sure that was true - Madoka would probably be happy as long as they got along, but Mami doubted they'd all get along - but it felt like the right thing to say at the time.

For probably the first time Mami had seen, Homura's posture closed in on itself - she shrank back in her chair, rubbing at the back of her sleeve nervously.

Homura said, "I don't think . . . um. I think I'm too scared of what the others would think of me, to be honest. Not everyone is like you, Mami."

Mami wanted to protest, but doubt held her tongue. It would take Sayaka a long time to ever trust Homura, at the very least. What the others had expressed about Homura even before they knew she was a fellow magical girl had not been very kind, and Mami could hardly guarantee it would be different just because she wanted it to be. She didn't know how to brute-force friendship like Madoka seemed to be able to.

"Well," Mami started with a smile, "at the very least, you can spend some more time with me."

The silence returned suddenly, but this time it was tense, filled with a discomfort that made Mami sure she'd said the wrong thing.

"Mami . . ." Homura started, so quiet that Mami was sure she wasn't supposed to hear. Homura said, "Um, Mami. I honestly can't tell if you're trying to comfort me . . . or if you're trying to date me."

"Both, I think," Mami replied quickly, laughing as a blush and surprise crossed Homura's face.

"Look," she said, "I'll admit it, I don't want a fellow magical girl to go it alone. That sucks and I don't think you deserve it. But, if we're doing honesty now, I also recognize something familiar in you. You're beautiful, you're fearless, and you know what I'm going through - which are, admittedly, important points."

Mami leaned on her elbow, hand still sitting halfway across the table. "I like that you're a magical girl . . . and I like that you're a girl, too."

Mami had never seen Homura blush before, and she was taking no small pleasure in it now.

Visibly antsy, Homura whispered, "I like girls too."

Emboldened, Mami bat her eyes and said Oh? before asking aloud, "And what kind of girls do you like, Homura Akemi?"

Watching Homura squirm was enough to make Mami discard the idea that asking her out had been a mistake altogether, but Homura didn't seem to get past the squirming. She started with 'I . . .' a few times, then dropped off to nothing, until eventually Mami took the hint that Homura probably had no idea what she liked in girls yet. It's confusing enough figuring out romance as a magical girl, but it must be even worse as that kind of magical girl. Mami herself probably wouldn't have recognized her interest if she wasn't friends with Sayaka and Kyouko these past few years.

"We can talk about something else if you want to-" Mami started.

She was quickly cut off by Homura saying, as if rushed to get the words out: "I like girls with a believing heart. I like the tenderness that emerges from hope - that thing that I used to see as fragility, to be protected. But it should be nurtured, I think. I want to nurture that in people."

"Hope?" Mami asked, quirking an eyebrow. She couldn't believe the word 'nurture' was making its way out of Homura's mouth at all. Perhaps she really hadn't ever had a clue what Homura was really like.

Homura nodded eagerly. "Yes. Absolutely."

Mami smiled admiringly. As she looked into Homura's eyes, she told herself that the emptiness she had seen there for so long must only be a projection, that deep down, Homura was sweet and tender, or at least could be, given the chance. It shone like a candle's flame inside her, and Mami felt drawn to it, drawn to the feeling of sameness and connection. Would it hurt to touch that flame?

Without even thinking about it, Mami said, "Well, I don't think I'm your type then . . ."

She hadn't meant it the way it must have sounded - it was that sameness that she liked, after all - but what she said only took shape in her head when she saw Homura's expression abruptly fall into cold discomfort. The candle was snuffed out behind Homura's eyes as they both grew quiet.

Mami swallowed nervously after a moment and said, Please . . . forget what I just said.

Homura only nodded in agreement, and they didn't speak further at the shop.

They kept the conversation light at the second shop, preferring to fade into silence any time a conversation might turn into anything weighty - or anything at all. So really, most of the conversation focused on their food - matcha tea cake with cream cheese frosting and vanilla ice cream. A little rich for the early afternoon, maybe, but Mami had noticed a long time ago her body didn't seem to care what she ate anymore. The fact that it looked pretty mattered more than anything else, really.

At some point, Homura said, "You know, I just really love sweet things. So this is nice."

And Mami asked, "Would it be OK if I made you cake at some point?"

Homura's eyes were wide as she replied, "You don't have to do that."

Mami said, "I won't if you don't want me to."

Homura swallowed nervously, looked down at her plate in contemplation, then said, "I think I'd like that."

And it got just a little bit easier for them to talk again.

It was mid-afternoon as they were making their way to the last shop, which was unreasonably far away from the other two and Mami never would have recommended it - except that it was a pop-up shop based on Sailor Moon, and there was no way she could pass up on the irony. Or the cosplayers, to be honest.

"Uh."

The two magical girls had been content to just walk together quietly for the past half-hour, so Mami was quick to pick up on the break in the silence and look at Homura.

Homura swallowed and said, "You know, when you said that you're not my type, I don't think that's entirely true."

Mami quirked her eyebrows with a telepathic Oh? but said nothing.

Homura started again, "I see some of that shine - that hope that I like - in you, Mami. And, and there are some other things I like about you, too."

Casually as she could, Mami replied with an immediate, "Like what?"

Homura was back to blushing, and for a moment she stayed quiet. This time, at least, Mami understood that it took Homura a moment to say anything embarrassing (re: personal).

"You look . . . very soft and gentle."

Mami laughed and said, "Oh, hardly! I blow up monsters with guns just about every day - sometimes twice a day!"

"I - I know that," Homura said, flustered, but then doubled down, "It's just that - your hands. They look really soft."

Mami snickered, raising her hand to inspect it. She used her magic probably too much on aesthetics - keeping her hands clean, her nails painted, her hair curled, and so on - but that did hide evidence of the work she did as a magical girl. She'd like to say that was intentional, clever even, but the truth was she just couldn't give up on femininity no matter how little it did for her anymore.

She glanced at Homura and offered out her hand. "You can hold them, if you're curious."

"Oh, okay!" Homura's reply sounded genuinely enthusiastic, but she made no move to take Mami's hand.

When she realized Homura wasn't going to take her hand, Mami dropped it back down to her side. She chuckled, hoping that hid her embarrassment.

However, the embarrassment grew and grew inside of her, until Mami was quickly forced to ask, "Do you not . . . want to?"

"That's not . . . it," Homura replied, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

Mami waited patiently for an explanation, until Homura said, "I guess I just don't . . . touch people very often. Or at all. I kind of have weird issues with personal space . . . and on top of that, my skin is really sensitive. Especially my hands and arms - I, um, I avoided holding hands as a child. Even with my parents. It was just so . . . much."

Mami still hadn't gotten used to Homura speaking frankly with her, and it took her a minute to wrap her head around Homura having actual reasons for acting the way she did beyond standoffish antagonism. The embarrassment from earlier was dying away, but there was still a smoldering shame.

Shame from having misunderstood Homura for so long.

Shame from thinking Homura deserved to be alone.

Shame that the recognition of Homura's humanity made her want Homura closer, to touch her, even in response to being told she probably wouldn't like that.

It wasn't a bad shame, just a reminder that she still had some growing up to do.

"Well," Mami said, "it's a standing offer."

Another smirk played on Homura's lips briefly, along with a quiet, "Thank you."

A few minutes later, as Mami was looking for directions to the pop-up cafe, she felt delicate fingers weave between her own. She wanted to act surprised, but all Homura's touch brought out in her was a want to be touched more - to be held, kissed, pet, played with. It might even be okay to tell Homura she would like those things; they were on a date, after all.

She settled on talking less and smiling more.

She could be patient.

(She wasn't the only one.)