Chapter 10: A Symbiotic Kiss

Kyouko yawned and stretched her arms up over her head as she padded down the stairs, returning to the all too familiar first floor. Homura, who had descended the steps ahead of her and had turned to check the redhead's progress, looked more than a little guiltily at Kyouko's briefly exposed midsection. The older girl smirked to herself and dropped her arms, allowing her shirt to fall back around her person.

It was a testament to her maturity that she didn't laugh when a purely disappointed look crossed the shield user's face.

Pursing her lips and turning away, Homura muttered something about breakfast and stalked over to the kitchen. Kyouko followed with a twisted smile on her face, still laughing internally.

The world outside was still and cool. It had stopped snowing overnight, but a solid layer of the stuff still covered every available surface. Kyouko was actually surprised that school hadn't been called off for the day. Maybe they didn't do that anymore?

Well, not that she would know.

Meanwhile, Homura glided into the kitchen and began rooting around in the myriad of drawers there, sifting through various items with a contemplating look on her face. Still biting her tongue, Kyouko glanced at her as she took a seat at the small table by the island. She briefly realized then that this was the first time she was seeing Homura looking less than perfect. The smaller girl's hair was always sleeked back to the point of impeccability, with not a single hair out of place, and she almost never looked tired or frazzled.

Not that Homura looked totally baked at the moment, either. Just a couple of stray strands of hair poking out at random intervals, marring the mirage somewhat. Casual, wrinkled sleepwear. The occasional yawn. A slight slouch. Just a little bit of messiness, and Kyouko found herself surprisingly attracted to this new side of the her. It was such a stark contrast to the girl's usual prim appearance that...alright, she was going to say it, she thought it was kind of sexy. Just a little bit.

"I thought you always had cereal for breakfast?" The redhead voiced aloud, partly to distract herself from her less than morally sound thoughts. Her friend twitched in response, pulling out a set of actual ingredients.

"It's too damn cold for cereal," Homura replied sluggishly, closing her drawer at last. "And I'll have you know that I'm actually quite capable of cooking good food. I just never wanted to bother."

Kyouko smirked quietly to herself. "That's reassuring. You'd make a better housewife than me, at least."

She couldn't see Homura's face after she said that, but she did see the tips of the girl's ears go slightly red.

As she cupped her chin in her palm and watched her friend spark the stove, she knew full well what kind of effect her words and actions were having on the raven haired girl. She knew that the platonic element she had introduced to their relationship had seemingly come out of nowhere, and that it was somewhat unlike the redhead to be so abruptly friendly with anyone. But in her mind, it was justified.

"I hope you like soup in the mornings," Homura murmured as she began chopping vegetables. Kyouko grunted assuringly in response.

She'd been in a tough spot after that visit to the hospital. Kyouko knew that she was as afraid of losing anyone as the next person, despite the strong front she had put up in front of Homura. She had been superbly angry that Mami would do something so stupid to protect a mere school friend, but was patient enough to suppress her impulses long enough to let the blonde recover before blowing her cap. Except Mami never gave her the chance. It had left an ugly lump in her throat, because suddenly the last memory she had between them was her anger.

Then Homura came swooping in like a goddamn hero.

Kyouko unwillingly smiled when she turned to stare at the aforementioned girl's back a second time, as the thick aroma of meat and vegetables filled the morning air. She has no idea what she did to me, the redhead thought almost amusedly to herself. She had been falling, and Homura had unwittingly caught her.

"...we could fill each others' holes?" She shook her head. She somewhat regretted what she'd said after that, but it had been necessary to suppress her instinct to absolutely smother Homura.

Now she felt like she was falling again, but in a completely different way.

Slipping out of her seat, Kyouko strode around the island until she was standing behind Homura, who did her best to ignore her and instead focus on the soup. Turning around and leaning her elbows against the edge of the counter, the redhead prodded the other girl's arm and said, "Gimme a taste."

The time traveler eyed her for a moment before sighing in resignation. Reaching over a grabbing a ladle from a stand, she filled it with one scoop of the liquid and held it to her own lips, blowing on it gently before awkwardly holding it out for Kyouko to consume.

The redhead grinned and leaned forward ever so slightly, closing her lips around the spoon, taking her time as she locked eyes with Homura with languid irises.

They stayed that way for a long moment, two constitutions warring silently against each other.

Then Homura's face went beet red, and she shoved the ladle halfway down Kyouko's throat.

Gyuk-

Kyouko coughed dramatically and rubbed at her mouth.

"You didn't have to push it back so far, you know," The redhead complained and she jogged after her companion.

Homura rolled her eyes even as she tried to hide a blush. "Shut up. You had it coming."

"And just how is that, exactly?"

"How should I know?"

The two of them were currently weaving through the labyrinth of alleyways webbing through way throughout Mitakihara, like an urban spiderweb. It had started snowing yet again, but at least it was just a very light fall this time, tiny little flakes of the stuff descending from the dark gray sky to lend some illumination to the otherwise dark corridors. The two magical girls strode onwards, searching for prey that didn't seem to be present at the moment.

Their body language further revealed the fact. They were both in fighting form as a precaution, but their stances were relaxed and their weapons lowered to their sides. After all, it had been hours since the last demon sighting.

Homura breathed heavily into the scarf she had brought along with her and looked up into the night sky. She and Kyouko had decided to hunt deep past midnight today in an attempt to flush out more demons, but the idea had borne little fruit. She couldn't explain it. Ever since the death of Kiku Hanezawa, demons were becoming more and more scarce. No matter how she racked her brain for a possible answer, Homura couldn't come up with a reason why this could be. Even Kyubey didn't seem to know, when she forced herself to buckle down and ask him.

Regardless, the change was worrying. Less demons meant less expended magic, so cleansing their Gems wasn't exactly a primary issue. But it did trigger a deep suspicion within her. Whenever something fluctuated regarding the demons, it was never a good thing.

"So, pick up anything yet?" Kyouko called out from behind her in the snow coated alleyway, arms folded casually behind her head.

Homura paused and closed her eyes before shaking her head dejectedly. Any magical girl was capable of sensing enemies, but she was better at it than Kyouko. "Nothing," She sighed. "Not even a smidgen of despair. It doesn't make any sense. Activity usually spikes during the winter, after all."

She stopped in her tracks, long enough for the redhead to catch up with her.

"Maybe people are just extra happy this year?" The spear wielder suggested lamely.

Homura smirked slightly and reached out to lightly punch her friend on the shoulder. "Even if that is true, I doubt it'd cause this much of a difference. No, the demons are going somewhere; or at least, that's as far as I can confidently hypothesize. Where and why, I have no clue."

The redhead shrugged and crunched down on her last Pocky. "Well, there's no use in worrying about it then. We'll have to wait and see how things progress if we're going to make any decisions."

Homura nodded, knowing that was logical but still not liking it. It bothered her to sit around and wait for things to happen of their own volition. She needed to be in control.

"We've searched high and low everywhere in the city," She muttered, reassuming her stride with Kyouko next to her. "I refuse to believe that they have simply vanished."

"Well, if they really have migrated somewhere like you said, we'll find them eventually," Kyouko replied. "Either that or they've gone to an entirely different city, in which case it is no longer our problem. Lighten up a little, Homura. Not everything is the end of the world."

"Everyone needs a little pessimism in their lives."

The redhead grinned and slipped her hands into her pockets to warm them. "See, that's why I like you. You're so doom and gloom that it's entertaining."

"Glad I could be of use."

Any further retort was cut off when Kyouko suddenly sidestepped and closed the distance between them, so that they pressed against each other and the tips of their hair could intermingle.

"I think you're even more fun when you're optimistic, though," The girl whispered in her ear.

The suddenly heat on her lobe made Homura leap away and hold the side of her face, staring at her friend with a slight flush on her face. Kyouko just laughed and continued walking, exiting the end of the alleyway and emerging into the moonlit plains beyond. Dropping her hand and grumbling to herself, Homura followed.

The alley opened up into a large open space, covered with frosted grass and ringed by the skeletons of small trees. It was a park, the largest one in the city, situated at the very center of the metropolis. The middle of the park was dominated by a lake, frozen over now by the intense cold, standing stilly like a massive frozen heart.

"Damn," Kyouko whistled when she reached the lake before Homura did. "It's been a long time since I've seen the lake freeze over. Must have been years."

As they wordlessly approached the edge of the solid frozen expanse, Homura briefly thought that this was her first time witnessing the phenomenon. It was nothing special in the grand scheme of things, but the sight of it was a little striking. The entire surface of the lake glittered softly under the gentle glow of the moon, as if the city's heart were pulsing underneath. Frosted stalks of grass crunched lightly under her boots as she walked, giving everything a weirdly cool aura. It was beautiful, certainly, but a little surreal in its own right.

"Come on!" Kyouko suddenly called out behind her, before leaping forward and skipping a few steps away from the bank until she was completely standing on the ice.

Stopping at the edge of the grass and frowning at the redhead, Homura said, "Are we just abandoning the hunt now?"

"It's not like we were going to find anything anyway."

That much was true. "Are you sure that's safe?" She decided to ask, gesturing at the ice. "You don't know if it's thick enough to hold your weight."

Kyouko considered this for a moment, then stomped solidly on the ice. "Feels thick enough to me," She shrugged. Then a wide grin. "Unless that was a joke about my weight. Come on, get over here. Let's have some fun."

"I'm fine," Homura sighed. "You can go have fun by yourself."

"Killjoy. Why not?"

The time traveler didn't answer immediately, instead looking up to regard the world around her. It was a bowl of white on a bowl of black, as the night sky above them clashed peacefully with the ivory landscape. Lowering her head again, she bit her lip before admitting, "I...um, I can't swim."

A raised pair of eyebrows. "What, seriously? You of all people?"

Homura's flush deepened as she dug a needless hole in the snow with her toe. "I just never learned. It was never very necessary." Her breath billowed out as she spoke.

Kyouko snorted, two brief jets of steam floating away from her nostrils. "I feel like you've never associated with anything you consider unnecessary."

"Well, I do associate with you."

She said it with her eyes closed in exasperation, so Homura was understandably less than prepared when Kyouko lunged forward and seized her wrists before dragging them both over the expanse of the ice. Gasping at the sudden move, Homura instinctively dug her heels in to create resisting friction, but only succeeded in slipping and falling back on her rear. In keeping with the redhead's momentum, the two of them slid further towards the center of the frozen lake, further away from the bank. Further from safety, in Homura's mind.

Drawing in a sharp breath when she realized that they were now standing entirely on ice, Homura scrambled jerkily to her feet and clung to the nearest stable object, which just happened to be Kyouko.

The redhead laughed loudly as the time traveler curled the edges of her coat in her fists, striving clumsily to regain her footing. "Well, how unnecessary am I now?"

"Shut up," Homura hissed as she wobbled to her heels. "Do you realize we are standing over open water right now?"

"So what? It's frozen. What scares you so much?"

Homura pursed her lips as she finally managed to stop wobbling. "I fell in once, as a child. I haven't been very inclined since."

Kyouko laughed when the smaller girl's momentary neglect caused her to stumble again. "You've got the weirdest little phobias," She smirked as she reached out and held Homura firmly by the shoulders, helping to steady her. "Can't swim, hates sharing beds, hates mazes..."

"I'm justified on the mazes."

Kyouko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Hold still, would you?" She abruptly asked as she bent slightly and trailed her finger down the length of Homura's calf.

Jumping at the sudden contact, Homura spat out, "What are you-"

"Would you mind letting me into your soul?" The redhead asked her casually, as if she had just asked for the time instead.

Homura blinked blankly back at her. "My soul...you mean grief sharing?"

"Yeah, whatever you call it. Would you?"

It wasn't something petty that Kyouko was asking her for. Grief sharing, the melding of souls, was a phenomenon that had been recently discovered in magical girls, and still had questions surrounding it. But at a basic level, it was the event in which two girls allowed their mental barriers to fall so that their souls may intermingle, often in an attempt to augment each other's power.

The tactic was mostly used for combat enhancement, but only between pairs who were comfortable with each other and very compatible. Common benefits included hybridized abilities or even constant telepathy that negated the need for spoken words. It was extremely convenient, if the circumstances allowed for it.

But she was getting ahead of herself. To be frank, grief sharing was considered a rather intimate affair amongst them. She had never done it herself, and didn't know what it would mean for Kyouko to be her first.

Her first. The parallels to something else entirely were terrifyingly numerous.

Not to mention, of course, that people who were unaccustomed to grief sharing often...lost control of their emotional stability, so to speak.

And something told her that losing control in front of Kyouko wasn't such a good idea.

Inwardly, Homura sighed to herself. Her answer should be obvious.

Raising her head, she said, "Sure. Go ahead."

Kyouko blinked before grinning widely. "What, seriously? I was almost sure you'd say no."

"I'm not that uptight."

"Well, then don't blame me for whatever might happen."

"How comforting."

Reaching forward, Kyouko placed the tips of her fingers on the other girl's Soul Gem and bit her lip, extending her magic. A moment later, Homura started when she felt something else, something separate, brush up against the boundaries of her consciousness. It was Kyouko's soul, so to speak. Or not even. It was Kyouko's soul, and it was requesting entrance to her own.

Gulping, Homura considered turning back. Kyouko would understand, certainly, and it was a little risky to do this so impulsively, without preparing themselves mentally first. The possibility of losing their grip was much too high. Not to mention that the redhead had failed to explain why they were doing this to begin with.

Then she met the taller girl's eyes for a moment, and that blasted curiosity dominated her again. She wanted to take the risk. Since when had Kyouko become so good at taking her out of her comfort zone?

Taking a deep breath, Homura opened her soul.

It felt...profound. Like something else was entering her body, and acclimating itself. There was the definite presence of something there, but it was both foreign a familiar, like a relative she hardly knew but didn't dislike. Their souls melded together, tentatively at first, testing each other out before eventually relaxing. A sense of togetherness, but they both still had a good grip on their own individuality. Independent symbiosis.

They both shivered involuntarily when the process completed itself and they fully clicked. Homura was a little embarrassed to admit that she fisted Kyouko's collar in her hand for a moment as she tried to keep herself balanced. The emotions, the thoughts, the desires of another person; they weren't hers, but she knew them, and it was taking a little effort to absorb all of it.

Both girls were panting slightly as they slowly regained their footing and looked at each other.

"Wow..." Kyouko murmured, inhaling forcefully through her nose. "That...I'd forgotten how much it shakes you. It's been a while."

Emotions were crowding Homura's chest, seemingly out of nowhere. Maybe because that had come out of nowhere. "You've...done this before?" She asked slowly, trying to squash the odd buzz rushing through her veins.

The redhead's vibrance seemed to dim momentarily. "Once or twice. With Mami."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Let's not talk about that."

Leaning down, Kyouko closed her eyes and seemed to focus intensely. Her Soul Gem glowed faintly for a moment, and then Homura saw the small red chains emerging from the redhead's hands to curl around the rims of her boots, quickly forming themselves into razors.

She stared dumbly at the new additions to her shoes for a moment, lifting one leg to examine the dark crimson edges. "You made ice skates with your magic," She noted unnecessarily.

A smirk. "Impressed?"

Now she understood. Without grief sharing, Kyouko would have been unable to manifest the blades onto Homura's body; outside physical contact with foreign magic was traditionally rejected.

Homura raised her head and regarded her friend cooly, but her chest still felt hot. "Maybe. Is this the 'fun' you mentioned earlier?"

"Of course it is," Kyouko smiled as she placed her hand flat against Homura's shoulder and pushed, so that the two of them drifted away from each other, both on their own crimson lattice skates.

"W-wait, Kyou-" Homura squeaked as she flailed her arms in erratic circles, just barely managing to avoid falling over again. She briefly thought how ironic it was that she could jump over skyscrapers, yet couldn't skate for her own life. Though she hadn't exactly done this before.

"Come on, push yourself over here!" Kyouko called out mischievously, smiling as the other girl awkwardly attempted to learn the new physics surrounding her. "Just glide forward slowly with your legs. For Christ's sake, it isn't that hard."

Pursing her lips and finding herself filled with a strange sense of determination, Homura leaned forward and attempted to glide, holding out her arms to her sides for balance. Thankfully, she didn't fall a second time, but progress was so painfully slow that is almost made her want to. Part of her wondered why she was indulging the redhead so much.

"Alright, that was...well, pretty bad," Kyouko said, deciding to drop any pretense of optimism when Homura finally reached her. "It's pretty weird. I always figured you'd be pretty good at things requiring coordination."

"Well, so sorry to disappoint you," Homura said through gritted teeth.

"Just copy me," The redhead suggested, gliding forward with obvious ease with her hands even clasped behind her back. She turned after a few yards and started skating backwards, her crimson coattails flapping gently with her momentum.

Homura rolled her eyes at the obvious flaunting but did her best, pushing herself ahead with notably less comfort. It was still difficult to control her body, but it didn't feel completely foreign anymore, and this time she managed to join Kyouko on the other side of the lake in less time. She arrived admittedly with a wide smile on her face at the accomplishment, but she chalked most of it up to the soul sharing.

"Getting better," Kyouko admitted. "Though you're still nowhere near my level."

Homura rolled her eyes. "Then do teach me, sensei."

"If you insist."

They skated like that for the next half hour, gliding aimlessly around the perimeter of the lake as Homura became steadily accustomed to the movements. It may have been unfamiliar to her, but she was always good at adapting quickly, and as time passed she became comfortable on the frozen lake, though the thought of the water lurking just beneath her feet did still scare her a little. But she did her best to ignore this and instead focused on Kyouko, the occasional smiles the redhead would throw back at her, and the little traces of white her skates would leave in the ice.

It made the world feel a little smaller around them, despite the great expanse of snow, as if by following Kyouko around the lake they were creating a universe for themselves.

Homura was staring and she knew it. Kyouko would laugh whenever she still made the mistake of stumbling, and she would see it and feel like giggling herself. The redhead just looked so free, twirling around on her crimson skates with the boyish smile of hers, as the world ended at the grassy banks surrounding them. She thought initially that this was born out of some hidden love for skating, but Homura soon realized this wasn't the answer. Kyouko was just having fun. The idea was unnecessary indulgence would normally have put a frown on her face, but now, as the two of them glided towards each other and shoved each other playfully, well...

She began to think that maybe this wasn't so bad, once in a while.

"Gotcha," Kyouko cried as she took advantage of Homura's thoughtful absence and swooped by, reaching out to push the girl and send her spinning. Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Homura flailed once before falling on her rear and sliding back painfully across the lake. The redhead stopped to guffaw and her victim, but only had so much time to celebrate when Homura stood back up and began to charge her.

Acting quickly, Kyouko bent down and scooped up a handful of ice, drawing her arm back as if she intended to throw it. The feint caused Homura to balk, and her momentum decreased dramatically, causing her to change course and jet past the redhead. Laughing at her success, Kyouko reached out and grabbed Homura by the sleeve, tugging so that they spun around their own center of gravity.

"Still not on my level," She smirked as the two of them gyrated in the same spot.

"Cocky little-" Homura began as she leaned forward to punch her on the shoulder, but Kyouko simply yanked her sleeve again and sent the smaller girl crashing to the floor. She barely had time to snort in amusement before Homura's hand lashed upwards and seized the redhead, dragging them both down.

Any semblance of actual skating was totally lost as the two of them proceeded to wrestle playfully on the ice, their laughter echoing off the trees and mingling in the soft black of the night sky. The world spun around Homura's vision as she opened her mouth and actually giggled uncontrollably, for what felt like the first time in her life. Maybe it was the grief sharing, or maybe it was just her. All the stress the universe had bestowed upon her, all the obligations and dark history, seemed to dissipate as she allowed herself to be lost in the pure fun of the moment. It was an exhilarating feeling, like something supremely heavy was being lifted off her chest and tossed aside by the laughing girl she was tangled with.

Energy was a finite resource, however, and soon the two of them became momentarily exhausted by their own antics, pausing with their backs still to the ice as they breathed hard and simply regarded each other. Kyouko seemed to have ultimately won the fight, as she hovered over Homura's body with her hands planted on either side of the time traveler's body, the persons nestled close together. Both of them were a little too winded to realize the acute intimacy of their position.

As Homura tried to suppress the endless stream of giggles, she took on Kyouko's face above hers, still feeling a stupidly carefree smile tainting her lips. It was freezing, but the redhead had worked up a slight sweat, and the tips of crimson hair framing the girl's face glistened with little specks of ice. She was wearing that toothed grin again, the one where her fangs poked out in the most eye-catching of ways, a smile Homura had grown to love over the months.

Their Soul Gems were pulsing faintly, in unison, like a synchronized heartbeat.

Their breathing calmed as time wore on, and suddenly the lake was silent around them.

"Still not...on your level?" Homura breathed out, her eyes lingering.

Kyouko smiled and let out a deep breath. "Getting there."

Then she lowered her head so that their noses were touching, one cold tip resting against another as the redhead closed her eyes and refocused on catching her breath.

Homura narrowed her eyes playfully. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked in mock suspicion, still thoroughly winded at the moment. The glow of her Gem picked up, and Kyouko's sped up in response.

Kyouko smiled sinisterly back at her, their eyes meeting between their close proximity. "Maybe I'm trying to steal one?"

She didn't know what urged her to say what she said next, but the results couldn't be denied. Maybe it was the emotional effect of her Soul Gem, or maybe she was just completely crazy.

Blinking once, slowly, Homura whispered, "Why don't you, then?"

Kyouko frowned down at her, eyes still not exactly clear, then leaned down and placed her lips on Homura's.

It was totally feasible, at least in the moment. They were sharing souls. Sharing souls meant an emotional link, and once you added a pair of locked lips to the equation, well...it meant that instead of buzzing, now they were rushing. Something thick, something undeniable, swept over Homura's mind, and she knew then that it was useless to resist it. Whether she wanted it or not, her soul was going to get it.

Kyouko started slow, but Homura surprised her by pulling her closer and tilting her head slightly, deepening the kiss. The redhead made a small sound in the back of her throat, and the vibrations traveled between them, sending a thrill through Homura's spine. The time traveler vaguely noted that Kyouko had her fingers tangled in her hair as they broke apart for a moment.

"H-Homura-"

It wasn't that she had any experience. She was running purely on instinct and adrenaline, and though the movement of their lips was sloppy it only served to add to the rawness of it all. It was so hot, despite the cold, and she wanted it even warmer. Kyouko groaned, her Soul Gem flaring brighter as she bit gently at Homura's lower lip, and suddenly they were scrabbling at each other, not just their mouths but their hands and legs as well, tangling together and gripping, pulling, trying to get more as they pressed against each other-

"Kyou-"

And then it was too much, as they weren't accustomed to maintaining a link through such thick emotional traffic. They hit some sort of limit, and their connection snapped like a taut copper wire, sparking and whipping apart as quickly as it had come.

The rush disappeared so soon that it felt like something was being torn away from Homura's chest, as Kyouko's soul quite literally fled back to its original host.

All that remained was the aftermath.

Each girl watched the other in horror as their eyes slowly cleared, until they were sharp and terrifyingly bright. A long, long silence pervaded the air between them as they struggled to catch their breath once again, only this time it was for an entirely different reason.

Homura was the first to react. Gasping like a beached whale, she forced her hands between them and shoved Kyouko off her, sending the redhead rolling as she tumbled in the opposite direction herself. The redhead did not seem to mind at all, in fact she obliged as she scrambled to her knees and half ran to the far side of the lake, stopping only when it occurred to her that she had nowhere to run.

Homura, meanwhile, fell back on her elbows as she stared at the redhead wildly, still utterly at a loss with herself. How had it gotten like this? They'd only grief shared for the skates, and then the wrestling, and...jesus, what was wrong with her?

Turning away from Kyouko's twitching form and pressing her forehead to the ice, Homura tried to process what had just taken place. But that brought back memories, and she did not want memories if it meant that her face got so hot it was nearly melting the surface beneath her cheek. She had to formulate some sort of response. They couldn't stay like this forever. But what was she going to say? There weren't many things one could do regarding damage control when they'd just been kissing-

[What are you two doing?]

Lifting her head, Homura was both dismayed and elated to see Kyubey sitting on the opposite bank, tail swishing impatiently. The alien had apparently been looking for them and had been attracted by the grief sharing, or at least that was what she gathered.

[I thought you were hunting for demons,] The alien continued, oblivious as ever to the situation he had just stumbled into. [Does this have anything to do with it?]

"Um...we were...we were just taking a break!" Kyouko exclaimed much too cheerfully, leaping to her feet and reaching down to help Homura up. "Right, Homura?"

"R...Right," Homura murmured, almost balking when the redhead's hand slipped into hers. The traces of connection were still there. "We...couldn't find any demons. High inactivity. Needed to allot our time differently..."

[...I see,] Kyubey replied, not sounding very convinced at all, but he didn't press the subject. [Very well then. We shall call it a night for today. Head back home and get some sleep.]

"Will do!" Kyouko almost bellowed, nodding her head violently.

Kyubey stared at her oddly before fading into the shadows.

Then it was just the two of them again, and Homura shifted nervously behind the redhead, unsure of what to say, or even if she should be saying anything at all. She would have time to lock herself in the bathroom and freak out later. What was she going to do now?

She was about to open her mouth and say something when Kyouko abruptly said, "Come on, Homura. Let's go and get some sleep. You...you have school tomorrow, right?"

And then she trotted off hurriedly through the ever thickening snow, leaving an astonished Homura behind.

Kyouko, concerned about school.

What have I done?

Pretty short chapter this time. I might extend it. Or not.

Hooray was unexpected sexual tension. I hope I built it up well enough. If not, well, full steam ahead anyways.

I like the grief sharing idea. Will probably use it again in the future.

This story could pretty much go anywhere from here. I don't even know myself. Maybe it'll get super sad, or maybe it'll get super slice of lifey. I might even change the rating to M, for obvious reasons.

Grief sharing with an M rating. How intriguing.

Anyways, ignore my rambling...do leave your thoughts in the reviews.

~Banshee