Chapter Nine: Apple of My Eye

The sunlight glared in through at Madoka and she groaned quietly, sighing from the occurrence of nightmares that night. She looked down to see Kyouko, splayed out in their bed: One hand resting behind her head the other on her belly, hair fanned out like the tail of a peacock. Madoka smiled warmly, brushing her fingers against the side of her face lovingly. The red head murmured 'Madoka' in her sleep, before letting out gentle breathing in her sleep again. Madoka stretched and went downstairs to make some herbal tea. Nothing exceeded Mami's potential, but the simplicity was all that was needed for a fine way to wake up. Ginger. Preparing it, she pondered the relevance of the dream she had. Unadmittedly, she liked the idea of decoding dreams: that there lingered subtle symbolism and concepts relating to waking life. She thought about keeping a diary of it, but knowing Sayaka, she'd come across it and poke fun at her attempt of psycho analyzing herself, when it all was just fun. The dream however was vivid and unpleasant. Was there something Kyouko still wasn't telling them. Where there some skeletons in the closet? Or was it all her? Was her mind just a-pickle of what has been said and revealed and a part of her didn't want to trust Kyouko? The kettle boiled and she made the tea, cautious on her way back upstairs with the cups, Georgia O' Keeffe prints decorating the walls in smart frames.

The sound of the shower echoed through the hallway and seeing Kyouko nowhere, Madoka guessed she was having a morning wash. She smiled, seeing that Kyouko was taking advantage of the opportunity to now use their facilities and went into the bedroom. She arranged to meet up with Sayaka in the evening with Kyouko on the phone, telling her what had happened.

'Damn, Madoka. Why didn't you say anything to us before?'

'I guess I was afraid. We both were. We didn't want you guys to look down on her. She's had it rough'.

'She sounds like a trooper to me. Tell you what, I'll buy dinner tonight. We'll check out that new place that opened up near the riverside. It does real spicy stuff. I hear they're serving the ghost pepper in there! Let's see if she can handle it.'

'Are you sure?'

'Of course. I wanna know her a bit better. You guys are clearly soul mates, connecting that well so fast. Is she coming to school?'

'Yeah, we're gonna sign her up after christmas. She's… not too enthusiastic about that'

'Hahah, I figured. Well, cya guys later, 'kay? Good luck with your sketching'

'Okay, Sayaka. Thanks! Cya tonight!'

Madoka hung up, hearing a shy knock at the door. 'Come in'.

Kyouko crept in, wrapped in her supplied Maroon towel. She was still emitting steam from her wash. Madoka went to her bag to take out her sketch pad and pencils. 'You okay with doing some posing today before we go meet Sayaka?'

'That sounds good to me'

The soaked redhead, peered over at Madoka who was averting her gaze to sharpen her pencils at the waste bin. Feeling somewhat devilish, she removed her towel and turned to rub her hair dry properly, not exactly facing away from her. Glancing in her direction, Madoka turned a bright red, taking the opportunity to check her out. She was remarkably slender. While not exactly possessing many curves, she still had somewhat of a desirable form of beauty. Being tall, there was much given to appreciate and her breasts stared directly at her alluringly. Lowering the towel to shake her hair side to side, she gazed over at Madoka, seductiveness swimming in her eyes.

Gulping, Madoka returned her attention to the pencil she was sharpening, only to find a tiny stub of lead and wood left. She grabbed another pencil hastily. 'So, Marshmallow, see anything of interest?'

She shook her head exaggeratedly, keeping her eyes on her task now 'Uh-uh'.

Kyouko snickered and turned to get changed. 'Don't feel bad about looking at me. I mean, I assume you're gonna have to draw me nude at some point, right?'

'Y-yeah'

'So what's the big deal? We've bathed together. Seen each other naked before'.

Madoka stopped her work and whispered 'I guess I feel a little… overwhelmed and intimidated'

Kyouko blinked, then chuckled 'Intimidated? Again? By what?'

'Girls! Breakfast' Tomohisa called.

After the delicious fry up and Kyouko's first interaction with Tatsuya, they returned upstairs, Madoka having grabbed her hand and dashed up with her. 'Bye bye, Kyouko!' the little boy yelled from his highchair.

'Ya see?' Tomohisa, grinned to Junko, handing her her coffee. 'That has sisters written all over it'

Junko shook her head slightly.

'What is it?'

She whispered to him, quite frankly ' I don't know, darling. That doesn't say sisters to me at least'

'Oh, come off it! They're getting on so well'.

Tomohisa turned to his own serving of fry up now, whilst Junko looked in the direction of the staircase in deep thought.

Kyouko gave a crude smile to Madoka, who sat opposite at her desk. Kyouko was on the bed, leaning on the windowsill, instructed to look outside as the sun bore in. The point was to focus on foreshortening with her legs, tucked in and behind or drawn to the side in almost a lying position and lighting if possible.

'Madoka'

'Yeah?'

'Stop undressing me with your eyes and get on with it'

The cotton candy haired babe pouted. 'Must you assume my thoughts are sexual?'

'It's a joke'

'Well, it isn't funny' she snapped, surprising Kyouko a tad. She scowled in return.

'Okay, chill. Geez'

Quietness set in as Madoka focused intently on her work. Occasionally, she frowned and sighed angrily, taking the eraser. 30 minutes past and Madoka still wasn't satisfied with her work. It was clearly driving her up the wall.

Kyouko tilted her head a bit, observing her now. 'Marshmallow, take a break'

'I'm trying to get this right. Stay still'

'It's hard to. The position is bugging me'

'Kyouko, just a minute'

The redhead frowned and sighed, getting up, to which Madoka growled, throwing the sketchbook aside, making her friend jump.

'You're frustrated'

'I know' she retorted, bitterly.

'C'mon, Madoka. Take a break. You've been pushing yourself. We can try again later' She rested a hand on her shoulder to soothe her. Madoka sighed again, more relaxed and more as a response to her own childish behavior. Kyouko leaned in and hugged her, rubbing her back. 'Art is hard work. I know… Tell you what, let me draw you'.

'Huh?'

'Won't it be something interesting to show your teacher? Art from the person you've been studying? I dunno, but I'd like to try. Do you mind?'

Madoka smiled at the proposal, flattered that she inspired her own subject: A muse to her muse.

Her muse's muse.

She giggled.

Kyouko, gave a small smile 'What?'

'Nothing. Here's my book I'll get myself comfy and in a pose for you'

Having their places switched was rather refreshing and offered a bit more insight into what the other person was probably thinking. Madoka sat comfortably on the bed, her knees tucked to her chest, facing Kyouko. It was kinda amusing, seeing Kyouko figure things out. She scratched her head at some points, getting confused with the idea of proportions. There was a moment where her hand was heavy on the pad and a deep, low scratch etched into the paper. It was obvious there was gonna be distinct differences in their work. Taking a moment to properly figure out more details on Madoka, the small girl smiled, somewhat teasingly. 'Stop undressing me with your eyes and get on with it' she said, imitating Kyouko but with an exaggeratedly deep, grumbling tone.

Kyouko blushed deeply, having her own words thrown back at her and she chucked a white cat plushie at Madoka, making her laugh and she grinned stupidly in return. A few seconds later, she finished. 'Okay, that's the best I could do'. She handed her the pad. Kyouko's work was much heavier and darker, but there was certainly a style to it. The shading was scratchy and dominating somewhat, but overall, the proportions didn't look too bad. There was something about the image that connected with Madoka quite deeply. Maybe it was the choice of pose or the style with aggressive, thick scratchy features, but something delivered a very saddening interpretation to Madoka. Maybe it exclaimed something about Kyouko herself. Kyouko was beginning to read her, like she'd been reading Kyouko. She knew Madoka was feeling pressured and felt alone in her struggle. That in someway, figuratively speaking, they were both feeling alone until they found each other.

'It's beautiful' she said at last.

'Heh, it's kinda hard to make out. I don't draw much obviously'

'No, I can make it out fine. I love it. Thank you'

The red head smiled appreciatively at her. Being able to make something, to do anything, to pay her back for what she's done made her feel at ease. It was an odd feeling. As she was drawing Madoka, she felt her mind being wrapped up by her adorable image. It was almost like a dream; the warm intrusion of morning light hugging her, her soft, light skin almost illuminating and those cherry blossom, champagne eyes that made her drunk with adoration and... desire. It wasn't just a desire to be like her as she'd mentioned in her outburst yesterday, but a desire for her. To embrace her, caress and stroke her, to stare forever into those beautiful eyes, cup her chin and draw her close so their lips met and... She shook her head, blushing furiously at that thought. They were friends and even that she was skeptical of. She didn't want to lose someone she was finally opening up to and these feelings were just making it worse.

'Are you okay? Your face is red'

'Y-Yeah, just a little warm right now' she chuckled, uneasy now.

'Yeah, let's take a break now. Ice cream?'

'Ice-cream!' she exclaimed, excitedly.

End of Chapter Nine