Chapter 5

As the air turned crisp and the oxygen-thick Autumn air started to grace the lungs of everyone in Mitakihara, Sayaka noticed a change occur in Homura as well. Her demeanor towards Sayaka had shifted in a way that was subtle, but totally obvious to someone who had been living with her for three years.

Being someone who rarely needed company, Homura usually spent all her time secluded in her room, but now began working or reading in common areas whenever Sayaka was sitting in them too. They were doing this one morning, sitting in comfortable silence, when Sayaka abruptly shattered it.

"YYYYYYYYES." She shouted, her cry making Homura jump so high she nearly toppled off her chair. Reaching up to flex a hand over her chest, Homura glared over her shoulder.

"I'm not sure what you're so excited about but can we celebrate with our inside voices please?" She asked.

"I got a job!" Sayaka squealed, turning around her computer so Homura could read the email, her eyebrows raising.

"Well done. I don't remember you going in for an interview."

"They interviewed me over the phone. It's just retail, but still!" Sayaka did a little celebratory dance where she sat, jiggling her shoulders as Homura watched in bemusement before returning to her book.

"Congratulations, what venue?"

"Some little music store a couple blocks away! I figured that since I already know a little bit about instruments I might as well throw my hat in that ring. I start training on Monday, and my first shift's gonna be on Wednesday!" Homura nodded thoughtfully.

"That's nice. Retail jobs can be challenging though, I hope it goes well. Then again, you're always complaining about how you're stuck here so at the very least this might give you a change of scenery."

"Yeah! There's no way I'll ever regret it!" Sayaka declared, punching her other hand confidently.

x-x-x-x-x

Wednesday night, Sayaka opened the door and collapsed onto the couch.

"I'm dead." She groaned.

"How was your shift?" Homura asked from somewhere beyond the couch, and by extension, beyond Sayaka's field of view.

"Who, me? I couldn't have worked today. I told you, I'm dead." Sayaka groaned as Homura let out a single breath of laughter.

"That bad, huh?"

"Ten. Hours. Ten hours. Ten hours! Ten!" Sayaka said, raising her hands in speechless indignation as Homura approached, a small smirk appearing on her lips.

"How many hours?" She asked jokingly.

"Ten!" Sayaka replied, so incredulous her voice cracked, "Who makes someone work for ten hours on their first day? And it was right at the start of school too, so all the kids were joining band and buying different equipment...I must have touched like, ninety pairs of sticky hands."

"Well that's probably why they needed some new hires." Homura pointed out.

"Still." Sayaka pouted, "Leave it on them to push it on the rookie. There was only one other cashier! And people kept calling her away to ask her questions so I was the alone up there half the time...I dunno." She sighed, her body deflating into the cushions as she lifted a hand to drape it over her forehead. "It just sucks to finally get a job and have such a shitty first day. I was imagining something much more glamorous."

"It does seem a bit harsh." Homura said, appearing at the head of the couch, slipping onto it and reaching down to pet Sayaka's hair, ruffling it slightly. "I'm proud of you." Sayaka felt her heart flutter at that, a small burst of energy running through her body despite the fatigue.

"Thanks…" She said, giving Homura a small grin before sniffing the air. "What smells good?"

"I made dinner." Homura said, offering her a hand. Sayaka's eyes lit up as she gratefully accepted it.

"You did!? But you never take the time to cook! Oh that'd do me SO good right now." She groaned, standing up as Homura walked towards the kitchen. Abruptly, a thought came to her and she laced her arms around Homura's shoulders from behind.

"Sayaka?" Homura asked, not pulling out of her grasp.

"Hey...did you make dinner special 'cause you knew it was my first day?" Sayaka asked. Homura did not respond but the shoulders made a small motion under her arms.

"Maybe." Homura said shortly as Sayaka cuddled up behind her.

"Aaaawwww, my girlfriend's so thoughtfuuuuul." Sayaka cooed,

"Enough." Retorted Homura, trying to fight a smile as she reached back to shove Sayaka off.

x-x-x-x-x

"So I'm sure it wasn't all bad, were there any perks to getting back to work?" Homura asked as they ate. Sayaka tilted her head before nodding.

"Yeah, I'll admit, it felt good to be out and about again. To actually talk to people again."

"You talk to me. Sometimes a little too much for my taste." Homura pointed out in amusement. Both had noticed that their banter, instead of decreasing, had simply taken on more of a playful tone ever since they'd started going out.

"I meant real people Homura. Ones that didn't come from a factory." Sayaka shot back, a grin spreading across her features as she continued. "There was this one customer that actually took some time to talk to me, he seemed sweet! Goes to the local high school, I thought about asking after Kamijou-kun or something but…"

"-you thought better of it?" Homura asked, nodding understandingly. "It might seem odd, all things considered, since he wouldn't know anyone by your fake name."

"Yeah…" Sayaka said before shrugging, taking the grim thought surprisingly well, "But it's all good! Sure we were friends back in middle school too, but I'm over him anyways. I've got my eye on someone else." She winked at Homura, who rolled her eyes, running a hand through her silky black hair dismissively.

"Eat your food."

x-x-x-x-x

Homura was in a generous mood. She'd stopped by a bakery and, after much deliberation once she realized she only knew Madoka's tastes in pastries, grabbed a cream puff and was currently on her way to the music store Sayaka worked at. It was a new thing for Homura to make spontaneous little gestures like this, but, she decided to herself, maybe it wasn't entirely unwelcome.

As she pushed open the door to the music store, she saw Sayaka standing behind the counter, grinning impishly as she laughed at something a customer was saying. The customer was a handsome boy, roughly their age, maybe a little younger, he was holding a trumpet and smiling back at Sayaka in a way that made Homura's spine prickle. Homura approached the counter, trying not to look too eager as she brushed her hair over her shoulder.

"Am I interrupting?" She asked. Sayaka's eyes lit up when she saw her girlfriend approach.

"Homura!? What are you doing here?" Homura put her bag down on the counter.

"I just thought I'd pick you up from work." Homura said, her gaze shifting from Sayaka to the boy, silence falling over them for a moment as both unknown parties stared at one-another.

"Oh! Sorry, Homura this is Shinsuke, who I was telling you about the other day, this is my roommate, Homura."

"It's nice to meet you!" Shinsuke said, giving Homura a genuine smile and bowing politely.

"It's my pleasure." Homura said, repeating his gesture. He had a very nice smile, she noticed in annoyance. "Are you almost ready to go?" She asked Sayaka, who hesitated.

"Do you mind if I finish up with Shinsuke? I just need to ring him out." Homura nodded, her instinct telling her to keep an eye on them as she took a couple steps away to pretend to browse merchandise.

"Could you show me the position one more time?" Shinsuke asked as Sayaka voiced her agreement, reaching forward to grasp his hands and position them properly over the trumpet.

"Okay, here, fingers on the valves...bend them properly…" Reaching up, Sayaka took his fingers and brought them to a curve over the trumpet's valves, cupping his other hand around the tuning slide. Homura narrowed her eyes at the pair. "Theeere you go. Okay so, mouthpiece."

"Right, I'm still doing that wrong. The noise that I was making before was...not really a noise trumpets should make." Sayaka snickered, nodding.

"Yeah, there's a reason they don't have baby elephants in band class, that wouldn't go too well with the rest of the ensemble." Shinsuke laughed at that, a little too hard for Homura's liking as Sayaka puffed up and held it up. "Okay, so I'm gonna demonstrate a couple inches back so I'm not getting my germs all over it."

"Oh, I don't mind." Shinsuke said, watching intently.

"You sure?" Sayaka asked before tilting her head. "Ooookaaay but wash it properly afterwards, I'm not getting fired for giving you cooties." She brought it up to her lips and showed him to the proper procedure, his eyes fixated on her lips with what looked like more than academic interest. Homura grit her teeth, no longer trying to hide her view of the situation as she leaned against the counter. Bringing all her steps together, Sayaka puffed into the receiver briefly before fastening the mouthpiece to the trumpet and holding it up. "Give it a shot! See if you can get it down."

"Right!" Shinsuke nodded, following Sayaka's procedure and managing a weak toot as Sayaka applauded.

"Heeey, you did it! Good job, get a stronger pair of lungs on you and you're on your way to a level 0 class!" Sayaka said, clapping him on the shoulder amicably as he grinned at her, giving her arm a squeeze in thanks, letting his touch linger as they looked at one-another for a moment.

Homura coughed.

"Oh! Sorry Homura, I'll try to hurry up." Sayaka said,smiling back at her girlfriend. Roused from their little moment, Sayaka went behind the counter again and rang the boy up as he pulled out his wallet, his cheeks a little red from the contact.

Once he'd paid, Shinsuke hesitated, opening his mouth for a moment without any words coming out, looking like he was about to muster up the courage for something before Homura stepped close to Sayaka, reaching out to tug a lock of her hair.

"Ow! Hey! What's gotten into you?" Sayaka cried, pulling back and frowning back at Homura.

"Do you have your bag?" Homura asked as Shinsuke, his confidence shattered, turned to head out the door.

"Bye, Sayaka!" He called back, and Sayaka turned to wave at him, a smile suddenly appearing back on her face. Homura, annoyed, reached down to pull Sayaka's face back and plant a kiss on her lips, her gaze not wavering from Shinsuke as if to make her claim known. His eyes widened before he pivoted on his heel and walked out. Homura felt a hand rest blissfully on her chest before it suddenly regained its senses and shoved her away. Sayaka reached up to wipe off her mouth, glaring.

"Hey! I'm still on the clock, what's gotten into you?" She asked, glancing around for witnesses. Homura looked out after the boy before frowning from the door to Sayaka. "What!?" Sayaka pressed indignantly.

"Get your stuff." Homura snapped, leaning against a nearby pillar. Sayaka stared at her girlfriend in speechless annoyance before, with a growl and shake of her head, stomped off into the back room.

The walk home was silent and moody, with Sayaka shooting sidelong glances and Homura silently boiling on her side of the sidewalk, neither of them wanting to make a scene in public.

The second the apartment door closed, however, Homura bared down on Sayaka.

"What was that?"

"What!?" Sayaka cried, throwing her hands up, "What's your damage?"

"That. Back there. All the-" Homura crinkled her hands up, tapping them against one-another, "Touching and looking and the big eyes."

"With who? Shinsuke?" Sayaka asked before waving her hand dismissively, scoffing and smiling. "Noooo, that's nothing! I mean...I don't mind him sure, he's got the makings of a good musician. Granted, that's what I liked about Kyosuke. But he's just a customer!"

"Not from where I was standing. Not from the way he was looking at you." Homura replied scathingly, Sayaka's smile faded.

"Are you against me making friends!?" She asked, her tone taking on an air of suspicion.

"Of course not," Homura said, holding up a hand, "In fact I encourage it, then you won't have to come me to twitter and chirp about every single solitary thing that happens to you. I just think that you should maybe not flirt with your 'friends' as much as you are." Sayaka reached up to grip the top of her sleeve in annoyance

"I'm not flirting! That's how we talk! That's how normal people talk! Not that you'd know." Sayaka shot back, groaning when Homura gave her a doubtful look, "I knew you had a jealous streak but I didn't think it was this bad." Homura buried her face in her hand.

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation. This is why I didn't want you to get a job, I feel like I have to babysit you in everything you do."

"You didn't want me to-who are you to decide that!?" Sayaka asked, jabbing Homura's chest with a finger.

"It's not my place, which is why I didn't speak up." Homura said, reaching up to grip the finger and push it away.

"I can take care of myself. The world's not full of people out to stab me in the back or take advantage of me! I-"

"How can you be so naive!" Homura practically shouted, "After all that's happened? After all I've seen you go through? It wasn't a witch or another magical girl that made you die over and over again, it was Hitomi, and that boy. The second your heart breaks you break with it." Homura looked up at Sayaka, almost nose-to-nose with her before letting out a grumbling sigh, "I thought you'd grown up a little, but you really haven't changed since middle school."

Sayaka let out a furious breath, her fists clenching before she spun on heel and stomped into her room, slamming the door. Homura watched her go, jaw locked in anger before she exhaled, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her shoulder as she set about cleaning the apartment, hoping it would calm her down.

Finally, when the futility of the task hit, she walked over to the window and slid it open before transforming, knowing a bit of witch-killing would calm her nerves. Seeing the curtains blowing from Sayaka's room let her know her roommate had a similar idea.

Checking her weapons, Homura suddenly let out a groan and buried her face in her palm. She'd forgotten the cream puff at the music store.

x-x-x-x-x

Sayaka was still angry by next morning. She explicitly waited to wake up until Homura had left the house and ate her cereal indignantly, slapping her spoon against the rim of the bowl.

"Thinks she can still treat me like a kid...I know how to take care of myself!" She said to no-one in particular as she finished eating and got dressed for work.

Sayaka's shift began more or less uneventfully, and gave her extra time to boil and think about the injustice of it all. About halfway through her time at the store, Shinsuke came in again and headed right for the counter, looking around to make sure its occupant wasn't busy with any other customers.

"Uhh, hey Sayaka, mind if I talk to you for a little bit?" He asked as Sayaka gave him a weak smile. "You okay?"

"Oh yeah, it's nothing, my roommate and I just got into an argument." Sayaka sighed, trailing her fingernail across the counter.

"Your roommate?" Shinsuke asked before suddenly remembering the other day, "Oh. That's right, your roommate." He paused for a moment before continuing, "You two, uhh, seem close?"

"Ah," Sayaka clicked her tongue, "Did you see that yesterday? Don't worry about that! She-uhh-spent a semester abroad, tries to act all European all the time y'know?" She lied, trying to keep her tone steady.

"Right! Right, that makes sense." Shinsuke said, seeming satisfied by the lie.

"So what did you wanna talk to me about? Manage to break that trumpet already?" Shinsuke seeming more confident now, let out a short chuckle.

"Not exactly. I'm actually here for you, I was wondering if...after your shift was over, you might want to get coffee?" He asked, Sayaka noticed he was playing with his hands more than he usually did.

"Coffee? Naah, not really into coffee." She replied flippantly, a little downbeat, Shinsuke tried again.

"Okaaay how about dinner?"

"I could do dinner! What's the occasion?"

"I was more asking for a date."

"Oh you've got a date? Kinda weird you want me along too but no judgement. Who's the lucky lady?" Shinsuke, seeming baffled this was going so far off course, cleared his throat.

"Well, I mean...I was hoping it would be you."

"Oooooooh." Sayaka said, now understanding his intentions, "Oh." She repeated, realizing now all the hints he'd dropped before, "OooOoohh!" Came the third as Sayaka realized a boy was asking her out for the first time. "Ohh…" She said a fourth and final time, now realizing she'd just yelled at Homura last night for guessing correctly.

"Oh?" He asked, looking confused at how much revelation his confession caused. "Is that a good 'oh' or a bad 'oh'?"

"Three good, one bad." Sayaka said, trying to gather her thoughts. "This is a lot for me to process, I mean I've already got…" She trailed off, pausing for a moment. Isn't this what she wanted? A world where she didn't have to worry about magical girl things? This could be her ticket to happiness, or at least some sense of normalcy.

"You've got a boyfriend?" He asked.

"No I've got...a lot on my mind. Y'know, new jobs and all that, college to think about." Sayaka lied. She didn't know why she was being dishonest, but suddenly doubts had started cropping up in her mind by the tens. "Can you give me until the end of work to give you an answer?" Shinsuke smiled and nodded.

"Of course! I know I kinda sprang it on you so...take as long as you need." He reached forward to grip Sayaka's hand and squeeze it briefly, an action she certainly didn't rebuff, coyly brushing her hair behind her ear and waving at him as he walked out of the store before releasing the smile she'd been holding with a long exhale.

Why had she lied? Sayaka reached up to ruffle her bangs in frustration; despite the fact that she was pretty sure she already knew the answer. She had some doubts that her relationship with Homura was completely...justified. Sayaka was happy with it, certainly! But since Homura had lived with her, provided her with shelter and food for the past few years, Sakaya had to ask herself: was she doing this out of love? Or because she felt like she owed her fellow magical girl? In times like these she would have killed to have Madoka back-Sayaka had never known a better or more empathetic listener.

Reaching up, Sayaka curled a lock of hair around her finger, realizing, grimly, she definitely leaned more towards the "straight" side of the bisexual pendulum. She still found Homura attractive for sure, but getting this job reminded her how many cute boys were on the market. Kyouko had been important to her, but that was a relationship she had started on her own terms. Since Homura was the only person she'd had in her life for the past few years this felt a bit more Stockholm-y than Sayaka was comfortable with.

"This sucks." Sayaka decided as she stared into the stained counter.

"You're telling me! I've still got 6 hours left on my shift!" Another employee shouted from the clearance rack they were restocking, not realizing Sayaka was talking to herself. Lying her chin on the counter, Sayaka explored her options. She could come clean and admit she wanted to date Shinsuke. Homura was unpredictable but pragmatic, she would probably let Sayaka do it without so much as a fuss. That said, after however many years of being alone, the abandonment might destroy her. And the only other magical girl I know in the city...not to mention all I have left of my old life. Sayaka reminded herself.

She couldn't live for Homura forever just because it was easy. Sayaka had to make the best decision for herself at the end of the day. The idea of playing both fields came to mind unbidden...after all Homura didn't seem to care much about her personal life. But ultimately, Homura was perceptive, and she'd doubtless figure out she was being cheated on before too long.

Sayaka tried to think long-term. As a woman, there had never been a question in her mind growing up. She wanted a job and probably, eventually, to settle down and have kids. But since the contract had turned her life upside-down, the future was as blurry as ever. Some other magical girl could move in on their territory any day, or a witch could get in a lucky hit and...

Sighing, Sayaka realized the stress was getting to her and looked around the second counter for the packet of gum she always kept on her before seeing a bag on the counter she hadn't noticed before. In hindsight, she remembered Homura leaving it yesterday before she ran out. Her curious streak winning out, she reached inside to pull out a small packaged set of cream puffs, still sealed. A small generic tag attached to them read "because you're so sweet!" with a small winking dog. Homura had, however, written Sayaka's name on the tag above the dog.

Sayaka sighed as she looked at the bag. Even just looking at it reminded her of something important; Homura cared about her. She genuinely did. Sayaka could tell, since Homura didn't care about very much. The list was more or less limited to all things Madoka-related, coffee, shrimp, explosives-crafting, and nagging. But Sayaka was on that list too now.

And at the end of the day, Homura was on hers too. When faced with the choice of leaving the relationship with no consequences and no looking back, she felt a forlorn twinge at even thinking about it.

Sayaka sat down on the stool, looking down at the cream puffs and sighing. Was she willing to trade in this new happiness for something uncertain just because Homura wasn't a man? Because Sayaka was scared she might be in it for the wrong reasons? Or was she willing to try nurturing the blossom? Seeing if it might bloom into something more?

The shift had passed before she even knew it, and when she looked out into the afternoon sun, she was surprised to see Shinsuke coming back already, the bell ringing as he waved at her.

Sayaka waved back, looking down at the counter and steeling herself before looking back up at him and smiling.

"I...haven't been entirely honest with you. That girl that was over yesterday? She's not my roommate...she's my girlfriend."

"Oh? Oh. Yeah, it kinda seemed like there was something there." Shinsuke said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly

"Yeah, I didn't want to tell you, thought you might find it weird or something. Sorry."

"No, it's okay." Shinsuke paused for a moment., "So I guess you and I…?" Sayaka shook her head.

"Sorry, but I'm spoken for." He gave a forlorn sigh before smiling at Sayaka.

"Well, at least I gave it a try!" Sayaka nodded, beaming at him.

"Yeah! Plus, it was really flattering, I've never been asked out before, so I'm glad you were brave enough to try!"

"Really? Never?" He asked, the genuine surprise in his voice making Sayaka puff up with pride, "Where have you been your whole high school career? A hole in the ground?"

"Pretty much." She replied, although the answer was more 'a crappy high-rise apartment'.

"Can I still come around to hang out every now and again on your shift though?" Shinsuke asked, "You seem cool...plus I, uhh, really will need some more tips on that trumpet."

"Yeah! I like the company...no flirting though, I know your moves now." Sayaka said, bouncing her eyebrows amicably at him as they both laughed, interrupted by someone clearing their throat near the door. Both of them turned to see Homura standing there, her gaze downcast.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked Sayaka who, surprised to see her there, took a moment to answer, looking from her to Shinsuke and back.

"Y-yeah! Yeah, just gimme a sec." Reaching down she grabbed the cream puffs and her bag, running back to punch out and coming back to see both other parties shifting silently and uncomfortably. "Okay, I'm good!" Looking at Shinsuke, she felt her chest twist up. Last chance she thought to herself, before she turned to look at Homura, doing her best to look casual, putting on the same cute, overly-stoic front she always did, and suddenly feeling much more confident as she breathed out her hesitation, turning over her shoulder. "Seeya." She said to Shinsuke, who raised a hand in return.

"Yeah, later." Nodding to him, Sayaka took Homura's hand-her girlfriend's eyes widening in surprise before she led her out of the store.

x-x-x-x-x

Sayaka leaned against Homura as they walked, staring off into the city. How had things gotten so complicated? Was this all that was waiting for her in adulthood regardless of whether or not she'd become a magical girl? Homura squeezed her hand and leaned in to kiss the top of her head.

"I'm sorry." She murmured into Sayaka's head. "I was harsh. And jealous."

"I know you were trying to protect me." Sayaka replied, her lips tightening, "But…"

"But you can protect yourself. Because you're wiser than you were back then." Homura confessed, pulling back a little and looking down at her pumps as they clicked against the sidewalk. "I was just scared. I like what we have and I was worried that-if he WAS flirting with you that…"

"That I would choose him?" Homura's shoulders shifted uncomfortably at the notion.

"Yes." They walked in silence for a moment before Sayaka spoke up.

"Shinsuke actually asked me out today." Homura's step faltered for a moment and Sayaka saw surprise shine in her eyes before she masked it just as quickly, her body language closing up as the distance between them increased by a little more.

"I see. Of course, you should pursue what makes you happiest." Drawing closer, Sayaka reached out to lace their hands together.

"Yes, I should." She snickered. "And I decided it was you." Homura's hand tensed in hers a little bit before she recovered and nodded.

"Very well...well, if that's the decision you've come to, I suppose I'm still in your care for the time being." Sayaka laughed and a grin spread across her features.

"Do you have to make it sound so stiff?" She saw a bit of a blush catch on Homura's cheeks and caught up to give her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm in your care as well in that case." They walked in silence for a second longer before Homura, made a little uncomfortable in case there was any tension left, spoke up.

"Are you all right?"

"I wanna do it when we get home." Came the response. Homura thought for a second, shifting a little bit, her mind probably still on work. Sayaka prepared herself for the negative or a neutral grunt of some kind.

"Okay." Surprised, Sayaka turned to see Homura, head tilted down, flicking her eyes over to meet hers. "I...I don't like fighting with you. Not for real. I missed spending time with you." Sayaka stared, slack-jawed at Homura before throwing her arms around the other girl, startling her. "Hey!"

"Nope. I need this, you don't get a say."

"...spoiled." Homura grumbled to herself, managing to slip an arm out of Sayaka's embrace to give her a soft pat on the head.

x-x-x-x-x

After eating and going home, the two reclined together, watching TV as Homura brushed her hair.

"Are you all right?" Homura asked abruptly, Sayaka looking over to see her staring complacently.

"Can I?"

"Can you what?"

"Can I brush your hair?" Homura looked down at the hair brush, wrinkling her nose as she looked at Sayaka. Uh oh Sayaka thought, did I say something weird? The next second, Homura had tossed the brush into her lap, laying down on Sayaka's lap and closing her eyes.

"Long strokes, make sure you go all the way down, and not too fast on the knots." Sayaka blinked in surprise for a moment before snickering.

"Now who's spoiled?" Homura shrugged, smiling faintly as Sayaka grabbed the brush and started running it through Homura's hair

"Ow!" Homura cried when Sayaka brushed one knot a bit too hard, Sayaka reaching forward in concern.

"Oh! I'm sorry!"

"It's all right. Just careful, please." Homura said. Sayaka nodded, for such a tough-acting girl, she was surprisingly sensitive to pain. Sayaka had taken blades to the face, bullets, blunt trauma, and even burns without succumbing, but go figure an experienced Magical Girl would wince at a bit of hair-tugging.

Normally she'd tease Homura, but the mood was nice, so she stashed that information away for later.

Homura let out a small sigh of satisfaction, relaxing more against Sayaka, going limp in the crook of her thighs, hands crossed over her chest.

"Feel good?" Sayaka asked, Homura nodded.

"Mmm-hmm...keep going and you'll put me to sleep." Sayaka laughed, reaching down to run a hand through Homura's hair and gasping quietly. It felt amazing, like caressing silk. The fact that Homura was letting her touch it was a real sign of trust considering how much work she must have put into maintaining hair this luxurious. She heard Homura sigh heavily, watching her reach up to drape a hand on her forehead.

"I was so worried all day. I kept regretting everything I said to you last night. I was so sure the second I saw you you were going to…" Homura trailed off, watching the reflection of the TV off the windowpanes.

"Break up with you?"

"I was going to say 'kill me', but with your skill it would be a stretch." Sayaka snorted before gently stroking a finger against Homura's scalp.

"No hard feelings. I said some harsh stuff too." Homura shrugged.

"I have no idea how you put up with me. It's only going to get worse from here on out."

"What can I say? I have the patience of a saint." Homura looked up at her with a scrunched-up expression of disgust. "Okay okay, you're not that bad. Don't worry. You need to lose some of that bossiness, give up a little bit of control."

"Well, I'm not great at that." Homura admitted. Sayaka, seizing the opportunity, brought Homura's hair up to kiss it before leaning forward to follow up that kiss with another on her forehead.

"Maybe I can show you." Sayaka said, slipping up to curl her arms around Homura in mock restraint, binding her down as Homura reflexively tried to squirm out, reaching back to shove Sayka away and reverse their positions.

Homura wrestled a little like a cat; outwardly, it was rough and serious, but she meant no real harm. To Sayaka, the comparison was twofold, since Homura wrapping her lean body around Sayaka''s own and trying to hold her down felt more like tousling with a kitten than proper competition.

They finally ended up with Homura pinning her to the couch, hands kneading into her shoulders. Sayaka looked up and almost snorted at the faux-dominance on Homura's face; stony, with her lip slightly pouted in disapproval. The reaction made Homura frown.

"What?" Sayaka tried to keep the grin off her face, to no avail, before getting a playful idea. Placing her hand on Homura's wrists, she brought them together and sat up, reversing their positions, Homura's arms raised above her head and pinned together. Grinning, Sayaka watched as her partner tried to tug her hands apart, calmly at first, but increasingly agitated.

"Is there a problem?" Provoked Sayaka, as Homura knit her eyebrows and focused on trying to yank her hands from her girlfriend's steel grip. Soon enough she stopped completely and frowned up at Sayaka before redoubling her efforts, planting a stocking-clad foot on Sayaka's abdomen in an effort to kick her off.

Homura's legs proved to be more powerful than her arms, and Sayaka had to start exerting effort to prevent herself from being thrown off, but another plan formed in her head. Leaning in closer, she observed that Homura was too busy trying to wrench herself out to notice.

Resting her mouth against Homura's neck, Sayaka started with a deep kiss on her throat, making Homura squirm around even more, tensing her body up as she let out a brief, uncharacteristic whimper.

"Not...fair…" Grinning, Sayaka moved to the side and continued her kisses along Homura's pulse, moving back to a safe spot before nipping and sucking on the smooth, exposed skin, her ears nearly perking up as Homura tried to restrain cries of surprise, her breath becoming more laboured as Sayaka pulled off to look at the marks she left. Moving further up, she took a pause by Homura's ear.

"You like being held down like this...all vulnerable. You know that you're not getting away until I let you go. Come on, tell me you like being at my mercy." Sayaka teased as she ran her tongue along the shell of Homura's ear, earning a long, shuddering breath for her efforts before she moved lower to nibble at her ear lobe.

Pulling back to make sure her partner was actually enjoying things, Sayaka saw Homura with her eyes screwed shut, panting between slightly parted lips and tightened thighs.

"I...erm…" Homura opened her eyes back up and turned her head to the side, trying to avoid eye contact before Sayaka cupped her cheek and brought it back to center

"Don't look away." She cooed confidently, taking back her hand experimentally to see that Homura didn't turn, their eyes locked, an internal squeal of satisfaction bursting through Sayaka's body. "Hmm, letting me order you around? Now who's the boss?" Homura bristled and leered up at Sayaka

"Don't push your luck, Miki." She said, Sayaka knew she was playing with fire, but was too invested to back down now, using her thumb to tug down Homua's bottom lip, pinching it before slipping the tip in.

"Who's the boss?"

"Yerthbss." Homura mumbled incoherently, averting her eyes, but not turning away. Sayaka rewarded her with an affectionate brush of Homura's hair behind her ear, her other hand moving down to squeeze Homura's inner thigh, which twitched beyond her own volition.

"Come again? A little louder this time."

"You're the boss." Homura said, quietly but firmly. Bringing her eyes back to center, she began suckling the thumb that had drifted back towards her mouth, running her tongue along the tip carefully, getting bolder the closer Sayaka moved to her center. Sayaka had to suppress a manic fit of giggles as she observed the position she was in, wanting to burn the situation into her mind. She flirted with the idea of using her phone to record, but realized Homura might literally shoot her for it. Sayaka leaned forward to leer down at Homura as her hand ghosted the entrance to her partner's underwear.

"You know you're not leaving until I'm satisfied." Sayaka said, feeling trepidation of every action, like an ant bolting back and forth at a spiders web to test its defenses. "Do you want to satisfy me?"

"Yes!" Homura gasped as Sayaka started to tug her panties up, letting them press up against Homura's center, her thighs locking around them.

"Good girl…" Sayaka said as lasciviously as she could, moving forward until Homura's head was between her legs. Reaching down, Sayaka took a handful of Homura's hair. "Taking your time?"

"I'm enjoying the view." Homura said, her eyes flicking up to meet Sayaka's in a way that made Sayaka shiver with delight. She had to take back the reins.

"'I'm enjoying the view 'ma'am'.'" Sayaka said, getting into it as she gave Homura's hair a short, painless tug. Homrua gasped, moaning as she inhaled. Quirking an eyebrow, Sayaka reached back between Homura's legs, her fingers instantly meeting wetness.

"Yes ma'am." Homura breathed before turning to kiss Sayaka's thigh.

Sayaka was caught between giddy laughter and intense arousal, she'd never thought Homura would have a submissive streak; it was almost *too* easy to make fun of. Switching to a more authoritative posture and mindset, she looked down as domineeringly as she could.

She found her focus faltering, however, the second Homura's tongue met her sex. It had been a while since Homura had gone down on Sayaka and she had forgotten how completely, ridiculously good she was at it. *It's almost like she had one month to practice over and over again.* Sayaka thought to herself as she stifled a moan. Homura busied herself with circling Sayaka's folds before hitting her clit, pressing it before moving in to suck it. Sayaka turned to the side, pressing her knuckles against her mouth and wincing, she wanted so very badly to continue teasing Homura, but knew that if she opened her mouth, she'd completely lose control of her voice. Suddenly the stimulation stopped.

"Are...are you liking it?" Homura whispered up sheepishly, licking her lips, "I can't tell." It was then that Sayaka realized it wasn't a struggle for power. Homura was willingly giving it to her.

"Mmm-hmm...definitely." Sayaka cooed, moving her hand down to caress Homura's forehead. "In fact, I think you deserve a reward." Snapping her fingers, Sayaka magically wrapped a white blindfold around Homura's eyes.
"Wha-hey! No magic for sex, Sayaka, that's a rule." Homura shouted, groping around in confusing for a moment before reaching the blindfold. Sayaka simply snapped again and Homura's hands snapped together with another binding. Unfortunately it wasn't proper ribbon magic like Mami had, but summoning long strips of her cape was easy even for Sayaka.

"Sorry, were you just telling ME what to do?" Sayaka asked, magically summoning a bullet vibrator from the toybox she knew Homura kept in her nightstand, hoping this wouldn't bite her in the ass too much.

"No ma'am." Homura said, too caught up in their play to stay mad at her for long.

"That's what I thought." Sayaka replied triumphantly, reaching down to slide her fingers across Homura's stomach, earning a surprised wiggle. She could feel the tension in Homura's body, for someone on high-alert all the time, she was really letting her guard down for this. "Best not make too much noise...we don't want the neighbors all knowing what we're up to." Sayaka tittered as she reached for the remote and turned up the sound on the TV, the sounds of late night talk shows drowning out the pairs' pleasured moans.

A.N.: I wanted the chapter title to be: "Homura in the streets, Moemura in the sheets." but I forgot I'm not naming my chapters. No update for a long time but with COVID I figured some writing practice never hurts! Thank you so much to all the dedicated readers that take the time still to like and leave comments, I appreciate all of you! :)