As the door opened the sound of a little bell welcomed Madoka and Homura into the small café. The place was almost empty, save for two other customers that were sitting in different tables, each doing their own thing with a cup of coffee next to them. Behind the counter there was an old man, probably in his sixties, that nodded his head to welcome the two girls. Soft music could be heard coming out from one of the speakers, though it sounded more like background noise than something to actually listen to. A sign of 'please silence your phone' hanged from behind the counter, Madoka quickly taking note of it took out her phone and turned its volume all the way down.
To say that Madoka felt out of place would have been an understatement. The pinkette felt like a complete outsider. As if the small shop and the outside were two completely different worlds, and she was just an invader that had wandered into the shop by mistake. Homura, on the other hand, felt completely at home; Madoka almost felt as if she had seen the girl in this place before.
The girl that had fought countless times, the only person she knew she wasn't going to be able to save, sat in an old couch. A warm cup of coffee was in front of her, the visible vapor that appeared from inside it showing that it was still too hot to drink. Homura, still wearing the ribbons Madoka had given her before becoming the Law of Cycles, turned her head towards the windows from which Madoka was observing her; and an expression Madoka had never seen in any of the loops Homura had gone through decorated her face, an expression of defeat.
Madoka had already lost count of how many times Homura had tried to make mistakes in battle on purpose, trying to fill her soul gem full of grief. But every time it happened Madoka simply cleaned the gem enough to not let her die. She wanted to make sure Homura would be properly saved, but if her plan was right, she would need to keep her going for a little longer. As much as it hurt Homura, and as much as it hurt herself. She knew, or hoped, that the best option would be to let Homura be tricked by the incubators. She had already talked about the plan with Sayaka and Nagisa, though she didn't tell them everything. She knew that Sayaka would disagree with it. Letting Homura rip her from the Law of Cycles was a big bet, and with her future sight not going further than that… She just hoped Homura would do the right thing in the end, she needed to eventually get her memories back if she wanted to save her.
"Madoka, do you prefer the couch or a chair?"
Homura's sudden question brought Madoka back from wherever she had been. The girl tried to focus on what she had seen, as it felt important to her, but it didn't matter how hard she tried to remember, there was nothing but static and fading emotions left.
"Madoka?" Homura called once again, an extremely worried look forming on her face.
"Eh? Ah- sorry, what did you say?" asked Madoka, trying to force a smile as not to make the girl worry too much "I was impressed by the place, sorry"
Homura seemed to relax at the words after a few seconds of consideration, apparently the excuse Madoka had given her was enough.
"Would you prefer to sit on the couch or on chairs?" Homura repeated her question with a relieved expression.
"The couch seems more comfortable" said Madoka, as she looked towards a couch near a window that gave her a familiar vibe.
Homura nodded and started moving towards it, picking a paper menu from the counter on her way there. Madoka reached the couch first, sitting near the window, and placed her schoolbag next to her. What was a surprise was, that instead of taking the couch in front of her, Homura simply sat besides Madoka.
"They have other drinks if you don't like coffee" said Homura as she handed the menu to Madoka "I will pay for it, so get whatever you want"
"Eh-? Ah, uhm…"
Madoka stuttered, still trying to understand why Homura had just sat next to her. It wasn't even that the girl had sat next to her, she had sat as closely as she could. Madoka could feel the beautiful ebony hair gracing her; and a fragrance of lavender taking over the classic smell of the coffee shop.
In an attempt to calm herself, Madoka picked up the menu and started looking in it. Most of the first pages were different blends of coffee beans, and words that Madoka didn't understand like: 'Affogato', 'Macchiato', and 'Cortado'; Though the word 'Expresso' was familiar as it was how her mother usually ordered her coffee. After a few pages other drinks started to appear in the menu. A nice variety of teas and even a few smoothies, though clearly less detailed than the coffee section; it felt as an attempt to bring in more clientele.
"I'll have the melon smoothie then" finally decided Madoka, handing the menu back to Homura.
"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat? They make good cakes here" said Homura, opening back the menu on the last page and sliding it towards Madoka. Her mannerisms were as always, calculated, with purpose, almost as if they had been rehearsed. But with how close the girl was sitting next to Madoka, so their shoulders touching as she sled the menu across the table was inevitable.
"I don't want to make you waste so much money" nervously laughed Madoka, trying to make the image of the anatomy practice sketches she had done of Homura go away from her mind.
"I wouldn't be wasting it" said Homura, pointing to one of the cakes that were in the menu "I think you would like that one"
The image instantly caught Madoka's eyes. The base and walls were made with ladyfingers, a filling of whipped cream and homemade strawberry jam glistened with the light; the top of the cake seemingly made of crushed cookies and an ever so thin layer of more strawberry jam. All of it laced with a strawberry on top. For a second, Madoka was able to stop thinking about the situation she was in; her mind focusing on the cake that seemed to be made for her.
"You can get it" reassured Homura.
"N-no, it's too much" Madoka said as she looked at the price, two thousand yen for a slice of cake seemed like a lot; and with the smoothie already being nine hundred yen… "The smoothie is more than enough"
"You are worth way more than that" plainly said Homura. She didn't hesitate, it didn't even feel like a compliment or even an attempt at flirting. It felt as if Homura was simply stating a fact. And, even though at first Madoka had simply been surprised by the statement, she quickly realized what Homura had just said; her heart beating fast enough to make Madoka worry about Homura hearing it.
Madoka thought about refusing again, but with Homura piercing her with a determined gaze… there simply was no way to say no, she knew that the discussion would end up going for a few minutes before Madoka gave up. And besides, the only reason for refusing the cake was the money it costs…
"… I'll have the strawberry cake too" embarrassedly whispered Madoka in a sign of defeat, once again losing to Homura's seemingly infinite money. Or at least Madoka hoped it was, because at this rate Homura would have spent almost twenty thousand yen for her in less than a week.
Homura's gaze softened at Madoka's words, finally retrieving the paper menu and closing it once again.
"I'll be back in a minute" said Homura as she got up from the couch and headed towards the counter.
Madoka looked at the girl walk away. Homura left the paper menu back where she had picked it up from and started to tell the barista what they were going to order. The man nodded, and without saying a single word started to prepare their drinks, the sounds of the machines working now flooding the café. Though it didn't seem to bother any of the other clients, not even flinching at the sudden noise spike of the blender that was preparing Madoka's melon smoothie.
Homura waited next to the counter. Her gaze moving around the different jars that decorated the shelves of the café. She slowly turned around, her eyes now meeting Madoka, and a small smile appeared on her lips before she turned away; the surprise smile caught Madoka off guard, making her heart skip a beat as the pinkette let out a yearning sigh.
Madoka's mind wandered, going back to when Homura asked her to come here. The girl had felt so desperate, so scared, that it had caught her by surprise. That had been the first time she had seen Homura like that, and it felt like a side that she both knew well and at the same time a side that only spelled trouble. Because with how strong Homura was, something really bad had to happen for her to be like that, right?
It couldn't be that someone close to her had died, as far Madoka knew Homura didn't have any other family. They were spending all time together at class, so it couldn't be bullying or she would have noticed. Money problems then? No, Homura wouldn't have invited her if it was like that… or at least she hoped she wouldn't. In the end, the only thing Madoka knew was that she Homura wanted to be with her a bit longer; and that was something she was more than capable of doing.
I mean, if I could I would be with you all the time…
Madoka imagined the two of them preparing lunch together, Madoka making some curry (the thing she best knew how to cook after all) and Homura chopping the ingredients as she wore a nice violet- no, pink it would be better if they wore each other colors, a nice pink apron…
Then we would relax in the couch, the tv on just as background noise…
And then we would go to sleep together, and I would cradle in your arms as we both tried to sleep but it will all get too-
Madoka quickly shook her head, the scenarios her imagination was showing her making her go beet red with embarrassment. She tried to calm herself down, trying to take control of her breathing. But the vision of her and Homura… intertwined… wouldn't go away so easily. And when Homura suddenly leaned on the table, placing Madoka's smoothie in front of her and giving her a side glance between strands of hair as dark as the night…
"Are you okay, Madoka?" asked Homura, leaning a bit further in to get a better look of Madoka's face. "Your face is completely red"
Whose fault do you think it is?!
"I-I'm fine!" said Madoka, as more scenarios came into her mind with how close the girl's face was. "It's… it's a bit warm in here, don't you think?"
"I see" said Homura as she stopped leaning on the table, Madoka let out a breath she had been subconsciously holding in.
Homura walked back to the counter, picking up her coffee and Madoka's slice of cake. But before turning back she seemed to say something to the barista, who nodded along after taking a quick glance at Madoka.
Homura returned to the table, placing her coffee first before handing Madoka the strawberry cake. Behind the counter, the barista pushed some buttons in the wall.
"I asked him to turn on the air conditioner" Homura, once again, sat next to Madoka. And, once again, moved in closer to the girl until nothing more than a centimeter or two were left between the two. "You should have told me sooner"
"ahahaha… sorry, I didn't want to bother you" nervously said Madoka, taking a sip of her cold smoothie to try and cool down. "Mm! This is pretty nice!"
"Yes, it really is" said Homura before taking a short sip of her coffee. The brew was as dark as her hair, not a single ray of light being able to pierce through the liquid.
"I already knew you liked dark coffee…" stated Madoka as she let out a small chuckle "But that's a whole other level, you didn't even use sugar."
"I like how it tastes" simply said Homura. "It's also the simplest to make"
"Isn't it too bitter?" added Madoka, taking a long sip from her melon smoothie before letting out an embarrassed giggle. "I can only drink coffee with lots of sugar or condensed milk…"
"I got used to it" Homura made a small pause, looking at her cup of coffee, before she spoke again. And although her voice seemed like the cool voice she always used, Madoka saw a bit of red on the girl's cheeks "Besides, I already have more than enough sweetness with you by my side…"
Homura quickly went for a long sip of her coffee, trying to hide herself inside the cup. Madoka on the other hand was trying to form a sentence, but Homura's words simply threw the girl into a short circuit; only random babbling coming out of her mouth before she gave up and took a sip of her smoothie.
Homuraaaaa what do you mean by that?!
Sayaka would often say that Madoka was too sweet. Even her mother would say so from time to time. But the way Homura had said it, the way she had hidden herself inside her cup of coffee afterwards. How could Madoka not think there was something more behind the girl words?
A few minutes that seemed like an eternity went by. Both girls didn't say a word, simply taking a sip from their drinks once in a while. Homura wasn't even looking at Madoka, instead having turned her head slightly to the side, just enough to not let the pinkette see her face. Madoka on the other hand was completely focused on her smoothie, to the point that she had almost forgotten about the strawberry cake she had in front of her.
Madoka pulled the plate a bit closer, the noise getting Homura's attention enough for the girl to look at it. Madoka picked up the fork and cut a small chunk of the cake. She stabbed the piece she had cut and ate it. The sweetness of the strawberry jam instantly hit her, some of chunks of strawberry were still intact but they were soft enough to be broken down with just her tongue. The ladyfingers had softened enough to be easily cut with the side of the fork, and when Madoka bit into one she found that the reason as to why was because they had been lightly bathed in strawberry syrup; the moisture making them softer.
"Mmmm~~!" Madoka happily hummed, quickly going for another piece of the cake.
Madoka could see that Homura was looking at her as she ate, her usual strong gaze had gone soft and her lips had curved into a small smile. The knowledge that Homura was looking at her making her cheeks jump back to the red hue they had had throughout most of the afternoon. Madoka, not being able to simply ignore the girl's gaze, slightly turned towards Homura; the empty fork still in her mouth.
"…"
"…"
"…What is it Homura-chan?" asked Madoka, unable to come up with anything better to say to the girl.
"Sorry" apologized Homura "I was… enthralled with how happy you looked while eating"
"It's not like it's weird to be happy about eating tasty food" embarrassedly added Madoka "…And I really like strawberries"
"Yes, it's normal…" Said Homura, her words coming out of her mouth with more weight than they should have for what was being said "… Madoka?"
"Yes?" asked Madoka, a bit of worry starting to form inside of her due to the pained eyes Homura had started to wear; though she made sure not to show this to Homura.
Homura stood in silence. The girl adverting Madoka's eyes until half a minute had passed, Homura took a sip of her now dwindling coffee to prepare herself and looked at Madoka before she started to speak.
"I…" The girl still seemed unsure. This was the first time Madoka had seen the girl look like this; She felt like a cornered animal that was trying to choose between fighting or simply giving up. Her grip hardened around the coffee cup, her knuckles turning white. "…I'm sorry"
Madoka was looking at her with a worried expression, the warm smile she had been trying to use to hide it fading away with Homura's apology.
"What do you mean, Homura-chan?" asked Madoka.
Homura looked away from the girl, unable to face her. So close. So close she had been to almost spilling everything out. So close to giving up and returning to Madoka her powers. To give up and hope that she would stay behind with her, that Madoka would decide to break the rules for her. To stay with her in this world, but to run away from the problems that the memory manipulation magic came with.
The day had been perfect if anything. She tried to follow as close as possible one of the many dates she had dreamed about years back, and it had been going better than she expected. Maybe Madoka would have forgiven her today if she gave her memories back. Maybe she would have asked to stay besides her for longer, to run away from her duty as the Law of Cycles. To keep the normal life Homura had promised her under the rain.
But Homura knew that wouldn't be the case.
She knew that the moment Madoka got her memories back she was going to be angry with her. She should be angry with her after all she had done. That after taking her powers she would go back to the Law of Cycles and fix everything Homura had done. And that, worse of all, she would simply end up taking Homura to the Law of Cycles. That there would be no punishment for her own sins. Madoka may never forgive Homura, but Homura knew that Madoka was too kind to give her a proper punishment.
And yet… Homura knew she couldn't keep Madoka locked forever. That the longer she had her here, the more Madoka was going to suffer in the end. That giving her memories back was the right thing to do. But in the last seconds, after she had tried to make what would have been their last time together as good as possible. After trying to enjoy Madoka's company for one last time… Her determination had completely crumbled away, nothing but dust of her resolve remained. The only other option to make sure that her memory alteration magic required her to completely ascend and become a concept; to leave Madoka behind.
Something she knew she wasn't strong enough to do… not with Madoka being so close to her. Not with her being showered in her kindness every single day.
"Homura-chan?" Madoka started to raise her tone, the worry of her face grew deeper.
"…I'm sorry for making you come here" said Homura, whether she had meant the café, or the gilded cage she had created not even she herself was sure.
"Don't be!" exclaimed Madoka, a hint of annoyance at the apology behind her voice. "I also wanted to spend more time with-"
"I took advantage of your kindness" interrupted Homura.
"You didn't!" Madoka shouted back. "I already told you! You deserve kindness, Homura-chan. You aren't taking advantage of any-"
"But I am" explained Homura, interrupting Madoka once again "I knew you would come if I showed myself like that. I knew that you won't leave someone that's hurt behind, even if it would harm you to do so"
Silence fell between the two. Madoka closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her expression becoming a serious one after reopening her eyes.
"Are you saying that you were acting before? That you really didn't feel like you did?" asked Madoka.
Homura adverted her eyes.
"I was-"
"Please don't lie, Homura-chan" interrupted Madoka, her stern face showing sadness for a second before she pulled herself back up.
Homura looked up at the girl, focusing her eyes on Madoka. Madoka's eyes were filled with so many emotions: anger, sadness, worry… Homura tried to speak, to say an excuse that would maybe make Madoka angry at her. Something that would make it easier for her to leave. But she couldn't, not while facing Madoka. Once again, she realized she simply didn't want to leave her side.
In the end, she wasn't able to say anything.
"You really felt that way, right?" asked Madoka.
Homura opened her mouth as to speak, but no sound came out. Her words stuck in her throat, she simply nodded as an answer.
"You didn't want to be alone" Madoka's voice became gentler, her stern expression starting to fade away and leaving way to her usual kind smile. "There is nothing wrong with-"
"I don't deserve yo-"
"Homura-chan!" Madoka exclaimed, the sudden raise in the girl's voice making Homura flinch. "Stop interrupting me just to hate yourself"
"…sorry" whimpered Homura before averting her eyes from the girl. Her hands were slightly trembling, making Homura have to put her coffee on the table as to not spill it. Though this meant her hands weren't occupied now, and so Homura tightly closed her hands on top of the table; trying to hide her shaking.
"Really…" Madoka sighed "I already told you, Homura-chan" Madoka placed her hands over Homura's, her gentle yet firm grasp holding Homura's hands with determination "I don't like it when you say you don't deserve kindness"
Homura didn't answer instantly, making sure she wouldn't be interrupting Madoka.
"I don't. Not after all I've done" answered Homura, her hands tightening even harder.
"You do" Madoka reacted to Homura's gesture, making sure to hold the girl's hands with more strength. The feeling of her touch anchoring Homura to the world. "I don't know what you are punishing yourself for. But whatever it is that you did, you still deserve to be happy"
"Others don't think the same" said Homura, looking to the ground as a slight pain started to make itself known in her chest "They would probably be happier if I wasn't here"
Madoka raised Homura's hands up to her eyes, forcing her to directly look at her eyes. A weak embarrassed smile decorating her face, the girl's cheeks being tinted by a slight tone of red.
"I want you to be here, and I want to be with you" Madoka made a small pause as she tried to get her next words out of the knot that had formed in her throat "You promised you wouldn't let me be alone, right?"
"Yes…" Homura replied, letting herself get lost in the girl's pink eyes.
"I didn't think I would have to tell you…" Madoka's smile became gentler as she tightened her grip around Homura's hands "But it goes both ways, you know?"
"Eh?" muttered Homura, still lost in the vast expanse that the pink eyes of the girl were, only broken by a few ever so small splashes of gold.
"It's embarrassing to say…" Madoka closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes a more determined look was on her face "I promise I will always be by your side, Homura-chan"
Homura's heart started to race. A weight being slowly lifted of her shoulders, she could feel a few tears going down her cheeks.
"I promise, I will make sure to listen to whatever problems you have" Madoka kept talking "Even if I can't do much to fix them, I will make sure to stay with you"
"Even if I did things that would hurt you?" asked Homura, her voice was breaking as she spoke.
"I don't think you would do such a thing" reassured Madoka.
"But what if I did?"
"Well…" Madoka took a small breath, a comforting expression on her face "I would get angry"
"Then-"
"But that doesn't mean I would leave you" Madoka hesitated for a second before leaning forwards and hugging Homura, the warm embrace completely making the girl's tears come out "Because I know that would hurt you. Because no one deserves to be alone"
"…That wouldn't be fair to yourself" Homura cried as she returned the hug, tightly embracing the girl to make sure she wouldn't disappear "Why do you have to be so kind to everyone but you"
"Why do you have to be so hard on yourself?" Madoka let out a small quiet chuckle "See? We both have something to improve on."
Madoka slowly got away from the hug and faced Homura, a smile appearing on both girls faces.
"Are you feeling better now?" asked Madoka.
Homura wasn't sure. She could still hear her own worries about the future shouting at her from the back of her mind. She could feel the Devil being scared of how close she had been to saying everything to Madoka. And if she were to close her eyes, she would still see a dark path ahead of her. She had learnt to always think of the worse possible outcome and she still was doing so, but at the very least, Homura could now look right next to her and see Madoka. The promise to not let her be alone bringing hope into her grief consumed soul.
"A bit" Homura whispered as she went to dry her tears with the back of her hands. "I'm sorr- No. Thank you, Madoka"
Madoka smiled at the quick correction of the girl. She properly sat on the couch, and before Homura could close the distance as she had been doing throughout the day, Madoka moved closer to Homura until they were shoulder to shoulder; Madoka's warmth filling Homura, who wasn't able to hide her blush.
"I'm glad" Madoka sighed. She hesitated for a moment, but after a second of thought slowly leant on Homura's shoulder "If you ever feel like this again just tell me, okay?"
Homura nodded, unable to properly answer to the girl. The pink hair was tickling her a bit whenever she moved her head to face Madoka.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, simply enjoying the silence between the two of them. The only sound that once again filled the café being the background music and the other patrons that were typing away at their laptops. Madoka was the one to move, pulling her head up from Homura's shoulder.
"I should probably finish the cake" she laughed "I don't want to waste it"
"Of course" said Homura, a bit saddened by the fact that Madoka wasn't using her shoulder as a pillow anymore. She looked at her coffee; There was still a bit less than a third left, but it had already turned cold. She picked up the coffee and took a long sip until the cup was left empty, she braced herself for the stronger bitterness of the lukewarm coffee. Instead, it tasted sweet.
[-]
The sun was setting behind them tinting everything it's light touched in orange hues. Homura and Madoka walked down the street, Madoka's house starting to appear on the edge of their vision.
"If only there wasn't school tomorrow" complained Madoka with a sigh "I would ask you to stay over for the night…"
"It's okay" stuttered Homura "I don't want to be too much of a hassle for your family"
"Stop with that" Madoka angrily pouted, though her tone had been more playful than actual anger.
"Sorry" quickly apologized Homura.
They reached Madoka's house, stopping right before the front yard. Madoka took a few steps forwards and turned around to face Homura.
"I had fun today-" She let out an embarrassed chuckle "Though I guess I always say the same, don't I?"
Homura smiled in agreement, preferring to enjoy the sound of Madoka's voice rather than speaking.
They stood in silence in front of Madoka's house for almost a minute, neither of them wanting to say goodbye. In the end it was Madoka the one to speak up, probably realizing that Homura wasn't going to take the initiative.
"Well… I guess this is a goodbye" she said, a bit of a sad look in her eyes.
"Yes…"
And yet another wave of silence fell between the two. Madoka fidgeting in place, while Homura simply couldn't bring herself to start walking away. Homura tried with all her might to start walking away, and after almost a minute the girl was able to start turning around. Her actions were completely stopped when Madoka suddenly ran up to her and gave the girl a tight hug.
"See you tomorrow…" said Madoka, her head completely burrowed in Homura's shoulder.
Homura was shocked for a few seconds, but eventually was able to return the hug to the girl.
"See you tomorrow, Madoka"
They held the hug for a few more seconds, every time one of them started to let go the other tightened their embrace. But, after a while, they both let go. Madoka turned around and started walking towards her house, not saying anything else as it was not needed. Homura stood for a few more seconds in front of Madoka's house before she turned towards her house and started walking towards it. A big feeling of warmth inside of her.
A/N: Hope you all liked the chapter, the café scene was supposed to just be 2k words at most but it started to go on and on and I really felt like writing a lot of Madohomu. So yeah.
The chair saga has also come to an end, I was able to grab a chair from an office that was transferring cities for half the MSRP. I am now able to write for longer than 30 minutes without my back killing me.
As always, thanks for reading.