The streets were being bathed by the orange light that came from the sunset. Some people were returning home, but most had just gotten out of their homes ready to go around throughout the whole night. The further in they got into Mitakihara's suburbs the less people walking around Madoka and Homura saw on the streets, with most of the ones that they still found outside being families that came back from parks or had just gone shopping.

Homura carried three bags that were full with the clothes she had bought, the ones that Madoka had chosen for her, the paper bags rustling with each step taken towards Madoka's house. She hadn't expected to end up going to Madoka's house ever again when she remade the universe, and even less did she expect to be able to cry while Madoka held her close once more. A moment of weakness that, at least for now, not even her dolls had decided to stop. Homura hadn't really thought that eating vanilla ice cream like she used to do after Madoka had become a concept would make her so susceptible to the pinkette's influence, but the familiar gentle flavor did more to her heart than she expected; memories from what had been the worst moment in her grief filled life coming back as Madoka assured her that she deserved to be with her.

She had been so caught in the moment that Homura didn't have the energy to resist Madoka's invitation to her house; At that point in time, the only thing Homura could think of was that she wanted to spend more time with Madoka; that she wanted to stay as close to her as possible for as long as she could. Had it not been because a time stopped Madoka wouldn't have the same warmth, she would have stopped time right there and then and enjoyed the moment for a few hours.

Though now that she could think clearly once again, she started to see that going to Madoka's house might not be the wisest idea. If she were to be treated like she had during the first loops, and she would be if it depended on the Kaname family, she was sure to break again.

She really didn't want to modify Madoka's memories, and her family's too since she had already sent a message telling them they were coming; and rewinding time back to the hug, before Madoka asked her if she wanted to come, would end up with her falling back into Madoka's trap and saying yes once again.

And she was completely against rewinding way before that; she didn't want to destroy such a moment.

Homura moved her eyes towards Madoka, the girl merrily walking next to her as she looked at her phone, and kept her gaze fixed on the girl. No excuse that would sadden the girl came to mind. There was nothing she could think of that would let her off the hook without hurting her beloved Madoka.

There was no point in trying to resist. She would eat dinner with Madoka. She would enjoy some time with her, and then she would go home. The hardest part would probably be convincing Madoka's mother that there was no need for her to drive her home, where she to do that Madoka would discover they didn't really live close; In fact, Homura's home was 47 minutes away from Madoka if she walked, a distance she had covered a million times during the loops (And a few times after, hoping she would miraculously see the girl) and knew by heart.

Not like she really used her house a lot lately anyways, she spent most of her free time at the half hill from which she could watch the entire city. While Homura was in the middle of her thoughts Madoka looked at her with a smile, stopping her train of thought.

"My dad is asking what do you want to eat for dinner"

"Anything would be fine"

"You always say the same, Homura-chan" Madoka put on a bit of an awkward smile "You can ask for things, you know?"

Homura closed her eyes for a few seconds as they kept on walking. It had been so long since she had wanted something that wasn't related to Madoka that she really couldn't think of anything. Of course, had it been for lunch she would have asked for cream stew since it was Madoka's favorite; but it being dinner it would be too heavy of a dish.

For a moment Homura thought of asking Madoka for what she wanted, but seeing what the girl had just told her it would probably make her a bit angry.

"If I have to choose…"

Homura stopped to think for a moment, what kind of foods did she like anyway? During the loops she would often steal military rations whenever she raided a military base; and after Madoka had become a concept she stopped eating for a long while as she tried to waste her magic as quickly as possible. Before all that she usually ate hospital food, or whatever the orphanage gave her.

If anything, the only actual food she had eaten was the one Madoka would prepare for her. And everything Madoka made was fantastic as far as she could remember.

"Homura-chan, do you have a peeler?" asked Madoka as she popped her head from the doorframe.

"I… I think I do" Homura was lying on her bed; her red glasses were on top of the table next to a glass of water and a few boxes of medicine. "I'll go get it, Kaname-san"

"No" Madoka walked into Homura's room, an angry pout on her face "You have to rest, Homura-chan. I really shouldn't have brought you to today's witch hunt"

"I- I was the one that wanted to go!"

"I should have been more careful though, I didn't notice that some familiars had gone in your direction" Madoka walked towards Homura and sat on the edge of her bed, the new weight added made the mattress tilt which in turn made it so Homura ended up touching Madoka "I don't know what I would have done if you ended up having a heart attack while you tried to run from them"

Homura sulked in her bed, hiding behind the bedsheets from Madoka's beaming smile.

"I'm really just a nuisance…" she whispered, though Madoka clearly caught it.

"Don't say that!"

"But I am! I only make problems for you and Tomoe-san" Homura started crying "I can't even run away without having my heart fail!"

Before Homura could keep talking, Madoka quickly gave the girl a hug; clearly taking care of not hugging her with too much strength.

"You being there is more than enough, Homura-chan" Madoka started to play with Homura's braids through the hug, fiddling with the tips "Okay?"

Though Homura wasn't sure herself that it was indeed 'okay', she nodded along.

"Now, where is the peeler? I need it to make the curry"

"It's been a long time since I had curry…" said Homura, the memory of the first time Madoka cooked for her slowly fading away.

"Curry it is!" said Madoka as she happily typed away on her phone.

[-]

After some more walking for a few minutes, they finally reached Madoka's house. The sun was almost completely set, the streetlights having already turned on in preparation for the night. Madoka walked into the front yard, the girl looking back just to make sure Homura wouldn't flee; a thought that was well founded, for Homura had been getting more and more nervous the closer they got to the house.

Had Madoka not looked back to make sure she was still there, Homura may have actually run away. This wasn't the first time she was going to meet Madoka's parents, no, that was part of the problem.

Homura knew what to expect from them; and while Kaname Tomohisa would be kind and take care of not probe too deep into Homura's situation, she knew Kaname Junko wouldn't be the same. If she had noticed something it was that for some reason Junko always was able to pick something was going on whenever they talked during the loops, during one of the first ones she actually made Homura break down after some… tough tries.

So, it was only natural that the thought of talking with her made her question if she would be able to keep up her persona. How long will it take for Junko to notice Homura liked her daughter? The current record as far as she knew was one hour of seeing the two of them together, it had been during loop fourteen and Junko had even given her 'a talk'. Or worse, how long would it take for Junko to notice that Homura had done something terribly wrong to her daughter. How long would it take for her to notice she had trapped Madoka in nothing more than a cage.

Homura stopped right outside the front yard, taking a deep breath.

"Homura-chan?" Madoka tilted her head "Is something wrong?"

Homura let out the breath she had been holding and took a few steps forwards, until she was right behind Madoka.

"I have to calm down" thought Homura, "There is no way that Junko-san can find out about the state of this world, I'm just getting more nervous than I should"

Madoka got her keys out and opened the front door.

"I'm homeeee!" Madoka said as she started to take off her shoes, Homura following her.

Madoka guided Homura through the house, though Homura already knew it's layout by heart. Some photos had changed, though it was obvious such a thing would happen with them having gone for three years to another country. The rest of the house was the same, if anything another difference Homura noted was a different vase for one of the few indoor plants they had, though she had heard from Reiketsu Madoka had cut herself with a broken vase the first day of May; even though that wasn't something she usually ask for in a report, that day had been a big mess where she felt like everything could easily slip away from her if she wasn't careful, and as such she asked for more detailed reports.

"Welcome home, Madoka" Homura heard Tomohisa's voice before she turned the corner and finally saw him behind the kitchen.

"Hi!" Madoka went towards her father and gave him a quick hug, nuzzling her brother's hair as she passed by him. She then walked back to where Homura was standing "This is Homura-chan"

"Akemi Homura," Homura said as she did a polite bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you"

"You don't have to be so formal" Tomohisa put on a smile that looked like Madoka's, or rather Madoka's smiles looked like his "I'm Tomohisa, and that little guy in the table is Tatsuya"

Tatsuya looked at his father at the mention of his name, and after a few seconds he simply turned back to the table where he was sitting and kept playing with his simple puzzle.

Madoka looked around the room for a second or two, meanwhile his father had gone back to cooking.

"Where is Mama?" asked Madoka, looking back at her father.

"Ah, I asked her to go buy some ingredients we didn't have around" Tomohisa looked at the clock, his lips curling into a small smile as he did "She should be home soon"

Almost as if it had been planned the sound of keys could be heard from the front door. After some failed attempts at inserting the key, the door finally opened; showing Junko in some casual clothes and carrying a brown paper bag.

"Mama!" Madoka ran towards her mother, the older woman quickly leaving the bag in the ground as she saw the incoming hug.

"I see you are back Madoka" her mother said as she returned the hug "And in a good mood apparently"

Homura simply stood back, not having moved more than a few centimeters from the spot in between the kitchen and the hallway. When Madoka let her mother go from her grasp Junko's eyes fixed on Homura, sending a shiver down her spine from what could happen.

Madoka had once asked Homura if she was scared of her mother during the third… no, fourth loop. And the answer at the time was the same Homura held even after having turned into the devil. What she felt towards Madoka's mother, towards Junko, was pure respect. She had seen the woman get angry, she had seen her get worried and she had seen her be as kind as her daughter was; yet the moments her respect for the woman had gone uphill where the timelines in which she had been able to see something was wrong, not only with Madoka but with Homura too.

It had been one of the reasons she had tried not to speak with Madoka's family in the later loops. She felt like if Junko were to see her in those moments, she would see right through her and completely break her shell. And the things she had done out of desperation would come crushing down on her all at once if that shell would have ever been broken during that time.

"I suppose you are Homura" said Junko as she took a few steps forward, approaching Homura with a resolved pace "Kaname Junko, it's good to finally meet you; properly, I mean"

"Yes, Akemi Homura." Homura subconsciously took one step backwards, to put some space between her and Junko, before doing a deep bow towards her "It's a pleasure to meet you, Junko-san"

"You really are as polite as Madoka said" Junko's lip curled into a soft smile "You don't have to be so stiff around us, okay?"

Homura tried to relax her body, her shoulders dropping to her sides and her sharp eyes going back to a more neutral state, though they still wore the same coldness she was used to wearing.

"Well, I have to get this to your father" Junko turned towards Madoka, the pinkette wearing a smile that seemed to come by default "You two came a bit earlier than expected, I guess it's around twenty minutes before dinner's ready"

"We can wait in my room"

Madoka walked towards where Homura and Junko were standing, passing them as she stood on the first step of the stairs. Homura did a small bow with her head as she followed Madoka into the upper floor.

Madoka grabbed the handle that opened her room's door and turned it halfway before stopping for a second and looking behind her, where Homura was standing.

"Is there a problem?" asked Homura with a slight head tilt.

"N-no" Madoka finished turning the handle and stuck herself to the door, moving into her room as she used her body to block the view of the inside "I just have to pick up some stuff I left in the ground" she said as a nervous laughter came out.

"I don't mi-"

Madoka closed the door behind her, leaving Homura with her mouth open mid-sentence. She looked around the room, which had nothing on the ground mind you, and walked towards her desktop.

On top of it there a sketchbook laid open, a few pages full of drawings of things she saw laying around, some animals, plants, and the like. But what really troubled her was the content of the last pages: various sketches of Homura in different styles that ranged from realistic to cartoonish, though mainly the drawings were in the usual cutesy one she used.

Of course, if they had only been some dumb sketches she could have just left it as wanting to draw her friend (Something which she had done before with Sayaka and Kyouko) and nothing more, that wouldn't have been bad enough for her to leave Homura outside; no, the problem was a bigger one. After the third page of the 'Homura section' she had started to get more… daring. A few sketches of Homura and her just holding hands, nothing big. Some of them had hearts around them, which would have been harder to explain though.

No, the real problem started after she had seen an ad for a new water park, the thought came to her in a flash with an image attached. How would Homura look like in a bikini?

Now, Madoka wasn't a pervert, no sir. She was doing it just because she wanted to practice anatomy, yes, that was all it was. Anatomy.

The fact that she had kept drawing more and more sketches of Homura, every time going for a more realistic style, in different swimsuits was just a coincidence.

Madoka took the sketchbook and closed it, her cheeks had acquired a soft pink after having seen the drawings once again. She opened the drawer in her desktop and made sure to leave it at the far end of it.

Madoka quickly scanned the room, in search of anything like the sketchbook that she could have left behind. After a few seconds she decided there was nothing else to hide, and walked up to the door, pulling down on the handle and slowly opening it.

"Sorry I took so long" said Madoka with a smile that tried to wash away her embarrassment from what could have happened had she not remembered about the sketchbook. "You can come in now"

"Don't worry, I'm the one intruding after all" Homura said with her usual stoic expression as she walked into Madoka's room, leaving the bags full of clothes she was still wearing on the side of the door.

"Ah, you can sit on the bed if you want" Madoka said as she took her office chair and moved it so it would face the bed.

Homura nodded without saying a word and walked towards the bed, holding both her hands in front of her Madoka could swear the girl was fidgeting around with her fingers. Though it probably had been her imagination, since the moment Homura sat on her bed, she simply laid her hands on top of her waist and they remained calm there.

"What should we do…" wondered Madoka "It's not like dinner is going to take a long time"

As Madoka tried to think about activities they could do in just twenty minutes, which weren't many, she saw Homura was looking at her stuffed toys collection. The girl's eyes jumped from stuffed animal to stuffed animal, an almost invisible gentle smile on her face.

"You really like stuffed animals, don't you Madoka?"

"Ah… yeah, I know it's a bit childish but…"

"No, it's a great thing that you do" Homura stopped looking at the stuffed toys and now faced Madoka "It's part of who you are, as such, it couldn't be bad"

Madoka let out a bit of an embarrassed laugh before she also started to look at the stuffed animals. Homura's eyes seemed to be caught by one of them, her gaze not moving from it as she spoke.

"I… I don't recognize that one" Homura was pointing towards the stuffed toy of a cartoonish pig that had its tongue out in as he tasted his own hand "The mascot I mean"

"Ah" Madoka got up from her chair and picked the pig from the shelf "I got this one back in America, it was the mascot of a barbeque place I went to with my family"

A slightly melancholic, yet mostly happy, expression appeared on Madoka's face as she looked at the plushie.

"When I saw this plushie I instantly fell in love with it, it's really cute, right?" Madoka said as she held the pig next to her face, putting on a smile.

"Yes, you really are"

…

…

Had Madoka heard that right?

"Homura?"

"Yes Madoka?" Homura quickly replied with her usual calm demeanor.

"Can you repeat what you said just now?" Madoka slowly lowered the pig to her lap, letting it rest on it.

"Of course, I said 'Yes, it really is'" Homura said with her eyes closed

"Are you sure? I think I heard something differ-"

"You must be imagining things" Homura quickly interrupted Madoka, the girl picked one of the plushies that was laying on Madoka's bed, a little mouse, and played around with it a for a bit.

Yeah, she must have been imagining things. Her hormones ridden brain making her have an auditory hallucination was more probable than Homura actually thinking that Madoka was cute, yes.

She kept repeating that in her head as if trying to convince herself.

Homura stopped playing with the mouse plushie she had picked up and looked around the room, breaking the silence in the room with a small cough, she stared at the cork board in which a few of Madoka's drawings hung from.

"Those drawings are nice, Madoka" she said, making Madoka move her head towards the cork board as well. "Do you perhaps want to draw as a job?"

Madoka stopped to think for a second, in part to think about the answer, in other part to finish coming back from her self-convincing session.

"Well…" Madoka's eyes wandered from the cork board to Homura "Not really, no. It's just a hobby for me"

Homura hummed as an answer, the bed creaked below her as she slowly got up from it and walked towards the cork board. Meticulously observing every single drawing that hung from it, dedicating the same amount of time to those that were simple character drawings to the ones that tried to aim for a more realistic style. In the end her gaze became fixed on one of the drawings, a black cat that was drawn as realistically as Madoka could, besides the main drawing some smaller ones in simpler styles depicted the same cat in a collage of sorts.

"I really like this one" said Homura as she pointed to the cat "It's a great drawing, Madoka"

Madoka chuckled with a bit of embarrassment as she got up; placing herself next to Homura, probably a bit closer than was needed. She observed the drawing, mistakes that she didn't notice the moment she finished drawing were now clear, a few lines that didn't properly connect with one another, how the cat's hair looked flat near the hind legs, the left eye having a weird perspective. Every time she looked at the drawing again, she found a new one, and even then, it was a drawing she was proud of.

"I based it on a stray cat that wandered the neighborhood" Madoka carefully took the pin away from the drawing, handing the piece of paper to Homura so she could observe it better "I haven't seen her since I came back from America, though"

"I…" Homura seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, but before Madoka could say anything she spoke up again "I did take in a stray before you came back, maybe it was her"

"Really?" Madoka asked excitedly, subconsciously grabbing Homura's hands in the heat of the moment "Do you have photos? It could be her!"

"I- I don't have any photos" Homura awkwardly moved her hands, making Madoka noticed she had grabbed them.

"Ah, sorry" Madoka said as she let the girl's hands go "I… I got too excited"

"It's fine" Homura's cheeks were slightly tinted with a light pink color, the shade of pink contrasting the girl's pale skin.

After a moment of awkward silence between the two of them, Madoka spoke.

"Can I… Can I see her? Just to confirm if she is the same cat" Madoka let out a bit of a forced awkward laugh "I'm a bit worried about something bad having happened to her while I was away"

Homura seemed to ponder for a few seconds about an answer, some kind of internal conflict seemed to be going on inside the girl's mind, making Madoka feel as if she had asked something she shouldn't have. After all, Homura had never shown her where she lived, not even did she talk about it. The only thing Madoka knew was that the girl lived alone.

As Madoka was about to retract her request Homura spoke.

"Sure" murmured Homura, her voice being just a bit louder than the slight buzzing of the room's light. "But it will have to be a weekday, if that's fine with you"

"Y-yes! Of course! Thank you, Homura-chan"

Homura simply gave the girl a forced smile of acknowledgement and stared at the drawing for a few more seconds. Then from outside her room came a knocking sound, the door opening after a second.

"Dinner's ready" said her mom, who Madoka could see was trying to inspect the room to see what they had been doing.

Homura handed Madoka the drawing back, the girl placed it back into cork board and held it back with the same white pin it had been using before.

Junko walked down the stairs; the smell of recently cooked curry that was being served filling her nostrils. Marrying Tomohisa had probably been the best decision she ever took. Well, regarding her personal life at least.

Madoka and her 'friend' Homura walked just a few paces behind her, they had been oddly quite for what usually happened when Madoka brought friends home. Of course, if it was Sayaka who was in the house Junko knew most of the noise came from the bluenette, not her daughter. But there hadn't been laughs, and the silence right outside her door seemed so… private, that she had knocked just in case they were doing something.

Really, who would have thought that her Madoka would like girls. Though maybe being around the tomboyish Sayaka had helped with that, and without a doubt having been three years in America clearly settled the ideas in. Though Junko would have expected someone more like Sayaka being the person her daughter fell in love with. Not that she thought Homura wouldn't be a good partner, though it was still too early to decide that, but for what she knew about the girl Homura was quite reserved in most things. A total opposite of her bright and excited girl.

Junko went behind the kitchen counter and started to pick up the plates that had been served, exchanging a smile with Tomohisa when their eyes met, and placed the plates in the table. Madoka went to help with, and Homura would have to but was quickly stopped on her tracks by Madoka; the girl signaling her to just sit and wait.

After every plate was served in the table, Tatsuya's being the last one so he would start eating at the same time as them, Junko and Tomohisa sat down next to each other. Tatsuya had been sat between Madoka and Tomohisa, Homura was between Madoka and Junko.

They all gave their thanks for the food and started eating.

"How is it?" asked Tomohisa looking to Homura, it didn't matter the age Tomohisa was proud of his cooking and always needed to know people's first opinion on it.

"I think it's the best I've ever eaten" said Homura with a gentle smile, Junko could see Madoka was observing Homura's face with inquisitive eyes; her brow furrowing a bit at the girl's expression.

"You flatter me too much" said Tomohisa with a smile.

"I mean it, now I can clearly see who Madoka learnt from" Her words seemed genuine, but the way they were being told reminded Junko of how she usually addressed her clients in the firm.

Junko's examination was cut short though, her daughter blushing face now taking her full attention.

She is down bad, huh.

Most of the dinner was done in silence, the few times they talked was Madoka speaking a bit about their day and Homura only speaking when Madoka asked her for confirmation. The way Homura ate was… interesting to say the least. It wasn't that she was eating in a weird manner, but be it subconsciously or not she was adjusting her pace at Madoka's own; making both of them finish at almost exactly the same time.

After the plates were taken off the table Tomohisa served everyone some tea to help with digestion. Junko using this time to properly speak with the girl. After all, she had some questions she wanted to ask.

"Madoka told me you live by yourself, is that true?" asked Junko.

Homura took a sip from her tea before answering.

"Yes, it is." She took a moment to think "I started doing so around two months ago, a few weeks before Madoka was transferred"

Madoka simply listened along, as far as Junko knew she had never asked a lot about the girl's past, which in part was why Junko wanted to make sure the girl was living properly, so she probably was curious about it too.

"And how are you doing?"

"It was a bit chaotic at first" Homura admitted, though the answer seemed so standard that Junko sharpened her senses to try and see if the girl was simply offering her lip service "But things are calming down now"

"Are you eating properly?" this time the one that asked was Tomohisa from behind the kitchen counter, Homura turning around to answer him.

"I have to admit that I wasn't at the beginning" Homura looked back to Madoka a smile appearing on her face, Madoka blushed a bit after her next words "But thanks to Madoka it's been improving"

"I know I might be overstepping" said Junko, a serious look on her face "But I have to ask, are you doing well economically?"

Homura took a second to think this time, the girl drinking her tea as she thought of an answer.

"I'm getting a government aid until I turn 21" She looked at Junko, a reassuring look on her eyes "And I still have some money left from my parent's inheritance"

"I see"

Homura had been trying to be as clear as possible that she was fine, and even though Junko would still keep an eye on her, she was still a teen after all, at least she was reassured that the girl clearly knew what she was doing. And with how prideful she seemed to carry herself, or at least that was Junko's interpretation of the girl, offering help right now would probably be an insult to Homura.

Junko looked at her husband, Tomohisa was still holding his unfinished cup of tea, and raised a brow; she needed to know if Tomohisa had noticed something that she hadn't. But he simply shook his head slightly, confirming that Homura seemed to be in control of the situation.

Homura took out her phone and turned the screen on without unlocking it. A default wallpaper welcomed her with a simple clock in it.

"It's getting quite late, I should get going" Homura rose from her chair and did a little bow towards both Junko and Tomohisa, Madoka did a little jump; the girl clearly didn't expect Homura to go home so soon "Thank you for inviting me today, it was great"

"Homura-chan…" Madoka murmured as she got up from her chair as well, facing the ebony haired girl.

"I had a lot of fun today, Madoka" a small smile appeared on the girl's face "I'm glad I was able to spend the day with you"

Madoka seemed to froze in place as she tried to think of something to say, the girl clearly trying to find the words that would make Homura stay longer.

"It really is late, isn't it?" said Junko "I will drive you home, I don't feel comfortable leaving a young girl going home alone when it's dark outside"

Junko could see Homura twitched for but a moment, the gesture making Junko suspicious.

"I appreciate the offer" she said with a bow "But there is no need, I don't want to take more of your time"

"Don't worry about it, I don't mind" Junko thought about telling the girl to stop with the formalities, but seeing that she had already said so before and the girl seemed to keep up with it she reached the conclusion that Homura probably didn't feel comfortable doing so.

Homura didn't respond, she simply faced Junko with the same stoic face she had worn most of the time today. Instead, the one to speak up was her husband.

"Why don't you stay for the night?" Tomohisa left his cup next to the sink as he spoke "We have some futons, and I'm sure Madoka wouldn't mind"

"Ye-yeah!" exclaimed Madoka, with a newfound joy on her face "I would love to!"

Homura looked at Madoka, whose current expression Junko had only seen before on the girl during Christmas.

"I…" Homura's vision was fixed on Madoka's pleading eyes, and Junko could swear she saw something break inside the girl's mind as she spoke her next words.

"I'll stay for the night then" Homura did a deep bow towards Junko and Tomohisa "Once again, I'm in your care"

[-]

Junko picked a small, yet wide, glass; placing it on top of the kitchen countertop. She opened the freezer and out took some pieces of ice, putting them in the glass. A half empty bottle of whiskey loomed on one of the top cabinets, its contents danced as she picked it up.

While Junko was filling her glass Tomohisa appeared from the stairs after having helped Tatsuya go to sleep.

"Want a glass?" asked Junko raising the bottle.

"I'll pass tonight" said Tomohisa with a tired smile on his face, slowly sitting on one of the chairs that populated the dinner table.

Junko joined her husband, taking a nice sip of her whiskey as she did so; the familiar burning sensation taking away some of the week's stress.

"Are they still up?" asked Junko.

"Yeah, they were just preparing the futon for Homura"

"They might not even use it" Junko let out a short, dry, laugh "Madoka really likes her"

Tomohisa let out a long sigh.

"And here I was thinking we might get grandchildren" He jokingly complained, a sly smile on his face.

"Now, now; they might adopt" Junko raised her glass, pointing towards the upper floor with it "And if not, we just have to wait for Tatsuya"

They both let out a small chuckle and stayed in silence for a few minutes, the only noise that they could hear was the buzzing from the kitchen lights and the ice of Junko's drink slowly breaking down.

"What do you think of her?" asked Junko, taking another sip from her drink as she waited for an answer.

Tomohisa, who had been with his eyes closed for a few minutes, hummed as he tried to gather his own thoughts.

"She doesn't seem like a bad girl, a bit reserved if anything…" He opened his eyes "I just hope she opens to us"

Junko simply nodded along, completely agreeing with her husband.

"I'm worried about her home situation" Junko admitted "She refused the offer of me driving her home too quickly"

"Maybe she just was anxious about being alone with you in the car" Tomohisa proposed.

"I don't know" Junko sighed "The girl knows how to hide her actual thoughts behind reassuring words, you only learn that out of necessity"

"I wonder who she reminds me of" his lips curled into a sarcastic smile.

"Yeah, yeah. I had to learn for my job" Junko left her now empty glass on the table "But I learnt when I was in college, not middle school"

They didn't say any words for a few seconds, Junko worries growing a bit whenever she imagined a possible scenario of the girl's situation; each time worse than the previous one.

"We'll just have to wait for her to open to us" he said, leaning on the table to grab Junko's hand "Or for Madoka to find out, she will tell us when she does if the situation is bad"

"Yeah… I know"

And with that they spent the rest of the night in silence, only the occasional small comment being made. By the time they went to sleep Madoka's room light seemed to still be on.

A/N: Sorry for being late! Weeks getting busy and I had to change my sleep schedule to a proper one, so I've been quite tired the whole week.

I will try to write next chapter for Sunday!