The sun had just started to rise, it's light shining throughout the still waking neighborhood. The streets were empty, save for a figure that stood in front of one of the many houses.

Homura had reached Madoka's house ten minutes before the pinkette usually came out, as she usually did. A time she had used before to ask her dolls how the night had gone, making sure that everything was alright and if they had any suspicions. But today her mind was filled with something else, something that had her constantly moving around; her body being too nervous to stay still.

Of course, that thing was Madoka.

Homura had been able to tell herself that Madoka's… closeness when they were at the café had only been to calm Homura down. The kind of hug she would give her in the past to let her know that everything was going to be ok, the intimacy that Madoka would sometimes insist on sharing with her the days before Walpurgisnacht came - during the few loops they had been close, of course. And as such, Homura had only expected it to last that day and only that day. That they would go back to normal afterwards.

But then Madoka did it again. She tried to get as close to her as she could, almost falling asleep on her shoulder during their lunchbreak – moment where Homura was glad that she didn't have her old self weak heart, she was pretty sure that would have been the end of her if she did. The girl had been trying to stay as close to her as possible; even during club activities Madoka had been trying to get as much physical contact as she could.

Homura didn't have a problem with this, if anything the amount of kindness the girl was showering her in was more than appreciated. Madoka was the best friend someone could have, knowing that it was making Homura happy the girl had been clearly forcing herself to stay close to her; such a nice thing to do.

The only problem was that all this affection was making Homura fall deeper in love with the girl, if that was even possible. She had been prepared to see Madoka go to someone else – even more so since Miki had told her that Madoka liked someone – but with all that Madoka was doing to get closer to her… Homura could feel her resolve waver… and the occasional comment from the Devil wasn't helping.

I think Madoka would enjoy us pushing her against a wall! I can imagine her embarrassed face as we draw in for a kiss~

Thankfully, ignoring people that weren't Madoka was one of her strong suits.

There was another thing that had been on her mind though. As per Madoka's request she had accepted to go to Tomoe's house this afternoon with everyone else. The main problem wasn't the get together itself, but rather the high chances of something going wrong with everyone getting together in a place with so many repressed memories. If Momoe Nagisa was over there when they came over it would mean that everyone in this world with ties to the Law of Cycles would be staying in the same room. And that… that felt like a bomb waiting to go off.

In retrospective, her being there was probably a nice thing. If anything were to happen then she wouldn't have to wait for any of her dolls to tell her. As much as she knew that the dolls were starting to get more… rebellious, she still knew they all didn't want Madoka to leave. After all the dolls were a part of her, and if there was anything that defined her was her love for Madoka.

Seeing as she had already decided on a course of action for that second problem, her mind started to wander towards the first one again. The show of affection that Madoka had been showering her in since yesterday had been more than she could have ever asked for, it was something she really didn't deserve. It didn't matter how many times Madoka told her she did deserve it, this… love wasn't something she should be getting. Homura knew she was selfish. She knew that the more love she got from Madoka, the more she would want. The promise of being able to stay with her, to be able to become the girl she had once been…

It was too sweet a sin not to commit.

"Good morning, Homura-chan!" The sound of Madoka's voice made her look up just in time to see the girl closing the door behind her. "Sorry If I made you wait"

Homura shook her head, a small smile stronger than her will appearing on her lips "I just got here" A lie, she had been outside her house for over twenty minutes already "Good morning, Madoka"

Madoka rushed towards her, stopping just a few centimeters away from her side. The girl looked at Homura with a joyful expression she had once thought she would never see again, but that had become one more part of her life these past few days.

If being with her made Madoka this happy as well… what reason was there not to sin again?

The school bell rang once more, signaling the end of the day for some of the students and the start of club activities for others. People started to quickly get up from their seats, and Sayaka was no exception to this. Not even before the bell rang, she had already gathered all her things into her schoolbag, both a feeling of excitement towards being able to spend this afternoon together with everyone – something that in the last few days had been harder than ever – and a small sensation of anxiety over knowing that today would be the day she was going to get a chance to ask Madoka who she liked. Hell, she probably was more nervous about than Madoka was about telling her.

Perching her schoolbag over her shoulder Sayaka walked towards Madoka, seeing that Kyouko had already gone there and that Akemi was on her way. Kyouko and Madoka finishing a conversation as Sayaka got there.

"Think you can help me with that then?" asked Kyouko, slightly turning her head as she noticed Sayaka approaching them.

"I-I will try" said Madoka "Though I can't promise you that she will do it…"

"Nah, she will" Kyouko said with a confident smile on her face before she turned towards Sayaka. "Trust me"

Sayaka finally reached the two of them, Akemi just a few steps behind. But before Sayaka could say anything Kyouko quickly interjected again.

"Welp, we should get going. Don't wanna make Mami wait too long" said Kyouko as she grabbed Sayaka's arm and started leading them towards the door "See you two at Mami's"

"Oi- What are you-" complained Sayaka while she was being led outside the classroom, the sound of a farewell from Madoka being the last thing she heard before leaving.

"I just got you the time you needed to ask Madoka" Kyouko said before releasing Sayaka's arm, though she kept walking forwards. "Should be around twenty minutes or more"

"What are you talking about?" said Sayaka as she started to follow the redhead, adjusting the sleeve from where Kyouko had grabbed her as she walked.

"Got Madoka in the game, that was the only thing I needed to make Akemi leave for a few minutes" Kyouko turned her head towards Sayaka, a smirk on her face "Promised I would get you time to ask her, well, you will get it this afternoon"

Sayaka kept following Kyouko as they walked towards the school gate. The sound of people talking around them slowly fading away into background noise until she was left alone in her thoughts. Sayaka knew this was how Kyouko always was, if you asked her to do help you with something and she agreed to it well… she would move the earth and sky to do it. Unlike Sayaka though, Kyouko always thought of a solution quickly before doing anything; and most of the times it was the right solution…

If Sayaka could be described as stubborn, then Kyouko could be described as decisive.

But even then, it felt wrong to have Kyouko help her so… seriously about this problem that was only in her head.

"You didn't have to take it so seriously" whispered Sayaka, though with how Kyouko looked at her she had clearly heard her.

"Not knowing was hurting you" declared Kyouko "no way I'm not doing anything about it"

"It really wasn't that bad" Sayaka forced a laugh "I just got too into it hahahaha"

Kyouko stared at Sayaka with an unconvinced look, the blue-haired girl having to look away after a few seconds of the other girl's eyes piercing her with an accusatory gaze.

"You literally broke down yesterday" stated Kyouko "So don't give me that crap"

They walked out of the school grounds, stopping next to the main gate of the school as they waited for Tomoe to come.

"Sorry" replied Sayaka, her eyes fixed on the ground.

"Don't be" Sayaka felt Kyouko gently patting her on the back "I'll always help you with that kinda stuff"

Sayaka looked up at the girl, putting on a weak smile on return, and took a deep breath before looking forwards in search of Tomoe.

Maybe there was no reason to be so anxious about it. Kyouko was going to help her, and if Madoka had been on board to help it also meant that her friend did want to tell her. And her biggest worry having been the possibility that Madoka liked Kyouko now gone… well, there really was on

And if the guy that Madoka liked really was as bad as Kyouko had made him to be she could always beat some sense into him with Akemi's help. Both of them could become Madoka's guardian angels and make sure the guy didn't hurt her. Maybe they could also hang out a bit more, seeing as how if Madoka started going out with someone she wouldn't spent as much time with Akemi as she did now. Knowing Madoka she would probably glue herself to the guy all the time, and Akemi would have it hard to even get a moment alone with Madoka.

Just like what had happened to Sayaka when Akemi started to go around with Madoka…

…

…

Wait-

Madoka moved one of the clubroom chairs closer to the shelves were all the different seed packages were, and placed it on top of the other chair she had already moved there. She made sure that it was stable with a little shake, and climbed on top of it.

"I-I can search for them" said Homura, her voice quivering a bit as she spoke. Madoka looked behind her, the girl was right next to her and had her arms at the ready.

"I want to make sure we get an interesting one!" exclaimed Madoka, the thought of Homura worrying so much about her falling filling her with happiness. Even if it was a normal thing to do, when it came from the usually calm Homura it meant more than it seemed. "And besides, it will be faster if I search it myself"

At the time they were the only people inside of the clubroom, their two seniors having gone out to take care of the school plants. Seeing as how most tasks had been taken care of already, Madoka asked if they could plant something new; as a kind of initiation for Homura. And after getting the green light they had been thinking about what to plant. Or rather, Madoka had started to think what to plant. Homura had just said her usual 'Anything you choose' motto; which was why Madoka was now insisting on getting on top of the chairs; just a little punishment for Homura as she had, once again, not chosen something herself.

There was no way Madoka could actually 'punish' her though – even less about something so dumb as the girl not wanting to choose something – but she was annoyed enough at the girl that making her nervous felt more than adequate.

"It's just-" Homura looked to the side, setting her eyes upon the room window that was open, and promptly rushed to close it. The gesture making Madoka have to contain a small giggle. "Just tell me what you want to pick and I will get it for you"

"Nope~" teased Madoka, seeing Homura being so nervous – albeit still with her stone mask on – was actually quite fun. It reminded her of how the girl had acted at the claw machines during their date.

Madoka looked around the different seed they had, she wanted to plant a flower but which one… Roses? No, too overused; Homura deserved something more interesting. Lavender? The girl smelt like them, so maybe it would be a nice option but there had to be a better one. Geraniums? That was a nice option, but choosing a flower that meant friendship when she wanted something more with Homura felt wrong – even if Homura didn't know what the flower meant. Red spider lilies… the flowers were beautiful that much was true, but giving someone you loved the flower that meant final goodbyes wasn't really a thing she wanted to do; even if the flower made her think of Homura.

A package on the topmost shelf caught her eye, a package of Heliotropes, the perfect choice. Madoka tried to reach it, but it was a bit further away from where she had placed the chairs and had to lean quite a bit towards the edge.

The chair rattled below her feet, and Madoka lost her footing. One moment she was on top of the chairs, the next she was falling towards the ground; the edge of a table in her trajectory. Madoka closed her eyes. She braced herself for the impact. Time came to a halt. The only thing that came to her mind was how dumb she had been for trying to tease Homura with doing something dangerous. She just hoped the fall wouldn't be too bad. But going head first towards a table wasn't a good sign. The sound of the table being hit with force was the only sound she heard. She waited for the pain.

It never came.

Madoka slowly opened her eyes, her body still rigid.

"Are you okay?" Homura's voice was a worried one, the girl's eyes completely opened as they observed Madoka's body in search of any injury. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

Madoka now realized that Homura was holding her in a protective hug, both of them on the ground. Homura moved Madoka's head around, trying to search for any kind of injury. For Madoka though, the only thing she could think of was how close the girl lips were, the adrenaline from the fall making her dumber than usual.

"I-I I'm fine!" said Madoka, trying to get out of the girl's embrace while she could still control herself "Nothing hurts! Just got scared!"

Homura stopped moving around, now fixing her eyes with Madoka's. The girl's face showing an immense amount of distress, too much even, it felt like the face someone would make after relieving a traumatic experience. But before Madoka could give it more thought Homura started to calm down, her face going back to her usual stone mask; though her arms still held Madoka strongly from the shoulders.

"Don't ever do that again… please" Homura pleaded; her voice tried to remain calm but Madoka could hear it crack at times. "Just tell me what you want"

"Sorry…" said Madoka, slowly getting up from the ground as Homura's grip became weaker. She wanted to give the girl a hug, try to calm her down with it, but with how Homura current state was because of something she had done… it didn't feel like it would really help.

Madoka walked towards the chair that had fallen and picked them up, looking to see if they had broken or not. Thankfully everything seemed all right.

"Which ones do you want" said Homura, her eyes looking at the ground as she talked. Her hair messy from catching her before she could fall, Homura itself didn't seem to have gotten hurt but Madoka could see that Homura's hands were shaking even if only a bit; the girl was probably trying to hide how distressed she really was.

"Ah… the Heliotropes please… they are on the top-right" answered Madoka, her voice sounding meek as a sense of guilt started to fill her.

Homura picked up the chairs and placed them closer to the right side of the shelf. Without checking whether they were stable or not she got on top of them with confidence. A confidence that wasn't showing on her still shaking hands, the girl face completely lost of emotion. It felt as if Homura had gone back to the first days, when they still didn't talk.

Madoka turned away from the girl, trying to hide her the tears that started to form on the edges of her eyes. Because of her Homura had probably hurt herself, there was no way the girl had been able to catch her from such a fall without doing so. Because of her what was intended to only be making Homura just a bit nervous had actually hurt the girl. All because she tried to show some kind of confidence as she teased the girl.

The only thing she had gotten from it was making Homura feel distressed, the girl closing herself as to not worry Madoka. Madoka heard Homura getting off the chairs. Madoka dried her tears with her sleeve and turned back to face Homura with a forced smile.

"Here" Homura said as she handed Madoka the package of heliotropes seeds.

"Th-thanks" said Madoka as she took the seeds, quickly turning around as to not face Homura – not now. "We need a flower pot! Let's find a cute one"

Madoka walked off towards one of the closets and opened it. There were a few pots to choose from inside of it, though most pots were in the outside warehouse. Still, they just needed a small one so these would do.

"What about this one?" asked Madoka, taking a light blue flower pot from the closet and placing it behind her without looking at Homura in the face "It's pretty simple, but the pastel tone is really cute!"

"Oh! This one is pretty cute, though a bit tiny maybe?" said Madoka, quickly going back into the closet and seeing a white flower pot with Sakura leaves drawn around it. She took the pot and left it behind her, once again without looking back.

"There have to be more…" wondered Madoka as she searched around the closet a bit more.

"Madoka" Homura's tone was a worried one.

"Oh! Look at this one!" said Madoka, getting out a light pink flower pot with a simple cat face drawn on it. Madoka's voice started to quiver.

"Madoka-"

"The others ar- are pretty simple… but we can go to- to the warehouse if you want!" Tears started to form at the edges of her eyes, quickly trailing down her cheeks.

"Mado-"

"There is a florist not too far away t- too, we can go there if you want" Madoka's voice cracked with every other word, she could feel herself speaking faster than usual; her breathing becoming shallow and random. "W-we just ha-have to ask the president for som-some money to-"

The air shifted behind her. She felt a gentle and warmth pressure behind her back as arms coiled around her torso. Madoka's body tensed up but didn't resist, the familiar smell of lavender surrounding her wouldn't let her. Madoka tried to look back, but Homura rested her forehead on Madoka's nape, stopping the girl's attempt at turning back. Madoka slowly came to the realization of what was going on as she looked at Homura's arms embracing her.

Madoka tried to speak, but no words came out. The knot that had started to appear on her throat completely setting in as the guilt that had been brewing up inside of her finally reached its peak and spilled out everywhere. Her tears now flowing freely as the only thing that came out of Madoka's mouth were weak whimpers.

"It's okay" the soothing voice of Homura surrounded her "I'm okay, nothing happened"

"I- I-" Madoka tried to speak, but only sobs and nonsense came out. The shock of the fall and the sense of guilt fusing together into a massive sense of uselessness. "I'm s-sorry"

"You don't have to be" reassured Homura, the girl tightening her embrace as she spoke "I don't want to see you suffer like this, everything is okay. It was just a scare"

Madoka hunched forwards, holding Homura's hands as they embraced her from behind. Her breathing became hurried, the possibility that she could have fallen towards the window instead of towards the interior of the room settling in. The possibility of Homura not reaching her on time, Madoka's head hitting the table and it all ending there.

"Breathe" calmingly said Homura "Follow mine if you can't"

Homura exaggerated her breaths, letting Madoka feel them on her back. Madoka tried to follow them, the voice of the girl guiding her along with her raising and lowering chest.

"Everything is okay" Homura slowly loosened the hug as Madoka's breathing started to stabilize. "You are okay"

"D-did you get hurt" said Madoka, tears still fell and her voice was still hanging on some words; but slowly she started to calm down.

"I'm fine" reassured Homura as she ended the hug and prodded Madoka to turned around to face her. One of her hands caressing Madoka's cheek in a calming gesture "Better now?"

Madoka looked at the soft expression on Homura's amethyst eyes, at her lips softening into a small smile. Madoka's heart was racing. Their face were mere centimeters apart. Homura's soft lips laid in front of her with a smile she had rarely seen on the girl. The glow of the room making Homura's eyes almost glow as they dearly looked at Madoka. Her heartbeat got faster as Madoka leaned in.

Her lips connected with Homura's. Homura's lips were softer than Madoka had ever expected them to be. Her mind clearing completely, only the feeling of Homura's lips connecting with hers remained. Madoka's heart beat as fast as it could, her whole body being embraced by Homura's warmth.

Madoka pulled away, staying close enough to Homura's face that she could feel the girl's breathing getting faster. Madoka wanted more, and so she leaned in for another kiss; their lips connecting a second time. They were nothing more than pure innocent kisses, and yet they filled Madoka with enough warmth to not even worry about the consequences of suddenly kissing the girl she so much loved.

Madoka pulled away once again, this time far enough as to be able to resist the urge to kiss Homura once again, and looked at Homura; trying to see how the girl had reacted.

Homura's eyes were completely open in surprise. Her mouth hanged slightly open from the kiss they had just shared. Her previously calmed breathing was now as hurried as Madoka's was. Her face was red, probably just as much as Madoka's own face.

"Homura-chan" Madoka started to speak between breaths, still riding the high from the kisses "I love you"

Homura's eyes opened even more, her whole face turning red. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. Homura tried to look away, but Madoka moved to face her again.

"Homura-chan, I love you" repeated Madoka, staring straight into Homura's eyes. Homura's lips taunted her from this close, but Madoka resisted. She mustn't let herself melt in them again. Not yet. Not until she had an answer.

"Ma-Ma-Mado" Homura couldn't get a hold of her voice, her eyes darting around from Madoka's eyes, to Madoka's lips, to a random spot of the room. Cute. "W-w-what are yo-you saying M-Madoka?"

"I love you Homura-chan" repeated Madoka, now that she had come this far there was no backing down "Do you love me?"

Homura slowly lowered her head, her face now completely tinted in ruby red.

Homura nodded.

"I want to hear you say it" said Madoka, an even bigger rush of joy filling her at what was a confirmation; even if a small one. Her heart felt as if it was going to break out of her chest "Please, Homura-chan"

"I- I lov-love you Madoka" stuttered Homura, her face still not looking up.

Madoka felt her whole body shiver with joy at the words that Homura spoke. Her hands moved by themselves until they grabbed the girl's face, making them lock eyes. Madoka leaned forwards once more, stealing a third kiss from Homura's lips.

Everything seemed to come to a halt around them. The sounds that came from outside were no more, only them remained moving in the world.

"I love you too, Homura-chan"

Current date: 21th May

A/N: Well, that was my first ever kiss scene… I actually got nervous while writing it.