Wish

For the second time in as many weeks, Homura and Madoka found themselves on a bridge overlooking the city. This time, however, clouds rolled in from all directions.

To the layman, it was an impending storm. To a magical girl, it was Hell.

Madoka intertwined her fingers with Homura's. "It's okay," she said with a calming smile. "We got this, Homura-chan."

Homura stared ahead with grim determination. "You mean that I got this. You're going to stay far, far away."

Madoka leaned into Homura, undeterred. "Don't you remember what I told you? You don't have to be alone anymore."

"This is different."

"Is it really? I've always viewed a promise as unconditional."

"You mean like your promise to not become a magical girl?"

Madoka went quiet for a moment. Eventually, she decided, "Your life is the exception. I will always save you, Homura-chan."

"Oh, the irony," Homura said drily. "This is coming from the girl who throws her life away in every possible timeline."

"If it means keeping you safe, then it's not really throwing it away, is it?"

Homura averted her eyes from Madoka's earnest gaze. "You're too kind," she whispered, barely holding back tears. "Why are you so damn kind?!"

Madoka placed a hand on Homura's cheek and looked into her eyes, smiling gently. "I'm not, really. Sayaka-chan, Mami-san, and Kyoko-chan are way nicer than me."

Homura couldn't help but let out a warbling chuckle. "Kyoko? Really?"

"Mhm. Kyoko-chan is kind in a different way, but kind, nonetheless. But don't change the subject, missy," she chided, wagging a finger in Homura's face. "You say it's me being kind, but I'm just trying to make you happy."

"Again, because you're kind."

"No, it's because you have the cutest smile in the world, and I love seeing it."

Homura blushed. Madoka didn't.

To Madoka, she was just speaking the truth, and there was nothing embarrassing about that.

To Homura…Well, it wasn't too hard to guess why she would blush.

She turned her head to the sky and flipped her hair back, forcibly changing the subject. "Walpurgisnacht is coming soon," she stated. "The other magical girls are incapacitated—most likely Kyubey's doing."

Madoka blinked. "But I thought they just got knocked out fighting Witches? And you saved them all, right?"

Homura gave Madoka a blank look. "Do you honestly think that all three of them getting knocked out right before Walpurgisnacht comes is a coincidence? No, this is Kyubey trying to force you into a contract. This isn't the first time something like this has happened, either. The difference is that I got there quick enough to save their lives."

Madoka squeezed Homura's hand, grimacing at the casual mention of her friends' deaths in prior timelines. "You have no idea how grateful I am for that. You're amazing, Homura-chan."

"…You're wrong, Madoka. You're the amazing one. You're perfect. Anyone who sees what I see would do this for you."

They stood in silence for some time, each submerged in their own thoughts. Madoka put her hand on her chin and postulated, "Maybe we both have too high of an opinion on each other? H-hear me out!" she quickly added, as Homura had flinched. "Not that we're wrong—I mean, you are about me, but that's not…I'm just saying that our situation might be skewing it?"

Homura shook her head vehemently. "Impossible. You're the best person I know. You mean the world to me."

"And you…you have no idea just how much you mean to me, even though it's only been a month since I've known you in this timeline."

"Then what's the issue?"

Madoka considered her words carefully. "I'm just saying that we have an idea of what the other person is like. In your mind, I'm this delicate angel that needs protecting. You haven't seen the whole...well, me."

Homura couldn't deny that, even though she wanted to.

Madoka unconsciously shuffled closer. "And you…you have no idea just how amazing you are, Homura-chan. I don't think that I'm wrong on that end, but I also know that I'm barely scratching the surface on who you really are." She gave a playful grin. "Right now, I mostly see Edgy Homura-chan, when I'm really looking for some Adorable Homura-chan."

Homura scoffed and flipped her hair back. "Nonsense. I'm always adorable."

"But do you have braids with ribbons in them? I didn't think so."

With the tension dissipated, they almost forgot about the impending apocalypse. They were just spending time with each other as if no one else mattered.

At that moment, wasn't that just the truth?

Madoka leaned her head on Homura's shoulder, smiling as Homura tentatively wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I want to get to know you better," she said. "I want to be able to hang out without worrying about Witches."

Homura laughed ruefully, but her grip tightened, bringing Madoka even closer. "You ask the impossible."

"Is it really? I think it would be amazing to go on more dates with you."

"M-Madoka," Homura sputtered, "stop changing the subject!"

"I'm not changing it. Right now, that's what I want most in the world."

Homura opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. The words were nice, yes, but something about them was causing alarm bells to go off in her head.

She gasped, as she realized what it was, but she didn't have time to freak out. An echoing laugh filled the air, as the darkness reached its peak.

Walpurgisnacht had arrived.

Homura quickly transformed, but Madoka stayed put with a content smile.

"Don't worry about fighting," Madoka said. "I know what I have to do."

Grief struck Homura's face, but it was rapidly masked with anger. "I knew it! You'd break your promise, just like that!"

Madoka winked, as her smile became a bit smug. "I said I wouldn't become a magical girl, and I won't."

"Then what—"

"I know you're there, Kyubey. Come out."

As the Incubator's feline form appeared before them, Homura felt her entire world crashing down on her.

This timeline was no different, was it? Madoka would wish—

"…for a world where Homura-chan can be happy."

"What?!"
"What?!"

For the first time ever, Homura and Kyubey were on the same wavelength.

"What kind of wish is that?! It's not tangible! There's no logic! How can I even grant that?!"

Madoka closed her eyes, shuffling closer to Homura. "You kept talking about these karmic threads and doing the impossible. Well, here's my impossible wish. You need to grant it…without making me a magical girl."

Kyubey may find it illogical, but to Madoka, it was quite simple. Homura wanted to save Madoka, and she didn't like their fates as magical girls. She wanted this horrible, painful loop to end.

"Both Homura-chan and I just want to be normal girls, you know?"

"There's no way this will work!" Kyubey protested. "What about the entropy? You'll still have to fight Witches!"

"How convenient, then, that a world where Homura is happy doesn't include Witches, curses, or issues with entropy. It's just the world we love…without someone like you interfering, Kyubey."

For the first time in his existence, Kyubey's expression changed, even if it was only slight. His eyes widened, his mouth opened a bit, and he shook slightly.

For the first time…Kyubey was scared.

For Homura, that was the final nail in the coffin. Terrified at her lack of control over the situation, she pulled out her shield…only for Madoka to hug her in such a way that she couldn't use it.

How fitting, she thought, that Madoka's embrace made her powerless.

"Relax," Madoka said. "Please…trust me, Homura-chan. You won't have to do this alone anymore."

"Madoka…"

"And hey, as soon as we get back, I'm taking you right back to that grassy hill where I asked you about déjà vu!"

Homura blinked. "You're going to reconstruct the universe…so that we can go on a date."

Shamelessly, Madoka winked. Her grin widened as Homura's mind nearly shut down at the simple action.

"Homura-chan…I remember more than you think."

Homura's eyes widened, but she let Madoka speak.

"At least, I sort of do," Madoka said. "It's more that I see it in dreams, but they're not just dreams. They're memories."

She closed her eyes and smiled, feeling at peace with the situation. "I remember that, when I died for you, I didn't regret it. I only wished that we had more time together."

"Madoka…"

"You're really, really amazing, Homura-chan. You're a hero, through and through. Now, because of this wish, we'll have our whole lives together—th-that is, if you, um, want to spend it with me? Gosh, that's such a…such a sudden question. I'm sorry, and, um, I just—heat of the moment, you know? And you look so pretty right now, and—"

Homura shut Madoka up the only way she could think of. She threaded her fingers through Madoka's hair, gently pulled her in, and kissed her soundly on the lips.

It was short, tentative, and chaste, but it was perfect. Despite the freezing atmosphere, neither of them had ever felt so warm.

When Homura pulled back, it was Madoka's turn to blush, as she said, "Um, nice, and, um, soft, very soft, like you. N-not your lips, but they're very soft! I meant you! W-wait, that's not a real description? I think? I just, can't, I guess, think straight? Because I, um, really like you, or, um love you? Love you! Yeah, um, definitely, I love you, a lot, a lot a lot a lot, and you're just…Wow, that was, um…"

A finger on her lips interrupted her. "We're going to a world that makes me happy, right? There's an infinite number of kisses there. That's a promise."

"I, um, yes? I do? Is that the right answer? Sorry, can't think, it's just really hot in here…out here? Hot out here? But, uh, promise, yeah, good promise, best promise, and I didn't, um, break this one, or the one before, s-so…infinite kisses, yes? Very much yes. Yes, please."

Homura laughed at how easily Madoka turned to mush, just as she herself did. "Damn, I love you so much—you have no idea."

"G-good, yes, very good. That means, um, dates, and, um, kisses and stuff."

Homura beamed. What made her happy was a world like this one, but it had no Witches. No curses. Maybe not even any magical girls. Just her and Madoka, making their way through life together.

Eventually, Madoka began to calm down, though her face was still red. "This is exciting, isn't it? A whole new adventure. You, me, Sayaka-chan, Kyoko-chan, Mami-san…Wait, they would, um, make you happy, right?"

Their embrace tightened slightly. "Your happiness is what makes me happy, and you love this world as it is."

Madoka's smile was brighter than any star, and Homura loved her for it.

Madoka hugged Homura's arm close to her and turned back to Kyubey. "Well, it was nice knowing you…kind of. Not really, if I'm being honest. This is goodbye, Kyubey."

Kyubey looked up at her, carefully deliberating his last words. He tilted his head to the side. "Kaname Madoka...how can you guarantee that you will be a part of this new world? Why would Akemi Homura need you to be happy?"

Madoka shrugged. "Well, I need Homura-chan to be happy, don't I?"

Nothing more, nothing less. A simple reason to justify a world-changing wish.

A flash of light filled their vision, but Madoka didn't become a magical girl. She was just...Madoka.

In the last few seconds of their lives, the two girls held each other close. Neither knew exactly what would happen in the next world, but they both knew one thing for sure.

They would face their future hand-in-hand.

The day that they both transferred into school, they met each other on a grassy hill overlooking the city. They held each other close in a warm embrace, as they both let loose a flurry of joyous tears.

With a radiant smile, Madoka asked, "Hey, Homura-chan? Have you ever felt déjà vu?"

Homura didn't respond in words. She pulled Madoka in and gently touched their lips together, feeling like she was finally home.

"It's more than déjà vu," Homura whispered, not pulling back more than an inch. "I don't really remember all the events—something about a Witch, I think—but I remember you, Madoka. Everything about you. I've been waiting so, so long to see you again. Honestly, it was so long, I was starting to think that I had an imaginary girlfriend."

Warmth rushed through Madoka, as she giggled. "It's the same here, Homura-chan." She pulled a bit at Homura's hair, smiling as she did so. "You have braids again," she noted.

Homura flipped her hair back, though it wasn't as extravagant as it would be if it were still smooth. Madoka still thought that it was adorable.

"It's all so... unbelievable," Homura said, brushing a stray hair out of Madoka's face and tucking it behind her ear. "We can actually spend our whole lives together."

"Our whole lives, huh?" Madoka got a gleam in her eyes and decided, "That's it. When we're old enough, we're getting married."

Homura laughed, though her face lit up a brilliant red. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Yeah, you get to say, 'I do.'"

As they held each other, they felt truly at peace. They were young, yet their affection had persisted across time and space. Wishes and promises had bound them together, and they didn't regret that for an instant.

Now, their life together truly began.