Her First Valentine
The month of February had already begun, and with it came the slow build up of excitement for the upcoming Valentine's Day. A lot of girls were looking forward to it and were thinking about what to get the person they liked for the special day.
One of the girls thinking about February 14th was Homura Akemi. On the day before Valentine's, she was staring down at one of her textbooks in the middle of class but wasn't paying much attention to it at all. Her mind was thinking about tomorrow and what she should do for her girlfriend.
She shifted her head to the side and eyed a certain blue haired girl who was busy trying to actually take notes in during their class. Sayaka soon noticed herself being stared at and looked up to notice her girlfriend eyeing her. The magical swordswoman gave Homura a slight inconspicuous wave as the dark haired girl smiled in return before returning her gaze to the open textbook.
Homura had been going out with Sayaka for well over half a year now. To put it bluntly, a lot of things happened to led to them dating. The short version of it was that during Homura's journey fighting against Walpurgisnacht, the two of them had unexpectedly become friends again due to various circumstances. However that friendship eventually grew into something more as the girls fought in multiple conflicts side by side with one another.
Some conflicts being more dangerous than others, but those were stories for another time.
Regardless, Valentine's Day was approaching and Homura needed to come up with something for Sayaka. A few months ago the two of them had half joked that since Sayaka both looked and acted at least somewhat like a tomboy, it would be Homura who would have to give her a gift for Valentine's Day and Sayaka would be the one to return the favour on White Day.
So now that the special day was fast approaching, Homura had to give Sayaka something. Her mind went to chocolates as that seemed to be the gift girls were expected to hand out. She could go out and buy some from a store, but that wasn't romantic at all. So that pretty much left Homura with the option of making it herself. That however came with a slight problem.
She had no idea how to cook chocolate in the first place.
Once school ended, Homura told her friends that she had a few things to required her attention and went off to the mall by herself. While heading there, the girl researched Valentine chocolate recipes on her phone and she was quite surprised to see that there were a lot of different ways to make chocolate for this special day.
Hmm... I wonder which one of these Sayaka would like...
It seemed like following the instructions to cook something wouldn't be an issue, but then came another problem. Just which chocolate variant was she supposed to choose?
Homura sighed as she made it to mall and decided that she would worry about that later. For now she would focus on buying what she needed to make chocolate in the first place.
While Homura was in the middle of a store purchasing ingredients in one of the aisles, her magical senses felt the presence of another Mahou Shoujo at the same time a familiar voice reached her ears.
"Fancy seeing you here Akemi-san. How have you been lately?"
The dark haired girl turned her body to face the source of the familiar voice. It was Mami Tomoe.
"Tomoe-san... well not much has changed really. Things are fine, how about you though? Is Mitakihara High School treating you well?"
That's right, while everyone else in the friend group had became third year students in middle school, Mami Tomoe was a first year high school student now.
"Yeah, it's tougher than I thought at first but I'll be able to manage. Thanks for asking Akemi-san."
The blonde Mahou Shoujo then noticed the basket of ingredients Homura was going to purchase. A slight smile spread across her face as she had an idea what it was.
"Hmm, now what exactly are you here for anyway?"
"N-Nothing much. Just a few things I need."
"And from the looks of it the end result of those would be chocolate, right?"
Homura could hear Mami let out a slight giggle as the middle school student suppressed the urge to sigh. It was hard for anyone to get something past Mami these days. It was like she had gotten more perceptive than ever.
"Yeah? What of it?"
"Oh nothing, I just think it's cute is all. You'll give it to Sayaka on Valentine's Day I assume? Do you know what kind of chocolate you want to make?"
A cruel, almost stressful silence passed until Homura released a sigh. "I... have no idea..."
Mami frowned at that. "Now that's not good. Valentine's Day is tomorrow, you should figure something out soon."
The ex-time traveler looked down and away from Mami's face. "I know I know... it's just this is my first time ever celebrating Valentines Day. I don't think I can afford to screw this up."
It was Mami's turn to sigh at least a little. "Now really, if I know Sayaka then I'm willing to bet she would still be happy even if you just gave her ordinary chocolate. It's not really about the gift, but rather the sentiment that goes into it you know? Just do something that shows Sayaka that you love her."
"I... I see..."
So maybe Homura didn't need to try making something elaborate after all. It however did have to be something that conveyed her feelings. However, the thing was that if Homura was any good at communicating how she felt in the first place, it wouldn't have taken her so long to admit her feelings to Sayaka at all.
A few moments of silent contemplation by both girls followed until Mami put a hand on Homura's shoulder, surprising her.
"Tomoe-san?"
"Tell you what, I'll help you out. I can't tell you exactly what you need to do, but at least in regards to chocolate cooking I can assist in the process at least. At the end of the day though, you need to be the one who gives the gift the unique touch it needs for it to be special. Alright?"
Homura thought about the other girl's offer for a moment. To accept or not accept the assistance. Eventually she figured that it couldn't hurt to let the blonde help her out a bit. It was pretty clear at this point that she did need it, especially with Valentine's Day being tomorrow.
Homura gave Mami a slight nod. "Okay. that'll be fine, and I also appreciate your help for this Tomoe-san."
"No problem Akemi-san. Always willing to help a friend in need."
Valentine's Day
Sayaka slashed through a pink knight, killing the familiar instantly. The swordswoman didn't think one of the first things she would be doing on Valentines Day was hunting down a Witch but that was the life of a Mahou Shoujo she supposed. Not much she could do about it.
And besides, thanks to being a Mahou Shoujo she was now happier than she ever was before. There had been some hard times but...
An image of Homura Akemi flashed through her mind.
Sayaka smiled as her blade stuck down another familiar. Not matter what would happen, she knew she wouldn't trade away the experiences Sayaka had as she lived the life of a Mahou Shoujo.
The girl fought her way through the Labyrinth until she reached an sky like area while standing on a floating cloud. Before Sayaka could really take in her surroundings, she sensed a magic attack heading her way.
She immediately jumped onto another nearby cloud and landed safely as a pink explosion appeared on the spot she once stood. Sayaka looked around until she spotted a floating creature high above her.
From the energy it was giving of, the thing was definitely the Witch of the Labyrinth. It actually kinda looked like a stereotypical depiction of Cupid. It was even wielding a pink bow in its hands. Sayaka couldn't help but deadpan at the sight of it.
"Okay, I know it's Valentine's Day but isn't that a little on the nose?"
She didn't know who she was asking with that question, but almost as if in response, the Witch took aim at Sayaka once again and magically fired six bolts of magic all at once.
Sayaka watched the magic attacks heading toward her as she didn't move from her position. She figured that if this was herself from last year, she would've either blocked or dodged these attacks.
But not the present day Sayaka.
She raised her cutlass sword and immediately slashed down each and every bolt of magic that had been fired at her with expert precision. Sayaka could instinctually tell that this Witch was very much below her in terms of sheer power.
An unexpected explosion appeared right behind the Witch and sent it falling down onto one the many clouds.
Sayaka was confused for a moment until she noticed another person standing on another cloud on the other side of the area.
"Homura!"
The dark haired girl gave Sayaka a knowing smirk as she lowered her rocket launcher.
"I suggest you don't waste any time and end this now, Sayaka."
The swordswoman didn't need to be told twice as she instantly summoned a dozen floating swords above the body of the Witch that was trying to recover from taking an RPG to the back. All the blades pointed directly downwards which then stabbed into the Witch and blew up, incinerating the creature in multiple bright blue explosions.
Homura looked on as Sayaka's power completely destroyed the Witch. The blue haired girl used to be... well much weaker if Homura was being honest. However the Sayaka Miki of today held a lot more power within her and thanks in part to Homura, Sayaka had mastered her own abilities to the point of becoming an incredibly powerful Mahou Shoujo.
The two middle school students found themselves standing in a construction site as the Labyrinth dissolved. Sayaka picked up the Grief Seed and pocketed the thing. Without speaking, Homura gestured for Sayaka to follow her as they left the area before they could get caught.
Sayaka had an idea about what was up but she chose to say nothing and simply let Homura take the lead.
Soon the girls ended up in a park that thankfully seemed to be empty this early in the day. Something that Homura was very grateful for. She then lead Sayaka to sit down on a bench with her.
"I... I have something for you..."
Homura took in a deep breath before reaching inside her shield and pulled out a small purple box that had a blue ribbon wrapped around it. She handed it over to her girlfriend, while trying to keep her nerves calm. She and Sayaka were already dating for Christ sake, and yet she was somehow feeling incredibly nervous about this.
"Happy Valentines Day, Sayaka."
Sayaka figured this was coming considering the day. She also remembered making a joke about how she should be the one to receive chocolates on Valentines Day and now Sayaka knew that Homura remembered it too.
The blue haired girl wordlessly took the box into her hands and began to carefully untie the ribbon keeping the lid on. She certainly didn't want to rush through this.
Eventually the ribbon was untied and Sayaka was able to remove the lid. What was underneath was something the girl both expected and did not.
Sayaka expected Valentine chocolate in the box and that's exactly what she saw, but what she didn't expect to see was that they were shaped like the musical note hair clip Sayaka had in her Mahou Shoujo form.
While she had gotten over her crush on Kyousuke Kamijou long ago, she did retain an interest in music. Her own magical powers did somewhat carry the aesthetic of music after all, and it seemed like Homura had chosen that to be the shape of the chocolates.
It was quite intricate work, Sayaka was legitimately impressed by it. She picked one of them up and took a bite out of it.
Homura watched on as Sayaka chewed and swallowed. Mami had helped out by making sure the chocolates still tasted good while Homura tried working on the shape and adding her own flavour to it.
"Well? How is it?"
Sayaka swallowed and gave her girlfriend an endearing smile. "It's great! It really tastes quite different than I thought, almost like I can taste the magic in it or something..."
Well, Homura did use some of her own magic to help get the exact shape she wanted so that likely had something to do with it.
The dark haired girl let a long sigh of relief as she put a hand on her own chest. She smiled at Sayaka in return as her nervousness started fading away. This felt way more stressful than it honestly should've been. "I'm glad..."
Sayaka had to suppress a slight giggle. Behind that cool exterior, Homura could really could be quite a softie sometimes. She liked it though, just one of the many reasons why Sayaka loved her. She quickly grabbed Homura by the collar and pulled her in for a kiss on the lips, letting the other girl taste the residue of chocolate for a moment before pulling away.
"I love you, Homura."
The ex-time traveler felt a deep blush appear across her face. She was absolutely grateful that they were alone. Really, Sayaka could be quite bold. Sometimes to Homura's own embarrassment but she didn't mind that at the end of the day. This was who her girlfriend was and she wouldn't change a thing about her.
"I... I love you too, Sayaka."
The two girls smiled at each other and shared a silent moment between them before Sayaka looked back down at the box of chocolates.
"Well I guess this means I really do have to get you something for White Day."
"That's really not necessary, your love here and now is good enough for me."
Sayaka felt her heart skip a beat at those words which rendered her silent for a moment. That was a real cheap shot but it sure was effective on her. Thankfully Sayaka managed to recover quickly.
"N-Nonsense. You're getting a gift from me next month, whether you like it or not."
Homura chuckled as she saw not much point in arguing further. She put one of her hands on top of Sayaka's and held on it gently.
Right now in this moment, Homura was happy with her life. It was thanks to Sayaka that she could've moved ahead in life to reach this point at all. If it wasn't for her, then the dark haired girl might still be trapped in an eternal battle against Walpurgisnacht.
That however, was over. As well as the other conflicts she had fought against with Sayaka at her side. Homura only hoped that she could continue to be happy with Sayaka for a long time.
"Alright... I look forward to it, Sayaka."
Author's Note: This might be a little late depending on your timezone as I kinda went and made this at the very last minute. For those aware, yes the AU fir this story is very much based on "The Sword of Justice and the Shield of Time", my own long term HomuSaya fanfic that still remains incomplete today. One day it will be finished.
Regardless, Happy Valentines Day!