Madoka took out her keys and carefully opened the door, making sure to not make much noise as to not wake up her possibly sleeping parents. The door creaked in clear defiance of Madoka's sneaky intentions, making the girl flinch with the loud – at least in her perception - noise. As the door finished being open Madoka looked behind her with a bit of a nervous look on her eyes.

"Let's go, Homura-chan" Madoka whispered, gesturing the girl in question to come into the house.

Madoka offered Homura a pair of slippers after the girl took off her shoes, Homura accepting them with a small appreciative bow that Madoka wished had been a smile instead. Madoka carefully walked into the house, taking a quick glance at Homura to make sure the girl was following her and had not just disappeared into the night.

Madoka made sure to take every step as carefully as possible, the house still finding a way to make more noise than it would usually do. When she reached the half point of the stairs she turned around, checking if Homura was behind her, the girl was somehow not making a single noise as she walked with the same grace the she usually carried herself with. How Homura knew how to sneak around so effortlessly was as mysterious as the rest of the girl. Not that Madoka minded the air of mystery, she kind of liked it; as long as the mysteries that surrounded the girl weren't hurting her, that is.

They finally reached the top floor, Madoka opened her room with the upmost care in the world only for it to creak as well; the whole house mocking her attempts at not making noise in the middle of the night. Really, if her parents weren't awake already it had to be because they didn't want to.

Madoka walked into her room and started prodding around the wall in search of the light switch, a – noisier than usual – click was quickly accompanied by the lights turning on. Homura followed closely behind, the girl stopping by the entrance after Madoka closed the door behind them. Madoka let out a sigh, knowing – or rather, hoping – that the walls and door of her room would keep the noise inside of the room.

"Sorry about the sneaking, I didn't think we would come back so late" Madoka said, letting out a quiet chuckle as she almost threw herself on her bed and looked at Homura; the raven haired beauty still waiting idly by the door, a small blush on her cheeks as her eyes tried not to look at her directly.

"It's okay" said Homura after the girl took a small deep breath that she tried to hide, and maybe she would have hidden it from someone else. But from Madoka? The girl that had learnt that if she wanted to see how Homura was feeling she would have to observe every single movement the girl did? That wouldn't work. "If anything, Kyouko and Sayaka should have been the ones to apologize, they dragged us around for far too long after Tomoe-san left."

"You were more than up to playing along with them, Homura-chan" Madoka grinned, not missing how the girl had called Sayaka by her name.

"That's…" Homura looked a bit shocked, or at least the way she had ever so slightly opened her eyes in surprise said so; it didn't last long though, Homura quickly hiding it behind her usual mask "I shouldn't have fallen prey to their taunts"

"I'm not saying that it was wrong to do it" Madoka quickly said before Homura could try to apologize, the girl being caught in half a head bow "You had fun playing games with them, right?"

Homura didn't answer immediately, the girl still torn between looking at Madoka and quickly looking away from her when she noticed what she was doing – Madoka still wasn't sure why, but it was a bit cute so she wasn't going to make stop. Before Madoka would have interpreted the girl's silence as a way of not wanting to answer, but know she knew that Homura was just thinking about her answer. She didn't like answering questions without putting thought behind them, it didn't matter how silly they were, and the fact that she was thinking so deeply about it only meant she cared about the question and didn't want to give a fake answer. Another thing Madoka liked about her.

"I… I guess I did" Homura finally said, forcing herself to look at Madoka in the eyes "I still had more fun with you"

Madoka giggled.

"You know you can have fun with the three of us, right? It's not a competition; And I wouldn't mind if you had more fun with them than with me" A gentle smile appeared on Madoka, trying to let the girl know that she was being honest; the soft eyes that Homura looked at her being more than enough to let her know that she believed her.

"I don't think I would ever have more fun with someone else than with you, Madoka" Homura said, the serious face the girl was making not really working when she was still trying to look at anything but Madoka.

"Well, thank you" Madoka said with a soft voice.

Homura, still not looking at Madoka, simply nodded in response; the girl's face getting redder for the minute with every quick glance she dared to take. Madoka, unable to hold it in any longer, let out a quiet laugh before speaking.

"Really, what has you looking away like that?" said Madoka, the girl getting up from her bed to try and get in front of the girl's eyes.

Madoka's movements were cut short, for the moment she got up from the bed she noticed her yukata loosening as it almost fell off; the girl reacting quickly enough to catch it with her hands. The waistband had slowly been loosening with all the walking around and playing they had been doing, her throwing herself into her bed being the last straw to let it completely loosen.

Madoka's eyes darted up, trying to see if Homura was looking at her in her half-naked state (though she was obviously wearing underwear, the girl was slightly cursing herself for not wearing something more on top even if it had been quite hot outside). Homura, luckily, had quickly looked away; her face completely turned towards one of the walls of the room. Though with how Homura had been acting before the girl had clearly seen something. Normally Madoka wouldn't really mind that Homura saw her like this, but with how conscious the other girl was acting Madoka couldn't help but get nervous herself.

Madoka quickly tried to mend the yukata, quickly pulling it up and tightening the waistband once again. It didn't look pretty, more like a bathrobe than a yukata, but it was still enough to cover herself.

"I-I will heat up the bath" said Madoka, the girl trying to get past the still embarrassed Homura "With how much we've walked around we should both take one- I-I mean by ourselves- like- me first then you- n-not together!"

Homura nodded, Madoka's embarrassed commentary only making her blush bigger.

"Yo-you can get comfortable in the meantime" said Madoka as she opened the door of her room; quickly trying to run into the hallway in search of a hole that would swallow her and her embarrassment together.

Only for her to have to turn around and go back into her room. The girl having to walk around a still standing Homura to get into her wardrobe and pick up her pajamas. Somehow Madoka could still feel the tension that was in the air, and when she had to – once again – move past Homura to get to her underwear her heart could only race as she imagined Homura stopping her just to tell her that she wouldn't mind taking a bath together-

Madoka had to quickly shook her head, her wildly creative imagination giving her a too realistic image of what the two of them could end up doing in the bath. Or rather, what Madoka would end up doing since Homura always felt too submisiv-

AAAAAHHHH! Madoka stop thinking! Just. Stop. Thinking.

With her clothes in hand and a repetitive song in her mind to keep her brain occupied, Madoka walked out of her room and towards the bath.

[-]

"Ahhh…."

Madoka sighed as she slowly laid down on her bathtub, the hot water taking away all the fatigue she had gotten from walking around all day. Having to keep up with Sayaka and Kyouko always was rough on her legs; as much as the girl was quite active, she was still pretty far behind her friends. The wooden sandals didn't help either.

Madoka sank further into the bath, letting the water reach up to her nose. The steam filling her lungs having an oddly calming effect in the girl as she slowed her breathing.

She was glad that Homura had come with them today, not only for herself – Madoka had very much enjoyed the girl's company, as always – but because it felt like Homura had been a bit more open than usual. Even if that openness came from Kyouko coming up with a competition between the two, Madoka had never seen Homura take games so seriously. Even less common was seeing the girl get annoyed by losing at them, Madoka would have never expected the girl to be so competitive; what had started with just some frowns from losing, quickly escalated into the girl actually getting angry at the games or herself.

With how quickly her annoyance dissipated whenever she looked back at Madoka though, it was more of a superficial anger than anything else. It all came down to how much the girl didn't like making mistakes, and she tried pretty hard not to do so. The level of concentration the girl reached whenever she played a game was, honestly, a bit too much for what was a simple game. Her eyes would lock onto her objective. Her gaze quickly becoming a calculating one. It was like a hunter looking at its prey.

Madoka shifted around in the bath as she tried to sit, a bit of the water falling out of the tub as she did so.

Then there was the whole thing that happened during the fireworks. Madoka had just made a dumb comment, not really meaning that she actually wanted to float among the stars. She had expected many possible answers to that: silence, maybe one of those romantic things that Homura sometimes said out of nowhere, or anything else really. What she didn't expect was to Homura to actually take the comment seriously, to actually ask the girl to stay here.

And that was a thing that had bugged Madoka a bit more than it should probably have.

Because, so far, the only thing Homura had ever asked of Madoka was to stay with her. Be it to stay a bit more time like when she invited her to the café, or like this time to simply stay here. And she never did with a playful tone, or an embarrassed one; it always was with fear in her voice. And Madoka may not know why Homura was like this, why the girl was completely scared of Madoka leaving, but she knew that this wasn't a new fear.

Because this didn't feel like a new fear the girl had somehow developed over the last two weeks. Because Madoka could see the pain in the girl's face whenever she thought about it, a pain that felt all too familiar to see on her face.

Because it reminded her of the face the girl had made the first day they met.

Madoka got up, determination filling her eyes, and got out of the bath.

If Homura was being so hurt by the simple idea that Madoka was going to leave one day, then she would make sure to make the girl understand that she would stay with her forever. That nothing would be able to get between them. That she loved her, and she would even give the universe in exchange for her happiness.

A shimmer of gold flashed over pink eyes.

[-]

Madoka walked back to her room, the dark hallway only being illuminated by the light coming from withing the gaps of the door that led into her room. She stopped right in front of the door, made sure to try and put on a bit more of a smile instead of her currently determined look, and quietly opened the door.

Homura was sitting on her chair, the girl looking through a bag that Madoka didn't remember seeing before.

"Where is that bag from?" asked Madoka as she closed the door behind her, the girl's mind trying really hard to remember if she had seen the bag or not.

"I brought it here when I came this afternoon" Homura said, the girl's voice feeling as if she was reciting a practiced sentence. "I left it in your house before we went to the festival, remember?"

Madoka tried to, but nothing came to mind.

"You probably were too excited for the day and forgot" added Homura, quickly stopping the girl's train of thought before she could dwell further into it.

Oh well, if Homura was saying it so confidently it had to be the truth. Madoka had been really excited for today after all, and the only thing she remembered from when Homura came to get her was the kiss they had shared and a whole lot of hand holding.

"I guess you are right" said Madoka with a bit of an embarrassed smile from having forgotten something that happened just a few hours ago.

Homura simply responded with a small smile that completely threw away Madoka's worries about the matter before she got out her own pajamas. A thought went through the girl's mind, making her stop dead on her tracks before she could get out of the room.

"We should prepare the bedding for tonight first" said Homura as she left her clothes on Madoka's desk. "Where is the futon that you lent me last time?"

"Ah- don't worry about it! I will prepare it while you bathe!" said Madoka, putting the girl's clothes back on her hand before she started to gently push her towards the door.

"I will help yo-"

"Nope~! I'm the hostess, you have to relax Homura-chan!" pressed Madoka as she finished pushing – though Homura wasn't really resisting – the girl out of the room.

Madoka waved Homura off as the girl made her way towards the bathroom with a bit of confusion on her eyes. Once Homura walked into the bathroom, Madoka closed the door and let out a relieved breath.

After all, for her plan to work she couldn't have Homura help her prepare things. This was going to be a surprise plan, an all fronts attack on the girl until she accepted that Madoka would not be leaving her.

Homura wasn't one to usually take baths, showers being just that more efficient, but when it came to the Kaname household she knew she couldn't say no. If Homura were to get out of the bath in just the twelve minutes it usually took her to shower – ten of those going to her hair since the timeline that Madoka had praised it – she knew that Madoka was going to get angry at her. Well, as angry as the girl could get from something like this.

As such, Homura was now inside the bath, and had been so for the last twenty minutes. She would just aim to take more or less the same time that Madoka took; forty minutes. Forty minutes that even thought they started as relaxing, quickly devolved into anxiety as she just wanted to get out and go back to Madoka.

She had always wanted to be with the girl at all times, her mission only making it hard to do so without putting the girl in danger. The need of being with the girl only grew larger and larger with every loop, the last time she let herself get even remotely close to the girl being the timeline she most wanted to forget. And after all that ended? Almost a full year of fighting alone. A full year that only made her crave being with the girl to the point that it completely broke her.

And now she was getting not only the full attention of the girl, but in a way that Homura could only have dreamt of? The thing that had been supposed to become hell now appeared like heaven for Homura.

Madoka's love was intoxicating, it was addicting. It only made Homura love the girl more, a thing that she had believed not to be possible.

Yet here she was, being unable to even wait five more minutes to go see her again. And maybe that meant that the Devil had been right, that she should have always tried to get closer to the girl. Actually, she was in a good mood, so maybe she would try to find a way to close a deal with her – as ironic as making a deal with the devil sounded – just as thanks for actually putting her in this path of closeness to Madoka.

Homura sighed, still four more minutes until she should get out of the bath.

…

…

…

"36 minutes will also be fine, right?" thought Homura as she got out of the bathtub and started to dry herself.

Madoka could feel her heart almost getting out of her body, her heartbeat only getting louder and louder as she waited for Homura to come back from her bath. She sat on her bed, slowly trying to calm herself down.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe i-

Madoka did a small jump when she heard Homura opening the bathroom door, the girl's heartbeat just going back to how it was a moment ago. She could imagine Homura walking towards her room, and doubt was finally able to get to Madoka as the girl started to second guess herself.

Maybe she shouldn't do this. It was a bit too bold even for herself, wasn't it? What if things got out of control?

The door opened; Homura slowly being reveled in her light violet pajamas as she stepped into the room. The girl had a bit of a blush on her face, her pale skin contrasting greatly against her still damp raven hair. A nice smell of lavender filling Madoka's room as Homura closed the door behind her.

Her amethyst eyes looked at Madoka with a hint of restrained eagerness, the gesture – and how hard Homura tried to hide it – sending a jolt of pure happiness through Madoka, the girl failing to hold back a love filled dumb smile.

"Madoka?" asked Homura, a bit of confusion on her eyes.

"Hm?" Madoka's heart still raced, the girl staring at Homura in a small trance.

"Where is the futon?"

There it was.

"Well…" Madoka started to fidget with her fingers, the girl's eyes darting around the room in shame. "I thought… that maybe we could sleep t-together?"

Madoka could feel her heart going completely haywire, the thought of having a heart attack with how fast it was beating crossing her mind at one point. Her face was completely red, her whole body shifting around as she felt uncomfortable sitting in any way. Seconds that felt like minutes passed in silence. Madoka, now realizing that Homura had not answered, slowly raised her head to look at her girlfriend.

Homura was completely still. The only sign that the girl was still alive being her shaking eyes and the red that decorated her face. Homura opened her mouth as to answer, the words getting stuck in her throat.

"I- I don't think-" Homura's eyes met Madoka's, Homura flinching as they did so; her face turning into an even brighter shade of red "I… If- if you want to"

Madoka started breathing again, the girl now noticing that she had stopped while she waited for Homura to answer. Her determination to do this whole thing in order to reassure Homura that she was going to be with her completely gone now.

The steam got to my head! I really should have thought this over!

It was now too late to backdown. The thought of what Homura could be thinking Madoka wanted to do only sinking her further into her own embarrassment.

"T-then" Madoka pushed herself further into the bed, making enough space for Homura to climb onto it too.

Homura nodded, hesitating for a second before the girl started to take slow steps towards Madoka; each step resonating inside Madoka's head in rhythm with her heartbeat. Homura sat down on the bed, its frame bending slightly at the added weight pulling Madoka closer to the girl.

They both sat there, in silence, for what seemed like an eternity. Homura turn around to face Madoka, the girl's mask completely gone had been replaced by nervous, embarrassed, and eager face that made Madoka's heart skip a beat. Madoka, unable to contain herself any longer, leaned forwards until their lips connected; the sweet, cold taste of Homura's lips letting a bit of her original determination come through once again.

When Madoka pulled away, Homura's eyes looked at her for but a second before the girl had to look away out of embarrassment. Madoka made a small pout at the gesture, the tingling feeling she got whenever Homura looked embarrassed being completely overwritten by a bit of annoyance at the girl not looking at her.

Madoka cusped Homura's head with her hands, carefully guiding the girl's face until she was facing her again.

"Homura-chan" Madoka whispered, her eyes digging on the other girl's soul "Why aren't you looking at me?"

"That's-"

"Do you not want me to do this? Do you want me to stop?" asked Madoka, fearing what the answer would be; fearing that she had crossed boundaries that would have better remained uncrossed.

"That's not-!" Homura almost shouted, the girl quickly taking control of her voice before she spoke again, this time in a whisper "I… I want to keep going, M-Madoka"

"I don't want to push you too far" said Madoka, the girl slowly closing the space between their faces until their foreheads touched, Madoka could feel the girl's nervous breathing "Tell me if you want to stop, okay?"

Homura nodded in response, a smile plastering all over Madoka's face before she went in for another kiss; this time a far deeper and passionate one. Madoka could feel as Homura raised her hands to try and grasp at Madoka's arm, the girl trying to desperately anchor herself to something least the pleasure was to take her away.

Madoka slowly let go of Homura's lips so they could both breathe. Though with how Homura leaned forwards as Madoka tried to pull away, the girl disappointedly opening her eyes as she noticed the kiss had ended, Madoka was sure that Homura could have gone for longer. The eagerness the girl was showing, the flustered face she had on, how she looked at Madoka with pleading eyes; it all made a fire withing Madoka burn brighter than it ever had.

Madoka made sure to put an end to that fire, to contain its flames that could very easily burn both of them. It still was too soon for that. This was only to make Homura understand that Madoka wouldn't leave her. To show her how much she loved her, how much she wanted to be with her for all eternity.

Madoka placed her arms around Homura, embracing the girl in the warmest, and gentlest hug she could give. Madoka pulled their faces closer, their lips barely touching.

"I love you" breathed Madoka, the girl not letting Homura answer as she pushed their lips together once again; both girls lying down onto the bed as they kissed.

Madoka tried to pull away from the kiss, but Homura's attempt at keeping the kiss going made Madoka give in; letting their lips connect once again as she felt Homura embracing her tightly. It wasn't until she couldn't keep it for any longer that Madoka pulled away, the girl trying to recover her ragged breath.

"Madoka…" Homura whimpered, the girl's eyes pleading Madoka to keep going; yet they were scared of searching for it themselves. How Homura was able to not look the least exhausted was a mystery, and it only made Madoka thankful that she was the one taking the lead and not the other way around.

"Homura-chan" Madoka whispered between breaths, the high from the kisses burning away all of the girl's embarrassment "I love you. I love you more than what I can even understand myself"

Madoka moved one of her hands towards the other girl's face, gently cupping Homura's cheek with it. Madoka made sure to affectionally caress the girl's cheek, Homura pushing against Madoka's hand as if she yearned for the girl's touch.

"That's why I want to make you understand" Madoka leaned in for a small, affectionate kiss. Only pulling away enough for her to be able to talk, their lips still grazing against each other "I'm not going to leave you. I will stay by your side for all eternity"

"I don't know what happened for you to be so scared of losing me" Madoka looked directly at Homura's wavering amethyst eyes, her voice becoming a gentle whisper. "I'm here. I'll always be. Because I love you, Homura"

Madoka kissed the girl once more, with more caring love than pure passion. She could feel Homura's arms tightening around her, the girl's breathing becoming less and less controlled. Madoka pulled away in search of air, the girl stopping to see at the now crying Homura that tried to hide her face under her ebony bangs.

Madoka looked at the girl with a small smile before she embraced her tightly until Homura's head rested on Madoka's chest; the girl crying freely only focused on getting as close she could to Madoka.

They stayed like that for minutes, Homura's crying slowly calming down as Madoka gently caressed her hair. Madoka only stopping when she noticed that Homura had fallen asleep in her arms, she gave her a small kiss on the forehead and went to sleep herself; still hugging Homura as she did so.

That night Madoka dreamed of stars.

Current date: Sunday, 25th of May

A/N: Sorry for being late, was pretty tired the whole week but I'm better now.