A calm fragrance.
The warm feeling of an embrace.
The sound of gentle breathing over her.
A relaxed heartbeat in her ears.
It was with these sensations surrounding her that Homura woke up. The girl slowly coming back to consciousness after what had been her first time sleeping in this world, and the first time sleeping in years in which she hadn't been woken up by a nightmare.
Madoka was still hugging her, the girl's embrace had not faltered throughout the night in the slightest. Quite the opposite in fact, with Madoka having used Homura's body as a substitute plushie to hug, the girl was not only hugging Homura with her arms but had also used one of her legs to pull her even closer.
Homura, not wanting to wake up the still sleeping girl – and with clearly no other motives behind it – decided to burrow her face deeper into the girl's chest, Madoka's body acting on instinct and tightening the hug around Homura in response. Homura couldn't breathe, the only thing that she could feel was Madoka and Madoka only, yet she didn't mind; Air was unnecessary in a world in which she could just be like this with the girl she so much loved.
Homura was so deep in her own world that she didn't hear the door opening, only coming back to her senses when Madoka reacted to the noise by moving around in a half sleep state.
"Well, well, well" said a mature woman's voice "Would you look at that"
Madoka shifted more, the girl slowly waking up. Homura tried to remain with her face burrowed on the girl, but it quickly became an impossible task as Madoka half sat up on her bed; using her arm as a leverage. Homura slowly opened her eyes as she turned around, her hair being a mess of equal proportions to Madoka's. When her eyes met the person that had opened the door, all alarms went off inside her mind, a blush quickly finding its way to the girl's cheeks.
"Mama… Good morning…" mumbled Madoka. The girl, still too asleep to notice what was going on, was in the middle of a yawn.
Madoka finished her yawn, her mother still just looking at her with raised eyebrows as she waited for her daughter to realize the situation she was in. Madoka cocked her head to the side for a second before her eyes moved down, her pink gaze landing on Homura's blushed face.
Realization suddenly hit Madoka, her eyes widening at the same rate that blood started to rush to her face.
"O-oh, go-good morning, Homura-chan"
Homura merely nodded as she sat up herself, unable to look at either of the Kaname women. She had to stop herself from actually conjuring up a hole that could swallow her.
"And here I was worrying as to why the futon was still in the closet" Junko sighed, putting on a smile as she placed her hands around her hips "Breakfast will be ready in a bit, get dressed in the meantime. We will all be going to eat out later, so put something nice"
Homura opened her mouth as to protest, but Junko quickly glared her down.
"And yes, you are coming with us Homura" Junko turned around and made her way out of the room, throwing in a knowing look with raised eyebrows before she closed the door behind her. Homura gulped; she knew those teasing, thinking, evaluating eyes.
She wasn't going to be able to flee from a talk with Kaname Junko. The woman had made her mind, and Homura had been sentenced.
"W-well…" Madoka's voice brought Homura's back to the present, the pink haired girl had red cheeks as she tried to make her way out of the bed without touching Homura; a task that proved impossible in the small bed. "We should get ready, Homura-chan"
Homura nodded as she tried to get away from the blankets that had tangled around her legs.
[-]
The two of them walked downstairs, the sound of the TV and giggles coming from Tatsuya being the first thing that they could hear. Homura walked behind Madoka, the pink haired girl had changed into light pink jeans paired with a white t-shirt and a light green cardigan; the sight of Madoka wearing clothes other than her school uniform still felt strange to Homura, but it helped to remind her that she wasn't in the old world anymore.
"Maroka!" happily shouted Tatsuya as the toddler saw her sister walk in.
"Hello Takku-!" Madoka almost fell back, her brother having tackled her into a hug. After recovering, Madoka quickly returned said hug with the same gentleness as one would treat a small animal "I'm glad to see you too, Takkun"
The interaction brought forth a smile from Homura, the scenery being exactly what she had been fighting for. For Madoka being able to happily be with her family without any real worry in her mind.
"Good morning, Madoka" Tomohisa said from behind the kitchen counter, the man making a breakfast that consisted of eggs and bacon. "Good morning, Akemi-san"
"Good morning, Papa!" said Madoka, walking over to the kitchen. She turned back to Homura, the girl looking at her with a gentle smile on her face. "Coffee, Homura-chan?"
"Please" Homura said with a small bow before she made her way towards the table; sitting on the same chair she had sat the first time she came here in this world, knowing that neither Madoka or Tomohisa would let her help with anything.
A couple of minutes later Madoka placed the 'husband' mug they had won in front of her, black coffee swirled inside of it, and a plate with the same breakfast that Tomohisa had been preparing. A moment later, Madoka sat next to her, 'wife' mug in hand and a slight blush on her cheeks.
Homura took a sip from her coffee, the bitter taste of the liquid helping to calm herself down. She had to get used to Madoka acting this bold, putting on the mask had been getting harder and harder lately.
A sound got Homura's attention as she placed a fork of bacon in her mouth, the girl turned to the source just in time to see Kaname Junko walking downstairs. The woman threw a look at Madoka and Homura, the two of them flinching as the what was about to happen became clear in their minds.
Junko walked over to Tomohisa, the husband already handing her a cup of coffee as they exchanged a morning kiss.
"We should have done the same…" Thought Homura, her face quickly getting red as she realized her own thoughts.
Junko walked over to the table and sat next to Homura. Junko looked at Homura's drink with a raised eyebrow, Homura quickly saw an idea cross the woman's mind.
"You drink it black?" she asked, Homura could hear the teasing tone she was using already.
"Y-yes, I got used to the taste" Homura cursed herself for stuttering, knowing that doing such a thing would only add more fuel to the fire.
"Hmmm…" Junko hummed, throwing a look at Madoka for a second before she took a sip of her own coffee "I expected you to like sweet things more"
"I-"
"Or did you have your fill of sweetness last night?"
Madoka started coughing as her tea went through the wrong pipe. Junko simply moved her eyes between Homura and Madoka, a smirk on her face as she took a sip of her own coffee again.
"M-mom!" Madoka protested between coughs.
"Oh~? You aren't denying it?"
Homura, too embarrassed to answer, decided to ignore the question and went back to her breakfast. The simple, yet delicious, flavors tried to distract her from the conversation that was happening around her. She could see Madoka's own flushed cheeks as the girl tried to hide herself into her mug, the sight of Madoka near the word 'wife' made Homura remember last night; made her remember Madoka promising to stay with her for all eternity…
Did that count as a proposal?
"But really, I didn't expect you to be that bold" Junko said, her eyes digging into Madoka "You two have been going out for… four days?"
"…five if you count today" mumbled Madoka as she lazily cut a piece of egg, the golden liquid inside of it spilling onto the bacon as she did so.
"And you already slept together?" said Junko "How far have you two gone alrea-"
"We haven't done anything!" exclaimed Madoka, an angry pout on her face; her completely red cheeks didn't help to convey her anger, simply making her look cuter "We just went to sleep!"
Junko hummed as she kept her gaze fixed on Madoka, the girl becoming smaller when her mother didn't move her eyes away from her. The woman smiled before turning back to Homura, even as the woman tried to hide her real intentions behind a gentle mask, Homura was still able to feel as if she was a rabbit, and Junko a fox waiting for her to make a mistake.
"Homura"
Homura took a moment to calm herself, making sure not to stutter this time "Yes?"
"Has Madoka been kind to you?"
The question got a confused frown from Homura, the girl answering only after a few seconds passed.
"She always is" said Homura, still unsure where the question had come from.
"Do you like the food she makes?"
"Yes, I do" said Homura at the quick question that had been thrown her way again. She could see Madoka blush next to her, but Junko was already asking something else. She felt like she had to answer quickly under the woman's gaze.
"Do you have fun with her?"
"Always"
"Do you like her?"
"Yes"
"Is she a good friend?"
"The best I could wish for" Homura quickly answered, the continuous flurry of questions making her unable to stop and think about what the question was about.
"Did she force you to do something last night?"
"She told me to say stop if I didn't want to… keep… going…"
Homura slowly lowered her voice as she realized what she had answered to, her blood quickly rushing to her face as she saw Junko's triumphant smirk.
Homura looked to her side, only to see Madoka completely red faced and trying to look as small as possible; the pink haired girl had clearly been affected by Homura's answers, the last one probably being the last push.
"So, just sleeping, right?" asked Junko towards Madoka, the girl embarrassedly looking up until her eyes met her mothers. Madoka tried to open her mouth to say something, but words weren't able to come out of the girl. "You are really bad at lying, Madoka"
Homura couldn't help but nod in agreement as she took another sip from her coffee.
The traffic light turned red, giving Junko a moment to look at the backseats through the rearview mirror.
Madoka was showing something on her phone to Homura as she tried to contain a giggle, Homura simply observed what Madoka was showing her with a small forced smile on her face. Whatever Madoka was showing her clearly wasn't of interest to Homura, yet the girl watched the screen with her full concentration. After what Junko assumed was a video finished, Tatsuya was quick to ask her sister to show him too; Madoka quickly complied.
Homura looked with soft eyes at the two siblings as they shared a laugh, an actual smile appearing on her face before her eyes drifted towards Junko's; the girl quickly adverted her eyes, unable to face the older woman.
The light turned green again, and with a sigh Junko focused back on the road.
[-]
Junko opened the door to the restaurant, a chime alerting one of the waitresses of their arrival. The young woman was in a nice looking black uniform with a white shirt underneath, she quickly reached the group and with a practiced smile looked at them.
"I have a reservation under the name of Kaname Junko" said Junko as she looked around the almost empty restaurant, it hadn't been doing well for the past few years and would probably close soon; a shame.
"For five people, correct?" Junko merely nodded in response; the woman quickly tapped some things in a tablet she was carrying before she made a polite bow "Please follow me"
Junko followed the waitress into one of the private rooms the place had, a table that could have probably fit seven people was prepared with utensils and paper menus.
Junko was the first one to sit, Tomohisa sitting next to her as he guided Tatsuya to sit between them. Junko placed her hand against the edge of the table, seeing that the toddler's head was just at the right height to hit it. Madoka, holding Homura's hand, guided the other girl to sit on the other side of the table. The moment Homura sat, Madoka was already trying to get as close as she could to the girl; locking arms with her as she held out one of the paper menus so they could both see it.
"What would you like to drink?" asked the waitress.
"Water for me, and a pineapple juice for him" said Tomohisa as he pointed to Tatsuya.
"Pineapple!" mimicked Tatsuya with a big grin.
"I'll have…" Junko looked at Tomohisa, sending him a gaze that he knew pretty well already as a 'you are driving back' look "Do you still make your own plum wine?"
"Yes, we do"
"I'll buy a bottle then" Junko looked at Madoka and Homura, the two girls were talking about the menu; Madoka had a bit of a surprised expression on her face, Homura the usual mask she seemed to wear when she wasn't embarrassed. "Girls?"
"Ah! Eh… we will both have ramune; strawberry for me…" Madoka slowly turned towards Homura, the other girl was still looking at the menu.
"…Melon for me" Homura added, her voice being barely loud enough to be heard.
The waitress nodded, and with a quick bow left the private room they were in.
Junko turned towards the pair with one brow raised, she could already see that a certain 'discussion' would begin with that drink "Ramune?"
"Yeah" Madoka said – arms still locked with Homura, was se going to let go of the girl at some point? – "Homura-chan said that she never had it before"
Homura nodded in confirmation, the girl still looking at the menu as she tried to evade Junko's eyes. Junko couldn't help but think that maybe she had gone a bit overboard with the teasing this morning, she just hoped that the girl wasn't actually scared of her.
She needed to talk with her later after all, and she was hoping to do it in private. If the girl was scared of her… well, she didn't want to make her too uncomfortable. She doubted the girl would accept her deal if she was scared of her.
The waitress came back with their drinks just a few minutes later. Madoka picked up Homura's and passed it to the girl before picking up her own. She wasn't the biggest fan of the soft drink, but after hearing that Homura had never tried it before she had to get one just for the novelty that it was to Homura.
Maybe she should have chosen something different actually, just in case that Homura didn't like it. Though knowing Homura, she probably wouldn't say anything.
Homura picked up the bottle in front of her and examined it, the shape of the bottle getting her attention. Madoka started opening hers, taking out the opener from the pink cap as she held it in front of hers.
"Homura-chan" Madoka called, the girl looking over at her "You have to do it like this"
Madoka placed the opener at the mouth of the bottle and pushed down on it with her palm, after a few seconds the glass marble got released with a satisfactory clink and Madoka took out the opener.
"See?" Madoka said, taking a sip from her drink as she did so. A bit too bubbly for her taste, but that's what she gets for not thinking clearly.
Homura nodded before she started to follow her steps, only stopping when her palm was against the opener.
"How much strength should I use?" asked Homura, her usual mask on not letting Madoka see if she was enjoying herself or not.
"Hmmm…" Madoka hummed as she left her drink on the table "Just a bit? It's more about holding it than pure strength"
Homura nodded, her vision quickly focusing back on the task at hand before she pressed on the opener for a few seconds. A brief moment later, a satisfying clink confirmed her success. Homura looked at the bottle for a second before turning back towards Madoka, a bit of a questioning look on her face.
"Good job, Homura-chan" said Madoka with a smile on her face, seeing the girl doing something so normal as opening a bottle of ramune was somehow relaxing.
Homura's eyes seemed to almost glow at the praise, though that may have been just Madoka's imagination. Homura took the bottle and tried to take a sip from it, the marble getting in the way of the liquid made it harder than usual.
"Hold the flat side horizontally" hinted Madoka with a small giggle at Homura's attempts "It helps"
Homura nodded, and with a quick twist of her hand properly held the bottle this time. She took a nice gulp and left the bottle on the table afterwards.
"Do you like it?" asked Madoka, the girl quickly going back for Homura's arm now that they didn't need both of them for anything.
"It's… bubbly?" said Homura, the girl took another sip as to confirm her opinion on the drink "I like the taste"
Her mom chuckled from the other side of the table, catching their attention.
"Most people drink it for the marble" said her mom as she served herself a glass of her plum wine "Once the novelty dies down it's just another soft drink"
"Don't let Junko spoil the drink for you, Homura" interjected her dad, Madoka already knew what was coming.
"You just like it because you drank it a lot as a kid" her mom said as she looked at him with a sly look "Didn't have anything better in your small town"
"Didn't need anything else. Even after coming to the city, it still remained my favorite soft drink" her dad corrected, her eyes moved towards Homura "A drink that has survived for over a century, and is still enjoyed, is an important part of our culture. Don't you agree, Homura?"
There it was, the question that always got asked when ramune was mentioned. And with Madoka – and Sayaka – having taken her mother's side in the matter, her dad was probably hoping to get Homura's on his.
With how much time Homura dedicated to thinking about an answer Madoka could already tell that the girl was thinking too seriously about it. She probably had made her decision long ago, but realized that she was going to choose a side and immediately went back to thinking. Judging by her eyes she was probably debating whether she should say the truth, deflect the question, or lie. Madoka simply took another sip of her drink and waited.
"It is quite famous, and I do like it" finally spoke Homura, choosing to take Madoka's dad's side.
"I'm glad that you think so" Her dad looked at Homura with a happy smile, and at that moment Madoka knew she had just gained his approval.
A knock on the door got their attention, the waitress entering again as she held her tablet.
"Have you decided what you will be eating?" she asked in a polite tone.
A few looks and nods were exchanged around the table to confirm that everyone had, in fact, chosen something before her mother spoke up.
"Yes, I'll have a katsudon" said her mother.
"Spicy curry for me, and sweet for him" said her dad as he pointed towards Takkun.
The waitress nodded as she jotted down their orders before raising her head towards Madoka and Homura.
"I'll also have sweet curry" said Madoka, turning to Homura after the waitress finished typing her order.
"I'll have…" Homura trailed off as she looked at the menu again, still not sure about what to order "mild curry, please"
"Add two orders of takoyaki and yakitori too" said her mom, quickly glancing at the menu before she raised her eyes to confirm that the waitress had heard her.
"And an okonomiyaki to share" added her dad, exchanging looks with her mother as he did so.
Ahhh… I see.
They were trying to stuff Homura full of food, weren't they?
Homura looked at the empty dishes that littered the table in front of her. Her stomach felt like it was about to burst, the Kaname family having been prodding her to eat more and more being the culprits. Homura was pretty sure that if she had been her old ill self, she wouldn't be able to move right now.
Thankfully, she could just lighten her load with a bit of magic now.
"Did you eat well, Homura?" asked Tomohisa, the man had been the main culprit; ordering even more food midway through.
"Yes, thank you for inviting me today" she said with a small bow towards both Tomohisa and Junko.
They both smiled in return before Junko casted a look towards Tomohisa, the man nodding in understatement before picking up Tatsuya.
"I'll go grab the car, Madoka?" Madoka perked up at the mention of her name, still holding onto Homura's arm "Can you help me with Tatsuya?"
Madoka looked confused for a second as she exchanged looks with her parents, but after a brief moment she finally understood the situation and got up from her seat with a smile on her face.
"Of course!" she said, turning towards Homura as she got out of the table "We'll be back in a few minutes, Homura-chan"
"R-right" Homura stuttered, already knowing where this was going towards, she decided to prepare herself.
Less than a minute later and the only two that remained in the private room of the restaurant were Junko and Homura. The older woman finished what had been left of her glass of plum wine before her eyes looked at Homura.
"So, how are things going between Madoka and you?" asked Junko in an obvious at attempt at breaking the ice.
Homura thought for a few seconds, the question actually making her think. She could have never wished for a relationship better than what she had with Madoka at the moment, the girl was happy; and as such, Homura was too.
"I believe it's been going great" said Homura, trying to put on her mask.
"Don't you think that maybe you've going too fast?" asked Junko with a bit of a raised eyebrow.
"I'm okay with whatever pace Madoka wants us to follow" Homura answered, they were new questions yes; but this hadn't been the first time that Junko had 'interrogated' her. She could pull her mask off with ease.
"Hmmm…" Junko hummed, thinking about Homura's words for a few seconds "I guess that Madoka was right"
Homura raised an eyebrow at that, curiosity overcoming her stoic face a bit.
"What do you do in your free time, Homura?" asked Junko, an empathic smile on her face as she played with the bit of remaining liquid on her glass.
"I usually study" answered Homura "unless Madoka asks me to go somewhere"
"What did you do before meeting Madoka?"
That was something that Homura didn't remember, her life before Madoka was nothing more than a blur on her mind; she couldn't recall a single name from that age. Not that it mattered anyways, but she knew that wouldn't be a proper answer.
"I read whatever the nurses or nuns would give me" Homura sighs "Few were interesting, but they were better than staring at a white ceiling"
"Did you like reading?" Junko fixed her eyes on her, her smile attempting to carve the real Homura out of her mask.
"I guess I did"
Homura couldn't help but feel confused. She had expected a talk with Kaname Junko, that much was true, but what she had expected was a talk about Madoka and how she had to treat her well. Not for the woman to try and dig into her personal life; a life that didn't really exist outside of Madoka anyways.
She could see the eyes with which Junko was looking at her, the same hurting eyes that Madoka would sometimes put whenever Homura placed her mask around her. But Homura knew that she had to keep it up, letting her guard down around Kaname Junko was dangerous.
"How are things over at your house?" asked Junko.
"Quiet, like usual" said Homura before she tried to take a sip out of her drink one last time; nothing more than a drop coming out of the drink.
"Are you sleeping well?"
Homura knew that was a formality, the dark circles around her eyes were a clear indication of her sleep tendencies. She could have taken care of them with magic, but they helped to remind herself what she had truly become.
"I don't sleep much" she admitted, knowing that a lie wouldn't work here "But it is still enough to let me work properly throughout the day"
"That's not good for your health" sighed Junko.
"I know"
That earned a small chuckle from Junko before the woman straightened her back and looked at her with a more serious look on her eyes.
"Homura?"
"Yes?" asked Homura as she noticed the silence that had fallen between the two.
"Are you lonely?"
Homura frowned at that, unsure as to what to answer. Unsure as if she had properly heard the question.
"…I'm sorry?" she asked.
"I asked if you are lonely" Junko said, her gentle smile looking more and more like Madoka's "Are you lonely living by yourself, Homura?"
Was she lonely?
She had Madoka whenever they were at school, and most afternoons too. She definitely wasn't lonely then.
Then she would go back to her house. She would greet Amy if the cat had decided to drop by – it was still more of a stray than her cat – and see if any of her dolls were around. She did her homework, studied, and… She waited.
She would wait in the darkness for the morning to come with the promise of seeing Madoka again. Sometimes she would go to the field of flowers where a chair waited for her, but she would do the same as in her room. Sometimes she went to Hell and simply waited in one of the ruined buildings, or watched as her dolls disposed of the few incubators that died throughout the process of cleaning the grief.
But other than that, she just… waited. It was all a mean to make time pass faster so she could see Madoka again.
Homura looked at Junko, the woman was calmly waiting for an answer still with the smile that reminded Homura so much of Madoka…
She couldn't let her see through her mask.
"I can manage" stated Homura, she knew that after all the time she had thought for, a complete denial would be an easy lie to pick on.
Junko chuckled. "So that's a yes then"
Junko shifted around her seat a bit, trying to get into a more comfortable position as she did so. A beep on her phone announced an incoming message, Junko quickly glanced at it before looking back at Homura.
"Say, Homura" Junko started, and a compassionate expression that felt like a thousand needles piercing her heart decorated her face "Would you like to live with us?"
Homura's brain came to a halt, the sudden question surprising her hard enough that she had subconsciously stopped time.
The thought of being able to live in the same house that Madoka was tempting. To be able to live with a family as kind as Madoka's family was even more tempting. She knew that she would be treated like one more of the family if she were to accept.
Yet, she knew that she shouldn't deserve that much kindness. She would accept Madoka's love, but she still had many sins to carry with her. And as such, she had to steel her resolve and deny the proposition.
She took a few breaths to try and calm herself, and with a thought resumed time.
"I-"
"We have a free room that you can use" Junko kept talking "though I'm sure that Madoka wouldn't mind sharing hers with you"
Of course, Homura wouldn't mind sharing a room with Madoka either. She couldn't accept though.
"I appreciate the offer but-"
"You would get meals cooked by Tomohisa every day, and trust me, you don't want to miss that" said Junko with a small chuckle.
It was true that Tomohisa's cooking was something out of this world, but even then, she knew that with Madoka's lunches it was more than enough.
"I can't-"
"We would be calmer knowing that you are okay too" she added, showing genuine worry in her eyes as she spoke.
"I don't want to be a burden-"
"It would also make Madoka happy if you lived with us"
Homura stiffened at those words.
She knew. She knew that Madoka would be more than happy.
Why are you trying to deny the offer then?
Because she had sinned enough already. She shouldn't keep going and intrude into Madoka's life that much.
And where has all that sin lead us to? We are happy. Madoka is happy.
There was a moment of silence in her mind as she could feel the Devil taking part of her power. Homura didn't stop her.
The Devil manifested next to Junko, an illusion that only Homura could see. Reddish eyes looked at her, a satisfied expression in her eyes and a big grin on her face as she held an apple in her hands.
Shouldn't we try to make Madoka even happier?
Homura looked down at the table for a few moments before letting out a sigh, raising her eyes to meet Junko's.
"Do you want to come live with us?" she asked again, gentle expression still on her face.
Homura looked at the Devil, her red eyes waiting expectantly as her lips brushed the blood red apple.
"I would love to" Homura said with a bow.
Crunch
Current date: Sunday, 25th of May.
A/N: It may be 6AM where I live, but it's technically still Sunday in Hawaii, so I'm posting this on time.