The sun held high in the sky, its light bathing them all as they calmly ate lunch in the school roof. Sayaka lean backwards, the girl trying to fan some air into her clothes; the girl cursing the Mitakihara Middle School uniform for being so unbearably thick.

"Why did it decide to be so hot today!" complained Sayaka as she got up from her seat, the stone benches didn't help to keep her chilled with how much heat they had absorbed throughout the day.

"We are closing in on June after all" calmly said Mami, the senior girl trying to fight off the heat with pure force of will alone; though Sayaka could clearly see she was still sweating.

Sayaka defeatedly sighed before turning her head until her eyes fell on the only two people that didn't seem to really mind the heat.

"You two…" said Sayaka, catching the attention of a Madoka that was just one step away from throwing herself over Homura, the girl completely stuck to Homura's side with an arm hugging her from behind. "How the hell are you two not dying"

"Homura-chan is pretty cold" Madoka giggled as she pressed her head against Homura's shoulder; Sayaka didn't miss the small blush that Homura had, they were hard to notice most of the time, but she had started to get the hang of reading the other girl.

"Of course that the ice queen is cold" sighed Sayaka before she went to fan herself with her hand once again. "Please make it stop" Sayaka groaned

Homura looked at Sayaka for a second, a pensative look in her blank eyes before she used her free arm to pull something from her schoolbag.

"Use this" said Homura as she presented an actual hand fan towards Sayaka.

"Oh~ You care!" cheered Sayaka before walking towards Homura and grabbing the fan.

"Don't misinterpret me" Homura tried her best to throw her hair behind her without having to get Madoka off of her, somehow managing to do it "I just don't want to have to deal with your annoying complaints all day"

"Homura-chan" calmly reprimanded Madoka, eyes closed as she rested her head on Homura's shoulder.

"Sorry"

Sayaka smiled at the exchange. She started to fan herself with the fan, the heat coming from the sunlight still roared on her skin but at least it was bearable this time.

The sound of a door opening caught their attention, though what caught most of Sayaka's attention was how Madoka separated herself from Homura when she heard the door. The pink haired girl only going back to her position when she confirmed that it was just Kyouko the one that had come into the rooftop

"Got the goods!" exclaimed the redhead as she walked towards them, plastic bag in hand. "I was able to get the yakisoba pan for you Sayaka, almost bit someone to get it though"

Kyouko threw the plastic container to Sayaka, who after fumbling once was able to grab it.

"Nice, did you get the-"

Before Sayaka could even finish her sentence, Kyouko was already handing her a can of cherry cola.

"You doubt me?" she said with a smug smirk on her face. Sayaka returned the smile before taking the can and walking back to her seat.

Kyouko herself walked over to her usual bench in front of them, the girl dropping the bag next to her as she started to open a pack of tuna onigiri; almost devouring it in one bite before she turned towards them.

"What were you all talking about?" she asked with her mouth full.

"That Homura-chan is very cold" said Madoka, her arm wrapped around Homura's arm and her head resting on the girl's shoulder once again.

"Like physically or mentally" asked Kyouko with a raised eyebrow.

"Both" answered Sayaka before taking a bite of her lunch, the flavor of the supermarket yakisoba welcoming her with familiarity.

"With how cold you get in summer, you must have pretty rough winters, Akemi-san" said Mami, the older girl looking at them with an entertained smile in her face.

"I don't mind them" said Homura as she started to put the things for her lunch away. "A few more layers of clothing are usually enough"

"And Pinky can warm you up too, right?" Kyouko teased with a smirk.

"Hmmm… That's a good idea Kyouko-chan" Madoka raised her head, looking at Homura in the eyes as she did so with a bright smile in her face "If you ever get cold you just have to tell me and I will become your personal heater, okay Homura-chan?"

"R-right" stuttered Homura, the girl having to look away from Madoka's eyes after a short while of enduring Madoka's gentle gaze; the gesture making Madoka's smile grow bigger before she leant forwards and gave Homura a small kiss in the cheek. Homura quickly turning her head towards her again with wide eyes and redder cheeks, as if the girl couldn't believe Madoka had just done that in front of the others.

Not that the rest really minded, with how those two usually were few things could actually make them look somewhere else; a small kiss like that one wouldn't be enough to do it. Maybe Mami would be a bit more conservative about it, but things would have to get pretty rowdy for either Sayaka or Kyouko to care about what those two did.

"I personally can't stand the cold" sighed Kyouko "And both Kazamino and Mitakihara get pretty fucking cold in winter"

"But the cold is pretty easy to fight off" said Mami "a few more clothes or blankets and you can get very cozy while enjoying a cup of hot tea"

"I mean, yeah, if you have them" said Kyouko "Not everyone does though"

"Oh… Sorry I-"

"Don't mind it" Kyouko waved off "I don't really care, got more than I could ask for now at home"

Sayaka looked at Kyouko with a soft smile, even though she had always been pretty brass even the first days that Kyouko had started to live with Sayaka it still had taken her a great amount of time to feel comfortable in the house. And knowing that Kyouko now considered her place a home, instead of just another house to crash at, was enough to put a smile on Sayaka's face.

"Oh right!" said Madoka before she pulled away from Homura, though she did keep their arms entwined "Now that summer is coming the gardening club will calm down, so we should be getting more free time after school" Madoka's expression changed into an ashamed one, an embarrassed weak smile on her face "I also think the club president heard about the rumors too… he has been a bit pushy over Homura-chan and I getting more free time outside of the club"

"Ayumi-san probably had something to do in the matter" added Homura, using the same uncaring and analyzing tone she usually used when talking about anyone outside of their group "She seemed to be suspicious of us even before the rumors started"

"That's Ayumi-senpai for you…" sighed Madoka. "We are already getting less tasks than usual for this week, so instead of our usual two hours of club activities we might end up only being here for thirty minutes, or sometimes, even finish in the morning and have all the afternoon free"

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" said Kyouko, now opening a melon bread "You get more free time and they seem supportive"

Yes, they seemed supportive, unlike a certain someone that had been avoiding them for the whole day.

"Of course it is!" said Madoka "I'm glad to know that I can calmly be with Homura-chan in the club, but… I just hope this is just them telling us not to worry and not a way for them to start to treat us differently"

"Hmmm…" hummed Kyouko, the girl devouring the melon bread in a few bites while she tried to think "Who knows, maybe they are just worried about you two being in school with the rumors around"

"Yes…" said Mami with a disappointed and worried look in her eyes "When I heard people from my class talking about them, I couldn't help but worry about what you two had to go through… it could be the same for them too"

"That could be it…" said Madoka before letting out a saddened sigh as she remembered the rumors, Homura gently tightening her hold over Madoka's hand in an attempt to reassure her; Madoka gave the girl a smile as thanks.

"Damn they got over to your class too?" said Kyouko, now opening a can of an energy drink.

"Yes… I heard them this morning" Mami sighed before looking towards Madoka and Homura, and apologetic smile on her face "I'm sorry, I should have said something to stop them but…"

"Ah- Don't worry Mami-san" said Madoka with a smile "You really don't need to do anything, I'm sure that people will eventually stop talking about it"

"Maybe we should go to the teachers?" suggested Sayaka before taking a sip from her cherry soda.

There was a moment of silence as everyone considered Sayaka's words, though Sayaka could very easily see that by Kyouko's expression that she was already against it.

"That won't help" calmly stated Homura "It will only make more people learn about it and for the ones spreading it to want to talk even more about it"

"AGH! Is there really nothing we can do?" complained Sayaka, the girl throwing her hands to her head in an exaggerated motion.

"You don't have to do anything" said Madoka with a forced gentleness in her voice that by everyone's faces they had all caught onto "They will stop someday! Just… please, don't get in trouble because of me"

"Madoka…" Sayaka sighed.

"Just by being by my side you are all doing more than enough" said Madoka with a smile on her face, the girl looking at them with gentle eyes that tried to reassure them of her wellbeing.

Silence fell around them for a few seconds, the only sound that was left being some of the shouts that came from the school grounds below them as people started to pour in once more.

"What about you, Akemi-san?" asked Mami with a smile on her face.

Homura looked at Mami with a slightly raised eyebrow "What about me?"

"How are you dealing with all this? Kaname-san seems to be okay with just waiting, but you haven't said anything about it" properly asked Mami this time, a bit of confusion in her eyes at Homura not understanding the question the first time.

"It is a problem that people are talking about Madoka like that" stated Homura, getting an even more confused gesture from Mami.

"Well, yes. But what about you? How are you feeling?"

"I couldn't care less about what people say about me, they are just foolish teenagers too bored for their own good"

"You are also a teenager, emo girl" sighed Kyouko as she got up from her seat, picked up the plastic bag she had brought, and started making her way towards a nearby trashcan.

The school bell rang throughout the building, the sound making everyone get up from their seats and pick up their things before leaving for class. The image of Madoka making sure to stay a step away from Homura only making the fire that burned inside of Sayaka, that pushed her to want to help them as much as she could, burn even brighter.

There was almost complete silence as everyone either tried to solve the problem the math teacher had written on the whiteboard, or simply gave up and waited for it to be solved by someone else.

In Madoka's case she had been able to finish it. She wasn't sure of whether she had gotten the right solution or not, but at least she had been able to reach an answer and that was already a win in her book. Of course, her finishing early also meant she now had time to think about things, something she had really been trying to avoid doing the past two days.

Madoka tried to look behind her inconspicuously. Her eyes met Homura who was looking out of the window, her head resting over her hand; her earring flashing brightly with the light of the sun that got into the classroom.

Knowing Homura she had either already finished the problem… or she may have even done it before the teacher even told them to do it. A month ago maybe Madoka would have been surprised to learn that Homura had done this week's homework in advance, but nowadays it seemed like something she would do. Madoka was actually surprised that she had only done this week's worth, and not the entirety of June too.

Homura's earring stopped shinning for a second, the girl turning her head just enough to meet Madoka's eyes, a small smile appearing on her face as she did so; the gesture putting a smile of her own on Madoka's face.

The small muffled laugh of another student made Madoka turn her head towards the sound, two other students looking at her being enough for Madoka to start looking forwards again and for her smile to vanish.

Just have to wait a few days…

Madoka's grip over her pen tightened a bit, just enough for her to cloud her mind with the sensation of the plastic slightly bending under her grip instead of her own thoughts.

If Mama can bear her dumb superiors, I can bear some rumors…

Madoka tried to relax her body, the girl focusing in taking deep breaths just to calm her nerves even if just slightly.

"It seems that most of you have already finished" said the math's teacher, looking around the class in search of someone to call over to the board "Kaname-san, can you solve it?"

"Ah- yes!" exclaimed Madoka, the girl getting up from her seat before walking over to the whiteboard and picking up the stylus that the teacher handed her.

The problem was a relatively easy one, the only 'hard' thing it had in it being that it was purposefully complex in appearance. After a bit of cleaning it quickly became apparent how to apply the correct formula that was needed in order to solve it, and from then on just some simplification to get a prettier answer.

"That's correct, thank you Kaname-san"

"Thank you" bowed Madoka before handing the stylus back to the teacher.

Madoka turned around and started to make her way towards her seat, she could see that Homura was looking at her but decided that it would be best not to look at her in front of everyone.

"Kaname-san sure has improved~" a whisper said.

"Of course she has, I'm sure that Akemi-san has been tutoring her in all manner of things" A whisper laughed.

"Shh! She is going to hear you!"

Madoka sat back in her seat and clasped her pen again as she tried to pay attention to whatever the teacher was saying. Sadly, her mind wasn't able to stay on the task at hand as the whispers kept going behind her.

The worst thing hadn't even been the rumors themselves.

The worst part hadn't been how the class she had thought were friends with her turned out to quickly stab her in the back the moment a rumor went around.

Not even Hitomi not talking with her since then had been the worst blow she had taken these past two days.

No, the worst thing had come in the form of confirmation of her biggest doubt.

Everyone thought that Homura dating her was a waste… And they were right, Madoka had already been pretty sure before ever confessing to the girl that Homura was simply out of her league. She had just gotten too cocky thanks to Kyouko and her Mom, they had been able to convince her that she was more than enough for Homura. The truth was that Madoka was nothing compared to her.

She had been trying to improve academically ever since they started dating, and it seemed to be working sure. But she was still far away from Homura's level of dedication, the other girl reaching inhuman levels of effort.

Whenever she thought about how she had been able to get the other girl to fall in love with her she could only think about how she had simply approached a lonely girl. Had Homura fallen in love with Madoka or was it just because she had shown her kindness and the other girl was trying to pay her back?

Homura was really kind. She always tried to do her best to make Madoka be as comfortable as possible, she always did what Madoka asked her, she always looked out for Madoka. She would take on the world if Madoka told her. Those things were something that had helped Madoka consolidate the idea that Homura really loved her, but now…

Was it really love? Or was it just a show of appreciation for the kindness Madoka had shown her?

Would Homura have fallen in love with whoever simply showed her a helping hand in that moment?

Madoka dried the newly forming tears that started to appear in her eyes, the girl taking a deep breath to try and concentrate on class again and forget about everything else. One more hour and she would be alone with Homura. One more hour and she could just forget about everything and simply be happy with Homura for as long as she could.

"See you two tomorrow" Kyouko waved off to Madoka and Homura, the pair standing a bit further away from each other than usual.

"See you tomorrow, Kyouko-chan, Sayaka-chan" smiled Madoka before she turned around and started to make her way towards her club room.

Kyouko draped her schoolbag over her shoulder, looking at the pair slowly walk away with a saddened smile on her face.

"Kyouko, Mami-san is waiting for us" said Sayaka a few steps ahead of her.

"Coming"

Kyouko turned around and reached Sayaka after a few steps, the blue haired girl walking once again once Kyouko was next to her. The two of them walked in silence for a while, Sayaka speaking up once they started to go down the stairs.

"So, are you going to do something about the rumors?" asked Sayaka without even looking at Kyouko.

The redhead sighed in defeat.

"I can't find a solution that isn't beating people up" Kyouko admitted.

Sayaka let out a chuckle as they took a turn and started to go down the next flight of stairs, Sayaka's laugh turning into a sigh.

"I hate seeing them like that" said Sayaka "This whole thing is affecting Madoka more than she wants to admit"

"I'm pretty sure that Homura is one bad day away from punching someone in the face, have you seen how she's been glaring people down?" said Kyouko, the girl turning taking a few steps further so she could turn around and look at Sayaka as they talked.

"Madoka telling her not to do it is probably the only thing holding her back" said Sayaka with a small smile.

Kyouko kept walking down the stairs as she looked back at Sayaka, almost missing a step a few times but she was able to keep her cool and simply make it look as if she was jumping a step or two.

"This whole thing has messed up with our plans though" said Kyouko with a sigh "How are we going to force Homura to leave Madoka alone for a day now? I would feel like a villain or something"

"The villain role fits you though" said Sayaka with a smirk.

"And a damn good job I would do as one" admitted Kyouko with pride in her voice "But not this time, at least not until things have calmed down and I feel comfortable taking them apart for a day"

They reached the lower floor of the school, both of them finally making their way towards the exit; They could see Mami waiting for them in front of the school gates, her blonde hair clearly distinguishing her from the rest of the crowd.

"Maybe we could do it this Friday? My dad won't be home by then so we can very much do whatever we want" wondered Sayaka as she waved her hand towards a Mami that had already noticed them.

"Hmm… I don't want to leave Pinky alone though"

There was a brief moment of silence before Sayaka sighed, catching Kyouko's attention.

"Madoka is pretty strong, you know?" said Sayaka "She cries easily yeah, but maybe that's what she needs"

"The fuck are you talking about? Let her be alone so she cries?" asked Kyouko actually astonished at Sayaka's words.

"No- I mean yes, but-" stuttered Sayaka, trying to find the correct words to express her idea "What I mean is… Madoka always speaks with her mom whenever she wants advice, and she cries when she feels sad. But now that Homura is living with her, maybe she doesn't want to do those things in front of her so she doesn't worry you know?"

"B-besides!" Sayaka interrupted herself "Madoka is the only one that seems to actually show direct affection, and knowing how insecure that girl is that's only making Madoka think that Homura doesn't want any of it and is only doing what she wants out of kindness or something! We have to drill into Homura that she can ask for things or Madoka is going to go crazy or something!"

Kyouko looked at Sayaka with confused eyes for a few seconds before her gaze fell back to the ground, the girl trying to think about what Sayaka had just said.

Kyouko was sure that just making Homura more independent from Madoka would help their relationship, maybe not in the way Sayaka was thinking but… She had seen how Madoka looked at the girl whenever she said that anything was fine, at the very least making sure that the girl actually asked for things or had her own opinion would take stress out of Madoka and let her focus in dealing with the rumors only.

There was no way they were going to completely change Homura though, that much Kyouko was sure of. As much as they could try to make the girl find things to do that didn't have anything to do with Madoka, Kyouko couldn't imagine a Homura that would go against Madoka. And Madoka hurting herself just to not worry someone else was something that the girl would very much do, so maybe taking Homura away from her side for an afternoon would help like Sayaka had said.

"I will think about it" finally said Kyouko "Whatever we do we cannot fuck up; I don't think that Homura will be taking on another bet like last time"

"It will work out! Somehow!" Sayaka smile dropped into an insecure one "I hope…"

Kyouko smacked her in the back with a reassuring pat, the other girl stumbling forwards a bit at the unexpected force.

"It'll be okay" reassured Kyouko.

Madoka opened the door back to the clubroom, the girl being careful not to hit the doorframe with the now empty watering can she was carrying. Homura walking into the room right behind her, carrying a small gardening tools box that they had not used in the end.

"Good job, you two" said the club president as Homura closed the door behind her. The guy was in the middle of reading a small booklet about fruit trees.

"Thank you, you too" said Madoka with a small bow.

Madoka started to make her way towards the tool's closet they had in the club, put in the watering can and waited for Homura to hand her the tool box so she could store it back.

"Is there anything else we can do?" asked Madoka, seeing that they had only been working for forty minutes.

"Hmmm…" The club president hummed behind his booklet, though Madoka was able to see that he was looking over at Ayumi, the girl carefully taking care of a rose that was still pretty young. Ayumi seemed to consider it for a second before she shook her head. "…No, you two can go home if you want"

"We really don't mind staying a bit-"

"That can't be Kaname-san" said Ayumi with a sigh "You have to live your youth a bit more, why don't you two go somewhere today instead of staying here all day?"

"But…"

"Nope~" said Ayumi as she looked up from the rose "Your senpais are telling you to take the day off, be a good girl and do as you are told"

Madoka looked a bit downcast for a second at the rejection, the girl still unsure about how she felt with the special treatment.

"Besides, there isn't a lot of work right now" Ayumi kept talking, winking towards the girl with a devilish look in her eyes "We will work you two to the bone when we start planting the strawberries in a week or two"

"Right…" finally conceded Madoka, knowing that there was no point in trying to argue against Ayumi once the girl had made her mind.

Madoka and Homura picked up her things and walked over to the door, Homura opened the door and waited by it. Madoka turned around, looking at the clubroom once more.

"Thank you for today, see you tomorrow!" Madoka did a small bow before she turned around and started to walk out of the room, Homura followed her after closing the door behind her.

[-]

The two of them walked next to each other, though Madoka was still keeping her distance from Homura in case someone came by. Madoka hated doing this to Homura, she hated that she couldn't just get close to her and not care about what people said about them. She hated that her own feeling of unworthiness was probably hurting Homura. Even more with how since they had to take care of the other classrooms plants there had been no time to simply be with her other than during lunch.

She knew that the moment they reached her house that would change of course. The moment they went into her room Madoka was more than ready to show her all the affection she had been holding back during class, she had promised to give her all the love she could everyday and she was going to keep that promise.

But even then… It felt wrong to only show her affection at home.

What was Homura thinking about how Madoka was handling this situation? Was she okay with just waiting? Was she okay with Madoka trying to not show her love in front of others?

Homura hadn't complained, true. The problem was that Homura never complained, and with how much the girl had asked for her love last night – Homura's pleading face still ingrained in Madoka's eyes – she was sure that the girl really liked it when Madoka showed her affection.

The problem with being at home though was that Madoka didn't hold back much – at least not more than she had to always hold – so things always ended up in a show of more lust than love.

No, what Madoka wanted to get back was the simple pure love they shared all the time before the rumors started. Just being next to each other, being able to talk as they embraced each other… But her room was too private, and doing it in the living room felt too wrong with her parents around.

"Ey, Homura-chan…?" asked Madoka in a meek voice, the girl not looking up from the ground.

"Yes, Madoka?" asked Homura, the usual coolness in her voice only making Madoka's heart beat faster. It was easier to deal with embarrassed Homura than with cool Homura…

"Do you want to… go somewhere?"

Madoka waited for an answer, her eyes still glued to the ground.

"If you want to, I will go wherever you want to go"

"That's not…" Madoka sighed she knew that Homura was a lost cause. She looked up from the ground to meet Homura's gaze, the other girl looking at her with slightly confused eyes as if she didn't know what she had done to get a sigh from Madoka "Say Homura-chan, do you want to go to the café from the other time?"

Homura stopped to think for a second, the girl's eyes still fixed on Madoka's own.

"I would love to, Madoka"

Current date: Tuesday 27th, May

A/N: Happy new year everyone.

Thanks to everyone who has been reading up to this point; I really am glad that people are enjoying this story enough to read this far. I hope I can keep improving this year so I can offer everyone a better quality fic.