The door opened with the quiet jingle of a tiny bell, the chilly air from the AC being the first thing that Madoka noticed as she entered into the already familiar café. Madoka walked in behind Homura, the other girl sharing a nod with the barista that had been cleaning a small coffee cup behind the bar; Madoka simply imitated what Homura did and gave a nod of acknowledgment towards the barista as well.
The quiet music that was sounding in the background together with the smell of coffee and wood immediately changed the mood, Madoka now being overly cautious as to not make noise that would exceed the already quiet jazz. Two of the other patrons sent looks their way, the sudden entrance of two schoolgirls clearly catching their attention for a moment. Though after further inspection Madoka realized that it was only at her that they were looking, the one that clearly doesn't fit in this place yet; They weren't looks of rejection though, only curiosity.
"Where do you want to sit, Madoka?" Homura asked in a voice that matched the sound level of the room.
"Ah, where we sat the other day is okay" whispered Madoka, speaking way quieter than she had to; the girl not sure as to how loud her voice would come out tried to be extra careful.
Homura gave a nod of confirmation to Madoka's statement, the girl only stopping on her way to pick up a paper menu for Madoka. As they reached their seat, Homura stepped to the side and waited for Madoka to sit first, next to the window. Madoka gave a quiet thanks as she sat on the old sofa, the cushions being soft due to the prolonged use it had seen. After Madoka was seated, Homura elegantly sat besides her; the girl still putting the same distance between them as they had been keeping on school.
Once the ebony haired beauty had sat next to her, Madoka carefully scooped over to Homura, quickly closing the gap that was between them until her body rested against Homura's; Madoka looked up to Homura, the girl's expression changing from a mild surprise to a gentle appreciative smile. Homura's cold sensation to the touch welcomed her as Madoka laid her head on top of the girl's shoulder, a feeling of restfulness filling Madoka as she was able to simply be with Homura without having to worry about others for the first time in the day.
Her trance was briefly interrupted when Homura passed her the paper menu, Madoka now remembering that if they were going to spend the afternoon here, they would have to at least order something.
"I'll pay, get whatever you want" said Homura in her usual deadpan voice, though Madoka could feel a small glint of warmth coming from it; the same warmth that Homura usually used whenever they were alone, a warmth that Madoka had come to treat as a special thing that Homura only did for her.
"Hmmm…" Madoka started to look at the menu without raising her head; she didn't try to argue with Homura about paying for her own part, Madoka knew that she wasn't going to deter Homura from paying without making the other girl feel bad anyways. "I would like to try some coffee since you like it so much but…"
Madoka looked throughout the menu, the girl reading how every different type of coffee was made like. She skipped the first page, its contents being simple coffees with just different percentages of milk and coffee. The second page had some names that she recognized, but there were still too many options to choose from, and she wasn't sure which one would be the best either.
"You might like the mocha" said Homura, pointing with her finger towards one of the last ones. "It's pretty sweet, and it has a chocolate flavor"
"Hmmm?" Madoka hummed as she read what the ingredients were on the mocha… a shot of expresso, some chocolate, milk and a layer of whipped cream. "Will it even taste like coffee with all that?" Madoka said as she let out a quiet chuckle.
"Depends on how it's made" stated Homura, Madoka could feel the girl relaxing her body in the old sofa as she spoke, the soft cushions embracing the girl with care "This place does a great job though, if it's about coffee I trust their ability"
Madoka looked at the menu for a few extra seconds before she left it on top of the table, the girl closing her eyes as she snuggled her forehead against Homura's shoulder; the sensation of closeness being exactly what she had been missing throughout the day.
"I'll get the mocha then" Madoka whispered into Homura's shoulder, a voice that she herself could hardly hear but that somehow Homura was able to understand perfectly.
"Anything else?" asked Homura, the slight tinge of nervousness in her voice being enough to let Madoka know that she was blushing.
"No, I just wanted to be with you" Madoka said, she could feel her energy slowly charging as the smell of lavender filled her lungs "The coffee is just an extra on top of it"
Homura didn't answer, the girl had probably been embarrassed by Madoka's words guessed Madoka. If there was something that Madoka had learnt about Homura this past few days, it was that she was very prone to being embarrassed when it came to her being shown affection. And while Madoka kind of had imagined Homura being a bit more assertive, she was more than okay with shy Homura too.
"Madoka…"
"Hm?" muttered Madoka, eyes still closed as she pressed her face against the girl's arm.
"…I need to get up to order"
"Hmmm…" hummed Madoka, the girl burying her face even deeper into Homura as she spoke; her voice only coming out as a muffled whisper "Just a bit more, please"
There was silence as Madoka simply enjoyed Homura's presence without having to think about anyone spreading rumors; without having to think about what people would think; without having to think of whether she deserved Homura or not. The only thing she felt was Homura's calming presence, and that was what she wanted most right now.
After what had been almost a full minute of cuddling against Homura's arm, Madoka begrudgingly let Homura's arm free again; the vision of a blushing Homura welcoming her the moment her eyes opened placed a loving smile on Madoka's face.
"Are you sure you don't want anything else?" asked Homura one more time, the girl trying to recompose herself.
Madoka simply shook her head as an answer, the girl not really feeling like talking much at the moment; she would love to hear Homura speak a bit more though, even if she knew that would be almost impossible to happen.
Homura nodded in confirmation before she started scooping away from the sofa. Before Homura could completely leave the sofa, Madoka quickly lurched forwards and grabbed the girl's arm; pulling her closer for a small kiss that didn't last more than a couple of seconds; a kiss that Homura simply let happen after a slight surprise.
After pulling away from Homura – and not really caring who had seen them, everyone in the café thankfully knew to mind their own business – Madoka slowly let go of the girl's arm.
"Don't take too long" Madoka whispered as Homura once again started to get up.
"I won't" confidently said Homura, as if she could control how long it would take for the coffee to be made.
Madoka smiled at the girl as Homura walked off towards the counter and ordered their drinks. The barista confirmed her order and went to prepare it, leaving Homura alone in the counter. Madoka rested her head on the table as she stared at Homura. The yellowy orange lights of the café gave a warm feeling to the girl's usually cold colors, her deep amethyst eyes greatly contrasting against the atmosphere of the establishment.
Homura slightly turned her head to the side as she tried to steal a glance at Madoka, the gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Madoka putting a smile on Madoka's face.
A couple of minutes later which Madoka had spent staring at Homura – the other girl trying to steal some glances from time to time too – Homura came back with their drinks: a mocha for Madoka in a small porcelain cup and a doble expresso for Homura.
Madoka raised her head from the table as to let space for the drinks that Homura carried; a sense of drowsiness filled her head when she did so, the soft music, chilly ambience, warm lights, and cozy sofa being enough to almost make the girl fall asleep on the wooden table.
"It's very hot, be careful" stated Homura when she placed Madoka's drink in front of her, trails of steam coming out of the beverage even through the generous amount of whipped cream that was on top.
"Okay, thanks"
Madoka properly straightened herself as she waited for Homura to sit in her place, the other girl gently laying her coffee cup before she sat next to Madoka, this time making sure to sit closer to the girl than before.
It still wasn't close enough for Madoka though, the girl quickly fixed Homura's mistake by scooping over to her side.
"Madoka…" embarrassedly muttered Homura as Madoka weaved her arms around the other girl's waist; the posture wasn't comfortable at all, a side hug being harder to pull off with both arms than it seemed, but Madoka didn't mind at all the slight back pain she felt. "The coffee-"
"They are too hot to drink anyway" interrupted Madoka, knowing that she might have been acting way clingier than she probably should. She just hoped that Homura didn't mind "Let's just… stay like this for a while"
Madoka closed her eyes as her head rested against Homura's shoulder, Madoka's back complaining with the weird angle it was being bent at being uncomfortable enough to take away from the hug. Homura seemed to notice, the girl quickly leaning back onto the sofa to try and become a less vertical surface for Madoka to use as a headrest.
After a bit of shifting around Madoka ended up with her head against Homura's upper chest, the top of her head gently laying against Homura's neck in way that made Madoka able to feel the girl voice whenever she spoke.
"We could have done this at your house, it would have been more comfortable for you" said Homura, using her only free hand – the other arm having been taken hostage by Madoka as a hugging pillow – to stir her coffee.
"I like it here" whispered Madoka, her lips brushing against Homura's clothes whenever she spoke "It feels familiar"
"You've only been here once" said Homura, her voice trying to be a bit more playful than what it had come out as.
"I know but…"
Whenever she thought about the café there was a nice feeling that accompanied it. As if it was the only light in a sea full of darkness. A place where she could feel at home in a time that never was, a place where she could accompany an important person. A place in which she felt like said person wouldn't hurt herself.
The feeling was nothing more than a soft whisper at the end of a thread in her mind. Madoka tried to concentrate on said whisper, pulling on the thread that hanged from it as she tried to find a reason as to why she felt like this about the place. The thread offered vast resistance when she pulled, other threads that were just fuzzy memories seemingly tangled with it. As she pulled a quiet buzzing came with it, a slight headache accompanying it as she-
"Don't worry about it" said Homura, her free hand now patting Madoka's hair in a gentle and caring motion. The gesture made the mind thread that Madoka had been pulling slip from her hands and fall way deeper into her mind than what it had been before. "Just relax, you deserve a break"
"Right…"
Madoka snuggled closer to Homura until she could hear the girl's nervous heartbeat. She tried to think back to the drifting memory, but her mind couldn't focus enough for her to actually be able to do so. After a few tries she gave up, deciding to actually follow Homura's words and simply relax.
Madoka closed her eyes once more and shifted around a bit more, trying to find a better position to rest her head in. Her head ended up on top of Homura's chest, her right arm around the girl's waist. Homura's right arm ended up taken hostage, Madoka pressing her body against it as her free hand intertwined Homura's fingers with hers.
After the noise she made while moving around faded away, Madoka tried to relax and focus as much as she could on Homura. The girl's usually chilly body being even colder thanks to the AC of the locale, her raising and lowering chest almost rocking her to sleep, the quiet thumping of Homura's heart gently slowing down as time passed and Homura got used to the sensation of Madoka resting on her.
Still, Madoka didn't want to just sleep. She wanted to spend time with Homura, and be awake during that time too. They hadn't talked much after all, not like this anyway.
"Homura-chan?" whispered Madoka.
"Yes, Madoka?" answered Homura with a tint of warmth in her voice.
"Do you like living with us?" asked Madoka, thinking that now that the girl had been at least three days with them she might have come to an opinion. And if not, it would still work as a conversation anyways.
Homura took some time to answer, the girl trying to reach a proper answer.
"Yes" she finally said.
"Hmmm…" Madoka hummed, wanting to hear Homura's voice a bit more she decided to press on the topic at hand. "Do you prefer this or to live alone?"
Once again, there was a pause as Homura tried to come up with an answer. Madoka knew that the girl was usually quicker with her lies than with her truths, so she didn't worry much about what kind of expression she was doing and decided to simply trust the girl on the matter.
"They both have different benefits" concluded Homura, whom after seeing that Madoka wasn't saying anything more, correctly assumed that she had to keep talking "Living alone lets me do whatever I want, and I don't have to worry about having a set time to do things"
"Was not sleeping part of doing what you wanted?" jokingly teased Madoka, the girl stifling a small giggle as she talked.
"In part, yes" confessed Homura, the girl stirring her coffee with her free hand in a constant calculated motion "There was also the matter of being able to go out and in whenever I wanted, I can't remember the last time I had a curfew"
"They aren't that strict about it anyways" said Madoka, the girl slowly opening her eyes as they focused on Homura's slow stirring of her coffee "It's more of a suggestion"
"I see"
Silence fell around them, the sound of the slow jazz and the quiet stirring of Homura's coffee becoming the only sounds that Madoka heard. After what seemed like a few minutes, but probably hadn't be that much, Madoka spoke up again.
"What are the benefits about living with us?" asked Madoka, realizing that the girl hadn't said everything yet.
"The fact that your father is a great cook, your family kindness, it's closer to school…" Homura's voice trailed off, as silence appeared around them for a few seconds, Madoka being able to hear the girl's heart accelerate even before she finished talking "That you are there" answered Homura, her voice tried to sound as cool as it usually was but failed.
"Aww" affectionally said Madoka, the girl tightening her embrace around Homura's waist and raising her head from her resting position to look at the girl in the face; Embarrassed amethyst eyes meeting ruby rose eyes, Homura clearly trying hard not to look away out of embarrassment. "I also like having you around all day"
Madoka waited for a few seconds, the girl holding her position as she stared at Homura's eyes. Homura's red cheeks, Homura's slightly trembling lips, her eyes looking at Madoka with anticipation… Homura clearly expected a kiss, but Madoka wanted to see if Homura would take the step forward and be the one to take the initiative at least once.
After another couple of seconds the only thing that happened was that Homura ended up looking away from Madoka's piercing gaze, a sense of disappointment leaving a sour taste on Madoka's mouth and making her not want the kiss anymore. Madoka leant back, the girl shifting around until she was properly sitting on her seat instead of being all over Homura. The only thing that was left of their previous contact being their still intertwined hands that laid neatly on top of Madoka's leg.
She knew that Homura wasn't very assertive, the only moment she had ever seen the girl ask for a kiss, or contact at all for that matter, being when they were already in the heat of the moment. And even then, it was just a plea to keep going, a plea that really pushed some buttons inside of Madoka though; buttons that she hadn't even known she had.
Still… she couldn't forget the image she had had of Homura, a Homura that would take the initiative and be assertive would be really nice. Madoka didn't want to take certain steps yet, but, if some of her… dreams… were any indication, then she was sure that an assertive Homura would be more than enough for her to throw away all reason.
Either that or a completely meek Homura that sometimes popped up in her mind, a pure being that she felt like corrupting-
Madoka shook her head at the thoughts that had gotten into her head, the girl's face getting redder and redder as she tried to swat away the indecent thoughts of a twin braided Homura with red glasses.
God, the glasses are so-
Madoka started coughing as her imagination sent her an image of a tired panting Homura lying in bed, the girl with messy clothing and a pair of red framed glasses that weren't properly in place.
"Madoka? Are you okay?" worriedly asked Homura, looking at the still coughing Madoka.
Madoka turned to look at Homura, a mistake that she would soon come to regret as her face only reminded her of the panting Homura with glasses.
"I-" Madoka tried to speak, the girl slowly taking control of her coughing fit and her perverted mind "I'm fine! I'm fine"
Homura looked at her worriedly for a few seconds before finally returning to her usual self, Madoka gave her an apologetic smile just to let her completely confirm that she was okay now. Wanting to completely get rid of her thoughts, Madoka decide to entertain her mind with something else; and her coffee was right there.
Madoka went to pick up the cup, still warm to the touch but not hot enough that it would burn her, and went to take a sip. She knew that Homura had told her that she might like it, but she really hadn't expected such a nice flavor from it. The taste of the coffee lingered for a bit, not being strong enough to be bitter but still making its presence known, the main attraction though was the gentle chocolate taste that it had; its sweetness wasn't overpowering either, the chocolate and whipped cream working in a nice balance together.
Madoka took another sip, this time a bit longer.
"Do you like it?" asked Homura, the other girl still looking at her as she picked up her own coffee and took a sip from the dark liquid.
Madoka finished taking another sip before answering, a surprised smile appearing on her face from the taste.
"Yep! It's very nice" Madoka placed the cup down on the table again, knowing that if she kept holding the cup, she would finish it quicker than what she wanted "Way better than the coffee with tons of sugar or condensed milk that I'm used to" she said as she let out a quiet giggle.
"I'm glad; I only knew how it was by ear" admitted Homura, the girl putting down her own cup of coffee on the table "Never tried it myself"
"Eh? Why?" curiously asked Madoka, resisting the urge to take another sip by turning her body a bit towards Homura.
"I'm used to drinking coffee one way" Homura started playing around with the rim of her coffee cup. "Never really crossed my mind to try it, if I wanted something sweet from here then I would just get one of their cakes"
"Eh~" said Madoka, the girl expected that the Homura that seemed to be so much into coffee would have tasted almost all of the menu by now. "Do you not like to try out new things?"
"I…" Homura looked at her coffee for a few seconds, the girl stirred her coffee as she tried to come up with an answer "I hate when a new thing appears; They usually cause more problems"
Madoka giggled "Is trying a different kind of coffee going to cause trouble?"
Homura looked at Madoka for a second with her mouth slightly open, the girl's expression slowly softening into a small smile as she digested Madoka's words "No, I guess it wouldn't"
Madoka returned Homura's smile tenfold before she carefully picked up her cup of coffee and presented it to the girl. "You can try it"
Homura looked at the cup of coffee and then at Madoka, who made sure to look at her with the most inviting look she could muster; to let her know that Madoka wanted her to try it and it wasn't just a show of forced kindness on her part.
After a few seconds of being drilled by Madoka's eyes, Homura finally gave in. The girl leant forwards a bit, making sure to hold a few strands of hair that tried to get on the way, and took a small sip of Madoka's coffee.
"So?" wondered Madoka after putting down her cup.
Homura made sure to properly taste the small sip of coffee she had taken, her eyes wandering to the side as she thought of a proper opinion; probably taking the matter way more seriously than she had to, that was something cute about her.
"It's… okay" she finally said.
"Too sweet for you?" asked Madoka, taking a sip of the coffee as well.
"No, that isn't it" Homura stopped for a second, the girl trying to put her thoughts into words "I think I just prefer the normal taste of coffee; the chocolate isn't something I would add"
Madoka hummed for a second as an answer, the girl not really sure about what to answer without simply saying that she didn't think the same; which was obvious with how much she had said she liked it. And she kind of had the gut feeling that if she told Homura that she didn't agree, the girl would try her best to change her own opinion just to agree with Madoka; and Madoka really didn't want that to happen.
At times, talking with Homura really felt like travelling through a mine infested field… just that if you step on a mine, it's someone else who explodes.
Madoka felt like that had been the end of the conversation; probably because of her not really answering back, but it was too late to fix that now. Instead of trying to start a new conversation she decided to simply bask in the atmosphere of the café. The girl slightly leant into Homura's shoulder, only searching for the physical contact and not actual weight support; she got herself into a comfortable posture that would let her feel Homura's body and still be able to drink her coffee without problems.
Homura's arm was still being held hostage though, that wasn't going to change anytime soon.
Time passed, the two of them simply staying in silence as they enjoyed each other company inside of the café. The coffee cups were slowly emptied, a few others costumers came and went while both of them laid there together. The soothing ambience, the comforting presence of Homura, all the stress that Madoka had accumulated at school slowly drifting away…
Madoka closed her eyes as she rested her head on Homura's shoulder, the other girl stealing a glance at her when she did so; but she didn't speak a word of complaint. Their breathing synchronized. Madoka's hands slowly loosened around Homura's arm. Before Madoka could realize it, her consciousness fading away as she fell asleep.
Homura carefully moved her left arm towards the table, pushing Madoka's empty coffee cup a bit further away from the edge of the table so that the now sleeping girl wouldn't hit it in her sleep.
With the sun about to set in less than an hour, the café was at the busiest it usually was. Which wasn't much anyways, just ten customers including Madoka and Homura; how the place was able to keep going was a mystery that Homura didn't really care about. As long as the place was open, she would come drink their coffee. And since Madoka also seemed to like the place there were even more reasons to keep coming back.
A slight movement from Madoka caught Homura's attention, Madoka was shifting around a bit as her back probably wasn't in the most comfortable position it could have been. At this rate she would probably end up with a bit of back pain for the rest of the day… Though the pain could end up getting worse since there was very little space in Madoka's bed with Homura sleeping in there, it might end up lasting a few days…
Homura focused for an iota of a second, the girl applying a bit of her magic onto Madoka's body. It was just to relax her back and neck muscles a bit, some healing for the pain that had started to settle, and a nice reinforcement for her back… She could have woken the girl up instead, sure, but Madoka was tired and deserved all the rest in the world.
It wasn't because Homura liked to have the girl sleeping on her shoulder, not at all.
Homura moved her eyes away from Madoka, feeling like if she were to look at her for too long the girl would somehow notice and wake up. Her eyes ended up back at the bar, the old man that was behind the bar seemed to have finished serving everyone else and was back to reading a small pocket book. He seemed to notice Homura's gaze, the barista raising his eyes from the book to look back at the girl and notice that Madoka had fallen asleep on top of her; a fond smile appeared on his face, though it was hard to see behind his white beard.
The old man picked up a clean cup from the tray that was under the bar and held it up towards Homura, a raised eyebrow on his face.
Homura nodded, and the old barista went to work.
If she was going to stay here for long – which seeing how Madoka had fallen sleep pretty deep was probably going to happen – might as well do so with another cup of coffee in her hands.
A couple of minutes later the barista walked out of the bar, carefully carrying the recently brewed cup of coffee – just how Homura always ordered it – and left it on top Homura's table.
"Thank you" whispered Homura, making sure that her voice wouldn't wake up Madoka.
"You are welcome" whispered the old man with a raspy voice that Homura had only ever heard say how much she had to pay before; a smile appearing on him before turning around and going back to the bar.
Homura picked up her cup of coffee, closing her eyes and calmly took a small sip of coffee to measure how hot it was.
Drinkable, but could wait a couple of minutes.
"So, are we going to talk about how Madoka almost reached her memories?"
Homura slowly opened her eyes, the sight of the Devil as if the couch in front of them belonged to her welcoming Homura; the red wine eyes of the Devil looking at Madoka with a longing look that Homura knew all too well.
"It has been taken care of" thought Homura, she could feel the Devil clearly trying to reach for more power than Homura was okay with giving her, their usual mental tug of war beginning once again.
"Has it?" The Devil extended her bony wings around the table, covering the soft orange lights and engulfing them in her dark raven feathers. "It has been happening more frequently lately, hasn't it? Aren't we taking care of her dreams every night for that same reason?"
Homura didn't show any reaction to the Devil's attempts at intimidation, knowing that they were no more than mental tricks. Having given her enough power to manifest in a hallucination wasn't helping with the tug of war, her usual tricks being harder to resist than before.
But Homura wouldn't waver, taking them back now would mean she was scared of her, and if her dolls learnt that she was scared of the Devil she would have a really bad time trying to control them.
"Yes, and it's working, isn't it?" retorted Homura, taking another sip from her coffee to try and show how little she cared about the intimidation attempt.
"For now" said the Devil, now moving her eyes away from Madoka and laying them on Homura. Having to look at the thing Homura hated most in the eyes really didn't help to keep her cool, she wished that the Devil would have taken the form of a doll instead of her body. "You've heard about what Miki Sayaka and Sakura Kyouko are thinking about, didn't you?"
"I have" Homura carefully left the coffee cup in the table, still mindful of not waking up Madoka, still concentrating on the tug of war for power that was inside her mind "Kyouko plans to cash in her bet prize this Friday, wants me to spend the day with them"
"And leave a Madoka prone to recovering her memories alone" the Devil's smile widened at her own words.
"The dolls will look after her"
"Will they be quick enough to realize?" interrupted the Devil, her wings closing in around them until they were in almost complete darkness "By the time you reached Miki Sayaka last time she had already recovered them… Do you really think we could confront a recovered Law of Cycles?"
Homura felt the rope give away a bit with the last tug from the Devil, the sudden rain of begonia flower petals that Homura could feel touching her – thought they still vanished the moment they touched a real surface other than her – an indication of how much the Devil had taken in that split second.
"I will have to" Homura tried to sound confident, the girl concentrating harder than before on the tug of war now "I know I won't be able to be with Madoka all the time"
"There is something better you could do instead of risking everything we've built" started the Devil, a fully blooming begonia flower appearing on her hand that she started to play around with "there is one other doll that can manipulate memories after all"
Homura sharpened her gaze on the Devil as she tried to take back the power she had lost, but the Devil had a firm grasp around it.
"The doll that's closest to the original" kept adding the Devil "the doll that should have taken over when you died instead of the… thing that did"
The Devil's wings slowly unfurled around them, the light of the warm lights of the café greatly contrasting with the previous void of color.
"You shouldn't hold back these many emotions for so long…"
The Devil disappeared in a blink, her face appearing right next to Homura as she whispered her next words.
"Ho. Mu. Ra. Chan~"
Homura tried her hardest to not react. To not swipe at the hallucination. To not give in more of her power because of the provocation.
The Devil disappeared once more, her voice only remaining inside of Homura's head; the tug of war ending with her departure.
"Think about it, okay~?"
The sounds of the café slowly came back around Homura, the girl finally let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. The Devil's words resonated in her head, a seed of worry now planted inside her mind as she looked over at the unaware, sleeping Madoka.
Current date: Tuesday 27th, May
A/N: If I had a penny for every time a café scene that was supposed to be less than 2k words became its own chapter I would have two pennies. Which isn't much, but its weird that it happened twice