Chapter 45

Whispers in the Dark

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Sayaka dismissed the idea of answering her phone, which was already on the fourth ring, in Madoka's room. The place was a feathered disaster area. She ran back down the hallway, not noticing a certain red-head glancing out the doorway of Junko's study with what may have been poorly-disguised concern. Madoka sat in the tall chair, patiently closing her eyes while her mother applied something to her eyelids, wondering what all the fuss was about.

So was her mother. "What was that about?" she wondered aloud, almost to herself. "It couldn't have been that boy, could it have?" she wondered aloud, seemingly innocently. Kyoko felt the woman's purple eyes watching her, completely ignoring Madoka's sudden spurt of coughing, but couldn't keep a brief look of outraged denial from flashing across her face. As if- She caught the woman's crafty grin as Junko turned back toward her daughter, and the redhead distracted herself by turning her attention back to Homura.

"O-ow! Watch that, Kyoko!" Putting both hands to her eye, Homura used the other to glower warningly at the other veteran.

"Careful," Junko purred, amusement replaced by a glint of menace in her eyes as she glanced at the redhead. Something about the woman promised a swift kick in the ass, probably out the door, if things escalated, but Kyoko was concerned about something else entirely. Initially, because she'd assumed it was her blunette's parents calling, and that she'd get busted because Sayaka was such a terrible liar. Which would have been cute, if it wouldn't have ruined the night. But now, after Junko's insidious comment, she couldn't help wondering. What if it was that boy? Was it worry she'd seen, or a nervous agitation?

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Kyoko spent a moment fuming at herself. Stupid and pointless to get all worked up and worried. They'd even talked about it, so what was there to worry about? Squashing an uncomfortable, uncertain feeling, she turned back to her work, ignoring the wary expression on the pale girl's face below her.

It totally fits, Kyoko thought smugly, proud of what she'd accomplished. The mascara was perfect, and with how pale Homura was, it only made sense that the lipstick should be-

"Uh-uh," murmured Junko, eyeing the red-head's choice out of the corner of her eyes. "Too much of anything ruins the effect. Try something less… aggressive." The purple-haired woman couldn't help smiling to herself as the strange new friend of Madoka's rummaged through the different shades of lipstick. Her smile widened when she looked at the pale little flower sitting in the chair beside her daughter, especially at the girl's obvious discomfort as Kyoko turned back, brandishing makeup like an implement of torture. Part of the fun was not seeing what had been done until after the transformation had been completed.

"So," Kyoko said, remembering that something had made Homura blush like a schoolgirl before Sayaka had inadvertently interrupted Junko's pronouncement. "What was that big news you were talking about? Junko-san?" she added sweetly, the sincere grin coming easy as she noticed the black-haired girl squirming in her seat.

"Homura-san, you should be the one to tell them," Junko encouraged, a tiny smile on her lips.

"H-Homura-chan?" Madoka inquired, her curiosity piqued. The usually pale girl beside her was looking distinctly flushed and uncomfortable.

It had been too much to hope that Sayaka's outburst of obvious panic would have completely deflected the issue. Especially since Junko seemed so keen to bring it up. Homura glanced at the woman, and the encouraging look she received was enough to turn her reluctance completely around. It was going to be a whole new chapter in her life, and she couldn't help feeling excited. For the first time in what felt like forever.

She waited for Kyoko to finish applying the lipstick. The other veteran, noticing the black-haired girl's impatient expression, took her sweet time.

"What?" Sayaka felt dumbstruck. Of all the things she'd worried about-

"Your mother," her father stated, obviously annoyed, "lost the damn keys again, so we'll need you to buzz us in. And unlock the door."

"But…" Sayaka thought fast, "don't you have keys-"

"Don't you start in on me, too. Look, I just wanted to make sure you were awake. We'll be home in five minutes."

"Uhm-"

"See you then," he finished. Click.

Oh shit.

"Much better choice," Junko praised, noting the muted violet of the black-haired girl's lips now matched the color of her own eyes. "See, you're a natural-" She broke off, noting the sudden expression that crossed Kyoko's face as Sayaka walked in the room, looking as pale as a ghost. Almost as pale as Homura, Junko thought, and with those blue overtones it makes her look positively unhealthy…

"Oh, um, hey," the blunette began awkwardly, and Junko went back to work on her daughter's eyes. Head down, ears open.

"Hey yourself! Guess what-" Kyoko had wanted to show off what she'd done to the transfer student, but all thoughts of Homura's makeover flew out of her mind as Sayaka waved her over, stepping out into the hallway. The red-head looked at her partner curiously, noting an agitation that rivaled some of what she'd seen during their "vacation." Something, obviously, was wrong. As the other girl fidgeted for a few moments, Kyoko lost patience. "Spit it out already. What's up?"

"I… Oh god, I'm in trouble. That was my dad," and even through her worry over the imminent future, Sayaka saw a small smile flash across Kyoko's face and couldn't help but feel annoyed. Not the time for I told you so's, Kyoko-kun! "I… he… they want me to let them in the building!" Kyoko waited for the other shoe to drop. "In five minutes! And that was almost a minute ago," she moaned.

Crimson eyes narrowed in consideration. This was Kyoko's element: back to the wall, time running out, options narrowing down to nothing… Sayaka's apartment was a good fifteen minute walk away. Even running, with the streetlights and busy intersections dotting the commercial landscape between their respective homes, it would be a struggle. She didn't want the blunette to leave, but she also didn't want her off-limits for the foreseeable future. Besides, something about the hopeless tone to her voice kindled something angry inside Kyoko. Angry and determined.

"What am I going to do? I thought… dammit I'm an idiot, what was I thinking? I'm going to get grounded on top of being grounded; no phone, no television, no nothing! I'm such a moron!"

Kyoko playfully slapped the girl's cheek, just hard enough to get her blinking in surprise. "Only I get to call you that, moron. So you gotta get back, quick, right?"

Sayaka stared at Kyoko, shaking her head. "It's too far away, even with Junko-san driving me back-"

Kyoko held up her hand, and something in her eyes comforted the distraught blunette. A sense of calm surety that allowed her to gulp back another panicked response and just desperately hope that her girlfriend had a plan. And a good one, at that.

Homura was trying desperately not to meet Madoka's insistent, inquiring gaze. "I'll just wait… until the others get back," she stated, not wanting to go through this charade twice. The pinkette's head was turned, bent across her chair and leaning towards her with obviously rapt attention. Homura felt as if her determination had reached its apex, and was steadily sliding back down toward nothing under the expectant sunset-pink gaze.

She was worried. Worried that Madoka would… take it the wrong way. Silly as it was, despite the girl's obviously lack of interest, she still felt bad. Like she was, in a way, abandoning her. She wasn't, of course, not entirely. They'd win this time, and Madoka would be safe. She'd finally get her wish. And Homura would get the one thing she needed more than anything else: the chance to move on. The girl was still staring at her with her pink, glittering eyes, the spacious room suddenly feeling enclosed and awkward. Junko was smirking that way she did without letting it show on her face...

Then, exactly what she needed presented itself. Kyoko was there whispering something in her ear, and she felt herself standing up. "I'll be back, shortly," Homura assured the Kanames, who'd both stopped to look at her and the retreating form of the red-head. "Ah, Sayaka-chan needs my help with something."

Madoka's eyes climbed all the way up her forehead. "What? What's wrong? Can I help?"

"It's no big deal, it's just… I'll explain later!" she called, already out the doorway.

Madoka stared in disbelief. "My, my," her mother said, tsking to herself. "You certainly do have interesting friends, my dear."

Staring at her phone, Sayaka felt helpless. The time indicated that somewhere between two and three minutes had passed since her father had called. Where was Kyoko? What was she going to do? Why didn't phones have clocks that were accurate to the second? Stupid worthless phone- She tried to slow her breathing, grasping for that sense of peace she'd felt at the moment when Kyoko had told her to head outside, immediately. The red-head's confident smirk made it seem like she'd known exactly what to do, and the way she'd taken charge had bolstered Sayaka's dwindling hopes. But now that she'd been standing here, thinking, for a whole minute-

I used to get so annoyed by that smirk, she thought to herself. Now, it was almost... endearing. In her moment of panic, the self-assurance of the veteran had been a soothing wave of confidence, a sense that everything, somehow, was going to be all right. The blunette rubbed at her face, trying to pin down a name for the feeling she'd experienced. It had been nice, tingly, almost… comforting? And then, the door opened and Kyoko was followed by the formerly-sinister black-haired transfer student. "-o you can't, I'm not dragging two of you around. Besides, we can't all disappear." Homura stopped in front of the blunette, finishing with an obvious "It would look suspicious." Sayaka looked between the two in confusion.

Kyoko looked bitter about something, but then she smiled encouragingly, sweat beading on her forehead from the effort. "Uhm, remember when Homura was talking about being a time trav-"

"We don't have time for this. Sayaka-chan, give me your hand." Homura held out a slim, pale hand, a purple diamond adorning a single nail. The blunette looked at Kyoko, who tossed her the overnight bag she'd forgotten in Madoka's room. Sayaka couldn't help but notice the forlorn look in her girlfriend's eyes as the redhead brought up a hand in a half-hearted wave.

"I don't-"

Homura darted forward, grabbing on to her hand. She clasped it firmly, and despite her surprise Sayaka was pleased that there was no attempt made to intertwine their fingers… that would have been weird.

What happened was, if anything, even weirder than that. Kyoko froze, mid-wave, a look of brave regret on her face. Everything seemed to freeze in place, the whole world becoming a static image instead of a vivid, three dimensional circus of infinite activity. "Whaaa...t?"

Homura tugged her arm, pulling her along. "We still only have a limited amount of time, Sayaka-chan. I'll explain as we go, but we need to keep moving."

"What's… what is this?" Sayaka asked, knowing the answer but finding the experience so strange that she needed some outside affirmation of what she was seeing. Everything seemed to be standing still, and it was eerily quiet.

"This is what the world looks like to a… hummingbird," Homura tried, realizing a comparison to a fly or mosquito wouldn't be nearly as romantic, even if it was more accurate. "Perhaps a hummingbird that had ingested substantial quantities of cocaine or methamphetamine."

Sayaka snickered at the image before catching herself.

"Time, normally, flows at a steady rate, at least to our perceptions. What you are seeing is what happens when you speed up so fast, everything else appears to have come to a complete stop. If you were to stand here, staring at that man who looks frozen in mid-stride over there, ahead of us," Homura continued as they crossed a street, walking around cars apparently stopped in the middle of the intersection, "you'd slowly realize that his foot was lower than it had been a few moments ago, and pretty soon you'd notice that it was actually on the ground. It's slow, but it's still moving. These cars would be more noticeable, since they're going faster."

"So this is what you can do," Sayaka breathed in awe. She'd had no idea this kind of thing was even possible outside of a video game. "You've got bullet time! That's why you're so dangerous with those guns."

Homura frowned. "Practice, dedication and perception are what make me dangerous, Miki Sayaka. Power is nothing without a mind capable of wielding it. Power without perception is virtually useless and therefore of no true value!"

"Um, okay. Is that a quote from something? It sounds familiar... I'm just saying, if I could stop time, I'd have no problem lopping the heads off anything that got in my way-"

"I'm sure you wouldn't," Homura interrupted, quietly impressed with the blunette's own powers of perception, at least when it came to bloody anime. "And maybe, in the future, we'll be able to fight together and you'll get your chance. But for now, the idea is to get you home in time to avert whatever disaster looms mysteriously over your head."

Sayaka paused, taking a look at Homura. A really good look, for the first time. "Wow," she whispered. "That eyeliner… you look so-"

Homura's eyes spoke volumes, but only contained a single word: Don't. Thankfully, the blunette caught the look and decided that, since the girl was helping her it didn't make sense to keep being so antagonistic. The effect was rather amazing.

"So… what was the big announcement all about? What are you doing with Junko-san?" To her consternation, the blunette watched Homura clam up for a moment. Is there anything safe to talk about? she wondered in exasperation. But then Homura gave an uncharacteristic sigh.

"Might as well tell you," she muttered, striding quickly between seemingly-immobile pedestrians. "You'll find out Monday, anyway. I'm, well, no longer attending school with you and Madoka-chan."

"What? How? Huh?" Sayaka sputtered. "B-but… you're good at school!"

"I do well at school, yes, but by now you must realize why. I've learned everything you've been taught over the past several weeks dozens of times, and had countless hours to pursue my own interests besides. I've mastered that curriculum. I need something… different." Her purple eyes sparkled strangely in the streetlamp before they passed underneath it, hiding her face in shadow. "A change."

Desperate to wipe her now thoroughly sweaty palm on the rather baggy jeans she wore, Sayaka waited with diminishing patience as they traveled first one block, then another in silence. "Well? What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Homura blinked, glancing at the blue-haired girl she was pulling behind her. "Oh, I applied for an internship, at Junko-san's company. She… I was talking, the other day, and she happened to mention-"

"You were talking with Junko-san?" Sayaka asked wonderingly. It seemed so unlike the girl. Come to think of it, she had been rather obsequious around the woman earlier, back at the house.

"Well, I came to talk to Madoka-chan, after she'd… contracted. But… well, we got to… talking, and then, this came up. At first it scared me… you don't know what it's like, repeating the same thing again and again. I… I'm used to doing this. It's mad, but… the thought of something else happening, something where I don't know what to expect…" She shuddered, and the blunette felt it through the girl's clammy hand. "I want to escape, to do something different for once, but at the same time it terrifies me." The black-haired girl cursed herself, feeling weak and foolish in front of the judgemental, naive-

"That's pretty amazing, Akemi-san," Sayaka said, her voice suspiciously encouraging. She went on, even looking directly at the frowning transfer student with a complete lack of the suspicion and mistrust, if not a friendly smile. "An internship… that's like having a job, almost. And, you get to get out of school-"

"I tested out of the next three semesters-"

"-out of school, no homework… working with adults." Sayaka felt, for a moment, jealous, forgetting that, seconds ago, she'd decided to make an effort to get behind Homura on this. It was instinctive, maybe a response to seeing the girl's hesitation and doubt, and a need for a friendly opinion… even if it was from someone who was barely, if at all, a friend. "And… you'll get paid?" Homura didn't answer instantly, so she clarified. "Money?"

Purple eyes rolled expertly. "No, but I'll receive high school and university credit, and more than that, it's a chance to actually begin applying some of the knowledge we've been force fed over the last ten years of our lives." Her eyes shone; who thought something like what sounded to be mostly number crunching and menial tasks could inspire such a sense of anticipation?

"Still, pretty sweet deal," the blunette said enviously, a bit crestfallen after hearing there was no pay involved. "Um. I'm, ah, impressed." She blushed as the girl turned to give her a look. "It's… brave? I… I don't know if I could do that, leave my friends, I mean, and go hang around adults all day…"

They were halfway to Sayaka's apartment. "Thank you," the blunette said, seemingly out of nowhere. Certainly it caught Homura off guard, who looked sideways in surprise. "For, um, telling me. I know you're… private. So, thanks. For that, and, well, the thing we talked about before." Sayaka paused, choosing her words carefully. The black-haired girl at her side did not interrupt her thoughts. "It… put it in a different perspective, I guess. I just wanted to let you know… that I appreciate it." Swallowing the slightly bitter taste in her mouth, Sayaka continued. "I just wish that you'd tell me whatever it is you aren't telling me."

Homura, suddenly feeling a strange sense of… not disdain, for the blue-haired girl, realized she was almost grateful for the acknowledgement. It had been a long time since she'd been thanked, and the effect was disturbingly warm and fuzzy. But then Sayaka's last comment snapped around her like a steel trap, and having walked right into it Homura could only shake her head. "I don't-" know what you're talking about, she was going to say, but for some reason couldn't under the intense azure gaze. Not a glare, just a kind of sad, pathetic look of desperation. It made her want to turn away.

"Don't lie to me, at least. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Sayaka was trying to fake calm, not at all willing to show the other girl how desperately this issue had plagued her mind in the recent past.

"It's not that I don't want to," Homura began, although, in truth, now was not an ideal time.

"Whatever. I just… I'd have an easier time, you know, trusting you. If you weren't always keeping stuff from us. From me, since apparently you share things with my girlfriend that you don't with me." She raised her hand, warding off Homura's response with a gesture. Her eyes were suddenly intense. "Is it about me?"

Homura blinked, thinking. Too late, she took too long. Sayaka's whole body seemed to droop, as if her bones were finally bending under some unseen weight pressing down upon her. "It's…" Kyoko's going to kill me, Homura thought, but ultimately, in this regard, Sayaka was probably in the right. The redhead knew some of what had happened to her alternate selves… why shouldn't Sayaka have the same opportunity? Because she's weak, a little voice said, and she won't be able to take it. but Homura had stopped paying attention to it hours ago. Sayaka was absurdly naive, and arrogantly self-assured sometimes, but she wasn't exactly fragile.

The blue eyes of the girl stared at her from an arm's length away, waiting. "Sakura-san thought, well-"

"No need for you to try and explain why she kept the fact that you're a time traveler to herself, or this either. That's between her and me."

"Yes, I know, but-" The warning look made her stop. "I was telling her, Kyoko-san, about what happened in the other timelines." The blunette's breath caught in her throat. "Remember how I said Madoka-chan must not fight Walpurgis? If she does, as she has in the past, she'll defeat it, but become a terrible Witch herself." Sayaka's eyes were wide with disbelief. "That, or die. It's true, it's happened. I don't understand, exactly, why it does… but that's one way it plays out."

"What about me?" Even with this startling revelation, there was only one thought on Sayaka's mind. What could be so bad Kyoko wanted it hidden from me? That she'd lie to me about?

Homura sighed. "Don't get… upset. It's different, this time. It's not nearly as bad as, well... Things are somehow-"

"Giving me a pep talk about how something probably isn't going to be super bad is not doing a lot for my nerves at the moment," Sayaka admitted through clenched teeth. They turned the final corner, the comfortable apartment complex her family resided in visible two blocks away.

Several subjective minutes later, Sayaka rushed into her building, trying desperately to blink away the haze that distorted her vision. She saw a couple waiting outside the elevator, and rather than stand there with them, feeling their stares, she bolted for the stairwell.

Panting, five floors later she stabbed her key into the door, slipping inside before slamming the door shut. Flipping the deadbolt, she walked three steps before slamming the heel of her hand into her forehead, turning around to unlock the door again. Tossing her phone on the table, she went to her room and closed the door.

When Homura had strode into Junko's study, Kyoko had been ready to hug her for finally showing up. Or punch her in the stomach for taking so long. The black-haired girl flashed her a slightly guilty look, shrugging at the redhead's suddenly demanding glance.

Madoka and her mother had greeted the transfer student, and Kyoko listened with half an ear as Homura began to explain about her new endeavor. It sounded boring, like work, to Kyoko, who was more worried about that guilty look, and what trouble her blunette was getting into, and where she was going to sleep tonight.

"B-but… I don't understand. What… what about... school?"

Homura stopped herself from wincing at the hurt tone in the pinkette's question. Kyoko, staring at her with wide, blank eyes, wasn't helping matters. "It's… going to be my school. Essentially. But instead of sitting through another lecture in math about something I understand better than the teacher, I'll be learning about market algorithms and the complex data mining required to assess fluctuations in the global currency market-"

"Now, now, plenty of time to talk shop later, Homura-san," Junko interrupted with a twinkle in her eye. She was very proud of the girl, very proud indeed. It hadn't even been necessary to lean on the director of resources, the junior executive responsible for the company internship program, in order to get Homura accepted. She'd leaned on him, hard, anyway. It was a matter of face, after all, she recalled with a wolfish grin.

But her daughter was looking, if anything, more distraught, so she quickly wiped the look off her face, replacing it with an open certainty. "It's a tremendous opportunity for Homura-san, just think of it Madoka! She'll be learning from the best, and will leave with some fabulously marketable skills, not to mention the references and recommendations…"

"Madoka-chan, I-" Homura swallowed, feeling the intense stares of all three women, young and mature alike, boring into her as her voice caught. Composing herself, she continued calmly. "You know something of my… circumstances. I never had even a chance at attending a decent university. In three years I'll have a meaningless diploma, nothing to my name and nowhere to live."

"I… I thought there was, you know, insurance money?" Madoka peeped. Homura laughed, but it had a cruel sound to it that made the pinkette cringe.

"The medical expenses… it is only because I am a minor and ward of the state that I don't owe millions of yen to the hospital… When my parents died, I was left with nothing." She finished with a sigh, feeling thoroughly humiliated. But strangely, just like every other time she'd shared something, some dark truth from her secret history, it felt strangely liberating. The looks she was getting, hovering between concern and pity, were double-edged. Junko was staring at her almost proudly, but Kyoko was looking at the transfer student like she'd never seen her before. Madoka's eyes were brimming with emotion.

"Oh Homu… I'm sorry. So sorry."

Glossy black hair shifted as Homura shook her head. "Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. It's nobody's fault. It's just the way it is."

"If it was anyone's fault, it's God's." Kyoko's mutter took everyone by surprise. "Which is, yeah, like saying it's nobody's fault I guess," she finished, uncharacteristically sheepish.

After staring at the redhead for a few moments, Homura continued. "What matters is that I get to do something about it! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and to have it, literally, fall into my lap…" She smiled, looking at the purple-haired woman who leaned against the wall. "Thank you, Junko-san. For everything."

"It was all you, Homura-san. Your essay impressed the hell out of the committee, apparently." Kyoko's senses were tingling. Something was… strange. Maybe it was the faint blush that suddenly bloomed in the older woman's cheeks, or the strange happiness the normally dour black-haired girl was displaying.

Madoka lunged at Homura, nearly tackling her in a tight embrace. Madoka sobbed into the girl's slim shoulder. "I'm h-happy for you," she cried, "b-but I'll miss you." Homura patted the pinkette on the back, slightly uncomfortable but moved by the smaller girl's display of emotion.

"It's not like we'll never see each other," Homura began, and Madoka peeled herself away, wiping at bloodshot eyes. "There will be weekends, and sometimes maybe I'll have to, I don't know, deliver documents here?" She glanced at Junko, who shrugged as if to say, Sure, why not? "The point is, we're friends, right? This won't change that." She closed her eyes, clearly detecting a pleading note to her assurance.

Madoka put on a brave smile, determined to be happy for her friend's success.

"W-wait, Sayaka-chan is gone?" Madoka was bewildered. This was turning out to be a strange night, not at all in line with her expectations.

Junko had left a moment before, and Kyoko wasted no time explaining the situation. "Yeah, so, it's been fun and all, but I'm gonna head out-"

"Wait! What?" the pinkette cried. "You're leaving, too?"

Kyoko frowned. "Well, I'm more like Sayaka's friend you were nice enough to invite, so no hard feelings-"

"You mean… we're not friends? I think of you as a friend. I thought… I thought you said-"

"No, yes, I mean, we are friends. Sort of. New friends, you know?" Kyoko looked at Homura, unzipping her hoodie partway to allow for more ventilation. The room suddenly felt a little warm. Unfortunately, the black-haired girl's sole contribution was an encouraging nod. "I just, um, have this sense that she needs me. Yeah," she confirmed to herself, liking that explanation.

"Sayaka-chan wanted me to encourage you to stay, enjoying Madoka's company, and, presumably, my own as well." Homura shrugged, the pinkette's face immediately perking up and radiating happy triumph. "However, she did, ah, learn some… uncomfortable news tonight, and she may indeed benefit from having someone to cheer her up."

Kyoko took a long, slow breath, giving the dark, heavily mascaraed girl the evil eye.

I knew it! I knew I was cursed! It's not fair! I don't want to become a Witch. I don't want to die! Sayaka's face was buried in her pillow so deeply, at first she didn't hear the sound. As she picked up her head to wipe away the dampness clinging to her face, she noticed it for the first time.

Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap.

Sayaka looked around her room, trying to figure out-

TAP TAP TAPTAPTAP. Unbelievable, she thought, blinking her vision clear enough to make out the mass of red hair framing a figure that was crouched outside of her window, several stories above the ground. Her mood tilted alarmingly, swinging from bitter remorse to grateful excitement. Even though the girl was here, instead of being a good guest like she was supposed to… She tried to suppress a smile, then gave up and practically leapt out of bed.

Kyoko had the window up and was inside seconds after the blunette had unlatched the lock. The red-head smirked as she eyed the window critically. "Trying to keep me locked out ain't gonna work, baby. If I had to, I'd-"

"What are you doing here?" The dark thoughts had been flung from her head at the unexpected appearance. Sayaka was caught between excitement at seeing her friend and disappointment that she'd abandoned the other two girls. And, in the back of her mind, worry at being caught with a strange visitor after dark…

But mostly excitement. And relief. She collapsed into the older girl's arms, squeezing her tightly, for a moment nothing else mattering in the whole world. Kyoko's surprised smile was lost on the blunette, who buried her head in the familiar green-sleeved shoulder. "It's good to see you," she whispered, meaning it with every fiber of her being.

"Yeah, that was like the longest hour and twenty minutes of my life," the veteran muttered sarcastically, but on reflection it had been painfully tedious. "Homura told me, um, what you guys talked about, and," she added hastily, feeling the blunette shift inside her arms, "that I was going to tell you but it didn't seem like a good time and then Madoka was around and stuff so-"

Sayaka sniffled, pulling back from the redhead's tenacious embrace. "I… I get it. I understand, even… even if I don't like it. But… I get it, Kyoko." She smiled sadly. "You didn't want me to know. The dark truth-"

"Dammit Sayaka, the reason I didn't fucking say anything," Kyoko whispered furiously, her face inches from the blunette's, "is cuz this is how I was afraid you'd react. Don't get all… fatalistic on me, baby!" she pleaded, her whisper just as intense and angry. "Everything's changed, even Homura says so, so don't go acting like the story is over. It hasn't even fucking been written yet!"

Wide, azure eyes stared into Kyoko's crimson glare, a furnace of resolve that flooded Sayaka with a sense of warmth. The girl's passion was overwhelming. "Even if it had, I'll rip that shit up and burn it. We'll write it our own fucking selves." Overwhelming. What did I ever do to deserve…? Shoulders sagging, the blunette fell back into her girlfriend's embrace, willing to pretend everything was going to work out.

Kyoko abruptly changed course. "Let me sleep with you tonight."

The comment brought Sayaka out of her misery. Just the kind of shock her system needs right now, the redhead assured herself. "What? My parents-"

Kyoko raised and lowered her eyebrows provocatively, eliciting a giggle from the blunette. "That's what would make it so naughty…" she smirked. She waited, amazed and profoundly satisfied with herself as the blunette appeared to actually consider her offer.

"I don't think…" the girl began, reluctantly but with her mind made up. It was just too-

"No funny business," Kyoko promised, fingers crossed just in case. "I just… need a place to crash tonight. If not, that's cool, I'll head out and look for a bench or something to sleep on. It's not that cold out, and probably won't rain or anything..." She was a little surprised that the blunette didn't interrupt her, demanding that she spend the night. I wouldn't let my girlfriend go sleep on some park bench. She debated using the old turn-and-start-to-walk-away routine, suddenly doubtful of what had seemed like such a good idea-

But then Sayaka was all smiles, and with a few more hasty promises, the blunette agreed. She'd left her phone on the kitchen table, as per the rules of her grounding, so she set her old alarm clock. "You just have to leave before six," she reminded Kyoko for the third time.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember already," Kyoko muttered, unzipping her green sweatshirt and dropping it on the floor. Without comment, Sayaka walked to the foot of her bed to pick it up, draping it across the chair at her desk. Ruefully, her eyes took in the pile of work that had accumulated during her absence the previous week, but she resolutely put the thought from her mind. She turned around, seeing Kyoko drop her black undershirt to the ground. This girl! she thought. We need to get you a bra, she thought to herself.

Kyoko had waited until those blue eyes were on her before letting go of the shirt. The look she received wasn't desirous, like she'd been going for. More like… running out of patience. Slightly puzzled, she watched the blunette pick up the shirt, tossing it over the chair. By then, the short, cut-off jeans were laying on the floor. Sighing, Sayaka picked them up, barely paying attention as she tossed them on her dresser. She turned to give her partner a good looking-over as she stood there in her panties, eager to run her eyes over the redhead's lithe, muscular body. But what she saw was Kyoko bending down, pulling off her-

"What are you doing?!" Sayaka cried softly. She just promised!

Kyoko flicked the garment at her feet across the room; it landed hanging half out of a wastebasket. She slowly walked to Sayaka's bed, pulling back the sheets and sliding inside, ignoring the two stuffed animals that fell to the floor. The blunette continued to stare at her in a most satisfying way. "I sleep in my clothes, or out of my clothes. There's no in between." It was pretty much true. She patted the bed. "Come on, I promised! You can trust me," she finished with a wicked grin, the dark look in her eyes and the intimidating canine teeth giving her a distinctly feral aspect.

Nervously, Sayaka got into her skivvies and put on her favorite night shirt, ignoring Kyoko's groan of protest. Turning off her lamp, she slipped into bed, careful to maintain a respectable distance from the other occupant, knowing all too well the consequences of succumbing to older girl's insidious magnetism. At first, Sayaka worried she would never get to sleep, with the beating pulse thrumming through her body, and that sense of radiating warmth from Kyoko just behind her… but as the minutes of silence wore on, her thoughts turned back to what Homura had told her, about what she'd seen through Witch eyes, and the hopelessness that had been consuming her earlier reared up again, swallowing her whole.

Kyoko reached out a hand, hearing the soft but unmistakable noise. Expecting it. "Shhh. It's okay, baby." It felt so strange, but also… so important.

"I'm going to be a Witch!" the girl sobbed.

"No you're not." Stroking her partner's hair with a hand, Kyoko turned the girl's face towards her, staring into the softly-glowing eyes of her partner, the crystalline blue looking hurt, even in the darkness. "I won't let it happen. It's going to be all right, Sayaka. Everything will be all right." Kyoko slid closer under the fluffy blanket, blue of course, the cool sheets tickling her skin. Snuggling up against the weary blunette, she pressed her belly against the girl's warm back, draping an arm across her body. "You and me," she whispered in her partner's ear. Her hand slid up underneath the baggy shirt, then down the girl's taut belly, coming to rest just south of her navel. Kyoko felt her tense, but after a few moments without complaint let her hand stay where it was, feeling Sayaka's tension dissipate.

They lay there for minutes, Sayaka's breathing becoming more regular, calmer, until the gentle rise and fall of her chest told Kyoko she'd fallen asleep.

Pulling herself into the blunette, reveling in the incredible skintastic feeling of closeness as she buried her head in the short blue hair, nuzzling up against her neck, Kyoko squirmed a few times, finding a comfortable position. She took a deep breath, through her nose, getting a scent of whatever amazing flavor of shampoo Sayaka used. Breathing in again, warm and cozy, she closed her eyes.

Many blocks away, another light clicked off.

"Good night Homura-chan!"

Homura wiggled on the floor, trying to get comfortable. "Good night, Madoka-chan. Thanks for the wonderful party," she added, wincing once she realized she'd introduced the missing girls into the conversation.

She almost laughed when she heard Madoka's expected sigh of regret in the darkness. "I just wish Sayaka-chan and Kyoko-chan could have stayed…"

Wisely, Homura remained silent, refusing to be pulled into that particular conversation again. Three times was enough. After a few moments, she hoped the pinkette had miraculously fallen asleep.

"Sweet dreams," Madoka wished. Homura returned the sentiment.

Then, "Sleep tight." The black-haired girl had twisted inside the sleeping bag, feeling compelled to respond in kind. "Sleep tight, Ma-AHhh-doka-chan," she'd replied with a theatrical yawn.

When the pinkette said "See you in the morning," Homura decided to pretend to have fallen asleep.

Uncertain about whether Homura was awake or not, Madoka whispered, "If you get cold, feel free to crawl in with me. There's plenty of room." Then she turned, hugging a large stuffed banana, and was asleep within moments.

Akemi Homura was up late into the night, staring at the ceiling in the dark.

Apologies for a bit of a wait this time. Thanks so much for all the reviews, I love hearing your thoughts, concerns, ideas and any and all feedback you provide. Please continue.

Regarding plot development: I feel I owe it to you to explain, considering how much anyone who's gotten to this point has read. I know, in general, where I'm headed, and its pretty close, but the way I write is basically stream of consciousness, and seriously I could have probably had three more Sleepover chapters with almost nothing going on besides interactions between the girls and strange and potentially funny random events. I try to keep things moving forward, but realize I often fail to do so, since I'm so easy to side-track. But, since its all in fun, hopefully you can forgive me. Keep letting me know when I may stumble, and I'll try to be mindful of your thoughtful advice. Thanks!