Authors Note: *Loud screeching* Jesus this update took way longer than I wanted, I really hope you guys didn't think I'd abandoned this story. I'm so sorry, I haven no excuse other than I procrastinated big time on this chapter.

I'm really, really sorry! Forgive me, readers! I swear the next chapter wont take that long!

Small announcement; Chapter 11 received a few minor adjustments: the Parents scene and the Kiss scene had a few more lines added.

Homura hadn't felt this good in...well, a long time. She felt genuinely healthy for once, not "okay" but healthy! She felt like she could take on the world the moment she was allowed to leave this room, this building.

Of course the doctors had to run some more tests on her, oh how she hated the tests, to ensure that she was okay and to see if there was still anything seriously wrong with her. It would be poor practice if they didn't, and with her unexplainable and sudden recovery, Homura could understand why they wanted to cover all their bases. But it wasn't all bad, Homura actually quite liked her nurses and doctors. Many of them had been with her while she was an inpatient before going to Mitakihara Middle School.

Even her doctor, Wakahisa, was one who Homura got along with well. Though his attitude sometimes felt like he belonged on House, and he usually responded to her with some kind of snarky remark, he really was a kind man when one got down to it, and she had no doubt he knew what he was doing. She was glad he was her new heart doctor; Homura hadn't been too fond of her previous one.

Now a few days had passed and she was given a clean bill of health and a new list of medicine to take to ensure it stayed that way. So finally Homura was set up to be discharged and she could go back home after so many weeks, much to her excitement. Sayaka was going to be picking her up later and taking her home.

But, instead of being eager and excited, Homura was rather anxious and worked up today, and it wasn't because of her release. It was the fact that her parents were coming by for an obligatory visit today and it had Homura on edge. Her body was filled with a mixture of fear, anxiety, and even a tinge of excitement.

Their last visit had been even worse than she would have expected, and a part of her still hoped it was a dream. They would never had said such things if they knew she had been awake. The only upsides were they didn't talk to her and they hadn't been in the room for very long. She had pretended to be sleeping during their short five minutes in the room so she didn't have to face them, and she even had Sayaka in there with her; that alone would have been enough to get her through it. But she couldn't pretend to be sleeping this time around, and Sayaka couldn't be with her if she was at school today.

Homura was starting to wish she hadn't talked Sayaka into going today.

So to try and keep her mind off the impending visit she busied herself with a few hours of reading books borrowed from the gift shop. Knowing her parents, they would likely delay as much as they could in visiting her and spend as little time as they could in the same room as her, thats what they did on their few other visits. Maybe with some luck Sayaka would be out of school and with her when they finally got around to coming in.

Sayaka...

Her cheeks began to heat up as they often did now whenever her friend crossed her mind. Homura found herself no longer reading her book but rather thinking of Sayaka instead.

"She tasted like strawberries..." Homura murmured to herself, her mind drifting to the kiss they had shared as a hand came up and her fingertips rested lightly against her lips. She had enjoyed their brief moment of intimacy that day, even if she had nearly died not long after. It was a moment in time that would forever be burned into her memories. However, thank God that Sayaka never brought it up, or Homura would die from embarrassment. She'd already had one near death experience, she was not looking for another one any time soon.

Still, sharing her first kiss with Sayaka...it was nice. It had felt like something from one of the fairy tales that Sayaka loved so much. She was a princess sleeping, awaiting for the kiss from her prince, and Sayaka was that Prince Charming.

Homura's face was quite warm at this point as she began entertaining thoughts of being with Sayaka as something more than friends and sharing a life with her. Maybe they could open up a little cozy shop of some kind once out of high school, run it together and have fun with it. Of course, like all of the little fantasies Homura had begun creating about her and Sayaka, it wasn't going to ever happen. But it was still nice to be able to feel optimistic again when she looked to the future.

"Hey, Homura, you ready?"

The ravenette gave a small jump, turning to look at the door where Sayaka stood, school bag in one hand, the other resting on the door frame and a nurse was behind her. What, was it already time to go or had Sayaka skipped to come for her? Looking at the clock on the far side of the wall told her that Sayaka had thankfully not ditched school.

Sayaka was here and she didn't have to face her parents, good news, right? Well, even if it were, Homura couldn't help but feel hurt over it; even though she wasn't surprised by how her parents acted the one time they visited her these last weeks, with the changes her life had gone through since meeting Sayaka, she felt a little hope that maybe her parents could change too...but they didn't.

"Yeah, just one second," Homura said, sliding off the bed and slipping on her shoes that were lined neatly at the side as the nurse came over, handing over her new prescriptions and explaining once again when to take them.

Once that was out of the way, the two girls were heading out of the room and down the halls that they'd both had enough of. "Wait 'til we get back to your apartment, I got you a surprise waiting!" Sayaka announced happily.

The walk had been filled with chatter and jokes the entire way. Though Sayaka had tried to get them a taxi so Homura didn't have to walk so far, the other girl would have none of it, wanting to walk and stretch her legs after so long in bed. Her medicine had been placed safely within Sayaka's bag, and Homura had already begun a mental mapping of where in her medicine cabinet she'd place them so she can get them easily and quickly.

The wind blew through her hair, taking advantage of this day where it was freed from its braids to send black strands all over. Sayaka had made a few over-dramatic remarks about how her hair had a mind of its own and it was trying to kill her when the wind blew it into Sayaka's face. But for most of the trip, Sayaka just grinned widely, barely able to keep her own excitement in check as she tugged Homura down the streets. Homura was still trying to figure out why Sayaka was excited.

She had said she had a surprise waiting for her at her apartment, but hadn't given any hints as to what it was.

"Sure you're feeling alright?" Sayaka asked, and it was another trait that Homura had noticed upon her recovery. Sayaka seemed more worried for her than before; she had already been protective, now she sometimes acted as though Homura would fall apart if a strong wind hit her.

"I'm fine, promise," Homura assured her for what was the umpteenth time and pointed ahead down the road, "We're almost there anyways." Her apartment was just up ahead. With a smile, she quickened her pace to pull out ahead of Sayaka. "Hurry up, you said you had a surprise for me, didn't you?"

Her friend and crush just stood there for a moment before shaking her head and hurrying after her and Homura just picked up her own speed. "Hey, slow down!" Sayaka yelled, only to be answered with laughter.

It turned into a full-on race after that, seeing who could reach the door first. Of course, Sayaka would have been more than capable of beating Homura, but she had stayed slow enough to remain even with Homura and let Homura barrel into the door first as victor.

"W-wow..." Homura panted, grasping the door for support, already out of breath from a short run; even with a miraculously healed heart, her stamina was very lacking. "That w-was...I didn't realize how...how out of shape I am," she said, but laughed anyways as she caught her breath. It wasn't much of a surprise, really; because of her health, Homura didn't often do anything that involved much physical exertion. But it felt thrilling to be able to run again, even if it was just a short distance. Maybe it was because she was just that happy from her improved health. What was more, her heart was pounding but it didn't ache like it used to.

After regaining her breath, Homura straightened her posture and looked at Sayaka as the girl fished out a key from her pocket. Sly girl, must have sneaked it out of Homura's bag while she was in the hospital. Well, at least Homura knew she could trust Sayaka not to make a mess of her place or anything.

"So, mind if I have that key back after this?" Homura asked, watching as Sayaka unlocked the door. After receiving a confirming nod, Homura tilted her head to the side. "We're here, so am I getting any hints as to what this surprise is now, or no?"

Sayaka responded with a wide grin as she pushed the door open. "Nope, you just gotta wait and see," she added as she stepped into her friend's home. "Now, just wait in here and don't move."

Slipping off her shoes, Homura followed her in, closing the door behind her and doing as she was told by staying there. So, standing by the door while filled with curiosity, Homura just watched Sayaka run from room to room, looking under furniture and muttering to herself as she tried to find her gift for Homura. She was about to start moving, intent on helping Sayaka find whatever it was, but Sayaka just barked at her, telling her to just stay there and wait.

At least it was amusing watching Sayaka run about.

"Meow?"

Blinking, Homura looked down at a kitten standing by her foot, staring up at her with wide eyes.

"Hey there, little one," Homura said, scooping the bundle of orange fur into her arms. Judging by size, it must have just recently been separated from its mother. "What are you doing here?" Homura didn't own a cat, and none of her neighbors said anything about a new kitten or pregnant cat, so where did this little fellow come from?

Wait...

The two dots connected, and she began walking away from the door to the laundry room where Sayaka was on her knees trying to look between the dryer and washer. Giving a light cough to get her attention, she watched as Sayaka scrambled to stand up, and then stare in surprise at the creature Homura was carrying.

"This wouldn't happen to be your 'surprise' would it?" Homura asked, gesturing to the kitten that was now purring and nuzzling against her.

Giving a laugh, Sayaka scratched at the back of her neck. "Yeah...well, yeah," she admitted, giving a sheepish smile. "You said how lonely it gets living here on your own, so...now you don't have to live on your own. You have yourself a little friend to keep you company when I'm not around. A welcome home present, too," Sayaka explained.

She had? Homura didn't remember saying that, had it been while she was in the hospital? Probably. Homura sighed and shook her head, unsure how to really react. "You...you didn't have to, Sayaka," she began, though she was still rather surprised by all of this. She was expecting something small, something simple, not a cat. "Where did you get the money to buy her? How much did she cost?" Homura asked, adjusting her hold on the cat to reach into her pocket. Hopefully she had enough money in her wallet to pay her back, if not she could go to the bank and withdraw some from her savings.

But Sayaka just stopped her and shook her head. "No, it's fine, you don't gotta pay me back. She's a gift from me to you, doesn't matter how much she cost," she said, watching as Homura reluctantly put the wallet away. She didn't need to know the expense, and it wasn't like Sayaka hadn't already had the money to cover the cat. She had been saving up money for a while to buy a new violin for Kyosuke for when he was released, back before she learned he wouldn't be able to play. Besides, now that she was over her crush on him enough to think rationally, she doubted he would have wanted a new violin anyways; he was practically married to his current one.

The amount she saved had in the end been enough to buy the kitten and the essentials for her. She even had some left over for a couple of toys. A way better way to spend it than on the food and CDs she would have wasted it on instead.

Homura looked down at the kitten in her arms and then back up at Sayaka. "I...I really appreciate this, I m-mean...um... thank you." How was she supposed to respond to this kind of gift? Was that an appropriate thank-you, or did Sayaka expect something more? No, Sayaka was smiling, so it must have been good enough, right?

"How about we give the girl a name?" Sayaka asked, reaching over to scratch under the kitten's chin. It was the hand with the ring on it that she always seemed to wear now. "Can't have the cutie go around nameless, right?"

Nodding her agreement, Homura led Sayaka into the living room and sank down into the couch. Oh, how she missed this rickety old thing and all the neck cramps and sore backs it gave her whenever she fell asleep on it. Sayaka sat down next to her, and the kitten hopped over to her lap, sitting on it like it was her throne.

"So, well, we know she's a she," Sayaka said as the furball curled up and began purring, "so...how about Sachiko?"

"We're not naming her an evil, homicidal, dead seven-year-old."

"Oh come on, she's not that bad, just very angry after being killed."

Homura just shook her head, deciding not to make another comment, instead thinking of a name. "Err...Ginger?" she suggested. Her fur was orange, so it was a decent name, right?

But Sayaka just stared at her and slowly began shaking her head, and the idea that it was a good name was thrown out the window. "I feel bad for your future kids if you're starting with that."

Homura stuck her tongue out at her after that.

For the next hour or so the two spent their time playing with the kitten, watching as she pawed at the toys Sayaka had bought and smiling whenever she bumped her head against them to get their attention. While doing so, they would throw out name suggestions and shooting down every name they came up with. Sometimes the cat did it for them though with little faces she would make that were probably not even because of the name. The two would share a laugh whenever the nameless kitten did that.

Everything about her was too cute for words.

Furball, their temporary name for the little thing, they both agreed was a good one, for a nickname at least. But neither really liked it as her actual name, and it was quickly scrapped along with the others.

Eventually she grew tired of playing and had moved back to Homura's lap to rest while the girl continued to gently pet her as she ran through names in her head. "How about...Ganko?" she suggested, fingers tickling her behind the ears a little. Ignoring its meaning, the name sort of felt right.

Sayaka made a humming nose before nodding her head. "Ganko, I like it. What do you think?" she asked, looking down at the cat and grinned when she looked up and gave a meow. "I think she likes it too."

The now-named Ganko meowed again, moving from one girl to the other, rubbing affectionately against Sayaka and her purring grew louder.

"I think she likes you more than me," Homura commented with a laugh, watching the cat nuzzle against Sayaka, "she must think you're her mommy."

At that comment, Sayaka just reached over to hook an arm around Homura and pull her close, ignoring the blush that came across her friend's cheek at the action as she gave her a side hug. "Well, I'm not going to be a single parent, so you're gonna have to take responsibility and be the father, or rather mom number two. We can raise our baby together and be the happiest and most perfect family ever. Just two moms and a kitty-baby," Sayaka joked.

"We're going to be one strange family then."

"The stranger the better!"

The two started laughing, both imagining the scenario and each image their minds conjured sent them into another fit of giggles.

It felt great to be able to do this again. Having Sayaka here and laughing alongside her, it felt right. Homura was sure she'd been smiling the entire time she'd been in the apartment. Just by being here and not in the hospital had filled Homura with enough joy. But to be able to spend her first day back with the one she cared for most sent her miles above happy.

If she could spend every day like today, just being with Sayaka like this, then Homura knew she would spend every day happy.