Madoka lived in a modest apartment only a couple blocks away from her ballet studio. It only had one room, one bathroom, and a small kitchen and living room. Despite the small size, Madoka liked living in her apartment, as it allowed her to have a short walk to and from work and, on this particular day, allowed her to guide Homura hand-in-hand to what would now be their new shared home. Turning to the girl she was leading, she stated, "I'm a little low on food, so tomorrow we should make sure to go to the grocery store and stock up for two people".

Homura, in the meanwhile, had been speechless with confusion ever since the two left the alleyway. Of the many ways Homura had imagined their reunion after the creation of the new universe ruled by Homura, none of them were close to how things had turned out now. What she once thought would be a desperate fight between the two ended up being a short walk to Madoka's apartment, and Homura couldn't figure out the reason why. Nothing about their new situation made sense to her in light of the decision she had made to steal Madoka away from the Law of Cycles, leaving Homura incapable of knowing how to respond to what was happening.

After a short while, the two arrived at Madoka's apartment. Madoka shuffled around inside her purse fishing for her keys while Homura watched her, her hand now warm from being held by the girl in front of her as they walked together. After finding her keys, Madoka unlocked the door and stepped inside her living room with Homura. Her living room consisted of a small carpet on the floor, with an old couch facing a television that Madoka watched to unwind after work. Behind the couch was a small dining room with a compact square table in the middle of it surrounded by wooden chairs. If one were to enter the dining room from the living room and turn right, they'd find a small kitchen with a stove, an oven, and a small fridge that was currently more empty than it was full. Madoka set her purse on the dining room table and walked into the kitchen. After checking the inside of her fridge, Madoka peeked her head outside the kitchen.

"Homura, I only have tea and water right now, would you like a glass of either?"

Homura didn't respond, instead standing motionless near the living room couch and fidgeting slightly with her skirt. Seeing Homura's reaction, she promised her a glass of tea and disappeared back into her kitchen. While pouring the tea, Homura worked up the courage to walk to where Madoka was and ask the question that had been on her mind ever since they left for Madoka's apartment.

"What… what are you doing?"

Madoka, understanding Homura's question, set down the glasses of tea she had finished pouring for the two of them. After spending a short moment deciding on how to answer her, Madoka turned to Homura, wearing a small, melancholy smile on her face. Her eyes gazed at the dark-haired girl with a bittersweet gaze.

"For now, I'm just making tea for my new roommate".

"But-"

"I know what you're really asking," said Madoka, "and I promise we'll get to that. But are either of us really in the mindset to discuss what happened?"

Madoka walked past Homura to set the two cups of tea on the table, then walked over to Homura, cupped her cheeks with both her hands, and kissed Homura's forehead. Waiting and watching for Homura's reaction, Madoka saw a confused and melancholy expression from the girl she had fallen for. It was then that Madoka noticed that Homura had a raggedy and unkempt look to her; her skin seemed paler than normal, and her face had seen to grow thinner than it should be. Her hair was also messy, far from the soft and sleek look it had featured in high school.

"Have you… been taking care of yourself, Homura?"

Homura replied with a small shrug. "I don't usually have much of an appetite these days, and usually I'm too busy dealing with threats to this universe to really care much about appearances."

"Homura, you know that isn't good for you!" Madoka replied, shaking her head and heading into her kitchen. Opening the fridge, she called out to Homura, saying, "I think I have just enough food to make dinner for the two of us, would you mind waiting about an hour?"

Not waiting for Homura to respond, Madoka took the ingredients out of her refrigerator and sat them on the counter, a worried expression on her face the whole time. Not knowing what to do, Homura chose to take a seat at the dining room table and watched as Madoka delicately chopped the ingredients and poured them into a soup pot. An hour of mostly silence passed between the two, with Madoka focusing on cooking for Homura and Homura unsure of what to say besides a few responses to Madoka when she asked her about her eating preferences.

Late that evening, the two sat across from each other as they ate their dinner. Madoka watched as the other girl at the table repeatedly took small spoonfuls of the vegetable soup she had made, slowly eating away at her meal in silence. After finishing a little over half her meal, Homura pushed her bowl away from her and indicated that she was finished. Madoka, meanwhile, was still finishing her bowl, so Homura took the opportunity to again ask Madoka what was on her mind.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

Madoka paused her eating, waiting for Homura to continue.

"I took away your powers and recreated the universe you had formed. I rewrote your memories and never let you get your powers back for as long as I could. I thought you'd challenge me to have control over the universe, so why am I…" Homura's voice had begun to weaken. With just the smallest amount of resolve, she finished her question.

"Why am I with you right now?"

That had been the largest question on Homura's mind. After several years of time loops and an overthrow of the goddess herself, she had resigned herself to a fate apart from the one person she loved more than anything. Instead, just when things seemed at their most bleak for her, Homura had instead ended up being treated to dinner at Madoka's apartment. Homura had never once dared to imagine this would happen to her, and she had struggled to come up with a plausible reason for why it was happening.

Madoka decided to respond to Homura with a question of her own. "Do you think I hate you, Homura?"

Homura was taken aback by this question. Homura felt it was obvious that Madoka hated her, that she would want nothing more than to take back what was rightfully hers and then leave Homura for good, so hearing this question took her by surprise. After a moment, Homura simply nodded her head, prompting Madoka to get out of her seat and walk over to Homura. She put her forehead to Homura's and quietly whispered,

"I love you, Homura".

After finishing their meals, the two got ready for bed and chose to sleep early for the night. While Madoka headed to her room, Homura asked if she could have a pillow and a blanket to sleep on the couch. Smiling, Madoka informed Homura that she had planned for them to begin sharing a bed, causing Homura to go wide-eyed.

"M-Madoka, are you sure that's a good idea?"

Madoka, while looking sweetly at Homura, responded, "Did you really think that I'd make you sleep on the couch by yourself?". Taking her hand, Madoka led Homura to her room, taking her to the bed they would now share together. Homura, with a flushed face, slowly got under the covers and waited for Madoka to slide next to her. Homura, still in a state of shock, stayed silent as Madoka wished the girl a good-night, and turned off the bedroom lights.

"I love you, Homura."

Madoka's words reverberated in Homura's mind as they lay next to each other in Madoka's bed. Madoka had already fallen asleep for the night, her eyes closed and a peaceful look resting on her face. Homura, meanwhile, was lost in thought as she looked at the face of the one next to her. She couldn't understand how Madoka had come to love her the same way Homura loved Madoka. To Homura, Madoka has somehow fallen in love with someone who had failed to save her from a life of misery for twelve years, someone who betrayed her and stole her powers, someone who had no right being near her. And yet, according to Madoka, she had.

It was the warmth of the arm Madoka provided for Homura to rest on that lulled the troubled girl to sleep. Madoka had chosen to wrap her arms around Homura, letting Homura place her head on her arm to act as her pillow. Even though thoughts of doubt and uncertainty plagued her mind, Homura eventually let herself drift off to sleep in the arms of her beloved.