It's getting on into evening and school has been out for a while now. Madoka had last seen Homura right after her last class before going to one of her clubs, but had promised she'd come over later at night. It was a little hard not getting to be around her girlfriend all the time after getting a few weeks of near inseparability, but maybe even small distances could make the heart grow fonder? Several hours were spent at Gardening Club, with Madoka getting her hands dirty helping to spruce things up now that spring had arrived. Things needed planted, gardens and flowerbeds needed weeded and watered and the greenhouse needed tended to, among other various tasks. This time of year there was plenty of work to be done, so she showed up and pitched in while it was needed.
That wasn't the entirety of what she had to do, however. She slipped off afterward to the mall to take care of a secret task(!), and sends Homura a text message telling her she'll be there in half an hour or so. A minute or two early she arrives, ringing the doorbell and waiting patiently with a smile on her face. She changed out of the now dirty clothes from her club work and into an outfit of a light yellow top, a short light pink skirt with white frills along the hem with a pink and white striped hoodie worn over the top and left open.
She looks to be in a good mood, and it probably has something to do with the shopping bag she's holding at her side in her left hand.
There was a time when Homura would have insisted on following Madoka to her club. Before that, there was a time when Homura would have secretly followed her anywhere. Today? Today is different. It's been different for a while, actually. She gets to spend as much time with Madoka as she wants to, and more importantly, after seeing her skills in combat she's not worried about what might happen to her.
So it is that when Madoka wants to head off to do club activities, Homura smiles and hopes she has a good time. The thought of getting to see Madoka later on that night is a happy one, and she says she'll look forward to it.
Once home, Homura kicks off her shoes, takes a seat on the cuddle couch, and lets herself rest for a moment. She changes out of her school uniform, into a comfortable shimmering violet summer dress. Deep breath in, deep breath out. She crosses her arms over her chest, grabbing her upper arms. She shakes for a moment, or what seems like a moment, but soon the doorbell is ringing.
She looks up, quickly runs, long black stockings moving against her soft carpet until she reaches the door. She swings it open, and smiles at the sight of her darling girlfriend. "Madoka-chan!" She leans forward to hug her little angel, and then her hands move down Madoka's arm as she tries to tug her inside. "Come on in!"
Her eyes go down to the shopping bag. "Hmm? You brought something?"
The speed by which Homura makes it to the door and opens it after the doorbell is rung always makes Madoka smile, and when the door opens she giggles, stepping up and wrapping her free arm around the dark haired girl and leaning into the hug. "It's good to see you again, Homura-chan!" Her hand rubs against her back for a moment, following along as she's pulled inside and looking her girlfriend over. "That dress looks good on you, Homura-chan."
Then another giggle comes as the bag is noticed, and there's a bounce in her step as tries to draw Homura over to the cuddle couch- unless of course that's where she was headed in the first place. "Yep! And it's for you." She lifts a finger to her chin and looks up, "Sometimes it can be a little hard to think of things to get you," she blushes faintly and looks downward, "it's a little embarrassing what I usually decide on, but I think you'll like it!"
The pink-haired girl takes a seat on the couch, trying to get Homura to sit next to her so she can snuggle up against her side before taking the bag and setting it in Homura's lap. "Here you go!" It's a simple shiny white paper bag with a logo of the mall itself rather than any particular store, and inside are three 8 by 10 wooden framed pictures ready to be hung up on a wall.
The first is of Madoka wearing her school uniform, hands clasped together and held in front of herself and looking towards the camera with a small, slightly shy smile on her face.
The second is of Madoka in her Puella Magi dress, all pink, white and yellow, covered in frills and red bows and standing in an energetic pose, a bright and cheerful open mouthed smile on her face.
The final picture is of her as Madokami, white dress billowing gracefully and with tendrils of long pink hair floating around her. In this one her pose is much more intimate and personal, her eyes slightly lidded and her arms held out towards the camera, hands open and fingers slightly spread, as if inviting the owner of the picture to come into her open arms.
Also found inside the bag are five still connected wallet sized pictures the same as the larger one of her in her school uniform.
"It's good to see you too, Madoka-chan. I love your outfit." Homura is as cheerful as ever. It's hard not to be, with Madoka here. She shuts the door after Madoka steps through, and goes along with her.
Homura wasn't too picky about where she goes with Madoka. She just wants to go somewhere, and the cuddle couch she was just on is just as good a place as any. Possibly even the best place, considering who she's going there with.
Homura's cheeks redden slightly as Madoka says the gift is for her. When her girlfriend says it's hard to think of what to get her, Homura responds, "You still manage to give me a lot of nice things, my little angel."
It's not hard to convince Homura to sit next to Madoka, nor does she shy away from cuddles. She leans against Madoka, looking down at the white bag. One hand holds the bag open while the other, reaches inside, drawing the pictures out one by one. She smiles at the image of Madoka in the schoolgirl uniform, giggles at the picture of her Puella Magi outfit, and then blushes intensely at the image of Madokami. The wallet-sized pictures don't go unnoticed, either. She looks at each of them, quietly, and then holds them close to her chest.
"You gave me you? That's my favorite."
She leans further against Madoka, burying her face in Madoka's shoulder. "Thank you so much, Madoka-chan. You're always so sweet to me."
One by one, she sets the pictures on the glass coffee table, freeing her arms so that she can wrap them around Madoka. She looks at the pictures, smiling. "Now where should I put them? I'd want at least one of them next to the old picture of me."
Madoka blushes at the compliment to her outfit, "Thank you!" She smiles to herself when Homura is easily led to the couch, rubbing against her lightly as the gift is opened, snuggling without trying to distract too much. "I want to give you lots of nice things! You deserve to have nice things, and I still want you to have things in your new home that make it special for you."
The blush on Homura's face draws a playful giggle from her, and she leans in to kiss her on the cheek, only to lean her head against her girlfriends as her shoulder is suddenly full of a pretty face. "You're welcome, Homura-chan! I'm glad you like them." She giggles softly, "It feels a little self-important to give you pictures of me as a present, but I did think it was something you'd want."
She looks at the pictures as they're lined up, and like that it's easier to tell they're clearly a set. It's also a bit more obvious they're all clearly taken in Madoka's room- but then how could she possibly have gotten someone to take a picture of her as Madokami? That would raise some serious questions with a professional photographer! As such the quality isn't perfect, but they're at least focused properly.
When Homura's arms go around her Madoka returns the gesture, wrapping both of hers around her and squeezing her close. "Well... I know two of them that shouldn't be anywhere my parents might see them if they come over!" Which they probably will.... some day. "Hehe, that would be very cute. I was already a magical girl when I first met you, right? So maybe the one of me in my magic dress..?"
After nuzzling and snuggling against Homura again Madoka looks at her for several moments, studying her face with soft pink eyes and smiling.
Homura shakes her head, which has the effect of rubbing her head against Madoka. "It's not self-important. You gave me something you knew I'd want. I love them." She continues to look at them while snuggling against Madoka. She notices they were taken in her room, which doesn't surprise her. Taking a picture of oneself is a lot easier than explaining her henshin. It's a funny thing to be thinking about when Madoka mentions the possibility of her parents coming over.
Homura giggles. "I'll hide them where I'll hide my gun collection, probably. I'll make sure it's safe before they come over, when that happens. If they surprise me, well, I can still stop time!"
Homura considers. Madoka was a magical girl then, right? It's not impossible that she wished after Homura showed up at school--- no, no actually Kyubey was always grabby, and Amy would get hit before school started. -- Even Amy's position in the timeline changed, didn't it?
"It's funny. This month last year is when I'd usually... be. I'd wake up March 16th, and Walpurgisnacht would come on April 30th. We'd have just met 5 days ago, last year, and I'd already be trying to warn you away from making a Wish. This timeline is a bit different, and I actually arrived a few months later, in May, just over two months late. But... this is the time of year I've grown used to."
She falls quiet after saying that, purple eyes looking at the pictures, and arms wrapped around her darling. She nuzzles against Madoka before speaking again. "I'd like that. Setting the one of you in your henshin next to the old me. That's the way this all started. So it's fitting."
Homura reaches over, picking up the one of Madokami, getting a closer look at it. "If I was sleeping in only one room, I'd put this in it. Maybe I'll put it in one anyways." She sets it down, and picks up the one of Madoka in her school uniform. "You're always so cute. Maybe this one could be in the dance room?"
Madoka smiles as her worries are assuaged, turning her head a little as Homura shakes her head so she can feel the long dark hair brushing against her cheek. She blinks after a moment, eyes widening slightly as she pulls away just a tiny bit. "T-they wouldn't just show up unannounced! I don't think they would even know where you live." Madoka sounds half like she's defending them and half like it's just occurred to her they could burst through the door any moment.
She calms after a moment, "No, I'm sure if they wanted to come over they'd ask so they wouldn't inconvenience you, and they'd probably want me to know about it too. If you lived with your parents they'd probably want to meet them since we're together so much, but since you don't..."
She quiets down and listens as Homura talks about when her timeloops had usually began. She nods a little in response to specific dates, looking mildly embarrassed at the note of warning her away from making a Wish, peeking down at her ring for a moment. When she quiets Madoka speaks up, "Maybe we should do something on the 30th, to celebrate you not having to fight Walpurgisnacht. We could do something especially fun instead. We -did- have to fight it, but if you wanted we could make this the first 30th that you could look forward to instead of worrying about in a very long time. Maybe a party? Or a dance?" She lifts her hand to her mouth and giggles, "Maybe a Witches' dance? With, um, pointy hats and things?"
She smiles when Homura likes the idea of putting the picture of her in Henshin next to the old picture of herself, and then nods to her girlfriends thoughts on the other two, "That sounds nice. They are yours, so you can put them wherever you like." She blushes as Homura calls her cute while looking at the picture of her, playing coy and hiding her face against the other girl's arm for a moment. "I'm glad you think I'm cute. If there's one person I'd want to think that about me, it's you."
She tilts her head up just a bit, peeking at Homura from over her own arm, "...I was just thinking how lucky I was to have such a pretty and beautiful girlfriend, too."
Homura's eyes move towards Madoka, but she can't quite look at her from this angle. The comment about her parents surprising her apparently got more of a response than she was expecting. She smiles slightly, before saying, "I don't think they would. They'd want me to have a chance to prepare, in any case. Still, even if they wouldn't, it's something I'd have to consider."
With a smile she wraps her arms tighter around Madoka. "Over the years I've learned to consider even extreme cases, even if they seem like they would never happen. It's just cautious habit, and not a statement about your family. I do wish your parents could meet mine. Maybe if they come into town some day."
Homura considers. Something on the 30th? To celebrate not fighting Walpurgisnacht? It... it's something to celebrate, for sure. "I'd like that a lot. I don't know what we'd do, but I'd like to do something with you at least. Maybe invite some others, too. I don't know. It might not be as significant to them, but dances tend to have a huge turnout anyways, right?"
Homura giggles, and kisses Madoka on the cheek. "I do think that about you. I always did. I always thought you were kind, and sweet, and cute, and... and... so very brave."
She sets the school uniform picture down with the others, and that arm joins the other in wrapping around Madoka. "I'm the one who's lucky. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Madoka-chan. Getting to be with you... I couldn't imagine anything better."
Madoka gives a little shake of her head, "I don't think you were, that's... just not something I'd considered before! I guess I hadn't ever thought of them -needing- to surprise me before." She blushes softly as she cuddles closer to Homura as she's hugged tighter, "I don't think we do anything bad, and they already know we're very close." Homura can feel her shaking a moment before she can her laughing, "But it would still be really embarrassing if they did show up and we were kissing a lot!"
The suggestion of doing something nice seems to be taken well, and Madoka smiles brightly. "Let's do that, then! Whether it's just you and me or something we bring other people to, I think it'd be nice to make it a very happy day for you." The kiss on the cheek makes Madoka smile, and she lets out a soft cooing sound as the sweet compliments are given to her. "Thank you... You're so sweet to me. It always makes me want to be sweet right back."
When the picture is set down she shifts, turning and drawing her legs up onto the couch before stretching out, leaning more heavily on Homura to try and draw her down to lay down next to her. It -is- the cuddle couch, after all. "We're both lucky to have each other. Finding someone who can care about me as much as I care about them... that has to be the best thing that could happen to me, too."