Madokaloupe

    It was the middle of the day when Madoka called Homura, asking if she could come over and visit at her house. Homura had spent some time in Madoka's, or her room at least, and so it only made sense to go see where her friend lived as well. The directions she got were incredibly easy to understand, enough so that she didn't even need to write them down. After a tiny bit of preparation she set out

    The walk over was uneventful, not a guarantee where Madoka was concerned, and before too long she was standing in front of the doors to Homura's home. She had to go back over the directions in her mind to make sure she didn't get lost. The location itself was so cool!

    Madoka reaches out and knocks on the door, sure to knock fairly hard in case Homura isn't near it. A few moments later she realizes to her embarrassment there's probably a doorbell of some kind. She'll try it if she's waiting more than a minute.

    Madoka is wearing a red dress with a red bow at her collarbone with a white stripe on its pleated skirt, an inch or two above the yellow banded hem. For a bit of extra warmth she's put on but not buttoned up a white jacket, not seeming to mind the cold. She waits with her hands held behind her back, rocking a little on her feet in excitement. There's a plastic bag in her hands, a normal shopping bag, but inside it is a carefully wrapped box.

Homura's apartment is not too different from how Madoka would've seen it before in previous timelines, if she actually remembered it. White carpet, white walls, giant computer screen displaying a large pendulum as a screensaver. Several curved couches make circles that surround a small table in the middle. Most of the room is very spartan, but there's a bit of new furniture. Mostly a few video game consoles that plug into the giant wall screen. She's got to use that big thing for something, right?

There's a couple of other doors leading in deeper to the apartment, but they're closed for now. There's also signs of a kitchen around the corner, but it seems like most of the apartment is segregated from this one room.

When she hears the knocking, Homura gets up from the couch and walks to the door. She opens, seeing Madoka's beautiful outfit, and looks down at her own... relatively casual wear. Should she have dressed up for this?

Then again, these days 'relatively casual' for Homura is an ironed button-up white shirt and black slacks. Maybe she's okay.

"Madoka-chan, please come in. Make yourself at home." Homura opens the door wider and holds it for Madoka, glancing down at the shopping bag for a moment. "That outfit is really cute, um, if you don't mind me saying."

Homura is quick to close the door behind Madoka once she's inside, not letting the cold in anymore. She walks towards the couches as she says, "You haven't been here yet, have you? Well, welcome to my place. I'm the only one who lives here. My parents are overseas for now."

    Madoka smiles happily when the door opens and she sees Homura. The compliment to her outfit gets a quick glance down to it before sending a second, slightly brighter smile, "Thank you, Homura-chan!" She regards the dark haired girl in her ironed shirt and black slacks for a moment before noting, "You look...classy!" Maybe it's an odd compliment to give a teenage girl, but the dress code of mutual friends can make an impression.

    She steps past Homura and into the main room of the apartment and slips out of her shoes before moving further along, to the table in the center of the room. There's a decided spring in her step, and she peeks around the room a little as she moves to wards its center. The stark whiteness of the room makes it seem even more enormous than it really is. Madoka looks impressed! "Your house is really cool, Homura-chan."

    Once set down she produces the carefully wrapped box that can't be anything other than a gift and pulls it free, setting it on the table before half spinning until she's facing her friend again, leaning forward with an excited smile. "I got you a present!" She had said she was preparing something, but she's acting as if it's a surprise. "Come open it! I really hope you like it, Homura-chan."

    Madoka waits for the other girl to come closer and then ambushes her with a hug, pulling her close for a few moments before picking up the gift and holding it out towards her, "Merry Christmas, Homura-chan!"

Homura looks... classy? Well, that's a lot better than what she was worried about. She actually smiles at that and says, "Thank you." It's not a look that Homura would've worn before this timeline, but... it's something of a professional look, at least. Between Mamoru and her job at WPS, Homura was probably going to wearing clothes like this sooner or later.

She follows after Madoka as the pink-haired girl looks over her home. Seeing Madoka like this is like therapy. Was she crying in the last time she was here, in some other timeline? Homura doesn't remember. It doesn't matter. That's all in the past. Madoka's alive and happy now.

"I'm glad you like it, Madoka-chan."

Homura's purple eyes track Madoka as she goes to the table, setting down a... gift? A present? From Madoka?

Homura walks towards it. She... really wants to see it. Maybe she's greedy, but... she's never been able to have a moment like this before! She walks towards the table, and Madoka's hug ambush catches her.

Homura giggles, turning towards Madoka and throwing her arms around her. "Thank you, Madoka-chan. Merry Christmas." When Madoka hold the gift out to her, Homura has to release her to take the gift into her hands. She carefully starts to undo the wrapping, placing bits of wrapping paper on the table as she does so.

    There is a sense that Madoka wants to explore her friends house and go peek into her room and see what that private space is like. But her desire to see Homura receive and open her gift is so much more.

    The giggling causes Madoka to laugh right alongside her. Even with terrible recent events, the poor sleep she's been getting, and worries she might have Madoka remains able to focus on the good things in life. And being here with one of her best friends, seeing her smile and making her laugh- those are the best things. In many ways it's just as therapeutic for her as it is for Homura- she just needs it a bit less.

    Excitement mounts as the paper is taken off the box, which is itself perhaps undewhelming- simple white cardboard. As the box itself is beginning to be opened she bounces on her heels a little, seemingly just as impatient to give as Homura is to receive; if she looks her way the pink haired girl will nod enthusiastically in encouragment to continue.

    The top of the box is notably cold, which might be the first hint. Inside of it is a bunch of foam packing peanuts around a cylindrical wax paper container. It's pretty easy to guess from there.

    It's an unique ice cream container, one of a kind, cream yellow and with 'Mitakihara's Best' written across the top. The flavor is written in goofy, cartoonish lettering, 'Madokaloupe'.

    Beneath the flavor there are three silly pictures that could only have been hand drawn by Madoka at some point before the container was printed, two little Madoka heads tilted at odd angles with surprised little 'o's for mouths, and a watermelon that likewise sports her distinctive twintails and ribbons; this must be the Madokaloupe itself!

    There is also nutritional information printed on the side that looks to be a rough estimation, but if Homura checks the ingredients it seems to have been made with 'Watermelon, Water, Love, Friendship, and Christmas Magic'.

    "I hope you like it!" Madoka exclaims happily beaming her brightest smile to her friend, unable to contain herself any longer as she lets out a long peal of giggles. When she calms she notes, "I made it myself. Um, I had Papa show me how a few times, but this batch was all me!"

Homura glances towards Madoka, sheepishly smiling at Madoka's encouragement. The cold temperature of the box makes her wonder... What she get that would actually be cold?

Eager to find out, Homura opens it faster, tossing the box aside and pulling out the contents.

Madokaloupe? Oh my god. That is adorable. Homura literally cannot help herself, giggling right along with Madoka. The name alone is getting to her, and she hasn't even studied the rest of it.

"Is this really...?" She looks at the side of the container. Watermelon? Is this the sherbert she was talking about the other day? And the drawings on it, adorable Madoka heads. A part of her strongly wants to keep the container just for those.

"Oh, Madoka-chan. I love it! You really made it yourself? That's amazing! Hey, do you want to split it with me? I can get some bowls out." Homura's heading for the kitchen, welcoming Madoka to follow her. Heck, even just seeing the kitchen means Madoka would've seen more than... most anyone else.

The kitchen, should Madoka choose to follow, is also pretty spartan. Also mostly white. White fridge, white counter, white cupboards, a white door leading to a mostly white pantry... though the things in the pantry are very often not white at all. There are a few splashes of color here and there: shiny handles, a red towel, and the sink is a very typical metal grey.

    Ever since the day they had eaten ice cream together the wheels of fate and time had been drawing closer to this day, whereupon Madoka would deliver unto Homura that for which she had stated her desire: Melon ice cream. Or sherbert, in this case. And with a whole slew of adorable personalized touches!

    "It is!" Madoka replies to the question, still beaming her happy grin to Homura. Her head bobbles up and down when asked about making it herself. "Yep! It's my father's recipe, but I made it. I got a bunch of help from my club making the container, but all made all the designs!" As if anyone else could make drawings quite like those; but she wouldn't know Homura had seen any of her drawings, would she?

    Off towards the kitchen with a happy note of, "I'd love to! And since I have the recipe I can make more for you whenever you want if you decide you like it, Homura-chan." The fact that her friend seems to like her gift so much has put her in an incredibly good mood, her earlier excitement transforming into sustained happiness. "I'm really glad you like it! I put a lot of effort into making it."

    She looks around the kitchen and can no longer put off commenting on the decor. "Everything here is so stark," she notes about the color, "It feels really clean." A moment passes before she adds, "and pure!"

    She might also be seen peeking around the room near the edges of things at floor level. There is supposed to be a second occupant to this apartment despite Homura's parents being away, after all.

Homura could not be happier in a moment like this. She can't remember a time when she was this happy. She opens her utensel drawer and of course she has an ice cream scoop. It actually seems to have some color. It's made of purple plastic, specifically.

She also produces two stainless steel spoons, and some white bowls from her cupboards. She starts scooping out a bowl-full for Madoka, and also scoops out a bowl for herself. The rest of the container is closed and placed in her freezer.

She hands a bowl and spoon to Madoka before starting to eat a bit herself. She has to taste this. After a couple of bites she decides, "It's delicious. Heh. Oh, Madoka-chan. You do the nicest things." There was a time when Homura might've chided Madoka for being too kind... but... she couldn't possibly do that right now.

Homura spends a moment wondering why she feels so weird lately, but... no, forget that. Now is fun times.

Homura looks at the decor as Madoka comments on it, saying, "Yeah... I... kindof like it. I mean, I come here and everything's simple. No distractions. My room's still a mess, though."

Madoka's searching might allow her to find a small black kitten looking at her, studying her from behind one of the previously-closed doors. Homura glances towards Madoka and then towards the cat. "Oh, right. Madoka-chan, that's my cat, Amy. She... well... I may have mentioned her before. I'm not sure I told you the whole story, though."

    Madoka happily accepts the bowl when it is offered to her, holding onto it and waiting for Homura to try it first, since it is her gift. When it's proclaimed to be delicious she quickly takes a bite herself. "It's really good," she comments, sounding somewhat surprised. She actually did make it all by herself- her father watched, but she did all the actual work. So it's surprising everything turned out so well.

    She giggles when she's complimented, shifting slightly on her feet in happy embarrassment. Now that they're eating she has even more time to look around the room. "It is very simple, isn't it? In a good way!" It doesn't exactly feel homey to her? But it does feel safe. And high tech- but wall-monitors will do that.

    Madoka lets out another giggle, this one playful. "I want to see Homura-chan's room," she states in a half-teasingly voice before eating another bite of ice cream. She seeks Homura's eyes and looks at her for a few moments while enjoying her frozen treat. The smile she offers next isn't so hyper as before, but instead sweet. "It's a lot of fun spending time with you, Homura-chan." Even she recognizes this is slightly odd; Homura is often times dour and pessimistic... but somehow that makes the times she's happy and smiling all the more meaningful.

    There's a few more moments of blissful ice cream eating before her eyes fall on the black kitten. Her eyes go sparkly and she crouches down, gently holding hand out towards Amy. If the kitty approaches and doesn't shy away she will find herself showed in affection and petting. "I think you said you rescued her as a stray," the pink haired girl notes.

Homura takes her time eating the ice cream that Madoka made for her. She still can't quite get over the name. She smiling in a way that's... well, it's the kindof smile that one makes when they don't smile often. Their eyes seem to have a bit of sadness even if they aren't sad at that moment, and the smile doesn't seem very wide. Yet as subdued as it might look, for Homura it's an extreme.

When Madoka asks to see her room, Homura shrugs and says, "Alright. It really is a mess though." It doesn't bother her. She's seen Madoka's room, after all. Homura's eyes look at Madoka's as she eats her Christmas present. She smiles and says, "I enjoy the time I spend with you too, Madoka-chan. I've always enjoyed your company."

Amy approaches when bidden, slowly at first, taking a careful cautious step forward. Amy looks up at Homura, who says, "Amy, be nice to Madoka-chan. She's the reason you're still alive, in a way."

Amy pads closer to Madoka, mewing up at her as she's petted. Homura watches the two of them, saying, "Yeah... um... In the timeline I first came from, she was hit by a car. You wished her back to life. Since hearing about that, I guess I... every time I reset time, I'd make it a point to pick her up before the accident happened. Of course, a lot of that's before you asked me to prevent you from making a wish... I didn't really know how bad things were, in those earlier timeloops."

    The subdued nature of the truly happy smile and the sadness that seems ever present in Homura's eyes tempers Madoka's gaze with sympathetic kindness that intermingles with true, simple joy of being with a friend. The perceived sadness in truth only endears Homura to her further; she simply can not help wanting to turn that sadness into happiness. It's in her very nature.

    The response and admitted messiness gets another laugh, "I don't mind if it's messy. A messy room is interesting! Especially when everything else is so neat." The pink haired girl gives a closed eyed smile as she continues eating her ice cream, one of those wonderful warm and fuzzy feelings spreading through her when the enjoyment of her company is stated simply.

    The truth behind Homura's rescue of Amy puts a slight look of shock on Madoka's face, and all at once she scoops the kitten up to cuddle her close to her chest, holding her protectively and showering her with more petting. "Poor kitty!" She rocks her back and forth and then nuzzles her cheek against Amy's fuzzy face. A closer look is given to her and Madoka smiles. "You look happy and healthy now. Homura-chan takes good care of you, doesn't she?"

    Still holding Amy to her she walks up close to Homura, petting the adorable black kitten and turning so Homura can see her and pet her just as easily. "You really are kind to me, Homura-chan. You're not just protecting me, but the things you know I care about." She looks from Amy's face to Homura's and smiles, "Or you just really care very much yourself. I'm happy to have a friend like you- that you're my friend."

Homura reaches out to scratch Amy behind the ears. The little kitten purrs in Madoka's arms. "She always did like you. In any timeline." The comment about protecting not only Madoka, but what she cares about... does she really deserve that kind of praise? ... but... she can't deny it. She'd probably be annoyed by the contradiction that keeps bugging her, but Madoka's here and they're petting Amy together. It's hard to not be happy about that.

"Believe it or not, you've been very kind to me, too. You don't remember it, but... you've even sacrificed yourself for me a couple of times... Something like this is a small favor compared to that. Besides, Amy is important to me, too. She's been my kitten, all this time."

Homura places her (now empty) bowl in the sink, having left little but a small puddle of melted sherbert on the bottom. She turns to Madoka with a smile and hugs her briefly, saying, "I'm glad to have you as a friend, too."

The dark-haired girl walks past Madoka, saying, "I'll show you my room. Just um... watch your step." Homura lets Madoka draw her own conclusions to that as she crosses the living room over to the slightly-ajar door that Amy came from.

Homura opens the door to her room. Everything in there is dark. She turns on a light, and it shows a room that is... a lot less neat. There a few bent metal pipes on the ground that Homura pushes aside with her feet, and various forms of weaponry are mounted on the walls. Not all of the weapons are guns, some are knives or swords. There's even a bent-up golf club. On the ground in the corner is a book titled "Anarchist's Cookbook", plus a thick printed out packet with the title "Hara Hara Tokei".

Her bed is made, consisting of a black frame, blue striped blanket and white pillowcases. Next to her bed is a wooden nightstand, and on top of that stand is a reading lamp and a framed picture of... Who is that? Homura's sister or something?

No, that couldn't be Homura, could it?

The girl in the picture has long black hair like Homura's, but the hair is done up in braids. She wears red-framed glasses, and her eyes, while being much happier than Homura's, are also very lonely.

Homura spends a few moments picking up weapons off the ground and placing them back on the wall. It looks like there might be an ammo crate under her bed. Someone wanted to make sure she was prepared in case a Witch attacked her in her room at night.

    Madoka protectively cuddles the kitten, petting Amy a few times before carefully holding her with one arm while sneaking the last few bites of her ice cream out of her bowl. "I can't imagine not liking her," she replies about the kitten. Then after being told she's sacrificed herself for Homura's sake she looks down at the empty whiteness of the floor and comments, "I can't imagine not liking you, either."

    Not that it would be impossible, but knowing how much Homura has done for her, because of her. That everything she's gone through over a span of time that to Madoka would effectively be her entire life in length was for her sake? Knowing that, Homura would be hard pressed to get Madoka not to like her, or at least be grateful for her.

    She follows through the house and giggles a little as she peeks over Homura's shoulder into the dark room. So different, just by having the light off! The light turns on and it's... not quite what she expected. Perhaps she imagined the arsenal always stayed inside the shield, or maybe that it was simply manifested out of the air like Mami's guns or Kyouko's spear.

    Her stomach knots a bit at seeing all of it. It isn't that it's weapons- Homura is a magical girl and fights dangerous and deadly creatures. No, it's that those weapons are kept where Homura sleeps, the place nearest to her at night. That she would fill the place that is most her own with weapons and ammunition is profoundly sad to Madoka, and very telling of what every day must be like for her, of what the meaning of her life has become. Madoka's room is filled with chairs and stuffed animals and she can't help but think on the contrast.

    "Homura-chan..." she says softly, only for Amy to mew at her so that she resumes petting. She walks around a little and takes it all in, from the multitude of weapons to the books on how to create others. The golf club gets a curious glance, and she leans down to get a close look at the picture.

    It takes her a little bit. Does it say something that she doesn't immediately recognize the girl Homura used to be as the one standing only a few feet from her? Already bent down she gently sets Amy down onto the floor.

    "...you look very cute in braids, Homura-chan." There's a softness to her voice. The moment feels fragile to her, and she treads carefully- and not just because she has to step over weapons to move over to the dark haired girl. She isn't exuberantly happy like she was right after the present she gave was opened, but she also is very far from sad. Most of all she desperately doesn't want to spoil that feeling from earlier. She just wants today, this visit, to remain a wholly good and happy thing.

    Madoka hugs Homura. Gently at first, but then moving her arms more tightly around the other girl's back. Her eyes close and for a while she simply stands there like that. "I haven't had a friend I've felt this close to in years," she whispers softly. She means it- she spent years away from Tokyo and all the people she grew up around. Even after coming back she felt... disconnected. And Homura doesn't seem to ever shy away from her hugs.

    She pulls away a tiny bit and makes a small admission, "I've had a few bad dreams lately..." A small pause and a little peek upwards while her head is still tilted down. "Do you think... I could have a sleep over here tonight?"

    Is Madoka guilt tripping Homura into letting her spend the night?

    Yes, she is.

    But she can't help think that this room full of weapons couldn't use some brightness, and what better brightness can there be than a few happy memories?

"I... could never stop liking you either, Madoka-chan," says Homura. Her head is tilted down, and her hair hides her eyes, "... you've been wonderful, for as long as I've known you. I could never stop liking you. Not after every wonderful thing you've done."

Homura looks back to see Madoka's expression as she enters the room. Well... Homura knew that Madoka didn't like fighting when it wasn't fighting a monster. Homura probably should've guessed that Madoka wouldn't like weapons, either. After all, one symbolizes and enables the other.

Yet... Homura didn't want to lie to her either... and hiding all of this stuff would mean hiding from her. Maybe hiding some things was important at first, but the purple-eyed girl didn't want to do that forever.

When Madoka sees the old picture, Homura watches her reaction to that, too. This is something that Homura is a bit more confident about, because that is what she looked like when Madoka and Homura first became friends. "That picture is from before I became a Puella. Technically, it's from before I went into the hospital for... well, I used to have heart problems. It actually made me pretty physically weak."

"Being in the hospital also messed up my schoolwork. I guess that's why I was so serious about helping friends keep up... catching up was pretty hard." It's not really like Homura to show weakness, but... she also doesn't want to hide it. This is for the sake of honesty. Madoka will either accept it or she wont. Though, for the moment, she seems to be accepting it.

"... becoming a magical girl changed all of that, actually. I was able to use my Soul Gem to fix my eyesight and my heart. Better even than what the doctors could ever do. As for the braids, well... I'm not sure why I stopped wearing them. I guess I just felt like I didn't have time to keep them up. ... and honestly, well... I'm anything but behind on my studies now. I guess things have changed a lot for me, since then."

Homura reaches up to her head, slipping her fingers under her hair. Instead of flipping, she pulls out her long, curled black locks. "I had that hair style for so long that my hair is still kindof shaped by it. The way it's curled like this, and the fact that it parts in the back, are both because I had my hair in braids for so long." After the demonstration, Homura lets her hair drop.

When Madoka moves in for a hug, Homura accepts it, taking Madoka into her own arms. She rests her head against Madoka's, and holds her close. Madoka's whisper causes Homura to hold her that much tighter. "I'm glad to have you this close, Madoka-chan."

Homura leans away to look at Madoka at the confession of having bad dreams. When she asks to stay over, Homura smiles, "Okay, sure. Despite all the weapons here, it's... actually a pretty safe room. Once the floors are clean." Yeah, Homura would keep the room safe since she, you know, sleeps here.

"... I've been having some bad dreams, too. Strange ones. I guess we're having some rough nights, huh?" She keeps holding Madoka like this, for as long as the pink-haired girl will let her. "I think I'd be happier, though, with you here."

    "Then let's keep being good friends, Homura-chan!" Madoka replies with a smile. It's an easy conclusion to come to when they've both just said they'd keep liking each other. It is a little odd for Madoka to hear about 'every' wonderful thing she's done, because from her perspective most of them never happened. But there are things she's done over these past several months that she's proud of, and she can only find hearing such things disconcerting for so long when they come up so often.

    So if she finds it odd it's easily overshadowed by being happy Homura is willing to share it with her. Both that and many other things- she feels like the other girl really is opening up to her today, and that makes her happy.

    "Catching up is hard," Madoka agrees, having had a bit of experience with that herself. Madoka looks at the picture a little more, imagining what Homura might have been like. The loneliness in those eyes tells part of the story, but that can't be all of it.

    "It sounds like you've changed a lot, and grown a lot since you became a magical girl, Homura-chan," the pink haired girl replies to the story. It could easily sound like Homura is saying she fixed all her problems with magic, but Madoka isn't nearly so naive to think or believe that- not anymore.

    "Your hair is amazing," she says with a little giggle. "All the girls at school wonder what you do to take such good care of it. I've always been a bit too lazy to grow mine out much longer than it is now." She reaches up to give a little tug to some of the longer strands held up by her ribbons.

    Being hugged is the physical embodiment of being cared for and accepted, and Madoka is a very hug happy and friendly person- more than she even usually shows. But when she's very excited and happy it's always right to hugging she goes to express herself to a friend, and Homura would know that best of all, with how many times she's seen it. "So am I, Homura-chan."

    The hug becomes a wiggly one as her request to spend the night is accepted as she giggles happily, twisting playfully side to side for a few moments. Homura's reassurance also makes her laugh a little, "If it wasn't safe in here I don't think you would have let me in, or at least you would have made me wait until you made it safe."

    Homura has had bad dreams too? Madoka awws and rubs her back a little as she stays close. It's far from necessary... but actually she just wants to. "That's why it's important to find what happiness we can," she says softly. It's even more important with what Homura told her the other day about despair darkening a Soul Gem.

    Madoka still doesn't pull away. Actually with Homura staying close she lets out a sigh and settles more comfortably into her arms. "If you'd be happier then I'm staying," Madoka says with a playful laugh, as if it was Homura's idea instead of her own. "I'm really very happy right now, Homura-chan. This might sound strange, because we're friends and it's normal to want to spend time together... but I feel like I've been waiting a very long time to get the chance to have fun with you like this."

"Being a magical girl has changed things for me, yeah," says Homura. She doesn't want to say it in a way that makes it sound like a good thing, but... there's also just the simple facts. Besides, she's already told Madoka about many of the downsides. "I had to learn a lot just to survive. When I first got my powers, it was just stopping time. I had to learn how to make bombs, and when those didn't work out I had to use guns. Of course, simple guns and explosives still need to be enchanted if you want to fight magical enemies. Otherwise you get something like the golf club over there."

One of Homura's arms releases Madoka to point at said golf club, but then moves again to wrap around the pink-eyed girl.

Homura continues to hold Madoka close, smiling. Hearing that Madoka trusts her, that she likes her hair, that she's happy to be with her, and also just the fact that she can hold Madoka like this... it does make her very happy. It's like a need she's felt for a long time is finally being fulfilled, or a pain is finally being lifted. She didn't know how badly she felt it until right now...

The wiggling makes her giggle. She smiles, saying, "Well, you're right, I would've just made you wait outside for a bit, yeah. I would want you to see this, sooner or later."

One comment causes Homura to think. Madoka feels like she's been waiting a very long time for this? Sure, Homura sure has been waiting and she knows it, but... Madoka...? She wouldn't lie about something like that, and Homura doesn't think she'd make that up either, but isn't that impossible?

What if it isn't? What does that mean?

Homura always thought that Madoka would always forget how she felt whenever time reset. It was like resetting their relationship, for Madoka, but not for Homura. It hurt Homura, thinking that Madoka would completely lose all connection to her, that through no fault of either of them they'd always lose their friendhip, but... what if that wasn't true?

Homura's hold tightens for a moment as she thinks about it. If it wasn't true, if those feelings stayed on some level, doesn't that change some things?

"...Maybe it isn't that strange. You were there, in all of those timelines, right along with me... maybe I'm the only one who remembers them, but also... maybe something carried over? I'm not sure how else to explain something like that, really."

Homura shakes her head a bit, causing her hair to move over Madoka's arms. "I take pretty good care of my hair. Most of it is just shampoo, conditioner, and brushing it out... the brushing is probably the most time consuming part, actually."

Homura reaches up behind Madoka, to touch the tips of one of her pink pigtails. "Though, I actually think your hair looks really cute, Madoka-chan. I really love those ribbons, and your pigtails. I like what you've done with it."

    Madoka looks over towards the golf club when it's pointed to. It's all bent up in odd ways that seemingly have something to do with using it as a weapon. ...did Homura use that to fight a witch? Hearing about having to enchant the weapons does clear something up though. For as many dangerous things that have happened to her, why wouldn't she have tried giving one of the multitude of weapons in this room to Madoka so that she could protect herself with it? Needing magic to make it effective neatly explains that.

    Then again, Madoka wouldn't want to ever have to explain to her mother what she was doing with a gun. If anyone could successfully ground someone for life it would Junko Kaname.

    The hug gets tighter, and Madoka responds by squeezing onto Homura tightly. When she mentions something carrying over Madoka makes a thoughtful face. There's something slightly nagging in her mind, but it's like the whisper of a shadow. Then she remembers. "I remember, back when I first met you at school when I transferred in. When you walked with me that first time- I thought you didn't like me." She giggles a little- that seems ridiculous now. "But when you led me by the hand it felt...familiar? Which seemed ridiculous and impossible! So I didn't say anything about it back then."

    She flushes suddenly and shakes her head, "It's probably nothing. Maybe I'm just being silly, remembering something like that." Homura should be the expect on time magic, not her!

    Then on a simpler, happy topic Madoka responds quickly, "We should brush each other's hair! It always feels so nice when Mama brushes mine for me. I know it'll feel just as good if you did." She combs her fingers once or twice through the long hair of Homura's that now covers one of her arms, "It'd be good for me to learn to brush hair like yours, too. Mama's is even shorter than mine."

    The compliment to her hair brings a bright smile to her face, which has Madoka shifting in the hug so she can look up to Homura enough that the slightly taller girl can see it. "Thanks, Homura-chan. I really like my ribbons too. At first I thought they might be a little much but now I think they suit me." She giggles a little, "I don't know if I've just gotten used to them or if I've just grown pretty enough to match!" A definite playful tone in her voice that time.

    "I've tried styling my hair different ways at home when I'm alone, but I always end up thinking pigtails look best on me." That's one more thing about Madoka that has remained a near constant; the twintails and the red ribbons her mother suggested she wear.

    After another moment she takes in a deep breath and then lets it out as a sigh, closing her eyes and resting comfortably in the shared hug. "This is so much better than being upset or worried. I think I'd be happy just falling asleep like this."

Homura ducks her head a little, almost apologetically. "Sometimes, during our first meeting for a timeline, I... try to act like I don't know you, because I don't wanna weird you out, but... I guess I end up doing that anyways. Sorry."

The thought that there was some familiarity there, from Madoka's end... "... honestly I don't know what it means, but I think your feelings are trustworthy. I mean... it's not like they're lying to you. We've interacted a lot. Maybe there's something going on that I don't know about. It wouldn't be the first time."

Homura continues to touch Madoka's hair. "Yeah... we should. It'd be a lot of fun to brush eachother's hair. I think I'd like that. We could try a couple different styles if you wanted, but I admit I like the pigtails a lot, too."

Homura hears Madoka's sigh, and rests her head against Madoka. "Yeah... yeah it is..." At the mention of falling asleep, Homura glances to a nearby clock. It's gotten pretty late. "Yeah, it's pretty late isn't it? Let's just go to sleep."