The battle was over. Walpurgisnacht had been defeated at a high cost, but defeated nonetheless.
Huge chunks of Tokyo had been burned and smashed to pieces, Mitakihara district most of all. Madoka makes her way home carefully with Homura's hand clasped tightly in her own, both a constant reminder of her presence and an always enjoyable thing to do. The two had carefully moved Tsubasa, or Ame-no-Habakiri as they knew her, to a safe location and then had gone to find somewhere to wind down and relax.
That place ended up being Madoka's house. It had been evacuated like all the others, her family staying in the shelter at least for one night. There would be an official damage assessment once the storm was officially declared clear, but in this case at least it appeared to be mostly unharmed.
Rubble blasted in it's direction littered the yard, some of the windows had been broken, and the garden was probably a total loss, much to Madoka's displeasure. This was all damage, but it was nothing compared to the shattered mess of concrete and water it would have been had Walprugis won out in the end.
Madoka produces the housekey from her pocket and unlocks the front door, leading Homura inside. It's surprisingly homey, after such an intense battle and the visage of shattered skyscrapers. Shockingly so, even. Yes, the broken window means the temperature is a few degrees cooler and more humid than the central heating and air conditioning would otherwise be keeping it at but it's otherwise nearly pristine in it's sameness from how it had been left. Here, at least, there could be some respite from the destruction.
After walking down the entryway Madoka pauses, looking at the big couch in her living room and considering it a moment. "We could sit down here if you like, Homura-chan. ...or we could go up to my room."
She only hesitates on the second part because Homura hadn't been there since the two became girlfriends. It felt... a little different asking a girlfriend up to her room, actually, but not enough that she minded. Firstly because Homura was still very much her best friend, and secondly because hehehehehe.
Homura Akemi was in a daze. The whole way home she just absent-mindedly followed Madoka with whatever she wanted to do. Sure, she would talk if Madoka wanted to talk, and she would respond and be thoughtful in her responses... but there was a certain emotional distance. Like Homura wasn't really there. Like she was sleepwalking the whole time.
Homura, before thinking it through, half-expected to see Madoka's family... at least until it was pointed out that they were in the shelter. Of course they would be, and of course the two of them would be alone in Madoka's house. Well, it wouldn't be the first time that the two of them were alone.
Homura quietly watches as Madoka unlocks the front door, and follows her after she walks in. Going through the front door after showing up at Madoka's window at least twice before seemed weird. It felt like... she was being too obvious, like she was going to get 'caught' sneaking around. Which was a silly thought, all things considered, but she was starting to realize she wasn't quite there.
She doesn't really start to snap out of it until she's looking at Madoka's couch... and needing to decide between that and going to her room. The thought dawned on her, and Homura began to blush, lightly at first, but then her face slowly turned bright red.
Well at least that much blood flowing through her head gets her brain going again.
"U-um... well... either! Either is fine... I mean... I like your room. I don't usually see this part of the house... but..."
She stands there stammering for a bit. She hardly looked like the girl who just stoicly faced down a city-ending Witch and the deaths of three friends. Right now, she was vulnerable, outside her realm of experience, but she still felt safe because she was here with Madoka.
"Would it... bother you? If I stayed the night again? I mean... I know things are different now, but..."
Is she coming on too strongly? Homura really doesn't know how to act in situations like this. She's pretty sure she's making that obvious, too.
The emotional distance wasn't missed by Madoka; something like that would be hard for her to fail to notice after having come so close to Homura. Perhaps if they had never been close at all Madoka would fail to recognize the daze from the usual coldly blank expression, but if that was the case she wouldn't be leading her by the hand to her house, would she?
No, Madoka notices. But... she's okay with it. If it keeps going on she'll start to worry, but for the walk through the city at least if Homura is lost in her own thoughts and emotions, even if they amount to null, it doesn't bother her.
It seems once the question is posed to her she snaps out of it, at least for now, and Madoka gives her a smile as she notices it. The blushing made the smile a little brighter, and when Homura started stammering and blushing even more she blushes a little herself and visibly suppresses a giggle. Is it wrong that seeing her girlfriend get so tongue tied and embarrassed makes her feel happy and excited? That kind of reaction shows just how much Homura cares about her, and that her giddiness is shared. It means she's feeling what Madoka is, and that makes her happy.
The question is posed, and Madoka shifts about on her feet a little. "When you put it like that... Things are different now." She's not exactly stuttering, but the pink haired girls sentences are spoken haltingly. "Maybe I shouldn't be... but I'm happy you asked." She giggles in embarrassment and smiles coyly to Homura, leaning over to brush shoulders with her before walking towards the stairs, and then towards her room. It's colder upstairs; a window up here must be broken, but as she opens the door her room it's clear this isn't where. Her room is at exactly the temperature it should be.
After opening the door she turns around, walking backwards into her room and drawing Homura in after her. Maybe the gesture is a bit much, but she's actually enjoying feeling embarrassed and nervous while blushing at her girlfriend.
Homura mentally curses herself for being so bold. She's in such a different place from Madoka that she really has no context for how Madoka might feel... but... Madoka answers. 'I'm happy you asked.' Homura blushes harder, but she also smiles. As long as Madoka's comfortable with things, then Homura supposes that's all that matters. She ducks her head sheepishly as Madoka brushes shoulders with her, and leans into her lightly.
Homura follows Madoka up to her room. It's... very different, this time around. She's not quite sneaking this time, or tapping on the window in the hopes that Madoka will let her in. Sure, Madoka's parents aren't home, but it's still very different for Homura.
This time, she was invited. She was a guest. She was walking through Madoka's house proper, as damaged as parts of it might be, and walking up stairs and acting like she was supposed to be here.
She feels the chill as she goes upstairs, and wonders for a moment if Madoka's family wouldn't mind some help cleaning up. Homura was pretty strong, after all. She's quickly distracted from that line of thinking as she looks at Madoka inviting her into her room. With a shy smile, she allows herself to be drawn in by her girlfriend. She was nervous, but she wouldn't have it any other way.
Once inside, she takes both of Madoka's into her own, and holds them for a moment, looking deeply into those lovely pink eyes. This was a wonderful moment, in so many ways, and Homura's simply getting lost in it.
So lost, even, that forgets to even say anything. She just stares into those eyes until she giggles, coyly turning her head away, but still keeping her eyes on Madoka. Bashfully, she bends one knee and lifts her heel, twisting her lifted foot against the carpet.
Madoka is very comfortable with things, at least in all the ways that matter. She's uncomfortable in the squirmy nervous way, but she wouldn't have it any other way, either.
It's true that Homura is being led invitingly through Madoka's house. She isn't a sneak here, but a wholly invited guest. True, her parent's aren't here to give their okay to Madoka bringing her girlfriend to her room. But... well, Madoka has had to keep a lot of things from them lately and what's one more?
Offering to help fix things up wouldn't be a bad way of Homura introducing herself to Madoka's family properly. They'd no doubt be happy to have the additional pair of hands to put things back into order and it might show what a helpful and thoughtful girl Homura is, even if she doesn't often think of herself as such. But she clearly is because she's thoughtfully thinking about helping right now. Right? Right.
Homura's nervousness causes more of it to build within Madoka, and she giggles shyly while drawing her in. Lovely pink eyes meet pretty purple ones and she starts to get lost in them, really letting her heart wander as she stands with her girlfriend just inside the thresh hold of her room. She squeezes her hands sweetly, biting her bottom lip a little and looking down a little as Homura turns her head away, her eyes now looking up timidly through her light eyelashes.
It's funny. All the 'rules' say that being awkward and a little insecure are things that will kill romance and make people lose interest. So why is it that when her girlfriend twists her foot against the carpet like that it only makes her heart beat faster? She squeezes the hands that are holding hers again, brushing her thumb over Homura's skin for a moment. And then after another she lightly slides her other fingers over it as well, caressing it softly and for the first time really delighting in how wonderful it is to touch.
Her face turns a little redder as the feeling of the moment seems to build up inside of her, almost in the same way it did as they laid together side by side in the snow.
Then when she can hardly bear it any longer she whispers, "You can kiss me if you wan't to..."
Almost immediately after she shakes her head, "No, that's not right..." Her shy eyes meet Homura's a little more directly and says what she really meant. "/Please/ kiss me."
Now Madoka is the one hoping she wasn't too bold.
Maybe somewhat ironically Homura feels a little guilty about Madoka's house being messed up. It's a silly thought, and if she voiced it she'd realize that. Walpurgisnacht was not in any way her fault, but she knew it was coming. The fact that she knew so much about it gave her a sense of ownership over it... and that's what made it feel like it was her problem somehow.
Her first thought upon feeling the cool was that Madoka's house had a draft and how dare the universe allow such a crime against someone like Madoka? She'd right it immediately except... well... where is she going to find a pane of unbroken glass for that? Assuming it's even a window to begin with. That's what she was thinking about. Plus while Madoka does have a dad, Homura has a level of strength at least somewhat above that of an adult male soldier, at a minimum, and having another able body around is useful when you've got boulders and rubble lying around where they shouldn't be.
'Rules' about romance are always going to be silly because no one can make a single rule that fits every single person. What one person finds woefully offensive, another person openly embraces, and every single potential significant other is a completely different standard that you could be measured by. Though while Homura may seem shy, she actually does show a lot of confidence, and as for being awkward, well, she may hesitate, but she isn't really messing up.
At least, not if Madoka's reaction is any indication.
Homura stares deeply into Madoka's eyes until the moment she mentions kissing. "Kiss you?" It's a sign of how out of it she is that she has to actually ask. When Madoka rephrases it as a request instead of an offer, Homura's eyes change slightly. Her top eyelids drop slightly, and her smile is a lot more confident as she leans in.
"Anything for you, Madoka-chan."
Homura leans closer, closing her eyes, tilting her head, parting her lips slightly as she presses them against Madoka's, sucking on her lips slightly before pressing in more. "Mmm..."
Homura's fingers go between Madoka's, lacing between them before she squeezes those hands. This moment really is too good to be true. Homura isn't sure how to process it. She decides that, for the moment, thinking isn't really necessary.
Tomohisa Kaname is not a soldier. Homura could likely out boulder-remove him quite easily. Of course if the teenage girl were to start tossing around boulders that would probably raise as many questions as it would gain thanks and approval. At least if she did it while they were watching.
If one were to judge Homura's romantic success by basing it off of Madoka's reaction, the result would likely be a rousing success. If you add in the ability to peer into Madoka's mind and see what she's thinking and feeling? That's when the judges hold up the '0' right behind the '10'.
The shyness with which she entered the room was incredibly enticing to Madoka, that sweet nervousness making her anxious in anticipation for something Homura might not even have been intending to project. And when Homura's confidence surges and she looks at Madoka with that half lidded gaze her heart nearly leaps to her chest, her face flushing bright enough that as her girlfriend moves close to her the additional heat can be felt on her cheeks.
Madoka obligingly tilts her head in response, pink eyes closing to give even more of her mind to the sensation of Homura's lips against her own. She had gotten a little tense in anticipation but the kiss has her relaxing almost instantly, her one of her lips suckled between Homura's in a way that draws even more of an embarrassed, happy blush from her.
Her fingers squeeze tightly against Homura's hands after they slide between her own, and as they stand together kissing Madoka lets out her own. There's a very brief moment where Madoka considers that they both might have actually died at the fight against Walpurgisnacht and ended up in heaven together, and in that moment she decides that this kind of heaven is perfectly okay with her.
Then the emotional high of being kissed settles the slightest bit, just enough for her to enjoy the feeling of soft lips against her own on a more physical level, and she tilts her chin up the slightest bit, the action pressing her lips more firmly to her girlfriends while letting out her own, "Mmmm."
Homura probably didn't think out the 'questions' part through. Strength isn't nearly as questionable as having guns, persay, but even considering her outstanding performance record in Infinity's gym class she'd still be freakishly strong for a 14 year old girl. It's not the thing she would've thought about when she only expected to stick around for a month or so.
If Madoka's reacting, then that's all the success that matters. Madoka's already succeeded long ago in Homura's mind and Madoka's recent kindnesses, and really heroisms, only drive that point home further.
Homura takes her time to enjoy the kiss. In this moment, the two of them are happy together, and nothing else matters. It isn't until the peak of her emotion passes that she suddenly crashes. Her eyes open, and she's standing there enjoying herself while her friends are dead, people have died, lives are ruined... How could she be so selfish? Don't her friends deserve to be remembered?
...Her lips hold still for a moment... then she pulls away, looking down at Madoka's floor, still holding her hands. Her smile fades into a frown.
Yeah, they do deserve to be remembered. At the same time, they didn't sacrifice themselves just so people would weep over them. They died so that life could go on for everyone else. Homura doesn't have to convince herself. She knows it's true.
After a moment she looks back at Madoka, her smile returning, eyes a bit apologetic. "Sorry... Today's been hard for me..." She glances down for a moment again, before looking back up at Madoka, leaning in for another long kiss. Madoka's alive, and Homura's alive to enjoy it. How long has she waited for this day? Is she afraid to let herself feel it? To enjoy the moment.
She decides not to be afraid, and gives herself permission to enjoy it. She's with the woman she loves, and things went far better than Homura could've ever thought possible. This is, relatively speaking, a good ending.
Madoka isn't what people would usually call a selfish person, but in this moment perhaps her selfishness surpasses that of Homura's. When her own emotional peak passes the dawning realization for her is that this kissing thing is actually really nice, especially when she'd never thought she'd be doing it with another girl, and that she'd like to keep on kissing. There really isn't much more in her mind than the pure enjoyment of the moment.
But Homura's mind goes to heavier topics; to ruined lives, fallen comrades, and families and friends who will never see those fallen again. At least not with the spark of life they once had.
Homura's lips stop moving and Madoka freezes instantly; she's not so caught up in herself that she doesn't notice the kissing is suddenly not being returned. Her eyes open as Homura pulls away, and as her girlfriend looks to the floor she starts to wonder if she's accidentally done something very wrong, or broken some rule she didn't realize was there.
As Homura looks back to her and the look is apologetic she knows that isn't true. "Homura-chan..." Her head shakes a little, "No, it's okay. I understand. You've been through a lot tod-"
She's stops talking because suddenly Homura's lips are pressed to hers again and she lets out a happy sigh, melting into it. She tries parting her lips and sucking gently as well, having enjoyed getting her lip nibbled on and deciding to do the same for Homura, almost completely inexperienced at kissing other than 'press lips against other lips' but seemingly more than willing to change that fact right now.
As they continue to kiss Madoka lets go of one of Homura's hands, pulling it free so she can reach behind the girl and place it at the small of her back, in order to guide her forward as she steps slowly backwards herself. If they're going to keep kissing, they may as well sit down.
It'd be better than falling over when Madoka eventually forgets to keep standing, happily dizzying as kissing her girlfriend is.
Homura's mind barely registers the fact that Madoka was saying something until she's already well into the kissing. It takes several more moments to realize that she should probably listen to it... but then Madoka seems to want to kiss more, so Homura keeps kissing. They'll have plenty of time for talking, with Walpurgisnacht behind them, and plenty of things to talk about.
When Madoka reaches around behind her, guiding her backwards, Homura cannot help but giggle through the kiss and place her hand on Madoka's shoulder. She pulls her lips back just enough to whisper, "It's like we're dancing," and then her lips go back to Madoka's.
Homura is guided forward, wherever Madoka is guiding her. She happily follows her girlfriend's lead, though she doesn't know where she's being led because her eyes are closed.
This is such a wonderful moment. For once in Homura's life, she is at peace, she is happy, and she doesn't have any encroaching horrors or terrible fates weighing down on her. She isn't the helpless, useless girl with heart problems. She isn't the doomed Puella Magi who might never save her friend. She's someone who, in spite of all suffering, has finally gotten what she wanted and more.
She's going to have a very hard time hating Pluto when she finally meets her. If there was one timeline she'd actually want to be trapped in, it's the one where Madoka is alive and not only her very best friend but also happily kissing her.
It's like waking up after a terrible nightmare, and the longer the affection lasts the more it sinks in to Homura that yes, this is real and yes, this is happening.
Since Madoka's words were meant to sooth and offer comfort she doesn't mind being interrupted with a kiss. Kisses can sooth and comfort as well. It's not only words that she can use to express her happiness at being here with Homura and that she wants the other girl to be just as happy.
At the whisper she giggles, adding a bit of sway to her movements as she steps slowly backwards. Eventually she feels the bed brushing against the back of her legs and she stops. She leans in, pulling Homura close to her with the hand at her back, letting it slide upwards so that her forearm is resting against her before squeezing tightly, embracing in a close hug as well as the kiss.
For months she's wanted to be there for Homura. To make her happy and see her smile. She wanted to ease the burden that was clearly weighing so heavily on her shoulders. The fact that doing so might mean finding a happiness of her own in the process had never crossed her mind. Yet here she is, holding and kissing her, giving her everything she's ever wanted and getting so much back in return for it.
The romantic affection and attraction she now feels has little to do with that other than the personal bond that allowed it to spark into existence in the first place. As giving as Madoka is this is nothing she could ever offer without feeling it honestly. She does feel it though, and knowing it's returned with an intensity she can't yet match, or perhaps even comprehend, fills her with joy. She feels loved, and wanted, and cared for.
Moreover more than any time in her life she's willing to accept that maybe, just maybe, she deserves all of that. That because she's done good things, ignored her selfish desire for selflessness, and given Homura what no previous 'her' ever could that she is worthy of the love being spoken to her now in the language of sweet kisses.
It makes Madoka so happy that she could cry if she let herself, only stopping herself because she'd feel too guilty about the confusion that might bring on. So instead as the pure happiness and love for the girl next to her begins to well up and override the passion she breaks the kiss after many lingering moments, instead leaning her head in to nuzzle her cheek against Homura's.
A moment later she starts pulling away, sitting down on the bed and then scooting back further onto it. She doesn't let go of Homura's hand or remove the hand from her back, trying to insistently pull her on top of the covers next to her so she can wrap her limbs around her, hoping to cling close in a heartfelt embrace.
"Homura-chan," she whispers, "my dear Homura-chan."
Homura is most certainly soothed and comforted. She's been harboring a secret pain for so long, and only recently has that pain become less and less secret. She's been inflicted with it for so long that she's forgotten what it's like to not be in pain, and it's only now, that her suffering is over, that she truly realizes just how horrible things have been, and how much it was that she stood to lose.
Yet, even thinking about it, what she feels isn't sorrow, but relief, and an overflowing joy.
Homura sways with Madoka, giggling all the more for it. Madoka holds her closely, and Homura leans into it, especially as Madoka holds her closely. Homura wraps her arm around Madoka's back, rubbing the back of her shoulders as she continues the kiss.
Madoka has certainly been there for Homura, and as much as Homura wanted to be the one who was there for Madoka, Homura still finds herself leaning on Madoka for support. It's exactly that kindness that Homura fell in love with from the start, and Homura couldn't refuse it if she tried. She needs it, and Madoka is fulfilling that need with gentleness and sweetness.
Homura couldn't ask for more than this, and she'd certainly agree that Madoka deserves whatever Homura could give her and more. Though one might be cautious to note that Homura is capable of going to outright insane lengths for the sake of her loved one.
Madoka breaks from the kiss and nuzzles against her cheek. Homura's eyes open and she realizes where Madoka was leading her. She blushes, despite the fact that she did specifically ask for this. Actually, this is significantly better than she imagined. As Madoka tries to pull her down, Homura happily goes along, lying down next to her as Madoka wraps around her.
Her blushing is even more intense now, and she gulps, but she doesn't hesitate to wrap her arms around Madoka's waist, holding her tightly as she rests with Madoka.
The whispers give her goosebumps, and she smiles. "I love you so much, my cute little angel. My sweet Madoka-chan."