With the meeting wrapped up nearly everyone headed home, the notable exceptions being Madoka and the Inquisition, who set about cleaning the place up. Perhaps surprisingly the most difficult part of cleanup was dealing with all the leftover food- plenty of cake got eaten but since the meeting itself was so short the catered brunch food was almost entirely untouched. Madoka started wrapping it up but the others soon helped. What food could be placed into the refrigerator in the kitchen was, some more given to those that wanted it.
Which left a massive amount of food, almost sure to go to waste. That's when Madoka piped up that there must be someone hungry who needs the food, and it didn't take long from there to come up with a homeless shelter that could use it. Soon the Inquisition was off with a rather large care package for some cold, hungry mouths and Madoka was alone in Homura's apartment.
She sat down on one of the couches and looks up at the large screen. She cringes when she looks up- it's still plastered with pictures of various dead Kyoukos. After a minute the cringe turns into a frown and she looks away. She pulls out her cell phone and taps a few messages out to Homura.
TXT from Madoka Kaname: Frost Knight went home. Don't worry, he didn't break anything.
TXT from Madoka Kaname: Your Inquisition friends are taking most of the leftovers and giving it to a good cause. They're good people. I like Laisa-chan.
TXT from Madoka Kaname: I'm going to stay a while... Is it okay if I let Amy out of your room?
TXT from Madoka Kaname: Um, how do I unlock the door?
They're all sent within a short timespan, one after another, except for the last one which is a couple minutes later.
There's no response. "She must be doing something important," Madoka says to herself. Homura did leave abruptly after all. Madoka won't hold that against her.
She sits on the couch for ten more minutes, thinking on both Walpurgisnacht and the verbal fight Homura and Takashi had after the meeting. Eventually she sighs, leaning to the side and letting herself fall over onto the couch before curling her legs up a little. She reaches back behind herself with one arm and finds a pillow, stuffing it beneath her head before curling her arms up to her chest.
She thinks more, letting her mind wander, laying down alone in Homura's house. It occurs to her that she should probably just go home but she doesn't want to, so she stays.
She might look more upset or sad than she actually is, her mouth set into a tiny frown, her eyes open and staring off at nothing in particular, some point of white on Homura's wall amidst a vast sea of others. Really, this is how she gets most of her deep thinking done- she's just usually in her own bed when she does it.
Madoka's texts get no replies. This is pretty unusual because normally Homura would literally murder someone for the chance to talk to Madoka a bit more. The only thing really stopping her is the fact that she actually isn't recieving the messages at all. Hyperspace bubbles have a tendency to do things like that. The benefit is no communication gets through. The downside is that no communication gets through.
Homura is back suddenly, seeing the place all alone. She looks at her phone and sees the texts that Madoka has sent... but since Madoka is literally right there she sees very little need to actually send those texts back. She responds verbally.
"Hi, Madoka-chan. Sorry about that. I had a drunk princess that needed to be looked after and then stuff just dragged on... and then I didn't get your texts because I was in some kind of hyperspace bubble." Homura walks by Madoka and pats her on the shoulder as she passes by, going directly to Homura's room and unlocking the door. Amy meows gratefully as she escapes, plodding over to Madoka nearly immediately.
"Mado-chan, if you ever need to unlock my bedroom door, I usually keep a spare key under the bathroom sink. Just in case it comes up again... and yeah, Laisa is really nice. She really does have a big heart sometimes. Some people get turned off by her gothiness, and when she gets grouchy she gets really grouchy, but she does have a kind heart."
Homura notices the gruesome images she's left on the screen, and frowns. She's made as much of a point as she's going to make with those. It was probably a point that she shouldn't even have made...
It takes her a few seconds to clear the images away. She brings up a picture of a bunny in a tuxedo, and sighs, "I didn't even get a chance to troll Endymion with this." Well, if she had seen him cry, she'd at least have been able to know that he was still the gentle, sensitive type. She'd probably feel less inclined to tease him about it, though.
Finally, after that amount of work, she sits down next to Madoka and Amy. "Listen... I'm... sorry. About what happened. The stuff with Kyouko, the stuff with Frost Knight... I just... I never should've said anything. I felt like he was trying to demonize me and the only thing that came to mind was demonizing him first."
Madoka's eyes turn sideways up towards Homura as she's patted on the shoulder, though for the moment she doesn't say anything or sit up. This changes when Amy comes over, because Madoka can't resist the kitty, pulling the kitten first into her lap and then setting her up on her shoulder, petting her head and shoulders while nuzzling her cheek against her.
"That's alright, Homura-chan," she says after a few moments of uninterrupted kitty time. "I didn't think you'd have left or not messaged me back unless it was something important." She tilts her head a little, "You know a princess? ...and she was drunk?"
Yes, Madoka is now imagining her mother in a fancy princess dress and a tiara.
In truth though there are an awful lot of things about the magical world that Madoka really doesn't have any idea about- the Sailor Senshi and the Moon Princess being one of them. In fact she'd never even knew a Princess was something Mamoru was looking for. Homura had told her that he had 'found his Princess' but that was something she took metaphorically.
She looks over towards the bathroom door as the spare key is mentioned and she smiles a little, "Thanks. I wanted to let Amy out once things calmed down." As much for her own sake as Amy's, which is pretty clear as she holds onto the warm and fuzzy mote of purring happiness that rests against her.
"She seems like a good person. She thought taking the extra food to needy people that were hungry was a great idea- actually I think we might have both thought of it at the same time." It makes Madoka feel a little better that someone with a kind heart will be alongside Homura when they fight.
The bunny in a tuxedo picture shows up on the screen and Madoka is thankful that all the pictures of horror are no longer taking up most of the horizontal viewing space in the room. The actual joke, however, is beyond her. "Endymion?" she repeats softly.
Then the larger elephant in the room is brought up, and Madoka's head tilts downward a little. She shifts a little though so Amy is a bit closer to Homura and easier to pet for the other girl. "I forgive you, Homura-chan. I think maybe you could have considered Kyouko-san's feelings a little more, but I also don't think it was right for her to cause such a scene. Or that other girl with the finger beams. You're doing your best to save an entire city-" she pauses suddenly, looking a way a little.
Because while that is true, it's not the whole story, is it? The reality is even more personal. "You're doing your best to try and save me. After seeing those movies..." all the destruction. The desolation. The magical girls dying left, right and center. "I don't think it's wrong if you to even want to rely on enemies to stop it." But then, when has Madoka ever been against trying to work with anyone towards a common goal?
That isn't even the heaviest thing weighing on her though. Walpurgisnacht is still weeks away at the shortest estimates, and there's something tearing at her heart right here, in the now. "Homura-chan... you don't have to worry about something like that." Madoka lifts her head a little more, looking over towards and meeting purple eyes with pink ones tinged with quiet sadness.
"No one could ever demonize you, to me." A tiny smile, and her eyebrows squeeze together and lift in sympathy. "I know what you've done for me, remember? I trust you. I don't expect you to do everything right, or to have not done bad things in the past. You don't have to be perfect to be my friend." She leans sideways until her shoulder is resting against Homura.
"But I thought... I thought maybe, the way things were going, you two might be able to accept each other. I didn't think you'd like each other, but I wanted to be able to have my two favorite people around me at the same time. I thought we were all having a very good time at the park." A frown sets back upon her face and she shakes her head before squeezing her eyes shut. "I don't want to have to choose between spending time with you, or spending time with Takashi-kun, but now I think I might have to."
"Yup! Sailor Moon is a princess. Moon Princess, no less. Tuxedo Kamen is the Earth Prince. At least I think that's the right terminology. I have no idea what those titles mean or how that all works, but it's very fairytale-esque and I assume it means they should probably make out a lot." Yeah, for all the fear about Homura being jealous of Usagi over Mamoru, Homura actually ships those two.
"... but yeah she was drunk and Kunzite wanted to talk. Mercury came along and we had a private conversation. It was... really weird. It was scary and hopeful at the same time."
Homura reaches over to scratch Amy behind the ears while Madoka is holding her. "I didn't want to endanger Amy. She's so tiny that someone could've stepped on her if things got out of hand. Which they did. Still no reason to keep her cooped up in that one room."
Homura smiles as she starts to talk about Laisa, saying, "... yeah that doesn't surprise me. I'm glad it didn't go to waste. There's no way Amy and I could've eaten all that by ourselves, and I did spend good money on it."
There's a bit of a sad tone to Homura's voice when she explains, "Endymion is what Mamoru-kun calls himself now. I guess it's his evil Dark Kingdom brainwashed name. I don't know why he'd have that name specifically, since as far as I know most of the Shitennou have stone-related names. That's what he introduced himself as, when I ran across him."
Homura then pauses for a long time, letting Madoka finish her thoughts before she speaks. She's afraid of what the other girl would say, though hearing that she's forgiven does give her a bit of relief.
It isn't until she finishes hearing what Madoka has to say that Homura starts getting worried.
"Woah, woah, woah, no, Madoka-chan... No, I don't-- I don't ever want to do that to you! I don't ever want to tell you who you can or can't be friends with, or force you to choose!" Homura actually stands up at this point, rubbing her forehead before turning around. "Look... Look at me. I fight with everyone! I fight with Sayaka, I fight with Kyouko... I was starting to worry that I might have to fight with the Senshi after what Sailor V pulled, but I think what happened after mitigated that."
Homura reaches up with both of her hands and starts to grasp her hair. Being percieved a jerk in Madoka's eyes would've been bad enough, but being an actual jerk to Madoka is-- that's the worst, even during the times she's felt like she had to do that in the past, she never was happy about it.
"I mean... come on. You're still friends with Mami-san, right? Despite our fighting? And Sayaka-san too, right? You don't have to choose..."
Then her arms drop to her side, and she just says, "Look... it's like this. For normal people, for non-magical people, such as most of our classmates, there's a limit to just how far a fight can go, or how important a fight can be. If a fight breaks out between normal people, that's... it's not unheard of, but it's an extreme case. Violence comes with a heft cost, and there's often nothing to fight over that makes the cost worth it, even to the most reckless people."
Then she holds up a hand and sweeps it over the now-empty room, gesturing at the empty space left behind by the people who were there. "... but for us, it's different. For us it's often not just a matter of two girls liking the same boy, and even when it is it's more common to escalate that to violence because we're powerful enough to get away with it and tough enough to take it. Differences between people get amplified because the stakes are higher and it's easier to survive a fight... but they're still just that. Just differences."
Homura places her hands on her hips, and says, "... and frankly, I've fought with Kyouko. I've fought with Mami. I've been in actual battles with those two. I've never actually fought with Frost Knight. It's not even on the same level. It's not life or death. We just don't get along. That's not the end of the world."
"...oh!" comes the surprised response to the talk of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen being princes and princesses. She can't quite put together that Mamoru's girlfriend was Sailor Moon, and thus a moon princess, however. Henshin magic does strange things. "That sounds really sweet and wonderful. I hope things work out for them. He wasn't quite himself... but I was a little glad to actually see him in person myself."
The mention of a drunk princess and a conversation with the enemy, and remembering that it took place in some kind of magic null-zone gets a tiny nod from Madoka, who seems to be trying to process that. Strange.
"I think you made the right choice. I just wanted to pet her some after everyone else was gone," Madoka replies about Ami being locked up in Homura's room. She's listening attentively when Homura talks about the Dark Kingdom and the Shitennou, nodding in response when Mamoru's seemingly chosen name is told to her.
Then when Homura gets up and reacts to her words Madoka reaches a hand out for her, pulling it back slightly when she grabs at her hair. A stab of sympathetic pain hits her in her chest as she watches Homura torture herself over her perceived wrong. A couple times Madoka almost speaks up, only to quiet down, which actually only serves to make her feel worse.
"That's- it's!" Madoka starts when she finally takes one of the openings to speak. Then she lifts her hands and puts them squarely over her face, shaking her head back and forth several times. Amy clings to her shoulder for a moment or two before hopping down and going exploring, probably wanting to stretch her legs after being cooped up.
After several childish moments of Madoka hiding behind her hands she spreads her fingers enough for pink eyes to peek at Homura from between them. Eventually she lowers them- her face is pretty red. And she squirms on her seat on the couch, uncomfortable with herself. "I know that people fight. And-! And I know that those fights can be violent when it's magical people having them. I don't like that, and I think it would always be better if they just tried to talk about it instead."
Her head shakes quickly, enough so to send her twintails softly smacking into her cheeks, "B-but that's not what I meant! I was... being a lot more selfish than you were giving me credit for."
She stands up and takes a few steps closer to Homura, hands held together up by her chest. "I'm sorry I upset you so much, I didn't mean it like that at all," she tells her friend, anguished. "It's just... there's only so much time, and I want to be able to do things with you, but I also want to be able to do things with him. And I thought it would be very nice if I could do them with both of you at the same time, like at the amusement park. All three of us really enjoy ice skating," Madoka notes sadly.
"I didn't think I couldn't be friends with both of you," she mutters. Her head tilts downward and her eyes study the floor, her dropping to her sides. "But tonight made me realize that no matter how hard I try that I probably would never be able to help you two see eye to eye. Even when you both have me in common. Maybe because you both have me in common."
"Maybe I was just being greedy, and selfish..."
Homura's perceiving it as wrong, and she at least thinks that she has a reasonable logic for blaming herself for it. She waits and waits as Madoka presents her case, but she shakes her head. "Selfish? You? I can't believe that. You've been nothing but wonderful. Maybe I could say that you were being very optimistic, but the truth is both of us, myself and Takashi, are lying to you. We're hiding our true feelings on the matter because neither one of us want to look bad, but I think we both know what this is really about."
Homura gnashes her teeth. Her hands tighten into fists. She opens her mouth, and it hangs open for a while before words can come out. "We're fighting over you. That's all it is. It's not life or death. It's just petty." She turns away from Madoka, saying, "We're both just jealous over you. That's every bit as stupid as it sounds."
Homura looks down at the ground, then at Madoka's feet. "... but really... that's not the only time that happened. When Mami and I yelled at each other it was really because we both wanted to be the one to protect you. She tried to give a tactical reason, but really, I know that girl. She's just lonely, and she wants a friend, and who wouldn't want you as a friend?"
She looks up at Madoka, matching her gaze, eyebrows lifted and lips frowing apologetically, "... I'm being a terrible friend when I do that, and I'm sorry. ... but that's really what it's about. I'm so invested in protecting you, and I've been let down so many times, especially by Tomoe-san, that I just find it easier to protect you myself. Sometimes that means angering the other people who also want to protect you."
She glances off to the side, and says, "... and as for the ice skating, well... yeah, it was fun... but the real fun there wasn't ice skating itself. The real fun was spending time with you."
"I don't really know why Takashi-san is so jealous over you... but it's clear that he is. Probably because he's your boyfriend, I don't know. The dark energy might have something to do with it... but then if I was going to blame him for that, then I might as well blame Mamoru-kun or any other person who gets corrupted. I can't fairly do that."
Madoka watches Homura. She sees her worrying, grinding her teeth, not knowing what to say. She watches as she decides to speak the truth, saying things that hurt her to speak.
And the whole time Madoka feels like her heart is being pressed up against a grater and slowly ground away. Homura is blaming herself, and Madoka is blaming herself for Homura's blaming of herself. It feels like an almost endless cycle that she just doesn't know how to get to stop. Much like with the fighting earlier it feels like everything she does is just making it worse.
But this time, she isn't willing to just give up, walk away, and let it take it's course.
Once Homura is done talking Madoka steps closer. Before she even says a word she reaches out and wraps her arms around Homura's shoulders, drawing the taller girl to her and hugging her gently, knowing how unlikely it is that she'd object.
"I know, Homura-chan," she says softly, reaching up a hand to brush at the back of her friends head soothingly. "I -know-." she repeats a bit more loudly, leaning a little as she speaks, trying to put the strength of her emotion into it to try and get her friend to listen, to understand.
"I've always known you were fighting over me. I knew you were trying to make yourselves look better, or make each other look worse. Of course I knew you two would be upset with each other and competing over me, with how my relationship with Takashi-kun started." Madoka wants to lean in and rest against Homura, but she doesn't let herself. Instead she tries to stand a little straighter, and pull her closer to herself. "I knew you two would be upset. But I thought if I just made you two spend time together while around me I could fix things. That's why I said I was selfish... I knew what I was doing."
She gives a small shake of her head, and squeezes her eyes shut. "I never would have done that if I knew it would only hurt you more, Homura-chan. I should have known better than to try."
Madoka takes in a breath and lets it out as a small sigh, "I knew what it was about when you were arguing with Mami-san too, Homura-chan. I knew you two were fighting over who would get to protect me."
She pulls away from Homura only now because she wants to look her in the eyes, "That's what I've been trying to tell you. How can I get you to understand, Homura-chan? I know you care about me so much it scares you. I can see it in your eyes how much it hurts you when you think you've upset me."
Madoka forces herself to smile a little even though she feels more like crying, "I don't think it's stupid if you get jealous. I know you have flaws. But... I don't care about those! You can make mistakes and it won't make me think any less of you. Because you're my best friend. Because I care about you, too, Homura-chan."
Madoka draws closer. Homura stays perfectly still. She wont back away, Madoka knows this by now, but it's a little hard for Homura to want to return the embrace when she feels like she's betraying her friend. She still kindof feels that way, but at least Madoka doesn't seem to think so.
After a moment, Homura does return the hug, loosely wrapping her arms around the back of the slightly shorter girl. There's no resistance when Madoka pulls away to look at her, but Homura doesn't really let go either, letting her arms linger around the other girl.
Her voice is resigned and a little soft. "... I guess we made it pretty obvious, didn't we? Makes me wonder why we'd even bother pretending, if it's so clear... maybe it's just a matter of pride..."
"... no, it's more than that. I just don't want to admit to my flaws in front of him. You? I could own up to every little sin I've ever committed and I'm pretty sure you'd forgive me, but if I even admitted the slightest imperfection to him I feel like he'd just use it to insult me in some way. In the end I guess I just don't trust him as much as I trust you."
Homura looks into Madoka's eyes. Her smile is a sad one, but there's a warmth behind it, just for Madoka. "The fighting didn't hurt me that much. I just don't like seeing you hurt, and I especially don't like being the cause of that hurt. It's true, I care about you. I care a lot about you. I don't think I'll ever stop caring about you."
Homura leans into Madoka in for a moment, giving her a tighter hug, and whispering, "... and maybe you've hurt me before, but I could never blame you for it. You always had the kindest and sweetest of intentions, and I don't think it's wrong to want people to get along. It would be better if we could. Wanting a better world for everyone else isn't selfish. How could I blame you for that? There's nothing you can do to me that I wont forgive you for. I just don't think the problems between myself and Takashi-san can ever be fixed."
She pulls away, smiling at Madoka, still that same sad smile. "I know you care about me, and I know you'll forgive me. I just wish that I could be a better person, so that I wouldn't upset you. You have every right to be upset when I do things like that, and I shouldn't... I guess I don't really know how to act on my feelings. I don't know how to be as unfailingly kind as you are."
A matter of pride? Not being able to admit the slightest imperfection? That's so much like what Takashi told her when they had their first real conversation that Madoka almost laughs. She wants to tell Homura how much the two have in common, but she doesn't think now is a very good time for that.
"I don't like seeing you hurt either, Homura-chan. Especially when you're hurting because of me. I think we both feel the same way about each other like that." Her eyebrows come together again, this time in a slightly worried look. "It really is okay if you upset me a little from time to time. Friends do that. But when you hurt so badly because you think you've upset me it hurts me right back. And then we end up here..."
When Homura leans into her and hugs her Madoka finally allows herself to soak up some comfort for herself, squeezing Homura back. "I don't think I can help wanting to make people work together and stop fighting. Thank you for being so understanding."
Even though she knows it's true Madoka hearing Homura say she cares about her soothes her and makes her feel happy, though it's layered with the worry and sadness of the moment. It does help to put a bit of extra warmth into her smile after Homura pulls away again.
Madoka pulls away reluctantly, but it's okay because hugging less means getting to look her friend in the eyes. "If you want to be a better person there isn't an easy way. You just have to try. It's okay if you fail a little, or even a lot, just so long as you're trying." She reaches down to take one of Homura's hands, squeezing it lightly. "Hearing you say you want to be better is enough to make me happy, Homura-chan."
Madoka then looks away briefly, embarrassed, only to once again meet Homura's eyes. "Um... the other reason I stayed is that I wanted to say something when everything wasn't so hectic. Happy Birthday, Homura-chan." She's a little worried it'll almost sound like a bad thing, after all the sad emotion they've just poured out to each other.
She tries to ignore that, and keeps talking despite it. "I wish I had known so I could have gotten you a present. I don't really have anything for you with me... but is there anything you'd like?"
Homura frowns for a moment, and then smiles again, though her new smile is a bit resigned. "So you really feel that way? If I feel bad for upsetting you, you get hurt? I mean... I shouldn't be surprised, but I didn't really think of it like that before. It's not your fault, though." Homura wonders... should she relax about this? If Homura keeps getting hurt every time Madoka is upset, would Madoka hide her feelings from her?
It might not be obvious what she's thinking, but it's clear that she's thinking of something, with the way her eyes stop focusing on Madoka and start shifting back and forth. After a moment she focuses back on Madoka's eyes. Her eyes are a bit relaxed, and her mouth is somewhere between a smile and a frown. "I'm alright. It's alright. I don't think I could avoid feeling at least a little guilty if I know I've done something wrong, but I guess I could not make such a big deal about it, too."
Of course, saying that is easier than actually doing it. She has a lot of practice at berating herself and not really a lot of practice at not berating herself.
She does smile when Madoka says that there isn't an easy way to become a better person. "Well... when you say that, at least I can feel like I'm failing because it's hard, and not because I'm just bad at it." Though if she's being frank with herself she kindof is. "... but I do want to be a better person. For you, yeah... but even then, you're the one who said I should care about more than one person."
"... but also... I look at Sailor Moon, and I look at other magical girls, real magical girls who fight for ideals and good things... and I just... I have faith in them. I feel like that's the right way to be, not cynical like I am, but like that... and it... wasn't that way before. In other timelines, it didn't even begin to work that way, but now it does and I have to adapt."
Homura trails off, and then blushes as her Birthday is mentioned. "Something I want...? Honestly, I completely forgot what my birthday was. I haven't had one in years." She chuckles as she says that, after the fact, knowing how silly it sounds. "I don't know... what I really want is to spend more time with you. The more good memories we can have together, the happier I'll be I think."
Madoka doesn't want to start hiding her feelings from Homura, and she doesn't Homura to decide she has to hide her feelings from herself either. But even if she did want to, she wouldn't be able to bring herself to lie when asked a direct question. "I don't 'get' hurt, but I do hurt. It isn't always like that, but when you're very hard on yourself it does hurt me sometimes. Especially when it's because you're hard on yourself because of me."
When Homura relaxes a bit it helps Madoka to relax also, which hugging a bit had been able to start towards. She gives a small smile, "I'm not trying to say that feeling a bit guilty is wrong, or bad. I think that's a part of what makes you you." What was it that Homura said before? "You've told me your emotions can be intense... so I'll try to be a little more understanding about them, too."
It wouldn't exactly be fair of Madoka to say she's accepting and willing to overlook faults while at the same time being unwilling to accept any of that self-criticism, would it?
Her smile spreads naturally at the talk of Sailor Moon and the other magical girls. "I have faith in them too. I think that if you were completely cynical you wouldn't be able to see the good in their ideals." Other timelines weren't like that? That makes Madoka wonder a bit. Were they actually different and being idealistic was wrong, or did Homura simply not have enough good examples with the other magical girls not around to provide them?
The blush actually gets a giggle from Madoka, which leads to an honest, sweet smile. "I'm glad you got to see this one, even if it we didn't have a party planned for you." She looks up a bit, "Though there was cake..."
The present that Homura decides upon has her smiling happily, "That's something I know I can get you. There's no reason for us to spend only a little time together. Part of the reason I wanted to smooth things over between you and Takashi-kun was so I that could spend more time with you."
She holds back a giggle just long enough to say, "I also thought your mom sounded really nice... Homhom-chan!"
"I guess the reason why I'm hard on myself is because... I know I need to do better," says Homura. "I've failed so many times before, that I must be doing something wrong. Maybe even a lot of things wrong... At least, I hope that's the case. If there was some lesson I had to learn, and if I could just eventually learn it..."
She trails off. She wants to say, '... then I could save you.', but she doesn't think she can say that without crying. So she just doesn't finish.
Homura smiles a bit sheepishly as the intensity of her emotions is brought up. "Hehehe... well at least now I can feel like I wont scare you if I talk about them. Honestly I was worried about you being there at the meeting once the fight started, but... honestly I'm glad you're here."
The mention of Homura maybe not being as cynical as she said does widen her smile a bit. "I think if I were too cynical, I wouldn't recognize you for the kind person you are. Still... I think I could at least try to see things from another point of view. I have a heavy investment in this timeline, and I don't want to mess it up. What you said the other day was right. I'd never want to lose the time we exchaged our first Christmas presents, or any of our other memories."
Homura then giggles at the mention of cake. "That's right. Mami-san even made them." Her eyes become distant for a bit, before she focuses on Madoka again. "... I always like the time I spend with you. Getting to spend my birthday with you... even if we didn't plan on that, makes me very happy." With a giggle, she adds, "the cakes just made it better!"
At the mention of her mother's nickname for her, Homura sheepishly grins and tilts her head. "Yeah... my mom is quite a character. She's really sweet. I'm surprised she didn't bring up my heart condition considering how rowdy last night was, but I did get treated for that."
"Even if you think you've failed so many times, you did at least make it here, Homura-chan." And having seen those pictures and those videos Madoka now has a better idea of just what kind hardships she's had to go through to do it. Fighting normal witches seems difficult and dangerous enough, but to have faced off against something that cause so much damage many dozens of times? It speaks volumes about her determination to be able to face that down, lose, and continue on so many times.
"It was a little scary at first, because I didn't understand where they were coming from. But now that I do it's..." Madoka looks around a little bit as she searches for the right word before finally settling on, "flattering? In a way." She then laughs nervously a little, "I wasn't too worried since things didn't get too extreme, and I knew many there were looking out for me. Though if things had kept getting worse I probably would have run away."
There's a little nod from Madoka as Homura mentions being open to other points of view. "That's one of the most important parts of getting along with other people, too. If you can understand why they're doing things and what they want sometimes it can help a lot. ...not always, though," she has to admit.
Madoka giggles a little at the mention of Christmas presents and other happy memories and then Homura brings up Mami's cake. Her mouth goes from a small 'o' to a to a larger one, and her eyes widen a bit too. "Homura-chan! Do you have any of the ice cream I made for you left? We have cake Mami made, and maybe ice cream I made. ...maybe it's not too late for a really small celebration!" Her head turns towards the big wall sized screen, and then tilts a bit, "You said you could put movies up on that, right?"
Madoka considers Homura's mother, looking slightly contemplative for a moment when the heart condition is mentioned. "She'd probably be very surprised to see you now," she thinks aloud, remembering the framed picture in Homura's room of herself with red rimmed glasses and braided hair. "...but I think she'd also be happy to see you with good friends!"
Homura smiles, though her gaze drifts away, and her smile fades. "Yeah... but the real test is Walpurgisnacht. Whatever happens, as long as you're safe and alive after that, I'll have gotten further than I ever have before. I wont be able to relax until after that battle."
What would Homura ever do if she could relax? Like really, truly relax? She doesn't even know. There's no point in thinking about it until it happens. She has to focus on the now, and not get lost in flights of fancy.
Homura giggles softly as Madoka says that her feelings are flattering. "Well, that's one way to take them. Personally I think they're well deserved. There are very wonderful sides of you that maybe you haven't seen yet, just like there are very... unsettling sides of certain people that they haven't seen yet. However, just because I'm the only one who has seen it, that doesn't mean they aren't there."
Homura nods as Madoka admits that she would run, saying, "Honestly if it got too bad I would've timestopped and put you into my actually fortified room. You could've hidden with Amy until things blew over."
Homura tilts her head at the mention of understanding others, looking off to the side. "I think... sometimes you understand, and it helps you get along. Other times you understand, and what you see actually makes you dislike the other person. Though I suppose you could argue that's not really 'understanding', then."
The mention of Madokaloupe and cake is brought up, and Homura blinks. "Well... yeah actually I still have some. I guess I enjoyed that present so much that I wanted to savor it. Sharing it with you on my birthday would be wonderful... and yes, that does play movies. Would you like to watch one?"
Homura giggles on the subject of her mother. "Yeah, I used to be really shy, so me having so many friends around probably makes her happy. Even if... not all of those people were friends. Some of them were, so it still counts."
Walpurgisnacht. Yeah, Madoka can't really blame Homura for wanting to keep her edge for a battle like that. "I think that's fair, Homura-chan. I'd be lying if I said seeing those videos didn't make me concerned, but it's also hard to imagine any single thing could stand up to as many people as were here in your house today."
Madoka laughs shyly as the compliments are given to her. She peeks at Homura more than looks at her for a moment, but then turns a bit more serious as she mentions bad sides to people. "The thing is... very few people have sides of them like that without having a reason for them. Kyouko-san's anger, Takashi-kun's pride, Hannah-chan's ambition... they all have reasons for those. That doesn't mean it's good, but to me... I can't really hold it against them."
A fortified room? Madoka wonders what it would actually take to fortify a room against a magical girl. ...she's totally going to ask to see, sometime.
Madoka actually lets out a cheer as Homura says she still has some of the ice cream left. "Yay! It actually makes me really happy you have some left to have on your birthday." She quickly nods her head when Homura answers her question with one of her own, "Sure! If you don't mind spending some time that way."
She peeks about again for a moment before admitting, "Honestly, I think I could really use some time enjoying something without having to think too much and snuggling up on the couch." Yes, she went ahead and just admitted that part of her plan for movie watching. After getting a bit upset earlier she really wants the soothing comfort of being close to a friend.
"It's concerning, yeah," admits Homura. "Especially from my perspective... but that's the plan. Overwhelming firepower is exactly what I hope to bring to bear. If things go well, we might not just get a good ending. We might get a better ending than I ever thought possible. I want so badly for that to be true."
Homura frowns a bit as Madoka talks about some of the darker sides of people she knows. For Kyouko-san, at least, Homura's well aware of the reason. She has some idea about Hannah's reasons, too. "I guess... to an extent I really don't, but at the same time... even though I know for a fact that Kyouko's past is tragic, she's still an enemy that I have to worry about."
With a smile, Homura says, "I'm more than happy to spend time that way." As Madoka outright admits her intent to cuddle, Homura giggles, "I'd love that, too."