It's been a long day at school and Sayaka is glad that classes are over for spring break. Even with summer classes, it's still a lot of work, but the load isnt' quite as heavy. With no homework to toil away with after school for once, Saya decides to head for Kyouko's apartment, not having seen her in a long while after all her extra hours at work.
After a quick walk from school, she arrives at her doorstep, impatiently ringing the bell. Hey, she hadn't seen her at work that day and hadn't bothered to text ahead of time, wanting to surprise her with her attempt at home made cookies!
Well, if Sayaka had checked the conbenie and Kyouko wasn't there, there's a decent chance she's at home- and sure enough, she is. After a few moments, the door opens and Kyouko's red eye appears in the crack, peeking out. She relaxes, then smiles when she sees Sayaka on the other side. "Saya-chan!" There's the sound of a chain being removed (Kyouko's apartment isn't in the worst part of town, but it's still not exactly the best, either) and then the door opens. "C'mon in!"
Kyouko has obviously been relaxing- she's wearing a pair of loose and fuzzy pajama pants with little bunnies on them- not exactly her usual style, but maybe Usagi gave them to her or something, along with a plain t-shirt. "I was gonna call you." She says, as she shuts the door behind Sayaka and turns to face her, giving that lopsided smile of hers. "Sorry I've been so scarce lately.. things've been a bit crazy."
Sayaka smiles warmly upon seeing the other girl. Oh, how she missed her. It seems like forever! "Kyou-chan...Have you been sleeping all day? Oh, I hope you weren't sick and I woke you up? You really do work too hard sometimes..."
She waits impatiently for the red head to open the door before following in, impulsively flinging her arms around her and giving her a tight, warm hug - perhaps longer than usual. Hey, it's really been a while. "I was startin' to miss you, y'know.."
But Saya starts to feel self-conscious as she does often, and pulls away a little, setting down the cookies before they can get squashed, looking back at the other girl thoughtfully, "But seriously, how've you been? I hope you'll enjoy these cookies..Made 'em myself in cooking class today! At least they're not burnt.." She smirks.
"Huh?" Kyouko looks momentarily confused at the mention of sleeping all day, then glances down at her outfit, and chuckles. "Ah.. no. I just.. didn't have to work for once so I was takin' it easy." She says with a shrug. "I'm fine. Healthy, I mean."
Sayaka hugs her, and Kyouko can't help but grin a little bit, wrapping her arms around the other girl and giving her a firm squeeze. "Aw.. I missed you too, Saya-chan. I always do. S'just.. well, I had some stuff to do, and I was workin' a lot.." She had texted, at least, it's not like she had been totally out of communication or anything, but that's not really the same.
Her eyes move to the cookies as Sayaka pulls away from the embrace, and she doesn't hesitake to pick one up and pop it in her mouth. Kyouko really isn't too picky when it comes to food. "Mm!" She chomps. "These are good. I'll consider 'em a late birthday present." She winks, grabbing another cookie and tossing it in her mouth.
Sayaka nods slowly. It's true, they've been texting back and forth quite a bit, although it's not quite teh same as meeting someone you care about in person..Plus, Sayaka's been somewhat busy, doing a few errands for WPS, which would undoubtedly anger Kyouko if she knew. Probably best not to mention that though..
She beams happily as Kyouko compliments her cooking. "Ooh, really? You like it!? I'm so glad! You can keep the whole box if you like! Consider it a present, although I guess there's no special occasion really, except getting to hang out together after a while.."
Walking over to her, she gently tugs on her hand, trying to lead her to the nearby sofa. "C'mon, lets chill out..I'm sure we have lots to catch up on. Or has it really been just long boring hours of work all this time?" With an impish smile, she reaches over and tousles her hair. Saya seems to be in a good mood today.
No, probably best not to mention doing jobs for WPS if Sayaka wants Kyouko to remain in a good mood. Kyouko laughs a little at Sayaka's invitation for her to keep the box. "Well, actually.." She hesitates a moment, then goes on. "Yesterday was my birthday. I kinda actually forgot about it until just now.. I haven't really had anyone to celebrate with the last couple. But.. guess I'm fifteen now. So, you can say they're my birthday present."
She lets herself get tugged by the hand, and flops down on the touch. "Work and.. some other stuff.." She says, looking to one side. "I.. may have been involved in trying to help Mamoru out with a problem he's been having."
Sayaka smiles as she relaxes on the other girl's sofa happy to see her again. But once she mentions her birthday, Saya's eyes widen in shock and surprise. "Woah...Wait, what?! Yesterday was your...? And you never even told me!? How come!? I mean..I could've given you this awesome surprise party with all the trimmings! It would have been so great!"
She sighs, leaning back, looking thoroughly disappointed. "I mean, geez...I feel pretty bad now, I should have totally asked you when your birthday was..." Sayaka pauses when Kyouko mentions a problem and Mamoru, "Eh..? What kinda problem? Anything I can help with?"
Kyouko flinches slightly when Sayaka sounds so upset that she never shared when her birthday was. "Eh heh.." She raises a hand to rub at the back of her neck, looking a bit ashamed. "Well, like I said, the past couple years I ain't had anybody to share it with, an' I guess it just didn't seem important.. I barely even remembered, 'till you gave me the cookies. But I'm glad you did."
After a moment, she lets the arm drop, putting it around Sayaka's shoulders and leaning sideways into the slightly taller blue-haired girl. "Dun feel bad." She says, letting her cheek rest on Sayaka's shoulder. "Means a lot that you woulda thrown a party, anyway."
At the mention of Mamoru's problem, Kyouko doesn't raise her head but she makes a face. "Dude's picked up another alien stalker.. I know, right? How many can one guy have? Anyway.. some guy named Fiore with plant powers. Apparently he was Mamoru's friend as a kid but now he's bein' controlled by somebody or something.. nobody seems to be sure. He's been botherin' Mamoru and he threatened Usagi, so Homura and I tried to take care of him." She sighs. "Didn't really work out though."
Sayaka sighs, looking a little sad for Kyouko. "Geez, that's really harsh. I feel bad. To live for so long on your own..But from now on, you dont have to be lonely anymore..Now you have Mamoru and me..And Kunzite.." She smiles, leaning over, kissing her softly on the cheek as she continues to hug her, wrapping her arms around her waist comfortingly.
"So. Is it too late to celebrate your birthday now? I guess I didnt bring a cake or anything but..Heck, what would you want to do on your birthday? If there was something to make the day a bit more special..?"
Her smile does fade a little when she hears how Kyou-chan tried to help out Mamoru. "Woah, wait..An alien stalker..With plant issues? What planet did he fall down from, and what exactly is controlling him..?"
Kyouko shakes her head slightly, although she blushes just a little at the kiss on her cheek. She leans into Sayaka a bit more, content to be mildly cuddly here where there's nobody to see, at least. "It's not.. I mean, it's just a day, right? Being a Puella, I almost feel like I should be celebrating staying alive another year." It's a harsh truth, but there's humor in her tone, if dry humor.
"This is enough for me." She says after a moment. "Bein' here with you, and having people who would throw me a party, if they could.. s'all I really need. Plus cookies." She stretches to grab another one without having to leave Sayaka's side, and chomps it happily."
As for Mamoru's stalker, she shakes her head. "I dunno, and I dunno. We actually managed to capture him, but.. he got away. He's strong, and he seems obsessed with Mamoru." She sighs. "I guess I should tell you what he looks like, cause he might be pretty mad at me right now, which means if he finds out about us he might go after you." She gives a brief physical description of Fiore. "If you see a guy like that, call me, alright? Don't try to take him on by yourself if you can avoid it. He fought off me, Homura, nii-chan, Mamoru, AND Sailor Jupiter all by himself."
"No.." She shakes her head, "It's more than that. It's celebrating your life and achievements. I think as a Puella, it's especially important to celebrate each and every birthday you might have..Cuz y'never know when it might be your last.." Sayaka pauses on her words, slowly shaking her head and making a face.
"Heey! We shouldn't be talking like that anymore though! I mean, we've got hope now! Madoka will prevent us from becoming witches! Although..I've been hearing rumours lately, that witches have been scarce. That should be a good thing but...I dunno..." She sighs, looking worried for a moment and just snuggles in silence with Kyouko.
She speaks more of this Fiore guy and it's a refreshing change of subject. She nods at the description, trying to memorize it, but her frown only deepends when she hears it is Homura she called on for help and not herself.
"But, why didnt you come to me for help? I'm sure we'd be a better team than you and Homura. Even so, this guy sounds pretty powerful if he can take on so many people on his own.." Sayaka smirks, "Dont worry, I wont try and take him on on my own but..We really need to do some research on this guy, like where he came from, what's controlling him, what his limits are. He couldn't possibly be worse than the many witches we've fought..Could he?"
Kyouko doesn't say anything to Sayaka's words about celebrating her life and her achievements- from her own point of view, she doesn't have much to celebrate on that end. But she also doesn't want to argue about it, so she just lets Sayaka snuggle her in silence for a few moments, enjoying the closeness while she can get it, because as Sayaka said- you never know when it might be too late.
She doesn't say anything about Sayaka's assertion that Madoka will save them- she doesn't believe in perfect solutions, and she knows Madoka's power, wonderous as it is, is far from a guarantee. Mentioning the shortage of Witches though, she nods briefly. "Yeah, I've noticed that too, that there's less of them. I still have a few Grief Seeds, but.." But if she keeps fighting guys like Fiore, it could become a problem sooner rather than later.
As for why she didn't call on Sayaka for help, Kyouko hesitates a moment, clearly trying to figure out how to say it without making Sayaka mad. "It's not.. that I don't think we're a good team, Saya-chan. I do, really. I was just.. afraid you wouldn't.." She clearly struggles for words- Kyouko's trouble with articulating herself coming to the front again. She sits up, and while she doesn't leave Sayaka's arms she leans away slightly, uncomfortable with her own answer. "It was shady business. I'm not afraid to deal in shady business when I have to but I was afraid you wouldn't approve." What with the whole 'Hero of Justice' thing and all.
Sayaka on the other hand, has total faith in Madoka. Sure, it's a tall order, and it's not perfect. Afterall, she cant be there to save *everyone*, but heck, it's something, and something's better than nothing. Actually it's a whole lotta something at that.
"Hmm, but I wonder if it's because Madoka's saving more witches now.." she frowns, trying to figure that one out, hugging Kyouko more tightly as if drawing strength from her closeness. But dammit, that could be an issue. But at the same time, shouldn't they be trying to save witches? But what about the Puella who need witches' grief seeds to survive?
"Ack..this is too complicated! I wonder it..." If maybe WPS would have a possible solution. She bites her lip, still hesitant to tell Kyouko about her plans with WPS.
At least, until she mentions some sorta shady business. And this causes her to frown, even pulling away from Kyouko a bit. "Hey! What do you mean, shady business? You're talking about trying to stop a crazy possessive and possessed alien from trying to hurt a good friend of yours! Did you think I wouldn't understand or that I could be trusted on, to help you, whatever your plan was? Do you really think I don't know what I was getting into, when I got involved in you?"
She's not..Mad. Just a little confused, a little frustrated, perhaps. "Listen, Kyou-chan. I KNOW you're no angel. And maybe that's part of the reason why I like you. A person like you needs a person like me to balance you out. And I trust you, so please just call on me for help next time, okay?" she smiles, a little self-consciously, "Besides, I....Am not totally innocent of shady business, myself.."
Kyouko at least has the good grace to look somewhat ashamed as Sayaka chastises her, saying probably the exact right thing to make Kyouko feel bad about what she's done. "I.. I know, Saya-chan.." She says, looking away, down at her lap, and chewing on her lower lip for a moment. "It's just.. knowin' and doin' are two separate things. It's easy for me to say I know it, but when it's time to act sometimes I'm just... well, I'm afraid I'll do somethin' that'll make you mad, or respect me less, or.."
She sighs, then laughs. "I guess I did that anyway, huh? Ah.. typical. I always screw it up somewhow." She glances sideways at Sayaka.. then slowly eases back against her, until she is leaning fully on the other girl again. "I do trust you, Saya-chan, really. And I know you can help. I'll tell you next time." Only time will tell if she's telling the truth, although she certainly seems to believe she is right now
As Sayaka mentions not being totally innocent herself, Kyouko shoots her a look, perhaps wondering what she's talking about.. but really not wanting to get into an argument right now, she doesn't pursue it for the moment, instead laying her head back down against Sayaka's shoulder. "I think you're right, though." She says, after a moment. "I think you make me a better person, cause you give me a reason to try and do better."
Sayaka bites her lip as she watches Kyouko, her gaze softenning as she takes the other girl's hands into her own, squeezing them lightly. "Thanks. I'd appreciate that. And..Let's not have anymore secrets between us, okay?" she sighs, "I suppose, I shouldn't have even questionned you. I guess it's hard for you to trust people. Although, going to the likes of Homura? It's a little odd, isn't it? I thought you didn't trust her.."
Oh right..It's her birthday. Kyouko doesn't need this right now. She laughs nervously, "Ok. I'm sorry! Let's just forget all that stuff and try and enjoy your belated birthday. At least for today. We can talk about more serious matters..Some other time.."
Letting go of Kyou-chan's hands, Sayaka wraps her arm around the girl's shoulders as she nuzzles against her. Hmm, this is something she's missed. She'll definitely have to admit her own little..Secret at some later time though, cuz she really doesn't want to spoil the moment.
Still, Sayaka cant help but feel a bit guilty about choosing to stand at Miss White's and WPS' side, even after they put some kid in the hospital..Her smile slips a little at that guilty thought, and she falls briefly into prolonged silence..
Kyouko squeezes Sayaka's hands as she takes them. She doesn't say anything to the 'no more secrets' proposal.. maybe she's afraid of making promises she might have to break. But she looks away a bit when Sayaka questions her going to Homura. It's true that she doesn't trust Homura, but she understand Homura, and she knows Homura cares about Mamoru- that's why she went to her. But she doesn't need to go into that right now.
She's unaware of Sayaka's thoughts, and perhaps is just as happy to let silence reign for a moment as Sayaka keeps her close and cuddles against her. This is something she has missed too, something she never imagined she'd have in the first place, and it doesn't need to be filled with words.. just to be. It's the best birthday present she could have gotten.
Right, this isn't the time to worry her. Might as well wait til after her post-birthday. "Heey.." she grins, leaning dangerously close to her lips, almost teasingly so. "Next time your birthday rolls by, I AM allowed to throw a big surprise party, right?" leaning forward, she touches her nose on the tip. "Cuz I loooove orchestrating that sorta stuff!" she grins, nuzzling against her face.
"Annnd..I woldn't half mind if you did the same for me. Of course mine isn't coming up for a while but!" she sighs, "But it's nice that you and Homura are getting along. I haven't seen Madoka and Homu in a while, I suppose soon we'll be hearing wedding bells though, huh?" she chuckles, closing her eyes for a moment thinking about how utterly different their relationship is from her and Kyouko.
"Do you think I'm...Too distant? Sometimes I feel like maybe I wall off too much.."
Kyouko doesn't seem to realize how close Sayaka is to her face for a moment, staring off into space.. but when her eyes do focus, her cheeks redden and she pulls back slightly- not out of discomfort, just out of slightly embarassed startlement.. but then Sayaka touches her nose, and she almost giggles, which is a rarity for Kyouko in and of itself. "Alright.. fine." She says, agreeing to a party next year in response to nuzzling, which it turns out is very persuasive.
Saying that she's 'getting along' with Homura might be a bit of an exaggeration- more like they have a common enemy. At the mention of Homur and Madoka, she just shrugs. "I haven't seen Madoka-chan in ages.. much longer than I hadn't seen you. But I suppose I would have heard if anything had changed with them, so you're probably right."
At the question of being 'too distant', she quickly shakes her head. "Nah.. nah, I said before, Saya-chan. We have to find what's right for us. I dun think either of us is the type to bare our soul quickly or easily but.. I don't think that's a bad thing." She hesitates a moment, then adds, "I like you the way you are. You don't need to do anything different."
Sayaka smirks, "I guess..Mado-chan's right. We're not like them, but I suppose too..Sometimes I try to be the hero and protective all the time, and never really let down my guard.." She sighs, "I'm sorry. Sometimes I feel like a jerk, this is all still..New and..Different, to me, but.."
Saya does smile at Kyou's comments, and chuckles, touching her face gently as she plays with her hair before leaning in for another cuddle. "Thanks, Kyou-chan! That makes me feel good! Dont you ever change either! I like you just the way you are..." with a tired yawn, she's already starting to fall asleep. Hey, it's been a long day at school for her.
"Kyou-chan...Happy Birthday..."