Work Text:
"Homura-chan, I'm so glad I got to see you again!"
"Madoka..."
"I'm going to let Sayaka show you around now, all right?"
"Madoka, wait! Where are you going? You said we'd be together forever."
"We will be! But that doesn't mean you have to be glued to my side. I want you to have other friends too, Homura-chan."
"But—!"
"Don't worry, we'll spend some more time together really soon! I promise!"
"But Madoka—!"
—
The goddess vanished, and with her the starlit void where Homura had just spent such peaceful, happy hours in her embrace. Now she found herself in the otherwise empty audience of a symphony hall, where a full orchestra of spectral musicians played on an enormous, elevated stage. At the conductor's stand floated the witch known as Oktavia von Seckendorf.
Instinctively, Homura reached for her guns, but found that her buckler was empty.
The witch, alerted by the click of her shield, turned to face her. The music stopped, and Oktavia melted into blue goo that resolved itself into the form of a perfectly normal, smiling middle school girl in a navy blue tuxedo complete with coattails.
"Welcome home, Akemi-san," Sayaka said. "Madoka's going to be a lot more fun to be around now that she won't suddenly start pining over you at random moments."
Homura might have blushed at that, if she weren't well over a hundred years old. "You're a witch," she stated instead.
"Of course!" Sayaka grinned. "We're all witches here!" She waved her hand, and the orchestra struck a scare chord. Homura took a step back, and she giggled. "Just kidding! It's really nothing bad. A witch is the mature form of a magical girl, right? There's nothing evil about growing up."
"I see. I do recall you expressing a frankly disturbing sympathy for witches back in my barrier."
"That was about you, dummy!" Sayaka strode toward her and balled her hands on her hips. "I was hoping that maybe I could talk enough sense into you that you wouldn't go completely self-destructive when you figured out the truth. Obviously, that was too much to ask for."
Homura flipped her hair. "You're one to talk about self-destructiveness and not listening to sense."
"I know. Why do you think I cared so much?"
"...Oh." Homura wasn't quite sure what to say to that.
"I know what it's like to hate yourself," Sayaka said, her expression softening. "I don't want any other girl to ever have to feel that way — especially not someone who's taken such good care of Madoka."
"Miki-san, you..." Homura chose her words carefully. "You've always done your best to protect Madoka too, haven't you?"
"Yeah, that's why we were always at odds: half the time, I was trying to protect her from you!"
"Then you remember all the timelines now?" That would make things... complicated.
"Yeah, I do." Sayaka looked at her unflinchingly.
"Then..." Homura took a deep breath. "I suppose I owe you an apology for some of the things I did. No... more than that. I'm sorry for always, always underestimating you. Even just a few minutes ago, I don't think I truly appreciated what a kind heart you have."
Sayaka beamed. "Apology accepted! It's understandable, since you usually didn't see me at my best. And I'm sorry for always being so suspicious of you."
"Apology accepted."
Sayaka held out her hand. "You can call me Sayaka now, by the way!"
After a moment's hesitation, Homura took it. "Then I suppose you'd better call me Homura."
"Friends?"
"If you say so."
Homura half expected Sayaka to get mad. Instead, she just laughed and twirled around, her tuxedo transforming into a halter top and skirt. "Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to listen to some of my compositions, but with an attitude like that, I guess we're not quite there yet. So we're going straight to the karaoke bar."
"There's a karaoke bar?" Just what kind of holy realm was this?
"Of course! It's a great place for girls our age to hang out together."
"Girls your age, perhaps. I am over a hundred years old."
"Get off your high horse. There are girls around here whose true ages can be measured in millennia. You're never too old for karaoke!"
"I am not singing."
"Then you'll just have to put up with listening to me sing for both our turns! Though I bet you'll feel differently after a few drinks."
"There's alcohol?" Homura had stolen alcohol a few times. It was... a more than decent stress reliever.
Sayaka smirked "Ha! I knew it! You're a very bad girl, Homura." Before Homura could respond, she continued, "Just kidding! Everyone here is good. This is Heaven, after all."
The symphony hall around them disappeared, replaced by a club where bouncy pop music played in the background, accompanied by inept vocals. Sayaka, still smiling, remained.
"This is Heaven, after all," Homura repeated, and followed her to the bar.