Chapter Text
“Yo”
Upon opening the door, Sayaka couldn't help but grimace a little, “Ugh…come in…”
Kyoko looked at Sayaka with an aghast face “Wow, I'm hurt Sayaka, is that how much it pains you to see me…” completing the gesture with a dramatic hand to her chest.
“You know that's not what I meant! Just get your ass in here already!”
“Coulda fooled me.” Having decided she'd waited outside for long enough already, she finally entered the house. Kyoko didn't really know what to expect from the Miki household. Maybe a smaller place that had a bit of a mess? That seemed to fit Sayaka's personality pretty well. However, actually seeing it now, she couldn't have been more wrong. She saw a spotless kitchen with appliances that couldn't have been more than a year old, a living room with a massive sofa, and a dining room with a pristine wooden table long enough to sit at least 8 people. All that alone was more than Kyoko ever had and she couldn't even see where the bedrooms were.
“Damn Sayaka, didn't realize I was friends with a rich girl!”
“Huh? I don't really think I'm that well off…Hitomi's vacation home is bigger than this.”
Kyoko smirked with fake offense, “You think this place should be BIGGER? So greedy…”
An exasperated look crossed Sayaka's face, “Are we gonna study or are you just gonna tease me all day…”
“Who says we can't do both? Anyways, where's your room?”
“Its upsta-”
“YOU HAVE AN UPSTAIRS?” Kyoko said in genuine shock.
Sayaka slightly jumped at Kyoko's loud yell, “Y-Yeah?? It's not that crazy is it?”
Kyoko crossed her arms, feigning disappointment, “You have a seriously skewed view of money if you think that. Next thing you're gonna tell me is that you have a grand piano somewhere around here.”
Sayaka blushed, meekly saying, “well…not exactly a piano...”
“Are you shitting me Sayaka? Are you saying I coulda been making you pay for all of our meals???”
Sayaka's face grew even redder “I AM NOT THAT RICH! It's just a shitty keyboard I found cheap online!”
Kyoko's grin grew even wider as she threw her arms up, “Sure it is! And this is just a shitty house you found online right?”
“I DIDN'T EVEN BUY THIS PLACE!”
Kyoko watched as Sayaka's face got redder and redder. It was even starting to match the shade of Kyoko's hair!
“Wow, and you're living off daddy's money? Won't you give some charity to a poor girl like me?”
Sayaka seriously thought she might punch Kyoko right here, but in a battle of restraint reluctantly turned around to head towards the staircase, yelling behind her,“ARE WE GOING TO STUDY OR NOT!”
“Whatever you say nepo baby!”
Kyoko could see the urge to slap her across the face with every additional tease and she was loving every second of it. She got along with the others just fine, but none of them gave her reactions like Sayaka. If she tried this with them she'd either get scolded by Mami, calm humility from Pinky, or cold indifference from Homura. Which in of itself wasn’t a problem, but Sayaka had one thing on all of them…
Kyoko could barely hear the mumble as Sayaka stormed up the stairs, “calling me a nepo baby like you aren't mooching off of Mami…”
Sayaka fought back. Why would Kyoko ever want to stay cooped up in Mami's apartment when she could do this instead?
After spending a year on the street, and half a year up in Mami's apartment, being able to have friendly banter like this was a blessing. The Kyoko from a year back would've scoffed at the house and its residents without hesitation. Now though, it just made for great teasing material.
Finally reaching the door to Sayaka's room, she opened it, “Here it is I guess… it really isn't that special.”
Kyoko could see Sayaka bracing herself for a snarky comment, and as much as she would love to oblige, studying did have to be done less they face the wrath of Mami Tomoe. “Nah, I like it, feels very you.”
“What does that mean?”
Kyoko looked around, spotting that keyboard she was talking about, some manga, a suspiciously clean desk, and various CDs. She turned to look at Sayaka with a soft smile, still seeing the tension that she only held when she talked to Kyoko. But the calm blue hues, posters of musicians, and baseball bat resting on the side of the desk made her feel…
“Safe”
Clearly caught off guard, all of the tension left Sayaka's body as she turned to the side, no doubt to hide her blush. “O-oh, thanks…I didn't-”
“Is that a DIARY?”
“KYOKO DON’T YOU DARE!”
Studying may have to wait.
After what felt like hours, but was more likely just 15 minutes, Sayaka finally convinced Kyoko to stop plundering her room like a pirate and actually study. They sat at opposite ends of the desk and both pulled out their homework. Much to Sayaka's dismay, and the reason for her exasperation when opening the door, she had to do math. She glanced over at Kyoko to see what work she was doing and saw she had spawned in a box of pocky (seriously where did she keep all of that???) and had pulled out her English workbook. Glancing back at her work before Kyoko could notice her staring, she started to look over what she had to do…and instantly wanted to do anything else…what the hell was a quadratic and why did the letters have smaller numbers above them now…this was gonna be a long day…
10 minutes passed and as much as Sayaka wished she could say she got a lot done…it was looking rough. It didn't help when every 10 seconds she'd hear an annoy-
crunch
THAT. An annoying THAT. Kyoko's pocky sounded off in her head like a damn metronome and despite her best efforts kept on distracting her.
“Kyoko I swear if I hear ONE more crunch of that damn pocky I will send it so far up your nose it will give you a makeshift lobotomy!”
“My bad! My bad! But you know I gotta snack on somethin if I'm gonna be studying…”
“SHIT! I knew I forgot something! All of your bullying made me forget the snack platter I prepared! I'll be right back.”
Sayaka started running towards the door before pausing, whipping around and pointing at Kyoko.
“And DON'T look through that diary!”
Kyoko looked back at her, responding with complete insincerity, “Okay~”
Sayaka shook her head but ignored Kyoko's obvious bait, heading down the stairs to the kitchen.
Entering the kitchen, she began to reflect on the anomaly that was Kyoko. She remembered when they first met, at a café where Mami had mentioned introducing “someone she considered family”. When Mami said something like that, she expected someone at least a little mature, but when the redhead walked in behind the senior, the only impression she had was ‘punk’. But Sayaka knew better than to judge from appearances, and tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. However, when Madoka, being the sweetheart she is, got up to introduce herself and ease her in, Kyoko scoffed, slapped Madoka's outreached hand, and said, “I ain't here to make friends short stack.”
A lot of things happened after that. Sayaka called her a bitch, Homura had her arm already halfway through a punching motion, and Mami grabbed Kyoko's shirt hard, pulled her away, and started lecturing her. If Madoka hadn't stopped them, Homura probably would've knocked her out with Sayaka not far behind.
When Mami and Kyoko came back, Mami demanded Kyoko apologize, to which she gave the most half-assed “sorry I guess” Sayaka had ever heard. Again, if Madoka wasn't staring into her soul, she would've finished what Homura started.
They tried to eat, but the tensions were too high. Despite all the effort Mami and Madoka put into conversation starters, everyone was silent until Kyoko finished, stood up, said “Thanks for the food” and walked out, with the same amount of respect she'd walked in with. Before Sayaka could start complaining, Mami interrupted her.
“I know it might be hard, but if you all could cut her some slack, I would appreciate it.”
“And why should I?!”
“She's had a difficult life and doesn't know how to interact with people her age.”
“That doesn't give her an excuse to be an ass!”
“You're right, it doesn't, and I'll work on that with her, but for the time being, try not to let her get under your skin.”
Madoka spoke up, “I'm sure she's a great person if you're friends with her, Mami. Sayaka, I know it might be hard, but give her a chance. And Homura, I know you were trying to protect me, but please don't go around punching people…”
Sayaka and Homura both mumbled, “Whatever” “I'll try”
Mami smiled, “Thank you guys, she really does mean the world to me. Also, I'm trying to get her to transfer into our school soon, so you will all have more opportunities to hopefully get along better.”
Sayaka remembered thinking that there was no way they would ever get along. A punk like that girl just didn't have a place within their group. When Kyoko eventually did transfer in, the first 2 weeks were spent giving side eyes to each other. Even while Madoka and later on Homura started getting closer with her, Sayaka refused to make that effort.
Their second interaction somehow went worse.
Sayaka was walking back home from the mall at night when she spotted Kyoko's red hair by a convenience store. She was looking suspicious, eyes darting back and forth, before she went to an ATM. Sayaka was about to ignore her until she heard a crack and saw that the ATM was busted open. She put two and two together and realized exactly what she was doing. Fury overtook her as she started storming towards the redhead. Kyoko got halfway down an alleyway before Sayaka caught up, grabbed her, and slammed her against a wall.
“Get the fuck off me!”
“I knew there was something wrong with you! I don't know how Mami even associates with a criminal like you!”
Kyoko processed who had grabbed her and looked Sayaka dead in her eyes, “Let. Go. Of. Me”
“Or what huh? You gonna rob me next you p-”
Before Sayaka could finish, she felt a sharp pain in her shin, instinctively letting Kyoko go to grasp it.
“You piss me off. You are EVERYTHING I hate about people.”
Sayaka felt herself get shoved, and already being on one foot, lost her balance, falling over.
“You sit there and look at me like I'm worthless, a villain in your own little make believe world. I'm really trying to see what Mami means when she says you're a good person, but all I see is a girl with a stick so far up her ass that she thinks she's the pinnacle of morality.”
Sayaka winced in pain as she was kicked in the side.
“I'm sure you've never felt real pain like this. I'm sure you wake up in the morning and your first thought isn't ‘how am I going to feed myself today' or ‘where am I going to sleep tonight’”
Another kick.
“I'm sure you have a comfy bed and a fridge filled with fresh food waiting for you everyday. Yet you sit there and judge me like you understand anything. Don't talk to me ever again.”
Sayaka coughed as she heard Kyoko walk off. The pain in her side was fading thanks to the adrenaline pumping through her veins.
“At least I don't steal”
Sayaka staggered to her feet as Kyoko turned around.
“Are you stupid? Have you considered anything outside your own head?”
Kyoko walked up to her. Sayaka tensed up, waiting for another punch or kick. But Kyoko just stood there and stared.
“You aren't worth it. I've dealt with plenty of privileged people in my life and you're no different. If you're as nice as Mami says you are, maybe you'll get it if I spell it out for you. If you had nothing; no family, no food, no home, and no money, how would you survive? You aren't better than me, you're just luckier.”
With that, Kyoko spun around and walked off, leaving Sayaka behind in the alleyway.
Sayaka spent the next few days thinking about what Kyoko had said. She started to actually think about what she had. Every time she opened her wardrobe, she thought about it, about how Kyoko seemed to wear the same clothes and how that might not have been a choice. When her parents would tell her good night, she'd wonder if anyone did that for Kyoko. She saw how Kyoko treated Madoka and Homura now, with the same respect they had given her. Kyoko was right, she was privileged.
But even with that, her pride wouldn't let her apologize. So they were at a stalemate. Even when Kyoko would hang out with the group, they still didn't interact. The group eventually grew tired of their pettiness and made them have an actual conversation.
Sayaka anxiously walked up to Kyoko after school.
“Hey. Can we talk?”
With a stick of pocky in her mouth, she responded, “Sure I guess.”
“I-I want to apologize for that time in the alleyway. You were right. I didn't even try to consider your point of view. And I also want to apologize for acting like I knew better. I've thought about what you said and I didn't realize how much I've taken for granted. But I want to know what happened for you to be this way…”
“I can tell you. It ain't pretty though. This isn't a fairytale or something nice like that. It's cold reality. Follow me.”
Kyoko started to walk off with little fanfare. Sayaka, stunned, started following.
“Where are we going?”
“My old home”
The walk there was mostly silent, sometimes interrupted by the sound of the pocky box. Sayaka didn't know what to think. She had never gone through a lot in her life, Kyoko had made that clear, so she was scared to learn what true survival sounded like. They rounded the corner and came face to face with a decrepit church.
“This is it. My old home.”
“You…you lived in a church?”
“Bet you didn't expect that heh. Yeah, I'm a church girl who breaks into ATMs. Ain't that somethin.”
“But, how'd it come to look like this?”
And so Kyoko told her story. How she had a family. A little sister, a preacher father, and a saintly mother. How they lived in poverty due to the father's teachings. How, one day when she was with Mami, the church burned to the ground, killing her whole family. How she felt cursed and ran away to live on her own. How she had to break into hotels and ATMs just to survive another day. How, after a year of homelessness, she ran into Mami again, who graciously took her in. How being on the streets made her suspicious of other people. When she was done, she looked at Sayaka with not a grin, but a genuine smile.
“You were right about one thing. I don't know how Mami deals with me either. I'm not the same girl I was when we were first friends. I'm selfish and cynical. I live off of her and yet she gives me nothing but kindness. I'm sure you think I'm even more of a criminal than before, and you wouldn't be wrong. But I had to be to survive.”
Sayaka was still processing everything as Kyoko spoke. She was right when she said it wasn't pretty. But one word stuck out to her in her thoughts.
“You're so strong…”
Kyoko looked back shocked, “Huh? Where'd ya get that from? Nah, if I was strong I wouldn't have run away when I did.”
Sayaka shook her head, “No no, you fought every day when you could have given up. You were 13 and living on your own on the streets.” Sayaka thought that Kyoko might be the strongest person she knows. “Im sorry for ever looking down on you. Can we start over?” Sayaka stuck out her hand, “Sayaka Miki.”
Kyoko looked at the hand with a smirk, reaching out to grab it. “Kyoko Sakura.”
From then on, Sayaka started looking at Kyoko differently. She saw strength in every action she did. Even when there were slip ups, like when Sayaka accidentally threw food and Kyoko grabbed her and started yelling at her, she could see that it came from a place of respect, rather than pride. Since then, their group has grown a lot closer, with Kyoko included.
Having finished her recollection and finally grabbing the snack platter, she made her way back upstairs. Most of their recent interactions were just teasing, but Sayaka couldn't complain. It was nice to have someone that could match her snark. She opened the door to her bedroom and peered around to see where Kyoko was, only to find her with her head down asleep.
Sayaka sighed, placed down the platter carefully, and went to shake her awake before pausing. She looked calm. Way calmer than she usually was. Kyoko always exuded this aura of laziness and lack of awareness, but it was clearly a front. It became obvious when you saw how she would lock on to anything in her area. But right now, she was truly unaware. And she looked beautiful. She was already aware that Kyoko was pretty, but now that she had a closer look, it went beyond that. The way her bangs held on her eye lashes, her hands, elegant but calloused, and an assortment of scars on her arms and legs, each telling their own story of perseverance. She admired her for a bit before finally deciding to wake her up.
Sayaka put her hand on Kyoko's head, feeling her hair for a bit, before softly shaking it.
“Gotta wake up sleepyhead, I brought the platter.”
Kyoko shuffled a little, “mmmm two more minutes Mami…”
Sayaka chuckled a little before deciding to get some payback for the teasing earlier. She leaned in towards Kyoko's face until her mouth was next to her cheek, took a deep breath, and blew air directly onto Kyoko's ear.
Kyoko startled awake, tried to grab whoever did that, missed, and then fell out of her seat, “AGH FUCK, YOU ASSHOLE”
Sayaka burst out laughing. She saw through tears in her eyes Kyoko's face get red with embarrassment before she finally got her bearings.
“Bet Mami wouldn't do that!”
Kyoko got up from the floor and vaulted towards Sayaka, “Get over here you idiot!”
Before Sayaka could get out of the way, Kyoko grabbed her on the sides and started tickling her, “Hahahha K-Kyoko s-s-stop HAHAHHA”
“NOT SO FUNNY NOW IS IT”
Sayaka continued squirming as she felt herself unable to breath from laughing so hard, “KY-KYoko I can't BREATHE”
Kyoko granted her mercy after a bit, where Sayaka laid on the ground finally catching her breath. “Totally breath worth it hehehe…”
Kyoko had her hands on her hips as she looked down on Sayaka with a smirk, “Would you like some more?”
“NO NO IM GOOD”
“Thats what I thought.”
Kyoko extended her hand down to help Sayaka up, which she gracefully took, where she felt each and every callous on her hand. Before she had time to process that thought, Kyoko yanked her up with far more strength than Sayaka was ready for, resulting in her being launched straight into Kyoko.
With Sayaka's head on her shoulder, Kyoko laughed, “Damn you are light!”
Sayaka, still out of breath, responded, “Have you considered breath that you're just strong?”
Kyoko started patting her back, “Yeah yeah, wouldn't be the first time you've said that, now can you stop panting in my ear? I think they've had enough Sayaka for today.”
Sayaka bolted off Kyoko's shoulder while bright red, “I was NOT panting!”
Kyoko brushed off her shoulder, sarcastically saying, “Right…” before turning back to the table and seeing the platter, “Now that's what I call a good spread!”
As Kyoko started tearing into the food, Sayaka sat down at the table with her, looking at her homework with boredom. “I don’t wanna start studying again yet. Let's talk about something.”
Kyoko glanced up from the snacks, “Like what?”
Sayaka grinned devilishly, “Like whatever is going on between Madoka and Homura.”
That got Kyoko's attention, “THEY ARE SO IN LOVE”
Sayaka got up and slammed her hands on the table, “SO IT'S NOT JUST ME?”
Kyoko also got up, just as excited by the topic, “Have you seen the way they look at each other?”
They got closer, “Or the way Homura will protect her from anything?”
Closer, “Or the way Pinky finds any excuse to hold her hand?”
Even closer, “OR THE WAY THEY DO EVERYTHING TOGETHER?”
At this point their faces were centimeters apart before Sayaka processed that she could feel Kyoko's breath on her lips. She sat back down, heart beating out of her chest, before adding, “I swear I haven't had Madoka to myself in what feels like months.”
Kyoko fell back in her chair and smirked, “What, feelin jealous?”
Sayaka smiled back at the obvious bait, “Nah, I'm just glad Madoka can be that happy with someone. Plus, I got you, so it's not that big of a deal.”
She went to grab a cracker from the tray before realizing that Kyoko was oddly silent…and still…
She looked up to see a faint blush on Kyoko's face. Confused, Sayaka asked her, “What?”
Kyoko jumped a little, “Huh? Nothing! Let's study a little!”
That wasn't a normal Kyoko reaction, but Sayaka figured she'd figure it out before too long. That being said though…studying…yuck…
Kyoko didn't understand how Sayaka could just say things like that with a straight face. The girl had this way of making Kyoko lower her guard and then hitting her right in the heart. Ever since she took Sayaka to the church, she'd seen her put in so much effort to be more mindful of her actions. Even beforehand, the girl had genuinely thought about what Kyoko had told her and actually changed. Kyoko had seen enough people to know that that was rare. Especially from someone of Sayaka's status. It's hard to understand struggle without going through it, but Sayaka learned for Kyoko.
It was the most loved she'd ever felt.
Sayaka made her feel like she was living again. Not just surviving. Their banter, the casual touches, even the occasional arguments felt so alive. Then she would make comments like that, like they were the only ones that mattered to each other, and could you blame Kyoko for feeling like she's in love?
Kyoko had had crushes before. Or really just one crush. Mami. Before all the shit went down. But back then she rejected the idea. Her father wouldn't approve and definitely not God, so she never acted on it. Flash forward a year and some trauma, and she was living with her. But it wasn't the same. Even with a lot more touches, a lot more vulnerability, and even sleeping in the same bed a lot of nights, Kyoko didn't feel that crush come back. She guessed that the current cynical her just wasn't as entranced by the goodie two shoes anymore.
But with Sayaka it felt different. While as with Mami, she'd feel her heartbeat rise or feel her face get hot, with Sayaka she felt sparks. Like Sayaka was the fuel that kept her soul aflame. When Sayaka had caught her stealing out of that ATM, she wasn't doing it out of necessity like usual, she was doing it because she missed the thrill of living on the run. Being cooped up in Mami's apartment had made her twitchy and impatient. She was used to every day being a rush of anxiety and adrenaline, and to go from that to tranquil school life just didn't work. So she kept breaking into ATMs to try and recapture those feelings. But after becoming friends with Sayaka, those feelings came back whenever they interacted. The sensation of Sayaka's hand in her own beat any ATM.
But at the same time, there was that lingering fear she had as a kid. That she would curse whoever she loved to a cruel death. Every time she reached out to confess, she'd remember the church in flames and the remains of her family. There were nights where she would dream that it was Sayaka or Mami in that church and she'd wake in tears and a hug from Mami. But Sayaka made her want to believe she could have love again.
Kyoko looked up from the workbook she was decidedly not doing and glanced at Sayaka. The girl was hunched over a math textbook with her hands on her head. The look of confusion and anger was admittedly pretty cute, but Kyoko could tell that if she didn't help her now, Sayaka might stab something.
“What are you working on?”
Sayaka glanced up, “Huh? Oh, just some stupid quadratics…seriously why are there tiny numbers now!”
Kyoko seriously prayed for Sayaka's math ability sometimes…
“You mean the exponents?”
Sayaka looked at her in exasperation, “Yes! Why does the graph change so much just cause it's there!”
“Well. If the first number is positive, it looks like a smiley face, cause it's happy! And if the first number is negative, it looks like a frowny face, cause it's sad!”
Sayaka looked at her like she had two heads, “I refuse to believe you came up with that. THE Kyoko Sakura saying smiley face? No way.”
Kyoko laughed, “You got me! Stole that from Mami. But it's accurate, no?”
“I guess…”
Kyoko knew that Sayaka was dying to do anything else right now, so she offered her an out, “Hey, I'm sure you got enough done to satisfy Mami, how bout we arm wrestle?”
Sayaka smirked and instantly put her arm on the table, “You're on!”
Kyoko quickly grasped her hand, relishing in the spark she felt from it, before saying, “You should know that I ain't gonna go easy just cause you're a school girl!”
Sayaka laughed, “Why are you acting like you aren't also a school girl? Also I did some sports when I was younger so I ain't no slouch!”
“On 3!”
“1!”
“2!”
“3!”
Kyoko would be lying if she said she didn't have ulterior motives for this. As their arms fought to gain ground on the other, Kyoko took time to savor the feeling of Sayaka's hand. She treated every moment like this like it would be the last, because in her mind, she knew that she would fuck it up at some point. Sayaka gained a little ground before Kyoko decided to put her all into it, sending Sayaka's arm next by the edge of the table.
“Cmon Sayaka! I know you got more in ya!”
With obvious strain in her voice, she replied, “Shut up!”
What Kyoko didn't know was that Sayaka had the same ulterior motives. She was still trying to win of course, but if she spent a little more brain power on the feeling of Kyoko's rough hands or the sleek muscular tone of her arm, it didn't hurt anybody.
After about 20 seconds of being held in that spot, Sayaka's arm finally gave in, resulting in Kyoko's win.
Sayaka took a breath, “Damn it…”
Meanwhile Kyoko jumped out of her chair and flexed her arm, “This bad boy here is undefeated!”
Sayaka jumped up, preparing to pounce, “I'm not done yet!”
Kyoko got in a battle ready stance, “Oh so we're wrestling now! Bring it!”
Sayaka grabbed Kyoko's arms and started wrangling with her, slowly moving away from the table towards some more open space. Kyoko grabbed her right arm with her own, hitting the pressure point on Sayaka's wrist.
Sayaka let go to grasp it, “Shit that hurt! Where'd you learn that!”
Kyoko didn't hesitate to move forward and grab Sayaka by the waist, pushing her towards the bed, “Don't sweat the small stuff!”
Sayaka let out a small yelp when her head hit the bed before she used her legs to flip Kyoko around. Now on top of her but with no way to gain leverage, she started pulling at Kyoko's arms.
“What the hell is this bear grip you have!”
Kyoko responded by getting up from the bed with Sayaka still on top of her, fully picking her up off her feet, then tossing her back onto the bed.
Kyoko smiled, feeling an ecstasy she couldn't remember feeling, “That's 2-0 me! You gotta keep up!”
Sayaka, still in awe at Kyoko's strength, slowly got up, “Oh so we're keeping score? Let's go then!”
They both moved to grapple the other, arms constantly grabbing at each other, before Sayaka tripped on a bookbag and fell with Kyoko quickly pinning her arms above her head.
As Kyoko went to taunt Sayaka some more, leaning in to say ‘3-0’, Sayaka decided to make one final push, raising her head super fast. The motion caused the two to collide on the lips and immediately recoil in pain.
“OW”
“FUCK”
Sayaka put the back of her hand to her lips and grunted, “That is not how I wanted my first kiss to go…”
Kyoko felt it. This was it
Kyoko started crawling towards Sayaka slowly and with purpose, and in the most seductive voice she could muster, said, “Oh really? Then how did you want it to go?”
By the time her sentence was finished, she was just inches from Sayaka's face.
Sayaka could hear her heartbeat in her ears and could feel the pull to act on it. The way Kyoko was clearly asking for something, the labored breaths they both had, the memory of being pinned down, it all made Sayaka realize something. She was hopelessly in love with Kyoko Sakura
So Sayaka, the impulsive girl she was, acted on a whim. She leaned in even closer, to the point their lips were almost touching and whispered, “Like this”
And their lips met.
When Sayaka's lips met her own, her entire body felt like it had been electrocuted. Kyoko didn't believe in heaven anymore, and she sure as hell didn't think she was going, but if this sliver of it was all she had, she could make due.
Sayaka had learned a lot of things since meeting Kyoko. The biggest though, was to appreciate what you have and to not take it for granted. And what Sayaka had right now was something she would never ever take for granted. So when Sayaka pulled away in an attempt to make sense of the mess that was her mind, and she heard Kyoko whine, she decided that she would grasp at the opportunities presented to her, and if that meant kissing the strongest girl she'd ever met, then so be it.
Kyoko felt heaven be ripped from her grasp and reacted the only way she knew how. Anguish. And then it was back. And it was stronger. And better. And every touch she felt made her feel alive. The hands in her hair massaging her scalp, the soft short tuffs of blue hair in her own fingers. The lips. The lips. It all made her feel like she was on fire. Not like the fires in her nightmares, but the fires of her childhood huddled with her family knowing she was okay.
Sayaka thought she knew what it meant to cherish something. She cherished her family, her favorite music, and her friends. Or so she thought. No, Sayaka would die for this girl. If Kyoko ever called her name, ever asked anything from her, she would give it. There were no other thoughts in her head. Just the same chant. Kyoko. Kyoko. Kyoko
After 5 minutes of craving, they finally separated, not out of want, but out of necessity.
As Sayaka's mind came back to her, she processed something on Kyoko's face. She reached her hand over, caressing it, “Kyoko, you're crying.”
Kyoko put her own hand on top of Sayaka's and sniffed, “S-Sorry, got a bit overwhelmed I guess.”
Now with both hands on her face, Sayaka continued wiping the tears away, and softly spoke, “Are you sure you're okay?”
Kyoko looked in her eyes and confessed, “I don't know, I guess I never thought I'd make it this far. It made me realize I'm out ya know? I don't have to fight every second of the day now. hiccupI made it.”
As Kyoko's tears increased, Sayaka pulled her into as tight of a hug as she could, “You made it. You're so strong. It's over.”
The next several minutes were spent with Kyoko crying tears of relief into Sayaka's shoulders.
“Hey Homura?”
“Yes Madoka?”
“Today is Kyoko and Sayaka's study day, right?”
“If I remember correctly it is.”
“What do you think they're doing?”
Homura thought for a second, “Definitely not studying.”
Madoka giggled, “Probably not.”