Chapter Text
“Have a good day at school, my Homura-chan.”
It was the same as it ever was. Just the two of them, of her, in this isolated room. Waiting before they could act, doing nothing because her humanity had something far more important to attend to.
Leading on the Devil.
Maybe leading on wasn’t the best way to describe it. Maybe calling it long-distance worked better. Not like it mattered much to the Cycle; from her perspective, her humanity was leading that poor woman to an impossible dream either way.
Of being with the pink-haired girl who broke her heart in two. Considering that Homura had done the same to her, although in a very different way, she couldn’t be too upset with her Humanity over that fact.
And of course, Homura still wanted to split her in two again. Which was… less than ideal. Only through many, many concessions could an agreement between herself be made, one which equally applied to the Devil, although she had no choice in being a part of it or not.
Madoka let herself go back to being the Law of Cycles in exchange for Homura’s life.
And phone calls.
And for Homura to still be the devil.
And to force her to contract Magical Girls, which wasn’t even the Cycle’s idea - it was Madoka’s.
And to guarantee that they’d stay together when Homura rejoined the Loc.
And for those photos…
The cycle really did make a lot of concessions. They were necessary, after all. But still… Madoka’s proclivities could get grating. The ones she inherited from the Devil, especially so.
It’s not like she could blame those elements too much, considering she was ultimately Madoka too.
“I need your advice about something,” Madoka said in her seat. “And I want to show you something too.”
The Cycle did not speak. She needed not to.
“Okay, look at this.” Madoka put her phone next to her other half's face, showing a picture of curry that the Devil had sent her. “Do you see the problem with this photo?”
…
“Huh,” Madoka turned the phone around to look at it, seeing that it really was just a photo of curry. “Oh, wait your right; it is just curry. Uhh… Here, this is the photo.”
She swiped a few times until landing on it. The most Inconspicuous photo of someone's chest imaginable. Covered by some pinkish jersey that hid most of whatever the Devil might’ve been trying to show. Her chin was visible in the frame, which was cute enough for Madoka to visibly like. She showed it to her other half, who just looked at it.
“She just sent this to me with the heart emoticon.” Madoka continued. “Do you know what this could mean?” A question that didn’t entirely tell the truth. Madoka had some idea, although it seemed she didn’t want to say it out loud.
Not saying what she meant was another grating element of Madoka Kaname.
…
“Well, I know you're me. But I thought you’d have a better understanding of it.”
The Cycle just turned its head, confused at why her other half would’ve thought that at all. Because really, why would it?
…
“Okay, well, that just leaves one possibility then…” Madoka began. She seemed… apprehensive to say it out loud, yet she knew all the same how likely it was to be true. “Do you think she’s coming on to me?”
???
For once, the Law of Cycles couldn’t properly respond. Hesitation wasn’t the right thing to do, and yet it hesitated. It actually hesitated. To move, to say. Those seemed so impossible for a second. To try would be a misery she couldn’t take.
She didn’t know if she even could. If it wasn’t for Madoka's continued desire to speak, she’d have stayed unable to say or do anything.
Madoka pulled her chair and sat down. Elbow on the small table in the ethereal room the two shared. “I’m probably wrong about that, though.”
!!!
“Well; I know I was the first person she ever loved. We both do.” Madoka mentioned a fact the Cycle preferred to ignore. Madoka was Homura Akemi’s first love. “And I know she still loves me, but there’s no way she’d be coming on to me right now, right? While we are separated.”
Separated… Something that would inevitably end again. Which meant Homura would inevitably end up staying here with the two of them, something Madoka treasured. The feelings she had for her best friend were obvious, most of all to the ones who had to suffer because of that fact.
The Cycle itself.
…
“Are you really asking if I want her to come on to me?” Was all Madoka could say in response. Slight disappointment on her tongue. The slight blush on her face said so much too.
First love was a wonderful thing, wasn’t it? Painful beyond any belief, and yet so beautifully it took everyone. It always did, always would. Madoka was just another person that had taken it headfirst.
“I thought we knew each other better than that, honestly.” Madoka put her phone away and stretched her legs under the table.
…?
“I’m allowed to think you’d know the answer to that question, am I not?” Of course, Madoka would defend asking herself a question that was almost obvious to the both of them. “Regardless…”. Madoka looked up at the small light that shone down on them both. Staring at it as a Moth stares into a flame. “...She probably is right? I mean, I’ve been enabling her if anything.”
…
“Yeah, I guess she is then.”
For a little while there’d be silence. There wasn’t much of a need to speak. There very rarely was. Of course, silence and lack of communication tend to give people ideas.
And Madoka Kaname was one of those people.
“Can you do me another favour?” She asked. Pink eyes looked at the Cycle’s golden hollows. “It won’t require much from you; I just want to recreate that photo. Or, well, give her a similar photo, I guess…”
…
Ultimately, the Cycle would agree. It really was just something small. She could be fine with that.
“Thank you. Ok here.” Madoka passed her phone to her as quickly as she could. “Now, please…”
click
And just like that, a photo was taken. Madoka’s chest. So small and cute and pure. Covered by a T-shirt that was mostly not see-through, which only faintly showed the outline of her bra underneath with absolute certainty. Maybe they should’ve gotten Madoka to wear something else before she took it.
And just like that, Madoka was smiling at it. And just like that, she had sent it to Homura.
First love was a wonderful thing, wasn’t it? That was the feeling of the day. With the two of them saying so much and nothing while being so far away. Maybe it was preferable like this right now, with them far from each other and still hiding certain emotions.
Because when they reunite, which will happen here…
Does it really count if she’s only not dating the Devil to bargain with her in case we meet again prematurely?
The two of them were alive. Maybe that was all that counted in the end. It was life, and they had both chosen to live it. The fact they weren’t dead yet showed that.
Walking without words, no speaking was necessary. Homura’s phone was playing on speaker one of the Western rock songs the two both liked. Then, of course, a notification came up.
A message titled <3 <3. A photo.
From Madoka.
Homura hoped Sayaka could ignore it entirely. Things hadn’t been great for her since… Well, she was certainly Sayaka Miki. And Madoka leaving her behind was new; it was painful in so many ways, too.
Homura would sometimes lend Sayaka the lizard phone for hours on end so that the two could talk. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was the only way for Sayaka and Madoka to at all communicate.
Sayaka was, ultimately, her friend.
Still, Homura needed to check that message. And so she did. And so Sayaka looked over to see what it was.
…
…
“You really are a Devil, Homura.”