You want to give her a hug.
You want to hug her, and tell her it'll all work out.
You're half a heartbeat away from stepping forward to catch Homura in a hug before you catch yourself. Not the time.
Instead, you straighten, facing Homura squarely. Homura's gaze remains dipped to the floor, her head slumped forward and her hand wrapping tightly around the ribbon binding you and Mami to the timestop.
"And that's all right," you say, taking a step forward. Seeming to read your motions, Mami follows you without prompting. "It's alright, Homura. This whole situation is... definitely strange. Strange, and there could be something unknown out there messing with us."
Homura senses your motion, her gaze snapping up to you. Her eyes harden, a small, worried frown making its way across her face.
"But that's fine," you say, with gentle emphasis. You meet Homura's eyes fully, confidently. "It's fine to be a little scared and a little uncertain. All this... isn't really something anyone can deal with alone. It's just too much." You shrug, smile fading a little.
It's sort of funny.
You can be
certain about being
uncertain. It makes a weird sort of sense to you, really.
Homura grimaces faintly, but you continue smiling at her, trying to project an air of confidence. "It's a good thing we aren't alone, isn't it? We have each other, and we'll beat whatever this is, together, just like we'll beat Walpurgisnacht and anything else that comes our way." You give Mami a quick half hug, including her, too.
If you're honest, though, you
are somewhat uncertain. A little worried that things are beyond you. Despite your words, there's still that unpleasant little worm of uncertainty gnawing at your gut. And some part of you still wonders about your Barrier. So much
might come of that, and there's so much you don't know. So much to find out, so many ways forward.
Some of that doubt probably shows on your face.
Homura sighs, still watching you. "This is different," she says.
"No," you say. You close the last step, reaching out to put your hand on Homura's shoulder and smile at her. "It isn't. We'll
beat whatever this is together, just like we have everything else so far. And no matter what happens, we'll protect the people we care about, right?"
She flinches slightly at the touch of your hand, but she doesn't pull away entirely. "It isn't so easy," she says, eyes dipping away from yours once again. The spidery shadows of the timestop cast her face in shade, making it hard to see her expression. "It
isn't."
"It won't be," you say. "But we'll face it together."
Mami nods. "Sabrina's right. We'll do this together, Homura."
Violet eyes regard you for a long moment, and she sighs quietly. "Alright," she says. Her mouth twists into a bitter smile for a moment before she looks up at you again. "Alright."
You... want to pull Homura into a hug, but much as it galls you, you don't really think she wants one. Not now. You smile at her instead. "That's the spirit," you say. "We'll do it together. Cheesy as that sounds... we will."
"Together," Mami echoes.
"Anyway..." you say, stepping back, still smiling at Homura. "Anything else?"
Mami shakes her head. "Nothing... Homura?"
The time traveller hesitates for a moment before shaking her head.
"Then I guess we're done here?" you say, inflecting it as a question.
Homura's already reaching for the shield, and she cranks it sharply across. Vibrant colour, fiery oranges and reds of evening, floods across the world. The busy sounds of Mitakihara in the evening wash across your ears, chasing away the oppressive silence of the timestop. You can't help but notice that Homura seems to tense up a little as the sound pours over you, looking around the alleyway carefully.
You send a telepathic message to Mami. "
Do you think we could invite Homura to dinner today?"
"
Of course," Mami agrees.
You look at Homura, smiling again. "Say, Homura," you ask, catching her attention. "Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?"
She blinks at you, taking a moment to consider this. "Yes," she says finally. "That would be... nice."
[] Write-in
=====
The next update should see you through dinner, unless you want to talk to Homura or Mami specifically.
As always, dinner conversational topics are nice.
