Welcome to my first challenge-to-myself of 2014 – the Month Of Romance.

Those who have known me for a while will know that I deliberately shy away from writing romance, mostly because I'm quite proud of running the Friendship corner almost solo. But I'm a writer, and I want to be a better one, so I'm challenging myself to write in the areas I believe myself to be weakest in, starting with romance.

This is a huge challenge for me. I never write romance full stop. However, for one month only I am going to do my very best to write up some of the pairings I've seen around the fandom... plus some others, because why not mix it up?

Some quick notes:

- I am NOT taking requests. If you want a particular pairing, you can ask me if it shows up, or you can just wait to see if it appears – who knows? I might have your new OTP hiding in my list somewhere!

- No boy appears more than twice as a romantic lead. So if you've seen two chapters with Tsubasa as the focus, he won't show up as part of the main pairing again. He may drift in as a side-character, or part of a secondary pairing in the background, but he won't take the male lead again. I love my minor characters (and my crack pairings), and so I want them to get a good showing.

- I will be focusing on boy/girl relationships only, because I can't write romance at the best of times, let alone yaoi. Sorry.

- At the top of each chapter will be the day, the chapter name and the pairing for the day. Sometimes, however, there will be a single name and a question mark, because some of the stories will be more effective if you do not know the other identity until the end. (I'd love to hear your thought processes in those chapters as you work out who it is!)

- The romances will be set at different times in the relationships. I'll flag it when it's established.

Well, here we go. Hope you enjoy my first attempts. Comments and constructive criticism always welcomed.

Day 1

The Shopping List

(Madoka/Gingka)

She wasn't sure why they'd started doing it. It was a bit silly, if she thought about it. No-one else would really understand.

Milk

Bread

Ice-cream

Three red screwdrivers

She shook her head and unpinned the list from the fridge. Well, at least that one was fairly easy. The memory of hunting down lime-flavoured chocolate still made her shudder sometimes. Maybe the screwdrivers would persuade Gingka to help her put together the new display cabinet for the shop, but she wasn't convinced.

"Gingka! I'm going shopping!" she called up the stairs.

"Okay!" his voice floated back down to her. "I'm going out to practice in the park with Kenta; see you later!"

It had been about two months since they had started this silly game, only a few weeks shorter than Gingka had been living in her house. It wasn't that he didn't want to live with his father – he did, but Ryo had been given a room over his office during the Nemesis Crisis so that he could stay close in case of emergency, and it wasn't big enough for two. Madoka had offered her place almost immediately. Her dad was fine with it, because then he didn't have to worry about his daughter being alone in the house during the days when he had to go to the neighbouring city to run his very successful blade-mechanics training program at the college there. It was win-win for everyone, and Gingka had even insisted on helping out by doing the shopping every other time.

That was where it had begun. Madoka put a piece of paper on the fridge for the various people in the house to write down things that were running out, and Gingka had done exactly that for a couple of weeks before what she was now calling 'the fun request' appeared.

The first had been for a see-through shower-cap, which she had wondered about for a couple of days before discovering that Gingka wasn't wearing the cap, Pegasus was. Or, more precisely, the blade was wrapped up in the shower-cap so that it could stay close to Gingka at all times, even in the bath (since Nemesis, Gingka had been more than a little reluctant to let his beloved blue blade out of his sight).

And so when it came round to his turn to get the shopping, she had jokingly written Powder-puff on the bottom of the list, and went back to her studying. To her astonishment, he had solemnly placed a pale blue powder-puff on her desk the moment that he got back, and managed to keep a straight face for almost ten seconds before both of them collapsed into laughter.

After that, they took turns writing strange, unusual or outright difficult requests on the bottom of the shopping list, and it turned into a game. She normally went for strange foodstuffs – her dad had loved the dumplings she made the day that Gingka spent four hours hunting for suet.

He got his revenge the next time the list went up: forty-nine LED bulbs. It had taken her almost as long to find a shop that sold them as it had taken Gingka to work out where the suet was (he told her later that he'd thought it was a sort of vegetable).

But the powder-puff was still sat on top of her wardrobe.

Not that it mattered. As long as this game went on, she was happy to get things for him, because it made him happy to do it, and Gingka didn't smile as much as he used to.

Madoka had been slightly surprised to find that she missed his smile.

"That took forever to find," Gingka declared, ceremoniously dumping a package of venison sausages in front of her. "What is venison, anyway?"

"Deer," she said absently, attention fixed on getting a sliver of metal out of Fang Leone's fusion wheel. Kyouya had got into a battle with Da Shan when the Chinese team had dropped by for their bi-monthly visit, and it had caused significant damage.

"What, with the horns and the white tails and the... those deer?"

"Yes."

"But... but they're pretty," he protested. She lifted her head to look at him, raising an eyebrow, and he couldn't hold her eyes. "Okay, but this had better taste good."

"It will," she promised. "But that's for Sunday. I'll need to go shopping before then, because someone finished off the mushrooms for lunch today."

"Not me!"

She shook her head. "It was Kenta, actually. He came looking for you. He wants a battle, I think. I told him you'd be along as soon as you got back – he's in the park."

Gingka was almost out of the door before she managed to remind him that the shopping bag was still over his shoulder.

Cinnamon

Rolls

Biscuits

Pineapple rings

Coffee

A green blanket

"Is there a reason it has to be green?"

"Yes."

"Any particular green?"

He glanced up at her from his seat on the sofa, where he'd been talking to Masamune over the webcam. "No. You pick."

She got him one in a green that wouldn't clash too badly with his hair, and on his list she wrote Cardamom and Star anise. She felt like making pastries.

"What do you want for dinner?"

Gingka yawned and glanced sideways at her. "Dunno. Nothing too hot, though."

He had a point. It was the hottest week of the year, and none of the group had the energy to do more than lie on the grass by the river. Tsubasa and Yuu, who had swung by to drop off Libra for a tune-up, were actually in the river, paddling, or just happily floating in the case of Tsubasa.

"We could make some sandwich fillings or something," Kenta suggested, stretching lazily in the heat. "That wouldn't take too much work."

"Mmm," Madoka agreed. "I'd need to go and get some stuff, though – it's my turn, isn't it, Gingka?"

"Yeah." He sounded almost asleep. "Go later, when it's cooler. No point carrying all that stuff in this heat. Stay here."

Madoka wasn't going to argue with that. "What do you guys want on the sandwiches anyway?" she asked, sitting up.

"Stuff?" Benkei said, and Kenta rolled over enough to poke him.

"Don't care," Gingka murmured. "Oh, but if you're writing a list I need to put something on there, don't I?"

"Just tell me. I'm sure I'll remember."

"A pair of warm, fingerless gloves."

"Gloves. In summer." She used her least impressed voice. "You're sure?"

He grinned, a slow, lazy smile that lit up his face and made his eyes sparkle. "Yep."

She shook her head in despair, and lay back down next to him, moving a bit closer to share the shade of the umbrella he'd set up.

"Dad? Can you come with me this week?"

Madoka's father looked over the top of his book at her. "Where to?"

"The shops. Gingka and I have this weird game that we're playing with the shopping lists where we write a silly thing on the bottom of them each time for the other person to get, but I need you to come with me to buy this one."

Her father was immediately on his feet, looking almost angry. "If he wants me to get alcohol, I'll string him up by his hair."

Madoka shook her head very fast. "No, no, no, nothing like that. He just needs a sharp knife."

"A knife?" her father echoed. "Whatever for?"

She shrugged. "No idea. Then again, I asked him for Wensleydale last time and I still haven't thought of something I can use it in."

"Maybe he wants to learn how to cook like you?" he suggested. "He's a smart kid and he likes his food; bet he'd love that."

"I might steal the knife," she admitted. "Our old one is starting to go blunt."

"Well, I'll come along and get it, then," her father said. "Maybe get a spare one for us."

Madoka's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, it's fine," she protested. "There's nothing I can't use the bread knife for." She looked down. "It's not like our shop is getting many customers right now."

Her father leaned down and kissed her on the top of her head. "You're a good girl, Madoka," he said fondly. "But you really don't have to worry about money, not for things that we need."

Again she shook her head. "It's fine, really, Dad. The bread-knife is almost as good as the proper knife was when it was sharp."

He nodded slowly. "Just make sure to tell me if we do need something, Madoka. I won't have my daughter left in need of something just because she thinks our finances can't take it. The shop is always quiet at this time of year – that's why I'm taking on some extra classes at the college. We'll get through this. We always do."

It was her turn to do the shopping again – they'd run out of milk (Kyouya's fault, almost certainly).

"Gingka!" she called. "Anything you need to add to the list?"

"It's already on there," he said, wandering into the kitchen. "But I remembered this morning – we're out of coffee beans, and Tsubasa said he might drop by with Hyoma and Hikaru this week."

"I'll add them, then." She pulled the paper off the fridge, and underneath A piece of leather carefully printed Coffee beans (for Tsubasa). "And what do you need leather for, anyway?"

"A project," he said mysteriously, and if she hadn't known him as well as she did, she might have said he was blushing.

She felt like making a more exotic dessert than usual, so when it was his turn, she put Dragon fruit on the bottom of his list, before hesitating and adding and mulberry juice.

Madoka was down in the basement workshop, giving Sagittario a tune-up, when Gingka bounced down the stairs with a grin on his face. "You got it!" he crowed. "Thank you! Oh, hi, Hikaru, Tsubasa."

"Hey," Hikaru said, waving from her seat on the sofa where she was inputting some tournament data. Tsubasa just glanced up from the book he was reading and then looked down again.

"I can't believe you managed to find one so fast," Gingka continued to Madoka. "I thought you'd have to hunt for ages."

"They're not that rare, Gingka. Any decent craft shop sells them." She had been rather surprised by his request that week – an eyelet punch. Then again, he'd asked for leather the time before, so perhaps his project required it. She'd casually mentioned that she'd like to see this project when it was finished, but he had almost immediately gone silent and wouldn't talk about it. Confusing boy.

"Well, it's brilliant. Oh – I won't be in for dinner, Kyouya wants a battle and Benkei's insisting on burgers afterwards and who am I to say no to burgers when Kyouya's paying?"

She looked up at him, confused. "Why is Kyouya paying?"

"Because the loser is paying, and it definitely won't be me!"

Boys.

"Well, be careful," she said, leaning over Sagittario and working her tiniest brush into the crevices to get all the dust out. "Be back before it gets dark."

"Yes, Madoka."

"And try not to do too much damage? I've already fixed Pegasus twice this month."

"Okay!"

And with that and a clatter of steps, he was out of the door. Madoka grinned to herself as she went back to her work, already planning the next item on the shopping list. She'd been planning to make curry for a while, especially as Hikaru was staying for a couple of days, and it would be the perfect opportunity to get Gingka to go hunting for something very, very hard to find in ordinary shops. After all, she couldn't think of anywhere local that sold one hundred percent cocoa chocolate – and if he tried eating any on the way home, he would regret it.

"You two are so married it's not even funny," Hikaru said suddenly, and Madoka sat bolt upright in shock.

"What?" she spluttered, for a second not quite sure exactly why she was protesting.

"Come on," Tsubasa said, looking up, his strange half-smile barely ghosting across his face. "You have this strange flirty thing going on with the shopping lists, you can read each like a book and he smiles twice as much when you're around – and your whole being relaxes the moment he walks through the door."

"He's my best friend," Madoka told him firmly. "I've known him for four years and he lives in my house. Of course I can understand him. And the shopping list thing is just a game."

Tsubasa sighed and shook his head, and this time the smile was a little clearer. "Madoka, I know how to read people. It's one of the main reasons why Gingka's father employs me as a special agent."

"Friends," she said sternly.

"Well, maybe he doesn't think so," Tsubasa said gently, and went back to his book.

Eggs

Bread

Tomato sauce

Ginger

Margarine

A box

Well, that was odd. Alright, it was normal, by other people's standards, but for them it was definitely odd.

"Going shopping!" she sang, guessing that he was down in the basement. Her intuition proved correct a second later when his head popped up.

"Oh," he said when he spotted her. "Um, about the..."

"How big a box?" she asked, knowing what he was concerned about.

He shrugged and indicated with his arms. "Maybe this big?"

"And that's all?"

"Yeah. Oh, cardboard if you can get it, but plastic if you have to."

Hiding the strange sense of disappointment, she nodded and went to grab her bag as Gingka darted back down the stairs. A box it would be, then.

She'd had an awful week. First, her dad had got into an accident driving to work, and whilst he was fine, his car had been wrecked. But he couldn't stop teaching – he was being paid by the hour and it wasn't like there was anyone else in the household who earned a wage. So he had managed to get a hotel room for the week in the other city, meaning that Madoka and Gingka were completely alone in the house. Then Kyouya had stormed into the shop spitting fire and hissing like a cat with its tail trodden on, because somehow Dr Ziggurat had been cleared of all charges and was back in the blade-research industry. A call to Ryo Hagane had managed to secure a couple of WBBA agents inside the new research building, and so far nothing had seemed amiss, but only time would tell. And then, just when she thought that nothing else could go wrong, her delivery of parts had been delayed by a storm, and so she couldn't fix Tsubasa's Earth Eagle before his tournament. He had won, but it was mostly due to his own extraordinary skill, and Eagle had been almost totally destroyed. She had apologised to him countless times, but even though he had assured her that it wasn't her fault and that he forgave her, she couldn't forgive herself for the pain in his eyes.

By the time that she got round to facing the shopping, the list was very long.

Bread

Self-raising flour

Milk

Sugar

Tea

Pizza

Olive oil

Bananas

Apple juice

Peppers

Courgette

Noodles

Spring onions

Garlic

Olives

Beans

Sweetcorn

Potatoes

Tuna

Oh yes. She'd been in the mood for stir-fry that week. She actually had to turn the list over to find Gingka's request.

A smile. I think you lost yours.

She couldn't help it. The corners of her mouth turned up the slightest bit. That boy. He knew her so well.

By the time that she got to the end of the road, her smile was back for good. She'd put hyssop and horseradish at the bottom of the next list, and she'd make burgers.

"Gingka?"

"Yeah?" His voice was muffled; he was in his room.

"Where's the shopping list?"

There was a clatter and his head appeared over the bannisters. "Oh, I might have left it in the basement. Er... I was borrowing one of your pens to write on it and I must have forgotten to put it back."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You're hopeless."

He grinned back, though it seemed a bit strained – maybe he had a lot of homework to do. "Sorry!"

And with that he disappeared.

Madoka shook her head and traipsed down the steps to the basement. Trust Gingka to take the list to the pen rather than the pen to the list.

But it wasn't the list that caught her attention when she got into the workroom.

There was a box in the middle of the room. It wasn't especially remarkable – medium-sized, cardboard, top sealed shut with parcel tape. Most of her parts deliveries came in similar, if smaller, boxes.

It was remarkable in just one aspect. She recognised it. It was the same box she had bought for Gingka all that time before - and it was no longer empty.

On the very top was a piece of paper, but it wasn't the shopping list. It was a letter.

Dear Madoka,

This is a bit unconventional, I know, but I thought you might like it anyway.

First of all I have to say something that I've never quite had the words to say out loud, not all in one go anyway. You're the most generous person I've ever met. You repair our beys for free, even though the parts cost you money. You make us the most amazing cake on our birthdays and take care of us when we're sick. You let us treat your house as ours, and you actually let me live in it. You make the best burgers in the whole world.

I can't begin to tell you how much I owe you. We'd never have made it without you, and I think we all kept forgetting to tell you that. I bet I'd still be wandering around looking for Ryuga if you hadn't been there. Actually, strike that – I wouldn't, because Ryuga and Doji would have taken over the world.

So there you go! You've saved the world, Madoka!

I wanted to get you something to show you how highly I think of you, but I've known you for a long time now and if there's one thing that you don't like, it's being given unexpected gifts, because you always feel like you should give something back to repay the giver, and that stresses you out.

But even though this is unexpected, I promise it's something you don't have to repay, because you've already done that a hundred times over.

So if you open the box, you'll see:

- Three red screwdrivers, because red is your favourite colour and you once said you could never have enough screwdrivers.

- A green blanket, because you spend so many nights down in the basement. I know how cold it is in there even with the heating on.

- An overhead LED display, because I don't want you to wreck your eyes in those long nights, and I don't trust those energy-saving bulbs.

- A pair of fingerless gloves for working in winter, reinforced with leather because I am determined to teach you how to call your blade back to your hand without covering your palms with scars.

- An eyelet punch, which I'd never actually heard of but I knew you needed one because you were complaining that you didn't have one that night you thought I was asleep on the sofa.

- A very sharp knife, because I'm selfish and I love your cooking, and I saw your face when you realised how blunt the old one was.

- Suet, venison sausages, cardamom, dragon fruit, mulberry juice, star anise, one hundred percent cocoa chocolate and elderberry cordial, because like I said, I love your cooking, and I know how happy it makes you when you get to make all that weird stuff that actually tastes really good even if it's made from stuff I've never heard of.

- And a pale blue powder-puff, because you actually put up with this daft game for this long, and because you are you.

You have already given me so many gifts that this is nowhere near repayment for your generosity. However, I know you, and so I know you will try to give me something that will, in your words, 'make up' for all of this.

There is actually one thing I'd like, but I don't want you to get it for me just because you feel like you should. You're a wise girl, and I trust you more than I trust almost anyone else (you come second to Pegasus, I'm afraid, but I guess that's cheating), so I hope you'll come to the best decision about whether to get it for me for your own sake, not mine.

If you decide it's worth the cost, I'll be in my room when you get back from the shops. If it's not, and I've made a colossal fool of myself, then just leave the apples outside my door.

Gingka

She lowered the letter with shaking hands. She'd known that Gingka considered her to be one of his best friends, and they'd been through thick and thin together, but she'd never realised just how carefully he'd watched her. How well he'd understood her. She had thought only Tsubasa had those kind of observational skills.

She turned the paper over, somehow knowing before she even saw it that the shopping list would be on the back of it.

Ice-cream

Apples

Burgers

Rolls

Butter

Raisins

Orange juice

A kiss

Her heart almost stopped.

This wasn't how it was meant to go. There was meant to be an awkward confession in a deserted classroom, and maybe a bunch of flowers. There would be the music of swelling strings in the background. He would be wearing a smart suit, and looking only slightly nervous.

It was meant to be perfect.

Of course she couldn't go up to him. He was her friend, right? She didn't want to risk his friendship for something that might not last. Anyway, she could read him like a book, Tsubasa had said, so why hadn't she seen the signs that he might have been... have been harbouring a crush on her? He'd never started blushing or stammering around her, he'd never tried to be close to her...

Her mind screeched to a halt. But he had. She'd seen it so many times, and she'd assumed that she knew him well enough to read what he actually meant by the various gestures as friendship alone. Maybe she hadn't known him so well after all.

Or... or maybe it was her that she had been unable to read. Maybe she hadn't wanted to read the signs before now, and so she'd deliberately and subconsciously mistranslated them.

Moving on autopilot, she tugged the tape off of the box and opened it. There, right on the top, sat the powder-puff, nestled on the blanket that she'd spent an hour and a half searching for because only exactly the right colour would do.

Silently, she tucked it in her pocket and went back up the stairs. She barely even registered where she was going until she found herself standing in front of her wardrobe. She reached up on top of it and pulled down the first gift he'd given her. It wasn't even dusty, because despite her having absolutely no use for a powder-puff, she still liked to take it down and look at it once in a while, because it made her smile.

Could she risk it?

Would it be worth the cost?

He was seated on his bed when she turned the corner at the top of the stairs, but he wasn't looking in her direction. She hesitated. She could still change her mind if she wanted. They were both so young, and they really didn't know the first thing about love. This could be a disaster.

Or it could be everything.

"Gingka?"

The speed at which he spun around and stood up would have surprised her if she hadn't known him so well. He had been listening for her, but something had dragged him into his own mind so that he hadn't actually heard her approach. She wondered for a second what it might have been, and then decided it didn't matter. He was looking at her, and the expression on his face was frozen between hope and terror.

She had faced the physical manifestation of darkness and evil without retreating a step. There was no way she was backing down from this.

Taking a deep breath, she strode across the room and kissed her best friend on the mouth.

Well, sort of. Their noses got in the way, and she wasn't quite sure how to work the angle. But it was a kiss. That she was pretty certain of, even if it was nothing like the books and movies said.

She pulled back after a couple of seconds, because it was actually kind of awkward, this kissing business. His eyes were very wide, the pupils distended in shock.

"You..." he began, and then stopped and swallowed. "Um... was that a yes?"

She nodded, unable to speak for a second. But he didn't seem to care; his whole face lit up with the most glorious smile and he stepped forwards to gather her up into the biggest hug she had been given since her dad had met her at the airport after getting back from battling Nemesis. Her feet actually left the ground for a second.

And yes, this was right, this was perfect, just staying here with his arms wrapped around her shoulders and hers around his waist because she was just that little bit smaller than him. She put her head on his shoulder, warm and comfortable and...

Oh. She did love him.

Why did that come as such a surprise?

"How long?" she asked, breathless, and he half-laughed, knowing just what she meant, and pulled away from her until he could look at her properly.

"I've no idea," he admitted. "But I think I knew on the day that you got me the shower-cap and didn't even bat an eyelid." He swallowed. "You?"

She lowered her eyes, because she couldn't meet his. "Since the day that I realised that I never have and never will use a powder-puff, but I kept yours on top of my wardrobe where I could see it, just because you gave it to me."

"Can I give you one more thing?" he said. "It's not much, but I'd like to give you my heart."

And then suddenly the tension broke and they were both laughing because that sounded ridiculous coming from Gingka, her Gingka who was as straightforward as the Stardust Driver and about as romantic as a...

Well, as a shopping list.

Madoka squeezed her eyes shut. "Just tell me one thing," she said, and she wasn't sure if she was trying not to cry or laugh even more. "Who actually came up with that ridiculous line?"

He didn't even look surprised. "Yeah, I guess that didn't really sound like me, did it? That was Chao Xin. I asked him for help when he came round at the weekend." His eyes suddenly went wide. "But I wrote the letter! That's all me!"

"I can tell," she said, and perhaps she was coming down on the side of crying, but from happiness because this wasn't the exquisite first date she'd imagined, and the kiss had been nothing like the stories said, but it was fine – it was better than fine, it was perfect because the boy standing awkwardly a step away from her really was the only thing she wanted. "Your handwriting was much better than usual, so there must have been loads of draft copies, you following me?"

"Always," he grinned, then tilted his head to the left. "And yes, there were draft copies. About seventeen, I think. And then it took me forever to find the last screwdriver. Turned out it'd fallen into my sock drawer."

"What was it doing there?"

Blood rushed up his face and he dropped his eyes. "I put them all up there so I could see them when I was doing homework. I must have knocked one of them into the drawer this morning." He bit his lip. "It probably sounds ridiculous, but I wasn't intending to give them to you at first. I just wanted to keep them... because... well, because you got them for me."

Madoka blinked, and then reached out to lift his chin so that he was looking at her. When he finally met her eyes, she reached into her jacket and pulled out first the new powder-puff, and then the older one. Gingka stared at them for ten long, silent seconds before his eyes went wide. "You too?" he whispered.

She tried valiantly not to laugh. "This is going to be the weirdest 'how we got together' story ever," she said. Then all of a sudden, she thought of something. "Wait, you got me to buy my own gifts?"

He gave her the strangest, sweetest lop-sided smile she had ever seen. "It was the only way I knew you'd accept them," he said, and kissed her on the nose.