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When she and Dia barely reached three feet tall, Ruby didn't protest against her early bedtime like most kids would.
Instead, she was excited to go to bed; not only did she share her bedroom with Dia (even as their parents tried to split them apart), she also met a vibrant world of dreams in her sleep every night.
It meant less time with Dia in the waking world, but Ruby found that Dia was a staple in her dreams, too. That was what made them so special.
And every morning, Ruby would wake up and recount her fantasised adventures to Dia in shared wonder.
There was only one detail wrong: Dia never had any to share herself, and she lamented it - she hated the fact that she hardly ever dreamt. So much so that she often vented her troubles after Ruby's rambling had finished.
"I wish I could be like you, Ruby," she had huffed one morning. "Your dreams always sound so fun. I don't even have any. I'd even want a nightmare, just to have something…"
Dia did not, in fact, want a nightmare. When she had one weeks later (about getting lost in Tokyo - what a fate), she screamed the house down.
The complaining lessened a little after that.
"Is it nice to have dreams, Ruby?"
Cuddling up closer to her sister, Ruby gave a warm smile. "Yeah!"
In the present however, she wasn't so sure.
Ruby groaned as she felt blindly for her phone, trying to shut off the screech of her alarm.
It was too early for this… School should start an hour before midday at least.
Eventually, she mustered up enough good vision to dismiss the alarm and stop its blaring.
Every morning was the same. Wake up early (she really would prefer to have Dia wake her up, but she knew that she would always sleep through it or beg for five more minutes and that Dia would weaken at the sight), drag herself out of bed and have cracked memories of her dream crawl her way back to her like she was recovering from a hangover.
Ruby rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Of course, she knew that the dreams were always about Dia and that she shouldn't tell them even to Dia, the reason for the latter being the mood of the dreams.
Cupid played a dirty game indeed.
Slowly, fragments of her fantasy collected themselves one by one: something about a lazy morning in (God, was she jealous), the sluggish start to a day which they would spend at home, free of anchors like school and expectations.
And at least once, Dia would kiss her.
In the most truthful chambers of Ruby's mind, a world would always be conjured up where Dia would kiss her.
Ruby tiredly swung her legs around the side of the bed, summoning up strength to get through the day.
Dreams were unfair. Her dreams had always been unfair. Dreams were unfair because they were honest, and perfect, and desirable and happy and hallucinated and always always always so regretfully unreal.
Finally, Ruby wobbled onto her feet.
Maybe if she rushed to school, she could catch Dia in the student council room before classes started. Maybe she could steal a moment away with her - one where she could pretend that her dreams were their reality, masquerading a dull few minutes in the haze of her dream's afterglow.
But Ruby found herself dragging her feet down the stairs, completely demotivated, and hardly got three minutes in with her classmates before lessons slugged on.
By the end of the day, Ruby's depressed mood had worn away quite a lot; Aqours' practice was always cheerful and comedic, Riko had been caught in the crossfire of a prank and pummeled Yoshiko to death for it, and the school week would soon be over.
Currently, there was nothing more to do than clear the dinner plates away with Dia and exchange some mundane sentences in conversation.
"As for our costumes, I've worked out what they need to give them that last touch of flair," Dia explained. "I'm sure I can find some fitting sequins in that fabric shop in town. Would you like to come with me, Ruby? You could pick up something for CYaRon too."
"That sounds great, Sis," agreed Ruby. "I'll wait for you to finish your work after school and we can go then."
Dia smiled. "While we're there, why not make a day out of it? I could buy some fabric and make something just for you. We could get some drinks in a café, too. How about that?"
"That'd be really nice. I'd really enjoy that," Ruby expressed honestly, gently beaming. "Thank you."
"No problem, Ruby," Dia replied, resting the final tray in the sink and moving to kiss Ruby softly on the head.
The conversation lulled after that, and Ruby could hear the buzzing of her thoughts more clearly.
If those plans were made between any two other people, any other combination of people without their relationship and relations, that would've sounded like a date.
It very well could have been. Ruby wanted it to be one, and no matter how much she tried to ignore that, she did.
She tried to ignore how she felt when Dia kissed her on the head, too. She tried to ignore how she wanted her to do it again.
And even if she could ignore the fact that she felt a bubbling desire to have Dia kiss her properly this time, the scene and crooked perfection of it would pop up in her dreams again, and again, and again.
"Well, do you want to do anything before bed?" Dia asked, pulling her out of the tangle of her thoughts. "It's a little early to sleep just yet. I have no work or revision to do if you want to watch something together."
She should withdraw. She should read something on her own, get lost in someone else's romantic fantasy, neglect her own until it finally dissipates.
But Ruby was always drawn to Dia like she was a beacon of light, so she knew that the battle had already been won.
"Mm, sure," she agreed. "Is there anything you really wanted to watch?"
"Not particularly, no…" admitted Dia, biting her lip as she searched for a movie (adorably, Ruby hated to add). "What about you?"
Ruby shook her head. Perhaps not a romance given the way things had been that day, but she wouldn't mention that.
Setting the remote down, Dia sighed. Turning to Ruby, she smiled knowingly. "μ's videos again?"
"O-Only if you want to."
"It's μ's," she pointed out. "Why wouldn't I?"
Fair play.
The clip began to play; Dia sat down beside Ruby, but Ruby wasn't focusing on either her or the video. Rather than that, she had gone somewhere far away.
Occasionally, Ruby would wonder about her situation - ask herself what she had done, where she had tripped up and what she had done to cause and deserve this, loathe it all.
But that was never productive. She never chiselled out any answers, never made any amendments or was able to change anything.
Still, though, she was stuck in that place regardless.
Stuck hating this cruel trick of fate right beside the subject of her dreams.
Ruby tucked herself into Dia's side, seeking out even a meagre drop of comfort. Barely even thinking, Dia reeled an arm around her waist and pulled her in closer, and despite everything, despite all she was told and understood so well, this was what felt natural. This was what felt right.
A soft chuckle came from Dia's lips, reacting to some comedy gag on the screen, and Ruby looked up at her.
She would have sweet dreams tonight.
It would just cost her the pureness of her heart and the goodness of the day ahead.