Work Text:
“Ahh, gently, gently…” Mizuki carefully adjusted the ribbon adorning the puritan-type collar of the dress she was bringing to completion. Once it was perfectly even, she quickly moved her hands away as though she were handling the most fragile thing in the world. “There!”
She took a few steps back and looked over her work, which she earlier titled Petit pas. Although by no means her most complicated piece, it was experimental all the same. Mizuki had a week prior challenged herself to make a dress fit for the most formal of environments, perhaps even a wedding. Now, after hours of planning and hard work, she felt confident this dress fulfilled her initial goal. She reached over and swiveled her lamp back and forth, admiring how the silk gained an iridescent quality upon catching and scattering the light. Even though it was largely plain, having no layers and a pattern of daisies a few centimeters above the hem being the only embellishment, that very simplicity, coupled with the silk she used, made it more than beautiful in her eyes.
Mizuki walked over to her workbench to pick up the wig she had styled for the dress and its accessory—a small hair tie with thin silk ribbons and paper daisies. She placed it onto an adjacent foam head and tied the accessory into place. Looking at it from multiple angles, she nodded in satisfaction before setting it back down. At this point, she was essentially done, spare the final step of actually trying it on.
That was indeed a matter of contemplation for her, actually! She was not even sure if the dress was something to try on at all, if it should remain something to rest on the shoulders of a mannequin only. It was not really that Mizuki was afraid of it being damaged, even if there was a tiny bit of nervousness regarding messing up her hard work. Even if it carried an air of lightness and fragility, it was not particularly delicate, especially since Mizuki’s handiwork had vastly improved since she was a little kid. Based on the proportions of the mannequin she used, it would be too small for her, but she thought about having Yuuki try it on over winter break. It would definitely look good on Ena, too—no, no! It was viably a wedding dress, that would be way too embarrassing!
Mizuki shook away the blush that was creeping onto her face and left the room to go have dinner… or, whatever a meal eaten at three in the morning would be classified as.
Tap. Kanade leaned back in her chair and let out a long exhale.
“I think I’m done for the day…”
“Me too…” Ena yawned. “Ugh, it’s past three…”
“Even Mafuyu went to bed…” Kanade looked over her shoulder at the sleeping lyricist. “Amia’s been busy these days though, hasn’t she?”
“Yeah, on that project she mentioned. She keeps insisting it’s a surprise…” Ena grumbled. “At this point, it feels she’s on the verge of quitting the group entirely to make clothes.”
“I’m sure she won’t do that…”
“I know, I know… really wanna see what she’s been making, though.” Ena sat up straight, her back popping a few times in the process. “Agh—night, K…”
“Good night, Enanan…”
Click.
Click.
“Mhh…” Ena yawned again. So sleepy…
With heavy feet, she slid out of her chair and trudged over to her bed, falling face-first onto it. Making an indecipherable noise, she wriggled under the covers and hugged her penguin pillow. Yawning again, she tensed her whole body before falling into relaxation.
“Mmm… hm…?” She lifted up the curtain by her bed with a finger, looking up at the sky above.
Feels a little off… not stormy, but just kinda funny…
With that on her mind, she closed her eyes and slipped into sleep.
No sooner had the business of the prior day receded into Ena’s memories than she began to dream. First came something utterly nonsensical: her drawing tablet was out of ink, so she went with Kanade and Futaba to the art supplies store to buy some more. However, the streets were too foggy, so the three got lost and ended up walking into a Kamiyama High class. As she began arguing with Akito, the dream melted away.
Then, she felt as though she were swimming through clouds, something which felt effortless. Ena had the impression she was not moving, though, however little of a reference point she had. After a minute or two of this, a bright shower of light flooded around her. It was just like the one that occurred whenever she went to SEKAI.
When the light faded, she found herself on her feet in a pink hallway. It seemed like someone’s condominium, and that shade of pink paint seemed quite familiar…
Am I dreaming that I’m in Mizuki’s house? Oh, it’s lucid. Ena blinked a few times and glanced around as her vision solidified. The hallway was L-shaped and had several doors for her to choose from. She picked the nearest one, and stepped into what seemed to be a rather normal bathroom.
Hm, I suppose Mizuki would indeed have a fancy toothbrush for that oh-so-delicate tongue. She walked up to the sink. Considering it was but a dream, she expected the mirror to be pitch black. But instead… “Oh…!”
In the mirror’s reflection, Ena gasped in surprise upon finally registering what exactly she was wearing. Instead of her pajamas was a dress, one which seemed beyond beauty. She spun around, the elegant silk fluttering as she did so. It was as though she was wearing the very dream-clouds she just swam through.
“It’s so pretty,” Ena breathed out while tracing her fingers along the side of the dress. After a few more moments of admiring it, she stepped out back into the hallway and chose to enter the door immediately across from the bathroom.
This was a bedroom—quite the familiar one. Ena immediately assumed it to be Mizuki’s, as the layout and decor perfectly matched what she could see in the background of their group video calls. But it was just a bit too perfect to be a dream, especially considering the animator’s computer was open to an unfinished MV. Ena had dreamt using PicShare in past dreams, but surely conjuring up realistic editing software with no visual references whatsoever was beyond her mind’s capacity. Just to prove her point, Ena tentatively clicked ‘play,’ only to immediately pause it as the music started at full volume.
Ah, that was kinda loud… Ena sighed and sat down on what really did seem to be Mizuki’s bed. Geez, this has to be the most realistic lucid dream I’ve ever had. Even the mirror was functional… is that even possible?
“Huh?” Hearing a noise in the direction of her room, Mizuki looked up from her phone. Did something fall over?
Mizuki got up from the kitchen table and went into the hallway. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the ajar bathroom door. Did I forget to close it…? Anyways… She turned around and went into her bedroom. There was no way Mizuki possibly could have been prepared for what, or rather who, she would find sitting on her bed.
“E-Ena…?!” Mizuki squeaked, gradually pointing a shaky figure at her. “H-how did you… g-get… in my room?”
Huh? Mizuki?” Ena looked up at her. Mizuki’s face… might this really not be a dream…? “I… don’t know…?”
“H-haha, um… ah…” Mizuki next noticed how Ena was—again, somehow—wearing the dress she had been working on. The sight of it on her made the animator’s already overclocked brain nearly bluescreen. It made Ena simply look radiant. Mizuki tried to say something else, only to blush profusely and look away.
“Hm? Cat got your tongue?” Ena tilted her head, a note of amusement on her face.
“I- um, w-well… um, uh… y-y-yeah…” Mizuki buried her beet-red face in her hands. She took a few deep breaths before half speaking, half whispering. “Y-you… look really… really good in that…”
“Hehe, yeah?” Ena stood up. “Oh, wait, is this the dress you were working on?”
Mizuki’s voice failed her again, so she just nodded.
“It’s superb.” Ena’s cheeks flushed a bit too as she responded.
“T-thank you…” The animator squeaked out. “I, uh…”
Mizuki had for years pondered the idea of inviting Ena over to her home, but lacked the courage to do so. Now, faced with her not only there, but standing in her bedroom, she had no clue what to do. The thought of how exactly Ena got there was far out of her mind, only the fact she was there. Gradually, she reached out her hand towards the artist, just to confirm this really was reality.
“Oh?” Ena casually took Mizuki’s hand in her own.
“…!” Her nerves on fire, Mizuki nearly melted at the contact. “Ena…”
“Yeah? You good?”
“I’d… like to think I am…” She withdrew her fingers from the artist’s palm and took a few more deep breaths. “A-are you okay as well?”
“Yeah. Just a bit surprised… it felt like I was going to SEKAI, but somehow I ended up here. Ah, pardon the intrusion, of course.”
“It’s all good…! W-well… um, hehe, you do look insanely pretty in that dress…”
“I really must, if you’re repeating herself.” Ena’s tone grew warmer.
“Oh…!”
“Hm?”
“One sec, lemme get the accessory to go with it…! Since you’re already wearing it…”
“Sure thing.”
“Thanks, I’ll only be a minute…!” Mizuki shuffled out of her bedroom and went to the workshop she made out of Yuuki’s old room. There, everything was the same except for the conspicuous lack of Petit pas and the mannequin she had placed it on. Did the mannequin turn into Ena? Did it swap places with her? Would she find it in SEKAI later? That didn’t really matter, what did matter was that the love of Mizuki’s life was waiting in her bedroom for her to get the accessory to her magnum opus. That is exactly what Mizuki did.
“Oh, that’s pretty…!” Ena’s face lit up a bit when Mizuki stepped back into the room, the accessory made of ribbons and paper daisies cradled between her hands.
“Here, lemme just…” Mizuki lifted it up and carefully clipped it to a strand of Ena’s hair. “There!”
“Ooh!” Ena turned to look at herself in Mizuki’s mirror. Ignoring the flustered pink blob behind her shoulder, the artist turned from side to side, admiring how the dress perfectly framed her body. “I really do love it!”
“I’m glad…!” Mizuki broke out into a grin.
“If you’ll let me, I’ll definitely wear it for that occasion.”
“Eh? Whaddaya mean by… ah, hey, hey…!!” Mizuki waved her hands in front of her and hung her head. “That’s way too soon!”
“Hehe. But you wouldn’t mind, would you?”
“…I’d definitely be honored,” Mizuki squeaked out as she lowered her hands. “I’ll save it for you, then…!”
“Thank you, Mizuki.” Ena smiled. “Now, then…”
“Hm?”
“I would sort of like to sleep, at a certain point…” She stifled a yawn.
“Right…!” Mizuki stood up straight and started walking towards her closet. “We got sleeping bags, I’ll go get you one…”
“Aw, your bed looks big enough for—”
“N-no way…! Any more of this and I’ll die of embarrassment! Enananan! You don’t want me to die, right?!”
“Kidding, kidding…” Ena laughed. “I’m sure you need the perfect conditions to get your beauty sleep.”
“Hmph, right!” Mizuki turned her nose up. “If everything isn’t perfect, I’ll toss and turn and wake up looking like a troll!”
“Oh, you poor thing…” Ena gave her a deadpan look. “Gimme some pajamas, too.”
“O-on it!” After a moment, Mizuki emerged from her closet holding a set of sleep clothes and a neon pink sleeping bag. Ena unrolled it and went to the bathroom to change. Upon returning, she carefully handed the dress over to Mizuki before sliding into the sleeping bag.
“I'll put this away…” Mizuki left her bedroom. Ena watched her leave.
I have no clue how this happened… I'll have to ask Miku if SEKAI had anything to do with it…
But, nonetheless… what a pretty dress! I want to wear it again…
I bet you’re looking forward to that day too, Mizuki.
Hehe, I’m practically already ready for you to ask.
Don’t keep me waiting too long this time, okay?