Summary: It's only at her insistence he comes out with her, but he finds himself more than glad he did. Fakiru
Disclaimer: I do not own the plot or characters of Princess Tutu.
AN: I had forgotten about Uzura going with Drosselmeyer at the end (it had been a year since I'd watched the finale) and I really like the idea of her being there, so I kept her in Kinkan post-series. I hope you guys like it nonetheless!
Of First Dates and Blue Sunhats
He holds her hand steady. "Now, lift your leg past your torso and hold it as close as you can towards your ear, and I'll spin you." Ahiru did as he said, and he spun her around like he had promised.
"That's a little clumsy, but not horrible. You're getting there." He lent her a small smile, as his were becoming more and more frequent these days.
"Now lower your leg to the side, out at a ninety degree angle, and trust me."
As soon as she had, she felt his hands curl around her waist and lifted her into the air above him.
She grinned down at him. "This is amazing, Fakir! You're so good at ballet!"
"Okay, come on down, now, moron." He lowered her to the ground. She was still smiling at him, and he tried to suppress a smile of his own.
"So, you know how to do a proper pas de deux, now."
"Fakir, that was so much fun!" she gave him her usual childish beam. "I love dancing with you."
Fakir fought back blood rising to his cheeks. "I'm nothing compared to Mytho, though."
"That doesn't matter, Fakir." Suddenly her eyes widened. "It's about lunchtime! We should go somewhere to eat, huh, Fakir?" And before she could respond, she was dragging him back to her room so she could change out of her ballet clothes.
Ahiru walked along the cobblestone street with him, her heels ringing as they hit to pavement. Uzura toddled in front of them, singing her own tune and staring around at all the shops. It was pretty early for lunch, so there was hardly anyone around in town. He followed her down the winding path through the trees towards her favorite place, a small thing called Ebine on the outskirts of the town.
"It's really pretty outside, today, isn't it?" Ahiru asked.
"It's much nicer than indoors, I agree," Fakir said absentmindedly.
She looked excitedly at him. "Do you mean you'd rather be out with me than inside writing?"
He couldn't possibly say no to her glowing face even if he wanted to. "Well, sure, but it's not like I have that much to work on."
Her face fell a little but she still smiled. "You should take more breaks, you know. You're such a good dancer but all you ever do is write."
Fakir would've responded, but they had reached the front door, where Uzura was happily banging her drum.
"Is it open, zura?" she asked, and Ahiru smiled, lifting open the door. There, waiting at the front, was the restaurant owner.
"Hello, dear!" she cried. "Table for three, then?"
"Yes, thank you, Miss Ebine!" Ahiru have the woman one of her signature smiles as she lead them to their seats.
"What would you all like?" she asked.
Fakir spoke up this time. "Chef's choice."
"Alright, then! Your food will be right out." Ebine bustled off the where he presumed was the kitchen.
"What's going on, zura?" Uzura asked the girl sitting opposite Fakir.
"We're getting some food, Uzura." Ahiru giggled at her and looked back at Fakir. "It's a really good place. I was here with Mytho, once..."
She trailed off, and he gave her a sympathetic sort of smile. "Way back when the story was still going on, then." She nodded at him. "It's okay. I miss them, too."
Ahiru looked down at Uzura next to her. "Are you talking about Mytho, zura?" Ahiru nodded at the small girl. "He's lovey-dovey with Rue-zura!" Uzura yelled out, banging her tiny drum.
Fakir smiled a little at the redhead across from him, watching her smile and talk to the younger girl sweetly. A faint blush crept over his face when he realized just how pretty she looked, but thankfully Ebine came back with food and drinks just then. The writer thanked her and she departed happily.
They ate in a comfortable silence, then paid and left, walking side by side down the street back into town.
"That food sure was good!" Ahiru proclaimed, beaming at him.
"Do you want to go home now?" he asked impatiently. "I've got some work to do."
She pouted. "Let's not go home yet! You need to take more breaks, Fakir." She grabbed his arm and pulled him down the street. "Let's go shopping!"
He couldn't even protest, for she was already pulling him into the nearest hat shop, trying on flowered ones and ribbon-wrapped ones and ones with far too much lace.
She pulled out a light blue one with a white bow and her face lit up. "Fakir! It's amazing!"
She was positively glowing, her blue eyes shining at him, and her freckles making her seem more childish than ever. He allowed himself a smile at her, and took the sunhat up to the counter. A few minutes later, they left the shop, Ahiru bouncing along with Uzura in her new sunhat. Fakir watched them run along the cobblestone streets, and saw the older people eating in cafés give them smiles of adoration.
Ahiru and Uzura were laughing at nothing in particular when he caught up, and Fakir picked up Uzura and placed her on his shoulders. Ahiru smiled at him, a faint blush on her cheeks.
"Would you like some?" he asked her as they walked along the path, indicating a small ice cream stand. She nodded fervently and he bought her and Uzura some, who happily licked it as the went along.
Eventually Fakir felt Uzura go slack on his shoulders and realized the young girl had fallen asleep. "We should bring her back home," he said, and the redhead nodded, following him back to their house.
They had placed her into Ahiru's bed to sleep when the girl spoke once more. "You know, it's too nice a day to stay inside, don't you think?"
Fakir looked at her, knowing she thought he'd say no, but he felt like surprising her. "Sure." He picked up his newest story and walked out to the door, motioning for her to follow him, which she did, grinning.
"Really?" And he just nodded.
Together they walked along the path, to the forest, some cherry blossom trees shedding pink flowers on them, and a breeze tickling their faces. Fakir tentatively reached for Ahiru's hand, and looked at her, both blushing slightly, as she returned his grasp with a tiny smile.
Her hand felt good in his. Warm and soft compared to his hard, calloused palms and fingers. But she smiled anyway, and he felt a small surge of affection towards the girl next to him.
"You know," she said, twiddling her thumb in his hand, "this is kind of like a date."
He glanced up to her sunhat and nodded. "A little."
The pair strolled to the lake where she had lived for two years as a duck, and where he had written the story to transform her back. He chose the thickest tree and leaned back against it, sitting with his story and quill, ink pot beside him on one side and Ahiru on the other side.
The wind whipped his long hair around his shoulders and brought the scent of beach and flowers to them. It was the nicest day they'd had in a long time. Ahiru must've thought so, too, for as soon as he set his story aside, she laid back and dropped her head in his lap, closing her eyes contentedly.
"It's so beautiful," she murmured, breathing slowly. "Almost makes me wish that Rue and Mytho were here to see it. They would love to see the town like this."
Fakir nodded a little, thinking of his friends in their kingdom far away, enjoying their castle and beaches and forests. He sighed.
"They're happy together, aren't they?" Ahiru frowned a little as she said this, and Fakir was no stranger to the reason why. She had always loved Mytho, but he was Rue's and she had accepted that.
"I'm happy here with you, though." Her sentence surprised him, and he opened his closed eyes to peer into her blue ones, her smiling at him a little, gazing into his eyes back.
He felt a little bump inside his throat, and he couldn't force it down. She sat a little as he opened his mouth, leaning against the tree with her head in the crook of his shoulder. She grabbed his palm and squeezed it, telling him, "I wish it could always be just like this, just like today. It's such a nice day today."
He couldn't help it any longer. A knot had risen in his chest, and he couldn't force it down. And looked deep into her sea-blue eyes and spoke softly.
"I love you, Ahiru."
Her eyes widened and she blushed, and he felt his face redden worse. He slowly brought his lips down to hers and kissed her, kissed her for the first time ever, kissed her as he'd wanted to for a long, long time. She kissed him back, softly, her lips warm and tasting like ice cream.
He pulled back a little and looked into her eyes. "I love you."
She beamed at him, blush still painted on her freckled cheeks. "I love you, too, Fakir." And throwing her arms around his neck, she made to kiss him once more.