Disclaimer: Yes, I do not own Princess Tutu. And yes, in my dreams, I'd like to pretend I do.

Summary: (Series of drabbles) Once upon a time, there lived a girl and a boy who gave up on Happily Ever Afters long before the story started. For she was just a clumsy duck pretending to be a princess, and he was a knight-in-rusty-armor who could only wield a pen. This is their fairytale. ( Fakir x Ahiru )

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Masquerade

Act 1 : Stay
by makka na yuki

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Let me be selfish.

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Set a few years after the end of the series…

He felt her presence even before she spoke.

"Why?" her timid voice whispered. The candle burned a little bit brighter.

The emerald-eyed boy continued on with his writing. He did not turn to meet her, already knowing how she would look dressed in the clothes he had left beside the pond the morning before. It figures that she would ask the only question he could not answer. She, he remembered, had always been irritating like that.

The red-haired girl did not let the silence reign, "Why now when I have already accepted the way destiny wanted me to live my life?"

His pen stopped in mid-sentence. "As a duck?" he could not help but ask, left hand tightening into a fist in agitation. Did she not want to be human? To study ballet again? To be able to speak? To be with him?

She nodded, knowing the he could not see "This was how I was born." The blue-eyed girl could see his form shaking in his seat. She knew it was going to be like this, that he would regret what he has done the moment the ink has dried in his story. They both knew that consequences would arise if one would mess with reality.

He could not accept her answer. The former knight knew of the sorrows she harbored secretly in her heart. He had come to visit her everyday after the defeat of the raven, and even he could not miss the emptiness in her sapphire eyes as she quacked and quacked to him as if he could understand. He, in turn, would tell her stories about what was happening in the town, discreetly leaving out the parts that involved a certain silver-haired prince. The writer still did not know how his princess – his? When did he start calling her as if she belonged to him? – thought of her former love. There was no happily ever after for her, and it only proved to break his heart knowing so. Sometimes he would catch her trying to perform a few ballet moves, but her little legs could not support her anymore in the turns. Her dreams, her passion and her love were all taken away… and he could not just stand there and watch.

The once-duck girl sighed as she received no response. What could she expect from such a secretive man? Her resolve hardening, she pushed back the tears and spoke the words he dreaded to hear, "Turn me back."

He quickly turned in his seat at her statement, eyes widening at the sight.

She was breathtaking in her solemnity, even with his oversized shirt on. The once clumsy 13-year-old girl had grown-up. And yet, this only served to remind him of the time that has already passed – how long it took him to make a decision to turn her back to her human form. Months and years had passed before he had the courage to lift his pen and write her the story she deserved.

But it seemed that she did not want it, and something in him broke with that knowledge. He always feared that she would end up hating him in the end for what he would try to do. The former Princess Tutu saw the conflict in his eyes. She took a step closer and placed her gentle hands on his face, eyes searching. He looked up at her in question, and in fear. Would his eyes betray what he truly felt for her?

"Dance with me one last time?" she asked, and he could only nod in reply. They danced once again, similar to the one they performed at the bottom of the lake, but made even more beautiful of the despair and hope they carried in their hearts for so long. Everything else did not seem to matter anymore. They ended much the same way, with face close together and eyes reflecting what they cannot say.

The candle's flame finally died and they were left in the darkness.

He took her hands and placed it above his heart. "Do you feel it?" he asked quietly, and her eyes widened at the warmth pounding beneath her fingertips. "Then you must know why I cannot do as you ask, Ahiru".

Her eyes watered and she finally understood. Even as a duck, words were never necessary between them.

"Will you still stay by my side forever, Fakir?"

"As long as you want me to"

And that was enough.

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Let me be with you.

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Author's Notes: My first fanfiction based on the Princess Tutu universe - Fakir and Ahiru, of course (But a MutexRue might appear along the way). As usual, I'm more comfortable making oneshots rather than multichaptered fics. But who knows? Someday, maybe. Maybe.