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 03 : Dream
by makka na yuki

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Make me believe in forever.

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Every single night, she haunts him in his dreams.

When did you realize you were in love?, she would always ask. It doesn't matter that she is always in duck form. He could always hear her voice in his mind.

It disturbed him, in a way, why he felt the need to answer such a question he would have scoffed of years ago.

She was just there, a figment of his unconscious mind. And he found he could not let her go.

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The first time Fakir dreamed, weeks after the defeat of the monster raven, he stutters at the question. His face turns red with embarrassment as he tried to digest what she was trying to say. Though, of course, he was terribly pleased that she could finally communicate with him once again. True, she was always by his side during the day, a small yellow duck following him around as he went about his daily duties. But every time he speaks to her, he wishes there was some other way that she could reply, instead of just tilting her head to one side to show she was listening.

The first time he tries to answer the question was something that could be considered a "failure." He excelled in everything he did, be it in academics or his dancing, but he knows almost nothing when it comes to emotions. He had lived for so long with only anger and bitter feelings that he had considered "love" to be nonexistent.

Everyone knew that.

So why was she asking him when he fell in love?

And with whom?

He wasn't exactly a very sociable person – protecting Mytho from the world had taken up most of his time – and he didn't find any of the academy girls attractive enough to warrant his attention. True, he wasn't oblivious to their never-ending stares – a sure sign of admiration, unfortunately – but there was just simply too much happening all around to pay them any heed.

Rue and Ahiru were the only girls that Fakir had spent relatively more time with. But since he didn't really like Rue so much, that only left…

No!

Still embarrassed, he answered the only way he knew how. Denial.

"I'm not in love!"

She gave him a sad small smile – even as a duck, he could see it on her face - before turning around and stepping away. He tried to reach out for her, tried to make her stay and tell him everything she could not in the waking world. It had been such a long time…

"No, wait!"

And he woke up.

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The second time he dreamed was no different.

He thought he was ready.

When did you realize that you were in love?

He was hesitant at first. But after what seemed like forever, he hardened his resolve to look at her. Sapphire blue twinkled in anticipation.

"The first time I laid my eyes on her"

Disappointment was the only thing that could be found in the little duck's face.

Who this "her" was, even he didn't know. He still couldn't accept the fact that he had already laid his heart to somebody else. Love at first sight. It was a blatant lie, and he did not really expect her to fall for it. The former knight just wanted to sound… dramatic, though he immediately realized that just wasn't the right path to follow.

The yellow duck in front of him turned away again, and he was left grasping only air when he found himself awake to the real world.

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Every night, it is like this. She asks her question – sometimes she doesn't even need to – and he gives her a different answer every single time.

When I felt butterflies in my stomach and…

When I couldn't stop thinking about…

When the only thing I wanted to do was look at her…

When her smile was enough to brighten my day…

Lies. Lies. Lies.

Fakir wished she would stop looking so disappointed with him. He didn't understand why, but he felt the need to erase the sorrow from her little duck face, and the only way was to answer the question. He even went to the library and read all the books about love, but even as he memorized all the definitions that falls under that single word, it did not seem that those were the answers that Ahiru wanted.

Ahiru – the one in reality – did not seem perplexed at all with his strange change of behavior. She always stood quietly at the side, trying not to make any noise, while the green-haired boy submerged himself in all the readings. She seemed contented to wait, though one could see the slight worry in her eyes when she sees Fakir grow agitated day by day.

Giving out a small sigh, the yellow duck hopped onto his shoulder. Fakir looked at the creature in exasperation.

"What is it that you want, Ahiru?"

The question goes both ways. Ahiru glared straight into his eyes, as if insulting him like she always did before.

The answer is so simple, idiot!

The former knight took a good look at the duck in front of him before widening his eyes in realization. He had been too caught up with trying to solve the puzzle in his dreams that he forgot that Ahiru – the real one – was always here by his side. He had always thought that the times they spend together in his dreams were short, that he needed to hear her voice once more.

But then she never really left him.

And he was stupid to have forgotten that.

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Every single night, she is in his dreams.

When did you realize that you were in love?, she would always ask - A bright yellow duck that seemed to hold infinite sadness in her large blue eyes.

She was just there, a figment of his unconscious mind.

And he knew he was ready to let her go.

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Strengthening his resolve, he looked at the yellow duck of his dreams.

Even in animal form, she looked all solemn and beautiful, but there was something different in her eyes today.

When did you realize you were in love?

"When I knew for certain that I could not save her from her fate."

It was the closest answer to truth that he could give.

Fakir could still remember… that gut-wrenching sadness that gripped his heart when she had decided to give her life away to the man she thought she loved… there was no other time that his emotions had threatened to overwhelm him. He thought at one time he could understand such sacrifice. But… the only thing he really knew was he would do all he can to protect the happiness in her eyes.

Her?

He blushed before answering, "Ahiru"

And something in the duck's face brightened.

Thank you.

She replied, and faded away once again from his eyes. She would not come back, he knew, for this was the last time he would be bothered with this question.

And he woke up, only to find himself at a bright-faced young girl with shining blue eyes.

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Love is all about pain, about sacrifice and suffering.

Will you take it?

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Author's Notes: I'm quite disappointed with this one. No matter what I do, I can't still convey all the emotions I want to in words. Lolz, but then I felt I needed to move on to another fic.. soooo, here it is XD

Edit: A big thanks again to Onigiri Momoko for pointing out some of my mistakes )