A/N: This chapter is for the talented Mangaka-chan whose wonderful drawing inspired me to finally work on this again. The dialogue between Pique and Lillie was inspired by her work, and I've cited which lines in particular are hers. To see the particular piece that inspired this chapter, please go to (and of course fill in appropriate punctuation):

mangaka-chan(dot)deviantart(dot)com(slash)art(slash)What-happens-when-51935670

I know it was a long wait, but I wasn't in dire stressed out straits enough to write a fluffy chapter. I hope you enjoy it and I hope that I wrote Pique and Lillie as both in-character and more three-dimensional than I usually portray them as.

Summary: An unabashedly sappy sequel to my other story Princess Tutu OVA: Chapter of the Girl. Following the quotidian details that compose Ahiru and Fakir's happily ever after.

Disclaimer: I own neither Princess Tutu nor any of the quoted/cited material.
.

.
Fakir was disgruntled. Why did he have to concern himself with the opinions of busybody nobodies? Why did he have to deal with the excited whispers that seemed to crackle like a wildfire from gossipmongers, the disbelieving stares from nosy students when he held Ahiru's hands in his own, his eyes smiling into hers even as his mouth frowned, and nodded in parting as they headed towards the respective buildings of their arts the next morning?

He seethed over it throughout Felidae's lecture on editing and revision. The eccentric man who seemed to be possessed by the spirit of his old feline ballet instructor was droning on as usual. He hated the whispers and speculation. Didn't these people have anything better to do with their time than mark the changes in his personal life? Of course his reputation as a vengeful murderer when the entire school had thought he had attempted to kill Mytho by pushing him out of a window also influenced his attitude towards their rubber-necking. So willing to believe and so sure in their knowledge, they were just a bunch of fools who couldn't see truth because they never looked for it. They chased shadows of people, claiming to know the real thing.

He had never cared for the opinions of the ignorant, but he wondered now, if he would have been able to get through that experience—when the entire school thought him capable of murdering his best friend—if Ahiru too had believed him such a villain. The entire situation had been a trying one: the horrific transformation in Mytho, the threatening return of the Raven, the atmosphere of distrust and suspicion at school, Charon's disappointment in his suspension. In fact, the only constant in his life at that point had been Ahiru's unwavering belief that he was a decent human being. No, the rest did not bear thinking on.

And of course, just as Fakir had come to that conclusion, he found an irritated Felidae looming over his desk.
.

.
Ahiru couldn't really believe things were working out so well. It was all like one of those perfect high school romances in those novels that Pique was always secretly reading. The pink-haired girl was usually the level-headed one of their group, but somehow Ahiru had not been surprised when Pique had confessed embarrassedly to the guilty pleasure she took in reading romances. No doubt this is exactly what it felt like to live one of those romances. Well, except for the part where Fakir was crankier than the ideal tall, dark, handsome, and deliciously romantic boyfriend Pique tended to describe. But that was ok too. Ahiru liked his crankiness.

As if the thoughts had summoned her, Pique rushed through the locker room door just as Ahiru started pulling her practice clothes out. "Ahiru!" Pique exclaimed slightly winded. "What are you doing here so early?"

Ahiru blushed and hoped Pique would not notice as she stammered out ,"S-someone walked with me from the dorms!"

Pique looked mildly curious, as she continued, "Oh, so you were probably already gone when we knocked on your door. What in the world could possibly have gotten you up that early? I gave you up as a lost cause since I thought that you must've been sleeping like the dead if you didn't hear the racket we made!"

"Ahahaha…" Ahiru looked around sheepishly, not wanting to admit that she had set four separate alarm clocks several hours early so in order to avoid oversleeping at all costs. The last thing she wanted to do was stand Fakir up by after making plans last night to walk from the dorms to the classroom buildings with him. In fact, the plan had worked out so well that they'd even had time for breakfast—this was probably the first time she'd ever actually had that particular meal in her life Ahiru had thought and remarked in awe to Fakir. He had merely grunted and made monosyllabic responses until getting that first cup of coffee into him. In a desperate bid to distract Pique from asking any more embarrassing questions, Ahiru blurted out, "Where's Lillie?"

"She got sidetracked by a crowd that was buzzing around outside. I didn't want to be late so I told her I'd go up ahead."

Both girls were in their leotards and lacing up their toeshoes when Lillie pushed open the door with a bang and promptly bent over with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath.

"Oh! I have" she puffed, "the most hair-raisingly exciting news!"

As she took another deep gulp of air, Pique interrupted, "No time for that now. Hurry and change, you'll be late." She ushered Ahiru out into the practice rooms as both girls heard a muffled wail behind them, "La-ate?! But that's Ahiru's job!"

They had already started their stretches on the barre by the time Lillie joined them, but fortunately, this ballet teacher, who was no where near as omnipresent as Neko-sensei, had not noticed her tardiness.

Lillie really didn't have an indoors-voice, so even as she attempted to whisper, her words seemed to permeate the entire room, "You won't believe what I just heard!"

In a much quieter voice, Pique, who was raising her left leg as far as she could, asked "Is this the bit of gossip that made you late?"

Lillie had given up any pretence of ballet altogether—it took far too much breath to speak and try to bend yourself nearly in half and no one needed lecture Lillie about her priorities; she had them in exactly the order they needed to be with gossip at the top of the list. "Yes! And wait until you hear it! I know your dying to hear it! As a good friend, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Fakir-sama is in love!" She smiled widely in the glee of having such a choice tidbit to share with her friends. Before either Pique or Ahiru could react, Lillie continued, "He was seen this morning hold hand with—wait for it—" and she concluded triumphantly, "a girl!"

Ahiru blushed a deep beet red. But since she was behind both her friends, neither noticed. The picture of boredom, Pique replied "As opposed to what? A duck? Really, Lillie, is this the best you can do? Don't they know who it was?"

As if Pique had not even spoken, Lillie reached out her hands and rested them in a comforting gesture on Pique's shoulders. But really, having been on the receiving end of such comforting gestures, Ahiru knew that that grip was more like a chokehold. "Oh, Pique! I know you're trying to hide your broken heart! You must be shattered, knowing your one true love was found in the arms of another—"

"Well, actually…" Ahiru tried to interrupt her, but her own mortification at the whole situation and Lillie mid-condolence were to much to overcome.

Really, Ahiru would have attempted to straighten things out at least one more time, but just then, she looked up into the irritated gaze of their ballet instructor who tapped her foot impatiently until all gazes met her own displeased one. That certainly ended the discussion.
.

.
Fakir had no idea how it had happened. Granted Ahiru's hanger-oners usually joined them for lunch, but never before had the experience been quite so tedious. The blonde one looked ready to burst with a flood of questions and kept eyeing him the like the proverbial fox found in the henhouse with its mouth full of feathers. But every time she opened up her mouth, the pink one would rush in and start rattling off some nonsense. Meanwhile, Ahiru kept shifting around every few minutes as if deeply uncomfortable. This preoccupied him even more and he only caught traces of Pink's—really, he would have to learn their names someday as it seemed Ahiru was bent on continuing the friendship—convoluted and nonsensical account of a shopping trip.

"But although it ended up that there wasn't a sale after all, there were real finds there. Yup, there were some real pearls among the swine," Pique concluded complacently.

Fakir didn't even know where to begin correcting that abused metaphor. No, abused didn't do justice to it. That pink-haired girl had mangled the proverb and it had died a gory death. Silence was the better part of valor Fakir decided.

Ahiru twitched again. She had no idea how to fix this. Until Lillie's words this morning, she had completely forgotten that Pique was part of, what she called "The Fakir-sama Fraction" or was it "Faction"? At any rate, how could she possibly tell her friend? It felt oddly like betrayal. Would Pique be hurt? She'd seemed unaffected when Lillie had first sprung that rumor on them. But now, she was acting so strangely, Ahiru didn't know what to make of any of it.
.

.
Pique was trying desperately with whatever came to mind to cover Lillie's-not-so-subtle questioning and it seemed no one was willing to help her. Granted she was as eager to hear who had snagged Kinkan Academy's Most Eligible Bachelor as the next member of the Fakir-sama Faction Fanclub, she was also certain that the stormy Byronic hero would through a fit of epic proportions if Lillie outright asked him as it seemed she was more than unabashedly willing to.

But it seemed luck was not with her that day for Pique, who, much like any teenaged girl, could chatter away for hours if need be, could not think of any thing else to say. Lillie practically pounced on her opportunity, hands clasped, squirming like an over eager five-year-old as she asked, "Tell us, Fakir-senpai, who is it?! Who's your mystery dream-girl? The whole school has been talking about her, but no one knows who she is and it's just like Cinderella! Oh, how terribly romantic! Since no one knows her identity, once she disappears you won't be able to find her, you'll be parted for years, until you try on glass slippers and it will be so beautifully tragic—"

And on and on she continued. Well, Fakir thought caustically, at least the pink-haired girl seems to possess a few more brain cells than the blonde. As ridiculous as her ramblings were, Fakir couldn't help feeling chilled by the seed of truth in them. That if he denied his feelings for her, somehow Ahiru would disappear from his life.

No, he couldn't brush off the question and tell this twitter-pated busybody to mind her own damn business. He had grasped after the broken glass incident that pushing her away was the fastest road to realizing his fears that she would leave him. Besides, Ahiru wouldn't brook rudeness to her friends. Hell, she'd probably get upset at him for being rude to strangers; but that gruffness was part of his character wasn't it? Love wasn't supposed to change you, was it? If you had to change for love, it wasn't love. But then again, love also involved being more concerned for someone else's feelings. For Ahiru he would have to at least try to bear this idiocy.

In that instant, his mind was decided, his resolution firm. He turned to Ahiru and met her shell-shocked and he was ashamed to admit, somewhat fearful—was she afraid she would deny his feelings and reject her again as he had first done in front of Charon?—gaze. Had his resolution been lacking, her insecurity would certainly have decided the matter for him. Fakir was not one for public displays of affection, but sometimes, actions were so much easier than words. An odd thought for a writer, but he felt their truth to his core. Or perhaps it was the perfect thought for a writer, for who else would know the cost of words better than on who must trade in them?

And so he took her hand in a gesture that was so old-fashioned it would have looked ridiculous in anyone else, and brought it to his lips, gently kissing the smooth tanned skin of her knuckles. He looked into her clear blue eyes, startled by this unexpected behavior on his part and he smirked slightly as he told her, "I'll be in library."

Although he would never admit it, Fakir was beating a hasty retreat. He'd made his gesture, clarified his position, but there was nothing in the world that could keep him lingering now that he saw those disturbing gleams lighting up the eyes of Ahiru's friends. They looked like cats ready to pounce on a poor unsuspecting bird. He could almost see their tails lashing back and forth in anticipation. He breathed a sigh of relief when the library doors closed behind him.
.

.
Two pairs of eyes watched Fakir first kiss their friend's hand and then walk away casually and then all hell broke loose. Of course Pique was a little disappointed that Fakir-sama hadn't chosen her for his girlfriend, but if Pique were honest with herself, she could admit that this was a long time in coming what with all the time Ahiru and Fakir-sama spent together. Seeing the stunned, happy look on the face of the red-headed girl beside her, Pique realized she was really and truly happy for Ahiru. Oh, this was turning out to be just like the romance novel Pique had read last night! Where the quiet, sweet, elegant Cordelia Rosalind—although Pique would have to admit it would be hard to describe Ahiru in exactly those terms—was swept away by the deeply tortured, yet darkly handsome Jean-Lucien!
.
.

It shouldn't be possible, Ahiru told herself as she unconsciously raised the hand to her cheek, but I can still feel the brush of his lips on my hand. She gazed after Fakir almost in awe. Of course she had believed him when he had said he loved her. But to see him admit it so freely to the world…She knew what it must have cost him to go against his prickly nature and—

Surprisingly, Pique got to her before Lillie did; the blonde had been too distracted by squeeing in delighted excitement at this choice bit of gossip. With a look of excited curiosity and a genuine smile, Pique grabbed her dazed friend's shoulder and asked eagerly (1), "So how did Fakir-sama confess to you? I wanna hear all the sappy sweet and cavity inducing details!"

But before Ahiru could so much as open her mouth, Lillie's enthusiastic elbow hooked around her neck. "Oh isn't that just so cute!" she squeaked. Ahiru could almost see the hearts materializing around her. "And then they'll get married and have 10 wonderfully weird and delinquent little children and then…"
.
.
.
Until next time...

(1) The dialogue starting from this point is from Mangaka-chan's delightful illustration on which this chapter is based. Her drawing is well worth the look. Again, it's at mangaka-chan(dot)deviantart(dot)com(slash)art(slash)What-happens-when-51935670