DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PRINCESS TUTU NOR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS

AUTHORS NOTE: Wow my first upload in how many years of being on this site? I've had this idea in my head for a loooooooooooong time. And yes I know it's been done time and time again but oh well! ^^ I apologize for any mistakes, it's been a bit since I watched the show all the way through. Thank you!

'The water's so clear today. I wonder if Fakir will want to swim.'

A golden feathered duck floated about lazily on the clear waters of a lake staring dreamily at her reflection on the water. Crystal blue eyes looked up at her from her reflection. Anyone walking by the lake would think this an odd thing for a duck to do. Why would a duck need to look at its reflection? But this was no ordinary duck. This particular duck had once been a girl. For a brief period of time, Ahiru was a girl who studied ballet at the local academy. While she wasn't the best ballerina in the class she enjoyed every moment of it. Sometimes when she was sure she was alone, Ahiru would attempt to dance as she used to, but her flat feet were not made to dance.

But not only was Ahiru a student, she was also Princess Tutu. A beautiful girl charged with piecing a handsome prince's heart back together. As the human Ahiru and Princess Tutu, she fell in love, had her heart broken, fell in love again and saved the town from the evil raven. However, once all was said and done, Ahiru was turned back into a duck and the Prince married her good friend Rue.

However, the knight, Fakir, stayed diligently by her side ever since then. As he promised he would. He cared for her and loved her as best he could and she loved him even more for it. But Ahiru could tell that sometimes he was lonely. Ahiru, being a duck, wasn't exactly a great conversationalist. But she listened as hard as she could when he talked and tried her best to convey her feelings and responses in her own unique way. Even then though, Ahiru wished she could do more.

A thought flashed across her mind.

'I wish I was human again.'

Ahiru gasped and covered her beak with her wings.

'No! I promised Fakir that I would be happy returning back to how I really am. I promised…'

Even so, Ahiru felt a weight in her heart. She wondered if Fakir would ever get married. It wasn't like she could marry him as a duck and eventually Fakir may want to have a family. Ahiru felt her heart break at the thought and she shook her head to get rid of it. She sighed and floated lazily closer to the forest shore. It was the opposite of where Fakir would be arriving but she figured she could fit in a small nap in the shade before he came.

"Hello."

"Quack!" Ahiru jumped and put a wing over her furiously beating heart as she looked at the form walking around one of the trees in front of her.

It was a woman, a beautiful woman. She wore a deep purple gown that came off her shoulders and fell around her like water. Her raven hair came well below her waist and golden eyes shone from her pale face. The woman smiled warmly and knelt to the ground, which Ahiru though was a shame in such a pretty dress.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to frighten you little duck." The woman held her hand out in front of Ahiru peacefully and waited while Ahiru took a precautionary sniff.

'She even smells beautiful.' Ahiru thought in admiration as she took in the smell of lavender and pine.

The woman gave another gentile smile and placed a light hand on Ahiru's head. Suddenly flashes of her everything went through her mind. Her as a ballet student, as Tutu finding heart shards, Drosselmeyer, struggling against Kraehe and working with Fakir, becoming a duck and everything in the three years since then. When the flashes finished, Ahiru, who had closed her eyes at one point, opened them and looked to the woman in shocked question. She was taken-aback to find the woman with tears in her eyes as she looked back at Ahiru. She gathered Ahiru's small body into her arms and held her to her chest. Ahiru found the woman was warm and closed her eyes at the contact against the strangeness of the situation.

"Oh you poor little duck. What you've been through. And to only be returned to a simple life as a duck."

Ahiru looked up at the woman in surprise. How did she know? What were those memories?

"Quack qua qua?" 'Who are you?'

"Only a sad bystander. I was watching you float along on the water and I knew you weren't a normal duck. You have such a spirit and soul that many humans are but a candle to your flame. You've done so much and have been given so little. You deserve do much more."

Ahiru's eyes widened and she shook her head furiously and waved her wings.

"Qua quack! Quack qua quack quack qua qu qua! Qua quack!" 'Oh no! Fakir has been so nice to me! I'm fine!'

The woman gave Ahiru such a warm loving smile that she blushed and had to look away.

"You have such a pure heart. So full of loyalty and love. If you would allow me, I would like to give you a gift. "

Ahiru looked back at her, her eyes filled with confusion. But she trusted the woman, she didn't know why, but as she looked into her golden eyes she felt like she was safe from every evil the world had to give. Ahiru nodded.

The woman's smile, if possible, became brighter and she closed her eyes and brought her lips to the top of Ahiru's head. Ahiru blushed but soon her eyes grew heavy. She was brought to the woman's chest once again and her melodic voice rang in her ears as she drifted out of consciousness.

"You deserved to be happy Ahiru. Live your life well with the one you love and have no regrets. Live and love Ahiru, that is all I ask of you."

Fakir sighed as he slipped out of his ballet shoes and into his everyday black shoes. As two of his students were struggling, he had to stay a little late to help them with their form. He hoped Ahiru wouldn't be too angry that he was late. As Fakir made his way out of the dance building, he nodded and smiled politely to those who addressed him. After a particularly giggly group of his female students passed, batting their eyes at him, he rolled his eyes and set off down the path toward the lake.

He smiled as he thought of Ahiru's erratic quacks and flapping when he got to the lake, no doubt asking where he was and what took him so long. He had gotten good at guessing what Ahiru was saying after three years of her being a duck.

His face fell as his thoughts began to drift. He had lost count of how many times he'd tried to write her back into a human. Ahiru was there and watching the first two times but she resigned after that and thought he had to. She didn't know that he tried almost every night in the past two years. He knew that she wished herself a human again. It didn't take a genius to guess that after seeing her stare at her reflection in the water so many times. Fakir was happy as long as she was with him, but if being a human was what she wanted, then he would die trying to make it happen.

He would be lying if he said he wouldn't be ecstatic of she became human again. He barely remembered what she looked like as a human anymore, and definitely couldn't remember her voice. He would give anything to hear her human voice again, and be able to run his hand through her long red hair, the only feature he clearly remembered about her.

Fakir sighed and ran a hand over his face. What was he doing? He was perfectly happy with how she was now and as long as he had her his life was good. He was just being an idiot. A smile came back to his face as the lake came into view and he cleared his mind of all previous thoughts. He walked and stood next to the dock looking out at the water. After seeing no yellow tail feather bobbing along the water, Fakir's brow furrowed.

"Ahiru?" He called out.

He scanned the shore then, thinking she may be sleeping in the late afternoon sun. His eyes stopped on a pair of legs showing from behind a tree. He fallowed the legs to a light blue dress clad body lying under a tree, not moving. Fakir dropped his bag on the ground and rushed over to the girl. As he came around the tree he froze and his emerald eyes went wide. Familiar fiery red hair fanned out on the ground around the girl and framed her creamy, pale face. Fakir shook his head, telling his head and hammering heart that what he thought couldn't be true. He knelt down next to the girl and put a hand to the back of her head, ignoring the silky feel of her hair. He turned her head toward him and took her wrist in his other hand. He felt a pulse and sighed in relief. He then shook her shoulder, still supporting her head in his hand.

"Hey, miss, are you alright?"

The young woman stirred and opened her eyes a bit to reveal eyes all too familiar to Fakir. Before he could stop himself he gasped.

"Ahiru?"

Ahiru felt heavy. Her whole body was heavy and cold. Her mind felt clouded and she wondered vaguely if she was dead. But no, that couldn't be possible, she could hear Fakir. Fakir? Ahiru forced her eyes open, fighting against the heavy feeling. Her vision was blurry so she blinked a few times till it became clearer. Fakir's shocked face came into her vision and she smiled.

"Fakir."

Fakir's eyes widened and he sat there frozen. Ahiru frowned as she looked up at him.

"What's wrong Fakir? Why are you looking at me like-" Ahiru's own eyes widened as she heard what had Fakir speechless.

She put a hand to her throat. Hand. Throat. Ahiru gasped and shot up from the ground, ramming her head into Fakir's. Ahiru cried out in pain and clutched her hands to her forehead as Fakir instinctively cursed and clutched his own.

"Owwwwww! That hurt!" Ahiru rubbed her forehead with her fingers before she gasped again and pulled her hands away and held them in front of her eyes.

Ahiru clenched her hands then relaxed them. She wiggled her fingers then looked down at her bare feet and wiggled her toes. Her face lit up in a wide smile and she laughed.

"Fakir! Look! Toes!" She giggled and took a lock of red hair in her hand and held it in front of her face.

She looked to Fakir and froze at his expression of shock, his hand frozen on his forehead. Ahiru felt her heart sink and she frantically waved her arms around.

"Oh Fakir you're not angry are you? Oh I'm sorry Fakir! I know I said I would go back to how I was but this pretty lady came and said she wanted to give me a gift! And then I went to sleep and I woke up like this, oh please don't be mad!" Ahiru, using the tree as support, stood up on shaky legs. Fakir quickly stood as well.

"I'll go try and find her again and have her change me back!" She pushed away from the tree and took a step but her knees gave out under her.

Fakir caught her as she fell and silently held her to him. Ahiru, her face against his chest, blushed before looking down ashamedly.

"I'm so sorry Fakir. Please-"

"Shut up."

Ahiru's eyes widened and she looked up, afraid of what she might see in his face. She was surprised to find a smile on his face as he looked at her. Fakir put a hand to her cheek and moved it to her hair, running his finger through the waves. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

"Idiot. How could you think I would be mad?"

Ahiru felt tears in her eyes as she wrapped her own arms around his middle. She breathed in his sent of ink, paper and a hint of steel and she felt her heart swell. She pulled back to look up into his face, and righted her legs underneath her. She giggled and looked down at her body. She wondered for a moment where she got the dress, but her mind flashed to the beautiful woman and she smiled. She ran her hands along the front of the dress, feeling the beaded embroidery along the chest. The dress clung to her in the perfect places, showing off her new much more developed body. Ahiru blushed and she glanced at Fakir, who was trying very hard not to take notice of the changes, but failing miserably. She grinned up at Fakir, her eyes as bright as always.

"Isn't this great Fakir? I'm human! I don't even need a pendent!"

Ahiru put a hand to her neck noticing her voice had changed as well. It was a little deeper and smoother then before but it was still very distinctly hers. Fakir smiled and nodded as he kept a firm hold around her waist to keep her steady. A cool breeze came over the lake and shore causing Ahiru so shiver, not used to the cold on her bare skin. Fakir frowned before quickly hefting Ahiru in his arms.

Ahiru squeaked and wrapped her arms around Fakir's neck. Fakir chuckled as he walked to where he dropped his bag.

"I'm not going to drop you Ahiru. You can stop strangling me."

Ahiru blushed and loosened her grip. Fakir easily stooped and snatched up his bag and carried both the bag and Ahiru to the house they shared. He placed Ahiru gently on her feet and kept a firm grip on her as he opened the door. Ahiru leaned heavily against Fakir as he began to lead her inside. Half way through the door a group of voices stopped them and Fakir turned them both around to face the group of female students from his class. They all looked at Fakir with stars in their eyes until they saw Ahiru. Their expressions then turned suspicious and stony.

"Evening Mr. Fakir! Who's your friend?"

Fakir smiled politely and nodded to his students.

"Evening girls. This is my friend Ahiru. We were classmates at the academy."

Ahiru gave the girls a wide smile and waved while still leaning against Fakir.

"Hello! Nice to meet some of Fakir's students!" Fakir gave a small smirk at her enthusiasm.

The girls however scowled and one even scoffed.

"She's a ballerina?"

Ahiru felt her face flush and she puffed up defensively. But before she could utter a single word Fakir wrapped his arm tighter around her.

"I'll have you know that Ahiru is the single best dancer I have ever seen, and most likely ever will see. Have a good night ladies. See you tomorrow." Fakir then turned the furiously blushing Ahiru around and led her away from the shocked group of girls and shut the door.

Fakir sighed and sat Ahiru down and the small table in the middle of the room.

"I'm sorry about them. They can be a bit abrasive."

He then lit a few lamps around the room and turned to look at Ahiru who was twisting her long hair in her hands nervously. Fakir couldn't look away. He was afraid that if he did she would disappear and the dream would end.

"Are you really here?"

Ahiru looked up at Fakir, knowing that he was staring and blushed under his gaze. She smiled reassuringly.

"I'm pretty sure." She giggled and tried to stand from the table, feeling a bit steadier on her legs.

"You didn't need to lie for me though Fakir."

Fakir frowned then.

"Lie? What are you talking about?"

Ahiru blushed but tried to look nonchalant.

"About me being a good dancer. I may have been three years ago but I can barely even walk now. And even then it was only Tutu." Ahiru flushed even more as she brushed invisible dirt off the front of her dress.

Fakir looked at her confusedly before rushing forward and grabbing her hand pulling her into a basic, instinctual ballet form, making sure to support her where necessary.

"I never lied. Give it time. I'll get you back to how you were." He smirked and Ahiru felt an omnious shiver run down her spine.

"You were Tutu, and Tutu was you. I will never see another dance like you did." He said quietly, his face quite near hers.

Ahiru flushed brilliantly, reminded very strongly of the last time they danced together. She nodded as she looked into his eyes and smiled. Fakir, half to make sure he wasn't dreaming and half because he had meant to three years ago, lowered his head an inch and met her lips with his. Ahiru's eyes widened more than they ever had, but soon they slid closed and she returned his affection with her own. Fakir pulled away and smiled, his green eyes smoldering.

"This is real, right?"

Ahiru gave him a loving smile and pressed her forehead against his, feeling where they collided earlier that day.

"I'm pretty sure."