[fic] Princess Tutu ; ohgoddidiseriouslywritethis
The small yellow duck carefully peered in through the crack of the door, squinting her eyes to find the large lump underneath the covers of the bed across the room. As silently as she could, she tiptoed on webbed feet over the wooden flooring, making her way over to the bedside while keeping her gaze latched onto the figure.
Ahiru didn’t understand why her friend suddenly wouldn’t allow her to sleep by his side anymore. She liked her place in the basket over on his nightstand! It made her feel comforted, waking up everyday being ‘just a duck’ but knowing she was with the person who would always accept her as she was. She thought Fakir liked it too, because he never had a frown on his face whenever he looked at her scooting in the white sheets. But apparently he didn’t, since a few days ago he came out of nowhere and said that she couldn’t sleep in his room anymore. Ahiru was…downhearted, to say the least. But she did her best to adhere to his instructions.
She did do her best, but…it was turning out to be a lot harder than she thought it would. The duck had grown much more accustomed to the warmth of his bedside than she had originally thought. And the more nights she spent sleeping in the couch downstairs, the more…cold she felt. Alone. It was silly for her to think such things, considering that Fakir really was keeping his promise to always be at her side. There was no reason for her to crave his company during the long nights, but…she did. And it only got worse with each day; until now, where the little duck had resorted to sneaking into his room while he slept.
…Just for a few hours, she told herself. She’ll leave as soon as the sun broke over the horizon. He wouldn’t even know the difference.
Ahiru felt a little guilty, thinking about it. There he was, keeping his promise and intending to never break it, while she couldn’t even adhere to the one request he made of her. Maybe she would understand if he explained why he suddenly didn’t want her beside him while sleeping anymore, but-! …She just…needed him. He always made the weak her feel strong. Even just from listening to his steady breathing while making herself comfortable in the basket.
And it was that very basket the once-girl had her eyes on in that moment, still at its place on the nightstand. Casting one more glance over to her friend to make sure he didn’t notice anything, she turned back and began climbing up as quietly as she could. It was a maneuver that was a little difficult to perform with wings, but she didn’t want to risk making noise by flapping and flying up onto the furniture. She did accidently let out a stifled ‘quack’ at one point, but the dark-haired teen didn’t seem to notice. He continued lying halfway underneath the covers, a forearm settled over his closed eyelids. Ahiru was quickly reminded of another thing she liked about sleeping in his room-she had the opportunity to see Fakir’s face while he slept. It was never furrowed or frowning like it usually was. Just…content. She rather liked the expression.
And as soon as she found herself by the woven threads of the basket, Ahiru easily hopped over the edge and released a satisfied breath upon feeling the soft sheets under her webbed feet. Stepping a little this way and that, she found a comfortable position and slowly settled herself down, her lazy eyes on Fakir as she felt her lids growing heavy. Yes, this was where she was the most at ease. Sleeping by the person who always made her feel strong. And maybe he didn’t want her there, but…just for tonight. She’ll leave in the morning. He’ll never know.
It was with that thought that she allowed her eyes to close, and began silently waiting for sleep to take her off and dream.
And for the next several minutes, it was completely silent. Nothing had stirred, only the faint light of the moon was showing through the window, and it honestly was not much different than trying to sleep downstairs. But one thing was certain: Fakir was at her side. She didn’t even need to look at him to just know he was there and she felt calm.
But after a few more quiet moments, Ahiru picked up on the faint sound of cloth rustling.
And immediately she stiffened, heart pounding. Did she-wake him? The duck lay as still as she could, waiting for him to grumble out and tell her to leave the room. But the words didn’t come.
Hesitantly, she opened one eye and squinted over to the young man. Still in the same position…facing her, arm resting over the top half of his face, everything else under the covers. From what she could tell, his expression didn’t change. And Ahiru had to release a quiet sigh of relief. Oh. He was just adjusting his position. Of course-it was something everyone did in their sleep. She was used to hearing him shifting through the fabric-only now she felt a little more on edge knowing that he would be irritated if he found her there. So with that, she placed her head back down on to her white sheets, trying not to worry about any more noises.
…But after a few more stale moments, it happened again. And again. And gradually Ahiru’s ears were catching a steady rhythm of shifting sheets, and from underneath her eyelids the duck had no idea what to make of it. Fakir never tossed and turned this much, and it never sounded so…organized, either. As if that wasn’t enough, Ahiru was starting to pick up on his breathing more. Normally he was a very quiet sleeper, but suddenly it was slowly growing more and more predominant as the seconds ticked by.
Then she heard a strained, breathy grunt.
With that, she just couldn’t swallow down her curiosity any longer. This time she opened both her eyes, adjusting in the darkness to focus back to her companion.
Ahiru could only see the bottom half of his face, but she did notice his lips were slightly parted, taking in heavier breaths and letting out a quiet strange noise every other second. Her blue eyes were then caught by movement further down the bed, and watched in curiosity as something underneath his sheets rhythmically moved back and forth. The little duck…was completely at a loss on what to think. She stared, almost transfixed at the area of movement, trying to make sense of it. She had never seen Fakir act so strangely in his sleep. Was something wrong?
As if to answer her, the arm over Fakir’s eyes suddenly flopped down beside his head, allowing Ahiru to see his expression for herself. And her eyes only widened upon finding his brows furrowed and his eyes squeezed tightly shut, sweat dotting his forehead. His parted mouth deepened into a frown, and all in all it looked like he was in pain.
The once-girl’s heart clenched. Was he having a nightmare? She-she wanted to flap over and wake him up if that were the case but…but if she did, then he would definitely get on to her for sneaking in his room. But at the same time, she knew what nightmares were like and they were definitely things she wanted to escape from as soon as possible. For the moment, Ahiru was caught between two options. Stay there and watch him living through the dream, or wake him up and risk being lectured at…
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a vocal groan, and she couldn’t stop the startled qua-! from escaping her as she went back to watching with large eyes. Fakir had by then shifted around so that he was sprawled back-first on the mattress, his breathing growing much heavier as the movement increased in speed. With every shift, the sheet covering him lowered slightly, until Ahiru could see the top of his elbow over his abdomen. It looked like…that was what was causing the rapid movement. And it only confused the duck all the more.
She almost wanted to…lean in closer and try to figure out what was going on. For a few short moments, she acted on that impulse, raising her small body and craning her neck over the edge, all the while studying Fakir’s strange behavior intensely. It looked like with each second that passed, his expression grew more severe, and the noises came out in shorter intervals. It wasn’t like any sort of nightmare she had ever seen.
“Ahh-Ahiru,” he suddenly gave a strained gasp, and it took everything the bird had in her not to jump up and flail about quacking. Oh no, he saw her! She must have woken him up somehow and now he was going to yell at her because she couldn’t do one favor to him even though it made her feel lonely and he was going to get mad at her and she’ll have to go back to sleeping in the downstairs and-
…He wasn’t…saying anything.
Ahiru stilled, her heart still ramming in her chest. She heard him right, right? He definitely said her name. But…as she continued looking at him, nothing else seemed to have changed. His eyes were still slammed shut and he was still openly panting. And suddenly his back was moving about as his legs started kicking against the sheets, pushing and shifting and riding down the edge of the bed as his vocal releases continued with increasing ferocity.
The duck blinked as the covers fell off to the side and the once hidden activity was finally revealed.
And…
…What was he doing?
The teen was gripping on something she had, frankly, never seen before. Ahiru tilted her head as she watched his hand sliding back and forth over the strange appendage with a ferocity she’s never witnessed, his head rolling back and mouth wide open on breathy gasps. It was almost…mesmerizing, Ahiru thought to herself while studying the scene as it unfolded. She couldn’t even tell if he really was in pain or not anymore.
And it was as if a switch had been flickered abruptly, and the movements gained almost an erratic shift in intensity. He was moving faster than ever before, his breathing was sharper, and his entire body began shifting about over the mattress, resulting in the creaking of springs.
Ahiru couldn’t even move. It was all too interesting, too…something, seeing Fakir’s face contorted like that. Not in all the time she’d known him had she ever viewed something like it.
And suddenly he was facing her again, eyes closed, hand pumping, teeth hissing. It was escalating higher and higher and she wondered exactly what was going to happen but she couldn’t bring herself to do anything as she watched his back arching and mouth gaping while he opened his eyes that were rolled in the back of his head before focusing out in front of him and catching sight of a-
“AHIRU!?”
“QUAAACK?!”
Both seemed to have jumped out of their beds at the same time, Fakir flailing over the side of his bed and Ahiru flapping her wings about while trying to hide her face. She could hear him falling over the bed and cursing out loud while she tried hiding under her wings.
Perhaps, in this strange moment, she had finally gotten her answer…?
Ahiru didn’t understand why her friend suddenly wouldn’t allow her to sleep by his side anymore. She liked her place in the basket over on his nightstand! It made her feel comforted, waking up everyday being ‘just a duck’ but knowing she was with the person who would always accept her as she was. She thought Fakir liked it too, because he never had a frown on his face whenever he looked at her scooting in the white sheets. But apparently he didn’t, since a few days ago he came out of nowhere and said that she couldn’t sleep in his room anymore. Ahiru was…downhearted, to say the least. But she did her best to adhere to his instructions.
She did do her best, but…it was turning out to be a lot harder than she thought it would. The duck had grown much more accustomed to the warmth of his bedside than she had originally thought. And the more nights she spent sleeping in the couch downstairs, the more…cold she felt. Alone. It was silly for her to think such things, considering that Fakir really was keeping his promise to always be at her side. There was no reason for her to crave his company during the long nights, but…she did. And it only got worse with each day; until now, where the little duck had resorted to sneaking into his room while he slept.
…Just for a few hours, she told herself. She’ll leave as soon as the sun broke over the horizon. He wouldn’t even know the difference.
Ahiru felt a little guilty, thinking about it. There he was, keeping his promise and intending to never break it, while she couldn’t even adhere to the one request he made of her. Maybe she would understand if he explained why he suddenly didn’t want her beside him while sleeping anymore, but-! …She just…needed him. He always made the weak her feel strong. Even just from listening to his steady breathing while making herself comfortable in the basket.
And it was that very basket the once-girl had her eyes on in that moment, still at its place on the nightstand. Casting one more glance over to her friend to make sure he didn’t notice anything, she turned back and began climbing up as quietly as she could. It was a maneuver that was a little difficult to perform with wings, but she didn’t want to risk making noise by flapping and flying up onto the furniture. She did accidently let out a stifled ‘quack’ at one point, but the dark-haired teen didn’t seem to notice. He continued lying halfway underneath the covers, a forearm settled over his closed eyelids. Ahiru was quickly reminded of another thing she liked about sleeping in his room-she had the opportunity to see Fakir’s face while he slept. It was never furrowed or frowning like it usually was. Just…content. She rather liked the expression.
And as soon as she found herself by the woven threads of the basket, Ahiru easily hopped over the edge and released a satisfied breath upon feeling the soft sheets under her webbed feet. Stepping a little this way and that, she found a comfortable position and slowly settled herself down, her lazy eyes on Fakir as she felt her lids growing heavy. Yes, this was where she was the most at ease. Sleeping by the person who always made her feel strong. And maybe he didn’t want her there, but…just for tonight. She’ll leave in the morning. He’ll never know.
It was with that thought that she allowed her eyes to close, and began silently waiting for sleep to take her off and dream.
And for the next several minutes, it was completely silent. Nothing had stirred, only the faint light of the moon was showing through the window, and it honestly was not much different than trying to sleep downstairs. But one thing was certain: Fakir was at her side. She didn’t even need to look at him to just know he was there and she felt calm.
But after a few more quiet moments, Ahiru picked up on the faint sound of cloth rustling.
And immediately she stiffened, heart pounding. Did she-wake him? The duck lay as still as she could, waiting for him to grumble out and tell her to leave the room. But the words didn’t come.
Hesitantly, she opened one eye and squinted over to the young man. Still in the same position…facing her, arm resting over the top half of his face, everything else under the covers. From what she could tell, his expression didn’t change. And Ahiru had to release a quiet sigh of relief. Oh. He was just adjusting his position. Of course-it was something everyone did in their sleep. She was used to hearing him shifting through the fabric-only now she felt a little more on edge knowing that he would be irritated if he found her there. So with that, she placed her head back down on to her white sheets, trying not to worry about any more noises.
…But after a few more stale moments, it happened again. And again. And gradually Ahiru’s ears were catching a steady rhythm of shifting sheets, and from underneath her eyelids the duck had no idea what to make of it. Fakir never tossed and turned this much, and it never sounded so…organized, either. As if that wasn’t enough, Ahiru was starting to pick up on his breathing more. Normally he was a very quiet sleeper, but suddenly it was slowly growing more and more predominant as the seconds ticked by.
Then she heard a strained, breathy grunt.
With that, she just couldn’t swallow down her curiosity any longer. This time she opened both her eyes, adjusting in the darkness to focus back to her companion.
Ahiru could only see the bottom half of his face, but she did notice his lips were slightly parted, taking in heavier breaths and letting out a quiet strange noise every other second. Her blue eyes were then caught by movement further down the bed, and watched in curiosity as something underneath his sheets rhythmically moved back and forth. The little duck…was completely at a loss on what to think. She stared, almost transfixed at the area of movement, trying to make sense of it. She had never seen Fakir act so strangely in his sleep. Was something wrong?
As if to answer her, the arm over Fakir’s eyes suddenly flopped down beside his head, allowing Ahiru to see his expression for herself. And her eyes only widened upon finding his brows furrowed and his eyes squeezed tightly shut, sweat dotting his forehead. His parted mouth deepened into a frown, and all in all it looked like he was in pain.
The once-girl’s heart clenched. Was he having a nightmare? She-she wanted to flap over and wake him up if that were the case but…but if she did, then he would definitely get on to her for sneaking in his room. But at the same time, she knew what nightmares were like and they were definitely things she wanted to escape from as soon as possible. For the moment, Ahiru was caught between two options. Stay there and watch him living through the dream, or wake him up and risk being lectured at…
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a vocal groan, and she couldn’t stop the startled qua-! from escaping her as she went back to watching with large eyes. Fakir had by then shifted around so that he was sprawled back-first on the mattress, his breathing growing much heavier as the movement increased in speed. With every shift, the sheet covering him lowered slightly, until Ahiru could see the top of his elbow over his abdomen. It looked like…that was what was causing the rapid movement. And it only confused the duck all the more.
She almost wanted to…lean in closer and try to figure out what was going on. For a few short moments, she acted on that impulse, raising her small body and craning her neck over the edge, all the while studying Fakir’s strange behavior intensely. It looked like with each second that passed, his expression grew more severe, and the noises came out in shorter intervals. It wasn’t like any sort of nightmare she had ever seen.
“Ahh-Ahiru,” he suddenly gave a strained gasp, and it took everything the bird had in her not to jump up and flail about quacking. Oh no, he saw her! She must have woken him up somehow and now he was going to yell at her because she couldn’t do one favor to him even though it made her feel lonely and he was going to get mad at her and she’ll have to go back to sleeping in the downstairs and-
…He wasn’t…saying anything.
Ahiru stilled, her heart still ramming in her chest. She heard him right, right? He definitely said her name. But…as she continued looking at him, nothing else seemed to have changed. His eyes were still slammed shut and he was still openly panting. And suddenly his back was moving about as his legs started kicking against the sheets, pushing and shifting and riding down the edge of the bed as his vocal releases continued with increasing ferocity.
The duck blinked as the covers fell off to the side and the once hidden activity was finally revealed.
And…
…What was he doing?
The teen was gripping on something she had, frankly, never seen before. Ahiru tilted her head as she watched his hand sliding back and forth over the strange appendage with a ferocity she’s never witnessed, his head rolling back and mouth wide open on breathy gasps. It was almost…mesmerizing, Ahiru thought to herself while studying the scene as it unfolded. She couldn’t even tell if he really was in pain or not anymore.
And it was as if a switch had been flickered abruptly, and the movements gained almost an erratic shift in intensity. He was moving faster than ever before, his breathing was sharper, and his entire body began shifting about over the mattress, resulting in the creaking of springs.
Ahiru couldn’t even move. It was all too interesting, too…something, seeing Fakir’s face contorted like that. Not in all the time she’d known him had she ever viewed something like it.
And suddenly he was facing her again, eyes closed, hand pumping, teeth hissing. It was escalating higher and higher and she wondered exactly what was going to happen but she couldn’t bring herself to do anything as she watched his back arching and mouth gaping while he opened his eyes that were rolled in the back of his head before focusing out in front of him and catching sight of a-
“AHIRU!?”
“QUAAACK?!”
Both seemed to have jumped out of their beds at the same time, Fakir flailing over the side of his bed and Ahiru flapping her wings about while trying to hide her face. She could hear him falling over the bed and cursing out loud while she tried hiding under her wings.
Perhaps, in this strange moment, she had finally gotten her answer…?