Author's Notes: This is a collection of themes I'm doing for two different LJ Communities: 101 Kisses and 50 Lovequotes, respectively. Pairing is Fakir/Ahiru for both claims (What can I say? I'm attached). I thought I might as well post them here, since the majority are fanfiction/drabbles based on each theme. Though they're not in order. I do whichever strikes inspiration at any given point of time. Ratings on each will probably range from G to PG-13. I'll mark each just in case.

Anyway, hope you enjoy. This will updated as I do more themes. Reviews are welcome and appreciated.

Disclaimer: Princess Tutu and all of its characters are not mine.

(Notes for theme #1: Takes place after the anime ends. Ahiru has regained girl form and the two of them are shacked up in Fakir's cottage, outside of Kinkan Town. References made to Acts 6 and 8 in the anime.)

(101 Kisses - Theme #1: Starlight ---- Rating: G)

------------------

Guiding Lights

-----------------

She had a habit of "disappearing" when his back was turned, even for a moment. It was like she couldn't stand still. (Or perhaps, he mused, merely had the attention span of a four year old.) The duck-like girl was always moving, with only the light of curiosity to guide her wandering feet. It was no wonder she got herself into trouble so often. Whether it were getting lost, unknowingly immersing herself into things she shouldn't have, or pulling one of her clumsy stunts, that girl would manage to do it every single time.

It was one of Ahiru's...special talents.

Therefore, he should have expected that the second he gave his attention to the woodstove and lit the dying embers within, something would grab her attention in that short time span and effectively lead her out of his view.

Instead, when he whirled about to check on her, he found himself mildly surprised that the redhead was missing and the cottage door left slightly ajar. It was a frigid December night, afterall. Was she trying to catch a cold or something?

"Idiot," he mumbled in an agitated fashion, brushing a dark lock of hair from his face as he rose from his kneeling position and headed toward the open entrance.

Right before he pulled the wooden door fully open, her voice rang clear from just beyond his standing point.

"Fakir!" she called, tone loud enough to mirror that she believed him to still be inside the house. "Will you come outside for a minute?"

"What is it?" he questioned casually, the door creaking as he pushed it aside. "It's freezing out here," he noted with a shiver and immediately frowned at her lack of proper apparel for such conditions. "Couldn't you have at least grabbed a coat or something? You're so careless."

She ignored his commentary, pointing upward with undisguised delight. "Look, look!"

He gazed upward, not impressed in the least. "I don't see anything worth getting riled up about," he remarked, turning back around. "You'd better get back inside before catch something."

His leave was halted, in the form of one pale hand catching his own.

"You didn't even look," she accused with a frown of her own, pulling his taller form closer to hers.

He sighed, unable to resist her, and obediantly turned his emerald eyes skyward again. "They're just stars," he said after a moment.

"We don't get to see them very often, since the sky is usually too clouded," she argued. "And they're not just stars, Fakir."

He raised one eyebrow, green orbs focusing on her. "Oh? What are they supposed to be then?"

Ahiru lifted her head higher, and for a moment, he was stunned by how pretty she looked when the moonlight kissed her skin.

"I think they're special lights," she mused with a smile. "They're like the gems Edel-san used to carry." She raised her free hand and pointed toward a very bright star in far north. "You see that one? That's Hope." Her finger trailed over the sky, picking each out one by one. "Over there is Courage, the red and white stars right next to each other. And Dream is the soft blue-ish one over here..."

He felt himself smile a little as she named them, one by one.

"You can't see them all the time," she continued, eyes reflecting the sparkling constellations, "but I know they'll always be up there somewhere. And I feel a little happier knowing that."

She fell silent then, and he tugged lightly on the hand still grasping his own. "Alright, Ahiru. That's enough stargazing for one night. You should get indoors and warm up by the fire."

"Okay, okay," she agreed finally, allowing him to usher her small figure beyond the threshold and into the waiting warmth.

Fakir cast "Hope" a final glance before closing the door soundly behind them.

Maybe they weren't just stars, afterall.