I AM BACK

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Lucy was nervous. She tugged at her blue skirt, slightly uncomfortable with how high it rode up her legs.

She stared at herself in the large, bathroom mirror. How long she's waited to finally put on a uniform, to wear the cute red bow-tie and the comfortable vest and jacket.

But now... She just wanted to puke.

"Princess?" Came a slight monotonous voice; two knocks were heard on the door.

Lucy tore her eyes away from the mirror and swallowed thickly, before answering, "Virgo, I'm done!"

"Very good, Princess. Would you like to have pancakes or bacon for breakfast?" Virgo asked from behind the bathroom door.

Lucy fiddled with the pink ribbon in her hair. She felt self conscious about it; what if it attracted too much attention? Well, more attention than the glittering ring on her finger. "I'll... I'll just have some orange juice, please."

There was a pause. "Princess, you need a proper breakfast to maintain your nutritional diet - "

Lucy ignored the rest of Virgo's large speech on dietary needs, and forced herself to breathe.

Almost subconsciously, her right hand twisted the golden ring on her left ring finger.

Making her decision, she reached up and pulled the pink ribbon out of her hair, the side ponytail becoming limp and falling flat against her head.

She sighed, straightening her skirt and vest before opening the door.

Lucy smiled weakly at the purple-haired maid. "Okay. I guess I should eat pancakes, then."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Natsu slung his red backpack over his shoulder, before grabbing a similar yellow one and doing the same thing.

"Lucy!" He called for his wife. Holy gods that sounded weird. It's been - what, a month, a month and a half? - since they got married, but it was hard to outwardly acknowledge it without blushing in embarrassment.

Hell, he wasn't even twenty, and he was fucking married!

"Luce! You ready?" Natsu yelled again when he didn't hear an answer.

There was a slight shuffling sound and some scrambling, before he caught the scent of vanilla and strawberries around the corner.

Lucy ran up to him, a sheepish smile on her face. Her right hand was holding tightly onto her slim phone, and in her left one, she held two bentos.

Natsu couldn't help but notice the shimmering ring, and he gulped before looking at Lucy.

"Here, Natsu," she beamed, her voice slightly breathless. She presented to him one of the bentos, and he blinked.

"Me?" He asked, reaching out and grabbing it.

Lucy nodded enthusiastically. "I-I stayed up last night making them," she said awkwardly. She fiddled with her ring.

"Thanks, Luce." He grinned, feeling warmth spread in his chest.

She smiled back, before frowning slightly. "Hey. Why are you carrying my backpack?" As she said this, she reached out and tried to swipe said pack away from him.

He merely dodged. "Nuh uh. I'm holding them both."

"Natsu! Give it to me!"

"No!"

Lucy whined as she tried to again grab it, but Natsu could only laugh loudly as he swung away effortlessly.

"C'mon, Luce! We're gonna be late for school!" He said in a teasing voice, opening the door.

Lucy's face went red. "You - " She sputtered.

"See ya!" He cackled, before Natsu hopped out the door and ran like heck.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Natsu jogged to the sleek, black car and climbed into it.

"What're you running from?" Gray snorted.

"Lucy," Natsu said nonchalantly. "And put your shirt on, you stripper!"

"I had it on two seconds ago!"

"Do the two of you ever stop?" Levy rolled her eyes.

"Ah~ Gray-sama~" Juvia was the only one who wasn't paying attention as she swooned.

Lucy finally climbed in, shooting a dirty look to a cheekily grinning Natsu.

As the driver started the car, Lucy spoke. "Hey, why are there only us in here?"

"What are you talking about?" Gray frowned.

"Well, there are a lot of people I saw back home our age. You know, like Erza. Why aren't they coming to school?"

"Ha!" Natsu immediately chortled. "Erza?"

Levy smiled. "Lu-chan, Erza's twenty-three."

Lucy's jaw dropped. "She... She's that old?" She sputtered. "She looks so young!"

"Heh. It's also why she has the pole up her ass," Gray snorted.

"Juvia thinks Erza-san is very mature," Juvia piped in.

Lucy was silent. Was Erza really twenty-three? And she had never known? A feeling whelmed in her chest. Guilt. She had been living in the castle for a good two or three months, and she knew absolutely nothing about the others who lived there.

She was a terrible person.

Lucy sighed quietly, and her fingers fumbled with her ring the rest of the time as the driver got them to school.

"Your highness, we're here," the man said in his soft voice.

Both Natsu and Lucy flinched at the 'your highness' part. "Right. You know when to pick us up, Joey!" Natsu said, climbing out first.

"Ah, it's great to be back here." Levy sighed as Gray, the last one out, shut the door and Joey drived away.

"Yeah, no kidding. Can't wait for the festival," Natsu snickered as they started walking.

It was magnificent; the school, that is. It was huge, made up of a combination of wood and marble. A proud orange banner displaying the school symbol was hung at the front, and Lucy could practically feel the waves of pride and genuine care for this school roll off of the flag.

The school grounds was beautiful as well; randomly planted sakura trees were scattered, soft pink petals drifting down from time to time. A stone path made from worn down bricks lead them from the gates to the entrance, where in front of it was a large pond and several lily pads sat on the water.

"This is amazing," Lucy breathed, her grip on her phone tight as she walked between Natsu and Juvia.

"Heh, we've been going here since we were little kids," Gray said, his hands behind his head. It didn't surprise any of them when he had only his pants and tie on.

"Gray, your shirt," Lucy acknowledged. "And what do you mean by little kids?"

"Fairy Tail is like that. It's more like a home than a school, I guess. All ages can go there, and there's even a college path you can take here. Why do you think it's so big?" Levy explained.

"Indeed!" Juvia beamed. "Juvia has gone here since last year, when she was transferred from Phantom! Gajeel-kun had come along with Juvia, but he decided to drop school to focus more on his job."

"Which I still can't believe, by the way." Levy snapped. "Why would he drop his education?"

The two blunettes started to bicker, Gray muttering to himself as he tried to look for his discarded shirt.

Ignoring them, Natsu grinned at Lucy. He tilted his head up at the enormous school they were headed towards. "Welcome to Fairy Tail!"

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Ah, man. Finals are kicking my ass right now, which is why this is out later than it should be.

Did you like how I made Fairy Tail a cool all-grades-meshed-together school? I like it.

Maybe next chapter we can have little glimpses away from Lucy's paradise, and instead into the dark world of hurtful rumors and backstabbing friends.

Please review!

UNTIL NEXT TIME