I do not own Fairy Tail.

"Is there anything else you would like, Lucy?"

"I should be asking you that, Virgo."

It's been three days since Virgo revealed her true form to Lucy, and those chains on her wrists might as well have been attached to Lucy with all the time that Virgo spent by her side.

No doubt about it: Virgo was much happier than before.

But Lucy wasn't satisfied.

Over the course of the three days, Virgo had done countless things for her, but had never asked for anything. Whenever Lucy had tried to see if Virgo wanted anything, she had said that she had everything she wanted.

What was the point of freeing somebody if they were just going to chain themselves back up to something else?

Something needed to change, but what?

"Hey, Virgo?"

"Yes, Lucy?"

"When was the last time you took those manacles off?"

"I haven't."

"Huh? You mean you've had those manacles on your entire life?"

"Uh-huh."

"What do they do?"

"They act as a symbol of my servitude."

"Ok then… why don't you take them off?"

"Because I'm a servant. I exist to serve. Taking them off would be giving up part of my identity."

Lucy mumbles, "Sounds like a part you don't need to me," then says, "Well you aren't a servant right now. So why don't you take them off?"

"But I am a servant."

"No, you're a friend. And while servitude is a one-way street, friendship is a two-way street. As friends, neither of us is a servant. So why don't you take them off?"

Virgo lowers her head and starts working on one of her manacles, saying, "Well, if you want me to take them off…"

Lucy reaches out and grabs her wrist, stopping her. "What I want is for you to be happy. I want you to do what YOU want to do, instead of only doing what others want you to do."

Virgo smiles at her and says, "Just knowing how much you care for me makes me happier than I've ever been, and what I want to do is make you happy, too."

Lucy feels her face heat up and turns around, putting her hands against her cheeks: 'why am I blushing?'

Virgo notices Lucy turn around and asks, "Lucy? Is something wrong?"

Lucy stutters out: "n-n-no, e-everything's f-f-fine!"

Virgo's expression falls. "I did something to upset you, didn't I?"

Lucy immediately spins back around and grabs Virgo's hands. "No! The only way you could possibly upset me is if you shut me out!"

Virgo looks back up at Lucy, who feels her face heat back up and turns around again. Lucy studies the ground in front of her while absentmindedly swinging one of her legs.

Lucy mumbles, "So… see you tomorrow?"

Virgo nods and becomes wrapped in light before disappearing. Lucy leans back against the wall and slides to the floor.

'Now what was THAT about?'

:::::::::::::::

The next day…

"Open, gate of the maiden! Virgo!"

When the light fades, Virgo is revealed, standing in her true form.

"What would you like, Lucy?"

"I would like to get you some new clothes. No offense, but you are going to draw a LOT of attention if you walk around… anywhere, really, in a maid outfit."

"What do you want me to wear?"

"I don't know yet, that's why we're here," Lucy comments as she indicates the clothing store they're in.

After some browsing, they decide on a few outfits for Virgo to try on. One is a black shirt with a white knee-length skirt, reminiscent of, but not the same as, her maid outfit. Another is a sky blue blouse that complements her eyes, coupled with a pink skirt that goes about three-quarters of the way to her knees. Finally, there is a casual, lavender-colored dress with a high-cut V-neck. The sleeves stop just above her elbows, and the 'skirt' portion goes about halfway down her calves.

With Virgo's new outfits selected, their next order of business is for her to try them on. The two go to the changing rooms, and Virgo steps inside with the clothing. A minute later, Virgo demurely steps out, wearing the black and white outfit.

Lucy casts a critical eye over the outfit as she thinks, 'hmm… I hadn't thought about it, but if her outfits look too good on her, she'll get even more attention than she would in her maid outfit.' Then she sighs, 'Well, too late to back out now.'

After trying on the other two outfits, the pair heads to the counter, where Lucy buys the clothes.

::::::::::::::::

Later that day…

Lucy trudges into her apartment, then flops down on her bed. "Man, I'd forgotten how exhausting shopping can be…"

"Would you like anything, Lucy?"

Lucy looks up, "Oh, hey, I forgot to close your gate, didn't I? Sorry about that, just give me a moment…"

"Wait."

Lucy pauses. "Yes?"

Virgo starts to take off one of her manacles.

Lucy starts talking, "Hey, you don't have to, I don't want to force to do anything before you're ready."

Virgo smiles and shakes her head. "It's okay; I want to."

The first manacle comes off, and Lucy gives Virgo's uncovered wrist a wide-eyed stare.

Virgo's wrist is horridly chafed, covered in sores where the skin has worn away and scars where it's tried to grow back. There isn't a single square centimeter of healthy skin on it.

Lucy gasps, "Holy-! Hold on a sec, I'll get some ointment and bandages!" and runs over to her kitchenette, opening the cabinet where she keeps her medical supplies.

Virgo walks over and grabs Lucy's shoulder, saying "It's Ok, it doesn't even hurt…"

Lucy, still rummaging through the cabinet, shouts "No! It's NOT Ok! It probably just doesn't hurt because the nerve endings were worn off or something!"

Lucy sits Virgo down in a chair at her dining room table, then opens up a bottle of disinfecting ointment. "This is going to sting a little…"

Lucy starts rubbing the ointment on to Virgo's wrist, prompting Virgo to give Lucy a confused look. "What do you mean? I don't feel anything…"

Lucy pauses, then asks, "If I do this…" at which point she presses her thumb on one of the open sores, "does it hurt?"

Virgo shakes her head, "Uh-uh."

Lucy tears up, then throws herself at Virgo, hugging her and crying into her shoulder. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry…"

Virgo doesn't seem to know how to react to this, but after a few moments, Virgo awkwardly puts her arms around Lucy, attempting to comfort her.

A little bit later, Lucy calms down enough to sit back. "I'm sorry. You're the one who's hurt, and here you are comforting me."

"It's all right. It just shows how much you care about me."

"Ok. All right, let's finish treating your wrists."

Lucy finishes applying the ointment to Virgo's wrist, then wraps it in a bandage. Afterwards, Virgo removes her other manacle, and Lucy treats that wrist as well.

Lucy brushes her hands together and says, "Well, you should probably get back to the celestial world. Your wrists will heal faster there."

"All right. Good night, Lucy."

"Good night, Virgo."

A flash of light, and Virgo disappears.