This was intended to be a oneshot, but I took a liking to it. Probably won't have more than 5 chapters total.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

"Thanks for agreeing to come with me, Lucy," Romeo said to his companion as they walked down the cobblestone street, relief palpable in his voice. "I owe you big time for this."

"No problem, Romeo!" the blonde woman reassured him. She waved her hand in dismissal, her grin self-deprecating. "It's not like I had any plans for today anyway."

"But I still feel bad for taking up your day." He scratched his cheek, turning his head slightly to hide his embarrassment.

The action elicited a giggle from Lucy. Romeo had no idea just how much he looked like his hero when he did that. He must have picked it up unconsciously from Natsu, she concluded. "Like I said, no big deal. I thought it might be fun to see where you learn. I never had the opportunity to attend school growing up, much less a magic school, so this will be a great learning experience for me!" She paused and pumped her left fist into the air, grabbing the bicep with her other arm, legs akimbo in a power stance.

Romeo couldn't help but snort at her. Lucy was just as ridiculous as her partner sometimes.

A shouted cry of, "Looking good, Lucy!" from a boat on the canal had her turning and waving at her favorite boatmen for a moment, before she resumed following Romeo with a wide smile and a skip in her step.

"Why me, though?" she asked him. "Not that I'm not thrilled to be considered a mage you look up to, but I would think that your dad and Natsu would be ranked higher than me. Or even Bisca and Alzack, for that matter."

The boy sighed. "Dad doesn't exactly… know about these classes, so I can't really take him with me. Besides, it would be embarrassing to bring him."

"That's fair," Lucy accepted. Sometimes there were things you just couldn't tell your parents. It was something that she understood very well, herself. Though she didn't understand why Macao wouldn't approve of school, and it wasn't as if Romeo had a bad relationship with his father, either. But she wouldn't pry.

Continuing, Romeo stated, "Bisca and Alzack are on a job right now. And Natsu… well…" Romeo grimaced. "Let's just say that my teacher and Natsu… wouldn't get along."

"What makes you say that?"

"Just… just trust me on that one." Sweat beaded on Romeo's forehead. "You'll understand when we get there."

That sounded vaguely ominous.

"Well… here we are," Romeo stated, stopping outside an unassuming old brick building that Lucy must have passed by a thousand times before without giving it a second glance. A small metal faceplate declared the building as The Magnolia Charter School for Young Mages. Romeo reached for the door handle, pulling it open and ushering Lucy inside. "Sorry, the hallway is a little cramped. But my class is the one at the end, on the right. Right next to the courtyard."

Lucy walked through the open door, peering around the hallway curiously. It was indeed as cramped as Romeo had warned, with barely enough room for Lucy and Romeo to walk side by side, though it was surprisingly well illuminated for a building of its advanced age. "So," she teased, following the boy to his classroom, "a Charter school, huh. How did you manage to afford this without your dad noticing?"

A shrug met her words. "I go on a lot of jobs with Bisca and Alzack," he admitted. "And sometimes they pay me to babysit Asuka when they go on jobs. So far I've been able to pay for everything without too much trouble, and since it's a school for mages I get credit for anything I miss by going on a mage job."

"Must be nice not to have rent or utilities to worry about," Lucy said with a grumble.

He flashed her a grin. "Or destructive teammates!"

"Don't remind me…"

At the end of the hallway, Romeo stopped and gestured to the door with a slight flourish of his hand. "After you, Lucy."

"Such a gentleman today, Romeo." Lucy giggled, reaching for the door handle. Pushing it open, she stepped into the classroom.

It wasn't a very large room, with maybe only a dozen desks or so. Which made sense, Lucy mused, as this was a private school for the children of mages, who only made up about ten percent of the population to begin with. The walls were covered with decorations and student artwork. The rear was taken up by a shoe cupboard and coat hangers, along with a humongous, beautifully drawn map of Fiore. There was also a row of metal folding chairs in the back, presumably where Lucy would sit for the duration of the lesson. Turning her gaze to the front, she spotted the teacher's desk in the corner farthest from the door. The teacher himself was preoccupied with the chalkboard, writing out the day's lesson plan from what Lucy could see. Otherwise, the room was devoid of people.

He didn't immediately look up as Lucy and Romeo entered, intent on what he was doing. But not so intent as to not notice that someone had entered. "You're early. Go ahead and take a seat," he told them. "I'll be done in a moment."

That voice sounded awfully familiar to Lucy. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, however. Come to think of it, he looked rather familiar to her as well, with his oddly two-toned hair that was pulled into a high ponytail. Lucy could only recall a couple of people off the top of her head with such a coloration pattern.

"I sit over here, Lucy," Romeo said, snapping Lucy out of her daze.

The teacher stiffened at Romeo's words, the chalk in his hands coming to a sudden stop. "Lucy…?" the man repeated, swiftly turning around, chalk still clutched tightly in his hand.

Lucy's gaze met his, and both of them froze in recognition. Memories suddenly flooded her mind – of smelly fire, arrows, and a giant, broken lacrima.

"Oh, right," Romeo said, breaking the spell between the stupefied adults. "I forgot that you knew each other!"

"That's… putting it mildly," Lucy responded. Then she cleared her throat. "Well… ahem, I think I'm forgetting my manners." She strode up to the front of the room and stuck out her hand. "It's been a long time, Totomaru."

Expression shifting to one of bewildered wonder, Totomaru set down his chalk and took her hand. It was warm and rough with callouses from spending a lot of time writing, Lucy noticed. Just like hers were. Somehow, that was comforting. "It has been a long time, hasn't it," he said. "Though now under better circumstances, I hope."

Letting out a laugh, Lucy could only agree with him.

His voice was just as warm as his hand.

Romeo glanced back and forth between the pair of adults, perplexed by their behavior. "What you two acting so weird for? I told you that Totomaru was my teacher, remember, Lucy?"

"Oh, yeah," she replied, finally releasing his hand. "I think I remember something about that, now that you mention it." It had honestly completely slipped her mind. In her defense, a lot had happened since then.

Totomaru smiled kindly at her. "For my part, I just never expected to see you in my classroom. Given our… history, I wouldn't have been surprised if you were still holding a grudge over what me and my fellow guildmates did to you. But… how are you these days? Doing well, I hope."

"As well as can be expected," she admitted. "When one's team is…"

"Like they are," he supplied for her, with a knowing look.

Over his shoulder, Lucy spotted a poster. Peering at it, she grinned and gestured towards the caricature of Natsu with thick lines in an X across it. "If anyone in this room is holding a grudge though, I don't think it's me."

Snorting, Totomaru rolled his eyes. "Can you blame me?"

"I think I understand all too well, actually."

The sound of the door opening with the arrival of more students sent Lucy into retreat with a jolt. "Well… It was nice seeing you again, Totomaru. Maybe we could catch up later, after class."

Totomaru cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah. That would be good."

Returning to Romeo's side, she stood somewhat awkwardly next to him as the boy gestured at Lucy in exasperation. "The heck was that about?" he questioned, his eyes boring into her in suspicion.

"I don't know, Romeo," Lucy told him honestly. "But hopefully something good."

He just shook his head at her, unbelieving.

Adults.