Chapter 2, just as I promised. Thank you for the support!

::The Supreme Leader of the Crack Fiction Liberation Army::

Yukino sat on the lounge chair sipping lemonade as she watched the three men have a heated conversation. Long ago, she had learned that it was best to keep her distance when it came to things like guy talk; Sting had always liked to share all his personal escapades in far too much detail for her taste. Even without truly listening she knew the topic of conversation was the party that they had attended the night before. The two dragon slayers wanted to know exactly what had happened after they both passed out.

Her memory was a little hazy after a certain point, but she was almost certain that her good friend Lucy had demanded that Rufus remove his mask. Even in her inebriated state Yukino's mind had screamed that Lucy was to never ever remove his mask, for any reason, ever. She tried to vocalize her concern, but was unsure of whether her warning had reached her blonde friend. She hoped so, Rufus was unpredictable when the small barrier was removed.

She didn't even want to think about the last time it had happened, but the memory washed over her anyway.

The training grounds were the perfect place to admire her guild mates without raising any questions, so she frequently found herself there training along side them. It was much like any other day, Sting and Rogue were trading attacks blow for blow (working on their damage tolerance for the next time they attempted to challenge the men who had been their childhood idols). Rufus was assisting, of course, since he could use such diverse attacks on more than a single target at a time. She admired them from a distance as she and Libra worked on an attack sequence of their own with Dobengal.

A brilliant flash signaled that everyone needed to hit the deck as Sting stepped up his attacks to the next level, followed by the surge of energy that came from Rogue's answer to his partner's efforts. The hot summer sun had forced all three down to the bare minimum clothing. They were panting, their sweat soaked bare chests heaving, catching the afternoon sunlight just right; it was becoming more distracting than normal and she almost got caught off guard as her opponent took the opportunity to advance.

The next few second after she evaded his attack, happened in slow motion.

It was an accident, Sting hadn't meant for the beam to hit Rufus in the face, and he absolutely never intended for the man's mask to go up in smoke (literally). At least Yukino hoped that he hadn't. They all knew that Rufus was an insufferable bastard when the thin barrier was removed, and Sting (as well as everyone else in the guild) loathed the appearance of the darker version of their normally laid back friend. It was only a few moments before his eyes shifted to the deep emerald green that came with his dark persona; the ever present superior grin on his face turned dark and menacing as he advanced on his prey. Sting received a volley of attacks, all aimed at his lower region, in a show of brutality that was reminiscent of the old days in Sabertooth. Not a single word was uttered as the man picked up his smoking hat and headed for the guild. Rufus stopped for a moment as he passed Yukino, a lecherous gleam to his dark eyes that made her mouth go dry; her body responding to the unspoken commands that radiated off of him, even though she was terrified.

Against her will, Yukino found herself moving towards him, ready to give into the silent demand; if it weren't for Dobengal she might have. His speed was impeccable, and the new mask was already placed in Rufus's waiting hand. She hated to think what might have happened if they hadn't gotten the mask back in place so quickly, especially since she was one of the only female mage's that ever hung around the rocky training fields. When his eyes went back to normal she breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately stumbled over to make sure Sting was still breathing.

She could only imagine what horrors would have befallen her blonde friend if she happened to get him to agree to take it off, even for a short time. She shivered at the thought as the discussion between the men grew louder.

"She was really able to keep up with you after drinking that much?" Sting folded his arms behind his head, sitting on the side of the pool, his feet making lazy circles in the water. "You're lying, there is no way in hell anyone but you could stand, let alone dance, after polishing off more than three bottles worth of wine."

"If Memory serves, Cana Alberona as well as Bacchus Groh are perfectly capable of doing just that, but that is beside the point. I never expected her to be able to make it to the dance floor, but she did and went three rounds before she was stolen by the Princess herself." There was a hint of pride as he spoke, even if he had been beaten at his own game. It was strange, and Yukino found herself listening more intently to figure out why.

"Damn, so you actually went through with the deal?" Sting let out a low whistle.

"I set the conditions; I had to follow through." Rufus didn't seem nearly as torn up as he should, considering the emergence of his darker nature usually resulted in injuries and damaged properties; he was rather pleased with himself actually and couldn't wait till he found an excuse to visit her again.

"That was incredibly reckless of you." Rouge shook his head as he pushed Frosh around in his little inner tube. "You wear that thing for a reason; you shouldn't just go taking it off because a pretty girl asks you to."

"You did WHAT!?" Yukino couldn't stay out of the conversation any longer. "What the hell were you thinking! Lucy-sama... you could have... please say you..." She was on her feet and across the space between them in the blink of an eye. "Please tell me you didn't hurt her!" She wasn't expecting a sheepish smile to play on his lips, or to find the knowing smirks on Sting's face.

"She seemed fine when we parted ways." Rufus let out a small laugh, remembering Lucy's last few statements. "I might go as far as to say she enjoyed our little exchange." Yukino felt her face burn as Sting slapped the blonde man on the back.

"Way to go, Rufus! I'm almost jealous, man." Yukino rolled her eyes and shuffled back to her lounge chair, taking deep breaths to settle the embarrassment of such a comment. "If you remember any details you have to share."

"The blonde fairy is a piece of work for sure." Dobengal agreed as he joined in the conversation as well. "She's ranked in the top twenty on Sorcerer's 'Mage you want to be your Girlfriend' list this year."

"I still think you were being reckless." Rogue was in the process of getting out of the pool; Frosh stayed behind to play with Lector.

"I think Mr. Doom and Gloom is jealous." Sting teased. "We all know you've had your eye on her for a while now." Rogue growled at his friend's laughter, delivering a swift kick to the back of the man's head. Sting let out a grunt of pain before hitting the water, face first.

"I said stop calling me that!"

"Poor Rogue! I was totally rooting for you, too." Yukino called from her lounge chair.

"You, stay out of it." He hissed, but the color on his cheeks confirmed their teasing, and all four of his companions found themselves laughing mercilessly.

Lucy wondered what she had done to deserve a best friend like Natsu Dragneel; she couldn't recall ever drowning a puppy, and she surely hadn't murdered anyone; not yet at least. Nothing she could name seemed nearly wicked enough to earn her the privilege of having an over protective, nearly jealous, pyromaniac watching her every move with a critical eye. He just had to ambush her in the middle of the guild, when it was packed full of their comrades. Natsu held an accusatory glare as he spoke, his eyes roaming over the still fresh bruises and love bites.

"Who attacked you?" She knew perfectly well that he had the nose of a blood hound, and the night before he was aware of the mixture of scents all over her. She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath to hold back her increasing murderous intent.

"I will only say this one time; I wasn't attacked at all." She was aware that half the guild was watching their little spat, and she was ready to find that hole to curl up in, and wait for death; if only her pride wasn't keeping her rooted to the spot. Lucy refused to feel shamed by her actions; she was a healthy young woman, and the three Sabertooth men she had spend the night entertaining were all worthy of her attention.

"There are bruises ALL over you!" The fire mage argued back. "Bruises don't just happen for no reason." He pointed an accusing finger at one particularly large one on her collarbone.

"I really don't want to have this conversation with you." The blonde woman refused to meet his gaze. "I am a big girl Natsu, and I can handle my own business."

"Why did you smell like the guys from Sabertooth?" She felt a shiver run up her spine at the tone he was using.

"Which one was it?" Evergreen directed her question at Natsu. "She was drinking with three guys in the corner all night."

"Where the hell was I while this was happening?" Natsu turned to Lucy again, his eyes burning with anger.

"Stuffing your face." Lucy hissed, her tone laced with venom. "You didn't even notice I was gone."

"So, which one was it? I absolutely must know!" Evergreen asked again. "My vote is on the quiet one with black hair."

"Juvia knows, it must have been the blonde that she was dancing with!"

"Sting and Rufus are both blonde." Mira pointed out helpfully. "Which one do you mean?"

"I SAID I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS!" Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs, forcing the guild into an uncomfortable silence.

"Someone hurt you, Lucy. Do you think I'm going to just let it go?" Natsu growled.

"If you don't, I will never speak to you again." Lucy's voice was low and deadly as she met her best friend's gaze. "Stay out of it." With that the blonde marched all the way back to her apartment.

Rufus stared at the request board trying to decide which one to take. He ran an hand through his hair, with an exasperated sigh. Nothing over the past month or so had taken him anywhere near Magnolia, and for the first time in a very long time the itch of his darker personality was starting to affect him. Dreams filled with images of a blonde beauty shivering under his finger tips had started to plague his nights. At first it was welcome, even if he wasn't sure if it was his imagination, or the actual memories of what had happened when the darker side had taken over; it was nice to have an idea of what to expect since he was planning to see her as soon as circumstance allowed. As time progressed they became more detailed, little things like the texture of tiny scars under his fingers, had been added. It was getting to the point where it was hard not to just pick up and head to her town for no reason other than to see her again. Maybe he wouldn't even bother to let her take the mask off the next time.

He let a smirk tug at his lips with the thought.

Lucy of Fairy Tail was a riddle, wrapped in an enigma, shut inside a puzzle box; she was absolutely fascinating. No other woman had ever caught the attention of both parts of his personality in equal measure before. Their interactions were short, but she had already proved herself a worthy conversationalist; she could be poised and refined when the occasion called but then turn around and be the one thing that drove his more carnal side absolutely up a wall. Rufus had never found himself craving anything as badly as a visit with the woman.

He was starting to feel like delaying the visit much longer would end with terrible consequences for those around him.

Control was one thing he had prided himself on having in spades, but since his encounter, things had gone down hill. He had already started to feel short tempered with the overly obnoxious man he had to call his guild master, and even though he had no interest, poor little Yukino had been hiding from him for the past two days. Rufus let out another sigh and adjusted his hat; he needed to figure this out before something happened that he would regret.

There must be a way to see her without drawing the attention of the overly protective guild that she belonged to, or maybe he could just march in there and take her. Lucy struck him as the kind of woman who didn't like having her personal affairs out in the open, and he wanted to at least try to respect that. Suddenly an idea popped into his head, there was a perfectly good excuse for him to go to Magnolia, he would just need a little help to make it all work.

Rufus spun on his heel and headed for the absurd throne that Sting had insisted on keeping after their former master's disappearance. Without a word he pulled the other man by the collar up the flight of stairs that lead to his office. Once Rufus had deposited the irate dragon slayer into his chair he took a deep slow breath.

"I need your help."

Lucy sat at the bar; her mood was decidedly sour as she ignored her female friends.

"I'm telling you it was the one with black hair." Evergreen had never been as engaged in guild gossip as she was at that point. Lucy's mystery man was most definitely the topic of choice for most of the women. "It makes the most sense, since no one saw anything out of the ordinary until we were leaving! I mean he uses shadows; I can't think of a better way to sneak around than that."

"No, Juvia believes it was the one with long blonde hair." The blue haired woman demanded, making sure she made the distinction clear. "You saw them dancing, it was more like sophisticated foreplay!"

"Sting seems far more likely." Lucy had enough; it was too much that Erza was joining in. "He's a young and handsome Guild Master, I'm sure he is practiced in the ways of seducing women."

"I've spent more than a month telling you all to drop it, why won't any of you listen?" The Celestial Mage pinched the bridge of her nose fighting off the headache that was starting to bloom behind her eyes.

She had hoped the gossip would tapper off when the evidence faded; she was sorely disappointed.

The severity of the bruising only added fuel to the flames, and nothing she did or said would make them stop trying to guess who the man was that had broken through the blonde's nearly impenetrable walls. It took two weeks for the angry red bite marks to go away completely, but the bruises, especially the ones on her rear were just fading to a soft yellow. She hadn't realized just how rough he had been until she was standing in front of the mirror the next morning, preparing her bath. Lucy had been surprised that she was able to move at all with the state her body, let alone walk away and banter back and forth with him. The memory helped fight against her annoyance, and she let a satisfied smirk pull at the corner of her mouth.

The amorous encounter had left her with a strange and frightening infatuation with a man she barely knew. They had talked, for several hours in fact, but she knew hardly anything that wasn't common knowledge about the mysterious man. She guessed that maybe she didn't need to have a deep understanding for a physical relationship to affect her so intensely. Just the memory of his long fingers ghosting over her flesh made an involuntary shiver course up her legs. She ached for his touch in a way that had never bothered her before.

She was a tom-boy, content with her life full of adventures and loving guild mates. Even so, under the gleam of those molten emeralds she had lost herself entirely. Lucy, who was brought up as a lady, had never felt as fiercely feminine as she did when he had his mouth on her body, devouring her very essence. It was a drug, and after one taste she had become addicted.

The way he said her name played back in her mind every night, over and over. No one had ever gotten under her skin so deeply before, and she found herself excited to run into him again. She knew it was wrong, but she really hoped their paths would cross, sooner rather than later. Lucy wasn't sure how much longer she could survive the wild fire that he had ignited in her, when nothing else seemed to quell the need.

Her smoldering desires were forcing her to think of a way to visit Sabertooth without the masses following (they could finally settle their debate if they tagged along). The last thing she wanted was an audience; no, the next time she saw that man she fully intended to keep him all to herself.

"Lucy, there is a letter for you!" The blonde battled back her heated fantasies to give the light haired bar maid a questioning glare. Who would send her mail to the guild? Everyone she knew would have addressed it to her home.

Mira danced her way to Lucy with the most mischievous smile the blonde had ever seen before and set the envelope down, seal side up.

Smiling at her was the Sabertooth emblem, embedded in red wax. Lucy swallowed hard as she flipped it over and saw her name written in graceful sweeping lines. She could guess who it was from and wasted no more time before popping the seal. Her eyes went wide as she scanned the two page letter. It was detailed, and nearly poetic in nature, flowing from one word to the next. She scanned it three more times before a satisfied smirk lit her face.

"What is that?" Cana inquired over her normal barrel of booze. "Oooooh I know, it's a love letter from your mystery man." Lucy's eyes turned dark as she stared at the brunette, willing her to say one more word on the subject. The card mage had seen Natsu taking a beating from the woman one to many times over the past month to risk being on the receiving end, so she held her hands up in surrender.

"Yukino is coming for a visit." The blonde's lips curled back in a devious smile that showed all her brilliant white teeth.

Yukino swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, every nerve ending was on high alert as she made the last little stretch of her journey. The heat of summer was even worse in this part of Fiore, at least in the mountain range where the guildhall was nestled she had a very nice breeze, and the guild pool to battle against it. She adjusted the strap of her shoulder bag with a heavy sigh.

How do I keep getting myself into situations like this?

She had tried her best not to question why Sting ordered her to make the trip to visit her Celestial Mage friend; even keeping her mouth shut when Rufus was the one to write the letter that said she was coming. She tried not to understand why they had been at the Guild's exit when she said her good byes, ignoring the excitement in their eyes.

However, now she was at her limit.

"Why are you following me?" She stopped dead in her tracks, turning to the three tag-a-longs that she couldn't seem to shake.

"Natsu-san will definitely be at the guild." Sting replied with a smile.

"Gajeel will be there, too." Rogue added, folding his arms over his chest.

"Someone has to make sure these two don't destroy Magnolia." Rufus adjusted his hat, the easy smile on his face gleaming in the mid day sun.

"Someone has to make sure you don't either." Sting shot back, his smile turning lecherous. "Who knows what will happen if you decided to take that thing off again." He pointed to his friends face indicating the mask.

"We will have to see." Rufus only smiled at them, sweeping past the woman who had her mouth hanging open. "Who knows what might happen."

"This isn't going to be pretty is it?" Sting mumbled as he threw an arm over Yukino's shoulder.

"If anyone could handle his dark side, it would be Lucy-sama." Yukino sighed. "That woman is, how do I put this... durable."

Lucy leaned heavily on the bar top, fully aware that her skirt was covering the bare minimum. She hadn't been this excited in years; to think he would have come up with the solution. It was exhilerating to know that he had wanted to see her too, enough that he had made the arrangements to come to her. Her keys jingled in her pouch as she hummed to herself, swaying her hips back and forth, trying to occupy herself until they arrived. The week had been agonizingly slow, even if she had taken several jobs to keep away from the gossip mill of the guild hall. None of that mattered anymore, today was the day he would be there, and her whole body was trembling with anticipation.

Natsu sat on a table watching Lucy, knowing that she wasn't telling him the whole story; it doesn't take two pages to say "Hey I'm coming for a visit." or to give dates and times. He sifted when the smell of the group of Sabertooth mages drifted through the open windows, and felt his anger spike. Lucy had gotten hurt the last time they had all been together, and he didn't intend to let that happen a second time.

With a small growl he tucked his hands in his pockets and made his way to the second floor; it was the only way he could be certain that he kept watch without letting himself throw a few punches at all three the men who were standing a few feet from the guild. He could already feel the flames rolling in the pit of his stomach, just from the smell of them.

Mira raised a brow at the way Natsu was acting, but she didn't have time to dwell on it as the front doors opened. The light haired Celestial Mage looked exceedingly nervous as she stepped inside, so Mira decided that she was going to do her best to make her feel at home.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Yukino!" Mira called from behind the bar, her bright smile only growing as she noticed the other three coming in behind her. "And company." A dull roar of chattering females broke out as they realized who had accompanied the young woman on her visit. Sting and Rogue both raised an eyebrow as portions of the hushed conversations reached their ears.

"That's interesting." Sting whispered to his friend. "They're arguing over which one of us came to see her; Natsu-san looks pissed about it, too." Rufus took a look in the direction that Sting was discreetly indicating, and could practically see the flames starting to flicker in the man's eyes. Yukino sighed, finally realizing that she was just the cover story to come down here without any questions. She didn't really want to be a part of whatever harebrained plan the three men had devised, but she needed to at least try to get it across to Lucy that she should NEVER let that happen again.

"Be on your best behavior, I really don't want to worry about the council yelling at us again." The light haired woman hissed before moving to where her blonde friend was leaning. Her brilliant smile brought a smile to Yukino's face as well. "It's good to see you again, Lucy-sama." The woman gave her a small hug.

"It's always nice to have a visit from friends." Her smile grew wider as she turned to beckon the three male mages forward. "It's rude to hover in the doorway." She teased before leading the four of them to a table. The fact that their eyes were glued to her short skirt wasn't lost on Cana, who quickly toke up residence on the table with them calling for a round and a barrel from Mira.

"So what brings you all down from your mountain top mansion?" Cana was already red in the face, having gone through several barrels of ale during the day. She gave a sluggish grin as she propped herself on the table at the end of where the others were sitting.

"They were bored, so I said they could tag a long." Yukino answered quickly to keep the cover up.

"Is that so?" Cana raised an eyebrow as she inspected the three men. She wasn't an idiot, and knew men well enough to see the side slanted gazed all three of them were directing at Lucy. "Well then we should make sure they aren't bored while you are visiting, maybe it's time to show them some Fairy Tail hospitality." She directed her comment at Lucy when Mira came with her order.

"What did you have in mind?" Mira was practically sparkling as she quietly sang about pretty babies. Lucy let a wicked smile curl her lips as Cana set her barrel on the ground, untouched.

"Mira, you're going to need to raid the cellar tonight." Mira stopped mumbling and stared at the brunette for a moment. "I'm changing my bet too."