This little gem is dedicated to a dear friend of mine, one I love to absolute bits and pieces! She is an incredible writer and an all-around wonderfully marvelous person! This one's for you my sweet, NIchiki. I love you girl!

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

LIGHT 'EM UP!

Lucy glanced over at the man walking beside her and had to grin. His long green hair hung limp and wet down his back, small strands curling up around his face from the brief swim they'd taken in the lake. By far, it was the most unkempt she'd ever seen him, but it also lent him a casualness he didn't always allow. And she loved it.

Feeling her eyes on him, Freed glanced up, catching both her stare and the slight smile on her lips. His brow arched. "What?"

Lucy shook her head and laughed as she took his hand and threaded their fingers together. "Nothing, just admiring the view."

"The view?" the Rune mage asked, amused. "I imagine I look a mess."

"Not a chance. You look just as handsome as you always do." She pulled him to a stop and stepped in close to press a quick kiss to his lips. "Thanks for swimming with me."

The corner of his mouth lifted as he took hold of her other hand to keep her in place. "Is that what we're calling it? Swimming? Because I don't recall doing much actual swimming."

Indeed there hadn't been any swimming involved. He was entirely certain that was precisely what she'd had in mind when she'd suggested skinny dippy in the first place. Of course, she'd denied such a thing. But he knew her well enough to know all her faces, and the one she'd worn when she'd shimmied off her shorts had been one of absolute wickedness.

Lucy laughed. "Well, there was that one thing you were doing…that was kind of like swimming." She remembered it well, swore she could still feel the tingle in her spine from the way he'd moved against her body.

"Oh really?" Freed hummed, wrapping his arms around her waist, neatly pinning her own behind her back. "And which thing was that?"

A faintly naughty grin crossed her face as she pressed in close and shimmied her hips against the front of his damp clothes. "I think it went something like this," she murmured, repeating her actions and inwardly cheering when she felt his body react. "Hmm…I can't be sure. You might have to show me again."

"Gladly," he rasped, releasing her hands to smooth his own down over the globes of her rear. Dipping his head, he took her lips in a kiss – soft, insistent – and she clung to him as if he'd already taken her knees. They parted, breathing hard, and he let his gaze skate over her curves. "You realize it may take some time to discern precisely which move you mentioned, possibly a bit of...lengthy experimentation. Are you prepared for that?"

Lucy could barely repress a moan at the idea of Freed taking his time with her, giving her body a thorough once-over. He'd done so on more occasions than she could count, but sweet Mavis…when the man put his mind to something, he was nothing if not dedicated. Every other time he'd given it to her slow and steady, she'd nearly passed out from the overabundance of pleasure, and she couldn't wait to experience it again. "Yes please…"

The green-haired man chuckled as he leaned in and kissed his way down her neck. "You like that idea?"

"A million times yes," she whispered, arching into him when he nipped at the flesh covering her collarbone.

No matter how many times they'd done this, he still found himself enthralled with her. The way she responded to his touch was a glorious thing, inspiring him to be so much more than he had ever been before. "Climb on then," he said lowly, his voice thickening with hunger. "If we fly, I can be inside you in mere moments."

Her internal temperature shooting through the roof, Lucy jumped, wrapping her legs around his waist as he did a hasty writing of runes for his wings. They shot into the sky with his hands cupping her ass and her hips grinding her aching core over the bulge in his pants.

"Mercy Lucy…" Freed groaned, struggling to keep their flight smooth with the sensations she was inspiring with her delightful body. He didn't know how long he could keep this up. "You've got to stop that while we're flying."

"Are you sure?" she whispered hotly in his ear. "It feels very much like you're enjoying it."

She made another pass over his cock, and Freed grit his teeth as he growled, "Of course I enjoy it. That delectable spot between your thighs is like a slice of heaven, and every time you spread your legs for me, it's as if I've been granted asylum."

His eloquently naughty words hit her hard, causing her temperature to spike and her legs to tighten around him. "God I love when you talk like that," she muttered as her lips descended on his neck. Between one wet, open-mouthed kiss and the next, she added, "So elegantly dirty."

Freed chuckled darkly. "Then you'll love what I plan to do to you once we get to your apartment."

A low moan eased up Lucy's throat, and she nipped at the skin of his shoulder as heat continued to bloom within the pit of her stomach. There was something inherently sexy about this man, something no one else got to see. This dark and dirty side of him was all hers. In the beginning, she'd been surprised to find out just how sensual Freed really was. He'd always seemed to stalwart, so buttoned up, and in a way he was. But that was part of what had drawn her to him - that strong steadiness he exuded. Even when things were going to hell in a hand basket, he didn't falter. He remained as steadfast as always, and that was something she couldn't ignore.

Of course, there was also the irresistible urge to break through those walls, to chisel her way through his defenses and make him come undone. And that's exactly what she'd set out to do. Only he wasn't the only one who'd lost all sense of decorum. Between the two of them, there'd been so much heat, so much electricity, neither had stood a chance.

Even now, shooting through the sky above the city, she couldn't bring herself to consider who might see them or what might be said. There was no thought for her reputation. There was only Freed and this constantly growing fire in her belly. And Freed was no better. Rigid though he normally was about his appearance and status to the outside world, he couldn't seem to escape this desire for the woman in his arms. She was in his head, the very pulse of his heart. There was no escaping her, and for the first time in his life, he was living his life on his own terms.

A few tortuous minutes later, they landed on the roof, directly over the runes he'd installed months ago. The purple runes flashed once, and then as one, Freed and Lucy sank through the roof directly into her bedroom. Freed took no time to set Lucy on her feet and reach for her shirt. He wanted her naked, and he wanted it now.

As if on the same wavelength, Lucy pushed her fingers beneath his shirt and shoved it up the smooth expanse of his chest before taking his lips again. She kissed him soundly, hungrily as she moved to unbutton his pants. Already she was aching for him, and she had no intention of waiting another moment.

Groaning, Freed flung her bra to the side before grabbing the waistband of her skirt and panties and yanking them down her hips in one go. She stepped out of them, finally bared for his eyes, and he pulled her in tight, deepening their kiss. He slid his hands up her body, sparing a moment to thumb her nipples before moving up to cup her beautiful face.

Their kiss grew in intensity until Lucy was sure her head would spin, and still it wasn't enough. She needed him inside of her, filling her up. Her hands fumbling, she tugged at his pants, shoving first them down and then his boxers. She felt him spring from his confines, and she wasted no time in curling her fingers around his swollen length.

A rumble burst from Freed's mouth at that first touch, and it had him jerking back from her sweet lips to push her back onto her bed. She looked so good lying there, her eyes hooded with desire and her legs parted for him. She ran her eyes down his body, her gaze heavy like the touch of a hand.

Her eyes drifted past his hips, and he took a step toward her, his mind already imagining the sweetness he'd find when a laugh brought him up short. He blinked at his girlfriend, wondering what on earthland could have caused her sudden amusement. Their eyes made contact, and he watched as her face crumbled and she dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"What the..."

Lucy held up her hand, her face filled with mirth. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Her sentence was cut off as another laugh burst from her mouth, and she shook her head helplessly.

Unable to speak, she pointed down at the lower half of his body, and Freed dutifully looked down to see what she was indicating. An eerie glow was the first thing he noticed, and it took him a moment to realize that the bright green light was in fact coming from his penis. His eyes went wide with alarm. "Oh my God. What the hell is this?"

He went to touch himself but faltered before his fingers could brush across his neon skin. He had no way of knowing what was causing this, and as a result, whether it could in fact spread to other parts of his body. Wincing, he glanced up and found Lucy still snickering. A scowl drifting across his face, he snapped, "This isn't funny. Something is wrong with my...with my-"

"With your dick," Lucy supplied with barely repressed glee as she scooted to the edge of the bed. "I think it looks nice."

The words had scarcely cleared her lips before she started laughing again. "Would you quit that? This is serious!" Freed frowned at the woman across from him, then did the same to his manhood. Had he contracted some sort of virus?

"Alright, alright." The blonde slipped back onto her feet and moved across the room. "I might have something..." She trailed off as she crouched down and began searching through her closet. "Hmm...I was sure it was in here," she muttered, then waved him over. "Hey, come here for a sec."

His curiosity piqued, Freed moved toward her and asked, "What is it?"

A few scant feet left between them, Lucy raised her head and grinned widely. "That's great! Now I can see in here!"

Annoyed at her continued amusement at his expense, Freed huffed and walked back toward the bed. But Lucy couldn't help herself. She just couldn't. Anyone would have a hard resisting the jokes his neon green cock brought to mind.

It took only another moment of so of scrounging to find what she'd been looking for, and once her hand closed over it, her giggles started up again. Gaining her feet, she leapt from the closet, swinging an equally green light saber in his direction. It was Asuka's toy, just a little plastic thing, but like Freed, it glowed in the slowly dimming light of her room. She swung it in a wide arc, wielding it as she imagined a Jedi Master doing and asked, "Wanna fight?"

Seeing her antics, Freed rolled his eyes. "Very funny."

With a laugh, Lucy tossed the item back into the closet, then made her way toward him, her eyes considering his crotch. "You know, you could probably direct air traffic with that thing."

"Oh for Mavis' sake, Lucy! This is no laughing matter!" He couldn't understand why she didn't get the gravity of the situation. This was his manhood. A man's genitals were nothing to joke about. With that, he stood to his feet and glared, his arms crossed defensively across his chest.

Lucy, seeing how upset he was getting, headed over to him and placed her hand on his arm. "Don't be mad." Slowly, she sank to her knees, letting that hand drift down his body until she was palming his failing erection. "Come on baby. Turn the lights back on."

Her action surprised him, and in spite of his irritation and worry, he found his cock responding. It shouldn't have been all that shocking. There'd never been a time when his body hadn't reacted to her touch. Still, it shouldn't have happened considering the issue at hand. "Lucy, I don't think..."

She all but ignored his warning, her deft fingers sliding along his slowly hardening shaft. "That's it," she hummed approvingly, a smile growing on her face as she glanced up. "Oh I just had the best idea."

Alarms shooting off in his mind, Freed immediately shook his head. There wasn't a chance in hell this could be good. "Whatever it is, no."

"But it's such a good idea," she said, pouting up at him for his denial. She didn't know why he wouldn't at least hear her out. After all, it was for him. Well, it was for her too, but he didn't need to know that. Pursed lips curving into a mischievous smile, she added, "I promise you'll like it."

Freed gave her a long look, feeling his resistance slip away at the excitement on her face, and began to realize just how whipped he really was. Sighing, he relented. "What is it?"

Her grin widened, and she glanced back down at her hand circling his girth. "See how it shines through my fingers?"

"Lucy…" he warned, feeling his ire rising again. "Stop with the-"

Lucy could see that he was nearing his threshold with her, so she rushed to explain. "Let's see if it shows through my cheeks."

Freed stilled at her suggestion, his mouth dropping open in stunned silence for a moment before he managed to croak, "You mean…"

Nodding, Lucy grinned up at him and licked her lips. "Mhmm...told you you'd like it." Lifting a hand, she pushed against his stomach, forcing his body into a leaning position against the side of the bed, and then she winked. "You'll have to let me know if you can see it... cause you know I'll be to busy to notice."

It was some time later the two made their way to the guild. His aura still hadn't let up, and he was beginning to wonder if it would ever go away. Lucy had provided a nice distraction earlier, and there was of course the added benefit of testing out his theory about his affliction being contagious. Thankfully, Lucy seemed none the worse for wear from the experience, which was good. Should anyone find out about his problem and see a corresponding issue with her mouth, it could be quite embarrassing... for the both of them.

Seeing his team at their usual table, he took Lucy's hand and pulled her over toward them. To his immense relief, Evergreen was nowhere to be found, leaving only Bickslow and Laxus to hear his plight. Easing Lucy into a seat, he dropped soundlessly into another and addressed his friends. "I have a problem."

Laxus raised a brow at the unusual greeting, his gaze shifting between Freed and the woman next to him before asking, "Yeah? What is it?"

"There is something wrong with…" He drew to a halt, the words freezing on his tongue. This was not something he normally discussed with his male team mates, with anyone really. He felt certain that had Lucy not been there to witness his shame, he wouldn't have mentioned it to her either.

But Laxus and Bickslow were still watching him with matching expectant looks, obviously waiting for him to finish, but he wasn't sure he could.

Moment ticked by, and when Freed made no effort to continue, his leader prodded, "With?"

"With my...Mavis, how do I put this?" he stopped once more, flustered, his cheeks turning pink. "There is something wrong with my…"

He simply could not bring himself to utter the words. Lucy could see it, and though she wanted desperately to laugh, she fought the urge back and spared him the trauma of spelling everything out to his friends. "His dick's glowing."

At that, both the lightning dragon slayer and the seith mage went wide-eyed, and Lucy had to press her lips to together to keep it together.

"Glowing? From what?" Laxus asked dumbfounded after a moment, his face the very picture of concern. But Bickslow's first reaction was one of complete and total mockery. Snorting, he nodded toward Freed. "Forget that. What color is it?"

Glowering at the impertinent man, Freed grumbled, "Why must you treat this as a joke?"

Lucy however ignored his frustrated rant and chuckled. In her book, it wasn't a big deal. It didn't seem to hurt him in any way, and it sure hell didn't bother her. So why not tease a little? The man was entirely too uptight at times. "It's neon green."

"Holy shit," Laxus muttered, shaking his head.

Bickslow though found the whole thing hilarious. No surprise given how lightly he usually took things. He howled at Lucy's response, his mind conjuring images from Star Wars. "Well, at least he isn't a Sith Lord."

Lucy, immediately getting the joke, started cracking up. It amused the hell out of her to realize that Bickslow's mind had gone in the same direction hers had. "I know. Asuka left her light saber at my apartment, and I pulled it out and asked if he wanted to fight."

Shooting a dirty look at his girlfriend, Freed turned to the only sane one left, the only one that was taking this seriously enough to actually help him. "I believe it may be from the lake we swam in earlier today, about a half mile into the woods behind the Sweet Shop."

He'd worked it all out on the way to the guild. He'd gone over everything he'd done that day and in the days previous, and nothing else made sense. That lake was the only thing out of the ordinary for him. For Lucy too, actually, which begged the question...why hadn't she also glowed?

Laxus, barely fighting a grin at the hilarity of the situation, forced himself to think through what Freed had told them and realized something. "Wait, why were you swimming in a lake in the first place? You don't normally care for fresh water."

Still miffed about her incessant jokes, Freed sniffed in annoyance. "It was Lucy's doing. She was…" He halted abruptly once it registered what he'd nearly admitted to them. He hadn't actually meant to tell them that he and Lucy had been skinny dipping. "She uh…"

Noticing the green-haired man's dimming complexion, Bickslow could only guess what Freed refused to say and laughed. "Was she getting naked?"

This brought an immediate bout of shifting from Freed, one that very clearly spelled out his guilt over the very thing his teammate had mentioned. Lucy snickered at Freed's discomfort, knowing that eventually he'd find the humor in his situation. With a wicked grin touching her face, she slipped into his lap, throwing her arms around his neck as she whispered in his ear, "No need to be ashamed of what we were doing in that lake, handsome. You liked it a whole lot at the time."

Laxus, having taken a drink just then, choked. Was she insinuating what he thought she was? With Freed? "You guys were…" He pointed between the two, coughing to dispel the remainder of his drink from his lungs. "You were screwing…out in the open?"

Freed went red in the face. Did they have to discuss his sex life so openly? "No, not….exactly. There was…water," he corrected lamely. It wasn't much of a rebuttal, but he would take it anyway. After all, he wasn't one to lie. Truthfully, he was no good at it, and in the end, Laxus would know what he wanted to know anyway. So it was better to just own up to it from the start.

Of course, that did nothing for the humiliation he felt at this moment. Nor did Bickslow's reaction.

"Oh you were fucking in the water! Nice!" Bickslow cheered, enjoying this conversation entirely too much. He'd never had so much material to use on the normally straight-laced Runes mage, but since the man had started seeing Lucy, Bickslow had seen a real change in Freed. She was loosening him up, all but shoving him out of his stiffness and into something a whole lot more exciting.

Still, he was Bickslow, and that meant he couldn't leave well enough alone when it came to sex. "Though it's harder to get a good rhythm going under water. Can't go fast or deep. Your thrusts just-"

"Enough!" Freed snapped, appalled that his friend was suggesting he struggled to please his girlfriend. He might be a bit less experienced than his team mates, even Evergreen if the truth were known, but that didn't mean he was totally ignorant of the ways in which to please a woman. "The rhythm was just fine, thank you very much!"

This whole thing was getting out of hand. All this talk about what he and Lucy did in the lake rather than the real issue at hand. Was no one going to help him find out what had happened to his crotch? Or was he simply supposed to live with a veritable glow stick hanging between his legs for the rest of his life?

Freed shot his friend a cold glare, and Bickslow, for his part, couldn't help finding even that amusing. Sex had always been a touchy subject for his green-haired friend, and the Seith mage had never been able to resist prodding at it. And this time was even better because Lucy was here too. Grinning back at Freed, Bickslow pointed at Lucy. "That's for her to say." Hearing Freed about to object, Bickslow turned to the blonde and leaned in, a smirk on his face. "Tell us the truth. How was it?"

Lucy howled at the proffered question and was just about to tell the nosy man just how amazing Freed was in and out of the water when the Runes mage leaned forward over Lucy's lap and hissed, "Bickslow, I swear to you, if you don't back off right now, I will kill you. So help me Mavis, I will fly you up into the air and rip a hole into your abdomen so that your intestines can fall out all over Magnolia."

It was quiet for a moment as everyone at the table took in the threat, and then Bickslow grinned. "That's dark man, even for you…I like it."

Lucy hummed her agreement. It was dark, but she couldn't deny a certain attraction to the darker parts of Freed's personality. In her experiences with his Dark Ecriture form, she'd found nothing to be afraid of. All she'd found was a deep seated excitement within her, because the presence of his darker form simply reminded her of the passionate side Freed possessed, the one only she got to see in the bedroom...and everywhere else she could convince him to show her.

Scooting in close, Lucy pressed a light kiss on the side of his neck up near his ear and whispered, "Me too."

Her breath brushed across his skin, and without conscious thought, Freed's grip on Lucy's thigh tightened imperceptibly. Every nip of her blunt teeth set him on edge, pushing his temperature higher than it ought to be in the presence of his friends, especially one that could sense his arousal simply by breathing.

Sure enough, only a moment later, Laxus scowled, his lip curling in disgust. "Could you two not get all fuck happy in front of me?" He snarled as he pushed his chair further away from the table. "Go the hell home and do that shit."

He was right of course. He shouldn't be doing this here. Forcing himself back from Lucy's enticing touch, Freed moved to stand, then frowned as he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. "But the lake…" He shouldn't be making plans to go back to his girlfriend's house to have more sex with this...problem hanging over his head.

"No worries, man. We'll check it out, "Bickslow offered helpfully before tossing another wicked grin in Freed's direction. "Go take your glowworm for another ride."

Freed's cheeks went pink again, but he managed to muster a frightening glare just for the Seith mage. "Don't call it that!"

"Lightstick?"

"No!"

Bickslow laughed, "Just realized that your cock matches your hair now. Way to color coordinate that shit."

It took almost everything Lucy had not to burst out laughing at that. She hadn't actually thought about it that way, but honestly, Freed didn't need any help with color coordination. That beautiful green hair that adorned his head was most certainly replicated down below.

Freed though found nothing amusing about Bickslow's joke. With gentle hands, he pushed Lucy from his lap, his eyes darkening with annoyance.

"Bickslow, let it go." Laxus grabbed hold of his helmeted friend and gave him a shove toward the door before the two could really get into it. Then, he turned back to Freed and Lucy and called back quietly, "We'll let you know what we find."

Not one to let things go, Bickslow offered one final crack. "Have fun with the Wonder Weiner!"

It had the desired effect, or at least the effect Lucy was sure Bickslow had intended. It pissed Freed off, something that was actually pretty difficult to do. After all this time together though, it wasn't strange that Bickslow was such a pro at it.

All at once, Freed jumped up and lunged at Bickslow, Lucy barely catching him before he made contact with the laughing man. By the time he'd extracted her hands from his shirt, his annoying friend was out of the guild, and the few people left in the guild were looking at him as if he'd lost his mind.

With an aggrieved sigh, he turned back to his girlfriend and complained, "He's such a moronic ass."

Lucy smiled at the frown that tugged at his lips and sidled right up against him. Pressing her chest to his, she adopted a sexy grin. "Yes, but he has a point."

Brow winging up, Freed shot her a dubious look. "A point about what?"

"About you having a Wonder Weiner," she answered easily and laughed when his eyes went wide. She loved that she could still shock him like that. Maybe she'd do it again.

Letting her eyes drop down to his crotch, she leaned in close and whispered, "Take me home, handsome. I'll let you light me up inside again."