going to finish up this story soon and start on my next one! :)

Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail

Surf's Up!

09: pop-up

"That's it! You're going down, Kinana."

"I'd like to see you try," she smirked, her arms folded across her chest.

Cobra narrowed his eye at the board of balloons, raising a dart and biting down on his lip. Kinana had beaten him at every round of the carnival game they were at, the first round being an easy victory and every subsequent 'rematch' proving to be her victory. Wendy's classmate was snickering behind her hand as she watched the maroon haired male frown in concentration, trying to recover his manly pride at being beaten by his female companion.

With a snap of his wrist, he sent the dart flying, missing the aim of 100 points and bursting the balloon placed just below that was worth 50. He grimaced at the result, as Kinana reached around him for her own set of darts. He eyed her, sizing her up as an opponent, but she only giggled and gave him a wink.

Cobra's eye widened a fraction at her provocative gesture, trying in vain to ignore the thump of his heart. In his daze, he failed to realise she'd already thrown the dart, and a refreshing 'pop' followed by loud cheering snapped him out of his fixation on her winking expression as he focused onto the balloon board in front of him. Kinana had successfully targeted the 100-point balloon he had missed, thus making her the winner of yet another round.

"Come on Cobra, we're holding up the line with all these rematches," Kinana grinned, grabbing his arm and dragging him away as he could only stare blankly at the spot her dart had hit. "So, what shall I choose as my gift?"

He shifted his gaze onto the purple-haired girl in front of him, a finger on her chin as he face twisted into a contemplative suggestion.

Cobra winced. "I almost forgot we'd bet on giving the other a gift…"

Kinana only laughed lightly at this, the hand on his arm dropping way too soon for his liking.

"Well, I am a man of my word," he shrugged. "What would the beautiful lady like for a gift?"

"Hmm… oh! I know!" she lifted a finger and pointed it in the direction of an accessory store, grinning as she beckoned him along. He dragged his feet along, an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach as she began sifting through the hairbands. Picking out a simple green one that matched the colour of her emerald eyes, she carefully placed it on her head, turning to him with a smile.

"How does this one look?"

He shrugged an approval, because honestly, he felt she looked pretty enough with or without it. Not that he'd ever admit that pansy shit out loud.

"You know what? We should get one for you, too," she grinned.

"…There's really no need…"

"Oh!"

She lifted a particularly pink, sparkly, one out of the mix, her expression mischievous as she turned to him.

"Oh, no… oh, no, no, no…" he raised both hands in surrender, eye wide as her arms slowly came closer to his face. With a quick push, the pink thing was wedged behind his ears, the glitter on it twinkling amidst his dark red hair. He narrowed his eye, not amused, as she bent over laughing, producing her phone and snapping a picture before he could realise what she'd done. "Hey!"

She quickly stuffed her phone back in the pocket at her butt, and Cobra could only swear in frustration as it reached forbidden territory. You've really gotten soft, Cobra. He ripped the offensive pink accessory out of his hair, running a hand through it to ensure it didn't mess up his style.

She giggled at his obvious annoyance, reaching up to take off her own hairband. "I'm just kidding, I won't get hairbands for us."

"Yay." he cheered dully.

Kinana chuckled again. She moved towards another section of the stall, her smile a bright one as a set of lace up faux leather bracelets caught her eye. All the bracelets were braided with thick black and white strips, varying only with the third colour. Without a moment's hesitation, she reached for two bracelets, one a dark purple and the other a deep red. She lifted them to Cobra, her cheeks tinted pink as she considered the implications of buying identical bracelets representative of their hair colours.

He didn't seem to get those implications, or if he did, chose to remain silent about them, as he simply nodded and paid the student manning the stall.

The two unknowingly found themselves walking further away from the festivities and towards the unoccupied areas of the beach, closer to the waves crashing against the shore.

Clearing her throat, Kinana halted in her steps, causing her companion to stop as well. He cocked an eyebrow questioningly at her, but she only bit her lip and thrust the purple counterpart of the bracelet at him. "Here."

He took the bracelet from her, tan fingertips brushing her pale ones, before he lifted it up to closer inspect it. His gaze flickered to the maroon one now loosely fit around her slender right wrist, as realisation clouded his features and the tips of his ears burned red. "Oh."

"Y… you don't have to think of it as anything special!" she exclaimed, waving her arms frantically. Cobra's gaze was fixated on the band around her wrist however, watching as it rattled with her rough movements. "I… it's just a… a friendship band!"

"…friendship band, huh…" He slipped his left hand through the bracelet, and it proved a snugger fit on his thicker wrist. "Well, pardon me if I'm not satisfied with the friendship."

"What?"

He gave her a signature smirk, before reaching for the hand now limply laying by her side. He slipped his left hand into her right, vaguely aware of the way their bracelets knocked together at the movement. He watched as Kinana's eyes widened and a pretty pink blush bloomed across her face at the action, before he tugged her along to continue their strolling down the beach.

"…Are you taking the bracelets as a confession?" she asked him, her gaze focused on the sand slipping past her slippers and in between her toes.

Cobra glanced down at their lightly held hands, before he intertwined their fingers firmly. Her head shot up at him, surprised, but he only grinned. "Of course not. The guy should always make the first confession."

"That's awfully patriarchal."

"Is it now?"

"Well, guys don't always have to make the first move, that's a technique from the past…"

"Do. You. See. That?!" Wendy squealed loudly, gripping Gajeel's arm tightly.

"No way…" Sting muttered, his jaw dropping at the scene. Rogue only smiled serenely.

"Looks like the grump has finally found someone to cheer him up," Gajeel mused.

"Says the other grump," Lucy teased.

"Well, at least Gajeel found someone to cheer him up, too," Natsu offered. Gajeel frowned at him and raised an arm to hit the pinkette, but was thankfully restricted by Levy.

"They're holding hands!" Wendy all but screamed, her hands clasped tightly together as she watched the budding couple from her vantage point at the stall of the surf shack.

"Brat," Laxus called, causing the group to turn to him in shock, unaware of his arrival from the opposite stall. "You really need to stop hanging around Mira."

Wendy rolled her eyes at his words, turning back to focus on the couple on the beach. She sighed happily. "So romantic… Wish I had a boyfriend, too."

At this, all eyes turned to their youngest friend, the boys unconsciously balling their hands into fists at the thought of Wendy dating.

Levy patted her fellow bluenette's head lightly as she noted the change in the boys' demeanour. "For your future boyfriend's sake, I think it's too early for you to be talking about dating."

Glossary

pop-up: going from lying on the board to standing, all in one jump