Sweet Shadows (Rogue x OC)

*Three*

"So..."  Sting placed his hands behind his head casually, clearly not interested in searching for this 'treasure.'  "You and Rogue?" He raised a peculiar eyebrow.

"What'cha talking about?"  Zephyre asked curelessly as the two of them walked along the beach.

The blonde chuckled.  "What's going on between you two?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."  She sighed.

"Nothing's going on, then?" An eager tone was in his voice.

"Uh, no...?"

"Good!" Sting flashed a toothy grin.  "Then I'm not completely out of the competition."

"What competition?" Zephyre had a questioning gaze, narrowing her crystalline eyes.

He laughed again.  "Oh, nothing~"

The girl shrugged it off, taking the time to survey the nearby forest for a tall tree.  A particular, thick-trunked tree caught her attention as she ventured towards it, easily ascending its towering heights and climbing to the top, overlooking a great majority of the island.  She could even see Rogue and Wendy meet up with Lucy and Erza.

-----+-----

Soon after embarking after this 'treasure,' Rogue and Wendy encountered Lucy and Erza.

"Have you found anything?"  Erza didn't hesitate to get to the point.

"I'm sorry.  No, we haven't." Wendy answered quietly, averting her deep blue gaze shyly.

"Why don't we try to find it together?" Lucy suggested.

With an agreeing nod from each of the Fairy Tail girls and no response from Rogue, Erza began to draw a pattern through the sand, outlining possible locations for her prized treasure.

"As soon as we find the treasure, we can go back to everyone else." The blonde girl mentioned, most likely trying to keep Rogue and Wendy engaged.  And this comment did catch the male mage's attention.  His crimson eyes seemed more determined than they were before.  This reaction did not go unnoticed by the women.

"Why are you so eager to get back to them, Rogue?" Lucy questioned, narrowing her brown eyes quizzically.

A deep chuckle was released from Erza as she raised an eyebrow towards him.  "Those look like the eyes of someone in love." She teased.  "I wonder who it could be?"

"The only girl that's not here..." Wendy began, her quiet voice fading before finishing her sentence.

"Zephyre." The other two girls concluded, wearing mischievous smiles.

Rogue's eyes widened in surprise.  "That's ridiculous!" He shouted defensively while a prominent blush spread across his pale cheeks.

"Rogue likes Zephyre~" Lucy sung tauntingly, poking at his shirt.

"N-no! I don't have those kinds of feelings towards her!" He continued to frantically defend himself, his facing growing redder.

"Sure..." The blonde rolled her large eyes sarcastically, receiving a giggle from the smaller girl.

He averted his deep red gaze shyly as he gave a slight pout.  "Just... shut up..."

-----+-----

After sliding down the tall tree and returning to Sting's side, an unusual glint caught Zephyre's eye.  "This way." She instructed and tugged on the blonde's wrist, leading in some unknown direction.

"Why are you holding onto my wrist like that?" He asked with wide deep blue eyes.

"Like what?" She continued to walk towards the faint shine that she saw.