Coffee Coloured Pretence

A/N: Hello again! I'm back to writing again after finishing Be My Raven And I'll Be Your Scarlet! This is a one shot that had been requested to me ages ago (late 2014/early 2015?) from my dear friend rushii who I have just started talking to again :D She had actually wanted a Jerza fic, but she had kindly given me the liberty to make it Grayza again, so thank you very much! :D And to all of you who have given me lost of love for my previous fanfiction, I wanted to say thank you so much, because even if I couldn't personally say thank you, I really do mean it from the bottom of my heart xx. Please enjoy this one shot :3!

Prompt: When Erza Scarlet doesn't get her morning coffee, bad things happen. Good thing Gray Fullbuster can do something.

I took some liberty with it :) I hope you don't mind, and enjoy!

Erza knew that it was a problem. She probably should have listened to her friend Lucy when she had told her to stop while they had been in college, but she had continued doing it on and on, resulting in her current addiction. One fact was very obvious- Erza was a coffee addict. She had never really cared for coffee too much during middle school and high school, but college exams and essays had taken a massive toll on her, and the only way that she could stay awake was to drink the bitter tasting liquid, which then soon turned sweeter every time she drank it, until she had almost tried every type of coffee there was by the end of college.

Now working as a lawyer, she had decided to live in an apartment with Lucy, as there was nowhere in town that was both cheap and big- sharing would have to do. But the two friends got along really well, having some pointless fights along the way. They had looked at several apartments together, and the deciding factor for their current apartment was because Erza could always see the café from her bedroom window. It may not seem like much, but out of the two, Erza was the one with the stable job, while Lucy was working as a freelance writer, so Erza had to mostly pay for Lucy's shares too. This meant that Erza had more rights to choose the apartment, and that's how they had chosen the apartment directly opposite to Fairy Café.

So Erza had passed the days walking past the coffee shop, not seeing the man who always watched her go to and from work. The thing was, Erza did want to go inside the coffee shop, but she didn't want to suddenly show up randomly. She needed an excuse, and she had a perfect idea. While dressing up in her formal wear for work in the morning, she said to Lucy,
"So, have you found a part time job yet?" Instead of replying, Lucy just hummed and continued firing at the keys of her laptop. Wondering what her new novel was about while tying her work tie, she went in front of the screen, only to see that she was actually looking at the pictures of the famous model Natsu Dragneel, displaying his perfect abs while looking seductively at the camera with a cheeky smile on his face, and her friend downloaded the picture.
"Lucy! I thought you were job hunting, or writing your story!" She said menacingly as she hit Lucy on the head.
"Ouch! What the hell was that for!?"
"For drooling on a man you can't have! I'm the only one who is paying for this apartment, while you are living like a NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) leeching off of me!" Lucy grumbled at her friend's truthful but hurtful words and said,
"So what do you want me to do?" An evil glint formed in Erza's eyes as her smile widened, and she said,
"Go to the café opposite us and get a part time job there, preferably in the morning and in the night, when I come back from work." Lucy grumbled a bit before finally relenting, knowing that she could not rival the fearsome Titania.

...

So in the early morning, Lucy had gone to the part time job, not expecting much, as she had never entered it either. As soon as she walked in, the warm smell of just brewed coffee filled her nostrils. A sense of tranquillity overcame her, and any tiredness she had previously felt had vanished. She walked up to the counter, a huge smile on her face to make herself seem friendly as she made sure that enough cleavage could be seen to make the job that much easier to obtain. A handsome man with raven hair put on his apron (as Lucy was the first customer to have entered) and had greeted her with a cute smirk.
"So what can I do today for you, lady who's showing a tad bit too much of her body?" He had said while that smirk was still on his face. Lucy had blushed furiously before standing straight, not wanting such a rude guy to see her precious assets.
"I'm looking for a job, and I guessed that here would be perfect..." She said vaguely, not knowing what else so say, as she had not come on her own volition.
"Well, my name is Gray, and all I really need is someone who can brew coffee, be kind to the customers and not mess up too much: can I call this a deal?" He said while winking at her and giving her his hand to shake. Even though he seemed like an unconventional boss, Lucy shook his hand with a smile on her own face. She knew that this would be the perfect working situation for her as she would have free time to use the computer to write her recent novel (and stare at the gorgeous Natsu Dragneel), and as she had also had the pleasure of making coffee every morning for Erza in different variations (as she was a picky coffee drinker), she was pretty decent at making coffee.

While washing cups, he threw an apron at her and said, "Welcome to Fairy Cafe, where your boss is a stunning male with a degree in coffee making!" At that, Lucy couldn't help but laugh a little at her new boss. Before the thought left her mind, she said, "Hey! You haven't even asked me what my name is!"
"Isn't it Lucy Heartfilia?" He said with raised eyebrows, more to himself than her. Her ajar mouth screamed the statement 'how do you know?', and he simply replied with a shrug before saying,
"Aren't you the author of 'Diary of Fantasy'?" Gray asked her while he grinded the coffee beans. It was no secret that Lucy had completed one novel, and that it hadn't been very successful, but twenty people had bought her book, and she had never imagined that her new boss would have read it. The book had been all about how she had been writing letters to her mum of current events from a fictional world, and when Erza had read it, she had said that it was a masterpiece. Only those who read it were awed, so to see that Gray had read it made her extremely happy.
"It was a great book, but don't you think that the male lead was too much like the model Natsu?" He had asked cheekily.
"Ehhh!" She had screamed, not knowing that it would have been so obvious that she had used him as her muse. She felt her cheeks go red as she grabbed a towel and started cleaning madly at the tables, not wanting to face Gray. He seemed to chuckle to himself quietly as more customers came in, and her new daily routine began.

\(*^-^*)/

Now that Lucy had been working at the coffee shop for a solid week, Erza knew that today was the day to buy her beloved coffee. When she had asked Lucy about the shop the night before, she had chuckled to herself before saying,
"All the people that come in are really interesting. So when I'm taking breaks and writing, I get lots of inspiration from them. Thanks to your enslavement of making me brew coffee for you, handling everything was pretty easy. Other than me, there is only one other staff member, who is the boss Gray. There is also another worker, but apparently he works part time, and he couldn't make it last week because he was busy. The boss is really... sassy. He just always comments with a snide remark or a smirk, but from the way he handles all the equipment and counts every single grain of coffee, he seems like a really great person. Did I tell you that he also read my book!?" She squealed as she rambled on about her new work place. Erza was glad that she had recommended her that place, as she seemed really happy and she was finally motivated (and she could also finally pay her share of the bills).

So now it was a Monday, and she was standing in front of her mirror, her scarlet hair tied back neatly behind her, and her maroon blazer and pencil skirt completed her look of a serious lawyer. She tried to look as professional as possible as she looked down at the coffee shop from her window, wondering if it was really going to be the place of her dreams. Trying not to walk with a bounce in her step, she sauntered to the front of the coffee shop. The sign said, "Fairy Café" in a neat, cursive font that was the same colour as her hair. She thought cheesily, 'maybe this is fate'.

Opening the glass doors, she could smell the freshly made coffee, and it smelt like the most divine coffee that she had ever smelt in her life. She scanned the area to see that there were a couple of PCs, a study area (for the college students in the area), soft sofas with shiny hardwood tables and floors, and a grand selection of coffee on top of the counter. Her eyes sparkled with joy as she approached the counter, only to bump into someone. Before she had the chance to say sorry, a gruff voice said,
"What are you doing not looking where you are going? Or are you stunned by my beauty?" Erza couldn't help but glare at the man with raven hair in front of her, who had taken her out of her coffee coloured daze.
"Who are you?" She said with authority, not liking the man in front of her one bit.
"I'm the owner of this store that you have been passing for a fortnight. And who are you, beautiful lady with the serious face?" He commented, making heat rise to her head. So he had realised that she had been stalking the shop for weeks, and he had said absolutely nothing.

She had chosen to avoid him, knowing that his presence would do nothing but anger her, and that was not what she had wanted for her first experience at the coffee shop. Luckily, she had spotted the familiar blonde, who was now using her phone without a care in the world.
"Lucy, it's me!" She said, a bit over enthusiastically. Lucy reluctantly removed her eyes away from her phone and smiled sheepishly at her best friend. "Hi Erza, what can I do for you tod-" but as she was about to finish her sentence, Gray suddenly shouted, "Employee who shows too much skin, go and take more cups from the storage room please?"
"Says the stripper who randomly takes his clothes off! And sure boss!" She shouted back as she left Erza at the mercy of the peculiar boss of Fairy Café.

"So, what can I do for you today? My name is Gray by the way," he said all that with his signature smirk. Erza scanned him with precision, noting that he was probably younger than her, but not by much; taller than her in height; probably not in education and not rich; and definitely a womanizer.
"I would like a caffè crema please," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. He smiled at her, but this time a genuine smile, and not a smirk, and started making the coffee. Even if he didn't seem serious before, his whole demeanour had changed when making the coffee- his smile replaced with a look of concentration as he made the perfect coffee in record time, and passed it to her with the grin that she had gotten so accustomed to in such a short amount of time.

Unwillingly, she had smiled back as she had taken her coffee.

\(*^-^*)/

And so the days had continued like this, her always coming to him for coffee in the morning and in the night, his attitude staying the same as he conversed with all the customers with 'banter'. Whenever Erza entered, he seemed to have a huge smile plastered on his face, and he would always know what drink she was in the mood for by just glancing at her once. One such occurrence was when she had been drinking late with her colleagues one night, as her friends had begged her to go drinking after she had won another case which had seemed almost impossible to beat. By the time she had left the bar, her head was completely woozy and she couldn't see straight. As if her brain was a coffee smelling GPS, it had directed her straight to the coffee shop opposite her house. Surprisingly, it had been still open, so she had entered it with faltering steps, her heels making the whole ordeal much more uncomfortable. Before collapsing on the floor, she felt a pair of strong arms hold her. She had almost flinched at the cool touch, not expecting someone's body heat to be so unnaturally low. But she had soon gotten accustomed to it, and the blurriness began slowly fading as she was carried to one of the amazingly comfortable couches.

"Really? I never imagined you being an alcoholic," he said, the familiar light-heartedness in his voice permanently there.
"S-s-shu..t u-up.." she had replied groggily, not wanting to deal with his snarkiness so late at night. He shouted over at the counter, "Natsu, make the Qishr Yemen Ginger coffee for the young lady over here, or she will develop a hangover tomorrow." Erza cursed at him, knowing that he was shouting on purpose to make her life a living hell. While grabbing her head in pain, a thought had kept on nagging at her... Natsu... Who has this name that I know of?

But she soon forgot about it as her drink was placed gently near her lips, so that she could sip it slowly. It had this bitter, spicy taste that warmed her mouth, and she knew that it was absolutely delicious. As soon as she reopened her eyes, the blurriness had vanished completely, and the raven haired man was sitting next to her, his face inches away from hers. Startled, she jumped back in her seat, not expecting such close proximity with him.

"What were you doing so late at night? And why is your skirt shorter than usual? Are you trying to make me jealous?" He whispered while leaning closer to her ear, his nonchalant tone making her stiffen. What is he on about? Why would he be jealous?
"Oh please, stop with your nonsense before I hit you. Can a grown woman not go drinking with her colleagues? And why do you speak so informally to me, when you are younger than me?" She questioned with her imposing aura as she crossed her arms on her chest, his face still quite close to hers.
"Oh, so it was just colleagues," he smirked, before sitting back on his seat. Erza stared at him in confusion before he asked, "Exactly how old are you?" She immediately answered,
"I'm twenty three,"
"Guess what? I'm twenty two. That only makes us a few months apart, and makes you perfectly eligible to be my woman. It's been a while since I've been with someone older."
"What the hell are you talking about!" She blushed furiously before stomping away back to her house, feeling the stare of the raven haired man.

"Hey stripper, aren't you being too mean to her?"
"Shut up flame-brain and do your job," he said while laughing loudly.
"Don't call me that! And put your shirt back on! The only reason I'm still working here is because I owe you money for the modelling gig..."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say- I know that you love me."
"Eww, shut up you gross popsicle!" The two kept on arguing until closing time before finally closing shop.

Meanwhile, a silent onlooker had been looking through her window at that smile that she couldn't get rid of in her brain...

...

Erza was in her pyjamas and was ready to go to sleep when she plopped down on her bed from exhaustion. She had never been flirted with so shamelessly as with the barista from that coffee shop, and she was ashamed of herself for not actually minding it too much. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she finally remembered the name... Natsu!

As both girls slept in the same room, Erza shouted repeatedly to her roommate, "Lucy! Lucy!"
"What..?" The other girl had asked tiredly, as she had been on the verge of falling asleep.
"You know how you told me there is a part time worker at Fairy Cafe? It's Natsu Dragneel!" She had whispered excitedly, not wanting to wake up the neighbours.
"Oh grea- WAIT WHAT?!" She had screamed, sitting upright on her bed.
"Yes, it's Natsu. He works there every night, but you always miss his because your shift ends in the afternoon..."
"DAMMIT! I need to go to work right now and ask him to let me lick his golden abs and muscl-" Ranted Lucy, going delirious.
"Oh shut up please. You can see him tomorrow or whatever; it won't kill you not to visit him for one day," Erza had muttered calmly. Even though the other couldn't see, Lucy had raised her eyebrow and said,
"So you don't go to the coffee shop every morning and night to see Gray?" Erza had laid in shock on her bed at what her roommate had said. Before she even had time to protest, her friend had cut her off with a simple,
"Goodnight. And don't try to tell me otherwise about how you go there just for the coffee, because you and I both know that's bull."

\(*^-^*)/

After that night, Erza had always been agitated around Gray, noticing little things about him that she had never thought about before. How his eyes seemed to drown her in unspoken emotion that he hid with a smile or a smirk; how he had two piercings which suited him on his left lobe; how he had long and slender fingers that made the coffee machines do magic; how his hair was a peculiar shade of black; how his body was extremely well sculpted, and his laugh was a gift from Heaven. She noticed all this and more, and she couldn't help going a little crazy whenever he was close to her.

Once, when he had spotted her checking him out, he had asked her so blatantly, that she had outright refuted his comment, saying all the qualities that she found annoying about him, and he had only replied with an amused smirk. That behaviour had gone on for a while before one day, Erza had not been able to go to the coffee shop as she had done an all nighter, trying to finish a lengthy report. The sad thing was that she had to wake up early in the morning the next day to go to work, even though it would be a public holiday.

As she fell asleep on her desk, she hoped to be able to see that perfect white smile and hear the soft chuckle of the raven haired man.

...

She woke up the next day, and knew right away that she had overslept. Jumping from the desk chair, she quickly took a shower and wore her work clothes, not bothering to tie her hair. Hearing the incessant pouring of the rain, she took a random umbrella and ran outside, hoping that she could have her morning coffee, as she felt lethargic from the one hour of sleep she had managed to acquire. She headed for the glass doors for the umpteenth time, but strangely, they wouldn't budge. She tried to open them again and again, but the doors were permanently closed. Feeling herself getting a headache, she opened her umbrella to try and get to work, only for it to be broken in a mangle of metal, in no possible way of use to her. She dropped it on the floor in anger before stomping on it, cursing the world for making her have such a terrible day.

Firstly, she didn't get her daily dose of coffee; secondly, she was getting drenched in the rain because her stupid, useless umbrella had ceased to function, and now she was going to be even later for work! It did not help that the trial she would be involved in could be career changing, as she could be promoted to a higher position- but fate was evidently against her, and she would probably not even make it in time, and the promotion would go to someone else. In frustration, she kicked the innocent lamppost.

"Please stop that, you are damaging my property. You know that I can sue you, right?" He said with a snarky tone that she was releaved to hear. She felt herself no longer feeling the heavy rain droplets as he had placed his umbrella above her head, shielding her from the rain.
"What are you doing here?" She had asked meekly, not having the energy to say a rebuttal back.
"Clearly, I'm here to be your knight in shining armour." She just snorted at that before whispering, "Thank you…"

He took her inside the coffee shop as the sky darkened, making the rain drop even more heavily onto the pavement. Gray prepared a blanket and a warm latte to raise her body temperature, and they both drank in silence as they heard the thunder from far away, even though it seemed dangerously close. At each thunder clap, Erza visibly flinched. Erza had prided herself with being good at not being scared of much, but thunder had always frightened her as a little child, and the scar had always remained with her.

Out of the blue, Gray had wrapped his arms around her, and her eyes had widened, the smell of all types of coffee lingering strongly on him like a cologne. With his arms wrapped securely around her, and the calming smell of coffee on his body, Erza felt herself relax into his embrace.

"I never thought of you as scared of thunder," he had said, breaking the silence.
"And I never thought of you as a nice guy," she said back, secretly grabbing onto him tighter as the thunder continued to spread terror in her heart. They had stayed in silence for the rest of that time until it had finally subsided.

Not wanting to hear any comments from him, she had tried to run away, but he had said,
"As payment for being in your company, and giving you free coffee, may I have the pleasure of having your number?" Gray had asked in mock politeness. Erza had walked to one of the tables closest to her, grabbed a tissue and quickly scribbled down a number, before leaving in a hurry. She seemed to be leaving in a hurry a lot...

As for Gray, he was content with seeing that he had actually gotten her number.

But what he didn't know was that she had actually given him a fake number, and he would have to pry it from Lucy to get her real one.

\(*^-^*)/

The days had gone on like that, more customers coming in because of the handsome barista, while Natsu Dragneel attracted the customers at night (including Lucy). Meanwhile, Gray would always somehow make time for Erza to openly flirt with her, making her act annoyed at him when in fact she was secretly happy. He had even managed to get her number (thanks to Lucy) and managed to be in every aspect of her life. So when he bothered her almost every day with cute messages like,

Please come today, or I can't make good coffee :)

Why are you so beautiful?

What did your parents eat to make the creation that is you?

Will you marry me if I make you coffee for life?

Stop drinking with those 'colleagues'. They seem more like shady middle ages men who prey on beautiful women -.-

No matter how many times you tell me I'm wrong, your smile is the cutest ;)

Thank you for being my ray of light

Do you like me like I like you?

Your aggressiveness, stubbornness, sexiness- everything you do is perfection ;)

Erza had always changed the topic while reading his cheesy messages, but she couldn't help the little flip her heart made, or the way that she would find herself blushing like a teenager at all those little texts. The one that made her the most nervy was the 'do you like me like I like you' one, as she couldn't help but feel like it was a bit more than just 'like', even though she would never admit it to herself.

...

She woke up one morning to a beautiful sun and looking through her window, she had not expected to see Gray talking to a female customer while looking extremely uncomfortable. He was usually at ease with everyone, but his pained expression seemed to indicate that she had been annoying him for quite a while, and he had been trying to stay civil. Erza knew all this because as a lawyer, it was key to analyse body language and facial expressions to see if a witness was telling the truth. Having a free day off work, she chose to wear a white shirt with black shorts, and rushed downstairs to try and save Gray from that customer.

When she was inside the shop, panting slightly from rushing, she could see the female customer trying extremely hard to flirt with Gray, who had been sending SOS signals to Lucy, who had not been responding as she had been busy texting her new 'friend' Natsu Dragneel. Knowing that only she could intervene, she calmly walked up to the pair and said, "Hey there," before kissing Gray on the cheek. The look of amazement on his face as she had kissed him had given her a strong sense of satisfaction, and the girl stood there in shock at the situation. Not wanting her plan to be revealed, Erza whispered,
"Gray, I'll pretend to be your girlfriend so this girl will go away, okay?" and she pulled away, not wanting to linger in case it made the whole situation suspicious.

She had not been known as the Titania for nothing. In high school, she had been the queen during plays at school, and she had always excelled at her role of being another person. With a composed air about her, she turned to the girl in front of her and said,
"Excuse me, but who are you?" The way she said it, she sounded like royalty in the ears of anyone who listened. Gray had quickly snapped out of it, knowing that she was doing this for his sake, and knowing that he could also take advantage of the situation. As the girl stuttered an answer, Gray placed his hand on her hips, which made Erza jump a little at the contact. The girl saw this, and glared at his hand on her hips, but Erza endured it, knowing that it would make the whole performance look believable.

"H-h-how long have you been dating?!How did you meet!?" Interrogated the girl, still being in denial about the whole situation. Not wanting Gray to make up an unflattering story, she said,
"Well, we were both in the same high school, and then we went to the same college-"
"And one day I forced her to come with me to a college party," he said while interrupting her story. She glared at him to tell him to shut up, and he shrugged with his usual nonchalance.
"I was bored, so he asked me to go out, and then he took me on this romantic adventure around his neighbourhood, showing me the park, the lake, the snow cabin..."
"And then we made out." He concluded, making Erza stare daggers at him. He cheekily put his tongue out and wiggled it like a kid, making Erza even more infuriated. Before she could complain about him ruining her story, he gently closed the gap between them and placed his rough lips with her soft ones, holding her as if she was a piece of porcelain. The other girl had already left a long time ago, seeing no way to break the bond between the two, and all Erza could feel was the sensation of his lips colliding with hers, a bittersweet scent of coffee lingering as she could feel her heart beat too rapidly for her to be still alive, and way too many butterflies for her stomach to not be infested.

As he slowly pulled away, both their eyes opening just as slowly, trying to maintain the previous coffee coloured sensation, he put his lips to her ear and whispered ever so sweetly,
"Want to make this pretence official?"

I hope you liked this :D It was originally supposed to be 1k, but I suck at making my stories short :'). I don't know if this was what I wanted, but I'm okay with it.. I'll do even better the next time!Thank you again so much for reading, and I love you all my royal adorable chibis ~(*^-^*)~ . Make sure to support BTS (Kpop group), they are amazing and the sweetest humans you will ever fall for x3! Make sure to embrace your friends and family several times to make them know that you love them, and I hope I can write very soon :p Saranghe xxxxx

~Roxanne