"Good morning, Gray! Can I ask you to help me with something?" Mira's voice came to him clearly as he walked into the guild hall.
"Sure, Mira, what's up?" Gray replied, approaching the bar.
"I need a hand in the kitchen," she said with her signature smile.
"Um, am I really the best person for that?" Gray rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn't a very experienced cook, eating most of his meals at the guild. "Are you sure Fried or Elfman wouldn't be more… helpful?"
"No, I'm afraid it has to be you. Let me show you what I need," Mira responded, taking Gray by the arm and dragging him back to the kitchen.
Gray hadn't ever ventured into the guild's enormous kitchen before, but the first thing he noticed was the mess. It wasn't really disaster-area proportions, but there was flour all over the counter and the floor in front of it, small puddles around bowls of ice water, and smudges of what looked like butter in distinct fist-shaped prints on the edges of the counter. On the counter itself were several lumps that he supposed were dough for something. They looked like they weren't holding any particular shape very well, sort of pooling down on the counter as he watched.
"I'm trying to make a few pies for tonight's cherry harvest party, but in this heat, I can't keep the dough cold enough. I've tried everything, even soaking my hands in ice water for as long as I can stand it! But if you could make an ice slab for me to work the dough on, I think that would do the trick!" Mira's explanation finally put everything into perspective. The bowls of water, the angry looking fist prints on the counter, she must have been getting really frustrated.
"Well, sure, if that's all you need, it's no problem." In a matter of seconds, Gray had created an entire new counter for Mira to use, entirely out of ice, and Mira was thanking him effusively. "Just let me know when you're done, and I'll get rid of it for you." Instead of heading out the kitchen door, though, he hesitated, watching Mira transfer the first lump of dough to the new surface and place her hands on the ice for a few seconds to cool them. She seemed pleased with the results when she started to work the dough, but Gray couldn't tell the difference.
"So, what's with that?" he finally asked. "I mean, why does it have to be cold like that?"
"Oh," Mira replied, looking up, "well, it helps the dough end up flaky once it's baked. Any pastry dough needs to be kept cold. Unfortunately, some of my pie crusts will probably end up a little too tough anyway, because I think I've over-worked them. But I'm sure they'll be okay, now that I have the right surface!"
Gray thought about this for a moment. "Is… is it too late to start over?" he asked. At a curious look from Mira, he continued, "I was just thinking that if you've over-done it, maybe a new batch started in the right conditions might be better."
Mira tilted her head and considered. "Well, I could start over. But then what will I do with everything I've already started? It would be such a waste…"
"Just put aside whatever you make with those and feed it to Natsu. That flame-brain will eat anything."
"I suppose you're right," Mira said with a giggle. "And I did want these pies to be perfect! Well, I can figure something out to use up the dough I've worked to death. Want to help me out?" Gray was glad she asked, because it saved him the embarrassment of having to offer and let on that he really was interested in this pastry thing.
Later that morning, Gray and Mira looked along the counter at a couple dozen beautiful cherry pies. The kitchen smelled divine and the pies looked too good to wait until the evening. Mira was beaming, and Gray was trying not to look as pleased with himself as he felt.
"So," he started, trying to sound casual, "is there anything else you need to keep chilled while you mix it?"
"I might ask you to come back and help me make biscuits for tomorrow morning once everybody goes home tonight," Mira said. "They're so much better if the butter is really cold, but again, in this heat, that's tough."
"Okay, sure. We'll see. I might be able to do that." Gray hesitated. "Anything else?"
Mira smirked as she eyed Gray. "Well, anytime you bake something that's supposed to come out flaky or crumbly, it helps to keep it cold before it's baked. Can I keep you in mind when I have baking to do?"
"Sure. That's fine. Whatever. Just, uh, don't let on that I'm helping. Wouldn't want to take any of your credit away from you."
Her smirk widened, stretching into a knowing grin. Heaven forbid cool, aloof, manly Gray Fullbuster should be seen taking an interest in something like baking...
Everyone raved about the pies that night at the cherry harvest celebration. They'd never had such wonderfully flaky pastry before, and even Gajeel complimented Mira on her baking. She just smiled and made vague references to her new "secret weapon." The next morning, her hungover guildmates practically broke out into song about the biscuits she served with breakfast. So buttery, so perfectly crumbly, they were absolutely heavenly. Natsu tried to make off with a whole dozen just for himself, but Gajeel caught him and fought for a share of them while Laxus rolled his eyes and helped himself to three of the disputed dozen.
Gray, meanwhile, sat at his usual table and almost couldn't hear Juvia's usual gushiness over the sound of his own satisfaction. He'd never really bothered with much in the way of hobbies outside of magic and physical training, but this baking thing might be something he could really get into. As he zoned out over his breakfast, he suddenly realized that Juvia had stopped talking, and he looked up to find that she was blissfully savoring one of the biscuits he (and Mira) had made. Oh yeah. He could really get into baking.