Day Two: Versus


He often wondered if he had the worst luck in the universe. Just when he thought that he had crossed the obstacle that was her tattooed first love, another obstacle in their relationship had appeared.

And this time it came in the form of strawberry cheesecake.

It was ridiculous to think that he was getting all worked up over a piece of cake, but it was reasonable if you understood his side of the story. For years he had always been the second choice. From the moment he met her, he had been the second choice. There was always someone else in her heart, someone who occupied a much greater space in her heart.

But as the years passed, he thought that he had eventually won her over when he found himself appointed the new boyfriend of Erza Scarlet. He was now the one being given those loving gazes and those tender smiles reserved just for him. Yet despite this there was always something blocking him from achieving the full experience. It was strawberry cheesecake, and it was the very thing that could ruin his relationship with Erza.

It was common knowledge that Erza loved her strawberry cheesecake. What wasn't common knowledge however, was that Erza devoured a full cake each day. It was an unhealthy obsession but she couldn't seem to give it up. What Gray had noticed though, was that every time she took one bite, she seemed to be instantly happier. And after she had her daily intake of one cake a day, it brought on the brightest smile he had ever seen on her to date. The effects of strawberry cheesecake on her were tremendous, and it was unfair that as the boyfriend of Erza Scarlet, that he wasn't the source of these positive changes.

He should be the one to make her instantly happier. His very presence should put her in a good mood. And he should be the cause for those bright smiles, not a blithering piece of cake. He was getting beaten by a piece of cake, and he really was not liking it one bit. At least Jellal was a real person. But to be second place to a piece of cake? It was preposterous, and did no wonders for his ego.

Gray Fullbuster was getting beaten by a slice of strawberry cheesecake.

And it was absolutely embarrassing. What made it worse was that it appeared that the safety of her cake was more important than his, and the cake seemed to be her first priority, not him. He was living a truly sad life. He didn't think anyone had it as bad as he did in the love game.

"You should do something then, if it'll get you to stop whining. It puts me off the alcohol," his alcoholic friend suggested, taking another chug of beer.

"My whining puts you off alcohol? I should remember that," he muttered to himself in amusement before getting punched in the shoulder by the card mage.

"Shut up, I'm trying to help you here. Be grateful that I'm giving up some of my time to listen to your sorry ass complain," she retorted in annoyance, watching as the mage rolled his eyes.

"I'm only telling you because Loke's too busy with his girlfriend, Lucy's not here and Mira will do something dramatic which I'm not too sure I want to find out about," he said, sipping a beer of his own.

Cana waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyways like I said, you should do something about it then. Like give her an ultimatum or something."

He raised an eyebrow in amusement. "What? Like it's me or the cake?" he asked playfully, chuckling slightly before pausing abruptly as an idea struck him.

"That's it! You're a genius Cana," he exclaimed before dashing out of the guild. The card mage shrugged, taking another chug of her beer in satisfaction.

"Well that takes care of that," she remarked offhandedly, a lazy smile on her face.


He knew what he had to do. Checking that he still had some jewel on him, he walked to Erza's favorite cake store, the very place he knew she spent half of her life in.

As the bell chimes jingled, the owner of the shop looked up in delight. "Oh, Erza's boyfriend right? What brings you here?" he asked pleasantly, greeting from behind the counter.

"I'm here to pick up a box of her usual. She doesn't know though," he told him, a small smile on his face.

He got the hint however when he winked at him. "Ah, a surprise I see. Erza's lucky to have someone like you. She talks about you all the time you know, whenever she comes here. From what I'm seeing now, it appears that you're just like how she says."

Gray raised an eyebrow in surprise. "She talks about me?"

He nodded. "You're all she ever talks about."

A surge of elation flowed through him as he mentally fist pumped in the air in victory.

Gray: 1, Strawberry Cheesecake: 0.

Honestly, the revelation that Erza actually talked about him had elated him so much that he was almost about to back out of his plan, almost. Call him a jerk for not trusting her enough, but if you were in his shoes you would understand. He had been second place for so long that now that he was the one who was chosen, it was a little hard to believe. That didn't mean he didn't love her though. He did, and very much so.

He cracked a wide grin at the owner. "I see. So what does she say?" He couldn't be all the more curious. He had often wondered what Erza thought about him. After all it was Erza, and you never knew what she was thinking.

The owner grinned back at him. "Only good things, only good things. So don't you worry. Although she does go quiet when she looks at my cakes but that's normal. Everyone goes quiet when they look at my cakes. That's just how delicious they are," he jovially chuckled, not noticing how his companion's grin turned into a frown.

Damn it, just when he thought that he had one-upped the cake, it still ended up one-upping him.

Gray: 1, Strawberry Cheesecake: 1. They were now tied, much to his displeasure.

"I see," he replied quietly before flashing him a weak smile. "I guess I'll just go get that cake then."

The owner nodded, passing him the box of strawberry cheesecake. "It's on me. Erza's a regular here, and I owe her so much. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be getting half the revenue I get today," he chuckled to himself, and Gray almost felt for him, almost.

"Thanks. I should probably visit here more often then," he remarked lightly, taking the cake box. The cake owner flashed him a mysterious grin. "I think Erza would like that very much."

His brows furrowed in confusion. "Erza? What does Erza have to do with this?" he asked, but received no response for another pair of customers had entered the shop. The owner looked apologetic but Gray took this as his cue to leave, confusion rolling off him in waves. Whatever did he mean? He would have thought that Erza would be angry with him if he really did visit the shop all the time, thinking that he would start stealing her cakes from her.

With a sigh, he shook away those thoughts as a newfound determination took over his senses. It was time to find out once and for all. Who held the biggest space in Erza's heart? It was him or the cake.

And frankly, he thought it was the cake.


Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea, he told himself belatedly as he stood in front of his girlfriend's room at Fairy Hills. He knew that she was home at around this time, and thus had decided it would be the perfect time to put his plan into action.

Dressed in a black tuxedo, complete with a red tie and white polo shirt, Gray stood nervously in front of Erza's door, his arm held up to knock on the door. Deciding to screw it all, he loudly knocked on the door thrice, nervously adjusting the box of cake in his hands.

As he heard the shuffling of footsteps behind the door, he wondered if it was too late to back out. This was probably one of the most nerve wracking moments of his life and he was sure looked pretty stupid, standing outside of Erza's door dressed in a suit and carrying a box of cheesecake.

However it was too late to start bolting when the door in front of him swung open, revealing the red headed beauty he was ever so besotted with. Raising an eyebrow in surprise, her mouth hung open slightly when she took notice of his formal wear.

"Was there a date I wasn't informed about?" she asked bluntly, before her eyes zeroed in on the white box in his hands.

She was about to take it, already recognising it as a cake box, but was stopped by a gruff clearing of the throat as Gray shuffled back only just slightly.

"I need to ask you something Erza, and it's very important. I'd rather we take it inside," he said seriously, quickly scanning their surroundings to make sure that no one was watching.

She was confused but agreed nonetheless, moving aside to allow him to walk into her room. Closing the door behind her she turned around, only to find the cake box opened and Gray looking at her with an expression mixed with worry and desperation. Now she was really confused. What on Earthland was going on?

"Gray, is something the matter?" she asked carefully, unsure of how to approach the situation. She had never seen him acting like this, and for him to be acting so solemn, it must be something very serious.

The ice mage looked up, staring right into her hazel orbs. "I'm second place, aren't I?"

His statement took her aback as she looked at him with a frown. "Second place? What are you talking about? I chose you didn't I? I thought we've been over this," and they have. She knew just how sensitive the topic of Jellal was between the two, especially with Gray. She knew that he had always felt as though he was fighting a losing battle and that he would never truly win against him. She couldn't blame him. She had been in love with Jellal for so long that for her to finally move onto someone she only just realised to have loved just as long would indeed be hard to believe, especially since he had always felt as though he were friend zoned. But she thought that she had made it perfectly clear that she loved him. Honestly, it kind of hurt her that he lacked that much faith in her but she understood.

"It's not Jellal this time, it's the cake," he replied, lightly shaking the cake.

Gray watched intently as her eyes immediately darted to the cake and a protest for him to stop shaking the box hung from her lips. "What are you talking about?" she had asked, but her eyes had not left the cake.

Just to test his theory, he moved the box to the right, watching as her eyes followed. He moved it to the left, and her eyes also moved to the left. If it weren't such a serious situation, he would've taken the time out to tease her. She was like a cat.

"This proves my point Erza. Compared to the cake, I'm not really first place am I? Which is why I want to give you an ultimatum."

At that, her eyes finally left the cake and a frown made it's way on her features. "Ultimatum? Gray–"

"It's me or the cake Erza. Who holds the bigger place in your heart? You can't choose us both, only one," he said sternly, his gaze serious. She looked at him, scanning his features. She had never seen such a serious expression on his face. He must really be serious.

At this thought, her gaze softened as she stepped forward, Gray's breath hitching. He watched with his heart pounding against his ribcage as the requip mage took the box from his hands.

He knew it, he thought depressingly. It was the cake. He was about to step away when her next actions froze him in his tracks.

Erza had taken the box of cake and gently removed the box so that she was holding the cake. With a hardened stare, she threw the cake to the ground, watching as it got smashed into pieces.

Gray watched with his mouth agape and his eyes dilated in shock. Did she just–? Did Erza just–?

The redhead looked up from the cake, deciding to step on it to prove her point before walking confidently up to the dumbstruck mage. Before he could even comprehend what happened, she had grabbed his face in her hands and pulled him down to her, connecting her lips with his. She sweetly kissed him, hoping to convey her heartfelt emotions to him before breaking apart, a tender gaze locked on him.

"You versus the cake, how silly. I chose you, remember? I'll always choose you."

To prove her point, she pulled him down again to give him another long kiss. Gray finally regained control over his conscious state as he snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He couldn't even describe the amount of euphoria he had felt in that moment. And for the first time, he truly did feel like he was first place in her heart.

Take that you stupid cake! he thought to himself, smiling against her lips.

Gray: 2, Strawberry Cheesecake: 1.

When they finally broke apart, Erza regarded his victorious smile with a roll of her eyes but hugged him tighter, resting her head against his chest. She hoped that now he finally understood just how much she loved him, especially since she was willing to smash a perfectly good cheesecake. But oh well, she got something much sweeter instead.

Gray rested his chin upon the top of her head and he smiled goofily to himself as he regarded the smashed cake on the floor. It was silly, getting hung up over something as petty as this but they were not normal people after all.

Erza managed to break the moment however, when she moved her head up to look up at him. "You still have to clean that up though," she nodded toward the smashed cake on the floor.

Damn it! Gray: 2, Strawberry Cheesecake: 2.

"But later. Right now I think we should go on a date since you're all dressed up."

Ha, you've got nothing on me you stupid cake. Gray: 3, Strawberry Cheesecake: 2.

"Actually I take that back. I don't want my house getting infested by cake eating bugs or something."

Gray looked down at her with a scowl. "Just choose a side already!"

She laughed. "You, always you," she replied before she glared darkly at him, "but make me drop a cake like that again and you're dead."

And in the end, the cake still won.

("They always did say that second was the best.")