I do not own Fairy Tail.

The guild hall was full of bustling bodies that were enjoying the music of a local band in Magnolia that occasionally played for the guild as a thank you for their constant protection. On nights like this, lots of food and drink was necessary. Gray had been attempting to catch Mira for a few moments, but she always hurried away with an apologetic smile. Typically this group's songs were upbeat and good for a nice rave, but the vocalist announced a slow song to give the musicians a moment to rest. The first few soothing chords echoed through the vast hall, and Gray saw people around him searching for a partner to sway with. He scanned the crowd for Mira's pale hair, and sighed as he saw that she was taking this moment to lay out a large array of refreshments along the bar top. When he turned back around, Juvia was grinning up at him with hope written all over her face.

"My darling Gray, would you dance with me?" Her sultry voice filled his ears and her clingy hands reached toward him.

Gray gently batted a hand away from him and said, "No, Juvia." He turned and stalked away, already hearing her enormous tears hitting the stone floor. As he retreated, couples bounced against him on all sides. Even Happy had someone to dance with! The blue cat had managed to persuade Carla to dance with him, but at arm's length. The individuals who opted against a couples dance were milling toward the kitchen area to stock up on food and drink. As Gray broke through the edge of the swaying crowd, he noticed Mira's backside heading through a door that led outside. Gray stared at the door, breathing deeply. This was it, and he hadn't even needed to signal Natsu to begin their plan, which was a good thing as it had involved tons of fire. Everywhere. Gray looked over his shoulder and noticed Natsu watching him. When Natsu saw that Gray was looking, he gave him an enthusiastic nod and a thumbs up. Gray waved his hand slightly then took one last breath before passing through the door.

Winter was descending upon Magnolia quickly, and Gray was reminded of this as a frigid blast struck him as he walked outside. A few errant snowflakes danced along the breeze, joyfully gliding to their destination. Mira was at the railing of the balcony, staring out at the city with her arms wrapped around herself. Of course, Gray thought. She didn't bring a coat. Just look at her, that dress doesn't even have sleeves! He hesitated briefly, then swallowed his nerves and walked toward her as he pulled his coat off. He gently draped it over her shoulders and said, "Mira, it's way too cold out here for you to not have a coat."

Mira gasped lightly and whipped her head around to look at him, a hand flying to her cheek. Her lovely smile sprang onto her face and she laughed. "Well, thanks, Gray. I wasn't going to stay out long, though."

"It doesn't take long to catch a cold." As she smiled at him, the light from inside shone on her face, causing a glisten on her cheek. A tear. He wrestled with himself, trying to decide if it would be wise to ask or just leave it be. He doubted they were really close enough for her to divulge the reason to him, but he couldn't handle seeing her unhappy. "Mira, why are you crying?"

Mira removed the hand that she had clearly been using in an attempt to hide the tears. She giggled and answered, "I'm not. The cold wind just shocked my eyes, I think."

Gray wasn't entirely convinced, but he didn't persist since she was unwilling to share the information. Instead, he nodded, and asked, "Why are you out here? I haven't seen you on the dance floor all night."

She looked up at the sky as she spoke. "I don't get much chance to enjoy things like this. Well, let me correct that. I enjoy the events a lot, because I get to see all of our friends having a great time. And I can still hear the music. I just can't participate directly since I provide the refreshments."

He studied her profile as she looked at the stars. He had a few options: he could invite her to dance with him for just a moment (hey, they crazies could handle themselves for one song), he could be a chicken, or he could. . .he sighed and then laid a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Mira, come inside. I want you to go dance for a while. I'll watch the counter."

MiraJane looked at him once again, her dark blue eyes searching his face. She laughed and said, "Thanks, Gray, but it really is alright. I love taking care of everyone!"

Gray shook his head and, with a wave of bravado, grabbed her hand. He politely led her back inside, where he gently pushed her towards the gyrating mass of guild members. "Go, enjoy yourself. I've got this." Mira hesitantly walked toward the crowd, not sure where to go. Lisanna was on the edge of the mob, dancing alongside young Wendy. Lisanna did a spin and stopped when she saw Mira. She ran to her sister, overjoyed by her presence. Gray grinned, then headed behind the bar. He took stock of his surroundings: he had what appeared to be plenty of alcohol for the remainder of the night and there were plenty of supplies to keep making snacks. As he poked through the plates set on the counter, his hope began to waver. Mira hadn't simply made sandwiches for this event; she had made small cakes and cookies along with all kinds of odd little food combinations on sticks. He began to feel overwhelmed by the task he had agreed to, a feeling that only amplified when Cana slammed a fist on the bar and yelled, "Mira, more booze!"

Gray turned around, taking a good look at the scantily dressed woman before him. She was always a drinker, but parties like this pushed her to the limit, which she had clearly reached. "Cana," he said, "Mira is dancing and I'm filling in for her."

Cana hiccupped, swaying while she examined Gray. She then laughed loudly. "As if ya could fill her shoes! What kind of shoes does she even wear? Little flats, right?" She scratched her forehead and laughed again. "Oh, Gray, please wear those shoes!"

Gray shook his head. "Cana, I'm not going to allow you to drink anymore."

Cana's upbeat attitude dissipated at his words, replaced by a severe glare. "And just who the hell do you think you are?" She pointed an accusing finger in his face. "No one but MiraJane may speak to me in that way! I challenge you, Gray Fullbuster! To a drinking match!"

Gray was at a loss for words and actions. Luckily, a giggling Lucy looped her arm through Cana's and exclaimed, "Canaaaaaaa, come back to the party! There is a certain lion who asked to dance with yooooou!" Cana grinned, instantly forgetting her feud with Gray, and the two girls wobbled away. Gray exhaled roughly, glad to be rid of that difficult situation. Unfortunately, he realized that would only be the beginning of his struggles. Most of the plates had been emptied during the last few songs and it was definitely time to restock.

He picked up a couple of the remaining items to examine the contents. He let out a frustrated groan and tossed the food onto a plate. Forget this, he thought, I'll just make a Gray-Special! He strutted into the kitchen and pulled open the door on the fridge, rooting through the items. He filled his arms and carried the food to the counter, dumping them wildly upon the surface. He cracked a few eggs in a bowl, mixing in some flour and sugar for good measure. The mixture was sloppily poured into the molds for the tiny cakes and placed in the oven at a random temperature. He then set about making some very small and very ugly sandwiches. Between the small slices of bread he layered salami, tomato, lettuce, jelly, pickles, and potato chips. He mounded the plates with the abominations quickly and rushed them out to his guild mates.

Erza sat upon a barstool, impatiently waiting for more food to arrive. She greedily snatched a sandwich from the plate before Gray could even put it down. Her eyes enlarged as she looked at the tiny snack in her hand. She sniffed it cautiously and took a hesitant nibble. Nose crinkled, she gently placed the sandwich on the counter and looked hard at Gray. "What the hell are you doing?"

Panic built inside his chest and his voice was shakier than he would have liked. "I wanted Mira to have a good time, so I told her I would handle things over here. But I have no clue what the hell I am doing!"

Erza chuckled and leaned over the counter to pat his shoulder. "Good luck, Gray." Then she retreated. Gray was in disbelief that his friend would abandon him in such a way. He picked up her forgotten sandwich and took a bite, lips puckering at the bizarre combination of flavors. With a disgruntled sound he angrily dumped the entire plate of sandwiches in the trash can, turning back around to find Lisanna watching him. Patience entirely gone, he spoke a little rougher than he intended. "What do you want?"

Lisanna stared him down, clearly debating whether to take offense. With a small shake of her head, she said, "Well, that was rude. I'm only here to check on you. Mira is hanging out with Cana and Lucy now, which may not be the wisest choice, but oh well. I wanted to tell you that I really appreciate what you did for Mira. She never takes time to just have fun." She smiled at him sweetly, as if she had any other persona.

Gray shrugged his shoulders, avoiding her gaze. "Ah, well it's uh, it's nothing really. I just hate seeing her stuck behind this counter all the time."

Lisanna sniffed the air with a frown. "Gray, are you cooking something back there?"

Gray gasped and ran into the kitchen without answering her, but he could hear her frantic footsteps behind him. Dark smoke was slithering out of the oven, twirling upwards and hiding the ceiling from view. He whipped open the door to the oven, hacking as he inhaled a deep puff of the putrid smoke. The batter from the cakes had bubbled over the sides of the pans, sloshing all over the oven. Everything had been burnt to a horrifying black, absolutely inedible. Gray looked at Lisanna with wide eyes, pleading with her to help him. She reached over his head and turned off the heat, and Gray instantly felt juvenile.

He straightened, backing up to let Lisanna assess the damage. She looked at him, obviously holding back a tirade of insults, then said, "Gray, I will handle the kitchen." She gently turned him around and began to push him out of the kitchen. As she maneuvered him around the edge of the bar, she said in a low voice, "Maybe you could go dance with her. Isn't that the real reason you wanted her on the dance floor?" She wiggled her eyebrows then waltzed back into the kitchen to handle the situation.

Gray slowly spun to face the party, uncertain of how to proceed. He'd had no intention of approaching her with his feelings tonight once he had escaped Natsu's crazy plan. He hadn't even thought through the conversation in his head, and as he did so now he felt beads of sweat building on his forehead. He closed his eyes, attempting to imagine a scenario where he was successful, but couldn't manage. He leaned back on the counter of the bar, taking a moment to calm himself before he fled to his room. Breathing more evenly, he began to leave the guild hall, but was intercepted by a frantic MiraJane who grasped his arm tightly and said, "Gray! What is with the smoke? What happened?"

He glanced at the kitchen and winced. The smoke was now wafting through the guild hall, alerting everyone to his failure. He noticed numerous guild members looking at the kitchen with concern on their face, and Gray's defenses began to rise. He shrugged his shoulder, causing Mira to let go of his arm. "Well, obviously I messed up. Lisanna's fixing it." He said no more, striding away from her, determined to get far away from this disaster.

"Wait," Mira called after him, but he pretended not to hear and burst through the door that led to the front lawn of the guild. He was so intent on making a getaway that his arms were swinging as he powerwalked down the steps. On a backswing, Mira caught his left hand and said, "Please, Gray, stop."

With a sigh, he stopped walking and turned to look up at her as she was two steps above him. "Yeah?"

Even in the dark he could see sparkles light in her deep eyes as she smiled at him. She pressed his hand between both of her own. "Gray, I wanted to thank you. I haven't had such a nice time in so long, it felt so great to be out there with our friends." She stepped down so she was on the step directly above him. "It was so sweet of you to do that for me." Gray stared at her, unable to respond or process what was happening. She was leaning towards him, her eyes locked on his. With a little giggle Mira lightly planted a kiss on his cheek. It only lasted a second and then her lips parted from her skin and she whispered, "Thank you so much, Gray."

She danced back up the stairs, and he stood still as he watched her go. Her warm lips had left a reminder on his chilly skin, and he lightly touched it with his fingertips. Slowly he revolved on the stairs, feeling as if he was stuck in a dream. The moment crumbled as his eyes landed on Natsu who was standing at the bottom of the staircase with a large grin on his face. Gray hurried down the steps, checking for any eavesdroppers before asking, "What are you smiling about, pyro?"

"You know damn well what I'm smiling about, lover boy," Natsu replied loudly. As Gray walked to his room, Natsu followed him while bombarding the ice wizard with questions.