I do not own Fairy Tail.

Gray bounced nervously, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, as he waited for MiraJane to arrive. When he proposed the date, he had offered to meet her and walk to the restaurant together, but she had declined. He fidgeted with the cuffs of his long sleeved button-up shirt. The shirt was more restrictive than anything he was used to, and his nerves didn't help in the least. He would have preferred a different shirt, but he had asked Lucy to come over and help him pick an outfit for the date, and this was what she chose. His selection had been slim: three button-up shirts in white, gray, and dark blue. The white and gray had shorter sleeves, which he would have been more comfortable with, but Lucy had advised him to wear the blue. "It really accents your eyes, and you look so handsome," she had said. As he waited for his date, he began to regret the decision of choosing Lucy as the one to help him. A few snowflakes began to twirl down from the sky and Gray looked at his feet to keep the flakes from getting in eyes. He watched his feet shifting and lost himself in a pool of nerves, only to emerge when he heard the distinct click of heeled shoes coming down the sidewalk.

Gray's head snapped up, and his heart pounded as he looked at her walking toward him. First he noticed her dress, which was a dark purple and the neck line was drastically lower cut than he had expected. Her usual wear at the guild featured relatively long skirts, but this dress stopped above her knees, which were small little knobs. His eyes traveled further up, dazzled by her flowing hair and pleased that she had freed her bangs from their usual restraint. They fluttered across her face, touching all her delicate features the way he longed to do. As he admired her gorgeous form, he felt a cold breeze rush up his arms. He looked down and sighed as he realized he had popped off the buttons that held the cuffs closed. And the habitual stripping begins, he thought with a grimace. It was far too late to change his mind, for the radiant woman was standing two feet away from him with a large grin on her face.

"Uh, hey, Mira," he stammered and immediately wanted to run away. "You look, well, look at this sidewalk! It has so many cracks!" He feigned interest in the stone beneath him and scrunched his face in awkward agony.

Mira was quiet for a moment then cheerily said, "There are a lot of cracks. And you look nice, too, Gray." The two entered the quaint restaurant silently and, once seated, stared at each other awkwardly over the tops of their menus. When the waiter asked for their request, Mira answered quickly, "I would like the vegetable soup with two dinner rolls, please. And wine," she said flatly.

Gray asked for a steak and baked potato, and water to drink. It may be considered rude of him to make her drink alone, but wasn't it rude for her to request wine like that? As they waited for the food to be prepared, they talked little and mostly just smiled at each other and sipped their beverages. Well, Gray sipped his water and Mira went through two glasses of wine before their food arrived. As the waiter set the plates on the table, he refilled her glass and gave Gray a look of pity. A thud sounded from under the table as Gray absentmindedly removed his shoes.

Gray eagerly began to eat his steak, regretting the decision to ask Mira on a date. Clearly this was a terrible idea. MiraJane ate about five bites of her soup—and two full glasses of wine—before she began to ramble. "Ya know what, Graaaay? I don't know why you and Natsu fight so much."

This was not a topic he had expected to discuss during his first date with this woman. A rush of air swept across his chest as the first three buttons of his shirt slipped open. "Is that so," he said quietly and shoved a bite of potato into his mouth.

She waggled her fork in his direction as she spoke. "Yeah. I mean, the two of you truly are just the cutest. I couldn't even believe you asked me out, when it is soooo obvious that Natsu is the love of your life." She giggled, and then it built into a full blown storm of laughter, causing her to knock over her glass, the contents flooding her part of the small table.

Before he could stop himself, Gray was standing in only his boxers, fuming. How dare she say such a thing about him? He would never ever be involved with that idiot! And why did she feel the need to drink so much? Was he that unbearable to be around? Why had she even agreed to come on this date in the first place? Before he could address these thoughts, the owner of the restaurant cleared her throat and said, "Sir, your actions are inappropriate and disturbing many of our customers. I must ask that you and your date leave."

As terrible as the evening had been, this was still a date and he was still responsible for seeing her home safely. He trudged through the cold in only his boxers—he had stripped so enthusiastically that he had been unable to locate his attire. He remained by MiraJane's side, ready to lend a hand if she toppled due to her intoxication. As he gently guided her up the steps to her front door, he formulated his speech, but before he could deliver it she looked at him with tired eyes and said, "Gray F-Fullbuster, thank you for a nice dinner, but I don't think we should do this again. I just don't know if I should be involved with someone so explosive."

"Are you accusing me of being the problem? I did nothing wrong until you drank two bottles of wine all on your own and started acting dumb!" The words sprang from his lips before he could contain the insult, which was met with a sharp slap across his left cheek.

"You need to leave, Gray," she said ominously. She turned her back to him and opened the door with shaky hands, disappearing behind the wooden door and leaving him alone in the cold.