Author Note: We're officially at the seventh chapter of Pastry King! As I mentioned in the last chapter, I've gone through Chapters 1-6 and corrected any grammatical errors and run-on sentences. However, if you see one that slipped by, let me know and I'll fix it. Also, feel free to do the same with this chapter! Have fun reading!

Title: Pastry King

Rating: M (use of alcohol)

Pairings: Gray x Natsu

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters do not belong to me.

Responses to Reviews:

Mgluvsbl25: I really love your reviews! They come with so much emotion that I can literally feel it especially when you say, "yasss". Some of the other readers may disagree with you about who Natsu ends up with since there are some Natsu x Sting fans lurking around. Oh well, I guess we'll find out soon enough! Have fun with Chapter 7! P.S. I've actually come across your name in the Sasuke x Naruto archives!

AsDarknessSpreads: I can't tell if that was sarcasm about the kiss but I will believe in your best intentions. And it would seem that readers such as yourself love Zeref. I honestly didn't expect him to be so popular but I guess that's how the story is progressing. Enjoy reading this chapter!

darkhuntressxir: Yeah, I guess Gray is becoming a little impatient but who knows? I'm surprised a lot of people love Zeref but I wonder if he'll become more than just a side character in this story. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Dark Sorcerer of Fire: I have been updating almost every week but keeping the motivation high is hard at times. Perhaps I should read some of your stories someday when I get the chance. And I'm honestly surprised with how many people love Zeref from last chapter but to see him become Gray's rival would be interesting yet odd. I hope this chapter will be fun to read as the last one. As always, I look forward to your next review!

Natsu's POV

"Jeez, get a room already." I couldn't clearly tell what was happening but I knew that somehow, I found myself making out with Gray at the bar.

"Aww aren't they cute?" However, I tried to push him away but his grip was tight as I felt his arm slither around my waist and his other hand on the back of my head to keep me from moving.

"To be young and in love again." When I least expected it, we finally separated as I gasped for air. I kept my eyes on the raven across from me while I brought a finger to my lips, shocked at what just happened. That's when realization hit. I quickly looked around to see a couple of other people smiling, others with a disgusted face and thankfully, Erza's table didn't seem to notice. I couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or my emotions but I was definitely feeling out of control. And hot.

"What the hell was that you asshole?"

"I think one could call that a kiss; a French kiss to be exact." He said with a smile as he licked his lips. "You taste pretty good for a guy." I didn't know whether to feel offended or praised but he was definitely getting on my nerves.

"Listen you dick, I'm not sure what kind of world you're living in but you don't just kiss people for no reason."

"Oh I had a reason to kiss you." I was a bit puzzled but nervous simultaneously. Part of me hopes that he kissed me because he actually likes me but another part feels like he did it for his own entertainment. When Zeref's co-worker passed by, Gray immediately grabbed his attention. "Excuse me but can I get a glass of rum and coke and for my friend," I eyed him warily as he gave another smile in my direction before continuing. "He would like a blueberry pomegranate cocktail." A suspicious expression made its way onto my face as his smirk didn't go away.

"Of course, I'll be right back with your drinks."

"Surprised I know your favorite drink?" I crossed my arms and gave my own smirk when I felt that I had the advantage.

"Looks like someone has paid an awful amount of attention to me."

"Hah, you give yourself too much credit but unfortunately, I do have to agree with you." Before we could get another word out, the bartender returned with our drinks and Gray had quickly paid off the bill before I could object. If this keeps up, I'll end up owing him a lot more than I would prefer.

"You know, I could have paid for my drink." I said as I took a big gulp of my cocktail. When Gray made a move to push his chair closer to mine, surprisingly, I didn't try to stop him.

"I know but I would prefer to take care of you while I'm around."

"Well, aren't we acting a bit differently from this morning." I licked the salt off the rim of the glass as I took another sip. "You were more quiet and emotionless and now, you seem very different. I wonder why." He took a sip of his rum and coke, which annoyed me. Other people have mentioned that when I consume a good amount of alcohol, I tend to become less patient. And difficult to deal with since I say what I feel about certain people.

"Perhaps I should start at the beginning." He placed his glass down and he suddenly had a serious expression. "When I first saw you, I was surprised to see someone with pink hair especially on a guy! For some reason, I thought you were very cute and I had somehow developed an interest for someone who happens to be a guy. Even though we didn't say much to each other at first, I didn't know how to approach you since I never felt like this for another guy but when Lyon had said you were interested in other men, I knew I had a chance." I felt his arm around my waist again but I didn't resist this time.

"Why do you keep talking like you're straight or something? And you keep saying 'for a guy' or 'another guy'. It's annoying." I said as I shook my drink around on the bar.

"I typically only date and sleep with girls." Suddenly, I felt an invisible blade cut a slit in my heart. "I was never attracted to other guys." And the blade started to cut deeper. "The thought of sleeping with another guy is so weird and I could never understand those that engage in those activities." I grasped my glass so hard that I wouldn't care if it shattered in my hand. "However, you're the first guy I've felt this way for and it's sort of interesting. And it would seem that the tactics I use for women also work on you." I gulped down the last of my drink as I turned to look at the raven with a cold, hard glare.

"So what? You see me as a booty call? Well that's too fucking bad because you're not going to get anything out of me." When he smiled, I really wanted to kick his ass but I restrained myself. But if he keeps going on like this, I wasn't sure if I could hold myself back any longer.

"A booty call? If I was interested, I wouldn't need you. I would simply call up one of the women who incessantly call to profess their love to me. But when it comes to you," He cupped my cheek in one of his hands as he brought his face closer to my own. "I'm not sure how to deal with you just yet." He continued to get closer to me but right before our lips touched, he whispered one more thing. "But I'm sure you're just as easy as the others." Something in me snapped as I quickly slapped the shit out of him to the point the sound resounded around the bar area. I stood up from my chair and couldn't stop myself any longer.

"You're just a fucking asshole aren't you?! You think you can get whatever you want just because you have money? Well guess what? You can't so fuck off! I don't care if you're investing in our second patisserie! If I see your face one more time, I'll beat the shit out of you!" When I was done yelling, I quickly made my way out of the restaurant as I waded through the crowd, ignoring the looks from the customers who overheard me.

"Natsu!" This is ridiculous. I was the one yelling at the guy and here I am about to cry. I've never felt so... hurt and used. As I stood in front of the elevator, I could feel my heartbeat beating so fast and I was so short of breath. I could already feel the water about to burst from my eyes like a dam about to break. "Natsu, wait!" I pushed the button as I impatiently waited for the damn elevator. "Natsu, would you turn around!?" I bit my lower lip when I heard the voice it belonged to but I couldn't help but turn and face her.

"Erza…" At that point, I couldn't help but break down and let my tears fall down my cheeks. Before I knew it, she quickly grabbed my hand and took me down the quiet hallway into a corner. When we stopped moving, she gave me the tightest hug as I kept crying into her chest while I took in short breaths.

"What happened in there?" She asked in such a way that really made me think she was my big sister. I sniffled a bit and tried to compose myself before talking. "You always get so emotional when you drink. Why didn't you tell me you were going out tonight? I could have come with you." I shook my head.

"Yo-you were go-going on a d-date with Je-Jellal. I did-didn't want to s-stop you." She created some space between us as she looked into my eyes.

"Natsu, you know you'll always be family to me. Now, can you tell me why you were yelling at Gray?" I bit my lower lip as I felt conflicted. Part of me wanted to tell her what Gray said but I didn't want to ruin her chance to achieve her dream. Her dream to have a well-known and popular business, no matter what it was. And right now, it was the patisserie. If I were to tell her, she might call the whole thing off with him and I know she's been looking for an investor for months. I can't ruin this for her. I can't be selfish, not now.

"It's nothing." I wiped the tears out of my eyes as I felt more composed. "He just said something that pissed me off." Technically, I wasn't lying but I wasn't telling the full story either. Erza looked like she didn't believe me but she gave a heavy sigh.

"Listen, you know I'll always be here for you right? No matter what?" I nodded. "Good. If you ever feel like talking, don't hesitate to let me know. Here, why don't you take the weekend off?" I was shocked at her proposal that I couldn't even say anything. "It'll be good for you to have the weekend to yourself before we do the interviews next week, wouldn't you say? And it'll give you some time to relax."

"But what about the patisserie?" She gave a soft smile.

"I'm sure with the help of Sting, Lyon and Loki will be able to run it themselves. Now," She ruffled my hair before continuing. "Go home and get some rest. Will you be able to get home all right?" Unfortunately, I had to shake my head.

"I… uh, had too much to drink." Her smile never left as she took a napkin from her purse and began to wipe my face.

"If there's anything about you that's good when you drink, it's that you know when you can't drive. Come on, spend some time with me and the others. It'll do you some good to see Jellal and Lyon. And I'll be sure that Gray won't bother you okay?" I kinda didn't want to go back inside the restaurant but I nodded my head. She grasped my hand as we made our way back inside the restaurant as the environment around me became noisy again. As we approached the table, Jellal was the first one who noticed as he waved over to us.

"There you guys are! I was wondering if you were going to come back or not." He said with a smile as I took my seat next to Erza. Our table was in the formation of an upside-down 'U' as we sat in the following clockwise: myself, Erza, Jellal, Lyon, and Gray.

"Sorry about that dear. I just wanted to check up on Natsu." I looked down into my hands trying to avoid Gray's line of sight but that didn't last long when Lyon started talking.

"I didn't even know you were here Natsu until you started yelling. Why didn't you tell us you were coming here tonight?" I looked up to see a concerned look on the sous chef's face. I honestly didn't feel like talking and when I opened my mouth to speak, Jellal's voice made itself known.

"I'm sure he has his reasons. Now why don't we order some food and leave Natsu alone? It looks like he's already a couple of hours ahead of us in terms of drinks and fun, right?" He shot a smile towards me and I couldn't help but do the same. Gray had called for the waiter and when they all placed their orders, I felt my phone vibrate as I took it out of my pocket.

Zeref: Did you get home safe?

I tapped some buttons away on the screen as I pushed 'Send' to send the message, which popped up in a bubble.

Natsu: I'm still at the restaurant.

When I made a move to put the phone away, it immediately vibrated. Don't tell me he replied that fast.

Zeref: You must be really having a bad day if you're still there.

And another message popped up.

Zeref: Having trouble with your boyfriend? If so, I'll beat his ass for you.

I smiled at the thought of Zeref beating someone up but he has such a slender build that no one would expect him to have a black belt in martial arts.

"Who are you talking to?" I looked up to see Erza staring at me while Jellal and Lyon were engrossed in their own conversation. On the other hand, I wasn't sure if Gray was staring at me but I definitely didn't want to find out so I kept my eyes on my big sister.

"I guess you could call him a friend. He actually works here as one of the bartenders."

"Does he now? How long have you known him?" I thought about it for a second or two before responding.

"Probably a year now. He's a great guy since he always makes time to listen to me even though he's at work himself. And he actually bought me all of my drinks tonight." The moment she smiled, it felt as if she approved of Zeref to be my friend.

"That's the first time I've ever heard you compliment someone so much." I glanced over to Lyon as he continued. "It's a nice side to see of you. You're usually a demon at work." I gave him a glare as he laughed of which Erza and Jellal joined in. Heh, I guess coming back here wasn't so bad after all. I went back to my phone as the others continued their conversation.

Natsu: No, that's okay. And stop calling him my boyfriend. He's just an asshole.

"The food is here!" Lyon exclaimed when everyone's food and drinks arrived as they started digging in. However, I mistakenly glanced over to Gray but for some reason, I couldn't read his expression. It looked like it was a mixture of emotions but I couldn't tell what it was. Tch, what do I care? He's just a rich asshole who only cares about himself and using others. I looked down to my phone again to see another message.

Zeref: If you're calling him an asshole, he must have done something to piss you off. Anyway, we can talk more about it on Monday if you want.

Natsu: Monday? But I don't come in on Monday nights.

"You're being unusually quiet; more so than usual. Are you all right?" I looked up to see Lyon asking Gray but the raven kept his eyes closed as he took a sip of his red wine. I'm not sure what happened but Lyon's expression had changed when no words were exchanged. Did Gray say something without actually saying anything?

"I'm fine. I'm just thinking about a couple of things. Please, let's just enjoy the rest of the evening." I almost had to stop my eyes from rolling. He sure knew how to act around other people because he was definitely acting like an asshole with me earlier tonight. When my phone vibrated, I looked back down at my phone and I couldn't help but feel a mixture of surprise, excitement, and uneasiness.

Zeref: Oh I must have forgotten to tell you! I'm actually interviewing for a position at your second patisserie!

Author Note: Looks like we're at the end of the chapter! Getting through this chapter was particularly difficult only because I lost some motivation. I was surprised to see less reviews last chapter so I ask those of you who do not typically review, please take some time out and share your thoughts. They're usually a good source of motivation for me so I look forward to reading some additional reviews such as from nori of the sea and 0.o Natsu o.0. I'll see everyone in the next chapter!

And this is a shout-out to Dark Sorcerer of Fire for always having awesome reviews!