Chapter Text
It’s been about six months since I started dating Gray Fullbuster of Fairy Tail. Not many people know that we’re together, especially since I’m not part of the guild. I’m just a regular person. No special powers or magic. In fact, my “normalness” is what brought Gray and I together in the first place.
You see, I own a local restaurant in Magnolia, and I had sent a request to the guild asking for assistance. My shop needed extra hands since one of my employees accidentally wrote and printed a coupon wrong. It was supposed to say, “1 meal for $4.99!!” Instead, it said, “11 meal for $4.99!!”, and despite the poor grammar, people still swarmed asking about the deal. So, I asked the guild if there were any wizards that could help me cook quickly and serve until the one-day offer ended.
They sent me Natsu Dragneel (a fire dragon slayer), Lucy Heartfilia (a celestial wizard),and Gray Fullbuster (an ice make wizard). Naturally, I put Natsu on the grill and Lucy on serving with her spirits. Gray, on the other hand, became my sous chef since I wasn’t totally sure where to put him.
Gray and I worked surprisingly well together, especially considering that he had never worked in a kitchen before. He did everything I asked without a single complaint. He even did small jobs for me, like taking out the trash, in little to no time.
Working with him the whole day really made me appreciate the guild for sending him and the others to me, and like promised, they all helped and the restaurant survived!
At the end of the day, as I was locking up, Gray stayed behind to walk me home while the others left ahead of him.
It was chilly out, which was a nice change from the usual summer weather. I had my coat and scarf on, and felt a beautiful breeze as we started walking.
On our walk to my house, Gray shared some of his thoughts on how the day went:
“You know, I never thought that working at a restaurant could be so stressful,” he said with a little chuckle.
I laughed, “Yeah... You caught us on a bad day. It’s usually really peaceful, but that misprint made everything go to hell fast!”
It was quiet for a moment before he said, “I wouldn’t mind helping out again.”
I glanced over at him.
He had an unwavering determination in his dark eyes as he kept his gaze ahead.
I must have ended up staring, because after a few moments he looked over at me and plainly asked, “What?”
I jumped a little and asked, “Why would you want to help again? I mean, don’t you wizards have more important things to do?”
He stopped walking. I looked over my shoulder when he did and noticed he was looking away. Almost like he was trying to think of an answer to give me.
He finally looked at me with a small smile and a shrug.
I felt my face get warm. In the moonlight he was really handsome. His messy black hair swayed as a gentle breeze blew by and the smirk and nonchalant shrug made something in my stomach leap.
I nervously replied, “Um... W-Well, I guess you’re welcome to help if you really want to... I can’t really pay you like I did today though...”
He put his hands in his white coat pockets, started walking again, and said, “You don’t have to pay me much. I’m even okay with just a meal.”
As I followed him, I suddenly became really self-conscious. I shoved my now clammy hands in my coat pockets and stuffed my nose in my scarf in an attempt to hide the blush that graced my face.
After what seemed like an eternity, we finally reached my house.
I walked up to the door and looked back at him. It almost felt like he somehow managed to become even more handsome from the last time I noticed.
I opened my mouth to speak, “Thank you for everything today... Were you... serious about helping out again?”
His eyes perked up just enough for me to notice, and he softly replied, “Yeah.”
I let out a small sigh and gently smiled as I practically whispered, “I’m glad...”
His eyes widened a little bit and he blushed. He quickly turned around and cleared his throat, “I-I can’t promise I can help too often!”
I giggled, “That’s okay. I’m looking forward to when you can, which I hope is soon...”
He stayed facing away from me, but quietly agreed, “Yeah.”
I smiled, “Thank you, Gray Fullbuster. Have a good night and please be safe.”
I walked into my house as calmly as possible, shut the door, and quickly peeked outside the side window to catch a glimpse of him before he left.
His back was still toward the door and he was looking down. He then turned around to look at the house. He was blushing and he let out what seemed like a heavy sigh. Then he turned to walk away, smiling.
Since that night, I think it was safe to say that I had a crush on him.