This fic will be divided into three parts.

A lovely gift for the most lovely woman I know. I love you!

A faint light came from the window of the guild hall. The sight brought a smile to Gray's face. His mission had been a long one, and despite it being past midnight, he needed a bite to eat. He walked through the front doors, unsurprised to see the place mostly abandoned. Wednesdays rarely were late party nights, even for Cana and the rest of Fairy Tail's big drinkers.

He set his luggage just inside the door. There was no one there to bother it, even if he was worried about it. The soft sound of a feminine voice came from the back of the hall. Someone crying? He followed it to the kitchen, wondering what could be going on.

Mirajane was leaning over the marble counter top, her back towards him. Her arm moved fluidly as she sliced something on a wooden cutting board. Her body seemed to shake as a small sob escaped her lips. She sat the knife down and gripped the edge of the counter, trying to get a hold of herself.

"Hey." Gray said softly, unsure what to do.

Mirajane whipped around, her cheeks reddening as she saw the ice mage. "Sorry. I was- It was, uh-" She grabbed a rag from her apron and dabbed at her mascara stained eyes. She cleared her throat and looked to the side. "Onions."

Gray's eyes dropped to the cutting board behind her, seeing an unsliced onion on top a neatly stacked pile of celery and carrots at the edge. He frowned, wondering what was actually bothering her. "You know if you hold a piece of bread or a cracker in your mouth, they won't bother you as bad. Master Ur used to tell Lyon and I that when she made us help with dinner."

"Did you listen?" Mira asked, sliding to the side to hide the cutting board with her body.

"Not then." Gray admitted, his expression softening. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Mira replied quickly. "It's nothing."

"Doesn't seem like nothing." Gray said, taking another step towards her. Her eyes were red and puffy like she'd been crying for hours. The sight of the take-over mage in such a state made his heart ache.

"Laxus and I broke up." Mira replied, her eyes dropping to the floor.

"Oh." Gray paused, trying to figure out what she needed to hear. "I'm sorry."

"That's not why I'm crying." Mira admitted after a moment, a seemingly amused sigh escaping her lips. "It's been a few weeks since we broke up, actually. You've been gone for a long time Gray."

"The mission took longer than I expected." He admitted, leaning against the counter opposite her. "So why are you crying then?"

"It's complicated." She said, folding her arms in front of her. "A combination of things."

"Like what?" He asked, immediately regretting his words. If she had wanted to talk about it, she would have said something already. 'Why are you here so late?"

"I couldn't sleep. Normally when I can't sleep I get up and bake something. But I have so much to do tomorrow I decided to get up and come do some prep work for the morning instead."

"So that's why you're cutting onions at two in the morning." He said, looking at the clock on the wall behind her.

"Something like that." She mumbled, glancing at the mess on the cutting board behind her. "I'm actually getting tired now though."

"Well, maybe I can help." Gray offered, looking at the set of knives on the counter beside her. He picked up a rather impressive looking blade and a large metal rod. "Do your knives need sharpened?"

"That's actually a straightening steel." Mira replied, taking the metal piece from his hand. "It just takes off tiny pieces of metal and keeps the blade straight. It won't sharpen the knife, but it will keep it from dulling. I have a wet stone over in the corner that I use to sharpen them."

Gray stared at her, impressed at her enthusiasm.

"Don't look at me like that. I love cooking, and taking care of your knives is one of the best ways to make the job easier." She said, placing the steel in it's wooden slot.

"Hey, I'm just impressed." Gray said, a hint of amusement leaking into his voice. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Actually, do you want to cut up this celery for me?" She asked, pulling out the leafy green stalks.

"Sure." Gray replied, grabbing one of the cutting boards hanging from the wall. It what white plastic with a textured surface, something he was much less likely to mess up than her wooden one.

Mira grabbed it from his hand and placed it on the counter beside hers. She grabbed the carrots from the cutting board and tossed them into a stainless steel bowl behind the cutting boards. "Cut them into half inch pieces, about the size of the carrots."

"Yes ma'am." He replied, holding the celery as he sliced into it.

"Tuck your fingers back and let the blade rock against your knuckles so you don't cut yourself." Mirajane warned, peering over the ice mage's shoulder.

"Are you really telling me how to cut stuff up? I live alone. I know how to cook enough to cut up some celery." He said, irritation leaking into his voice. He sped up, his knife moving faster. "See, this works just-"

Mirajane sighed. "I'll get you a band-aid."

Gray set the knife to the side, looking at his finger closely. He'd taken off a small slice, just enough to bleed. "If I hadn't been distracted this wouldn't have happened."

Mirajane ripped the packaging off of the band-aid and offered him a smile. "It wouldn't have happened at all if you would have listened to me." She pointed out, wrapping the band-aid around his finger.

"What are you cutting all of these up for anyway, vegetable soup tomorrow?" He asked. He pushed his celery off of the cutting board into the bowl, trying to ignore just how close her body was to his.

"Not quite. I'm making a stock to let simmer over night. I'm going to toss the veggies into a pot with a few herbs and some chicken bones and have Kinana take it off when she comes in. The bones have already been simmering since I got here."

"That seems like a lot of work for something you can get in a box." Gray reasoned, thinking of how many times he'd passed the boxes of salty liquid in the grocery store.

"It's not the same." Mira said, chopping the rest of her onion with expert speed. "It tastes a lot better made from scratch."

"It seems like a lot of wasted effort though." Gray mused, looking at his finger as the blood soaked through the band-aid. Mira really did keep those knives sharp.

"It's not wasted effort." Mira snapped, turning to glare at the ice mage. The angry expression faded from her face as their eyes met. "I cook for the members of this guild. They're like, no, they are family to me. Cooking is my way of showing just how much their friendship means to me. If that means making stock from scratch when I can, then that's what I do."

"I didn't mean anything by it." Gray said defensively, rubbing the back of his neck. The last thing in the world he wanted was to upset her further. "I just meant you don't have to go through all the trouble. We all love your cooking."

"You love my cooking because I don't take short cuts. No one has a clue just how much goes into all of this." She replied, scooping up the last of the onion and placing it in the bowl. She tossed a small beige sack on top of it and walked over to the stove top. She poured the bowl's contents on top, a satisfied smile playing across her face. "That should do it."

"Are you sure it's safe to leave over night?" Gray asked, watching as small flames licked the bottom of the stock pot.

"It's just a low simmer. I leave it all the time. There's a sprinkler system if anything goes wrong, and it never has." She reasoned, taking off her unsoiled apron and hanging it next to the sink.

"Do you mind if I walk you home?" He asked, his stomach growling loudly as he remembered why he had come to the guild in the first place. As long as he had been gone, most of the food in his house was sure to be spoiled.

"No." She said, the edges of her lips curling up into a soft smile. "But maybe you should eat something first. That's probably why you stopped by in the first place, right?"

"Yeah, not that I don't enjoy your company." he added quickly.

The white haired mage pulled a small white paper sack from the fridge and handed it to him. "It's just a couple tuna sandwiches. Natsu and Happy caught a lot of fish on their last trip and gave me some in exchange for cooking half of it for them. I had some left over so I was going to take it home for Elf and Lisanna."

"I don't wanna take it from them." Gray replied, his stomach nearly growling over his own voice.

"They won't miss it." Mira replied, suppressing a small laugh. "You can walk me home in exchange."

"Alright." Gray decided, holding open the door. "After you."

The pair stepped out into the cold air. The sky was brightly lit by the stars, not a single cloud marring it's beauty. Gray looked at Mira, admiring the way the stars cast light across her face, illuminating her best features.

"We better hurry. It's getting late." Gray pointed out, nodding towards the moon slowly lowering in the sky.

"You're probably right." Mira said softly, quickening her pace.

"Only probably?" Gray teased, casting her a playful glance. "How early will you be back tomorrow anyway?"

Mirajane twisted her mouth to the side in thought, her fingers absentmindedly grabbing at the ends of her hair. "Probably around seven. Kinana will be in at five, so I could probably hold off until eight."

"Isn't that awfully early?"

"It's not always so bad." She shrugged, her arm brushing against the ice mage as she moved closer. "We usually trade off so one of us doesn't have to be there so early, but I have a lot to do tomorrow."

"What exactly do you have to do tomorrow?" Gray asked, wracking his brain trying to remember if there was some sort of event coming up. Then again, having been gone for two months, anything could have happened.

"It's nothing major really, we've just had a really busy week. Most of the things we usually have made in advance, have already been used. It's a good thing, good for business." Mira said, turning onto the street where she lived with Elfman and Lisanna.

"I forget you make money from the kitchen since you don't take missions." Gray said, his eyes falling on the house to their right. "This is you, isn't it?"

She turned to face him and nodded quickly in response, her cheeks and nose red from the cold. She looked up at the ice mage with only inches between them.

"You better get inside. You look like your freezing." Gray said, suddenly very aware of how close their faces were.

"Oh, right." She replied, the redness on her cheeks deepening. "Goodnight Gray."

"Night Mira." He said, watching as she turned. Her steps seemed to slow was she walked towards the front steps of the house. "Mira?"

"Hmm?" She turned her head to look at him.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." She smiled, hurrying into the house.

"Hey." Gray said, taking a seat at the bar counter.

Mirajane whipped around, a smile instantly forming on her face at the sight of the ice mage. She set down the pitcher she was holding and walked over to him. "You're here."

"I said I would see you today, didn't I?" He asked, looking up from the counter.

"You did. Can I get you something to drink?" She asked sweetly, leaning over the counter.

"Coffee." He replied, his eyes catching the freshly made pot behind her.

"Did you not sleep well?" Mira asked, looking him over. He certainly didn't seem all that well rested. She grabbed a cup from below the counter and turned to grab the pot.

"I just woke up and I didn't have any coffee at the house." He said, a light sparking behind his eyes as the warm black liquid made contact with the cup.

"It's after noon now. You must have been exhausted from your trip. How were your sandwiches?" She asked, scooting the cup towards him on the counter.

"Excellent, like everything you make." He said before lifting the cup to his lips. He took a long drink from the mug, downing nearly half of it's contents in one drink.

"Want some eggs or something? It's after noon, but since you just woke up I can make you breakfast food if you'd like."

Gray sat the empty mug on the counter, already feeling slightly better. "This is fine, but I'll take another cup of coffee."

"It's one in the afternoon. Are you sure you want to drink that much caffeine?"

"It doesn't have an intense effect on me. I'll be fine." He said, amusement leaking into his voice at her concern.

"Don't blame me if you're up all night." Mira warned, pouring him a second cup of coffee. She pushed it back towards the ice mage, careful not to let any slosh over the side. "It's supposed to snow tonight."

"Really?" Gray raised an eyebrow at her. It didn't seem quite cold enough in Fiore just yet. Being away all of those months had really thrown off his sense of time. "It's hard to believe its that late in the year already."

"Mhm." She said cheerfully, offering him a smile. She grabbed the rag from her apron and began wiping the counter by the coffee pot. "Christmas is only two weeks away now. It's my favorite time of year."

"Your favorite time of year is winter?" Gray asked, his eyes widening at the revelation. At least she didn't seem to have an aversion to cold.

She nodded, turning back to face him. "There's always hot chocolate, freshly baked cookies, and the snow is just beautiful. Plus, I love watching figure skaters."

"Just watching? As graceful as you are, I'm sure you could join them."

A deep blush spread across her face. "I've never actually been ice skating."

"Really?" Gray asked, making eye contact with her. "I could always take you and show you how, if you'd like."

"Really? Do you promise?"

"Sure." He said, smiling as he stood up. "I'll see you later Mira."