Behind the Scenes

of male barmaids and tipsy inquiries

hello! Miya here! i'm a percy jackson writer, but fairy tail is what I've found to be my main center of interest lately. i've written a few one-shots for this fandom before on fanfiction.net, though.
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"Gray, I don't understand you," Cana stated. She sighed in content, reveling in the taste of her ever so precious whiskey and the aftertaste it left on her chapped lips.

Gray rolled his eyes, pouring another shot for her into her worn wooden mug. It was still strange for the brunette, seeing her childhood friend behind the bar instead of brawling outside of it. Ever since Mira started going back on jobs again with her siblings, and Kinana snuck off more often to see her mysterious male friend, someone had to operate the bar. Cana, despite her eagerness, had been quickly eliminated from the list of eligible candidates considering the fact that she would drink the bar dry in a day and forget all of her duties. Lucy would've been chosen, had the girl not been the partner of a very protective and fight-happy dragon slayer.

Shockingly enough, Gray had stepped up, volunteering without complaint. Gray, Kinana, Mira, and occasionally Lisanna alternated shifts, Gray being the primary one behind the bar, and the system actually went pretty smoothly.

Not to mention, Cana and Gray's friendship had grown and positively flourished. Cana had always had a good relationship with the young man, however having the ice mage's face as a daily constant companion caused the alcoholic's affection for him to grow. It was something that had happened with Mira, too, hence why the pair were such good friends.

She and Mira were the most forward, scheming, and ardent matchmakers one would ever meet. They kept an ear out for gossip on their favorite couples, and came up with various strategies to get them together. It must've been a barmaid thing because Gray proved himself to be quite the capable matchmaker as well, rivaling even Mirajane Strauss herself. He provided useful guy insight and informed them of rumors spreading throughout the male members of Fairy Tail. He interpreted body language quite well for an oblivious douche, and knew the signs of when a  certain guy liked a girl. Gray turned the matchmaking duo into a trio and was quite the asset to their team. His stratagems were much more straightforward and effective than what Mira and Cana could ever hope to achieve, and his new nickname "Ice Demon Matchmaker #3" was soon known throughout the guild.

Of course, she never voiced her newfound fondness for Gray, especially with Juvia around. In fact, the water mage had insisted that she wanted to stay at the guild as long as her Gray-sama was there and only leave when he left. Gajeel had quickly negated her decision, dragging her on as many missions as he possibly could - partially to save Gray's ass, partially because he didn't want Gray to constantly break his best friend's heart, and partially because the duo had some long overdue bonding.

"What do you mean?" Gray inquired calmly, not unused to Cana's tipsy ramblings.

"Well, you're good-looking," Cana stated bluntly. Gray hardly blinked, he was used to such phrases coming from his friend. "And you're pretty fucking powerful, too. Your personality's what most girls are out there looking for. Not to mention you've got a great bod - wait, have I already said that? Oops - and a girl desperately in love with you who isn't in denial or teasing you in the way most girls tend to do. Missions requesting specifically you come in left and right and what do you do? You give up everything to work behind a bar serving three alcoholics and two smokers as regulars behind the scenes."

Gray looked at her, and she saw something from him she rarely ever got to see in this crazy ass guild: serenity and calm.