Ice-Make: Software

Lies, Spies, and Teary Eyes

Gratsu Week Day 5: Lies

As the weeks passed, Gray often thought back to that cabin. It really had been the start of things. Before then, he could not fully imagine that Natsu Dragneel, CEO, was his boyfriend. Lunches together did not feel like dating, not when the man sitting across from him was his boss.

After that trip, he knew without a doubt, Natsu definitely had strong feelings for him, and he could not get those kisses out of his mind.

They were careful at work. If they went out for lunch, Gray met Natsu's limousine behind the building, and they drove out somewhere rather than eat near work. One day, they might be dining in a high-rise café eating manchego and quince tea sandwiches, the next day a food cart by the river serving the juiciest, cheesiest hamburgers Gray had ever tasted. Always, the food was superb, no matter what sort of place it was, from high class to street vendor.

Gray honestly never knew what to expect with Natsu, and he preferred things this way. The man was utterly unpredictable.

They tried to get together outside of work, sometimes at night, sometimes on weekends. However, Natsu had to let Gray know when he was available. His schedule was busy, his weekends often booked. He invited Gray to a few charity balls and galas, but the poor software engineer knew he would be lost at events like that.

Still, when they could spend free time together, just them, with no rush to eat and go back to work, things were wonderful. Natsu was a little clingy, but Gray did not mind. He liked how Natsu grabbed hold of his arm and held on so excitedly. That childishness was endearing. They cuddled as they watched movies, always at Gray's loft, never at whatever sort of place Natsu lived in. (Gray was curious but figured it was a mansion way off in the countryside, since Natsu flew in to work via helicopter.)

When they kissed ... Gray had no words to describe it.

When they made out on Gray's couch, he lost track of time. He immersed himself in those burning lips and scalding touches. He felt like melting, like a winter snowman and Natsu was his summer.

Yet Natsu left often as well. He told Gray if he was going out of the country, but frequently Natsu simply did not message for days on end. Gray did not see him in the office, and when he suddenly reappeared, all he said was that he was busy with work.

Gray might have been suspicious that Natsu was playing him, except when he fell asleep once while watching a movie at Gray's loft, Natsu began to talk in his sleep, complaining to some dream secretary or assistant, "I don't wanna do another interview, I wanna see Gray."

Gray held back an endearing laugh, smiled down at him, and stroked his soft, pink hair.

"You must be exhausted from all the work you do, yet you still make time for me," he whispered. Then Gray leaned over and kissed Natsu's cheek. "You're truly crazy, you know."

Focusing at work became harder as the weeks went by. Seeing Natsu walking through a hallway made Gray freeze and catch his breath. He leaped at every email from the CEO, although they were always company messages sent out to everyone. The only times Natsu messaged him, it was on his phone, usually to ask him if he had plans for lunch or wanted to go out after work.

Gray was strict about one thing: he did not want his teammates to know he was dating the boss. He was the new guy, and he wanted to be accepted for his talent as a programmer, not for coworkers to think he slept his way into the job.

At least things on ICEMAKE were progressing rapidly. Day after day, Gray ran tests on the program, searching out security flaws, fixing them, and running more diagnostics. He saw the progress in the graphical work Lyon did, chatted about content with Eve, and listened to Ultear and Invel as they gave him suggestions on how to optimize his work. Those two were older and highly skilled, but Gray specialized in security parameters. No one could beat him at fighting against viruses.