"I'm taking Rogue."

Gray grabbed the paper invitation from Natsu's hands and held it up above his head, taking advantage of the few inches of height difference between them. Natsu pouted, then raised his eyebrows, grabbing Gray's hips and pulling him in for a kiss. Gray leaned into it, then yelped as Sting reached up from behind him and snatched back the invitation.

"Oh, fuck you," Gray grumbled as Natsu laughed and kissed his cheek.

"You fall for it every time, you'd think after six months you'd have figured it out."

"Are they being mean to you, love?" Rogue slid up behind Gray and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist, kissing the back of Gray's neck. Gray sighed happily, turning to kiss Rogue and then sticking his tongue out at Natsu.

"Yes," he grumbled. "That's why you get to come to the Christmas party and not them." Rogue laughed, the puff of air tickling the back of Gray's neck. "Plus, you look best dressed up."

"Hey!" Natsu protested, then paused, frowning. "Okay, yeah, you've got me there."

"It's at that new restaurant on fifth!" Sting said from the couch, tipping his head back to look at his boyfriends upside-down. Natsu leaned down to kiss him.

"That's what I said," Gray muttered, exasperated. "I'm not taking either of you two there, and you know exactly why." Sting and Natsu had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed. "That's what I thought."

"But-" Natsu started to protest, but Gray placed a hand over his mouth.

"Sweetheart, you don't even celebrate Christmas." Natsu frowned, then deliberately licked Gray's palm. Gray pulled his hand away in disgust while Sting giggled at him. "See what I mean? This is why we can't have nice things."

"But we do have nice things," Natsu said, his voice dropping a little as his hands moved back to Gray's hips. He had to stand on his tip-toes to reach Rogue over Gray's shoulder, but he managed to kiss both of them softly. "We have you."

"You are... the worst..." Gray trailed off as Natsu bit down gently on his lip, then ran his tongue over it. "You can't just..." Natsu moved to kiss the spot under his ear, and Gray sighed, giving in.

Half an hour later they were all naked and curled up on the bed, Gray combing his fingers through Sting's hair and resting his head against Rogue's chest. "That was amazing..." he exhaled, turning his head to look at Natsu. "But you're still not coming to the party."

"Do any of your coworkers know we're dating?" Rogue adjusted the collar of his dress shirt and moved to pull his hair back into a ponytail, but Gray took the elastic from his hands.

"It looks nice down," he said. "And... no?" He ran his fingers through his own hair, then checked that none of the buttons on his cardigan were undone. "I mean, I have pictures of the four of us in my office, but nobody's ever said anything."

Rogue pushed Gray's hands out of the way and combed his hair neatly, then kissed him on the forehead. "Have they met Natsu? Before, I mean?"

Gray chewed on his lip. "I think Mark might have. That would have been last year's party, though, he probably wouldn't remember. My HR manager knows because we talked about the health insurance thing at one point, and I had to pick which one of you was technically my partner." He rolled his eyes, then sighed. "I just don't feel like explaining it to everyone. It was already a pain in the ass coming out as gay, I don't want to-"

"You don't have to justify it, love," Rogue said, cutting him off with a kiss. "Let's just go enjoy the party."

The restaurant was dark, with soft mood lighting and deep, thrumming music. Rogue fit right in with Gray's coworkers, talking easily about his photography projects, and praising Gray every chance he got. After a couple of glasses of wine, Gray was starting to feel a bit fuzzy around the edges, and he wrapped an arm around Rogue's waist, kissing his cheek.

"How long have you two been together?" Dave, one of Gray's coworkers, looked at the two of them with a raised eyebrow. Gray wanted to tell him to fuck off – Dave was an asshole, and was quietly homophobic enough to not get in trouble, but enough to piss Gray off.

"Six months," Rogue said smoothly, turning to smile at Gray. "We met through mutual friends. How about you two?" Dave's wife had had one too many glasses of wine and her cheeks were red as she smiled widely and launched into the story.

"What do you think the other two are doing?" Rogue asked later, once they'd escaped from the saga of Carol and Dave's life together. Gray frowned over Rogue's shoulder – Devya, one of the senior programmers at the company, was glaring at her phone and texting in the corner.

"She's been looking at us weird all night," Gray muttered, shaking his head and trying to focus on the plate of hors d'oeuvres in front of them. "I think she might have met Natsu, I can't remember."

Rogue squeezed Gray's hand, chancing a glance back at the woman. "Do you want to leave?" Gray glanced at his watch – it wasn't even nine yet. He shook his head.

"No." He leaned over and kissed Rogue. "I can't keep worrying about it. Wanna go dance?"

"Babe! Your phone keeps going off and I can't reach it."

Natsu peeked out of the kitchen to see Sting sprawled on the couch, nearly upside down, playing Bomberman on the NES. He looked up at Natsu and gestured to the other end of the couch with his foot.

"Seriously?" Natsu rolled his eyes and came into the living room, grabbing his phone and poking Sting in the ribs. Sting yelped, dropping the controller and falling to the floor.

"What the hell?" Sting grumbled, pushing himself up and looking up at Natsu, who was looking at his phone and laughing. "What's up?"

Natsu handed the phone back to Sting – a series of text messages entirely in Devanagari, which made zero sense to Sting. But there was a blurry photo attached of Rogue and Gray, sitting in a booth at the Christmas party and holding hands.

"What's it say?" he asked, frowning. Natsu took the phone back.

"It's from Devya, she works with Gray but her aunty knows my daadee so of course they talk all the time." Natsu rolled his eyes. "This is great, though – Natsu, I know we haven't spoken in a while but I have to tell you that your partner is here with another man. I felt that I should let you know."

Natsu looked up at Sting with a grin on his face, then quickly typed a response. Thanks for the heads up. On my way.
Sting raised his eyebrow at Natsu, videogame forgotten entirely as he realized what Natsu was planning.

"Wanna go crash a Christmas party?"

"What the fuck are they doing here?" Gray hissed the words in Rogue's ear as he saw Natsu and Sting saunter through the doors. Rogue peeked over his shoulder and sighed in exasperation, squeezing Gray's hand tightly. "I specifically said that this is the thing they should not be doing." Gray dropped his forehead to Rogue's shoulder. "They're children," he sighed. "We should have asked Lucy to babysit them."

"Natsu's talking to Devya," Rogue remarked, rubbing Gray's back gently.

"That bitch," Gray growled, looking up. Sting grinned at him and waved, and Gray scowled back at him. "She was texting him. Why..." he trailed off, standing up and rubbing his face. Devya pointed over to them and Gray waved sarcastically.

"Love, just—"

"Hey, you." Natsu made his way over to them and gave Gray a grin. "Heard you were cheating on me?"

"Fuck off," Gray grumbled, glancing around. His coworkers were murmuring uneasily around him, watching the interaction with interest. There was a flash of understanding on Natsu's face and he suddenly looked guilty.

"Shit," he said quietly, shoving his hands in his back pockets. "Okay, yeah, I'm dumb, I didn't think about—"

"You never think," Gray sighed, rubbing his temples. Natsu's gaze dropped to the floor and Gray's tone softened. "But that's one of the reasons I love you." He let go of Rogue's hand and grabbed Natsu's, tipping his boyfriend's chin up until Natsu was looking at him.

"I'm sorry," Natsu said, eyes darting to Gray's coworkers. Gray squeezed Natsu's hand, mind torn between staying in the closet and hurting the man in front of him. It was an easy decision, really. He stepped forward and pulled Natsu into a kiss.

"I'm not ashamed of you," he murmured in Natsu's ear as they broke apart. He looked up and motioned Sting over, who had been leaning against the wall awkwardly next to Devya. "I'm not ashamed of any of you." He grabbed Sting's hand and squeezed, ignoring the obvious stares of his coworkers.

"Gray, are..."

The four of them looked up to see Todd, Gray's boss, leaning against a nearby table and giving them a strange expression. Gray sighed.

"Sting, Natsu, this is Todd, my boss." The two of them gave Todd meek waves while Rogue looked at them with exasperation. Gray raised his voice a bit so all the eavesdropping people around them could hear as well. "Todd, these are my other partners, Natsu and Sting."

It was silent for a moment and part of Gray wished he could sink into the floor and never see any of these people ever again. Then Todd gave them a wide smile.

"Nice to meet you," he said, reaching out and shaking Natsu and Sting's hands. "I'm glad you could make it! Grab a drink, there's plenty of food." They both looked nervously at Gray, who shrugged and gestured toward the bar.

Ten minutes later they were all sitting at the long table down the center of the room – Rogue and Gray on one side, Sting and Natsu on the other. A plate of chicken wings sat in between them, which Natsu had already half-devoured.

"I'm still kind of amazed that your boss is this chill?" Sting glanced over to where Todd was seated with his wife, moving his hands animatedly as he talked. "I'm sorry again for—"

"Don't be," Gray said, reaching across the table and grabbing Sting's hand. "I shouldn't have pretended. You're all important to me." He looked at Natsu, who had a streak of hot sauce across his cheek. "Although some of you are impossible to take anywhere." Gray shook his head and wiped the streak away with his thumb, rolling his eyes at Natsu.

"Hey, I got a question." A tall guy with spiky brown hair and a tight collared shirt sat down heavily on the chair next to Gray, giving him a look of confusion. It was clear he'd already had a few drinks.

"What do you want, Chad?" Gray managed to refrain from rolling his eyes, and kicked Natsu under the table when he sniggered at the name. Chad was probably Gray's least favorite person at work – not only did he talk incessantly about the gym, but he was also insufferably nosy.

"So you're all like, dating?" Chad asked. Gray took a deep breath, closing his eyes. This was exactly what he'd been wanting to avoid. He could see other coworkers nearby, not sitting down but clearly listening.

"Mhmm." Rogue squeezed his hand.

"So you all, like..." Chad made a gesture with both hands that was vaguely inappropriate, raising one eyebrow suggestively. Gray growled, about to snap at him, when Natsu put a hand out and grinned.

"Chad, my friend, that is an excellent question." Gray gave Natsu a sharp look, but Natsu ignored him. "And it's gonna cost you a shot."

"A..." Chad looked confused.

"A shot." Sting, who had disappeared when none of them were looking, returned with a tray full of shot glasses. "You wanna ask a question about our relationship, you gotta take a shot."

"What are you doing," Gray hissed, but Natsu just kicked him under the table.

"So?" Natsu glanced around at the eavesdroppers, making uncomfortable eye contact with all of them. "Anyone?"

"I don't think I've ever seen him this wasted, and that's saying a lot," Gray muttered, watching Chad laugh loudly and slam his shot glass onto the table. Him and Rogue had moved to a different table when it became clear that Sting and Natsu were just planning on fucking with his coworker all night.

"I mean, they seem to be having fun?" Rogue said gently. Gray laughed, shaking his head, and Rogue squeezed his hand. "You okay?"

Gray thought about it for a second, then leaned against Rogue and nodded. "Yeah, actually." He fiddled with the band of his watch. "Better than I thought I'd be. They're idiots, but..."

"They're our idiots," Rogue said, kissing Gray on the cheek. "And honestly, everyone seems to really like them?"

"That's because they're lying to Chad through their teeth and he's eating it up, and everyone here already thinks he's a fucking moron so it's funny to watch."

"Your partners are certainly entertaining." Todd appeared at their table and indicated the chair across from Gray, sitting down when Gray nodded. "Are you enjoying the party?"

"Y-yeah," Gray said, sitting up in his chair and facing his boss. "Thanks for, uh, letting them stay. I know it's only supposed to be one person, so—"

"That's only because I assumed everyone only had one partner," Todd said, leaning forward on his elbows. He was at least twenty years older than Gray, with salt-and-pepper hair and a full beard. "If you'd said you needed more tickets, I would have happily given them to you."

Gray felt his cheeks burn and he gripped Rogue's hand tightly. "It's not a... common arrangement," he said quietly. "I wasn't sure..."

"You're right," Todd said, "but they're all lovely young men and if you're happy, that's what's important." Gray felt like a teenager, coming out to his dad all over again. "And if anybody makes inappropriate remarks or comments at work, know that there are repercussions for those sorts of things."

"Thank you," Gray said quietly, glancing back over at the other two. Sting was laughing hysterically and Natsu was trying his best not to follow suit, and Gray could barely hear them over the din of the bar.

"It's difficult," Natsu was saying, an edge of laughter to his voice, "but sometimes, one of us takes all three dicks at once." Sting snorted, leaning down and hiding his face as he laughed. Natsu hit him, giggling a little himself. Chad just stared at them both, eyes wide.

"Is that... like, physically... possible?" he asked, astonished.

Natsu raised an eyebrow, still laughing, and pointed to the tray. "That's a new question," he said, grinning. "Shot, Chad."

"I regret everything." Sting groaned, rubbing his eyes and attempting to tug the duvet back over his head. Rogue grumbled in agreement and cuddled up next to Sting, burying his face in his boyfriend's chest.

"Well if you hadn't matched Chad shot for shot, you probably wouldn't be this hungover," Gray commented from the doorway. He held two mugs of coffee and offered one to each of them. Sting and Rogue sat up and accepted them gratefully, along with the aspirin he handed them.

"You were drinking pretty hard too," Sting grumbled, taking a gulp of the coffee and sighing contentedly. "I still can't believe you managed to get him dumped."

"That was entirely his fault," Gray insisted, settling down on the bed. Natsu was still snoring in a lump next to them and Gray ran a hand through his hair. "What kind of jackass won't buy tampons for his girlfriend?"

After several rounds of Natsu and Sting bullshitting Chad, Gray had had enough to drink that he'd decided to join in and start quizzing Chad about his own relationship. Chad's partner, Yukino, hadn't been impressed with his answers, and had dumped him in front of the entire staff.

"She's a sweet girl," Sting said, sipping his coffee. "I got her number, she said we should all hang out some time."

"Only you would manage to leave a Christmas party with the phone number of a recently single girl who you have no intention of dating," Gray commented.

"What can I say," Sting said, grinning. "I'm irresistible."

"Yes, you are," Gray replied, leaning in and kissing Sting. "That's why you're ours." Sting hummed happily and returned the kiss, bringing a hand up to Gray's cheek. Rogue leaned back against the cushions, stroking Sting's back as he watched them.

"You guys makin' out without me?" Natsu's groggy voice came from behind Gray and he sat up, rubbing his face. His hair stuck out in every direction and Gray laughed, combing his fingers through it in an attempt to tame it.

"Maybe," Sting replied, tugging Gray back to him. He began kissing down Gray's neck, passing his coffee to Rogue so he could bring his other hand up under Gray's shirt. "What're you gonna do about it?" The words were muffled against Gray's skin, and Gray let out a soft breath, bringing a hand to the back of Sting's neck.

"'m gonna watch," Natsu replied sleepily, shuffling over until he was lying next to Rogue, who lifted his arm and pulled Natsu to his chest. "You're both so pretty."

"Mm." Gray closed his eyes and tipped his head back, letting Sting place kisses across his collarbone and into the hollow of his throat. Sting's hand slid up Gray's back, tracing soft patterns over his skin. "'s nice."

Sting moved back up to Gray's lips, kissing him softly and bringing his other hand to Gray's hip. He made no move to undress Gray, just ran his hand gently over Gray's stomach and encouraged Gray to lie back on the bed. Sting straddled Gray's hips, leaning down just enough that Gray had to push himself up on his elbow to reach for a kiss.

Natsu sighed happily as Rogue's fingers combed through his hair, nails dragging against his scalp. He shifted so his leg was slung over Rogue's, then slid his hand under Rogue's shirt and began running his fingers across Rogue's stomach.

"Sorry for screwing things up for you last night," Sting murmured against Gray's lips, moving to press kisses across Gray's cheek and onto his temple. "We weren't thinking."

"It's okay," Gray said, arching up as Sting dropped down on one elbow and ran his other hand down Gray's side. "I shouldn't have tried to hide you." He let out a soft gasp as Sting's lips travelled back down his neck and up behind his ear. "Th-that wasn't fair. I l-love you all."

"We know," Natsu said from his spot in Rogue's lap. He nuzzled Rogue's chin, pressing a kiss to his neck and nudging for Rogue to continue petting his hair. "This isn't always easy."

Gray sighed, looking up at Sting, whose hair was highlighted by the late morning glow spilling through the window. Sting's soft smile ignited something in Gray's chest, something that made him reach over and take Natsu's hand, and gaze fondly at Rogue. The sun warmed Gray's face and drew golden patterns over his boyfriends, and Gray felt a deep sense of calm wash over him.

"No, it isn't easy," he said softly, leaning up to pull Sting into another kiss. "But it's definitely worth it."