Natsu woke up to someone curled up against his back, someone holding his hand, and someone else's knee tucked between his legs.
He blinked awake slowly, squinting out the open window at the snow falling slowly from the sky, then looked down at the arm wrapped around his waist. Sting, the one curled up behind him, made a quiet noise and shifted forward, holding Natsu tighter and nuzzling the back of his neck.
A warm, bright feeling spread up from Natsu's stomach to his chest as he realized that the night before hadn't been a dream. He hadn't imagined the kissing, the soft touches, the gentle words, the confessions of feelings that had been buried for so long.
"Hey, sunshine." Gray's voice interrupted Natsu's thoughts and Natsu tipped his head up, smiling at Gray's dark eyes just inches from his face. He hummed happily and leaned in for a kiss, careful not to disturb Sting. Rogue, who was curled up behind Gray with an arm over his stomach, yawned and started to stir.
"Hey, yourself," Natsu said, pulling back from the kiss and brushing Gray's hair out of his face. His curls were long and wild and Natsu tugged on one of them gently. "You getting a haircut soon?"
Gray shrugged. "Maybe. Might do braids again. Rogue was talking about doing dreads, but I think it'd look better on him than me."
"You look good no matter what," Natsu said, kissing Gray on the nose when he blushed.
"Agreed." Rogue's quiet voice came from behind Gray, and he peeked over Gray's shoulder to smile at Natsu. "Hey."
"Hey, yourself." A tiny spike of anxiety flared up in Natsu's stomach – did we go too far, did we break this, will it never be the same again – but then Rogue leaned over Gray to kiss him and he forgot everything but Rogue's lips.
"Mm." Natsu sighed happily, running his fingers up Rogue's jaw and down behind his ear as they kissed. It started soft and sweet, but the sparks that spread through Natsu at the touch quickly deepened it. Rogue made a quiet noise into Natsu's mouth, then pulled back, cheeks flushed.
"Sorry," he said, but the apology wasn't aimed at Natsu. Instead, Rogue was not-quite looking at Gray, who laughed and reached up to touch Rogue's cheek.
"Why are you apologizing?" he murmured, pulling Rogue in for a kiss. Natsu frowned, but when Gray shifted his hips back and Rogue gasped, he realized what had happened. "Natsu's a good kisser," Gray murmured against Rogue's lips. "I don't blame you."
Rogue's hand moved down to Gray's hip, fingers digging into his skin as he pulled him back again and pressed against him. Gray hummed, a low, deep sound that made sparks flare in Natsu's chest. He ran his fingers through Gray's hair as he watched the two of them kiss, Gray tipping his head to deepen it and slide his tongue against Rogue's.
Natsu had always assumed that if anyone else had touched Gray like this, it would break his heart. He'd had flings before they met, but Gray was the only person Natsu had ever loved with everything he had. Watching Gray and Rogue kiss, though – all he felt was joy and a soft sense of belonging. Rogue wasn't taking Gray. They were all here, together, and Natsu had room for all of them in his heart.
Gray shifted until he was lying on his back, then tugged at Rogue's side until he was straddling Gray's hips. His long, dark hair brushed Gray's cheekbones, and Natsu reached up to tuck it behind his ear. Rogue turned and kissed Natsu's wrist, then hummed happily as Gray's hands moved under his shirt and up his back.
Sting, who had been asleep until now, yawned and stretched, tightening his arm around Natsu's waist. He made a sleepy sound against the back of Natsu's neck, then placed a soft kiss there.
"Mornin'," he murmured. He ran his thumb across Natsu's stomach as he looked over at Gray and Rogue.
"Hey, love," Rogue said, leaning over Natsu and kissing Sting on the cheek. Sting returned the kiss sleepily, then gave Gray a shy smile over Natsu's shoulder.
"You okay?" Natsu asked gently, turning so he could see Sting's expression. Sting nodded quickly, cheeks turning pink. "Hey." Natsu rolled toward Sting and ran his fingers through his wild blond curls. "It's okay. We can talk if you—"
Sting interrupted him by leaning forward and kissing him. Natsu blinked in surprise but quickly returned the kiss, making a soft sound when he felt Rogue's fingers brush across his stomach. Sting moved closer, touching Rogue's fingers before slipping his hand under Natsu's shirt. Natsu made a soft sound and shifted onto his back.
"We can talk later," Sting murmured against his lips.
Natsu laughed and tugged gently at Sting's curls. "That's what we said last night."
Sting made an exaggerated sound of protest, then pulled back and shifted up onto his elbow. He looked over at Rogue and Gray, then back at Natsu.
"Fine," he said, faking a pout. Natsu could see the quirk of a smile at the corner of his lip though. "Wanna date?"
"Just like that?" Gray raised his eyebrow. Rogue was still sitting on him and Gray's thumbs rubbed absent circles on his hips.
"Yep." Sting reached over and ran his hand up Gray's arm, then looked up at Rogue. "I – we – like you. Both. All of us." His cheeks were still flushed but he didn't look away.
Natsu pulled Sting a little closer and shuffled so he was pressed against Gray. "Us too," he said. He could feel Gray's nod of agreement. "We just didn't… it felt…"
"Wrong?" Rogue suggested. "Weird?"
"Yeah." Natsu sighed. "But it's just…"
"Life's better with you guys around." Gray's voice was soft but certain. "I…" He hesitated and Natsu smiled softly. Gray had never been good at talking about his feelings. "I miss you both when you're not around," Gray admitted quietly. Then he poked Sting and added. "And Natsu gets a dumb smile on his face whenever you text him."
Natsu was about to protest when he realized that Gray was right.
"Yeah, well, you can never stop talking about Sting and the cats. And his dimples."
"And you're a disaster for Rogue's ponytail."
"Sting hoards your hoodies 'cause they smell like you," Rogue said helpfully, brushing his thumb across Natsu's stomach.
"That's…" Sting huffed. "Well, you changed the home screen on your phone to that picture of you and Gray at the zoo." Gray looked surprised, then a shy smile crept across his face. "And movie nights are the best part of our weeks," Sting added. "We just… we didn't know how to talk about it."
"Us either," Natsu admitted. He chewed his lip. "This is new for me. Us. I've never had feelings for anyone but Gray since we got together."
Rogue poked Sting, whose cheeks turned even redder. "Sting gets crushes on people all the time," he teased.
"That's different!" Sting insisted. "It's not just a crush."
"We know," Gray reassured him.
Sting gave him a grateful look before sticking his tongue out at Rogue, who rolled his eyes and leaned over to kiss Sting's cheek. Sting hummed happily, then yawned and cuddled up against Natsu again. Natsu pressed his face into Sting's hair, enjoying the faint scent of apple shampoo.
"So." Rogue stretched, shifting against Gray, who inhaled sharply as his hand tightened on Rogue's hip. "Boyfriends?" He grinned at Gray.
"Yes," Gray replied, tugging Rogue back down and placing a soft kiss against his throat. Natsu watched Rogue's eyes flutter shut as he let out a quiet sound and ran his fingers through Gray's hair.
"Good." Sting tipped his head up and gazed at Natsu before brushing their lips together again. "'cause that means I can keep doing this all day."
Dating Sting and Rogue wasn't much different than being friends with them. The only thing that really changed was the kissing.
Natsu loved the kissing.
They had spent most of the first day together in bed, curled up in the soft winter sunshine, sharing soft touches against warm skin. It was both familiar and brand new. Natsu knew Gray – knew what he liked, how his skin felt under Natsu's fingertips. Rogue and Sting were something new. Natsu learned that Rogue was sensitive just behind his ears, that he liked deep kisses and fingers combing through his hair. Sting was shy at first, all dimples and pink cheeks, but Natsu quickly found that he liked sweet words and soft kisses, and that he blushed when Natsu called him pretty.
After that day, things felt brighter. The secrets they'd all been keeping weren't secrets anymore. Natsu could braid Rogue's hair and hold Sting's hand without feeling that aching sense of guilt that had followed him around for so long.
"It feels right," he said to Gray one afternoon. "I mean – I wasn't unhappy before, I love you so much, it's just…" He hesitated, trying to find the words.
"I know," Gray said, smiling and kissing him on the nose. "Me, too."
At first, Natsu was sure that everyone could tell that something had changed. He was hesitant the next time Rogue visited the café, keeping an eye out for Lucy's reaction when they held hands under the table. She didn't seem to notice, though, and it took Natsu nearly a month to work up the courage to tell her about their new relationship.
"Finally," she said, rolling her eyes. "You're all ridiculous." She wiped her hands on a dish towel and grabbed the scale to start weighing out coffee beans.
"You don't think it's weird?" Natsu asked.
"Not if you're happy," she said. "Honestly, I thought something was going on a while ago. You're not exactly subtle."
"We were just—" Natsu started to protest, but Lucy shook her head.
"You've been in love with Sting since the first time he walked in here – it was all over your face."
Natsu blinked. In love? The words felt heavy. It had taken him forever to tell Gray he loved him, even after they'd been dating for months. Saying it out loud had been terrifying.
"I'm…"
The bell at the front of the store interrupted him and Natsu looked up to see Sting in the doorway, shaking the snow out of his hair. His cheeks were pink from the cold, and when he looked up at Natsu, a huge smile broke out across his face.
"See?" Lucy said under her breath as she elbowed Natsu. It took him a second to realize his smile matched Sting's.
"Hey!" Sting said breathlessly as he approached the counter. He unwound the thick wool scarf he'd 'borrowed' from Gray last weekend, and Natsu could see his own Star Wars hoodie underneath Sting's jacket. "I finished work early," Sting said. He rubbed his nose that was bright red from the cold. "Rogue said you…" He trailed off, frowning at Natsu. "What's wrong?"
Natsu stared at him for another minute, taking in his damp curls, his bright blue eyes, the freckles across his nose. Then he ducked around the pastry case and around the counter and grabbed both Sting's hands.
"I love you," he said. His stomach jumped at the admission and his heart did something funny that he didn't quite want to think about. Sting stared at him, mouth slightly open, and Natsu pulled him closer. "I love you," he said again, quieter this time.
"Oh," Sting said softly. A smile crept across his face as he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Natsu's lips. "I love you, too."
The words were spoken so easily, and they warmed Natsu everywhere, despite the cold of Sting's nose against his. "That's good," he said. He could hear Lucy laughing at them in the background, but he ignored her.
"It is good," Sting agreed. He kissed Natsu one more time, then pulled back and gave him a bright smile. "You make me really happy. Both of you. All of you." Natsu nodded and squeezed Sting's hands. "Now," Sting said, looking up at the menu on the wall. "Rogue told me to ask you to make me a candy cane mocha. I have no idea what that is, but it sounds awesome."
"You'll love it," Lucy interrupted, leaning over the counter, and giving them a look. "It's ridiculously sweet, just like you."
The rest of December rushed by, and before they knew it, it was Christmas. True to his word, Gray did dress Happy up in a Santa outfit, but it lasted all of ten minutes before Happy started batting the hat around and lost it under the tree. The four of them spent the day between video calls with their families, eating too many appetizers, and watching all five of the Die Hard movies.
"These movies are ridiculous," Rogue commented after the fourth one. Natsu threw a piece of popcorn at him.
"Blasphemy!" He gestured at the screen, which was paused on an exploding helicopter. "You have to love them to love me."
Rogue rolled his eyes. "Fine, I love them," he conceded. Natsu blushed. After his confession to Sting, it had been even easier to tell Rogue how he felt. Gray had taken a little longer, but when he'd whispered I love you to all three of them on a snowy Sunday morning, it had made Natsu feel complete.
"Anyone want more eggnog?" Gray asked from the kitchen. Natsu tipped his head back and looked at him upside-down. Sting, who was curled up with his head in Natsu's lap, hummed and waved his glass.
"Hey, before you get drunk off eggnog—" Natsu started, and Sting rolled over to squint at him.
"'m not gonna get drunk off eggnog."
"You're already a little drunk."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Children," Rogue said, rolling his eyes and poking Sting with his foot from the other end of the couch. Sting stuck his tongue out at Rogue, then giggled and looked back up at Natsu.
"What I was going to say," Natsu continued, bopping Sting on the nose, "is that we have a gift for you guys." Before Rogue could protest, Natsu held up his hands. "I know we said no gifts, but this isn't technically a gift. I guess?"
Gray, who had set down the eggnog on the coffee table, dug into his sweater pocket. He pulled out a small box the size of his palm, wrapped in sparkly paper, and handed it to Rogue.
"Ooh, shiny," Sting said, pushing himself up and poking at the wrapping paper. "What is it?"
"Open it, doofus." Natsu nudged him forward. His stomach did an uncertain flip as Rogue peeled back the paper – infuriatingly slowly, just like Gray – and popped the lid off the box. Inside were two sets of keys.
"Are these…" Rogue pulled them out and looked up at Gray, who looked as self-conscious as Natsu felt.
"They're for here," Gray said. "The apartment, I mean. I know we haven't really talked about like… living. Together?" He hesitated, playing with his watch strap. "We know you have your own place, and you just got settled in there, it's just…"
"We miss you when you're not around," Natsu said. Sting leaned back and Natsu wrapped both arms around his waist, resting his chin on Sting's shoulder. "And you don't have to like… move in, or anything, if you're not ready, we just wanted you to know that it's your home, too. If you want it to be."
Sting ran his fingers over the keys, giving Rogue a quick look before leaning back and kissing Natsu's cheek. "You feel like home, too," he said softly.
Then he reached out for Gray's hand and tugged him down onto the couch until he was curled up between Rogue and Sting. Rogue kissed his cheek and wrapped an arm around his shoulders while Sting slid their fingers together.
"I love this," Sting said. "Just… this. With all of you." A soft chorus of me too made its way through all of them as they cuddled closer.
Natsu closed his eyes, pressing his forehead to Sting's shoulder. "I'm really glad you saved that turtle," he said. "And came to my café."
"Yeah," Sting said as he squeezed Natsu's hand. "Me too."
