When they got back to Gray's house, all three of the dragons hopped down from where they'd been clinging to him and immediately scattered.
"Don't chew on anything!" Gray shouted as he kicked off his shoes, following Sting, who had headed for the bedroom. Sting immediately tried to clamber up the side of the bed, looking over at Gray for help when he couldn't quite make it.
"C'mere, you," Gray said, scooping up Sting and closing the door behind him as he left the room. "I'm keeping you all where I can see you."
He chased Rogue out of the bathroom where he had been attempting to climb into the tub, then made sure all the doors in the house were closed before making his way into the kitchen. Natsu was sniffing curiously at the pantry and Gray rolled his eyes, nudging Natsu out of the way with his foot. "Out," he said, ignoring Natsu's disgruntled sounds of protest. "Don't give me that look, I'm gonna make you supper."
Gray was halfway through getting dinner ready when he heard the sounds of ripping fabric. He leaned back and looked around the corner to see Natsu on his back with his claws in the couch, kicking at it with his hind feet. "Natsu, knock it off!" Gray shouted, grabbing a balled-up sock from the laundry basket on the kitchen table and tossing it in the tiny red dragon's direction. It hit Natsu in the head and he yelped at it in surprise, but it had the desired effect of stopping him from scratching at the couch. He rolled onto his back and trapped the sock in all four paws, chewing on it and kicking it as he growled. Satisfied that Natsu was suitably distracted, Gray turned back to the kitchen.
Sting had clambered up one of the chairs and was sitting on the counter, staring curiously at the food Gray was cutting up. He stuck a paw out to grab some and Gray batted him away. "Get out of here," he grumbled, picking Sting up by the scruff and setting him back on the floor despite his high-pitched protests. "You're cute, but I'm not done cooking. Go play with Natsu."
Sting sat down stubbornly on his haunches and looked up at Gray with wide, sad eyes, then pawed at his foot. "Stop that," Gray said, but Sting made a soft, mewing noise and Gray sighed. He grabbed one of the pieces of raw chicken from the counter and gave it to Sting, who grabbed it eagerly with his teeth and shook it vigorously before gulping it down. "Now, shoo," Gray said.
Sting sniffed Gray's fingers, then licked them and headbutted his hand. Gray laughed, scratching under Sting's chin. "You can eat in a bit," he said, standing up and giving Sting a gentle nudge with his foot. Sting gave him one last pathetic look, then scrambled off into the living room to knock the sock out of Natsu's paws.
Gray shook his head, turning back to the counter and coming face to face with a startled, guilty-looking Rogue. He was sitting on his hind legs in the spot Sting had occupied on the counter, a piece of raw chicken in his teeth, and he eyed Gray warily without moving.
"You, too?" Gray asked, eyebrow raised. He tried to grab Rogue, who ducked away from his hand and leaped down from the counter, landing on all four feet and scurrying off into the living room. "I expected better from you!" Gray called after him, then sighed and turned back to the sink to wash his hands.
He was almost done putting everything into the pan on the stove when there was a crash in the living room, followed by a squeak and a loud whine.
"Natsu!" he growled, flicking off the burner and heading into the living room. Rogue was sitting on the living room table, looking as innocent as possible as he groomed one of his wings. The lamp next to the couch was lying on the floor, and Natsu was pinned underneath it, whining pitifully and gnawing at the cord.
"You little shit," Gray muttered, reaching down and grabbing Natsu by the scruff of the neck before lifting the lamp off him. "You're gonna electrocute yourself, and Laxus would never let you live that down." Natsu squeaked, but when Gray held him up at eye-level to inspect for any injuries, he didn't try to bite.
"Are you sorry?" Gray asked. Natsu cocked his head to the side, then rubbed it up against Gray's thumb. "Don't you dare," Gray said, trying to keep himself from laughing. "You're a menace."
Satisfied that Natsu was uninjured, Gray held him against his chest, then turned back to the kitchen. He caught a flash of white, and then there was a loud clang as the pan from the stove tumbled to the floor.
"Sting!" Gray shouted, storming around the corner just as Sting's tail disappeared under the kitchen table. The pan lay upside-down on the floor, and Gray didn't have to look under it to know that it was empty. "I swear to God…" He glared down at Natsu, who was kneading his claws into Gray's sweater. "You planned this, didn't you?" Natsu looked up at Gray and blinked. "Don't try to play innocent."
Keeping a firm grip on Natsu, Gray crouched down to look under the table. Sting's fluffy tail was peeking out from behind one of the legs and Gray reached out, quickly grabbing Sting before he could run away.
"You two are going in time out," Gray said, tucking both dragons under one arm. He grabbed the laundry basket and dumped its contents on the table, then headed back into the living room. Rogue, who was still grooming himself on the coffee table, watched with mild disinterest as Gray sat both Sting and Natsu down, then turned the laundry basket upside down and quickly dropped it on top of them.
"Now stay there," he said firmly as he set down a stack of books on the hamper. They both whined at him, immediately starting to chew on the plastic, but it seemed like their teeth were too small to do any serious damage. "Just let me cook dinner in peace and I'll let you out when I'm done."
Rogue gave them both a haughty look from his perch on the coffee table and Gray looked at him suspiciously. "If I didn't think all three of you could tip this thing over," he said, scooping up Rogue, "you'd be in there, too." Rogue made a sound that was somehow indignant, and Gray rolled his eyes, bringing Rogue with him into the kitchen. "You're staying where I can see you."
As it turned out, all three of the dragons preferred raw meat to the meal Gray had cooked. Gray rolled his eyes as Natsu sniffed a piece of eggplant and made a face, batting it away before turning to Sting and attempting to swipe a piece of chicken from his paws.
Sting growled, and when Natsu tried it again, Sting hissed at him, scrambling backward as the fur around his neck puffed out. Natsu's ears flicked back against his head and he looked down at the floor as Sting hopped up onto the coffee table, gulping down the chicken and then searching for more.
"Well it's not like I know what dragons are supposed to eat," Gray said as he scooped up the dejected Natsu. "I guess raw meat makes sense." Natsu made a plaintive sound, immediately perking up when Gray headed back into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He tightened his grip on Natsu, who attempted to scramble out of his arms and into the fridge, then grabbed another raw chicken breast and set it on the counter.
"This is all the meat I have," he said, setting Natsu down next to the cutting board and grabbing a sharp knife. "We'll have to go to the store tomorrow." Natsu cocked his head and stared at Gray with wide eyes, and Gray laughed as he diced up the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
When all the meat was gone, the three dragons seemed satisfied, all retreating to the corner of the couch where they curled up against each other. Rogue put a paw on Sting's neck, pushing him into the cushion as he began to lick Sting's fur.
"Can you all stay out of trouble for two minutes?" Gray asked. None of them looked up at him and he snuck back into the kitchen to clean up the mess.
When Gray was satisfied that he had dragon-proofed the kitchen, he grabbed the bowl of popcorn he'd made and headed back to the living room. The three of them were still curled up on the couch – Natsu was now sitting on Sting's back and licking the fur around his neck while Rogue nibbled at his wing. Sting stretched his front legs out, kneading the air as he yawned.
"You guys are cute when you're not destroying my house," Gray said, settling onto the couch next to them and grabbing the remote for the lacrima. Sting attempted to wriggle out from under Natsu in favor of sitting on Gray's lap, but Natsu put his paw on the back of Sting's head to hold him in place.
"Be nice," Gray admonished, nudging Natsu off Sting. Natsu grumbled at Gray, gently nipping the end of his finger, then turned and pounced on Rogue, pinning him to the couch and beginning to groom him instead. Sting clambered up into Gray's lap, sniffing curiously at the popcorn bowl before Gray shifted it away from him.
"You're clearly a carnivore," Gray said as he turned on the lacrima screen. "You don't need popcorn." Sting huffed, then turned in several circles, kneading Gray's legs and finally curling up into a tiny ball with his tail over his nose.
Twenty minutes into the show he was watching, Gray felt a tug on the edge of the bowl, and he looked down to see Natsu reaching for a piece of popcorn. Gray shook his head, pushing Natsu away. "You're the one who insisted on eating meat and only meat for dinner," Gray said, raising an eyebrow at the disappointed look on Natsu's face. "If you're not going to eat eggplant, I'm not giving you popcorn."
Natsu nudged Gray's hand, pawing at the bowl again, but Gray lifted it out of his reach. "You ate nearly an entire chicken already," he insisted when Natsu whined at him. "How could you possibly still be hungry?"
Natsu scrambled up onto Gray's lap, nearly dislodging Sting in the process. He leaned heavily on Gray, rubbing his head against Gray's chest as he made a soft, pleading noise. "Stop that," Gray said half-heartedly as Natsu pushed himself further up on his hind legs and headbutted Gray's chin.
The bowl wobbled and Gray looked over to see Rogue attempting to get into it as well. "Get out of here," he admonished, lifting the bowl higher so none of the baby dragons could reach it. They all stared up at him, eyes wide as their tails flicked back and forth. Gray sighed in defeat, bringing the bowl back down.
"Fine," he said, grabbing a piece of popcorn and holding it out to Rogue. "Gently," he cautioned as Rogue took it carefully between his teeth and backed up quickly as if Gray were going to change his mind. The other two gulped down their pieces eagerly, then nudged Gray again for more.
By the time the bowl of popcorn was done, all three dragons were yawning and rubbing their faces. Rogue hopped up on the back of the couch and curled up in a ball, tail hanging down over Gray's shoulder. Sting and Natsu turned in several circles on Gray's lap, kneading the blanket on his lap until they both cuddled up together.
"Well," Gray said to himself, scratching behind Natsu's ears, "I guess I'm sleeping on the couch tonight."