Sting eventually joined Natsu in grooming Laxus' hair, and by the time they were both satisfied, Rogue was curled up in Laxus' lap, fast asleep.
"Natsu's never going to get over the fact that he licked you," Gray said, laughing as he snapped a photo of them. Laxus snorted and scratched behind Rogue's ears. "Actually," Gray added, tucking his lacrima phone back in his pocket, "would you guys mind watching them while I go to the grocery store?"
Immediately Sting and Natsu looked up at him and made identical distressed sounds. Gray glared at them half-heartedly. "What, you understand that but not 'keep off the counter,' huh?"
Natsu scrambled over into Gray's lap and stood on his hind legs, pressing his front paws against Gray's chest and kneading his sweater.
Freed laughed at the exasperated look on Gray's face. "I have a feeling they wouldn't enjoy being left with us," they said.
"Fine," Gray said, standing up and tucking Natsu into the crook of his arm. "But you three had better behave." Sting looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes and Gray returned the gaze suspiciously.
"We'll head back to the guild to talk with Levy," Freed said, gesturing to the scroll. "I'll let you know as soon as we find something to help."
"Thanks," Gray said, shifting Natsu up onto his shoulder. Natsu chirped happily, rubbing his head against Gray's cheek as Gray lifted Sting off the couch.
Laxus scooped up the sleeping Rogue and passed him off to Gray before taking Freed's hand and standing. "Good luck," Laxus said, not bothering to hide an amused smile at the sight of Gray juggling all three dragons.
"Thanks," Gray muttered, gesturing for the door. "We're going to need it."
"Okay, you three," Gray said as they approached the grocery store. "Behave, okay? You cannot eat the food in the store. You have to wait until we get home." They all looked at him with wide eyes and he sighed. "This is going to be a disaster, isn't it?" Natsu chittered as if in agreement.
"I still can't believe how cute they are."
Lucy appeared next to them, leaning against a grocery cart and shaking her head at the dragons. Natsu chirped happily at her, flicking his tail back and forth until she reached out and took him off Gray's shoulder.
"Thanks for meeting me," Gray said, gently depositing both Rogue and Sting in the section of the cart usually reserved for small children. They both turned in confused circles, looking up at Gray plaintively. "You're fine," he insisted, taking the handle of the cart and pushing it toward the front doors. "Just... stay in there."
"Freed didn't have any luck with the scroll?" Lucy asked as Natsu settled comfortably on her shoulder. Gray shook his head, quickly filling Lucy in on the events of the morning as they walked through the aisles.
"Well, if anyone can figure it out, it's Freed and Levy," Lucy said, grabbing a box of cereal from the shelf and dropping it in the cart. Sting looked at it curiously, and Gray nudged him back into the seat.
"I'm worried about a dark guild being involved," Gray admitted. "I thought we got rid of them. But if the spell was intentional, they must have something planned, and if they attack Fairy Tail..." He gestured at the dragons. "I mean, they're not exactly... battle-ready."
Rogue cocked his head to the side. "Don't worry," Lucy reassured him, petting his head as he purred happily. She looked up at Gray. "Even if they were trying to get the Dragon Slayers out of the way, we still have Gajeel and Laxus, and Wendy. We can keep them safe."
Natsu made an indignant sound from his perch on Lucy's shoulder and Gray gave him a stern look. "I have a feeling that this idiot doesn't realize that he can't take on an army right now, and he'd end up getting himself hurt." Natsu huffed, rubbing his head against Lucy's cheek.
Lucy was about to respond when there was a loud crash from next to them. Gray whipped around and groaned when he realized that Rogue and Sting had both clambered down from the cart and were now sitting on the floor, wide-eyed in the middle of a pile of cereal boxes that they had knocked down from the shelf.
"You little—" Gray bent down to grab them, but Sting scurried backward, then darted away toward the end of the aisle. Natsu quickly scrambled down from Lucy's shoulder and took off after him. "Get back here!"
"I've got Rogue," Lucy said, reaching down and scooping him up as Gray ran after Sting and Natsu. They disappeared at the end of the aisle and Gray looked uncertainly between the deli and the bakery. A yelp of surprise came from behind the cake display and Gray swore.
"Idiots." He stepped behind the display and came face-to-face with one of the bakers, who was staring at the torn tube of icing in his hand. "I'm so sorry," Gray said, holding up his hands apologetically. He saw a flash of red disappear around the corner and he quickly ran after it.
Natsu and Sting both darted underneath the bread rack, scampering down the aisle and reappearing near the bulk bins. Natsu turned back just long enough to chirp at Gray, then hopped up next to one of the bins and stood on his hind legs, pushing at it with his front paws.
"Natsu, don't!" Gray shouted, but by the time he skidded to a stop at the end of the aisle, it was too late. The container tumbled to the ground in front of Sting, bursting open and scattering rainbow sprinkles across the floor.
There was a stunned silence while the other shoppers turned to stare, and Gray's face flushed hot with embarrassment as he reached out and quickly picked up Natsu. Sting, who was sitting on the floor next to the broken container, poked at some of the sprinkles with a sticky paw.
"I cannot believe you two," Gray muttered, leaning down and grabbing Sting by his scruff. Sprinkles were stuck to the icing coating his fur, and he looked at Gray with wide eyes, tucking his hind legs up against his stomach. "Now I'm gonna have to give you a bath."
Giving Sting a bath was easier said than done.
"It's just water," Gray grumbled, pushing Natsu back from where he was standing on his hind legs and peering anxiously into the tub. "He'll be fine."
Despite Gray's reassurances, Sting's high-pitched whines got more frantic as he attempted to scramble out from Gray's grip and up the side of the tub. Rogue, who had hopped up on the sink and was watching the scene, chirped at Gray.
"Would you all knock it off?" Gray said, glaring at Rogue as he turned back to Sting. "Shhh, you're fine. You're not gonna drown, it's only two inches deep." He kept a firm grip on Sting's scruff with one hand and used the other to scoop up some of the water from the bottom of the tub and pour it over Sting's head. Sting sputtered at him, shaking his head and rubbing his face with a damp paw.
"See?" Gray said gently, rubbing his fingers through the mess of icing stuck to Sting's fur. "You're fine. You're okay."
Natsu stood up again, pressing his paws against Gray's arm and digging in his claws as he kneaded Gray's skin and whined softly. Gray hissed in pain, trying to nudge Natsu away while keeping Sting in his hands.
"Stop it," he said as Natsu clambered up onto his thigh. Natsu stood up on his hind legs and peered into the bathtub again, this time pulling himself up onto the ledge and almost immediately falling in.
Gray jumped in surprise as Natsu tumbled into the water next to Sting. Natsu made a distressed sound and scrambled toward the edge of the tub, yelping when he slid back down into the water.
"Now look what you did," Gray said, letting go of Sting as he tried to grab Natsu. "C'mere, you idiot." Natsu squeaked unhappily, immediately grabbing onto Gray's arm with all four limbs and digging in his claws. Sting attempted to clamber after him, whining when Gray held him back with the other hand.
Gray swore as he lifted Natsu out of the bath and set him back on the carpet. Natsu's frantic flailing had left a mess of cuts up Gray's forearm and blood was starting to drip down his hand. He grabbed one of the towels from the rack and pressed it against his arm, glaring at Natsu, who had spread out his wings and was shaking off the water.
"I'm putting you back under the time-out basket," Gray said, and was about to grab Natsu again when Rogue suddenly leapt off the counter, spreading his wings awkwardly and almost immediately crashing into the shower curtain. He scrambled against it, digging his claws in to try to keep himself in place.
"For the love of..." Gray quickly stood up, grabbing Rogue and disentangling his claws from the shower curtain. Natsu, who had hopped up on the toilet seat, chirped loudly as he looked back and forth between Rogue and Sting.
"Stop it!" Gray stepped back from the bathtub and held Rogue tightly against his chest until the frenzied kicking had stopped. "Shhh, it's okay," Gray said, running his thumb over the top of Rogue's head. "All of you are being ridiculous. It's just a bath, and you wouldn't need it if you two weren't such shits."
Natsu huffed indignantly while Sting just stared up at Gray from the tub, managing to look innocent and pathetic at the same time. Gray gently set Rogue down on the toilet seat with Natsu, then knelt next to the bathtub again. "Just let me wash you off," he said, carefully running his fingers through the mess in Sting's fur. "Then I promise you'll all get a treat."
Half an hour later, everyone was clean and dry and sitting on the coffee table. Natsu and Rogue were happily devouring a bowl of raw fish while Sting sat further away, still grooming his fur but looking much less dejected than earlier.
"See?" Gray said, tying off the bandage around his arm and sitting down on the couch. "You're all fine and the only person who got hurt was me." Natsu looked up from the bowl, swallowing a large chunk of fish before moving over to Gray and sniffing his arm. "That's your fault," Gray said as Natsu looked up at him.
Natsu's curious expression quickly turned contrite, and he wrapped his tail around himself as he looked down at the table. Guilt immediately welled up in Gray's chest. "I'm not mad at you," he said gently, reaching out and picking up Natsu. "It's not your fault." Natsu pressed his head against Gray's chest. "It's okay," Gray said. "I know you didn't do it on purpose."
Natsu made a soft, rumbling sound that quickly attracted the attention of the other two. "I'm not mad at any of you," Gray reassured them as they clambered into his arms, purring apologetically. Natsu squirmed up until he could rub his head against Gray's cheek and Gray sighed, kissing the top of his head. "I know," he said softly as he held all three of them close. "I love you, too."