Normally he'd be able to reach that very top shelf. All he had to do was get on his toes and stand right up against the cupboard to be able to get those stupid glasses. Today there was a bulge in his midsection keeping him from getting close enough.

"Oh dear," Mira sighed. "Well, maybe I can ask someone else to reach it for me."

"I've got it," Rogue insisted, twisting so his back was against the cupboard instead and reaching up behind him. His fingers glimpsed the rim on the glass.

"You don't need to push-"

"Picking up cups in not strenuous activity."

And with him forbidden from carrying heavier trays, she wasn't going to convince him to give up on any other tasks he might have been able to do last month. Mira shrugged and walked over to the other side of the kitchen, watching Rogue try to maintain an even expression as he struggled to grab a glass from such an absurd position.

"So who's a better kisser? Sting, or Natsu?"

"Eh?" Rogue's barely maintained indifferent look shattered, hand jerking as he tried to come up with an answer before it could become apparent how much that had thrown him off, and three glasses were swept off the shelf, two crashing before he could react and catch the third.

Maybe the mess would distract her. Rogue carefully stepped away from the broken glass before glancing from behind his hair at the white haired monster. No luck, she was still watching with her curious, gossip mode look. Of course. She chatted all the time while cleaning. It was a well developed skill.

"Sting or Natsu?" she repeated.

"I suppose… Natsu doesn't have as much practice, but he's better than Sting was at first…" Did he really have to talk about this?

"So Sting's better."

Rogue blushed and looked away. "Anyway, I'll go see if Gajeel can reach those glasses."

-o-

"So you see both shirtless-more or less-pretty often. Who do you think is better looking?"

Rogue shot Mira a look and returned to shelving record.

"That's okay. Sting and Natsu both look pretty nice from the waist up. If you'd get too flustered thinking about it, I don't want you falling off that ladder. Have you ever seen Sting from the waist down? I know you know what Natsu looks like naked."

"Oy," Gajeel snapped. "I'm still carrying stuff for you idiots. Wait till I'm not around."

Rogue nodded and climbed down, taking the next few books off the stack in Gajeel's hand and scooting the ladder over to the next book case.

"Eh…?" Mira giggled. "But I want to know who Rogue thinks is better looking. Do you like blonds? Rosets?"

"Frogs."

"Is… is that so…?"

-o-

Rogue was trying to squat down to find a bag of potatoes that had been pushed to the back of the bottom shelf when he heard Mirajane coming up behind him.

"Hey. Are you stuck?"

"No."

"That's good. I always get worried that some of the awkward positions you get into with your baby will get you trapped. I can dig those out. There's a meal you can carry out to the main room. Someone wants their dinner."

Rogue pushed himself out, rolling over his leg to avoid having to press too hard on his stomach as got up. "I can carry this?"

"Well, it's probably safer for the baby than having you shift through all that dust." Mira shrugged. "And Natsu asked if you could be the one to bring it out when he filled the order."

Yay. More Mira playing cupid.

Wait… Natsu had asked?

Rogue glanced around, spotting the only plate of food ready to go out. A larger plate than normal, but Natsu could probably eat a lot when he wasn't trying to share. Without another word he grabbed it and hurried out of the kitchen. Dinner time was getting busier and busier. Spotting Natsu in the guild when he first started working would have been effortless, but Rogue had to scan through the crowd before spotting him. After a whole day of playing "Sting or Natsu" with Mira he needed to see his boyfriend.

A raised hand caught Rogue's eye, and the pink haired idiot it was attached to brought a smile to his face. He hurried over to Natsu's table, almost spilling his boyfriend's drink as he weaved between the other guild members.

Natsu grinned, snatching the food away when it came within reach so Rogue wouldn't drop it when he wrapped the raven haired slayer in a tight hug. "She kept you all day today. I missed you."

"O-oh," Rogue squirmed. Maybe he'd been too enthusiastic. He'd have to remind Natsu when they got home that he wasn't big on physical contact. Again.

The hug lasted a bit too long to. Had he been worrying Natsu? How? Hadn't he shown he was willing to be in a more serious relationship?

Oh, but Natsu thought that was just hormones, didn't he? Even Sting had said it was just payback. Rogue sighed, relaxing into Natsu's embrace as his boyfriend refused to let go of him. Like if he didn't hold on tight, then Rogue would run away.

"I… I'm sorry… Na-"

"You should be! Mira never takes so long bringing food out. After all the times I've made you dinner, I thought you ought to pay me back for once, but even when I tried to spare you the trouble of having to actually cook it yourself… Ah! I'm letting you get lazy!" Natsu laughed, letting Rogue go. "Well, I ordered a lot, and I already told Mira that you're taking a break. Sit down with me. Eat up."

"Oh…" Rogue blinked, looking down at the plate. It was pretty big for just one person, but it suited two and a half just fine. The baby was almost to the halfway point, right?

When he took a seat, Natsu ginned and patted him on the shoulder. "Take your time. Mira's had you all day, so she can't complain if I get a few extra minutes with you. She and the master need to hire someone else to help out around the guild. You two always look like you're overworked."

"Mm…" Rogue nodded.

"Well? Dig in."

-o-

Stomach full, heart touched, Rogue returned to work in a better state of mind to deal with Mira. Just in time, considering he didn't even have both feet in the kitchen before she asked, "So who would you say was better overall? Natsu and Sting both don't believe you've moved on completely, but if Natsu's better-"

"I haven't," Rogue confirmed, "but I'm not over what Sting did either. No matter what he says, even if I have some share of the blame, even if I don't feel like holding it against him any longer, the fact that it happened will always be there."

"Oh. Then-"

"Here." Rogue dropped a stack of papers into Mira's hand. "Orders to fill. I'll get drinks. You're making work stack up."

"Wait. You didn't answer my question at all. I wasn't asking if you were over what happened."

"No. I'm not over Sting either."

"So despite everything you're doing… you don't really love Natsu?" Mira asked. How bittersweet. She could imagine how happy Sting would be to hear that… but she could just as easily see the look on Natsu's face when he learned-

"No. I'm not the kind of person who could decide I love someone in only a few months," Rogue replied. "I still have feelings for Sting. For all I know that won't ever change, but they're not as strong as before. I wouldn't say I love Natsu, but right now I'm not sure I love Sting either." He chuckled. "Living with Natsu… is nice though," he muttered, looking back over at the door out to the main room. "At least so long as he keeps that house clean. When he tries, he isn't too rough…" a moment from a few nights ago, in bed, with red sheets and rose petals, flashed through Rogue's mind, and he had to shake his head to clear his thoughts. "You can ask until the end of time, but right now I couldn't tell you… Sting or Natsu… I'd feel bad if it turned out I didn't love Natsu more, after all he's done for me, but I wouldn't forgive myself if I abandoned Sting simply out of gratitude to someone I didn't feel as strongly for. You can ask me which I prefer until you lose your voice. It doesn't matter. I don't know the answer."

He turned to face Mira. "You can have all the fun you want trying to play cupid with me, but there's really nothing fun about a love triangle like this."

"You hurt someone either way…"

Rogue nodded. "Whichever answer will make you stop pestering me, pretend I said that. I need more time before I can give an honest answer to them"

-x-

STA: Bleh. I watched too many touching anime moments before writing this chapter. The whole time I was working on it I kept imagining everyone talking in the same gentle tones as my show. Geeze. I went and made Rogue too wordy at the end, but I don't want to change the speech.

Well... Sorry this chapter was a bit shorter than the others. I wasn't sure how to lengthen it without making it feel like I was just trying to make it lengthier, and I didn't feel like wrestling with it for the next couple days. So here's the chapter up a little early, as an apology for making all of you see that original draft. (I'm taking that down for now. I'll repost it when I finish the story, but I don't feel like correcting the chapter number for every post I make until then.)