you're the best friend that i've ever had
i've been with you such a long time, you're my sunshine
and i want you to know that my feelings are true
i really love you
- queen, "you're my best friend"

Gray woke up the next morning snuggled up to Natsu's back, arm wrapped tight around Natsu's stomach and face buried in his neck. Gray groaned, feeling the distinctly uncomfortable sensation that came with waking up in yesterday's clothes.

Sitting up slowly, Gray blinked and looked around, realizing that they were still at Laxus' place. That explained the dozen other people spread throughout the room, each in various states of undress. Gray and Natsu were lying on a pull-out couch, with Natsu facing Lucy and holding her hand. Cana was wrapped around Lucy much as Gray had been with Natsu, and had a leg thrown over Lucy's thighs for good measure.

Huh, Gray thought. That's new.

Sting and Ryos had somehow managed to curl up in one recliner without tipping it over, while Gajeel's very pregnant girlfriend Levy was fast asleep in the other.

Gray heard shouting from the next room, so he slipped out of the bed, pressing a kiss to Natsu's cheek. Natsu mumbled something, but didn't wake. Gray made his way to the source of the noise, and found Laxus, Gajeel, and Erza playing MarioKart.

"Morning, Gray!" Erza said cheerfully, and Gray could see she was winning. Gajeel groaned, hands clumsy on the joystick of his controller. Gray shook his head.

"You three didn't sleep at all, did you?"

"I'm not givin' in first!" Gajeel insisted, bumping his shoulder against an equally sleepy Laxus, who merely grunted at him.

The doorbell rang, and Gray could hear a chorus of groans from the sleeping group in the other room.

"Do you mind getting that?" Laxus asked, tipping his head back and looking at Gray. "It's probably Bix and Ever, they said they were gonna come for brunch."

Gray headed down the hallway and opened the front door to see a stack of large boxes overwhelming a tiny woman. Behind her was a tall man with bright blue hair and sunglasses.

"Happy New Year!" the woman shouted. Gray reached out to take the boxes, realizing they were full of donuts. "I'm Ever and this is Bix, where's Laxus? Lazy fuck." The affection in her voice softened the words, and Gray laughed.

"He's playing videogames," Gray replied. "I'm pretty sure he hasn't slept at all." Ever rolled her eyes.

"Sounds like our idiot," she said. "Bix, there's a step here."

Gray realized that Bix's hand was on Ever's elbow, and she was guiding him into the house. "And we have been let into the house by a lovely boy named..."

"Uh... Gray." Gray felt self-conscious, suddenly. "I'm assuming you know your way around?" Ever nodded, kicking off her shoes. "I'd offer to take your jacket, but..." He gestured at the donuts.

"Ooh, and he's a gentleman too!" Ever said. Bix snorted, pulling off his sunglasses and tucking them in his pocket. He looked in Gray's general direction and smiled.

"Don't take it personally," he said, "she flirts with anything that moves." Bix reached out his hand and Gray maneuvered the boxes into one arm so he could shake it.

"Unless you want to take it personally," Ever interjected. Gray laughed.

"Already taken, sorry," he replied, then shifted the boxes. "I'm gonna take these to the kitchen. Honestly, almost everyone is still asleep. What time is it anyway?" Bix reached down to his wrist and ran his fingertips over his watch.

"Quarter to eleven," he replied. "We'd better get started on brunch!

__________

It turned out that Freed had already started on brunch, and was doing an impressive job of multitasking in the kitchen. They had changed into a tank top and a pair of sweatpants overnight, and their hair was pinned up almost on top of their head, loose pieces hanging down in green curls.

"Morning," Gray yawned as he stepped into the room, depositing the boxes of donuts on the table. "Is there coffee?"

"Of course," Freed replied, flipping a pancake and then moving across the kitchen to what appeared to be an espresso machine. "There's a Keurig, but I can make you a latte or something if you'd like?"

"An Americano would be amazing," Gray replied, grabbing an apron from the hook on the wall and tying it around his waist. "What can I do?"

The two of them spent the next half hour flipping pancakes, cooking hash browns, and frying bacon, which ended up with Gray cursing loud enough to eventually bring Natsu to the kitchen.

"Tabarnak d'osti de sacrement..." Gray muttered as the bacon grease spattered up onto his arm. He winced, moving to the sink and rinsing the burns with cold water.

"Es-tu correct?" Freed asked, glancing over at Gray's arm.

"Oui, c'est pas grave," Gray replied, dabbing at it with a towel. Then he looked up at Freed and frowned. "Tu parles français?"

"I do," Freed said, pulling the hash browns off the stove and pouring them into a ceramic bowl. "Not fluently, but well enough to get by." They smiled at Gray, setting the bowl on the counter and turning back to the stove.

"Hey, you okay?" Natsu poked his head into the kitchen, reaching out for Gray and inspecting the small, red marks on his forearm. "I heard you swearing, I figured it must be bad." He pressed a soft kiss to each burn.

"I'm fine," Gray replied, squeezing Natsu's hand.

"Nice apron," Natsu grinned, gesturing to Gray's chest. Gray looked down, reading the words hot stuff coming through and groaning.

"I swear I didn't even look at it before I put it on," he grumbled, ignoring Natsu's snickering. "All right, if you're not gonna make yourself useful, get out of here." Gray snapped the dishtowel Natsu, catching him on the thigh. Natsu yelped, jumping away. "Take the food into the dining room. Get Ryos and Sting to help you – they're kids, they should be used to chores."

Natsu stuck his tongue out, but did as Gray asked, roping the two sleepy teens into helping him carry everything to the long table in the other room. Gray turned back to Freed, who was setting the last of the bacon on a plate.

"It's nice to be able to speak to someone other than my family," Gray admitted in French as he took the plate from Freed and set it where Natsu could reach it. He picked up his Americano and sipped it, then yawned. "We moved from Montréal five years ago and it's been hard to keep it up."

"It's certainly not spoken much here," Freed agreed. Their accent was barely noticeable – Gray was impressed. "Are you teaching Natsu?" Gray frowned. He hadn't even considered that.

"I dunno," he admitted, leaning against the counter. "We've only been dating for a week. I'm not sure if he would be interested." Freed gave him a look that involved an impressively arched eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure he would do anything for you," they said, and Gray felt a blush rising to his cheeks. "It's clear he's very smitten. And so are you, I think." Gray glanced into the dining room where Natsu was telling Lucy a story, waving his arms in the air as he talked, and smiled softly. Freed wasn't wrong.

"So, uh, how did you and Laxus meet?" he asked, finishing off his coffee and setting the cup in the sink.

"It's a bit of a strange story," Freed admitted, hopping up on the counter. "We met through an online group for queer youth with... fundamentally religious families."

Gray raised an eyebrow. Laxus had talked a little about his father in group, and from what Gray could tell, he wasn't a particularly nice person.

"I'm originally from Wisconsin," Freed continued. "I came here when I was sixteen, and Laxus and I managed to end up in the same city."

Freed tugged their hair out of the messy bun and let it fall, then combed their fingers through it and began braiding as they talked. Gray was mesmerized by the way Freed's fingers flew back and forth.

"Sixteen?" Gray asked, frowning. "That's young."

"My parents..." Freed hesitated, tying off the end of the braid. "Weren't the kindest." They gave Gray a somewhat pained smile and he made a sympathetic face.

"Sorry," he said. Freed shrugged.

"It is what it is," they said, hopping down from the counter. "I know Laxus and I don't look like we have much in common, but... love is love."

Gray nodded, turning to the stove and flipping the last pancake onto a plate, then turning to the dining room. Laxus and Natsu appeared to be arm-wrestling across the table – Gray looked at Freed and they both rolled their eyes.

"We'd better stop them before they break something," Freed said, sighing. "And let's make sure we get some breakfast before the rest of these animals eat it all."

__________

"I am never eating again," Lucy declared, leaning back against her chair and placing both hands on her stomach. "Freed, Gray – you two are amazing. Please come to my house and cook me food all the time." Everyone laughed, then chimed in their praises of the food.

Fitting thirteen people around the dining room table had been difficult but not impossible, and they were all crammed so tightly that their elbows were touching. Everyone's hands were in everything, and the air was full of demands like pass the bacon and more coffee and if you eat the last pancake I'm going to murder you and hide your body where no-one will find it.

When everyone appeared to be full, Freed tapped their coffee mug to get everyone's attention.

"So, we have a New Year's tradition," they said. "Everyone goes around and says what their favorite memory of the last year was, or one thing they're looking forward to this year. Or both. Or you don't have to say anything at all."

"I'll go first!" Lucy bounced in her seat as everyone turned to look at her. "My favorite memory – and of course it's silly and clichéd – was when my son Kaden was born. But there's lots of memories associated with that, and they're all with Natsu." Natsu blinked from his corner of the table where he was practically sitting on Gray's lap, and Lucy smiled at him warmly. "Memories like when he painted my toes because I was too big to reach them." Levy groaned in solidarity. "Or when we saw Kaden's heartbeat for the first time."

"Luce, you're gonna make me cry," Natsu breathed, and Gray knew that was a lie because he was already crying, soft tears clinging to his eyelashes. Gray pressed a kiss to his knuckles.

"I know the ride to the hospital and the twenty-some hours in the waiting room weren't fun," Lucy continued, her voice getting thicker now. "But when you burst in that door and you hugged me... and your face when you held Kaden... I just..." She sniffed, and Cana reached over, grasping her hand. "I just love you so much, and I know you've had a rough year, but I want you to know how much you mean to me and Kaden."

"Luce..." Natsu said softly, wiping tears from his eyes. "Love you too."

"Well, I'm pretty sure nobody can beat that," Gajeel grumbled, and the tension broke as everyone laughed.

"Lucy, that's incredibly sweet." Freed had also teared up, and was rubbing the corners of their eyes. "Should we just go around in a circle?"

"Can everyone just say who you are before you start?" Bix added. "I haven't met all of you before so I don't recognize all your voices quite yet."

"Sure," Cana said, since she was sitting next to Lucy. "My name's Cana. I, ah... my favorite memory is getting my puppy, Dex. Dogs are just the best 'cause they don't judge you. I can come home and tell Dex that my day was fucked up and terrible and he just kisses my face and loves me anyway."

Erza was next. "This year, I'm looking forward to trying again," she said. She didn't elaborate, but Gray was almost one hundred percent certain that she was talking about Jellal.

"Ever here, and my favorite memory was going to Comicon with you fucking nerds." Ever gestured at Bix, Freed and Laxus. "And seeing Laxus dressed up as Goku." Bix giggled, and Laxus glared at him.

"It was a great costume and you know it," Laxus rumbled. "And I'll have you all know that I won the costume contest." Gray snorted with laughter, trying to picture Laxus in an orange gi.

"My name is Levy." Levy's voice was shy, and she picked at her flaking nail polish anxiously. "I'm looking forward to meeting this little girl." She placed a hand on her stomach and smiled up at Gajeel. Gray was stunned to see the most tender, kind expression he had ever seen on Gajeel's face.

"Gajeel," he said roughly. "Levy stole my moment." Everyone laughed. "But I am lookin' forward to meetin' her too. Dunno if I'll make a good dad, but... I'll try."

"You do okay," Ryos interjected, giving Gajeel a grin that was half-serious, half-teasing. Gajeel swallowed heavily, then reached over and ruffled his brother's hair. "I'm Ryos," Ryos continued. "My favorite memory was, um... meeting Sting."

He nudged Sting, and Gray tried not to laugh. Friggin' teenagers. Although now that he thought about it... meeting Natsu might be his favorite memory from the last year too. Ugh, when did he get so sappy?

"My name is Sting," Sting said quietly. He looked shy, and Gray could see that he was holding Ryos' hand under the table. "And that's... yeah, my same memory too. Except the part where Ryos punched me in the face."

"It was an accident," Ryos insisted, cheeks turning pink. "You know I suck at skateboarding." Natsu laughed, poking at Ryos under the table.

"Me too, dude," he said. Ryos looked at Natsu gratefully. Natsu winked, then suddenly realized it was his turn. He bit his lip, and Gray rubbed his hand again.

"I'm Natsu, and... this year has been really shitty. I think most of you know that. Kinda crashed and burned last week." Natsu began to bounce his leg, and Gray ran a hand down his thigh reassuringly. "But I'm getting better. So next year I'm looking forward to... getting my diploma. And doing something with my life. Maybe learning some French." He grinned and elbowed Gray, who noticed Freed giving him a pointed look from the end of the table.

When everyone turned to Gray expectantly, he felt a flash back to the first day of group, trying to think of something interesting about himself while Natsu gazed at him like he was the only person in the world.

"I'm, uh, Gray." Gray cleared his throat, then let out a deep breath. "I... have also had a shitty year. And I felt like I had nothing to be happy about." He closed his eyes for a minute, feeling Natsu's solid weight against his leg. He could do this. He trusted these people. "My favorite memory is from Christmas. I was... not in a good place and then you-" he nudged Natsu "-smashed a snowball in my face." Gray could hear other people chuckling, but he kept his gaze on the table. "We had like... a two-hour snowball fight. And it felt like things were going to be okay."

There was a chorus of awwwws from the table, and Gray's cheeks turned pink. Natsu leaned over and bumped their heads together.

"And I totally kicked his ass, too," Natsu added cheekily. Gray gave him a look, pinching his thigh and causing him to squeak.

"I don't think so," he growled.

"All right, get a room you two," Ever said, waving her hand in their direction, then nudging Bix.

"Hey! I'm Bix and I guess I don't need to say my own name because I know who I am." Everyone laughed. "My favorite memory was getting my new service dog, Baby. She's not here today because she would eat all the sausages and I can get around here pretty well on my own. But she's a really good girl and I had to do a lot of training to get her, so it was pretty much the highlight of my year." He paused, running a hand through his blue hair. "Except Laxus dressing up as Goku, of course."

"Look, you dressed up as Geordi from Star Trek," Laxus protested. "You have no room to talk."

"But it works! I'm blind, he's blind."

"I'm blonde and muscly, Goku is blonde and muscly..."

"Yeah, yeah." Bix snorted with laughter and gave Laxus a friendly punch on the shoulder. "Your turn."

"Okay, I'm Laxus. My best memory was, um, moving in with Gramps. It was really hard, my dad is... challenging..." Ever snorted. "And I'm applying for technical school to become an electrician. So I'm looking forward to that." Laxus turned to Freed, reaching out and wrapping an arm around them. "You're last, babe."

Babe? Gray tried not to let his disbelief show.

"I'm Freed." Freed played with a strand of hair that had slipped from their bun. "My favorite memory from this past year was volunteering at the queer youth camp over the summer. It was a lot of work, but... I wish I had those experiences when I was young, and I'm so glad that these kids get to have good role models."

"I don't know if I would call you a good role model, you do have a sword collection," Bix teased, and Freed huffed.

"I'm rolling my eyes at you, Bix," they muttered. Bix gave them a thumbs-up and Freed shook their head, then turned back to the rest of the group. "Thank you all for doing that with us. Please, eat more food. I don't want to pack up eleven boxes of leftovers."

Just then, a short, elderly man with wild white hair and a mustache appeared in the doorway of the dining room, waving at Laxus.

"Happy New Year, everyone!" he said. "Bix, it's Grampa." Bix waved as Laxus' grandfather smiled at them all. "Did you all have fun?" A chorus of yes and awesome and thank you for letting us stay here filled the room.

"Want some breakfast?" Freed gestured to the table, but Laxus' grandfather shook his head. "You have to at least do the New Year's thing."

"Oh, but you always make me pick just one memory," he sighed. "Hmm. Having Laxus move in here. And seeing him happy with you." Laxus' face turned pinker than Gray had ever seen it, but he accepted the one-armed hug from his grandfather. "Now, keep having fun, but make sure you clean the kitchen!"

__________

French Translations

Tabarnak d'osti de sacrement = fucking fuck (equivalent cursing)
Es-tu correct? = You okay?
Oui, ce n'est pas grave = Yeah, it's not serious
Tu parles français? = You speak French?