Natsu hates winter, Gray hates being too hot. Negotiations ensue.

Takes place thirty years after 'crash & burn' and sixteen years after 'we are unbreakable' so they're in their late 40s

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"Are you kidding me?" Gray sighed, dropping his briefcase in the entry of the apartment and glaring at the thermostat. "Natsu?" Predictable silence. "That little shit..."

Kicking off his shoes, Gray poked his head into the kitchen, but his husband was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged off his coat, throwing it in a haphazard pile on the counter. Natsu was obviously home – he'd left the Keurig on again and of course the dishcloth was wet and sitting in the bottom of the sink. Gray sighed.

"Natsu, I know you're hiding." After twenty years of marriage, Gray knew exactly where his husband was. As soon as he stuck his head inside the door of their bedroom, the irritated crease between his eyes turned to fondness.

Natsu was asleep, curled up in every blanket they owned with both pillows on either side of him. His mouth was open and he was snoring softly, shifting in his sleep. Gray sat down on the side of the bed, brushing back Natsu's hair and leaning down to kiss him on the forehead.

"...'sat?" Natsu mumbled sleepily, blinking and rubbing his eyes.

"Your husband," Gray replied, poking Natsu in the side. "Who is not impressed that the thermostat is set at twenty-five degrees." As he talked, he tugged off his sweater, then unbuttoned his dress shirt and took that off too. He'd been in the house for less than five minutes and was already sweating.

"'s cold," Natsu complained, curling up in a tighter ball and attempting to burrow into the pillows. "It snowed today." Gray snorted, running his fingers through Natsu's hair.

"It's only minus four," Gray countered, looking out the window. Thick flakes of snow were drifting down through the air – not uncommon for late December in Magnolia. But every year they had this argument. "Tante Ophelie said it's minus thirty in Montreal, and they have a foot and a half of snow." Natsu shuddered.

"Hate winter," he complained, voice still thick with sleep. Gray sighed.

"I know, but the thermostat can't be at twenty-five," he said. "That's just unreasonable. And the power bill is going to be ridiculous." Natsu grumbled.

"It was sixteen degrees in here when I got home from work," he complained. "I didn't take my mittens off for half an hour. That's unreasonable." He yawned, reaching out and grabbing Gray's hand. His nails were painted with shiny purple polish – he must have gone for a manicure with Sylvie before work. "Come cuddle."

"Only if I can turn the heat down," Gray grumbled, bringing Natsu's hand to his lips and kissing it. "I'll melt under there." Natsu grinned, wriggling over to make room in his nest. Gray gave him a fond smile, then stepped back out into the hallway and settled the temperature at twenty – hopefully an acceptable compromise. Then he kicked off his pants and slipped under the cover with Natsu.

"You're freezing," Natsu muttered, wrapping his arms around Gray and pulling him close. Gray sighed, tucking his head onto Natsu's chest and listening to heartbeat. It had been a long day at work and he was exhausted, and this wasn't helping his desire to have a nap.

"'m gonna fall asleep like this," he said, yawning and shifting around until his back was pressed against Natsu's chest. Natsu's skin was hot, his hands drifting across Gray's stomach and up his chest. Gray shivered, tipping his head back against Natsu's.

"I can think of other things you could do," Natsu murmured, leaning up and kissing the edge of Gray's ear. He let his hand travel back down over Gray's stomach, brushing down over his leg and rubbing gentle circles on the inside of his thigh. Gray let out a soft moan, pushing up against Natsu's hand and turning back to kiss him.

"Yeah?" he breathed against Natsu's lips, bringing his hand up to brush through Natsu's hair. After all these years he'd kept it pink, and it had almost become a competition with Freed to see who would give up dyeing it sooner.

"Yeah," Natsu said, pushing himself up on one elbow. He leaned down and kissed Gray again, who sighed, pressing up into the kiss and running his fingers over Natsu's scalp. Natsu moaned into his mouth and bit his lower lip, running his tongue over the bite as he shifted up and straddled Gray's hips.

"This an apology for the thermostat?" Gray joked, exhaling sharply as Natsu ground his hips down, rocking forward across Gray. He was wearing sweatpants but no shirt, and Gray ran his fingers up Natsu's scarred arm, brushing a thumb over the discolored area on his face.

"Mmmmnnope," Natsu replied, leaning forward and kissing Gray again, pressing against him and tilting Gray's jaw to deepen the kiss. "Can't a man just ravage his husband for no reason?"

Gray snorted, wrapping his hand around the back of Natsu's head and placing kisses down his neck. "Of course you can," he said softly, biting down on the soft spot behind Natsu's ear. Natsu groaned, shifting his hips forward again. "Does that mean you're taking me?" A soft sound escaped Natsu's lips and he nodded, eyes closed as Gray continued to kiss his neck and collarbone.

"If that's okay," he said shakily, letting out a soft breath when Gray hummed in agreement. He smiled a little, tipping Gray's head up and kissing him gently. "I'm wearing the underwear you like."

"The red ones?" Gray asked, running his hands down Natsu's back and into the waistband of his sweatpants. Underneath he could feel textured lace and he moaned softly into Natsu's mouth. "You're really trying to sway me, huh?" Natsu grinned and Gray nipped at his lip, running both hands up Natsu's back and into his hair.

"And if I was?" Natsu kissed Gray's cheek and drew a hand down his shoulder, tracing the edges of his thick white scars. Gray shivered, trying to keep still.

"M-maybe...I'd consider nineteen," he breathed as Natsu moved down and started to kiss his scar, fingers trailing down his chest to the band of his boxers.

"Twenty-three," Natsu countered, flicking a tongue over Gray's nipple. He looked up at Gray thought a curtain of hair and tipped his head to the side, biting his lip seductively. Gray groaned – he could never resist that look.

"T-twenty?" He managed as Natsu continued to kiss down his stomach. Natsu rubbed his thumbs gently over Gray's hipbones, pressing kisses inside them and dragging his teeth over the waistband of Gray's boxers.

"Twenty-two," he said, grinning deviously. He tugged slowly at Gray's underwear, pulling it down inch by inch. Gray groaned and bucked his hips up, fisting his fingers in the sheets.

"Fine," he groaned, sighing as Natsu finally dragged his boxers down and touched him, his hands soft and hot and exactly what Gray needed. "You're an...aah...asshole."

"I know," Natsu said, grinning and pressing a kiss to Gray's hip. "But I'm your asshole, remember?"