let me be your haven

5. big feelings

Gray and Natsu made it back to Ciralto the day before Rogue's birthday. As soon as they'd picked up the kids from Yukino – who gave them both a grateful hug – Gray crouched down and looked both of them in the eye before asking, "Py'atu Isvan?"

Rogue's eyes widened and they nodded, giving Gray a shy smile. "Haj," they said softly. "Ne py'at en ne me'nao. Te?"

Gray exhaled with a smile and grabbed Rogue's hand tightly. "Yeah," he said, switching to Fioran so Natsu could understand. "I speak it, too. I lived in Isvan, a long time ago. Is that where you're from?"

Rogue nodded. "It snowed lots," they said. "I like snow."

"Me too," Gray said, holding out his hand and letting a shower of snowflakes fall around Rogue. They giggled and stuck out their tongue to catch one. "When did you come here?" Gray asked.

"Before," Sting answered. His expression was more guarded than Rogue's and he gave Gray an uncertain look. "Master finded us."

"How old were you?" Natsu, who had crouched down as well, held out his arm and let Sting cuddle up next to him. Sting held out three fingers, then wrapped both arms around Natsu's neck.

"That's pretty little," Gray said, raising an eyebrow at Natsu. "Did you live with your parents in Isvan?" He tried his best to keep his voice light.

Rogue, who was still entranced by the snowflakes, didn't answer. Sting peeked up at Gray from where he was wrapped up in Natsu's arms and gave him a very small nod.

"My family lived in a little village called T'sehet," Gray said, hoping to coax more information out of Sting. "My mom's name was Mika, and my dad was Silver."

"They died?" Sting asked. Gray could see something like grief flicker across his face, and his heart ached that someone so small was already familiar with the feeling.

"Yeah," Gray said gently. "It sucked."

Sting nodded. "We lived in the mountain," he said. Gray could see something small and shiny in his hand, and it took him a second to realize that it was the dragon charm Natsu had given him on his birthday. "Rogue's dad an' my dad and we maked snowmans sometimes. But the snow falled too much an' our dads got stucked and..." He rubbed his red cheeks with the back of his hand. "They couldn't came back. Minerva comed and saided they were gone an' we had to go with her to be safe 'cause we were special."

"Special?" Natsu frowned. Sting poked at the scales on his temples and scowled.

"'cause our magic."

Gray exchanged another look with Natsu, whose own scales shimmered with barely contained rage. Something about Sting's story gave Gray the impression that what happened to his and Rogue's parents hadn't been an accident.

"That's not what makes you special," Gray said, taking Sting's hand and gently pulling it away from his scales.

"It isn't?" Sting frowned and looked down at his hand in Gray's. The scales went all the way down his arms and reached his fingertips, and they glowed a soft white under the bright summer sun.

"Nope." Gray squeezed his fingers. "Even if you didn't have magic, you'd still be special."

Sting looked dubious but didn't argue. Instead, he looked over at Rogue, who was still trying to catch snowflakes on their tongue. Their scales were still mostly hidden by their long hair and the sleeves of their sweater that they wore, despite the heat.

"All right," Natsu said, giving the two kids a bright smile. Gray could still see the anger in the lines of his face, though. "Where do you want to go?" The question was directed at Rogue, who looked up at Natsu with wide eyes.