Natsu and Gray didn't see Sting and Rogue again for nearly six months.

The morning after the ball, they headed back to Sabertooth's inn, but everyone was gone. The entire team had disappeared overnight, heading back to their mysterious guild hall that Natsu couldn't find, no matter how hard he looked. They'd spent weeks after the games searching for it, but either nobody knew where it was, or nobody was willing to say.

Natsu and Gray refused to give up, though, and started taking jobs that were further and further from Magnolia, stopping in every unfamiliar town with the hope of finding the guild. Natsu wasn't sure what he was planning to do once he found Sabertooth, but everything in him told him that he had to try.

~

"Where are we?" Natsu asked as they walked through the towering gates of the latest unfamiliar city. He tipped his head back as he stared up at the enormous marble statues that lined the street. Each of them showed a mage in battle-stance, hands raised to the sky.

"Ciralto," Lucy said, frowning at the map in her hands. "I think. Either that or Therea. That storm really threw us off track."

Natsu hummed in agreement as he looked around. Their latest quest had taken them further from Magnolia than any of them had been before, and the trip there had lasted nearly two weeks. They'd completed everything successfully and had been halfway back to Magnolia when a massive storm had derailed their train.

That had been two days ago. They'd decided to walk for a while – it was spring, and once the storm cleared, it was nice enough to make camp in the woods. They'd failed to take into consideration how far west they'd gone, though, and now none of them had any idea where they were.

"If we find an inn, I'm sure they can help us out," Erza suggested. Her luggage clattered along the cobblestones behind them. She turned to Natsu and raised her eyebrow knowingly, adding, "Or perhaps there's a guild here?"

Natsu nodded, avoiding her questioning gaze as he continued to take in their surroundings. The road from the front gate lead down a wide street that was flanked on either side by tall apartments. Eventually it opened into a market, with roads branching off in every direction. A large building sat at the far end of the town, with a statue on the roof that Natsu couldn't quite make out.

"We can ask around at the market," Lucy said, folding the map and tucking it into her pocket. She hefted the bag on her shoulder and yawned, rubbing her eyes. "I need a bath and a nap."

"You are smelling pretty—"

"Natsu Dragneel, don't you dare finish that sentence."

Natsu laughed, dancing out of the way of Lucy's half-hearted smack to his shoulder. He drifted toward Gray, brushing the back of his hand and waiting for Gray to slide their fingers together. He could see the slight pink flush on Gray's cheeks – even after six months together, Natsu knew that Gray still felt shy and uncertain about their relationship sometimes.

"C'mon," Natsu said, giving Gray a small smile and tugging on his hand. "Let's go find Lucy her bath."

The market was packed. Vendors shouted from all around them, advertising everything from magic trinkets to exotic cheeses. People from all across Fiore were milling about, talking and eating and shopping.

"Maybe that way," Erza suggested, pointing down one of the roads that looked like it led to an area with pubs and restaurants.

"Wait a sec," Lucy interrupted, shading her eyes from the sun as she peered through the crowd. "I think that's Yukino."

"Really?" Excitement flared up in Natsu's chest – if Yukino was here, maybe Sting and Rogue were, too. He squeezed Gray's hands as he stood on his tiptoes, scanning the crowd for Yukino's silver-white hair.

"Yukino!" Lucy shouted, waving over the crowd. Natsu didn't see her, but he almost immediately heard an answering shout.

"Natsu!"

All Natsu had time to register was a flash of blond curls barrelling through the crowd before a pair of arms were wrapped around his waist. Then Sting was looking up at him with his bright blue eyes and a gap-toothed smile.

"Look! I losted a tooth 'cause I'm six now and big!" Sting opened his mouth wider to show Natsu. Then he turned and grabbed Rogue's hand, pulling them closer. "Rogue didn't yet but they're still five. Orga saided my sharp teeths was fangs and they're gonna fall out too but I tolded him no 'cause that's my dragon teeths." He poked at one of his pointy incisors and grinned at Natsu proudly.

"You're right about that," Natsu reassured Sting, crouching down in front of him. The anxiety he'd been carrying around since the Games lifted a little when Sting threw his arms around Natsu's neck and hugged him tightly. He pressed a kiss to Sting's curls, holding him tightly for a second before reaching out to Rogue. They sidled up for a shy hug, then shuffled back to Gray and leaned against his leg.

"I was six yesterday," Sting said proudly as he pulled back from Natsu. "It was my birthday."

"Wow," Natsu said, "You're getting super big! Did you do something fun?"

Sting's expression darkened for a second as he shook his head. Then he looked back at Natsu with a small frown and asked, "Did you come visit 'cause it was my birthday?"

Natsu froze, heart aching at the tentative hope in Sting's eyes.

"Of course we did," Gray interrupted, crouching down next to Natsu and holding his arms out. Sting threw himself into Gray's arms for a hug.

"How did you know?" he asked when he finally let go.

"Magic," Natsu said quickly. "Just like how we knew where to find you." He looked up to see Yukino giving him a soft, grateful smile from where she was standing next to Lucy. "You ready to go do something fun?"

"Yeah!" Sting bounced up and down. "What we can do?"

"That's up to you, bud," Natsu said. "We can do whatever you want."

~

Yukino was happy to help them find an inn.

"I'm glad you're here," she said to Natsu once all the bags were settled into their rooms. "I wanted to take him somewhere yesterday, but Jiemma insisted on training." She gestured to Sting, who was busy telling Lucy an animated story about bumblebees while Rogue sat on one of the chairs, kicking their feet back and forth. "They missed you. Sting hasn't stopped talking about you since the games."

"We missed them too," Natsu admitted. Part of him wanted to ask why Yukino hadn't tried to contact him and Gray, but the mix of exhaustion and uncertainty on her face made him change his mind. "Are you okay?" he asked her. "At Sabertooth, I mean. I know it's not my business, but it just seems..." He hesitated, not sure how to word his question.

"Like I don't fit with the guild?" Yukino suggested with a small smile. Natsu nodded and she sighed. "I needed something – need something – that they can help me get. And then..." She looked over at Sting and Rogue with a fond smile.

"They're lucky to have you," Natsu said. He chewed his lip. "When did they join the guild? What happened?"

Yukino shook her head. "They were there before I joined. About a year ago."

"They were four?" Natsu asked incredulously. "Where are they from? What happened to their parents?"

Yukino shook her head sadly as she watched Sting climb up on the bed and start to bounce on it. Gray, who was standing nearby, raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head. Sting pouted, then immediately launched himself at Gray, who dropped the clothes he was folding and caught Sting at the last second.

"They don't talk about it," Yukino said. "Well, Rogue doesn't talk about much as it is. Sting talks. A lot." Natsu laughed. "He won't talk about them, though. He just says they're gone. I don't know where Jiemma found them, and neither does anyone else. And there's no way I'm going to ask."

She shivered and rubbed at her arms. Lucy appeared beside her and touched her shoulder.

"You look exhausted," Lucy said. Yukino laughed and gestured to the kids.

"Let us take them," Natsu said. He turned to watch Gray, who was making faces as Sting poked his cheeks. "We'll keep them safe and give you a bit of a break."

Yukino looked hesitant but eventually nodded. "Sting, Rogue," she called, crouching down and motioning for them to come over. Sting squirmed down from Gray's arms, grabbing Rogue's hand as he scooted over to Yukino. She smiled and wiped at a streak of something on his cheek. "I want you to behave when you're with Gray and Natsu," she said, sternly but not unkindly. "What does that mean?"

"Use our manners!" Sting shouted. He immediately looked embarrassed and added, quietly, "Use calm voices, an' say please and thank you, an' ask for things before touching them, an' hold hands when we have to, an' look before crossing the street. No running."

Yukino gave Sting a fond smile and ruffled his curls, then turned to look at Rogue.

"No disappearing," they said quietly, fidgeting and looking at the floor. "Shadows aren't to play in."

"Good." Yukino leaned in and kissed both their foreheads, then stood up and gestured at Natsu and Gray. "Off you go," she said as Sting bounced excitedly, grinning at Natsu. "Be good and have fun."

~

"There is no way in hell that I am going on that thing."

Natsu stood at the entrance to the fairground, staring at the tilt-a-whirl with a nauseated expression on his face. "I just about died on the last train we took."

"Don't be so dramatic," Gray said, rolling his eyes as he shifted Rogue on his shoulders.

"Please, Uncle Natsu?" Sting said, looking up at them both with wide eyes. The casual addition of 'Uncle' to Natsu's name felt more important than any title he'd ever claimed. "I never beened to here before."

"We're not supposed to," Rogue said, shaking their head. "Master said it was for babies."

Sting's expression suddenly turned serious and he took a step back from the gate. His grip on Natsu's hand tightened as his excited expression turned to a frown.

"I'm not a baby," he said, staring at a puddle on the ground. "I'm strong."

Natsu shared a quick glance with Gray, whose jaw had tightened in anger. He bit down his first instinct – which was to storm over to the guild and punch Jiemma in the face – and crouched down in front of Sting instead.

"You're right," Natsu said. "You are strong. Stronger than me, even." Sting gave him a dubious look. "I'm too scared to go on those rides," Natsu said, pointing at the tilt-a-whirl. "But you're not. You two are both super brave."

"You're scared?" Sting asked, eyes wide.

Natsu nodded. "Yup." His stomach churned as a rollercoaster roared overhead, filled with screaming children. "It makes me sick. But if you wanna go with Uncle Gray, I can go get us some snacks. How's that sound?"

Sting brightened again and he looked up at Gray. "Really?"

Gray nodded. "Sure, bud," he said. He held out his hand to take Sting's. "C'mon, let's go get in line."

Natsu gave Gray a grateful look, then leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Thanks," he said quietly as he ran his hand down Gray's arm. "I'll get you a snowcone."

"You'd better," Gray muttered, tipping his head and kissing Natsu quickly before nudging Sting toward the rides.

~

Natsu spent the rest of the afternoon on the sidelines, watching Gray as he took the boys from ride to ride. There was a surprising ease to his movements, and Natsu couldn't help the small smile that stole across his face as he watched the three of them interact. For as long as Natsu had known him, Gray hadn't been particularly interested in children. He had a theory that it was because Gray hadn't had much of a childhood and didn't know how to interact with other kids, but watching him with Sting and Rogue made Natsu's heart happy. Gray looked so comfortable with them – all smiles and silly faces and forehead kisses.

Luckily, Sting and Rogue seemed like they were too young to have inherited the Dragon Slayer's motion sickness, which meant that they wanted to try every ride. It was almost two hours later by the time they reconvened with Natsu for lunch.

"Where do they get all this energy?" Gray asked as he slumped to the ground and leaned back against a tree. Sting and Rogue were playing tag, with Sting shouting at Rogue for cheating whenever they appeared behind him from the shadows. "Were we this rowdy when we were kids?"

Natsu settled down next to Gray. "I lit the guild on fire when I was like... a year older than Sting. And when you tried to put it out, you froze Erza to the wall."

"Oh shit, I forgot about that." Gray laughed. "I guess we were trouble, too." Natsu snorted as he tipped his head against Gray's shoulder. He nudged Gray's hand with his and felt his cheeks warm as Gray's fingers laced with his.

"This is nice," he said softly as he watched Sting scramble up the stairs to the playground slide. His blond curls were wild, and half of his face was sticky with the snowcone he'd devoured in seconds. "They both seem happy."

"So do you," Gray said softly. "I know you were worried about them."

"I still am," Natsu admitted. Sting yelped in surprise when Rogue pushed him down the slide, then burst out laughing when he tumbled off the end into the sand. "What kind of asshole won't let a six-year-old celebrate his birthday?"

"One that's obsessed with power." Gray's voice was bitter. "They talked a little in the lineups – he makes them spar. And I know we fought when we were little but not this little. Plus, that was 'cause we wanted to, not because we had to. It's fucked up."

Natsu nodded. They both fell silent for a while, watching the dappled shadows from the afternoon sun creep across the grass. Eventually, Sting and Rogue ran back over to them, both out of breath with pink cheeks and wide smiles.

"I'm hungry," Sting announced, plopping himself down in Gray's lap.

"Already?" Natsu held out his arm to Rogue, who settled in between him and Gray. "We just had lunch!"

"I'm always hungry," Sting said seriously. "'cause I'm growing so I can be big like you!"

Natsu laughed. "What about you?" he asked Rogue, who ducked their head as they snuggled closer to him. "Are you also a bottomless pit?" They nodded.

"What's a bottoms pit?" Sting asked.

"You are," Natsu said, poking Sting's stomach. He giggled and curled up against Gray. "Should we go get another hot dog?"

"And some ice cream?" Sting asked hopefully.

"And some ice cream," Natsu said, leaning in and kissing Sting's forehead.

~

They met Yukino outside the Sabertooth guild hall just before sunset. Rogue was snoring softly, fast asleep in Gray's arms, and Sting was trailing behind Natsu and rubbing his eyes.

"This place is pretentious as hell," Gray muttered as they both looked up, taking in the enormous statue that dominated the roof of the building. Each tooth in the snarling maw of the tiger was almost as tall as they were.

"What's tenshus?" Sting asked sleepily.

"Nothing you have to worry about," Natsu reassured him.

"'kay."

Natsu waved as soon as he saw Yukino. She was standing just outside the gate that enclosed the guild hall, occasionally looking over her shoulder toward the door. The anxious energy that seemed to follow her everywhere was evident.

"Were you good?" she asked, smiling when she saw Sting.

"We did all the rides," he said, looking up at Gray. "Uncle Gray comed with us 'cause Uncle Natsu gets sick and didn't wanna puke, and then we got ice cream and played tag at the park, but Rogue cheated 'cause they kept using the shadows and it's not fair." He looked up at Rogue's sleeping form with a small pout on his face.

"Did you say thank you?" Yukino asked with raised eyebrows.

"Thank you!" Sting said quickly, hugging Gray's leg. Gray shifted Rogue onto one hip, then reached down and ruffled Sting's hair.

"You're welcome, bud."

"Thank you, Uncle Natsu," Sting said, turning to Natsu with a sleepy smile. "An' thank you for Rogue 'cause they're sleeping but they always say to use manners 'cause it's polite." He hesitated, looking over at Yukino, then back at Natsu. "Are you going away again?"

The words were laced with disappointment and Natsu's heart nearly broke. He knelt down in front of Sting and pulled him in for a tight hug.

"We do have to go back to Fairy Tail," he said regretfully, stomach twisting when Sting hugged him even tighter.

"I don't want you to go." Sting sniffled but didn't let go. "You leaved for a long time and I missed you. You can come back for Rogue's birthday?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Natsu said, glancing up at Gray, who looked as heartbroken as he felt. "We're gonna come back and visit as much as we can, okay?" He kissed the top of Sting's head and held him close.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"'kay." Sting pulled back and rubbed at his face with his sleeve. His expression was so solemn for someone so little, and Natsu suddenly felt a desperate need to see him smile again.

"Guess what?" Natsu said, reaching into his pocket. "I have a present for you."

"A birthday present?"

"Yep." Natsu pulled out a smooth metal ring that fit neatly in Sting's palm. In the center was a dragon carved from pewter, well-worn from Natsu's thumb rubbing over the small indent in the middle. The dragon spun inside the ring, catching the soft moonlight and giving it a silvery glow.

"Whoa. It's for me?"

"Yep. My dad made that for me when I was really little." Natsu's throat tightened, but the soft ache of grief was tempered by the bright joy in Sting's eyes. "I use it to help me focus when my brain is messy."

"I have a messy brain too."

"I know you do."

Sting gripped the ring tightly in his hand and threw himself at Natsu again, hugging him tightly. "I love you," he said in Natsu's ear.

Natsu bit the inside of his cheek to keep back the tears that suddenly threatened to spill. "I love you too," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "We both do, very, very much."

Rogue, who had woken up when Gray had handed them to Yukino, mumbled a sleepy, "Me too."

"We should get you two to bed." Yukino said gently. "It's pretty late."

"The moon is awake so we have to sleep," Sting agreed, pointing up at the sky. Then he looked at Natsu sadly as he whispered, "Bye."

"It's not goodbye," Gray reassured Sting, crouching down next to Natsu and hugging Sting. "My grampa used to tell me something whenever we visited him and I didn't want to go home."

"What he said?" Sting asked, frowning at Gray.

"Instead of saying goodbye, in my language we say tsak'hasen. It means 'see you soon.' And we will, because we'll be back for Rogue's birthday, right?"

Sting nodded sleepily, then let go of Gray and reached up to take Yukino's hand.

"Rogue's birthday is next month," she said quietly as Sting shuffled closer to her. "So I guess we'll see you then?"

Gray and Natsu both stood up, sliding their hands together as Natsu nodded. "We'll come back as much as we can," he said.

"Thank you," Yukino said softly as she turned to head back to the guild. "You mean so much to them."

Yukino and the kids were in the doorway to the guild when Sting turned back around and waved at them, still clutching the dragon talisman in his fist. "Tsak'hasen!" he shouted. "Tep kse go ka'en te."

Gray stared as the door swung closed, then turned to Natsu with wide eyes. "That means 'I'll miss you,'" he said slowly.

Something clicked in Natsu's mind. He leaned into Gray, pressing his nose against Gray's neck and inhaling the familiar blend of fresh snow and winterberries – the same scent that blended with Sting and Rogue's, that he'd been trying to puzzle out for weeks.

"Holy shit," he murmured as he pulled back and stared at Gray. "They're from Isvan."