Christmas Day is full of surprises and celebration.

-----

Ryos woke up to the smell of coffee and the sound of Sting's voice outside the bedroom door.

"C'mon, bumblebee," Sting said quietly, and then the door creaked open, spilling soft light across the bed. "There you go, let's go get Papa."

Papa. Ryos swallowed down the sudden lump in his throat at the word and kept his eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep. There was a dip at the end of the bed, then little hands poking Ryos' face.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Ryos said, cracking open one eye and peeking up at Noah. His curls were wild and sticking out in every direction, and he already had a smear of raspberry jam on one cheek. "Looks like you had breakfast without me, hey?"

Noah didn't say anything, just gave Ryos a shy smile and tugged at the sleeve of his shirt. Sting sat down next to Ryos on the bed, kissing Ryos' cheek as he pushed himself up and gratefully accepted the coffee Sting handed him.

"We would have let you sleep in later," Sting said apologetically as Ryos yawned. "Noah saw the stockings, though."

Noah pointed to his own sock and then back to the bedroom door, and Ryos smiled fondly at him. "Well, we'd better go see what's in them then, hey?"

Noah wriggled back toward the edge of the bed, looking down at the floor and then gesturing at Sting to pick him up.

"Up?" Sting asked as he stood up and reached out for Noah. "How 'bout you try walking again? Show Papa how we got here?" He lifted Noah up and set him down on the floor, carefully letting go of one of his hands. Noah looked up at Sting with wide eyes, then grinned and let go, stumbling unsteadily out into the hallway.

"He didn't take long to get the hang of that," Ryos commented, standing up and wrapping an arm around Sting's waist. "Your mom's going to be thrilled – you'll have to text her to put away all the breakable stuff."

Sting wiped at his face and Ryos laughed gently, leaning in and kissing his cheek. "Sorry," Sting mumbled. "'m gonna be a mess all day."

"Don't be sorry," Ryos murmured, kissing Sting's cheek. "You know Natsu's gonna cry, too."

Noah was more interested in the stocking itself than what was inside it – some candy and a new book, as well as a squishy octopus plush. He spent the rest of the morning taking out the toys and putting them back into the stocking, then giggling when Sting and Ryos pretended not to know where they'd went.

Eventually, after a nap and a few too many Christmas candies, they ended up at Sting's parents' house. Gray and Natsu's car was already in the driveway when they arrived and Noah lit up when he saw it, pressing his hands against the car window.

"Hey, monster!" Natsu said as Sting wrestled Noah out of his car seat, then carried him to the front door. Natsu leaned the shovel he'd been using against the wall and reached out for Noah, who giggled and wrapped his arms around Natsu's neck.

"How was the morning?" Natsu asked as he shifted Noah onto his hip. The question was directed at Sting as Natsu pulled him into a one-armed hug.

"Not as messy as we were expecting," Ryos said as he hugged Natsu as well.

Noah tugged at the collar of Natsu's jacket and pointed down at the snow that he'd shoveled into a pile by the front walk. Magnolia didn't usually get much, even in December, but it had snowed just enough overnight to dust everything with a festive white glow.

"Snow angels?" Natsu asked, grinning and setting Noah down on the snow pile. Noah laughed and flopped onto his back, spreading his arms out and kicking his feet. "That's more of a snow monster than an angel," Natsu laughed, plopping down next to Noah. "Appropriate for you, though."

"Too!" Noah exclaimed, tugging on Natsu's sleeve until he flopped back into the snow and spread his arms out. Noah laughed, sitting up and grabbing a handful of snow to drop on Natsu's chest.

"Uncle Gray!" Natsu cried, trying to keep in laughter, "Help! I'm being attacked by the snow monster!"

"I dunno," Gray teased, coming around the corner from the back yard and crossing his arms over his chest. "I think I should probably let him eat you." Noah grinned at Gray and grabbed another handful of snow, this time putting it in Natsu's hair.

Sting's hand found its way into Ryos' and squeezed tightly, and when Ryos looked over, he could tell that Sting was trying his best not to cry. "He's so happy," Sting said softly.

"I am, too," Ryos murmured, kissing Sting's cheek.

"Up?" Ryos turned back to see Noah pointing at Gray, but when Natsu reached over to help him, Ryos shook his head.

"Let him do it," he said. "Go on, Noah. Go see Uncle Gray."

Noah looked at Natsu, then back at Gray, then slowly pushed himself to his feet and wobbled for a second before grinning and toddling across the lawn toward Gray. Gray crouched down and caught him as he stumbled over the snow, and he wrapped his arms around Gray's neck.

"Told you Natsu would cry," Ryos teased as Natsu sat up and rubbed at his face.

"Shut up," Natsu grumbled, standing up and brushing the snow off his pants. "When did he start walking?"

"Last night," Ryos said. "We would have called you, but Sting thought it would be a nice surprise."

"Daddy!" Noah shouted as he let go of Gray and turned back to Sting and Ryos. He tugged on Gray's mitten, pointing at Sting and repeating, "Daddy."

"You're just full of surprises today, little man," Natsu said, and Ryos could see the look of adoration on his face when Noah let go of Gray and walked back over to him. Natsu scooped Noah up into his arms and kissed his forehead, grinning when Noah rubbed their noses together.

"C'mon," Ryos said, tugging on Sting's hand. "Let's go see your parents."

~

Dinner was chaotic. Lillian, Sting's mom, cooked enough food for twice as many people, and by the time the meal was over, Noah was a mess of cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. Natsu offered to give him a bath, and Ryos and Wes headed downstairs to set up the crib while Gray and Sting helped Lillian with the dishes.

Sting listened to the two of them chat about Lillian's planned renovations for the kitchen as he dried the dishes. The room was filled with a warm glow from the Christmas tree in the living room, and the remnants of everyone's stockings were strewn across the couch. The activity board that Natsu and Gray had made for Noah leaned against one of the walls, while the rest of his toys from Wes and Lillian were pushed to the corner of the room.

Sting didn't realize he was crying until Gray took his hand.

"What's wrong?" Gray asked.

Sting shook his head, wiping at his face and squeezing Gray's hand. "It's fine—I'm not... it's okay. We just..." He took a deep breath, looking over Gray's shoulder at the picture above the fireplace. It was of him and Ryos, both of them gazing adoringly at Noah, who was looking seriously at the camera.

"Hey, love." Ryos appeared at the entrance to the kitchen, with Natsu and Wes not far behind them. "He's asleep."

"What's going on?" Wes asked, frowning. Natsu grinned at Sting from behind Ryos – he and Gray already knew, but Sting had wanted to wait for Christmas to tell his parents.

"We got a date for the hearing," Sting said, looking over at his mom. "End of March. Kylie signed the paperwork."

"You mean—"

"We're adopting Noah," Ryos said, reaching out and taking Sting's other hand.

"Oh, sweetheart," Lillian said, pulling Sting into a tight hug and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Sting could feel her trying to hold in her tears and he laughed wetly, hugging her back. "I can't believe my baby is a dad."

"We're so proud of you," Wes said, wrapping an arm around Ryos and pulling Sting into the embrace. He motioned for Natsu to join them and for a moment they all held each other in the kitchen, laughing and sharing in the joy.

Sting closed his eyes, breathing shakily as relief flowed through him. Kylie, Noah's birth mother, had originally intended to reunite with him, but two weeks ago she had informed the social worker that she was willing to sign the paperwork that let Sting and Ryos become Noah's legal parents instead. They were keeping the adoption open with her – tentatively, if she could get clean and be a safe person in his life – but now the little boy they'd been taking care of for nearly a year now was going to be theirs. Forever.

"I'm going to be a grandma," Lillian said, wiping at her face as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"You were already a grandma," Ryos said gently. "You're all already his family – you have been since we first brought him home. This just makes it official."

"Well, I think we have another bottle of champagne in the freezer," Wes said, finally pulling away from the group hug. Sting nearly started crying again at the sight of tears in his father's eyes, too. "I think we need to celebrate."

As everyone crowded out of the kitchen and back to the living room to find the champagne glasses, Ryos grabbed Sting's hands and pulled him close. "You okay?" he asked gently.

"Yeah," Sting said, laughing through his tears. "Yeah, I am." He pulled Ryos into a soft kiss, sweet and gentle and full of the promise of new things. "I love you," he whispered. "Merry Christmas."