Gray's grandparents arrive, and Gray's grandmother teaches him what their holiday is all about.

-----

The trip to the train station was surprisingly uneventful. Freed and Laxus stayed back at the house to finish cooking, so it was just Gray and the dragons. Natsu and Sting rode happily on his shoulders, while Rogue slept in his pocket. Soft flakes of snow drifted down around them, and Sting spent most of the trip trying to catch them in midair.

The train station was packed. Gray made sure to keep the dragons close as he nudged his way through the crowd, occasionally standing on his tiptoes to see over everyone's heads.

"Nilaaqu!"

The familiar nickname broke through the noise and jumble, and Gray felt his heart lighten when he saw Anaa nudging her way through the crowd toward them. Ataa followed close behind with their wolfdog Qinmiq, who looked very unimpressed by her leash.

"Aulhit, Anaa," Gray said, pulling his grandmother into a hug and kissing her cheek. She returned the gesture, laughing when Sting and Natsu both nuzzled her. "How was the trip?"

"Very fast!" Ataa said, moving in and grinning at Gray. He looked like he was about to say something else, but Qinmiq pushed past him, tail wagging frantically as she headbutted Gray's legs. He laughed, crouching down and scratching behind her ears as she licked his cheeks.

"I missed you too," he reassured her. Sting made a pleased sound, clambering down Gray's shoulder and over Qinmiq's head, which was nearly twice the size of him. He settled down on her back, kneading her scruff happily as he started to purr. "And Sting missed you, too."

Qinmiq gave Gray a soft woof, seemingly unperturbed by the sudden passenger on her back.

"Trouble again," Ataa said, holding out his hand to Natsu, who chittered and rubbed his head against Ataa's fingers. "You are being good?"

Natsu cocked his head to the side, eyes wide and innocent, and Gray rolled his eyes. "They haven't broken anything yet," he said in Isvanian. "But it's only been one day. Bad timing, I guess."

Ataa shook his head, holding out his hand for Natsu to clamber onto. "He is trouble," Ataa admitted as Natsu scrambled up into his hood. "But cute trouble." He raised his eyebrows at Gray and gave him a conspiratorial smile. "Both the dragon and the boy, yes?"

Gray felt his cheeks flush pink and he quickly turned away from his grandfather.

"Come on," he said, taking Anaa's arm and gesturing to the station exit. "Let's go home."

~

As soon as they returned to the house, Natsu and Rogue jumped down and bolted toward the living room.

"Stay out of the tree!" Gray shouted as he kicked off his boots and reached out to take Ataa and Anaa's coats. The lack of jingling ornaments or rustling branches in the living room was reassuring.

Sting, who had fallen asleep on Qinmiq's back, yawned and stretched out his front legs, kneading her fur and then hopping down to the ground. He nipped at her front paw and scrambled backward, tail flicking back and forth.

"Not in the house, love," Gray said regretfully, nudging Sting with his foot. Sting sat on his haunches and stared up at Gray with wide, sad eyes. "Don't look at me like that. Qinmiq's too big." Sting whined and pawed at Gray's leg.

Qinmiq walked over to Sting and, very gently, picked him up in her mouth by his scruff. He made an indignant sound but didn't struggle as she carried him into the living room.

"Hau'utan!" Anaa's face brightened into a smile when Freed stepped out of the kitchen, wiping their hands on their apron. Gray smiled at the affectionate name – Ataa had told him that it translated loosely to 'one adopted into the family.'

"Aulhit," Freed said in perfectly accented Isvanian as Anaa pulled them into a hug. "Ut Aulanmuuq."

"You learn so fast," Anaa replied, pulling back and smiling as she took both of Freed's hands. "What are you making?" Before Freed could answer, Anaa gestured to Gray and Ataa and added, "I will help – those two are no good. Come."

Freed laughed and shrugged at Gray as they followed Anaa back into the kitchen. Gray rolled his eyes, gesturing for Ataa to come into the living room. Natsu, Laxus and Rogue were playing under the tree while Qinmiq was curled up in front of the fireplace with Sting tucked between her front paws. He appeared to have accepted the lack of playtime and was snuggled up against her instead.

"This is for what?" Ataa asked in heavily accented Fioran. He was pointing to a set of three small glass dishes that sat on the mantle above the fireplace. Each had a flame in the center that seemed to burn with no fuel.

"It's for Nev'dya," Gray explained. "Like Aulanmuuq. But for the dragons." He switched to Isvanian. "They're supposed to burn for three nights, to represent the three months of..." He hesitated, unsure of the word for 'hibernation.' "Dragons sleep for the winter, for three moons."

Ataa nodded, staring at the magical flames, then turned and pointed to the tree. "This, too?"

Gray shook his head. "No, that's for Winter Veil." Ataa raised an eyebrow and Gray laughed. "It's Fioran. A winter celebration – like Aulanmuuq, too."

"There are many celebrations," Ataa said as he settled down on the couch. Rogue, who had taken over a corner of the sofa, squeaked indignantly when Gray picked him up and took his place. His huffing was easily soothed by a gentle finger running along his muzzle, and his disgruntled sounds soon turned to a quiet purr.

"Do you remember Aulanmuuq?" Ataa asked.

Gray tipped his head back and forth. "A little. Amaamak made utqaa." He gestured to the wreaths of holly and iceberries that were set along the coffee table. "I remember visiting you. Paappak cooked a... sweet bread? And there were lights."

Ataa nodded, a warm smile crossing his wrinkled face at the mention of his son and daughter-in-law. "Yes, all of those," he said. "But the most important thing about Aulanmuuq is stories."

Gray was about to ask him what he meant when Natsu poked his head out from under the tree. Something bright green was held in his teeth, and it took Gray a second to realize that it was one of the bulbs from the string of lights.

"Natsu, drop it."

Natsu stared at Gray, flicking his tail so it hit the tree branches and knocked pine needles to the ground. He kept the light in his mouth, growling around it at Laxus as he approached.

"I said drop it," Gray said, giving Natsu a stern look. "What did I say about being good?"

Natsu's gaze moved over to Ataa, then back to Laxus, who was still approaching slowly. Sting popped his head up from his spot between Qinmiq's paws, watching Laxus and Natsu curiously.

Before the three of them could start a fight over the bulb, Gray reached back behind the couch and pulled out a small basket. It was filled with brightly-colored toys, and he dug around in it until he found what he was looking for – a small rubber toy in the shape of a fish.

"Trade you," he offered, holding out the toy. Natsu's eyes lit up and he scampered across the room, dropping the light and grabbing the fish from Gray's hand. "Good boy," Gray said, scratching Natsu's head as he grabbed the bulb.

"They play much," Ataa said as the other dragons immediately hopped up onto Gray and started sniffing the basket. "The toys keep them busy."

"For a while," Gray agreed, nudging the dragons away and searching through the basket for their favorite toys. He and Freed had taken up sewing a few months ago after too many pairs of socks were destroyed by the dragons, and the toys had proved surprisingly effective in keeping them out of trouble.

He pulled out a small plastic ball and shook it, handing it to Laxus once the lights in it started blinking. Rogue happily took a plush toy in the shape of a coffee mug that was stuffed with real coffee beans – Gray had been relieved that it was enough to mostly keep him away from the coffee machine.

Sting waited patiently, tail wagging back and forth, and made a pleased sound when Gray found his favorite toy. He took the small stuffed bumblebee gently in his teeth, immediately curling up on Gray's lap next to Rogue with it tucked under his chin.

"At least you don't destroy things," Gray said, scratching behind Sting's ears and setting the basket on the floor. "Unlike somebody." He looked over at Natsu, who was lying on his back and happily kicking at the rubber fish. All the stuffed toys they'd made for him had ended up ripped to pieces, and Gray had eventually switched to something sturdier.

Laxus approached the couch with the ball in his mouth, looking between Gray and Ataa before dropping it at Ataa's feet.

"It wants what?" Ataa asked as Laxus looked at him expectantly.

"Throw it."

Ataa leaned down to pick up the ball, studying it for a moment before tossing it gently across the floor. Laxus darted after it, batting it around a few times before picking it up in his teeth and bringing it back to Ataa. He hopped up onto the couch and dropped it in Ataa's lap, wagging his tail until Ataa threw it for him again.

Rogue and Sting cuddled together on Gray's lap, both happily chewing on their toys as they watched Ataa and Laxus play fetch. The weight of them against Gray was comforting – he could feel their heartbeats fluttering under his fingertips as he petted them, and the rise and fall of their backs with each soft breath.

"So," Ataa said as he watched Laxus scramble under the Christmas tree. "Tell me of Winter Veil."

~

The rest of the afternoon went by peacefully. Natsu attempted to climb the tree at one point, but a stern look from Ataa managed to convince him to come down and cuddle instead. Qinmiq played gently with Sting, letting him gnaw on the end of the rope that Ataa had brought for her.

Eventually Gray and Ataa were called to set the table, which Freed and Anaa quickly filled with food. There was honey spice bread, roast pheasant with wild mushrooms, black beans and rice, and the iceberry wine that Anaa and Ataa had brought from Isvan. The dragons weren't allowed on the table, so they settled down underneath it instead, and Gray caught Ataa sneaking pieces of meat to them when he thought nobody was looking.

"This one is a good cook," Anaa said to Gray, gesturing to Freed as they passed her the bread. "You can learn from them. No more eating qu'ahq." Gray raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar word. "Not good food," Anaa explained. "Garbage."

Gray laughed, thinking of her horror when she and Ataa has first visited and found his kitchen full of dry noodles and frozen vegetables.

"I'll try, Anaa," he promised.

"You keep him honest," Anaa said to Freed, who nodded. "You will tell me if he eats bad food."

Gray and Ataa cleaned the kitchen after supper while Anaa and Freed braided the last of the holly and iceberry strands into the utqaa. When Gray and Ataa were done the dishes and returned to the living room, Freed was stoking the fire with Natsu sitting by their side. Natsu watched the flames, occasionally snapping at a wayward spark and eagerly swallowing it down.

"Come," Anaa said to Gray, gesturing to the floor in front of the couch. She had pushed the coffee table out of the way and set up an unfamiliar, complicated wooden contraption in its place. Gray settled down cross-legged across from Anaa, frowning at the device. Anaa opened a cloth sack full of skeins of dyed wool and the dragons were immediately at her side, curiously nosing at the bag.

"Shoo," she said, nudging them away. "This is not for you." Then she turned back to Gray. "This is a loom," she said, gesturing to the wooden device. "And we are making a story."

He recalled Ataa's earlier words about Aulanmuuq, but none of this seemed familiar.

"A story?"

"Yes."

Before Gray could ask what she meant, she reached across the loom and took both of his hands in her own. The dragons watched curiously as she guided Gray's fingers to the cords that were strung across the frame.

"Stories can be told in many ways," Anaa said, squeezing his hands. "Aulanmuuq is about telling those stories. Some of them must be kept, some must be let go, but all of them must be shared." She let go of his hands and took the bag from her lap, holding it open for him. "You choose."

He stared at the strands of dyed wool. The bright red was nearly the same color as Natsu, and it seemed to shimmer in the light of the fire. One skein was a soft mix of black and white, and another a bright blue. Gray frowned, reaching out and running his fingers over the wool until he found one in a soft, pale blue. The color of the sky in winter.

"This is your story," Anaa said as she took the wool and began to show Gray how to weave it into the loom. "Tell me where it begins."

~

They wove late into the night. At first Gray's fingers felt clumsy next to Anaa's, but after a while Ataa joined them, helping Gray thread the wool and pull it into patterns. They changed colors whenever Gray felt like it, switching back and forth between nearly every color in the bag.

Freed brought out tea at one point that tasted like cinnamon and honey, and Anaa gestured for them to join Gray as well. Gray somehow knew which threads to pass to Freed, which belonged to Anaa, and which went to Ataa. Qinmiq moved closer and all of the dragons curled up against her, uncharacteristically quiet as they watched the tapestry unfold.

They were halfway through a skein of rich, green wool when Gray knew it was finished. Anaa smiled at him, taking the wool and cutting it off before weaving in the ends.

"What do you think?" she asked once the tapestry was off the loom and in Gray's hands.

He stared at it, running his fingers across the colors as a warm, content sensation swelled in his chest. It was his story. It started with the winter sky, with white and gold and a soft pink for his childhood. The colors changed abruptly to a mix of deep red and black, an angry mess with several snags. Then white again, then pink – nearly the color of Natsu's hair. The white and black came later, then green for the northern lights, and a soft, warm orange for Anaa and Ataa and Qinmiq.

The dragons, who had fallen asleep on Qinmiq by this point, stretched and blinked awake. They meandered over to Gray, sniffing the fabric curiously.

"That's you," Gray said to Sting, running his fingers over the soft white. Sting rubbed his face against it, then curled up in Gray's lap and started to purr. Natsu and Rogue continued to sniff it, somehow finding their own colors and copying Sting's gesture.

"They are smart," Ataa said from his spot on the couch. Freed was next to him, fast asleep against the pillows with Laxus curled up on their chest. "They know stories."

"Thank you," Gray said quietly, looking up at Anaa. She held out her arms to him and he leaned into the embrace, feeling content in a way that he hadn't since he was small.

"There is nothing to thank me for," Anaa said. She kissed Gray's forehead and touched his tapestry with loving fingers. "This was all you. Your story has been long and difficult, but you are here now." She tapped the deep green at the end. "This is for growth. For new possibilities and beginnings, for being open to love and change. For family."

Gray ran his fingers over the colors. He didn't have to search anymore. The piece of him that had always longed for more, that missed his mother and father, that felt broken and alone – it was whole again. He would never forget his parents, would always love them fiercely, but the deep wound he'd carried for so many years was slowly fading to a shallow, soft pain that he could easily carry.

Gray looked around the room – at Laxus sleeping on Freed, at Ataa's warm smile, at the dragons in his own lap and Anaa's soft hands on his. They were all bathed in the warm glow of the fire and the Winter Veil lights from the tree, surrounded by the Aulanmuuq utqaa, full of the Nev'dya food prepared with care and love.

"You have many celebrations," Anaa said. "And many things to love."

Gray nodded as the soft warm spread through him – a deep sense of belonging, a certainty that this was love. This was home. It was messy and chaotic, and wild and unpredictable, but he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world

"Yeah," Gray said as he rested his head against his grandmother's shoulder and watched his family. "Yeah, I do."

------

Isvanian Translations
*language is made up but is inspired by inuinnaqtun*

Nilaaqu - little bear
Aulhit - hello
Hau'utan - one who is adopted into the family
Ut Aulanmuuq - the Isvanian version of 'happy holidays'
Utqaa - wreaths of holly and iceberries

happy holidays to everyone, no matter what you celebrate (or if you aren't at all)! this is a weird year but hopefully you find something that brings you joy and are able to hold it close 3