Instinct

Summary: Dragons are intelligent, sentient beings, but even they have instincts they can't ignore, not that they'd want to. It only made sense that their children would have them too. Family, Not Romance, btw Gajeel, Natsu, and Wendy, mentions of other characters and couples: GaLe, NaLu, and RoWe, etc

AN: I luv Dragon Slayers and their bonds with their dragons, and I acknowledge that Dragon Slayers are human, but not exactly, and that they all have different 'instincts' like Natsu hoarding his memories for example or all of them eating their elements.

So I've been holding onto the idea of instincts that the Dragon Slayers will have as well as responses, etc, and these will be drabbles that I'll update every so often when the idea hits. I've got themes ideas, I'll just need the meat of the story to finish them. This is a prologue, and I won't always do little flicks of all three but rather one story for each theme.

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"Gajeel?" Levy asked, glancing at her boyfriend curiously.

They were by the stream that was comfortably nestled behind Fairy Tail. Levy was sitting in the water, keeping cool as it rushed through her; Gajeel was lying on a large stone, seeming to be soaking in the sunlight, which was shining down quite harshly that day. Gajeel was also shirtless; his skin coated in his iron armor. It was a normal occurrence that Levy couldn't quite understand. All she knew was that, in the morning, Gajeel was chilled to the bone, and after sunbathing, he was toasty to the touch for the whole day; Levy couldn't really wrap her head around the phenomenon.

Gajeel glanced in her direction. "What is it?" he asked, before turning onto his stomach.

Levy tilted her head. "Why do you do this?" she asked.

"Sunbathing?" Gajeel inquired, flexing his muscles.

Levy almost licked her lips at the tease before catching herself. "Yes," she confirmed. "I mean I don't mind! I'm just curious; I mean you do it everyday, and if you miss it you seem to get into a mood. So I was just wondering what the purpose was."

Gajeel hummed in thought. "Instinct I suppose," he mused. "Dragons aren't like your average lizard but they still retain certain instincts."

"Like regulating your own body heat," Levy said, getting an idea.

Gajeel nodded. "Each dragon does it different," he explained. "Like flame-brain, he's a fire dragon slayer so he doesn't have to bother. I'm an iron dragon slayer; metal holds heat for hours so I just have to sit in the sun for a while and it'll keep me comfortable for the whole day."

"What about Wendy?" Levy asked, mentally writing it down.

Gajeel shrugged. "Beats me," he said, "Sky dragons make their nest in tall towers and trees, they're keep closer to the sun so they don't have to sunbathe but I'm not sure on what the kid does since she's a bit closer to the ground."

"Mm," Levy said, not commenting.

It was silent for a moment and Gajeel relaxed again, resting his head on his hands as his back burned pleasantly under the sun. A second later, Gajeel jumped as suddenly there were rough fingers running through his hair; instantly, out of a slight fear, he jolted away. After all, his iron skin has been baking in the sun for the better part of an hour.

"You're gonna burn yourself!" he barked, looking at Levy's hand but not touching.

Levy laughed and Gajeel was momentarily surprised to see a heat-resistant glove on her hand with the word glove stamped on it. Gajeel silently stared at it moment, mentally gauging its capabilities before begrudgingly lying down again, exposing his weakness to the one he trusted the most. Without hesitation Levy's hand was in his hair again, firmly massaging his scalp, and Gajeel released a pleased sigh.

"Life's good," he thought, rumbling deep in his chest.

~Natsu and Lucy, Magnolia Merchant Corner~

It was noon, a nice, warm day with a gentle cold breeze to cooled Natsu, Lucy, and Happy as they happily commerce through the marketplace, one of Lucy's favorite spots. Lucy and Happy were excitedly running from stall to stall, picking out many ingredients for the potluck that the guild was having that night for Fairy Tail's anniversary; Natsu was walking behind them, a content smile on his face as he watched his favorite people.

Happy and Lucy walked to a fruit stand and began to look through the fruits they could possibly buy. Lucy picked up a basket of strawberries; asking Happy's opinion on them. Natsu discreetly sniffed the air.

"Not those," he said.

The two paused. "Huh?" they asked.

Natsu walked forward, silently observing the produce. "Those strawberries don't smell sweet," he said.

Lucy snorted. "Strawberries are strawberries," she said, going to put it on their cart.

Natsu stopped. "Nu-uh," he disagreed. "Most fruits, including strawberries, will smell sweet when they're ripe."

Natsu sniffed again, searching the baskets until he found one. "These are better," he said, picking it up. "They'll rot faster 'cause they're ripe but they'll probably be gone tonight anyways."

Lucy stared as the strawberries curiously before glancing at Natsu, who blushed at the attention. "What?" he asked.

Lucy smiled. "Help me pick some pineapples then," she said, "How do you know if they're ripe?"

"Aye sir!" Happy suddenly chimed. "Ripe pineapples smell like pineapple and are yellow!"

"Ah!" Natsu confirmed, laughing.

Lucy smiled and together, they all continued to pick fruit.

"Just like a family," Lucy thought.

~Wendy, a guestroom in the guild~

Wendy frowned, staring at the bed in front of her. Of all the times, just minutes before the party, Wendy was struck with indecision on her outfit choice. At first she had had a set outfit to wear, something conservative but cute, but then of course Levy, Lucy, and Cana had decided to drag her clothes shopping. Despite her protest, they had bought her a new outfit. The outfit was beautiful, that was for sure, however it was also a little indecent for someone of her 'age'.

(warning; i have no skills in clothes, you have been warned…)

Said outfit, was a two pieces that went together. The first was a short tanktop that, when worn, would show off her belly button; it was blue with a purple hibiscus flower decorating the middle of the chest. It also exposed some of her back, tying around her neck rather than worn like it, was a long, flowing skirt, in the same shade of blue, with more hibiscus flowers adorning it. It was also cut in the side to expose one of her legs.

Wendy's frown deepened. While this outfit may of been acceptable for the average sixteen year old, and she had no parents to tell her no, she still didn't feel comfortable wearing it without permission. Finally, Wendy picked the outfit up and ran from the guestroom and down the stairs, looking for a certain someone. Finally, she saw him at the bar, talking to Mirajane, with Levy leaning against his chest, and Pantherlily on the counter.

"Gajeel-san!" she called, announcing her presence.

The four looked towards her. "What is it kid?" he asked, looking over Levy's head.

"May I wear this?" she asked, holding the outfit up.

Mirajane, Pantherlily, and Levy glanced at each other in confusion and Gajeel started before sighing, shaking his head slightly. The curse of being the 'oldest' among 'siblings' by trade. Gajeel huffed; either way, it fell on him.

Wendy remained silent, hoping she didn't show her want to wear the clothes, as Gajeel studied them closely. After a moment, Gajeel looked at her.

"Open your mouth," he ordered calmly.

Wendy didn't hesitate to comply, tilting her head and opening her mouth, lifting her lip slightly so her teeth were exposed. Gajeel studied those as well, ignoring Levy's questioning look before he heaved a sigh and nodded.

"Yeah kid you can wear it," he conceded.

Wendy squealed in excitement. "Thank you Gajeel-san!" she beamed, and turned to leave.

"Wait," Gajeel interrupted and she paused. "You can wear it on the condition that you only wear earrings and no makeup. That's my deal!" he barked.

"Yes sir!" Wendy agreed and ran upstairs.

Gajeel watched her before turning back to his conversation; he squawked and blushed in embarrassment at the lovey-dovey looks he was receiving from Levy and Mirajane.

"Awe Gajeel you're such a cute big brother!" Mirajane gushed.

"Kawaii!" Levy agreed.

"Cute," Lily grumbled.

"Shut up!"

End!

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And there's the prologue! Enjoy and quiver in your seats for the next drabble!

Ps. I don't know Gajeel, Natsu, or Wendy's age, appearance wise! I know they've been frozen in time for decades and such but how old are they by appearance. If you know it or have a guess then a review would be nice!

Ja ne~