DOUBLE UPDATE: read 14 first. Ten introspective drabbles.

1.

Of all the suitors Lucy Heartfilia ever had, Natsu is only one who has realized he is really, truly, irrevocably in love with her. She is his own personal person to protect, because he was the one that found her. For her smile, he will do anything, anything at all. He will give her the world if she would just say the word. And that's what scares him, because he is possessive to a fault and he knows that if she left, cut off that one beam of sunshine, he might very well hurt a lot of his other nakama. That was why he hadn't followed up on his claims of girlfriend; he was scared of what this new territory implied. Her response to what he thought a foolproof wedding certainly hadn't helped.

2.

Gajeel nods and smirks (the Iron Dragon Slayer would never nod and smile) at the way everyone assumes that he had agreed to the "Lucy-contest" to make Levy jealous, now that he spends barely any time with the former and instead with the latter. She is sweet and kind and caring. He is rough and mean and sadistic. He hadn't thought he deserved her. He hadn't realized he was being masochistic, either, until one cosplaying blonde talked some sense into him.

3.

Just because Lucy wiped every memory of every horrible second beneath the ground of that terrible, terrible island, shoved the soggy mess into a locked box and threw away the key, doesn't mean that she doesn't have terrifying, tremor-inducing, sweat-soaked nightmares replaying those events, minus the few good parts, like Laxus, every night and wake before dawn every morning wishing that someone was there to hold her and love her, and cursing Natsu for not breaking in in the middle of the night. Sometimes she's lucky, and she has the energy to grab her keys and summon Loke. It was this that he became a protective older brother to her.

4.

Mavis knows the most of the coming events than anyone else, and she despises the fact she is well and dead or she would bathe the world in the light of Fairy Law, just see if anyone would dare harm her fairies after that. She also despises her inherent desire to play God, much like one death-mage is currently doing. Not, that she despises the death-mage himself, or his goals. She can relate, after all. She just hates his methods, because the last she wants is for anyone to sacrifice themselves for her guild. Other than her, of course, but it was bit too late for that.

5.

Rogue scoffs inwardly as the crowd around the betting pool calls his actions "flirting". He is not flirting. Tigers do not flirt. They lay claim. But that's not what he's doing either. He is hiding like a coward beneath a veneer of subtle sexual advances because he does not dare let her get too close. If she does, if she becomes as important as Frosch in his life, then the chances of his shadow taking over just might skyrocket, like the pulse of his heart when she smiles.

6.

Sting, on the other hand, is thoroughly and utterly confused by the celestial mage. Sure, he didn't completely condone Minerva's actions during the naval battle, but he had still thought that Lucy Heartfilia was shallow little thing. Pretty, maybe, but shallow and flighty. Put on the charm (girls liked roses and compliments, didn't they?), beat Natsu, proceed to lord it over the fiery little bastard. So he might have been an obsessive rival. Then Takrenope happened, and all of a sudden he realized he never wanted to see Lucy so vulnerable, so broken, ever again. That's a main reason he agreed, in the end, to team the Promotion Trials with her. He wasn't done lighting up her world until the shadows in her eyes disappeared, and he meant that quite literally when Rogue had done his little shadow trick in the forest. She was a puzzle box, all confusion and sharp edges and intricate curves (she did have some very nice curves) made of mood swings (though it might have been just her gender) and surprisingly introspective comments and feather-light dance steps, and he would figure her out. He hadn't yet realized this meant she had replaced his obsession over Natsu.

7.

Lucy is Levy's best friend. Jet and Droy were, well, Jet and Droy. They were boys; they simply didn't appreciate the written word. But certain events—concerning guild wars and one well-due teen temper tantrum over power, to be precise—had enlightened her to the fact that perhaps the two bookworms might not be alone. Her theory changed over the course of other events—more guild wars and a time-skip—to the point where she had concocted a series of plans testing her theory involving several favors, leather since he'd just eat the handcuffs, and a lot of alcohol. Then that stupid contest had gone and wrecked her plans and her test subject had accepted. Lucy was still her best friend. Levy understood it wasn't Lucy's fault. But Lucy just wouldn't appreciate the Iron Dragon Slayer the same way she did. Sometime between the chaos of Lucy's and Rogue's bloody return, and the rest of the team's exhausted explanation, Levy realized that her Gajeel was back, and not just physically. She had smiled rather innocently and gone home to oil her leather. It wouldn't crack loudly (and instill the proper amount of terror) otherwise, after all.

8.

Laxus had actually had experience with an actual breathing girlfriend before, until he said something on accident (he didn't remember what, exactly) and she fled, sobbing. It had been a very traumatizing experience for both parties, and he was never going to relive the humiliation of something like that again; the disaster being the last straw in convincing him of his philosophy of strength. Yet he refused to just sit there and take it when Mirajane was teasing him, and babysit Mavis, and the entire Raijinshuu begging him to take down Natsu & Co. So what did he do? Run away. It was becoming a bit of a habit of his, in fact. But, he told himself, he wasn't running away, he was going to get stronger so he could face Lucy better. Nothing to do with the fact he might be forced to follow up on that comment he'd made back when Phantom Lord attacked.

9.

Over the years, Zeref had developed a healthy sense of schizophrenia. Between avoiding whatever crackpot fanbase he had that century, anonymously adding to the grimoire, and exponentially complicated suicide attempts, he found he liked to create personalities of himself in his head, since it meant he wasn't overly concentrating on the spreading circle of death surrounding his physical body, and invariably the personalities would acquire dialogue and mobility. He had, in the year X791, about a hundred seventy three different personalities, ten of whom formed a democratic council re-elected biannually, twenty of whom were the personal secretaries of above-mentioned council, as well as various and sundry other imitations of people he respected, personalities formed for the sole purpose of paying attention to the senses while the Top Ten were engaged in heated debate, and the rare mental equivalent of a class clown. Compared to the chaos that was Fairy Tail, the Zerefs always unanimously voted their sanity, going so far as to argue their higher consciousness.

10.

Jude Heartfilia had died amidst the squalor and wealth of the Heartfilia Konzern. After Lucy (the second), he had seen the way his Layla would act towards him, the way she would look out the window with longing, how she'd go for long, long rides in the forest and not come back for hours, the soft smile she had for Lucy compared to the one she had for him. When she smiled at him, it was fake and brittle. It was a terrified smile that said I'm sorry please hurt me not Lucy, never Lucy. As if he ever would. But then he did (not on purpose!), and she wasn't getting better. And he couldn't—wouldn't—believe he was killing her and he told himself that it was all that stupid mage's fault, whoever he was. So he learned that even the things closest to his heart could be stolen, and he responded by becoming colder and more calculating than ever. He wasn't particularly concerned when Lucy walked out the final time, determined to leave a legacy of his own work and changing his always-fluid plans to accommodate. Heartfilia Konzern continued to grow in political and economic power, until one night an assassin was hired that was strong enough to slip past all of his bodyguards, leaving a scandal for Lucy to find if she ever returned with the rest of the vanished Fairy Tail members. Jude Heartfilia was born with all the luck in the world, and he died without a shred of it.

A/N: yes, this was mostly a filler chapter, but there were some references to explain things (Sting's roses in ch. 9, latest Laxus sighting, no presents after seven years, GaLe versus GaLu). Unfortunately, the rest of the Takrenope arc won't be explained for a while, for those who caught the reference, but as a compromise, the fluff kicks off next chapter with LaLu!

Still taking drabble requests? I mean, no one answered...