Big Brother Igneel:

"Mommy! Daddy!" three tiny voices called from outside the cabin.

Natsu opened the door and stepped onto the porch. There stood Mest, looking absolutely done with life. Igneel was seated on his shoulder, tugging on his hair. Layla was set on his hip, bouncing up and down, and Nashi was clung to his leg.

"Please get your kids off me," Mest grumbled.

Natsu hardly needed to do anything. The minute the three kids saw him they jumped off Mest and ran straight towards him. Mest left the minute he was free of the Dragneel kids clutches, unceremoniously dumping their bags on the porch steps.

"Daddy!" they all cheered.

"Hey!" Natsu bent down and held his arms out for his kids, who ran straight into them. Natsu hugged them closed.

"There you are Firecracker!" Natsu said as he kissed Nashi's cheek.

"Daddy!" Layla said throwing her arms around his neck.

"And Layla, my little Stardust," Natsu said as he rubbed his nose against Layla's and then kissed her forehead.

"DADDY!" Igneel shouted, grabbing onto his ears and hair and tugging on them.

"Whoa!" Natsu said as he pried Igneel's hands of him. "Easy, Sparks, you're gonna tear my face in half," he said as he ruffled Igneel's hair.

"Daddy, why you stay away so long?" Igneel asked, crossing his arms.

"We were waiting until Mommy had the babies," Natsu explained.

"Can we see the babies? Please, please, please, please!" Layla begged, jumping up and down in place excitedly.

"Sure c'mon," Natsu said as he stood up and led the children inside, gathering their bags as they climbed up the porch steps.

The three kids went bounding straight back to the bedroom.

"Mommy!"

"Sh!" Lucy held a finger to her mouth as she lay propped up on her elbow, Kyri and Luna still asleep next to her.

Nashi reached the bed first, face breaking out into a smile as she cautiously climbed up onto the bed. Layla was next, holding a hand to either side of her face and squeeing.

"AW! They're so cute!"

"Lemme see, lemme see!" Igneel fussed as he pushed past his two sisters and practically jumped onto the bed.

"Igneel, be careful," Lucy scolded.

"Why they so small?" Igneel asked, cocking his head to one side.

"All babies are small at first, " Lucy giggled. "Nashi, Layla, Igneel, these are your little sisters, Luna and Kyri."

"Both sisters!?" Igneel crossed his arms. "Aw, man!" He hung his head and pouted, sticking his bottom lip out. "I wanted a brother!"

"Yeah, I know," Natsu said, ruffling Igneel's hair. "But look at it this way, now you'll be the only one to have a room all to yourself. And you won't have to share any of your clothes."

"I don't care, I wanted a brother!" Igneel whined. "Why'd you have to make 'em both girls?"

Nashi let out an agitated sighed. "They don't get to choose what the babies are going to be, you noodle-head."

"But why not?"

"That's just not how it works," Nashi answered.

Igneel frowned and looked up at Natsu. "Can you make trade one out?"

"That's not how it works either!" Nashi shouted.

"Well, I like them!" Layla said crossing her arms and turning her nose up at Igneel. She then smiled brightly as she turned back to Lucy. "Can I hold 'em?"

"Me too?" Nashi asked.

Igneel just huffed and slipped out of the bedroom to pout on the porch. "This stinks!"

Lucy watched him go, concerned.

"I'll talk to him," Natsu said as he followed after their son.

"Can we hold them?" Layla asked again.

"Sure, c'mere," Lucy said as she sat up and patted her lap. As Layla crawled towards her mother Lucy scooped Kyri up and passed her to Nashi.

"Mind her head," she said as Nashi cradled Kyri close against her, smiling ear to ear.

"Which one is this?" Nashi asked.

"That one's Kyri."

Nashi smiled down at her little sister. "Hi, Kyri."

Kyri grunted in her sleep as she squirmed about to adjust in her sister's arms.

Lucy smiled at them as Layla crawled into her lap and she picked Luna up.

"And this one's Luna," she said as she set Luna in Layla's lap, adjusting her arms to cradle the baby in a safe and harmless manner.

Layla's eyes brightened as Luna snuggled close to her.

"She's so cute!"

"She is, isn't she?" Lucy agreed.

"Can I give her a kiss?" Layla asked.

"Of course you can," Lucy said.

Layla's smile widened even more as she kissed Luna's forehead.

Nashi smiled as she watched, still rocking Kyri. "I don't know what Igneel's problem is," she whispered to the baby in her arms. "I think you guys are great."

Kyri let out a grunt.

"Same," Nashi giggled.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Igneel," Natsu called as he stepped onto the porch.

Igneel was seated upon the steps arms crossed.

"Hey, c'mon," Natsu said softly as he sat down next to his son. "It's not that bad."

"But how come I've got to be the only boy?" Igneel asked.

"I dunno, that's just how it panned out," Natsu answered.

"No fair!" Igneel pouted. "You sure you and Mommy can't just make another baby and make it a boy?"

"Don't you think we've got enough kids in the house with five of you?" Natsu asked with a nervous chuckle.

Igneel grumbled under his breath and went back to crossing his arms.

"Hey, c'mon, being the only boy isn't the end of the world. Like I said, you won't have to share as much as your sisters will. And you'll have plenty of experience with girls so it'll make it easier for you to get a girlfriend when you're older."

"ICK! Daddy, that's gross!" Igneel cringed.

Natsu chuckled and ruffled his hair. "I know you're disappointed but you'll get over it."

"No I won't!"

"Yeah, you will. And y'know, Luna and Kyri will need a good big brother to look out for them…"

"Why?" Igneel asked, now slightly interested.

"Well, they're still really little. And all the other kids are bigger than them. They need someone to make sure the rest of the kids don't get too rough with them."

"Eh, they smarter than that," Igneel shrugged, still looking glum.

"You might be surprised," Natsu said.

Igneel didn't say anything so Natsu continued.

"You already take good care of Nashi and Layla, so I know you'll be good to Luna and Kyri. Maybe that's why they both were girls. We don't need another boy because you're already such a good brother."

"Nashi doesn't need me to protect me. She's too cool," Igneel insisted.

"Even cool people need protecting sometimes."

"Uh-uh."

"Sure they do. And what about Layla?"

Igneel thought for a minute. "Well, Lorelle can be pretty mean to her so I guess I gotta protect her from that."

"See, what if Lorelle tries to be mean to the babies?"

"She's not that mean!" Igneel exclaimed. "Who's mean enough to pick on babies?"

"Again, you'd be surprised," Natsu sighed.

Igneel drew his knees to his chest, resting his chin upon them, a contemplative look on his face. Natsu smiled softly as he watched him. Something he'd told Igneel had struck home. Maybe it would be enough to fight through the disappointment. Natsu set his arm around Igneel's shoulders and held him close.

"And, hey, you're not the only boy. You've still got me to hang out with."

"Can we go do something without the girls, Daddy?" Igneel asked, hopeful.

"Sure, we can go fishing once we get home."

"Yay! When are we going home?"

"In nine days."

"Aw, man! That's so long!"

"It'll go fast," Natsu promised.

Igneel grumbled again, but leaned his head against his dad. Natsu wrapped his other arm around his son. "You're gonna be fine, Sparks."

"Eh."

"You will be."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Wee! Wee! Wee!" Igneel called as he "flew" a stuffed yellow dragon over a set of wooden figurines in the floor of the living room. "KABOOM!" He knocked the wooden figures over, scattering them all over the place.

"I win again. And the bad guys...oh, where the big bad guy go?" Igneel crawled along, looking for one figurine in particular that had a giant hat on it. "Oh, there you are!" he said once he found it under the couch. "Come back her you stinker!"

"Mew. Mew."

Igneel picked his head up at the sound, bumping it on the coffee table. "Ouch!"

"Mew."

Igneel stood up, rubbing his head, walking into the bedroom. Kyri was awake, pumping her limbs in the air.

"Oh, it's you," Igneel said as a bright light burst through the window. Igneel ran over to it and peeked out.

"Oh, cool!" he cheered when he saw Nahi and their father practicing their fire magic behind the cabin. He began to run back to the front door so he could go outside and watch them when.

"Mew. Mew...WAH! WAH! WAH!"

Igneel froze in spot and turned around as Kyri kept crying, loudly.

"WAH! WAH!"

"Um…" Igneel shuffled in place. "Um...Mommy? Mommy? The babies are crying!" There was no answer.

"WAH! WAH! WAH!"

"Mew. Mew. Wah! Wah!" Luna joined in the crying as well.

"Uh…" Igneel scratched the back of his head as he tiptoed to the side of the bed and peaked over. Both babies were practically sobbing. Why were they sad? Did something bad happen?

"Hey, why you crying?" Igneel asked. The babies didn't answer, of course they didn't, they were babies.

Igneel hoisted himself onto the bed and crawled over to them.

"Hey, what's the matter?" he asked.

Kyri opened her eyes and looked at him, whimpering as she reached for him and kept crying. Igneel looked from side to side, what was he supposed to do?

"Wah! Wah!"

"Uh…" Igneel reached out and began to pat Kyri's head. "There, there."

Kyri blinked and rubbed clumsily at her face. Oh, right, she had tears on her face. Of course she did, she was crying. Igneel carefully began wiping the away with his finger.

"There, that better?" he asked.

Kyri grabbed onto his finger with both hands. Igneel blinked. Wow, she really was tiny! Kyri stuck his finger into her mouth and began sucking on it.

"Hey, stop," Igneel said, pulling his hand away. Kyri began crying again.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to make you said again," Igneel said, smoothing her hair. That seemed to quiet her down a bit. Luna was still crying, though.

Igneel wiped her tears away, the same as he'd done with Kyri, and began smoothing her hair. Luna also quieted down. Igneel actually smiled. They were really cute! And small! And kinda nice. Maybe having two more sisters wasn't going to be so bad. They seemed to like him, they stopped crying when he showed up. It wasn't really their fault they were girls. He shouldn't be mad at them. They seemed okay all things considered. And, yeah, he was their big brother. Someone had to take care of them. Might as well be him.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Lucy sighed as she rubbed her hair with a towel. Taking a hot bath was exactly what she needed. She stretched and took a deep breath before taking off her robe, putting on her pajamas, and walking out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. She gasped at the sight awaiting her, clasping a hand to her chest as a smile played on her face.

The front door opened and Natsu walked in, covered in soot and ash and smelling like smoke, and equally dirty Nashi following behind him. Layla skipped along behind her big sister, a bouquet of wildflowers in her hands.

"Alright, you girls go-" Natsu began, but Lucy turned to him and held a finger to her lips.

"Sh!" she whispered before gesturing for him to come close.

Natsu's brow furrowed in curiosity as he walked to his wife's side and peeked into the bedroom where she was pointing. His heart ached at the sight before him.

Igneel laid in the bed between Kyri and Luna, one arm around each sister. Kyri was clutching onto one of his fingers. Luna hand both of her arms set on top of Igneel's hand. All three children were sound asleep.

"I guess he finally warmed up to having two little sisters," Natsu said, leaning against the door frame.

"Yeah," Lucy said, leaning her head on Natsu's shoulder. He set an arm around his shoulder.

Nashi and Layla ran up behind their parents and peaked into the room, smiling.

"I guess Igneel's not as big of a stinker as we thought he was," Layla said.

"Nah, he still stinks," Nashi shook her head, making her parents laugh.

"Yeah, well, at least he's turning out to be a good big brother after all," Lucy said.

"Told ya he would be," Natsu nodded, smiling at his boy. Luna and Kyri had nothing to worry about as long as Igneel was there.