let me be your haven

1. first impressions

"I'm Sting and I'm five."

Natsu frowned, setting down the fruit he'd been inspecting and looking around for the source of the voice. Eventually there was a tug on his pants, and he looked down to see a little blond boy staring up at him.

"Hey, bud," Natsu said, glancing around the market for the kid's parents. "Are you lost?"

"Nu-uh." Sting shook his head. "You're Natsu! I know 'cause your hair is pink an' I saw you on the screen." He pointed to the enormous lacrima overlooking the market that was showing the highlights from the morning's fights. The Grand Magic Games logo flashed in the bottom corner as Natsu's face filled the screen, brows furrowed in concentration as he tag-teamed against another guild with Gray.

"See?" Sting looked pleased with himself and grinned, and when Natsu saw pointy incisors poking out over his lip, he raised an eyebrow.

"Those are some pretty sharp teeth," he said, flashing his own in a wide smile.

"I'm a dragon slayer too!" Sting said, nearly vibrating with excitement. His eyes were wide and as bright blue as the summer sky, and he had a wild smattering of freckles across his nose. Now that Natsu was looking for it, he could just barely see the pearlescent white sheen of dragon scales that ran from Sting's temples down the sides of his face to his neck.

"You are, huh?" Natsu crouched down next to Sting, who bounced on the balls of his feet. The scales were similar to Natsu's own, and he had the faint scent of draconic magic, but Natsu only knew two other slayers that had been born with the power – Wendy and Gajeel. It was an incredibly rare power, and something about the situation didn't feel quite right.

"What kind of dragon slayer?" he asked as he tried to pick out what was masking the dragon scent. There was something else, something familiar that faded away each time he tried to remember it.

"A brave one!" Sting grinned. "Like you! An' when I'm big I'm gonna win too 'cause I'm super strong. Me an' Rogue!"

"Rogue?"

Sting turned to stare at the soft shadow of the fruit stand that spread out in the afternoon sun and put his hands on his hips. "Rooooogue," he grumbled, poking it with his toe. "Come out!" The shadow wobbled. "Please?"

Natsu frowned as the shadow on the ground shifted, coalescing as it rose and forming into another small child. They were thin and lean where Sting was still round and baby-faced, with long dark hair that hung in front of their face. It didn't quite conceal their own scales – dark where Sting's were light.

"That's Rogue!" Sting said brightly, grabbing Rogue's hand as they shifted uncertainly. "They're shy. But they're my best friend. Who's your best friend?"

Natsu laughed at Sting's wild exuberance. "Uh, probably Gray," he admitted.

"Gray is your best friend?" Sting asked, eyes wide as he pulled Rogue closer to him. Natsu nodded. "You did a fight with him today! He's super strong. But not as strong as you 'cause you're the strongest."

"Is that so?"

Another shadow appeared behind Natsu followed by a chill breeze and the scent of peppermint. He looked up to see Gray standing above him, arms crossed over his chest with an amused look on his face.

"Hey, he's only speaking he truth," Natsu said, grinning and pushing himself to his feet. Gray rolled his eyes. "This is Sting and Rog—"

"Can you make anything out of ice?" Sting interrupted, taking a step forward and staring up at Gray.

"Yeah, I guess so?" Gray said. "As long as I know what it looks like."

"Can you make a snake?"