Short one shot I thought it was a cute idea. Remember to review at the end.
"Move it old man!"
The little boy tried pushing his father out of the way as they both raced to make it to the master bedroom where Lucy was. Snow was very attached to his mother and wanted to spend every minute with her like she did when he was a little baby. The boy was five now and the attachment only grew stronger.
"You hung out with her all morning now it's my turn!" Gray scooped the boy up into his arms.
"Hey! Put me down!" The light blue haired boy struggled in his fathers strong arms.
"I will if you quit calling me old!" Gray spoke.
"You are! Agh!" Snow tried reaching for the ground.
"We had you at a very young age!" He grumbled.
"Oh what? Fifty four! Ngh!" Snow snapped.
"It was twenty two you smart ass!"
Snow jumped out of his arms and burst through the door where Lucy was. She was in bed snuggling the covers when Snow got under and hugged her.
"W-What's going on here? I heard you two bickering in the hallway," she giggled, hugging the boy.
Gray jumped into bed as well wrapped his arms around Lucy from behind.
"Little brat keeps hogging you," he stated.
"Nuh uh! You do!" Snow protested.
"I couldn't even if I wanted to cause I always find you latched onto her leg!" Gray defended.
"Boys! Enough!" She laughed, slipping out of their grip.
"I think I know how to solve this," she smoothed out her silky light pink night gown as she stood next to the bed.
"Instead of being with me, you both will go out and have a father son day," she said.
"What? I ain't hanging out with that guy!" Snow jumped onto his feet on the bed.
"All this kid ever wants to do is be the monkey on your back!" Gray said, sitting up.
They both looked at each other with a glare while growling.
"It's final! If you two don't bond then I'll be forced to spend the next few days with Jellal and Erza," she crossed her arms.
"NO!" They both said in unison.
"Then get up and get dressed!" She said.
"You only have a few hours until the sun sets so get to it!" She added.
Snow grumbled as he slowly got off the bed and stomped to his room. Lucy sat next to Gray and ran her fingers through his soft hair.
"You and Snow are always fighting with each other..." She sighed.
Gray crossed his arms with a frown on his face as a response.
"Gray that's your son. You should be happy to spend time with him," she made her tone sound soothing and sweet.
"Whatever," he rolled his eyes and got out of bed.
The man threw on a light blue shirt with jeans and sneakers. It was the middle of fall so it was cold out so he decided to take out his black and white abstract hoodie. He walked over to Lucy and gave her a short but sweet kiss before taking off.
"I love you," Lucy said to him sweetly.
He couldn't help, but smile and reply his love. The older man stepped out of his room and found the boy to be sitting on the club wearing a white shirt with navy blue cargo shorts and little black sneakers. He looked exactly like Gray when he was upset, but retained the sweet cheeks Lucy had, which made him look quite adorable when he was upset so it caused him to chuckle a bit.
"Let's go mutt," Gray nodded towards the door.
"Fine old man," Snow said, jumping off the couch.
He was not yet tall enough for his feet to reach the ground when he sat so they always dangled over. He walked in front of Gray as he exited the home. Gray noticed he wasn't wearing a jacket.
"Go back inside and get a jacket. It's cold out," he ordered.
"I'm fine," the boy replied.
"Get it," Gray said more firmly.
"I said I'm fine!" Snow replied angrily.
"Do it Snow!" Gray yelled.
Snow slightly flinched and walked back inside to grab a jacket. When he did he walked back out quietly.
"Thank you," the older man shut the door, locked it and began walking along side his son.
"Any ideas on where to go..." Snow asked in a dull and quiet tone.
"Not really. Don't kids your age go to the arcade or something?" Gray asked.
"I'm not going to the arcade with an old man," Snow replied.
"Fine if you think I'm so old then we'll go to a place where old men go," Gray took his hand and began walking to his destination.
"L-Let go!" Snow tried to yank his hand away.
"Don't fight it," Gray only tightened his grip.
After awhile he gave in and allowed his hand to be held. They walked through the town in awkward silence. They both finally stopped in front of a senior center.
"...oh no," Snow gulped.
"Oh yes," Gray tugged him inside.
They saw people playing cards and bingo and rambling aimlessly. Many of them seemed happy and jolly, but some others looked upset and miserable.
"Why did we come here..." Snow shivered slightly.
"So you can learn what OLD people do," Gray spoke.
He went up to the front desk and explained to the lady that he was teaching a 'life lesson' to his son, which was supposed to get him through to observe the people. She nodded and allowed them to take a seat to watch the bingo game as long as they were quiet and not disruptive. Gray chuckled to himself as he didn't think any of that would work, but was glad. They took a seat and watched the people play.
"B thirty two...B thirty two," a woman said over the microphone in a dull tone.
Snow rolled his eyes and sunk into his chair. This experience was going to be grueling he thought. Gray wasn't having a ball either, but that old man thing had to stop and showing him what old men did was one way to do it. They sat there for a good twenty minutes.
"Hey cheater! You don't got A sixty five!" One man yelled at the other next to him.
"What are you doing looking at my paper!" The other one grumbled.
Snow instantly grew alert to this and smiled a bit. He didn't expect a fight or something to break out in a setting like this. Gray raised an eye brow to this and grew just as interested. A nurse came out and attempted to calm the two men down.
"Wow...so that's what old people do? Looks like something you'd do~" Snow smirked.
Gray's eye brow twitched at that. He stood up and took the boy, storming out of the building.
"Let's just go to the park and be done with it," Gray said.
"Sounds awesome," Snow yanked his hand away and walked with his hands in his pockets.
The two both had their hands in their pockets with the exact same expression on their face. They both thought about finally getting through this horrid day and going back home. Once they got to the park Gray took a seat on a bench while Snow stood there awkwardly.
"Go play," he told the boy as he rested his arms over the bench back rest and crossed his legs guy style.
Snow looked over at the playground and slowly walked to it. Only four other kids were playing on it, which he found a bit awkward since he was alone, but tried to make the best of it. He started by climbing a ladder to get to the monkey bars. He inhaled and exhaled, warming up his hands before grabbing onto the first bar. He quickly grabbed one by one to get through to the other side. Gray witnessed this and was actually impressed at his strength. Always wrestling each other must've given him his impressive power. When he reached the other side he was quite content at his result. He ran over the slide and went down a few times. There were two slides, one was straight down and the other was a twist. He noticed a swing set, but didn't know how to swing. Snow looked over at Gray nervously, but brushed that off.
"I'll teach myself," he concluded.
He grabbed a free seat and sat on it. He held onto the chains and started flinging his legs around to try and gain momentum. He noticed the other kids start to stare at him and giggle, which made him self conscious of himself. He felt embarrassed at the fact that he couldn't swing and just stopped, looking down at the ground. Gray took notice of this and sighed. He stood up and made his way over to the boy.
"You need to swing your legs back and forth buddy," he informed softly, placing his hands on his knees to get more on his level.
Snow looked up at him with a sad innocent look.
"That's it?" He asked.
"Let me get you going and then you'll take it from there alright?" Gray spoke.
When Snow nodded slowly he got behind him and pulled on the chains as he took a few steps back and released him. The swing swayed back and forth gently and Gray started pushing him.
"Do what I told you!" He informed.
Snow was hesitant at first, but quickly started going back and forth on his own once he did it. Gray stopped pushing him and found Snow doing it on his own, going up higher and higher.
"Haha I did it!" He cheered.
The former Mage place a smile on his face as he witnessed this accomplishment. The little boy laughed and had fun with his new found skill. Gray watched him until he felt like getting off.
"H-How do I stop?!" Snow panicked.
"Just stop swinging your legs and use your feet to land on the ground when you get there," Gray replied.
Snow did exactly that and was able to get off by himself.
"Thanks...dad," he said to him shyly.
The fact that he called him 'dad' instead of 'old man' put a wide smile on the ice makers face.
"No problem buddy," Gray ruffled his hair.
"I wanna go down the twisty slide!" Snow ran over to the slide where two boys happened to be.
He climbed up to the slide and was about to get on when one of the boys cut him and jumped in.
"Move it!" The other boy pushed Snow down the slide unexpectedly.
"Whoa!" The blue haired boy went down head first and crashed into the other boy that cut him when they met at the bottom.
"Ow! Get out of my way!" The boy harshly tugged him out and threw him to the side.
Snow was in shock by all this that he couldn't move during the whole experience. He registered what had happened when he hit the ground and slowly tried to sit up. His vision somewhat blurred and his ears were ringing when he hit his head against the boy. The boy also happened to have a whack at his head before he tossed him to the side. Gray was already by his side when he hit the ground while the parents of the two boys were yanked away to the benches. Gray quickly rubbed his head where he was hurt.
"You alright pal?" He asked, worried.
"Y-Yeah..." Snow responded.
The ringing and the slight blurred vision stopped thankfully. Gray helped him up and dusted him off, but really was checking for injuries.
"I'm fine," Snow said, knowing what he was doing.
The parents had made the boys go up to them and apologize.
"We're so sorry about this," the parents spoke.
"We're sorry too..." The boys said with an ashamed look on their faces.
"It's fine," Snow spoke.
Gray nodded with a firm and defensive look.
"Come on," he took his hand and walked away.
"Where are we going?" He asked.
"I was thinking injuries could go for some ice cream if you're feeling up to it," the ice maker patted his back.
"Yeah let's do that," the little boy nodded.
The two made small talk about how school was going for Snow as they made their way to the ice cream parlor. They didn't realize that the time they've spent together was actually bonding them. Snow realized Gray wasn't always the tough big guy he always portrayed to be. When Snow was born, Gray was all over the baby but when he started to notice he favored Lucy over him much more it pushed him from the boy. Snow saw that his dad really did care, which warmed him inside. They both had entered the parlor and ordered their ice cream with Gray paying of course. Snow got chocolate ice cream with brownies and peanut butter on a cone. The two definitely shared the love of chocolate as Gray ordered a cup of chocolate ice cream with fudge on top. They found a seat outside the parlor and ate the frozen treat. They laughed and talked through out the time they sat there until they finished the dessert.
"Hey dad..." Snow said with a thought in his mind.
"What's up?" Gray asked, turning his attention to the boy.
"You love me right?" He asked.
The older man raised an eye brow at his sons question and wondered why he would ask such a thing, but then it hit him. They almost always fought and bickered about something so he realized why he would ask that.
"...Of course I do kiddo," Gray slowly formed a smile.
"Good..." Snow slowly nodded with a slight smile.
Gray understood why he would ask that, but he wanted to hear what he would say.
"Why do you ask?"
Snow looked up at him with his big round chocolate eyes.
"Well I...we fight a lot and...I just wasn't sure anymore," he shrugged.
"Come here," Gray patted his lap.
Snow slowly slid off his chair and climbed onto his lap just like he asked.
"When I found out you were coming I wasn't sure if I was ready to raise a kid...but then you were born and I was insane about you...I thought I was so lucky to have you after all and it was great for awhile...but then I noticed when you turned two how much closer you were to mommy than you were to me and that made me feel sad...I wanted to spend so much time with you, but all you ever wanted to do was be with mommy," he explained.
Snows eyes widened at this explanation and understood why their relationship was the way it was.
"I'm sorry," he quickly embraced his father.
"Don't be. I actually have been having fun with you," Gray smiled, hugging him back.
"I love you dad..." He spoke with his face buried in his chest.
"Love you too buddy," the former ice mage softly stroked the back of his head.
Snow put on a wide smile, hugging him tighter. He felt an odd yet warm feeling in the pit of his stomach, knowing exactly what it was. He knew his father loved him, but to actually feel it was different. Gray kissed the top of his head and rubbed his back.
"How about I give you a ride home?" He suggested.
"What do you- m-mean!"
Snow was instantly hoisted up onto Gray's shoulders as he stood up. The man was quite tall so the boy could see a wide range from his view. He noticed the sun was setting, which made him realize it was time to go home.
"Ready?" Gray asked.
"Yep!" Snow nodded happily.
Gray took off while holding the boy tightly, which caused him to laugh and giggle while he rode on his father's shoulders. Snow felt like he was an air plane in flight from being so up high and extended his arms, making the sound of an air plane with his mouth as well. They laughed and giggled all the way back to their home where Lucy caught them through the kitchen window.
"Oh so it looks like my boys had fun today hm?" She laughed as they entered through the door.
"Momma!" They both said.
Gray placed Snow down and they both raced towards her without shoving each other. Gray hugged Lucy, planting sweet kisses to her lips while Snow latched onto her legs like a monkey.
"Whoa! Both of you are giving me affection without killing each other? What exactly happened?" She giggled.
"Just some much needed father-son time," Gray sighed.
"I'm gonna go shower! Hey dad can you read me the Fairy Tail book? Momma read some of it to me and I wanna hear more!" Snow spoke excitedly.
"Fairy Tail book?" He raised an eye brow.
"Yeah! Momma put a book together of all the adventures you guys had in your guild!" He explained.
Gray looked at Lucy with a surprised expression as he had not known about this book, wanting to read a bit of it himself.
"Sure I'll read some," he nodded.
The little boy cheered as he raced back to his room. When he was out of sight, Gray cornered Lucy against the counter with a smirk on his face.
"When were you going to tell me about that book hm?" He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.
"Ah...soon?" She blushed, giggling a bit.
"Does it have the story of how papa made the move on mama in one of the last Fairy Tail adventures we ever had?" He asked.
"Actually...it does. Listen...I want to thank you for putting in the effort to bond with Snow," she smiled.
"No need to thank me. As much as that kid gets on my nerves I'll always love him to death," Gray chuckled.