PROMPT: Were you ever going to tell me?

Igneel liked to think that he was exceptionally close to his son, considering Natsu told him everything. Well, most everything. Somethings he had to find out himself, and they were almost always by accident.

Like now.

It was about nine in the evening, and he was sitting by the fireplace in his favorite recliner. The old thing creaked every time he moved, and despite the fact that Igneel barely weighed one fifty, if that, his son had taken to making jokes about it breaking beneath his weight. He was scrolling through Instagram, an app he'd become rather fond of after it was introduced to him.

He mostly posted pictures of the cat, Happy, and things he saw in nature, but people seemed to like them well enough.

The lanky man adjusted his small-framed reading glasses as he stared at his smartphone. He knew Natsu was at a party with his friends, and he knew everyone there personally. What he didn't know what that his son was apparently dating someone.

Lucy, one of Natsu's best friends for too many years to count, had posted a picture of herself in Loke's lap. The red-haired boy had finally gotten the courage to ask the blonde to be his girlfriend, and he looked like he was about to explode with joy in the picture.

All in all, it was a fantastic photo, and he wouldn't have been surprised if his son was the one to take it. It was Lucy's caption that had tipped Igneel off, "In a not-so-shocking turn of events, all of my friends and I are now in lovely relationships. #couln'tbehappier"

Igneel smiled. "It seems our boy has grown up, love. I wonder when I'll meet the lovely lady?"

.

.

.

He sent himself into a raucous fit of laughter, "Who am I kidding?" He asked aloud, "He and Gray have had a thing for each other since they were kids. 'Bout damn time."

"Lucy's parties are the best," Natsu decided. They had played endless bored games and video games. There was food, and everyone there was a friend of his.

There was also Gray.

Natsu like Lucy's parties because he didn't have to hide anything in front of his friends. When they had found out that the two of them had been dating in secret, there hadn't been a single hateful comment. In fact, everyone had gotten together at Lucy's house that weekend and shared that none of them were actually straight. Well, Gajeel was, but he was extremely supportive of everyone, as his little brother, Rogue, was gay.

Gajeel may or may not have a soft spot or a hundred for his precious brother.

They's also found out that Juvia was aro-ace, and she had decided to act that way around Gray when he pushed her out of the way of a moving car, because she noticed that certain people were very close to finding out about his relationship. Juvia may have been a bit odd, but they all excepted her just as easily.

At the moment, Natsu was curled up in Gray's lap on the shaggy white carpet. The taller boy had his face buried in Natsu's pink locks and his arms around his slender chest. He was mumbling the worlds to the pop song blaring in the background.

Natsu was currently reading through the fourteenth and final issue of a manga that Lucy had shown him, and Gray knew he wouldn't want to stop until he finished it.

He jumped slightly when Natsu slammed the book closed. He leaned forward and kissed the pinkette's cheek. "Cliffhanger?"

The pinkette puffed out his cheeks, and huffed, "Yes." Those who weren't sucked into the game on the screen laughed, but didn't ask. Natsu, Lucy, and Levy were notorious for ranting about things like cliffhangers. Gray kissed him on the cheek a few more times before stealing one from his lips.

It was a a tradition to stay over after a party. They all slept in a giant cuddle pile in Lucy's living room, and it was fantastic.

It already past noon by the time everyone had woken up, and Lucy's mother, Layla, had finally started making breakfast for everyone. The early risers in the group had already eaten most of the fruit in the house while they waited for pancakes, and the late risers were still half asleep.

Natsu had spent the past few hours discussing the manga he read yesterday with Lucy, and Gray was clinging onto him, still mostly asleep.

"I can't believe the author did that," Natsu muttered, "He was one of them the whole time, and the main character gets his memories taken away and made into a completely new person?" Lucy nodded somberly, "I mean it's a good way to get us to read the sequel, but what?"

"And what about his best friend," Lucy mentioned. Natsu made an odd noise in the back of his throat, and Lucy recognized it as annoyance. "He was there and then he wasn't! What's up with that?"

Most everyone had left by seven, but Erza, Natsu, and Gray had stayed. They had played Smash Brothers for several hours, and after all the shouting and raging, the four of them didn't want to move.

"You know that you have to go home at some point, right?" Lucy poked Natsu in the side, and he look almost sad.

"I don't want to." He was curled up in Gray's lap again, and their cuddling habit was turning into a problem. If they were around people they trusted, they were always touching in someway.

Erza had once mentioned that it may be a quirk of Gray's due to his family history, and Lucy thought it was just Natsu being touch starved because of overly tactile nature.

"I can't do this at home." Gray had been living with the Dragneels since his adoptive mother was put in the hospital. His "siblings" had both gone elsewhere, but Gray didn't care. He saw them all the time anyways.

"You could if you'd tell your dad," Erza muttered.

Natsu huffed indignantly, "I told you, I don't know how he'll take it, and I love my dad too much to mess up our relationship over that."

"I don't think he'll have the reaction you think he will," Gray whispered. His breathe caused Natsu's hair to brush against his ear, making Natsu shake his head violently. "Besides," Gray had to speak a little louder to drown out the girls giggles, "If we stay in the closet any longer, we're going to end up in Narnia."

Natsu snorted. "And you call me the geek."

It was nine by the time they left, holding hands as they walked down the street. They didn't talk as the soft breeze flowed around them, but the calm atmosphere left as they approached the door.

"Do you really think we should tell him?"

Gray sighed,"Do you want my honest opinion?" Natsu nodded eagerly. "He's Igneel, and he'd your dad. He loves you, and I personally don't think he'll give two shits. If he does," Gray paused, leaning down to kiss Natsu's cheeks, the forehead, nose, and finally his lips, "I don't care. I love you, and nothing he does will change that." Natsu's face flushed brilliantly, and he stood on his tiptoes to give Gray a kiss of his own.

They never connected. "You know," Igneel started, and the jumped apart. Igneel was leaning against the doorway his long hair pulled up into a pony-tail and a smirk on his face, I'd be dramatic and say something like..."He gasped in the most melodramatic way possible, "Were you ever going to tell me!?" His voice rose several octaves, and the shock wore off as the three nearly fell over laughing. It took a moment for them to calm down. "You know I already knew right?"

When Nastu wouldn't look at him, Igneel ruffed up his hair. "Gray's right you know. I don't give two shits about who you like. As a matter of fact, I dated a couple of guys in high school." Gray's eyes widened almost comically, and Igneel cut him off before he could ask, "No, I'm not bi or pan. I'm straight, but that doesn't mean that I have to be weird about the time I spent figuring myself out."He chose that moment to ruff up Gray's hair as well. "Now come on inside and tell me how you finally realized that the other liked you and stopped being ridiculously oblivious.

"DAD!"

"IGNEEL!

WORDS: 1,484

This is so late. This is so VERY late, and I am so sorry. I mentioned before that I was an honers/AP student, and that I kinda fell down the depression rabbit hole again, right? Well, I kinda sorta got really behind on some of my homework and had to catch up. Not to mention that had to clean my room (Which hasn't been properly done in a couple of years... I'm a train wreck, okay?) and help clean the house if I expect to have any of my friends over for my birthday. Strict parents. You all know the deal. I also only had my trash computer and my phone this past week, as school was out due to an extreme flu epidemic in the area.

Sorry for oversharing, guys.

And again, sorry for this being so late.

On a brighter note, 12 reviews, 12 favorites, 13 follows, and over a thousand views? Holy shit. I was only expecting this to get an occasional glace from someone looking for a better story to read. Thank you all so much for your support!

As always:

Constructive criticism is always welcome, and if you find a typo, don't hesitate to point it out!

Reviews are my 90% motivation.

Love you guys,

-Jinx