Gray's POV:

Natsu and I walked in dead silence until it started to get dark again. My legs were staring to hurt, And I could tell Natsu was getting tired too. I want to stop and rest soon... I thought.

We kept walking for a few minutes, without even a sign that the village was near.

"Ugh, my feet are killing me," Natsu finally exclaimed with a loud, exasperated sigh, "If only we could-- hm? Hey Gray, check this out..."

I turned around to see what Natsu was so excited about. He was standing about ten feet away from the path, and in front of him, I could see steam rising. I swear to God that if he's caught something else on fire, I'll wring his neck. However when I got closer, I saw what Natsu had really flagged me down for. At the mage's feet was a hot spring.

Natsu smiled, and happily chirped; "So we can take a break now, right?"

*************************

Natsu's POV:

Surprisingly, Gray agreed to taking a break. I stripped down to nothing but my boxers and sank down into the water. I let out a sigh of relief, finally able to warm up a bit.

"Gray, aren't you coming in? It's nice," I asked after noticing the ice mage standing at the edge of the spring.

"I'm fine," he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away from me, "I don't really feel comfortable..."

"Gray, you always walk around stark naked," I argued, "This isn't a big deal." He shrugged, then slowly began taking off his clothes. He continued until he wore absolutely nothing then slipped into the water.

"I-I guess this is nice," Gray muttered. He was pouting, and shifting nervously. It was pretty cute..

"Natsu, stop spacing out," Gray said, sounding annoyed, "I was talking to you."

"Well I didn't hear you," I admitted, "I was thinking about something."

"Don't ignore me," he scolded, "It might be incredibly important, and you just missed the whole thing."

"Sorry, okay? Just tell me..."

"I was just saying that we can't spend too much time here," Gray said in monotone, "We really do need to finish this mission."

"I know, I know..." I rolled my eyes, "we can just sit here for a bit." I leaned back in the water, sinking down until only my eyes were above the water. I looked up at Gray and saw him.... smiling?!

To Be Continued...