A/N: I clearly have a hot springs fetish. And a thing for embarrassed Gray.

title: Novel to the eye

summary: "I thought you said 'the novelty wore off a while ago?" Okay, well, but this was different.

This was stupid. Gray sank further into soothing water of the hot springs, his arms propped on the cold rock behind him.

He cranked his head as far left as it would go, not daring to look ahead of him. His eyes began sliding back, however, because come on Gray Fullbuster couldn't be nervous. He gulped. Maybe he could sneak a glance—

"Whatchu looking at?"

His elbow suddenly slipped from the rock and he clumsily plunged into the water with a splash.

"Gray, what the hell?"

He resurfaced with a scowl, looking up between his wet bangs to find a towel-clad Lucy wiping the water from her face with distaste.

"Did I scare you?"

"Oh, it's just you," he said, regaining his composure and leaning back on the edge of the pool.

He fixed his face, trying to relax his features but he couldn't keep from clenching his jaw and pursing his lips, and Lucy's staring at him as if he were a lab rat wasn't helping.

"What?" he said.

She grinned. "I know what you're looking at."

He cringed.

"What."

"Or should I say what you're not looking at?"

Gray made a face and childishly splashed water at her.

"Nope, wrong, go away."

The sooner he got her off his back, the better, he thought, running a hand through his wet bangs. He already had his head full trying not to look at-

"Juvia! You should come in already! The water's really nice!" Lucy hollered suddenly and Gray promptly submerged for the second time.

Damn conniving girls and their stupid sadistic ways.

He popped back out, shaking his damp head of shaggy hair.

"Would you stop that?"

"Would you stop splashing water all over the place?" Lucy retorted, rubbing the hot water out of her eyes again. She glanced over at Juvia, who was still hiding behind one of the rocks. Her shy reluctance was understandable—the bluenette was never one to waltz around strutting what Mother Nature endowed her. She still even had reservations about bathing with girls at Fairy Hills.

But this— Lucy moved her attention back to Gray, who was looking anywhere but the direction of said girl hidden behind the rock—oh man, this was gold.

She snickered.

"Are you being shy?"

"About what," Gray spluttered, crossing his arms.

"She has a towel on."

"It's a tiny ass towel!" he reasoned, his cheeks turning pink.

"I thought you told me and Erza that 'novelty wore off a while ago.' Weren't you immune to naked girls or something?"

Gray snorted. "I was talking about you. You're practically naked most of the times anyways."

"Excuse me?!"

"I mean, I'm not saying you're not hot or anything, I think I've just seen most of you more than enough, and it's not that interesting—okay, what the hell am I saying." Gray threw his arms behind his head in frustration.

"That's rich, coming from an exhibitionist," Lucy huffed, jabbing his arm sharply.

Gray grinned. "People enjoy it when I strip okay—

"Juvia! Come on, you're not gonna sit out the whole time, are you?"

His amusement quickly shifted to panic again, and he prayed she'd stay behind the stone or wherever she was hiding.

But what was Juvia if she didn't do everything to make him uncomfortable? He cursed as for once, the girl meekly obeyed Lucy's suggestion and hesitantly stepped out into the clearing. He choked on the next cheeky line he meant to throw Lucy, because Juvia was standing there, all pale skin and cherry cheeks, soft blue locks and firm, shapely legs.

Oh. Okay. Well, this is— he was going to have a long night wasn't he.

As Juvia quietly slipped into the water, Gray tore his eye away from her and snapped his head back to the blonde responsible for this.

"Lucy, what the hell?"

"What, I was just inviting her in."

"Che, whatever," he rolled his eyes and sank into the water, spluttering.

"Gray, you've seen her in a swimsuit before, and you didn't care."

"Well unlike you, she doesn't wander around in her swimsuit every day."

"You've still seen her-"

"This is—it's different okay?" he snapped resolutely, and brooded with his pink cheeks and unruly dark locks covering his vision.

"You're such a kid," Lucy snickered. "Juvia, don't sit over there by yourself, come on over!"

She waved her hand, ushering the girl over. Despite the suspicion at Lucy's overenthusiastic welcome, Juvia began to wade her way over, staying as underwater as possible and Gray snapped out of his sulk. He snatched Lucy's wrist and pulled her closer.

"Tell her to go away—"

"Gray-sama, what are you and Lucy doing?!"

He was interrupted by a shriek from Juvia, and Gray realized maybe he had pulled too hard on Lucy out of panic and they were kind of almost smashed against each other now in an extremely compromising position.

"It's not like that!" He quickly started to explain, but his words fluttered back into his throat and dove straight down to the bottom of his stomach.

Juvia had instinctively stood up in indignation, and it turned out, the towel couldn't keep up with her fast movement. Funny thing, how water made things slip.

Gray, searching deep within to find his voice again, pointed as politely as he could to the towel now floating in the water.

"You should get that," he choked out.

Juvia glanced down. And with a second shriek, she exploded.

Literally.

"Juvia—what the?!" Gray's eye widened as he wiped off the water droplets that smacked his face. "Lucy, holy shit, Juvia exploded."

"She turned into water, you idiot," Lucy said, spitting out what water in her mouth, which she hoped wasn't Juvia. "Oh my god, Juvia, are you okay?"

The water of the hot springs groaned back.

Lucy sighed in relief, while Gray stared at the pool in silence, his eyes twitching.

The blonde tilted her head, giving the situation a moment's thought.

"So are we inside Juvia now?"

Gray grunted incoherently as he jumped out of the pool in haste, only to slip on the rock and for the third time, he fell into the water.

[Or well, this time, into Juvia.]

A/N: Lucy's a little cheekier than usual, but I can just picture Gray and Lucy being like that. Love their friendship.