Gratsu Week 2018

one third bad intentions, one third avarice, and one eighth sawdust

Natsu and Gray are members of Fairy Tail, one of most notorious thieves' guilds in Magnolia. Natsu has a reputation for being flashy and fearless, but when he crosses a line and gets himself caught by the Watch, how far will Gray and the rest of the guild go to save him?

A/N: This story is an homage to "The Lies of Locke Lamora" by Scott Lynch - if you haven't read it, you should! Some characters might be OOC because of the way they speak, my apologies. Here is the quote that inspired the story:

"I've got kids that enjoy stealing. I've got kids that don't think about stealing one way or the other, and I've got kids that just tolerate stealing because they know they've got nothing else to do. But nobody--and I mean nobody--has ever been hungry for it like this boy. If he had a bloody gash across his throat and a physiker was trying to sew it up, Lamora would steal the needle and thread and die laughing. He...steals too much."
― Scott Lynch, The Lies of Locke Lamora

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"You," hissed Gray angrily, pressed against the stone wall, "have a problem."

It was nearing midnight and the bridge was mostly silent above them, save for the sound of gulls cawing over any scraps the nobles might have left behind. Underneath the bridge was not nearly as pleasant. The scent of dead seaweed and bloated fish assaulted Gray's nostrils, and he shifted his feet to avoid sinking into the muck.

"Me?" Natsu tried his best to look innocent – difficult with his hood up and a mask covering half his face. Gray knew he was smirking, though. It was the eyebrows.

"Yes, you," he whispered. He peeked up around the edge of the bridge and quickly ducked down, out of sight of the guard patrolling the entrance. He glared at Natsu, gesturing to the breast of the pink-haired man's doublet where several coin purses were stashed. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but you...you steal too much."

"No such thing," Natsu insisted, reaching into an inner pocket and drawing out a ruby necklace – one of the many treasures he'd amassed over the course of the fancy party they'd bluffed their way into. "They're probably not even looking for us anymore."

"That little cunt-rotting cock-fondler's gotta be around here somewhere!" Gray glared harder and the upper half of Natsu's face looked sheepish.

"Okay, they might still be looking," he conceded, tucking the necklace back into his doublet. "But half the Watch can't find their own arses with both hands and a map. We'll be fine."

Gray sighed, rubbing his face and glancing up at the bridge again. On the north side lay Upper Magnolia, a land of fancy parties and shiny, expensive things. Things that were currently tucked into the various pockets of both their outfits.

"She was one of the peerage," he growled, referring to the Doña from whom Natsu had lifted the necklace. While kissing her. Around the corner from her husband. "You could have stolen from literally anyone at that party except her. Jiemma's going to cut your hands off and shove them down your throat, and I'm not even going to feel sorry for you."

The pact between the thieves' guilds and Jiemma, Capa of the crime syndicate and collector of protection money disguised as taxes, was that the peerage was off limits – the Dons and Doñas and, of course, the Duke and Duchess themselves. Minor lords and ladies were fair game, but Natsu...well, he had gone too far. As usual.

"Jiemma has to catch me first," Natsu grinned. "And you'd miss these hands." He winked and wriggled his fingers in front of him. Gray was glad that Natsu couldn't see the flush that rose to his cheeks – their only illumination being the thin rays of moonlight that passed underneath the bridge. The same bridge that they would have been able to cross safely if Natsu wasn't such a colossal fuckwit.