Blackline

"a condition where no combustible fuels remain between the fireline and the main fire"

The restaurant was well-attended, but not crowded, and the pair found a small table in the corner. Natsu slid onto the bench lining the wall, throwing his jacket beside him.

"So what kinda food do they make at this place?" Natsu asked excitedly even before Lucy had taken her seat.

As Lucy dropped into her chair, her jaw did too. "Italian of course! It's the best! Don't tell me you don't know the place!"

She seemed almost offended, and Natsu had to surpress a laugh. It seemed like she wasn't thinking straight, her mind clouded by the promise of food. He understood all too well. His stomach was empty, and the smells in this place were sinfully tempting.

This was yet another new side to her he discovered. She enjoyed good food. And she was letting her cool slip more and more with each passing moment. He was learning new things by the second, enjoying the off-duty cop thoroughly. Soft smiles, flaring temper if you knew which buttons to press – which he did already – the clever twinkle to her eyes… And even now, with her slightly raised voice and innocent, wide eyes– and dear gods, he thought as his eyes dropped lower, her cleava–

"The pizza here is to die for! Have you really never been?"

"Uh, well," Natsu mumbled, quickly sobered up by the simple question, "it wasn't around when I was a teen, and ever since I got out of prison I haven't really… uh. Treated myself a lot."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't -" Surprised, he looked up only to find her looking at him as if she had been slapped. "That was really out of place. I didn't even think about what I was saying."

"Don't sweat it," he shrugged her off, trying to hide his embarassment.

To his utmost luck, it was in that moment that the waitress interrupted. With a smile on her face and her silver hair flowing freely behind her, she handed them the menus and took their drink orders - a glass of white wine for Lucy and an export for Natsu.

Before his greedy hands could snatch one of the menus, however, Lucy gave a slight cough, smiling when he looked up. For a short moment, hesitation flickered in her eyes, as if she was pondering if what she was going to say next would be a wise choice. But the moment passed as quickly as it had come, and there was no more uncertainty in her eyes when he returned her smile carelessly.

"You can call me Lucy, by the way. Wouldn't feel right to talk so stiffly over dinner, would it?"

Natsu pursed his lips. Was she trying to get on his good side?

This would still be an interrogation, she had made that much clear. She was here to question him, and he'd run right into her trap, like a puppy attracted by a treat. Only the surroundings had changed. That didn't make too much of a difference, did it?

"Fine," he allowed. "You can call me Natsu."

She smiled, and it shouldn't have made his chest lift. Really, he felt more and more like a dog grappling for approval. Why did it feel so weirdly right when he made her smile?

He didn't really know, but he guessed he'd have to go with it.

Lucy was satisfied. He'd taken a step in her direction, and that was more than she had hoped for at the beginning of the evening - or after her obnoxious slip-up. It seemed it took more than an accidental, inconsiderate comment to insult him, and she was very grateful for that. Still, it didn't change the fact that she felt horrible about it. There were so many things she took for granted, she hadn't even considered that they might be a luxury to other people.

Growing up spoiled had taken a toll on her, had it not?

With a sigh, she realized that she really had to continue to work on herself.

It seemed Natsu minded far less than she herself did. He wasn't as hard on her as she felt she had to be. In fact, he hadn't been fazed much at all.

Really, she had to admit, she was beginning to warm up to him more and more.

Still, she suddenly remembered, the case should be the most important thing on her mind.

It had top priority.

At the same time, she mused, it did not hurt if they actually got along, did it? It would make things easier, and genuine sympathy was far better than to put on an act for the sake of information. If they'd manage to get along this evening, then that was a good thing, right?

Lucy did not miss the way his fingers inched closer and closer to the menu, eyes greedily flickering to the neighboured tables to shamelessly stare at their food. She was surprised he hadn't asked them what they were eating yet, or maybe even tried to snatch a plate from the waitress' hands.

In some ways he really did behave like a child.

She found herself smiling in amusement.

"Natsu," she tried without thinking, but found that the name rolled nicely off her tongue, "before we talk about the case, let's eat first, okay?"

His head snapped back in her direction, eyes suddenly wide.

Had she said something wrong?

Natsu blinked lamely, aware of her confused expression, but unable to change anything about his own.

It had come as a shock.

Even though it really shouldn't have, because had he not offered it to her moments ago?

She had used his name.

With something aching to weirdly agonizing joy, he realized that it had been a long, long time since somebody had used his first name without it being an order, or full of cool reservation and contempt.

She'd spoken it so casually, so full of innocence and kindness, it had made his heart contract painfully without him knowing why.

But his mind had caught up right after, and now he knew damn well why.

Do that again.

It took him a surprising amount of selfrestraint to not utter these words - because, damn, how embarassing would that be? - but he remained silent.

He was aware he must look rather weird, quite much so judging from his detective's expression.

But maybe he had revealed too much of what was going on inside him on his face, maybe sheunderstood, because now, slowly, a hesitant smile crept onto her features.

"Natsu?"

She'd done it again. His heart gave a leap that made him want to smack it right back down. He now was certain that she had noticed his reaction to his name for what it was.

"Don't tell me you lost your appetite?" A teasing tone sneaked into her voice, and he realized she was giving him a chance to move on, to play down the situation. "Because that seems rather unlikely from what you told me earlier."

"Hello no," he grinned, relieved that the moment of soulsearching had passed, and snatched a menu off the table.

Lucy followed his example.

His gaze hungrily trailed over the listed goods, and she could have sworn she heard his stomach rumble. But when his eyes moved to the right - where the prices were located - his excited face turned into a frown.

"So… what'll you get?" she asked carefully, testing the waters.

"Uh, what's… zuppa di pomodoro?"

"…tomato soup."

"Oh. Well," he scratched the back of his neck, nose wrinkling. He was probably picturing his untimely death. By starving. "That."

"You know what," Lucy slammed her menu down on the table with almost a little too much force, unable to stand the sad spectacle much longer. He looked like he might burst into tears any moment now. His stomach rumbled again. "I'm buying."

His eyes widened at her declaration.

"Oh come on, don't be proud." Lucy leaned her head to the side with a grin. She wouldn't let him win this one. "It's the least I can do. I dragged you out here, right? I'm surprised you didn't actually demand it yet. Considering how you acted this morning…"

She winked, and Natsu's jaw almost dropped as he was confronted with her sudden coquetishness. When had she eased up so much?

He totally missed her slight jab, jaw gone slack.

"You'll… you'll really do that?"

His face suddenly brightened as if the sun had begun to rise on it.

Wow. She would have expected at least some refusal before she could win him over. It seemed that when it came to food, his pride got no say whatsoever.

"Of course I will. I just said so, right?"

"I can get… anything I want?"

"Yeah, sure." Lucy bit back a laugh. Christmas had come early for Natsu Dragneel.

If only she had known how much those two simple words would come to cost her. For the rest of the week, she would live only off pasta.

When their food arrived - a small Pizza Fungi for Lucy; a tomato soup, pizza bread, a large Pepperoni Pizza and Panna Cotta for Natsu - it was Lucy who felt like crying.

"How are you even… going to eat this?"

"Watch me!" he roared, digging into the pizza bread and dipping it completely into the soup. It was as if he had come to new life, forgetting any grudge or apprehension he might have held on to earlier.

Lucy shook her head in disbelief as he descended on his own personal feast.

A little while of loud munching and happy sighs passed, during which Lucy remained completely ignored for the time being. Not even trying to establish eye contact did her any good. The one time she had actually managed to fix his eyes on hers, he had smiled at her with such simple, ecstatic joy that she hadn't been able to interrupt him.

The little knot of giddiness that had formed in her stomach at the sight of his smile had quickly untied itself though. Tomato soup had trickled down his chin, and he had wiped it up with a piece of bread which he then proceeded to stuff into his mouth.

The scene in front of her had still not changed; the passage of time only indicated by the number of crumbs now littering his side of the table. That, and the tomato soup had been replaced with tomato sauce as it dripped off the pizza between his teeth.

Lucy carefully chewed a bite of her own piece before setting it back down.

"So…"

"Mmh?" he answered with an open mouth full of half-chewed dough, and Lucy's right eye twitched. She had resisted correcting his posture, but she had her limits. Grabbing her napkin, she pushed it right into his face.

What remained visible were his eyes, eyebrows slanting down in a mixture of indignation and total confusion.

"Waddyadoin?" came a chocked imploration, and Lucy lessened her hold on the fabric. It remained stuck to his face even as she pulled her hand back, and she surpressed a snort at the picture in front of her.

"I can already hear you eating, I don't need the visuals," she explained sarcastically.

"Oh, sorry?" He didn't really sound sorry, but she supposed he was trying to.

"Anyways," she sighed in defeat, "I was wondering if, now that your starving is prevented, we could talk about the case?"

"Oh. Sure," Natsu agreed as he used the napkin to clean up the worst of the damage his face had taken, much to Lucy's liking. "So what you wanna talk about?"

For a moment, Lucy hesitated. She wanted to talk about a lot. But first and foremost, what had been on her mind all day was the hunch that he had a very big suspicion about who was responsible for those fires.

But now the question was… how was the smartest way to go about it?

From what she had gathered about Natsu, and it had been surprisingly much in less than 24 hours, it was that the best strategy would be direct offense. Blunt honesty.

Carefully, she placed her piece of pizza back down onto her plate, wiping her fingertips on the nice napkin that offered to teach basic Italian phrases before folding her hands in her lap and looking him right in the eye.

"I think you know who we're after."

Now that was enough to stop even his appetite. He cocked his head, a folded piece of pizza still in his hands. Lucy watched a large drop of tomato sauce wiggle atop the dough, threatening to slip and fall to its death and stain the white tablecloth. Then again, his side of the table already looked like a battlefield…

Natsu's brows rose, and somehow he managed to make even that motion seem taunting.

"And if I did, you think I'd just tell you?"

"Why not?" she deadpanned, prompting his mouth to open in silent protest. But before he could actually defy her, she went on, "It didn't sound like you were covering up for a friend back there. That person, whoever they are, killed people. Don't you want to see them locked up too?"

With a suddenly very serious face, Natsu stuffed what remained of the piece into his mouth, effectively turning himself into a hamster. He tried to speak, but failed miserably, and the struggle resulted in a small coughing fit. A small squeak left him when he wheezed for breath.

Then his eyes moved back to hers, his expression the same as before, as if nothing had happened at all. Lucy sat petrified, eyes as large as the plate in front of her, and very unsure how to react. Should she just ignore it too…?

"No, you're right. In this case I have no second thoughts ratting him out. But spilling to the cops? Come on, that wouldn't sit right with you either, would it. No offense."

Lucy crossed her arms, lips turning into a thin line.

"Oh, really. So keeping your lips shut because I'm a cop is more important to you than potentially saving lives."

It seemed hearing it said aloud by another person made the implication of his words become more clear to him. Suddenly almost guiltily, he looked to the side with a small, angry puff of his cheeks.

"Didn't say that…" he grumbled despite being well aware that he had actually said exactly that. "Fine."

"Fine, you'll tell me?" She leaned against the table, hope brightening her face.

"Well… I guess I owe you one," he conceded, the grumble in his voice dying down slowly. "And at least you're not like all the other cops. You're nice."

Lucy was surprised by the sincerity in his tone. Really, he could be a snarky little bastard, but being nice seemed to come to him just as easily. She chuckled dryly. "I'll take that as a compliment, then."

He shrugged, as if he didn't really care how she took it.

"I mean I don't really know if it was him, I ain't got proof or anything. So I'm telling you as a person, not a cop. But the thing is, I'm pretty damn sure that that jackass is behind all this. It has his handwriting all over…"

She leaned forward some more, almost dipping the tip of her ponytail into her plate. Expectant, wide eyes were glued to his face.

"There's this guy I used to…" he wrinkled his nose, as if what he was going to say next displeased him, " …know. Jackal."

"Jackal?"

"Yeah," Natsu nodded, eyebrows slanting down in anger as he recalled memories she could not witness, "arrogant son of a bitch. He always was a crazy megalomaniac. He always tried - and failed of course, keh - to outsmart me, back when I was still… active."

"And he is a bomber?"

Natsu gave her an approving look. "You did your homework, eh."

"Well," she smirked, "in this case I just memorized what you told me."

"He loves blowing things up, yeah. I don't know what happened to him in the last years, but I'm pretty sure he didn't just retire… so he's the first guy I thought of."

"I see." Lucy nodded pensively. "It's a good lead for now, but not enough to start an official investigation against the guy."

"The results of the bomb analysis might help. You know, the kinda shrapnel he uses. He always was a dangerous mothe- jerk, aiming to not just burn but destroy. In my time I don't think he ever tried to kill, but… it's been seven years. Who knows what goes on in a sick mind like his. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he went a little mad. He's always had it in him, if you ask me."

"The results aren't in yet, they're still working on it at the lab," Lucy said, relaxing into her seat a little. Her mind kept racing nonetheless. "But you saw the pictures too, and you seemed to get enough out of them at first glance."

Natsu nodded. "Yeah, that looked like some nasty ass explosion. Definitely tons of piercing shrapnel - and you don't even need that to start a fire. He's like some super villain, I swear."

Inadvertedly, a small chuckle bubbled up in her chest. She almost felt ashamed, they were dealing with a very serious matter after all. But the image he had conjured up in her mind, of an angry Disney villain building super bombs for future world domination, had her amused. She wondered what Jackal looked like.

Did he have any resemblance to the real animal?

"I bet he'd be great in a movie," she suddenly snorted, unable to stop herself.

It seemed to throw Natsu off track for a second, but then apparently his mind followed a similar path to hers, and an evil grin manifested on his previously confused face.

"The design would fit too," he cackled. "You should see him! With his designer shit, all shiny and sleek."

Both his hands grabbed into his shirt, and he flicked his wrists as he imitated what Lucy only could describe as the most diva full body hair flip she had ever seen. Her hand moved to her mouth when he started raking through his hair and muttered a villainous line.

"Stop!" she giggled, only spurring him on further.

She was rendered a complete laughing mess by the end of his small performance, unaware of more than one curious gaze in her direction.

"So basically he's like Scar."

"Haha, oh my god you're right!" She wiped a small tear out of her eye, remembering she still had a plate with pizza in front of her. It would have to wait a little longer; she didn't think she could eat properly right now.

"That would make me Mufasa," Natsu continued proudly, an air of self-satisfaction surrounding him, "except I survived."

Lucy's laughter turned a little softer at those words, and she smiled down at her food.

"Yeah, you survived."

He had paid his price though. Lucy suddenly remembered she was talking to a criminal. But she couldn't picture Natsu as a monster, no matter how hard she tried. He was no Scar. Maybe he wasn't a Mufasa either - a Simba, perhaps then.

Young and reckless to a point one might sometimes mistake it for stupidity, but also loyal and brave, with his heart in the right place. That was how she pictured the teenage him.

She suddenly wanted to know more about his past - and not the parts she could read about in a file.

"You know, The Lion King wasn't my favorite movie as a kid," Lucy mused, running her finger around the rim of her glass. Looking up, she saw the curious glint to Natsu's green eyes and chuckled. "That title would have to go to Tarzan."

"Tarzan?" he echoed.

"Oh, it's just silly," she waved off, but his attentive eyes continued their silent questioning. "You know, adventures, the love story, the whole message of it and all…" She felt sillier with every word she said, so she just disrupted her short list and helplessly trailed off.

The promise of finding a family of your own in even the most unlikely places, of building your own niche in life, where you could live happily and freely and laugh alongside your friends. Belonging.

Lucy shrugged, neither able nor willing to put her feelings into words.

Natsu seemed to understand, though, because he let it drop.

"Adventure is good," he grinned. "I always wanted to be an adventurer."

"No surprises there," she chuckled, watching his eyes light up with mirth.

"So did you always dream of being Little Miss Detective then?"

Pondering his question for a moment, she shrugged. "I guess I always wanted to help people. And to stop wrong things from happening. So, maybe…"

Natsu eyed her with an illegible expression. "Sure you chose the right job?" he murmured under his breath, and something about his tone made her heart contract and sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine. There was a story there.

One she found herself infinitely curious to hear. And one she had no right to even consider asking about.

"I think I did," she responded, bravely meeting his eyes before lifting her pizza back up to her lips.

What followed was a minute of chewing and a silent eye battle. Lucy felt more awkward by the second, but stubbornness forbid her to be the first to give up.

She swallowed loudly, and the food sowly slid down her throat heavily. Wrinkling her nose at the sensation she suddenly had become so conscious of, Lucy realized an amused twinkle had settled in Natsu's eyes.

"You're weird," he finally said, breaking the silence.

"I think you mentioned that before," she retorted, rolling her eyes at him.

"So what," he cackled. "It's still true!"

Puffing her cheeks in indignation, Lucy took an angry bite of her pizza, stuffing the crust into her mouth with the rest of it. "Wllyerweirdtoo!" she munched, scowling at him.

In retrospect, this had not been her preferred order of going about her not so witty comeback. Or even her preferred words, had they not been swallowed by her food anyways. The image must have been rather amusing, because Natsu suddenly burst out laughing.

She tried to hold on to her mock anger, but joined in on his laughter seconds later.

"You know, for a cop you're not so bad," he finally managed, something like genuine acknowledgement flashing over his face as he grinned at her.

"You're not too bad for a criminal either," she laughed and winked, but then caught herself in the act. Her cheeks turned a bright red. "U- I mean, er, ex-crim- ahh just– forget I said that."

"No worries," he chuckled. "It's not like you're wrong."

Surprised, Lucy lifted her head, a knot of dread forming in her stomach.

"I'm not too bad at all."