This is the longest one yet, and also the longest in my part! I hope you'll enjoy, and as usual, if you like the chapter and story, it would be lovely if you left a review!:)

snag

"a dead standing tree that can be hazardous"

Lucy wasn't sure how it happened, but twenty minutes later she still found herself laughing and joking with the person she had been planning to professionally interrogate. The case was long forgotten, disregarded in favour of fun anecdotes and light conversation.

They would have continued on for who knows how long, if not suddenly Natsu had went completely still on his bench, breaking off mid-sentence.

Confused, Lucy set her wine glass - the second of the evening - back onto the table, licking her lips to enjoy the last remnants of the liquid.

"You gotta be kidding me," he spat under his breath, pupils constricting as he kept staring at a point behind her right ear.

"Natsu? What's wrong?"

"Don't look," he almost hissed as she was about to turn her head to follow his line of sight, "but that guy who just came in - fuck, I kid you not, that's him."

"You mean-"

"Yes." She watched Natsu's eyes squint together as he eyed the person who undoubtedly had to be Jackal. "Damn, he's even uglier than I remember him."

Lucy bit her lip in an attempt to stifle the laughter that bubbled in her lungs as she observed Natsu's offended face.

"What the hell is he doing here?" he growled.

"Eating?" Lucy offered, grinning when he momentarily snapped out of his glaring to roll his eyes at her. She leaned closer towards him, lowering her voice. "Can I look?"

"Sure," he shrugged, "guess he'll notice me either way. It's the blonde guy who's talking to the waitress."

Carefully, Lucy turned her head sideways as casually as possible.

Natsu hadn't exaggerated.

The man at the far end of the room wore skinny black jeans and a fur enlaced jacket. His blonde hair was neatly styled, every long strand in perfect place. From his head to his toes his appearance and demeanor screamed holier-than-thou. Or maybe even, she thought with an involuntary smirk, I'm a high end used cars sales man.

His expression was presumptuous, arrogant even, as he spoke down to the waitress, who seemed rather under pressure.

Lucy involuntarily pulled the corners of her mouth downwards before snapping her head back, afraid of staring too long. Had she attracted his attention?

Natsu was watching her intently, as if trying to read her mind.

The frown she gave him was enough to convey her first impression of him.

"You were right about the super villain," she whispered, causing his tight face to loosen up once more, a small grin playing around his lips.

"Course I was."

His fingers drummed against the tabletop, eyes flickering between her and Jackal, gaze hardening with each passing glance at his old acquaintance.

Lucy realized that this went beyond mere polite dislike. Tension hung heavy in the air.

He was still drumming an irregular beat with his calloused fingertips. Before she realized what she was doing, she reached out her hand - but pulled back at the last moment.

His eyes flickered to hers, lingering this time. And growing just the tiniest bit wider as he glanced down at the hand she was now resting loosely on her side of the table.

"You okay?" she asked, unable to keep a trace of worry out of her voice.

He smiled weakly at her, but relaxed nonetheless. His fingers stopped their drumming, and his eyes travelled back down to her hand before moving upwards to her face, shortly pausing on their journey. What had caused this break, Lucy preferred not to look into.

The urge to reach out and soothingly brush her fingers over the back of his hand became stronger by the second. He kept looking at her, as if it helped him calm his nerves.

But then suddenly he tensed, his eyes jumping back to a point behind her. His fingers gripped the tablecloth; his gaze turned to steel. He bared his upper teeth as his whole face twisted in dark, cold anger, and for a short instant Lucy thought he might actually snarl.

They had been spotted.

Too afraid to turn, but certain Jackal's eyes were on them, Lucy held her breath.

The air might have been tense before, but now it felt like she could rip it apart with her hands. Intently, she continued to observe Natsu's face, who seemed to have forgotten everything around him. His fists were balled, almost trembling.

Unclenching them carefully, only to tense them even harder the next instant, Natsu took a deep breath.

That bastard was smiling at him.

As condescendingly as on the day they had first met, a twisted smile that spread right across his ugly face. Natsu wanted to punch it right in.

Why did he have to show up now?! What entity above or below hated him so much that this piece of shit had to be the first person of his arsonist past that he came across?

And why the fuck was he walking over towards him now?

With every step Jackal took through the restaurant, his grin spread. The occasional person looked up from their plate, but Natsu barely noticed. His eyes were trained on Jackal. Lucy's presence beside him was weirdly calming, though, in a peculiar way he didn't quite understand.

But even that was not enough to calm the raging fire that roared inside him as Jackal came to a standstill beside their table, glancing down at Natsu as if he were a bothersome insect just waiting to be swatted.

For a split second his eyes moved to Lucy, and Natsu tensed.

"Salamander," the man drawled, enjoying every last syllable as he pronounced his old alias. "Long time no see."

He could hear Lucy suck in a sharp breath beside him, but couldn't quite place it.

"Thankfully," Natsu growled, making no effort to hide his contempt. "Could've been longer, if you ask me. Hi Jackie."

Jackal's face fell, his smug smile wiped off at the mention of his hated nickname. He wrinkled his nose.

"Anyways," he spoke up again, skating his fingers through the fur of his jacket, "did you hear about the news?"

"What news."

Natsu had a feeling he knew exactly what that bastard was talking about, but he certainly wouldn't give him the pleasure of making it easy for him. He'd say it anways. Natsu knew the pride his old profession brought with it, the mighty feeling of power and invincibility, and he knew Jackal would be unable to resist the temptation.

Let him confess here in front of Lucy.

"You know, there was a terrible fire," Jackal went right on, and Natsu had to stop a satisfied, grim smile from working onto his face. "That fashion store, what was the name again - Blackstar? - burned to the ground." Their eyes burned into each other's. "They say it was no accident."

But Natsu could play this game.

"Yeah, I heard bout that," he replied in a light tone, shrugging as if the matter didn't concern him. He casually glanced at Lucy, but she seemed to have picked up. She looked relaxed, pretending to be clueless about what was going on right in front of her nose. "Sucks, eh?"

It must have cost Jackal quite some nerve to take his nonchalant comment with countenance. His upper lip twitched, and Natsu leaned against the backrest with satisfaction.

"They say it was a random act of violence, possibly a serial burning. Call him some evil genius mastermind in the news."

"Sounds more like a fucking moron to me."

Jackal huffed snidely, probably realizing he was getting nowhere. Or deciding he had done enough territory marking for one day.

"But we don't want those sad news let us get down now, do we?" A patronizing smile stretched his lips. "I'm having a party, you see. Three weeks from now, at my place. You might want to google that. We could do some catching up in a more… agreeable ambience."

Natsu almost snorted. What was he about now? Was this some sort of mockery? Showing off his wealth and superiority, as if Natsu didn't even pose the tiniest threat.

Something inside him coiled and rebelled furiously when he realized that Jackal was right.

He was no longer in the business after all. No threat.

Just a wretched convict.

One of his hands dove for the lighter, grabbing it tightly. His thumb sought out the spark wheel.

"Your… girlfriend can come too." He gesticulated at Lucy, who gave him a smile that did not reach her eyes. "Preferrably without you."

Natsu slowly lifted his eyes back up to Jackal's, giving him his best death glare. His nostrils flared, and he clenched his teeth. Every last fiber of his being wanted nothing more than to pounce and sink his fist into that ugly mug again and again and-

"Leave her out of this."

"Oh but I'm sure she would love to come." Jackal's hand moved to rest on her shoulder, and Lucy stiffened in surprise before staring up at him in angry disbelieve. He smirked at her, his grip tightening. "You can stay all night, if you want."

"No thankyou," Lucy singsonged, revulsion at his advances obvious in her voice. Natsu felt the need to hug her to his chest, both out of gratitude and protectiveness. The feelings surprised him, but they were there.

Jackal better get his dirty hands off her right now.

He wasn't sure how much longer he could control himself. He felt dangerously calm.

"Get your hands off her."

The low growl in his voice turned to a snarl, and he was ready to jump to his feet any second now. Pure willpower kept him on his seat.

But Jackal's hand indeed dropped off her shoulder a moment later, and Natsu inhaled deeply, trying to remember his anger management classes.

He couldn't remember a single word. Not like he tried very hard.

Anger burned in Jackal's eyes too, but it was of a different kind. A mad, almost manic fire that burned darkly inside them, with no purpose but destruction and chaos. They moved from Lucy back to him, unleashing their fury.

"Who would even date a fucking no good like you?" he spat, his cool attitude hanging by a thread.

His pride had been wounded by Lucy's cold rejection, it seemed, because the expression that twisted his face into a mask of insanity made something in Natsu's stomach turn. This man was dangerous, even more so than he had been 7 years ago. Just as Jackal, Natsu directed his attention back towards Lucy.

Jackal was grinning now, bending down almost to her eyelevel. "Did you know your loverboy sat in jail for 7 years?" he purred.

Lucy's eyes turned to steel, and she suddenly understood exactly what it felt like to want to punch someone's face in. With a cold smile in Jackal's direction, she reached for Natsu's hand, which trembled slightly on the table.

"I would date a man like Natsu."

She felt his hand still under hers, and without thinking, she squeezed it reassuringly.

"Now if you would please leave us to our date. I would appreciate that."

But it seemed Jackal had no such intentions. Rather, her cool had further spurred him on. He looked pissed, as if he had expected another reaction entirely.

"Where'd he find you, huh?" His cold eyes bore into hers, but she held his stare with anger of her own. "Strip club? Is he paying you for-"

Lucy barely avoided the splash of red wine as her glass toppled over. The table shook under the force of Natsu's fist, and then he was up in Jackal's face, one hand around his collar and the other about to rise.

"Natsu!" Lucy called out in shock, but he didn't hear her.

"Don't you dare talk like that about Lucy," he snarled, bumping forheads with his enemy. Jackal just grinned, victory clear on his face.

"Natsu, please." Lucy reached out her hand, finding his jacket, and tugged pleadingly. Not a single person in the restaurant was eating. Shocked and gawping eyes lay on them.

To her surprise, her touch seemed to bring him back to reality. His hold on Jackal loosened, and he turned his head to look at her worried face in confusion.

"Please sit back down," she whispered.

Reluctantly, he obeyed her wish, face twisted by rage. "But he…"

"It's okay," she tried a smile, all but ignoring the offended man still standing next to them, who was currently fixing his fur-enlaced jacket. "I don't care what he thinks of me. Or you."

Her hand, slow but determined, settled on his thigh under the table. His eyes grew wide.

"Because I know better," she whispered, eyes filling with genuine, raw feeling. This was not just an act for Jackal, she realized as the words left her. She really meant them. Hopefully, Natsu knew that too. Her fingers moved on his thigh, unconsciously stroking patterns into his pants. "And he's not worth it."

"Yeah." Slowly, a grin spread across Natsu's face, and his hand found hers on his thigh, gripping it tightly. He looked back up at Jackal, all fury gone. Instead, an air of superiority played around him. "You hear that? You're not worth a damn."

Jackal scowled down at him, twisting his shiny wristwatch. His eyes dropped to the mess on the table, travelling over spilled wine and half-eaten pizzacrusts. "Very well then. I hope you enjoy your… dinner."

With a dismissive glance, he turned and all but stormed out of the restaurant.

Everything was quiet.

As the adrenaline left her and she became aware of her surroundings again, Lucy's first instinct was to flee the place and never return. Or better yet, to dig a hole so deep it could swallow her whole.

Her eyes flicked to Natsu, who was scowling at the ground.

He noticed her gaze, slowly returning it. His hand was still holding onto hers, hot and rough. Heat crept onto her cheeks, and she twisted her fingers. The motion was enough to make him realize their hands were still joined on his thigh, and he pulled his back with a harrumph.

"Uh."

"So… that was Jackal, huh?"

They both snorted despite the uncomfortable situation. Despite the blushes now adorning both their cheeks. The silence in the room raised their laughter manifold.

"Yeah. That was Jackal."

They both remained silent, feeling everyone's eyes on them.

"Do you want to leave?"

Natsu blinked at her, stuffing a dripping pizzacrust into his mouth. "Why?"

Why?!

This guy really had the sensitivity of a stone. She glanced around, and more than one curious gaze hastily escaped her. Conversation was slowly starting to pick back up.

"We still have food left," he continued, wiping his mouth.

In disbelief, Lucy glanced down at the chaos he called food. Was he really going to…- Of course he would. What a stupid question. She knew that much by now. Food was sacred, and abandoning even a single crumb came close to sacrilege.

"You can have mine too," she offered, and felt her eyelid twitch. "I lost my appetite."

"Cool!"

She just rolled her eyes at him, choosing it would be wiser for now if she let him proceed. As carefree as he acted, she felt he was still agitated inside. It was still there, beneath the surface, simmering down with each bite he took.

Don't you dare talk like that about Lucy.

His words rang in her ears, making her heart skip a beat. The way he had said her name, almost soft despite his angry snarl, still sent a shiver down her spine. She realized that she liked it when he used her name instead of his moniker of choice.

He wasn't all bad after all, was he?

Lucy propped her chin up on her hands, watching with a smile as he gobbled up the rest of their food.

It took him a few more moments of satisfied fingerlicking and one last loud, extensivemmmmhhh before he became aware of her amused, almost fond eyes on him.

He paused, a silly smile on his face. His stomach felt as if it might burst any moment, and the constricting feeling slowly brought him down from his food high. He was almost certain he would come to regret his feast later - but not really. The pain would be worth it.

Only when Lucy's cheeks started turning a very light pink did he realize he had continued smiling at her like an idiot for longer than he wished.

"Uh," he began while scratching the back of his head, which for some reason caused her to grimace. He had no idea what he was supposed to say now. Or maybe…

"Thanks for the food," he laughed, trying to downplay the meaning of his words. She had given him more than she knew.

A bright smile lit up her face.

"Anytime. Or, uh, well, I mean….this is a one time thing of course, but I mean, if it weren't, then… anytime."

With every word, her face had turned a new shade of red, and with each word, Natsu had found it harder and harder to not burst out laughing.

Her cop face was long gone, and he loved what he had found underneath it.

He wanted to steal her mask like he had stolen her pen, but this time he would have no intention of bringing it back.

But he didn't know if he'd ever see his detective again after this evening. He had given her the information she needed without thinking much, making their continued cooperation unnecessary. And she had just now clarified again that she intended for their meeting to be singular, no matter how flustered she had been.

Maybe it was simply because he hadn't exactly had much company after leaving prison, but he had enjoyed sharing this evening with her more than he had enjoyed anything in a long time. Something inside him hurt at the thought of never seeing her again.

"So," he started, determined to push those confusing feelings deep down to where they had come from, "do you invite all suspects out to dinner?"

She snorted. "No."

"Why did you invite me?"

As she let the question sink in, a sense of confusion washed over her. Why had she invited him, exactly? Sure, to get information, that's what she had told herself too. But if she really had wanted to, she could have gotten it out of him in other ways. By dragging him right back into that room for example, no matter how long it took.

Or she could just have disregarded him altogether.

But she hadn't.

She had acted against everything she had been trained to do, had disobeyed rules to secretly meet up with a criminal. Alone. Without backup.

Not her wisest of moves.

But Lucy was not scared. Not even a bit.

Natsu didn't scare her. No, he made her curious, even fascinated her.

"Because… I wanted to."

It was a simple answer, but it seemed to satisfy him. He leaned back into his chair, a small smile on his lips that she found impossible to interpret.

"You're cleared, you know," she added. "They checked your alibi."

Natsu didn't seem surprised - after all, he had known he was innocent. But his eyes were sharp, knowingly assessing her face once more.

"Yeah, but you didn't know that yet when you wrote that note for me."

Lucy looked down at the table, momentarily breaking under his strong gaze. Then, with a small nod, she brought her eyes back up. "Yeah. I didn't."

"But you knew I didn't do it? Careful, detective. Don't trust your instincts too much. You won't know when they fool you." Danger swung in his voice, an attempt to scare her no doubt.

"My instincts have never fooled me," she retaliated sharply. His threat was an empty one. "And the alibi just proves it. You're innocent. So maybe enjoy that instead of trying to make me doubt it."

A light expression returned to his face, and he dragged his thumb along his lower lip. Lucy resisted the urge to stare, forcing her gaze away from the motion. Her pride was still nursing the small wound he had inflicted, slowly recoiling on itself like a soothed predator.

"Fine then," he grinned.

"About this guy… Jackal," she started, and watched his grin freeze at the edges, "You're right. He's… despicable." She spat the words in a low growl. Natsu's eyes widened in surprise. "And I agree. I think he is the one we're looking for."

With a grim nod, he grabbed the knife in front of him, playing around with it on the table.

"In that case, your detective tingles are spot on. He basically admitted to it right in front of me, that smug bastard. He even felt proud…" The knife ripped along the table's surface, carving a small path as it was guided by his trembling hand.

"Yeah, I didn't miss that either," Lucy nodded. Her expression turned as grim as his. "Don't worry. I will get that bastard. He'll never see the light of day again."

Natsu's eyes darted up to meet hers, hands relaxing.

"But I… can't do it on my own," she admitted. "I… I need your help."

It had cost her quite an effort to speak these words, but they were the simple truth.

This time, no sneering grin found its way onto his face. Natsu remained dead serious. For a moment, Lucy thought he would simply deny her, but then he slowly nodded.

"You do."

As much as it grated her that he confirmed her statement, she knew he was stating a fact. And he knew it too. They would have to work together if they wanted to get to Jackal. Even though she wasn't sure what exactly that cooperation would come to entail. For now it was enough to know that she could count on him to be willing to help her out in one way or the other.

"I wanna see him locked away too," Natsu snarled, "so that's why I'm helping you. Even though you're a cop." He grumbled the last sentence under his breath, crossing his arms defiantly.

But whether reluctantly or not - whether he did it to do her a favour or to do it for himself - it didn't matter in the end. Natsu had just agreed to help her out.

"Great," she smiled, drawing new hope from this development. "I'll need more information about Jackal, but maybe not… in such a public place. It was enough to run into him once, never mind all the ears around us. Next time I meet him, I want it to be when I arrest him."

"Sounds like a plan," Natsu grinned, new determination on his face.

Here she was, making secret plans with an ex-criminal. If you had told Lucy this would be how her day would end, she would have choked on her morning juice.

But it was… exciting.

"Shall we leave it at that for now then?"

"Fine with me, detective. You call the shots, right?"

The irony in his voice did nothing to annoy her at this point.

"I do," she grinned back at him.