notes: have i ever told you how much i love fall out boy? because i do. a lot. also, oh my word you guys (girls? are there any guys reading this? if so, what's up?) you're all so nice and sweet. thank you so much!
dedication: here's to four (three?) days until the blacklist season premiere and counting. i'm excited. also season three of arrow is starting the same week as my birthday, so. olicity.

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{just so you know, you'll never know
and some secrets weren't meant to be told}

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ii. ("but someone's who's willing to burn the world down to protect the one person they care about...that's a man i understand."—raymond reddington)

"What exactly do you mean by 'a proposition'?" Lucy's brows crease just the smallest bit, and she gives the man seated before her a skeptical glance.

The expression on his face grows into a full-on smirk, and Natsu leans back in his seat and interlocks his fingers behind his head. "Ah, but that's simple really, Lucy. You have something that I want—or rather, your former place of employment does—and I have something I think they'd be interested in. You could call it a trade, of sorts."

Lucy opens her mouth to say something—though neither of them are quite sure what, yet—but the door to the room suddenly bursts open and slams against the wall. The two occupants look up to see a calm and collected Erza Scarlet standing before them, with a fuming Gray Fullbuster on her heels. There's a steel gleam in Erza's eyes telling them both she means business, and Lucy wants to shrink inside herself and disappear at that look. But it's not directed toward her, rather to the smirking man sitting in the other chair.

Natsu doesn't appear fazed in the least, and matches the redhead's stare with a blazing charcoal one. Erza takes a step forward. "What kind of trade are you offering to make, Dragneel? I do hope that you're keeping in mind that we don't have to make any sort of deal with you. You're on our ground, and we have the upper hand here."

"And I sure as hell hope that you realize that I'm here because I want to be," he responds smoothly, turning his attention back to his blonde interrogator.

Erza's professional stance and schooled expression falters for a brief second before she recovers, and when she speaks again, her tone is hard and icy. "What are you hoping to accomplish by this? What exactly do you want?"

Natsu promptly ignores her, and continues on with his earlier explanation. "There are people out there—people far worse than the ones on your wanted lists, criminals you don't even know about—who're getting away with their crimes. I want them off the streets, and while I can't speak for the head of your respective agency, I'm just gonna make a wild guess here and say that he does too."

Lucy blinks and Erza raises a brow.

"What I'm offering you here, Agent Scarlet, is a chance to catch them and put them away for a long, long time. I know who they are," his eyes never leave the woman before him as he goes on, "and I know how to take them down."

He glances up at her, then. "You want to make this world a safer place, right? I can help you do that."

Gray slams a fist down on the table, startling Lucy. She jumps, eyes going wide, before turning to look at him. "That's bullshit! You," he seethes, "are part of our problem."

The blonde decides that Natsu looks particularly smug as he grins at the other man. "Oh? Do you have the evidence to prove your theory? Or is it just in its stage of conception? Face it Fullbuster, you can't tie me to anything, can you? I'm just here on all of your agency's suspicions, aren't I? Lucy said it herself, I don't leave any trails—so even if I was involved in something, you wouldn't know, now would you? You're just guessing, and I'm not an expert in the law or anything, but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to convince a jury that I've actually committed any kind of crime."

Agent Fullbuster looks even angrier, if possible. "You little—that time in Edolas—!"

"Gray," Erza holds up a hand. "That's enough." She narrows her eyes at Natsu. "How do we know that you're even telling the truth? I'm not one to played, Mr. Dragneel. If you're bluffing, I will find out, and I will make sure you sincerely regret it."

He nods at her. "Of course, Scarlet. Wouldn't dream of it. I'm here, aren't I? Why would I lie to you? You'll just have to trust me on this one."

She clenches one fist and raises the other hand to point at him. "Trust," Erza begins in a cold voice, "is earned. Especially with someone like me."

Natsu smirks at her, and the two remain locked in some kind of intense internal battle that apparently no one else can hear. Gray is looking between the two in muted fury, and Lucy shifts uncomfortably. Finally, she raises a hand and attempts to clear her throat.

"I…I believe him."

All eyes turn towards her, and but she only pays attention to one person. His gaze is laced with something akin to incredulity and relief, and she feels something tug in her chest so she decides to look up at the woman in charge instead.

"He really doesn't have a reason to lie to us, right? I mean, he did turn himself in this morning, and he let himself be arrested willingly. He's been fully cooperative since you brought him here aside from only wanting to talk to me. I don't see why he would have any real reason to try and deceive us."

That's a lie, she thinks to herself as the words leave her mouth. There are several reasons. He could've had us followed, he could be trying to kill somebody, he could be bugging the place; the list is indefinite.

Lucy swallows. But it's all made up of 'could-be.'

Even though there's a chance he's actually here to do those things, for some insane reason, she thinks he wouldn't ever lie to her either. And then she thinks that maybe she should also stop thinking because it's giving her all these crazy ideas that agents—even former agents—shouldn't have.

"Miss Heartfilia is right," the gruff voice of Assistant Director Dreyar breaks the silence, and they all turn to see him standing in the doorway. Lucy's forgotten how short of stature the man is. "Well, let's hear it, Dragneel. What can you give us?"

Natsu places his hands on the table, and levels his gaze with the older man. "A list. More specifically, the Lumen Histoire."

"Flashy name," Gray speaks up, and for the first time he doesn't sound angry. "What is it?"

The would-be suspect smirks again. "Like I said: it's a list. You know those criminals I was telling you about? They all have names, and they all have numbers that coincide with this list depending on who they are and what they do. These aren't people you want left to themselves, believe me."

"So, this Lumen Histoire, you're willing to give it to us?" Makarov questions uneasily.

He shrugs. "I'm willing to give you a number and a name when the opportunity to get them strikes, but that's all up to you."

The older man narrows his eyes and straightens. "There's a catch."

"I see you're assistant director for a reason," Natsu grins. "And several, actually. One, I want my freedom. I'd rather not be cooped up in here, if it's all the same to you."

Erza looks like she's about to protest, but he holds up a hand. "I promise I'll behave, Agent Scarlet. I'll stay out of trouble, cross my heart and hope to die."

This seems to silence her, so he continues. "Two, I want complete access to your network mainframe and database. Some of these people…well, let's just say that they don't like to be found. There's only so much I can do, and if you want to catch them, then we're going to need to use all available resources."

"Oh no," Gray shakes his head. "I'm not allowing you access to that. Absolutely not. You could start a war or something, for all we know."

Natsu looks at him, long and hard. "If I wanted to start a war, Agent Fullbuster, I wouldn't need your extensive computer networking system to do it. Humanity is very fickle, you know. Besides, it's not like I'll be the one accessing it directly. That's all on you and your people. Now onto number three, I want to work exclusively with Miss Heartfilia here. If not, then the whole deal is off."

He leans back and waits. Makarov beckons for the others to follow him out of the room, and Gray shuts the door behind them as they exit. As soon as they're out, the assistant director turns to Lucy. "Miss Heartfilia, don't feel you have to do this. You're not a member of this agency anymore, and even if you were we'd give you the choice. You can walk away from this—if you choose to do so, we won't bother you again. Nobody's forcing you to do anything, the decision is entirely up to you. It's your call, Miss Heartfilia."

Lucy looks from the people standing before her to the computer monitor on the desk next to her. The screen shows the interrogation room and the man sitting inside it, looking completely content to sit where he is. She clenches her jaw and swallows, turning back to the older man awaiting her reply.

"I joined the FBI because I wanted to catch the bad guys in the first place—to make the world a safer place. He's giving us a chance to do just that," she manages to force a small smile. "And on that note, when would you guys ever get this kind of opportunity again?"

She casts one last glance down at the mysterious figure on the screen, and bites her bottom lip.

"I'll do it."

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Later, though, after an apologetic Gray Fullbuster escorts her home and she is safely inside, she collapses onto her couch wondering just what she's agreed to.

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end notes: title of the list subject to change. i just wanted to use something from the actual manga/anime, so. on another note, i'm going to have to start making the chapters longer, i think. or we're never going to get through this. i don't remember red's terms and conditions so idk. one last thing, i realize that natsu might be kind of ooc, but he can also be quite cunning and smart in the manga.