Cozy Winter

(Takes place in my Chase The Truth canon, post-epilogue.)

Begin!

~Normal POV

Winter was both a blessing and a curse in Naoto's opinion. Two very conflicting thoughts occupied her mind whenever it came around. On one hand, winter had a way of looking calm and serene, which she did enjoy. On the other hand... she hated the cold.

But was that really such a problem anymore? Not when she has Kanji for a boyfriend. She had more than enough ways to keep warm when he was around. From the scarf he gave her for Christmas last year, to "borrowing" his sweaters that were much too large on her, to just cuddling with him. (Kanji was always warm.) She still had to contend with going outside, but for the most part winters could now be spent in comfort. Especially since Kanji's mom was nice enough to make her some leggings to wear under her uniform skirt. She was happy with dressing this way again, but that didn't mean she could ignore the obvious advantages to wearing pants.

Today was a Saturday, and after school let out, Kanji took up an offer to spend the day at Naoto's house for a study date. Her grandpa and Yakushiji were away on a case, so she had the house to herself for a while. And since it was rather cold, this was a perfect opportunity to stay inside and keep warm together. Naoto had a habit of checking the weather and saw that it was supposed to snow heavily tonight. So after making a quick stop at Kanji's house for him to grab some things he needed, the two went to her house.

~...

"I hate math..." Kanji grumbled, with a frustrated sigh.

Naoto smiled, "Don't you use math to measure crafting material you need?"

"Well- yeah, but that shit doesn't require algebra. You just measure and cut."

They were sitting in Naoto's bedroom, studying as best they could. With Naoto around, Kanji had to admit his grades were better. But that didn't mean he was any kind of expert. The best thing he did in school was finally get the courage to join the sewing club, and quickly become president of it by popular request.

"So what do I even need it for then," Kanji asked.

"Because," Naoto answered, "The idea is to know how to do it, in case you run into a situation where you do need it. Rather than needing it, but not knowing how to do it."

"That doesn't make sense either, babe..."

Naoto shrugged. "It's just the way it is. As for me, I have a higher chance of needing this in my detective work than you do." She went to write down another correct answer on her homework.

"I'd love to know how the hell you're ever gonna need algebra to catch a murderer."

"You'd be surprised," Naoto said, smirking, "Now, stay focused- we're almost done. What's the answer to number 14?"

Kanji adjusted his glasses and stared at the problem with a puzzled look on his face. He tried to do it on a separate paper. "Uhh... 16?"

"It's actually 28." She showed him how to do the problem the right way on her paper.

He sighed again. "Damn it..."

Naoto thought for a moment before giving him a sly smile. "Alright, how about we make a deal? If you get the next question right, we'll take a break, and I'll... give you some kisses to take your mind off the math."

Kanji perked up on hearing that. "Oh, so you wanna take a break just as badly, huh?" He asked, playfully.

"Well, we've been working for a while; a break would be nice. But only if you get it right."