No Help Required

I'm gonna start bending my usual word count minimum. So you might see shorter stories from time to time now. This is one of those times. I know that doesn't look as nice to post, but it's still more stuff to read, so I hope you like the change.

(Takes place in my Chase The Truth canon. As for when: can be any time after Kanji and Naoto started dating, you're welcome to decide for yourself.)

Begin!

~Normal POV

If there was one thing Kanji knew about his girlfriend it was this: she could be stubborn. Such was the case right at this moment.

He had come over to her house to hang out and have a little "couple-time." Naoto had to do a few things first, one of which was grab a book to read later (Kanji liked it when she read her books to him). It just so happened that the one she chose was on a shelf higher than her arm could reach. And she was being stubborn about getting it by herself... To a degree he honestly found kind of funny. (Though he wasn't gonna laugh at her cause that would not end well.)

After watching her struggle for a bit, he asked, "Do you want me to get that for you?"

"No," Naoto said, bluntly.

"...Are you sure?"

In response, Naoto frowned. "Yes, I am sure." And she continued her fruitless effort.

In her head however, Naoto was getting more grumpy by the second. Without being able to wear her usual platform shoes indoors, this was more difficult. She had a few footstools in the library, but out of nothing less than pure stubborn pride, she refused to go get one. Not in front of Kanji. How pathetic would that look- to see his girlfriend have to climb on things like a child. She could get this book perfectly fine. Without standing on her toes either...

And giving up and trying again later was also out of the question. Detective Prince Naoto Shirogane does not back down, especially from something that shouldn't be a challenge in the first place! Whether it was tracking a murderer who throws people into tvs, or trying to ski, she doesn't back down from any challenge.

Kanji saw frustration on her face. She was determined, he had to give her that. He smirked and realized that while she did say no to him getting it for her, that didn't mean he couldn't help somehow...

He stepped behind her and picked her up by her waist.

"Ah! Kanji- what are you doing?! Put me down!"

"You said you didn't want me to get it for you, so I'm helping you get it yourself," He answered, happily.

Naoto was blushing. "I didn't ask for your-"

"Just grab it already," Kanji said, chuckling, "I don't mind."

Despite her protests, she grabbed the book she wanted. He gently put her back down. At first, he thought she was gonna be upset. She was all quiet now. He'd never picked her up like that before. Would she be offended? Maybe he should apologize.

"I'm sorry, babe- I just wanted to help!"

But that wasn't why Naoto was being quiet. It was actually because that felt nice... really nice. She knew her boyfriend was strong from a number of examples. He was a powerhouse in the tv world. He could lift heavy stuff easily whenever asked. And she knew he was quite impressive from a visual standpoint that she wasn't going to elaborate on. He did carry her out of the tv world after her kidnapping last year, but she'd been so exhausted she didn't think of it at the time. But now she was thinking about it, and she liked it.

Meanwhile, she hadn't noticed Kanji's attempts to apologize. "Babe? Are you really that mad at me?" He asked, worriedly.

"Oh... no- I'm not mad," Naoto answered, smiling a little at him.

Kanji smiled again. "Oh good!"

She was still blushing as she set her book aside on a table. "Um, actually... could you..." But she was too embarrassed to finish so she trailed off into incoherent mumbling.

He looked at her with confusion. "Could I do what?"

"I said could you..." She trailed off again.

"Naoto, I can't hear you-"

"Pick me up again!"

Kanji blinked. "What?"

"I said, pick me up again... P-Please..." Naoto repeated, embarrassedly.

He laughed. "Well if you like it, then sure-!" He picked her up again, making her smile, despite her embarrassment.

"You know, you can just ask for help anytime, babe."

"I could have gotten it on my own though."

Kanji looked at their position and smirked. "Well, I guess your stubbornness did give me an easy way to do this-"

He pulled her close and kissed her. Naoto closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, melting into the kiss. Their quest to pick out a book was quickly forgotten.

Sometimes being stubborn can have its good sides.

~The End!

Thank you for reading! :)