Guys, I don't think you understand how WIP this story has been. I've been at this story since August. At first it started as a draft on tumblr but I had to move it over to the Doc Manager at FanFiction because the tumblr text editor becomes laggy and unresponsive at about 2000 words. But It's finally done. Warning, the character are probably OOC. But it's hard to keep these two in character while still making the relationship believable.

Dojima entered the cafeteria to see Naoto by herself, cup of coffee in one hand case file in another, just as he had for the past 2 days. So focused on the job to not even eat, he wasn't even that work obsessed. She needed to relax, especially during lunch, else she'll burn herself out. She needed something to distract her. So he decided to be that something.

"Hey." He greeted as he sat down, pulling out his lunch.

Though surprised, Naoto quickly recovered. "Dojima-san, what can I do for you?" Even though she sounded diplomatic, she was secretly annoyed at being distracted from the case.

"Saw you sitting here with no lunch. Thought I'd share mine." Dojima grabbed the case files and placed them to the side, then laid his lunch out between the two.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm fin-" Naoto attempted to dismiss, reaching for the files again. But Dojima laid his hand on the files and stared her in the eye.

"Naoto, you need to eat. If you keep continuing like this, you'll burn out. I know you want to solve this case, but sometimes you gotta take a break."

"A break, will the murderer take a break, will the child molester take a break? If I take a break, who knows what I'll miss, or what they'll do. I need to keep working till I crack this case, till I can tell the family that their child will have their justice." Naoto stood, face lit with fury. She had no idea why she was mad. Stress, probably. But she could not rest, could not eat, till this case was solved.

"You don't think I've felt the same. You don't think I've been tempted to stop eating, stop sleeping to find the bastard that killed Chisato. But I know if I did that I'd cause more harm than good. I'd be tired, irritable, and not be thinking in my right stage of mind. Just like you are right now. Now eat." He grabbed the rice and thrust-ed it towards her. They both stared, cold gaze vs cold gaze, neither wanting to back down. Naoto looked towards the ground and sighed, before sinking back into the seat.

"I apologize for my behavior." Naoto said quietly.

"Don't worry about it. Now eat." Naoto listened this time, grabbing the rice and chop sticks. She ate faster than she felt proud of, but she didn't realize till now how hungry she actually was. Dojima chuckled all the same as he looked on. She looked much more like her age, a nice change from the mask she wears most of the day. He turned back towards his own portion of the lunch and ate himself.

"So how's school?" He eventually asked, putting his finished meal to the side.

"Why would you want to know that?" Naoto questioned, after swallowing a mouthful of rice and beef.

"Just something to get your mind off the case. So come on, tell me." Dojima pressed.

"Very well. Nothing of real importance happened." Then a grimace passed over her face.

"Uh uh, I know that face. Nanako makes it whenever something happened at school that bothered her." And he knew that, just like Nanako, all she needed was some undivided attention to get it off her chest. So, turning his phone to silent and placing it on the table, he focused all his attention on her. "So, out with it. What happened?"

Naoto was shocked. This was actually the first time someone had focused purely on her. Sure she spent a lot of time with her grandpa growing up, but he always got phone calls about cases, or a servant would come in and tell him a guest had arrived. Even when talking with her friends, the murder investigation or school always weighed heavily on their minds. But Dojima had stopped everything that might interrupt them, side from some one walking over, to talk to her. It was nice feeling, to be the most important thing to someone, even if temporary. She sighed. "Alright, something did happen at school." And suddenly Naoto was talking about her day, small talk that she normally found pointless, but she enjoyed it for some reason. And Dojima listened intently, making comments at the right moments. A skill honed, Naoto guessed, from his years of marriage and fatherhood.

When done, she asked Dojima in return about his life. They never noticed till now how curious they both were about the other. How'd you get here? Where were you before? What made you want to be a detective? These question and more were exchanged between the two. They seemed to enjoy each others company more and more as they spoke. So much so that they were actually saddened when the lunch break ended.

"Hey?" Dojima said, as they were leaving the break room.

"Hm?" Naoto asked, staring up at the senior detective, case files in hand.

"Same time tomorrow?" He suggested with a smile.

A smile Naoto returned. "Absolutely."

000000

They fell into a pattern after that. Everyday they would sit at the same table and eat Dojima's lunch. Dojima eventually resorted to packing twice the food, just so they each could have enough. And they would discuss things, things that were mostly unimportant and sometimes even silly. A fact that, for some reason, didn't upset Naoto as much as it should have. She was supposed to be a detective though, detectives do not discuss funny cat stories from their childhood. Detectives acted mature and elegant.

Apparently Dojima didn't get that memo. He was loud, he talked about what ever was on his mind, and he acted about 10 years younger than he was. All these things Naoto specifically noticed he never did when around anyone else, except her. Sometimes they left and went to Aiya's during their break, and it was at time like these that Dojima saw Naoto open up the most. Because she wasn't surrounded by people who she needed to constantly mimic to seem mature, she talked about herself, laughed out loud, completely forgot about cases or perps or suspects. Just focusing on them and them alone.

A couple of times he invited her out to the movies, he explained he couldn't go to see many of the movies he wanted to see with Nanako and he didn't like going alone. The reason he only invited her out a couple of times being that after a while she started inviting him. He didn't mind it, he found they couldn't go as often as he wanted because he always thought of a case and before long he has all the files on his desk and an hour had passed. With Naoto inviting him out he didn't need to think about what he had to do, he could just go. Naoto liked scary movies, but always jumped and screamed while watching them. Dojima was confused as to why she would want to see a movie that freaked her out so much. She said she liked these movies because she didn't have to control her emotions, she could scream and jump and yelp to her heart's content and no one looks twice at. Dojima, and he wasn't proud of this, enjoyed watching these movies just as much as she did, mainly because she always snuggled herself into his arm when she was scared.

And as time stretched on, they both noticed more things. Like how Naoto threw her head back and closed her eyes when she laughed, or how Dojima rubbed under his nose when embarrassed, or how both liked to wade their feet in the Samegawa river. They both became so dependent on these meetings that once, when there was no school or work, Dojima actually showed up at her house and invited her out to lunch.

She accepted of course.

And of course people talked. The 40 something single father detective being seen with the 16 year old "Detective Princess" in a small town like Inaba? They was bound to be talked about. Neither cared, just enjoying being able to open up without judgement. Of course Naoto heard the rumor he was paying her for "favors". Of course Dojima heard the one that she was a long lost daughter no one knew about. They heard them all. And they always had the same response when confronted on any of them.

"No comment." And they walked away. Eventually the rumors either stopped or they just stopped asking the two about it, because they stopped hearing anything.

Due to their extended time spent together, they noticed even more things the other did, things other wouldn't notice by first glance or even be allowed to see. Like how Dojima always skipped at least one rock when visiting the river. Or how Naoto always tried to balance random things on others for no other reason then to see if she could when waiting for their food to be ready. How Dojima lightly tapped his fingers on the table, but always in the same rhythm. How Naoto sometimes hummed when listening to a song, most of the time off pitch. And how Dojima smiled and listened, despite her musical ineptitude.

Her friends and his nephew all noticed and asked questions.

"Why are you hanging around him so much?"

"You're spending a lot of time with Naoto, uncle. Don't you think it's kinda strange?"

"Are you guys dating?"

"No comment" They replied again. They didn't need them judging their relationship. What ever was between them was that, between them. Neither one needed someone coming in and adding their two cents to the mix. But her friends questions planted a seed into Natoto's head that grew the longer she was around Dojima. And she began to notice things she never actually paid any mind to before. Like how gruff his voice was, how rough and rugged his face was, and how broad his shoulders were. These observations, while shallow alone, when added with her past observations gave birth to a whole new feeling then before. It warmed her chest, made her heart flutter, and she became nervous when he got extremely close to her.

Dojima was no escapee of cupids arrow. He too had the seed planted in his head, and it grew all the same, though Dojima's shock came much sooner than Naoto's. Like when he began to notice the slight sway of her hips when walking, or the way her hair fell around her face without her hat, or how her eyes were-despite their grey color- always so bright a vibrant. She wasn't the conventional beauty, but a beauty nether-less. And he knew this feeling. He'd felt it before. No, love was no stranger to him. Though he and it had some major catching up to do.

Neither one spoke of how they felt, each waiting for the best time to tell the other. And as it turned out, the best time was under his jacket after dinner, the rain falling around them.

Dojima had decided to take Naoto out to dinner to celebrate the closing of one of her cases. And while it was a small case, women reported burglary of her cell phone then found out burglar was in fact her baby son who had hidden it in his diaper , Naoto never rejected the chance to spend more time with the senior detective.

The dinner was different than their normal lunch. Most obvious being that the atmosphere of the diner changed from a place of gathering to a place of more romantic intentions. Evident by the couples around the diner. They both tried to not pay attention, but the mood was for too strong to ignore. The dinner continued though and the two talked as they always had, even as Naoto found her self just watching him and not hearing what he said, and as Dojima wondered what'd Naoto would look like in a dress.

They ate together far longer then they expected to, but they didn't complain. Until after dinner, as the two were leaving, when it began to rain. Neither or them had an umbrella, not expecting to be out as long as they had been, so they had to run through the rain with just Dojima's jacket to cover their heads. When they reached the gazebo(?)* at the flood plains they were laughing like school children. Naoto apologized about the jacket, with Dojima commenting this was the most use it had gotten in months, which made Naoto laugh again.

When Dojima saw her laughing, looking so happy and beautiful with the rain plastering her hair to her forehead, cheeks tinted with a slight pink, he decided enough was enough. And in the gazebo(?)*, in the flood plains of Inaba, Tokyo with the rain beating against the small structure's roof, Dojima finally kissed Naoto. A kiss she quickly returned.

0000

Naoto had never thought about what would happen after she confessed her feelings, she honestly never thought she would. She had never been in a relationship before. The romantic movies she watched(for purely research purposes of course) never showed what happened after the big kiss. But she hadn't expected the changes to be so... small.

Its not that she was complaining, just the opposite in fact. She expected to go lovey dovey, start acting flustered and become a giggling mess around him, and honestly she was glad for the barely noticeable shift(Though she still got flustered at times, especially when he complimented her). The only big changes were that they held hands in public and kissed now and then. That's it, nothing else changed. The way they acted towards each other and what they did with each other stayed the same. Naoto finally understood why everyone thought they were dating in the beginning. They had lunch dates, dinner dates, even movie dates. They were pretty much a couple already. So when they both announced their relationship to everyone they weren't surprised when everyone wasn't shocked that they were dating, but shocked that they hadn't been already. Apparently they were all under the impression that since they refused to answer questions about the other that they were secretly dating. Looking back, Dojima realized how suspicious they both looked when they brushed off every question about their relationship. He would've thought the same thing in their shoes.

Nanako took to Naoto a lot faster than any one expected. Naoto feared how Nanako would react, being as how she was basically trying to become her mother in law. But she was a lot more mature than Naoto gave her credit. She knew no one would replace her mom, in her father's heart or hers, but she also understood that her Dad was lonely and deserved to find happiness again. So she didn't complain when Naoto started to come with them on family outing, sometimes she even beat Dojima to the punch at times, in fact she was happy. It wasn't until she started calling Naoto Mom that they realized how okay she was about them.

Naoto stayed in Inaba, choosing to stop her private detective work in favor of becoming Dojima replacement assistant detective. She realized that while her parents were private detectives and loved their jobs, they didn't stay in one place for too long as they had to move to where ever their services were required. She wanted something concrete, something to depend on. And she had found that something with Dojima. It was along her 18th birthday that she moved in to the Dojima residence. Surprisingly Nanako was the happiest, going on excitedly about all the things they could do now that "Mom" lived with them. Do each others hair, watch family movies, play games together. She went on so long she wore herself out, being put to bed by a chuckling Dojima. It was when they were both retiring to their now shared bed -arms around each other, Naoto snuggling her face into his chest and Dojima's in her hair- that Naoto realized how big of a deal this was.

This was the start of the rest of their lives. After this is marriage then maybe a little sister or brother for Nanako who will grow older and go to college before moving out entirely and having children of her own, afterwards the most likely scenario would be Dojima passing on due to him being nearly 3 decades older than Naoto, ending with her retiring a widow and grandmother before following her husband into the after life. Everything was crashing down on her at once, making her subconsciously squeeze Dojima tighter.

"Hey, what's wrong." Dojima asked, slightly muffled in her hair.

"It's just now hitting me how big this is." Naoto confessed. "This is it, this is where our lives really begin. I mean pretty soon people will start asking about marriage and If we do get married then they'll start asking about children, even thought we already have a daughter, then Nanako will go to college then get married then have children, then you'll die-"

"Whoa, slow down there. I'm nowhere near dying, I still got a good 2 decades left in me." Dojima interrupted, flexing his arm to show that his age hadn't caught up quite yet causing Naoto to laugh. "And what are you thinking about these sort of things for anyway."

"I don't know. But its true. Eventually this'll all end."

"Well yes, that's true. But all we have to do is make sure we experience as much as possible in between then and now so we can look back and not have any regrets. So when we get sad over something that happens like my death, with isn't anytime soon, we can just think back to the good times we had. Okay?" He asked, staring her in the eye. Naoto hesitated, but nodded in understanding knowing he was right. "Alright, so can we stop already talking about my death. You just moved in today."

"Yeah, you're right." She sighed, before chuckling.

"What's so funny." Dojima raised an eyebrow.

"That speech was so cheesy."

"Oh shut up and go to sleep." Dojima grumbled, puling her farther into his chest.

"Good night Ryotoro." Naoto said , smiling at the use of his first name.

"Night Naoto." Dojima returned, before they both were taken over by sleep.

~ 20 Years Later ~

Even thought most of the things Naoto thought had indeed taken place, she found Dojima was right. At his funeral, while Nanako sobbed with into the chest of her husband and hugged her children, while Yu cried into the shoulder of Chie, while all her friends sobbed around her husbands casket , and while she found herself sobbing just the same, she also found she wasn't fully sad. Sure, she was heartbroken that the love of her life had died, but she took comfort in the fact that the memories he left behind are things that can never be taken away. Like when he hurt his back trying to impress her with one handed push ups, or when they went on picnics together at the riverbank, or the many countless corny jokes he told over the years that never failed to maker her laugh.

"Mom, why are you smiling?" Naoto heard a shaky voice speak next to her after the service. And of course the most important thing he gave her. Naoto turned to look at her 8 year old son. He looked so much like his father, same jaw, nose shape, even the same hair style. But there was one thing that he did get from her. His striking eyes, making him look more mature then he actually was. Naoto smiled and wrapped her arms around the boy.

"I'm smiling because of all the memories your father left for me, Minato, you included." Naoto revealed, tears coursing down her cheeks despite her smile.

"Will you tell them to me so I can smile, too?" Minato asked quietly.

"Of course I will. I'll tell you them so that whenever you get sad again, you can think about these memories and laugh about your silly old dad."

"He was pretty silly." Minato giggled.

"Yes he was, did I ever tell you about the time when he tried to fix the plumbing and nearly flooded the house?" Naoto watched in joy as the child that had just been crying before was now nearly rolling on the floor brought to stitches by the "Tales of The Silly Dad". Back at the house they both stayed up far longer then they should have, but Minato kept asking for "one more story" before finally collapsing. Naoto smiled and put him to bed, marveling at how much more he looked like his father while asleep. Tucking herself into their once shared bed, she stared at the picture frames on the bed stand near her side of the bed. In one stood her and Dojima, during their wedding. Naoto was wearing a classic white dress, face flushed red, with Dojima wearing a matching classic suit. Dojima hair had started to grey in areas, but other then that he looked the same as he had when she first met him. And in the other was her, Dojima, Nanako, and Minato all having a picnic when Minato was just 4 ears old. The pictures were the ultimate comfort because Naoto knew that even if her brain failed her and she forgot everything about her life with Dojima, she would always have these pictures to remind her of the best moments of her life. Naoto closed her eyes and let sleep take her, smiling at the fact that from then on the memories of Dojima would take the place of her dreams.

So what do you guys think? Good? Bad? Worst piece of literature to ever grace the internet since Twilight. Please review, I've worked really hard on this story and would like to know what people think, even if it's negative.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Have a nice day/afternoon/night/life.