The next day
The Junes' food court was as busy at had always been; Naoto and Kanji were sat at the table they always used for the meetings of the investigation team, they were sat discussing general plans for the wedding.
"It's going to be a simple ceremony right Kanji?" Naoto asked they had given up on using honorifics between them, when Naoto agreed to marry him over a year ago.
The dark brown haired Kanji scratched his head.
"Yeah very low key, though gramps said it was gonna take place at his place." Kanji said "He was insistin' I take your name, an' I am kinda considerin' it."
Naoto smiled at him with a small look in her eye; she had already joked that he was like a housewife already, and he had agreed with her, after she tried to cook for him when he was sick. It led to him banning her from the kitchen.
"Hmm... Kanji Shirogane, I don't know kinda sounds nice." She said with a smile "Or I could become Naoto Tatsumi."
Kanji looked at her and smiled.
"Nah that's not a good name for a detective, what with all the shit I did in the past an all." He said "An' besides I want us to share a name, it don't matter which one."
Naoto took his hand in hers and kissed his hand gently
"You really want to?" She asked looking at him
"Yeah I do, we don't have to follow any rules reguardin' what are marriage has to be like. All we need is us to love each other and to support each other right?"
The first ones to arrive were Yu and Yukiko; they were both dressed in kimonos and were walking hand in hand, a gentle smile on her face. They waved at their friends as they approached the table.
"Hello you two, you look happy what were you talking about?" Yu pried he was interested in catching up with the pair of them
"We were talkin' about changin' last names." Kanji said "Whether I should take Nao's or her takin' mine."
Yukiko smiled as she sat next to Naoto; as she looked at her friends.
"Naoto Tatsumi. Kanji Shirogane." She said with a small frown, trying to assess which she liked best.
When the rest of the group gathered Naoto posed the question to the group.
"Ok so what do you think about taking your partners name?" She asked
Chie looked at Yosuke, she had already decided to take his name without any discussion as she wanted too, but she never thought about it the other way around.
"It depends on the couple; I think you don't necessarily need to be a woman to take your partner's name." Yosuke said "Marriage is a partnership, right Chie."
His wife nodded at him and they held hands under the table.
"I took Yukiko's name as it was important to her, and to respect her and the inn." Yu said "It doesn't make you less than a man." He added that last bit for Kanji's sake as he could see him worry a little.
"Hey why did you want to know about that Nao-Chan?" Teddie asked looking at the blue haired detective
"Grandfather asked Kanji to take my name." She responded. "I mean I could take his as well but, I have no idea which is a good idea."
"Hmm, that difficult for us to give you an opinion on." Yu said as he looked at both of them.
The eight of them all laughed as they chatted about what was going on; they met up once a month and enjoyed doing so, it was nice to share stories and to chat to each other, even though they all live in the same town. Naoto and Chie worked together from time to time as they worked for the police force, Yukiko and Yu visited the textiles shop for kimonos and the souvenirs. Junes was the main place for grocery shopping, and they all ended up bumping into each other.
Naoto had never really considered Kanji talking her last name; and she had naturally assumed she would take his, she decided to go and ask her grandfather why he suggested that. It had been a little while since she had visited the house she mostly grew up in after her parents had died she went to live with her grandfather, he had shown her he loved her in the place of her parents, but it wasn't the same as having them live with her. She remembered that Kanji had asked him for permission to ask her to marry him, well he more of shouted it at her rather scared looking grandfather but he approved all the same. Naoto had reasoned that it was because he was rather nervous, as Kanji was incredibly sweet and was entirely devoted to her by that point.
One year ago
Kanji was stood outside the doors of the Shirogane mansion; he had been there a few times, but this time was different. He was going to ask Naoto's grandpa to allow him to marry her, his mother had told him that it was a good idea, mentioning that his father begged his mother's father to marry him. But actually doing it was terrifying, Mr. Shirogane was a tough detective Kanji had admittedly imagined him to be a terrifying man, but he steeled himself to push the fancy doorbell.
The redwood door opened as a maid opened the door; he had forgotten this place had maids and butlers, the Shirogane family was loaded, his family own the shop but it was nowhere near fancy enough to have a maid. The times he had been there with Naoto he couldn't feel like himself as he worried about what the maids were talking about, and specifically about him, after all he had made a few dolls for her and they had gathered up in her bedroom. When it came to Naoto, he really cared what she thought about him, and he respected that and hated it at the same time.
"Tatsumi-san?" A maid asked as she walked in to the drawing room where Kanji was waiting "Shirogane-sama is ready to see you."
The maid led him to the study; Kanji felt his nerves building with each step towards the room, he was afraid that Naoto's grandfather would refuse and laugh in his face, he had imagined that scenario in his head a dozen times already. He sighed as he remembered that was how he felt when he asked Naoto to go out with him, and well he was here two years later asking to ask her to become her wife.
"Oh Kanji-San, it's good to see you my boy." Grandpa Shirogane said with a welcoming smile, he was a short man- well next to Kanji anyway- his hair was slicked back and light silver. He had the same eye colour as Naoto, and they had the same intense look in them that Naoto had when she was on a case.
"It's good to see you too Shirogane-san." Kanji replied, trying not to speak like he normally did, and he wanted to let Gramps know that he was incredibly serious about Naoto. He was wearing a suit, and a tie, he hated it already.
"It's rare that you come here, and for me to talk to you alone." Shirogane said looking at the suited Kanji. "Come, sit."
At the older man's insistence he took the seat across from the desk and looked at Grandpa Shirogane.
"As you know, I have been seeing your granddaughter for two years." Kanji started
As he tried to compose his thoughts; Naoto slipped into the study and looked at her grandfather and her rather fancy dressed boyfriend, she looked as Kanji breathed deeply.
"What is it my boy?" Grandfather asked.
Kanji jumped up from the chair and slammed his large hands on the desk; it shocked both Naoto and he grandfather.
"My ma told me that I should respect Naoto's family, and to go and ask her father this but you are all that Naoto has." Kanji said "I want you to let me marry your granddaughter!" He ended up shouting the last sentence and both scared and impressed Shirogane.
Naoto smiled to herself across the room; Kanji had no idea she was there, her grandfather nodded.
"I am glad that you have told me your intentions to my granddaughter; I was worried that you would just use her for her body and abandon her, it seems my…"
Kanji looked irritated at what he said
"She is the most precious thing in the world to me!" He shouted "Why an amazing woman like her would want to be with me is…" Kanji stopped he didn't want to finish his sentence, but he saw and felt a pair of feminine arms wrap around him.
"Oh Kanji, I'd love to marry you." Naoto said