(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."

"And what if I get it wrong?"

"Then you try again."

Kanji grinned, "Ok, challenge accepted!" He pulled his work towards him and started to do the next problem in the textbook.

Naoto stood up and said, "I'll refill our drinks in the meantime."

Once she was gone, Kanji was faced with a dilemma. He was trying his hardest to solve the problem right, but…

"Hm… I could check the answer in the back of the textbook- wait no, she'd notice if I did it wrong, but got the right answer. It's not like she'd deny me kisses forever or anything, but she'd get upset at me cheating. Nah, I gotta earn this one- it'd make her proud!"

Naoto came back a short time later with two glasses for them and set them on her table. Kanji was still working. She checked the window, and snow was falling rapidly outside now. Looks like he was going to be here awhile. That was ok, they came prepared for that very outcome. And it definitely was not planned in advance… Or at least that's what she would tell anyone if they happened to ask. She went to sit beside him again, waiting until he finished before she could do the same problem herself.

"Ok… I'm done…" Kanji said, showing her his paper.

Naoto quickly did the problem herself on her own sheet and checked both out. "The answer should be 24… And you got 24. You got it right!" She said, smiling.

"Wait, I did?!" Kanji couldn't help looking at her work in comparison and was shocked to find that he did do it correctly.

"Mhmm. I'm very proud of you."

He felt his face get warm from her praise. "Ah- thanks…" He said, sheepishly.

"And this means you've earned your reward…"

Kanji smirked and quickly pulled her into his arms for his kiss. "Mm… that's way better than a dumb grade."

She laughed, "I agree. It is much more satisfying."

She went back in for another kiss as he pulled her comfortably onto his lap. Their kissing kept them distracted for a while until-

"Wait, how long did you say we were gonna break for? Don't we still have homework?" Kanji asked, worriedly.

Naoto laughed again and replied, "You didn't notice that was the last problem on our assignment?"

"Oh… Well in that case…"

They went back to kissing… for a long time. Keeping each other comfortably warm while the snow continued to fall outside.

~...

The next day, Naoto woke up first. She was happy she spent the night with her boyfriend. It was a good plan. They were even able to be productive about it by getting their homework done in the process. When she woke, she found herself with Kanji's arm around her. She was wearing an old purple sweater of his as her pajamas, it went past her thighs and felt like wearing a big blanket. While Kanji had brought a pair of sweatpants to sleep in. Naoto carefully slid her way out of bed to not disturb him. She went to her dresser and put on her own sweatpants.

Right as she did, she heard the doorbell ring through the house. Kanji was woken up by the sound, but Naoto assured him that she'd get it.

When she went to answer the door, she saw it was Rise.

"Hello, Rise."

"Hey, Naoto! Sorry to bother you so early, I was just returning this before I have to go-" Rise held out a dvd she had borrowed and paused as she noticed something.

Naoto took the dvd. "Ah, thank you. I hope you enjoyed it."

Rise was smirking for some reason. "Oh, yeah I did… So, did you sleep well last night?"

"Yes…? Why do you ask?"

"Mm… no reason!" Rise said, cheerfully. "Anyway, I gotta go to voice lessons early, so I'll let you two get back to enjoying your Sunday!" With that, she ran off.

Naoto shut the door, silently processing that. What an odd thing to- And then it hit her. She was wearing a sweater that was obviously not hers, and was much too large on her… She went back up to her room to find Kanji was finished getting dressed in casual clothes.

"Hey, who was that?" He asked.

Naoto was silent for a while before asking. "Did you… tell anyone you were going to stay here yesterday?"

"I told my mom I was 'staying at a friend's,' but that's it… Why?"

"Well, come sometime soon, everyone is going to know because Rise has loose lips." Naoto said, blushing and frowning a little.

Kanji looked at her with confusion. "How did she-" He then saw that she was still wearing his purple sweater. "Oh!" He started laughing.

Poor Naoto was still grumpy and embarrassed and went to change into her own shirt, to make herself feel better, but Kanji stopped her by hugging her instead.

"No, you look too cute in it!"

"Let go of me…"

"Never, babe." He picked her up and kissed her cheek.

Naoto blushed deeper and couldn't find any words of protest to the situation. Well, even as embarrassed as she was… she really didn't regret anything either. Maybe she can convince Rise to keep quiet.

~The End!

I relate to Kanji so much. Math was the only subject I barely passed in high school so I know the feeling too well. Anyway, this one shot was inspired by some cute fanart of Naoto wearing Kanji's clothes.

Thank you for reading! :)