❝花 (Hana / Flower): Naoto Tachibana x GN! Reader❞

Written by Cierra (UN-CIERRA-NTY)

The black-haired male heaved another sigh, then let the paper he once held rest on the flat surface of his desk.

Unfortunately, the words on the paper weren't making sense to him, probably because one of his co-workers is so sleep deprived to realize they made an error, or his co-worker deliberately gave vague information because they were being paid off by a corrupt individual, or maybe his co-worker is just jotting down whatever information he got from the forensic team who were doing their job unlike Tachibana.

Honestly, no matter how many assumptions he made regarding his co-workers' work ethic, he knew he can't point any fingers except admitting that he's tired. For once, he'd rather not work. Naoto just wants to screw his eyes shut, not wanting to see a file or a fragment of evidence within his sight.

As much as he would love to sleep till his heart's content, he knew he couldn't sleep just yet. He needed to find more information regarding Valhalla or else he won't be able to help Takemichi succeed his mission. For now, drinking coffee and rubbing away his sleepiness might keep his sleepiness at bay.

He grabbed a nearby mug that was filled with coffee, then rubbed his eyes awake. Hoping to stay awake and not let his drowsiness take over his body. Once the detective consumed his coffee and his body felt slightly active, he quickly bounced back to work.

"What's with you Tachibana?" The uninvited voice made Naoto jump in his seat.

The male turned his head. He met the Chief Inspector's gaze, which made him gulp. He was not expecting one of the higher ups to approach him.

"Nothing, sir." the dark-haired male replied as he shifted in his seat in a proper sitting position, not wanting to be forced to do a handstand for his improper posture.

"Well, you look horrible."

Naoto's once stoic expression shifted into annoyance because of the Chief Inspector's words, but he turned his head elsewhere, not wanting the higher up to notice his annoyance.

"Thanks."

"So you better go home, the papers can wait for tomorrow."

"But sir!" the male interjected while standing up as though he was going to object to the higher up's authority.

"Tachibana, there's still more time to review the evidence tomorrow, and you need to stop pushing yourself to keep working or else you'll end up like those poor bastards that pass out on the train stations. So, keep in mind that we all have our limits, don't push them further or else you'd be a corpse." The Chief Inspector reminded Naoto, whilst gently placing his worn out hands on the younger male's shoulder.

His higher-up's kindness flustered the detective; People rarely told him to slow down or take care of himself. "I, thank you, sir..."

"Yeah, now get out of here. We'll need you to be on your toes before the next trial." The Chief Inspector said with a smile as he handed the younger male's belongings.

"Yes, sir."

After the dark-haired male gathered his belongings and stuffed it in his bag, while sneaking in some files so he can study the cases at home; He then retreated to his car.

As of now, his sore back was sinking into the driver's seat, followed by his whole body going dormant. The male's eyes were gazing at his car's ceiling as though he were waiting for something to happen right before his eyes.

Maybe he was waiting to sleep in his car? Who knows, he doesn't even know what he is looking for in the ceiling. Once he's finished dozing off, he mustered enough energy to drive back home.

His eyes were on the road, his hands attentively steering the wheel while it switched from the steering wheel to the drive stick, followed by his feet switching from one paddle to another in case he needed to slow down or not.

Inside his car, it was cold and dim. The lights from the streets didn't blare enough brightness in his car, thus leading it dim, but the lights helped him carefully drive his car during night time. I suppose that's why they call them street lights.

The air conditioner in his car was softly whispering as it let the cold air in, which slightly tickled Naoto's once tired body awake. But it didn't diminish the fact that he felt lonely in his car. He's missing the stupid rambles that his partner would usually do when they were both alone in his car.

The detective steered his car with each turn until he started slowing his car down, then he carefully parked his car then sluggishly walked his way back to his apartment building.

He inserted his apartment keys into the knob and slowly turned it despite wanting to sleep immediately. Unexpectedly, someone from the inside pulled the door open and tackled Naoto's torso.

"Sweetheart your home!" The person who tackled Naoto's torso squealed with excitement, he staggered but he maintained his guard high.

"Y/N, how did you get in?" The detective asks his significant other, slightly cautious of "Y/N" because he was sure he never gave them the key to his apartment. He even started mentally planning out his escape in case things went wrong.

"You gave me a replica of your apartment keys, remember?" You reminded him while your facial features twisted into a concerned look.

"I thought they would finish making the replicas next week?" The exhausted male tried to recall the exact date when he'd pick up the replica keys, but his exhaustion refused to let him recall the exact date.

"Naoto, the next week is this week." Your concerned features shifted into a sadden look, knowing that your significant other forgot about the key because he was working himself to his state of exhaustion.

"Oh, my bad. I didn't realize that was this week."

"It's alright and here you go!" You said with a wide smile while shoving a fresh bouquet to your partner's chest.

"Flowers?" The idea of flowers perplexed him. After all, it was more common for women to receive flowers than men receiving flowers.

"The flowers are for you, dummy!" You playfully stuck your tongue out, which convinced him to wear a smile. Although he was exhausted and he's become forgetful because of exhaustion, he knew for a fact that you were Y/N.

"You know that I'm a man, right?"

"And so?" They shot back, which made the detective roll his eyes.

Sometimes he forgets that Y/N is a prosecutor and they can be smartass from time to time. To be honest, they rarely act like a prosecutor because they always goof around with him but, when they're on court, they act like a completely different person.

"Tachibana! We're in 2017! Don't be so old-fashioned and accept the flowers." You mused, knowing how your partner had a very traditional mindset compared to yours.

"Besides you breaking into my house, what else are you here for?" The detective dryly joked as he silently placed the bouquet on a nearby table.

"I did not break into your house! You gave me the replicas, and I did not forcefully break into your apartment." The male chuckled at your words.

"For an attorney you're so gullible."

"Your sense of humor is so dry that I can't tell if you're being satirical or you're being serious." You said with a sour look on your face but, the look on your face was minimized when you saw Naoto was wearing an amused look on his face.

"I came here to make you dinner." You averted your gaze from his. Embarrassment burned your body, even your partner's gaze felt like lasers going through your bones.

"Please don't tell me you burnt half of my apartment." The detective dryly joked once again.

"You know, you make it sound like I'm a psycho." Y/N murmured, slightly concerned now because of how their partner views them.

The male noticed the way Y/N's mood changed and decided to adjust for them. "Psycho doesn't fit your description, you're more of a clown in a professional suit and a degree in political science."

"I- HEY!" You shrieked, the embarrassment flaming your skin.

"And for the record, we're eating take out, so I didn't touch a single thing in your kitchen." Naoto raised a brow towards your direction.

"Okay, maybe I touched the sink and some of your plates and silverware."

"You know, you could've waited for me instead of ordering take out."

"Knowing you, you might've overworked yourself and you're probably burnt out by now. And I wanted you to take a break so..." You trailed off, now unsure how to say the next words.

"So, I'm presuming that you told the Chief Inspector to kick me out of the office." The detective presumed as he crossed his arms, whilst narrowing his cold eyes at you.

"Wait, Mr. Deimo kicked you out?"

"Not literally but, he told me to go home."

"Okay, I may have told him-" Naoto narrowed his eyes on you. "-I just told him about how hard working you were okay! I didn't beg for him to let you off the hook."

The dark-haired male sighed, then kissed your temple whilst enveloping your figure with his warmth and gratitude. "Thank you Y/N."

"Alright, stop being sappy, you're creeping me out now." You said as you tried to free yourself from his hug which he did.

The detective and the prosecutor were now apart. Their awkwardness fills the room you've both occupied. The male was rarely affectionate to his partner but, maybe he was just being affectionate just this once because he appreciated the efforts you made?

Naoto Tachibana is so difficult to read.

"So what am I gonna do with this?" He asked as he carefully cradled the bouquet in his arms.

"OH! OH!" You jumped then skipped towards Naoto's side like a child looking forward to Christmas Eve. "We can make flower crowns and pressed flowers!"

"I don't have wires." The male reminded but his reminder didn't lessen the size of your smile.

"We'll make pressed flowers instead!" A smile settled on his face. He didn't have the heart to say that pressed flowers take a while to make.