Buddy Cops!

An idea for a d20 game hit me like a bolt in the blue!
For the uninitiated, when I say d20 game, I mean any number of pen-and-paper role-playing games that utilize a 20 sided die in their main mechanics.  In college, Bard and I game with great regularity, and I would love to get back into it.  However, it's a tough sell for people who've never played them before, especially non-nerds, and I have no friends here in the big OH.
Oh, college.  It was so easy to meet people there.  At Big Box, most of the people I work with are old enough to be my grandmother.
Anyway!  Since Bard and I mostly on our own for nerd stuff unless we manage to get online (and both of us online for any sort of uninterrupted time with an infant to care for would have to be some kind of ridiculous miracle) games that we can play by ourselves are great.  The downside is that many genres don't necessarily work with that diminished force.  In fantasy, the four man party is really the ideal.
Enter the buddy-cop scenario!  Two man groups are really best for this type of investigative dynamic, and outside characters can be episodic.  I can think of countless examples across multiple genres from Scully and Mulder to Shawn and Gus  Further, we could take turns making adventures for the other to take the lead in discovering, allowing the writer of the adventure to act in a more supportive role.
I'm thinking either present day or some sort of sci-fi future type of setting.  I'll have to present the idea to Bard when he gets home today.  Perhaps we can talk preliminaries on our walk.