Kotoko is finishing up the paperwork to hand off to the next nurse on duty when the tiny fan in the corner oscillates and air sweeps under the itemized list of medicines she'd divvied out over the course of her shift, sending it fluttering through the air. She squeals and grasps at it before it hits the ground but misses, sending it flying further away from her and behind the desk to her left. The hand she'd been trying to grab the paper with falls dramatically to her side over the seat of the chair as she pouts out her lower lip and lets her shoulders slump and head fall forward, closing her eyes.

It's already been a long night between the sudden influx of patients and being short staffed due the other nurse who was meant to be on shift with her calling out sick at the last minute. By the time they'd gotten someone to cover for her they were swamped and spent the rest of the night trying to catch up. She'd ended up working over-time trying to help get things back in order and she isn't sure what time it is, but she knows it's well past time for her to go home.

After a minute or so of feeling sorry for herself she sighs and huffs out something between a laugh and a sob before pushing herself and the chair she's sitting in slightly to the left and bending to peek underneath the desk she'd watched the paper slip behind, hoping to find it in plain sight. When it's no where to be found she slides bonelessly out of the chair and onto her hands and knees, crawling under the desk, careful not to brush against anything with her uniform and ignoring the chill the cool tile sends through her bare skin.

A bright white corner of the paper is sticking out, just enough that she can see it, but when she slips her fingers between the desk and the wall, trying to pull at it by trapping it between her pointer and middle finger. It doesn't budge. A frustrated groan vibrates in her throat and she tries a different angle, twisting her hand to try and figure out what is hanging it up.

"Ouch!"

Kotoko yanks her hand back from behind the desk, rising up and drawing her left pointer finger to her lips. She winces and runs her tongue over it, sucking gently, before removing it from her mouth and shaking her hand in both pain and annoyance. Not thinking, she starts to stand and yelps in surprise when the top of her head is met with resistance. Grumbling to herself she leans down and backs out slowly as her uninjured hand reaches up and rubs gently at her scalp. The computer monitor on the desk sways in protest at her disruption. Looking at the tip of her finger now that she's in better lighting she sees a small splinter stuck underneath the skin.

"What are you doing?"

Kotoko draws in a sharp breath and jumps slightly, turning to find Naoki leaning casually against the doorway of the nurse's office.

"I-Irie-kun? How long have you been there?" She asks, dropping both hands and clasping them together behind her back. She rocks back on her heels and smiles at him, hoping he hadn't seen her slamming her head against the desk. Judging by the mirth just beneath the surface of his blank stare she's guessing that hope is useless.

"Long enough," he answers, straightening up and taking long strides across the room, directly to the desk she'd been under a few moments before. Kotoko watches as he shifts it slightly away from the wall and bends over to grab the paper she'd been trying to get, handing it to her without looking in her direction and sliding the desk back in place. Kotoko takes the list with both hands and a small, embarrassed chuckle. When Naoki turns back to her she nods in thanks with another shy laugh and puts the paper back on the desk, placing a stapler on top of it to keep it from floating away again.

"Wait, why are you here? You're not supposed to be here until the morning."

"It is morning."

It's Naoki's turn to be startled when a thought suddenly occurs to her and she stands rod straight, picking the paper back up. She looks at Naoki, starting to panic, and he stares back in confusion with eyes slightly narrowed.

"What time does your shift start?" Kotoko asks as she glances at her watch. "Weren't you supposed to be here at six?"

"I needed to finish up some things from yesterday," Naoki fibs, "I came early."

Honestly, he'd woken up well before his alarm to find Kotoko's side of the bed cold and empty. When he'd checked his phone but found no explanation as to why she would be late he'd assumed something must have happened to keep her at the hospital and had come to check on her.

If Kotoko wasn't so tired she may have questioned him. It's not like him to leave things to the next day, but she looks absolutely exhausted, dark circles beneath her eyes, uniform wrinkled in every place she'd had to repeatedly bend. She deflates in front of him and leans against a filing cabinet, careful to avoid the back of her head, tilting her neck at an awkward angle to press her temple to the hard surface instead.

"I thought I had missed a round," she explains, pushing the words out on a relieved breath. Her eyes flutter closed and she looks like she may fall asleep right there.

"Come sit down," Naoki orders.

"Don't want to move."

"Now."

Kotoko groans quietly in protest and rolls her body upward, using her shoulders to push herself off the filing cabinet. Her eyelids feel heavy and she takes a deep breath, readying herself, before forcing them open to find that Naoki is no where in sight. She deflates again, this time in disappointment.

"Come to boss me around then run away. Didn't even care I hurt myself," she mutters, again feeling a little sorry for herself, but quickly shaking it off. "I'm almost done anyway. If I finish counting I'll be one step closer!"

She closes both hands into fists and quickly opens them back up when a dull pain throbs through her finger tip at contact with her palm. Ignoring it, she closes just her right hand back into a fist and purses her lips, giving herself a determined nod.

The wheels of the chair squeak slightly as she rolls it back into it's place and sits down, picking up her pen. She's only counted through the first two when her chair suddenly spins in the opposite direction. She gapes up with wide eyes at the man in front of her, confused until she sees what he's carrying.

Naoki doesn't say anything, only tucks his white coat behind his kahaki covered thighs and kneels in front of her, grabbing her left hand and turning it palm up before swabbing at her fingertip gently with a pre-packaged alcohol wipe. Kotoko watches in silence as he uses a needle and tweezers to gently work the tiny piece of wood from her skin. Even in this he's skilled she notices. She honestly barely even feels it. After a couple of minutes he turns her wrist this way and that, leaning close enough to her hand that she can feel his warm breath ghosting over her sensitive skin. He's disarmingly attractive this up close and she doesn't know if she'll ever get used to it. She takes in every feature as she's done hundreds of times before and wonders if he can feel her pulse hammering away beneath his fingers. He confirms that he can when he runs a thumb over her pulse point and looks her in the eye, an almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips.

When he's satisfied with his work he swipes at her finger again with another alcohol wipe and circles a bandaid around it. He stands and straightens his coat, gathering the used up supplies and doing away with them.

"Kiss it for me, Irie-kun," Kotoko says, sticking her bandaged finger in his direction when he turns back to her.

He shakes his head and puts his hands in the pockets of his coat, looking more like he's ready for a photoshoot than a day at the hospital.

"That defeats the purpose of everything I just did."

"Mean," Kotoko teases. It's not the answer she wanted, but it is the one she expected.

"How's your head?" Naoki asks rather that addressing her complaint.

"Fine," Kotoko shrugs and reaches up to gingerly touch where she'd bumped it earlier. "There's no knot and no bleeding. I've definitely had worse."

Naoki hums in agreement and moves toward her. For a moment she thinks he's changed his mind and is going to grant her wish after all, but instead he places a hand on the back of her chair and turns it toward the desk. She's ready to pout again until she feels the gentle pressure of Naoki's hands on her shoulders as he leans down and presses his lips softly to the back of her head. Her eyes widen in surprise for just a second before she smiles and reaches up to place a hand over one of his.

His hand slips out from under hers and off her shoulder as he leans back up.

"I'll see you at home," He says. Then, he's actually gone.

Suddenly, Kotoko doesn't feel as tired.