Disclaimer: I am just a poor girl who recently started playing FF8 again, so please don't sue me XD

Reen's ramblings: Basically my take on what happens to Seifer after he and Squall slash up each other's foreheads. The game never showed where Seifer went anyway :D
I call this a Seifer/Quistis fic, but it really isn't. Hehe. And this is my first time to write FF8. So, yay!
For iei-chyan.

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Whining and Coddling

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"Fuck, watch where you're going—Oh, sorry, Instructor."

Quistis frowned up at him. "Seifer. At least you somewhat remember your manners after seeing who you bumped…" She trailed off, staring at his right hand, which was currently clutching his forehead. Blood was seeping through the end of his sleeve. "Why are you holding your forehead like that?"

He grinned, almost mischievously, before removing his gloved hand. A long, open wound slashed diagonally across his forehead.

She gasped. "Hyne, you have a wound!"

"No shit, really?" Seifer exclaimed sarcastically.

Quistis shook her head, exasperated. "Come on. Let's go to the infirmary to have that patched up."

"No way! I don't need to go there for a measly wound like this," he said vehemently. "I can handle this myself!"

Without warning, Quistis stepped forward and pressed a finger on the wound. Hard.

"OUCH! FUCK, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! HYNE, I DIDN'T ASK—"

"Watch your language," Quistis said sharply. "Remember who you're talking to. And I was only checking." She paused. "So does it hurt?" she asked sarcastically.

He glared at her. "Why don't I slash up your forehead and then you tell me if it hurts or not, Instructor."

"Haha. In any case, something has to be done to that wound. If you don't want to go to the infirmary…" She grabbed his arm and started walking further into the dormitories, partly dragging him.

Seifer let himself be dragged, although his feet were still reluctant to go to anywhere with Quistis Trepe. He would've enjoyed the way she strained herself, pulling his weight around, if it weren't for that fucking insistent pain on his fucking forehead. Fuck Squall. Didn't see that blow coming…

"Where are we going?" he asked, his tone wary.

"My room," she answered. They stopped at a door. With one arm still holding onto Seifer, Quistis fumbled for her card key in her pocket. "Where is it," she muttered, patting down her front pockets. Damn these tight SeeD skirts.

"Want me to feel up your ass for it?" Seifer asked, smirking.

She gave him a look that would've made the other students tremble in fear. "Seifer Almasy, you yeep your hands away from me," she said with gritted teeth, clipping each word, before turning her attention back to searching.

"Now that is just unfair. You get to touch me, but I—"

"Found it!" Quistis held up her card key triumphantly. She swiped it through the lock, and the door opened. "Hurry, get inside."

"Why, so people won't get any ideas when they see me entering your room?" he asked, but stepped inside anyway.

She closed the door. "I was thinking of your wound. It must be nice distracting yourself from the pain by thinking perverse thoughts." She disappeared into the adjoining bathroom. "Stay there. Don't touch anything."

"Too bad, I was just thinking of going through your underwear drawer," Seifer muttered. He looked around and plopped onto the nearest chair, pressing his hand against his forehead again. It really fucking hurts. He blinked, trying to remember how he stumbled from the training area to the dormitories. After his little duel with Squall, his vision was blurry from the pain. Seifer was trying to go back to his dorm because it was nearer, when he bumped into Trepe. He briefly wondered where Squall went, and consoled himself with the thought that his rival probably crawled to get to the infirmary.

Quistis returned, carrying a bowl of water, some cotton, a face towel, and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. She set them down on the table next to the chair Seifer was sitting on. "Are you okay?"

His eyes closed, head still bent down, he answered, "I feel fucking great. Will you stop asking meaningless questions?"

"Will you stop swearing?" She tore off a piece of cotton and dipped it into the water. Forcing his hand out of the way, she began swiping across the wound with hard strokes.

"Shi—don't be so rough!"

"Sorry," she grunted. "It can't be helped, some of the blood dried off already. How did you get this anyway?"

He chuckled darkly. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Quistis shrugged. He probably cut his own forehead up for whatever reason only Hyne knows what.

They fell into a disconcerting silence as she continued to wipe off the blood. Moments later, satisfied that all the blood had been washed away, she tore off another piece of cotton. Uncapping the rubbing alcohol, she poured a generous amount into the cotton ball and immediately slapped it onto the wound.

"FUCKING SHIT!" Seifer nearly shot out of the chair had not Quistis push him back. "THAT HURTS, YOU BITCH!"

She pressed the cotton ball harder for the insult.

"FUCK IT, STOP! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Cleaning your wound, you idiot," she snapped. "Stop whining!"

Seifer dug his fingers into the arms of the chair, wanting to curl them around Quistis' neck instead. He reduced his reactions to wincing and hissing as she continued to apply alcohol to his wound.

"There. That's the most I can do." Quistis touched the lengthy wound gingerly before stepping back.

He looked at her sulkily, trying to ignore the traces of stinging the alcohol left. "Are you done? I'd like to be on my way. Today is the SeeD field exam, you know."

She stared at his forehead appraisingly, then clapped her hands. "Oh, I forgot to take out some bandages. Wait a second."

Seifer grabbed her arm before she could turn away. "No way am I walking out there with a bandage plastered to my forehead! I'll look like a moron!"

You already look like one, Quistis thought. She pulled her arm from his grasp. "Don't be stupid! If we don't cover that up it'll get infected—"

"Damn it!" Seifer stood up, glaring down at her. "I said I don't want it bandaged! Stop coddling me, Quisty!"

They both stopped and stared at each other, Quistis' mouth dropping open in shock. "What did you call me?" she asked in disbelief. Her question had no trace of anger in it—just pure confusion.

Seifer turned his back on her and opened the door. "Nothing, Instructor," he muttered as he slipped outside, slamming the door close behind him.

Quistis stared at the closed door for a few seconds, before plopping down weakly onto the chair Seifer had vacated. Removing her eyeglasses, she pressed her index finger and thumb on the bridge of her nose. Dealing with Seifer always gave her headaches, but this one takes the cake. "Quisty…?" she murmured, rolling the nickname off her tongue. Everyone at Garden called her either Instructor or Trepe. Or both. Only Xu, Doctor Kadowaki and Headmaster Cid even address her by her first name.

The phone rang shrilly, scattering her thoughts and making her jump out of the chair.

She walked across the room and answered it. "Yes?"

"Hello, Quistis?" It was Doctor Kadowaki. "Come get your student."

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end