A/N: Looks like I might be on a roll here with these things. Well, at least the ideas are there; I'm not sure about the quality.

Anyway, I'm still trying to figure out some things about the miniseries so I'll save the next chapter of that for when I have more time to devote to it (I'm supposed to be reading out of Madame Bovary right now, but I can't stand that story. That stupid woman pisses me off). I'll define "officious" for you according to the usual source and then I guess we'll get this show on the road.

Officious /efishes/ adj. 1 domineering 2 intrusive in offering help, etc. 3 Diplomacy informal; unofficial.


Officious

Kurogane impatiently pushed aside his wet bangs as the official Dragonfly recovery squad lowered a ladder down to him. He ignored it for a moment, his gaze flicking skyward to watch the princess's car speeding off into the distance. Shougo and Nokoru were still tailing her faithfully, ready to intervene if the worst should happen. Kurogane sighed and told himself that they would protect her but he couldn't scrape together the kind of confidence he had been hoping for. After all, they hadn't done anything when Sakura was almost hit by that geyser just now. Realizing that worrying would get him nowhere, Kurogane tore his watchful eyes from the horizon and finally accepted the ladder that was being offered to him

He took hold of the bottom rung and hoisted himself up, using his other hand to grab one of the rungs above him. Kurogane immediately regretted doing that as a jolt of pain shot through his second hand and he withdrew it instinctively from the bar to examine it. Now that it was out of the water, he could see a faint crimson stain creeping up through the cloth of his glove and it was growing steadily darker before his eyes. Kurogane clicked his tongue in annoyance and began to struggle up the ladder one-handed.

He could sense the danger that awaited him above long before he could actually see it. Even though he knew what he would see once he reached the top, it didn't stop him from snarling at the unwelcome sight when his eyes fell on it. There, crouched down to meet him at the top of the ladder with several obscenely fluffy towels in hand, was a certain blond someone. He was grinning and offering his hand to help pull him up into the car. And oh, how Kurogane longed to kick him.

"How heroic of Daddy to sacrifice himself like that for his daughter!" Fai sighed dreamily. "You're so cool, Kurotan!"

Kurogane snorted and ignored Fai's outstretched hand, partially because he didn't want any help from that moron and partially because the only hand that was free to accept that help was his injured one. But Fai didn't look the least bit perturbed by Kurogane's refusal. He simply stood up, waited for Kurogane to climb into the car with him and draped one of those ridiculous towels around the ninja's shoulders once he managed to get in.

Repulsed by the towel's offensive fluffiness, Kurogane gave it a look of disgust, just to let it know that he wasn't the least bit happy about having to use it, then began to dry his hair and face. Fai used his other towel and began to assist his companion, though Kurogane noticed with mild surprise that the magician was leaving his injured hand alone. Then he realized that he was allowing Fai to rub him down and quickly pulled away, giving him a dirty look. Fai just smiled back.

"Shall we see the doctor, then?" he asked pleasantly.

Kurogane heaved a sigh. "What a hassle."

"I thought you might say that," Fai replied smoothly. "I guess Mommy will just have to do his best to fix Daddy up himself."

"Huh?" Kurogane growled.

Fai took him by the arm and calmly led him towards the infirmary.

"Hey, where do you think you're taking me?" the swordsman demanded.

"I asked Tomoyo chan to give us a private room in the infirmary where we could watch the rest of the race," the blond answered, a hint of mischief in his voice that put Kurogane on edge.

"I'll take the doctor," Kurogane said dryly, trying to pull his arm out of Fai's grip. Fai just held on tighter.

"Too late!" he chirped. "Kuropun already said no to the doctor!"

Before Kurogane could say anything else, Fai tugged him into an empty side room and shut the door behind them. It seemed to be a doctor's office; there were several posters of different systems of the body and others that warned patients about the symptoms of common heath problems, a long cushioned table covered by a thin sheet of paper, a scale and a wall occupied by a counter and a row of cabinets. Fai pushed him down onto the cushioned table then turned to the row of cabinets.

"Do you even know what you're doing, you bastard?" Kurogane grumbled as Fai opened one of the cabinets and began pulling things out of it.

"Of course," the magician smiled. "I would do it if I didn't know how. Why, are you worried, Kuronta?"

"Who wouldn't be, with a moron like you working on them?!" Kurogane snapped.

Fai laughed, gathering several items into his arms and bringing them over to where the ninja was sitting.

"Let me see," he requested, holding out his hand for Kurogane's.

Kurogane huffed and turned his head in refusal.

"Aw, don't be like that, Daddy!" Fai pouted. "If you don't get it treated, it might get infected and then where would you be? How can you expect to use a sword properly with your hand all rotting and falling off?"

"Hmph! It's not going to rot and fall off just because of a little scratch like this!" he snarled, but granted the wizard access to his hand anyway.

Fai didn't answer, he just began to slowly and carefully remove Kurogane's glove.

"Hyuu…" he marveled as he examined the wound. "That looks like it hurts."

"I've had worse," Kurogane grunted truthfully with a shrug, though he had to admit that the gash was longer and deeper than he had expected. Fai unscrewed the lid of some unidentified clear liquid and poured a little onto a cotton swab. As soon as he touched the cotton ball to the wound, it began to sting.

"Tch!" Kurogane sharply drew his hand away.

"I'm sorry, Kurochan," Fai said earnestly, giving him a small pitying smile. "I need to put this on to help it heal. Please don't pull away, alright?"

Kurogane slowly returned his hand to Fai's. He had been expecting Fai to tease him about a ninja being bothered by that kind of trivial pain, not apologize for having to put the stuff on him. The warrior gritted his teeth against the sting as Fai continued to gently clean the wound. Once he had finished that, Fai took out a tube of some sort of cream and squeezed a small amount onto his finger.

"What's that stuff for?" Kurogane asked. "I thought you already sterilized it."

"This will keep it sterilized and help it to heal faster with a smaller scar," Fai answered knowledgably.

Kurogane tensed as Fai's slender finger neared his wound to apply the cream. He needn't have worried; Fai dabbed on the medicine so softly that Kurogane was hardly even able to feel it. The blond smiled up at him reassuringly as if to say "See, I won't hurt you." It felt stupid for him to acknowledge it, but that smile made Kurogane feel calmer. But only a little; let's not get carried away here.

Fai picked up a roll of bandages and began to skillfully dress the wound. The ninja watched him silently as he worked, wondering how Fai had come to be so good at treating injuries. He remembered the assuredness that Fai had fought with back in Hanshin and couldn't help but wonder if perhaps the blond really had been a warrior back in his own world. Fai was certainly quick and clever enough, and he had more than held his own back on the battlefield of Yamano. But somehow it didn't seem to fit with Fai's apparent preference for avoiding conflict.

"Almost done!" Fai sang, interrupting Kurogane's musings. Kurogane glanced at him curiously; the look in those sapphire eyes suggested that Fai had cut off his wonderings on purpose. The warrior sighed, once again annoyed by his companion's evasiveness. He lowered his eyes to his bandaged hand and frowned. Fai was still holding it, stroking it soothingly.

"You already bandaged it," Kurogane pointed out. "What else is there?"

"One last thing," the magician promised.

He gave Kurogane another smile, but this one was different than the ones he had received so far since they had reached the infirmary; the warm affection from before was still present, but now there was a slight undercurrent of mischief running along with it. Kurogane wondered whether that should worry him. Before he was able to make a decision, Fai leaned forward and kissed the bandages.

"Ok, now I'm done," he grinned.

"Wh-what the hell was that?!" Kurogane stammered, hurriedly pulling his hand away as he blushed.

"That's what mommies are supposed to do, right?" Fai asked amusedly. "Kiss the ouchies better?"

"I'M NOT A FREAKING CHILD!!" the ninja spat.

"I know that, Kurochuu," Fai laughed, completely unaffected by the other's rage, as usual. "But who says that mommies can't do it for daddies, too?"

"I'M NOT A DADDY EITHER!!" Kurogane snapped. Fai just flicked on the large-screen TV that was mounted in the wall so that they could watch the end of the race. Both of them breathed a little sigh of relief when they saw Sakura's vehicle speeding across the screen. The princess was still in the running. After a moment of slightly awkward silence (well, at least Kurogane found it awkward) between the two older travelers, Fai spoke.

"How does your hand feel now, Kurowanko?"

Kurogane hesitated. "…Hn," was what his mouth and brain said, but his heart said "better."


A/N: Argh, that was a cheesy ending! But it was the only thing that seemed to fit, so… I tried to make it more amusing but that didn't work either T-T aksdfjoanga!!1 That's all I have to say about that.