Stay here, okay? You need to rest.

     We're so close to making a breakthrough with you. You just need to rest some more.

     Unfortunately, Mr. Tanaka, we can't allow you out of your room at this time. We need to keep watch on you so we know when you're ready for the next course of action.

     15-year-old Sasuke had more than enough of doctor after doctor quarantining him to his hospital room. He had never felt lonelier. Not ten years ago, swinging his feet in the waiting room chair as his doctor spoke in whispered tones to Sasuke's mother. Not a year after that, when Dana Taylor tried her hand at persuading Mina to give up her son for science. Not even the next year, standing lost by the crashing river, when everything went black and he woke up in the confines of a stone-cold hospital. 

     The only spark of hope in this concrete vortex of apathetic doctors and countless tests was the girl with the silvery-blonde hair. Dana's daughter, Jackson "Jax" Taylor, was a few months younger than Sasuke. She had taken the boy by complete surprise, her bountiful kindness and confidence a breath of fresh air in his suffocating life. They grew up by each other's side. They spent evenings in the small nook Jax had discovered, looking up at the stars. That was where they spent most of their time. Where they grew fonder of each other. That was where they shared their first kiss. 

     Soon, they could no longer fit in the nook together. But that didn't stop them from being together. What did stop them was the reason Sasuke was there in the first place. He hadn't even seen Jax except for a few minutes in the evenings when she'd sneak out to visit him. And then Dana would come calling, "Jackson! Where are you?!" And then, "I'm sorry," Jax would whisper, pressing a quick kiss to Sasuke's forehead. "I'll come back as soon as possible." 

And then she'd be gone.

     The sun had just set. The last of the doctors, with - surprise - another order to rest, had left the room. A window to the left allowed moonlight to creep in, and Sasuke squinted at the stars wondering if Jax was planning on visiting him. The stars always made Sasuke think of her.

     The door creaked open again. In walked a lithe figure, silhouetted by the fluorescent light of the hall. "Hey, you," Jax said, smiling sweetly as she closed the door behind her.

     "Oh. Hey," Sasuke said, his features softening. He smiled as Jax walked over and pecked his lips.

     She sat down next to him on the hospital bed, cuddling into him when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I missed you," she said, nearly a whisper.

     "I missed you too," he responded, kissing her temple. He couldn't have meant it more. 

     Then she smiled her familiar smile, her silver eyes meeting Sasuke's brown. "So, like, are you copper and tellurium?"

     Sasuke frowned in confusion.

     "Because you're CuTe."

     His frown morphed into a smile. "Where'd you hear that?"

     Jax shrugged. "I just thought of it. Oh, you know what?" she said, the sudden change of thought evident in her sparkling eyes. "My mom's away on a work trip. She's not gonna bother us, so I can stay for a bit longer." 

      "Well, that's good," Sasuke smiled. "Did she ever tell you how much longer she thinks I'll be stuck here?"

     "You know her. She'll say something distant like 'nothing lasts forever' or some shit. I swear, she's like Sheik from The Legend of Zelda."

    Then Sasuke smiled, leaned in close, and whispered in her ear: "If nothing lasts forever, will you be my nothing?"

     Jax's face turned red, and she giggled, her smile showing off her perfect teeth. "Stop it, you," she giggled, playfully shoving him.

    "You're right, I don't even have to ask. If beauty were time, you'd be an eternity."

     "'suke," she whined, smiling. "Stahhp."

     "I have no choice, you leave me speechless," he said, nudging her.

     She rolled her eyes, giggling. "What are you, drunk?"

     "Just intoxicated on you," he said.

     Jax chuckled and shook her head. "You're too good for me."

     He chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not. You deserve better than me. I just love you a lot."

    She leaned up and kissed him. "I love you too, Sasuke."