Title: Florescent Lights

Rating: K+

Genre: Mild Angst, Romance

Paring: SasuNaru (Sasuke & Naruto) Can be viewed platonic, but otherwise, it's meant to be a little on the romantic side. xD ..Well, about as romantic as I can get, anyway.

Warning: Song fic-don't worry about a whole bunch of obnoxious song lyrics in there. I wouldn't do that to you guys. C: Other than that, perhaps a little with language but that's it. (-Omg, really? No one dies? xD)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, any of the characters, nor the lyrics. All belongs to their rightful owner.

Summary: [Song fic: "Waiting"- Ne-Yo]

From the way his heart ached against his chest, he knew it'd only be a matter of time before it would burst. "I.. It can't be true," he uttered softly in disbelief. "Dear God."

A/N: Thank you guys for all the support! (: Here's the piece I promised. A little late, but better late than never, right? Right? Also, I'd like to thank my amazing Beta, xxtokidokixx. :) Thanks a bunch! So, without further adieu, please enjoy!

'Florescent Lights'

Part 1 of 2

He had been about ready to go to sleep - or pass out, he thought would be the more accurate term - when they finally showed up.

Scratched, wounded, and sleep deprived, he had returned from his latest mission wanting nothing more than to clean up and go to bed. His muscles ached and his head throbbed, but the young man ignored his body's complaints long enough to find the right key on his chain of many keys – that is, after a while of swearing in the dark – and unlocked his apartment door. Discarded clothes led a trail to his small bathroom, where he stumbled once again, before flipping the light switch on the opposite wall. The dusty bulb obediently lit above his head and the dim florescent light poured into the limited space of his bathroom. After stepping further inside, he nudged the door closed behind him with his foot and glanced wearily at himself in the sink mirror.

Tired blue eyes stared back.

And on closer inspection – where those bags?

Running a hand through his unruly blonde hair, a soft sigh slipped through the shinobi's lips followed closely by a weary yawn. After taking out a white towel and setting it within arm's reach, he shuffled toward the shower and turned the knob with an almighty creek. Hot water beat rhythmically against his bare shoulders and back, washing away the dirt and dry blood, slowly trickling down his body in brown rivulets. Watching the water swivel around his feet and drain with dull eyes, he slowly closed them and pressed his forehead against the cool tiles in front of him. It helped his headache somewhat. He might've stood under the water for hours, or maybe only 20 minutes, but either way he was reluctant in turning it off and stepping out. The past couple of months had passed by quickly, but not without a feeling of dread. There was something that continued to nag him, somewhere at the back of his mind.

It was almost like a faint voice telling him not to get too comfortable. It'd freak him out a little more if he wasn't so tired. Even so, he felt that feeling return, and this time it wouldn't go away with a small dismissive thought like it had in the past.

-Because, even as he scrubbed his hair dry, it persisted.

-Even as he wrapped the towel around his waist, it persisted.

-Even as he stepped out of his bathroom, it persisted.

-And even as he glanced up and spotted the figure of a man standing in the darkness of his apartment... it persisted.

A shiver ran down his spine.

And his body couldn't seem to move any slower after that. Try as he might, it felt like an eternity before he was finally fully clothed and leaping from one rooftop to the other, his destination bringing that sense of dread back a hundred times fold.

Heart hammering against his chest, the conversation that had transpired but only a couple minutes ago kept replaying as he dropped from a rooftop and landed without so much as a noise. Stepping through sliding glass doors and into a white building, he mentally noted to punch a certain bastard in the face.

"Dammit, don't you people knock anymore? What do you want?" Tired and wanting nothing more than to go to sleep, the blonde didn't care enough to put up a polite font - not that he usually did, anyway. Grumbling, he switched off the bathroom light and slowly moved down the hallway and toward his bedroom. He rubbed his hair with the spare towel he had grabbed and yawned into his free hand. "I'll send my report to that old hag tomorrow morning. Just tell her-"

"-I'm afraid that's not why I was sent here, Uzumaki," the older shinobi swiftly interrupted.

Grunting softly in reply, Naruto neither stopped nor turned around, more interested in getting on a fresh pair of pants than to pay attention to any spare orders Tsunade had sent him. Like he had mentioned, he'd handle it in the morning. What could be so important it couldn't wait till he got a couple hours of sleep first?

"Orders were given to inform you of Sasuke Uchiha's current situation."

His steps immediately halted. "...What?"

six o'clock
seconds feel like hours
as i sit here
and watch them tick away

Jaw clenching, Naruto rushed past the waiting area and toward the front desk. Hospitalized, he had said. Fucking hospitalized... the stupid bastard.

Brown eyes flickered up to greet him as he slammed his hands against the counter, startling the young woman. "Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha. Can you tell me what room he's in?" Surprisingly, his voice had come out much more stable than he actually felt. Underneath his jeans, he could feel his knees trembling subtly. If there was one person he wasn't willing to lose again...

"O-oh! Um, of course," the young woman stuttered, nearly dropping the book she had been holding. Glancing around her desk, which was cluttered with papers, she cursed softly under her breath as she tried to find the right clipboard. The blonde shinobi watched her movements with tense shoulders, his knuckles turning white from gripping the counter so hard. "Lady-" With full intention of telling her to hurry the hell up, the young woman chose at that moment to pull out a plain clipboard from underneath the stack of unfilled papers. "Ah, here it is," she declared, tucking a lock of brown hair behind an ear. Eyes scanned the contents of the papers, her finger trailed down the list of names. "Uchiha.. Uchiha.." she mumbled to herself softly before alas, her finger stopped and she glanced up at him. "I'm sorry, he's-"

"-He's still in the emergency room, kid" another voice cut in.

Naruto didn't even have to turn around to know who it was that had spoken. The voice alone was so familiar. Frown deepening, the blonde ran a hand down his face and stood silent for a moment. He was trying to remind himself to breathe. Over dramatic? Hardly. One just doesn't come back from out of town to find out their best friend-who's an expert at the disappearing act by now-was suddenly found again and is in the godforsaken hospital. Where the hell did they find him? Who brought him back? What exactly happened?

"Is he..?"

"Don't be a brat. Who do you think you're talking to?"

Raising his gaze from the counter, Naruto's eyes locked with the familiar pair of eyes that belonged to the hokage. The blonde woman stood poised near the doorway on the opposite side of the desk, dressed in her usual attire aside from a white coat adorning her small frame. If anyone could heal Sasuke, it was Tsunade. It wasn't that he didn't hold faith in the powerful woman, quite the contrary, however, with his heart beating as fast as it was, his sanity depended on that little bit of reassurance she could give. He needed something to hold on to, figuratively speaking. He needed to know that it'd take a lot more to put down that particular sharingan user.

"He's just gotten out of surgery, though, so I don't think you'll be able to see him for a while. Let him wake up first, at least," Tsunade explained, watching Naruto sit down in a chair nearby and sink his head into his hands. The kid was distressed, that much was obvious. Though after four years of hearing nothing from that other brat, only to suddenly hear he's back-well, that must be something, and not only for him. She sure as hell hadn't expected the extra baggage that last mission brought and considering the boy was back, there were new matters to deal with, such as, should she even allow his ass to stay after that whole ordeal? Tucking her hands into her pockets, she sighed in discontent. Dammit, this was too much work.

"Go home, Naruto."

Stubborn blue eyes immediately rose to meet her, defiant and obviously not about to listen to reason. As if to prove her thoughts correct, Naruto shook his head fiercely. "Are you kidding me?" Eyebrows drawing together, and lips twisting into a frown, the blonde shinobi stared back into the hokage's passive eyes. She was more crazy than he thought if she honestly believed he was just going to get up and leave like that; like it didn't even matter; like his best friend wasn't laying in one of those godforsaken hospital beds. His jaw clenched at the image of Sasuke's limp body, skin sickly pale and drained. "I'm not leaving," he stated firmly.

Pursing thin lips, Tsunade began to shake her head. "There's no point in you staying, kid. It'll be a while before—"

"I don't care," Naruto interrupted, straightening in his seat. People around them were beginning to give them looks, but frankly, he couldn't care much about that either. "I'll wait for a long as I have to. I just can't leave, baa-chan," he pleaded, hands fisted on top of each knee, his knuckles turning white from the strain. His legs were shaking again, he could feel it. It terrified him to no end, the thought that the moment he should step out those doors, Sasuke would disappear again and this time, for who knows how long. As those strong eyes he admired so much continued to watch him, searching for something, Naruto felt his stomach twist. Please...

"I'll be expecting those reports first thing tomorrow morning, you got that? No slacking off," Tsunade finally spoke, her tone stern before softening. "Knowing you, you'd probably sit outside the hospital doors, anyway."

Relief washed over the blonde shinobi, albeit, somewhat short lived. The fact that Sasuke was still laying somewhere behind those swishing doors, weak and fragile, clouded his mind. Slouching back in his seat, his hands reached up and covered his face, willing himself to breathe evenly and think straight. The bastard was anything but weak and fragile. It'd be an insult to say he was just as capable at living as anyone else. He had more of a chance, just because he was the frigid bastard he always knew. It was that simple…

…right?

-End of chapter 1

A/N: So there you go! c: Love it? Hate it? Tell me what you think. There's still one chapter left to go, don't worry. I'll hopefully be posting that up soon. R&R!