Sasuke can play guitar.

Naruto had seen it hiding in his closet before, half hidden by the row of dark clothes. It wasn't until he popped in for a visit and saw Sasuke quietly picking at the strings that he even knew he could play.

"Well, well!" Naruto let his backpack fall to the floor and ran to the bed before Sasuke could stow it away. "You're a musician now? Come on, Sasuke, can't you leave any girls for the rest of us?"

Sasuke moved to dangle his legs off the side of the bed and set the guitar down to lean against the mattress. "Did you want something, Naruto?"

"Algebra day, remember?" Naruto pulled a notebook out of his pack and waved it like a flag. "But this junk can wait." He climbed onto the bed next to his friend and flashed him a smile. "Play something!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "No."

"Come on!" Naruto stretched out the last syllable until Sasuke's left eye started twitching. Bingo.

"If I do, you have to shut up."

Naruto zipped his lips and tossed an imaginary key over his shoulder. Sasuke reached down to pick up the guitar and cradle it in his lap. It was a beautiful instrument; the wood moved out from the sound hole in rich, dark rings. He stroked his thumb across the strings and Naruto watched in fascination as his fingers moved gracefully to start a collection of bright sounds ringing.

"I really hate you," Naruto said when he'd finished.

"That's the only song I know," Sasuke said. "It's the only one my dad taught me."

"Your dad? That's cool," Naruto said.

A brief touch on the subject. Back away. Naruto knew the drill.

Sasuke stood up to put the guitar back in its hiding place. "Algebra?"

"Oh, right!" Naruto flipped through his notebook and pulled a pen out of his pocket.

He and Sasuke didn't go to the same school, but it was painfully obvious that Sasuke was much smarter than he. Naruto had been to Sasuke's school once before. His teacher was nice, though a tad condescending. She taught him one on one, right in his room. Sasuke had school for only four hours each day and he was still three math levels ahead of Naruto. In his own defense, Naruto figured his grades would be better if he had a private teacher too, but considering the circumstances, he couldn't find it in his heart to be jealous. He knew Sasuke wished he could go to public school.

"So you finally started trig?" Sasuke said as he looked over Naruto's shoulder at the notebook.

Naruto punched his arm. "Shut up. We can't all handle calculus."

"You really shouldn't write your notes in pen." Sasuke handed Naruto a pencil. "How can you read them when there's scribbles everywhere?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"And Naruto?"

"What?"

Sasuke smiled sweetly. "You can use a calculator if you want. No need to strain your brain unnecessarily."

"I hate you."