Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

A/N: Chapter 6 is here! I was tempted to work on the other fic's Chapter 3 first, but I really wanted to do this one. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 6: Cracks

He was in the car with Kiba, heading to Naruto's apartment so he could be dropped off before Kiba went to a job interview at the cafe. Kiba kept giving him strange looks, and Naruto figured it was obvious he was feeling a bit off after what happened in the showers with Sai.

"I think Sai hit on me today."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Is that it? The guy has an obvious crush on you, but that's nothing new."

Naruto stayed quiet for a while, unsure of whether to tell his best friend what was really worrying him. He had no clue how Kiba would react, but really, he told himself, what was there to react to? It was just something Sai put into his head. "He said that I'm bisexual. That I'm unaware of my attraction to guys or something."

"Did you grope him or something?" Naruto grinned as rain drops started splattering on the windshield.

"He wishes. I don't know, he said he noticed me checking out guys. But how can I check out guys and be completely unaware of it? Makes no sense, right?" He looked over at Kiba, who was now looking a bit uncomfortable, and kept opening and closing his mouth. "Er, right?"

"Don't get me wrong, Naruto." The blond groaned. "No, wait! Why is it bad, though? So what if you may like guys? I mean you'll have to see for yourself to know for sure instead of just taking Sai's word for it, but what if he's right? It won't matter, you'll still be you. But yeah, I questioned it sometimes myself and just never brought it up, thinking you would mention it when you were ready."

"It's not bad or anything, Kiba, it's just.. unexpected for me, you know? My sexuality should be something I know, not be prodded in the direction of enlightenment by friends." His friend laughed, bringing out a smile from Naruto, despite his anxiety about this new development.

"You'll figure it out," he said as he pulled up to the apartment entrance. "I wish I could stay and chat some more, but I have the job interview." He waggled his eyebrows. "Wish me luck, and if you don't see me again, check Neji's house!"

He hopped out of the car and leaned down, ignoring the drizzle. "Call me when you get back with the details. And thanks, Kiba, for.. yeah." To be honest, he wasn't quite sure how his best friend was going to react or even say, but he realized now he should never have doubted the dog lover. Something like this wasn't going to stop their long-lasting camaraderie.

"Stop sweating it!" his friend demanded, and reached over to tug the door shut since it was starting to get wet. He waved through the window and waited until Naruto was through the front door before driving away to the cafe. Naruto shook his hair out once he was inside and headed over to the elevator, shifting his backpack a bit on his shoulder.

He sat in the living room for a while, unsure of what to do, watching as the rain started getting heavier. Finally he unzipped his backpack and started pulling out some of his homework, glaring at the Health project paper as if it personally offended him. He started working on Math instead, wanting to get it out of the way first. He idly thought about calling Sai over to question him some more, but ignored the thought. Maybe he should ask Shikamaru about it tomorrow.

Someone started banging on his door, and he yanked himself out of his homework, wondering if it was Kiba or Jiraiya. Maybe even Sai. He blushed, thinking back on Sai's hand on his naked chest, Sai's hot breath in his ear, on his neck. Why was he thinking about this again?

When he opened the door, he was confused to see the littler Uchiha, pretty wet. "Uh, hi?" He was too confused to think of something insulting right now, and he was too tired.

Sasuke didn't wait to be invited in, closing the door behind him. "You know, I know we're nothing close to even liking each other, but if I go out of my way to wait for you, the least you can do is warn me when you're not planning on showing up." Was Naruto going crazy or was he pouting? And what was he on about?

"Huh?" was all he got out as he stared at Sasuke, who stood facing the blond, arms crossed over his chest.

"You. You never told me you went home with Kiba during your free last period, and I was waiting for you in the parking lot. I had to hear it from that pink-haired crush of yours that you wouldn't be showing up."

"Chill out, it's just a misunderstanding. Your brother only mentioned getting a ride to school, and just for today, nothing about going home with you as well. I didn't think to mention it, and I'd never imagine that you'd actually wait for me." He actually felt pretty damn bad now, which annoyed him. This was the asshole here, after all.

Sasuke said nothing to that, only decided to glare instead. Oh god, he was pouting. A pouting Uchiha. Naruto sighed. "Okay, sorry, geez. Do you want a drink or something? A towel?"

"A towel." Naruto left to grab an unused one from the bathroom, and returned to find that Sasuke had helped himself to a glass and some water. He rolled his eyes before the raven turned to look at him, taking the towel and began drying his hair with his other hand.

Naruto propped himself against the couch, watching the other male dry off, studying him. He thought about what Sai said, about him checking out other males and being unaware of it. So he eyed the raven, trying to see if he felt any sort of physical pull for someone of the same sex. To be honest, it was hard to think of him as unattractive. His build was lean, and he was pretty tall; taller than Naruto, anyway, who was just under six feet. The hair was jet black and framed his face, while the back naturally stuck up somehow. He was pale, but it suited him, and those dark eyes could just pin a person with a glance. He vaguely wondered what they looked like when they smoldered with lust.

"Is there a reason why you're staring at me and drooling? Do you need the towel now?" Naruto snapped out of it, fighting down the blush. He looked at Sasuke, who had a knowing smirk on his face, mockingly holding out the towel.

Naruto cleared his throat and made sure to glare. "I zoned out, and I wasn't drooling."

"Hn." He tossed the towel at him anyway, so that it smacked him in the face with a muffled 'umph!' and headed towards the door. "I just wanted to settle the car matter. I'll see you in English tomorrow, dumbass."

"Wait!" Naruto called, and Sasuke paused with the door open, but didn't turn to face him. "While you're here anyway, let's just do some of those questions."

"No."

"Well, when then?" he pressed. "At least let me have your number so I can contact you about it, plan a day after school."

"I don't feel like giving you my number. Maybe we can do it on Wednesday or something."

"Asshole, give me your number. Or email, or something. Or shit, a carrier pigeon would work. It's my grade, and maybe your snobby rich ass isn't used to how schools work, but grades are important."

Sasuke finally turned around then, shooting hate from his eyes at the blond. The air between them was once again full of hostility. "You were the one who said you didn't need to work thanks to the money left to you. So don't pull that. And don't worry, I'll get back to you." He spat the last part out before leaving the apartment and slamming the door behind him. Naruto winced. They actually got along okay for about... five minutes. He didn't think it was possible for them to do anything but fight.

He sat down on the couch with a sigh, eyeing the thrown towel that was now laying next to him. They were both so hostile and rude towards each other, he wondered if it was possible at all for there ever to be a truce. The raven was naturally reserved and cold towards others, but he witnessed himself that he was the only one the raven completely lost it with. Other kids at school that bugged him, he either ignored or just gave a cool glance as if they were nothing more than annoying flies. Maybe the fact that he introduced himself (unintentionally) in boxers he really hated. Who knew.

Homework was still sitting there calling to him, so reluctantly he started doing that again. Finally his phone started ringing, and he dived at it, hoping it was Kiba with news about the job. "Hello," he grunted, having landed awkwardly on his stomach with an arm pinned underneath. "Kiba! Tell me tell me tell tell me!"

His friend laughed at his excitement. "The store owner, some nice chick named Lisa, gave me the interview. At least it wasn't Neji, right?"

"How'd it go? You got the job, right? So you can start Operation: Woo Hinata?"

"She loved me! I start on Wednesday after school, and I'll be working Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. And we need to make a deal, man. Now that I can start getting closer to Hinata, you need to ask Sakura out." Naruto stopped short, feeling surprise at the pink-haired girl's name. He hasn't thought about her all day, which was surprising, and now that he mentioned her, he felt less inclined to ask her out this year than he was before. He shrugged it off as the stressing about his sexuality and Sasuke.

"I will tomorrow. Pinky swear!" He grinned and held up his pinky in the air, even though Kiba couldn't see it. He knew his friend was doing the same.

"I won't let you forget! I have to go though, my mom's bitching at me about homework and something about celebratory cake for my first job. I'm picking you up as usual tomorrow, right?"

He realized he forgot to tell Kiba about Sasuke storming into his apartment in a huff. He'll tell him tomorrow. "As usual, yeah. And remind me to tell you about what happened with Sasuke on the way to school." The two hung up and Naruto threw his cell on the coffee table.

Getting up to make his way to the kitchen, he opened the freezer to grab a TV dinner and opened it, popping a hole in the cover before sticking it in the microwave. He sat on a stool at the small kitchen island to wait, realizing it was completely silent other than the gentle rain outside. It was times like this when loneliness started to creep in on him, but it was better than living with his guardian. He loved the man, but he was hard to live with. He always had women over, he had no privacy, and he was often out at a bar or a woman's house. He wondered what his parents had been like, and how they met Jiraiya. He felt the familiar pang of betrayal at the thought of his mother and father, and he reached up to feel the locket around his neck that was always hidden under his shirt.

By the time he ate his dinner and finished up all homework except for Health, it was almost midnight. He got pissed off just thinking about the Health project, wondering if it was going to get done at all. At least the teacher was his guardian, and he could explain what happened. He crawled into bed with that solace, slipping into sleep quickly.

Sometime during the night he was startled awake by the sound of shattering glass and a single thud. His heart started pounding against his chest at the thought of someone breaking in. He had no gun, no mace, not even a knife. Maybe a sharpened pencil would work. He stayed sitting up in bed for a few minutes, listening for any more sounds. When none came, he inched out of bed, trying his best to stay quiet, and opened the door to peek into the living room. No one was in sight.

Feeling calmer now, he walked into the living room, still trying to keep quiet just in case. He didn't see anyone anywhere, but he did notice that his window now had a hole in it. Just vandalism, then? At least it had stopped raining for now. He looked around on the floor for the thrown object, and his eyes landed on a brick.

He sighed at the thought of having to fix the window now, and made a mental note to call the landlord after school. He picked the brick up to toss back outside when he noticed some paper taped onto it. Now confused, he ripped the paper off and opened it. 'This communication is efficient.'

His blood instantly started to boil. Sasuke did this? This was just childish now, breaking his damn window that he more than likely had to pay for now. He grabbed some paper and wrote down 'You're paying for both of these windows' before folding it once and taping it to the brick.

He made his way through the building and snuck outside, conscious of the fact that for the second time he was going outside in boxers and loose shirt to confront Sasuke. The ground was muddy, and he hated how his feet squished into the ground and how he was going to track in mud later.

Standing at a decent throwing distance from Sasuke's bedroom window, he threw the brick. It entered the house with a satisfying crash and Naruto beelined it for the apartment entrance. He stopped short, thinking Sasuke was going to retaliate with another brick, and instead he hid behind a bush between the two buildings.

Soon enough the front door of the Uchiha residence opened again and Sasuke stormed out, looking smug. Of course he wouldn't be worrying about paying for the window, he probably bathed in money. He passed the bush and was looking for a decent angle for Naruto's already-broken window, when Naruto left the bush and rushed the other boy.

Sasuke dropped the brick with a surprised grunt as he was pushed towards the muddy ground, and Naruto made sure that his face was rubbed into the mud for ultimate satisfaction. After that he sent a fist at the the raven's cheek, ignoring the dull pain upon impact. His wrist was grabbed by a pale hand and he flinched back as it was twisted enough to cause enough pain, and the bastard once again flipped their positions.

Pain flashed through Naruto as a fist landed on his eye, and he bucked up, trying to get the other boy off of him. Sasuke merely kneed him in the gut before pinning him back down and punching him once more. Thunder rumbled overhead and it started to drizzle again, and the two boys wrestled on, punching, bucking, kneeing, and at one point Naruto tried biting one of the arms that was holding his wrist.

The rain started to pour, and both boys were losing their fighting drive. After some time they just laid there and stared at each other, Naruto still pinned underneath Sasuke, and he could taste blood from when Sasuke socked him in the mouth. The blond was the first to laugh. He closed his eyes against the rain and the raven's intense eyes and he just laughed at what they were doing until tears joined the raindrops on his cheeks.

A pig must have just flown by, as Naruto was surprised when the other boy started to laugh as well. A low, less exuberant laugh, but still—Sasuke Uchiha was laughing. They stayed like that for a while, heedless of the rain, laughing until their stomachs hurt from it. With one last hearty chuckle, Sasuke relaxed and rested his head in the blond's neck before silence between the two took over.

"What are we doing, Sasuke?" he asked, staring up into the dark sky, eyelids fluttering whenever a drop landed in his eye.

"I don't know," he replied, voice muffled from where his head was. Just like before, in the shower room, the other boy's puffs of breath on his neck caused him to shudder. If Sasuke noticed, he didn't say anything. After a while the raven rolled over so that he was laying next to Naruto, staring up. "I'll pay for the window."

It took him a moment to remember he was initially upset about that, and he grinned. "Thanks." Silence took over once more, but for once it wasn't awkward or hostile. Just peaceful. Naruto looked to the side at the other boy. "I'm sorry. About how I acted in general. I didn't even really try to get to know you at first."

"I didn't give you a chance. I haven't been thrilled about this situation, and just looking at you pissed me off."

"Two pissed off and unwilling teenage boys, not a good mixture I guess." He heard the raven snort.

Sasuke looked like he wanted to ask something, but changed his mind, standing up instead. Naruto was further surprised when he looked down at the blond and offered his hand to help pull him up. He took the offer, feeling the hands slide against each other since they were covered in mud.

Naruto looked down at himself, at all the mud that covered him. Covered both of them. He looked back at Sasuke who was looking pretty amused again. "How about a truce then? And maybe later on down the road, who knows, maybe we can figure out how to be friends."

The raven looked at him for a while and smirked as he nodded his head. Naruto ignored the elation that appeared at that simple gesture. "I'll agree to a truce. I'm going back inside now, I need to shower."

"No shit," he laughed. Both boys turned away from each other to head into their respective buildings. "See you tomorrow, asshole." He heard a chuckle.

"See you in English, dumbass." He laughed and went inside, feeling guilt at all the water and mud he was going to leave through the halls. But things were going to be fine now.

Hope you liked it. :) And whoo, over 100 reviews now! You guys... are very awesome. Any questions, criticisms, feelings, anything, feel free to review. I'd appreciate it, and I'll respond when able.