Hierarchy

A/N: Sorry for the slow as hell update xD; Spring break for my friends, visitors, illness, and plain old laziness kicked my ass xD But things should get back to normal for me, and with the exception of getting ready for ACen, I should be updating regularly again. ^^ Hope everyone enjoys, and thanks for all the reviews!

Also! For anyone who didn't read the chater five update for squick reasons, Itachi and Sasuke had sex and... xD Sasuke had dirty Naruto thoughts. That's about it. ^ Enjoy!

The next day at school was a little bit easier for Naruto. More than anything he was proud of himself for learning how to do some of the math questions. He hadn’t even fallen asleep once in class this time. He’d taken notes (well, mostly he’d doodled all over, little pictures of himself being squished by a giant math book) and he’d even written an answer on the chalkboard. It had even been close to being right. Only thirty or so numbers off. But he’d seen the very, very, very, very slight smile Sasuke had flashed towards him, and that had made him swell with pride as he walked confidently over to his desk and sat down, returning to doodling.

In fact, right before lunchtime, Naruto decided that he wanted Sasuke to teach him history next. He was pretty sure that he could be really, really good at history! He just needed a little extra help to get the information to stick. Usually it just slid. Like… out his ears or something.

When the lunch bell rang, Naruto moved out of the room after telling Kiba that he’d meet him after lunch, and jogged into the cafeteria, sliding into line behind Sasuke, and stacking up his tray with large sandwiches and instant ramen. He did his best to ignore the fact that the other was there, even as he reached past him to grab a small bottle of milk, dropping (a little more conspicuously than he’d wanted) a small wadded piece of paper onto the other’s tray before cutting through the line and paying for his food, hurrying outside to the back of the building.

*~*

Sasuke glanced down at the piece of paper, and his brows drew together a little as irritation flared inside of him. It was a little annoying that Naruto had decided to stick with the idea that they were going to pretend they didn’t know each other. He slid his tray along the line, paying for his food, and moving away a little so that he could read the note the blond boy had written to him. His scowl deepened a little as he narrowed his eyes, trying very hard to read the sloppy smudged writing of the other. Finally he made out the words, sighed, and shoved the note into his pocket as he headed outside. He really wasn’t going to get a break. But even through his annoyance he couldn’t help but shake his head, pleased that Naruto seemed to want to eat lunch with him. Even if it was in secret.

~*~

Naruto waited with as much patience as he could muster as he stared at the door, waiting for Sasuke to walk through the door as he shifted his large tray of food in his hand awkwardly.

He wasn’t sure Sasuke would follow his lead on this one, since the other was a little worried about being seen with him in public as well. But today it was raining, and practically everyone was inside. And Kiba was going to cover for him so maybe no one would even notice that the two of them were even missing.

A bright smile tugged at his lips when he finally saw the slightly grumpy looking dark-haired boy exit the school, and he moved forward just enough so that Sasuke would be able to see him, “Hey!” He called softly, “Hey! Over here!” He kind of… felt like a secret agent like this!

Sasuke blinked a little, and rolled his eyes at the blond before he moved over to where he was standing, “You want to eat in the rain?” He asked, his tone implying that he was less than impressed.

Tilting his head to the side, Naruto nodded, “Yeah. I like the rain. Besides, there are places where it shouldn’t get on us too badly,” HE promised.

Sighing and holding his tray a little tighter to him, Sasuke nodded, “All right, where do you want to go?” He asked with a shrug, not looking at the other.

Naruto thought a moment before gesturing towards a small shed across the wooded area, a place he’d gone to many times before when he’d wanted some, uh, privacy. “There’s a whole bunch of trees behind the shed. We’ll be dry, and no one will think about finding us there.” He said with a nod.

Sasuke didn’t reply as he brushed past the other, walking with confident steps towards the place the other had directed to, ignoring the squelching sound of the mud beneath his shoes, even though the familiarity of it made his stomach lurch slightly.

Blinking a few times, Naruto hurried behind Sasuke, tray held in hand and mud covering the bottom of his pants as he hurried to bring the other there. “See? All dry and not too bad, huh?”

Sasuke shrugged a little, even though he was a little impressed at the basically unscathed area, “It’ll do,” He reluctantly admitted as he placed the tray on the ground, shrugging off his jacket, and placing it under where he was sitting, “What did you need me for, anyways?”

A little taken aback by the other’s abrupt tone, Naruto sat down on the dusty dirt, knowing that his jeans were going to be very dirty after this, “I thought, y’know… I’d tell you that I was real good in math today!” He said happily, “And that I should say thank you, and is it so wrong for me to want to eat lunch with you? I mean no one can see us!” He insisted, blond brows drawn together in a little bit of confusion and a little bit of frustration. He hadn't thought that Sasuke was still going to act like t his even when it was just the two of them.

Sasuke rolled his eyes a little, and shifted on the ground, balancing his tray as he lifted his juice to his lips and drank. Of course he wasn't upset that Naruto had wanted to eat lunch with him, but it had just seemed like the other wasn't interested in even talking to him unless he needed something. "Let's eat," He said as he placed the drink back on the tray, and lifted his sandwich up to take a bite from it. He'd just had such a very, very long night. After tutoring Naruto, and then... dealing with his brother, he'd still had an essay and a research paper to finish writing. So he really hadn't gotten that much sleep.

Frowning a little, Naruto stared at his fooda moment before crossing his arms, "Why do you always act like that?" He asked, frustration obvious in his voice, "Why do you always just... act so dumb?"

Sasuke didn't even lift his gaze when he rolled his eyes this time, instead taking another bite of his sandwich, "I'm just hungry," He said simply, "Was there something you wanted to talk about?"

Blinking a little as his frown smoothed out, Naruto shook his head, "No... I just thought... you know, we could be friends this way. Eat lunch together sometimes... I mean, you're not a bad guy, and we used to be real good friends, and we're going to be studying together a lot now..."

Resisting the urge to laugh at the thought of getting any studying of his own done with the blond boy, Sasuke lifting his head, "You want to be secret friends?" He asked a little incredulously. It was a little insulting, really. That the blond would want to be his friend, but was so opposed to other eople knowing that or seeing them together. For a moment there, he'd thought maybe they'd be able to be friends regardless of Naruto's reputation. Which had been ridiculous, he supposed.

Smiling a little, and glad that Sasuke understood, Naruto nodded, "Yeah!" He said happily. Kiba was his best friend now, but nothing had been quit the same since he and Sasuke had stopped being friends. There wasn't a single person at this high school who knew him better than Sasuke, or who had been by his side the way Sasuke had been even through all of the things that had happened in his life. Honestly, if he just admitted it, he missed Sasuke a lot.

Sasuke stared at the other a moment, trying to decide whether or not this was some kind of weird, twisted joke, before he nodded, "All right. That sounds fine," He agreed.

Naruto's smile grew as he placed his tray on the dirt, and shifted to be more comfortable, "Great!" He said with bright enthusiasm, "How about we take a break from studying, and you come over to my house tonight? We'll watch a movie and I'll make some of my famous snacks!"

Sasuke stared blankly at the blond boy a moment, biting back the urge to remind Naruto that they'd only studied one day before he gave up and just nodded. He was sure that he could get permission from his brother, "All right," He agreed slowly. He didn't really know why he was agreeing. Maybe he just needed a break from everything else in his life right now, and he was sure his brother could stand one evening without his... company.

"I can be there at eight," He said simply, shifting a bit, "Do I need to bring anything?"

Naruto shook his head, still smiling widely, "Nope, I've still got everything for a perfect sleepover!" He promised.

Sasuke nodded, and they enjoyed the rest of their lunch in moderate silence, only Naruto's constant cheerful words littering the air until the bell rang and they rose to return to class.

He really hoped Naruto's snack making skills had improved since the last time he'd visited or else he was likely to be subjected to another round of peanut butter and bologna sandwiches. And that was one thing he hadn't missed.