An Author's note. More or less.

I'm trying to please one person, and one person only.

She knows who she is. And I'm aware I've already failed.

Truthfully, I'm not writing this for just her, I'm writing it for us. There are secrets we've shared, and strain we've endured, things she's been trying to bury. But… my heart is with those things, and I can't just let them be thrown away. She may never even see this, but I know the old her would find it beautiful.

Don't worry if you don't like it, you probably won't see anything like it again. At least, not from me. I promise. (I promised.) The only reason I even put this online is so her parents wont get their hands on it and rip it up. They already did that to our friendship. Either way, it's here. If you end up really liking it too, great, and you're welcome to read along. But it wasn't made for anyone else, but her.

To her:

Yes. This was that special something I was working on for pretty much ever. I'm honestly probably not going to even finish this. Take your time and enjoy. I don't want to talk about this until you've read it all. I may not even want to talk when you have.

I'm sorry for taking it this far, but this is what you do to me.

This is what you've made of me.

And this, is the product of our relationship.

For you, S.

Hit me With Lightning

"Idiot."

This was the forth time that word was stamped to him tonight.

Idiot.

Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.

That word makes him fucking sick.

Naruto Uzamaki fled the bedroom in tears. Pillows in tow, he turned out the hall and threw himself onto the living room couch. Tonight would be another night—the forth in a row—that he'd sleep on the couch of his own two bedroom house. And no, he wasn't trying to make a habit of it. He liked to pretend he slept there because the fridge was closer, and he could suck down hot bowls of ramen towards the night... But then he'd be lying to himself. As if that was new. There were two other bedrooms that'd maybe suffice, but both had a unique problem which rendered them unfit of Naruto's company.

The first was his own room. At some point, the thermostat installed there developed a mind of it's own. For the past month, itd morph his room into either Antarctica, or Hell itself, depending on quite possibly nothing in particular. Naruto invited others to help him fix it before, but neither Lee or Kakashi knew anything more of what they were doing than he, and he'd be damned if they somehow made it worst. In truth, Naruto probably could put up with it if he really had too, but unfortunately, the young shinobi was rather petty, and just didn't have the patience for it. Especially on a night like this full of thunderstorms and rain. Last he checked, it was not only raining sideways, but flooding. This too was strange, as the leaf village had never been a particularly rainy place. Maybe it was a sign. Well, maybe not seeing how it was spring. Naruto preferred winter.

Oh, and the other bedroom in his house? Sasuke Uchiha slept there, and the last thing Naruto needed was to lie alongside the problem itself.

The exact problem? There were many, but it all pointed to the fact that Naruto didn't know how he felt about Sasuke anymore: When he was young, Naruto was a cheerful youth who didn't hate many things; He didn't care for reading, he rather disliked homework, being ignored could drive him crazy, but for some reason he absolutely, positively, totally and utterly hated Sasuke.

Roses were red, violets were blue, Naruto hated Sasuke: That's just how things were.

Then he made his first mistake: the possibility of a maybe. He thought maybe it was because Sasuke was everything he strove to be; he was excellent at the jutsus they assigned for homework, was popular, dare Naruto say a ladies man (back when Naruto still thought he liked girls) and could read. Like, out loud and stuff. Sasuke's talents tortured Naruto to no end, and as they grew older, he questioned his own abilities in comparison. Maybe he could be better than Sasuke. Maybe turned hatred into rivalry. Suddenly Naruto wanted to be better than Sasuke. Needed too. He strove to impress him, and nothing, not good grades, not women, not even his dearly beloved ramen, could make him happier. Just Sasuke.

And that's when he realized he just may have feelings for that bastard.

It struck him during one of their final fights; a dreary night at the waterfall. As they charged one another, both with the intent to kill, a thought struck him. Maybe... it didn't have to be this way. He remembered at one point in time, he and Sasuke were friends. Matter of fact, Sasuke was his first friend. His best. Could they be friends again? More, even? As he pondered these thoughts, Sasuke laid Naruto out on the concrete. Then the bastard up and walked out his life... But Naruto was a trooper. Sasuke wasn't going that easily. Oh no, Naruto traveled the world, faced all sorts of terrors, searched hard and long all to bring Sasuke home. Which was his second mistake.

Now they lived together, and Naruto fucking hated it.

Sasuke changed in his time away. Yes, he was pretty much a bastard before, but he evolved into the likes of a lazy, demented, bastard; Sasuke wanted what he wanted, did what he wanted, and wanted nothing to do with anything outside of his wants. Rarely would he leave his room, let alone the house, and the only things he seemed to ask of Naruto were favors. Normally that was alright, as Naruto was a generally selfless person, but not on a day like this when he wanted something of Naruto that the boy constantly told him he was simply not ready to give...

Finally his bed was set. Naruto lied on the couch and pulled spare comforter he crammed between the cushions free. Sasuke often said it looked tacky, but just as often Naruto thought 'Fuck him. What does he know?' He tucked himself in and stared at the ceiling, wiped his tears and tried to think of something else. That is, after all, why he came out here. He thought of how soothing the patter of rain is, and how sudden the strikes of lightning are... then he wondered about the color of lightning. Was it blue? White? He had decided long ago it was not yellow. Then he thought of the chidori justu, and how lightning then was white and wild when it surged around Sasuke's toned arms.

Then, as always, his mind drifted back to Sasuke and how he touched him tonight.

It was like fire. Every place his hands grabbed, lips pressed, breath stroked, Naruto burned, and damn was this kid scarred. Naruto wasn't sure why he didn't decline when Sasuke's fingers caught in his hair, pushed him down between his legs. Didn't fight him... maybe because he "loved" him... But Sasuke loved in an entirely different way. That's why he had this awful taste on his tongue. Why his eyes were red and tearful. Why he was sleeping on this fucking uncomfortable couch. Small things like... that, were all Sasuke wanted now. Sometimes Naruto thought it would make them closer—that was also how he thought about them living together but look how that's working out.

Naruto pulled a pillow onto his face. Something had to change. But what, he did not know. And he didn't want to bother finding out. Not right now, anyway. Right now, all he wanted to find was a toothbrush. Bad.

The rain pattered on. 'It's fine', Naruto thought, pulling the pillow from his face, 'I'll just shower in the morning and when I come out, it'll be a new day, the weekend to be exact. Maybe the storm will stop and I'll go by Ramen Ichiraku. Maybe I'll try something new on the menu.' There he went, forever burying himself in maybes. He clutched the necklace Tsunade gave him as a lightning strike lit the room. Strangely, he couldn't help but think what a shame it was that Sasuke kicked him out; thunderstorms made such cozy nights. He snuggled against his pillow and sighed.

. . .

A sharp crack struck Naruto's ears, curious cerulean eyes snapping open. They followed the sound's ghost to the ceiling, lightning flashing. Maybe it was just thunder... then a small crack drew itself on the boards. It crossed the length of the ceiling, darkened and spread. Blond brows furrowed. He sat up. Stared.

The roof tore.

Ceiling boards burst as something collided with the couch, Naruto barely managed to roll out the way. A hurricane of debris followed, swept up furniture, caught on the boy's skin, attacked his eyes. Plummeting boards bombarded the blond while he groped in his new found blindness for anything that offered balance. All Naruto heard was noise, noise, and noise. A shrill crash sounded, and suddenly there was a wetness under his bare feet. 'Ohfuckohfuckohfuck.' His mind had the phrase on repeat. Rumbling, shaking, crashes and cracking... then the commotion softened. His hand met what he recognized as the banister. He wiped the painful particles from his eyes, and when they finally fluttered open, the boy immediately dropped his jaw.

What the hell just happened?

The hurricane left Naruto standing in a mixture of debris, rainwater, and confusion. His furniture was tossed, his tables turned, pictures snapped and the ceiling simply obliterated. A giant white object protruded from a jumble of lifted floorboards. It was in perfect alignment with the god awful hole in his roof, through which the thunderstorm was flooding his house. That's what did this, that… that… he'd like to say a boat, but how much sense would that make.

"Ah Fuck..."

The voice made him jump. Someone was in there? This proved true, for under the silence came a soft rattling. His blue eyes stilled on the foreign object. Before Naruto could think any more of it, a window popped off! It fell to the water with a splash.

At this point, the trembling blond was clutching Tsunade's necklace like it'd absorb the adrenaline ripping through his body. He mentally slapped himself for it and forced his arms to his side. 'Come on, Uzamaki, get it together.' He cleared his throat. "H-hey!" Damn, his voice was shaky as the rest of him. "Is everything okay over... there?"

No answer. That could be part of a plan. Maybe this person planned to attack him as soon as he approached. Certainly wouldn't be a first. Naruto was unarmed, but felt he could handle himself in that case. If bad turned worst, Sasuke was just down the hall, and he was sure they'd be able to take handle anything together. Outside the dynamics of their pitiful relationship, of course.

"Do you need help?"

Suddenly,

"...Someone's worried 'bout me? Heh, guess I should be thankful,"

The voice belonged to a man, "Sorry I took so much off y'roof; I was aimin' for the bushes, swear!" and the heavy accent it carried made Naruto raise a brow. He wasn't from here, though the fact that he fell from the sky into his living room would of implied such to anyone with better observational skills. It wasn't until this man jumpped out the wreckage wearing the face of a falcon, beak and all, that Naruto realized he wasn't even from this planet.

A feathered hand glided along the object's scratched surface gingerly. "Damn baby, I know ya' said take it easy but..." The birdman shook his head and sighed. Next thing, he's looking right at Naruto. Their gaze connected and the boy froze. The bird sauntered around the upturned floorboards. Not only was his movement casual, it was familiar: human. "Now I ain't one to brag, but I normally make cleana' landin's than that," His voice was dipped in pride, "But hey, when lightnin' makes swiss cheese outta my ride, heh, not much I can do."

Naruto feared he was going insane.

This bird was talking—communicating—with him. Even worst, he totally understood everything coming from his beak. Something was completely wrong here. The avian wolf whistled. "Damn, I made a mess huh, kid?" He laughed that sentence off like it wasn't really a big deal, to which Naruto strongly disagreed. His entire living room was in shambles, rain pouring through the ceiling like his house were built under a waterfall, but haha, whatever. He tried not to frown.

The bird looked away for whatever reason and Naruto just realized he was standing directly in front of him. For one, he was very tall, clad in blue feathers, and sporting some sort of uniform that the rain was doing a pretty great job at making a second skin of. His eyes shown an incredible cyan, surrounded by a shock of red feather that were only challenged by the brightness of a red leather jacket he donned. A small label was embedded on the leather sleeve. He squinted.

Starfox. What the fuck was a Starfox?

"The name's Falco, Falco Lombardi."

Naruto's eyes shot up from the avian's belt buckle—which also bore the label—to an extended hand. Every aspect of the hand was human aside from the short blue feathers covering it... Matter of fact, this bird was capable of speech, walked around on two feet and wore clothing; a lot of him seemed human.

"Just call me Falco."

Apparently he was friendly. Naruto's brows pressed. This was too weird. However, he reached for Falco's hand, and as he did, he couldn't help but notice the panicked footsteps growing louder behind them.