I actually finished this last week but completely forgot to post it here.. whoops

Anyways this was just a lil bday gift for one of my bffs and my writing alpha, who requested something for their ot3 (and tbh i really like this ship too)! Doing the prompt-based drabble thing again bc it turns out i really love writing in this style, so expect to see more of it from me in the future

Enjoy folks!

Wind

They both had an affinity for wind, which made sense, because she'd always in her mind related them to storms.

Naruto was a hurricane; powerful, huge, hitting hard and fast and leaving devastation in his wake. Even though the storm that was Naruto Uzumaki had long since calmed, the world was still recovering from his effects, rebuilding into a better place, because of him.

Gaara was a sandstorm; a force of nature, gathering up everything around them and blasting it outward, harsh and rough, they altered the very landscape itself with their passing. But, once the wind had faded, they left a beautiful stillness and clarity to the air and the way forward was open and clear.

It was both terrifying and exhilarating, to be one of those lucky few allowed shelter in the eye of those storms.

Fussy

"Naruto, your coat."

It often surprised people that, of the three of them, Gaara was the most one prone to 'mothering'.

"You left this scroll at home, Hinata."

After all, as far as most saw, they were cold, distant, they'd be less likely to comfort a crying stranger than they would be to command them to stop, why would someone so controlled and assured ever waste time worrying about others.

"I noticed you were running low on zenzai, so I bought some more."

And surely Hinata – shy, gentle, kind Hinata – would be the most likely to fuss over her partners?

"The spider is gone now, it's safe to come in."

But, over the years she'd grown out of her childhood anxieties and matured into a quietly confident and relaxed woman, so much so that she often forgot to worry entirely, sure that her partners could look after themselves.

"Are you sure you've not forgotten anything?"

Gaara meanwhile, had been slowly starting to relearn how to show emotion, show that they cared for others, even if the only way they felt comfortable doing so was with small gestures and constant fretting.

"You have something on your face, Naruto."

It certainly didn't bother their spouses; they actually found it rather endearing, even cute.

"Be careful up there, are you sure you don't want me to just use my sand?"

Besides, they'd all grown up with no one who really cared to worry about them, they were left alone to look after themselves. If Gaara wanted to remind them that they did indeed think about them, with their mothering ways, then neither Naruto nor Hinata were going to complain.

"Oh, Gaara you forgot something!"

They stopped with their hand still reaching towards the door and turned back to see Naruto rushing down the hall to meet them. "What is it?" they asked.

He slid a warm hand behind their neck and gently pulled them into a quick kiss, before releasing them with a wide grin and faint blush tinting his cheeks.

"That's it, you've got everything now!"

Happiest

He felt happy so often these days, that he sometimes forgot just how new that emotion really was for him.

He felt happy when he walked the streets of his home and saw the villagers so happy and lively; though the effects of the war still lingered for many, seeing how quickly things had returned to normal gave him hope.

He felt happy when he got to visit the academy, teaching those kids who somehow looked up to him, saw someone worthy of emulating, even when he couldn't be serious for more than a minute.

He felt happy when he got to spend time with all his friends – and he had so many now – joking and laughing and reminiscing and sometimes crying, but always with the comfort of an understanding shoulder to lean on.

But, he had to admit that he was happiest on days like these, calm and quiet and boring; with the gentle breeze rustling through the trees; with Hinata humming as she cut particularly beautiful blooms from their garden to dot around the house, her cheeks flushed with the day's heat and her knees stained in mud and grass; with Gaara muttering softly to their cacti, too off in their own world to notice the leaf that had blown into their hair, or the sand curling into gentle swirls and lapping waves around them.

Naruto leaned back against the rough wooden decking – warm from soaking up the afternoon sun – and let the unintentional serenade of his loves lull him to sleep.

Engaged

"When are we going to get married?"

The words were completely unprompted and, from the look on Hinata's face, she was just as unprepared for the announcement as he was.

Gaara hadn't even bothered to glance up from their book for more than a second.

"Uh… well, normally you have to get engaged first," he said. If his voice was bored, that was only because any other emotion had yet to truly sink in.

His partner frowned, carefully placed a bookmark between the open pages of their novel and slowly turned to face the pair, both of whom were already leaning forward in anticipation. "We've be living together for seven years now and I'm reasonably sure that we all love each other, so we're engaged. Is that not how it works?"

"…Well, I can't argue with that logic," Hinata said, giggling behind her hand, before shuffling over to them and carefully taking their hands in hers, "do you really want to get married Gaara?"

They blinked their mint-green eyes in confusion. "Why would I not?"

Finally, Naruto was hit by a torrent of emotions that started with confusion and barrelled straight through excitement, anxiety, amusement and joy, before landing in a deep pool of pure love, leaving him a blubbering, laughing mess as he crawled over to his partners and wrapped them both into an awkward, teary one-armed embrace.

"Then let's get married! We should do it right now, how quickly can we call everyone?"

Hair

None of them could agree who had the nicest hair.

Gaara was adamant that it was Hinata; her hair was just so silky smooth and that shade of inky blue-black shone brightly in even the dullest of lighting, they adored running their hands through it when they were all snuggled together after a long, stressful day.

Naruto would always argue that it was Gaara; their shade of red was so bold and beautiful – and no he definitely wasn't biased towards his mother's hair colour – and he was endlessly fascinated by the way that colour shifted from burnt crimson, to bright ruby, to rusty orange, to deep wine throughout the day.

Hinata had never been convinced that it wasn't Naruto; his hair was always so wild and messy, a halo of pure sunshine that framed his face beautifully, on anyone else it would look dreadful, but it was just so perfectly… Naruto.

Morning

They loved this time of day, when the air was still and the world hadn't quite woken up yet, but the end of their nightly solitude was in sight, filling them with a kind of hope and anticipation for the coming morning that they hadn't experienced since they were a child.

Normally they wouldn't give themself time to indulge in that feeling – already busying themself with plans and paperwork and necessary chores – but today they wanted to soak it in. There was something deeply calming about watching Naruto and Hinata sleep, they were sure that the smell of breakfast slowly warming through in the kitchen would soon wake them, but for now they could just sit and watch.

Naruto, as always, was clinging tightly to Hinata, drooling happily into her hair and arms and legs tangled around her in a way that couldn't possibly be comfortable, but neither of them seemed to mind. Hinata had stolen most of the sheets during the night, Gaara had popped in a few times already to pull them back down over her feet; even with a pair of fuzzy socks on she always got cold, it seemed.

"Mornin' beautiful." The horse mumble broke them out of their tranquil observation and it was only then that they noticed a pair of sky blue eyes squinting at them. Naruto smiled, not the wide grins that he normally gave, but a small, tired, twist of the mouth that somehow felt far more personal. "C'mere," he said, beckoning them over with a lazy wave.

They sighed, even as they slipped out of their chair and sat in the small space left on the bed. "The stove is still on."

Naruto pulled them down and hooked his arm around their waist to keep them pressed into his side, pressing a light kiss against their temple, he said, "It'll be fine, morning cuddles are worth a little housefire."

"I'll let you explain that to Hinata when the kitchen burns down."

Pale

She'd always been compared to the colour lavender and, really, why wouldn't she be? It was in her eyes after all and the words had always seemed to fit; delicate, elegant, fragile, innocent. Even the meaning of the flower itself had always been used against her by mocking family and schoolyard bullies. Purity, devotion. Silence.

Hinata had resented the likeness for so much of her life, hated those who used it to make her feel even smaller than she always did, hated herself for her inability to break away from her own lavender nature.

What kind of ninja was quiet and fragile and innocent?

But then, what kind of ninja was loud and emotional and optimistic?

What kind of ninja struggled to find and cling on to their better nature, to shed the weapon for the human?

Lavender wasn't an insult to her anymore – though she'd never deny that she was still all of those things associated with it.

If she was fragile, that didn't mean she couldn't put herself back together with every break, stronger and wiser. If she was elegant, it was in the same way a predator was, nimble and quick and deadly. If she was innocent, then it was in her heartfelt belief that there was true good in the world and the people in it and if that goodness had to be protected with force, then so be it, she would wear as much blood on her hands as necessary, to keep that innocence alive.

And, if she was silent, then it wasn't out of shyness, or insecurity; it was the cool, assured tranquillity of a hunter, hiding in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment.

How many existences had ended, their last sight, a flash of pale lavender surrounded by night?

Kissing

The kissing thing was difficult at first – it was hard enough working through the inherent awkwardness and perfecting technique when there were just two of you, but three? – however, they all agreed that it was worth the trouble.

Everyone kissed in a different way and they all reacted to different things.

Naruto was actually quite the romantic, he had a fondness for short, sweet kisses, anywhere, anytime. Pecks on the cheek as they walked the streets, a sneaky smooch before a meeting, lingering presses of the lips against hand, or shoulder, or forehead, the kind of kisses that always came and left with a smile and warmth that tingled against the skin long after he departed.

Gaara always needed time to prepare for physical affection of any kind, to start off slow and timid, a ginger dip of the toes into the ocean before the submersion, but they also relished in that kind of deep, familiar intimacy, to have so much trust in another and to have so much trust placed in them… Their indulgent, languid kissing sessions could last for hours.

Hinata was surprisingly the most confident kisser, all passion and teasing teeth and wandering hands. She had quickly learned that – despite his usual boldness – Naruto was quite shy when it came to intimacy and Gaara still felt they had to keep a certain reign on their more… aggressive instincts. She didn't mind though, in fact she loved taking charge, being given the opportunity to shower her partners with all the affection she felt and let them just experience without having to work for once in their lives and maybe she quite liked the thrill of having two such powerful ninja turn to putty under her touch too.

The best kisses of all though, were when they all piled together into one great tangle of limbs, never breaking contact for a second, even when one of them had to withdraw to breath and observe, before diving back in, each exploring and learning and loving together.

Captive

He was held fast, caught under her gaze – that intense, all-seeing gaze.

It was hard to bear sometimes, the love that his spouses shared for him, there were so many nights when he'd lay awake, wondering what he ever did to deserve any of it; Hinata's sweet smiles and gentle companionship, Gaara's wordless understanding and tentative touches.

They were both so precious to him, how could he ever show them just how deep his feelings went, especially when they were being like this.

"Naruto, look at us," Gaara said, their words were softly-spoken – as they always were – but in the silent night they rung clear as a bell and Naruto could do nothing to resist the order, though he stubbornly refused eye contact until the last moment.

And there they both were, leaning over him on the bed, looking so beautiful and loving and sympathetic and he was once again fighting the bitter sting of tears.

His wife – wife, he was married, had a family who loved and cared for him – rubbed a calloused thumb against his cheek. "What's wrong? You know you can talk to us."

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just-"

Just what? So happy? So frustrated? So engulfed with emotions that he didn't deserve, that he'd inexplicably broken down at the slightest show of kindness?

Gaara carefully lay down next to him, close enough that he could feel their body heat, but not so close as to overwhelm him, one hand entwining with his and their forehead pressing gently into his shoulder, breath sending all-too-pleasant tingles across his skin. "It's ok to feel this way, Naruto."

The sob that he let out sounded utterly pathetic. "It's not-"

The mattress on his other side dipped as Hinata mirrored their position, her arm circling protectively around his waist. "Yes, it is; Naruto, you deserve this, you deserve love," she said and with a whisper the last threads of his resolve snapped.

He bawled like he'd never allowed himself to as a child, fat tears falling back into his hair, broken sobs and hiccups jolting his body, trapped between the two loves of his life.

And, selfish as it was, he never wanted to be freed.

Love

'Love' was a strange word to them, it always had been.

How could a single word ever describe something so complex, the myriad of thoughts and emotions and desires, coming together to describe that, that… state of being, that all humans seemed to understand and seek out so instinctually.

One word to describe everything they'd ever wanted. To describe everything they'd never had.

Would it ever even be possible for a non-human like themself to experience it?

"Gaara, come on!"

They glanced up to see Hinata, a knowing smile on her lips and one of her strong, deadly, beautiful hands held out towards them.

"Yeah, we're gonna be late else!"

Naruto, bouncing in place and practically forcing his arm to stay against his body, twitching fingers and darting eyes revealing his true wishes.

With as open a smile as they were capable of, Gaara stepped forwards and wound one of their hands into his, the other wordlessly taking Hinata's offer. They still didn't understand 'love' – probably never would – but perhaps understanding was unnecessary.

Perhaps experiencing was enough.