Gimme Shelter
(Or, When Naruto Discovered the Color Red is Supposed to Convey Passion, Love and Sex but Still Ended Up Hating the Color)

"Have you been here before?" Naruto asked his partner when a maid screamed and dropped the garbage can she had been carrying and ran away.

Sasuke shrugged, an evil glint gleaming in his eyes. "I can't say. Snake got around."

"I'm sure," Naruto said dryly. "And that's why you're barely resisting the urge to activate the Sharingan?"

"They make me feel threatened," Sasuke answered flatly with an edge of humor.

Naruto jerked his head so fast to take a double take of his lover that the bones in his neck cracked like kernel popcorn. Did his Sasuke just make a joke? Holy shit. Sasuke was developing a sense of humor!

"I love you," Naruto blurted. He had never been one to hide his feelings.

"Hn," Sasuke answered, the evil glint in his eyes softening slightly.

Naruto knew this to mean, "I love you too" in retarded Uchiha speak. He had once commented on Sasuke's retarded social abilities to a concerned Iruka, firmly believing it was solely a Sasuke thing to do. Kakashi had overheard and when his manic giggles ceased, he had informed Naruto that it wasn't a Sasuke thing so much as an Uchiha thing in general.

Naruto had proudly informed his boyfriend that not only had he inherited his mom's girly looks, but he had inherited the Uchiha emotional retardness. Sasuke had been confused as to were he was being complimented or not by being told he resembled the dead members of his clan that Naruto escaped the encounter with his life. His Uchiha wore confused incredible well, all very cute like.

Another hotel worker caught sight of Sasuke, screamed and ran away.

"Damn!" Naruto swore. "What did Snake do?"

"We spent the night," Sasuke shrugged.

"And?" Naruto demanded.

"That's it," Sasuke said.

"My ass," Naruto muttered. "I'm gonna check us in. Don't move and don't give anyone a heart attack."

What Sasuke failed to mention to his best friend and boyfriend, was team Snake had been pretty wild back then and that the hotel staff most likely remembered Karin and Jugo and Suigetsu – all of whom had set the halls on fire to see how long it took Suigetsu to put them out. And maybe, Suigetsu ordering a wakeup call for Jugo had something to do with it. That maid had been pretty traumatized...

Another person from the hotel staff screamed and ran away.

Then again, it could have been the memory of Karin dressing in Sasuke's clothes and Suigetsu confusing her with Sasuke…Sasuke was only grateful he never turned his back on the missing nin.

Sasuke smiled; Naruto looked back and smiled at seeing the demented look on Sasuke's face that passed for joy. He had known Sasuke would like it here! Or rather, Sakura had known. She deserved a very nice birthday present.

"No, thank you. I'm sure we can find it ourselves." Naruto said in his usual cheerful manner. To Sasuke, he dropped the cheer and used a more normal tone. "Let's go."

Naruto grabbed his bag and waited for Sasuke to grab his bag as well before beginning the search for the hotel room. This sounds like a simple task and to be honest, it really should have been so simple a five year could do it. But like Sasuke had mentioned, time and time again, Naruto had a way of fucking up decidedly simple things.

The hall carpet was a neutral sandy color. It looked quite nice in contrast to their blue sandals. The carpet was the only redeeming part of the hotel hallways. Everywhere Naruto looked, the walls were a different color. Naruto was starting to feel a little hysterical, especially under Sasuke's knowing eyes. The woman at the front desk had said they would be located in the cinnamon red wing in room 4D. Naruto hadn't thought twice about it. In the red wing, room 4D.

And then he saw the different shades of red and numerous 4Ds.

"Sasuke," Naruto began slowly so Sasuke couldn't accuse him of being lost. "How many shadows of red are there?" Sasuke looked at him with no expression. "Right, how many shades of red do you know?"

"Dobe," Sasuke shook his head in cross between fondness and exasperation.

"What?" Naruto began defensively.

"I only see in shades of red." Sasuke said blandly.

"No way!" Naruto looked at his lover in shock. "But—how?"

"Every since I was little I've only been able to see in shades of red and black." Sasuke shrugged. "The medic nin looked into it. They think the jutsu Itachi used on me when I was younger caused it." Naruto continued to stare at his lover and partner in all things with his mouth slightly open. "I thought you knew. Seemed like everybody knew."

"Is that why Sakura wears red?" Naruto asked before he could think. "I mean, it clashes with her hair but she still wears this really bright red."

Sasuke smirked slightly. "Yes."

"Wow." Naruto shook his head. "Just wow." And then he frowned. "How do you know if orange is such an eyesore anyways if you can't see it!"

"Orange is only a few tints removed from red," Sasuke patiently explained. "It's like looking at an extremely bright, neon shade of red. It irritated the shit out of my eyes at the Academy."

"The reason you never liked sitting anywhere near me," Naruto realized.

Sasuke didn't agree or deny Naruto's realization, which was nearly as good Sasuke saying yes. This whole time he had thought the younger Uchiha was just a stuck up brat. Now he felt slightly guilty for always getting in his face.

"Naruto, why were you asking about shades of red?"

And then Naruto was reminded of his current predicament. Shades of red, one shade in particular: cinnamon red.

"Can you tell the difference between shades of red?" Naruto asked somewhat hopefully.

But Sasuke had always been a hope killer, "Yeah, dark red, medium red and light red."

"Damn it," Naruto swore under his breath. "You wouldn't happen to know what cinnamon red looks like, would you?"

Naruto translated Sasuke's resulting look. It asked, "Do I look like a fucking girl?"

"Of course you wouldn't." Naruto sighed despondently. "Damn it."

"I'm going to assume we need to find a cinnamon red," Sasuke said flatly.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed.

They both stared at the red wall in front of them. It looked a lot like a rose, so maybe this was a rose red?

"Do you think it's too late to ask for a guide?"

After shuffling to the front desk in shame, Naruto requested a guide. The amused woman called for another female who giggled at Naruto. The foreboding presence of Sasuke Uchiha, however, stifled anymore giggles and the girl lead them to a hall with deep red walls with specks of black. The whole time she kept a wary eye on Sasuke.

"Here you are sirs," she bowed and hurried away.

Opening the door, Naruto was treated with a room that was thankfully not red. It was plain white that almost reminded Naruto of snow, but the shadows on the wall made the color softer than the blinding white of snow. The carpet looked plush and creamy and he could hardly wait to kick off his sandals and sink his toes in. The bed was a large king, bigger than any bed Naruto had ever used before. He actually wished the bed was smaller. He didn't want to give Sasuke an excuse to sleep away from him. He preferred having the Uchiha as close as possible thank you.

"Nice room," Naruto commented and he tossed his bag on the foot of the bed. It bounced once and then bounced again when Sasuke's bag joined his. Glancing in mild surprise at Sasuke, Naruto was pleased to note only a slight tightness in his shoulders – a tension that never went away even when Sasuke was sleeping –, otherwise, Sasuke was completely relaxed.

Since leaving the cohorts of evil and coming back to Leaf, he had taken to wearing a mixture of his various outfits. He wore a long sleeve blue shirt that was loose at the collar, but hid Orochimaru's mark on his flesh. His forehead protector was tied around his throat, another way to hide Orochimaru's mark. Naruto would gladly do anything to make the mark disappear, even sacrifice his future as Hokage. He understood that Sasuke saw the cursed seal as a representation of his past, a telling mark of his past. And on a deeper level, Naruto instinctively knew Sasuke hated the cursed seal because Sasuke believed it meant Orochimaru owned him. He hated that Orochimaru introduced that idea into Sasuke's head. No one owned Sasuke. No one ever could. Sasuke was Sasuke – unbound by society – and he was free.

He had also taken to wearing white creamy shorts again. Naruto struggled over whether or not the shorts were better than the tight pants he used to wear. On the one hand, Naruto got to see more leg; on the other hand, Naruto didn't get to skin tight clothing cling to Sasuke's legs and thighs. The only thing that possibly didn't change about Sasuke since he was a little kid was his hair. It still stuck up in jagged angles in the back but fell smoothly across his cheeks, down to his chin. Had Sasuke's body always been able to capable of conducting the electrical charges required for Chidori and the other electrical spin offs? Sasuke's hair was what Naruto always believed how a child's would look if he stuck a fork in a light socket.

"What?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Naruto coughed in embarrassment. He hadn't realized he was staring.

"Just," Naruto gestured with his hands towards Sasuke. "You know."

Sasuke opened his mouth, likely about to retort no he didn't know so please enlighten him, when he closed it just as quickly making Naruto doubt the movement ever happened. A considering look passed over Sasuke's face and Naruto couldn't squish the pleased feeling in his gut that Sasuke could understand him.

"Alright."

Something a lot like love pulsed under his skin with that word, with that understanding but it was more than that. It felt like fire had replaced his blood and was racing all over his body – too fast – and he was getting dizzy and high at the mere feeling. Inside, Naruto could hear Kyuubi purring, pleased. Ours. And it was like air ignited the fire, making it hungry.

Naruto took a sudden step forward and bent his head down slightly so he could kiss Sasuke. He expected two things to happen once his brain caught up with his body. One, for Sasuke to jump or twist away in surprise. Even after nearly a year of living among friendly nin, Sasuke acted like at any moment a kunai could be buried in his back. Not that those kinds of reflexes were bad to have. They had most likely saved Sasuke's life, especially with the fact he lived with S-class missing nin who tortured the innocent for fun, for the past few years.

Two, Sasuke was skittish when it came to human contact. Perhaps skittish wasn't the best word, but it was the only word Naruto could think of that would fit. Sasuke's family had never been particularly tactile Kakashi had explained the first time Naruto had patted the boy on the back when they were genin. It was considered rude to touch another without permission. Only in the privacy of their homes did the Uchiha express physical reassurance and contact. Physical contact with Sasuke had only decreased as he grew older after his clan's destruction, his aloof behavior holding everyone at bay.

So the sudden returning pressure made Naruto open his eyes in surprise. Sasuke's eyes were closed and his expression soft and yearning. It made Naruto's heart beat a little harder and Kyuubi stirred. The purring increased.

He was ethereal – too beautiful to be human.

Where Sasuke's hands touched, it felt like flames licking him. The sensation was overall strange, but Naruto was suddenly relieved he wore a short sleeve black shirt and had shed his jacket before entering the hotel. The flames – whatever they were – made his head buzz pleasantly, like Kyuubi's purring.

Naruto brought a hand to Sasuke's cheek, brushing the skin there with his thumb. The touch felt different than it normally did. Almost like now the fire was coming from him but not him. But it took too much effort to open his eyes – the buzzing quieting his mind leaving only feelings and sensations – to see for sure if the flames were really there.

A moan reminded Naruto that if the feeling was this intense only on his arms and Sasuke's face then the logical next step would be to remove the barriers between them. When he opened his eyes to do just that, Naruto's breath caught in his throat in surprise.

Flames really were dancing on their skin.

The lack of movement from Naruto made Sasuke open his eyes almost instantly. The flames retreated and all Naruto could do was watch with surprise, arousal and disappointment.

"What was that?" Naruto asked. He wondered if Sasuke could he hear his arousal in his voice. What would he do if he could?

Sasuke didn't blush, but if he had allowed such human reactions, Naruto had a feeling he would be. "It was me – my chakra."

"But how?" Naruto asked feeling something like wonder striking him.

"I don't know. I've always been like that."

"But I've never seen it before and we've done things like this before!" And then occurred to Naruto that perhaps something had changed in their relationship in the wake of their "therapy." "What's different?"

Sasuke sighed and went to the bed. He toed off his sandals and Naruto watched with lingering wonder as Sasuke settled himself neatly in the middle. Underneath dark lashes, Sasuke's eyes beckoned Naruto to join him. Never one to deny Sasuke something, especially with that face – the one that is soft tender human loving mine ours – Naruto settled himself on the bed. Their knees touched and the fire that had replaced his blood still lingering and Kyuubi's purring lessened, like he was more aware of his surroundings.

The fox demon's interest and awareness made Naruto eye his lover (but he's more than that he's a partner my equal mine ours) curiously.

"I have become proficient in using lightening. The others, they know lightening is a part of my signature attacks because it is easy for my chakra pathways to access. But that was not always true." Sasuke's eyes looked hidden for a moment and for the first time, Naruto realized he was going to learn something about the youngest Uchiha from Sasuke himself. Not second hand information from others. Not information hard won through trial and error. This was information Sasuke was offering. "My clan they were masters of fire. The clan was almost as famous for their fire jutsus as they were for the Sharingan. It was in their blood, in our blood. There came a point that the fire would reach out, act sentient from our bodies. Like now."

Kyuubi's deep rumblings made Naruto pay attention the fox demon again while Sasuke thought about what to tell him next in silence. True warm always so warm burning fire underneath den kits piles. Wait, what are trying to tell me Kyuubi? That the Uchiha family used to sleep in piles like…like baby foxes? They're way too reserved for that. It's not possible. True pile den family loving sharing.

"Sasuke?" Naruto hesitantly asked. "Are you telling me public touching was banned because that would happen?"

Sasuke's face flickered. He looked ready to close his expressions off, but before he could, Naruto grasped his hand and held it tightly. He tried conveying his love and affection for the emotionally retarded Uchiha and with Sasuke's returning squeeze, Naruto felt his heart ease as Sasuke's face stayed open. "Yes and no. When we are with family, the fire is different. It is the fire of companionship, of not being alone. Familial. A fire that cannot help but jump at the loving touch of family and other strong fire elementals."

"But I'm a wind elemental," Naruto protested gently but kept his grip on Sasuke strong so Sasuke wouldn't believe Naruto was dismissing his affection or something crazy like that.

"You're dual." Sasuke looked at Naruto from the side. "Kyuubi is a fire elemental and you are wind. His fire reaches out to me just as my fire reaches out to him, but your wind inflames us both. You make the fire stronger, undeniable."

"Then why is it just happening now, Sasuke? Why not before? We've been together for awhile now and it never happened before." Naruto struggled to understand.

"The woman from my support group, she brought some things to my attention." Sasuke looked down at their clasped hands. "She made me realize I need to give as much as I take and I have not yet shown or told you how I feel. You always just know." An inflection of wonder entered Sasuke's voice. "You've always just known, but you deserve to know I feel the same. I should have a way to reassure you how I feel like you do for me."

And then realization struck Naruto from nowhere. Sasuke was trying to prove his love for Naruto! The flames…it meant that on some level Sasuke had lowered his walls and was showing his love. How he felt.

The flames that had danced between their skin flared again and around their clasped hands a fire licked and danced. Naruto looked at it with new eyes until he felt the swell of love happiness everything in his heart and it made him look at Sasuke. Sasuke was smiling. It was a barely there smile for the average person but for Sasuke, he might as well be beaming.

Naruto smiled back.

In some way, Naruto had always been holding back. It was done out of love and respect. Kyuubi had always taken an unhealthy interest in Sasuke, from the very beginning. At first it started off as a friendly rivalry stemmed by Naruto's own emotions, but when Kyuubi began to realize he was apart from Naruto, things began to change.

The first time was during the encounter with Haku, when Sasuke almost died. The fox had broken free from his inner prison, brought forth because of Naruto rage and pain at losing his teammate. At the same time, the fox demon's energy raged and readied to strike because this interloper had killed the owner of the red and black eyes that haunted his nightmares.

That's when Kyuubi began to take notice of Sasuke. Naruto never noticed because Sasuke had captured his interest too. How was he supposed to know the demon residing in his body would do the same?

He didn't understand why until after three long years, he saw Sasuke again at the gorge. Kyuubi and Sasuke's first meeting. Naruto couldn't ignore the demon's interest in Sasuke anymore than he could ignore his own obsession to bring Sasuke back where he belonged. By their side.

The why had plagued him for months which slowly bled into years. That time was sprinkled with encounters with the Uchiha heir and Kyuubi's interest doubling at each encounter almost as fast Naruto's interest (he could almost call it love but it hurts too much to be love).

A month before Sasuke returned, the demon finally answered Naruto's question of why.

Because he's ours.

And no more words were said between the vessel and demon, but images were brought to the front of Naruto's mind. Den love protection pride kits fierce not afraid strong unbroken mine mine mine ours. Kyuubi saw Sasuke as a mate. A human strong enough to be considered an equal. A human capable of protecting their den. A human that was completely theirs.

Kind of how Naruto saw Sasuke.

It had taken a few months after Sasuke came back for Naruto to figure out he didn't have to win the Uchiha's trust back. He always had it – that and some much more. The entire time, Sasuke had been working on gaining his trust back and when Naruto realized that it was like he knew everything would be alright with the world again because everything was perfect and exactly how it meant to be. Sasuke was devoted (devotion so wrapped in love that Naruto never died even when he should have) to him. Naruto Uzumaki. The dobe.

And Naruto Uzumaki loved Sasuke Uchiha too.

That was the day their relationship changed. Instead of hiding their feelings and protective, concerned actions, Naruto and Sasuke were able to act on them. The people around them couldn't understand the relationship that had been brewing for years, since their Academy days, except for the people extremely close to the both of them: Sakura and Kakashi.

That's why when Iruka urged him and Sasuke to go to the support groups, Naruto sighed and nodded because it meant that everyone else around them could understand their relationship better if they did this. They could learn to understand what Sasuke meant to him. That Sasuke wasn't just an obsession that would pass away with enough time.

That Naruto and Sasuke loved each other.

But that group had changed Sasuke and Naruto approved. The boundaries in their relationship were expanding – relaxing. Sasuke had tried so hard and Naruto decided to meet him halfway.

Tell him about Kyuubi and his interest. About what being a demon vessel meant. How Naruto and Kyuubi could mark Sasuke as theirs forever if he wanted.

"Sasuke…" Naruto observed the other man.

Their vacation seemed to be passing in a blur. It was the fourth night of their vacation and they were getting ready for bed. They had spent the past three days exploring their surrounds, venturing into the villages, discussing their pasts and sparring, getting used to each other after almost five years of absence. It was peaceful and everything hoped it would be. He felt an inordinate amount of relief that Dr. Bolton's predictions about vacations had not applied to their own, although, he could live without the damn walls. He had finally gotten tired of always getting lost he stuck kunai in the walls to guide his way. Sasuke's demented grin and spinning Sharingan dared the hotel employees to say anything or removed the kunai. No one dared.

He was reconnecting with Sasuke all over again and even though his heart and Kyuubi had always known why they loved Sasuke, Naruto was reminded why he loved Sasuke. The pride and strength in Sasuke's almost gliding walk, the teasing smirk when they sparred and the way his black eyes seemed to turn gray when he spoke. It made Naruto want to show Sasuke something in return – not an award – but a way of showing Sasuke he was as dedicated to their relationship as Sasuke was.

"Come here," Naruto quietly demanded.

He sat on the edge of the bed, watching Sasuke intensely. Sasuke looked up from his task of removing senbon from his hair (a habit he claimed the Sound kunoichi had gotten him into) and putting them on the dresser when he heard Naruto's request. Dark eyes looked up and met bright eyes and Sasuke must've judge Naruto's request not unreasonable because he left the dresser and his task to stand before Naruto.

Sitting down, Naruto had to look up at Sasuke. His eyes went from looking at the dark fabric of Sasuke's sleeping clothes to his face that watched him with a strange amount of openness for the normally stoic young man. Naruto tugged the man forward, using his hips and a small part of him was smug that Sasuke let him tug him forward.

"Sasuke," Naruto repeated.

There was no confusion in Sasuke's eyes after that. He seemed to know exactly what Naruto wanted. Naruto was pushed back by hands that could kill him but wouldn't. Sasuke followed him easily by settling his body on top of Naruto's. Each of Sasuke's knees rested next to the sides of his stomach, his weight easy to bear. He looked beautiful with that calm tenderness and lurking intensity. Flames gently licked Naruto's face where Sasuke's fingertips brushed.

It was as easy as that. The rush to feel each other had never been so strong before and it wasn't a battle so much as full submission on both their parts. Sasuke's body telling Naruto with an ease Sasuke had never managed to vocalize, "I am yours. Can you feel this devotion I have for you?" While Naruto's body comforted and spoke of the depth of his love, recalling all the lost time that he had spent searching for him.

It was a fire that coursed through the both of them. Ours repeated firmly on the wind that only seemed to heighten the flames dancing around them. Each touch started a million tiny fires with that wind stirring them and feeding them. It was both of them. Growing stronger and losing the world but never each other.

Hidden from the both of them for that night was an orange swirl that formed on pale skin in the wake of their meeting chakra.

The next morning, no unwelcome light awoke the two. The first morning, Naruto had almost been blinded by the sudden sunshine and had since then, kept the curtains firmly closed. The only thing that Naruto figured could have waken him would be the fire elemental that usually curled at Naruto's back.

Grunting slightly at the effort it took to flip over, Naruto realized Sasuke wasn't in bed anymore. A fact his sleepy brain probably would have realized the moment he snapped his eyes awake if Naruto hadn't been so used to Sasuke's chakra coming and going. The bed was still warm and Naruto had no doubt Sasuke would be returning back to bed if the chilled air was any indicator, perhaps with more clothes than he had left the bed with, but Naruto had a way to take care of clothing if he truly did not want to deal with it. He grinned.

Like he predicted, Sasuke came back to bed wearing loose sleeping pants but surprisingly no shirt.

"Sasuke? What's wrong?" Naruto asked seeing the subtly worried expression gracing Sasuke's face.

"Kyuubi isn't…" Sasuke struggled to find the words. He settled back on the bed. "Please tell me this is Kyuubi's way of marking his territory and not something I should genuinely be concerned about."

"What are you talking about…?" Naruto trailed off.

Where the cursed seal once laid dormant now laid a perfect copy of Kyuubi's seal that was etched on Naruto's stomach.

Tentatively, Naruto touched the mark and followed the spiral with his fingertip. It was blinding orange and it had obliterated the cursed seal like it was never there. Sasuke remained quiet and was growing steadily calmer at the lack of an "Oh shit!" response from his lover.

"I'm sorry about this," Naruto couldn't take his eyes off the replicated seal. "Is it affecting your chakra in any way?"

"No," Sasuke answered. "It's just there. It's almost alive how the cursed seal was, but more…" Sasuke shrugged. "It's different."

Ours, a smug voice claimed and Naruto's eye twitched unexpectedly.

You didn't, Naruto shot back internally, but the smug feeling never left his mind answered him rather quickly.

"Remember when Lee started sporting that triangle looking thing on his shoulder blades and everyone in Sand started freaking out?" Naruto said licking his lips.

"Yes," Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Why are you mentioning this? The eyebrow asked.

"Well, uh, Gaara told me what it was. What it meant." Naruto coughed embarrassed at what he was going to admit. "Shukaku believed that since that was the seal keeping him contained in Gaara then that meant the seal was like his stamp… Shukaku was proving he owned Lee by giving him that triangle."

"Your fox stamped me?" Sasuke repeated slowly after a few moments.

"Uh, kinda?"

"Why did the cursed seal disappear? It feels like it never existed."

Naruto flushed in embarrassment. "We – Kyuubi and me – knew you didn't like it. Besides, Kyuubi is a possessive bastard. He feels no one else should have a mark on you as long as you're ours."

Sasuke didn't have the fit Naruto imagined a lot of girls in his position would have. He simply sat there calmly; one hand on the new marking watching Naruto was dark eyes. "Alright."

And just like that he crawled back into bed, curling on his side and absorbing Naruto warmth, little flames fluttering where they touched. Stunned for a good five minutes, Naruto looked down at the man he chased for years. Totally and completely his with no reservations. He slid down and threw an arm around Sasuke and closed his eyes.

A wind stirred through the hotel room despite no window being open.

Ours.

It struck me that the NaruSasu was more of a threesome relationship of NaruKyuuSasu. You can't have Naruto without having Kyuubi and I figure that Sasuke would be the type to accept that if he were ever presented this situation. More romantic than 1x2 like I promised. :D Also very AU with my own personal touches on things like the colors and fire, but hey, creative license! And way too much Avatar: The Last Airbender the past few weeks. A lot less cracky than the other chapters, but I feel it remains true to the overall fic because they fic is a cracky romance between insane individuals and major AUness. So ha! :)