I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi does.

Minato hadn't been expecting anything when he came home from Kusa that night.

Perhaps an actual meal, and maybe a hot bath to relax his muscles - war was a gruesome business, and it didn't go easy on those who survived either. He was exhausted after two consecutive months away from home. The command in the battlefield had fallen to his sensei, as even Hiruzen-sama had to concede that Minato wasn't any use half dead; Hiraishin or not.

His jutsu may not require any more chakra than a shunshin, but that didn't mean that repetitive use didn't have negative effects. The sheer physics behind the teletransportation was harsh on his body, and after enough times it felt like the flesh was being stripped from his very bones.

The Hokage had reluctantly ordered him to take furlough, which was why, after two months away, he was entering the apartment he shared with his fiancée.

Kushina.

God, he had missed her.

She was a welcome, enthralling sight at the best of times, but after all the fighting? He couldn't think of any other person he wanted to see more. She carried a certain aura that let optimism and joy hang in the air around her, uplifting those who happened to have the honour to bask in her presence.

He would never tell her this of course; her face would turn as red as her hair and her fist would club him over the back of the head.

But it was what he felt. It wasn't a meal or a bath he wanted most of all, he realised, it was her.

"I'm home, Kushina-chan!"

The lights were on low, and he could smell something cooking as the scent seeped through the entire house. He took a deep breath, savouring it, before going off in search of her. Usually he was tackled to the floor whenever he came home, but it was entirely possible that she just hadn't heard him. Her attention span could be rather... sporadic after all.

Just another trait of hers that endeared her to him.

The rest of the house strangely enough seemed empty, as he left his coat in the empty hallway and his sandals in the empty sitting room. A quick glance into the kitchen found a pot bubbling away on the stove, but no sign of the cook.

He sighed confusedly, before rubbing his head. Was it possible she had just popped out?

He refused to acknowledge the disappointment welling in his chest. He had wanted to surprise her at home. Well, at least he'd be able to do so when she came back. He'd take advantage of her absence to change into something clean and comfortable.

He walked through their small apartment, beginning to feel the exhaustion seizing up his muscles, but refused to give in. He'd sleep when night came, beside the one he loved.

Suddenly, he heard something shift from the room ahead. Could it be Kushina?

He slipped quietly into the bedroom, thinking perhaps he would catch her out. While it was also empty, the door of the bathroom attached was very slightly ajar, and the light was on. He smiled, and worked on quickly undressing.

"Kushina-chan? I know you're in there!" He grinned, pulling on a plain civilian shirt and bottoms.

Something clattered in reply, but no voice called back, and Minato hummed slightly as he dumped his dirty uniform in the laundry basket and his kunai pouches in the weapons chest they shared next to the wardrobe. What was wrong here?

"Kushina-chan?"

He moved over to the bathroom and stopped just outside the door. He knocked gently, listening.

"I'm home, Kushina-chan. Are you alright?"

"Y-yes. I'm fine Minato."

He frowned in response, as her voice was slightly shaky - so far out of character it wasn't even funny. Something was definitely off, he was starting to worry.

"Can I come in?"

He started to open the door, but jumped slightly when something collided with and slammed it completely shut.

"No! I'm fine, please, just give me some time?"

Her tone was pleading, but Minato wasn't about to give in that easily. If this had been a simply case of him barging in on her in the bathroom there should have been violence threatened by now.

Namikaze Minato was on a whole relatively clueless about women, but he liked to think he knew enough about his own fiancée to tell when something was wrong.

"Please let me in Kushina?"

The weight that was holding the door closed vanished, and that was another indication that something was severely wrong. Kushina would argue that the moon was pink even if it was hanging in the sky above her; her stubbornness was legendary. For her to give up so easily...

He turned the knob and pushed open the door. He didn't expect anything like this.

Rivulets of crimson ran all over the floor, covering the white tiles and carpeting the floor like blood.

He stood in shock looking at the ground, before bending down and grasping a few long strands in his hand. He brought it up to his eyes and stared at the vibrant locks that were dancing to minute air currents. She...

He let them go, and they sailed down through the air until they rejoined their siblings.

Minato's head snapped up in astonishment to the culprit, and he stood found tearful grey eyes glaring back into his own, short choppy bangs half covering them. Her cheeks were blotchy and damp, and in his peripheral vision he could see her hands were shaking. A lone kunai lay at the side of the cream porcelain sink, and that was all he could take in.

"Kushina... you..."

Her shivering arms suddenly crossed across her chest, and he could see the defensiveness swamp over the fear.

"G-go ahead and say something, 'ttbane. I know you want to. But I don't care! I can't look at it in the mirror any more, 'ttbane! I-I know you like it, but I heard some kid the other day say it looks like tails. Tails, Minato! And I know they don't know but what if they find out? No one looks up to me like they did Mito-baa, and nobody is going to, 'ttbane! My stupid hair i-isn't going to ruin my life, or yours. If they ever found out you'd never go higher in the ranks, and I won't let me ruin your life. So it's all gone, 'ttbane!"

She punctuated the end of her speech with a swipe of her hand through the air, and when Minato still didn't move, she looked down under the intensity of his gaze.

"Kushina-chan... your hair won't ruin my life."

Kushina glared back at him, and he felt the urge to take a step back.

"You've missed the entire point, 'ttbane! You're such a baka!"

An angry sob broke out, and she kicked away some of the long chunks of her hair. She then grabbed the ends of the hair still left on her head - which only about reached her ear lobes - and yanked, her eyes closing as she pulled as hard as she could.

Minato leapt into action, stepping across the room and holding her wrists to stop her from hurting herself further.

"Kushina stop!"

"No!"

"Kushina!"

He pulled her wrists towards him and caught her as she collapsed onto his chest, her arms unwillingly wrapping around his torso as he held her to him tightly.

Minato knew Kushina was not as tough as people may think. She wasn't immune to all of the things people said to her, and despite everything, she was incredibly insecure about her status both as his fiancée and as a jinchuuriki. Uzumaki Kushina had emotional issues, he knew that. He knew that sometimes she had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, and he knew that occasionally she couldn't even get up the motivation to eat.

But those times were rare, and becoming more so - he lived for the days when he woke up to her joyous smile or mischievous grin, to her wonderful cooking or to her disastrous experiments.

She was so strong, but she still had her weaknesses; he loved her despite it all.

He looked blankly at the bathroom wall seeing nothing, all of his attention on her.

"Please Kushina... I know what you meant. And you know exactly how I feel about everything you said. You are so important to me... you could never hold me back, ever. Don't hurt yourself for things that aren't true."

"I-I wasn't hurting myself Minato."

"Yes... you were." He bent his head to whisper in her ear, just as her fists clutched the back of his shirt. "I wouldn't care if you had hair down to your ankles, or if it was barely an inch long. Just as I wouldn't care if you were an eternal genin or the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."

He heard her breath hitch, but marched on.

"I love you exactly the way you are. If you choose to cut your hair because you want it short, or if it is getting in the way of fighting, then please do."

He slipped one hand up to knot his fingers in the soft, short locks, and his nose brushed a few strands. It still smelled the same, just as he thought.

"But never cut it because you think it is what I want, or what I need. No matter how much I love your long hair, never do anything with it for me. If anyone were to find out about... then we would deal with it. But never think you are holding me back - it is the furthest thing from the truth."

Minato ignored the loud sniff she gave, and when she eventually pulled back, his hand slipped from her hair to her cheek. She looked shyly down at the ground, but then straight back up into his eyes, and then away again.

"You're such a sap, 'ttbane."

A grin lit up his face, and he chuckled, unable to stop kissing her forehead.

"I thought I was a flake?"

"Obviously you can be more than one kind of stupid. It must be a new kekkei genkai."

He laughed again, his heart lighter in the knowledge that Kushina was on her way back to normal. Her recovery was usually pretty fast, but it was breaking her out of it that was the challenge.

She broke off his laughter by grabbing his collar and launching a rough kiss.

Minato reciprocated eagerly, and although the short vermillion strands threw him off while he was distracted, he quickly adjusted. His pale fingers dived into her stunningly bright hair, and he held her face close to him as they kissed.

Soon, he felt the need to breathe, and drew back to cough and laugh. Kushina had a rather soft look in her eyes, and he couldn't help but tease her despite knowing what the consequences would be.

"You are my gorgeous tamago gata no kao, Kushina-chan!"

He winced as his fist thumped the back of his head, and the soft look was gone to leave behind angered embarrassment.

"Do I look like a love-struck civilian to you, baka!?"

He swept her up into a hug before she could protest or assault him more, and he pressed a kiss to the side of her neck.

"Your hair may have drawn me to you, Kushina, but you certainly don't need it for me to stay."

She muttered lowly about saps and pathetic men, but still wound her own arms around him again.

"I'm glad you're home, Minato."

He smiled softly.

"I love you too Kushina-chan."

tamago gata no kao = "an egg with eyes". As I understand it, a strange but genuine Japanese term of endearment.

I adore this pairing. Minato and Kushina are without competition my all time favourite characters in Naruto. Literally, without a doubt. Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina? I am in love with you both.

Thank you for reading :)