"You've got to stop picking fights with everyone who says anything about your hair. Every time I'm out with you two, I feel like the night always ends with an all out brawl." Minato groaned as they walked away from the bar. His uniform was uncomfortable considering it was wet and the stench of sake and men's body odor refused to stop violating his senses. How Jiriya and Kushina persuaded him that a night on the village would be better than some training boggled his mind.

"I'm not picking fights!" Kushina protested. "Besides, it's not my fault that genin spilt alcohol on you. I'm just defending my honor as a respectable shinobi of the Leaf!"

"You won't get much respect if you end up in a bar fight." Jiriya pointed out. She glared at him poisonously and he responded with an innocent shrug.

Minato raised an eyebrow. "Actually, if you hadn't punched that idiot in the jaw, he wouldn't have run into me with his drink."

Kushina rolled her eyes. "Ya know, you're making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be."

"You even called him 'pretty boy'. I mean really, Kushina. Do you think he was really that good looking or were you just provoking him? With you, I can't tell." Minato continued to rant on.

"Um, yeah." Jiriya spoke, still dazed by the amount sake he had. "I'm going over there. I see some lady to talk to so that I am not here around you two."

Kushina couldn't help but be slightly amused at Jiriya's far from elegant departure, and her giggle seemed to set Minato off even more.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you get off on it." He continued, muttering under his breath.

"Minato!" Kushina stopped walking and stood in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders so she could be sure that she had his full attention. She was surprised how much taller he was than her. Sure it was only a few mere inches, but it still seemed to catch her off guard. "Calm down, will ya? Last time I checked, 'pretty boy' wasn't a compliment, especially since I pretty much broke his jaw afterward. I was just mocking him for all the girls he was trying to get with. I hope I gave him the rejection of a lifetime!"

Minato's temper, which Kushina was still amazed that he was even capable of having one, had cooled considerably.

"Anyway..." Kushina shrugged, continuing honestly. "You're way more attractive than him, hands down. Frankly, it's not even a competition."

He blinked, unsure if he had heard that correctly. "You think I'm attractive?" He could feel his cheeks begin to burn.

"Well, of course, silly. You are the Yellow Flash of the Leaf after all. You have the entire women population in this village after you and I can't help but feel competitive. I mean, the Red Hot Habanero and the Yellow Flash would make a badass team, ya know?"

He ignored her question completely. "But you think I'm attractive?"

There was a more pressing weight behind that question than Kushina had expected. "Um, yeah." She moved her hands from his shoulders down to his arms. "You're in amazing shape. You can keep me in check, which is major points in your favor considering I'm as close as you can get to being medically crazy." A small chuckle escaped his lips and Kushina smiled. "You've got this handsome, cool under fire thing going for you. You saved my life, even when I was an outsider. And most importantly, you were the first person to ever compliment my hair. I can't thank you enough for that, Minato Namikaze."

"Oh, I...Um..."

"Is there a reason you're fishing for compliments tonight?" She removed her hands from his arms and Minato felt their absence more keenly than he had expected.

"No, I just..."

"Just what?"

"Just..."

"You weren't jealous or anything, were you? Did you think that genin was going to steal me away?" She teased, smirking playfully. "Because I promise it takes a little more than charm to win this jinchūriki over."

"No! I just-"

"Just what?! I'm waiting!"

"I just really like you and I don't know how to say it, okay?!" The words fell clumsily from his mouth.

Now it was Kushina's turn to be utterly lost for words as she stared at the terrified Minato's blushing face in astonishment.

"You are jealous!" She exclaimed in awe. "You like me!"

"I-I..." He couldn't even form a coherent sentence.

"You like me!" She jumped up gleefully. "I knew I could win you over! I mean, who could say no, ya know?!"

Grabbing the collar of his uniform, she pulled him forward, pushed herself up on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips gently to his.

Stunned, Minato just stood there for a moment. But when he could finally comprehend the fact that a beautiful girl was kissing him, the one he'd been trying to confess his feelings to for months...He wasted no more time in eagerly kissing her back. He held her face in his hands, his palms against her warm cheeks. He relished the taste of her lips and the curves of her body at his fingertips.

"Ahem." Jiriya's drunken voice brought him back to solid ground and he looked at his sensei sheepishly. "I see you two have settled your differences?"

"You can say that." Kushina laughed. Minato moved away from her and didn't say anything. Kushina pouted as he pulled away, but exchanged a meaningful look with Jiriya, who seemed as pleased as ever to catch his student kissing the girl he knew was meant for him. It was about damn time, Minato.

"Right, well, I'm heading out. I trust you two can find your way home in one piece." Jiriya questioned suggestively.

"We'll be fine." Minato finally spoke, still a little embarrassed at being caught by his master. Not to mention still a bit bewildered by the turn of events. Sure, Jiriya had been caught in his own fair share of extremely compromising situations, but Minato was the student. He was supposed to learn from his sensei's mistakes. He was the calm and collected one while his master was the loose cannon. To say this was a minor break in character would be the understatement of the year.

As they watched Jiriya stumble away, Minato turned to the girl beside him.

"You are absolutely insane, Kushina Uzumaki."

"You wouldn't have it any other way." She winked in response.