A/N: I've wanted to do a Minato/Kushina drabble ever since I first heard the song "Tomato" by NICO Touches the Walls.

We never fought very much, but she usually won when we did. She always had a way of seeing the world in a way that I could not. She could always see past the lies that people put on in order to protect themselves – including mine. Our disagreements were mostly a case of me missing something that she could clearly see. That's really what makes today so terrible. What else could it be when someone like her has no choice but to concede defeat to reality? Terrible.

They call me a genius, but she was able to understand things I never could.

I remember one day we were spending a day on the training fields and I got too hot, so I took off my shirt.

"Minato?!" she turned red like a tomato (not that I would ever tell her that), "That's indecent exposure, put it back on!"

"What's the big deal? You've seen me like this before."

"Duh, we're in public now."

"It's not illegal, I'm still wearing pants."

"Oh, Minato," she sighed, shaking her head, "Just showing your face is indecent. Anything beyond that is downright criminal. The reason no one ever sent you to war naked was because it would be unfair to the enemy. You could topple whole nations with your biceps alone. Are you some kind of idiot?"

"You don't have to exaggerate that much," I mumbled, feeling a little red in the face myself. I put my shirt back on.

"The Sandaime would have to arrest you for disturbing the peace," Kushina continued, on a roll, "And then when the police came after you, they'd forget what they were supposed to be doing and all discipline would break down. Do you really want to trample on Uchiha dignity like that? Hm. Well, that might actually be pretty funny."

"You're crazy."

"Aw, come on. Look at it from my perspective. People know that we're together, but they still throw themselves at you. You're the only one that doesn't notice the effect you have on other people. But you know, I think that there is one way that we could make that a little less of a problem…" she grinned and started stalking toward me.

"Eh?" I gulped nervously. The gleam in her eyes made me nervous. I've seen that look in her eyes before when she was about to destroy her enemies for underestimating her. Underestimating her was something that I definitely knew better than to do. That look gave me chills.

She poked me in the chest with her index finger, the dangerous glint still in her eyes.

"Minato."

"Err… yeah?"

"Marry me."

Yeah, that's really how it happened. Can you believe that?

They call me a brilliant flame that lights the village, but she is the sun and I revolve around her.

When I became Hokage, it was a dream come true, but I had a hard time believing at first that it wasn't just some prank the old man was pulling on me. The first thing I thought was that Kushina had finally roped him into pulling the ultimate gag on me. Of course, I deep down I knew that was one thing they wouldn't joke about. She pretended to be jealous for a while, though. To this day I'm not completely sure that it was all pretending. But she covered it up with haughty assurances that she would become Hokage after I got myself killed doing something foolish and noble for the village. Looking back, I realize that we both kind of assumed that I would die first. I know I didn't think I would be strong enough to face this world without her. She would be able to find the light, though. She didn't have to look far for it, because it was always there with her.

And you. When we first found out about you, I knew right away that you would be our light. You made it official. You were that promise. Ours. The manifestation of our dreams.

She is talking. Her voice is breaking with sobs and pain, but take it in as much as you can. I was lucky. I got to hear these warm words so many times that I took them for granted. Listen. The sands of our remaining time are slipping out too quickly from the broken glass.

"Minato, I… I'm sorry, I used up all your time…"

I lean forward and touch my cheek to hers.

"Naruto, my message for you… I guess it's the same as your nagging mother's."