Naruto 1. An Unforgivable Question

**Silent Lips Are Dry**

_An Unforgivable Question_

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Minato panted heavily as he lay down on the soft mattress that made his bed. The covers were spread at his feet tangled in a mass of disorganized mess which partially fell all the way to the floor. The room was cold enough to require the need of such said quilt, but his body which was still sweaty, sticky and hot rejected the idea of wearing something other than the thin navy blue sheets of his bed. His hand reached out to search blindly, finally managing to get a feel of them but his grip didn't manage to clench tight enough grip on them. He could always use his elbows to sit up and look for the sheets, but his mind was protesting on that idea, for the less movement he put his body through, the less it would hurt tomorrow. A small giggle to his right made him turn his head. Smiling fondly, he found the object of his affection and the reason he was so, so tired but still, oh, so hard, looking down at him with an infatuated smile.

"What?" he asked, reaching out to take a lock of that soft and long red hair he'd always loved so much.

"Nothing," Kushina replied, smiling secretly.

Minato gave her a pointed look, knowing what happened when his girlfriend got that sort of look in her eyes. Her eyes would sparkle with that rare light only she possessed, the corner of her mouth would turn up slightly, making her full red lips even more desirable, and her skin would flush slightly, being rather noticeable for she turned as white a paper this time of year.

Unlike him, who was lying on his back his head turned towards her, she was leaning on her elbows, giving him a perfect view of her bare back down to the line of her hips which were currently covered by his blue sheets. She was looking down at him, with that look of hers and that smile that was only meant for him. He would have grabbed her by the waist and pulled her on top of him getting full access to that sweet mouth he'd become so addicted to, but his muscles would protest too much whenever he tried leaning more than twenty degrees anyone direction,. Twisting the lock of hair in one finger, he looked back at her with curiosity in his eyes.

"Done checking me out?" she asked, blushing slightly as shivers ran down her spine. It was incredible that such simple look would make her body feel so invaded, in a good way.

"You are beautiful." Minato gasped, reaching to take her hand.

Blushing hotly, Kushina demurred away from his grip. "Don't say that." she warned.

"Why not?" he asked, not ready to let her escape his grip. He needed to satisfy the inexplicable ache his body sent at their brief contact. He needed her. He needed to be able to take her again, or else this burning feeling was going to drive him mad.

"Because…" Kushina wined, bringing his hands to her lips. She wasn't about to go down so easily. If he wanted her, he was going to have to work for it.

"Come here." He begged her.

"No." Leaning as far away from him as possible, she stuck her tongue at him.

"Kushina!" Minato wined childishly. "I'll be cold."

Snorting with laughter Kushina said. "You can always get under the covers."

"It won't be as pleasant." Minato pouted

That made her smile. Leave it to Minato to make her feel so good with herself in such a short period of time. "Then stop being such a lazy asshole and _you_ come here."

Pouting, this time Minato was the one who stuck his tongue out. It wasn't unusual for her to be like this with him; after all she had never been completely comfortable with the kind of public displays of affection, being in a relationship, brought. It wasn't that she tended to be awkward around when they kissed and hugged, and especially not in this department, after all she was Icha Icha Paradise incarnated when it came to them being together, but when it came to reassuring their love for each other verbally, she tended to get all nervous, avoid the subject and blush a lot. It was adorable and frustrating at the same time.

Reluctantly scooting over, Minato wrapped his arms firmly around her waist, making the sheet that had been blocking her body fall to the ground. Pulling her against his chest, Minato reached out to stroke her hair gently with his right hand, while the other wrapped itself around her waist. Sighing blissfully for the second time that night, Minato kissed the top of her head.

"You are burning up," Kushina murmured into his neck. "No wonder you are freezing."

Minato laughed at this. "It's your fault you know."

"What is?"

"That I'm burning – ow, what was that for?" Minato tried to look at her.

"For saying such things."

"But I didn't say anything!"

Laughing Kushina kissed his chin softly. "Have you noticed that your personality completely changes when we are together?"

"It does?" Minato asked, stunned by her question.

Did it really? If that was true he had never really noticed, other than he got a lot more over protective and concerned when she was around. But that was only natural, right? She was the kind that would charge head on without a proper plan or further back up. It would only be natural that h would concern himself over that. She was, after all, the reason for this drunken happy state he seemed to be in. If he wanted to keep it that way, it would be more than understandable that he would concern himself over her well being. It was his job as the boyfriend. But he didn't say that out loud, for he knew that Kushina would kick him out of bed if he did.

"Yeah," Kushina laughed making him shiver, her breath tickling his neck. "You get clumsier and dorkier when I'm around. You don't seem able to concentrate long enough on something and tend to smile a lot. It's kind of annoying actually that smile of yours I mean."

"I thought you liked my smile." Minato pointed out, tracing the curve of her hips.

"I love it, but when it's its normal twisted thing."

"I have a different one?"

"Yes. You get this weird upright twisted grin on your face whenever I'm near, different from your polite patient one."

Minato laughed at this. "I didn't know you were so observant."

Kushina pinched his hip again. "Off course I am. It's you after all."

Smiling at that Minato rolled them over, pinning Kushina down on the bed. "Is that so?" he asked.

"Yes." Kushina smiled back.

Grinning he kissed her cheek, earning an approving sight from her. His lips then found their way down to the line of her jaw, stopping only a half an inch away from her mouth. Minato felt Kushina relax at this, closing her eyes and expecting him to kiss her again and start over the game they've been at ever since she got home earlier that night, but instead of giving into his body's desire, Minato chose to trace his lips and butterfly kissed his way down to her neck where he found a soft spot between her collar bone and her chin.

"Minato…" Kushina gasped opening her eyes. Trying to push him away from her, she called again, this time more firmly. "Minato!"

Smiling he pinned her arms down, biting softly on the tender skin. "Hm?" he asked.

"Minato…don't-don't, _oh_, Minato!" Kushina tried in vain to gain her voice, fighting through the obvious pleasure his lips were giving her.

"Whut?" he murmured against her skin.

"Minato!" Kushina gasped once again. "Don't you dare – ugh – don't you dare leave a mark!"

Stopping momentarily from that spot, he moved his lips to trace small kisses under her chin. "Why not?"

"You know why," Kushina fought half heartedly against his grip.

"No one will notice," he moved his face to look into her eyes. "You hair is long enough to cover them."

"I hate wearing my hair down on missions and you know it." Kushina warned.

Pouting Minato was about to suggest a second option when he was rolled onto his back, his wrist pinned down on the mattress. Kushina had rolled over him, her legs straddling his stomach. She grinned devilishly down at him.

"How about _I_ leave a mark on _your _neck instead?" Kushina asked, leaning down to grasp his tender flesh between her teeth.

"Kushina – _oh_…" Minato's words were lost in his lips when her mouth started working on that specific tender spot Kushina knew he loved. Escaping from her grasp, Minato took her hands in his and intertwined their fingers, leaning his head away to give her more access to that delicious part of his neck she was biting. Silently thanking his standard Konoha uniform for having a high neck that covered his neck, Minato fought the pleasure her lips brought and asked something he'd been meaning to for a while now. "Kushina, will you marry me?"

The nibbling sensation on his neck stopped. He felt as she gently let go of his hands and sat up slightly, giving her access to look at him straight in the eyes. "What?" she asked, obviously hoping her ears were playing with her.

"Will you marry me?" he asked again, this time more firmly, having full control of his five senses.

Blinking in confusion and shock Kushina opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to come up with an answer. She was obviously confused and awestruck, since this was the last thing she had expected him to say.

"What?" she asked once again, this time her eyes filling with furry.

Afraid that she would lean away and escape him, Minato sat up leaning against the back of his bed. Cupping her face in his hand, he looked deeply into her eyes, repeating the words he had feared yet anticipated. "Will you, Uzumaki Kushina, marry me, Namikaze Minato?"

This time she asked another question. "Why?" she asked, a scowl gripping her once relaxed features.

"Because I love you." It was so simple, how could she ask?

"No," Kushina shocked her head. "_Why?_"

Confusion rose to Minato's eyes. "Why not?" he asked, not really grasping her concept.

"Minato, you are the _Fourth Hokage_."

"So?"

"What do you mean _so_?" Kushina narrowed her eyes in anger. "You are the _Fourth Hokage._"

That meant nothing to him. "Is this one of your jokes that you do that I don't get?" he asked, trying to get a more specific answer to why she was suddenly so mad.

Snarling in anger, Kushina snaked his hands away from her face, leaning away from him. Standing up from bed, she grabbed his blue sheets to cover her naked body. How dare he ask her something like that? Especially after all they'd done. Searching for her scattered cloths, she turned her back to him.

"What's wrong?" Minato asked, edging toward her.

"I'm leaving." Kushina stated, finding her pants.

"Why?"

"Because…!" Kushina turned to him with such speed; Minato merely had time to lean away from her accusatory finger. "Because…" her voiced faded.

"What does me being the Fourth Hokage have to do with anything?" Minato asked, taking her hand in his and pulling her against him in a comforting hug. "If you are that worried about your safety, we can get you some body guards or something."

"Is not that, you idiot." Kushina murmured into his chest.

"Then?"

"It's just that…it's just that…" Kushina's resolve wavered at that. How could she phrase the terrible insecure thoughts she'd been having ever since he rose to such position? When he'd still been a Jonin it hadn't been a problem, since they had been equals and their relationship hadn't been frowned upon, but ever since he rose to Hokage… "You deserve so much better." She finally whispered.

Minato's shoulders stiffen. "What?" he asked, leaning away from her.

"You deserve someone better." She said, more firmly this time. "Someone who–"

"Kushina," Minato warned his voice cold. "Don't you dare finish that sentence."

This made her temper rise. "Why? Because you say so?"

"Yes."

Scowling she escaped from his grip. "I'm leaving." She decided, finally scooping to grab her shirt.

"No, you are staying here." Minato grabbed her wrist firmly, forcing her to look at him. He wasn't about to let her escape in one of her legendary huffs. "We are going to talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about." Kushina counter back, trying to free herself from his grasp.

"Why? Why won't you tell me the real reason?" Minato demanded.

"I've already told you why!"

"No you haven't! You just came up with the silliest most confusing excuse." His grip tightened. "Tell me why. I deserve to know."

"Minato," Kushina winced. "You are hurting me."

"Tell me, and I'll let you go."

"I've already told you."

"No! Give me a good enough reason!"

The anger in his voice made Kushina stop her struggles. Looking over at him, she discovered that she not only hurt his pride, she had hurt him deeply. His heart had been broken by that mere syllable. The pain in his face was evident. He wasn't suffering because she'd said no; he was suffering because he was afraid that he would lose her. And that, she realized, was something he feared more than death.

"Well?" he demanded, his grip faltering a little.

Feeling the blood starting to rush back to her hand, Kushina turned back to him. "Because if you let yourself love me that way, you won't throw yourself in front of the village when it's in danger, you'll throw yourself in front of me. It's part of your job to give up on everything for the village."

Minato sank back down on the bed letting her words sink in. So that's what she meant. She was worried that by being with her, he would neglect his duties as Hokage. Ever since she'd learned that Whirlpool was destroyed during the war, she had learned to cherish and love the Village like it was her own, fighting to protect it like no one had, growing worried by the growing war and celebrating joyfully when the negotiations between Iwagakure and Konoha had finally ceased the ongoing bloodshed. Reaching out for her once more, Minato sat Kushina in his lap, hugging her waist securely.

"If the time comes when the village and you are in trouble, I'll put my life on the line to protect you both. You mean the most to me, but it's my duty as Hokage to put my life on the line for the well being of this Village. I won't neglect my duties as Hokage or as a husband." Kissing her cheek gently he added. "I can promise you that much."

Leaning against his touch, Kushina asked. "What about the councilors?"

"What about them?"

"Won't they be mad that you are getting married?"

Raising and eyebrow, Minato looked at her. "Sandaime was married while he was still in office. I don't think they have the right to get mad over something so trivial."

"Sandaime got married _before _he was made Hokage. It's not like he'll be forced to get a divorce."

Laughing Minato pulled her back to bed, making a bid deal about getting those awful sheets off her shoulders, since they were blocking his view. "Yeah well they'll have to deal."

Smiling at that, Kushina tried to pull the covers back up. "Didn't you say you were cold?" she asked, nibbling his chin.

"I am." Minato smiled, pulling on the sheets. "That's why I brought you over, so you could warm me up."

"Really?" Kushina teased moving her mouth over to the edge of his jaw. "What do you have in mind?"

"First, you need to take those sheets off. They are in my way." Minato leaned back to look at her in the eyes. "But before we do anything else…Uzumaki Kushina, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife and making me the happiest guy in the world?"

Laughing at this Kushina said. "No. Not yet."

Minato pouted. "You know I'm not going to give up until you say yes."

Shaking her head, Kushina smiled mischievously, pulling Minato down below her, taking those bother some sheets off her body, for they were blocking her from the thing she wanted the most.


	2. Blame It On Winter

**Peruzka: **I don't know how you guys ended up with the idea that this was a chapter fic? It wasn't supposed to be. I wrote it to be a Minato/Kushina one shot fluff, but you guys have made me ache for more. I must warn you thought that this will be a series of one shots. Some will have sexual fluff, like the first chapter, others might get graphical, or I might actually create another series of one-shots for that, and some will have nothing to do with the original series except I will use the already created characters and personalities. So without further ado, I give you the second, none related chapter.

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**Silent Lips Are Dry**

_Blame It On Winter_

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Kushina sighed blissfully as the last drops of warm water dripped down from her face down her shoulders to end up somewhere around her stomach. Baths were something she lived for. Not only were they awesome to relax her tense shoulders, forget her problems and drown in that warm feeling she got whenever she closed her eyes and sank down on the warm steamy water, but they were also great to warm up the body, especially with the cold front Konoha was suddenly experiencing this winter. That was one thing she didn't miss about her original country Whirlpool. Being an island everyone would think that it was hot all year long, making the climate fresh and tropical whenever winter came around, and cool enough to make the summers bearable, since the breeze of the ocean carried away any humidity, but the truth was that it got hell lot colder during the winter than people who didn't live there knew about. Last time she'd been over for the holidays, she had the misfortune of spending large part of her vacation wrapped in blankets and scarves, scowling a the fact that living in Konoha for as long as she had, had made her more vulnerable to cold weather. It had cold enough to justify snow, but the clouds refused to let that white stuff fall from the sky. It was a shame really, since the only times she had actually experienced snow had been when she and Minato had had a mission over at the Snow Country. Sure, it was cold enough to make you bones chill if you even dare move, but it had been so beautiful to watch how at the dim of twilight the snow turned from it's white self to an orange tinted color.

Konoha, on the other hand, seemed to have the perfect climate when winter came around, only raining a few days during the four months and a few chilly winds here and there, but nothing too mayor. This year thought, Mother Nature had decided to give Konoha the option of actually experiencing what seemed to be a cold enough winter to justify snow.

Kushina wonder how Minato managed walking from their apartment to the Hokage's tower in such weather. Sure he wore the usual long sleeved Jonin uniform under the his Hokage's jacket, but still, if it was here she would have flashed her way into his office, avoiding the cold morning wind. But then again, Minato was something special. He was the only one who wore the _entire_ Konoha standard uniform with his Hokage's robes during the summer without breaking a sweat. She had promised herself that if she ever were to discover his secret to staying so cool during the change of season, she would lock it away in a little box and hide it under her bed, for it was something for her to know and other to envy about. She certainly did.

Giggling at the thought, Kushina cleaned the steam stained mirror with her hand and looked at the blurry reflection. Her cheeks were flushed pink with heat contrasting strongly against her pale skin, her dripping hair fell past her shoulders in poker strand and her eyes had that sated glow they gained whenever she took those long warm baths of hers. It would increase if Minato was present, but seeing how he had suddenly become very busy with the amounts of paper work winter brought around, she had to content her aching body with the things at hand. It wasn't hard really, a couple of candles, a steamy bathtub, bathroom soup, body lotion. Yeah, she could handle.

Brushing her hair dry, Kushina grabbed the navy blue towel hanging at the back of the door wrapping it around her body, cursing just how small it really was. It covered large parts of her chest and body, but it cut short when it reached her mid thighs, leaving her long legs bare. She was going freeze once she stepped out the door. And the worst part was that she couldn't find Minato's bathrobe anywhere. Cursing under her breath, Kushina hastily used a second towel to dry the remaining drops of water off her hair, for it would feel like ice once it came in contact with the cold air outside the steamy bathroom.

'_Ok,'_ she thought, putting a hand on the doorknob. _'The kitchen is just a couple of steps away. __'If I hurry I'll be able to grab my pajamas and run toward the bedroom.'_ She wondered for the hundredth time why she hadn't just brought her pajamas with her into the bathroom, it would have been more pleasant to change while she was still warm. _'Think of this as a band aid, it's better to do it in one fast motion.'_ If Minato was present, she would have probably asked him to get the cloths for her.

Sighing Kushina twisted the knob of the door, shivering slightly at feeling of cold air slipping through the small space of the opened door. Gripping her towel tighter in one fist to make sure that it wouldn't slip off. As she stepped into the hall, her body gave a slight shiver as the cold air came in contact with her warm skin. This was going to be a torturous thirty seconds till she got to the kitchen and retrieve her pajamas. Walking as fast as she could toward the kitchen, watching her feet as not to fall on the cold ground, she didn't notice the figure that rounded the corner, suddenly bumping into it along the way.

"Whoa," she heard, familiar hands gripping her shoulders to keep her from falling. "Oh, hey."

Sighing Kushina looked up to find Minato grinning down at her. "Hey," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. God, he was so warm, and he just got home. How in the world did he do that? "When did you get here?"

"Just now." Minato kissed her forehead, wrapping in turn his arms around her. "I called for you but there was no answer."

"I was having a bath." She said, pulling away from him just enough to give him a quick peck on the lips.

"I can see that." Minato smiled, looking at her rather reveling towel.

Kushina stuck her tongue at that. "Well I was cold and you were not here to warm me up so what was I supposed to do?" she demanded, putting her hands of her hips.

Minato laughed at this and leaned down to cup her face, giving her a more firm kiss. Parting slightly, he kissed her nose next. "You could have waited for me."

"Right, and wait till midnight when you decided that it's time to get your ass off your work and actually spent some time with your girlfriend."

Minato pouted at this. "I'm not that bad." Kushina gave him a side long glance. "Fine. I admit it. I'm a workaholic, but you can't blame me for being concerned about the Village. You would have done the same if you had accepted the job."

Kushina's eyes softened at that. It was true. She would have acted exactly the same way if she had accepted the job. "Well, whatever. I'm freezing standing here, so just get your kiss and let me through, I have to get my pajamas from the drier."

Minato just shook his head undoing the tie of his Hokage's robes and pulling his Jonin vest over his head. "Well if you are still cold, there are few things we could do to warm you up." He suggested, dropping the cloths over the nearest chair.

Kushina just crossed her arms over her chest. "Aren't you tired enough from filling those damn papers?"

"Exactly," Minato grinned, wrapping his arms over her small waist, leading her back to the bedroom. "My shoulders are all tense and I would love for you to–"

"No way," Kushina laughed, pushing him away halfheartedly. "You are too late. I'm already–"

"Kushina!" Minato whined, burying his head on her neck. "You won't have to do anything!"

Kushina laughed at that. It was amazing that Minato was talking about sex with such ease, since long ago, way before they had become a comfortable couple, he'd been an adorably shy guy, always blushing and getting uncomfortable whenever she mentioned such topics.

She could still remember that one afternoon after one of their tedious trainings when they had been laying on the grass out of breath. She had watched with a small smile on her face as he looked up at the sky with that far away look he always got, thinking just how adorable he looked when his hair fell on his eyes like that. Acting on her feelings had been something she had regretted after she had leaned down and kissed him, for the look of utter shock he got when she had parted way, had been more than enough to let her know she had completely messed up, ignoring him for weeks after. Until one afternoon when he had caught up to her and pushed her against the tree, kissing her soundlessly.

"Why?" she had asked after he had caught her from falling on her knees.

Minato just smiled secretly, hugging her to him. "You left too quickly afterwards."

Chuckling she had closed her eyes expecting him to kiss her, but he'd been too conflicted on where he should put his hands and which way he should lean as to avoid a head bruise that she had reached for his collar, forcing him to scoop and kissed him, letting the desire radiate through them. Although it had been a clumsy little kiss, which had resulted with two bruises, blushing cheeks and awkward laughs, she had clenched to the memory like her life depended on it.

"You know, I liked you better when you were shy about sex." Kushina giggled as Minato picked her in his arms.

"Who says I'm not shy?" Minato asked, looking down at her with that smile of his that made her knees grow weak.

Giving him a side long glance, Kushina kissed his cheek. "I haven't agreed to anything yet."

Minato pouted at that. "Kushina! Do I have to explain the benefits of sex again?"

That made her lean her head back in laughter, remembering how last time Minato had showed her a book titled "The 10 Benefits of Sex". She had purposely thrown it out the window. Pushing Minato down on their she had worked that night on showing Minato just how useless such books were when you had Icha Icha incarnated as a girlfriend. "What were those again? Stress relief…"

Minato lay her down on their bed gently, crawling over her. "Stress relief, straightens muscles, burns _calories_…" he mutter, lowering his mouth to a single spot between her chin and her collar bone.

"Are you calling me fat?" Kushina asked, pushing his shirt up to his stomach, allowing her hands access to his warm skin.

"No, you are perfect." Minato muttered running his hands down her thighs.

Kushina couldn't help the blush that crawled up her cheeks. Even after the kisses, touches and bites they've shared, she would never be completely comfortable with the words of affection he would always seem to throw at random moments like this. It was strange to say the least, she was completely comfortable with the affection couples shared, being more than willing to give him a mid-blowing kiss in public, hold hands and cuddle into his neck, when they were sharing moments of sweetness, but when it came to the silly non sense complementary words Minato would mutter at the randomness of times, she couldn't help but lose her cool. She could still remember how her heart would skip a beat whenever she was sleeping against his chest and he would be stroking her hair and mutter in her ear that she was beautiful, that he loved her, that he wish for them to stay like that forever. Or whenever they were simply holding hands during a walk through the park, he would stop her in her tracks and cup her face in his hands, telling her that he was the luckiest guy in the world to have her. No matter how many times she heard it, she couldn't help the blush that would make her cheeks turn warm.

"Am I?" she smiled, lifting his shirt over his head.

"Yes." Minato sighed, cupping her face on his hands. "And I love you."

Kushina smiled, putting her hands over his and leaning up to kiss his lips deeply. "I love you too, but I haven't agreed to anything yet."

Minato raised an eyebrow at that. "Then why did you take my shirt off?"

"Well you are all warm," she smiled mischievously, running her hands over his well toned abs.

Minato groaned at this, burying his face on her neck once again. "I've told you there are other ways to warm you up."

"Can't you do it yourself? I'm kind of tired."

"It won't be as pleasant."

She smiled secretly. "How about if I do it?" she offered, knowing Minato rarely refused her touch, no matter how tired he felt.

Thinking for a second, Minato lifted his head from her neck to look at her in the eyes. He was blushing and it was adorable. Shaking his head he said. "It won't be the same."

Kushina smiled, forcing her facial features to mask the heat his hands were spreading through her body. "You are not going to take no for an answer, are you?"

"No." And with that Minato's mouth found hers, pushing her down against the mattress.


	3. Yondaime Hokage

**Silent Lips Are Dry**

_Yondaime Hokage

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Kushina pulled back, gasping for air. She didn't dare open her eyes for she knew she would see the room spinning. It was amazing that one kiss could make her head spin like that, she actually felt dizzy. Good thing Minato was supporting her, or more like pinning her against the wall with his own body. Not that she was complaining. Before she could even open her mouth to say something, she felt her boyfriend's lips on hers again, stealing any sense of reality. Even though she loved moments like this, when it would just be the two of them free to enjoy each other without being interrupted by their daily problems, she was beginning to turn blue by now, since the lack of oxygen was proving too much. Parting ways once more, Kushina gasped once more, filling her sore lungs with air.

"Minato…" she whispered softly, feeling his warm breath on her face.

"Hmm?" he whispered back, burying his on her neck.

"Minato," Kushina tried once again, fighting to free her hands from his grasp, which were pinning them against the wall over her head. "Someone is going to come this way."

"No they are not," Minato moved his mouth from her neck to her forehead, where he kissed her once. "They are too busy thinking high of themselves."

Kushina snorted at that. "Well there's no getting around _that_." She smiled, kissing Minato's chin. "But they are still waiting for your speech. Isn't it about time you headed back?"

"I rather speak with you." He muttered, nibbling her chin.

Kushina blushed slightly, fighting hard against the feeling of his lips against her skin. She'd always known that Minato cared about her, it was fairly obvious, but being a tomboy, she'd never been really comfortable with verbal reassurances of their love. It made her very uncomfortable when Minato suddenly jumped off his tough persona to act all mushy and romantic around her. There was no point fighting it thought, whenever he got this way, it was impossible to make him stop.

"We are not talking." She pointed, fighting against his grip to free her hands once more.

Minato laughed capturing her lips once again only to be pushed away by Kushina who was trying to glare at him. "When did you get so technical?"

"Be serious." Kushina scowled. "What would the council do if they found us here like this?"

Minato shrugged unconcerned, which was something do to his responsible persona. For him to act like this… "It's only natural to be affectionate with the person you are involved with."

That hypocrite bastard. "Yes, but not in the middle of the hallway."

Minato pouted at that, cupping her face to give her a firm but short kiss. "It's your fault you know?"

"How is _this, _my fault?"

"You should have known what would happened when you showed up like this." They both looked down at her black kimono. "You could have easily showed up in Kunoichi attired."

Kushina tried hard to hide the smile that was growing on her lips. It was true; she could have easily showed up in her usual Kunoichi attire. Dressing up like she had, was optional, and even thought most girls had taken the time to actually get dressed, most of the guys at the party, except for the really old fashioned ones and some important council members had chosen to attend with their everyday uniform. It had been her choice to wear makeup, a kimono and actually take more than five minutes doing her hair. Still…

"Well it's not my fault you have no self control."

Minato pouted at that, faking an offended look. "I do have self control." Kushina begged to differ. "But when it comes to you it kind of wavers."

Kushina blushed, laughing at this. "You are disgustingly sweet sometimes."

"I try." Minato stole another kiss to which Kushina pulled back before things could escalate.

"But seriously, we are in the middle of the hall."

"So?"

"So what if someone walks in on us?"

"Would it be that bad?"

Kushina gave him a pointed look. "I think you are spending too much time with Jiraiya-sensei."

Minato laughed at that. "Well I don't see you complaining about it."

"I am no." That earned her a stuck of the tongue from Minato. "Listen we have to go back ebfroe someone comes looking for us."

"Aww…" Minato complained. "I thought we could stay a little longer and…talk."

Kushina laughed at this, wrapping her arms around his neck to give him one last kiss. "Well if you actually make it through and still have some energy left, I have a few ideas we could try."

"Oh?" Minato raised an eyebrow. "Care to enlighten me on these so called ideas?"

Kushina shook her head, giving her boyfriend one last kiss before pushing herself away. "You'll have to wait till after the party."

Minato groaned. "Why do you love torturing me?"

Kissing his cheek Kushina parted ways before he could pin her against the wall once again. "I'll see you later tonight." And with a last wink, she disappeared behind a corner, leaving Minato to sigh and head back to the party.

Overall the party was a success. Well kind of. It had been fairly obvious that the new Hokage had other things in his mind, when he'd answered for the third time that he'd loved to get the flying monkeys from the pancake people after they decided the gnomes were free.

So after dragging a very drunk Jiraiya toward one of the many guest rooms in the Hokage's toward, making the last bit of small talk with the councilors and arranging some tedious meetings with the new heads of the clan in Konoha, Minato decided that he'd had enough with all that political business that the job required. Slipping without being noticed he headed home more tired than he thought he would be. Maybe these things Kushina had in mind were something that could wait?

But as he slipped through their shared bedroom door stopping dead in his tracks when he caught sight of Kushina laying in bed wearing nothing but bra and panties, he decided that after all he'd been put through tonight, a little more work wouldn't be so bad. Especially if Kushina was part of it, since she'd always made those sore muscles of his relax with that touch of hers.

Kissing her naughty smile while pushing her against the wall he said. "I'm home."


	4. Sweet Moments

**Silent Lips Are Dry**

_Sweet Moments_

_

* * *

_

Kushina sighed blissfully as she leaned against soft warm skin. A pair of arms wrapped themselves tightly around her waist, soft lips leaving small butterfly kisses upon her neck. His skin was as warm as hers, but she knew that the water of the tub was not to blame for his body heat. Closing her eyes, Kushina leaned her head back against his shoulder; giving him more access to that delicious tender spot he helped himself into biting. It never failed to amaze her just how in tune with her desires he was; doing things she wanted without having the need to voice them. It was like he had an extra sense that told him what she wanted and how she wanted it. It was one of the many things that made nights like this so special. The privilege of being alone, free to enjoy each other's company without the need to behave or restrain themselves. His hands dropped down from her stomach to come in contact with her tights, tracing the soft skin slowly, almost teasingly. Just a simple touch like that, sent shockwaves up and down her spine, making her shiver ever so slightly. Good thing the water was still warm or else she would be having a hard time fighting the blush that was creeping over her cheeks.

It wasn't rare for Minato's touch to give her such a feeling; he had this effect on her self control jump out the window. It was amazing how a simple touch could make her feel so…_alive_. She was just glad that this was their little secret; she would be too embarrassed to face the stares she would receive if she'd been more open about her nights with Minato. Her friends would bug her about it, but she would either avoid the subject or give vague details. It was her secret, and she planned to keep it that way.

Now, sitting in between his legs with her back leaning against his toned chest, she couldn't help but roll her eyes blissfully, when another of those long fingers of his opened their way through her inner thighs, massaging tender, throbbing skin.

"Kushina…" she heard Minato murmur, his lips moving from her neck to the back of her ear.

"Hmm?" she purred, too dazed to really comprehend that he had just called out for her.

"Are you awake?" the feeling suddenly disappeared, making Kushina open her eyes in question. Minato had obviously stopped what he had been doing, but why? Didn't he see that she had liked it?

It took Kushina a minute to grasp her mind around the question she had just been asked. Snapping out of her haze, Kushina grumbled. "What?"

Minato laughed, kissing her shoulders. "A little tired, aren't we?"

"No!" Kushina quickly supplied, fighting her way back from her haze. "I feel perfectly fine."

"You sure?" Kushina felt Minato move, making his hips collide with hers. "You seemed a little out of it just now."

"I'm fine," Kushina said in a hoarse voice. That was no good. Clearing her throat she repeated. "I'm fine, really. Perfect even."

"Doesn't seem like it." One of Minato's hands moved from her thighs to her forehead, checking to see, if maybe, she had a fever. "You are not sick are you?"

"No!" Kushina rolled her eyes, turning around to look over her shoulder. "I'm fine." She repeated, hoping Minato would get on with his silly worries and get back to touching her. They didn't get to spend much time together since war broke out, and moments like this were precious. She didn't want to waste a second of it.

Turning around slightly, Kushina kissed the edge of Minato's mouth urging him to get on with their previous game. It had been a while since they'd been together, always either too busy or too tired to be able to meet the others demands, but tonight was going to be different. She had to make sure of it.

Using her arms to turn around ever so slightly, Kushina moved her chest around, pressing her breast against his chest, knowing that Minato loved the feeling of her bare chest to his. She too knew of his desires and needs, knowing where to touch, how to bite, where to look. It had taken a little while to crack Minato up, since he wasn't one to let his emotions run free, being trained to keep his composure in check no matter what. She had to admit that it had been a lot of fun teasing Minato here and there, trying to get _something_ out of her lover and getting quite frustrated when he said nothing but grin back at her. It had been beyond frustrating, to get nothing out of one heck of performance. But now, after all those times they'd been together, Kushina had finally managed to crack him up, knowing what those in takes of breaths meant, what those tightening of grips brought, what those soft moans of his where hiding. She had made sure to memorize what made his shoulders tighten and drop, signaling that he was finally content.

Wrapping her arms around his neck more firmly, Kushina leaned in to give his lips a teasing brush, leaning back as quickly as she had leant in. the She felt how Minato's arms let go of her waist to cup her cheeks, forcing her to open her eyes in question.

He was grinning softly at her, his eyes half closed. She wasn't that only one getting something out of this.

"What?" she asked, raising an annoyed eyebrow.

"You are such a tease." Minato said, wrapping his arms across her waist once more, pulling her closer.

Sticking her tongue out, Kushina leaned away. "I am not."

"Are too." Minato laughed, leaning forward to kiss her.

"Are not." Kushina dodged his lips once more.

Pouting, Minato kissed her chin, releasing her waist. "Fine, you aren't." Leaning on his arms he rushed to rise, slightly pushing Kushina off his lap.

"What?" Kushina blinked, confused. "You are leaving?"

With dismay Kushina watched as Minato got out of the tub carefully, as if not to slip and grabbed his towel, wrapping it around his waist firmly. "Yeah, I don't want to get wrinkles." He called over his shoulder, drying his back.

Rolling her eyes, Kushina plashed some water on him. "When did you become such a girl?"

"Who said I was a girl?" Minato asked, turning around to look at her. He smiled for some unknown reason, leaning down to capture her lips once more, but it was over too soon.

"Hey!" Kushina called, opening her eyes once more to see Minato grinning down at her.

Kissing her forehead, Minato pinched her cheek, as if she was still a child. "Sorry, but I have an early mission tomorrow."

Typical. Kushina pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. She knew that their job was important, especially during these times of war, but moments like this once were even rarer. It was getting extremely difficult to find twenty minutes to spent time with each other. But now that they had the whole night to themselves he planned on skipping it and heading to bed? No fair.

Rising from Kushina wrapped her arms around Minato's neck allowing him to wrap her own towel around her wet body. "Can I come with you?" she asked, burying her face on his neck.

Minato didn't say anything; he just gripped her tighter and helped her out of the tub, cupping her in his arms.


	5. The Morning After

**Silent Lips Are Dry**

_The Morning After_

_

* * *

_

Minato grumbled annoyed, turning on his back and pulling the thin covers of his bed over his head. It wasn't that he wasn't a morning person, he had never had any real trouble to waking up early before, it was that the events of last night had left him more tired than he had expected. They've been good, great in fact and he could still remember every detail, even of the curtains had been pulled shut and the light was out, he could still remember the feel, taste, smell and sound of everything. It had been a good night. But now that morning was here, he couldn't help but feel annoyed at the fact that bright sunlight was leaking through the open curtains, showering down his bed and crawling up to his eyelids that were protesting a the sudden light. He rolled on bed once more, trying to escape the annoying light that was disturbing his sweet slumber. His hand reached out randomly on the bed, trying to find something that would help black out the light, but stopped in its tracks when he suddenly realized he was alone in bed.

Minato shot his eyes open, closing them forcefully once more when the light in the room proved too much pain. Rubbing his left eye with his hand, Minato sat up in bed slowly, afraid to the pain sudden movement would bring to his body. It seemed weird for his body to feel this way, after all what had happened last night was nothing compared to the missions we was usually assigned to and he would always return, sleep and wake up fine after them. So what was the meaning of this sudden soreness? Could it be that putting his body through so much physical work, like he had last night, was more demanding for his body than taking an army of one thousand men? If it was, would he be able to fully perform next time? And what about the morning after, would he be able to survive after so much work done in just a couple of hours? Was it even worth it?

Rubbing his other eye tenderly, Minato experimented what if it felt opening them again. The pain didn't seem so overwhelming this time, but it still hurt a little. Blinking rapidly, he quickly noticed that the light was turning from white, to yellow, to distinct shadows, to blurry shapes, to furniture he recognized. There was the open window on his left with the curtains opened all the way dancing slowly to the gust of wind refreshing his once heated bedroom. A small wooden table below it with a plant that seemed to be on the verge of blooming and a few pictures of his parents, his team when he was ten, his team when he used to teach Kakashi, Rin and Obito and a few others. His alarm clock marked eleven o' seven in the morning. That woke him up.

Struggling to get the covers of his feet, Minato tried getting standing up from his bed, failing miserably when his feet tangled themselves even further sending him straight to the ground. It seemed surreal that the so feared Yellow Flash would be laying naked on his bedroom floor struggling to get those damn covers off his feet. When he finally untangled his left foot out, he searched around the floor for his boxers. It could be his house, but he was not about to walk around naked when he knew that his Sensei liked to pop in uninvited. He was _not_ going to repeat their incident from over three months ago. It had been so embarrassing that they had avoided each other for over a month, agreeing to never speak of it again. _Ever_.

When he finally spotted some blue boxers, he rushed to put them on, jumping on one foot while he struggled to get the other inside the garment. If he rushed through his shower and skipped breakfast (in this case lunch) he might be able to meet Kushina just a couple of minutes late. He knew how much she hated waiting and just how mad she got when she was forced to wait in the heat of summer. He did _not _want to get on his bad side. Opening his bedroom door, ready to run to the bathroom, Minato stopped dead in his tracks when the smell of delicious bacon hit his nostrils. That was weird; he didn't recall his sensei learning how to cook, especially since what had happened last time he tried boiling water. Skeptically walking down the hall toward his kitchen, he stopped dead in his tracks one more when the sound of honey sweet humming met his ears. Suddenly all the memories from last night came rushing into his head.

Kushina. Their late date had been cut short when a sudden pour of water had rain down on them, forcing the couple to head back to Minato's apartment (since Kushina's was almost at the other side of the village) and dry themselves out. Kushina had taken the first turn into showering and Minato had tried (and almost failed) into occupying himself with other things while his red head girlfriend took a shower. When his turn had come to warm himself up, Kushina had asked if he had anything for her to wear, since wearing only a towel all night would be awkward enough. Minato had tried his best to keep his eyes from drifting back to her perfect smooth body, barely covered by a towel that seemed way too small all of a sudden. In the heat of searching through his mess of a closest for something decent for her to wear, Kushina had taken the liberty of wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her chest to his back, burying her face on the nape of his neck. That had stopped Minato from searching for something clean to wear and had looked back at her, curios at her actions. He didn't really remembered much about what had happened after that, but last thing he knew they were both laying on bed, her towel long forgotten, his hands opening their way through her body, her lips on his ear screaming his name, moans, groans, panting, gripping. Even if Jiraiya had warned him that first times were always awkward, he couldn't deny that it had been a hell of a night.

So making his way to the kitchen slowly, as if he was afraid that by walking to fast he would trip and fall, he tried his best to keep his presence hidden for he didn't want to interrupt whatever Kushina was doing in his kitchen. Making his way through the opened door, he stopped a few feet from the table, watching with amazement how his usually empty table was now filled with eggs, toasts, bread, butter, bacon, orange juice, hot chocolate and fruit, all laid out in order and fashion. Had she done all that while he was still sleeping? It was amazing how someone could be so efficient in such a short period of time. He felt a little bad, though, knowing that he should have been able to get up earlier so he could help her out. Shaking his attention from the steaming food, Minato opened his mouth to announce his presence but stopped, once more, dead in his actions.

Last night he had had access to her body in ways he never really thought she would allow him to. Touching places that made her gasp, biting skin softer than cotton candy, linking juices sweeter than honey. He'd been granted access to all those things, never once getting a warning smile, a threatening raise of eyebrow, scowl in a way of words, but watching her now, her back to him, made all those things evaporate from his memory. She, like him, was clothed, wearing one of his long sleeved dark blue shirts that fell loosely to her mid thigh. The sleeves seemed too long for her arms, so she had rolled them up to her elbows, leaving her hands free to do their job. Her long red hair that still smelled as much as strawberries as it had last night, was tied behind her head in a messy bun that let a few strands of that glossy hair fall around her head, leaving that glorious smooth bitten neck of hers free to admire. It seemed strange, Minato noted, how the knot on his stomach grew with each second, the stupid smile he couldn't help whenever he thought of her grew, the usual self control he'd learned to master jumped out the window when his arms snaked around her waist and his lips left a small sensual kiss on her cheek. He wondered what was it about her that made him feel so strange, but at the same time, so right.

"Good morning." He murmured in her ear, watching as her hands never lost that controlled concentration on making the bacon jump and land once again in the cooking pan.

"'Morning Minato," Kushina said happily, never sparing to look back at him. "Breakfast is almost ready."

"I thought breakfast _was_ ready?" Minato asked, looking over his shoulder at his groaning by the weight of food table. There was enough food to feed and fill Akimichi Choza.

"Almost," Kushina corrected, setting the steaming bacon on a plate. "I thought I'd make pancakes but there wasn't enough milk."

This made Minato laugh. "Don't worry about it," he kissed her cheek tenderly once more, releasing her from her grasp. "Thank you for breakfast."

Kushina snorted, gripping the plate in her hand and walking over to the table. "Don't thank me. You are doing the dishes after all." Sitting down, she looked over her shoulder at him, as if daring him to contradict her.

"Yeah don't worry about it." Minato smiled sweat dropping a little. He knew better than to contradict her. "Still you didn't have to go through all this trouble."

Kushina shrugged, breaking her chopsticks. "I was hungry so I kind of made everything." Looking up once more, she said. "Sorry but I think you'll have to go grocery shopping again."

"Sure." Minato smiled reassuringly, breaking his chopsticks to take a bite of bacon. Kushina rarely cooked, preferring pre-cooked dinners or take outs, so he was to enjoy this while it still lasted. It seemed weird that someone so skilled in cooking would hate it so much. "Did you sleep well?"

If he'd bothered to look up, he would have noticed Kushina's blush. "Y-yeah, you?"

"Perfect," he smiled, mouth full. "Why didn't you wake me up though? I would have helped you cook all this."

Kushina rolled her eyes, forgetting her embarrassment. "Right and risk another fire? No thanks." Taking a piece of bread she reached out of the butter. "Besides you looked tired enough. I thought it would be best to let you sleep in."

"I'm not that tired." Minato swallowed, trying to keep his blush from his face. Kushina gave him a skeptical look. "What?"

"Nothing, never mind." She shook her head. "Don't you have a meeting with the Village's Councilors today?"

Did he? He thought it was his day off. "No, I don't think so." Minato shook his head, checking his mental schedule to confirm his denial. "Why? Do you want to do something?"

Kushina stuck her tongue out. "Pervert." She smiled, shaking her head.

"What?" Minato threw his hands up, not bothering to hide his smile. "Is my day off. Is it so bad that I want to spend it with my girlfriend?"

"We can always go to last night's movie." Kushina suggested, taking a bite of her bread. "We never really go to finish our date last night."

"Because of the rain." Minato nodded. "Sure. After breakfast and a shower we can go. Oh but we have to stop at your place for clothes."

"Right." Kushina agreed, nodding. "Do you have the tickets?"

"I think they are in my–"

"Minatooo!"

Both Minato and Kushina chocked on their food, looking back desperately at each other. They could recognize that voice in their sleep. Quickly standing from their sitting position, the couple headed for the hall that would lead to the bedroom, hoping to escape the curious presence of the white haired shinobi, but before they could even move an inch, Jiraiya appeared in the kitchen, his mouth open as if he was about to say something.

Both Kushina and Minato blushed deeply, watching as Jiraiya looked from Minato to Kushina to Minato's lack of shirt to Kushina's attire to the kitchen table back to the teens. Finally comprehending the situation they were all in, Jiraiya broke into a mischievous grin, pulling a chair from the table and sitting on it.

"So," he started, leaning his chin in his hand. "What did you two love bird did last night?"


	6. Let It Snow

**Silent Lips Are Dry**

_Let It Snow_

_

* * *

_

Kushina leaned against the window watching with mild fascination as the wind carried away a few fallen leafs off the floor clean floor. There would be no snow piling up the streets, no children playing snow fights at the park, no frustrated mail man grunting about the cold while he carried a bag worth of Christmas cards to eagerly waiting families. There would be no snow this year. Nor the years to come. Leaning her forehead against the window, Kushina sighed nostalgically, watching how her hot breath moisted the glass before disappearing once again. It was cold enough to require a coat, or more like Konoha people to require a coat since she was pretty much used to the cold, but not cold enough to let those annoying little drops of rain freeze and form that delicious white stuff she missed. She would have traveled to Whirlpool around this time, if it still existed. One of the downfalls about the Five Great Nations being at war, were the inevitable crushed plates that smaller nations like Whirlpool had to pay. In this case her home town.

She shook her head, getting up from her sitting position. Thinking about Whirlpool brought back memories she didn't want to think about at the moment. It had taken a lot out of her to shove those memories into the back of her mind, trying her best not to tear up at the thought of all the friends and family she would no longer see. The sights that were now lost to the world. The statues of her village leaders now destroyed to pieces. The blood that – _'Stop it!' _She demanded, returning to her seat by the window. She would not think about that. Not now.

Steps echoing down the hall made her turn around. She had not heard the door bell ringing and she was sure that the front door was locked, so who could be stupid enough to try and break into Uzumaki Kushina's house? Leaning her head to the side, Kushina tried to peak down the hall discreetly, for if it was an enemy she would have the element of surprise and not the other way around. Finally a shadow cast down on the wooden floors, alerting another human. If this was some sort of burglar, he or she wasn't very good at the art of stealing. Walking as quietly as she could, Kushina pressed herself against the far wall, hiding her chakra. If it really was a thief she would just have to throw herself at him and demand to know how he had gotten into the house, if it turned out to be someone else, well…she would think about when she saw the intruders face.

The steps echoed louder, alerting that he was getting closer. This was going to be easier than she originally thought.

Kushina braced herself as person in question entered the living room, looking around for something, but before she could even take two steps, a pair of arms caught her, twirling her around once.

"Minato!" she exploded, glaring at the grinning blonde. "Put me down this instant!"

"But I thought this was some kind of welcome greeting." Her boyfriend and current roommate said, putting her back on her feet. "Aren't you glad I'm back early?"

"Aren't you glad that I didn't just break your nose?"

Minato pouted, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Why do you always try to hide discomfort with violence?"

"Why do you always have to question my actions?" Kushina shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. "I thought you were a burglar."

"Who would be stupid enough to rob you?"

Kushina rolled her eyes, clearing exasperated with all the questions. "What are you doing back?" she asked instead, ironically thinking about the question she just asked. "I thought you were on a long term mission?"

"I was," Minato smiled, setting his backpack on the couch carefully. "We finished early."

"Oh?" Kushina asked with a raised eyebrow. "How come?"

"Let's just say that Hiraishin has come in handier than I expected."

Kushina frowned, trying to grasp the meaning of those words. "You put a seal on the door, didn't you? That's why I never heard the door unlocking."

Minato just grinned cheekily. "Hey I can't reveal all my secrets, can I?"

"Whatever," Kushina rolled her eyes, flopping back on the couch. "Is it cold outside?"

"Very."

"But not cold enough to make it snow."

"Well Konoha does have kind of a tropical weather," Minato explained, sitting beside her. "It's been like that forever."

"I know!" Kushina said, mad at his words for some reason. "I just – I just – I just miss the happy feeling you get the day after a big snow storm when there are no missions or school or work and everyone gets the day off to mingle and do all the things you wouldn't normally do."

Minato looked at her quizzically. "Didn't you say that snow gets old over time?"

"Well yeah," Kushina agreed, not bothering to contradict him.

"So what's so great about it?"

"You are not helping." Kushina narrowed her eyes at him.

"I know." He smiled, reaching into his bag. "But since you are now officially mad at me, I guess it's time to give you my present."

"Present?" Kushina asked confused. "Christmas is like two weeks away."

Minato looked over his shoulder. "So?"

"So," Kushina started, wondering what her point was. "So what is this all about?"

"Can't I get my girlfriend a present without getting the third degree?"

Kushina narrowed her eyes annoyed at his logic. "Can't you just tell me what it is?"

"Don't you want to see for yourself?"

"Can't you stop answering my questions with another question?"

"Why?" Minato grinned over his shoulder. "Does it annoy you?"

"Never mind," Huffed Kushina, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I know how much you miss the snow," he explained, searching through his backpack for something. "So I got you something to help you make miss it less."

Kushina raised an eyebrow curiously. "What?"

"I got you–"

"Yeah, I heard," Kushina interrupted, trying to look over his shoulder to get a peak at whatever it was that he was looking for. "What did you got me? A snowball?"

"You know that was my very first choice, but since the climate here is warmer, it would only melt away, so…" Minato produced a paper bag from his bag. "I got you this."

"A paper bag?"

"Obviously not," Minato rolled his eyes, reaching inside to take something. "It's what's _inside _that matters."

Kushina was about to ask what exactly did he have in mind, when he got a glimpse at what gripping. In his hand was a middle size snow globe. Kushina stared at it bewildered.

"I know it doesn't compensate over the real thing," Minato apologized quickly. "But here."

Taking it in her hands, Kushina watched as the little white pieces swayed by the movement of water. She smiled. "Where did you get this?"

"They are everywhere."

"I _know_ that you idiot," Kushina smiled at him. "But this one is kind of special."

And it was. Most of the snow globes out there often had Santa Clauses or houses or people singing, but this one was different. In the middle of the landscape there was a red headed girl with her arms spread wide and her head tipped back with her tongue out, as if she was waiting for the snow to fall so she could taste it. It was the exact same thing she would do when she was little.

"It was hard to find," Minato explained watching as Kushina shook the globe so it would snow. "But I finally managed to come across it."

"Where?" she asked again, curiosity in her voice.

"Hey, I can't reveal all my secrets. Can I?" Minato teased.

"No," Kushina kisses his cheek. "I guess you can't."


	7. Such Silly Words

**Silent Lips Are Dry**

_Such Silly Words_

* * *

Kushina woke with an eerie sense of disorientation. Last night was, for the most part, a big blur to her. And even though she knew that she was laying on a bed, how she had gotten there in the first place and for the way her eyelids refused to open that she had had about four hours of sleep, she couldn't understand the distinctive Minato smell her pillow gave. It was a mix between aftershave and cinnamon apples, which she had first believe to be his cologne but later discovered that it was in fact his soup, one she could detect in an instant. How had his smell gotten attached to her sheets all of a sudden? She wondered, burying her face deeper into the pillow, too tired to even open her eyes. With a heave sighed, Kushina pulled on the covers, trying force her way back to the land of dreams when the first rays of sunlight pouring through the window made her eyes ache. Groaning she pulled the covers over her head, trying to block away the light only to discover a little too late that the sheets too gave that Minato smell. Ok, now that was a little too much. Had Minato snuck in and rolled himself on her covers? There was just no way – but her thoughts stopped short when she opened her eyes and discovered that the sheets were navy blue, not white. Blinking in confusion Kushina pushed the covers off her only to discover that she was not in her room. It was Minato's.

Panic surged through her when she discovered she was only wearing her underwear and her sleeveless night shirt. Where were her pants? Searching the room with her eyes, Kushina found them laying across the room on the chair where she had left them. Last night suddenly came back to her. She'd gone for a late night walk and had ran onto Minato, who had just got back from his mission and had rushed over to her place when he'd seen her note saying to come over no matter the time. After that, Minato had transported them to the top of the Hokage's Monument where they had made out, walked back home and got caught in the late night rain. Getting back to his place was the most sensible idea, since her apartment was at the fringes of the village where as his were only a few blocks away. Minato had lend her one of his shirt till hers dried out and while changing back to her she had taken one good look at his bed and decided that just laying there for a few minutes wouldn't hurt anyone. She must have fallen asleep since she didn't remember getting under the covers. Kushina suddenly realized that Minato was nowhere to be seen. So walking over to his door, Kushina helped herself over the living room where she found a bundle curled on the couch.

Minato had obviously not intention of waking her up and as not to make the situation any more awkward he had taken over his couch. Kushina frowned at him, watching how his neck was suddenly bent backwards in a very uncomfortable angle and his blanket was halfway on the floor. He didn't have to be a gentle man and sleep here; he could have take then empty space on _his _bed and slept with her. Granted, she would have freaked out if she'd found him there with here, but seeing him in clothes would have calmed her.

Walking over, Kushina watched in how few lose strands of hair were caused his nose to wrinkle. It obviously tickled him, but he was a sleep so pushing them away was not really something he could do. It was adorable. Smiling, Kushina crouched besides him lifting her hand to brush the strands away from his face getting a slight shiver when their skins touched. It seemed weird that after last night she would get so nervous around him, it wasn't like they'd done something stupid, but she couldn't help get this feeling that something between them had evolved. Letting her hand linger on his forehead, Kushina contemplated how his features remained relaxed. Last time she'd done this he'd woken up abruptly as if he was afraid that the hand touching him had bad intentions, now thought, he seemed to recognize the touch, not letting it bother him.

Suddenly a very old suspicion crept through her mind. Last time she had been over, Minato had inexplicably kicked something under the couch, but it had happened too fast for her to actually see what it had been. When questioned about it, Minato had just laughed it off and changed the subject obviously with no intention of telling her what it'd been. Now that he was asleep was the perfect opportunity to get a real peak of what it had been and then tease him mercilessly if she found something along the lines of 'Konoha's Sluttiest'. So giving Minato a quick glance to confirm that he was still fast asleep, Kushina bent down with every intention of peaking under couch when a pair of arms pulled her against a warm body. Before she could even voice her surprise, soft lips were pressed against hers.

"Morning, Kushina." Minato yawned, opening one eye to look at her.

Kushina only kissed him in return. "You should have woken me up."

"Huh?"

"Last night," she reminded, looking at him in the eye. "You should have woken me up."

"You looked tired enough," Minato yawned once again, closing his eyes and squeezing her. "I didn't want to disturb you."

"But you had to sleep here."

"So?"

"It's your bed, idiot."

"You would have kicked me out if you had found me there besides you." Minato opened his eyes to look at her. "Even if I'd been on top of the covers."

Kushina puffed her cheeks. "That's not true." Minato gave her a look. "Fine, I would have, but you should have woken me up in the first place. I had no right on stealing your bed."

"You didn't steal it. You used it. _Once_."

"Next time," she told him, "don't let me sleep in."

Minato just stuck his tongue out to her.

"So what exactly is under the couch that you are so afraid to show me?" Kushina asked, watching his features carefully. Even though she knew that Minato was rather talented on keeping his emotions to himself, she had this special talent that allowed her to easily read his features, even if the only hint was a slight turn of his eyebrow, just like he was doing now. He would deny it.

"What are you talking about?" Minato feigned innocence.

Kushina gave him a look. "The 'spasm'?" when Minato only raised his eyebrows she rolled her eyes. "Remember last time I was here you inexplicably had a sudden spasm that made you kick something under the couch."

Even thought Minato's eyes sparkled in recognition, he played dumb. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh _please_, Minato, you are better than that." Kushina smirked, pushing herself up.

"But there's nothing under there," Minato grabbed hold of her.

Kushina raised an eyebrow at that. "So you would have no problem with me peaking under the couch...?"

"Nope."

And just as Kushina was about to lean forward so she could examine what the big deal was, Minato rolled on top of her, attacking her neck with sweet butterfly kisses.

"Have I ever told you just how wonderful you are?" He murmured against her skin, sending ticklish shivers down her spine. He would have to shave.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Kushina said, trying to ignore the shivers his lips sent. "It's not like you liked someone and buried their body under or something along the lines. Besides, it's only nature for guys your age to have porn."

"Or just what lovely shades your eyes are?" Minato asked moving from her neck to her collarbone.

Kushina grinned. She knew that he was trying to shift her attention from whatever it was he was hiding but she had gotten a little too good a playing dumb around him.

"Or what lovely neck you have?"

"Which you seem to be destroying with your hickeys." Kushina laughed, pushing him away gently. "Don't tell me you broke into the Hokage's vault and stole a scroll of forbidden jutsu which you are now hiding under your couch?" Minato groaned against her skin. "That's it, isn't it? You know there are better ways to hide things like that, even if no one would ever suspect of you."

Minato lifted his head, giving her a wry look. "You aren't going to be satisfied till I tell you, aren't you?"

"Nope," Kushina leaned forward to steal a chaste kiss from him. "So you better tell me anyways."

But Minato forgot all about it when her lips touched his. They've kissed numerous times before, sometimes they were sweet, sometimes they were fervent, it all depended on their urges and even thought right now was nothing compared to what they'd done last night, his skin urged him to keep kissing her, keep drinking in her scent, her flavor, her. He wanted her. He needed her. And she was _so_ close.

"Kushina?" he blurted against her lips, wondering if she was really listening.

"Hum?" she asked, hands disappearing under his shirt.

"Kushina," he tried once again. It was at the tip of his tongue, why when he had been rehearsing it for so long was it suddenly so hard to say it. "Kushina I…I love you."

And her lips froze. He didn't know if it been his words, or the fact that she suddenly realized they been making out on a couch or what, but he opened his eyes long enough to take a good look at her stricken face.

She was troubled. More troubled that he'd seen her before. And it scared him. She was searching his eyes for a tad hint that maybe he'd been joking, but he'd been dead serious and now he was waiting for her to react.

A small blushed covered her cheeks. "Minato I–"

He sensed her reluctance and interrupted her before she could say anything. "It's ok." He said cupper her face. "You don't have to say anything."

She blinked in confusion obviously not expecting him to say that, but after the words finally sunk in, relief flooded through her. He understood, and she was glad. Hugging him, she kissed his temple.

"Come on," she said, pulling him up the couch. "I'll make breakfast."

"It's not going to be a cup of instant ramen, is it?"


	8. Last Days

**Silent Lips Are Dry**

_Last Days_

* * *

Minato groaned in frustration. It was the third time he'd stopped by a window to check on his reflection and seen the same wild blonde hair he couldn't be able to tame down. No matter how many times he ran his hands through it, it would never seem to just lay low and obey. It was not that he was self-conscious about this appearance. To be honest, he rarely paid any attention to what he had on or what his hair looked liked, but for some reason, in these last few days, he seemed to take an urge to stop at every window or mirror and just take quick glance at himself just to make sure that he was presentable enough. And every time he would encounter the mass of blonde hair pointing wildly upwards. Frowning at this reflection, Minato tried for what felt like the tenth time to run a few strokes through his hair and tame it, maybe just a little.

"Found you!" he heard someone call, before a weight was added to his back and he was forced to bend forward a little. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Glancing at the bakery window, he found a pair of gray eyes staring back at him. he couldn't help but feel his heart beating a little faster than was normal and his body temperature rising just a couple of degrees, tainting his cheeks red. He quickly scooped his arms below her legs so she wouldn't fall off his back. "You know, in some cultures sneaking up on someone like that can get you killed." Minato scowled playfully, pulling them away from the bakery to wander down his previous destination.

"Are any of those cultures practiced in the nearby area?" Kushina asked, adjusting herself a little better on his back. "Or are you just embarrassed that I caught you looking in the mirror like a girl?" Minato didn't have to turn his head to know that she was smirking. "Who would have thought that the most desired man in Konoha was self conscious? The girls at the hot springs won't believe this when I tell them."

"There's nothing wrong with a being a little vain." Minato defended himself, for he knew that if he didn't found a way to make her forget about the subject, he would never hear the end of it. "_You _certainly would be able to look a little better if you'd spent more than five seconds at the time in front of the mirror."

"Are you saying I don't look good now?" Kushina asked, her voice an obvious hiss of anger.

"I'm saying you could look better if you actually checked yourself in the mirror before leaving your house."

"Says you who walk around with hair like that."

"Hey!" Minato tried to turn his head so he could look at her, but only caught a glimpse of the side of her face. "There's nothing wrong with having hair like mine. It's like a trade mark. It's what makes me unique."

"Also followed."

"Like anyone would be able to follow _me_."

Kushina nibbled on his ear. "That's true."

"Kushina!" Minato dropped her, suddenly turning over on his feet so he could scowl at her. "How many times have I asked you not to do that?"

"Do what?" she asked, trying to resemble the perfect picture of innocence.

Minato just rolled his eyes and extended a hand to her, so he could help her up. Now that she was in his full range of view, he could actually see that she had taken more than just a few minutes of front of the mirror. Her hair, which would be usually pulled up on a pony tail or a bun, was now free to fall on her shoulders and down her back, with her fringe obscuring on her eyes. Since it was the start of summer, she had decided to drop her Kunoichi attire and chose a more relaxed one that consisted on red shorts, a white tank top underneath and a navy blue vest over it. She had changed her usual blue sandals for a pair of black strapped ones with a little heel at the toe. And looking closer enough, Minato noted that she had taken the time to draw a very thin line of black on her eyes, a little bit of lip gloss on her ears and actually wear the black star earrings he had given her for her birthday.

"What?" Kushina inquired raising her eyebrow at him.

Minato only shook his head, stepping forward with a small smile on his lips. "You look beautiful." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"What?" Kushina asked, raising her hand to his chest as if to pull away from him. "Did the spring fever get to you already?"

"Can't I compliment my girlfriend without getting the third degree?"

"Can you at least try not to make it sound so sappy?"

"Can't you ever take a compliment without it turning into the fourth shinobi war?"

"Can't catch the hint that I'm trying to make you shut me up with a kiss?"

Minato didn't have to be told twice, so wrapping his arm around her waist firmly and raising a hand to her cheek, he leaned forward to capture those intoxicating lips of hers with her own.

"You've gotten better at that," Kushina commented, taking his hand on her own, leading them down the path they had taken previously.

"What can I say?" Minato shrugged, only a few steps behind her. "I've had a lot of practice."

Kushina stuck her tongue out for him.

"So are we still up for this weekend?" Minato asked, catching up to her.

"This weekend?" Kushina asked, wondering what exactly he was talking about.

"You know the party for Mikoto. The one you forced me to help you with?" Minato asked, not believing that Kushina had forgotten the days of torture where Kushina had practically stalked him about the matter until he had agreed to help.

"Oh that."

"Yeah, _that._" Minato repeated, not understanding her sudden change of tone.

"I won't be able to make it."

"Oh," Minato said, not really understanding her. "Do you have other plans or…?"

"No, I'm…" Kushina stumble over her words, not sure how to approach the subject. "I'm being sent back home."

"What?" Minato stopped, pulling her with him.

"I got a letter from my village elders," Kushina turned to look at him, "they said that they were concerned over my involvement in the war. They don't care for that fact that I'm actually a Konoha Jonin and I'm just doing what I'm told. They want me back home so that they can keep an eye on me."

"So you are being sent back home?" Minato asked, because it sounded totally ridiculous to him. If they were worried about her safety, they could just hire some Konoha shinobi for the job. Heck, he would do it for free.

"Whirlpool has maintained a neutral ground on this war and you know it." Kushina looked back at him meaningfully. "If _I_ get involved, everyone in my village would have to too."

It was true. Kushina was the only daughter of one of my most influential families of Whirlpool, even if she had developed most of her shinobi career in a different village, Kirigakure would try to find any excuse, even if little as that one, to try the invasion of another country, and with Konoha's forces being divided in two completely different fronts, it didn't matter how powerful Whirlpool shinobi could be, Kirigakure doubled the in numbers and Konoha's aids was not a done deal.

For one, he was glad that she had not been forced to fight in the front lines, not that she was not skilled enough to fight and win, but because now he have to spend every waking moment wondering if maybe she had been hurt or in what kind of trouble her mouth had put her into. But on the other hand, the war didn't seem like it would end any time soon. Their separation time would be, even for the most optimistic of minds, at least a year.

"Oh," Minato muttered, not really knowing what to say.

"Oh?" Kushina laughed, letting go of his hand so she could walk in front of him. "Is that all you are going to say?"

"What else do you want me to say?" Minato asked, raising his eyes to meet hers.

"I thought you'd be surprised." She frowned, turning on her heels so she could walk in front of him.

"Well things with Kiri are not exactly sugar coated now, and with all the refugees Konoha is sending, Uzu it's pretty much declaring its intention at the Red-Black Army." A name that had been chosen by Kumo and Iwa for their sudden and very unexpected allied forces.

"Uzu is only doing what any other loyal ally would do!" Kushina yelled, exasperated that he was accusing her village or starting something it didn't want from the start. "The Hokage was the one that shoved those people in our throats."

"You can't blame the Hokage for wanting a safe place to hide his people." Minato reasoned, understanding her anger but finding unnecessary. "Uzu could have said no."

"And turn our back on our biggest ally?" she asked, a glint of real anger showing in her eyes. "What then? What if Kumo suddenly decides to attack us? You know we hold no chance against such a big army, even if they are less experienced, numbers sometimes count more. We _need _Konoha to if we want a chance to survive this war."

"But that hasn't happen yet," Minato tried to soother her, reaching her for her hands. This was supposed to be a date, not a debate on whether Uzu neutrality was wise or if Konoha should keep their sick and wounded. "It would take a lot of effort for Kumo to get past our border into the small stretch that it is the only passageway toward Whirlpool. Konoha is doing the best it cans a keeping that front at bay."

"Maybe it's not trying hard enough," Kushina crossed her arms over her chest, like she always did when she knew he was right but wasn't about to admit defeat. "Why do you think our elders are pulling people from their political posts? We need the ninja there to prepare from an all out attack."

And then she saw it. The first glimpse of annoyance in Minato's eyes. She had to give the boy credit; she wouldn't have lasted nearly as long as he had.

"Then why are you hesitating about going?" Minato asked, his facial expression never wavering but his voice deepened, a sign that he was getting tired at her arguing.

A small voice in her head told her that this was dangerous ground, but she was not known for following reason. "Because I'm a Konoha shinobi."

Minato looked at her incredulously. "That's it? That's your reason?" shit, her anger was contagious. He knew that should have stop right then, but more often than not, whenever he was angry at _her _he ended up saying this he end up regretting later. "You are far from calling yourself a Konoha shinobi if that's the excuse you are using for not joining the war."

And then he saw it, the hurt in her eyes which she masked with more anger. "You are right," she said, moving away from him. "I should just go to the Hokage and demand him to ship me out as soon as possible."

"Fine," Minato spat, forgetting the cooled voice in his head.

"_Fine_." Kushina repeated.

"Have a good trip."

"Oh I _will_." And without another word she turned around and walked away only stopping a few feet to look back at him with wet eyes. "And just so you know, the main reason I didn't want to leave was because _you _couldn't have come with me. That's right; I requested you be spared from duty until things escalated further since I didn't want to see _us _break apart."

And that was the last he saw of her for a while.


	9. The News

**Silent Lips Are Dry**

_The News_

* * *

When Minato finally found her, she was lying on the bathroom floor with scissors in her hands and for a terrible moment he thought she had given into her pain and done harm to that precious skin of hers. But upon closer inspection, the red train at her feet was just a big chuck of hair she had decided to cut off. That alarmed him. He knew that she never really liked her hair that much, but never in their years of friendship had he know her to cut it off so carelessly. There had been a few times when she had cut it short of enough that made him beg her to let it grow again, but it had never been like this. Her hair was her pride, the symbol that she was part of a hidden village, the reason why she was next in line to be leader of her clan. Only, that was no longer true.

The news that Uzushiogakure had been obliterated had reached him not long ago. He'd been traveling south; near the Kiri border when the rumors hit them. He'd heard a few fishermen talking about how 'The Village of Longetivity' was no more, but he had chose to ignore it for obvious reasons. The war was against Konoha, not Whirlpool, a nation that until very recently had maintained a peaceful front. When the attacks against the village had started directly, the Hokage had asked the Uzu's elders if they could send some refugees their way, not having the man power to keep them safe _and _defend the village at the same time. Due to their neutrality they had obviously hesitated about the matter, even if being one of Konoha's allies, deciding not to participate in the war had been a decision that'd been respected by the Tsuchikage, deciding to waist his forces on Konoha, rather than turning half the world around and giving Uzugakure a blow he knew they were not ready for. Besides, they would have to march right _through_ Konoha to reach the small island. But now that Kiri had sniffed blood in the water, they had decided that the last war treaty about them keeping four islands that once belonged to Konoha was not ransom enough. So they had decided to attack the first thing island they could reach. The land of Eddies.

Only a few days earlier they had received the news about Kiri's sudden attack in the islands smallest bay. There had been a few burned housed and one or two injured, nothing too serious to be passed out as an accident, but when the attacks became more frequent and more efficacious, Uzu's elders had no choice but to call every shinobi outside the country back to help defend the village from vicious and bloodthirsty Kiri ninja. Only those employed elsewhere had had the option of staying. And Kushina had been one of those people. But the small argument they had just before she'd left had changed her mind. She'd been shipped out the same day he had.

So now, with Konoha's army separated in three fronts, things didn't look quite so optimistic that was until Minato had developed a new technique that allowed him move at the speed of light. That had given hope for village. Maybe this war against the Red-Black Army (a name Kumo and Iwa had decided upon) and Kiri didn't look so unpromising after all. That was until the Fourth Mizukage launched an all out attack against the Land of Eddies as if to warn Konoha of what they were capable of.

Minato only really got the news a few minutes after arriving at the village. His mission of espionage and sabotage had gone better than the last one and he'd decided to head for the Hokage personally rather than write a report to the administration offices, since there had been something eerie about the place he'd visited that had caught his attention. But upon arriving at the dark office, he noticed that the grim air about it was caused to something much more calamitous than the news that they might be at war with yet another great nation.

"Sit down Minato," the Hokage told him, his pipe on his lips.

Minato did as he was told, knowing that interruption was not to be permitted.

"I think I'll start from the beginning," the Hokage said, looking grimly at some papers on his desk. "The land of Whirlpool, the village of Eddies, Uzushiogakure as we know it, no longer exists."

Minato didn't grasp the gravity of the situation at that moment.

"Oh," he said, looking past the Hokage toward the village.

"Kirigakure attacked the village last night," the older man informed him, measuring him with his eyes. "Apparently they got word that one of their bloodline limit targets was hiding there under the pretense of being a Whirlpool civilian. The Mizukage order a full out attack that last proximately four days and three nights. There is nothing left there, besides the few survivors."

"Oh," Minato said again, his mind still not comprehending the situation.

"Kushina fortunately is safe. I send for her as soon as our intelligence division intercepted the message."

"Oh – wait Kushina is _here_?" Minato asked, his mind finally stopping for a second to grasp around that small thought.

"Yes," the Hokage exhaled from his pipe, "but she is _not_ well Minato, she's–"

"Where is she?"

"This is not the time–"

"_Where_ _is she?_"

"Home."

So deciding that anything else the Hokage might say was just filling in for the whole picture, Minato raced towards her apartment. It had been over a year since they had last seen each other and their farewell had not been the warmest they'd had, so he was more than eager to get to her apartment, knock and then kiss her senseless until she decided to forgive him. If that didn't work out, he would just have to think of a plan B.

'_It's going to be alright,'_ Minato thought, not bothering to apologize for the disturbance he had caused at the market, because only one thought registered on his mind. Find Kushina and then beg for forgiveness.

But when Minato finally found her, lying on her bathroom floor with her hair cut off and blue color to her usual creamy skin, he rushed to her side, wondering just how long ago had the water gone from cold to freezing.

"Kushina!" he yelled, hoping she would react to his voice. She didn't. "Kushina, we need to get you out of here. You are going to die from pneumonia."

But she didn't react. She just stared into space. Cursing under his breath, Minato scooped Kushina out of a freezing tub careful not to stare too much at her figure and trying to keep his thoughts as clean as he could. Using his foot to scoop a fresh towel from the floor, Minato wrapped her shivering form, rubbing his hands against her to create warmth. Warming her bath would take too long and he couldn't really take her to the hospital when she was half naked, so he opted for the third most immediate option. He turned her shower full blast, earning a soft hiss on his part when the water proved to be a little too hot, but he laid her near the door while he adjusted the temperature. Once he was sure it was safe enough to lay her underneath the water, Minato made sure that her towel was well adjusted to her body. He knew that Kushina wouldn't take too kindly if he started to pry on her, even if it was not intentional.

"You are freezing," he told her, rubbing her arms to create warmth. "How long were you in there?"

But like before he didn't get a reply. It was very unlike Kushina to be so quiet about something. If she were her old self, she would have already slashed him for prying her while she was taking a bath, but right now, any response he was getting were the small shivers her body gave, telling him that it would be a while before she was back to normal body temperature. He was glad that he arrived when he did, any more time and she would have suffered a stroke. Well the warm water would get her back to her normal self in no time. Or so he hoped.

"Y-your cold," he heard Kushina whisper, cupping his face in her hands. They were freezing cold.

"Hey," he smiled at her gently, taking her hands in his. "How are you feeling?"

"C-cold," she stuttered, grasping his face a little too forcefully.

Minato nodded, pulling her hands away from his face so he could intertwine their fingers. "You will be fine in a few minutes. The hot water should start working its magic by now."

Kushina just nodded, obviously too tired to say anything. "W-wet," she tried once again, not helping another stutter.

"What?" Minato asked, looking at her face, but she was no longer looking at him, instead she was looking down, at his clothes.

"W-wet," she tried once more, "Y-you…wet…"

"Oh," Minato blinked, finally understand what she was trying to say. He hadn't bother of taking off his uniform so it was obviously soaking wet, but that was the last of his worries. "Don't worry about it," he shrugged, kissing her warming cheek. "I'll wash it later."

She tried a smile at his lips contact and raised her eyes to look at him. What he saw surprised him. He had always thought that the thousand yard stare was just an old wife's tale to scare, something old people made up to force young people into behaving, like not eating your vegetables will make you one eventually, but right now, what he saw in those violet eyes of his, he couldn't even believe it himself. He'd faced as many hardships as any shinobi his age would. He'd seen comrades die in the heat of battle, innocent get hurt, injustices being held, small civilian villages being destroyed, but nothing like this. It was like, looking into her eyes gave him a first row seat to what had happened in Whirlpool and it was nothing like anything he'd seen before. It was worse. He could actually _feel_ the pain of all those people who had been brutally murdered, women being raped, children taken away to become slaves. She had seem all that. And she had survived long enough to be here. How she was managing he had no idea.

Kushina closed her eyes, liberating him from such torture. "This feels good," she said, moving her head to her side to let the warm water fall more freely against her skin.

And at that moment, before he could hold himself back, he leaned forward and enveloped her in a bone breaking hug.


End file.
