The majority of the next day was taken up by preparing for Yoichi's party. I took charge of the baking while Sasuke decorated our home and garden with colourful decorations, popping back into the kitchen every now and then to steal a kiss or squeeze my butt. He knew we didn't have time for much else but there was no way he could deny himself touching me whenever he was nearby. Especially after the night before. Hanging up the last banner across the garden fence, Sasuke turned his face up to the sun, enjoying the heat beating down on his skin for a while. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, it was a perfect clear blue with a gentle breeze, he couldn't help but silently remark to himself how happy he felt.

"Are you done?" Noticing the slight undertone of stress in my voice, he quickly appeared back in the kitchen.

The first thing he did was wrap his arms around me, cuddling me whilst I explained to him how much I had left to do in a long breathless ramble. He waited patiently for me to finish and then again for the huge deep breath he knew would follow before grabbing a towel to wipe the white patches of flour off my cheeks. I'd been baking all day and in Sasuke's eyes the food already prepared was more than enough but he knew I wasn't nearly satisfied. He didn't blame me for wanting everything to be just right because it would be the first ever birthday we celebrated together in Konoha, sure we might have had our own little celebration by the sea but this was different, this time we would be surrounded by friends. Sasuke knew that I wanted everyone to see how much we adored our little boy.

"Okay. What can I do?" Sasuke asked sweetly, tying my spare apron around his waist and rolling up his sleeves.

Before giving him a task, I cupped his face and sank into him, kissing him deeply with a slight smirk still playing on my lips at the sight of my manly husband in an apron. I made a mental note to ask him to cook for me again wearing only that apron the next time we were home alone.

"Oh! Sorry!" I giggled, drawing back and realising I must have had flour on my hands too because his cheeks were now covered.

A huge grin spread across his face. He pressed his hand to the flour covered work surface before quickly poking my forehead.

"Sasuke!" I squealed, laughing.

He started to chuckle, advancing on me, pretending he was going to clean it off when in fact he started placing his flour covered hands all over my face. If I wasn't laughing so much I might have been angry but it was almost impossible to feel even a sliver of anger when faced with a very playful Sasuke in an apron! It was those sort of moments that more than made up for his absence and when he was happy it made the world seem like a more beautiful place. His features were bright, his expression carefree, he looked so gorgeous that when he crashed his lips against mine I practically tackled him to the floor. I was just pulling his shirt over his head when we both groaned at the loud knock on the front door. I attempted to get off his lap but Sasuke's hand was on the back of my neck pulling me back down to his hungry lips.

"Ignore it." He said breathlessly, pulling back from our kiss to nibble on my bottom lip.

We weren't expecting anyone for another couple of hours and Yoichi had a key so maybe it wouldn't hurt to finish what we started. In one swift movement he was topless and my eyes were roaming over his amazing physique. I couldn't resist letting my fingers trail along his body, over his muscles, across his toned stomach and the stiff bulge in his trousers.

"I'm a lucky lady." I vocalised my thoughts without meaning to, blushing when Sasuke met my eye.

"No, I'm the lucky one." He said softly, reaching up and cupping my cheek.

The knock sounded again, this time accompanied by a familiar voice.

"Sasuke?" Naruto called.

Swearing under his breath at his best friend's timing, Sasuke got to his feet, heading in the direction of the door. I watched him glance down at himself then freeze in the kitchen doorway.

"Emi, could you get the door?" he mumbled.

Darting across the small distance between us, I eyed him suspiciously wondering why he suddenly decided he was unable to open the door to his friend. Instead of explaining he grabbed my hand and placed it on his crotch, which was still hard as a rock. Sasuke was a brilliant ninja but even he couldn't control that!

"Okay, leave it to me." I giggled, wiping my face on my sleeve.

I was always pleased to welcome Naruto into our home not because he was the leader of the village, it was the bond he shared with my husband that I liked to see. They acted just like brothers. They had their disagreements sometimes but it was clear that they both knew each other well enough to know when to back down. Naruto liked sharing stories of the past adventures of Team seven with me and Yoichi, which we both loved hearing, especially Yoichi.

"Hi, Emiko. Is Sasuke there?" Naruto had his usual warm smile but he seemed on edge.

"Yes, he's just...in the bathroom. Please come in." I felt the heat rising in my face as I welcomed the Hokage into our home and hoped that he didn't notice.

"Thanks!" he beamed, following me inside.

"Would you like something to eat?" I asked because he usually did.

His stomach grumbled in response but he said, "I can't stay long but I'll take you up on that later if that's okay?"

I nodded with a smile, unable to ignore the slight frown settling on his face as Sasuke joined us in the kitchen. Naruto's eyes flashed from me to Sasuke, uncertain if what he had to tell him could be spoken in front of me.

"Hey." Sasuke said first, his serious expression a complete contrast to a few minutes ago. "What's happened?"

"Well…" Naruto began, scratching the back of his head.

I looked between the two men, sensing the air change in the room as it filled with . Something had happened. As much as I wanted to hear what Naruto had to say, I had a feeling he wasn't going to say it with me in the same room so I made my way silently out of the room but Sasuke grabbed hold of my hand.

"Whatever it is, Emi can hear it too. We don't keep secrets."

Despite Sasuke's reassuring words Naruto still seemed reluctant to tell us.

"Okay but don't get pissed off at me after. One of our Jounin came back this morning in a bad way, he'd only been on a simple escort mission. On his way back he got attacked just a couple of miles from the village by some guy that wanted information about you, Sasuke."

The only thing Sasuke did to show he was even the slightest bit worried was raise his eyebrow whereas I was overcome with dread. What was going to happen to my husband the next time he left the village?

"Anything else?" Sasuke sighed.

"Something about settling a score with you. The Jounin said he was a huge, muscly guy with grey hair. Any ideas who it could be?"

"Sasuke!" I yelped, "That guy!"

Do any of my readers know who it might be? x