She was known as an excellent cook among her friends and family. Using this to her advantage, Uzumaki Hinata decided to make homemade ramen noodles for her husband's birthday, and to celebrate his recent return from an extended trip.

Lined up on the counter were the necessary in order to make the noodles, and later the broth and its savory ingredients. Himawari and Bolt were also present, standing at perfect attention and eyeing their mother with admiration. They liked when their mom got serious (and wasn't reprimanding them); they got to see a whole new side to their otherwise sweet mother.

"Bolt," Hinata called. "Measure the flour and salt and then put them in the bowl. Mix them afterwards please."

"Here I go 'ttebasa!" her eldest shouted. Bolt rolled up the sleeves of his tracksuit and proceeded to follow his mother's instructions.

Crouching so that she was eye-level with her daughter, Hinata looked at Himawari and poked her tummy.

"You're going to crack the egg," Hinata said with a smile. She picked up her youngest and placed her on the counter, where both of them proceeded to watch Bolt mix the dry ingredients.

Looking up at his mother with a proud face—that had a huge flour stain on one whiskered cheek—Bolt had completed his task and the first step to homemade ramen. Hinata then proceeded to make a tiny well in the center of the dry flour, where she instructed Himawari to put the egg and water into.

"Mama, I did it!" exclaimed the youngest Uzumaki. Himawari looked up at her mother with baby blue eyes wide with pride and excitement. Hinata kissed her daughter's nose and simply nodded, conveying that she was proud of her as well.

As if sensing this quiet exchange between mother and daughter, Bolt suddenly started sulking. His arms were crossed and his signature pout was on his handsome young face. Of course Hinata noticed. She turned to him and kissed his forehead, shocking the six year old.

"Mom!" he shouted, touching the spot where Hinata's lips had made contact with his skin.

Straightening up and putting her hands on her hips, Hinata let out a small laugh and looked at her son quizzically. She didn't miss the blush growing on his cheeks.

"So now I'm just 'mom' huh? When did you start growing up, Bolt?"

Her son looked away from her, his blush growing even more scarlet if that were possible. Hinata remembered her own blushes and knew that she was the one that gave Bolt that trait. But her son did respond to her; instead the small blonde hugged his mother's legs tightly.

Hinata ruffled his hair before mixing the wet and dry ingredients in the bowl. She instructed her children to wipe the counter clean. Once that task was completed and the ingredients were thoroughly mixed, Hinata placed the dough onto the freshly cleaned counter and proceeded to knead it. Once she was done with that step—and had the sore forearms to prove it—Hinata moved onto the next step of making ramen noodles.

"Hima, can you give Mama that rag please?"

"Yes!" A little hand grabbed the damp towel set aside for this reason, and gave it to her mother. Hinata proceeded to wrap the ball of kneaded dough in it, so that the noodles would be able to stretch and therefore produce nice thin noodles.

"Okay guys, let's go play for a little bit. We have to let the dough stay like this for a little while," Hinata instructed. She ushered her two children into the living room while Hinata herself stayed in the kitchen to clean the small mess they had made.

After two hours of letting the dough ball sit in the damp towel, the Uzumaki clan headed back into the kitchen to stretch out the noodles. Hinata broke the ball into a single portion and sprinkled dry flour over it and then took her rolling pin and started to roll. Bolt and Himawari were watching her attentively, as they would be doing this step soon enough. Following this step, Hinata then gathered the flattened out dough and then cut the dough up using a knife. After an hour or so, the family had successfully created thin ramen noodles.

"Bolt, you got the water boiling like Mama asked, right?" Hinata questioned. She had forgotten to remind him, but thankfully he had done it regardless.

"Yup! Lemme do this part 'ttebasa!" Bolt shouted, the excitement apparent in his own baby blue eyes. Hinata could tell that he was getting excited. They were almost finished!

"Okay. Let me salt the water and then you can put the noodles in and stir them. Sprinkle the noodles sweetie, instead of dumping them all in at once," instructed the Uzumaki matriarch.

"Got it!"

After boiling for a few minutes, Hinata lowered the heat on the stove and drained the noodles. While the noodles had been in the water, in a separate pot, Hinata had also started to steam the spinach that would accompany the noodles. The menma had already been prepared; the tiny Naruto fish cakes had also been sliced to perfection along with the eggs, spring onions, and cilantro. All that was missing was the pork and the broth.

Hinata had worked away the entire previous day working on the pork-based broth, and was happy as a clam when it had been finished earlier this morning. She had put it in huge pot at a low simmer so that it would heat back up again and be ready for dinner.

"Hinata! Bolt! Hima-hime!" shouted a familiar and missed voice.

Hinata almost dropped her spoon when she heard her husband's voice in their home. It had been too long since he'd been home, almost a month. Their two children ran to the front door and attacked their father. Naruto greeted his children with tight hugs and many kisses, ruffling both of their hair.

"Happy birthday Papa!" shouted Himawari, her little arms wrapped tightly around her father's neck. Naruto stood up, his left arm supporting his daughter's bottom half. Bolt was wrapped around Naruto's leg. Hinata giggled at the sight as Naruto tried walking over to greet her. She closed the distance, the two of them meeting in a kiss.

"Ew!" shouted Bolt, making noises of disgust. Himawari simply giggled.

"Hey," Naruto said, his forehead resting against Hinata's. She had both of her hands on his face, feeling him and making sure that he was actually there.

"I've missed you. Happy birthday," Hinata whispered, her eyes closed.

"I've missed you too. Thank you hime." The reply was as quiet and as gentle as Hinata's had been.

"Papa! Guess what!" Bolt shouted, wanting to get attention.

"What? Tell me, Bolt!" Naruto said, breaking away from Hinata to look down at his son.

"We made you ramen!" Himawari said. Bolt casted her a dark glance and stuck his tongue out at his baby sister.

"I was gonna tell him!" shouted the boy. Hinata dropped down to scoop him up in her arms and brought him up with her. Though she was shorter than her husband, Bolt was now up with the rest of the family.

"Bolt," Hinata said sternly.

"You guys did?! That's good because I'm really hungry. Let's go into the kitchen. I can smell it now," Naruto said. He proceeded to walk towards the kitchen, Himawari still in his arms. Hinata followed.

"Let me grab some bowls and plate it. Your timing is perfect Naruto-kun," Hinata said, putting Bolt down and walking to the cabinets. She proceeded to plate four bowls for her family; Naruto helped her carry them over to their dining table.

"Thank you hime. I love you," Naruto whispered into her ear before he took a big slurp of the homemade ramen his family had made him.

Though he loved Ichiraku Ramen with all his heart, Naruto's new favorite ramen was the one made by his family.