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Cody’s first meal was a moment he would treasure until his last breath. The Kaminoan’s only provided him and his brothers with ration bars, which they continued to eat when they were deployed. He never particularly cared for the bars, but he didn’t know that they weren’t food until he met natborn officers and the Jedi. The natborn officers could occasionally be heard complaining about the rations, but Obi-Wan and Anakin never did, Obi-Wan absently ate his while working and Anakin wolfed his food down like he expected it to be taken from him.
After a few months of working with Obi-Wan, Cody asked him about life in the Order, outside of war and endless ocean and training. Obi-Wan talked about how his favorite place to be in the Temple was the Room of a Thousand Fountains, thrumming with the living force and full of the sounds of nature. It was one of the only places like that that one could find nature on Coruscant. He talked about how his crechemates had every other Benduday off from training and they would play tag through the ponds and trees, disturbing the Jedi attempting meditation, before getting ready for hot pot. He talked about how they prepared the vegetables, meats, and seafood while the water was brought to a boil, then sat next to each other, shoulder to shoulder while they ate.
It sounded wonderful to Cody, who suddenly wished he had similar memories with his brothers, of cooking together and trying new foods. All of his memories of comfort were laced with loss and pain and fear, never the genuine happiness in which Obi-Wan spoke. Cody resolved to try an actual meal, not a ration bar, with his brothers someday. When he expressed this to Obi-Wan, a warm feeling spread across his chest through his gut and down to his toes at the indignant expression on his General’s face. “You’ve never had food before? Just ration bars?” Obi-Wan asked, mouth thin with unhappiness.
He looked up hot pot recipes during lateshift when he was supposed to be sleeping. The vegetables were colorful and altogether everything looked delicious. There were so many types and various ways to prepare it. He wondered what everything tasted like, if they tasted different when cooked differently, and what it all smelled like. He would have to ask Obi-Wan what kind specifically they made, or if it was with whatever they had available.
Cody’s first meal was at Dex’s, when Obi-Wan tentatively asked him if he would like to accompany him for midmeal, though he was of course “not obligated to come with during leave”. Cody said yes immediately, eager to try something that wasn’t a ration bar, and joined Obi-Wan’s side. Obi-Wan gave him a flash of a grin before leading him to the diner, located in a rougher part of Coruscant than he would have expected Obi-Wan to frequent. (Cody knew his General was at as much ease in muddy camps as he was in his own quarters, and was only then beginning to suspect that he had led a rougher life than was implied in his data file).
Cody liked Dex’s Diner immediately. It was filled with industrial workers that were talking loudly with each other and didn’t pause at the entrance of a clone and Jedi Master. The workers were dirty and had the odor that came from a day’s hard work, but they were reasonably clean, skin dusty but hands and faces washed. There were others there, too. A Zabrak sat in the corner with an older Togruta, both talking animatedly while munching on an unidentifiable meat. There was a group of bounty hunters that clocked their entrance, but didn’t pause in their meal or conversation. Cody wondered if there was some sort of understanding of work not being done here, but before he could ask Obi-Wan a Besalisk called out Obi-Wan’s name and pulled him in a tight embrace.
Cody tensed, but Obi-Wan only smiled warmly and hugged, whom he could only assume was Dex, back, which had him immediately relaxing. Obi-Wan only let people close to him touch him like that, so the Besalisk must have been safe. The two of them chatted happily to each other before Obi-Wan was grabbing Cody’s shoulder and pulling him forward, introducing him to Dex like a vod revealing their prized possession to a newly close brother. It made Cody feel warm inside that he meant that much to Obi-Wan after just a few months working together, but that feeling was instantly squashed when Dex pulled him into a hug. Cody had no idea how to react to a stranger pulling him in close, loudly declaring that any friend of Obi-Wan’s was a friend of his. Luckily, Obi-Wan saved him from the Besalisk’s too-tight embrace by asking for a table.
Dex let go of Cody, loudly leading them to a booth and giving them menus. “Thank you, Dex,” Obi-Wan said pleasantly. “I think we should start with some water. My dear Commander here likes to tell me that I don’t take care of myself.” Obi-Wan glanced at him, eyes twinkling and lips curved into a smile.
Cody raised an eyebrow, “I only tell the truth, sir.” Dex laughed and patted Obi-Wan on the back, causing him to lurch forward with each hit. Obi-Wan gave him a wounded look that Cody ignored in favor of reading the menu.
And, oh, were there a lot of choices. The menu had eight colorful pages with a few pictures of dishes and a lot of small print. Cody started on the first page and read the bold print: Breakfast 5-10. Not an option, then. He looked at the next page, but it seemed to be a continuation of breakfast. He turned the page to find even more breakfast options, but the mirrored page announced “Lunch 10-3” in bold, bright orange letters. Cody methodically read down the salad options, but he only had a vague understanding of what a salad was and it did not appear to be filling based on one of the pictures. The sandwiches appeared to be more filling, at least, along with the soups, but Cody still had no idea what to pick.
He didn’t know what anything tasted like, let alone what he liked.
Obi-Wan hummed, and Cody looked up to see him watching him. He flushed a bit, a little embarrassed for reasons he was uncertain of, but Obi-Wan said nothing about it. “I realize now that you may have some difficulty picking out something, as I understand you’ve never had the opportunity to try actual food before. For that, I apologize,” Obi-Wan said, sincere. “Would you like me to tell you my favorites?”
“That would be nice, sir,” Cody said.
“Obi-Wan, please. We’re off duty.” Cody smiled at him, the warmth he felt earlier returning with a vengeance in his chest.
“That would be nice, Obi-Wan,” Cody corrected, and was rewarded with Obi-Wan’s brilliant smile. Thinking back on it, Cody wondered how he had not known he wasn’t already gone on his General, following him around Coruscant like a lost pet.
Obi-Wan described his favorite dishes to Cody, pointing to the corresponding meals listed on the menu, but all of Obi-Wan’s descriptions of spices and vegetables were lost on Cody. His only frame of reference was a ration bar, though he had a feeling that he wasn’t going to want to eat one of those after this meal.
Ultimately, Cody decided on Obi-Wan’s choice: a shawda club sandwich with a side of pickled fries.
Cody had no idea how to describe the flavors exploding across his tongue. The fries made his tongue recoil at the sourness, but they were surprisingly soft in the middle despite the outward crunch. The ration bars were gritty in comparison, and room temperature. The heat of the sandwich surprised Cody, not unwelcome, and the sweetness of the meat balanced out the fries, though it made his teeth clench. The meat was smooth, easily cut by his teeth, and the crunch of the lettuce strangely refreshing. Cody tried to savor it, not knowing when he would be able to get a meal like this again, but he finished quickly, long before Obi-Wan made it halfway through his own.
To be fair, Obi-Wan talked to him and smiled at him throughout the meal, neglecting his food in favor of telling Cody stories, though Cody could tell he was a little melancholy. When he offered the meager credits he had managed to scrounge from gambling with his brothers to pay for the meal, Obi-Wan simply said, “This was my treat, Cody. I invited you.”
Cody resolved to do something just as thoughtful for Obi-Wan.
Now, almost a year later, and three months into their relationship, the 212th had shore leave again. Obi-Wan, unfortunately, still had duties with the Council, but Cody had forty-eight hours to take care of his General and help him relax in his down time. And how he wanted to take care of him.
Obi-Wan was constantly working, either on battleplans or on paperwork (despite the fact that he delegated a decent amount of it to Cody), to the point where he neglected his own health on a regular basis. Cody wanted to alleviate some of that stress for Obi-Wan, but he also wanted to do it in a way that showed he cared, like how Obi-Wan did at Dex’s.
He couldn’t give him his first meal, but he could try to make him his favorite meal.
While Obi-Wan was trapped in meetings, Cody explored the Temple in search of the kitchens. He found them after running into little cadets in what must have been the Room of a Thousand Fountains that Obi-Wan talked so much about. He played with the cadets for a little while, enjoying their infectious laughter, before asking for directions to the kitchens. All five of them decided that he deserved an escort because he played with them, and they were in awe that he knew Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was a legend.
He was the youngest Knight to be made a Master and a Council Member in at least a century, one cadet swore. (“No, a millenia!” another had chimed in, indignant. Cody had picked both of them up and carried them the rest of the way to the kitchens.)
The cadets were thrilled when he told him he wanted to make hot pot. “It’s called shabu-shabu,” their buir said, smiling kindly at him. All five cadets scrambled to give him what they deemed to be the best ingredients while their buir explained how to make the dish. “It’s best as a group activity, much faster when made together,” they advised.
“Thank you,” Cody said, sincere. He took the ingredients back to Obi-Wan’s apartment and began the prepwork. He didn’t mind that it would take awhile. It was worth it. Obi-Wan was worth it. Obi-Wan deserved every happiness.
He hoped Obi-Wan liked his gift as much as he appreciated his own first meal. (Cody refused to admit to himself that he was concerned about operating the chopsticks, but maybe Obi-Wan could give him a demonstration?)
He was in the middle of carefully carving the stars into the mushrooms, carrots and cabbage ready to go, when Obi-Wan walked through the door. He hung up his cloak and turned, only to stop in his tracks. “Hello,” Cody said nervously. “I wanted to try cooking. For you, I mean.”
Obi-Wan’s tired face lit up in a wide smile, erasing years from his face. “Oh, Cody, my dear. How did you know?” He walked into the kitchen and around the island. He looked at the array of food and then back to Cody.
“You mentioned it the first time you told me about when you were a cadet,” Cody mumbled, blushing. He put the knife down and turned to meet Obi-Wan’s eyes. He was surprised to see them bright with tears. Had he made a mistake?
“Thank you,” Obi-Wan breathed and leaned in for a deep kiss. He wrapped his arms around Cody’s neck and pulled him close. Cody couldn’t help but to return it, wrapping his own arms around Obi-Wan’s waist and holding him tight. Cody pulled back and looked at Obi-Wan. His eyes were lidded, pupils blown, and his cheeks were pink.
Cody grinned, a laugh bubbling up his throat. Obi-Wan picked him, a clone, someone who was told every day of his life that he was lesser than any sentient and Obi-Wan, a Jedi and famed diplomat, chose him.
Obi-Wan smiled softly at him, shining like a sun. “What’s so funny, my dear?”
Cody stopped laughing, but continued to smile. He lent in again, pressing his forehead to Obi-Wan’s, and moved a hand up to grip the back of Obi-Wan’s head. “I’m happy when I’m with you,” he spoke quietly, words sure and honest. They felt more intimate than anything he had ever said to Obi-Wan before, though he knew that Obi-Wan could feel his love when they were alone and his mind unshielded. He rarely spoke his feelings like this, the words always lodging in his throat.
“I’m happy when I’m with you, too,” Obi-Wan smiled. He pressed his forehead a little harder to Cody’s. “I love you, my dear. So much.”
“I love you too.”