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The first time Joe stepped on board the Gokai Galleon he was both leaning on and supporting his new captain, and between the two of them they somehow managed to stay upright. It felt like years since Joe had let anyone touch him, but after stumbling to that safe haven together the mutual care of bandaging each other’s wounds seemed natural.
Marvelous supplied food before either of them even thought about cleaning up beyond covering anything that was still bleeding. The meat was half raw and the biscuits needed to be dipped in water and gnawed. Joe’s first decision as part of Marvelous’s crew was to relieve his captain of cooking duty before he could poison them both.
At the time Joe’s cooking experience mostly involved pulverizing ship’s biscuit, making it into a paste, and cooking it into lumpy cakes that could at least be chewed. If nothing else he made sure any meat they got ahold of was cooked through. It seemed like a victory in itself they weren’t sick or starving.
The only cookbook available in the galley was singed and stained, and some of the pages were missing, but in the margins someone had scrawled substitutions for various ingredients. That was enough to start experimenting with what he had on hand, and Joe was sure he was getting better over time.
He cut up any food they found raiding Zangyack ships and mixed it into the rough cakes that made up most of their diet. That much was better than anything he’d had access to in a long time. Marvelous seemed to agree. He often found his way into the galley and wrapped himself around Joe’s back in hope of getting a free taste.
Luka quickly got bored with the same food every day and taught him to make a beggar’s stew by boiling together whatever they had on hand. At least it tasted different each time. She was familiar with foods he hadn’t encountered and could tell him how to deal with them, although she preferred to sling an arm around him or lean on the counter and watch rather than helping.
Through trial and error Joe learned how to cut meat for a stew and how to use ship’s biscuit as a thickener. There was a lot of error, but that made success more gratifying. Seeing the people he cared for fed was as important as seeing them strong and safe.
Luka was a blessing in so many ways there was no point in keeping count. When it came to keeping them fed, she could charm people into forgetting they had seen her pretty face on wanted posters. Joe watched her haggle sometimes, fascinated by the charisma and quick thinking that were often the only reasons they had any fresh supplies. (He caught her once or twice talking about having two older brothers at home to look after, but never mentioned it.)
Thanks to Luka’s skills, Joe suddenly had new ingredients to work with. His first attempt at a cake, to celebrate her skills, was dry and heavy and in the end he could only crumble it into a bread pudding. Marvelous and Luka pounced on the treat eagerly, and Joe found himself wanting to give them more.
Don was one of the few people who figured out there was a dangerous pirate under Luka’s bright smile, but he helped them anyway. One of his first actions on the ship was to cook them a meal that already made Joe want to adopt him.
Almost before he had settled on the ship, Don was determined they would have more than stolen Zangyack rations. He adapted to the inconsistent availability of fresh food by preserving what they found. Each time they brought in fresh supplies Joe would find the galley smelling of sweetness and brine as Don tended too many projects at once.
It was no surprise that he always seemed to find Luka there checking on Don’s progress. A surplus of food was a hoard to be appreciated. They would pester Don until he relented and fed them slices of dried fruit. Marvelous always seemed to have a sense for when he was being left out, because he would appear and wrap himself around everyone involved to demand his share of treats.
At first Joe thought he would turn the galley over to Don. Now they had someone on the crew who was a real cook. When Don gathered up his things he first went through his kitchen for utensils and spices and a handful of cookbooks with dog-eared pages. They agreed that the galley was Don’s natural territory.
Yet Joe couldn’t seem to stay out, and not just because his new crew mate was hidden there so much of the time. Don taught him how to check if yeast was still good and how to make a sourdough starter when it wasn’t. Joe decided he was in love with the smell and the taste of fresh bread, and Don made a point to praise and thank him for what he contributed to the table. There was no argument over him taking his turn in Don’s galley.
Joe focused on the alchemy of baking. He learned to calculate substitutions in his head, how to make dough that would become what he wanted. He made a spice cake for Don, an extravagance of honey and ginger and dried fruit. It was for everyone, but he also wanted to say something about how important Don was to him, and how much a part of the crew.
Of course Ahim was part of the crew, even when they were all still figuring out how they fit around each other in that changing atmosphere. Don did end up banning her from the galley at first, in an incident Joe only saw the tail end of. He found Don tending the burns on her hand, nearly shaking with emotion until Ahim coaxed him into believing that she was okay.
Mostly Ahim came into the galley to make tea. Joe was curious enough to linger near her, enjoying the scent of the steam. She shared without being asked. She had the patience to teach them, explaining to Marvelous he needed to let the tea steep, and gently suggesting that there was nothing wrong with Joe putting a pinch of sugar in his tea if they had it.
She was quite happy to let Don do the cooking. She made a point to let him know his work was appreciated in words, not just with demands for seconds and clean plates. Joe couldn’t blame Don for becoming flustered at the praise. When she turned the same kind words on him, sincere praise he had no chance to prepare for, the only way he could process it was by secluding himself in the galley and kneading dough until it was too tough to fold anymore. (And even when the bread came out too dense from over kneading she didn’t take the praise back, and Don never mentioned it, only adjusted the menu to use it as best he could.)
Once she even brought him baking chocolate from a shopping expedition with Luka, not knowing precisely what it was but with the assumption that it must be something for him.
Joe wanted to give her something, and there was only one gift he could think of. He worked off of an innocent comment to make her a sponge cake that was light and soft. He wouldn’t forget the grip of her fingers around his when she thanked him, or the tears in her eyes. He hadn’t expected an emotional reaction to something he made. He had only thought of what she liked, not what she was missing. He had never realized something could taste like home.
And then they reached Earth. Everything Joe had learned to expect and prepare for suddenly didn’t seem to apply. This was no refueling stop on the run. There was no need to disguise themselves. They were rarely refused service by shop keepers who feared them, or feared the consequences of helping them.
Gathering fresh ingredients became an everyday task. Joe came to expect it, even while the sense of triumph seeing the crew well fed never diminished.
Ahim’s tea collection expanded, and she happily introduced all of them to her new favorites. Luka wrinkled her nose at vegetables and Joe suspected the chance to be picky and choose one food over another was the ultimate luxury for her. Don dragged him to the fish market and he got to watch their cook in ecstacy over the prospect of sea food that wasn’t salted or smoked or dried or pickled but pulled from the water only hours before. And when Marvelous made a request, they could make it happen.
Old habits didn’t go away even in the face of plenty. They kept the ship well stocked. Joe still kept track of rations, even if the calculations now included what fresh food they should look for tomorrow. When Don spent an afternoon candying orange and lemon peels (complete with long-suffering complaints when he was swarmed) Joe suspected it was a way to calm his nerves, to make something he knew would keep.
Adapting to Earth was already a mental exercise for Joe. Gai’s approach to food was something else again. He thought about what they might like to eat before thinking about what supplies they had. He admired Luka’s expert bargaining and how Don tracked everyone’s needs, but he didn’t seem to put those skills together with their determination to see the crew fed. Joe didn’t try to explain. Within a week he had decided that when Gai needed to learn about rationing they would be there to look after him. Until then he would enjoy their Earthling’s exuberance on the subject.
There was no question that Gai understood showing love with food. After a rocky start he could be found most evenings in the galley at Don’s side. He was forever excited about learning what everyone liked, and kept happily suggesting new things for them to try.
Gai was so eager to share he would offer tastes of whatever he was cooking to anyone in the galley with him. If they ever had any hope of breaking Marvelous of his food-scrounging habits it disappeared entirely with Gai. More than once Gai even tried to feed Joe while his hands were full.
The galley seemed warmer and nosier with Gai’s company. His bright smile and his energy were as welcome as the food he was so eager to share.
Two weeks after joining the crew, Gai brought him a present wrapped in crinkly blue paper and topped with a silver bow. He bounced on the balls of his feet waiting for Joe to open it, his smile completely unrestrained.
Joe hadn’t realized they made cookbooks just for baking. All of his recipes were scavenged from different places, and sometimes things he cobbled together himself. Yet he pulled the paper away to reveal a heavy book titled, ‘Baking Around the World: 360 Recipes.’
The cover was smooth under his fingers. The spine creaked faintly when he opened it. Each recipe inside came with a small color image and a short description. Something in the back of Joe’s head said the wide margins were perfect for making notes. Something a little deeper was still processing the idea that this all his, more recipes than he’d learned to make in his life all in one place.
He knew Gai had already given Don a cookbook, and he knew Don had immediately pulled their newest crew mate close and made him help choose something to cook that night, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that.
“Thank you,” he finally said. Gai, who had begun to look faintly worried, brightened up all over again.
“I wanted to find you something with lots of variety,” Gai explained. He bounded closer to look at the book around Joe’s arm.
There was a whole chapter of pastries for teatime. Gai gave him a hopeful smile. “For Ahim?”
Joe smiled a little himself, because Gai understood. Gai was delighted to stick close to him while he paged through the cookbook, lingering on recipes of particular interest.
Strawberry shortcake sounded perfect for Ahim and Luka to share. Any sweets would be a treat for Luka, but he paused and considered buns filled with meat or fruit. That would be something tasty and warm she could carry with her. There were at least half a dozen varieties of chocolate cake. It would be fun to surprise Marvelous with them one by one.
Joe almost paged past one recipe, then stopped with his fingers resting on a picture of gingerbread cake.
“Who is that one for?” Gai asked after a moment.
“I’ll make this one for Hakase,” Joe decided. He wasn’t sure if it was quite right, but Don had a weakness for things like cloves and cinnamon and nutmeg. It seemed to Joe that his favorites were things that weren’t too dense or too sweet.
“I’m really in awe. You know a lot about everyone’s tastes!”
They had been together long enough that Joe didn’t think it was strange. More importantly, it had been difficult to pin down Gai’s tastes. Joe had already spent some time trying to think of what he would bake for Gai. Gai was part of their crew, but Joe still hadn’t been able to welcome him the way he wanted to.
“What do you like?” Since Gai was sticking so close to now, he would take the opportunity for find out
“Um. . .” Gai grinned, halfway to laughing just from the pleasure of being asked. “I don’t know. Everything you and Don-san make is so good!”
Joe gave him a look, which Gai at least interpreted well enough to hunch his shoulders a little, his smile turning sheepish. “I really like the bread you make every morning.”
The bread Joe made in the mornings was still from the sourdough starter that had traveled with them to Earth. Even here where he had access to fresh yeast in neat little packages, he kept tending it and used it almost every day. It was still comforting to him to have that.
For a minute Gai looked so hopeful and sincere Joe couldn’t take it. Then he abruptly perked up again. “The spice cake you made after we fought Uorlian was really delicious too! Was that Don-san’s favorite?”
That had just been a small gesture to help calm Don down when he’d had difficulty accepting Gai as their new crew mate, although the two of them had figured things out long before dessert. He hadn’t expected Gai to start picking up on things like that so quickly.
“You didn’t tell me what your favorite is yet!” Gai suddenly exclaimed.
Joe allowed himself a private smile and closed the cookbook, savoring the weight of it in his hands and the possibilities it promised him. “Maybe after I’ve tried all of these.”
“Huh? Wait, that’s a year’s worth of recipes!” Gai protested. He didn’t look particularly mollified when Joe patted his shoulder before leaving the galley.
Joe skimmed through his new cookbook for a suitable recipe and made sourdough cinnamon rolls for the next morning’s breakfast. It was past time for him to show clearly that Gai belonged with them. He wanted to promise that they would keep Gai and care for him, and food was one of the best ways he knew to express that.
He could tell from the way Gai’s face lit up that the message was received.