Work Text:
~~~~~~~~
Bulkhead pulled into the base rather slowly.
Jack and Raf were playing a video game when the engines of the Wrecker pulled them out of their round of Smash Brothers.
Pulling to a stop, Bulkhead didn't immediately transform--which was odd, to say the least.
Opening up a door, Miko jumped out. "Thanks, Bulk! I'll have these groceries out in a jiffy!" She announced, running around the truck to unlatch his trunk.
"It's all good, Miko. I was gonna--EEEIIE!" The deep voice rose about twenty pitches when the girl opened up the back door. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA GET THEM FROM THE BACKSEAT!!"
Miko flinched at the sudden noise, pulling her hands away. "Sorry, dude! I'm used to handling non-talking cars' trunks!"
"Just--Just give a warning next time! Gave me a spark attack..." Bulkhead sighed.
"Whatcha' doing, Miko?" Raf was the first to ask, leaving Jack to defeat Sephiroth with Link.
"I decided to cook up some dishes from here and my home. Didn't wanna do it alone at my house though." Miko explained as she put away the groceries her and Bulkhead delivered earlier.
"You can cook?" Jack asked, truly surprised. He put down the controller and climbed down the stairs with his younger schoolmate.
Miko shrugged. "Yeah, but I didn't want to do the work for quite awhile. Then I got the urge."
"Well, what're you making? We could help if you want." Raf offered, gesturing to himself and Jack. The older boy was admittedly curious about Japanese cooking.
"Sure! I got the ingredients today. You guys can be my assistant chefs." Miko was pleased with this arrangement. "We're gonna make a few dishes; omurice, chilled ochazuke, and some bean sprout salad. With some plain white rice, of course." She began to think out loud. "Hot pot sounds good....mmm, but I didn't buy any seafood. Maybe another time..."
"Omu-rice...sounds like omelets." Raf commented.
"It's basically that but you add rice, meat and ketchup. I'll show you how my family dose it."
Before we take a look into the process, we must point out some key details in the base. New additions have been made to accommodate more human life. In the corner of the hanger sat the small kitchen made of gently used appliances. It was the same area the kids made their hot cocoa back at Christmas time. A medium fridge and a stove top sandwiched a countertop between them. An island counter stood opposite of them, which served as a place to prep and serve dishes. Now that we've shown the current layout, we can return to our cooking lesson with Miss Nakadai...
Bumblebee took notice of Raf and Jack washing rice and vegetables. He was originally typing up a report for Ratchet, but the kids' conversation piqued his interest.
Cooking as a concept was known on Cybertron, but not practiced in the human way. Combining mixtures and metals, temperature adjustment, and a few fermenting techniques were the most common practices on Bumblebee's home planet.
*Mind if I watch?* The scout asked, peeking down at the boys setting aside the washed ingredients.
"Course you can, Bumble!" Miko beamed as she plugged in the rice cooker. "No need to ask at all." Jack assured.
"You can be our judge. Like on the TV shows." Raf offered.
*But I won't be able to taste it for you.* Bumblebee was a tad disappointed by this. But Cybertronians simply couldn't process solid foods, even with their humanoid parts.
"Smelling it counts too. You can do that, right?"
*Yeah. Olfactory sensors are our noses.* The scout pointed to the middle of his faceplate.
"Smell helps with taste anyway." Raf informed as he began to boil water. "Miko, how much green tea should I put in?"
"Let's do...4 bags! I want to share some with June and Agent Fowler too." She decided. "So fill it up with all the water!"
The green tea was for the ochazuke. Jack was cutting up the chicken for the omurice, while Miko cleaned the bean sprouts and fish.
"Do Cybertronians do meal prep?" Miko asked the yellow bot, Raf was on standby for translation.
*Somewhat. I heard we used to refine and filter Energon. Some of it got aged into wine, while other mixtures got metal shavings or shots of petrol. Different combinations. I'm not old enough to have Energon wine though, so I don't know much about it besides how it's made.* Bee beeped.
*We also make oil-based desserts. And we have beryllium baloney and cesium salami. Other metals are used for nourishment too.*
The kids were impressed. It wasn't too different to human dietary practices, minus the martial.
"Can you cook?" Jack asked. Bee shrugged, titling his helm back and forth.
*I bet I could. But I can't exactly learn it right now. Energon's too low. My mom and dad can make a few dishes. But the resources are too precious. We just drink Energon the monent it's been treated." He couldn't help but wonder what infused Energon tasted like. He had beryllium and cesium meats only a few times, but that was long ago.
Miko wished she could share her food with the scout. "Pour the egg on the pan and spread it out. Then wait a minute." She instructed Jack. "Then put in the chicken. Raf mixed up the rice and ketchup with the spices." She began to think about how she could treat Bumblebee to a taste of something nice. What to give a bot that can't eat human food?
Gasping, Miko excused herself for a moment. "But what if we mess up?" Jack exclaimed as the girl ran off.
"You won't! Follow the instructions on my notepad!" She called back. Bee wondered why she would leave in the middle of her cooking lesson. She was the teacher, after all.
Miko had bought some oil and engine coolant earlier that week, wanting to suprise Bee with some novel liquids to try on his systems. But this was a better use for them. Remembering what Ratchet and June did for the oil cake back on Bumblebee's spark day, the high-schooler set to work on her own secret recipie.
~~~~~
Meanwhile, Jack managed to perfect the omurice. Raf, using his knowledge from helping with meals at his house, managed to complete both the bean sprout salad and the ochazuke. It involved alot of cutting and cooking of meat and veggies, something both boys were pretty good at.
"Whoa, Raf. Ever thought about becoming a chef?" Jack complimented his younger friend. The boy shrugged.
"Maybe I can do that after I become an engineer." He thought. "You did a good job on the omurice."
"Eh, it's not that great. But thanks." Jack scratched the back of his neck, comparing the omurice to the ochazuke. Neither were exactly picture perfect, but one could see that heart was put into them.
"...We practically did this by ourselves." Raf pointed out after a moment, pouring the cold green tea over the rice abd salmon, thus completing the ochazuke.
"Yeah, so much for Chef Nakadai's guidance..." Jack added dryly, honestly confused as to where exactly she went. "Guess we didn't do too bad for ourselves, but still..." He didn't like it when someone said they'd help and end up doing the exact opposite.
"Miko? We finished the food!" Raf called out.
Loud footsteps echoed out in the hanger, indicating Miko's summoning.
"I got it!!" She announced, pulling a small metal pallet she found somewhere in the base. "Coolant soup!" She had a small metal container of a blueish-yellowish liquid, with flakes of grayish metal. "With a dash of iron sprinkles!"
The boys were speechless. "Miko...how?" Jack gasped.
The girl shrugged. "Went to a scrap yard a few days back. Some hammering from Bulkhead--and viola!" She gestured to the pallet behind her. "Bought the ingredients myself, of course. Made with love!"
Bumblebee was still sitting on the floor, just as surprised as the human boys. *You...did all that just for me?* He pointed to himself as Rafael translated.
"Yeah, I didn't wanna leave you out." She explained. "And, I wanted to learn more about Cybertronian stuff. Soo...here it is!"
Bee still wondered what he did to deserve such a gesture, but he couldn't articulate it. His optics brightened, indicating a smile. *Thank you, Miko.*
The girl glanced at Raf as he translated, only to wave off the youngling. "It's no biggie! You act like I just gave you a kidney."
*Kidney?*
"A human part. My uncle Akihito had three at one point!"
The boys stared at her due to the randomness of the remark, Bee stared at her because he still didn't understand what she meant.
"...Anyway! Nurse Darby and Fowler are coming soon, right?" The girl changed the subject.
"Yeah, in like twenty minutes. Fifteen, maybe." Jack checked his watch. "Mom'll be glad she won't have to cook dinner."
"And you and Raf did it all by yourselves." Miko added.
"So, you were working on Bee's meal while we made ours?" Raf clarified.
The girl nodded. "Mm-hm. I guess I tested you guys. You passed. I wanted to make something for him sooner. But I had to interrogate Ratch-attack first, so I didn't make baby bot sick."
*I'm close to Raf's age...* Bumblebee pouted.
"You're still the baby." Miko stated. She really was a robot family otaku.
~~~~~~~
Optimus had driven June and Fowler to town that day, and had pulled in not long after the kids finished dishing up the food. The Prime simply wanted to stretch his wheels that day.
"Oh, wow! You kids made all of this?" June was amazed as the kids set down the dishes on an old metal table they set up on the balcony. Fowler whistled.
"I haven't had omurice since my stay in Okinawa." He was impressed as well. "Head Chef Nakadai, you really outdid yourself."
Optimus spared at glance at his son, wondering what it was that he was holding.
"Actually, Fowler, I only helped with some prep work. And the recipe notes." Miko revealed, setting down the bean sprout salad. "Chef Raf and Chef Jack did most of it!"
The two adults were a tad suprised, but proud. "You boys held the fort down. Good job." Fowler praised.
"See, Jack? You can do it just fine." June reffered to her son's lack of confidence in his culinary work.
The older boy shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I'm okay at it." He couldn't help but feel proud of himself. "Miko really outdid herself."
"Oh? What were you doing while the boys were cooking?" June inquired, looking at the girl.
Miko glanced away, puffing her chest. "Making Bumblebee a meal to share along with us!"
Bumblebee was sitting beside the balcony, holding a small container. He lifted it up to show the adults his coolant soup. He showed Optimus as well.
*She did it all by herself. But I don't know why...*
"You are worthy of such a gesture." Optimus spoke, his voice forever soothing.
June let out an 'aww'. "Miko, that was so sweet of you to do that. Is that why you were asking Ratchet all those questions a few days ago?" She remembered the medic picking up Miko by the leg and setting her on the balcony in front of June, begging the woman to take the teenager away.
"Yup! But I'm not sure why he kicked me out."
"You started asking about whether or not some Cybertronians were hatched." Raf reminded the group.
"It's a valid question! Laserbeak could've been in an egg!" She defended herself. "Back me up, Bee!"
The scout let out a beeping sequence of a laugh. He found the recent memory to be funny. Miko pouted, but let it be.
"Well, should we dig in? I'm starving." Jack proclaimed, the humans agreeing to the arrangement. June and Fowler sat beside one another, along with the kids. Bumblebee kept to his spot while Optimus leaned on the wall.
"Well--good food! Good meat! Good Lord, let's eat!" Fowler announced, picking up some chopsticks. "Itadakimasu!" Miko added, smiling.
"Hey, you're pretty good at holding those!" She complimented the liason. June earnestly tried, but eventually was given a fork by Jack.
"I can't do it either, Mom. Don't worry."
"Hey Bee! Smell this!" Rafael lifted his bowl of ochazuke and walked over to the balcony. Bumblebee had finished half of his coolant before standing up to get a whiff of the human food. It smelled clean and fishy--from the salmon that waa put in. With a touch of saltiness from the scallion and dashi.
*Dad, come smell this. It smells like the earth's sea.* Bumblebee called over to his father.
Optimus hesitated at first, but relented. He couldn't refuse his son's excitement. He knelt down, his olfactory sensors getting to work.
"So it dose. It is a soothing arouma." The Prime agreed.
*Try the coolant soup.* The scout insisted to his beloved leader. *It's really good!*
"Very well."
Even though the sustenance was vastly different between the two species--the camaraderie and warmth felt when humans and Cybertronians made and shared food wasn't lost on either.
One day, Bumblebee hoped he could share a meal with both of his parents again. For now, the joy of friends and his father satisfied his youthful spark.