Dr. Heart Stealer
Pumpkins and Whipped Cream
Kazue walked through the halls of the submarine she had finally started to be used to calling her home. She knew it wouldn't last forever, but she could dream. It was now November in this world, she had lost count of the days she had been here, but she guessed New Years had already come and gone in her own world. Kazue caught sight of the galley, she decided to go in. So straying from her path, she entered.
"Hiro! Masanori!" she called out, striding towards the kitchen. They were there scurrying around making lunch for the crew. They stopped instantly and looked to her, their eyes shining with joy.
"Did you come to make a meal for the crew? You're quite good at cooking, and we haven't seen you around lately," Hiro said in a slight rush. "Which is strange as we are stuck in this tin can." he muttered. Kazue shook her head. No she did not come here for that.
"I wanted to know what we were doing for Thanksgiving. I'm sure you guys have an amazing feast for it all planned out. I just wanted to see if I could help in any way, shape, or form," she told them. They looked to each other in confusion, then back to the woman.
"What's Thanksgiving?" they asked simultaneously. She gave them a blank stare. Then burst out laughing. But when they continued to looked at her funny, she stopped.
"You guys seriously don't know what Thanksgiving is?" they shook their heads. With a frown and a sigh, she asked a simple question. "Do we have any pumpkins? Or can I seriously not get any pie?" they shrugged. She sighed again in annoyance and walked over to the sub's refrigerator. Inside had one pumpkin. One. And it wasn't very big, no where near enough to make enough pie for the whole crew. Maybe ten of them, maybe. She took it out of the fridge.
"What are you going to do with that? I understand that you want pie, but I seriously doubt that you could make pie with something like that," Masanori said. Now it was Kazue's turn to give them blank stares.
"What? You mean, you've never had pumpkin pie before? Seriously? It's delicious!" they shook their heads. Her eye twitched. She wanted them to help her make it! "Fine, fine. Then you two will be in charge of the pie crust, and the whipped cream. I'll make the filling," she commanded. "The crust must be thick, and don't make a top, it ruins the flavor. The whipped cream needs to be fluffy like a cloud. No fluffier than a cloud! Add a bit of vanilla to the whipped cream! No Hiro! Make the pie crust like you would graham crackers!" she continued to command things while starting the pie mix, as the pumpkin had already been cleaned of seeds.
Thirty minutes later she was pouring the sweet scented pie mix into the perfectly made pie crust. She popped it into the over and set it for 350 degrees. Now all they would have to do was wait for a few hours.
The hours were spent preparing the lunch they had forgotten, and feeding the crew. They also managed to fit in a tea break before the ringer went off, signaling that their pie was complete. The trio rushed into the kitchen, Hiro and Masanori were armed with forks and knives. And Kazue was making her way to the oven with an oven mitt, well two, one for each hand. She carefully took out the pie and set it on the counter. Hiro attempted to sneak a bite without Kazue seeing, but of course she saw! She swatted his hand away and glared at him.
"Pumpkin pie is best served cold, I won't let your hands be set on this pie until it is cool," she said.
Soon the scent of the pie had wafted around the sub, drawing a small crowd of four, not counting Masanori and Hiro who were already there drooling over her pie, Jake, Sadao, Mikio, and Itsuki. The crowd all took their seats with the suggestion of waiting a bit longer.
When Law walked in to find out where Jake had run off to, Kazue deemed it ready and fit for eating. She brought the pie to the table where everyone was crowded around. She ordered Masanori to put the whipped cream into a plastic bag, and bring her a pair of scissors. The cook went to the kitchen and did as told lightning fast, he came back with the bag and scissors. She cut a tip off in spiked sections for decoration, she proceeded to cover the pie on whipped cream like frosting on a cake. When everyone was served Law demanded to know what was going on.
"Kazue-ya, what are you doing? I need Jake to be in the en-" his words were cut off with a piece of pie going into his mouth.
"Be quite. I worked hard on it, now eat," she told him sternly. With a glare he swallowed, earning a smile from Kazue. "There you go. Now tell me everyone, is it good?" she asked, they all nodded. "How many of you knew it was made out of a pumpkin?" she asked. Jake, Hiro, and Masanori all nodded while they continued to stuff their faces with pie, the rest gave her a surprised look. She laughed and took a bite of her pie.
"See? Pumpkins are good when you know what to do with them," she said. Sadao nodded.
"Yeah, I guess they are. Pumpkins and whipped cream... who would have thought it would taste so good?"
~X~X~X~
~X~X~X~