Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!
*Rated T for Teen
Chapter 2 – Soup
"What the heck is wrong with ya?" Joey exclaimed, his arms flailing wildly. "Your brother hates my guts! As soon as he sees me, he'll fire me on the spot!"
"Joey," started Mokuba, hoping to appease the distraught blond, "Seto can't fire you. At all. I'm technically your boss, not him. I'm the only one who has the power to fire you."
"Oh," he responded, calming down. But that didn't last too long. "He still won't want me here! And I don't want my life bein' made miserable cuz of him!"
The young boy sighed, staring up at Joey with tear-filled eyes. "This isn't fair! You're just gonna leave! All I wanted was a friend to hang out with and I thought it'd be easier if you could work here. Seto's always so controlling! And this is why I don't have any friends!"
Joey gave him a sympathetic look, his protective brotherly instincts taking over. "I guess…I can put up with your brother for awhile."
Got you, Mokuba cackled inside his head. He knew his little acting skills would pay off one day.
"But if Kaiba starts throwin' knives at me or somethin', I'm outta here," the blond continued.
"It's a deal then," agreed the young boy, taking Joey by the arm and dragging him inside. "Seto won't be home for awhile, so let me show you the kitchen."
"Is this your way of tellin' me you're hungry?"
Mokuba looked back at him sheepishly. "It might be. Come on!"
Allowing himself to be dragged through the mansion—which the blond thought was a little much—his jaw literally dropped when they stopped in the kitchen. It was like a dream come true. Everything looked like it had come out of a catalogue.
"What do you think?" asked Mokuba.
"I don't need a room. This place'll do me just fine," answered Joey dreamily as he started hugging the stove. They hadn't had equipment this good at his culinary school. It was just so amazing.
Growing embarrassed for the blond, Mokuba tried to pry Joey from the large appliance. When he succeeded, the young boy looked up at him meekly. "Would you, um…make some lunch? Please?"
Joey chuckled. "That's what I'm here for, right?"
With that, the blond started browsing through the kitchen. He wasn't too pleased with the amount of frozen meals stocked in there; it left few ingredients for a decent meal. Apparently, he'd have to get Mokuba to let him do a bit of food shopping. But he could make do.
"Ya good with havin' a sandwich?" inquired the blond, looking over his shoulder at Mokuba.
The young boy's dreams of delicious meals prepared by the blond plummeted. A sandwich? Joey had just graduated culinary school and wanted to make him a sandwich?
Noticing Mokuba's somber expression, Joey elaborated. "I'm plannin' on doin' a grilled chicken breast on ciabatta bread with hickory smoked bacon, tomato, and parmesan. Ya guys don't really have much for me to work with, so that's the best I can do for now as far as lunch goes."
"That's…actually a lot more than I expected. When you said sandwich, I was thinking more along the lines of peanut butter and jelly," the young boy replied honestly. "So…does that mean we get to go food shopping?"
Joey laughed at Mokuba's obvious excitement by that thought. "I guess so. I'd prefer it if there was more fresh food to work with, ya know?"
Nodding in agreement, the young boy plopped himself down on a chair and watched Joey get started on the meal. "Seto's normally in charge of getting all the food. But he just sends one of the maids to get a bunch of instant meals that can be heated up. He says he doesn't have the time or the patience for something as trivial as cooking."
"It doesn't have to be."
"What doesn't?"
"Cookin'. It doesn't have to be a pain. Instead of viewin' it as a chore, ya can make it fun." And then Joey started cracking up.
"What's so funny?" asked Mokuba.
"I was just thinkin'. Some parents—for their kids—will cut up weenies a certain way and when they're cooked, they'll curl so they look like an octopus. I was just tryin' to imagine the look on your brother's face if he had a helpin' of octopus weenies on his plate," the blond replied.
Mokuba burst out laughing by this. He could see it already: Seto taking his fork and poking at an octopus weenie as if it were something to be dissected. That visual would be priceless.
"So, uh…when's Kaiba comin' back?" started Joey as he checked the chicken he was cooking.
"A few hours, I think. He just had to go in to work for a meeting."
All conversation ceased at that point. The only other sound present was that of Joey preparing the meal. Sometime later, the blond plated and served. "Here ya go. Enjoy," Joey said softly. He watched as Mokuba picked up the sandwich and took a bite. A smile made its way onto his face when the young boy's eyes lit up.
Mokuba had never had a piece of chicken that was so tender and juicy. It was phenomenal! And the bacon! It was crispy and delicious and he couldn't get enough of it!
His happy delirium soon came to an end when he heard the front doors open and slam shut. No. It was too soon!
"Mokuba?"
Seto was home! Already?
"I-In here!" the young boy responded. He glanced worriedly at Joey before putting his sandwich back down on his plate.
"My meeting ended early, so—what the fucking hell is he doing here?" the brunet demanded, halting in the kitchen's entryway.
"Geez, curse much?" Joey muttered under his breath. Kaiba just glared at him.
"Joey's our new personal chef," Mokuba cried, jumping in front of his brother as if to prevent the two from getting into a physical altercation. "And he already made me lunch! It's really good, Seto."
The blond stared down Kaiba for a full minute before glancing down at the plate of food he'd made for himself. It was the same exact meal as Mokuba's, but he hadn't touched it yet. Well, it was now or never.
Picking up the plate, he gently moved the younger Kaiba out of the way before offering the dish to the brunet. "Here," said Joey.
Kaiba took the plate from him without a word, walked around the dining table, and promptly tossed the meal in the trash before walking over to the freezer, where he withdrew a meal and popped it into the microwave. A few deafening minutes later, the brunet took out his food and left the kitchen, leaving both his brother and Joey staring after him in shock.
Joey knew he could handle the verbal insults, the derogatory names, the fighting, and the arguing. But he couldn't handle the fact that Kaiba had thrown away the food he'd prepared without even trying it.
Mokuba looked up at the blond, noticing the devastation in his eyes. He was about to say something when a fire unlike any other sparked in Joey's amber orbs.
"He's gonna pay for that," the blond growled.
"Please don't fight with him!" Mokuba begged, tugging on Joey's sleeve.
"Oh, I'm not gonna fight with him. I'm gonna do somethin' better than that. Let's see him throw away my food when I toss out all his instant shit. Then he'll have no choice but to try my food."
"You mean, we're going to throw all of Seto's food away? And get new stuff?"
"Yep."
Sure, it sounded like a good idea; however, Mokuba couldn't help but worry about what his brother's reaction to that would be. One thing was for sure. It wouldn't be pretty.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
6 to 8 servings
1/2 pound butternut squash, halved lengthwise, seeded
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup onion sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves sliced
2 cups chicken broth
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
Fresh Thyme leaves for garnish
Spray 1 2-inch glass baking dish with vegetable oil spray. Place squash with cut side down in prepared dish. Pierce with a knife several times. Bake at 400° until tender, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven, scrape the butternut pulp into a bowl; discard the peel.
In a large saucepan melt butter over medium high heat, sauté the onion and garlic stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Add chicken broth, roasted butternut pulp, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add 1/2 cup cream, transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Return butternut squash soup mixture to the saucepan stirring constantly over medium heat, do not boil, until heated through and serve.
Garnish if desired, drawing initials of your guests on top the butternut squash soup with the remaining 1/4 cup cream; sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves and serve.
End Chapter