"Turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans... I think we have everything!"
Ness looked up from where he was hunched over stirring. "Did you remember to grab bread when you went out?" He called to Fox, who was holding bags full of the previously mentioned items - aside from the turkey, which was currently filling the house with a heavenly aroma as it baked in the oven.
"Nope." The pilot cheerfully responded. Ness banged his spoon against the bowl in disapproval, glaring at him. "We already had it. Second cabinet, up top." He added, gesturing with his free hand as he sat down the groceries on the counter.
"Could have just said that." Samus muttered from the ground, where she was pulling several dented pots from a cabinet next to the stove. Yoshi was standing adjacent, taking the pots and placing them on the countertop.
"Why didn't you check yourself?" Fox countered, unpacking several ingredients from the brown paper sacks.
"We've been a bit busy." Ness answered swiftly, grabbing the salt straight out of Fox's hand. He gave a quick shake over his mixture before resuming stirring. "But hey, at least this'll be a nice surprise for Mario and Luigi. They've had to cook for us every night this year, guess it's fitting we try it once." He paused for a moment before adding more salt, which Yoshi evidently disapproved of, using his tongue to snatch it away from the psychic with a noise of distaste.
"Good early Christmas gift." Samus agreed. "Also, take it easy with the salt, Ness! The recipe only calls for half a teaspoon, which you didn't measure out, did you?"
"Shush. It'll taste fine." He replied, waving away the criticism. "It's pumpkin pie, not rocket science."
"Yoshi." The dinosaur-like creature muttered.
Ness scowled at his remark. "Just because I mixed up the salt and sugar one time-"
"Three, actually." Falcon called from the dining room, where he and Jigglypuff were setting the table. Ness sat the bowl down, went to the doorway and yelled a quick "Shut up!" before sliding back into the kitchen and grabbing a whisk to beat his mixture further.
"Anyway," The psychic continued, "This is going to be a great surprise. I only hope Donkey Kong and Kirby can keep them busy long enough in town. You know how Mario can be - he wants to take care of everyone, and he'll worry if he's not back in time to make dinner."
"Well, if worst comes to worst, we told Donkey Kong to attempt to bribe the bus driver to take a scenic route." Fox said, mashing potatoes with a fork. "Maybe it'll work."
"It won't." Samus replied as she checked on the turkey in the oven. "Fox, hurry up with the potatoes."
"I'm getting them done!" The canine huffed. "Now where did the salt go anyway?"
Ness snatched it back from Yoshi with his telekinesis, flinging it in the general direction of Fox. He scrambled to catch it, but it ended up smacking him straight in the face. "Ow!" He rubbed at his stinging nose with a pointed glare at Ness. "What was that for?!"
Ness shrugged, pulling the pie tin with the crust in it closer. "Bad aim, what can I say?"
"How about 'sorry'?" Fox snorted, shaking his head as he salted the potatoes.
"M'kay then, sorry for my bad aim, Fox." Ness poured the orange liquid into the crust, smoothing it out with a spoon. "What I'm not sorry for is how delicious this pie is gonna be. I should be a pastry chef!"
"Sure. You keep telling yourself that." The pilot said in a teasing tone. "Hey, could you pass me a pot?" Thinking on it a moment more, nose still smarting, he shook his head. "Actually, never mind, I'll grab it myself..."
"Oh, relax, I'm not going to hit you again." Ness grabbed a pot and held it out to Fox. "Really, I wasn't aiming for your face, I'm sorry."
"Alright, alright, it's fine." Fox took the pot and started scraping his potatoes into it. Ness scooped up the pie pan and opened the oven, sliding the pie onto the top rack. Stepping back and closing the oven's pitch black door, he leaned against the counter, a small, satisfied smile on his face. It felt good to be doing this. Dusting off his flour coated hands on his frayed jeans, he silently surveyed what the others were doing.
Fox had set his potatoes on the front burner of the stove, and was stirring them occasionally, now in a lively conversation with Samus as he did so. Yoshi was opening the green beans with a small, handheld can opener. Finally, Samus was busy on the other side of the stove, putting a tiny pot of gravy to the back burner.
Movement from the doorframe caught his attention, and he looked over to see what it was. Jigglypuff had entered, a cheerful spring in her step. She gave a warble in greeting. "Everything is ready in the dining room." She squeaked to him.
"What's she saying?" Samus asked Ness, looking over her shoulder as she busily worked.
"Dining room is ready for dinner!" He answered, giving a thumbs up as he spoke.
"Good!" Samus nodded. "By the time all the food on the stovetop is done, the turkey should be ready. Pie'll probably take a bit longer since we just put it in. How long do we have before the Mario brothers get back?"
"About 15 minutes, if Donkey Kong has stalled well." Falcon said as he entered the room behind Jigglypuff. "You guys have everything almost ready, right?"
"Yeah, we do." Ness confirmed. "With any luck, this'll be good!"
The sound of Mario"s voice floated through the hallway just as the rest of the Smashers were getting dinner on the table. Link had come in a few minutes prior and was lifting the turkey platter, expertly carved. (He had taken over from Fox's sad attempt at carving and proved to be very skillful at it.) Yoshi was carefully placing the mashed potatoes near the table's left side, mirroring the green beans on the right side.
Ness emerged from the kitchen with a basket of bread. Everyone was starting to take their seats at the table as he placed it near the turkey in the center. Taking his own seat, he grinned as Mario's voice grew nearer.
The pair of plumbers entered the room, and Mario's jaw dropped at what was waiting on the table for him. His brother's eyes grew wide, surveying the feast before them.
"Wha...what's-a this?" Mario finally managed, pacing around the table and admiring the food - the beautifully cooked turkey, the fluffy white potatoes, the golden-brown bread. "You...you...who-a made this?"
"Merry Christmas, Mario," Fox said with a warm grin. "And Merry Christmas to Luigi, too. It was Yoshi's idea."
Ness had a bright grin on his face as well, turning to the plumbers happily. "He came to me and told me his idea two days ago, and the rest of us were eager to get on board. You always cook for us, so we thought we would return the favor this time. We just hope it's good enough."
"Good enough?" Mario's joy was nearly palpable to the rest of the room, visage practically glowing from ecstasy. "It's-a the most amazing thing-a you could have done!"
A cheer resounded from the rest of the room, especially the exhausted cooks. "Excellent!" Jigglypuff squealed, bouncing in her seat. Although the humans couldn't understand her, her enthusiasm was clearly conveyed nonetheless.
"Well-a, what are we-a waiting for? Let's eat!" Mario proclaimed, sitting in his favorite chair. An even bigger cheer followed that declaration.
Everyone was happily laughing and eating, a merry atmosphere in the air. Ness found the cheerful mood incredibly infectious, and was loudly talking about memories from the past year with the rest of them. He was so caught up in the festivities, he forgot about one little thing...
"Do you guys-a smell something-a burning?" Luigi raised his head, sniffing the air. The actual dinner had been over for a while, but the Smashers had been too deep in conversation to leave the table.
Ness paled as the sent of smoke hit his nostrils. "Oh, crap! The pie!" Tearing like a flash, he raced to the kitchen and grabbed a pot holder, opening the oven. Thick smoke rolled out, and he tried to beat it away with a cough as he pulled the overdone pie out.
"What were you saying earlier? You should be a pastry chef?" Fox teasingly called from the dining room.
"Shush!" He loudly yelled back between coughs.
Even though the pie was a little burnt, it still tasted good, once you got past that crispy, charcoal-like layer on top.
Merry Christmas! Presenting my gift to you, my wonderful readers- a new chapter that totally wasn't inspired in any way, shape or form by my own attempts in the kitchen two days ago!
(Long story short? I lit a bowl of chocolate on fire and then broke a different bowl in half with a knife. Then I nearly set the fudge on fire. I know, I know - I'm quite talented in the kitchen.)
Anyway, hope y'all have a good holiday!
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