"Okay… this is nothing. You're just working in a kitchen. You've worked in a kitchen your whole life. It's literally just another normal day for you…"

Ben stood in front of the parking lot of Lynn's Table and tried to talk himself up. It was going to be his first day of working here, and… well, obviously he didn't want to screw up. For a number of reasons. The first of which being that he just didn't want to screw up in general. He felt like messing up in another food place would make his aunt's business look bad or something.

Then there was looking bad in front of Luna's dad. If he actually did end up getting together with her, he didn't want Mr. Loud thinking his daughter was with some screw up. The rational side of his brain told him he was worried over nothing, but… he still couldn't get the thought out of his head.

"C'mon Ben, you can do this. You can-"

"Sup dude."

"Ah!"

He jumped and then turned around to see Luna behind him, a smirk on her face. He placed a hand over his chest, and she reached down and patted his shoulder. "Sorry for scaring you man, but saw you out here looking like you were having a mini freak out so I thought I'd come get you," she said, snickering.

Ben let out a breath. "Well can you blame me? I'm starting to think this was a bad idea. I mean your dad was nice and all to make the offer but I'm not a real chef. I bake cookies and brownies and other stuff. I don't make real food."

Luna rolled her eyes. "You're just getting cold feet bro. I've eaten your 'real food' before. You're totally going to be fine. My dad wouldn't have asked you if he didn't think you could handle it," she assured.

"Yeah but-"

"No buts dude. C'mon, inside."

She began pushing him towards the entrance, and Ben reluctantly went along. But about halfway through the parking lot, a thought occurred. "Wait, do you usually work here today?" he asked. They typically hung out around this time, so it was a little strange to see her. Or was she just hanging out here because he was?

She shrugged. "I asked my sis to switch shifts. You didn't think I was gonna let you tackle day 1 on your own did you? I mean I didn't want you freaking out and trying to bail," she teased, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Fair enough…"

There were already more than a few people inside, but most of them didn't spare them a glance. A few did look towards them and wave, though it was more to Luna than to him. Once they got inside the kitchen, he spotted a few other people moving around. Everyone looked totally on task and focused… but also sort of relaxed? Natural?

Like they were working hard, but in their element. They looked how he usually felt when he was on stage. "Do they always look like that?" he asked.

"You mean like how you do when you're cooking?" Luna asked.

"What? I don't look like that… Do I?"

"I'm gonna record you one of these days," she giggled. "My dad should be in the back. He's waiting for you. Good luck bro. Just relax and follow his lead. You'll be fine. And save me a little something for later, yeah?" She winked at him, and he blushed as she turned and walked off.

Ben gazed after her, another thought crossing his mind. She looked really cute in that waitress uniform. "Hey there Benjamin!"

"AH!"

He jumped and turned around to see Mr. Loud standing there. The man looked rather confused at his reaction, as did a few of the chefs around him. "Whoa, sorry about that buddy. Didn't mean to startle you," Mr. Loud said.

Benjamin held his hands up. "N-no. It's not your fault. I'm just a little jumpy today." He had never been so glad that someone couldn't read minds. Mr. Loud seemed like a nice guy, but if he picked up some of the stuff he thought about Luna…. Well, he really wouldn't want him to find out while they were in a place full of sharp knives and whatnot.

Mr. Loud chuckled. "Well, there's no need to be. It's a pretty slow day so we can take it easy. I'm just going to have you work with me, see how comfortable you are in the kitchen, and work from there," he explained.

"Okay, that doesn't sound too bad… what are we making?"

"Since I wanted to do something you're familiar with I called up your aunt, and she suggested steamed buns. Thought it'd be interesting if we did them samoan style. That way you could teach me a little something. If that's fine with you?"

Benjamin's eyes widened. "Keke pua'a? Yeah, I can do that." He made those plenty of times before, so at least he was doing something in his comfort zone.

"Great! Let's get started!"

"It's interesting that you used sapasui for some of the fillings."

"Well, I just figured since we had some. Between that, the beef stew, and the curry I thought it would be nice to have some variety between them," Benjamin explained, placing a rather generous spoonful in the middle of the dough.

Mr. Loud watched as the boy carefully pleated the dough together, twisting it at the top and then setting it on one of the pieces of waxed paper they had set up. "And you're sure we didn't go too hard on the seasoning?" Mr. Loud asked.

"Nah," Ben said, chuckling. "Samoan dishes are always heavy on the seasoning. If anything I dialed it back a bit. We're all about that mix of sweet and savory."

They heard the oven go off, and Mr. Loud quickly turned around and reached down to get the tray out of the oven. "Perfect timing," he said. He set it on the counter and then took the other tray from Ben, placing it inside. "And a light layering of butter to keep that dough nice and soft."

Once Mr. Loud finished brushing all the meat buns over, he picked up a knife and then sliced one of them in two. He handed one half of one to Benjamin, who gladly took it. They both took a bite from their halves. "Oh wow, these came out great," he said. "And you were right about the seasoning."

Benjamin rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks. The dough in the recipe it soft but it tends to be a little bland, so you have to really spice it up to make up for it."

Mr. Loud hummed. "You know, Luna told me that you were pretty nervous about working here. But you seem right at home." Once the kid got going he was right in his element. Lynn had to snap him out of it a few times.

"I mean… I guess I was just a little worried about working side by side with you. You are a professional and all. Didn't want to end up dragging you down."

Mr. Loud laughed. "Well, I'm flattered you think so highly of my, but I wasn't always a professional Ben. In fact it hasn't even really been that long since I've started 'professionally' cooking. I started off just cooking for fun, and then cooking for my family, and it just took off from there," he said.

"Really? You didn't like, go to a professional school or anything?"

"Oh god no. I'd never be able to afford culinary school. Don't tell the girls and Lincoln, but I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to put the rest of the kids through college," he said, waving his hand. "I just mostly just cooked because we were on a budget. And because I enjoyed it. And you? What got you so passionate about cooking?"

Benjamin thought for a moment. "Um… I mean, same as you I guess. I just wanted to help auntie out with the cafe. So me and Bruce learned to bake. And sometimes she was too tired to cook, so we took over. I didn't like Bruno's cooking very much, and Bruce didn't like to cook as much as I did. So I kind of took over."

Mr. Loud hummed. "So it was out of necessity huh?"

"Yeah… but I did find it really relaxing after a while. I don't know, it just feels nice to cook. And it feels even better when people enjoy my food. Like, really good."

"I know the feeling, Benjamin," Mr. Loud said. Even now seeing his family enjoying his food always brought a smile to his face. "I have a hunch people will really like these too. After a bit you should take a look out and see how they react."

He blinked. "You sure? I mean I should stick around and help right?"

"Oh c'mon now Benjamin, I think I can handle a few minutes making the next batch on my own. And you deserve to see your maiden dish at Lynn's Table set out to the sea of customers," he joked.

Benjamin chuckled. "Thanks. Here's hoping that they end up hating it."

"If anybody spit something as delicious as these out I'd kick them out of the restaurant myself," Mr. Loud said.

After setting a few plates out for the waiters and waitresses to take, Benjamin decided to take a few to some tables himself. He glanced around as he carried them, spotting a few people enjoying some of the keke pua'a they'd made. They all seemed to be enjoying them, which made him feel happy.

"Happy to see everything enjoying your grub?" Luna asked, walking up next to him.

"Just glad people don't hate it."

Luna scoffed. "Don't be modest dude. They're great. That table over there literally asked for some to go," she said. "You better save me a plate to snack on later."

Benjamin clicked his tongue. "Don't you think it's a little messed up for me to use ingredients from her for a personal meal?" he teased.

"We'll be fine. My dad owns the place," she said, winking at him. He smirked, unable to keep a blush off of his face. She reached up and took the tray of keke pua'a from him. "I'll drop this off. Table seven right?"

"Yeah…"

Luna turned and began walking off, and he continued to smile as he watched her walk off. He was tempted to follow after her, but he figured he should get back to the kitchen. People were enjoying the food, so he didn't have a reason to mess around out here anymore.

He turned around to make his way back, but then stopped when a small figure nearly bumped into him. "Sorry mister!" the young girl said.

Benjamin balanced himself. "No, it's alright. It's my…" She was already running off towards the door. He raised an eyebrow. The kid sure was in a rush. He wondered if her parents were outside. He had half a mind to go and check, but decided not to.

She didn't seem worried or panicked or anything, so she was probably fine.

The girl made her way outside, smiling as she bit into the steamed bun she had swiped from the brown haired waitress. She knew she shouldn't have taken one without asking, but it just smelled so good. It was like the ones they'd gotten from that place her mama took her too back home.

She walked into the parking lot, enjoying the sweet and savory taste of keke pua'a.

"Bellus…" The girl looked up and saw a figure approaching her. She smiled shyly as the woman narrowed her eyes. "Did you pay for that?"

"...the nice lady inside gave it to me. Want some?" she asked, tearing the bun in half and holding half of it out towards her.

The woman sighed, knowing full well the girl was lying to her. But she took it nonetheless. She took a bite out of it, and her eyes went wide. It tasted… like home. When she saw this place she thought it would be some cheesy little knock off that just boasted about having (unauthentic) polyneisna food.

But this was actually pretty good. It tasted just like one from the island.

"Not bad… but I don't think we should eat from a place you stole from. C'mon, we're going to find some other place to eat."

"Aw… okay mama."

She grabbed the woman's hand, and they began walking off. Hopefully they could find some other place to eat in this hum-drum town.

A/N: Bit of a shorter chapter this time around, but I didn't want to try and pad it out with filler! (Not when it doesn't feel natural anyway). Ben starts his first day working at Lynn's Table! Seems like he's right at home doesn't he? Lynn may make a chef out of him yet! And who are the pair at the end of the fic? Just some nameless strangers, or more...?

Reviewer Responses!

SkipTheFF: Seems like a lot of people are! Will they get there? Sam isn't just going to give up! Lol. Thanks for reading and leaving a review! I appreciate it!

Pedroxmv97:Yeah, I don't think I introduced Jason properly in this story since most people were also reading the Lynn story I was writing at the time and I just assumed they'd know. But I probably should have clarified anyway lol. Appreciate the review!