Author's Notes: This piece is inspired by 'Lullaby' (Ch.4) - Cabbie and Maru had stopped off at a Korean restaurant on their way back from a supply run, and Cabbie had astounded Maru and delighted their waitress by exchanging pleasantries and placing their order in Korean without missing a beat.
For some reason, which I am alternately blaming on Wally and AmbulanceRobots depending on the day, that line stuck with me and begged for expansion. And Cabbie-the-not-so-secret-polyglot is now inescapable headcanon.
Kimchi: a family of traditional Korean dishes, made of fermented vegetables and seasonings, somewhat comparable to sauerkraut.
Baechu kimchi is made of a whole, salted Napa cabbage, stuffed with a variety of fillings (including shredded fruit, vegetables, and seasoning) and pickled. It's generally served during the fall and winter.
Natto is a traditional Japanese food made of fermented soybeans. Wikipedia notes that 'NattÅ may be an acquired taste because of its powerful smell, strong flavor, and slimy texture.'
Credit/blame to AmbulanceRobots because all things Cabbie and many things water balloon are her fault, and AO3's Skittles the Sugar Fairy for a particular prank of Windlifter's mentioned within the story.
THE PRICE OF A SMILE
It was kind of a hole in the wall, really, the sort of place that looked like it owed its continued existence to gross negligence on the part of the Health Department.
But the food was actually good, the portions were generous, and the prices were low, which, combined with close proximity to the airport and an outside dining area large enough to allow the occasional heavy plane to meander through between flights, the place stayed in business pretty easily.
Even with proximity to the airport, though, most of the customers were local regulars - a lot of airport staff and a couple of commuter fliers - so the brawny C-119 with the faded Air Force markings rolling in came as a bit of a surprise. If he noticed any of the startled gazes on him when he rolled up, though, he didn't stop bickering with the purple-and-grey forklift beside him long enough to show it.
"...lugging your aft across half the state for those supplies, I get to pick where we eat," the plane growled, the sound of it intimidating, but the forklift just snorted in response.
"Oh, please, what you're carrying doesn't even outweigh Drip, let alone Pinecone or Avalanche," the forklift grumbled as they maneuvered themselves to a table not far from the one where I was eating. The plane's scowl deepened sharply at the words, his flaps giving an irritable twitch towards his hold.
Ignoring his companion's expression, the forklift picked up a menu from the table and glowered at it with an entirely unnecessary amount of suspicion. "It's not like Cad left enough of our budget for me to pick up more than half of what we need, anyway," he added, half in an undertone.
"Don't mention him, you'll ruin our appetites," the plane grumbled, his flaps giving another irritable twitch, before his deep frown softened. "Is the baechu kimchi on the menu yet?"
The forklift gave a disgusted snort, but angled the menu so that the plane could read the listed entrees. "If you're getting kimchi, switch sides with me. I'm not parking downwind of that."
"Says the guy who spent most of yesterday huffing turpentine."
"That was two hours, max. And I'd rather smell turpentine than salt-pickled cabbage. Or the results of you eating salt-pickled cabbage. We'll have to leave the hanger doors open tonight."
"You don't get to make fun of kimchi when your culture invented natto," the plane shot back, not looking at all bothered by the slight on his systems.
The forklift snorted. "Just because my culture invented it doesn't mean I actually eat it. And you're the one that eats oysters, so don't start with me on disgusting slimy things."
"I like oysters."
"Not for the side benefits, I assume."
The look that the C-119 shot at his companion at that was enough to make me want to back away from three tables over - if the plane decided to take off his companion's roof for the comment, I wanted to be nowhere in proximity.
"Maru, would you like to make your own way back to the park?" the plane asked, his tone one of deadly, frigid calm, and the forklift backed away a few feet, both tines raised in a gesture of surrender.
"Sorry, Cabbie. Just sayin', if you like sucking on dirty water filters, I can give you one out of the line back at the base for free."
"Whoever last told you that you were funny was lying," the plane grumbled, shuffling his flaps, but he settled quickly enough when he spotted the approaching waitress.
Cho-Hee was a tiny little forklift, not even as tall as the plane's front landing gear, and generally quite timid around large aircraft. But on any given Tuesday morning, she was the only one waiting tables. I could see the slight tremor in her tines as she approached the table; apparently, so could Cabbie, who softened his expression immediately and offered her a gentle smile.
"Joh-eun achim," he greeted her, the syllables flowing easily, if slowly, off his tongue, and Cho-Hee's disbelieving blink vanished into a brilliant smile, while Maru's jaw nearly hit the concrete.
Amazing, the difference a simple 'good morning' could make.
"Joh-eun achim! Jal jinaess-eoyo?" Cho-Hee asked, her beaming smile bright enough to drag one to my own mouth.
"Gwaenchanh-a," Cabbie answered, his expression wry, before nodding towards the menu and querying Cho-Hee on... something.
My skill at Korean is limited to 'good morning', 'good night' and 'where is your bathroom?', so I didn't follow most of it, other than the names of a few dishes - the aforementioned baechu kimchi included - but Cho-Hee rolled off to the kitchen with a broad grin on her face a few minutes later.
Given the plane's age and the USAF insignias, it wasn't too difficult to guess when and where the plane had picked the language up - although his talent with it obviously came as a surprise to his friend. Maru hadn't gotten a word in edgewise throughout the entire conversation, and was still staring up at his companion, his expression utterly gobsmacked.
"What exactly did you order me?" Maru asked a moment later, when he'd managed to unearth his voice from somewhere under his clear astonishment.
"Nothing that's going to offend your delicate sensibilities," Cabbie answered, the sarcasm in his voice heavy, but his tone less aggravated than it had been a few minutes ago. After a moment's pause, he added, "Speaking of foreign food, what was it that Lizzie was telling you about the kitchen requisitions last week that had you laughing so hard?"
Maru only half-stifled his snort of laughter. "Oh, that. Apparently Cad decided he absolutely must have two hundred and fifty pounds of fresh satsuma shipped in by next week."
"He must have wanted an intellectual equal."
I choked on both a laugh and my noodles, which drew both their gazes to me for an uncomfortable moment - Cabbie's gaze was penetrating, and Maru's sarcastic smirk suggested that he was quite aware I'd been inadvertently eavesdropping on their conversation.
After a few seconds of uncomfortable scrutiny, though, they turned back to their conversation, and I don't think it was my imagination that they were speaking slightly louder than before.
"I think he'd be awfully challenged to keep up with a couple hundred pounds of half-rotten citrus," Maru snickered. "I take it you heard that Windlifter lured him under one of Dipper's training drops again?"
Cabbie shook his head slightly, his expression one of disbelieving resignation. "Isn't that three times now?"
"Four! Blade got the first honor, Dipper's gotten him twice, and Winds somehow lured him out and dropped on him last month. Still haven't figured out how."
"I imagine Lizzie helped."
"Probably. Think she can find me a hang glider to borrow for an afternoon? I'm getting tempted to strap in and try it myself. I'm sure Windlifter has more of those water balloons..."
The visual was fairly ridiculous, and Cabbie apparently thought so as well, if his expression was anything to go by. "You water-bombing Cad from a hang-glider? I'd pay to see that," he snorted, a sharp enough exhale of laughter to stir the napkins on the table.
"With what money?" Maru countered, his tone more subdued as he scrambled to gather the escaping napkins. One of them caught a breath of wind and flopped towards my table; I caught it and waved Maru off when he glanced after it.
"The same money I used to pay for my air filters, obviously," Cabbie answered, not bothering to lower his voice.
"I'm not taking your pension money to dump water balloons on Cad when I can do it for free," Maru grumbled, piling the napkins back on the table and thumping the saltshaker on top of them to prevent them blowing away again. "You shouldn't have to pay for the filters as it is."
The big plane shuffled his flaps in an unconcerned shrug. "Not like I've got much better to do with it."
"Other than buy lunch," Maru added, as Cho Hee came rolling back out, balancing Maru's bowl on one tine and pushing the adjustable lift that held Cabbie's portion with the other. "What was it you got me again?"
"Japchae."
"...in English, what was it you got me again?"
"Stir-fried sweet potato noodles and vegetables with soy sauce. Stop whining, you'll like it."
"As long as it smells better than salt-pickled cabbage," Maru grumbled, but he smiled as he got his first whiff of the japchae. "How do I say 'thank you' in Korean?"
"Gomabseubnida," Cabbie and Cho-Hee answered in unison, before exchanging a glance and simultaneously bursting into laughter. They exchanged a few more pleasantries before Cho-Hee came to collect my bowl and leave my check; a few whispered words from me had her slipping another check across my table, which I signed off as well.
After all, a couple of lunches was a small price to pay for a smile.
~ END CHAPTER~
*END NOTES: Maru, in my headcanon, is of Japanese decent - hence Cabbie's comment regarding 'his culture' inventing natto - as 'maru' is a suffix occasionally added to Japanese male names (and regularly added to the names of Japanese naval ships).
No disrespect is intended towards any of the foods or cultures mentioned. Anything pickled and/or fermented tends to be an easy target simply because of their pungent scent and strong flavor often leads to them being an acquired taste.
The 'side benefits' of oysters Maru is referring to is their reputation as an aphrodisiac. As this is set a year or two prior to the events of Planes F&R, Wally isn't visible to anyone other than Cabbie and Windlifter, and Maru therefore isn't entirely aware how sensitive of a spot he's poking.
Cabbie and Cho-Hee's conversation is brought to you courtesy of Google Translate, as Cabbie speaks eight languages, while the author can manage one language about eight days out of ten. Their dialogue was as follows:
Cabbie: 'Good morning.'
Cho-Hee: 'Good morning! How are you?'
Cabbie: 'Okay.'
(Author is not particularly creative about polite conversation, either.)