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Cooking Lessons

Living in the circus, meals were sometimes difficult because their group was so large and they needed so much. Occasionally, when they could no longer scrape by with raw and ready-made meals, they took turns cooking.

Even without asking, it was often easy to tell who was cooking based on the quality, taste, and meal choice. Whenever the quality was questionable, the taste bland or terrible, and the meal choice unorthodox, the members of the Noah's Ark Circus knew it was Joker's turn.

The ringleader could hardly be blamed, having grown up eating as little as nothing and as much as bread, and then being raised by a Baron who didn't require him to cook. Still, he always managed to mess up the easiest of things and never took help.

"Sure you don't want help?" Beast asked for the hundredth time. Joker was in the mess tent, trying to peel potatoes, and had only managed to hack them nearly to bits with the knife, but somehow keep all the skin on them.

"No," he grumbled, and Beast smirked. If it was one thing Joker admitted to hating, it was cooking, but he had to do his share, he insisted, even if everyone assured him he could do his share other ways.

"I brought candy," Doll said as she sat at the table with the other first tier members.

"Probably as good as we'll get tonight," Peter snapped and Beast shot him a disapproving look. Any moment now Joker would serve the meal, and from the look of the potatoes, she had low expectations.

Joker served curry, and while Beast had once had curry that was very good, she didn't expect this to taste the same, so when it did, and it was delicious, and she wanted seconds, she was completely and pleasantly surprised.

"What'dja put in 'ere?" Peter asked suspiciously as he finished his second helping, "Poison so we stop harpin' on yer cooking skills?"

"My skills are fine," Joker assured him but the younger boy rolled his eyes.

Everyone agreed that dinner had been a delicious surprise, but Beast was still waiting for the punch line. There had to be one. So she dropped by the mess tent to help clean up the dishes, finding Joker elbow deep in soapy water as he happily thanked a tall, tan-skinned man with a turban for all the wonderful curry.

"It was no trouble!" The man insisted, "My prince and I are very grateful you bought so much. It will greatly help our cause." The man bowed, a hand over his heart, and then straightened, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Joker responded and the man moved to go, spotting Beast, "And goodnight to you, miss."

Joker jumped a foot in the air, pan slipping from his grasp and clattering onto the dirt floor. Beast wasn't sure if she should be angry or amused. She only grinned, scooping up the pan and jumping in with the dishes to help, "Knew you didn' make it."

"Will you tell anyone?" Joker asked nervously and Beast smirked, "Maybe. Maybe not. Dontcha do anything to annoy me and maybe I won't."

"Blackmail," Joker laughed and Beast shook her head, "You bought curry off a man on the street."

"I tried it first," Joker responded defensively and Beast snickered, "Answer me this, oh king of the kitchen, what're ya goin' to do next time 'round?"

Joker groaned and slapped a palm to his forehead, sending soap and water running down his face. And Beast only laughed, knowing that the next time Joker cooked, she would be the only one with correctly low expectations.