A Thanksgiving Commission

Gathering the ingredients for a proper Thanksgiving dinner in Japan wasn’t as easy as back in Texas, but Artemis was still happy with what she’d managed to gather. Sure, she’d improvised a little, not getting a turkey for instance, but she was pretty sure Tomiko would prefer the salmon over turkey anyhow.

She pulled up the videos she’d had bookmarked, ready to do a quick refresher before she started cooking. Sure, she could cook, but this was an important meal. She wanted to get it right. She wanted to make her wife happy.

And, maybe she lacked a little confidence in her cooking still, having not exactly grown up with the preparations of the average housewife.

Or the realisation that being a housewife was even a possibility for her.

Ah, but she was getting better at it. She also certainly looked more the part these days than she’d have ever thought possible before… especially with how her new less excessively active life was letting her have actual curves for the first time in her life. It was—

Right. She was getting distracted in her gender euphoria again. There were certainly worse things to be distracted by, but it was a distraction all the same.

She started the video for the potatoes, making sure she had everything ready as per the instructions. Though she was doubling the recipe, since Tomiko had quite the appetite (the demands of being a superhero mixed with the caloric needs of being just a few inches short of 7ft). Well, that and she liked food herself.

Her mind refreshed, she started boiling the water for the potatoes, including a couple of sweet potatoes because it was Thanksgiving. Also, they were in Japan, which had such excellent sweet potatoes. Though, they were a bit stronger, so mixing them with regular potatoes created something balanced with a nice mix of extra flavour.

As the water heated, she switched over to preparing the salmon. Which meant browning the butter for the sauce. She readied the lemon and honey for the brown butter sauce, then the green onions and cheese to mix in with the mashed potatoes.

It was keeping her a bit busy, but, hey, she had good reflexes. She could handle being busy.

The potatoes went into the water, the sweet potatoes left out for the moment, as they didn’t need to cook quite as long. She figured the time it took her to pour the brown butter and honey on the salmon and then slide it into the oven was enough of a gap to then put the sweet potatoes into the water.

Which meant it was time to start the beans. She’d blanched them the day before, and so now it was a simple matter of tossing them in a frying pan, deciding to make the dish a little more Japanese by adding soy sauce, a bit of onion, ginger and tofu.

Everything was really coming together as she heard the click of the front door being unlocked.

“I’m home… and something smells delicious,” Tomiko’s voice called out as she stepped in.

“Welcome home, and I do hope you’ll like it,” Artemis called back, leaning over to pull the salmon out of the oven.

“Mhm, both a delightful smell and a delightful view to come home to,” Tomiko said from behind her.

Artemis blushed, turning around to let out a gasp. “Tomiko.”

“What? I’m not allowed to appreciate my dear wife’s delightful rear?” the taller woman asked, smiling as she leaned against the wall.

“I…well, yeah, but that don’t mean I can’t be a little flustered,” she replied, raising her nose to attempt to give her best ‘offended belle’ vibes.

Which just made her beautiful wife smile more.

Maybe it didn’t discourage Tomiko any, but Artemis wasn’t actually upset, so she didn’t mind it happening again.

“Can you help me with carryin’ everythin’ to the table?” Artemis asked, grabbing the plate she’d slipped the salmon onto.

“Of course,” Tomiko replied with a grin, before starting to make the bowls of beans and mashed potatoes both float into the air.

“The normal way, please,” Artemis said.

“I’ve been practicing my control,” her tall wife said, looking a bit sheepish.

“Do you really want to risk any of the Thanksgivin’ dinner your lovely wife slaved over a hot stove to make you?” Artemis asked, once more putting on airs of offence.

“No… no. I just wanted to make a bit of a show about it. Sorry, sweet pea,” Tomiko replied, picking the bowls up with her hands instead.

Artemis gave a nod, making the short walk across their compact Japanese apartment. It was a very livable size, and well designed, so she never really found herself missing the space of a Texan home. In fact, when carrying food to the dinner table she rather appreciated the efficient layout.

Tomiko placed the bowls on the table only a few moments later, before leaning in to give Artemis a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you for the delightful meal, dear,” Tomiko said, smiling softly.

Artemis smiled back, about to say ‘you’re welcome’, when she found herself struck by the beauty of her wife. The bluer tint of the sunlight pouring through the window complimented Tomiko’s silver hair delightfully.

“You’re more than worth it,” she found herself saying, smiling up at Tomiko.

“Normally I’d be happy to take you up on whatever distracting thoughts you have right now, but I’m kind of starving today,” Tomiko replied.

“Oh, no. We’re not lettin’ Thanksgivin’ dinner go cold,” Artemis replied, sitting herself down at one of the two places she’d already gotten ready.

Tomiko sat across the small table from her, the dinner a bit informal as they each helped themselves to a bit of the three dishes. It was no surprise when her wife took the majority of the salmon, or the impressive amount of mashed potatoes she piled on her plate.

“Mmhmmm,” Tomiko said, after taking a bite of the salmon. “You outdid yourself. This is amazing.”

Artemis blushed. “Thank you. I wanted to do somethin’ fancier.”

“It’s delicious. I think my only complaint is about how inferior the Canadian Thanksgiving dinner I made last month seems by comparison,” Tomiko said with a small laugh.

Artemis smiled back at her, so thrilled to make her wife happy. Maybe her new life wasn’t as dramatic as before, but she liked this quieter and gentler lifestyle.