#HEY TWO WHEN YOU BAKE A CAKE DECORATE IT TAKE IT TO THE PLAYERS WHO ARE SAFE THATS HOW YOU KNOW ITS CAKE AT STAKE

[sirompp]

dude my throat hurts bad (was screaming) but i cant stop singing

[ask-hfjone-airy]

*Gives you a slice of cake and starts playing ‘Hey Two!’ very loudly*

WHEN YOU BAKE A CAKE, DECORATE IT, TAKE IT TO THE PLAYERS WHO ARE SAFE, THAT’S HOW YOU KNOW IT’S CAKE AT STAKE !!!!!

[ladylooch]

Our Little Family [Miles Wood] - Chapter 12

A/N from 👢 anon: Hey guys !! Brought another update for our little family. I'm a little behind with time. So we're going to prepare for Christmas and Lily's first birthday. I hope you guys enjoy !!

The last couple days you and Cheryl are running out getting everything for Lily's one year birthday party. 

You're the one who is going to bake her smash cake. You just hope that it's good and everybody enjoys it. 

You're in the middle of your baking process when Miles comes behind you, hugging your middle, resting his chin on your shoulder. Your body melts into his. 

“Hmm.. smells good, babe.” You smile softly hearing. 

“I hope so.” You reply, squeezing his hand. 

“It's going to be yummy, sweetheart.” Miles says, kissing the top of your head. 

You're cutting strawberries when his parents come in. Cheryl smiles, seeing you two in a cute moment. 

She asks if you guys can talk, and you nod as miles unwrap his arms. You make sure that everything is turned off and you guys have time to talk. 

You and Miles sit in front of them. Cheryl smiles at you. 

“Guys, we talked, and we decided that you're going to leave after Lily's birthday.” Cheryl announces it. 

You look at miles, and he's as confused as you are.

“we love being here with you guys, but we're here for a while now. Both your mom and I want to go home… We can come back after New years." Randy explains their reasons. 

You look at miles feeling a little guilty. Maybe this was on you. He squeezed your hand, trying to calm you down. He knows you're blaming yourself.

Miles is the first one to talk. 

“It's not a problem for you guys to stay until Christmas, but if that's what you guys want, we're going to respect….” 

Miles looks at you, and you nod at him. 

“so you guys can come back for our wedding then” that signature smile is there. “We don't have the date yet, but it's going to be around the all-star break. And we want you guys there. It's going to be really small, just us and Lily. The plan is to have a reception during the summer.”

You relax hearing him invite his parents. 

“Of course we're going to be there Son” Cheryl says as she moves to hug you. 

You hug her back. You can feel how excited she is. Randy comes around and hugs his son. You guys switch parents. You feel a lot better now. Still a little guilty.  

You turn to check on the cake when the alarm goes off. You hear Randy asking miles about the tree, Miles says that his grinch is still getting used to the idea. You roll your eyes, taking the cake out of the oven. 

You guys will get the tree tomorrow, while Cheryl and Randy decorate the house. That's the plan. But Miles loves calling you his grinch. 

Next morning, you and Lily are going to meet miles at the rink, Randy will drive you guys, and after practice, you guys will  look for the tree. 

There is something about hockey players and babies. They get so excited seeing Lily's at the rink. They all come to say hi to her. She's pure giggles. It makes you very happy. 

Miles comes to the boards kissing you and then Lily. He wants to put his helmet on her head. You don't let him. He's sweaty, and you just washed her hair. 

But he asks someone to bring a clean one, it looks huge on her, she's having fun with. You take a few pictures of her in miles's arms with her helmet. Miles skates around with her. You love hearing both of them giggle together. 

Baby and Daddy had the time of their lives. Now, miles need to change so you guys can go get the tree. 

Miles comes in to give his car keys. On your way to his car, the media manager stops you, saying that she took a few pictures of miles and lily. She asks you if they can post a few of them, and they're not going to show Lily's face. You agree asking if she can send miles the pictures too. She says that you guys have a deal. 

You're settling lily on her carseat when miles come in. He hugs you from behind, spinning you both around. You squeal giggling. He puts you down, and he kisses you so deeply that you need to catch your breath. 

“Now, I'm having a good day.” He says with a smile before opening the door for you. 

You thank him before sliding into your seat. Miles comes closer, cupping both of your cheeks. He leans to give you one more kiss. You smile into the kiss, resting your hand on his abs. He steps back, smiling. 

“Let's get our tree, my cute grinch.” You roll your eyes at him. 

The only thing you know is no huge tree. He's a big boy, but you guys don't have space for a huge tree.

He settles on the driver seat and drives you guys to the tree farm. He puts on some Christmas music and chats with Lily. Asking how she feels by being one. 

You close your eyes just hearing them talk to each other. Miles' voice is so soft talking to Lily. She loves her daddy very much. 

Miles reaches for your hand, and you give him a smile as he rubs your engagement ring. You're really going to marry that man. It's insane. 

He parks in the tree farm, and you look at him with heart eyes. Miles leans to kiss you. You cup his cheek before saying that you guys need to get going. Still have a one year old party to happen.

Miles picks Lily and carries her. You guys start to walk around looking for the tree. You walk a little behind them, watching Lily's eyes go take all the trees. Miles kisses her cheek and points to her talking about trees. You just know that from now on, you guys will have a real tree for Christmas. 

You take pictures from them, Miles looks so good, it's not fair. Thankfully, he'll be in your bed later that night. People can look, but you're the one who will be home with him later. That's some newfound confidence after he picked you. 

Miles finds the perfect tree, it's not that big, it's a good size for your living room, lots of space to put ornaments. Now that you guys have your tree it’s time to go home and celebrate your baby girl. You place lily in her carseat while miles attach the tree on top of his car. 

He looks at you so in love, he leans to kiss you, and you linger the kiss a little with a hand on his cheek. You’re so glad he didn't shave. 

“Thank you, for agreeing with this.” He says softly against your lips. 

You smile, saying that it's no problem. You'll do anything for them. 

On your drive home, Lily crashes in her carseat. So you and miles decide to let her take a nap before starting the festivities. 

Miles will take care of the tree with his dad's help while you take Lily to her crib when you guys get home. 

The house looks amazing, Cheryl and Randy did such a great job. You thank both of them, while Randy helps miles set the tree in the spot you guys picked. 

You get a little emotional, because this is really happening. Miles comes and hugs you. You hug him back being thankful for finding this man. 

You decide to take this time that Lily is sleeping to shower and change. Miles will separate your Christmas decorations while you're in the shower. 

Miles comes in to shower when you're putting the finishing touches on your makeup. You're wearing jeans that make your ass look good and your boobs look awesome in the top. Your curves look amazing in these clothes. 

You wear miles groan. Looking at him, you see him adjusting himself. That's what you were going for. 

Miles whines a long baby, and you chuckle as he comes to hug you. You rest your hand on top of his. 

“Baby, a quicky please.” He asks with a pout on his lips. 

“Nope, we have somewhere to be. Play your cards right, and maybe I'll let you taste.” You pat his hand before moving to finish getting ready. 

Miles goes to take a cold shower, that's for sure. 

It doesn't take long for Lily to wake up. You put her in the cute blue dress and make sure that her hair looks fine. All the curls need to be popping. Thankfully, she's not so grumpy. 

You look at her, so thankful for her. 

“Happy birthday, my baby !! One year ago, you changed mommy's and daddy's lives for the better. But started way before that. I wasn't ready to be your mommy. You chose me anyway. So I had to be ready, you're my best gift. It doesn't matter what people will say, I don't want you to forget how much you're loved and wanted by Daddy and I.” You say that to her as you fix her last curl. 

Miles heard everything, he just decided to give you this moment alone with her. Lily coos happily when you kiss her cheek. Now it's time to take the star of the party downstairs. 

You get downstairs and everybody cheers for her. She gets so excited, it's so damn adorable. It's a really small party, just you guys and Miles' parents but it's full of love. 

Miles comes closer to you to pick Lily, and you pass her to him, not before checking him out. He looks so good. You give your “I see what you're doing look” and he just smirks. Two can play this game, babe. 

You guys try to enjoy lily as much as you can. Before the cake, she'll be very messy after. Lots of pictures, a few presents. 

It's cake time !!! You move to grab the cake. It looks good, and you hope it tastes good, too. 

Lily is in her high chair, waiting for her cake. You guys sing happy birthday, her little eyes light up. Then it's time to eat the cake. You encourage her to go for it. She attacks the cake, eating from her fingers trying to feed her dad. 

You watch them, Miles locks eyes with you. He doesn't believe either that you guys got here. After everything. 

Lily is completely a cake mess. She's covered in cake, and she looks so proud of herself. You and miles chuckles at your baby. She looks so happy, yeah baby, this is all for you. 

Lily is still going to town on the cake, so you guys decide to eat too. You're very proud of the result. It looked pretty and tasted good. Miles gives you the “damn that's good babe” look, Cheryl and Randy complement the cake. So you're happy. 

Before you can say that you're taking Lily for a bath, Miles is taking charge of this one. You're not going to complain about it. You'll clean everything downstairs. In the meantime, miles will give your baby a shower. 

Miles asks Lily if she likes her cake that Mommy made just for her and if she's enjoying her party. Lily babbles away because she's loving today, big-time dad.

You go upstairs to grab lily dress to already wash and not stain. The scene that you see makes your heart grow a few sizes. Lily has her cheek on her dad's chest, looking very sleepy, so peaceful, Miles is rubbing her back, telling her how much she's loved. 

You smile at them, snaps a few pictures. Lily sees you, she grins so bright. You smile back, asking if she's enjoying Daddy's chest. She smiles before hiding her face on his chest. You and Miles laugh. 

You thank him before picking her dress to wash. Miles stayed with Lily a couple more minutes before taking her out of the shower. Putting her in the cutest clothes he can find and think it's cute. 

She's so tired, a lot of exciting things for her. But he's trying to make sure she sleeps close to her bedtime. Miles loves this little girl so much. 

They end up watching a Christmas movie, thankfully lily went to bed on her naptime. Mommy would have a long night if that didn't happen. 

You're outside taking a breather, Miles' parents are already in bed, and they have an early flight tomorrow. 

You feel Miles's body heat behind you. He wraps his arm around your waist and, on the other hand, places a glass of wine on your hand. You sigh content. That's exactly what you needed. 

You lean against his body, needing that comfort. Miles kisses your temple, holding you close. 

“We survived.” You tell him. 

Miles chuckles “yes we did. Can't you believe it ?” 

“Nope, I was so afraid of something happening to her. That I was going to be a bad mom.” You finally confess to him. 

“You're an amazing mom, babe. We survived because of you…” Miles takes a couple of seconds to finish his thought. “...I was afraid too, that's why I think I put all my energy into being a dad. But that's going to change now.” 

You smile, lifting your chin for a kiss. Miles chuckles before leaving to kiss you. 

You know that it wasn't easy for both of you. A lot of things happened. But you guys made it to one year, and you have a feeling things will get better. 

After all, in two months you're going to marry the love of your life. 

[irrelevaantidiot]

HEY TWO!!

WHEN YOU BAKE A CAKE DECORATE IT TAKE IT TO THE PLAYERS WHO ARE SAFE!! THATS HOW YOU KNOW ITS CAKE AT STAKE!! :D

[seacastle]

hey two!

WHEN YOU BAKE A CAKE DECORATE AND TAKE IT TO THE PLAYERS WHO ARE SAFE

THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW IT'S CAKE AT STAAAAKE

[peggyrose19]

20 Years

As promised, I’m back for dear Leo’s birthday! Our baby is 20, can you believe it? No longer a teenager. I feel old (he’s older than me shhhh). Happy solar return to Leo, and have a fic in celebration! Many thanks to the discord for the help, y’all are livesavers. Characters belong to @lumosinlove <3  

I know some of you were a bit worried about me, so wanted to let you know that I’m doing better. Probably just gonna be hopping on here and there over the next few days when I get bored in class. I’ll definitely be back in full next week though. I have no school, so the craziness will have subsided somewhat. Ily all, and thank you for always supporting me <333 Now enough from me, onto the fic! Hope you enjoy

“Keep your eyes closed!” Finn demanded, holding his hands firmly over Leo’s face.

“They are,” Leo laughed as he was blindly walked forward. “It’s not like I could see even if they were open.” Logan giggled from his other side. Whatever he and Finn had planned was certainly going to be interesting. 

Finn stopped walking then. “Okay, you can open your eyes now!” He removed his hands as Leo let his eyes open and adjust to the light. He gasped. 

The living room was decorated in yellow and blue streamers, the fairy lights framing the ceiling plugged in and glowing. They had set the dining room table with their nicest (read not mismatched) plates and silverware, lit candles in the middle, and a large vase of flowers on the nearby kitchen counter. Two large balloons were tied to the arm of his usual chair, a two and a zero, and even more brushed the ceiling in the corners of the room. A large happy birthday banner even hung on one wall, making Leo laugh.

Leo gazed at it all incredulously. “Did you do all this?” he asked in amazement. Logan and Finn both nodded eagerly. 

“We’ve been planning it for weeks,” Logan admitted. 

“Oh, you didn’t have to-”

“No no no,” Finn interrupted. “It’s your first birthday with us, you deserve all the pampering and planning. We have two whole decades of Leo to celebrate!” Leo blushed, leaning down to press a kiss to Finn’s lips.

“You’re too good to me.”

“Never. Now come on, you haven’t seen the best part yet.” 

“Better than all this?” Leo gestured to the streamers and the lights. 

“Come on, you’ll see!” Logan teased, tugging him forward by the hand. “And ta-da!” Logan held his hands out proudly, displaying the cake sitting on the table. It read ‘Happy Birthday Leo’ in messy blue icing, the white frosting under it even messier. 

Leo brought his hands to his mouth. “Did you guys make this?” 

“All by ourselves,” Finn said proudly.

Leo raised an eyebrow. “I love you, but neither of you know the first thing about baking a cake. Who did the decorating?”

“That was me,” Logan said proudly. 

“It looks very nice, sweetheart. Can we eat it now?”

“So impatient, Butter,” Finn murmured. 

“It’s my birthday, hush you. I deserve cake.”

Logan pressed a kiss to his temple. “That you do, love.”

Leo huffed a laugh as walked over to his seat, Finn getting there before him and pulling out his chair with a flourish. Leo giggled.

“Why thank you, good sir,” he said dramatically as he sat down and Finn pushed him in.

“You are very welcome.” 

Logan watched them fondly as he himself sat down. “You’re ridiculous,” he murmured.

“Yeah, but you love it.” Finn placed a smacking kiss on the top of his head as he walked by. 

Logan held out a large knife to Leo. “Birthday boy gets to cut the cake.”

“Aren’t you going to sing happy birthday first?” Leo teased, taking the knife. 

“Oh shit, right. Um-” Finn cleared his throat. “Happy birthday to you,” he began, Logan quickly joining in.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Leo. Happy birthday to youuuuuuu.” They held the last note out, making Leo wince slightly at their tone-deafness, but he was laughing by the end, cheeks flushed.

“Thank you. Can I try this now?”

“You are very impatient today for someone who is no longer a teenager.”

Leo shrugged innocently. “It’s my birthday.”

Logan shook his head fondly. “Alright, go ahead. I want some too.”

“You two better not have messed this up,” Leo muttered as he made the first cut.

“Hey! I will have you know we made this with utmost precision and expertise.”

“Celeste helped you?”

“Celeste helped us.”

Leo smiled as he cut three large slices, placing each on a clean plate before handing one to each Finn and Logan. 

“Mmm,” Leo said, taking a bite. “This is good. I’m impressed.”

Finn gasped. “Are you saying you thought it would be bad?”

Leo leaned forward, licking a bit of frosting off his fork. “That is exactly what I’m saying.” Finn looked turned on. Logan just pouted. 

“Nut, I will have you know we practiced for weeks to get this right.”

“And you didn’t even burn down the kitchen.”

“Have you so little faith in us?” Finn gasped, affronted.

“Logan burned soup last week.”

“That was an accident!”

“You have frosting on your lip.” 

Logan raised a hand to his face. “Oh no,” he sighed as he lowered his hand, clumsily taking another bite and effectively smearing even more frosting on his face. “Such a shame. Guess you’ll have to… wipe it off for me?” 

Leo smirked, both at the absurdity of his boyfriend and the spark Logan’s words sent down his spine. 

“Guess I will,” he murmured, leaning in towards Logan. His lips were sticky and sweet, just like Logan himself. He kissed him like they had all the time in the world, slow and deep, and Leo heard Finn sigh from his other side. 

“Let’s finish eating, mon amor,” Leo murmured against Logan’s lips, licking into his mouth once more before pulling away. He glanced over at Finn, staring at them with cheeks flushed. 

“Fine,” Logan sighed, and reluctantly kept eating. 

“We have another gift for you,” Finn started hesitantly after swallowing his last bite of his cake.

Leo immediately protested. “No no, you guys have already gotten me so much already. You really didn’t-”

“Too late!” Logan crowed. “You deserve everything we give you and more Nutter Butter, and you will accept our love in the form of far too many gifts whether you like it or not!”

“Okay, okay,” Leo laughed, holding up his hands. “Guess I don’t have a choice, huh?”

“Nope. Here.” 

Logan held out a plain white envelope. Leo frowned.

“What is this?”

“Open it and you’ll see,” Logan sang, propping his chin on his hands.

Apprehensively, Leo slid his finger under the seal and tugged the envelope open. Inside were two folded pieces of paper.

“What-” 

“Just take them out,” Finn urged. 

“Alright.” Leo did, and carefully unfolded one piece of paper. Three slips of paper fell out. Leo picked them up, eyes scanning the papers quickly. He brought his free hand to his mouth. “Oh my God,” he whispered.  He raised his eyes to look at Finn, blue eyes bright with tears. “Finn…” 

“Open the other, open the other,” Finn urged. Leo eyed him and turned to the other paper. 

“Is this gonna make me cry too?” he asked, voice tight. 

“Hmm, possibly,” Logan smiled.

Leo unfolded the second letter and three more papers fell onto the table. As he read Logan’s words, more tears sparked in his eyes. “Oh. You guys, this is too much.”

“No it’s not.” 

“But how did you- you got us Broadway and concert tickets.” He looked at them with the closest approximation of heart eyes possible. “ I can’t believe you two, how did you manage to pull this off?

Logan shrugged. “Told you, we’ve been planning for weeks. Although I bought the concert tickets ages ago when his tour was first announced.”

“You mean you’ve had these since May and didn’t say anything? How did you possibly manage that?”

“With difficulty.”

“And Finn, the Moulin Rouge tickets? I mean- third row? This must have cost a fortune!” 

“Baby, we’re professional hockey players. We can afford it.”

“Oh. Right. I forget sometimes.” He blushed. 

“Look, we were already planning on doing New York this summer, right? Logan and I thought-” Logan snorted- “Okay, Logan thought that we should take advantage of it. I mean, you can’t go to New York City for the first time and not see a Broadway show. And we all know Moulin Rouge is your favorite movie, how could we not?”

“And the Harry Styles concert?” Leo sniffed.

“It’s Harry Styles.”

“Good point.”

“And we all love him, so it seemed like as good a time as any. Plus, who would give up a chance to meet Harry?”

“We’re gonna meet him?!” Leo nearly shrieked. Finn and Logan both laughed. 

Leo launched himself at Logan, nearly knocking his water glass over, and peppered his face with kisses, laughing all the while.

“Holy shit, I can’t believe you,” he gasped. 

“Hey! I’m here too!” Finn protested, appearing at their side. 

“Baby, we both know this was Logan’s idea. I love you, but you are terrible at gift ideas.”

“Hey! I will have you know, the show was my idea.” Logan and Leo both laughed, and Leo pulled Finn down for a kiss.

“Thank you,” he said against his lips. 

“Love you,” Finn replied, before Logan was kissing Leo’s cheek, drawing his attention back.

“And thank you,” Leo murmured to Logan.

“Happy birthday, mon amor,” Logan whispered. 

[jordanstrophe]

Hey I was wondering how do you think Walter would celebrate Gabriel's birthday if at all?

Gah! Y-you.. You know I can't not write this!  You know too much   Of course he would celebrate his only child’s birthday!

CW: Whump, held captive, drugging slightly referenced, parental, possessive, creepy intimate whumper.

Masterlist

Gabriel scrubbed away at the pile of dishes. Even for just the two of them, they generate quite a lot somehow. Maybe if Walter didn't get a new cup for every single tea he drinks in a day there wouldn't be so much...

He froze with a gasp when he felt two arms slither around his waist and a chin settle on his shoulder.

"Darling! I- oh, this is going to sound embarrassing. But I realized I never asked... When is your birthday?" He murmured with shame.

Gabriel slowly lowered the plate in his hands as his face went pale.

It was tomorrow.

“In a few months.” Gabriel smiled, before quickly grabbed a cup, hoping if he appeared busy it would be the end of the conversation. 

“Gabriel.” 

He froze the second he heard Walter’s tone. 

He was in trouble. 

A hand wrapped around his chin and forced his head around. “Don’t ever lie to me again. Do you understand?” He hissed.

“I understand.” Sweat beamed on his brow, he didn’t have the bravery to make eye contact. Walter’s thumb traced his lips as Gabriel forced himself to be still.

“If I catch these lips lying to me again, I’ll either wash it out with soap, or into the basement you go until you learn to respect me, got it?”

“Yes sir!” Gabriel yelped. 

“Good boy... Now my dear! This is very important.” His hands cupped both his cheeks with a pinch.

“When is your birthday?” 

Gabriel took a deep breath. Walter really wasn’t kidding when he said he could catch anyone in a lie. 

“It's.. To-tomorrow.” He gulped.

“It’s to-" Walter repeated back in a stutter.His expression went pale and his eyes went wide. He was stuck frozen in time as Gabriel was starting to get worried about him.

“W-Walter?” 

“IT’S TOMORROW!?” He shrieked as Gabriel jumped. 

“Oh have mercy! My baby! You’re growing up so fast!” He squished his cheeks even more. “Ah! There’s so much to do, so little time! I have to bake a cake and set up some kind of decoration, you need presents!” He hollard.

“I-I-It’s fine! I don’t need anything, really! I never did anything big in the past anyway.” Gabriel folded his arms uncomfortably.

“What? You never-... You.” He fumbled over his words. 

Oh, the pressure was on. 

The next morning after Gabriel had made his bed and sorted his clothes, he found his bedroom door, locked.

“E-eh?” He murmured, jostling the door back and forth. “Walter!” He called. “I think the door is jammed!”

“It’s not jammed, it’s locked!” Walter called back from the other side.

“... What?!” Gabriel cried. “Why? What did I do?” He thought back to everything he had done that could have been bad that week. Was it because of the lie?!

“Nothing dear! Just stay there for the day, okay? There’s books and tea on your dresser.” He could hear Walter clambering with things in the living room. He cranked his head around, sure enough there was a stack of books and steaming tea with bread and honey on a plate. 

How did he even get that there without waking him up? He sighed as he collapsed back on his bed with a book. Today was going to be a boring day. 

Several hours passed as Gabriel let out a goan with his face pressed into the pages. 

*click* the door sounded behind him. His head slowly lifted his head as he glanced back waiting for Walter to burst through. 

But there was nothing but silence.

He crept up, his heart thumping in his chest as his fingers twitched reaching for the doorknob. Was he even allowed out? 

Nothing held the nob back as he pushed it open. His eyes glinted with light as he saw the living room dazzling with a warm gleam.

It wasn’t the traditional cheap streamers or neon balloons, nor burst of color or obnoxious music. 

Instead, there were beautiful crafted lanterns draped from the ceiling, a warm yellow glow filling the dark cabin. Dim fairy lights rounded the table in the center spotlighting a gorgeous three tier cake worthy of a wedding. A soft yet happy tune playing from the record player in the kitchen. 

His hands clutched nervously as his shirt collar as he wandered around in wonder. It was like a fairy tale! 

“Happy birthday, Gabriel.” A voice spoke behind him. He whirled around to find Walter with a smile plastered on his face leaning against the archway between the living room and kitchen.

“Do you like it?” He leaned his head against the wall.

“I-.. I love it!” He gasped, he couldn’t help but to bob up and down a little. Walter chuckled as he sat down at the couch, waving him over as Gabriel tucked himself beside him.

“It was a bit last-second, but I wanted you to have something nice. You deserve it.” He smiled, pressing a kiss to his temple. He handed him a perfectly wrapped box with reflective paper and a shiny ribbon bow. 

“I don’t understand how you made all of this so quickly, the cake too?” He asked, as Walter nodded with a smile. He was a phenomenal baker, after all. 

Gabriel looked down at the delightful looking box in his hands. As pretty and innocent as it looked, he couldn’t help but to be terrified of whatever continents it may contain. 

This was from Walter, after all.

His hands trembled as he pulled the ribbed, undoing the bow that peeled itself off the box. 

What if it was something to control him?

He broke the first tapped seal as he unfolded the wrapper.

What if it was something to hurt him?

He swallowed his fear as he ripped the box open, squeezing his eyes shut.

What if it was something cruel?  

His eyes fluttered open to see a bag of coffee grounds. 

“YES!” Gabriel shouted, raising the bag in his hands like it was Simba.

“Thank you! Thank you so so much!” He cried, cradling the coffee bag in his arms. 

“Oh! You-.... You’re welcome!” Walter stuttered. “I- I didn’t think you would like it that much! I know you weren’t a huge fan of the tea. You’re more of a coffee child.” Walter shrugged with a chuckle. 

Maybe if he didn’t drug him with tea the first time, he would have been more of a fan.

“Hey hey! You got one more, come sit back down.” Walter coaxed as Gabriel was still parading around the room. His excitement got killed, but he did as he was told. 

He set another thinly wrapped gift in his hands. Gabriel wasted no time delaying the inevitable as he tore through it. In his hands laid the newest edition of the book series he was reading! He didn’t even know the next book was out! 

He gasped as he quickly flipped through the pages to get a glance at some of the sketched art in the back. 

"Aa! One more thing.” Walter murmured, disappearing into the kitchen. Gabriel hardly paid attention, he was taking in every detail of the pictures and reading the descriptions. He stopped when he felt something soft get thrown over his shoulder, a warm fuzzy red blanket. He cranked his head up in confusion to look at Walter, standing behind him from the couch.

“I didn’t have enough paper to get it wrapped.” He smiled, ruffling his hair. 

“Alright! Who wants cake?” Walter asked, clapping his hands together. “Because I do.” He grumbled, taking a knife to cut a slice. He felt something press into his back as he gasped, glancing around to see Gabriel, slowly and nervously attempt to give him a hug without giving away the fact he was scared and trembling. 

“Thank you.” He whispered.

Walter bit his lip as he wiped away a tear. 

“Y-Your very welcome, son. Happy birthday.”

The whole rest of the day, Gabriel laid curled up on the couch wrapped in his blanket, a fresh coffee cup in hand with the book laying in front of him. His feet rocking back and forth in the air with content. 

@alien-octopus @yesthisiswhump  @lave-whump @whumpasaurus101 @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @hamiltonwhumpdump @just-another-whumper @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @approach-me-and-ill-cry  @whump-it @kixngiggles @as-a-matter-of-whump  @five-fictions-5-9 @rippedjeansandfadeddreams @thelazywitchphotographer  @sophierose002 ​

ʕっ• ᴥ • ʔっ  Thank you for reading!

[dumbbitchenergy17]

Extra Part 5

U.A. a school for students to learn how to become the best Pro-Hero. When young Y/n Midoriya returns from her traveling to be accepted through recommendation. What awaits her when she meet the explosive blonde Katsuki Bakugo

Words- 2722

Katsuki Bakugo x Midoriya!Reader, Izuku Midoriya x Cousin!Reader

Warning-Spoilers from show and bit angst but mainly fluff in this chapter

Series Masterlist

When you made it there all of your classmates were already there talking to each other and whatnot.

“Am I late?” You asked fixing your bag. Everyone turned to you smiles on their faces

“Y/n!” They yelled rushing to you. You were swarmed in hugs by the girls as they were talking about everything they missed.

“Oh my god, how are you.”

“We missed you so much!” 

You were gone for so long.” 

After all the greeting you saw Bakugo off to the side with Kirishima.

“Hey, Blondie.” You called him out making him turn to you, he had a glare on his face from the comment but it softens and he gave a brief nod.

You were standing next to Uraraka and Izuku while the others were just in little groups.

“Does it hurt?” Uraraka asked pointing at the scar on your face. Your face instinctively goes to your face embarrassed

“Um not really the pain is gone is just there is a lot of them so I keep the bandages on.” You explained pointing that it went from your shoulder to where the scar was shown on your face. Izuku squeezes your hand

“Well we are happy you are back and better.” Ida said making you smile. By the time everyone had finished their greeting Mr. Aizawa had come out of the front doors of the dorm.

“I’m glad to see everyone was able to be here, each of the dorms is for each class. ” He pointed down the road where multiple houses were.

“With your provisional hero licenses exam coming up we were supposed to be training at the camp. But you will all have to push yourself further to be ready, before we go in I want to be very clear. I should have you all expelled except, Bakugo, Y/n, Hagakure, and Jiro for not stopping the group from going after the two of them,” 

Everyone’s jaw dropped about him talking about being expelled, “You will be working your hardest and you will only be doing school and training, not a step out of line. Am I understood?” He stated.

“Yes sensei.” Everyone said in unison.

“Ok let’s go inside and enjoy the dorm.” Mr. Aizawa’s attitude flipped like a switch making everyone confused

“How can we enjoy the rest of our day with that speech.” Sero complained. Bakugo goes over and grabs Kaminari and pulls him behind the wall at the entrance and you all see sparks go off before they both turn the corner and Denki is lucid babbling nonsense making you all laugh. You turn away and see Bakugo hand over a stack of cash to Kirishima. When he turns around he sees you watch with a smile. He gives you a glare and looks away grumbling under his breath.

“Hey guys! Dinner is on me.” Kirishima calls out holding up the same cash Bakugo gave him. When you guys entered the dorm it looked so cool, there were couches and tables and windows that led to a courtyard in the middle of the building.

“The first floor is a common area with a living area, with a shared kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room.” Mr. Aizawa explained pointing around the room as everyone looked in awe.

“We are sharing the showers with the girls.” Mineta drools over the thought of seeing the girls.

“Each dorm has a separate bathroom for themselves.” Mr. Aizawa sends a glare towards Mineta

“Each floor are separate boys in the left-wing and girls in the right-wing.” He pulled out a list “You belonging are already in your rooms so feel free to relax or explore more.” After he had finished he left you all to get explore the empty room.

“These rooms are as big as my house.” Uraraka says looking at how big they are before passing out at the sheer size

“Uraraka!” Ida yells making you and Izuku laugh.

“We have balconies.” Izuku smiles as he and Kaminari wave down to the group. You all go off to your rooms to unpack and change out of your uniform into a sweater and sweatpants and heading downstairs where most of the students were hanging out

“This is place is so cool.” Ashido squealed flopping onto one of the couch.

“It great we have our own room to decorate.” You said sitting next to Ida.

“Oh my god, that’s it! We should have a contest on who has the best room.” Uraraka jumped up and most of the girls agree and some guys were unsure. 

“Isn’t this kinda invasion of privacy.” Ida said as everyone made their way into the elevator.

“Eh It’ll be fun, think to as bonding of students, right class rep.” You smiled as you made your way up to the second floor.

“I guess.” Tenya nodded

“So who’s first?” Ashido asked looking at the floor plan.

“Well, my room is on this floor.” Izuku spoke up

“Great!” The group made their way to Izuku’s room, 

“Wait don’t go in there.” He waved frantically but the door was open and we walked in. Izuku’s face was completely red, his room was covered in All Might posters and collectibles

“Fanboy huh.” Uraraka teases him. On his desk, there is a collage of postcards from different locations

“You kept my cards.” You looked at the cards from different locations and you froze staring at the Paris postcard.

“Yeah I kept them it was the only way we could talk, but they all stopped after Paris.” Izuku said looking at you.

“Aww that’s so cute.” Hagakure cooed. Everyone left Izuku’s room and watched in amusement as Ashido and Hagakure try to push Tokoyami away from the door.

“Y/n help us.” Ashido pleading you shook your head laughing

“I’ll pass this is very entertaining.”

When the girls entered they look around at the dark gloomy room.

“Spooky.” Uraraka looked around at the skulls on the tables

“You have a sword so cool.” Izuku freaks out over the sword on its stand. Aoyama was more than happy to show off his room and it was the opposite of Tokoyami. There were mirrors all over the room and very sparkly and bright.

“Is anyone going to come and see my room.” Mineta stood against the door and you and the girls grimaced.

“I don’t want to know what’s in there.” Jiro said as they went up onto the 3rd floor. Ojiro’s room was very basic, and Tenya’s as well but his walls very covered in bookcases.

“I need all the books to be the best Class Rep.” He stated proudly.

“Why do you have so many glasses.” You and Uraraka chuckled at the shelves of glasses

“I expect all my glasses to be broken in battle.” He defended himself this making you and Uraraka burst into laughter. Kaminari’s room looked like the inside of those shops in Kamino which made some of the girls laugh and he deflated at the comment. The group continued into Koda’s room and most of the girls freaked out when they saw a bunny in the room. After spending a bit with the rabbit, the group makes their way to the elevators

“Why are we only seeing our rooms if this is a competition the girls need to be included.” Mineta said making all the boys who were disappointed with the reactions to agree with him.

“Yeah, I’m fine with that.” You shrugged your shoulders and the rest of the girls agree. You decided to finish the boy’s side before going to the other side, You checked out Kirishima’s room which had weights and sports equipment around the room

“Very manly Kirishima.” You compliment and his smile gets bigger. Shoji’s room was a very empty room with the bare necessity, and when you guys made it to the last floor everyone was surprised at Sero’s stylish Asian-style dorm.

“Well let’s get this over with.” Todoroki opened up the door to his room, everyone’s jaw had dropped it looked like you had entered someone’s house, not the dorm room. His room was very traditional in the Japanese style.

“How did you even do this!” Kaminari looked at Todoroki as if he grew two heads. There was a pause

“Hard Work.” He responds. You finished up the boy’s side with Sato’s it was fairly normal but there were baking supplies and treats

“I had to take up a skill in baking to help with my quirk.” Sato pulled out some cake from the oven and served it out to the group.

“This is so good.” Uraraka grinned,

“The flavor is amazing, can you make something for my tea.” Yaoyorozu grinned.

“This is awesome Sato.” You finished up the treat. Your group headed over to the girl’s side.

“Finally the girl’s rooms, what secrets do they hold.” Mineta rubs his palms together only to get hit in the head by Jiro. You guys started at Yaoyorozu’s room but the group decided to stay outside as her room was completely crowded with her furniture.

“I thought my stuff would fit in here but I guess not, this room is about the same size as my closet back home.” Yaoyorozu explained.

“Your closet is this big.” Uraraka said before passing out in shock.

“Uraraka!” Tenya yells at her again.

“Are we going to Asui room?” Jiro asked Uraraka shook her head

“Tsuyu wasn’t feeling well and decided to head to her room.” she explained the group skipped her room head down to the floor you staying in. You guys went into Uraraka

“It’s a low budget room I know.” She rubbed the back of her head.

“Well, now you can fill it with memories.” You grab her hand giving her a squeeze. Even though your room was next Ashido wanted to show off her room 

“Be my guest.” You gave her the go-ahead. Her room was very girly with Pink and black cheetah pink. You stayed there for a bit before you guys made your way to your room 

“We know nothing about you, this is gonna tell us everything.” Ashido pointed out and the group nodded.

“Well let’s hope I leave a good impression.” You smiled opening up your door. You had your bed against the wall like everyone else, you had some plants on your dresser with trinkets there as well. There was a record player on your desk and your guitar. On the wall, there were photos and paintings, on the wall were your bed there was a huge map with multiple thumbtacks on different locations. 

“You’ve been to all these places.” Kirishima looked at all the thumbtacks

“My parents traveled a lot for work I’ve been traveling for...I don’t know... Maybe 7-8 years.” You said to expect the reaction 

“You’ve been traveling for 7 years!” Kaminari yelled. 

“Not for 7 years straight but I’ve been taking online school and homeschool since I was seven.” You responded. The group nodded continuing to look around your room.

“Aw look at you, you look so cute.” Ashido points at a photo of when your family went to Athens you were mid-laugh on a boat.

“Yeah, that was Athens. We spent almost a year there.” You said.

“Who is the boy in this one.” Todoroki

“BOY!” The girls and Izuku yell trying to see the photo.

“Ohh he’s cute.” Hagakure gushes over him and you are able to see the photo. 

“That’s Henry.” You replied the photo was you and him together dancing smiles on both of your faces.

“Where is this one.” Uraraka asked for more information. 

“We were in Venezuela and I usually spent in exploring and we just met and click. My parents had to go to Columbia and I asked to stay and they left me so I spent the next few months with him and his family.” You explained looking at the photo feeling nostalgic.

“Were you guys together.” Sero asked leaning against your desk

“Oh god no,” You shook your head, “I was 13 and we were constantly moving around so we spent the time together and kept in touch when I left but that was years ago I haven’t talked to him in forever.” You said putting the picture back on your desk. 

You turned back at the group and clapped your hands “So who’s room is next.” 

The group made their way downstairs and we saw Jiro’s which was really interesting as she had many instruments around her room, and she knew how to play them all, you then check out to see Toru room which was very girly, with stuffed animals surrounding it. You all made your way back to the common room to cast your votes.

“Ok everyone’s vote is with one person having 6 votes, the winner of the best room is… Rikido Sato!”

“You only won because of your food!” Mineta yelled,

“Your room wasn’t even that cool!” Kaminari cries.

You get up from your spot next to Izuku and Uraraka “I’m gonna head out. I’ll see you guys in the morning.” You said your goodnights to your classmates and headed back to your room. 

You closed the door behind you going to the mirror, slowly being careful not to hurt yourself you undo the bandages around your neck, take a deep breath lifting your hand and delicately trace the scars. Pulling away from the mirror you go over to the photo, you had a smile on your face a genuine one as you both stared at each other. You sit at your desk grabbing the guitar reading the message on the side of it.

‘To my angel, keep this and never forget your time here and come back soon. Te amo.’ -Henry. 

Ok so you didn’t tell them you were in a relationship with him, you two would have never made it work, he’s probably happy out there living his life. You climbed into bed and let sleep take over you. 

Your eyes shot open as you shot up in your bed trying to get your breathing under control. You rubbed your eyes leaning your head on your knees, you get up to go some water then you remember you still need to put stuff in your fridge. You slide slippers onto your feet and made your way downstairs to the common room. When the elevator dinged you walked out and walked over to the kitchen. You poured yourself to water and leaned against the counter taking a sip from it every once in a while. You heard footsteps heading in your direction a red haze surrounded one of the knives in the chef block and sent it flying towards the person, only to stop yourself when you see it’s Bakugo.

“Try not to kill someone on your first night here eh.” He said grabbing the floating knife and placed it back on the counter.

“Sorry just jumpy,” You apologized grabbing your drink, “I’ll leave you be.” You began to walk away from the kitchen.

“Wait,” He sighed, “You don’t need to leave.” You nodded and sat in one of the chairs at the island and continue to drink your water as Bakugo went to grab a fruit from a pile. He came over sitting on the other of the island.

“Does it hurt.” He said looking at your scars. You bring a hand up and touch you neck.

“No, It stopped hurting before I even woke up just the reminder hurts.” You said he leans over reaching his hand out but stops short of your neck until you nod and he makes contact with your skin.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbles as his hands trails up you neck his finger tracing each scar.

“It wasn’t your fault if you weren’t there I would be good as dead.” You said grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze. You both stood basking in the silence holding each others hand.

“I should probably head to bed.” You looked at the time.

“Uh yeah.” Bakugo coughed pulling his hand away from you. You placed your glass in the sink and made your way to the elevator

“Night Blondie.” You gave him a smile.

“Night Idiot.” He responded making you laugh.

The doors closed separating the two of you and for the first time in forever you and Bakugo had given a genuine smile.

(A/N: So here are some links for the your dorm room you can always think of something else, and here is a photo of you and Henry) Room: 01/02/03 Photo

[valwrite]

hide & seek; daveed diggs

masterlist

summary: Y/N L/N can´t keep a promise. (sequel to leap frog & hopscotch)

warnings: cushion violence.

fic style: drabble.

word count: 1807

author’s note: this is the third and final drabble from the leap frog series. sorry that it’s kind of short and not really as good as the other two, i’ve got a bit of writer’s block right now. like, i have tons of ideas of what i would like to write but, when i try to write, my brain forgets the whole english dictionary and is just like “qué?”.

It was official. Rafael Casal was going to kill Daveed Diggs and Y/N L/N.

The sun had barely risen an hour ago; the air was still crisp with the chill of the night; some people were just making their way home, exhaustion and last night's makeup painting their face, and there Rafa was stood, phone pressed to his ear whilst his fist banged against the oak door repeatedly. He'd spent fifteen minutes in the very same predicament, alternating between calling Daveed and Y/N. Neither of the two were picking up despite the fact he was sure he could hear their phones ringing from indoors.

It was typical, honestly, for the two to pull such a stunt on him. The poor man was juggling having to worry about his friends whereabouts and his own health, which was progressively slipping away from him as his stress levels grew from having both their close relatives breathing down the back of his neck and questioning him on where exactly the two could have disappeared to.

When they both had first agreed to spending the night apart, Rafa was quick to laugh in their faces and tell them they'd find themselves crawling back to the other by the end of the night. Hell, the two barely survived nights apart brought on by work- Rafa had once walked in to Daveed's hotel room and found him asleep whilst Y/N slept on his propped up phone screen, nothing but FaceTime to unite them during their time apart- so how in the name of Hell would they willingly choose to sleep without one another? The satisfaction of his impending "I told you so" was the only thing keeping Rafa going.

“Screw this." He muttered, shoving his phone back into his pocket. Crouching, Rafa picked up a few of the plant pots that decorated the front porch until he found the hidden key.

Quietly, and carefully, he turned the key in the lock. When the door opened, he pushed through slowly and held his breath, awaiting for it to squeak. A squeak never came, meaning two things: Daveed must have fixed the door and Rafa was safe to continue venturing into the home. Of course, he had to continue with the slowed movements and the careful breathing. The last thing he needed was to wake up the couple's four legged friend, that would only lead to an influx of tail wagging and puppy kisses being branded all over him. No, Rafa had to treat this like the most serious game of hide and seek he'd ever taken part in, on the off chance that Daveed was actually alone. The man was never a morning person, so being the person to wake him up, whether by accident or on purpose, was practically a suicide mission. Add that in with a reminder of the fact he'd (possibly) slept alone, Daveed was not going to be a happy bunny.

Rafa made his way through the living room where his eyes couldn't help but focus on the picture frames scattered along their television unit. They held so many stories, most of which he'd been present for and some he'd just been told about by the couple.

There was the cheesy one of them under some mistletoe on their first Christmas together, where Daveed had accidentally tripped over his own two feet and landed chest first into the cake she'd spent the whole day baking. There was the picture from a Warriors match they'd gone to, where Y/N spent most the night near drooling over the players and Daveed had silently prayed he still had a girlfriend by the end of the game. A candid photo of the both of them at some music festival, arms around each other and heads resting on shoulders. A collage section, filled with each cringe worthy matching Halloween costumes they'd worn. A picture of Daveed in a hospital bed, cast around his arm and Y/N sat at his side, their hairs still tousled from the kiss Rafa had walked in on before capturing the moment in a photo. At the time, they'd told him to delete it but the man was adamant they'd thank him one day when they were getting married and they realized that, without his meddling, the two of them would have never ended up on that date, in that hospital room.

With one of those things nearly down, Rafa was just counting down the hours till they came to the epiphany of his involvement in their love blossoming.

As he made his way out of the living room, the sound of a squeaky toy invaded his senses. Confused, Rafa looked down to see he'd stood on one of the dog's toys. All movement froze. He waited a couple heartbeats, to see if the pup had awakened. When no fur-ball came running his way, he assumed it was safe to move again.

The kitchen was up next. Rafa held back a laugh at the matching Mr & Mrs aprons which were hung up, mentally storing the reminder to mock them about it in his speech later on. A cupboard was slowly pulled open, a large bowl- in which countless of his favorite goodies were made by top baker Y/N- was lowered out of it and the tap was switched on, water trickling out of it and directly into the dish he was holding up.

Rafa now had to move more carefully than ever, his eyes flicking back and forth between the floor in front of him and the sloshing water in the bowl. But he had made his way safely up the stairs, down the hall and, now, he was finally rounding the corner to their shared bedroom. He could see the door had been left half open and, like the most tense scene in a thriller, Rafa took one step, two steps, three steps before he stumbled upon the exact image he'd been awaiting.

There they lay in bed, all shamelessly tangled up in silk sheets and limbs. His head on her pillow, her face buried in his neck. Casual sleepwear adorned them both- much to Rafa's own relief - whilst their outfits from the night before were strewn across the whole room. Each of their chests rose and fell in sync with one another, their breathing more peaceful than that of a monk. They so perfectly detailed what it meant to wholeheartedly be in love with someone, with no real effort whatsoever. It was such a shame Rafa was about to ruin their whole picture perfect sleep.

Eyeing the dog bed, Rafa affirmed that the pup was peacefully off in dreamland, with no sign of waking up and ruining his little surprise. He tiptoed from there onward, making his way around the king sized bed, stepping over abandoned cushions and swerving between articles of clothing. Panic coursed through him as Daveed let out a groan, rolling over where he lay. When the man's eyes remained shut, Rafa continued his careful journey to his best friend's bedside. After snapping a few pictures of the sleeping, unsuspecting fools, he lifted the bowl of water, carefully balancing it over them with his hands.

The first few drops fell onto the pillow, but the rest? They completely soaked Daveed and Y/N (mostly Daveed, he was Rafa's main target after all) and sent them both flying out of bed, eyes still half shut and wet hair dripping water all over the place. The first thing they noticed was Rafa, bent over at the waist, hand clutching his sides as laughter shook through his rib-cage.

“What the fuck, dude?” Y/N was the first one to speak, as she picked up and threw one of the cushions at Rafa, who smoothly ducked from her aim.

“What time is it?” Daveed had sat back on the bed at this point, shoulders hunched as he tried to find his phone.

“It's eight am.” Rafa passed him his phone. “And don't you what the fuck? me." He put on a high pitched voice as he addressed Y/N, dodging another one of her cushion attacks.

“I do not sound like that.”

“You do in my head.” Another cushion, this time it actually whacked him on the thigh. “I told you guys you wouldn't sleep apart and you two agreed to the bet, the forfeit being I get to dump a bowl of water over you both.”

“Hey, this isn't my fault.” Daveed stood up again, reaching for a pair of sweatpants off the floor. The bundle of fur had woken up by then, barking at Y/N's feet until she reached down to pick him up. “I was here alone last night, ready to sleep alone when she showed up at the door. She forced me to lose.”

“Oh, please!” Rafa was glad to see Y/N redirect her flying cushions at Daveed. “You practically dragged me into bed last night. I didn't force anything on you.”

“It wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to turn away a tired woman at my door.”

“And they say chivalry is dead.”

“I brought it back just for you, babe.”

The buzzing of his phone in his pocket reminded Rafa of the fact that this was no ordinary day, where the two idiots in front of him had the entire morning to have meaningless arguments. Today, they were all on a strict schedule and Rafa was half responsible for making sure it all went well.

“As fun as this is,” He paused, redirecting his complete attention to Y/N. “you have a car waiting for you outside, to take you back to your parents home to get ready. So, with all due respect, fuck off and let me get D ready for you.”

“Fine, whatever, I'm going.” He could tell she wasn't really as bothered as she tried to seem, especially from the way her shoulders were shaking in silent laughter. “Be warned, Rafa, if you try take credit for our relationship in your speech, I will not hesitate to deck you in front of my whole family. Capiche?”

“You know, it's not too late to change your mind, Y/N. There's still a chance to rekindle our old flame and reenact that kiss we shared years ago.”

“Hey, watch your mouth!” Daveed made his way over to Y/N's side and wrapped an arm over her shoulder. “That's my wife you're speaking to.”

“Not yet, Diggs.” Rafa grabbed at the other man's arm, stripping him away from Y/N as the two tried to share a kiss. “Save that for the altar, you two.”

The couple collectively let out a frustrated sigh as Rafa guided her out of the house, both aware of the fact that the next time they locked eyes, they'd be swearing eternal fidelity and love to one another and, as much as neither would admit it out loud, they owed it all to Rafa and his gossiping ways.

[eeveedel]

Recently Del & I have been discussing actor Louis in his life when he weighs 80 pounds over his original weight that he started with in chubby actor, so, I decided to write it for her :)

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Setting: Christmas time in LA, the weather is still warm and hot, Harry is preparing for christmas with lots of christmas treats, decorations, a new holiday line of clothing.

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The weather in LA around Christmas was always a blessing to Harry and Louis, who never really enjoyed the cold and snow of the east coast when they lived there for a few short years at the beginning of their relationship. Even with Christmas two weeks away, the sun was shining and the weather was warm, the boys took every moment they could to soak up the sun poolside in their private garden where they had decorated the surrounding bushes to resemble Christmas trees.

They had a record player on their patio beside the pool spinning side A of ABBA’s Voulez Vous, Clifford and their new cat Doris lounging in the yard with Louis who had just stepped out to get some sun, while Harry was pouring mimosas for the both of them as he waited for their eggs to finish before joining his family outside.

Just as “I Have A Dream” was fading out on the record, Harry was stepping over Doris to set up the table for breakfast outside in the sun, when he spun around to find Louis setting his boxers on the ground by his lounge chair.

“Louis! It’s 11 in the morning!” Harry chastised, though he wasn’t too serious as he chuckled at his husband’s nudity.

“Okay and? We were just naked in bed about an hour ago, not like we’ve spent a whole day in suits. Besides”, Louis pat his rounded belly, “I can’t have any tan lines, this entire tummy needs some color” he finished as he raised his arms above his head to lay back in the lounge chair.

“Well, the tanning can wait, I just finished breakfast baby come eat.” Harry went to reach for the utensils he brought out to set them by both of their plates, adjusting Clifford and Doris’ food trays under the table side by side.

“Harrryyyyyyyy I just laid down, can’t you bring it over here?” Louis giggled as he lowered his sunglasses over his eyes. He really loved to push his luck these days with Harry, finding that he and his husband both loved the bratty side of him.

“You can get your ass over here and I’ll sit in your lap and feed you” Harry said with a smirk, “gotta make sure my husband gets some type of exercise, even if it’s just to walk to more food.”

“Hey! I do, I’ve been working out with you!” Louis huffed back as he stood up and walked toward the chairs to take a seat, leaving his boxers behind.

“Yes yes, I know, and I’m thankful for your company, even if you only walk for an hour and a half and then head straight to the kitchen.” Harry chuckled as he took a seat on Louis’ right leg, pulling a plate of eggs with heavily buttered toast and bacon in front of them.

“Doctors order you know, said as long as I did a little bit of cardio everything else was looking healthy.” Louis smirked as Harry raised a piece of bacon to the older boy’s soft pink lips.

“Yes, I would say so.” Harry smiled as Louis chewed, hand reaching to grab under his belly to jiggle it in agreement.

When Louis decided to take an extended break from his acting career, focusing on helping charities and spending more time at home with his husband and pets, he knew exactly what he was getting himself into. He was tired of living a life of restriction, both in his personal life of never getting to spend enough time with his family, but also in his dietary, and even sex life.

Ever since that movie role where he had to put on those 30 pounds, Louis was craving this time to really let go and let Harry take care of him. Let himself gain as much weight as his body wanted.

So he did, during this extended break (which had only started about a year and a half ago) Louis had steadily crept up to gaining 80 more pounds on his once dainty and toned frame. Harry, of course, helping him the entire way.

The beginning of the process this time was nothing like the original. Louis having the knowledge that this was a big kink for them used that to his advantage, almost like he needed it to survive. The day his break started, he came home from the press conference of the announcement of his acting hiatus to find an entire table full of his favorite recipes Harry hadn’t made since that movie shoot, demanding that it all be gone by the end of the day.

That’s how the first few months of this break went, Harry practically stuffing Louis at least three times a week, Louis walking around aimlessly eating anything he could find to fill his ever hungry belly. He had years to catch up on food wise, and he wasn’t going to miss a single morsel if he could help it.

As the months went by, he hit each milestone in Harry’s ever loving company, Harry weighing him every two weeks instead of every two days just so they could focus on Louis’ happiness over some type of number goal. Over the months, his belly slowly swelled forward, even when he wasn’t stuffed to the gills now his stomach looked like it could belong to a pregnant woman. His thighs once again found each other, his chest became a soft plain for kisses, and his collarbones disappeared once more. Louis would sit in front of their master bedroom mirror and just admire his curves, running his hands along his soft body to familiarize himself with every inch, every stretch mark that Harry would press soft kisses to. He would run his hands along his belly finally being able to really know his reflection without having to worry about it needing to change for his career anytime soon.

Milestones were set for Louis to achieve by Harry, like outgrowing gucci belts, stretching out fitted t shirts, even popping open a few tom ford button downs. When he busted open the trousers he had worn to his last movie premiere during a particularly difficult stuffing, Louis didn’t think Harry was ever going to catch his breath as the older boy cradled his packed belly trying to get any relief. That was a fun night for both of them.

“What do you think baby? Do you want anything else?” Harry asked, jolting Louis from his memories, gently tracing his pointer finger in circles around the blue eyed boys belly button.

Louis’ belly wasn’t anywhere near full, but it sat content and rounded out in his lap, Harry’s soft hand pushing reality into him. He was so lucky, so happy to be here now with Harry.

“I think i’m good right now baby, thank you so much.” Louis lent over and kissed his husband, his belly bumping into Harry who basically melted at the contact.

“Are you sure? I’m sure there’s room for a little more in here.” Harry lent down to kiss the crest of Louis’ stomach.

“I’m good, really, but you said you were…..making christmas cookies today right? Trying out some new recipes or something about it?” Louis smiled shyly, hoping Harry would get the hint.

“Oh yeah I am, I completely forgot. I have to find the perfect recipe to bring to my parents house!” Harry’s dimples were on display as he thought about his parents around the christmas tree.

“I was thinking, if you need help finding the recipe, I could be your tester? I’m dying for something sweet.” Louis kissed Harry on the cheek.

“I’m sure that could be arranged, you’ll have to fill out an application though” Harry chuckled

“An application? Who else would you have do it?” Louis pulled back from leaving kitten kisses on Harry’s neck.

“Well, you’re going to have to fight Clifford of course for the job.”

----

The day went on as it usually did in the Tomlinson- Styles home. After Louis laid out in the sun for a while lounger, he made his way back to the kitchen for some snacks before lunch. Still refusing to put on his boxers, Harry rubbed his lower belly as Louis reached for the box of cheez its in the overhead cupboard.

“You know, as much as I love seeing your ass, what if someone comes over? Do you have something against clothes now?” Harry said, continuing to run his hand along the underside of Louis’ stomach, feeling it’s heaviness in his hand when he gently pressed into it.

“Clothes are restricting and, honestly all of my boxers are getting a little uncomfortable.” Louis said as he pulled the box down and began opening it.

“Louis….did we not just buy you those? What, a month ago?” Harry’s cheeks began to flush as he squeezed Louis’ stomach lightly. There’s no way - this boy had to have plateaued by now. They’ve been taking it relatively easy with their stuffings and really just enjoying themselves lately.

“Yeah, I mean, a month is a long time...and I’m still hungry like all the time.” Louis blushed, “it’s...it’s really not that surprising, is it?”

Harry wasn’t really sure what to do with this information as he pulled Louis closer to him. “Well...how do your jeans feel and your other new clothes? Do you feel like I have to take them out yet?” Harry had been taking out Louis’ clothes when they would buy new ones, just until Louis felt he really couldn’t wear them anymore. After all, the boy had gone up a good few sizes, and they didn’t want to have to buy a new set of clothing for each one.

“Yeah I mean, everything could be a bit looser, but nothing I can’t handle, I guess my body still wants to gain a bit more.” Louis bent over to kiss Harry’s cheek.

“I….I’m gonna start baking the Christmas cookies.” Harry blurted. He knew exactly what they were going to do today.

After pressing his lips to his husbands once more and lightly smacking his ever soft behind, he shooed him out of the kitchen so that he could get to work.

“And please, put your pants on Louis!”

———

A few hours had passed and Harry had an array of cookies spread along their dining room table. There were ginger snaps, chocolate chip, sugar cookie, pepper cookies, even an assortment of chocolate and red velvet cake pops Harry had wanted to try out because he thought they would be cute once decorated.

Another two trays were still baking in the over when Louis brought his dishes from lunch into the kitchen to wash them.

Louis didn’t realize Harry was baking enough to feed all of Los Angeles today, “Babe?” Yelled Louis, trying to see where Harry was in their house as he wasn’t in the kitchen.

Harry rounded the corner with Doris in his arms, “hey baby, how was your lunch?” He pecked Louis on the lips, letting him scratch at Doris’ ear. Their animals always loved Louis so much, it made Harry’s heart so happy.

“It was really good babe, thank you.” Louis continued scratching Doris’ chin, “But what is all this? Are you trying to feed the entire city?” Louis chuckled, not thinking much of it.

Harry’s face flushed as he set Doris down, “I was actually thinking….we could maybe have some fun?” He pulled Louis closer to him, belly pressed up against his abs making his insides flip and roll with want.

“Fun you say?” Louis smirked, maybe he wasn’t as oblivious to what he thought was coming next.

“How about...you go take a seat at the table, and I’ll get some tinsel yeah? How does that sound cutie pie?” Harry nuzzled his nose against Louis with a smile on his flushed face.

“Fuck YES, okay okay I’ll go.” Louis said excited with a smile.

“And Louis?” Harry stopped before grabbing his husband's arm.

“Will you go put on that lace bodysuit for me?” Harry smiled softly.

Louis ran up the stairs as fast as he could to pull the soft lace along his body. He had a few different lace pieces that Harry had hand sewn for him to wear because he liked them so much. A few had to be retired because he could no longer pull them above his thighs and bum, this one not too far behind as it stretched against the curve of his belly. Louis tied up the sides, as there were ribbons connecting them tied up in cross cross patterns.

Louis made his way downstairs to find candles lit and all the blinds shut to mimic the darkness of the night sky, the Christmas lights on their tree turned on to set the mood.

Harry stood in the center of the dining room with a string of tinsel in his hands, stripped down to just his boxers and undershirt.

Louis was breathless at the scene with excitement, “we really are a kinky bunch for doing this in the middle of the day” Louis said as he made his way to Harry, slipping his arms around the younger boys tiny waist.

“You know Harry, you could stand to put on a few too” Louis giggled, poking Harry right in the stomach.

“Honestly, I was thinking about that earlier today.” Harry said with a smile as he lent down to press a kiss to Louis’ lips.

“Wait, really? The fittest fashion designer in Hollywood?” Louis pulled back with surprise.

“I mean….we only live once don’t we? Maybe I’m a little tired of being so LA fit all the time. I don’t know, we’ll talk about it later.” Harry said lifting the tinsel, “why don’t you pick a spot for me to tie up these pretty hands, hmm?”

“Can we do this on the couch? Put a nice movie on, relax?” Louis said, “a….little bit of mindless eating?” His cheeks flushed, and a hunger was beginning to burn in him for this scene to get started.

“Of course baby, you go put a movie on you like, and I’ll get the cookies ready for you.” Harry pecked him on the cheek, leaving Louis to sit on the couch and open Netflix.

When Harry came back over Louis was all set up comfy against the couch cushions ready to be manhandled.

“Give me your wrists baby.” Harry said sweetly, tying the small hands behind Louis’ back. “There we go, now if you get uncomfortable you tell me okay?” Harry kissed down Louis’ chest as he nodded in agreement.

Harry began lifting cookies to Louis’ thin soft lips, who munched happily on each different kind and flavor Harry baked up. It was almost routine, Louis would take bites of the cookie, Harry would pat his belly, survey the lace tie up on the sides, and Louis would be onto the next few cookies.

It was around his 10th or 11th treat he was starting to feel a little constrained in the bodysuit, his belly pressing up against the lace, the sides tugging tightly against his skin as he took deep breaths in between each treat. He wasn’t near full yet, just a little….well, tied up.

It wasn’t until Louis took a breather after the 17th cookie, which happened to be gingerbread, that Louis felt something rip on his side.

“Knew this one wasn’t gonna last much longer.” Louis grunted out as he took a thankful deep breath, his stomach expanding with new found room.

Harry was on him in seconds, rubbing Louis’ tummy in big gentle circles, pressing down here and there to hear Louis make a little noise of discomfort or pleasure depending on where the spot was.

“You look so good like this Loubear.” Harry was breathless watching this scene play out, his dick straining in his boxers watching Louis shamelessly eat all of these treats, his belly swelling forward to find room for everything he was trying to cram in it.

“You’re really too sweet.” Louis smiled softly and closed his eyes for a moment, a soft burp making its way out that Louis was grateful for.

“I bet you belly is starting to feel a little full, huh baby boy? You’re doing so good for me” Harry pecked his cheek, “can’t believe you were this hungry.”

Louis wasn’t really full yet, so he decided to press Harry’s buttons, “Still am baby, not full yet” Louis smiled wide using his head to point to the cookie tray, “The gingerbread are really good, can I have another?” Louis locked eyes with Harry and Harry thought he might combust then and there.

“Of course baby, anything for my big boy.” Harry pressed the gingerbread to Louis' mouth, Louis making a show of biting off a piece and chewing it slowly.

“Won’t be able to finish all these if you eat that slow baby, your tummy’ll catch up to you.” Harry said softly as he gripped underneath Louis’ stomach giving it a small squeeze, running his hand down further to rest it on top of Louis’ hardening cock.

They continued on as Louis zoned out on the movie, getting up to about the 25th cookie when he had to readjust his sitting position to make room.

“Can you untie my hands baby? Wanna lay back to make more room.” Louis said sweetly, Harry setting the cookie they were working on down to relieve Louis’ hands of their constraints.

“There we go, thank you.” Louis said as he brought his own hands to his rounded stomach, the tie on the other side of the bodysuit barely staying with the pressure it was being put against.

“Anything for you baby.” Harry brought the cookie back to Louis’ mouth, eager to watch him finish this tray at least.

Louis positioned himself so he was laying with his upper body propped up against the armrest of their couch, Harry hovering over top of his with his legs straddling Louis’ thighs as he continued to feed him treat after treat. He would duck down occasionally to kiss at Louis’ laced covered skin, or move his legs up so his thighs were pressing against both sides of the other boys belly, earning a soft huff or grunt from Louis as more pressure was added to his already packed tight stomach.

By the time the boys got to the last cookie, Louis was finally ready to call it.

“Last one baby, I’m so proud of you, look at how good you did.” Harry said as he raised the final pepper cookie to Louis’ lips.

“Thank god” Louis said softly as he took the cookie in his mouth, chewing it slowly before swallowing. He brought his hands up and rested them on top of his belly that was now swollen and firm, 30 or so cookies stuffed inside of him.

“How does my baby boy feel? Hmm? Your belly feels,” Harry pressed down softly, “a little tight, you must be uncomfortable.” He pressed a soft kiss to Louis’ lips, earning a soft smile and Louis’ huffing out a breath once their lips were parted.

“shame I don’t wanna move right now cause I really, really want you to fuck me Harry.” Louis’ eyes were dark when he opened them, his left hand trailing as far as he could to find his cock, but his swollen belly was in the way of him reaching it.

“Mmmmm, I can fix that baby, you just relax for a few minutes okay. Look at you, my big beautiful husband. This belly is just,” Harry pulled the tie on the other side that had miraculously not come undone, “so precious, don’t you think? Remember when you used to be so small and thin, we never had this much fun.” Harry then untied the halter holding the bodysuit up around Louis’ neck, pulling the fabric down. “You always have been handsome but this? This is so…..sexy.” Harry’s mouth was basically watering as he finally got his hands on Louis’ soft, stretched skin. Stretch marks were subtly visible sitting along Louis’ plush hips from the weight he had gained so quickly months ago, something Harry took a lot of pride in.

“Harrrryyyyyyy” Louis whined as Harry pressed a soft hand against Louis’ very hard cock. “Please I….I can’t.” Louis huffed out.

“Tell me about it, sweetheart, tell me all about it.” Harry egged him on as he pulled the body suit off of Louis, past his belly, his bum, dragging it down his legs and throwing it on the floor narrowly missing a candle or two. With his belly now free, Louis took as deep a breath as he could manage and ran his hands along his skin, Harry’s joining them by running up and down his soft sides.

“I am so lucky.” Harry said as he leaned down for an absolute bruising kiss with his very full boy. His thigh brushed against Louis’ dick, making the older boy moan into his mouth as the contact.

“Want me to take care of you? Know you can’t do it yourself, not right now with this in your way huh?” Harry teased, lightly smacking the side of Louis’ stomach.

“Stop. Teasing. I’m…..very hard and very full. Need you. now.” Louis huffed up before he went to nip at Harry’s lower lip.

Harry’s hand trailed down to Louis’ hard member earning another moan from the boy, he reached under the couch where he had stashed the bottle of lube for this scene in particular.

“Gonna take care of you baby, don’t worry.” Harry whispered as he spread the lube onto his palms, one hand softly tugging at his husband's dick and the other hand going to his rim. This was one of Harry’s favorite things, watching Louis absolutely lose it while stuffed to the brim. He knew Louis got some type of high from being stuffed, adding to that Harry pounding into him? Louis turned into a right mess as the joined sensations.

2 fingers in and Louis’ began squirming beginning for more, his own hands laying softly on his belly. “h..Harry, please, more.” Louis panted out, not sure whether to chase the feeling of Harry’s hand softly rubbing his dick or the now 3 fingers in his bum.

It continued on like this for a few minutes, Louis rubbing his own belly through the process to try and get some relief from the pressure packed in there, a soft whining echoing through the house as Harry gave him what he needed with his fingers.

“Harry, I’m ready, I’m ready now.” Louis grunted out, “get on with it please.”

“Okay baby, gonna be gentle, don’t wanna hurt you or your tummy.” Harry pressed a kiss to the stretched skin before him, Louis now laying flat on the couch as his belly rounded out like a mountain of sorts on top of the older boy.

Harry slowly entered Louis, inch by inch, Louis was right gagging for him to bottom out as fast as he could and knew Harry was only being gentle, but he needed this as bad as he needed to be stuffed. There was something about being controlled in such a way by Harry that couldn’t compare to anything else.

“Harry.” Louis said, eyes shut tight when his husband finally bottomed out, “fucking move.”

At that Harry began his venture of picking up pace as he moved in and out of Louis, trying to be as gentle as possible considering Louis’ state. Every time Harry would jostle the blue eyed boy's belly, Louis would whine a little more at the feeling, grabbing at his belly to steady himself. That and him panting from not doing any of the work besides taking him so well was making Harry feel hot all over.

“Harry I, I’m gonna come…..please, pleasepleasepleaseplease can I come.” Louis’ voice raised higher and higher with each please rushed out of him, his back arching for what it could with the weight of his stomach holding him down.

Harry laid a hand on Louis’ belly as his other hand gripped onto the arm rest for more support as he thrust in harder, making sure he kept contact on his boys prostate.

“Of course baby boy, come whenever you can.” Harry said before a particularly hard thrust in as he watched Louis’ eyes roll back in pleasure as his orgasm crashed into him.

“HARRY, I fuckingcantbelievei” Louis’ jumbled swear words were shouted through the house as Harry worked Louis’ through his orgasm, chasing his own release. It wasn’t hard when he watched Louis reach down and grip his own belly with two hands as he panted and squirmed under him from the pleasure, Harry’s orgasm rushed through him upon seeing the sight.

Making sure he didn’t fall on top of the stuffed boy underneath him, he collapsed to the side of Louis, a panting mess himself after the show he had just watched his husband put on.

“Louis you….” Harry reached his hand over to turn Louis’ mouth to his, kissing him, “are so hot what the fuck.” He finished as he rested a hand on top of Louis’ belly, drawing soft circles with his fingers.

“Yeah, but” Louis went in for another kiss, sighing into the younger boy's mouth when he caught his tongue, “you, you’re so beautiful Harry. How did I get so lucky all those years ago.”

Both boys laid there for what felt like forever wrapped in each other’s arms sharing lazy kisses waiting for their heart rates to return to normal. Harry loved the feeling of Louis’ belly pressed up against his own, the blue eyed boys head tucked under his chin as he raked his fingers through the chestnut hair.

“Jesus Christ, Merry early Christmas huh”

[artificialqueens]

Sweet as Sugar (Branjie) - Athena2

Summary: Vanessa is a cafe owner who finds herself instantly crushing on the new bakery owner across the street.

A/N: Bakery au is finally here! Every time I was about to get this finished and ready for posting, I got distracted by another fic I wanted to write. It’s finally here, and I hope you enjoy! Thank you to Writ for betaing and encouraging me to finally finish!

Read on AO3.

It’s raining the day the new bakery owner arrives across the street, and Vanessa watches it all through the rain-splattered glass of her cafe windows. It’s cozy and warm in here, the customers chatting while they munch on their sandwiches, and Vanessa’s glad to be safe behind the counter instead of out in that mess.

She can’t ignore the little twinge in her chest as she watches the owner–a tall blonde woman–emerge into the pouring rain and sort through stuff in her trunk. She must be freezing, Vanessa thinks, watching the woman finish with her car and move to fiddling with the bakery door’s lock and a box she’s carrying, before finally setting the box down and using both hands to play with the lock. A minute later, the keys slip out of her hand and into a puddle, and Vanessa bites her lip.

“Someone needs to help that woman,” she says to A’keria, who’s busy stocking the case of to-go sandwiches. “She can’t even get her damn door open.”

A’keria blinks and looks down at herself. “You better not mean me,” she says. “You know how much I hate rain. Have Kameron do it. She has muscles.”

“I’m pretty sure her and Asia are up to something since they mysteriously went on break together.” Vanessa sighs, just hoping those two are back before the lunch rush. “I’ll just do it myself.” She grabs her raincoat and stomps to the door. Vanessa’s a helper, and she’s volunteered at too many church functions with her mom to just leave this woman struggling, even if she has to get rained on.

Vanessa’s boots squelch as she reaches the sidewalk. “Hey there,” she says to the woman, who jumps about a foot in the air.

“Sorry, just–you scared me,” the woman says, grabbing at her heart. Her sweater is soaked through with rain and she’s shivering, blonde hair damp and messy, but she’s still beautiful, with soft green eyes and wide lips that look like they might quirk up mischievously sometimes. Vanessa spends a few seconds just taking her in, heart racing.

“You look like you could use some help,” Vanessa says, remembering why she came here.

“Me? I’m fine.” The woman waves her off.

Vanessa puts her hands on her hips. “I could see you struggling from across the dang street.”

“I guess I was.” The blonde sighs. “I just can’t get this key to work,” she says, holding up a key ring soaked with dirty puddle water.

“Let me try,” Vanessa offers. The blonde’s hands are baker’s hands, their slight roughness smoothed over with lotion, a still-healing burn mark near her wrist likely from pulling a hot pan out of the oven, an injury Vanessa knows too well. They’re also shaking from the cold as she passes Vanessa the key, and Vanessa’s heart softens in sympathy. No wonder she couldn’t get her door open.

Vanessa plunges the key in the lock and twists and turns until it clicks, pulling the door open with a whoop of joy.

“I loosened it for you,” the woman says.

Vanessa shakes her head. “That’s for jars, not doors!” She laughs, scooping up the woman’s box and ushering her inside.

Vanessa’s eyes widen when she sees the inside of the place. This little building has been home to dog grooming businesses and then to pizza businesses that did nothing to mask the wet dog smell and then to shoe stores that not only did nothing to mask the wet dog and tomato smell, but also added feet to the mix. Vanessa watched moving trucks drive up and pull away through her cafe windows, wondering if the next person would stick around.

It seems this woman wants to, and she’s completely transformed the place. Gone are the muddled dog/tomato/feet smells, as are the cracks in the wall Vanessa remembers from when she went shoe shopping. Instead, everything’s been painted a soothing lavender, with black silhouettes of baked goods–cupcakes and cookies and donuts–framing the top part of the wall. There’s a big counter with a glass case waiting to be filled, and tables and chairs stacked along the walls.

“It’s beautiful in here,” Vanessa says.

The blonde blushes. “Thanks. And thank you for your help, um…”

“Vanessa,” Vanessa says quickly. “I’m Vanessa.”

“Brooke.” She takes the box from Vanessa and sets it on the counter, eyes roaming around the room and a grin breaking out on her face. Vanessa recognizes the feeling–it’s the same one she had three years ago, when she couldn’t believe her cafe was really hers.

“When do you open?” Vanessa asks.

“Two weeks, if everything goes to plan. Just need to get the rest of the equipment in and finish everything up.”

Vanessa nods, hovering by the door awkwardly. There’s no reason for her to stay, but she can’t quite make herself leave. She wants to keep talking to Brooke, find out more about her. She watches Brooke blow on her hands to thaw them and an idea pops into her head.

“Hey, why don’t you come to my cafe and have coffee or something and warm up?” Vanessa offers.

Brooke smiles. “Lead the way.”

—

Vanessa sits with Brooke at the corner table right below the heat vent, watching her sip coffee and eat Vanessa’s famous grilled cheese and tomato sandwich.

“This is really good, Vanessa,” Brooke says, and Vanessa beams. She can’t help it. Even after three years of having her little cafe, watching people enjoy her food still warms her heart like the first time she made her mom pancakes and watched her devour them all. Everything Vanessa knows about cooking comes from dragging a chair over to the counter and watching her mom make dinner, and now she gets to be the one cooking.

“Thanks,” Vanessa says. “So, how’d you get into baking?”

Brooke finishes the last bite of her sandwich. “I always liked it. My grandma and I would make something whenever she babysat for me.” She pauses, sips her coffee. “I never went to culinary school or anything, but I’d make stuff for my friends a lot. Somehow they convinced me to start a little home business, and it kind of exploded. I started saving to have my own bakery, and now I do.” She gives a shy little smile that makes Vanessa melt.

“What about you?” Brooke asks.

Vanessa grins. “I basically ran a sandwich shop out of my dorm in college. The dining hall food was disgusting, so my mom got me a little panini press, and I started making grilled cheese and stuff for me and my roommates. Word got around and suddenly I was cooking for the whole building!”

Those had been some of her best days in college—people lined up and down the hall waiting for their sandwiches, bopping to the beat of the radio she had blasting and talking to her as she worked, even bringing their own ingredients for custom orders. And the best part of all: watching them bite into their sandwiches, closing their eyes and groaning about how good it was, like they were in a fancy restaurant and not a cinder block college dorm.

Brooke laughs, and Vanessa would do anything to hear that sound again.

“Somewhere in all that, I realized I loved cooking. It was exciting and relaxing at the same time, you know? So I did a bunch of restaurant jobs until I could finally open this place.”

Brooke nods. “It’s really nice here. Did you do all the decorating yourself?”

Vanessa glances around at the wall of framed posters bearing her favorite movies and singers, the fairy lights lining the walls, the fuzzy pom-pom banner draped in front of the counter, and nods proudly. “And the menu too. All the sandwiches are stuff I came up with myself.”

Brooke whistles. “That’s a lot of sandwiches.”

“Tell me about it. Took me months to come up with them all.” Vanessa must have tested hundreds of sandwiches in those months, adding and taking away and re-adding ingredients so many times her friends and family would run the other way when they saw her coming with samples. But after hours remixing and experimenting, her kitchen transformed into a science lab, Vanessa finally had her menu.

“I like it though,” Vanessa continues. “Trying new things and testing them out. Doing my own thing, you know? You can’t really do that with baking. Tried to do my own thing making a cake once and the thing exploded. I was cleaning my oven for days.”

Brooke laughs. “I get it. I think I like baking because of the rules. There’s certain things you have to follow, yeah, but such good stuff comes from it. And it’s–it’s kinda amazing how some of the techniques haven’t changed in hundreds of years.”

“You’re right,” Vanessa says. “I never thought of it like that. Making stuff’s always been special to me. It’s like making someone food is—“

“It’s like saying I love you.” Brooke blushes at what she’s just said and Vanessa does too.

“Yeah.”

There’s a beat so silent Vanessa hears A’keria muttering to herself about Vanessa’s extra-long break while she wrestles with a pile of spoons. Brooke looks at her empty plate and stands.

“I, uh, I should go. Got a lot of work to do.”

“Right.”

Brooke pulls out her wallet. “How much for–”

Vanessa waves her off. “On the house.” She smiles. “I wouldn’t say no to a chocolate cupcake once you open, though.”

Brooke grins. “You got it.”

She heads out, and Vanessa does more staring out the window than working for the rest of the day.

—

The next two weeks fly by. A’Keria takes over Vanessa’s spot in the window when a muscled moving crew hauls in Brooke’s equipment. Vanessa chases A’keria away for the rest, watching Brooke pace around inside her bakery, rearranging chairs and tables more times than Vanessa thought possible, sweeping with the ferocity of a hockey player, and talking to two girls Vanessa assumes are her assistants. Vanessa imagines Brooke’s delicate hands carefully piping frosting onto cupcakes or icing intricate designs on sugar cookies and has to smile.

Brooke’s been so busy that Vanessa hasn’t seen much of her, and she tells herself the little ache in her chest is just two weeks’ worth of heartburn. Brooke does stop in and asks Vanessa if she can put business cards and flyers on her community bulletin board, and Vanessa barely breathes as she and Brooke tack them up between advertisements for dance classes and library events, their shoulders brushing all the while.

It seems that all the flyers and advertising worked—the day Brooke opens, there’s a line of people stretched down the sidewalk, and Vanessa beams with pride for her. She knows how hard it can be to have a cafe, knows how amazing and necessary the customers are. She wants Brooke to succeed just as much as she has.

She watches all day as the line moves and people come out with bright white boxes and even brighter smiles.

Vanessa is closing up for the day when there’s a knock at the door. Lord help her if these are people ignoring the clear-as-day Closed sign to demand that she serves them.

But it’s not a pushy customer—it’s Brooke, with a tiny box in her hand and a huge smile on her face.

Vanessa grins too, her heart leaping in her chest.

“Big day for you, huh,” Vanessa says, guiding her into the cafe.

“Yeah.” Brooke sighs, rubbing at tired eyes. “I’m exhausted, but in the best way, you know?”

“I do.”

Brooke smiles again, and she offers the box to Vanessa.

“Is this—“

“I keep my promises.”

Vanessa opens the box to see a huge chocolate cupcake with swirled chocolate frosting dotted with tiny buttercream roses. There’s a little fondant tag on top, with something written in impeccably neat red icing. It’s a phone number, and Vanessa looks up at Brooke in wonder.

“If you want it, I mean,” Brooke clarifies, pointing to the number.

“Oh, I do.”

Brooke’s grin reaches her ears.

“Wanna go out for dinner this weekend?” Vanessa asks hopefully.

Brooke can’t nod fast enough. “I’ve got dessert covered.”

[sunflowerhoney]

I’m sorry this is so late...I had so many things going on and the ugly case of writer’s block but here it is...longer than just a drabble this time 💞 hope you had a wonderful birthday, darling 🌺

It’s a lovely morning when Gwendolyn wakes up next to her special woman. Birds are chirping and the sun shines through the sheer lace curtains. Mildred stirs suddenly and rolls over in Gwendolyn’s arms. The brunette rubs her eyes open and smiles tiredly at the blonde. She yawns before she can say anything.

“Happy birthday, darling,” Gwendolyn murmurs into her favorite lady’s ear. Her lips graze Mildred’s temple, cheek, chin, and finally pause on her mouth. They kiss hungrily. Mildred moans as Gwendolyn explores her mouth with soft swipes of her tongue and the younger woman’s breath hitches when the older of the two bites her lower lip softly. Mildred tangles her fingers in Gwendolyn’s locks and pulls her closer as they continue making out passionately.

“Thank you, sweetheart...” Mildred gasps out once they take a moment to catch their breaths. “It’s the best one I’ve ever had, and we’re not even eating yet!”

“Hm...that reminds me.” Gwendolyn sits up and pushes the covers off herself. She strokes Mildred’s hair and then rests her hand on her girlfriend’s cheek, stroking her thumb against it from side to side. “My love, I’m going to get breakfast made for us, but then I’m baking a cake...now what flavor would you like?”

Mildred squeezes her hand and looks down bashfully. “Oh, Gwen, you don’t have to-“

She gets out of bed. “I want to...but only if it’s okay with you, of course.”

“Why?” Mildred looks at her, puzzled.

“Sweetness, because I adore you. I cherish you with every fiber of my being. Everyone deserves to have cake on their birthday if they’re a decent human being, and you are far beyond that...you’re amazing and I take genuine pleasure in spoiling you.”

“Fair enough.” Mildred giggles. “I’m talking to a lady who makes me breakfast in bed almost every morning. Many of them contain chocolate chip banana blueberry pancakes or waffles with coffee the way I like it, milk, creamer, and whipped cream!” She beams up at Gwendolyn. “Um...yellow cake with chocolate frosting!”

The light feeling blossoms within Gwendolyn. “That sounds delicious! What did you want to do for the rest of the day?”

“Take a stroll along the beach, then a picnic for lunch...fine dining tonight complete with margaritas, and cake, of course!” Mildred responds cheerfully.

“Oh, what a wonderful plan!” Gwendolyn sighs happily as she takes Mildred in. “My goodness, I love waking up next to such beauty every morning, and such a kind hearted soul!”

“As do I, my darling.”

“Isn’t that my pet name for you?” Gwendolyn teases her.

Mildred swats at her playfully.

“I’ll resume my pampering.” Gwendolyn lifts Mildred’s hand and kisses her knuckles before leaving their room. She wants to surprise Mildred with a meal she’s never made, but Mildred sometimes orders it when they go out for breakfast.

“Egg omelette with cheese, bell peppers, and ham!” Mildred squeals when Gwendolyn carries the plates full of food and beverages into their room. “Thank you so much, honey!” The younger woman scoots herself up to a sitting position and waves it over.

“You’re very welcome, dear!” Gwendolyn sets it in her lap and takes a spot beside her. They share a hot, open-mouthed kiss before starting to eat their meal and sip their drinks.

While Gwendolyn makes Mildred her cake, the latter takes a shower and puts on a yellow casual dress for her special day. She wears makeup and twists her hair into a bun before putting on a white sunhat. She goes downstairs and stops at the doorway of the kitchen to hear Gwendolyn humming cheerfully while sliding her cake into the oven.

A lump forms in Mildred’s throat, for she’s never actually celebrated her birthday with anyone. Anna, her caseworker, gave her cake, but never fostered her. The others who had, just treated the day like nothing. After only one time of doing so, she had learned never to speak of it again. Blinking her tears back, she comes up to Gwendolyn and puts her arms around the blonde’s waist from behind.

Gwendolyn makes a noise of surprise. “Oh, darling, hello, I didn’t hear you arrive.” She turns in Mildred’s embrace and hugs her back.

“I’m sorry that I frightened you. My footsteps aren’t very loud.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Gwendolyn assures her. She gives Mildred a fond peck on the lips and her blue eyes stare lovingly into Mildred’s brown eyes.

Mildred grins at her love and twirls her fingers around the blonde, messy tendrils that frame Gwendolyn’s beautiful face. “I know...it’s just a habit.”

Gwendolyn smiles at her sadly, remembering when Mildred had told her how mistreated she had been in her youth. “Mm-hm. You look beautiful today, but you always do, every time I lay my eyes on you.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. So do you!”

“Your compliment is much appreciated, but I’m going to take a shower, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too,” Mildred responds, beaming with joy.

After Gwendolyn curls her hair to perfection, she puts it in a half-up style and dresses in a sky blue button-up shirt and black trousers. She sets her matching beret on her head and applies eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara, and bright red lipstick. “Well?” she asks, spinning around adorably.

Mildred chuckles. “Absolutely glamorous!”

“Thank you!”

As soon as Gwendolyn takes the cake out of the oven, she lets it cool. Mildred eyes it hungrily. They pack their lunches and then Gwendolyn shoos Mildred out. “How I decorate the cake should be a surprise until after dinner tonight!” she claims.

“I couldn’t agree with you more!”

Gwendolyn helps Mildred into her coat and then puts her own on. She holds her hand out for Mildred to take. “Shall we go, princess?”

Mildred grabs it. “Yes, my girl.”

On their stroll along the beach, they’re holding hands, talking, and laughing as the waves crash against the shore. They’re carrying their picnic baskets and gazing at each other with so much adoration. “Do you notice how the sun glitters on the sea?” Gwendolyn asks.

Mildred nods and she’s smiling so hard that her cheeks hurt. “It’s beautiful...but it hardly compares with how pretty you are.”

Gwendolyn’s eyes sparkle like sapphires as she grins. “My darling, you’re too sweet.”

The brunette shakes her head. “No, that would be you.” She kneels down and lays out a red and white checkered blanket. “This spot is lovely, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it sure is!” The blonde sits with her and they eat while watching the enchanted, greenish-blue ocean. It’s hardly warm enough to actually swim, but they do enjoy taking photos of it and each other.

When their lunch is finished, they put the containers away and lay on the blanket together, cuddling under the magnificent sky until it grows dark. They watch the sunset as the clear moon rises and then, they see stars. Gwendolyn shivers a bit and that’s when Mildred knows that their pleasant stay out here must end and they need to go somewhere inside. “You’re cold, honey,” she points out.

“Yes, it’s getting chilly,” Gwendolyn agrees. “Let’s get to that restaurant!”

“Okay!” Mildred says excitedly.

Gwendolyn drives them to a Mexican place and they order margaritas and cheese enchiladas with rice, refried beans, mild salsa, guacamole, chicken, and sour cream. It’s all so delicious and their heads are buzzing with the alcohol. It’s such an excellent sensation and Gwendolyn pays for the meal.

“Thank you for such a wonderful day,” Mildred tells her softly.

“You’re welcome, but it isn’t over yet,” Gwendolyn murmurs, winking at her. “Hey...isn’t every day splendid with me?” she teases.

“Of course it is!”

They both giggle in harmony.

At home, Gwendolyn has Mildred sit at the brown table in the dining room and then she dims the lights. She goes into the kitchen and lights ten candles that she’s plopped into the cake - three years for each one. She begins singing Happy Birthday as she enters the living room, holding the platter of cake. Mildred’s face glows with extreme happiness as Gwendolyn places it down in front of her.

“Happy birthday, dear Mildred, happy birthday to you!” she finishes crooning.

Mildred claps and cheers. She puts her hand to her chest. “Aw, thank you so much, Gwen! Chocolate frosting with my name in pink letters and a blue heart beside it and yellow flowers...my favorite design ever!”

Smiling, Gwendolyn takes a picture of a beaming Mildred with her cake. “The pleasure is mine, my sweetest darling girl. Now, make a wish!”

Mildred closes her eyes and inhales. A few moments later, she blows out her candles and Gwendolyn claps for her. They exchange a liplock and then remove the candles before the wax melts into the frosting. “Wouldn’t you like to know what my wish was?”

“Don’t tell me, or it won’t come true!” Gwendolyn warns her.

Mildred smirks. “Yeah, I better not.”

“Now...hold on one moment, before I forget...I have a gift for you!” Gwendolyn runs up the steps and grabs the present she’s about to give Mildred. She goes downstairs to find Mildred seated on the couch. She hands Mildred the neatly wrapped box and watches in anticipation as her girlfriend opens it.

The younger woman squeals, holding up her elegant diamond necklace. “Oh my! Gwen…thank you.”

“My pleasure. Can I help you put it on?”

Mildred nods, beaming. So Gwendolyn does, and ever so delicately, too. Mildred giggles as Gwendolyn’s fingernails lightly brush the back of her neck as she does the clasp. The pendant sits in the valley of Mildred’s cleavage and it looks amazing. She gazes at her reflection in the mirror. “Wow, it’s truly gorgeous!”

“I’m glad you love it, sweetheart.” Gwendolyn hugs her from behind and Mildred returns the gesture. “Would you like to dance?”

“Sure, but...there’s no music playing.”

“I’m about to change that!” Gwendolyn strides to the record player and begins a slow, romantic song. She starts swaying with Mildred, swirling her around their living room floor, and then dipping her as the brunette cracks up with pure, unbridled joy. Gwendolyn joins in and then, their lips touch. She brings Mildred back up and holds her gaze.

Their arms wrapped around each other, they kiss over and over again without abandon.

OH MY GOSH THIS IS LITERALLY THE CUTEST EVER!!!! Thank you so, so much you are so awesome and this is truly amazing!!! 🥺

Gwen making Mildred a birthday cake!!! That is too cute!! Mildred deserves a happy birthday with her love after everything, this was so so cute and well written and so them!!

Thank you so, so much again and thank you for the birthday wishes!! I’m so sorry I’m a bit late posting but I appreciate you a lot!! 💖 ☺️

[dylanssourwolf]

Sterek AU: Never Trust A Skinny Baker | Stiles just wanted to come home and run his bakery with Scott, but of course normalcy isn't something he'll ever find in Beacon Hills. The FBI thrust him into an undercover investigation of what they think is a serial killer, and Stiles already knows it's something different. Worst of all, there's a model that keeps coming in for cupcakes between shoots. He's angry and beautiful and an alpha werewolf that happens to be Stiles's best customer. What could go wrong? Oh yeah, he's a main suspect in the fucking case. All Stiles has to do is not get murdered by whatever homicidal monster is out there, all the while trying desperately to not fall for ominous Derek Hale. Let's just hope he doesn't get compromised.

Read the whole thing here: NTASB

           “You do understand the risks of this operation, yes?” Agent Raphael McCall turns to look at his lanky intern. “This thing is dangerous, primal, and will not hesitate to kill again. We shouldn’t even be letting you do this.” He sits back down in his chair and takes a deep breath as he slides the case file across his large, oak desk. The boy picks it up and wastes no time in flipping through photos and autopsy reports as Agent McCall leans forward on his forearms to speak in a hushed tone. “You absolutely cannot tell anyone while you’re investigating. Not Lydia, not the Argents, and definitely not my son. Comprende? I know his nose is probably stuck into this mess already, but under no circumstance do you compromise yourself.”             Agent McCall reaches forward and snatches the file back and goes through the important details, skimming over the police reports and the crime scene photos right to the last couple pages in the folder. “Everything in this packet is what you need to learn. It’s your alias. Your reasons for coming home, what you’ve been up to here at the FBI headquarters, how your internship is going, everything. You say nothing that isn’t in this packet.”                     “What if the answers aren’t in this packet? Do I call you o-or like, shoot a text?” He makes finger guns and receives a glare from the agent in response. “You know what? I’m great at improvising, I’m sure I can just, uh, make something up based on this—” he wiggles the pages midair, “—incredibly thorough biography.”            He rises from his seat in front of the desk and Agent McCall follows suit. “The only people you consult with are your father and the rest of the Beacon County Sheriff’s Department. They’ve already been briefed and await your arrival.” He reaches into his suit pocket and tosses a pair of keys at the boy. “We pulled some strings and got Scott to send your car up. It’s parked out front.”            “Whoa, wait—”            The agent stops from his departure and takes another deep breath as he turns around at the kid behind him. “What is it?”            “Do I have a cool code name or anything?” He starts bobbing his head to music that isn’t playing. “I could be like, Batman or something.”            McCall opens the office door and shakes his head. “You’re going home. You don’t need one.” He motions for the kid to leave. “Your alias is just yourself, Stiles Stilinski.”            Stiles’s face falls into pursed lips. “Whatever. I’m going.” He jingles his keys as he walks out of the office and into an array of cubicles. “Hey one more th—” He turns and the door closes. And locks. Twice.            “Just go do your job, Stiles,” Agent McCall says through the door. “This creature isn’t going to catch itself.”

TWO WEEKS LATER

          Chocanthropy is what they agree on. It took a teeny bit of persuading, but once he had Scott convinced he’d be home for a couple months taking a break from his internship at the FBI, they rounded up their cash and bought an abandoned building repossessed by the county for a whopping $750 so that they could fulfill Stiles’s dream of opening a bakery together. He’d always had a passion for baking; it was an activity he usually did with his mother but after she’d gotten sick, he just stopped doing it and it was as if that part of him was fading away with her. Stiles wasn’t about to let that happen. Baking was one of the best things his mother had ever taught him, one of the only things rather. He’d made everything from cakes and cookies, to the most incredible chocolate soufflé anyone has ever eaten, so the least he could do was take something he loved and start something for his mom.           Scott hangs the neon sign on the building, the eerie, unconventional font spelling out Chocanthropy in bright purple. The silhouette of a howling wolf curves around behind the lettering and lights up a pale white, contrasting against the blue of the subtext reading Bake Shop. It gives Stiles chills to know that this is theirs. They paid for it.

          “We’re officially open for business.”           Scott gives Stiles a high five as they head back into the shop. The wallpaper is lavender with white crown molding along the border. The dark wood flooring expands the length of the small shop and booths of black vinyl stretch along the right wall. There’s a record player in the corner and a couple dozen strands of string lights running underneath the edge of the dark wooden countertop. Behind the counter is the menu, prominently displayed on a chalkboard hanging from a large piece of gray driftwood bolted to the ceiling. Pastry toppings rest in jars on the shelves along the back wall underneath the menu, a centerpiece for the artwork of wolves and werewolves that hang on the walls, all vintage movie posters from The Wolfman, Lycanthropus, and La Loba.             “The result of our hard work. It’s more perfect than I’d ever imagined.” Scott watches Stiles beam as his amber eyes scan the shop.           “Your mom would’ve loved this, you know. I’m sure she’s so proud of you.”           Stiles smiles, pulling Scott in for a hug. “Couldn’t have done it without you, bro. Thanks.”

          He spends the rest of his day in the kitchen, baking batches of cookies and cupcakes to sell the following day. He faintly hears Scott on the phone with the Beacon Hills Tribune trying to get an ad space for their shop. He lets the indie record on the player set into his bones while the pastry bag of rosy strawberry icing sets in his hand. Around the edge, fill the middle, curl the top. He’s got flour on his hands and smeared all over his face, the plaid apron around his waist decorated with streaks of food dye and icing. He’s got four dozen made and four dozen to go. It’s not like the daily flavors are going to bake themselves.           Stiles puts the strawberry icing down and flips through the recipe book on the metal counter behind him. Chocolate Guinness or Patty Cake? His mind wanders. He’s too consumed by the fact that the sink isn’t working properly and soaking himself to even hear the bell over the door ring.           “Hey, Scott!” He sounds desperate because, well, the water pressure was a bit high when he took the sprayer head off and now he’s flooded the kitchen. “This stupid sink is broken!” He’s managed to shut the water off. Stiles angrily grips the sprayer nozzle in one hand and heads out of the kitchen to look for Scott when he notices a man staring at the movie posters hanging on the walls. He overestimates the length of the hose and is yanked right back into the kitchen.           “Oh my God, please tell me you weren’t waiting long,” Stiles dashes out and panics, running his fingers through his dripping hair. “The sink broke and I have no experience in fixing those kinds of things and I have no idea where Scott went so I—”           “Do you have any red velvet cupcakes?” The man doesn’t turn around.           Stiles blinks. “Uh, yeah.” His hand comes up to scratch the back of his neck. Nervous habit. “I just made two dozen.”           The guy looks like he’s come straight out of a movie. The dark jeans he’s got on lay perfectly over the curve of his hips and wrinkle around his black boots. He turns, and Stiles notices how his jacket hangs over his broad shoulders. The smooth, oiled leather draws the attention right to the gorgeous light green eyes currently glaring at Stiles from the opposite side of the counter. “I’ll take a dozen.”           “Sure, okay. Give me a second to pack them up.” Stiles offers a small smile to the man who just continues to stew in a shroud of vexation. He disappears in the back room to find Scott jotting down information just before he hangs up the phone.           “Stiles! So, we got an ad in tomorrow's paper!”           “That’s great. Can you help me with…?” Stiles nods toward the door and guides Scott out in front of him. “He wants a dozen red velvet.”           "On it,” Scott says, stopping at the register to let Stiles scurry behind him into the kitchen to box up twelve perfectly decorated cupcakes. He seals the edge of the purple box with a sticker that reads, Never Trust a Skinny Baker and a logo printed underneath. He brings the box out and pushes it across the counter just as Scott closes the register.           “This, is for you,” Stiles chimes, sticking a business card on top of the box. The man glances between Scott and Stiles before he grumbles something incoherent. "Enjoy your cupcakes,” Stiles beams with artificial charm. “Tell all your friends about us.” Stiles gets an eyebrow lift in return before the man grabs the box and heads back out the door.           “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” Stiles mumbles something about being pleasant and lets Scott go back to the storage room to print out some flyers their friends agreed to hand out. "Something doesn’t set right with me," Scott says, turning briefly to look at his best friend before continuing to the back of the shop. “That guy gave me a weird vibe.”           Stiles shrugs and brushes it off. “Hey, is Allison coming?”           “Yeah,” Scott yells. “She’s supposed to bring Lydia and Isaac, too.” Stiles shuffles back into the kitchen to pick up the bag of strawberry icing again, trying to figure out why that pair of jade eyes looks so familiar.

[curedeity]

 Gasher's Repose

Summary: Madoka does not battle, she has many other ways to pass the time though. And sometimes, she passes the time together.

   Madoka wouldn’t call her engineering a hobby. At this point, it was more a prospective career. She still enjoyed doing it, but she could have fun doing more than a singular thing. And having a wide range of talents and interests was quite important.

    Everyone wanted to participate in Battle Bladers. It was no surprise, they were all very competitive, and given the danger of the Dark Nebula organization, they’d want as many people they knew competing in the tournament as possible.

    But that didn’t mean Madoka didn’t have objections to it.

    Well, not objections so much as stipulations.

    “Does this look good?” Kenta frowned as he flipped over the piece of chicken he was grilling under Madoka’s watchful eye. If Kenta was going to be traveling alone (because he was too stubborn to have Gingka babysit him) she sure as hell wasn’t going to be letting him eat dogshit the entire time.

    “Hm…” Madoka inspected the piece of meat. “5 more minutes and we’ll check it again. It should be lighter.”

    Kenta sighed and slipped the piece back over letting it sizzle in the pan. He had agreed enthusiastically to the lessons, as Kenta was prone to do. His eagerness was always welcome, but Madoka could tell that the amount of time she had kept him cooking was starting to grate on even him.

    It had started with her teaching him a simple recipe for pancakes, then how to properly prepare veggies, and now onto how to cook meat. 

    “When’d you learn to cook Madoka?” Kenta asked absent-mindedly as he kept his eyes on the chicken.

    Madoka paused, the memory coming to her with frightening yet relieving ease. “Well my grandma showed me a few recipes, she really loved to cook,” Madoka reminisced, rustling through her shelves. “But I was pretty young so I didn’t learn much, it was only later that- Aha!-” Madoka pulled a book out of the mess. “-She gave me this family recipe book and I learned a lot from following the instructions in it.”

    She passed the book to Kenta, who paged through it carefully. It was decorated with simple illustrations, and a few photos that Madoka believed her grandmother had taken. The pages were worn down from the constant use Madoka put it through, and the pages yellowed with age.

    “Hey, you’ve made us this before!” Kenta said, his voice rising excitedly into an almost yell as he pointed at a cake recipe. Madoka leaned over his shoulder, nodding. 

    “That’s one of my favorite sweets to make.” Grandma had used to make it on her birthday, chocolate peanut butter cake topped with caramel coated nuts. That cake was the reason Madoka thanked biology every day for not giving her a peanut allergy.

    “It’s one of my favorites to eat,” Kenta mumbled, and Madoka hid her giggle as a clearing of the throat.

    “All the recipes in there are very good, tried and tested through my family for generations,” Madoka winked. “You can use the book any time if you want to try cooking something new, even I haven’t gone through everything yet.”

    “There’s just so much, how am I going to learn to cook this all?” Kenta continued to flip through the book, only this time with a mounting horror.

    Madoka hummed, quickly trying to think of words to dispel her young friend’s fears. “Well, most of it is just about learning the basics. Like most things, baking is just a combination of elements. I’m hoping to teach you some simple elements so you can apply them while you travel.”

    Kenta nodded. Madoka could remember as a child how daunting that same cookbook had seemed, but that was so distant now. 

    Madoka laid her hand on Kenta’s shoulder, smiling down at him. “You’re doing great,” She praised. Kenta reacted well to compliments, and it wasn’t like he didn’t deserve some. He had patiently done what Madoka asked, and he was learning well.

    Kenta immediately smiled. “Thanks Madoka!” He chirped.

    Cooking was one of Madoka’s passions. A survival skill, but also a way to connect with others. She had learned so much about her family from this cookbook and now… well now she had shared it with Gingka and Kenta.

    It was really fun.

    Madoka sniffed, staving off happy tears. Her kitchen smelled of spice… and smoke.

    “Fuc-dge!” Madoka swore, spinning around as she and Kenta frantically turned off the stove and tried to salvage the chicken.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    She cleaned everyone’s beys. Scanned them once more and updated the files she’d had on them. Cleaned her tools. Had her leftover pieces ready to be swapped in if a worse scenario happened during their next tournament battle. 

    Was there really nothing left to do?

    Her eyes roved over the supply case once again, and another time. Maybe she should make them shine, just a bit more.

    “No, bad Madoka,” She admonished her workaholic self, slapping the back of her palm lightly. “Just relax.” There was no more work left to do, and at this point all she’d be doing would be stressing herself out more. 

    Pulling out her computer, she hovered the cursor around, chewing her lip. There was still a while before night would truly set in, it was too early to sleep with the last rays of the sun still casting light. She didn’t really want to play a visual novel right now, too much reading. Finally, she decided upon a racing game, opening it up to the quiet sound effect of an engine revving.

    Madoka smirked as she joined a group. The race track was slowly decided, a beginner’s course. Shame, she had voted for the speed track, it had some rather unique mechanics she had learned to abuse.

    Coding was a skill that would take people years to learn. It was a slow process of building up equations and scripts until something came of it. Madoka was not a coder. Madoka had, however, gone into the files of some of her favorite games and maybe messed around with them a bit, just to find out exactly how the games worked.

    Needless to say, she knew how to play.

    Winning the first round was easy, as was the second and third. It felt cheap, in a way, to be playing against people who likely weren’t as experienced as her. But she didn’t have anyone else to challenge, and it’s not like losing should rob the game of its fun.

    Besides, they seemed to be enjoying ganging up on her.

    It felt like so long ago that she had met her new friends, when in reality it was only a year. In that year, however, she had become quite used to being startled. That’s why she didn’t even blink when Yu barged into her room, pulling Masamune behind, and flopped down on the bed beside her.

    “Madoka,” Yu whined, tugging at her arm. “I’m bored,”

    Yu was a very talented blader, Madoka had nothing but respect for his skill, her brain still echoing the time he had beaten Gingka. Yu was also a small brat.

    “And?” Madoka hummed, lapping one of the players that had gotten stuck in a sticky trap.

    “Masamune won’t play with me, he keeps saying he’s too busy.” Madoka could hear the pout in Yu’s words. She had been spending too much damn time with this kid to be able to recognize it this easily.

    “Well, when you’re the world’s number one blader, you have to keep practicing all the time,” Masamune scoffed. Oh, to have an ego that large, Madoka wished she knew the feeling.

    “Hm, you didn’t seem that busy yesterday when you were crying over a romcom, surely you can spend some time entertaining Yu,” Madoka pointed out. 

    Masamune spluttered, Yu yelled, “I wasn’t crying!” “I don’t need to be babysitted!”

    Madoka passed the finish line and logged out of the server, watching the tourney she had just destroyed get added to her ever increasing win rate, Then she leveled the two with the driest glare she, tiredly, could muster. Masamune reeled backwards, realizing his mistake, and Yu slammed his mouth shut.

    Really, this wasn’t abnormal or even a shock. They were all teenagers, with small attention spans and easily bruised egos. It was almost every day that an argument would break out over what to spend the day doing. Honestly, it seemed like the only thing they could agree on most of the time was beybattles.

    “How about this, I teach you both to play a racing game?” Madoka offered, pulling out some extra controllers she had and passing them off.

    Yu brightened immediately. “Oh yippee! Masamune, I’m gonna kick your ass!”

    “Language,” Madoka chastised as she synced the controllers in.

    “I’m number one, there’s absolutely no way I’m losing!”

    Madoka would never beat either of these two in a beybattle. This was not a problem for her, and she had no issues admitting it. Both were talented in their sport, and she respected that.

    But it did feel good to lap them in every single game they played.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Madoka didn’t take up new hobbies often. This was more from a lack of time to continue even her old ones than lack of interest. Now, stuck travelling so often, she ended up having more time on her hands than she even knew what to do with.

    She had to say, she never would’ve imagined herself learning to knit, yet here she was with a tutorial video opened in front of her.

    “I think you’re casting them on wrong,” Tsubasa frowned as he glanced between her tangled mess and the instructions. He was having his own problems, but had luckily made it through the casting stage.

    That didn’t mean he knew how to explain how he’d done it, Madoka was frustratingly coming to realize.

    “What are sides even? What are directions?” She mourned as she unknotted her abomination.

    Tsubasa shrugged, getting started on his second, lumpy and uneven row.

    It had been agreed upon by the entire time that they’d switch seats every time they traveled. As well as some of them could get along, if any of them spent too much time around the same single other person, blood would be shed.

    This time, it was Tsubasa’s and Madoka’s turn to hang out, while the other three snored away across the aisle. 

    “Maybe crochet is easier,” Madoka grouched.

    “I would fear trying to do anything like this with only a single needle,” Tsubasa replied gravely, his gaze full of fear as he pulled through another stitch.

    Madoka frowned, “I’m pretty sure crochet is more complicated than that.” It would have to be, wouldn’t it?

    Tsubasa shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.” And Madoka couldn’t disagree with that statement.

    They had both decided to start easily. Madoka would be making a new scarf for Gingka. While in Russia, she had learned that his normal scarf, with all it’s length, had no volume or actual protection against the cold. It was an insult to scarves that she intended to rectify. Tsubasa was planning a small pouch to replace the old one on his belt, though she suspected he’d be better off buying a new one until he got the hang of knitting.

    Not that she could say any better for herself…

    “I’m going to be giving Gingka the lumpiest, most lopsided scarf in existence,” Madoka announced, finally finishing casting on. Yes her yarn had begun to fray, but at least it was on the needle now!

    “If it truly looks that awful, you could always give it to Director Ryo,” Tsubasa deadpanned.

    Madoka saw her opportunity and swooped in for the kill. “Unlike you, Director Ryo hasn’t practically adopted me yet, so the gift really would be coming out of nowhere.” Madoka… honestly didn’t know that much about Tsubasa, or many of her friends. It was always nice in moments like these to tease them about what she did know.

    Tsubasa spluttered and Madoka set down her knitting so she could cover up her laughs.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Being a mechanic for beys, Madoka really should’ve known more about astrology. It was always strange to remember that even Gingka knew more about constellations than she did. She wasn’t completely ignorant, but comparatively she was lacking.

    Yuki had lived his whole life revolved around the stars, learning to draw lines from brilliant dot to bright light every night. He was an actual expert among their group, and on the nights they camped out he proved it unintentionally.

    It didn’t take much to convince him to set-up a telescope at the hotel they’d be staying at for a few days.

    “So, the fall constellations should be out right now, do you know which ones those are Ms. Madoka?” Yuki asked, fiddling with the telescope as he tried to angle it just right. 

    “Yep, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a refresher,” Madoka smiled at the younger boy. 

    Yuki nodded, launching into an explanation Madoka only understood half of, because at some point he’d decided to go into the science behind the expansion of stars. It was quite interesting though, listening with one half of her brain, and looking up towards the tapestry of the sky with the other.

    He was so excited, and Madoka let herself get swallowed in that enjoyment.

[hortensia-cullen]

It’s a lovely morning when Gwendolyn wakes up next to her special woman. Birds are chirping and the sun shines through the sheer lace curtains. Mildred stirs suddenly and rolls over in Gwendolyn’s arms. The brunette rubs her eyes open and smiles tiredly at the blonde. She yawns before she can say anything.

“Happy birthday, darling,” Gwendolyn murmurs into her favorite lady’s ear. Her lips graze Mildred’s temple, cheek, chin, and finally pause on her mouth. They kiss hungrily. Mildred moans as Gwendolyn explores her mouth with soft swipes of her tongue and the younger woman’s breath hitches when the older of the two bites her lower lip softly. Mildred tangles her fingers in Gwendolyn’s locks and pulls her closer as they continue making out passionately.

“Thank you, sweetheart...” Mildred gasps out once they take a moment to catch their breaths. “It’s the best one I’ve ever had, and we’re not even eating yet!”

“Hm...that reminds me.” Gwendolyn sits up and pushes the covers off herself. She strokes Mildred’s hair and then rests her hand on her girlfriend’s cheek, stroking her thumb against it from side to side. “My love, I’m going to get breakfast made for us, but then I’m baking a cake...now what flavor would you like?”

Mildred squeezes her hand and looks down bashfully. “Oh, Gwen, you don’t have to-“

She gets out of bed. “I want to...but only if it’s okay with you, of course.”

“Why?” Mildred looks at her, puzzled.

“Sweetness, because I adore you. I cherish you with every fiber of my being. Everyone deserves to have cake on their birthday if they’re a decent human being, and you are far beyond that...you’re amazing and I take genuine pleasure in spoiling you.”

“Fair enough.” Mildred giggles. “I’m talking to a lady who makes me breakfast in bed almost every morning. Many of them contain chocolate chip banana blueberry pancakes or waffles with coffee the way I like it, milk, creamer, and whipped cream!” She beams up at Gwendolyn. “Um...yellow cake with chocolate frosting!”

The light feeling blossoms within Gwendolyn. “That sounds delicious! What did you want to do for the rest of the day?”

“Take a stroll along the beach, then a picnic for lunch...fine dining tonight complete with margaritas, and cake, of course!” Mildred responds cheerfully.

“Oh, what a wonderful plan!” Gwendolyn sighs happily as she takes Mildred in. “My goodness, I love waking up next to such beauty every morning, and such a kind hearted soul!”

“As do I, my darling.”

“Isn’t that my pet name for you?” Gwendolyn teases her.

Mildred swats at her playfully.

“I’ll resume my pampering.” Gwendolyn lifts Mildred’s hand and kisses her knuckles before leaving their room. She wants to surprise Mildred with a meal she’s never made, but Mildred sometimes orders it when they go out for breakfast.

“Egg omelette with cheese, bell peppers, and ham!” Mildred squeals when Gwendolyn carries the plates full of food and beverages into their room. “Thank you so much, honey!” The younger woman scoots herself up to a sitting position and waves it over.

“You’re very welcome, dear!” Gwendolyn sets it in her lap and takes a spot beside her. They share a hot, open-mouthed kiss before starting to eat their meal and sip their drinks.

While Gwendolyn makes Mildred her cake, the latter takes a shower and puts on a yellow casual dress for her special day. She wears makeup and twists her hair into a bun before putting on a white sunhat. She goes downstairs and stops at the doorway of the kitchen to hear Gwendolyn humming cheerfully while sliding her cake into the oven.

A lump forms in Mildred’s throat, for she’s never actually celebrated her birthday with anyone. Anna, her caseworker, gave her cake, but never fostered her. The others who had, just treated the day like nothing. After only one time of doing so, she had learned never to speak of it again. Blinking her tears back, she comes up to Gwendolyn and puts her arms around the blonde’s waist from behind.

Gwendolyn makes a noise of surprise. “Oh, darling, hello, I didn’t hear you arrive.” She turns in Mildred’s embrace and hugs her back.

“I’m sorry that I frightened you. My footsteps aren’t very loud.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Gwendolyn assures her. She gives Mildred a fond peck on the lips and her blue eyes stare lovingly into Mildred’s brown eyes.

Mildred grins at her love and twirls her fingers around the blonde, messy tendrils that frame Gwendolyn’s beautiful face. “I know...it’s just a habit.”

Gwendolyn smiles at her sadly, remembering when Mildred had told her how mistreated she had been in her youth. “Mm-hm. You look beautiful today, but you always do, every time I lay my eyes on you.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. So do you!”

“Your compliment is much appreciated, but I’m going to take a shower, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too,” Mildred responds, beaming with joy.

After Gwendolyn curls her hair to perfection, she puts it in a half-up style and dresses in a sky blue button-up shirt and black trousers. She sets her matching beret on her head and applies eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara, and bright red lipstick. “Well?” she asks, spinning around adorably.

Mildred chuckles. “Absolutely glamorous!”

“Thank you!”

As soon as Gwendolyn takes the cake out of the oven, she lets it cool. Mildred eyes it hungrily. They pack their lunches and then Gwendolyn shoos Mildred out. “How I decorate the cake should be a surprise until after dinner tonight!” she claims.

“I couldn’t agree with you more!”

Gwendolyn helps Mildred into her coat and then puts her own on. She holds her hand out for Mildred to take. “Shall we go, princess?”

Mildred grabs it. “Yes, my girl.”

On their stroll along the beach, they’re holding hands, talking, and laughing as the waves crash against the shore. They’re carrying their picnic baskets and gazing at each other with so much adoration. “Do you notice how the sun glitters on the sea?” Gwendolyn asks.

Mildred nods and she’s smiling so hard that her cheeks hurt. “It’s beautiful...but it hardly compares with how pretty you are.”

Gwendolyn’s eyes sparkle like sapphires as she grins. “My darling, you’re too sweet.”

The brunette shakes her head. “No, that would be you.” She kneels down and lays out a red and white checkered blanket. “This spot is lovely, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it sure is!” The blonde sits with her and they eat while watching the enchanted, greenish-blue ocean. It’s hardly warm enough to actually swim, but they do enjoy taking photos of it and each other.

When their lunch is finished, they put the containers away and lay on the blanket together, cuddling under the magnificent sky until it grows dark. They watch the sunset as the clear moon rises and then, they see stars. Gwendolyn shivers a bit and that’s when Mildred knows that their pleasant stay out here must end and they need to go somewhere inside. “You’re cold, honey,” she points out.

“Yes, it’s getting chilly,” Gwendolyn agrees. “Let’s get to that restaurant!”

“Okay!” Mildred says excitedly.

Gwendolyn drives them to a Mexican place and they order margaritas and cheese enchiladas with rice, refried beans, mild salsa, guacamole, chicken, and sour cream. It’s all so delicious and their heads are buzzing with the alcohol. It’s such an excellent sensation and Gwendolyn pays for the meal.

“Thank you for such a wonderful day,” Mildred tells her softly.

“You’re welcome, but it isn’t over yet,” Gwendolyn murmurs, winking at her. “Hey...isn’t every day splendid with me?” she teases.

“Of course it is!”

They both giggle in harmony.

At home, Gwendolyn has Mildred sit at the brown table in the dining room and then she dims the lights. She goes into the kitchen and lights ten candles that she’s plopped into the cake - three years for each one. She begins singing Happy Birthday as she enters the living room, holding the platter of cake. Mildred’s face glows with extreme happiness as Gwendolyn places it down in front of her.

“Happy birthday, dear Mildred, happy birthday to you!” she finishes crooning.

Mildred claps and cheers. She puts her hand to her chest. “Aw, thank you so much, Gwen! Chocolate frosting with my name in pink letters and a blue heart beside it and yellow flowers...my favorite design ever!”

Smiling, Gwendolyn takes a picture of a beaming Mildred with her cake. “The pleasure is mine, my sweetest darling girl. Now, make a wish!”

Mildred closes her eyes and inhales. A few moments later, she blows out her candles and Gwendolyn claps for her. They exchange a liplock and then remove the candles before the wax melts into the frosting. “Wouldn’t you like to know what my wish was?”

“Don’t tell me, or it won’t come true!” Gwendolyn warns her.

Mildred smirks. “Yeah, I better not.”

“Now...hold on one moment, before I forget...I have a gift for you!” Gwendolyn runs up the steps and grabs the present she’s about to give Mildred. She goes downstairs to find Mildred seated on the couch. She hands Mildred the neatly wrapped box and watches in anticipation as her girlfriend opens it.

The younger woman squeals, holding up her elegant diamond necklace. “Oh my! Gwen…thank you.”

“My pleasure. Can I help you put it on?”

Mildred nods, beaming. So Gwendolyn does, and ever so delicately, too. Mildred giggles as Gwendolyn’s fingernails lightly brush the back of her neck as she does the clasp. The pendant sits in the valley of Mildred’s cleavage and it looks amazing. She gazes at her reflection in the mirror. “Wow, it’s truly gorgeous!”

“I’m glad you love it, sweetheart.” Gwendolyn hugs her from behind and Mildred returns the gesture. “Would you like to dance?”

“Sure, but...there’s no music playing.”

“I’m about to change that!” Gwendolyn strides to the record player and begins a slow, romantic song. She starts swaying with Mildred, swirling her around their living room floor, and then dipping her as the brunette cracks up with pure, unbridled joy. Gwendolyn joins in and then, their lips touch. She brings Mildred back up and holds her gaze.

Their arms wrapped around each other, they kiss over and over again without abandon.

Cool

[blaineandsamevanderson]

Title: Nailed It! Chapter 1

Author: @blaineandsamevanderson

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Ship: Thiam

Rating: PG-13

Summary: The Nailed It! AU no one asked for.  Liam is a contestant, Theo is a guest judge….

**

**

“Welcome to Nailed It! The baking show based on the internet phenomenon where ordinary people try to recreate masterpieces...but don’t always get there.  I’m Nicole Byer, along with chocolate boss Jacques Torres and today’s special guest, scrumptious treat Theo Raeken.  Today three home bakers will recreate epic, magical desserts over two rounds of competition.  One of them will walk away with $10,000!  Let’s meet our bakers!” Nicole announced, standing in the Nailed It kitchen with Jacques and Theo.

The scene shifted to show a young man running across a lacrosse field before transitioning to him in a kitchen.  “Hi, I’m Liam,” he introduces himself as a title card identifies him as Liam Dunbar - Student/Lacrosse player at UC Berkeley.  There are various hots of him baking (with varying degrees of success) and being teased by his friends about it.  “I started baking with my mom when I was in high school cuz it helps me relax...plus, there’s food at the end and I’ll eat anything, so...win win no matter what!  I wanna prove to my friends Mason and Corey that my cakes are edible...no one's broken a tooth in years!”

A beautiful redhead appears on screen next.  “Baking is simply science,” she notes as the scroll names her Lydia Martin- Noted Theoretical Physicist.  “Sometimes, after a long day of unlocking unknown secrets of the universe, it’s nice to come home and unwind in the kitchen.”  There’s a brief montage that shows he baking several nice looking cakes.

The final contestant stares at the camera with dark eyes and an annoyed expression.  “Derek,” he grumbles, unaware that the screen identifies him as Derek Hale - Grumpy Cat Doppelgänger?.  There are a bunch of shots of him glaring at half cooked or charred cookies.  “I lost a bet.”

The door at the far end of the studio kitchen slides open, admitting the three bakers.  “Hey guys!” Nicole greeted them enthusiastically.  “Welcome to Season 2 of Nailed It! You guys ready to bake?”

The three contestants nodded with varying levels of enthusiasm.  

“Today we’re celebrating all things sexy.  With me, as always, our head judge, as hot as chili pepper chocolate, Jacques Torres.”

The man in chefs whites smiled. “Nicole, I love you, I’m so glad to be back.  Hello, Bakers, bonjour.”

“Today’s guest judge might have abs that say he’s never eaten a cake, but rumor has it he’s got a sweet tooth.  You might know him from billboards, runway shows and television...Theo Raeken,” Nicole continued, indicating the handsome young man on her other side.  “Wow...I just want to stare at you for a bit.”

A bright smile crossed Theo’s face and he wrapped his arms around Nicole in a warm hug as he smiled at the bakers.  “Hey guys.  Can’t wait to taste what you come up with!”

Playfully fanning herself after the hug, Nicole faced the bakers. “There’s a special prize for the winner of this round: Baker’s Choice!  Behind door number 1, there are 3 sexy ass treats.  You get to choose which one you want to nail.  If you’re trying to impress someone on a first date or even get a little action, nothing gets the party started like these...Erotic baked goods!” The doors opened to reveal three small cakes.  “Three perfectly formed, nearly anatomically correct cakes are yours for the taking.  Each of you must choose one to recreate.  First we have a Bootiful Bottom...next Bountiful Bosoms...and finally a rather impressive example of baked manhood.  Grab your favorite!”

**

Of course he’d wind up with the dick, Liam thought with a sigh.  Lydia had darted in, surprisingly fast on her high heels, and grabbed the ass cake, leaving him and Derek to choose between the Boobs and dick.  Longer arms had won out and Derek retreated to his kitchen with the boobs.  Not that he had an issue with the cake, he just thought the other two looked like they’d be an easier bake.

He consulted the iPad mounted in his kitchen, reading the recipe and nodding.  It seemed like a fairly standard cake recipe, the shape of it coming from carving out the cake, so he’d have to make sure his bake was on point.  He could hear Lydia clicking around her kitchen, then the whir of a mixer from Derek’s and scrambled into action.

**

“Have you ever made erotic baked goods, Jacques?

The chef laughed.  “This is a first for me, Nicole!  It’s not often I get to say that after so many years in this business.”

She turned to Theo and teased, “Is there any tasty treat you’re especially eager to try.”

Theo’s eyes twinkled and he gave a nod toward Liam’s kitchen. “I have to say, I’m kinda interested to get my mouth on Liam’s cock...cake.”

**

It totally wasn’t Liam’s fault when he dropped a pan.  Thank god it was empty, but how could they expect him to focus when Theo Raeken was saying things like that?  Okay, so there was no way the show could know Theo had been Liam’s first celebrity crush that made him realize he wasn’t 100% straight, but still!

The man was clearly a menace!

Cakes safe in the oven, Liam went to make his buttercream, trying to ignore the sexy distraction at the judges table.

**

“Uh oh...Derek’s putting his butter in the microwave.”

“That’s a mistake.  The consistency will be too loose.  Oily.”

“I think Lydia’s skipping the buttercream all together in favor of a ganache.”

“I’m not a fan of ganache. If I’m eating a cake, I want frosting.”

**

Crap.  The cake was a little under done, Liam was pretty sure of that, but he had to get it frosted.  Not focusing on shape yet, he made a rough attempt at the shape of the cake before jamming it in the blast chiller.

The only reason he wasn’t panicking was that the others seemed to be at a similar stage.

Ripping it out of the chiller, Liam hurried back to his counter and began carving the shape of the cake.  

**

“This is a tight race. Everyone’s on the decorating stage with 5 minutes left.”

“I’ve seen some good skills and a few questionable choices.”

“Everyone seems to have some impressive skills...certainly better in the kitchen than me.  I especially appreciate Liam’s handling of his cake.  Impressive.”

**

When the first round came to a close, Liam found himself standing by Lydia and Derek, each of them covering their cakes before the reveal.

Nicole looked to Derek first.  “Okay, Derek, you were trying to nail a tremendous ta ta cake!  Let’s take a final look at the example.”  Everyone looked at the impressive cake before turning back to Derek.

With a sigh, he lifted the lid off of his cake.  There was a beat of silence before he grumped, “Nailed it.”

The cake kinda looked like boobs.  Sure, they were a little misshapen and different sizes, the fondant not really smooth but it was the nipples that were really odd.  Liam felt a small stab of hope that maybe his cake wouldn’t be the worst.

“Okay,” Nicole said, tilting her head to the side.  “Okay, they kinda look like boobs.  I can see it.”

Jacques nodded.  “If your buttercream had set right, it would have provided a smoother base for the fondant.  Next time, no microwave!”

“I mean, I’d eat it, but it looks like you airbrushed off the nipples and just left the areolas,” Theo said as they approached and sampled the cake.

They seemed to like the taste of the cake though and then moved on to Lydia.

Her cake actually looked like the example, not perfect, but really close.  Everyone was impressed and the only complaint anyone had was that it was slightly dry.

When Liam pulled the cover off his cake, he blurted, “Nailed it!”

Because why not?

The judges were quiet for a moment and then Nicole said, “It kinda looks like the example, cake, so, props for that.”

“Yes, your carving was quite well done,” Jacques added.  “Have you ever worked with fondant before?”

“No,” Liam admitted, eyes darting over to Theo who was approaching.

“The fondant’s cracked right at the tip and the buttercream is leaking out,” the man said with a smile, swiping a finger through the escaping frosting and then sucking it clean.  “Mmm, your cream is tasty.”

“This isn’t that kind of show, boys!” Nicole said and Liam barely heard their praise of the cake’s flavor.  He did have to admit that bits were undercooked.

Lydia won the Golden baking hat and Liam wasn’t entirely surprised to discover he was at the bottom of the pile.  He resolved himself to at least beat Derek in round 2.

TBC....