This could be considered in the same AU as Day 4.

Day 5 - Baking

"It looks simple enough," Hunter mused as he ran his finger down the page of a cookbook.

Tomorrow was his and Willow's anniversary since their first date — since either of their first dates — and Hunter was determined to surprise Willow with something she loved. Her sweet tooth had become apparent within weeks of that fateful date and so it was natural for Hunter to gravitate toward baked goods as a surprise.

Thinking of the last year made Hunter's cheeks flush and his heart flutter. More than once he had lain awake at night and wondered what good deed he could have done in this life or any other to deserve someone as patient, as affectionate, and as unfailingly kind as Willow Park. Titan, he couldn't count the number of times she had surprised him with cookies, cakes, or pies for their dates … or just because she wanted to.

Hunter winced as even older feelings began to well up. The forceful urge to prove himself as more than a burden, to prove he was worth her time and attention, reared their ugly head. 'Everyone has a purpose, and if you don't … bye bye!'

Hunter snarled and forced those thoughts into the back of his head. This wasn't some competition or race to win favor. This was to show Willow that he cared! It was a gesture, not a plea for attention. And a heartfelt one, too, since you know … he had no real idea how to bake.

"Okay, let's see …" he murmured as he read over the recipe for shock-olate blip cookies. He'd read it over and gathered everything Eda had in stock, but a quick double-check never hurt. "Okay, got it all." He spread it all and began going down the list of instructions.

Mixing flour, gryphon eggs, spider-cow butter, and everything else took some time, but seemed easy enough. He set the stove to preheat as he finished mixing everything together and then took a deep breath and prepared to slide the cookie sheet in to bake.

"Making something for Willow?" Luz asked out of nowhere.

For the record, Hunter did not, in fact, yelp like a girl and almost drop the cookie sheet. It was a controlled reaction to being intentionally startled … which he handled with grace and dignity. And no one could prove otherwise …!

"Yeah," Hunter replied, his eyes narrowed at Luz. "I thought she might like something sweet for our anniversary date tonight."

"Aww, you sap!" Luz cooed, reaching up to ruffle Hunter's hair with a giggle. He shoved her away with a yelp and straightened his hair back to its usual mess before returning his attention to the oven. "Oh! Willow actually likes her cookies a little soft!" Luz added as she left. "I mean, she's crazy, but it's what she likes."

Hunter glanced at the doorway Luz had just left through and thought over what she had said. In his time living in the Owl House, Hunter had gotten to know Luz very well. By now, she was basically the little sister he never knew he needed or wanted. And the tone she had used was not the one she used when cooking up a prank or scheme. It had been flippant, and casual — completely honest.

Hunter turned to the book and flipped through a few pages to find out how long to bake the cookies to have them be soft and chewy … and found nothing. He flipped to the index at the back and still nothing! He flipped to a dozen entries on other kinds of cookies and found, you guessed it, absolutely nothing!

Hunter felt a touch of panic flaring up as he flipped to the original recipe and read over the recommendation for baking temperature and time. He did some quick math and made a decision. He turned down the heat by about twenty-five degrees and shunted the timer by about twenty minutes.

Surely that couldn't have too much of an effect. Right?

Hunter grit his teeth at the mess on the cookie sheet. The book had assured him that the cookies would continue to bake for a few minutes after he removed them from the oven … and yet they still looked like masses of half-cooked dough. These weren't just chewy … they were practically raw.

Hunter looked at the clock on the wall, and then at his flour-covered clothes. There was no way he'd be able to whip up another inevitable failure of a batch of cookies and still have time to clean himself up. He grit his teeth and scribbled a note to leave on the cooled sheet. My fault. I'll clean it up when I get home. Signed, Hunter. With that done, and his heart burning with shame, he raced up the stairs to prepare.

A half hour later, Hunter was plodding down the stairs as he fastened the cufflinks on his dress shirt. His hair was still wet from the shower — he'd taken too long as he tried to drown his embarrassment and remind himself that Willow would still love him even without cookies — and he had taken extra care to be presentable.

As he walked into the living room, Hunter slowed his pace in thought before turning on his heel to return to the kitchen. It was still a few minutes until he needed to leave to pick up Willow and he might as well clean a little bit before he left. Hunter entered the kitchen with a resigned frown … that turned to white-faced terror at the person he found there.

Willow was here!

Willow turned to face him with a winning smile, dressed in a nice navy-blue dress and an orange shawl across her shoulders. "Hi, Hunter," she chirped. And he noticed a spot of shock-olate on her cheek, and one of his failure-cookies in her fingers.

"Willow," he said, "uh, what are you doing here?" He gestured to the door with his thumb. "I thought I was picking you up?"

"I wanted to surprise you," Willow explained, batting her eyelashes at him. Her innocent smile turned a little wicked as she stepped around the counter and toward him, hips swaying. "And I guess great minds do think alike, huh?"

Hunter groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, I-" He was cut off by Willow's sweet kiss to his cheek.

"This is so sweet, Hunter," she said. "I haven't had half-bake cookies in years. My dads never let me have them; too worried about uncooked eggs." She took another bite and moaned with pleasure in a way that brought a searing blush to Hunter's face. She licked her fingers, the motions making his blush somehow even worse, before she sighed. "What a wonderful surprise."

"Uh, yeah," he said with a nervous smile. "That's- um, totally what I was hoping for." He wasn't technically lying. He'd wanted Willow to enjoy the cookies! The fact that he had, apparently, gotten ridiculously lucky was unimportant.

"Mm-hmm," Willow hummed, her eyes lidded with disbelief. "How about for our next date we bake together?"

Hunter sighed and nodded. "Sounds good."

"Great!" Willow said. "Now c'mon! We're gonna be late for the lightning bugs!"

Hunter laughed as he followed his wonderful girlfriend out the door, carefully ignoring the fact that he would still have to clean up tonight.