Baking had always been a passion for Hunter. Back in The Emperor's Coven he would find time to bake treats for himself, usually in the mid-hours of the night when the private kitchen was empty of people. Now in The Owl House, however, Hunter had a lot more time to experiment. He usually leaned toward baking cookies, breads, and the occasional cakes, the last of which he was attempting today.

And for good reason, as well. Today marks half a year since he met Willow...it was very strange to think about. He sometimes thought about how they meet in The Grove...how they technically meet before that in small messages written on the ground. How much his life had changed just because she was in it… his Willow. His Willow. He smiled to himself, the feelings in his chest bursting so full.

That's why he needed to make sure this cake was perfect! He knew that she would love any cake he put in front of her, she never asked for perfection from him because he was already perfect to her...but that driving force deep inside him to make sure she only got the best of the best was hard to push past. The biggest problem, however…

Hunter stared at the recipe book in front of him, the writing in it looked like gibberish! This was a book bought last week in just printed condition, new and shiny, HOW did it become so waterlogged? The pages were crumpled and ruined, the ink that was supposed to have formed words melting into just blops. The most he could make out was that he was on page 146 and it was the flower-cake recipe he bought the book for in the first place. He ran his fingers through his hair, growling in frustration before pausing, and taking a deep breath in.

A ruined book was not the end of the world. As disappointing as it was, he knew the recipe pretty well...but did he dare attempt to do it by memory instead of going by the instructions? Hunter felt his eye twitching before closing his eyes in thought. So much for perfection… He guessed he really had no choice but to make it by heart. Time was not on his side, after all, he was supposed to meet Willow in the grove soon!

Hunter gave a final sigh, shutting the book and sliding it away from him before turning to the ingredients and utensils he laid out. He cracked his knuckles in determination and set to work. Soon enough he had a good amount of batter mixed up and ready to be put in the oven. By a small taste of it, too, it wasn't half bad. He never really liked this type of cake, but it did seem like a very good batch! Titan he hoped Willow would like it, too. He poured the mix into the molds and quickly sat them in the oven, now the waiting game…

" Kind of an odd time to be baking something." A familiar voice ran out from the doorway, making his heart sink.

"W-Willow!" Hunter turned, shocked as he saw his girlfriend standing there, her hand gently resting on the frame of the pathway. "W-we were not supposed to meet for another two hours!"

"Should I be offended you are not excited to see me sooner than expected?" Willow pouted, but in a teasing tone. Hunter frowned, looking at the oven before back to Willow.

"I was… I-" He sighed through his nose, feeling his ears going flat as Willow giggled, walking over to cup his face.

"Baking a cake for our picnic?" Willow helped him finish his sentence. He nodded, looking up at her with a small pout. She giggled, moving to give a kiss to his nose before stepping back. " Well, how about I help you finish it up?"

"Help? Well...a bit too late for that. I just put it in the oven." Hunter pointed out.

"What about the frosting?" Willow asked, giving a small smile.

"...uh…" Hunter felt his ears flicking around...he was never good at making frosting, and with the destroyed cookbook he really had no hope to create something passable. Willow giggled at him before turning to a cabinet and pulling out a bowl. After setting it in the middle of the table, she looked to Hunter who flicked his ears around.

" My grandma taught me how to make frosting by heart. It was always my job to do so when I helped her bake." Willow explained as she turned to get a bowl and stirring spatula. She let out a small giggle as she turned back to Hunter, " The funny thing is, I am actually really bad at baking cakes."

" I am sure you are not that bad." Hunter smiled at her, moving to lean on the counter as he watched her set the utensils down and look around, going to then grab the ingredients they would need to make the frosting.

" I either leave the cake in the oven too long or not long enough." Willow shrugged, setting the items in front of her. " Or I end up dropping it when I am taking it out." Willow smiled back at him. Hunter couldn't help but lean his cheek against his hand as he thought over what she told him, his smile growing a bit wider.

"You know, in a way…" Hunter stood back up straight, looking her beautiful green eyes over, " That is just another way we compliment each other. I bake the cake, you make the frosting…"

" That is so cheesy!" Willow giggled, turning her face away from him, but he saw the blush on her cheeks. He moved around the table to stand next to her.

"Maybe it is, but it is true." He stated, moving to plant a kiss on her cheek. Willow gave out another light laugh, turning to look up at him as her smile reflected his. After a few moments Willow forced herself to turn back to the bowl, and began measuring out everything she needed to make the frosting. Soon enough Willow was whisking the frosting as Hunter checked on the cake, pulling it out and setting it on the top of the oven to let it cool.

"Alright, all we need to do now is play the waiting game." Hunter said, turning back to Willow. In a flash of movement he felt her smearing frosting across his nose, he let out a yelp of surprise as he tried to lean away from, grabbing her wrist. "Hey!" Willow smiled up at him, the mischief look in her eyes making his ears flick as she swiped her other hand to lightly smack more frosting on his cheek. "Willow!"

" What?" Willow asked oh so innocently, wiping her hand off on his face before he reached up to grab her other wrist. He narrowed his eyes at her, watching her smile grow wider before he lunged forward to rub his cheek against her face. Willow let out a yelp of surprise, then giggled as she tried to escape. Hunter had a good hold on her wrist, however, and she wasn't trying hard enough to break free before he moved back to smirk at her.

" Oops, got some on your glasses." Hunter freed a hand to snatch her glasses off her face.

"Hey! Hunter!" Willow reached out, trying to get her glasses back as Hunter held them above his head, smirking down at the shorter girl who pouted, her eyes narrowing from both giving in him a joking glare and trying to see past her now blurred vision.

"What?" Hunter mimicked the innocent tone she had given him earlier, smirking a bit more as he leaned down slightly to her.

" I know there isn't any frosting on my glasses, give them back!" Willow whined, trying to jump for them. Hunter stood back up, leaning back to prevent her from gaining her item back.

"What are you willing to trade for them?" Hunter asked, his smirk growing.

" Trade?" Willow crossed her arms.

" Yes, trade!" Hunter confirmed as he wiggled her glasses teasingly in his hand. Willow pursed her lips to the side as she thought over his words. She knew if she wanted to it would be easy to just grab him by the collar and drag him down to grab her glasses back. Well… why not do something like that? Willow reached up to grab Hunter's shirt and pull him down, making their lips collide. Hunter smiled into her as he moved a hand to her waist and lowered his arm that was holding her glasses, accepting the kiss as a good trade.

"UGH!" Eda's voice cut through the air, making Willow and Hunter jump slightly as the two turned to look at the woman. "You two are just as bad as Luz and Amity." The Owl Lady teased with a smirk, moving to pass the two to put a mug into the sink. Hunter shrugged as Willow took her glasses back and put them back on.

"Just as bad, but at least not worse." Hunter commented, turning to check on the cake.

" Debatable." Eda replied as she passed the two, ruffling Hunter's hair as she did. " Remember, baked sadmon for dinner."

"Yeah yeah!" Hunter grumbled as he moved to try to fix his hair. Willow moved to take a kitchen cloth and dampen it, cleaning her face off before folding it and offering it to Hunter.

" Is the cake cool enough to decorate it?" Willow asked as Hunter started to wipe his cheek off.

"It should be now!" Hunter confirmed, setting the rag down before going to pick up the cake mold. He flipped it onto an awaiting plate, shaking it slightly with a smile as he removed the pan, then froze…

The cake fell into crumbling pieces.

" Uh…" Hunter blinked, setting the pan to the side as he stared at the cake. What did he do wrong?! Did he not measure out the correct amount of water? Did he forget to add something else? He did add eggs, right? He was about to turn to apologize to Willow, frowning before pausing as she picked up the plate, and dumped the crumble into the bowl of frosting.

" Hunter, can you melt some chocolate?" Willow turned to ask him as she started to stir the frosting and cake together. Hunter blinked a few times, trying to process what she was doing and why she would need melted chocolate. The girl glanced at him, before smirking. " We can make cake-truffles!" Willow explained with a growing smile.

"Oh!" Hunter turned, getting a pot to put water into before setting it on the stove. He felt his ears wiggling around, he really was just about to throw the cake away. But Willow was able to think lightning fast on a way to save it...she was so smart and clever. She was really amazing. Hunter got a glass bowl ready and put chocolate chips into it, glancing over his shoulder to the girl to see she was now rolling the cake into balls and setting them on the plate.

Hunter smiled to himself, feeling his ears flicking around again before he turned back to the pot of water. Seeing it was starting to boil, he put the glass bowl on the top of water, stirring the chocolate as it started to melt. Soon enough the chips where now a creamy consistency. He moved the bowl out of the pot and turned to Willow, carefully setting the chocolate down next to the plate. The two proceeded to cover the cake-balls together, taking turns to dip the spheres with a fork into the chocolate, and quickly getting through the almost two dozen Willow had rolled out.

" Well," Hunter smiled as he looked over the plate they had now filled with the truffles. He half wanted to melt more chocolate to drizzle over them for flair, but decided they didn't have the time. He turned to Willow, " Want to try one first?"

"Sure!" Willow smiled, picking up one of the truffles. She bit into it, holding her hand up to catch some of the crumbles as she smiled. Not too sweet, not too bitter, and the chocolate was the perfect addition to the flower-cake center.

"So it's okay then-?" Hunter was stopped when Willow shoved the rest of the truffle into his mouth. He jerked back slightly, reaching his hand up to keep the cake ball from falling out of his mouth when Willow took her hand away. She let out a laugh as she watched his face, his eyes having gone wide before he furrowed his brow at her in fake annoyance. He smirked at her before chewing on the truffle.

" I think you did wonderfully on the cake, Hunter!" Willow stated. Hunter had to agree, the truffle wasn't horrible at all. The taste of the cake itself was tamed with the frosting that went into it and the chocolate that covered it helping override the overwhelming bouquet-like taste. The cake itself was moist as well, not dried out like it had appeared when it had first crumbled into pieces.

"Lets not forget it was you who made the frosting and had the idea to make truffles in the first place, Willow." Hunter smiled at her. A light blush appeared on her face before she turned to get a container to put the cakes into.

"So, now that we have these, do you want to go on our picnic?" Willow asked as she looked back to Hunter, who nodded and moved to grab the picnic basket that Willow had left at the corner of the door-arch. The two exited The Owl House shortly after, giving goodbyes to the residents as they headed to the grove.

Hunter's mind was still alight with how Willow handled baking.

AN: 'Footfalls' from FFXIV Endwalkers plays contently in my mind... the servers for said game are down...I am left to my own devices as a cold over takes my head and makes me ponder if I should go get tested for covid... I need to pee...

pls send help or food to my address