Her kitchen is always open to those in the surrounding areas, and she has turned most of her house into a domestic violence shelter. This idea was encouraged by your wife of two years, whom she had met in prison. She didn’t expect to fall for you the way that she did, but the moment you matched her wit and humor, she was a goner. Dmitri was long gone after the Russian Mafia finally had enough of his stupidity, and her sons had fled to random corners of the world, leaving Galina to pursue whatever her heart desired–which was you. 

Now she has her arm wrapped around your waist, trying to soak in the last five minutes she has before daily chaos begins. She nuzzles her face into your neck, showering you with light kisses. You murmur, slowly opening your eyes. When she is sure you are awake, she whispers.

“Happy birthday, moya lyubov (my love).”

You smile, placing your hand over hers to give it a quick squeeze. “Thank you, Gal. This is already the best birthday by far.”

Galina lets out a loud laugh, flipping you onto your back so she can push your hair back behind your ear. “You just opened your eyes.”

“Ah, yes, but I got to wake up cuddling my beautiful wife,” you grin and then kiss her lips gently. “Plus, you promised we would have a baking competition today.”

The older woman quirks her eyebrow. “I did?”

You nod excitedly, your hand coming to cup her cheek. “You absolutely did, and I am absolutely going to kick your ass.”

This makes Galina laugh again, shaking her head before she places a kiss on your forehead. “We shall see about that. Now you go back to bed. I will bring you breakfast shortly.”

You grin, curling back under the covers, and within moments, you are back asleep. Galina stops after dressing for the day and looks at your sleeping form. The morning light is just starting to peak through the curtain, highlighting the soft features of your face. Galina has dreamed of many things in her life, this one by far being the best…but that doesn’t mean she is going to let you win. 

Dinner has been handed off to Galina’s most trusted workers, Nicky and Gloria, so that all of her focus can be on this baking competition. Gloria stands at the kitchen counter, two sets of ingredients spread around her in even portions. She slaps your hand away as you try to reach for something on Galina’s side. 

“Already trying to cheat, I see,” Galina grins as she pulls you in to kiss your cheek.

You huff out a sigh but melt into your wife’s arms. “Gloria gave you more ingredients than me.”

“Ay Dios mio!” Gloria exclaims, rolling her eyes. “If it wasn’t your birthday…”

“She would still be correct in saying that you gave me extra ingredients,” Galina scolds with a click of her tongue. She quickly puts the correct ingredients on each side. 

“Told you that she would realize!” Nicky calls out from a stove in the back corner of the industrial-sized kitchen.

“I will still win our little bet,” Gloria growls before turning back to you and Galina. “You have an hour to create a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Start.”

“I can’t believe you are taking bets against me!” You yell to Gloria as she resumes her vegetable prep. Her only response is a wink before flipping you off. 

Galina rolls her eyes at you and your best friend’s antics before placing a soft kiss on your hairline. “May the best woman win.”

You set off to work, combining your ingredients in your side of the kitchen. You have baked before when you were a small child, sitting on the counter with your mom. It was one of the best memories that you had with her before she passed away. Now, mixing chocolate chips into a large bowl, the memories start to flood back, filling your eyes with tears. You push them back, but they start to overwhelm you.

Within a moment, Galina is by your side, her hand on your hip. You didn’t even realize tears had slipped out until she used her thumb to swipe them away. “What is it, muy lyubov? Why are you crying?”

You smile through a wobble of tears, leaning into the redhead. “I was just thinking about how much my mom would have loved you.”

Galina’s heart softens as she clings closer to you. She knows how much you had wanted your mom to meet Galina, but while you were in prison, she had gotten sick and died before the chance came around. Healy, in a show of power, had denied your furlough request, and you never had a sense of closure. Your wife knew that it was something that still clung to you every day. Unsure of what to say, Galina takes a moment to hold you and plant a soft kiss on your cheek.

“She still would have wanted you to win,” you state calmly, making Galina laugh. When the older woman’s face twists in confusion, you explain. “She always wanted my future wife to be a baker or a chef.”

“Luckily for you, I am both,” Galina smiles, pushing a piece of hair behind your ear. “Now, is there a way I can get that beautiful smile back on your face?”

You debate for a moment before turning to wrap your arms around your wife. “A hug would be nice.”

Galina willingly complies, squeezing you to her as if her hug alone could piece together every broken piece of you. You soak it in for a moment before you look over her shoulder to see Nicky holding a can of hot sauce over Galina’s cookie batter. Your eyes widen before you send her a small wink. She grins back before mixing the recipe to cover her tracks. 

When Galina pulls away, your smile has returned. “I love you, Y/N.”

“Not nearly as much as I love you.” You say giving her a light shove. “Now go finish your cookies so I can win.”

Your wife huffs out a laugh before walking back to her station. You watch her for a moment to see if she has noticed Nicky’s trickery, but she merely creates balls of cookies to put on the tray. When you are certain that she doesn’t know what has happened, you turn to complete what you have started.   

When the time is up, you place your freshly baked cookies on the center island. Galina sets hers down seconds later, and you realize a slight orange tint to her cookies. For a second, you feel bad that Nicky has sabotaged her cookies, but there is a bigger part of you that just once wants to be the winner in the relationship. 

Gloria eyes both plates before crossing her arms. “Votes will be collected by everyone in the house, with the four of us excluded. There are seven other women in this house, so the cookies with the most votes will win. The votes will be anonymous, and we will tally them after dinner.”

Dinner passes with laughter, drinks, and a dozen birthday wishes. Your heart is full, and you don’t remember the last time a birthday celebration has been so much fun. The entire night, Galina keeps her hand on your thigh, a grounding presence in the sea of chaos. Finally, when all the votes are in, Nicky and Gloria bring out the plates of cookies. There are only crumbs left on each plate, and your hair stands on end as you wait for results. 

Y/N. Galina. Galina. Galina. Y/N. Galina. Galina.

Nicky let out a large groan, and you twist to look at your wife. There is a devilish grin across her face as she leans over to high-five Gloria. “Thanks for looking out, Mendoza.”

“You knew!” You holler, which only makes Galina laugh. “You knew Nicky put hot sauce in your cookies.”

“I didn’t know what she put in it,” Galina admits before pulling you into her lap, “but I knew you two were up to something and I couldn’t let you win that easily…even if it is your birthday.”

You pout for a moment, crossing your arms. “You are lucky that I love you.”

“I am the luckiest.”

Taglist

Logan bit his cuticles anxiously as he watched from the balcony with the other friends and family, eyes glued to where the judges were carefully chewing Leo’s Catherine roll. Logan knew how good it was, with its coffee sponge and chocolate, pecan, and coconut cream filling. He could taste it if he thought hard enough.

“Baby,” Finn whispered. He took Logan’s hands and kissed them. “You’re going to make yourself bleed.”

“I want him to win.”

He felt Finn smiled against his cheek. “It’s just for fun. It’s for charity.”

“Ouais, but I still want him to win.”

“He’s got, like, three more challenges.”

“But I want him to win.”

“My God.” Finn drew him in around the waist and kissed his temple. “Leo’s lucky to have such an aggressive cheerleader.”

Logan turned to glare at him. “I’m not aggressive.”

“Yeah, your stone-cold stare is really helping your case here, ten.”

Logan let out a huff, but leaned in to kiss Finn softly. “Désolé.”

“It’s all right.” Finn turned back to watch below, where Leo was waiting respectfully, hands clasped together behind his back. He was the picture of calm, but Logan could see the way his blue eyes darted across the judges’ faces. Finn squeezed Logan’s waist once. “Looks like they’re ready to talk.”

“Well,” the lead judge said, a tall woman with long, blue-highlighted twists hanging to her waist. She nodded and hummed as she took another bite. “I have to say, Leo, I am impressed. This is just divine. And you made the recipe yourself?”

Leo nodded politely. “Yes, ma’am,” he replied, New Orleans accent thick like it got when he was nervous.

She smiled at him and looked at her fellow judges. “I honestly can’t find any faults with it, it’s absolutely divine.”

“I concur,” another judge said, this time a man about Logan’s height with dark hair done in a half-bun. He had a soft British accent. “I mean, the cake is so light and fluffy, even with the cream. It’s not weighed down, and the spiral has kept its shape, too. And perfectly balanced flavors and textures.” He nodded to Leo. “That’s a fine job you’ve done.” 

Leo’s shoulders visibly relaxed and he smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

The man snorted. “My Lord, you are formal.” He clapped Leo’s shoulder. “Well done, Leo.”

Leo nodded politely once more as they moved onto the next contestant, Phoebe Robinson, who played on the Gryffindor women’s basketball team. He took a deep breath in and ate a bite of his cake, nodding approvingly. He finally looked up and found Finn and Logan. He smiled and waved, cheeks flushed rosy.

“God, he’s so cute,” Finn sighed. He made a heart with his hands. 

“Ouais,” Logan agreed, waving back with a smile. He let out a sigh of his own and rested his head on Finn’s shoulder. “Which charity did he decide on this morning again?”

“The one that funds the after school reading program in the inner city.” Finn made a happy little growling sound and gripped Logan’s waist more firmly. “God, he’s sexy and has a heart of gold? And he can bake? We’re so screwed.”

“Ouais, we are.” Logan turned to look at him and brushed their noses together. “Je t’aime.”

Finn kissed him quickly. “Love you.” He looked back down to the competition floor and smiled. “Love him.”

“Mm,” Logan hummed, following Finn’s gaze. Leo was chatting with Diego Alomar, who played baseball for Gryffindor and had been judged before him. Diego said something to make Leo laugh, and both his dimples appeared on his cheeks.

“Ugh,” Finn said, hanging his head back. “God, he drives me crazy. He’d probably get mad if I went down there, dipped him, and gave him a big kiss, wouldn’t he?”

Logan laughed and rested his chin on Finn’s shoulder. “I don’t think he would. I wouldn’t.”

“I know you wouldn’t.” Finn kissed his forehead. “C’mon, they’ve got snacks. Let’s go get something to eat before the next round.”

***

“It’s good,” the female judge- Rhea, Logan had learned- said as she chewed Leo’s focaccia. “And the homemade caramelized onion and balsamic whipped butter is fantastic. It’s just a little… underproved.”

“I agree,” the other judge, Peniel, said. “And that meant it didn’t rise enough in the oven.”

“I totally agree,” Leo said. His eyebrows were furrowed. “It’s never done that before.”

“I believe you,” Rhea assured. “And like I said, the flavors are spectacular. I mean, you’ve got a talent, for sure. It’s just the texture, it’s become stiff, almost, and a bit dry.”

“Yeah,” Leo replied. His face was flushed, and Logan wanted to whisk him away and press reassuring kisses to his cheeks until his dimples appeared. “Thanks for the feedback.”

“Of course,” Peniel said. He patted Leo’s workbench. “Don’t worry about it.” 

Leo smiled and watched as they went to judge the next contestant. He took a frustrated breath and let it out his nose, chewing the inside of his cheeks. Logan wanted to break something.

“It was not dry,” he grumbled.

“Baby, you don’t know that,” Finn said softly, rubbing circles low on his back. “It might have been. And it’s okay, it was a fluke, Leo said so. We should know more than anyone, he makes that bread, like, every other week and it’s always perfect.”

“Ouais, but still.” Logan narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like him being upset.”

“I know, me neither.” Finn kissed Logan’s head softly. “But it’s just a game, baby. He knows that.”

***

“Very interesting take,” Peniel said, munching on the butterscotch cookie Leo had made. “It’s simpler than anything else you’ve made us.”

Leo smiled. “It’s my mama’s recipe.”

“They’re delicious,” Rhea chimed in, reaching for a second. “I mean, really good, spectacular. But…” At Leo’s furrowed eyebrows, she smiled. “They’re great, Leo, but they’re simple compared to the other cookies everyone has done this round.”

“Ah,” Leo said. Logan could see the disappointment in his eyes. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Peniel reassured. “They’re still absolutely delicious. Your mama would be proud.”

Leo tried for a smile, but it was strained. “Thank you.”

Rhea and Peniel both thanked him again and moved to the next contestant. Up in the balcony, Logan was seething.

“‘Too simple’,” he muttered. “Those cookies are perfect.”

Finn laughed from beside him. “The judges said they were good. They were just simpler compared to the others.”

“They’re not.”

“Phoebe literally made peanut butter stuffed cookies, Lo.”

Logan narrowed his eyes at him. “Why aren’t you supporting him?”

“I am,” Finn replied, pressing a kiss to Logan’s forehead. “You know sunshine’s butterscotch cookies win in my book every time. But the judges aren’t biased like we are.”

Logan huffed and wrapped his arms around Finn’s waist, looking down at Leo, who had his shoulders hunched in disappointment, even though he was now chatting with another contestant. “Those are his mama’s.”

“And she would be very proud of him. And offended on his behalf, maybe even more than you.” 

“Non, not possible.”

Finn pressed his smile into Logan’s hair. “No?”

“Non.”

“I like you feisty,” Finn murmured, leaning down to nip at Logan’s jaw. “It’s very hot.”

Logan couldn’t help but smile into Finn’s neck. “Stop that.”

“Uh uh.” There was another graze of teeth against his jaw. “Trying to give Leo a nice view when he looks at us. Is he looking?”

Logan turned his gaze back to the competition floor. Sure enough, Leo’s soft blue eyes had found them. His whole body relaxed when Logan smiled at him, teeth white with his own grin. “Ouais,” Logan whispered, leaning into Finn’s mouth. “He is.”

***

“Now, Leo, this was an interesting take for a centerpiece. I was expecting a traditional cake.” Rhea hummed around another bite of Leo’s chocolate, raspberry, and almond torte. “But this is absolutely decadent.” 

Leo’s cheeks flushed, please. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“I second that,” Peniel said, humming around his own fork. “I might just have to steal the recipe from you.”

Logan’s heart skipped at Leo’s slightly sheepish laugh. “By all means.” 

Rhea set her fork down and nodded as she swallowed the last bit of torte. “I don’t think there’s much else to say about this. It’s absolute perfection.” She looked up at Leo and smiled. “Well done, Leo.”

“Merci.”

Logan watched as Leo bit his lip to hide his giddiness, but a happy shake of his shoulders escaped anyways. He was flushed in the way he got when he was truly proud of something. It didn’t happen often; he was more critical of himself than Finn or Logan, and it filled Logan up to see him giving himself the credit he deserved. 

“Well fucking done, butter,” Finn whispered excitedly. “If he doesn’t win, I will be having serious words with the judges.”

Logan pulled Finn’s arms tighter around his waist and leaned up to kiss his jaw, laughing. “Who’s the feisty one now?”

Finn just grinned sharply and shrugged.

***

“Thank you to all who came out today,” Rhea began twenty minutes later, standing with Peniel in front of all the contestants. “It was truly a fun day to experience such talent amongst Gryffindors finest professional athletes. I honestly didn’t know that many could bake.” That got a round of laughs, and Rhea smiled before turning to Peniel. “And with that, we’ve made our final decision.”

“We have,” Peniel said. He held up a cake display stand. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but we have decided that the winner of the competition and the $50,000 donation to a charity of their choice is… Leo Knut of the Gryffindor Lions!”

There was a round of applause, and Finn let out a loud whoop and a whistle, grabbing Logan by the shoulders and shaking him. Logan smiled and clapped, laughing as Finn used his grip on his shoulders as leverage to jump up and down. Below them, Leo’s dimples were on full display as he shook hands with the other contestants and walked up to the judges to accept his cake stand. They stood for a photo, Leo’s curls catching the light of the flash, before he shook hands with Rhea and Peniel and made his way back to his bench. He caught Finn and Logan’s eye and winked before jerking his head towards the back of the room.

“C’mon,” Finn whispered, tugging Logan’s hand. “We can meet him in his dressing room.”

Fifteen minutes later, after waiting in the dressing room- labeled with L. Knut on the door- for what felt like hours, Finn and Logan bounced on their toes as the door opened. Leo stepped through, cheeks flushed, and cake stand in hand. He saw them and immediately grinned, placing the cake stand on a small table. “Hi.”

Logan closed the distance to throw his arms around Leo’s neck. He laughed as Leo picked him up around the waist and Logan began to press kisses to those rosy cheeks of his, feeling the dimples deepen under his lips. Leo spun them around for a moment before setting Logan down. Logan took his cheeks in his hands and kissed him hard on the mouth. “Well done, soleil.”

Leo’s next kiss was playful and happy. “Thanks, honey.” 

“Hey, don’t I get some dessert, too?” Finn asked. He took Leo’s hand and pulled him flush with his body. “You look very sexy in that apron.”

Leo just laughed as Finn dipped him towards the floor and right into a kiss, his arms going to drape themselves over Finn’s shoulders. Finn took Leo’s bottom lip between his teeth briefly before letting it go and sealing the bite with a last kiss. “We’re so proud of you, baby.”

“My goodness,” Leo said, entire body flushed as Finn drew him up to stand again. He opened his free arm so Logan could tuck against him. “I think you both are more excited than I am.”

“Oh, we took this very seriously,” Finn said. He pinched Logan’s waist. “Grumpy here was ready to go to war for you when they said that stuff about your butterscotch cookies.”

“Don’t listen to them, soleil,” Logan insisted, arms overlapping with Finn’s around Leo’s waist. “Those cookies are perfect.”

“Well, aren’t you a charmer.” Leo kissed Logan’s forehead. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

Finn ran a hand through Leo’s curls. “When does the money get sent in?”

“Should be tomorrow.” Leo made a happy noise and swayed them back and forth for a moment. “Oh, I’m so excited, the teachers and kids are gonna be so happy.”

“You’re so happy,” Finn added. He leaned in to bite Leo’s jaw. “And sweet. Like butterscotch cookies.”

Leo winced. “Gross, I’m all sweaty.”

“We love you sweaty.”

If possible, Leo’s face got redder. “Stop, we’re in a dressing room.”

“With a door that locks, sunshine.” Finn leaned in again to lick Leo’s neck.

“Oh my goodness, no, Finn,” Leo laughed, playfully putting a hand over Finn’s mouth. A moment later, he drew his hand away. “Oh, ew, don’t lick me.”

“Mm, your palm tastes like sugar.”

“Gee, I wonder why.” Leo took a deep breath and rested his cheek on top of Logan’s head. “Thanks for coming to watch me. I know you’re on summer break.”

“Of course, mon amour,” Logan said. He gave Leo a squeeze. “It was fun.”

“Good, I’m glad.” Leo kissed each of them and then went to go pick up his cake stand. “Look at this beauty, it’s crystal. My mama’s gonna freak when I show her.”

“Do you have anything else to do?” Finn asked. “Or are they shutting down?”

“There’s some food and stuff and mingling for another hour, but then everyone’s going home. People have practice tonight, soccer, baseball, and basketball.”

“Perks of playing hockey,” Finn said. “We get summers off.”

Logan laced his fingers through Finn’s. “So we go see people, then we leave?”

“Yup,” Leo nodded. “I need a damn shower, my goodness.”

“Yeah you do.” Finn tugged Logan over to Leo and put on his most convincing pout. “Can we join you in the shower?”

Leo rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Obviously. You know you can.”

“Good, because a crystal cake stand is nice, but I think I’ve got a better prize for you.”

Leo looked them both up and down, biting his bottom lip around his smile. “Looking forward to it.” He took Logan’s other hand and squeezed. “C’mon, let’s go. I have got to get that focaccia recipe from Diego, it was absolutely divine.”

Shay's story for baking faer muffins!:

Shay had never been a particularly strong baker. Fae could follow a recipe just fine, but if fae tried to experiment even a little? Well, gogoat would get a lot of extra treats, we can put it that way. So when he moved to Dapplewood and an annual fall baking competition was established, he was a little apprehensive about participating. In fact fae hadn't planned to at all until fae found faerself stuck in faer apartment for a few beautiful autumn days.

A window was open to let in the crisp air, but it did nothing to relieve Shay's stir-craziness as he tentatively tried once more to rest weight on his bad foot. Fae hadn't had a flare-up so severe in ages, not since leaving home. And with that single thought Shay was sent tumbling through old memories.

Memories of bundling up in blankets while tucked against faer father's side on the couch. Memories of autumn scented candles lit in the kitchen because the city air wasn't nearly as festive. Memories of warm muffins in his small hands, and a smile from his mother.

Shay took another breath of the fresh air coming through his open window, and he looked outside at the forest and the mountains separating him from where he came from.

Fae may just participate in the baking competition after all.

(via @leavesandbounds)

*My personal review contains spoilers for the show, which is why it’s been put under a cut. Please use your discretion in reading this review, and understand that this is NOT spoiler free*

My thoughts: I’ve been watching this show ever since it first premiered way back in 2015, and I’ve adored it the entire time. Obviously I love Halloween, but I also love baking shows in general, so putting the two together makes for a winning combination in my book

This season they’re doing a Haunted Vacation Rental theme, appears that they’re doing it in a “mansion” (rather the idea of a mansion and going room to room with the set pieces and backgrounds around the kitchen area). I really enjoy these themed aspects, which they’ve been doing for several seasons now, as it adds a different tone and flavor to the overall show, and keeps things more tied together in terms of consistency

Though this season, or at least the first episode, they’ve changed the challenge aspect. Rather than a small Thriller challenge and then a big Killer challenge after that, after which one contestant is eliminated, they’ve gone for one big challenge right off the bat. The bottom 3 contestants then do a “bake for your life” showdown style challenge, and whoever is the bottom of those 3 will be sent home

I’m not sure that I’m a big fan of that so far. I can respect giving the less successful contestants a new chance to prove their skills with the “bake for your life” idea, but it’s basically the same idea of two challenges being repackaged and given to fewer people. Though I suppose it also helps them move a bit more quickly through the show, and probably makes judging easier and more fluid. I mean tasting 24 desserts from two separate challenges is a lot of sugar, and might be difficult on the judges’ stomachs, if nothing else. I’ll reserve much judgement on this style of competition until I’ve seen more of it throughout the season (if that continues)

However, I really don’t like that all the contestants are present for the judging now. I feel that judging should be private between the contestant and judges, as those comments are not always the best, and may be rather personal to the bakers. It seems like it would be kind of embarrassing to have everyone hearing what the judges are saying about one’s dessert, especially if the comments are not necessarily exemplary. I don’t really understand why this change was put into place either, unless it’s to give everyone a chance to see who their biggest competitors might be… but that still seems far-fetched in my opinion

Also there are some overly dramatic people in this year’s group… well, one in particular, and if you’ve watched the episode then you know exactly who I’m talking about (I’m not so good with names, but the lady that decided to lay on the floor in front of everyone at her baking station because she was stressed. Like girl, grow up please, you are not the main character of this whole show). I know this is a bit of a “15 minutes of fame” deal, since these people probably won’t ever be famous outside of this show, but still. Millions of people are watching, so maybe consider maintaining your dignity. Otherwise you might become famous for the wrong reasons

It was also quite a shock that the one contestant (I think his name was Jesse) decided to bow out of the competition entirely. I’ve only seen that happen before due to emergency reasons, most don’t do it so willingly. But I can absolutely respect that he was self-aware enough to recognize that he wasn’t having a good time, and was feeling too much strain under the pressure of being on tv and doing a whole competition. We should always try to listen to our bodies and our mental health, and take the steps needed to care for ourselves. I also greatly respect that he declared this decision and gave up his own spot so that none of those bottom 3 contestants would lose their own position for the time being. He could have made the decision before the next show taping, after someone had already been sent away, but in doing it this way his act has a more noble air to it. It’s unfortunate, since he seemed like a genuinely lovely person, and was a fairly talented baker. I’d have loved to see him continue on, but alas tis not to be