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Will loves to bake. It’s something he discovered in his early twenties. Someone had basically told him he couldn’t, which motivated him to try. Banana bread was what he settled on. He remembers how proud he was when he pulled it out of the oven. It looked perfect.
The boys thought so too. Everyone at the party was complimenting him. All the WAGs were thoroughly impressed. And Mack thought it was delicious. It felt good to get praise for something that wasn’t hockey. It was a new feeling for him, and he liked it.
Mack has been begging him to make it ever since. Will was a little worried it was beginner's luck or something, so he didn’t try again. Then one day he was feeling a little down. Practice didn't go too well, and he got some not-nice words from Warso. So he went to the grocery store and bought some ingredients.
He already had bananas on the counter that were ripe. Will thinks Mack has been bringing them over and not eating them every week, just to entice him to make it.
Mack is expected at his place in a couple of hours, so he gets started. He feels better the moment he starts to mash the bananas. He adds extra chocolate chips because he knows Mack loves them and pops it in the oven.
He sits on his couch as the smell permeates the room.
Then Mack arrives. He just lets himself in. Which is fine; Will keeps the door unlocked.
“Holy shit,” Mack says when he smells the room.
Will smiles at him. He doesn’t even mean to; it just happens.
“Smitty,” Mack says with a wide smile on his face. He is so excited that he just runs into the kitchen and rips open the oven door.
He pops back up with a huge smile on his face.
“Keep the door closed. You will let the hot air out,” Will tells him.
But he just keeps the crazy serial killer smile on his face.
Will kinda likes it. Or at least his heart does, as it beats heavily in his chest.
“Oh, you really do love me,” Mack adds.
Will's heart really does do a flip-flop.
“It’s not for you,” Will adds to take away the intensity in the room.
Mack's jaw drops. His eyes turn sad.
“I’m kidding,” Will adds, hoping to wipe the look off his face.
Mack smiles.
The timer goes off a little while later, and Will carefully removes the loaf from the oven. Mack protests as Will insists they have to wait for it to cool a bit.
Mack is just over his shoulder as he cuts into it. The chocolate chips are still gooey, and the bread is cooked perfectly.
Will blooms with pride as Mack moans at the look alone.
He cuts a few pieces, and they sit and eat it. Then Mack goes back for more. And more.
Finally, he lies spread out on Will's couch with his hand on his stomach.
“That was the best,” he mumbles.
Will is so glad he made it.
<><><><><>
If he can handle a loaf, then he can do muffins. Right?
There's a team barbecue coming up, and he knows a lot of kids are going to be there. So he decided he was going to bring muffins.
They're easy to share, so it’s better than the bread. He goes out and buys a muffin tin and all the ingredients. He doesn’t want to risk it the day of, so he’s planning. He’s going to make a batch for Mack and see if he likes them.
Then if he doesn't, Will has time to change up the recipe. It’s just one he pulled off the internet, but it had good reviews, so he pinned it.
He was heading over to Mack’s tonight since they don’t have a game, so he gets started in the afternoon.
He’s careful to follow all the instructions, and he feels pretty good when he places them in the oven.
A few come out a bit lopsided, but there are some good ones.
He plucks those and pops them in a container.
They are still warm when he arrives at Jumbo's.
He knocks, because that's what you should do, and Mack yells at him to come in.
“How many times have I told you not to-“ he starts, then stops when he sees what’s in Will's hand.
Mack rubs his hands together like a madman. “What did you bring me?” he sings out.
“Muffins,” Will says. A little shy about it. He usually comes empty-handed, so it’s odd.
“What kind?” Mack asks seriously.
“Blueberry.”
Mack's face lights up. “Those are my favourite.”
Will tries not to let the pink tinge his cheeks. He knew that, of course. It’s why he picked the recipe.
He hands them over, and Mack accepts the container.
“They're still warm,” he says. In awe.
He lifts one out of the container and takes a huge bite of the top.
“Oh my god,” he moans. Like it’s a religious experience. “Will,” he moans.
Which does weird things to Will's insides.
Will enters the room and plops down on the couch. Not needing to see the pornographic experience Mack is having with the muffins.
He eats two and then admits defeat.
“Good enough for the party?” Will asks. Just to be sure.
“Fucking perfect, dude,” Mack says.
<><><><><>
How hard can brownies be? Just mix a couple of things and dump it into the pan.
Mack mentioned earlier in the week that he was craving brownies. He wanted to grab one of those pre-made packages from the grocery store, but Will thought that was sacrilegious. So they didn’t.
But the next day Will got the ingredients to make the dessert and had the recipe open in one of his tabs on his phone.
But he wasn’t quite ready to make it. Not till they had a not-so-great game and Mack was in a mood.
It was an afternoon game, so they had to sit with the grossness of it till they could go to sleep hours later.
So Will forces Mack to head back with him to Patty's. Will can’t wait till next year when they get their own place together. No more driving across town just to hang out. Plus, no one watching them come and go.
Mack follows him in his car back to Patty’s. He plops Mack in front of the TV with a comedy on. The younger man is silent, like he always is when he's upset.
Will is sure he barely notices when Will gets up and leaves him.
Will quietly gets to work in the kitchen; he mixes the ingredients and pours them into the prepared pan.
When they are in the oven, he moves back to the couch with Mack.
Mack looks up at him when he sits.
“What were you doing?” He asks.
“Don’t worry about it, bud,” Will shoves back. Maybe to bug him a little or get a smile, but he achieves neither.
Mack just turns back to the TV with a lost look on his face.
The forty minutes of baking time is torture. Will keeps looking over to see if Mack is noticing the smell that is starting to enter the room, but he doesn’t.
Then finally it goes off, and Will stands. He catches Mack's minor movement. It’s almost as if he reached out to stop him. But he pulls his hand back quickly.
Will ignores it and heads to the beeping timer on the stove.
“What is that?” Mack asks. Intensely watching Will as he goes.
“I baked,” Will says. Shyly. Suddenly, the ramifications of it all are hitting him.
“For me?” Mack asks.
Will nods as he hits the timer off.
And then he pulls the brownies out. Mack stands and walks over.
He looks between the pan and Will a few times. His eyes are soft and shiny.
“Thank you, Will,” he says.
The room is heavy. So Will just breathes and nods.
“Go sit,” he says eventually.
Mack listens to the instruction.
Will grabs two spoons and a cloth. He carries over the tray with his oven mitt and places it on the table.
He hands a spoon to Mack. Who actually smiles at him.
Mack immediately dives in. The steam pours off the spoon, but he doesn’t care. He just shoves it in his mouth. He doesn’t moan this time. He just moves in for another bite. And another.
Will feels too self-conscious to ask how it is, so he just tries it.
He knows it’s good the moment the chocolate hits his tongue. But he could be biased.
So he waits till Mack sits back. Once half the tray is gone.
He just looks at him and hopes the question translates.
“Incredible Will,” Mack says after a moment.
Will settles on the couch next to him. A little closer than before. And Mack shuffles even closer to him. Till the left sides are pressed against each other.
“Thank you,” Mack whispers.
“You're welcome.”
<><><><><>
Cookies were his next challenge. Mack was coming to Boston this off-season to visit some of his BU friends and was staying at Will's house.
Will has been pretty bored without him. More so than last year. He has his Boston friends and is trying to stay busy, but he misses Mack.
He wants his time in Boston to be special. He has a few things planned for them. But his boredom has led him to explore some new things.
They had a BBQ on the Cape that Will helped his mom prep for. This included making his grandmother's cookies.
They went well; they were a huge hit, so Will decided he was going to make a batch for when Mack comes.
They love cookies; the two of them always get them on the road. So it felt fitting.
He made the dough and chilled it before heading to the airport to pick him up.
Once they got back to the house, Will pulled out the dough and started to bake it off.
“No way! No way! No way!” Mack chanted when he saw it. “You making me cookies?”
Will nods.
“I really am your favourite, eh?” Mack says.
Will shakes his head at the Canadianism. But Mack takes it as a no to his question.
“No?” Mack asks. “I don’t believe you,” he whispers. “Rigs doesn't either,” he adds.
Rigs looks up at both of them, having heard his name.
Mack bends over and ruffles his ears.
Will likes watching the two of them together. It makes him feel all warm and fuzzy.
Mack eats way too many cookies as soon as they are out of the oven. And he won’t stop talking about them.
“These cookies! Are nuts,” he says. And “Bro, what did you put in these?” And “I need these every damn day, Smitty.”
By the end of the compliment train, Will is so embarrassed, and yet happy.
<><><><><>
Will heads to Vancouver for a few weeks in the middle of the summer. He missed Mack’s birthday, as they were in different countries. But he wants to make up for it.
He’s never baked a cake in his life. He knows he will be bad at it. You need the technique to decorate it, which he does not have.
But that's not going to stop him; it was his birthday. He should do something special.
He chats with Robyn when he arrives. She is happy to let him borrow the kitchen, and she has everything he needs.
He wakes up early one morning and sneaks out of the room. Then he gets started. He has the recipe basically memorized because he has looked at it so much. He mixes the cake batter together and pours it into a pan.
As it bakes, he makes the icing. Robyn and Rick pass him in the kitchen as he is cleaning up. They have odd looks on their faces, but eventually they move on.
“That looks fantastic, honey,” Robyn says to him as she leaves.
He smiles and thanks her.
He takes them out of the oven and out of the pan to cool. And then he waits. He hopes Mack doesn't wake up. He doesn’t think he is going to; they had a crazy training day yesterday. But he wants everything to be perfect. He wants the cake set up and ready to go for when he wakes up.
He chugs another cup of coffee and paces while it cools in the fridge.
Once it’s ready, his hand moves steadily, spreading the frosting over the cake. It is a little lopsided when he puts on the second tier, but it still stands tall.
Once he is done spreading it all over the sides and top of the cake, he steps back to look. It is surprisingly decent looking.
So he puts the spatula down. And moves the cake till it is in the centre of the island.
He hears steps shuffle down the stairs. He knows without looking at it that it was Mack.
He stands eagerly around the corner in the empty kitchen and waits for him.
Mack appears; he looks half asleep. He rubs at his eyes. They find Will first.
“Morning,” he says.
Will replies with the same sentiment.
Then Mack’s eyes drift to the island and then to the cake.
“What is that?” He asks. Eyes wide.
“It’s a cake,” Will replies. A little embarrassed by the grand gesture now that Mack is actually here. He just wants him to feel special because he is special to Will. “For your birthday,” Will adds when Mack does not respond.
“My birthday was almost a month ago.”
Again. More embarrassment flows through him. This is dumb. Why did he do this? “But I wasn’t here to celebrate. So-“
Mack looks at him with soft eyes. Then at the cake. Then back at Will.
“I really am your favourite, aren't I?” Mack asks.
Will nods. It’s an easy question.
“Do you love me?” Mack asks. Out of left field. He’s joked about it a thousand times, but he seems serious.
Will looks at the floor and nods.
He hears Mack walk over to him, so he lifts his head. He catches a quick look at him before his lips are on his.
Will sucks in a breath as Mack kisses him.
He is so shocked, but he leans into it. He never wants it to end. His hand find Mack’s hip to hold him close.
After a few minutes of bliss, Mack pulls back for air. “I love you too,” he adds.
Will nearly faints. He's so happy. He didn’t even know he needed this till it happened. It’s like everything is fitting into place.
“You want a piece?” Will asks. He wants to know what Mack thinks.
Mack's hands are on him as he cuts into the cake. They never leave. Not even to pick up a piece on his fork.
“Wow,” he says when he swallows the bite. “That's the best cake I’ve ever had.”
“Shut up,” Will says as he rolls his eyes.
Mack grabs his chin and turns him to look at him.
“I mean it,” Mack says. “Because you made it.”
Will leans in to kiss him again. He tastes like chocolate.
Mack forks another bite but this time holds it out to Will.
It is a pretty good cake. He won’t disagree.
The two of them share the piece as they hang in the kitchen.
“Good birthday?” Will asks.
“The best,” Mack replies.
<><><><><>
Mack’s never been a baker. Like he’s never baked anything in his life. But his boyfriend is the best at it.
He gets the best treats baked for him all the time. Nothing is better than it. It’s like a good hug.
They have just moved into their new place, and their kitchen is stocked with all the supplies. Will had to head to a meeting, so Mack thought he would try something new.
Will deserves a good, fresh-baked goodie that he didn’t make. And Mack is sure he can handle it. How hard can it be?
He Googled what the easiest thing to bake was. The answer was Rice Krispie treats. How hard could that be? It’s three ingredients. Mack got those ingredients at the store. He even got the fun coloured Rice Krispies to make it fun.
He follows the instructions to the best of his ability. He melts the butter before adding the marshmallows. He stirs and stirs for like five minutes and nothing happens. So he cranks up the heat and the marshmallows start to melt. Quick.
He starts to panic and pulls it off the heat. He quickly measures the Rice Krispies, which he should have done a while ago, but he didn’t. So he gets a bunch on the floor and counter as he rips through the package.
Then he pours them into a pot that definitely should be bigger. They spill out of the pot as he mixes. Then a chunk of boiling marshmallow lands on his hand, which causes a third-degree burn.
He makes a pit stop at the sink to run it under cold water. This takes the burn away, only for a moment, before he heads back to the treats.
Whoever said this was easy deserves to be punished. Jailed.
He finally gets it all mixed and pours it into a pan. They wrote to grease the pan, which he has no idea what that means, so he skips it.
He presses the Rice Krispie treats into the pan, but it just keeps sticking to the spoon. He knows not to touch it, so he just keeps fighting with it. Eventually it’s somewhat flat, so he tosses aside the spoon and pops the tray in the fridge.
He looks around at the kitchen. It’s a total mess. He spends more time cleaning than he does making the treats. Which is impressive considering it took him so long to get that first part done.
Will enters the house just as he is popping the last dish into the dishwasher.
“Hey,” Will says. All soft and sweet.
“Hi,” Mack offers as he steps up to Will and steals a kiss.
It’s all so new and exciting. Mack’s heart still skips a beat when he sees him. When he kisses him.
Will, of course, finds and plucks a Rice Krispie off the counter. The literal one that Mack missed.
Mack rolls his eyes.
“What did you do?” Will asks.
“Nothing,” Mack deflects before turning and leaving the kitchen, but Will grabs him by the hips.
“Macklin,”
Mack rolls his eyes and caves. “Fine. I did some baking.”
“You baked?”
“Yep,” Mack says. “It’s really easy, actually.”
“Let me see.”
Mack goes to the fridge and pulls out the Rice Krispie treats that are nice and cooled.
Will's eyes are wide as he stares down at the pan that Mack put on the counter.
“They actually don’t look too bad.”
“As I said, it was easy,” Mack says nonchalantly. Even though he’s pretty proud inside that he likes the look of them.
“Shall we?” Will says in a suggestive yet silly voice.
Mack goes to the drawer and pulls out a knife. He immediately moves to stick the knife into the pan, but Will stops him.
“This is glass, Mack. Let’s take it out of the pan, then cut it,” he explains.
Duh. So Mack gets a cutting board and flips the pan upside down, but they don’t fall out. He shakes the pan, but again they don’t budge.
“Did you grease the pan?” Will asks.
“How do you know that?” Mack asks.
“Because it's like the most important part,” Will explains.
Mack’s tummy flips upside down. “And what happens if someone were to skip that step?” Mack asks. With a soft smile on his face. Hoping to get by.
“Okay,” Will says. “Let’s get a spatula then.”
The two of them scrape at the sides. Or try to, but the mixture doesn't budge. Mack doesn't remember Rice Krispie treats being so hard. It’s like a brick.
Eventually they just take a metal spatula that's meant for the BBQ and manage to pry the bars from the pan. Half of the treat sticks to the pan, but they get enough out to try.
It’s not half bad. But Mack waits for Will's review.
“Not bad, Celly,” Will comments.
“NOT BAD?!? That’s all you're going to give me,” Mack argues.
He is always very descriptive and kind when reviewing Will's desserts.
“Relax. I was kidding. It’s really good,” Will says.
Mack keeps looking at him with sad eyes.
“It’s fantastic, babe. Like unreal,” he adds.
Now Mack really smiles. Brightly.
They scarf down the bits they can. Then they are just left with a mess of a pan.
“I think this one’s going to have to soak,” Mack says.
“I think this one’s going in the garbage,” Will corrects.
Either way, Mack is still proud of his creation, but he’s going to let Will be the baker in the relationship. He has a feeling the dishware will likely be thankful for that.