#this is much further forward in the bakerverse timeline

[hom3landr]

First I just wanted to say please take your time whether it’s writing the next chapter or dealing with mental health just please take your time. Baby steps! Anyway I had a little baker verse idea! She is teaching Ryan how to make chocolate chip cookies so they get to know each other and hang out meanwhile Homelander comes home from a meeting and walks in on them and is just so happy to see his son and his girlfriend getting along!❤️

Hello! Thank you so much for the request. I did tweak it just a bit but I hope the spirit of the ask remains in the final product.

Gingersnap

Homelander learns the importance of patience as Ryan learns a new recipe

Homelander leans against the entryway to the kitchen, a fond sincere smile lighting up his face. His son and his love are bathed in the golden light of the sun coming in through the kitchen window. The grin on Ryan’s face is just as bright even through the slight shyness that he carries around you. You’re rifling through the cabinets as you set ingredients down on the counter haphazardly.

He’d begun introducing Ryan to you slowly. He was perfectly happy to speed up the process but you’d insisted on being patient. You didn’t want to overwhelm Ryan and you were annoyingly insistent about respecting Becca’s boundaries. He’d snapped at Becca once and the look you gave him was so stormy that he hadn’t dared try again. The shock of it amidst all of your normal sweetness was enough to keep him in line. Mostly at least, you still had to deal with some grumbling. After lots of discussion, a tentative schedule was made and you introduced your presence into their lives. You fit in remarkably well.

“What kind of cookies would you like to make?” You ask breezily as you sweep around the kitchen like a whirlwind. Ryan seems a bit dazed by all the activity, excited but still becoming accustomed to the energy of a new person inside his home.

“I like chocolate chip! My mom makes them for me sometimes.” He looks over to where his mother is sitting at the table. She’s flipping through a magazine and she returns Ryan’s grin softly. She still doesn’t trust the situation fully, but she’s more at ease when you join Homelander for his visits.

“Oh no. I can’t compete with mom’s recipe. I’m a smart woman, I know when I’m beat.” You shoot Becca a wink. She doesn’t return it but she smiles.

Ryan giggles.

Homelander wants to intervene and reveal himself. He hasn’t been noticed by the happy scene yet. He’d only just returned from a quick meeting. But another part of him is happy to observe the peaceful scene. It warms a part of him he’s not sure has ever been warmed before, at least not like this.

His family

“How about some gingersnaps?” You ask Ryan, who looks at you quizzically.

“I’ve never had a gingersnap.” He replies and you clap your hands together with joy. There’s nothing you enjoy more than baking something new with someone. You told him once that there is something so pure about an honest first reaction. It’s a brief glimpse of something elusive, something no one else will be able to see again. You don’t even mind if it isn’t positive. It’s the experience that matters to you. He doesn’t quite understand how you let disappointment roll right off of you. Authenticity doesn’t seem worth the risk of rejection, even if it’s something as small as a baked good.

“Never had a ginger snap?!? Well it is your lucky day!” You reach out to give Ryan’s shoulders a friendly shake before separating out the dry and wet ingredients into little piles. He joins you eagerly and it doesn’t take long before you playfully dust him with a bit of flour. He retaliates by flicking you with sugar but before the two of you can devolve into a full food fight, you remember that it isn’t your kitchen to clean up. Homelander knows from experience that you aren’t afraid to get messy in your own space. He has a cookie dough stained cape to prove it, he keeps it folded up safely in his closet.

Homelander wants to clear his throat. He wants to step in and insert himself, let the domesticity wash over him. But he doesn't, he just watches. For once, he’s content.