Chapter Text
Jack shuts his alarm off just a second or two after it goes off. He has been awake for a few minutes now, staring maybe a touch dolefully at the empty space on the bed beside him. He and Bitty are being cautious about the start of their relationship, there are no sleepovers at Jack’s house when he has Maisie. Neither one wants to confuse her and they are keeping the relationship a secret for now. Relationship. He is in a relationship with Eric Bittle and that fact alone makes it difficult to not smile, even if he can’t tell everyone about it just yet. He gets out of bed and goes to get ready for the day before he wakes up Maisie. It is always easier getting himself up and dressed first before he gets her going. He wants to stop by the nearby coffee shop before he drops her off at school. They have a new seasonal flavor that he thinks Bitty is going to love.
“MR. BITTY HI!” Maisie all but shouts as she skips down the hall ahead of Jack. Bitty crouches to get to her level and he holds out a hand that his daughter exuberantly slaps in a high-five. “Like my new leggings?” The leggings are covered in tennis rackets, in homage to Camilla. This week Maisie is all about her Mom and tennis. Jack notices that she goes in spurts with her passions and he loves it. It keeps Jack on his toes.
“I love them, Maisie. Rhiannon is already in class if ya want to go say hi to her before we start,” Bitty says and Jack bends down to give Maisie a tight hug before she scampers off into class. A few weeks ago she had insisted that she put her backpack away in her cubby without his help and since then there has been no turning back. It stings a little to see signs like that of Maisie getting older. He’s happy, though, that Bitty can distract him from those thoughts for a minute. Maybe two if they are lucky and no other parent shows up. Bitty approaches him and Jack’s lips tug up into a smile as he hands over the peppermint atrocity that he knows Bitty will love.
“Thanks, Jack,” Bitty says, and he brings the drink up to his lips. Jack licks his own lips as he watches Bits take a sip. He wishes they could at least hug right now. At least he can get a kiss from Bitty later on.
“Is it good?” Jack asks, his voice lower than necessary.
Bitty lifts an eyebrow before smirking and nodding his head. He looks like he is about to say something, but then he gets cut off by the appearance of another parenting dropping off a student. Jack waves to him before walking away. He manages to make it all the way to his car before fishing out his phone to leave Bitty a text, a text he knows won’t be checked until Bitty’s kids are in their art session with Lardo.
“Jack, I think Shitty and Lardo are sleeping together.”
Jack is laying on his bed, staring up at his ceiling. The amount of time he and Bitty spend on the phone at night makes him feel something like a teenager. He never really had this when he was younger. It was all hockey, all the time. He and Kent—well it was never like this. Neither one of them had it in them to make it like this when they were teens. It makes Jack happy, though, that he is finally embarking on this rite of passage that so many other people hit earlier in their lives.
“What makes you think that, Bud?” Jack asks, smiling. He is always smiling when he talks to Bits.
“Well,” Bitty begins, his voice quieter than usual—not quite a whisper but not speaking at full volume either. Jack fights back a laugh, not wanting to interrupt Bitty. “Lardo’s car is in the drive, and I’m baking some pie for the class tomorrow because we are celebrating Logan’s birthday. Anyway, I may have made some extras. Shitty never came down from his room so I decided I’d see if Lardo wanted some, but she was not in the basement. And Shitty’s door has been shut for quite awhile. I don’t hear much coming from the room but he always knows when I’m baking and heads into the kitchen.”
“Bitty, are you upset that we might not be the only ones in a secret relationship?” Jack chirp and he is unable to stop the slight laugh that escapes him.
“No! I… okay, maybe a little.” Bitty says and Jack can hear the pout in his voice.
It takes a lot out of Jack for him not to blurt out three simple words right now. Three words that convey exactly how he feels for Eric, but he knows it is too soon. This relationship of theirs too young. It does not matter that Jack has been falling hard for Eric since the first time he saw him. That he knows he has never really felt this way for anyone, not even Camilla and he had been married to her. Oh, there had been love between him and Camilla—but this… this is so different. He knows he does not need to say those words, not yet, and so he stuffs them down and contents himself with listening to his boyfriend.
They stay up way too late talking on the phone like they do most nights if Jack is not too tired after a game.
“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”
It is 8:30 on December 31st, but the television says that it is midnight. Maisie is ecstatic and jumping up and down as she throws confetti and streamers into the air. She drinks some bubbly apple juice and dances around the living room with Camilla and Steve. Jack watches, feeling warm and happy. He wishes Bitty and Shitty could see this, and he is glad he remembered to pull his phone out to record it. Then it is his turn to dance with Maisie, so Camilla takes his phone and he dances around the living room with his daughter. He scoops her up in his arms and spins twice before setting her down.
“I love you, Papa!” Maisie shouts.
“I love you too, Corndog.” He says, hugging her tightly once more before she squirms away.
It is ten now and Jack is at Shitty’s haus. He is glad that he and Camilla came up with the plan to celebrate an earlier New Years with Maisie. He thinks that next year he might let her try to stay up until midnight for real. He’s also happy that he gets to spend the last couple hours of the year with his boyfriend and ring in the new one with him too. He and Bitty’s plans are to celebrate midnight with their friends and then sneak out to go to Jack’s house because Maisie is staying at Camilla’s for rest of the week as Jack will be on the road starting tomorrow morning. Staying up and out until midnight is probably a dumb idea on Jack’s part but he wants to because he knows it will make Bitty happy.
Bitty who is slightly flushed in the face from a couple of drinks. Bitty, who keeps touching Jack’s arms lightly as they talk. Bitty who shines brighter than everyone and everything else in the Haus. Bitty who is currently being pulled away from Jack and the wall by a drunk Shitty.
“BITS MY BRAH! DANCE WITH ME!”
Jack smiles as he watches his best friend dance with Bitty. He does not notice Lardo until she nudges him gently in the side and that is when he tears his gaze away from the dancing duo.
“Hey, Lardo.”
“Jack,” she says, her gaze drifting from him towards Shitty and Bits. Since Lardo is watching the two of them, Jack figures he can get away with it too. Silence falls between him and Lardo, but it is comfortable. It is usually comfortable between the two of them.
“Bitty has been really happy lately,” Lardo says after a few minutes, and Jack can feel her eyes on him. He turns to look at her, but her face is obnoxiously blank.
“So has Shitty,” Jack ventures, and he sees Lardo’s lips twitch into something of a smile before she is pushing off from the wall she had been leaning on.
“Happy looks good on them both,” Lardo says before she slips between the dancing Shitty and Bitty, only to take Bitty by his hand and lead him into the kitchen. Shitty shouts something dramatic before his eyes land on Jack and then suddenly Jack has an armful of Shitty.
“THREE… TWO… ONE…”
It is midnight and all around them couples are kissing. Jack wants to kiss Bitty. They have plans, though, to stay mostly a secret until the end of the school year. They are at a party with mostly teachers from Bitty’s school. He notices that Lardo and Shitty are kissing—and it is definitely not a friendly chaste thing—and he nudges Bitty to point that out. Bitty laughs and then he is looking at Jack, and Jack is looking at him. And suddenly it feels foolish and stupid to Jack to keep this all a secret.
“Bits…”
Bitty is close to him, closer than he was a few seconds ago. Then they are kissing too, Jack thinks that they both closed the gap at the same time. The kiss does not start out smooth, more teeth than anything in their rush, but they smooth it out. It might have been half a minute late into the New Year but Jack has no complaints. The sounds of the party are dull to him now as he focuses just on Bitty and his lips.
“I FUCKING KNEW IT!” Shitty shouts and Jack stops kissing Bitty just before Shitty engulfs the two of them in a hug. Bitty’s face is flushed and he looks happy, happier than he did a few minutes before. Jack feels lighter too. They had not kept the secret as long as they had intended too and Jack thinks that it might be better this year.
“’Swawesome and congrats,” Lardo says and they bump fists.
“You too,” Jack says, with a smirk and he notices that her cheeks turn a faint red.
It is late. Well past Jack’s bedtime. He and Bitty made it back to his house a little after 12:30 and they immediately changed into pajamas. Bitty, once again, borrowing a pair of pants from Jack. He is too tired to do much more than kiss, and they have been lazily kissing goodnight since they made it to Jack’s bed.
“This is going to be a great year, Bitty, “Jack says, once they stop kissing. He stifles a yawn and Bitty nuzzles his face against Jack’s neck. Jack loves the feel of Bitty’s breath there, and he sighs, content.
“I think so too, Jack.”
He can feel the pull of sleep and knows he should not fight it, that he will have some regret staying up as late as he did tonight, even if it feels worth it now. Bitty is so warm in his arms, and Jack never realized what he cuddler in bed he could be. He likes falling asleep with Bitty in his arms and he always wakes up a little disorientated when wakes up and they have slipped apart in the middle of the night. He is grateful he gets to spend the final night before a long roadie with Bits in his bed, and his thoughts feel a bit like a broken record these days.
“G’night Jack,” Bits says, his voice thick with the pull of sleep.
“Goodnight, bud. I love you,” Jack says, too tired to stop those three little words from escaping. He feels Bitty tense in his arms, and suddenly, Jack feels too wide awake. He does not want to take those words back. He feels like he will be fine if Bitty is not quite ready to say them back. He just wants Bits to know… even if it is too quick.
“You don’t have to say anything back,” Jack is quick to get out, and he feels Bitty relaxing once more into his arms.
“Jack,” Bitty says, shifting until he can look him in the eyes. Jack flashes him a smile, probably oozing with worry. “I love you too. We are both a little crazy, aren’t we?” Bitty says with a breathless laugh.
Jack says nothing, he just kisses Bitty because Bitty loves him back. And maybe his boyfriend is right and maybe they are both a little crazy but Jack would not trade that for the world. The kiss turns into more than a kiss and Jack resigns himself (without much of a fight) to being exhausted for the road trip tomorrow and that be okay because Eric Bittle loves him and he loves Eric Bittle.
Life is better than good.