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Kent hated visiting Jack and Bitty. Not that he hated them, they were actually just about the closest friends he had outside of the Aces, but every summer they invited him to visit them in Providence, and every summer he ended up regretting it. Their life gave him a goddamn existential crisis.
It was one thing when it was their turn to come and visit him in Vegas. Then the visit was filled with outrageous performances, going out clubbing and getting way too drunk, and then watching the pained expression on Jack’s face as he tried to corral his completely wasted (and very handsy) husband into the car and back to Kent’s. Bitty, being about five years younger than him and Zimms, really knew how to keep the party rolling, and Kent was more than happy to let him. It was nothing but goofing off with his buddies, and sometimes he managed to feel like the years weren’t passing around him while he remained stagnant.
Providence was another story. The parties were more likely to include their college friends, who definitely inspired their own degree of drunken shenanigans, but also brought out a different side of Jack and Bitty. Those guys were their family, and it was obvious that the dynamic was different as Bitty ran around playing host and Jack quietly broke up arguments, the two of them being pulled aside late into the party to dole out sage advice to their former underclassmen.
It was especially weird this year, because the Bittle-Zimmermanns had adopted a baby girl in February and freaked Kent right the fuck out about his life. Because here he was, creeping up on thirty in just a few weeks, and still living the single life big-time. Other than Jack, his longest relationship was when he spent all of the All-Star break fooling around with a Dallas Star (that shall remain nameless) as they fought it out over the West Coast title. Jack, on the other hand, had married his college sweetheart and settled down in a cute yellow house in Rhode Island and now they had a sweet little baby that was currently parked in Kent’s lap, looking up at him with huge brown eyes that stared into his soul and said You are a pathetic man-child.
She really was sweet though. Amélie was warm and delicate as he held her upright, hands under her chubby arms to prop her sitting. Everything around her seemed to be fascinating, and her eyes would fixate on Kent, Shitty’s dog, birds in the tree, and back as she took it all in. Her tiny mouth looked like it wanted to be smiling if she had any teeth. He gave her a tentative bounce like he’d seen her father’s do before and she made a delighted squeal. Kent couldn’t help but grin right back at her. They lounged on a lawn chair together for a little while longer, splitting a small cup of Cheerios while Kent made faces or sang to make her laugh. He’d been so focused on Amélie that he missed the backyard clearing out around him as the barbecue wound down. It wasn’t until Jack and Bitty finished their cursory tidying up and wandered over to claim their child that he realized everyone had headed home.
“Oh, uh, sorry guys,” he said, reaching up to fiddle with a cowlick absently, his hands feeling weirdly at ends now that Amélie is cuddled up in Bitty’s arms. “I probably should’ve said bye to people.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jack said.
“They understand, she’s very distracting company,” Bitty reassured him, bouncing his daughter. “Thank you for watching her so long, we haven’t been able to really catch up with the boys for a while.”
“And now our yard doesn’t look like a frat house just rolled through it,” Jack added, nodding at the pile of garbage bags filled with beer cans and paper plates.
“Wasn’t a chore, she’s a really good baby,” Kent said.
“We like her alright.” Jack and Bitty smiled at each other in that very sweet but kind of nauseating way they had about them (but then again he wasn’t sure if the nausea was from the sweetness or the existential crisis it brought on because. Super single.) Kent groaned as he stood up, stretching.
“I can’t believe you two are still this gross. You’re parents - aren’t you supposed to be cranky and hate each other now?” he teased. Jack shrugged.
“I think that’s some weird straight people thing. I think settling down with Bits is the most fun I’ve ever had.”
“Me too,” Bitty said, beaming at Jack. Well, Kent thought, I’m probably going to want to be wearing the roadie headphones tonight.
He followed them inside the house where Bitty disappeared with a kiss to Jack’s cheek and a goodnight to Kent to put Amélie to bed.
“You’re not going?” he asked Jack, who stayed leaned against the kitchen counter. The past three nights the whole little family has gone upstairs to do bedtime together before Jack and Bitty returned to hang out with Kent until the adults were ready for bed.
“I think you’ve got something you wanna say and you won’t do it if I let you think too long down here.”
“Ugh, fine, I’ll tell you,” Kent groaned, slumping onto one of the kitchen barstools. “But you’ve gotta put the ‘fatherly advice’ face away first, it’s just weird.” Jack rolled his eyes, which incidentally did get rid of the expression and settled his features back into a more neutral one. “I think I’m starting to want this,” Kent admitted. Jack raised an eyebrow, clearly demanding further explanation. “The whole husband and kids thing, it...It seems really nice. I don’t think I really want to be able to drop everything and hang out in Rhode Island for a month anymore. Like, if I can just walk away from my life for a month what does that say about how much I have going on?”
“Well, we’d miss you, but Bits and I just want you to be happy,” Jack told him, voice low and steady.
“What kind of vague-ass bullshit is that?” he asked, smiling. Jack stepped forward and pulled him off the barstool and into a hug.
“The kind where we love you and we’re proud of you for admitting that you want to be old and boring too.” Kent nudged his fist against Jack’s shoulder and stepped out of the hug.
“Okay maybe don’t take it that far. I intend to age so well there’s internet rumors that I’m immortal.”