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Got me looking so crazy right now, your love's
Got me looking so crazy right now
Jack rolls over with a groan and blindly reaches for his phone to shut off his alarm. He ends up hitting the snooze instead of sliding to shut the alarm completely off, but good enough for now. Spending nine more minutes in bed won’t hurt. He flops onto his back and looks to his left to find Bitty staring at him, groggy but smiling.
“Why did I let you set that as my alarm ringtone?” he asks while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
Bitty lets out an amused snort. “Because you forgot to set your alarm before game one of the Conference Finals and woke up to mine instead, and you’re too superstitious for your own good.”
“Right. I have to go to morning skate,” Jack replies as he rolls out of bed and throws on clothes. “Don’t forget we’re meeting our parents for dinner tonight at six o’clock.”
It’s just like any other morning, really, except that it isn’t.
The Falconers will be playing their last game in the Stanley Cup finals tomorrow night. It has been a rough series against Dallas pushing them into game seven which would take place on Falconer’s home ice. Both his and Eric’s parents are in town for the final game.
The Falconers had swept the Pens in the Conference Finals, but the Stars and the Aces’ series went to game six. It left his team with a nice break before the Stanley Cup Finals. Throughout the entire series Jack has been waiting for his anxiety to hit him like a tidal wave, but oddly, he’s been nothing but calm since he lifted the Prince of Wales Trophy almost a month ago.
He uncovers just enough of Bitty’s head to give him a kiss goodbye and moves into the kitchen to grab a bottle of Biosteel before heading out. He grabs his bag out of the hall closet and is half way out the door when his phone goes off again.
A muffled, “Have a good practice. I love you!” comes from the bedroom as the door closes behind him.
Butterflies erupt in Jack’s stomach. It has been over three years since that fateful day in Jack’s old bedroom at the Haus and he still can’t believe his luck. His heart races a bit as he reaches into a side pocket of his bag and feels around for the small velvet box hiding there.
Maybe saying that he has been nothing but calm since the Conference Finals is a bit misleading, but his nerves have nothing to do with the Stanley Cup.
♥ _/ - \_ ♥
Later, Jack is leaning against the doorframe to the master bath watching Eric finish getting ready.
“Why are we getting all dressed up and going out tonight?” Bitty asks as he’s tying his bowtie in the mirror. “I thought for sure you’d rather have a quiet dinner here tonight.”
Instead of answering, Jack reaches for his hand and guides him out onto the balcony just off their bedroom.
“Sweetheart?” Bitty questions, a flash of concern crossing his face.
Jack gently brushes his free hand across Eric’s cheek and smiles softly.
“I thought we should celebrate tonight,” he explains. “No matter what happens tomorrow, things will be a bit crazy for a while, so I wanted tonight to just be about us and our family.”
Bitty’s eyes are tearing up a little at that confession but his smile is radiant. Any nerves or bits of doubt Jack had been feeling about whether or not this is the right time drains from his body.
“I want you to know how much your support, and love, and patience means to me. The past three years have been the best years of my life, because I’ve had you by my side. I want you to always be by my side.”
A small gasp leaves Eric’s mouth as Jack gets down on one knee. He holds up a simple platinum ring with a neat row of small diamonds set into the center of the band.
“Eric Richard Bittle — Bitty — Will you marry me?”
Almost before the final words were out of his mouth, he was being tackled to the ground and having the breath kissed out of him. A bubble of laughter rose in his chest and soon both of them were laughing, tangled in each other’s arms on the ground.
Jack wipes the happy tears away from Bitty’s eyes and says, “So is that a yes?”
“Oh my God, Jack Zimmermann! Of course that’s a yes!”
♥ _/ - \_ ♥
As they’re getting out of the car Bitty can’t help but ask, “Why tonight? I mean, don’t think for a second that I’m not absolutely thrilled, but —“
“I meant what I said earlier. I didn’t want this moment to be about The Cup. Win or lose, I wanted this to be about us. Our family. Our friends.”
As Jack pulls the door to the restaurant open the words seem to register.
“Our friends? Wait, what —“
Bitty is steered past the host desk and down the hall and into a private dining room. It is filled with their parents, all their friends from Samwell, and about half of the Falconers.
Jack — his fiancé — just beams down at him before holding his hand up and addressing the crowded room.
“He said yes!”
The room erupts into cheers and congratulations about a second before Shitty leaps at Jack screaming “You smooth motherfucker!”
Eventually they both make their way around the room, accepting hugs and congratulations before finally sitting down to a nice meal, surrounded by the people who love them.
♥ _/ - \_ ♥
The next night the Providence Falconers beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 in regulation, and Jack is presented with the Conn Smythe Award.
When the press are let into the locker room, it’s already crowded with the players, staff, and half their families. Just about everything in Jack’s stall has been sprayed with champagne, but he doesn’t care. He goes through the presser with a genuine smile on his face for once.
As questions are winding down, he glances over to where Bitty and his parents are standing and feels his heart flutter.
“You’ve just finished your third year in the NHL, and captained your team to a Stanley Cup win. How are you planning to celebrate your success this year?” one reporter shouts from somewhere in the middle of the media scrum.
Jack smiles even bigger and says, “I’m going to marry my best friend.”
George’s voice cuts through the chaos that erupts at that statement, “Thank you, no further questions.”