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As Eric Bittle looked around his kitchen, he couldn’t help the feeling of awe that overtook him. Three years later and his breath still got taken away by the sight of the white cabinets with gold handles lining the walls, each filled with various cooking supplies. His state of the art oven, aptly named Betsy 2.0, built snuggly into the wall, flanked by even more cabinets and drawers. Two pans rested on top of the stove, remnants of his dinner preparations. Cookbooks – Some composed by him, others autographed by his favorite chefs and bakers – adorned the black marble countertops that he practically had to beg Jack to get. The wood laminate floors were Jack’s decision, though Bitty secretly approved. In the center of the kitchen stood a mahogany table meant for the couple. The dining room had a banquet table long enough to hold all of the Samwell hockey team and their spouses, at least the spouses that were not also members of the team.
Sitting directly across from Bitty, illuminated by the two candles placed between them, was Jack Zimmerman. Jack Ran-Across-Campus-To-Kiss-Bittle-Because-He-Finally-Had-The-Balls Zimmerman. His piercing blue eyes examined Bitty’s face, always enamored by his boyfriend. The way his widened when he entered the room, the way he teared up the first time he saw Betsy 2.0, the way his cheeks reddened when he caught Jack staring. The way he would immediately look anywhere else after saying something embarrassing, as he had just done.
“Eric,” Jack said softly. Bittle’s ears perked up a bit but his gaze still scanned the kitchen, seeming to attempt to memorize every minute detail. “Bitty.” Still no response, though his eyes did momentarily snap towards Jack so fast he almost missed it. “Bittle!”
That broke him out of his stupor. With a sigh, he turned his head toward his dining partner. “Yes Jack?”
“Did you just say what I think you said?” Jack asked, leaning forward slightly, a playful twinkle in his eyes.
“Umm…no?” Bitty rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his cheeks turn a sharper red.
“I think you did”
“Nope. Oh look, your chicken is cold. I should warm it up.” Bitty tried to stand but suddenly felt a pressure on his hand. Looking down, he saw that Jack had reached out and grasped him.
“Eric, please sit down.” One look into Jack’s eyes and Bitty couldn’t resist. Damn, when did Jack learn how to use Puppy dog eyes so well?! Bitty sat back down, hand still held in Jack’s. “We have two options here. One is we can ignore what you said and go on with our night, though I think neither of us wants that. The other option is we discuss it and go from there.” Bittle mumbled quietly under his breath, so low Jack could barely make it out. “What did you say, love?”
“I said, can we have option three where I curl up and die of embarrassment?”Bittle was met with a low chuckle at his request.
“Sadly love, that is not an option. I refuse to date a corpse. Now which option do you want, one or two?”
With a sigh, Eric replied, “Two.” Both sat silent yet again, waiting for the other to comment first.
Of course, it was Jack. “Okay. So, did you just ask me to-“
“Yes”
“-Marry you?”
“Yes. Yes. Yes I did. I planned on waiting until later and I got so nervous that I just blurted it out. I just love you so much, Jack Zimmerman. These past few years have been great and I feel like we should take the next step. We are one of the last couples to get married, Shitty and Lardo, Ransom and Holster, Dex and Nursey, hell even Chowder got married already. If they can do it, why can’t we? I’ve spent months wondering if you just weren’t interested so I decided I would just do it and-
“Bitty!” Jack interrupted his boyfriends rambling, flashing back to that time in college when Eric came out to check on Jack after he had retrieved the Jocks. “You’re afraid I’m not interested?
“Well…yes”
“Ask me.”
“What?” Bitty’s eyes widened in shock at the request.
“Ask me.” Jack repeated himself gently.
Bitty stood shakily from his chair, wiping his sweaty palms on his slacks, bumping the lump in his front right pocket. He maneuvered around the table until he was in front of Jack, who was turned in his chair looking at Bitty expectantly. Eric shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out the black velvet box. He knelt down on one knee, hands still shaking as he looked up into Jack’s eyes, struggling to overcome his nerves to speak. With a slight nod, Jack urged him onwards. Taking a deep breath, Eric pulled open the black box, revealing the silver band adorned with deep blue sapphires, a corny attempt to match Jack’s eyes. “Jack Zimmerman, I have spent years loving you. When we first met, I thought you hated me. But as time went on and you trained me to take a check, our friendship began to form. We grew close. I never thought we would grow this close. But that day in the Haus kitchen working on our final, I saw the way the sun came in through the window and brightened your face. I saw the way your eyes would glisten when you talked about your passions. I saw the true Jack Zimmerman, so full of life and wishing for an escape from his past. In that moment, I fell in love. But to my knowledge you were straight. So I quietly pined away from a distance, saddened by the fact that you would never feel the same way. Until graduation. When you showed up at my door, sweaty from running across campus. What a mess we both were, and yet it was the best day of my life. Because it was you. It was everything I had dreamt of for months. And these years with you have been amazing. I have watched you succeed and win the Stanley Cup like you always dreamed. I have felt your support as I pursued baking, felt your warmth when I came out to my parents, felt your pride when I published my first cookbook. You have made me feel like the most important person on the planet and I can only hope I have done the same for you. I want this feeling to last forever. So, Jack Zimmerman, I have no clue why you have let me ramble this damn much, but will you marry me?”
Tears were streaming down both of their faces. Jack struggled to find the words to say back. He needed to tell Bittle how he felt. How he had helped Jack escape the darkness inside of him. How he had been the inspiration Jack needed when he came out to the world. How he was the beacon of light that Jack could always rely on to show him the way. But the only word that would come out of his mouth was a choked “Yes!” as he held his hand out for Bittle to put the ring on. Once that we done, he tossed the box to the ground and lifted Bittle into his arms, clutching him tightly as the two cried tears of joy. They stood there for what felt like an hour, but was most likely only a few minutes. Jack pulled away first, using his hand to lift Bittle’s chin and capturing his mouth with his own. They had a lifetime of kisses ahead of them, but only two so far had held so much emotion. The first, intense and breathy and new. This one, filled with love and familiarity but just as intense.