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It had been such a good day, until the realization hit him. It hit him hard, too, like he’d been slammed against the boards in a game. It was physically painful, particularly with the suspicion he had yet to confirm. His whirlwind thoughts, sudden, left him with a stunned expression on his face in the middle of the kitchen. Jack noticed, and questioned it. Thankfully, Eric was still able to shake his head and make an excuse. He carried himself through the rest of their baking session with a smile planted on his lips, despite the weight in his heart and the burning sensation on his hip.
As soon as they were finished, Bitty excused himself and ran up to his room. He threw himself on his bed, taking in a shaky breath as he tried to calm himself. Maybe he was wrong. He hadn’t looked at the mark yet, perhaps it hadn’t changed at all. Maybe the feelings he had, the inclination towards Jack, was just a regular crush for his attractive leader. Bitty was almost scared to check, but he knew he had to.
Lifting himself from his place on the bed, he decided he would, first, vlog about his feelings. It was a good mechanism for working things out, usually, or at least getting his feelings out. Indeed, Bitty ended up crying quietly as he tried to talk about his feelings for his team captain. After shutting off the video camera, Bitty decided he would finally check his mark and confirm, or deny, the possibility that Jack Zimmerman was his soulmate.
Making his way over to the mirror in his room, Bitty squeezed the fabric of the sweater he wore. His mark had originally appeared first year, the day he was introduced to his hockey team. In the beginning, it was just indiscernible black lines on his hip. He even went to the doctor, worrying it was something wrong with his skin. He felt downright foolish to learn it was the beginnings of the mark that represented his soulmate.
As time went on, it become evident that the mark was likely turning into a hockey stick (perhaps a golf club, but that would make much less sense). Bitty was incredibly frustrated by that fact. At the start of second year, he was literally living in a house full of hockey players. How, on God’s green Earth, was he supposed to find his soulmate if his mark was a flipping hockey stick? A hockey stick could very well represent most of his friends at Samwell.
However, as Bitty started paying more attention to when his mark grew (and when it didn’t), as well as the personalities of his teammates, the options narrowed down. After all, just because they all played hockey didn’t mean hockey was the best representation of each individual on the team. For instance, it couldn’t possibly be Chowder (and, ew, he was Bitty’s son) but if it were Chowder, it would more likely be a Shark than just a stick, or maybe a smile to represent his cheery personality, something like that. Ransom and Holster didn’t have hockey sticks for marks, either, and they were each other’s soulmate.
No, it had been a few weeks, maybe even a month, since Bitty had begun to suspect Jack might be the person his mark represented. He was easily the most dedicated on the team. And, thinking of before second year, Bitty did notice his mark had grown a lot during the time he had checking practice with Jack. It had been impossible to tell at the time, considering he was a college freshman and was frequently hanging out with different people. The mark had been less distinguishable, then. And the time they spent together hadn’t been of amazing quality, either. Soulmate marks were far from an exact magic, but they tended to form better when soulmates were forging meaningful connections with each other.
That was the reason Bitty wanted to look at his mark so badly after spending the day with Jack. They’d talked about life and the future, he’d fully realized the extent of his feelings for Jack. If his mark was more developed now than it had been this morning, then he could be sure it was Jack. To make it even more clear, the only other people Bitty really spent time with that day were Ransom, Holster, and Shitty. Those three already found their soulmates, so it couldn’t possibly have developed as a result of being with them. It was the perfect time to find out, once and for all, if his hockey stick shaped mark represented Jack.
Standing in front of the mirror, Bitty pulled off his sweater and rolled up his shirt a little bit, then tugged on the left side of his jeans. He sucked in a breath as he looked at the hockey stick on his left him.
It had definitely changed.
Bitty’s hands shook a bit as he gripped his shirt, staring at the mark. This morning, it was a fairly blank hockey stick, more of an outline with only some black filling it in. Now, it was more filled in. It had white writing on it, some sort of logo (most likely Jack’s preferred brand). To really complete the picture, two black circles had developed beside the blade. Obviously, it was going to be a puck. It would be a puck, once he spent more quality time with Jack Zimmerman.
Sighing out his breath, Bitty felt tears prick his eyes again. It wasn’t that he didn’t like that it was Jack. He liked Jack too much, that was the real problem. He assumed Jack would want to remain platonic soulmates, which Bitty could understand. He could respect it, and, really, there was nothing wrong with platonic soulmates. It just hurt, because Eric had feelings for Jack already, and it could really complicate things. He certainly hoped he would get over them sooner rather than later. What if Jack wanted to date somebody else? He couldn’t prevent his soulmate from doing something like that, it would be selfish. Bitty couldn’t hurt his soulmate like that, it wasn’t in him. He loved making people smile, he was protective of his friends. This new knowledge, knowing that Jack was connected to him unlike any person, make him want to stop any harm from coming into Jack’s life ever. Eric Bittle couldn’t bear if he was the one causing Jack hardship.
Standing there, Bitty took another couple breaths before he made the decision to just get ready for bed. He would grab his tablet and watch a comfort movie, or listen to every song Beyoncé ever sang. He would love to go bake something, but he couldn’t risk running into Jack right away. In the morning he’d wear a smile on his face and tackle the day head on, but for now he couldn’t do it.
Bitty climbed into bed after changing into some comfy sweatpants and a loose tanktop and stayed relatively sedentary for a few hours. At around 11:30, he got up and snuck into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face before slinking back into bed to try to sleep. By the time 12:45 hit, he was back listening to music on his phone because he couldn’t will himself to sleep. He started with sad music, but that certainly wasn’t helping matters, so he attempted to listen to some peppy Beyoncé mixed with pop hits and a few cutesy love songs to try to cheer himself up. The attempt was met with only marginal improvement in his mood, but it was better than nothing.
While Bitty spent the night locked up in his room, Jack quietly hung around the Haus with his thoughts pinging around his head as they usually did. Once in a while, they would drift back to Bittle and how he had spaced out earlier.
Jack was awful at reading people, in general. It took him quite a while to figure out Lardo, and he was still confused by her at times, although she was among his closest friends. He was pretty sure he’d never quite understand Ransom and Holster, but he was okay with that. They were great even without explanation. He’d actually discussed a lot of communication ques with Shitty over the years, which Jack ended up appreciating a lot. Shitty also did his best to help Jack with reading others, though sometimes Jack was sure Shitty thought he knew more than he really did about the behaviour of other people. Jack could usually understand his parents, with increasing ease as he became his adult self. At one time, Jack thought he understood Kent Parson, but he didn’t even want to begin to go into the “things he thought about Kent Parson” area in his mind.
Jack was awful at reading people, but Eric Bittle wore nearly every emotion he experienced on his face, which made it a bit easier for Jack to understand him. Or, so Jack had thought. He was beginning to notice the times he didn’t understand what Bittle was thinking or how he was feeling. At the very least, there was a lot more to Bittle than Jack had realized at first. And that was okay, because he was enjoying getting to know the other man.
However, when Bittle put up his walls, like he had earlier that day, Jack found himself with the desire to try to lower them. Usually, Jack wasn’t a very nosy person. He liked to understand things, he did like to get to know people (after observation, anyway). He wasn’t very good with ambiguous situations, it contributed to his anxiety. Still, he understood not to prod. He could respect the desire to be private, because he was pretty closed off himself and he always was like that. Jack had a lot of practice with self-control, so he refrained from the urge to stick his nose in Bittle’s business. That didn’t stop the want, though.
So, Jack hadn’t pushed it, and he was left to just wonder about what might be on Bittle’s mind. He didn’t really like guessing about others peoples wants, thoughts, or intentions, because it was so easy to be wrong. He still did it, of course. He was human, he made assumptions about others’ without realising he did. Still, when he could, Jack would rather take a step back, look at the hard evidence he had and compare them to his theories, then say “but there’s no way to know for sure”.
Honestly, Jack didn’t have the slightest clue what might have been on Bittle’s mind, anyway. Perhaps, because Jack was talking about the NHL and the future, Bittle was sad because it was Jack’s final year? It was a possibility, but Jack didn’t want to assume Bittle would be upset because of him. It was mighty ego-centric, to say the least.
Maybe Bittle was worrying about the outcome of the pie. He took baking really seriously, and he really enjoyed the course they were taking. He was a phenomenal baker, but even when a person was amazing at something they could still worry about their performance. A grade was riding on that baked good, so maybe he was just fretting over that.
Jack really couldn’t know, so he let himself wonder about other things for a while until he decided to run upstairs and shower.
It wasn’t until he looked down, while in the shower, that he noticed his mark had developed today. He blinked and slicked back his hair with the water, bending forward to try get a better look. He’d never quite understood what it was supposed to be. It started off last year as some weird lines just at his waist. It was gradually developing into… something, as time went on. For a while he thought it might turn out to be a Pac-Man, but he didn’t know anybody with a stark Pac-Man obsession, so that made little sense.
Jack just groaned and continued to shower. He would look in the mirror once he was out of the shower.
Unfortunately, once he was out of the shower he received a phone call from an aunt who wanted to make plans for the holiday season. He put her on hold long enough to get to his bedroom and grab his wireless phone piece before he spoke and got dressed at the same time.
After the phone call, he made his way back downstairs in order to grab a drink of water before he went to bed for the night. On the stairs, he remembered the mark and groaned under his breath. How could he forget that?
Once in the kitchen, Jack grabbed the filtered jug from the fridge and filled it up. As he waited for the jug to fill, he got an idea. He lifted his shirt and did his best to photograph the side where the mark was.
“Bruh, th’ fuck are you doing?” Shitty asked from his place at the table. He and Lardo were sitting there quietly, sharing a bag of chips.
“My soulmate mark developed today, but I can’t really make it out.”
“Lemme see,” Lardo said, squinting at him. Jack turned to the two of them, one hand keeping his shirt up while he looked at his phone.
“DUDE. BRO,” Shitty exclaimed.
“Sssh,” Lardo pressed her finger to her lips, “some poor losers have class tomorrow.”
Jack narrowed his eyes at his phone, ignoring his friends. “Is that… is that a pie?”
“Fucking right it’s a pie. Dude.”
“Now who in tarnation could that be?” Lardo asked in a very poor Southern accent.
“Oh, it’s anyone’s guess,” Jack replied sarcastically, but his eyes were wide and his heart was beating fast.
“Bro, you’re a lucky motherfucker.”
“Hey,” Lardo scoffed, kickin Shitty’s shin under the table.
“Ow. I didn’t say he was the luckiest motherfucker. That would be me,” Shitty gave Lardo a grin and bat his eyelashes for good measure.
“That’s more like it.”
“You guys are actually seeing this too, right? I’m not.. hallucinating that pie-shaped mark on my side?”
“Nope, it’s definitely a pie-shaped mark. I think it might turn out to be apple, in fact,” Lardo leaned forward a bit, face close to Jack’s skin. “There isn’t much colour in it yet, but there’s a bit of brown on the part that’s going to be the ‘crust’ for sure.”
“Okay. Um. What should I do?”
“Talk to Bits?” Shitty suggested.
“Right now?” Jack tilted his head to the side.
“Well, if he’s still awake. He probably isn’t, since he’s sensible. It’s almost 1am.”
“Yeah,” Jack finally pulled his shirt down and glanced around him. Unfortunately, he’d taken Shitty’s first suggestion into consideration and now it was all he wanted to do. Jack knew, rationally, it would be better to wait until tomorrow. He could actually think through what he was going to say to Bittle.
It wasn’t his first times considering feelings for Bittle, though. Jack had been drawn to Bittle from the very beginning. He thought, at first, it was because Bittle reminded him a bit of Kent. That might have figured into the reason he treated him harshly. They were both speedy and blond, after all. However, thinking of striking a comparison between the two of them now made Jack want to roll his eyes at himself. Bittle and Parson weren't much like each other in anything but looks. Yes, they both played well alongside Jack, but their styles of game were totally different. For one, Kent liked to check people, he liked to start shit when he could get away with it. Bittle was still having issues with checking, and he wouldn’t intentionally start anything on the ice or off.
No, Jack wouldn’t quite allow himself to believe he had a crush on Bittle, but he couldn’t let himself rule out the idea either. It crossed his mind once in a while, and he pushed the possibility away with the excuse it was his last year and he had other things to focus on. Feelings, having a boyfriend, as nice as they could be, they could also create a lot of drama and unnecessary stress in Jack’s life. Jack was actively trying to minimize the stress in his life.
Bittle being his soulmate changed things. Jack knew a relationship could still cause drama and stress, even if it was with a soulmate. He wasn’t entirely naïve. However, it would be different with a soulmate. They were connected to each other, bound for life. They were a complementary pair. If he didn’t tell Bittle right now, he’d end up having to address it eventually anyway. And, even if Jack were to say something like “I don’t really want to try a relationship right now”, they’d still be connected. Bittle would probably be perfectly understanding, but Jack had little doubt they’d end up together sooner rather than later even if he tried to go that route. After all, they’d still feel drawn to one another. Apparently, the pull would be stronger once the information was shared by both parties. Honestly, Jack wasn’t sure if that was the fault of the soulmate bond itself or just the psychological implications of knowing you are bound to a person in a way you aren’t bound to anybody else on the planet. Either way, he fully believed it, because just figuring out Bittle was his soulmate had already changed his perspective.
“Brah, you there?” Shitty asked, pulling Jack from his thoughts.
“Yeah,” Jack answered. He finally poured himself his water and drank half a glass before putting the jug back. He turned to his friends, saying “I’m gonna go see if he’s awake.”
“Okay, if that’s what you wanna do,” Shitty replied, tapping his fingers on the table.
“Godspeed,” Lardo said with a small smile.
With that, Jack strode out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He stopped outside of Bitty’s room. As he knocked on the door, he realized he had absolutely no game plan in mind. Jack took in a shaky breath. He really didn’t like to do important things without a plan to follow, but he’d already knocked on the door. Maybe Bittle would be asleep, as Shitty suggested. As he waited to see whether Bittle would open the door, he tried in vain to come up with something to say.
After a minute with no response, Jack knocked on the door one more time. He still only had fragments of a plan put together, but he desperately wanted to talk to Bittle now.
From his bed, Bitty thought he heard a knock at his door. He shifted in bed, turning onto his side. He glanced at his phone to check the time a second later. 1:07am. Who would be knocking at this hour? Maybe it was one of the frogs? Could they be in trouble? Or perhaps it was Shitty being a jerk. Bitty decided to wait. If it was Shitty being a dick, he would go away. If it was a Frog in trouble, they would persist.
Another knock came a little be later and Bitty sighed. “Yeah? It’s unlocked,” he called out, rubbing his eyes. He shifted to sit up in his bed as the door slowly creaked open.
“Sorry,” was the first word Bittle heard. “Sorry” in a distinctly French-Canadian accent. Bitty’s eyes went wide as he reached over and turned on his fairy lights.
“Jack? What the heck?”
“Sorry,” Jack repeated as he shut the door and took long strides towards Bitty’s bed. He was dressed in a red t-shirt and some grey sweatpants, looking as good as ever. He sat gingerly on the edge of Bitty’s bed. “Did I wake you?” he asked, eyebrows knit.
“Nah. But, like, what is it? It’s awful late. You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Jack said. “But I have to talk to you. Nothing bad, at least I don’t think so.”
“You have to talk to me, huh?” Bittle asked, fists gripping the sheets by his sides.
Jack nodded his head. “You look scared. I said it wasn’t bad,” Jack’s eyebrows were knit again.
“I know you did, but ‘we have to talk’ always sounds bad, even when it’s not.”
“Um, okay. Well. I have to tell you something? Or, uh,” Jack chewed his lip. Bitty was pretty sure he’d never seen Jack do that before, and it was all kinds of adorable, that searching look. “I want to… confirm something?”
“You’re not making much sense right now,” Bitty pointed out. And, sue him, he was pretty tired. He’d cried twice that day thanks to the man sitting before him, not that he could hold that against Jack. Jack had no clue and, unbeknownst to Bitty, he’d be very hurt to learn he’d upset Bitty.
“Okay, forgive me, because I didn’t have time to think this through. This is the only way I can think to do this,” Jack warned him. Bitty just gave him an adorably confused (if slightly annoyed) look. “Sorry,” Jack repeated, then he lifted his shirt.
“What does this look like to you?” Jack asked him, face suddenly quite serious. Bitty leaned forward. The light was pretty dim, but it was right above his head and he could make out Jack’s chiselled body fairly well. It helped that he could recognize a myriad of baked goods based on silhouettes anytime, let alone a pie. Bitty stared blankly at the pie-shaped mark on Jack’s side. Unless he decided today to go out and get a tattoo, it was obviously a representation of Jack’s soulmate.
“It looks like a pie. Right?” Jack asked him, voice quieter. “Right?” he added a few seconds later, voice a whisper. “Eric?” he murmured. Bittle shook his head once, eyes flicking up to Jack’s mildly fearful gaze.
“It is most definitely a pie,” Bitty told him. He saw Jack breath out, then pull his shirt back down.
“Um, okay,” Jack licked his lips. “Good.”
“Good?” Bitty asked, voice taking on a hint of innocence.
“Yeah, good. You, uh, you know.. you know what it means, right? What it represents?” Jack looked at him, some worry clouding his expression once again. Bitty felt the concern stab at his chest. He had to throw Jack a bone here, the guy was obviously distressed.
“Y-yes, yeah I mean. I suppose it’s gotta mean.. It means,” Bitty didn’t know why, but he was scared to say aloud that they were soulmates. Saying it would make it so real.
Jack was similarly scared of speaking about their soulmate status, for slightly different reasons. He was now fearful it might all be too good to be true. What if he’d made a mistake? What if Bitty didn’t have a mark to represent him? What if, somehow, he’d understood soulmates all wrong and they hadn’t found each other. The truly irrational part of Jack’s mind was kicking in, full force. “It means?” he prodded, wanting so badly for Bitty to just confirm this for him, even if it wasn’t really his responsibility.
Bitty chewed his lip for a second, then an idea came to him. He’d take a page directly from Jack’s book. “Yeah, um, it means… well, the same thing this does,” Bitty moved to kneel, pushing his shirt up and tugging his pants down just enough to reveal the hockey stick and (soon to be) puck.
Bitty watched as Jack’s eyes went wide. He saw Jack stare at his mark, just as he stared at Jack’s. A moment later, Jack’s eyes snapped up to his own, and Bitty felt his cheeks heat up under the intensity of Jack’s gaze.
“So, you’re my… we’re…” Jack still couldn’t seem to get the word out, just as Bitty had been struggling. Bitty fixed his clothing, and took a deep breath.
“We’re soulmates,” he finished Jack’s phrase for him with a little smile that didn’t entirely reach his eyes.
Jack nodded dumbly, “We’re soulmates,” he finally said. As the word formed, a smile took Jack’s features. It was more real than usual. Bitty’s heart swelled seeing Jack’s face like that. Jack even gave a little laugh, and Bitty swore his heart was ready to jump out of his chest. Jack looked a little distant for the next couple moments, but eventually he looked back at Bitty and his expression settled into guarded curiosity.
“Are you.. not happy?” Jack asked after another moment.
“Huh?” Bitty blinked. “What? Why wouldn’t I be happy?” Bitty placed a hand on his chest.
“Please, you can tell me if you’re unhappy,” Jack told him. “I can take it, I’d rather start this out truthfully.”
Bitty nibbled on his lip and glanced around him. He looked at Jack again, concern once again etched onto his features. Bitty much preferred seeing Jack smile.
“It’s not that I’m unhappy, I’m not unhappy, Jack. I’m just,” Bitty glanced down at his hands.
“You’re just?” Jack reached out and put his hand on Bitty’s arm. He squeezed gently, and Bitty looked up at him again.
“It’s just a lot to take in, you know?” Bitty said. Maybe that would be enough for Jack for now. He was tired, and emotional, and he was scared he might phrase things wrong or make a mess if he tried to talk to Jack about his feelings at this moment. He promised himself he would do it tomorrow; he’d make sure to get some time alone with Jack. Just not right now.
Jack nodded his head understandingly. “Ah, yeah, I understand. I’m sorry I sprung this on you like this. It wasn’t very considerate of me.”
Bitty let out an airy laugh as Jack hung his head a bit, his hand still lightly grasping Bitty’s arm. Bitty sort of wanted to hug him, but he wasn’t sure how much physical contact Jack would want with him. “It’s okay, I s’pose.”
“So, uh, you didn’t figure out until now?” Jack asked him, looking back up.
“Oh, uh,” Bitty bit on his tongue. “Uh, actually, I sort of figured it out earlier today. I thought I did, anyway, and it turned out I was right, so.”
Jack tilted his head, “Why didn’t you come find me?” Jack slowly let his hand drop from the spot on Bitty’s
“Uh, I dunno,” Bitty said aloud. It was legitimately his first reaction, but as soon as he said it his mind started to produce better reactions.
Jack didn’t wait to hear more, “Oh. Well, as soon as I figured out, I was really eager to talk to you.”
“Yeah?” Bitty asked.
“Yes,” Jack pushed his brows upwards again. “I mean, with the help of Shits and Lardo, I figured it out, like, five minutes before I came up here.”
“Oh,” Bitty felt his heart flutter. Jack was that eager to come speak to him.
“I mean, it’s kind of funny, because there are times in my past I sincerely hoped I wouldn’t find my soulmate.”
“Yeah?” Bitty asked weakly. He’d never once wished that, though he had wished for things his soulmate would (or wouldn’t) be.
“Yeah, but it’s not like that now,” Jack said quickly. He put his hand on Bitty’s shoulder this time, moving so his body was more on the bed and he was closer. “I’m happy. I’m glad it’s you.”
Bitty felt heat rise up to his cheeks again, stuttering out another “Yeah”. “I’m sorry,” Bitty said after another second. “I’m sure I’m coming off as such a Debbie downer right now. I’m just tired and overwhelmed. I promise, I’m glad it’s you, too.”
“You are?”
“Of course! Jack, you’re a downright sweetheart.”
“But I’ve been so mean to you,” Jack let his hand slip down Bitty’s shoulder as he glanced away.
“You made amends,” Bitty told him. “You’re incredibly smart. You’re kinda quiet, but it’s okay because I know you listen well and you talk plenty when you’re comfortable doing it. You’re actually really funny, in a super dorky way. I really love your passion, and your drive, it’s amazing. I’m proud to be your soulmate.” Bitty reached out and put his hand on Jack’s shoulder, mirroring him. Jack looked at him and gave a small, almost shy smile.
A second later, Bitty found himself caught in an embrace. Jack’s arms felt strong around his body. Bitty wanted nothing more but to kiss him, and the thought almost brought tears back to his eyes. He could not cry while hugging his soulmate on the night they discovered the fact. He willed away any inclination to cry and just clung to Jack as tightly as Jack clung to him.
As Jack pulled away, he kept his face near Bitty’s. Bitty felt his heart beat hard as Jack cupped one cheek and pressed a chaste kiss to each other.
“Um,” Bitty murmured. A look of distress quickly flashed across Jack’s features before settling on that familiar mild concern of the night.
“Sorry. Too quick?”
“No! It’s okay, I just… aren’t you…” Bitty licked his lips. He so did not want to address this right now, but he had to go and “um” and catch Jack’s attention. Bitty was probably reading into things, anyway. All he had to do was clarify one thing, and hopefully everything would make sense. “You’re straight, right?”
Jack snorted, then apologized for doing stuff. “I know, I come off like that, huh? It’s not like I do anything to change that assumption about me, but… no, I’m not straight.”
“You’re not?” Bitty asked, voice low and disbelieving.
“Nope,” Jack shook his head. Then, his eyes went wide. It wasn’t something he would normally clue into, but tonight seemed to be a night of miracles for him. “Is that why you seem off?”
“Huh?”
“Forgive me if my assumptions are totally off base, but, um, do you seem unhappy because you think we feel differently about this?”
“Uh, I think I understand what you’re asking,” Bittle nodded. “And, yeah, I think what you’re getting at is correct.”
Jack took in a deep breath through his nose, “Um, I’m sorry I’m being such as pain in the ass tonight.”
“It’s okay,” Bitty murmured.
“But, uh, I really appreciate you staying up to talk to me. I just. Can we go over the last part there, with a little less ambiguity?”
“If you want, I guess.”
“I just, I don’t do great with ambiguity when it can be avoided. And this is sort of important.”
“Sort of,” Bitty mused with a tiny smile. “Okay. For the record, I wanted to discuss this with you when I was less tired, like, tomorrow. But it seems like you just won’t be having that.”
Jack’s face suddenly looked crestfallen “Oh, I’m sorr-“
“Sssh,” Bittle raised his hand. “I’m beyond the point of caring. It’s not even a long explanation. But, if it doesn’t make sense because I’m overtired, I’m gonna have to rehash it tomorrow anyway, so whatever. Here goes.
“Over the past little while, I’ve been developing somewhat of a ‘lil crush on you. Today, I realized just how bad I had it for you. As well, I had the suspicion that you might be my soulmate. Who else would be hockey stick, right? Today pretty much confirmed that, because I spent the afternoon talkin’ to you and the mark developed oodles. But, I assumed all the while that you were straight, so finding out I had a crush on my, presumably, straight soulmate was actually kind of, y’know, painful.”
Jack nodded slowly. “I’m sorry.”
“You say that one more time,” Bitty warned.
“But-“
“No, you silly Canadian. I get it. You didn’t mean to hurt me, or whatever, and it’s 2am for both of us so you probably regret starting this conversation even a little bit.”
“Only for your sake,” Jack winced. “I mean, usually I would be asleep right now, you got me there. But I’ve got a lot of nervous energy right now.”
“Oh, honey,” Bitty put his hand back on Jack’s shoulder. “You okay?”
“I’m good,” Jack assured him. “So, you were upset because you thought I was straight? Even though we’re soulmates?”
“Yeah. I figured we’d be platonic soulmates,” Bitty confessed. Jack snorted again, “Hey!”
“Sorry-“
“Jack!”
“Not sorry, then,” Jack huffed. “I mean. If you wanted to be platonic soulmates I suppose we could try-“
“No thank you,” Bitty interrupted. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with platonic soulmates, but it would be downright stupid to remain platonic if we both have romantic feelings for each other, wouldn’t cha think?”
Jack just smirked at him, “You’re sassy when you’re sleepy.”
“I’m sassy all the time, it’s just more pronounced and a little less joking when I’m sleepy.”
“Y’know, now that you say it I think I remember that from the checking practices. Though, you were a bit quieter with me back then.”
“You’re intimidating.”
Jack gave a small frown, “I don’t intimidate you now, do I?”
“Sometimes you do. Not currently, because I’m past the points of fucks given, but on a regular day you still can intimidate me.”
“You don’t have to be intimidated by me, ever, Bitty.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Jack gave him an adoring little smile, and Bitty couldn’t help but smile back genuinely. Jack really was cute.
“Okay. I’m gonna leave you alone now. You need some rest.”
“Yes, yes I do. You should rest, too,” Bitty told him. Jack just leaned forward for another tight hug.
“You have reason. We should get breakfast together in the morning.”
“I sincerely hope you don’t mean ‘4am’ type morning.”
“Of course not. 10:30?”
“Deal,” Jack was the first to pull away, running his hand over Bitty’s hair. “OH! One last thing.”
“Jack,” Bitty whined.
“I just want you to know. I was interested in you too, before tonight,” Jack told him, standing up.
“Wait, really?”
“Yeah,” Jack stretched. “I mean, I didn’t let myself run with the feelings, because I have a lot of things going on and a fling didn’t seem worth the drama. I have the habit of running from romantic feelings, actually. Knowing that we’re soulmates changed my stance on whether I should address the feelings, but it didn’t create them.”
“I’m glad you told me,” Bitty said with a soft smile. Jack leaned over and kissed him on the hair.
“I’m glad you’re glad. Goodnight, Bits.”
“Sweet dreams, sugar. Er, Jack.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind petnames.”
“Well then. G’night, honey. I’ll see you for breakfast tomorrow.”
“Rest well. And I am sorry for keeping you up this late,” Jack said quickly before exiting the room. Bitty groaned and laughed after him, before settling back into bed. He was utterly exhausted, but he was a lot happier than he’d been before Jack arrived at his room. After all was said and done, he didn’t regret the fact that Jack had kept him up. He’d gained a soulmate and, presumably, a boyfriend from the conversation, so how could he honestly complain about that? Now Eric was even a little giddy from everything that happened that night, but thankfully his mind was merciful and he settled down to sleep with pleasant thoughts of Jack Zimmerman floating through his head. He didn’t even bother thinking the complications their relationship might bring. They had time to worry about the serious things later, at that time Bitty just drifted off while thinking of the smile on Jack’s face, the relief and joy he had expressed when he learned Bitty was his soulmate. Bitty was luckier than he ever thought he’d be, and he was ridiculously glad for that.