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Eric Bittle was a perfectly normal person. That’s what he told everyone, what he appeared to be, what he wished was true. He tried as hard as he can to make sure that everyone believed it, his life was counting on it after all. If they find out the truth… well, history had not been kind to witches who were discovered. Bitty can’t help the fact that he’s a witch. People act like it was a choice or something, like the witches in Salem had sold their souls to the devil for dark powers or something. He hated that. It was so ridiculous all the stereotypes that went around about witches. The whole idea that they were all women was one that he found personally offensive. Witches weren’t evil by nature, though he wasn’t about to say that there were no evil witches out there; they were just people with extra abilities. Bitty can’t help that his Mama was born a witch. He can’t help it that he was born a witch.
Bitty almost wished that he hadn’t been born a witch. It would make everything easier. He wouldn’t have to lie, he wouldn’t have to hide from everyone. Not even Coach knows about him and Mama. They hide their brooms away, Mama only does her magic outside of the house. She’s a phenomenal witch. Her spells worked true wonders. She helped the community, casting spells for protection, health, luck, anything. All her spells were used to help the people in their community. When he was young Bitty thinks that the only thing he’s good at is flying. He’s quick on a broom and has excellent balance. It’s why he’s a good skater. Then he spent a weekend with his Moomaw when he was still young, and she taught him how to bake magic into food. From that point on Bitty was glad he was born a witch.
When he went to Samwell Bitty knew it was going to be hard. He had a community that knew him and his Mama in Madison. The kids in town might not have been kind, in fact they had all hated him and bullied him, but they had only ever been horrible because they thought he was gay. They never thought Coach Bittle’s family was anything but normal. It was safe for them. Mama had her work, and her coven meetings and Bitty was safe from superstitious people, if not from homophobes. Deciding to go to Samwell wasn’t an easy decision, but he figured that he would get to be himself a little bit more at the very least. Sure he would still have to hide his magic but he wouldn’t have to hide his sexuality. So he packed up his stuff and picked Bun up carefully and they moved north, to play hockey.
Bitty had considered not bringing Bun with him. He didn’t want his familiar causing any problems for them, but in the end he realized that he couldn’t spend weeks away from him. The rabbit is not a particularly powerful or convenient familiar. Some witches have familiars who can perform their own magic, or make the witches spells ten times stronger. Bun is not that way. Bitty told his mother that he thinks his magic is stronger since he found Bun, but honestly, the rabbit was just a companion. He’s a friend. However colleges weren’t exactly going to let him bring his pet rabbit into his dorm. His mama came up with the solution in the end. Which was how Bun ended up disguised as a stuffed rabbit. Bitty keeps his litterbox in the closet, heavily enchanted to be self cleaning and smelling fresh. His food stayed tucked under Bitty’s desk where no one would notice it. It’s not perfect but it’s better than not having Bun with him.
Bitty knew he should probably tone down the magic in the Haus but he couldn’t help it. He has an oven! Betsy was the new love of his life. He had been worried that he would be forced to use the shared student kitchens all year. It probably would have killed him. Lucky for him though, the SMH team hardly ever actually used their kitchen. He didn’t mean to establish the kitchen as exclusively his domain in a magical sense, but it happened. He couldn’t help it. He just baked too much there for it to be anything but his guarded territory. There have been too many pies made for good luck, and good health, and good studies, all his magic poured into flour and soaked into butter, too much of his magic has happened and developed in this room. When his Mama came to visit her eyebrows went straight up upon approaching the kitchen. She stopped short.
“Mama?” he asked surprised.
“You can’t go around doing things like this, Dicky.” She sighed.
“What?” He asked, surprised.
“Listen, just invite me into the kitchen.” She instructed.
“You’re my Mama, of course you can come in!” Bitty exclaimed. She shook her head.
“No, Dicky. You’re an adult, an adult with your own magic and this, this kitchen, is your turf. Mother or not, there are rules for our kind of people.” She said. Bitty sighed, his heartbreaking a little to realize his life was moving away from his parents. He didn’t continue to protest though. Instead he offered hands out palms up to show that he was unarmed.
“Welcome, my sister, into my domain.” He said formally. Among witches brother/sister was the appropriate formal greeting.
“My thanks, I shall refrain all interference.” She promised before stepping inside.
“I’m sorry, Mama. I didn’t mean to-”
“No, you have every right to establish your own domain, though I wouldn’t recommend you do so in a house you don’t even live in.”
“It’s not like I have a choice you know.” Bitty muttered. “If I could work anywhere I would just claim the place I live. But I can’t so I don’t.”
“I know sweetheart. I just worry about you up here.” She muttered. He shook his head.
“Mama, these boys treat me right. Now come on, you’ve had a long trip, I have some fresh scones that will help with your sore muscles.” He said moving to find them. She grinned.
“Anything new?” She asked.
“You know me, I’m always fiddling with recipes. Been working on a pie that would ease anxiety, calm fears.” He said with a smile. “It starts with an apple pie…”
When Bitty finally moved into the Haus it was a relief. He felt a little exposed sometimes, being so far from his kitchen, where he could work his magic. He and Bun moved into Johnson’s old room across from Jack. Bitty loved living in the Haus. He loved every bit of it… except maybe the fact that Jack was right there. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Jack, it was that he liked Jack too much. Bitty had promised himself two things, he wouldn’t fall for a straight boy, and he would never end up with someone he had to hide from. Ideally, he could find a witch… another gay witch… who would tolerate a kitchen witch. Not everyone had a lot of respect for potion brewing and baking magic. He hated it but there was not much he could do.
“Bits, what are you doing for Halloween?” Shitty demanded about a month before the event. Bitty shrugged.
“I don’t have any plans.” He said casually. This was a complete lie. Halloween was an important day to witches. Supposedly it was the day the first witch had been born, a sacred day. Bitty hadn’t been able to celebrate properly his freshmen year. This year he was determined to do it right. He was going to polish his broom up properly fly out and celebrate right. That meant flight and gathering with witches in the area. There was a rule, fly to the oldest oak in the area to meet with his fellow witches in the area. They were all supposed to bring something as an offering of magic to help the group. They joined together to shield themselves. They gathered to practice their magic without fear. He was looking forward to it. He had several potions brewing, things that would make pretty illusions, things that would make for a proper celebration. They were like fireworks. They weren’t good for much but they were impressive. He had also planned a few pies which had happiness in them, not enough to be considered mind altering, but enough to help people’s moods. He was also going to bake some cupcakes that worked for a few minutes of unassisted levitation, again not particularly useful, but always a good trick.
“Unacceptable! We’re throwing a Halloween Kegster for sure!” Shitty exclaimed. Bitty shook his head.
“I don’t really do Halloween.” Bitty said shaking his head. “I’ll just leave that night I think.”
“Not you too!” Shitty said scowling. “Jack never does Halloween with us!”
“Oh really?” Bitty asked, wondering what that might mean. He figured he would have to wait and see.
“Yeah. Whatever man, you’ll be missing the hell out.” Shitty muttered.
“Sorry, Shitty.” Bitty said with a grin.
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The day of Halloween Bitty spent all day baking. He had ordered everyone to stay out of his kitchen. It was working.
“Bitty!” Chowder exclaimed from directly outside the kitchen. “Um, can I come in?”
“Yes, honey. Just don’t touch anything.” Bitty answered.
“Okay, what are you baking for?” Chowder asked.
“An event. None for you guys, I’m afraid. Special recipes for a few friends of mine, sorry.”
“That’s nice!” Chowder exclaimed.
“You have other friends?” It’s Lardo leaning at the doorway.
“What, oh, come in Lardo.” Bitty says with a smile.
“Thanks Bitty.” She said with a grin, coming into the kitchen.
“Don’t touch any of the baked goods.” Bitty warned. She nodded mildly.
“No worries.” She said. “You have other friends? Who?”
“Not sure yet.” Bitty answered with a mysterious grin. She rolled her eyes.
“Alright then, that makes sense.” She muttered. Bitty shook his head, cursing himself for letting people wonder. He couldn’t help it, he couldn’t help relaxing around the team.
As soon as everything was done and properly cooled he packed them all up neatly, sealing them into boxes enchanted to stabilize everything and shrink down into pocket sized containers. His Mama had made them special. It made them easy to bring on his broom. He needed his hands free for holding onto Bun.
He waited until the party had started downstairs before flying out while cloaked. He had missed his broom. He didn’t get to fly enough these days. The oldest oak in the area was on campus, in the park. He could have walked there easily but he prefered to fly. When he arrived there were already five people there. All the witches from within the nearest fifty square miles were coming. There were probably only twenty or less.
“Welcome, brother. Join us.” The eldest woman said walking over to him. “I’m Emily.”
“I’m Eric, and this is my familiar Bun.” He responded.
“Wonderful to meet the both of you.” She said with a grin. She introduced him to everyone else. Then someone cleared his throat behind Bitty.
“Hey, Eric.” Bitty whirled and saw… Jack. Jack Zimmermann.
“Jack?! Good lord! What are you doing here?!”
“Well, it is Halloween.” Jack said with a shrug.
“You’re a witch? Why didn’t you tell me? How didn’t I know?” Bitty asked, shocked.
“I’m only biologically witch, on my Mom’s side. I don’t have any magic, but I can stay on a broom and this is still my heritage.” Jack answered. “For what it’s worth, I only suspected you were a witch, I can’t tell without magic.” Jack answered with a smile.
“Oh, I didn’t know. I couldn’t make it here last year. I’m sorry about well… anyway, Welcome. I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’m glad you’re here too.” Jack said with a grin. “And is this Señor Bun? The real Señor Bun?”
“Just Bun actually. I figured I should change something for when he was disguised as stuffed.” Bitty laughed, the world had just gotten a lot brighter. “Here, help me unload my pies and cupcakes.” he said pulling out his containers and tapping them to make them full size again. Jack took them without protest helping Bitty to unpack and arrange them on tables nearby. Bitty set out labels with each of them.
“Should have known you were a kitchen witch.” Jack said surveying them, “Do these really make you fly?” he asked gesturing toward a cupcake.
“Only levitate temporarily, those cause a few second transformation into whatever the decoration is.” He added gesturing to the cupcakes next to them which had various animals piped onto them in icing. “They aren’t much, but they do make for good party tricks. I also brought some potions, they make illusions when they’re uncorked, like fireworks in different patterns. I um, enchanted a sequence of them to act out the story of the first witch.”
“Amazing.” Jack murmured, staring at Bitty. Bitty blushed.
“Not really, my Mama can do proper magic, just off the top of her head. She casts real spells. It’s incredible. I just bake things.” He murmured. Jack ate one of his levitating cupcakes. Slowly his feet lifted off of the ground, rising slowly two feet in the air. Bitty watched in shock as a huge smile spread across his face.
“This is fantastic.” Jack said kicking his feet below him experimentally. “How did you do this?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, just a little trick.” Bitty muttered, blushing. “It took me a while to perfect the recipe to exactly two feet into the air, and exactly three minutes levitation but after that it was all about taste.”
“That’s incredible, how is the enchantment set into the cupcakes?” Jack asked.
“Well I soak all my butter in my magic before I bake a thing. It’s best when i can leave it to chill and soak overnight in the fridge. The fridge is full of raw magic usually anyway. It keeps all my ingredients ready to use for magic and it stops anything from going bad too quickly.” Bitty said with a grin. “But my flour and sugar need to stay completely pure. Butter you can infuse with magic easy and it just makes the butter better. Flour soaks it up too well and not evenly. It messes up the magic and the recipe it’s awful. Sugar just melts if you put magic in it, awful mess it is. The only times you enchant sugar is if you’re putting something mild on powdered, and then it’s more on the tiny bit of cornstarch in the sugar than anything, or if you’re making caramel. I haven’t had an excuse to do caramel in ages but my sugar work, oh it’s to die for. You want the sugar melty anyway so the magic only makes it easier and once magic is in caramel I can make it do anything. I once made a wedding cake for a pair of witches in our town. The cake just had some generic enhancements right, good fortune, harmony, luck in love, health, happiness. Then I iced the whole thing with my foolproof magic strengthening frosting, levitated the whole thing and surrounded it with a sugarwork cage. A perfect sphere of fragile golden caramel with an enchantment for protection, it kept the cake fresh and stable but it also served as a barrier to protect the whole wedding. We set the cake in the center of the venue and it projected a barrier about ten times its diameter to keep us all safe. There was also a raspberry sauce fountain that guaranteed no hangovers or sickness for a month after consumption. That was such a good day.” Bitty sighed remembering it. Jack’s feet set back down lightly.
“That sounds incredible.” He said with a grin.
“I’ll show you pictures sometime.” Bitty promised. “Oh but you asked about the cupcakes, the levitation is all about the cinnamon and cloves. It’s part of the reason why I love fall, pumpkin everything means cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in everything and they are such versatile and strong spices. I enchant them before and as I put them in the mix, but I finish and solidify the spell after they’re baked.”
“Sounds like a lot of work.” Jack commented looking at the now extensive array of baked goods laid out. Bitty shrugged.
“Oh not really, not hard to do, just hard to invent, but I’m always fiddling.” Bitty said. “The cake I was telling you about, that was a bit of tricky work at times, not because of the magic just because of the baking…. Actually, wait a minute.” He said remembering something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle.
“I can show you now, if you’d like.” he offered happily.
“What’s that?” Jack asked as Bitty opened the bottle.
“Illusion potion, it doesn’t have an image yet though, I add those last. So I can just-” He reached into the pouch that hung from his belt for a pinch of salt which he imbued with power and an image. He tossed it into his flask before corking it again. He inverted it three times and then held it out to Jack. “Open it.”
Jack did as he was told and a fully colored vivid image of a beautiful cake appeared in front of them, bursting from the top of the bottle. Jack stared in wonder.
“I can smell it.” He murmured. Bitty grinned.
“All my illusions include scents. Everyone forgets how powerful scent can be. I pride myself on realistic illusion potions.” He said proudly. He let the illusion shift and expand to include the party happening around the cake, people dancing, a waterfall of raspberry sauce nearby.
“I wish I could do something like that, it’s so beautiful.” Jack murmured as the illusion faded.
“With a bit more effort I can also create pre-ready illusion potions that can used by people without magic, if you’d like.” Bitty offered hesitantly, “They’d last about two minutes after uncorking. You’d just have to hold on and focus on what you want them to make. It might be useful, I mean, I know sometimes when I get upset things are hard to explain and I um… I’ve used potions before to explain stuff to my Mama when I would go nonverbal. That used to happen back when I was younger and got bullied.” Bitty said. Jack stared.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you or anything! That was probably an insensitive offer I just-” Bitty stammered into the silence.
“Bittle, it wasn’t insensitive.” Jack interrupted. “It was kind, it… could you really do that? I know I’d only be able to use them with my parents or you but that would be…”
“Of course, Jack. It might take me a while but I’ll do it.” Bitty promised. “Do both of your parents know then? I thought you said only your Mom was a witch.”
“She is, Dad’s human but he found out,or my mom told him. I don’t actually know which. They don’t talk about it, from what I can tell it was a bad time for them, but in the end he accepted her. He loves her too much to leave her.” Jack answered.
“Oh wow! That’s incredible.” Bitty exclaimed, wondering what that must be like. “My dad doesn’t know. I’ve been hiding all my life.”
“Sorry.” Jack told him sounding sincere. “It sucks to hide.”
“Yeah well, it’s better now. At least I don’t have to hide my sexuality too.” Bitty told him with a smile.
“I’m glad you’re happier.” Jack said, smiling back. He was smiling more than Bitty may have ever seen. It made Bitty wonder if he had accidentally overdone the touch of happiness he baked into everything he made. “Samwell’s good for that.”
“So it is.” Bitty agreed. “Come on, I haven’t met everyone yet.” He said dragging Jack back into the growing clump of witches who were catching up. They mingled for a while. Everyone showed off their magic. Bitty got a chance to set off his illusions, everyone seemed impressed. Every now and then someone would magically transform into an animal and back when they first bit into one of his cupcakes. It made Bitty grin to see everyone having fun with his work. Then Bitty caught Jack looking longingly at where everyone has parked their brooms against the tree.
“Have you ever flown?” He asked.
“Not since I was young and my mom took me out.” Jack said, “I grew up and just… stopped asking. I was embarrassed.” He confessed blushing. Bitty grinned and grabbed Jack by the hand.
“Come on.” He tugged him over to his broom and got on. “Climb on and hang on tight, I don’t fly slow.” He instructed. Jack climbed onto the broom behind him and wrapped his arms tightly around Bitty. ‘
A small voice squeaked in Bitty’s head. To stop himself from freaking out too hard he kicked off and they shot into the sky. Jack’s grip on him tightened.
“Bittle, try not to kill us.” He muttered. Bitty laughed.
“Oh honey, we’re not even having fun yet.” He said. He pulled the broom into a loop just because. As it turned out there was nothing better in the world than flying with a whooping Jack Zimmermann hanging onto him tightly. After the initial ‘We’re gonna die!’ wore off and Jack realized he could trust Bitty, he seemed to really enjoy himself. Bitty regretted having to land, but when he looked down he saw that the unbonded familiars had shown up. The magically inclined creatures in an area always showed up on Halloween. No one knew exactly how familiars worked, from what witches could tell they were basically the animal equivalents of witches themselves. Familiars were naturally attracted to witches naturally, so they gravitated towards the gathering on Halloween. It was how Bitty had found Bun. He steered the broom back towards the ground… Well, he did a spiraling dive and pulled up directly before they hit the ground but it amounted to the same thing.
“Crisse, you’re going to kill yourself on this thing someday.” Jack observed as he climbed off. “Why did we land?” He added, almost pouting.
“Familiars are here.” Bitty pointed out. Jack shrugged.
“No magic, no familiar.” He pointed out. Bitty frowned.
“I don’t know, you’re still of a magical bloodline, familiars are weird. I mean, it’s not like Bun is particularly magical, though I love him dearly.” Bitty scooped the rabbit up and set him on his shoulder. Bun was small enough that he balanced there easily.
“Bittle, I’m not magical. I probably shouldn’t even be here.” Jack said with a grimace.
“Nonsense! You were born a witch, magic or no, you belong here. Plus you might have more magic than you think. I thought I would be a complete failure when I was young, I could fly a broom but that was pretty much it. Then Moomaw taught me to bake and I realized it wasn’t that I had no magic, just that I hadn’t figured out how to use it properly.” Bitty told him. Jack glowered. Bitty sighed.
“Jack, there is a lot more to you than you give yourself credit for. You are not just a hockey robot. At least give this a chance.” Bitty pleaded.
Jack scowled at him but made his way toward the incoming animals. Bitty watched, smiling at the two small bunnies that were present. He noted several cats, which were very common, a few bats, a fox, and several dogs. The biggest of the dogs was a huge black newfoundland that bounced joyfully straight towards Jack. Bitty watched, amused as Jack froze staring at the dog like he was waiting for it to go away, to go find someone else. Instead the dog nudged his hand, Bitty saw the starburst of magic that bloomed out from the point of contact. It would be invisible to the naked eye but he had been watching.
“Looks like we’ve got our first match!” An older witch said brightly. “What’s your familiar’s name, Jack?”
“Lila.” He murmured. He was staring at Lila in complete shock. Bitty remembered that feeling, the surprise and shock at suddenly having this connection. He remembered being startled by the realization that he knew Bun’s name without ever knowing it before.
“Come on Jack.” He murmured gently, pulling his Captain aside gently. He found a quiet corner near the tree and sat down. Jack joined him. Lila promptly flopped into his lap.
“Hello,” Jack murmured, scratching Lila’s head affectionately. “You’re awfully cuddly.”
“She’s beautiful.” Bitty commented. “Hello, Lila. This is Bun, by the way.” He added setting the Bunny near the dog. Bun hopped forwards hesitantly. Lila sniffed him and then nudged him with her nose affectionately. “That was the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.” Bitty squeaked. Jack chuckled.
“They’re pretty cute.” He agreed softly. “I never thought I’d find a familiar… What am I going to do?”
“Simple answer? You should talk to your doctor and get her registered as an emotional support dog. That way she’s legally allowed to come with you everywhere, even if an apartment or something has a no pets policy registered support animals cannot legally be forbidden.” Bitty said with a smile. “I used to volunteer helping to train dogs for the local place in Madison.” He added. Jack smiled.
“Thanks, Bittle. I’ll do that.” He agreed. “How’d you end up training dogs?”
“Oh, well they came to our high school to talk about it and I was interested so I got involved. It was a lot of fun. Hard to say goodbye to the dogs after a while though.” Bitty answered. They both settled down against the tree trunk. They ended up spending the rest of the night talking. Somehow Bitty ended up curled against Jack’s side for warmth. Lila sprawled across both of their laps like an extremely heavy living blanket. Bun flopped over on his side on top of her back. It was the happiest Bitty had been in a long time. It was three in the morning before Shitty finally text Jack the all clear that the party was over.
“Come on, I’ll fly you home.” Bitty offered. Climbing on his broom. “Hang onto Lila it’ll be a tight squeeze. I’ll fly easy.” He promised.
“I think Lila and I should just walk.” Jack said with a smile. “But thank you. For everything tonight, I had more fun than I’ve had at Halloween in ages.”
“I’ll walk with you then.” Bitty said, packing up the last of his tupperware. “We’re going to the same place.” He didn’t want this to end. He was terrified that he would fly away and suddenly this new dynamic he had developed with Jack, this moment where they snuggled and it wasn’t weird, would end forever.
“Okay.” Jack said with a smile. “Let’s go.” They walked back towards the Haus in companionable silence. When they finally got in everyone else was asleep. They headed upstairs and then both paused awkwardly in the hallway.
“I- this was fantastic Jack.” Bitty murmured quietly.
“We should do it again sometime, yeah?” Jack asked.
“What Halloween?” Bitty asked then silently kicked himself. Jack blushed and shook his head.
“No, um I meant…” He stammered.
“Hanging out?” Bitty asked quietly. Jack nodded gratefully. “Yeah, we really should. I really like spending time with you.” Bitty said, then before he could think twice about it he reached up on his tiptoes and kissed Jack on the cheek. Then he fled into his room.
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Bitty wasn't sure how to look at Jack the next day. Luckily for him the guys had trashed the Haus, leaving him with a lot to do. He was picking up bottles when Jack came downstairs. He started to help wordlessly. The comfortable peace between them hadn’t changed over the night. A different edge had grown to it though, something Bitty didn’t want to think about too hard.
“So I was thinking-” Jack started. Bitty looked up sharply. Before Jack could continue Shitty burst into the room.
“WHERE DID THE GIANT DOG COME FROM?!” He yelled, running and hiding behind Jack as Lila followed him, bouncy and curious. Jack chuckled and Bitty laughed.
“Shits, calm down, she’s friendly.” Jack told him. “Her name is Lila, she’s mine.” He added crouching. Lila barrelled into him. Jack hugged her as she happily leaned into him.
“When did you get a hellhound?” Shitty demanded.
“She’s a Newfoundland.” Bitty corrected.
“I got her yesterday, and she’s just excited to meet new people.” Jack said. “Lila, say hello gently.” He instructed. His familiar listened and approached Shitty calmly, sitting in front of him and waiting patiently for Shitty to pat her head before snuffling at him with a bit more enthusiasm. “She’s not registered yet but I was going to register her as an emotional support animal.”
“That’s fantastic, Jack.” Shitty said with a smile. “I’m sorry I called you a hellhound Lila, you just surprised me.” He added to the dog as he scratched her ears. She wagged her tail happily.
“Thanks, I think she’ll really help me. Especially after we graduate and I’m on my own somewhere without you guys. It’ll be better to have company.”
“Good plan.” Shitty agreed. He helped them clean up the Haus. They were done by the time everyone else woke up and Bitty had breakfast started. Jack introduced Lila to everyone. He looked so proud and happy, it made Bitty’s heart melt. He wished he could let Bun meet everyone properly in the same way, but he knows it wouldn’t work. He had always loved Bun, but sometimes he wished that Bun was a cat or something. Once breakfast was over Bitty walked Jack through how to register Lila properly. He thought they might get to talk about… whatever the hell was happening between the two of them, but then Chowder came in to ask Bitty for advice. He couldn’t leave his sunshine son hanging, so he went. He would find time to talk to Jack.
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Bitty did not get that chance until a few days later, when Jack wakes him up at an absurd hour of the morning.
“Oh god, I thought we were done with checking practices.” Bitty groaned. “I’m getting better.” He buried his head under his pillow.
“Come on Bits, I want to show you something.” Jack told him. “It’s important. We need to get to Faber.” Bitty sighed but dragged himself out of bed.
“Fine but I’m flying there.” He muttered. “No one will be up to notice at this hour anyway.”
“Okay, be ready in ten.” Jack instructed.
“Yes, satan.” Bitty muttered. Still he got dressed and pulled himself out onto the roof. Jack was waiting for him there. To Bitty’s surprise he had Lila with him.
“Should I bring Bun?” Bitty asked sleepily. Jack shook his head so Bitty shrugged and climbed onto the broom. Jack joined him, both of them held onto Lila with one hand. Bitty took a deep breath and then launched them off into predawn darkness very carefully. Flying with a Newfoundland was not easy.
“So what’s so important?” Bitty asked once they were both laced into their skates and on the ice. Lila was doing a fair job at walking on the ice without falling. Bitty was impressed. Usually Jack’s familiar was just a giant bumbling fluff ball of affection. She tended to knock things over with her tail because she didn’t realize how very large she was. Bitty adored her, and so did Bun. Lila in turn seemed to like the two of them nearly as well as she liked Jack. She lived curling protectively around Bun, who flopped over and snuggled with her happily whenever possible. The dog wasn’t particularly graceful though, so that she hadn’t immediately sprawled out on the ice was impressive.
“I noticed something odd when I was skating the other day.” Jack said. “So I started doing some research and some experiments and… well…” He held out a hand for Bitty to stay exactly where he was as he skated off. Jack skated in a particular pattern, and Bitty realized a second before he finished that it was something he had seen his mother trace onto magical lamps to make them glow. Jack finished the pattern at Bitty’s side again. As soon as he did the ice of the rink began to glow with a soft blue light. Bitty jumped up and down excitedly, forgetting he was in skates and almost slipping. Jack steadied him, grinning wider than Bitty had ever seen.
“So I guess I might have a drop of magic after all.” He said with a grin.
“That’s fantastic! Oh congratulations Jack!” Bitty exclaimed, throwing his arms around him. Jack hugged him back.
“Hey, it never would have happened if you hadn’t been there to make me go meet Lila.” Jack answered before releasing him. “From what I can tell it’s still fairly weak, and I can only work with ice, but I do have magic. My mom always told me that familiars increased witches power but I thought I had none…” He shrugged.
“It’s probably always been there to some extent. That’s probably why you’re always so comfortable on the ice, it’s where your magic is. Like me and kitchens.” Bitty said. “Lila just made it stronger so you could start doing stuff with it.”
“Yeah.” Jack nodded. “I just… I never thought I would have magic. I thought it was just another way I was a failure, not really my mother’s son, or my father’s.” He confessed.
“Oh, honey. You are so amazing. You’re a fantastic hockey player, and a great photographer, such a good captain, and just an amazing person, and I know you’ll make an amazing witch.” Bitty said, it was heartbreaking to think of a younger Jack feeling like he had failed both of his parents.
“Thanks, Bits.” Jack said quietly. “I just- You-” Words seemed to fail him. Then he leaned down and kissed Bitty on the lips. Bitty froze for a second, in complete shock. He had barely gotten a chance to kiss back when Jack pulled away.
“Sorry, I- Was that-”
“It was perfect, honey.” Bitty murmured before pulling Jack into another kiss.
Bitty didn’t think about it at the time but looking back he can’t help but think that kissing Jack on a glowing hockey rink, the sky just barely shifting from black to grey outside the window, is the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to him.
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Two Halloweens later Bitty and Jack stand hand in hand under the same familiar oak tree. Jack had flown in on his own broom which had a specialized basket for Lila. He had brought miniature ice sculptures that were charmed to never melt. They had been a hit among the other witches. Of course they all already adored Jack and Bitty. The two of them had friends in the community both in Samwell and Providence. Bitty had already started getting requests here and there for certain potions and magical baked goods. It gave him hope for a future in which he might own his own bakery which could cater to both humans and witches.
“Bits?” Jack asked quietly, startling him out of his thoughts.
“What’s up honey?” He asked.
“I brought one more thing to share.” Jack said quietly. “Well, one more gift. For you.”
“Oh, you didn’t have to-” Bitty’s words died in his throat as Jack knelt in front of him and held out a ring made of perfectly clear ice filled with a soft glow.
“Will you marry me?” Jack asked. Bitty was already in tears by the time he started nodding. He was surprised when Jack slipped the ring onto his finger to find that it was only mildly chilly. He pulled Jack into an enthusiastic kiss.
“Yes.” Bitty whispered when they finally broke apart. “It’s beautiful.” He added looking at his ring.
“We can get you a different one if you want.” Jack told him hurriedly. “A metal one. This one is made of tiny bit of ice from Faber.” he added.
“Honey, I am keeping this forever.” Bitty answered. “It’s perfect. A tiny piece of our history. And I know you well enough to know I don’t have to worry about it melting, or being too cold apparently.”
“It’ll always be there. Just like I will.” Jack promised.