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Bitty is baking, when his phone buzzes again. He has been ignoring it for the last two hours, but Parson just wouldn’t stop .
He’s eying his phone, trying to decide whether to finally check his messages, when Jack appears in the kitchen door.
“Bittle,” he says, wearing his soft ‘I am thinking about Kent Parson’ smile. “Kenny wants to know if you got his last texts?”
This whole situation is ridiculous, Bitty had already decided that weeks ago.
If he had known, that talking to Jack about his whole mess, would have gotten him and Parson back together, he wouldn’t have done it. Wouldn’t have told Jack to text that boy and talk about his feelings. He just wanted...he wanted Jack smiling again after the Epikegster debacle, wanted to give him all of his support.
Glancing at Jack’s smiling face he decides no, no he would’ve still done it.
“No,” Bitty slides his still buzzing phone over to Jack, “I’m ignoring him.”
Jack looks at the phone on the table, then at his own again. His frown is adorable, and Bitty would talk to Kent all day long, to make him happy.
“He says, he’s sending you pictures of Kit.” Then with a soft ‘oh’, he starts typing. “You really should check your phone.”
If Bitty’s resolve wasn’t already slipping with the mention of Kit, it was definitely at Jack’s urgent tone.
“Fine,” he bristles, “I just don’t understand, why he’s texting me at all!”
He wipes his hands clean and opens his thread with Kent. Several pictures are waiting for him, and he tries not to smile too much at the cuteness that is Kit Purrson.
“He likes you,” Jack says from the other end of the kitchen, “he just wants to...”
“I know,” Bitty starts to feel bad for throwing such a tantrum, when he’s just jealous of the boy and doesn’t actually dislike him. He tacks on, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Jack says, “Kenny’s just always talking about you, so I thought you two were...”
He trails off and stares at Bitty with his stupidly blue eyes, that distract Bitty for a short moment, but then he glances down again and stops short.
“Um,” he clutches at his phone, so he doesn’t accidentally let go, “Kent says, he has tickets for Hamilton this weekend. He wants me to go with him?”
He doesn’t know if he should feel confused, excited or just plain wary, and staring at the text doesn’t make it go away either, so he looks helplessly at Jack for answer.
“Oh yeah!” Jack smiles, “Swoops ditched him for a date, so he wanted to ask you to go with him.”
“But why me?” Bitty is still confused, and Jack thinking that it was natural for Kent to choose him as a replacement doesn’t help one bit. “Why doesn’t he take you? I mean, you like history...and you guys are…”
Bitty wonders, if this is the day of unfinished sentences. Even Jack is more awkward than usual, but maybe, Bitty thinks, maybe he’s just going back to how he was before. The thought that Jack is changing so much because of Kent’s presence is weird, so he focuses on the problem on hand again.
The text hasn’t changed since.
“He wanted to take you, “ Jacks says, reading whatever is showing on his screen, “Kenny writes he could get you friday at five and you guys drive up together. You’d even have enough time to get something to eat in Boston.”
He’s tapping some answer, and then he’s looking at Bitty again.
“You don’t have to say yes, if you don’t want to.” Jack is so earnest, Bitty thinks he might die. “But I think he’d be really happy, if you would come Bitty!”
He never had any real intentions of saying no, even though he had been nothing but short with Kent the last week, but saying no to Jack’s face would be even more impossible.
“Ok.”
***
Kent is singing along to the Hamilton soundtrack and Bitty tries very hard to keep his frown. Kent had been so happy to see him, when he picked him up at the haus. He didn’t even went in to say hello to Jack, and the more Bitty thinks about it, the angrier he gets on Jack’s behalf, and less stupid butterflies in his stomach.
“You didn’t say hello to Jack.” He knows he is a bit short with Kent, but he pretends he doesn’t care.
“Zimms is gonna have enough of me later,” Kent winks at him.
“Huh?”
“I’m gonna stay the weekend, didn’t he tell you?”
Bitty leans back into the seat and stares at Kent with big eyes. His heart is pounding and he doesn’t even know why anymore. Anticipation? Jealousy? Does he even want to know?
“No, he didn’t,” he tries to seem nonchalant, but he’s pretty sure, it doesn’t work. At least he now has confirmation, that Jack and Kent are dating again. Well, he knew it anyway, but this is...this is fact now. This is the sign he had been waiting for; the sign to finally get over Jack and just stop all his stupid feelings.
“I didn’t know that,” Bitty adds, because Kent didn’t continue the conservation and sometimes he is oddly masochistic.
“I hope it’s okay then,” Kent shoots a wide grin towards him, and flicks the radio off, “sorry that I didn’t tell you, Jack said he did, but he probably forgot. You know him.”
Kent is still grinning, seeming suddenly much more cheerful than five minutes ago.
“Maybe we could bake something together? You know this one maple peach pie recipe you posted on twitter sounded really good! And you know how Jack is a sucker for maple syrup.”
“Sure.” Bitty doesn’t know, what to say to that. Kent Parson wants to bake with him? For his boyfriend? On the only weekend where he’s seeing said boyfriend?
They had been texting pretty often, until Bitty tried to freeze Kent out, but were they really acting now as if they were friends all along? But maybe Kent saw it more as a favor. Kent wanted to make something for Jack, but needed Bitty’s help, because without him he would be lost in a kitchen.
It was probably a favor.
“Good to know you’re treating him right,” Bitty tries to frown at Parson, but it probably looks more like a pout or something else entirely unthreatening. He shouldn’t even be giving Kent the shovel talk, but if he’s helping this boy bake for Jack, then he can do whatever the hell he wants. “I really hope you’re not letting hockey get in the way again.”
“Huh?” Kent glances at him, but fixes his eyes fast enough on the street again.
“I don’t know a lot about what about what happened back then with you two,” Bitty says and tries not to fidget, “I just saw what happened at Epikegster…and how Jack felt afterwards. You shouldn’t do that to him again.”
It’s silent between them for a while, and Bitty is a tad embarrassed to put his nose where it doesn’t belong. It’s none of his business, he tells himself, especially not if Jack never asked for him to defend him. He says, “Sorry”.
Kent hums, and the air feels heavy with unsaid words or maybe words Kent is trying to say, but hasn’t yet.
“It didn’t have anything to do with hockey,” Kent says slowly, “but you are right. I was hurt, and I lashed out against Jack, and that wasn’t okay. We talked about it and we forgave each other.”
It feels like they’re both deflating a little, or maybe it is just Bitty, but suddenly he doesn’t want to talk about this anymore, and get back to the easy talking he had with Kent over the last few weeks.
“So,” Bitty pipes up, “you said you wanted to get something to eat before? You know a good place?”
Kent grins without taking his eyes off the road, and pats his chest.
“I know just the place,” he exclaims.
After that, it’s easy.
***
They get food, they talk, they laugh and Kent pays for them. It surprisingly feels like a date, even though it isn’t, and maybe, just maybe, Bitty is a little sad about it.
But not really, he tells himself, it’s just good forgetting about Jack, so he latches onto the next best person. But he doesn’t forget about Jack, not really.
They get there early enough, so Kent gets them some champagne, and they act like they are old, sophisticated people. Bitty feels jittery and nervous, but Kent is right next to him, warm and touching his elbow, so he just lets himself smile and enjoy the evening.
It’s nice.
It’s so nice, that he decides it would be okay to be Kent’s friend, and watch him and Jack be the best boyfriends he’s ever seen.
They sit in the half dark and Kent nudges him from time to time, just to share a smile. It kinda confuses Bitty, but then again, the Parse he got to know at epikegster had been charming and open too.
They leave the opera house, and Kent chats about all the parts Jack would’ve liked, and Bitty feels warm, oh so warm.
On the porch, just before they walk in the haus, Kent kisses his cheek.
It feels like a date again, and Bitty lies in bed feeling guilty.
***
Bitty gets down to an empty kitchen the next morning, and is relieved. This is his safe place, where he doesn’t have to think about all those confusing feelings and signs or not signs.
He turns up his music and starts making breakfast, even though he doesn’t know who will join him. It’s calming, flipping the pancakes, and he let’s himself hum. At the end of the song he feels hopeful again.
Nothing weird was happening last evening and everyone is friends now, so it’s probably alright. Maybe Jack and Kent will even keep being friends with him, even after Jack graduates. That could be nice, Bitty thinks.
“Bittle!” Jack walks into the kitchen, and for a moment Bitty is frozen, when he sees sweat dripping down his forehead. “You’re making breakfast?”
Bitty tries to ignore the workout clothes and the dripping, and puts a plate with pancakes on the table.
“Yes,” he smiles, “so y’all can come down now.”
Jack nods and leans against the counter.
“I’ll tell them in a minute,” he says. “So did you and Kenny have a good time yesterday?”
Bitty blushes.
“We did. Although we kinda missed you there a little bit,” Bitty smiles shyly, “you would’ve liked it!”
“Kent told me about it last night,” Jack nods, “he’s a good guy, you know?”
“He is,” Bitty says, “I was surprised how easy he… You know, how easy it’s to hurt him.”
Jack looks up at that, curiosity on his face.
“What do you mean?”
“You know...fragile or something. I just,” Bitty pauses, trying to decide what to say. He’s doing that alot lately, and maybe he shouldn’t, but suddenly he cares so much. “I don’t want him to be hurt again? And you two already… so I’m just saying, be careful?”
“Why are you saying that? Why are you saying ‘us two’?”
His confusion is evident on his face, and for one moment Bitty thinks, he’s got it wrong.
“Well, now that you’re dating again.”
He’s looking away from Jack for that, because maybe it’s hurting more, than he wants to admit to himself. So he hides.
“Bitty,” Jack sounds weird, but Bitty keeps fiddling with the pan. “Bits!”
The insistence in Jack’s voice makes him look up, and what he sees confuses him even more. There is a small blush on Jack’s cheeks, but his lips quirk up in amusement. Bitty tries to decipher his whole expression and it makes no sense. It’s seems too much and not enough at the same time, to be true.
“Bits,” Jack says, eyes intent on his face, “I’m gonna go talk to Kenny. Please don’t leave? Wait for us?”
Bitty manages to nod, just so, and then Jack is gone and he hears him sprinting up the stairs. He turns off the music and sits down.
***
Ransom and Holster come and go; each eating a stack of pancakes, asking if Bitty is alright and then making their way wherever, after Bitty assured them he was fine.
He is not fine.
It has been an hour since Jack disappeared to talk to Kent, and slowly Bitty is getting worried. What if Jack noticed his feelings, because he sounded too sad, when they talked about Jack and Kent dating. What if Jack is upstairs right now, telling Kent they couldn’t get too close to Bitty, because….
“Itty Bittle Bitty Bits!” Kent shouts as he strides into the kitchen and slips into a seat at the table. “I heard breakfast is ready. And it looks so good!”
He tries to grab the whole plate for himself, but Jack just slaps him on the fingers and calmly gets some more plates. He sits down next to Kent and smiles up at Bitty.
“Sit down Bittle, eat with us,” Jack says, “Kenny wanted to tell you something.”
Bitty sits down, but doesn’t miss the glare Kent sends towards Jack. Besides, Jack can’t really hide his wince, when there seems to connect an elbow to his side.
“Um,” Kent starts, “first of all…”
He breaks off again, and Jack rolls his eyes.
“Kent and me are not dating,” Jack jumps in, “also Swoops didn’t ditch him for Hamilton.”
“Jack!” Kent protests, glowering at Jack as if he had betrayed him.
“What?” He looks amused, “you weren’t gonna get to it anytime soon, eh?”
“Um,” Bitty starts, and suddenly both pair of eyes are on him again. “You two are not dating again?”
Kent tries to smirk at him, rubbing his neck, as if missing his snapback. Bitty thinks, maybe he is nervous.
“I was trying to get you to date me.”
Bitty freezes, fork halfway to his mouth, but his thoughts are running a mile a minute. He was what? Kent Parson wanted to date him? Not only were Jack and Kent not in a relationship, but Kent was instead trying to… His gaze flits to Jack, and stumbles over the light sadness he sees there, but as soon as Jack notices Bitty’s looking, he smiles again. There is a satisfaction in his eyes that Bitty can’t place.
“What?” Bitty croaks.
Kent just leans back and shrugs. He is probably trying to look relaxed, but Bitty can see the paleness on his cheeks.
“But what about Jack?” Bitty is dazed. What about Jack, he asks himself, because while he wanted to get over Jack and really likes Kent, he’s still in love with him. But mostly it’s directed at Kent. Kent, who confessed early on into their texting, that he still had feelings for Jack and would probably never be over him.
“I really like you, Bitty,” Kent looks at him intently, “and you know, how I feel about Jack… But if you’re okay with it, I’d really like to try with you!”
Bitty sees Jack furrow his eyebrows out of the corner of his eyes, but his attention lies on Kent’s face. Especially on his blush, which he didn’t know was possible. Kent never seemed like a blushing person.
“Uh,” Bitty falters, and he knows by now he too is blushing hard, “I like you too. And I really liked last night. And you and Jack, that’s alright I guess, since I…”
He stops at that, helplessly looking from Kent to Jack, and back to Kent. He tries to communicate with his eyes and it seems to be working, because Kent mouth falls open.
“Oh,” Kent says, “you like him too?”
They hear a loud clatter from their right, and suddenly Jack is standing in the middle of the room, with a red head. Kent is smirking again, finally having found his footing, now that Bitty told him he liked him, and winks at Jack.
“Zimms, you got a crush on Bits too?” His eyes start glinting, and Bitty is transfixed by them. “Were you jealous?”
It’s funny how long it takes for Bitty to catch up, but when he finally puzzles Kent’s words and the answering stuttering from Jack together, he squeaks. Loudly.
He tries to catch Jack’s gaze, but when Jack still avoids him, he looks at Kent. He seems calm and satisfied, and it slows Bitty’s heartbeat for a little bit, even though he still doesn’t know what all of this...means. But Kent just edges over to him and takes his hand.
Bitty can’t stop staring at Kent’s face, not even when Kent is leaning closer and closer. In fact, he is still staring, when Kent sets a small kiss on his lips, and leans back with a smug look.
“You can date me,” Kent says, squeezing his hand, “and you can date Jack, if you want.”
He turns a bit to the side, and narrows his eyes at Jack.
“Zimms, get your butt over here,” he calls, “you need to tell Bitty. Come on, sometimes you have to use your own words!”
Bitty still feels dazed and warm from the short kiss, and his fingers tingle with the need to bury them in Kent’s hair, or just simply tuck him closer. He only notices Jack is standing next to him, when Jack clears his throat and Kent squeezes his fingers a little too hard. Bitty’s eyes fly up to him.
“Bittle. Bitty,” Jack says, “I like you. Romantically. And I’d like to be with you.”
Jack’s staring at him intently with wide eyes, and his heart starts soaring even higher, but all he can feel is the slowly loosening hold on his hand. So instead of answering, like he wants to do so very much, he looks at Kent.
“What about you?”
He startles Kent with his question, and he sees various expressions flitting over his face, not settling long enough for Bitty to find an answer. But before Kent can bring himself to open his mouth, Jack lays a hand on his shoulder.
“And Kenny,” Jack says slowly, “I still...if you want, I still have feelings for you. We could– we could try again.”
Bitty wants to cry, because he never thought he could have this. And now it looks, like he can. Like he can have Kent, and Jack, and they can have each other again.
A high-pitched sob escapes his throat, and suddenly he is the center of attention again. He tries to hide his tears, but is pretty much unsuccessful in the face of his happiness. Still Jack and Kent seem to see his smile underneath, and share a relieved smile.
Jack winds one arm around Bitty and takes Kent’s hand with his other one, as he softly kisses Bitty’s cheek. Bitty bubbles nearly over with happiness, having both boys close to him. Maybe even for a long time.
“Maybe we can all date,” Kent says, and suddenly they’re all laughing.
“Yeah,” Bitty smiles, “maybe we can all date.”