#*fanfiction

~~~

After Bitty plies Bob and Alicia with yesterday’s snickerdoodles, they tell him they’re in town on a whim; they’re taking a week vacation in St. Kitts and figured they’d drop by for a day and surprise Jack with a visit.

“Oh, you should have called ahead! I could’ve gotten Jack to sneak out of practice to hang out with y’all,” Bitty says, tsking. It would have been difficult, Bitty knows, to convince Jack to skip, but Bitty has his ways.

Alicia waves that off with a smile. “Oh, don’t worry about it, sweetheart. We knew he’d probably be at practice; we thought we could take you both out to dinner afterward.”

“That sounds lovely! I’m sure he’ll be thrilled,” Bitty replies, slumping a bit in his seat. Now, his mama raised him right; he wasn’t about to let his guests go un-entertained. “After I finish this batch of tarts, what do y’all think about heading to the art museum for the afternoon? I’ve been meaning to drop by and now seems like the perfect time.”

Alicia smiles. “We’d love to.”

~~~

So they spend the afternoon at the art museum.

What little Bitty knows about art he learned from Lardo, and her approach to art is much less structured than most of the stuff in the museum. Still, it’s nice to spend time with Bob and Alicia—he’s been dating Jack for going on two years but he can’t remember the last time he’s interacted with his parents so much. It’s … nice. Alicia is charming, and Bob is surprisingly down to earth. A woman approached shyly and asks for an autograph, but other than that the afternoon is quiet.

They stop for gelato afterward and Bob manages to get some on his nose. Alicia laughs and swipes it off and Bitty smiles as well.

They look so … comfortable together, like best friends more than partners. He thinks about their lives—how so much had been aired for the public to view—and marvels at how they came out the other side seemingly stronger for it. He thinks about how the slope of Jack’s shoulders matches the slope of Bob’s. He thinks about how Jack’s eyes crinkle just like Alicia’s when he smiles.

He sees so much of Jack in his parents that it makes his heart ache.

And then Alicia is looping her arm around Bitty’s and leading him to find a seat and the thought is gone, replaced by the warmth of belonging.

~~~

Jack comes home around six. As soon as he opens the door, his parents are there.

Jack barely has time to react before his dad swoops him up into a hug. He sees Bitty shaking his head and leaning against the wall with a small smile.

“Papa, Maman,” Jack says with a small, surprised laugh. His bag drops to the ground with a thunk as he hugs back. His dad steps back and his mom swoops in, embracing him with a tight hug of her own.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, still tight in his mom’s embrace.

She pulls back. She looks mildly stern, but the effect is ruined by the brightness in her eyes. “Layover. Figured we’d turn it into a day. You’re looking thin, baby. Are you eating right?” She reaches up and tucks a stray bang back into place.

Jack ducks his head and rubs the back of his neck. “I’m eating just fine, maman.” He laughs once and looks back up. “With all the pies Bitty’s been making it’s a miracle I haven’t gained twenty pounds.”

“It’s true. I’m still the bane of Nate’s existence. Doesn’t mean I’ll be stopping any time soon though,” Bitty replies with a mischievous smile. He slides forward then and gets on tip-toe to press a brief kiss to the corner of Jack’s mouth.

“We were thinking dinner. That little Italian place on the corner of North and Dogwood?” Bitty says.

“We have reservations for six thirty, so get your ass in the shower and then we’ll head over, eh?” his dad adds with a grin.

“Sounds like a plan.”

~~~~

The restaurant is packed but it’s the sort of packed where no one pays them much mind as settle in at their table. Jack is thankful; he wants a night where he and his parents can just be.

Jack hasn’t been calling his parents as often as he should but sharing a meal with them is as easy as ever. Bitty and his mom wind up chatting about Bitty’s upcoming cookbook and he and his dad discuss the Habs’ starting lines this season.

It’s a simple thing, Bitty fitting into his family like this, but it means the world to Jack. Bitty was the long-lost key to a lock that Jack had all but forgotten about and seeing him here, now, even after all these years, makes his chest flutter.

Bitty glances towards him and his smile is blinding. In the low light, his hair shines golden. His dark brown eyes are soft.