#falconers

Camilla had been planning on seeing one of Jack’s games, actually. Sometime in March, when she knew she had a week off. When it was a bit warmer. Her girlfriend had been baffled by Camilla going to hang out with an ex-boyfriend, but she and Jack had always been friends first – even after they started sleeping together. Once Jack decided he was friends with someone, he put 110% of himself into maintaining that friendship. They’d actually developed a fairly regular text thread, which – based on the everything she knew about Jack – was more surprising than him going into the NHL.

He’d used an emoji a few weeks ago and she almost fell off her chair.

Jack had actually called her to invite her to this game specifically – I know it’s right before Christmas and you’re probably busy but I’ve got a ticket, two if you want them – and there was something in his voice that piqued her interest. A hesitant sort of glee, like happiness was trying to burst out of him but he was reining it in for propriety’s sake.

So Camilla went to the game. It was a fun one, the Falconers beating Chicago by three points; Jack with a goal that even Camilla could tell was absolutely beautiful.

Jess: i’ve got dinner in the crockpot when you get back ❤️

“Camilla?”

She looks up from her phone to see Jack, game day suit on and a Falcs beanie – it’s a toque, Cam – covering his shower-wet hair.

“Hey, Jack! Great game,” she says, moving in for a hug. Despite the bulking up he’s done since the season started, Jack still hugs the same.

“Thanks,” he says, “The boys worked really hard, really dug in there, managed to get the pucks in deep, and Chicago was just—”

“Jack.”

“Right, sorry, habit now,” he says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “How have you been?”

“You know how I’ve been. What did you want to tell me in person?”

“I—”

“Because I gotta say Jack, I’ve never seen you look so settled.”

“Oh,” he says, looking pleased.

And he does look settled. There’s actual calm behind his eyes, settled in his frame; it’s like contentment has been knit into his bones. She’s never seen him this relaxed, even after winning games at Samwell – it looks great on him.

A gust of wind comes up again, and Camilla shivers again.

“Shit, you should come inside, we can talk in the player’s lounge for a minute, plus there'll be a snack and at least coffee to drink if you want to warm up a bit before heading out.”

“Jack, of course I’ll come in for a minute, but you’re babbling.”

“Right. Um.” He takes a deep, steadying breath, before meeting her eyes squarely. “Come meet my boyfriend?”

She can’t help the smile that bursts out. “Even if I wasn’t freezing right now, you have to know the answer’s yes.”

He motions her inside ahead of him. She revels in the warmth as the chat about small things through the hallways. Camilla notes with interest as Jack nods and waves at various staff that pass them by. It’s a marked difference from even two years ago. 

It suits him.

They pass into the player’s lounge and Camilla gets her first glimpse of a short young man with blonde hair who’s facing away from the entrance. Is that—? She manages to keep her excited cheer behind her lips when the man turns at the sound of their footsteps.

“Jack Zimmermann, you owe me so much money. I fucking told you so,” she mutters before raising her voice.

“Oh, shut up,” Jack whispers back.

“Eric Bittle, as I live and breathe!”

Twenty minutes, fifty bucks, and a bag of cookies later, Camilla is in her car, letting the engine heat up for a few minutes.

Camilla: Leaving now! Camilla: I have dessert for us tonight and a double dinner date for next week

Jess: ❤️ Jess: see you soon 😘

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