There’s Jack’s little smirk, warm and brave, and the rest of the world fades away. There’s no roaring crowds, no tv cameras, no consequences. There’s only Jack’s arms, Jack’s scruff, Jack’s mouth on his, and for a second the world was perfect. As they pull back, Bitty hears himself giggle with all the bottled up excitement. He feels in a cloud. Jack smiles down at him, gaze soft and loving.
It’s gonna be okay. Right?
As reality comes back into focus, they step away from each other. Jack keeps a hold of his waist.
“Guys! Holy shit!” Ransom is running towards them. He’s smiling but there’s a panicky edge to his voice.
“Way to go,” Lardo’s smirk is aimed at Bitty, she pokes his ribs playfully.
They keep talking, loudly, but he’s barely aware of any of it. Reality starts catching up to him and, as the high dies down, he becomes aware of his own frantic heart beat, his shaky knees, his shallow breathing.
His phone buzzes once. He pulls it out without thinking. He has three messages from his mom, all blissfully unaware. Then, the fourth one is a dry: “Dicky.” He tries to figure out what it means, if it’s angry or worried or confused… knowing her it could be all three at once. Before he gets a chance to reply, though, his phone blows up with notifications way too fast for him to read. He recognizes his mom’s name, he sees the group chat, his twitter mentions, oh god. Oh god.
“Fucking Jack Zimmermann, you fucking beautiful brave man come here!”
Shitty’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts, just in time to see the man tackling his boyfriend with a flying hug. Jack laughed, impressively shifting his weight in the skates to keep himself afoot, his arm momentaniely leaving Bitty to hold on to his best friend. There is only a second of breathlessness after he loses Jack’s hold, quickly replaced by Shitty pulling him in to join the hug. His embrace is tight, and his hand finds Bitty‘s shoulder to give it a quick squeeze. The quiet gesture makes his chest feel warm and liquid, just enough to put his phone away.
“I, uh, should check with Georgia about the post-game press conference,” Jack says after a few minutes, his eyes on Bitty with a quiet question. You gonna be okay, bud? Yes, he can hear the ‘bud’ there.
Bitty nods, sending him a tight smile. Jack doubts, but finally goes.
The buzzing in his pocket goes on, and he tries his hardest to ignore it, as he tries to ignore everyone around them talking loudly, checking their phones, oh god do they know? Did they see it? Does the world know? Well, at least he can’t notice the buzzing anymore, since his shaking more than his phone is.
“Hey Bits, you okay?” Holster asks hugging an arm around his shoulder. He looks up, and nods mechanically. By the twist in his mouth, he can tell he doesn’t believe him. “Well, whatever happens, you know we’ve got your back, right?”
“Yeah, lil’ bro!” Ransom chimes in, all warm smiles, punching his shoulder playfully. “We got you.”
He looks up and he finds them, steady and honest. They mean it. Lardo and Shitty are goofing around near by, and he knows without a doubt that they have their back too. Bitty can finally breathe again. This is his family, his boys, and they have known for a long time and they still love them. It’s their unwavering support that gave him the courage to do something this crazy today.
The tension in his shoulders eases and he can finally give them a genuine smile.
“Thanks, y’all. I’m alright,” he assures them.
Jack is already making his way back towards them, still smiling. A couple of the Falcs pat his back as he passes them by and Bitty remembers he too has his team to back him up. They are not alone, whatever may come next. Either way, he steels himself for what’s probably going to be a couple of exhausting hours.
“They moved the presser to the morning!” Jack announces as he arrives and Bitty lets out a relieved sigh. “George said we are free for tonight!”
“Swassome!” Shits grins with a wildly. “Then, it’s time to party like there is no tomorrow!
“The Cup-Keggster!” Ransom and Holster jump, and Bitty is sure they’d discussed the name beforehand. “Oh, man this is going to be epic!”
They chat excitedly as they exit the ice, planning a party that sounds even crazier than Ransome and Lardo’s birthday party. He’d think it impossible for them to pull it off, if he didn’t know them so well.
Jack slips his hand into his and holds him tightly. They can do this. Now, they can do this. Bitty holds on tightly and smiles through the nerves. He feels himself back into the victory high, the elated feeling of floating with pride and happiness. He tells himself as soon as they get home he’ll put his phone away and enjoy the party. Whatever may come tomorrow, they still have tonight.
