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Jack liked listening to Bitty talk. It was soothing, the charming lilt of his speech, his voice as sweet as warm honey. He liked the way Bitty wove stories, of how he managed to make a silly jam quarrel into a thrilling three part chronicle, of how he always managed to make the world seem brighter and so much more full of color.
But sometimes he just liked to hear Bitty talk without even really listening, his soothing voice a background soundtrack to whatever it was he happened to be doing, humming his agreements in what seemed to be appropriate places.
Like that lazy Sunday afternoon, Jack sketching game plays by the kitchen island as Bitty rolled out another pie shell as he chattered away across from him, his bright tenor almost illuminating the space better than the low sunrays scattering in through the apartment windows.
“...that I’d be Mr. Zimmermann…”
That had caught Jack’s attention though, and he had almost dropped his pen as he looked up at his fiancé in surprise.
“What, wait, what? Wait.” He took a moment to collect his thoughts as he inspected the back of Bitty’s frame, having turned around to get something by the kitchen counter. “When did we decide that you were taking the Zimmermann name?”
That made Bitty stop short, and Jack saw his surprise in the way his back straightened.
“We… Didn’t?” he said as he turned around to face Jack again, uncertainty tinting his voice. “I just assumed it was a given?”
Jack inspected him for a moment.
“But what if I told you that I wanted to take Bittle?”
Bitty snorted.
“Yeah, and then you’d be…” But the smirk fell from his face as he took in Jack’s non-smirking one. “Wait, you’re serious?”
“Yes,” Jack answered simply.
And that made Bitty have to sit down, flumping down on the stool he had previously used to reach something on the highest shelf.
“But… Honey, you’re Jack Zimmermann,” he said, stressing the last name as if it was the most important thing in the entire world.
And, now, that was the problem, wasn’t it?
“Yes. I am,” Jack said as he reached out to grab hold of one of Bitty’s hand. “And my name has always been bigger than myself. But meeting you, marrying you…” He had to break Bitty’s gaze so to not lose his nerve, and focused on their hands as he intertwined their fingers, his own ring clinking against Bitty’s. “It has given me the chance to just be myself.”
He looked up again just in time to watch Bitty slowly process his words. The surprise was raw and honest in his eyes, he swallowed thickly and he was visibly fighting back tears. Jack squeezed his hand in encouragement, willing him to believe the sincerity in his words, and he squeezed it back after a moment. But still it took a while before he seemed to be able to speak again, his voice quivering slightly when he did.
“And yourself is a Bittle?”
“Yes.” Jack wouldn’t have been able to fight the smile splitting his face if he had wanted to. “If you allow me to.”
“Good Lord,” Bitty exclaimed as he rolled his eyes to the heaven, blinking rapidly. “This boy. You’re gonna make me cry.”
But then he chuckled, and he raised a hand to clasp over his mouth, the one wearing Jack’s engagement ring. They just smiled at each other for a stupid amount of time, before Bitty finally shook out of it, reaching out to cradle Jack’s hand in both of his own.
“Yes. Yes, of course, sweetheart. If you’re sure?”
“I’m sure,” Jack reassured him.
In fact, he had never been more certain of something in his entire life.
He smiled, and Bitty immediately returned it. Jack raised one of his hands to press a quick kiss to his palm, and Bitty caressed his cheek before rising up to continue with whatever it was he was in the middle of doing before Jack had interrupted him.
“Goodness me,” he started softly as he fiddled with a measuring cup, as if he was also unsure of what it was he had previously been doing. “How am I ever gonna tell my mother this, she’s gonna have a heart attack-”
“I could tell her,” Jack offered as the text was already half written.
Bitty whirled on him, measuring cup still in hand and poised as if a weapon.
“Don’t you dare Mr. Zimmermann-”
“It’s Mr. Bittle.”
This time Jack did smirk.
“You very well have to wait for the goddamn ceremony- Jack!”
“Sent.”
And Jack grinned up at him as the message flew across the country, and Bitty took a shuddering breath.
“Oh no.”
The words barely had time to leave his mouth before his phone started ringing frantically, and Bitty eyed it warily before unlocking it with a trembling hand.
“ERIC RICHARD BITTLE,” came Suzanne Bittle’s unmistakable voice from the speakers, and Bitty very nearly flinched. “HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL ME SOMETHING LIKE THIS…”
And that was how Jack’s soon-to-be mother-in-law kept on going for an unknown time, Bitty holding his phone at an arm’s length away, and Jack was fairly certain that he had his speaker turned off, a distant look in his eyes as he had once again pressed a hand to his lips.
“Mother, mother,” he finally tried to interject, but Suzanne just kept on going. Closing his eyes, he took a steadying breath before mouthing ‘I hate you’ at Jack, who could only grin in return. “Mama,” he tried again, “we just decided…”
But when he realized that it was no use, he could only mutter “Oh my goodness” before plopping down on the stool again.
And that’s how they spent the rest of their afternoon, together, in their kitchen as the sun finally disappeared behind the city behind them and as Mrs. Bittle scolded her son on proper wedding etiquette from a thousand miles away.
“Oh, and Jack,” she finally concluded, her voice shifting into something so much more warmer and pleasant. “Welcome to the family, honey.”
And Jack could only smile.
Because he already felt like a part of the family.