17piesinseptember:

“love"
by jack zimmermann || a zimbits fic || 3.3k

“Come
in.” Bitty thanks the lord for the legitimate reprieve from the essay he’s been
painfully forcing himself through all afternoon.

Jack
enters, looking happier than normal. Bitty sees why immediately, and the smile
that came onto his face when he saw Jack slips right back into a frown. Jack’s
holding another memory card.

“I’m got
some new footage,” Jack says in confirmation of Bitty’s fears.

“Jack,
you’ve got to stop giving me new material.”

Jack’s
smile drops at Bitty’s harsh tone, and his eyebrows draw together in a way that
would be adorable if not for the circumstance and the fact Bitty is the one to
make them that way. “Why?”

“Coz,
honey, it’s not gonna help.” Bitty’s too exhausted to bother being embarrassed
that the endearment slipped out.

Jack
opens his mouth lamely. He looks down at the memory card in his hand then back
to Bitty with sad eyes.

“Sit
down.” Bitty gestures to his bed, thankful that he made it earlier while
procrastinating. He rubs his sore eyes as Jack perches on the bed, then sighs
out.

“Your
assessment is to create a two-minute video based on love, yes?”

Jack
nods. Bitty rubs at his eyes again, thinking of how to be honest without being
hurtful.

“You’re
an amazing photographer, and it comes across.” Jack picks his head up,
looking hopefully at Bitty. It breaks his heart to have to continue. “But
there’s no story here. There’s no love. I mean, unless your story is
that you really love your camera. I can’t… I’m sorry, I can’t help you make
anything out of this.”

Bitty
tries to make his voice gentle. Jack turns his head away from Bitty anyway, but
not quick enough that Bitty can’t see the hurt.

Bitty’s
happily been helping Jack with his AV assessment after Jack asked. He gets to spend time
with Jack doing something that Jack loves. But now he owes it as a friend to
tell Jack the truth, even if it makes them both sad.

“Sorry,
Bits,” Jack mumbles, still not looking at him.

“It’s
alright.” Bitty already feels a little guilty for springing it on Jack with no
warning. He crosses his arms, then realises that may come across as defensive
if Jack ever looks back at him, so rests them back on his knees. “Look, I don’t
mean to be rude, I just want you to do well.”

Jack
gives a brisk nod, but still avoids looking back at Bitty.

Bitty’s
not sure what else he can do for Jack, so he simply waits.

Jack
clears his throat after a moment and stands up. He looks at the memory card
before putting it into a pocket.

“Thanks
anyway. Sorry for interrupting your essay.”

“It’s alright,”
Bitty repeats, but Jack’s already out the door.

Bitty
slumps into his seat and stares at his closed door. He really didn’t mean to
hurt Jack, but he didn’t think what he said would be that much of a shock either.
Jack’s not ignorant to emotion, no-matter what the news articles sometimes say
about him.

He swings
his chair back round to stare at his essay, starting up on it again as a
distraction.

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