Since there's not much of a queue at the pretzel stall, Jack hopes that Tooth and Pitch will return before anything goes horribly wrong.
He's not even sure what he fears. Possibly that they'll start screaming at each other; their mutual dislike was instantaneous and obvious. Or maybe he's more afraid that Tooth will convince Pitch that dating Jack is a huge mistake, and that'll be the end of one of the best things that has happened to him. He tries to tell himself that Tooth wouldn't do that to him, and that this relationship means as much to Pitch as it does to Jack, but the flicker of uncertainty is like a flame that refuses to be snuffed out.
"Grandad and Nana live near London," Seraphina tells him, and he forces himself to pay attention to her. "In a big mansion! I love it there - it's so old and fancy. And my horse lives in the stables. Do you like horses, Jack?"
"I've only ever seen the ones in Central Park," Jack says, unable to stop himself from glancing up at Pitch and Tooth again. He sees that they're talking. Pitch is leaning over so that he can hear the much-shorter Tooth over the noise of the market, and he's frowning so deeply that Jack can see it from here.
"Oh then you should come, I'll show you how to ride! My horse is called Jet, she's nice - I bet she'll let you ride her."
"Um," Jack says, and that distracts him from snooping on Pitch and Tooth. Because as fun as that sounds, it would involve either sneaking into the stable or being introduced to Pitch's parents and seriously, he can't even begin to imagine what they would think of their son's twink boyfriend.
Luckily he doesn't have too much time to dwell on it because Tooth and Pitch are back. Their hands are full of drinks and food, and neither of them is sporting bruises or bloodied lips. Whatever that frown was about, it doesn't seem to have devolved into fist fighting, so Jack counts that as a win.
Feeling cautiously optimistic, Jack accepts a mug and a pretzel in a Christmassy bag from Tooth, and then almost spit-takes his hot chocolate when Seraphina says,
"Papa, Jack says he might come to London with us!"
Wide-eyed, Jack looks at Pitch, and finds an eyebrow raised at him. "Tooth's been bugging me to come visit her for months," Jack explains, forcing a smile. "Seraphina said I should fly with you."
"We could sit together on the plane," Seraphina agrees. "I think Mama would like to meet him."
Pitch chokes on his pretzel. "Oh, I'm sure she would." He coughs and dabs at his mouth with a napkin. He gazes at Jack, and Jack can't read his expression. It makes anxiety churn in his stomach and he reallywishes Tooth had put some rum in his hot chocolate.
"It was just a thought," Jack says, and shrugs. He looks away and concentrates on a cigarette burn on the table. It makes him want a smoke as well as the rum. "Of course you wouldn't want me around on your family trip. I was going to wait until the weather was better anyway."
"Who said I wouldn't want you around?" Pitch says softly, and his hand wraps around Jack's. It's warm, and gentle, and it calms Jack's anxiety better than alcohol and nicotine ever could. "Transatlantic flights are so terribly dull, maybe you could make them a little more fun."
"Really?" Jack dares a glance up and sees Pitch's smirk, and wonders what he's thinking. Mile high club, his mind unhelpfully suggests, and his libido crashes to the forefront of his attention, both eager and wildly inappropriate.
"Oh Jack, that's a great idea," Tooth says, reaching across the table to squeeze his other hand. "It's like I said earlier. You need to get out of New York for a bit, and this is the perfect opportunity."
Jack nods. "Alright then," he says quietly, glancing up at Pitch who smiles and keeps his hand where it is, intertwined with Jack's.
Jack feels the last of his anxiety gutter and die under the weight of relief. That went – better than he ever could have hoped. Considering that he was pretty much planning on stalking Pitch across an ocean, it's probably for the best that Seraphina mentioned it. Maybe there'll be some fallout later – after all, nothing ever goes entirely Jack's way. But for now, everything seems like it might be at least somewhat okay, and there's a part of his mind that keeps focusing on the whole mile high club thing, and that at least sounds like a one hundred percent awesome idea.
And it will be good to get out of New York for a bit. A change of scenery will do him the world of good; it always reminds him that the world is bigger than this little bubble that traps him, and that one day he'll be free of it.
Buoyed by the thought, Jack is able to get through the rest of the afternoon. Not just get through – he actually enjoys it. Watching Pitch and Seraphina interact is kind of lovely; it shows a paternal side to Pitch that Jack hasn't really seen before. Gentle and kind, fiercely protective, patient and understanding.
Actually, on second thought, maybe Jack has seen that side of Pitch. Just from a different angle.
They finish their pretzels and hot chocolates and say their goodbyes, and as Jack heads to the subway station he's actually happy that they ended up running into each other. Tooth goes to catch up with some friends and Jack heads home alone, texting Kal and Jamie an invite for a Back to the Future marathon and rum-infused hot chocolate.
It's only when he steps onto the train that he realises he has no idea what Tooth said to Pitch to make him frown like that.