hugealienpie:

Imagine if you will:

Bitty’s post-kiss conversation with his parents goes better than he’d feared, though they need some time to adjust to the triple surprise of “our son is gay,” “our son is dating a rising NHL star,” AND “we learned about it on national tv.”

Yet the next time Jack’s in Madison, he and Bitty can’t help but notice that Coach’s behavior toward him has… cooled. He’s not overtly rude or dismissive, but the effusive welcome of Jack’s first visit is nowhere to be found. It hurts, knowing that Coach’s regard was conditional.

Jack tells Bitty it’s no big deal, but Bitty sees right through that, like always. He’s not up to confronting Coach directly, but he hauls Jack into the kitchen while Suzanne’s making dinner and demands to know what the heck Coach’s problem is.

Suzanne laughs and says, “Of course he’s standoffish. Oh, it was all well and good when we thought Jack was just your friend, Dicky. Now that we know he’s your boyfriend, your daddy can’t be too nice ‘til he’s sure Jack’s good enough for you.”

Bitty’s appalled. Given Jack’s challenging relationship with his own dad and the endless criticism of sports journalists, what a blow it must be to hear that his boyfriend’s father doesn’t think he’s “good enough” (to say nothing of the fact that he should be the judge of that, not Coach, thank you very much).

But, no, Jack is over the moon. Because finally, after almost two decades of being judged on something he has no control over—the fact that he’s not Bob—someone is judging him by a standard he actually has a say in. I mean, obviously he’s also terrified, because he’s not always sure he’s good enough for Bitty, either, but he gets this. He’s got this.