Bubblegum

Part 9

There was no big show of Eden and Jake's relationship finally coming to bloom. Other than Josh and Sam raising eyebrows at the subtle touches Jake now laid upon her; a hand pressed to the small of her back when he stood beside her at the kitchen counter, asking her to scoop some extra roasted vegetables onto his plate. A quick, barely there kiss to her head, cheek or shoulder as he brushed by her in the little studio. The way he wedged himself between her and Danny one morning while they had coffee on the small wooden porch swing on the back patio. And there were definitely looks interchanged when Eden had fallen asleep on Jake's shoulder in the living room during a movie one night during a break.

"Leave it." Jake mumbled softly, feeling his brothers stares burrowing a hole in the side of his head as he wrapped an arm around her frame, letting her snuggle into his body as her breathing evened out.

"We had bets, we need to know when this all happened." Sam smirked cheekily.

"Sam," Jake shot him a glare. "Couldn't you be doing something productive? Mixing one of her new songs, perhaps?"

"It's all done. I finished everything hours ago." Sam waved his hand in the air nonchalantly, settling back further into the loveseat he shared with Josh as if to prove he was going to be cemented there.

"Her album is done. And it's....it's really good." Danny smiled, looking from Jake to her. Jake looked down at Eden, from his angle, the circles under her eyes were more pronounced, the long nights catching up with her complexion. But Jake smiled, they matched his own perfectly. Brushing a piece of hair back out of her face, Eden's brow furrowed, and she subconsciously rubbed her face against his chest, as if burrowing into him like he was a pillow. Jake laughed to himself as he pulled you in tighter to him.

"This is the cutest shit ever." Josh giggled. "Quick, someone take a picture!" Danny tossed a small throw pillow at Josh, which knocked his head pretty good. Jake tried to stifle his laugh, keeping the shaking of his chest to a minimum and failing. Eden groaned against him and huffed through her nose.

"Edie, hey," Jake looked down at her, speaking softly. She stirred again. "Eden, why don't you go to bed?"

"Movies not over." she murmured, crinkling her nose. Jake chuckled.

"You've been asleep through half of it."

"Just resting my eyes." she lazily lifted a hand, swatting his concern away, nearly bopping him in the nose. Jake took it in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it as your breathing evened out again.

"Okay, I believe you." he smiled down at her, a small, smug smirk on her lips that she'd won the argument half asleep. He could have watched her sleep all night, but he was distracted by a bright flash.

"Shit, I thought I had flash off." Sam groaned, his phone in his hands. He glanced at the screen and nodded approvingly. "Still adorable." Josh leaned over his little brother to see and grinned. He made a mental note to have Sam send him it and save that one for any possible wedding slideshows that may be in the future. Jake rolled his eyes, secretly hoping himself Sam would send it to him so he could have it when they got back to the real world.

Once the movie had finally ended, Jake gently woke Eden up, much to her dismay. Although she was incredibly cranky with him as he followed her up the stairs, her tired legs trudging along slowly, he realized that through her small insults ("Big dumb rockstar thinks he can just wake people up.") and complaints ("Could've just let me sleep on the couch.") that he hadn't smiled this big in a long time. He gently took her arm, leading her to her bedroom and stopping as she leaned against the doorframe.

"Will you stay for a bit?" she asked, looking up at him with sleepy, hopeful smile. "Please?"

"Of course." Jake bent down and kissed her softly. "Let me go change into my pajamas, I'll be right back. Go get cozy." Eden nodded and shut the door, going over to her bed and falling face first. By the time Jake had come back, she was snoring lightly, cradling the pillow under her head. He grabbed the large throw blanket from the end of the bed and climbed up next to her, settling himself in and covering them up. He scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and feeling her subconsciously snuggle back into his body. Jake placed a lingering kiss on her shoulder, smoothing her hair back and situating himself, getting cozy and falling right to sleep.