Lena stirred, warmth cocooning her as sunlight streamed through the curtains. The room was quiet except for the slow, steady rhythm of breathing. It took her a few seconds to remember where she wasâJaxon and Ethan's house. The movie. The exhaustion. The overwhelming comfort that had made her eyelids too heavy to keep open.
And then she noticed why she was so warm.
Jaxon was still asleep beside her, his body relaxed, his arm draped loosely around her waist as if at some point in the night, he'd shifted closer.
She barely had a chance to process it before movement from the other side caught her attention. Ethan was waking up, stretching with a yawn before blinking at her, still groggy.
"Morning," he muttered, voice thick with sleep. Then he paused, glancing between her and Jaxon, his lips twitching. "Wow. Cozy."
Lena immediately sat up, heat rushing to her cheeks. "Shut up."
Ethan just smirked, rubbing his face. "Hey, I'm not judging. Just saying, you looked pretty comfortable there."
Before Lena could snap back, Jaxon stirred beside her. She turned her headâmistake.
His eyes were barely open, still hazy from sleep, but they landed on her immediately. He blinked slowly, and then, without warning, he reached up, brushing a piece of hair from her face with a lazy smirk. "Morning, Carter. Didn't know you liked waking up next to me."
Lena's stomach flipped. Definitely not helpful, brain.
She shoved his arm off, standing up way too fast. "I'm making breakfast."
Jaxon chuckled as she practically fled the room, Ethan following behind, still half-laughing.
In the kitchen, Lena busied herself with grabbing coffee and eggs, pretending her face wasn't on fire.
Ethan leaned against the counter, watching her. "You okay?"
"Fine," she muttered, cracking an egg a little too aggressively. "Totally fine."
Ethan bit back a grin. "Uh-huh."
A minute later, Jaxon strolled in, stretching, completely unbothered. He leaned against the fridge with an easy grin. "So, are you cooking for us now, Carter? Didn't know we were getting a personal chef."
Lena shot him a look. "You want breakfast or not?"
Jaxon smirked. "Depends. You spitting in it?"
"Not yet, but there's still time."
Ethan shook his head, hiding his laughter behind his coffee. "You two are exhausting."
Lena rolled her eyes but couldn't ignore the way her heart felt a little lighter, the weight of last night not as suffocating as before. Maybe things weren't completely okay yet.
But for the first time in a long time, they felt like they could be.