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Blake makes her laugh, which is not something she’s been doing a lot of lately. When she doesn’t have to be anywhere; when Apollo is asleep and the other boys are at school, Gwen allows herself to sink into the dark place in her mind, where she is convinced that nothing is going to be okay ever again. She misses Gavin, but god, she hates him, too. So when Blake makes her laugh, she falls a little bit more in love with him every time.
More importantly, Blake makes her sons laugh. He tells them the dumbest jokes, makes fun of Adam, picks them up and spins them around until they want to puke… and Gwen loves every second of it.
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He may just be a country boy from Oklahoma, but Blake knows what’s up. He knows the fans love his bromance with Adam. Of course Adam knows, too, and they both know how to keep the ratings up on the show. He also knows there are (well, were) millions of people out there who were very emotionally involved with his marriage to Miranda. Blake knows this, and he also knows that they can’t keep the relationship secret much longer, the press are going to find out somehow, and he’ll be back in the tabloids yet again. It would be so much easier not to do it. But Gwen shares the same pain he’s in. And she’s beautiful. And she’s so… happy all the time. It’s infectious, and he wants to be around her whenever possible, and if it’s bad PR for the show, or for Blake himself, well… he’ll take the risk, because it’s worth it.
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He's just such a good kisser. Gwen forgot what it was like to be kissed by someone so passionately. It was good. So fucking good.
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Gwen doesn’t even like country music. But she wants to listen to Blake sing. They wrote a song together, too, because they’re both musicians and that’s what they do. It wasn’t like when she and Gavin wrote songs together, either--it's just easier. Everything is just so much easier. They want to play it on the upcoming live episodes of the show, but they’d never hear the end of it. They may just do it anyway. Because right now, in the beginning stages of new love, nothing can touch them. They’re on a reality show together, but this doesn’t even feel real.
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Rebound. Maybe they are both rebounds. Maybe that’s okay. If getting through this together, falling in love piece by piece by piece, holding hands at big events and going to Halloween parties together, is rebounding… well, maybe that’s what it is. Maybe everyone else in the world will just have to deal with it. Maybe they'll last, maybe they won't, but what does it even matter? Being a celebrity is as exhausting as it is rewarding.
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They obviously don't listen to a lot of the same music, but they both find they share a passion for Carly Simon. So in the car, they constantly listen to her. And they can both agree, without necessarily talking about why, that "Coming Around Again" depresses both of them.
I know nothing stays the same
But if you're willing to play the game
It's coming around again.
So don't mind if I fall apart
There's more room in a broken heart
At this point in the relationship, they don't talk about their exes much. It's just too new--too raw. But sometimes a song comes on the radio and it can't be avoided, so when the song's over, Blake turns down the radio and they talk about it a little. Gwen knows he still loves Miranda, the same way she still loves Gavin and always will. But she also knows Blake has a big heart, and she can fit in there, too. And Blake knows that Gwen is protecting herself, because being hurt like that again would kill her. It's okay. They both understand. They both hurt. And they are both trying to move on.
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At the CMAs, Miranda says she needed a bright spot this year. Gavin is telling people he suspects Blake and Gwen go back much further than these last few weeks. It doesn’t matter. No, really, it doesn’t, because Gwen and Blake hunker down in her bedroom when the boys are with Gavin, and they eat junk food and watch stupid nineties movies and act like best friends who have known each other forever, and then when the movie is over, they have the kind of sex that happens when something is brand new, and it’s so good, and both of them are happy. At least happy enough so the endless heartbreaking razor-sharp pain can go away for a while. So Gavin can suspect and Miranda can talk shit at award shows. Blake and Gwen will eat chocolate chip cookies and watch Jerry Maguire and they’ll be just fine.
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“Hey… thanks for what you told Seacrest about us,” Gwen tells Adam when they’re back at work. “That was really nice.”
“I’m just looking out for you guys,” Adam says. Gwen hugs him tight. He adds, “And I’m rooting for you. Shefani is the new Shevine.”
Gwen laughs. Blake comes over to see what she’s laughing about. “They’re calling us Shefani," she says. Blake laughs, too. Later, Pharrell takes them all out to dinner and says, “To new love. May it last longer than the tabloids have ink for it.” They all cheer, and Blake kisses Gwen right there in front of everyone, and she’s happy, and Blake is happy, and sooner or later they’ll find out something about the other that they can’t stand, and that will be okay, too. Maybe Blake never puts the cap back on the toothpaste, and maybe Gwen won’t stop talking when he’s trying to go to sleep. That’s something they’ll figure out eventually. For now, they’ll just rebound the hell out of each other.