Chapter Text
The soft tones of Jake’s guitar filled the room. They weren’t notes to any song in particular, he was just improvising as he went, enjoying exploring the flow between chords. He was humming a quiet melody that had no words, creating something just for the sake of creating it. Peyton, sitting with her back against the arm rest of the couch, had her knees bent to serve as a rest for the drawing she was working on, the tops of her feet buried under Jake’s thigh to keep them warm. She had a collection of markers and pencils scattered on the small table behind the armrest. Lucas was sitting on the floor with his side pressed against Jake’s leg, resting a folded on the top of Jake’s knee, occasionally pulling his arm away to turn the page of his book before leaning on him again. It was calm and relaxing, just quietly enjoying the comfort of each others presence. Jake hadn’t realized how much he’d missed having companionship in the first few months of Jenny’s life until the day he brought Lucas in to meet her. Now having people, these two people in particular, in his life felt as necessary as air. Time seemed to float suspended in the air, like nothing existed outside of the three of them in this moment. All the pressure and drama and stress of Tree Hill couldn’t touch them here.
The bubble burst with a whine. It was the kind of short loud cry that didn’t indicate an impending meltdown yet, but rather was just a call for attention. Jenny must have woken from her lap and was now wanting out of her crib, Jake put his guitar down to the side and got up to go to his room. Sometimes Jenny woke up and happily played in her crib for a while before asking to get up, other times she woke up already irritated to be in the crib at all. She was sitting up in her crib, her bottom lip wobbling dangerously. She let out the same whine again when she saw him and pointed in his general direction. She seemed more agitated than just wanting up. It took him two steps into the room to figure out why. He looked down at his bare foot to see he had stepped on Hester, the small purple monkey that was Jenny’s favorite toy. He picked Hester up and held her up so Jenny could see. Jenny raised her arms and made grabby hands. Recently she’d learned how to throw things and found it endlessly fascinating, though she hadn’t yet grasped the concept of how throwing something meant she’d no longer have it with her.
“Poor Hester couldn’t find her way back huh?” he said handing her down to Jenny. Jenny waved Hester around enthusiastically before throwing her across the crib.
Jake laughed, leaning down to tickle under her chin. She squealed with laughter and threw herself backwards in the crib smiling up at him. He smiled back at her, reaching down to pick her and Hester back up. He checked if she needed changing, pleasantly surprised to find her still dry.
When he got back to the living room he saw Lucas had his head tilted back on the couch, smiling up at Peyton as she ran a hand through his hair. They looked good together, the kind of cosmic soulmates musicians sang about and writers dedicated whole books to. They both looked over at him as he entered and under their gaze he felt something catch in his throat, still not believing how they held room for him, that he seemed to naturally fit in beside them. He sat back down next to Peyton who put her sketchbook away and turned to sit up closer to him so she could say hi to Jenny who was more interested in chewing on Hester’s tail than anything else.
“You know Brooke wants to get Jenny a Raven cheer outfit and have her at one of the games.” Peyton said.
Jake hmmed. “How’s that Jenny, do you want to cheer at Daddy’s basketball game?” he said enthusiastically. She knew very few words in that sentence but she tuned into his enthusiasm immediately.
Jenny threw her hands up in the air and back down again excitedly, causing Hester to slap onto Lucas’s face.
“Oh no, Luke I’m sorry” Jake said between laughs but Lucas just shook his head smiling.
“All good.” He said, tilting his head back to rest it against Jake’s knee. “She’s just practicing for the pom-poms.” Jake smiled back, a familiar flutter in his stomach as he looked into the bright blue eyes.
He cleared his throat and looked away.
“Well anyway I don’t think she’d like how loud it is on a game night.” He said as Lucas stood up to stretch from sitting on the floor.
Behind Lucas’s back Peyton was smirking over at Jake, like he’d never caught her lost in Lucas’s gaze before, so he stuck his tongue out at her.
He remembered when Peyton came to him in tears because she’d kissed Lucas. She’d been a mess, sobbing about how sorry she was and how much she loved Jake and wanted to be with him. She didn’t know why she did it- it just happened. Jake was pretty sure most guys reaction to their girlfriend confessing to cheating on them wasn’t to comfort her and reassure her it was going to be okay but he had. Though it wasn’t okay for a while after that. Jake was sure that Peyton would realize how much she loved Lucas and that would be the end of them. He forgave her but he couldn’t quite forget it. He hadn’t broken up with her but he’d pulled back in the relationship until Lucas came up to him and promised him that Peyton loved Jake and was miserable he’d been avoiding her. Lucas said he’d stay away from the two of them, that he didn’t want to get in between them, and Jake hadn’t been prepared for he way his heart clenched at that. Lucas was his best friend and he didn’t want to lose him any more than he wanted to lose Peyton- it had just felt inevitable. Those two had this magnetic pull towards each other and they could never manage to break out of each others orbit. Jake was just on the outside looking in, waiting to be a casualty of the collision course that was Peyton and Lucas, just like Brooke had been. He’d wanted to give in, accept defeat and protect himself from any more heartbreak. He’d told Lucas it was fine if he and Peyton wanted to be together, he wouldn’t hold it against either of them.
“You can’t help how you feel right?” he’d said, trying to keep his voice steady. But Lucas had grabbed him by the shoulders and leaned in, their faces so close Jake would only have to tilt his head to close the gap between their lips. Lucas had stared directly into his eyes with that intense unwavering look that made you feel like in that moment you were the only important thing in the world. Jake had swallowed, suddenly understanding all to well how easily Peyton had given in to the temptation, caught up in the moment and the draw of the soft fullness of Lucas’s chapped lips. Jake had only just barely held himself back as Lucas listed off all the things that Peyton loved about him, and how important he was.
“You can’t give up on her Jake- you let her go it will be the worst mistake of your life. Trust me.”
Jake had nodded, his face flushed and when Lucas stood back his skin prickled, like the temperature had dropped a few degrees. It hadn’t been the first time he’d felt lightheaded around Lucas, sometimes when they studied or read together in the library Lucas’s leg would be pressed firmly against Jake’s, sending a pulse of heat to settle in Jake’s stomach. Hands clapping together in greeting held a little too tight, or in a game when a celebratory hug lingered a little longer or an ass slap that felt marginally like a grope, gazes in the locker room being a little to pointedly not at each other. Somewhere along the line they’d gotten casual with physical touch and Jake wasn’t sure if he was imagining the tension or if they were both just ignoring something huge.
But any potential feelings for Lucas came with a whole can of worms Jake still wasn’t truly ready to deal with, so he hadn’t. He had enough drama in his life with Nikki to last a lifetime.
After that him and Peyton had been back on track. He loved her and she loved him and she was good with Jenny and it was simple and easy. Any feelings either of them might have for Lucas were best not talked about, that would just make things complicated. And it wasn’t hard. When it was just Jake and Peyton, nothing else mattered but each other. But then Lucas would walk by, or he’d pop up in an anecdote Jake was telling about basketball, or his favorite song would come on. Even when he wasn’t there it was like his specter hung around them. The moment would pass and it would just be Jake and Peyton again, neither acknowledging the truth of what was happening.
Then Lucas had shown up one day to give back a book Jake had loaned him, when he saw Peyton was already there he’d made a mumbled excuse and turned to leave but Jake invited him in. Things had to come to a head sooner or later and if his girlfriend and best friend couldn’t be around each other- and if Jake couldn’t be comfortable being around them being around each other then he’d lose one or both of them. So Lucas had come in and they’d listened to and talked about the new album Peyton had brought over and it was like the tension of the previous couple of weeks had never existed.
Now Lucas hung out with them more days than he didn’t, essentially having three person dates they refused to acknowledge were dates. Peyton had quickly realized she wasn’t the only one holding back feelings for Lucas and she’d teased Jake about it one night after Lucas had left and the two of them were wrapped up under Jake’s bed sheets. He hadn’t bothered to deny it. She’d been upfront with him about the kiss when she could have lied about it. He trusted her completely and he didn’t want to lie to her. He didn’t want to keep lying to himself.
She just smiled and squeezed his hand and he felt relieved to have someone else know, to not be rejected or laughed at. Or well ridiculed anyway. Peyton still laughed plenty every time she made him blush by asking him if he thought Lucas’s biceps or his pecs were his best feature. She’d laugh extra hard when he’d said it was his eyes, but then she’d make up for it by kissing him extra hard too. It made him love her more, the comfortable ease she’d accepted him with, and oddly them both admitting to each other that they secretly also wanted someone else, the same someone else, had actually made their relationship stronger.
“What are we doing here Peyton?” he’d asked one night after an away game, waiting with Peyton beside her car. Lucas had just been pulled away from them by Nathan to deal with a Dan thing. They watched his back retreat across the parking lot, his sports bag still next to Jake’s in the trunk of the Comet because they were planing to drive back to Tree Hill together. Peyton had wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed the base of his neck.
“Something stupid and dangerous.” She’d replied.
And now they were here, practically dating Lucas while not dating Lucas. Lucas had gotten comfortable with physical affection with both of them, no longer worrying Jake was going to get jealous if he hugged Peyton, or wondering if most guys watched a movie with an arm around their guy friends shoulders and a thumb running up and down behind his ear. Jake was pretty sure Lucas didn’t even realize when he was flirting, he seemed to fall into naturally. Whenever Jake thought about it seemed confusing and complicated, but when they all got together is was natural and easy.
With Jake’s guitar and Peyton’s art supplies out of the way, Lucas could squeeze in next to them on the couch. Peyton made a game of pulling Hester away and then having the stuffed monkey run across the air to give Jenny a series of kisses before pulling Hester back again to repeat. Jake made a comment about getting Jenny’s bottle but Lucas told him to stay and got up to make it for him, talking about last night’s Bobcats game. As his daughter’s giggles filled the air, Jake felt himself relax even more into the moment. He didn’t really know what this was or where it was going. It should be scary and messy but it was also as easy and uncomplicated as Jake’s life got. There was no one in the world Jake trusted more than Peyton and Lucas, from when he'd first brought Lucas in to meet Jenny or asked Peyton to babysit, he'd given them both a part of himself he never believed he could trust with anyone. His heart seemed such a little thing to give them in comparison. It might end in disaster but he’d hold onto it for as long as he could. For now, he’d happily live in this moment, this bubble for as long as he could.