Alyx woke up in her room, and for the first time in months, it wasn't with the persistent taste of ashes and stale coffee in her mouth, but with the echo in her head of a promise—one day at a time—and the thought of treating that pair of earrings as a key, not a burning chain.
So she got up, and in an act that felt revolutionary, went to her kitchen and didn't turn on her beautiful coffee maker. Instead, she filled a kettle. While the water heated, she stood in her empty living room, looking at the silhouette painting hanging right where the intervention banner her friends had tried to put up the day before had been.
Her phone vibrated. She picked it up and saw it was a message from Marshall. The good thing was that it didn't ask or pressure her about her state, but, like Robin's, it was accompanied by a moment from his day. It said:
- Look, last night at McLaren's. Barney was trying to pay his tab with 'dating consulting favors' for divorced women. We miss your murderous look to shut him up, but no pressure. - M
Alyx read the message twice. It was another bridge, like Robin's, but this time... she breathed, took her cup of mint tea, and replied:
- The murderous look requires coffee. Today I'm having tea, but I can attempt a lower-power frown. - And she sent a photo of her tea cup.
And though it wasn't a return, it was a step closer. A good start for her one day at a time.
In Marshall and Ted's apartment, Marshall nearly dropped his phone when the response arrived. "She replied!" he announced, showing the screen to Ted and Robin, who were beside him, as if it were a trophy. "And she's joking again! See?"
Robin smiled with relief after weeks of worry since the first time she saw her at that gym. "It's a start."
"But she's not getting closer," said Ted. "It's more that we need to take steps with neutral topics, not directly."
"Neutral territory?" asked Barney, appearing out of nowhere, impeccably dressed in his elegant suit. "Sounds boring. What we need is an Operation for Forced Reconnection in a Controlled Environment. And the best part is, I have tickets for the Robot vs. Megasirea exhibition. It's loud, doesn't require conversation—the popcorn girl wears a micro top—it's going to be le-gen-dary."
They all ignored him. Lily's plan of building bridges and waiting seemed to be working on a molecular level, but it worked better than intervention cards and banners.
Meanwhile, in her apartment, Alyx finished her tea and got dressed. Today she wasn't going to the gym; she was going for a walk. But first, she looked for where she had hidden the lost earring with her notebook. She took them from their hiding place and left the notebook on her desk. There, she saw the Polaroid she had taken and left next to her computer. Finally, she took the lost earring and the one Lily left in the mailbox in her hand together. Looking at them, they were no longer the symbol of a broken promise or a reminder of a loss, but proof that something real and beautiful had existed. She remembered Tracy's words about changing their meaning.
With calm determination, she put one in her pocket and left the other in the drawer next to Lily's sketchbook. Even though she knew it wasn't surrendering to something, she wanted to lighten her load. One would stay as a talisman of what her life was, and the other would be given a future with a new meaning.
And so she left her apartment, not headed to the gym, nor to McLaren's, but walked to a small art gallery in the West Village—one she had seen a hundred times but never entered.
The door chimed as she opened it. The smell of oil paint and old wood enveloped her. It smelled of creation, not destruction.
While Alyx was taking her first tentative step toward something other than self-destruction...
Lily was executing her own plan. This was a secret plan. It wasn't about bridges but about digging into some concerns that had arisen in her. She also knew that the earring she had returned had triggered something in Alyx, and Barney's comment about her trading had been the last straw. Lily's mind wasn't directed toward all the theories that could arise like Barney's; she was focused on understanding why it had unraveled her.
So she went to the only source of chaotic and potentially useful information she hadn't expected to visit for something related to Alyx: Barney Stinson.
She found him in his office. He was basically playing, building a tower of business cards while humming the Mission: Impossible theme. Even though she didn't understand what his job was at the moment, that doubt wasn't as important as what she was about to do.
Without greeting or anything, she just walked in and stated, "I need you to hack something for me," said Lily, planting herself in front of his desk.
Barney dropped the card he was holding. "Dear Lily! Finally, you've seen the light! What do you need? Marshall's call logs? Ted's browsing history? I have a guy who can get Robin's school records from Canada, including her citizenship education notes, which, between us, were very disappointing," said Barney, overly excited about the information Lily might want to get.
"It's about Alyx," corrected Lily. "You know, her trading. You said it yourself that it was impossible to have those results. I want you to prove it to me."
Barney's expression changed from playful to seriously intrigued. "Ahhh, the mystery of the sad girl and her unnatural profits." He leaned back in his chair. "That's delicate information, Lily Pad. What do you give me in return?"
"I'll help with your next Legendary Challenge without complaining," said Lily without blinking. "And I won't ask questions if you need an escape," Lily finished her offer after seeing his interest.
Barney evaluated the offer. He particularly liked that 'without questions' part. "You have a deal. But I must warn you to be prepared. Numbers don't lie, and the numbers around Alyx... whisper very, very strange secrets."
Thanks to Adiavts, TheDemonWolf, bear_ice, jose_galeazzi and Jade_Black_1155 by your Power Stones.
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