The Next Day
Barney entered without knocking, as always.
"What's up, losers? I heard Ted is back in the fold. Does that mean I can rent the room?"
"No, Barney," the three said in unison.
"Okay, okay. But at least let me see Alyx's closet. I heard she has erotic drawings in there."
"What? No," said Lily.
"Liar. Everyone knows Alyx draws nudes. She's an artist."
"She doesn't draw nudes of us."
"You sure?"
Lily hesitated. "Well... I don't know. I never asked."
Barney headed toward the bedroom. "Let's find out."
"Barney, don't go in there."
But he was already inside. He opened the closet. He looked at the drawings.
Silence.
"Barney?" Ted called.
Barney came out of the bedroom with a strange expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" asked Marshall.
"Nothing," said Barney. "Just... those drawings are really nice."
"Nice? Did you just say 'nice'?"
"Yeah. And now I'm going to go to my apartment to reflect on my feelings, because that's what people do when they see art, right? Reflect."
He left without another word.
The three looked at each other.
"Did we just see Barney have an emotion?" asked Lily.
"Looks like it," said Ted.
"This calls for a celebration," said Marshall.
"Or a farewell. He might be dying," said Ted.
"Or maybe art touched his soul," said Lily.
"Barney doesn't have a soul," said Ted.
"He has a little one. Very small. Like a raisin," said Lily, gesturing with her thumb and forefinger.
"A raisin in a suit," Marshall finished cheerfully.
They laughed.
Alyx's Apartment
Alyx was in her studio drawing when the phone rang. It was Lily.
"Hey, beautiful."
"Hey, Lil. What's up?"
"Nothing. Just wanted to hear your voice."
Alyx smiled. "You always say that when something's up."
"Well... today we hung your drawing."
"I know. You told me."
"Yeah, but... we also discovered the other drawings. The ones in the closet."
Alyx fell silent.
"Alyx?"
"Did they like them?"
"They're beautiful. Why didn't you show us?"
"Because... I don't know. Because they were private. For me, drawing is how I understand the world. And when I draw someone, it's because I'm trying to understand them. To understand you."
Lily felt her eyes sting again. "You understood us well."
"I tried."
"You know? Ted is here. He came back."
"Yeah? What happened with Robin?"
"They're not moving in together. They weren't ready."
"Ah."
"That's it? Just 'ah'?"
"Lily, I'm not one to comment on other people's relationships. I have enough trouble understanding my own. Ours."
"Ours is going well."
"Yeah. It's going well."
Another pause.
"Are you coming this weekend?" asked Lily.
"Of course. I always come."
"But I want you to come sooner. Tomorrow. I need... I need to see you."
Alyx smiled. "Are you that lost without me?"
"Worse than we thought. Marshall almost burned the kitchen making an omelet."
"An omelet? How do you burn an omelet?"
"He finds a way."
Alyx laughed. "Okay, I'll come tomorrow. But only if Ted promises not to talk to me about architecture."
"I promise."
"And if Marshall promises not to show me his stretching exercises."
"Done."
"And if you promise... well, you don't have to promise anything. You're Lily."
Lily smiled. "I love you, Alyx."
"I love you too. All of you."
"Even Barney?"
Alyx hesitated. "Even Barney. Even though I don't understand him."
"That's true love."
"Or stupidity. Sometimes it's the same."
Ted, Lily, and Marshall's Apartment
The Next Day
The door opened. Alyx walked in with a bag of food and a smile.
"I'm back, you degenerates!"
Lily ran to hug her. Marshall followed, almost knocking them both over. Ted stayed on the sofa, smiling.
"No hug for me?" he asked.
Alyx approached and hugged him. "There's always a hug for you, Ted. Even if you are a drama queen."
"I'm not a drama queen."
"You spent an entire night talking about a penny."
"That's... that's... true."
Everyone laughed.
They sat on the sofa, the four of them, like in the old days. The food was shared. So was the laughter.
"You know what I've discovered?" said Ted. "That I'm not the only tree."
Alyx looked at him. "Does that bother you?"
"At first it did. Then I realized it's better. Because if there's only one tree, when that tree fails, everything falls."
"Like it happened to us," said Lily.
"Like it happened to all of us," said Marshall.
Alyx nodded. "That's why it's good to have several trees. Several supports. People to hold on to."
"Like a forest," said Ted.
"Like a forest."
They were silent for a moment, savoring the metaphor.
"Hey," said Marshall. "What if we do something tonight? The four of us. Like before."
"Like before before, or like before after?" asked Alyx.
"Like before everything, when it was just us and things were simpler."
"Things were never simple," said Lily.
"No, but they seemed like it."
"We can try," said Alyx. "But no expectations. Just being together. Just that."
"Just that," the others repeated.
And so they did. They ordered food. They put on a movie (Ted chose, as always). They talked nonsense (Lily started, as always). And at some point in the night, Alyx fell asleep on Lily's shoulder, with Marshall curled up at their feet and Ted at the other end of the sofa, watching TV with a smile.
It wasn't perfect. But it was them. And that was enough.
The Next Morning
When Lily woke, Alyx was no longer beside her. She found her in the bedroom, in front of the open closet, sketchbook in hand.
"What are you doing?"
Alyx turned. "Adding something."
Lily approached. On the closet wall, beside the other drawings, there was a new one. It was of the four of them: Lily, Marshall, Ted, and Alyx, sitting on the sofa, laughing. In the corner, a note:
"The forest grows. – A."
Lily smiled. "It's perfect."
"It's not perfect. But it's ours."
They hugged.
"You know?" said Lily. "When you left, I thought everything was going to change. And it did. But now that you've come back, even if just for a day, I realize that some things don't change."
"Like what?"
"Like this. Us. The fact that we're always going to be connected, no matter where we live."
Alyx kissed her softly. "Always."
Marshall appeared in the doorway, hair tousled, sleepy face. "What's going on here?"
"Nothing," said Lily. "Just... family."
Marshall smiled and joined the hug.
Ted appeared behind him. "Room for me?"
"Always."
The four embraced in the middle of the bedroom, in front of the closet full of memories.
And somewhere in Brooklyn, in his empty apartment, Barney felt a pang of something he couldn't identify. Then he put on a suit and went on with his life.
Because that's what friends do, right? They go on with their lives. But they always come back.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL PROMOTION
Subscribe today and take advantage of the "THE DUNPHY" discount, valid until! Don't miss a single chapter of this story. IN MY PATREON
If you enjoyed it, leave a Review and Power Stones.
✅ Early access to 22 new chapters
Join LEGEN - DARY Level on Patreon
👉 https://[email protected]/cw/Day_bluefic
@=a
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Barney saw the drawings and felt something (maybe a raisin-sized soul). Alyx came back home and added a new drawing: "The forest grows."
Do you think Barney has a soul, or was it just the moment?
Comment, follow, and support with power stones. 🌲❤️