While Ted was finding a solution to his work drama (via tequila and hope), another drama was simmering slowly in Marshall and Lily's apartment.
Barney hadn't forgotten his portrait idea. In fact, he had turned it into an obsession, moving from Alyx to Lily, renewed by the discovery of Marshall's nude. Every time he saw Lily, he reminded her of his offer. He sent her text messages with photos of suggestive poses. He left notes on her apartment door with phrases like "Think about it: you, me, a brush, and eternity." He even went so far as to send her a bouquet of flowers with a card that said: "For the woman who will capture my essence. Literally. Because I want you to paint me. Get it? Capture? Okay, it wasn't that funny."
Lily was exhausted.
"He's doing it again," she complained one night while the three of them were on the sofa watching a movie. Well, trying to watch a movie. The TV was on, but no one was paying attention. Marshall had a law book open on his lap. Alyx was sketching in a new notebook—one that didn't contain records of pain, just loose lines and abstract forms.
"Doing what?" asked Marshall without looking up from his book.
"Barney won't stop with the portrait. He's sent me another message. Now he says if I don't agree, he'll hire another artist, but a bad one, and his glory will be captured in a painting unworthy of his greatness."
"His glory," repeated Alyx, still drawing. "That's an oxymoron."
"An oxymoron in a suit with a laser addiction," added Marshall.
Lily sighed. "The worst part is, we need the money. The honeymoon in Scotland... it's expensive. And while Howe Caverns has its charm, it's not the same."
"It has a new kind of darkness," Marshall recalled, with a nostalgic smile. "Darkness you didn't know existed."
"Exactly. And I want Scottish darkness. With castles and lake monsters and people who talk with weird accents."
Alyx looked up from her drawing. "How much is he offering?"
"Barney? Five thousand. Then he went up to seven. Now I think he's at eight and a dinner at one of those Michelin star restaurants with dishes that look like modern art."
Alyx whistled softly. "That's a lot of money."
"I know. But I promised Marshall..." Lily looked at her fiancé with a mix of love and guilt. "I promised he'd be the only one. And a promise is a promise."
Marshall closed the book and looked at her with that expression of his, the one he used when he was about to say something important. "Lily, listen to me. I promised I'd support you in everything. And if painting Barney means we can have the honeymoon we deserve, the honeymoon all three of us deserve..." He looked at Alyx as he said this, including her in the dream. "Then I think you should do it."
Lily blinked. "Really?"
"Really. It's Barney. It's not like he's going to feel anything. He has no shame, no soul. Just suits and a pathological need for attention."
"Hey, that's a little harsh," said Alyx, but she was smiling.
"It's harsh, but it's true. And besides..." Marshall hesitated, searching for the right words. "Besides, I like the idea that our trip will be possible because of something you do. Your art. Your talent. It would be like a part of you is taking us to Scotland, you know?"
Lily got up from the sofa and launched herself at Marshall, hugging him with a force that sent the book tumbling to the floor. "You're the best fiancé in the world."
Alyx watched the scene with a smile. But something stirred inside her that she hadn't felt before—or that she had felt but hadn't wanted to acknowledge.
Jealousy?
No, it couldn't be. She didn't feel jealousy. She had gotten over that. She had been through hell and come out the other side with golden cracks and a heart more open than ever. But there it was—that feeling, small but persistent, like a thorn lodged in an uncomfortable place.
Barney was going to pose for Lily. He would be naked, and Lily would see him. Study him. Capture him on canvas with the same precision and affection with which she had captured Marshall years ago.
It wasn't jealousy, Alyx repeated to herself. It was... discomfort. Yes. That was it. Discomfort at the idea of her girlfriend spending hours alone with a naked man. Even if that man was Barney. Even if Barney was basically harmless in the romantic sense (if you ignored his obsession with sex and his tendency to treat women as targets to conquer).
"Alyx?" Lily's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."
But Lily knew her. After everything they'd been through, after the notebook and the cracks and the gold, Lily knew her better than anyone. She separated from Marshall and sat beside her, taking her hand.
"What's wrong? Tell me."
Alyx hesitated. Saying out loud what she felt meant admitting it existed. It meant giving it power. But it also meant being honest, and honesty was the foundation on which they had built their new structure.
"It's silly," she said finally.
"Silly feelings deserve to be heard too."
Alyx looked at Marshall, who was watching her with that mix of concern and tenderness that always appeared in his eyes when she opened up. Then she looked at Lily, with her green eyes full of patience and love.
"I feel... I don't know. Weird about the Barney thing. About you painting him naked." The words came out fast, as if they wanted to escape before she could change her mind. "I know it's stupid. It's Barney. It doesn't mean anything. But thinking about you, spending hours with him, observing him, capturing him on canvas... and me not being there... it makes me feel..."
"Jealous?" offered Lily gently.
"Jealous? No. Well, maybe. A little. But not of Barney. It's not that. It's... it's the intimacy of the process. What you share with the person you're painting. That connection. That's what makes me... uneasy."
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The offer Lily can't refuse has arrived: Barney wants to be painted. Will it be a disaster or a masterpiece? You decide with your opinion.
Your opinion builds this story: Do you prefer faster-paced plots or intimate moments like Alyx's jealousy confession?
Comment, follow, and support with power stones. Every stone counts for Barney to get (or not) his painting!
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