I wrote a thing because I was thinking about Barney's bus accident. This is my first fanfiction so bear with me.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Flashes of silver follow him everywhere. It's in the cold metal bars at the hospital during his rehabilitation . In the beer taps at the bar. Those damn buses that have seemingly become more abundant during the summer. In the hoop earrings of a random conquest. The grey persists in his life where he had never noticed it before.
He runs to his bimbos as soon as he can stand strong in his suits again, shielding himself from the nightmares that plague his mind. Picking younger and sluttier girls that fill more of his nights, their shrill voices drowning out the flashbacks and the images of Robin that flood his memories on a constant loop.
None of his friends see his slight flinch when the wedding band on Lily's finger catches the light. Or when someone clicks bag buckles against the bar stools. He drinks fast and strong, clinging to the same damaged life style, despite Lily's reprimanding, the familiar mask taking on another role. It's an easy routine to fall back on, a lie that's a comforting habit.
Robin takes a shine to a set of silver and blue earrings that make her look gorgeous, but make him sweat for the wrong reasons. She seems to notice his jaw clench, the first one to do so, when she shows them off to the group and her smile falters at his lack of comment. He covers up quickly and throws out an inappropriate joke, fuelling the conversation and the damage seems to fixed. He stares at the earrings, his free hand shaking under the table, the silver taunting him in a way he can't explain. A comment, made by Ted of all people, about the blue matching her eyes catches his attention and he tears his glance away to finally notice the comparison. It's an uncanny resemblance and he allows himself to look back at those earrings, focusing solely of the blue in the this time.
She carries on wearing those earrings, claiming they go with too many outfits to hide her obvious pride in the way they bring out her eyes, and he tries not to focus on them. Instead, he pays more attention to the way she lights up when someone makes a comment. He finds that he can deal a lot better with silver if he focuses on them other colour instead.
A pattern slowly emerges with the girls he targets. He only notices when, for the first time, he catches himself staring into the eyes of a girl he's trying to pick up. Genuinely staring. Her eyes are blue, admittedly a pretty blue, but they're a shade off. He shakes himself out of it quickly and seeks out a Latin girl instead. He's already trying to fill too many holes in his heart.
It takes him a month to realise that the nightmares are less frequent when his conquests resemble her in some way, especially the eyes. Silver is less frightening when accompanied by blue. It takes another month before his stories to the gang are just stories and nothing more. She is a cure he has no cure for and he's tired of the flailing need to bury every feeling.
Flashes of silver become flashes of blue. It's in the blonde girl that's smiling at him mischievously across the bar. In the tie that hangs in the corner of his wardrobe. The cigarette lighter his boss is so proud of. In the mug she drinks from at home.
Review? C: