Title: I Could Still See the Postcards
Author: Roguester
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own Travis, Lily, Ray, or Bridget. But I think the devil does.

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Chapter 2: Cowboy Hats, Bandannas, and Pink Hair

(Travis)

I could still see the postcards, but everything's okay now. I just needed ten minutes of silence, that's all.

I watched Lily fiddle with the microphone cord and she looked so distant. She seemed so happy and content, but her smile wasn't fooling me. More than anything, I just wanted run up to her and hold her and tell her, "You're not an idiot. You're not an idiot because I feel the same way..."

More than anything, I just wanted to run up to her and hold her, but she's so far away and I miss her terribly.

My friend... my very best friend with the sweat-soaked skin and the cowboy hat. My very best friend who asked me to stay when I decided to leave Roscoe the day of the warehouse party. My very best friend who's my home, my home, my home...

Golden strands of hair fell over Lily's face and she swiped it behind her ear. Tapping her foot on the cold concrete floor, she quickly got up from Robbie's chair and contemplated the door. "I gotta go," she called out, "I gotta get home soon." And it took me a while to register what she said, but before she reached the exit I had already said, "Don't go."

Lily was my home. She was my home and I forgot. And maybe... maybe that's why she was so far away.

Strands of her hair fell over her face again and she begrudgingly combed it back with her fingers. "Why don't you wear your bandannas anymore?" I asked, carefully setting my pencil down as I got up to leave the booth. "Because you said they made me look like a babushka," she replied, shooting me a challenging glance as her face softened into a faint snicker.

She was beautiful. So, so beautiful. And suddenly we were both laughing again.

I handed Lily the rubber band that was hanging from Ray's mic so she can tie her hair up, but somehow I wished she'd worn her bandanna instead. I mean, sure... bandannas made her look like a babushka, but she's my friend anyway.

And she was beautiful. So, so beautiful. But I can't think of her that way anymore because her name was not Bridget. Bridget, whose kiss is still on my mouth. Bridget, who made me so happy. Bridget who is fire.

And Lily was no fire. Lily was just Lily. She was strong, and beautiful, and flawed, but that's why she's so perfect. She was strong, and beautiful, and flawed... and that's why I love her.

"So – you and Bridget," Lily started, "that's some good stuff, huh?" She grinned at me and wiggled a thumbs-up sign at my face but I could tell that the gesture wasn't completely genuine. There was a smile behind her voice and there was a twinkle in her eye, but there was something else she wasn't teling me...

Like relief, and longing, and pain, and happiness, and forgotten first kisses along the way.

But we were here. We kissed right here. I mean, the memory was blurry now, but I know it's still here. I know it still exists, I know it still does, but Lily thinks I've forgotten somehow.

Lily, whose kiss is still on my mouth. Lily, who made me so happy. Lily who was just Lily.

"Yeah... good stuff," I grinned back at her, "you know, I never got the chance to thank you guys. You and Robbie and Ray... you helped out a lot." I playfully nudged her with my elbow and she giggled ever so, but there was a question in her eyes and I'm dying to answer it. "Me?" she asked, "but I didn't do anything..."

And yet she did. She stood with Robbie in that hallway with a smile on her lips as she watched the whole thing happen.

She stood there in that hallway with a smile on her lips and she let everything fall into place.

I leaned over and placed a chaste kiss above Lily's brow, but it was just a kiss and nothing more. She was so far away and I missed her terribly, but she's here now and I'll never let her disappear again. The postcards were still there and so was Bridget, but Lily was no fire and I know it. She was strong, and beautiful, and flawed, and perfect... and she's my friend anyway.

I cradled her face and my hands were so cold, but the kiss was just a kiss and it has to be. Yet when she finally looked up there was a smile on her face and this time I knew that it was genuine.

After a pause that lasted a lifetime or two, she opened her mouth and said something real. "Tell me about Bridget," she whispered, "tell me everything." And from that point on, Lily was distant no more.

We sat on the couch and talked for hours and the bandanna was invisible on her hair. And even for just a moment, we felt like two-pink haired kids talking like it's the old times again. And she's beautiful, so so beautiful, even though she didn't win that election. And I love her, I love her, I love her, I do... but for now, for now this will do.

For now... this will do.

(to be continued...)