DISCLAIMER: The characters herein are used without permission. No infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Posted to ff.net with the same title.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
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Keeping Secrets
By SilverTurtle
No one ever commented on the eyes that lingered, the hugs that lasted a little too long, the not so fleeting grazes of hands and goose pimpled flesh rising in the wake of drifting fingers. They never commented on how Lily's eyes tracked Robin across a room, how Lily licked her lips whenever Robin spoke to her, how Lily's cheeks blushed whenever Robin complimented her.
They never guessed it could be anything more than friendship.
And Marshall never mentioned when Lily sometimes whispered Robin's name in her sleep. Or how she closed her eyes and mouthed Robin's name sometimes when she came. Or how he'd walked into their bedroom home early from the road trip, saw their final kiss, and dragged Ted out of the apartment and to a diner down the street for breakfast to give them time to part. He knew Lily loved him, she'd chosen him, married him, and so he let her have her secret and they were happy together.
Years later, when they had all gone grey, when Marshall had passed and Lily was alone in their home no one batted their eyes when Robin moved in to keep her company. No one commented when it was Robin holding Lily's hand on her death bed. No one mentioned how it was Robin who handled Lily's arrangements and executed her will.
They didn't have to. They were best friends, it only made sense.
The End