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3rd POV
Marshall ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket, eyes already scanning the road as he tried to figure out exactly where Ted and Barney were. Ted already gave the address, but they were in different cities right now, and it's already late in the night.
The engine hummed steadily beneath them, beside him, Lily and Robin were glued to the car windows, watching Philadelphia roll by brick buildings, dim streetlights, and streets that felt quieter than New York ever allowed itself to be.
"It's… normal?" Robin finally said, tilting her head as if she expected something to jump out at her.
Lily shot her a look and rolled her eyes. "What? Were you expecting the city to look wildly different from New York?"
"I mean… yeah." Robin smiled and let out a small chuckle. "I kind of expected ghosts or something." She's joking, of course, and she didn't mean to mess around, but Marshall who heard that felt different.
"…Please don't say that," Marshall muttered instantly, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.
Lily just laughed a little and tried to be a brave woman. "I mean, it's not a dead city, Robin."
Then she turned toward Marshall, her eyes suddenly sparkling with very fake excitement. "Hey, should we go to ESP? That'd be cool, right?"
Of course, Lily was messing with him. There wasn't a shred of real enthusiasm in her voice…..she hated ghosts almost as much as Marshall did.
Unfortunately, Robin didn't catch the sarcasm or the joke, instead she felt different too.
"You mean the place where Al Capone was imprisoned?" Robin's eyes lit up. "Should we go there now?!"
"NO!"
"NO!"
Marshall and Lily shouted in unison, making Robin flinch in her seat.
"....Geez," Robin groaned, holding up her hands. "I'm kidding."
She wasn't.
"It's night anyway," Robin added, her voice softening into something thoughtful. "They wouldn't even let tourists in that prison at night… right?"
Her smile only grew wider at the idea of the Eastern State Penitentiary in the dark.
"No one is going to ESP, alright?!" Marshall snapped. "I'm driving, and I've decided we're going to Ted and Barney. End of discussion!"
"...Y..Yeah!" Lily jumped in a little too quickly. "My fiancé is driving, and it's already decided, we're going to Ted's!"
She shot Robin a steel-eyed look that clearly said drop it!.
Robin leaned back in Marshall's seat, unfazed. "...I can drive."
"Oh, come on!"
"Drop it, woman!"
Robin chuckled at their panic and turned her attention back to the passing streets. At least the argument helped push Ted out of her head for a moment.
Marshall exhaled slowly and focused on the road again, brow furrowing as he searched for the house Ted had described. He tried very hard to not to think about everything Robin had just said.
"…Do you think people get stabbed around here too?" Robin's voice floated up again.
Both Lily and Marshall groaned. They didn't even want to answer that kind of question!
When Marshall finally spotted the house Ted had mentioned, after a few times asking directions with pedestrians, he pulled over and shut off the engine. Before anyone could move, he turned in his seat to face Robin.
"Okay. Here's the deal…." he said seriously. "You drop the whole ESP thing. No prisons. No haunted places. No 'scary parts of town.' Ever to Ted!"
He stared at her like a man laying down the law.
Lily nodded firmly, agreeing with her fiancee.
Robin's lips twitched before she let out an awkward snort. "Gee, fine. I won't say anything to Ted. Besides, I'm pretty sure he's a whiny little baby too."
Lily and Marshall exchanged a glance for a second and then nodded in perfect agreement.
"Oh, absolutely," Lily said. "Ted is a whiny little baby. He's even terrified of being left alone in the apartment."
Marshall nodded solemnly. "One time someone told a horror story and Ted freaked out so badly he made us all sleep together."
Robin blinked.
"....Sleep together in the living room," Marshall added. "We couldn't have sex for a week!"
Lily groaned just remembering it.
Robin stared at them, mouth wide open.
Not because of Marshall and Lily.
But because the Ted Mosby they were describing sounded like the most pathetic, scared little nerd she had ever heard of.
And somehow… that made her smile. She knows they are lying! Ted is the one who proposed to watch The Shining after all. Horror Psychologist movie, any scared people will not watch it.
When Robin had called Ted a whiny little baby, she hadn't meant it seriously. It was just a jab and mockery, nothing more. She hadn't expected Marshall and Lily to immediately seize the opportunity to completely assassinate Ted's dignity.
So she only smiled and nodded along.
"Alright," Robin said casually, reaching for the door handle.
Before she could open it, Lily grabbed her wrist and yanked it back.
"Remember, Robin…" Lily said, eyes wide and deadly serious. "…do not talk about anything related to horror to Ted!"
Robin nodded. She tried to get out again.
Lily pulled her back in.
"What?!" Robin shouted, groaning as she fell back into her seat.
Lily ignored her outburst entirely. She leaned closer, her voice low but firm. "Decide what you really want, alright?" Lily said. "If you want to be with Ted, this is your chance. But if you don't, then don't give him even a sliver of hope that you might."
Robin went quiet.
She stared at Lily for a long moment before slowly nodding.
Marshall, who had been pretending not to listen, quietly pulled out his phone and started dialing Ted.
Down in Sascha's basement, before Marshall, Lily, and Robin arrived at the house, the movie had resumed.
After the kiss, everyone had settled back in…..but the atmosphere had shifted.
Barney, in particular, could not stand it!
Ted sat on the couch with Sascha comfortably perched on his lap, her back resting against his chest like it belonged there. Ted's arm rested naturally around her waist, while Sascha leaned into him without a single ounce of hesitation.
Barney's eye twitched.
He rolled his eyes. Then he groaned. Then he rolled his eyes again.
He hated this stupid, cozy, domestic atmosphere.
Sascha was his dibs!
"…Do you want another lemonade?" Sascha asked softly, tilting her head up toward Ted, smiling sweetly.
…Ted smiled back.
..….Barney gagged.
The two other guys in the room weren't any better. Groans filled the basement.
"Man," the Black guy finally muttered, rubbing his face, "just take her to the bedroom already. You're killing us."
Dana, the Japanese guy who worked as a security guard at the Liberty Bell nodded in agreement. They were both Sascha's friends, so none of this was directed at her… but still.
Barney slapped his thigh suddenly and jumped to his feet. "That's it," he declared. "Dana, you and I are going to the Liberty Bell Center."
Dana blinked. "What?"
"We're gonna lick The Liberty Bell!" Barney shouted proudly.
The room went silent.
Dana and the Black guy stared at him like he'd lost his mind.
Sascha did the same.
They were Philadelphians. None of them had ever even considered licking the Liberty Bell.
Because….who the hell does that?!
Ted frowned deeply. "Whoa, whoa, Barney!" He called him with a high voice. "What are you talking about? You can't do that!"
Sascha smiled, touched by Ted's concern. She thought he was trying to stop Barney from doing something stupid again, like bringing an entire suitcase of condoms to an airport before.
....But then Ted continued.
"I'm the one who should lick the Liberty Bell with you!" Ted protested dramatically. "What the hell are you saying, Barney?! You're hurting my feelings!"
Sascha smacked his chest, honestly flabbergasted with what Ted said.
"...You're both idiots," she said flatly. "That explains the suitcase full of condoms at the airport."
"…You brought a suitcase full of condoms?" the Black guy asked, then broke into a grin. "Nice."
He high-fived Barney, who grinned proudly.
"…I've never licked the Liberty Bell," Dana muttered, staring into the distance like he'd just realized he'd wasted his entire career.
"Don't think about that, Dana!" Sascha snapped. "These New Yorkers are stupid and crazy!"
Then she turned to Ted, eyes locking onto his. "If you lick the Liberty Bell," she warned, "I'm not kissing you again."
Ted gasped.
He looked at Sascha.
Then at Barney, who raised an eyebrow slowly, smirking, as if offering a choice.
Choose me… or her?
Without waiting long, Ted leaned down and kissed Sascha slowly.
For a few seconds, Barney's world seemed to shrink. Sascha's hands slid up and wrapped around Ted's neck, holding him there just a little longer than necessary. The basement went quiet.
Barney's frown deepened. The betrayed sting more than any other memory he has!
Something in his expression cracked as he watched Ted make his choice.
Then Ted pulled back. He smiled at Sascha, soft and sincere.
"…I guess that was our last kiss," Ted said gently.
Barney blinked and swallowed Ted's words slowly with his eyes open wide.
Ted turned his head toward him.
"We're going to lick the Liberty Bell!"
Barney's face lit up instantly, like a switch had been flipped. He threw both hands into the air, cheering, then slapped Ted on the shoulder hard.
"I knew you'd choose me!" Barney declared proudly. "As your best friend!"
He puffed out his chest, addressing the room like a general before battle. "Tonight, gentlemen, we make this night legendary. As the first people to lick the Liberty Bell!"
Sascha stared at Barney, completely dumbfounded. She already thinks that Barney's voice is waking up her Grandfather now.
She slowly turned back to Ted, still stunned, speechless for a moment before finally shaking her head.
"Fine," she sighed. "I'm coming with you."
The helplessness in her voice made Ted smile.
"I knew you would," Ted said, leaning in to kiss her again.
Before he could linger, his phone rang.
Ted pulled back with a small groan and answered it. "Hey…oh, Marshall! You're already outside? Alright!"
He slipped the phone away and turned to Barney. "Marshall's in front of the house. Let's go to the Liberty Bell Center together."
"Everybody!" Barney shouted, already heading for the door. "Let's make history!"
The Black guy and Dana exchanged a look, then both shook their heads in disbelief, but followed him anyway.
Ted and Sascha chuckled at Barney's madness before stepping outside together.
Out front, Marshall and Lily were waiting.
But then, Ted stopped shortly. He looked at Robin who's been waiting with Marshall and Lily too. Robin had been watching Ted with an awkward, unreadable expression, but it's until she saw Sascha beside him.
Her brows knit together immediately.
"Marshall!" Barney yelled, already opening the car door. "Start the engine! We're going to the Liberty Bell Center!" Barney jumped into Marshall's car.
Ted didn't follow him. Instead, he walked with Sascha toward her car. Dana and the Black guy climbed into Dana's vehicle.
"—What? Why?" Lily demanded, squinting at Barney as if she already knew the answer and hated it. Of course it's just some stupid thing Barney decided. She and the others followed inside the car.
Barney grinned widely from the back seat. "We are going to lick the Liberty Bell."
The women groaned in unison.
Marshall, however, sat frozen with his eyes opened wide, face glowing with pure excitement.
"Tonight," Barney declared dramatically, pointing at the road ahead, "....is going to be legendary!!!"