Three Days Later. Nighttime. Old Friends Bar.
"Adam!"
Lily waved at him from across the bar.
"Just you? Where's Matthew?" Adam asked, plopping down beside her.
Matthew and Lily were practically joined at the hip—seeing one without the other was rare.
"He's got a paper to finish," Lily said with a grin. "Plus, with the wedding coming up, there's a ton to do."
"Congrats! Finally tying the knot, huh? Lovebirds making it official!" Adam cheered.
Matthew and Lily got engaged last year, and their wedding was set for April—two months away. They were in full-on prep mode now.
"Heh."
Lily's laugh sounded a little forced.
"What's up? Pre-wedding jitters kicking in?" Adam raised an eyebrow.
"Nah, it's not that."
Lily waved it off, dodging the topic. "Enough about us—let's talk about you. Word on the street is you got kicked out of bed and tossed out the door at 3 a.m.! Adam Duncan, down bad! How's that feel? 😏"
"Don't even bring it up," Adam groaned, rubbing his face.
"Come on, spill!" Lily leaned in, eyes gleaming with gossip. "I heard Robin chewed you out all night long. Dude, you really pissed her off this time."
"You already know the story—what's there to say?" Adam mumbled, sheepish.
"I wanna hear your side!" Lily grinned. "Maybe Robin got it wrong, you know?"
"You seriously think that?"
Adam rolled his eyes. "You just want more juicy details!"
"Can't I?" Lily shot back, totally shameless. "I deserve it after my ears took a beating from her ranting about you!"
"How's Ted doing these days?" Adam tried to pivot.
"Nope, no dodging!" Lily cut him off. "Start with how you oh-so-casually dropped 'Sorry, it's a habit' on Robin!"
"Ugh."
Adam sighed dramatically. "Lesson learned, okay?"
It all started when Heather came to adopt Tatiana. Juno and Karen threw a party to celebrate the happy occasion, and everyone joined in. Heather stuck around for two days, showing Tatiana all over New York.
After she left, Robin called Adam over that night.
And then, during their usual debate about the future of humanity, things went south—fast. Adam got a little too loud with his opinion, and Robin was caught off guard, totally thrown.
But later? Oh man, she flipped out. She was yelling, digging through drawers like she was about to execute "Plan B"—pretty sure she wanted to shoot him right then and there!
Adam vaguely remembered that Robin, like Monica, had a pretty grim view on humanity's future. Except Robin was next-level—Monica was physically pessimistic but mentally upbeat, while Robin? She was down bad on both fronts.
So, in a moment of not thinking, Adam blurted out, "Sorry, it's a habit…"
And that loaded little line? Boom—it set Robin off like a volcano. She came at him full force, ready to fight to the death.
Uh… like, actually fight to the death! 😳
Realizing he'd messed up big time, Adam knew he'd genuinely pissed her off. He beat a tactical retreat—aka got kicked out in the middle of the night. First time he'd ever lived that rom-com cliché.
It was a wake-up call, though. He'd gotten careless. Heather's visit had thrown him off—he forgot she was the exception, not the rule.
Good thing it was Robin this time, with her body-and-soul despair about kids. If it'd been Peggy instead… well, he wasn't ready to accidentally spawn some genius future king who'd outshine him and steal all the ladies!
"Adam, you're such a jerk," Lily said, shaking her head. "How do you even say something like that?"
"I didn't mean it!" Adam whined. "Going from simple to fancy is easy, but fancy back to simple? Brutal. I'm struggling here!"
"So, got a plan to apologize to Robin yet?" Lily asked, giving him a look.
"Wait for her to cool off?" Adam said, dead serious.
Clap, clap, clap!
Lily slow-clapped, staring at him like he was some rare specimen. "Wow, you really think being hot lets you get away with anything, huh?"
"It's mostly 'cause I'm in good shape," Adam added modestly.
"…"
Lily's mouth twitched. "She's seriously mad this time. Thinking she'll just get over it on her own? Fat chance. Robin's not your average girl."
"I know," Adam nodded.
Robin was no joke—she was like a mashup of Robin Sparkles and Robin Stabby-Stabby, flipping between personas on a dime. That night? Total Stabby mode.
If she'd had a knife, he might've been toast!
"She acts like she doesn't care about relationships," Lily went on. "She knows you're a player and still hangs out with you, but deep down, she's super possessive."
"Uh… is she?" Adam hesitated.
He did recall Robin scrapping with Alice twice—the second time she suggested it.
"Trust me," Lily said, all smug and expert-like. "After we became besties, she even got jealous of me having other gal pals. How could she not be possessive?"
"Fair point," Adam conceded.
Thinking back, that second fight with Alice was more about revenge. Robin trashed Alice, then strutted off without a care. Later, no matter how much Adam hinted, she wouldn't bite. Push too hard? She nearly lost it.
They didn't talk for ages after that. If her little sister Katie hadn't shown up needing a "reliable jerk" role model to scare straight, they might've been done for good.
On the surface, Robin didn't mind his flirty rep—as long as she didn't have to see it. But once she knew? She cared more than anyone.
That "Sorry, it's a habit" slip-up basically screamed he had more "friends" than just Alice. And she knew damn well he'd never had that "habit" with her or Alice before. New grudges plus old ones? She snapped.
"Now you get it—she's pissed," Lily said, nodding smugly. "Waiting her out won't cut it. You've gotta step up and apologize. So, what's the plan?"
"Let it ride," Adam said, totally straight-faced.
"What?!" Lily's eyes bugged out.
"You said it yourself—Robin's got a strong personality," Adam explained earnestly. "Unless I'm ready to take things further with her, you think she'd accept any apology I've got right now?"
"No… but can't you just get closer to her then?" Lily pressed.
"Sorry," Adam sighed. "What she wants, I can't give."
In his mental "lady friends" ranking, Robin didn't even crack the top three. Asking him to drop everyone else for her? No way.
She wasn't some fairy-tale heroine, and he wasn't some lovesick knight.
Plus, he remembered—in the original timeline, Robin once helped Ted chase girls by flexing a sly move: casually implying other women dumped Ted 'cause he was "too much" in bed. Total BS, of course.
But Adam? His "problem" was real.
Karma's funny like that—even across parallel universes.
"So you two…" Lily trailed off, disappointed.
Robin was her bestie, Adam her buddy—she'd been rooting for them.
"Let it play out naturally," Adam said with a grin. "You said she's not ordinary. She doesn't need you worrying. Maybe I'm already just another name on her list—'sweet one second, dead to her the next.'"
"You're such an ass," Lily sighed. "You know your charm's on another level."
"My bad," Adam chuckled. "Alright, enough of that—how're you and Matthew? You two better not be hitting any bumps."
Lily's face froze.
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