Colorado Springs welcomed Ivy home with a small but genuinely heartfelt celebration, Lex meeting her at the airport with flowers and a hand-lettered sign — OLYMPIAN, in Priya-style enthusiastic capital letters, though this time crafted personally rather than borrowed from her old friend's artistic hand.
"You made your own sign this time," Ivy observed, laughing through happy tears as he pulled her into a fierce embrace.
"I figured I owed you the effort, given the magnitude of the actual achievement." He held her close, genuine joy evident in every line of his expression. "Olympian. I still can't quite believe it, even though I watched the qualification confirmation happen in real time."
"Neither can I, honestly. It still feels slightly unreal."
They spent the following days in genuine,
