On closer inspection I'm sure that you'll agree

[starneybinson]

Who: Barney and Robin
When: Thursday of giant bruise people week
Where: Robin's room
Summary: Barney goes to visit Robin, knowing that she's worse off than he is, but he doesn't know how the disease has affected his already precarious mind.
Rating: PG-13, for nasty disease monsters
Warnings: Barney. And the disease merits a mention too! And Madi being

Comments

[sparkle_gun]

Robin closed her eyes again as he brushed her hair carefully off her face. She felt suddenly very sick, very small, very childish. She hated being sick at home-- and here she was, in another world (or back in another world was more like it)-- but it was much worse here, with Lily to baby her. Barney did a good job of it.

He was doing a very good job of it, wasn't he?

She blinked once, twice, and then angled her eyes back up at him, shifting again, wincing. She felt hot, and her head was dizzy. Stuffy. Full of cotton. Like she'd been talking to Ted when he was droning on and on about architecture.

She forced herself up to one elbow, so she could look at him properly, hair falling back in her eyes, but she didn't have the energy to brush it back. She looked at him blearily, wondering.

"So... do you... uh..." she trailed off, trying to think of what to say. Goddamn she was stupid. Why was this so hard to just ask?! She had to ask him, she had to... she dropped back onto her pillow, looking up at him, biting her lip hard, and then blurted, "Do you love me? Cuz I heard you and you said it and I don't know if you meant and and and I'm sick and I need to know and I mean, did you ask Ted, Ted looked like he said yes, but he's kind of a hypocrite, don't you think? Like last time? Like... yea. Yea."

She breathed out, blinked, looked up at him, furrowing her brow, wincing yet again, restraining the urge to cough. "So... how about them horse races?"

[ooc: hullo from america! :D heee cubicle]

[starneybinson]

Barney sat there in stunned silence. When had this happened? Had he told Ted...? Wha--??

She knew. He didn't know how, but she knew! She knew the secret he'd been keeping so carefully for a year. A year! What to say, what to do! She was just a woman goddammit! It shouldn't be this hard! But she was Robin, and that changed everything. Usually he'd just either take advantage of the situation and lie (but it wouldn't be lying now would it?) or he'd run away. Neither option shouted at him to take it. Both cursed him that if he took either he'd be digging his own grave.

Then she gave him a buoy. "Horse races?! The horse races are awesome, Scherbatsky!You know, with the horses and the racing and..." he babbled. He was babbling! What the hell had happened to Barney Stinson, Master of Manipulation?! He'd left, huh? Thanks, Bro. Thanks a lot.

(ooc: Facility at work! Yey! You know what I've done today? Tagged and written my Sora app! I'm awesome. I have work to do... heh, I'll do it eventually~~ Sorry for him not answering her. Had to up the awkward, I suppose!)

[sparkle_gun]

Her head was aching about a million times more than before she had asked that question and all she wanted was to fall asleep and make it stop. But Barney just kept on blabbing, kept on talking, and she couldn't shut him out.

"Horses are awesome," she said, trying to raise her voice to drown him out. Oh goddamnit, what the hell. She was Robin Scherbatsky. She wasn't afraid of anything. She had dealt with tougher men than this! But...but... this was Barney.

"Just tell me!" She shocked herself into silence then, trying to drag the hair out of her eyes. The world swam around dizzily for a second, and then refocused, and she slumped back into the pillow. "Barney," she started, stopped, continued. "Barney, I heard you. Are you telling the truth? I mean... are you really telling the truth?"

The silence stretched, thick and awful, and she added quickly, "And I mean, how about them Mets?! I mean, baseball, baseball? What kind of girly sport is that?! They don't even touch each other!"

Why was she so emotionally goddamn retarded?

[ooc: yey! Yes Sora app!! I'm so excited! :D Lol don't worry, Robin's evading just as much!]

[starneybinson]

"Uh huh, girly. Football's for real men! Wait, what? I like baseball!" Babble babble babble, come on, man! Barney, Bro, pull it together. Just remember, you are awesome. Awesome!

"I, uhm, love baseball. It's girly, yeah, but I like girls, I mean... You could say that I love girls, if you wanted to. That's the truth! The real truth. I like truth--" SHUT UP! SHUT UP YOU IDIOT. He clamped his mouth shut, gazing at her, shocked by his own words. Was he getting affected by this thing too? What the hell was going on!?

(ooc: Barney be crazy! Bad metaphor FTW!)

[sparkle_gun]

Robin nodded fervently, feverishly, furiously. He was blabbering on and on about football, not even paying attention to her words, and that was probably a good thing. She'd probably heard wrong anyway, she had to have heard wrong. She was going to ask Marshall and Lily about it, they had to know but... well, she'd been back here before she'd even had a chance to get down to the bar.

"I like girls too," she said along to his tune, anything to keep him talking, and then she shut her mouth. Goddamnit. "I mean, not like that, but I can appreciate another woman, you know? I mean, as long as they're not as hot as me, then really, what's the problem, eh? Am I right?"

He was going on, and her head hurt, and all she wanted was to sleep. Reaching out, she grabbed his hand, warm and steady, and this was stupid.

"I'm going to pass out right now," she told him, in a stretched, pained voice. "My head hurts. Just. Do you really mean it Barney? Do you love me?"

Almost immediately she opened her mouth to say something about the weather, about Japan, about her job, about Ted, Lily, Marshall, his mother, the Queen of England, Canada and how Tim Horton's was so much better than anything in the United States, but she shut it. She was tired. For once, she was tired, and she could think of nothing to distract herself from this.

Probably the headache causing that.

[starneybinson]

She hadn't said anything he could go on a tangent about, she'd given himno choice. Admit it, deny it or ignore it. He could lie, he was good at lying. He hated feelings and commitment and those thigns were likely to get wound into this if he told the truth. Lying. Lying is good! Lying is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

But...this was also a prime opportunity! Or was it? God, why was this so confusing! He wanted this, but he was so damned scared of it! He liked her. He liked her a lot. He could almost say that he lov-- no. Not love. Love was for sissy men like Ted! Not awesome players like Barney Stinson, no!

But she was about to pass out! There was a good chance she would think that this was a dream, or not remember it at all when she woke up? To test the waters or to not? Oh, Barney, Barney, Bro! The most awesoemBro ever was stumped. His mind was whirring. She'd never said how she felt... she might just blow him off and break his heart and turn it back into the black hallow hole it used to be in his chest! Yes! He could count on her for that couldn't he?

He smirked, gripping her sweaty hand. He couldn't believe that he was saying this to a woman who looked like she was about to die, but again, this was Robin. Even like this she was hotter than almost anyone, except for maybe--- NO! Concentrate, man!

Before he could go off on another long rant in his head, he squeezed her hand and said "Yeah, yes, I mean, I do. I love you Robin!" Then he nearly died.

[sparkle_gun]

She heard it through her hazy, half conscious brain. He said yes.

Her breath hitched in her throat, and she thought she was going to pass out right then. How could he love her?! Hadn't she told him friends... and she had been with Ted.. and it was Barney.

"Damnit," she muttered, barely realizing her hand was still clutched in his. "Damnit Barney. This... why?" She was so close to losing it. Her heart was hammering rapidly in her chest, as she tried to focus on his face. "I mean, I'm Canadian! I mean, I know I'm hot and whatever but... damnit. I can't... how about them Yankees?"

Oh goddamnit Robin.

"No!" She cut herself off, before her last words had the time to settle. "How long?" she managed. "Why?" She had a million dizzying questions, each faster than the last, and she wasn't in any state to deal with this right now but she had to know. Her fevered brain wouldn't let her rest until she knew.

[starneybinson]

DAMMIT!

"A year, I don't know. You're hot and smart and fun an funny and just awesome and--" WHat the hell was he saying. No. No, Barney!

He flustered expression changed to one of smooth humor. He lightly punched her shoulder with one hand, letting go of hers. "Hah, I had you going there, didn't I? I did! See, I'm awesome. I don't love you, Robin! Hah, how could you ever think that I, Barney Stinson, would love someone! Like, seriously!" He said it in that bitchy, sarcastic voice of his, smirking all the while.

(ooc: IM SORRY!)

[sparkle_gun]

She hissed when he hit her shoulder, and pried her hand way from his, trying not to appear belligerent at what he was saying.

"Of course," she mumbled, drawing back away from him, further to the wall. "Yea.. don't know what I was thinking. Me, being sick and all. Had to be that. Well duh Barney, I knew you were just having me on."

But she didn't think so. She couldn't think so. That thing with Ted.. that thing had been completely real. She knew Barney, she had known him for years, and that was real Barney. So why...

There was a sinking feeling in her stomach, but it may have been nausea.

"I should sleep," she said thickly, struggling with words as she gazed up at him, trying to read him. "You gonna stick around? Not very interesting when I sleep, sorry."

[starneybinson]

Goddamn it, he'd actually told her than his stupid commitment issues had to get in the way! Why, why?!

"I don't know, I might, I might not. You know, it's cool," he slid a hand through the air to illustrate this, face impassable.

Then he looked down at her in concern. She really didn't look so good, didn't sound so good either. "You sure you're not feeling too awful?" He put a hand to her head, feeling for her temperature, even though he really didn't know how to do that. She felt all clammy...he didn't like it. She was Robin! She shouldn't be put through this. Her job was hell enough, and to put this place on top of it-- He sighed, looking around the dark room. It was quiet, he looked down to see if she really was sleeping, she looked like she was, so he leaned down and kissed her forehead lightly, lips brushing it gently. He smiled a little, then settled in. He wasn't going to leave her. Nope, that's not what Bro's did. Especially not to Bro's they were in love with.