The Re-return - HIMYM fic - 3/5
Title: The Re-return
Author: modernxxmyth
Rating: PG-13 for now
Word Count: ~1300
Fandom: How I Met Your Mother
Pairing: Barney/Robin
Spoilers: None, but based on speculation for next season. No real spoilers, though, as long as you've seen the finale.
Summary: This time around, it's Robin's turn to win Barney over.
The Re-return
Part Three
Robin was sad.
It was a strange feeling.
One of Robin's best abilities was the skill of actively avoiding and ignoring her feelings. She knew it was perhaps an unhealthy skill to have, but she was great at it, and it worked for her. The problem with that, however, is that you can't avoid feelings forever. So when they caught up with Robin, they caught up with her hard and fast.
Now that she didn't have the distraction of Matt to keep her from thinking about things, she was sad.
And in need of ice cream. And maybe beer.
She wandered over to the fridge and grabbed a half-eated carton of vanilla ice cream and a cold beer. Robin sat down on the couch and put on the television. She stared at it aimlessly and dumped the contents of the beer into her ice cream.
Ted walked into the room and eyed her creation.
"That looks disgusting. Did you put beer in ice cream?"
Robin gave him a scathing look. "Yes. And it is delicious. Think of it like a root beer float. Just, you know, minus the root."
Ted shook his head. "You need the root. Ew. Why are you eating that anyway? You only that much eat ice cream when you're sad."
She shrugged. "I'm fine."
"You're watching an infomercial. You're not fine. Is it work?"
Robin shook her head, and Ted sat down next to her on the couch.
"Work is fine," she answered, eating a spoonful of beer-soaked ice cream.
"Okay…well, it can't be your family, otherwise you'd be pissed instead of sad, and I don't see your gun anywhere. So…love life?"
Her eyes narrowed.
Ted nodded. "Hit the nail on the head, did I?"
"No," Robin answered mutinously.
"Defensive much?"
"Fine, whatever. Love is stupid."
"Is this about that guy Matt?" Disdain dripped from Ted's voice just saying his name.
"Yeah. That is absolutely what it is. I'm just sad over the break-up," she answered with a giggle.
"You're laughing, so that's obviously not true."
Robin rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. It's not Matt. But I don't want to talk about it."
"Is there someone new in your life?" Ted asked.
She took a bite of ice cream. "Not exactly."
Ted cocked a brow. "Robin, are making a re-return? I'm shocked. You never date the same guy twice."
"I'm not re-returning," she replied. "A re-return takes both parties," she mumbled.
"Oh wow, you really do want to make a re-return. Who with? Because if it's me, I'm very flattered, but…"
She hit him with her spoon.
"Ow!" Ted exclaimed.
"You'll live," she responded shortly.
"If not me, then who? Is Don back from Chicago?"
"Ugh. No. I would never go down that road again."
"Okay, if it's not Don, then…oh my god. It isn't who I think it is?"
Robin ate her ice cream in silence.
"It's Barney, isn't it?"
She ate more ice cream and said nothing.
"It totally is! Wow, Robin, let me say, I did not see that one coming. I mean, you guys ended so badly."
Robin sighed. "I know this."
"Well, I know just as well as you that you can't help how you feel about someone. You want him back?"
"Does it matter? He's not available, anyway."
Ted grabbed the ice cream from her and gave it a try. "This is disgusting."
She rolled her eyes and took it back from him. "I like it."
"You're crazy. That is gross. And you're also crazy if you think Nora has anything on you. Or if you think he loves her like he loved you. I watched him pine over you for months. He's not like that about Nora. He's only ever been like that with you."
"He's happy with her. I don't want to screw that up. I should just let them be."
"Do you think you could be happy with Barney?" he asked.
Robin bit her lip. "Yeah…yeah, I do."
"And Barney would be happy with you. When you're not moping and eating nasty beer ice cream. The Robin I know isn't someone who just gives up. You don't resign yourself to your fate. The Robin I know is a fighter. Why don't you fight for him?"
She didn't know what to say. What was she doing, sitting around pining? That wasn't who she was. Ted was right for once. If she was going to get what she wanted, she would have to fight for it.
"You're right."
It was all she said.
"I know." Ted smiled and took the ice cream away from her.
She thought better of protesting when he threw it in the trash can.
Robin stood up and headed towards the bathroom for a shower. She stopped in the doorway. "Hey, Ted?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"No problem."
A hot shower helped wash the day away and bring some clarity to Robin. She came to the conclusion that she needed to pay Barney a visit. Thankfully, she knew for a fact that Nora was out of town on assignment for the next few days, so she wouldn't be at Barney's place if she were to drop by.
Robin toweled herself dry and slipped into a tight black dress. It was casual, but it certainly showed off what she wanted to accent.
If she was going to do this, she was going to do this right.
She fixed her hair and make-up and emerged from the bathroom fifteen minutes later looking damn good, if she did say so herself.
"Damn," Ted said, eyeing her from the kitchen. "You clean up nice."
Robin grinned. "I know."
"So I take it you're going to go fight the good fight?"
She nodded and grabbed her purse.
"Good luck," he told her.
"Thanks," she replied and walked out the door.
Robin was at Barney's door within thirty minutes, and she had been mentally preparing a speech in her mind all the way there. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
Barney answered a moment later. "Scherbatsky? This is a surprise." He ushered her into his apartment. "What's up?"
"I need to talk to you."
"Okay," Barney replied. "Shoot."
"Here's the thing," she began. "I'm Robin Scherbatsky. I don't take things lying down. And I have been, which is a problem, and I'm not going to do it anymore because that's not me. That's not Robin Scherbatsky. I fight. I've always been a fighter. So I have to tell you something. I know that you're in a relationship. And if you're truly happy with Nora, then I'll be happy for you. But if you're not, and if you've decided that she's not the person you want something more with, you need to know that I'm in love with you."
Barney's eyes widened.
Robin kept going. "And you need to know that I want to be with you, Barney. I'm not just going to stand idly by and watch you be in a relationship with another woman without telling you. I'm putting up a fight. If you don't want me…" her voice broke. She swallowed and continued, "Then I get it, and we can be friends like we always have been. But if you do want me, you need to know that I want to be with you. I want that something more with you. And it isn't for nostalgia's sake. I'm not getting caught up in the past. I don't want the past. Our past relationship sucked. But it won't be like that this time because I'm ready for it. And so are you. And, um…that's what I'm here to say."
Barney gaped at her in silence.
She had been expecting either a positive reaction or a negative reaction. Not a complete lack of reaction.
Robin cleared her throat.
Barney remained quiet.
"Right then," Robin spluttered. "I'm…uh…I'm just gonna go."
She showed herself out the door.
End of Part Three.
Part Four
Author: modernxxmyth
Rating: PG-13 for now
Word Count: ~1300
Fandom: How I Met Your Mother
Pairing: Barney/Robin
Spoilers: None, but based on speculation for next season. No real spoilers, though, as long as you've seen the finale.
Summary: This time around, it's Robin's turn to win Barney over.
The Re-return
Part Three
Robin was sad.
It was a strange feeling.
One of Robin's best abilities was the skill of actively avoiding and ignoring her feelings. She knew it was perhaps an unhealthy skill to have, but she was great at it, and it worked for her. The problem with that, however, is that you can't avoid feelings forever. So when they caught up with Robin, they caught up with her hard and fast.
Now that she didn't have the distraction of Matt to keep her from thinking about things, she was sad.
And in need of ice cream. And maybe beer.
She wandered over to the fridge and grabbed a half-eated carton of vanilla ice cream and a cold beer. Robin sat down on the couch and put on the television. She stared at it aimlessly and dumped the contents of the beer into her ice cream.
Ted walked into the room and eyed her creation.
"That looks disgusting. Did you put beer in ice cream?"
Robin gave him a scathing look. "Yes. And it is delicious. Think of it like a root beer float. Just, you know, minus the root."
Ted shook his head. "You need the root. Ew. Why are you eating that anyway? You only that much eat ice cream when you're sad."
She shrugged. "I'm fine."
"You're watching an infomercial. You're not fine. Is it work?"
Robin shook her head, and Ted sat down next to her on the couch.
"Work is fine," she answered, eating a spoonful of beer-soaked ice cream.
"Okay…well, it can't be your family, otherwise you'd be pissed instead of sad, and I don't see your gun anywhere. So…love life?"
Her eyes narrowed.
Ted nodded. "Hit the nail on the head, did I?"
"No," Robin answered mutinously.
"Defensive much?"
"Fine, whatever. Love is stupid."
"Is this about that guy Matt?" Disdain dripped from Ted's voice just saying his name.
"Yeah. That is absolutely what it is. I'm just sad over the break-up," she answered with a giggle.
"You're laughing, so that's obviously not true."
Robin rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. It's not Matt. But I don't want to talk about it."
"Is there someone new in your life?" Ted asked.
She took a bite of ice cream. "Not exactly."
Ted cocked a brow. "Robin, are making a re-return? I'm shocked. You never date the same guy twice."
"I'm not re-returning," she replied. "A re-return takes both parties," she mumbled.
"Oh wow, you really do want to make a re-return. Who with? Because if it's me, I'm very flattered, but…"
She hit him with her spoon.
"Ow!" Ted exclaimed.
"You'll live," she responded shortly.
"If not me, then who? Is Don back from Chicago?"
"Ugh. No. I would never go down that road again."
"Okay, if it's not Don, then…oh my god. It isn't who I think it is?"
Robin ate her ice cream in silence.
"It's Barney, isn't it?"
She ate more ice cream and said nothing.
"It totally is! Wow, Robin, let me say, I did not see that one coming. I mean, you guys ended so badly."
Robin sighed. "I know this."
"Well, I know just as well as you that you can't help how you feel about someone. You want him back?"
"Does it matter? He's not available, anyway."
Ted grabbed the ice cream from her and gave it a try. "This is disgusting."
She rolled her eyes and took it back from him. "I like it."
"You're crazy. That is gross. And you're also crazy if you think Nora has anything on you. Or if you think he loves her like he loved you. I watched him pine over you for months. He's not like that about Nora. He's only ever been like that with you."
"He's happy with her. I don't want to screw that up. I should just let them be."
"Do you think you could be happy with Barney?" he asked.
Robin bit her lip. "Yeah…yeah, I do."
"And Barney would be happy with you. When you're not moping and eating nasty beer ice cream. The Robin I know isn't someone who just gives up. You don't resign yourself to your fate. The Robin I know is a fighter. Why don't you fight for him?"
She didn't know what to say. What was she doing, sitting around pining? That wasn't who she was. Ted was right for once. If she was going to get what she wanted, she would have to fight for it.
"You're right."
It was all she said.
"I know." Ted smiled and took the ice cream away from her.
She thought better of protesting when he threw it in the trash can.
Robin stood up and headed towards the bathroom for a shower. She stopped in the doorway. "Hey, Ted?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"No problem."
A hot shower helped wash the day away and bring some clarity to Robin. She came to the conclusion that she needed to pay Barney a visit. Thankfully, she knew for a fact that Nora was out of town on assignment for the next few days, so she wouldn't be at Barney's place if she were to drop by.
Robin toweled herself dry and slipped into a tight black dress. It was casual, but it certainly showed off what she wanted to accent.
If she was going to do this, she was going to do this right.
She fixed her hair and make-up and emerged from the bathroom fifteen minutes later looking damn good, if she did say so herself.
"Damn," Ted said, eyeing her from the kitchen. "You clean up nice."
Robin grinned. "I know."
"So I take it you're going to go fight the good fight?"
She nodded and grabbed her purse.
"Good luck," he told her.
"Thanks," she replied and walked out the door.
Robin was at Barney's door within thirty minutes, and she had been mentally preparing a speech in her mind all the way there. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
Barney answered a moment later. "Scherbatsky? This is a surprise." He ushered her into his apartment. "What's up?"
"I need to talk to you."
"Okay," Barney replied. "Shoot."
"Here's the thing," she began. "I'm Robin Scherbatsky. I don't take things lying down. And I have been, which is a problem, and I'm not going to do it anymore because that's not me. That's not Robin Scherbatsky. I fight. I've always been a fighter. So I have to tell you something. I know that you're in a relationship. And if you're truly happy with Nora, then I'll be happy for you. But if you're not, and if you've decided that she's not the person you want something more with, you need to know that I'm in love with you."
Barney's eyes widened.
Robin kept going. "And you need to know that I want to be with you, Barney. I'm not just going to stand idly by and watch you be in a relationship with another woman without telling you. I'm putting up a fight. If you don't want me…" her voice broke. She swallowed and continued, "Then I get it, and we can be friends like we always have been. But if you do want me, you need to know that I want to be with you. I want that something more with you. And it isn't for nostalgia's sake. I'm not getting caught up in the past. I don't want the past. Our past relationship sucked. But it won't be like that this time because I'm ready for it. And so are you. And, um…that's what I'm here to say."
Barney gaped at her in silence.
She had been expecting either a positive reaction or a negative reaction. Not a complete lack of reaction.
Robin cleared her throat.
Barney remained quiet.
"Right then," Robin spluttered. "I'm…uh…I'm just gonna go."
She showed herself out the door.
End of Part Three.
Part Four