The Re-return - HIMYM fic - 4/5
Title: The Re-return
Author: modernxxmyth
Rating: PG-13 for now
Word Count: ~2000
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 Four
It was late when Robin pounded on Lily and Marshall's door until Marshall opened it with an annoyed look.
"Robin? What are you doing here?"
He ushered her in.
"I was kind of hoping to talk to Lily."
"I'll go get her. Help yourself to a beer, if you want…you look like you could use one."
She gave him a wry smile and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. Lily came out of the bedroom moments later and met her on the couch.
"What's going on, sweetie?" Lily asked.
"I did something stupid," Robin replied.
"How stupid are we talking?"
"Literally one of the stupidest things I've ever done."
Lily frowned. "Are you pregnant with Matt's baby? Did you pick up a stranger and get an STD? Did you accidentally shoot sombody at the shooting range? Did you-"
Robin cut her off. "I told Barney how I feel!"
"Oh. That's all? You didn't kill anyone or get Chlamydia?"
"No! Geez, Lily. Why are those your go-to options?"
She shrugged. "Okay, so you told Barney how you feel. Why is that something stupid? It sounds more like something smart to me."
Robin shook her head. "No, no, it was definitely stupid."
"I take it he didn't react well?"
Robin took a large gulp of her beer. "He didn't react at all! If he had said he didn't want to be with me or he wasn't in love with me or something like that, I'd be okay. If he had just simply turned me down, at least I would have something to work with! But no, he doesn't say anything. He didn't respond at all. He just stood there with a stupid look on his face and said nothing. Like he couldn't be bothered. Like I didn't matter at all. So yeah, it was stupid. It was really stupid."
"I'm sure that's not it, sweetie. I know you mean a lot to him. Do you think maybe he was just shocked?"
Robin drank her beer and shrugged helplessly.
Lily continued, "I'm guessing he was just surprised. I mean, he could have handled things better and actually talked to you, but you guys have never been particularly good at communication. Maybe he was just too shocked to figure out what to say?"
"It's possible, I guess. I don't know…I mean, it took a lot for me to say all that to him. And to get no response at all?"
Robin heaved a sigh and finished off her beer.
"What exactly did you tell him, anyway?" Lily asked.
Robin picked at the label on her beer bottle nervously. "Oh, um. Just…stuff."
"Stuff?"
"Stuff," Robin confirmed.
"What kind of stuff?"
"You know…iloveyouandwanttobewithyou…kind of stuff."
Lily gave her a puzzled look at the jumbled words. "So you told him that you loved him and wanted to be with him?"
Robin tore the label off her beer bottle and didn't look Lily in the eye. "That is the truth fact."
Lily grabbed the beer bottle from her.
She played with the hem of her dress instead.
"Robin, I'm proud of you."
Finally, Robin met Lily's eyes.
Lily continued, "At least you told him. You went out and did what you could. And you actually talked to him. There was no way in hell you could have told him anything like that last time around. You're growing. It's good. Go with it."
"I don't like growing if it ends like this."
Lily leaned forward and hugged her. "Maybe it's not over."
A voice shouted from another room, "I'm sure it's not!"
Robin shouted back, "Marshall, stop listening!"
He walked into the room. "You know Lily was going to tell me everything the minute you left anyway."
Robin gave Lily a dirty look.
Lily tried her best to look guilty. "He has a point, though."
"Just give him a chance," Marshall said. "I bet he was just shocked, like Lily said."
"Maybe," Robin muttered and stood up.
She shot Marshall a look. "Don't tell him we talked about this."
"I won't."
She thanked them for the beer and went home.
Robin spent the next three days actively avoiding Barney.
She didn't go to the bar. She screened his calls. She pretended she was sick.
Everyone knew otherwise. She didn't really care.
On day four, she went down to the bar after a text from Lily that claimed Barney wasn't there.
Lily had been lying.
After glimpsing him at the booth from the doorway, Robin went back upstairs.
She knew she was probably being immature. She really did. But she was angry and uncomfortable and embarrassed that for once in her life she had poured her heart out and actually taken a risk that came back to slap her in the face in the form of an awkward silence.
But Robin was well-aware her avoidance of Barney couldn't last forever. She missed the rest of the group, and if she were being honest with herself, she missed Barney. So one week after the incident, she headed down to the bar, clad in a new, comfortable dress she'd bought and did her best to feel ready.
Barney wasn't there yet, but there was no doubt in her mind he would be along soon.
The group greeted her with enthusiasm, and she brushed off their antics and bought herself a scotch.
Just as she sat down at the booth, Barney walked into the bar.
She took a deep breath and downed her drink.
Barney smiled when he saw her, and Robin did her best not to make eye contact.
He pulled up a chair and sat down at the booth with the rest of the group.
They all chatted casually for a while, and Barney and Robin never spoke directly to each other. But it would seem the rest of the group didn't like that because one by one, they all made excuses to leave, trying to get Robin and Barney alone together to talk.
It was just the pair of them then, both nursing scotches quietly.
"You've been avoiding me for a while," Barney said, breaking the silence.
"That I have. Very observant."
He sighed. "I'm sorry, Robin."
"I don't want to talk about it," she told him.
"But I want to tell you-"
She cut him off, "Don't want to talk about it."
"Robin, please, I just-"
"Barney!" She slammed her glass on the table. "I don't want to talk about it!"
He frowned and spoke softly, "Please, Robin."
She shook her head and stood up. Robin looked towards the exit. Some guy was blocking it, chatting up a nearby girl. She glanced towards the back door.
"See you later, Barney."
Robin passed by the bar and left through the back door that led into the alley.
She took just a moment to lean against the wall and breathe.
Apparently, she'd taken a moment too long. Barney came out the door just after her.
Robin let out a noise of frustration.
She turned on him. "What? What do you so desperately need to tell me, Barney? What is it?"
"I broke up with Nora."
Robin was stunned into silence. That had been just about the last thing she had been expecting to come out of his mouth.
She gaped at him. "Oh."
"Oh? That's all I get?"
She shot him a look. "You're one to talk."
"You're right. I'm sorry about that. Really. I was caught off guard. I just didn't expect you to feel that way about me. I never have. I mean, I know we dated, but…I was always kind of afraid things were one-sided. So it came as a bit of shock, and I'm sorry I reacted so badly."
Robin looked at the ground. "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you. I was…embarrassed."
"Scherbatsky! You don't have anything to be embarrassed about. Plenty of women love the Barnacle. I'm a very lovable person."
"Shut up, Barney."
He did. For a moment.
Barney took a tentative step towards her.
Robin spoke, "So you broke up with Nora, huh? Why, um…why exactly did you do that?"
He took another step towards her and cleared his throat.
"Because I'm in love with you."
Somehow, Robin hadn't seen this coming.
"You're in love with me?"
"Yeah, I am. And I want to be with you, too, if that's still what you want."
She took a step closer to him, grabbed his tie, and dragged him towards her.
Barney continued, "Is that a yes, or-"
He was cut off with a kiss. There was a sharp intake of breathe on Barney's part, and then he sunk into Robin's lips, capturing them with a finesse that only he could seem to manage. He backed the pair of them up against the wall and planted his lips firmly on Robin's neck. She let out a tiny, barely-restrained sound of pleasure, and Barney grinned against her skin.
"You know," Barney started breathlessly between kisses, "It's kind of funny that we're doing this here."
Robin gasped as he reached under her dress and trailed his hand upward.
"I don't know, we've done it some pretty weird places. I'm not sure in the alley of MacLaren's is that weird for us…"
Barney palmed her breast and chuckled to himself.
"It's not really about how weird the location is. Three years ago when you and Ted were hooking up-"
Robin cut him off, "Do you really want to talk about Ted right now? Because I was kind of hoping we're in the middle of something here."
Barney continued, "Three years ago when you and Ted were hooking up, I was incredibly jealous but trying not to show it. Yet Ted kept bragging to me about all the sex you two were having, and I had to try and act unaffected. So I would excuse myself and come out here and smash TVs."
Robin laughed. "That sounds healthy."
"Hush."
He slipped a hand inside her panties, and she did just that.
But only for a moment. The gasps and moans could only be contained for so long.
All remaining composure left Robin when Barney dragged a lazy finger exactly where she wanted it.
She reached for Barney's belt and undid the buckle swiftly.
Robin hiked her dress up around her waist, and Barney fished in his pocket for a condom.
Moments later, he was pushing her underwear to the side and thrusting inside her because all of a sudden it felt like there was just no time.
It was desperate and fast and half-clothed, and Robin hiked one leg around Barney's waist. Both of them made noises that could not seem to be contained, and they matched each other thrust for thrust in a frantic rhythm.
It wasn't long before Robin felt a familiar tightening in the pit of her belly and cried out, sinking her fingernails into Barney's back through his shirt. He let out a long moan just after, following in kind. The pair stood, leaning up against the wall together, completely spent.
They adjusted their clothes, and Barney re-buckled his pants.
After catching his breath, he said, "While I would be more than happy to simply continue having sex with you all the time…are we going to do this? The whole relationship thing, I mean. Because I'm in if you're in."
"Do you want to? I know we've both talked about wanting something more, but are you sure? Because I really need you to be sure, Barney."
He kissed her just below the ear.
"I'm sure," he breathed on her neck.
"Okay," said Robin. "I'm in."
Barney beamed and kissed her again with enthusiasm.
Part 5 (epilogue)
Author: modernxxmyth
Rating: PG-13 for now
Word Count: ~2000
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 Four
It was late when Robin pounded on Lily and Marshall's door until Marshall opened it with an annoyed look.
"Robin? What are you doing here?"
He ushered her in.
"I was kind of hoping to talk to Lily."
"I'll go get her. Help yourself to a beer, if you want…you look like you could use one."
She gave him a wry smile and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. Lily came out of the bedroom moments later and met her on the couch.
"What's going on, sweetie?" Lily asked.
"I did something stupid," Robin replied.
"How stupid are we talking?"
"Literally one of the stupidest things I've ever done."
Lily frowned. "Are you pregnant with Matt's baby? Did you pick up a stranger and get an STD? Did you accidentally shoot sombody at the shooting range? Did you-"
Robin cut her off. "I told Barney how I feel!"
"Oh. That's all? You didn't kill anyone or get Chlamydia?"
"No! Geez, Lily. Why are those your go-to options?"
She shrugged. "Okay, so you told Barney how you feel. Why is that something stupid? It sounds more like something smart to me."
Robin shook her head. "No, no, it was definitely stupid."
"I take it he didn't react well?"
Robin took a large gulp of her beer. "He didn't react at all! If he had said he didn't want to be with me or he wasn't in love with me or something like that, I'd be okay. If he had just simply turned me down, at least I would have something to work with! But no, he doesn't say anything. He didn't respond at all. He just stood there with a stupid look on his face and said nothing. Like he couldn't be bothered. Like I didn't matter at all. So yeah, it was stupid. It was really stupid."
"I'm sure that's not it, sweetie. I know you mean a lot to him. Do you think maybe he was just shocked?"
Robin drank her beer and shrugged helplessly.
Lily continued, "I'm guessing he was just surprised. I mean, he could have handled things better and actually talked to you, but you guys have never been particularly good at communication. Maybe he was just too shocked to figure out what to say?"
"It's possible, I guess. I don't know…I mean, it took a lot for me to say all that to him. And to get no response at all?"
Robin heaved a sigh and finished off her beer.
"What exactly did you tell him, anyway?" Lily asked.
Robin picked at the label on her beer bottle nervously. "Oh, um. Just…stuff."
"Stuff?"
"Stuff," Robin confirmed.
"What kind of stuff?"
"You know…iloveyouandwanttobewithyou…kind of stuff."
Lily gave her a puzzled look at the jumbled words. "So you told him that you loved him and wanted to be with him?"
Robin tore the label off her beer bottle and didn't look Lily in the eye. "That is the truth fact."
Lily grabbed the beer bottle from her.
She played with the hem of her dress instead.
"Robin, I'm proud of you."
Finally, Robin met Lily's eyes.
Lily continued, "At least you told him. You went out and did what you could. And you actually talked to him. There was no way in hell you could have told him anything like that last time around. You're growing. It's good. Go with it."
"I don't like growing if it ends like this."
Lily leaned forward and hugged her. "Maybe it's not over."
A voice shouted from another room, "I'm sure it's not!"
Robin shouted back, "Marshall, stop listening!"
He walked into the room. "You know Lily was going to tell me everything the minute you left anyway."
Robin gave Lily a dirty look.
Lily tried her best to look guilty. "He has a point, though."
"Just give him a chance," Marshall said. "I bet he was just shocked, like Lily said."
"Maybe," Robin muttered and stood up.
She shot Marshall a look. "Don't tell him we talked about this."
"I won't."
She thanked them for the beer and went home.
Robin spent the next three days actively avoiding Barney.
She didn't go to the bar. She screened his calls. She pretended she was sick.
Everyone knew otherwise. She didn't really care.
On day four, she went down to the bar after a text from Lily that claimed Barney wasn't there.
Lily had been lying.
After glimpsing him at the booth from the doorway, Robin went back upstairs.
She knew she was probably being immature. She really did. But she was angry and uncomfortable and embarrassed that for once in her life she had poured her heart out and actually taken a risk that came back to slap her in the face in the form of an awkward silence.
But Robin was well-aware her avoidance of Barney couldn't last forever. She missed the rest of the group, and if she were being honest with herself, she missed Barney. So one week after the incident, she headed down to the bar, clad in a new, comfortable dress she'd bought and did her best to feel ready.
Barney wasn't there yet, but there was no doubt in her mind he would be along soon.
The group greeted her with enthusiasm, and she brushed off their antics and bought herself a scotch.
Just as she sat down at the booth, Barney walked into the bar.
She took a deep breath and downed her drink.
Barney smiled when he saw her, and Robin did her best not to make eye contact.
He pulled up a chair and sat down at the booth with the rest of the group.
They all chatted casually for a while, and Barney and Robin never spoke directly to each other. But it would seem the rest of the group didn't like that because one by one, they all made excuses to leave, trying to get Robin and Barney alone together to talk.
It was just the pair of them then, both nursing scotches quietly.
"You've been avoiding me for a while," Barney said, breaking the silence.
"That I have. Very observant."
He sighed. "I'm sorry, Robin."
"I don't want to talk about it," she told him.
"But I want to tell you-"
She cut him off, "Don't want to talk about it."
"Robin, please, I just-"
"Barney!" She slammed her glass on the table. "I don't want to talk about it!"
He frowned and spoke softly, "Please, Robin."
She shook her head and stood up. Robin looked towards the exit. Some guy was blocking it, chatting up a nearby girl. She glanced towards the back door.
"See you later, Barney."
Robin passed by the bar and left through the back door that led into the alley.
She took just a moment to lean against the wall and breathe.
Apparently, she'd taken a moment too long. Barney came out the door just after her.
Robin let out a noise of frustration.
She turned on him. "What? What do you so desperately need to tell me, Barney? What is it?"
"I broke up with Nora."
Robin was stunned into silence. That had been just about the last thing she had been expecting to come out of his mouth.
She gaped at him. "Oh."
"Oh? That's all I get?"
She shot him a look. "You're one to talk."
"You're right. I'm sorry about that. Really. I was caught off guard. I just didn't expect you to feel that way about me. I never have. I mean, I know we dated, but…I was always kind of afraid things were one-sided. So it came as a bit of shock, and I'm sorry I reacted so badly."
Robin looked at the ground. "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you. I was…embarrassed."
"Scherbatsky! You don't have anything to be embarrassed about. Plenty of women love the Barnacle. I'm a very lovable person."
"Shut up, Barney."
He did. For a moment.
Barney took a tentative step towards her.
Robin spoke, "So you broke up with Nora, huh? Why, um…why exactly did you do that?"
He took another step towards her and cleared his throat.
"Because I'm in love with you."
Somehow, Robin hadn't seen this coming.
"You're in love with me?"
"Yeah, I am. And I want to be with you, too, if that's still what you want."
She took a step closer to him, grabbed his tie, and dragged him towards her.
Barney continued, "Is that a yes, or-"
He was cut off with a kiss. There was a sharp intake of breathe on Barney's part, and then he sunk into Robin's lips, capturing them with a finesse that only he could seem to manage. He backed the pair of them up against the wall and planted his lips firmly on Robin's neck. She let out a tiny, barely-restrained sound of pleasure, and Barney grinned against her skin.
"You know," Barney started breathlessly between kisses, "It's kind of funny that we're doing this here."
Robin gasped as he reached under her dress and trailed his hand upward.
"I don't know, we've done it some pretty weird places. I'm not sure in the alley of MacLaren's is that weird for us…"
Barney palmed her breast and chuckled to himself.
"It's not really about how weird the location is. Three years ago when you and Ted were hooking up-"
Robin cut him off, "Do you really want to talk about Ted right now? Because I was kind of hoping we're in the middle of something here."
Barney continued, "Three years ago when you and Ted were hooking up, I was incredibly jealous but trying not to show it. Yet Ted kept bragging to me about all the sex you two were having, and I had to try and act unaffected. So I would excuse myself and come out here and smash TVs."
Robin laughed. "That sounds healthy."
"Hush."
He slipped a hand inside her panties, and she did just that.
But only for a moment. The gasps and moans could only be contained for so long.
All remaining composure left Robin when Barney dragged a lazy finger exactly where she wanted it.
She reached for Barney's belt and undid the buckle swiftly.
Robin hiked her dress up around her waist, and Barney fished in his pocket for a condom.
Moments later, he was pushing her underwear to the side and thrusting inside her because all of a sudden it felt like there was just no time.
It was desperate and fast and half-clothed, and Robin hiked one leg around Barney's waist. Both of them made noises that could not seem to be contained, and they matched each other thrust for thrust in a frantic rhythm.
It wasn't long before Robin felt a familiar tightening in the pit of her belly and cried out, sinking her fingernails into Barney's back through his shirt. He let out a long moan just after, following in kind. The pair stood, leaning up against the wall together, completely spent.
They adjusted their clothes, and Barney re-buckled his pants.
After catching his breath, he said, "While I would be more than happy to simply continue having sex with you all the time…are we going to do this? The whole relationship thing, I mean. Because I'm in if you're in."
"Do you want to? I know we've both talked about wanting something more, but are you sure? Because I really need you to be sure, Barney."
He kissed her just below the ear.
"I'm sure," he breathed on her neck.
"Okay," said Robin. "I'm in."
Barney beamed and kissed her again with enthusiasm.
Part 5 (epilogue)