Co-Fic: Morning After
Technically, this isn't really a fic so much as an RP between me and idioticonion, but I figured that the people who enjoyed Brohemian would also like to read this!
Title: Morning After
Sequel To: Brohemian
Co-Author: idioticonion
Fandom: HIMYM
Pairings: Barney/Lily
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 6300
Summary: AU, set around season one. Barney and Lily are starving artists living together in a run-down apartment building. After a disastrous one-night stand, Barney helps Lily put on a fake art exhibition. They enter into a relationship.
Why does the sun have to get up so damn early?
Sunlight pours into the room, and Lily squeezes her eyes shut in a futile attempt to block it out. She moans in annoyance and rolls over, feeling a strong arm slung loosely around her shoulders. When she remembers that it's Barney's, it shocks her just enough to make her open her eyes.
She looks at him, still asleep, as she remembers last night. The art show, seeing him with his short hair and his suit, and figuring out that she maybe loves him a little (which didn't really have anything to do with the hair and the suit. OK, it did a little. He cleaned up /really/ well). And then the sex. God, the sex. She'd always figured that Barney was about as kinky as Mother Theresa, but if she'd known that her roommate was this good in bed, she'd have jumped his bones a long time ago.
She should be freaking out that she just slept with her roommate. Again. Right? But this time there's feelings involved, and she knows she should be considering how excruciatingly awkward things would be if they didn't work out, but she really can't bring herself to care.
She presses a soft kiss to his cheek and gets up, pulling on his button-down shirt from last night. Where the hell Barney Stinson got a suit, she has no clue. She goes into the kitchen and makes herself some coffee.
---
Barney feels something warm and soft press against the side of his face, and his sleeping brain translates the sensation into being reassuring. He's so boneless right now, so completely comfortable, that it seems like a long climb back up into wakefulness.
Then there's a slight bounce on the mattress and his eyes snap open.
He blinks furiously, raising his hand to rub it across his eyes. When he moves his head his ears feel all cold and exposed and he brushes his fingers across the lobe of one of them.
It all rushes back.
The borrowed suit, the hurried haircut, the phone calls, the phone calls and more of the phone calls. He never wants to talk to one more press person as long as he lives, never wants to fake it like he's some kind of hotshot art dealer. Nope, not even for her, for Lily.
He reaches blindly across the bed, feeling the warm spot where her body must have been. He remembers everything. He remembers her stumbling confession, her exact words. She's "crazy" about him. No one ever said they were "crazy" about him before. His stomach ties up in knots just at the thought. It's such a visceral image, with all these complicated feelings and the risk involved. But, jeez, didn't he know all that, the first time they made love? Like even though she was high as a freakin' kite, he totally knew what could, what would happen?
Her being “crazy” about him, that wasn't expected. Not really. It wasn't something he'd even considered. When did he get so negative?
But then, she's not here, is she? Maybe she woke up next to him, saw his stupid skinny body and his stupid stick-out ears and realized what a terrible mistake she's made? Maybe she's less crazy about him than crazy at herself for sleeping with him again?
He pulls back the covers, getting tangled up in her unfamiliar turpentine-smelling sheets and almost falling onto the floor as he tries to clamber out of the bed and find his clothes. Seriously, where are his boxers?
He wonders if he can sneak back into his room without her seeing him.
---
Lily sips at her coffee. It's cheap and nasty, but it wakes her up. God, when was the last time she was up this early?
She looks over at her closed bedroom door. Should she wake Barney? They have a lot of talking to do, figuring out how this is going to work. Is one of them going to have to move out? It sure as hell won't be her. She was here first, dammit.
But she doesn't want him to move out. She wants Barney to stay, to keep her up all night with his violin, and maybe keep her up in other, more fun ways, too. She wants to keep telling him to take his feet off the coffee table, and she wants him to keep yelling at her for taking too long on the shower. She likes living with him. But she's never lived with a man before. Well, live with-live with. Would it make things weird?
She runs her fingers through her hair. Maybe this was a mistake?
She hears him moving around in her room. She puts the mug down on the countertop and heads over, pushing the door open. She sees him, naked, rummaging for his clothes, and she smiles. She likes him. She really likes him. She hasn't liked anyone like this in a long time.
"Do you want some coffee? Or we could splurge on donuts?"
---
He stumbles over his pants, almost falling flat on his face. He stubs his toe, yelps, then realizes what an ass he's making out of himself. He begins to chuckle, then outright laugh, as he hops over to the bed and sits down.
"Donuts... would be good, right now," he manages, grinning up at her. This is normal, right? Them goofing around, her looking down at him with that long-suffering smile that she always wears? They've been doing this for... since he moved in. It's okay, it's not weird, she's still talking to him, still normal, still Lily.
He's still babbling, if only in his head.
"Lemme get dressed. You wanna go to that place on the corner of 8th Street, you know, to poke fun at all the people doing /brunch/?" He blinks up at her and he sees she's wearing the shirt from last night. She looks amazing and suddenly he has zero interest in moving from her bed. Jeez, she could breathe life into his flagging body even if they'd been making love for days on end, he's pretty sure.
He doesn't want to push it. He doesn't want to come on too strong. But he wants her to move just a little bit closer so he can reach out and take her hand and pull her down onto his lap. Just so he can show her how awake he feels right now.
---
She can't help but giggle as he trips over himself. God, he's such a dork. He kind of reminds her of Marshall in that way.
Oh, crap, Marshall. She'd better call him, tell him what's happened. But, depending on how he takes it, that call could last hours, hours she doesn't want to waste, not when her heart's beating like this, not when Barney's looking at her like that, like he wants to throw her down and ravish her. She didn't think that he was the ravishing type, but you learn something new every day.
She sits down on the bed beside him. "You know, it's only like eight. Way too early for the yuppies to get up." She rubs a hand over his arm. "We have some time to kill..."
She presses her lips against the shell of his ear, and she can see him getting hard. She couldn't care less about Marshall right now.
---
Barney grins as her tongue flicks lightly over his ear and he shifts his weight, grabbing her and flipping her over, down onto the bed. She's so... adventurous, and with curves in all the right places. Deep down he even feels a little ashamed by just how much he likes to ogle her naked body, but he doesn't let it stop him from enjoying this and enjoying her.
He always knew that she must be good in bed - with all the guys she seems to have dated and the secret smile she always wears. He's watched her catch men before, but he never assumed he'd ever get to experience it first hand.
She's an independent woman, she knows her own mind. And Lily's absolutely not the kind of girl to let herself be tied down. It's just...
He grabs her around the waist, one hand sliding under her buttocks, and pulls her up the mattress, kissing and nuzzling her.
It's just she's soft and warm and curves and /breasts/ and it's way too easy to forget about everything else but that.
---
He's on her in an instant, his lips traveling hungrily over her body, and it's like he knows her, knows just where to kiss her, where all of her sweet spots are. Christ, it's like he can read her mind. He flicks open the buttons of the shirt, exposing her breasts, her body. She loves the way his eyes light up, the way he licks his lips and then looks embarrassed about it.
She lets him keep kissing her, her fingers toying with his newly short hair. It really does suit him, although she probably would've used a little less peroxide. Oh, well. She hooks her legs around his waist and flips him over, pinning his hands above his head. She can't help but laugh at the look on his face, half shocked, half turned on.
Is he not used to girls taking charge? Girls who actually like sex? Does he think she's a slut?
She swallows and lowers her head, nipping at his neck. Her black hair brushes over his chest, and she tries to forget that he knows about all the men she's kicked out after sleeping with them, that he knows that when she tried to make a relationship last (which was pretty rare), it never worked out. And she knows that none of the girls he's dated have ever matched up to his ideals, so why should she? What happens when he gets bored of her?
---
He closes his eyes briefly, and tries to get himself under control because Lily, his roommate and friend, she just totally wrestled him onto his back and now her lips are... going down south. He reaches out, his fingers hovering hesitantly over the back of her head, because something inside tells him that he should stop her. But... no, it's okay, he's got to stop thinking about it this way. He's got to stop telling himself that this is wrong.
When her mouth presses wetly over his stomach, his dick stiffens, bobs against her warm skin and it /is/ weird. It is weird to think about last night and that Marshall guy and how he was so sure that she had her own agenda that definitely didn't include her roommate. His fingers run through her hair - it's thick and soft - and even though it is weird and probably is wrong, he's determined not to feel guilty. Because Lily's definitely in charge right now.
---
She drags her tongue across the firm flesh of his abs. She knows he works out - says it helps him play better, for some reason which she doesn't really understand - but she's definitely not complaining. Her fingers dig into his hips as she blows on his dick. She takes the head into her mouth and flicks her tongue over the sensitive skin.
He never actually said how he felt about her. He just let her babble on and bare her own soul, without giving her anything back. Well, other than orgasms. But she likes sex, /really/ likes sex with him. Shouldn't that be enough?
She sucks his cock, his blond hairs tickling her nose. She lifts her eyes to see him, see how she's wrecking havoc with her mouth. He'd asked her if she thought being with him would be so bad, after they had sex for the first time. But does he still want that?
God, she's turning into one of those clingy girls, having to "define the relationship" all the time. A hundred platitudes run through her head as her tongue tickles the underside of his shaft - sex doesn't have to be anything more than that, just because a connection is brief doesn't make it meaningless, everything from the self-justifying commitment-phobes' handbook. But they aren't exactly helping.
She doesn't get it. Why can't she just be happy with this? Why does she have to worry about it ending? Can't she just enjoy the now? But the thought of him not loving her back actually scares her. Jesus, she loves him. How the hell had that happened?
She lifts her head before he can come and sits up, just looking at him. There's so many things she wants to ask him, so many things she wants to say. But she has no idea how to begin articulating it.
---
So, one minute she's sucking on his cock like a professional and the next minute she takes it away, leaves him humping the empty air and sits up, like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. She sits there, all... pert boobs and soulful eyes and he lets out a yell of frustration.
"Lil-" He bites back her name through gritted teeth. "No f-fair!" He's breathing hard now and so near to the edge that it's painful. He always knew she was good at this, he's had to deal with the guys who wanted to see her again after she's tried to dump them, but he never knew she was such a... sexual animal.
She makes him feel a little inept right now.
But god, he wants her. Right now, this isn't about her and her talent and her kindness and her Lily-ness. This is about him just wanting to nail her to the mattress.
---
She blinks at him and shakes her head. She kind of goes on autopilot. She's good at this, she knows that much, and she's going to show him a good time, even if that's all he wants from her.
She moves down his body again, between his legs, and she coaxes him onto his side. She grabs his dick and pumps it with her fist. She focuses on it, not moving her gaze, biting her lip in concentration. She pushes her boobs forward, so his dick's nestled in her cleavage.
She idly wonders if he's ever been with a girl who'd let him come on her tits before.
---
He comes - in three quick, hot pulses, because he's never- She's never-
He squeezes his eyes tight shut for a moment and grits his teeth, losing it as he actually thrusts up between her breasts and his come shoots out over them, around her neck.
It's kind of achingly embarrassing yet the hottest thing anyone's ever done to him. At the same time. Ever.
His cheeks flame red because it's like he's treating her like a whore or something, or she's acting like one, but he doesn't think he's ever come so hard and he actually feels quite shaky.
---
He's as red as a beet when she sits up and reaches for a tissue. His cum's mostly on her boobs and her neck, although some of it got on her face, her belly. She's calm about it, like she does this every day (she /so/ doesn't).
She looks down, making sure she got all of it, when she sees a small splatter on the blue fabric of the shirt. She'd almost forgotten she was still wearing it.
"Oops," she says, smiling. "This isn't a rental, is it?" She pulls it all the way off and scrubs at it with a fresh tissue. She holds it up to the light. "That look OK to you?"
She looks over at him, and he's staring at her, slack-jawed and incredulous. She can't help but smirk. "What?"
---
He swallows hard. "Uh, no. No, the shirt's... for work? When I play with the orchestra at..." He stumbles over his words because she's so brazen and casual and he's not sure how to play this. She probably wants some guy who'll act totally cool, some Backstreet Boy who’s done this all before. "It's okay, I mean. I'll just take it down to the laundromat or something?"
She smiles like she's got some big secret, like he amuses her, and he scootches forward because he wants to kiss the look right off her face. But then he hesitates. Is kissing okay?
---
He moves closer to her, and her heart's beating way too fast for this. She swallows. "OK. I mean, I guess I could spring for dry cleaning, since I have all of this... disposable... income..."
His face is quite close to hers, and her eyes drift down to his lips. He looks hesitant. She puts the shirt down on her lap and leans forward to kiss him, just softly. When she makes contact, she feels a sort of vibration go through her, a secret thrill. She smiles against his lips and tugs on his arm, pulling him closer. She loves him. In this one second, the fact that he probably doesn't feel the same way doesn't matter so much.
---
He pulls her down onto the bed. "It's okay," he says, between kisses. "I think I can cope with cleaning one shirt." He doesn't like to say that it's his only nice shirt and that he borrowed the suit off another guy and he feels damn uncomfortable in a suit anyway.
He'd much rather be naked.
He runs his hand along her side and marvels at how soft she is, how her skin feels all warm and supple under his calloused fingertips. She always looked small and focused and full of fire and purpose. Who knew that underneath she was kinda dirty and playful and /soft/?
---
Wow, can he really be up for round two already? Not that she minds, of course. After all, the only thing she got from earlier was the satisfaction of seeing his face when he came on her. She wants a little more than satisfaction this time around. His fingers wander across her body, just exploring, as his lips tease hers, and her hands run over his back.
His lips only leave hers for a second, she could swear it, but she manages to blurt out, "What do I mean to you?" And then she feels herself blush, to the roots of her hair, like only redheads can. "H-how do you feel about me?"
He pulls away, and, oh, God, she's blown it.
---
"W-what?"
The word comes out before he can censor it, or before his lips can catch up with his brain. One second, he's kissing her, and stroking her, and generally worshipping her naked body and the next... She's awkward and talking and what the hell?
"He do-?"
She's got a weird look on her face, a slightly desperate look, a guilty look, and he has no idea what's going on.
"You're-" He stops. How does he feel about her? What does she mean to him? There's something there, something which started as a very definite one-night stand. Something which has grown and blossomed into a myriad of feelings. "I'm naked and in bed with you, Lily, how do you think I feel about you?"
He smiles, nervously, because he wonders where this all comes from. Then he wonders if-
"Do you think we're moving too fast? Oh god, you do. I'm sorry..." He blurts the apology and inches back across the mattress. Does she think he's got it so bad for her that he's going to follow her around like those other lovesick losers? Is she scared of being tied down by him? He can give her space. If him sleeping in her room was freaking her out, he can give her space.
---
"No, no!" she blurts, and she immediately bites it back. God, she sounds so desperate. "I don't think we're moving too fast. It's... it's good. I like this speed." This is why she hates the Talk. She always sounds like a complete ass.
"It's just that..." She gulps, hoping that it will quell the knot of anxiety forming in her stomach. It fails to work. "I like you. A lot. I really, really... like you." She looks over at him, and he seems so far away. Too far away. "I've had plenty of guys naked and in my bed - does that freak you out? I mean, I'd get it if it did, if you thought I was..." She's rambling again. She takes another deep breath. "My point is, I've slept with plenty of people who didn't care at all about me. And I want you. To... to care about me."
She blushes furiously and looks down. God, she's such an idiot.
---
He reaches out to her. "Lil?" She folds her arms across her chest and she just looks so vulnerable, so awkward. He's never seen her like this. It brings out the protective instinct in him.
"Lil, of course I care about you!" He tries to smile. "Jeez, Lily, I helped you put on a fake art exhibition, for, like, nothing. And it was... awesome!" He shifts across the mattress towards her, holding out his arms. "I care about you, okay? I'm not gonna... whatever? Whatever it is you're worried about."
He gulps, thinking about this. "What are you worried about?"
---
Lily breathes a sigh of relief as he wraps his arms around her. She knew that, she absolutely knew that. She should've known that.
"I don't know," she says, shaking her head. "It's just... I'm not good at this couple stuff. I mean, I completely screwed up my last major relationship, and that was when I was 21. And ever since then..." She stops. "And I thought that I wouldn't be able to meet your expectations. I keep thinking that in two weeks, when the novelty wears off, you're going to start noticing all of the bad things about me, and... not want to be with me."
She laughs, weakly. "God, I must sound so crazy right now."
---
He shakes his head, completely floored by what she's saying. "Lil- Lil- stop it. You're not crazy. God- you think I'm good at relationships? I mean, have you seen me buried in action since I've been living here? You know what a disaster I am." He chuckles, kissing her hair. "I know my expectations are always totally unreasonable. But hey, don't you see? That's why you're so perfect. I already know all these things about you and they aren't so bad. Well, maybe except when you leave your paintbrushes in the sink, which I've told you fifty times-"
He laughs, pulling her close. "We already live together? What could possibly...?"
But then he sees it, what he's been blind to. If this thing gets serious, if he and Lily fall in love and it goes wrong... then he'll have to move out and it'll be horrible.
It's like... maybe there should be some rule about this? Some guideline about dating the people you see every day? Someone should make up a rule because he really doesn't know what to do for the best.
"Look, all I know is that right now, when I see you my heart skips a beat. You can't tell me this isn't worth the risk because it so totally is." He lifts her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Isn't it?"
---
She smiles up at him. "Yeah. Yeah, it's worth it." Barney makes her happy. And she knows that she doesn't need anyone else in her life to fulfill her, that being single isn't a bad thing, but she wants to be with him, even if it turns out to be a huge mistake. She really wants this.
She pulls him close and kisses him. His lips are soft, and he smells amazing. Once the stink of patchouli fades, he smells kind of earthy and male, and she sort of gets carried away, because next thing she knows she's on her back again. She chuckles. "Let's just get back to sex. Stick with what we're good at."
---
He can't help but grin at her words. "You think I'm /good/ at it?" He can't help but be flattered. Women can be so cruel sometimes, can dash a man's confidence with a harsh word. He's been on the wrong end of many a demanding, acid tongue. He doesn't know why he always goes for the same type of women - strong minded, forceful. He guess it's just that he always wants to be certain that she's going to bed with him for the right reasons - because she likes him, not just for some meaningless one night stand. He's always a little terrified that someday a girl's going to turn around and accuse him of being sexist just for taking an interest in her body. And it's not like he goes to strip clubs or anything!
Boy, it's hard to be a guy in these PC days.
That's not to say that his ego doesn't sit up and take notice at what Lily says. He just puts it down to being something primal that all men have in them.
---
She chuckles at his expression. He looks kind of shocked. "Well, you know me. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." She kisses him, letting her hands drift over his chest. "And I don't let just any guy come back for an encore."
He's staring at her body like he's never seen a naked woman before. Usually she gets sick of how some of the guys treat her, like they're in awe of her, like she's some goddess or work of art, and not a person. But with him, it's kind of sweet. There's something endearingly dopey, almost virginal about him that appeals to her. Maybe he brings out the mother in her?
But then he starts preening a little, and she rolls her eyes. She's been with the overconfident type, too, the ones with bodies straight out of workout equipment commercials, with perfect hair, skin, and teeth. The ones who grace you with their presence and almost invariably turn out to be absolutely awful in bed. Barney could do with a confidence boost, sure, but she doesn't want him to turn into a jerk.
"Come on, Casanova," she says, grabbing a condom from the bedside table and pushing it into his hand. "I'm waiting."
---
He can't help but grin, tearing clumsily at the square of foil. "Mmm. Casanova. We did a piece once... the orchestra. I'll have to play it for you... sometime..." He attempts to kiss her AND put the condom on at the same time but fails spectacularly, pulling back and laughing. "I guess it's true what they say, guys can only do one thing at a time!" He finally manages to roll the condom on and sinks back down on top of her.
He almost can't believe this is real, but he's not going to waste time worrying about it. He kisses her again, hard and passionately.
---
She fixes his face between her hands as she kisses him back, hungrily. She's still so turned on from earlier, from when she was blowing him, it's almost painful. And then he's doing that thing with his fingers, and she can't stop herself from biting his lip and letting out a squeal. She can't for the life of her figure out just what it is about him that drives her crazy like this, but she doesn't care all that much.
"Hurry up and fuck me," she moans. She knows she sounds needy, slutty, wanton. Still doesn't care. His hand is on her face, and she flicks her tongue over one finger, taking it into her mouth, sucking it.
They might not last. This might be too difficult to balance, and neither of them were ever any good at keeping people around. But if she only has him for a little while, she's sure as hell going to enjoy him while he's here.
---
"Okay, okay. Jeez, Lil!"
He chuckles into her mouth and nudges her legs apart with his knee, lifting her hips slightly so that when he slides into her he goes deep and firm and hard, knowing now that it's how she likes it.
He feels her fingernails dig into the flesh of his back, into his bicep where she grabs him, and he thrusts into her, hard and sharp.
---
"Harder..." She clings to him, desperate for as much friction as she can get, loving the feel of skin on skin. She's always enjoyed sex, right from when she lost her virginity. Every man’s different, and she can usually tell right off the bat what he's going to be like. But Barney, he was a surprise. A very nice surprise.
He's got this rhythm going, fast, almost brutal, fucking her right into the mattress, and she wonders what his secret is. God, they're doing it in white-bread-and-mayonnaise missionary, but he's still able to blow her mind. It's something about the angle, the way he seems to know exactly where her G-spot is. She can't grasp onto any coherent line of thought.
"Aaah!" Her eyes snap open when she comes, shaking in his arms. She must've orgasmed a thousand times since she first tentatively touched herself under her bed covers, but she swears it's better every time.
---
He feels her come, clenching around him and clawing at his back, and he holds her down, lets it crash through her, and then he kisses her throat, the underside of her jaw, still hard inside her. This is weird for him - he guesses it's because she blew him earlier, but he always wanted to take a girl to the next level. He loves that the girl happens to be her.
"You wanna go again, Lil?" He waggles his eyebrows, hoping she's not too sensitive.
---
She blinks up at him. "What?" And then he moves slightly, and it hits her. He hasn't come yet. He still...
She laughs, a little manically. "Fuck yeah."
---
He takes her weight, wrapping one arm around her waist, the other hand supporting her ass, and he rears up so that he's kneeling upright, Lily now on his lap, her legs gripping tight around his waist. "Better?" He grins, bouncing her.
---
She lets out a lustful groan in response, unable to manage anything more intelligible. She tightens her arms around his back, just holding on for dear life. She's still so boneless from last time that she can barely lift her hips to help him.
"Oh, God..." He's driving up, deeper into her, and it's torturously good. She opens her eyes, and he's got this huge triumphant grin on his face. "Bar-arney --"
Her spine snaps straight as she cries out. Then she slumps forward, resting her head on his shoulder. Barney's secretly completely evil in all the right ways.
---
He feels her tighten again, feels her body shudder and watches her face as she comes and it sends him over, hard and fast and aching, until he's exploding, rocketing inside her with a low groan. The sensation goes on and on and it makes him feel ten feet tall, like he can do anything, achieve anything.
He slowly releases his grip on her and she clings to him, panting. /He/ made her feel like this. Him.
Dear GOD he loves sex.
---
Eventually she sinks back to the bed, not moving, just enjoying this perfect still ecstasy. She feels his hand on her skin, and she pulls him close. She could never admit it, but she likes cuddling, being close to someone. But letting guys hold her usually causes too many problems the next morning. It feels OK, though, with Barney.
She presses her forehead into his shoulder and smiles against his skin. "So, are we going to brunch, or we just going to lounge in bed all day?" They can always order in something, if they get hungry.
---
He snuggles up against her with a sigh and closes his eyes. God he loves holding her like this, having her wrapped around him and basking in the glow of her. When she's all warm and loose and happy. He wants to take the time to appreciate what he's given her, and wallow in it a little. He never gets those guys and girls who want to split right after the dirty deed. Seriously, what's wrong with a little closeness? He may be old-fashioned, but really this is the best part. This is the reward he gets for everything else. Just lying here, with her.
He breathes in deep and smiles. "I'm happy here right now. But whatever you want. If you're hungry...?"
---
She shakes her head. "No, not right now. Just... mmmm..." He feels so good against her. She doesn't want to move, ever.
"Later, I've got... some stuff to do. Have to call back some people... better talk to Marshall... I kind of left him on his own all night."
---
Marshall? Is she talking about-
Is she /really/ talking about that douchebag ex-boyfriend of-
/Really/?
He pulls away from her. Doesn't she have any idea that the guy wants to nail her? Didn't she see the way he was looking at her?
Jealousy flares up inside him, out of nowhere, burning.
---
Barney jerks away from her, and she opens her eyes to see this weird expression on his face. If she didn't know any better, she'd say it was rage.
But this is /Barney/! He's the most easy-going guy she knows. And, yeah, he gets upset over deforestation and censorship and civil rights, but he doesn't get...
"You're jealous," she says, incredulously. Barney's jealous of Marshall. He looks like he wants to hit something, because he thinks she's into another guy.
She's pretty sure that being flattered is the wrong reaction to that.
---
He shakes his head dumbly, appalled by how he feels, by the anger that's consuming him. Then he gets even more annoyed because she's got that look in her eyes like she's slightly amused.
"No! Hey! I mean, I've got no right to tell you who you're- you're- who you want to- you know?"
But he wants to. He wants to revert, deconstruct himself. "I'm not gonna... go all caveman on your ass and hit you over the head with a club or something."
But that's exactly what he wants to do. Or hit Marshall. Right in his stupid face.
---
She shakes her head. "You don't have to worry. I don't feel that way about him anymore." She sits up. "I mean, he's always going to be important to me, of course he is. But..."
She bites her lip. "He's been holding me back. Marshall was always my big regret. When my life didn't turn out the way I thought it would, I started wondering if I made a mistake leaving him. I kind of put him on this pedestal, you know? The One Who Got Away. And I couldn't let go of that.
"But now I've seen him, and I know what he is. He's a guy I used to love, and now I don't anymore. That's it. And because of him, I went through six years of my life wondering if everything I did was a mistake. And I hate that." She takes Barney's hand. "I know better now. This, you and me? This isn't a mistake. It's not an accident, and it's not something I'm going to regret. It's real."
She lifts her other hand to his face, running a thumb over those gorgeous cheekbones of his. "Don't be jealous?" She laughs. "OK, be a little jealous, because it's kinda hot, but... you know?"
---
He smiles as she touches his face and gives him a tiny kiss in the corner of his mouth. "I can't help it, Lil. Whatever you say, I know that he's totally into you. The way he was looking at you last night. Just..." She kisses him again and he runs his fingers over her freckled shoulder. "Just make it clear to him, yeah? Because I'm not exactly a fighter, but if he came anywhere near you with any less-than-honorable intentions..." He scowls, thinking about what he'd do.
---
"Please. He's from Minnesota. He'd kick the shit out of you." She chuckles as she looks into his eyes. "It'll be fine. I promise." She does feel bad about Marshall, though. It's not his fault that she was confused enough to kiss him, not his fault that she let nostalgia run away with her. She'll apologize to him properly, see if maybe they can't be friends of some sort.
But for now, she's with Barney, and she wants to focus on him, nothing else.
She presses a kiss into the spot where his shoulder meets his neck, then letting her lips move across his collar, up his neck, over his jaw. She can't say how she really feels about him, can't bring herself to admit out loud that she loves him. Not yet. So she puts it into her kisses, pressing it into his skin, hoping that somehow he gets the message.
---
He can't help but smile because her lips on his skin take away the slight irritation he feels that she thinks he's a weakling. He's not. Just because he's a pacifist and would totally never hit Marshall, no matter how much the big lunk deserved it, doesn't mean he /couldn't/ if he wanted to.
He pulls her close and holds her tight. She's his. She's naked and he thinks she's his. And right now, that's good enough for him.
Title: Morning After
Sequel To: Brohemian
Co-Author: idioticonion
Fandom: HIMYM
Pairings: Barney/Lily
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 6300
Summary: AU, set around season one. Barney and Lily are starving artists living together in a run-down apartment building. After a disastrous one-night stand, Barney helps Lily put on a fake art exhibition. They enter into a relationship.
Why does the sun have to get up so damn early?
Sunlight pours into the room, and Lily squeezes her eyes shut in a futile attempt to block it out. She moans in annoyance and rolls over, feeling a strong arm slung loosely around her shoulders. When she remembers that it's Barney's, it shocks her just enough to make her open her eyes.
She looks at him, still asleep, as she remembers last night. The art show, seeing him with his short hair and his suit, and figuring out that she maybe loves him a little (which didn't really have anything to do with the hair and the suit. OK, it did a little. He cleaned up /really/ well). And then the sex. God, the sex. She'd always figured that Barney was about as kinky as Mother Theresa, but if she'd known that her roommate was this good in bed, she'd have jumped his bones a long time ago.
She should be freaking out that she just slept with her roommate. Again. Right? But this time there's feelings involved, and she knows she should be considering how excruciatingly awkward things would be if they didn't work out, but she really can't bring herself to care.
She presses a soft kiss to his cheek and gets up, pulling on his button-down shirt from last night. Where the hell Barney Stinson got a suit, she has no clue. She goes into the kitchen and makes herself some coffee.
---
Barney feels something warm and soft press against the side of his face, and his sleeping brain translates the sensation into being reassuring. He's so boneless right now, so completely comfortable, that it seems like a long climb back up into wakefulness.
Then there's a slight bounce on the mattress and his eyes snap open.
He blinks furiously, raising his hand to rub it across his eyes. When he moves his head his ears feel all cold and exposed and he brushes his fingers across the lobe of one of them.
It all rushes back.
The borrowed suit, the hurried haircut, the phone calls, the phone calls and more of the phone calls. He never wants to talk to one more press person as long as he lives, never wants to fake it like he's some kind of hotshot art dealer. Nope, not even for her, for Lily.
He reaches blindly across the bed, feeling the warm spot where her body must have been. He remembers everything. He remembers her stumbling confession, her exact words. She's "crazy" about him. No one ever said they were "crazy" about him before. His stomach ties up in knots just at the thought. It's such a visceral image, with all these complicated feelings and the risk involved. But, jeez, didn't he know all that, the first time they made love? Like even though she was high as a freakin' kite, he totally knew what could, what would happen?
Her being “crazy” about him, that wasn't expected. Not really. It wasn't something he'd even considered. When did he get so negative?
But then, she's not here, is she? Maybe she woke up next to him, saw his stupid skinny body and his stupid stick-out ears and realized what a terrible mistake she's made? Maybe she's less crazy about him than crazy at herself for sleeping with him again?
He pulls back the covers, getting tangled up in her unfamiliar turpentine-smelling sheets and almost falling onto the floor as he tries to clamber out of the bed and find his clothes. Seriously, where are his boxers?
He wonders if he can sneak back into his room without her seeing him.
---
Lily sips at her coffee. It's cheap and nasty, but it wakes her up. God, when was the last time she was up this early?
She looks over at her closed bedroom door. Should she wake Barney? They have a lot of talking to do, figuring out how this is going to work. Is one of them going to have to move out? It sure as hell won't be her. She was here first, dammit.
But she doesn't want him to move out. She wants Barney to stay, to keep her up all night with his violin, and maybe keep her up in other, more fun ways, too. She wants to keep telling him to take his feet off the coffee table, and she wants him to keep yelling at her for taking too long on the shower. She likes living with him. But she's never lived with a man before. Well, live with-live with. Would it make things weird?
She runs her fingers through her hair. Maybe this was a mistake?
She hears him moving around in her room. She puts the mug down on the countertop and heads over, pushing the door open. She sees him, naked, rummaging for his clothes, and she smiles. She likes him. She really likes him. She hasn't liked anyone like this in a long time.
"Do you want some coffee? Or we could splurge on donuts?"
---
He stumbles over his pants, almost falling flat on his face. He stubs his toe, yelps, then realizes what an ass he's making out of himself. He begins to chuckle, then outright laugh, as he hops over to the bed and sits down.
"Donuts... would be good, right now," he manages, grinning up at her. This is normal, right? Them goofing around, her looking down at him with that long-suffering smile that she always wears? They've been doing this for... since he moved in. It's okay, it's not weird, she's still talking to him, still normal, still Lily.
He's still babbling, if only in his head.
"Lemme get dressed. You wanna go to that place on the corner of 8th Street, you know, to poke fun at all the people doing /brunch/?" He blinks up at her and he sees she's wearing the shirt from last night. She looks amazing and suddenly he has zero interest in moving from her bed. Jeez, she could breathe life into his flagging body even if they'd been making love for days on end, he's pretty sure.
He doesn't want to push it. He doesn't want to come on too strong. But he wants her to move just a little bit closer so he can reach out and take her hand and pull her down onto his lap. Just so he can show her how awake he feels right now.
---
She can't help but giggle as he trips over himself. God, he's such a dork. He kind of reminds her of Marshall in that way.
Oh, crap, Marshall. She'd better call him, tell him what's happened. But, depending on how he takes it, that call could last hours, hours she doesn't want to waste, not when her heart's beating like this, not when Barney's looking at her like that, like he wants to throw her down and ravish her. She didn't think that he was the ravishing type, but you learn something new every day.
She sits down on the bed beside him. "You know, it's only like eight. Way too early for the yuppies to get up." She rubs a hand over his arm. "We have some time to kill..."
She presses her lips against the shell of his ear, and she can see him getting hard. She couldn't care less about Marshall right now.
---
Barney grins as her tongue flicks lightly over his ear and he shifts his weight, grabbing her and flipping her over, down onto the bed. She's so... adventurous, and with curves in all the right places. Deep down he even feels a little ashamed by just how much he likes to ogle her naked body, but he doesn't let it stop him from enjoying this and enjoying her.
He always knew that she must be good in bed - with all the guys she seems to have dated and the secret smile she always wears. He's watched her catch men before, but he never assumed he'd ever get to experience it first hand.
She's an independent woman, she knows her own mind. And Lily's absolutely not the kind of girl to let herself be tied down. It's just...
He grabs her around the waist, one hand sliding under her buttocks, and pulls her up the mattress, kissing and nuzzling her.
It's just she's soft and warm and curves and /breasts/ and it's way too easy to forget about everything else but that.
---
He's on her in an instant, his lips traveling hungrily over her body, and it's like he knows her, knows just where to kiss her, where all of her sweet spots are. Christ, it's like he can read her mind. He flicks open the buttons of the shirt, exposing her breasts, her body. She loves the way his eyes light up, the way he licks his lips and then looks embarrassed about it.
She lets him keep kissing her, her fingers toying with his newly short hair. It really does suit him, although she probably would've used a little less peroxide. Oh, well. She hooks her legs around his waist and flips him over, pinning his hands above his head. She can't help but laugh at the look on his face, half shocked, half turned on.
Is he not used to girls taking charge? Girls who actually like sex? Does he think she's a slut?
She swallows and lowers her head, nipping at his neck. Her black hair brushes over his chest, and she tries to forget that he knows about all the men she's kicked out after sleeping with them, that he knows that when she tried to make a relationship last (which was pretty rare), it never worked out. And she knows that none of the girls he's dated have ever matched up to his ideals, so why should she? What happens when he gets bored of her?
---
He closes his eyes briefly, and tries to get himself under control because Lily, his roommate and friend, she just totally wrestled him onto his back and now her lips are... going down south. He reaches out, his fingers hovering hesitantly over the back of her head, because something inside tells him that he should stop her. But... no, it's okay, he's got to stop thinking about it this way. He's got to stop telling himself that this is wrong.
When her mouth presses wetly over his stomach, his dick stiffens, bobs against her warm skin and it /is/ weird. It is weird to think about last night and that Marshall guy and how he was so sure that she had her own agenda that definitely didn't include her roommate. His fingers run through her hair - it's thick and soft - and even though it is weird and probably is wrong, he's determined not to feel guilty. Because Lily's definitely in charge right now.
---
She drags her tongue across the firm flesh of his abs. She knows he works out - says it helps him play better, for some reason which she doesn't really understand - but she's definitely not complaining. Her fingers dig into his hips as she blows on his dick. She takes the head into her mouth and flicks her tongue over the sensitive skin.
He never actually said how he felt about her. He just let her babble on and bare her own soul, without giving her anything back. Well, other than orgasms. But she likes sex, /really/ likes sex with him. Shouldn't that be enough?
She sucks his cock, his blond hairs tickling her nose. She lifts her eyes to see him, see how she's wrecking havoc with her mouth. He'd asked her if she thought being with him would be so bad, after they had sex for the first time. But does he still want that?
God, she's turning into one of those clingy girls, having to "define the relationship" all the time. A hundred platitudes run through her head as her tongue tickles the underside of his shaft - sex doesn't have to be anything more than that, just because a connection is brief doesn't make it meaningless, everything from the self-justifying commitment-phobes' handbook. But they aren't exactly helping.
She doesn't get it. Why can't she just be happy with this? Why does she have to worry about it ending? Can't she just enjoy the now? But the thought of him not loving her back actually scares her. Jesus, she loves him. How the hell had that happened?
She lifts her head before he can come and sits up, just looking at him. There's so many things she wants to ask him, so many things she wants to say. But she has no idea how to begin articulating it.
---
So, one minute she's sucking on his cock like a professional and the next minute she takes it away, leaves him humping the empty air and sits up, like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. She sits there, all... pert boobs and soulful eyes and he lets out a yell of frustration.
"Lil-" He bites back her name through gritted teeth. "No f-fair!" He's breathing hard now and so near to the edge that it's painful. He always knew she was good at this, he's had to deal with the guys who wanted to see her again after she's tried to dump them, but he never knew she was such a... sexual animal.
She makes him feel a little inept right now.
But god, he wants her. Right now, this isn't about her and her talent and her kindness and her Lily-ness. This is about him just wanting to nail her to the mattress.
---
She blinks at him and shakes her head. She kind of goes on autopilot. She's good at this, she knows that much, and she's going to show him a good time, even if that's all he wants from her.
She moves down his body again, between his legs, and she coaxes him onto his side. She grabs his dick and pumps it with her fist. She focuses on it, not moving her gaze, biting her lip in concentration. She pushes her boobs forward, so his dick's nestled in her cleavage.
She idly wonders if he's ever been with a girl who'd let him come on her tits before.
---
He comes - in three quick, hot pulses, because he's never- She's never-
He squeezes his eyes tight shut for a moment and grits his teeth, losing it as he actually thrusts up between her breasts and his come shoots out over them, around her neck.
It's kind of achingly embarrassing yet the hottest thing anyone's ever done to him. At the same time. Ever.
His cheeks flame red because it's like he's treating her like a whore or something, or she's acting like one, but he doesn't think he's ever come so hard and he actually feels quite shaky.
---
He's as red as a beet when she sits up and reaches for a tissue. His cum's mostly on her boobs and her neck, although some of it got on her face, her belly. She's calm about it, like she does this every day (she /so/ doesn't).
She looks down, making sure she got all of it, when she sees a small splatter on the blue fabric of the shirt. She'd almost forgotten she was still wearing it.
"Oops," she says, smiling. "This isn't a rental, is it?" She pulls it all the way off and scrubs at it with a fresh tissue. She holds it up to the light. "That look OK to you?"
She looks over at him, and he's staring at her, slack-jawed and incredulous. She can't help but smirk. "What?"
---
He swallows hard. "Uh, no. No, the shirt's... for work? When I play with the orchestra at..." He stumbles over his words because she's so brazen and casual and he's not sure how to play this. She probably wants some guy who'll act totally cool, some Backstreet Boy who’s done this all before. "It's okay, I mean. I'll just take it down to the laundromat or something?"
She smiles like she's got some big secret, like he amuses her, and he scootches forward because he wants to kiss the look right off her face. But then he hesitates. Is kissing okay?
---
He moves closer to her, and her heart's beating way too fast for this. She swallows. "OK. I mean, I guess I could spring for dry cleaning, since I have all of this... disposable... income..."
His face is quite close to hers, and her eyes drift down to his lips. He looks hesitant. She puts the shirt down on her lap and leans forward to kiss him, just softly. When she makes contact, she feels a sort of vibration go through her, a secret thrill. She smiles against his lips and tugs on his arm, pulling him closer. She loves him. In this one second, the fact that he probably doesn't feel the same way doesn't matter so much.
---
He pulls her down onto the bed. "It's okay," he says, between kisses. "I think I can cope with cleaning one shirt." He doesn't like to say that it's his only nice shirt and that he borrowed the suit off another guy and he feels damn uncomfortable in a suit anyway.
He'd much rather be naked.
He runs his hand along her side and marvels at how soft she is, how her skin feels all warm and supple under his calloused fingertips. She always looked small and focused and full of fire and purpose. Who knew that underneath she was kinda dirty and playful and /soft/?
---
Wow, can he really be up for round two already? Not that she minds, of course. After all, the only thing she got from earlier was the satisfaction of seeing his face when he came on her. She wants a little more than satisfaction this time around. His fingers wander across her body, just exploring, as his lips tease hers, and her hands run over his back.
His lips only leave hers for a second, she could swear it, but she manages to blurt out, "What do I mean to you?" And then she feels herself blush, to the roots of her hair, like only redheads can. "H-how do you feel about me?"
He pulls away, and, oh, God, she's blown it.
---
"W-what?"
The word comes out before he can censor it, or before his lips can catch up with his brain. One second, he's kissing her, and stroking her, and generally worshipping her naked body and the next... She's awkward and talking and what the hell?
"He do-?"
She's got a weird look on her face, a slightly desperate look, a guilty look, and he has no idea what's going on.
"You're-" He stops. How does he feel about her? What does she mean to him? There's something there, something which started as a very definite one-night stand. Something which has grown and blossomed into a myriad of feelings. "I'm naked and in bed with you, Lily, how do you think I feel about you?"
He smiles, nervously, because he wonders where this all comes from. Then he wonders if-
"Do you think we're moving too fast? Oh god, you do. I'm sorry..." He blurts the apology and inches back across the mattress. Does she think he's got it so bad for her that he's going to follow her around like those other lovesick losers? Is she scared of being tied down by him? He can give her space. If him sleeping in her room was freaking her out, he can give her space.
---
"No, no!" she blurts, and she immediately bites it back. God, she sounds so desperate. "I don't think we're moving too fast. It's... it's good. I like this speed." This is why she hates the Talk. She always sounds like a complete ass.
"It's just that..." She gulps, hoping that it will quell the knot of anxiety forming in her stomach. It fails to work. "I like you. A lot. I really, really... like you." She looks over at him, and he seems so far away. Too far away. "I've had plenty of guys naked and in my bed - does that freak you out? I mean, I'd get it if it did, if you thought I was..." She's rambling again. She takes another deep breath. "My point is, I've slept with plenty of people who didn't care at all about me. And I want you. To... to care about me."
She blushes furiously and looks down. God, she's such an idiot.
---
He reaches out to her. "Lil?" She folds her arms across her chest and she just looks so vulnerable, so awkward. He's never seen her like this. It brings out the protective instinct in him.
"Lil, of course I care about you!" He tries to smile. "Jeez, Lily, I helped you put on a fake art exhibition, for, like, nothing. And it was... awesome!" He shifts across the mattress towards her, holding out his arms. "I care about you, okay? I'm not gonna... whatever? Whatever it is you're worried about."
He gulps, thinking about this. "What are you worried about?"
---
Lily breathes a sigh of relief as he wraps his arms around her. She knew that, she absolutely knew that. She should've known that.
"I don't know," she says, shaking her head. "It's just... I'm not good at this couple stuff. I mean, I completely screwed up my last major relationship, and that was when I was 21. And ever since then..." She stops. "And I thought that I wouldn't be able to meet your expectations. I keep thinking that in two weeks, when the novelty wears off, you're going to start noticing all of the bad things about me, and... not want to be with me."
She laughs, weakly. "God, I must sound so crazy right now."
---
He shakes his head, completely floored by what she's saying. "Lil- Lil- stop it. You're not crazy. God- you think I'm good at relationships? I mean, have you seen me buried in action since I've been living here? You know what a disaster I am." He chuckles, kissing her hair. "I know my expectations are always totally unreasonable. But hey, don't you see? That's why you're so perfect. I already know all these things about you and they aren't so bad. Well, maybe except when you leave your paintbrushes in the sink, which I've told you fifty times-"
He laughs, pulling her close. "We already live together? What could possibly...?"
But then he sees it, what he's been blind to. If this thing gets serious, if he and Lily fall in love and it goes wrong... then he'll have to move out and it'll be horrible.
It's like... maybe there should be some rule about this? Some guideline about dating the people you see every day? Someone should make up a rule because he really doesn't know what to do for the best.
"Look, all I know is that right now, when I see you my heart skips a beat. You can't tell me this isn't worth the risk because it so totally is." He lifts her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Isn't it?"
---
She smiles up at him. "Yeah. Yeah, it's worth it." Barney makes her happy. And she knows that she doesn't need anyone else in her life to fulfill her, that being single isn't a bad thing, but she wants to be with him, even if it turns out to be a huge mistake. She really wants this.
She pulls him close and kisses him. His lips are soft, and he smells amazing. Once the stink of patchouli fades, he smells kind of earthy and male, and she sort of gets carried away, because next thing she knows she's on her back again. She chuckles. "Let's just get back to sex. Stick with what we're good at."
---
He can't help but grin at her words. "You think I'm /good/ at it?" He can't help but be flattered. Women can be so cruel sometimes, can dash a man's confidence with a harsh word. He's been on the wrong end of many a demanding, acid tongue. He doesn't know why he always goes for the same type of women - strong minded, forceful. He guess it's just that he always wants to be certain that she's going to bed with him for the right reasons - because she likes him, not just for some meaningless one night stand. He's always a little terrified that someday a girl's going to turn around and accuse him of being sexist just for taking an interest in her body. And it's not like he goes to strip clubs or anything!
Boy, it's hard to be a guy in these PC days.
That's not to say that his ego doesn't sit up and take notice at what Lily says. He just puts it down to being something primal that all men have in them.
---
She chuckles at his expression. He looks kind of shocked. "Well, you know me. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." She kisses him, letting her hands drift over his chest. "And I don't let just any guy come back for an encore."
He's staring at her body like he's never seen a naked woman before. Usually she gets sick of how some of the guys treat her, like they're in awe of her, like she's some goddess or work of art, and not a person. But with him, it's kind of sweet. There's something endearingly dopey, almost virginal about him that appeals to her. Maybe he brings out the mother in her?
But then he starts preening a little, and she rolls her eyes. She's been with the overconfident type, too, the ones with bodies straight out of workout equipment commercials, with perfect hair, skin, and teeth. The ones who grace you with their presence and almost invariably turn out to be absolutely awful in bed. Barney could do with a confidence boost, sure, but she doesn't want him to turn into a jerk.
"Come on, Casanova," she says, grabbing a condom from the bedside table and pushing it into his hand. "I'm waiting."
---
He can't help but grin, tearing clumsily at the square of foil. "Mmm. Casanova. We did a piece once... the orchestra. I'll have to play it for you... sometime..." He attempts to kiss her AND put the condom on at the same time but fails spectacularly, pulling back and laughing. "I guess it's true what they say, guys can only do one thing at a time!" He finally manages to roll the condom on and sinks back down on top of her.
He almost can't believe this is real, but he's not going to waste time worrying about it. He kisses her again, hard and passionately.
---
She fixes his face between her hands as she kisses him back, hungrily. She's still so turned on from earlier, from when she was blowing him, it's almost painful. And then he's doing that thing with his fingers, and she can't stop herself from biting his lip and letting out a squeal. She can't for the life of her figure out just what it is about him that drives her crazy like this, but she doesn't care all that much.
"Hurry up and fuck me," she moans. She knows she sounds needy, slutty, wanton. Still doesn't care. His hand is on her face, and she flicks her tongue over one finger, taking it into her mouth, sucking it.
They might not last. This might be too difficult to balance, and neither of them were ever any good at keeping people around. But if she only has him for a little while, she's sure as hell going to enjoy him while he's here.
---
"Okay, okay. Jeez, Lil!"
He chuckles into her mouth and nudges her legs apart with his knee, lifting her hips slightly so that when he slides into her he goes deep and firm and hard, knowing now that it's how she likes it.
He feels her fingernails dig into the flesh of his back, into his bicep where she grabs him, and he thrusts into her, hard and sharp.
---
"Harder..." She clings to him, desperate for as much friction as she can get, loving the feel of skin on skin. She's always enjoyed sex, right from when she lost her virginity. Every man’s different, and she can usually tell right off the bat what he's going to be like. But Barney, he was a surprise. A very nice surprise.
He's got this rhythm going, fast, almost brutal, fucking her right into the mattress, and she wonders what his secret is. God, they're doing it in white-bread-and-mayonnaise missionary, but he's still able to blow her mind. It's something about the angle, the way he seems to know exactly where her G-spot is. She can't grasp onto any coherent line of thought.
"Aaah!" Her eyes snap open when she comes, shaking in his arms. She must've orgasmed a thousand times since she first tentatively touched herself under her bed covers, but she swears it's better every time.
---
He feels her come, clenching around him and clawing at his back, and he holds her down, lets it crash through her, and then he kisses her throat, the underside of her jaw, still hard inside her. This is weird for him - he guesses it's because she blew him earlier, but he always wanted to take a girl to the next level. He loves that the girl happens to be her.
"You wanna go again, Lil?" He waggles his eyebrows, hoping she's not too sensitive.
---
She blinks up at him. "What?" And then he moves slightly, and it hits her. He hasn't come yet. He still...
She laughs, a little manically. "Fuck yeah."
---
He takes her weight, wrapping one arm around her waist, the other hand supporting her ass, and he rears up so that he's kneeling upright, Lily now on his lap, her legs gripping tight around his waist. "Better?" He grins, bouncing her.
---
She lets out a lustful groan in response, unable to manage anything more intelligible. She tightens her arms around his back, just holding on for dear life. She's still so boneless from last time that she can barely lift her hips to help him.
"Oh, God..." He's driving up, deeper into her, and it's torturously good. She opens her eyes, and he's got this huge triumphant grin on his face. "Bar-arney --"
Her spine snaps straight as she cries out. Then she slumps forward, resting her head on his shoulder. Barney's secretly completely evil in all the right ways.
---
He feels her tighten again, feels her body shudder and watches her face as she comes and it sends him over, hard and fast and aching, until he's exploding, rocketing inside her with a low groan. The sensation goes on and on and it makes him feel ten feet tall, like he can do anything, achieve anything.
He slowly releases his grip on her and she clings to him, panting. /He/ made her feel like this. Him.
Dear GOD he loves sex.
---
Eventually she sinks back to the bed, not moving, just enjoying this perfect still ecstasy. She feels his hand on her skin, and she pulls him close. She could never admit it, but she likes cuddling, being close to someone. But letting guys hold her usually causes too many problems the next morning. It feels OK, though, with Barney.
She presses her forehead into his shoulder and smiles against his skin. "So, are we going to brunch, or we just going to lounge in bed all day?" They can always order in something, if they get hungry.
---
He snuggles up against her with a sigh and closes his eyes. God he loves holding her like this, having her wrapped around him and basking in the glow of her. When she's all warm and loose and happy. He wants to take the time to appreciate what he's given her, and wallow in it a little. He never gets those guys and girls who want to split right after the dirty deed. Seriously, what's wrong with a little closeness? He may be old-fashioned, but really this is the best part. This is the reward he gets for everything else. Just lying here, with her.
He breathes in deep and smiles. "I'm happy here right now. But whatever you want. If you're hungry...?"
---
She shakes her head. "No, not right now. Just... mmmm..." He feels so good against her. She doesn't want to move, ever.
"Later, I've got... some stuff to do. Have to call back some people... better talk to Marshall... I kind of left him on his own all night."
---
Marshall? Is she talking about-
Is she /really/ talking about that douchebag ex-boyfriend of-
/Really/?
He pulls away from her. Doesn't she have any idea that the guy wants to nail her? Didn't she see the way he was looking at her?
Jealousy flares up inside him, out of nowhere, burning.
---
Barney jerks away from her, and she opens her eyes to see this weird expression on his face. If she didn't know any better, she'd say it was rage.
But this is /Barney/! He's the most easy-going guy she knows. And, yeah, he gets upset over deforestation and censorship and civil rights, but he doesn't get...
"You're jealous," she says, incredulously. Barney's jealous of Marshall. He looks like he wants to hit something, because he thinks she's into another guy.
She's pretty sure that being flattered is the wrong reaction to that.
---
He shakes his head dumbly, appalled by how he feels, by the anger that's consuming him. Then he gets even more annoyed because she's got that look in her eyes like she's slightly amused.
"No! Hey! I mean, I've got no right to tell you who you're- you're- who you want to- you know?"
But he wants to. He wants to revert, deconstruct himself. "I'm not gonna... go all caveman on your ass and hit you over the head with a club or something."
But that's exactly what he wants to do. Or hit Marshall. Right in his stupid face.
---
She shakes her head. "You don't have to worry. I don't feel that way about him anymore." She sits up. "I mean, he's always going to be important to me, of course he is. But..."
She bites her lip. "He's been holding me back. Marshall was always my big regret. When my life didn't turn out the way I thought it would, I started wondering if I made a mistake leaving him. I kind of put him on this pedestal, you know? The One Who Got Away. And I couldn't let go of that.
"But now I've seen him, and I know what he is. He's a guy I used to love, and now I don't anymore. That's it. And because of him, I went through six years of my life wondering if everything I did was a mistake. And I hate that." She takes Barney's hand. "I know better now. This, you and me? This isn't a mistake. It's not an accident, and it's not something I'm going to regret. It's real."
She lifts her other hand to his face, running a thumb over those gorgeous cheekbones of his. "Don't be jealous?" She laughs. "OK, be a little jealous, because it's kinda hot, but... you know?"
---
He smiles as she touches his face and gives him a tiny kiss in the corner of his mouth. "I can't help it, Lil. Whatever you say, I know that he's totally into you. The way he was looking at you last night. Just..." She kisses him again and he runs his fingers over her freckled shoulder. "Just make it clear to him, yeah? Because I'm not exactly a fighter, but if he came anywhere near you with any less-than-honorable intentions..." He scowls, thinking about what he'd do.
---
"Please. He's from Minnesota. He'd kick the shit out of you." She chuckles as she looks into his eyes. "It'll be fine. I promise." She does feel bad about Marshall, though. It's not his fault that she was confused enough to kiss him, not his fault that she let nostalgia run away with her. She'll apologize to him properly, see if maybe they can't be friends of some sort.
But for now, she's with Barney, and she wants to focus on him, nothing else.
She presses a kiss into the spot where his shoulder meets his neck, then letting her lips move across his collar, up his neck, over his jaw. She can't say how she really feels about him, can't bring herself to admit out loud that she loves him. Not yet. So she puts it into her kisses, pressing it into his skin, hoping that somehow he gets the message.
---
He can't help but smile because her lips on his skin take away the slight irritation he feels that she thinks he's a weakling. He's not. Just because he's a pacifist and would totally never hit Marshall, no matter how much the big lunk deserved it, doesn't mean he /couldn't/ if he wanted to.
He pulls her close and holds her tight. She's his. She's naked and he thinks she's his. And right now, that's good enough for him.