Through Another's Eyes
I did some homework and then I wrote a fic. Yay, me! Barney/Robin, naturally, but Ted's POV. Spoilers through the season finale.
This one's about 500 words, which is approximately five times the length of the last one, so maybe by the end of the summer, I'll be writing novel-length fics.
Ted and Barney are alone at the hospital, when Barney clears his throat and asks, “Hey, Ted, how do you get girls to date you?”
“You’re asking me how to get girls?”
“Uh, no,” Barney says. “I can get girls. Obviously. Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I got my doctor to put fake casts on me? These will work even better. Sympathy sex is awesome!” Barney goes on to detail his theory that no girl can resist a man in pain, especially if the man received his injuries in a heroic way (Barney has ten stories for how he ended up in his current condition, from “rescuing a kitten in a tree” to “pushing a baby carriage out of the way of a bus”) and Ted forgets about Barney’s question.
***
Barney’s staring at Robin again. It took Ted a while to catch on, but he’s sure of it now. Every time Robin gets up, to get a drink or go to the bathroom, Barney’s eyes follow her until she returns to the table, at which point he takes a long swallow of his Scotch, points out a different girl, and proposes a method of approach (which he somehow never gets around to implementing).
Ted’s torn between amusement and anger. Barney is one of his best friends, but Robin is his ex-girlfriend, and, even if he’s otherwise engaged, that means Ted has a responsibility to look after her. He’s pretty sure he should say something to one of them. Maybe both of them.
But then Barney gets up to go to the bathroom, fumbling with his crutches, and Robin stares after him.
Oh, Ted thinks. Maybe he shouldn’t say anything at all.
***
Barney gets Ted drunk one night and tells him that he’s got a “thing” for Robin, but it doesn’t matter because he’s not going to do anything about it.
Ted doesn’t remember much the next morning, but he remembers giving Barney official permission to break the Bro Code. He thinks he might have even signed something.
***
Robin starts giggling at all of Barney’s jokes, and Stella asks about them one morning, while they’re at brunch with Lily and Marshall.
“No,” Marshall says. “Robin would never be interested in him.”
“She slept with him,” Lily points out.
“That doesn’t count,” Marshall says. “Barney has secret powers to make women sleep with him. I’m surprised he’s never used them on you.” His eyes narrow. “He hasn’t, right?”
“Of course not, baby.” Lily leans over to kiss him.
“I think there’s something there,” Stella says again.
Ted takes a sip of water and doesn’t say anything. He’s pretty sure that telling them about Barney’s feelings for Robin would be a violation of the Bro Code.
***
Ted gets to MacLaren’s a little early one night and sees Robin and Barney sitting across from each other, eyes locked, and hands almost (but not quite) touching.
He smiles.
This one's about 500 words, which is approximately five times the length of the last one, so maybe by the end of the summer, I'll be writing novel-length fics.
Ted and Barney are alone at the hospital, when Barney clears his throat and asks, “Hey, Ted, how do you get girls to date you?”
“You’re asking me how to get girls?”
“Uh, no,” Barney says. “I can get girls. Obviously. Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I got my doctor to put fake casts on me? These will work even better. Sympathy sex is awesome!” Barney goes on to detail his theory that no girl can resist a man in pain, especially if the man received his injuries in a heroic way (Barney has ten stories for how he ended up in his current condition, from “rescuing a kitten in a tree” to “pushing a baby carriage out of the way of a bus”) and Ted forgets about Barney’s question.
***
Barney’s staring at Robin again. It took Ted a while to catch on, but he’s sure of it now. Every time Robin gets up, to get a drink or go to the bathroom, Barney’s eyes follow her until she returns to the table, at which point he takes a long swallow of his Scotch, points out a different girl, and proposes a method of approach (which he somehow never gets around to implementing).
Ted’s torn between amusement and anger. Barney is one of his best friends, but Robin is his ex-girlfriend, and, even if he’s otherwise engaged, that means Ted has a responsibility to look after her. He’s pretty sure he should say something to one of them. Maybe both of them.
But then Barney gets up to go to the bathroom, fumbling with his crutches, and Robin stares after him.
Oh, Ted thinks. Maybe he shouldn’t say anything at all.
***
Barney gets Ted drunk one night and tells him that he’s got a “thing” for Robin, but it doesn’t matter because he’s not going to do anything about it.
Ted doesn’t remember much the next morning, but he remembers giving Barney official permission to break the Bro Code. He thinks he might have even signed something.
***
Robin starts giggling at all of Barney’s jokes, and Stella asks about them one morning, while they’re at brunch with Lily and Marshall.
“No,” Marshall says. “Robin would never be interested in him.”
“She slept with him,” Lily points out.
“That doesn’t count,” Marshall says. “Barney has secret powers to make women sleep with him. I’m surprised he’s never used them on you.” His eyes narrow. “He hasn’t, right?”
“Of course not, baby.” Lily leans over to kiss him.
“I think there’s something there,” Stella says again.
Ted takes a sip of water and doesn’t say anything. He’s pretty sure that telling them about Barney’s feelings for Robin would be a violation of the Bro Code.
***
Ted gets to MacLaren’s a little early one night and sees Robin and Barney sitting across from each other, eyes locked, and hands almost (but not quite) touching.
He smiles.