disclaimer: duh no. Not mine.
He couldn't have know this would happen.
"Congratulations Robin!" Ted raised his glass high up in the air, ending his toast and forcing Barney to snap back to attention. A second behind everyone else, he gulped down his drink, regretting his decision to not replace his with something stronger. Robin grinned madly, speaking fondly to Ted, laughing intensly, eyes wide with excitement. She had finally gotten the job she wanted.
"Care for a refill?" Don came up from behind him, a friendly smile on his face. Barney turned away from Robin, and blankly looked at Don, giving him a small and ineffective smile while his eyes traced about the contours of his empty glass.
"Yeah," he looked back up and, with a little effort, was able to give a plausible grin, "I guess I could."
He had loved and lost before...
Don showned him to the kitchen, pulling out a hiding bottle of whiskey which Barney eagerly accepted. As he gulped down his liquor he couldn't help but catch Robin's figure in the crowd. He lowered his glass, ignoring the fact that Don had looked back up from sorting his cubboard underneath the sink and had stood back up, taking notice of where the man's gaze fell.
It took him a while. For such a long time he was... he was broken. Making a fool of himself. Until she came along.
Barney looked away to Don whose smile had vanish into something much more pensive. They both knew. Barney walked a few steps around Don, away from the opening to the living room, sipping his drink.
"You know..." Don tried to begin, "Robin said she's leaving on Tuesday."
"Yeah," he finally responded. "I know, Robin told me too." He turned to Don, leaning against the counter, challenging him.
And then he got better, he wanted to be better, to prove to her that he would be worth anyone's time.
It was futile really, a quiet and aggressive conversation. They had stared each other down several times, constantly interrupted by the entrance of friends or of Robin who would always demonstrate - without fail - the clear winner would never be determined by such manners. Barney had already lost.
"Right." Don looked back to the room full of happy guests, Robin had looked up, smiled and waved to him. He smiled back and waved to her, "I'm sure she told you everything already."
When they finally got together it was magical. He had become quickly popular with her friends who all joked that he was her 'one'. All except for one.
"Well, I wanted to be clear." He made sure Barney had caught his eye. "That just because she's got a new job, that doesn't mean you have a window." Barney's head ducked away, observing the swirling motions of his beverage.
She had explained that they had dated, briefly, but that they were just friends. Just like Ted. Just friends.
"I know it was you who sent those gifts." Careful to note the tiny crease in his brow, Don continued, determined to drive Barney's away from his course.
He couldn't quite say he loved her. Not truly, not really. Love was too great, too dangerous a word.
"I don't mean to sound crude, but she's my girlfriend, not yours." Barney finished off a large portion of his spirit, glancing once more into the living room, no longer worried that Don would remark upon it. "You had her and then lost her."
He wanted her, wanted to see her. He liked being with her, liked who he was, who she made him become.
"I don't plan on doing the same," he gravely remarked. Barney turned back to him, glaring, clearly pushing everything down.
That was his problem, Don thought, he was exactly the type to push everything away. He might have thought he had a thing for her, but there's no way he really opened up to her. They probably never even got to the "I love you" bit.