Title: Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda
Rating: T
Fandom: How I Met Your Mother
Characters: Barney, Robin. Marshall, Ted, Lily.
Pairings: Barney/Robin, mentions of Robin/Ted.
Spoilers: Season 1 to season 7.
Summary: Seven times Barney Stinson and Robin Scherbatsky could've become BarneyandRobin, but didn't.
Author's Note: Just because I love them. This is my third (?) time writing for HIMYM and this pairing, but that's not to say it's good. There might be some errors as I was actually too lazy to rewatch the episodes, but hopefully not. I'm not sure how I feel about this, and I did write it in the space of an hour maximum, but it's always nice to contribute something to the world of Barney and Robin. Reviews are always appreciated.
one.
He could've asked her out first.
It's not like they would've been good together, or that they'd gone past a night. No, a serious relationship was too far off for them as people, and really, a serious relationship between the two of them wouldn't have lasted long at that point in time. Robin didn't want commitment. Barney didn't want anything more than a good looking girl in his bed for one night.
It's better for the two of them that Ted was the one who asked her out (after Barney's help, thank you very much) because then Robin would've never made it in to the group. Marshall and Lily and Ted had stopped asking about the girls Barney hooked up with long ago.
But it doesn't change much. Or at least, in that point in time it didn't look like it. And Ted was looking at her, with that look, the crazy eyed look that Barney just knows means 'I'm pretty sure you're the love of my life and we're going to get married and have kids' look. At that point, Barney feels nothing but pity for the poor girl Ted's staring at.
When he looks at her though, that pity is replaced with something Barney knows to be the mixture of love and attraction. That girl, whoever she was, was definitely a ten and Barney would have been hitting on her right now if it wasn't for Ted.
Barney Stinson is many things, and he tries to make sure that loyal to his friends is one of them.
So he doesn't hit on Robin that night, and they don't end up having a one night stand that ends with them never speaking again. Instead, Barney uses the 'Have you met Ted' tactic, and Ted manages to Ted things up but Robin comes one of them and Barney got to think about all the dirty ways Robin liked it while Ted looked like a fool, and yeah, it's definitely better this way.
two.
Their night of bro-ing could've actually turned into something more.
It was by this point that Barney had decided that Ted's chances of getting with this girl were slim, but she was still awesome and she suited up and played laser tag with him and smoked cigars with him, which is a lot more than Ted or Marshall ever did. She's awesome and she's hot and she's a better bro than his old bros, and that means more to Barney than he's going to let on.
And Barney, being Barney with his love for sex and twisted logic, assumes that yes, he and Robin are going to hook up and one day, not too soon, but one day, he would mention it to Ted when Ted was either annoying him with his pretentious talks or hurting him by calling Marshall his best friend.
But Robin has other ideas, other feelings, other thoughts. So Barney's lust is directed elsewhere and the logic behind a relationship with Robin is forgotten, and his loyalty for Ted and desire not to be embarrassed seeps in instead.
It works.
three.
They could've established a relationship after their one night stand.
It was something that was instantly off the table the moment they woke up and realized, shit, Ted. But Barney's twisted and a little crazy and Robin likes him more than she lets on, and commitment with Barney is probably different to commitment with other guys, and it doesn't freak Robin out as much. Freaking out about commitment is something that almost ended with Ted, and with Barney, Robin thinks that maybe, just maybe, it could be a fear that's completely destroyed.
But they don't, because, again, Barney's friendship with Ted ends up meaning more to the blonde than anything else, and Robin realizes that she can't have a serious relationship with Barney Stinson, for the obvious reasons.
four.
They could've gotten back together during the whole Ted and Zoey fiasco.
Maybe it's because they're them, and they're both a little messed up, but for several moments, it seemed like a good idea. Because if Ted thought it could work with Zoey (he was wrong, but for those seconds Barney and Robin didn't want to deal with Ted's possible consequences from dating the girl again), then maybe, just maybe, it could work between them.
But the moment passes as quickly as it comes, and Barney ends up asking Nora out, and Robin is left wondering that maybe the moment never really left her.
five.
They could've kissed after their dance.
Timing is a bitch, Robin realizes, because even for someone who isn't a fan of romance, the whole dancing and then kissing thing would've been nice. Nice, only because it was Barney, and kissing Barney was nice and it would've been nice to laugh about it later. Preferably after sex.
But because timing is a bitch, and because Robin remembers what happened last time she and Barney went out, the phone rings, and things between Barney and Nora happen, and fuck, timing is just a bitch.
six.
She could've broken up with Kevin.
This is another feature in the whole 'Timing is a Bitch' saga starring her and Barney, and for once, Robin's on timing's good side. If one can even call it that, but Robin doesn't, because she's not weird about these things like Ted.
And Kevin cares about her, which means something to Robin, because he's stable and he loves her and he's got a whole lot more to offer than Barney right now, even if Robin thinks about the blonde more.
She doesn't know that Barney can offer her it all, but she does know this: that maybe breaking up with Kevin would've been the right thing to do.
seven.
She could've been pregnant.
It's not the best option for them, and it never would've been. Robin didn't want kids, and she still doesn't. Barney's very odd with his feelings towards kids, and seemingly never decides what he wants. It's better for the two of them that she wasn't pregnant, but still, both Barney and Robin can't help but think what would've happened had she been pregnant.
But missed chances become normal for them.