Conceding Defeat
A/N: Finale SPOILERS in the author's note. I wrote this forever ago, literally right after the episode where we find out that Marshall and Lily had long term bets on the gang. I can't decide now if reading it after viewing the finale makes it sting, but this deserves to be posted as it is far more likely and true to character than the finale we got. The finale was an illogical mess of storytelling and I in no way believe that's how the story would play out, after everything. I wrote this when I had no doubt about their endgame status, because the Barney and Robin that we've known were always meant to be each other's 'the One.'
Summary: She'd expected him to hold out until the last minute, like he always had before. Marshall/Lily, Barney/Robin.
As it turns out, Couples' Coma is even more exhausting when you add a kid into the mix, and even the most passionate double-daters like themselves find it hard to muster up the energy for anything as exciting as Taboo and Gouda.
But Marshall and Lily learned long ago that couples need other couples with whom they can vent and commiserate and celebrate the challenges and triumphs of couple-dom, and so when Barney and Robin get back together, they immediately get invited over, even though the hosts can only offer a movie night and low-fat microwave popcorn after their son has been put to bed.
Lily slips out from her son's bedroom, having fed and lulled him back to sleep for the second time that night. She yawns as she settles back on the couch next to Marshall. As she does so, he grabs her hand and presses a ten dollar bill into it.
"What's this for?" she asks, only halfway interested due to sheer exhaustion.
"You won the bet," he says quietly. "Ted and Robin aren't going to end up together."
Lily glances at the sleeping couple on the other end of the couch. Barney and Robin are both dead to the world, oblivious of the conversation around them. Still, Lily keeps her voice quiet as she looks back at her husband. "You know, I'm not rooting against Barney and Robin making it this time, but they just got back together. You're calling it quits now? That's not like you."
"Lil, look at them. Really look at them."
And she does.
Robin's leaning up against Barney, fitting comfortably with him, her head naturally tilted down towards his chest. Barney has an arm securely around her and his cheek rests against the top of her head, and he doesn't seem to notice or care that her hair is probably tickling his face. Their bodies have even synced into rhythm, the rise and fall of each breath they take matching perfectly. Perhaps most telling of all, both are smiling just slightly as they sleep, lips tilted up at the corners, as if it doesn't matter where they are or what they're doing so long as they're together in the here and now.
Lily smiles at the sight. Two of her best friends in all the world, happier than she's ever seen them. She's known them for so many years now, seen them grow and change, and through it all, they've come back to each other. It's more than even chemistry - it's love like it always has been, and their timing is finally right.
And maybe her overemotional response is due to exhaustion and hormones, but she tears up slightly at the thought. "This is it, isn't it?" she asks. "Barney and Robin, from now til always."
Marshall smiles. "I really did bet on the wrong horse," he says, sounding more pleasantly surprised than anything else.
Lily leans up against Marshall and lets him wrap a gentle arm around her. "But hey," she says, "we're still the cutest couple in the room, right?"
"Ha, in the world, more like," Marshall amends, holding her tighter. Lily smiles, closes her eyes, and slips the crisp ten dollar bill into her pocket, content in the knowledge that she'll never have to give it back.