Robin smiled down at the man with the blue French horn. She remembered how he had always loved her, in what, at that point in time, felt like the best possible way. He idealized her. And he didn't need her to have kids to be happy because he already had two of them. She, or at least the Robin in his head that he had fallen in love with all those years ago, was exactly what he wanted. She needed that. After the time she had spent apart from those who were once her best friends she needed to feel idealized and loved and anything but alone. In that moment, Ted Mosby was exactly who she needed, and like he always had been, he was the perfectly rational choice.
He rushed up to her apartment, kissing her immediately upon arrival, mirroring their actions from when they had first gotten together with almost too much accuracy. It was Robin who pulled away, even after the years she had spent without any intimacy, the kiss didn't feel right.
"Ted, we can't do this." Tears began to form in her eyes, "I don't love you anymore, and you don't love me anymore. We can't just pretend. We're not the same people we used to be. And, for a second I think we both thought we could go back in time and be those people because it'd be so much simpler that way, but we have to face the truth. You can't delete these past years and you can't delete her death from your memory."
Ted sighed, sitting down on her couch. "You're right. I guess I just thought if I could pretend that none of this happened I might be able to be okay. You'd think after six years I'd be okay, but I'm not. I was always such an optimist, but I can't help feeling lost without her."
"I'm so sorry." Robin said, at what felt like a complete loss for words. She understood how he felt more than she could ever explain.
He laughed, half-heartedly. "It's almost funny how many times I woke up expecting to be serenaded by her breakfast foods, how many times I came home to an empty apartment waiting for her to greet me. It's like I've forgotten how to live without her. And I want to call her and see her and be with her, but she's just gone now. I don't know how to even begin to accept that."
Robin wanted to sit down beside Ted and comfort him, offer some words of advice or condolence. But more than all of that, she wanted to leave. His words made her realize that she still had a chance. She felt awful that his pain had given her such hope. It just felt wrong to continue to allow what she and Barney had to fade into the past, just as it had felt wrong to kiss Ted when she knew, deep down, that she was meant to be kissing someone else. Barney was still alive, and so was she. And it was in that moment that she decided that as long as they both remain that way, she would never again give up.
She looked at Ted sympathetically, "I understand, I really do, but everything that you're feeling… I'm not the solution to any of that. I need to go." And without another word, she left her apartment, stepping outside and hailing the first cab to come her way.
Robin arrived at Barney's apartment, taking a few deep breaths before hesitantly knocking on the door. It swung open, and he stood across from her in disbelief. Neither of them moved at first, only stared at each other.
"Robin…" He began to form words in his head, none of them the ones he wanted to say. He chose to ignore rationality, to forget of the unfortunate distance that had grown between them, and instead wrap his arms tightly around her. "I've missed you so much."
She hugged him back, never wanting to let go. "I've missed you too." She replied all too honestly, and without another thought or another word, she kissed him. She kissed him the same way she had thought about kissing him every day since their marriage ended, with all the warmth and passion and love she had millions of times before.
He pulled away reluctantly. "Robin, what are we doing?" The sensible side of him came through.
"I don't- I don't know. Okay? I'm just sick of this and I'm sick of wasting all this time not being with you. I've missed you more than you can even begin to imagine." She said, raising her voice."
"But I can imagine, because I've been going through the exact same thing as you. It's just," he hesitated, relaxing slightly. "We tried this, we failed. Why try again?"
"Because I haven't stopped thinking about you."
"I haven't stopped thinking of you either." He admitted.
"So what's the problem?" She asked, unprepared to hear an answer.
"I'm a dad now. I can't keep playing these games, we're not in our twenties anymore. We've grown up." He tried, with everything he had to sound as mature as he wanted to be.
"No. No, I can't accept that. I just can't. I still love you, and I want to be with you. If you can tell me you don't feel the same way I'll understand, but I need to know. I can't walk out that door if there's even the slightest chance that you still love me back."
"I vowed to always be honest with you." He paused, "And, even though we're not married anymore, I think I owe it to you to keep that promise."
"What does that mean?" She asked him nervously, knowing that she wouldn't be able to handle anymore unfortunate truth at the moment.
He smiled, "Robin Scherbatksy, I know it's a long shot, but will you marry me?"
"Again?" She asked, trying to hide her overwhelming joy to be hearing those words from him for the second time.
He nodded, and she nodded back. Suddenly an image came back into focus. It was an image of Barney and Robin, and Ellie, together, as a family. And they knew that wherever they travelled and whatever hurdles life threw their way, things would be okay this time around. They had come so far, and lost so much, been apart for more time than they could cope with, and after all of it, they wound up back where were always meant to be. With a single word, their lives from that point forward were changed for the better.
"Yes."