Nothing New Happened Today, a how i met your mother fanfic

This story doesn't have a "classic" storyline, it's more like a theme really. The result of me trying to write stuff even when I'm completely lacking inspiration, which helped contribute to the choice theme. And it's a bit more "jumpy" than the things I've tried in the past, with more and shorter scenes. Hopefully the pacing isn't completely off. I should add that since there is no real storyline I couldn't figure out how to end it, so unfortunately the ending is kind of sub-par.

Last episode seen before writing this: 504 ("the Sexless Innkeeper"). I won't be able to see any new episodes for a while, and I'm doing everything I can to avoid spoilers both for future episodes and for the ones I haven't seen, so nothing that happens after 504 can be assumed to have happened in this story.

As a side note, the second part of Once in a Lifetime will be up eventually, but I'm struggling with it... I've got like eight semi-written fics at the time so there might be other stuff I finish before that one is up. Time will tell, I guess :)

Aaand, like before, the stuff in italics is Future Ted's narrations.

Kids, I know I've told you a lot of exciting stories of what me and my friends were up to in the years before I met your mother. So it will probably come as quite a shock to you to hear that sometimes, life was just so... boring. I know, I know, you probably can't believe it. I mean, I was young, I was attractive, I was living in the city that never sleeps. The world was my playground. But somehow, even the things that make your life exciting can become mundane after a while.

McLaren's

"I'm bored" Ted groaned and laid his head down on the table.

"Yeah" Lily agreed.

"What do you mean you're bored?" Marshall asked. "This is what we always do; we hang out at the bar. It never bores us."

"Perhaps it's just the fact that we do this almost every night" Ted suggested and lifted his head back up again. "I mean, think about it, when was the last time you did something unusual in the evening?"

"Well, I... Okay, the other night I watched a documentary on sea turtles."

"Sea turtles?"

"Yeah. After we got home from the bar. I couldn't sleep, so I watched the documentary and I was out like a light. After the credits."

"That's even more boring than never doing anything new" Ted said.

"Ted's right" Lily said. "Every day is the same as the day before, and the day before that. I get up, go to work, either come here or upstairs, go home, go to sleep."

"I don't get it" Marshall said. "We love coming here. That's why we're here almost every night."

"It's not that it's boring to be here per se" Ted said. "It's just... It's like there's nothing new going on in any of our lives."

"That's not true" Marshall objected. "Last week I started taking baths in the morning instead of showers. That's new. And, and the other day at Subway, I had a tuna sub instead of the Italian BLT like I normally have."

"God, even our changes are lackluster" Ted groaned. "Don't you think this is sad, Marshall? Have we already reached that point in your life where things just... pan out to a straight line, with nothing new ever on the horizon?"

Neither Marshall nor Lily had an answer, and all three sighed in unified boredom.

"Oh look, here comes Barney and Robin" Lily noted. "They might be able to cure the boredom for a while."

Ted moved over to the chair and nodded a greeting as Robin and Barney sat down in the booth, looking anything but excited.

"Hey, welcome back!" Lily said. "How was Canada?"

"Boring" Barney said and waved to Wendy to bring over alcohol. "No surprises there."

"And your sister's wedding?" Ted asked Robin.

"Also boring" she told him.

"I can't believe I spent three days being bored to tears at a wedding in Canada" Barney complained. "Three things Barney Stinson does not associate with is boredom, weddings and Canada. God, after a while there I was hoping someone would object to the marriage, just to bring some life into the event."

"It wasn't that bad" Robin objected.

"The groom's father fell asleep" Barney pointed out.

"At the reception! After five glasses of champagne, and a pretty heavy moose steak."

"I will say this though," Barney said, "it was pretty entertaining to see Robin's old room. At least it was at first, until I realized she hadn't gotten us a hotel room and we were supposed to sleep in her old bedroom."

"My bed is only 90cm wide" Robin explained. "Needless to say we didn't sleep very well."

"So that's it?" Lily asked. "It was boring, that's all you have to say about it? Come on, tell us, we want to hear funny stories!"

"We're fresh out" Barney said. "We weren't able to get fun through customs when we entered Canada."

"That I can believe" Lily said with a nod.

"I can't believe Katie got married" Ted said.

"And I can't believe you sang ' oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day' as they exited the church" Robin said to Barney.

"I was bored!" he defended himself.

"That was after the ceremony" Robin objected. "The ceremony was no different from any other wedding ceremony. The boredom came later."

"Seriously? If you ask me it started the minute we left New York and we found out the in-flight movie was Curious George."

"Hey I saw that movie, it was awesome!" Marshall said excitedly.

"I have to say it was weird seeing my little sister get married" Robin said, ignoring Marshall. "I mean... she's my kid sister! You know? She's... a kid! She should still be sporting pigtails and playing wedding with her Barbie dolls, not having an actual wedding with some guy she's only been dating for two years."

"On the plus side, she's bound to make some divorce lawyer very happy a few years down the line" Marshall said.

"Do you think part of the reason why it felt weird is that she got married before you did?" Lily asked.

"No" Robin said. "That part just proves that I'm still older and smarter."

"And, on the plus side, having met me Robin's father's no longer upset that she doesn't plan on getting married" Barney added.

"So what other interesting stories do you have to share?" Lily asked.

"Did you not hear us say it was boring?" Barney asked. "We have nothing to share! The food was dull, the speeches all sucked, nobody got drunk and fell into the water fountain. There weren't even any hot bridesmaids!"

"My sister didn't let anybody pretty be a bridesmaid" Robin explained. "At least that's how I rationalize not being asked to be one."

"The funniest thing that happened all weekend was when the stewardess got the hiccups while she was giving her please-remain-seated speech" Barney continued. "There are actual documentaries on sea turtles that are funnier than that."

"Oh you saw that too?" Marshall asked with an excited grin.

"Still not convinced that everything's gone boring, Marshall?" Ted asked. "These guys went abroad, to a wedding, and still have nothing even remotely interesting to tell us."

"Well, okay, let's do something then" Lily said. "Instead of just sitting here whining about being bored we should all go out and do something fun together! We could go see a movie, or go out dancing!"

"I think I'll pass" Robin said. "It's been a long weekend, and a long trip today, I'm not in the mood for anything that requires energy. I just want to go back to Barney's, curl up on the couch or on the bed with my boyfriend and watch America's Next Top Model on his ridiculously large TV."

"America's Next Top Model?" Ted echoed with disbelief as Robin and Barney started to get up.

"I know, I was skeptical at first" Barney admitted. "But it turns out it's actually the perfect TV-show for couples to watch."

"Yes, I get to indulge my girly guilty pleasure..." Robin said.

"... And I get to watch dumb, hot chicks who, if you're lucky, will be posing in their underwear." Barney finished. "And I get to judge and rate their appearances. It's one of the rare occasions where ogling babes with your girlfriend in the room is considered being a good boyfriend."

"You make me sad" Ted sad.

"Yeah, yeah, that's old news."

"See you later" Robin said and waved goodbye to the others as she and Barney left.

"It's official" Lily said.

"Yup" Ted nodded.

"The whole world has gone boring."

"You know, there's a documentary on sea cucumbers tonight," Marshall said, checking the TV guide on his cell, "if we hurry up we might make it home just in time to make some popcorn."

Yes, it's true. Things were boring. The thing with boredom is, it can come at any time. Once you get too set in your ways, or too familiar with something, you're bound to feel listless about it after a while. Like work, for example.

Columbia University

"So today we're going to be talking about a building" Ted said, wondering who was more bored, him or the students. "The Jardine House in Hong Kong is... well, not so exciting honestly. But, there is still something to learn from it. When it was first built it was the tallest building in Asia. Of course, now other buildings are taller."

Channel Twelve Studios

"Good morning New York, I'm Robin Scherbatsky" Robin announced with a faked smile that would make any airline stewardess green with envy. "It's been a calm and uneventful week in New York. Which is good... if somewhat dull. Seriously, there are 1,5 million people living in Manhattan alone and yet nothing has happened for a week? But we have a very special guest today, folks! Today we will meet Gladys, the woman who's crocheted a collection of pot-holders with the portraits of every American president to date. What secret tips can she share with us? Which president was the hardest one to crochet? Stay tuned, and stay awake, there is lots of excitement to come."

Marshall's office

"Hey" Barney said, sinking down on a chair, looking bored. "What'cha working on?"

"Catching up on all my paperwork" Marshall said. "I hate paperwork, but it's got to be done. What about you?"

"Having one of those days that makes you wish you'd called in sick" Barney said and yawned. "Is it just me or does nothing new and exciting ever happen around here?"

"Stuck with paperwork too?"

"Nah, some business transaction with the prince of Spain, plus a bunch of video conferences with some dudes from North Korea. I'm telling you, this whole 'we'll go to war on your ass' thing is getting really old. I mean, put your weapons where your mouth is or stop talking."

"Well I know something that might cure your boredom" Marshall said mischievously. "Fantasy Guy is having a Harry Potter marathon in his office, starting tomorrow morning."

"That is exciting" Barney nodded. "If you're twelve. Hey what do you say we go out to lunch at that Greek place round the corner?"

"Can't" Marshall said. "Lily made a huge batch of lasagna last week, I'm still working on the leftovers. But maybe on Friday!"

"Marshall," Barney said, getting up, "leftovers are lame. Okay? Leftovers are what you feed house guests so that you won't have to waste any time actually cooking for them. But house guests are lame too, so you have no business having them in the first place. Oh, and next time I fall asleep on the morning meeting, would you mind not waking me up? I'm pretty sure if anything interesting ever happens on those meetings I'll hear it through the grapevine later."

With a hand wave he left and Marshall returned to his paperwork, determined to finish it fast, if only to be able to say that he didn't just do boring stuff at work that day. But he had to admit, the odds were not in his favor.

Lily's kindergarten class

"Okay kids!" Lily said and clapped her hands together, trying to rally some excitement. "Now let's do some coloring!"

"We always do that" one of the kids complained. "Can't we do something new?"

"How about a story then?"

"We hear stories all the time" another kid piped up.

"Well I know something we haven't done in a while" Lily said with a big smile. "Singing the alphabet song!"

"That is so last month" a third kid stated.

"Fine, just do whatever the hell you want then" Lily sighed, giving up.

Other things start getting boring as well. Even the stuff you've always loved, like hanging out with your friends.

Ted and Robin's apartment

Lily, Robin, Ted and Barney were slumped on the couch watching TV when Marshall came in through the door with a smile on his face.

"Hey everybody!" he said. "What are you watching?"

"I don't know, but it's boring" Barney said.

"I think I've seen this episode" Robin said.

"It's the news" Ted pointed out.

"Yeah... Didn't that high speed chase happen like two weeks ago?"

"Well I've got a great idea" Marshall smiled. "Why don't the five of us gather around and play a thrilling game of Clue? Just listen to this – Marshall, in the living room, with the board game. And the victim was your boredom."

"The butler did it" Lily said. "I win."

"Okay, Monopoly then?"

"Dude, I'm sick of board games" Ted said.

"Bored games" Lily emphasized.

"Are you sure?" Marshall asked, trying to get them excited. "It's been ages since we all sat down and played Go Fish."

"Marshall, there's a reason we don't play that more often" Robin pointed out.

"Then why don't we go down to the bar and at least get some beer" Marshall suggested, trying to get the others excited.

"I don't want to go to McLaren's" Barney whined. "You have to talk to people there, and I'm so not in the mood for that. I like it better here."

"But there's beer there" Marshall pointed out.

"There's beer in the fridge" Ted said. "Plus up here we've got better snacks. And, I don't know, the bar hasn't really been doing it for me lately. Have you guys realized they haven't changed anything in there for years?"

"That's not true" Lily objected. "They changed that carpet behind the bar after Marshall threw up on it."

"I had the flu, okay?" Marshall said defensively.

"Yeah, or maybe it was that bottle of vodka you downed" Ted said.

"No, it was the flu."

"Absolute Influenza" Robin said.

"Well, then how about we go out and eat someplace we haven't been to before?" Marshall suggested.

"Yeah, we could go to that new place on the corner of Tedium and Had Dinner Already" Barney not-so-helpfully suggested.

"We could watch a movie" Lily suggested. "Haven't done that together in a while."

"Sure" Robin said. "What do you want to watch?"

"Star Wars" Ted said, getting cheers from the guys and massive protests from the girls.

"Not again" Lily groaned.

"I don't get how you can watch that over and over and over" Robin added.

"Okay then what do you want to watch?" Barney asked. "My Little Pony? Not gonna happen, ladies."

"We've seen all the movies we've got here like a hundred times" Robin commented. "Oh, except for Lost in Translation. We could watch that."

"Great idea" Ted sighed. "Let's cure our boredom by watching a dull movie about people being bored."

"Hey, I think Sophie's Choice is on tonight" Lily said.

"Too depressing" Robin objected.

"Hey what was your most depressing moment, like, ever?" Ted asked.

"I think when everything started to fall apart at our wedding" Lily said. "You?"

"Getting dumped at the altar."

"For me the most depressing moment of all time was when I listened to the song Love Changes Everything a couple of months ago and found myself relating to the whole thing" Barney said. "Damn you, Andrew Lloyd Webber!"

"And I'm pretty sure that revelation just made this my most depressing moment" Robin said, glaring at Barney.

"What the hell is the matter with you guys?" Marshall asked and threw his hands up in the air with frustration.

Watching TV had become boring, going out on the town had become boring, cooking dinner had become boring. It's funny, even the things where we kept renewing ourselves became pretty boring. Since we had gotten used to always trying something new, even that seemed mundane.

A bar/restaurant

With a sigh Ted looked around at all the people dancing, feeling like he had seen it all before. It had been at least thirty minutes since he had been seated at his table and he hadn't even gotten to order drinks yet. By now he was really regretting his decision to go out on his own and try a new restaurant/bar instead of staying in and ordering a pizza.

A woman in a cat costume came by and made a purring sound.

"Welcome to Meow, may I take your order?" she asked.

"How about we start off with a drink" Ted said and looked at her cat outfit with skepticism. "I feel I might need it."

"Sure" the waitress said. "What would you like? There's the Clawsmopolitan, the Dry Meowtini or the Dairy. That's daiquiris but with a name that can be associated to cats."

"Just get me a martini" Ted said, wondering if everything had a theme name at this place.

"Okay. And may I take your dinner order?"

"Uhm, yeah, what can you recommend?"

"Well, there's the Purr-fect Tuna Salad, that's pretty good" the waitress said. "Then there's of course the Catfish Special. Or the Whisker Soup! It doesn't actually have whiskers in it, it's pasta" she added off Ted's look.

"Just get me a burger" Ted sighed and handed back the mouse shaped menu.

Marshall and Lily's apartment

"Marshall, I made something really special for tonight!" Lily grinned and gestured for him to take a seat as she brought in the food from the kitchen.

"Lasagna" Marshall said with disbelief when he said what was being served.

"Not just any lasagna. Spinach lasagna!" Lily declared. "And the best part is, I made enough so that you can bring leftovers to work for at least a week!"

"Lily I'm trying really hard here not to succumb to you and your new religion of boredom" Marshall said. "The least you could do is not torture me with a new kind of lasagna every other week."

Lily gave him a confused look.

"This isn't new" she said. "It's the same kind of lasagna I made two weeks ago."

Keeping in a sigh Marshall grabbed his fork and dug in.

Barney's apartment

"Hey how about this?" Barney said, pointing in the book he and Robin were looking at.

"I don't know..." Robin said, putting her feet up behind her on the couch. "It looks complicated. And like it would take forever to prepare."

"Yeah, that's sort of the point" Barney pointed out. "There's no point in it if it's as easy as what people normally come up with."

"Maybe that one" Robin suggested and pointed at another one.

"Didn't we try something similar to that last week?"

"There's no grade written by it so we haven't tried this exact one" Robin argued. "And the one we tried that was similar wasn't so bad, was it?"

"True... I think we gave it a B+. But I think this one sounds more exciting" he replied and pointed to yet another one.

"I don't know..." Robin sighed. "This whole trying-something-new thing is getting a bit much. Can't we just go old-school and stick to something basic for a change? Something we can accomplish without needing to check a book to see how to get it right?"

"I guess you're right" Barney said and put the Kama Sutra away. "So, missionary, and we split a pizza in bed afterward?"

"You've got a deal" Robin said.

Yep... We were bored.

McLaren's

Ted, Lily, Robin and Barney were sharing a pitcher of beer when Marshall entered, wearing a green wrestling uniform underneath his jeans and his open shirt. The others stared at him in horror.

"Uhm, baby..." Lily began hesitantly. "What... are you wearing?"

"It's finally happened" Barney concluded. "Marshall Eriksen has lost his mind. Who had money on 2010?"

"Sweetie did you have a stroke?" Lily nervously asked.

"The mere sight of this might make me have one" Robin said.

"Like my cool outfit?" Marshall asked, stopping to pose before he sat down.

"You look like a bisexual action hero" Barney said, unable to stop staring.

"Is that a genre you're very familiar with?" Marshall retorted.

"Oh snap" Robin giggled.

"Seriously, Marshall, what are you wearing?" Lily demanded to know.

"And just as important – why?" Ted added.

"It's my wrestling uniform" Marshall said proudly.

"You don't wrestle" Ted pointed out. "And you're wearing it wrong."

"I've decided I refuse to become bored out bore professionals like you guys, so I decided to do something new."

"And Subway's… chicken subs now come with a wrestling uniform?"

"All you guys have been doing lately is whine and moan about how you have nothing new to do and how everything bores you."

"That's not true" Barney objected. "I never whine and moan. I complain and gripe. And sometimes bitch, depending on the mood. Usually Robin does most of the bitching though."

"Barney!" Robin said.

"See?"

"But honey, how is... taking up wrestling supposed to help cure boredom?" Lily asked. "You fell asleep halfway through the Wrestler."

"Well at least it's something new" Marshall said. "Something fun. Something I can go out and do instead of staring at the TV screen hoping for a magical fairy to swing by and grant me something cool to do with my time."

"You know that's actually not a bad idea" Barney said. "I know this guy who can score us some 'magic fairy' for a reasonable price. We could all go nuts tonight. Who's with me?"

"Not me" Robin said.

"I think not" Ted said.

"Are you insane?" Lily asked.

"I'm just saying, a friend with weed is a friend indeed" Barney said.

"Marshall. How long have you been doing this wrestling thing?" Lily asked.

"Technically I haven't started yet" Marshall admitted. "I'm heading over there in a few minutes; I just wanted to stop by here first and show you guys how cool I am."

"And, if you're smart, to get drunk" Barney said. "Or drunker. You'd have to be wasted to go outside dressed like that."

"I wrestle sober, thank you very much" Marshall said and held his head high.

"This I've got to see" Ted said with a laugh. "You're actually going to go wrestling tonight? Dressed like that?"

"No not like this, that would be dumb" Marshall said. "I'll lose the jeans and shirt of course."

"Yes, because that's what's dumb" Robin said.

"Why is it so hard to imagine me wrestling? I have two brawly brothers; it's not like I haven't wrestled growing up."

"And from the looks of it, it was mostly wrestling with your sexuality" Barney said, still unable to stop looking at the outfit.

"Well you can all say what you want" Marshall said and got up. "But at least I'm not the one who will be sitting here tonight, doing the same old thing we do all other nights. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some wrestling to do."

He walked proudly out of the door and the others looked after him and then at each other. There was a long pause.

"I say we go after him and watch" Ted said.

"Agreed!" the other three cried and hurried out to catch a cab.

We followed Marshall to the gym he had been a member of for about two years, but never actually seemed to go to anymore. And we had to admit, we weren't feeling quite so bored as we had been earlier that night.

Marshall's gym

"Ah, the gym" Barney said. "The perfect place to meet women. Either they're hot, or they will be down the line."

"Ah" Robin echoed."The gym. The perfect place to get a right hook from your girlfriend."

"Oh look, there's Marshall!" Lily said.

They hurried over and saw Marshall getting ready to wrestle a tiny little guy. They shared a look and took a seat on the benches.

"That guy is like a third of Marshall's size" Barney said. "Does it count as murder if it's during a wrestling match and it sort of just happened?"

Marshall and his opponent walked up to each other. The referee blew a whistle and three seconds later Marshall was pinned down on the ground.

"Classic rookie mistake" Ted said. "Tiny Guy used Marshall's size against him."

"I must say I'm impressed with Tiny Guy" Robin said. "We should get his number. He could come in handy in a sticky spot."

"Having fun much, Marshall?" Barney asked as Marshall spotted them and came over.

"As a matter of fact I am" Marshall insisted. "That was just a warm-up."

"Yeah, for Tiny Guy" Robin agreed.

"I had to let him win" Marshall claimed. "I could snap him like a toothpick if I wasn't careful. And besides, it's the wrestle that's the fun, no matter the outcome."

"Yeah, you only wrestled for about 2,5 seconds before you lost" Ted pointed out.

"Look, why don't one of you guys come up here try it!" Marshall suggested. "You'll see, it's really great fun. Come on, what do you say? Ted? Barney?"

"I'd rather perform my own appendectomy with a spork" Barney said with feeling.

"I think I'll just leave the wrestling up to you" Ted said. "I wouldn't want to deprive you of the new source of fun you've found. And, I refuse to be seen in anything even remotely similar to what you're wearing."

"Okay, well I'm going back in there!" Marshall said.

The other four watched as he shook hands with his next opponent, a guy closer to his own size. Once the referee blew the whistle it only took a few seconds before Marshall was once again pinned down.

"How can he suck so badly at this?" Robin had to ask. "Marshall can carry himself in a fight. This shouldn't be a problem."

"I think Marshall's self-esteem has subconsciously realized how ridiculous this is, and refuses to participate in anything that involves that hideous green outfit" Ted theorized.

"Okay enough with the outfit!" Lily said. "It's awful, sure, but I've seen him wear worse."

Three pair of eyes turned to look at her.

"Must... have... details..." Ted said.

"I think she's lying" Robin said. "I couldn't imagine what could be worse than this."

"I'm getting better, right?" Marshall said, coming over.

"Yeah..." Ted said. "I mean, you held out for over three seconds this time. That means you've improved your performance by like 40%."

"If we wait around until Christmas you might actually make it for a full minute" Robin said. "Exciting!"

"Seriously dude, how can this be so hard?" Barney asked. "Just... hadōken his ass and be done with it."

"I'm working my strategy, okay?" Marshall said, getting annoyed.

"What strategy?" Lily asked.

"I need them to think I'm easy to defeat" Marshall explained. "Lull them into a false sense of security. Wrestling matches are not won through sheer strength."

"Tin Guy proved that" Robin said.

"They are won through strength of mind" Marshall said, ignoring Robin.

"Source on that, Gandhi?" Barney asked.

"You'll see" Marshall said. "Soon they will dismiss me as competition, think I'm weak and easy to defeat. And then I will bring them down!"

"Is that going to happen anytime soon, because we could still score those drugs and smoke them tonight if we shake a leg" Barney said.

"Look, you guys, if you can't be supportive of this then just keep your mouths shut, alright?" Marshall said. "I'm trying to have some fun here."

"Trying being the operative word" Robin noted.

"You'll see, my strategy is going to work."

An hour later...

"Honey, how long exactly will you be keeping up the ruse?" Lily asked as Marshall had once again been pinned down in under a minute. "I mean, I'm pretty sure you've got them all convinced you suck by now."

"Yeah, it's getting kind of boring to watch" Barney said.

"Boring?" Marshall echoed. "Did you just say boring? This is anything but boring."

"It is pretty boring" Ted agreed with Barney.

"Alright, that's it!" Marshall said, working up a fury. "I have had it up to here with you guys and your constant complaint that everything is so damn boring. The only thing that's boring around here is the four of you. Don't you realize that if things feel like they're stuck in a rut it is up to you to change it? You hold the key to making your days interesting; you are the ones who need to stand up and make a decision that you will not be bored one day more! And then go out there and enjoy the fact that you're living in the Big Apple! Experience the city, savor it while you're still young!" By now he had worked himself up to a screaming crescendo. "Visit every pub, eat at every restaurant, go see every show available. For crying out loud, the Muppets took Manhattan, why can't you? Now if you'll excuse me, I have some wrestling to do!"

The other stood up and cheered, riled by his impromptu speech, and cheered him on as he went to face his next opponent. As they chanted his name Marshall took a deep breath, walked up to his opponent and waited for the referee to blow the whistle.

Lily and Marshall's apartment

The five of them sat in the living room, sharing dinner.

"You lasted a whole of 200 seconds" Ted said. "That is impressive."

"I know, right?" Marshall said with a grin, still wearing his wrestling uniform.

"This spinach lasagna is actually quite okay" Robin said and took another bite.

"So Eriksen, what other great plans do you have to help cure our boredom?" Barney asked. "If you take up arching we could see some actual bloodshed."

"Admit it, you had fun tonight" Marshall said with a smile.

"Do I even remember what fun feels like?" Ted mused.

"Don't listen to him" Lily said and put an arm around Marshall's shoulders. "We did have fun, all of us."

"And all it took was a silly looking costume and me letting a bunch of guys throw me down on a mat" Marshall said.

"Wait, are you saying you lost on purpose?" Ted said.

"I would be saying that too if I were him" Robin commented.

"Well I'm proud of you, honey" Lily said. "Even though you sucked big time, at least you made an effort."

"Thanks?" Marshall said.

"Yes, truly inspirational" Barney agreed. "Tonight we've been taught that by dressing up like a moron and fighting like an invertebrate you can accomplish... well, not much really. But at least the lasagna is good."

"Hey guys, when we're finished eating there's a documentary on the Discovery Channel about eels" Marshall said.

"Fascinating" Barney yawned.

Yes, Uncle Marshall's wrestling didn't really do much to cure our boredom. At least not that night. But even though none of us would admit to it, I think he inspired all of us to at least try and find some way of bringing novelty into our lives again.

Columbia University

"Alright" Ted said to his class and clapped his hands together. "Today I had originally planned on talking about yet another building. But then I thought, why are we always sitting in here, just talking about architecture, when we've got a whole city full of wonderful buildings surrounding us? So today we're going to hit the streets and we're going to go experience architecture. Come on, let's get going everyone!"

His students got up and he ushered them out the door, heading out to, as Marshall had urged, "take Manhattan".

Barney's apartment

"Okay, okay, and then we need... the oregano and the basil" Robin read from the recipe in front of her. "And then the sauces."

"Take that one thing at a time, please" Barney said, peaking over her shoulder. "You know, clam chowder is great and all, but we are not having any of it in my bed. I have a very strict no-seafood rule in there, and no, I will not tell you why."

"Why don't I take charge of the oregano, the basil and the sauces" she suggested with a smile. "And you can chop the carrots."

"I cannot believe people still cook at home" Barney commented and examined a carrot as if wondering what to do with it. "This is the 21st century."

"Just shut up and chop already."

"Wow, you really get bossy when you cook" he noted. "How come I never knew that about you, Scherbatsky?"

"Because any time I've as much as suggested cooking something at home you've been on the phone half a second later making dinner reservations" she said with a smile. "No, no, Barney, you need to pare before you chop!"

"This is too hard" he complained.

"Okay, just... light the candles then, and try not to annoy me, and I will handle the cooking. You can read the recipe out loud to me. Just don't do it in that weird Stephen Hawking voice you seem to think is funny."

"I still can't believe this" Barney said and walked over to the dinner table, which had been set for a nice, romantic meal. "My table is set. I almost want to go get my camera."

"What exactly have you been living off all these years?" Robin asked. "Your table's never been set for dinner, you didn't even own a saucepan..."

"I do, I just don't use it in the kitchen."

Robin looked frightened as he went off to get his camera.

Marshall and Lily's apartment

"So, what's for dinner?" Marshall asked. "Vegan lasagna?"

"Actually..." Lily said and held up a book with a smile. "I traded books with Robin. I've got something entirely different planned for us tonight, baby."

Marshall grinned and pulled her down on his lap. He grabbed the book from her and opened it on the page that was earmarked.

"Wow..." he said, slightly taken aback. "Wow, this is really... I... didn't even... know you could do that."

"I know, and this book has got an endless supply of crazy stuff like this" Lily nodded.

"This is all so... exotic!" he said.

"I know."

"Lily? Are you as turned on as I am?"

"You bet I am" she said. "Beetroot lasagna! Who ever thought it possible? Tonight is going to be awesome!"

And it wasn't long before we were out of our rut and back to enjoying the fact that we were young, attractive and living in the one of the greatest cities in all the world. And the things that we had just recently thought of as mundane and boring went back to being those little details that make our lives uniquely ours.

McLaren's

The gang was seated together at their favorite booth, having beers and snacks, talking about their day.

"So we went out and just watched the city" Ted said. "And it was awesome. I used to do that when I was a student, in fact I still do that from time to time when I want to get inspired, and it was so much fun to do it together with my students."

"Good for you, Ted" Lily said.

"So Lily, did you try that lasagna?" Robin asked.

"We did" Lily nodded.

"Which reminds me Barney, I won't be able to go out to lunch with you this week" Marshall said. "Lily's made me leftover lunches for the next five days."

"That's alright" Barney said. "I was actually planning on bringing lunch with me to work too this week."

"Don't tell me you've discovered leftovers" Marshall said with a mock dramatic tone.

"Don't be ridiculous" Barney snorted. "The only thing I've discovered is how to stock up the fridge with ready-to-eat meals."

"Didn't you guys try that clam chowder I recommended?" Lily asked.

"You recommended that?" Barney said with a slightly shocked look on his face. "Well since it was you, I will say this as kindly and sensitively as I possibly can. It was like a natural disaster in our mouths, it honestly tasted like something we got for our sins, and we're never having it ever again. But other than that it was okay."

"What?" Lily said. "I love that clam chowder."

"I've had that clam chowder" Ted objected. "It's pretty good. I don't get what you're complaining about."

"I think maybe Barney and I simply aren't meant to cook stuff" Robin said. "We tried some different things from that cook book, but no matter what we made it wasn't a hit."

"Except for when we made out" Barney said. "And then we ate out."

"Thanks, you can stop talking now" Lily said.

"If it makes you feel any better Lily, the chowder did bring us an orgastronomical experience" Barney said.

"You know what would make me feel better?" Lily said. "You shutting up."

"Why do people keep saying that to me?" Barney wondered.

"Because you're much more likeable when you're not talking" Ted said.

"That would break my heart if I cared about your opinion" Barney said and shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey guys, I know that wrestling thing didn't really pan out," Marshall said, "but I thought of something new to do. Something we could do all five of us, together, as a group."

"Does it involve ridiculous costumes?" Robin asked.

"No" Marshall said, making a face at her. "And it will be fun, I promise."

It wasn't. Uncle Marshall took us horseback riding. You've heard that story plenty of times already so I won't bore you with it now. The story of how Aunt Robin got bitten by a Shetland pony, I fell into a pile of horse dung, Uncle Barney dropped his watch in a pond, Uncle Marshall fell off a horse three times in one hour and Aunt Lily ended up lost in the park for two days. It is a pretty good story. But I'll save it for Uncle Marshall, he really tells it best.

Thank you for reading! Please review!