Robin and Barney reunited at the corner of West 11th and Bleecker outside Magnolia Bakery three weeks after Lily grandly announced that she was having a baby. It wasn't built up like last time or even expected at all. No, this one was a random occurrence that started with a craving for a cupcake and ended with a street-corner kiss. It was just one of many intersections that would come to mean something to the gang that long, hot summer.
Hailing from Vancouver, Robin wasn't used to the kind of cruel and sweltering heat that summer in New York brought. She had a dresser full of wool socks and nowhere to wear them. She could still remember that first summer when Lily had loaned her flip flops for a few weeks until she took her to a GAP uptown and made her buy a pair in every color. It wasn't that summer never came to Canada. It just only lasted a few weeks.
However, this unusual heat wave was going on two full weeks with above-100 temperatures, and the whole city seemed to be going crazy. That's why she happily agreed to go with Barney for a quick dessert, a much-needed reprieve from days of never leaving the safety of her air conditioned apartment. She was starting to miss fresh air, or at least New York's version of it. With a few dollars shoved in the pocket of her lightweight shorts, she headed out into the unforgiving afternoon with her ex-boyfriend with absolutely no idea of where the day would take her.
"C'mon, Scherbatsky, try to keep up," Barney urged her as he jetted down the sidewalk toward a cab waiting at the curb. The yellow taxis were harder to come by lately as everyone thought it was too hot to walk anywhere. "Seriously, Robin, let's move it. I'm not losing another cab because your Canadianess can't keep up."
Robin scowled at him but still picked up the pace. The humidity was wreaking havoc on her hair, and the sudden sweat attack taking over her body had pretty much rendered her completely unattractive. Still, there was this way that Barney smiled at her crookedly over his shoulder as she jogged behind him that reminded her that she wasn't wholly unappealing. Even in an insult, she could still see that glimmer of attraction that had first drawn him to her.
"Whatever, Sworley," she muttered, bringing back an old but favorite nickname for the player. He narrowed his eyes as she crawled into the taxi. "Let's just go get a cupcake. Mama has a craving for red velvet."
"Maybe we could play laser tag later," he said distractedly before telling the cabbie the address of their destination. They were both quiet for the next several minutes, bored and starting out the window as the car waited its turn at a red light. Traffic was surprisingly light for the time of day, but Robin reasoned that all the sane people were enjoying the AC of their apartments and offices. "So did I tell you about my date last night?"
Robin tore her eyes from the guys doing construction on Sixth Avenue to look over at her friend. "No, what is the story this time? Did you find a nun? A naïve Southern debutante? A biker chick from that bar in Hell's Kitchen?"
"Funny," he laughed humorlessly. "She was actually a model, thank you, straight from the runway of the spring Versace show in Milan. A total knockout, blonde with legs for miles, pretty much perfect really."
"Well, good for you," she bit off before returning her attention to the hard-hatted men pouring concrete. It wasn't the first time Robin had regaled tales of Barney's love life since their breakup, but she was tired of pretending to care.
"No, good for us," he smiled, and this time, the grin wasn't as vulgar or showy. Instead, it was earnest and genuine, a sure-proof sign that he had something up his sleeve. It told her that "us" meant her and him and not some no-named model that she would never meet. "I learned something last night, something that I can't wait another day to tell you." Cocking her head to the side, Robin couldn't help but wonder what in the world Barney could have on his mind. "Rumor has it, I am still in love with you."
It had been a long time since there had been an "us" to speak of when it came to them, so that's why she can't believe her ears when he makes the admission. "Come again…"
"Thanks!" Barney said suddenly as the cab snapped to a stop on their appointed street corner. Barney handed a few bills over to the driver and then extended his hand to help her slide out of the car. He didn't allow her to ask any more questions or say much else other than ordering her cupcake when they finally made it to the counter. After paying for their treats, he led her to a small table in the corner and dove right into his own lemon curd treat. "Delicious."
"Barney."
"Robin."
"We're just going to act like you didn't say that?"
"No, we're going to eat our cupcakes."
True to his word, Barney didn't say another word until they were both finished with the cupcakes, leaving nothing behind except a few errant crumbs. Once he had properly disposed of the paper linings and napkins, he reached for her hand again and led her outside. Without letting go, he pulled her flush against him and then kissed her long and deep. When the moment was over, she felt him smile against her lips in what she knew to be a sign of victory.
"Okay, Stinson, what the hell?"
He seemed taken aback by her sudden streak of anger but didn't even attempt to let go of her. "I meant what I said, I love you, Robin."
"Well, I don't love you."
He scoffed at her easily enough because they both knew it wasn't true. "You do and I do and that is exactly what I told Enid last night when I realized I had been talking about you for over fifteen minutes while we were waiting for dessert. I started telling her that story about that time we got all those sundaes for that laser tag team, and she told me I hadn't smiled at her a single time like I was smiling just talking about you."
"And?"
"And I realized that if I could sit there in front of one of those most beautiful women in the world and just want to talk about you…Well, that means something."
"Like what?"
She wasn't giving him an inch because she knew he'd take the proverbial mile. They had done this dance before and it had ended badly. He had broken her heart, even if he didn't really think he had. "Like the fact that, yeah, Robin, I really do love you. I messed up things before. I'll probably mess things up again. I'm not good at relationships, but then again, neither are you. I can't promise I won't hurt you. I can't promise that I'm going to be the boyfriend girls dream about. I can't promise a lot, but I can promise that I will love you and that I will always love you. It's not a lot, Scherbatsky, I know, but it's what I've got."
This time, it was her who pulled him by the wrist to her and kissed him. His mouth tasted tart and lemony and like a promise that yeah, okay, this might just work out after all. And the air suddenly didn't seem so hot and the humidity wasn't so unbearable on that walk back to his apartment. It was a new start for them both, just another intersection from where the past ended and the future began.
