A one- shot written for the following prompt:
And then she'd say: "It's okay, I got lost on the way but I'm a supergirl/and supergirls don't cry."
Supergirl-Reamon
It's way past midnight when he gets her call. " Barney?", she asks and by the way her voice is trembling, he knows she's been crying. " Can you meet me at the bar?" And of course he says yes because it's Robin and she never had to even ask for his help. Not when she needs him. So he pulls on his suit and sneaks out of Nora's flat like he would have done after a dirty one-night-stand. McLaren 's is close to Nora's place and he hurries down the streets.
Normally he loves New York at night when you can hear drunk laughter and heels clicking on the plaster while bright neon lights make everything glow. It's beautiful to him. But tonight he can't focus on that. He is just thinking about Robin. What could have possibly happened that would make her sound this desperate? She's not supposed to be desperate! She is Robin, for god's sake, and she is the strongest person he knows. He balls his fists in fury at whoever did this to her as he quickens his steps.
When he arrives at McLaren's ten minutes later, she is already there. She is sitting at their table, staring at the scotch tumbler between her palms and for a brief second Barney is fairly certain she's the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. But then she raises her head and looks at him and he can see how miserable she is. He rushes to the table and suppresses the urge to hug her. Instead, he sits down across from her and waits for her to speak. She doesn't. She just keeps sitting there, and her silence is rolling over him like a wave, washing away his reluctance. He can't stand to see her like this. He gets up and moves around the table. Then he carefully puts his arm around her and hugs her to his body. " What happened?" ,he asks.
She clears her throat. " I ran into Don today.", she mumbles and he can feel her body tense up against his. " I ran into him today and he asked me to have coffee with him. " " Did you agree?", he asks and now he is tense as well. Somehow, the idea of Don and Robin getting back together directly connects to a part of him that desperately wants to smash TVs in the alley behind the bar.
" Yes." She swallows. " We talked about work and stuff. He told me about Chicago. How great the job is and everything." Her can see her fingers tighten around her glass. " I'm really sorry, Robin. I know you would have deserved that job much more than this scumbag. but you belong with New York. You belong with us". You belong with me, he thinks. But he has no time to consider this dangerous thought, because she interrupts him. " It's not about the job", she says through gritted teeth. " What", he asks, confused.
" It's not about the job because he quit. He is moving back to New York. He'll work at our old station again". " But..doesn't that mean he'll be around again?". He suddenly feels uneasy. " Isn't that good...for you?". " No", the bitterness in her voice is obvious now. " Because he came back for his girlfriend."
" That really sucks.", he agrees. He can't quite muster a decent response. He doesn't know how to react because he can't just play this down with some jokes like he did the time Simon broke up with her. This is something that goes deeper, something that hurts her to the very core. He can see that in her eyes. For a moment he is nearly jealous. Jealous that Don could break her so easily while she got over their break-up-his and hers- just fine. Jealous that Don could make her feel this much. But he sees her broken smile and he hates himself a little for even considering this.
" It really sucks, doesn't it? I mean, he is coming back for a girl he barely even knows. He goes back to that shitty job and he is happy, fucking happy, to give up everything for her! It's just I don't get why he'd do that when.." she stops mid-sentence.
" When what?", he asks gently. " When he wouldn't even stay for me.", she finishes tonelessly. A single tear rolls down her cheek but she quickly sweeps it away. He notices how hard she is trying to restrain herself. She must feel awful, but she's not letting go. She's Scherbatsky and she doesn't cry in public. And she doesn't cry about an ex-boyfriend.
She is the toughest woman he's ever met and he admires her strength, but right now he just wants to make that haunted look disappear from her face and if that means to have her crying on his new Armani suit, then be it.
" I don't know why he'd do that." ,he tells her. " Giving up a great job for some bimbo is stupid. But.." , he looks her in the eye. " If I would ever do something like that, I'd do it for you, Robin." He means it. With Robin, he always meant it.
" Thank you, Barney.", she gives him a small smile. " But you'd do it for Nora, too."
" No way. Come on, Scherbatsky, can you see me moving to Great Britain? Their English is all wrong and they don't even have proper coffee. I'm not even sure they have cheerleaders. Can you imagine that? A country without cheerleaders?"
" You hate Canada more." It's not a question, just a statement. He doesn't know what to say. Of course he used to hate Canada nearly as much as Ted hates New Jersey. But how can he hate it when they have Robin on their side?
" You know what hurts the most?", she suddenly asks. " Knowing that I just wasn't the one person he wanted to be with enough to give up his own dreams. That I wasn't more important than a job offer, but that he found someone who is. I just wasn't enough" In this moment Barney is sure he has never hated anyone quite as much as Don. How can he make the most awesome woman on the planet believe she's not enough? It's a mystery to him how any man can not appreciate her in a way that makes him want to drop any job offer just to be with her.
" I should be going." , she gets up quickly. " I'm really sorry for calling you so late. I just needed..someone."
He wishes that she'd said she needed HIM. Because he realizes he'll always need her. And he won't let her go home when she's still got that sad look on her face.
" Stay", he says. Stay with me, is what he thinks. " I want to show you something."
" Okay." So he gets up and moves over to the Jukebox, praying they'll have what he's looking for. He finds the right song and music starts to fill the room.
You can tell by the way, she walks that she's my girl
You can tell by the way, she talks that she rules the world.
You can see in her eyes that no one is her chain.
She's my girl, my supergirl.
" That's you" , he declares. " Supergirl?", she looks at him doubtfully. He nods his head. " Just listen."
And then she'd say, it's Ok, I got lost on the way
but I'm a supergirl, and supergirls don't cry.
And then she'd say, it's alright, I got home late tast night,
but I'm a supergirl, and supergirls just fly.
" You always put on a though facade, no matter how badly you are hurt.", he explains. " Even..afer we broke up, I didn't even realize you were hurting."
And then she'd say that nothing can go wrong.
When you're in love, what can go wrong?
And then she'd laugh the night time into day
pushing her fear further long.
And then she'd say, it's Ok, I got lost on the way
but I'm a supergirl, and supergirls don't cry.
And then she'd say, it's alright, I got home, late last night
but I'm a supergirl, and supergirls just fly.
" I'm sorry Don disappointed you. And I'm sorry I disappointed you."
And then she'd shout down the line tell me she's got no more time
'cause she's a supergirl, and supergirls don't hide.
And then she'd scream in my face, tell me to leave, leave this place
'cause she's a supergirl, and supergirls just fly
" But I need you to stop pushing me away. Because it hurts, Robin, it hurts that you don't trust me anymore."
Yes, she's a supergirl, a supergirl,
she's sewing seeds, she's burning trees
She's sewing seeds, she's burning trees,
yes, she's a supergirl, a supergirl, a supergirl, my supergirl..
" It hurts because you aren't just a Supergirl. You are my Supergirl."
It's silent after his confession. Robin stares at him, but he can't guess what she's thinking. Her face is a blank map, leaving him without direction. He really hopes he didn't mess this up more than it already is. He just wanted to show her she's worthy.
" Are you serious about this?", Robin asks. " Do you really see me this way?" He sighs. " Yes."
She hesitates, but then she pulls him into a hug. He encircles her in his arms, slowly stroking the small of her back. Finally, she has stopped running from him.
After a while, she lifts her head and looks at him. " What do we do now?", she whispers. " I don't know", he answers truthfully. " But we'll figure something out. After all..you are Supergirl". She smiles, but her face quickly becomes serious again.
" Don't you have to go back to Nora?". He swears he saw a small hint of fear flash her eyes at the prospect.
He shakes his head. " No. I'm staying with you."
It's a promise he intends to keep.
She's the one person he'll always stay for.
She is his Supergirl.