My first attempt at a crossover. Some slash. Don't like, don't read. Simple. I put it all in present tense. Better?
Disclaimer: I don't own Neal, Peter, Barney (vvvvsadly), Robyn, Marshall, Ted or Lily, or else this would have happened on TV already :3
"Who is that!" Robyn exclaims.
The easy conversations flowing between the five friends cut off at Robyn's statement. On the rebound from Don, after two weeks of emotional distress and a lot of junk food, Robyn's eyes were open for someone new. Barney had sat next to her. Sipping his scotch, his head turned faster than anyone else in the group to take in the newcomer. Well, the two newcomers. All female and some male heads turned to admire the first time customer to MacLaren's.
He has longish tousled hair, brushed back from his face, and he's dressed in a black suit. His eyes, ice blue, glitter with mischief. Traipsing in after him, a slightly older man enters, with light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, also dressed in a suit. Barney snorts, stirring his drink round.
"That's sad.. he needs a chaperone.." he mutters nervously. Marshall laughs, his arm around Lily.
"Hey Lil, you're taken, remember," he gently reminds her. Jumping at his touch, she snaps out of her trance of admiration. Ted and Robyn, however, kept on staring, and even Barney kept throwing coy glances through his eyelashes.
Obviously noticing their stares, the blue-eyed man's mouth turns, his mouth quirking up into a half-smile, and wanders over, closely observed by his partner.
"Hey."
"Hey.." Robyn sighs dreamily. He gives her a nod in acknowledgement of her response.
"Wanna join us?" Lily abruptly asks, leaping up to make room.
"Sure," he laughs, squeezing in between Lily and Marshall.
"I'm Lily. This is Robyn, Barney, Ted and Marshall," she informs him, nodding.
Marshall glares at the intruder over the top of his glass. Robyn leans her cheek on her palm, gazing at him, and Ted clears his throat a few too many times, clearly uncomfortable. Lily's eyes dart between the man and Marshall. But the newcomer seems to be oblivious to all of this, his big blue eyes fixed on Barney.
"Neal" the man states, flashing a charming smile. "My partner over there is Peter"
Peter glances over. Neal flashes him a big smile and a very obvious wave. Robyn giggles a little too loudly at this.
"So. Neal. Why do you have a chaperone?" quizzes Marshall.
"Why doesn't everyone else? Don't you think the world would be a much better place if everybody acted as though their mother was looking over their shoulder?" Neal shoots back.
"Your guy Peter over there doesn't look much like your mother," Ted says.
"Good observational skills man. Are you in some sort of professional which involves deduction, because if you're not, you really should consider it.."
While Neal exchanges easy banter with the group, his eyes never left Barney, who refused to make eye contact with the stranger.
"So, Barney. What's your story?"
Barney looks up from his drink, his eyes meeting Neal's for a second or two. Barney breaks eye contact straight away, and tries to turn away discreetly, but he can't hide it.
Barney Stinson went red.
The group were in shock. In years of knowing him, they had never seen Barney get this embarrassed over meeting someone new. He\s a silver-tongued womaniser, and he almost never loses his composure. But now, he's a wreck. The ice in his drink was shivering from the little tremor running up his hand, his cheeks were pink, and he refused to look Neal in the eye.
"Cat got your tongue?" Neal shoots playfully.
"No," Barney snaps, but he has no retorts other than that, and the longer Neal stares at him with that little half-smile playing on his lips, the more uncomfortable Barney was getting. He swallows.
"So, Neal, what do you do?" Ted breaks the awkward silence.
"Oh, just boring office stuff. I'd much rather hear about you, Ted. What do you do?"
The group groans.
"I'm an architect, actually," Ted informs him, shooting his friends a dirty look.
"Wow really? I've often stopped to appreciate the various buildings in New York,"
The group lets out another defeated groan.
"You've only just met us, why do you hate us?"
"Neal, my friend, these are more than just buildings. They're expressions, works of art…"
"Excuse me" Barney mutters quietly. He stands up and heads to the men's room. What the hell was wrong with him tonight? He'd been fine, and then that Neal had come over and.. wow. He'd turned into a dithering idiot.
Barney turns on the tap and runs the water through his fingers. He collects a puddle and splashes it over his face, relishing the refreshing coolness. Hopefully this would wash away the fit of idiocy that had overcome him.
Barney raises his head to survey himself in the mirror, and starts.
Neal is right behind him.
He lounged against the hairdryer, watching Barney with his little smile. Barney's heart began to race.
"You followed me to the bathroom?" he asked, swallowing. "That's brave."
"Well that;s just me Barney. Very direct. I know what I want."
Neal's eyes are so very blue.
"Is that a bad thing Barney?"
Neal moves closer to Barney, smiling mysteriously. His eyes are so full of delight, Barney can't help but return the grin.
"There it is." Neal laughs, and presses his lips against Barney's.
The kiss is innocent, to begin with. Barney pulls away after a minute. Neal looks at him with puzzlement. Barney swallows, grabs Neal's shirt, and shoves him into the cubicle, locking the door behind him. Neal pins him against the door, their lips meeting again. Barney opens his mouth, and the kiss goes from sweet and new to passionate and quite rough. Neal lifts Barney up and sits him on the toilet seat, before sitting on his knee. Barney crushes his lips against Neal's, his hands locking in the other man's hair.
Knock knock knock.
"Hey Barney, you okay in there?" Marshall's voice rings out.
Barney and Neal break apart, trying to catch their breath back quietly.
"Yeah, fine" Barney yells. A silence, and then the door quietly shuts again.
He lies back against the cool surface of the toilet, his chest heaving, and smirks mischievously at the man sat on his knees. Neal stands up, and Barney pushes him against the door, kissing him insistently with his swelling lips. He then runs his fingers down Neal's chest, unlocks the door and leaves the bathroom.