2030
It was late - or early by now, almost 3 am - and McLaren's was deserted. Ted had always liked to say that nothing good happened after 2 am. Ted was a smart guy.
Barney didn't know why he was here. It was just one of those nights.
But lately it seemed like every night was 'just one of those nights'. Nights he needed to come back here. To sit in his old booth and relive the ghosts of memories.
And that was the right word - ghosts. They never took a solid shape in Barney's mind, not any more. They seemed so long ago now, the nights they used to spend here, Barney trying ridiculous tactics to pick up girls, Ted with one girlfriend or another, Marshall and Lily together. He tried not to resent them, tried not to resent how they got a happy marriage, how it all worked out for them. The perfect life.
Yes, he tried not to resent them. Like he'd tried to have a marriage without screwing it up.
Robin. She was the one part of his memories that was always crystal clear. He could always envision her face clearly, the way she spoke, the way she laughed. And there were times that he was thankful for that, times that he needed to see Robin's face again. But there were times that it was the most painful thing he had ever felt. He had been hit by a bus and broken every bone in his body, yet somehow reliving that a thousand more times would be less painful than envisioning her.
He stood up. He knew where he needed to go.
The World Wide News building. The spot where his life had finally started to come together. He had been so happy that night, so full of hope, so unaware that everything was destined to come crashing back down around him.
He thanked the taxi driver and yanked open the door. He took the stairs instead of the elevator - he needed to be doing something, needed something to occupy his mind.
There was someone already sat on the roof, a six-pack of beer next to them. Great. Just when he needed to be alone, he couldn't be. It was typical of his luck, he supposed, typical of the way his life had been for the past fourteen years.
She turned around and he realised he was wrong. No, this - this - was typical.
It was Robin.
They both stared in shock, both unable to collect their thoughts enough to utter any words. Robin was the first to speak. "Hey."
Hey? After all this time, she says hey?
"Hey."
"You, uh... look, you want this roof to yourself, I'll get going," she mumbled, standing up.
"No!" Barney blurted. "No, I, uh... it doesn't belong to me."
Robin nodded, sitting back down. "So, um... you want to sit down?" she asked, gesturing to the spot beside her.
He found himself nodding, found his legs moving towards the spot, found himself sitting down. She handed him a beer. He accepted. His eyes were fixed on her. Seeing her again seemed so surreal, yet so real.
Somehow, the pair found themselves talking. And although it had been awkward at first, somehow everything seemed to come together. It was almost like nothing had changed.
"No, no, it was Patrice!" Barney protested drunkenly. "Her name was definitely Patrice!"
"No, it was Patricia, I swear!" Robin argued, a grin on her face.
"No," Barney shook his head. "I think I should know, I pretended I was going to marry her! And then you followed me up here, and... and..."
He trailed off. Robin's smiled faded. She cleared her throat and edged away from Barney, realising she had moved closer to him as they'd talked.
"Yeah," Robin muttered.
"Yeah," Barney repeated. And suddenly, they were back to being strangers. He'd screwed it up. It was no surprise, really. Screwing up was all he was good at. "I should go," he said, standing up. "It... it was good seeing you again."
Robin nodded wordlessly. Barney waited for a second, not sure what he was waiting for. For her to say something, maybe. Even just a goodbye.
It wasn't coming.
He turned around, turned away from her, unsure whether this was all just a dream. But if it was, he was a fool, because what kind of man would torture himself like this?
"Barney, wait," Robin called. He turned towards her.
"Yeah?"
"That was a good night. When you proposed, I mean."
"Yeah. Yeah, it was."
Robin smiled, and for a moment Barney forgot everything. For a moment, he was back in 2012, young and hopeful and head over heels in love with Robin. Of course, he'd aged since then, and his hope had been worn down, but one thing hadn't changed.
He was filled with confidence, the confidence he'd had back then. "It really was. In fact, it was legen - wait for it -"
"I've waited long enough," Robin interrupted as she crossed the few paces between them.
She kissed him and he never wanted to let go, and he knew then that he was never going to say those last two syllables, never going to say 'dary', because if this had taught him anything it was that if you wait long enough, there is always more legendary to come.
Ted had always liked to say nothing good happened after 2 am. Ted was wrong about some things.