Second item – shelter
Robin answered the door on Barney's third knock later that evening. "Hey, stranger." Her damp hair hung in loose waves past the shoulders of her fluffy blue robe, her face scrubbed free of makeup, all sure signs she was in for the night and without male company. Her mouth spread into a slow smile, so that meant she didn't know about the divorce yet. He breathed a sigh of relief. This was still the same Robin he needed, the one who thought he could do anything. If she thought he could do something, then he could. Easy as that. Even this.
"I know it's late," he began before he could give in to the urge to tap her shoulder, declare her 'it' and race for the elevator. "I know I should have called first, but can I stay here tonight?"
Her smile wilted, blue eyes widening in concern. "Sure, but why?" She stepped back to allow him in and closed the door, shutting out the rest of the world. "Did something happen?"
Nora and I had a fight so big there is a mushroom cloud over the house, he didn't say. I think it's visible from space. We're getting a divorce and she changed the locks. I can go back at a mutually agreed upon time so I can retrieve my belongings,but all I have right now is the suit on my back and all I want to do is crawl under a blanket and put a pillow over my head. But he couldn't say that, not now, because this was Robin and, hell, did he need any other reason? He flopped down on the couch. "I lost my keys," was all he said, "and Nora's not picking up her phone."
"Is she working late?" Robin asked. "We can go get her keys, if you want. Let me go put something on and grab my ID."
Barney swallowed. "Nora's not at work. Leave it at that, okay?" It was full night now, the day weighed on him and Robin smelled like vanilla and lavender. She didn't know, and he couldn't let her know. "My mom has company. Eli has chicken pox, so I can't stay with James, and Jerry's chaperoning JJ's school trip to West Point. If you and Ted are busy, I can get a hotel room, but I thought I'd…" Pull it together, Stinson. "I thought I'd try coming here first. I'd really like to talk to Ted," he finished, too tired to come up with anything else.
Robin tightened the sash on her robe. "Ted's not coming home tonight. He's staying at the Holiday Inn near his house so he can meet the electrician first thing in the morning. You can sleep in his room. The sheets are clean. You can talk to me, you know that, right?"
He did know, but acting on that knowledge? Not a good thing. Not tonight. "Have you had dinner yet? Let's order pizza. My treat." He took out his phone and the idea gelled. "I'll get us a pizza and hot wings, maybe some ice cream. We can stay up all night, watching movies and catching up on each other's lives. What has Robin Sherbatsky been up to these days anyway? Tell me everything. Is that a new robe? I like it. The blue brings out your eyes."
Robin's lips parted, her forehead creasing. "Are you okay?"
"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be okay? Why do people keep asking me that? Can't a bro drop in on another bro for a bro's night in?" His voice sounded brittle even to him, verging on manic, but he wanted to hang onto Robin not knowing about the divorce as long as he possibly could. "Let me sweeten the pot. How about I check to see if Degrassi High is available on NetFilms? What season do you want? I bet you're a big Joey/Caitlin fangirl, aren't you?"
Robin tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. A scarlet blush stained her cheeks. "No," she answered a second too quickly, the single syllable dissolving into a giggle. "Okay, guilty. You don't have to check NetFilms. I have the DVDs. Pizza sounds good." She said nothing else after that, only stuck in the DVD and got two beers from the fridge. Halfway through the fourth episode, she emptied a third beer into the ice cream and brought out two spoons.
