AN: Second kiss. The almost kiss from 7x01 'The Best Man'. I think, it's longer than the first one, because Barney and Robins relationship was more complicated at this point of the story. Thank you so much for reading and following and reviewing this. It means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy and understand it.
Barney held Robin up in the air and she felt so lighthearted. It felt like she could really fly.
She stroked his short and perfectly styled hair and neck, while he carefully and slowly set her back down on the floor. During this process they never broke eye contact. His hands remained on her waist and hers lay on his shoulders as her feet touched the ground. Robin was still a little unsteady on her legs and they swayed slightly, their noses almost touching.
She just wanted to kiss him. And that was crazy, because five minutes ago, she wanted to tell him, they would never ever be together again.
In this moment she realized, that she was just trying to fool herself. And she failed.
"Barney?" she wispered, her eyes glued to his lips.
"I... I..." She didn't know, what to say. And then she didn't have to say anything, because all of a sudden Barney kissed her. She was taken aback, but she couldn't complain, because she wanted it.
Without hesitation she kissed him right back. Robin didn't care, that he was her ex-boyfriend, she didn't care about all the people in this room, who could see it. She didn't even care about Lily, who was now probably jumping up and down on her chair, knowing she was right, because Robin still had feelings for Barney. None of it mattered as long as Barney kissed her.
His arms were tight around her, as if he feared she would run away, when she had the chance. But that was the furthest thing from her mind, as she pushed her fingers back into his hair. Their tongues touched and Robin moaned into his mouth.
Barney in response put his hand on the back of her head and grabbed a fistful of her brown curls. Someone bumped hard into Robin and they broke the kiss.
"Sorry" a tubby blonde woman said, before she returned to her dance partner, who apparently spun her to fast.
Robin and Barney let go of each other and looked at one another, both of them speechless. Robin eventually stepped to the side and walked past Barney, in the direction of the patio. He watched after her, totally confused.
After a few steps, Robin turned around and looked at him.
"Are you coming?" she asked him.
"Where to?" Barney asked.
Robin sighed and said: "We need to talk about this, Barney. And this is not the right place to do so."
She continued to walk towards the door leading to the patio and Barney followed her. They went outside and closed the door behind them.
There on the patio, they continued to stare at each other, until Barney said: "You start."
"Oh, no. You start."
"Why me?"
"Because YOU kissed ME" Robin said.
"As if you didn't want it" Barney responded.
"That's not the point" Robin said, while blushing. "The point is: You started it."
"You were stroking through my hair. You only do that, when you are turned on and as reaction, I get turned on."
"Really? It turns you on, when I do this?" Robin asked and without thinking, thrusted her hand with splayed fingers into his hair.
Barneys eyes darkened. He didn't move a muscle, except for clenching his teeth. His breathing increased and he looked her deep in the eyes.
"Get your hand... out of my hair" he said huskily. "Or I will screw you right here on this patio."
Robin pulled her hand away as if she got burned. Now she was definitely turned on, but she didn't want to do it on this patio. And not before they had talked.
Barney took a deep breath for reassurance and smoothed his tie.
"What did you want to talk about, before we danced?" he asked her.
Robin was surprised by this question. She thought, he hadn't noticed, that she wanted to talk to him. She recalled, what she wanted to tell him, but as she now knew, it would have been a lie. She decided to tell Barney the truth.
"I just wanted to tell you, that, if you deep down still hope we will get back together one day... you should forget it, because we are over and I don't feel this way about you anymore" she told him.
Barney looked at her as if she had kicked him in the nuts and ripped his heart out.
"And I realized, it would have been a lie" she continued quickly. Barney looked expectant.
"We didn't work out the first time. And it makes absolutely no sense, I know that. But I've got the feeling, that we belong together. I can't shake it, no matter how hard I try. And I was wondering, if there's a small part of you, that wants to try again."
Barney stared at her dumbfounded. He wanted nothing more, than grab her by her shoulders and kiss her until she's senseless. But he couldn't. First, he had to tell her something.
"I called Nora" he said.
"Oh" Robin said.
Oh. He called Nora. Girly Nora with her stupid shiny hair and her stupid perfect little nose. Apparently, Lily was wrong. Barney doesn't want me anymore. He wants Nora. Stupid Nora.
"I... feel so stupid right now" Robin said, trying to laugh, so she wouldn't start crying.
She turned away and wanted to go back inside, where she could cry in the bathroom stall, but Barney grabbed her wrist and forced her to face him.
"I don't want to date her. I just wanted to buy her a coffee and let her call me dirty names. Just like I suggested, when we met her on the street", he said. "I never really wanted to date her. When I met her for the first time, she was just so smart and cheeky. It reminded me of you."
Robin smiled at him, as he said that.
"And you kept nudging me in her direction. I just thought, you were over it and I should try to move on. I tried. Nora is really nice, but... she's not you."
Barney stepped closer to Robin and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her close to him.
"And yes. I would really love to try again."
Robin took his tie in her hand. He understood the sign and leaned down to kiss her.
She pushed her hands into his hair, since she now knew it turned him on. And Barney indeed deepened the kiss. But after a few seconds, he pulled away abruptly, confusing Robin.
"What?" she asked. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No, I just need to know, that you are in this for real."
"What do you mean?" Robin asked.
"On my first date with Nora, I told her I wanted to settle down. And that I could imagine myself getting married some day. And at the end of the night, I told her that I was lying. But I wasn't. She was just not the right person to do it with, so it felt like a lie. I'm not saying, that I need to marry or buy a house in the suburbs. I'm still not Ted. I just think, I'm ready for something serious. I'm in this for the long haul. And I hope, you're too."
"I am" Robin answered.
"Really?"
"Yeah" she said and smiled.
"Okay", he said and smiled back at her.
"Okay."
They kissed each other for ten minutes straight, until Robin broke it off and smiled at him seductively.
"So... You wanna have sex in a bathroom stall?" she asked.
"Gosh, you're perfect!" Barney said and Robin laughed, grabbed his hand and led him to the restrooms.