New York – Marshall and Ted's Apartment
Marshall and Lily were lying in bed, both starring at the ceiling reminiscing about the events that had transpired that day. "Crazy huh?" Marshall asked and Lily nodded. They had watched Ted get drunk at McLarens which led him to get very vocal about how mad he was, next he tried to interrogate Carl to find out the details of what he had noticed, when that didn't worked he became somewhat violent. Marshall stepped in after Ted wiped a couple of beer bottles off the counter in an attempt to get Carl's attention and they finally made it up to the apartment. It took the two of them another two hours to convince Ted to go to bed.
"I hope he is asleep. Remember the pineapple incident?" Lily asked.
Marshall nodded, "Carl will call us if he shows up again...speaking of calling, I took his cell phone from him."
"Good call, he totally would have drunk dialed Barney and Robin."
"Yeah… I can't believe Barney is in Tokyo, how did he even get there so quick."
"Plane?" Lily asked.
"Well yeah but … have you not wondered why he felt the need to jump on the next plane and go see her?" That question had bugged him for hours now and no one else seemed to have picked up on the fact that Barney had left everything to rush to Robins side.
"Who knows," Lily shrugged, "I am way more interested to find out what got into Robin, I mean this is Barney we are talking about."
Marshall didn't understand that either, Robin was so strong and independent, he would have never pictured her as the type of woman who fell for Barneys schemes. "He can be pretty charming…just ask the countless girls he picks up," he tried and Lily replied, "but she knows that. She has witnessed how sleazy he treats these girls, how disposable they are to him. She knows that he has slept with have of the women in New York City and the awful things he's done. I mean he pretty much has told her himself, how often do we sit in our booth listening to Barney brag about his latest conquests and the demeaning things he has done to them. It's not like he could blind-side her like he did with his random skanks that fell for his smooth flirting techniques and good looks."
"Maybe it's the thrill, yes it's Barney but it's also Barney, he is daring and adventurous and as much practice as he has, I would assume the sex is good," Marshall contemplated.
Lily had to admit that he had a point, "sure but Robin isn't the kind of girl who sleeps with a guy because he is assumably good at it. Plus it's disgusting, you know how many women Barney has slept with?"
Marshall was about to answer but Lily interfered, "don't answer that! How nasty and yucky is that? I mean that alone should have prevented anything from happening.
Both fell silent, there was only one explanation: Robin must have lost her mind.
Tokyo Present Day
Yep, she still hated this job. Who in their right mind would think that a monkey makes a good co-host? These were serious news after all. But she didn't want to think about that right now, instead she really looked forward to spending the rest of the day exploring Tokyo with Barney. She got off the elevator and headed towards the door, the physique of a guy standing in the lobby caught her eye but it still took her a few more steps to realize that the man she was checking out was no one other than Barney.
"Wow, I almost didn't recognize you," she blurt out and closed in on him.
Barney rolled his eyes, "I know, I know. The next plane was leaving in an hour and I didn't have time to fold my dress shirts and suits so I just picked the first thing I could grab."
Robin smiled; he was wearing a white V-neck t-shirt with jeans and sneakers. "Okay, get it out of your system: I know I just look like a lame, regular guy…first stop, somewhere they sell suits!"
"Actually, I kinda like it," she placed her hand on his chest and he asked baffled, "you like it?" She nodded, "I do. I know you don't like not being suited up but this look works on you, I think you look really hot."
Barney grinned, "hot enough to take a quick detour to the next restroom?" He wiggled his eyebrows and made her laugh, "seriously Barney, how are you always so potent?"
"Well, smoking hot chicks telling me I look good help," he replied but Robin wasn't really listening anymore, something else had caught her eye.
"You are wearing your ring," she stuttered, Barney also looked down at his hand.
"Yeah, it's not like anyone will ask stupid questions, we are in Tokyo after all," he replied, Robin nodded, "why?" she looked back up to meet his gaze.
"I noticed you were wearing yours… like actually wearing it in plain sight and I decided to do the same," he explained as if it was not a big deal.
"I didn't even think you still had it," Robin confessed and Barney asked very surprised, "what would make you think that?"
"Well it disappeared after we returned from Vegas and I assumed… I mean given what this whole marriage is really about and… I mean common, it's not like you believe in any kind of marriage so I just figured you had gotten rid of it right away."
"Robin Scherbatsky, do you really believe I would get rid of something that so profoundly turns you on? This ring has just as much of a mesmerizing effect on you as the one in 'Lord of the Rings' had on Gollum."
Robins eyes widened and she quickly said, "it does not."
But Barney had already won and they both knew it, "you know it does. Just like seeing yours has that same effect on me. Nothing turns me on like unbuttoning your blouse or taking your shirt off and seeing my ring around your neck. And don't even get me started on how many times I had an erection while sitting in the booth across from you because I caught a glance of the necklace, knowing that I was the only one there who knew what the pendant was. "
Robin swallowed and starred at her own ring, "it's because of all the lies and secrets linked to it."
Barney nodded, "yeah, elaborate lies turn us on. So restroom?" Robin headed for the door and left him standing there, the weather outside was really nice and she asked what he'd planned next, "I thought we could head downtown," he replied.
New York – Marshall and Ted's Apartment 5 hours later
Ted woke up with a horrible headache but that wasn't why he felt as awful as he did. The thought of Robin and Barney together drove him crazy. He got up and got some aspirin from the kitchen. He couldn't wait for Robin to answer his questions, he needed them answered now, but of course that wasn't really up to him. He watched the aspirin dissolve and wondered who else knew. There had to be more people who had noticed something, clearly they weren't that careful if Carl had caught them. Whatever that meant, the bartender never budged and told him. He walked back towards the living room when the keys hanging next to the door caught his eye, one of them was Barneys, he had given it to Lily a couple of years ago. He had just wrapped his fingers around the key when Lily startled him by asking, "what are you doing?"
He spun around and faced her, "no…nothing."
But she had already connected the dots, "you were about to go to Barneys apartment, weren't you?"
Ted didn't answer and finally Lily spoke again, "I know this sucks but breaking into Barneys apartment won't give you the answers you are looking for."
"You don't know that… Lily I can't just sit here and wait for Robin to show up and explain everything to me. I need answers and I need them now, otherwise I am going to loose my mind." They locked eyes and finally Lily said, "fine, but I am coming with you."
Tokyo Present Day
"So, where did you keep it?" Robin asked once they were in the cab and Barney had tried to explain to the driver where they wanted to go.
"What?" he asked.
"The ring, did you carry it with you this whole time?"
"Well, yeah. How much good would it had been if it was lying in my apartment. It's not like I plan screwing up in advance," he made it sound as if she had lost her mind.
"But you never used it," she pointed out.
"I never had to, although I did plan on using it the night of the busty blond incident in March."
"Oh, that," she smiled and it reminded him of how she had done the same that night.
3 Months Prior New York - McLarens
It had been a typical Thursday night at McLarens; they weren't able to decide on dinner and like most nights, ended up eating there. They drank beer and exchanged stories about their day, nothing out of the ordinary until Ted had challenged him to pick up the busty blond by the bar.
"Can't a bro just have a nice conversation with his friends?" he asked.
"Since when do you choose a conversation over sex?" Ted wanted to know and Lily added, "I think he has lost his game."
"I have not," he replied and took another sip from his beer.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen you pick someone up in quite some time," Marshall realized and Barney finally glanced over to Robin, their eyes met and she said, "plus, she seems like your type."
Barney turned towards the bar, pretending to check the girl in question out. His mind was working overtime, it would be suspicious if he didn't accept Ted's challenge but then again, this might piss Robin off and he much rather took her home tonight than this bimbo. He turned back to his friends, emptied his beer and stood up, "20$ say that I make out with her within the next 10 minutes."
"10 minutes? I doubt it, it's only eight thirty Barney, I think you are overestimating her alcohol level," Ted replied and took the bet.
"Go get her," Marshall rooted for him, Barney looked over to Robin once more before turning around and heading towards the bar.
It wasn't even a challenge; the girl's sole intention of going out had been to get laid. They were making out within five minutes of him approaching her. He kept his eyes open a little to catch Robin's reaction and noticed that she had lost her cool, laughing too loudly and gesturing too much. After a couple of minutes he suggested taking this somewhere else and the girl, he didn't even remember her name, agreed happily.
Once outside he made up an excuse, paid her cab fare and send her on her way. Obviously he couldn't go back inside so he lit a cigarette and slowly started walking. He was contemplating whether he should text Robin to meet him outside when he noticed someone leaving McLarens. It was her. He expected her to be mad and fumbled for the ring in his pocket but then she noticed him standing there and just smiled the brightest smile ever. He let go of the ring and walked towards her.
"What happened to your acquaintance?" she asked and he shrugged, "way too dumb and easy."
"Isn't that a prerequisite for sleeping with you?"
"You tell me," he replied and she smiled, "touché".
He offered her the cigarette but she declined.
"Thank you," she finally said and when he looked puzzled she explained, "I know this thing between us… I mean we are just hooking up and therefore there really isn't a reason why you couldn't have taken her home."
"I might not have the highest moral standards but I won't pick up some bimbo in plain sight for my wife to see," he joked and she giggled and kissed him.
The kiss only lasted a couple of seconds, "you taste like cherry lipstick and cigarettes," she said disgusted after pushing him away. Both of them wiped their mouth with the back of their hands, trying to get the taste off of them.
"We don't need to kiss for what I am thinking," he said while pulling her close again, "but not here, let's go." He had nodded, but didn't let her go right away. They had kissed once more, "I can still taste it," she said und pushed him away.
He hailed a cab and said while opening the door, "so no more kissing and semi-public sex tonight then." They ended up doing both.
New York Barney's Apartment
"What did you expect?" Lily asked, they were standing in Barneys living room and everything looked the same.
"I don't know," Ted answered, he walked over to the fridge and opened it. No milk, that was a good sign, Robin drank a lot of milk. Of course she left for Japan more than two weeks ago so it really meant nothing.
"Ted?" He heard Lily ask but he ignored her and headed towards Barneys bedroom. His large porn collection was still on display in the hallway, another sign that this thing between Barney and Robin wasn't serious. The bedroom itself was a mess; the bed wasn't made, the drawers of the dresser were wide open and clothing items were spread on the floor.
"Wow, he really was in a hurry when he left," Lily stated after she entered the room. Ted nodded; he noticed that the bed still only had one cover and pillow.
"If you ask me, this still looks like bachelor country to me," Lily said while sitting down on the bed. She was right but that didn't necessarily make it better. He didn't know what was worse, the thought of Barney and Robin seriously dating or the realization that Robin was just another number to Barney.
He walked over to Barneys nightstand and looked through the drawer but didn't find anything besides condoms and a camera. "Ted, what are you doing?" Lily asked alarmed.
"Just looking around a little," he answered and closed the drawer again.
"Look we went over here and I was on board with that but snooping around in his stuff is going too far," she tried to stop him.
He had reached Barneys desk and flipped through some papers, "just one more minute, okay?" He opened the top drawer of Barneys desk and was taken aback when he realized what he had found.
"Ted? Did you hear me? Let's go!" Ted was too stunned to react.
"What is it? What did you find?" Lily asked and came closer.
"Pictures of them…" he mumbled and turned around to show her.
The first picture showed them kissing. Barney was wearing a suit and had his hands buried in her hair while she was wearing her white summer dress, her hands placed under his suit on the sides of his waist. Lily swallowed; whoever had taken the picture had done a pretty good job capturing the essence of the moment.
They were wearing the same cloths in the second photograph except that Barneys jacket was draped around her shoulders and that this had been taken at night. He had one hand in his pocket and the other one wrapped around her waist, while she had placed one hand on his chest. Both were looking directly into the camera smiling.
"Are those the water fountains of the Bellagio in the background?" Lily asked in surprise. Ted was still too shocked to answer but yeah, he was pretty sure they were.
The third picture was the worst. Barney himself had clearly taken it since his arm extended out of the frame. It showed him lying on his back, his naked chest on display, smirking. Robin was lying next to him, wrapped in a white bed sheet, resting her head on one hand and the second one on Barneys chest while looking directly into the lens.
Lily's first thought was that this was a hot picture if she'd ever seen one. Her second thought was that Ted should have never found these.
