The Barney and Robin Piece

Part 1

Everything's changed.

As Robin sat in the cab on the way back home from Barney's she couldn't help but think, over and over again –

Everything's changed.

The thought had been nagging at her consistently since that day in the hospital after Ted's goat incident. Usually she was able to squelch the thought, making a mental list of all the ways things hadn't changed between her and Barney. Usually that list far outweighed the much scarier list of how things had changed.

She nervously picked at a few rogue split ends in her hair as the cab trekked across town. Perhaps a walk across Central Park would have been a better way to clear her head, but it was so damn hot outside that she couldn't bear it. Seriously, 100 degrees in mid-July, with no end in sight? Her Canadian core was crying in sweltering pain. Ugh.

As she rolled down the window to catch some relief, she summoned the list again, the mantra she'd used to keep her sane in the past few months since she and Barney had started this … undefined something.

He's still lewd

He's still awesome.

He still wears suits.

He still says "legendary," with and without the "wait for it"s.

He still wingmans for Ted.

He still goes laser tagging.

He still recites random passages from the Bro Code verbatim.

He still does something important and secretive for GNB.

He still shields his inner emotions with the façade of his awesomeness, suits, and the like.

It was a long list, and it should have made her feel better, like it usually did. Not this time. Now she had to remove a very important aspect of Barney from that list, and move it to the scary "Things That HAVE Changed List."

He still sleeps around.

Robin might be in some trouble.

***

For the past few months, they'd had an understanding. They were together, but at the same time they weren't.

Robin wasn't convinced that she was in love with Barney. It's not that she didn't care about him. She did. It's not that she didn't enjoy being around him. She really did. It's that she was always waiting for Barney to get scared off and run. And to leave her hurt. So it was easier to keep a sense of detachment.

That was usually Robin's MO: to get scared and run before anything serious developed. Her relationship with Ted was the first one where she really tried and stuck it out. She let herself fall in love, and when it ended, it was ok, her world didn't end. But Barney was certainly not Ted. For all the good, and all the bad.

She wasn't opposed to letting herself love Barney. But she wasn't ready.

Barney, for his part, was understanding. When they aired out their feelings immediately following the goat incident, he admitted that he loved her (not that he actually used those words, exactly – they never had used the l-word sincerely), and that he had for awhile. It was declared a Mosbying-free conversation, and it was difficult for both of them to be so brutally honest with themselves and each other.

When the conversation ended, they had reached their understanding.

Then they had the most legendary sex Robin had ever imagined.

And ever since then, they had been Bros By Day, Lovers By Night. If plotted on one of Marshall's graphs, it would lie somewhere between friends with benefits and an actual relationship.

They spent a lot of time together, which wasn't really out of the ordinary. They did their bro-ing around, playing laser tag or going to the cigar bar from time to time. By most appearances, they were the same bros they'd been for years.

Occasionally, only occasionally, they went on a "date." They'd gone on about three by this point. It usually consisted of dinner at a ridiculously expensive and exclusive restaurant, then spending the rest of the night at Barney's or Robin's place.

And then there was the sex.

But they weren't exclusive.

Until now.

Now things had changed.

And that scared the shit out of Robin.

***

The night before had been their third "date." That fact, if Robin had thought of it before, should have tipped her off that it would be a transformative time for their … whatever it was. Clearly, they'd already had the sex, but there were other boundaries to cross.

True to their style, they simply met at the restaurant. Earlier that day, as Robin and Barney exchanged g-chats during lunch, Barney had said:

Let's do dinner.

8pm.

My neighborhood – 76th and York.

Restaurant's name is Rush. Should be good.

Dress code = hot. And I mean HOT.

See you.

And he signed off, not even allowing Robin to type a sentence in edgewise. Robin was proficient but he was incredibly fast and nimble with his fingers. Robin had experienced that firsthand many times by this point.

The thought intrigued her as she quickly went to her closet to pick out the sexiest dress she owned. When Barney Stinson says "hot," Robin knew he meant it.

At ten minutes after 8pm, Robin approached the restaurant, finding Barney already waiting there.

She felt her skin flush and her heart flutter faintly as she spied him while he checked his watch and shifted his weight impatiently. Robin loved these moments, where she could observe Barney without him noticing. It was like a private window into who he really was.

Easy Scherbatsky, she chided herself, channeling the Barney Stinson tone. Keep your cool.

Barney's eyes found Robin as she approached. His entire posture and aura changed. Suddenly he'd gone from impatience to excitement. After the initial glance of recognition, Barney's eyes predictably gave Robin the once over. His greeting to Robin was a low whistle, then, "Scherbatsky, you take your dress codes seriously."

Robin, thoughts of Barney's nimble fingers and the power they possessed still lingering in her mind, simply smiled seductively, and greeted Barney with a suggestive kiss. He instinctively leaned in for more, trying to initiate a rated R make-out session on the sidewalk of 76th Street. Robin, keeping a level head, pulled away.

"Nuh uh, soldier," she teased. "You promised me dinner, and I'm starving. What do you think, I'm some kind of cheap date?"

Barney winked at her. "How much will it take to get you to come home with me?"

"A delectable surf and turf dinner, a slice of cheesecake, and a conversation where you do NOT allude to my Canadianness."

"Please," Barney scoffed. "You're trying to play hardball, Scherbatsky, and hard … ball … is my game. What. Up."

Robin simply shook her head in fake disgust. The pun was rather bad, but he was so proud of himself. Robin just had to play along.

Barney continued, "I'm about 101% sure you're bluffing. I could get you into bed right now if you weren't so famished. But for your well being, and so you don't faint mid-bang, I'll keep up this charade and eat dinner with you first."

And with that he extended his arm, chivalrously, and Robin entwined her arm with his.

Verbal sparring – check.

Now it was time for dinner.

The "date" started like the two before it – witty repartee, smoldering stares across the table, sexually charged brushes of skin as they adjusted their feet, reached for bread, or tinged their wine glasses (or scotch glasses – whatever the case may be). They consciously shied away from the sickeningly coupley practice of sharing food. What was Robin's was Robin's, what was Barney's was Barney's.

That's just how they rolled.

Conversation revolved around the usual. Marshall and Lily's goofiness, Ted's sheer Ted-ness, work and other related stories. Never did the conversation stray to dangerous territory, like feelings. No no, Barney and Robin didn't play that way.

It was a dinner between bros, but bros who were undeniably sleeping together.

Every word, every stare, every touch was part of an elaborate seduction ritual that the two were creating.

By the time Robin's surf and turf arrived at the circular table, her chair had mysteriously slid closer and closer to Barney's side. And Barney's hand had not only claimed a place on Robin's thigh, but it was slowly, ever so slowly, inching its way up. His soft, slender, meticulous fingers, which Robin had been fantasizing about all day, had just brushed under the hem of her skirt when the waiter arrived with the meals.

Robin realized that her appetite for food had been superseded by another, deeper, more urgent hunger. The waiter had walked away, and Barney's hand still continued to edge up her thigh. Even though the food probably looked delicious, Robin didn't give it a glance. Her eyes were firmly locked on Barney's striking blue eyes, as their conversation quickly stalled. The air between them tingled with electricity. Simultaneously, they broke the stare and Barney's hand left Robin's thigh. Without a word, they jumped up from the table and strode, urgently yet composed, to the ladies' room and locked the door.

There, any pretense of innocence evaporated as their lips and tongues collided in a frenzy of passion. Barney's tongue felt hot in her mouth as he traced the outline of her teeth and teased her tongue with his own.

She softly bit down on his lower lip as his hands found their favorite spot on Robin's body, her breasts. He fondled and massaged them, and kissed her hungrily, while Robin's hands migrated to his belt, brushing against him as she did so.

Barney groaned into her. This is what they did best – red hot passion. Robin did not doubt herself at all in this exchange in the bathroom. What's more, she didn't doubt Barney either. There were no warning bells going off in her head. The only thought on her mind was of him, how much she wanted him, how much she needed him right NOW. She felt him shiver pleasantly under her touch.

Then, his fingers, those fingers, slid up under her hem again, even more electric than before. Every nerve ending in Robin's body tingled with the sought after attention from Barney's fingers. They didn't linger on her thighs long however, as he picked up the skirt of her dress and bunched it up around her waist.

Barney then noticed the lack of any other fabric between them, and spoke for the first time since they entered the restroom.

"No panties. Hot. You really take the dress code more seriously than I thought."

"Shut up, Barney," Robin breathed into him.

The next time they spoke was after it was over. Barney smoothed her dress back down and put himself back together. Robin turned to the sink and splashed some water on her face.

When she looked back up and into the mirror, she could see Barney staring back at her reflection. He was no longer wearing that burning expression of passion and lust, but instead something more serene, more contemplative.

His hand rubbed at the back of his neck as he slowly shook his head in admiration and said simply, "you're an amazing woman, Robin Scherbatsky."

Robin turned around and closed the space between them, grabbing his hand warmly as she softly kissed him.

Their eyes met as she pulled back away. Barney's expression was still one of earnest serenity, something Robin had never known about until recently. It still unnerved her a bit. Robin shifted the tone by saying frankly, "I know it."

Barney chuckled warmly, and was suddenly back to Barney.

They went back to their table and ate as if nothing happened. Robin's lobster was cold, but she couldn't care less.

***

The next morning, Robin awoke feeling the bed shift next to her and Barney's arm leave her side as he got out of bed. Try as she might to deny it, she felt a bit disappointed as she felt Barney slip out of bed and away from her.

She turned towards him, lifted her eyes to meet his.

"Don't," she almost said, but that would have been against the rules. Against the rules she ardently adhered to in order to protect her fragile emotions. Instead she simply mumbled, "'morning, Barney." A warm smile crept across Barney's face and his eyes sparkled at her. Even though she didn't say what she really wanted to, she got her wish. Barney crept back into bed and under the covers (big enough for two!). His hand softly brushed at her side as he returned her greeting with a soft kiss.

Every time she woke up at Barney's she was struck by how different it was than the first time after they slept together. That time, awesome-Barney was the Barney who woke up next to her. Now, a more real, gentle Barney awoke next to her, as if it took him a few minutes to recharge his awesome mask. And every time, it took him a bit longer to recharge, and Robin spent more and more morning time with the raw, unguarded Barney. It unnerved her a bit, but she was learning to like this side of Barney. This was a side of him that she could even find herself allowing herself to be in love with. Because he was still the same great person she had known for years, but a bit safer, perhaps.

That side of Barney simultaneously comforted and scared the crap out of Robin.

"So what's on your agenda for the day, Scherbatsky?"

"I'm not sure. I might see what Lily's up to. I feel like I've been ignoring her lately, and I know she's been bored silly. What about you? Gonna go bro-ing with Ted tonight, dip your toes into the bimbo wave pool?"

Barney winced.

"Please," he scoffed, in his trademark fashion. "Maybe I'll wingman for Ted," he started, then hesitated, weighing his words. He continued, tone more cautious, subdued. "But, I don't think I'll be playing the field tonight, because – to be honest …" He hesitated again, unsure of whether he should continue. "To be honest, I haven't slept with anyone else in a month, and I haven't even really missed it. At all."

The silence between them was torturous.

This broke the rules. This broke all their rules.

Suddenly, their … relationship … was becoming a whole lot more serious. Their understanding had been violated, and Robin struggled to keep her composure.

Everything had changed.

Crap.