So, I wanted to do something different with this story which is I took things from the show that were canon and took it out because I feel like this story is better off without things that are unnecessary for the story. Example: This chapter is all about Robin 101, my memory is a little fussy on the details of the episode so I rewrote what was already in the episode and made it my own. I took out the Ted/Robin scene in MacLaren's before she talks to Barney on the stoop of the building outside. I really hate Ted in this episode and I feel he overstepped his boundaries and went too far getting involved in Barney and Robin's relationship even though Barney asked him for his help. I also wanted to change a canon thing about this episode and it being a running gag on the show for fans of the show. The fact that Robin saying "you're an idiot" means "I love you" but in my headcanon I believe Robin isn't really saying I love you, she really saying that Barney's an idiot for what he was doing with his Robin notebook. There was nothing before this episode that says that this is legit, there was nothing before this that says that Robin saying this is true because she's never said it before this episode or after it's a made up thing to fit into the episode to make it seem like Ted knows her more better than Barney.
I believe that Barney IS the one who actually does know the real Robin and that's why he wasn't acting more like a boyfriend that most boyfriends act like. So, as the story moves on, I am going to do canon things from the show but I will change something's to a headcanon of mine. Sorry, for taking long to update this story I've been blanking on my stories, writers block is a terrible thing.
He really wants to make this work, he knew that he had been struggling being in a relationship even if the relationship in question here is his relationship with Robin. So, he wanted to make this relationship work because he couldn't lose Robin, no matter how badly he screws up he wants to be a better boyfriend to her and wants this relationship to work out because if he's being completely honest, he's really happy, being with Robin makes him happy, she makes him happier than he's ever been and knows that he's being struggling with being in a relationship even if it's a relationship he wants to be in, a relationship with the only woman he's let himself fall in love with, without realizing how deep those feelings were, for both of them. These last few months, this past summer has been one of if not the best summer of his life, just being with Robin made him feel alive for once in his life. He, had found himself having fun spending the summer with his best friend and sneaking around, even going on weekend get away's without anyone finding out that they were gone.
But, those months in the summer still didn't stop him from being around other women and women flirting with him and he flirting right back in front of Robin. It, had gotten to the point where little by little Robin had gotten more annoyed and angry over women flirting with no shame at all with her (well, they hadn't defined anything then but still she was boiling on the inside) it had gotten to the point where she was just plain furious, fed up with Barney not even caring that even with her sitting right there that he flirts and smiles with these women. But, that wasn't the only issue that Robin had with Barney in the last four months, well technically it's been five month or if you want to be timely correct it's been four and a half months since they started seeing each other. The other issue was that Robin thought that Barney wasn't putting much effort into their relationship. She realized that Barney, hasn't done a single boyfriend-y thing for her since they started seeing each other.
Not one thing: He hasn't sent her roses or even any kind of flower just because he felt like it or to cheer her up when she isn't having the best day. He, hasn't written her a love note just cause he felt like it, he hasn't asked her out on a single date since they started seeing each other. He, hasn't been there when she needed to talk to someone about her mom's illness or her sister that was coming to see her in a couple weeks, he didn't care that she wanted to express her worried mind with him, he just didn't get that she wanted to talk to him and only him because after all he was her boyfriend? Well not really in the summer but now he is. He, just hasn't lived up to many of her past boyfriend's potential.
Or, maybe she's just putting too much pressure onto him to be the perfect boyfriend? Maybe, it isn't about having the perfect boyfriend maybe it's the way he is, which isn't a bad guy, he isn't a bad boyfriend per say, he is better than most boyfriends who put in effort to impress their girlfriends. Or, just maybe she's fine and happy just being with Barney? Maybe, it isn't the things he can do for her when she needs him, maybe it's the carefree-non-defined summer that made her not think of these things that was on her mind but didn't want to burst that bubble of being carefree and happy together, because just being together was enough?
She is happy, she hasn't felt this happy being in a relationship ever. Barney makes her happy, there is no doubt that the summer they had together was the most thrilling and fun summers of her life. They went on trips, they went on little dates like he would pick her up at work and take her out to have lunch unexpectedly, they hung out a lot, they weren't apart at all that summer unless they were around their friends or out in the open where their friends would catch them together. They, were sneaking around, usually she would go to his apartment and stay the night, nobody would know that she wasn't at the apartment or Maclaren's. Sometimes, he would be over at her apartment more later than he should be and sneaked out once the coast was clear, meaning when Ted goes to his room for the night. They, usually called each other no matter how late it was when one of them are at their own apartment. He, once for the heck of it before everything became too serious and chaotic in the relationship, he did do things to surprise her. Like, he would find things to do unexpectedly like hopping into a horse carriage ride even when it was a bit late at night and they were heading home, to his apartment for the night.
Yes, Barney did do things out of the blue for her and it wasn't really romantic but it was something that he did without thinking about what she would say, he would just do anything to make her feel good and happy. But, soon those things he did that seemed genuinely romantic started to play tricks in her mind which leads her to thinking the worst.
"He's cheating on me." Is the first thing to come to mind while talking to Lily about how her relationship with Barney is going. It wasn't like she meant that, it was just something that came to mind when she thinks about all those women who had came onto him during the last five months. It wasn't like she was jealous, not still jealous of these women who flirt and come onto Barney even with her sitting right there. It's just, weird to see him putting this much effort into the relationship.
In the last week, Barney has been a super boyfriend. He has been kind, generious, gracious, sweet, caring, he's been the kind of boyfriend who actually sent her flowers just because he wanted to cheer her up even thought she wasn't sad or angry about something. He, was the best boyfriend to her which had her think that the only reason he was doing such nice gestures is because he's trying to be nice to her so she won't be mad at him when she finds out the truth, that he is cheating with one of those cheap strippers or that waitress a few months ago that had a thing for him. So, that's why she jumped to this one particular issue that she had been thinking about a lot in the last few weeks, even since May really. Has, she really been this jealous of women coming onto her boyfriend for this whole time? That is so not Robin Scherbatsky…
"Oh, come on how can you think Barney's cheating on you?" Lily, wasn't at all shocked if this was true. Barney, has been trying to find a way to make up for cheating if that's the real reason why Barney has been this perfect boyfriend in the last week. "Come to think of it, maybe he is." Lily, says out loud not realizing that she had said it out loud so Robin could hear her.
"Well, okay." Lily is giving Robin this look that says that there's something going on within Robin's relationship with Barney. "Fine. This isn't me, but I have been kind of oddly jealous of random women coming onto Barney even with me sitting right there with him. It's been happening since we decided to see where our relationship was going. So, since May there's been a few times when he had been flirting or doing something with these random women without any remorse or care about my feelings. I guess, this issue has been on my mind for a while now which makes my mind start going on circles thinking that he's actually been seeing this waitress he flirted with during the summer." Robin, has been standing pacing the living room, well not the living room just in front of the couch. Saying, this out loud kind of makes her feel better about these things she's been holding inside her and now she kind of thinks she's been holding them against Barney since these events accord.
"Wait, what? Say that again, Barney's been hitting on women in front of you?" Lily's shocked, a little appalled thinking that Barney, the Barney she knew who has been in love with Robin for an entire year plus. Is, cheating on Robin with some waitress?
"Well, yeah kind of. But, he had brushed it off as some kind of meaningless none issue. He, even said that it's what he does when women are flirting with him. It's just a reflex, but it has really been boggling my mind. We, talked about this problem twice now but I'm still unsure about if he's sincere about this, that he thinks it's just harmless flirting and that it means nothing to him." Robin, collapses onto the couch and sighs almost getting overly worked up and emotional about this.
Oops, too late she's starting to tear up and tries to wipe her eyes before she started crying more and Lily sees her. But, Lily did notice tears starting to show in her eyes as she sat back down on the couch.
"Oh, wow Robin this is really bugging you isn't it?" Robin nods her head, tears start to show more as Lily pulls her into a hug.
"I-I don't know what to do. Lil, I mean I want to trust him that he wouldn't do something like this but I don't know, I'm beginning to think that he's not serious about us and this relationship. Maybe, I should just end this before something does actually happen." And, she's serious. She can't believe she's saying this, she doesn't really mean it but maybe Barney's just not ready to commit to her. Which, gets her to cry even more thinking of this.
"She, really said that?" Barney, says as he and Lily are sitting in their booth at Maclaren's. Lily, had just got there and Barney was sitting there alone when she came in. He, had been writing something down on pieces of paper which had Lily suspicious of what he's been writing about.
So, now after Barney tells Lily that he's trying to put more effort into his relationship with Robin. Lily, then tells Barney about the conversation that she had with Robin earlier this day.
"Yeah. I'm sorry Barney, but you need to be honest with her and tell her that you are trying in this relationship because she thinks you're cheating on her." And, with that Lily got up and left the bar leaving Barney alone again sitting in the booth thinking that he had gone a bit too far with all his flirting ways for these past months which is why Robin is thinking he's cheating on her.
But, what Lily didn't know or find out is that Barney has already been trying to fix these issues in his relationship with Robin. Just, the other day he had gone to Ted (of all people) he went to Ted, the former boyfriend of his current girlfriend for advice on how to be a better boyfriend to his former girlfriend, which does sound really weird if you think about it. He, went to Ted his best friend for advice on his relationship and he really has been regretting it since he asked for Ted's help.
"Ted, you have got to stop okay. You, are literally all over the board with 'how to make Robin happy' I get it. You dated her for a year, but I'm trying to be serious here because I don't want to lose her." And, that get's Ted to be serious, a serious teacher of things he thinks he knows about Robin.
"Okay, but you have to be serious and take my teachings seriously because as your friend and Robin's friend I want you both to be happy. So, let's start with 'getting to know Robin Charles Scherbatsky Jr.' I think that's a good way to start." And, that was only the first day of their class of Robin 101.
By, day four Barney had a enough and started to play around acting as though he was bored and Ted sucked as a teacher. He just tuned him out for most of the last two days. Ted, might be good at teaching Architecture but he really doesn't know anything about what Robin wants, feels, thinks or likes in bed because as he remembers, Robin had faked it pretty good with him for that god awful hell of a year they dated. Robin, even told him once that Barney was better in bed, way better than Ted ever was so taking sex advice from Ted is like taking fashion advice from well Ted.
"Come on, Ted I want to learn something important here not get a lecture on how to pleasure my girlfriend." He, wanted to go further and rub the fact that he's better in bed than he is but he stops himself from going there.
So, Ted stopped this part of this session and went onto sleep patterns.
On, the other side of town Robin had just found the book in Barney's briefcase and started to read what was inside it. She, first saw on the first page written on top "Robin 101" which was an odd thing to see on top of a page in a notebook. She, reads on and Lily get's into it reading with her. Realizing, that what Barney was writing down on the paper at Maclaren's the other day was in fact notes for this Robin 101 class he's taking. At, the bottom of each page there is Barney's name and Ted's name which had Robin caught off guard as she saw Ted's name written on the pages.
"Ted, what does he have to do with this?" Robin, says to Lily confused on what Ted has to do with Barney's notebook and notes inside it.
"I don't know." Lily, tells her but in all honesty she is thinking that she does kind of know why Ted's name is written on the page but doesn't say anything to Robin about it.
Then, Robin finds a date on one of the pages (the back of the first page) "meeting, at Ted's class on Thursdays at 1pm" which has Robin's mind go from being confused to out raged.
"Ted's teaching Barney things, things that aren't even really true. He's telling him horrible things about me, how can they do this to me?" She says, Lily just sits there not knowing what to say or do in this moment.
Before, Lily knew it Robin was heading out the door mad with Barney's notebook in hand and heading to one destination: Ted's class room!
Lily, caught up with Robin outside her building shouting after her.
"Robin, come on calm down there's no need to go to Barney and Ted being this mad about somethings Barney wrote in a notebook." Lily, tries to stop Robin from doing something stupid or regretful but Robin was too furious to listen to what Lily was shouting at her.
Robin gets into a cab that pulls up in front of them and Lily gets in before Robin can close the door. Robin, is completely quiet on the way to Columbia that it was literally like you can hear nothing between the two women as the cab went on to their destination. Lily, knew that Barney was doing this class to try more harder in the relationship but keeping this a secret letting Robin think that Barney is cheating on her was the wrong thing to do.
They, get to Columbia and Robin gets out of the cab without paying in a furious rage heading towards Ted's classroom building. Lily, had to pay the cab as Robin left without paying then ran as quickly as she could after Robin who was surprisingly fast in her mad pursuit towards Ted's classroom.
"And, that is why you don't let Robin go without eating or she will have this look." Barney, and Ted were just finishing off this session as the door to the classroom opens slamming against the classroom wall. Robin, is standing at the top of the room angrily looking on at Barney and Ted's class.
"Ugh, wow." Ted and Barney say in unison as they see Robin looking at them with the same look that is on the screen right now.
"I can't believe this. I thought you were cheating on me and I guess I was right all this time." Is the last thing Robin says before leaving the room still in out rage over what she just found out.
She, headed to Maclaren's after this because she needed to 1, be alone, 2, have a drink and 3, she needed to do some thinking because it's obvious to her now that maybe she was right about ending this relationship even if it pains her to think this. Barney, was trying to find a way to fix the issues they were having but this wasn't the way to do that and if Barney thinks it was a good idea to talk to Ted about their problems and not her than maybe it's time to end this so she can move on from thinking the worst things that could happen while being in a relationship with Barney.
It, takes her an hour and a half and two scotches to really have this whole day, the situation she just found out about to sink in which made her make a decision one that she didn't want to make.
She, loves him but maybe love isn't enough and she thinks that Barney is just not ready for a committed relationship. Or, maybe it's her? Maybe, she's putting too much pressure onto him when it's her who needs to talk more about her thoughts and feelings she's feeling. Maybe, she's just too scared of where this relationship was going? And, that's what get's her mind to start to freak out. She's in love and putting too much pressure on Barney to be this perfect boyfriend when she doesn't need a perfect boyfriend when she's completely happy being with Barney. Maybe, this is what happy feels like and what being in love really means: Jealous, worry and where is this going are all the things she has been thinking and is worried about.
She, found love but what does that mean?
That's when she runs into Barney who was previous sitting on the steps of her building with his notebook and a look of guilt and regret-fullness on his face.
"Look, I'm really sorry about this whole notebook thing. I-I was just worried that you were going to dump me and that's why I did this." He tells her, they are sitting on the steps of the building as he tried to explain to her why he was doing this class. He regrets it now, he shouldn't have gone to Ted about their relationship problems, he should have talked to Robin but all he wanted was to show her that he's serious about them and is trying more harder in the relationship.
She, was silent during his speech but all she could think about is how stupid she's been. She was just thinking that she wants to end this relationship but all of a sudden she's regretting thinking that and now feels stupid for wanting it. Barney, was just trying to be a better boyfriend but truth is she doesn't want him to be and doesn't need him to be perfect because she loves who he is and doesn't need big gestures, those gestures were meaningless. All, she needs is him and that should be enough.
"You're, an idiot." She tells him out of the blue, he smiles knowing that she's saying she loves him but what she is really saying is that Ted is also wrong about this saying because he and Robin both know that when she says I love you, she actually means 'I love you' and she means it. They, had said it to each other during the summer and recently so he knows saying "you're an idiot" is just saying he's an idiot, a very cute, charming, sweet, idiot and she loves him with each passing day.
"I love you. I really only did this because I thought you were unhappy with me but all I want is for you to be happy." He tells her, after they kiss on the stoop of the building.
"I know, I'm sorry I was so mad at you. I should have talked to you about the things that were bothering me but I realize now that you already knew what I was thinking because you were trying to be a better boyfriend. But, I don't need perfection. I only need Barney Stinson, and he is my perfect Barney Stinson. I love Barney Stinson, and I mean it and not in the way Ted thinks. I didn't love him as much as I do you." And, that's the first time she's ever said this to him and means it. Of, course neither of them tell anyone about this fact, they go on to breakup after this but neither stopped loving each other or knowing that the fact that when Robin says "I love you" she means it.
They, go back to Barney's apartment after this and actually talk. They, talked about a lot of things that had been building up inside themselves for sometime. They, had a full conversation about Robin's jealousy, her thinking that he was cheating on her, he confesses that he's never been happier than he is with being with her, and by the end of it. It was well in the morning hours, 5 am to be exact when the conversation ended and they go to bed feeling better about everything they have kept inside all summer until now, they went to bed and just slept beside each other feeling more at ease and content about a lot of things they both had kept from one another for along time. It, might not be an easy road for them, they would eventually break up but in the end they both grew to understand being in a relationship with each other better and that's what both needed. More, time to believe in the relationship and trust in each other and both were better for it.
