AN: Sorry for being gone for so long! I've had some lazy days where my brain just refuses to breed new ideas. Have a nice read. :)


Robin let out a yawn and sat up slowly, her hair a mess and her eyes wide open. She noticed Barney had lied down next to her, and she peeked out of the crack in the curtains as she realised she had slept through the afternoon and it was now sunset.

She felt her stomach grumble and even though it was still quite early, she thought she would take a walk with him before dinner to get a breath of fresh air. Nudging him, she smiled as he murmured something barely audible, pushing her arm away, not wanting to get up.

He's such a child, she thought, and gave up trying to wake him up. Hopping off the bed, she moved swiftly across the room to her suitcase, where she grabbed a change of clothes after realising how crumpled her current ones were. Getting into a change of clothes, freshening up and trying to somehow someway wake him up afterwards was on her to-do list and she was wasting no time.

Robin stepped into the bathroom, locked the door behind her and looked into the mirror, studying her half-asleep face with intent as she unbuttoned her blouse. Even though she still felt sore from her awkward sleeping position and did not want to move more than she already had to, she felt like she needed a shower. Stripping, she left her pile of clothes on the floor and stepped into the shower without a second thought. She turned on the water and lathered her hair, feeling a rush of relief as the glass case that was her shower slowly fogged up.


The trickle of water coming from the bathroom had awoken Barney, and he sat up groggily, wiping his eyes. He had turned to his side expecting a sound asleep Robin, and as soon as he had noticed she was not there, he kicked himself awake, frantic. He hoped she had not gone out without him. It was sunset, and even though he knew next to nothing about the city, he was hoping he would be able to take her out on a nice – if not a little fancy – dinner anyway.

Barney was just in the midst of confusion as the door to the bathroom unlocked with a click, and out emerged Robin with her hair bundled in a towel. She was dressed in a navy blue tank top and beige shorts and as she walked over, he thought she smelled of lavender.

She kneeled down to rearrange her worn clothes and to tidy up her suitcase, hardly noticing Barney was up and studying her movements until he cleared his throat, which made her jump ever so slightly.

"Not fair," he whined. "I'm hungry and I want food. But by the look of things, it seems as though you're going to take off any minute and leave me alone in this boring old hotel room, hungry and confused."

"You make it sound as though I've been abusing you," she laughed, rubbing the top of her head with her bath towel as she tried to dry her hair. "Do you have a comb I can borrow?"

"A comb?" Barney gnarled in disgust. "Why the hell would me, Barney Stinson, business co-operate, really awesomely sexy man and overwhelmingly irresistible human being, be carrying a comb overseas? Get your head out of your ass, Robin."

Giving him a fake smile and dead eyes, Robin outstretched her arm. "Hand it over."

He grunted and got up to his suitcase, scrambling through what seemed like piles of moisturisers and hair gels, until finally, he unzipped a small pouch which revealed a sophistically carved wooden comb.

Leaning over to peer into his plethora of beauty products, she could not resist a sneer. "Gee, Barney. All I have to ask is, really? The amount of beauty products you have! You're really getting in touch with your feminine side these days, aren't you?" She gave a hearty laugh, teasing him as she reached for his comb.

Barney rolled his eyes.

"You just like to make me feel bad about myself because you're jealous I am able to take care of myself."

"Me? Jealous of you?" She gave him a glance, and they broke into laughter.

"You know it," he replied, gathering a pink sweatshirt and formal black pants as he headed for the bathroom.

"Go shower," she urged as she pretended to shoo him out of the way. "We're going out to get some dinner. I know a few places you might like."

"Whatever you say, boss." He replied with a salute and he stepped into the bathroom, locking the door behind him and breaking into a grin.

Day one and it's going great. I'm not regretting stepping on that plane from New York at all.