Context: post 6x08; New Year's Eve 2010
Prompt: #030 Trust
Word count: 200
Comment: Guys! Here's a new chapter for you! Sorry again for the long wait, but I hope you'll like it :) I allude to two things here: Barney becoming melancholic when drinking red wine (mentioned in 6x22) and the song "Stand by me", which was sung by Barney's brother James and his father, furthering their bond (6x02) and, thus, making Barney jealous. Long story short, here you go! THANK YOU for reading xx
It's twenty to twelve, and Barney's been drinking red wine.
MacLaren's is packed with people celebrating New Year's Eve, and he's been contemplating his "uncle" Jerry, trying to make sense of it all.
Robin's observing him from the bar. She can see by his posture that he's miserable, and when "Stand by me" starts playing on the jukebox, she sees him hanging his head.
She's glad that they're friends again, that she can slip her arm through his casually after sliding into the booth. She's glad that he leans into her almost on instinct, his head resting against hers while a group of twenty-somethings sing along to Ben E. King's raspy voice.
"Man, that blonde chick can't strike a note to save her life," she offers lamely. He smiles, sighing as the girls vow not to shed a tear.
It occurs to him that he misses Robin, even though he sees her almost daily. Sometimes he thinks they should've tried harder. He thinks that he never trusted anyone like he trusts her.
Maybe, he ponders, that's enough.
"Thank you," he breathes into her hair.
Robin pats his shoulder before heading to the bar to get another drink.
It's almost midnight.