Map Across Your Heart

by moonlight-shimmer

"You have not traveled enough," she said. "Or you'd know that every journey makes its own map across your heart." - Sharon Shinn. Life is not about reaching a destination; it's about getting there. This is a collection of missing moments illustrating Barney and Robin's journey, laughter, tears, heartbreak, happiness, friendship and lots of fluffiness included! :)

112. Author's Note

Context: me, finishing Map Across Your Heart
Prompt: none left, done all of them!
Word count: 428
Comment: I'm emotional!

Hello lovely people!

To cite Ted – what a year, huh? It's been a tough one, for sure. But we've made it, and I'm incredibly proud of whoever's reading this right now.

As I'm writing this, I've just finished this project a few moments ago. I've been opening and closing my Word document for ages, never quite finding the right words, not really knowing if I'd ever get to this point.

A few weeks ago, I woke up super early, and the urge to finally write the last few chapters of Map Across Your Heart was overwhelming. I have no idea where it came from, but the next time I opened my document, I wrote chapter 102. And then I just kept writing.

This fic has been a work in progress for the past eight years. EIGHT YEARS. No other creative thing has ever been in the back of my mind for that long, I don't think. It survived that mess of a finale, guys. Can you believe it?! :D I graduated university, I worked my first job, I moved away from home in these eight years. I learned everything about these two characters, and honestly? I am so grateful for that.

Some of the best lines I've ever written are in these 111 little stories. I am so incredibly proud of this, and I just wanna make sure that you all know it couldn't have happened without you.

Every single person who has ever commented on this fic: THANK YOU. You have no idea what your words have meant to me. You have all continuously saved this fic by giving me feedback, by encouraging me to go on even when I thought I'd lost one of my favourite shows (it was bad when I watched the last episode lol).

I fully believe that without you, this project would've looked very, very different. I know there were such incredible long stretches between updates, but I never forgot about it. It was ALWAYS there, I always knew I'd finish it someday, all thanks to you.

I hope that, if you're still in love with Barney and Robin, you've found some joy in these few snippets of their life. As silly as it may sound – they've shown me a different side to love, friendship and partnership, and I will always be thankful that characters like them make me embrace the art of writing fanfiction, even eight years on.

Merry Christmas to all of you if you celebrate, and thank you so, so, so much for everything. Here's to our BrOTP :')