Au Revoir (Episode 4: Intervention)
There was something about waking up at four in the morning, something about the chill of the night air and the quiet streets. It always made Robin shiver, her eyes always felt gritty and her brain felt sluggish. Not that Metro News One had called on her very often to drag herself out of her bed at such an ungodly hour. But she'd had the occasional trip out of New York to follow a story and so the experience was familiar enough not to totally freak her out.
Even so… standing outside her now-empty apartment in Brooklyn, waiting for her cab, things felt very weird indeed. She couldn't face a tearful goodbye - it just wasn't her style. She, Robin Scherbatsky, did not do "sappy". So when Marshall had offered to drive her to the airport, Robin had told him her flight was in two day's time. She'd be in her new apartment by then. Her new Tokyo apartment.
Robin's fingers clutched her carry-on bag, perched on top of a large suitcase. Crap! What was she doing? She didn't want to do this by herself. Why had she lied to Marshall? She didn't want to leave without saying goodbye.
She bit her lip, the cold night air stinging her cheeks as a tear dislodged from the corner of her eye. The night felt oppressive suddenly. Almost menacing.
And then the cab pulled up and she took a deep breath, hauling her case around to the trunk.
She was extraordinarily surprised to see Barney in the cab, waiting for her, the Intervention Banner draped over his lap. He beamed at her and patted the empty seat beside him.
"Come on. Let's get you to Japan."
She slid in next to him, still shivering. He put his arm around her shoulders and drew her in close. For a second it felt weird but then she began to relax and let the sheer familiarity of him calm her - his body heat, his breath ruffling her hair, even his scent (he always smelled like money to her, if money smelled like cigars and scotch and other women's perfume…).
"How did you know…?" She asked him, not even sure if she meant about how she'd lied to Marshall about her flight or about how she so desperately needed some company on the way to the airport.
"Please," He whispered.
He didn't talk to her, didn't pester her. In the short ride to the airport, he did absolutely nothing except be there for her. And weirdly, that was enough. It was enough to get the excitement bubbling up inside her again.
She was actually doing it. She was going to Japan! She was going to freaking Japan! Oh my god!
At the airport, he kissed her on the cheek and made her promise not to forget about them.
As if!
She hadn't cried. Okay, perhaps a couple of tears, but she'd straightened her shoulders and he'd flashed her a grin and she'd headed out to the departure gate feeling ten feet tall.
This was the start of the rest of her life.