"Hey, okay!" Robin exclaimed the second Barney returned from work. She had jumped up from the couch, enthusiastic, and practically ran all the way to him as soon as she heard the door click shut. "I've found a few jobs. Plus, um, a few places I can stay. And I'm excited because I want to know what you think of them."

Upon noticing how excited she seemed, his heart nearly leapt out of his chest.

It had been a while since her first day staying with him, but still, people did not change overnight. As much as he had thought about dropping his infamous title, he was still the womaniser, the guy who could score every night if he had wanted to and the guy the ladies loved at the bar. So the whole 'coming home to somebody' thing still seemed pretty weird to him, despite the 'somebody' being Robin.

"That's great," he commented, unsure of what to say next, but eventually caught up. "So… What exactly have you got in mind now?"

Allowing him to take his time settling in, she kept quiet for a few moments, wondering if she had seemed too eager, and waited for him to do the usual – taking off his shoes, hanging his coat… You know, the usual.

Whatever, she thought. It's pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime thing. To start over. I shouldn't feel bad for seeming eager.

Giving her a smile, Barney proceeded to have a sit down on the couch while he loosened his tie, a routine Robin had pretty much memorised after spending multiple days with him. She joined him, clutching a bunch of papers and bits of newspaper cuttings, grinning from ear to ear like a five year old would on her birthday.

"I've got… Well, I've got a few. First, I could go back to Metro News One, given they're short of an anchor right now-" she was about to continue when he cut her off.

"Metro News One? You can't go back! That place was ridiculous. Remember Sandy Rivers?" He remarked, a tone of concern, and shuddered upon recalling memories of Robin's old co-worker, Sandy.

"I know… But still, they are short of someone after all. It could be my back-up plan. I've actually emailed them and they told me they'd love to have me back… To which I replied I'd love to, but I'd still consider and all that… Then," she paused, catching her breath, her smile growing with every passing second.

"There's WWN." She announced with pride, expecting some kind of insane reaction coming from him, knowing WWN was a big hit globally, but to her dismay, the only reaction she got out of him were a blank look of confusion.

"WWN?"

"Word Wide News…" She said, slowly, drawing out the words as if they were part of some sacred scroll from the ancient times. "It's pretty… Great. Big. Famous, sort of. A lot better than Metro News One… I can't believe you don't know what WWN is!"

"Hey, I'm not a journalism geek." He replied, defending himself. "It sounds good. I'd say WWN then. Definitely. If I were to pick between that and that hell hole Metro News One."

"Right…" She mumbled, taking his comment into consideration.

"I'm serious. It's different, it's new, and it's pretty much screaming 'Robin please come here!' right now."

Turning to face her, he donned a serious look on his face, which took her by surprise.

"You know…" He spoke slowly, raising a finger in the air as if he was ready to prove a point. And he was. "I only have one rule…"

Knowing what was coming already, she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, one rule."

"Shh." He shushed her, squishing a finger on her lips despite her various protests. "I only have one rule," he repeated. "And that's 'New is always better.' So always go for new experiences."

"Yeah, but…" Robin tried to talk back, but was stopped again by him pressing his finger on her lips even more firmly.

"No 'but's. New is, without a doubt, always better." He confirmed, sounding pleased with himself.

Bored of his 'rules', she retaliated by biting him. Not too hard, more like a little nibble. But hard enough to make him feel the pain anyway.

"Ow!" He yelped, immediately letting go of her and clutching his finger. "What did you do that for?"

"No. More. Rules." She declared, happy she got the reaction she had desired out of him.

"I only had one rule!"

"You sure do."

"I do!"

"Yeah, I was just saying that."

"You were being sarcastic."

"Was I, though?" She grinned, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up," was all he managed as he quietly accepted defeat. Giving her a nudge on the shoulder, he turned to face her again, snatching the papers from her grasp. "Do you want help with this or do you not?"

And she dropped her snug smile.

"I'd like some help."

"Alright then. Let's do this, shall we?"

"We shall," she replied with confidence.

And they sorted through the papers patiently and intently just as the Sun set, discussing, comparing and joking as they did, plainly just enjoying one another's company.