To Barney's surprise, the pub was a surprisingly popular place to hang out in the evening, and despite arriving early and having spent nearly an hour there, the place was still buzzing with excitement. And it was loud. That was what he knew. It was loud. There were people greeting each other from across the table, couples clinging onto each other mumbling sweet nothings and teenagers who barely look like they were old enough to legally drink all gathered in the small space, all of them seemingly enjoying themselves and having a good time.
He has had a few drinks and was starting to feel a little woozy, and he sat on the bar stool beside Robin, quietly observing as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
He watched a few guys attempt to chat her up and he smiled to himself. She appeared to be flattered by whatever they were saying to her for the first few moments, but showed no interest towards them after a while as the conversation got slow and boring. He watched as the guys eventually walked away, each of them with a beer in one hand, in search for the ladies.
Prodding her with an elbow, the smell of her perfume lingered in the air as she leaned in closer, trying to catch whatever he was about to say to her.
"We should probably get going," he spoke loudly, making sure he got his message across and he rubbed his eyes, half stumbling, half trying to get off his seat.
Robin was in a daze as she has had one too many drinks, and she made a movement to check the watch on her wrist for the time, despite the fact that she was not even wearing one in the first place. "But it's still early!" She hollered back, motioning to her bare wrist.
"Yeah, but we've got stuff to do tomorrow." He replied and allowed her to slip her arm into his as the two staggered off, hardly anyone noticing their departure as they left the crowded pub.
They were in high spirits as they clumsily walked along the streets in an attempt to return to the hotel by feet given it was only a few streets away, swaying side by side, holding onto each other tightly for balance.
They attempted to make small talk as they strolled unsteadily, and even tried to belt out a few show tunes, but as drunken as they were, they found it hard to even concentrate on walking, and were grateful when they noticed they had reached the entrance of their hotel after their brisk walk.
"We really shouldn't be getting drunk. We have things to do tomorrow." Barney slurred drunkenly as he tried to unlock their door to their room, something he had to do thrice as he struggled to insert the room key into the slot correctly in his washed-out state.
He dragged the weight of the two of them into the room and carefully placed Robin on the bed while he stumbled to the bathroom, turning on the tap. Splashing cold water onto his face carelessly, he shuddered, reaching for a towel to dry himself. It was as though he had been slapped in the face, and immediately, he felt refreshed. He decided it was best for them to at least try to sober up before they end up extremely hungover the next morning, or worse, vomit all over the place tonight.
For a frequent drinker, it was not hard for him to master the skill of refreshing himself whenever he felt like he has had a bit too much to drink and things were getting out of control.
He returned to the main room to find her exactly the way he had left her; lying sideways with one leg crossed over the other, an arm lopsided. If she had been paler, he thought, she would probably have been mistaken for a corpse.
Wasting no time, he hurried over, nudging her gently as she murmured mumbles of protest.
"Look, what we should do right now is sober up." He repeated.
"Sober up? Why would you want to do that? I'm feeling nothing but bliss right now." She smiled, stroking his cheek.
She clearly had no idea how drunk she is right now, he thought.
"Because we have things to do tomorrow, I told you. We're going to the hospital and then we'll decide what to do from then on."
And at that given moment, he witnessed her face scrunch up, her cheeks red with the flush of alcohol. Waving her hand to dismiss his presence, she buried her face back into the sheets. "I don't like the sound of that. I don't think I want to be sober. Ever."
"You sound pretty sober to me," he replied.
"Go away, I'm sleepy." She purred, rubbing her eyes like a toddler.
"No…" He began firmly, and then heaved a sigh. He was not going to give in that easily. "Come here. Let's get you washed up."
"Go away," She managed, and brushed his hand off her arm as he tried to help her up, to which he responded by simply rolling his eyes.
"God, Robin. Be more like you. Be more like sober Robin."
And the seemingly endless struggle for him to drag her to the bathroom began. He had no intention of giving in, and neither did her. It was an uphill battle and it took more than a heave or two to get her to budge, but soon his efforts paid off. They found themselves standing near the sink, a drunken Robin barely knowing where she was and an unbelievably patient Barney coaxing her into washing her face.