No POV:
"Fred, I'm back" Barney calls out as he walks through the front door
"I'm all ready, too." Fred says as he closes the bedroom door behind him
...
Barney gets an opportunity to take a long look at Fred, so he admires him from head to toe.
"Wow, you look great!" He says, sincerely.
"And you too" Fred adds, taking in the sexy, formal style that Barney puts on for special occasions. Noticing also that he didn't forget to bring his Water Buffalo hat.
"You've even got the wingtips!"
He looks down at the fancy shoes on Barney's feet
"Yeppers, and I'm not usually a shoe guy... he-he." Barney smiles
"Let's go get some grub" Fred says as he motions for his fun-sized pal to follow
"I'm wit'chu, Fred." He prances out to the car and climbs in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After driving downtown, Fred stops the car at a stop sign before turning into the drive-thru lane. RockDonald's fast food burger restaurant- an easy favorite for them both.
Pulling up to the speaker, Fred asks
"Hey, Barney, whadda'ya want?"
He takes a moment to think before replying with "I'll take a plain brontosaurus burger and a large RockaCola, that's all."
Fred leans towards the speaker and places the order
"Gimme an extra large BigMuck with the special sauce, fried potato skins, a ten piece pterodactyl nugget meal, and a large grape juice. -got all that?"
"Yes sir."
"...and for my buddy, he'll have a plain brontosaurus burger and a large RockaCola."
The man chuckles
"Is that everything?"
"Yeah- wise guy." Fred grumbles
"Drive up to the next window." He instructs.
With that, they proceed to the next window (duh.)
After receiving the payment, the employee passes them their brown paper bags of food.
"You two have a good night, okay?" He says
"Will do- and have a little something for yourself..." Fred pings a quarter to the guy before speeding off.
"He-he... being a wise guy like him, it must be a special thing to get a tip." Barney laughs
"Not the only thing he deserves-" Fred adds with a wink
"The other tip would be my fist to his nose!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They park in the lodge members' area and dig into their food.
Barney thinks to himself as he takes a bite of his burger
"With how much food Fred eats, you'd think he weighs 600 pounds... but then again, muscle weighs more than fat does... Seems like he maintains his weight without gaining any-"
Sipping his grape juice, Fred remembers something
"I forgot to get a grape juice for Pebbles!"
"It's okay, Fred. We can stop back on the way home." Barney assures
"Yeah... but the idea is that I'm a fool for not remembering it's my Pebbly-Poo's favorite..."
"Nobody's perfect."
"You've got a lot of other stuff to remember, and Pebbles knows that her daddy loves her."
...
"I guess you're right." Fred sighs
"Don't be so hard on yourself" Barney tries to comfort Fred- taking a look around to make sure there's no judgemental eyes watching. Once he's sure they're clear, he kisses Fred on the cheek- then on the neck- and on the cheek again.
Another important thought hits him
"Hey, uh... Fred?"
"Yeah?"
"So... Betty suggested I enter the race for Poobah- would you vote for me?"
...
Much to Barney's surprise, knowing Fred's competitive spirit, he receives a pat on the back, accompanied with Fred saying
"Without a doubt. -and not only me. I really don't think I can name a guy who doesn't adore you."
...
"Ya really mean that, Fred?" Barney tests, to make sure he's not trying to be funny-
He nods with an "Mmm-hmm" as he's chewing one of the last bites of his lunch.
...
Barney says nothing but leans against Fred and hugs him- being mindful not to squeeze him too hard, so he doesn't choke, of course.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[5 minutes later]
"Password please." The lodge bouncer demands.
"-And get in a single-file line! This isn't a 'plus one' ordeal."
Fred allows Barney to step in front of him
"Password is: Ack, Ack, Ack-a-dak." He says to the bouncer
"You can pass."
Now his turn, Fred moves up and recites the password
"Ack, Ack, Ack-a-dak."
"You're free to go, fatty." Bouncer mocks before shoving him through the doorway
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Look who's talkin' " Fred grumbles, criticizing the tall man with a huge, bulging belly. "My advice to you is that next time you get dressed, DON'T TUCK YOUR SHIRT IN!" He turns his nose up and walks into the lodge.
By the time he reaches the entrance to the auditorium with Barney, he's forgotten about the jerk at the door.
"Let's get seats in the front section"
Barney suggests
"Fine by me" Fred agrees and follows him through the rows.
They find two unoccupied seats and plop down into them. The large room is filled with loud chatter and random guys laughing, probably at rude jokes and other dumb stuff.
All attention is averted to the front when the current Poobah taps on the microphone and begins speaking:
"Hear ye, hear ye!" He calls out to the crowd of lodge members
"We gather today for a very special event... My time serving you all is, unfortunately, coming to a close."
"But no reason to fret- the upcoming election gives you all an opportunity to seek a new leader! -Whomever that may be, it's entirely your democratic choice."
"However-"
"Before we hold the primaries, we must form a list of all candidates for Grand Poobah."
"May all of those interested, please step forward and proceed to the stage in an orderly fashion."
Fred turns to look at Barney
"That's your call, pal- now go!"
He swallows hard and stands up
"Here goes nothin'"
"Atta-boy, Barney!" Fred cheers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All of the candidates line up on stage to sign their names on the official list.
The man standing next to Barney decides to make a comment-
"Hey, boys. Look at this guy! I bet he can't even see over the podium!"
He cackles at his own wise crack, and another guy joins in with "Let's petition for a box he can stand on."
Everyone around laughs- except for Barney.
He holds up his fist and taunts in return
"The only box we'll need is the one that Fred'll stuff you in when we ship you to China. AIRMAIL! Hehehehe- let's hope they throw you in the plane upside down, scumbag!"
Now, all the members on stage turn to laugh at the two bullies, causing one of them to run off stage and storm out of the lodge.
Back in the audience, Fred wonders what all the commotion is about.
Soon, he finds out when Barney returns to his seat, wheezing from laughing too hard.
"Wait'll you hear what I said to this guy, Fred!"
He proceeds to explain what had just happened, and Fred pats him on the back
"I'm so proud of you, Barn."
...
"You're gettin' real good at speaking your mind."
...
"Now, people get what's comin' to 'em when they decide to be douchebags."
Barney looks to Fred with a smize- a smile with a happy look in his eyes.
"I owe it all to you, Freddie boy."
"You're the one helpin' me outta my shell."
Fred flashes a grin, Barney chuckles and makes a silly face in response
-Despite feeling the tension in their hearts, they try not to let on that they're lovers, in public.
"You've always had it in ya, I know you more than anyone- and I've seen that internal strength all along- Glad to see ya lettin' the real Barney come out." Fred says
...
"... without further ado- let's get started with your campaign, pal."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[A summary of the next few days: ]
They head down to the newspaper office and place an ad for Barney's campaign. Their ad includes his strengths, ideas, and a really cute photo of him. Then, they get to work on creating a poster- which they plan to take and have a couple hundred copies made.
Once they have the copies, they'll hang them all over Bedrock. Every telephone booth, every store, every bathroom door, some utility poles, the park, and any other place they can think of.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With their diligent work, they manage to get the flyers and the article taken care of in only two days time.
- While they worked, Fred went over different scenarios in his head and ways to come clean to Wilma. He realized that being dishonest forever will wear him down, and riddle him with guilt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Present tense]
Now, Fred leaves work (after his week of 'working' while Slate was away) and heads home to his wife. Barney must've found another ride home since he didn't ask to be picked up after his shift.
"Oh, well." He thinks to himself as he drives, all alone.
Approaching the driveway, he slows down and checks the mailbox.
"Bills, more bills, and... MY PAYCHECK!"
...
"YABBA-DABBA-DOOOOO!"
He excitedly pulls into the garage and enters the house.
"Wilmaaaa! I'm home!"