Barney's POV:
"Good morning, sweetheart" I greet Betty and tap gently on her arm to wake her
Her eyes slowly open but she squints from the light
"He-he... sorry- I 'prolly shouldn't have turned that on."
Betty groans and stretches "Morning, Barney."
-The softness in her voice when we talk in the morning never gets old to me. It warms me just the same as it did the first time I ever heard it.
...
"Breakfast is ready" I smile and motion for her to follow me
...
"You made breakfast again?" She softens her expression even more "Awww... you really are the sweetest!"
Then, she comes in for a hug- my favorite part of the morning.
"Yeppers!" I reply, "...and the laundry's done, last night's dishes are all clean, and I've already fed Bamm-Bamm." happily, to assure her that she has none of the boring stuff to worry about today.
"Come here"
She requests, and I oblige
-followed by her showering me with love. A kiss on the cheek, followed by one on the forehead, then one on the nose, and finally a kiss on the lips.
I feel myself turning red, as I do nearly every time she does that for me.
"Ouch!" Betty exclaims, not loudly, but enough to get my attention
"W-What's wrong??" I stumble on my words, having no idea if it was me or something with her that made her say ouch.
"That beard, Barney. It's pretty spiky." She laughs a little while rubbing her cheek, where it must've poked her.
"Oh-"
"Sorry Betty."
I touch my face to test the theory myself- realizing that it's gotten to be what seems like over an inch long.
"It's okay. It looks cute on you, but it's not quite tame yet-" she jokes "-it still bites!"
Her way of finding humor in the situation makes it so I can't help but to giggle
-she does it just about as much as I do, being one of the many reasons I was drawn to her when we got to be friends.
Much like the things about Fred that attracted me.
...So glad I don't need to hide the truth about Fred from her, anymore.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Betty sits down at the dining room table and starts on her breakfast
I prepare for my shower and get ready for work.
No POV:
By the time Barney's finished, Betty has eaten all of her food and now waits outside the bathroom door
-hugging Barney the second he steps out.
Her hands on him cause him to start laughing, being very ticklish, and she holds him tight in her arms.
She sighs, "I'll miss you, Barney." and runs her fingers through his wet hair
"I won't be long, honey. I'll be back right after work- time'll go so fast that it won't even seem like I was gone." He tries to make her feel better
"But what about Fred? Won't he want to spend time with you?"
...
"I'll just bring him over here, we can both appreciate his company- hehehe." Barney jokes, nuzzling into Betty's side before grabbing his lunchbox.
"...Well... okay, Barney. I love you."
"-don't let your time with Fred make you forget about me... please." She seems anxious, despite being supportive of their relationship
...
"Betty..."
"I'd never come anywhere close to forgetting about you! You're my only girl, my wife, my sweetheart."
...
"Now I've gotta to to work but I'll make it up to you later, okay?" He gives an assuring grin, helping to ease Betty's anxiety
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Barney walks to the end of his driveway to wait for his ride, leaning against the mailbox and taking a moment to think about things.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile at the Flintstone residence:
"See ya, Wilma"
"...and bye-bye to you, too, Pebbly-Poo." Fred says, then closes the front door behind him.
Looking to the right, he notices blond hair sticking up past the top of the stone wall. Barney's already waiting for him, to his delight.
"Mornin' Barney!" He calls to him with a wave
"Hi-ya, Freddie boy" Barney greets cheerfully as he starts towards Fred's house
"How are things?" Fred asks
"Eh, not bad." Barney answers honestly, but vaguely.
"The fact that you don't seem like your peppy self tells me otherwise. C'mon- you can tell me."
...
"Really, I'm fine. Just thinkin' about what I'm gonna do to spend more quality time with Betty...
-"She's been sorta... er... down, lately."
"Oh yeah?" Fred questions, knowing how hard Barney truly tries to do nice things for Betty.
"Why's she sad- or don't you know?"
...
"Seems like she's worried that I'd rather spend time with you than with her."
"But'chu know that's not it at all. I wanna spend time with both of ya... but I can only be in one place at once. Y'know..?"
Barney stares at the ground, looking pretty perplexed.
"I know exactly what you mean, Barney boy."
"I haven't had that problem with Wilma... probably 'cause she likes having me out of her hair for a while, but I know what it's like trying to please two important people at once." Fred explains "...and it's not easy."
...
"Tell me about it." Barney says with a sigh
"Let's talk while we're drivin' , that way there's no chance the girls will listen in on the conversation. It's easier to woo someone when it's a surprise. It's all awkward when ya can expect it."
"You're right. Let's make like a banana and split."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The two of them hop into Fred's car and take the scenic route to work.
-Having a little more time than usual since they were both ready to go sooner. That, and Fred hasn't had to wait for Barney in the morning as of late.
Not once has he taken forever since they made it official between them. -Solid proof that he longs to be with Fred.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey- I got an idea!" Fred says, excitedly
"What's that?" Barney asks, curious to hear what he's come up with.
"Why don't we give Betty a special evening tonight..? ...and then, tomorrow, we'll do it for Wilma."
...
"That might actually work."
"We gotta change it up every now and again though, keep 'em guessin' so they don't get bored."
Fred nods along
"Don't worry, we'll combine our brain power and make some good plans. We can't forget that they talk about literally everything- so if one finds out the secret plan, the other will know right away."
"First of all... we'll combine a lot of things, Fred. Hehehehehe-" Barney slips a joke in, feeling a good opportunity.
"Oh boy-"
"But listen, we've gotta make the girls happy. 'Cause happy girls means happy us. That's how your philosophy goes, right Barn?"
"Yep."
So...um..."
He pauses to gather his thoughts.
...
"I think I'm done being stubborn about letting you teach me a thing or two about how to be... well... a husband like you."
Fred admits, now wanting a lesson so he can make Wilma appreciate him like Betty appreciates Barney.
"Glad ya came around, Freddie." Barney looks at Fred and takes his hand.
"Let the schooling begin." He adds, with a laugh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
...and so, Barney reveals his secrets on how he can give Betty the royal treatment, without changing anything about himself.
-He claims that there's no faking it, and that you actually have to WANT to do these things. The result will come, so he says.
Fred learns that the way to make Wilma realize that she's truly loved and appreciated is to acknowledge the effort she puts in, and to help her out- either by taking care of it for her, or to praise her when praise is due.
Long story short: Fred has to drop his tough-guy attitude the rest of the way. He'd dropped it for Barney, now he has to do it for Wilma.