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“So, with the blue French horn in my hand, I looked up to Robin’s window and she smiled down at me,” Ted smiled coyly, his eyesight a little hazy after rounds of shots. Slouching on the third couch that Carl had put in for their booth in MacLaren’s because there were too many of them and they were getting old enough their back hurt when they sat in the wooden chairs there for too long.
That particular night when this conversation happened was when they finally all found babysitters and decided to get wasted at their favorite bar. As shots and fries disappeared down their throat, the conversation became racier, how it had always been in the good old days. As the discussion moved to the topic of fantasies, all agreed that Ted should be the first one to confess, given that Marshall had done this once years ago and Barney hadn’t stopped doing it for quite some years in his adult life. Ted squirmed uncomfortably in his seat for a while before starting on a tale that took longer than any of them expected that recount their life from years ago.
“Pffff,” Barney spit out a mouthful of scotch in feigned shock, spraying across the table and causing a “yuck” sound from Lily. Robin indulgently shook her head at her husband’s exaggerated behavior and handed her best friend a napkin. “Really, bro? Twenty five years later and you still decide to go with the French horn thing?”
“Forget about the blue French horn already,” Marshall grumbled in his slurred voice. “You are friends with a justice. You are not stealing anything.”
“Honey, that’s the part you have an issue with?” Robin raised her perfect left eyebrow to an astonishing height, amused by the friendly old bickering that had become rare in their busy lives. She turned her hand in Barney’s hold and interlaced their fingers, tightly enough to make her husband whine for a little. “Ted took away my job as an anchor and made me an overseas reporter! I’m too old for being away from you for that long.”
“You will never be too old, Robin,” Barney chuckled at his wife’s words, feeling extremely lucky to get to know the soft, affectionate side of Robin, that had been gradually growing as they settled more comfortably into the marriage. It showed her faith in him and that meant a lot to Barney who had struggled with honesty for the longest time. He felt honored to be trusted and he always to made sure she knew that the fondness was reciprocated. “Plus, you are amazing behind that anchor desk. People at the network would be crazy to transfer you to anywhere else other than the desk.”
Those that were awake enough to hear this laughed softly and felt their heart swell with pride. Years ago, pre-marriage-Barney would have had complained about the alarming episode of him having a child after a one night stand. Now-Barney joked easily about the complex history between Robin, himself, and Ted and showered Robin with compliments, even if they could at inappropriate times. Seeing Barney and Robin’s marriage mature and strengthened was one of the most beautiful things they had ever witnessed. It was one of the relationships that made people believe that people could change, no matter how wicked they might have once been.
Tracy laughed at the messiness at the table––Marshall started touching Lily’s face halfway through his attempt to clean up the scotch Barney just spit out, Barney and Robin had inappropriately begun joking about activities that involved a desk, and Ted, oblivious to all this, was determined to restart his speech––and gestured to Robin that she’s going to take care of this.
“Darling, hey,” she cleared her, patting her drunken husband on his shoulder. “Do you remember the story you told me about Marshall learning how to fantasize about other women?”
“Yeah,” Ted slurred, recalling the time when they had discovered the troubles Marshall had to go through just to fantasize about any woman apart from Lily, both of whom began to helpfully chime in with mumbled words about their memories of the crazy time seeing Lily’s doppelgänger, the Russian stripper Jasmine. “What about it?”
“I’m going to repeat what Lily had said then, you kill me off?” Tracy laughed, placing her hands gently on Ted’s shoulders turning him to herself. “It’s okay if you think about what might have happened, you know? I’m sure once in a while people think about the opportunities they missed in their lives. We think about what we couldn’t have, we think about what we have now, and we think about the future we might have.”
“And that is okay, Ted. Sometimes, I think about what might happen had Max not died so suddenly all those years ago. I think about how hard it was to turn down Louis’s proposal days before I met you,” she smiled sadly at her husband whose eyes reflected her grieve and were slowly coming into focus as she continued. “But I’m happy with how everything turned out. Thinking of the people you didn’t end up with does not mean you are doing something bad to the person you are with now. It is just how human minds are wired. We think about all kinds of things. You don’t have to kill me off in your fantasy.”
“Thank you, sweetie,” Ted smiled as he stretched out his arms to hug his understanding wife. He was constantly amazed by how strong and loving Tracy was despite the challenges life had brought her. Other couples smiled as well, recovering from the slightly disturbing feelings they had when they heard Ted’s monologue about the group falling apart. Even in their drunken states, they looked at each other and made a telepathic pact to be there for each other, at the very least emotionally, even when they are tied up in their duties at work and at home. By the end of their silent conversation, Lily waggled her brows to punctuate the discussion, this is for life, and Barney made puppies that said of course. Tracy nodded with them and promised that Ted and she would most definitely keep the promise.
“Now, should we call it a night?” Barney held Robin closer to him by the thin waist as he suggested. After the four of them waved goodbyes to Carl, they helped Tracy squeeze Ted into his coat with eight sloppy hands and flagged a cab for them.
Slipping into the cab after Robin, Barney was surprised by her intense stare. The green hue of her eyes was as deep as the stormy sky but somehow sparkled at the same time. With a soft smile on her face, she looked ethereal. Barney let himself settle in the seat, gave the driver the address, and extended an arm to accommodate Robin as usual. When she didn’t snuggle towards him, he doubted himself and thought back about the things he said, the things Ted said, and the things Robin said. His concerns didn’t last long. It began and ended only in mere seconds until he turned his head to see pure adoration on Robin’s face.
He smiled back at her, leaning forward to kiss her tenderly on the forehead. The doubts about his qualification to be a husband came less frequently now and even when they did appear, Robin let him know that he was enough. He felt at peace with his life, and it was because he and Robin had found each other. As their journey as a couple progressed, Barney learned that his life wasn’t complete because he had found Robin. Instead, it was complete because they found each other. They both became better versions of themselves by complementing each other. And, that is a kind of relationship that was difficult to come by and impossible to throw away.
“God, I’m so luck to have you,” he whispered against her temple, scared to break the spell of the quiet moment.
“Yeah, you are a luck man,” Robin laughed, pushing him out of the car. “Let’s go home.”
Their limbs worked elegantly together as they exited the cab and moved towards their apartment building. It was a dance they’d practiced countless of times. They could do it with their eyes closed and tongues in each other’s mouths, but it felt more intimate this way. Robin’s eyes never left Barney’s. Their eyes locked as their limbs dutifully brought them closer to home. Back to where they belong. Together.