Chapter Text
When she sees Marshall walking up next to Zoey, Robin’s eyes immediately go to Barney. He looks...pissed. Well that’s expected. But there’s something else in his eyes; something that she can’t quite decipher.
“Not only, do you quit the job I stuck my neck out to get you, now you sabotage the project I’m in charge of?”
Robin notices that Barney is really upset. And that scares her. She’s never seen Barney really, legitimately angry before. Robin is not a coward. But seeing Barney like this makes her shrink down in her seat a little.
[and the next day]
“What kind of dirt-bag doesn’t stand by his best friends but instead sides with some self-righteous bitch with a pointless cause and a megaphone?”
“Dude, that’s my girlfriend. And you know what, I’m on her side now, too.”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
And then Robin sees the same look on Barney’s eyes. Is that...disappointment?
Barney doesn’t come to the bar for 2-3 days. Then he shows up, and Robin notices how disheveled he looks, compared to his usual self. Barney stops at the bar to get a scotch before walking over and sitting down on the chair at the end of the booth. Robin finds herself watching him. The other three throws him a “hey” and continues on with their conversation, completely unaware of Barney’s unusual appearance.
Barney is quiet most of the night, which makes Robin uneasy, but everyone else seems oblivious. At one point, their conversation turns to Ted’s relationship with Zoey. “Things are just amazing now that we don’t have to ignore the topic of the GNB. Actually, we’ve been talking about the project quite a lot!” Barney gives Ted a look of disapproval that is completely missed by the recipient. “Siding with Zoey was the best decision I’ve made in quite some time!”
“Shut up!” Barney snaps. Robin’s eyes finds Barney’s, her heart suddenly races. Then she realizes that she hasn’t heard his voice in way too long. And she realizes how much she’s missed it.
Everyone is looking at Barney now, but he doesn’t say anything else. He just looks down at his scotch.
Ted, getting over the initial shock, starts to get upset at Barney. He goes on a rant about how Barney, being his bro and best friend, should support the fact that his relationship with Zoey is going well. Barney doesn’t react; he just keeps staring at the glass in front of him.
The lack of response creates a lull among them. Lily, in an attempt to ease the awkward air around them, begins telling a story about one of her kindergartners. Robin is the only one to observe that a smile is slowly creeping into Barney’s face. Later on, she would wonder why she’s watching Barney the whole night; but now, all she can think about is how unsettling Barney’s smile is. She watches Barney as he starts to lift his head, looks around the booth at each one of his friends, ending at Robin; their eyes lock for a few moments and it shocks her when she sees how sad his smile is.
“Barney?” Robin says quietly, unsure.
Now, four pairs of eyes are on Robin, questioning her.
“I just can’t do this anymore. Have a great life, guys. Thanks for everything,” Barney says, in a low voice, while standing up. He turns around and walks towards the exit.
“What the hell, Barney?” Ted is clearly irritated. Robin is silent, worried, her heart beating three times as fast as it normally would. Lily and Marshal just look at each other, confused, grasping each other’s hands. Something in Barney’s tone and voice brought a chill across the booth and they fell still. Little did they know, that was the last time they would see Barney Stinson at MacLaren’s bar.
“Hey,” Barney greets quietly while opening the door.
“Hey,” Robin is standing awkwardly in his doorstep. “I just came by to check in on you. You seemed pretty upset last night.”
“I’m fine.”
“Can I come in?”
“Um...” Barney looks around. “I’m actually kinda busy right now. Some other time, maybe?”
“Oh, okay.”
Robin doesn’t understand why she feels so disappointed by this, but she turns around and walks away after giving Barney a small smile and wave.
“You know I haven’t seen Barney since he walked out of here,” Lily says. Ted and Marshall nod and voice their agreements. Robin doesn’t mention her visit to Barney’s apartment. “Does anyone know if he’s okay?”
“Ah, come on. He’s just Barney. He’s just throwing a fit because of our little fight the other day. I’m sure he’ll be back here any second now.” Ted waves his hand while talking, smiling.
Then Marshall offers, “yeah, but since when does Barney not show up at MacLaren’s 4 days in a row?”
Ted’s face falls. Lily pipes in, “I think I’m gonna go to his place and see if he’s okay?”
“I’ll go with you!” Both Ted and Marshall say at the same time.
Lily looks at both of them, and then at Robin, and then back at the boys. “Sorry guys, I know you’re worried about Barney, but if he’s upset and wants to talk, I don’t think all of us there would be a good idea.”
Ted nods and slouches down at the booth. Marshall gives Lily a supportive smile. “But Robin, I think you should go,” Lily adds. Robin is surprised by the suggestion but she stands up instantly and follows Lily out of the bar.
“I’ll see you guys later!”
About thirty minutes later, Lily and Robin are standing in front of Barney’s door.
“Let’s hope he’s not with some skank in there,” Lily says, smiling while knocking on the door.
Barney opens it a moment later. He’s still wearing a shirt with a tie hanging loosely around his neck, but it looks like he’s been wearing them for days.
“You look awful.” Robin gives him a soft smile, and she’s hurt when he doesn’t return it.
“So... what’ve you been up to, buddy?” Lily asks with a forced-cheerful voice, and a little giggle at the end.
“Um... work stuff, you know.” Barney opens the door wider and steps to the side, allowing Lily and Robin to come in.
“It’s just that we haven’t seen you at the bar for some time and we’re worried,” Lily says, sitting down at his sofa. Robin follows Lily’s actions.
“You’re worried?” Barney scoffs.
Robin grimaces at his reaction. “Yeah, and we missed you!”
Barney doesn’t say anything. He is leaning with his back against his kitchen island, looking at the direction of his guests. Robin studies his expression but learns nothing.
After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Barney stands up and walks forwards. “Look, guys, I’m flattered that you guys came and checked in on me, but I’m fine. I’ve just been busy with work. And I’m still busy, in fact, so if you don’t mind...”
“Oh...” Lily goes quiet for a moment, before continuing, “Barney, you know you can always talk to me, right? To us, I mean.” Lily waves her hand between her and Robin, and Robin nods.
“I know, but I don’t really have anything to talk about.” Barney is walking towards the door to open it, Lily and Robin following him. “I’ll talk to you guys soon, okay?”
“Come down to the bar sometime soon, Barney.” Lily steals a hug when passing him at the door. Robin just gives him a wave.
Barney smirks, “well with Ted and Marshall quitting GNB, I got a ton of extra work to do.”
Robin is aware that Barney’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. And she can’t force herself to smile a real smile.