(no subject)

[robin_sparkles]

Robin definitely thought that there were a few things about the Island that didn't wholly suck. For one, she had Barney there with her and for another, he'd gotten that really awesome laser tag park. Why bother running for your workout when you could be playing an awesome game of the L-tag. She was breathing heavily while hiding behind a tree, trying to keep calm and get her wits about her.

"Okay, Scherbatsky," she muttered to herself. Her adrenaline was running high, she was going to win this sucker, she was going to shoot him good and dead and if this had to be her gun-substitute, then so be it. She braced herself and darted around a tree, scanning the area.

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[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

This was only the single most bad-ass, awesome, legendary night this island had ever seen. The night was alive with adrenaline and fake guns and the pew-pews of lasers' sound effects.

And Barney Stinson? He was made for a night like this. He vaulted out into the open, drawing enemy fire until he could duck into the safety of a copse of trees. He froze at the sound of someone in the woods with him. Too soon to tell if it were friend or foe.

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

Robin waited carefully, biding her time. She knew she had a quick draw, the quickest finger in the whole Island Corral, though Barney definitely gave her some stiff competition. "You out there, Stinson?" she shouted, sprinting for the next tree before he could locate her position. "You're going down! Just like your mom did last night!"

[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

As soon as he heard her, Barney was rolling behind the nearest tree and immediately checking what was facing him before turning back to where her voice was coming for. "Always knew you were a lover of the beaver, Scherbatsky," he called as he leaned around the trunk trying to pinpoint her. "It's the lesbian side of every Canadian."

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

Robin was definitely sprinting as fast as she could, hair flickering behind her as she went, diving for cover behind the nearest patch of rocks. "What can I say?" she asked breathlessly, chest heaving to get more air in. "Vancouver has great clams!"

With that, she launched herself up to put herself in the open and line herself up for a shot.

[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

His head swung around as she came running through the underbrush and shot in that direction without success. But then he threw himself out of the way of her shot by the barest of margins. Yeah, maybe a belly flop into forest underbrush wasn't the most graceful of moves, but nothing beyond everlasting victory and celebratory slushees mattered in laser tag.

"Nice try, Robin, maybe with time and more daddy issues you could be a better shot."

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

Robin kept running to get new cover and to try and catch her breath. "Me and my daddy issues?" she got out. "Bob Barker may be awesome at tons of stuff, Barney, but last I checked, he wasn't reigning laser tag champion of anywhere!" She was still trying to recuperate, not wanting to give her position away.

[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

"Bob Barker is the master of all that he surveys!" Barney shouted as he got up to his feet and started stalking through the trees slowly with his finger on the trigger. Darting between trees always keeping an eye out for movement giving her away.

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

Robin was still watching above her, trying to writhe and wriggle herself into a better position, trying to make sure she could get a better angle. And they so needed to find other people to play with so they could tag-team instead of playing against each other.

It turned out that the moment she got up, she managed to get hit. "Aw, man!" Robin whined. "Come on!"

[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

"Yes!" His arms shot up victoriously with his fingers still wrapped around the fake gun. "Victory is mine! All shall love me and despaaaaaair!"

Barney maybe did a little dance as he walked over to Robin.

"No whining in laser tag, Scherbatsky," he pointed out to her. "There's just accusations of cheating and then stomping your foot as you quit."

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

Robin might have been pretty pissed about losing, but a part of her was still taken with adrenaline pumping through her, as eager as she had ever been and she wandered closer until she was at point-blank range with Barney. Instead of shooting though, she just stared at him for a long moment.

And then it came out of her, as if it was some kind of alien parasite trying to rip loose. "Barney, I love you," she babbled.

[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

Barney was so exulted about hsi sweet, sweet victory, he didn't even notice what she said. It didn't penetrate.

"Yeah, yeah, you do because I'm so awesome at laser tag." That last part he sand in his high pitched falsetto as he walked over to her with a grin so bright you could see in the dark.

Missing major life events in favor of fake battles. Such is the life of a true laser tag afficinado.

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

Robin just watched him carefully and now that the adrenaline had died down, she had the presence of mind to know that she really did mean it and so she just took a nervous step forward. "Barney," she repeated, trying to get his attention. "I love you."

[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

His eyebrows shot up once it penetrated (ahaha, "once it penetrated" nice) but, to his surprise, he didn't actually take off flailing through the trees.

Part of him wanted to. Honestly, most of him wanted to, or at the very least go cool and flippant and find the first floozy he could. And yet he didn't do that either. Barney stayed there as she came close.

"Seriously?" It came off less skeptical than he wanted and veering dangerously close to vulnerable.

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

Robin just stepped in a little closer and let her fingers drift over the laser tag equipment and she let out a shrug, giving him a wary little smile. "What, do you think I'm Mosbying you or something?" she teased lightly. "I totally don't have it in me to pull a move that risky."

[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, the Mosby. The surest way to get any right-minded girl to back away screaming as quickly as possible. Ted
continues to forge brand new paths to scare off women with his need to be the one wearing the panties in a relationship.

"Robin, I'm easy," he pointed out even as his fingers brushed over her arm lightly, even tenderly if that weren't a word reserved for gay-wads wearing turtlenecks and talking about love in free-verse.

"In bed, I mean, I'm really, really easy. You don't have to- Seriously, you don't have to tell me you're Catwoman's secret identity and desperately in love with me just to get me in bed- because, let's face it, I'm kind of slutty." He tried to smile. "So it's cool."

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

Robin waited patiently for Barney to react and gave him another minute or so of clearance, just so she wouldn't have to do something like knock him unconscious. "Barney," she said evenly when he finally shut up. "I'm not saying it because I think I have to. I'm saying it because I mean it. I...I love you."

And it was hard for her to get those words out. Second time on the L-train. Here went nothing.

[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

For a moment, all he could do was look at her. His heart was beating fast in his chest and he could feel his cheeks flushing - was this what it felt like when he told girls that he loved them? Oh my God, and he thought he was a douchebag before.

The quiet hung in the air for a moment longer before he managed to croak out. "I love you too."

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

Robin was still kind of gross and sweaty from the laser tag stuff and she kind of had buzzing nerves from getting the courage up to say it, but there they were. And they'd said it and they would mean it in their own way. She let out an anxious laugh as she peered up at him. "See, and we didn't even explode or anything."

[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

"Right?" He let out a little laugh as he rubbed a hand over his chest. "I think I'm having a feeling-induced cardiac arrest. Jesus, Robin, this is- "

He shook his head but still smiling sort of, can't quite help it.

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

Robin just stared at him blankly because while she kind of was awesome in a lot of ways, she hadn't added 'mind reading' to her list of skills just yet. "It's what?" she asked flatly, nerves starting to creep in because she kind of had an idea what he meant.

It was a bit (way) more serious than she thought it'd be.

[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

"I just didn't..." Come on, Barney, use your words. Get it out. "Didn't think it could be like this."

He couldn't remember what it was like with Shannon before things had gone horribly, horribly awry. Everything before that be-suited bastard was faded like a dream. But now, here they were sort of in love with each other while still maintaining their awesome.

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

"Non-crashing and burning?" Robin teased lightly before she got a little closer and rubbed her hand up and down his arm before letting it stroke his back. "So, we're in love," she said, still feeling a lot of nerves to say it. "It doesn't mean we're not us. We're not Lily or Marshall or Ted or...or anyone else. We're us. We can make this work."

[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

He tipped his head to catch her mouth in a kiss as they stood there in the brush while, around them, a laser tag battle raged.

After a few seconds, he murmured. "We're already so much more awesome than every other couple on the island, this will just take us to another mind-bending level of cool."

Really, this here was an opportunity. He had already explored the way to live your life as a true single bro. Now he would be able to extend his wisdom to all the dating bros out there, hopelessly in need for a man like Barney Stinson to show them the way.

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

Robin let out a quiet sound of assent because it was easier to fixate on what loving Barney meant for them right then and there between the two of them and not what everyone else expected them to be. "Just, no bed and breakfasts, okay?" she warned. "Because I don't think even our awesome could manage to make that less lame."

[hey-high-five.livejournal.com]

Barney scoffed at her but he could not quite achieve his usual scornful sincerity. Too pleased with himself, with her, with all this.

"Please. If I want to eat a mediocre breakfast with strangers, I'll just go to a Waffle House."

[robin-sparkles.livejournal.com]

"Not like we have those here," Robin pointed out, considering she'd been so craving the IHOP since like, day three. And god, brunch. "Actually, you know what, I am dragging you to brunch. Melon and prosciutto has never done anyone wrong."