On Wednesday she was back, and without tears. Barney couldn't help but smile when he saw her—it was adorable how clueless she was to the queer stares and whispers she got from her fashion choices. She grinned and waved at him. He attempted to ignore the way his heart thumped harder when she did.

Instead of sitting down at the booth like she usually did, Robin came straight up to the counter and settled herself on a stool.

"Morning!" she said brightly. He smiled back and slid the mug of coffee towards her.

"Feel better today?" he asked.

"Yeah, much. I completely overreacted yesterday. I was so stupid…" She was shaking her head at herself. Barney stopped his nervous polishing of the glass he held.

"No you weren't. You reacted how anyone would if their best friend decided to up and leave one day. You're totally normal!"

She smiled warmly at him in thanks, and he decided to break their prolonged eye contact.

"Well," he cleared his throat, "As normal as a Canadian can be, anyway!" She scoffed and gave him a mock death glare.

It stayed like this for a while, their conversation only interrupted by the occasional customer—Wednesdays were usually pretty dull for the tiny café. Soon enough it was midday, and Paul was calling out Barney's lunchbreak from around the back. He usually only got around half an hour, and didn't have much to do except scoff down a wheatgrass shake and sit idly by a window. But today was different.

"You wanna go for a walk?" asked Robin nervously. Barney shrugged a "why not?" and joined the bedazzled teen popstar as they left the shop together. Being the gentleman he was, he held the door open for her and grinned as she blushed awkwardly from the chivalry. His mind wandered anxiously to Shannon. Walking definitely wasn't classified as cheating. And who was she to dictate whether his friends could be female or not?

"So what kinda music are you into?" he asked her as they walked side by side down the footpath.

"All sorts of stuff!" she replied. "But my favourite song at the moment is Sunglasses at Night by George Clinton."

"Pssh!" Barney exclaimed. "Who writes a song about sunglasses? Could you get anymore pointless?" he grinned. "I mean that's like writing a song about sandcastles or something."

"Hah! You've got a point, but it's a good song!" she insisted, nudging him. He merely laughed at her until she glared at him through thick eyelashes and he stopped abruptly.

As they continued along the cement path, somehow the odd couple ended up in a heated discussion about who would win in a fight: Chuck Norris, or 'The Frozen Snowshoe,' some Canadian pro-wrestler that Robin was a huge fan of. They stopped only at a small flower stall on a block corner. The denim-clad blonde admired the array of colourful blossoms, while the florist commented on what an adorable couple the two were. Barney didn't even have the strength in him to correct the woman, merely nodding and smiling politely at her in thanks. He was in a great mood— he even ended up deciding to buy Robin a flower. Steering clear of romantic reds and deep purples, he settled on a bright, beautiful yellow daisy, to compliment her sunny personality. She smiled and giggled awkwardly as she accepted the flower, her heart rate accelerating.

Barney glanced at a clock in a shop window.

"Aww, man! It's almost twelve thirty already," he said, disappointed. He would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy the saddened expression on her face as well. Robin turned to him, a hint of hope mixed with the dejectedness in her eyes.

"I'll see you again tomorrow, right?"

Barney smiled and brushed a blue-dyed curl from her face.

"I don't think my day would be the same if I didn't."

Neither of them realized how close they were both standing. Their hands brushed together softly by their sides and Barney found it impossible to tear his gaze away from her eyes. They swirled in shades of green and blue, catching hints of violet light.

And then she was closing her eyes and he was leaning down and—

"BARNEY. STINSON!"

Time froze.

The moment was completely lost as Barney's head whipped round to find a livid, red-faced Shannon glaring at him from across the road. She stormed over to the hippy and looked him straight in the face, her stormy grey eyes watering from anger.

"Shannon! I uh-"

"Don't you 'Shannon!' me! How dare you!" she screeched at him. "How dare you!"

Barney and Robin stood at a loss for words as the petite girl raged.

"It was nothing! I wasn't going to-"

She cut across him again.

"Cheat on me! Cheat on me? And with this weirdo?" Her voice rose higher and higher as she screamed. People walking by had stopped to give them stares. "Who is she, huh?" she demanded. Shannon turned to Robin. "Who are you, you slut?"

The Canadian was at a loss for words, but just as she opened her mouth to retaliate, Barney interrupted.

"Don't you speak to Robin like that!" he growled. His voice quietened as he noted the crowd starting to form around the sight. "You're making a scene."

"I will make a scene if I damn well want to!" she snarled stubbornly. The girl calmed slightly as Barney put a hand on her arm.

"Can we please sort this out in private?" he pleaded.

Shannon reconsidered her retort and nodded curtly. As they walked away, Barney was able to steal one last confused and apologetic glance at Robin, who was still rooted to the spot, dumbfounded.

*HIMYM*HIMYM*HIMYM*HIMYM*HIMYM*

Back at the café, Barney tried his best to calm down his hurt and confused girlfriend, and explain what was going on. Unfortunately, he found that rather hard, seeing as he didn't entirely understand what had just happened himself.

So he tried something that he hated doing. Especially to Shannon.

Lying.

"Babe, it's totally not what it looks like," he said. "She's uh, been to Nicaragua. I was talking to her about a children's shelter she's volunteered at, and then suddenly she started going in for it… guess I must've given her the wrong idea. I feel so stupid now for not realizing that she was into me." He tried the regretful and sad angle.

And surprisingly, Shannon bought it.

"Oh my God, baby… I'm so sorry. For everything out there!" she said, snaking her arms around his neck. "Except calling her a slut. That was justified."

Barney's hands tensed slightly.

"Totally," he forced out through gritted teeth. Then he relaxed, smiling at the girl he loved. "So are we good?"

"We're so good!" Shannon smiled back, before attacking his lips with hers. "But one more thing," she said between kisses.

He smiled with affection.

"Anything."

"Obviously you won't be seeing her. Ever again." She kissed him softly.

Barney's blood ran cold. He couldn't see Robin again? The mere thought of it made his heart sink to his stomach. He returned his girlfriend's kisses half-heartedly.

"Barney?" she hummed. "You understand right?"

It was then that Barney made his decision. He loved Shannon, and he would stick by his girlfriend through anything.

"Of course. I'll…I'll never speak to Robin again." The words made his throat tighten slightly.

She smiled.

"That's my man."

As Shannon stretched up and kissed him again, he noted that her lips tasted of coffee and liquorice.

Barney found himself wondering what Robin's lips tasted like.

Probably like strawberries.

A/N: Sorry for the long gap between updates. Though I hope you liked this chapter! Things will be moving pretty quickly in the next few parts. :) Did you pick up the references to modern-day HIMYM? Leave your thoughts in a review and I will love you forever!