Work Text:
It all started with Battleship.
Actually, it started with cigars and a sexy suit and ended with Battleship and clothes strewn around her apartment.
The first night they hung out, it had been a misunderstanding when Barney started to strip down. Thankfully, he had redressed, and their game had commenced. It ended in a tie, with both cheaters unable to beat the other.
So the next weekend, they did it again. By week four it had become an all out grudge match with elaborate schemes and cheats employed on both sides of the table. The score was still tied zero to zero two months later when Victoria left Ted.
After Victoria went to Germany, Barney stopped calling Ted a lesbian, and they started hanging out and doing Bro things together again. However, Robin had impressed Barney, and more often than not now she accompanied the boys on their Bro-ventures. When Ted refused to play Laser Tag, she was there. When Barney said "suit up," she did. When Robin needed an out from a bad date, Barney saved her.
Because that's what Bros did, he replied easily.
To repay him, Robin found an opening at another shelter, so that Barney could finish out his last 40 hours of community service without having to wear a reflective vest. Things were going along smoothly between them, and if Ted was weirded out, he didn't complain much. Even Lily and Marshall seemed cool with the amount of time that Robin and Barney were beginning to spend together.
She wasn't entirely surprised, then, to get a phone call at 2 AM one Wednesday night, with the promise of Legendary action. Though she had heard the "Licking the Liberty Bell" story, she wasn't quite prepared for the manic gleam in Barney's eye, nor for the train ticket that was pressed into her hand.
When they returned from Vermont with three buckets of maple syrup and the phone numbers of a dozen hot ski instructors, Robin realized that she was enjoying herself more than she had in years.
Ted, Lily, and Marshall were already asleep, so the two Bros left one bucket of syrup in their fridge and then returned to Robin's apartment to feed her dogs. Neither wanted the evening to end, however, as it really had been legendary, and Robin invited Barney to have another quick drink. Scotch, of course, because it was the only hard alcohol she carried, and beer just wouldn’t taste as good with the syrup.
One snarky comment lead to another, and soon the Battleship box was dragged out for another grudge match. Robin wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, the copious amounts of maple sugar she'd consumed, or the friendly competition and companionship, but she found herself stretching her legs out and initiating a game of footsie with Barney.
It was casual at first, a brush or nudge every few "misses," but soon they were engaged in an all out battle beneath the table. Robin was working out a way to slide her leg completely up his trousers, and cursing her easy access skirt, when Barney looked up and caught her eye. It was the same manic gleam she had seen earlier in the night, but now with a hint of something indescribable.
Within minutes, Battleship pegs were flying across the room (one destroyer was never found again) as Barney and Robin dove into a lip lock. Both suit jackets were quickly stripped off and tossed away, and later Robin would find Barney's tie in the kitchen.
As they kissed each other hungrily, Robin's hands roamed over Barney's back, feeling his muscles tense and pull beneath her fingers. His hands were less mobile; one wrapped around her bottom, and the other cupped her breasts, squeezing gently. As Barney rocked eagerly against her, she felt him growing hard and the knowledge excited her even more.
Their tongues dueled, hot and needy, as eager for the challenge as their minds had been for the now-abandoned game. A small part of Robin's mind wondered if this was a violation of the Bro Code, but surely if it was, Barney would have made some comment. She'd heard many pieces of the code over the past few weeks, and none seemed to involve Bros kissing Bros. Of course, that might be because she was the first female Bro, but now she was probably over-thinking things. Robin gave up her attempts at logic and just let herself enjoy the moment.
Barney was a great kisser, as one might expect with all of his practice. Robin felt a flush rising through her body, and all thoughts of the code completely fled her mind. She wanted Barney, and she needed him now. They were laying half on the couch, and a battleship board was digging into her hip, but Robin didn't care.
She fumbled at his waist, and discovered his belt already gone, but she had no trouble working his fly. As they squirmed and writhed against each other, Robin felt herself drawing closer to the edge.
---
"H4."
"Miss."
"B4"
"Miss, of course."
"Of course." Robin placed the peg in its proper space and smirked. She had put her robe on, and Barney had reclaimed his boxers, but other than that they were still in a mostly undressed state. She could tell that the sight of all her skin was having a negative effect on Barney's game, but she wasn't going to give up the advantage.
"F11."
"Nothing but water." Of course, she wasn't going to mention that she hadn't found her destroyer after they'd knocked everything off the table. After all, that was part of the charm of the game they played.
"G5."
"Nada."
Casually, trying not to draw attention to her actions, Robin stretched and switched the position of her legs.
"A14."
"Not even close," Robin lied. Subtly, she began to tease Barney's leg with her foot again, slowly advancing higher. "G9."
"Uh, m-miss." He tried to hide his emotions, but Robin caught the slight hint of a stammer and smirked outright. Now that she knew his weakness, she had a perfect way to win at Battleship. And, come to think of it, she also had a really good euphemism for casual mutual relief.
It started with a syrup craving and a legendary adventure and ended with Battleship and clothes strewn around her apartment.