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  3rd POV — MacLaren's Pub

  Robin watched as her friends made out with strangers like her own breakups didn't even matter anymore.

  She couldn't help thinking how slutty she looked right now and, even worse, that she could've picked better strangers like the guy before.

  If they were going to go home with someone random…

  why not the cute and handsome guy from earlier, right?

  She tried to shake the thought off. Ugh….Getting hung up over a boyfriend? How lame.

  "I'm gonna grab a drink," Robin said, though none of her friends seemed to hear her. She sighed and headed to the bar.

  She spotted the nice guy from earlier, the one who had tried to help before he went outside. He was chatting easily with the bartender, smiling like he actually belonged here.

  From Robin's point of view, he looked friendly to the Bartender and that's enough hint to realize this guy was a regular.

  "Hey," she said, leaning on the counter, "do you know that guy from earlier?"

  Carl the bartender, though she didn't know his name yet — looked at her with a grin.

  "Yeah, that's Ted. One of my regulars."

  Robin raised an eyebrow. So, Ted. The way Carl spoke about him sounded almost…affectionate.

  What did this guy do to make a bartender talk about him like that?

  She guessed he must drink here often, maybe even enough to keep the place running.

  "He's out of your league, girl."

  Robin turned toward the voice beside her — a beautiful woman with foreign features and, annoyingly, a chest slightly bigger than hers.

  Instant hate for her there. Not because of her words but because her boobs are bigger than her.

  "Excuse me?" Robin frowned, awkward but defiant. "I can get him without even trying, 'girl'."

  "Babe, come on," Carl said quickly, trying to calm her down. "Don't start a competition here."

  Robin noticed the woman's lips twist in a pout after that. Babe? Oh.

  So this was the girlfriend of the bartender.

  "I was gonna introduce him to my twin sister," the woman said bitterly, tossing back her drink. "At least she could give him a better night than you ever could."

  "…You don't have a twin sister," Carl said, blinking in confusion.

  Robin watched silently, already seeing through the act. The flushed cheeks, the dreamy look at her glass and yeah, she was drunk and lying.

  "I do!" the woman snapped, slamming her drink down. "I just never introduced her because she's a slut! Slept with one of her teachers…my mom even banned her from coming home!"

  Robin shook her head, done with the drama.

  She ordered a scotch, took the glass, and started toward the door.

  Behind her, Carl's voice followed softly and rather confused. "…Wasn't that your story?"

  Robin heard it, but didn't look back.

  She'd had enough of everyone else's mess tonight.

  Robin stepped out of MacLaren's, glancing left and right, looking for the "nice guy" from earlier.

  There he was — sitting on the steps, half lost in thought, the cigarette in his hand glowing faintly. The way he took each slow drag, the calmness in his face… she could tell he was thinking about something bigger than the world.

  She knew that look…and against her better judgment, she was drawn to it.

  "Hey…" Robin said, her voice cutting through the quiet night. "Do you still have some?" She nodded at his cigarette.

  The man looked up, smiling — that same kind smile she remembered from inside, but somehow softer now. You know…more real than before.

  "I do," he said, gesturing for her to sit beside him. "It's chilly out here, so I was hoping for some company. Please." he said in the last words like begging her to say yes.

  Robin grinned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess it's a good thing I'm wearing a turtleneck, then."

  His smile widened brightly despite the cold night. "So, what's your name — girl in the green turtleneck?"

  She sat down beside him, lighting her cigarette before answering. "I'm Robin. What about you, Mr. Nice Guy?"

  The man laughed, eyes widening a little. "Oh no, no — I'm not the nice guy. I'm just the wingman. The name's Ted."

  Robin blinked a few times, a small laugh escaping her. "Damn… that was good." She couldn't help but admit it — both of them, the timing, everything, just worked really well. The observation for the prey and the technique they used is really well planned. She's talking about the seduction technique from earlier.

  Ted smiled modestly. "Thanks. He bought me a drink tonight. He's a good friend…" He said then he gave her a guilty look, "I am sorry for your friend inside, he's a total man-whore."

  Robin laughed under her breath. "No need to apologize for him. Honestly, I should be thanking you. I didn't really feel like listening to another one of her sob stories tonight."

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  Ted nodded like he already knew that she didn't really care for her friend. He watched her quietly for a moment before asking, "So… what do you do, Robin?"

  "I'm a reporter at Metro News 1." She said it with a bit of pride, then winced. "Well… kind of a reporter. I do those dumb little fluff pieces at the end of the news." She looked at him carefully, waiting for him to laugh at her.

  He didn't.

  The same warm smile stayed on his face — not mocking, not pitying, just a genuine smile toward her, interested in her story. That makes her warm up.

  So she kept going. "You know, like... 'Monkey Who Can Play Ukulele.'"

  Ted nodded seriously. "I want that monkey. Maybe we can start a band together."

  He paused thoughtfully. "What should we call it? I'm thinking of reggae soul vibes."

  Robin blinked, then smiled so wide she couldn't stop herself from laughing.

  "How about Monkey and Green? I'll take the green part," she teased.

  Ted chuckled. "Hmm, I'm pretty sure I could take both."

  Robin laughed again, shaking her head. "Okay, okay. What about Evolution and Reggae?"

  Ted pretended to think hard. "So, I'm the evolution one?" He paused, grinning. "Wait—that sounds bad. Guess I'll take the reggae part."

  They both burst out laughing from jokes that weren't even funny.

  Minutes pass while they're talking to each other. Their cigarettes burned down to the filter. The night air was cold, but neither of them noticed.

  They just kept talking — about nothing important, about everything — two strangers who somehow felt like old friends already.

  "You're lying, Ted Mosby. You're a nice guy," Robin said, narrowing her eyes playfully, like she was cross-examining a suspect.

  "How many women fall for that act of yours?"

  Ted smiled, meeting her gaze. "...So, you're falling for me?"

  The question caught in her throat. Looking at the man in front of her — that calm, kind smile, those eyes — she couldn't stop the heat rising in her cheeks.

  She tipped back her scotch and finished it in one gulp.

  {Two. The one that just slips out when you're half-drunk.} — Older Ted's voice.

  "Do you want to go out sometime?" Robin asked, her voice steady but her heart racing.

  {And yeah, it's true. She's the one who asked me first.} — Older Ted.

  Ted blinked, pretending to fan himself dramatically. "Wow… I feel like the pretty girl right now."

  Robin burst out laughing, her face lighting up in the dim streetlight.

  Ted just smiled, quietly watching her. "Yeah," he said softly. "I'd love to."

  She smiled back — that soft, genuine kind of smile that makes time slow down. "How about tomorrow night?"

  Ted raised an eyebrow. "That's cool."

  Before he could say more, a loud voice broke through the quiet.

  "Hey, creep! You got yourself a woman, huh? Nice one!"

  Ted turned to see Barney, half-stumbling, with the same woman he'd been making out with earlier clinging to his arm.

  Ted laughed under his breath. "You're making a huge mistake, lady," he said, nodding toward her. "...But I hope you're happy."

  Barney laughed, raising his beer to him. "Haha, of course she's happy! We're gonna have sex seven times tonight!"

  He kissed her again — but between the kisses, his eyes flicked toward Ted with a quick, silent thank you.

  Ted just saluted with his drinks and drank it calmly. Robin on the other side is completely flabbergasted looking at the two men who's getting a girl like that.

  Barney released her for a moment and the woman looked at Ted with a guilty face, "I am sorry nice guy, I wanted something more than love itself for tonight… Robin is a great woman, I am sure you two can be together, if she's not, you can give me a call." She said while pointing at Robin.

  Ted, hearing the women say that, only shook his head calmly. He didn't say anything though, and just calmly looked at her.

  "Forget about him! Let's go take a cab, I can't wait to bend you over me!" Barney said to stop the cab without waiting much, he let her go inside before he turned around and pointed at Ted with a glorious smile.

  Ted just waved at him to not wait again.

  "wow… unbelievable…" Robin looked at Ted again, "You're a dangerous young man." She said with wise old man tones.

  "As long as my friend is happy." Ted said but then he heard Barney's voice from the cab who's already far away, "I AM YOUR BEST FRIEND!!"

  Ted and Robin laughed at him before Ted felt his phone shake, he looked at the phone and nodded his head. Robin can't help wanting to look at his phone, maybe his girlfriend messaged him? Or maybe his wife?

  She didn't know why she thinks like that, but she is really curious. "What is it?" She asked and eyeing him, looking for distraction or finding some excuses.

  Ted on the other hand just nodded to his phone, because he already knows that Lily is going to say yes to Marshall's proposal. So it's not really exciting news, but he's glad they got engaged.

  "My friend just got engaged. He said that she's saying yes and they ended up having sex on the kitchen floor." Ted said with complete rage, "I told him not to have sex on the kitchen floor! It's really dirty!"

  Robin speechless hearing that, she heard that his best friend got engaged and he's angry about something trivial like that?! How can he possibly not be excited about the engagement news?!

  "You're really… something else, Ted Mosby." Robin said while shaking her head and Ted just looked at her with a confused look.

  —----

  3rd POV

  "I should text Ted," Marshall said, lying flat on the kitchen floor. He stared up at the ceiling, the love of his life curled against his chest, nuzzling him like a sleepy puppy.

  "...Why?" Lily murmured, planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

  Their bodies were still slick with sweat — the comfortable kind that comes after love, laughter, and a little bit of chaos.

  "I promised I'd text him if you said yes," Marshall said, still looking at the ceiling.

  "...And to warn him not to come over in case we, you know… celebrated right after the proposal."

  Lily giggled. "Yeah, he's definitely still traumatized from last time, huh?"

  Marshall grinned, pushing himself up from the floor. "I'll text him first. Then… we can cook again."

  Lily also got up, slipping on her clothes as she glanced at him. "Is it true he's got a new girlfriend?" she asked casually, a small smile tugging at her lips.

  "I don't really know…" Marshall said, thumbs flying over his phone as he typed.

  He sent Ted a message about the proposal, threw in a question about "the Lebanese chick," and, of course, an apology for having sex on the kitchen floor.

  Lily peeked into the freezer and spotted the champagne bottle waiting inside.

  "Ohh, honey," she said with a teasing grin. "You bought champagne? For the celebration?"

  She walked closer, eyebrows raised. "How'd you know I'd say yes?"

  Marshall pocketed his phone and gave her his goofiest smug grin. "Lily… come on…" he said, gesturing proudly at himself.

  Lily just laughed, shaking her head. He was ridiculous and she loved every inch of it.

  Her goofy, perfect, future husband.

  She couldn't stop smiling. Not for just tonight and not ever.

  Marshall walked over and picked up the champagne bottle from her hand.

  "I wanted to make a toast…" he said, turning it over in his hands, studying the label like it might explode.

  Then, with a sheepish grin, he handed it to her again. "....for my fiancée."

  Lily frowned, looking at him first, then at the bottle now in her hands. "No way. Nu uh. You are way too old to be scared of opening a champagne bottle!"

  She shoved it back into his hands. "Open it. For me. Your future wife." She said each word slowly, like a teacher to a very stubborn student.

  "Fine!" Marshall grumbled, gripping the bottle with determination.

  "For my fiancée," he muttered, giving her a stiff smile. "...Who's strong..."

  He glanced at the cork nervously — the final boss of his evening nightmare.

  "You can't open it, can you?" Lily teased, crossing her arms.

  She could tell he was stalling, trying to earn a little pity from her, but she didn't want to give it.

  "I can!" he said quickly, puffing up his chest.

  "Good!" Lily said, rolling her eyes but smiling anyway.

  She turned back to the counter, grabbing a few fresh eggs to replace the ones they'd destroyed earlier.

  "I'm gonna cook, and I want to drink that champagne. You better—"

  POP!

  Lily froze mid-sentence. She turned and saw Marshall standing proudly, holding the bottle safely pointed away from his face, a trail of bubbles foaming at the mouth of it.

  "Oh, baby!! I'm so proud of you!!" she squealed, rushing to him with a bright smile.

  She kissed him — first on the lips, then on his cheeks, then near his ear, giggling the whole time.

  Marshall grinned from ear to ear, chest puffed out with pride. He'd faced his fear… and won.

  And as he looked at Lily — flushed, laughing, and very clearly ready for another round —

  he realized maybe it was time to celebrate again.

  Lily just giggled and clearly forgot her own eggs again. She doesn't care about that anymore and Mama only needs another round of spanking!

  While they embrace the moment, Marshall's phone vibrates, and text comes in from Ted. They didn't look at it and ignored Ted's message, if they read it, they would just laugh.

  Ted messages to him first, 'is it okay that he's coming home right now?', but it is completely ignored by Marshall, then the phone vibrates again, the text says, 'You guys are still having sex right?'

  But again, the message was completely being ignored by both of them, and Ted didn't message him again. He said that tonight is their night to celebrate, he didn't care if he slept in the hotel.