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3rd POV
Robin descended the stairs toward MacLaren's Pub, her steps slow, cautious. Her eyes kept darting around the street, anxiety and embarrassment clearly written across her face.
She had already agreed to meet everyone for MacLaren's night. Initially, she'd wanted to go upstairs to Ted's apartment instead and go to MacLaren together.
Robin had texted Lily earlier, asking whether Ted was at his apartment. Lily replied that Ted had been out since morning. He hadn't said where he was going, only that he still had some business to take care of and would meet them later at MacLaren's.
That uncertainty didn't help her nerves.
Truthfully, she didn't want to be here at all.
The shame from last night still clung to her like a bad hangover, a really terrible hangover!. Champagne had a way of doing that, loosening her tongue, lowering her guard, exposing a childish side she usually kept locked away. And now everyone had seen it.
Still… running away wasn't an option.
She pushed open the door to MacLaren's carefully and stepped inside, instinctively lowering her head and half-covering her face, as if that would somehow make her invisible.
Of course… it didn't work.
"Hey! Baby Robin!" Carl's voice boomed from behind the bar. "Where's your Daddy?"
Robin froze for half a second.
Wendy the Waitress spotted her too, her grin widening as she leaned over the counter.
"Where's Daddy Teddy?" Wendy asked teasingly. "Is he coming soon?"
Robin kept walking, cheeks burning, head down, wishing and hoping!—that the floor would open up and swallow her whole. She could feel eyes on her. Lily. Marshall. Even Barney, all smiling like they'd just been handed front-row seats to her humiliation.
She reached the booth where Lily was sitting and practically collapsed into the seat beside Barney.
"Oh my God!" Robin hissed. "....Do all of these people know what happened last night?!"
She stared at them in disbelief, eyes wide. "Is my reputation already ruined?!"
Before anyone could answer, she dramatically slammed her forehead onto the table.
"I vote for a different bar!" She raised her hand weakly without lifting her head.
Lily and Marshall burst out laughing, completely unbothered by her meltdown. If anything, their laughter made the atmosphere lighter. At least… Robin felt a little more comfortable knowing she wasn't being a stranger in their circle.
"I am the Daddy in here!" Barney suddenly protested, slamming his glass onto the table. "Why is Ted the Daddy now?!"
He stood up in outrage like a child whose toys were confiscated by his parents.
"It's not fair!!!"
And with that, he stormed off toward the counter, probably to flirt with someone, determined to reclaim the sacred title of Daddy from Ted Mosby himself.
The three of them ignored him.
Robin glanced between Lily and Marshall, still not convinced. "…Really? Nobody wants to try a different bar?" she asked again.
They both still looked at her like she was joking.
"I'm serious!" she insisted.
Before either of them could respond, Wendy appeared beside the table, placing a large glass of beer in front of Robin.
"Here, Robin. Our apologies."
Robin blinked, then broke into a wide smile. "Oh wow…wait. I don't have to pay for this?" she asked, already reaching for the glass and slurped in without waiting Wendy's response.
"No need," Wendy said with a grin, leaning in closer.
"…We don't want to make Daddy Ted angry."
Truthfully, it wasn't much of a whisper.
Lily and Marshall immediately burst into laughter.
"Oh man…" Robin groaned, but the free beer in front of her quickly softened the blow. "…At least I get a free beer."
She took a long, generous gulp.
"So," Lily said casually, leaning closer. "How's your relationship with Ted?"
Robin paused for half a second, just long enough to make it more dramatic.
"It's good," she replied, lifting the glass again. "We're friends now."
She chugged the beer, deliberately avoiding their eyes.
Lily's expression shifted. "…Really?" she said slowly. "Wow. That's a record, right?" She turned to Marshall.
"Yeah," Marshall nodded thoughtfully. "I think so."
He tried to remember the last woman who had left Ted's bedroom and didn't disappear afterward.
"…If you don't end up back in Ted's bedroom tonight," he added, "you'll officially be the first."
He took a long drink of his own beer.
Lily nodded in agreement.
Robin's cheeks flushed instantly as she stared down at her glass, suddenly very aware of the warmth creeping up her face.
"I am not going to Ted's bedroom again!" Robin snapped at the two of them, her tone sharp and defensive.
Unfortunately, her burning cheeks completely betrayed her words.
"…Wait," she added a beat later, glancing up. "Really? I'm the first?"
Her voice softened slightly, curiosity slipping through her irritation as she looked back at Marshall.
Marshall nodded without hesitation. "Yeah," he said. "Usually, he dates the girl afterward. And that's already an improvement, college Ted was… something else." He said with a little grimace.
Lily nodded emphatically. "Oh yeah. He was the worst in college," she added. "Like Barney-level bad."
She gestured with her head toward the bar, where Barney was currently attempting to seduce a woman with his trademark smirk. The woman stared at him for exactly three seconds before walking away without a word.
"…But," Lily continued, lowering her voice slightly as she turned back to Robin, "he still had, like, a ninety percent chance of sleeping with the girl."
Robin blinked. "Really? Ninety percent?" she muttered before taking another long sip of her beer. "Damn… that's high."
Lily nodded her head, "Yeah, the 10% is because the woman has a boyfriend and a very loyal one."
Robin stared into her glass, mostly to hide the renewed blush spreading across her face. Somehow, she felt like she finally understood those women now, why they stayed, why they came back, why it was so hard to walk away.
Marshall nodded again, this time with a slight grimace. "Yeah… sometimes we didn't even get the room," he admitted. "I usually had to go back to Lily's room just to…well, you know…." He trailed off before chugging his beer.
Lily winced at the memory and nodded along. "Yep. And he got slapped a lot too." She paused, then added with a scrunched nose and a frown, "…He was an animal."
"…You sound jealous," Robin teased, a smirk tugging at her lips as she looked at Lily.
"What, Marshall not giving you enough happy fun time, Lily?"
Marshall gasped dramatically, staring at Robin like she'd committed blasphemy.
Before he could say anything, Lily laughed softly and waved it off. "Hehe, don't worry about him," she said casually. "....He's got a huge package too."
She patted Marshall's arm affectionately and leaned in to kiss him.
Robin's smirk only widened.
A few seconds into the kiss, Marshall suddenly pulled back, eyes wide with shock.
"…Too?!" he said. "You saw?!"
Lily leaned back slightly, immediately defending herself. "Baby, we literally shared an apartment with him," she said as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Of course I caught a sneaky peek."
She said it like it was common knowledge, something Marshall should have accepted long ago.
Marshall stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "…Well. I guess you're right."
He leaned in again, kissing her briefly before pulling back once more, narrowing his eyes.
"…You didn't imagine it while we were doing it, right?"
"Of course not!" Lily snapped. "Really, Marshall?! That's such a messed-up question!"
Marshall immediately relaxed, wrapping his arms around her apologetically. "Okay, okay. Sorry."
As he hugged her, Lily shot a quick glance at Robin.
Robin met her eyes. They shared a look together, silently and knowing what the looked meant, and just a little dangerous. They both have a little smirk, knowing each other's thoughts.
After a moment, Robin broke the silence, glancing around the bar as if she were searching for something or someone.
"…So," she said casually, trying a little too hard to sound relaxed, "where's Ted? He said he'd be here later, right?"
The conversation drifted after that. One beer turned into two. Then another. Even Barney eventually gave up on trying to reclaim his Daddy status and settled back into the booth, laughing along with them instead of scheming.
And then…
The door to MacLaren's swung open.
"Carl! I have great news!" Ted's voice rang out loudly as he stepped inside, already grinning from ear to ear.
He slammed another five grand onto the counter like it was pocket change.
"Another party tonight!" Ted announced. "Beer's on me, guys!"
The bar erupted into cheers.
Ted turned toward Wendy, pulling out more cash. "....And here's another two grand for the other waitresses too, Wendy! Share it, okay?!"
The energy in the bar instantly shifted. Glasses clinked. People shouted. Another legendary night at MacLaren's had officially begun, funded entirely by Ted Mosby.
"Daddy Ted! Thank you!" Wendy laughed, quickly taking the money. She split it with another waitress nearby, one thousand each. A huge tip by any standard.
Ted stumbled slightly at the nickname, while Wendy kept chuckling, clearly enjoying his reaction. Before leading him toward his friends' booth, she planted a quick kiss on his cheek too.
Carl pointed at Ted from behind the bar, shaking his head with a wide grin. Nights like this always meant profit—far more than the usual crowd.
There was always money left over from Ted's five grand. Even last night, Carl had walked away with an extra thousand after just pouring beers to the last man. Even with the cash gone, he is just gonna charge Ted again or just ask the customer to pay up.
"Wow, Ted. Really?" Marshall said as Ted arrived at the booth. "Two nights in a row?"
Ted gestured to Wendy, asking her to bring two bottles of champagne this time.
"Yeah," Ted replied casually. "I just got some great news. Big money."
His eyes shifted to Robin sitting beside Barney. "Hello, my friend," he said teasingly. "Ready to get drunk again?"
Robin shook her head immediately. "Ted, I just came here to enjoy a beer!" she insisted.
Unfortunately for her, Wendy appeared right on cue with two bottles of champagne and five empty glasses balanced on her tray.
….And Robin reached for a glass instantly.
Ted laughed at the sight but Robin didn't care and just snorted toward him, keeping the glass close to her body like a pillow or doll, something precious for her.
"Don't worry, Robin," Wendy said cheerfully, patting Ted's shoulder. "....Daddy Ted here." She chuckled as she walked away.
That was the exact moment Ted realized what had been happening in his absence.
"No!" Barney shouted, sliding into an empty seat at the booth. "I am the Daddy here!"
He pointed at himself repeatedly. "Ted! Ted! Look at me!"
Ted stared at him calmly.
"…Never mind," Barney muttered, grabbing one of the champagne bottles.
"…Barney," Ted said slowly, like a disappointed parent.
"Fine!!!" Barney snapped, shoving the bottle back at him. "Here. You open it….Please."
Lily, Marshall, and Robin burst out laughing at the exchange.
Once the laughter died down, Lily leaned forward, her eyes fixed on Ted with curiosity.
"So, Ted," she said pointedly, completely ignoring the great news announcement, "...what's the big money thing?" and straight to the money.
Money first. Always.
Ted chuckled, popping the champagne open and carefully pouring it into their glasses.
"I got a new job," he said calmly. "And it pays really well."
The group immediately reacted, especially Marshall. He was still working toward his law license, still preparing for marriage. The idea of Ted making good money meant less pressure on rent, groceries, and shared expenses.
"To Ted!" Marshall raised his glass. "We hope you're happy with this new job."
Barney snorted, lowering Marshall's arm slightly.
"Please. Happiness doesn't pay your rent."
He raised his own glass anyway.
"To Ted! May you at least make half of what I earn in a year!"
The group laughed.
Ted didn't seem bothered at all.
Even Robin, still new to this dynamic, felt strangely at home among them.
"To friend Ted," she said, lifting her glass.
"So… how much do you actually make with this new job?"
Lily nodded eagerly beside her.
Ted only smiled, taking a slow sip of his champagne.
…..And said nothing.