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3rd POV
Barney Stinson had never believed in limits, especially when women were involved. Distance, logic, common sense? All negotiable. If it meant getting lucky tonight, he would cross state lines without hesitation. Eighty miles from New York City to Philadelphia felt less like a journey and more like a minor inconvenience.
Ted, on the other hand, sat beside him with a deep, irritated sigh, his eyes fixed on Barney with a glare sharp enough to cut steel. If it weren't for this man, this human embodiment of chaos, Ted would've already been spending the night with the woman he'd just met at the airport. A perfectly normal, promising encounter.
Ruined.
Completely and utterly ruined.
"Ted," Barney said, nudging him with barely contained excitement, his eyes never leaving the two women a few rows ahead of them. "Go call Marshall. Tell him to pick us up in Philly."
Ted sighed again, he'd lost count how many sighed at this point, before pulling out his phone. He leaned slightly toward Barney and whispered, almost casually, "…I want the blonde one."
Barney gasped dramatically, as if Ted had just committed a federal crime.
"Ted! I called dibs on the blonde!"
Ted didn't even look at him. He focused on his phone instead, pressing call.
"Marshall! Hey, guess where I am?" he said, calmly blocking Barney's attempt to shake him in protest.
"Yeah," Ted continued, glancing out the airplane window, "we're on a plane to Philadelphia."
Before he could say anything else, the phone was suddenly snatched out of his hand.
"Marshall!" Barney whined into the phone like a spoiled child. "You need to tell Ted to stop stealing my dibs!"
Then, without missing a beat, his tone shifted.
"Oh, by the way, drop whatever you're doing, get into that hoopty-ass Fiero of yours, and drive to Philly to meet us!" He glanced at Ted again with his smile still so bright and shouted to Marshall, "It's gonna be legendary!"
He ended the call abruptly and shoved the phone back into Ted's hand, grinning like a man who had just orchestrated a masterpiece.
Ted looked down at the phone, still annoyed slightly despite technically winning the dibs battle.
Barney noticed and smirked. "Admit it, Ted," Barney said, throwing his hands up enthusiastically. "You're having fun right now. Thirty-five thousand feet of fun!"
Ted slumped back into his seat, finally surrendering. "…Fine," he muttered. "I never planned to fly to Philadelphia just to chase a girl. But….this could be one of those stories I tell my kids someday."
Barney's smile froze for half a second. Then he rolled his eyes dramatically.
"Ted… there is still so much I need to teach you."
He leaned forward eagerly. "But first, let's go talk to those girls."
Barney reached for his seatbelt, ready to stand up but Ted didn't let him.
"Sit down, Barney," Ted said calmly, stopping him. "The seatbelt sign is on."
Barney opened his mouth to argue, but Ted shot him a look, the kind that said 'don't you dare.'
"…Fine!" Barney grumbled, dropping back into his seat. "Just so you know, Ted! your entire life is basically a seatbelt."
Ted ignored him completely, leaning back in his chair, staring ahead as the plane continued its descent toward Philadelphia, toward chaos, bad decisions, and a story that, whether he liked it or not, would absolutely be told someday.
While Ted and Barney were literally soaring through the air toward Philadelphia, Marshall Eriksen sat alone in the quiet of the apartment, surrounded by open law books, yellow highlighters, and half-finished notes that suddenly felt… unbearably dull.
He replayed Barney's voice in his head, 'legendary,' loud and reckless and for a brief moment, Marshall actually thought what they were doing was kind of amazing. Spontaneous and stupid. Very much a guy thing. Like they were in College all over again!
Meanwhile, here he was, hunched over a desk, memorizing legal principles in silence like a monk with student loans.
Yeah. No contest.
By the time Ted's call fully registered in his brain, the decision had already been made.
Marshall stood up abruptly, snapped his book shut, grabbed his jacket, and headed for the door.
'I'm going to Philadelphia!'
Even just thinking it sent a jolt of excitement through him. He didn't overanalyze it. Didn't weigh the consequences. If Lily had something to say about this later…..well, he'd blame Ted and Barney. Yeah…. That felt fair.
He grabbed his car keys and left the apartment, already halfway down the stairs before logic could catch up.
Moments later, as he slid into the driver's seat and reached for the ignition, Marshall paused.
"…Wait."
He leaned back, sighed, then got out of the car again.
Instead of driving off, he turned and headed straight for MacLaren's.
Inside, Lily and Robin were still there, talking, laughing, leaning into that comfortable rhythm they'd found together over the evening. Marshall walked toward them with an energy that was impossible to miss.
"Lily!" he called out, a little excited in his voice. He stopped in front of her and Robin.
"I'm driving to Philly. Right now!. Do you want to come with me?" He glanced at Robin. "You too."
Both women stared at him with a little doubt.
"Wha—why?" Lily asked, immediately looking at Robin for backup. Even for them, driving to Philadelphia in the night was… a lot.
Still, Robin had never been to Philadelphia.
Marshall grinned, barely able to contain himself.
"Ted and Barney just called. They're on a plane. Heading to Philly right now."
That got Robin's attention and Marshall's expression softened as he turned fully toward her.
"Robin… I think you should come clean to Ted." He hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "I know him. He'll understand. And honestly, after everything, even when you two were sleeping together he was casual enough with you."
Lily opened her mouth to stop him, but it was already out there.
The decision now belonged to Robin again.
"Ted is not a fool," Marshall added quietly, this time looking at Lily seriously.
Lily pouted, clearly annoyed, arms crossing defensively.
Robin clenched her jaw, then finally spoke.
"…What do you think, Lily?"
Lily exhaled hard, grabbed the last of her martini, and downed it in one go before turning back to them. "Alright," she said, wiping her mouth. "We're going to Philly."
With that decision, Robin knows that she needs to make Ted understand and give him some explanation again.
Marshall broke into a relieved smile.
Robin sighed, leaning back in her chair. She was a grown woman. She could handle an honest conversation.
"Alright," she said finally. "Let's go." She finished her martini as well.
"…But I gotta pee first," Lily added suddenly, bolting toward the bathroom.
That left Marshall and Robin sitting alone together.
They'd only known each other for a few days. Silence settled in with polite, awkward and a little heavy atmosphere.
"…Do you think Ted already knows our plan?" Robin asked softly, looking at him.
Marshall shook his head slowly. He didn't order a drink or beer because he had a two-hour drive ahead of him.
"I'm pretty sure he does," he said. "Barney knows too. And if Barney knows, then Ted knows. Trust me."
He studied Robin carefully. "But are you sure you don't plan on dating Ted?" he asked honestly. "If you did… you'd be the first one. You already lost from not sleeping with Ted three times." He said with a little grin on his face.
Robin went quiet before she sighed and was a little overwhelmed about this friendship or date.
"…I guess not," she said at last.
Marshall nodded, accepting it. Whatever happened next, that was on Ted.
Lily returned, clapping her hands together.
"Alright! Road trip to Philly!"
Marshall chuckled as they stood up. "Just for the record," he said, glancing at both of them, "I'm ninety-nine percent sure Ted and Barney are chasing women. And one hundred percent sure it's Barney dragging Ted along." He said and kinda settled his gaze on Robin.
Lily sighed as they walked out. "First he lies about an emergency. Now he's chasing women across state lines." She shook her head. "Honestly? Not surprised."
Marshall laughed as they climbed into his car.
As the engine started and the city lights of New York began to blur behind them, Robin stared out the window, her thoughts heavy but resolved.
This was her decision.
No more casual.
She swallowed the unease, straightened her shoulders, and forced herself to smile.
Tonight, she was going to end it, properly.
And whatever came after?
She'd deal with it.
While Marshall, Lily and Robin decide to go to Philly,
Thirty-five thousand feet above the ground, Ted and Barney clinked their plastic cups together after finally getting their drinks, courtesy of the flight attendant who had already looked very tired of Barney.
With drinks in hand and confidence artificially boosted by airplane alcohol, Barney immediately straightened his suit and motioned toward the two women a few rows ahead.
"Alright," he muttered. "Game on."
They walked over together, stopping beside the women's seats.
"Hey," Barney said brightly, flashing his most practiced smile. "We meet again."
The brunette glanced up first, instantly recognizing them. She chuckled softly.
"Yeah, we noticed. You guys took seats right behind us."
Her gaze shifted to Ted, curious and amused.
"Oh—hi. Are you his friend?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "I'm guessing yes, since you've been talking to him the entire flight."
Ted raised an eyebrow, pretending to be offended. "Oh really?" he said playfully. "Were we that interesting to be noticed by two beautiful girls?"
Then he glanced pointedly at Barney. "I just hope you were also paying attention to the seatbelt sign."
Barney groaned and rolled his eyes, making some chuckles from both of the women in front of him. "Very funny, Ted."
He quickly recovered and jumped back into character.
"We actually just had a business meeting in New York," Barney said smoothly.
Ted nodded along, but his eyes flicked to the brunette and he noticed it immediately. Her smiles faltered. Just a little. Barely noticeable to other guys but noticeable enough for him.
"Never mind that," Ted cut in gently, shooting Barney a brief look before turning back to them.
"So, what brings you two to Philly?"
This time, Ted's attention lingered on the blonde.
The brunette brightened instantly.
"Oh! We're visiting our boyfriends," she said cheerfully.
The blonde nodded, clearly excited too and kinda shy.
"Yeah! Chris is actually planning to propose this weekend." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, beaming to Ted. "Isn't that great?"
Barney's face visibly fell. "Oh," he said flatly. "Wow." and looking at Ted now, feeling down.
The blonde extended her hand toward Ted.
"Hi, I'm Anna."
Ted shook her hand politely while still looking at her with a smile and interested body language.
"I'm Ted." He said and their hands still lingering enough for a few seconds.
The brunette quickly followed. "Oh—sorry! I'm Laura." She reached out to Barney.
"Barney," he replied, his voice noticeably less… legendary.
Barney glanced at Ted, fully aware that this entire situation was his fault and yet, somehow, Ted was still smiling.
"…Wow," Ted said quietly as he released Anna's hand.
Anna frowned slightly but it kinda made her try to find some error from her body, "...Wow what?"
Ted waved his hand awkwardly.
"No, no, nothing like that. I just mean…"
He smiled, sincere and warm.
"...You're really cute."
For a brief moment, everyone froze.
Barney stared at Ted like he became some kind of idol for him.
Anna blinked really caught up for the moment of Ted's compliment.
Laura's eyebrows shot up and looking at her friends who's not angry but smiled shyly.
Ted immediately raised both hands.
"Sorry, I was just saying. No meaning behind it. Purely observational."
He gently nudged Barney's arm to wake him up from his shock.
"Well, maybe we'll see you guys again in Philly."
Anna hesitated for half a second before removing her smiles from her face and glancing at her friend.
"Uh… yeah. Maybe..."
Ted nodded politely, then steered Barney back toward their seats.
As they walked away, Barney leaned in and hissed,
"Ted…what are you doing, man?"
Ted sat down, still glancing at both of them from his chair, Anna looked over her shoulder again, just briefly. Laura did the same, clearly checking whether Ted was still watching.
"What?" Ted said innocently. "I didn't do anything."
Barney stared at him in disbelief. The flight was short, forty, maybe fifty minutes but suddenly it felt much longer.
Ted took another sip of his drink. "Let's just enjoy Philly, shall we?" he said lightly. "There are plenty of women in Philly too."
At that exact moment, Ted's eyes met Anna's again.
"…Fine," Barney muttered, exhaling deeply.
For the first time that night, he genuinely wondered if chasing those women had been a mistake.
And somehow, unbelievably…..Ted was the one having a good time.