Fic - The Angler
OK, so it's yet another objection fic. For those of you who haven't been following, this fic was very heavily influenced by idioticonion's Wolf series (Parts One and Two), as well as snogged's Malicious. It can be enjoyed on its own (it's not an official universe, anyway), but these fics are awesome, so read them anyway (although, actually, then my fic will seem like crap in comparison, so maybe don't read them until you've finished mine).
Title: The Angler
Fandom: How I Met Your Mother
Characters/Pairing: Barney, Lily
Rating: PG
Wordcount: exactly 500
Warnings: mild language, some sexual content
Summary: Lily shouldn't be surprised by how Barney uses women. Not anymore.
Watching Barney at work is like watching an experienced fisherman, searching for another trophy.
“Hey,” he says, to the girl at the bar. She’s holding a book. “I don’t usually do this, but...” He’s faking nervousness, pretending that all he wants is her approval. Barney becomes a puppy for her. “I was reading that book the other day...”
“Really?” she says, brightly. She’s young, too young to know her way around men like Barney. She doesn’t know who he is, what he is. All she knows is that a handsome man in a nice suit has the same taste in books as she does. “Don’t you love it?”
“Yeah. How far have you gotten up to?”
Lily had seen him checking the book’s Wikipedia page on his iPhone. It always amazed Lily how he could BS his way through any book, based on nothing more than a synopsis and cues from someone who actually gave a damn.
She stops listening to him, stops hearing the girl. All she does is watch his face. He seems so open, so eager. And that’s what the latest “cutlet” sees. But Lily knows Barney. She knows that the gears in his mind are always turning, always planning the next move, ready for any variable to tip the balance. He’s very good at what he does.
And it makes Lily’s skin crawl.
She shifts in her seat, not wanting to look at him, not wanting to give any hint that she knows him, shuddering. She shouldn’t be surprised, not anymore. Lily had been exposed to his lifestyle - hell, she’d helped him chase away the women, making sure that they left when the night ended. She’d seen him reel in hundreds of catches, some more easily than others, plenty more cruelly or more cunningly than this girl.
But this one? She jabs like a pin in Lily’s heart, because not two days ago Barney was telling her that he loved Robin.
How could he do that? How could he seem so sincere one day, and be here seducing yet another twenty-two-year-old the next? How could Barney, the man who flown to San Francisco in an attempt to save their marriage, the man who had cried at their wedding, the man who had made such a plaintive speech about wanting to be with Robin, be this angler? How could he use girls like tissues?
Barney lets her go for now. Lets her good thoughts of him fester before he finally snaps her up. Lily imagines that the final catch is over quickly - Barney climaxes and then he’s done, leaving her used, gutted on his bed. Like masturbation, only with a woman present.
He strolls over to the booth, slides in.
“Pretty hot, huh?” Barney asks, his smile so carefree. Almost like a child at play. She doesn’t voice her opinion, but merely nods as he talks, laughing at his jokes.
And it occurs to Lily, not for the first time, that maybe he’s reeled her in, too.
Title: The Angler
Fandom: How I Met Your Mother
Characters/Pairing: Barney, Lily
Rating: PG
Wordcount: exactly 500
Warnings: mild language, some sexual content
Summary: Lily shouldn't be surprised by how Barney uses women. Not anymore.
Watching Barney at work is like watching an experienced fisherman, searching for another trophy.
“Hey,” he says, to the girl at the bar. She’s holding a book. “I don’t usually do this, but...” He’s faking nervousness, pretending that all he wants is her approval. Barney becomes a puppy for her. “I was reading that book the other day...”
“Really?” she says, brightly. She’s young, too young to know her way around men like Barney. She doesn’t know who he is, what he is. All she knows is that a handsome man in a nice suit has the same taste in books as she does. “Don’t you love it?”
“Yeah. How far have you gotten up to?”
Lily had seen him checking the book’s Wikipedia page on his iPhone. It always amazed Lily how he could BS his way through any book, based on nothing more than a synopsis and cues from someone who actually gave a damn.
She stops listening to him, stops hearing the girl. All she does is watch his face. He seems so open, so eager. And that’s what the latest “cutlet” sees. But Lily knows Barney. She knows that the gears in his mind are always turning, always planning the next move, ready for any variable to tip the balance. He’s very good at what he does.
And it makes Lily’s skin crawl.
She shifts in her seat, not wanting to look at him, not wanting to give any hint that she knows him, shuddering. She shouldn’t be surprised, not anymore. Lily had been exposed to his lifestyle - hell, she’d helped him chase away the women, making sure that they left when the night ended. She’d seen him reel in hundreds of catches, some more easily than others, plenty more cruelly or more cunningly than this girl.
But this one? She jabs like a pin in Lily’s heart, because not two days ago Barney was telling her that he loved Robin.
How could he do that? How could he seem so sincere one day, and be here seducing yet another twenty-two-year-old the next? How could Barney, the man who flown to San Francisco in an attempt to save their marriage, the man who had cried at their wedding, the man who had made such a plaintive speech about wanting to be with Robin, be this angler? How could he use girls like tissues?
Barney lets her go for now. Lets her good thoughts of him fester before he finally snaps her up. Lily imagines that the final catch is over quickly - Barney climaxes and then he’s done, leaving her used, gutted on his bed. Like masturbation, only with a woman present.
He strolls over to the booth, slides in.
“Pretty hot, huh?” Barney asks, his smile so carefree. Almost like a child at play. She doesn’t voice her opinion, but merely nods as he talks, laughing at his jokes.
And it occurs to Lily, not for the first time, that maybe he’s reeled her in, too.