Marshall stares out across the roof, heart thundering in his ears so hard he can feel it in his throat. The prospect of finally doing this, of finally jumping the gap, was frightening, but also incredibly thrilling.

He could feel the buzz in his bones, rushing through him, knowing that he could do it this time, that he could jump across that gap. He knew it was finally the time to do so.

The other roof wasn't too far and he knew that. They all did, of course.

Honestly, he could probably bridge the gap between the two roofs by merely lying down. It was only a few feet away, he'd probably hang over on both sides, but the drop down to the street was intimidating.

The fall was quite a bit and it would hurt, a lot.

So, even though he was certain that he could make it, the idea of failing was too terrifying, but he knew that today he would make it.

He was determined to take the leap.

~~~

They were sitting in McLaren's one night, a drink in each of their hands, tapping their glasses as the four of them tried to come up with something to do together.

Marshall and Lily needed a break from their monotonous routine of getting drunk, going home and passing out, then going to work, only to start it all over again. They were tired of it.

Lily just wanted to do something, to get out of their apartment, out of the bar, and do something crazy, something outlandish and Barney was out doing, whatever it is Barney does when he's not with them.

He usually comes up with the wackiest things to do.

"We could play board games," Robin suggests, rolling her eyes as Ted groans, shoving his face into his hands at the prospect of playing board games, again. They usually end up playing charades and Marshall and Lily usually win because they know each other so well.

It's always so frustrating.

"Well you come up with something then!"

Marshall feels a giggle bubbling out of him when Ted takes a shot, leaning forward more, as if the gang could hear him better that way.

"What if—" he burps, giggling quietly to himself. "What if we..." he trails off, clearly uncertain what to say. His brows furrow as if he's deep in thought, trying to formulate a response. "We could throw a party!"

"Shhhhhhhh," Lily whispers, pressing a finger to her lips, the sound piercing, despite the noise around them.

"Oh, sorry." Ted leans back in his seat, a quiet groan drifting past his lips as his back pops. "We should throw a party." This time he whispers the words, trying to keep his voice down, as if this was the biggest secret in the world.

"No, that won't—" Robin waves her hands as if trying to physically rid the notion from their minds—"work. It's too late for a party now."

"We could—" Ted starts, leaning forward again, thoughts racing with ways they could have a party despite the time.

"No. She's right." Marshall leans further into Lily, trying not to spill his drink when he slips a little. "We don't have enough people, food, alcohol, or anything really."

"Maybe another time," Lily prompts, lifting her glass towards Ted to show him that she'd try to remember his idea.

The four of them sit there, silent as ever as they continue to think up ideas. As the night wears on and alcohol fogs their minds even more, the four begin to blink slowly, the occasional yawning.

The minutes tick by incredibly slowly, all of them too drunk to even talk.

"What are we talking about here?" Barney comes stumbling into the bar, having obviously had a drink or two before meeting them, pulling a seat up to their table.

He falls into his seat.

"What to do," Ted supplies, throwing his head to look at Barney, the movement taking an incredible amount of effort.

Barney frowns a moment, gaze skimming across the group, contemplating.

"We could have sex."

Marshall's head snaps towards him, so fast it gives him whiplash, the words slugging through his mind.

He'd said that so casually, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, and for some reason, no one was objecting.

Marshall's heart started to beat faster, intrigued at the idea, at the faint possibility, of the five of them together.

He knew, of course, that it wasn't too far of a stretch, with Ted and Robin having slept together. He and Lily have both thought of Robin while they were in bed together, and admittedly, they've both thought about Ted back in their college days.

Then there was Barney, a man obsessed with sex. There's no way he only limited himself to women and he probably knew a lot more about sex than any of them which would bring an entirely new, and exciting, aspect to their lives.

It almost seems like the next natural step for them.

Robin starts giggling and soon, Marshall finds, they all are. "That's a little ridiculous," she breathes, gasping for air between her fits.

There is a general murmur of agreement between the five of them and they go back to discussing ideas, all of them pushing Barney's words to the back of their minds, trying to pretend they'd never been said.

~~~

With one last deep breath, Marshall takes the leap across the buildings, landing on the other roof rather gracefully despite his size. He hopes that his friends will understand his intentions, hopes they will follow him into this exciting new adventure.

He looks to Robin next.

She brought something new to this group when she joined, something they weren't aware they needed.

He knows that she is the least likely to join him. That's why he looks to her first, hoping she'd understand, that she'd see the offering he was presenting her.

His heart flutters, almost violently, in his chest as he watches the smile on her face as she glances at the others.