Author's note: so I recently rewatched the wedding episode, and I felt a little bad for Monica haha I feel like she breaks a little when she finds out Chandler took off, and of course, as I have a lot of faith in my otp, I believe they managed to talk it out and solve the problem. I like to believe it happened before the reception, so this happens between the wedding and TO After I Do. I hope it's not too sappy haha

Mixed feelings would be the perfect description for Monica's state of mind at the moment. She was thrilled by the fact they had just gotten married, but there was also something messing up with her head, poking at the back of her eyes, creating a lot of worry and fear in a way she couldn't quite put her finger on.

He took off, huh? They had briefly talked about how she had expected him to freak out, to which he'd reassured her that he hadn't and everything seemed to move forward smoothly, up until that moment when she would say her vows, the moment she'd found out he had, in fact, taken off. Somehow, everybody except her seemed to know about it, which was obviously aggravating. She was almost chipping her pretty manicure from the pent up anxiety.

Of course Monica couldn't start an argument right there, so she'd continued the ceremony, reading her vows and feeling deeply moved by how true her words were. He'd rejected the previously written words favoring an impromptu speech that had a passionate kiss as closure. She had almost felt okay again after being kissed like that. Monica believed his love to be tangible, the reason why she had trusted him up until that point. She didn't know what to think anymore.

The room emptied by the minute, all the guests heading for the reception. Monica warily peered at her now husband, the action responded by his seemingly oblivious smile. Her heart was constricting in her chest. He looked so calm, but he had looked calm the previous night too. How could she ever believe everything was okay if he was able to bottle up such important things?

"Let's go?" Chandler was still smiling when he reached for her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. When he pulled her to have her follow him into the reception room, he was held back. Monica didn't move; an unreadable expression resting on her face. Her fingers were still clinging onto his for dear life, as if she was scared of letting him go.

Chandler was about to ask what was going on when the realization dawned on him and he automatically felt guilty. Well, she hadn't known he had gone missing until Joey slipped that little information out. He couldn't even fathom how she must be feeling at the moment.

He got closer to her tentatively, not freeing her hand from his, using the other one to cradle her face. She had a frown, her lips forming a thin line, watery eyes giving the whole image a very sad aspect. This day is not supposed to have sad moments, Chandler regretfully thought, before kissing her softly.

"You still don't know if I'm sure?"

"I guess I'm just a little scared." Her tears never left her eyes, and Chandler somehow admired her strength. She looked like she wanted to cry, but refused to do so. She sniffed – her nose doing that movement that Chandler thought to be the cutest ever, and he kicked himself mentally for thinking of her as cute in a moment like that.

"Listen, I was okay last night when we talked, I really was, but then I…"

"Chandler, no." She squeezed his fingers as they were still linked to hers. "I don't want to know."

"Really?"

"Yes." Her eyes were pleading though. "I just need to know that you want to do this."

"But I do!"

"Because, you know, I want to get married, but only with someone who wants to..."

"Monica, I do!"

"And I love you so much, and I do want to spend the rest of my life with you, but if you don't feel the same…" He stopped her blabbering by kissing her again. Chandler had lived with her long enough to know his fiancée – scratch that, his wife! – was a woman of few sharp words, and talking too much and too fast only meant a nervous breakdown approaching. It was all his fault anyway, so he had to fix it.

"Monica, I do. I meant everything I said in my vows."

"You looked so calm yesterday, Chandler, and yet you took off. How can I know you're not hiding anything from me? How can I be sure you're not leaving me without even saying goodbye?"

"Because I could never do that. Even if I freaked out I would eventually come back to my senses, just like I did. I know that, you know that, everybody seems to know that." He paused a little, trying to convey everything he felt into words, just like he had done minutes earlier in the ceremony. "You are the person I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. I mean it. My freaking out doesn't change that."

Her eyes still bore apprehension, so he continued. "I'm sure I didn't talk to you about it because I didn't have the opportunity, what with the rehearsal dinner and so much going on the night before our wedding. I couldn't really see you, you know? But this is not going to happen again" He gave out his most boyish smile. "Because from now on we'll always be together."

A very discreet, almost shy smile bloomed on her face. He could swear she was blushing.

"And I'm really looking forward to having a married life with you." Chandler concluded, glancing at her expectantly.

She left out a relieved sigh, and already seemed to be back to her usual energetic demeanor. "Just, please, talk to me, okay?"

"I will. I swear." Their arms wrapped around each other, the hug creating a better source of communication than their words. "Are you feeling better now, Mrs. Bing?"

She beamed at his choice of word, moving her arms around his neck, and kissing him passionately. They had just gotten married. Monica still couldn't quite believe it.

"Oh, my God, we did it!" She could shout from the rooftops.

"We just got married. Right there."

Rings flying off, friends showing up, slippery shoes, embarrassing dance moves, poorly acted speeches, pregnancy tests; of course their wedding wouldn't be a smooth event. Nothing about their life was ever smooth. It didn't matter though. Monica sailed through all the peculiar occurrences with her usual confidence restored. Some would find it ill-advised, but she knew she could trust him. Despite everything, he would never leave, simply because he didn't want to. She had only needed a moment alone with him to be reassured of that.

Monica watched her husband crack jokes with some of the guests from afar with a soft smile. Chandler moved around in his element, looking extremely comfortable being the groom in a wedding. Who would've imagined? Monica's smile grew wider when he looked at her across the room, grinning just as much. They were married now, and this was only the beginning.