Just let me see something
A fluffy Mondler AU which takes place towards the end of S3's TOW a Chick. And a Duck. What if Monica hadn't found what she was looking for in Pete's kiss but did in someone else's…
"Shut up for a second and let me just see something," Monica closed the distance between them and kissed him fiercely on the lips.
She waited, lips pressed against his, praying she'd feel something; even the smallest of something.
Nothing.
There was no spark, no attraction, it was like kissing her brother. Eww, she pulled back quickly, thoughts of Ross in her head.
"I'm sorry," she sighed, stroking his chin.
"That's ok, thanks for trying and if anything at least I got to kiss you. That will fuel some fantasies."
She offered a smile as she sadly moved away from him, "good luck Pete."
"You too Monica, take care."
Monica walked up the stairs leading to her apartment. She had actually turned down the perfect life. She could have had a nice boyfriend, job security, financial security and she'd turned it all down. She'd actually rejected it all. Tomorrow she'd have to beg for her job back; a job that involved a blonde wig, fake boobs and roller skates.
She rounded the corner and blinked in surprise at Chandler kneeling down and talking…to a duck?
"I know you're new and it will take time for you to learn our rules," she heard him say, "but you can't treat little Yasmine like that. You're siblings now and you have to learn to get on." Seemingly satisfied that the duck had been chastened enough, he stood back up and opened the door, "go on in and if you behave yourself can have that bath I promised."
She couldn't help but smile. It was weird seeing Chandler playing a fatherly role and it did a little weird thing to her stomach.
"Oh hey," he greeted as he turned around and spotted her.
"Hey," she greeted back, "what's with the duck? You guys starting your own farm now?"
"More like an animal rescue," he shrugged studying her with a critical eye, "you ok?"
"Sure," she shrugged back but Chandler knew her too well.
He walked the couple of steps over to her and put his arm around her shoulders, "wanna come bathe a duck? It'll be fun."
She found herself smiling genuinely. She may have turned down what could have been the 'perfect' life but she had a pretty damn good life right here with good friends. What was it about Chandler that he could cheer her up instantly with the stupidest of things?
"Ok," she agreed, welcoming the feel of his arm pulling her closer to him, as he walked them into his apartment.
As he closed the door she couldn't help laughing at the pile of cushions and books on the floor.
"Were you reading to them?"
"Nooo," he denied guiltily.
"Chandler?"
"Fine," he grumbled, "but only because they say too much tv is bad for their development. Isn't that right little Yasmine?"
He let Monica go and picked up the little chick gently and gave her a tender look when she chirped back at him. Monica smiled again, touched, not believing just how cute the whole scene was. Who knew Chandler would be like this? This was the same Chandler that had left Ben on a bus a year ago. Maybe it was the new goatee he was sporting that was giving him a new sense of being a grown-up and being all responsible.
He placed 'Yasmine' on the kitchen counter top to which Monica winced. Pets really shouldn't be allowed on food surfaces…but then she couldn't remember when the boys had last cooked. She watched as Chandler disappeared and heard the bath start running.
"She's cute," Monica gestured to Yasmine when he came back into the living-room, "I can see the family resemblance."
"Thanks," he grinned, choosing to hear that she thought he was cute. "She's a natural with the feathers so takes after my father in that respect."
Monica grinned shaking her head. Chandler always made so many jokes about his dad but she was one of the few people in this world that he'd actually spoken to about him. They shared so many secrets, moments and late night talks. She was so glad to have him as a friend; her best friend.
With a grin he headed back into the bathroom and shut off the water.
"Bath's ready!" he called.
Taking one last look at the chick Monica started to head towards the bathroom. She had to take a step back though, as the duck charged past her and ran up to Chandler.
"Come on fella," he chuckled lifting the bird into the bath.
The duck quacked happily ruffling his tail feathers as he started a gentle swim.
"I think he likes it," he commented looking up to Monica pleased.
"Seems so," Monica resisted pointing out the odds of a duck not liking water were very slim. It was good to see Chandler so happy for a change.
She watched amused as he popped in a couple of yellow rubber-duckies into the bath, "we don't want him to get lonely," he justified to her raised eyebrow. "Wanna join me?" he gestured to the empty spot on the floor beside him and with a shrug she did.
"Hey, is this my towel?" she asked grabbing the offending item from the floor.
"Maybe," Chandler looked sheepish, "but I needed one for the duck and Joey's spare one smelt too much."
"Fine, but you're keeping it and buying me a new one," she informed, "I may have a lot of towel categories but I certainly don't have one for feathered pets."
"Ok," he shrugged and they sat in silence for a moment. "So, you wanna talk about it?" he asked gently, his eyes focused on the duck.
"I had to turn down Pete's job offer," she sighed, "a brand new restaurant, brought especially for me. I could have been head chef, had my own staff, run everything my way….and I turned it down."
"I'm guessing the next logical question is why?"
"Cause he still had feelings for me," she admitted to her hands.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
They sat in silence and Monica could feel his eyes on her.
"I tried to like him," she said quietly, "I really tried."
"You can't help who you fall in love with," he said it quietly but there was something in his tone which caused her to look over at him, "or who you don't," he added quickly.
"Are you thinking about Janice?" she asked softly.
He scoffed, shaking his head and she decided to let it drop.
"He was such a nice guy," Monica sighed, watching as the duck continued to paddle.
"There's a few of us left," he grinned, swirling his hand in the water to attract the duck's attention.
She smiled back, bumping his shoulder with hers, "I know."
"So what was it about him that you didn't like?" His tone was soft and sounded almost casual but there was something in the way that he said it that made her glance over at him again.
"I don't know," she finally shrugged, "he had all the qualities of a perfect boyfriend and what really kills is that my mother would have loved him. She wouldn't have been able to make any inappropriate snarky comments and dad would have loved him because of his money and golf connections."
"Ah, how much the in-laws would like him, one of the most important factors in any boyfriend."
She whacked him gently in the chest, "please, you know my parents. Anybody just willing to marry me would probably make them happy."
"You'll get married one day," he promised, "and when you do the chick and duck can be ring bearers."
"Hmmm, I don't think so, but thanks for the offer," she grinned.
"So what happened? How did you find out, about his feelings, I mean?"
"He smelt my hair."
"Oh," he looked slightly nervous, "you guys can tell when we do that?"
"Sometimes," she shrugged, "and when I confronted him he confirmed it but didn't think it was a big deal. I mean, how can trying to hide being in love with someone not be a big deal?"
"Right," he swallowed, looking down.
"He said he was the one that would get hurt, not me, so he didn't see the problem. How can he think that? How am I meant to see someone every day knowing that they have a crush on me and I'm meant to be ok with it? That I'd be hurting him with every conversation, every touch. I don't want to hurt anyone like that…Chandler?"
"Yeah," he said quickly, swallowing, "that would suck."
She left her eyes on him for a moment longer trying to decide if he was being weird or if it was just her imagination. "I…" she finally continued, "I did try one last thing in a desperate attempt to feel that spark."
"What did you do?" he asked curiously.
"Kissed him."
"Oh," he blinked, "and, uh, how did that go?"
"Awful," she sighed regretfully, "there was no heat between us at all. It was like kissing my brother… or I don't know, like kissing you or Joey."
"Hey, whoa, wait a minute," he protested looking slightly offended, "why would kissing me be like kissing Ross?"
"Cause it would be weird, you're my best friend," she pointed it out like it was obvious. "Best friends don't kiss."
"They could," he protested stubbornly, "and I'll bet you it would be a lot hotter than kissing Ross…or Pete."
She looked at him and he looked back eyebrow raised; he knew she couldn't resist a challenge and was trying to goad her.
"No," she finally protested, "I'm not going to kiss you."
"Why not?" he pouted.
"Because it would weird and icky," Monica insisted, "and this whole situation is already weird enough," she gestured to them sitting on the bathroom floor and the duck currently occupying the bath.
"Icky?" he complained.
"Yes icky," she confirmed standing by her statement.
"Come on one kiss!" he persisted, "just one and then you can compare it to what you felt with Pete."
She shook her head.
"Please."
"No and would you quit it."
"Fine," he pouted to which she rolled her eyes. They sat in silence for a moment before Chandler stood up. "I better get little Yasmine, wouldn't want her to think she's missing out."
"You know she can't swim, right?" she called as he left the room. Shaking her head she couldn't quite work out what was going on with him. She turned her attention to the duck who still seemed quite content in his bath; she was almost jealous of his simple life.
Chandler reappeared a moment later holding the smaller bird. He gave it a quick kiss before placing it in a box to the left of Monica.
"At least I managed to get a kiss off one chick today," Chandler joked as he rejoined Monica on the floor.
"Different kinda chick Bing."
"It counts Geller," he protested. "You can't take that away from me, otherwise I'm just the man that no one wants to kiss and believe me my ego is already pretty non-existent as it is."
She looked at him doing his pathetic face and with a sigh said something she fully expected to regret, "fine, one kiss."
"From you or the chick?"
"Me," she rolled her eyes, chuckling at the look on his face. He lit up, excited, as if someone had told him Baywatch was going to be filmed downstairs. She couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. It was just a kiss. He moved forward and she held out a hand to stop him.
"Wait, should we be doing this in front of them?" she gestured to the poultry.
"They'll be fine," Chandler promised, "they'll have to get used to it with the amount of porn Joey watches."
Monica laughed and shook her head before leaning over and pressing her lips to his for a brief kiss. She was shocked at the thrill that went through her. She gasped against his lips as she felt an unexpected spark. That elusive spark she'd desperately wanted with Pete she now felt with Chandler in spades. Fire shot through her, desire coursed through her veins. With a groan she deepened the kiss, she felt his arms go around her waist pulling her to him.
It was incredible.
It was incredibly wrong.
Her brain caught up with her and she pulled away quickly, "no," she panted her eyes wide in horror as she studied him for a second.
He remained silent, she could hear his breath coming out rapidly but it was what was in his eyes that scared her. It was the same look that Pete had had. Love.
"No," she repeated to herself, standing up quickly, "we can't do this."
She bolted as fast as she could from the bathroom in shock. Her hands shaking as she pulled open the apartment door and shut it quickly, putting something between them to shield her. How could this be happening?
"Hey." Confused she looked to the step, noticing her brother for the first time. "So, I missed the tv thing..."
"I…" she had no idea what he was talking about and right now she didn't care. "Not now, Ross," she snapped flustered as she hurried into her own apartment, her mind buzzing.
"Hey Mon," Rachel greeted from the couch.
Monica looked at her roommate; she looked thoughtful as if lost in her own problems. Mon contemplated just shutting herself in her room but she needed to talk to someone. She needed to vent before she exploded.
"I kissed Chandler," she burst out, starting to pace in front of the tv set.
"What?" That got Rachel's full attention, "why?"
"Because we were giving the duck a bath and talking about Pete. He was being all pathetic and cute and then he challenged me and urrgh," she threw hand hands up frustrated, "what do I do?"
"What do you want to do?" Rachel asked carefully.
"I don't know!" she growled irritated. "It was meant to prove a point that you don't go around kissing your brother or friends. Why did I kiss him? Why?"
"Ok," Rachel scratched the back of her head, confused by the whole situation, "so you kissed him, what's the big deal?"
"Because it was good," Monica whined, "better than good, it was amazing. There were sparks, plural."
"Wow," Rachel hadn't expected that; not from Chandler. "Even with that goatee?"
"Rachel!"
"Sorry," she held her hands up in defense, "I'm just surprised."
"Me too," she responded annoyed. "God, what do I do Rach? This morning everything was fine, I had a new job and no one was in love with me. Now I've got no job and two people in love with me…and I've kissed my best friend."
"Best friend?" Rachel protested.
"That's what you want to focus on?" Monica snapped.
"Fine," Rachel took a deep breath. "Who's in love with you?"
"Pete and Chandler."
"Ok, but you don't love Pete right so he's out the window," Monica nodded, desperate for Rachel's logical approach, "but you felt a spark with Chandler?"
"Oooh yeah," she sighed collapsing on the couch next to her friend, "lots of sparks."
"Well that's hardly surprising," Rachel shrugged, "the man's had a crush on you ever since I've known him."
"What?" Monica stared at her shocked.
"Oh come on, everyone knows," Rachel shot back, surprised that she was having to spell this out. "He's got such a soft spot for you, you must have known that."
Had she known that? Sure they'd been close but never in that way. Never romantically.
"I-"
"I thought you liked him little bit too," Rachel continued. "You're always wrapped up in each other or flirting…"
"We do not flirt," Monica protested to which Rachel snorted. "We don't!"
"Fine," Rachel knew better than to get in an argument about this, "so what do you want to do? Chandler has a crush on you, he's a nice guy, you know everything there is to know about him and apparently you've get chemistry together, so why not try it?"
"It?" Monica winced.
"You know what I mean," Rachel rolled her eyes. "I tried it with Ross but it didn't quite work for us. That's not to say it won't between you guys."
Monica troubled her lower lip with her teeth.
"Do you think he's cute?" Rachel pried.
"Yeah," she confessed quietly.
"Ok, can you imagine dating him?"
"Yeah," she murmured softly, surprised by her own answer.
"Do you trust him?"
"Of course," she answered quickly without hesitation.
"Then I think you have you answer Mon," Rachel said quietly.
Monica closed her eyes, leaning her head against the back of the couch as she processed this information. She felt Rachel gingerly pat her thigh before carefully standing up and shuffling towards her bedroom.
"Rach!" she called out her eyes still closed, "he's my best guy friend, and you're my best girl friend. Thanks"
"You're welcome," she could hear the smile in Rachel's voice, "I'm gonna lie down now, these pills are making me tired, good luck."
Monica replayed the scene from the bathroom, replayed the kiss and Rachel's words. Maybe she had over-reacted…slightly. So what if it was Chandler that had provoked those feelings in her. That shouldn't freak her out. He was a good guy and had potential to be a good boyfriend. He was caring, always looked out for her; she imagined his blue eyes shining with laughter, a cute smile tugging at his lips.
She smiled at the image. Letting herself drift into more memories of the two of them. Tender moments where he comforted her and hugged her. Recollections of when they'd curl up with each other on the armchair or couch, shared a blanket and fell asleep together. Times of making each other laugh so hard they'd almost wet themselves.
He was such a good friend so why couldn't that turn into him being a good boyfriend? Why couldn't they have the most amazing relationship ever? It was just her freaking out that was standing in the way of this.
With a sigh she sat up and opened her eyes and looked at the apartment door. She had to go back there. With a new determination she stood up and marched back to the boys' apartment.
At the sound of the door closing one of the barcaloungers spun around to reveal Chandler. His eyes widened in surprise at seeing her and he scrambled to his feet, "hey."
"Hey," she replied stepping towards him. "I'm, um, sorry for leaving like that..."
"Oh," his eyes studied hers, unsure of which direction this conversation was going to go, "that's ok."
"No, it's not," she swallowed taking another step closer. "See, I really didn't expect that from a kiss," she looked down composing herself, "it kinda shocked me."
Chandler just continued to listen, too scared to say anything as he held his breath waiting for her next words.
"But I realize now that it shouldn't have surprised me," she looked up into his eyes searchingly. "I guess what I'm trying to say is I think this…that we…maybe we should…"
"Monica," he smiled gently, his fingers lightly stroking her cheek, her chin, "shut up and let me see something."
With that he pulled her in for a kiss which was quick to turn passionate. The spark was alive. Their lips caressed one another's, reveling in the feel and taste of the other. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against him as her hands stroked through his hair. Both were lost in their embrace until they heard loud quacking right next to them.
Pulling away with an embarrassed chuckle, Chandler pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head.
"I think that's the Duck's way of telling us he's happy for us," he murmured.
Monica laughed looking at the duck and then back up to Chandler and his goofy grin, "I'm happy for us too," she blushed.
"Me three," Chandler smiled and right then Monica could see the love and happiness in his eyes.
This felt right. So right.
Excited for what the future held, Monica pulled him back down for another kiss.
Life was perfect.
A/N- this is the result of being off work ill, dosed up on cough medicine and watching season 3 on DVD looking for Mondler moments! It's an impulse so I hope it works and that there aren't too many mistakes. I also fancied a quick break from my other fic, which I promise will be updated soon. Let me know what you thought!