Missing But Not Gone
Welcome to/back! I've been re-watching Friends and you know what that means. Fanfiction! My last two Mondler stories Going to Happen and Hope He's Dreaming of Me went down pretty well and I'm actually really proud of them. Plus, I love me some Monica and Chandler and love to write them. This one is going to be longer, like an actual multi-chapter deal. It's going to be great. Maybe. As you can tell, my summary sucks and I'm proud of you for clicking on this story. I'm not even going to try here so please just read the story and you'll find out!
Chapter One
"Alright, Ms. Geller, so far you seem pretty qualified. There is only a few more things we have to do to make sure you're right for the job."
Monica sat politely in the little chair across from the manager, mentally crossing her fingers. This job could be so good for her. "What's next?" she asked with a smile.
The manager grinned and snapped his fingers in excitement. He stood up and reached behind the kitchen counter, yanking out a plate filled with several neat pieces of a thick beige material. He held it out to the woman with an even bigger grin. "Here is one of our most praised dishes for you to try."
"What is it?" Monica asked warily. Though she enjoyed the organization of the food, it still looked rather suspicious.
When the manager shrugged, Monica sighed and scooped up a piece of the food and plopped it in her mouth.
Well, it wasn't terrible. The food tasted meaty but slightly sweet at the same time. "Good," she said thoughtfully which still chewing. "Will you tell me what it is?"
"Dog food," said the manager cheerfully, to which Monica leapt up, spitting the food into the nearest trash can. "I told you in the interview that we mainly focus on exotic foods."
"I didn't know exotic counted as food for dogs these days," Monica snapped as she stormed out of the restaurant.
"So, will you still take the job?!" the manager yelled after her.
…
"This is the important errand you had to run?" Monica said, placing her hand on her hip as Chandler shot the cheesy animated characters on the screen with a plastic gun.
"Hey, this way both of us only had to pay half the cab fare," Chandler pointed out, directing his weapon to a lime green character with four arms.
Scowling, Monica peeled the gun from his hand and slammed it into the post. "Good thing you're done. C'mon, or I'm leaving you behind. Do you want to pay the full fare?"
Knowing better than to argue, Chandler followed his friend out of the arcade, hands in his pockets.
Monica hailed a cab and he sighed. "I'm guessing the interview didn't go too well?"
"Their dishes were a little too, ah, different for my tastes."
The cab pulled up to the curb and the pair clambered in to the car. "Central Perk in the Village," Monica commanded and the cabbie stepped on it.
"Richard is definitely not going to be happy," she said, avoiding eye contact with the other.
"What does Richard have to do with any of this?" Chandler replied, staring at Monica with a concerned look scribbled across his face.
"We think differently about the status of my job," Monica said, still keeping her gaze focused on her shoes. "He thinks I should get any job I come across that gets me a fair amount of money. And while that would be the case for me every other time, well, I have a boyfriend now."
"Ah, yes, because a boyfriend always guarantees your dream job," he said dryly, earning a glare from Monica. Now he was the one staring at his shoes.
"Richard has a lot of good money because of his steady job and he doesn't mind lending any of it to me. But I hate owing people back, so it was my idea that we move in together." She crossed her arms across her chest with a frown. "I mean, we love each other and all. So, what is the problem here? He still thinks that it's a bad idea and we should just wait it out.
"Plus, well, he's not that young and I still am. We don't have as much time to settle down as some couples."
Chandler nodded. "Yeah, I get it. Imagine you as a thirty-year-old packing your kids in the car and going to the nursery home. 'Mom, are we going to visit Grandpa?' 'No, honey, we're going to visit Dad.'"
Monica was not amused by this.
"Listen, Mon. No matter how amazing Richard is, remember that he's a guy."
"And also, Richard," Monica pointed out.
Chandler fixed her with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, at least you're one step in front of me. At least you have half of the package. I don't have a boyfriend- uh, girlfriend or a job."
Monica winced. "Still no luck, huh?"
"I literally have nothing," he replied.
The cab rolled to a stop in front of the coffee shop and Monica turned to face him. "You have me. Don't forget that." With a smile, she climbed out of the car, leaving Chandler to scramble out behind her.
Quick little note- I do like Richard. I basically think of him the same way Chandler does: he's a big tree but generally a nice guy. I made him a little more jerky for the sake of the fic, but I actually do like him. More chapters to come!
