A/N: I know I should be working on one of my series (or both of them), but I just couldn't help but write this :)

I am going through a rather intense 'country music' phase, currently. This is a one-shot based on the song "Just a kiss" by Lady Antebellum. This earworm has been stuck in my brain for months now, and I just knew I had to write a story based on it. Oh, and this is not a filler scene. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: . I do not own Friends.

Just A Kiss

Monica climbed out onto the balcony, carrying a rug along with her. It'd only been a day since Phoebe had moved out, but she was already beginning to feel lonely. It's funny how you abhor being alone, when you're so used to being surrounded by your friends, all the time.

Phoebe had called her up that evening to let her know that she wouldn't be able to meet her that night, like they'd planned the previous day, since Phoebe's grandmother was 'really really sick'.

Ross was still sulking about his discovery of his wife's hidden sexuality, and Joey and Chandler were in their apartment, probably watching that show about Lifeguards (of all things!) that Joey had gotten Chandler hooked to.

She spread the rug on the floor, carefully smoothing out the wrinkles from it, and laid herself down on it, as she looked up at the sky. This used to be one of her favorite activities when she'd first moved in there. She'd lie there, gazing up at the stars, until the night became too cold to stay outside.

Looking up at the sky, she tried to remember how long it'd been since she'd done this. A really long time, she concluded.

It was usually difficult to spot stars in the New York night sky, but that night, they were in full attendance, as they surrounded the big, fat, full moon, which was glowing with all its glory.

The blue stars seemed to be lesser in number that the other ones. That'd be a good place to start. She lifted her right index finger, and began to count the little blue stars, before they faded out completely.

17, 18, 19. Oh wait! You counted that one already! You know, that's really why you should count them in straight lines. OK, let's start again. 1, 2, 3-

"Counting stars, are we?"

She smiled on hearing his voice and turned her head towards the window. "Hey, Chandler."

"Isn't it cold out here?" he asked her, as he climbed out the window.

"No. It's pretty warm, actually. What are you doing here?" She moved to one side of the rug so that he could lie down next to her.

"Joey has a date over at our place. Believe me, you'd wish you were deaf, if you went over there now." He said it with a look of disgust, his eyes drifting up towards the sky, as he lay down next to her.

She chuckled before she went back to counting the blue stars.

He squinted at something off in the distance, and a second later, he pointed at it. "Hey, isn't that your underwear from when you were doing it with Fun Bobby, out here? It's still there!" he exclaimed, pointing at the telephone pole.

She smacked his arm, making him yelp in pain. "Remember, you've promised me you wouldn't tell that to anyone."

"I haven't told anyone yet!" he cried defensively, rubbing the spot where she'd smacked him.

"Yet?" She looked at him pointedly. "You do remember that I am the only one who knows about your 'nubbin', right?"

"You know, it's all easy for you to blackmail me, but do you have any idea how your 'wild night of fun with Fun Bobby' fuelled my fantasies? I am still looking for a woman who'd have sex with me on the balcony." He looked up at the sky, dreamily.

"You don't have a balcony at your place." She pointed out.

"Don't spoil the dream, woman!" He looked at her exasperatedly. "But that is a good point." He pondered over his predicament for a few seconds, before he shrugged. "Maybe we'll do it at her place, then. Or here! I mean, that's what friends are for, aren't they?" He smiled at her sweetly, as he turned his head towards her and kissed her on the cheek.

She stared at him disbelievingly. "Dream on, Bing."

"In fact, you actually owe me that. Other than fuelling my fantasies, that night also left me scarred for life." He told her, nodding solemnly.

She smirked. "I know. You couldn't look me in the eyes for a week."

It was not that he'd seen her that way which felt weird to him; it was rather he'd seen them that way. He made a face, as if he was reliving the moment. "Yeah, but thankfully for me, I've got some very vivid memories from my childhood, that are far worse."

She nodded her understanding, as they stayed silent for a while, until she turned her head back to look at him. "What's your most vivid memory?"

"Well, I saw an orgy when I was seven-" he started, but she cut him off.

"Happy memory, Chandler. Happy memory."

"Happy memory… That's a hard question, Mon." He looked at her. "I don't have many happy vivid memories from childhood."

"Not necessarily from your childhood." She shook her head.

"Let me put it this way. I have some vivid memories which are not 'happy' and I have some happy memories, which are not vivid. I guess that's how our brain works. At least, mine does." He turned his head to look at the sky, again.

"Fine. Tell me one of your not-so-vivid happy memories." She snuggled closer to him, as he turned his head back to look at her.

He took a deep breath as he thought it through. "OK, I'll have to say, the moment I met your brother. I haven't had many close friends until then, but the instant I saw Ross, to be truthful, the instant I saw his hair, I knew we'd be great friends." He smiled at her. "Now the hairstyles have changed, but we are still great friends."

She smiled back at him. "That's sweet."

"Tell me one of yours." He slid down a few centimeters such that they were eye to eye.

"I think… I think it's the day I got my job." She nodded with conviction.

"Because you love your job? I still think it's great how much you like it. I'll never know that feeling." He sighed.

"That, and there's also another reason." She paused, allowing the silence to fill the gap, as he looked at her, silently urging her to continue. "That was the only time in my entire life when my mom told me that she was proud of me."

He didn't know how to respond. He could never understand how Judy Geller could not see that her daughter was an amazing woman. He just assumed that she loved Monica in her own weird way, much like how his mom loved him in her own weird way.

Sensing that he was probably the only one to whom she'd told that, he raised his fingers to brush her cheek lightly, wishing he could do something more than that, to comfort her.

But she didn't seem to mind. She smiled at him, before she nudged him in the side. "Your turn."

He chuckled, beginning to enjoy their little game. "I have one! Do you remember that Christmas vacation I spent at your parents' place? Right after the thanksgiving you lopped my toe off?" He looked at her, completely enjoying himself, knowing that the mention of that thanksgiving still made her squirm.

"Yeah…" she replied uncomfortably.

"Your mom and Ross totally flipped out when they saw us kissing under the mistletoe. I think it was your friend Rachel who forced us to, but the look on Ross's face, on entering the room, was just so worth it." He laughed.

She laughed, too, knowing exactly about which night he was talking. "Oh I remember that, too. My mom kept asking me whether you were my boyfriend. She kept asking me till the point where, just to spite her, I told her that you were my boyfriend. Of course, what happened after that, always makes me think twice before I tell such things to my mother." She chuckled.

"And then, there's the kiss, itself. That's definitely one of my favorite happy memories." He smiled at her softly, not sure whether it was the right thing to say.

She smiled back tentatively, trying to figure out whether her sudden shortness of breath was due to what he'd said or because of the way he was smiling at her.

After a few seconds of silence that his previous statement had brought upon them, he spoke again. "You know, on second thought, you cutting my toe off, is probably one of my most favorite memories."

"Really?" She looked at him dubiously.

He laughed lightly at her expression. "Well, no, not exactly the toe cutting part, but that night. Those few days that followed it. Because that's when we really started getting closer to each other."

She reflected on what he'd just said. "Yeah." She nodded slowly, looking at him.

He continued. "I mean, I can never imagine what my life would be without you, and that's probably another reason why meeting Ross is still one of my happy memories. Otherwise, I'd never have gotten to meet you." His fingers found hers and laced through them.

Her skin tingling at his touch, she wondered what was happening. In all their years of platonic friendship, nothing that he'd said had ever affected her so profoundly. Sure, they've had their moments, but there was nothing that had made her feel like how she felt now.

Maybe it was the stars, maybe it was what he'd just said, but he felt it, too.

"Your turn," he told her softly.

After a long moment of silence, she looked at him. "Last night," she told him simply, referring to their moment from the previous night. The comforting hug and the awkward parting.

A moment that could have possibly resulted in a 'them', but brushed aside by both as just a silly thought which had the potential to ruin their friendship.

Now, she was no longer sure whether they'd done the right thing. Neither was he.

The pale moonlight casting a milky glow across her skin, he couldn't remember a time when he'd seen her look more beautiful. His thumb caressing hers, he asked her softly, "Have I ever told you that you're the most beautiful woman I've ever known?"

Her heart pounding against her ribs, she nodded, smiling. "You told me last night," she whispered. On his intent gaze, she stopped smiling.

Unknown even to them, in the small space that the rug provided, they'd gravitated towards each other.

Their lips millimeters apart, his breath warm on her skin, if she puckered her lips, she could have kissed him, without leaning forward.

But she didn't have to, for he leaned in and kissed her lips softly. An undemanding, tender kiss, that lingered somewhere between friendship and something more than that.

He pulled back from the kiss slowly. "Mon…" he whispered hesitantly, but she held a finger to his lips. When he kissed it, she was no longer unsure of what to do next.

She removed her finger from his lips and leaned in to kiss him, the intent behind the kiss being anything but 'friendly'. The kiss was still soft, but the intensity of it and the feeling of rightness that it evoked, left them feeling that this was what they'd been searching for, all through their lives.

She drew back from the kiss, with her eyes still closed, and shook her head. "We shouldn't mess up what we have." She opened her eyes to look at him, gazing into his deep blue eyes.

He looked back into hers, before he assured her softly. "We are not going to." He withdrew his hand from hers, as his fingers rose to tilt her chin lightly, before he leaned in to brush his lips gently across hers, again.

After a few seconds, he pulled away from the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers, eyes closed. They were sated.

He knew he loved her. He knew she loved him back. But was this the kind of love that they'd been looking for, hoping to find, at all the other places?

Maybe if they gave this a little more time. Maybe if they took this slow.

"Chandler?"

Their heads snapped towards the window, on hearing Joey's voice. A sloppily dressed Joey, his hair mussed from what they presumed from 'activity', was looking at them with a bemused expression.

Joey stared at them in confusion, at the way they were lying next to each other. It was just the previous day when Chandler had told him that there was nothing romantic going on between him and either of the girls. But he'd also requested Joey to not 'try anything' on Monica, in reply to which Joey had nodded, looking down guiltily. He'd already tried something, only to have been shot down.

All the four in the group were already becoming his good friends, and he knew what was going on with them. He'd felt what these two had between them was something more than friendship, and seeing them this way, didn't help. So much for 'we're just good friends'.

"Sorry, I hope I am not interrupting anything, but Chandler, a guy from your work has been calling, asking for you, for like fifteen times now. Maybe you should come back and check what it's about?" Joey pointed at the apartment door.

A million thoughts running through their minds, they knew with Joey still staring at them, it was not the place or the moment to discuss what had happened.

Chandler got off the rug, looking up at the sky, one last time.

Maybe it was the kind of Love that they've been looking for, maybe there was something more to the moment than they could ever imagine. But for tonight, he was content with just the kiss.

He looked down at Monica and smiled at her softly. "Goodnight, Mon," he whispered, knowing that his dreams would be filled with her, with their kiss.

"Goodnight, Chandler." She whispered back, smiling, as he left through the window.

Maybe it was Love, for nothing else had ever felt so right. But, for tonight, all she could have ever asked for, was the kiss.

A slow smile forming on her lips, she laid her head back on the rug, as she turned her head towards the sky, gazing at the million little stars and the glorious full moon.

After all, there was always a tomorrow.

~.~.~

The End

~.~.~

A/N: God, I love that song!

Reviews, as always, are welcome :)