Title: TOW The Surprise
Setting: This story continues the AU I started with TOW Mark Keeps His Mouth Shut and TOW The Altered Perspective. Somewhere mid-season 5, I guess.
Notes: Mondler, baby! Well, mostly, anyway. I used all the toys in this one and broke none of 'em. A follow up is already floating around my brain that will be (mostly) Lobsters.
Disclaimer: Not mine, never was, and never will be. I just like to play in this sandbox.
Six months. Chandler could hardly believe they had managed to keep their relationship hidden this long. Heck, it was a miracle this relationship was still going strong. They'd been sleeping in her bed almost every night, and often it had been just sleeping, and yet nobody ever noticed. Of course it had been easy, since Rachel was married to Ross and had moved in with him a couple of weeks before their marriage. He couldn't imagine them pulling this off when both their apartments were shared with someone else.
Keeping Joey in the dark had proven to be easy. Often Joey was on a date and would not likely return early, so Chandler rarely had to sneak out of the apartment. But the mornings could be interesting, especially if Monica and he were too comfortable to get up very early, like this morning. Luckily Joe generally wasn't a morning person, so even sneaking back into his own apartment hadn't been that difficult.
No, looking back, it wasn't really surprising they managed to keep their relationship hidden that long. He turned his head when he felt Monica snuggle up even closer to him and her left arm, draped over his chest, hugging him tight. In return, he used his left arm to pull her tighter against him, enjoying the feel of her full length against him. Watching her sleep was his favorite pass-time early mornings.
He kept watching her as his mind drifted back to the evening before. They'd had a nice, romantic dinner, just the two of them, to celebrate their six month anniversary. They'd opted to stay in Monica's apartment for the dinner, knowing they wouldn't be interrupted. Ross and Rachel were having their own anniversary dinner, Joey had managed to land a role in play and Phoebe had decided to go see him.
Dinner had been perfect; a delicious meal, as always when Monica did the cooking, a pleasant conversation and lots of interruptions for make-out sessions. During one of those conversations they'd talked about the secrecy of their relationship and Chandler had surprised her when he informed her he wouldn't mind letting the others know.
Monica had admitted then that she'd wanted that too, but had been afraid he'd freak out if she told him so. Chandler hadn't blamed her for thinking that, since he'd never shown her any signs of normal behavior when it came to relationships, but she'd immediately rebuked him. She felt he'd shown incredible maturity over the last six months. Chandler wasn't sure that was the case, but he knew he'd handled this thing with Monica a lot better than with any of the two serious love interests before her.
Yeah, it had been a great night, Chandler reflected now, and he was looking forward to tell his friends about their relationship. Slightly nervous, yes, but not panicked in any way. Maybe just a tiny bit afraid of Ross's reaction, but he didn't really care right now.
Monica slowly crawled to consciousness. She'd been exhausted after last night's anniversary dinner and the passionate night following it. She opened her eyes slowly and was immediately greeted by a sight she loved: Chandler looking at her sleeping. They'd awoken like this many mornings and she never got tired of it.
"Hey."
"Hey, yourself," Monica replied, lifting her head so she could kiss him. She laid her head back on his chest. Chandler might not be a macho man, but she loved lying like this, all snuggled up against him, her head on his chest and her arm draped around him. He was the most amazing guy she knew. Suddenly she remembered what they'd agreed upon last night. Today was the day they'd tell their friends about the love they felt for each other. No more hiding their feelings the moment they stepped out of the apartment. And since they'd all agreed to meet at the coffee house later this morning, Chandler and she had chosen to tell them right there and then.
"I bet I know what you're thinking about."
She tilted her head slightly so she could see him and let the smile spread over her face. "Oh, really? Am I that transparent?"
"Yes, really, and I'm so glad you're not actually transparent." He paused slightly before adding, "And yes, I'm sure I wanna tell them."
Monica gave him a kiss then and it quickly became deeper. She climbed completely on top of him when she felt the heat growing. He seemed mildly surprised by her move, but she couldn't help wanting this. She raised her upper body so she could position herself, noticing Chandler was definitely ready for this. She glanced down before looking back up at his face to find him watching her with such love she almost cried.
"I love you, Mon."
"And I love you." She bent down to seal it with a kiss.
"I'm telling you, Chandler's seeing someone." Joey was absolutely certain about it, but had trouble convincing Ross and Rachel, just as he had trouble convincing Phoebs when he told her his suspicions earlier.
"Joe, maybe he was just out on a hot date those times he wasn't at home when you got back."
Joey looked at Ross as if he was crazy. "Ross, this is Chandler! He'd be lucky to get more than one date a year!"
"Maybe he's just pulling some all-nighters at work," Rachel offered, not sounding very convinced at all.
"Maybe, but that doesn't explain why he's so happy all the time. I'm telling you, he's seeing someone. And it's not just this month. He's been happy for a long time, maybe five or six months."
Phoebe entered the apartment at that moment. "Hey, guys, we need to hurry up. It's almost twelve." She looked around the guy's apartment. "Where's Chandler?"
"Not here. He wasn't here when I got back around two in the morning, either."
Ross looked around before making a decision. "Alright, he knows about our lunch at the coffee house, so either he's there already or he shows up a little late. Let's just go get Monica and go there now."
They all agreed and went over to Monica's apartment. Monica was nowhere in sight and Joey went to the fridge, hoping to get something to eat. Rachel started yelling for Monica and Joey turned around when he heard her answer, nodding approvingly at the fact she was clearly out of breath. "Yeah, baby." He noticed Ross glaring at him and shrugged. "What? I'm not the one doing her."
They were still panting from this last bout of love making when Monica heard Rachel's voice coming from her living room. Her first instinct was to find a good hiding spot for Chandler but soon she remembered they were gonna tell their friends anyway. Instead she yelled, slightly out of breath, "I'll be out in a minute!"
She gave Chandler a kiss before getting out of bed. "We better not wait too long, or she's coming in here." She looked around her bedroom and noticed that neither of their clothing was in here. "Umm, sweetie, I think our clothing is out there." Monica pointed outside. "I'll just put on some clean clothes and you can wear my robe."
"Yeah, 'cause that's not gonna make me seem gay."
Monica smiled as she grabbed a clean pair of panties. "I can vouch you're not gay."
There was a knock on the door, followed by Rachel's voice. "Umm, Mon, I've got some man's clothing here. Should I just throw it in?"
"Yes, please," Monica replied.
The door was opened just far enough so Rachel could throw Chandler's pants and shirt inside. "I'm not touching the underwear, so your friend will have to go commando."
"Thanks, Rach, we'll be out soon." Monica decided to put on a robe, instead. "I wanna take quick shower before we go for lunch," she explained at Chandler's questioning gaze.
"Yeah, I probably should, too," he replied before getting out of bed himself. He had to bend over to grab the pants and Monica couldn't help but slapping his butt. He responded with a soft, "ouch," and faked being hurt.
She waited until he put on his shirt and pants. "Ready?" At his confirming nod she walked to the door and opened it. Chandler put his arm around her and she responded in kind before they walked out of her bedroom, turning slightly in order to fit through the doorframe. She decided she was gonna enjoy the surprise for their friends. "Mornin', guys."
Rachel stood there with her mouth open. She'd never expected to see Chandler coming out of the bedroom. But thinking back to Joey's comments this morning and what she knew about Monica, it occurred to her that they'd been together for almost as long as she was married to Ross.
Monica had been very relaxed and happy after they got back from the honeymoon, and Monica had even confided in her she was seeing someone and that he was the best she ever had. Rachel looked with different eyes at Chandler, not having expected that from him.
"Okay, Chandler and I still need to shower, so we can leave in about fifteen minutes."
Before Rachel knew what happened, Chandler and Monica had kissed and left the room. She looked around at the stunned faces of her friends and her husband and realized that none of them had spoken a word since the stunning revelation. "Wow," was all she could bring out.
She looked again at Ross and noticed his expression. "Ross, honey, are you okay?" He slowly turned to her, the angered expression still visible.
"I can't believe it! You, you don't have sex with your best friend's sister!"
Rachel put her hand against his chest. "Ross, I don't think it's like that. Remember Joey telling you Chandler's been happy for six months? Monica's been the same. I noticed it when we got back from our honeymoon." No need to inform him of Monica's confession; it was bound to make him even angrier. A grin started to form. "Besides, Monica didn't get angry when her best friend had sex with her brother."
Ross' frown slowly faded and he began to chuckle. "I guess we got lucky. She'd have kicked both our asses. But I see your point."
Rachel was glad he saw reason and she kissed him before turning back to her two friends. Both were talking animatedly, obviously dealing with this bombshell together. Ross' arm snaked around her and rubbed her belly, eliciting a smile from her. Chandler and Monica weren't the only ones with a surprise. She covered his hands with her own and tilted her head backwards and accepted another kiss.