Beautifully

Chapter 1: The Agreement

~.~

I've had the first three chapters of this outlined/partly written for pretty close to a year now. Maybe closer to two. Anyway, I now have nearly the whole story written in my head, and it bothers me to have a story I've started but not finished, so…here we go again…

~.~

"Please?" Chandler looked at Rachel as she refilled his cup of coffee at Central Perk.

"No," she shook her head, not even looking at him.

"Pretty please?"

"Oooh, pretty please, well I can't say no to that," she turned to face him.

"Really?" Chandler perked up.

"Oh, wait. This is me saying no to that," she pointed in the opposite direction, heading to refill the coffee cups of the other Central Perk patrons.

"I would owe you," Chandler tried a different approach as Rachel came back.

"Isn't your lunch almost over?" Rachel raised her eyebrows at him glancing down at her watch.

Chandler looked down at the time, as well. "Three minutes ago," he nodded. "Please, Rach, please?"

Rachel sighed, leaning against the arm of the couch. "Why, again?"

"Because I'm tired of all of the girls at work trying to set me up with guys!"

Rachel chuckled at that. "I just wanted to hear you say that again."

"Well, it's gone way past the point of funny and awkward," Chandler sighed. "And, I figure if I show up to the holiday party Friday with a pretty girl, they will no longer thing of me as the gay one, but the one that came to the holiday party with a pretty girl."

"And why me?"

"Because you're the prettiest girl I know," Chandler looked up at her, batting his eyelashes.

Rachel rolled her eyes at him. "And why me?"

Chandler sighed. "Mon's catering some party or something, and Phoebe…" he trailed off, "well, Phoebe's…Phoebe. And plus, she worked there for a while, so that would be weird. Please, Rach?"

Rachel sighed, beginning to cave. "You'll owe me?"

"I'll owe you."

"And there will be free alcohol?"

"Oh, there will be free alcohol," Chandler nodded fiercely. "What is an office party without that?"

Rachel squeezed the dirty towel in her left hand that she had been using to bus tables, setting the coffee pot in her right hand down on the table. She closed her eyes, trying to clear her head of the pleading look in his eyes. She was surely going to regret saying yes to this. "Three conditions."

"Name 'em."

"First, you owe me," she stated slowly. "There are crummies or something somewhere, and Monica's freaking out," she pointed to him, "you take the blame."

Chandler nodded. "Yes, I owe you, you name it."

"Second," she looked him up and down, "I get to dress you."

"Hey," he looked down at what he was wearing, slightly offended. "I've been dressing myself for a good quarter of a century now. I think I'm perfectly capable-"

"And nothing screams 'great dresser' like a closet full of sweater vests and bowling shirts."

"Hey," Chandler looked at her offended, but, off her look, finally conceded. "Fine, you can dress me…."

"And third," Rachel paused.

Chandler smiled at the silence. "You didn't come up with a 'third,' did you?"

"Yea, I did," Rachel paused, thinking hard. She hadn't come up with a third, but he didn't need to know that. "I work a double today, and my feet are killing me. Foot massage tonight."

Chandler made a face at that. "Really?"

"No, but it was worth a shot," Rachel smiled at him before sighing, picking back up the coffee pot. "Fine. Friday night. A couple of hours. And you owe me."

"Thank you, Rach," Chandler grinned in victory, jumping up from his seat. "I owe you."

"That you do," Rachel nodded.

"I'll see you Friday," he added, heading towards the door. "Well, I'll actually see you tonight, and tomorrow, and probably Thursday, but I'll definitely see you Friday."

Rachel raised her eyebrows at him, attempting to get back to work. "Leave before I change my mind."

"Right. Bye, Rach," he added, giving her one last grin before heading out the door and back to his office.