Chandler's Thursday

Chandler is in a terrible mood. He had no intention of coming in to work today. His original plan was simple, stay home and have sex as many times as he could physically manage. Instead, he finds himself sitting at his desk, grumbling about everything he sees or hears. He can't focus, he has zero initiative to finish any of his projects, and every time one of his coworkers tries to talk to him, he rushes them out of his office with an "Okay then, thank you, bye bye now."

When he is left alone, he alternates between fidgeting with items on his desk or rapping his fingers loudly on the top of his computer monitor. He also can't seem to get comfortable in his seat; twisting and turning as he groans. He starts to play with the levers that control the height of his office chair and it drops down like an anvil causing his chin and the desk to now be on the same level. He lets out an annoyed sigh and looks over at his clock, "9AM Still! C'mon stupid clock! Go faster!"

He buries his head in both his hands and faceplants on his desk, whining internally. "Why does it have to be Thursday? I hate Thursdays. All Thursday does is remind you that it's not Friday and that you still have one more day of work before it becomes Saturday. I hate all the Thursdays! They're long and they're boring and they're stupid!" He picks his head up again and looks over at the clock. "Oh C'mon 9am! When will you be five!"

Chandler drops his head into his hands again, closing his eyes. He allows his mind to escape back to this morning, when he was last with Monica, at her apartment. He remembers how good she smelled, fresh out of the shower with only a towel wrapped around her gorgeous frame. His face becomes more blissful as he focuses on that memory and the conversation they had.

"Look," Monica starts, "Ross is going to stop by today at some point and I promised Phoebe I would go with her to the doctor, so even if you call in sick, we wouldn't be able to do anything. Let me take care of Ross and Phoebe and when I get home, I will call you. Just go to work or else you'll just be sitting around here all day looking suspicious." Monica places her hands onto Chandler's shoulders and gives them a gentle squeeze. "Look sweetie, I wish we could spend all day in bed, but at some point, we do have responsibilities, we have to get something accomplished."

Chandler looks down at his feet and pouts, "I don't wanna accomplish something."

Monica lets out a warm, breathy laugh, smiles and wraps her arms around his neck, planting a kiss on his lips. "I know. But look, if I deal with Ross this afternoon, he won't come over here looking to talk tonight, and Rachel isn't coming home until tomorrow, and Joey has an acting class. We will be alone all night and we can make up for all this lost time."

Chandler flashes her a sly grin, "Mon, I'm not just all this," He gestures his hands to his body as if he were on display. "I have a mind too you know. And feelings. What do you think I am? Just a piece of meat you can order on delivery?"

Monica holds Chandler at arms length, feigns a serious look and tilts her head, "Yeah, pretty much."

Chandler leans in to kiss her again, "Okay."

Monica replies enthusiastically, "Okay!" before they kiss again and reluctantly break their embrace.

Chandler is broken out of his daydream as he hears his boss bellow his name. "BING!" He looks up to see Doug standing in the doorway of his office. Doug inhales, exaggeratingly, through his nostrils, "How's that status report going. Need that on my desk first thing tomorrow morning. Although, I'll probably be late tomorrow, so why don't we say noonish?"

Chandler just quietly nods at Doug and starts to get lost in his own thoughts, "I can't believe Ross is coming back today. Stupid Ross. Ruining all the sex. Stupid Emily, running away. If those two had made up I'd be getting myself ready for round three of the Chanlovefest." Chandler angrily shakes his head and starts to speak in a terrible British accent, "Oh, helloooo, I'm Emily, I want to ruin your Thursday!"

For a second time, Doug speaks loudly, breaking Chandler from his stupor. "BING! What's going on? What did you just say? Why are you talking like that?"

Chandler stiffens up realizing his boss is still standing at his office door. "What? Oh, sorry sir, I said," he switches back over to the British accent again and stammers, "Em. Uh. Early. Em Early. Doin it Thursday. Em Early, Doing it Thursday."

Doug looks back at Chandler, puzzled. "What?"

Chandler breaks out of the accent, still stammering, "Oh, uh, that's just, uh, how the kids talk nowadays. I was trying to tell you I'll be done early and have it for you Thursday."

Doug, still confused. "But today is Thursday."

Chandler raises one of his hand up affirming. "I know. And I'll be done Thursday. Which is today. I'll be done today!"

Doug looks down, shakes his head, and walks away muttering to himself.

Chandler lets out a sigh and looks over at his clock again, "Oh c'mon!"

His office phone rings and he frantically picks up the receiver, "Mon?" he falls silent and a wave of disappointment crashes onto his face. "Oh, hi Joey. What? No, I didn't say Mon, well, I did say Mon but it was like," Chandler starts to talk in a terrible Jamaican accent, "Hey Mon, how can I help you."

Chandler rolls his eyes at his own pathetic excuse and listens quietly for a few seconds. He finally responds, "Well I don't know Joey, did the duck eat a bunch of caterpillars last night? Well, go get something for him to throw them up into. I don't know. Maybe the girls have something you can use. No, don't let him make a mess on the floor! Well, put them in your room! Okay. What? No, I am not coming home soon and I won't have a spare pizza when I do. Okay then. Thank you. Bye bye now."

Chandler slams the phone down in a huff and starts to play with some pens that are standing up in a cup in front of him. He looks over at the clock one more time and then proceeds to bang his head on the desk.

Mercifully, the work day ends and several hours later Chandler comes bounding up the stairs to his floor. His energy almost childlike. His aggrieved facial expressions from this morning give way to frenetic excitement as he makes his way to Monica's door. He pauses for a few moments and tries to smooth down any errant hairs he may have. He cups his hands around his nose and mouth and attempts to figure out if his breath is acceptable. He straightens his tie and triumphantly swings the door open and exclaims, "Hello gorgeous!"

Chandler stops dead in his tracks as he sees Phoebe sitting alone on the couch. She turns around to face him and crooks her neck, giving a confused look. Chandler begins to stutter, "Oh, uh, ah, hey Pheebs. Just, uh. You know. Pregnancy glow, right? You're radiant."

Phoebe turns back around to face the TV, "Well, obviously." She replies.

Chandler looks around the apartment and asks, "So, is Monica here?"

"No, she got called into work. I'm just really too pregnant to move so I am staying here. Monica said Rachel will be gone one more night so I can sleep in her room."

A look of disappointment once again overcomes Chandler. "Oh, well, okay Pheebs. I guess I'll go back to my place and change. But once again. You know. Radiant."

Phoebe sighs, "Okay, you don't have to keep saying it, we all know."

Chandler walks dejectedly across the hall and into his apartment. It dawns on him that this will be the first time since they got back from London where he won't be able to see Monica. At least not with Phoebe staying in the apartment overnight. He also acknowledges that they won't be able to stay here in his apartment, Joey will be back home from class long before Monica's shift ends.

His eyes soften as he sighs regretfully. "I guess this is what it is going to be like once everything gets back to normal. We won't be able to see each other every night." Chandler folds his arms and looks off into the dark, empty apartment, feeling depressed. "This could be the beginning of the end of all this. If we can't figure out how to spend time together, eventually Monica is going to find someone better that she actually can bring around the gang and that'll be it for me. Nobody wants a secret boyfriend."

Chandler throws his keys on the counter in the kitchen and collapses into his Barcalounger, letting out a very loud and dissatisfied groan, covering his face with both of his hands.

Suddenly he hears a very familiar, sing-song voice call out from the bathroom. "Helllllooooo!"

Chandler sits up and darts his eyes around the room like an excited puppy trying to locate a treat. "Mon?"

Monica again calls out sweetly, "I think I need you to come in here. There is something wrong with your bathtub."

Chandler springs off of his chair and leaps over to the bathroom, swinging the door open enthusiastically. Once inside he sees the low light of several candles illuminating the room. A bottle of sparkling wine sitting on the sink. He turns his head towards the bathtub to see Monica, up to her neckline in bubbles sitting in the tub. Her hair tied up, wine glass in her hand and a sweet smile on her face. "Well, hello stranger." She says softly, "So, there is something wrong with your tub."

Chandler, almost too shocked to reply, looks around the room again and a relieved smile appears on his face, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Monica playfully splashes some bubbles in Chandler's direction, "Well, you're not in it."

Chandler's eyes widen and he starts to frantically pull off his tie, throwing his coat on the floor. As he is kicking off his shoes, he notices a slightly concerned look on Monica's face. "What is it? What's wrong? Am I not supposed to be getting naked?"

She looks up at him and smiles. "No, you should be getting naked, just, well, are you just going to leave your clothes on the floor like that? It's kind of distracting."

Chandler laughs, leans over the edge of the tub and kisses Monica. "No, of course not. Let me go put my things in my room and I'll be right back."

Monica smiles again, "Okay! Oh, and maybe put your shoes in your closet?"

Chandler. Walking out and grabbing his robe from the back of the door responds, "Yes, and I'll put my shoes in the closet."

A/N – So there it is. The story starts with that first kiss when they return to New York and ends with them in the bathtub. I have never tried to do anything like this before and I wanted to be as true to the characters as I could. I know the writing style probably changed a little from chapter to chapter but I wanted to try and make the ones where Monica was the focal point more descriptive because, as a character, she would focus on the details while Chandler's is less about details and his surroundings and more about his awkwardness and penchant for putting people off with his humor. I hope people who like this kind of thing enjoy it and any feedback is welcome as I think about what to do next. If you got all the way here, thanks so much for taking the time to read it.