Chapter 7, finally! All reviews are appreciated and sorry it took so long :(
The kiss grew deeper, hands travelling up each other's bodies until they were holding each other's faces. Ross caught his hands in Rachel's hair and she let her urges take over, closing her eyes and embracing the feeling of kissing him she had missed so much.
A while later, a man swung the doors open and called out, "Sorry to interrupt, but the break's over. The dance will continue."
"Oh. Erm... Of course." Ross pulled away from Rachel, but took her hand in his and led her back into the hall.
They were in silence the whole time. The upbeat songs didn't have much joy left in them, and the slow songs were almost too much to bare. It was too much for them to stand pressed up against each other, arms on waists, faces almost touching, without having heart aches.
A new song started. As the intro played, Monica smiled at Phoebe and Chandler, all oblivious as to what had happened between Ross and Rachel, and what he had just told her.
Not now. I can't hear this song right now... Ross and Rachel both closed their eyes in sadness and disbelief as the lyrics to With Or Without You started.
A silent tear rolled down her cheek, but she quickly brushed it away, determined not to let any land on Ross' shoulder. She opened her eyes and they continued to sway gently, no matter how much it hurt them to think about how painfully close they were, and dreading the moment when they would have to let go.
...
"Goodnight, Ross." Rachel called to Ross from down the hallway, twisting her door handle.
"Wait... Aren't you sleeping in here?"
"Well, I thought it might be awkward... After tonight."
"Oh, come on. These are our last few days together, I want to spend time with you." Ross looked at the floor.
"Fine. Me too." She smiled. "I'll be there in a sec."
Once Rachel was ready, she slipped into Ross' room just as she had the two nights before, only wearing a night shirt.
"Hey, Rach." Ross said as he saw her come in. "Don't worry about me leaving, okay? It might be for the best -"
"No... I don't want to talk about it."
"I'm sorry. So are we going to sleep or what?"
"No." She went to sit on the bed, facing Ross. "I want to talk."
"About what?"
"I don't know. I could just really use some cheering up right now."
...
"So you ended up in hospital... Because of Monica?"
"Yeah... Hey, stop laughing, it was serious!"
"Sure." Rachel paused. "I mean, I know Monica used to beat you up, but seriously..." She started chuckling under her breath.
"I could have died!"
"Oh, and what a disaster that would have been!" Rachel teased.
"You think? We both know you wouldn't be able to live without me!"
"I could! But nice to know you think of yourself like that."
"Because it's true. You need meee!"
"Yeah? Well too bad you're leaving then."
"Hey, you're lucky I'm leaving. This way everyone we know won't find out about the time you peed your pants... In 7th Grade!"
"That's not fair! Monica made me laugh! Anyway, how do you know about that?"
"There are loads of things that you don't know I know..."
"Tell anyone any of them and you'll wish you had died!"
Ross raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah? And if I do tell, what are you going to do about it?"
Rachel held up her hands in front of her, as if preparing to wrestle him. "Be careful. You might end up in hospital again if you don't shut up."
Ross held his hands up in the same position as hers. "Make me."
At that moment, Rachel pushed herself almost into Ross, grabbing his hands tightly and pushing against them with all her might. Ross was obviously stronger, and pushed her backwards with a strength that forced her to step off the bed.
"You're no match for me, Rachel Green!"
She got up and started running around the room with Ross in pursuit, hands out to grab her. He caught up to Rachel and she squealed as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, picked her up and eventually dropped her as they both fell backwards onto the bed. Ross hardly realised he had accidentally landed on top of Rachel; they were both laughing too hard to notice. Instead, Ross simply rolled off her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
They both sat up on top of the bed sheets to face each other, laughter still dying down.
"Thank you." Rachel said to Ross.
"For what?"
"For cheering me up. For always being here when I needed someone. I don't know what I'm going to do without you."
Ross stared at her. "The Rachel of two months ago wouldn't have said that."
"I know. But deep down inside, I think she knew it."
There was a short silence, then he spoke quietly. "To be honest, I don't know what I'm going to do without you either."
"Mm." Rachel closed her eyes shut and tried to stop the tears from falling, but Ross caught a couple trickle down her cheek.
"Hey." He went to sit next to her and protectively wrapped his arms around her. "Don't cry, Rach."
A few more tears blurred her vision, then she began. "Please don't leave me. I need you. I can't -"
"Shh sweetie, it'll be okay."
She buried her face into his chest and he stroked her hair, planting several kisses on the top of her head as she sobbed quietly.
Rachel finally uncovered her tear stained face. "I've lost you once. I just can't lose you again."
"You never lost me, Rach. And you couldn't lose me, ever." Ross brushed away her tears with his thumb and placed a kiss on her salty cheek. "Hey, I meant what I said on the beach. I'll be here for you and I'll always care about you, no matter what happens."
Rachel looked down. "Ever since we broke up, I've been trying so hard to hate you. I thought it would make things easier, but you were still so nice to me... I'm sorry." She choked through the crying.
"I don't blame you, I deserved it. I hurt you, and you'll never know how sorry I am for doing what I did." He said shakily. "I'm so, so sorry."
"But if I hadn't said we should take a stupid break -"
"Don't."
Rachel rested her head against Ross' chest and let her tears fall silently, melting into his embrace.
"I love you." She said trying to hold back sobs.
"I love you too." Ross squeezed her into his body and kissed her hair. "And that will never change."
As Rachel stopped crying, he kissed her forehead, cheek, and thought twice before kissing her neck, sending comfort and warmth radiating through her body. She sat up straighter and wrapped her arms around Ross' shoulders, nuzzling his neck and shooting him a shy grin, eyes twinkling as they exchanged an eskimo kiss. Their gazes met for a moment as he accidentally brushed the smooth skin behind her ear with the tip of his nose, sending shivers down her spine.
"I love you." He whispered again.
"Mmm." She embraced the feeling of his breath tickling her ear. "I love you."
A while passed before Rachel reluctantly pulled away to lay down on her side, but kept her body near Ross'. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and she immediately felt enveloped in his warmth. The feeling of their arms and legs entwined, her hair tickling his chin, the scent of her skin surrounding him; they hadn't been like this in so long, and they both realised how much they had been starved of each other's closeness. She let herself relax, feeling the comfort that only he could give her.
Ross soon noticed that Rachel had fallen asleep. He was about to pull away and was grateful when she took hold of his arm in half asleep mode, and brought it into her body. Ross knelt over and gently kissed her eyelids, flicking off the bedside light and smiling slightly as a final thought formed in his mind.
Cuddly sleepers.
Thanks for reading, I'll try and get the next chapter up sooner :)
