AN/I got a comment in the last chapter that the characters were not funny like they are on the show, so I just want to make a small PSA. It's an angst fic and while I'm not saying my writing is perfect, it's hard to be funny and dramatic at the same time so please bear with me on this. I'm still new to writing so I always appreciate constructive criticism :). The original idea of this fic is from noticing how hard the group is on Chandler, especially towards Monica after they get together. I wanted to write a story that highlights the disdain they seem to have towards him. Hopefully, I'm doing the idea justice. Anyway, I'm sorry for taking so long on the updates, the next one shouldn't take as long. Thanks for reading :)

When Chandler practically slammed her door, Monica jumped slightly. Her stomach churned with nerves, she felt sick. Monica knew this wasn't the best way to handle this. If she could just tell Pete that she had a boyfriend without the risk of Rachel finding out, she would. She ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh before getting up to talk to Chandler.

"What's his problem?" Rachel asked, sipping her water. "He's been acting weird right? I mean, lately, he just seems moody."

"I'm going to talk to him, '' she muttered, ignoring her best friend's comment. It wasn't her fault that she didn't have all of the information, but it was becoming more difficult not to tell her that this was partly her fault. Monica left the apartment to go across the hall but noticed Chandler sitting on the step, his head leaning on the wall while he played with his fingers absentmindedly. "Don't be mad…"

"You're telling me not to be mad that my girlfriend is going on a date with another guy? Why did you agree to this?" Chandler's voice raised with every word as anger built in his chest. "Seriously, this guy is a creep and I don't want you going out with him."

"I had to! Rachel was right there and he wasn't taking no for an answer. I'm just going to tell him at the restaurant and it'll be over." Monica sat next to him on the step and took his hand, "I don't want to do this either, but what choice do we have?"

He quickly moved his hand away from hers. "I could go with you. Or we could tell people…I mean I know that we don't want people in our business but…I think what we have is pretty great. I don't think anything could mess this up." Chandler's tone became soft, looking into her eyes.

"I-I don't want to tell anyone yet. What we have is great, but what if it's because no one knows? I'm just not ready." Monica grabbed his hand again, gently running her thumb over his knuckles to calm him down.

"Well, I don't feel comfortable with my girlfriend going on dates with other people, especially after Janice. This guy isn't taking no for an answer over the phone, how do you think he's going to be when you tell him in person when you're alone? He's going to try and take you from me…" he muttered.

Monica shook her head quickly, "Nothing is going to happen, I'm just going to tell him that I'm with you and that'll be it. You trust me don't you?"

"I don't trust him. I don't want to be the crazy possessive boyfriend, but come on Monica I don't want you going on a date with another man! You might think this is nothing, but he's probably thinking that he'll get to sleep with you." Chandler looked up when the door to apartment 19 opened, with Joey standing in the doorway.

Joey leaned on the doorframe, staring down at them, "I heard yelling."

"Monica is going on a date with a creepy guy," Chandler got up, going towards his apartment. "It's a stupid idea."

"Really? You haven't gone out in a while, you think you'll get lucky?" Joey smirked suggestively, ignoring Chandler as he pushed past his shoulder.

Monica rolled her eyes, ignoring the question as she went back into her apartment. She hoped that giving Chandler space would give him time to calm down. However, she didn't see him the next morning or at lunch like she usually did. Joey told her not to worry, that he just went to work early, but she knew it was more than that. Her anxiety just became worse throughout the day, she's never gone this long without seeing him before. Just as she was getting ready for her dinner with Pete, she wanted to back out because she couldn't do this without Chandler's support. Monica put on a simple outfit for dinner before going out and seeing everyone but Chandler sitting in her living room.

"You look nice," Phoebe scanned her outfit, "very classy."

"Thanks," she muttered. "Have you seen Chandler today?"

"Yeah, at the coffee house. He said that they gave him a lot of paperwork to do so he'd be home late, although it's pretty late already." Phoebe checked her watch with a small shrug.

Monica sighed, running her fingers through her hair as she tried to calm herself down. She ignored her brother's questions as she paced around the kitchen. Hearing everyone ask if she was okay, when the one person she could talk to about her nerves wasn't there was only adding on to her stress. Pete was going to pick her up at any minute and all she wanted to do was call to cancel to spend the night with her boyfriend. The guilt of doing this was becoming too much as she thought about hiding in her room, the front door opened with Chandler standing on the other side. Monica relaxed at the sight of him and quickly went over, putting her hand on his chest. He didn't pull away which she figured was a good sign. "Hi."

"Hey," Chandler gently grabbed her hand, ignoring everyone else's greetings. "You look nice for your date."

"It's not a date," she whispered with a weak laugh. "Please tell me you're okay." Monica put her hands on his shoulders, resisting the urge to wrap her arms around him and never let go.

He glanced around the room, noticing no one's attention was on them before looking back at his girlfriend. "Of course not. But he's going to pick you up soon and I'm going to be here when he does. I'll be here when he brings you back. And then y'know…" Chandler looked around the room again, "it can just be us," he said softly.

Monica nodded at his words, pulling him slightly closer "just us, I promise." They stayed there just looking into each other's eyes. She just wished they were alone so she could kiss him and be held by him, and somehow he seemed to have read her mind. He smiled. Monica practically melted seeing that smile again. His eyes seemed to light up whenever he smiled and she loved it. A knock at her door made her jump out of her thoughts just as her friends crowded the door to get a glimpse of the millionaire. Monica glanced at Chandler before opening the door to Pete.

"Hi Monica, are you ready?"

Her friends started talking over one another, asking questions about his money while Chandler stood with his arms crossed, looking more stern than usual. "Be back before ten-thirty."

Pete laughed at first until he noticed the look on the man's face. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious. That's two hours. More than enough time for dinner," Chandler looked at his watch to check the time.

The group of friends laughed, waving him off, "he's kidding. Even if he wasn't, he's too weak to do anything anyway," Rachel smiled as the others snickered at her joke.

Monica watched her boyfriend's fists clenched under his arms as he glared at Pete. She stepped towards him to try and calm him down, but Pete's arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her out of the apartment. All she heard was her friends saying goodbye before Phoebe shut the door and it was too late. There was no backing out of this now.

"Do you like pizza? I know a place."

–

During the car ride, Monica was silent besides the occasional absentminded acknowledgment that she knew he was talking. All he could talk about was his company and his struggles of starting it, but she didn't care. She watched the city go by, the lights of the buildings flashing across the windows as they drove. Monica read the road signs and her eyebrows furrowed at what she was seeing. "Why are we going to the airport?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise, but we're going to Italy. I mean what better place to get pizza than the real deal?" Pete smiled.

She shook her head in disbelief, unsure if this was an elaborate joke. "You can't be serious…" Monica watched his smile grow wider and she just laughed. "You're not taking me to Italy."

"Why not? What's more romantic than that? I thought you'd like it," he ignored her worries.

"Because I don't want to travel across the ocean just to get dinner. You shouldn't keep throwing money at me like it's a sweet gesture.," she protested.

"You took that check I gave you didn't you? It got your attention. I'm not saying it's the best method, but it works."

"Honestly, it's insulting that you think you can buy me. I threw that check away. Can you take me home or to a restaurant here in the city?" Monica asked, looking out the window.

Pete sighed as he drove back towards the city. He drove to the nicest, most expensive Italian restaurant he could think of, giving his car to the valet and tipping the host to get a good table. Pete ordered a nice bottle of wine for the both of them while they ordered their food. "So you don't like to travel? I'm going, to be honest, I've never heard of someone who hates traveling."

"I like traveling. But not spontaneously and I want to be home by ten-thirty " Monica sipped her wine.

"Okay, I get your point, but I thought that guy was joking. You don't have to be home that early do you? Do you let all your friends make decisions for you?"

"He's actually my boyfriend," she said softly as she set her wine glass down. "My friends just have a hard time taking him seriously, but he's pissed that I'm doing this so the least I can do is get home on time.

Pete sat back in his chair, "wait a minute. You have a boyfriend? You seriously led me on for this long?"

"I told you no multiple times. Maybe next time a woman tells you no, take the hint," she shrugged.

"If you told me that you had a boyfriend I wouldn't have asked you to dinner. Why didn't you just tell me that, I would've understood."

"I couldn't say anything because my friend Rachel was eavesdropping on all of our conversations. None of my friends know about our relationship and this has to remain a secret. The only way I could tell you was in private."

He leaned forward with interest, leaning against the table. "Why is this a secret?"

Monica sighed, pushing her hair back, "we're waiting because we've been friends forever and this is kind of new and it's actually going really well so far. It's going to get complicated when our friends find out, especially my brother."

"You said that your friends don't take him seriously, does that have anything to do with it?" Pete cocked an eyebrow before sipping his wine, keeping his eyes on her.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He leaned back in his chair again. "I don't know. Based on you telling me they don't take him seriously and your friend's comment about him being weak it sounds like they don't respect him. And why would you tell them you're dating a guy they have no respect for? Plus based on looks alone, you're a ten and he's like a three. I wouldn't be surprised if you were embarrassed to be seen dating him."

Monica's jaw clenched and she felt her stomach twist like a knot. It'd be easy to deny everything and tell Pete that her friends did respect Chandler. But she knew it was true. Teasing was nothing new in their group, mostly coming from Chandler himself, but lately, he seemed to be the target of ridicule. The more she thought about it, she realized he was right. She was scared of her friends finding out because they would make fun of her. Monica noticed the waiter setting down their food and she cleared her throat. "Well, I think he's a lot higher than a three. Sometimes he can be immature and awkward, but he's a great guy."

"A great guy that you don't want to be seen with," Pete muttered under his breath. He watched Monica shift in her seat uncomfortably and he knew he was right. "Don't you want a relationship where you don't have to hide? Has he even taken you out on a date?"

"Not really. It'd be nice to do all the couple stuff, but we're happy where we are." She looked at his cocky attitude, "you're not going to do this," Monica shook her head.

He looked at her with a sly smirk, "do what?"

"Put doubt in my head about my relationship in hopes that I'll leave him for you," she smiled, seeing the confidence in his shoulder drop. "It's not going to happen. So, let's just enjoy this dinner as acquaintances, and then you can take me home."

Pete put his hands up in a sign of surrender, "okay. Fine, have it your way."

—

Rachel looked over at Chandler from the couch as he checked his watch for the umpteenth time in ten minutes as it approached ten-thirty. She went back to flipping through her magazine as hundreds of questions flowed through her head. "Why don't you like Pete?" Rachel asked. Everyone else had gone back to their own apartments, but he insisted on staying to wait for Monica to come back.

Chandler spun in his chair to face her, "I just think if someone says no it means…well, no. Monica shouldn't have to give him a pity dinner to get the point across. Why do you want her to be with him so bad?"

"Not him specifically, anybody. She hasn't been with anyone since Richard and the first guy that shows interest in her, it just seemed like a good opportunity." She put the magazine down on the table, giving her full attention to him. "You haven't been with anyone since Janice. Maybe I could set you up with someone."

He bit his tongue with a slight smile, "no thanks, her laugh is still haunting my nightmares."

Rachel chuckled softly as she got up from the couch, "suit yourself. I'm going to bed, see you tomorrow."

"Night," Chandler muttered checking his watch again. Ten-twenty eight. He could feel his nerves build in his stomach, wondering if she would come back. He almost grabbed the phone to try and call before he heard voices coming from the hallway. The moment he recognized Monica's voice, he practically ran to the door.

They stood together in the hallway, "I had fun, even if there won't be a second date," Pete buried his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, thanks for the pizza and the wine," Monica put her hand on the doorknob.

He leaned forward, quickly connecting his lips to hers. Just as she pulled away from him, Chandler opened the door and grabbed Monica's arm, pulling her inside. "Seriously?"

"Just saying goodnight," he smiled, looking him up and down, unimpressed with the man standing in front of him.

"You can do that without kissing her," he crossed his arms over his chest. Chandler felt Monica's arms wrap around his stomach. "Do you always go around harassing and kissing other people's girlfriends?"

Pete kept his eyes on Monica, "no, but normally people in happy relationships don't agree to dates with other people. Maybe she wanted a night out with a guy that can actually treat her right."

He scoffed, rolling his eyes "I can treat her better than you can…" Chandler turned to Monica, "right?" He whispered for confirmation.

"Yeah," Monica grinned, hiding her face in his shirt.

"Yeah" he repeated to Pete with more confidence as he put an arm around her.

Pete looked between them, noticing a unique sparkle in Monia's eyes that wasn't there before when she looked at Chandler. It was barely noticeable, but her smile was also brighter. It surprised him that her friends hadn't noticed these things yet, but he could tell there was something special between them. "You're really lucky. If I was you, I'd never let her go."

"I don't plan on it," Chandler held Monica closer to his side. He didn't trust Pete at all. Even if he was acting civil and kind right now, there was no telling what he was thinking. "Well, goodnight." He practically slammed the door in his face without care. Chander never wanted to see him again. "How did it go?" When he turned to her, he gently cupped her face, "are you okay? I was getting worried."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Monica kissed him before walking towards her room with Chandler following behind. "It went well actually. After I told him, we just talked about you for a while and then his company and my dream about a restaurant. He even offered me a restaurant of my own," she muttered softly, taking out her earrings. "It's just because he likes me so I said no, but I don't know."

His eyebrows furrowed, sitting down at the head of her bed. "You don't know what?" he asked cautiously. Watching her change from her clothes to her pajamas, the silence was making his anxiety build in his chest again.

"What if that was my only chance? This diner was supposed to be a temp job to something bigger and it's been months since I've even interviewed somewhere. I feel stupid, missing this opportunity." Monica sat next to him and leaned on his chest, feeling his arm wrap around her. "Am I stupid?"

"No," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "Not at all. You're working towards a restaurant, getting experience and then you'll get a head chef job and then one day you'll get your restaurant…you don't want to skip to the end, do you? I didn't take you as a handout kind of chef. I thought you liked the challenge."

Monica laced her fingers with his. "I usually do, it's just this time I'm not sure if I can win."

Chandler gasped as he put his hand on his chest. "Monica Geller giving up? What dimension did I wake up in? Is this a parallel universe?"

"Shut up," she chuckled and hit his chest. "I'm not giving up. I just don't feel confident anymore. I'm not even cooking, I'm a waitress. And I was presented with this amazing opportunity to have my very own restaurant like I've always wanted and I said no…" Monica frowned, playing with the strings on the band of Chandler's sweatpants.

"I believe you'll get a head chef job sooner than you think. Tomorrow, what if I help and type out a new resume at work? I helped Rachel with her resume. Yours will even be easier than hers because you have more experience to put on it."

Monica smiled, looking up at him "you would do that for me?" She moved onto his lap, straddling his legs and holding his shoulders. "You're so sweet."

"Anything for you sweetheart," Chandler whispered, leaning closer to her and holding on to her waist.

Monica couldn't stop herself from glancing down at his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You know I was thinking about you all night," she mumbled softly as their lips hovered. "I just couldn't wait to be back in your arms…"

"I missed you so much," Chandler muttered. There was a pause between them as they just looked into each other's eyes. Monica couldn't take the waiting anymore, she closed the gap, kissing him as she pulled him closer by his t-shirt. Each kiss they shared was so effortless. His lips were soft against hers as they moved in sync. Monica's heart raced as it became more heated, her hips rolled forward against him.

When Chandler moved a hand up to the back of her neck, the other to her back. Monica felt his hand move up her shirt, his fingers warm on her skin. She gripped the collar of his t-shirt tighter, as she moaned. "Rachel might hear us if we don't stop now'' Monica hummed against his lips.

"That's a risk I'm willing to make," he mumbled back before kissing her again.

–

The next morning, Chandler reluctantly went to work so he could make the resumes for Monica. Everyone had come over for breakfast after he had already left, she was in the kitchen cooking more bacon for Joey. As Rachel poured orange juice for herself, she looked over at Monica at the stove. "So, Mon. I heard your date with Pete last night went well," she handed the juice to Ross.

"Not really, I'm not going to see him again. He was too into himself I think," Monica grabbed toast out of the toaster and gave it to Phoebe. She hoped her vague answers would make Rachel drop it.

"Really? So all that moaning I heard last night was just a ghost in the wall?" Rachel said sarcastically as Joey snickered next to her.

Monica tensed slightly, unsure of how to talk her way out of this. Thinking back to last night, she knew it was a bad idea, but it was so worth it. Monica cleared her throat awkwardly, "I don't know what you're referring to."

"Oh please, you were practically screaming for an hour. You're telling me you're not seeing him again after that?" Rachel shook her head, not believing what she was hearing.

Ross pushed his plate away with a look of disgust, "I'm not hungry anymore."

"Come on Ross, she's a woman with needs, don't shame her when she puts out on the first date," Phoebe took the juice for him.

Joey nodded to Monica with a smirk of approval."Yeah, baby"

"That doesn't mean I wanna hear about it. Can we talk about anything else?" Ross begged the group.

"Yes, please," Monica sighed. She gave Joey his bacon as Phoebe began a story about finding her father. It sounded like she was getting close when she was given old yearbooks and found a photo of her parents together. Phoebe said there was another woman in the picture that she was looking for today. Everyone gave her support as she grabbed a piece of toast and left the apartment. The friends left one by one for work, or in Joey's case, a nap, and Monica got ready for her shift at the diner, hoping Pete wouldn't be there today.

–

Today was filled with meetings. Chandler finished Monica's resumes this morning, printing out hundreds for her to send out. He was about to put them into envelopes before his boss called him into a meeting, then another one, and another. It seemed never-ending. In his fourth meeting, he waited in the conference room, chatting with a coworker about the new software their company was switching to. Chandler didn't know much about it, but his boss wanted the department heads to learn how to use it first. As he started to read the overview file provided for the meeting, the door to the conference room opened.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm excited to personally get you into the Moss 865 program for your company," a familiar voice filled the room.

Chandler's heart sank, nervously looking up at the man standing at the head of the table. Pete was already staring at him with a domineering smile. It was hard to pay attention to an already boring presentation with the speaker staring down at him the entire time. As soon as it was over, Chandler immediately got up and left the room, calmly rushing to the elevator. The last thing he needed in an already long day was talking to Pete longer than he needed to. Just when the elevator doors started to close, Pete squeezed through at the last second.

He noticed Chandler's stiff stance, watching the other's eyes look anywhere but at him. "Can I apologize to you for taking Monica out? We had a good time, but I never would have taken her to dinner if I knew."

"It's fine" Chandler waved him off at first. "Well, it's not fine, but it won't happen again so it's in the past." The only thing that could be heard was the soft elevator music as they descended slowly to the bottom floor."So, she told me that you offered to buy her a restaurant."

"She told me it was her dream to own a restaurant and I just wanted to help. Though I'm sure you know that she turned it down." Pete watched the numbers decrease above the doors.

"Well, yeah. Monica likes challenges. I think you'd be surprised at how competitive she can get. There's a scar on my forehead when she threw a plate at me during Pictionary," Chandler flattened his hair down trying to cover it.

He laughed, imagining Monica throwing a plate in frustration. "Oh, I believe it. She seems very…" Pete trailed off to think of the right word to use. "Strong-minded?"

Chandler nodded in agreement, "yeah. She's a little high-maintenance, but I think we balance each other in that way. If I'm being honest it's one of my favorite qualities about her."

"I wonder why she's embarrassed to be with you. You seem like a good guy," Pete walked out of the elevator when the doors slid open to the lobby.

Chandler did a double-take, watching the other leave before he jogged to catch up with him. "What do you mean she's embarrassed?"

He shrugged "She said your friends don't take you seriously. That you're immature. Do you think she's going to be proud about dating a guy that can't even get respect from his friends? Don't get me wrong, I understand it's hard to come forward with a new relationship, especially because you're dating your best friend's sister. Just at some point, don't you want to show her off? Treat her special and take her out for a night away from your friends? I think she deserves that."

"I'd like to tell people, but she's just not ready. Did she really say that about me?" Chandler asked him, his voice soft and defeated. "She didn't say that." He quickly shook his head, refusing to believe him despite the doubt now growing in his mind.

"Do you really believe that?" He asked skeptically.

He stopped to think about the points he brought up. "Well, I can be immature sometimes, but she knew that before she started dating me. It's nothing new."

"It's a bigger deal when you become the boyfriend. We've all tried dating a friend and there's a reason it never works out. Sure it's fun in the beginning, but when it gets real she probably doesn't want the immature friend as a husband." Pete could see the doubt growing in Chandler's eyes.

"But…" Chandler trailed off, unsure of what to say. "It's Monica. She can tell me anything."

He noticed the shift in his demeanor, Chandler's shoulders dropped even when he was trying to appear unbothered. Pete almost felt bad for the guy, but he started to wonder what his chances with Monica would be if they broke up. "I'm just telling you what she told me, but it's not my business." He took the opportunity to break away from the conversation, leaving Chandler to question his relationship with Monica.

–

Pete's words played in Chandler's head like a broken record as he headed to the diner for lunch. He wasn't sure if he completely believed him. When he walked into the restaurant, Chandler noticed Monica's face light up when she saw him. Monica whispered to her manager before unskillfully rolling over to him on her skates and he caught her in his arms. "Hi."

"I'm on my break so we can spend your lunch together," Monica took his hands in hers, skating to a table while pulling him behind her. When she sat down at a booth, he sat next to her and she moved his arm around her shoulders. "I missed you." Monica trailed off, playing with his fingers.

Chandler watched her, still trying to process everything. "Pete was at my office today for a presentation," he mumbled.

At the mention of his name, she tensed and leaned against his chest. "I don't want to talk about him. He's not worth our time. I hope he didn't bother you, did he?"

"Bother? Not really…he told me what you said. Just something about being embarrassed to be seen with me," he said with a forced chuckle.

Monica sat up, thinking about her dinner with Pete, trying to remember what he was referring to. "I said our friends don't take you seriously. They make fun of you all the time. We all make fun of each other of course, but they just seem to belittle you. But I never said anything about being embarrassed by you. They all know you and they know you're sarcastic and immature sometimes, it's just who you are."

"So you wouldn't be embarrassed to tell our friends that we're dating?" Chandler asked for clarification.

She shifted in her seat uncomfortably, trying to find a way to respond without lying to him. "Well…" she started when she saw Rachel walking into the diner. Monica shoved Chandler off of her before waving Rachel over to the table. She could feel his glare staring down at her even when focusing all of her attention on her friend. When Chandler practically pushed himself away from the table, leaving the diner upset, Monica buried her face with a sigh.

"Is he okay?" Rachel took off her coat.

"He's fine, he's just having a hard day at work, that's all." She could barely focus on her friend's ramblings about Bloomingdale's when her mind was elsewhere. It was difficult to answer Chandler's question when either way she'd end up hurting him. It seemed harsh, but the idea of telling the group was terrifying. The way everyone seemed to think he wasn't good enough, she knew they wouldn't accept their relationship. It's even a possibility they would make fun of her for dating a guy like him. Telling the group was inevitable but wanted to delay it for as long as she could.