Chandler jerked himself back to reality after a long moment of silence, flushing when he realized that he had been simply staring into her eyes with a goofy smile on his face. He shuffled his feet awkwardly and stuffed his hands in his pockets, embarrassed by his reaction to her. But he couldn't tear his eyes away from her face.
"So…um, how – how have you been?" he asked her, struggling with the simple words.
"Fine," she answered with a small smile, her initial surprise and pleasure fading as awkwardness enveloped them. He was obviously uncomfortable, and that was making her self-conscious. What if all the things she had been wondering about were true? Maybe he was married – or had a girlfriend. Maybe she was a face from his past that he didn't really want to see. "And…and you?"
"Fine," he echoed with a nod, unconsciously shifting his gaze to his shoes and then back. He desperately wanted to reach out and touch her again – hold her hand…something. But he found he couldn't move.
"You know," he began, surprising himself with his words. "I've had this conversation in my head a thousand times, but now that I'm here with you…I can't remember any of the things I wanted to say."
"Me neither," Monica whispered softly, her cheeks flushing at the admission that he had been thinking about this – about her.
"You look beautiful," he told her honestly, a shy smirk turning up the edges of his mouth. "Even more beautiful than I remember."
The tension broke as if by magic, and Monica smiled, her blue eyes lighting up. "I'm not sure that's a compliment, considering the last time you saw me my hair was soaked and my makeup was running down my face."
"You were beautiful then, too," he stated solemnly, and she felt herself shiver. Then he smiled widely, giving her a sly wink. "But I meant it as a compliment."
"You look great, too." Monica returned, then allowed silence to drift over them again. "I can't believe…god, Chandler, it's been so long," she finished wistfully, staring up at his face.
"Yeah," he agreed softly, smiling at her gently. "So long."
"Well…I think maybe you owe me a cup of coffee," she hinted impishly, brushing her hair out of her face with one hand.
"Yeah. I seem to remember something about coffee. And I guess it's only fitting that we have it here."
"What does that mean?" Monica asked him, her scrunching up her face in confusion.
"Oh…well, this is the place where I came that – um, that night. You know, to meet you. But it was closed."
"You came here?" Monica clarified in a strangled voice, making Chandler look at her strangely.
"Yeah. Isn't it ironic?"
"We must have just missed each other…" Monica murmured, her head spinning slightly. She'd been late. Richard…
Chandler's look of confusion turned to one of shock as he digested her words, finally sorting out the reason she looked so stunned.
They had both gone to the same place that night after all.
He stared at her as the realization washed over him, wondering just how close they had been to each other back then. Questions flooded his mind, and he opened his mouth to speak, though he wasn't sure what he was going to say.
"What did – "
"I see you two have already met," Ross interrupted as he walked over to them, Rachel in tow. "Chandler Bing, this is my sister Monica. And this," he continued proudly, "is Rachel."
Chandler looked at Monica, temporarily ignoring the introduction to Rachel.
"Ross's little sister…"
"And his roommate…" Monica's voice trailed off, the irony of the entire situation rendering her speechless. It was too much to sort through right now.
Rachel took advantage of the pause and pushed forward, ignoring Ross's confused face as the scrutinized Chandler blatantly. "So you're Chandler," she stated, looking him up and down. "I've heard a lot about you."
Chandler reluctantly turned his gaze to Rachel, offering her a smile as he held out his hand. "And I've heard a lot about you," he told her, nodding conspiratorily in Ross's direction. Rachel returned the smile, liking him immediately. She nodded her approval, then turned her grin on Monica as she retreated back to Ross's side. Chandler took the opportunity to turn his attention back to Monica, trying to read the thoughts that were reflected in her eyes. He had a feeling she was feeling the same whirlwind of emotions that he was.
Ross's eyes narrowed as he took in the scene, not comfortable with the way Chandler and Monica were looking at each other. A tug on his coat sleeve got his attention, and he looked up to see Rachel tugging him unceremoniously toward the door.
"Ross, honey, why don't we leave these two alone."
"Wha-? Why do they need to be alone?" Ross asked, clearly disturbed by the idea. He wasn't sure what had just happened…but whatever it was, Rachel was in on it too. He frowned in her direction, and she just shrugged.
"I'll explain later," she promised as she led him away, and Ross's objections were soon lost on the other side of the door.
"Do you think…we could go somewhere and talk?" Chandler suggested hopefully, as his hand gently enclosed hers and pulled her slightly closer to him.
"I think…that's a good idea," Monica agreed, tentatively entwining her fingers with his. She smiled to herself. From everything she'd seen in the past few minutes, Chandler was just as happy to see her again as she was to see him. She glanced around the restaurant, shaking her head slowly. He was right – how ironic that they would meet here again, two years later.
Or maybe it was more than just irony.
TBC…
I'm sorry – really short again, I know. But, I decided it was better to post a short chapter – even if nothing much happens – than make you wait another week. And the way things are going right now…well, I was lucky to get this much written! With luck, I'll get the next chapter wrapped up this weekend, but…well, we play our arch-rival Saturday and I'm descending into "Football Mode" as we speak! So…all I can promise is, I'll try. ;-)