By Ashlee
This is a fic I wrote awhile ago but never got around to posting here. Its not related to any of my other fics, and it takes place in season 7. I hope you like it!
It was after 2 o'clock in the morning and Monica couldn't seem to get comfortable trying to fall asleep. She had been tossing and turning since midnight, and was now lying on her back with her arms crossed starring up at the ceiling, her mind absolutely racing. She glanced over at the empty spot next to her wishing she wasn't alone. She sighed heavily before getting out of bed and putting on her robe. She opened her bedroom door and restlessly walked into the kitchen. She smiled to herself when she realized the last time she had made some warm milk when Chandler couldn't fall asleep. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard and the milk from the fridge, but then after hesitating for a moment, placed the milk back in the fridge and the glass back in the cupboard. She stood still for a second longer and then quietly tip-toed over toward the front door. She felt like a high school kid sneaking out of the house late at night. She poked her head out into the hallway to see if the coast was clear, then quickly made her way over to Joey and Rachel's apartment. Once inside, she headed over toward Chandler's old bedroom. The door was cracked a bit, so she continued quietly into the room, closing the door behind her.
He was lying in bed with his back toward the door, but she could tell by his breathing that he wasn't sleeping. She smiled, letting her robe drop to the floor before crawling into bed with him and wrapping her arms around his waist tightly. She could sense him smiling as she softly kissed the back of his neck.
"Ohhh, you feel so good. But I don't its a good idea for you to be here, Rach. Monica is right across the hall." He whispered.
Monica jokingly pinched his leg underneath the covers. "Very funny, Bing."
He turned to face her, apparently pleased with his little remark. But then put on his serious face. "Mon, we're not supposed to see each other again until the wedding."
"But I missed you." Monica whispered.
"You were the one who made Rachel and I switch rooms for tonight."
"I know. I didn't realize how hard it would be just for one night."
Chandler smiled. "It is weird isn't it. We haven't been apart in so long."
"I don't even remember what it was like when we weren't together." She told him, as she kissed the tip of his nose.
"I don't even want to remember what it was like without you next to me."
"After tomorrow…." Monica paused and looked as though she was in deep thought.
"What?" Chandler asked her.
"I was just thinking how I never would have predicted we would have ended up together. We were friends for so long…." Monica replied. "I mean being with you…its made me happier than I have ever been."
"Me too. I mean just think if I hadn't moved in across the hall from you, I wonder if we would have ever met again."
"I've never really thought about that before." Monica replied as she rested her head on his chest.
"We're lucky we even became friends. You weren't exactly thrilled when I moved in, you know." He sighed loudly, as he ran his fingers through her hair.
"I'll never forget that day…" Monica started.
* * ** * * *
1991
Monica stood in front of her apartment searching through her purse for her keys. One thing that really annoyed her about her roommate was that she always locked the door and Monica often ended up getting locked out. Monica had just given up hope of finding them when she noticed a familiar face walking down the hall.
"Chandler?" she asked, surprised.
He looked up from reading his pile of mail and smiled. "Monica. What - do you live here?" He asked pointing to her door.
"Yeah. What are you doing here?"
"I live here." He said, motioning toward his own door.
"You're kidding. Wow. When Ross said he knew someone who was interested in moving in there I had no idea it was you."
Chandler half smiled. "I hope…I hope its not a problem."
"No. Not at all." Monica said, somewhat unconvincingly. "I, I better go." She said turning toward her door. She turned the knob, hoping that by some kind of miracle the door would open for her. Damn it. Still locked. She snickered and could feel Chandler's eyes were still on her. She leaned her back against the door, being forced to smile at him.
"Are you locked out?" Chandler asked. "You can use my phone if you'd like."
"Umm. That would be great, thanks."
They walked into Chandler's apartment and Monica noted to herself how neat it was. She hadn't really thought of him as a neat guy, but she had been wrong about Chandler before, so nothing about him really surprised her at this point.
"So, how have you been?" Chandler asked, awkwardly trying to make conversation.
"I've been fine. You?" Monica smiled.
"Great. Just started a new job. Just moved in here."
"That's nice."
There was an awkward silence between them. Monica stood by the counter looking around the apartment, just trying to avoid making eye contact with Chandler. After what seemed like an hour, but was only a matter of seconds, Chandler finally spoke.
"Monica…listen. About Thanksgiving…" He paused, not really knowing what to say.
"Its not a big deal." Monica said, shaking her head. "That was like three years ago, Chandler."
"I thought I would see you again before now."
Monica sighed. "You don't have to make excuses. And if its okay with you, I would really rather not have this discussion."
Chandler nodded. Monica placed her call to Phoebe, and he watched her curiously. He didn't know what made him so nervous around her. Maybe it was the fact that she was even more beautiful than he remembered. He couldn't believe she was going to be living right across the hall from him. Although Monica's behavior toward him wasn't very encouraging. He couldn't really tell if she was nervous as well or maybe even angry.
"Well thanks for letting me use the phone. I'm going to have to hide an extra key around here somewhere. Mr. Treeger won't let me in anymore." Monica laughed, trying to hide behind the tension.
"You can keep one over here, if you'd like." Chandler offered, but wished he hadn't after he'd said it. She was staring at him with a very confused look on her face.
"Listen, I'm going to wait for Phoebe in the hall." Monica told him, as she made her way toward the door. "Thanks again."
She closed the door behind her and took a deep breath once she was in the hallway. She had never expected to see Chandler again, and now he was going to be her neighbor. She was starting to freak out, but tried to remain calm. She paced around the hallway for a bit trying to evaluate the situation. Everything was going to be fine. It was only Chandler. She finally took a seat on the step outside of her apartment and decided to just wait for Phoebe. Hopefully it wouldn't be much longer. A few minutes later, Chandler opened his door and poked his head out. Monica looked up from the step and smiled.
"Are you sure you don't want to come in? I have a couch that's a lot softer than that stoop."
"Phoebe should be here any minute." Monica replied. Why was he so eager for her to come in his apartment? Maybe he was just being friendly?
"Okay. If you're sure." He replied. At the same moment, Phoebe came up the stairs and Monica stood up very relieved that she wouldn't have to talk to Chandler anymore.
"Monica, I'm so sorry! I totally wasn't thinking when I locked the door." Phoebe told her friend as she noticed Chandler standing in his doorway, smiling.
"It's okay, Phoebe. But we've got to stick to the system! You know on Monday's I get home before you do. And on Thursday, I -" Monica began to spout off her usual tangent but was cut off by a disinterested Phoebe.
"Yeah, yeah. I gotcha." Phoebe told her. "So, hi, I'm Phoebe. Monica's roommate." She said, extending her hand to Chandler.
"Chandler Bing. I'm your new neighbor."
"Great! Welcome to the building." Phoebe told him.
"Okay, thanks again for letting me use your phone Chandler. We'll be seeing ya around." Monica told him, as she grabbed onto Phoebe's arm trying to get into their apartment as fast as she could.
"No, wait!" Phoebe stopped. "Chandler, you want to come over for dinner?"
"Umm." Chandler hesitated to say yes when she saw Monica's jaw practically hit the ground in response to Phoebe's invitation.
"Come on. It'll be fun! Tell him Monica!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"Yeah, it'll be loads of fun." Monica said in a monotone voice.
"Well is seven okay?" Chandler asked.
"Seven's great! We'll see you then!"
Phoebe smiled as Chandler nodded, then headed back into his apartment. Monica, though, didn't look so happy. She slammed the door behind them and went into her bedroom. Phoebe followed her friend and was a bit concerned about her behavior.
"Monica, what's wrong? Is it that Chandler guy?"
"You could say that." Monica replied.
"Well what is it? He seemed like a nice guy."
Monica laughed. "He wants you to think that. But what he is…he's…he…."
Phoebe shook her head. "Monica…"
"In a nutshell, he was Ross's roommate in college. He came over to the house for a couple of Thanksgivings. Some things happened and that was that." Monica told her as she exited her bedroom and walked into the kitchen. Phoebe wasn't far behind.
"Some things?"
Monica frowned. "I would rather just forget it. I suppose we're going to be seeing a lot of this guy. I mean apparently he still talks to Ross and he's right across the hall. So I'll just have to deal with it."
A couple of hours later, Chandler showed up for dinner. He brought Monica and Phoebe a bottle of wine, which didn't impress Monica too much.
"Wow, nice place you got here." Chandler said as he looked around the apartment a bit.
"Thanks. We like it." Phoebe told him.
Chandler smiled. He could tell Phoebe was genuinely a nice person and someone he could consider to become a good friend. He noticed Monica standing by the stove very involved in the cooking. And the way she avoided eye contact was painfully obvious to Chandler who had to keep from laughing.
"So Monica, any chance I'll get some of your famous mac and cheese?" He laughed, trying to ease the ever so building tension.
Monica looked up at him with a serious expression on her face, but didn't bother replying. She wished he would stop bringing up Thanksgiving. She continued to stir around in the pot and glanced at Phoebe as if to sarcastically say, "Thanks so much for inviting him."
"Mac and cheese?" Phoebe laughed. "Didn't Monica tell you she's a chef? She is a little past the mac and cheese stage."
"Wow, you're a chef?" Chandler asked, somewhat surprised. He walked over toward the stove. "So what are you making over here?"
"You'll soon find out." Monica replied.
Chandler decided this was his cue to take his seat at the table. He didn't want to make Monica anymore uncomfortable, and he was feeling pretty out of place as well. Phoebe shook her head at the awkward situation and sat down next to him.
"So, Monica said you and Ross were roommates in college." Phoebe commented.
"Yeah, we were. For two years. And then he can Carol got a place together."
"And so you and Mon know each other from…"
"Ross invited me over for Thanksgiving a few years ago. And that is where I first met Monica." Chandler smiled. Monica looked up nervously from the stove.
"Well dinner is ready!" She exclaimed. She quickly brought the pot over to the table and took a seat next to Phoebe. "I hope everybody's hungry!"
"Everything looks great." Chandler told her.
"Thank you."
Phoebe looked at Monica and then at Chandler. They were both acting so odd around each other and her vibes were telling her something was most definitely going on. She couldn't put her finger on what was making Monica act so weird but she decided she would do her best to find out.
"So you guys only met that one time? I mean its so weird you even remember each other." Phoebe finally said.
"No, we met twice." Chandler told her.
"Yeah, although the first time we met I looked totally different. I mean I was so fat then." Monica told Phoebe, then looked over at Chandler. "Right Chandler?"
Chandler nearly choked on his water. He placed the glass back on the table and looked at Monica. "I wouldn't say that!"
"Oh come on! Sure you would." Monica nervously laughed. "I could barely fit through the door. I mean I was huge!"
Chandler looked uncomfortable. He smiled slightly at Phoebe, and then continued to eat his dinner.
"But then the second time you met…" Phoebe started, but was cut off by Monica.
"Pheebs, if you don't mind, could we please change the subject. How Chandler and I met is pretty irrelevant. Besides, don't you hate Thanksgiving or something Chandler?"
"Yeah, a new topic would be great." Chandler nervously agreed.
Monica just listened to Phoebe and Chandler do most of the talking during the remainder of the meal. They mainly just talked about work and of course Phoebe had to share some of her bizarre encounters, which Chandler was pretty fascinated by. He was a little uncomfortable with Monica just sitting at the table and having nothing to say. He finally opened the bottle of wine he had brought and Monica began to loosen up a bit and join in the conversation. Maybe living across from Chandler wouldn't be so bad if she stayed liquored up she joked to herself.
"Well I have to get to my appointment with my psychic." Phoebe told them after dinner. "Everything was great, Monica."
"Thanks, Phoebe. But do you really have to go to your appointment now? Its really late." Monica's eyes were begging Phoebe to stay. She could tell that Monica was feeling very anxious around Chandler.
"I can't. It's the only time she could fit me in." Phoebe grabbed her coat. "Okay, bye guys."
Monica nervously gathered all of the dishes from the table and took them over to the sink. With water running and her scrubbing on the dishes, the conversation with Chandler would have to be limited.
"Can I give you a hand?" He politely asked her.
Monica looked up from the sink and shook her head. "No, thanks."
"Your friend Phoebe is really nice." Chandler finally said.
"Yeah, she is. So you think you will get a roommate?" Monica asked.
"Maybe. I can afford the place on my own right now, but maybe down the road I'll look for one."
"So would you like some coffee or something?"
Chandler stood up from the table and walked over to the counter to stand next to Monica.
"Monica, I would really like to talk to you about….well about what happened." Chandler seriously told her.
"What is there to talk about? How is your toe, by the way?"
"Well, the nail is still gone."
"I'm sorry." Monica told him. She really was sorry. She hadn't meant to cut off his toe.
"I am fine. Look I tried to call you…for like three months."
Monica looked up at him from drying her plate. This was the first she'd heard about him trying to call her. "You did?" She tried not to sound too interested.
"Yeah. What kind of guy do you think I am?"
"I don't think you want me to answer that."
"Monica…" Chandler said, as he gently took hold of her arm and led her over to the kitchen table so they could both sit down.
"I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am." Chandler paused for a moment.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Are you serious?" Monica asked.
"Yeah."
"I'm really sorry too. I feel really bad about what happened."
Chandler placed his hand on Monica's. "Me too. I said a lot of things that I shouldn't have. And I regret that. I didn't know I wasn't going to see you again. I tried to call so I could apologize but could never reach you. After a few months I just assumed you didn't want to talk to me so I gave up. And then after that semester I lost touch with Ross for awhile too."
"I'm sorry. I was really embarrassed about it all, so that's why I never tried to call you. But I never got any messages or anything." Monica paused. "Listen, Chandler I think its best if we just forget all that and move on. You know, just start fresh or something."
"I totally agree."
"Good. Now that we seem to have this cleared up, let's just not mention it again." Monica extended her hand. "Deal?"
"Yeah. Deal." He said, shaking her hand and standing up. He walked over to the door. "Thanks for dinner tonight, it was great." He turned to leave.
"Hey Chandler." Monica called from the table.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"I'm glad we talked, Monica. I'll see you later." He smiled and then left the apartment. Monica continued to smile even after he'd left, now feeling a lot better about the fact he would be living across from her.
*******
2001
Monica and Chandler were still wrapped in each others arms enjoying the memory of his moving into the apartment building and the beginning of their friendship.
"It's a really good thing we became friends again." Chandler said, kissing the top of Monica's head.
"I know. Even though things were a little weird at first, I think we adjusted pretty well. I know I don't say it enough, but nothing meant more to me than your friendship over those years before we got together." She looked up at Chandler and smiled thinking that in just a few hours he would be her husband. She would officially be Mrs. Chandler Bing.
"I feel the same way." He replied looking deep into her eyes. "What are you thinking about?" He asked, as if he could read her mind. He stoke her cheek with the palm of his hand, then leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.
"I'm thinking about how much I love you."
"I love you too, babe." He said, squeezing her shoulders a bit, bringing her closer to his body.
"Chandler," Monica began. "We haven't really talked about what happened that Thanksgiving since…well I guess we've never really talked about it."
"I thought we had."
"Well I mean we talk about your toe. But that's about it…." Monica paused.
"You want to talk about the fight? I was kinda hoping we'd stick to that whole 'never talking about it again' agreement. I wasn't thinking straight that night and I said a lot of things that were way out of line. And I was just mad about my toe, as stupid as that may sound."
Monica put her finger up to Chandler's lips. "It's not stupid. You had every right to be upset about your toe. But I want to talk about the other thing that happened that night."
"What 'other thing'?" He asked, sitting up in bed. He was genuinely confused as to what she was referring to.
Monica took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. "This isn't easy for me."
"Mon, what is it? You know you can tell me anything." Chandler said, placing his hand on her chin and bringing it back up to make eye contact with her. When he looked into her eyes, he could see there were tears forming. "Monica?"
"You might be angry when I tell you this. But I made a promise to myself that I would tell you before the wedding…no matter what."
"Mon, you're starting to scare me. What is this about?"
"Well….when we slept together that night…." Monica started.
Chandler eyed her curiously. "Wait. What?"
"What?"
"We slept together that night?"
Monica looked at him with a confused expression on her face. "Huh?"
"You just said we slept together that night…"
"Chandler, are you saying you didn't know we had sex that night?"
Chandler jumped out of bed in complete shock at what he was hearing. "Monica I don't remember anything about sleeping with you!"
"Are you kidding me? Then why were you apologizing that night after you first moved in?"
"For all of the mean things I said to you! Oh my God, Monica. I can't believe I don't remember sleeping with you. I mean I was on the pain medication the hospital gave me. I only remember bits and pieces of our argument and that's all."
"That's the reason I was so embarrassed when you first moved in. I can't believe you don't remember."
"Why didn't you mention it before now?!" He wanted to know, rasing his voice a little.
"Hey, don't yell at me! I thought you knew and didn't want to talk about it anymore than I did! I mean you were always talking about our 'first time' in London, I just assumed you wanted to erase what happened back then, so I was willing to go along with that. I didn't know you had no clue!"
"I'm sorry. God, this is just unbelievable." He sat back down on the edge of the bed, still shocked by the turn of events. He had been with Monica before their night together in London and he couldn't even remember it! He suddenly felt like an utter and complete jerk, and turned to Monica, who had inched closer to him. "Please tell me I didn't do anything stupid. I mean I didn't hurt you, did I?"
Monica put her hand to his cheek. "No, honey, you didn't hurt me."
"I just wish I could remember what happened." He sulked, crawling back into bed. "I mean I would like to know about our first time together."
That's the end of Part 1. Please review and thanks for reading. I'll have Part 2 up shortly.