Second to the last chapter...


Sunday

He waited for her at the doorstep, ignoring the coldness of the weather seeping through his one-layered coat. Rachel went out, wearing a thicker jacket and a pair of boots.

"Where are we going?" she asked. She couldn't help but wonder why he was there when he was just with Sarah a few hours before. She expected him to be with her…

"A walk in the park," he replied, breaking her trail of thought.

"Oh," she remarked, knowing where they were headed to… the infamous willow tree.

They sat down next to each other and looked up the sky. It was just something they were used to doing. The quietness of the surroundings was deafening, more so Ross', not saying a single word since he told her where they were headed to.

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Ross?" she asked, finally ending the peaceful stillness between them.

Ross looked at the beautiful woman beside him, "I'm amazed at how a week can change everything."

"What do you mean?" she confusedly asked him.

"A week ago," he started playing with the patch of grass in front of him, "I kept asking myself how I can go about seeing you with someone else by my side. I didn't think I'd have the guts…"

She kept silent, listening to him.

After a deep sigh, he finally looked at her, "Are you over me?"

Taken off-guard, she squinted and asked him, "What?"

"Are you over me?" he sternly repeated.

"Ross I… I-" her words were stuttering out of her mouth.

"Rach, I want the truth."

She couldn't respond to his question.

Ross saw her surprised and confused look, "I'm sorry. It's just that- I don't know. This whole week made me think of you, of how we were… of how we are… and I finally realized that it's time to move on... but before I do," he intently gazed at her, "I wanna make sure that it's the right thing to do."

Rachel couldn't respond still. How coincidental that she kept asking herself that all week long… all she could do was to gaze back at him, trying to find the answer they both wanted… and needed.

Breaking their moment, Ross looked away. His mouth suddenly mumbled out another question Rachel almost couldn't understand, "Have you forgiven me for cheating on you?"

Rachel cleared her throat, it was getting dry. Her heartbeat was going faster and faster, "Ross…"

"Please just tell me the truth. I want answers that will help me understand what I should do with my life…Rach."

He paused and repeated his question in a braver tone, "Have you forgiven me?"

"I have," she softly replied, almost like a whisper.

Ross nodded his head and looked up the sky again. Shaking off the atmosphere of the conversation, as well as the weather, he nervously laughed, "You know what? I never thought I could imagine my life without you."

"Can you imagine that now?" Rachel wondered, looking at him.

"I think I can," he looked at her, "but I don't know if I should."

"Don't you think you'd be happier if you did?"

"I don't know, Rach… I haven't been so far."

They remained silent. Neither of them talked…

Rachel sat up a few minutes later. After much deliberation on the situation, she called his attention at last and retorted, "You know what Ross? Yeah, I'm over you."

Without looking at her, Ross nodded, "Okay."

She just watched him and waited for more words to come from his mouth… but nothing did. 'That was it?' she asked herself, 'that was the end of our conversation?'

"Is that all you're gonna say? You just opened up some wound that I've-"

Suddenly, Ross sat up and kissed her passionately on the lips, leaving her breathless and yearning for more. As he pulled apart from her, he found her dreamy eyes slowly opening only to gaze at him again. He understood her plea and kissed her once more, overpowered by the feeling they had for one another. It just felt so right, so genuine, so… real.

He broke it and calmly asked, "Are you over me?"

Rachel backed away and stood up, upset. "I already told you," she softly said then paused. "What are you trying to do?" her voice became louder.

"Answer it again. I want to move on, Rachel, so tell me the truth," he demanded, standing up as well.

She couldn't answer back… tears started to stream down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them away.

"Tell me the truth!" he screamed!

"I'm NOT over you, okay?" she finally confessed, "Was that what you wanted to hear?"

Ross just looked at her.

"What do you want from me, Ross?" she screamed at him.

"Do you still love me?" he firmly asked.

Rachel kept silent; she wanted to run away. An hour ago, she was feeling so confident that she could live once more without Ross… that she could move on. Then here he was again, making her feel so weak, opening up a box of feelings she buried months ago. Her tears continued to flow even if she kept wiping them.

Before she could say anything else, Ross approached her, cupped her face and gently kissed her, putting his arms around her waist.

She, in response, wrapped her arms around his neck.

They didn't pull apart after their long engagement.

And when she did, she looked up at him with her arms still there, keeping him close to her.

"I do," she whispered.

"Well I do too," he tenderly whispered, "and I don't want to waste something too special, Rach."

Moved by his sweet words, she traced his lips with her fingers and felt their softness, "I don't want either of us to get hurt anymore."

"Can we work things out?"

"We didn't, Ross. With us, it's not easy," her tone was filled with seriousness.

Ross nodded and sadly smiled, "I thought you'd think otherwise." He released his grip around her waist and sat on the ground, putting his head into his hands and wiping his tears that formed at the corner of his eyes. He didn't know what to think or feel anymore. He thought she'd say they could… but then again…

"I thought of you this whole week too, Ross," she said, sitting in front of him, and cutting his remorseful trail of thought.

"That's nice to hear," he responded, trying to avoid the sight of her beauty.

"I realized how crazy we were," she chuckled.

Ross looked at her with his puffy eyes and smiled sadly. "I know…" he replied, once again looking down at the ground.

"I wanna start making the right choices now, Ross," she softly spoke.

He bobbed his head, "I respect that."

"And I wanna make them with you."

He grinned upon hearing the words that came out of her mouth, "What do you mean?"

"I mean let's straighten things out… let's start all over again," she cupped his face to make him look at her.

"Are you sure?"

"Don't you want to?"

"I do, but…"

"But what?"

"But you said it isn't easy and-"

"Honey, I didn't say we can't work things out!"

"Oh," he smiled, feeling his cheeks turn red.

He nodded and gazed at Rachel. Filled with unexplainable happiness, Ross kissed her, which she gladly replied to.

Under the tree, they enjoyed every moment thereupon, just like the old days…

It didn't take long for them to yearn for more… when Ross moved down from kissing her lips to her chest, their passion was already uncontrollable. Naturally, they would end up going up to Ross' place. But with the uncertainty of Chandler and Monica's presence there, they decided to go to Rachel's.

"Honey," Rachel managed to say.

He understood her plea, "Your place."

Within seconds, they were up on their feet, heading towards Rachel's apartment in the cold night.

As soon as they reached her room, Ross removed her coat, lifted her dress and threw it out of the way- only to see her in a thong. Seeing her naked was one of the things he missed the most. It was as if he claimed ownership of her whenever she was undressed in front of him…. as if he was the only one who had the right to see her naked.

She, on the other hand, quickly unzipped his pants and took off his shirt, wrapping her arms around his neck while kissing his chest.

Their sexual desire for one other was indescribable. She wanted to have him inside of her as soon as possible and feel every bit of his thrusts… but Ross wasn't that kind of 'lover.'

He wanted to take things slow. He made sure every moment wasn't spent without pleasure and satisfaction. Not unless they were short of time, the act of making love was never rushed… but enjoyed.

What set him different from other men was that he didn't make Rachel feel like an object. He made her feel like the most fragile entity in the planet, even during sex, he made her feel his love that flowed between them.

"Honey," she whimpered, straddling her legs around his waist as he made out with her against the wall.

"Mmm?" Ross replied, carrying her by her ass.

He started kissing her neck, then her chest. Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and squealed as she felt him tickle her, "Stop!" Ross looked up and smiled… he couldn't explain how he felt. his heart wanted to explode with victory… for so long he wanted her, and now that he had her in his arms, he wanted to cry.

"I love you," she told him.

He smiled, "I love you too."

"Why's that?" she decided to ask.

"Cause of so many reasons this world can't explain."

She arched her eyebrow, then caressed his face and kissed his nose, "I love you because you're Ross Geller."

He grinned, overwhelmed with her reply.

"We're getting corny honey," she said, though truthfully, she accepted him for who he was, is and will be.

"And horny," he added.

Ross reached for her lips and carried her to the bed, situating himself above her. But before everything else, he whispered to her ear, "This time, I'm never letting you go again…"

Slowly, they made love to each other all night long…



Okay, one more to go. Thanks for all your motivating reviews!

Someone asked what season this fic is, it's set in college :)