The past two days Chandler has been avoiding being alone with Monica and she was starting to miss him. Technically she saw him when they were with the others, but he barely looked at her. She missed being in his arms, she missed his lips, his eyes looking into hers, and his smile. It never occurred to her how much she needed him next to her until now. However, most of his time was being taken up by the recent edition of a chick and duck in the apartment, but it was an obvious excuse.
During work, Monica decided that today she would try and talk to him about what had happened. At first, she just wanted to give him space, but she couldn't take another night without him. She wiped down the counters, checking the clock just waiting for her shift to end. It was the time he usually came in for his lunch. Monica looked at the doors, half expecting him to come into the diner while also trying not to give her hopes up.
Just when she went back to cleaning the counters, Pete entered the diner, sitting in his usual spot in front of Monica with a grin. "You seem cheery today," he said sarcastically, noticing her closed-off demeanor.
Monica glanced up at him, unimpressed with his joke as she continued to work. The last person she wanted to see was now in front of her, staring as if she was a fish in an aquarium. Monica grabbed the full tub of dishes and took them back to the kitchen to be cleaned, hoping he would be gone by the time she got back. It was wishful thinking though because he was still sitting there, waiting for her. "Are you going to order something?" Monica asked, leaning on the counter.
"Where's your boyfriend?" He scanned the restaurant for a sign of Chandler.
The question made her eyes roll. After everything Pete had done, she just couldn't take any more of him. "If it was your goal to break us up, you failed." Monica continued working, getting coffee for another customer, but she felt his eyes on her. "Honestly, you had no right to go to Chandler's work and fill his head with over exaggerations. I never said I was embarrassed by him," her actions became more aggressive as she became more aggravated, slamming the coffee pot down.
Pete's grin only grew wider, enjoying the frustration that was growing in her. "I was there for a meeting, I didn't know that's where he worked until I got there. Plus what I said is true, even if you don't want to admit it," he shrugged nonchalantly.
She closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath to calm herself. It was obvious that Pete was only trying to make her upset and she refused to give him that kind of satisfaction. "It's not your business," Monica told him in the calmest tone she could muster.
The bell above the diner door rang when Chandler walked inside. He heard the clanking of dishes and conversations of customers while walking through to get to the countertop area where Monica usually worked. The past two days he's spent thinking about their relationship and where it was going. Normally after a fight, the relationships he's been in ended, but he hoped that Monica would talk with him about this. He's never been in a relationship this serious before and he certainly didn't want it to end now. Chandler stood behind the row of bar stools when he recognized the voice of the man sitting in front of him, talking to his girlfriend. "Seriously?" His head tilted as he asked in disbelief. The frustration he's felt for the last couple of days was rising in him again. Pete spun the stool around to face him and everything was coming to him at once. This was a man who has harassed Monica at work, kissed her while knowing she was with him, caused him to doubt their relationship. Without thinking, he threw a punch, hitting him in the nose. Chandler immediately recoiled, cradling his hand. "That was a bad idea," he muttered as pain shot through his hand.
"Oh my God," Monica exclaimed, half impressed. Everything happened so quickly, Pete tilted his head back, holding his now bleeding nose, her manager came over, telling Chandler to leave, all while she grabbed ice for his hand. Monica went over to him and grabbed his hand to put ice over his knuckles that were starting to bruise. She told her boss that she could take care of the situation, reassuring him that there wouldn't be any more violence. Once the manager left her to deal with it, she turned to Chandler and stroked his cheek with her thumb. "What were you thinking," she asked him with a slight chuckle in her tone.
"I wasn't really," he muttered, looking over at Pete who was still trying to stop his nose from bleeding. Chandler has never been in a real fight before, nor was he one to resort to violence when he was mad. That was the first punch he's thrown that had a person at the other end of it. He regretted it immediately, especially because Pete was bigger than he was and could take him out with less than a simple punch. "I'm sorry, that was really stupid," Chandler looked down at the ice covering his fingers.
Pete grabbed a napkin and held his nose, "that was a good hit." It was surprising to him that Chandler hadn't done this earlier. Not that he enjoyed being punched in the face, but he understood why he did it. The attempts of breaking them up weren't stubble at all, he didn't blame Chandler for snapping.
When Pete stood from his seat, coming closer to Chandler, he flinched expecting a hit, but it didn't come. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me. But can you just…" he paused trying to look for the right words, 'fuck off'? 'Go away? 'Leave'? 'All of the above?
"Yeah," Pete looked down as he folded his bloody napkin in an attempt to get a clean corner. "I get it." He looked up at Monica, watching her hold Chandler's hurt hand while she inspected it, kissing his knuckles gently. She looked up at his face, noticing the tears that were fighting to escape Chandler's eyes. Pete stood there and watched as she kissed his cheek and then his temple. "I didn't think Chandler had it in him to fight for you like that," he admitted. "I'm sorry, for well, everything." He glanced over at Chandler who looked like he wanted to punch him again. "Don't let her go, what you guys have is special I can tell."
Chandler wrapped his better arm around her waist, holding her protectively. "Don't plan on it," he said simply as he eyed the other. It was hard to tell if he was being sincere or if he was planning on another attempt in breaking them apart.
Pete looked between the both of them, Chandler with an intense glare while Monica barely paid any attention to him, still focusing on Chandler's bruising hand. He took it as a sign to just leave so he glanced at Monica one last time before leaving the diner with no plan on returning.
"Are you okay?" Monica asked him when she knew their one-man audience had gone.
"I'm fine, I've never punched anyone that's all," he said softly, holding the ice to his hand. "Not my smartest move," Chandler forced a chuckle. He moved backward as Monica pushed him to one of the stools, encouraging him to sit down. "Mon, I'm fine. Really." He watched as she wrote down something and gave it to the kitchen through the order window. She told her manager something before sitting on the stool next to him. "What was that about?"
"Taking my break" she muttered, grabbing his hand to inspect it. "I ordered a cheeseburger with curly fries and a chocolate milkshake for you" Monica smiled slightly, knowing it was his favorite thing at the diner. A silence fell between the couple while she looked at his fingers. There was only some faint bruising that she was sure would get worse by tomorrow and a small break of skin on a few fingers. She's spent more than enough time staring at his wound, but she was mostly just in shock. It hurt for her to say, but she agreed with Pete. She never expected Chandler to fight for her this way because he was never very physically aggressive. It just wasn't in his nature.
When Monica ran her fingertips across his knuckles, he flinched slightly and she smiled apologetically. Chandler took it upon himself to break the silence first since he did come here to talk to her. "I've been thinking a lot the past few days about us. And I'm not going to lie to you, it hurt when I heard that you know, you're embarrassed about our relationship. I think what we have is really great. Or is that just me?"
"No," Monica interrupted as she put her hand on his arm. "It's not just you. This is the best relationship I've ever been in. When I'm with you, I'm comfortable. I just feel like I can be myself, you know? Every time I date a guy I feel like I have to put up this wall and hide the worst parts about myself, but with you, I can just…be me," she shrugged. "If you want to tell people then let's just do it and get it over with. Whatever you want to do."
A waitress set his chocolate milkshake down in front of him and walked away. Chandler only glanced at the drink before shaking his head. "I don't want to tell anyone yet because I think we're benefiting from keeping it to ourselves. I thought that's what we were both doing. Y'know, finding the relationship footing first."
"That's part of it. I'm enjoying focusing on us. There are a lot of reasons why I don't want to tell anyone yet. For now, we can just agree that we're not saying anything and we can work out the details when I'm not at work with my manager staring at me while he waits for me to get off my break. Does that sound okay?" Monica asked him, hopeful for this fight to be over. It wasn't a big fight, he just needed reassurance and she was happy to give it when she had more time. "I've just missed you so much the past few days and I don't want you to have any doubts." She gently moved her thumb across his arm and she took his uninjured hand in hers.
Chandler smiled slightly at the physical affection that he had missed more than he was willing to say. "Yeah, that sounds good. We can talk later." He moved the milkshake closer and took a sip through the large red straw. "So good, it's just frozen chocolate milk," he hummed happily, eating the cherry that was on top. The waitress brought over the plate of food, setting it on the counter before walking away. Chandler grabbed one of the curly fries and offered it to Monica, his arm outstretched towards her.
"Thank you," she giggled as she took the french fry. "You're sweet."
"Sweet as a chocolate milkshake?" He smirked slightly, taking another sip.
Monica took a bite of the french fry, watching him with a smile. Two days wasn't long, but without Chandler, it felt like a lifetime to her. "Sweeter." She grabbed onto Chandler's shirt and pulled him closer into a kiss. It was a mystery to her how she went so long without kissing his soft lips. Not just the two days, but the years of friendship they had. Now that she had him here, she never wanted it to stop. Monica opened her mouth, allowing him to deepen the kiss which he took without hesitation and she could taste the chocolate off his tongue. His hand moved to the back of her neck and he pulled her closer. She slid off the stool, moving in between his legs without breaking the kiss. Monica could tell that he missed her too. They both missed this.
The manager watched them and cleared his throat, forcing them apart. Chandler kept his eyes on Monica as she looked down at her feet, fixing her uniform. The big breast, blonde wig character she was forced to play looked hot on her, but he preferred her without it. Chandler wrapped his legs around hers, trapping her in front of him. "Can we continue that later too?"
"Definitely," she murmured, looking down at his lips. Monica smiled when she noticed the lipstick that was now on his lips because of her. She grabbed a napkin and gently wiped his lips as clean as she could. "Eat your food, go to work then meet me at the coffee house when you get off." Monica gave him the napkin by putting it on his chest and he quickly put his hand over hers to keep it there.
"Okay," he agreed with her instructions as they both stared into each other's eyes. It was hard for him not to get lost in her crystal blue eyes. "You should probably go back to work, I'd hate to get you in trouble," Chandler told her, without letting her go from his grasp.
Monica couldn't help but smile at the sentiment. It was bold of him to say after he punched a customer and stuck his tongue down her throat while her boss was watching them. It was a miracle she hadn't been fired already. "You're so thoughtful," she said sarcastically.
"I know, you're lucky to have a boyfriend as thoughtful as me," Chandler quipped back as he released her. He kept his eyes on her smile, watching her walk back to her post behind the counter. Making her laugh was his favorite thing to do. He's noticed since they started dating that most of his jokes were just to see her smile, and it worked every time…almost. The rest of his lunch break was spent eating and watching his girlfriend run back and forth between customers. It almost hurts to see a chef as talented as her, get burnt out at a place like this. It wasn't long until Rachel sat next to him, telling him about how her day at work was so far. Of course, Chandler listened to her, even when his mind was on the waitress walking around them.
–
In the coffee shop that night, Chandler went there as they had planned, but the majority of the group was already there. It seemed like they wouldn't be able to talk just yet. He sat on the couch next to Ross and his new girlfriend Bonnie as they all greeted each other. Chandler put his arm on the back of the couch not thinking much of it till Ross grabbed his hand and pulled on his arm.
"Oh my God! What happened to you?" Ross looked at his bruised knuckles. "Did you punch something?"
Chandler looked around at everyone who had their eyes on him, waiting for an answer besides Monica who was hiding her smile behind her coffee mug. "Uh, yeah. I punched a door because I was mad." The rest of them stared at him, expecting him to elaborate. "At…my coworker who drank the last of the coffee in the breakroom." Chandler furrowed his eyebrows slightly, confused by his own story.
"You punched a door over coffee?" Rachel asked from the counter.
"Yeah, is that a problem?" Chandler challenged, sticking with the horrible lie since he couldn't think of anything else.
"I'll never understand men," she muttered, continuing to wipe the counter down.
The subject quickly changed when Bonnie started talking about her sexual experiences under Joey's request to hear her stories. They sat there for almost an hour listening to her. Chandler almost didn't believe the number of sex anecdotes one person could have. Bonnie's relationship history was interrupted when Phoebe rushed into the coffee shop, holding the photo from her parent's yearbook in her hand. "Guys, I found her! The girl in the picture, I looked her up and her name is Phoebe just like mine!" She jumped excitedly and handed the photo to Chandler. "She lives out by the beach so I was thinking we could all go, y'know for the weekend and maybe she has stories about my parents."
Everyone in the group agreed to go and not only for moral support but also for some time at the beach. Monica glanced over at Chandler, seeing this as an opportunity for them to have time together on a weekend away. She wondered what the sleeping arrangements were going to be, trying to think of a way for them to somehow get privacy.
"Okay great! We can drive up tomorrow in my grandmother's cab. This is so exciting! Thank you guys," Phoebe smiled at the group, happy to have the support of her friends.
The couple didn't get to talk like they planned. Now that the group was leaving town the next day, they had to spend the night getting packed, and for Monica that took hours of planning. Chandler wondered how the weekend was going to be if they weren't able to talk about what was on his mind. Just because he wasn't mad anymore, doesn't mean he wasn't curious. He wondered why Monica was embarrassed by him, was it about his personality or his looks? Or maybe both? The question kept him up for most of the night and most of the morning the next day.
Chandler looked around the street, checking to make sure no one was around before he turned to his girlfriend, sitting across from him. "So, why are you embarrassed to tell them?" He prompted while they waited for Phoebe to pick them up.
"Do you want to get into this now?" Monica bit the inside of her cheek as she picked at her jeans. "We're about to be in a car with all of our friends and this isn't a two-minute conversation," she muttered. She didn't want to tell him. Especially not before a weekend away with the group. This conversation was inevitable of course, but it could last for hours.
He shifted in his seat, leaning on the table. "It could be. I'm just curious. Is it all of my jokes? Or is it because they don't think I'm going to get married?" Chandler bit his tongue, hoping she wouldn't read into that too much for his own sake.
Just before she could answer, Joey came around the corner with his paper bag of luggage. A second later Phoebe drove up in her cab with Ross and Monica smiled at Chandler apologetically. Though she wasn't too sorry, the longer she could delay this conversation the better. Rachel was the last to show up and they piled into the car, although not before Chandler made comments about her comically large hat.
During the drive, everyone was squished together in the back except for Phoebe and Ross who was sitting in the front. Monica was on Chandler's lap with his arm around her waist as a weak seat belt since there wasn't one. No one questioned their closeness, mostly because they were thankful she wasn't on top of them. When they stopped at a gas station everyone got out just to have a moment of not being crowded, Chandler noticed Monica had fallen asleep. He waited until everyone was inside the convenience store and gently kissed her jaw. She hummed, shifting her weight as she woke up, "what are you doing?" Monica mumbled, curling up into his lap.
"Everyone went in for a snack if you want to get something," he offered. She only hummed in response, still in the middle of waking up fully. Chandler ran his fingers through her hair, making her relax against his body more. "Are you really this tired?"
"My boyfriend kept me up late last night," she smiled slightly. "Plus, you're just really comfortable and you smell nice," Monica buried her face in the crook of his neck, looking for warmth. "How long until we get to the house?"
"About an hour and a half," he muttered, kissing the side of her head. "Are you sure you don't want anything? I can go get it for you." Chandler offered again, moving his hand up and down her thighs as he watched her.
She shook her head slightly with a small sigh, "no I'm okay. Thank you though." Monica kissed his jaw and wrapped her arms around him. They stayed there together, just cuddling in the car while waiting for everyone to come back. Being in Chandler's arms felt so safe for her. It was easy for her to just relax and be secure with him. Monica was more awake now, but she wanted to stay, just resting against him while he was playing with her hair. She closed her eyes, pretending to sleep for the sake of keeping their secret.
Joey opened the door and got in first, holding a Toblerone bar in his hand while sliding into the backseat. "Look what I got," he smiled at Chandler, waving the box of chocolate.
"That's great Joe," he said with a half-smile.
Joey moved closer to the couple as Rachel got in the car next to him. He looked over at Monica, cuddled up on Chandler's lap with her face hidden in his neck. "Is she okay?"
"Huh?" Chandler looked at his friend and then at his girlfriend. "Oh, yeah she's just tired. She said she was up late last night or something," he shrugged.
The rest of the drive was uneventful besides the fact that it started to rain. When they got up to the house, the first thing they noticed was how the entire floor was covered like a sandbox. Being trapped in a sandy house on a rainy day wasn't as entertaining as everyone hoped. Monica was getting her nails painted while she kept her eyes on her boyfriend making sandcastles.
After Phoebe came back from meeting her mother, Chandler got to decide what they did the rest of the day. There weren't a lot of options so he said what Joey had suggested earlier. "We all have to play strip poker?" He said with uncertainty. No one in the group wanted to play, he certainly didn't like the thought of stripping in front of everyone. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.
–
When no one could find cards, they all settled for a strip Happy Days game instead. Most people were targeting Joey since it was his idea, but when Chandler got five points he took the opportunity to mess with his girlfriend. She wasn't wearing shoes or socks so whatever she decided to take off, it would be good. "Monica, it's your turn to strip," he smiled innocently at her. Joey cheered at his decision while the woman just rolled her eyes, taking her pants off. It wasn't anything he hadn't seen before, but Chandler loved seeing her legs.
The game continued and Joey ended up completely naked while the majority were fully clothed. Rachel got up to make more margaritas and Monica followed her to the kitchen. Chandler wasn't able to resist checking out Monica's bare legs while she walked past. He stared at her smooth skin standing by the island and could tell she knew his eyes were on her.
"Chandler," Ross glared across the table. "What are you doing?"
He spun back around in his chair, looking at his friend innocently "What? Nothing." Chandler looked down at the board to seem more invested in the game. He started to organize the pile of discarded cards, trying to ignore Ross's intense stare. Maybe checking out Monica in front of her brother wasn't the smartest idea. Chandler was saved the moment Bonnie came through the house doors, taking the unwanted attention off of him.
—
The game was over pretty quickly after Bonnie started to lose on purpose for an excuse to take off her clothes. There was another hour of just drinking until one by one everyone except Joey went up to their rooms. Monica walked up the steps behind Chandler and took his hand when she knew they were alone. He smiled slightly at the contact, gently pulling her up to his room. Chandler pulled on her hand to the bed where she fell on top of him with a light chuckle. "I saw you checking me out during the game," she whispered.
"Did you? I thought I was being stubble."
Monica hid her face in his shoulder as she laughed at the obvious lie. "Ross looked like he was going to kill you…"
He wrapped his arms around her waist, "I'm sure he will when he finds out. I feel kind of bad about lying to him. There are rules y'know? Dating your best friend's sister is supposed to be off-limits. I'm crossing a line."
"I thought Joey was your best friend," she muttered. His serious tone worried her about where he was going with this.
"I can have more than one," he defended. "I'm just saying, he's going to be pissed when he finds out. You don't feel guilty at all about lying to him?"
Monica thought about his question for a moment before shaking her head. "No. It's our relationship, not his." She sat up slightly to look at him properly. "I understand why you feel bad, but I'm not just his sister. I'm my own person and I can date who I want." Monica stroked his cheek, leaned down, and gently pressed a kiss to his lips. "If he has that big of a problem then he's just going to have to get used to it because I don't want to lose this because of him."
"I don't want to lose this either," he gently tucked the hair on her face behind her ear. "Even though my girlfriend is embarrassed about me," Chandler teased with a smile.
Monica laid her head on his chest again. "You're never letting that go are you?"
"Not until I know why. I'm just curious…I promise I won't be upset," he said, hoping it would reassure her into telling. Chandler could tell how tense her body had become and how uncomfortable she looked so he decided to drop it. "But we don't have to talk about that now."
"Thank you," she relaxed into his body and played with the collar of his white button-up.
—
The couple laid there together for a while talking about Rachel flirting with Ross all day, Phoebe's situation with her mother, and other random topics that came to mind. Monica didn't mean to fall asleep in his room, but she slept in the comfort of his arms all night. She shifted closer into his embrace, waking up to him kissing her forehead. "Good morning," she said, keeping her eyes closed.
"Morning," Chandler continued, kissing down to her jaw. "Did you sleep okay?"
"Yeah," Monica looked up at him, wondering how long he's been awake. "I had a dream about you." She turned onto her stomach, laying on top of his chest. "We were dancing in this really beautiful ballroom and you were wearing a handsome tux."
He started to play with her fingers absentmindedly while he listened. "You know I'm not a dancer right?"
"I know," she giggled, remembering his horrible dancing skills. "But you took lessons for me. At least that's what you said."
Chandler hummed in thought, "I don't know about dancing in a ballroom, but we could go down to the beach. I think the rain stopped."
"Oh, I like that idea," Monica got out of bed while he sat on the edge of it. "I'm going to get ready and we can just meet downstairs."
"Okay," he grabbed her hand and pulled her into a kiss before letting her go. Chandler watched her leave and put on his shorts and a yellow Hawaiian shirt. He didn't plan on getting in the water but grabbed a towel to sit on. When he got downstairs, Monica wasn't there yet so he sat at the table with Joey eating his breakfast.
Joey shoved a spoonful of cereal into his mouth, looking at Chandler's outfit."Where are you going?"
"Monica and I are going down to the beach," he immediately regretted telling him when he saw Joey's eyes light up.
"I wanna go! I'll go get dressed," Joey quickly got out of his chair, racing upstairs to change.
–
The three of them walked down to the beach then laid their towels out to sit on while Joey took his shovel a few feet away. Chandler laid out, propping his arms upon his palms while he looked out at the water. "Chandler, can you help me?" He heard his girlfriend next to him, taking off her shirt that revealed her red bikini top. Monica held out a bottle of sunscreen to him and laid down on her stomach once he took the bottle from her. Chandler moved closer to her then put some lotion on his hand. He started to massage the lotion onto her skin, trying to ignore her quiet groans of pleasure. "Do you have to make those noises?"
"It's not my fault you give nice massages," she mumbled, laying her head down on her hands. Monica's eyes closed when she felt his fingers gently knead into her muscles. With the sounds of the waves, Chandler rubbing the tension from her shoulders, and the smell of the salty ocean air, she almost fell asleep there on her towel. The second his hands pulled away, she turned around in protest. "Why did you stop?"
"Joey was looking at us," he said quietly, moving back to his towel. "It looks like he's digging something…'' Both of them looked over at their friend who went back to digging in the sand with his shovel.
Monica moved to lay on her back to sunbathe. "You give great massages. Can you give me a proper one later when we don't have an audience?"
"Of course," Chandler laid next to her on his towel. They took a few minutes just to enjoy the waves and the breeze. The silence between them made Chandler's mind wander into ways he could get her to confess. "If there was a nuclear holocaust and it was just the six of us left, would you tell them about us?"
Monica moved up to her elbows with a sigh, "how did we survive a nuclear holocaust?"
He groaned, knowing she was still trying to avoid the conversation. "Come on, I won't be upset whatever it is, I'm just curious." Just as she was going to answer, Joey called them over, standing in the hole he had dug. He smiled up at the pair, smiling proudly at his creation. "Excellent hole Joe…" Chandler muttered.
A wave came, filling the hole with water and Chandler grabbed Monica's arm, pulling her away from the water. She stumbled at his tug, crashing into his chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her away from the water. Monica looked up at him, "what was that for?"
"I read that some jellyfish get washed up onshore and they can still sting you. Just wouldn't want you to get hurt that's all" he whispered to her.
Monica wrapped her arms around his neck, "my hero," she said sarcastically. She gently wiped the sand off of his forehead, staring into his eyes. Becoming lost in his gaze, she was tempted to close the small gap between them. Just as she was about to lean in to kiss him, Joey brought her back down to reality.
"My hole is ruined! There's no point in staying, I'm going back to the house. You guys coming?" Joey climbed out of the hole he dug and swept his clothes free of sand.
"Actually, I think we're going to stay here for a bit," Monica grabbed Chandler's hand and held it behind her back so Joey wouldn't notice. "But, we'll be back before we have to go back to the city," she smiled innocently.
Joey looked between them then shrugged. "Okay. See ya later then." He grabbed his shovel and walked up the beach towards the house.
The moment he was out of sight, Monica turned on the balls of her feet and crashed her lips to Chandler's. Like instinct, he kissed her back just as another wave crashed to shore, the water covering their feet. She jumped back a little at the cold water on her skin, giggling when Chandler pulled her back against him. He lifted her into the air and Monica wrapped her legs around his waist, resting her forehead on his. Chandler connected their lips again sweetly, holding her up to protect her from the waves. He walked back to their towels and put her down then laid out on his towel.
Monica sat next to him, laying her feet out in the warm sand, "I brought something for you." She reached over and grabbed her bag and took out a Tupperware container. "I snuck this out, I thought a real picnic would be kinda suspicious." She opened the container full of strawberries and noticed his unimpressed expression. "It's not much is it?"
"No, it's great," he put on a grin. "Thank you for this delicious fruit, Mon. It's a great source of vitamin C and good for blood sugar control," he said with a hint of mockery in his tone.
Monica shoved his shoulder as he snickered at himself. "If you don't like it, then you don't get my strawberries." She started to close the Tupperware until Chandler quickly put his over it to stop her.
"Wait, I'm getting hungry…" he muttered with innocent eyes. When she put the lid back down he grabbed one of the strawberries and took a bite with a satisfied hum, "so good." He grabbed a second one and held it out for her. Monica smiled before eating the berry.
They shared the whole container between each other, just enjoying the sound of the waves and the slight breeze around them. Chandler insisted on feeding her each time just to watch her delicately bite into the fruit. He leaned into her and smoothly licked her chin clean of the juice that streamed down her skin. Monica captured his lips with hers in a slow deep kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "How did you get to be so cute," she murmured.
Chandler's cheeks flushed slightly at the compliment. "Let's see, my Grandfather was Swedish and my Grandmother was a tiny little bunny."
She chuckled, pulling him closer, "okay now you're even cuter!" It seemed too soon to tell him how much she was falling in love with him, especially because she didn't want to scare him off. But she seemed to be falling harder for him every day. She hoped he felt the same way, that maybe he would even say it first. Monica grabbed the last strawberry and held it in front of him as an offering.
He took a bite of the sweet fruit and watched her eat the rest of it. "We should come here more often."
"Just the two of us?" Monica started to fiddle with his shirt.
"Just the two of us," he confirmed. "We could watch the sunset and bring a real picnic," he teased. She rolled her eyes, turning away from him and Chandler quickly grabbed her hand. "Wait, don't go."
Monica laughed at how clingy he was being while putting the empty Tupperware back in her bag. "I think we should go back to the house. We're supposed to be going back to the city soon." She picked up her towel and started to fold it when she noticed the look of disappointment on his face. Monica knelt next to him just to give him something to look forward to, she grabbed the hair on the back of his neck, pulling his head back to face her properly. She kissed him slowly, listening to the moan escape from the back of his throat. When she pulled away, Chandler tried to lean into her lips again, but Monica put a hand over his mouth. "We can continue back at the apartment," she whispered.
"Okay," he muttered into her hand, completely mesmerized by her. There was a slight pout in his eyes, begging for her to let him kiss her again. But Monica only grabbed her bag, then her towel, and started to walk back to the house. Chandler watched her walk, just admiring her for a brief moment before grabbing his towel and running to catch up with her.
—
At some point, while they were at the beach, Ross and Rachel got back together so Chandler had to go to the coffee house with the guys to talk about it while Monica talked with the girls. All he could think about was that kiss on the beach and what Monica could've meant by continuing at the apartment. The drama between their friends wasn't as interesting as what he was imagining. Listening to Ross talk about a letter and being on a break was getting on his nerves. He knew wasn't a relationship expert by any means, but he didn't understand how Ross could be hung up on technicalities. In his opinion, Ross should be lucky that Rachel is willing to forgive him in the first place. However, his advice seemed to go one ear and out the other because later that same day, the couple broke up again.
As the night winded down after Ross had left in a tirade, Rachel just wanted to be alone in her room which was understandable. Chandler sat across from Monica just playing cards with her, but he forgot what game they were playing a long time ago.
Monica smiled triumphantly as she placed her hand of cards down on the table, "Gin."
"We were playing Gin?" Chandler glanced at his cards as she rolled her eyes at him. "Y'know, if we told people about us, we could play this game naked," he tossed his card onto the table.
She grabbed the cards, organizing them in a neat pile. "Would you stop?" Monica shook her head slightly with a smile. It wasn't hard to miss the small shrug of his shoulders as he sipped his Yoohoo. Monica looked behind her to make sure Rachel wasn't coming out of her room and she sighed, looking back at him. "Alright," she sighed. This conversation seemed unavoidable at this point, she might as well get it over with. "I'm not embarrassed per se. I mean, it's a strong word. I would say I'm more…self-conscious."
Chandler grabbed her hands, holding them in his. "Can I ask why? Not to pry, but I just want to know where you're at so I can meet you in the middle, or close to it," he chuckled nervously.
It was a reasonable request that she couldn't argue with. She just hoped he wouldn't be mad. "Well, you know our friends. They pick apart the people we date all the time. We do it too so I don't blame them, but it's a lot of pressure. All of them seem to have this idea that you're not boyfriend material and I just don't want to hear about it when they find out about us." He pulled his hands away from hers, leaning back in his chair as he listened to her. Monica quickly got up, going to his side of the table and taking his face in her hands as she straddled his thighs. "I know they're wrong, this was the best relationship I've ever been in. Please don't believe anything else because I don't want to lose what we have over their stupid opinions." The silence between them was growing and she became more worried about what he was thinking.
"Is this relationship better than what you had with Richard?" Chandler asked, breaking the tension.
Monica's shoulders slumped, letting out a sigh of relief that he didn't seem upset. "Much better. I can be myself around you and have fun with you. Something I didn't have with him. Trust me you're so much better than he is in a lot of ways," she mumbled. Monica ran her fingers through his hair, making him hum. "Do you want to tell them about us?"
"Not yet, I'm enjoying this too much. I just wanted to make sure you weren't having any regrets. You're not, right?"
She shook her head quickly, moving her hands down to his shoulders. "No baby, not at all. We'll tell them eventually, won't we? And when we do we're just going to have to stick together when they give us grief. While also hoping that Ross doesn't kill you," Monica said calmly, running her hand down his chest.
"Do you really think he'll be mad? Maybe he won't be upset at all, maybe he'll just be happy for us," he said hopefully.
Monica hummed sarcastically, "let's see. Will my brother be upset that his best friend since college is sleeping with his little sister behind his back…" She put her finger on her chin, pretending to think.
"Don't make me feel worse than I already do," he laid his head down on her shoulder with a slight frown. The guilt was practically eating him alive and he always tried to avoid thinking too much about what they were doing because of it. "It's more than just sleeping with you though, that has to count for something. Am I a bad friend?"
She tangled her fingers in his hair again, holding him close. "Honey, you're not a bad friend," Monica gently kissed the top of his head. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't care about what Ross thinks. We'll have to sit him down and explain to him what this is for us. 'Cause you're right, this is more than just sex and that might give you points in his favor. But we don't have to worry about that now, it's far in the future."