Author's Note:

This was written for The One With All The Fanfics event on the F.R.I.E.N.D.S discord server.

Enjoy!

The One After the Workouts End

"Okay, you may have had a point."

Chandler startled at Monica's abrupt entrance, instinctively sitting up straighter, trying to make it look like he hadn't been dozing off in front of the TV. Even though he was pretty sure their workout sessions were over, for some reason he still felt the need to hide his lazing. He hadn't seen her since he talked her out of going for a run and left her napping on his couch. When he'd emerged from his room again that afternoon, she was gone. Now that he was better rested, he felt a twinge of remorse for what he'd said to her. She came around to face him and waited for him to mute the TV.

"What?"

"You said it yourself. No job, no boyfriend, no support from my parents. But you can help me fix it."

"You want me to be your boyfriend?"

"Ugh, no! I want you to get me a job. You know, at your office."

Chandler raised his eyebrows, but she held his gaze. "You're actually serious?"

"Well, yeah!" She threw up her arms and began to pace the living room. "Come on, Chandler! You got a job for Phoebe that one time."

"Remember how that turned out?"

"If she can do it, I certainly can."

"Monica-"

"Are you saying you think I can't?" Her eyes flashed dangerously, and Chandler knew he'd have to tread carefully.

"Noooo," he drew the word out as he slowly stood up and approached her. "But I still think it's a bad idea." Her eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

"Because you'd hate it there."

"So what? You hate it there and you still go."

"Yeah, but I'd hate it even more if I had to see you there being miserable too." He paused, half expecting her to interrupt him, but she stayed quiet, watching him. Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair and continued.

"Monica, you have a dream. You'd be better off putting all your time and energy into making it happen, not stuck in some office. It's fine for me, what else would I be doing anyway? But I can't stand the thought of you there."

He looked away from her. There was another reason, but he didn't want to admit it. He didn't want Monica to hear what his coworkers thought of him. Despite their years of friendship, he couldn't help but worry they might somehow convince her to dislike him too. It was one thing with Phoebe, and that was bad enough, but with Monica he couldn't take the risk.

Chandler was shaken from that painful thought when Monica finally responded.

"Well, I suppose that would be a better use of my time and energy than getting you in shape . . ." He winced.

"Sorry about what I said before."

"Don't worry about it." She waved him off.

"Maybe I can help some other way?"

"You're not going to be my boyfriend."

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, well, now that you've said that, I'm not going to tell you my idea."

She bounced in front of him, gripping his shoulders. "Chandlerrrr," she whined his name until he broke into a grin.

"Alright fine. What I was going to say is you can use me as a reference again."

She stilled, considering the offer. "Hmm, you know, I just might take you up on that. It'd be great to not have to go over why I was fired from my last job in my next interview."

"There ya go! All the benefits of working with me and none of the pitfalls."

"Except for the money part," she corrected him.

"Hey, I'll pay you not to come in with me if that's what it takes." He gave her a small smile before turning serious again. "Seriously, Mon, you're so talented. You're gonna find a great job and you'll be so glad you didn't waste any time with me at mine."

Monica grinned and stepped closer, wrapping her arms around him in a hug, which he immediately returned.

"Chandler?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

"Of course."

"When you finally quit your job for real, I'm going to make sure you never go back there."

He pulled away, laughing. "Yeah, right."