A/N: Oh, no, no more pregnancy fics from me. I mean, I have a great time writing Forever and a Day (which I should try to complete sometime soon), but I don't think I'll be writing any more pregnancy fics, even if I move on to other fandoms.

And, well, which Mondler fan doesn't love MP? :D

If It's Love

Chapter 6

September 1993

"It was a petting zoo, for crying out loud!" Chandler exclaimed in exasperation as his three friends examined his peacock-bitten hand disapprovingly.

"Why did you even have to pet it in the first place?" Joey asked, incredulous. "It's just a blue chicken."

"Well, for your information, peacocks are beautiful, graceful creatures," Chandler mumbled, wondering why he was defending the thing that'd attacked him.

"Yeah," Monica nodded sarcastically, stroking his hand. She stopped when he winced. "It's a beautiful, graceful creature that bit you."

"Dude, the next time I'm attending an audition at the Park, try and stick to a dog." When Joey watched his roommate's eyes widen with horror, he shook his head. "Or don't."

Chandler's farcical life always made it possible to take away the limelight from what should have been another person's utterly humiliating life experience.

Joey had auditioned for the role of Pinocchio, but here they all were, focusing on his peacock bite, while the grown man who'd just sang 'I've Got No Strings', wearing shorts, looked down at him condescendingly.

"Chandler, we have to take you to the hospital," Monica tugged his other hand, looking concerned.

"Yeah, what if you get rabies or something," Joey added, his face mirroring Monica's concern.

"Oh, come on," Ross looked at them with mild disinterest. "Rabies spreads only through mammals, not birds," he pointed at Chandler's hand. "At the most, he could've caught a bacterial infection," he shrugged nonchalantly. When the other three stared at him, looking pissed at his dismissive tone, he threw his hands up. "I'm sorry. Excuse me for making an educated comment."

"Nah, that's okay." Chandler shrugged in reply to Monica's statement. "The guy at the zoo applied some antibiotics and said it was just a graze. So the wound should heal in a couple of days."

"There you go!" Ross patted his back with a smug look. "Now that we've sorted this out, I guess I can go get me some coffee." He stood up, starting toward the counter.

The bar had been converted into a coffeehouse, but it still hadn't lost its patrons in the five people.

"Ross, while you're at it, you may wanna get me a scone," Joey called out, turning to Chandler again when Ross nodded. Before he said anything to Chandler, he turned to Ross again. "Oh, and a blueberry muffin. And, and a latte. And also a-" he stopped abruptly when Ross glared at him. "Fine, I'll get it myself," he muttered as he stood up and left for the counter.

"You really don't wanna see a doctor?" Monica asked Chandler when they were alone.

"Yeah, no, I'm okay," Chandler nodded, smiling. "I feel so exotic."

"Exotic?" she looked at him skeptically.

"I got bit by a peacock! I mean, that doesn't happen to everyone," he explained.

"Nope. It definitely doesn't happen to everyone," she agreed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Her face took on a concerned expression again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded again. He checked whether Ross and Joey were anywhere near them and turned to her again with a cheeky grin. "Nothing a little heavy breathing between the sheets wouldn't cure," he murmured.

She instantly turned bright red. She leaned in closer to him in a way that wouldn't really be considered appropriate for two 'just friends'. "Someone's getting pretty good at the dirty talk," she murmured back coyly.

"Guys?"

They sprang apart when they heard Joey's voice.

Joey was the only person who knew about them. He'd had a sneaking suspicion right from the beginning, but he'd caught them red-handed once while they had been making out in apartment 19. After several days of coaxing, he'd finally agreed to keep it a secret.

"If you really want it to remain a secret, try not getting it on in the coffeehouse in front of your brother," he said as he took a sip of his latte, sitting down next to Chandler.

Monica nodded, agreeing grudgingly. She turned to Chandler again and patted his thigh. "I'll see you tonight," she smiled and got up to leave. "Bye, Ross." She waved at her brother and started toward the door.

"Mon, Mon, hold on a sec," Ross called out and went after his sister, taking his coffee with him. "You know, mom and dad's beach house is…" he started to say as they went out of the coffeehouse.

"So, how are things between you two?" Joey asked Chandler, watching the siblings as they left the building. "I don't think he's allowed to take the coffee mug outside."

"Things are just fine," Chandler shrugged. "It's not like we're in a relationship." He fixed his gaze on the 'Central Perk' logo on the glass in the front.

Joey nodded slowly, thinking the statement through. "Are you sure?" he asked a second later, frowning.

Chandler turned to glare at him sharply. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Joey held his hand up in defense. "I'm just asking, when was the last time you went out on a date?" When Chandler stared at him without replying, he continued. "Not once since I moved in," Joey shook his head. "You just don't spend this much time on something that's labeled 'friends with special privileges'. You know how I keep moving from one woman to another?"

"I do." Chandler nodded. "Our walls are pretty thin."

"Hey! I have to listen to you two going at it most of the nights, but you don't hear me complaining," he glared at Chandler. "Anyway, that's not the point," he continued. "The thing is, do you know what makes it easy for me to hop from one woman to the next? I don't confuse sex with love."

"What makes you think I'm confusing sex with love?" Chandler countered, feeling a mix of agitation and irritation.

"I don't think you are. That's what worries me." With that, Joey stood up and left for the counter, leaving Chandler to stare at his back.

~.~

"Come on, Chandler," Phoebe whined down the phone line. "It's been a really long time since we all went on a trip together."

He minimized the Solitaire window on his office computer so that he could concentrate on his conversation with Phoebe. This woman was a mystery to him. Just a few months ago, she'd acted like she never wanted to see anyone from the group again (especially Monica), but now, here she was, pleading with them all to join her on a vacation. "Pheebs, I'd love to, but things are getting a little hectic for me here at the office," he told her truthfully. The Solitaire was for a highly necessary break. "How about sometime in December? We'd all be free then."

"So, you're telling me that you're not playing Minesweeper right now?"

"No, I'm not!" he replied, offended, exiting the Solitaire window. "Man, I just got bit by a peacock yesterday, and now you're putting me through the third degree!"

"One weekend is all-" she paused abruptly. "Wait, what? You got bit by a peacock?"

"Chandler, Mr. Douglas wants to see you." Mrs. Tedlock nodded at him before she left.

He nodded back, rising from his chair. "Pheebs, I'll call you back. I need to go see my boss."

"Okay," Phoebe mumbled unhappily and hung up the phone.

He knocked on his boss's door and entered a second later, all the while wondering for what he'd been called. He sometimes wondered how he'd react if they fired him without any warning. It'd be quite a shock, but he also knew that that'd be the only way he'd search for another job that didn't actually drain his life away by simply boring him. "Sir, you wanted to see me?" he greeted Mr. Douglas.

"Yes, yes," his boss nodded, looking preoccupied. "Take a seat."

"How's it going, Sir?" he asked, his fingers twisting the paper on the desk.

Mr. Douglas pulled it back from his grasp discreetly as he shook his head. "It's been better. I haven't seen the ANUS take a hit like this since I took this job."

People gave him weird looks when he used terms like WENUS and ANUS outside of his work. For that matter, WENUS was a frequently used bedroom-term between him and Monica, but he knew the seriousness of the term when it came to his work. "How bad?"

"Well, we're going to have to lay off a few people."

His heart skipped a beat as he stared at his boss, his mouth suddenly dry. The sense of freedom was looming somewhere in the background, but fear was the dominating force in his mind.

"Don't look so scared, it's not you," his boss shook his head.

His shoulders slumped, but he didn't know whether it was from relief or from dejection. "Oh, then who?"

"A few from every department," Mr. Douglas waved his hand dismissively. "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about. Bing, will you be willing to move to a different branch?"

No, he wouldn't be, but for the sake of politeness he asked, "Where to?"

"London."

Chandler's eyes widened. "We have a branch in London?"

Mr. Douglas chuckled. "Yeah, we do." He nodded and continued in a serious tone. "It's our main branch in Europe, and I'm getting pressure from above to transfer one of our good guys over to them. You're the best we've got."

Chandler grinned. Some recognition for the mind-numbing work that he did week in and week out sure was nice. "I'm really very, very flattered, Sir, but I think I'll pass."

"I know it's a big move and all, but Chandler, they're also offering a forty percent increase on your salary."

Chandler could feel his pulse quicken. He earned nearly $70,000 a year as it was, and a 40% hike would mean almost a hundred grand. He'd always hated his job, but if he was ever looking for an opportunity to make some money out of it, this was it.

Despite what the logical part of his brain was screaming, he found himself shaking his head emphatically. "I'm really flattered, Mr. Douglas," he repeated, "and I appreciate you thinking of me for this job. But I'm going to have to decline the offer."

His boss sighed, looking disappointed. "May I know why?"

Monica.

Monica was the single, solitary reason. And he'd just sworn to Joey the previous evening that they weren't in a relationship. She'd been right all along, though. It was getting complicated.

"It's really complicated, Sir," he struggled to explain. "I have a few commitments here…" he trailed off uncomfortably.

His boss gave him the 'I cannot believe you're dumb enough to reject this offer' look for several seconds but shrugged eventually. "It's your call, but if I were you, I'd take the job."

Chandler nodded and rose to leave.

"Chandler, if by any chance you change your mind, they'd be glad to have you in London."

"I'll keep that in mind, Sir. Thank you," he smiled and left Mr. Douglas's office.

~.~

"Monica!" he yelled as he entered her apartment that evening. With each passing minute after his meeting with his boss, the urge to see her had increased exponentially. "Mon!"

"I'm in here," she called out from the bathroom.

He knocked on the door once and entered to find her in the bathtub filled with bubbles. She smiled at him and leaned against the bathtub, resting her chin on the ledge. "Hey you," she said softly. When he came to sit on the edge and stroked her hair, she reached for his hand gently, inquiring, "Hard day?"

He wondered whether he should tell her about his conversation with Mr. Douglas but decided against it. "Yeah," he pecked her lips instead. "I was hard all day."

She giggled. "You really are getting good at the dirty talk."

He yelped loudly in surprise when she tugged his arm and succeeded in pulling him into the tub. The water that he displaced flooded the bathroom floor, but neither cared. His shirt and pants completely soaked, he sat up a little to get his tie, shoes, and socks off. When she pulled him back by the nape of his neck, he moved on top of her again, kissing her lips lightly. "See, now you're making me all wet," he murmured, complaining playfully.

"Well," she whispered back, arching an eyebrow. "That goes both ways."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "You're pretty good at the dirty talk, too, babe." He leaned in to kiss her again, and she parted her lips for him. They kissed until he felt her undo the buttons on his shirt. "You know, a bigger bathtub would be far more comfortable," he mumbled against her lips.

"Oh, if you're not comfortable, we can stop," she pulled her hands away.

"Oh, no, no, no," he shook his head. "I never said that," he finished by kissing her again, undoing his pants himself, while she continued working on his shirt again.

His wet clothes finally discarded, he framed her face as he kissed her, the stroke of his tongue slow and hard against hers. He pulled back, breathless, leaning his forehead against hers. "God, I missed you."

Words slipped out when your mind went into a whirl. He realized it now as he held his breath, waiting for her reaction.

They'd never once uttered the words 'I missed you' to each other. It'd always felt more like a 'relationship' thing to say, and their relationship was anything but. At least on paper.

She hooked her arms around his neck and nodded. "I missed you, too."

He crashed his lips onto hers frantically, exhaling in relief. She moaned into the kiss, and he closed his eyes in concentration as he gently pushed into her. They sighed together in satisfaction as they became one.

They'd been doing this for months now, but it still never failed to amaze him that he was allowed to do this with Monica.

Writhing together, trying to fulfill their most basic need, which he strongly suspected was no longer just sex, they moved together slowly, their rhythm matched by the water lapping around them.

Her eyes closed shut, she frowned, holding his shoulders tightly, like she was in pain.

"You okay?" he whispered, brushing his knuckles against her cheek.

She nodded slowly, her eyes glistening as they fluttered open to hold his gaze. "I'm so happy I could die," she breathed, her voice barely a whisper.

At that moment, he knew he was in love.

Blood pounded in his ears as he nodded back, "Me, too." He closed his eyes, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "Me, too."

Just whenever he thought he'd finally be happy, fate had this nasty habit of complicating his life.

I certainly won't be declaring my undying love for you.

His own words flashed in his brain. He knew that that was one promise he'd be breaking sometime very soon.

They were too young. She wasn't supposed to make him feel this way. She wasn't supposed to make his heart beat fast.

They'd failed to lay a rule about this.

They'd failed to discuss what would happen if it's love.

"Chandler..." she murmured, pulling him back into reality just when he felt like he was drowning. When he drew back to look at her, she sought his lips in a slow, soft kiss, keeping their lips locked as they drifted toward the pinnacle of their lovemaking.

Granted, they were young. But who was he to question fate?

~.~.~

A/N: You know what amazes me? It's been like 8 years since the final episode aired, but there are still people out there who keep returning to 'Friends'. What's even better, there are so many faithful Mondler fans, who still take the time out to read what people like me write. Thank you for those fantastic reviews, guys! If not for you, I'd have lost my motivation to write, ages ago. Thank you :D