I realized today it has been a long time since I spent time with my Friends. I didn't think I could have anymore ideas about them, but here I am with a one shot that I thought of just this afternoon, and it all stemmed from watching an episode of "Martin," so you can thank that sitcom for the seed planted for this idea.

I hope you guys enjoy. Happy reading!

It was another day at Central Perk. Phoebe was playing the guitar and hollering "Smelly Cat" at the top of her lungs by the window, Chandler was lost in thought (probably searching for a new joke), Monica was resting her head back on the couch beside him with her eyes closed, and Ross and Rachel were cuddled up in the big armchair whispering to each other. Joey was at an audition.

Yes, it was another day at Central Perk. Until...

"I'm thinking of becoming a monk," Chandler said. Phoebe had stopped playing at this point and was on her way back to sit on the chair next to the couch.

"A monk?" she asked, frowning. "Why?"

"Because I've got the whole celibacy thing going on," Chandler answered. Monica raised a brow and scoffed.

"You? What about me?" she asked.

"You can be a nun," Chandler offered.

"I don't want to be a nun!"

"All I'm saying is that I look around and see all these happy couples, and it pisses me off," Chandler went on, waving his arms around at the four couples sitting at various tables in the coffee shop until his finger landed on Ross and Rachel on the chair.

"Hey, don't look at us," Ross said. "We just got back together. We're in the honeymoon phase."

"Yea," Rachel agreed, snuggling into him more. This was true. They had gotten back together at the beach house, and for the last couple days, they were driving everyone nuts with their overly affectionate actions with each other. Not even the story of Chandler peeing on Monica could dampen their gusto.

"I bet no one could last two weeks with no sex," Chandler said. "Except for me."

"Am I invisible?" Monica asked.

"And you," Chandler added. Inside he thought to himself, Not to me.

"Oh, I think I could," Phoebe said, a slight brag in her tone.

"It's a contest, then," Chandler said. "A bet. Two weeks with no sex, and the winner gets...um..."

"Losers all pay 100 bucks each," Monica chimed in with a big grin. Chandler's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"What? That's 500 bucks for the winner," she smirked.

"And if two people win?"

"200 each," she shrugged.

"And if three people win?" Phoebe asked. She was trying to follow.

"100 dollars each," Monica said logically. "Because the three who win don't pay up. Got it?" Phoebe did the math in her head and then nodded.

"You're on!" she exclaimed.

"That's not fair," Ross whined. "We just got back together!"

"You said that already," Chandler pointed out. "It didn't change anything."

"What if no one wins?" Rachel asked.

"Then no one gives any money," Ross answered, giving her a slightly incredulous look before looking at Chandler and Monica. "Right?"

"Sounds fair," Monica agreed.

"Two weeks?" Ross said with another whine.

"We can do it, honey," Rachel said, pushing his shoulder playfully. "Just think what we could do with 400 dollars!"

"When I say no sex," Chandler added, "I mean not at all, with or without a partner in the room."

"Oohh," Ross moaned in complaint. Joey entered at this point, and he frowned at Ross's moan.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Hey, Joe," Chandler said, ignoring the question. "We're doing a bet. First person celibate by the end of two weeks could win 500 bucks."

"Really?!" Joey exclaimed, grinning hugely. "All right! I'm in!"

"You can seriously do it?" Monica asked, surprised.

"Hell, yea! Give me some credit," he scoffed.

"This I gotta see," Phoebe chuckled.

"Oh, damn," Joey said, feeling the back of his pants. "I left my wallet at the audition. I'll be back."

He ran out, and the others chatted about the new bet and what they were going to do with the money they won.

One Hour Later

Joey returned, finding them all in the same place he'd left them. He was grinning widely.

"What's up, Joe?" Chandler asked, seeing his face.

"Hand it over!" he cried, extending his hand.

"Hand what over?" Monica asked.

"The 500 dollars!"

"Um, it's only been an hour, Joe," Chandler pointed out.

"I know! I'm the first one celibate! Gimme my money!"

The others took a second to understand what Joey had just said, and then they burst out laughing.

"What? What's so funny?" Joey asked. "You said the first person celibate by the end of two weeks wins 500 dollars. I was celibate. Just now. With the director's assistant."

"Joey," Rachel said. "Sweetie, do you know what celibate means?"

"To have sex," Joey snorted, rolling his eyes in a mocking way. "As in 'celibating' our bodies!"

This caused Phoebe to howl in laughter even harder, and Joey stood there looking greatly confused.

"Honey, celibate means not having sex," Rachel explained. "So the bet is to not have sex in two weeks in order to win the money, and the money is split depending on how many winners there are."

"I said it wrong, Joe. I'm sorry," Chandler apologized. "Not the first person to be celibate but anyone still celibate in two weeks wins money, and if you're the only one still celibate, you win 500 dollars."

Joey stood there, his brain in overload as he comprehended what Rachel and Chandler were telling him. He sank down onto the couch beside Chandler slowly.

"No sex?" he repeated. "For two weeks?"

"Uh huh," Rachel nodded.

Joey's face suddenly twitched until he put his hand on his cheek to stop it. He looked at the others, who were still watching him.

"I...I can do it," he said, not sounding as sure of himself as he had earlier. "Can we start over? Now that I understand the rules?"

"Sure," Chandler agreed. The others nodded. It was only fair. They should have known Joey would have taken it the wrong way the first time.

"Okay," Joey said, smiling slowly again."All right! I can do this! Yes!"

Eight Hours Later

Joey came into the apartment and slammed the door behind him. Chandler looked up from the kitchen counter where he'd been eating.

"I'm out!" Joey exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

"You're out?" Chandler repeated.

"I couldn't do it, man. It was too hard," Joey whined.

"It's only been eight hours!"

"I know! Another hour and I don't know what would have happened to Little Joey!" Joey cried. Chandler bit his tongue, resisting his response.

"Okay, Joe," Chandler said after a moment. "You'll owe a 100 dollars."

"Yea, yea," Joey said, digging into his pockets. "We all knew I was gonna lose anyway. Who was I kidding? Two weeks with no sex. Puh! You're all crazy." He slammed down two five dollar bills and slid them to Chandler.

"That's ten," Chandler said.

"I'll get the other 90 before two weeks," Joey assured him.

"And not from my pant pockets," Chandler warned.

"Nooo," Joey said, indicating that was exactly his plan. He shook his head and walked away. Chandler tucked the money into a spare envelope from the counter. He was now the money keeper.

Four Days Later

"She wants me to take all the responsibility!" Ross cried, slamming his fist on the arm of the chair. "She says the break was all my fault!"

"Oh my God, if you don't stop, I'm going to break up with you!" Chandler yelled. Joey was nodding in agreement. They were at Central Perk together.

"I can't do that! You...you know why I can't do that!" Ross shouted, shaking the 18 pages in his hand at them.

"We get it," Chandler agreed. "But, do you seriously want to lose the love of your life over it? You should have read the damn letter when she gave it to you."

"I...I...I..." Ross tried, sighing and giving up. "You're right. I don't want to lose her. I'm sorry. I'm just going a bit nuts with the whole celibacy thing on top of this."

Joey started to snicker, making them look at him.

"What?" Chandler asked him.

"Celibacy on top," Joey replied, sniggering some more. Ross and Chandler just stared at him as he continued to chuckle and eat his muffin, lost in his own world.

"Anyway," Ross said, bringing it back to him. "I guess I have to let this go, but you know how hard it is for me!" The pages were shaken at Chandler once more. All front and back of them.

"Yes, Ross," Chandler agreed. "But sometimes what we really want is greater than our pride. Right? And you don't want to be celibate forever if you do bring it up."

"Right," Ross caved. "Wait, you don't think I can get another woman if I'm not with Rachel?"

"Not without trying really, really hard," Chandler said.

"You're one to talk," Ross retorted.

"Hey, I'm not disagreeing with you," Chandler said, holding up his hands. "Hence the reason for the whole bet in the first place."

"Good," Ross nodded. He looked at his watch. "I gotta meet her now anyway."

"How's the no sex thing going?" Chandler asked, smirking. He was enjoying watching other people suffer the way he was suffering.

"I don't even wanna talk about it," Ross answered. He pocketed the letter and left them sitting there.

"He's dying inside," Joey noted.

"Oh yea," Chandler agreed. They high fived each other.

An Hour Later

Monica was in her apartment when Ross and Rachel burst inside, heavily making out and heading towards Rachel's bedroom. She stood frozen, bowl in hand, as they passed without seeing her and slammed the door behind them.

"Well," she said. "That was an easy 200 bucks." Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe entered a few minutes later.

"Still celibate?" Joey asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"You should join the dark side," Joey grinned. "It's fun. I'll break that celibacy thing for you. How you doin'?"

"That hit the spot right on, Joey. Just what I was looking for," Monica said sarcastically, pushing him back. "Get out of my face."

"Worth a try," Joey shrugged, moving away from her before he got slapped.

"It's easier than I thought it would be," Phoebe chimed in, sitting down on the living room chair and crossing her legs. There was a noise from Rachel's room, and Chandler looked at the closed door.

"Seriously?" he asked Monica, who nodded.

"Yea," she said. Then she caught sight of Joey. "Joey! Don't be rude!"

"What?" Joey asked innocently, halfway to the closed door with a glass in his hand.

"Don't eavesdrop!"

"That's gross," Phoebe agreed. "Unless you're invited, don't be a Peeping Tom!"

"You mean a Peeping Joey," Joey said. "My name isn't Tom. Have you been day drinking again and forgot my name?" He scoffed and gave Phoebe a look before reluctantly taking the glass back to the kitchen and sitting at the table.

"No," Phoebe said unconvincingly as she looked down. Chandler decided to let that one go as they did their best to have a conversation and not think about what Rachel and Ross were doing behind that door.

About twenty minutes later, the silence was shattered.

"WE WERE ON A BREEEEAAAAK!"

"Uh oh," Chandler said, realizing what was happening. The others stiffened as the door was flung open to reveal a half dressed Ross storming out with clothes in his hand.

"I can't believe I even thought about getting back together with you! We are sooooo over!" Rachel shrieked.

"Oh, uh, eh...FINE BY ME!" Ross shouted back. Rachel chased him, and Chandler jumped back just as the front door crashed into his face.

"And just so you know, it's not that common, it doesn't happen to every guy, and it IS a big deal!" she shrieked after Ross.

"I KNEW it!" Chandler hollered after Rachel slammed the door shut. Then he yanked it back open to yell after Ross. "And you owe a 100 dollars!" He slammed the door shut again and turned to Rachel. "And so do you, Rach."

"UUGGHHHH!" Rachel roared as she went back into her room and slammed the door with such force that Monica's picture tilted on the wall. Chandler could tell she wanted to go and fix it right away just by the twitch in her hand. It was one of her quirks that he loved about her even though they did pick on her for it constantly.

"I trust you'll get it from her later?" Chandler asked Monica.

"I will," she said faintly, her eyes on the picture still. Her left foot was jiggling now.

"And then there were three," Phoebe said with a glint in her eyes.

"Duh, duh, duhhhhh," Joey added, his mouth now full with Monica's leftover meatloaf.

Six Days Later

Monica, Chandler, and Ross were at Central Perk when Phoebe burst in.

"I can't!" she cried, falling face first onto the couch. Monica shifted just before Phoebe's head put a hole in her leg. Chandler had jumped out of the way altogether before she had vaulted herself and was now standing beside Ross, who was sitting in the chair next to the couch.

"Can't what, Phoebs?" Monica asked, unsure what to do.

"I thought I could do this, but I can't!" Phoebe cried again.

"Do what?"

"She wants to have sex," Chandler said, getting it. Ross lowered the newspaper in his hands sharply.

"Not everyone can go without sex," he said moodily.

"You can when you're aaallll byyyyy yooouuurseeeeeelf," Chandler finished in a singsong voice. He dodged Ross's hand and went to sit on the opposite chair from him. He felt Ross's glare boring into his skull all the same.

"It's okay, Phoebe," Monica assured her, patting the back of her head.

"I knew not to do laundry!" Phoebe shouted, muffled by the seat cushion. Everyone looked at each other before back at Phoebe.

"What?" Monica asked. Phoebe lifted her head at this point.

"It's that damn spin cycle, you know? I was leaning against the machine and waiting for it to finish, and then the next thing I knew...I...," Phoebe trailed off, balling up her fists and beating the cushions on the couch fiercely. Monica jumped up to avoid getting pummeled. Chandler was doing his best to not burst out laughing. Ross was snickering a little but hiding behind his newspaper.

"Oh, honey," Monica said as Phoebe wailed a little more. "It's okay. We can try again another time."

"I wanted it so bad!" Phoebe wailed.

"The money or...?" Chandler trailed off. He got a couch cushion chucked at his head by Phoebe for that one.

"Chandler, promise we can do this again sometime," Monica ordered, gesturing at Phoebe with a look that said if he didn't agree, she herself would end up doing more than throwing cushions at him.

"Sure, Phoebs!" Chandler said loudly. "We can do another bet again soon!"

Phoebe stopped making all the noise and looked up at him.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," Chandler nodded.

"Okay," she said brightly, sitting up. "Can I pick what bet to do?"

"Sure."

She reached into her bra and pulled out some bills.

"Here's my 100 dollars," she said, handing it to Chandler, who did his best to ignore how warm it was. "I gotta go to work now. I'll think about our next bet and get back to you!"

"Okay," Chandler said weakly as she skipped off, totally fine now.

"And then there were two," Monica said, raising a brow at Chandler. "Think you can do it, Bing?"

"Oh, I can, Geller," he retorted.

"We'll see," she smirked.

Two Days Before the Bet Ended

Chandler was sitting in his apartment when there was a knock on the door. He knew it wasn't anyone he knew because they just barged right in uninvited. He was thinking about how two days couldn't come fast enough when he opened the door to find a very good looking woman standing there looking back at him.

"H-Hello," he stuttered.

"Hi," she said.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well, my friends gave me this dare that I had to knock on a random door and have sex with anyone who answered," she started. She looked him up and down. "I guess you'll do, if you're up for it."

Chandler just stared at her. This was just something that never happened. Or did it? Was he just never at the right place at the right time like he was in that moment? Did other people get this kind of luck? His brain was having difficulty processing his thoughts. He blinked rapidly before clearing his throat.

"Well, I mean..." he tried. "Um...if...if you want to. I'm...I'm game."

She smiled slowly and started to move in when it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Whoa!" the woman yelped as he shoved past her and headed for Monica's door, where he started to pound with his fist.

"Monica!" he shouted. "Open the door!"

Monica opened the door after fifteen seconds and stuck her head out.

"Yes?" she asked innocently.

"You!" Chandler shouted, pointing his finger at her face. "You are not going to get me to cave! Never!"

"What are you talking about?" Monica asked, playing dumb.

"Sending one of your friends to sleep with me? That's low even for you," Chandler said.

"I wouldn't do that," Monica tried.

"It's over, Mon," the woman said with a sigh. "He figured it out."

"I KNEW it!" Chandler yelled, jabbing his fingers in both directions at Monica and at the woman.

"Argh, Tracy!" Monica exclaimed before sighing herself. "Fine. Thanks anyway."

"Good luck," Tracy said, heading down the stairs. Chandler glared at Monica, who was trying not to laugh.

"I will win this bet fair and square," he said. "I can't believe you tried to trick me!"

"It was worth a shot," Monica shrugged. Chandler huffed and went back into his apartment, thinking of how to get her back for this.

One Day Before the Bet Ended

Monica opened her apartment door to head out only to find a bare chested fireman holding an infant standing there, hand in the air to knock on her door. She halted in her tracks, staring.

"Oh, hi," he smiled. "Sorry to be a bother. I just wondered if you wouldn't mind me hanging out here until my colleagues returned with another uniform for me."

"Um...sure..." she said, and he stepped inside.

"Thank you, ma'am," he said, going to sit on the couch with the infant. Monica felt all kinds of things in that moment.

"So, how did you lose your shirt?" she asked.

"It caught fire when I was saving the infant," the fireman explained.

"Oh," she said. "There was a fire here?"

"Yea. The floor above you. It's okay, though. It got put out very quickly."

Monica almost bought it. Then she realized no fire alarms had gone off in the building, and she crossed her arms.

"Okay," she said. "The gig is up. Ha, ha, ha. You're not getting me."

"Excuse me?" the fireman asked.

"Chandler sent you here, didn't he?"

"Chandler who?" the fireman asked, confused. Monica halted a little, feeling like he was being genuine.

"You weren't sent here to sleep with me?" she asked.

"Ma'am!" the fireman yelped, getting to his feet. "Absolutely not!"

"Oh my God," Monica said, putting her hands to her face. "I'm so sorry! I...I didn't mean...I'm sorry!"

"I have never been more appalled in my life!" the fireman exclaimed, rushing to the door. Monica tried to shout more apologies behind him but lost her voice halfway through them. She felt so embarrassed.

...

Chandler and Phoebe were at Central Perk when Chuck returned with the infant.

"Well?" Phoebe asked him.

"She got on to me, but I saved it. She's just really embarrassed now," Chuck answered, handing the infant back to Phoebe's other friend, who was laughing. He put his shirt back on too.

"Damn!" Phoebe exclaimed. "Sorry, Chandler."

"It was worth a try," Chandler said. "Thanks, Phoebs."

"See you around, Phoebs," Chuck winked at Phoebe, who giggled. Her friend with the infant also said goodbye and left.

"I was so sure the baby thing would do it," Chandler mused. "Mon loves men who can commit and be good with babies. Who is more committed than someone who goes into burning buildings?"

"Hey, at least you're still getting 200 dollars," Phoebe pointed out. "And I can tell you've been celibate because you have a real bad case of ants in your pants."

"I do not!" Chandler said indignantly. It was true, though. He couldn't sit still.

"I think our next bet should have something to do with pranks," Phoebe said, grinning wickedly. Chandler groaned.

...

Later that night, Chandler was trying to read on the couch when Monica came into his apartment. Now, if Joey had been there, he would have knocked Chandler over flat in order to get to her first, but as luck would have it, Joey was out with a date.

"Chandler," Monica said, making him look up at her. He dropped his book on the floor with a thud. She was standing there in a red halter top dress that had a slit from the top of her knee to the floor. It was also made of silk.

"Holy Mother of God," Chandler said.

"Just thought I'd drop by and hang out," she shrugged.

"In that?!" he exclaimed.

"I came from a ball," she said.

"And you thought of hanging out with me on your way home?" he asked.

"Yea," she said. "Duh."

She moved until she was sitting beside him on the couch.

"Hi," she said sweetly.

"Ohhhh come on," he said nervously. "You're trying to break me again."

"Not at all," she shook her head.

"You are a terrible liar," Chandler pointed out. His mind was exploding.

"I'm not doing anything," she insisted, lifting her legs to rest them on his.

"Okay," he said, pushing them off. "Nuh uh. You're not winning this way."

"What way?" she asked, leaning into him. She was so close to his face. He couldn't take it, but he also wanted the 500 dollars.

"You wily women with your boobs and your cleavage," he said, jumping up and away from her. "Those long legs and that...that lipstick. No, no. Nuh uh! You're not getting me!"

Monica put a pout on her lips and stood to join him.

"You're rejecting me?" she asked.

"In the name of 500 dollars, yes," he said. "Come back tomorrow and see what happens."

"I'm not worth 500 dollars?" she asked.

"You're worth so much more than that, and not in money value," he answered then realized what he'd said. She looked at him.

"I am?" she asked, surprised.

"Okay, it's sleepy night night time," Chandler said, ushering her to the door. "Thanks for trying. Better luck next time!"

"Chandler," she started.

"Gooooood night!" he exclaimed, shutting the door in her face. That had been a close one. He couldn't risk her asking more questions about what he meant, not if he wanted to keep his friendship with Monica. Not even if he thought there could be something more there because who was he kidding? There was nothing more there. They were friends. It didn't matter how much he cared about her. He'd rather care about her and still have her as a friend than not have her in his life at all.

He gave up on the book and eventually went to bed.

The Day the Bet Ended

"Okay!" Chandler called. "Two winners!" They were at Monica's apartment. Rachel was as far away from Ross as possible, who was still sulking. Phoebe was bouncing in her chair while Joey was eating at Monica's table.

"I told you," Monica said, holding out her hand.

"Joey," Chandler said.

"Oh, right," Joey said, pulling out more bills from his pockets plus a pack of gum.

"You're almost a dollar short," Chandler noted.

"That's what the gum is for," Joey gestured. "Close enough."

"I'll take it," Monica said, snatching it and putting a piece in her mouth. Chandler handed her the rest of her earnings, and he pocketed his.

"Good game, everyone!" he said proudly.

"It was stupid," Ross said.

"Yea, you knew nobody would do it except for Monica," Rachel added.

"Hey," Monica said, putting a hand to her chest. "If I was dating someone, I couldn't have done it."

"I don't know why I even tried," Joey laughed.

"Next time, I'm not doing any laundry," Phoebe said solemnly. No one commented on this, but they all knew what she was talking about.

"I'm gonna order the Joey Special," Joey said. "Anyone else want anything?"

The others started talking over each other as they said what they wanted. Chandler was grinning to himself as he reveled in his half victory.

Later That Night

Chandler was left with Monica after the others left to go home and Rachel went out. She was cleaning up from their dinner mess, so he went to assist her. He was still thinking about her in that dress, and he wondered if she was thinking about it too.

"That wasn't so bad, and we won money," he commented. He looked to see Monica was tearing up. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to die celibate!" she cried.

"Whoa!" Chandler exclaimed, holding up his hands. "Says who?"

"I haven't been with anyone in so long," she went on. "I'm never going to find anyone, Chandler! Who wants to be with this?" She gestured to herself.

I do! I do! his brain screamed.

"Where is this coming from?" he asked instead.

"Seeing everyone struggling to not have sex just really made me realize how alone I am," Monica said, wiping at her face. "I want to struggle to not have sex, Chandler! I want that!"

"And you will!" he cried, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"When?!"

"I don't know!" he yelped. They stood there looking at each other for a moment until Monica gave her head a shake and pulled away from him.

"Sorry," she said. "I got carried away there."

She went back to the dishes, leaving Chandler standing there thinking. She'd asked who would want to be with her. Well, he had an answer for her. It was time to be brave and spit it out.

"I want to be with you," he said.

"Excuse me?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"I mean, I'm your best friend. I know everything about you and still want to spend time with you. I know your family. I know your friends. I love your cooking. I love all your quirks. We have fun together. What else is there that would make me a good boyfriend?" he asked.

"I never thought of it like that," she admitted. "I mean, I always just looked at you as Chandler, my goofy friend, and...you know..."

"I know, the friend who peed on you," Chandler nodded. "But, I did that because you were in pain, and I really care about you and don't like to see you hurt. A boyfriend would do that too."

Monica pondered on this, and he could see she was becoming more and more intrigued by the idea of them as a couple. He could just tell.

"You care about me?" she asked, tilting her head at him.

"I've always had a special place for you in my heart," Chandler added, feeling it get serious between them now. His heart started to race.

"And I've always never looked away when you bend over," she said back with a laugh before getting serious again. "I know I can always count on you and trust you. I never like seeing you sad or hurt either. I know pretty much everything about you to know that telling me this is a big deal. Yea...it could be good."

"You and me?" he asked, confirming.

"Yea," she nodded. "Me and you."

"This...this is happening," he said as she went closer to him.

"I think so," she nodded. "Why didn't we ever think of it before? I mean, before you started asking me if I'd go out with you."

"I dunno," he said, feeling a bit nervous as she stopped right in front of him.

"Maybe we weren't ready," she said.

"You think we're ready now?"

"Why not? What are we waiting for, some big wedding to get us drunk and sad first?" she asked.

"I don't think we need to do that," he shook his head. He rested his hands on her waist, and it felt so right. He had never thought it could feel this right.

"You know what's weird?" she asked, her face next to his.

"What?"

"This doesn't feel weird," she said.

"It doesn't," he agreed.

"It didn't feel weird last night either," she said.

"I know."

"Did you mean what you said when you said I was worth so much more?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"If we weren't doing the bet, would you have slept with me?" she asked.

"What kind of question is that?" he retorted. She laughed a little and then she ran her fingers through his hair, and he couldn't wait any longer. He touched his lips to hers gently and briefly, pulling back slightly to wait for her response.

"Oh, Chandler," she breathed, kissing him again hard. He felt like his mind was blown. It was perfect. It was amazing. It wasn't weird.

Afterwards, in her room (he wasn't entirely sure how they had even gotten there), they lay side by side with stunned expressions.

"Wow," he said.

"I know," she replied.

"This is happening," he commented.

"It is."

He turned to his side to look at her.

"Should we tell the others?" he asked. He didn't want to. He didn't want to ruin this before it had even gotten started. He didn't want Ross's comments or Phoebe's suggestions. He didn't want Rachel's meddling or Joey's advice.

"Nah," she shook her head. "I think we can keep it between the two of us for now."

"Okay," he said in that silly voice he used sometimes. They kissed again for a while before he realized something.

"What?" she asked when he stopped.

"We had sex and have 400 dollars between us to spend," he said. "We really did win!"

"Hell yea, baby!" Monica cried, high fiving him. Then there was no more talking.

And it had all started with just another day at Central Perk.