Somewhere around Season 1

RED BLANKET

When Rachel moved in with Monica, it took her awhile to get used to the group as a whole. She had no problems talking to them separately, except maybe Phoebe, she was a hard one to understand. However, when they were all together it was a different matter entirely.

They were loud and had so many inside jokes that she had a hard time keeping up. It was also pretty difficult to adjust to the fact that two men were always coming and going from Monica's apartment ーwhich was her new apartment. Chandler and Joey, their neighbours and friends, were constantly in the girls' place, and she couldn't understand for the life of her how privacy was such an underrated concept in those people's lives.

In her second week living with Monica, Chandler had burst in the apartment and grabbed a beer bottle from their fridge. She was about to complain loudly, but since Monica had fallen asleep on the couch, she refrained herself. She knew her friend had been working double shifts lately to help Rachel out on starting her new and independent life.

She decided to keep reading her magazine and ignore Chandler's presence. Next thing she knows, he isn't even there anymore.

She wasn't sure how long he was out, but not much time later he entered the apartment again. This time, he did so as a normal human being, quietly and politely. He closed the door behind him carefully to not make any noises and she noticed he was carrying a big red blanket.

Curious, she watched from behind her magazine, still sitting on the big comfy chair. Chandler approached, and didn't even pay her a glance as he covered Monica delicately. He tucked her in, adjusting her body on the couch so she didn't fall, and gathering the strands of dark hair on her face behind her ear. She didn't even stir, completely immersed in her sleep. Chandler turned to Rachel as if finally remembering she was there.

"I would've carried to her bedroom, but it's too early for her to sleep." He glanced at Monica's sleeping form once again. "Make sure to wake her up before 5 o'clock, will ya? If you don't, she won't be able to sleep when she usually does at night."

And then he left.

The next day, Rachel decided to address the situation after breakfast and after the boys had already left for their apartment, fully satisfied with their pancakes.

"Chandler tucked you in last night."

"What?" She asked, confused. "I went to bed on my own last night."

"No, I mean when you were napping on the couch." She cleared, paying attention to her friend's reaction.

"Oh, right. The red blanket." She said, like it was the most common thing in the world. Then, she frowned, probably wondering why Rachel was addressing it. "What about it?"

"Does this happen regularly?" Rachel pressed.

"Well, yeah. More so with him, though. He's more of a late afternoon napper than I am."

"And what about the red blanket?"

"It's really comfortable. We exchange it all the time."

"So, let me get this straight," Rachel started. "you have a male best friend who tucks you in with his blanket, and you do the same for him regularly?"

"..." Monica was quiet, frowning. "I don't see the problem." She finally said.

"There's no problem, I just want to know if you're aware of what you're getting yourself into, because I have no friends who tuck me in and move their fingers through my hair who aren't interested in something a little less innocent than friendship."

Monica widened her eyes, finally understanding where Rachel was going with this.

"Come on, Rach," she laughed. "it's Chandler. We take care of each other, that's it. There's no hidden interest." She chuckled and shook her head as if it was absurd to even think about it.

"Hmm." was all Rachel said then.

Now, living with Monica for almost a whole year and getting together with the group every single day, she had her own inside jokes and her own moments of loudness and laughter with them. Chandler still burst into the apartment sometimes with a red blanket, but she was used to it. They were friends, they took care of each other. Ross even tucked her in, once. And she was pretty sure she wasn't going to date him.