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Monica startled awake, confused. She took in a breath, she'd finally fell asleep barely an hour ago, and she really didn't want to talk to Rachel about this Chandler thing anymore tonight. She needed sleep. She looked around her darkened bedroom to see what had awoken her. Then she heard another light tapping on her door.

"Come in," she called quietly, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion at who would be at her bedroom door at this hour.

The said door gently opened and there was Chandler standing in her doorway. He was in a crumpled t-shirt and pajama pants, his hair was deliciously tousled and he portrayed a confusing mixture of being vulnerable but gorgeous.

"Hey," he said quietly, still in the doorway. "Is it alright to uh…" he gestured into her room and she nodded.

"Of course," she smiled, a little hesitant as his sock-covered feet padded further into her room, shutting the door behind him.

She swallowed as she watched him walk over and sit on the edge of her bed. Her mind was conjuring up all kinds of lascivious thoughts and she shook her head trying to clear it. Maybe he was here to talk to her, to tell her earlier had been a mistake?

"What are you doing here?" she asked softly, glancing at the illuminated clock on her nightstand. As she'd guessed, it was late.

"Um," his fingers started to idly pick at a thread on her bed cover. "I was kinda having a little trouble, uh, sleeping."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, see I couldn't, uh," he cleared his throat before raising his head, his blue eyes seemed darker, more intense given the hour as they locked with hers, "I couldn't get you off my mind. That kiss...I…" he sighed, shaking his head and looking away again.

At first excitement and joy washed through her; he did enjoy the kiss as much as she had. If only she could lean over now and press her lips to his, hopefully get to experience that magic again. But then she thought of Rachel and she felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over her. She couldn't do that to her.

"Oh," she said again, less enthusiastic, and Chandler lifted his head slightly, sensing her tone.

He noticed her hesitation and cleared his throat again. So she didn't feel the same way about him, she didn't enjoy the hell out of the kiss like he did. He swallowed and ran a hand through his hair, hoping that his heartbreak couldn't be heard in his voice. "I can tell that doesn't exactly thrill you, so, I uh, I'll be leaving now," he stood up, her eyes following him.

"Chandler, wait…" She stood up too, reaching for him, but he moved away from her again.

"Uh, can we just forget I showed up here in the middle of the night like an idiot?" He held open his arms and then pointed to himself, "We can just say I sleep-walked or better yet, maybe we can say it was just a dream. That I didn't just make a fool out of myself? And maybe we can keep it just between us, okay? The others don't have to know, really."

"No that's not it…" she reached for his hand again, but he moved it away from her grasp.

"I'm gonna go," he said quickly, turning to leave her room, "I'm sorry...I hope we can still be friends, after this very awkward...thing."

"Chandler," her tone was a little more firm as she finally grabbed his hand, stopping him. Electricity crackled between them as their skin touched but his words stayed with her. The thought of them not being friends anymore, not seeing him every day made her heart race. She squeezed his hand, reassuring herself that he wouldn't leave her. His hand was warm and little goosebumps pricked her skin. "You've got it wrong, very wrong."

She looked down, worrying her lip as she tried to think how to word it without revealing Rachel's secret.

"Yeah?" He asked, dying to know what was causing her hesitation. He watched as she looked down at the floor, "hey, what is it?" he asked softly, but she remained silent. He could tell something major was on her mind. "Mon?" he questioned, his hand coming up to lift her chin, raising it to meet his confused eyes. "Talk to me, what do you mean?"

It was hard to concentrate with him this close. He was in her bedroom, in her personal space, and although she knew she shouldn't, she couldn't help but give into the temptation and lean forward and close the gap. The kiss was brief at first, only lasting a second or two, but when she leaned in to kiss him harder, he backed away from her. She swallowed, worried about what he was about to say. Was he backing out? Did he realize that they were just on a high and decided this was a bad idea?

Placing his hands on her shoulders, he turned them around so that her back was against her door. She furrowed her eyebrows at him, not sure what he was doing, then the corner of his mouth pulled upwards, "Not so fast," he mumbled. He gently cupped her face and made her look right into his eyes as he leaned towards her, kissing her cheek gently on the way to her ear. "I want to take my time," he whispered, causing a soft whimper to come out of her.

He stared into her eyes for a few long seconds, giving her a chance to tell him what the hesitation was, or to back out of whatever was about to happen completely. Instead her hands gripped him harder, and she made no effort to move away.

He swallowed, here goes nothing. And everything...

His hands finally moved from her face and ran down her body, stopping at her hips, his fingers gripping them tightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, staring into his eyes, the small amount of moonlight in the room allowing her to notice a look on his face she'd never seen before.

Desire.

She could still smell his aftershave and cologne, making her shiver in anticipation.

"Chandler," she whispered, trying to make sure that this was real, that she wasn't dreaming. He was really pressing her against the door, touching her body, looking at her like this. She took in a breath as he finally leaned closer to press his lips to hers. The warmth of his mouth lit her up like a candle, slowly spreading through her body. She was sure he could hear her rapid heart rate as loud as she could. She parted her lips as her hands moved up into his hair, using her nails to lightly scrape his scalp.

He finally deepened the kiss, and she moaned when one of his hands undid the hair tie in her hair, letting it fall all around her face and his fingers. His lips were so soft, and in order to make sure he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, she tightened her grip on his back.

Her head was swimming, all five of her senses filled with nothing but Chandler. God, this was amazing.

He finally pulled back, his breathing hard and shallow as he tried to recover. She pressed her lips together, already missing his body close to hers, the peppermint taste of his mouth, and the way his hands moved along her body. She gripped his forearms with the hope that he wouldn't move away from her.

He let a small smile cross his face, "yeah, that's exactly what I needed." She smiled back at him, biting her bottom lip. He reached up and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, "better than the first?"

She looked down at her hand, trying to figure out how to answer him.

Her heart was screaming an answer of yes, it was much better than the first. Not because their first kiss wasn't amazing, because it was, but because their second kiss was much longer, she'd gotten to experience and hold him longer. But another part of her was still telling her she needed to stop this. Warning sirens blaring that this was Chandler. Her friend. Plus there was the whole Rachel thing…

"What, I rendered you speechless?" he teased, his fingertips dancing across her cheek.

"No...I…." she looked up and got lost in his eyes. As if caught in a spell, she watched as he slowly leaned forwards and captured her lips again and again. Thoughts of consequences and betrayal soon left her mind as passion started to consume her.

She could feel his hands on her body, edging under her top, grazing the bare skin and she couldn't suppress the shudder that went through her. He was slowly walking them towards the bed. Her own hands were desperately exploring him too, finding the bottom of his t-shirt, tugging impatiently.

They separated the kiss long enough to remove his shirt and she ran her hands over the newly exposed skin. Needing to feel him, make him feel what she was.

"God, Mon," he panted in her ear, causing her to shiver. "What are we doing?"

He crashed his lips down to hers, getting overwhelmed by the sensations coursing through his body. Every nerve ending was on fire, ultra-sensitive to her touch. To her being.

The back of her knees hit the bed, and she grabbed his shoulders, pulling him down with her as she sat down. Their kiss broke again, briefly, while Chandler lifted her shirt and threw it somewhere behind him.

As she lay back on the bed, Chandler straddled her lap and ran his hands down her sides. She let out an audible moan and arched her back off of the bed as his fingers ran lightly over her skin.

"God," he said breathlessly, "you are so damn beautiful."

She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down to her again, kissing him deeply and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Chandler," needing to hear his name out loud, needing to make sure this was really happening and not a dream. He kissed that place on her neck, making her gasp and grab at him more. He sat up again, and as his hands moved around her back, gripping her shoulders. He looked right into her eyes, both of them breathing heavy. His mind suddenly went into overdrive. This was what he wanted, there was not a single doubt in his mind. But now he worried if she was only in the moment, if this was she wanted at all. He sat up all the way and ran his hands down her arms, intertwining his fingers with hers to get her attention. "Mon," he took in a shaky breath, "are you sure you want to do this?"

She closed her eyes and tried to slow down down her racing pulse for a second, but it didn't work. She was so anxious and ready to move things along. This all felt so good, so right.

She sat up in front of him and kissed him again, holding his head in place while she explored his mouth. When she pulled back again, she ran her hands down his body, looking down for a second and then meeting his eyes. "Take off your pants," she commanded softly.

It was all the confirmation he needed, so he grunted as he pushed her back again, chasing her as her back hit the comforter.

Chandler fell down beside her on the bed, both him and Monica trying to catch their long forgotten breath. Monica reached for her glass of water on her bedside table, taking a long, satisfying sip of it and then offering it over to Chandler, "water?"

He moved his head over to look at her, "yeah, thank you."

She smirked at him, turning over to her side to watch as he sat up to drink, "you're welcome."

He finished drinking and smiled at her, leaning over to put it on the table and not missing the opportunity to kiss her. He cupped her face, pushing some hair out of the way of his fingers, "so, just so you know, I didn't come over here to do that. Not that I'm complaining."

"I know," she promised, her skin ultra-sensitive to his touch. She pressed another sweet kiss to his lips, letting it linger,"but I'm glad you did come over."

Chandler smiled like his favorite team had just made it to the super bowl, "really?"

"Yeah, really, " Monica confirmed.

"I'm glad that you're glad," he said. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lazily until they both heard the bathroom door close, "sounds like Rachel's up," he said casually.

Oh crap. Rachel.

Monica pulled the sheet further up her body, rolling on her back and pressing her lips together and squeezing her eyes shut. She tried to ignore the horrible feelings of guilt that washed over her.

Chandler furrowed his eyebrows together, and ran his hand down one of her arms, "hey, you okay?" Monica didn't answer him, she covered her eyes with her free arm, "what's wrong?" She didn't answer him verbally, finally shook her head, swallowing hard. Chandler began to panic, "oh, God, Mon I'm sorry if this wasn't what you wanted. I hope I didn't…"

She immediately moved her arm from her eyes and grabbed his arm, stopping him from backing up from her, "no, Chandler, that's not it at all. I already told you that I wanted this, I promise."

"Then what's bothering you?" He replied, "you look like you've seen a ghost."

"I, uh, just remembered something that I need to talk to Rachel about," she admitted quietly.

"Okkkk," he was still confused. "Something not good I'm guessing?"

"No, it's just...complicated," she muttered with a wince. "But I'll sort it, you, in the meantime, you need to get out of here before she gets out the bathroom."

"Trying to get rid of me?" he asked lightly, his eyes focussing on the bed cover. She smiled and cupped his face, kissing his lips softly, to reassure him and to savour the feeling one last time before she had to face reality, "well, you know, I've always been the 'hit it and quit it' kind of girl," she tried to joke.

He chuckled softly, leaning down and kissing her again, harder and she let him. He ran his hand down her side and took note of the goosebumps that suddenly formed all over her, "that's too bad, because I was kinda hoping for more than a one night...thing."

She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face and the warm, cherished feeling that ran through her, despite the dilemma with Rachel.

"Me too," she eventually said softly.

"Good," he murmured, leaning over for another kiss, and another. "So I'll see you in a bit?"

She nodded, wishing it was more simple. With a last peck on her lips, he begrudgingly stepped back with a sigh, he really didn't want to leave.

"Go!" she chuckled, the smile still not leaving her face despite the whole situation. He was so cute and he wanted to be with her. Damn Rachel.

"Ok, ok, spoilsport," he walked over to the bedroom door, turning to take her in again. How did he get so lucky? "Bye, Mon."

"Bye," she grinned as she watched him leave.

Her grin disappeared a moment later when her bedroom door reopened to reveal a shocked Rachel, "Wh-?"

She seemed speechless as she spotted a disheveled Monica clutching at the bed covers. Monica grimaced, looking away, guiltily.

"You...you actually...and Chandler?"

"Rachel…" Monica started, unable to look at her in the eye, "look, I just…" She sighed and gripped the sheets tighter, wishing she had her robe. Maybe then she wouldn't feel so vulnerable in her naked state.

"So you don't like him like that, huh?"

"Well I…"

"I can't believe you would do that to me. What about our pact? I guess it doesn't mean anything anymore." She turned on her heel and walked back into the living room.

Monica sighed and quickly stood from the bed, adding underwear and a robe to her body, tying the sash as she walked into the living room, looking around to find it empty.

"Rachel?" Monica called, walking across to her room and knocking on the door, "Rachel, please let me in."

"You know, Mon, I really don't…" Rachel started, but then stopped, remembering that she made the whole thing up just to get the truth out of her friend and actually had no reason to be mad. She'd wanted Monica to confess her feelings….

"I'm sorry! I need to explain," Monica said through the door, "I really need to explain what happened."

Rachel sighed and moved to the door, opening it slowly. Monica walked further into the room behind her, crossing her arms over her stomach nervously, "I'm sorry, Rach. I didn't…"

Rachel put her hand up to stop her, "It's okay."

"No, see I- what?" Monica paused abruptly, confused, shaking her head, "it's not okay. You told me you liked him and I did too but I shouldn't have…"

"Monica, it's really okay." She said again but Monica wasn't listening.

"Not until I talked to you, I mean, who does that? You would never do that and…" Monica began to pace back and forth, her hands on her forehead, "I can't believe this happened. I mean, why would I do that? I knew how you felt but I did it anyway and, god, Rachel, I couldn't help myself. He was just so...and I was just…"

Rachel stood from her bed and put her hands on Monica's, "honey, you gotta calm down. It's fine."

She frowned, "you're not upset?"

Rachel shook her head, smiling, "No, I'm a little shocked that it happened, but I'm not upset."

"But you said you had a crush on him and then I…" Monica took a step back from her, dropping her hands. She was so confused about Rachel's calmness about the whole situation. "Rachel, why aren't you upset?"

Her friend pulled a face, "well, see, me and Pheebs were talking and we could tell something was going on and wanted you to admit that you had a thing for him...and then we kind of made it up."

Monica's face fell as she tried to work out what her roommate had just said to her, "wait, you did what?"

Rachel screwed her face up, "look it wasn't my idea…"

"You both lied to me?"

"Yeah, no, well... but Mon…"

"I can't believe you did that! Why? What were you going to accomplish?" Monica shook her head in disbelief and walked into the living room.

Rachel followed, "oh come on, no harm right? I mean, now you can go and be with him all you want without having to worry about anything."

"But that's not the point, Rachel. You made me feel like crap. I hated that! I felt so bad about wanting Chandler knowing you had feelings for him too and was so confused by everything and..." Rachel furrowed her eyebrows together at the confusion on her friends face. "Mon?"

"So, let me get this straight," she held Rachel's hand, patting the top of it gently, "you and Phoebe wanted to know about my feelings for Chandler that bad that you made up this whole story? Just to get me to admit it?"

Rachel nodded a little, "Yes, I'm sorry...but maybe we helped, you know, forced you to think about it?"

"Maybe," Monica shrugged not fully convinced by her argument, but then smiled, a wave of relief washing over her as it suddenly dawned on her. Now she could have Mr. Bing all to herself.

Rachel took note of the wide smile on Monica's face, "so you and Chandler huh? That's so amazing!" Rachel smiled, unable to contain her excitement. "Did you sleep together? Was he good? Was he sweet? Are you a couple? Are-"

"It was amazing," Monica said, and couldn't help but smile at the memory, "he came over a couple of hours ago and it started out innocent, you know, just another kiss or two. But then one thing led to another, and I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop. He was so kind and romantic, Rachel, I swear, I never had anything like that before."

"You had the moment!" Rachel exclaimed, grabbing Monica's arms and shaking her a little, "so are you dating? This is huge. Wait until the others find out!"

"Well, I think we're going to date," she smiled, "I think he was thinking about dating, but it is Chandler, and I was a little too preoccupied thinking about how I'd screwed you over to think about everything straight."

Rachel's face fell, but then she took notice of the teasing look on Monica's face and relaxed a little, "I think you should go over there. Now that you know everything's okay here."

Monica glanced at her front door, "No, I don't think so. He's got to be at work in a couple of hours and…"

"Oh, that's plenty of time," Rachel said in her lower, sexy voice.

"Rachel!" Monica replied, surprised.

"What? You would hate to go to work with all of that unresolved sexual tension. You might make some questionable looking cookies for the dessert menu tonight."'

Monica laughed and Rachel sighed, pulling her friend to her for a hug, "I'm happy for you two, really. I'm sorry Phoebe and I made it little difficult for you."

Monica pulled back and chuckled deviously, "oh, payback is coming my friend. Just you wait."

Rachel smiled bigger and hugged her again, "fine. Now go. Go over there and you know...talk and do some other stuff."

Monica smiled excitedly at her one more time and stood to her full height. "Alright, here goes."

"Have fun," Rachel watched as she made her way out of their apartment, crossing the hall to apartment 19.

She entered slowly, quietly, crossing the living room and tapping lightly on the top half of Chandler's door. Her heart began to beat rapidly again when the doorknob in front of her turned and the door opened.

He smiled first and she smiled back, "well, hello, pretty lady."

She bit her bottom lip, "hello yourself."

He grabbed her hand, pulling on her a little, "come on in."

"Are you sure?" She watched as he closed the door again behind her, then stepped right into her personal space, " because I know you've got work soon and I don't…"

His index finger on her lips cut her off, "all I have to do is tell Gina that I'm on a conference call and take about a two hour nap, and I'm good as new." Her smile grew beneath his finger. He moved his hand away and leaned down to place a quick kiss on her lips, "what are you doing over here? I thought you had a Rachel thing."

She chuckled softly, "Oh, I'll have to tell you about the whole Rachel thing. And Phoebe thing. You will get a kick out of it."

He lifted his eyebrows, "really?"

"Oh yeah."

"So, tell me what happened."

Monica lifted her eyebrows and placed her hands on his shoulders, lifting herself up to kiss him gently on the lips, then on the cheek, and then just below his ear before whispering in it, "you want me to tell you now?" She moved back to kiss him on the lips again, "or later?"

He grunted and picked her up, placing her on the bed and crawling over to her, "definitely later."

Monica panted heavily as she snuggled next to him, his arms going around her, the room silent as they tried to calm down and return to normal. Chandler pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, "this is so weird."

She swallowed the lump in her throat, worried now about what he was about to say, "what's weird?" she asked horsely. She felt his finger under her chin, pulling her eyes up to his.

"It's weird how not weird this is."

She smiled back at him, her body relaxing at his words, his gentle touch. "I think it's because we know each other so well," she told him softly, then leaned up to kiss his lips, "and we know each other even better now. I am glad this is happening."

He grinned at her, "me too." They shared another soft kiss, and then another, "I kind of wanted to happen for a while now, I've realized."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you might say I've had a crush on you lately."

"A crush?"

"Yeah," he swallowed, threading his fingers through hers.

"So, how big?

He grinned at her deviously, "I think you know how big."

She used her free hand to hit him on the chest, "You know what I meant."

He chuckled and leaned up to kiss her, "really, really big."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he admitted softly, "is that okay?" She nodded, beaming at him, "you know," he commented, tightening his arms around her, "I was thinking, you remember a couple of months ago when you were in the living room and I came over, lets say, a little less than sober?"

She giggled a little again, "yes, I remember. I'm surprised that you remember."

He chuckled, "well, I don't remember much. But I remember that I kissed you, and I think that's when my feelings started to turn about you."

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise, "you kissed me?"

His lifted too, "Didn't I?"

She shook her head, pressing her lips together for a second, "no…"

"I didn't? Really?" His voice squeaked a little, "God, that seemed so real. You're telling me it was my imagination?"

She nodded her head,wishing it had actually happened. "We talked for a while, mostly about Kathy, and then you kind of...passed out. So, I put a pillow under your head and a blanket over you and went to bed."

He was quiet for a long time, Monica's hand dragging lazily over his skin, "are you sure we didn't kiss?"

Monica laughed, "well I'm pretty sure I kissed your forehead. Does that count?" her eyes softened at his crestfallen look, "sorry, but, I'm sure. I wasn't drunk."

"I could taste you," Chandler said, looking away from her eyes for a second, "I could feel your lips."

"It must've been a dream."

He smiled and kissed her, "well, it was a good one," his grip tightened on her a little as he kissed her deeply this time, not pulling back until the lack of air became an issue. He pulled back and cupped her face again, "seriously, Mon. This," he gestured between them, "this is what I wanted."

She leaned up and kissed his cheek, "why didn't you tell me sooner?"

He chuckled dryly, "I was afraid you'd shoot me down and then it would be beyond awkward between us."

"It won't ever be awkward between us," Monica promised, "we're too close for that." He nodded, his eyes closing for a second at the sensation of relief her words gave him. "And," she continued, "for the record, I want this too. This is going to work."

Chandler grinned, "God, what a dream come true."