Author's note: so, before we go there, I wanna thank all the guest reviewers haha you are all very sweet, and since I can't PM you guys to thank you, I'm doing that here. Thank you all for the reviews, really. 3

I saw some people ranting about Rachel and Monica's relationship, and although I love Rachel to death, I have to say I completely agree with you all. I always felt it was definitely difficult for Rachel seeing her ~neurotic former fat friend~ getting all the things she always wanted – I'm sure she always thought she would have all those things first.

Anyway, it's Ross's time now!

Chapter 4: Ross

Monica & the Cheap Wedding or Monica & the Future and Stuff

Ross usually made his voice heard even when people weren't asking questions. He believed to be a guy with some sense, and he deeply loved his friends, even if he sounded harsh, so he never shied away from giving advices or scolding when necessary. This was a delicate moment though. His little sister and his best friend had just gotten engaged, and they were in heaven until having dinner with his parents and finding out that the Monica wedding fund did not exist anymore – or rather, it had become a beach house. Turns out Chandler had saved a lot of money throughout his years of boring work, money enough to give Monica wedding scenario A. Everything was solved, one would think, however, for some reason Ross couldn't fathom, his best friend refused to give away the money.

See, Ross also prides himself on being a reasonable guy, but when it comes to weddings, he's pretty much a twin to his sister. Who cares if all the money is spent? This is their wedding day! It's the most important day of their lives! They can always earn more money, but they'll only get married once. Apparently, this is exactly what Monica told Chandler, to which he replied with something about the future and stuff.

Really?

He could understand Chandler's motive, actually. They seemed to be in for the long haul, so having spare money for any future nuisances was quite reasonable too.

That's why he doesn't want to meddle. He feels like he's caught in the middle of two very good points, and he's worried about the situation. It would be terrible if something like this put a damper on their happiness.

"Hey, guys!" when the paleontologist entered apartment 20, he felt the air was much lighter, especially when he noticed a happy couple sharing the love seat, as if no fight over anything had ever happened. "So… you made up?" He smiled at them.

"Yes, she can't be mad at me for too long", Chandler stated dramatically, earning a good rolling of eyes from Monica.

"So, you decided to spend all of the money on the wedding?" Ross was already excited; even though it was someone else's wedding, it was a wedding anyway!

"Actually, no. We're going for the cheap wedding", Monica said casually, no sign of discomfort whatsoever on her face, which almost made Ross jump back.

"Really?" He tried really hard, god knows how hard he tried, not to sound too surprised, but the shock got the best of him.

"Yeah", Monica was smiling, bright eyes turning to look at her fiancé, who was smiling just as much. "We talked about it, and turns out the future and stuff is very important, so it's best if we just keep some money instead of spending everything."

"Yeah, what if in two years I finally find life-size Stormtroopers on sale?" Chandler's joke made Monica push him this time. "Well, I gotta go back to work. Bye, babe." He kissed the corner of her lips. "Bye, Ross." And he left the apartment.

With Chandler gone, Ross almost expected Monica to use the opportunity to vent about how sad she was and how unfair it was of Chandler not to spend all of the money; it was her dream wedding after all! He looked dumbfounded before, but seeing her walk around looking like she was floating was probably making his face look funny. It did make his face look funny, as his sister was now wearing a worried expression while looking at him.

"Ross? Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah! Yeah, I'm okay. Um, listen. Um, mind if I ask you… how did he convince you?"

She smiled again. "Well, actually, he didn't try to convince me. He was willing to spend all of his savings, but then somehow the subject changed and he started talking about what he expected for the future," Her smile was so wide Ross wondered if her face didn't hurt, and her hands were frantic, crumbling a piece of fabric of her shirt as she remembered the earlier conversation "then I realized that I don't really want a big fancy wedding; I want a marriage, and for that we should keep the money after all."

"What does he expect for the future?", Ross was honestly confused.

"I don't wanna get into this, but basically he wants four kids and a house in the suburbs. The money will be very useful in the future after all. I don't want any of my kids out of college!" She pointed a finger at her brother, as if he had said anything contrary to that.

Ross was crossing the street, ready to get massaged up by Phoebe once he got home. He let his mind wander. It was unbelievable, really. He was already there when Monica was born; he'd lived with her the very first years of his life. He knew how much she wanted a perfect wedding, with the lilies and the band and the food and the most expensive wedding dress. She even had little wedding plays, in which she would pretend to wear a beautiful veil and walk down the made-up aisle in the Gellers' yard. It was just unbelievable that she would give that all up for a safe future with Chandler. That moment Ross felt there was something real and powerful in that relationship. He arrived at his floor, they really are in for the long haul, huh?, and reached for the doorknob.