Chapter 4: Mondler First Date

Chandler knocked on the door to Apartment 20 and took a deep breath. His heart was in his mouth, and he clutched at the present currently behind his back more tightly, as if to anchor himself.

Hearing the click of the latch behind the door, he straightened and promptly had the breath leave his lungs as the door was pulled to, revealing Monica in a red cocktail dress.

He gaped. "Wow….. You look….. you're so….." Words failed him.

Monica beamed happily and blushed, pleased. There was a slight pause, and Chandler quickly procured the bouquet of flowers from behind his back.

He watched as Monica turned even further pink, her dazzling smile broadening. "Th-Thank you," she stuttered, accepting the lilies happily. She even brought them to her nose for a deep inhale, reveling in their sweet smell. Chandler internally did a happy dance: lilies were Monica's favorite flower, and he was inherently proud of himself that he hadn't forgotten.

"You remembered!" Monica gushed, unknowingly echoing his thoughts, as she turned back to quickly fetch a vase and fill it with water. Chandler took one cautious step across the threshold, even as he smiled easily.

"I have my moments," he brushed off, as self-deprecating as only he knew how to be.

Monica glanced back to him over her shoulder, eyes still shining. "You do much more than 'have your moments'….. thank you, Chandler."

"You're welcome." He glanced about. "No Rachel, I take it?"

"She left for a date over an hour ago," Monica prattled, setting the vase of lilies out. "And Joey?"

"He's on a date too, and with any luck, will be going home with his lady tonight," Chandler reported.

"Hmm," Monica demurred. "I'd bet money on that, if I weren't too excited – and anxious to openly give you this." Flitting to him, she kissed him softly on the lips. Chandler leaned into the kiss with a smile. They sultrily broke apart.

"Hi," Monica murmured, her smile dancing.

"Hi, yourself," Chandler returned, his smile turning goofy. He gallantly held out his arm. "Miss Geller: might I have the pleasure?"

Monica shyly looped her arms through his and they descended the stairs to the ground floor. At the curb, Chandler hailed a cab. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Chandler gentlemanly helped her into the cab before sliding in after her. He had worked his tail off to make the most perfect preparations. With any luck, Monica would appreciate it.

With even more luck, it occurred to him, they wouldn't happen to run into any of their friends who were out tonight. Not that coming across Joey was a real concern – the man couldn't afford to dine where they were going, and certainly not on an actor's pay. Rachel…. He just hoped she wasn't anywhere in the vicinity. And who even knew where Phoebe was?

The cab finally pulled up to the most upscale restaurant in town. When Monica saw the sign through the tinted windows, her eyes widened.

"Javu?! But I've heard it's almost impossible to snag a reservation!"

Chandler smirked. "It wasn't easy, but I pulled a rabbit out of a hat." A beat, and then: "Bet Pete or Richard never managed this." The instant he said it, he wanted to kick himself. That was stupid…. when Pete took Monica to dinner, he jetted her to actual fucking Italy.

Luckily, Monica didn't appear to notice. Leaning in, she kissed Chandler soundly on the mouth in thrilled gratitude. "No," she agreed. "They didn't. This is even better than Italy!" Chandler was astonished, and inherently pleased. Better than Italy? His head was swimming.

He escorted her in, and the maitrê'd showed them to a secluded, candlelit booth in the corner. "Can I interest you in any drinks this evening?"

"Your best wine. Red," Chandler requested, taking a moment to eye the red velvet of Monica's cocktail dress.

"Right away, sir."

Left alone, there was a long beat in which Chandler and Monica just gazed at each other. Monica curled into herself and blushed, but not because she was uncomfortable. To the absolute contrary, if anything she was too comfortable: here she was, on a date with her best friend – and to her ever-delighted surprise, he knew how to wine and dine her better than any man she had ever gone out with. Richard and Pete? Neither of them compared.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Chandler."

His cheeks colored bashfully. "I wanted to impress you," he mumbled.

She laughed brightly. "Trust me, you have. But we could have eaten take-out in my apartment and you would have impressed me." She blatantly appraised him. "You clean up…. really nice."

"So do you," Chandler returned admiringly. "But then again, you look beautiful in anything – even sweatpants!" Monica twittered shyly. "You do!"

Monica gazed at him, her expression soft. "We should have done this years ago," she decided in a soft murmur.

Chandler quirked his lips in bemused thought. "I think we're doing it just when we're supposed to."

"Yeah? How come?"

"I think now we're ready for it. Me, I'm still astonished that you actually agreed to go out with me – and that we're doing it a little out of order!" They both shared silly grins and rouge cheeks at this. Chandler's grin was smoldering, and he traced the shine of the tabletop deep in thought.

There was something he really wanted to say, but he set it aside for the present, in favor of asking, "You recognized this joint when we pulled up. Would you ever want to cook in a place like this?"

"Work here? I wish! It would be my dream job, for sure!"

Chandler studied her, enthralled. "I bet you would get hired. They'd be crazy not to take you on, Mon!"

She beamed. "You're sweet." She sighed. "In any case, it would be an opportunity for advancement. Alessandro's is fine, but…."

Chandler nodded sympathetically. He heard some of Monica's woeful workplace stories before. "I can't believe grown adults would be cruel like that. It's just because they're jealous. You know that, right?"

Monica snorted bitterly. "You'd be surprised. Anyway, it's nothing I haven't heard since I was a kid…." She stilled, sucking in a breath, as Chandler took her hand from across the table, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

"I'm ashamed to say you also heard it from me, once upon a Thanksgiving," Chandler spoke softly, sadly. His tone was tinged with remorse.

Monica's expression collapsed into tenderness. "Chandler…. You don't have to…."

"I do," he insisted. "I do have to say I'm sorry. I never should have said that, or even thought it, with you anywhere in earshot. If I had known you were, I never would have said it. Even if you hadn't been in earshot, I never should have said it. It was wrong, and I'm sorry. I was an immature fool who didn't yet know what an amazing person you are."

Monica inlaid her palm over his. "Well…. thank you. For what it's worth, I forgive you. I forgave you quite some time ago."

"Well, I suppose a toe for a cruel word was commensurate payback," Chandler muttered in a quip. Monica giggled. "Call it even?"

"OK!" she chirped. Spontaneously, she leaned in and kissed him softly, their lips caught only in the candlelight.

For a time, Chandler glanced down at their enjoined hands, lost in thought. He heard Monica chuckle. "What…..?"

"Monica, I want to thank you," Chandler said quietly. His voice seemed to have dropped several octaves and Monica kept herself still, listening, almost on baited breath. Whatever Chandler had to say it, it was pretty damn important. Already, she knew she had never, never heard him sound so vulnerable. Chandler swallowed. "For loving me. I'm a pretty flawed person, and I know I can have commitment issues. I'm…. I'm so grateful that you've seen past all the worst of me, and accepted me anyway….."

Monica melted. "Chandler…."

"I need to say this," he insisted. He exhaled deeply. "I know the dreams that you have, which makes it all the more remarkable that you would take a chance on a guy like me." He caught her eyes and held them, hoping against hope that he was saying the right words. "I want you to know, no matter what happens from this point forward…. My life is better…. Because we've been together. I love you and value our friendship so much that I've been scared to risk….. this….." He lifted an eyebrow at her. "One word: Kip." (Monica chuckled). "….. but at the same time, I love you so much that I want to do everything in my power to make this work. Because when I'm with you…. and when we're together: Oh. My. ….. God…"

Monica beamed, her blue eyes expanding. "Really…..?"

"Oh – Ohhhh….. my God….." And Chandler just about moaned it. His eyes started to well up. "Monica, in just a few weeks, you've already made me happier than I've been in years. You…. make me happier than I ever thought I could be. I already know I never want to let this go, and the thought that I might scares the crap out of me! So I just want you to know, in spite of my flaws, I'm in. ….. I am all in."

He lurched to the end of his speech, searching her eyes. Monica was gazing at him in wonder, as if she had never seen him before. When the silence stretched on, Chandler cleared his throat.

"Are you, um….. scared?"

Monica tilted her head and gazed deep into his eyes. He hadn't said 'I love you,' but coming from Chandler, he may as well have. And she knew, for this man, that was a huge step. Slowly, her face broke out into a beaming smile and she slowly shook her head.

"No….." she crooned.

Chandler and Monica talked all throughout their meal, about everything and nothing. If not for the ambience, they might have fooled themselves into thinking they were back in the Central Perk coffeehouse, on some of those days when it was just the two of them and the rest had failed to show up.

It was late when they finally returned to the apartment complex on Bedford Street. Monica turned back at her door and swayed on her tiptoes to give Chandler a feather-light kiss goodnight.

"Goodnight….." she cooed.

"Goodnight," Chandler mumbled. He couldn't resist diving back in for another. And another. And another after that.

Monica turned back to her door, paused and pressed her ear to the jamb. "Rachel must be home. Sounds like the TV's on!"

Chandler nodded, preparing to lunge for his door and slip inside his apartment before Monica opened her door, lest Rachel catch a glimpse of them together and connect the dots. "Wait!" Monica hissed, grabbing for his hand. "….. You said Joey probably won't be home?"

"99% positive."

Monica smiled. "Come on, then." And taking him by the hand, she led Chandler with purpose into his apartment and all the way back to his room.

Closing the door to his bedroom behind them, Chandler and Monica embraced in the near-darkness, kissing in light, desperate pecks. Monica let her cocktail dress pool with a rustle at their feet. She helped undress Chandler reverently.

Losing themselves in a dizzying kiss, the couple fell back onto Chandler's bed and softly began to make love.

Chandler didn't remember falling asleep.

When he finally awoke, it was clearly deep morning. Gazing down at where he was spooning a naked Monica, watching the easy rise and fall of her chest as she dreamed, he smiled in utter contentment. This beautiful woman was here, and she was his. His! He still could scarcely believe it.

Suddenly –

"Oh. My. God!"

Chandler turned pale. He knew that turn of phrase, except it didn't have the accent of a certain ex of his. It didn't sound like Janice.

Feeling Monica jerk awake in his arms, Chandler glanced back over his shoulder.

Someone was in his room, but it wasn't Janice. It was someone – multiple someones – far worse.

Their entire friend group was standing just inside the doorway, gawking in stunned incredulity at the sight before them: Chandler and Monica, in bed together and naked as the day they were born.

The reactions were mixed: Ross had both his palms to his eyes, cringing with horror. Rachel was gaping. Phoebe was smiling almost knowingly. Joey, true to form, was lasciviously smirking, looking as though Christmas had come early.

"Atta boy, Chandler, buddy!" The struggling actor sounded like a proud papa. "And wow, Mon! What a rack!"

Monica's eyes bulged and she let out a startled noise somewhere between a yelp and a shriek. She yanked the covers up to her chest, just ahead of a sudden flash of light that a dazed Chandler momentarily thought was glare from the sunshine.

It was Phoebe instead, having snapped a photograph of the moment with a flash camera and all the zeal of a paparazzi photographer. "Wow! Can you turn around and give me your good side, Chandler?"

"No, Pheebs, get out of the way!" Chandler thrashed from where he was tangled up in the sheets. He attempted to get up, tripped on the blankets and sprawled out of bed in all his nude glory. Rachel let out a wail and joined Ross in covering her eyes.

"Can someone please explain to me how and when the hell this all happened?!" The fashion executive cried.

Ross awkwardly scratched at the back of his neck even as he resolutely turned his gaze to the wall, looking anywhere but at the outed couple that included his baby sister. Some things just aren't meant to be seen by a brother. "In London," he mumbled, like a kid caught in a fib.

"In London?!" Rachel cried. Joey's smile was now positively wolfish. "Ross, you knew about this?!"

"You told them?!" Monica yelped at her brother, stung and betrayed.

"It slipped out once Joey walked in on you, but I took it back!" Ross blurted eagerly. As if that was somehow helpful.

Chandler desperately cast about for his boxers to at the very least pull over his hips, mortified. That done, he set about shielding Monica as she attempted to rise from the bed they had shared with what was left of her dignity and without flashing the room – well, really Joey.

"We wanted to have some time to ourselves. Have at least one date without all the pressure from you guys. We didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but we also didn't want to feel like we had to hide forever. We told Ross first and swore him to secrecy," Monica explained with a sigh. Her eyes met Chandler's, and the pair shared tender looks. The others noticed.

"This is…. this is great!" Joey crowed.

Monica's smile broadened. "Yeah. It really is." Beaming into each other's eyes, she and Chandler leaned in and kissed lightly.

"OK, OK!" Ross moaned, weirded out.

Monica snorted. "You're going have to get used to it some time, big brother."

Chandler stole an arm about Monica's waist once she had pulled her dress back on. "We're not just messing around either. I…." He took a deep breath. "I love her. I'm….. I'm in love with her."

Monica gaped at him, elated. She hadn't expected him to say those words so soon, but seeing as he had…. It was a big step for him, and she felt as though she was going to burst with pride. She wanted to fly. He loves me. Chandler Bing is in love with me! Me!

Chandler just gazed down at her, his expression sappy, heartsick and smoldering. "…. I love you, Monica….."

Her breath caught, hitched. "I love you too, Chandler," she echoed, near tears, and they embraced.

There was another flash from the camera, causing them to break apart sharper than they would have liked, Chandler hissing. "Gah! Phoebe will you stop that?!"

"Not now. It's getting so good! I just thought you guys were doing it! I didn't know you were in love!"

Leaning into her boyfriend, Monica sent him a giddy smile. Chandler beamed back.

Her smile was one he hoped to look upon for the rest of his life. For Chandler already knew: this was it for him. Monica was the one. There could be no one else for him. If she let him, he would spend the rest of his life trying to make her just as happy as she made him.

Pulling her close, Chandler kissed her, his lips upturning into a grin as he felt Monica swoon and kiss him back. He loved her so much! He loved her!

He was so screwed. And he loved it.