What happened after London? - Another story

I know there have been several great AU written about what could have happened to our favorite couple "after London." This is the story I imagined. I hope you find its development enjoyable. Initially, there will be some heartbreak, but eventually, romance develops.

I hope you catch the story, and you tell me your opinions, through them I know if I'm on the right track.

Remember English is not my native language, I hope the translation is correct, I check it, but sometimes I miss some incorrect, sorry.

I repeat, I am not the owner of the characters, I only rely on them for the sheer pleasure of practice writing stories without any economic interest, and these two characters inspire me.

Chapter 1

Chandler had just walked out the door of Apartment 20. They had arrived from London a few minutes earlier. At first, they both thought that what had happened, their night together, had been stupid. What were they thinking? However, they both had an overwhelming desire to repeat that incredible night of sex. So they both agreed they would do it while they were in London, a foreign and romantic country. But they also agreed that they would only do it in London. It would never happen again in New York. They didn't want their friendship to be affected.

However, in London, they couldn't repeat it. Ross's mistake when saying Rachel's name at the altar had destroyed all their plans. Just as Joey later destroyed their plans to repeat it in the airplane bathroom, since they were still in international waters.

Upon arriving at Apartment 20, they found Phoebe, who immediately left when Joey asked her about the duck and chicken.

At that moment, they were alone. They were already in New York, and the agreement was not to repeat it again. So Monica simply thanked Chandler for the night they had spent together, which had made her forget about Ross, her mother, and the man that thought was Ross's mother.

Chandler, with his tender smile, also conveyed that that night had been incredible because Monica was very hot.

The two shared a brief hug, and Chandler headed for the door, saying he was going to unpack.

For a couple of seconds, Monica walked toward the door to go find him, to put aside their agreement not to go to New York, but she stopped in time. What was she thinking?

She was really thinking that Chandler had given her the best sex she had ever had in her entire life. Her friend, her best friend, the one who lived in the apartment across the hallway, had given her pleasure like no one else in her entire life. She'd never imagined it like this. It was a surprising discovery.

But she couldn't risk their friendship just for sex. Everything was fine this way. She loved Chandler; of course, he was her best friend, but nothing good could come of it if they continued in a relationship. Well, what they had could even be called a relationship, knowing Chandler's phobia. So she went into her bedroom to unpack and decided she should store that night in the trunk of good memories. She was tenacious when it came to moving forward; that sporadic night would have no consequences.

Chandler closed the door to apartment 20 behind him, but stood for a few seconds in the hallway. He turned around, reached for the doorknob... but stopped. What was he doing? …the night with Monica was the best he'd ever had in his entire life. It was obvious she was hot and beautiful. For years, she'd been present in his crazy fantasies, clearly much more frequent than those he'd had with Rachel or Phoebe, but…

Monica was his best friend. Continuing this would end up ruining their friendship. He always messed up or ran away at the slightest hint of commitment, and he clearly couldn't play games with Monica. He also didn't want them to turn into Rachel and Ross, making everyone else uncomfortable… But he would undoubtedly never forget that night; it had been perfect…

Besides, he was convinced Monica would never even think of having a committed relationship with him. Not only would she not risk something like that with him, knowing his history in relationships, but she also aspired to a different type of man, a model he didn't fit.

It was better to go unpack and move on.

And although both were convinced of the decision, it had undoubtedly affected their friendship in small details. It was more difficult for them to look into each other's eyes and speak with their eyes as they had done before, or to have physical contact, friendly, but physical contact in the end. The hugs were reduced to nothing, now they tried to sit apart... unconscious nonsense, but which denoted a change, which in any case went unnoticed by everyone, even by them.

The birth of Phoebe's triplets—well, Phoebe's brother—brought enough distraction.

However, at the hospital, while they were waiting for the triplets to be born, something caught Chandler off guard.

Rachel had arranged a date for Monica and herself with two male nurses, quite handsome, by the way.

It was normal for girls to go out and arrange dates, but this time it was a gut-punch for Chandler that alarmed him. It shouldn't have been like this; he and Monica were just friends, but just the thought of Monica in someone else's arms had upset him... What was happening to him?

The girls seemed excited about the date; over breakfast, they were commenting on what they would wear that night.

Chandler remained silent; his stomach was bothering him to the point that he barely ate anything.

When they returned to the apartment Joey asked him

"Man, is something wrong…? You're being quiet. You almost left your entire breakfast. If it weren't for me, Monica should have thrown it away, hahaha ."

"It was just something I ate last night. It must have upset my stomach."

The next day, Phoebe came to pick them up for breakfast. They had just woken up, and Chandler was taking a shower.

"That's weird. I thought the girls would be late. We wouldn't get Monica's breakfast today," Joey said, looking surprised.

At that moment, Chandler came out of the shower.

"Hey Phoebe, what are you doing here…"

"I already told Joey I are coming to tell you we're expecting for breakfast."

"Wow, I thought today was brunch day," Chandler replied.

"Yeah, me too…" Joey said.

"It seems the date wasn't so great, at least for Monica. From what she said, the guy was handsome, but extremely boring. He only talked about his studies, his work, his days at war. Apparently, he wasn't very interested in hearing what Monica might have to say." "I don't think there will be another date." … "Well, let's go, the girls are waiting for us."

Chandler was very aware that suddenly his stomach, which had been tight for a couple of days, relaxed… and this wasn't good at all. He couldn't have these problems just because Monica was dating someone. If this continued, it would be torture… He'd have to figure it out."

However, this decision wouldn't be easy. Since they'd returned from London, he'd dreamed about Monica several times, making love with the intensity of that night, which had caused him wet dreams. This reaction worried him, as he knew it was normal for adolescence, but now he was a 29-year-old man... maybe he should see a doctor.

Besides, with no dates, lately whenever he needed to satisfy himself, he'd resort to watching a porn movie or a magazine; otherwise, he'd automatically think of Monica.

This would have to end.

The following days, the gang found themselves distracted and somewhat overwhelmed by poor Ross. First, trying to find Emily, then trying to convince her to come to New York. Added to this was their dilemma over Emily's condition: she would move to the City as long as he stopped seeing Rachel.

Emily's intransigence was too intolerable; ultimately, Ross's very short marriage ended.

After the breakup, Emily's cousin kicked Ross out of the apartment he'd lent him, so Ross ended up living with his friends in apartment 19.

With Ross's relationship and housing problems resolved, the gang returned to their normal activities and peace of mind. One Friday, they were gathered in apartment 20 playing cards when Monica returned from work.

After going to her room to change her clothes, she came back saying, "I have a date on Sunday."

Everyone was happy, of course, Chandler also hid the kick in the stomach with a big smile. Despite the days that had passed and Ross's unbearable problems, his thoughts about Monica hadn't lingered for a moment.

"So, Monica, and who's the gentleman?" Rachel asked.

"A supplier for the restaurant, he supplies us with tablecloths. He always flirted with me, and today he finally invited me to dinner on Sunday," Monica said with a smile.

"As long as he's not like the wine man," Joey recalled with a mischievous smile.

"No, silly, anyway, the same thing won't happen to me. I'll be attentive. He's about 35 years old. I know he's divorced and has two children, so we'll see. I won't rush into it," Monica replied.

"Mon, are you sure you're going out with a restaurant supplier?" Chandler told her, frowning.

"Yes, I already said I won't rush into it like I did with the wine man," Monica replied, feeling uncomfortable with Chandler's comment. She fretted, thinking, "Because I feel like I owe him an explanation. We only had that one night… the one I can't forget… but that doesn't mean I owe him fidelity…"

"No, I don't mean that. I just remembered what happened to you when you accepted the five free steaks. They took it as a bribe," Chandler replied.

"This is totally different. He's not giving me anything, he's just inviting me on a date, and no one has to know," Monica said, annoyed by her friend's insistence.

"Well, as you explained to me, as Executive Chef, you're in charge of purchasing, and he's still a supplier. They might find out and interpret this as him trying to influence your decisions," Chandler explained.

"That's true," Ross added. "It could be misinterpreted; I'd think so if I were you."

"Guys, please leave her alone and let her enjoy her date. At most she'll lose her job," Phoebe exclaimed.

Monica looked at her, a hint of concern appearing on her face. -

"Mon, why don't you tell Harris? He's the owner. You tell him and make it clear that it's something personal and has nothing to do with the business," Rachel recommended.

"Yes, you're right. I'll do that to avoid misunderstandings," Monica concluded.

When the night of the meeting ended, Chandler returned to his apartment while Joey went on a date, and Ross watched a documentary on the Discovery Channel.

Chandler lay down on his bed thinking about what was happening to him. It was clear he couldn't stop feeling jealous. The situation was hopeless. Monica had every right to have a relationship, to be happy. In this equation, he was the one who was out of place, he knew it, and he would have to figure out how to overcome it.

On Monday after work, they were all gathered at Central Perk.

Joey, with a mischievous smile, asked Monica, "So, how was the date? Was it hot?"

Chandler immediately looked at her, but Monica pursed her lips and shrugged.

"No, Joey, we just went to dinner. That was the plan. Anyway, I don't know. He's nice, but I'm not attracted to him."

"Well, Pete didn't appeal to you at first either. You should give him a chance," Rachel opined.

"Yes, you're probably right. I long for love at first sight, but it's not always like that. I have to give myself time."

At that moment, Monica's words echoed in Chandler head, "Love at first sight."

When Chandler returned to his room, he was left thinking. Obviously, this couldn't be the case for him. They'd known each other for years. However, the night in London had been like an awakening. It was the first time he'd seen Monica in a totally different way. "Could it be that this new look had turned into love at first sight…"

If so, he was in huge trouble.

Monica went out on a couple more dates with the tablecloth supplier. On the secon date, they went to a movie and dinner. A week later, on what would be their third date, he tried to move on to something more. He kissed her, but it wasn't a good kiss; his mouth didn't taste good. She could never continue with that man.

That night, Monica realized that even though she'd thought she'd buried her night in London deep, she couldn't help but feel that Chandler had reached a very high standard in her life. Not just because of the sex, but because of so many years of closeness, they had created a bond she couldn't do without. There was so much more to that friendship. How would she ever find someone who could surpass everything they'd built over the years with Chandler, to which was now added that incredible, perfect, unforgettable night?

To top it all off, she'd dreamed of Chandler many nights, making love, only to wake up and find that she'd had a smoky dream.

Suddenly, the rational part of her mind put a stop to those thoughts. This was wrong; he was her friend; what had happened in London had only been one night of sex and nothing more. She'd been sure that was it, which was why the recurring dreams disturbed her and had to go away. She just had to wait for the right man.

A few days later, during the conversations at Central Perk, Chandler learned that Monica's date hadn't gone well. From what he gathered from what she was telling the girls, she hadn't been attracted to the man.

Chandler had been uneasy for the past couple of weeks; he couldn't get over the discomfort caused by knowing Monica was dating the man with the tablecloths. But even though the romance had failed, it didn't make him feel better. Monica was beautiful, and surely another candidate would soon appear who might win her over.

He thought he'd spend the rest of his life stressed about Monica's love life, and it didn't bode well for his physical or mental health. How could he resolve it?