I leaned back on the couch at Central Perk. Having just gotten off work, I looked forward to enjoying coffee and my friends' company.
"Do you want a refill (Y/N)?" Gunther asked. I nodded as Gunther poured more coffee into my cup.
"Thanks Gunther." I smiled as he moved back behind the counter. The door to the coffee shop opened and I turned around as the voices of my friends rose above the din of Central Perk.
"All I'm saying is it isn't fair to just leave them both at the shelter." Chandler's voice faltered for a second. "I had to do something."
"You could have given me the duck at least." Monica joked. "It would have fed Joey for a day." She sat down across from me after hugging me from behind. I smiled over at her while Chandler took a seat next to me.
"That's what I'm saving him from!" He exclaimed. I giggled as he draped his arm over my soldiers. "Take my side here (Y/N)." Chandler kissed my temple before looking at me expectantly.
"Sorry Mon." I gave her a small smile. "Chandler's got a point." Monica laughed and gave me a knowing smile as I leaned back on Chandler. I blushed as Chandler kissed my head again. We made idle chatter as we waited for the others.
"Hey guys." Rachel greeted as she sat down at the small table. Phoebe and Joey came in next. Joey took a seat on the other side of me while Phoebe went to set up for her set.
"Where's Ross?" Rachel asked after we had all settled in.
"He said he had some last minute things to take care of at the museum." I filled in as Joey got up to call Ross.
"How do you know that?" Chandler asked.
"He called my apartment and left a message." I shrugged. Joey sat back down and pulled my feet into his lap.
"He's going to be incredibly late." He said as I snuggled back into Chandler due to the new position I was in. Chandler moved his arms so he was hugging me. "What did you do today (Y/N)?" I sighed as Chandler rubbed my arm.
"I got yelled at by the manager and then to top it all off my computer restarted in the middle of an important project when the project didn't save." I rolled my eyes as Joey patted my leg. "So I have to restart it all tomorrow and hope that my computer doesn't crash or restart again."
"You could always work on it on my laptop and print it out so you have a back up." Chandler offered. I looked back at him.
"Are you sure?" I asked. Chandler nodded.
"Of course. Anything to help." He smiled down at me before getting up. "While this is very interesting, I do need the bathroom." I leaned back against the back of the couch again.
"Serious talk before he gets back." Rachel said before glancing in the direction Chandler went. "When are you going to make a move (Y/N)?" I blushed as Monica and Phoebe nodded in agreement.
"Why would (Y/N) make a move?" Joey asked before looking at me blushing and covering my face. "Oh!" It clicked for him as I shook my head.
"How about never?" I mumbled out as Joey rubbed my shin. "It'll never work and our friendship would be ruined."
"I'll let you in on a little secret but you can't let him know that you know I know you know." I looked at Joey confused before deciding to just agree with him.
"Ok." I nodded. "What secret?" Joey squeezed my ankle and smiled.
"He likes you too." Joey told me excitedly. "He told me and Ross once when we had all gotten really drunk at one of Monica's parties. Chandler couldn't keep his eyes off of you." I blushed and shook my head.
"Yeah right Joe." I said. Rachel leaned over and patted my shoulder. Phoebe patted my leg from her spot on the floor. "Just drop it guys." Everyone nodded as Chandler came back.
"Drop what?" He asked as he took his place behind me again. Joey looked at Monica while Phoebe looked at Rachel. "Come on guys. Don't stop on my account." I took pity on him.
"We were trying to get Rachel to admit to what it is like dating Ross but she didn't want to answer so I told them to drop it." I shrugged. Chandler nodded before putting his chin on my shoulder and resting his head against mine. We sat through Phoebe's set before heading back upstairs. "Could I get started on my work tonight?" I asked as we headed up to Monica's apartment. Chandler nodded as we reached their hallway.
"Sure. I'll keep you company." He said as Joey nudged him. Chandler shot Joey a look before sending one to the girls. "If Ross shows up, let him know where we are."
"Will do." Monica smiled at me before going into her apartment and dragging Joey in with her.
"Don't stay up too late, you two." Rachel winked at me and I shook my head, thankful Chandler had his back turned as he unlocked the door to his and Joey's apartment.
"Laptop's in my room." Chandler said as he held the door open for me. "I'll go get it."
"Do I want to know why it's in your room or should I just leave you to close any tabs you don't want me to see?" I joked as I sat at his counter.
"Very funny (Y/N)." Chandler said, walking out of his room with the laptop. "You know how to work this. I'm just going to change and I'll be back out." I nodded as I took it from him and set it up.
"Thanks again for this Chandler." I said. "You don't know how much this saves me." He emerged from his room again in a sweater.
"I've had this issue at work before." Chandler sympathized as he put his hands on my shoulders. We watched the screen boot up and Chandler started to massage my back. "That's partly why I bought the laptop." I nodded and leaned my head back against Chandler's chest, enjoying the massage he was giving me. "Are you going to spend the night?" I nodded with my eyes closed.
"If it's alright with you." I mumbled. "Joey will be fine with it, you know that." Chandler laughed.
"Right?" He chuckled. "Could he be anymore obvious?" I opened my eyes and looked at him. I bit the inside of my cheek as I took in his face at this angle.
"Obvious?" I asked. Chandler nodded as he leaned down and kissed my forehead.
"Oh to be young and naïve." He muttered against my head. "Have you not seen the looks he gives you in the mornings after you sleep over? I swear his eyes can't get bigger and if his jaw could unhinge it would quite literally be on the floor." I furrowed my eyebrows. "It honestly gets a little annoying." Chandler gently pushed me to sit back up before moving to make some popcorn. "You honestly have never seen that?"
"No I haven't Chan." I shook my head. "Then again I'm never that awake in the mornings and you know that." Chandler chuckled and nodded.
"Oh I know that." I gently smacked his arm.
"Anyway," I turned the conversation back in my favor. "I've had my eye on someone else for a while anyhow." Chandler froze as he opened the box of popcorn.
"You have?" He looked over at me hesitantly.
"Yeah." I replied. "I have."
"That's good." Chandler nodded. "Good for you. If anything, it makes you immune to Joey." I laughed.
"What about you Chandler?" I asked, thinking about what Joey had said and how he was reacting. "Got your eye on anyone?"
"Yeah. There's someone but I'm fairly certain they don't even see me as anything more than a friend." He sighed. "If I say anything I know I'm going to screw it up." Chandler moved to sit in his burka lounger. I turned around to look at him.
"How do you know that Chandler?" I sympathized. "It could go better than you think." Chandler shook his head and frowned at me.
"We both know that's not true (Y/N)." He sighed. "I don't want to screw things up but it always seems to happen that way." I shook my head. "Janice. At least give me Janice." I nodded as I thought about Chandler's ex.
"Yeah. I'll give you Janice. But you can't take all the blame for that. I mean," I made my voice high pitched and whiny. "Oh. My. God." Chandler laughed and I joined in.
"Face it." Chandler said when we had calmed down. "I'm hopeless and awkward and desperate for love!" I shook my head.
"You're not hopeless and awkward." I said as I stood up. Chandler watched me as I kneeled down next to him. "I'll give you desperate for love. I'm in that boat too." Chandler stood up.
"You could have anybody you wanted. We are not in the same boat." I stood up with him and grabbed his arm, making him spin towards me.
"Yes we are Chandler." I whined. "Because the one guy I want I can't have." Chandler opened his mouth but I cut him off. "I can't have you." I blurted. Chandler's face contorted in confusion before he mouthed 'wow'. "What? What's wrong?" I stood there wringing my hands as he stared at me.
"Maybe we are in the same boat." He said. I cocked my head at him.
"What do you mean?" I shifted from foot to foot.
"I like you too (Y/N)." He said. He gazed at me softly as the weight of his words sunk in. Chandler smiled as I finally caught on.
"Chandler...you...me..." I trailed off as I broke out into a massive grin. "Chandler Bing likes me back!" I exclaimed as I ran over to him. Chandler hugged me tightly and picked me up. "Oh God you like me back." I pulled back as the reality crashed down on me.
"Yeah. I like you back." Chandler said soothingly as he pressed his forehead against mine. "I have for a quite a while." gazing into his eyes, I couldn't stop grinning.
"I've liked you for a while too." I whispered. Chandler smiled back at me as he gently put me down. His hands came up to cup my face. I put a hand on his chest and cupped his cheek with my other hand.
"Is this ok?" Chandler asked as he pulled me closer. I nodded as I pulled him closer.
"More than ok." I could feel his breath on my lips and my eyes fluttered closed. "Perfect." We closed the gap and kissed for the first time. I gripped his shirt as he kissed me passionately. We pulled away and just took in each other's presence. A noise from the laptop drew us back to reality. I went over to check it and realized that my email had opened. I opened the newest email and paused when I noticed Chandler hadn't come back to make his popcorn.
"Everything alright Chandler?" I asked, not talking my eyes off the screen. "Chandler?" I turned to look at him when he didn't answer. He was biting his lip and staring at me. He raised his eyebrows when he realized I was looking at him. "You ok there sweetie?" Chandler nodded.
"Yeah." He made his way over to me. "Just my best friend likes me back. And I kissed them." I giggled as I hugged him. Chandler wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.
"Want to do it again?" I teased and tilted my head up.
"Could you be any cuter?" Chandler joked as he leaned down and kissed me. He pulled away after a minute and smiled down at me. "Why don't you work on this tomorrow and join me for the night?" Chandler coaxed me from my seat at the counter and started to back up into his room.
"I think it could be arranged." I smiled as she kissed me again. When we had entered the room, I kicked the door closed. We could hear cheers of 'finally' coming from outside as Chandler led me to bed.