#friends fanfiction | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

river13245 · 4 months

Text

Adults For A Weekend

Navigation / Friends Masterlist

Joey x Male Reader

Summary: Monica and Chandler as Joey and you to babysit Erica for the weekend. So who are you to say no. This is just a complication of moments of Uncle Joey and Erica

Monica and Chandler were both planning on going on a weekend getaway. Chandler was sitting on the couch while Monica was in the kitchen cleaning up a bit.

The both of them had texted you andJoey. Joey had seen the text first since he somehow had a radar that went off every time his best friend texted. He walks into your shared bedroom where you were reading your book and leans against the wall. "Hey Chandler just texted the both of us. Asking if we could go over there"

At the sound of his voice you had placed the book on your chest and listened. "Let me get my shoes on and we can go over there. Did they say why they needed us" you ask as you get up to place your book back on your desk and then to go get your shoes on. "no they didn't. Just said they would like us to come"

As the both of you get your shoes on and jackets its a comfortable silence. When you grab your keys Joey comes to the door and opens it for you. "after you" he says with a big smile as you laugh and place a kiss to his cheek. "come on Joey"

You and him walk to your car and get into it and begin to drive to Monica and Chandler's home. They had moved a few years ago and bought that house an hour away from the apartment you all had lived in at one point in time.

After a while though you had seen how being away from chandler affected Joey. So you had brought up maybe getting a nice cozy house that is around them so they could see each other more often. Joey loved that idea so that's why you had now been living in this house together for a few months now and the two of you couldn't be happier.

As you drive to their house you listen to Joey sing along to music. He loved musicals so it was the soundtrack to Phantom of The Opera. Which you introduced him to a few months ago and he enjoyed it. The both of you loved admiring the whole "look" about it. He loved the outfits they wore, even said he wanted The phantom's mask.

The drive is only about 20 minutes so when you finish the soundtrack you guys pull up into their driveway. You pull in behind chandlers car and park, turning off your car. Joey is the first to get out while you grab your phone and put it in your back pocket before getting out.

Joey grabs a hold of your hand as the both of you walk up to the door and he knocks lightly before opening the door. Your hands disconnect from each other before Monica walks into the room and rushes over to you and pull you close. "Hi I missed you both so much"

You laugh and pull away from each other. "we were here a few weeks ago Mon" she just rolls her eyes and smiles as she greets Joey too. Chandler comes and says hi and Joey of course pulls him into a hug before you guys walk into the living room and sit.

Monica sits down on the couch beside you and she is the first to talk about why you are here. "okay so we have asked you to come over because. Well. Chandler and I are planning a small get away for just the two of us. And was wondering if the both of you would watch Erica for us this weekend."

At her words you look at her and then look over at Joey for a minute. "you are trusting Joey with a 9 year old kid?" Chandler laughs and shrugs "well you will be with him so it cant go to bad"

Joey looks at all of you and acts offended "come on guys. I am able to care for a child for at least three days." The three of you both look at him with the same questionable expression and Joey rolls his eyes and throws a pillow at you. "You out of all people should be on my side!"

This causes you to laugh and shrug "sorry darling but we don't want a repeat of what happened last time you watched a child with Chandler"

Joey and Chandler both look at each other and say "that wasn't our fault"

Monica and you both smirk "sure it wasn't"

The four of you talk quietly because Erica was asleep in her bed and when it was time for everyone to get some sleep you all said goodnight.

Monica and Chandler had an extra room that you and Joey always shared when you were over. So the two of you get changed in the bathroom and head to the bed. Once you get under the deep purple covers Joey plops down next to you and sprawls out causing you to his his chest lightly. "I swear if you don't get off me i will push you off this bed" He just laughs and rolls over and in return you roll over to. He was little spoon tonight. "i love you Joey"

"i love you too" ---------

The next morning you are woken up by a heavy weight on top of you poking your face. "Joey I swear if you don't stop touching me" There is only a giggle in response which causes you to open your eyes to see Erica's face.

Your attitude changes instantly as you place your hands on her sides and tickle her which causes her to squeal and flop down onto Joey's arm causing him to groan and wake up. "what the he-"

Knowing exactly what word he was going to say you throw a pillow at him. Which causes more laughter from the young girl. "okay Erica. How about we go make everyone some breakfast. How does that sound"

She gets up from the bed "it sounds good. Mom and Dad aren't up yet" As you slip out of bed your feet hits the cold floor and a shiver runs up your body. You easily got cold and Monica always had their temp at like 68 degrees at all times and it was the middle of fall. "fuck its cold in here" you say quietly.

Thinking that Joey is asleep you place a kiss to his cheek before going to the bathroom and fully getting ready for the morning as quickly as possible. And when you walk back into the room you see him lying on his back with his eyes closed. He must have heard you tho because he is pointing to his hoodie that's dropped over the chair in the room

A smile forms on your face, this was a new hoodie of his that you havent worn yet. "Awe you do love me" you say as you put the hoodie on. "yes I do."

The morning is filled with quiet laughter and whispered conversations between you and Erica. She sat on the counter and helped you. She was 8 years old and had loved to cook so you always let her help as long as she washed her hands because children can be disgusting.

Everyone ate and talked around the table and soon enough the time came where you had to take Erica to your home. Erica had gotten dressed in blue jeans and a hoodie. The hoodie was a little long on her so the sleeves covered her hands a little bit. She had said goodbye to her parents and was now getting her shoes on.

You had grabbed her Jacket since it was getting very cold outside so layers were a good idea. "okay you ready to go?" you ask as you zip up her jacket but she shakes her head. "oh what's wrong. what do you need?"

She stays quiet but a small mischievous smile forms on her face before she runs up to Joey and grabs a hold of his hand. "nothing i'm ready to go now" She gives you a look knowing that she made you think something was wrong. She always loved to get a reaction out of people but she was a very kind girl. Just grew up watching Joey and Chandler pull pranks on each other and other people.

Monica and Chandler say bye once again and then you all get into your car and head home

-----

It was around 4:30 when you all got home. You left Monica and Chandler's at around 4:00 and so once you all get inside Erica runs off to her little room you have set up here. "take off your shoes please and put your shoes somewhere you won't lose them"

There had been many times where you had watched her for a few days and on the day of returning home she couldn't find her shoes. She started looking for them but stopped from getting distracted. You always found them. So in response to you saying that she giggles "okay I'll put them right beside my door"

You knew that she would be in her room for a while. She didn't have a tv in there because you and Joey prefered to watch tv in the living room together on the couch. Or on a computer or something in your bedroom.

Joey walks up behind you and wraps his arms around your waist resting his head on your shoulder. What you thought was a sweet gesture turned out to not be, because when he placed a kiss to your neck he also whispered "im getting quite hungry. Shall we order some pizza soon?"

A groan leaves your lips as you shove him off. "See now i thought you were being affectionate. Should have known something else was on your mind" The both of you knew that you weren't actually upset. Joey was an affectionate guy so you really had no complaints there.

"I will order us pizza later darling. Now we should watch tv before the child comes to bother us again" he says

"oh hush you know that you are each others favorite person" This results in him glaring at you "no my favorite person is Chandler". You laugh and lean your head against him. "you keep telling yourself that but you know that even though you have known Chandler for many years. That the kid in their won your heart in seconds"

"yeah i guess your right"

------

Later that night after the three of you ate and had watched a movie Erica had fallen asleep in between the both of you. "ill go put her to bed" Joey said as he scoops her up almost dropping her in the process.

You laugh softly as you help him keep her steady in his arms. "Gees Joey don't drop the poor child" he just rolls his eyes and smiles "I wasn't expecting her to move around my bad"

He walks into her bedroom while you start cleaning up around the house a bit. You pick up the dishes and put them in the sink before cleaning off the counters and then washing the dishes. Then when you finish all this you notice Joey hasn't came out yet so you quietly walk to her bedroom door and see Joey holding up a children's book and reading softly to her.

She was already fast asleep with her head rested on her pillow but he continued for a little longer making sure she wouldn't wake up. When he got up he got up slowly as to not wake her before he walks over to you and kisses your lips.

When he pulls away he rests almost all his body weight against you causing you to grunt. "Okay Joey get up i can't carry you to bed" you say as he laughs a little before he walks with you to the bedroom.

As soon as you get into your bedroom and beside your bed he pulls you onto the bed. This causes the both of you laugh as you lay beside each other. "i love you" you say before kissing his lips. When you lay back down beside him he says "i love you more"

You two cuddle for a few minutes before rolling over and getting comfortable.

-----

When morning comes you open your eyes from the sun thats coming in through the window. You had expected Joey to still be in bed but when you reach over to only find a pillow next to you. "what the hell" you thought to yourself.

Your boyfriend..in the history of knowing him. He had not gotten up earlier than you. So as you sit up in bed you heard laughter coming from the kitchen and hushed speaking. You swing your legs off the bed and put on your slippers cause your feet was always cold and didnt feel like touching the floor.

So now as you walk out of your room you see Joey mixing some batter in a big bowl and him pointing to the sink. "wash your hands you got egg all over your hands" Erica giggles as she brings her fingers close to him and he swats her away gently. "wash them. Don't want to get anyone sick. Food is meant to be good for you and good. We don't want it to taste like egg and a kids grubby fingers"

She nudges him a little before she goes over to the sink and washes her hands. When you walk into the kitchen some more Joey hears you and turns his head to face you. "Good Morning handsome"

"Goodmorning. What are you guys doing?" you ask as you give Joey hug and a kiss on the cheek before walking over to Erica and she speaks. "we are making waffles for you" She opens her arms for you to hug her and so you give her one.

"well we were trying too but i think she was trying to get you sick" Joey says and this causes you to laugh. "she's like 9 she isn't going to be super sanitary yet" Joey rolls his eyes and finishes up while you and Erica make the table and sit down.

----

Later on that day you and Joey had decided to take Erica to the park since it was sunny out and finally not raining. So you made sure she was bundled up really well and went.

When the three of you got there she went and played in the snow that's left on the ground. While you and Joey walked around hand in hand just talking and keeping an eye on her too.

You and Joey hadn't talked about having kids very much. Even tho the both of you have been together for three years it's just never been a big thing for the both of you. However as you have been watching Erica more and more the past year and a half, you have been wanting to start a family with the man next to you.

"Joey" you say quietly and he turns to look at you. "y/n"

Both of your footsteps halt and you both look at eachother. "I've been thinking about something" you say and he looks at you waiting for you to say more but Erica comes running up to you asking for you to play with her.

So you give Joey a quick apologetic look and he nods in understanding as you lift Erica up and give her a piggyback ride and run with her. Which causes her to laugh like crazy.

And when you aren't looking Joey does take a few photos of you and send them to Monica and Chandler.

-----

Later that night when it was time to watch a movie. Erica insisted that you watch home alone. She loved that movie and so did you so the three of you laid on the couch. Joey sat up with your legs on his lap while you laid down and Erica laid beside you as you held her close.

The three of you were under many blankets cause being outside all day almost just froze you guys to death. So as the movie played Erica laughed and talked for a little bit through it. You talked through movies sometimes too so you made sure to do it quietly as to not bother Joey.

Joey had looked over at the both of you ever now and then but when he realized you had been awfully quiet. He looked over to see the both of you fast asleep. Erica was facing you with her head on your chest as you held her protectively close to you so she wouldn't fall off the couch.

Joey made sure the both of you were covered up and kissed the top of both of your heads before turning everything off and heading to bed himself after cleaning up a bit

-----

The next morning you woke up from Joey shaking you awake. Erica was awake and looking around the house. "hm what's going on" you ask slight worry forming in your voice. He shakes his head and kisses your lips. "nothing is wrong. Monica and Chandler are on there way to get Erica and shes looking for her shoes"

You shake your head at his words and stand up and rub your eyes. "Erica? didn't i tell you to put them in one place so you knew where they were" She looks over at you with a small smile and nods. Her face looks so apologetic and it was hard to be mad at her so you just shake your head. "come on ill help you look"

------

When Monica and Chandler walked into your home. Erica was ready to go and ran to her parents hugging them, but when she pulled away she ran directly to you and jumped in your arms. "oh hey there" you laugh and then set her down. "I want to come over again soon"

You bend down a little so your on her level and nod. "you can come over any time. Next time we can play some video games. How does that sound?" She jumps up and down and nods. "sounds amazing. I love you"

"i love you too"

She Then goes over to Joey who is talking to Chandler for a second and she hugs him tightly. "I love you too Uncle Joey" he smiles and whispers something in her ear which she seems to love cause she giggles and he kisses the top of her hand.

When they leave and the door shuts you close your eyes and notice just how quiet it is when it's just the two of you. Of course its not always quiet because Joey has a big personality and you absolutely love that about him but right now it feels empty.

You lean against Joey as he wraps his arms around your waist. "I want one" he whispers in your ear before kissing your neck. This causes you to look up at him "What a child?" he nods and you smile "well we would have to look at adoption. Or surrogate or something"

He places a kiss to your lips and nods. "Sounds like a plan. However tonight I want to spend alone time with you" You smile and pull him in for a kiss. "How could i ever say no to that"

#river13245 #fluff #male reader #friends fanfiction #joey tribbiani #joey tribbiani x reader #joey tribbiani x male reader #monica geller #chandler bing #monica and chandler #Friends Masterlist

73 notes · View notes

myveryownfanfiction · 1 year

Text

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

warnings: swearing

Yawning, I shuffled into the kitchen. I ran a hand through my hair and ruffled it, hoping it looked better than it felt. The sound of a door closing had me spinning around slowly.

“Morning.” Chandler smiled at me and walked over to hug me quickly before grabbing the cereal. “Sleep well?” I let out another yawn as I sat down at the counter.

“Yeah. I always sleep better when I’m here.” I propped my head in my hand and watched him get us breakfast. “It’s like when I use you as a pillow my insomnia goes away completely.” I gave him a tired smile as a bowl was put in front of me.

“Well I’m glad to hear that.” He leaned against the counter and we ate in a comfortable silence. When I finished up, I got up and started doing the dishes. “You don’t have to do that. Joey or I will get them later.” I laughed as chandler put his bowl in the sink and wrapped his arms around me, chin propped on my shoulder.

“We both know you wouldn’t.” Chandler scoffed in my ear. “You two will leave this here until Monica comes over and let her do all the dishes that have piled up over the week.” I leaned back briefly in his embrace before putting the dishes out to dry.

“I’m not saying you’re right but…” chandler teased. I laughed as I turned around in his arms. “Alright alright. You’re right.”

“There we go.” I joked as I kissed his cheek. Chandlers eyes closed and a smile grew on his face. “Any plans tonight?”

“Yeah. If you’re up for it, we could always…” chandler leaned forward and put his forehead against mine. “Move you in here?” My eyes widened in shock.

“Really?” I asked. Chandler nodded. “Even after you chased Janice down the street trying to get her to agree to a drawer in your dresser?” He nodded again. “You’re serious about this. Oh crap. You’re really serious about this.” Chandler smiled at me as I broke away from him and started to pace around the apartment.

“(Y/N) I’m dead serious about this. You spend all your time here anyway. Joey adores you. I love you.” Chandler walked over and gently rubbed his hands down my arms. “You sleep better here and that may change once you actually move in here but all I’m hearing are reasons why this would work.” I looked into his eyes and let out a deep breath.

“Let’s do it.” I breathed out. I gripped onto chandlers arms and nodded. “I’ll move in.” He kissed my cheek and pulled me into his room so we could get ready to box up my apartment.

#Chandler bing #chandler bing fanfic #chandler imagine #chandler bing imagine #chandler bing x reader #chandler bing fanfiction #matthew perry imagine #matthew perry x reader #matthew perry fanfic #matthew perry fanfiction #matthew perry #friends #friends fanfic #friends fanfiction #friends imagine #friends x reader

889 notes · View notes

lunarywriting · 2 months

Text

🤍🌸 • ° Materlist ° • 🌸🤍

Legend

fluff 🌷

lime 🍋‍🟩 slight suggestive content (making out for example ..)

lemon 🍋 lighter version of smut

hurt/comfort 🌤️ characters are in pain at a moment in the story but it all ends with happiness

angst ☔ characters suffering mentally and emotionally

WIP : work in progress

All my writings are Fem!Reader unless mentioned otherwise

❀ More about me at the bottom of this post

I'm trying my best with English since it's not my mother tongue and I will take all the advices 🤍

--------------------------------------------------------

Multi-chapter

- Star Wars -

Obi Wan Kenobi

Obi Wan x You | 🌷 • 🍋‍🟩 • 🍋 |

WIP

word count :

summary : you’re on a break from your jedi missions as your period pains were aching you, making you stay in bed. maybe your former master would know something to ease your pain.. or maybe not.

WARNINGS : mention of menstruation pain ; slight angst ; lime (making out & teasing) ; HOT LEMON at the end ;

• Friends •

Joey Tribbiani

The One with the Sketchbook

Joey x You | 🌷 • 🍋‍🟩 |

WIP

word count : -

summary : you're an art student who comes to ny for your last year of degree. it's your first time in the US so you discover life in new york thanks to joey, your new roommate, and his next-door friends ;

warnings : suggestive content ;

Rachel & Joey

The One with Rachel's Feelings

Rachel x Joey |🌷| Fix-it Fic

WIP

word count :

summary : rectifying the barbados event love thing between our fav roommates, despite all the respect I have for the original show's authors work ;

warnings : none, this just fluffy fluff, with some light angst ;

- Jurassic World -

Owen Grady

Can't stop loving you

Owen x You (Self-Insert) | 🌷 • ☔ • 🍋 |

WIP

word count : -

summary : you got a chance to work on Isla Nublar as a trainer for herbivorous dinos. an unexpected colleague piqued your curiosity as he was the trainer of.. actual living raptors. featuring an unexpected lady boss that broke into your life, and broke your heart ;

warnings : lime & (very) hot lemon, angsty lemon but! happy ending ;

- Tolkien - Middle Earth -

Kili

Stardusts' Hope

Kili x Fem!Elf Reader | ☔ • 🌷 |

WIP

word count: -

summary: a dwarf prince and an elven lady; alternative ending of the battle of the five armies ;

warnings : -

--------------------------------------------------------

One-shots

• Friends •

Joey Tribbiani

The One with the Scars

Joey x You (Self-Insert) | 🌤️ • 🌷 • 🍋‍🟩 |

WIP

words: -

summary: joey and you have been close friends for a long time. he has been there for you during your recovery after your surgery, and this, certainly, has changed everything ;

warnings: no graphic descriptions but scars and physical pain related to the healing process ; (please avoid reading if you are uncomfortable with these topics) ; some sensitive references ;

The One with Ross's Ex

Joey x You | 🌤️ • 🌷 • 🍋‍🟩|

WIP

word count : -

summary : after you break up with Ross, the situation doesn't get better. your friends are here for you, and Joey is there. maybe your true love has been in front of you since the beginning ;

warnings : some references ;

The One with the Cinema Tickets

Joey x You (Self-Insert) | 🌷 • 🍋‍🟩 |

WIP

word count : -

summary : you had a crush on joey since months but the only one to know was your bestie, chandler ;

warnings : some references ;

The One with the Flower Shop Owner

Joey x You | 🌷 |

WIP

word count : - summary : joey went to a flower shop as he wanted to make a surprise for Emma's birthday, and he saw you, with a pink peony bouquet in your hands ; warnings : some references ;

--------------------------------------------------------

- Actors -

Matt Leblanc

The One with the Race

Matt x You (self-insert) | 🌷 • 🍋‍🟩 |

WIP

word count : -

summary : you attend your first Formula 1 GP and you encounter someone who will be your companion for the week end, and maybe more ;

warnings : mention of mourning, loss ; some ref (making out) ;

Will Poulter

Golden Soul

Will x Reader | 🌷 • 🍋 |

WIP

word count : -

summary : you were invited to tell your story at schools as you were approached by an association fighting against bullying & child abuse ;

warnings : anxiety crisis/stress/lack of breath mention/describing ; suggestive content ; lemon (lighter version of smut - no dirty talk, no bad words but suggestion of sex, making out);

--------------------------------------------------------

❀ About me : you can call me Nienna and in life, I'm a French painter. Obsessed with drawing, writing, drinking tea and petting cats. Other than that I recently discovered I was still able to fangirl just like a teen. And I'm currently nourishing a hard passion for the Friends TV series.. so I write a lot for Joey ♡

❀ with this blog I want to write fics or just feelings I need to express. I never dared to share my stories/fictional writings publicly so it's a big step for me. (I don't write nasty smut (bad/slut talking, too raw for me), but I like to write some lime and lemon, lighter versions of smut) !

❀ I will update this list when a writing will be ready/published and if I add new wips !

header picture is not mine !

14 notes · View notes

drabbles-mc · 11 months

Text

The One Where It's The Right Time

Rachel Green x Joey Tribbiani

Gift written for the 90's Channel Exchange: AU where Joey and Rachel stay together after Emma's birth

Warnings: fluffy fluff

Word Count: 2.1k

A/N: Participating in fic exchanges has really gotten me out of my comfort zone in the best way. I've never written a Friends fic before but I love Joey and Rachel together too much to give up on the opportunity when it presented itself. Hope you enjoy!

It had all been so chaotic when she got out of the hospital. It was a bit messy for the first couple of days, too, if she was being honest with herself. Not Emma, of course. Emma was everything that Rachel ever could’ve hoped for and more—so small and beautiful and perfect. Every day that went by Rachel felt like her heart was growing more and more just to make more room for all the love that she felt for her daughter.

She sat in one of the chairs in Joey’s apartment, the apartment that was now filled with half-unpacked boxes of her things and Emma’s. That was part of the chaos of it. Most of the chaos of it, really. It was tough to figure out what stayed across the way and what came back to Joey’s, what things it was worth it to just buy two of so they didn’t need to lug it back and forth depending on who was watching Emma at any given time.

Emma cooed against Rachel’s chest, pulling her back from the ledge of spiraling thoughts. Looking down, Rachel smiled through the exhaustion that she was feeling. Motherhood was as tiring and fulfilling as people had told her it was going to be. She knew that they’d find their rhythm eventually—it was just going to take a little doing.

“Hey,” Joey’s soft voice sounded through the living room as he emerged from his bedroom. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, looking at Rachel and Emma on the chair for a moment before turning to look at the window to try and gauge just how early or late it was. “Everything okay?”

Rachel nodded, bracing one foot on the floor so that she could rock the chair that she was sitting in ever-so slightly. “Yea, we’re okay.”

Joey walked over, resting his hand on Rachel’s shoulder. He looked down at the two of them through half-lidded eyes, still heavy with the sleep he’d just woken up from. “You sure? What,” he tried to bite back a yawn and failed, “what time is it?”

“Early,” Rachel said with a soft laugh. Tilting her head up to look at him, she said, “You can go back to sleep, Joe. I think she’s almost ready to go back down.”

A small smile twitched the ends of his mouth. He could feel the tiredness in him, and he wanted to go back to bed and get right back to snoring through what little was left of the night. But he wasn’t going to leave Rachel alone now that they were both up and in the living room. There had been a couple times in the short span between all of them leaving the hospital, and the moment they were currently in, when Joey would hear the two of them on the other side of the wall from him. He was tempted to go over and offer to help, but Rachel always seemed to get it under control so quickly.

He wondered when the right time would be to offer shuffling around the sleeping arrangements. He wanted to tell Rachel that the room the two girls shared could be turned into a room that was just Emma’s, and that Rachel could stay in his room with him. But it felt so soon.

“You can join us, you know,” Rachel said as she nodded to the chair that was next to hers. “If she wasn’t so close to falling asleep again I’d offer you this chair, but…”

Joey chuckled softly, shaking his head as he sat down in the seat next to them. “I wouldn’t wanna disturb the princess.”

The apartment fell silent again. It was dark, the slightest bit of grey light coming in through the slats in the blinds. It wasn’t going to be long before the grey started to shift into the first colors of the sunrise. As Joey sat there, staring at Rachel as she stared at Emma, the thought crossed his mind that even though he’d never been a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, he wouldn’t mind being up to see the sunrise with the two of them every morning.

Rachel didn’t have to take her eyes off her daughter to know that Joey was staring at her. “What’re you thinkin’, Joe?” she asked, still looking at Emma.

There were so many things that he wanted to say to her, but it wasn’t the right time. He didn’t know when the right time would be, but it didn’t feel like he’d reached it yet. “Nothing.”

Rachel hummed, finally peeling her gaze away from the baby that had just gone back to sleep in her arms. “I don’t know if I believe you.”

“When have I ever lied to you?” he asked, and once he saw the disbelieving look on her face he chuckled and added on, “Successfully.”

The tired smile on her face grew a little wider as she stood up. “Let me put her back down,” she stepped between the chairs and towards her room that doubled as Emma’s nursery, “and we can talk.”

He wanted to argue but he knew that it wouldn’t be any use. He was never good at saying no to her, but he was even worse at winning arguments against her. Instead, he just watched her slowly, quietly pad off into the next room. In the quiet of their apartment, Joey was able to hear the rustling of Rachel getting the baby situated. He smiled, tilting his head to hear it a little better. He never would’ve thought that he would be living with a woman who had a baby, definitely didn’t think that he would be enjoying it.

He also never thought that the woman would be Rachel.

She tip-toed back out of her bedroom and into the living room. Even though there was no way that she wouldn’t hear the baby cry, she still had the baby monitor in one hand. With her free hand, she raked her fingers back through her hair. It had that slight bit of messiness to it from her tossing and turning, but to Joey she still looked just as beautiful as ever.

One end of Joey’s mouth lifted into a soft smirk. “If you’re tired we can always—”

Rachel stopped him short by plopping down on the arm of his chair. She slumped against his side, one arm snaking around behind his neck and draping over his shoulders. Joey huffed out a quiet laugh as his arm reflexively wound around her waist. She leaned a little more into him, resting her head on his shoulder, somehow managing to be as close to him as she could possibly hope to be without falling completely into his lap.

He chuckled quietly as he let his head rest against hers. “How you doin’, Rach?”

She laughed quietly against his shoulder. “It’s impressive, really, how you can be pervy and caring at the same time.” They both chuckled once more before Rachel took a deep breath, letting her body relax against his a little more. “How are you, though, Joey?” She tilted her head just enough so that her eyes could meet his. “I know we haven’t really gotten a chance to talk since everything at the hospital. We sorta agreed to try and figure this out without ever really, you know, talking about what this is.”

“I’m, you know,” he nodded, shrugging with that same smile that Rachel had come to know so well and love so much, “I’m good.”

“Really?” she questioned. It was hard for her not to doubt him, not because it was Joey, but because it was all so much to ask of anyone.

He laughed and nodded. “Of course. I’ve got you back,” he squeezed her gently, “Emma’s here,” he nodded towards the other room, “how could I not be good?”

Rachel smiled, but it didn’t fully reach her eyes. “I know that it all got a little mixed up there for a bit…” she trailed off, knowing that she was putting it more than lightly.

Joey chuckled. “It did.”

His expression shifted from one of amusement to one of deep thought. He wanted to have the right thing to say about it all. Things at the hospital had gotten mixed up. It was a straight-up mess for a little while there. If one was being unforgiving, they’d say it was a mess that they were all still trying to clean up. But Joey didn’t really think of it that way. Despite the confusion, despite the difficult conversations, despite having to take back a ring that hadn’t been his to give away in the first place, Joey knew that it had all gotten them to the right spot, to where they were now. Maybe he wasn’t in any position to propose now, and Rachel wasn’t in any position to be proposed to, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t work towards that. If he hadn’t blundered the way that he had, Rachel and Emma wouldn’t have come home with him, and she wouldn’t be a few inches away from sitting on his lap right then.

“I’ve been thinking about,” Rachel started, giving his shoulder a tiny squeeze, “us. All,” she nodded towards Emma’s room, “of us.”

“Yea?” Joey wished that he didn’t feel as anxious as he did about where Rachel’s train of thought was going.

“Yea. But first I wanna know what you’ve been thinking. If, you know, if you still want everything that we talked about before. I know it’s different now that Emma and I are actually here, but—”

“I still want everything that I said,” Joey cut her off, but gently. Feeling a little braver than he had a few moments before, he pulled Rachel closer so that she was fully on his lap, her legs draped over his own. “It is different with the two of you here, but it’s only made me want this more.” His heart pounded in his chest but the smile on his face just kept growing. “I’m crazy about you, Rach, just as much now as before. And I, I love Emma. I love having the two of you here.”

She wanted to blame the tears stinging her eyes on the hormones and the exhaustion, but she knew what the real reason for them was as a smile stretched across her face. “Oh, Joey.”

“And I know,” he chuckled through the emotional lump building in his throat, “I know the ring wasn’t mine, and the proposal wasn’t really one, and it’s probably not really the time right now,” his grin grew a little more with each word, knowing just how ridiculous it all was, “but I do want that with you one day. With my own ring, and a real proposal, and when—”

“When it’s the right time,” her voice was hardly a whisper as she finished the sentence for him.

He nodded as he leaned in, resting his forehead against hers. “Exactly.

She gently cupped both sides of his face in her hands. “I’d like that.”

His body sagged with relief, letting go of tension he hadn’t even felt himself holding onto. “Yea?”

She laughed as she nodded, the motion causing their foreheads and noses to rub against each other’s. “Yea, I really would.”

“I love you, Rachel.” It was a sentence that he’d said countless times over the course of their friendship, but he knew it was different this time, he could feel the shift in the weight behind it.

Rachel’s thumbs grazed along his cheeks. “I love you too.”

He felt his breath threatening to get stuck in his throat as he started to ask, “Can I—”

She closed the sliver of a gap left between them before he got the tail-end of his sentence out, pressing her lips to his. Joey’s arm wrapped tighter around her back, the other reaching up so that his hand was resting on the back of her head and pulling her closer to him. Her lips were soft, gentle against his, and he didn’t try to push it to be anything more. He wondered, if he kissed her for long enough, if the rest of the world outside their apartment wouldn’t just fall away, if it would just be him and his two favorite girls in the world.

When Rachel pulled back, the rest of the world was still there, but more importantly Joey knew that this wasn’t all just some dream that he was going to get yanked out of as he woke up. The rest of the world was there, sure, but more important than that, Rachel was still there, Emma was still there.

“We’re gonna figure it all out,” she said to him after a few seconds of silence.

She was close enough that Joey could feel her breath against his skin as she spoke. He nodded. “I know. We’ll figure it out together. Just like always.”

#rachel green #joey tribbiani #friends #friends the show #friends tv #f.r.i.e.n.d.s #rachel x joey #joey x rachel #rachel green x joey tribbiani #joey tribbiani x rachel green #friends fanfiction #joey tribbiani fanfiction #rachel green fanfiction #my writing #fanfiction #drabblesmc

57 notes · View notes

tmlwattpad19 · 7 months

Text

Friends Headcanon #1

How They React to You Telling Them You’re Pregnant

Monica:

Kisses your stomach.

Talks to the baby every chance she gets before screaming to the others that she’s going to be a mom.

Goes to the balcony where she screams out to anybody listening.

“I’m going to be a mom!”

Rachel:

Almost chokes on her food when you tell her.

“A baby. Wow.”

She gets up and hugs you.

“Rach, you’re hugging too tight.”

Phoebe:

Gets happy to the point of tears.

“I’m just so happy!”

“Yay, yay, yay, yay!”

Ross:

At first, he doesn’t know how to react.

He seems happy and nervous.

“A baby? Is… is… are we happy about this?”

When you nod, he envelops you in a hug, whispering sweet nothings in your ear.

Joey:

Shocked.

Goes for the condoms he carries in his pocket.

“Joey, what are you doing?”

“I’m calling the condom company and telling them their products don’t work.”

Chandler:

Panics at first, but then starts to giggle.

He dances around the apartment.

“We’re having a baby.”

#friends #fanfiction #imagines #rachel green #chandler bing #monica geller #phoebe buffay #joey tribbiani #ross geller #headcanon #friends headcanon #friends fanfiction #jennifer aniston #matthew perry #lisa kudrow #courteney cox #david schwimmer #matt leblanc

41 notes · View notes

hydesjackiespuddinpop · 3 months

Text

Summary: The gang has a nice conversation.

#friends #my fanfiction #friends fanfiction #joey tribbiani #chandler bing #phoebe buffay #monica geller #melanie #rachel green

5 notes · View notes

mystcldydrms · 10 months

Text

ONE SHOTS:

...

BLURBS:

...

HEADCANONS:

...

JUST IMAGINE:

...

#ross geller x reader #ross geller imagines #ross geller fanfiction #friends imagines #friends fanfiction

13 notes · View notes

keanureevesisbae · 1 year

Text

Is there a fun Joey Tribbiani fanfiction, where Joey meets a wonderful girl who is ridiculously smart (like summa cumme laude smart, with a very high profile job and has a gorgeous penthouse like place). Then Joey meets her, falls in love with her and goes to all these dinners with her, meets her parents and eventually thinks that she's way too good and smart for him, only for her to tell him that she loves him as a person and only wants him, moves in with him because his apartment is cuter and later on they have a lot of babies together.

Or do I have to write this myself?

#friends #friends fanfiction #joey tribbiani #joey tribbiani fanfiction

2 notes · View notes

ichorai · 1 year

Text

blueberries ; five.

pairing ; joey tribbiani x gn!reader x rachel green chapter synopsis ; the one with accidental love confessions, friendly one night stands, and marinara sauce. wc ; 10.0k warnings / includes ; talks of sex/suggestive content, cursing, ross is an asshole in this one, a tiny connor cameo, rachel is a mess </3 and joey finally Realizes how he feels !!

series masterlist. main masterlist.

“I’ll pay you back this time, I promise!” Joey begged, clasping his hands together with a pleading pout.

With a sigh, Chandler pulled his wallet out, slapping a crisp, five dollar bill onto the table. “Yeah? Where’s all this money coming from, then?”

Lowering his voice, Joey leaned forward to whisper, “I’m helpin’ out at the NYU Med School with some… research.”

Obviously not whispering quietly enough, the entire group turned to him, interests piqued.

“What kind of research?” you asked, which made Joey flinch and snap his head to you.

“Oh, uh… just… you know! Science, and stuff.”

The rest of you stared at him with skeptical expressions.

“Science?” parroted Ross. “Hm, don’t think I’ve heard of that one.”

Relenting, Joey sank lower into the cafe’s seat. “Alright, alright—it’s a fertility study.”

Snorting, Monica chimed, “Please tell me you’re only donating your time.” The rest of you chuckled along with her.

“Come on, you guys, it’s not that big of a deal,” huffed Joey. “Really, I just go down there every other day and… make my contribution to the project. At the end of two weeks, I’ll get seven hundred bucks!”

“Wow,” said Phoebe. “You’re gonna be making money hand over fist!”

You choked on your sip of coffee, and Chandler had to sympathetically pound your back to get you to stop.

It was Rachel’s birthday, and you were in Monica’s kitchen, helping her chop up some vegetables for the birthday barbecue the group was throwing. Joey and Chandler strode in shortly after, reenacting cavemen with stupid accents.

“Hey,” you interrupted, which made the two freeze mid-chest pound. “Your girlfriend called, Joe. She’s gonna be late.”

A couple days ago, Joey and Melanie started casually dating. Though, much to your dismay, he seemed to really like her. Not that you didn’t want Joey to be happy or anything… you just weren’t all that fond of Melanie. She was rather dull, if you had to put it bluntly. All she really seemed to care about were fruit baskets and, from what Joey’s told you, sex.

“How’s it going with her?” Phoebe queried. “Is she becoming your special someone?”

A grin crossed over Joey’s features. “I don’t know, she’s… she’s pretty great!”

“Yeah, pretty great with fruit baskets,” you mumbled under your breath, loud enough for Joey to catch.

“Sure, she can be a bit… one-dimensional, but it’s been going really well!” he defended, grabbing a piece of carrot from your cutting board and popping it into his mouth.

Monica grinned. “Yeah? What’s she think of your little science project?”

Joey scoffed at the notion. “You really think I’m gonna tell a girl I like that I’m also seein’ a cup?” Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Tough thing is, she really wants to have sex with me.”

Taking a swig of beer, Chandler sardonically noted, “Crazy bitch.”

You rolled your eyes. “She cornered me the other day asking if I’ve ever slept with you, you know.”

Stiffening, Joey tilted his head. “What? What did you say?”

“Obviously, I told her no!” you shot back. “I asked her why, and she said she thought we were together at one point and thereby assumed we’ve had sex, so she wanted my advice, because you always seemed to push her away.”

The Italian crossed his arms in thought. “Huh. Weird.”

“Hm, I wonder why she thought the two of you were together at one point,” Chandler postulated, staring pointedly at Joey.

“What happened then?” Phoebe asked.

“What do you think happened?” you sighed, washing your hands off and flicking the excess water away once you were done chopping up the vegetables. “She sent me a fruit basket.”

The two girls snickered.

“Hey, why haven’t you slept with her yet?” Monica tilted her head at Joey. “Normally, you don’t last the first night with someone you’re going out with.”

“Well, I’ve still got a week left to go on the program, and according to the rules, if I want to get the money, I’m not allowed to conduct any personal experiments, if you know what I mean,” he said.

Twisting her face with disgust, Monica shook her head. “Joey, we always know what you mean.”

A part of you wanted to say that having sex really didn’t affect sperm count in the long run—you’d known thanks to an ex-boyfriend of yours who had been a urologist—but, much to your surprise, you bit your tongue and withheld the information.

Chandler and Joey were off to the balcony to start the grill’s fire, and not long after, Ross appeared through the door, looking despondent. He was clutching a large bag that looked nearly twice your weight.

“Woah,” said Phoebe. “How long did you think this barbecue was going to last?”

The tall man blew out a long exhale. “I’m going to China,” he mumbled, setting the bag down with a loud thud.

“What?” his sister asked. “You’re going to China?”

“It’s for the museum!” replied Ross. “Someone found a bone, we want the bone, and they don’t want us to have the bone—so I’m going to try to persuade them to give it to us—really, it’s a whole big boner thing. I shouldn’t have said boner. You get what I mean.”

Narrowing your eyes, you hummed, “Maybe if they found it in China, don’t you think it should stay there with the Chinese? I mean, it’s rightfully theirs.”

Ross was about to counter, mouth hanging open, but found no words to argue with.

You rolled your eyes. “Gosh, Ross, you’ll be just as bad as the British Museum stealing from people of color. Way to go.”

You turned, about to march away from him, but he called out after you, “I’m gonna be gone for a week! Won’t you at least say goodbye?”

“Bye!” you barked out, striding out to the balcony with Chandler and Joey.

“Hey, you okay? You look all…” Chandler trailed off to impersonate a snarl and raised his hands to form claws.

“Charming as ever, my dear Chandler. It’s a wonder you’re still single,” you mock-sighed dreamily, leaning against him and batting your eyelashes. The two of you laughed, and you pulled away. “Ross is going to China.”

Joey’s eyebrows rose. “The country?”

“No, the broken pile of dishes in his mom’s yard,” Chandler sarcastically quipped.

“Yeah, and he’s being a real dick,” you muttered, crossing your arms.

It was then that Ross peeked his head through the window, stepping out with mild difficulty due to his gangly limbs.

“Did Y/N tell you guys I’m going to China?” he asked, which earned him a sharp glare from you. The other two men nodded their heads. “Also, do you guys know who Carl is?”

“Hm, let’s see—Alvin, Simon, Theodore… nope, ‘fraid I don’t know him,” said Chandler.

Ross pulled a sour face. “Apparently Rachel’s out having drinks with him.”

“Oh, no, how can she do that when she’s never shown any interest in you whatsoever?” said Joey, and you high-fived him with an amused chortle.

Sick of Ross moping around and pining over Rachel, Chandler admonished, “Just forget about her, man! You’ve been stuck in the friendzone for way too long for anything to happen.”

“He’s right,” added Joey. “Please, just move on. Go to China, eat Chinese food!”

“I don’t know… I guess I have no choice,” Ross lamented, fiddling with the small, wrapped gift. “Listen, Y/N, I know you’re pissed at me, but will you please make sure Rachel gets this? And that she knows it’s from me?”

Rolling your eyes, you snatched the gift from him and tucked it safely into the pockets of your baggy jeans, refusing to meet his gaze. “When does your plane leave?”

“In two hours, but I should get going now if I wanna catch it.”

“Well, bye then. Travel safely.”

“I don’t want to leave knowing you’re mad—”

You blew out a deep sigh. “It’s fine, Ross. Just go. We’re fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Really? Because it doesn’t—”

“Just go!” the other two guys exclaimed, shooing Ross out. The taller man relented, and climbed back into the apartment.

Joey wrapped his arms around you from behind, and you suddenly felt uncomfortable. Sure, it was alright when he wasn’t dating anyone but now, knowing that he was doing this with you when he had a girlfriend he very much liked—it made your chest feel tight, like a large stone was weighing down on your lungs.

“Yikes, that was hard to watch. Remind me not to get on your bad side,” he said, amused.

“You have, Joey.”

“Remind me not to get on your bad side again,” he clarified.

Clearing his throat, Chandler propped his hands on his hips. “Hey, lovebirds. Are we going to get the fire started, or what?”

“Anyway, that’s when me and my friends started this fruit-basket business!” explained Joey’s girlfriend, who was precariously perched on his lap and gesturing wildly with her hands. “We call ourselves The Three Basketeers.”

Awkwardly, the rest of you let out a couple of forced chuckles. You had to swallow down the urge to roll your eyes.

“Can we open my presents now?” Rachel whined, bouncing in her spot with excitement. Normally, you would’ve wanted to have dinner first and save presents for last, but you were eager to get away from the topic of fruit baskets.

The group headed over to the couches, but you held Joey back, a small smile across your lips.

“Hold on there, hot shot. How’s it going, how are you holding up with Melanie?” you asked, genuinely curious.

Joey winced. “Ugh, not so good, to be honest. She thinks tonight’s the night we’re gonna complete the transaction, if you know what I mean.”

“Yes, I know what you mean, Jo,” you bit out, rolling your eyes. “Well, have you ever thought about… you know, just giving instead of receiving?”

There was a brief moment of silence. “What do you mean?” His voice lowered, and he leaned closer to you.

Cocking an eyebrow, you whispered, “Well, there’s oral, there’s fingering, there’s thigh riding… toys work too, if you’ve got any of those. Which, if you don’t, I know for a fact Chandler has some.”

The man across from you ogled you with wide eyes. “Oh. Oh.”

“Just think about it, okay? I promise, she’ll be completely smitten with you by the time you’re done.”

You were just about to head to the couches to watch Rachel open her gifts before he loosely caught your wrist.

“Thanks,” he said, wholly sincere. You smiled at him, patting his cheek affectionately, before heading off. A second later, he called out, “Wait, why do you know that Chandler has sex toys?!”

“I’m gonna take a wild guess here,” said the birthday girl, holding a fruit basket, “this is from Melanie?”

Joey’s girlfriend clapped excitedly, just about to launch into a tirade about the perfectly curated fruits she had selected, but was promptly interrupted when Rachel grabbed another gift.

“Ooh, this one’s light. It rattles… it’s—” She pulled a box out of the bag. “Travel scrabble.”

Joey and Chandler grinned at each other, but you could already see the disappointment in Rachel’s eyes.

“Thanks,” she said, dryly, before shoving the box to the side, much to Chandler’s dismay.

The rest of the presents were opened one by one—Monica had gotten Rachel a cute blouse that you just knew she would return for a different piece later, Phoebe got her about a dozen charm bracelets, claiming she didn’t know which one Rachel would like the most, so she just got her all of them, and Joey got her a Dr. Seuss book, much to her dismay. Rachel got around to your bag, which held a pack of scented candles, and bundles of fairy lights for her to hang in her room.

She looked pretty happy with those, which made you sigh out in relief. Rachel was a bit hard to get gifts for, considering she already had practically everything.

Finally, you pulled out Ross’ gift from your pocket, handing it to her. “Here, Rach. This is from Ross.”

The brunette grinned, tearing the little package open thinking it’d be something nerdy, like a magnifying glass or a miniature dinosaur figure from the museum.

“Oh, my God,” she said when she finally opened it. “He remembered!”

You peered over to see a large, bejeweled pin held precariously between her fingers.

“Remembered what?” Phoebe asked.

“It was like, months ago, we were walking by this antique store, and I saw this exact pin in the window and I told him it was just like the one my grandmother had when I was a little girl—and… oh, I just can’t believe he got it for me!”

Chandler scoffed. “Sure, it’s nice, but can you play it on a plane?” he drummed his hands along the Travel Scrabble box, before sinking further into his seat when you glared at him.

“Oh, it’s so pretty,” Phoebe chimed when Rachel reached out to give her a closer look. “That must’ve cost him a fortune!”

“I can’t believe he got you that,” said Monica.

“What, Ross? Remember in college when he fell in love with Carol and bought her that ridiculously expensive crystal duck?” Chandler commented, completely unaware of what he’d just said.

The rest of you stared at him with wide eyes.

“What did you just say?” whispered Rachel.

It took a second for Chandler to realize where he’d gone wrong. He sat upright, spluttering and coughing out simultaneously, “Crystal duck?”

“No,” Rachel said. “No, no… the, uhm, the ‘love’ part?”

Chandler struggled to find his tongue, eventually giving up and sinking his face into his hands.

“Oh, my God,” Rachel softly whispered. “This is just… this is unbelievable! I just—I can’t believe Ross is… oh, my God. This is huge.”

“No, it’s not! It’s small, it’s tiny, it’s petite, it’s wee!” Chandler pleaded, trying to get her to calm down.

“I think this is so great,” said Monica, clasping her hands together. “I mean, you and Ross! Did you have any idea?”

Still stunned, Rachel shook her head. “No, none at all. I mean, my first night in the city, he mentioned something about asking me out, but nothing ever happened, so I just…” She turned to you. “What else did he say? Does he want to go out with me?”

“Considering that he’s desperately in love with you, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess that he wouldn’t mind getting a cup of coffee, or something,” you replied, grasping her shoulders. “Listen, Rachel, don’t freak out about this. Take some time to think it over, and you can talk to Ross when he gets back.”

All of a sudden, she jerked away from you, standing up. “What do you mean when he gets back? Where is he? I need to talk to him!”

“He’s in China!” Chandler stepped in.

“The country,” Joey clarified.

Checking the flight information, Monica told her, “His flight doesn’t leave for another forty-five minutes.”

“What about the time difference?” cried Chandler, desperate to keep Rachel from confronting Ross, knowing that it was his fault that she knew in the first place.

“From here to the airport?” you asked, scoffing. “Rachel, he’ll be back in a week—that’s basically nothing! Just take this time to think it over—”

Already determinedly striding to the door, Rachel called over her shoulder, “I have to try and get to him before he goes. It’s just… too big to not talk about right now.”

“What are you gonna say?” asked Monica.

“I don’t know!” she replied, breathless.

Though you were still quite pissed with Ross, you put a hand on Rachel’s forearm. “Honey, if you’re going to break his heart, that can wait until after he’s back.”

Rachel’s eyes met yours, uncertain. “I don’t know,” she repeated. “Maybe I’ll know when I see him. All I know is that I can’t wait a week. This is just too big of something to sit on.”

More protests were on the tip of your tongue, but you held them down, well aware that your words would only fall upon deaf ears.

She already had a foot out the door when Chandler screamed, “Rachel, I love you! Deal with me first!”

Exasperated, Rachel huffed out a sigh, and stomped out the door, on her way to go see Ross.

She didn’t make it.

Ross had already gotten on the plane by the time Rachel arrived at the airport.

When she got back, Chandler and Joey and Melanie had already left, leaving just you, Phoebe, and Monica in the apartment. Monica had asked her again what she was planning on telling him when he got back. When Rachel finally admitted that the idea of dating Ross sounded really nice, Monica jumped up to wrap her arms around her, smiling widely.

“Oh, we’d be like friends-in-law!” she exclaimed, beaming. “The best part is that you already know everything about him! It’s like starting out on the fifteenth date.”

Phoebe countered, “Well, at the fifteenth date, you’re already in such a relationship-y place. You’re super committed at that point. You know, what happens if it doesn’t work out?”

“Why isn’t it working out?” Monica shot back, bristling. “Is he not cute enough for you? Does he not make enough money? Is there someone else?”

Rachel opened and closed her mouth several times, flubbering for words, before placatingly placing her hands on Monica’s shoulders. “Okay, Mon, you need to calm down. No, there is no one else.” Taking a pause, she looked to you. “Y/N, you’re the closest to Ross out of all of us. What do you think?”

Surprised at the sudden question, you could only offer her a gentle suggestion. “Rach, as much as I love the idea of two of my friends getting together—I just don’t think it’d be a good idea. Obviously, if you like him, you should go for it, but… think about it. You wouldn’t even be thinking twice about dating him if Chandler hadn’t let it slip that he loved you. Just think about your own feelings towards him—don’t get with him just because he loves you. That’s not fair to either of you.”

Though that wasn’t the answer that she was probably looking for, Rachel nodded, pursing her lips to the side. “Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Y/N. I’ll think about it.” She stood up, teeth worrying into her bottom lip. “I’m gonna go to bed now. Thank you for the party and the gifts, guys.”

With that, she turned and strode back into her room, softly shutting the door behind her.

“It was amazing!” Joey gushed, thanking you profusely. “That thing you told me about thigh-riding! Man, oh man!”

You huffed, setting down the sandwich you were having, not feeling very hungry anymore. “Too much information, Joe. I’m eating here!”

Your complaint falling upon deaf ears, he carried on, “It was just amazing. Not just for her—for me, too. It’s like, all of a sudden, I’m blind, but all my other senses are heightened, you know? It’s like I was able to appreciate it on another level.”

From beside you, Chandler snorted into his coffee. “I didn’t even know you had another level.”

“I know!” Joey exclaimed. “Neither did I! Say, Y/N, you have any more advice for me?”

If you went back in time a year ago and told your past-self that Joey Tribbiani came to you for sex advice, you would’ve laughed right in your future-self’s face.

“Praise goes a long way,” you said, absentmindedly toying with the bread of your sandwich. “Or degrade her, if she likes it better that way. A little hand action and some sweet talk is very effective. Now, can we stop talking about sex? I’m trying to have my lunch here!”

A week passed by in a breeze. You were in Monica’s apartment, listening to Joey and Chandler rave about the haircuts Phoebe had given them.

“You look nice,” you told Joey, reaching over to trace the freshly-cut strands. “Though, I do have to say that I’ll miss the long hair.”

“I’ll grow it out for you,” he promised, grasping your hand within his.

The door swung open then, and in tumbled an out-of-breath Rachel, who had a zebra-print plaster over her forehead.

“Airport! Airport!” she screeched, panting. “Ross… not alone! Julie—arm around her! Flowers! Oh, cramp! Cramp!” She clutched her side and doubled over in pain.

“Okay, I think she’s trying to tell us something!” Chandler sarcastically told the rest of the group. You shoved him to the side with a roll of your eyes and made your way to Rachel, gently asking if she was alright.

Completely ignoring your question, Rachel pointed an accusing finger at Chandler, jabbing it into his chest. “You said he liked me!” she shrieked. “You… you—!”

As if on cue, Ross strode into the open apartment, large bag in hand, and a woman on the other. Your eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Why’d you run up so fast, Rach?” asked Ross, laughing slightly.

“I, uhm… I thought we were racing?” she replied, eye visibly twitching. You patted her shoulder sympathetically.

Shrugging off the weird response, Ross greeted the rest of you, giving his sister a hug, clapped Joey and Chandler on the backs, and gave Phoebe a kiss on the cheek. He stopped in front of you, spreading his arms sheepishly.

Though the two of you separated on not-so-great terms, you didn’t have the heart to be angry at him for an entire week.

You stepped forward and gave him a brief embrace, before pulling away and patting his cheek with a little more force than necessary.

“You still mad at me?” he asked, looking genuinely uncertain.

“When am I not, Ross?” you sighed, shaking your head. “It’s good to have you back.”

He smiled in relief, before stepping away to introduce his new girlfriend, wrapping an arm around her. “Okay, everyone, this is Julie.”

The rest of you chimed your hellos, though not without sending worried glances to Rachel.

“Hi,” said Julie, smiling tiredly. “But I’m not here, you haven’t met me. I’ll make a much better first impression tomorrow when I don’t have twenty hours of cab and plane on me.”

“And bus!” Ross added.

“Oh, my God, right? The spitting guy, and the screaming… it was terrible!”

“Yeah, you guys have to hear this story,” said Ross.

Julie nodded emphatically. “Right, we’re on this bus that’s easily two-hundred years old. And this guy—”

“And the chicken poops in her lap,” Rachel interrupted, deadpan.

Everybody stared at her, mildly confused.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” the brunette said, looking shocked at herself. “I just gave away the ending, didn’t I? Oh, it’s just that I heard this story in the cab, like, three times and it’s all I can think about.” She grimaced, turning to rest her forehead against your shoulder in embarrassment.

In an effort to divert the attention away from Rachel, Monica clapped her hands. “Wow, this is… how did this happen, Ross?”

“Oh, Ross and I were in grad school together!” said Julie, brightening at the memory.

“But we haven’t seen each other since then. Well, I land in China, and guess who’s in charge of the dig?”

“Julie!” Rachel exclaimed, a strained edge to her voice. “I mean, isn’t that just hit-you-in-the-crotch, spit-on-your-neck fantastic?”

The couple stared at her strangely.

“It’s an inside joke,” you awkwardly chuckled, waving it away with a convincing grin.

“Alright, well, we’re gonna go see the baby,” said Ross.

Julie hummed in agreement. “Then we gotta get some sleep. I’m exhausted!”

“Yeah, it’s really six o’clock tomorrow night our time.”

The couple bid their goodbyes, before heading out the door.

Rachel let out a soft exhale, and you roped her into a proper hug, stroking the back of her head comfortingly.

“Hey, does anybody know a good tailor?” asked Chandler as he ambled into Monica’s apartment.

“You need some clothes altered?” said Joey, aimlessly flipping through a magazine on the couch, resting his head in your lap. He’d recently been more clingy because he’d broken up with Melanie the day before. According to him, all she really ever talked about were fruit baskets—which were his words, not yours. Though, you were thinking the same thing.

Chandler huffed, “No, no, I’m just looking for a man to draw on me with chalk,” he deadpanned.

Lifting his head slightly, Joey peered over the couch to look at his roommate. “Why don’t you go see Frankie? My family’s been going to him forever. He did my first suit when I was fifteen. No, wait, sorry. Sixteen. No—fifteen. No!” He looked to you, brows furrowed. “When was 1990 again?”

Chandler snorted, gesturing to his ears. “Okay, buddy, you have to stop the q-tip when there’s resistance!”

From across the room, Ross was on the phone with his new girlfriend he seemed completely smitten with, much to Rachel’s dismay. Rachel visibly rolled her eyes when Ross cooed lovingly into the phone, before getting up and storming into the kitchen. You and Joey locked eyes, before hurrying after her, not wanting to miss out on any drama.

“How is this happening to me?” the brunette softly cried to Monica. “A week ago, Ross was just Ross—he was just this guy! Now, all of a sudden, he’s… he’s Ross! This really great guy that I can’t have.”

Sympathetic, Monica placed an arm over her roommate’s shoulder. As if on cue, Ross came strolling into the kitchen to grab a banana from the fruit bowl, phone wedged between his shoulder and the side of his head, making gross kissing noises.

Rachel bolted up, squaring her jaw.

“I gotta get out of here,” she bit out, before grabbing her bag and striding right out the door.

“Okay, I don’t care what you guys say, but something’s bothering her!” Chandler sarcastically quipped.

Rolling your eyes, you made your way to the door. “I’ll go talk to her.”

“Hey,” you said, gently brushing your fingers against Rachel’s shoulder to alert her of your presence. She was sitting on the apartment building’s short stairs, hunched over her knees as she hugged them against her chest. She turned to look at you, a forlorn expression melded over her features. Softening, you tugged her into a hug, rubbing your palm up and down her back. “I’m sorry, Rach. I wish I could do something to help. You wanna talk about it?”

When she pulled away, her eyes were glassy with a thin, warbling film of unshed tears.

“I just… I don’t know what’s going on with me, you know? I never really thought about Ross in that way and the one time I do… he’s with someone else and it hurts. When I saw Ross get off that plane with her, I really thought I’d just hit rock bottom. And you know how people always tell you that it gets better? Well, today I feel more shitty than I did the day before.” Rachel buried her face into her palms, tears streaking down her cheeks.

“Oh, honey, why don’t you just tell him?” you asked. “He’s barely been with Julie for two weeks, and that’s nothing compared to how long Ross has been in love with you.”

Rachel let out a long sigh, lifting her damp face away from her hands. “I don’t know, Y/N. I’m just so confused. I don’t know.”

“Okay,” you said softly, moving closer to rope your arm over her shoulders, and pressed a gentle kiss to her warm forehead. “What do you say you come over to my place and we watch a movie, hm? I’ll let you pick.”

“Can we watch The Princess Bride?”

“Sure,” you said, taking her hands to pull her up with you. “Whatever you want.”

It shouldn’t have happened.

One moment, the two of you were cuddled up on your couch, preening over how good Westley looked, and the other, Rachel was on top of you, her lips frantically moving against yours.

It was your fault, really. Rachel was vulnerable, and obviously needed a distraction, and so, like a fool, you let her use you as one. You let her unbutton your shirt. You let her desperately tug against your hair. You let her kiss you, and you let her shove you into your bedroom.

At one point, you managed to pull away for a second, breathless and entirely conflicted about the situation. She looked so beautiful spread over the sheets of your bed, and it made your heart sink at the thought that she wasn’t doing this because she really wanted to—she was doing this because she was looking for something to make her forget. Even for just a little bit. “Rach, don’t you think we should slow down a bit? I know you’re hurting, but—”

She shook her head firmly, roping her arms over your neck and yanking you back down, kissing you hard. You froze against her, and the brunette sighed against you.

“Please?” she whispered, all soft and broken and devastating.

You could practically feel yourself caving.

No more words were exchanged.

You leaned back down to kiss her.

It was the next day. You were still sleeping in bed, most likely exhausted from all the activities you’d been up to the night before, and Rachel slipped out as soon as she’d woken up beside you. Naked and aching. Oh, what has she done?

Rachel winced as she tried to quietly open the door to Monica’s apartment, but it creaked, alerting everybody of her return. She was only grateful that Ross wasn’t there—probably off canoodling with his new girlfriend.

Monica’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God, Rachel, what happened? I was worried sick about you! Where’d you go last night?” After another moment, she narrowed her eyes, surveying her roommate’s disheveled appearance. “You slept with somebody, didn’t you?”

Clearing her throat, Rachel straightened her posture, pointedly ignoring Monica’s question. “I stayed over at Y/N’s place. Is there something wrong with that?”

At first, Monica nodded, relieved. “Oh, okay,” she said. Another second past, and her eyes widened, just about bugging out of her head at the realization. “Wait, you didn’t say no to my question. OH, MY GOD!”

From the couches, Joey turned his head at the commotion. “What’s going on?”

“RACHEL AND Y/N SLEPT TOGETHER!” shrieked Monica. Rachel fruitlessly tried to shush her, spewing out that it wasn’t that big of a deal and that it was a mistake.

From behind the closed bathroom door, Chandler’s voice echoed, “WHAT? RACHEL AND Y/N SLEPT TOGETHER?!” He came out a moment later, face colored red with shock.

Rachel pulled at the skin of her face in frustration and faced all her friends as they expectantly watched her, waiting for an explanation.

“How did this happen?” demanded Joey, seeming lost. “I thought you were… you were… Ross…”

“I am,” sighed Rachel, massaging her pulsing temples. “It was a mistake. A really wonderful one, sure, but still a mistake. Y/N was being so nice and it just happened, okay? I was the one that kissed them—so Y/N wasn’t taking advantage of me or anything. They tried to stop me at one point and I—I don’t know, I asked if we could keep going and Y/N gave in.” Her cheeks colored hotly at the memory.

The rest of them stared at her, speechless.

“Where is Y/N?” asked Joey, crossing his arms.

“Still sleeping,” whispered Rachel, feeling ashamed of herself. “I’m gonna go get changed. Excuse me.”

She left in a hurry, leaving the rest of them puzzled and unsure of what to make of things.

“So, you and Rachel, huh?” Joey leaned against your kitchen counter as you fixed yourself (and him) a sandwich, raising his eyebrows.

You rolled your eyes. “It was a one night stand, Joey—a fling, if you will. You know that better than anybody.”

“Yeah, but it’s different,” he said, grabbing half of the cut sandwich and taking a large bite. “Because you were friends with her before. Don’t you think it’ll be weird going back to being friends?”

A part of you was a bit worried that Rachel would act weird about it, but you personally didn’t really see a problem with it—you knew Rachel had feelings for Ross and you didn’t want to get in the way of that any more than you already have.

“It’ll be fine,” you reassured him, bumping the side of your hip against his. “We’re both mature adults—besides, I love Rachel too much to let this ruin our friendship.”

With a teasing hum, Joey leaned in closer to you. “Oh, yeah? Do you love me enough to sleep with me and not let it ruin our friendship?”

With a scoff, you patted his chest and walked away, sandwich wedged between your teeth as you called out, “In your dreams, Tribbiani.”

Rachel showed up to your apartment again the next night, promising not to make any advances on you this time. She apologized profusely and the two of you had talked it out. It ended in tears (Rachel) and yawns (you) because it was way too late for you to get emotional. The two of you hugged it out, promising each other that this wouldn’t get weird, and before you knew it, she was getting up to go back.

“Oh, just so you know,” she said, hanging halfway out your doorway, “you’re really great in bed.”

Surprise colored your expression when she dipped forward to kiss you softly on the cheek, and sauntered away, humming gently under her breath. You blinked, before rubbing your fists into your eyes.

“I really need to get some sleep,” you thought to yourself dazedly, partially wondering if this was a dream.

“This is unbelievable, Pheebs. How can you be married?” Joey asked the blonde from Monica’s dining table.

Patting his shoulder you began to say, “See, Joe, when two people love each other very much—” You cut yourself off with a laugh when he began swatting at you, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Well, I’m not, like, married married. He was just a friend, and he’s gay! He’s from Canada, and he just needed a green card,” Phoebe defensively stated.

Monica shook her head. “I can’t believe you married Duncan. How could you not tell me! I mean, we lived together—we told each other everything!”

“Sorry, Mon, but if I told you, you would’ve gotten super judgemental and you wouldn’t have approved!”

Your raven-headed friend’s voice began to grow shrill as she said, “Of course I wouldn’t have approved! You were totally in love with this guy, who, hello, was gay! I mean, what the hell were you thinking?”

From across the table, Ross snorted. “See, Pheebs, and you thought she’d be judgemental.”

“Okay, I wasn’t in love with him, I was just helping out a friend!”

Accusingly, Monica shot back, “Please, when he left town, you stayed in your pajamas for a month! And I saw you eat a cheeseburger!”

The rest of you gasped.

“Phoebe, is that true?” Rachel asked, aghast.

Avoiding eye contact, the blonde poured herself a cup of tea. “I might’ve.”

“I just can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” said Monica. “Getting married is a big thing!”

Narrowing her eyes, Phoebe retorted, “Oh, come on. As if you tell me everything?”

“What have I not told you?” challenged Monica.

“Oh, I don’t know, how about the fact that the underwear out there on the telephone pole is yours from when you were having sex with Fun Bobby out on the terrace!” Phoebe exclaimed, pointing out the window.

The rest of you rushed to press your faces into the glass, eager to see what she was on about.

Offended, Monica slapped Chandler on the arm. “You told her?!”

Recoiling, Chandler bit out, “I didn’t know it was a big secret!”

“Oh, no of course not—at least not as big as having a third nipple!” she screeched, which brought all of your attention away from the underwear dangling outside to Chandler, who was tomato-faced and grimacing.

“You have a third nipple?” asked Phoebe.

“You bitch,” Chandler hissed to Monica, who only stuck her tongue out childishly.

Excited, Ross exclaimed, “Whip it out, Chandler!”

“Ew, guys! There’s nothing to see, it’s just a tiny bump, it’s totally useless!” He rounded to the living room to put some distance between the rest of you, but you all followed behind him anyways.

Cocking your head, you sarcastically put forth, “Right, as opposed to your other multifunctional nipples!”

“I can’t believe you! You told me it was a nubbin,” said Joey.

“Joe, what did you think a nubbin was?” Ross responded.

“I don’t know—you see something, you hear a word—I thought that’s what it was! Let me see it again, Chandler—”

Desperate to divert the attention away from him, Chandler pointed a finger at you. “Y/N and Rachel slept together!”

Most of the group waved him away, having already known that fact, but Ross blanched, eyes darting between you and Rachel.

“What?” he said. “You… you—you slept with her?” he said, an accusing lilt to his tone, bordering on anger. You blinked, brows creasing.

“Yeah,” you carefully said. “It was one time. We’re both grown adults, Ross, we’re allowed to do whatever we want to each other. Besides, you’re with Julie. What’s got your pickle in such a twist?”

Ross was close to belittling you, wanting to ask how could you? You know that I was in love with Rachel.

But he didn’t, because Rachel was right there, watching the two of you with worried eyes. And you were right—Rachel wasn’t his property. She was free to sleep with whoever she wanted, which included you. Not even mentioning that he had a girlfriend right now and had no right to be jealous for someone he wasn’t even dating.

You narrowed your eyes at him. “You gonna drop it, Ross? Or is this gonna be a problem?”

“Nope. No problem,” Ross chuckled hoarsely, clearly having a problem with it.

Satisfied, you rolled your shoulders back and sent Chandler a withering glare. “Alright… since we’re dragging other people into this—Joey was in a porno!”

The group gasped at your revelation.

Jaw dropping, Joey glared at you with wide eyes, as if to say, how could you?

Chandler guffawed, clapping his hands together, relishing the chaos. “Yeah, that’s right! If I’m going down, I’m taking everybody with me!” This earned him a cuff to the back of his head, and he turned, only to cower away from your burning stare.

“Oh, my God! You were in a porno?” squawked Phoebe.

“Tell us about it, tell us about it!” chimed Monica.

Waving them away, Joey was quick to say, “Alright, alright! I was young and I just wanted a job, okay? But at the last minute, I couldn’t go through with it—my uh… my thing got stage fright, see? So they let me be the guy who comes in to fix the copier but can’t because—well, because there’s people havin’ sex on it.”

You snorted. “Never gets old.”

“That’s wild!” said Rachel. Then, she promptly turned back to Chandler, pointing at his chest. “So, what’s it shaped like?”

It was around a week later—and you strode into Monica’s apartment, exhausted from working a full day in the lab, only to be met by three squealing women with sloshing glasses of wine.

“Ross and Rachel kissed!” exclaimed Monica, flushed a bright shade of pink and grinning widely.

Your eyes widened. “What? Oh, my God… uhm, congrats?” you tentatively said, judging from their gleeful celebratory expressions. “What about Julie?”

The drunken atmosphere seemed to dwindle away at your question. Rachel sat up straight, expression crumbling. “Right… Julie…”

You strode to her and wrapped her into a warm embrace. There was so much that you wanted to stay, but you bit down on your tongue and just held her all the tighter.

The next day, you had to watch the excruciating exchange between Julie and Ross—the former having no clue about the kiss, and the latter looking as guilty as a child caught stealing cookies.

You decided you wanted no part in it, despite both Ross and Rachel constantly asking you for advice.

“This is like a complete nightmare!” Ross stressed from the privacy of Chandler’s apartment, pacing back and forth in front of the tv.

Rolling his eyes, Chandler sardonically bit out, “Oh, I know, it must be so hard having two women in love with you! They’re both gorgeous, my wallet’s too small for my fifties, and my diamond shoes are too tight!”

The taller man glared at him, crossing his arms.

“Listen, Ross, I got two words for you,” interjected Joey, holding up two fingers. “Threesome!”

You pinched his cheek with a scoff of a laugh. “That’s one word.”

“This isn’t helping!” Ross practically screeched. “Y/N, come on, you’re the most sensible out of all of us. Help me! What do I do?”

Feeling a bit guilty, you just shook your head. “Ross, either way, you’re going to hurt someone. You have two options—you break up with Julie and you get with Rachel, or you get firm with Rachel and tell her you’re staying with Julie. There’s no secret third option, because that’ll only lead to even more disaster and you’ll end up losing them both. Just don’t be a dick to either of them, okay? I care about Rachel a lot, and I don’t want to see her hurt because of you.”

Ross blinked at you. “So what I’m hearing is… Rachel?”

Throwing your hands up in the air, you wrinkled your nose at him in disgust, furrowing your brows. “Ugh, no! Damn it, Ross—”

“Let’s be logical about this,” interjected Chandler. “We’ll make a list—pros and cons for both Rachel and Julie.”

You crossed your arms. “That’s a terrible idea. Why are you treating them like objects for bartering?”

Huffing, Ross merely shook his head. “It’s not a half-bad idea, though. Might help me make a smart choice.”

“Great!” exclaimed Chandler. “Let’s start with the cons—Rachel first.”

Ross’ expression twisted hesitantly. “I don’t know… I guess you could say she’s a little spoiled sometimes. And you know, sometimes she’s a little ditzy—and I’ve seen her be a little too into her looks. Julie and I—we have a lot in common because we’re both paleontologists, but you know, Rachel’s just… she’s a waitress.”

Disgusted, you scoffed. “God, you’re such an asshole, Ross. Are you serious? The nerve of you…” you trailed off, pushing yourself away from Joey’s side to grab your coat on the back of the couch, already heading for the door.

“Hey, where are you going?” asked Joey. “Y/N, come back, he doesn’t mean it!” Pointedly, Joey jabbed Ross in the side, but he just guiltily looked to the ground.

“Fuck you, Ross. She’s my friend too, you know. Shame on you two, as well,” you chastised, glaring at the three men, before storming out of the apartment, making sure to slam the door hard behind you.

The next day, Ross broke up with Julie.

And just a bit after that, Rachel saw the list he’d made of her as she slipped into Chandler’s apartment to steal some of his moisturizer.

God, you knew something like this would happen.

You stumbled into Monica’s apartment with the rest of the group, laughter from a story Joey was telling ebbing away upon the sight of Ross begging Rachel to open the bedroom door.

Before anyone could step in and ask what was going on, Rachel swung the door open, face blotchy from crying and crimson with fury.

“Rach, come on—you gotta give me another chance.”

“No!” firmly exclaimed the brunette.

“No?”

“That’s what I said. No.”

Awkward, Chandler took a step closer to the door. “Look, maybe we should go—”

“No, you guys shouldn’t go, because Ross and I are done talking.”

“Rach, look, I know how this must—”

Holding up a hand, Rachel squared her jaw and coldly replied, “No, you don’t, Ross. Imagine… the worst things you’d think about yourself. Now, how would you feel if the one person that you trusted the most in the world not only thinks it too, but actually uses it as reasons not to be with you!”

Faltering, Ross stammered out, “No, but—but, see, I wanna be with you in spite of all those things.”

What an asshole, you thought.

Slowly, the five of you began inching to the door.

Anger flickered across her expression. “Oh, well, that’s mighty big of you, Ross.” She momentarily snapped her gaze towards you. “I said don’t go!” she barked.

All of you froze like deer in the headlights.

Voice breaking, Ross replied in a panicked manner, “You know… if—if things were the other way around, there is nothing that you could put on a list that would ever make me not want to be with you!”

Rachel’s tense shoulders dropped, as if she was totally and utterly done with this conversation. “Well, see, that’s the difference between us. I’d never make a list.”

With that, she shut the door in Ross’ face.

All of you stared, wide-eyed, as he slowly backed away from her bedroom, and sank down to slump on the coffee table.

“I never know how long you’re supposed to wait in this type of situation until you can talk again,” Joey whispered into your ear. You pinched his side, sending him a glare. “Oh, okay, I guess we’re waiting a bit longer, then.”

You wrapped the scarf tighter around your neck, blowing out a breath that misted into the cold air in front of you.

“Joey, slow down!” you called out, lightly jogging after the man who was practically sprinting down to the newspaper stand down the street. “They won’t be sold out of papers at one in the morning!”

“I’m just excited!” he exclaimed, grabbing your hand and yanking you along, much to your dismay. “I’ve never gotten reviewed before!”

“You were really great, Joe—I’m being serious! You make a good king,” you said genuinely, smiling at him when he halted in front of the stall, sending you a grateful grin. “Though, you might wanna consider wearing underwear next time—when you sat down everyone could see your uh… your royal subjects.”

You broke out into a fit of laughter, which you tried to hide away into coughing when Joey rolled his eyes and turned away from you.

Shucking a couple of coins from his mostly-empty wallet, he tossed them to the vendor and grabbed a couple papers, handing you one. The rest of the group caught up to the two of you moments later, taking a couple papers to see for themselves.

Your heart dropped upon reading the first few lines of the review. Sending a glance over at Joey, you could see his shoulders begin to droop.

“The only thing worse than the mindless adolescent direction is Joseph Tribbiani’s disturbingly unskilled portrayal of the king…” he mumbled, downtrodden.

Chandler clapped his roommate’s shoulder. “Hey, look, that’s just one douchebag’s opinion! Alright, Pheebs, read yours.”

The blonde perked up, clearing her throat before reading aloud, “The only thing worse than the mindless adolescent direction—”

“Alright, does anybody have a different paper?” intervened Chandler. “Ross, read yours.”

The taller man winced at the colorful insults on his paper, shooting Joey an apologetic glance. “I don’t think I want to.”

Huffing, Joey handed you his paper, and sank down onto the curb of the sidewalk, hanging his head.

“Oh, Joe,” you said, kneeling down beside him. “They don’t know what they’re talking about—critics always have a stick up their ass! They never know how to have fun and they’re always reviewing things with tunnel vision for snobbish pish-posh elegance that nobody gives a shit about!”

The Italian sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe they have a point. I’ve been doing this for ten years and I haven’t gotten anywhere! There’s gotta be a reason.”

Rachel reached out to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Come on, Joey—”

“No, no, I’m quitting. It’s just too hard.”

The rest of you blanched at his sudden declaration, each of you erupting with protests.

When Joey just shook his head, you all fell silent, and you took his hand, holding it tight to your chest. “Joey, and I say this from the bottom of my heart, I really enjoyed your play. I know the critics don’t, but I had so much fun watching you, and I know the rest of the audience did, too. This might not mean anything to you, but I’m really proud of you. You’ve come a long way since you started, and you should be proud of yourself, too.”

Joey was silent for a moment. Then he looked to you, a glimmer of appreciation behind his irises. “Thanks, Y/N. That means a lot, it does.”

You grinned. “Alright. What does everyone say to midnight pizza?”

“It’s nearly two in the morning,” deadpanned Rachel, hiding a yawn behind her fist. When she saw Joey’s pouting face, she huffed, relenting. “Oh, fine, fine. But no pineapples!”

You sauntered into Joey and Chandler’s apartment, about to ask them if they wanted to go catch a movie starting in half an hour, but your question faltered on your tongue upon seeing Joey bustling in the kitchen, about two dozen jars of homemade marinara sauce strewn all over the counter. He was furiously chopping more tomatoes, looking as stressed as ever.

Blinking, you gently said his name, which made him grunt distantly in reply. You took a seat by the counter, reaching forward to swipe some marinara off his cheek and licked it off your thumb.

“Hm,” you said, pleasantly surprised. “That’s good, Joey! What’s all this for?”

Before he could respond, Chandler trudged out of his bedroom, rubbing the nap away from his droopy eyes, mumbling, “Italy called and said it was hungry.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t get the part, then?” you asked sympathetically, referring to the Days of Our Lives call-back audition he had earlier today that he simply couldn’t pass up, despite claiming that he quit being an actor no less than a week ago.

Your friend shook his head. “No, the part’s mine if I want it.”

Both you and Chandler blanched. “Oh, my God!”

“Yeah, well, that’s only if I’m willing to sleep with the casting lady,” huffed Joey.

“Oh…” you said, finally understanding his dilemma.

Joey nodded. “Ten years I’ve been waiting for a break like this. Ten years! I mean, Days of our Lives—that’s actually on television!”

“So… what are you gonna do?” asked Chandler, glancing to you and noticing your suddenly uncomfortable expression.

“I don’t know,” his roommate admitted. “I mean, I guess I could sleep with her…”

Clearing your throat, you pulled up your sleeve slightly to check your wristwatch, hastily getting up from the stool and heading for the door. “So sorry to leave, but I’ve got a movie to catch. So, uh, good luck with the, uh, the audition.” You winced, before awkwardly rushing out.

Chandler crossed his arms over his chest. “So what’s got you so stressed out? Is she pretty?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Joey reluctantly responded.

“Honestly surprised you haven’t slept with her already. Usually you’d jump at an opportunity like this. I mean, it’s not like you’re in love with anyone, so nothing’s really holding you back—” Chandler halted himself in his words. “Is this about Y/N? You never actually told them how you felt, did you—?”

Quick to cut him off, Joey snapped, “I’m not in love with Y/N!” Then, he hesitated, face screwing into one of confusion as he rinsed all the tomato juice off his hands. “At least… I don’t think I am. But anyways, this isn’t about them. I’ve never had to sleep with someone to get a job before.”

Obviously still dubious, Chandler just let out a little uhuh, and sat down by the counter. “Maybe this isn’t such a big deal, Joey. The way I see it, you get a great job, and you get to have sex with a nice girl!”

Joey’s shoulders dropped a little. “I just don’t think I want it that way, you know? Let’s say I make it—I’m always gonna wonder if it was because of my talent, or because of my dick!”

Chandler nodded. He was still quite miffed as to why Joey hadn’t already jumped on the opportunity, but he had a feeling it was because of—

“Can I tell you something?” asked Joey.

“Shoot.”

“I’ve barely been sleeping with anybody lately, I’m sure you’ve noticed—”

“I try to enjoy it while it lasts,” Chandler dryly replied. “Our walls are thin, you know.”

Rolling his eyes, Joey continued, “The last person I was properly dating was Melanie, and that felt like ages ago. And, uh… when I found out about Y/N and Rachel sleepin’ together it just kinda felt… I felt…”

“Jealous?”

Joey bit down on the inside of his cheek. “Yeah,” he reluctantly sighed out. “I don’t know. Maybe I am in love with Y/N.”

“Woah,” said Chandler, raising both hands in surprise as his eyes widened at Joey’s confession.

“Woah!” parroted Joey, matching his roommate’s energy. “I said maybe. Maybe! I don’t know yet!”

“No, I just… I didn’t think you’d… you know, I always had a feeling but I never really expected you to admit it. That’s, uh, that’s great, Joe! Are you gonna tell them?”

Joey had to admit, he was absolutely terrified at the prospect of confessing his feelings to you. Usually, he wasn’t afraid of rejection because it never really was something he had to worry about but with you—he never, ever wanted to lose you. The very idea of not being friends with you anymore ripped him apart to pieces.

But he had to try, didn’t he?

“Yeah,” replied Joey, glancing down at all the marinara he’d made, thinking back to the way you’d gently swiped some sauce off of his cheek. “I think I will.”

Joey whistled happily as he strode down the halls of the physics institution, not even caring that he’d walked into the wrong room three times in a row (the scientists in the second lab definitely weren’t happy with that), before finally finding your office. He’d gotten the job—without sleeping with the casting agent—and since you were so busy with work, he thought he’d stop by and tell you the good news because he just couldn’t wait until you got off.

Though, now that he stood in front of your door, he wished he’d waited.

Because then he wouldn’t have to see you with Connor—and how the two of you seemed awfully close, with his hand settled over your hip and yours gripping the front of his shirt as the two of you spoke lowly to each other.

A part of Joey wanted to turn tail and run, but he found himself rooted to the spot, mouth opening and closing silently.

Finally, you caught sight of him in the doorway, and you practically sprang away from Connor, eyes wide and expression coloring with shock.

“Joey! What are you doing here?” you asked, slightly breathless and evidently flustered.

The excitement he once felt began to dwindle away the longer he stood there, grappling for words. “I, uh… just wanted to come by and see how you’re doing! But I see you’re pretty busy and, uhm, I’m just gonna get going now! Bye!” With that, he turned on his heel and sprinted out of your office, before you could even begin to protest.

“That was weird,” said Connor, mildly confused. “What’s up with your friend?”

You stared at the open doorway for a second longer, brows furrowed. “I don’t know,” you replied distantly, before turning back to him with a smile. “Now, where were we?”

Later that night, Monica had invited everyone over to play some board games and drink a little bit of wine she’d been saving for over a year by now. You were glad for the break, having exhausted yourself working for the past few days.

Halfway through your third round of Monopoly (the last two rounds had to be halted because Ross and Phoebe looked like they were about to tear each other’s throats out), Joey excused himself to take a quick breather on the balcony, and you followed suit after making sure Chandler wouldn’t steal any of your fake Monopoly money. As you were clambering out the window to join him, you caught sight of Chandler sneaking some of your dollar bills into his stack, and you rolled your eyes but let it go anyway.

“Hey,” you murmured, nudging Joey’s side with your elbow. “You okay? It’s cold out here.”

“Yeah,” he replied, smiling down at you briefly, though you noticed that it didn’t truly reach his eyes. “Just… thinking.”

A soft hum fell from you. “That doesn’t happen often, huh? What about?” You leaned your head against his shoulder, tilting your gaze up to New York’s starless night skies. The moon shone dimly behind a hazy city smog, one that seemed to never lift this time of year.

“I got the part,” he said.

“Oh, my God,” you whispered, pulling away for a second to stare at him with parted lips. “That’s amazing, Joey, congrats! I’m really proud of you, you know that?”

Something sickly twisted in his stomach at your words. “Thanks, Y/N.”

You settled back down against his shoulder, stray strands of your hair tickling his cheek. “So did you sleep with the casting agent? I won’t judge if you did, I promise.”

There was a short pause before he responded, a little hesitantly, “Nah—I was offered the part because I refused to sleep with them. I guess they liked my guts and wanted me in the show.”

You lifted your head to grin at him, nose wrinkling fondly. It did Joey’s heart no favors when you leaned forward and pressed a chaste, friendly kiss to his cheek, before resting your head back down. He inhaled sharply, the smell of your blueberry-scented shampoo making his chest ache with an itch that he just couldn’t seem to scratch away.

“Why didn’t you do it?” you asked, cold fingers moving down his arm to lace with his. “Sleep with the casting agent, that is.”

“Well… I don’t want to make up my career through sex and sex alone,” he said, carefully avoiding the glaringly obvious other reason why. “I would want to know at least some of it was because of my talent.”

You hummed again. The two of you lapsed into a comfortable silence. From the distance, a car honked.

“What… uh, what were you and Connor doin’ earlier today when I came by?” he asked, trying to play it cool.

“Oh, he was just there to ask for some advice on his research paper. He just got a little flirty, really, nothing happened between us—it was nice and all, but… oh, I don’t know. I just don’t think I’m really looking for a serious relationship right now.”

Joey could feel his heart crumble into a million pieces and fall through the gaps between his ribs. Well, there goes any prospect of confessing his feelings to you tonight. He supposed it was for the better—if you’d rejected him, Joey didn’t think he could ever properly look you in the eye again and just continue to be friends as if nothing had happened.

“Oh,” he said, voice cracking minutely. “Sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay,” you told him genuinely, fondness seeping through your tone. “I’ve got great friends.”

“Yeah,” said Joey, lifting an arm to sling around your waist to give you a loose side-hug. If he couldn’t be with you in a romantic relationship, he was more than willing to be with you in a platonic one.

#joey tribbiani x reader #friends fanfiction #joey tribbiani fanfiction #joey tribbiani fluff #joey tribbiani angst #joey tribbiani smut #rachel green x reader #rachel green angst #rachel green fluff #rachel green smut #joey tribbiani imagines #joey tribbiani drabbles #rachel green imagines #rachel green drabbles #friends x reader #friends joey x reader #friends rachel x reader

447 notes · View notes