#joey tribbiani imagines | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mychemicalimagines · 2 years

Text

The One With...-Joey Tribbiani-Chapter 9

Summary: Emily Bing has been with Joey Tribbiani for a few years now. Now that they have added a new FRIEND to the mix…will it change anything? Will Joey and Emily still be in love?

Warnings: Some Language, suggestive smut, slight angst, Fluff Warnings might change later.

Co-Writer: @ thamberlinawrites

Words: 6,789

Tag List: Reblogging

A/N: Thank you all for waiting so long for this! We have been messing around with our own different fics and finally just sat down and finished this chapter! We hope you enjoy! Please comment your thoughts!

To be tagged: Message Either of Us, Comment, Submit an Ask or Tag Yourself in My Bio!!

The One With A Dozen Lasagnas

Third Person POV

Today’s the day.

Today, they’ll get to see their baby. Neither slept, both too excited and eager to get a glimpse of their child. As they sit in the doctor’s office waiting room, Emily can feel and very much hear Joey’s excitement and nervousness as he drums his feet on the tiled floors. She understands it of course, but as the drumming increased, so did the annoying squeaking sound from his seat which quickly frayed Emily’s incredibly fraught nerves.

“Joey, Joey…” She places her hand over his left, “I’m only saying this because I love you, stop drumming or I will kill you.”

"Sorry, sorry,” he stutters. He didn’t mean to annoy her but he couldn’t help it. This was worse than first-night stage fright. He takes a hold of her hand and laces their fingers together, “it’s just I’m really nervous, y’know. What if there’s something wrong or what if-”

“Don’t say things like that. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Joey merely nods and tries to distract himself with one of the many parenthood posters that line the walls just as a couple walk hand in hand and sit down opposite them. Immediately the husband places a protective palm over his wife’s bump which makes Emily smile.

“He always does this, he likes the baby to know Daddy is around.” the woman smiles before nodding towards Emily’s bump, “Is this your first?”

“Yeah, we’re finding out the sex today.” She bites her lip, slightly nervous.

“Oh, that’s so exciting! This little one is our third and final…”

“You said that the first time,” her husband cut in, “and the second time…”

At that moment, the nurse appears in the doorway, calling Emily’s name. The couple opposite smiles and wishes them both good luck as Joey wraps his arm around her shoulder and follows the nurse into the examination room.

The nurse points over towards the bed, “Okay Miss Bing, if you just want to make yourself comfortable on the bed and we can get things started.”

“Hey, maybe I should try that line on you when we get home,” Joey chuckles, wiggling his eyebrows but Emily just shakes her head. The nurse wasn’t overly amused either as she stared at him. “Sorry, I’m Joey, I’m the father.”

Emily makes herself comfortable on the slightly awkward mechanical bed, the paper rustling quickly annoying her. She lowers the waist of her loose-fitting pants and lifts her top to reveal her flourishing bump that never ceases to make Joey grin. The nurse then tucks a drape into the waistband so the gel wouldn’t get onto her clothes before leaving the room informing them that the Ultrasound Technician would be through in a moment.

Joey places his palm across the peak of her bump, “you okay?”

“A little nervous but we’re about to see our baby.” She answers, placing her hand on his.

“I bet we’re havin’ a boy.” He grins.

At that moment, the Ultrasound Technician walks in making Joey jump back a little in shock, “Well, let’s find out. Hi guys, I’m Zoe.”

Zoe takes a seat at the ultrasound machine and gets it set up. She applies a liberal amount of gel onto the transducer before glancing at the couple.

“This is gonna be cold,” she warns them as she applies a similar amount to Emily’s bump, making her gasp out a little.

As she places the transductor onto her stomach, Emily and Joey watch as the screen flickers between grey, white and black fuzz until the clear outline of their baby comes into clarity on the screen before their eyes.

“Wow! Oh my god,” Emily gasps, clutching tightly at Joey’s hand.

“Hey baby… Look Em, that’s our baby…”

Emily’s eyes flicker from the screen to Zoe’s face as her brow furrowed in confusion making her anxiety spike, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong with the baby?”

“I will be back in a minute, I just want Dr. Oberman in here.”

Naturally, Emily starts panicking, her hand now having a death grip on Joey’s hand, who was equally panicked but did his best to calm her down.

“Shh, it’s okay. Just breathe, just breathe.” He uses his other hand to comb through her hair, hoping his movements will calm her down.

Dr. Oberman walks in with a small smile, nodding her hello and takes the seat at the ultrasound machine that Zoe had occupied a few minutes before. She presses the transducer back over Emily’s bump, thoroughly studying the screen while Joey and Emily held their collective breaths waiting.

“Aha, yes. Okay-” She starts.

“Please just cut the crap and tell me our baby is okay,” Emily snaps, cutting her off.

Dr Oberman smiles and nods, “Both babies are just fine, Miss Bing.”

“Wait, what?” The couple says in sync, eyes wide.

They stare at each other in shock before turning back to the doctor for clarification.

Joey feels his knees tremble as he continues their thoughts, “Both? Did you say both?”

“I did, congratulations.” Their doctor grins, excited to be able to give them the news.

Emily fights back the tears to ask, “can you tell the sex yet?”

“Well, this little one…” She moves the transducer for a slightly clearer image, “...is a boy.”

“A boy! Em, we’ve got a boy!” Joey says, his voice going up an octave in excitement.

“But the other baby is slightly obscured by the other so I’m not able to clearly see and say. But what you do have is two very healthy babies. I’ll print you off some pictures and let you clean yourself up.”

Dr Oberman smiles and leaves the room leaving Joey and Emily teary-eyed, clutching at one another.

“Two babies Joey, we’re having twins.” She whispers, scared to speak any louder.

“Yeah, we are,” he kisses her deeply, pouring every ounce of love into it, “I love you. Thank you for making me a daddy.”

“I love you too.” She sniffs slightly before kissing his cheek. “Thank you for making me a mommy.”

He helps clean the gel from her bump, pressing a kiss just above her belly button before stepping back and allowing Emily to pull her clothes back into place just as Dr Oberman returns with the pictures and some leaflets.

“Here you go guys.” She says, handing the papers to Joey. “Now, being pregnant with twins is slightly different than a standard pregnancy. It’s highly unlikely you will carry to full term but ideally, we would like to get past the 37-week mark to make sure everyone is healthy. I’ve booked your next scan in a couple of weeks' time to see how everything’s progressing. Any problems at all, please call me. Congratulations again.”

The couple thank her before looking at the ultrasound in Joey’s hand, before taking in a deep breath, smiles slowly taking over their faces. Two babies?!

*F*R*I*E*N*D*S

Emily’s POV

I can’t believe it! Twins! We’re having twins. It’s terrifying and exciting in equal measures, like going on a huge rollercoaster when you were a kid. I know Joey must be feeling the same way, even if he won’t admit it. But the look of pure joy on his face when Dr Oberman told us we’re having a boy is one I’ll forever savour. He’s been saying from the beginning that we’re having a boy.

Something about “knowing what he made”, but now that it’s confirmed, it’s even more exciting! Even if it’s just for one of the babies. Part of me is so excited that the sex of the second twin is a mystery, but at the same time, it does make choosing names a little more difficult. Maybe we’ll be lucky and find out at the next scan but if we don’t, it’ll be a surprise for us both.

We decide to walk back home instead of hailing a cab. We’re having two babies now, and every cent saved counts. Even if my feet will hurt ten times more later, it’s worth it since we're saving for our pride and joys. Joey wraps his arm around my waist and keeps his palm pressed against my bump the entire time. It’s these little touches that remind me of how lucky I am, I can’t help but snuggle into his side.

Since it’s on our way, we stop by at the bookshop to grab some baby books, grateful for any additional help we can get and as we leave I’m hit by the delicious smells from the neighboring deli. I’m practically salivating, my cravings and hormones turning me into a feral beast. Joey doesn’t need telling twice when there’s food to be eaten and eagerly pulls me into the store to satisfy my taste buds and subdue my cravings.

Even as we walk up the stairs towards the apartment, we can hear Monica’s voice radiating through the hallway. She’s the sweetest woman in the world, but damn she’s loud. Joey pokes his head into our apartment, finding it empty so we enter Monica’s, who seems to have become a one woman lasagna factory. No wonder she’s practically tearing her hair out.

As soon as we step inside, my brother, Ross and Phoebe are sitting around the coffee table.

Phoebe spots us first and cheerfully greets us, “hey you two!”

“Hey Pheebs.”

Joey helps me take off my coat and immediately, I breathe a sigh of relief. He guides me over to the armchair and even though there’s plenty of space on the couch next to Phoebe and Chandler, Joey insists I sit on his lap in the chair. He just can’t keep his eyes or hands off my bump.

I can’t help but relax into his loving hold. I close my eyes for a moment, snuggling to him. As I open them again, I notice Phoebe wide-eyed, finally seeing my bump properly.

“Woah, you’re huge!” She gasps, before realizing what she said. “Sorry, not like in a mean way or anything. It’s just, y’know…”

“I know what you mean, Pheebs. It’s hardly surprising though, Joey was over 11lbs when he was born!” I say, glancing up at my wonderful boyfriend.

It’s safe to say that I’ve had to make my peace with having a large baby. I wouldn’t be surprised if the twins’ first word was ‘pizza’.

Chandler brings me out of my reverie, “How did the sonogram go?”

I feel Joey squeeze me tighter, his whole body buzzing with excitement.

“Amazing, so amazing! Getting to see what we made was so…” He nuzzles into my neck, unable to put it into words but his display of affection makes Chandler grimace.

“Dude,” he warns, throwing his hands out slightly.

“So can we see? Did you get any pictures?” Asks Ross, jumping onto the couch between Phoebe and Chandler.

“Oh, yeah!” I reach into my bag and grab the envelope Dr Oberman gave us.

I fish out the pictures and hand them over whilst keeping one back for me and Joey.

Hearing that pictures are being handed out, Monica drops her utensils and dashes over to the couch, “let me see! Let me see!” She leans over Chandler’s shoulder and quickly wells up, “Oh my god…”

Hearing everyone cooing at seeing the very clear outline of our little boy makes me well up also.

“It’s amazing. So, have I got a niece or a nephew?” Chandler asks, his eyes never leaving the photo.

Even though I’m about to burst inside, I play it cool as I play with a button on Joey’s shirt, “Well, we know one is definitely a boy…”

The collective sound of four jaws hitting the floor echoes through the apartment.

“Yay, it’s a boy,” Phoebe coos, poking at the sonogram, “Hey little guy!”

The penny quickly dropped for Chandler, “wait, one boy? You’re having more than one?!”

I can feel the tears streaming down my cheeks and can only nod my head. Thankfully Joey speaks up because words are definitely failing me at this point.

“We’re having twins!”

“Are you serious?!” Chandler cries out.

The next thing I know he’s pulled me to my feet and wraps his arms around me. He’s my big brother, we’ve been a team since we were little kids and I just know he’s going to be the best uncle in the world to the twins. He kisses my cheek and whispers “congratulations” before he lets go of me and turns to embrace Joey.

“Wait a minute, you’re having twins?! Two babies?!” Phoebe squeaked holding up two fingers wanting clarification, she was too cute sometimes.

I dab my eyes and nod softly. My eyes then fall on Monica and she is just as teary-eyed staring at the picture, talk of babies always makes her emotional.

“I’m gonna be an aunt…”

“You all are, you’re all gonna be aunts and uncles, we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Our kids aren’t even born yet but they’re already so loved.

I hug both Monica and Phoebe and notice Chandler and Joey finally break apart. He gestures towards the door and Joey follows him out into the hallway. I can’t help but smile to myself, Chandler’s probably going to deliver his big brother's speech. Hopefully, Joey won’t say anything inappropriate or laugh in his face.

Third Person POV

Chandler wipes his eyes as he steps out into the hallway with Joey in tow. He hadn’t expected to be so emotional but seeing how happy his little sister is, he’s so proud and happy for her and, of course, Joey.

“So, uh, twins dude. That’s amazing.”

Joey looks as though his smile is about to burst through his cheeks, “I know, I keep pinching myself.”

“Listen, I’m saying this to you as Em’s big brother. Do your best for them. It doesn't matter what that entails, just do your best for them. I’m always gonna be there if you need financial help or someone to talk to, you know that but...Just, whatever you do, don’t hurt her.”

Joey has the good grace not to laugh at Chandler’s ‘big brother’ speech. He’s the only brother to seven sisters. He knows better than anyone what it’s like to be a big brother wanting to protect his family.

“Chandler, I get it. I would die protecting her, she’s my world and she’s giving me the greatest gift imaginable. I know you’re gonna say ‘I’ll kick your ass if you upset her’.” He puts his hands on his hips, looking up at his best friend.

“Oh no, not me.” Chandler points at himself before gesturing over his shoulder toward Monica’s apartment. “Emily. Dude, she could kick your ass into next week.”

Joey can’t argue with that, even prior to pregnancy Em was already a real firecracker. Throw in some high-intensity hormones and she made for a lady you really didn’t want to piss off.

“Yeah, that’s true. She’s a badass,” A smirk tugged at his lips as he drawled, “She’s one sexy badass mama…”

“Dude, that’s my sister.”

*F*R*I*E*N*D*S

Monica’s normally pristinely organized kitchen had become lasagna HQ. Every available surface is now home to a tray of lasagna and there’s still more appearing from the oven. All the while Monica is on the phone to her Aunt Silv who she’s made all these for.

“Aunt Silv, stop yelling! All I’m saying is that, if you had told me vegetarian lasagna, I would’ve made vegetarian lasagna. … Well, the meat is every third layer, maybe you could scrape?”

Meanwhile, everyone else is sitting around the coffee table looking through the new baby books that Emily picked up on her way home.

“Done!” Ross proclaims and slams the cover shut and drops the book onto the table.

“Wow, now if only the pregnancy and giving birth were that easy.” Emily says, raising an eyebrow at him.

Joey’s amazed, he hadn’t even read a take-out menu that fast. “Ross, did you seriously just read that whole baby book?”

“Yup! You could plunk me down in the middle of any woman’s uterus, no compass, and I could find my way out of there like that!”

He looks so proud of himself that Emily can’t help but laugh, “Ross, I love you but you’re going nowhere near my uterus.”

“Ooh, this is cool.” Phoebe suddenly chimed in, gaining everyone’s attention, “It says in some parts of the world, people actually eat the placenta.”

Joey and Emily wince in disgust, whereas Chandler looks horrified.

“And we’re done with the yogurt.” He says, dumping the spoon in the container before putting it on the table, unable to stomach another spoonful.

“Aunt Silv, I did this as a favor. I am not a caterer. … What do you want me to do with a dozen lasagnas? … Nice talk Aunt Silv. You kiss Uncle Freddie with that mouth?”

Joey leads Emily over to the armchair, knowing she wants to relax. He sits down first and lets Emily sit between his thighs, nestling back against his chest. With his arms around her waist, he holds up one of the baby books for them to read together.

“Em, check it out. Do you know that right now, our babies are only this big?” He holds up his hand, showing the size, “This is our baby! Hi mommy!” He says in a cute little voice, lightly pinching her on the nose. “Hi Uncle Chandler! Hi Uncle Ross!”

Ross played along, “Hello!”

“Uncle Ross, how come you don’t live with your wife? How come your wife lives with that other lady? What’s a lesbian?”

Seeing the smile slowly leave Ross’ face made Emily step in, “Joey, quit it! Our babies wouldn’t say that, sorry Ross.”

She tapped Joey on the nose as a means of chastising him before easing herself up and heading into the kitchen for a drink, despite just sitting down.

Just as Emily reaches the fridge, a very loved up Rachel and Paolo walk in discussing their planned upcoming weekend away.

“Honey, you can say it. It’s Poconos. Poconos. It’s like ‘poke a nose’.”

Rachel playfully reaches up and pokes Paolo’s nose which encourages him to indulge in more PDA much to Ross’s disgust.

“Ahh, poke, a nose…”

Paolo runs his nose over Rachel’s and then kisses her deeply, making the guys chorus, “Bluh, bluh, bluh….”

Once Paolo is out of earshot, the girls all huddle around the kitchen table to discuss Rachel’s relationship.

“So, did I hear Poconos?”

Rachel can barely keep the smile from her face, “Yes. My sister is giving us her place for the weekend.”

“Whoo-hoo! First weekend away together.”

“That sounds amazing, it’s so beautiful up there and so romantic.” Emily sighs, she sneaks a glance over at Joey wishing he would surprise her with a romantic trip away.

They know that with the babies coming, they can’t but it would be nice for them to get away for an entire weekend alone before they come.

The guys can’t help but listen in and Chandler rolls his eyes hearing the news, “It’s just a weekend, big deal.”

Ross is frustrated and annoyed because he wants to be with Rachel so badly, “Wasn’t this supposed to be just a fling? Shouldn’t it be flung by now?”

Rachel sighs indulgently, not knowing what Ross has said, “We are way past the ‘fling’ thing here. I mean, I’m feeling things that I’ve only read about in Danielle Steel books, y’know. I mean, when I’m with him, I’m just totally, totally…”

Ross is rocking on his seat, “Nauseous, I’m physically nauseous… What am I supposed to do, huh? Call Immigration? I could call Immigration.”

*F*R*I*E*N*D*S

The excitement of the day soon catches up with Emily and her, Chandler and Joey decide to call it a night. Ever the hostess, Monica doesn’t let them leave without one of the many lasagnas she’s made.

Joey wraps his arm around Emily’s shoulders letting her rest against his body as he guides her across the hallway to their apartment.

“I love babies with their little baby shoes and their little baby toes and little baby hands…” Joey nuzzles into Emily��s hair and squeezes her a little tighter, making Chandler grimace.

“Okay, you’re gonna have to stop that… forever.”

“I think it’s sweet,” says Emily, kissing Joey’s cheek.

He unlocks the door and the trio enter the apartment, Joey throws his keys onto the table which promptly collapses. Emily doesn’t bat an eyelid and merely heads straight for their bedroom, wanting to get into her comfortable jammies as quickly as possible.

“Need a new table.” Joey says, staring at the broken wood.

“You think?” Chandler sasses back.

Joey and Chandler sit knee to knee, resting the family-sized lasagna over their legs as they slowly eat their way through it. Emily is over on the couch reading her baby books, looking more like a student revising for an upcoming exam.

“So just because it was my table, I have to buy a new one?” Chandler raises an eyebrow with his fork pointed at himself.

“That’s the rule,” Joey nods and takes another bite of lasagna.

“What rule? There’s no rule. If anything, you owe me a table.” He points his fork at his best friend before taking another bite.

“How’d you get there?”

“Well I believe this piece of furniture was fine until you and Em had a breakfast adventure…”

Emily has the good grace to blush and sink her face further into the pages to avoid eye contact with Chandler, knowing all too well about the breakfast adventure.

Joey smirks, remembering that morning, “You uhh, you knew about that?”

“Well let’s just say the impressions you made in the butter left little to the imagination.” He sasses.

Joey scratches his neck nervously, “Sorry about that. Okay, well how about we split it?”

“And buy it together? Do you think we’re ready for something like that?” Chandler sits up nervously.

“Yeah, why not?” He shrugs, not understanding what the big deal is.

“It’s a big commitment. What if one of us wants to move out?”

“Are you moving out?”

“I’m not moving out! Look, it’s just with my last roommate Kip-“

“Ugh, I know all about Kip.” Joey sighs and gets up from his seat.

“Look, we bought a hibachi together, then he ran off and got married and things got pretty ugly.”

Joey turns to face Chandler, “Well let me ask you something. Was Kip a better roommate than me?”

The discussion is too much for Emily’s nerves and she suddenly snaps, “Oh for godssake, you two! You’re driving me crazy! Look, Joey, stop being a baby. Chandler, me and Joey will split the new table with you, a third each. Okay? Good! Now I’m going to bed before I end up screaming.”

She climbs into bed and takes some time finding a comfortable position to lie in and not half an hour later, Joey gets into bed beside her. He curves his body around hers, careful not to disturb or jostle her too much and wraps his arms around her waist.

Through the darkness, Emily asks him, “You done being petty?”

“Yeah,” He kisses her neck, “Get some sleep.”

He waits until she drifts off to sleep before scooching down the bed level with her bump.

“Hey babies, it was so amazing seeing you two today. I gotta tell ya, it was a big surprise finding out there’s two of ya in there but I can’t wait to meet you guys. I love you both so much…”

*F*R*I*E*N*D*S

Emily’s POV

We’re all in Central Perk, well all of us except Phoebe. Our conversation has turned to talking about my pregnancy, as it so frequently does these days, and specifically whether or not me and Joey have started thinking of baby names yet.

Rachel has just brought me another blueberry muffin, I can’t get enough of them at the moment, and even though she’s working, she continues to buzz around not wanting to miss out on the conversation.

“It’s hard because I really wanna know what the second baby is, that way their names can be linked, y’know?”

Joey presses his hand over my bump in a way that’s so sweet yet possessive, it sends a shiver down my spine, “I already know what we’re namin’ the boy baby.”

I almost snap my neck turning so fast, “Do you?”

“Yeah, Joey.” Everyone groans while Joey tries to explain, “No, no, hear me out. My dad is called Joey, I’m Joey, it’s only right that my son is called Joey. We’ve gotta carry on the family tradition!”

Okay, that is so not what I had in mind but I do understand that he wants to continue with his family traditions which is kinda adorable.

“I don’t see why not, I like the idea of keeping up family traditions.”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t that make the baby, Joey the Third?”

I physically shudder hearing Chandler’s words which makes Monica and Ross giggle. When it’s worded like that it does sound kind of ridiculous but the idea of a mini Joey is just too cute to resist.

Phoebe then walks in and just from her face and how she’s holding herself I can tell she’s very distracted and on edge. We all cheerily greet her but she merely responds, “fine!” as she sits herself down on the couch next to Chandler.

It’s so rare for Phoebe to be so on edge or upset, she’s usually the one boosting our spirits and cleansing auras when we’re feeling low.

“Phoebe, what’s the matter?” Monica asks.

“Nothing! I’m sorry, I’m just, I’m out of sorts.”

Chandler straightaway tries to make light of things, “Oh, well, you can use some of my sorts. I rarely use them.”

Joey lifts his hand from my bump and checks his watch, “Hey, Chandler. That table place closes at 7. Come on.”

He turns back to me as he gets up from his seat and grabs his coat, “you sure you don’t wanna come, Em?”

I catch the open collar of his flannel shirt and pull him in a little closer and gently kiss his lips, “I’m sure, but please hurry back.”

From behind me I can hear Monica asking Phoebe again what’s wrong as she sits down next to her on the couch. I kiss Joey again and join them, wanting to know what’s wrong with our friend.

Phoebe looks around to make sure Rachel is out of earshot, “Alright, you know Paolo?”

Straightaway Ross drawls, “I’m familiar with his work, yes.”

“He made a move on me.”

My blood instantly boils, I glance up to see Joey and Chandler stop in their tracks and head back over to us with Joey sitting on the arm of the couch next to me, “Whoa, the store’ll be open tomorrow.”

We all form a supportive huddle around Phoebe so she can tell us her story.

“Well he came in for a massage…” She goes on to describe how Paolo essentially groped her. “…And all of a sudden, his hands weren’t the problem anymore…”

“Was it…?” Monica asks, not so subtly alluding to what Phoebe was implying.

“Oh, Boy Scouts could have camped under there.”

“That gross son of a bitch!” The words were out before I could stop them, “sorry, sorry.”

“But I dealt with it like a professional.” Phoebe describes how she wrenched the towel from under Paolo so he crashed to the floor in a heap of naked limbs and broken English.

“Oooh…”

Hearing us all chorus, Rachel comes running over fearing she’s missing out on the gossip, “ooooh what?”

Thinking quickly Phoebe responds, “Oooh-ma Thurman!”

“Yeah the actress!” I chime in, Rachel looks a little confused and disappointed but at least she bought it, and heads back over to the counter.

“So what are you gonna do?” Chandler asks.

“You have to tell. You have to! It’s your moral obligation as a friend and as a woman. I think it’s a feminist issue. Right, guys? Guys?”

Of course Ross would say that. I love him to pieces but knowing he’s trying to use Phoebe’s upset as leverage to try and win over Rachel just irritates me.

“Feminist issue!” Joey agrees, as does Chandler.

“Ugh, she is gonna hate me!”

“Yeah, well.”

“Shut up Ross,” I’ve had enough and take Phoebe’s hand, “Pheebs, she won’t hate you, she needs to know this. I would want someone to tell me if Joey was being a pig.”

*F*R*I*E*N*D*S

Today has been eventful and I’m super grateful to sink into bed. It takes me a while to get comfortable but once I do it doesn’t take long for me to allow myself to fully relax. I can feel myself just beginning to drift off when Joey’s voice rumbles in a deep whisper from behind me.

“Em, about what happened today…”

“Yeah?” I open my eyes and look over my shoulder slightly.

“You don’t think I would do that, do you? Y’know, cheat?”

I can’t have this conversation with my back turned to him. I gently ease myself over so we’re lying face to face. Wanting to be closer I hook my thigh over his hip, shuffling and adjusting my position until I get myself comfortable.

“Honestly? I don’t know whether it’s my hormones but the thought does worry me a little bit.”

It’s true. I used to joke about it in work that one of the downsides of dating the hottest guy in NYC is that every girl wants a piece of him.

“Em, I would-“

“I sometimes think that this is all too much. You’re a gorgeous guy Joey, every time we go out damn near every woman we go past checks you out.” I say, looking up at him. “You could have any of them, but you’re with me and soon there’s gonna be two babies. It’s a lot to deal with and I just, I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted something or someone else.”

We’re still young, in our early twenties and soon we’ll be juggling parenthood. Logically I know it’s just the hormones but I can’t help but feel vulnerable. He cups my cheek and looks into my eyes. Even though it’s almost completely dark in the bedroom, I can see the love in his innocent eyes.

“Don’t get mad, but yeah, it’s definitely the hormones.” He rubs my cheek with his thumb. “You’re amazing, you’re beautiful and you’re all mine. I don’t want or need anyone else. I love you.”

He brushes the hair from the side of my face and leans in to kiss me so softly that I can’t help but sigh.

“I love you too, Joey, so much.” I say, trying not to cry at his words. I take a deep breath and force out a joke, that's not really a joke. “Now let me get some sleep, it’s no joke carrying twins.”

*F*R*I*E*N*D*S

Third person POV

The next morning Joey and Chandler finally make it to the furniture store to try and find a new table. They’ve been looking at the same selection for the past hour, still unable to decide and Joey is at his wits’ end.

“Will you just pick one?! Pick one. Here, how about that one?” He points to a metal table and chair set that’s clearly patio furniture.

“That’s patio furniture.” Chandler says, putting his hands on his hips.

“So what? Like people will come in and think, uh oh, I’m outside again!” Joey says, throwing his hands out slightly.

“Fine! What about the birds?” Chandler reasons, pointing to a homely looking set.

“Eh, Em wouldn’t like it, besides birds don’t really say ‘hello, sit here. Eat something.’ Y’know?” He says, knowing what his girlfriend would and wouldn’t like.

“Okay, you pick something?” He gestures around the store.

“Alright, how about the ladybugs?”

Chandler stares at the furniture then back at Joey like he’s lost his mind, “Oh, so forget about the birds, but big red insects suggest fine dining?”

“Fine! You wanna get the birds? Get the birds!”

“Not like that I won’t.” He turns his back and quietly murmurs, “Kip would’ve liked the birds…” Earning himself a death glare from Joey.

*F*R*I*E*N*D*S

“So, what d’ya think?” Chandler asks.

“I think it’s the most beautiful table I’ve ever seen.” Replies Ross with eyes full of awe.

Chandler proudly pats the edge of the gleaming new foosball table that he, Joey and Emily finally settled on, “I know.”

Monica turns to Emily as she leans against the kitchen counter with a look that says ‘boys will be boys’, “And you agreed to this?”

“Yup. We’ve wanted a table like this since we were kids.” She crosses her arms with a smile. “Yeah it’s not practical but it’s so cool!”

“So how is this gonna work? Are you gonna balance the plates on these little guys’ heads?” She raises an eyebrow.

“Who cares? We’ll eat at the sink. Come on, let’s have a game, Chan and me against the Gellers, Em keep score.”

Monica, being the ultra competitive woman that she is, quickly takes control from Ross and scores a swift goal against the boys.

“Score! You suck!”

Emily barks out a laugh but quickly covers it with a cough, “Ahem, excuse me, hormones.”

*F*R*I*E*N*D*S

The game between the boys versus Monica and Ross is still going, although it's really Monica versus the boys as Ross is beyond useless. Em has given up keeping score, having lost count and interest once Phoebe joined them, filling them all in about Rachel and Paolo.

“I think she took it pretty well. You know, Paolo’s over there right now, so…”

“You did the right thing Pheebs, she needed to know she's dating a pig.” She says, rubbing her friend's shoulder.

Monica looks up briefly from the table, “Yeah, Em’s right. We should get over there and see if she’s okay. Just one second…” She shoves Ross out of the way and scores yet another goal, “Whoo! Score! Come on Pheebs, Em are you coming?”

Joey looks at Emily with big brown eyes and a pouting lower lip, “Whoa, wait a minute,” he catches hold of her hips, “Are you not gonna console me? I need cheering up.”

“Joey, she kicked your ass, can’t it wait half an hour?” She practically begs, wanting to see the drama. “I really wanna see Paolo get his ass dumped.”

“Yeah okay.” He says, understanding her want but still keeps his lip out.

Emily leans up and kisses Joey’s pouting lower lip before she follows Monica and Phoebe out to the other apartment.

“Whew!” Ross wipes his brow as though he’s just played a real soccer game, “Well, looks like, uh, we kicked your butts.”

“No, no, no. SHE kicked our butts.” Joey corrects him, “You could be on the olympic ‘Standing There’ team.”

“Come on, two on one.” Ross picks up the ball to start another game when Chandler catches hold of it.

“What are you still doing here? She just broke up with the guy, now you swoop in!” He says, gesturing to the door.

“What? Now?” His eyes widen.

“Yes! Now is when you swoop! You’ve gotta make sure that when Paolo walks outta there, the first guy Rachel sees is you. She’s gotta know you’re everything he’s not. You’re like the Anti-Paolo.”

“My catholic friend is right. Look, she’s distraught, you’re there for her. You pick up the pieces, and then you usher in ‘The Age Of Ross.’” He wraps his arm around Ross and they both stare off poignantly into the distance which just confuses Joey.

*F*R*I*E*N*D*S

From their vantage point on the couch, Emily, Monica and Phoebe watch Rachel toss Paolo’s entire suitcase full of clothes off of the balcony onto the busy sidewalk below.

Ross comically and not so subtly creeps in hoping not to be seen and hoping he’s not missed any of the action, “how’s it going?”

“Don’t stare,” Monica admonishes, “Okay, she’s just finished throwing his clothes off the balcony. Now there’s just a lot of gesturing and arm-waving. That is either, ‘how could you?’ or, ‘enormous breasts!’”

“I think she’s being too soft on him. Hell, if Joey cheated on me, I’d be throwing him over the balcony.”

Everyone stops and looks at Emily who is on the verge of tears.

Being the closest, Phoebe reaches out and takes Emily’s hand, “Hey, it’s okay. Joey wouldn’t cheat on you.”

“Ooh, here he comes.”

The group quickly breaks up and acts as though they hadn’t just witnessed the breakup. Ross, Monica and Phoebe loiter around the kitchen while Emily remains on the couch, now laying down and giving the death glare to a now very sheepish Paolo.

“Uhh, I am, uhh, to say goodbye.”

“Okay, bye-bye.”

Emily snaps her fingers and gains Paolo’s attention, “Paolo, sei un maiale disgustoso. Spero che i tuoi testicoli cadano. Capire?”

Paolo gulps and nods, “Si.”

Monica’s next to deliver another verbal blow to the shell-shocked Italian, “Paolo. I really hate you for what you did to Rachel. But I still have five of these, so heat it at 375 until the cheese bubbles.” She dumps a tray of lasagna into his hand without looking at him.

Ross is standing at the door which he opens for Paolo, “I just wanna tell you and I think I speak for everyone when I say…” and he shuts the door with a huge grin of satisfaction.

Noticing how spooked Paolo seemed after his words with Emily, Monica can’t help but ask, “Uh, Emily? What on earth did you say to him?”

“I may have politely told him that he’s a pig and that I hope his testicles fall off.” She pauses and sits up slightly, looking at her friends. “Why, was I too rude?”

Ross felt a little sympathetic, despite loving her words, “Gotta say, that explains the haunted look in his eyes.”

They all smile but then notice Rachel is still standing out on the balcony alone, Ross takes it upon himself to be the one who comforts her. Rachel is completely crushed and looks exhausted when Ross joins her on the balcony, without hesitation, he envelopes her in a hug trying to offer her as much comfort as possible.

“Listen, you deserve so much better than him. I mean you, you should be with a guy who knows what he has when he has you.”

Rachel pulls back from his arms a little to look him in the eyes. “Oh Ross…”

“What?” He asks, full of hope and expectancy, wanting her to just tell him she feels the same way.

“I’m so sick of guys! I don’t wanna look at another guy. I don’t wanna think about another guy. I don’t even want to be near another guy.”

Ross is taken aback by her statements, rather hoping that she would fall into his arms and wanna be with him.

“Oh Ross, you’re so great.”

He hugs her again even though he’s a little shocked and kinda pissed that she doesn’t seem to realize that he’s everything Paolo’s not.

She breaks away from Ross and climbs back inside the apartment where she’s met by Rachel and Phoebe, “Are you okay?”

Rachel sighs heavily, “medium. Any cookies left?”

She moves around to the couch where Emily is still laying down whilst Phoebe goes and fetches the rest of the cookies.

“Oh gosh, sorry Rach, here sit down.” As Emily scoots up, she suddenly grabs her bump, “Woah, my god.”

“What? Are you okay?” Rachel says, sitting down and grabbing the pregnant woman's arms, ready to help her.

“Yeah… I… I think one of the babies just kicked…”

“Oh my god, oh my god! Ross! Go and get the boys now!” Monica barks, rushing to Emily’s side.

The girls help her sit up and get her comfortable while Ross dashes over to the other apartment, seconds later Joey and Chandler come rushing in to be at Emily’s side.

“Hey! The babies! Are they okay?!” He’s alarmed and panicked and completely out of breath.

Emily takes his hand and places it over where she felt the movement last. Joey frowns a little but as the soft flutters connect with his palm, a beaming grin lights up his face.

“Oh my god…”

“Is everything okay?!” Chandler’s still alarmed, terrified for his little sister and nephew’s well-being.

“Dude, it’s like the most amazing popcorn going on in there. Can he feel Em?”

Emily nods, too emotional to speak. Chandler kneels by her side and copies Joey placing his palm against the bump.

“Wait, I don’t feel anything.”

“Lemme see.” He replaces Chandler’s hand with his own and sure enough the babies begin kicking again. “They’re doing it, Chan. Try again.”

Chandler does so but as soon as his hand replaces Joey’s, the kicking stops. “Hey! I’m your uncle Chandler, don’t be rejecting me!”

#joey tribbiani x you #joey tribbiani #joey tribbiani love story #joey tribbiani x reader #joey tribbiani imagines #joey tribbiani imagine #joey tribbiani x oc #joey tribbiani fanfiction

104 notes · View notes

imaginetheonewith · 10 months

Text

The one where Y/N gets jealous

Pairing: Joey Tribbiani x f!reader

Warnings: none (I think)

Author's note: It was not easy to imagine reader in the "Friends" universe, but .. hey! I tried my best and I do hope you all enjoy it. The lack of fanfiction about this tv show is criminal x

Red.

That is all could see in front of you at this moment. But it was not the type of red that you see when you are in love and the world seems to suddenly become a better place.

Oh no, it was way worse than that. It was the bright crinkly red, which was currently barely covering the tall blonde’s chest from lustful eyes. Or more specifically Joey’s.

“You know”, Chandler’s voice sounded next to you, “If you keep staring at her for 30 more seconds her head may catch fire. Or preferably that tight, low-cut…”

Your head whipped towards him and he quickly raised his hands in defence.

“… shoes!”, he cleared his voice, while pointing aggressively towards the girl’s feet, “These tight, low-cut shoes! Burn them! Burn them!”

Rolling your eyes, you turned your attention back to the bar, where Joey was shamelessly flirting with his ex, Angela. She was a beautiful and lean part-time actress, with an amazing fashion style, and wild blond locks. She was also the only girl who managed to keep Joey in a relationship for more than a few weeks. 3 years, to be exact.

It was not a secret that you did not harbor any warm feelings toward her. Not only did she break your best friend’s heart, but she was also the only one of his girlfriends that managed to catch on to your feelings towards him and use any chance she got to remind you that you will always remain stuck in the friend zone. It was almost as if she enjoyed inflicting pain on people around her and seeing them suffer.

“I can’t believe he is still talking with her”, you groaned, clapping your hands on your tights, “Look at him laughing! What could she say that is so funny?”

You didn’t wait for a response, before turning towards Chandler and pulling the newspaper away from his hands.

“Sure, I was totally done reading that”, he fake-smiled at you while grabbing his cup of coffee. His sarcastic remark went right above your head, as you grabbed his hands and squeezed them in yours.

“Chandler, you are one of the most, most special and valuable people in my life!”

“Well, I do have this effect on people”, he winked at you, while getting himself in a more comfortable position. You smiled with tightly pressed lips, doing your stop any smart remark that was sitting at the end of your tongue.

“And I would do anything… well, almost anything for you. Because I believe that when I need your help, you will do the same for me and-“

“Is it by any chance my birthday today?”, he interrupted you with a suspicious glare and you had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes, “Because the Y/N I know is never, ever so nice, unless he wants something and-“

He paused for a second, his face falling with realization. He quickly pulled his hands away from you and pointed an accusing finger at your face.

“NO! Whatever is going in that pretty head of yours, I am not going to do it.”

Chandler tried to get from his seat, but you were quick to lay down and throw your legs over his, trapping him in his place.

“You didn’t even listen to me!”

“I don’t have to”, his words were mumbled through a fake smile and squinted eyes, “I already know what you are thinking. And I am not going to do it.”

You raised your eyebrow, challenging him:

“What I am thinking? Maybe I just want to show you how much I love you as a friend…”

“And also send me to the bar, so I can eavesdrop on Joey and Angela.”

“Damn, you’re good”, you mumbled under your breath, finally releasing your friend from your leg trap. Your head fell in your hands and you closed your eyes in a weak attempt to stop yourself from thinking about the couple just a few feet away from you.

There was no reason to feel like this. You knew Joey for over 6 years now and you’ve been best friends for just as long. You two became close almost immediately after Chandler introduced you to each other and much to everyone’s surprise, including yours, the actor never showed even a slight romantic interest towards you. On the other hand, you fell head over heels for him from the moment you met him. His charming smile, flirty jokes, and kind soul made you overlook all his bad qualities, and “red flags” Monica and Rachel warned you about. Sure, he did have a bit of a reputation with the ladies, but seeing how loyal was he toward his friends, you knew that he was capable of commitment.

He just needed to find his woman. His one true soulmate, who would love him and cherish him the way he deserves.

What wouldn’t you give to be this one woman?

“Hey”, Chandler tried to catch your attention, while his hands started rubbing small circles on your back, “It’s going to be okay.”

Besides Joey, Chandler was your second closest friend. Before he moved to his current apartment, he was briefly your roommate and with both of you being new to the city, it didn’t take long for you to form a strong bond. From being children of divorced couples to having a career in statistical analysis and not-so-lucky love life, you two lived almost identical lives. It was not a surprise you often found comfort in each other, knowing that there is no other person who can understand you better than him.

Just as you were leaning back towards Chandler’s shoulder, Joey jumped on the sofa next to you with a wide smile on his face.

“You won’t believe who I am having dinner with tonight!”

“Winona Ryder?”, Chandler tried to guess and you bit a smile. Joey on the other hand did not find the remark funny, rolling his eyes instead.

“Remember Angela? My ex-girlfriend? The one that I thought I am going to marry because we were dating for so long?”

“How could we forget her?”, you mumbled under your nose, crossing your arms in front of your chest, “She is very…. memorable.”

Joey eyed you with furrowed brows, his eyes stopping at your shoulder, where Chandler’s hand was still gently massaging you. He let out a scoff, before moving to his favorite chair next to the bar. He knew that you and Angela had a bit of a strained relationship in the past, but he was hoping that you would at least try to act excited for him, instead of being all cozy with his roommate.

“Wow”, he breathed out, “Still jealous, I see.”

His words made you freeze in place, your cup of coffee just millimeters from your lips. Chandler tensed next to you and while you could not see, you were sure he was mouthing something to Joey. You slammed your cup on the table and turned towards the actor, only to find him glaring at you.

“Excuse me?”

“Look, Y/N, I know you girls love to be competitive and compare to each other all the time…”, he stayed silenced for a second, his hands moving in slow circles in front of him as if it was helping him gather his thoughts quicker, “But there is no reason to feel that way towards Angela. You know you will always be my best friend. Nobody will change that.”

You let out a dry laugh, turning towards Chandler, who was watching the happening with wide eyes. He shook his head as a warning for you to not continue this conversation, but he quickly realized your mind was already set when you shook his arms away from you and stood from your place.

“Is this what you think? You think I feel threatened by Angela?”

“Well, I did not use exactly that word…”, Joey mumbled, trying his best to avoid your furious gaze. The regret of saying anything was already clear on his face. If he could turn back time by just a few minutes, he would’ve just kept his mouth shut and enjoyed a nice quiet afternoon with both of his closest friends.

You, on the other hand, were not about to let this go so easily. Jealous? Of Angela? Pffftttt. Pushing your hair behind your ears, you tried your best to keep your voice low and not startle all of Central Perk’s clients.

“Joey, as your best friend, I can assure you that not even a cell in my body feels threatened by that manipulative and sly snake.”

“Okay, you are just being mean now”, the feeling of regret quickly vanished and his eyes hardened in a glare, “What is your problem?”

Before you can even open your mouth to reply, Chandler jumped between both of you and raised his palms towards both yours and Joey’s mouth, preventing you from saying anything further.

“Ah, this is exactly how my parents were acting just before they got divorced”, he made a disgusted face when the memory flashed in front of his eyes. He turned towards Joey, “We are happy about you, Joey. All of us. But… you know… we all remember what Angela did to you.”

“She’s changed”, Joey whined with a high-pitched voice, earning another mocking laugh from you. This gesture immediately resulted in his features becoming serious once again, “You know what… I don’t care if you approve of Angela or not. I love her and I will not give her up. I know she is the one and we will be together… once she breaks up with Bob.”

“Bob?”, Chandler moved his hands away as if burned, “Who is Bob?”

Joey opened his mouth but then closed it again when he didn’t get the courage to say anything. For you, however, it was enough to confirm your suspicion.

“This is ridiculous!”, you groaned, “She has a boyfriend and she is still trying to get in bed with you. She is using you, Joey! I can’t even believe you are agreeing to take her out on dinner!”

“It’s not like I am taking only her. I am taking Bob as well!”

“Oh, that’s great. So all three of you can be one big happy… throuple.”, you grabbed your coffee cup and matched towards the bar, where Gunther was not even trying to hide his interest towards your argument.

“I don’t mean I am going to go out with both of them”, Joey argued, looking at Chandler to check if he agrees, “You don’t think I am trying to get both of them, right?”

Chandler just shrugged his shoulders in response, too scared to get any more involved.

“I am going to ask Monica to come with me, so it’s like a double date. That way I keep Angela for myself and Monica can keep Bob.”

“Monica?”, the name fell as a surprised yell from your lips, “Why not me?”

Joey let out a scoff as if you were asking the stupidest question he ever heard, “Well, you and Angela do not get along well… And also I don’t think Bob is going to be your type.”

The last sentence made you raise your eyebrows and you crossed your arms in front of your chest. A tiny voice inside your head was telling you to not dwell on his remark and leave instead before you do something that can ruin your friendship forever. However, your bruised ego could not handle Joey having the last word in this.

“What do you even know about “my type”? For all you know, Bob may be exactly the man of my dreams.”

“Yeah, right”, he laughed under his nose, directing his attention toward the sandwich Gunther just brought, “The guy is a dog food tester. How can that be your soulmate?”

“Well once I thought my soulmate is always an out-of-job actor”, you stomped towards the coat hanger, grabbing your coat and purse, “So how much worse can a dog tester be?”

Without sparing even a glance towards them, you made your way outside, ignoring Chandler’s calls. You didn’t know where you were going or what were you going to do. All you knew is you just need to be alone.

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

A few days passed since your and Joey’s argument and you have not seen each other since. Despite your friends telling you it is valid to feel the way you feel, you couldn’t help but feel guilty about the way you reacted. It was unreasonable to expect that he would not pursue a woman he clearly had feelings for, just because of your opinion of her. You wanted him to be happy, even if it was with someone who was not you.

Still, it hurt. Not only the idea of him being to another woman but also the fact that you certainly ruined your friendship. You did not realize what slipped past your lips before you left the coffee shop that day till Chandler came to your apartment later and informed you of the talk he and Joey just had.

The actor did hear you and did put two and two together “surprisingly quickly”, as Chandler described it, which lead to a big argument between the two. On one hand, Joey thought it was unacceptable that you kept this secret for so long from him, instead of just talking. On the other hand, Chandler thought he was judging you unfairly and was unhappy with the fact that Joey still went ahead with the date with Angela.

It seemed that everyone heard about what happened the same day, as later that night Rachel, Ross, and Phoebe all showed up with some Chinese takeaway and five boxes of ice cream. You appreciate that they all showed up for you, but you could not shake away the tight feeling of anxiousness in your chest. You needed to know how the date went and if Joey and Angela were back together, and the only way to find out was to speak to Monica.

Now, finally being the weekend, both of you were off work and eager to catch up with each other. Sitting on the floor in her living room, you ate homemade biscuit cake and spilled gossip about the events from the past week.

“I would’ve never agreed to go with him if I knew all the details” Monica exclaimed, “He told me they were siblings. And I did believe him, till I saw her tongue in his ear. It was disgusting!”

You choked a laugh and quickly covered your mouth, trying to keep the food inside. Apparently, Joey told Monica Bob was Angela’s brother in order to convince her to go on a double date with them. And while they did manage to break the “happy” couple and keep the pieces to themselves, Monica was far from impressed by Bob’s performance in bed and has decided to not see him anymore. Listening to her detailed story from that night, you could not judge her at all.

You finally swallowed your bite and were about to respond, when the door opened, and the man you least wanted to see came into the kitchen.

“Hey Monica, I know you said to not bother you tonight, but we have no beers left and… Y/N?!”

Joey froze in his place next to the fridge, his eyes dancing between you and the dark-haired woman. Monica has told them to stay away from her flat earlier, but he has just assumed she was having a date over. He definitely did not expect to see you.

“Y/N, um… What are you… uhm.. doing here?”, he shuttered and you had to bite your lip in order to stop a smile from spreading on your face. Flustered Joey was a rare, but cute sight.

You quickly jumped on your feet and grabbed your bag from the sofa, giving an awkward smile.

“I was just about to go, actually”, you turned towards Monica and pulled her into a hug, “I will catch up with you soon. Bye, Mon! Bye, Joey!”

You hurried towards the door without sparing your friends a second glance and were almost down the stairs when you heard heavy steps behind you and felt a hand pulling you back by your wrist. You stumbled back, almost losing your balance, before another hand wrapped around your shoulder in order to stable you.

You looked up only to come face-to-face with Joey, who was staring at you with wide eyes. He was so close his breaths were hitting your face like a warm breeze and almost closed your eyes, trying to save the feeling of closeness in your mind.

“Y/N…”, he whispered, “Listen, I…”

“Yes?”, you tried to push him to finish a sentence, eager to hear what he has to say. There were a million and one things you wanted to tell him, but how could you after you threw away years of friendship in just a few seconds of pure rage? You were simply not ready to talk about it yet.

But did not stop you from trying to hear what he has to say.

“I made a mistake. I should have never gone out with Angela.”

There was a skip of your hearbeat. Were you dreaming? You were sure you did get up from your bed morning, but then again the only times Joet was saying the words 'mistake' and a girl's name in one sentence it was in only in your imagination.

You furrowed your eyebrows and were ready to argue that the only person in this hallway who made a mistake was you, but before you can start talking, he pressed his finger to your lips, shushing you.

“No, let me finish”, he moved his hand away, “I have… I have prepared this speech for a while.”

He got silent for a minute, moving his eyes away from you and focusing on the floor instead.

“I have been in love with you pretty much since the day we met. Your smile, your wit, your beauty… I have never seen another woman like you. And I know you think I didn’t like you, because I’ve never made a move, but I was so scared… You know? And I was trying to forget you by seeking someone else, but I could never do it. All I ever wanted was you. Which hurt, because I knew that I will never be good enough for you and-“

His words were interrupted by your lips on his. A wave of electricity passed through your whole body and you could swear your feet became jelly. His arms circled your waist, pressing you against his hard chest.

It lasted only a few seconds before you both pulled away with wide eyes. With uneven breathing, you pressed your forehead against his, enjoying the warmth of his hands on your lower back. A small smile broke on your lips and Joey mirrored it.

“Wanna do it again?”, he asked, giving you a wink.

“Absolutely”, you whispered before catching his mouth with yours again.

#f.r.i.e.n.d.s #joey tribbiani #joey tribbiani imagine #joey tribbiani fanfiction #fanfic #fandom #writing #imagine #oneshot #scenario #friends fanfic #friends imagine #joey tribbiani x reader

822 notes · View notes

unknownbl0ggerr · 6 months

Text

His shirt

Chandler Bing x Fem! Reader

The group catches y/n wearing Chandlers shirt, y/n and chandler arent out as a couple yet. (Kinda based off of the “rach can i borrow your eyelash curler i think i lost mine”)

—————————————

“Hey Chandler, wheres that white shirt you always wear? I thought you were gonna wear it when we all go to my show.” Joey asked and the rest of the group turned to look at Chandler. Chandler didnt answer for a second, “uh in the washer! I need to run a load soon.” He stuttered through the sentence. Joey thought nothing of it and neither did the others. “Alright well lets go see if y/n is up yet, she needs to get ready too.” Ross said opening the door as everyone walked across the hall to the apartment.

“Y/n! You up yet?” Joey called out. She walked out of her room not paying any attention to what was going on, “give me five minutes to get dressed and i’ll be ready.” Some of the others gasped and Joey just nodded before looking at the others, “what?”

Joey looked back at y/n and eventually noticed her shirt, then gasped as well. Y/n looked confused then looked at the shirt she was wearing, Chandlers shirt. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Chandler who’s eyes were also widened. “In the washer huh Chandler?” Ross asked as the group looked at him. Chandler gave a sarcastic smile before speed walking over to y/n and practically dragging her back to her room.

“Well 1. I definitely need to see you wearing my clothes more often because.. wow.” Chandler started gesturing to her making her smile and blush, “and 2. I guess its time to tell them huh?” Y/n laughed and nodded, “i guess so. I’ll get dressed and then we’ll talk to them okay?” Chandler nodded and sat on her bed as she went and got dressed.

————

After she got dressed she walked out of her closet putting on her earrings, “okay ready?” She reached for the door but got pulled back, “one more thing.” Chandler smiled and pulled her to him, he cupped her face with one hand and kissed her. Once they pulled away she wiped the lipstick off his lips but kissed him on the cheek leaving a mark. “Now im ready.” He said smiling wide. She smiled back and nodded as she opened the door.

They were all in the same spot and immediately turned to the door. There was a minute of silence before everyone started talking, many “i knew it!” And “i called it!” And “you owe me that 20 bucks!” Were thrown around and Chandler wrapped an arm around your waist, “as much fun it was being a secret im definitely going to love this even more.” Chandler whispered quietly in her ear. She smiled and looked up at him as the others still argued with each other about their bets, “me too.”

Small one tonight as i finish the other one im working on. i had a dream about this last night actually about chandler and thought it wouldve been a cute prompt so i hope you all think so. Also I might start writing for Joey as well but we’ll see!

#fanfic #fanfiction #chandler bing x reader #chandler bing #chandler bing imagine #friends imagines #friends #friends series #joey tribbiani #ross geller #rachel green #monica geller #y/n

580 notes · View notes

writerdream22 · 1 year

Text

requested by: anonymous, I really hope you like this ✨🌻💛

pairing: Chandler Bing x reader, Joey Tribbiani x reader (platonic), Monica Geller x reader (platonic), Rachel Green x reader (platonic), etc.

prompts used: “Have you ever seen anything prettier than this?” “Yeah, you”

warnings: mentions of smoking. English is not my first language so there might be some grammatical errors

feedbacks are always appreciated!

REQUESTS ARE CURRENTLY OPEN!

You did not like parties. At all.

It just was not your thing, and everyone knew that. That was the main reason why you had decided to stay home and relax rather than attend a Thanksgiving party with your best friends.

You did not understand why they were so attached to the tradition, anyways. The fact that you didn't grow up in an American household didn't help with that. Nonetheless, you weren't the only one who didn't always celebrate the festivity

“Do you have them?” Chandler Bing barged into your apartment. He held a couple of beers in one hand, and a bag in the other where there seemed to be some food.

“Yes.” you responded, sitting up from your sofa “I only had one quilted blanket, because Monica somehow couldn't tell me where she'd put the others. As for the pillows— well, I have two”. Chandler shrugged, then motioned for you to get going. You exited your apartment closing the door behind you, while silently hoping that none of your roommates came back while you weren't home.

───────────────────────────

There was a full moon. The city was still buzzing, it was amazing how its lights were never turned off. You loved it. And the company just added to your enjoyment of the night.

You'd laughed at Chandler's never-ending jokes for so long that your cheeks hurt, and you'd eaten so much that you swore you would never open a packet of chips again.

“Have you ever seen something prettier than this?” you questioned, looking up at the sky in awe .

Chandler stayed silent for a few, awkward moments, before responding. “Yeah” he said “you”.

What the hell?

“Are you... are you drunk? I can make you that strange smoothie that we always had in college, if you want—”

“— no, y/n” he interrupted you, rolling his eyes.

You were more confused than ever, so you asked Chandler what he meant by that. “I'll cut to the chase” he began “I love you, y/n. Everything makes me think about you: even when I just stare at the wall or drink a coffee, you're what's on my mind. And look, if you don't reciprocate my feelings, I totally get it.”

You couldn't find the words to answer coherently. Those damned feelings.

“Are you for real?” you questioned, to which Chandler responded “Yes. I know it's shocking, but I'm being serious this time”. He took a deep breath before adding that he was going to pass out if you didn't say anything.

“Oh, I'm sorry!” you exclaimed “Well, uhm... I love you too, Chandler. I have loved you since we first met... Since Ross and Monica introduced the two of us”.

He was clearly trying to hold back a smile, but he failed miserably at doing so when you nudged him and remarked that you had to throw out those “best friends” mugs that you'd bought as a joke a few years prior.

“Yeah... We should.”

You didn't think you could be happier on Thanksgiving Day.

989 notes · View notes

myveryownfanfiction · 6 months

Text

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

tags: @fangsandroses, @illiana-mystery

warnings: mention of menstruation, swearing

“hey mon?” I asked as I shifted uncomfortably. “Do you have any…” I trailed off and gave her a look, knowing the guys didn’t like us talking about this in front of them. “In there?” I nodded towards the bathroom. Joey gave me a strange look and Monica nodded.

“yeah. Bottom drawer under the sink.” She said, a small smile of her face. “Pain killers are in the mirror cabinet.” I nodded my thanks and went to take care of my problem. When I was done, I stood in the doorway and scrunched up my nose. Joey looked over at me again.

“You alright (Y/N)?” He asked. I smiled at him and shook my head.

“not really. I’m gonna go across the hall and lay down.” I said, walking over and kissed his head. “I’ll see you all later.” A chorus of feel betters and see yous followed me out the door. I went over to joeys room and laid down with the intent to go to sleep.

“hey.” I turned and saw Joey standing in the doorway. “Phoebe explained why you aren’t feeling good.” I smiled softly at him. “Monica gave me some stuff for the bathroom and I thought I’d come keep you company. Get you anything you needed y’know?” I nodded and held my hand out for him.

“Joey.” I breathed out. “You’re sweet.” He shrugged and looked a little bashful. “Right now I need you here with me.” He took my hand and curled up next to me. Laying my head on his chest, I gently drew circles on his shirt. “You said phoebe explained it?”

“yeah. She was actually really nice about it. Chandler was being judgy.” Joey complained. I nodded and looked up at him with a smile.

“Why don’t you tell me what she said and I can explain it a bit more?” I offered. Joey lit up and I breathed out a sigh of relief as he started asking questions.

#joey tribbiani fanfiction #joey tribbiani fanfic #joey tribbiani imagine #joey tribbiani x reader #joey tribbiani #matt leblanc #matt leblanc imagine #matt leblanc fanfiction #matt leblanc fanfic #Matt Leblanc x reader

404 notes · View notes

bellarkeselection · 4 months

Text

You're Good Together, Man

Anonymous request - Joey's friend comes to town, and everyone's shocked that Joey doesn't like her in a more than friend way. When Chandler gets nervous during a conversation and leaves upset, the reader follows him to see what's wrong.

Tags @lover-of-books-and-tea @rosie-posie08

Walking up the stairs in the building I finally found the right apartment door knocking three times on the door until it opened, revealing Joey, my best friend. "Hey Joe, I finally made it."

"Hey y/n. I can’t believe you could come this weekend. Oh you've got to meet my friends across the hall." He told me closing the apartment door behind him.

Nodding my head, yes I followed him across the hallway. We entered the apartment seeing a few different people all hanging out on the couch. There was a blonde girl, another with black straight hair and finally a third girl with light brown hair. I saw there was one guy that was wearing a bright blue shirt but had similar hair to one of the girls meaning they were siblings. “Hey guys this is my friend Y/n from school.”

“Hey everybody.” I raised my hand with a smile.

The girl with dark black hair came over to me. “I’m Monica, so how do you two know each other?”

“We met when he was first looking for acting jobs. My father was holding auditions when we met. And this guy knows how to have fun watching movies and ordering pizza.” I shrugged my shoulders nudging Joey.

The girl with light brown hair came up and hugged me. “I’m Rachel. So Joey, have you two ever dated or anything?”

“Me and Y/n.” Joey started laughing.

Covering my mouth I couldn’t help but laugh along with him. Joey and I had never considered being in a relationship together. Hitting my hands on my knees I was still laughing. “We would never work out. He’s like a brother to me. Always has been always will be.”

“Yeah. How you doin’ don’t work on her.” Joey replied with a cheeky smile.

The guy that was wearing a blue sweatshirt and sat on the couch spun around joking. “Was it because of your snoring or was it because you're crazy enough to not go out with your friend.”

“I’m not afraid of asking her out.” He replied to the other guy.

Clasping my hand together I sit down at the table. The last guy that looked like Monica came over to me suggesting a nice offer. “Hi I’m Ross, Monica’s brother. Well how about I take you out to dinner while Joey is at his audition.”

“No! You’re with Rachel or whatever is going on between you two.” Joey pointed his finger.

Ross throws his hands away from his side. “What’s wrong with me taking her to dinner.”

“Because you are with Rachel.” He said.

Rachel made a face. “Joey, we’re not together now. I broke up with him a few weeks ago.”

“But then you 're telling us how much you missed him after a few glasses of wine.” The blonde named Phoebe teased her.

Rachel started getting nervous and I could tell there was something going on between them. Joey had told me that he had two friends who had an on and off again thing. “Guys, I don’t like Ross anymore.”

“Sure that’s what they all said before you wake up in the middle of the night and scream oh my gosh I love Ross.”

Ross rolled his eyes. “Not helping Chandelier.”

“Oh sorry I was talking about pizza.” Chandler chuckled at him.

I smiled, shifting my gaze over to the Chandler guy. It had been a while since I had been on a date. Since my father was an actor most of the guys that seemed interested in me were ones who wanted a part in his shows or movies. If they didn’t get the part then I wouldn’t see them again. “Chandler, do you have a girlfriend?”

“Uh no I prefer being alone and horny.” He answered my question by rubbing the back of his neck. “Are you seeing anybody or just pining over Joey?”

Joey throws his hands up. “Stop hitting on her.”

“You’re just denying your feelings for her.” Phoebe smiled.

Joey stomped around the apartment pointing fingers at his two guy friend’s being all dramatic over their teasing on whether or not we had feelings for one another. “There’s nothing going on. You aren’t dating her and you aren’t dating her.”

Chandler got up from the couch walking up to him. “Wait why me. I get Ross but me. Am I so crazy that no girl would go out with me?”

“You and Ross repel women all the time.” My best friend explained before I watched Chandler move past him and shut the door quickly behind himself. Watching the door for a second I don’t know what came over me but I get up to my feet slipping through the door and across the hallway.

Shutting the door quietly I noticed that Chandler was laying on the couch and there was half of a pizza missing from a box on the floor. “Hey, are you open to sharing some of that pizza with me?”

“Actually Joe, I want this pizza for the rest of my life.” He sat up hearing me laugh at his comment. “Y/n, oh sorry sure.”

Kicking my shoes off at the door I went over to him I plopped down on the couch beside him. We ate pizza in silence until I remembered what he had said earlier. “So is this how you get all the girls to your apartment huh. Mistake them for your best friend and then apologize with pizza?”

“Actually, no. I have decided that I would rather die alone.” He replies to me.

Shaking my head I nervously smiled. “You joke a lot.”

“Yeah sorry I started using jokes as a safety measure after my parents got divorced. It works on the ladies at first but here I am sitting with you shoving my face with pizza.”

“Oh you mean like this?” I throw pepperoni at his face.

He shakes his head smiling and throwing some at me. I leaned forward trying to grab a full on slice and throw it across his face. But I fell off the couch when he tried to catch me and we tumbled to the ground together. “Oh geez Y/n.”

“Awe sorry for the mess.” I apologize seeing that we were both covered in red pizza sauce and cheese now laying on the floor with him on top of me. “Crap it’s late and I have to take two different trains to get home.”

Chandler focused his attention onto mine and he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to date you. You had a fun side that was easy to get along with. You didn’t find his nervous joke gag weird. “You could stay here tonight if you want.”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude. This is your apartment.” I sat up where he offered me his hands helping me to my feet.

He laid down on the couch with open arms telling me to lay down with him. “I live with Joey. Trust me your company would be less crazy. I’ll even stay up with ya till you fall asleep.” I nodded laying down with him on the couch curling up on his chest. He wrapped his arms around my waist so I wouldn’t fall on the floor and we remained that way until we fell asleep together.

A few hours later the apartment door opened again and Chandler lifted his head up quickly waking up seeing Joey was back. He panicked feeling Y/n fully asleep on his chest so he couldn’t run away like he wanted. “Joe, it’s not what it looks like. I’m not messing around with her I swear.”

“Shhh you’ll wake her up.” Joey raised a hand to his mouth.

Chandler eyed his roommate confused. “Aren’t you mad after you said we couldn’t date her?”

“Nah man. She has been through some bad relationships in the past that’s why I said no to Ross.” Joey smiled reassuringly seeing a smile on your face when she snuggled up against Chandler more. “You two would be good together.”

Chandler went to move his arm shocked that he said the words. In such a short time he had found himself wanting to spend more time with his friend. “You’re not gonna be mad if I ask her out?”

“Ask away brother. Don’t wake her up now..” Joey crossed the room pausing outside his room before leaving the pair alone. That next morning you were more than happy to say yes to a date with Chandler.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

164 notes · View notes

hayleythesugarbowl · 11 months

Text

joey tribbiani x reader headcanons

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • f•r•i•e•n•d•s masterlist ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

a/n: hope you guys enjoy this, i had a lot of fun writing it and i love joey so much <3💌🍒

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°~❦~°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

dating joey would include…

ok so he met you at central perk

you were another victim of “how you doin?” obviously

he finally introduced you to the group after you’d been dating a little while

they all thought you were just another one of his two-week relationships

but he’s been dating you for months now and they all got to know you really well

he calls you “the one”

insists on buying you a drink every time you go to the coffee shop

(even if he has to borrow money from chandler to do so)

you and the girls become besties of course

rachel loves going shopping with you

and monica cooks for you

phoebe gives you free massages

and chandler loves you too

like sometimes you’ll wake up before joey when you’re staying at their apartment and you and chandler will just talk

he caught you guys once though and he still hasn’t let you live it down

ross let’s you hold ben

you and joey have movie marathons and during scary movies he insists on holding you close “in case you get scared”

but really it’s cause he’s terrified

he would actually do anything for you

when you guys go out to dinner he even lets you share his desert

loves it when you run your fingers through his hair

he once tried to cook you your favorite food for your birthday and almost burned his apartment down

you help him read lines all the time to practice for upcoming auditions

and he always picks ones with romantic scenes just for an excuse to kiss you

he is so gentle it’s adorable

you guys cuddle all the time

calls you baby occasionally

he’s a flirt

but he also gets super jealous and protective of you if someone hits on you

he always makes you smile when you’re having a bad day

he loves you so much and you guys are just so happy together <3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~°~❦~°~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ˋ°•*⁀➷ hope all my friends fans enjoyed this!! i love joey so much so i had to write these little headcanons. definitely thinking about doing this for other friends characters. hope you enjoyed ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚🩰🪩

#friends #friends tv #f•r•i•e•n•d•s #joey tribbiani #joey tribbiani x reader #joey tribbiani headcanons #joey tribbiani x reader headcanons #rachel green #phoebe buffay #chandler bing #monica geller #ross geller #friends x reader #friends headcanons #friends imagines #fanfic #fanfiction #reader insert #headcanon

1K 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