EASY | chandler bing

ten; festive planning

CHAPTER TEN
･ﾟ:* ✧

chandler

"joey, i don't think that eating everything is going to be very helpful," monica commented, placing yet another great-smelling plate upon the kitchen table.

the room, filled with delicious wafts of food and the soft whirring of pans on the stove, glowed with the warm lighting of lamps which contrasted with the dark sky stretching out behind the windows, flecks of snow spiraling down in the evening breeze. the whole group had gathered at monica and rachel's place since they got off work, helping monica with all the cooking that new year's eve entailed as she was indeed going to have her parents over for lunch before hosting a new year dinner party in the evening. it would only be fair  to give her a hand, though monica had already taken control of her troops.

"i'm only trying to find out whether it's poisoned or something," joey shrugged, lifting up his arms as if he couldn't understand why he was being told off. "sorry for helping." monica rolled her eyes, though she gave him an amused smile, and carried on with cooking after checking on a pan full of sauce.

"nice try joe," chandler patted his friend on the shoulder, smiling too. he took a seat at the table where rachel was pealing potatoes as neatly as she could, trying to be helpful too.

as a matter of fact, chandler was not particularly skilled when it came to cooking, nor did he harbor deep love for it, but the prospect of spending time with caroline and his friends made the activity rather appealing and gleeful. but caroline had not yet arrived, and chandler was starting to worry whether she might actually join them.

thankfully, as soon as that forlorn thought crossed his mind, the doorbell rang, and there stood caroline, cheeks rosy from the cold, and snowflakes scattered all over her clothes. "good evening, i'm sorry i'm late!" she apologized, giving the group a sheepish smile as she took off her winter coat and left her cello case, which chandler noticed she was carrying, in the hall.

"don't worry sweetie, thank you for coming," monica answered from the kitchen, focusing on the vegetables she had started chopping after she gave the newcomer a grateful look. "did the concert go well?"

"it did, thank you. playing christmas songs is always a good plan to put the audience in a good mood," caroline recounted brightly chandler remembered that he had been anxious for nothing—caroline in fact told them that she might be running late because of a festive gig that she was performing with the orchestra.

"how many santas were there in the audience?" chandler asked, the sudden cheerfulness that brightened up his eyes giving away the joy he felt upon seeing caroline.

"quite a few, but you know what, i saw quite a lot of reindeers too," she smiled at him playfully, giving into his game. "how are you guys?"

"well, besides the fact that joey is about to eat all the food we're trying to cook, we're alright," chandler glanced at his best friend, who pouted in return, muttering that he was only trying to be helpful (shrewd of him, considering the number of plates clustered in the sink!).

caroline made her way to the kitchen and took a seat by chandler, the pair exchanging smiles. since their date, the two had been closer than before, and chandler was positively convinced that his heart rate would always speed up whenever caroline found herself in the vicinity.

"rach, can i help you with that?" caroline offered, to which rachel replied with a vigorous nod, the look upon her face practically begging them to take some of the vegetables off her plate. chandler and caroline armed themselves with knives and chopping boards, then the trio made the round kitchen table their own.

"so, how was your day?" chandler asked caroline, struggling to take his eyes off her. she was always so lovely—he just wished that he could somehow tell her.

"it was really good! besides the concert, my family and i made plans to meet up for lunch tomorrow," she told him, carefully slicing a tomato in half. "how about yours?"

"work is fun... i can play games on the computer in my spare time." oh how he wished he could've told caroline that seeing her was the part of the day that he was always looking forward to most.

they kept on taking care of the vegetables, chandler and caroline delightfully chatting together though they would occasionally join in other conversations, though they kept bouncing off each other's comments. there was no denying that their chemistry was standing out a mile.

at some point, rachel and caroline got up to hand the vegetables they had cut over to monica, and joey took advantage of the opportunity to exchange a few words with his friend.

"looks like it's going great between you two," he smiled, glancing at the girls so that he could slip away before they approached.

"i hope it is," chandler smiled back, truly unable to make sense of his luck—how could someone as kind and positive as caroline ever want to be with someone as sarcastic and pessimistic as him?

"i can tell you're different whenever she's around," joey went on earnestly. "you look... happy. i've seen you happy before, but when she's here it's as if the whole world has stopped for you, as if you've stopped worrying about everything else. i hope everything will turn out the way you want to." moved, chandler patted his best friend on the back, at a loss for words. he wanted to tell him how grateful he was for his understanding, for taking care of him though everybody thought it was the other way around. chandler made himself a promise to tell him about it out loud someday.

"and tomorrow's new year's," joey then added, this time more light-heartedly, and winked. "so watch out for that news year's kiss."

—

happy new year everyone, i wish you all the best for this upcoming year. may 2020 treat you well <33

edit: well, this hasn't aged well! ): thank you so much to all the new readers we've gained since 2020, and this time i hope that 2024 treats you much better than 2020 did. i'm so proud of you for getting through these difficult times, and i'm sending you all my warmest new year's wishes. i'm currently editing this fanfiction, correcting and rewriting some bits, so i hope that you still find it enjoyable! :)