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The next few days found Anna dragging herself from bed to ballet rehearsal and back to bed again. If she wasn't in her own bed, she was curled on her couch, watching daytime TV and wallowing in her own self-pity. Once or twice, Rachel had called in with a muffin from the coffee shop on her lunch break or Monica had knocked, lecturing Anna on how she needed to get out of her apartment.
She had acquired a regular visitor, however. Chandler had begun to spend more time at the young woman's home than his own; after work and on weekends. If he couldn't get her out of the flat, he'd just spend time with her in it. They hadn't done much. Time spent together consisted mostly of ordering in food, watching old movies or chatting idly about unimportant things.
Chandler had to work, though, and Anna's days without him or ballet were dull. Thankfully, the man knew this, and sent a replacement to keep the blonde company one sunny Tuesday.
Anna hadn't done much that morning, but pulled herself from her warm bed to her kitchen to have some breakfast. Halfway through her peanut butter and banana filled bagel and an episode of The Golden Girls, a rapping on her door caught her attention. With furrowed brows, she padded to the door in her fluffy socks and bumblebee pyjamas, unlocking and opening the entrance warily.
There, leaning against the wooden doorframe was a smirking Joey Tribianni; a familiar face with kind, but flirtatious eyes. The sight of him had her smiling, slightly relieved it wasn't a burglar.
"Hey, Joey," Anna greeted, leaning her smaller frame opposite his. "Thought someone was breaking in. What's up?"
The handsome man laughed, shaking his head as his posture straightened. "Because so many robber knock first. Chandler sent me to keep you company, since you don't have class today."
She nodded, stepping aside to invite him in. " Well, I'm just in the middle of breakfast and Golden--"
A hand stopped her mid-sentence, tutting lowly. "Nope. I'm taking you out, come on."
"What?"
"I'm taking you out," Joey repeated, waving her along. "Come on, come on."
Anna rolled her eyes through a small grin. "Fine! Let me get dressed, though. Unless youre taking me to a pyjama convention."
As she retreated towards her bedroom, Joey closed the door behind him and wandered towards the couch. "Only if that's where you want to go. Hurry up!"
"Okay! Jeez..."
As the male made himself comfortable, Anna rushed around her bedroom in search of a decent outfit. After pulling one on ( a old pair of jeans and a cropped, white fitted shirt with converse ) and brushing out her hair and teeth, she appeared back in the living area in front of Joey.
"Shall we?" He asked, standing from a chair. Anna nodded, grabbing a coat, keys and some money, before following Joey from the home.
They walked in silence until they were out of the building and into the busy street. Holding his arm out, Joey let her loop her own through it, guiding her across the street and towards the bus stop.
"How are you, anyway?" He asked, sounding genuine. Anna sighed. She had been waiting for those words.
"I'm fine." Seemingly, her reply hadn't satisfied him, as seen through his raised, unimpressed brow. "Seriously! I mean, I'm coping. Okay?"
Joey nodded, sympathy oozing from his gaze. "Well, you get to spend the day with the Joe-master, which will cheer you up in no time."
She giggled, her head falling back in the midst of her second-hand embarrassment. "Please, never call yourself that again."
"Never. Your carriage awaits, m'lady."
With a shake of her head, Anna steps onto the bus and hands over a few coins, ripping the ticket from the machine in reply and heading to the spare pair of seats near the middle. Following suit, Joey sits next to her and sighs heavily; shovelling the piece of paper into his pocket.
"Where are we going?" Anna pipes up curiously, moving her head to look out the window, trying to figure out where the vehicle was headed.
"You'll see."
Many, many hours later, Anna and Joey fall up the steps to his building. Their long day had taken them all over Manhattan, from Central Park to her favourite patisserie for lunch, to Times Square, to a little bar Joey praised.
Giggling from the alcohol consumed, Anna clung to Joey's strong arm. He wasn't handling the beer much better either, considering he was singing ABBA after the third bottle. Fumbling past the door handle, the pair stumbled into Monica's apartment, trying their very best to look sober when five heads turned to spot them.
"Good evening," Joey nodded with seriousness, making Anna hide her laughs in his coat shoulder.
"Hello, you two," Monica spoke, sliding two glasses of water across the counter to them. "How was your day?"
"Good--"
"We met Batman!" Anna blurted, excitement dancing in her blue eyes. "I mean, someone dressed as Batman. But still..."
As they began to recount the day's events to Monica, Ross and Phoebe at the table, Chandler sat in the armchair with a fond look on his features. As his gaze travelled to Anna's arms: still wrapped around Joey's middle, jealousy filled him. He averted his sight to the television screen, blocking out the mindless chatter. Then, a body slid it's way onto his lap, pressing their head into his neck. As he welcomed the embrace, blonde hair filled his eyeline and he smiled softly. Her perfume was unmistakeable, as was the soft humming rumbling from her chest.
With his hands curling around her waist, Chandler cradled the drunk Anna in his lap while she sung softly. Brushing her blonde locks out of the way, he discovered her goofy smile and hooded eyes, peering up at him warmly.
"Hi," She whispered, leaning forward to press her nose to his. The close contact made Chandler's breath catch in his throat, but Anna stayed where she was.
"Hi," He echoed, blinking slowly. She broke the intimate moment with a yawn, leaning back slightly. "Bedtime?"
She nodded briefly, hauling herself from his lap to wobble onto her feet. Chandler reached out to grab her arm, steadying her. "C'mon, you can crash at ours."
Hazily, Anna let him lead her to the door while waving bye to the others. Joey called that he'd be over soon, but they payed no heed to his schedule. After a few close falls and bumps, Chandler managed to get the girl situated on the couch, with a spare blanket and pillow.
"Will you be alright here?" He asked, a hand still cautiously on her shoulder. He'd brought her a shirt of his and an old pair of basketball shorts for her to sleep in; both of which comfortably sat in her arms.
"Yeah, thanks Chan," Her soft voice warmed the space around them, while her clouded eyes danced from the bundle in her hands to his face.
Standing on her toes to reach him, her lips press against his for a second. Short and sweet, it has Chandler dazed. Her lip-gloss is sticky and wet but tastes like spring, and he wants more: so much more. But she's drunk, and she isn't thinking about what she's doing or the consequences of her actions. In fact, she's acting as though it was normal, brushing it off to slide her shoes off.
"G'night, Chandler."
He's frozen.
"Night, Anna."
And he leaves her. Like it never happened.
Maybe it didn't, maybe he imagined the last five minutes and he's actually fast asleep; dreaming of her. No - he's got his back against the door, he's pinching his arm to be sure.
"Fuck."
a/n. an update! a new year miracle! sorry for the wait , but they're back and better than ever
