Joey&Chandler

Spin

4:28. I glance away from the clock as I dry off another dish. I still can’t stop thinking about today, and I still can’t believe it. I promised Chandler I wouldn’t get all emotional, but I know Rachel will cry, and then we’ll all get going. I laugh to myself, taking an empty wine bottle from the sink and running it under the faucet.

Then I stop for a moment, looking down at the bottle, and a smile spreads across my face as the memory comes back to me. Was it really, what, almost three years ago?

No one believes me when I say it, but I was the first to know. I was the first to see it, sitting there cross-legged on the floor and watching them that night. And now, with things the way they are, I wonder why I’d never thought of it before.

I’m alone up here, all dressed and ready to go, but I have a minute to remember.

---

1998

"Mm-hmmm," Phoebe smiles, pulling back out of Chandler’s kiss. "Though of course I’ve had better." The rest of us chime in with the teasing they expect, and Chandler quirks up an eyebrow at the approval.

"That good, huh?" he says, good-naturedly sarcastic. Strangely enough, I think everyone’s actually having fun -- and at one of my parties, too. We’re sitting cross-legged on the floor like kids, playing a game from junior high, and yet I think we’re having fun.

"Okay, Chandler," Rachel prompts him, still glowing after her own kiss from Joshua. "Time to pick your next victim."

Joey taps at Chandler’s arm in agreement. "Yeah, get Monica," he suggests, "no one’s kissed her yet." I roll my eyes as everyone glances over at me, but I can’t help smiling, even though I don’t really have my heart set on kissing anyone here. Well, Joshua’s cute, but Rachel would kill me.

Chandler nods. "I’ll use my telekinesis," he answers, reaching reluctantly for the empty wine bottle in the center of our circle. All eyes are fixed on that bottle as he gives it a spin, watching as it flies around several times before slowing to a stop, pointing directly -- everyone looks up -- to Joey.

I grin immediately, along with the satisfied laughs from all the girls. Chandler sighs deeply as his eyes follow the bottle neck up to Joey’s surprised face. "Man, I am on fire tonight!" Joey declares. Chandler shoots him a pointed look. "Oh. Wait a minute."

"All right, let’s see it," Rachel coaxes, as everyone else giggles like teenagers. The notion seems to have settled with Joey and Chandler, who exchange slightly nervous looks. I don’t miss the smile that flickers across Joey’s face, though. Of course, I wouldn’t have expected him to be uncomfortable with it; he’s not the neurotic one.

"Come on, do we really have to?" Chandler asks lamely.

"You certainly do!" Emily tells him, as the rest of us agree. "After all, I had to kiss Phoebe just a moment ago."

She’s got a point; Phoebe nods earnestly. Ross throws up his hands in frustration. "Do you have to remind us?" His girlfriend just smiles, patting him on the knee, and we all return our attention to Chandler and Joey.

"All right, all right," Chandler gives in, glancing at Joey, who nods and shrugs. "I suppose it’s only fair." Well, I’d expected him to be a little more uptight about it, but maybe Chandler Bing is finally loosening up. I smile to myself -- doesn’t sound likely.

"Yeah, and besides," adds Phoebe, "you two even kissed before, remember? At that New Year’s party?"

Everyone who was there that pathetic night chimes in affirmatively. "Oh yeah," Joey chuckles. "Right, I --"

Chandler gives him another look, and he quiets down, glancing away with a smile. "Okay, okay, let’s just, uh, let’s just get this over with, shall we?" The rest of us watch intently as they turn to each other, both looking reasonably comfortable, and kiss.

What -- wait a minute... what?

And the thought hits me, startlingly clear. That was -- real.

I don’t usually put people together in my mind, or imagine things that aren’t there. But this is different. Maybe it was the way their eyes closed involuntarily, or the way they moved in toward each other as if trying to make something natural look contrived. It was real, like a kiss between people who mean it, not people who have to do it.

Well, I’ll be damned...

"Okay," Chandler says briskly, "everyone twistedly happy now?" I glance around the circle; everyone else is grinning, joking, and unaware, but... I saw it. I just know it, I know what I saw.

Not the kind of kiss I’d give Rachel during a game of spin-the-bottle. The kind of kiss I’d give my boyfriend as he rushed out the door in the morning. It doesn’t matter how short it is; you’re in love, and it shows.

Them, in love. Together. The funny thing is, I don’t even really mind.

Rachel’s telling Joey to take his turn now. Chandler watches as he goes ahead, leaning in to grab hold of the bottle. And a slight, quiet smile crosses my face, watching as he gives it another spin.

---

"Monica?"

I turn toward the doorway, and there he is, dressed for the first time in that starched rented tux. His hair sticks out in places, his collar is a little crooked, and his eyes are bright with anticipation. I’ve never seen him look more handsome.

"God, look at you," I grin at Chandler, pulling him into a quick hug. "I still can’t believe it."

"I know." I can hear the tinge of nervousness in his voice. "Me neither." Smoothing down the sides of my satin dress, I take one last look around the apartment as he goes on. "Hey, um, you about ready? I think everyone else has finally got it together. The limo guy might just give up if we take any longer."

I smile up at him. "Yeah. I’m ready."

The door swings open again and Joey steps inside, dressed just as sharply in an identical tuxedo, a grin spreading over his face as he sees the two of us. "Hey, how you doin’?" he teases gently.

And Chandler grins, too, in that way he has that used to be so rare. "Pretty damn good," he says quietly. Joey pulls him into his arms, and they’re both still smiling as they fall into their last unmarried kiss.