Celestial

Chapter Four

October, 1997

Six months had passed by since the night Ross and Rachel took the 'pause'. On the day that was to be a joyous occasion - their first anniversary, instead of celebrating the milestone like any normal couple, they had sat and reevaluated their relationship, really talked about all the reasons why they came to this.

It wasn't easy for them to open up like that.

They were two people who didn't really love to show others their true feelings – their demons, to begin with. But knowing it very clear that they had a chance to lose what they had if they didn't start doing something about it, they eventually set aside their own egos - laying their secrets, raw and bare for each other to see.

It was sacred, it was intimate.

It took a whole different level of trust none of them had ever achieved in a relationship before.

Since then, Ross and Rachel's relationship was getting more and more stronger than it ever was. They didn't realize how much letting each other know about their secrets – the things they feared most, actually setting them free.

But of course, the short break and the talk they were having that night after their first anniversary weren't an immediate fix to their relationship. It was just the start. From their deep talk they learned a lot about each other, understanding the other's point of views better, voiced how they truly felt, revealing their darkest fears, admitting each of their own flaws, and trying to come up with a solution – to make sure these wouldn't be a problem again in the future.

Breaking up was never an option between the two and that night they came to the realization that if they weren't gonna try to fix this, they were basically driving their relationship into an end. They realized they couldn't turn blind eyes on these problems anymore, they needed to fix it before it was too late. Before slowly these problems turned into an uncontainable deadly fire, destroying everything on its own path, essentially burning down every last bit of their relationship, leaving them nothing but bitterness and hatred.

So, after spending the whole night talking, letting their feelings out in the open for the other to see, Ross and Rachel both made it very clear that they were going to do everything in their power to make this relationship work.

Was it easy?

Hell no.

There were days when it was so hard, they would scream at each other's throats out of frustration. They were both equally strong-headed, but there were few things they learned from that night... They had learned how to compromise, trying to be in each other's shoes to gain more perspective, letting their partner know what frustrated them most with words, and more importantly, they had learned not to put blame on anyone.

It was hard as hell, but they did it.

After their 'pause', Rachel realized that work wasn't everything. She managed her time better now, making sure that she wasn't spending too much time at work more than necessary and that her friends, family, Ross, and herself remained priority. And on some days where she had to stay late at work, she always made sure to let him know, even squeezing time between her breaks to give him calls. Sometimes he'd stop by her office, without bearing any ridiculous gifts, but just a simple lunch or cup of coffee.

Most of the time, he'd leave her after a quick kiss, but these days she had asked him more and more to stay and spend her break with him. She was no longer making a big fuss about it, she didn't care anymore what her co-workers had to say. She was happy. He made her so happy and that was the only thing she cared about.