EASY | chandler bing

seven; mittens

CHAPTER SEVEN
･ﾟ:* ✧

caroline

'let it snow' was playing joyfully in the apartment as they broke into smaller groups to chat, sip wine, and even dance by the christmas tree. as usual, phoebe was having fun with one of caroline's cellos, supervised by joey, which certainly made an interesting contribution to frank sinatra's warm, thick voice. 

after helping monica with the dish washing, caroline had come back to the living room, delighted to discover that jazz was playing on the stereo. though christmas had already passed, she was planning on continuing to listen to festive music throughout the entirety of winter. she also spotted chandler by the christmas tree, and suddenly remembered the discussion they had had a few days before.  

"chandler, you haven't met my cat yet, have you?"

"oh right, i haven't," his face lit up with a small smile. "is it there?"

"he must be in my room," she guessed after having a thorough look around. "come with me, i'll introduce you."

"are you sure i'll make a good impression?" chandler's smile grew wider as he followed caroline, whom he heard chuckling.

"don't worry, he's not picky," she joked. 

caroline held the door open for her friend, letting him in first. she then turned on the lamp on the bedside table and a subdued tray of light spread across a part of the bedroom. as she had imagined, mittens was curled up on the bedsheets covering her bed; the gentle movement of his ears as they came in signaled that he was awake.

"mittens, meet my friend chandler. chandler, this is mittens," she said in a soft-spoken tone, crouching beside the piece of furniture.

chandler came closer, mimicking caroline, and faced mittens. "can i pet him?"

"of course, he loves it," caroline ran her digits across the cat's head to prove her point. "go on."

"hi mittens," chandler greeted the cat quietly, brining a finger up to the animal's small rosy nose so that he could take in his smell. "i'm chandler. can i be your friend?"

caroline couldn't help but smile at the soft look on chandler's face. mittens carefully sniffed his finger, probably deciding whether it was dangerous or not, and finally rubbed his forehead against it.

they spent a solid quarter of an hour playing with the cat and talking, the conversation flowing between them easily. caroline found chandler very funny and kind, and although she had been a bit intimidated by his sarcasm at first, she couldn't have been happier that she could call him a friend now. and even when they returned to the living room to join the rest of their friends, the newborn complicity that had visibly started to blossom between them could be felt by all the group.

caroline was asked to perform a few songs, and the velvety and low sound of her cello echoed between the walls of the room in christmasy tunes. the music was welcomed by a round of applause and cheers, asking for more.

then the group drank the rest of the wine in front of the tv, blankets spread around them as they were all pressed against each other on the couch—it barely had room for seven people, but with a little congeniality, everyone managed to fit in. sat between phoebe and chandler, caroline occasionally smiled at her friend's sardonic comments and felt their arms pressed against one another. but then 10pm came around, and it was time to take off.