Chandler. That name had come to mean a lot of different things to her. Jokes, sweating, awkward and lately… a weird kind of sweetness. But that wasn't the point, he had always been sweet, hadn't he? It was just that now she was noticing. That was the problem. The noticing.

She curled up under her heavy quilt, trying to enjoy the quiet on the balcony. Well, New York was never totally quiet. As the words passed through her mind the window next to her opened with a slam, and she almost jumped out of her skin.

Speak of the damn devil.

The top of Chandler's untamed hair was moving out onto the balcony, his narrow shoulders and long legs attempting to follow. He hadn't seen her.

He was mumbling, maneuvering out the window with so little grace that, if she hadn't seen it herself, she wouldn't have thought it possible. One of his feet snagged in the frame and he almost fell into her lap as he stumbled free.

"Bastard," he growled vehemently. He was oddly twitchy as he moved to the railing, and he still hadn't noticed her. Part of her didn't mind. She liked watching him like this. Being with him when he didn't know anyone was there—when he wasn't trying to impress or entertain.

Okay now she sounded like a stalker. She shook her head. What the hell was the matter with her?

"Chandler?" she whispered, just so she wouldn't feel like his creepy, lovesick, peeping-tom. LOVESICK? Had she really just thought that? She flinched. No. No she hadn't. Chandler was fumbling with something in his pocket. He hadn't heard her. "Chandler!"

Now it was his turn to jump. With a girlish shriek he spun toward her, clutching his chest. She grinned widely.

"Oh," he sighed, visibly calming. She got one of his trademarked, crooked smiles that made her want to hit him in the face. And she was a little pleased to see a blush filling his cheeks. "Hey, Rach."

"Hey."

He took a step towards her and she felt charged with electricity. She stiffened a little beneath the quilt. "What do you think? Is Gotham safe tonight?"

"What?" she asked with a frown, trying not to look at his long legs, his strong shoulders that were narrow in a sexy way that reminded her of a… NO.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me, sir." He winked. She looked up and now saw the blanket had risen behind her, forming the odd, cat-like ears of batman's costume. The rest looked a little like a cape.

She smiled weakly and he grinned.

"Good one," she murmured.

"Thank you." He took another step closer and something in her chest tightened another notch.

His eyes were so damn blue. So damn pretty. And why were his lashes so long? It wasn't fair. They made his eyes look smokey as they bored into her, pinning her.

She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. This was the worst thing she'd ever done. He was one of her best friends. He was ROSS's best friend/college roommate. She couldn't feel this way, but dammit if she wasn't crackling with electricity right now.

"Rach?" She opened her eyes and saw that he was crouching in front of her, his hand resting on the arm of the chair. There was a slight crease between his brows. She wanted to smooth that crease out with her thumb, then maybe move across his face, down to his lips. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, knowing he'd think she was rolling them at him. "Are you going to be okay?"

THAT. It was that phrase from her surprise birthday party with her super-angry divorced parents, that had come back to her when she first realized the squishy feelings she had inside of her.

Neither of them had noticed Ross stick his head out the window, so they were both startled when his voice broke into their conversation. "Hey, Chandler— pizza's here."

Rachel stared, puzzled by Chandler's reaction. He'd leapt away from her, standing against the balcony wall, as far from her as he could get in one move.

She turned her attention and glared at Ross, "What about me? Don't I get pizza?"

"Hm… I'm not sure? Why don't you WRITE ME ABOUT IT." He disappeared back into the apartment, taking his shiny, black crunchy hair with him, and Rachel growled.

She wanted to do some verbal combat, but with Chandler in such close proximity… well she blamed him! He was making her mind all fuzzy with his… his… she looked back to where he stood, leaning against the balcony.

His scent was all around her. She didn't know that was possible when you were outside. Mint and spice… His fingers were twitching by his sides, so her eyes swept down his frame to those, until he slid them into his pockets. That brought her line of vision to his hips, and she tried not to think of them doing anything other than standing there. Not touching. No hip movement. Her friend. Her FRIEND. She shook her head and refocused on Ross. He was such a baby.

"He always has to get the last word doesn't he?" Chandler said softly, still staring at the empty window, and she looked at him in surprise. His eyes widened, and he froze with his mouth hanging slightly adjar. "Well, ahaha… um… we should go inside shouldn't we? Okay? Yeah? I'll see you in there."

He reentered the apartment almost as clumsily as he'd exited and didn't glance back. She shamelessly watched his ass the entire time. She didn't feel like pizza.

The crisp, New York air blew into the openings of her blanket and she pulled it tighter around her with a shiver.

What the hell was it about him? She'd been engaged to Barry and had almost hooked up with Chandler in a bar. Before that, she'd made out with him at a college party and had her first really good kiss. She blamed that on Chip.

She frowned a little at the thought of Chip. That embarrassing call Ross had orchestrated still stung. She was glad Monica had gotten the chance to dump his ass. She was missing Mon tonight. She was a little drunk and needed someone tot talk to.

Rachel was older now, and had had a lot of good kisses (she'd dated Paolo for God's sake) and Chandler was still in her top 10. He might be number 10, but still. Top 10.

"Hey, Rachel," Phoebe said cheerily, ducking out with two slices of pizza. "Thought you might be getting hungry." Rachel's stomach growled at the smell and she glanced inside to where Chandler was. Phoebe passed her one of the slices.

"Thanks, honey," Rachel smiled, sitting up and adjusting her blanket to eat comfortably.

"Hey, um, what did you do to Chandler?" Phoebe asked with a tilted head. Rachel immediately began choking on her pizza. Phoebe's eyes widened. "Oh my god!" She stood and poked her head back inside the apartment. "Doctor! We need a doctor!"

Rachel tried to tell her she was fine, because this was ridiculous, she wasn't really choking, but no sound would come out.

"What?! What!?" Ross yelled, hopping out the window.

"Um, no. I'm sorry, I mean a real doctor," Phoebe clarified. Rachel's face began to turn purple and she stood up, leaning against the wall.

Ross glared. "Um, no. Actually, I am a real doctor."

"Well, okay. We'll keep you in mind for our next dinosaur-related emergency. But right now Rachel needs a real medical doctor!" For the first time Ross looked at her and the blood drained from his face.

Chandler and Joey were standing at the window, staring at her with obvious horror on their faces.

"I call mouth to mouth!" Joey yelled, hopping through the window eagerly.

"Are you kidding? That won't help. She needs the Heimlich or something," Ross muttered.

Phoebe rounded on him, "How the hell do you do the Heimlich?!"

Chandler looked grey in the face. In fact everyone was shaking.

"I can try-" Ross began to say, color coming back into his cheeks.

Chandler tried to catapult himself through the window, but his foot got stuck in the window frame again, and once he freed it, he ran headlong into Rachel from behind, knocking her into the wall, and sending the pizza out of her throat onto the streets below.

Rachel gasped as Chandler caught himself on the banister, and steadied waist using his other hand. They all stared into the inky blackness over the side as Rachel coughed and gasped in sweet air. Chandlers warm hands brushed around her hips, his body heat rolling off of him and warming her from behind. He was postured over her in a very suggestive position. His breath came quick in her ear and on her neck. She used that pace to slow her own gasps down. She felt his heartbeat in the center of her back, and her own began to slow to match his. His shoulders, wider and bigger than hers, seemed meant to swallow her. Mostly she felt his hips, brushing her ass from behind. She had never in her memory, wanted anyone this badly.

She spun around and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face and getting lost in his smell and warmth. For comfort, and to hide the expression on her face, which she was sure wasn't appropriate for this situation.

He didn't hug her back for a second, and then he wrapped his arms around her, and everyone surged forward. Joey hugged her from behind, Phoebe from the side, and Ross made an exception to their current war and put a hand on her shoulder.

She'd never felt so grateful, but as she pulled back and got lost in a sea of her friends worry, she met blue eyes and couldn't help but wish it had just been her and Chandler.