Aki- Okay, my sister bought the whole ten seasons of friends on ebay and it is totally a bootlegged copy from like Korea or something, but on the back of the box this phrase, "He fell in love for the first time. She fell in love forever," and it was repeated over and over again and I kept trying to think which ship it applied to, but I, with modification of the words, applied to all of them and basically it inspired this fic.
They Fell
Ross liked to think of it as love at first site, at least for him anyway. In reality his scientific and serious persona would not allow him into admitting his belief in such things as soul mates or destiny, but he really thinks that it might have been what brought him and Rachel together. Sure there are other explanations, but he fancied this one. Look at it this way, he had two other marriages, they broke up for seven years, remained friends, and ended up together again with a child. Could it all be a coincidence?
Rachel believed Ross was her first true love, even though she never would admit that out loud. She had a series of basically meaningless relationships before him, even ran away from her wedding because she was not in love with her husband-to-be. But she had definitely fallen hard for Ross. She found it Romantic that the first man she fell in love with would be the man she raised her child with.
Ross knew it started out as one stupid, silly, maybe even superficial crush. An impossible one at that, he being a major high school science geek, and her, the beautiful and popular co-caption of the cheer squad. It did not matter when he was too scared to ask her out, or when she rejected him, or when they broke up and he knew no matter what happened in the future his love would last. He loved Rachel Greene forever.
She still remembered that first kiss, it was more than physical, it was raw and emotional. They had connected at such a deeper level. She remembered the first time they made love. She remembered falling in love and how much it hurt when they broke up. It was all real, in more vivid feelings then it had ever been before, because it was true love that she felt for the first time.
It was the fact that with Ross and Rachel: She had fallen in love for the first time. He had fallen in love forever.
Monica found it amusing that she spent the most of her adult life searching for 'the one' and he had been right under her nose the whole time. Anyone who knew Monica knew how much she wanted to be married and have children. It was her ultimate dream, her ultimate goal. There were also times she thought she would never get it. Relationships tended to crash and burn around her. And then with Chandler it just worked out, and most could say they never in a million years expected that.
Monica couldn't say she hadn't been in love before. There was Pete, the billionaire, who she had to leave because she could not watch him destroy himself over and over again. And their was Richard, but they never were in love and wanted the same thing at the same time, well, at the same time. That made her learn that love wasn't enough, it was being mature, it was being ready, it was being ready to compromise and work things out, it was being in a real working relationship that gave you what made love worth having. And when she found the person that gave that to her, she knew she would work to keep that, because that would last you the rest of your life.
No one really ever expected Chandler to get married. He never had a long term relationship. He was horribly afraid of commitment. The idea of marriage scared him because he was afraid of ending up like his parents. In truth he might have never wanted it at all if he hadn't found her.
Then something happened between him and Monica and he could never quiet say why it worked out. Maybe he was finally mature enough, maybe it was chance or an accident, maybe their really was fate, though he doubted it. Or maybe it was because more than just love involved. Maybe it was because him and Monica were friends first before they fell in love. They knew each others pasts, fears, doubts, wants, quirks, goals, faults, blisses, and friends. They knew about each other and there were no real secrets between them. It wasn't an awkward beginning. Maybe that was what made their love so special, so real. It was the first love he had had that wasn't just a feeling, it was a lifestyle.
They understood in more or less words that with them, Chandler and Monica: He fell in love for the first time. She fell in love forever.
Phoebe never had a real relationship before. Not a long term one that would actually lead somewhere. She knew it was because she could never seem to find that guy. She had come close before though. There was Gary the cop who she moved in with for a day or David who she could have loved if he hadn't left.
Thusly, the position for that guy always evaded her ability to fill it… until she met Mike. Mike she moved in with. Mike she married. Mike she loved and would spend the rest of her life with and everything fell into place.
He had just gotten divorced and he had to admit it hurt like hell. He confided in Phoebe that he never wanted to get married again. He didn't say it was for the fear of getting hurt though. Was it worth the risk? He never thought it would be ever again, not since his first wife destroyed him… But then when he realized he would lose her if he didn't give her that hope of a future. He knew that the threat of losing her made taking the risk worthwhile. He was ready to risk it all for the woman he loved.
Phoebe and Mike never had it before, being able to give everything to one person, so their relationship could be defined as: When they fell in love forever, it was for the first time.
Joey wasn't known for his monogamous ways at all. He was a lady's man of sorts. He jumped around from girl to girl so easy it appeared as though it were without a care. He was one of those guys that was admired by other regular guys for his suave ways with women. But after a while, when his friends settled down they saw Joey's way of life as unsatisfying compared to having a secure and loving relationship. They even encouraged him to do the same.
But Joey knew they didn't get it. He always figured when the right girl came along he would know it and he would settle down. It was not like he didn't admire what Monica and Chandler had, or Phoebe and Mike, or Ross and…Rachel.
His mind always seemed to wander to her. "I've never been in love before," Joey had explained to Ross all those years ago when Joey discovered his feelings for Rachel. He had never been in love before. That was the truth. And he had never been in love after. He knew he could never have her, but he couldn't change the fact that when he had fallen in love for the first time, he had fallen in love forever…