Chapter 1

                                    

                                          
A/N - This is another two-shot for you from Germany and the US! When the cast was shooting in London at the end of season 4, a few of them encountered a slight midnight drunken mishap with room keys. Chapter 2 contains mature content. But while you read it, you have to listen to the video that plays at the top - it is almost scary how well it fits with the situation. It gave quite a bit of inspiration for the premise to this story! Hope you enjoy! 
                          
————-
                          
"London, Baby!"
                          
This excited exclamation Joey used in the script all the time could not be more true for the 5 of them, David thought. While the UK was probably not the most exciting place on this planet and all of them had been there at some point in their lives already, it still was exciting that they would get to shoot part of the show outside of LA for the first time. A possibility to give back to international fans. 
                          
And it had been a blast! The audience over here seemed to be almost more excited than at the regular tapings in LA. And while it had been a bit strange, too, with the missing puzzle piece that was Lisa, they quickly had found a rhythm anyway once the jetlag had passed. Rehearsals and the shooting of scenes had worked out just fine, which had allowed them a little free time to explore bits of the city and do some fun stuff. 
                          
As per usual as of recently, or - if he was being honest- ever since they started to work together, David's favorite partner in crime had been Jen. With her, even the dullest things suddenly became fun, and exploring the city with her turned it into an exciting endeavor. They had worn disguises and rode on the upper deck of a red tourist bus one day, just seeing the city pass by, and somehow her head had landed on his shoulder, with his arm around hers. He was pretty sure: to everyone else, they had looked just like a cute tourist couple. 
                          
And, another truth: he did not mind it at all, because in fact, it was what he would have wanted himself. Ever since he had first laid eyes on her, he had been captivated by this woman. And on top of her immense beauty, she was everything else he could have possibly asked for in a girl: she was smart and talented, she was funny and she was one of the kindest people he had ever met in his life. BUT she was also his colleague, a person he had worked with for years, and who he would probably work with a few more.
                          
And as he had said in an episode to Matty as Chandler: "Dipping your pen in the company ink was never a good idea". At least that was what he was advised pretty early on, when Jimmy Burrows had taken notice of the off-screen chemistry between him and Jen. And he knew that technically, it was true: they were young, working in an ever changing industry and chances of a relationship between them working out in the long run were probably slim. And given the nature of the show, with the tight-knit bond in their group of 6 as one of the core attributes of the show, maybe it was a safe way to ruin the chemistry in the group and as a result, the fate of the show. 
                          
But there was a little voice inside his head reasoning with him, that got louder every year he spent on set with ther: this feeling was never going to pass, what if this was the real deal? What if this was the one in a million relationship between co-stars that wasn't doomed? What if they weren't doing the right thing by keeping it in the friend zone, but denying themselves their biggest chance at happiness instead?! 
                          
They had taped the season 4 finale the night before, which he was sure would have audiences worldwide on the edge of their seats over the summer. Today, they had only been scheduled for a few interviews and promotional photo shoots, before having one last night off, the whole gang flying back to LA the next day. 
                          
The 5 of them had decided to head to a traditional British pub for a few drinks to make the most of the night. They had sat around a table, people approaching them for autographs from time to time, and ordered various kinds of beer to make their way through the menu. When they were halfway through, Courteney had been the first to excuse herself. By the end of the beer menu, Matthew called it a night, too, leaving Matt, David and Jen to start on top of the Whisky section. They were in Britain, after all, and who were they to not indulge inthe local culture, right?