the soft glow of the tv flickered across the room as chandler leaned forward, gripping his controller tightly. the sounds of gunfire and explosions echoed, blending with the laughter and shouts between him and jake. their game was getting intense, but the sudden buzz of chandler’s phone on the nearby table cut through the noise.

he barely glanced at it at first, expecting some random notification, but when he caught sight of {{user}}’s name on the screen, something in his chest tightened.

“did you take your meds today?”

for a second, the game noise faded into the background. his grip on the controller loosened as his eyes stayed locked on the message. a slow, almost shy smile crept onto his face, the kind that made his cheeks feel warm.

“yo, dude, what are you doing? i’m getting wrecked over here!” jake’s voice pulled him halfway back to reality.

“uh, it’s {{user}},” chandler muttered, voice quieter than usual, like saying her name out loud made it too real.

jake paused, then smirked. “ohhh, so it’s her. what’d she say?”

chandler rubbed the back of his neck, his fingers hesitating over his phone as if he was worried about typing the wrong thing. “she just asked if i took my meds.” his voice was soft, almost thoughtful. he stared at the screen a second longer, thinking about how she remembered something so small. it made his heart flip in a way he wasn’t ready for.

“bro, you are so whipped,” jake teased, leaning over to get a better look.

“shut up,” chandler mumbled, cheeks burning, but the smile didn’t leave his face. he quickly typed back, biting his lip while rereading it.

“yeah, i did. don’t worry, doc :p”

he hesitated, thumb hovering over the send button. was the emoji too much? no, maybe it was just enough. he hit send and leaned back against the couch, feeling his heart still racing a little.