Roschel

Roschel is the het ship between Ross and Rachel from the Friends fandom.

Canon
TEEN YEARS

Ross and Rachel meet in high school, where Ross develops an overpowering crush on Rachel, who is well aware. Ross is 3 years older than Rachel, who becomes friends with Ross' younger sister, Monica, making him a senior in high school when the girls were freshmen. Ross was a 'geek', while Rachel was a popular cheerleader and the differences in social strata prevented Ross from ever acting on his feelings, fearing rejection and/or humiliation. Another reason could be that Ross actually considered Rachel superficial (which she was) and would rather keep his infatuation alive than be let down by their possible inherent incompatibility. Conversely, Rachel grew up in an environment where women were defined by their appearance and attractiveness to men, which led her, in high school, to think that it was all she could be.

Despite their personal issues, there seems to have been genuine affection between them, as they get along well as adults and develop a close relationship. When Ross was in college, he intended to take a devastated Rachel to her Senior Prom when her date seemingly failed to show up. Rachel didn't know this, but her date appeared at the last second before an all dressed up Ross could ever save the night. Coming this close to any real possible development between them was heartbreaking for Ross.

6 YEARS LATER

At 27, Ross is getting divorced after his wife comes out and has been cheating on him, while Rachel flees her wedding to a guy she doesn't love and the conventional life she was brought up to inhabit, and shows up in New York to find refuge at Monica's. Rachel, in full bridal gown, walks into the coffee house Central Perk at the very moment Ross says, "I just want to be married again", appearing as though a destined moment, or a prediction of their future. Monica recognises Rachel and approaches her, introducing her to the gang. Ross gets up to greet Rachel and accidentally nervously opens his umbrella between them before he can say hello properly. He sits down quickly in embarrassment. Rachel comes with the gang back to Monica's apartment, where Rachel decides to stay, much to Monica's surprise. Ross and Rachel's situations are paralleled as Rachel spends the evening contemplating her situation, while Ross struggles to build his new life after Carol. The following day Rachel, Monica and Ross are watching TV at the apartment. Monica retires, leaving Ross and Rachel alone. Ross mentions that he had a giant crush on Rachel in high school and she confirms that she was aware. Tentatively, Ross pre-asks Rachel out and she indicates that she's interested. "Remember when we were in high school together. I mean, didn't you think you were just gonna meet someone, fall in love - and that'd be it?"

- Rachel to Ross

Rachel's at the apartment when Ross drops the bombshell that Carol's pregnant with his child and tries to deal with the implications for his life. In the evening, Ross and Rachel are by themselves at the coffee house as Rachel's closing up. They talk about having to deal with their respective exes and how complicated everything is. Rachel puts her head on Ross's hand and caresses it, much to Ross's surprise. Ross shows the group the sonograms of his baby while witnessing Rachel dealing with Barry's revelation by calling Mindy, taking a self-admittedly cheap shot and hanging up on Mindy. Ross is kind to Rachel, who's neither very interested nor very good at her waiting job, likely because of the former. They both go to a softball game that they win, with Monica's new romance, Allan. Ross doesn't ask Rachel out, instead taking some time to mourn his relationship with Carol. On October 21, the guys invite Ross out for hockey, where he mourns the memory of his first time with Carol, while Rachel is down about her situation whilst hanging with the girls at the apartment. They both cheer up at the end of the night, however, and all come together in Monica's flat.

One Saturday night, Ross asks to join Monica and Rachel to do laundry, trying to field Rachel's query about his building's laundry room and stumbling through it nervously. It then turns out that Monica isn't coming and Ross is suddenly nervous as Chandler asserts that it's now a date.

Fanon
Ross and Rachel was, and still is, one of the most popular TV romances ever. While some aspects of the show are dated and have led some fans to disavow the relationship — mostly the character of Ross — it still has a significant fanbase.

On AO3, it is the most written ship for Ross, the second most written for Rachel and the fourth most written in the Friends fandom.

Children
EMMA GELLER-GREEN

Emma (born April 4, 2002) is the daughter of Ross and Rachel, born as the result of a one-night stand.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Rachel/Ross tag on FanFiction.Net

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