AN: So, hey again guys. It's been a while since I've uploaded anything and I'm sorry about that! Yeah, I am writing FRIENDS again. Yeah, it's crazy. And yeah, I totally butchered Chanoey fanfiction back in 2013 with all my horrible fanfics. I'm so sorry. They were truly awful stories. And I love Chandler and Joey so much, they're definitely one of my top 3 OTPs. 3 I think this one is a lot better. And I am still writing my House fic, slowly but surely. Anyway… I hope you all enjoy this!

As soon as the Italian guy wearing the dark leather vest and shirt to match walked into his apartment, Chandler Bing knew he would never, ever choose him as his roommate.

The man, who had called himself Joey Tribbiani on the paperwork, seemed nice enough. In fact, he seemed perfectly nice, if not a little empty-headed. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that as soon as he stepped foot into Chandler's apartment, he found himself staring for too long at the man's slicked-back hair, broad shoulders, and large arm muscles. He refocused his gaze somewhere else. The windows. The walls. Anywhere else. Pull yourself together, Chandler, he thought darkly. You're losing it. Just stop. Stop looking.

Chandler had spent his entire life telling people he was straight. As far as everyone else was concerned, he looked gay, he sounded gay, and he acted gay too. And after his father's… life change, leaving Chandler's family and going off to work in some gross males-only burlesque, the rumours and speculations had doubled in quantity. Now an adult in his mid-twenties, Chandler had taken all the necessary precautions. He only wore his sweater vests sometimes, not every day. Yes, he'd had to throw out quite a few of them, and it had only made him a little bit sad. Also, he'd grown a weird little goatee, and even he knew it looked weird, but he knew no gay man in his right mind would grow it, so he kept it. But maybe all that he had done to make people think he was straight had made him ignore something very big and very prominent in himself because dear God, did he ever think Joey Tribbiani was hot.

And that was why Chandler could never, ever have Joey as his roommate. Just the sight of Joey's crooked smile made him want to throw himself out the window. He did not want to be the kind of guy who had a thing for his roommates. Hell, he didn't want to be the kind of guy who had a thing for other guys either. Yeah, Joey did come with his own TV, but the guy before him, Eric, had come with the prospect of models and a porn star sister. Hot girls trumped TV, obviously. Chandler had his own crappy TV anyway. And more importantly, the last guy hadn't been attractive. He'd looked a bit like John Lennon if he had long hair, and that was refreshingly strange. So, with the thought of bikinis in his mind, Chandler rushed through showing Joey the apartment.

"Thanks for coming by. Bye-bye." he said, running into the kitchen area to pull the door open for the other man. Get out, he thought bitterly. Get out get out GET OUT!

Joey looked confused. His dark eyes bored into Chandler's blue ones. Oh God. Chandler's mind groaned. Get out before I jump you right now. "Don't you, uh, don't you want to ask me any questions?" Joey asked.

Reluctantly, Chandler closed the door. "Sure." he responded, not wanting to be rude. "Uh… hmm… what's up?" He grinned at Joey.

"Well, uh, I'm an actor." Joey told him. Chandler took a moment to wonder if he did porn and then mentally stabbed himself. The other man continued, unaware of the self-deprecating violence going on in Chandler's head. "I'm fairly neat. I, uh, I've got my own TV." He pointed at it, and Chandler nodded. "Oh, and don't worry. I'm totally okay with the gay thing."

It took Chandler a moment to process what he'd just heard before his brain seemingly imploded right inside his skull. Shit. Shit! How the hell does he know? He laughed in a strained manner, hoping not to reveal to Joey how much he felt like he'd just been hit in the face with a brick. "What gay thing?" he asked, trying and failing to sound nonchalant and just ending up sounding a bit angry.

Joey's eyes widened, and his eyebrows shot up into his slick hairline. "Uh, just, you know, in general. The whole people being gay… thing." He nodded, looking as embarrassed as Chandler felt. "Totally cool with that." He then looked pointedly away, avoiding Chandler's gaze.

Well, this interview is officially over, thought Chandler ruefully. He opened the door again. "Well, okay, Jerry. Thanks for stopping by." he said, purposefully saying Joey's name wrong. Leading him off the trail, you know. No, he wasn't totally into him. Of course not. He didn't even know his name.

Joey walked out the door after him just as Monica was coming up the stairs toward her own apartment. "Hi." Monica greeted Joey upon seeing him.

A smile spread across Joey's face. "Hey." he replied, letting his dark eyes linger on Monica's thin form under her red tank top before turning around and heading down the stairs that Monica had just ascended.

Monica watched Joey go before looking to Chandler. "Oh my God!" she mouthed silently.

Chandler was unable to say anything. Oh my God was right. He found himself burning up with jealousy. Calm the hell down, you stupid idiot! he mentally screamed at himself. Monica went into her apartment and once she had gone, Chandler banged his head against the doorframe. Well, he had just made a complete and utter fool of himself, whether anyone other than his subconscious had witnessed it or not. At least he would never have to see Joey Tribbiani ever again.

xXx

It did not happen as Chandler had hoped it would. The John Lennon lookalike guy, Eric, never showed up. So Chandler went through the other potential roommates he had interviewed. There was the ferret guy- no, not over his dead body. The spitting guy- Chandler didn't think he could last more than five minutes. Then there was the guy who said bing! every time he heard Chandler's last name. Chandler didn't think he could last two minutes of that freak.

Of course, that left Joey. And out of the circus troupe he had interviewed, Joey seemed like the most normal. Nothing was wrong with him, per se. It was Chandler who had something wrong with him. He would just have to get that under control if he didn't want to have a roommate who he secretly hated, someone who he couldn't bring along to hang out with Monica, Phoebe, and Ross.

So he called Joey back and told him he could come and live with him.

Joey came three days later with all of his stuff. "Hey." he said when Chandler answered the door. "Thanks for choosin' me, dude. You seem like a great guy, and I think we're gonna be real good friends." "Yeah." Chandler replied. "I'd like that." He took some boxes in for Joey and started to unpack his clothes while Joey brought up more boxes from the curb outside. As Chandler took out various hockey jerseys and tight jeans, he realized that maybe he wasn't as royally screwed as he had initially thought. It could have been a lot worse. After all, he wasn't in love with Joey. He just thought he was hot. There were a lot of people that Chandler thought were hot. Not a lot of them were guys, but that didn't matter. A small smile settled onto Chandler's face as he folded the clothes and set them onto Joey's bare bed frame. It was going to be okay.

And it was okay. Months passed, and months became a year, and one year became two. Chandler and Joey really did become great friends. In fact, they became best friends. Joey became part of the gang, as much as any of the rest of them. Sometimes Chandler still marvelled over Joey's looks. The actor's personality added to the package too; some might be annoyed or exasperated by Joey's lack of intelligence, but Chandler thoroughly enjoyed Joey's company. He was his best friend, after all. But Chandler couldn't keep lying to himself; the more time he spent with his roommate, the more he got to know him, the more he realized that he was sickeningly, groan-inducingly, irrevocably, head-over-heels in love with Joey Tribbiani. He would never do anything about it, though. Chandler Bing had known rejection like the back of his own hand, or like the hands of others coming in to slap him in the face. That had happened a lot too. Besides, he didn't want to mess up what he had with Joey. Judging from the number of girls Joey brought home, he was not gay. No, Joey Tribbiani was straight with a capital S.

Chandler had never been more wrong. The 'inciting incident' happened one day at lunch. Chandler and Joey were sitting in their recliners, Baywatch blaring on the TV in front of them, beers in hand. One moment they were leaning toward each other to chatter on excitedly about the newest plot twist- "Do you think there'll be more boobs now, Chan?" "I sure hope so, Joe."- and the next moment Joey's hands were cupping Chandler's face and Chandler was having a heart attack. Then their lips were touching and Chandler felt as if a thousand years of stress were slipping away from him, leaving him feeling more relaxed than he had in months.

A few long, lingering moments later, Joey pulled away. He cleared his throat loudly and ran a hand across his mouth. "Heh. Sorry, man."

It took Chandler a second to compose himself. He could still taste Joey. "Um… what the hell was that?" he managed.

"I dunno. Just an impulse." Joey said, and shrugged. "Don't think too much of it."

"An impulse?" repeated Chandler incredulously. "Like an… oh, I want some ice cream kind of impulse?"

"Yeah. I saw a good flavour and wanted a taste." Joey raised his eyebrows, grinning.

How the hell is he so casual about this? thought Chandler furiously. He still hadn't fully recovered. "A taste?" "Hey, I said sorry, man. I know you aren't into all that gay stuff. I was just thinkin' of those girls on Baywatch and had the feeling, y'know? I wanted to kiss someone." explained Joey. As if that was an explanation.

"Yeah. Not into all that gay stuff." Chandler parroted Joey again. "But, uh, so… do you wanna do that again?"

A grin spread slowly across Joey's face. "Hell yeah!" he exclaimed. They both leaned in again.

It was strange. Chandler had been ready to bet his life that Joey was straight. He was just too macho, too womanizing. Chandler had personally witnessed his roommate bring home dozens of girls- and the walls were too thin in their apartment, especially the wall between his room and Joey's room. He had heard noises that had told him that Joey was definitely enjoying his alone time with the women. For a moment Chandler wondered if Joey had been overcompensating for being gay. But no, that wasn't like Joey. No, no, Joey Tribbiani seemed like the kind of person who just took what he wanted, when he wanted it. Men, women, ice cream, whatever.

"Is this weird for you?" Joey asked during a pause. "You're always goin' on about how much you hate bein' called gay and all…"

"It is sort of weird." Chandler admitted. "But, y'know, everything's weird in my life. The universe hates me. But I guess the universe hates me a little less now 'cause now I'm kissing you, which I've wanted to do for a while."

"Oh good." said Joey. "Me too."

It was something they just eased into. A bond even higher than friendship, something they didn't have to fight for. It just sort of… happened. Being a couple just seemed like the natural next step for them.

A week went by. Then two. "We've gotta tell the others." Joey said as he and Chandler lay in bed together. They were in Chandler's bed that night. Joey had spilled chocolate pudding all over his sheets, so they couldn't sleep there.

"Do we have to?" whined Chandler, only half joking. How would their friends react? Would they abandon him, like his father had abandoned… No. He wasn't going to bring his childhood problems into this. This was Monica, Ross, and Phoebe.

"Yeah, we do have to." responded Joey. "Look. They're our best friends. And we've been dating for, like, two weeks now."

"Yeah, but… ugh." Chandler ran a hand over his face. He was starting to sweat. "It's just… do you think they'll be okay with this? With us?"

"I think so." said Joey. "I mean, yeah, of course they will. They're our friends."

"You're right." Chandler sighed. Of course, he was being stupid. They would be fine with it… right?

"So let's tell 'em tomorrow."

"Okay." Chandler gave a strained smile as Joey turned off the bedside lamp. "Goodnight, Joe."

"'Night, Chandler."

Chandler lay awake for hours. Everything seemed too quiet, and even Joey's snoring wasn't enough to keep him from feeling like he was drowning. When he finally managed to get to sleep, he had a dream. In his dream, he and Joey were at Central Perk with Monica, Ross, and Phoebe. "We've got something to tell you." Chandler told them all of a sudden, putting down his cup of coffee.

"Fire away." said Ross.

Joey looked at Chandler and smiled. "We're a couple." announced Joey, putting his arm around Chandler's shoulders. "Chandler and I have been dating for two weeks now."

Immediately, all three pairs of eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?" gasped Monica.

"I… we…" Chandler began, but he couldn't get the words out. The looks on their faces- and the faces of everyone else around them- were making him feel sick. "Joey, I, uh, I think we should-"

"What the hell do you mean you're dating?" sputtered Ross. "You're both guys. That's just-"

"Hey!" exclaimed Chandler, his nervousness leaving him in a violent surge of anger. "You sure you want to finish that thought?"

"He's right, Chan." sighed a defeated voice from beside him. Chandler felt Joey retract his arm. "This is weird. We can't do this anymore."

"But… Joey." Chandler said, shocked. "I thought we were-" He turned to Joey but trailed off when he found that the seat next to him was empty. Bewildered, Chandler looked around. Not only had Joey gone, but Ross, Phoebe, and Monica had disappeared too. The entire café was empty, save for him. Inky, gaseous darkness was starting to seep into Central Perk, crawling soundlessly down the walls and coming toward him. Taking a deep breath, Chandler drew his legs up close to his body, away from the looming darkness.

"I always knew you'd turn out like me." said a voice from somewhere. His father's voice. With that, the darkness surged upward, consuming Chandler and the sofa he was sitting on.

Back in his bedroom, Chandler sat bolt upright, panting. The quiet surroundings of his bedroom hit him, and he relaxed a little bit, although his heart was still hammering. Beside him, Joey was still fast asleep, snoring away.

"Tell 'em tomorrow." muttered Chandler, lying back down. "Yeah, right."

He was just being paranoid. He shouldn't have been surprised that the rest of the gang did not mind at all when Chandler and Joey announced that they were dating.

"Now you two will never complain about your lousy dates anymore." remarked Ross. "This is great."

"I so knew it!" exclaimed Phoebe, clapping her hands together. "As soon as I first saw you guys together… I was like, 'wow, I bet these two will end up totally doing it!'"

"Good for you guys!" Monica said. "I'm so happy for you."

Slowly but surely, the fear stemming from Chandler's dream ebbed away from him. His friends were fine with it, and Joey wasn't leaving. It was okay.

"And don't worry, it's not gonna start getting weird for everyone." Joey promised everyone. "We're still best buds, like before. It's the exact same… except with sex. It's pretty awesome. Every friendship should be like this."

Chandler gave a derisive laugh. "My boyfriend, everybody." he remarked sardonically. Joey grinned at him. "But what happens if you guys break up?" asked a tentative Monica. "What'll happen to your friendship?"

"I don't think we'll have to worry about that, Mon." said Chandler. He didn't want to think about it.

"Nah." Joey agreed.

"That's it? Nah?" repeated Ross incredulously.

"We're not very sentimental guys." Chandler reminded her.

"Well, okay." responded Phoebe. "Good luck, you guys! Oh, I'm just so happy for you!"

Joey rested his elbow on Chandler's shoulder. "Hey, thanks guys. Chan and I weren't sure if you'd be cool with this, but…"

"Oh, don't worry. We're completely fine with it." Phoebe reassured them.

"We love you no matter what." said Monica.

Chandler glanced at Joey and smiled. From the first time he had laid eyes on Joey, he had known that there was something special about him. There had been a spark. At first, that had unsettled him, and he had tried to get away from his feelings by refusing to take Joey in as his roommate. But Chandler was so glad that his original choice hadn't shown up, forcing him to call his second-best option. It was an accident that he had Joey in his life, but it was a happy accident. And Chandler had never been happier.

Some relationships were too good to be true, and those relationships belonged in cheesy romance movies that Monica would cry over. What he had with Joey was the exception. It was possibly the best relationship Chandler had ever been in, but it was also the least 'movie magic' relationship ever. Not that any of his dates had been anything less than awful, though. Still. Some couples had fancy restaurants, candles, and sweet words whispered in the dead of night. He and Joey had pizza and beers in their recliners, Baywatch, and laughing like maniacs. They argued about cereal and cartoons and did pointless things just for a laugh. Joey complemented Chandler perfectly, and vice versa. They had a real connection. What they had wasn't something you would find in the movies; it was dysfunctional, but it worked, and they were both happy. In fact, Chandler felt free. Devoting all of his time and energy to making himself look straight had been exhausting. Being with Joey meant that he didn't have to hide it anymore. They both loved each other for exactly who they were, flaws and all. Chandler loved Joey for his innocence, his lack of intelligence, and his devotion to acting. Joey loved Chandler for his awkwardness, his sense of humour, and the way he emphasised certain words when he talked.

Most importantly, they had fun together, no matter what they were doing. Chandler and Joey could always make each other laugh. And that's the best kind of love there is.

end xoxo