[Okay an update. There's some Vinnie here in flashback, but that's it.
It's sometime in 1993, a year before the pilot episode. It's been ten years since their sophomore year of high school in Queens, and they have been reunited in Manhattan. Joey has changed out of his costume for the Pinocchio play, and has left the theatre with Chandler now.]
So Joey took Chandler out for coffee, and asked how he was doing now, after all these years.
Chandler nervously smoked a cigarette, and said he was fine. He rambled a little about his dull job, but said that at least data processing paid good money. He said that Joey really didn't have to worry about him. "I'm okay with my mom. It's just that she travels so much for her books, that's all. We don't fight like we used to."
"That's good. How about your dad?"
Chandler shrugged and gestured with the cigarette. "Still gay, still in Vegas."
"Oh right. Vegas." Annie and Gloria had swapped stories about Mr. Bing's burlesque show, while trying to understand Joey's relationship with Vinnie. The hardest part had been convincing the Tribbiani family that he was not going to suddenly become a drag queen and move to Vegas. Each gay person was different, after all, and Joey had no weird urges like that. He just wanted to become an actor like Al Pacino, and that was even before he came out of the closet.
Joey asked, "So you still see your dad?"
Chandler frowned and glanced away, murmuring, "I don't wanna get into it, Joe." How odd that he kept falling into the old habit of calling him Joe.
Joey noticed that habit too, and it reminded him of their one passionate night together. Ten years, and it was somehow vivid again. He cleared his throat and told himself that he should feel bad for Chandler's issues with his gay dad instead. He was still smoking too, and that was not healthy.
Joey moved to touch Chandler's arm, but Chandler pulled back and dropped his cigarette into the ashtray. "Please."
Joey nodded and said softly, "Okay. I'm sorry." After all, maybe Chandler's family problems weren't any of his business anymore.
"Thank you." Chandler started to get up from the table. "Um, listen, thanks for the coffee..."
"Wait, Chandler." Joey stopped him. "Wait, I-I want to apologize to you for other stuff too. For... you know, back in high school."
Chandler met his eyes and sat back down. "You-you do?"
"Yeah." He worried for a moment that Chandler might not like to discuss their painful history, but since he didn't leave, Joey decided to plunge ahead. "I'm sorry I broke up with you like that, Chandler. How I... you know, with you, and got together with Vinnie right after. I should have known you'd be hurt, but I was too upset myself to realize it."
"Yeah, I-I guess I shouldn't have said those things about Vinnie, either. You really did love him then, huh?"
"Yeah, I did. But I still shouldn't have involved you. I didn't mean to treat you like a one-night stand, Chandler. I was just a confused kid, you know. I wish I'd handled it better, or waited, or... well, if I'd only admitted my feelings for Vinnie before, then nothing would have happened between you and me, and maybe we could have been friends."
Chandler considered that, then shook his head. "Not with how Vinnie hated me," he managed to joke.
Joey smiled. "I guess not. So no hard feelings, Chandler?"
"No, I-thanks, Joe. You didn't have to apologize after all this time."
"No I wanted to. I should have tried to apologize to you before now, actually. I didn't know where you were, but I could have, like, sent a message through Annie I guess. I wasn't sure if you'd want to hear it, though. Maybe it would just upset you or something. But since you came by today, I figured I should say it now."
"Yeah, that's nice of you." Chandler nodded and drank from his coffee again.
Joey was glad that he hadn't lit up a new cigarette, and he smiled. For a moment Joey wondered if he should ask whether Chandler was gay or not. His gaydar was giving him mixed signals, and there were all those issues with Chandler's gay dad too. But still, it probably wasn't his business.
So he changed the subject and talked about what he'd been doing in the past ten years. "Well, so me and Vinnie dated for a few years, and we moved to Manhattan together."
"Yeah, I heard, but not much after that." Chandler had been away at college.
"We got an apartment on our own. My dad wanted me to go into the family pipe-fitting business, but Vinnie said I should go for my dream to become an actor."
"Like Al Pacino?"
"Yeah!" Joey was surprised that Chandler remembered his hero. "Vinnie was going to community college to figure out what he wanted to do, while I took some acting classes. It was hard sometimes because we both had to get jobs to support ourselves too."
"Yeah, that sounds tough."
Joey nodded. "Most of the time we were happy, and but other times we fought about money and stuff."
"Is that why you guys broke up?"
Joey hesitated, and wasn't sure that he should reveal something so personal. He said carefully, "Well, this was our first serious relationship, and we were so young, you know. I guess we started to outgrow each other. I mean, we loved each other, but... it wasn't enough after a while. Vinnie met a lot of people in college that were really different, and he also got interested in other places besides New York. He even moved to Chicago and got a job there."
Chandler felt bad for him. "Oh. So you don't see him anymore?"
"No, sometimes he'll come visit his family and meet me too, but mostly we just call each other now. He's dating a new guy in Chicago, and I'm happy for him."
"Well, that's good. Are you seeing anybody now?"
"Yeah, plenty," Joey said a little defensively before realizing that he could have just said that he didn't want to discuss his love life. Why should he say more than Chandler was saying? But he couldn't backtrack now, so he said more calmly, "I mean, nobody serious right now."
"Sure I get it. You want to explore your options now that you're gay and single again."
"I-yeah, sort of. Actually, I think I'm bi."
"Oh really? You still like girls?"
"Yeah. I figured it out when I sometimes noticed hot girls, you know. But I didn't cheat on Vinnie," he added.
"Sure," Chandler said reassuringly. "I know not everybody's gay like, like my dad is." He blushed a little at letting slip that much, but no doubt Joey had already heard about all of his father's "business associates" in Vegas.
"Right." Joey dismissed the whole subject. "What I'm really worried about is my career right now. If only I could get a better part than Pinocchio, you know?"
"Yeah." Chandler laughed with him and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get your big break someday."
Joey smiled. "Thanks, Chandler."
They held each other's eyes for a moment before they were interrupted by the waitress saying that the coffeehouse was going to close soon.
"Oh, uh, right." They paid their bill, and Chandler checked his watch as he got up from the table. "I, um, I should get home anyway."
"Yeah, it's late." They walked to the door together.
Outside, Chandler shook his hand. "It was good to see you again, Joe. Thanks for the coffee."
"Yeah, and thanks for coming to my play."
"Yeah. Good luck on your big break. I'll be looking to see your name in a movie someday."
"I hope so. Bye."
Chandler said goodbye to him and even pat his shoulder before going. He waved, then turned and walked back home.
Joey watched Chandler for a moment, then left for his own home. He felt a little guilty for not telling Chandler the whole truth about his break up with Vinnie, but it would just make him uncomfortable.
No, Chandler wouldn't want to know about their last fight.
They had been fighting again about whether Joey should postpone his acting classes so that they could afford to pay for more of Vinnie's classes. It was hard to budget for both, and they had been awkwardly trying to trade off as fairly as possible, but there were still resentments. Who could use the car, who would have to cook, since they couldn't afford to eat takeout all the time, etc.
Also, Joey had often felt insecure about Vinnie getting along so well with his friends from college, and Vinnie had thought that it was simple jealousy. Actually Joey knew that Vinnie wasn't cheating on him or even attracted to anyone in his study group, but Joey still felt left out of their world and their conversations. It made him feel inadequate and stupid, like Vinnie would outgrow him now that he had a bigger world than their old life in Queens.
And still Vinnie believed that it was only sexual jealousy. He said he was sorry for being so possessive and jealous when he was younger. He'd been privately pining for Joey for so long, that the threat of Chandler's presence made him miserable. "But we don't have to be paranoid anymore. I promise you."
At the mention of Chandler, Joey felt guilty again.
Vinnie said, "Maybe you think because I didn't have as much experience as you did that I want to experiment with other guys."
"No."
"But you're bi, Joey, and you've been tempted. That doesn't mean you'd cheat. I trust you. Don't worry. After all, we were both virgins when we got together."
Joey couldn't take the lie anymore, and he said softly that he wasn't a virgin.
"In gay stuff. You know what I mean."
"No, I wasn't." Joey finally confessed that he had slept with Chandler once.
"What? When?"
Joey explained the exact day it occurred, and that shocked Vinnie even more. "You mean, I was second? I was your rebound after he broke your heart?"
"No, he didn't-"
"He did. He said he wasn't gay and that it meant nothing to him. And you-did you picture him when you were with me?"
"No. I-I loved you. I still love you. I just, I didn't want to hurt you-"
Vinnie wouldn't hear him out any longer. He was so upset that he was crying now. Joey had been lying to him for so many years, and his trust was broken. He packed a bag and left that night, and it wasn't long before he permanently moved out.
No, Joey couldn't tell that story to Chandler. He didn't want Chandler to feel guilty. Joey was the one to blame. He was the one who had lied, who'd been a stupid, messed up kid.
Joey also knew that in some way he had been trying to provoke the breakup with Vinnie, trying to let him go because deep down he knew they couldn't last any longer. Vinnie was better off learning more about what life was like on his own.
Anyway, everything had worked out in the end. Vinnie was happy now, and they were friends again. It had taken almost a year to cool down and move on, but Joey had come to see him during a visit to his family in Queens.
Vinnie excused himself so they could talk outside, and Joey apologized to him again. Vinnie also apologized, saying that his own jealous behavior had probably pushed Joey into Chandler's arms.
"Besides, if I had been braver and kissed you before he came along, then we could have been together without any lie."
"Yeah, but I-I could have kissed you too. I was in denial so long."
"I'm sorry he hurt you."
Joey shrugged. "It doesn't matter now. Let's be friends again, please."
"Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."
Joey arrived at home and carefully sneaked into the apartment while trying to not wake up anyone. He was staying with a cousin of his, and practically his cousin's girlfriend too. She stayed over all the time lately and they were planning to get married soon. Joey would have to find a new place to live, probably with another roommate. He was going to check the advertisements tomorrow.
For now Joey locked the door then went into his bedroom. He undressed, then brushed his teeth in the bathroom. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he thought of how much he must have changed in ten years. Had he changed as much as Chandler had? More?
Joey sighed and went to bed. As he lay there, he thought about his meeting with Chandler tonight. What on earth had made Chandler come see him? Had he just noticed a newspaper ad about the play, and just recognized Joey's name?
Chandler looked so different now. He'd grown up, though he was in many ways an awkward, vulnerable kid still. That must have been part of why Joey had loved him once.
It was odd now to remember when he had loved Chandler. He hadn't wanted to admit it to himself for a while, and yet sometimes he remembered, only to tell himself that it was all ancient history.
He wondered again if Chandler was straight.
Back in high school, Joey had heard his mother mention once or twice the fact that Chandler was dating a girl at his new private school.
"He must be getting over Mary Angela."
He must be getting over me, too, Joey had privately thought. He'd been glad of that, because he felt kind of bad about their final fight. Once his anger dissipated, Joey found himself reconsidering his idea that Chandler was a self-centered jerk who had deliberately broken Mary Angela's heart as well as his own. Maybe Chandler just didn't know what he wanted. Maybe he had not meant to be hurtful by saying that Joey couldn't love Vinnie. Maybe Chandler just didn't know how to deal with his jealousy and so lashed out.
And now, ten years later, what was Chandler doing? Had he changed his mind once he went away to college? Explored his options? Joey couldn't help feeling that Chandler was at least a little bit gay, considering their one night of sex. But maybe Chandler had just been emotional and confused then. Or maybe he was bisexual?
Joey had come to understand that sexuality could be pretty complicated, and you needed time to figure yourself out. He hoped that Chandler had figured himself out by now, or at least could make up with his gay dad some day. Maybe he could be happy then, instead of awkward and nervous.
[Chandler means that his gay dad doesn't have a monogamous relationship with one partner, but not every gay person is that promiscuous. Chandler understands that Joey, though bi, would not cheat. Being bisexual doesn't necessarily mean you can't be faithful to one lover.
Joey couldn't keep his apartment once Vinnie left, for both financial and emotional reasons, and that's when he moved in with his male cousin. As you can see, he and Chandler are going to get back together in one more chapter.]
