Joey's sisters were coming over for his birthday party, so Joey and Chandler had to pretend that they weren't a couple. It drove them crazy, especially when Joey's sisters started flirting with Chandler.

"Hey, no, stop that!" Joey scolded.

"What? He's a good guy. You're always saying so." Mary Angela pinched Chandler's butt and made him jump. "I just wanna get closer to your friends."

Chandler ran away, and Joey remained angry. "Well, not this one!"

"Why not this one? He's single, right?"

"No, um, actually he's got somebody now. So you and everybody else lay off him."

"Fine!"

Chandler continued dodging Joey's sisters and finally sneaked away to a storage closet with Joey to talk it over. "Maybe we should just tell them about us."

"You sure?" Joey whispered back. "They'll tell my mom and dad, first thing."

"I know," Chandler answered. "Maybe we should just face up to them now. I mean, how long has it been? Eight months?"

"Yeah. But I don't want to rush you, you know?"

"It's okay, I think I'm ready." He shrugged. "I mean, I love you, and everything."

"You love me?" Joey smiled. It was the first time Chandler had said that to him. "I love you." Joey showed him a really good time in that closet before they straightened their clothes again and finally returned to the party.

So they made their announcement, and Joey's sisters were all shocked. By the next day, the whole Tribbiani family was talking about it, including grandmothers and aunts and uncles. Joey's dad came over to yell at them.

"How could you do this to your mother?"

"I'm not doing it to her! I love Chandler, and he loves me!"

"I knew you should never have gone into acting. I should have known that you kissing that guy in that movie would affect you somehow!"

"That has nothing to do with it. We were together before that."

"Before that?! How long has this been going on?"

"Eight months." Chandler hid behind Joey.

"Eight months! Give me a heart attack, why don't ya?"

"Come on, Dad! It's not so bad. You always wanted me to settle down with somebody. So Chandler's not a girl. He makes me happy."

"Ah, geez! My only son! It can't be."

"Come on," Joey insisted. "Maybe you don't like this, but you gotta accept it. I had to accept you having a mistress, and I still don't like that!"

"Hey!" He got defensive, but saw his son's point. He sat down with a sigh. "All right, fine. I can't help loving both your mom and Ronnie. I guess you can't help this either. It's just... you're my son. You're my Joey Jr. I thought you'd get married and carry on the Tribbiani name."

"With the way I was going through women, did you think I really was ever gonna settle down?" he asked. "Look, you already got plenty of grandkids from my sisters. Ask one of them to change their name or something."

Joey Sr. got up and shrugged. "I'll try to explain this to your mom... without mentioning Ronnie. Your mom may accept it, but she still wants to pretend she doesn't know."

Joey and his dad exchanged strained goodbyes, then Mr. Tribbiani left them alone again.

Chandler was relieved. "You okay?"

Joey laid his head on Chandler's shoulder. "I don't know. Maybe we should've warmed up first by telling your parents."

Chandler hugged him tight and kissed his forehead. "My brave Joey."

***

The guys told Chandler's parents soon enough. He called each of them over the phone while Joey sat with him for moral support.

"Hi. Mom, do you remember my roommate Joey? No, no, that was Ross you kissed, not Joey. Yeah, yeah, Ross is fine--just, just listen! I want to tell you that Joey and I are, um, in love. That's what I said. Yeah, as in lovers, boyfriends, whatever. Anyway, we've been dating for a while, and I thought I should tell you... What? Yeah, I'm telling you before Dad. Very funny, Mom!" She had suggested that Chandler go join his dad in Vegas. "What? Yes, I'm sure I love him. I'm sure! Yes, yes, I'm glad I don't have a wife and kids to abandon and traumatize. Okay, bye."

Chandler hung up finally and moved on to his dad, whom he hadn't spoken to for years. He was nervous to announce something this important after such a long silence between them.

Someone else answered the phone, and after some waiting, Chandler's father finally came to the phone. "Hi, Dad. Yeah, I'm sorry I interrupted... Oh, if you don't have time now, I can call back later. Yeah, I mean it. Okay, in half an hour, then."

Chandler hung up and told Joey, "They're doing a show now. I'll call him back during intermission."

"Okay. Try to relax." Joey rubbed Chandler's tense shoulders.

"He said he really wants to talk to me, and he really misses me."

"Of course he does! He's your dad. How long has it been?"

"Um, I guess since college."

"Really?" Joey was surprised. "That long?"

Chandler looked guilty. "Yeah. He's tried to contact me before, but I never returned his phone calls or answered his letters, so I guess he took the hint."

"You should make up with him. Maybe we should go to Vegas and let you guys catch up."

"I'm not sure about that."

"Well, think about it, at least."

Chandler shrugged and looked at his feet.

"You still got any of his letters?"

He nodded and told Joey where he kept them in the back of the closet. Joey got them out and read them over with Chandler while they waited.

At intermission, Chandler called again. "Hello? Dad, yeah, it's me. I know. It's good to hear your voice too. I'm sorry it's been so long. Yeah, I do want us to have a better relationship. But wait, I didn't just call about that. I want to tell you something first. There's this guy who lives with me. You don't know him; his name's Joey Tribbiani. Well, he's been my roommate for years and now I'm--I'm in love with him. No, I mean it. It's not some joke. Yeah, I've told him, and we've actually been together for about eight months. He's with me right now, in fact." Then Chandler smiled, surprised by the warmth from his father, despite all the distance between them. "Thanks, Dad. Joey, he said he hopes we're very happy. What? Okay. Joey, you want to talk to him?"

"Okay!" Joey took the phone. "Hey, Mr. Bing! I'm Joey. Well, I've heard a little bit about you, but I only met Chandler's mom. Okay, um, I'm an actor. I was Dr. Drake Ramoray on *Days of Our Lives*... Oh, wait, what am I doing? You should be talking to your son!" He handed the phone back with the warning, "Hurry up, before intermission's over!"

Chandler talked with his dad for as long as they could, then when intermission came to an end, he promised to call again, and to also email a picture of him and Joey. Chandler felt a lot closer to his dad than he had felt in a long time, and now Joey's idea of a visit to Vegas didn't sound so bad after all. Maybe they *would* eventually visit, after Chandler and his dad got to know each other again.