Phoebe and Monica sat together on Phoebe's bed, looking into each other's eyes and still holding hands.

"If--if this doesn't work," Phoebe asked her, "will you be uncomfortable being around me afterward?"

"Oh, Pheebs," Monica squeezed her hands to reassure her, "you know I'd never want to lose you. I love you, no matter what happens. We'll be okay. We--we got over that weirdness after you massaged me, right?"

Phoebe nodded, and laughed quietly. "Yeah, you and your sex noises." She shrugged and looked sad. "If only you weren't married to Chandler then, because I might have talked to you and told you how I feel."

Monica sighed and nodded. "I wish--I wish I'd never married him."

"So do I." She thought of Joey's confessions to her today. "So do a lot of people." Caressing Monica's cheek, Phoebe leaned close and lightly kissed her lips. "You are so beautiful."

Monica blushed and smiled, then she and Phoebe started trading soft, shy kisses. Then Phoebe pulled her closer and coaxed her to get more passionate. Monica hesitated, but didn't pull away.

"It just... it takes some getting used to," Monica said, then laughed a little. "Unlike Rachel, I didn't go making out with girlfriends at camp or at sororities."

Phoebe smiled. "There's a first time for everything."

When they started to caress each other's bodies and undress, Phoebe told Monica to think of it like a slow, relaxing massage, and said that she could reciprocate only what she wanted to. Monica nodded and remembered the way Phoebe's touch had made her feel before. Maybe she'd always secretly wanted Phoebe, because she never made sex noises with her other masseuse. She'd checked.

As Phoebe had once commented to Richard, Monica had slept with a lot of guys. In high school, Monica had been rather innocent and would talk about "giving my flower" to somebody, much to Rachel's annoyance. Once Monica lost all the weight, and guys started hitting on her all the time, including Chandler, she had to learn how to sort the good guys from the jerks who only wanted sex. Rachel had helped Monica out, until they drifted apart after high school.

On her own, Monica kept learning through trial and error, and Phoebe became her new confidante and best friend when she moved in. Too bad Monica had latched onto Rachel as her best friend all over again and let her move in so fast. Rachel was great, but Phoebe was definitely less selfish and had been with Monica through some hard times. Monica realized that she shouldn't have let the distance between their apartments create any emotional distance; Phoebe wasn't just a kooky friend, but a really sweet and loving person. Now Monica was finally learning how sexy and beautiful Phoebe was too.

"Phoebe, oh, Phoebe... Oh! Oh!" Getting caught up in the passion, Monica noticed that she wasn't even picturing Chandler, or Richard, or any other guys. This was all Phoebe's doing. "Oh, Phoebe!" she groaned again. "You--you're the best sex I've ever had."

Phoebe smiled proudly. "Next you'll be saying that you want to bear my children. Too bad we need a doctor and some sperm to do that, huh?"

***

Meanwhile, in Joey's apartment, he sat alone and thought about what Phoebe said before she left. Should he just give up on Chandler and get together with Phoebe? But when Joey seriously considered that idea, he shook his head. It would be too much like being with Chandler. Instead of listening to Chandler moan about Monica all the time, Joey would hear Phoebe moan about Monica all the time, and he certainly didn't need that.

If not Phoebe, though, who else could Joey be happy with? Joey had tried to move on from Chandler before, knowing it would probably be a healthy thing to do, especially when it became clear that Chandler and Monica were staying together and were firmly on the path to marriage.

Since he had been in love with Kate as well as Chandler, Joey didn't rule out women or men in his search, but he kept his gay dates a secret, lest his parents find out and react badly. Joey wanted to be sure before telling anybody that he was even looking for a serious relationship.

Unfortunately, Joey never got emotionally attached to any man or woman like he was attached to Chandler. It was never a matter of which gender he dated, but a matter of his heart stubbornly yearning for Chandler, even after Joey had resigned himself to being just a friend.

It was frustrating, and of course, when the bonus nights began, Joey's feelings about Chandler only became more messed up, and now he had all this guilt about Monica too. It was like Joey could never win. Eventually, he got that crush on Rachel, but was it just because she had become his roommate like Chandler had been? She was having a baby with Ross, and deep down Joey knew that her heart would inevitably stray back to Ross someday. In a way, Rachel was a safe, unavailable object for his affections, and Joey could at least admit to that crush in front of his friends, unlike his love for Chandler.

If only Joey knew that Chandler would truly love him this time! Then he could be happy and have everything he'd wanted for years.

***

Carrying a bag of sandwiches, Chandler came home and saw Joey sitting there in the big black recliner and brooding.

"Joe?" He came over to Joey and sat down on the foot rest. "Joe, I, um, I tried to remember the name of that deli that you liked so much. I think I found the right one." He took a sandwich from the bag and handed it to Joey. "Is this the one you said was the greatest sandwich in the world?"

Joey sniffed and looked at the sandwich. "Yeah," he nodded and smiled a little. "Yeah, this is it." Chandler remembered.

"Good." Chandler put down the bag on a table and pointed to the fridge. "You want me to get you a beer to go with that?"

Joey shook his head. "No, put this back in the bag. I'm not hungry now."

"Okay." Chandler did so, then shrugged. "I, um, I know that a bag of sandwiches isn't gonna fix everything. I just wanted to do something to cheer you up a little, you know?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah, I know."

They sat there in silence.

Finally Chandler turned and reached for Joey. "Is it all right?"

Joey nodded, and they hugged. Chandler said softly, "You, um, you were always the only guy for me. I mean, I never thought I'd want to be with a guy at all, but with you it was so easy and wonderful and amazing. I guess I was just scared to get that close, and then, um, when I slept with her in London, I thought, 'Wow, my crush actually wants me now, so it must be destiny or something.' You know?"

"And what's your destiny now?" Joey asked.

"You, I hope. Or are you not gonna stay with me after all? Are you, are you gonna leave me, Joe?"

"I-I don't know," he said honestly.

Chandler winced, and whispered, "Well, maybe you should." He shrugged and thought of the irony. "Maybe you should tell me it's over and go find some new lover and then come back and string me along for some bonus nights too."

Joey shook his head and stroked Chandler's hair. Revenge might feel good, but it would be an awful thing for Joey to deliberately do to his new lover, whoever that might be. Could Joey even picture himself with a new lover, anyway?

Chandler clung to him. "I just wish, I wish I could undo everything."

Joey sighed and then raised Chandler's face to him. After looking in his eyes for a moment, Joey kissed him softly and said, "No more talking now. Just, just come to bed and we'll forget about it for a while. Okay?"

"Okay."

They went into Joey's bedroom for what they knew would only be a temporary solution.