After the gang left the apartment, Joey shut the door.

"What did she say to you?" Chandler asked about Phoebe.

Joey shrugged and came back to sit beside him. "She wished us good luck in working something out."

"Oh." Chandler pondered that. "That's--that's nice of her."

"Yeah," Joey agreed. "She, uh, she can understand how I feel about you. We were talking about Vegas and everything."

"You were?" Chandler sat closer and joked pathetically, "All bad, I hope."

Joey didn't smile nor frown, just caressing Chandler's face and looking into his eyes.

Chandler worried that he'd been too flippant.

Finally, Joey asked quietly, "How do you feel about Phoebe and Monica?"

He shrugged and looked bewildered. "I don't know. It's a big shock, and a little confusing. I guess I'm relieved that she's happy and having a baby so soon. I was worried that I might have ruined her life, you know?"

Joey nodded, having feared the same thing when Monica caught them yesterday. But he pressed, "Aren't you jealous?"

Chandler frowned and firmly shook his head. "No! No, I told you, that's over with, Joe. I know you don't have any reason to trust me, but I mean it. I do. You're the only one I want. I hope she and Phoebe stay together and have a whole lot of Buffay-Geller babies. Or would it be Geller-Buffay?"

Joey shrugged and tried to believe that Chandler was sincere.

Chandler touched his hand hopefully. "Um, Joe, when you were talking to Phoebe today, did you, did you tell her to go for it with Monica? Is that how they got together?"

"No. No, I don't know what happened between them today."

"Oh." Chandler bit his lip in disappointment. He had thought that Joey encouraged Phoebe to take a risk to be with Monica because Joey intended to take a risk and be with Chandler. "I guess I shouldn't congratulate you on the good advice, then." After a silence, Chandler ventured, "Do you think we could ever be like them, Joe?"

Joey sighed. "I--I don't know if it's too late for us."

Chandler winced and nodded. "Yeah, um, that's--Me too."

"Chandler," Joey reached for him.

He pulled away and stood up. "No, don't bother. I understand. I'll--I'll just go to my room, then. Good night." He headed to the door, but Joey got up and stopped him.

"No, don't go. Don't go yet." He held Chandler close. "It's not--it's not hopeless yet."

"It's not?" Chandler asked, searching his eyes.

Joey nodded and kissed him. "It's not."

They stood together for a while, not sure what else to say. Chandler feared he might break the mood and render their situation hopeless.

Joey was pensive, until he finally cleared his throat. "You, uh, you hungry?"

Chandler shrugged.

"Let's, let's share the sandwiches, okay?"

"Okay."

Joey motioned for Chandler to sit again, while he went to the kitchen with the bag of sandwiches. Joey reheated a couple of sandwiches in the microwave, and put the rest away in the fridge. He also got out some beers and asked Chandler to turn on the TV.

Chandler did so, but kept watching Joey in the kitchen.

Finally Joey returned and joined Chandler on the big black recliner, which fortunately had many fancy compartments for their drinks and their sandwiches, as well as just enough room for them to sit beside each other.

Leaning back on the recliner, they watched the TV and consumed their food and drinks. The guys exchanged the occasional comment or joke about the TV programs and commercials, but nothing else. It felt good to just hang out like roommates again--or sex buddies, considering that they were both still naked underneath their robes. It was like starting over.

"Whoa, hot!" Chandler jumped a bit. The sandwiches contained meatballs, melted cheese, and marinara sauce, and he had just spilled a little of the sauce onto his robe and chest. "You, um, you got a napkin?" he asked Joey as he put the sandwich into a compartment and licked his fingers.

Joey handed him a napkin to clean up, then noticed some sauce on the corner of Chandler's mouth. Rather than inform Chandler and let him get it, Joey wiped the sauce off with his thumb.

"Uh, thank you." Chandler blinked and noticed that Joey hadn't pulled his hand away yet. They met each other's eyes, and the sounds from the TV became mere background noise, trivial and meaningless. Chandler caressed Joey's hand and licked the breadcrumbs and sauce off Joey's fingers. Then he began lightly sucking each fingertip.

Inhaling sharply, Joey pulled Chandler closer, onto his lap. His other hand slid into Chandler's robe and started teasing one of his nipples.

"Oh, Joe..." Chandler stopped sucking Joey's fingers so he could kiss his mouth instead, and Joey responded passionately. They made out for the length of a few commercials, and Chandler could feel Joey getting excited.

"Your room?" Joey suggested breathlessly.

Chandler shrugged and began untying Joey's robe. "I could do you here."

"Leather gets sticky," Joey warned from experience.

"Yeah, but we wouldn't have to get naked." Chandler slid down on the recliner and began giving Joey a blowjob.

Joey was even more turned on, knowing that Chandler's mouth was good for more things than kisses or sarcastic jokes.

At the start of their affair, Chandler had understandably been timid and unsure of himself, but Joey had progressively coaxed him to be bold and shameless. It took some practice, and the occasional renting of gay porn, but they learned how to do a great many things for each other. Joey would later regret how casual Chandler became about sex, but this--this particular skill was something Joey could never regret.

Chandler teased and licked and sucked him incredibly.

Joey leaned back and closed his eyes to fully enjoy it. He caressed Chandler's head and whispered, "You should--you should grow your hair long again."

Chandler paused and let his hands take over for a bit. "Yeah?"

Joey nodded. "I like your hair long. I mean, not like a girl, but..."

"I know," Chandler answered with a smile. "Yeah, I know what you like." He resumed the blowjob and soon rendered Joey incapable of coherent speech or thought.

Chandler hoped that Joey would keep showing interest in little details like his hair. Right now, they could really use a distraction like making over Chandler's wardrobe and appearance. To prove his love for Joey, he'd go back to wearing those tacky "best bud" bracelets, or take fashion tips from his father.

"Oh Chandler!"

Poised and ready, Chandler swallowed it all without gagging. Then he returned to Joey's side and kissed him lovingly.

Joey held him close and asked Chandler what he wanted in return.

"Just you," he answered. "Just us, happy, like we should have been."

Touched, Joey smiled and kissed him. Then he pulled Chandler into his bedroom and they made love again. It really felt like making love this time, not mere sex, or comforting.

It was only later that they remembered to return to the living room to turn off the television and to make a midnight snack out of their sandwiches.