Tired but very satisfied, Chandler lay naked with Joey on the couch in their living room. They were cozily wrapped up in the blankets that Joey had brought from bed, and their passionate quickie left them feeling warm and happy, not to mention naughty.

After catching his breath, Chandler said with a grin, "We should do that more often!"

Joey chuckled and answered, "Okay, but next time, let's make sure that the chick and the duck aren't watching us."

Chandler laughed and snuggled closer to him. "Do you think we scared them?"

"Nah." He glanced toward his bedroom, where the birds had gone after losing interest in their lovemaking. "I mean, they didn't mind when I had sex with with the stripper from Ross's bachelor party in front of them. It's just that them quacking and clucking so much gets kinda distracting."

"Oh, I guess I didn't notice." Chandler nuzzled him and murmured sexily, "It was so hot doing it here without locking the door."

"Yeah." Joey kissed him passionately again.

"Mmm." Chandler closed his eyes and sighed. "I love you."

"Me too." Shifting beneath the blankets, Joey hoped that Chandler had enough energy to go another round.

Suddenly there came a knock on their front door, which they guessed was probably Carol and Susan arriving from the baby shower, but the guys didn't particularly feel like getting up to answer the door. Joey kept kissing Chandler's neck and playing idly with one of his nipples.

"Guys?" Carol called out, wondering whether Joey and Chandler had forgotten about them coming over tonight. "Hello?"

Chandler reluctantly pulled out of Joey's arms and sat up at last. After making sure that the blankets covered them decently, he called out, "Come in! It's open."

So Carol and Susan entered, leaving Monica and Rachel to wait in the hallway.

"Ah!" Carol gasped in shock and embarrassment.

"Oh, my!" Susan dropped the empty bookbag that she had brought. Neither she nor Carol had ever expected to actually catch Joey and Chandler together like this.

Joey blushed and pulled the blankets over them both.

Thinking quickly, Carol turned back and shut the door to make sure that Monica and Rachel wouldn't rush in to see what the fuss was all about.

Chandler just smiled, feeling rather brazen and liberated. "Surprise! Okay, uh, give us a minute, and we'll go get dressed."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," answered Susan, who had never found the sight of naked men very appealing.

So the guys got up from the couch and hurried into Joey's bedroom to dress.

Susan looked at Carol and asked, "Can you believe this!"

"No! And what was Chandler thinking, inviting us in like that? He wasn't even shy or freaked out at all."

"I mean, here we were, expecting to find a couple of desperate closet cases, but all we get are two horny guys doing it without locking their door."

"I know!" Carol sat down on a stool, still feeling stunned and perplexed. "Are you sure that Joey was really upset on the phone before?"

"Yes! He's not a good enough actor to fake it, you know. He made it sound like they were having a major crisis and desperately needed our help."

"Well we, uh, we do need your help," Chandler said. He and Joey had just returned, fully clothed now.

"What kind of help?" Carol asked.

Chandler stepped forward and replied, "We want some advice on how to, you know, tell everybody about us." He headed back to the couch with Joey, while Carol and Susan pulled up chairs and sat down.

Joey smiled and happily put his arm around Chandler's shoulders. "Yeah, 'cause we're not fake married anymore. This is for real now."

"Well, I can say one thing already," Susan answered, "Don't surprise them like you did us, or you'll probably make them scream and faint!"

"Yeah," Carol agreed with a chuckle, and the guys nodded too.

Chandler shrugged and explained, "I guess I just wanted to shock you guys, to get back at you for the punishment."

Carol said, "Well, you mainly shocked us by being naked and shameless. We kind of already suspected that something was going on the other night, when Joey wouldn't let us into the apartment."

"Really?" Joey frowned and blushed again.

"Oh, you did?" Chandler recalled that night and smiled wickedly. "Yeah. We were busy... doing stuff."

"No details, please!" Susan insisted. Then she cut to the chase. "Now, if we're going to help you two come out, then we have to know something--are you guys really sure about what you're doing here? It's not just some kind of... experimental rebound fling because Monica dumped you?"

"Or maybe it was the fake marriage?" Carol guessed. She noticed that they weren't wearing the wedding rings anymore, but wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

Chandler shook his head and answered, "No, we're sure about this. I mean, at first, I did think that Joey was just trying to comfort me because of my breakup, but then he told me how he's been wanting me for years, and he doesn't wanna go back to girls."

"Yeah." Joey squeezed his hand and looked into his eyes lovingly. "And now we're gonna be a real couple and everything."

Chandler beamed and kissed him.

"Aw, how sweet!" Carol sighed. "I always thought you guys would make a nice couple."

Susan smiled. "Great! Okay, so now you wanna know how to tell your friends?"

Joey nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I guess we can't still have that coming out party that you were planning for us?"

Chandler added with a frown, "And it would be kind of weird and uncomfortable even being near Monica."

Carol said, "Well, maybe not a big party, but you guys really should be direct with them as soon as possible. Right, Susan?" She looked at her wife and winked knowingly.

Susan nodded, then she turned and called out, "Girls, come in!"

Monica and Rachel entered the apartment nervously.

"What?" Chandler gasped and turned toward the door. When he saw Monica, he became even more upset. "No, get out! Go away!"

With this lack of welcome, Monica and Rachel hesitated by the door and frowned silently.

Joey blinked and asked in confusion, "Hey, what are you doing? We're not ready!"

Carol spoke kindly, "No, trust us, Joey. It's better to tell them now. There's been too many secrets already."

"They have something to tell you too," Susan said.

Chandler still pouted, then he turned and hugged Joey tightly. Joey rubbed his back soothingly and kissed his head.

Meanwhile, Susan beckoned to Monica and Rachel insistently. "Come over here."

So they reluctantly came closer and found chairs for themselves. As they sat down, each of them murmured with guilt, "I'm sorry." Monica also vividly remembered how Chandler had clung to Joey like that a week ago, when she first broke up with him.

Susan cleared her throat and said, "Um, we're sorry that we're rushing you, Chandler, but it makes more sense to say this all at once. We just wish that Ross and Phoebe were here too, but they're making love next door."

"At the baby shower?" Joey asked. "But Phoebe's pregnant already."

"Yeah, but they're in love now," Carol explained. "They want to be together too, not just be parents out of convenience."

Joey looked shocked, and Susan tried to break the tension with a laugh. "It's been one wild month!"

Chandler moaned in Joey's arms, then said resentfully, "What's next? Monica's new boyfriend comes in too and makes gay jokes about us?"

Carol looked at Monica and Rachel. "I think your friends can answer that."

Monica sighed and looked at her feet, while Rachel squeezed her hand supportively. Then she spoke softly, "Chandler, there's something else you should know. I mean, I didn't tell you everything when we broke up."

Chandler sat up at last and accused her, "What, did you cheat on me with Richard!"

"Hey! It's nothing like that--" started Rachel, but was cut off by Susan, who motioned her to stay calm and quiet. Rachel had made her own confession to Ross, and now Monica must take her turn to be brave.

Monica struggled, "No... it's um--it's--"

"What?" Chandler interrupted impatiently. "Just say it already for God's sake! Who was it? Fun Bobby? Pete the millionaire?"

Monica glanced at Rachel, then shook her head. "It--it wasn't a guy at all, Chandler. It was a woman. It was Rachel."

"WHAT!" yelled Chandler.

Joey glanced at both of them with wide eyes; he was stunned and speechless.

Rachel added sincerely, "We're very, very sorry, Chandler, and we feel awful. We were going to try to tell you this at the baby shower earlier, but you didn't wanna come."

Chandler stammered furiously, "You--you--! Behind my back?" Then he turned to Carol and Susan with realization. "You knew, didn't you! You knew all along."

Susan nodded. "Yes, because they wanted to know how to come out to you guys."

"Wow," Joey finally said, realizing what Susan meant about it being a wild month.

Chandler cried, "You--you lesbian... cheaters! Lying and helping each other out. You never cared about our feelings, did you?"

"Hey!" Susan resented that. "You didn't even tell us about what you guys have been doing. We had to guess."

"Yeah," Carol admonished him, "Then you ambushed us just a minute ago!"

"Huh?" Monica and Rachel looked at each other in confusion. But then they remembered Carol and Susan gasping in shock when they first came in and wondered what they must have missed.

Susan continued sternly, "And it's not like you've been sitting here, all heartbroken over Monica!" She looked at both him and Joey, then asked, "So, do you wanna tell them what you've been up to, or should we?"

Joey frowned and looked anxious. It was hard enough just absorbing all this startling news, without making their own confession too.

Chandler protested, "It's not the same! We were doing the fake marriage first, and kissing all the time, so we felt... things. What the hell were they doing!"

Monica and Rachel stared at him and gasped when they understood his references.

"W-what? You mean you and Joey--?"

"You're gay!"

Joey nodded and said meekly, "Uh, yeah. We're--we're together now."

Monica gulped. "Oh my God! So then, when we saw you kissing and touching each other this month, it wasn't just pretend? You did that right in front of me?"

Chandler remained angry. "And what did you do behind my back!"

Carol said, "Chandler, calm down!"

Susan pointed out, "You're with Joey now. Why do you think it's worse that she cheated on you with Rachel, than with some guy?"

"I--it's just.. shocking," Chandler said with a sullen frown.

Monica cried, "And you don't think me finding out that you're sleeping with Joey is shocking?" She sighed and tried to soften Chandler's heart. "Look, I have every right to be mad at you too, because even if we were broken up this past week, you still rushed into things with Joey, like I meant nothing to you. We were together for over a year!"

Chandler saw her point, and he confessed softly, "Well, we--we even did some stuff before you dumped me."

"You did?" Monica looked hurt.

Joey said, "Yeah, um, it was about a week before you broke up. I-I wanted him so much and I came onto him. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Joey," Rachel said. "We're all guilty, it looks like." She squeezed Monica's shoulders and asked her if she was all right.

Monica pulled herself together, then said to Chandler, "Well, we've all got reasons to be mad or hurt. But don't you see, Chandler? We're better off this way. You and me, we backed out of getting married in Vegas, and we backed out of moving in together; we just weren't right for each other. And now we've both moved on, so we should try to accept that and be happy. All of us should." She looked at Rachel fondly, then at Joey and Chandler.

"I-I guess..." whispered Chandler. "I'm sorry I yelled."

Joey hugged him tightly and lovingly kissed the side of his forehead.

Susan smiled and remarked mischievously, "Sooo, if you ask me, this month of punishment was actually great for all of you!"

Chandler and Joey glanced at her, rather embarrassed by the fact that they had enjoyed their "torture" so much. But they fell in love, and finally accepted the feelings about each other that they'd kept bottled in for so long. They shrugged and laughed.

Everyone relaxed now, then Chandler got up and went to hug Monica, which made Rachel and Joey gasp. They had finally confronted each other and made up. Maybe they could still be friends after all this.