Chandler woke up gasping for air once more. That same nightmare... He thought miserably. It was like his dream was trying to suffocate him. The moment he tried to kiss the dead version of himself, he couldn't breathe. He wondered briefly if, one time, he wouldn't wake up from the dream and suffocate in his sleep. Wouldn't that be interesting? I'm on suicide watch and I die in my sleep! Chandler chuckled at his morbid joke, wondering whether Joey would find it funny, then thought better of saying anything to the Italian man. Probably best to keep that one to myself...

Chandler got out of bed and walked out to see Joey cooking – well, attempting to cook – something in the kitchen. "Joe, I told you before. You're not allowed to cook without adult supervision!" Chandler chided.

Joey turned to Chandler. "Hey! I'm not that bad of a..." He trailed off at seeing Chandler's state of undress. He swallowed thickly when he noticed that Chandler was wearing nothing but a pair of his old high school sweatpants. They hung low on his hips; the only thing that seemed to hold them up was the man's very nice ass. He watched as the man stretched and yawned his tiredness away, making Joey wonder just how flexible Chandler was. He watched the man come over and sit on one of the booth chairs, bringing his attention to his lean form. He knew Chandler was skinny, but he must have been hiding his actual weight under some seriously baggy clothes because Chandler looked almost unhealthy. He knew, however, that with a little bit of regular eating that Chandler would be back to normal in no time.

"Joey, what're you staring at?" Chandler asked, raising an eyebrow.

Joey's gaze was heated when he said, "You."

Chandler blushed, suddenly realizing what he was – and wasn't – wearing. Chandler, wanting to return the compliment, looked at Joey and said, "You look"-

He abruptly remembered that Joey cooked naked. It was the reason he suddenly cut himself off. "See?!" Chandler said, his face beet red as he rushed to get Joey a towel from the bathroom. "This is why you need adult supervision when cooking!" He covered his eyes as he gave Joey the towel.

"Oh, come on, Chandler!" Joey grinned, but wrapped the towel around his waist anyways. "You've seen me cook naked before!"

Chandler dared to uncover his eyes, only to be relieved and maybe a little disappointed to see that Joey had covered himself. "Well, that was before... before..." If Chandler's face could get any redder, blood would explode out of his cheeks.

Joey smirked devilishly, then said while waggling his eyebrows, "Before you owned the merchandise?"

Chandler opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, then closed it again. Joey chuckled, then looked at Chandler, speaking an unspoken promise of things to come. He leaned close to Chandler and whispered, "If you're not okay with owning me, that's fine, but judging from last night, I'd say you're okay with me owning you. Are you, Chandler? Do you want me to own you?"

Chandler shuddered, a noise resembling a mix between a whimper and a soft moan escaping his lips. Joey smirked, saving that piece of information for later, then smashed his lips against Chandler's in a demanding, possessive way. Chandler arched into Joey as he pulled at his firm arms to make the shorter man come closer to him. The brunet moaned against Joey's lips, the action giving Joey the opportunity to plunge his tongue into a dance with Chandler's own.

The taller man knew who was in control here and the thought was an overwhelming turn-on.

When Joey had Chandler against the counter, he lifted the man up onto it, his body surprisingly light. Joey settled himself between Chandler's legs and resumed kissing him with a needy passion.

They probably wouldn't have stopped if Chandler hadn't smelled something burning. "Joey, weren't you cooking?" Chandler gasped against his lips.

Joey suddenly stopped and his body tensed. He looked at the stove and saw that his eggs were, in fact, fried.

And then some.

"Dammit..." He muttered.

Chandler, still in his "post-make-out-with-Joey" high, laughed a little too hard at this. "You want to go out to eat instead? We can go to Central Perk and grab something."

After he had turned off the stove and thrown away the bad food, Joey walked over to Chandler and lifted the man off the counter, said man giving a yelp of surprise. Joey let out a breath of a laugh before leaning his forehead against Chandler's while saying, "Yeah, that'd be good. Your first psychiatrist appointment is today so we can grab something and head out once we're done eating."

Chandler's brow furrowed in annoyance. "I don't need to see a shrink," he muttered. "And I definitely don't need to see one by myself and suffer. You have to suffer with me."

Joey laughed, then explained, "Chandler, the doctor said that you have to do the first couple of sessions alone because you kind of dropped the 'I want Joey with me in the room' thing on him last minute. He's going to schedule you with another psychiatrist in a few weeks, but you'll have to stick with this guy until then, okay?"

Chandler nodded. "Fine..."

Joey smiled. At least he isn't fighting me as much on the therapy. Joey hoped this psychiatrist could help Chandler find a way to battle his demons. Joey wished he could do something, but he was so afraid of saying something wrong and pushing Chandler over the edge. Psychiatrists were specialists. This guy would know what to do.

They got ready and headed out to grab a bite to eat at Central Perk. Once they were in small coffee shop, Chandler spotted the gang and suddenly got nervous. Seeing them in the hospital was different. When he was in the hospital he was supposed to be sick. That's why he was there in the first place. Now, though? What did he do? Did he pretend it never happened and act like he always did? Did he act like himself? He decided to go with the "pretend it never happened" option because acting like himself would mean being entirely too insecure. So far, only Joey was okay with that side of him and he really didn't want to press his luck.

They both ordered their food and went to sit down. The only seat open was the armchair, so Joey sat in the actual seat while Chandler sat on the arm of the chair, draping his legs across Joey's lap. Joey looked at Chandler, brow raised in a silent question that Chandler somehow understood. He's asking whether he wants to tell the group about us.

Chandler made a face telling Joey that he doesn't even know what they are in the first place. Joey nodded in understanding, silently telling him that they would talk about it later. Chandler nodded and both men turned to the group. Everyone was staring at them in confusion, causing Chandler to instinctively shrink closer to Joey for defense. "What?" Joey asked.

"You two scare me sometimes." Mike said.

Phoebe nodded her agreement with her boyfriend. "Did you two really just have a conversation in facial expressions and head nods? Now that's true dedication."

Chandler, instead of taking the harmless words to heart, puffed out his shoulders and pretended to be a caveman. "We men. We no need talk."

The group laughed at his antics. While they did so, Joey leaned close to Chandler. "We gotta get going, Chan, okay?"

Chandler nodded. "Right. Psychiatrist." Chandler stood up, allowing Joey to stand as well. "Welp," Chandler started. "See you all later! Sorry for the short visit, but we've got crazy meds to get!"

Monica's expression changed to a more saddened one. "Chandler, you know you're not crazy, right? What happened to you... What's happening to you is not you being crazy."

Chandler nodded, though he didn't really agree with her. The fact that he still wanted to kill himself and was having trouble finding reasons why that was a bad thing was proof enough for him.

"Sorry, guys," Joey said to the others, though he was glaring at Chandler. "Chandler is apparently broken. You see, he keeps hearing things that are the truth, but his brain will tell him it's a lie, even though it's obviously not. So, I'm going to take Chandler to go get fixed before he gets even more cracks in that ridiculously thick head of his, alright?"

Then, Chandler was dragged out of Central Perk by Joey all the way to the car. "Wow, Joey!" Chandler said. "I'm proud of you and your metaphor."

"Chandler, you are ridiculous sometimes, you know that?"

Chandler pretended to ponder the statement. "No. I'm usually just Chandler. Unless you know of a split personality disorder that I have that I don't know about? Hey, look! More to add to my list of crazy."

Joey glared at the taller man. "You know Monica is right. You're not crazy."

"Oh, but I am." Chandler said, getting in the car and shutting the door, efficiently stopping the conversation.

Joey sighed. It was going to take some time to get Chandler to see life as a good thing. He wished he could wipe away his fears and frustrations in a moment, but it took months to create the broken Chandler that was here now so it will probably take that much or longer to find the pieces and put him back together, and Joey was determined to do so.

Once Joey calmed down he climbed into the driver's side and started the car. The ride was surprisingly quiet. The first half was a bit awkward. Chandler felt insanely guilty for the way he felt and voicing his feelings seemed to hurt Joey in some way. While Joey drove, he dared to glance at Chandler and saw that he was biting his bottom lip while fiddling with his hands, something Joey had come to understand as his personal expressions of worry. Sighing softly, he reached his hand over to grab Chandler's own and enlaced their fingers together. "Stop thinking so much," Joey said. "I can practically hear you worrying from here."

"I'm sorry..." Chandler apologized. "I don't mean to hurt you or push you away. I just can't seem to wrap my head around the things you say." He saw Chandler wrap his other arm around his torso, another thing Joey had noticed that he did when he was trying to hide. "You've been so good to me in the day and a half that I've been home and I've just been, well, me..."

"It's okay, Chandler. I happen to like you." Joey joked. "I know. Shocking, isn't it?"

Chandler laughed. "Do you like like me? Do you want to date me? Do you want to be my boyfriend?"

The depressed man only meant it as a joke, but Joey seemed to take it a bit more serious than he had meant it to be. "I do."

Chandler blushed. Joey could feel the man's palms sweat in nervousness, but instead of being grossed out, he merely brought Chandler's hand to his lips and kissed it, never once letting go of it.

Joey didn't press Chandler for an immediate response and the other man was grateful for this. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer. He just didn't want to answer in the car on the way to a therapy appointment.

Once at the office, they both walked in with Joey only having to push Chandler through the door one time. The entrance was nice, quaint. To the right of the entrance was a fountain that trickled water as if it were down a rock wall. There were little lily pads floating in the water.

To the left was the receptionist with a large amount of waiting chairs. Joey spoke to the receptionist. "Appointment with Dr. Ottinger for Chandler Bing?"

The woman smiled at him and very obviously looked him up and down. Joey noticed this and, out of habit, studied the woman's features. She was confident, hot, possibly slutty; she definitely used to be his type, emphasis on 'used to be.' His type had changed recently. He was more into awkward, misguided, funny, attractive, sweet, caring, and incredibly loyal men that also have the name Chandler Muriel Bing.

The receptionist leaned close to Joey, her breasts hanging low and an excess amount of cleavage in between them. "You come back over here if you need any help with that paperwork, okay?"

Joey smiled. "Thanks!"

When the woman pulled out Chandler's file, she gave him some paperwork to fill out, "accidentally" brushing her hand over his. Joey turned around to face Chandler, who was pointedly looking away from him and the receptionist. Joey, knowing exactly what was going through Chandler's mind right now, walked over to put a stop to it immediately. He sat down next to his closest friend and handed him the folder of paperwork. Chandler could feel the receptionist's eyes on him and Joey, particularly Joey. Chandler bit the inside of his cheek to keep from either darting out of the room or screaming at the woman to say that Joey was his.

Chandler didn't have to choose as it turned out because Joey made the decision for him. The receptionist watched as Joey leaned close to the other man and whispered something in his ear. Judging from the way Chandler was blushing, the receptionist guessed what might have been said. When Joey kissed Chandler sweetly on the cheek, she could see that these two were in it for the long haul. It didn't even matter that Chandler punched Joey lightly in the arm for such an open display. She could see it in Chandler's eyes how much he cared for Joey. She felt so mortified with herself. She tried to hit on a taken, gay man!

The receptionist watched the two briefly as they chatted. They seemed like they were bickering, but they appeared to almost enjoy it. She learned their names as she eavesdropped and found out that Chandler was the shy one with the cute smile. Joey seemed to be the more confident one as well as overprotective. She admired both of their determination. Judging from what she could overhear, Chandler was severely depressed. The fact that Joey was willing to work with Chandler every step of the way was something she hadn't seen with many patients with significant others. And Chandler, who seemed to have no self-esteem, was trying so hard to see what Joey saw in him when all he could see was the exact opposite.

They were working with each other. She silently hoped that Chandler would win his battle.

After Chandler finished the paperwork, the receptionist took it with a smile before saying to Chandler, "I'm sorry for hitting on your boyfriend. That was out of line."

Chandler was shocked. "Uh, no worries," he said with a sheepish smile on his face while scratching at the back of his head absentmindedly. "He gets that a lot. I should be used to it by now..."

She smiled cheerfully at him and Joey when he walked over to see if there was a problem. "You two seem good together. Don't give up on each other, okay?"

Joey returned the smile when all Chandler could do was blush. "Thanks, Jessica." He said, obviously reading her nametag.

She nodded. "Your appointment will be on the second floor. Doctor Ottinger will see you as soon as possible."

The two men waved goodbye before heading to the elevator. "Well, she was nice."

Joey laughed. "Did you think that before or after she gave me the up-down?"

Chandler blushed. "After, obviously..." He mumbled.

The elevator chimed open and they walked in. "Don't worry, Chandler," Joey said while putting his hands on Chandler's slender hips and stepping close to Chandler so that he could lean close and whisper, "I'm all yours. Promise."

Chandler's eyes were wide when Joey pressed his lips to his. He didn't know why it surprised him; he knew what he was going to do the moment his hands gripped his hips. With the last of his coherency, he hit the elevator button for the second floor before allowing himself to fall into pace with Joey.

The kiss was over much too soon, however; the elevator was very fast. They pulled away from each other and waited in the lobby. Joey was bored within moments, which was unfortunate for Chandler because Joey seemed intent on getting him to see the brighter side to public displays of affection.

It wasn't that Chandler was particularly opposed to the idea, but rather others were and he didn't want Joey to be seen in a negative light in any way. He was so perfect and Chandler didn't want to taint that perfection that other people saw.

He was also entirely too shy, but Chandler wasn't willing to admit that to himself and Joey just found it endearing.

"You're so cute, Chandler." Joey said after he had convinced Chandler to at least take his hand. And he really did look adorable with the way his cheeks were tinted red, the way he looked down at the floor to attempt to hide the slight upturn of his lips that showed how happy he was that Joey tried so hard to get him to open up. He would warm up to being open about their relationship eventually. He was with Joey, after all.

For now, though, Joey had called him cute and that was not going to fly, regardless of how the compliment made his stomach flutter. "I am not cute," he pouted. "I can be anything else, but not cute."

Joey smirked at his pout. He is the definition of cute. "But you are."

Before Chandler could protest, Joey leaned over and pressed a kiss to Chandler's temple, making the man fumble for words before settling for a glare that looked more like a pout.

Just then, Chandler's name was called and he tensed, not wanting to go any farther. Joey couldn't come with him this time.

Joey smiled at him reassuringly. "Go on, Chandler. You'll be fine. I'll wait for you right here, okay? I won't leave." I won't leave you.

Chandler nodded, understanding the unspoken words and got up to the woman at the door. She asked for birthdates and other usual things asked at the doctor's office. He stepped on the scale and realized he was actually underweight for his height. Chandler tried to think back to why this was, then remembered that he'd been skipping meals and living off coffee long before his suicide attempt. He didn't have an eating disorder by any means. He just didn't feel like eating.

Then he was introduced to his psychiatrist, Dr. Ottinger. He was an older man, possibly in his late fifties or early sixties. He had a warm smile on his face and was very welcoming. "Hello, Chandler," he said, taking his hand and shaking it. "I'm Dr. Ottinger."

"Ottinger? Like 'otter' and 'ringer' combined? That's weird. I thought it was 'otter' and 'ginger.'"

The man just merely smiled and Chandler decided that his smile was kind of creepy.

"So, Chandler. What brings you here today?"

Chandler glared. "Don't you already know? It's in my file. I promise I'm just as crazy as it makes it out to be."

"I assure you, Chandler, you're not crazy."

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

The psychiatrist instead wrote something on his clipboard. That made Chandler uneasy. He felt like he was taking a test in a class he had never taken before. "It's getting pretty cold outside, isn't it?" The doctor said.

Chandler looked out the small window to his right. He wouldn't be surprised if they were wearing coats by the end of the month. October in New York could get pretty cold. He thought of Joey and all the times they played in the snow like the thirty year old idiots that they were. "Yeah," he thought with a smile. "It is."

"What're you thinking about?" Dr. Ottinger asked, pulling him back to the present situation.

Either he's really bad at what he does or he hates his job. "Nothing important."

"So what do you do for a living?"

Chandler decided to humor the guy. "I'm an IT procurement manager." He said simply.

"Do you like your job?"

"No."

"Why?"

Chandler didn't answer. He didn't owe this guy anything and he kept staring at him with that creepy smile. This is probably the creepiest guy I've ever met and he works with people on a regular basis...

"So, I saw that you had a friend in the lobby when I walked by. Who is he?"

He was watching me? Okay, creepy... He reflexively crossed one leg over the other and brought his arms to his chest in a defensive manner. "If you must know, his name is Joey."

The doctor gave him a look that he couldn't quite read. "Are you and Joey close?"

"He's my best friend and the best thing that's ever happened to me, so I'd appreciate it if we didn't drag him into my room full of problems."

The session didn't last much longer after that. Chandler sat there while the doctor took more notes. After the session, he handed Chandler a prescription and a business card. "The business card is for your therapist. The prescription is for Zoloft. It's an antidepressant. I really feel that this therapist can help you as well as the Zoloft."

Chandler was confused. "I thought you were my therapist?"

The man shook his head. "I am your psychiatrist. I merely send you to where you need to go and prescribe the medication that will best help you in your situation."

There's that creepy smile again. "Oh. Well, thanks. I'll definitely be giving..." he looked at the business card, "Dr. Curitan a call."

He nodded. "Have a good day, Chandler." Then he left the room, leaving Chandler to sigh in relief.

As soon as Chandler walked out into the second floor lobby, Joey saw him and practically ran up to him. "How was it?"

Chandler glared. "It could have been worse. I thought the old man was going to die from CSS."

"CSS?" Joey asked.

"Creepy Smile Syndrome."

Joey laughed. He then saw the papers in Chandlers' hand. "What are those?"

"My new therapist and my medicine, which we should pick up at the pharmacy."
Joey nodded. "Well, did they say you were good to go?"

Chandler nodded. "No one stopped me in the hall so I'm guessing so."

Joey took Chandler's hand and led him to the elevator to the first floor. They said goodbye to Jessica before heading over to the small pharmacy that was close to their apartment. Surprisingly, it didn't take that long for the prescription to fill and they were out of the shop in no time at all. The pharmacist made sure to answer all of Joey's questions about the drug and Chandler smiled affectionately at Joey in silent appreciation for the man's concern.

"When we get home I'm gonna call that guy on the business card and set up an appointment for you."

Chandler mumbled an "uh huh," but he was falling asleep against the window. It took them thirty minutes to get home, but by the time they got there, Chandler was practically out cold. Joey thought that he looked so peaceful, much more so than he did when he was awake. When his eyes were open, they held an almost haunted look, especially when he woke up that morning. Throughout the day, the look disappeared for the most part, but this morning he looked like had truly suffered these past few months.

Deciding to wake his Sleeping Beauty, he laid a gentle hand to the sleeping man's shoulder. "Chandler?" Joey called softly.

Chandler struggled to open his eyes, but when he did, he stared at his surroundings in confusion before realizing where he was. "Joe?" He called, his voice raspy.

"I'm right here, Chandler."

Chandler nodded, then stretched out his tired muscles. The stretch of his arms and torso lifted his shirt up to reveal the skin of his stomach. Chandler's jeans were lose and hung low on his hips to reveal a small patch of hair that travelled further down, the rest hidden by his boxers that were sticking out due to the stretch. Joey licked his lips. He was such a damn tease and he didn't even know it.

Chandler looked over when he felt Joey staring and realized that he was staring at the large amount of skin he was currently revealing. The look of pure desire in Joey's eyes when the man met his own was enough to send shivers down Chandler's spine.

Joey leaned over the seat before placing a fantastic kiss onto Chandler's lips. Chandler gasped and moaned when Joey's hand travelled along that expanse of skin before travelling under his shirt and rubbing against his nipples. Chandler used the hand that wasn't propping him up to grip at Joey's shoulder to ground him from the feelings that were fighting to make his heart soar. "Joey," Chandler moaned against the man's lips.

Joey felt Chandler's blunt nails digging into his shoulder, the twinge of pain from the tight grip only pressing him forward. He tried to lean forward, but he somehow managed to elbow the horn of his car, making him jump and fall forward on top of Chandler.

The brunet winced at the sudden impact of having Joey land on his smaller form, then, when Joey looked up with a sheepish grin on his face, Chandler laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. He laughed a real laugh that he felt deep into his soul, something he hadn't felt in God knows how long. Joey, realizing that he hadn't heard his friend laugh like that in months, started to laugh with him. He has the most amazing smile.

Joey decided to get back in his own seat and get out of the car, but not before grabbing Chandler's medicine. Chandler got out of the car as well and followed Joey up to their apartment where they spent the most of the night chatting about the highlights of their day. Even though they spent the whole day together, they couldn't help but love hearing the way the other saw the day. They both saw things in completely different lights. While Joey had a bright outlook on life, he didn't see things as deeply as Chandler did. Joey quickly learned that Chandler had quite an imagination.

"Have you ever considered writing?" Joey asked.

Chandler snorted. "I'm already slowly becoming my father. I don't need to add my mother to that list as well."

Joey's head tilted to the side slightly in his confusion. "Chandler, you're nothing like your dad."

"I'm bisexual in a relationship with a man. I think that constitutes as 'like my father.'" Chandler explained.

"Chandler, have you ever cheated on someone you're with or would you ever consider cheating on the person you're with?"

"Joey, what does that have to do with anything?"

Joey sighed. "Go with it, Chandler. Answer the question!"

"Alright, alright! Jesus!" He said, holding his hands up in a mock-placating gesture. "Then no. Never have, never will. End of story."

"If you had a kid with someone and that relationship ended badly, would you leave that kid in the dust and never speak to them for over ten years?"

Chandler looked away, suddenly realizing Joey's point. "Okay, okay. I get it. I'm nothing like my father. But come on, Joe! Writing? I'm not sure I'd be very good at it."

"You won't know until you give it a chance." Joey said. "Now tell me. There's no way you have an imagination like you do without some sort of creativity gene. Did you secretly take acting courses in school?"

Chandler thought back to his days in high school and all those art classes he took behind his mother's back. She wanted him to go to college for managerial business. He wanted to go for art, but she refused to let him even when he showed her the pieces he entered into national contests and won first place. I wonder if I have some of those lying around in storage... "No, Joe. I didn't take acting courses."

"Then what's your specialty?"

Chandler blushed. "I, uh, I took art in high school..."

Joey's eyes widened in amazement. "Really?"

"Y-yeah."

"Why haven't I ever seen you draw?"

Chandler shrugged. "I guess I just lost my drive. When my mother said I couldn't go to art school I told myself I wouldn't pick up a pencil again because it would remind me of how much of a failure I was for not standing up for myself."

Joey eyed Chandler sadly. "You're not a failure, Chandler. You've never been a failure."

Then, Joey got up and unlocked his bedroom door. Chandler thought Joey was mad at him for some reason and was going to bed early, but then he came out of the room with a pencil. "Joey, why do you have a pencil?"

Joey smirked. "Kneel before me, Sir Bing."

Chandler chuckled but did as he was told. He waited for Joey to tap both of his shoulders with the pencil. Then Joey said, "I now dub thee Sir Bing, Knight of the Arts!"

Then, Joey handed him the pencil. "I present to thee thine weapon. Whilst thou accept it?"

Chandler looked at the pencil for a moment, noting its simple look. It was just a yellow, number two pencil. Nothing special, nothing remarkable. Even in high school, Chandler never drew with the higher quality pencils, saying it didn't feel right to him. Joey had unknowingly picked the perfect weapon to have at his side. "I do accept."

Chandler went to reach for the pencil, then, in the heat of the moment, he grabbed Joey's wrist instead and pulled him to the floor on top of him. Joey didn't so much as flinch. He just straddled Chandler's waist and kissed him for all he was worth.

Joey reached at the base of Chandler's gray t-shirt and pulled it up and over his head. He latched his mouth to Chandler's pulse, the man beneath him arching into Joey and crying out as he bit down hard on the rapidly beating pulse of his neck. Joey sucked on the mark to soothe the pain from the bite, then sat back to admire his work. It was definitely going to leave a dark hickey that he was certain Chandler wouldn't be able to hide. He smirked. Chandler was his.

He left a trail of kisses down Chandler's chest until he ran his tongue across the smaller man's nipple, causing him to moan loudly. Joey then moved to the other nipple. Feeling Chandler writhe beneath him like this was a completely new experience for him, but dammit if he said he wasn't turned on he would be lying. He'd never wanted anyone so much like he wanted Chandler in that moment. As Joey learned the expanse of Chandler's chest, he found the scar where Chandler's third nipple used to be and ran his tongue along that as well, causing Chandler to blush and moan Joey's name at the affection the man above him was showing him.

"Fuck, Chandler, do you know what you do to me when you say my name like that?" Joey said, his voice suddenly taking on a deeper tone.

Before Chandler got the chance to reply, Joey palmed his aching erection through his jeans, causing Chandler to scream, "Oh, fuck! Joey!"

Joey was about to lean down and capture Chandler's lips in a heated kiss when he heard their front door open and a voice that sounded very much like Monica's said, "Hey, I'm coming to get the TV Guide Miss Bong!" She chucked at her joke right before seeing the very compromising position Joey and Chandler were currently in.

Her eyes widened almost impossibly wide. "Joey?! A-and Chandler?!"

Chandler blushed furiously and buried his face in Joey's shirt to hide his mortification at being caught. They both stood up quickly and, for modesty's sake, Joey grabbed his leather jacket off the chair and handed it to Chandler who wrapped it around himself as quickly as he could. "H-hey, Monica!" Joey said nervously. "What brings you to the apartment, hmm?"

"You two... On the floor?!" She pointed to their feet where they had just been laying.

"Monica, listen..." Chandler started.

"Oh, no you don't. You stay here while I borrow Joey here for a moment."

Chandler nodded. He didn't know why Joey was in trouble all of a sudden, but he felt horrible because it was his fault.

Monica dragged Joey over to her and Rachel's apartment before proceeding to scream at him. "What the Hell was that?!"

"You tell me, Monica. You took that class in school, didn't you?" He said, nervously trying to tell a joke. Chandler was rubbing off on him.

Great. He thought. Now you're thinking of Chandler rubbing off on you and this is not the most appropriate time for this!

"Joey, please. Tell me you know what you're doing."

Joey glared at her suspiciously. "What are you trying to get at?"

She sighed. "I'm talking about Chandler. His mind is not in a stable place right now. Are you sure you can handle that? Because if you can't and you break his heart halfway through I don't think he'll come back from that."

"I can take care of him if that's what you're asking."

"Are you sure? What's his medication? Who's his psychiatrist? Who is his therapist? What's the plan if Chandler has another breakdown? Do you know how you're paying for these medical expenses? How are bills getting paid? See, Joey? I don't think you're getting"-

Monica was cut off by Joey stating, "He's currently on Zoloft, his psychiatrist is Dr. Ottinger, though I can already tell Chandler doesn't like him so I'm probably going to switch as soon as I can. His therapist is Dr. Curitan. He hasn't met him yet, but he will tomorrow at eleven in the morning. If Chandler tries to kill himself again, I've agreed and he's agreed to send him to a psychiatric ward where he can receive the care he needs until he's better. Medical expenses have been completely covered by Chandler's insurance and our everyday bills are paid for by Chandler's paycheck that he's receiving under stipulation that he goes to therapy at least twice a week. Any other questions, Monica?"

Monica was speechless. She'd never seen Joey so dedicated to anyone in all the time she'd known Joey. She shook her head. "No, I don't have any more questions." Then, she took a calming breath before looking at Joey with a glare that would stone Medusa herself. "I do, however, want you to know that if I find out you hurt Chandler in any way, there's not a place on this Earth you can hide, do you understand me?"

Joey nodded as he swallowed thickly. "Yes, ma'am."

She nodded her assent. Then, she pointed to his and Chandler's apartment. "Now, go over there and take care of him before he has a heart attack on why I dragged you over here. And don't worry," she said with a smile. "I won't tell anyone."

Joey nodded. "Thank you. I don't know if Chandler's ready, you know?"

She returned his nod. "Yeah. Now go. Shoo!"

Joey ran out of the apartment and back into his, immediately looking for Chandler. He saw him sitting curled up in Joey's chair, beside himself with worry. When he heard Joey enter the room, he immediately ran and hugged the larger man. "Joey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble with Monica!"

Joey chuckled. "No, no. It's okay. I think I proved myself worthy of dating you."

Chandler's cheeks flushed once more. "What do you mean?"

"She defended you. She was worried that I was trying to take advantage of you."

Chandler rolled his eyes. "I'm depressed and suicidal, not clueless. There's a difference. I'm pretty sure I would know if you were just using me. And even if you were, why would you go for the one with the most baggage?"

Joey just nodded. While Chandler's wording was a little crude, he got the basics right. Joey was not heartless enough to go after Chandler at his weakest moment without helping him through it. "Still, I thought it was pretty sweet of her."

"Yeah, that may be so, but she doesn't get to choose who I date."

Joey's heart skipped a beat. "You... you want to date me?" He said, suddenly unsure of himself.

Chandler blushed. "Well, yeah. I-If you're okay with that, of course. I mean, if you don't want to and you just want to have sex, well"-

Joey silenced Chandler's fears with a firm press against his lips. Then he gently cupped the sides of Chandler's face before looking the man in eyes and asking, "Chandler, do you want to go out with me?"

In thirty years, Chandler had never been asked out in such a cheesy way, and he loved it. "Yeah, Joey," he smiled. "I'd love to."

Joey grinned wide before placing a soft, lingering kiss to Chandler's lips, making the smaller man blush at the emotion embedded into it.

When they pulled away, Joey noticed that Chandler was still wearing his jacket. When he pointed this out, Chandler fumbled over his words. "Well, uh, i-it smells... like you..."

Joey smiled. "I told you that you were cute."

Chandler glared. "I'm not cute! I am a grown man and I. Am. Not. Cute!"

Joey just grinned. "Yeah, sure. Live in denial."

"Ugh, you're insufferable..."

"Thanks!" Joey said even though he was not sure of what the word meant.

Chandler was going to correct him, but instead shook his head with a soft laugh. "No problem, Joe."

Joey pulled Chandler over to sit on their respective chairs, but Chandler wasn't having that. He was feeling rather affectionate today, so he simply sprawled his body across Joey's lap. He rested he head in the crook of Joey's neck and, as they talked, Chandler could feel the vibrations in his throat, making him smile every time Joey would talk.

"So," Joey started, suddenly serious, "How are you wanting to go about this?"

Chandler sat up for a moment to look at Joey. "What do you mean?"

"I... I want to take this whole thing we've got going slowly. We've been working on jumping each other since we started this, but I'm not sure I want to jump into sex right away." Seeing a strange look on Chandler's face, Joey quickly backpedaled. "It's not that I don't want to, because believe me, I do. I just want to do this differently. With every person I've been with, it's always started with sex. I don't want it to be about sex. I want something real with you." Joey's face flushed a little. I sound like a girl... He thought.

Chandler played with the ends of Joey's jacket to hide his sincere appreciation of Joey's kind words. Joey wanted to take things slow with him to make sure things were real between them. He couldn't ask for a better boyfriend.

He composed himself before looking up and reassuring Joey. "I want this to be real too, Joey. We'll take things slow." Then, he smirked. "Are you okay with taking the resident crazy out on a date?"

Joey glared. "Stop calling yourself that."

Chandler rolled his eyes. "You're a broken record."

"You can fix the record if you stop calling yourself crazy." He scolded. "But yes. I am okay with taking my boyfriend out on a date." Joey kissed Chandler for emphasis.

"Then ask me," Chandler teased.

"Well..." Joey said slowly. "I could do what I was going to do before..."

Chandler was confused. "What are you talking about? Do what?"

Joey sighed. He hadn't wanted Chandler to find out about this, but he figured that having a secret right at the beginning of their relationship would do them no good. "Well, before I found you... remember that person I was talking about? The one I told you about that I really wanted to date?" Chandler nodded. "Well, it wasn't actually a girl. It was you, Chandler. I wanted to be with you."

Chandler's eyes widened. "So, that night you went to the store..." Chandler suddenly felt awful. "Oh, God, Joey."

"Yeah..." He said. "I left my wallet in the apartment and when I came back..."

Chandler could see Joey fighting the urge to cry. "Joey, I'm so sorry. I... I didn't know. If I had known..."

Joey smiled sadly, telling Chandler that it was in the past and it didn't matter anymore. "You know, I was going to decorate the apartment. I knew you usually woke up before me, so I was going to leave notes around the house on what we were going to do that day. Then, after I woke up, I'd do everything I promised in the notes."

Chandler's heart warmed at this. "I can't believe you were going to do all that for me. And then I just decided to ruin it..."

"Hey," Joey started. "Let's not think about that anymore, okay?" He kissed Chandler sweetly. Once they pulled apart Chandler rested his head back into the crook of Joey's neck. They stayed like that and talked some more before Chandler began to yawn. "Tired?"

"Yeah..." Chandler said. "But I don't want to go to sleep yet. I like being here with you."

Joey nodded. "Still. Your appointment is tomorrow and you want to be well rested for that."

Chandler got up and stretched while watching Joey walk into his room again. He came out with the bottle of Zoloft. Chandler scoffed. "What? I can't even have my own medicine?"

"I'm not stupid, Chandler." Joey said simply. He opened the bottle and handed Chandler one pill. "Swallow this."

Chandler blushed when Joey smirked. "I'm not even going to go there." Chandler said right before popping the pill into his mouth.

Joey walked closer to Chandler, then said, "Open your mouth."

Chandler glared. "I swallowed the pill."

"Prove it."

Chandler rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. When Joey was satisfied, he pressed a soft kiss to Chandler's willing lips. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Okay?"

Chandler nodded. "Goodnight, Joey."

"Goodnight."

Joey kissed Chandler one last time before heading to his room and locking the door behind him. Chandler sighed. He knew the doctors had moved some of the medicine into Joey's room, so Joey had the room barricaded at night. Joey was smart; he was a heavy sleeper so if Chandler somehow snuck into the room at night he knew how that would end.

Chandler took Joey's coat off in the living room, changed clothes, then crawled into bed, wondering why Joey was sticking with him. Chandler was being nothing but difficult, yet Joey was still there. He's as stubborn as me... Chandler thought with a tired laugh.

Slowly, the medicine's drowsy side effect hit him and he slowly slipped into a deep sleep, his last thought of Joey.