Joey blinked. He opened his mouth to say something, then shut it, blinked again. "Oh," he finally managed.

"Yeah, oh."

Nora came up to Chandler and wrapped her arms around her son. "It's so good to see you, Chandler."

"Yes, Mother," Chandler said, awkwardly returning the hug. "It's... good to see you, too."

Joey winced at the formal tone Chandler used. A child shouldn't feel the way Chandler did about his mother.

A voice directed at Joey was heard from the other woman, Helena. "Well, well. Who's this, Chandler?"

Chandler glared at his father – mother? "You haven't spoken to me in twenty years and you ask about my roommate?"

Joey tried not to be offended by not being introduced as his boyfriend, but Chandler had every right to not say anything. These were his parents, after all.

"I'm sorry, Chandler. Just trying to start a light conversation."

Nora scoffed. "Please. There's no such thing as a light conversation with you. It's always the dramatics with you."

Helena glared. "That's just the pot calling the kettle black, dear," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Joey, I'm so sorry about this," Chandler said towards Joey as his parents started yelling at each other. Joey could see anxiety creeping into Chandler's body like a disease. He was tired before, having driven a long way, but now he looked the part of pure exhaustion. Nothing had really happened in Joey's opinion, but Chandler was the one who knew his parents the best. He'd probably heard these fights a thousand times as a kid and that hurt Joey in a terrible way. "Listen, Joe. I need you to go over to Monica's for a while. I need to take care of this."

Joey shook his head. "No, we're in this together. I can't leave you here to deal with this alone."

Chandler smiled appreciatively. "Thank you..." He said. "Let me talk to them alone for a bit though?"

Joey nodded. "Anything for you."

As Joey respectfully walked into Monica and Rachel's apartment, Chandler turned to his parents and sighed. "Why are you two here? And how did you find me, Dad?"

"Following Nora isn't that hard. She always had to be so flashy and the woman can't drive for shit."

Nora scoffed. "How dare you?"

Chandler pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Can we at least take this inside?" He said tiredly.

His led his parents into the apartment, telling them to sit down somewhere. Neither of them listened as they were too busy yelling at each other. "I'll ask again, why are you two here?"

"I'm here to see my son on Christmas," Nora said.

"She probably wants more money for alcohol. I hear her books aren't selling well."

Chandler glared at his father. "Stop instigating her, Dad," he said before he turned back to his mother. "Mother, you've never stopped by to see me on Christmas since I went to college, so I'll ask again. Why are you here?"

"You went to college?" Helena asked. Chandler ignored her.

"If you need money you should've just called me instead of trying to come here on the ruse that you were trying to do something selfless like caring about me."

Helena smirked triumphantly, but Chandler put her in her place. "Don't look so smug. You don't have any right to be here either, Dad. Whatever you're here for, I don't care."

Helena looked hurt. "How can you speak to your father like that?"

Chandler glared at her. "I don't even know who you are. Twenty years of no contact will do that."

It was Nora's turn to wear the smirk of triumph. "Yes, Charles. I spent all those years raising him while you were out doing God knows what with every man imaginable."

"Oh yeah, Mrs. Alcoholic. I'm sure all those bars were wonderful on his childhood."

When they started yelling again, Chandler had finally had enough. "SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" He shouted. Silence spread through the apartment. "I have had enough of both of you to last me the rest of my life!

"Mother, you didn't raise me. I supported myself. It was a miracle that we made it through the way we did. I got to high school and picked up a job working full-time at the damn gas station making half of nothing just so we could pay bills. When I got home I would drag you to your room if you were passed out. If you were awake, well, I dragged you to the bathroom so you could throw up until you passed out. You know I wanted to go to art school? Probably not; alcohol is a funny thing. You told me that you wouldn't have a son who prances around in art school. You held me back from the things I wanted most just because you were afraid I'd turn out like Dad.

"And Dad, you were not any better. You were gone for twenty fucking years. You don't get a choice to be in my life."

Chandler took a calming breath. He would not cry. "For the first ten years of my life, I listened to you two scream at each other. I watched you get into fights that often escalated physically. I watched as you threw things at each other, watched as one would walk out on the other, only to return and yell at each other again. I let myself get pulled along when one of you would leave because I was a kid. I was your fucking kid and you put me in positions where I was forced to choose between one of you. Well, I think I'm ready to make a decision. I choose me. I'm not going to take care of you, Mother. Find a way to finance your own addiction. Or, better yet, how about you quit? I quit smoking. And Dad? I don't know why you're here, but don't you dare come back again. Both of you. I don't ever want to see you two anywhere near me, do you understand?"

His mother looked genuinely shocked. "Chandler, you don't really mean that, do you?"

Chandler wanted to scream. They needed to get out. It hurt to look at them. "Get out."

"Chandler!"

"I won't say it again. Don't make me say more than I need to."

Nora glared at him, disappointment written on her features; a look he's come to know well. She looked like she was going to say something, but she was stopped by Helena. What he said shocked Chandler, though he didn't say anything. "Nora, let him make his decision. You should know that when a Bing makes a decision, they'll stick by it no matter what."

"No!" She cried. "I won't leave until I say what I came here to say!"

"Fine, Mother. Say it. Say what you came here to say and I'll pull out my fucking checkbook. Then will you get out of my apartment?" Chandler said angrily.

"I came here to apologize," she said suddenly.

Chandler was genuinely taken aback. "What?"

"I said I'm here to tell you I'm sorry. That's why... she's here, too. I told her to come." She explained, pointing to Helena.

Chandler's hands balled into fists, his body shaking from either anger or barely repressed tears. Which one, he wasn't sure. "No," he said, shaking his head. "You think you can both just barge into my life and think apologies are going to make things better?"

"No, we don't," Helena said. "We've just gotta start somewhere, don't we?"

Chandler's thoughts immediately went to his personal journey with his depression. He'd fallen and hit the bottom hard, but he was slowly crawling out of that hole of despair. However, he had to start somewhere. He started climbing out when he decided to let Joey in. Maybe he needed to let them in too. Maybe they could help each other escape rock bottom.

Helena began to speak. "When I left, I never let you know I was there, but I was always there. You know, I saw you at both of your graduations." She laughed fondly at the memory. "I don't know how you managed to trip at both ceremonies."

Chandler felt himself choking up at hearing these words. His father had been there the whole time?

Helena continued. "I was so afraid you would hate me for leaving. Now I see that thinking that way was the wrong choice. You hate me because you thought I was never there."

"And I'm sorry too, Chandler," Nora began. "I put you through the worst kind of Hell as a child, as a teenager, even now. You never got to be a kid because you were too busy taking care of me. I just want you to know – I want you both to know – I... I haven't had a sip of alcohol in two months. Lately I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I decided that on Thanksgiving I would quit drinking. You know, change the holiday from something bad to something better."

"I know we haven't been the best parents, Chandler. We were a volatile couple that should never have gotten together. Just know that, though we had a fucked up way of showing it, we loved you – still love you – more than life itself. We would do anything for you." Helena said.

Chandler couldn't hold it together any longer. With the last of his restraint, he managed to get out in a quiet voice, "I don't hate either of you. I have never hated you. I just... I just..." The tears began to stream down his face. "I said those things because I couldn't take seeing you. I would rather you never show up at my door again than face the pain I feel whenever I see you."

"It should never have gotten to this point. This is our fault, Chandler. You're our son. We should've been taking care of you. It never should have been the other way around, but it was. So we're going to do everything we can to fix it." Nora said with Helena agreeing.

Seeing his parents agreeing on something – on him – is what finally broke him. He slid to the floor against the front door, sobs shaking his shoulders. Then he felt two weights against either arm, two comforting bodies enveloping him on either side. "I missed you both so much," Chandler cried.

"We missed you too, kid. We love you."

"I love you, too." He whispered. Then, an absurd thought came into his head and he started laughing.

"What're you laughing about?" Helena asked.

"Joey's face. I'm sure he's freaking out by now. He probably heard me yelling."

Nora got a quizzical look. "Joey was the man out in the hall, right?"

Chandler couldn't hide the smile that appeared. "Yeah."

Helena and Nora exchanged brief glances before Helena began speaking. "Can we meet him? You know, properly?"

Chandler nodded hesitantly before opening the door to go get Joey from Monica and Rachel's apartment, only to see that Joey was already at the door, about to knock. "Chandler, are you okay? I heard you yelling. Is everything okay?" Joey took in Chandler's red-rimmed eyes. "Have you been crying? What the Hell did they say?" Joey heard someone clear their throat and he looked up. To his mortification, Chandler's parents were still there. Joey, not having any background information and only seeing that Chandler had been crying, immediately went to Chandler's defense. "Listen, I don't care if you're his parents. I wouldn't care if you were my parents, but when Chandler tells you to leave, you need to leave."

"And if we don't?" Helena challenged, a glare on her features. Nora seemed to be siding with Helena. Chandler glared at them both menacingly. What the Hell are they doing?

Joey glared right back. "Then I'll have to remove you both from the property. I don't believe in hitting women, but I know two women next door that aren't against it."

And just like that, Helena's expression changed from a glare to a smile. "You pass, Joey."

Joey blinked. "I'm sorry. Did I miss something?" Joey asked, turning to Chandler.

Chandler shook his head. "I don't know what's going on, either. One minute we were talking, then the next she's getting mad at you!"

Nora decided to elaborate. "Just a test, dear. We were seeing if you would protect our son from anyone, including his own parents. Whether we have a right to or not, we still need to make sure you're good enough for Chandler."

Joey blinked while Chandler's cheeks filled with blood. "Did you tell them?" Joey asked.

Chandler shook his head. "I-I didn't say a word. I was just... I was just talking with them about... reacquainting myself with them and then..." He waved his hand in a circle, signaling the situation. "Then this." Chandler started to fidget. "Mother, you're not mad, are you?"

Nora's heart dropped. "Chandler, I've always known you were into men as well. Even through my alcoholic haze, I could see that you never seemed like the type to care about gender. I've always seen you falling in love with whoever your heart desired. Regardless of what happened with your father, I do not hold him being gay against him. It's the fact that he cheated instead of telling me so that we could have a mutual split."

Helena, for once, didn't make a comment because, after all, she was right.

Chandler nodded. "Well, Mother, Dad, this is my... my boyfriend, Joey Tribbiani." This was weird for Chandler. They were fighting just minutes ago. Where did this civility come from? Years of hostility had to run out eventually. There's probably only civility left.

Chandler, his parents, and Joey all sat down in the apartment, Joey and Chandler taking the couch and letting Chandler's parents take their chairs. Joey, not afraid to show affection, wrapped his arm around Chandler's waist, making the smaller man blush, an action that did not go unnoticed by the parents.

They continued talking well into the night. Chandler was beyond embarrassed. Joey did not need to know this much about his childhood. He didn't even know his parents remembered all of this. At one point, Joey was bent over laughing, asking Chandler, "Are you serious? You got stuck in a baby swing?"

Chandler had begun to cook something for them, still in a dream state. He watched as his parents conversed with his boyfriend, talking animatedly about whatever they could. Chandler went to pull out a knife from the drawer to cut up some cheese for an extra kick to his mac and cheese, then remembered where the knives were and called out to Joey, "Hey, Joe. I'm going to Monica's to get a knife, okay?"

Joey looked over at him worriedly. "What for?" He questioned.

Chandler held up the cheese. "I need some for the pasta and cutting it up makes it melt faster."

Joey nodded. "Okay."

Once Chandler left, he saw the suspicious look from Chandler's parents. "Why do you keep your knives at someone else's apartment?"

Joey shook his head. "I can't really say."

They nodded, though confusion was clearly written on their faces. "So," Helena began, changing the subject. "Do you love my son?"

Joey blinked, the sudden change of topic making his brain functions cut short. Once he came to, he didn't even hesitate. "Like you can't even imagine."

Helena nodded. "What makes you think you're good enough for him?"

Joey was caught off guard by this, but he answered straight from the heart. "I don't," he said, shrugging. "He's had such a hard life. I don't know how he came out of everything he's been through with barely any bitterness towards anything or anyone. He's the kindest, most loving, caring, sincere, passionate person I've ever met. He's told me before that he thinks he doesn't deserve me, but that's not true. He deserves someone better than me. I'm the one that doesn't deserve him.

"But here we are. I love him more than anything. I know how cheesy it sounds, but I need him more than I need air to breathe. I know for a fact that I want to spend the rest of my life with him." His voice was distant as he said the last part like he was imagining something far off. He didn't even realize that he had, in a way, told Chandler's parents that he wished to marry their son.

Nora smiled happily. "You wish to marry him?"

Joey's heart skipped in panic, but he stayed strong. "Yeah. I guess now is as good a time as any to ask you both." He rubbed at the back of his head. "Chandler's old fashioned. He'd appreciate this. And hey," he shrugged. "I'm old fashioned, too."

Helena smirked. "Did you get him a ring?"

Joey nodded. "It's in my room – well – our room now. We were gonna move all his stuff into my room when you guys showed up." He sighed, desperately needing an answer. Chandler would be back any minute. "Are you guys okay with this? Are you okay if I ask Chandler to marry me?"

Nora and Helena exchanged glances before turning back to the Italian. "You make him happy in ways we've never been able to do. As long as he stays happy, as long as you're the one making him happy, we'll be okay with anything."

The smile was bright on Joey's face. He had to reign in his overwhelming urge to run to Chandler with the ring right then and there. "Thank you. I promise I'll do my best to make him the happiest man alive."

Just then, Chandler walked in with a frustrated look. "What's up?" Joey asked.

"Monica," Chandler huffed. "She will never let me find the hiding spot!"

Joey laughed. "You know she's the ultimate Christmas present hider."

Chandler's brow furrowed in a pout. "Yeah, well it sucks. Friends are supposed to be honest with each other!"

Joey nodded. "Yes, but she's not lying. She's just... not telling."

"Oh, so you're taking her side?"

Joey shook his head. "I'm taking the side that will least likely get you killed by Monica for sneaking around her apartment."

Chandler looked contemplative before settling on resigned. "Yeah, yeah. Okay."

On that note, Helena and Nora stood. "We've got to get going, honey. I've got a publishing meeting in the morning and your father I'm sure has to return to Vegas eventually."

"You flew all the way out here for a couple hours?" Chandler asked his father incredulously.

Helena nodded. "Yeah. I had to see you."

Nora pulled Chandler in for a hug, kissing his cheek. "I'll see you soon, Chandler."

Chandler lips curled into the hint of a smile. "Y-yeah. Bye... Mom."

Helena then pulled her son in for a hug. "Go get you some, kid. That one is a real keeper."

Chandler blushed. "You're so crude!"

"And you're a prude."

"He really is," Joey commented, to which he received a glare from Chandler.

"Just like his mother."

"Okay, time to leave," Chandler said, practically dragging his parents out of the apartment.

"It was nice meeting you, Joey!" Nora said.

Once the door was shut, Chandler leaned his head back against the door, sighing tiredly as he closed his eyes. Joey came up to wrap his arms around his waist and press feather kisses to Chandler's exposed neck, said man leaning into his touch.

Joey placed one final kiss to Chandler's lips before asking, "So you're forgiving them?"

Chandler nodded. "I'm not going to forget what happened – I don't think I can ever really forget – but I'm going to forgive them. They're my parents."

Joey smiled at him. "You're a kind person, Chandler. I couldn't do it if it were my parents. I'd be too angry."

Chandler blushed at the compliment, a shy smile on his face. "I just wouldn't want that to happen to me if I had a kid."

Joey nodded. "Yeah, I could see that but, then again, I'd never do that to my kid in the first place."

"Which is one of the many things I love about you."

Joey raised a brow. "What?"

"That you're nothing like either of my parents."

Joey laughed. "It would be weird, though, if I were like one of your parents."

Chandler grimaced. "Please never speak of that again."

"Of what?" Joey smirked.

"Exactly."

Joey chuckled before kissing Chandler again. He would never get enough of this. Kissing Chandler never got old. It was always exciting, always got his heart racing.

Suddenly, the Italian pulled away. "Your Christmas present!"

Chandler's eyes widened in realization. "Oh yeah! I have to get yours, too!"

They both ran into their rooms and pulled out their gifts. Chandler told Joey to open his first. It was a card, but Joey opened it, wondering what Chandler was blushing about. When he opened it, two tickets fell out, plane tickets.

He read the details before seeing a location that shocked him. "You bought plane tickets to LA?"

Chandler nodded. "You said you've always wanted to go out to the other coast so I figured we could head out there sometime, you know, as a vacation. I set the date pretty far in advance. I wasn't sure if you wanted to go in the winter so I went with the summer"-

Chandler's ramblings were cut off by Joey tackling him to the floor, attacking him with his lips. "I love you so much," Joey said against his lips.

Chandler smiled. "I love you too."

They chatted for some time about different things they could do in LA before Joey came back to himself. "Oh! Your present!"

Joey handed the rather crudely wrapped present to Chandler. It was huge; Joey probably put everything together in one huge wrap. Chandler chuckled before he opened the gift. Inside the paper revealed various art supplies. "You remembered..." Chandler said.

Joey nodded enthusiastically. "Of course!"

Chandler eyed Joey gratefully. "Thank you. I'm... This is amazing!"

Joey smiled at Chandler's glee. "I'm glad you like it."

"Man, I haven't drawn in forever. I don't even know if I'll even be any good."

"Isn't art like riding a bike?"

Chandler looked thoughtful. "I actually have no idea. We can find out?"

Joey smirked before lying down in a seductive pose. "Paint me like one of your French girls."

"I have no French girls. I have an Italian man who often makes a fool out of himself, but no French girls."

Joey huffed while Chandler laughed. Joey wanted to kiss him and wipe that smugness of his face, so he did just that. He had Chandler pressed to the floor, about to take his shirt off when there was a knock at the door.

"I swear to fucking God, if there is a Geller at the door, I'm honestly going to think there's something wrong with them!"

When Joey opened the door to reveal Monica standing there about ready to knock again, Joey groaned and Chandler doubled over, laughing harder than he had in a long time. "What?" Monica asked, unaware.

Chandler eventually controlled his laughter enough to say, "Joey believes that Gellers are all cockblockers."

Monica looked confused for a moment. "Why?" Then he took in the disheveled state of Chandler's hair and Joey's crinkled shirt and she blushed. "Oh, my God."

"You might as well tell us what you came here for," Joey started. "I don't want opening this door for you to be for nothing."

Monica blinked. "Uh, well, everyone's over at the apartment for a Christmas dinner and we were wondering if you two would like to come over?"

Joey opened his mouth to say, "No. I'm going to get laid tonight," but Chandler swooped in and said, "We'd love to. We'll be right there."

Monica nodded then awkwardly turned and walked back to her apartment. Chandler faced Joey with a smile that reeked of feigned innocence while Joey glared at him with a look that said 'Seriously?' "If you don't want sex, fine! No sex for you!" Joey mumbled.

Chandler laughed. "I am the king of dry spells. I think it'll be you who will be suffering."

Joey's glare deepened. "Fine..."

The brunet pulled at his boyfriend's belt loops before kissing him softly. "C'mon. Christmas wouldn't be the same if we didn't hang out with the gang and you know it."

Joey sighed and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Let me grab my shirt."

"If you're a good boy, we'll have lots of sex, okay?" Chandler teased.

"Don't we do that anyways?" Joey responded, raising an eyebrow.

Chandler looked thoughtful, then shrugged. "Yeah, you're right."

The dinner was phenomenal. Monica was just as good a cook as ever and they all had a wonderful time. The eight of them had a blast playing games. At one point, however, they started playing a trivia game, promising each other that they would not bet their apartments this time. They ended up drawing cards to see who wound up on the same team with red suit as one team and black as the other team. Eventually, it was Ross, Richard, Mike, and Joey against Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, and Chandler. "Okay, we're gonna set up questions this way. It's more or less going to be about who knows the other team best. It actually worked out pretty well considering significant others are on opposite teams! What're the chances?" Monica said excitedly.

"Okay, everyone give their card to me. Whoever's card I draw has to answer a question from the opposite team."

"Can we get help from our teammates?" Chandler asked.

Monica nodded. "Team game. Of course you can! However, if another person has to give the answer, you get one point. If the person who is asked the question doesn't receive any help, you get two points."

Chandler nodded and they began to play. To Chandler's disappointment, their team had been named 'The Girls' while Joey's was 'The Guys.' "I'm a man, too, you know!" He complained. Joey patted him on the shoulder in consolation.

"Don't worry, Chandler. I know for a fact that you're a man. I have been up close and personal with that knowledge." He smirked.

Chandler blushed furiously while the others in the room groaned.

The first card drawn was Phoebe's. "Okay, Phoebes," Ross said. "What is Ross' middle name?"

Phoebe looked confused before Rachel and Chandler whispered, "Eugene," to her.

Ross looked at Chandler, confused. "How do you know my middle name?"

Chandler shrugged. "Well, for starters, we went to college together. Second," he smirked. "I know everything."

Joey laughed. "Okay, genius."

The next card was Richard's. "What does Chandler do for a living?" Monica asked, knowing the significance of the question.

Chandler, Rachel, and Monica all high-fived while Joey groaned. "That's not even fair, guys!" Joey complained. "You can't recycle questions like that!"

Chandler smirked. "You're just mad that none of you know what it is," Chandler's expression fell. "Should I be offended by this? I told you all before and you still don't know? Joey, I'm appalled." He put his hand over his heart for emphasis. "Okay, I'm really not offended. I think my competitive side has ruined me."

As the game progressed, they somehow went from playful banter to serious contemplation of their lives. They had stopped counting a long time ago and ended up in some weird game of Truth or Dare, but you could only choose truth.

"Okay, Chandler, we've had enough," Phoebe said. "Tell us. Is Joey really as good as they say?"

"And you can't use the excuse that you and Joey haven't had sex this time!" Monica argued. "Rachel and I have heard you."

Chandler blushed while Ross, Richard, and Mike groaned. Joey just laughed. This was going to be good. "Well, I'm going to have to disagree with all the women out there. He's not as good as they say," he said. Joey was about to retort with something along the lines of, "I'm pretty sure you've never complained before," when Chandler continued with a smirk by saying, "He's way better."

Joey gave Chandler a look that said 'you just saved your sex life,' making the man laugh.

The night continued and they kept growing more fond of their lives. They eventually pulled out their yearbooks to willingly show their embarrassing school photos. Joey went to get his, but when Chandler didn't follow him, Joey asked why.

Chandler shrugged. "I never bought any. Didn't have the money."

Joey nodded, understanding that much. He went into his room and grabbed his books before returning and seeing that Phoebe was the first to share her book. Chandler, meanwhile, was staring at Phoebe's elementary school photos with confusion. "Hey, Phoebes, can I see that for a minute?"

Phoebe nodded and handed the book to him. Chandler flipped a few pages to the grade below hers, then said, "Ah-hah!" He pointed to a picture in the book, the name under it reading, "Chandler M. Bing."

"Holy crap!" They all said.

"You went to school with Phoebe?" Mike exclaimed.

Chandler nodded. "I guess so." Then, "Wait a minute..." Chandler eyed Phoebe suspiciously. "Were you the one that kept selling those cigarettes to me?"

Phoebe shook her head. "No way! I would totally remember if I sold you cigarettes! Let me see that picture of you." She stole the book out of Chandler's hands before tossing it on the table with an exclamation of, "Oh my God! I sold you cigarettes! I fed your addiction!"

Chandler just smirked. "You always got the best kind."

Eventually, the night was called to a close as everyone was getting pretty tired. The two men said their goodbyes and went to their apartment. They had originally planned to move everything around that day, but they were honestly feeling too tired to do anything, so they just went to bed and laid there with each other.

Joey had his arms wrapped around Chandler, the smaller man curled into the Italian's chest. Both were tired, but Joey had a question that was nagging at his mind. Curiosity got the better of him and he finally asked, "You know, I realized today that I don't know anything about your childhood."

Joey could actually feel Chandler's face heat up. "It wasn't anything spectacular, I promise."

Joey pulled away from Chandler so he could look at him directly. "But it's about you and you're something spectacular."

Chandler mock-grimaced. "You're so corny."

"You love it."

Chandler nodded absentmindedly, his thoughts mainly on his childhood. He sighed, deciding that he didn't want to hide anything from Joey. His childhood was in the very distant past anyways. "My childhood wasn't all that bad," Chandler began and Joey listened intently. "I did have good moments with my parents. It's just sometimes the bad outweighed the good.

"I can't ever remember a time when my mother wasn't drinking. She always had a drink, but it only became a real problem when my parents finally got a divorce. Before the divorce, my parents always argued. They say that people should fight to live. Well, my parents were the type of people who lived to fight.

"As I grew and started understanding what they were arguing about, I was always stressed. I remember once, right before my ninth birthday, my parents were fighting over who was going to sleep on the very couch I was hiding behind. It gets kind of blurry after that, but I guess I had a panic attack. My parents didn't even notice until they heard me fall off the couch because I stopped breathing. The panic attacks happened a lot after that until they actually got their divorce. That was when I started smoking." Chandler laughed humorlessly. "A nine year old smoker. What a legend.

"Anyways, after they got their divorce, I wasn't really surprised by anything. They tried to explain to me in a way that wouldn't hurt my feelings, but instead, I think I asked them something along the lines of, 'Is this a thing people do? Why didn't you guys do it sooner?' Their shocked faces was priceless, looking back.

"To get away from my parents for a minute, school was a living Hell for me. I went to public school for a while; my father insisted on it. I liked public school. No one cared about what I did. I could sneak out for a smoke and no one would even notice I was gone. When they got their divorce and my father left, my mother pulled me out and put me into an all-boys private school. That was a complete shock to me. I had to leave my friends and go to this school where everyone was either rich or richer. I think I was the poorest kid there and they all looked down on me because of it. And the teachers hated me. I would sneak out a lot for a smoke like I usually would and, unlike in public schools, teachers got pissed. As much as I knew that smoking was bad, it was an unsettling change for me.

"One time I got called to the principal's office and he looked at my wrinkled, dirty uniform and said something like how he knew I wasn't from a privileged family but that didn't mean I had to act like a delinquent. Why does smoking automatically make me a bad person? A lot of people who smoke aren't bad people. They just made a bad decision and then got addicted to something.

"And the kids in high school were awful," he blushed. "I admit I got beat up a few times, but they really didn't like it when I called them YUPs."

"YUPs?"

Chandler nodded. "Yeah, a YUP or a Yuppie is an acronym. It stands for 'Young, Urban, and Privileged.' It was my personal nickname for them. They hated being called privileged because I guess rich people like to make it sound like they have less than what they really do. There's always an exception to the rule, but most rich people I've met don't really know what it's like to work for what you have, especially second and third generation rich people.

"So, after school, I would come home and my mother would usually not be there. If she was home then the front door would be locked. I learned my lesson on going in when the front door was locked." He shivered at the memory of finding his mother on the couch with some random guy. "While she was either at the bar or at work I would clean up the place for when she came home. When she got home she stumbled around a lot and broke things so I tried to make a clear path for her. She would come home and often ask what I was doing there. I think I reminded her of my father...

"She would spit insults at me until she realized who I was, then she would usually pass out. I would carry her to her bed and put a trash can by her head for in the morning. Then I'd go to bed.

"When I was fifteen, my mother quit her job to be a writer. She's famous now, but you don't get that way overnight. I ended up picking up two jobs while going to school to cover the expenses. I would go to school from seven to three, then go to my weekday job from four to about midnight. I was a dishwasher at some old restaurant. My second job was more of a pity job offer, but I loved it regardless. My art teacher saw that I was good at art so she got me in with the city to paint various displays. My hours were long but it was worth it. I worked twelve hours a day at that job, but only on the weekends.

"I'd come home every day, exhausted, but I did what I had to do to make sure my mother and I had a place to live.

"When I was about to graduate, I told my mother that I had applied to art school, but she said that I wasn't going to art school because that's where the 'fags' went. She went behind my back and changed my major. I gave up at that point, so I went to school for business and I hated it.

"College itself wasn't too bad, though. I could smoke in peace and I met Ross and eventually Monica there."

Chandler sighed. "That's basically it. That was my childhood and some of college."

Joey took a moment to take it all in. Pulling Chandler close against him, he kissed his forehead as a sweet gesture of comfort. "Jesus, Chandler. And you forgave them?"

Chandler nodded, leaning into the soothing touch of Joey's hand running up his side in a comforting manner. "Yeah. I'm tired of being angry at them. They're my parents, regardless of any screw ups they had in the past."

Joey kissed the tip of Chandler's nose, making the man's face scrunch up in what Joey thought was the most adorable way ever. Joey chuckled, but quickly became more serious. "I don't know what to do with you sometimes, Chandler. You are so kind that I get scared that people will take advantage of you."

Chandler pretended to look thoughtful before climbing on top of Joey to straddle his hips. "You take advantage of me. In fact, I say you take advantage of me right now, hmm?"

Joey tried to glare, but he couldn't keep the smirk from his features. "Stop distracting me. I'm serious. You are too nice for over half the people on this planet, including me."

Chandler's head tilted slightly; it was his way of saying he was trying to process something that was said. "You think I'm too nice for you?"

"I think you're too good for me." Joey said without missing a beat.

Chandler's mouth pressed into a thin line, signaling he was about to go on a rant about how wrong Joey was. "I'm too good for you? I think you've got it backwards, Joe. I mean, I'm pretty much the world's most judgmental asshole who couldn't"-

Chandler was cut off by Joey pulling him down and smashing their lips together, effectively silencing the smaller man. "Shut up, Chandler. You're not an asshole and you're certainly not judgmental. If you were judgmental, you would never have given me a chance. In fact, I'm sure you'd still be in the damn closet." He smirked when he saw Chandler considering this. "And if you were an asshole, you wouldn't have gotten those tickets for me and you for Christmas. I know that, last year, you worked extra hours so you could buy each of us something special for Christmas. You do it every year. Everyone gets excited around Christmas because you always give the best gifts. You always know what to get for us because you pay attention. An asshole doesn't care about that kind of stuff. An asshole would go to the nearest dollar store and buy a scarf."

Chandler nodded slowly before pressing his lips against Joey's. The man wrapped his arms around the man leaning over him, adoration and love coming off in waves through the lazy kiss. "I love you, Chandler."

Chandler smiled against his lips. "I love you, too, Joey," he said before sliding off the man and cuddling up close to him.

As sleep gripped at Chandler, he heard Joey call his name. "Yeah, Joe?" He mumbled.

"Merry Christmas."

Chandler smiled sleepily. "Merry Christmas, Joey."

The next day found Joey and Chandler rearranging their rooms so they could actually move in together. After several cuts, scrapes, and bruises from trying to move everything over and running into furniture in the process, they had Chandler's bed taken apart and his clothes and other things moved into Joey's room. They smiled at their accomplishment before promptly collapsing on Joey's – no, their – bed and crashing for the next few hours.

Chandler woke first to the sound of a knock on the door. He slowly dragged himself out of bed, not caring that he was clad in only a pair of boxers – it was probably just Monica – and went to answer the door.

"Monica, hey. Now is a really bad time. I'm really tired"-

Chandler was promptly cut off when he realized who was standing at his door.

"Janice?"

The Brooklyn woman nodded slowly. "Can I come in, Chandler?"

Chandler was a little hesitant, but he nodded slowly. "What're you doing here?"

She looked down at her shoes as she spoke. "Chandler, there's no easy way for me to say this, so I'm just gonna spit it out," she looked him in the eyes as she explained, "I'm not sure if you feel the same way, but I need to get this off my chest because it's driving me crazy.

"Chandler Bing, I'm still in love with you. I can't get you out of my head. I can't move on from you and I sure as Hell don't want to."

Chandler's eyes went wide. "Janice, I'm sorry. I don't feel the same way about you. You know that."

The man watched as Janice got that look in her eyes that showed she was about to do something monumentally stupid. She inched herself closer to Chandler, pressing up against him. In Chandler's confusion, he just froze. "Why? After everything we've been through? After all the history we have?"

Chandler shook his head as he tried to will his body to move. "I can't be with you, Janice. I'm with somebody else."

"Who?" She asked. "Who could be better for you than me?"

Chandler glared, finding his will to move through the confusion. "Joey," he said simply. "I'm with Joey and I love him."

Her eyes widened. "But, you're not gay."

Chandler rolled his eyes. "You're probably the first person to actually say that and believe it." He shook his head. "No, I'm not gay. I'm bisexual, but that's not really the point here. I can't be with you because I'm in love with Joey."

She shook her head. "He's feeding you lies. What makes you think he's not just using you?"

Chandler scoffed. "How about everything he's ever done for me? You haven't been here Janice. You don't even know what's been going on. I don't care if you make comments about me, but if you start talking about Joey like you do everyone else then I'm going to ask you to get out."

Janice shook her head. "No, I'm not leaving. Not until I get you to see that you still love me."

Chandler wanted to pull his hair out. "Get out, Janice. For the last time. I don't love you."

"Quit lying to yourself, Bing. I'll show you exactly what the truth is."

Before Chandler could even reply, Janice pressed herself against Chandler, sealing their lips together. In Chandler's utter shock, he couldn't push her away. He could only stand there and let her have her one-sided kiss.

Chandler heard his name being called by a familiar voice. "Is everything..."

Chandler finally found his sanity and pushed Janice away. "Joey!"

Of course Joey had to come out at this time. Of course Chandler would find a way to break his heart.

He always screwed things up.

He watched as Joey walked back into their room before coming back out fully clothed. "Joey, I know this is a really cliché line, but it's really not what it looks like."

Joey didn't even answer him as he walked out.

The apartment was eerily silent before Janice's voice broke through the quiet. "Chandler, I'm sorry"-

"Get out, Janice, or I swear to God you will regret staying here another second."

The woman nodded and quickly ran out of the apartment. Once the door shut and Chandler was alone, he collapsed in a sobbing mess. This was the first time since his suicide attempt that he had cried and Joey wasn't there with him.

This was his fault.

He dragged himself to what their room before falling onto Joey's side of the bed, drinking in his scent that still lingered there as he cried. He'd ruined everything. He just destroyed the greatest thing that ever happened to him.

He didn't deserve Joey. He'd known that since the beginning. Maybe this was for the best. Joey deserved someone much better than him.

Chandler curled in on himself as he passed out, his eyes red from tears and his body tired from shaking so much.

His last thought before his consciousness left him was that this was for the best. Joey would be better off without him.