I'm Yours

Joey/Chandler (Friends)

"Again? You saw her yesterday, too!" Joey's voice was a little louder than he had expected it to be.

"Yeah, why not?" Chandler asked, surprise written all over his face, as he watched Joey getting up from the chair.

"I don't know..." Joey came closer to Chandler. "I just thought we agreed on not making things... too serious."

Not being able to deny Joey's words, Chandler looked down briefly. In fact, they had agreed on an open relationship. They were allowed to see women, as long as they remembered that they were the ones in love. But he didn't think that seeing a girl for two weeks were too much over the line.

"Where are you getting at?" he asked, looking directly into Joey's eyes.

"It's just that..." Joey took a breath. "It kinda' feels wrong."

"You agreed on this!"

"I didn't think it would be this way!"

Chandler eyed Joey suspiciously.

"Are you jealous?"

"No!" Joey actually took a step back, totally surprised by the question. Okay, he might have felt slightly jealous the last couple of days. But hell, Chandler had spent so much time with this girl that it was starting to freak him out. "I'm just a little... afraid."

Chandler looked at Joey with amazement.

"What are you afraid of?" His voice was gentle and not at all accusing.

Joey sighed and rubbed his neck, looking like a child hiding a secret.

"I'm afraid that you'll start liking her more than you like me." The words came out low and guilty.

Chandler smiled sadly.

"Look," he came closer to Joey and placed his hands on his shoulders. "You don't have to worry. Yeah, I like her..."

Not daring looking into Chandler's eyes, Joey kept his glance stuck to the floor. He wasn't amused. And Chandler took notice of this. He continued.

"But I love you. You know that, right?"

Judged by the kind tone of Chandler's voice, Joey was sure he was telling the truth. He nodded a little.

"Yeah," he said. "I love you, too." And after a quick moment of silence, he felt Chandler's lips on his own. It was no rough or desperate kiss. Just a gentle, soft touch.

They smiled at each other.

"Go 'n have fun," Joey then said and friendly stroked Chandler's shoulder.

"You bet," Chandler said with a smirk and left Joey to grab his jacket. He came back to him and gave him an assuring pat on his back. "I'd be back soon, alright?"

Joey just nodded while smiling softly, and Chandler took off.

Left in the middle of the kitchen, Joey didn't move right away. His smiling expression softened bit by bit and turned into a sad and concerned gaze. He really didn't like this.

Jessica moved closer to Chandler after closing the door to her apartment. She wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled up at him.

Briefly smiling back at her, he leaned in and kissed her. She didn't seem to find this kiss enough though, since she moved her arms up and around his neck and kissed him deeper and more intensely.

Chandler was a little startled at first but then slowly placed his hands on her hips.

The moment didn't last long, as he suddenly pulled away from her lips and took a breath.

Even though he had been seeing this girl for two weeks, kissing her just became wrong in a single snap. Thoughts about Joey, how they had been arguing about this whole situation, hit him so suddenly. He couldn't continue to do this.

"What is it?" she asked after a moment of silence and no movements.

"I'm sorry," Chandler simply said. He found himself swallowing afterwards.

She frowned at him.

"What-"

"I can't do this." He pulled further away from her, though keeping his hands on her arms.

"Why not?" Her voice was barely containing any feelings.

He completely let go of her and looked down briefly.

"You see, it's just... There's someone else," he said, not being able to lie to her anymore.

"Oh..." She rubbed her neck.

"I'm sorry," he said with a hint of humiliation. "It's a little hard for me to explain right now..." It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her. He just didn't know how. By the way, I'm in a relationship with a guy, but I'm not gay. Yeah, that would be very convincing and not at all scary!

He found her just looking at him expressionlessly.

"Who is she?" she asked all of a sudden.

She. That was exactly why he couldn't tell her.

"I sort of can't tell you that," he said lowly, feeling like a complete idiot. God dammit, the girl was being dumped, and he couldn't even tell her who he abandoned her for. "I hope you understand."

"It's okay," she just said, now seeming a little more affected by the moment.

An awkward silence rushed over them both. After a while, Chandler decided to break it.

"I really have to go."

"Yeah, sure," she nodded and moved to the door before opening it slowly.

Chandler followed her and found himself standing in the open door, not leaving immediately.

"Again," he said, turning to her," I'm so sorry. I really am."

"It's fine, Chandler." She smiled, assuring.

"I had a great time, though." He smiled back.

"Yeah, me too."

"Take care."

"You too, Chandler."

He felt a little frozen. But after a brief moment, Jessica saved him and pulled him into a hug.

"Whoever this girl is, she's very lucky," she sighed and patted his back.

Chandler entered his and Joey's apartment only to find Joey not being there. He had a place in mind where he could be, but to be sure he checked the small board on the door.

'Central Perk.' Yeah, he thought so. The time was perfect, after all.

Opening the door to the coffee house, Chandler immediately recognized his friends, sitting exactly where they always did.

"Hey, guys." He tried to sound cool, like nothing had happened.

They almost greeted him in the exact same time.

Walking up to Joey, who was sitting in the couch, Chandler placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Joe, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure!" Joey didn't sound at all touched by their argument earlier the same evening. He rose from the couch and joined Chandler, before they walked to the furthest corner and into the small hallway by the toilets, where everything was a little bit quieter.

"So, was it great?" Joey asked immediately when standing in front of Chandler.

"Yeah, about that..." Chandler's voice faded, as he looked down briefly. "I think we should call off this open relationship thing."

Joey couldn't believe the serious look in Chandler's eyes. It suddenly felt like a knife was being twisted into his stomach. He wasn't sure whether to say something, but he decided to go through with it. He wanted an explanation.

"You..." He had to clear his throat slightly. "You don't want this anymore?"

"No! I mean, yes!" Chandler closed his eyes at his words. Even when something was very important, he wasn't able to form his sentences properly. "Joey, I think you misunderstood me-"

"Chandler," Joey cut in, "if you don't want this anymore, just say it." Joey thought it over for a second. "Not that it would make me feel any better-"

"Will you please just let me finish?" Chandler had placed his hands on Joey's shoulders, making sure he had his attention.

Joey nodded casually.

"What I mean is," Chandler continued, "that I don't wanna see others. I just want you."

Staring, Joey didn't really know what to say.

"Wow... Chandler, that's-"

"I know, I know. If you're not ready for commitment yet, then-"

"No!" Joey exclaimed, cutting Chandler off. "No, it's not that. I'm just... surprised." He smiled a little.

"Surprised how exactly?" Chandler was actually a bit afraid of Joey's reaction.

"I'm... happy that you feel that way." Joey's voice was calm and gentle.

"You are?"

"Yeah! I can't take this anymore!" Joey rubbed his forehead, sighing. "I want you. And I want you all by myself." He had lowered his voice a little.

Completely unintentionally, Chandler grinned widely.

"Joey-"

"I love you, man." The words came out simple without breaking eye contact.

"I love you, too." Chandler had immediately forgotten all about the stupid dumping thing from earlier, when he leaned in and kissed Joey. Finally, it felt fully right to kiss him again. No lies, no worries.

They had been careful not to be all over each other, before their lips parted again.

"So," Chandler said, "you actually were jealous?"

"I can't hide it anymore, huh?" Joey blushed slightly and then decided to change subject. "Hey, I was wondering... I really think we should tell the guys about this. They're our friends, and we really can't keep hiding it."

Chandler nodded and found himself looking in direction of the main room.

"You're right," he said after a soft sigh. "I've been thinking the same thing."

Joey smiled at him cheekily.

"Now?"

"Now," Chandler agreed with a nod.

Gently taking hold of Chandler's arm, Joey dragged him along to their friends.

"Guys," he said, catching their attention even before he and Chandler reached them properly. "We've got something to tell you."

"Oh! I know!" Phoebe looked all excited, and her voice was high-pitched. "You guys finally found each other!"

Both Joey and Chandler froze immediately. Damn, how did she know?

Suddenly the other three faces turned from Phoebe towards the two of them, staring with their mouths open.

The corner of Joey's mouth quivered slightly, while Chandler just seemed paralyzed.

"Well..." Joey was a very bad liar, and he knew that he and Chandler weren't coming out of this easily. All eyes were on them.

"Guys, is this true?" Ross asked, using his usual gestures and frowning.

"Just look at them," Phoebe said, before the guys had any time to say something to their defense. "It's obvious!"

Joey made a guilty face. Phoebe was mocking him from the chair. He hated how right she always seemed to be.

Everything went silent for a moment. Four of them waited desperately for a confession.

"Oh what the hell," Chandler said suddenly, breaking out of his shell, and swung Joey around, capturing his lips in a deep kiss, as the others around them gasped in surprise.

In the background, Phoebe was clapping her hands eagerly.

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