A Friend in Need

From Chandler's point of view.

It was yet another Central Perk afternoon of listening to Ross complain about the woes of the thrice-wed. The check had been paid, Monica and Phoebe had departed with Rachel to work out some detail of Rachel's upcoming prtatitation for the new fall line, and all that remained was to figure out what excuse to use to get out of heading over to Ross' place to indulge him in more of his pitiful whining.

Chandler sunk a little deeper into the worn easy chair and rolled his eyes toward Ross. For the love of Pete! He hadn't stopped talking for over twenty minutes. And where was Joey? At least he acted as a buffer for some of this misery. Joe always knew how to time his inappropriate and distracting comments for maximum conversation killing effect. God how he missed Joey right now!

"Melissa seemed nice enough, though. Right up until she poured Zima into the pocket of my favorite lab coat. How was I supposed to know she didn't like the knickname "Scorchy McHotbreath." Ross droned.

Chandler failed to respond. His gaze had fixed on a napkin there on the coffee table. It was blue. That was somehow enough to captivate his interest. A blue napkin beat Ross out for his attention. The slight did not go unnoticed.

"Okay, so I'm going to take off now." Ross said with no small amount of indignation.

"Sorry, man. I guess it's that cold medicine I took, has me a little out of it."

"But you don't have a cold. And I don't remember you taking any medicine." replied Ross analytically.

"What do you want me to say? That this napkin has more appeal than you? Work with me Ross!" Chandler shot back. Instantly he regretted the remark. Ross stood up slowly. If he had gone quickly it wouldn't have been so bad. But the moment lingered and Chandler could feel that acid feeling rising in his stomach. "Ross, I'm sorry, man."

"It's alright." Ross said taking a step toward the end of the table where Chandler was seated. He reached out a hand, Chandler thought, as an offer of truce. But as Chandler leaned forward, preparing to outstetch his own hand, Ross bent and picked up the napkin that had held Chandler's attention. Then looking at Chandler he balled it in his fist and let it drop to the table, and turned and walked out. Chandler sank back into the chair that had, on so many occasions, seemed like a big hug from the good folks of Ikea. Right now it felt as cold and hard as a marble slab.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Joey's point of view

It was around 10:30pm when Joey got home. He had been out running lines with some of the other actors for the show he was co-starring in - a revival of Huck Finn, but with space aliens. The director hadn't worked out who was an alien and who was human yet, but he did feel he had the right mix of actors in Joey and Andy Dick to pull the production off.

He turned his key in the lock and let the door swing open. The lights were off, which was unusual for this time of night. Chandler had no life so he should definitely be home now. Maybe he was getting some. Joey smiled to himself, "yeah baby!"

He closed the door behind him without turning on the light. Dropping his script and notes on the counter he crossed to his room, kicking his shoes off as he went. By the time he passed his door, his A/F t-shirt was slung over his shoulder and he was working loose the zipper on his jeans. As they slipped to his knees he sat on the edge of his bed and worked them off by kicking his legs. Eventually they landed in the pile in the corner. He lay back, now naked except for his socks, and stared up at the reflected streetlighting on the ceiling of the room.

He raised his arms and locked his hands behind his head, and caught a sudden whiff of the funk he'd built up during the day's activity. It was a powerful musk. He felt like he was entitled to it, like he'd worked hard the way his dad had worked hard. He breathed it in - impossible not to in the stuffy room. August in New York and here he lay with the window closed and no air conditioner. He knew if he didn't get up soon and open a window the smell would hang in the air for the rest of the night, even if he took a shower.

He was tired now, though. He felt lazy and hot and tired. He suddenly thought of I Dream of Genie. He tried blinking his eyes and looked toward the window. Nope, still closed. Finally he got up and walked the four steps to the window and yanked it hard. It gave a couple of inches. He didn't have the will to fight it for the extra inch he knew was possible. No matter, there was enough of a breeze to dissipate some of the funk. But he had to shower.

Standing in front of the window the breeze caressed his nakedness, cooling the dampness at his crotch. He reached down and tugged and his heavy, sweaty dong and raised his moist fingers to his nose. Again that pungent smell of manliness. He smirked and looked down at his equipment, his pal. He reached down again an this time let the palm of his hand gently brush the underside of his head, just toward the tip. His fingertips cupped underneath his hairy scrotum and scratched the sweat-slicked area behind. He was beginning to get aroused.

He thought about Jenny, one of the actresses at the reading. She had a hot mouth and curly red hair you could really lock your fingers into. He imagined it was her hand stroking his balls, getting him hard, getting him ready so she could take him into her mouth. He was filling up, pushing outward. The tip of his lightly tanned penis was touching the rough wood of the window sash. He gently shifted his body and let the friction of the old, raw paint work him toward a full hard. He really loved his cock. He loved getting hard. He loved being hard. It was the only thing he loved more than eating.

He was ready for that shower now. He took a step back from the window and looked around, out there to the other buildings, and wondered who was getting off on him. He was sure someone had to see. He licked his palm and brought it down and firmly grasped the end of his penis. He worked the head a little and then turned to head for the bathroom, never letting go of his pal.

He was two steps into the livingroom when he noticed Chandler sitting in the dark on the sofa. Joey froze, erect cock in hand. There was enough light for him to make out Chandler's shocked expression as he sat forward, hands sort of flailing as if trying to catch his balance. Joey had never been busted masturbating before. So this was a shocker for them both.

"Uh, hey Chandler."

"Hey, Joe. Whatcha doin' there?"

Joey looked down and fist wrapped around his swollen member. Getting caught hand not dampened his erection in the least. "Trying out a new hand cream?"

"Really? And what would that be called?"

"Uh, it doesn't have a name. It's for a new company. They gave it to us to try and we're supposed to tell them what we think and then they'll come up with a name." Joey said and smiled, folding his arms across his bare chest. His erect penis was pointing slightly upward and a bubble of precum had started to form at the tip.

Chandler stood and crossed to the kitchen. Joey's feet seemed to be frozen to the floor but he followed Chandler with his eyes. Maybe if he didn't move Chandler would not notice his massive boner. He'd seen Joey naked before. Joey thought that if he didn't freak out and run, maybe everything would be just fine, maybe Chandler wouldn't realize he had been beating off walking through the apartment. The fridge door opened and he heard the clinking of glass. The glow of the refrigerator light vanished. And then Chandler was directly in front of him holding out a bottle of beer and smiling. He paused for a moment then accepted the beer with a sheepish grin.

And there they stood, in the darkened livingroom. Joey in his socks, and chandler in his jeans and t-shirt, sipping beer and trying to figure out what to do next.

"I never knew you flogged the bishop." Chandler smiled. He seemed immensely satisfied that Joey had finally fallen into the realm of mere mortal men.

"Well, it's not something that I have to do. I mean, you know what I'm talkin' 'bout!" Joey responded, nodding his head with that smarmy "How you doin'" smirk.

Chandler, still smiling moved back to the couch and eased down. "I know that. It's just it seems like such a regular guy thing to do, not something that uber-studs like you would do."

"Uber-stud? Cool." Joey nodded. "That could be my super-hero name!" He planted his feet apart and put hands on hips. His veiny member stood out proud, the very representation of uber-studliness. "Stand back ma'am! I'll save you with my superwad!"

"O-K. then. So is that a huge erection or are you just happy to see me?" Chandler said, cocking his head to the side that way that he does. "Aren't we taking the 'commando' concept a bit far?"

"You know," Joey began explaining as he walked toward the couch, "now that I've been busted, I feel free. It's weird. It's like there's nothing left to hide. Like you've seen me at my most embarrassing moment. Being naked in front of you like this feels just like your part of me, like it doesn't matter."

Chandler squinted in the darkness. "Seriously? This doesn't feel weird to you? Because, I gotta tell you, I'm having flashbacks to my dad and the pool boy and I'm about this close to freaking out!"

Joey laughed and strode over to the couch and dropped down next to Chandler. He was very ripe at this point, causing Chandler to draw in and hold a desperate breath. "Gee, Joe, you stink."

"Yeah! Isn't it great? Did you ever just sit there and stink? You should try it. It'll get you in touch with your manhood."

"Oh I think I just saw how you get in touch with your manhood."

"Ha ha. Very funny, Chandler. You know, you could stand to loosen up some. You're always makin' those smart cracks like everybody else doesn't have it together, but it seems like sometimes maybe you're the one who's unhappy. For instance, why are you sitting here in the dark?" Chandler was quiet, and for a second, Joey was afraid maybe he overstepped. He took a sip of beer and set the bottle down on the floor. Still nothing as Chandler stared at some point on the carpet. Joey reached over and laid his hand on Chandler's shoulder. "Hey, you alright, man?"

Finally Chandler responded, "Today in the coffeehouse I was sitting there with Ross. I wasn't listening to him. He was going on about his relationship problems and I wasn't listening to him. was was pissed and I know he'll get over it. But it made me think...." He trailed off. They sat in silence for some moments. Joey slowly massaged Chandler's neck with the one hand. He began to be worried because Chandler was never this - intense. Chandler went on, "Do you ever feel like you're losing connection?"

"Connection with what?" Joey asked, genuinely at a loss.

"With us? With the group. We're getting older now. The stuff that used to entertain is sometimes kind of annoying now. You know? And sometimes I feel like if I have to listen to the same stories again my head is going to crystalize and dissolve into a heap of powder. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love all of you guys, but it feels like..."
He trailed off again. He really didn't seem to know what it felt like. But whatever it was, it had him plenty troubled. And Joey did not like to see that.

But he wasn't sure what to say. He knew he was no deep philosopher, but he knew that there had to be something that could make his best friend feel better. As they sat there amid the vague shadows of the growing night, he looked at his friend and roommate. As he studied Chandler's face, slightly silhouetted in the room where they had shared fireball he felt pain and intense longing. It was a pain that dissolved the boundaries that usual exist between people. He realized how much he loved Chandler, how much his friend meant to him. He wanted to shake him and order him to feel better, but he knew that it doesn't work that way among hearts. And he had to do something, because he couldn't stand to see his friend like this. So he leaned over and kissed his friend on the cheek, gently. And he drew closer to him and encircled his shoulders, resting his hand on Chandler's head, which inclined towards his until they were touching.

He could hear Chandler breathing. The heat of their faces mingled. It was as if they had found their way back into a common womb where, in silence, they could nourish each other and regenerate.

Chandler pulled back slightly and sighed. Joey looked at him expectantly seeing the resolution on Chandler's face. "I feel isolated." And Joey understood. Not in a way that would require hours of analysis and soul searching, but as a child understands a puppy. Chandler was simply lonely. All those failed dates and failed relationships, and broken family remnants, and now he was finally crapping out.

Well, if there was anything Joey knew, it was how to not be alone. He knew how to share intimacy, however meaningless it might have seemed to more critical minds. He knew how to touch and allow himself to be touched, and in sharing bodies, not feel alone. And as he looked at his defeated friend, he knew that he would share that tonight. If he couldn't reach out to Chandler with his mind, he would offer what he did have. And maybe it would be better, because maybe Chandler needed a break from all of his thinking and criticizing and having that smart-assed answer at the ready.

And as he began to caress the back of Chandler's neck gently with the tips of his middle and ring fingers he began to be aroused again. "Come here." he said taking Chandler by the shoulders and rotating his body so they were now facing each other sitting on the couch. Joey could not tell if Chandler knew what was coming next, but he knew he'd figure it out pretty quickly. He wasn't sure what the reaction would be, but he felt that they had already broken boundaries and they were already poised for whatever would come next. As he took Chandler's face between his hands and leaned forward he could hear him breath in with a slow shudder. He moistened his own lips and made contact. He was surprised at the softness of Chandler's mouth and how nice it felt to have his friend this close, closer than they had ever been. Slowly he began to work his lips, parting them and allowing his tongue to moisten Chandler's lips. He felt no awkwardness or embarassment when the tip of Chandler's slick tongue grazed by his own. The both pulled toward each other, still gently. Their kisses were so slow, and so filled with tenderness, lips sliding across lips to meet stubbled flesh. The roughness was sent a chill through Joey.

And then they sat, forehead to forehead, again, feeling each other's breath. They paused as their arousal matured. Chandler's hands were now on Joey's shoulders. It was as if he still felt there were respectable zones, even now, even with Joey sitting there naked in front of him. Joey stood. He took Chandler's hands a pulled him to his feet. He wrapped his arms around Chandlers waist, pulling him into his naked body and forcing his erection to the left. The feel of the coarse fabric agains his percolating nuts made him draw in a sudden breath. The stood looking into each other's eyes. He felt comfort and completeness as he kissed Chandler's nose, and forehead and eyelids. And with his right arm still encircling Chandler's waist he guided Chandlers hand to his penis, which Chandler firmly took hold of. His best friend had him by the good stuff, and it felt so right. It didn't matter that he wasn't working with it much. Just the intimacy of the contact made Joey's heart beat stronger.

Chandler slowly began to massage Joey's hard-on, particularly letting his pinkie and ring finger brush back and forth across the piss slit. Joey moaned and the slick precum lubricated each stroke. Back and forth, slowly working the tip while squeezing and milking. He had to give Chandler credit; all those years of wanking had truly made him masterful with his hands. Chandler was looking down at his handiwork now and smiling. He glanced up at Joey and slowly ran his tongue around his lips. Now Joey was starting to breathe hard with anticipation.

Would Chandler actually do it? The very idea of his best buddy going down on his hard cock was blowing his mind! Without ceremony, Chandler was on his knees. Joey rested his hand on the top of Chandler's head and gently stroked his hair. Chander was looking alternately from the bulbous cock head which was only two inches from his lips to Joey eager, panting smile. Joey had a beautiful penis. Nice coloring, larger toward the base. And the head made a wonderful mouthful as Chandler would discover. Now he had Joey in a two fisted grip. The right hand was firmly stroking the shaft down to the base. The left worked the head, fingers still polishing from the underside, just under the head, up and over the slippery tip. It was this constant gently buildup of friction that was beginning to make Joey lose his cool. He sucked air between clenched teeth each time Chandler's fingers grazed his sensitive spot along the right side of the corona. He was going to start making a lot of noise pretty soon if the constant stimulation kept torturing the head of his cock. And his mouth got ever nearer. Joey could see that Chandler wasn't going to rush into this, but damn if he wasn't ready to feel the soft inside Chandler's mouth. He was being teased, but not with cruelty. It was the mere newness of staring his friend's little general in the face that made Chandler draw out the torture. Finally he made contact, first with the tip of his tongue. He seemed to taste it just to be sure of what he was getting into. And suddenly he went for it. He took in so much so fast that he gagged; a common beginner's mistake. For Joey it did not matter. The contrast of soft warmth followed quickly by the cool he felt when Chandler pulled off of his member was almost more than he could stand. Chandler leaned forward to take him in again, but Joey stopped him. He wanted to do for Chandler. And if he let this go on any longer, he'd blow his load before Chandler got anything back.

So he got on his knees and reached for Chandlers shirt. When he had pulled it over his head he forced Chandler gently onto his back on the floor and unbuckled his belt. Working his jeans down to reveal FTL tighty-whiteys he smiled. Pretty soon those were also tossed aside. And now they were both naked. Two men, naked and stretched out together on the floor of the apartment they had shared these many years. Penis to penis, hard-on to hard-on they lay, their most vulnerable most hidden parts finally shared between them. More than that, they had full access to each other. Their faces touched. Their hands touched in ways that men's hands should more often touch. For once they sought comfort in each other. And for once they would utter words they had spoken, but utter them in a way they had never been spoken. "I love you so much," said with kisses and tongue. "Thank you for touching me and letting me touch you," spoken with sweat soaked skin against sweat soaked skin. The smells of their bodies mingled and they knew that they would never be far from each other, not after what they were sharing now.

Slowly Joey spread Chandlers legs and went down. It was his first time ever having his face that close to any man's private area. But it was Chandler's, so it would almost be like blowing himself. He studied it briefly, the pinkness of the tip, how it felt in his grip. He liked the feel. So he began to suck on it. And he sucked it the way his had been sucked SO many times before. Pumping and sucking, pumping and sucking. He knew he had to take his time or Chandler would be done quickly. He took a break to explore the dangling scrotum. He breathed in the fragrance of Chandler's pubes as he let his tongue work the back of the sack and the "taint". The sweat was salty and musky. The left nut filled his mouth perfectly. He gently massaged it with his tongue while still pumping the shaft. Chandler was starting to squirm and moan. It made Joey feel so good to know that his mouth was bringing so much pleasure to his friend.

He left off with the oral endeavour. He was ready for them to stroke each other to orgasm. He wanted this to last, though so toodtood and took Chandler's hand and led him to his own room. They lay down among the pillows and Joey pulled a sheet over them. And face to face they lay with his hand on Chandler's and Chandler's hand on his. They had no need of extra lubrication. They were both very sweaty and precum was everywhere. And holding Chandler's slick, pink penis against the flat of his own belly, Joey rolled on top of Chandler and began to slide his body ever so slightly while massaging with his hand. Slowly moving, slowly grinding and rubbing. And now kissing Chandlers neck and now his mouth as he continued to grind, he slid Chandler's cock head back and forth against his slick hairy belly, letting the pressure of his body weight add to the friction. Chandler could take no more. With arms clutched tight around Joey and legs spread wide, every muscle in his body tensed as he rode the wave to the top. Joey's rhythm was expert, working in perfect concert with Chandler's breathing and releasing. And now the rhythm was at its crescendo and Chandler, groaning loudly, let go his load. Hissing his friend's name through clenched teeth he forced his hot fluid into Joey's hand filling the air with the slight perfume of chlorine. And Joey continued to rub and grind, and Chandler continued to hold and they embraced and held each other, whispering each other's names into the night.

And something surprising happened. For the first time, it wasn't about Joey getting one off. That night he went without. But he was more satisfied than he had ever been, because for the first time, he had been with someone he truly cared about, in a way that he never would have imagined possible, and they had shared something that would last a lifetime.