[Joey x Chandler] COMPILATION OF SHORT STORIES FROM AO3

The One Where Joey Gets Dumped

Chandler jumped as the door to the apartment flew open and slammed shut, an angry Joey storming in.

"Hey, man. What's wrong?" Chandler asked as he reached for the remote and turned off the TV, swivelling in his chair to face his roommate.

"She dumped me. I thought I'd finally found the right girl for me and she dumped me." Joey whined as he flopped onto the sofa, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

"What, why? You two seemed to be doing just fine this morning." Chandler reached for another beer from the cooler, getting up to pass the drink to his friend before returning to his seat, throwing his left leg across his right.

"That's what I thought!" Joey exclaimed. "Apparently I'm 'too childish' just because I used her nephew's Legos to make Lego boobs. What the hell?!"

"Ah, nice." Chandler snorted, nodding.

"I know, right?" Joey dropped the sad demeanour for a moment before his frowny face returned. "But I dunno. I told her I could change but she said she would call me if she ever believed that."

Chandler winced. He'd seen Joey use the 'I'll call you' line many times before, but he'd never actually seen it be used on Joey.

"I'm sorry, man. But hey, if a woman can't appreciate Lego breasts, then she's definitely not the right woman for you!" Chandler raised his beer as if he was giving a toast before taking a long swig. Joey glanced up as he sat back, a small fake smile on his face as he played with the bottle of his still full beer.

"Am I..." Joey cut himself off, the frown taking over his smile. "Am I... Is it me, Chandler? I always thought it'd be the case that if I wanted to settle down, I could. The women I go after are usually looking for something serious. It's my fault it never goes further than a couple of dates. But maybe not. Maybe women don't see a 'settle downer' in me. Maybe I'll never be able to find the one for me."

Chandler bit his lip throughout his friend's slightly panicked rant, tapping his fingers against the armrest of his chair.

Chandler jumped out of his chair, sitting down on the sofa arm next to his roommate. He glanced down at his own hand before shrugging and placing it on Joey's shoulder.

"I think you're just new at this. Give it some time. There's loads of girls out there who would love the whole Joey rather than just one night of the Little General." He squeezed Joey's shoulder as he tried to comfort him, not really fully understanding the words coming out of his own mouth.

"There are? Really?" Joey looked up at Chandler, that hurt puppy look on his face that Rachel, Monica and Phoebe couldn't resist. Although, to be honest, Chandler and even Ross couldn't really resist it either. How could they? He looked like a puppy who had been kicked, and then kicked again, before being told it wasn't allowed any more cuddles and attention. And then the puppy was sent to it's room.

"Yes! Including most of my past girlfriends." Chandler deadpanned. Joey scratched his head, looking awkward.

"Yeah, sorry about that man. I really can't help it, you know?" Joey trailed off, shrugging.

"No, no. It's fine, it's fine." Chandler waved him off. "But I'm just saying, there's definitely a Mrs Tribbiani just waiting excitedly to meet you. All the women you go out with are always really into you. I bet barely any of them would break up with you before you broke up with them."

Joey smiled the first proper smile he'd smiled since Lucy had broken up with him.

"Thank you. I really appreciate that." Joey attempted to give Chandler a hug, but ended up with his face kind of squished against Chandler's chest because Chandler was still sitting on the arm rest and it got awkward real fast so Chandler settled for ruffling Joey's hair and sliding down onto the sofa to sit next to Joey properly.

"No problem, buddy. Now, how about we watch Baywatch to cheer you up?" Chandler slung an arm around Joey's shoulders.

"Yeah!" Joey cheered, a huge grin covering his face as he leaned into his roommates side slightly. Chandler rolled his eyes.

"Typical. I give you this awesome best friend speech to cheer you up, and it's Baywatch that gets you to grin that big." Joey just shrugged.