Everything was flickering in front of him, and he didn't know what was up and down anymore. The faces were gone, but blurred, echoing voices were still present. When something touched him – or more like grabbed him – he reached, as a complete reflex, and punched blindly into the darkness. He could hear himself scream, and now the voices became clearer. They were yelling his name, but he held his ears, trying to block all the noise.

One particular voice began to seem more and more familiar, though, and that was when his feet slipped...

"Chandler! Chandler, wake up!"

Opening his eyes in a snap, Chandler gasped when he saw Joey's face just inches away from his own.

"Are you alright?" Joey asked.

Panting, Chandler realized that his wrists were locked in front of him in Joey's hands. His entire body was drenched with sweat, the sheets clinging to him like a coat of skin. His heart was racing, and he found himself completely stiff with anger and chock. And there was something else. His eyes and cheeks were wet with tears.

Just as he made sense of everything, he felt Joey's hand move up to the side of his face, stroking his cheek with his thumb.

"You were dreaming." Joey's voice was low, and his dark eyes were worried but though reassuring.

Chandler started trembling and swallowed heavily, as Joey's hand kept petting him. Finally managing to catch his breath properly, he closed his eyes and began to loosen up.

"It's okay," he heard Joey say.

Letting out a sigh, Chandler wiped his eyes with a shaky hand and sniffled. He hated nightmares. God, he could just picture himself twisting and turning, maybe even screaming in his sleep. And he had been crying? How pathetic was that?

He watched in silence, as Joey moved off the bed and put on his robe before handing the other one to Chandler.

"Come on," he muttered lowly.

With a shaky hand, Chandler accepted it and slowly swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Actually, he didn't feel like leaving the bed, feeling unbelievably secure where he was.

As he followed Joey out of the room, he rubbed his face. He felt exhausted and still a little shaken by his nightmare.

Watching Joey turn on some lights and walking to the kitchen, he sat down on one of the bar chairs by the counter. Silently, he watched as Joey reached for a glass before filling it with water by the sink.

"Here," he said, placing the glass onto the counter.

Eyeing the glass, Chandler smiled a little before looking up at Joey.

"Thanks." The word only managed to escape his lips before he stared widely at Joey's face. Finally being able to see his face lit up by the light, he found Joey's right eyebrow slightly red and swollen.

"God, what happened to you?" He was stunned.

"What?" Joey asked, leaning onto the counter with his hands.

"Your eye!" Chandler shot up from his seat and put his hand up to Joey's face, turning his head gently to get a closer look at the eyebrow.

Immediately, Joey removed Chandler's hand.

"It's nothing," he said and smiled sadly at his lover.

Freezing, Chandler realized something.

"Did I do that to you?" His voice was almost as low as a whisper. He could feel his heart starting to race again.

Joey looked down casually for a moment.

"Well, yeah, but that's okay." He hadn't let go of Chandler's hand and now rubbed the back of it with his thumb.

Chandler couldn't believe it. He had hit Joey in his sleep. He had actually hurt him.

"I'm..." He swallowed and avoided Joey's eyes briefly. "I'm so sorry, Joe." Suddenly, he felt the tears welling up again. So, what, the thing he had hit in his dream had actually been Joey's head?

"Hey," he heard Joey say before he felt a couple of fingers against his chin, pulling his face upwards, so their eyes met. "As I said, it's okay! Really. You were dreaming. It's not your fault." Joey hadn't been in need to say anything. His eyes said it all. He really didn't blame Chandler.

Sniffling, Chandler looked down again, just as Joey moved around the counter to his side.

Everything was silent for a moment until Chandler suddenly leaned in and buried his face in the hook of Joey's warm neck, clinging to his torso. And that was when he let go of more tears which almost literally soaked Joey's skin. He felt a pair of arms being wrapped around his shoulders, and he simply couldn't help the quiet sob that escaped him. The arms tightened closer around him, a hand protectingly placed on the back of his head. He shook with sadness, as he inhaled the overwhelming comfort Joey offered him.