Episode 57 - Different is Beautiful

"And they finally rise," said Ziggy, making a grand welcoming gesture to the kitchen table. "Hot coffee awaits, mes chéris."

Amari moaned in delight, which was answered by a chuckle as Yangyang sat next to him. "You don't even make that kind of noise for me, but you'll make it for a cup of coffee?"

He quickly put a finger to his lips. "Hush. No sex talk in front of the old perv. Don't want him to get too excited."

Ziggy's laugh drifted around him, moving to the sink. "Ch'te dis, I have had experiences more interesting than either of you could possibly imagine, tsé? I don't need you to bore me with your lovey-dovey crap."

"Wow, Zig. That's so sad."

A mug banged loudly on the table. "Enough," said Yangyang. "It's too early to think about what Ziggy does behind closed doors. I need my breakfast to stay down."

Amari giggled and his friend just sighed. "I don't like this arrangement, hein? It's always two against one now. So unfair to me. Ce n'est pas juste pour moi!"

He rinsed his dish and headed down the hall.

"I'm taking a quick shower. Scotty, I have some prospects to scout today, so I will be home late. Since it is clear you don't work for me anymore, I just thought I would let you know. As your roommate, tsé?"

"You never wanted me to work for you anyway. You just wanted a roommate, and to hear me sing. You've still got both, so why the complaints?"

"This old man gets lonely." Raising an arm as his goodbye, Ziggy disappeared into the bathroom, and Yangyang groaned low.

"I'm not going to have to adopt him into the family, am I? He seems too unstable to leave alone..."

With another giggle, Amari grabbed the man's empty cup. "He'll be fine. Probably. I hope. More coffee?"

"Yeah." Yangyang slouched down into his chair and yawned. "So, what are we going to do today?"

Amari placed fresh coffee in front him. "We? Don't you have work?"

"I switched shifts with someone last week." His normally deep voice was a bit higher, almost delighted. "Now I'm free on Mondays and Saturday mornings."

"Really?" Amari couldn't stop himself from grinning. "So you can spend more time with Taitai. That's great."

"And... I can stay out late on Sundays," whispered Yangyang, leaning over close. He chuckled at the boy's pink cheeks and leaned back. "Since we hardly perform as a band, I can work later on Saturdays. It was an easy trade to make."

"Oh, yeah." It was a bit sad to hear, but the man didn't seem upset, so Amari pushed the feeling away. "What do you and Taitai usually do together when you've got free time?"

There was a thoughtful hum, the sound always making him smile.

"We go to the park. Or parks. He likes to play and explore. And he loves museums. But otherwise, he's kind of boring." Amari giggled loudly at his annoyed tone. "It's true! He spends too much time with ma. He likes to read, watch TV and movies, and he loves to draw."

"Nothing wrong with that."

"Ah, and he loves chores." Yangyang chuckled. "Weird kid."

"Bring him to visit me. He can clean my room." Taking Yangyang's cup, now empty again, Amari threw it into the sink with his own. "It's been warmer, and I like the park. Let's do that."

Large arms came from behind to wrap around his waist and Yangyang leaned down to rest his chin on a shoulder, watching as he washed the dishes.

"So clingy," said Amari with a smile.

He tapped his cheek and Yangyang gave him a soft kiss, then he turned his head and tapped his lips, and the man kissed him harder.

"I guess clingy isn't terrible."

Yangyang strengthened his grasp and sighed. "I want to be able to do this all the time..."

After drying the last dish, Amari turned and reached under the man's arms, hugging him tight. "C'mon. Let's get ready. It's almost noon."

Yangyang groaned and Amari slipped out of his hold, scurrying down the hall to the bathroom, the man on his heels.

"A Li, let's shower together!" called Yangyang, but Amari made it to the bathroom in time to shut the door, keeping him out.

He knocked and whined from the hallway. "Come on..."

"Ziggy's still here, you know."

Amari heard the man groan through the wood.

"Ziggy doesn't care, you know."

He unsuccessfully tried to stifle a giggle at the man-child. "No. If we do that, it'll be nighttime before we leave."

He hurried to the shower, turning on the water, then heard the door squeak open.

"What're you doing?" he asked, turning to see a tall shadow creeping in.

"You said that, but you didn't lock the door... What am I supposed to think?" The man pulled Amari over to him and kissed him on the neck. "We'll be quick."

He sighed, knowing he wouldn't win this, and not feeling very motivated to try.

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"I cannot believe you brought a five-year-old child out to some shady club in the middle of the night!"

The apartment wasn't very big and Amari could easily hear Yangyang's mother shouting in the living room.

"Handing him over to some random musician while you play around, and then sending him home with Yinyi so you can do who knows what until the next morning."

"That isn't even remotely close to what happened last night." Yangyang sounded exasperated, but kept his volume down. "I'm one of those musicians, you know, and there's nothing wrong with me. So are Yin jie and Xiao Li. And the club isn't shady. The owner and his sister are good friends and good people, and Taitai had a great time."

Moments later, Amari heard rummaging in the kitchen, the scolding over.

"Ma, duìbuqǐ that you're disappointed in me." His tone was more sarcastic than apologetic, coming out low in supressed frustration. "Duìbuqǐ that I didn't get an M.B.A and work for some fancy company like jie. Duìbuqǐ that I chose music, and wanted to live my life doing what makes me happy. Duìbuqǐ that I finally brought MY son to see his father doing what he loves."

Yangyang paused, then sighed. "There are a lot of other things I want to say, but Xiao Li and Taitai can hear us, so I'm going to stop."

Amari heard footsteps, then rustling, then the front door opening.

"I'm taking a walk around the block to get some air."

The door shut and Amari felt the little body next to him crawl up and sit on his stomach. "What's up, my dìdi?" He smiled softly at the child.

"Li gēge," said Taitai in a sad voice. "How come ba and nǎinai always fight?"

Amari held his hands out and Taitai crawled up to his chest, laying down as he rubbed his back.

"Your nǎinai wants what's best for you and your ba, and she thinks that means getting a job like your gūmà, to make lots of money. She thinks that's what normal people do." He hesitated, thinking of how to explain something like this to a five-year-old. "But, not everyone's s'posed to do that. Your ba loves music, he was born to make music, so he wants to do what makes him happy. You saw him last night. He was really happy, right?"

"Ēn..." There was a soft nod, then after a long pause, Taitai lifted his head. "So, is it my fault ba isn't happy?"

"What?" He pulled the child into a tight hug. "Of course not! Your ba loves you more than anything. Why'd you think he was so happy last night? He was happy because he got to share his music with you. I've never seen him happier."

Taitai giggled softly. "Li gēge, you can't see."

"Funny," said Amari with a smirk, poking the child in the side. "You know what I mean."

There was another pause and he sighed.

"Taitai, we're all different, and that's what makes us beautiful. We shouldn't try to be something we're not. Your ba's beautiful when he makes music." He started rubbing the child's back again, not knowing any other way to comfort him. "He's just trying to decide how to be the best bàba he can, and your nǎinai doesn't understand that yet. Adults're very stubborn, but they'll figure it out, okay?"

"Okay."

Taitai's voice was quiet, but not as sad. The two laid on Yangyang's bed in silence for a while until Amari felt the child's breathing slow. He closed his eyes, thinking of how to convince the man's mother that the music industry wasn't the terrible monster she had created in her mind. He knew she was afraid Taitai would turn out like his father if he was exposed to those things, and he knew she was ashamed to have a son that didn't fit her definition of success.

For Amari, it was ridiculous to put someone into a box like that, but he had lived with similar parents long enough to understand the mindset. Part of him wanted nothing more than to march out into the kitchen and tell the woman off, but it wasn't his place to be so bold.

To calm the thoughts running through his mind, he focused on Taitai's little chest, moving up and down against his own, the child's soft breathing the only thing he could hear in the quiet house, and he slowly drifted to sleep.