Episode 82 - The Groupies

Yangyang cleared his throat but didn't say anything, squeezing Amari's hand until his fingers felt numb. Amari only let out a short laugh and turned to the group of women. "Yeah, this's Yangyang. He wanted to come and see what this meeting's all about."

"Oh, that's so wonderful," one woman chirped sweetly. "Coming to support your partner. My boyfriend never comes to these things."

"It's so sweet," another chimed in, loud and friendly. "And to be a single-father and date someone blind. It must be such a challenge."

"I don't really think those two things are related..." Yangyang started in a low voice, and the first woman squealed again.

"Oh, Yangyang, your voice is so deep," she said lightheartedly. "And you're quite attractive. Why didn't you tell us how handsome he is? You two look so good together."

There were a few quiet groans from the two older women who had entered first, then more footsteps in the doorway.

"Kristen!" a man called into the room. "Stop bothering Amari and come help me with this!"

The lead woman excused herself and rushed back to the door, her groupies following behind. Amari let out a breath and Yangyang leaned in.

"What the fuck was that about?" There was confusion, but he also sounded a little upset he hadn't been warned. "Does this happen every meeting? I'm feeling strangely protective right now..."

Amari giggled and gave Yangyang's thigh a comforting pat. "There's something you should know, if you're gonna be open about your sexuality. Women love gay men. Who doesn't want a gay bestie? I blame it on television, but we're all s'posed to be adorable and cheerful, and make great, supportive friends."

"Yeah?" He clearly didn't agree with the stereotype. "I'm pretty sure I'm not any different than a straight man, though."

Amari nodded and pat his leg again, less comforting and more teasing now. "Yang ge, that's not really the point. You get to have a friend who's a man, yet not at all interested in you. Since apparently there's always a worry a guy friend wants to have sex with you?" He shook the confusing thought away. "I don't know. But it also somehow automatically qualifies you to join in on girl talk. Which's why this group knows so much about us."

"You're joining in on girl talk?" The idea clearly surprised Yangyang more than anything else so far.

"Shit no," Amari spit out, giggling at the thought. "But if someone asks me a question, I answer it." He pointed back toward the door. "They ask a lot of questions."

"So the leader is Kristen? And it's her husband who's blind?"

"Yeah. The four others are her groupies. They're all blind mothers, and their significant others don't usually come." Amari scratched his head. "Sorry, for not warning you earlier."

"You should be sorry," joked Yangyang, throwing a quick punch into his shoulder. "Who would have thought being accepted could be more annoying than not?"

"They're not bad once they calm down." He smirked and leaned in. "They're just excited because my gorgeous, gay lover's here." There was a low groan and Amari giggled again.

"Oh, Yangyang!" called Kristen from the long table. "You're sighted. Come help us with these dishes."

Yangyang pulled at Amari's hand, but he released his grip and pushed the man to his feet. "Go on, Yang ge. Be brave. You can do this." Yangyang groaned again and trudged over to the table, immediately assaulted by questions.

After a few minutes, Kristen's husband joined Amari in the circle, sitting with an exhausted sigh. "Sorry about her. She means well."

"I know. It's okay." This small-talk part before the meeting started was the worst, and he picked uncomfortably at his nail. "I know they're excited to meet Yang ge, since I always talk about him. And Taitai's his son. Of course they'd have questions."

"Sure. So, how are those rules we talked about working?"

The thought of Taitai running around - bells jingling, excitedly explaining to strangers why he had to make noise everywhere he went - made Amari smile.

"He's doing great with them," he said proudly. "Yangyang and his sister are physical people anyway, so Taitai's like that too. It wasn't hard. It'll be harder when he gets older. A six-year-old boy doesn't mind holding hands and wearing bells, but what happens in a few years when he gets embarrassed?"

"Yeah." It sounded like the man knew from experience, following his understanding with a small sigh. "If he was raised in an affectionate family, though, it might not be as big of an issue as you think. It's more about him feeling confident in himself. Embarrassment comes from insecurity and lack of confidence more than outside opinions."

Amari could only think of Minwoo, who had never been embarrassed by anything, and nodded. "Very wise words, Mr. Thomas," he agreed, his tone mockingly polite.

"Anytime, Mr. Scott," the man replied, also joking, then chuckled. "Don't you think you should save your partner from the swarm over there? Poor man."

"He's a friendly guy. He'll be okay."

He took a moment to listen to the chatter behind him, women asking questions about Taitai's hobbies and what he was like as a baby, how Yangyang fell in love with Amari, what Taitai thought of him being blind, and what kind of challenges he ran into dating someone who was visually-impaired. Yangyang had loosened up and answered most questions in his kind and friendly voice, while skillfully dodging the questions about Amari's vision.

"Actually, they're part of the reason I brought him here," he admitted with a smirk.

Mr. Thomas was curious and leaned forward. "You didn't bring him here to talk about raising a child with a blind parent?"

"No, of course that's one reason. But... we were accidently outed by his mother last night. I'm completely open, but I don't think he's ever told anyone about his sexuality. His sister knew, but she probably found out the same time he did, so that doesn't count." Amari sighed and stretched his arms back. "The idea of telling people still makes him anxious. If this's gonna work, like you said, he's gotta be confident."

"I see." Mr. Thomas chuckled and sat back in his chair. "So you brought him to the hen house, where they would ask him a million questions and pick him apart."

"He wouldn't be able to avoid it," Amari said, proud of his clever plan. "The more he talks about it, the more comfortable he'll be." Lifting his chin toward the two middle-aged ladies sitting at the other side of the circle, he quietly added, "And here, he can deal with both sides."

"You're a smart kid. It's not perfect, and maybe a tad pushy, but it's a good start."

With an absentminded nod, Amari turned to watch the blur of bodies swarming around Yangyang. After a few more minutes of observation, he decided it would be best to save the poor guy, having tortured him enough. He headed over to the table, sniffing at the assortment, and poked at a plate with a fork, discovering brownies. With one in hand, he inserted himself into the group. Yangyang was chuckling as Kristen threw her arms around him.

"Xiao Li, you have such a catch here! What a sweet guy. And he really loves you."

Amari frowned. "What've you been telling them?" he asked suspiciously, but Yangyang only chuckled again. "I shouldn't've left you alone so long."

Arms pulled him close, wrapping around his shoulders, and a warm chest pressed to his back. "They just asked questions and I answered."

His voice was sweet and playful, and Amari stuffed the brownie into his mouth, glad he was feeling relaxed enough to show this side of himself.

"Oh. I do have a question for you though, Kristen. Why do you call him Xiao Li?"

"Oh!" Kristen laughed. "We grilled him once about pet names and nicknames, and he told us about the different ways Chinese people address each other. I can't call him A Li like you, so I call him Xiao Li, since we're all older and he's like the little brother of the group." She laughed again. "I think it's wonderful, to have so many ways to address your friends and family! In English, we call almost everyone by name, no matter who they are. How boring."

Yangyang nodded and rested his chin on the top of Amari's head, and he took Yangyang's hands with a smile.

"See? Told you he's clingy." The ladies laughed and giggled, and Yangyang huffed above him.

"Oh, are those matching rings?" Kristen cried out suddenly. "Did you get engaged? Married?"

Feeling for Yangyang's ring finger, Amari shrugged. "Kinda? More like an informal 'let's stay together forever' kinda thing?"

Yangyang leaned down to kiss his cheek. "Well, mine's an engagement ring. It came with a proposal, so what else would it be?" Amari responded with an elbow to his chest, but he only chuckled.

Mr. Thomas cleared his throat loudly from his chair. "Are we actually going to have this meeting, or just stand around and chat all night?"

With an exaggerated sigh, Kristen squeezed Amari's shoulder. Then she called out, "Yes dear, we're coming," leading the others to the circle.

Amari turned, pulling Yangyang along with him when there was a buzz from Yangyang's his pocket. He reached down to check and froze, sucking in a breath. "It's ma." He released Amari and answered. "Wéi, ma?" His voice shook a little.

There was nothing from the other end, so she was at least calm.

"Alright. We can be there in thirty minutes."

There was a beep disconnecting the call and he put the phone back in his pocket.

"What'd she say?" Amari grabbed at his fingers. He felt nervous but knew Yangyang was much more anxious, so he kept himself calm and steady. "She wants to talk to us now?"

There was only a small grunt to confirm and he nodded. Taking a few steps toward the circle, not letting go of Yangyang's hand, he said, "Sorry, something's come up and we've gotta go."

"Oh, is everything alright?" Kristen asked, standing from her chair.

"Yeah. Just something at home we've gotta take care of."

Amari waved at her and said goodbye to the rest, then quickly pulled Yangyang out into the hall, then to the street. Thankfully, VIBE was located in a busy area and it wasn't difficult to catch a cab. He gently pushed Yangyang into the backseat, only releasing his hand for a moment and returning his grip as soon as the vehicle started moving.

Leaning over and pulling him close, he gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "It'll be okay. It hasn't even been twenty-four hours and she already wants to talk. Isn't that a good sign?"

Yangyang didn't respond, only letting out a little nervous breath, and Amari squeezed his hand, knowing he had to have enough confidence for the both of them.