A/N: OK, so I developed a serious case of writer's block while writing my multi-chapter fic Dominos. To get rid of it, I decided to finally write this one-shot that has been in my mind for what feels like forever. Ever since Mike said 'I was afraid to dance outside my room' in the season finale, I've been wondering why. And it got me thinking about Other Asian's home life. Here's the result.
I hope you enjoy, please drop me a review to tell me what you think.
Oh, and the title is inspired by the Bee Gees song You Should Be Dancing.
DISCLAIMER: If I owned Glee, Mike would say more than a handful of lines a season and be more than just the token awesome dancer. Enough said.
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Mike Chang was beaming from ear to ear as he cut the gas and leapt out of his vintage 1971 Chevy Impala. He couldn't help it; he was still on a high from clinching Regionals a couple of days before. And who could blame him? He had been working really hard with the rest of New Directions and was obviously delighted when they overcame Vocal Adrenaline at the second attempt and qualified for Nationals this time around. His only regret was that his parents hadn't been there to see him perform, but he knew that wasn't possible. Not if he wanted to keep dancing.
He let himself in the front door of the Chang house and bounded up the stairs, pausing only to call out over his shoulder, "Hey Mom, Dad, I'm home! I'm just going to change, then I'm heading out with some friends!"
His hand was on his bedroom door when his mother's voice filtered up the stairs to his ears.
"Michael," she called. "Come down here please."
"Five minutes, Mom."
"No Michael, now."
Something in her voice made Mike's blood run cold. Lian Chang only used that tone when she was really, really angry with him, like the time he got wasted at Puck's birthday party and puked all over her antique rug when Matt managed to haul his ass home. For the most part, Mike's mother was a non-confrontational woman. Slight and elegant, she always maintained an appearance of utmost calm. Now however, her voice was shaking with some suppressed emotion.
Mike gulped and made his way downstairs.
He found them in the kitchen. His mother was standing by the kettle, nursing a mug of green tea and wearing a troubled expression. Her inky black bob looked as though she had been frantically running her hand through it and she was trembling in her designer leather boots. Her gaze kept flitting to the stony figure of Mike's father. Huojin Chang sat at the kitchen table, today's paper folded neatly in front of him. A tic pulsed in his cheek and his knuckles were turning white as he clenched them around the edge of the table. He didn't even look up when Mike entered the room.
"Uh… whatever I did, I'm sorry," Mike ventured uncertainly. His father closed his eyes at the sound of his son's voice. Mike looked plaintively at his mom for an explanation. "Mom, please?"
"We received a phone call from your school today Michael," Lian replied in a tight voice.
"Mom, I swear, Karovsky set us up, we-"
"From a Mr Schuester," finished Lian. Mike closed his mouth, feeling deeply uneasy. "Telling us how we should be very proud of our son for winning Regionals. With the glee club."
Her words cut through the air like a knife and Mike's stomach plummeted. He glanced frantically from parent to parent, both of whom looked as though the bottom had just been kicked out of their world.
"He said you are a brilliant dancer," his father said coldly. "And I told him he was mistaken. That no son of mine spent his days prancing around a stage. That my son was going to be a doctor and that he must have had the wrong Michael Chang. But he seemed certain. And then I read today's paper."
He shoved the newspaper roughly across the table and Mike picked it up. There, on the page to which his father had opened it, was a large colour photograph of New Directions. Rachel was crying and holding the Regionals trophy high in the air with the aid of Finn and Tina. And Mike was clearly visible, hugging a sobbing Kurt with one arm and high-fiving Puck with the other.
"Would you care to explain, Michael?" Huojin asked, and his voice was deadly.
"Father, I-"
"We have spoken about this before, Michael. You remember, yes? It is not proper for a young man to dance. It is not a career, nor is it acceptable. It is-"
"Gay?" Mike asked bitterly. His parents both looked scandalized. "That was what you were going to say, wasn't it? With some fancy wording so that it sounded 'proper'?"
"Michael!" exclaimed Lian. "You must respect your father."
"He doesn't know the meaning of the word," his father hissed, an ugly scowl on his face. "We have planned his future together since he was a little boy. I have put time and effort into ensuring that he goes to college, that he becomes a doctor. That is a suitable career, a career in which he can succeed as I have."
"But I don't want to be a doctor!" Mike exploded. "I've never wanted to be a doctor, I was just trying to make you proud of me!"
"By going against my wishes and joining a dancing troupe?"
"Glee club isn't like that, I-"
"It is a waste of time, Michael. Your mother and I have made sacrifices to give you s better upbringing than we had, and this is how you repay us? By going behind our backs, lying to us? By wasting your time and throwing your life away with this dancing nonsense?"
"It's not nonsense," Mike whispered, feeling tears springing up in his eyes. "It's my passion, don't you understand?"
"I understand perfectly. I understand that you have dishonoured your parents by lying to us. I understand that you are ungrateful. I understand that you do not appreciate all that we have done for you. I-"
"I do appreciate it! Mom, please, tell him-"
"Your father is right Michael," Lain said in a quiet voice. "You have disappointed us."
"But I-"
"Get out," Huojin snapped. Both Mike and Lian stared at him.
"Dad?"
"Get out," the man continued. "And do not come back until you have realised the error of your ways."
Mike stared openly at his father. The older man did not flinch beneath his son's wounded gaze. Mike turned to face his mother.
"Mom?"
Lian Chang just shook her head sadly and turned away from him. A sob rose in Mike's throat and he turned on his heel, fleeing before they could see how they had hurt him. He slammed the front door behind him and took off down the street. Tears tumbled down his cheeks as he fumbled to dial the familiar number on his cell phone.
"Matt?" he whispered when his friend picked up. "Where are you?"
"At Artie's. We all are, remember? The post-Regionals party?"
Mike couldn't answer. The mention of Regionals just brought everything that had happened with his parents rushing back to the surface.
"Dude, are you OK?" Matt asked anxiously. "You're not wasted already, are you?"
"No," Mike said in a hollow voice. "No, I'm fine. I'll be there in ten minutes."
When he arrived at the Abrams' house eight minutes later, panting and out of breath from running, the rest of the glee club were sitting on the lawn outside, waiting. They all stared as he walked up the driveway, and Santana swore audibly.
"Mike, what happened man?" asked Matt worriedly. He jogged to meet his friend and put a hand on his arm. The touch was all it took. Mike broke down. He buried his head in Matt's shoulder and cried like a baby, past caring that the rest of the club were still watching. When he finally recovered himself, the silence from his friends was deafening. Eventually, Puck broke it.
"Alright, who do I need to kick the crap out of?"
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"This is horrible," Artie murmured in a hushed voice. The group had moved from the front lawn to his living room and they were whispering frantically to each other about what Mike had just explained to them. Matt and Brittany had taken him to the bathroom to calm him down, so they only had a couple of minutes.
"And I thought my parents overreacted," said Quinn with an affected little shudder. She drew into the comforting warmth of Puck's embrace. "This is so unfair."
"We have to do something," Kurt decided firmly. "We can't just sit idle by and let them get away with this."
"I say we torch their house."
"Puck, Artie's right. You're more helpful when you don't contribute," countered Kurt. "Any viable suggestions?"
"Actually," Rachel proclaimed. "I have an idea."
"Of course you do," Santana muttered, earning herself a scathing glance from the diminutive diva and a reproachful one from Finn. Rachel tossed her head and turned to the rest of the group.
"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," she continued. "We cannot allow the treatment Michael has received from his parents to go unnoticed. Artie, do you have a laptop we can use?"
"Of course," the boy in the wheelchair shrugged, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"And Santana, are you willing to help?"
"Of course I am," the pretty cheerleader drawled, earning herself a couple of surprised glances. "What? Mike's my friend, OK? I don't like seeing him upset unless I'm the instigator."
"Perfect," Rachel beamed. "Can you keep Mike distracted for a half an hour or so? Keep him away from his house?"
"Of course. How far do you want me to go with him?"
"Talking will be fine, thank you, just bring him to the mall or something."
"Well that's no fun," Santana pouted. "But I'll do it."
"Wonderful," said Rachel. "Let's do this."
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Lian Chang sat in the chair next to her husband at the kitchen table. She was struggling not to cry as she sipped from her now-cold ceramic mug of tea. Her husband hadn't uttered a word since their son's dismissal. He simply sat there, glaring at the offending newspaper article as though it were something vulgar. Lian couldn't tear her gaze away from the image either. The look of pure happiness on Mike's face as he hugged the Hummel boy was haunting her.
Ding dong.
Her heart leapt. Michael? But her son had his own key, he kept it on a band around his wrist for safe-keeping. He wouldn't ring the bell.
She got lethargically to her feet and padded down the long corridor to the front door. She pulled it back to reveal ten teenagers looking up at her with fiery determination burning in their eyes.
"Mrs Chang, my name is Rachel Berry," the small girl at the front told her. "I'm the co-captain of the McKinley High glee club. May we come in?"
Before Lian could answer, she had brushed past her and was beckoning imperiously to the others to follow. Each child nodded coldy to her as they passed and she followed them dazedly to the kitchen where they stood in a rough half-circle facing her and her husband.
"Mr and Mrs Chang, we're sorry we had to barge in like this," said Rachel, not sounding particularly sorry. "But we felt an intervention was necessary."
She elbowed the tall boy standing next to her so hard that he winced before stepping forward.
"My name's Finn Hudson. I play football with Mike, and I'm in glee club with him too. Mike's more athletic than any other football player in the school," he said bluntly and turned to the next student, an Asian girl in gothic garb.
"Tina Cohen-Chang. Mike helped me perform a routine I've always wanted to do."
And so it continued.
"Kurt Hummel. Mike is the only football player who never threw a slushie at me or tossed me in a dumpster."
"Brittany… I forget my last name sometimes. Mike helps me with my homework when I get confused. That's most of the time."
"Artie Abrams. Mike lifts my chair when a building doesn't have ramps and I can't get in."
"Quinn Fabray. When I was pregnant, Mike was always willing to offer me a shoulder to cry on."
"Mercedes Jones. Mike encouraged me to ignore the haters and show everyone that I can sing."
"Noah Puckerman. Whenever I start mouthin' off, which is pretty much all the time, the Changster shuts me up before I get myself killed."
"Rachel Berry. Most people find me extremely grating and not entirely likeable despite my impeccable vocal talent, but Mike always smiles at me and tells the bullies to back off, even if it means their attentions shift from me to him."
"And you already know me," Matt said slowly, stepping forward to take his turn in the spotlight. "I'm Matt Rutherford. Mike and I have been best friends since I moved to Lima and you guys invited my family to your barbeque. Mike is one of the most amazing, funniest, kindest guys I've ever met. I think the others have already explained that better than I ever could, and I think you know that for yourselves. But apart from all that, Mike is one of the most talented people I have ever met."
Artie wheeled forward and placed his laptop on the kitchen table. He began to play a compilation of clips from New Directions' various performances.
"This is your son performing with our glee club," he explained. "This is him dancing so fast it makes your eyes blur. This is him dancing so fluidly it seems like he's made of liquid. This is him receiving a standing ovation from the audience."
Lian smiled tearfully as Artie replayed the clips over and over. The pride in her expression was evident even to Brittany. Huojin, however, snapped the laptop shut and handed it back to Artie with more force than was absolutely necessary.
"I appreciate that you care for my son," he said tightly. "But you must understand that I do too. That is why I want him to stop this dancing. Maybe he is a good dancer, but that will not get him a college place, or a job. I only want what's best for him."
"Mr Chang, as an extraordinarily gifted performer myself, I recognise that Mike is something more than simply talented," Rachel told him firmly. "Your son is special. When he dances, it moves people. He captivates them."
"Rachel's right," agreed Mercedes. "And you are wrong, sir. There were scouts watching our performance at Regionals."
"They offered Mike a full scholarship to Juilliard," Puck continued. "A free ride to college."
"Mike is brilliant at what he does, Mr Chang," said Quinn. "He loves to dance, and it shows. If anyone is going to make it as a dancer, it's your son."
"No!" Huojin exclaimed. "This dancing, it is not proper for a young man. It is synonymous with… with…"
"Being gay?" Kurt guessed. The middle-aged man nodded and an ashamed blush crept across his olive-toned cheeks. "Mr and Mrs Chang, I am gay. It took me a long time to accept that, but it's true. I also have one of the most finely-tuned gaydars in the world. I assure you, your son is completely and irreversibly heterosexual. You don't need to worry about that."
Huojin looked like he was about to explode. He began to pace and his lips twitched as though he were arguing internally with himself. Which was probably the truth. Lian, on the other hand, walked up to Matt and put her hands on his shoulders.
"Matthew," she said in a soft voice. "Our families have been close for a long time. You and Mike are as thick as thieves. If you tell me that this dancing is what my son loves, what he wants to do, I will believe you."
"Mrs Chang, dancing isn't what Mike wants to do," Matt told her. "It's what he needs to do. There isn't a minute of the day that he's not working out a new routine in his head. When he dances, it's like he's not separate from the music. They're one."
"And you really think he's good enough to make a career out of it?"
"Without a shadow of a doubt."
"Mrs Chang, if I may," Rachel interrupted. "Matt is right. You have a son whose talent is so immense even words cannot express it. Mike is special."
"He's loyal," Finn added.
"Smart," interjected Artie.
"Kind," Kurt smiled.
"Compassionate," murmured Quinn.
"Sweet," Tina grinned.
"Encouraging," Mercedes piped up.
"Badass," smirked Puck.
"The most genuine, sincere, gracious human being I have ever met," Brittany said. Every face in the room turned to stare at her, and the blonde cheerleader shrugged nonchalantly. "They're the words of the day my English teacher gave me."
"My best friend," Matt said to finish. "And an incredible dancer that you should be proud to call your son."
"Listening to every word you just said."
Everyone swivelled around to see Santana leaning against the doorframe, smirking, with Mike a couple of feet behind her. His brown eyes were shimmering with tears as he smiled sheepishly at his friends before glancing nervously at his mother. Lian stood stock still for a moment, staring at her son. Then the spell broke and she rushed towards him, knocking Santana out of the way. It was a sign of how poignant the moment was that the Latina cheerleader didn't roll her eyes or make a petulant noise. Instead, she hurried over to Brittany and Matt and hugged them briefly.
"Michael," Lian breathed into his dark hair. "I am so, so sorry. Forgive me, please."
"Always," Mike managed to choke out.
"Your friends are right," whispered Lian. "I am proud of you. You are the most wonderful son I could ask for."
"Thank you," her son sniffed tearfully. He glanced nervously over his mother's head towards his father. "Dad?"
Huojin didn't move for one long moment. The tic in his cheek pulsed again and he glanced down at the newspaper in his hand. He crumpled it up and got to his feet. He tossed the paper to the floor and looked his son directly in the eye.
"You're too energetic to be a doctor anyway."
The female members of New Directions, as well as Kurt, squealed as he rushed to embrace Mike fiercely. Matt beamed from ear to ear and Artie clapped his hands in delight. Even Finn and Puck's eyes looked suspiciously red-rimmed as they surveyed the small family unit crying and holding each other close.
"Good plan Rach," Finn grinned, poking her in the ribs.
"To quote Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith," she beamed contentedly. "I love it when a plan comes together."
"You watch The A-Team Berry?" Puck exclaimed incredulously. Rachel shrugged.
"It was on before a Barbra Streisand marathon once," she said nonchalantly. "I sort of got hooked."
Mike broke away from his parents and strode across the kitchen to where the rag-tag group was standing in various emotional states. He was still crying, but he was beaming at the same time, and it was obvious that these were now tears of happiness. He shook his head at them all.
"Thank you," he said simply. "Thank you so much."
"You'd do the same for any of us," Quinn reminded him.
"Damn straight he would," agreed Mercedes.
"I just… the things you guys said…"
"Were all true. But we'll deny it if you ever tell anyone," Santana informed him with a roguish grin. "I have a rep to protect."
"Thank you," Mike said again, disbelief evident in his voice. "If you guys hadn't… if you didn't care so much… I think I would have quit. I would've come back here with my tail between my legs and trained to be a doctor."
"Well we couldn't have that," Kurt laughed with an exaggerated shudder.
"Hummel's right," smirked Puck. "I would not trust you to cure me of anything Chang."
"And besides," Artie interrupted, squeezing Tina's hand tight.
"Glee club wouldn't be the same without the Other Asian," the Goth girl finished with a giggle.
Mike beamed from face to face at kids who he hadn't even spoken to a year before. At kids who were now his friends. He clapped his hands together and moonwalked backwards towards the door as though he was moving across ice.
"Don't we have a party to get to?"
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OK, so I hate the ending. Ugh. But I'd love to hear what you thought of it. So please review. Please?