Chapter 42: Another Year Has Gone By.
A 105 pound girl ripping off his blanket and leaping on top of him woke Angel up from a deep, peaceful sleep. Living at Mimi's left him with little privacy, since the door to his tiny, hole-in-the-wall bedroom was broken at the moment. Although his salary from working at Mac was decent, with the electric bills, phone bills, and Angel's clothes and makeup, there wasn't enough money to fix the door.
Letting out a load, annoyed groan, Angel buried his head in the pillow. A tight black tank top hugged his body and baggy black and white checkered pants hung loosely on his hips. It didn't matter that today was June 22nd, Angel Dumott-Schunard's 22nd birthday; it was entirely too early to be awake. He had the week off from work. Melanie was very lenient about giving him time off, since she had hired three new employees since Angel joined. He only worked two or three days every week, leaving plenty of time for him to sit on the sidewalks and drum. He had kept the pickle tubs that he "borrowed" from the Cat Scratch Club and brought them on the sidewalks with him to beat a fabulous beat and collect some extra change. When the weather wasn't too cold, he really loved to sit outside, people watch, and pound on the tubs. It was a satisfying way for him to release his frustration.
"Happy birthday, beautiful. It's time to get up," Mimi whispered in his ear as she sat on top of him, her legs straddled on either side of his body.
Letting out another frustrated groan, Angel pulled the pillow over his head to block out the light and the noise.
Refusing to give up, Mimi continued to sit on top of him and speak right into his ear. "Get up! I have a great present for you!"
Angel didn't budge.
"Fine, Angel. I'll just have to force you to get up," Mimi said casually, tickling his sides.
His head shot up like a rocket. "I'm up!" he squealed as he tried to push her off, to no avail.
"You sure you're really up?" she questioned, a big smile on her face as she continued to tickle him, mercilessly.
"YES!" he yelped in between laughs, "STOP!"
Getting up off of him, she waited for him to get out of bed, which took approximately six seconds. He did not want her to tickle him again. "God I hate it when you do that," he mumbled, wandering over to his closet which was bursting at the seams with clothing. Every morning was a challenge-trying to find the perfect outfit, so as not to repeat the exact same ensemble twice in a month.
"You're so high-maintenance," Mimi grumbled as she stood behind Angel, watching as he selected the right ensemble.
"Damn right I am. I have to look good," Angel stated, simply, as he selected a pink plastic-looking dress with a trim of fuzzy daisies on the bottom. Next to the closet was a large set of drawers. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a rolled up pair of tights. "If you'll excuse me, darling, I need to get ready. The bathroom is officially mine for the next 45 minutes," he informed her as he walked in, locking the door behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ten minutes later, Mimi was dressed and her curls were pulled into a messy knot in the back of her head. An hour later, Angel emerged from the bathroom, dressed in his carefully-select mini-dress, daisy tights, white heels, a bouncy, wavy blonde wig, and a full face of makeup. Checking himself out in the mirror one more time, he fluffed his hair, making sure the flower that he had strategically placed behind his right ear remained there, and then shut the door to the bathroom as he turned to face Mimi. "What do you think?" Angel asked, spinning around so she could see the entire outfit.
"You look fine," Mimi mumbled, barely looking up from her nails, covered in chipping black nailpolish.
"You didn't even look!" Angel whined, standing with his hands on his hips, "Come on. Are you sure I look okay?"
"Damnit, Angel. You always look good. Let's go!" Mimi exclaimed, tearing herself away from her nails, yanking Angel's hand, and dragging him out the door.
"Where are we going? You never told me!" Angel asked, sounding like a little kid as Mimi gripped his hand tightly and led him down the stairs.
"You remember how you were talking about getting your nipple pierced?"
His amber-hazel eyes lit up with excitement. "You're taking me to get it pierced?"
"Happy birthday, baby," Mimi said, as she stopped at the exit to her building to kiss Angel on the cheek. "I'm getting it done with you. It should be fun."
"Ooh!" Angel squealed, gripping her hand even tighter, "I am so excited. You have no idea how bad I want this piercing."
"Yeah, I do, considering you've been talking about it for. oh, I don't know, six months now?"
"Hey, you've been talking about it for a while, too! I'm not the only one," Angel giggled as he continued to walk the couple of blocks with her to the local tattoo and piercing parlor. "Do you think it'll hurt real bad?"
"It shouldn't be too bad," Mimi said, shrugging her shoulders, "I got this done," she stuck out her tongue, "about 2 years ago and it wasn't bad at all. You'll be fine. You're a big, tough man, Ang, you can handle it." Punching him in the shoulder, she winked at him as she said it. She knew more than anyone that Angel was anything but a "big, tough man."
"Mimi, I'm 5'9", 130 pounds, and I cry when someone steps on my foot," Angel replied in a monotone, rolling his eyes at her.
"You're right. You'll be a basket case. But it'll so be worth it. It's really hot."
Continuing on their journey, they laughed and talked, hand in hand, until they arrived at the piercing place.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/
Mimi winced slightly as the needle slid through her nipple, watching as the man who pierced her gently slid the ring through the hole.
"You're all set, babe," she said, letting Mimi up off the table. Still topless, Mimi looked down and observed her newly pierced nipples. She liked the look of it: it was fierce and sexy. "Your turn, sweetheart," the woman said, motioning for Angel to get on the table.
Shaking slightly, Angel gave her a nervous smile as he got up. Although he wanted this piercing really, really badly, he wasn't sure if he was willing to go through the pain to get it. He knew better than anybody that he had a fairly low pain tolerance. He wasn't convinced he'd be able to handle a needle going through his nipple.
"You okay?" the lady asked, as she opened a new needle and put on a fresh pair of gloves, "I just wanna make sure you're positive about this before I do it. Nipple piercings take while to heal and if you let it close up, it'll take a long time."
"I'm positive," Angel stated firmly, unzipping the back of his dress and leaning back against the wall.
"Okay. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. I'll let you know when I'm going to do it," the woman said, reassuring him as he shut his eyes and took in a few shaky breaths.
"Breathe in," she said, "I'm going to do it now. Breathe out." She shoved the needle through his right nipple as he breathed out, letting out an almost inaudible yelp.
His eyes popped open brimming with tears. "That wasn't so bad," he sniffled, trying his best to not burst into tears on the spot.
"I told you so, tough guy," Mimi said, holding his hand.
"Here's the care instructions, and feel free to come back if you have a problem," the woman said, thrusting a piece of paper into his hand. "Take care, you two!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/
Once they had gotten about a block from their building, Angel gripped Mimi's hand so hard she had to pull it away. "Ouch! What the fuck was that for?" she snapped.
A few tears fell slowly down his cheeks. "It hurts so bad, Mimi," he choked out, trying his best to be a man, suck it up and deal with the pain.
"God, you are such a baby!" Mimi exclaimed, grabbing his hand and leading him up the stairs.
Entering her apartment, Mimi pushed Angel onto the worn couch and threw an ice cube at him. "Ice your tit," she said sternly.
Angel couldn't help but laugh at her seriousness. "You just told me to ice my tit," he said, giggling.
The two looked at each other, then burst out laughing. After about five minutes of non-stop hysterics, Angel held the ice cube to his swollen nipple as Mimi walked over to the answering machine to check the phone calls. "Ooh! We have a message!" she squealed, playing it back.
"Hey baby. It's me! Happy birthday!" Queenie's cheerful voice chirped from the speaker, "I've got a fabulous present for you, so you need to come by and pick it up. I miss you, hon, I never get to see you anymore! Come by sometime today, Freddy and I will be here. Love you."
Angel smiled as he moved the ice around his nipple. It had been a couple of weeks since he'd even spoken to Queenie, and at least a month or two since he'd seen her. He felt horrible for not spending more time with her, but he'd been so busy. Between his job, the street drumming, and the nights with Mimi at Metropolis, he'd barely had enough time to even make a brief phone call. Today, though, he really wanted to see her. It wasn't every day that he turned 22 and who better to celebrate it with than Queenie?
"Are you gonna go?" Mimi asked, turning off the machine.
"Yeah I'll probably head over there pretty soon-maybe stay for dinner, or something. You wanna come? You haven't met her or Fred yet and they're both dying to finally meet 'that girl I always talk about'."
"I can't tonight. Sorry. I've got some business I need to take care of before I go to the club-Friday's always our busiest night so I really need to go. Some other time, though, I promise. If you let me know ahead of time, I can tell Kenny that I need the night off and I'll go with you."
"Yeah, sure. I'll check with Queenie and Fred and see what day they wanna do it. That would be great!" Angel exclaimed, taking the almost- melted ice cube and throwing it in the trash. "I think I'm gonna freshen up my makeup and then head out."
"Yeah, I should probably go too. I'll see you later baby. Happy birthday," Mimi said, kissing him lightly on the cheek before she headed straight out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/
"Queenie? Fred?" Angel called into the empty club, looking around the dimly lit room to see if there was anyone there. This was always his favorite time to come to the club-the space was virtually empty. This was the time right before the sea of sequins and glitter consumed the dance floor, the entire room packed to the point of over-population. Now, the atmosphere was quiet and serene, only faint, soothing music in the background.
Fred walked casually out from behind the stage curtain, standing alone in the center under a dull spotlight. "Hey Ang!" he called, waving at him to come over. Trotting up the stairs, Angel ran up to Fred, practically leaping on top of him in a warm embrace. Fred picked him up, holding him mid-air in his arms. "Haven't seen you around here lately."
"I've been so busy, it's crazy. I've really missed you, though."
"It's not the same without you being around. We miss you too," Fred said, taking his hand and leading him back stage. "Queenie is so excited about you coming today. She got this great birthday present for you and she can't wait to give it to you. You know Queenie-hasn't stopped gushing about it since the day she bought it."
Angel laughed, thinking about the many times when Queenie would obsess over her newest addition to her wardrobe for a week or two, then move on to a new, even better addition. "I can't wait to see her. Are you guys busy at all?"
"Nope, just cleaning up some things, making up a playlist for tonight. The usual. We were actually thinking of heading out for a real early dinner soon. Wanna join us?"
"I'd love to! Actually, I was going to invite you guys to come out with me. I figured I owe you both something since I barely see you anymore."
Fred stopped mid-way to his and Queenie's bedroom, turning to face Angel. "There is no way we're letting you pay on your birthday."
Sighing, Angel continued to follow him to the room. "If you insist."
The door to the bedroom was slightly creaked open and classic Barbara Streisand songs could be heard blaring from the open crack. Fred rolled his eyes slightly, mumbling to Angel, "Sometimes, I'd like to hear something besides Barbara and Cher."
Angel giggled as they entered the room. Queenie sat in front of the mirror, brushing her wig and carefully putting each strand in it's correct place. Fred cleared his throat and Queenie turned around, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Angel. Grinning ear to ear, Angel ran over to her, practically knocking her out of her chair.
"Oh my god, baby, I've missed you so much," Queenie whispered to him, hugging him so tightly, like she would never be able to let go.
"I missed you too. But I'm here now," he told her, breathing in the sweet scent of her perfume and burying his head in her soft wig.
"Hey, don't I get any love?" Fred questioned, still standing in the doorway with his hands on his hips.
Angel and Queenie broke away from each other, walking over to Fred so the three of them could hold each other.
"Well. Now that that's taken care of," Queenie announced, walking back over to her dresser, opening a drawer, and pulling out a beautifully- wrapped box, "I have a fabulous gift for you!"
"You really didn't have to get me anything, you know," Angel said, bashfully.
"He better like this gift, considering you've been talking about it for months on end," Fred mumbled as Queenie walked back over to Angel and handed him the box with a card.
"Read the card later, when we're not around. I have this thing about people reading cards in front of me-I can't stand it," Queenie instructed, watching as he began to tear open the wrapping paper.
Inside the plain, white box was, what appeared to be jewelry of some sort, wrapped in pink tissue paper. Taking it out of the tissue paper, Angel held it up and examined it. A charm with a deeply engraved Chinese symbol sat on the center of the chord, surrounded on either side by few silver beads and an upside-down, purple triangle. The necklace looked fairly simple-a basic, silver chord with metal charms, but as he examined it closer, he noticed that there were tiny diamonds at the base of the triangles, and one in the corner of the Chinese charm. The necklace must have been expensive.
"It's a Chinese symbol that means love and security. It's kind of hard to explain what it means in English, but it's one of the few symbols that I remember from the language. I bought it a few months ago at this craft fair that Fred and I went to. This woman had the most exquisite jewelry I'd ever seen, and I thought this was perfect. She had a couple "gay pride" necklaces, but this seemed a lot more personal and subtle. I hate those screaming rainbow necklaces that everyone seems to be wearing these days."
"Queenie, this is beautiful," Angel said softly, completely in awe of how beautiful the gift was and how much meaning it had to him, "I can't believe you got something this nice for me. It's amazing."
"I'm so glad you like it. I was worried you would think it was too flashy, or 'not your taste' or something. You're very difficult to shop for, Ang," Queenie explained.
"I'm never going to take it off. I love it so much. Thank you!" he hugged both of them one more time, gripping tightly on to the necklace.
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Stumbling into his apartment completely full from eating entirely too much at dinner with Queenie and Fred, Angel plopped down on the couch and leaned back. Mimi was still working at the club so he had the place to himself. He loved Mimi, but sometimes it was nice to be alone. He looked down at the envelope in his hand, examining it for a minute, debating whether or not he wanted to open it now or later. Realizing that he had absolutely nothing better to do, he gingerly tore open the envelope and pulled the card out. It had the same symbol on the front as the charm on his necklace-the Chinese symbol for love and security.
Dear Angel,
I can't believe you're already twenty-two. I remember back when you were seventeen, when you first came to the club. You were this scared, innocent kid who'd had far too much trauma for someone so young. I'm so grateful that you came that day because you've brought a joy into my life that nobody else could have, or ever will. You've brought this love into my life that not even Fred can give me. In every way I can think of, you're my son. I love you as if I were your own mother and you were my child-there will never be anybody in this world who means as much to me as you do.
I miss having you here with Fred and me. You light up our lives with this infectious energy that you have-whenever you walk into a room, the entire place lights up. I know sometimes both he and I are a bit hard on you, but it's all out of love. I want you to have all the things that I never did and I want you to be the happiest person alive.
It's hard to believe how much you've matured since we first met. I hardly even recognize you. You've turned into this beautiful, intelligent, articulate young man and I'm so proud of you. I hope that you have many more years of happiness ahead for you. I love you baby, Happy birthday.
Love always and forever,
Queenie.
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A/N: Another chapter done! Rent is coming up soon. only 4 more chapters, and then Collins comes into the picture. I really never thought I'd get this far. Thanks to all of you who've been loyal readers. The next chapter should be up within a week, maybe sooner. I've had a lot of time lately. As always (this should go without saying by now) review PLEASE, and I hope you enjoyed this one.
A 105 pound girl ripping off his blanket and leaping on top of him woke Angel up from a deep, peaceful sleep. Living at Mimi's left him with little privacy, since the door to his tiny, hole-in-the-wall bedroom was broken at the moment. Although his salary from working at Mac was decent, with the electric bills, phone bills, and Angel's clothes and makeup, there wasn't enough money to fix the door.
Letting out a load, annoyed groan, Angel buried his head in the pillow. A tight black tank top hugged his body and baggy black and white checkered pants hung loosely on his hips. It didn't matter that today was June 22nd, Angel Dumott-Schunard's 22nd birthday; it was entirely too early to be awake. He had the week off from work. Melanie was very lenient about giving him time off, since she had hired three new employees since Angel joined. He only worked two or three days every week, leaving plenty of time for him to sit on the sidewalks and drum. He had kept the pickle tubs that he "borrowed" from the Cat Scratch Club and brought them on the sidewalks with him to beat a fabulous beat and collect some extra change. When the weather wasn't too cold, he really loved to sit outside, people watch, and pound on the tubs. It was a satisfying way for him to release his frustration.
"Happy birthday, beautiful. It's time to get up," Mimi whispered in his ear as she sat on top of him, her legs straddled on either side of his body.
Letting out another frustrated groan, Angel pulled the pillow over his head to block out the light and the noise.
Refusing to give up, Mimi continued to sit on top of him and speak right into his ear. "Get up! I have a great present for you!"
Angel didn't budge.
"Fine, Angel. I'll just have to force you to get up," Mimi said casually, tickling his sides.
His head shot up like a rocket. "I'm up!" he squealed as he tried to push her off, to no avail.
"You sure you're really up?" she questioned, a big smile on her face as she continued to tickle him, mercilessly.
"YES!" he yelped in between laughs, "STOP!"
Getting up off of him, she waited for him to get out of bed, which took approximately six seconds. He did not want her to tickle him again. "God I hate it when you do that," he mumbled, wandering over to his closet which was bursting at the seams with clothing. Every morning was a challenge-trying to find the perfect outfit, so as not to repeat the exact same ensemble twice in a month.
"You're so high-maintenance," Mimi grumbled as she stood behind Angel, watching as he selected the right ensemble.
"Damn right I am. I have to look good," Angel stated, simply, as he selected a pink plastic-looking dress with a trim of fuzzy daisies on the bottom. Next to the closet was a large set of drawers. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a rolled up pair of tights. "If you'll excuse me, darling, I need to get ready. The bathroom is officially mine for the next 45 minutes," he informed her as he walked in, locking the door behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ten minutes later, Mimi was dressed and her curls were pulled into a messy knot in the back of her head. An hour later, Angel emerged from the bathroom, dressed in his carefully-select mini-dress, daisy tights, white heels, a bouncy, wavy blonde wig, and a full face of makeup. Checking himself out in the mirror one more time, he fluffed his hair, making sure the flower that he had strategically placed behind his right ear remained there, and then shut the door to the bathroom as he turned to face Mimi. "What do you think?" Angel asked, spinning around so she could see the entire outfit.
"You look fine," Mimi mumbled, barely looking up from her nails, covered in chipping black nailpolish.
"You didn't even look!" Angel whined, standing with his hands on his hips, "Come on. Are you sure I look okay?"
"Damnit, Angel. You always look good. Let's go!" Mimi exclaimed, tearing herself away from her nails, yanking Angel's hand, and dragging him out the door.
"Where are we going? You never told me!" Angel asked, sounding like a little kid as Mimi gripped his hand tightly and led him down the stairs.
"You remember how you were talking about getting your nipple pierced?"
His amber-hazel eyes lit up with excitement. "You're taking me to get it pierced?"
"Happy birthday, baby," Mimi said, as she stopped at the exit to her building to kiss Angel on the cheek. "I'm getting it done with you. It should be fun."
"Ooh!" Angel squealed, gripping her hand even tighter, "I am so excited. You have no idea how bad I want this piercing."
"Yeah, I do, considering you've been talking about it for. oh, I don't know, six months now?"
"Hey, you've been talking about it for a while, too! I'm not the only one," Angel giggled as he continued to walk the couple of blocks with her to the local tattoo and piercing parlor. "Do you think it'll hurt real bad?"
"It shouldn't be too bad," Mimi said, shrugging her shoulders, "I got this done," she stuck out her tongue, "about 2 years ago and it wasn't bad at all. You'll be fine. You're a big, tough man, Ang, you can handle it." Punching him in the shoulder, she winked at him as she said it. She knew more than anyone that Angel was anything but a "big, tough man."
"Mimi, I'm 5'9", 130 pounds, and I cry when someone steps on my foot," Angel replied in a monotone, rolling his eyes at her.
"You're right. You'll be a basket case. But it'll so be worth it. It's really hot."
Continuing on their journey, they laughed and talked, hand in hand, until they arrived at the piercing place.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/
Mimi winced slightly as the needle slid through her nipple, watching as the man who pierced her gently slid the ring through the hole.
"You're all set, babe," she said, letting Mimi up off the table. Still topless, Mimi looked down and observed her newly pierced nipples. She liked the look of it: it was fierce and sexy. "Your turn, sweetheart," the woman said, motioning for Angel to get on the table.
Shaking slightly, Angel gave her a nervous smile as he got up. Although he wanted this piercing really, really badly, he wasn't sure if he was willing to go through the pain to get it. He knew better than anybody that he had a fairly low pain tolerance. He wasn't convinced he'd be able to handle a needle going through his nipple.
"You okay?" the lady asked, as she opened a new needle and put on a fresh pair of gloves, "I just wanna make sure you're positive about this before I do it. Nipple piercings take while to heal and if you let it close up, it'll take a long time."
"I'm positive," Angel stated firmly, unzipping the back of his dress and leaning back against the wall.
"Okay. Close your eyes and breathe deeply. I'll let you know when I'm going to do it," the woman said, reassuring him as he shut his eyes and took in a few shaky breaths.
"Breathe in," she said, "I'm going to do it now. Breathe out." She shoved the needle through his right nipple as he breathed out, letting out an almost inaudible yelp.
His eyes popped open brimming with tears. "That wasn't so bad," he sniffled, trying his best to not burst into tears on the spot.
"I told you so, tough guy," Mimi said, holding his hand.
"Here's the care instructions, and feel free to come back if you have a problem," the woman said, thrusting a piece of paper into his hand. "Take care, you two!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/
Once they had gotten about a block from their building, Angel gripped Mimi's hand so hard she had to pull it away. "Ouch! What the fuck was that for?" she snapped.
A few tears fell slowly down his cheeks. "It hurts so bad, Mimi," he choked out, trying his best to be a man, suck it up and deal with the pain.
"God, you are such a baby!" Mimi exclaimed, grabbing his hand and leading him up the stairs.
Entering her apartment, Mimi pushed Angel onto the worn couch and threw an ice cube at him. "Ice your tit," she said sternly.
Angel couldn't help but laugh at her seriousness. "You just told me to ice my tit," he said, giggling.
The two looked at each other, then burst out laughing. After about five minutes of non-stop hysterics, Angel held the ice cube to his swollen nipple as Mimi walked over to the answering machine to check the phone calls. "Ooh! We have a message!" she squealed, playing it back.
"Hey baby. It's me! Happy birthday!" Queenie's cheerful voice chirped from the speaker, "I've got a fabulous present for you, so you need to come by and pick it up. I miss you, hon, I never get to see you anymore! Come by sometime today, Freddy and I will be here. Love you."
Angel smiled as he moved the ice around his nipple. It had been a couple of weeks since he'd even spoken to Queenie, and at least a month or two since he'd seen her. He felt horrible for not spending more time with her, but he'd been so busy. Between his job, the street drumming, and the nights with Mimi at Metropolis, he'd barely had enough time to even make a brief phone call. Today, though, he really wanted to see her. It wasn't every day that he turned 22 and who better to celebrate it with than Queenie?
"Are you gonna go?" Mimi asked, turning off the machine.
"Yeah I'll probably head over there pretty soon-maybe stay for dinner, or something. You wanna come? You haven't met her or Fred yet and they're both dying to finally meet 'that girl I always talk about'."
"I can't tonight. Sorry. I've got some business I need to take care of before I go to the club-Friday's always our busiest night so I really need to go. Some other time, though, I promise. If you let me know ahead of time, I can tell Kenny that I need the night off and I'll go with you."
"Yeah, sure. I'll check with Queenie and Fred and see what day they wanna do it. That would be great!" Angel exclaimed, taking the almost- melted ice cube and throwing it in the trash. "I think I'm gonna freshen up my makeup and then head out."
"Yeah, I should probably go too. I'll see you later baby. Happy birthday," Mimi said, kissing him lightly on the cheek before she headed straight out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/
"Queenie? Fred?" Angel called into the empty club, looking around the dimly lit room to see if there was anyone there. This was always his favorite time to come to the club-the space was virtually empty. This was the time right before the sea of sequins and glitter consumed the dance floor, the entire room packed to the point of over-population. Now, the atmosphere was quiet and serene, only faint, soothing music in the background.
Fred walked casually out from behind the stage curtain, standing alone in the center under a dull spotlight. "Hey Ang!" he called, waving at him to come over. Trotting up the stairs, Angel ran up to Fred, practically leaping on top of him in a warm embrace. Fred picked him up, holding him mid-air in his arms. "Haven't seen you around here lately."
"I've been so busy, it's crazy. I've really missed you, though."
"It's not the same without you being around. We miss you too," Fred said, taking his hand and leading him back stage. "Queenie is so excited about you coming today. She got this great birthday present for you and she can't wait to give it to you. You know Queenie-hasn't stopped gushing about it since the day she bought it."
Angel laughed, thinking about the many times when Queenie would obsess over her newest addition to her wardrobe for a week or two, then move on to a new, even better addition. "I can't wait to see her. Are you guys busy at all?"
"Nope, just cleaning up some things, making up a playlist for tonight. The usual. We were actually thinking of heading out for a real early dinner soon. Wanna join us?"
"I'd love to! Actually, I was going to invite you guys to come out with me. I figured I owe you both something since I barely see you anymore."
Fred stopped mid-way to his and Queenie's bedroom, turning to face Angel. "There is no way we're letting you pay on your birthday."
Sighing, Angel continued to follow him to the room. "If you insist."
The door to the bedroom was slightly creaked open and classic Barbara Streisand songs could be heard blaring from the open crack. Fred rolled his eyes slightly, mumbling to Angel, "Sometimes, I'd like to hear something besides Barbara and Cher."
Angel giggled as they entered the room. Queenie sat in front of the mirror, brushing her wig and carefully putting each strand in it's correct place. Fred cleared his throat and Queenie turned around, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Angel. Grinning ear to ear, Angel ran over to her, practically knocking her out of her chair.
"Oh my god, baby, I've missed you so much," Queenie whispered to him, hugging him so tightly, like she would never be able to let go.
"I missed you too. But I'm here now," he told her, breathing in the sweet scent of her perfume and burying his head in her soft wig.
"Hey, don't I get any love?" Fred questioned, still standing in the doorway with his hands on his hips.
Angel and Queenie broke away from each other, walking over to Fred so the three of them could hold each other.
"Well. Now that that's taken care of," Queenie announced, walking back over to her dresser, opening a drawer, and pulling out a beautifully- wrapped box, "I have a fabulous gift for you!"
"You really didn't have to get me anything, you know," Angel said, bashfully.
"He better like this gift, considering you've been talking about it for months on end," Fred mumbled as Queenie walked back over to Angel and handed him the box with a card.
"Read the card later, when we're not around. I have this thing about people reading cards in front of me-I can't stand it," Queenie instructed, watching as he began to tear open the wrapping paper.
Inside the plain, white box was, what appeared to be jewelry of some sort, wrapped in pink tissue paper. Taking it out of the tissue paper, Angel held it up and examined it. A charm with a deeply engraved Chinese symbol sat on the center of the chord, surrounded on either side by few silver beads and an upside-down, purple triangle. The necklace looked fairly simple-a basic, silver chord with metal charms, but as he examined it closer, he noticed that there were tiny diamonds at the base of the triangles, and one in the corner of the Chinese charm. The necklace must have been expensive.
"It's a Chinese symbol that means love and security. It's kind of hard to explain what it means in English, but it's one of the few symbols that I remember from the language. I bought it a few months ago at this craft fair that Fred and I went to. This woman had the most exquisite jewelry I'd ever seen, and I thought this was perfect. She had a couple "gay pride" necklaces, but this seemed a lot more personal and subtle. I hate those screaming rainbow necklaces that everyone seems to be wearing these days."
"Queenie, this is beautiful," Angel said softly, completely in awe of how beautiful the gift was and how much meaning it had to him, "I can't believe you got something this nice for me. It's amazing."
"I'm so glad you like it. I was worried you would think it was too flashy, or 'not your taste' or something. You're very difficult to shop for, Ang," Queenie explained.
"I'm never going to take it off. I love it so much. Thank you!" he hugged both of them one more time, gripping tightly on to the necklace.
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Stumbling into his apartment completely full from eating entirely too much at dinner with Queenie and Fred, Angel plopped down on the couch and leaned back. Mimi was still working at the club so he had the place to himself. He loved Mimi, but sometimes it was nice to be alone. He looked down at the envelope in his hand, examining it for a minute, debating whether or not he wanted to open it now or later. Realizing that he had absolutely nothing better to do, he gingerly tore open the envelope and pulled the card out. It had the same symbol on the front as the charm on his necklace-the Chinese symbol for love and security.
Dear Angel,
I can't believe you're already twenty-two. I remember back when you were seventeen, when you first came to the club. You were this scared, innocent kid who'd had far too much trauma for someone so young. I'm so grateful that you came that day because you've brought a joy into my life that nobody else could have, or ever will. You've brought this love into my life that not even Fred can give me. In every way I can think of, you're my son. I love you as if I were your own mother and you were my child-there will never be anybody in this world who means as much to me as you do.
I miss having you here with Fred and me. You light up our lives with this infectious energy that you have-whenever you walk into a room, the entire place lights up. I know sometimes both he and I are a bit hard on you, but it's all out of love. I want you to have all the things that I never did and I want you to be the happiest person alive.
It's hard to believe how much you've matured since we first met. I hardly even recognize you. You've turned into this beautiful, intelligent, articulate young man and I'm so proud of you. I hope that you have many more years of happiness ahead for you. I love you baby, Happy birthday.
Love always and forever,
Queenie.
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A/N: Another chapter done! Rent is coming up soon. only 4 more chapters, and then Collins comes into the picture. I really never thought I'd get this far. Thanks to all of you who've been loyal readers. The next chapter should be up within a week, maybe sooner. I've had a lot of time lately. As always (this should go without saying by now) review PLEASE, and I hope you enjoyed this one.