Marry Your Son

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Vic asked his younger brother for the thousandth time today. Sick of answering the same question, Mike turned to Vic and gave him a look that said ‘shut up’. Vic flinched, realizing that his brother was pissed. “Okay, okay,” he murmured, making a mental note that no matter what happened, Mike will not change his mind.

Mike was still stubborn as fuck, Vic thought.

Mike groaned as he lifted the red and white coloured guitar that belonged to Vic, slung the strip across his shoulder and climbed to the backseat of their shared navy van. Vic sat on the driver seat, murmuring under his breath as he started the engine.

Jaime entered the van, sat on the shotgun seat as he said, “Well, are we all set?”

“Apparently,” Vic mumbled with remorse.

Tony’s house was only a few blocks from Mike’s but today, it felt like it was located across the country. Mike was getting anxious as seconds go by, and Vic, as an older brother, noticed this as the boy with the philtrum piercing kept on tapping his feet. His restless eyes were wild, they kept on shifting from here to there; Vic saw this from the rearview mirror.
Jaime, oblivious to his surroundings, was whistling.

“You know,” Vic began, his voice was soothing, “It’s not too late to turn back. We’re only ten minutes away—”

“Just drive,” Mike cut his brother off.

He was not going to back away.

He was going to do this.

He had to do this.

It was the only way that he and Tony can be together.

The first time he met Tony was at his favourite tattoo parlor. Mike had always get his tattoos done at Inked Wrists (goddamn that boy had tattoos everywhere) and during his umpteenth visit, that was when he saw Tony. Mike was getting a tattoo on his palm – a tattoo of harry potter. If you were to ask me why, I would simply reply because Mike was an idiot.
Perhaps he was running out of places to ink his skin.

Or perhaps he just wanted to torture himself because he swore to God, it hurt like a bitch. Trust me when I say Mike had tattoos everywhere, because he felt pretty numb when the needles pierce his skin. But not on his palm. God, the pain was unbearable; he had to bit on his lower lip to refrain from screaming like a pussy.

But then he saw him.

Tony was just outside of the parlor, staring at the designs that were displayed on the glass window. From inside, Mike could see the look on the stranger’s face as he was admiring the designs. All of a sudden, the pain vanished. He was probably the most beautiful creature Mike had ever seen to ever walk on this Earth.

And then, Tony walked inside the parlor and everything was like slow motion. Tony did not notice Mike was there, mesmerized by his magnificence and presence.

Tony continued to look at the designs; probably picking a good one so he could tattoo it on his skin. At one moment, he was grinning widely when he saw one of the designs. Mike could not see what design it was but he sure as hell saw the way he grinned, causing Mike’s jaw to drop to the floor. Instantly, Mike knew he just had to walk up to the stranger and ask for his name.
However, that was Mike’s first mistake.

By first mistake I meant, leaving his jaw hanging.

Because that was when the needle pierced the skin on the centre of his palm, the place where the pain was equivalent to being kicked repeatedly in the balls. The pain was so tormenting and surreal that Mike literally screamed out in agony. Not to mention that his scream was so high pitched, he was pretty sure the bird on the roof top were flying away in surprise.

His loud (and high pitched) scream caused all attention turned to him.

Including the beautiful stranger.

And Mike swore, he had never felt more humiliated in his life.

However, Mike always got what he wanted. Later, he figured that Tony was also getting a tattoo on his arm. Mike used the opportunity to approach him and used the pick-up lines he heard from Vic (while Vic was practicing in front of the mirror) to start a conversation. Tony found the pick-up line to be corny and funny and not to mention that the person who used it on him was the same dude who actually screamed like a girl, he began to laugh hysterically.

“Why are you laughing?” Mike asked, feeling a little offended.

“Nothing,” – laugh – “It’s just,” – laugh – “Funny.”

Mike twisted his lips, trying to keep it cool but he was so close to losing it. He was feeling insecure all of a sudden. He had gathered up all his courage just to talk to him and yet instead of getting a reply, he was being laughed at.

“What’s so funny?” he asked between grit teeth.

“You.”

“What? Is there something on my face?”

“You’re adorable.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how it all started.

Then from there on, it was just like any other normal stories. Boy meets boy. Boy talks to boy. Boy likes boy. Boy goes on a date with boy.

Oh, there was a time when they were on a date. Their first date, to be precise. Mike had difficulty using his left hand, but it was not like he was left handed anyway. But it was hard to eat when he was using his left hand to hold a spoon. He cursed the tattoo, and just ate the spaghetti using his right hand, with only a fork.

After dinner, usually couples would go for a late night walk, to enjoy the romantic view in the park or somewhat. That was what they did anyway. They were walking and talking and bonding and everything was just so perfect.

Until Tony decided to make the first move – which was holding hands. Slowly, his hand
brushed across Mike’s.

Mike could feel himself heating up, despite the fact that it was almost zero degrees during that night. He was biting his lower lip, screaming in his head, ‘HE’S GONNA MAKE THE FIRST MOVE THIS TIME!!!!!!!’

Only to scream louder (and yes, yet again, high pitched) in reality when Tony hold his bandaged (not yet healed) hand. Panicked, Tony abruptly let go of his hand and muttered, “I’m so sorry! Oh my god!!”

“Mother of God!” Mike screamed, holding his bandaged palm, trying so hard not to cry during their first date.

“Holy shit, Mike – I’m so sorry. I just wanted to hold your hand!”

Yep. Just like any other normal stories.

Except… Tony’s mother was not exactly fond of Mike. In fact, she hated him with burning passion. Mike was not sure the reason why, but he surmised that it might be because he gave the wrong vibe.

When Mike first entered Tony’s house, everything was clean and nice and organized and neat – everything Mike was not. Tony came from a very well-mannered family, Mike could see that. He was surprised when his mother gave Tony kisses on both cheeks and he was even more surprised when the woman advanced towards him, probably about to do the same.

But Mike will never know what she was really going to do because when she was near, Mike backed away and said, with a loud and clear voice, “No thanks, I’m good.”

The woman was offended.

Mike instantly regretted being so blunt. It was not like Mike really liked to be kissed anyway. Besides, Mike’s family was not like Tony. Their way of greeting each other was far too different. And Mike hated difference.

Ever since then, Mike tried to be nice around the woman, despite the fact that she could not even cook mash potato very well. But it became worst when Mike visited Tony with short sleeved shirts, revealing his tattoos to Tony’s family. Tony’s little sister really liked the tattoos, she was enthralled by the art on Mike’s skin.

The woman became hostile, and she would not even hesitate to offend Mike right to his face.
Tony had ensured him that it would be okay and that his mother actually really liked Mike but Mike could not believe it.

How could such cruel woman actually like Mike?

It was apparent by the look of her face every time Mike entered their house. She treated him as if he brought diseases to their house.

Tony’s sister really liked him, so he did not get why his mother could not. Every day, Mike would try to impress the woman, by bringing her flowers every visit but he never seen any flowers he gave inside any vase in the house. Mike wanted to ask Tony where the flowers were, but he was afraid that Tony knew how insecure he really was around his mother.
Mike did not want that to happen, he certainly did not. He knew how much Tony loved his mother and Mike, regardless of the woman being unfriendly towards him, also tried to love her.
That was why this had to happen.

He knew she would never accept Mike with sincerity, but if Mike could only prove just how much Tony meant to him, perhaps she would finally open her eyes and realise that Mike was the right man for her one and only son.

As soon as they arrived at Tony’s neighborhood, they parked the van a few houses away from Tony’s and began to set things up. Jaime and Vic carried the speaker to Tony’s front yard, connecting the acoustic guitar and microphone to the speaker. They organized it carefully and slowly, afraid that Tony’s family would realise their presence before the real show could even start.

Before Mike began, he flipped open the folded note scribbled with lyrics, scanned through it for one last time, afraid that he would forget the words because of anxiety. Mike turned to Vic, gave an OK sign and walked towards Tony’s front yard, standing in front of the microphone with the guitar ready.

He tapped the microphone, and he could hear the tapping sound through the speakers, indicating that the microphone was working. He heard the tapping for the second time and pursed his lips, hoping that this would be worth it.

Clearing his throat, he placed his lips nearer to the microphone and said, “Tony Perry?”

No response.

“Tony Perry?”



Tony was royally pissed with his mother. The woman had kept on pestering him to leave Mike. Tony assumed that she must be still mad with him, after he told her that he was actually gay.

Sure, she seemed like she was supporting him, but he knew that secretly, she was disappointed that the only boy in their family was gay.

His mother had given him the talk about Mike, and he was not even bothered to listen to anything the woman had said. Instead, he stormed off upstairs.

He thought for quite a long time in his room and when he was ready to give his mother a piece of his mind, he mustered all the courage he had to walk up to her room. He opened the door to his mother’s room, and she was standing near the window, adjusting the flowers in the vase that was placed on top of the desk that was positioned close to her square shaped window.
She was pretty surprised when her only son barged into her room like that, but she was even more surprised when a loud voice was calling out his name.

“Tony Perry?”

Tony must not know what was happening either, because she could also see the flabbergasted look on his face.

“Is that—?”

Before she could even continue her sentence, the loud voice called him again.

“Tony Perry?”

“Yep,” Tony answered. “Mike.”

Confused, Tony abruptly walked out of his mother’s room and went to his. Usually, he would go straight to the front door but something was off today. It seemed like Mike was talking through the microphone.

Tony opened his window to find Mike was holding a guitar on his hand. His front yard was filled with two huge speakers and a standing microphone in front of Mike. Tony’s breath hitched.

“Where’s your mother?” Mike asked through the microphone.

Suddenly, Tony’s mother appeared next to him, looking more pissed than ever. “What are you doing?!” she yelled from above.

“Ma’am,” Mike began as politely as possible. “I’m doing this for you. And your son.”

“What the—”

“1, 2, 3,” Mike spoke through the phone and his finger began to move to pluck the strings.

Keeping his eyes locked towards Tony and his mother, he began singing,

“Ma’am, I’m a bit nervous about being here today.
Still not quite sure what I’m going to say.
So bear with me please if I take up too much of your time.”

During the interval of singing, his mother yelled, “You do take up a lot of my time, young man! Now st—”

“See, I am only doing this, for your oldest.
He’s my everything and all that I know is
It would be such a relief if I knew that we were on the same side
‘Cause very soon I’m hoping that I…”

And during the interval again, “YOU WISH!”

“Mom!” Tony whined, irritated that his mother just had to ruin the most perfect serenade in history.

“Could marry your Tony
And make him mine
I want him to be the only man that I’ll love for the rest of my life,
And give him the best of me ‘til the day that I die, yeah.”

The whole time during he was singing, he never took his eyes off the love of his life, who was currently watching him through the open window on the first floor with his mother.

Tony let out a gasp. Was Mike really proposing to him? He was not sure, but he was sure as hell fucking touched.

“I’m gonna marry your Tony,
And make him my king,
He’ll be the most beautiful groom that I’ve ever seen.
I can’t wait to smile
When he walks down the aisle
On the arm of his mother
On the day that I marry Tony Perry.”

Tony’s mother stared hard on Mike, trying to figure out what the young man was up to but Mike only gave her a huge grin, satisfied that during this interval, she was not yelling.

“He’s been here every steps
Since the day that we met,
I’m scared to death to think of what would happen if he ever left,
So don’t you ever worry about me ever treating him bad.
I’ve got most of my vows done so far,
So bring on the better or worse,
And til death do us part.
There’s no doubt in my mind,
It’s time,
I’m ready to start,
I swear to you with all of my heart

I’m gonna marry your Tony,
And make him my king,
He’ll be the most beautiful groom that I’ve ever seen.
I can’t wait to smile
When he walks down the aisle
On the arm of his mother
On the day that I marry Tony Perry.
The first time I saw him, I swear I knew,
That I’d say I do.”

Tony was grinning from ear to ear, who could have think that Mike could actually sing that high. And then he remembered the first time day met, and boy, he could scream. Tony shifted his attention to the speakers, the wires seemed to be connecting somewhere else and that was when he saw the van.

That only made his grin wider.

“I’m gonna marry Tony
And make him mine
I want him to be the only man that I’ll love for the rest of my life
And give her the best of me til the day that I die

I’m gonna marry your Tony,
And make him my king
He’ll be the most beautiful bride that I’ve ever seen
I can’t wait to smile
As he walks down the aisle
On the arm of his daughter,
On the day that I marry your— SHIT!”

The music stopped. At this stage, everyone’s eyes widened in horror. Including Jaime and Vic. Especially Vic.

Tony’s mother’s eyes were as wide as saucers, and Mike knew he ruined it this time. Yet again. Mike paused, frozen in state, horrified even.

“Fuck, Jaime, watch where you going, you idiot!” was blaring through the speakers.

In reality, Vic was the one who was singing this whole time while Mike was pretending to sing. And damn, for a moment, Tony thought it was him too. Damn, he was good. Mike had planned to serenade Tony, in front of his mother. Although his intention was to impress her and show how much Tony meant to him, he was afraid of the humiliation he received.

First of all, Mike could not play guitars. He was more of a drummer.

Secondly, Mike did not like singing.

Singing was Vic’s job.

Thus how he came up with the plan for Vic to sing while he lipsynced. It was a crazy idea, he knew it would be worth it but now that they were busted, all Mike could ever thought was how he wished someone would drop a fucking bomb right now and let Mike blew up into tiny pieces.

“Shit,” they could hear Vic’s voice again through the speaker. “Sorry,” he mumbled and then a sound could be heard, indicating that Vic had plugged out the wire that connected his microphone through the speakers on the front yard.

Mike slowly looked up to look at her reaction and found the woman was sending him death glared as she folded her arms. Mike blinked and gulped.

“Are you seriously think I’m just going to give my son away to you?!”

“Yeah…?” he gulped.

“Unbelievable,” she muttered, turning away.

Mike was afraid that she was going to leave without knowing the truth. Although, technically, she did know but not wholly.

“Look, Mrs. Perry. I can explain.”

But she was already walking away. Tony, who wanted his mother to understand, grabbed her by her arm and said pleadingly, “Please listen to him, mom.”

She hesitated at first, but she could not say no to Tony.

So she stayed.

“I was only doing this for Tony,” he gulped.

Now that he was not pretending to sing, he just noticed that Tony’s neighbors were peeking through the window and they had been watching him humiliating himself this whole time. And he just realized that Tony’s little sister was actually recording everything through her room – that little troll!

But that was not important to Mike. Not at all.

He was doing this to make it work.

He was doing this to make everything okay.

“I know we’re not in a good term, Mrs. Perry, I do not know what I have done to make you feel this way towards me but trust me, I really do not care what you think about me. I have been trying so hard to impress you so that you could hate me a little less, but it seems like nothing is working. You always find a reason to dislike me.”

Mike took a deep breath as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. This was even more nerve-wrecking than everything else Mike had ever done in his whole life.

“I could see that you were considering, during… um… the serenade. But you see, I am only doing this for Tony. I’m sorry that I couldn’t sing. I’m sorry that I can’t even hold a fucking guitar properly. But I can love your son, more than anyone else in the world.”

Tony’s eyes were getting teary, he was completely touched. His mother remained still, her arms still folded close to her chest.

“So please, Mrs. Perry, no matter what you do, nothing can separate me from Tony.”

She was quiet.

Too quiet.

Then, the sound of the window being violently opened from next door could be heard. It was Valerie, Tony’s younger sister. Still holding the camera that was pointing towards Mike, she yelled, “JUST ACCEPT MIKE ALREADY MOM. CAN’T YOU SEE HOW SWEET HE REALLY IS?”

“GODDAMMIT LISTEN TO YOUR DAUGHTER!” a man added out of nowhere. Apparently, Mike had audience.

Mike felt embarrassed knowing that people actually watch him perform badly, but he also felt relieved that at least someone supported him.

“THAT YOUNG MAN DESERVES YOUR SON!” an old lady screamed from a different direction.

“GO MARRY MARK, TONY!” another added.

“Uh, thanks,” Mike mumbled through the microphone. “But my name’s Mike.”

“SORRY!”

“It’s okay,” Mike said.

“Mom,” Tony let out a loud sigh, wiping the tears from his eyes and stared at his mother, whose expression was incomprehensible. She still had her arms folded close to her chest, staring down at Mike, causing Mike to be very anxious under the stare. “Quit intimidating him,” Tony murmured.

To this, his mother turned to him. Tony was not sure what to say – he could not read her. What exactly was she thinking?

She licked her bottom lip, glanced at Mike and then turned her gaze to her son.

“Look, Tone,” she began, her voice was softer than usual. “Do you really love him?”

Tony nodded vehemently, with confidence in his voice. “I do. I really do.”

She let out a soft sigh. “And I could tell that he really loves you too.”

Tony’s lips curved into a smile, slowly reaching his ears. “What does that mean, mom? Does that mean you accept him? Does that mean you—”

Irritated, she interrupted his sentences, “Yes, yes, yes. Goddammit. He’s the sweetest, alright. How can I not accept him as a son in law?”

“You love him too, don’t you?” Tony grinned.

His mother only rolled her eyes as a response. “Whatever. Now, go down, tell him you said you’ll marry him and ask him to clean up the mess he made.”

Thrilled, Tony gave his mother a hug. He was hugging her so tightly, she could barely breathe. She did not complain though, she really liked being in her son’s embrace. Seeing Tony being happy made her even happier.

Tony pulled away and with a sardonic tone, he said, “I saw the flowers in you room, mom.”

“What flowers?” she asked, a little quickly.

“The flowers Mike always give you every time he visited. You love the flowers, don’t you?”
His mother gave him a small smile.

“Of course. Daisies are my favourite.”

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

“God fucking damn it,” Vic cursed under his breath as he plugged all the wires from his guitar and microphone.

Jaime was confused by his sudden behavior, but he refused to do anything about it. Instead, he chortled. “Wow, Vic. You really ruin this thing for Mike, don’t you? Imagine how pissed Mike will be.”

Vic glared at Jaime. “Shut the fuck up. Now, let’s run to Mexico and never come back.”

Jaime blinked.

“Are you suggesting that we are leaving Mike there?”

Vic rolled his eyes. “Duh! What else can we do?”

“Wouldn’t he—”

“Just shut up and drive.”

Notes

pls leave a few feedbacks thx