Chapter 111: Episode 109 - Charity
Amari waved as people trickled out into to the street after hours of eating and playing, some of them drunk and all of them tired. He heard the familiar little jingle at his feet and crouched down, ruffling Taitai's hair.
"We'll see you tomorrow, okay?" The little head nodded under his palm. "Can I get a kiss?" He tapped his cheek and Taitai leaned in, giving him a sleepy peck.
"Bye Li ba," he said, quiet and drowsy, followed by a louder, "Bye ba," to Yangyang, still seated at the bar.
Yangyang's mother pulled Taitai away, out the exit and to the street, and then only four were left. Amari walked back to the bar and sat on the stool next to his husband, tracing his hazy outline with his eyes.
"You know, you keep staring at me," Yangyang joked, and Amari giggled, remembering their first meeting.
Yangyang cleared his throat. "You know, you keep staring at me."
"Oh, sorry," Amari tenderly replied, smiling wide. "I didn't mean to creep you out."
"Oh, sorry." Amari turned his head away in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to creep you out."
Yangyang chuckled and leaned over, giving him a quick kiss. "Stare all you want." He spun in his seat, turning back to the counter and Ziggy standing behind it. "So, Zig. Why can't we leave? We're technically on our honeymoon, you know?"
"Oui, oui," Ziggy said with a wave of his hand. "Joe, you can head out, hein? I think I'll stay with Cate tonight after I talk to mes chéris." Joe gave him a much too lengthy kiss and a hard smack on what Amari could only assume was his ass before saying his goodbyes. As he walked out, he shut the club door behind him. "Fait que, my impatient children..."
He reached under the bar counter and pulled out some papers, placing them in front of Yangyang. "This is my wedding gift to you two, as well as a selfish request, hein?"
There was a pause as Yangyang took the papers, rustling them around in his hands, then choking on his breath. "Ziggy, this is..."
Amari heard the jingle of keys and his friend took Yangyang's hand, placing them into his palm.
"This is the lease to my apartment." The words were met with shocked silence, so Ziggy cleared his throat. "It was already my plan, tsé, but you said you were getting married so suddenly, I had to rush to prepare this! Cate and I own the whole building, fait que, ce n'est pas nécessaire, but I like to be formal when I conduct business."
"Wait, Zig..." Amari's mind went blank, taking a few seconds before he could continue. "I don't understand. This's... We can't accept this."
"Mon petit frère." His friend's voice was gentle and serious - that mature tone Amari rarely heard, saved for only the most important moments. "You are as close to a son as I will ever have, tsé? You don't know this about me, because I don't flaunt it and I don't do charity, but I am pretty wealthy. Trés riche, en fait... I just live and work here because it makes me happy." He sighed when his explanation only created more confusion. "I told you, hein? This is a gift, but also a selfish request. I don't want you two and that beautiful boy of yours to move away. You know me. I get lonely without you."
"Ziggy..." Yangyang cut in. "Even if we accepted this, we can't afford to live here..." He didn't understand any more than Amari.
Ziggy pushed another paper in front of him. "Nonsense. C'est un cadeau. A gift. I am giving you the apartment. I don't need the money." He tapped the new paper. "And this is the other part of the selfish request."
"What is this?" Yangyang asked, looking over the paper, too dazed from the first 'request.' "A contract for what?"
Ziggy chuckled and tapped on the paper again. "Lisez-le, idiot. You can see. Joint ownership of this club. You manage it, you take the profits, and I take a small cut that I'll call your rent. After five years, it's all yours. Ch'te dis, we own the building, and I don't need the money."
"But, I don't know how to run a music club..."
Yangyang sounded completely confused, his mind bombarded by the unimaginable. Amari stayed silent next to him, still trying to process the situation with the apartment.
"Which is the reason for this clause here." Ziggy tapped the paper again. "J'ai recherché. Your college has a music business-management degree track. This contract is valid as soon as you graduate." Yangyang didn't move, his face close to the paper. "Until then, you work for me as an assistant, and you only get a salary."
"Wait, wait, wait." Amari couldn't sit and listen anymore. None of it made any sense. "Ziggy, what the fuck is this? You're just giving us your apartment and your club? Why? Charity? What about you? What're you gonna do?"
Ziggy laughed for a few seconds, which made Amari's cheeks flush with frustration, then he sighed. "Scotty. Have you ever known me to be charitable? Si c'est la charité, I would hand you a check for a million dollars and kick you out." He tapped the contract again, leaning onto the counter. "You know me. I take business very seriously. I love this club. C'est mon bébé. I've done many things in the music industry, but I've had this club for almost twenty years, tsé? Still, I'm close to fifty and I don't want to work so much.
"This husband of yours, c'est un musicien phénoménal, oui, but he is also intelligent and charismatic, with extensive knowledge of the music industry in this city. He has old contacts and can make new contacts easily. I have known him for over ten years, and in my wildest dreams, I couldn't find someone better to take this club from me, hein?"
"Are you serious, Zig?" Yangyang asked timidly, unsure he could live up to such high expectations.
Ziggy reached out across the counter, taking the paper away and grabbing Yangyang's hands. "Chéri, you have infinite potential, tsé? Infini. I am stealing you from the world now, because if I wait, someone else might snatch you up. En plus, I can take advantage of this love story of yours to tie you down."
Yangyang chuckled and Ziggy leaned over to pat his shoulder, then turned back to Amari.
"As far as the apartment, ch'te dis, I'm a possessive man. I want to know where you are." He sighed and shifted behind the counter. "En fait, things are getting kind of serious with Joe. We've talked about living together, but I'm not there yet, tsé? Fait que... For now, I will live with Cate. Unlike everything else, I don't want to rush this and mess it all up."
Amari grinned at him, leaning forward. "I see..." he teased, and Ziggy huffed, pushing him back onto his stool. "I still think it's fucking crazy to give us your apartment. I hope it works out and you two live happily ever after, but what if it doesn't?"
"Then I'll live with Cate." Ziggy didn't sound worried either way. "We're both getting older and neither of us have ever had real relationships. Other than you, ma belle enfant, I don't form connections like that. You should just let me do this for you, hein? I'll wait a few years before I show you my will. If this shocks you, seeing that might kill you."
Yangyang and Amari froze, and Yangyang poked him in the thigh, leaning in close. "Is he really that rich?" he asked in a whisper.
Amari could only raise his eyebrows and shrug. All he knew about Ziggy was that he lived in a little apartment in Brooklyn, his sister lived below him, and they ran a coffeehouse and music club. He knew nothing of his past, but now he couldn't help wondering if all of those grand and ridiculous stories he used to tell were actually true.
"Antèka, I already have movers coming next week for most of my stuff." He clicked a pen and handed it to Yangyang. "The apartment is yours and you can take your time moving in. Taitai will have to change schools, so maybe waiting until June would be best, hein?" Yangyang nervously clicked the pen a few more times as he continued. "He is young, so now is a good time to do it. It's a good area, good elementary schools, and lots of options for specialized high schools. If he turns out anything like you, Yangyang, he'll be able to go wherever he wants, tsé?"
After a deep breath, without any more hesitation, Yangyang signed his name to the bottom of the paper and handed the pen to Amari.
"Really?" he asked, cautiously taking it. "We're doing this?"
"Why wouldn't we?"
Amari couldn't argue. Ziggy was eccentric, but he was the closest family he'd ever had. He knew his friend loved him like a son. The idea of taking something so large didn't sit well with him, but the thought of rejecting Ziggy made him feel even worse. Yangyang put a finger under the signature line so he could easily find it, and he signed his messy name to the paper.
"Papier suivant," Ziggy said, switching papers and handing the contract to Yangyang. Amari returned the pen and he took it with another deep breath.
"You're absolutely certain about this?" Yangyang paused, his arm suspended above the paper.
Ziggy chuckled. "I have never been more confident about a business arrangement in my life. I think you're the one who needs to be absolutely certain, hein?"
Amari gripped Yangyang's arm, giving it a comforting squeeze, and smiled brightly at him. He knew Ziggy was right. Yangyang would be amazing at the job. He also knew it was that perfect compromise he was looking for. Something that could support his family, let him stay close to home, and still keep him involved in music and the music industry. He could continue to play - as a session musician, in a band, or just for fun - but he would have the stability he was worried about.
Yangyang sighed and pressed the pen to the paper, adding his signature to the contract. "There."
Ziggy clapped his hands together and squealed in exaggerated excitement, rushing around the bar to squeeze the two in his arms.
"Mes deux précieux chéris! You're stuck with me now!" He faked a maniacal laugh and Amari giggled at his dramatic acting. Then he released them and went back to grab his papers. "Antèka, kids. Business is concluded, hein? I'm heading to Cate's and the apartment is yours, littéralement. Enjoy your honeymoon."
He gave a big wave and sauntered happily out of the club, leaving Amari and Yangyang sitting at the bar, still attempting to absorb what just happened.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone