“I can’t believe you haven’t taken me to see your parents yet. Now we’re getting married and I have yet to meet my future in-laws. I’m really a shitty child-in-law.” 

Skye laughed at my somewhat snarky statement and returned the snark.

“Likewise, I have yet to have met your parents. Now who’s the shitty child-in-law?” 

Oops, I really forgot to bring Skye along to my monthly dinner with my parents. My parents, Winston and Melissa Yang, and I had a relatively close relationship, and though they weren’t initially the most understanding parents when it came to my sexuality and gender identity, they surprised me by learning throughout the years and by now, they were fully accepting of me and were my biggest allies, other than Jess and Matt. I was glad that the Asian conservatism household stereotype was broken in this case.

Skye’s parents, Marcus and Elizabeth Long, according to Skye, was a lot less accepting than my parents, but likewise learned to accept their child’s sexuality and gender identity. It seemed as if my parents and Skye’s parents could easily bond together over shared interests, as both of our parents enjoyed cooking and 80s music. Plus, parents of queer children should stick together, but that was just my take on things.

“Okay, we’re here at the restaurant. Are your parents there already, my dear fiance?”

Honestly, it took some time to get used to Skye calling me fiance and vice versa, but eventually we got used to it. It was a few months before the wedding where I could call them my spouse instead of fiance, and I couldn’t wait for that day to come. 

“Yes, babe. They texted me that they were chatting with your parents.”

I saw Skye’s face and I could tell that they were nervous. I was the same, but my face wasn’t as obvious. What if this lunch turned out to be disastrous? What if everyone hated each other?

Our worries dissipated when we saw that Dad was embracing who I presumed to be Skye’s father, judging from Skye’s resemblance to him. Skye looked at me, and made sure our hands were held together tightly. Skye had sweaty hands, but I learned to get used to it, and I didn’t mind them at all.

Dad noticed me and immediately waved at me. 

“Ah Lee, you’re finally here! I was just talking to Marcus here. It has been a while since we met, and we didn’t know that our children were together until just now.”

Wait, they knew each other already? Right, I forgot that Skye’s family didn’t live too far away from my family before they moved during Skye’s senior year. I bet Skye also forgot that, and we were smiling at each other like two peas in a pod.

“Yes, it has been a while since I met Melissa. We used to see each other in the park when we did our taichi classes. I wouldn’t have thought our Skye was dating your Lee!” 

I decided it would be polite and greeted everyone. Skye also did the same.

“Hello Mr and Mrs Long, and hello Mom and Dad.” 

“Hello Mr and Mrs Lee, and hello Ma and Ba.”

The elders looked at us as if they were insulted. Then, Mr Long and my dad cleared their throats. 

“Children, you should just call your future in-laws ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ instead. After all, aren’t you both getting married soon?”

I sighed with relief, as did Skye. We said together in unison towards our future in-laws.

“Hello Father and Mother.”

“That’s much better. Now take a seat, and let’s talk about your wedding plans.”

I sat beside Skye on the right, with my parents sitting beside me on the left. Skye’s parents, in a similar fashion, sat beside Skye.

The two families began their discussion on the wedding plans while eating. I have already told my parents that we wanted an intimate wedding, with just a few guests. My parents, having gone through a few large-scaled weddings themselves, agreed to my request. Skye’s parents seemed to have no issue with that either, and I presumed that they had the same experience. 

When it came to names though, both parents got somewhat more heated as both sides wanted their child-in-law to take after their last name. It may seem trivial to some people, but I understood my customs, and that the last name was the family name that should be passed from generation to generation. Skye and I were both assigned male at birth, so it was unlikely that we would have biological kids naturally. It was because of this our parents tended to be less compromising as in their eyes, we still had the responsibility of carrying our family names to future generations, no matter biological or adopted.

I ended up interrupting the parents, as I had already discussed this with Skye, who also expected this to come up during our wedding plans.

“We’ve decided that we’ll take each other’s last names and if we ever have kids, their last names will be Yang-Long instead of just Yang or Long. I hope this settles the issue.”

Mom and Dad seemed to be okay with what I said, while Marcus was still somewhat unhappy. I decided to be a bit bold and asked him.

“Is there an issue, Father?” 

“Yes, why can’t it be Long-Yang instead?” 

Skye then joined in the conversation we were having. 

“I was the one who suggested that Long be placed after Yang, because it symbolises that I will always be following Lee. They are the love of my life after all, and I will follow them wherever they go.”

Marcus’ frown turned into a smile and started laughing. At the same time though, I noticed Marcus and Elizabeth finally realised who I was and looked at me quite intensely.

“I see, well, my child. You’re really in love with Lee, right? Also, have you apologised to Winston and Melissa for treating their child like trash back in school?”

Skye winced at the last question, but they looked at me and took a deep breath.

“Yes, Ba. And no, Lee hasn’t told their parents yet, but I guess it should be known now..”

Skye then turned to Mom and Dad and looked at them with an apologetic look.

“Father, Mother, I am so sorry for how I treated Lee in school. I know they haven’t told you everything, but if you remembered seeing Lee coming home crying on some school days, that was my doing. I was very jealous of Lee, and I hurt them in multiple ways, ranging from a Facebook hate group to isolating them from everyone in class. I realised the error in my ways and sought therapy in my senior year. That was also the year when I moved to a different school. It was then I only realised I was in love with Lee, and I wanted to make amends by apologising to them and being their friend. It was only after 10 years that we met again, and I was and still am in love with them. I hope you can forgive me for what I did, and I promise I will never hurt Lee ever again.”

Mom and Dad weren’t smiling at first, but then they looked at me and I nodded at them. I was really loved by Skye, and I knew that they would never hurt me. 

“You know, you really hurt Lee. It broke my heart to see my child coming back from school suffering but I couldn’t do anything because they never told me anything much. I really shouldn’t like you, but I can see that Lee is a lot happier with you, and I know you’re good for them. You have my forgiveness and blessing, but if you ever hurt Lee again, I will not hesitate to treat you like you wish you had never been born at all.”

Dad’s threat seemed to scare Elizabeth, though Marcus gave her a gentle pat at the shoulder. 

“Don’t worry Winston, if my child hurts your child, I will personally see to it and make sure they will suffer for the rest of their life.”

Skye nodded furiously.

“Father, Ba, you have my word. I have confidence that I can provide eternal happiness to the love of my life and they will never be hurt by me.”

That seemed to put both families at ease. I leaned closer to Skye and gave them a kiss on the cheek. I also wanted to say something to them, so instead of dragging them somewhere quieter, I whispered to them.

“Thank you, babe. I believe you, and I can’t wait to be a Yang-Long.”

Skye beamed at me and whispered in reply.

“Of course, my love. I also can’t wait to be a Yang-Long.”