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Chapter Text

Meilin Lee and her three BFFs were talking loudly amongst themselves as they walked through the front door of the Lee family home. It was early in the evening, the sun was just beginning to set in the sky, and the girls were getting ready for their first sleepover ever.

It had taken the girls a long time to get to this point in their friendship... they would've had a sleepover much earlier, but Mei's mother Ming had never been too fond of her daughter's friends, certainly not fond enough to allow them to spend a whole night together. Of course, all that had changed on the night of the “Red Panda Incident”... the 4*Town concert-turned-giant panda disaster that had changed everything between Ming, Mei, and Mei's friends. Now, Ming loved having Mei's friends over at the temple, and welcomed them into her home with open arms... for the most part, anyway.

“Mom, we're home!” said Mei, as she and her friends kicked off their shoes and entered the living room with everything they'd need to enjoy a night of games, music, and fun together.

“Let's get this sleepover STARTED!” Abby shouted, pumping her fists excitedly.

Nearby, Priya nodded in agreement, a slight smile on her face, while Miriam walked alongside Mei, still somewhat nervous around Ming. Even though it had been several weeks since the incident, and even though Mei's mother had been much more friendly toward her daughter's friends, she still seemed to be somewhat suspicious of the tall redhead, and that attitude didn't seem to have changed as Ming and her husband Jin walked into the room to greet the girls.

“Hello, girls!” Jin said in a friendly tone, opening his arms to give his daughter Mei a hug. “Mei's so excited to have all of you over.”

“Hey, Mr. Lee, hey, Mrs. Lee,” said Miriam, waving to them with a friendly smile.

“Hello, Abby, Priya,” said Ming, smiling at two of her daughter's friends before her expression hardened and she glowered slightly at Miriam. “...Miriam.”

Mei could see her friend's expression sink slightly. After all this time, her mother still didn't approve of Miriam? Miriam herself let out a slight sound of disappointment, but didn't say anything else, and neither did Mei, not wanting to cause a confrontation so early on in the evening. As Mei and Miriam shot each other a look, the scent of home cooking wafted into the room, and Abby gasped in excitement.

“Oh my gosh, is that your cooking?!” shouted Abby, looking over at Jin.

“Ah, that's right, I'm making-”

“Whatever it is, I'm hungry!” Abby exclaimed, barely able to contain her excitement to once again try some of Mr. Lee's famous cooking.

“I'm starved too,” said Priya.

“Yeah, we worked up quite an appetite singing karaoke all afternoon,” Mei added with a nod.

“Well, I'm sure you'll all enjoy a nice meal then,” said Ming, giving the girls a friendly smile. “In the meantime, make yourselves comfortable...”

“We sure will,” said Miriam, trying to be as accommodating as possible despite still being upset at how Ming had greeted her. “Thank you.”

Mei and Miriam gave each other another look, and Mei gestured for her friend to join her on the living room couch. As the two walked over, Abby and Priya followed them, huddling in close as they spoke to each other.

“I can't believe your mom still doesn't like me,” said Miriam, letting out a sigh. “I mean, we talked and everything, and I thought we were cool.”

“How long did you guys talk for?” asked Mei.

“I mean, a few minutes, and it was mostly small talk, but still...”

“I told mom everything, how close we are and everything you and Priya and Abby have done for me for like, ever since we met,” said Mei, reaching over and taking Miriam's hands in her own. “I told her how nice you are, and how supportive you've been... and she seemed to be cool with you too, so I don't know why she still doesn't like you.”

“That's bogus!” shouted Abby. Priya and Mei both reached over and covered Abby's mouth with their hands, shushing her and pointing out that Ming was in the kitchen nearby, but fortunately Mei's mother was too engrossed in some music she was listening to to have heard Abby's complaint, and Abby quickly pushed down her friends' hands to speak again in a slightly quieter tone. “I mean, if anything, she should like you most of all! I have violent ideations, Priya's scary... no offense.”

“I take it as a compliment,” said Priya with a smirk.

“...I mean, you're a skater and stuff, but you're super polite and chill, what gives?” Abby said, placing her hand on Miriam's shoulder.

“Maybe it's... because I'm white?” asked Miriam, looking up at Ming.

“No way, my mom's totally cool with white people... I think,” Mei replied. “I mean, she loves Stacy! Though... Stacy does spend tons of money on red panda swag... no, that's not it, my mom's not a bigot!”

“Maybe you intimidate her,” said Priya, looking Miriam up and down. “You are kinda tall.”

“Psssh, and skinny as a beanpole,” Miriam replied, wiggling her arms up and down.

“Yeah, one harsh glare from her might knock you over,” Abby replied, putting on her best Ming scowl for Miriam, who put her arm up to her forehead and pretended to nearly fall off the couch, which prompted the four girls to all start laughing.

“But yeah, I don't get it,” sighed Miriam after the four girls had finished laughing together. “I mean, I guess it's not a big deal, I just wish your mom trusted me more, I feel like I've done something wrong when I haven't.”

“You haven't done anything wrong,” said Mei, smiling and putting her hand on Miriam's shoulder to comfort her. “I'll talk to her and ask her point blank why she doesn't like you.”

“I told you, it's no big deal... maybe wait until after the sleepover?” said Miriam, clearly not wanting a confrontation.

As Mei started to reply, Ming poked her head into the room.

“Girls, supper time!”

The four girls got up from the couch and walked toward the kitchen, but as they did, Abby hung back and grabbed Mei and Priya lightly by their arms.

“We gotta do something about Miriam and your mom,” said Abby. “And I mean tonight!”

“But Miriam said-” Mei began.

“No buts! ...I think I've got a plan, but let's wait until after supper... I can't scheme on an empty stomach!”

Abby then released her friends and walked into the kitchen, followed by Priya and a slightly worried Mei... who didn't want to cause any trouble, but who realized that her friend might just be right.

I don't want to start anything with mom, but Abby's right, it IS bogus that mom still doesn't like Miriam! Whatever Abby's plan is, I'm gonna hear her out... it might be crazy, but maybe it's just crazy enough to work!

O-O-O

And later that night, after supper and dessert and after the girls had all changed into their pajamas, Abby was ready to set her plan into motion. The girls were all in Mei's room listening to 4*Town music and dancing together, but after the last song on the CD had ended, Abby decided it was time to share her plan with the others... and she needed Miriam out of the room in order to do so. She leaned over and whispered something quickly to Mei, who, despite her slight trepidation, went along with the plan.

“Hey Mir, mind grabbing some of the snacks mom left out for us? I'd go myself, but I um... wanted to look through my CDs to pick the next one!”

Mei wasn't used to lying, especially to her friends, and she was blushing slightly and talking in a quick, nervous voice. Still, Miriam didn't seem too suspicious, or if she was, figured it wasn't worth worrying about.

“Sure, just hope I don't bump into her while I'm out there,” said Miriam with a smirk.

“Worried she'll turn into a giant panda again?” Priya asked.

“She almost scares me more in her normal form,” Miriam replied, prompting Mei to let out a giggle. “All right, I'll be right back.”

As soon as Miriam left the room, Mei huddled up with Abby and Priya.

“So... what's the plan?” asked Mei.

“We tie up Miriam and your mom and stick them in a room together!” shouted Abby, blinking her eyes in excitement.

“...what,” Priya said, phrasing the word as a statement rather than a question.

“...that's your plan?!” said Mei, much more startled by Abby's suggestion. “We kidnap our best friend and my mom, and THAT'S somehow gonna make them get along?!”

“I saw it in a Korean drama once! A guy and a girl who hated each other got taken hostage together, and by the time they got rescued, they were making out! I mean, they had gags on, so they weren't really making out, just, you know, pressing their faces together, but they were in love!”

“...worth a shot,” said Priya, shrugging.

“Wait, what?! Abby, you got your plan from a Korean drama? And Priya, you think it'll actually work?”

“I mean, it's better than your mom hating one of our friends,” said Priya.

“Me being grounded for life and Miriam potentially hating us is better?!?!”

“Chill out, Mei, your mom's cool now, she won't be mad about a little prank. And Miriam will totally understand once your mom stops glaring at her every time they see each other!”

Mei listened to Abby, and to her shock and slight horror, found herself slowly becoming convinced.

“...I can't believe I'm actually thinking about going through with this,” said Mei, putting her hands up to her head and struggling not to turn into the panda with all the worry and dread flooding her emotions. “On one hand, they do need to spend more than just a few minutes together, and mom is being super unreasonable, so maybe she deserves to get tied up and locked in a room for a while! On the other hand, what am I thinking?! I can't tie up my mom and one of my BFFs! This is a terrible plan!”

“More terrible than lying our way into that 4*Town concert and causing your mom to become a giant panda?” asked Abby.

“Yeah, she's already gotten as mad at you as she's going to get,” Priya added with a nod. “And Miriam can't stay mad forever.”

“...okay,” said Mei, putting her hand to her chest and calming herself down. “Let's do it.”

“The three of us can totally take down Miriam, but what about your mom?” asked Abby.

“...actually, getting mom on board might not be so hard,” replied Mei. “These last few weeks, she's been... overcompensating for being so strict with me by being super sweet and nice. She's always asking if there's anything I want to do, she's even offered to do really silly stuff for me like dress up in 4*Town merch together, so... I think we might be able to get her to let us tie her up for fun.”

Mei was smiling, but also feeling guilty... she hated taking advantage of her mom's kindness, but she reminded herself that this was for Miriam and for the future of their friendship!

And, deep down, Mei was starting to think that this might actually be kind of fun...

O-O-O

A short time later, Miriam returned to Mei's room with a bowl full of popcorn and a few cans of fruit juice. She opened the door and could see her three friends seated in a circle on the floor near Mei's bed.

Abby was looking up at her with a wide grin. Priya's lips were curved into a slight smirk. Mei was grinning too, wider than Abby and slightly nervous. Miriam, slightly disturbed, set down the snacks and blinked.

“Uh, guys?”

“Get her!” Mei shouted suddenly.

“Huh?” was all that Miriam was able to blurt out before all three girls jumped on top of her, each one with a different kind of tape in hand. Mei had a roll of duct tape, Priya had a roll of white medical tape, and Abby had a roll of black electrical tape. The three girls held Miriam down and began wrapping her up tightly, focusing on her long, kicking legs at first, while Mei quickly went for Miriam's wrists. “What the hell?!”

“Sorry, Mir, but this is for your own good!” Mei cried, trying her best to tape up her friend's wrists as she tried to pull away. “Stop fighting, it'll be a lot easier this way!”

“What is wrong with you guys, why are you taping me up?!” Miriam shouted at them, squirming ferociously back and forth as Priya quickly wrapped up her thighs in many layers of tape. “Get off me right now, I'm serious!”

“Geez, she's kicking super hard, it's really frustrating!” Abby said, trying to keep Miriam's legs pinned down so she could tape up the girl's thighs, only to have Miriam's bare right foot kick the roll of electrical tape out of her hands. “Nae goyang-iwa ssileumhalyeoneun geosgwa gatseubnida!”

“Stop!” Miriam shouted at them, her face reddening as she got increasingly upset. “Mei, this isn't funny! Guys, if you don't quit it right now, I'm gonna-”

Miriam suddenly found herself silenced, as Priya got behind her and covered her mouth with her hand. The redhead shrieked with frustration, but Priya kept her silent as Abby quickly returned and resumed taping her ankles.

“Mmm, nmm-mmmmph! Lmmme gmmm, mm mmnn mmmt!” Miriam grunted, trying to twist her head away. She could feel Mei wrapping many layers of duct tape around her hands and fingers, and she managed to shoot her an angry look, her eyes then widening slightly. “Mmm, whmm mmrr ymm dmmng thmmms?!”

Though Mei felt a temporary twinge of guilt, she remembered that Miriam also had that same look in her eyes every time Ming gave her a disapproving glare... and she knew that after tonight, all of this would be worth it.

“Just... trust us, Miriam!” said Mei, as she finished taping up Miriam's hands and wrists. “We finished yet?”

“Not quite yet!” said Abby with a malicious smirk, as she finished taping up Miriam's ankles. “Priya, switch off, tape her arms up some more!”

“You got it, girl,” said Priya, taking the electrical tape from Abby and sliding her hand away from Miriam's mouth.

“You three are gonna gmmmph....!” Miriam began to say before being cut off again, this time by Abby. “NMMMMPH!”

“How's it feel to have a gross sweaty hand over your mouth, huh?” said Abby, sneering at Miriam. “I still haven't forgotten about you shushing me at the concert!”

Your hand's not gross and sweaty, thought Miriam, raising her eyebrow. It's actually pretty soft, this almost feels... wait a second, you three are still taping me up!

Miriam continued to scream and thrash as Priya wrapped lots of tape around her chest, reinforcing some of the work Mei had already done, and pinning the girl's taped wrists firmly to her back. She continued to kick her bound legs up and down, but did little more than make some muffled thumps as her heels slammed repeatedly into the floor. She then looked up at Mei again, who had stepped back and was still clutching the duct tape slightly to her chest. She had an apologetic smile on her face, trying her best to reassure her friend that this really was all for the best.

“Cmmn, Mmm, mmntmm mm....!” Miriam begged, lowering her voice to the point that it could barely be heard under Abby's hand.

“And...done,” said Priya, peeling her tape free from the roll. By this point, Miriam was securely bound, with tape around her thighs, ankles, arms, and chest, with her hands completely encased. Abby cautiously lowered her hand from Miriam's mouth and stepped back, and Miriam began to struggle and bounce on the floor, furious with her friends for doing this to her. “...you okay?”

“Do I look okay?!” shouted Miriam, glaring harshly at all three of them. “If this is you guys' idea of a joke-”

“It's not a joke!” said Mei, stepping forward and smiling. “We taped you up as part of a game to bring you and my mom closer together!”

“...what?” Miriam replied, shuffling angrily in her bonds. “How's this supposed to help with that? What's she supposed to do, come in here and save me from you guys and feel all bad for me and not hate me anymore?”

“...actually, that might be a good plan,” said Mei, looking back and forth at her friends. “Maybe we should do that, let's go get mom and she can-”

“We're gonna tie up Mei's mom and put her in here with you!” shouted Abby excitedly. “And then you two can bond in your bondage!”

“You mean like Tae and Aaron T. in that dirty fanfic you wrote about them?” said Miriam, raising her eyebrow at Abby and prompting immediate looks at her from Mei and Priya.

“...so is this trope your thing, or....?” Priya began.

“Don't kinkshame me!” shouted Abby, jabbing a finger in Priya's face.

Mei stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on Miriam's cheek.

“Mir, it's okay, you know we'd never hurt you, we just think you and mom need to spend some time together, and if you don't have a choice, all the better!”

“Untie me, right now,” said Miriam, leaning forward. “Or I'll scream.”

Giggling nervously, Mei began to peel a strip of duct tape from the roll she was holding. Miriam's eyes went wide for a moment, then she narrowed them again.

“I mean it, Mei! Don't you dare- mmm! MMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!”

As Mei pressed the tape down hard over Miriam's lips, the redhead blushed for a fleeting moment, then let out a fierce shriek, angrily protesting her gag as Mei smoothed down the tape and patted the sides of it to keep it affixed to her friend's face.

“Sorry, Miriam, but this is gonna happen no matter what, so you might as well get comfy,” said Mei, finally cracking a smile. “On the bright side, we're the ones that'll be doing all the hard work, all you have to do is sit here and think about how awesome it'll be to come over here without mom giving you those death glares!”

Let me go, this is insane1 Miriam shouted, watching as Mei, Abby, and Priya started to leave the room. You can't do this, this is supposed to be a fun sleepover, you guys are being jerks!

Miriam began to thrash wildly as the girls left and closed the door behind them, screaming in frustration and angrily kicking the bowl of popcorn she'd brought into the room.

That was oddly satisfying, thought Miriam, watching as popcorn landed everywhere. But I'm still gonna kick their asses when I get free!

O-O-O

Outside, the three girls were breathing heavily, relieved that they'd executed the first part of their plan to perfection. Mei was still somewhat worried about how upset Miriam was, and she was especially worried about tying up her mom, but Priya placed a calming hand on her shoulder, causing some of her fears to float away.

“It's okay, Miriam will understand and so will your mom,” said Priya. “...and besides, that was actually kind of fun.”

“Yeah, you guys should tape me up next!” shouted Abby, hyped up on adrenaline.

“Believe me, we've thought about it a few times,” said Mei with a smirk.

“...really?” Abby replied, suddenly blinking with worry.

“I just hope my mom doesn't get too mad...” said Mei, bowing her head. “...and wait, if we're trying to make them get along, shouldn't they be able to talk to each other? Maybe we should take off Miriam's gag after we get mom in there with her.”

“No, leave the gags on!” said Abby. “Without the gags, they'll start arguing as soon as they get in the room together! The gags force them to cooperate! They can't waste time arguing, if they want to argue they have to get each other free, and by the time they do that, they'll be friends!”

“Wow, Abby, you have... really thought this through,” said Mei. “...just how many dirty fanfics have you written involving this trope?”

“Ugh, this isn't the time to talk about my fanfics, we have to hurry and get your mom!”

“Yeah, what's the plan again?” asked Priya.

“Just let me do all the talking,” said Mei, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. Remember, this is for Miriam. ...and for mom too, I think mom will be a lot happier once she knows she can trust all of my friends.

The girls made their way to the living room, where Ming was watching television. Jin was working in the basement, so thankfully, Mei's mother was by herself and wouldn't need to be called away before being secured. The three girls entered the living room and sat down in front of the couch, where Mei could see that her mother was in somewhat of an upbeat mood.

“Oh, hello girls,” said Ming, looking at them before looking in both directions, searching for someone. “...where's Miriam?”

“She's a little... busy at the moment,” said Mei, giving a slight laugh as she avoided the cliched 'all tied up' one-liner, not wanting to give her mom any indication about what the girls had planned.

“She's working on the playlist for our next dance session,” said Priya.

“Have you girls been dancing all night?” asked Ming. “You look worn out, maybe you should go to bed.”

“Mom, it's Friday night and it's only nine o'clock, you said we could stay up as long as we wanted!”

“Yes, I did, but I don't actually expect you to stay awake all night long...”

“We accept your challenge!” said Abby excitedly.

“Anyway,” said Mei, still smiling and trying her best not to show any hint of malicious intent, “we were wondering if you'd like to hang out with us for a little while...”

“Oh? Really?” asked Ming, blinking and actually looking pleasantly surprised that her daughter wanted to involve her. “Well, you know I'm not much of a 4*Town fan, even after they... so graciously forgave my little episode, but I guess I could show off some of my dance moves. I will warn you, I haven't danced in a long time, you know how my mother was, so I never really...”

“It's okay, mom, you don't have to dance with us,” said Mei, touching Ming's hand. Ming let out a sigh of relief, and Mei giggled softly. “Actually, there's something else we wanted to do with you...”

“Of course, Mei, anything you want,” said Ming, smiling warmly. Though she didn't add 'it's the least I can do', Mei could definitely pick up that vibe from her mother... still trying to make things right after so many years of stifling strictness.

“Well, the girls and I were talking, and we'd like to... tie you up a little bit, if that's okay?”

“Hmm?” Ming exclaimed, eyes widening in surprise. “Tie me up? Why would you want to do that?”

“We want to get revenge on you,” said Priya. “All those years you kept us from hanging out with Mei...”

“Yeah, we're gonna play some pranks!” said Abby, reaching out toward Ming and making playful grabbing gestures with her hands. “Maybe give you an embarrassing makeover!”

“Just a chance for us to let off some steam,” said Mei, smiling softly. “Nothing too mean, it'll be fun, I promise!”

“...you're not going to film it, are you?” asked Ming.

“Of course not!” Mei replied. “It'll be just between the five of us!”

“Yeah, we'll keep it up here,” said Priya, pointing at her head. “Good memories.”

“Well...”

As Ming thought it over, the girls leaned forward excitedly, waiting for her reply, their eyes wide with anticipation. Ming gave them a stern look in response, and their shoulders slumped slightly... then she smiled.

“I suppose so,” said Ming.

“YES!” the three girls shouted in unison.

“But! I have several conditions.”

Ming laid down the ground rules, which were fairly simple. Nothing too tight, the girls had to agree to let her go at a moment's notice, Ming had to agree to everything done to her... and the girls weren't allowed to swear.

“Just because I'll be all tied up doesn't give you four license to act like a bunch of hoodlums, understand?”

Of course, Mei knew that she and her friends would be breaking all of those rules (except, perhaps, the prohibition on swearing)... she just hoped her mother would understand and forgive her.

The three girls then set about binding up Ming. Rather than using tape like they had with Miriam, they instead used various scarves and silk wrappings that were normally used as costume accessories in the temple. There were a great deal of them, though the girls only needed a few to bind Ming's wrists behind her back and her ankles together, wrapping a few more around her arms and chest to secure her wrists to her back. This only took a couple of minutes, and after it was done, the girls admired their handiwork, while Ming tested her bonds. She sensed a great deal of slack in all her bindings, and smiled, thinking that the girls were done, and also somewhat enjoying herself, thinking back to her time as a young girl... a brief period of time when she was allowed to have a few friends.

This might actually be kind of fun! Ming mused to herself, closing her eyes and smiling. I just hope the girls don't go overboard with the makeup... I'd rather not spend half an hour cleaning myself up...

“Okay, mom,” said Mei, holding up several more long lengths of silk. “Ready to be tied up even more?”

“I thought we were done,” Ming replied, eyeballing the three girls suspiciously. “I think I'm tied enough as it is.”

“Actually, we need to make sure you can't get loose,” said Mei, blushing sheepishly but also giving her mom a slight smile. “I mean for real.”

“This wasn't part of our deal,” said Ming, looking the girls over with a stern glare. Suddenly, Priya and Abby went behind her with more scarves and silks, and Ming could feel the bonds around her wrists tightening significantly. “Nnngh... is this supposed to be some kind of prank?!”

“Just relax,” said Priya, fastening more scarves around Ming's arms. “We'll be done soon.”

“Yeah, hold still and let us tie you up!”

“I already did, this is way too much! Mei, this isn't funny anymore, I'm giving you one more chance to loosen these bindings or I won't play with you!”

“I'm really sorry, mom, but we need you tied up for a very special reason and I promise it's important,” said Mei, who set about wrapping extra silks and scarves around her mother's legs, wrapping another scarf tightly around her ankles and then another one around the soles of her bare feet, securing both together with a tight knot so that she couldn't pull her feet apart from one another. “Please don't be mad...”

“Oh, I'm getting very mad!” shouted Ming, who began thrashing in earnest now as Priya and Abby finished tightening and securing the bindings around her wrists, crossing them tightly behind her back with a series of intricate and secure knots that rendered it impossible for her to move her arms at all, and even encasing her hands in socks to prevent her from using her fingers. “Untie me this instant, and then all of you need to go right to bed, including Miriam! Where is she, anyway? Is she a part of this?”

“Not exactly...” said Mei, inspecting her mother's bindings to ensure that none of them were so tight that they were actually hurting her. “Are you okay? You're not hurting, are you?”

“What kind of question is that?!” said Ming, trying to hop to her feet, only for the many scarves tied around her legs to prevent such an endeavor. “No, I'm not hurting, except perhaps my feelings... why are you doing this, Mei? Is it to get back at me for the concert? I thought we were past this!”

“We are, but we're not past everything, and you need to understand what it is!” said Mei, clenching her fists tightly. Though she was still quite worried to see her mother so upset, she was now determined to see this through, and hoping that such a dramatic action would get through to her mom to make her stop being so distrusting of Miriam. “And if you can't even understand why I'm mad, then I'm glad we did this!”

Ming gasped with indignation, continuing to twist back and forth in her bindings. As she did so, Abby and Priya both smirked, glad to see that Ming was more angry than scared. After all the years she'd spent trying to keep their girl squad apart, it was more than a little satisfying to be able to take some measure of revenge, though they also were hoping this wouldn't backfire.

Don't worry, Mei, thought Priya, giving her friend a nod. If this doesn't work, we'll take all the heat for you.

Ooooh, she looks really mad! This is so much fun... I wonder if we should have some fun with her first? I bet she's super ticklish, anyone who's wound up this much has to be!

Though Abby's mind was racing with naughty ideas for pranks, Mei kept her from indulging her urge to deliver some punishment in the form of tickling... that wasn't what they'd risked it all for.

“I'm warning you, Mei, if you don't untie me right now, you're going to be grounded for a month! No, two months! No, a year!”

Mei reached into the pocket of her pajama pants and pulled out the same roll of duct tape she'd used on Miriam. She tore off a strip of tape, prompting Ming's protests to quickly intensify.

“No, NO! If you put that tape on my mouth, I'll- MMMMMMM! MMM MMMMPH!”

“Sorry, mom...” Mei said quietly as she sealed her mother's lips with the tape. “But it really is for the greater good... at least, I hope you'll realize that...”

You are in the biggest trouble you have EVER been in, Meilin Lee! Ming muffled through her gag, her eyes narrowed in furious rage. When I get out of this, you're going to wish I could still turn into a giant panda! At least the giant panda didn't want to ground you until you turned 21!

“So, are we just going to drag her to my room?” said Mei, looking at Abby and Priya. “I don't think she's gonna hop for us, but I don't wanna-”

“Nnnnnngh!” grunted Abby, suddenly hoisting Ming over her head. “To the bedroom!”

Ming's eyes widened in shock, as did Mei's, and even Priya's to a lesser extent.

“...and you said I was scary,” said Priya.

What on Earth...? Put me DOWN! Ming shrieked through her gag as Abby carried her to Mei's room, followed by Mei and Priya. “MMMM-MMMM! MMMPH! MMMMMMMMMMMPH!!!!”

I wish I could bench press my mom, thought Mei as she watched Abby carry her mother all the way to her room. Well, actually, the panda definitely could, but...

Mei opened the door to her bedroom, where Miriam was still bound and gagged on the floor. The redhead had made somewhat of a mess in her struggles, and as her eyes made contact with Ming's, the older woman had a shocked expression, not expecting to see her daughter's friend in a similar state as the one she was in.

“Mmmrrrmmm?!?!” Ming exclaimed, before being unceremoniously plopped down on the floor by Abby, letting out a harsh grunt as her butt hit the ground. “Ummmmfff!!!”

“Now you two are going to stay here until you free each other or start getting along!” shouted Mei, looking at both of them.

“Yeah, whatever comes last!” added Abby, glaring at the two captives with an intimidating pose.

“Have fun,” said Priya, walking back toward the door with Abby and Mei.

As Miriam just sat there in silence, eyes wide, getting more and more scared of the absolutely enraged look on Ming's face, Ming let out a scream of fury, trying to wiggle to her feet so she could lunge toward the door.

You are all in SO MUCH TROUBLE! Ming screamed, her cheeks puffing and her nostrils flaring as she tested her gag for all it was worth.

...I hope they'll be okay, thought Mei, closing the door behind them.

Chapter Text

As Ming continued to rage against her bondage, screaming loud protests and futile threats under the strip of duct tape sealing her lips, Miriam began to struggle quietly, trying not to draw any ire from her fellow captive, and silently fuming about how stupid her friends were being.

She barely had more than a few seconds to squirm before Ming turned around, directing all of her fury against the bound and gagged redhead.

“YMMMMM!!!” Ming shrieked, squirming surprisingly quickly across the carpet until she was just a couple of feet away from Miriam. You put them up to this, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU?!

Miriam couldn't understand the accusations, but Ming's expression told her everything she wanted to know, and she replied with a muffled protest of her own.

I didn't have anything to do with this, are you kidding me?! Miriam shouted, leaning up and trying her best to defend herself. Though Ming couldn't understand a single word, she wouldn't have believed a single word even if she could.

LIAR! Ming shouted, sternly looking into Miriam's eyes. This is all just some prank you put my daughter up to, isn't it?

What is your DEAL? I didn't do any of this, why would I have myself tied up and gagged and locked in a room with someone who clearly hates me?

Admit it!

“MMMMMPH!” Miriam screamed in frustration, unable to understand any of Ming's ranting and raving, and knowing that Ming couldn't understand any of her attempts at denial.

“MMMMMMMMM MMMMMPH!” Ming screamed back, clenching her fists tightly inside their sock encasement and attempting to use her larger size and intimidating posture to force Miriam into a confession, even if it would be a confession she had no chance of understanding.

“...whmmmfffrrr,” Miriam snorted, rolling her eyes and turning away from Ming. This is getting us nowhere.

Did you... did you just roll your eyes at me? thought Ming, her eyes widening as she took extreme offense to the gesture. “Dmmn't ymm drrrr dmmssrrsmmpmmct mm, ymmng lmmdm!”

What are you gonna do, spank me? Miriam thought, looking over her shoulder at Ming and smirking under her gag, before turning away from her again and resuming her struggles.

Ming let out several loud grunts of frustration, but realized that there was nothing she could do to force any sort of confession out of Miriam... and also began to realize that Miriam almost certainly wasn't responsible for this... it was only her frustration with her current predicament that was causing her to be so upset. She took several deep breaths through her nose, trying to calm herself as she focused on what needed to be done... which was to get herself out of this situation as quickly as possible.

Focus, Ming. Now isn't the time to be upset... there'll be plenty of time for that once I get out of this. As much as I hate to admit it, Miriam's probably telling the truth... which means it really was Mei who's behind this. ...is she really that upset about me not liking her friend that she'd resort to lying and kidnapping?!

Ming blinked her eyes, and her expression softened, becoming more sad than angry. As she gathered her thoughts, she could see Miriam starting to roll on the floor again, kicking up in the air and twisting back and forth in an attempt to get her arms out of the tape. She could also see just how hard the girl had been struggling... popcorn was everywhere, several fruit juice cans had been tipped over, and a stack of CDs had been knocked down as well... not to mention that her face had become slick with sweat, and she had to stop and catch her breath more than once, an indication that she'd already expended a lot of her energy.

...guess we really are in this together, thought Ming, who could see the anger and betrayal in Miriam's eyes. Yeah... I know that feeling.

Letting out another sigh, Ming began to struggle herself, though not nearly as energetically as Miriam. She focused her efforts on freeing her arms, but there were so many scarves tied around them that she could barely move them at all. Miriam seemed to have a bit more slack, as her arms could move a small amount inside the tape bindings, but her legs were bound up tightly, while Ming's legs could shift a bit.

Perhaps if I can get my feet free... thought Ming, trying to work her feet out of the silk cloth tied around them. She tried tugging her feet apart at first, then tried moving them up and down, but it was no use... her ankle bonds had a bit more give, but with her feet bound tightly together, it didn't matter, and Ming raised her eyebrow in surprise that her daughter's friends had done such a good job with the bindings. Clever... where'd they learn to tie people up like this? Certainly not from anything my daughter's been looking at... it's either Abby and her strange cartoons, or Priya and those... creepy books she likes to read. I don't THINK Miriam would've learned this from skateboarding...

As Ming continued to work on her bonds, shifting quietly back and forth, Miriam looked up at her from the floor and raised her eyebrow.

C'mon, dude, struggle harder! Miriam admonished her, before turning onto her stomach and gesturing to her taped up hands, working her taped arms back and forth as best she could. You're not even trying!

What does it look like I'm doing?! Ming replied, not quite able to understand Miriam's muffled scolding, but having a pretty good idea of what she'd said nonetheless. I'm just being smarter about it is all! I'm conserving my energy, you're going to wear yourself out!

As Ming attempted to communicate with Miriam, strands of her well-kempt black hair began bouncing up and down in front of her face, and Miriam couldn't help but let out a giggle, snorting through her nose at the silly display. Ming gasped, and huffed in offense, though she was playing it up a bit as well, acting more offended than she truly was. Miriam then started to struggle again, and Ming groaned, her attempts at strategically working herself free proving to be more futile than she would like.

You want me to struggle? Fine, how's this for struggling?

Letting out a fierce shout, Ming started to struggle as hard as Miriam, jerking her shoulders and arms furiously while rolling on the floor and kicking her legs in an attempt to loosen the scarves tied around her body. To her surprise, some of her bindings did shift a bit, but not nearly enough to loosen anything significantly. Still, she was making progress, and kept at it, rolling and scooting herself along the floor, looking for objects in her daughter's room to catch her bindings on, and trying her best not to bump into Miriam as the two moved back and forth around Mei's bed.

Miriam, who'd been struggling harder and longer than Ming, was starting to get a bit worn out in her efforts, but she was just as determined as Ming was to get free, if only to ask her friends what the heck they were thinking.

I can't believe Mei and the others would do this to me. Did they actually think tying up and gagging us was going to bring us closer together? Physically maybe, but we're both pissed at each other, and we're not gonna be any less pissed once we get free!

Miriam wasn't quite so upset that she felt like crying, but she did feel like screaming, and the gag gave her plenty of opportunities to do so, letting out her frustrations in a series of angry, muffled shouts that filled the room. A few of those shouts were swears, and a few of those swears were quite intelligible.

“Lmmngmme!” Ming snapped.

Miriam muffled an apology, but she kept up her screaming, leaving out the swears but giving the side of Mei's bed a few kicks of frustration. One of those kicks managed to move the mattress a couple inches, and she could hear a loud grunt as it slammed into the back of Ming's head.

“Smmrry!” Miriam exclaimed, craning her head up to look across the bed at Ming, who was doing the same. Ming glared at her, and Miriam did her best to give her an apologetic look before ducking back down under the mattress and hoping Ming wouldn't hate her any more than she already did. I really do feel bad for that... and for Ming too... she must be so upset with Mei... after everything they went through together... this really isn't like Mei at all. Ugh, and it's all because of me. Ming and her mom just got their relationship to its best place ever, and now she's maybe thrown it all away just for me? I mean, it sucks that Ming doesn't like me, but getting us on good terms isn't worth all this! I wish we could've just sat down and talked things out, just the three of us... now we might never get the chance...

Letting out a sigh, Miriam squirmed her way back around to check on Ming's progress. Ming had paused her struggles, sitting against the side of the bed with her shoulders slumped. When she saw Miriam around the corner, she just glared at her, then bowed her head and sighed again.

“Mmmnng?” Miriam muffled to her, trying to get her attention. Maybe we should be working together... if we could just use our hands, we could at least get these dumb gags off...

Ming heard Miriam's call, but didn't answer. She was trying to gather her thoughts again, trying to come up with a way to escape.

Need to slip these socks off my hands... there's a pair of scissors in here, I think... if I can get my hands free...

Miriam called out to Ming again, and this time, Ming sighed and looked over at her.

I'm sorry, Miriam muffled, trying to get Ming to understand what she was saying. I didn't put Mei up to this, but she did it because of me, so...

Ming had understood the word “sorry”, and she sighed again, looking at Miriam and trying to convey a begrudging commiseration.

You don't need to apologize, Ming muffled back to her. I know you didn't do any of this.

“Hmmm?” Miriam replied, unable to understand.

Ming let out another grunt of frustration, looking slightly away from Miriam. She wasn't upset with Miriam, but she was worried that she might come off that way, and the gag wasn't helping matters. Miriam, able to see the hint of sympathy in Ming's eyes, realized that she was making a bit of progress with her, but she, like Ming, knew they needed to at least start to get each other free if they were going to have any chance of seeing eye to eye. Spotting her open backpack lying near the door, she kicked it, tipping it over. She then began sifting through it with her feet, just pushing whatever she could out of it in the hopes of finding something to free herself with.

I know I've got a penknife in here somewhere... crap, maybe I left it at home so Mei's mom wouldn't see me with a weapon... but there's gotta be something, anything...!

Among the first objects to spill out of Miriam's backpack was a CD... but not one of her 4*Town mixtapes. It was an old Celine Dion CD, her Grammy winning 1996 album Falling Into You... and when Ming turned back toward Miriam, that CD was the first thing she saw.

“Hmmm...?” Ming exclaimed, raising an eyebrow in surprise. Did that fall out of... YOUR backpack?

Miriam heard Ming's exclamation and looked up at her, then, noticing that she was looking at something, looked back down.

My penknife? Did I bring it after all?... oh.

You like Celine Dion?! Ming muffled, looking at Miriam in wide-eyed shock.

Yeah, I mean, she's not bad I guess... Miriam mumbled back at her, a blush starting to come across her face.

Ming scooted herself over to Miriam and the backpack, looking down at the CD and at Miriam again. Miriam continued to blush, looking back at the CD herself, thinking back to the first time her friends found out she liked Celine Dion. She hadn't been teased too harshly about it... Abby had called it 'old lady music', and Priya said songs like Celine's belonged in soundtracks to bad romance movies... while Mei had been the most sympathetic, admitting to liking a few of Celine Dion's songs too, but that she mostly couldn't stand her for reasons she'd neglected to explain.

Now, Miriam realized why.

Your mom probably blares the music all through the house all the time... thought Miriam, allowing herself a laugh... then, she could hear someone humming behind her. She looked back to see Ming, her eyes closed, softly humming a song... and realizing that it was the title song to the album, “Falling Into You”.

And after hearing Ming humming a few bars of the song, Miriam joined in, humming the next series of notes. Ming opened her eyes and looked at Miriam, who smiled under the tape and continued to hum.

The two then joined in for a few more notes, before both of them started to giggle softly, Miriam snorting as she did so. They looked into each other's eyes and then down at the CD, and Miriam could see Ming's lips curved into a big smile under her gag.

She's... one of my favorites, actually, thought Miriam, looking down at the CD with admiration in her eyes. My mom loves her too, and she'd play the CD all the time, and I'd start singing and dancing to the music... we'd sing together in the living room, dancing and laughing... I mean, we don't sing to her much anymore, but yeah... Celine's pretty awesome. Also, Canada represent, am I right?

Ming didn't know of too many girls Miriam's age who actually liked Celine Dion. She knew that Mei used to like some of her songs, but in recent years would always give looks of disgust whenever she heard the music, probably because, Ming had to admit to herself, she played her songs around the house way too much. Titanic, a movie that Mei had wanted to see but which Ming had disallowed because of “that redheaded hussy who leaves NOTHING to the imagination”, had gotten some of the younger crowd to love Celine again, but mostly because the song reminded them of that boy in the movie who Ming had also strongly disapproved of.

She would've taken Mei to a Celine Dion concert, even at the steep price of $200, but knew her daughter wouldn't have wanted to go, even if she probably would've forced herself to do so to please her.

“Mmmphmm?” muffled Miriam, snapping Ming out of her thoughts. She was still smiling, and tapping the CD with her foot. Something in common, right?

Ming smiled and nodded, looking into Miriam's eyes, then looking slightly away with her head bowed.

“Hmm, fmcmsph!” Miriam said, tapping Ming's feet with her own. Ming looked back at her, and Miriam began lightly struggling again, then gestured with her head toward Ming's bonds. We need to work together, okay?

This time, Ming's attention didn't waver, and she nodded her head. Whatever grudge she had against Miriam, and whatever lingering guilt she had about that grudge, she knew it was time to put it aside, focus on the task at hand, and work together to accomplish it. They needed to get free, and they wouldn't be able to do it alone. Even if this was Mei's plan all along, and even if Ming didn't want to reward her daughter and her friends for their behavior, getting free would indeed require the two to give their kidnappers exactly what they wanted.

The two sat across from one another and began to try and come up with a plan. Of course, with the tape over their mouths, it wasn't going to be easy for them to coordinate their ideas, but they tried anyway, being as expressive as possible with their faces and gestures to help each other understand what they were saying.

“Hmm, mm mmph, mm mm mmph, mn-mmn, mmph...!” Ming muffled to Miriam, lifting up her legs and showing the extent of her bondage, then twisting around to show Miriam how her arms and hands were tied, then flexing in her bonds to show how much slack the scarves and silks gave her.

“Mmmng, mm thmmnk mmf wmm...mm, mmph-mmm!” Miriam showed off her own bonds to Ming, revealing how tightly she'd been taped up, including her tape-wrapped hands and the extent of how tightly her legs were taped. “Hmm-mmngh, yrrr mmmrs, mm lmmmfs...”

“Mmm, mmph mmmn... mmph!”

“Mm-hmm, mmm? Mmmm...mmphh...!”

The two sighed to each other, realizing that this was going to be tougher than they thought... but still, they were making progress, and at the same time, learning things about one another. Ming couldn't help but notice how attentive and empathetic Miriam was, able to read her expressions and understand how she was feeling just by looking into her eyes. Miriam also appreciated Ming's attention to detail, even if she had been robbed of her ability to articulate her observations...

Mei's mom is really smart and focused, I know she's working on figuring a way out of this... I can tell how she's feeling, but if I could only understand a bit more...! I really need to get her gag off!

Miriam hasn't taken her attention off of me since we started working together... this whole time I thought she was just some flighty slacker... if only I'd been paying more attention to her. I guess that's my fault... I just need to figure out what I can get free on one of us, then we can go from there.

Despite the lack of words, the two were quickly able to figure out that they'd be able to make a lot more progress if they could get their hands free... Ming out of the socks and Miriam out of the tape. The two turned their backs to one another, scooted together, and began trying as best they could to work off each other's bonds, with Miriam figuring that it'd be easier to get the socks off of Ming's hands first.

Okay, let's just struggle together for a while and see what comes loose... thought Miriam, looking over her shoulder at Ming. “Ymm mmkmm?”

“Mm-hmm,” Ming replied with a nod, trying to clench her thumb and fingers together inside the socks to give her some leverage so she could pull off some of the tape from Miriam's arms. She'd calmed down significantly since this whole ordeal had begun, and though she was still upset, focusing on getting herself and Miriam free was allowing her to direct a lot of that energy into the effort and away from her sense of rage and betrayal. This is... actually not completely awful. Miriam is... somewhat pleasant to be in this situation with, I suppose.

As the two continued trying to work each other free, rubbing their tightly bound arms and encased hands together, Miriam also shared some of Ming's sentiment.

This... actually isn't so bad. In fact, I almost wish it was Mei here with me and not her mom...

Miriam blushed slightly, a blush that Ming barely avoided noticing when she looked over her shoulder to check on her fellow captive's progress.

“Mrmm?”

“Mm-hmm?”

“...jmmst chmckmng,” muffled Ming, returning to her struggles. I hope we get out of this soon...

O-O-O

Meanwhile, in the living room, the girls had availed themselves of an opportunity to enjoy some forbidden fruit in Ming's absence. Abby had brought her Playstation 2 from home, and with it, she'd brought a video game that Ming never would've let them play if she'd been around to stop them...

“Oh-ho, you're mine!” shouted Abby, driving her character's car over several pedestrians and earning a two-star wanted level for her trouble. “What?”

“I think one of those was a cop,” said Priya.

“Oh come on, no way!” Abby protested, as several police cars swarmed around her own. “Where's the nearest Pay-n-Spray?!”

“Remember, it's my turn in five minutes!” said Mei, tapping her watch while shooting a worried glance toward her bedroom. If mom knew we were playing Grand Theft Auto III, she'd probably be even more upset than she is about us tying her up! I just hope she and Mir are okay in there... we didn't tie them up too tight, did we? And they can breathe okay?

“It's okay, Mei,” said Priya, sensing her friend's worry and putting a hand on hers. “They'll be fine. ...well, your mom will be fine, I'm worried for Miriam.”

“As long as your mom doesn't kill her, she'll be totally fine!”

“I'm just hoping she doesn't kill us,” said Mei, letting out a sigh. “Whoa, Abby, you have three stars now?!”

“In for a penny, in for a pound!” Abby shouted, laughing loudly after having abandoned her plans to repaint her car. “You'll never take me alive, pigs!”

“Oh dear,” mumbled Jin, letting out a yawn as he came up from the basement. “Is that... Grand Theft Auto III?”

“Um... yeah...!” said Mei, smiling nervously.

“Did your mom say it was okay to play that game?” asked Jin, looking around. “Where is Ming, anyway?”

“She and Miriam are having a heart to heart!” said Abby.

“Yeah, they're bonding,” Priya added, nodding her head.

“Ahhhh, I see... you know, your mom doesn't hate Miriam,” said Jin, walking over to Mei and smiling warmly at her. “Just like your grandmother didn't hate me. She just has... mixed feelings, and sometimes it just takes a while to sort those feelings out.”

“Grandma still hates you, and it's been like 30 years,” said Mei, sighing. Jin let out a laugh, shaking his head.

“Sometimes, we don't always express how we truly feel with the people we care about... but believe me, your mom cares about Miriam. She just worries... she sees Miriam on her skateboard and thinks you'll get hurt. She sees Miriam wearing those clothes of hers and worries you won't be financially successful. She's just projecting her worries about your future onto Miriam, and even when she tries not to, sometimes those fears creep in.”

“...so... mom likes Miriam?”

“Not quite yet, but... I'm glad they're getting the chance to work things out,” said Jin, before leaning in and giving Mei a hug. “And I'm glad you and your friends are having fun. Just... try not to be too violent in your game, okay?”

At that moment, the television showed Abby running over a police car with a tank.

“...it's your turn, Mei,” said Abby, pausing the game and handing Mei the controller.

“...night, dad!” Mei said quickly, waving goodbye to Jin as he started to head toward the bedroom he shared with Ming. After he left, Mei slid back into the couch, gripping the controller tightly in her hands.

“It'll be fine, probably...” said Priya, leaning into Mei as she tried to reassure her. “Your mom and Miriam are tough.”

“Yeah, and stubborn and fierce!” Abby added with a nod.

“I just hope we did the right thing,” said Mei, before unpausing the game and taking control of the tank. “I am the destroyer of worlds!”

“Woohoo!” Abby cheered, pumping her fists.

“Kill them all,” Priya said, nodding at Mei and smiling.

O-O-O

Miriam and Ming had been struggling together for the last few minutes, but had made little progress on extricating any part of their bodies from the tight bonds, and the encasements around their hands were as secure as ever. They looked over their shoulders at each other, both of them with beads of sweat on their faces and flushed cheeks, their eyes narrowed as frustration began to set in.

This isn't working, thought Ming, looking down at their hands. If we can't get our hands free, we can't get anything else free either...

Miriam was thinking the same thing, but she was growing even more frustrated than Ming, letting out a muffled growl and angrily kicking against the floor.

We'll never get out of this! They tied us up too tight... and eventually they're gonna have to let us out, and Mei's mom's gonna be as mad as ever, and take it out on all of us!

Miriam kicked the floor again, watching her feet as they slapped hard against the wood. As she did so, letting out several more angry shouts, Ming scooted away from her, grunting in frustration herself and tugging at her own bonds as hard as she could.

Mei, when I get out of this, I swear to our ancestors...!!!

Miriam could hear Ming's frustrated shouting, and continued to look at her own bonds, her mind racing.

Think, Miriam, think....!

She looked down at herself... her tape-slathered chest, her tightly bound thighs and ankles, her wiggling toes...

Wait a second...

She wiggled her toes again, curling each of them, then moving her feet apart and together as much as she could. Only her ankles were taped, not her feet themselves, and it gave her an idea...

“Mmmnnngh!”

Miriam spun herself around to face Ming, who was still struggling to get her arms free.

“Mmmnng, bmmd dmmn!”

“Hmmm?”

As Ming looked down at her, Miriam lifted up her feet as much as she could, pushing them up toward Ming's face. Ming recoiled slightly, looking at Miriam's wiggling toes with trepidation.

“Mmm dmmn't wmmnt tmm lmmk mmt yrrr fmmt!”

“Nmm, hmmld stmll!”

Miriam lifted her feet toward Ming's face again, managing to push them all the way up to her taped lips. Ming took a quick breath through her nose, which wrinkled in disgust, causing her to immediately turn her head away.

“NMMMM! Thmmmt's dmmsgmstmng!”

“Trmmst mmm!” Miriam shouted, continuing to push her feet up toward Ming's face. Come on, if you let me I can get the tape off with my toes, trust me!

Finally realizing what Miriam intended to do, but skeptical if it would work, Ming initially resisted, but after a few seconds of Miriam continuing to push her feet up toward her, Ming let out a long sigh and managed to hold her face still enough long enough for Miriam to attempt to work loose a corner of her tapegag.

Okay, if I can just...

Holding her feet steady, Miriam began working at the corner of Ming's tapegag with her big toes, pinching them together and scraping one of the tips of her toes against the corner of the tape. Ming continued to shrivel her nose up, groaning as her eyes reflected her disgust.

Oh, they smell awful...! Did you even bathe this morning?!

Though offended by Ming's look of disgust, Miriam, undeterred, continued to work, and after a bit more careful movements of her toe against the tape, a corner began to come off. Working quickly and diligently, Miriam took the corner between her toes and clenched her fists tightly behind her back.

“Mmf, mmf,” Miriam grunted, gesturing for Ming to move her head to the right, while Miriam shifted her feet to the left, indicating what she intended to do. Ming gave a slight nod, a bead of sweat trickling off the tip of her nose and onto Miriam's foot as the redhead began counting to three. “Wnn... tmmm...”

Ming winced, closing her eyes.

“THRMM!”

Miriam's feet went one way, Ming's face went the other, and with one flick of Miriam's toes, the tape was removed from the woman's lips. Ming let out a gasp and then a cough, moving her head back from Miriam's feet as quickly as she could.

“Ugh... I'm sorry, but your feet reek!” shouted Ming sternly, looking down at Miriam.

Dude! Miriam thought, glaring up at Ming. I just got your gag off, and that's the first thing you say to me?!

Ming, catching herself a second later, let out a quiet sigh.

“Sorry,” she said, looking down at Miriam with a slightly softer expression. “I... suppose your poor foot hygiene is the least of our problems right now.”

Tell me about it, Miriam groaned, shifting back into a sitting position and looking up at Ming. So what now?

“I'll need to use my teeth to remove some of this tape,” said Ming, looking Miriam over for any loose strands or weaknesses in her bindings. “Hopefully I'll be able to free you enough that you can get free or your own, or at least work on some of my bonds... it shouldn't take too long... and in the meantime, it's nice that you're not able to talk back to me.”

Ming gave Miriam a smirk, to which Miriam responded by leaning up and protesting angrily at her.

Oh, I can talk back all right, even if you can't understand me! she shouted, glaring fiercely up at Ming. I can't believe you're still disrespecting me, I thought we had a connection! Remember Celine Dion?

Miriam gestured toward the CD on the ground, and when Ming saw it, it instantly reminded her of before... and her mind flashed back to all those other times she'd been rude to Miriam, which was the whole reason they were in this mess in the first place. She looked into Miriam's eyes again, and through the anger, could see genuine hurt feelings as well... Miriam truly was distressed that her best friend's mother didn't like her, and Ming saw the same look in Miriam's eyes that she'd seen in the eyes of another, thirty years ago, but still like it was only yesterday...

“...I... suppose I haven't been entirely fair to you,” said Ming, bowing her head. “I know you had nothing to do with any of this, I know that it was my daughter and her friends who did this and you're caught up in it just as much as I am. I have... no idea why they'd resort to kidnapping us to get us to like each other more, but... I'm starting to understand why they did what they did, even if I don't agree.”

Upon hearing Ming's words, her first attempt to bridge the gap of resentment between them since the tape had been removed from her lips, Miriam's expression changed slightly, but there was still quite a bit of bitterness and anger in her eyes, and it would take more than just a half-hearted apology to set things right between them. Ming, accepting this, nodded her head softly and scooted toward Miriam, trying to comfort the girl who was still unable to vocalize her feelings about the situation.

“...are you okay? I mean really okay... still have feeling in your extremities, nothing's too tight, nothing hurts?”

Just my pride, thought Miriam, shaking her head softly and muffling that she was fine... Ming understanding that it meant Miriam was only fine physically .

“I could scream for help right now,” said Ming, who was tempted to shout at the top of her lungs, demanding freedom, or lying that Miriam was hurt... but if she did, she knew Jin would hear it, and Mei would be scared out of her mind, and as much as she wanted to get free right this instant, as much as she wanted to punish the girls for what they'd done... she didn't know if that's how she wanted this to end. Maybe there was a better way... maybe there was a way for everyone, herself included, to get what they wanted. “Do you want me to?”

If Miriam had nodded, if Miriam had asked Ming to scream, she would've done so in an instant, ended all of this immediately... but just like before, Miriam shook her head.

Let's... let's keep trying to get free on our own, okay? muffled Miriam, conveying the sentiment with her eyes as well.

“Ahhh, protecting them,” said Ming with a knowing smile. “You're used to protecting Mei and the others, aren't you?”

“Mm-hmm,” replied Miriam, nodding her head. Mostly from you, admittedly.

“In that case... turn around,” said Ming, wanting to get a closer look at the tape securing Miriam's hands. “I think I might have another idea...”

Miriam obeyed, turning her back to Ming and even lifting up her wrists. Ming inspected Miriam's bonds, looking her over from her shoulders down to her waist.

“You're taped up tight, but Mei, Priya, and Abby would never hurt you, would they?”

Miriam shook her head again, though Ming already knew the answer... and also knew without even asking that Miriam would never hurt any of them, including Mei.

“So they were careful to make sure you still had circulation, which means they left some slack... right where your wrists are,” said Ming, looking down at Miriam's taped wrists. “I think I might be able to chew you loose... I hope you wash your hands more than you wash your feet.”

“Mm, cmmnn!” Miriam muffled, glaring at Ming over her shoulder.

“Sorry, I couldn't resist,” Ming replied playfully, giving a slight giggle. Miriam, despite herself, giggled as well, and gave Ming another look, this time a look of amused respect.

Touche, Mrs. Lee. ...it's probably been a while since you've gotten to crack jokes like this with someone besides your family, huh?

Ming then leaned down and began using her teeth to get the tape loose around Miriam's wrists. It was too tight to remove entirely, but she could give the girl a bit more slack, which Miriam began using as soon as she got it, wriggling and struggling with her hands as Ming continued to chew the tape away.

“Nnngh, thmmt's rgght, kmmph wmmrkmng yrr hmnds...”

After a couple minutes, Miriam had enough slack to begin working her hands free entirely, and after a minute more, Miriam could feel the tape slipping entirely from her fingers.

“Ymmmss!” Miriam cried out, straining and managing to pull her hands out of their tape wrappings with some effort. All right!

Though Miriam's wrists were still tightly bound with the tape that Ming hadn't been able to chew any slack into, her hands were now completely free, and she wiggled her fingers around to work a bit more feeling back into them, clenching and unclenching her fists tightly without any tape to keep them wrapped up.

“Feels better, doesn't it?”

“Mm-hmm,” replied Miriam with a nod, looking warmly into Ming's eyes with an expression of earnest gratitude. “Thnmks, Mmmphs Lmm...”

“Well, I'm hoping you can return the favor,” said Ming, turning herself around and presenting her socked hands. “I think there's a few knots keeping the socks around my hands, if you can get those off I should be able to take the tape off your mouth, and then we can have a real heart to heart, can't we?”

Miriam nodded, then sat back to back with Ming and, using her newly freed fingers, began to work on the knots holding the socks over her hands. As she did so, awkwardly positioning her fingers over the knots, picking at them as best she could, Ming continued to engage in conversation. Though Miriam was unable to fully participate, she appreciated having someone to “talk” to as she worked... especially with the much friendlier tone the older woman was now taking with her.

“Honestly, what was she thinking?!” Ming mused out loud, fretting as Miriam worked on the knots. “Tying us both up and sticking us in here... I know they were careful not to hurt us, but what if we had been? What if one of the neighbors had seen and thought we were being robbed?”

Miriam just shrugged her shoulders... she was definitely upset, but wasn't fretting about it as much as Ming. Still, she knew Mei's mom was a fretter, and so she just listened... even without tape over her mouth, she was a pretty good listener.

“Maybe this is my punishment,” said Ming with a sigh, bowing her head once again. “Even after I trashed the Skydome, not one person pressed charges! Not 4*Town, not any of those children's parents, not the government... all they asked was that we cover part of the rebuilding costs for the Skydome, which, admittedly, is fair, but I'm lucky I'm not in prison! Is this some sort of cosmic punishment for me? No, of course it isn't... if it was, you wouldn't be here, would you?”

Maybe I'm part of your punishment, thought Miriam, looking back at Ming with a smirk.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Ming replied. “That... that grin, the tape doesn't hide it, are you mocking me?”

“Mmhmm,” replied Miriam, nodding her head, smiling even bigger.

“....!!! Keep that up and I won't take off your gag!”

Then I won't take off the socks, thought Miriam, ceasing her work and moving her hands away from Ming's wrists, while continuing to give Ming a sly smirk.

Ming, finally getting the joke, shrugged and gave a quick laugh, rolling her eyes and leaning back in resignation.

“Fine,” said Ming, still looking slightly pouty.

You pout just like Mei, thought Miriam, resuming her work on the knots securing the socks to Ming's hands. Mei has the cutest little pout... oh geez, did I just think that? You're still upset with her, remember? As soon as you get free, Miriam, you are going to give all your friends a piece of your mind, ESPECIALLY Mei! She cannot get away with kidnapping me like this... even if it's actually been kinda fun... and even if it felt almost kinda good having her soft hands putting that duct tape on my mouth...

Miriam's face was bright red, but as soon as Ming spoke again, it returned to normal, much to her relief.

“I still don't get why they call it 4*Town when there's five of them! I forgot to ask after I met them and it's still bothering me... do you have any idea?”

Miriam raised her eyebrow as if to say “seriously?”, and Ming quickly dropped the subject.

“Right... well, the sooner you get these socks off, the sooner you'll be able to speak.”

Almost done, thought Miriam, working on the last knot that held the silk scarf keeping the two socks in place over Ming's wrists.

“...this has been quite the little adventure, hasn't it?” asked Ming, looking over her shoulder. “Not quite as dramatic as the Skydome incident, but I suppose it's been... an interesting night so far. ...I imagine you and Mei have had some adventures before, haven't you?”

Yeah, sorta... thought Miriam, sighing softly. If you'd let her hang out with us more often, we'd have probably had a lot more.

Of course, things were different now, Miriam knew that. Mei was spending more time with her friends than ever, there was even enough time for the girls to hang out together individually when they found themselves wanting to do different things. Usually it was the four of them, and, of course, their newfound friend Tyler... but sometimes it was just Mei and Abby, or Mei and Priya... or, most often, Mei and Miriam.

I'm glad things are different, thought Miriam, smiling softly as she thought back to some of her recent outings with Mei... even spending some time alone at the temple with her, ignoring Ming's suspicious glares. And... I can't stay mad, even if I might be mad right now. It's funny... I got way more upset about Mei selling us out than I did about her kidnapping me. Weird how that works... guess deep down I know this is just her way of helping me and her mom get along. I still don't know how that's gonna work out, but...

Miriam could feel the knot slipping away, and she was able to pull the scarf loose. Once that was done, it was just a matter of slipping the socks off of Ming's hands, and the woman let out an exclamation of relief as her fingers could once again move around freely.

“Oh, good work...!” Ming said, smiling brightly. She reached over and for a couple of seconds, clenched her hands tightly around Miriam's in a physical show of appreciation. “Now that that's over with, I suppose you want that tape off, don't you?”

Miriam nodded, and turned around, leaning down toward Ming's hands so that she could remove the tape. Ming started to lift her hands up toward Miriam's lips, then stopped, a smirk crossing her own.

“On second thought, I still like the idea of you not being able to sass me...”

“Hmmm!” Miriam protested, jerking her shoulders up and down as she struggled in her bonds. You promised!

“Sorry,” Ming replied with a giggle. “I couldn't resist... don't worry, as promised, I'll take that gag off now. Just lean down a bit more...”

Miriam snickered, rolling her eyes again before leaning down in front of Ming's bound wrists. Though it took her a moment to get her fingers in the right position, Ming quickly managed to peel off a corner of the tape, but stopped before doing so, asking the redhead one last question.

“Do you want me to tear it off quickly, or try to be more careful?”

C'mon, just rip it off already! Miriam shouted impatiently, narrowing her eyes.

“Quickly, all right then. One, two...”

Miriam squinted her eyes shut, and Ming tore the tape off with one quick flourish, freeing the girl's lips. Miriam let out a quick grunt, then sighed, finally able to speak freely again.

“Whew... thanks, Mrs. Lee.”

“Thanks for helping me too.”

Ming then turned back toward Miriam, and the two just looked at each other, glad to be able to talk at long last, but also knowing they still had quite a ways to go before they'd be entirely free, the tape still tight around Miriam's arms and legs, and the silk wrappings still tight around Ming's. Despite their eagerness to get free, they were both somewhat exhausted, and needed to catch their breath... and as they continued to look at one another, with everything that had happened between them and so much that needed to be said, Miriam had plenty to get off her chest. Right now, the words she needed to say felt heavier than the tape wrapped around her body.

“....can we talk?” asked Miriam, looking into Ming's eyes with complete sincerity.

“...yes. I believe we can,” Ming replied, ready to listen to everything her daughter's best friend had to say.

Chapter Text

“Why don't you like me?” Miriam asked, prompting Ming to blink and recoil slightly.

“You just... started right off with that, didn't you?” Ming replied, blinking rapidly.

“I'm serious, what is it about me that you don't like?” Miriam asked again, before scooting a few inches forward and leaning in. “Is it because I'm white, or Jewish, or because my family doesn't have a lot of money? Is it because I wear the clothes I wear, or because I don't look like a super feminine girly girl, or because I'm a skater, or-”

“Miriam, no, no, it's...it's none of those things, I assure you,” Ming replied, looking more and more upset the more potential reasons that Miriam rattled off for the grudge she held.

“Then what?!” Miriam blurted out, her voice shaking slightly, reflecting the genuine hurt she felt that after everything she and Mei had been through together, she and Mei AND Ming, that Ming was still suspicious of her. “Do I just give off a bad vibe or something? Did I do something wrong?!”

Ming sighed, her fists clenching tightly behind her back. She'd never seen Miriam this upset with her, not even after she'd blamed her and Mei's other friends for her daughter's panda scheme... not even after Mei had refused to stand up for them. There were... numerous reasons that Ming wasn't comfortable with Miriam, even now, and she knew, deep within her mind, she knew that none of those reasons were valid. She knew that Miriam wasn't a bad person, she couldn't name a single thing the girl had done wrong, save for things that only Ming herself found disagreeable. It would take her some time to articulate her reasons, but she hoped the girl would let her get through all of them without getting more upset. She knew she owed Miriam an explanation... but explaining these kinds of feelings was difficult, especially for someone like her who'd been taught to keep many of her feelings within.

“It's nothing you did, either,” said Ming, shaking her head. “I just... always got an odd feeling about you. Whenever Mei would spend time with you, she'd come home and she'd... say and do things that I... disagreed with. Naturally, I assumed all three of you... you, and Priya, and Abby, had caused her to do and say those things, and... I focused most of my anger at you.”

“Why?” asked Miriam, who looked astonished that Ming was blaming her for... pretty much everything that everyone in her friend circle had ever done. “Why me specifically?”

“Because you gave off a bad vibe! Yes, okay, you and those clothes, and that skateboard, and that... attitude of yours, it always rubbed me the wrong way! With your... dirty looks, and your... 'whatever's! Mei-Mei didn't even say 'whatever' before she met you! It was... the most disrespectful thing I'd ever heard from her!”

“If that's the most disrespectful thing she'd ever said to you, she must've been the most respectful kid ever,” said Miriam, who sounded more annoyed than angry.

“She was!” Ming replied, still trying to stammer out her explanations. “And... yes, okay, maybe... maybe you looking all... unkempt and... and...disadvantaged played a role in it too!”

“It's not like I can help that my family's.... we're not even poor, we're like, lower middle class, maybe!” Miriam replied, returning to being offended as she glared at Ming.

“I worried that you were going to mooch off my daughter!”

“What? Dude, I don't take handouts from anybody,” said Miriam. “Mei's tried to give me stuff lots of times, and I turned it down... usually! Except for, you know, gifts, because that's what friends do, they give each other gifts, right?”

Ming sighed again, clearly realizing that she was still being rude and hurtful. She looked into Miriam's eyes, trying to express her sympathy as best she could, but Miriam wasn't having any of it.

“So I'm just some dirty poor girl trying to take advantage of your daughter,” said Miriam, who would've gotten up and walked out of the room if she wasn't still tied up. “I can't believe you still think that about me...”

“I don't!” Ming shouted, scooting forward and trying her best to repair the hurt her words had inflicted. “Miriam, please... I'm trying to get past everything, but clearly I haven't been trying hard enough, even after... even after you and Mei-Mei almost got killed because I couldn't get over myself.”

“Clearly,” Miriam said coldly, looking at Ming with disgust.

“...Mei tried to tell me about you... about... everything you did for her,” said Ming. “After the concert, after mom and my sisters left, Mei and I talked, and she told me about Abby, and Priya... but especially you, Miriam. She told me how you two met, and how you'd always try to cheer her up when she felt sad... how there were things she was more comfortable telling you than me, which, I admit, made me jealous...”

Miriam's expression began to soften, and she continued to listen as Ming talked about everything Mei had told her about their friendship.

“She told me how warm and loyal you are, how you'd always defend her from bullies, how much you supported her, whatever she did... and how, after she told you about the panda, how you sang that... song for her, how you and your friends comforted her... how it was you that made the panda go away. She told me everything, how good of a person you are and that I needed to trust you, and I... for whatever stupid reason, I still didn't trust you. I couldn't let it go... and in some ways I still can't, even though I know I should. Miriam, I don't expect you to wait for me to get over these stupid feelings, I just want you to know that you have done absolutely nothing wrong. Me not liking you, me not trusting you... it's my problem, not yours, and I'm the one who needs to get over it. I'm... glad you're my daughter's friend.”

Miriam just sat there, listening to Ming, not saying anything, barely even breathing, but now that Ming was finished with her explanation, Miriam didn't know exactly what to feel. On the one hand, she was glad she knew. It wasn't because of her race, or her religion, thank God for that because she didn't know how she would've handled Ming being a bigot... but Ming was still distrusting of her because of things entirely out of Miriam's control, and that was still quite frustrating, even if she wasn't quite as upset as she was before.

“...thanks for being honest with me,” said Miriam, letting out a sigh as she sat back down, stretching her bound limbs as much as she could and looking at the ceiling. “...I guess what I'm most upset about is that... you thought I'd take advantage of Mei. I... I would never hurt Mei. I love Mei. I... love all my friends, and... I'd die before I ever thought about hurting any of them. I promise you, I will never, ever, EVER hurt Mei...”

Miriam's eyes began to water, and for the first time since she'd been tied up and tossed into this room, she shed a tear.

“If I ever hurt Mei, you can kill me, I don't care, I'd deserve it...”

“Miriam...”

Ming instinctively went to reach out to Miriam, but her bondage prevented it, and all she could do was lean toward her as she shed another tear, the very thought of ever hurting Mei bringing more and more sadness to her face.

“Miriam, I know, I know. I know you'd never hurt Mei, I know that now... I always knew, I just didn't want to get over my own stupid prejudices. Miriam, I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I'm so sorry.”

Miriam sniffled, and Ming offered her shoulder for her to wipe the tears from her face. Miriam shook her head, letting the tears fall to the floor and even managing a small smile.

“Sorry... I just...”

“It's fine,” said Ming, sitting back again now that she knew Miriam didn't need a shoulder to cry on. “It... must have been terrible for Mei... she must've felt like she was forced to choose between me and her friends, and the one who put her in that position is me.”

“Nah,” said Miriam, shaking her head. “Not entirely... we let her know how much it sucked not having her around, I'm sure she felt plenty of pressure from us too.”

“Not nearly as much as she felt from me,” said Ming. “I get it, you didn't get to spend as much time with her as you would've liked... all because she was scared of making me upset.”

“Scared of you?” replied Miriam, shaking her head. “Mrs. Lee, you're Mei's hero. That girl worships you. Whenever one of us would make any kind of comment about you, even just playfully ribbing you, she'd never let us forget what a 'super awesome mom' she had. Sure, she didn't wanna disappoint you, but it wasn't because she was scared you'd come down on her, she didn't want to hurt your feelings! She loves you with all her heart, you and Mr. Lee.”

“Oh... I'm sure she just... said those things because she didn't want to get in trouble,” said Ming, blushing slightly with embarrassment and remembering how she'd always creep around town trying to spy on Mei.

“No, dude, listen, Mei is super proud of you. She'd always be telling us about the temple, and how much of a badass-”

Ming's eyes narrowed.

“...how much of a... cool... mom you are,” said Miriam, correcting herself. “...Mei never actually used the word 'badass', really, she never, ever swears-”

“It's fine, continue,” Ming said, smirking.

“But anyway, Mei thinks you're awesome! You shouldn't be too hard on yourself... and you shouldn't blame yourself for any of the stuff that happened before. Even this... don't be too upset with Mei, okay? The only reason she wants us to get along is because she loves both of us a lot, so... try not to ground her for too long, please?”

“I won't make any promises,” replied Ming, before briefly resuming her attempts to squirm out of her bindings. “...like... how did they know to secure my elbows? I swear, I'd be out of this if they hadn't... she must have told them I'm double jointed, how could she use that against me?”

“Whoa, you're double jointed?” Miriam said, peering around Ming's back to get a look at her arms. “That's so cool!”

“It's not like I can demonstrate at the moment, all things considered...”

“Right... that looks pretty tight, you're not getting sore, are you?”

“No, no, it's fine... apart from the tightness everywhere, it's... actually somewhat comfortable. ...thinking back to when they were securing me, I was too upset to notice at the time, but I remember every time I winced, I could feel my bindings being loosened, ever so slightly. ...I should've winced more, maybe they'd have given me enough slack to get out of this...!”

“Didn't wanna show any weakness, huh?” asked Miriam, smiling and scooting back again.

“A trait my mother instilled in me,” Ming replied. “...I guess now I remember the other reason I've been so cold toward you. Did Mei tell you about what she saw when she went with me into the spirit realm?”

“She didn't want to talk about it much, and we didn't want to pry,” said Miriam. “I figured she wanted to keep what happened between you and her, and I didn't wanna intrude on any private family stuff.”

“When I first became the panda, I hurt my mother... I scarred her for life when I lashed out. It... scarred her physically, but it left a scar on my soul that never went away. I worried that if Mei's panda got too intense, she'd hurt someone like I did, and...”

“...and it would destroy her,” Miriam said, her voice quivering as she finished Ming's thought.

“She has always been such a kind person, more than I ever was,” said Ming, looking into Miriam's eyes. “I'm starting to think that a lot of it came from all of you. I worried you were all a bad influence on Mei-Mei, but... maybe you were the people she needed to be around to learn about the kind of person she needed to be.”

“No way,” said Miriam, shaking her head. “The day I met her, she was the sweetest person in class. She was shy, sure... timid, worried to make friends, but once she opened up, she was the most compassionate, giving person I knew, and I knew I wanted to be her friend from the moment she first said 'hi' to me. Everything good about Mei was already there when we met, and she got that from you and your husband. I swear.”

“Then... mostly from Jin,” said Ming, smiling wistfully. “...he was the same way. Shy, timid, but so caring and sweet... mom never approved of him... the same way I didn't approve of you...”

Miriam blushed slightly and looked away, allowing herself a moment to think of Mei as Ming recounted her time with Jin as a young girl. She composed herself, looking back at Ming and listening to her as she continued to speak.

“Mom tried to stop me from seeing him, but he wouldn't stop, and neither would I. Thinking back, it was the only thing I defied mom about... no matter what she said, or what she did, I wasn't going to let her keep me from him!”

Ming smiled, and her voice gained an unwavering determination, and Miriam's face lit up with recognition.

“That's it, that's what Mei gets from you! Your spirit, your bravery... you are one fierce woman, Mrs. Lee, and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise!”

“I am, aren't I?”

“You know it! Mei works her butt off, just like you do! She sets goals, and doesn't stop until she gets them done! She's pretty good at keeping the rest of us on track too... keeps my grades at a B-average, that's for sure.”

Ming winced.

Only a B-average? ...all right, calm down, Ming, you promised yourself you'd accept all of Mei's friends, including Miriam. Besides... Miriam's clearly the most level-headed of the three. She's done a lot for Mei... and I truly appreciate all of it. From now on, I'll do my best to let her know... to let all of them know how good they've been to Mei and how grateful I am.

“I really was wrong about you, Miriam,” said Ming, smiling as she looked into the eyes of the girl who knew her daughter better than anyone, perhaps even her own parents. “You're actually quite mature... you're even able to pick up on some things quicker than me.”

“Psssh, you're still an adult, you have to worry about taxes and bills and money and the temple and stuff, I'm still just a 13-year-old kid with a skateboard and homework...”

“Still... in some ways you know my Mei-Mei better than I do...”

“I just... try to listen to people, you know? It's what my mom always told me I should do.”

“And in some ways, I've failed to give Mei an environment where she has someone to listen to her,” said Ming, who had learned many things from her conversation with Miriam. “You gave her one... and... a lot more. You and your friends were able to bring her panda under control. You and your friends supported her when she needed it most. ...you and your friends gave Mei a chance to be herself, when I failed to do so.”

Ming turned her back slightly to Miriam, still looking at her over her shoulder, but positioning herself so that her fingers could brush against Miriam's, using the physical gesture to punctuate just how appreciative she was of everything Miriam, Abby, and Priya had done for her daughter.

“Because of the three of you, Mei is the first in our family since we came here to fully embrace the panda... the first since we came here to gain full control over our family's gift... I say gift, because before Mei, it was a curse, but now... now it is a part of Mei, because you, Miriam, even more than your my daughter's other friends, you allowed her to keep it safely. She kept her panda, but she broke the curse, because of you.”

Ming, tears now streaking down her own face, grasped one of Miriam's fingers in one of hers, looking into her eyes with absolute sincerity and gratitude.

“I... was just trying to save Mei...” Miriam stammered, her face reddening, her heart racing.

“You saved our entire family.”

“She's the best friend anyone could ever have...” Miriam continued, shedding a tear along with Ming. “Even if... sometimes...”

Miriam moved her head up and down, gesturing to her bindings. Ming laughed, letting out a warm sigh.

“She's the best daughter a mother could ever have,” Ming said, echoing Miriam's statement. “But, yes, sometimes... she can be...”

“Mei,” said Miriam, who, despite everything, wouldn't have her any other way.

Ming released Miriam's fingers and tested her bonds once more, wriggling in place yet again. The silks and scarves had loosened somewhat, but they were still tight enough to keep her very much secured, and Miriam's luck getting herself free from the tape hadn't been any better.

“We should... probably work on trying to get free now,” said Miriam, who was now quite satisfied after her talk with Ming. She knew they'd probably still have a couple more things to work out between them, but things had gotten more emotional than she'd ever have imagined, and now, at least, she understood completely why Ming had been so harsh to her.

“Before that, one more thing...” replied Ming, facing Miriam and looking up at her. “I'm... sorry. For everything. I... won't ask you for forgiveness-”

“I forgive you,” said Miriam, smiling.

“Just like that?”

“You hurt my feelings, but... I get it, and...I know you're working on doing better. You're working... really hard on doing better. So yeah, we're cool.”

“Thank you,” said Ming, smiling with gratitude and wiping away one last tear onto her shoulder.

“So... how are we gonna do this? I can work on some of your knots, but they're gonna be kind of hard to get loose, those three really tied everything tight.”

“I know Mei has some scissors in here... though I'd rather not damage any of those scarves if I can help it, I think I'm going to use the scissors to cut you free and then you can work on untying me.”

“Oh, wait!” said Miriam, as Ming began scooting around the room. “Um... keep looking for those scissors, but I think we need some music while we're getting ourselves loose!”

“Music...?” Ming queried, as Miriam scooted over to her backpack and the copy of Falling Into You that was still laying on the ground.

“Yeah,” said Miriam, using her bound hands to open the CD case and pull out the disc. It was a bit awkward, but the redhead had a lot of dexterity, and after picking up the disc, she scooted over to the desk where Mei's mini boombox was sitting. “Okay, let's just get this in here...”

As Ming looked on, fascinated by Miriam's surprisingly coordinated movements, the girl set down the CD, then pushed her hands up against the floor while lifting up her legs and using her feet to grab the handle of the boombox and pull it forward.

“I'm going to need to disinfect that boombox handle-” Ming began, before Miriam, insulted, cut her off.

“My feet are not that dirty!” Miriam snapped, glaring fiercely at her. After pulling the boombox to the edge of the desk, she placed her legs back down on the ground, then pushed herself up to a standing position, using the desk to brace herself as she did so. Still holding the disc in her hands behind her, she wiggled around and placed the disc on the desk, then opened the CD tray, removing the 4*Town remix disc that was inside before placing the Celine Dion disc in the tray and closing it back up. “Whew...”

After taking a few seconds to rest, Miriam then turned the boombox on, skipping the disc's first song before starting up the second.

“Wait, did you just skip the best song...?!” shouted Ming, disappointed that she wouldn't get to hear “It's All Coming Back To Me Now”.

“It's a good song, but I like this one a bit better,” said Miriam, carefully sliding down the desk and back to a seated position on the floor. “Besides, this one fits the moment a bit more, least I think so.”

“Hmm... true, I'm not sure those lyrics about touching and 'nights of endless pleasure' are appropriate for young girls to hear,” said Ming.

“Heh, when Abby heard that song she said she never knew Celine Dion was so horny.”

“Young lady!”

“Ooh, it's getting to the best part!” said Miriam, gesturing up to the boombox as “Because You Loved Me” continued to play, and starting to sing along with Celine. “You're the one who held me up, never let me fall...”

Ming, who knew the lyrics by heart, began to join in, temporarily ceasing her efforts to find a pair of scissors as she was caught up in the song. Though Miriam could hold a tune somewhat well, Ming was quite a bit out of key... though that didn't matter to either of them as they started to sing the song together.

“You're the one who saw me through, through it all...”

The chorus began, and Miriam and Ming sang together louder than ever, swaying back and forth as the chorus began.

“You were my strength when I was weak, you were my voice when I couldn't speak...”

Miriam barely got through the word 'speak' when she immediately started to crack up with laughter.

“What's so funny?” Ming asked, looking over at her.

“'When I couldn't speak'... you know, because of the...” Miriam closed up her lips as if the tape was still over them. “Mmm? Mmm?”

Ming, despite herself, began laughing as well, shaking her head and sharing in the moment with Miriam as the first chorus of the song concluded. Miriam, not wanting to stop singing despite still laughing with Ming, quickly beckoned for her impromptu duet partner to keep going as the next verse began.

“You gave me wings and made me fly, you touched my hand, I could touch the sky..”

The two kept going, singing together louder and louder, Miriam even using her feet to flick the volume knob on the boombox to crank up the song. As the duet continued, the music and singing began pulsing through the entire house... it didn't disturb Jin, who was now in a pleasant slumber, but in the living room, the girls, still playing Grand Theft Auto III, began to hear the music... and Abby got a horrifying thought.

“Oh no, your mom got free and now she's torturing Miriam with Celine Dion!!!” shrieked Abby, terrified that the girls' plan had backfired. As she began running toward the bedroom, Priya and Mei both grabbed her, Mei quickly shaking her head.

“Abby, wait a minute... listen!”

As the girls listened, they could hear the music playing over the boombox... but they could also hear singing.

“Is that you mom? She's... pretty bad, no offense,” said Priya, groaning.

“It's not just mom... it's Miriam too!” Mei said, her eyes going wide. She didn't know what to think... her mom and Miriam singing Celine Dion music together? That meant they'd at least gotten the gags off, and the fact that they'd been able to turn the boombox on meant that they were probably free of their bonds as well. “They're singing together!”

“Did your mom like, brainwash Miriam or something?” Abby said, still trying to pull away from her friends.

“No, Abby, it means they're getting along,” Priya replied, then giving a small smile. “It means the plan worked.”

“Yeah, but at what cost?” Abby shouted, her eyes darting back and forth. “If they're free, it means your mom's free to punish us!”

“Abby, we always counted on them getting free,” said Mei, smiling re-assuredly at her. “It's a good thing... whatever happens to us.”

“I'm glad they're getting along, even if this music is... bad,” said Priya, frowning again.

“It's god awful!” shouted Abby. “Who does Celine Dion think she is, 4*Town?”

Mei just continued to listen, tuning out Celine's voice as best she could and listening to her mom... and to Miriam. The song's chorus had just started back up, and the two were singing the lyrics as clear as a bell.

You were my strength when I was weak

You were my voice when I couldn't speak

You were my eyes when I couldn't see

You saw the best there was in me

Lifted me up when I couldn't reach

You gave me faith 'cause you believed

I'm everything I am

Because you loved me

It was the first time Mei had truly listened to that song since she'd learned to tune it out via the endless repetition of that CD that her mother had always blared through the house about five years back... and as she heard Miriam's voice in particular, muffled by the house's walls but still quite audible, she thought about those lyrics for the first time. She looked over at Priya and Abby, who were playfully bickering at one another, and smiled warmly, thinking about how they'd always stood up for her and supported her... and then she thought about Miriam, who had always been there to comfort her... how they truly had seen the best in her during the times she thought her mom didn't.

Miriam... thought Mei, as she listened to her friend continue to sing. I'm sorry I put you through all this. It's just... I guess I got tired of seeing how sad you were every time my mom gave you a dirty look.

Then, Mei thought of her mom, and as frustrating as Ming could be at times, Mei knew the song applied just as much to the love of her parents as it did to the love of her friends.

Mom, dad, I really am everything I am because of you guys... mom... I hope you don't stay mad for too long.

Mei wiped away a tear that had formed in her eye.

I just couldn't stand seeing two of the people I love most making each other feel bad.

“So are we gonna go in there and apologize?” asked Abby.

“Not yet,” said Mei, sitting back down on the couch and patting the cushion, gesturing for her two friends to sit down with her. “Let's give it a bit more time.”

O-O-O

As the song came to an end, Miriam and Ming, who'd barely carried out any efforts to free themselves while it played, looked at each other and started laughing.

“That was... so much fun,” Miriam chuckled, smiling at Ming. “It's been so long since I've gotten to sing Celine Dion with anybody! Whenever I'd bring her up at karaoke, Priya and Abby would always veto it, and I haven't even tried since Mei started coming with us...”

“Miriam, you're a really good singer, where'd you learn to sing?”

“What?” Miriam replied, blinking in surprise at Ming's compliment. “Oh, you know... lots of karaoke, singing in the shower... maybe a little bit at synagogue... oh, I'm in the school choir too, but we mostly sing stuffy old songs in there. Mei wanted to join the choir with me, but she said she didn't have time because... well...”

“Because of her work at the temple,” said Ming, sighing. “...does she still want to join the choir?”

“I dunno, maybe you could ask her?”

By now, the next song on the album, the album's title song, had already begun playing. Ming almost felt like singing some more, but it was getting so late... the two of them definitely needed to get free. She looked over at Miriam again, then continued to feel around inside the drawer she was searching.

“Yes, I think I will ask if she- found them!”

“If she found what? Wait, you found the scissors!”

Ming smiled and awkwardly pulled the scissors from the drawer, but dropped them on the floor immediately, and it was a bit of a struggle for her to pick them up. Miriam scooted over to her, and was able to help Ming to get the scissors in her hands, but it was still quite awkward for her to hold them.

“Oooh, this is tricky...” Ming fumed, flexing her wrists against their bonds. “The way my arms are tied...”

“It'd be easier for me, but then I'd have to cut the scarves off you.”

“No... no, it's fine.”

“You sure?”

Ming nodded, her expression saying 'trust me', and Miriam, eager to get free but also quite patient, nodded in response. Ming began fumbling with the scissors, trying to cut the tape off of Miriam's wrists, but after about a minute of trying, she'd only managed to make a small snip, barely loosening the tape... at this rate, freeing Miriam's arms might take hours.

Then, Ming dropped the scissors again.

“Dammit!” Ming swore, prompting Miriam to gasp.

“Oooooh, you said a bad woooord...”

Ming let out several exclamations in an attempt to explain herself before Miriam started to burst out laughing.

“Y'know, I'm surprised you're so uptight about swearing... thought that was a Western religious thing.”

“I just... I just want my daughter to make a good impression on people! Swearing... might hurt people's opinion of her!”

“Not important people's opinions,” said Miriam, leaning her head back against Ming's and picking up the scissors, then handing them back to her. “C'mon... let Mei say 'fuck'.”

“Wha...what?!?!” Ming shrieked, as Miriam started laughing even louder.

“I'm kidding, relax!”

“Do you talk to your mother with that mouth?”

“Hell no, I'd be grounded for weeks,” Miriam replied. “But messing with you is fun.”

As Ming began fumbling with the scissors again, she could feel Miriam's hands working on some of the knots holding her arms.

“Actually, it'd be really weird if Mei started swearing, maybe it's best if you don't let her say those words... she's too cute to swear.”

“I agree whole-heartedly. ...wait, when you say 'cute', do you mean cute like a red panda, or cute like how you all think that boy Devon is cute?”

“Oh, you know,” said Miriam, starting to blush slightly.

“No, I don't know!”

“By the way, did you ever apologize to him? Devon, I mean. You really freaked him out back there...”

“Oh, don't remind me,” said Ming, her shoulders slumping in shame. “No, I haven't been back there since then... I suppose I do owe him an apology, if he hasn't quit by now... but still, he's 17, Mei Mei's 13, what does she see in him? What do all of you girls see in him?”

“It's called a fantasy,” said Miriam. “Yeah, we all think Devon's cute, but you think we'd ever date him for real? He's almost an adult, uggh... and of course he's not into us, but if he ever tried hitting on Mei or any of us for real, we'd kick his ass. ...butt. ...ass.”

“Yes, we'd all kick his ass,” Ming replied. She smiled, then grunted in frustration, still unable to make any progress with the scissors in her current position. “Same goes for the guys in 4*Town?”

“Obviously,” said Miriam. “They're grown-ass men... really hot grown-ass men, but come on.”

Miriam snickered.

“Jesse has two kids,” she continued, snickering harder.

“Which is probably why he and I got along so well,” Ming replied. “Wait, weren't we talking about Mei?”

“So, you have a double jointed elbow?”

“...don't change the subject again!”

Suddenly, Ming felt the silk bindings slip away from her elbows. She let out a slight sigh of relief.

“That was one tricky knot...” breathed Miriam, dropping the scarf to the ground.

“Oh...! I have more slack now!”

“Keep struggling, I'll work on the other knots!”

With the extra bit of slack Ming was able to give herself, she was able to work loose some of the other knots binding her arms, allowing Miriam a much easier time untying them. Soon, Miriam had nearly every knot untied, save for the one binding Ming's wrists, but she was able to work that knot a bit more loose with the others removed, and with that extra leverage, was able to get a good enough handle on the scissors to start snipping more of Miriam's tape bondage away.

“Keep it up, I think I can almost slip my arms out the rest of the way!”

“I'll do you one better,” said Ming, suddenly pulling her wrists entirely free.

“Whoa....!” shouted Miriam, who watched as Ming began struggling her arms loose from her sides. “Go, Mrs. Lee!”

Utilizing the extra flexibility her double jointed elbows provided, Ming slid out of the rest of her upper body bindings in less than thirty seconds, letting all the silks fall to the floor, and setting to work on getting her legs free next. Miriam, her arms still mostly pinned, began squirming as well, having been given a bit more slack by the cuts that Ming had made, but by the time Ming finished freeing herself entirely, her arms were still pinned down, leaving her mostly tied up. Ming stood up and stretched out her limbs, free for the first time in nearly two hours, letting out a cry of triumph while the album's seventh song continued to blare. She looked down at Miriam, who was smiling up proudly at her, and demonstrated the flexibility of her elbows by twirling one arm in a perfect circle.

“Sick...!” Miriam exclaimed, smiling widely. Ming raised her eyebrow, somewhat confused. “...that means good, 'sick' means good!”

“Right, right... just like how 'bad' and 'wicked' mean good... are you deliberately trying to confuse adults with all of these opposite words?”

“Yep, you caught us, our grand conspiracy to confuse adults has been foiled...!” shouted Miriam, swaying around in faux dramatics. “...think you could cut me loose now?”

“Of course,” said Ming, kneeling down behind Miriam with scissors in hand. “...and... thanks for helping me get free.”

“Well, you know, I almost decided to figure out a way to get myself free and leave you here. I almost like it better when you're gagged, it means you can't sass me.”

As Miriam smirked at Ming, jokingly echoing Ming's somewhat more sincere sentiments from before, Ming just rolled her eyes, silently accepting that she deserved that small snipe.

“Very funny,” said Ming, snipping the last of the tape from Miriam's legs before starting on her arms. “...are you still upset with Mei?”

“No,” said Miriam. “I mean... maybe a little... it wasn't fun being jumped and tied up like this, but I totally get why she did it. I still don't want her to be punished, but I guess that's not up to me, so...”

“You're right, it's not,” replied Ming, cutting the last of the tape away from Miriam's arms. “...we'll just have to see what happens, won't we?”

Miriam nodded, and after the tape was cut off her wrists, she rubbed them for a few seconds, then stood up on slightly wobbly legs, turning toward Ming.

“There you go, Miriam, you're all-”

Miriam wrapped her arms around Ming, giving her a tight, warm embrace as the last two hours of emotions began to catch up with her. She didn't start crying again, but her smile was as wide as it had been all night, and her eyes reflected her gratitude that Ming was truly trying to get better... and her gratitude about something far more significant.

“Thank you...” Miriam said quietly, resting her head against Ming's shoulder.

“...of course, I wasn't just going to leave you taped up-”

“Thank you for raising such an awesome daughter...” Miriam continued, looking up into Ming's eyes. “You're an awesome mom.”

Ming, at first surprised, then, as she felt her heart warming, realizing just how lucky she was, returned Miriam's embrace, resting her chin on top of the girl's head.

“Thank you for being such an... awesome friend to my daughter,” Ming finally replied, a single tear landing in Miriam's red hair.

Miriam and Ming continued to embrace, both of them finally realizing how much Mei meant to them and how much they had done for her, and through that connection, achieving acceptance and gratitude toward each other. As they continued to hold each other tightly, Ming allowing herself to feel a motherly connection to Miriam, and Miriam recognizing her own mother's loving embrace in Ming's arms, the door opened, and Mei, Abby, and Priya could see just how close the two had become.

“Sweet,” said Priya with a smile.

“That... is so... CUTE!” shouted Abby, clapping her hands excitedly. “I knew it would work, I knew they would stop hating each other!”

“Abby, Miriam never hated my mom,” said Mei, before blinking at the sight of her BFF and her mom hugging it out with a mix of shock and relief.

“Yeah, I never hated Mei's mom!” said Miriam, turning toward her friends and putting her hands on her hips. “And just what's the big idea with jumping me and tying me up?”

“Yes, you three are all in serious trouble,” said Ming, her expression transforming in an instant from warm and accepting to cold and stern. “Especially you, Mei...”

“Mom, I am so sorry-”

“I don't want to hear it,” Ming continued, standing in front of the three nervous girls as Miriam shrunk back behind her. “You tricked me, tied me up, gagged me, and locked me in your room with one of your friends... what were you thinking?!”

“We... were thinking it worked?” Mei said nervously, waving at Miriam. “You guys hated each other... I mean, you hated Miriam, and now you're hugging!”

“Perhaps we were hugging because we were both traumatized from our harrowing ordeal!” said Ming, placing her hand up to her forehead as if she was about to pass out.

“...you were singing Celine Dion together,” said Priya, pointing at Mei's boombox, which was still blaring a song from the album. Miriam quickly walked over and pressed the 'stop' button, cutting off the music.

“Yeah, and one of you was singing really badly!” Abby added. “And it wasn't Miriam!”

“Mom, Mir, I.... I...” Mei was looking down at the ground, twisting her foot into the floor as she tried to search for the right words to apologize. “I just didn't want Miriam to be upset anymore, and mom, I really want you to like Miriam, she's awesome and it's not fair that you still don't like her! But I know I did something really crazy, and I take full responsibility for-”

“No, Mei, you are not taking full responsibility, this was my idea!” said Abby, stepping forward and facing Ming. “I got it from bad Korean dramas, and it was really dumb, and if you want to punish anyone, you should punish me!”

“And I went along with it before Mei did, I helped convince her, so...” Priya stepped forward along with Abby, looking at Ming and Miriam. “Miriam, we're both really sorry.”

“All three of you are going to be punished,” said Ming, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Yeah, you guys are all gonna get it,” said Miriam, who could see the sad look in Mei's eyes as she stood behind Priya and Abby. “...even if I already forgive you for doing it.”

“...really?” said Mei, pushing her way past Priya and Abby and walking toward Miriam. “Mir, I am so sorry-”

“It's cool,” said Miriam, giving Mei a tight hug, even tighter than the one she gave Ming. She then leaned in, whispering something into Mei's ear. Mei looked at Miriam, then whispered something back. Miriam then looked up at Ming, giving her a thumbs up. Ming turned back to Abby and Priya, looking at Mei as well.

“None of you will be grounded,” said Ming.

“Really?” Mei replied, before walking over to give Ming a hug. Ming extended her arm, stopping Mei before she could, and looking down at her.

“But you're not getting off that easily.”

O-O-O

A short time later, Abby and Priya were both plopped down onto the couch. Duct tape had been wrapped around their arms and legs in multiple places, binding them up as tightly as Miriam had been before. They squirmed in their bonds, but weren't going anywhere... Miriam had made sure of that with the expert taping job she'd done on them both.

“Ooooh, you fiend!” Abby shouted from her seated position, snarling and thrashing back and forth in a futile effort to escape.

“Hey, at least I asked you guys if I could tape you up first,” said Miriam, using her teeth to tear off another strip of tape from the roll. “That's more than I can say for you.”

“Not like we had any choice,” said Priya, glowering up at her while not even bothering to struggle anymore.

“Yeah, it was either 'let me tape you up until bedtime, or next time at karaoke, it'll be all Celine Dion!'” said Abby.

“You're worse than the villain from the latest Nightfall book, and she kidnapped Angelique's two love interests and forced her to pick which one she was going to kill,” said Priya.

“That's harsh even for you,” said Miriam, smirking over at Priya before turning to Abby and tapping the tip of her nose. “And I still get to pick one Celine Dion song next time... I think I'm gonna dedicate it to you.”

“Naega talchulhamyeon dangsin-eun jug-eum-eul-” Abby began before being cut off by Miriam gagging her with the tape. “Mmm, mmm mm, MMMM!”

“How about you, Priya, got anything to say?”

“Silence is golden,” Priya said, leaning toward Miriam.

“And duct tape is silver,” Miriam replied, sealing up Priya's lips with the tape, then patting her two BFFs on their heads. “Still love you girls.”

Nearby, Ming was carefully completing Mei's bondage... which consisted of a simple but intricate series of silk wrappings around her arms and legs, binding her wrists tightly but comfortably behind her back, and her ankles equally tightly together.

“...is everything okay? Not too tight, is it? You don't have to let me tie you up, I'm not going to ground you either way.”

“No, no, it's fine, mom, really,” said Mei, smiling at Ming while playfully squirming. “I... really am sorry for before, you trusted me and I lied to you... and it's not the first time.”

“And it did hurt, but you understand that,” Ming replied, giving Mei a reassuring look. “And I understand why you did it... but promise me that next time, you'll talk to me honestly and openly instead of tricking and lying to me.”

“I promise,” said Mei, as Ming cinched the last knots behind her back.

“And I promise I'll listen,” Ming replied, kissing Mei on the forehead. “Now go join your friends on the couch... your real punishment is still to come.”

“What? Real punishment?” said Mei, as Miriam came over to escort her to her position on the couch next to Priya.

“You heard your mom, move it,” said Miriam with a smirk, keeping a steady hand behind Mei to ensure she didn't fall as she hopped over to the couch.

“And if you try to escape by turning into the panda, you will be grounded,” said Ming with a smirk. “I mean it, those silks aren't cheap, took us an extra half hour to get free because I didn't want Miriam cutting them with your scissors.”

“Fine, mom,” said Mei, pretending to mock her mother by rolling her eyes at her, then sitting down roughly on the couch and putting on her best pout.

“Is that... is that sass I'm hearing?” said Ming, putting her hand on her hip and giving her daughter an identical pout. “Miriam, I think it's time to shut my daughter's sassy mouth!”

“On it,” said Miriam, stretching out a strip of tape from the roll.

“Mir, wait...!” Mei shouted, eyes widening in distress as Miriam used her teeth to tear off the strip. “...I really am sorry about jumping you and taping you up, I hope you weren't too freaked out... and I hope we didn't hurt you.”

Miriam looked at Priya and Abby, who gave her equally apologetic expressions, then turned back to Mei and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I told you, it's fine... me and your mom are closer than ever, so you guys' crazy plan somehow worked... and anyway, I'm getting immediate revenge, so we're totally cool.”

“...4*Town forever?” Mei said, her lips curving into a smile.

“4*Town forever,” Miriam replied, before pressing the strip of duct tape over Mei's lips, taking quite a bit of time to smooth it down, pressing her hands over Mei's cheeks after she finished. “Love you, Mei.”

Mei smiled under the tape, blushing slightly... then, just before Miriam leaned back up, she moved forward and pressed her taped lips against Miriam's mouth. The 'kiss', if you could even call it that, lasted about half a second... but it left Miriam's entire face bright red, and as she lifted her hand up to her lips, Mei started to quietly giggle.

...dude... thought Miriam, looking into Mei's eyes for any hint of emotion besides amusement. That was...

As Miriam stood there blinking, Ming had positioned herself in front of the television... where Abby's Playstation 2 had been removed and replaced with the Lee family's VCR.

“Now it's time for the three of you to face the music,” said Ming, sternly looking the three 'captives' over.

“Dmm yrr wrrmst!” Abby shouted, looking Ming right in the eyes.

“Ymmm, wmm cmm tmmk mmmt!” Mei shouted excitedly, while Priya sat between them with a stoic expression.

“We're going to watch a video together...” said Ming, holding up a VHS tape. “The 1997 Celine Dion concert video!”

“YES!” Miriam shouted, pumping her fists in excitement. “I wanted to go to that concert so bad when I was eight, but we didn't have money to go!”

“NMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!” Abby shrieked into her gag, slumping back into the couch. “JMMMST KMMLL MMM!!”

“Ymm mmnnstrr,” Priya muffled, rolling her eyes.

Miriam looked over at Mei, whose eyes were moving back and forth between her, Priya, and Abby, not knowing how to react to this news... before finally shrugging and muffling a faint, muffled 'Noooo!' under her gag.

Aww, you know you love it, thought Miriam with a smirk, winking at Mei.

Ming then put the video in and climbed onto the couch next to Mei, squishing her between Priya and her mom. Abby's muffled protests drowned out much of Celine's singing, but Ming didn't mind, having watched the tape nearly a dozen times before, and finding more amusement in the protests of her daughter's friend than in the film itself. Priya just silently fumed, though in reality she wasn't having that bad of a time, while Mei found herself cuddling up to her mom a bit, actually enjoying herself somewhat despite the... unusual circumstances.

And as for Miriam?

“Dooooo I love you, my oh myyyyyyyyy!!!” Miriam sang, belting along to Celine Dion's cover of Tina Turner's classic. “Riiiiiveeer deep, mountain hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Ming suddenly sang, leaping up and joining Miriam in an impromptu duet.

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?! muffled Abby, closing her eyes and crying out to the heavens in a mock display of agony, complete with several fake sobs.

“Awww, lighten up, Abby,” said Miriam, suddenly appearing behind the couch and reaching down to tickle her friend in her most sensitive spot... right under her arms. “This is WAY more fun than anything on Playstation!”

Take that back, you blasphemer! Abby muffled at her, before shrieking in laughter as Miriam's fingers found her armpits and tickled them without mercy. “MHMHMHMHMHMMHMHMHMHHMHPH!!!!!”

Miriam tickled Abby for a couple minutes before moving onto Priya, kneeling down in front of her. Instinctively, Priya jerked her feet away, but bound as she was, she couldn't resist long, and Miriam used her own feet to pin Priya's ankles against the couch before going to town on her soles, forcing several shrieks of laughter out of the usually stoic girl.

“So, what Nightfall villain am I like now? Topher, the homicidal werewolf king, or Lucas Stratton, the corrupt mayor of Revaile Falls?”

“Mhmhmhm...mhmmhmph...mmmmm...!” Priya squinted her eyes shut tightly, trying to keep from laughing but failing miserably, unable to escape the relentless tickle torture. She opened her eyes and saw Miriam looking at her and smiling, and, despite her predicament, she couldn't help but give her a warm look of her own... through it all, she was still having fun. This is so weird... but keep going.

And after a couple minutes of tickling Priya, Miriam scooted over to Mei. Mei gave her mom a desperate look at Miriam's fingers hovered under her feet, but Ming just smiled at her before looking back at the screen, singing along to Celine's next hit and 'ignoring' her daughter's appeals for help.

“Sorry, Mei-Mei, but this is happening,” said Miriam with a devilish smile. “Remember, no panda...”

Mei squealed as Miriam's fingers found her feet, scraping across her soles and forcing several muffled laughs out of the girl, who twisted back and forth but was unable to escape due to being squished between her mom and Priya. She wasn't laughing as loudly as Priya had been, but she was quite ticklish, and Miriam didn't let up for even a second, even after Mei suddenly fell against the side of the couch, still shrieking with laughter.

“That's not where she's most ticklish,” said Ming, who had gotten up from the couch and was now suddenly behind Miriam. Miriam, curious, stopped tickling Mei and raised her eyebrow.

Mom, what are you doing...? thought Mei, sitting back up as Ming whispered something into Miriam's ear.

“Really? Oh... I never knew Mei was ticklish there...” said Miriam with a cruel smirk, her eyes narrowing at the same time that Mei's were widening. “That's good to know.”

Miriam then leapt up onto the couch and put her arm tightly around Mei, pulling her close as her fingers slid across her friend, gently lifting up the bottom of her pajama shirt about an inch to reveal her midriff. Mei looked up at Ming, who smiled sweetly at her before launching into another song and dance routine in front of the television.

Mom, you didn't! Mei shrieked, just as Miriam's fingers began digging into the skin around her belly button. “Nmmmm.....MMMMMMMMMMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHM!!!!”

Miriam continued to tickle Mei for several more seconds, before stopping to let the poor girl catch her breath. Mei shrieked angrily at Ming again, then looked at Miriam, her eyes wide. Miriam, having the time of her life, but at the same time, never ever wanting to do anything that would really hurt Mei, gave her another evil look, then, for a moment, softened her expression.

“Keep going?” Miriam mouthed quietly to her.

Mei, her eyes still wide as sweat poured down her face, gave Miriam her best look of absolute terror... then nodded quietly.

As much as you want, thought Mei, a blush starting to creep across her face. But I'll get you back later, even if this does make us even!

“So, Mei...” said Miriam, teasingly digging her fingers into Mei's tummy to make her shriek and giggle again, stopping after a few more seconds. “Do you like my singing?”

Mei looked away.

Of course I do, it's so pretty... she thought, as sounds of Miriam singing 'Because You Loved Me' still echoed in her brain.

“Well?” Miriam asked, leaning in.

“Nmm-mm!” Mei shouted, shaking her head and putting on her best angry face. It stinks!

“Awww, that really hurts my feelings,” replied Miriam, pretending to be upset before smiling again. “But I know you like THIS song... I've never met nobody... like you! Got friends and I've had buddies, it's true...”

As Miriam sang the familiar notes of 4*Town's “Nobody Like U”, Mei continued to playfully struggle against her, prompting Miriam to hold her even tighter, her fingers still brushing against Mei's navel.

“But they don't turn my.... TUMMY!!!” Miriam sang, suddenly punctuating that last word with another round of ferocious tickling, prompting the loudest squeal yet from Mei, while Miriam finished out the verse, tickling Mei's tummy the entire time. “The way you do! I've never met nobody...”

Miriam trailed off, but kept tickling Mei, leaning over her with a smirk, raising her eyebrows up and down as Mei screamed in desperation, thinking for a moment why Miriam stopped singing, the tickling causing her to temporarily forget the lyrics to pretty much every song she knew...

“Nobody...” Miriam sang again, refusing to stop tickling Mei until...

“LMMMMMMKE YMMMMM!!!!” Mei suddenly screamed, howling with laughter under her gag as Miriam tickled her silly. Miriam stopped tickling Mei, but continued to hold her tightly in her arms, letting her catch her breath as she continued to sing.

“You're never not on my mind, oh my, oh my...” Miriam sang, occasionally giving Mei another quick tickle after she had caught her breath, keeping up the singing and the tickling before she too started to laugh almost as hard as Mei, singing through her laughter, holding Mei close, the two almost delirious with joy by this point. “I'm never not by your si-hi-hi-hide.... hehehehe... hahah... your side... hahahahaha...!!! Your side...”

And as Miriam's embrace continued, as Mei shrieked with laughter, only some of it from the tickling at this point, Priya and Abby, who by now had fully embraced the fun in this ridiculous situation and were leaning into each other while looking over at their friends, were singing along with Ming as best they could under their taped lips. Ming was singing and dancing, and the room had gotten so loud by now that Jin had stirred from his slumber and had stumbled into the room. He assessed the situation... his daughter and two of her friends bound and gagged on the couch, Miriam tickle torturing his daughter and both of them out of their minds with laughter, and Ming crooning to Celine Dion with a smile on her face... and just laughed and shook his head, looking at Ming to make sure everything was all right before finally coming up with something to say.

“Do I even want to know?” he asked, looking over at Ming. She reached out her hand, offering him a dance, but he just smiled and shook his head, giving a loud yawn. Ming looked slightly disappointed, but could see the tiredness in her husband's eyes, and knew there'd be another chance to dance with him soon... hopefully tomorrow. Mei also looked up at him, and Miriam stopped tickling her long enough for her to gather her thoughts and give him her best 'I'm okay, dad!' expression, which satisfied him enough to allow him to leave the room and head back to bed, so tired that there was a good chance he'd think this was all just a dream the next day.

Then, the party continued, the rest of the concert film playing as Ming wore herself out and sat down in the middle of the couch between Priya and Mei, squeezing her daughter tightly between the two people she'd worked so hard to bring together. Ming looked at Priya and Abby to make sure they were doing all right, and could see that Abby had fallen asleep against Priya, while Priya looked up at Ming with a 'this is fine' expression on her face, not giving any indication that she wanted to be freed. Ming then looked down at Mei, who was leaning up against Miriam, her shirt pulled back down over her tummy, looking up at her mom with eyes full of love. Ming then looked at Miriam, and the two both looked at Mei, holding her close between them.

Celine Dion may have broken the ice between Miriam and Ming, but the girl between them had brought them together. Though they loved Mei in different ways, they both wanted her to be safe and happy, just as Mei wanted the same for both of them.

“We love you, Mei,” Miriam whispered to her, leaning down and kissing the top of her head.

“Even when you make mistakes,” said Ming, kissing her daughter on the cheek. “You'll always be my little Mei-Mei.”

Mei looked at both of them one more time, then closed her eyes just as the perfect words echoed around her.

I'm everything I am because you loved me.