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Tommy couldn't sit still. He felt like he’d been waiting for this day forever, and now it was finally here. Kaj had reached out to them in August, asking them to perform as a sort of halftime show during their big concert ”Kaj on ice”. Apparently they were too klein to perform a two-hour show without a break. It didn’t surprise him, of course those losers wouldn’t have the same kind of stamina that Tommy did, but for once he was grateful for how weak those guys were. This was a huge opportunity for them, and there was no way they were going to pass it up, even though Tommy had been hesitant at first.
When he’d gotten the phone call from Axel he’d scoffed at the idea. Why would they want to play a gig for 65 screaming girls in some mall in Helsinki? He hadn’t really believed Axel when he’d said they were playing at the Helsinki ice hall. Sure, he knew KAJ had gotten big lately, with all of that Melodifestivalen bullshit, but had they really gotten that big? It felt unlikely, but with the way he couldn't escape seeing their faces everywhere he went, they probably had to be pretty popular.
Vörjeans had also gotten pretty popular lately. It seemed like KAJ’s found fame had led to an increased interest in Ostrobothnia overall, and at least some people with some actual taste had found that there were good bands from Vörå too. There had been an influx of comments on Instagram, some weird DMs and a huge spike in streaming numbers on Spotify lately. It was strange, especially since Vörjeans had been in a weird place lately, but it was also amazing.
Tommy had been terrified that taking a break would mean the end of the band, but now it seemed it had only made them stronger. Määnin was sober now, Freppa had really honed his guitar skills, and Tommy was happier than he’d ever been before. Even Gambämäänin had started drinking less, and Thåossin, well Tommy wasn’t sure what was up with Thåossin, but he was sure he was doing great. They were all in a better place than ever, and they were coming back to play the biggest show they’d ever played.
7000 people. Tommy still couldn't believe it was real. They were about to play for 7000 people, and at least 20 of them were Vörjeans fans. Tommy was practically bouncing backstage, giddy with excitement. He could hear the crowd screaming, and he couldn’t help but imagine what they would sound like when an actual cool band came on stage. Just one more song left to go before it was their turn. That Jonathan guy, or whatever his name was, was singing some weird opera song. It wasn’t exactly Tommy's music taste, but he had to admit the guy could sing. He wished he would just get it over with though, so that his moment would come.
After what felt like an eternity, it was finally their turn. The drums were rolled on stage, and their intro video started playing. Kaj had asked them to send in something that could introduce them to the audience, and Freppa had forwarded an old promo video he had on a hard drive somewhere. They had been asked to send a different video as this one didn’t really do anything to explain who they were, and it didn’t even include two out of five band members, but they hadn’t responded. Tommy thought the video was perfect, and it seemed like the audience agreed, because he could hear the screaming.
He couldn’t stop smiling as he walked on stage. He scanned the massive crowd and immediately spotted a group of people in double denim at the front. These people had shown up to a concert for a different band, not knowing that vörjeans would show up, and they had still dressed to show their support for them. It was too crazy an idea to truly take in.
He started by trying to hype the audience up. They seemed to have a lot of energy, but they needed to know that they were about to see something truly amazing. They started with Born to Börn, and Tommy still couldn’t stop smiling. They loved them, screaming along to every word. After Born to Börn, it was time for Marlene. Was there anything hotter than Määnin singing a solo? Tommy closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. He loved this song, it was just further proof of how sexy and cool Määnin was.
Before the final song, Tommy felt like he needed to address the elephant in the room. Because of KAJ, they had gained a whole new audience. Their usual crowd was pretty quiet and pretty drunk, they were not the high-pitched screaming types, but Tommy loved these new people. They were loud and dedicated and fun. They treated them like actual rock stars! Plus, it seemed that a lot of them had something in common with him.
“We have lately gotten a lot of attention from the international fans”.
Some people, presumably the international fans, screamed.
“And we have especially gotten a lot of love from the LGBTQIA+ community”.
More screaming.
“Oh yes, oh yes, and we are very proud to get a lot of love from the LGBTQIA+ community”.
It was Freppa who had told him about the whole LGBTQIA+ community thing, and he’d spent a lot of time practising the acronym to get it right.
“I am a proud member of the LGBTQIA community! I’m dyslexic!”.
It was true that he was proud. When he’d been younger, he’d been ashamed of having a learning disability. He always hated hearing adults refer to him as having “some kind of letter combination”, but when he’d realised that Määnin didn’t have dysentery but was in fact also dyslexic, he hadn’t felt bad about it anymore. After all, how could having something in common with Määnin be bad?
“That's not what it’s about. It’s about sexual orientation and how you identify ”
What was that all about? How people identify? Probably just Freppa being weird. Maybe he should make a joke to make Freppa look less bad.
“Shut up Freppa, I identify as a Vöbo who loves Määnin”.
He thought that was a nice save. Being a massive Määnin fan was part of his brand, so he was sure the audience would love that line. By the screams he got in response, it seemed like they did. They went straight into Volvoräägör and finished the show with a bang. They had performed flawlessly, and the audience had clearly loved them. He kind of felt bad for the crowd who would be forced to watch more kaj after that.
Tommy was still grinning when he walked off stage, but the others were giving him weird looks. Thåossin gave him a silent thumbs up, and Gambämäänin smiled at him. Maybe they were also excited by how good the show went, because this was not how they normally acted. Freppa and Määnin were also being weird. Freppa kept staring at him, like he was waiting for him to say something, and Määnin was looking even more smug than usual. Playing to a crowd this big had really affected all of them.
Gambämäänin and Thåossin wandered off to talk to some of the crew, leaving Tommy, Määnin and Freppa alone behind the stage. They were both still staring at him, like he’d done something weird or something.
“I agree the gig was amazing, but let’s celebrate instead of just staring silently”.
That seemed to shake both of them out of whatever strange mood they were in, because Freppa seemed to relax, and a grin spread slowly across Määnin's face. They walked off to their designated backstage area, Tommy immediately collapsing onto the couch.
“Damn, that gig was almost perfect. We sounded amazing, and the energy was insane. The only thing that went wrong was you making up some bullshit about the whole LGBTQIA+ thing”.
“I don’t make some shit up, it is about your sexual orientation”.
Tommy turned to Määnin, expecting to share a moment of exasperation at how stupid Freppa was being, but Määnin was nodding in agreement. Huh, maybe Tommy was wrong.
“Okay? So it’s about what orientation you like to have sex in? I guess I prefer lying down, but I don’t mind standing up”.
“No, it’s about sexuality. What genders you are attracted to and your own gender identity”.
Oh, it was a gay thing? Well, now Tommy looked stupid. It wasn’t exactly his fault that sex education in Vörå was sorely lacking when it came to queer subjects, and he had spent most of his life in deep denial of who he was, so he hadn’t exactly paid attention to the topic, but considering recent developments, he feels like he should know more. He probably should have just asked when Freppa told him the acronym instead of assuming what it meant.
“So we’ve got a bunch of gay fans?”.
“Not just gay, the letters stand for different things. It’s lesbian, gay, bisexual...”.
“Shut up Freppa, who cares?”.
Tommy did care. If what Freppa was saying was true, then he could relate to this audience even more than he had first thought, and he wanted to understand them properly, but he couldn’t let Freppa explain it to him, that felt like admitting defeat.
Vörjeans had a gay audience. Or not just gay, but an LGBTQIA+ audience, whatever that meant exactly. It was better than he ever could have imagined. Ever since he had figured out his own sexuality about a year and a half ago, he’d been itching to meet more queer people, and now those people were apparently fans of him. He felt seen, and not in that weird way he used to feel whenever someone questioned his sexuality, in a good way. A way that made him feel like he belonged somewhere.
“So you didn’t mean to come out to everyone just then?” Määnin asked, sitting down on the couch next to him.
“No, not really”.
Freppa raised an eyebrow at him, clearly a bit confused by this confession.
“But you were so happy, I thought you’d planned it”.
“Of course I’m happy! I’m dating the toughest, sexiest, most talented man in the world, the band is back together, and we just played to the biggest crowd we’ve ever seen. Today is awesome, why wouldn’t I be happy?”.
Tommy had been very happy lately. Ever since he and Määnin started dating about a year ago, he’d found himself smiling constantly. It was like he’d been missing a part of himself his whole life, and the moment he’d kissed Määnin for the first time, he’d finally been whole.
“You said you identify as a man who loves me, how did you not think that was a coming out moment?”.
Määnin stretched, placing his arm around Tommy's shoulders, the fond but slightly mocking tone clear in his voice.
“Well, I didn’t mean it in a gay way, I just meant that I’m a big fan of you”.
“You don’t love me in a gay way?”.
Määnin placed a hand on his chest in mock offence. He tried to look upset, but Tommy could tell he was struggling to hold back a smile.
“Of course I love you in a gay way. I love you in the gayest of ways, you know that. I guess maybe I thought other people wouldn’t pick up on it”.
“Do you mind that people know now? It must feel overwhelming”.
Typical Freppa, asking about his emotions.
“Of course I don’t mind. Fyrbanna Freppa I am a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community. I was just planning on announcing it by making out with Määnin on stage, it’s too bad those KAJ guys put a stop to that”.
Freppa pulled a face, probably remembering the long “we’re very happy for you, but please keep your hands to yourselves” conversation they had pre-show.
“I think they were worried you wouldn’t stop at just making out. There were kids in the audience”.
“We can behave ourselves".
They could not. It was a constant struggle to keep their hands to themselves, and Freppa had been traumatised many times from walking in on them in compromising positions. Maybe it was wise not to get too close, but Tommy was sure that at least some people in the audience would enjoy that show too.
He leaned back on the couch, resting his head on Määnin's shoulder. Today had been a rollercoaster. They’d played an amazing gig, met their new audience, and Tommy had accidentally come out to a crowd of 7000 people. He was so happy he thought he might combust. He loved being gay, he loved dating Määnin, and he loved that everyone knew.