Penny For Your Thoughts - Part 4 - Tina
Title: Penny For Your Thoughts (all 4 parts of a 4 part fic)
Author: alonemirage2see
Pairing: Tina/Mike (mentions of Tina/Artie but not much)
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Dream On with references to Ballad
Word Count: 2,109
Disclaimer: Obviously the characters are not mine and I mean no harm. I just have an over active imagination sometimes and the idea of Tina and Mike together is too good to pass up.
Summery: A journey of Tina and Mike's inner thoughts during the last 5 minutes or so of Dream On.
A/N: I started this about 4 months ago, and finally managed to finish it. It sticks very closely to the events of the episodes, but is slightly A/U in the sense that I filled in some of the blanks in events and things we didn't see. Also, please don't judge me by the cheese factor of some of it. Sometimes I can't help myself. I LOVE CHEESE (this is why I'm not a vegan)
Part 1 - Mike
Part 2 - Tina
Part 3 - Mike
“I heard your voice and you sounded upset, so I listened, because I was worried…still am.” Mike had always seemed a little protective over her, ever since they started being friends, she was never too sure why. Tina liked it though, but who wouldn’t? Having someone who always thought about you that way, who was concerned, whether or not they needed to be, taking the better safe than sorry approach, it was nice, it was…how she should have felt with Artie, but it wasn’t.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever looked out for me the way you do.” Shyly, she smiled at him. She was feeling a little shaken right now. Why didn’t she feel that way with Artie? Why didn’t she feel like he worried about her? And better yet, why did she feel like Mike cared more than he did? That couldn’t be normal, right? Like a saving grace, Mr. Schue appeared, but just as quickly as he came, he went, and Tina realized that Mike had asked him for a minute. What was she supposed to say? This was way too confusing. “That really means a lot to me, and I…” It started off as filler, but even she wasn’t sure where she was going with it. “I mean,” What did she mean? She wished she knew. Was it normal, to be with one guy and feel this way about another? That sounded like the kind of thing soap operas were made of. “I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. I believe you.” What a cop out, even she knew that, but nothing else was forming in her mind, let along on the tip of her tongue. Suddenly, the idea of being a carefree little girl again sounded like a nice idea.
“Never.” Her eyes quickly fluttered down, in the direction of their hands. Did he have to do that? Did he have to take her hand? Did he have any idea what that did to her? Probably not. “If I ever did anything that hurt you, I’d never forgive myself.” Looking up at him, she furrowed her brows. What was he saying? Was he saying what she hoped he was saying...what she thought he was saying? Hoped? Did she really hope that? No, no she didn’t that was wrong, this was all wrong, but if it was wrong, then why did it feel so right? “I just…” He sighed. “It’s like you said, I wanna look out for you is all.”
“Right, yeah” She nodded. “I know you do,” She forced a smile. It wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear, but even if he felt that way, why would he actually say it? She was with someone else, and he wasn’t that kind of guy. Before she knew what she was doing, both her hands were on his shoulders, and she was pushing him down to her level, and before she knew it, she was kissing his cheek. “and I love you for that.” Had she really just said that? And furthermore, how exactly did she mean it? Was that a Freudian slip? She’d never told him she loved him before, even as a friend.
“I, uh.” Was Mike blushing? “I mean we better” She couldn’t tell, he turned away to quickly. “get inside, they’re waiting. Just um,” She bit her lip, and watched him pull the door open. That looked like how they were going to leave it. Maybe she made him feel uncomfortable. That wasn’t what she meant to do, but teenage hormones were a funny thing, and that had to be what this was. “follow my lead, we’ll be fine.” Nodding was the only reply she could think to give him.
***
Sitting, and waiting for their moment, Tina couldn’t help but watch Artie with a mix of emotions going through head. As upset as she was, she couldn’t deny seeing that he was upset too. She knew it pained him that he couldn’t dance with her the way she wanted, and her heart hurt for him, but at the same time, she didn’t care how they’d have to dance, just as long as it was together, and it hurt her that he couldn’t put his pride aside to give her that. And then there was Mike. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could feel him watching her. Why did he have to be so amazing? Why did he have to make her smile and laugh so much? She could feel the guilt tugging at her heart, it wasn’t that she didn’t care about Artie, but sometimes she wanted more than he seemed willing to give. It was wrong, this wasn’t how things were supposed to happen, but if she didn’t admit that she had feelings for Mike, she’d only be lying to herself.
When the moment of truth arrived, Tina’s stomach did a flip flop as she turned to face him, a smile instantly crossing her face. She watched him stand and offer her his hand. “May I have this dance?” God, his charm was starting to kill her a little more every time. Nodding, she grabbed his hand and pulled herself up. She was nervous, she didn’t know how well she’d handle doing this on the fly, but she knew he wouldn’t let her fall flat on her face, metaphorically or literally.
Gliding across the stage, tap by tap and spin by spin, Tina couldn’t bear to look at Artie. She knew him well enough to know it would crush her, and now wasn’t the time to lose concentration. Instead, she allowed herself to let go, her smile widening with every step they took, and even let a laugh slip out at one particularly playful moment when she thought she was going to lose her footing for a second. The matched, happy and playful expression on Mike’s face didn’t hurt either. For the first time, in a long time, she felt free, she felt safe, she felt one hundred percent happy, and as their dance wound to a close, she saw something in Mike’s eyes that she had never seen before, as he pulled her close after she spun herself into him. There was a power, an intensity, a look that made her stomach summersault.
“I love you” Without time enough to even think about it, she heard the words spill from his lips, and her eyes widened with surprise an instant before he tipped her backwards slowly. Realistically, it was nothing more than a moment, a quick flash in the long timeline of life, but to her, it felt like an eternity. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard, and what’s more, she didn’t know how she felt about it. Her grip on his hands tightened as he pulled her back up slowly, and her eyes never once left his. The music was gone now, and she could feel everyone’s eyes on them, staring, burning holes through them, while they just stood there, holding each other, but she didn’t care, she didn’t have the ability to think about what they must be thinking, because the only thing on her mind was the fact that she wanted to kiss him. It was at that moment, that she saw him shyly lick his lips, and she knew, without a doubt, that he had the same thought.
“I…I have to go.” She pulled away from him, just as she had done that day back when they were working on their ballads together. It could have happened, it wouldn’t have been hard, she could have kissed him, and she didn’t think for even a second that he wouldn’t kiss back. Everything inside of her heart was telling her to do it, but she couldn’t, no matter how bad she wanted to, she was still with Artie and he was sitting right there. No matter how upset she might be with him, she could never do that to him.
The sound of her tap shoes echoed through the auditorium as she retreated backstage, and she couldn’t help wondering what everyone else was thinking right now. She had to look like some kind of diva the way she sped off, but she couldn’t stay, if she did, she would have wound up doing something she regretted, but didn’t regret at the same time. It was far too big a thing to jump into so blindly, but the idea of it all still sounded so nice. She found an old chair to sit in and rested her elbows on her knees, then dropped her head into her hands. This was such all such a mess, and she had no idea what to do or how to deal with it. “You like him, don’t you?” Her head shot up at the familiar sound of Artie’s voice.
“I…I didn’t hear you coming.” Ok so that wasn’t exactly an answer to his question, but what was she supposed to say? ‘Yeah, I’m crazy about him actually and he makes me happier than I’ve ever felt in my whole life’? Her face fell at the thought, because she had just realized where her heart truly and honestly was, and consequently, what she had to do. “Artie, I…I didn’t mean for this to happen.” Tears started burning behind her eyes, and it took everything she had to keep them in. “I mean, nothing’s happened, I don’t mean it like that, I wouldn’t do that to you, but-“
“I know you wouldn’t.” He interrupted her, and reached out to take her hand. “I always knew you were too good to be true, and too good for me.”
“Don’t say that.” She shook her head quickly and squeezed his hand tight. “I’m always going to love you. You’re always going to be someone, and something special that happened in my life. No matter where I end up, please don’t think otherwise.” She felt the cool sensation of a tear slide down her hot cheeks and sniffled, reaching up with her free hand to wipe it away.
“I just want you to be happy, and you’ve never smiled at me the way you smiled at him.” The look on his face was killing her. She hadn’t meant for any of this to happen.
“I’m so sorry, Artie. I never wanted to hurt you.” Once the first tear had splashed free, it was impossible to keep the others in.
“I know.” The pain in his eyes was impossible to ignore, but she couldn’t find it in herself to say that she still wanted to be with him, because she didn’t, and she knew it. “I never meant to hurt you either.”
“Uh, hey guys.” Looking up, Tina saw Mike had found them and she swatted quickly at her face, embarrassed at the state she was in.
Before she had the chance to say anything, Artie chimed in. “Treat her good ok? She’s special.” He squeezed her hand before letting it go, and she stared at him in surprise, following him as he passed Mike and made his way back out where everyone else was.
“What…” He watched Artie leave too, confusion written all over his face as he turned back to face her, frowning at the tears on her face. “Did I…what happened?”
“I think…I mean” She stood up so that she could face him and reached out for his hand, noticing the flicker or a smile on his lips when she did. “we just broke up, because...” Her stomach was doing that summersault thing again. “I think I’m maybe, I mean I do…I love you too.”
Without missing a beat, Mike grinned so widely that it could only be explained as an ear to ear smile, almost literally, and he let go of her hand in favor of cupping her cheeks in his hands. His thumbs brushed lightly at the wet tears on her cheeks. “I don’t like seeing you cry.”
“Well, you know, you can fix that if you want.” A smirk crept up on her lips.
“Yeah?” He matched her smirk with one of his own. “How?”
“Like this.” Raising herself up on tip toes, Tina wrapped her arms around his shoulders while he dipped down so that she could effortless meet his lips with her own.
There was a big part of her that still felt guilty, still felt horrible about what had just happened, but she had been waiting for this longer than she even realized, and at the moment, the nervous and excited energy outweighed the bad. She knew she’d have to deal with it at some point, but for right now, it could wait.
Author's Note: This was originally supposed to be angst angst angst, but Tina and Mike wouldn't let me not give them a happy ending. So you got this cheese fest instead. :')
Author: alonemirage2see
Pairing: Tina/Mike (mentions of Tina/Artie but not much)
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Dream On with references to Ballad
Word Count: 2,109
Disclaimer: Obviously the characters are not mine and I mean no harm. I just have an over active imagination sometimes and the idea of Tina and Mike together is too good to pass up.
Summery: A journey of Tina and Mike's inner thoughts during the last 5 minutes or so of Dream On.
A/N: I started this about 4 months ago, and finally managed to finish it. It sticks very closely to the events of the episodes, but is slightly A/U in the sense that I filled in some of the blanks in events and things we didn't see. Also, please don't judge me by the cheese factor of some of it. Sometimes I can't help myself. I LOVE CHEESE (this is why I'm not a vegan)
Part 1 - Mike
Part 2 - Tina
Part 3 - Mike
“I heard your voice and you sounded upset, so I listened, because I was worried…still am.” Mike had always seemed a little protective over her, ever since they started being friends, she was never too sure why. Tina liked it though, but who wouldn’t? Having someone who always thought about you that way, who was concerned, whether or not they needed to be, taking the better safe than sorry approach, it was nice, it was…how she should have felt with Artie, but it wasn’t.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever looked out for me the way you do.” Shyly, she smiled at him. She was feeling a little shaken right now. Why didn’t she feel that way with Artie? Why didn’t she feel like he worried about her? And better yet, why did she feel like Mike cared more than he did? That couldn’t be normal, right? Like a saving grace, Mr. Schue appeared, but just as quickly as he came, he went, and Tina realized that Mike had asked him for a minute. What was she supposed to say? This was way too confusing. “That really means a lot to me, and I…” It started off as filler, but even she wasn’t sure where she was going with it. “I mean,” What did she mean? She wished she knew. Was it normal, to be with one guy and feel this way about another? That sounded like the kind of thing soap operas were made of. “I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. I believe you.” What a cop out, even she knew that, but nothing else was forming in her mind, let along on the tip of her tongue. Suddenly, the idea of being a carefree little girl again sounded like a nice idea.
“Never.” Her eyes quickly fluttered down, in the direction of their hands. Did he have to do that? Did he have to take her hand? Did he have any idea what that did to her? Probably not. “If I ever did anything that hurt you, I’d never forgive myself.” Looking up at him, she furrowed her brows. What was he saying? Was he saying what she hoped he was saying...what she thought he was saying? Hoped? Did she really hope that? No, no she didn’t that was wrong, this was all wrong, but if it was wrong, then why did it feel so right? “I just…” He sighed. “It’s like you said, I wanna look out for you is all.”
“Right, yeah” She nodded. “I know you do,” She forced a smile. It wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear, but even if he felt that way, why would he actually say it? She was with someone else, and he wasn’t that kind of guy. Before she knew what she was doing, both her hands were on his shoulders, and she was pushing him down to her level, and before she knew it, she was kissing his cheek. “and I love you for that.” Had she really just said that? And furthermore, how exactly did she mean it? Was that a Freudian slip? She’d never told him she loved him before, even as a friend.
“I, uh.” Was Mike blushing? “I mean we better” She couldn’t tell, he turned away to quickly. “get inside, they’re waiting. Just um,” She bit her lip, and watched him pull the door open. That looked like how they were going to leave it. Maybe she made him feel uncomfortable. That wasn’t what she meant to do, but teenage hormones were a funny thing, and that had to be what this was. “follow my lead, we’ll be fine.” Nodding was the only reply she could think to give him.
***
Sitting, and waiting for their moment, Tina couldn’t help but watch Artie with a mix of emotions going through head. As upset as she was, she couldn’t deny seeing that he was upset too. She knew it pained him that he couldn’t dance with her the way she wanted, and her heart hurt for him, but at the same time, she didn’t care how they’d have to dance, just as long as it was together, and it hurt her that he couldn’t put his pride aside to give her that. And then there was Mike. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could feel him watching her. Why did he have to be so amazing? Why did he have to make her smile and laugh so much? She could feel the guilt tugging at her heart, it wasn’t that she didn’t care about Artie, but sometimes she wanted more than he seemed willing to give. It was wrong, this wasn’t how things were supposed to happen, but if she didn’t admit that she had feelings for Mike, she’d only be lying to herself.
When the moment of truth arrived, Tina’s stomach did a flip flop as she turned to face him, a smile instantly crossing her face. She watched him stand and offer her his hand. “May I have this dance?” God, his charm was starting to kill her a little more every time. Nodding, she grabbed his hand and pulled herself up. She was nervous, she didn’t know how well she’d handle doing this on the fly, but she knew he wouldn’t let her fall flat on her face, metaphorically or literally.
Gliding across the stage, tap by tap and spin by spin, Tina couldn’t bear to look at Artie. She knew him well enough to know it would crush her, and now wasn’t the time to lose concentration. Instead, she allowed herself to let go, her smile widening with every step they took, and even let a laugh slip out at one particularly playful moment when she thought she was going to lose her footing for a second. The matched, happy and playful expression on Mike’s face didn’t hurt either. For the first time, in a long time, she felt free, she felt safe, she felt one hundred percent happy, and as their dance wound to a close, she saw something in Mike’s eyes that she had never seen before, as he pulled her close after she spun herself into him. There was a power, an intensity, a look that made her stomach summersault.
“I love you” Without time enough to even think about it, she heard the words spill from his lips, and her eyes widened with surprise an instant before he tipped her backwards slowly. Realistically, it was nothing more than a moment, a quick flash in the long timeline of life, but to her, it felt like an eternity. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard, and what’s more, she didn’t know how she felt about it. Her grip on his hands tightened as he pulled her back up slowly, and her eyes never once left his. The music was gone now, and she could feel everyone’s eyes on them, staring, burning holes through them, while they just stood there, holding each other, but she didn’t care, she didn’t have the ability to think about what they must be thinking, because the only thing on her mind was the fact that she wanted to kiss him. It was at that moment, that she saw him shyly lick his lips, and she knew, without a doubt, that he had the same thought.
“I…I have to go.” She pulled away from him, just as she had done that day back when they were working on their ballads together. It could have happened, it wouldn’t have been hard, she could have kissed him, and she didn’t think for even a second that he wouldn’t kiss back. Everything inside of her heart was telling her to do it, but she couldn’t, no matter how bad she wanted to, she was still with Artie and he was sitting right there. No matter how upset she might be with him, she could never do that to him.
The sound of her tap shoes echoed through the auditorium as she retreated backstage, and she couldn’t help wondering what everyone else was thinking right now. She had to look like some kind of diva the way she sped off, but she couldn’t stay, if she did, she would have wound up doing something she regretted, but didn’t regret at the same time. It was far too big a thing to jump into so blindly, but the idea of it all still sounded so nice. She found an old chair to sit in and rested her elbows on her knees, then dropped her head into her hands. This was such all such a mess, and she had no idea what to do or how to deal with it. “You like him, don’t you?” Her head shot up at the familiar sound of Artie’s voice.
“I…I didn’t hear you coming.” Ok so that wasn’t exactly an answer to his question, but what was she supposed to say? ‘Yeah, I’m crazy about him actually and he makes me happier than I’ve ever felt in my whole life’? Her face fell at the thought, because she had just realized where her heart truly and honestly was, and consequently, what she had to do. “Artie, I…I didn’t mean for this to happen.” Tears started burning behind her eyes, and it took everything she had to keep them in. “I mean, nothing’s happened, I don’t mean it like that, I wouldn’t do that to you, but-“
“I know you wouldn’t.” He interrupted her, and reached out to take her hand. “I always knew you were too good to be true, and too good for me.”
“Don’t say that.” She shook her head quickly and squeezed his hand tight. “I’m always going to love you. You’re always going to be someone, and something special that happened in my life. No matter where I end up, please don’t think otherwise.” She felt the cool sensation of a tear slide down her hot cheeks and sniffled, reaching up with her free hand to wipe it away.
“I just want you to be happy, and you’ve never smiled at me the way you smiled at him.” The look on his face was killing her. She hadn’t meant for any of this to happen.
“I’m so sorry, Artie. I never wanted to hurt you.” Once the first tear had splashed free, it was impossible to keep the others in.
“I know.” The pain in his eyes was impossible to ignore, but she couldn’t find it in herself to say that she still wanted to be with him, because she didn’t, and she knew it. “I never meant to hurt you either.”
“Uh, hey guys.” Looking up, Tina saw Mike had found them and she swatted quickly at her face, embarrassed at the state she was in.
Before she had the chance to say anything, Artie chimed in. “Treat her good ok? She’s special.” He squeezed her hand before letting it go, and she stared at him in surprise, following him as he passed Mike and made his way back out where everyone else was.
“What…” He watched Artie leave too, confusion written all over his face as he turned back to face her, frowning at the tears on her face. “Did I…what happened?”
“I think…I mean” She stood up so that she could face him and reached out for his hand, noticing the flicker or a smile on his lips when she did. “we just broke up, because...” Her stomach was doing that summersault thing again. “I think I’m maybe, I mean I do…I love you too.”
Without missing a beat, Mike grinned so widely that it could only be explained as an ear to ear smile, almost literally, and he let go of her hand in favor of cupping her cheeks in his hands. His thumbs brushed lightly at the wet tears on her cheeks. “I don’t like seeing you cry.”
“Well, you know, you can fix that if you want.” A smirk crept up on her lips.
“Yeah?” He matched her smirk with one of his own. “How?”
“Like this.” Raising herself up on tip toes, Tina wrapped her arms around his shoulders while he dipped down so that she could effortless meet his lips with her own.
There was a big part of her that still felt guilty, still felt horrible about what had just happened, but she had been waiting for this longer than she even realized, and at the moment, the nervous and excited energy outweighed the bad. She knew she’d have to deal with it at some point, but for right now, it could wait.
Author's Note: This was originally supposed to be angst angst angst, but Tina and Mike wouldn't let me not give them a happy ending. So you got this cheese fest instead. :')