Fic: From A Seed, Part 2
Title: From A Seed, Part 2.
Author: katy_moon_beam
Pairings: Mike/Tina, Brittany/Santana, and other canon pairings.
Spoilers: S2 up through Sexy.
Summary: He got the girl. Shouldn't that mean things are easy now?
A/N: Big thanks to all those who reviewed the first part of this, whether on here or on ff.net. I'm really flattered, and it's just spurred me to keep writing. Hopefully there'll be another after I've seen the end of the season, but that won't be for another couple of weeks. Originally this was meant to run as far as Original Song, but I got to a natural closing point, so who knows - maybe those few eps will be covered sooner! I hope you all enjoy.
XxX
They've been back at school for three days, and - other that interruptions for Glee rehearsal or clandestine sneak-attack kisses in empty classrooms - already the monotony of the school year is sinking in. Asian camp - with its variety of activities, hoards of screaming text-savvy children and mouthwateringly short shorts - seems an eon ago. The doldrum, however, is broken when he rounds the corner to find Brittany leaning up against his locker. She's wearing her Cheerios uniform, which is totally normal, but what *isn't* normal is the way she's biting her lip and looking - in a way that makes his stomach churn - truly worried.
" You okay?" The words tumble out of him, quiet and curious and he rests a hand on her shoulder, because they've been friends since they were 5 and he's seen her through all kinds of situations - from her cat getting hit by a car, to falling off her bike, to Barbie and Ken splitting up, failing 9th grade Math and to almost losing Glee club last year.
She tilts her head and fixes him with a look that he can't quite understand and he's surprised, because he didn't realise that Brittany could *do* looks that he didn't understand. " I really need to talk to you. It's super important."
" What is it?"
She bites her lip and looks around with narrowed eyes as though making sure no one is listening, before leaning really close so he can smell the familiar mix of vanilla body scrub and cherry Lip Smackers that has always defined Brittany. " You know I love you and we've been friends for like our whole lives, and I know it's hard because you're like the only Asian guy in the school, but you can't go out with your sister. It's totally gross."
He's stunned for a minute, because not only has she known *him* since Kindergarten, but she's known Tina that long too. He frowns and grasps her shoulders to make sure she's listening, and the material of her uniform is rough under his palms. " Tina's not my sister Brit."
A familiar expression crosses her face - confusion - and she whispers, " But you're both Asian."
" Yeah..."
" And you have the same last name."
" Yeah, but Chang is a really common Asian name. Like Smith or Jones."
" Wait, does that mean you're related to Mercedes too?"
She's biting her lip again and he knows he's better to head her off at the pass than let her rush on full steam ahead, because otherwise he'll have an angry Santana coming to find him later to yell at him for muddling her up, and he'll have to explain *exactly* what it was they talked about so Santana can go and translate it into simple. " Brittany - I'm not related to Mercedes. I'm not related to Tina. I'm dating Tina and it's totally allowed and non-incestuous."
The frown is back. " What does this have to do with insects?"
He sighs, because sometimes having long conversations with Brittany is kind of exhausting. Opening up his locker, he puts his backpack inside. " It means she's definitely not my sister and it's really okay."
He's almost surprised when he's tangled in a flurry of vanilla-scented limbs and cherry lips press against his cheek. " Awesome." The smile is back on Brittany's face and he finds himself letting out a breath, relieved. " So does that mean you're going to be getting some sweet Asian-loving?" The question is a mostly curious but a little teasing and she asks it with a big smile on her face and laughs when he lightly pushes her on the shoulder and tells her to shut up.
Grabbing his notebook and shutting his locker with a slam, he lets her loop her arm through his as they walk down the halls towards their Social Studies class. " So how was your summer?"
XxX
After they find out about Rachel sending Sunshine Corazon to the crack house, Mike and Tina go to find Mr Schue.
" Mr Schue can we talk to you? It's kind of important."
He allows them to pull him aside, eyeing them up and down with a look that can only be described as nervous.
" Please tell me you're not pregnant as well."
XxX
Mike's terrified to sing in front of everyone on his own, because he knows singing isn't exactly his forte. But the last thing he wants to do is let Tina down, especially when her method of buoying his confidence is to go down on him the minute they enter her room to 'study'. She yanks his jeans down without even unbuttoning them, and they pull his Calvins at the same time, and if she didn't look so absolutely incredibly hot knelt down on the floor in her knee-high boots with her red plaid skirt fanned around her, he might have been slightly frightened of the hungry glint in her eyes.
For second he feels like an idiot with his jeans around his ankles and his Cons still on, but then Tina does that thing with her tongue that makes his mind blank out and the last thing he hears is a groan that he's not sure came from his lips or Tina's.
Fifteen minutes later he's flat on his back on her bed and his breath is still coming in desperate, heavy pants, and her lips are set in such a smug expression that he can't help but lean over and kiss her. His hand skims down her naked back, tickling her side, and she giggles into his mouth. " Miiiike!"
He stops the tickling, but rests his hand on her waist, slowly stroking his thumb over her bare still-cooling skin. " I'm going to suck, you know that right?"
At the words she kisses him hard on the lips, one hand on the back of his neck, and when she pulls away she rests her forehead against his. " The only sucking that's going to go on is between me and you, right here, okay?" She's joking, and it makes his lips quirk into a smile. " You don't have to be the best singer. We don't have to win. I just - I want us to do this, together, okay? Just to try."
Later, when they're in the choir room, Tina holds his hand, and when the music starts he just lets his body take over. They're done and everyone is applauding before he even knows it, and Tina's arms around him more than makes up for the lingering feeling that he might throw up.
And when he makes it up to her that they didn't win by planning a picnic in his living room - no parents, no dim sum, just the two of them, a pizza and the lights on low - her smile makes all the fear worth it.
XxX
The Hudson/Hummel wedding is awesome for all kinds of reasons, for one because of how happy the bride and groom look as they sway together on the dance floor, secondly, because Finn and Kurt are really brothers now and Finn's started acting like it, and thirdly, because of the dress that Tina gets to wear. He loves her in red (one of his best memories is her in a red matching bra-and-panties set when they celebrated his birthday), he loves all the bare skin at her back, and most of all he loves it that she doesn't stop him resting his hand on her mostly-bare thigh as they sit around and chat with their friends during the reception.
Brittany comes over - clutching a diet coke and breathing hard from dancing with Santana - and drops down in the vacant chair next to him. Tina is in the middle of a conversation with Mercedes, so he turns his body slightly, without moving his hand from Tina's leg. Brittany looks out at the dance floor where Finn and Kurt are still bopping, both of them looking relaxed and happy for at least that moment. She pushes her hair back from her face with her free hand, almost dislodging the orange flower from where it's tucked next to her ear.
" You know, when Finn sings he looks like a hungry lion," she observes, and Mike can't help but laugh.
" Yeah, well when he dances he looks like a lion that's been stuck with a tranquilizer, so I think we should take what we can get."
The two of them chat about the wedding and their friends, and compare notes on their earlier wedding-entrance performance. " You know you should totally moonwalk into your wedding!" Brittany suggests with a look of pure glee on her face. " That would be awesome."
The idea strikes him as inspired, so he can't help but lean his body towards Tina, squeezing her knee to draw her attention away from Mercedes. " Hey, Tina, can I moonwalk into our wedding?" he asks, with what he thinks is a hopeful and winning smile.
It's with a slight eye roll and a look of pure indulgence that she reaches up and rubs his neck, still sore from the week's earlier beat-down. " Sure you can baby."
It's only later, when he's dancing with Brittany and watching Tina and Santana gossip in the corner that he realises that - probably without noticing - she's somehow just agreed to marry him.
XxX
If he had been nervous about singing in front of the Glee club during their 'duets' assignment, it's nothing compared to the abject terror he feels at being given a solo during Sectionals. It's not the same as being asked to sing - because he *knows* he can dance, that's something he's sure of - but having to do it in front of all those people? With their ride to Regionals resting on him? Yeah, it's a *big* responsibility.
And it's not just the pressure that's getting to him - all the New Directions are still reeling from Kurt's move to Dalton. Mike knows it's the best thing for him, because Karofsky's a jerk - he's got bruises to prove it - and unless they patrol around Kurt between every class the school just isn't going to be safe, but it still makes everything just feel kind of *off*. Mike knows Tina's been keeping in touch with Kurt - texting and Skyping and IMing - and he's made sure she sends hello from him, but it's not exactly the same as having him in the choir room every day.
So Sectionals are in a week and he's been practicing basically 24/7. His arms ache and his feet are sore and he sprawls out on the floor of the stage to catch his breath. Picking up his water bottle he dumps half of it on his head before chugging the rest. Licking his lips is like licking dusty parchment, so he tugs on Brittany's sleeve where she is stretching next to him, her legging-clad calves sweaty and taut. " Can I borrow your chapstick?" He knows it means he'll taste kind of fruity, but at this point he doesn't care.
Brittany digs around in her bag, tossing him the chapstick and continuing to rummage around. " Oh no." When he looks at her, his face is stricken.
" What?"
Her head is practically inside her backpack, but he can hear her words. " I lost it." Snapping upright, she jumps to her feet, shouldering her bag with such speed that it makes him dizzy. " I'm going to find it, so don't tell Artie, okay?"
She's off the side of the stage before he can even tell her that he has no idea what it is he's not supposed to tell.
XxX
Later that day Tina pulls back when they're kissing and gives him a look that can only be described as disappointed, and he wonders if the exhaustion from having rehearsed so much has had a negative impact on his technique.
Then a day passes and she's rocking some kind of gothic-cheerleader look, and while he appreciates the amount of leg on show he can't help but notice it's quite a shift from her usual wardrobe. Being the kind of guy he is he chooses not to mention it, because as long as Tina is happy he doesn't really care what she wears, but then she calls him jerk which doesn't exactly do much for his confidence, especially as he has *no* idea what he's supposed to have done to piss her off.
Then they're actually *at* Sectionals when all hell breaks loose and she threatens not to perform in the competition and all he wants to do is grab her by the shoulders and shake and ask what the hell is going on because this is supposed to be their moment. And they're supposed to be a team. But there are tears welling in her eyes so instead of shaking her he just grabs her by the hand and pulls her into the nearest empty room, which happens to be the ladies' bathroom. Undeterred by the lavender paint and freaky O'Keefe paintings, he stares down at her and can feel his heart skip a beat when one of the tears that had been pooling only moments ago slips down her ivory cheek.
" If you're going to b-break up with me," she sniffles, " please do it quickly."
He's sure he must look like an idiot because he feels his jaw drop. " What are you talking about?" he spits out, his brain set to permanent confusion. " Why would I break up with you?"
Tina reaches up and swipes at her cheek, but lifts her chin in defiance. " I know about you and Brittany."
The words don't compute. " What about me and Brittany?"
Her arms cross over her chest: hurt, defensive. " Don't play dumb with me Mike Chang. You've spent all that time together rehearsing, and you come back tasting like Cherry LipSmackers?"
" I don't - "
" Don't lie to me!" She pushes him hard in the shoulder, sending him crashing against one of the sinks, and the porcelain bites the flesh of his hip. He yelps, pretty sure that it's going to leave a bruise. " She admitted it to Artie! She said she cheated on him with you." The tears are freely flowing now, and if she looks hurt and angry, that's nothing compared to how he feels.
He's stunned to silence, and she seems to take that as an admission of guilt, because she goes to storm past him, but he grabs her by the elbow. " I never cheated on you. I don't know what Brittany's talking about...I never...I would never do that. Tina - " he moves his hands to cup her face, and though she doesn't look him in the eye, she doesn't try and pull away either. " I'm not like the other guys - I'm not Puck or Finn or someone who's going to screw around just because the opportunity presents itself."
She's sniffling, and it's not exactly dignified. Mascara streaks down her cheeks and he knows if Kurt or Mercedes could see her now, they'd declare her a federal disaster. But her face reads belief, and then shame, and though that should probably be the end of it, he's not quite done feeling hurt that she would think that of him. He pulls his hands from her face. " I'm really disappointed that you'd think that of me Tina. That you'd listen to other people without talking to me about it first."
Now it's his turn to try storming out, but her fingers grasp at his wrist, tugging him back. " I'm sorry," she starts, and her fingers are holding so tight, like she's afraid to let go. " You're right, you're so right, you've never given me reason not to trust you." Using her free hand she pushes the hair back from her face, the blue streaks tucked behind her ear. " I just... I'll never be popular Mike. I'll never be one of the pretty girls like Brittany or Santana or Quinn. And - god, you and Brittany just look so...good together...so picture perfect that sometimes I think you'd be better off with someone like her. I'm sorry." Moving her hand, she laces their fingers together and squeezes, and while Mike is still mad, he can't help but squeeze back, just a little.
Then, squaring off, he uses his other hand to tilt her chin up so she is looking him in the eye. " I'm only going to say this once Tina, okay? I don't want to be with Brittany. Or Quinn or Santana or any of those other girls. I want to be with you. But I'm not going to stop being friends with them either. So you have to trust me. You have to trust that I love you, and that if I ever stop loving you or I ever decide I want to be with someone else, I'll tell you. I'm not going to go behind your back. I'm not going to lie. I can't promise that we're going to be together forever, but I can promise you that."
He's not quite sure why, but Tina's face has - in an instant - gone from thunder cloud to bright, golden sunshine. A smile has burst onto her face and it makes her glow.
" You love me?"
The make out session that follows is hot and fast and full of murmured apologies and forgiveness and further confessions of love, and one hand is snaked under the flimsy white material of her skirt when they are interrupted by a hammering on the door.
" Yo! Asian Fusion! Stop getting your freak on and get moving, we're up!"
They straighten their clothes and walk back into the green room and she apologies again and he says he loves her again and they kiss again and then the others are dragging them onto the stage, and they listen as Quinn and Sam sing their way through the audience and Tina catches his eye and blows him a kiss, and everything else just stops mattering.
Of course, while they're waiting for Santana to start singing, he can't help but notice the way Brittany feels up her ass, and he privately wonders if Tina and Artie really have any clue about what's really going on at all.
XxX
Football has never been much to him except a way to pass the time, something to look good on his college applications and - hopefully - a method of not getting slushied quite so often.
He's never been so aware of the slick grass beneath his feet, the roaring of the crowds or the sheer size of the players until he sees Tina running, full-pelt down the field, ball clutched in her hands. He can barely register Coach Bieste screaming, or Puckerman jumping up and down next to him, or the other girls peeking up from their places spread-eagled on the ground (which is where she should be). No, his eyes are trained on her and her alone, and so he feels it like a blow to his own body when she gets grabbed, hard, and tackled to the floor. He doesn't wait to see if she's gotten up - he can hear the gasp of the crowd that can only mean bad things - and suddenly his legs are moving and he's pulled the helmet from his face and tossed it behind him. He slides across the grass on his knees until he's next to her, and she's still not moving, and he thinks maybe his heart has stopped.
His hand is on her back and then the medics are there and they're turning her over *so* carefully and - god what if she's broken her neck, her father will kill him if he doesn't kill himself first - and they're shining the lights in her eyes and he knows he asks questions but he can't really remember what, but then her eyes are open and she's asking if they won and he'd kill her if he wasn't so unbelievably ecstatic and relieved and his heart stumbles back to the beat as he helps her to her feet. She's got a medic on one side waiting to check her out, but he helps her pull her helmet off. Her hair sticks to her forehead and she's got dirt streaked down her cheek, but she's so beautiful to him right then that he can't help but pull her into a hug.
" You scared the shit out of me," he whispers against her neck, and he doesn't care if anyone can hear him, he tells her, " I love you."
He helps her hobble to the bench and she leans hard against him, and it's only when Coach Beiste comes to check if she's okay that he realises that she kept him on the bench the rest of the half.
Then it's halftime and he tells her to sit out the dance but she pins him with one of those looks, so instead of fighting he just helps her into her dress (hoping that no one notices the two of them are conspicuously absent from their respective locker rooms) and makes notes of all of the bruises in the hope that he can kiss them all away when this night is finally over. But bruises don't stop Tina Cohen-Chang and she's out on the field and rocking and he can pick her voice out over everyone else and so for a moment he just lets himself sink *into* it, and forget everything else. Then his body's moving and his mouth is moving and he's having so much fun that most of the worry is exorcised from his body.
Later, they snuggle in bed and he puts his arms around her, gently and carefully, and as the beginning titles to 'Remember the Titans' begins to roll he murmurs into her neck:
" This is as close as you're getting to football ever again."
XxX
Mike doesn't sing to her for Valentine's day, but he dances, and from the smile on her face he's pretty sure that she's happy with that as a gift. Well, that, plus the earrings he got her and secretly broke into her locker to stash as a surprise.
She sings to him. It's not what he's expecting, and he's as confused as everyone else when she breaks down. " I love you Mike Chang!" As he helps her back to her seat, he doesn't miss the way her sobs magically stop, or the wink she sends him.
Later, when he questions her in the privacy of her bedroom, she shrugs her shoulders. " Sometimes I just want to sing to you, not the whole club."
She sings the lyrics across his body, kissing the song into his skin.
" Yeah, I think I like this kind of performance better," he laughs, and she bites down on his ear. " Kinky."
Her arched eyebrow says more than her words. " You love it."
Then her lips crash down on his, and they stop arguing.
He doesn't mind giving up the rest of Valentine's Day to support Kurt and the Warblers. By the time they actually leave her house he's pretty worn out, and she wears her new earrings, and if they're a little more tactile than usual, well - everyone else just chalks it up to the holiday.
XxX
When she starts playing Angry Birds while they're making out, he's both confused and furious. They sit next to each other on the bleachers, and he takes her hand. " Are you tired of being with me?"
Her expression is aghast. " No. I just can't get past this level and it's making me crazy!"
They spend the rest of their lunch hour entangled on the bench, her iphone in his hands until - " And that, my darling is how you do it."
She cocks her head at him, one finger reaching out to trace his abs through his t-shirt. " If I kiss you now, do you promise to stop dressing like Justin Beiber?"
His lips on hers seal the deal.
XxX
Rachel's party should have sucked. Well, truth be told, Rachel's party *did* suck, and then she let Puck break into the liquor cabinet (with a look that could only be described as satanic glee), and then it didn't suck quite so much anymore.
Lots of the party is kind of vague - he remembers flipping quarters into a glass and downing Jack, and watching Tina take shots with Santana (some taken off of Brittany's stomach and he's pretty sure *that* mental image is going to stay with him for a while), and he thinks maybe that's when Brittany's clothes started coming off. He remembers him and Tina dancing, but doesn't remember the song.
He's kind of surprised that she isn't a weepy drunk, because usually even the slightest thing makes her well up. He thinks it might be a holdover from so many years of being shy and holding herself back - like, now she's opened the floodgates, it all spills out whether she means it to or not. So he's surprised that after imbibing - and a fair amount for someone her size - instead of beginning to sniffle and cling, she grabs Mercedes and the two of them start chatting and giggling and a smile just lights her face.
After a while Rachel gets the idea to play Spin the Bottle - a game he hasn't played since grade school - and Puck pulls him by the arm when he goes to sit next to Tina. " No cheating," he insists, even though Mike isn't exactly sure how circle proximity can be considered cheating in this game. But he gives in, letting Tina go and sit next to Mercedes and Puck slings his arm around his shoulder. His voice is a murmur and his breath laced with whiskey. Lauren's glasses still sit on the end of his nose. " So is she as freaky as she looks?" he asks, but it's in good humour, so Mike just laughs and pushes him, making him fall on his side like a weeble. Puck laughs - more of a giggle really - and pulls himself back up with a knowing glance. " Nice Changster, real nice."
The game gets started and everything goes crazy and Mike's never noticed how much more Latina Santana gets when she's drunk. Then Rachel starts kissing the guy that Mike thought was Kurt's boyfriend - and everyone's cheering and he doesn't really get it - but then someone's shouting about duets and the game scatters, and Rachel's got a microphone in her hand. So Mike grabs Tina and the two of them do the thing that they do best - well, the thing that they do second best - and dance. She's warm and smiling and so he can't help but lean down and kiss her, and she tastes like tequila and lime and just *Tina*, and then the song's over and his lips are still on hers and he can hear everyone applauding, and while he's almost sure it's for Rachel and Blaine, he can't help but feel a sense of achievement.
Later, when he's holding back Tina's hair as she vomits, the party isn't quite so fun.
But it he can't help but think was good while it lasted.
XxX
He comes around the corner to find Brittany leaning up against his locker, and he almost has a flashback to the beginning of the year, but instead of looking worried, this time Brittany looks *distraught*. Tears are swimming in her eyes and her lower lip trembles. As she sees him, she throws herself towards him, and he can't help but note how she clings to his chest with something like desperation. " What happened?"
She hiccups and her body trembles, but her words are smothered in his jacket. He thinks he hears Santana's name and Artie's, and something about Lebanon and their sub Miss Holliday, but it's all just a jumbled mess. Without needing any further explanation, he puts his arm around her shoulder. " Come on, let's get out of here."
They sit in his car and he hands her a kleenex and waits while she composes herself. Then it all comes tumbling out - about the years she and Santana have spent making out and more, about how confused she feels (it's the ballad/mallard problem all over again - but worse). About how she loves Artie but she loves Santana and how they talked to Miss Holliday who suggested they sing about their feelings. And how Santana had chosen a song for them and she's read the words but she doesn't know whether Santana really means it and even if she does, what that means for her.
She rambles for a good twenty minutes, and while Mike doesn't have much advice to give, he lets her speak and then they hug it out when she's done. She's vanilla and cherry and sadness and it makes Mike's stomach clench. " Whatever you decide," he says, tweaking her nose, " I'm behind you, okay?"
Later, after they've watched Brittany and Santana and Miss Holliday sing Fleetwood Mac, and he knows he's not the only one who noticed Santana's tears or the way the girls hugged so fiercely when they finished, and everyone's gathered up their stuff and left the choir room, he remains in his seat. Tina's almost at the door when she notices he isn't behind her, and she turns around to look at him.
" Mike?"
It's just his name, but it's a question and a worry and a thousand other things, and it's what prompts him to cross the room in three large steps and gather her up in his arms. The kiss is long and hard and must betray his unease, because when she pulls away from him her eyes are searching. " What was that for?"
" I just love you," he says. " And I wanted to make sure you know that."
He knows it doesn't really answer her question, but she threads their fingers together none-the-less. " Of course I do. I love you too."
With a gentle smile, they walk from the choir room hand-in-hand.
XxX
Author: katy_moon_beam
Pairings: Mike/Tina, Brittany/Santana, and other canon pairings.
Spoilers: S2 up through Sexy.
Summary: He got the girl. Shouldn't that mean things are easy now?
A/N: Big thanks to all those who reviewed the first part of this, whether on here or on ff.net. I'm really flattered, and it's just spurred me to keep writing. Hopefully there'll be another after I've seen the end of the season, but that won't be for another couple of weeks. Originally this was meant to run as far as Original Song, but I got to a natural closing point, so who knows - maybe those few eps will be covered sooner! I hope you all enjoy.
XxX
They've been back at school for three days, and - other that interruptions for Glee rehearsal or clandestine sneak-attack kisses in empty classrooms - already the monotony of the school year is sinking in. Asian camp - with its variety of activities, hoards of screaming text-savvy children and mouthwateringly short shorts - seems an eon ago. The doldrum, however, is broken when he rounds the corner to find Brittany leaning up against his locker. She's wearing her Cheerios uniform, which is totally normal, but what *isn't* normal is the way she's biting her lip and looking - in a way that makes his stomach churn - truly worried.
" You okay?" The words tumble out of him, quiet and curious and he rests a hand on her shoulder, because they've been friends since they were 5 and he's seen her through all kinds of situations - from her cat getting hit by a car, to falling off her bike, to Barbie and Ken splitting up, failing 9th grade Math and to almost losing Glee club last year.
She tilts her head and fixes him with a look that he can't quite understand and he's surprised, because he didn't realise that Brittany could *do* looks that he didn't understand. " I really need to talk to you. It's super important."
" What is it?"
She bites her lip and looks around with narrowed eyes as though making sure no one is listening, before leaning really close so he can smell the familiar mix of vanilla body scrub and cherry Lip Smackers that has always defined Brittany. " You know I love you and we've been friends for like our whole lives, and I know it's hard because you're like the only Asian guy in the school, but you can't go out with your sister. It's totally gross."
He's stunned for a minute, because not only has she known *him* since Kindergarten, but she's known Tina that long too. He frowns and grasps her shoulders to make sure she's listening, and the material of her uniform is rough under his palms. " Tina's not my sister Brit."
A familiar expression crosses her face - confusion - and she whispers, " But you're both Asian."
" Yeah..."
" And you have the same last name."
" Yeah, but Chang is a really common Asian name. Like Smith or Jones."
" Wait, does that mean you're related to Mercedes too?"
She's biting her lip again and he knows he's better to head her off at the pass than let her rush on full steam ahead, because otherwise he'll have an angry Santana coming to find him later to yell at him for muddling her up, and he'll have to explain *exactly* what it was they talked about so Santana can go and translate it into simple. " Brittany - I'm not related to Mercedes. I'm not related to Tina. I'm dating Tina and it's totally allowed and non-incestuous."
The frown is back. " What does this have to do with insects?"
He sighs, because sometimes having long conversations with Brittany is kind of exhausting. Opening up his locker, he puts his backpack inside. " It means she's definitely not my sister and it's really okay."
He's almost surprised when he's tangled in a flurry of vanilla-scented limbs and cherry lips press against his cheek. " Awesome." The smile is back on Brittany's face and he finds himself letting out a breath, relieved. " So does that mean you're going to be getting some sweet Asian-loving?" The question is a mostly curious but a little teasing and she asks it with a big smile on her face and laughs when he lightly pushes her on the shoulder and tells her to shut up.
Grabbing his notebook and shutting his locker with a slam, he lets her loop her arm through his as they walk down the halls towards their Social Studies class. " So how was your summer?"
XxX
After they find out about Rachel sending Sunshine Corazon to the crack house, Mike and Tina go to find Mr Schue.
" Mr Schue can we talk to you? It's kind of important."
He allows them to pull him aside, eyeing them up and down with a look that can only be described as nervous.
" Please tell me you're not pregnant as well."
XxX
Mike's terrified to sing in front of everyone on his own, because he knows singing isn't exactly his forte. But the last thing he wants to do is let Tina down, especially when her method of buoying his confidence is to go down on him the minute they enter her room to 'study'. She yanks his jeans down without even unbuttoning them, and they pull his Calvins at the same time, and if she didn't look so absolutely incredibly hot knelt down on the floor in her knee-high boots with her red plaid skirt fanned around her, he might have been slightly frightened of the hungry glint in her eyes.
For second he feels like an idiot with his jeans around his ankles and his Cons still on, but then Tina does that thing with her tongue that makes his mind blank out and the last thing he hears is a groan that he's not sure came from his lips or Tina's.
Fifteen minutes later he's flat on his back on her bed and his breath is still coming in desperate, heavy pants, and her lips are set in such a smug expression that he can't help but lean over and kiss her. His hand skims down her naked back, tickling her side, and she giggles into his mouth. " Miiiike!"
He stops the tickling, but rests his hand on her waist, slowly stroking his thumb over her bare still-cooling skin. " I'm going to suck, you know that right?"
At the words she kisses him hard on the lips, one hand on the back of his neck, and when she pulls away she rests her forehead against his. " The only sucking that's going to go on is between me and you, right here, okay?" She's joking, and it makes his lips quirk into a smile. " You don't have to be the best singer. We don't have to win. I just - I want us to do this, together, okay? Just to try."
Later, when they're in the choir room, Tina holds his hand, and when the music starts he just lets his body take over. They're done and everyone is applauding before he even knows it, and Tina's arms around him more than makes up for the lingering feeling that he might throw up.
And when he makes it up to her that they didn't win by planning a picnic in his living room - no parents, no dim sum, just the two of them, a pizza and the lights on low - her smile makes all the fear worth it.
XxX
The Hudson/Hummel wedding is awesome for all kinds of reasons, for one because of how happy the bride and groom look as they sway together on the dance floor, secondly, because Finn and Kurt are really brothers now and Finn's started acting like it, and thirdly, because of the dress that Tina gets to wear. He loves her in red (one of his best memories is her in a red matching bra-and-panties set when they celebrated his birthday), he loves all the bare skin at her back, and most of all he loves it that she doesn't stop him resting his hand on her mostly-bare thigh as they sit around and chat with their friends during the reception.
Brittany comes over - clutching a diet coke and breathing hard from dancing with Santana - and drops down in the vacant chair next to him. Tina is in the middle of a conversation with Mercedes, so he turns his body slightly, without moving his hand from Tina's leg. Brittany looks out at the dance floor where Finn and Kurt are still bopping, both of them looking relaxed and happy for at least that moment. She pushes her hair back from her face with her free hand, almost dislodging the orange flower from where it's tucked next to her ear.
" You know, when Finn sings he looks like a hungry lion," she observes, and Mike can't help but laugh.
" Yeah, well when he dances he looks like a lion that's been stuck with a tranquilizer, so I think we should take what we can get."
The two of them chat about the wedding and their friends, and compare notes on their earlier wedding-entrance performance. " You know you should totally moonwalk into your wedding!" Brittany suggests with a look of pure glee on her face. " That would be awesome."
The idea strikes him as inspired, so he can't help but lean his body towards Tina, squeezing her knee to draw her attention away from Mercedes. " Hey, Tina, can I moonwalk into our wedding?" he asks, with what he thinks is a hopeful and winning smile.
It's with a slight eye roll and a look of pure indulgence that she reaches up and rubs his neck, still sore from the week's earlier beat-down. " Sure you can baby."
It's only later, when he's dancing with Brittany and watching Tina and Santana gossip in the corner that he realises that - probably without noticing - she's somehow just agreed to marry him.
XxX
If he had been nervous about singing in front of the Glee club during their 'duets' assignment, it's nothing compared to the abject terror he feels at being given a solo during Sectionals. It's not the same as being asked to sing - because he *knows* he can dance, that's something he's sure of - but having to do it in front of all those people? With their ride to Regionals resting on him? Yeah, it's a *big* responsibility.
And it's not just the pressure that's getting to him - all the New Directions are still reeling from Kurt's move to Dalton. Mike knows it's the best thing for him, because Karofsky's a jerk - he's got bruises to prove it - and unless they patrol around Kurt between every class the school just isn't going to be safe, but it still makes everything just feel kind of *off*. Mike knows Tina's been keeping in touch with Kurt - texting and Skyping and IMing - and he's made sure she sends hello from him, but it's not exactly the same as having him in the choir room every day.
So Sectionals are in a week and he's been practicing basically 24/7. His arms ache and his feet are sore and he sprawls out on the floor of the stage to catch his breath. Picking up his water bottle he dumps half of it on his head before chugging the rest. Licking his lips is like licking dusty parchment, so he tugs on Brittany's sleeve where she is stretching next to him, her legging-clad calves sweaty and taut. " Can I borrow your chapstick?" He knows it means he'll taste kind of fruity, but at this point he doesn't care.
Brittany digs around in her bag, tossing him the chapstick and continuing to rummage around. " Oh no." When he looks at her, his face is stricken.
" What?"
Her head is practically inside her backpack, but he can hear her words. " I lost it." Snapping upright, she jumps to her feet, shouldering her bag with such speed that it makes him dizzy. " I'm going to find it, so don't tell Artie, okay?"
She's off the side of the stage before he can even tell her that he has no idea what it is he's not supposed to tell.
XxX
Later that day Tina pulls back when they're kissing and gives him a look that can only be described as disappointed, and he wonders if the exhaustion from having rehearsed so much has had a negative impact on his technique.
Then a day passes and she's rocking some kind of gothic-cheerleader look, and while he appreciates the amount of leg on show he can't help but notice it's quite a shift from her usual wardrobe. Being the kind of guy he is he chooses not to mention it, because as long as Tina is happy he doesn't really care what she wears, but then she calls him jerk which doesn't exactly do much for his confidence, especially as he has *no* idea what he's supposed to have done to piss her off.
Then they're actually *at* Sectionals when all hell breaks loose and she threatens not to perform in the competition and all he wants to do is grab her by the shoulders and shake and ask what the hell is going on because this is supposed to be their moment. And they're supposed to be a team. But there are tears welling in her eyes so instead of shaking her he just grabs her by the hand and pulls her into the nearest empty room, which happens to be the ladies' bathroom. Undeterred by the lavender paint and freaky O'Keefe paintings, he stares down at her and can feel his heart skip a beat when one of the tears that had been pooling only moments ago slips down her ivory cheek.
" If you're going to b-break up with me," she sniffles, " please do it quickly."
He's sure he must look like an idiot because he feels his jaw drop. " What are you talking about?" he spits out, his brain set to permanent confusion. " Why would I break up with you?"
Tina reaches up and swipes at her cheek, but lifts her chin in defiance. " I know about you and Brittany."
The words don't compute. " What about me and Brittany?"
Her arms cross over her chest: hurt, defensive. " Don't play dumb with me Mike Chang. You've spent all that time together rehearsing, and you come back tasting like Cherry LipSmackers?"
" I don't - "
" Don't lie to me!" She pushes him hard in the shoulder, sending him crashing against one of the sinks, and the porcelain bites the flesh of his hip. He yelps, pretty sure that it's going to leave a bruise. " She admitted it to Artie! She said she cheated on him with you." The tears are freely flowing now, and if she looks hurt and angry, that's nothing compared to how he feels.
He's stunned to silence, and she seems to take that as an admission of guilt, because she goes to storm past him, but he grabs her by the elbow. " I never cheated on you. I don't know what Brittany's talking about...I never...I would never do that. Tina - " he moves his hands to cup her face, and though she doesn't look him in the eye, she doesn't try and pull away either. " I'm not like the other guys - I'm not Puck or Finn or someone who's going to screw around just because the opportunity presents itself."
She's sniffling, and it's not exactly dignified. Mascara streaks down her cheeks and he knows if Kurt or Mercedes could see her now, they'd declare her a federal disaster. But her face reads belief, and then shame, and though that should probably be the end of it, he's not quite done feeling hurt that she would think that of him. He pulls his hands from her face. " I'm really disappointed that you'd think that of me Tina. That you'd listen to other people without talking to me about it first."
Now it's his turn to try storming out, but her fingers grasp at his wrist, tugging him back. " I'm sorry," she starts, and her fingers are holding so tight, like she's afraid to let go. " You're right, you're so right, you've never given me reason not to trust you." Using her free hand she pushes the hair back from her face, the blue streaks tucked behind her ear. " I just... I'll never be popular Mike. I'll never be one of the pretty girls like Brittany or Santana or Quinn. And - god, you and Brittany just look so...good together...so picture perfect that sometimes I think you'd be better off with someone like her. I'm sorry." Moving her hand, she laces their fingers together and squeezes, and while Mike is still mad, he can't help but squeeze back, just a little.
Then, squaring off, he uses his other hand to tilt her chin up so she is looking him in the eye. " I'm only going to say this once Tina, okay? I don't want to be with Brittany. Or Quinn or Santana or any of those other girls. I want to be with you. But I'm not going to stop being friends with them either. So you have to trust me. You have to trust that I love you, and that if I ever stop loving you or I ever decide I want to be with someone else, I'll tell you. I'm not going to go behind your back. I'm not going to lie. I can't promise that we're going to be together forever, but I can promise you that."
He's not quite sure why, but Tina's face has - in an instant - gone from thunder cloud to bright, golden sunshine. A smile has burst onto her face and it makes her glow.
" You love me?"
The make out session that follows is hot and fast and full of murmured apologies and forgiveness and further confessions of love, and one hand is snaked under the flimsy white material of her skirt when they are interrupted by a hammering on the door.
" Yo! Asian Fusion! Stop getting your freak on and get moving, we're up!"
They straighten their clothes and walk back into the green room and she apologies again and he says he loves her again and they kiss again and then the others are dragging them onto the stage, and they listen as Quinn and Sam sing their way through the audience and Tina catches his eye and blows him a kiss, and everything else just stops mattering.
Of course, while they're waiting for Santana to start singing, he can't help but notice the way Brittany feels up her ass, and he privately wonders if Tina and Artie really have any clue about what's really going on at all.
XxX
Football has never been much to him except a way to pass the time, something to look good on his college applications and - hopefully - a method of not getting slushied quite so often.
He's never been so aware of the slick grass beneath his feet, the roaring of the crowds or the sheer size of the players until he sees Tina running, full-pelt down the field, ball clutched in her hands. He can barely register Coach Bieste screaming, or Puckerman jumping up and down next to him, or the other girls peeking up from their places spread-eagled on the ground (which is where she should be). No, his eyes are trained on her and her alone, and so he feels it like a blow to his own body when she gets grabbed, hard, and tackled to the floor. He doesn't wait to see if she's gotten up - he can hear the gasp of the crowd that can only mean bad things - and suddenly his legs are moving and he's pulled the helmet from his face and tossed it behind him. He slides across the grass on his knees until he's next to her, and she's still not moving, and he thinks maybe his heart has stopped.
His hand is on her back and then the medics are there and they're turning her over *so* carefully and - god what if she's broken her neck, her father will kill him if he doesn't kill himself first - and they're shining the lights in her eyes and he knows he asks questions but he can't really remember what, but then her eyes are open and she's asking if they won and he'd kill her if he wasn't so unbelievably ecstatic and relieved and his heart stumbles back to the beat as he helps her to her feet. She's got a medic on one side waiting to check her out, but he helps her pull her helmet off. Her hair sticks to her forehead and she's got dirt streaked down her cheek, but she's so beautiful to him right then that he can't help but pull her into a hug.
" You scared the shit out of me," he whispers against her neck, and he doesn't care if anyone can hear him, he tells her, " I love you."
He helps her hobble to the bench and she leans hard against him, and it's only when Coach Beiste comes to check if she's okay that he realises that she kept him on the bench the rest of the half.
Then it's halftime and he tells her to sit out the dance but she pins him with one of those looks, so instead of fighting he just helps her into her dress (hoping that no one notices the two of them are conspicuously absent from their respective locker rooms) and makes notes of all of the bruises in the hope that he can kiss them all away when this night is finally over. But bruises don't stop Tina Cohen-Chang and she's out on the field and rocking and he can pick her voice out over everyone else and so for a moment he just lets himself sink *into* it, and forget everything else. Then his body's moving and his mouth is moving and he's having so much fun that most of the worry is exorcised from his body.
Later, they snuggle in bed and he puts his arms around her, gently and carefully, and as the beginning titles to 'Remember the Titans' begins to roll he murmurs into her neck:
" This is as close as you're getting to football ever again."
XxX
Mike doesn't sing to her for Valentine's day, but he dances, and from the smile on her face he's pretty sure that she's happy with that as a gift. Well, that, plus the earrings he got her and secretly broke into her locker to stash as a surprise.
She sings to him. It's not what he's expecting, and he's as confused as everyone else when she breaks down. " I love you Mike Chang!" As he helps her back to her seat, he doesn't miss the way her sobs magically stop, or the wink she sends him.
Later, when he questions her in the privacy of her bedroom, she shrugs her shoulders. " Sometimes I just want to sing to you, not the whole club."
She sings the lyrics across his body, kissing the song into his skin.
" Yeah, I think I like this kind of performance better," he laughs, and she bites down on his ear. " Kinky."
Her arched eyebrow says more than her words. " You love it."
Then her lips crash down on his, and they stop arguing.
He doesn't mind giving up the rest of Valentine's Day to support Kurt and the Warblers. By the time they actually leave her house he's pretty worn out, and she wears her new earrings, and if they're a little more tactile than usual, well - everyone else just chalks it up to the holiday.
XxX
When she starts playing Angry Birds while they're making out, he's both confused and furious. They sit next to each other on the bleachers, and he takes her hand. " Are you tired of being with me?"
Her expression is aghast. " No. I just can't get past this level and it's making me crazy!"
They spend the rest of their lunch hour entangled on the bench, her iphone in his hands until - " And that, my darling is how you do it."
She cocks her head at him, one finger reaching out to trace his abs through his t-shirt. " If I kiss you now, do you promise to stop dressing like Justin Beiber?"
His lips on hers seal the deal.
XxX
Rachel's party should have sucked. Well, truth be told, Rachel's party *did* suck, and then she let Puck break into the liquor cabinet (with a look that could only be described as satanic glee), and then it didn't suck quite so much anymore.
Lots of the party is kind of vague - he remembers flipping quarters into a glass and downing Jack, and watching Tina take shots with Santana (some taken off of Brittany's stomach and he's pretty sure *that* mental image is going to stay with him for a while), and he thinks maybe that's when Brittany's clothes started coming off. He remembers him and Tina dancing, but doesn't remember the song.
He's kind of surprised that she isn't a weepy drunk, because usually even the slightest thing makes her well up. He thinks it might be a holdover from so many years of being shy and holding herself back - like, now she's opened the floodgates, it all spills out whether she means it to or not. So he's surprised that after imbibing - and a fair amount for someone her size - instead of beginning to sniffle and cling, she grabs Mercedes and the two of them start chatting and giggling and a smile just lights her face.
After a while Rachel gets the idea to play Spin the Bottle - a game he hasn't played since grade school - and Puck pulls him by the arm when he goes to sit next to Tina. " No cheating," he insists, even though Mike isn't exactly sure how circle proximity can be considered cheating in this game. But he gives in, letting Tina go and sit next to Mercedes and Puck slings his arm around his shoulder. His voice is a murmur and his breath laced with whiskey. Lauren's glasses still sit on the end of his nose. " So is she as freaky as she looks?" he asks, but it's in good humour, so Mike just laughs and pushes him, making him fall on his side like a weeble. Puck laughs - more of a giggle really - and pulls himself back up with a knowing glance. " Nice Changster, real nice."
The game gets started and everything goes crazy and Mike's never noticed how much more Latina Santana gets when she's drunk. Then Rachel starts kissing the guy that Mike thought was Kurt's boyfriend - and everyone's cheering and he doesn't really get it - but then someone's shouting about duets and the game scatters, and Rachel's got a microphone in her hand. So Mike grabs Tina and the two of them do the thing that they do best - well, the thing that they do second best - and dance. She's warm and smiling and so he can't help but lean down and kiss her, and she tastes like tequila and lime and just *Tina*, and then the song's over and his lips are still on hers and he can hear everyone applauding, and while he's almost sure it's for Rachel and Blaine, he can't help but feel a sense of achievement.
Later, when he's holding back Tina's hair as she vomits, the party isn't quite so fun.
But it he can't help but think was good while it lasted.
XxX
He comes around the corner to find Brittany leaning up against his locker, and he almost has a flashback to the beginning of the year, but instead of looking worried, this time Brittany looks *distraught*. Tears are swimming in her eyes and her lower lip trembles. As she sees him, she throws herself towards him, and he can't help but note how she clings to his chest with something like desperation. " What happened?"
She hiccups and her body trembles, but her words are smothered in his jacket. He thinks he hears Santana's name and Artie's, and something about Lebanon and their sub Miss Holliday, but it's all just a jumbled mess. Without needing any further explanation, he puts his arm around her shoulder. " Come on, let's get out of here."
They sit in his car and he hands her a kleenex and waits while she composes herself. Then it all comes tumbling out - about the years she and Santana have spent making out and more, about how confused she feels (it's the ballad/mallard problem all over again - but worse). About how she loves Artie but she loves Santana and how they talked to Miss Holliday who suggested they sing about their feelings. And how Santana had chosen a song for them and she's read the words but she doesn't know whether Santana really means it and even if she does, what that means for her.
She rambles for a good twenty minutes, and while Mike doesn't have much advice to give, he lets her speak and then they hug it out when she's done. She's vanilla and cherry and sadness and it makes Mike's stomach clench. " Whatever you decide," he says, tweaking her nose, " I'm behind you, okay?"
Later, after they've watched Brittany and Santana and Miss Holliday sing Fleetwood Mac, and he knows he's not the only one who noticed Santana's tears or the way the girls hugged so fiercely when they finished, and everyone's gathered up their stuff and left the choir room, he remains in his seat. Tina's almost at the door when she notices he isn't behind her, and she turns around to look at him.
" Mike?"
It's just his name, but it's a question and a worry and a thousand other things, and it's what prompts him to cross the room in three large steps and gather her up in his arms. The kiss is long and hard and must betray his unease, because when she pulls away from him her eyes are searching. " What was that for?"
" I just love you," he says. " And I wanted to make sure you know that."
He knows it doesn't really answer her question, but she threads their fingers together none-the-less. " Of course I do. I love you too."
With a gentle smile, they walk from the choir room hand-in-hand.
XxX