Disclaimer: I'm in university, nothing but massive student debt is mine.
Spoilers: None whatsoever. A few vague references from past episodes, but they mean nothing if you haven't seen them.
Author's Note: Written for no other reason than I wanted to get something down on (virtual) paper. Also I'm not quite happy with the middle to end of this, but again, I just wanted to get it down before the entire story decomposed in my computer. :b
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Tina's first kiss was far from fairytale caliber. In fact it seemed as if Disney had outright lied. There were no fireworks detonating in the background or orchestral music to serenade the moment.
And contrary to what those supermarket novels she had peeked at once with Artie were filled with, there were no sparks or fire igniting under her skin.
Instead it had been awkward, and clumsy, and completely unintentional.
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Tina hadn't planned for the event, kissing anybody had never crossed her mind that particular day, but New Directions practice had ended twenty minutes ago and Mr. Schue asked for volunteers to stay and organize sheet music for the jazz band. Tina agreed – she walked home anyway, and Brittany's hand shot up quickly afterwards, eliciting an eye roll from Santana.
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They had been sitting across from each other on the floor, music scores spread haphazardly between them, the rustling of paper filled the persisting silence before Brittany spoke.
"So, you're gay then, right?"
The sheaf of papers Tina had been carefully sliding into one of the many black folders shot out of her hand as if the question, asked innocently enough, had physically struck her. Tina could only stare at the blonde speechlessly as the sheets settled on the floor.
Brittany matched her gaze, blue eyes unwavering as she waited for an answer, the seconds crawling by as Tina's brain exploded into a panicked frenzy, cycling through her options.
Deny it.
Confirm it.
Deny it and make a hasty exit.
Confirm it and expect nothing but torment for the remaining school year, courtesy of the Cheerios.
Several seconds passed, feeling more like an eternity before the cheerleader broke the oppressive silence.
"Well, not like it matters, I was just wondering." She turned her attention to the fallen papers, arranging them into neat piles as Tina continued to stare, feeling as if the remaining air had been sucked from the small room, the blood pounding in her ears.
Several more seconds crept by, and Brittany tilted her head upwards, smiling slightly as nervousness flitted across her face.
"You can stop looking at me like I sprouted horns and demanded a virgin sacrifice. I was only curious. I won't be running off to Santana or Quinn to gossip." She dropped her gaze and shrugged, fiddling with a particularly ratty piece of music. "I notice you. Sometimes. Watching the other girls..." She flushed, keeping her eyes glued to the tile.
It then occurred to Tina that while she had always assumed the Cheerios followed in Quinn's footsteps of rabid hetero-normality, it was very possible that was not the case here.
But whatever the case was, Tina vehemently cursed her carelessness. She had never been gifted with social grace but hoped her curious, and rather hormonal glances had gone unnoticed during practice.
Evidently not.
A blush had risen up Brittany's neck and swept across her face as she busied herself stacking the music folders. It was perhaps the first time Tina had ever seen one of the Cheerios flustered. And she found it painfully adorable.
So Tina leaned forward and pressed her all too dry lips to the glossed ones in front of her. Not only because any rational thought had fled seconds after Brittany inquired about her sexuality, but because Brittany had volunteered to help Kurt with his Beyonce dance moves after school. And because she stood next to Artie when Santana made it a point to avoid him, and never once joined in on the barbs about Rachel that Puck and Quinn thought up.
She kissed her because Brittany was kind, and appeared genuinely excited about performing in New Directions, and didn't treat Tina and her friends like they were something the proverbial cat dragged in.
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There were no fireworks or sparks or serenading music. One of Tina's multiple necklaces got tangled in blonde hair that for once wasn't in a ponytail, and their foreheads bumped painfully when Brittany shifted closer.
Neither one said a word though, Tina rubbing at her skull as they parted, and Brittany deftly separating blonde strands and silver chain, wincing only slightly as several tore from her head.
The choir room was silent again and before Tina could offer a hasty, if stuttered apology, she all but toppled over when Brittany lunged forward, wrapping pale arms around her neck and crushing their lips together once more.
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Tina's first kiss hadn't been anything to write home about, but she always thought Disney was overrated and those supermarket books were tacky.
And after all, her second (and third, and forth) kiss made up for it a thousand times over.