It's a snow day! Hooray! Anyway, the steady snowfall inspired me to get started on publishing my first multi-chapter fic: a year of Artie/Tina goodness! Each chapter is a different moment in the lives of our two favorite Gleeks, each corresponding to a month of the year. The chapters aren't chronological, so each moment can be taken on its own. I'd love to hear your ideas for some awesome Tartie moments through the seasons, so please feel free to make as many suggestions as you want! Cheers, Delilah.
Disclaimer: Still don't own Glee. Maybe for my birthday?
No Two Snowflakes Are Exactly the Same
Tina loved watching the snow, especially on days like today, when it just drifted lazily down from the opalescent sky. She glanced over at Artie, who seemed to be thinking along similar lines. His eyes followed the progress of the snowflakes as they floated toward the ground. He appeared to be completely lost in his thoughts. There's just something about these snowy days that makes him so thoughtful, reflected Tina. I'd love to find out what it is.
"Come on, we're going outside!" Tina suddenly announced. It was a cold, snowy Saturday, and Tina and Artie had spent most of the past few hours surfing channels on the TV. The house was fairly quiet; it seemed as though no one wanted to disrupt the silence which the snow had cast over everything.
"Why?" asked Artie, his brow furrowed. "There's really nowhere to go, and anyway, getting around in this much snow would be pretty tough."
Tina giggled. "Who said anything about going anywhere? We're just going out onto your lawn, it's not like we'll have to commute."
Artie still appeared unconvinced as to the necessity of this little adventure. "What's the point? It's just snow; we can see it through the window just fine."
Tina's face was set in a stubborn grin. "Well, that does it—you need to experience a good snowfall. Let's go, get your coat on." She was pushing him towards the door as she spoke, and Artie knew he had no choice but to zip up his coat and wind his scarf around his neck, lest he freeze waiting for Tina to get her fill of the snow.
The door opened, the pair paused in front of the house, and a calm stillness fell over them. It was as if someone had turned off the volume. Trees, houses and cars were all coated in several inches of fluffy white snow, and as they watched, more snow drifted soundlessly down onto their heads.
"Isn't it wonderful?" whispered Tina. She didn't want to break the spell by raising her voice. "The best part of a snowy day isn't watching the snow, it's just…being in it. It's like the world came to a stop, and nothing exists except for you and me and the snow. It's like living in one of those little glass snowglobes."
Getting behind Artie's chair again, Tina pushed with all her might until she managed to situate the two of them in the middle of the Abrams' snow-covered front lawn. She set the wheel lock, then came around to face Artie. Snow was clinging, marble-white against her eyelashes and her long, raven-and-blue-streaked hair. Artie reached up a hand to brush some of it off. "Here—you'll be soaked if we go inside and you let that melt in your hair…"
"Wait!" breathed Tina, and when she spoke, her breath came in an icy fog. "Look! When you look at the snow against something dark, like my hair, you can see all the different shapes of the snowflakes. Here, look closer—" She raised her forearm between them, and sure enough, snowflakes were sticking to the sleeve of her coat. Both Artie and Tina leaned in, transfixed at the tiny, crystalline perfection of each snowflake.
"You know," said Tina, in barely more than a whisper, "No two snowflakes are alike. Every single one stands out on its own. It's a miracle of nature."
"Wow," answered Artie, who seemed to have found his voice at last. "I never realized how…beautiful it was. The snow, I mean…"
"It kind of reminds me of…us" ventured Tina tentatively. Artie raised an eyebrow, apparently not understanding entirely, so Tina elaborated. "You know, us Glee kids don't really fit in at school, everyone thinks we're a bunch of losers because they don't look close enough—really look at us, and see that we're something more that…I don't know, the human equivalent of clumpy white stuff," she finished.
"'Clumpy white stuff', that's pure poetry Tee! I never realized what a tortured, sensitive soul you are!" Artie laughed, and Tina scowled playfully, grabbing a handful of snow and throwing it, hard, in his face. "Oh, now you're gonna get it!" he called over her laughter, but any actual fierceness in that statement was completely negated by the fact that his glasses were now lopsided and he had a decent quantity of shush sliding down the side of his face. Artie reached down and lobbed a snowball at Tina, and all bets were off as the two of them, shrieking with laughter, pelted each other with snowballs on the lawn.
The impromptu snowball fight lasted for several frenzied minutes and ended only when Artie, who was evenly covered in snow and ice, begged for a truce. Tina had enjoyed a huge advantage, being able to run around the lawn as much as she pleased, take cover behind the garbage pails in the driveway and sneak up from behind for a variety of very successful attacks that Artie, try as he may, just couldn't shield himself from. However, looking at him stuck helplessly in the snow, Tina thought he looked just so irresistibly pitiful that she cheated a little bit, just to make it somewhat of a fair fight. "Are you okay? That last one to the face really nailed you!" she called from across the yard, as Artie tried, rather unsuccessfully, to clean himself off. "Here, let me help."
Tina pulled the end of her scarf from inside her coat, leaned in close, and began to brush the snow tenderly from Artie's face. Why's he looking at me that way? Am I invading his space or something?
There seemed to be something Artie wanted to say, but he either couldn't find the words or the nerve to say it, Tina decided. She lowered the scarf, slowly, gazing into those familiar blue eyes and trying for the life of her to understand what it was.
"Here, you've got some on you, too," said Artie, and he reached a hand to her cheek, where Tina could feel snow sliding across her skin. His fingertips brushed her cheek and Tina felt the spot tingle, and she was sure the sensation wasn't caused by the cold. He had taken off his glove to clean the snow off her face, which seemed strange to Tina until he leaned in and kissed her, lightly on the lips.
"They remind me of you. The snowflakes," Artie added, rather unnecessarily, his hand still cupped around her face. "So light, like they're just kind of…floating through life. Each one completely unique. Kind of unremarkable if you just glance at them quick—what's one snowflake in the middle of a blizzard? But once you take the time to get up close and look at them—I mean really look—beautiful. Just…beautiful."
Nothing is more beautiful than fresh snow, agreed Tina, and she kissed him back as the snow swirled around them, in the stillness and the quiet.
Thoughts? Ideas? Let me know! I'm hoping to get the next chapter up before Valentine's Day, but between work and grad school I don't want to make any promises. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at February: Artie doesn't have a valentine. His little sister begs to differ. After all, a valentine isn't always your girlfriend. Who do you tell your secrets to, share your snacks with and know absolutely everything about?