Author note: I have always felt there was a lot more going on during the episode The Sue Sylvester Shuffle. Especially with my favourite couple: Mike and Tina. His reaction to Tina being tackled was so beautiful. I actually wanted to write what had happened between Mike and Tina after the game, but as I was thinking about it and watched the episode again and again and again, I realised I had to start right at the beginning of the episode and write what I think happened with Mike and Tina during the episode, this resulted in this story.

Beside this I noticed how often Mike and Tina gave each other small massages and I incorporated that in this story, because those massages show to me how much they care about each other.

One last thing: the characters don't belong to me, they belong to Fox.

Feeling uneasy

When he walked out on to the field he immediately saw his parents and Tina sitting in the stands. Tina had brought her sign '#22 is ninja' and was holding it proudly up. They waved at him and Mike gave them a small wave in return. Just seeing them sitting out there made him proud to be here on the field.

He quickly scanned the crowd and soon found all the other members of Glee club: Mercedes and Kurt, he was still part of their Glee-family and would always remain a part of their Glee-family, were sitting with Finn's mom and Burt. Santana an Brittany were, for now, sitting wit Artie's mom. Quinn was with Sam's parents and his little brother and sister and Rachel and Lauren sat next to Puck's mother and his sister. It actually amazed Mike that they all came to the games, especially since about three quarters of the football team constantly bullied them. Sure most of them were girlfriends now, but last year they had not been and even last year Tina, Rachel, Mercedes and Artie hadn't missed a game (since Finn joined Glee club). Mike had asked Tina why they had come after the first game he had played after he had also joined Glee club and she had told him it was to support the Glee members in their other extracurricular activities. And that was rue thought Mike, they always went to band performances, because Artie was often asked to pick up his guitar, they all went to Lauren's wrestling matches and apparently they all watched the Cheerios sectionals, regionals and nationals, which in itself had to have been a sign to Mike that the Glee club supported it's members in all their endeavors. Mike loved Glee club the better for it.

During their warm up Mike felt the adrenaline pumping in his systems. He was getting excited as he always did before a game. It was a different excitement then what he felt before performing in Glee club. With Glee club he would get goose bumps and prickling limbs: arms, legs, toes, fingers, everything is on alert. For a game he felt strength and power going to his legs, building up, ready to explode at a moment's notice. But today he also felt something else, something unsettling. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, he didn't know whether it was good or bad, but it did annoy him.

As usual Mike finished his warming-up before the others, he always did. Instead of talking and joking around Mike opted for a serious warming-up and because of this he was always the first to finish. As he stood and watched his teammates do various exercises he suddenly felt an extreme urge to go to the stands and kiss Tina. This was odd, since they had already shared their traditional pre-game kiss, Tina and Mike did the same before every Glee performance. It had nothing to do with sex, it just helped to take the edge of their heightened awareness and pre-game/performance nerves.

But now something entirely else propelled Mike to give his teammates one last glance, checking that they were all too busy with their exercises to actually pay attention to Mike – not that they paid much attention to Mike under other circumstances – and run up to the stands. Mike also quickly glanced at the busy coach Beiste, knowing full well that she didn't want her players to interact with the audience right before the game. He knew he would not be able to go to the stands and back undetected, but this thing inside him was so strong and the funny feeling unsettled him enough that he didn't really care about the consequences.

As he ran to the stands he locked his sight on Tina, he saw her surprise at his uncharacteristic behavior and he saw her concern. Tina turned to his mother, he couldn't make out what they were saying.

Tina had indeed turned to Mike's mother after seeing Mike run to the stands. "What's Mike doing?" Mike's mother also looked surprised and uncertain and said so: "I don't know Tina, but I think he wants you." Tina turned her attention back to Mike and saw him steadily looking at her. Quickly thinking over the events from today up to now didn't reveal any reason for Mike to come to her. He hadn't forgotten anything, they had shared their pre-game kiss, she had wished him a good game, there was really nothing that gave her any clue. The only thing Tina could think of was how Mike had seemed a little more alert than usual, as if something was bothering him, but other than that, nothing. As Tina watched Mike get closer she saw how Artie and Puck were the first in his team to notice Mike's absence and slowly but surely the others started t look as well. She could also hear them calling…and whistling, whistling? Humph…come on how old were they? Ten? Doing a quick eye roll for their behavior Tina focused her attention back on Mike, who by now had reached the bottom of the stair and looked into her eyes. Tina was really happy she was seated at the start of the row next to the stairs. She quickly rose as Mike climbed up. She didn't hear the other people in the audience, she only saw Mika as he stood in front of her and reached for her. He placed his hand in her neck, pulling her towards him as he lowered his head and kissed her, long, hard and deep. When the kiss ended he held her close.

"Are you all right?" Tina asked slightly worried.

"I just wanted to kiss you." Mike sighed in her ear. Then he released his hold on her, except for his hands on her shoulders. He held her and looked in her eyes. Tina saw his warm brown eyes filled with love and something else, as if he was worried he might never see her again.

"I love you Tina." He whispered as he looked in her eyes, willing her to know how much he loved her.

"I love you too Mike." As if those were a magic spell, something lifted from Mike's shoulders and Tina saw it. This small moment, just for the two of them had served its purpose. Tina squeezed Mike's arms and said: "Now go, win this game." With a small nod and a peck on her cheek Mike turned and went back out to the field. Tina resumed her seat, more worried than before Mike's arrival. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was definitely off.

Mike immediately walked to coach Beiste and apologized for his behavior, coach Beiste accepted it and nodded him back to the field, where his teammates were making lurid suggestions. Mike didn't pay any attention to them and with one sharp look ensured the silence of Puck, admittedly a hard thing to do, Finn, Sam and Artie.

Before Tina's eyes and the eyes of the rest of the people in the stands a good game was played. The teams were about evenly matched, although the McKinley team seemed at moment to be the better team. Because it was a close game the tackles cam slightly harder. Mika and the number 4 of the other team were entangled in their own fight as athletes could become in a game. Normally this would not happen to Mike, so Mike attributed the unease he was feeling to this. While he tried his hardest to concentrate on the overall game and not let the behavior of 4 get to him, Mike could only take that much. So when 4 started making unflattering comments about Tina, Mike took great pleasure in tackling and pushing just a little bit harder.

Tina followed the game more closely than she would normally do. She kept an eye out for fowls, strange behaviors and interactions, but other than the occasional unsportsmanlike behavior from number 4 and Mike's reaction to it, she saw nothing which caught her attention. However right at the end of the game that feeling she'd had since Mike came to kiss her, returned full force. Five more seconds to play, the McKinley teams was ahead, just, and they were in a huddle when it happened: Karofsky launched at Finn, who then looked worried towards the other team. Something was wrong, Tina could feel it, she looked around at the other Glee members and she could see that they had seen the huddle as well, they were all on the edge of their seat and their attention on the field. The she felt his eyes on her, Tina quickly looked at Mike and even from so far she could see his worried face, not knowing how to make him feel better, Tina simply gave him a reassuring nod. He sighed deeply and took the crouched stance in the row of his teammates.

And then everything went south…

Author note: I hope you liked this first chapter, I will try to put the next chapter up tomorrow. Please review.