AN: The next chapter of Broken is fighting me tooth and nail, so to get in my daily post I decided it was about time to start this other pet project of mine. "The Music We Make" is a series of unconnected and unrelated drabbles and oneshots, all based on songs from Glee and all of them featuring Artie and/or Tina. There's no rhyme or reason to the order, just however my muse seizes me, and they are not chronological. I'll post a little author note at the beginning of each to detail the timeframe and the point of view, just to avoid confusion. And it does help to listen to the songs while you're reading, if anyone is into that, because I listen while I write them and it definitely helps set the mood. Cheers!

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" Artie, Post-Sectionals.

You Can't Always Get What You Want

"To New Directions!"

We all raise our soda glasses and repeat the toast that Rachel had just announced. We only got home from Sectionals an hour ago, and the moment we had gotten onto the bus Rachel had promptly invited us all to a celebratory party at her house. It must have been the insane amount of team spirit in the air that managed to make everyone agree to come. Now we're all sitting around the Berrys' living room, and the mood is high.

Now that Rachel's speech and toast are over, Kurt draws me back into the conversation we'd been having. "Seriously, Artie, you've got to do something," Kurt says insistently. I just make a non-committal noise and turn my attention to my drink. However I can't help it when my eyes drift to the other side of the room over the rim of my cup.

There she is, standing in the corner and talking excitedly with Mike Chang. Even as I'm watching, he offers her a hand and she hesitates only a second before taking it. He leads her out into the open space in the middle of the room and they start dancing to the music pounding through Rachel's extremely impressive sound system. The very sight makes something in my chest feel heavy and I look down at my lap.

It's been weeks and things between Tina and I are still awkward. We talked it out and managed to smooth out things, but now it feels like we've fallen into a bit of a rut. We don't hang out nearly as much as we used to, and when we do it always feels awkward and hesitant. And the biggest problem is that I'm still thinking of her the way that I did before the date, and that way is not in the 'just friends' way we're trying to be. I want more, and I can't have it.

Being in a wheelchair, you get pretty used to not having the things that you want. No matter how much you wish it, you're not going to magically get up and walk, you're not going to be treated like a normal person, and you're not going to be the most sought after bachelor on campus. Or a bachelor that's sought after at all. Ever. It just doesn't happen.

Tina Cohen-Chang is the one thing I want more than all of those, and she's the one I still can't have.

I messed us up, and I know that. I had full right to be upset when she told me the truth about her stutter, but I didn't have the right to talk to her the way I did. I was just so scared of losing her that I couldn't think straight, and now every time we talk, it feels like the words of our arguments are floating between us. Our friendship is tentative at best, like we're afraid of saying the slightest thing wrong and having the whole thing explode again.

Now as I watch her dancing with Mike, for some reason I find myself hating him. I don't know why, he's a nice guy. Of all the jocks on Glee, he's probably the one I get along with the best. Honestly, I don't have any problem with him. Except for the fact that he's out there dancing with the girl I would give anything to dance with. And he's a really good dancer, which doesn't make me feel any better.

"Arthur, you're staring." Kurt's abrupt statement jerks me back to reality and I look over at him in surprise. "You really need to just man up and say it," he tells me in that extremely blunt and slightly condescending way of his. "She still wants you, but that's not going to last forever if you keep pushing her out."

"I'd really rather not talk about this," I say, retaliating against his forwardness by slipping into my most emotionless voice, signaling to him that I'm done with this conversation.

"I don't know why I try," Kurt says, rolling his eyes and flicking his hair out of them. "Fine. We will return to the cyclical celebration talk over our win then, but I hope you're still thinking about what I said." The conversation gets easier as we start talking about Sectionals again, and I find myself able to enjoy the party again.

The hours burn on until it's dark outside. It's actually pretty amazing how much fun we're all having together. There's still a really tense vibe in the air every time Finn gets too close to Puck or Quinn, but then he'll move to the other side of the room and everyone will relax again. I'm honestly impressed with how well-behaved he's being about it, considering the beat-down we watched in the choir room the other day.

Rachel has the instrumental versions of just about every single song we've ever performed in Glee club on her iPod (is anyone really surprised by that?) and she plugs it into the stereo, turning our chatting into a full-blown jam session. We all just sing as we feel it and it's completely relaxed and all about the fun of it, like the impromptu jam parties we had when our club had been split in two by Mr. Schue and Ms. Sylvester's arguments. If anyone had been starting to come down off the high from winning, this sends it straight through the roof again.

After about a solid hour of singing, I really need a drink. Thank goodness Rachel's house has hardwood floors. I roll my chair into the kitchen and begin pouring myself another glass from the bottles of soda sitting on the counter.

"Need a hand?" I almost jump (or, well, as much of a jump as my body is capable of) at the voice and glance over my shoulder to see Tina standing just inside the kitchen doorway.

"Nah, I got it," I answer, finishing pouring my glass. "You looking for a refill?" I ask, glancing back at her again.

"Yeah, that sounds good," she agrees and she holds her cup down where I can pour into it. "Thanks."

"No problem." I slip the bottle back up onto the counter and then take a drink, feeling grateful as it soothes my dry throat. "Fun party, huh?" I ask, grinning.

"A blast," Tina agrees. "I never thought I'd be enjoying myself so much hanging out with football players and Cheerios at Rachel Berry's house."

I laugh. "I know what you mean. That does make it sound pretty impossible." We lapse into quiet again and I can feel my heart hammering in my chest. It always seems to do that whenever she's around, and as good as it feels, it's sort of annoying because it just keeps reminding me that once again I want something I can't have.

"So, you and Mike?" The question is out of my mouth before I've even considered it and the moment it is I wish I could take it back. I really don't want to know the answer. It'll only hurt.

Tina snorts into her glass, which is not exactly the reaction I was expecting. "Oh that?" she asks. "He was just trying to see if all Asians are as good of dancers as him." She smiles shyly. "Which I'm not. Not even close."

For some reason, I feel better. I glance up at her and smile, my chest fluttering. And it must just be the euphoria from the trophy sitting on the coffee table in Rachel's living room, but a strange sense of daring floods into me. "Hey Tee, come down here for a second, would you?"

Tina's forehead furrows as she bends down. "Why, do I have something–" I cut her off by pressing my mouth to hers. For a second, one agonizingly long second, she doesn't react and I wonder if maybe I've done something wrong. Oh God, what was I thinking? This was stupid. She doesn't want me. I can't have her. All I'm doing is getting my hopes up again.

And then she's kissing me back.

When we pull apart, she fixes me with a huge smile, and I know I'm grinning like a bit of an idiot. "Tee, I can't stop thinking about you, and I don't want to just stay friends anymore," I tell her in a rush, trying to get it all out before whatever strange sort of high I'm on wears off. "I miss having you in my life and I want that back. I need that back. Can we find some way to do that?"

In response, she just kisses me again. I'm going to go ahead and take that as a yes. "I missed you too, Artie," she tells me when we break apart.

My head is still sort of reeling from the kissing, and it takes me a minute to come up with something to say. "Want a ride back to the living room?" I ask with a grin, patting my leg. Tina laughs and then sits down in my lap. "Um, but hold my drink, could you?" I ask when I realize she's now sitting where I normally carry it.

"I think I can do that," she agrees and takes my cup.

"Oh, and hands and feet inside the vehicle when we're moving," I warn. "The doorways here aren't quite as wide as at my house." Tina laughs again and tucks her feet up against mine on the footrests, and once I'm sure she's set I roll us into the living room again.

I hadn't expected it to create quite the stir that it does when we come back in together, but we're both instantly besieged by wolf whistles and clapping. "About time," Kurt says dramatically and everyone laughs. I'm blushing like crazy, but when I glance at Tina she smiles at me and it's like everything suddenly feels perfectly okay.

Because for once in my life, I've got the something I really want. And it turns out she really wants me too.