HR: Hi! Welcome to our second collaborative effort! This is a bit of a follow-up to our Valentine's Day fic--in it, Tina mentions wearing lingerie for Artie sometime. Yes. This is that fic. It went a little crazy, but ends happily, and we hope you enjoy it!!
MM: We got some really awesome feedback on our first effort (thank you, you all know who you are), so we hope things have been improved upon slightly in this one. We're going to foray into older Artie and Tina fanfic sometime soon-ish, so you've not seen the last of us yet. But thanks for reading and sticking with us throughout our collaborative and solo efforts.
Disclaimer: We don't own Glee. We do, however, own very two badly behaved Muses.
The Saturday after Valentine's Day started pretty much like any other; Artie got up and went to Tina's, something he had been doing almost every Saturday for the past five years or so. This Saturday, however, was a little bit different for a few reasons.
First, Artie was now dating Tina and had been for a few months and this redefined the structure of their relationship. Not that Artie was complaining. Now that he and Tina were dating, there was a lot more kissing involved. A lot more.
Second, Artie intended to play the piano for his girlfriend today. If her reaction when he'd played guitar in the past was anything to go off of, there was kissing in Artie's near future and maybe even a few happy tears, despite that happy tears were a phenomena Artie still didn't quite understand.
Finally, it was the Saturday after Valentine's Day--a Valentine's Day Artie would probably (hopefully) never forget, if only because he and Tina had spent it holed up in her house, eating takeout and watching Fight Club. (There was also some kissing, Artie's brain reminds him helpfully.)
On this particular Saturday, Artie rolls up to her door, armed with sheet music and a single red rose, both stowed in his backpack. His hand goes to knock, but the door swings open before he can.
Tina is behind the door, swallowing nervously, tugging at the hem of her black and white dress.
This was going to be fine, she kept assuring herself, trying to tone down the butterflies running rampant in her stomach. Nothing was wrong with what she was planning to do. Absolutely nothing. (If she said it to herself enough times, then maybe she'd believe it.)
There was going to be some music, some kissing, and if she was really, really lucky, he'd get to see surprise she had up her sleeve. Or under her dress. Whatever. All Tina is sure of is that today was going to be an adventure, one way or another. She hoped her boyfriend was ready for it.
Tina lets her hands fall from the dress, scolding herself for tugging the hem all out of shape. With a big smile, she opens the door to greet him with as much excitement as she can muster. "Hey!"
"Hi," Artie greets her brightly, wheeling in. "Happy Saturday. How're you today?"
"Just fine," replies Tina, a bit too quickly. "Fine. Why do you ask? Do I not look fine?"
Artie arches an eyebrow, thrown off by her quick answer. "No...you look fine...I was just wondering? Just... asking how my girlfriend is on the Saturday after Valentine's Day..."
"Um. Yeah." Tina giggles nervously, but steps aside to let Artie wheel into the rest of the house more easily. "Sorry. I'm just... planning something. And it's not going well? You'll see in a bit. How're you?"
He watches her curiously for a few seconds. "Planning something? And I'm fine. Great. What are the plans for today?"
"You promised me a song on the piano," she replies, grinning. "Maybe that song can be a duet if you pick something that we both know. And then we can either binge on movies, and oh, we're supposed to finish the rest of this cake before my mom gets home tomorrow night. She's trying to diet again and it's our duty to eat all the sugar in the house so it doesn't tempt her. Also, there's some leftoverkimchi if you're feeling brave."
Artie blinks at her after she stops to breathe. "You sure you're okay, Tee? You seem kinda keyed up. And... which would you like to do first? I have the music here--it's, well. You can probably sing with me, if you want to."
Tina gestures toward the piano in the foyer. "Yes, we have a piano. No, no one in my family plays. My mom just put it there because she thought the foyer looked too empty otherwise. This is what happens when your mother's an interior designer. But I'd love to hear you play by yourself first. I still can't believe you nevertold me you knew how to play!" She grins at him, even as she's taking a seat on the unused piano bench. Her fingers have started awkwardly rubbing on the hem of her dress again.
Artie shrugs, wheeling up to the piano. "It never came up." He grabs the music out of his bag and twists to look at his girlfriend. "Um, so... I picked a Sara Bareilles song. Well, it's originally a Peter Gabriel song, but--the Sara Bareilles version--I like hers better. Anyway." He clears his throat and turns to the piano, taking a deep breath before starting in on the opening chords. "Love," he sings, closing his eyes as the music washes over him, "I get so lost...sometimes."
Tina's stopped fidgeting nervously with her dress by the time the song ends, and she's beaming at him from across the tiny space. She gives a tiny round of applause at the end, and her eyes are shining brightly. "Oh, Artie," she replies. "I always like it when you sing to me. You're so good at it."
He beams at her. "Thanks," he says. "I'm glad you liked it. I, um..." Artie bites his lip and leans over his backpack again, putting the sheet music away. He resurfaces, blushing, holding a single red rose, offering it to his girlfriend. "And I got you this."
"You're a sap," declares Tina, "but it's one of the many reasons why I love you." She's looking radiant as she accepts the flower, beaming at him, even as she's tucking the (thankfully thorn-free) rose behind her ear. "I've got a surprise for you," she says, shyly.
Artie arches an eyebrow. "A surprise?"
"Yeah." Tina's eyes are nervous, but her grin is wicked. "Wanna see it?"
He grins. "Yes. I like your--" he starts, but stops when her hands reach down to grip the bottom of her dress.
Before Tina can over think things too much, she pulls the dress up and over her head, tossing it aside haphazardly.
His reaction is almost comical; Artie's jaw drops and his eyes widen as he grips the arms of his chair. "T-Tee..." he finally manages. "You-you're-I--Tee. Come--come to--here. Me. I want to touch. To kiss. I want--thank you," he chokes out. "I--"
That's all the invitation she needs. She takes the single rose out of her hair, discarding it on top of her dress, then she's racing into his lap, holding onto him tightly and kissing him fiercely.
Artie kisses back, fisting his hands in her hair. They have to stop for air, but Artie continues on with the kissing, kissing her cheekbones and then to her neck, sucking briefly on the skin and then pressing open mouthed kisses along the edge of the corset feverishly, before moving up a bit to nip at her collarbone.
Tina gasps for breath, letting a moan escape from her as his kisses keep trailing over her body. Her hands are clenching tightly at his side, and she's delirious with feelings at the moment.
He squeezes her shoulders and runs his fingers down from her collarbones across the material of the corset to grip her sides gently. He kisses her neck and just under her ear and then back up to her lips. "Couch?" he asks softly after they break the kiss.
"God yes," Tina mumbles, even as she's leaning in to kiss his earlobe, nipping at it tenderly. "Couch. Now."
Somehow (he's not quite sure how), he ends up on the sofa with a lapful of Tina. In a black and red corset. With stripes and bows. He could, quite possibly, die happy now, but he leans in and starts kissing her again, starting at the side of her neck just under her ear and kissing down to her shoulder. He brushes the thin red shoulder strap away and kisses all the way down her arm.
Tina gives another moan and her hips roughly twitch as he kisses her bared shoulder. Frustrated, she reaches in and starts tugging demandingly at his shirt, trying to rip it off.
When he realizes why she's jerking at his shirt, Artie leans back a little to untuck his shirt and he works roughly at the buttons as Tina jerks at the suspenders.
As soon as they remove the shirt, Tina leans in and starts kissing the revealed skin of his stomach and chest, letting her tongue and teeth nip heatedly.
His hands fist in her hair as he groans and leans back. "T-Tee...god, Tee.." he manages.
Tina stops kissing him when she hears him moan her name. Her hands move around to embrace him tightly, and breathing heavily, she moves up to kiss his mouth again, with great determination.
Artie groans into the kiss and tilts his head slightly before snaking his tongue out to lick at the seam of her lips.
Her legs wrap around him tightly on the sofa, wriggling against him slightly, even as her hands unclench themselves slightly so she can dig her nails into his skin.
His breath catches in the back of his throat and feeling thunders through him when Tina wraps her legs around him. Artie freezes for a minute before he runs his hands around to her lower back, sliding his hands up the back of the corset a little bit to trace patterns on her skin.
She sighs happily and her nails dig into his back more deeply. "God, Artie..." she says, his name a breathy groan.
"Hmm?" he asks, kissing along her collarbone and biting her gently before sucking softly on the skin.
Her only response is a heated gasp as her legs wrap themselves around him more tightly.
Artie groans when Tina's legs tighten and he kisses just under her ear before biting the lobe gently.
Tina unwraps her legs and reaches feverishly for Artie's belt buckle. But she's wrapped around him more tightly than she realizes, and in the process of moving to paw at his pants, she winds up getting her leg tangled in the couch cushions. She realizes her leg is caught too late, and she goes tumbling from the sofa, even as her hands are reaching out so she can brace herself. Tina lands on the floor on her rear end in a rather undignified heap. "Ow," she mumbles softly, more out of surprise than actual pain.
Artie blinks for a few seconds, disoriented and then he looks down at his girlfriend, who is on the ground. In lingerie, but still. On the ground. He blinks a few more times and then cocks his head to the side. "Are you okay?" he asks, still mildly confused. "What happened? One minute you were--and now you're--are you okay?"
"I fell." Tina stands up on legs that are slightly unsteady, rubbing her scantily-clad bottom lightly. "I'm okay." She smiles at him and moves back to the sofa, sitting gingerly on the edge of it. "Can't think straight. Yet."
Artie leans back and takes a deep breath, trying to clear his brain of the lustful fog. He coughs and blushes as soon as he realizes just how close they had been to--well. "Not that I don't love making out with you," he says after a moment. "But--it's--well. It's probably a good thing that you fell. I--kind of got carried away. Sorry?" Artie sighs and reaches for his discarded shirt. "Here, want to put this on? It's just--you in...that is only going to make it harder for me to--do anything. And..we should probably cool down. Maybe? I love you."
Tina closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before speaking. "If you got carried away, I did too. Not that I would have um, minded if we'd gone farther, but you're right. It's probably for the best. One day, maybe." She opens her eyes and takes his shirt with a small smile, putting it on and buttoning it up. She scoots over so she's sitting on the far end of the sofa from Artie, still sitting gingerly on the end of the cushion. "Love you too," she says softly, tugging the shirt down over her thighs.
"Why are you sitting so far away from me?" Artie asks, confused. "If I--did I hurt your feelings?! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, Tee, I just--I want it to be special, you know? I know that sounds lame and girly and--and kind of stupid, but I just...you're really, really important to me, Tee, and I don't want to mess this up. I don't know what I'd do without you. And I don't want the first time to be on your couch when we just got--carried away. I want it to be something intentional. Because it's a-it's a big step. For both of us. And-And someday--maybe someday soon--we will go that far and I'm--I can't wait, Tee. I really can't, because I want that, Tee, so much. I've never--I want it. But I can't--I can't mess it up. I can't afford to mess it up." Artie takes a deep breath. "I love you, Tee. And I-I'm sorry."
Tina groans and buries her hands in her head, blushing fiercely. This wasn't going well.
Her arms snake out to wrap around her legs and she starts to mumble. "I fell and landed on my butt and this underwear is not exactly going to cushion the blow!" Well, it started out as a mumble, but it's definitely nearing a yell by the end of her sentence. "I'm fine! Fine. I was just sitting here until you know, it stoppedhurting and we both needed some personal space so we could cool down so we wouldn't have sex today!" Now she's standing up, reaching for her dress so she can put it back on. "But why not?I love you, you love me, and we don't even have to go ...that far, you know!"
She's shaking now, mortified beyond belief. "I'm not ready for that yet! But I would've gone a tiny bit farther, and again, why are you so embarrassed about this? Now you're embarrassing me, and why? Why should doing that embarrasses either of us? What's so wrong about it?" She finishes her rant, squeaks when she realizes what she's just said, and embarrassed all over again, she blushes from her head down to her toes. Ducking her head behind her hair to hide the flush, she rushes to her room and slams the door shut.
Artie sits on the couch, stunned, for a good ten minutes after the door slams. Then he lifts himself into his chair and wheels down the hallway to Tina's room. "I'm going to stay out here," he says quietly to the door. "Because I know you can hear me and I don't think it's a good idea if we're around each other right now."
He takes a deep breath and runs his hand through his hair, frustrated. "And I think we need to talk. About--us. Because the making out, the romance, the sweet and silliness--it's fun and it's nice but it's not--It's not all that our relationship is about and I think that it's become that, in a sense. I mean, I never really just talk to you, you know? And--before this gets any more complicated, we need to talk about what is okay, what is not okay, and what certain things mean."
Clearing his throat nervously, Artie clenches his hands in his lap and talks determinedly to the floor. "First of all, and I know this is selfish, but it felt like a kick to the nads when you scooted away from me, like I had done something wrong. I know that's not what you meant, but that's how I took it and I automatically apologized."
He licks his lips and pauses a moment, to let it sink in. "Secondly, it's not that it embarrasses me to go that far. It's that I felt like I was pressuring you into doing something you didn't want to do, and because I care about you, I didn't want that to happen. I thought you would regret it later, and Ididn't want that to happen."
He pauses, considering what he wants to say. Nervously adjusting his gloves, Artie continues. "I...I've been a little gun-shy about this entire thing because I don't know what you feel comfortable with and how far you want to go--we need to sit down and talk about it, because that's our fault, for not talking and just going with it." Artie pauses and scratches his neck. "Finally, Tee, I'm sorry. I love you, and I'm sorry for embarrassing you. I didn't mean to. And I hope you're okay."
The door creaks open, and Tina pokes her head out nervously. "I'm sorry, I bolted, but I wanted to change, and I needed a minute to think."
She takes a deep breath and comes the rest of the way out of the room. She's fully-dressed, but her expression is sad, mournful almost, even as she's handing him back his shirt. "Let's sit at the table, okay?" She wants nothing more than to wrap herself around him in a hug, to feel safe and warm and at home in his arms again, but she knows that won't fix any of the problems.
When they're settled, she takes another deep breath and meets him square in the eye. "First, let's make it clear. I love you." She shakes her head and sighs, but continues on, her fingers tapping along the table nervously. "I love the sweetness, but you're right. We're being sucky best friends because we've been so caught up in being a couple. I didn't mean to hurt you, sitting away from you like that. But I did hurt, and I felt unsatisfied, and well. I just wanted a minute to clear my head. I snapped because I thought that well. That you were being clingy, that you couldn't handle me sitting on the opposite side of the sofa from you for two minutes."
His fingers twitch nervously, but he clenches them in his lap, because holding her hand sounds nice right now, but not what they need. "I can be clingy," he admits. "I know I can. And I will do better at not being clingy."
She blinks back the tears threatening to fall, and presses forward. "Okay, let's talk about what's okay and what's not okay. I hate it when either of us are uncomfortable--or embarrassed--and I hate... well, I hope you don't think I'm pushing too hard and too fast. I love that you're a gentleman, that you let me set the pace--it makes me feel special, really. It does. But I forget that you're not a mind reader and can't always figure out what I like or not."
He sets his hands in front of him, in the center of the table, and takes a deep breath before looking Tina in the eyes. "I need you to tell me what you want. How far you want me to go. You aren't pushy, it's just that I've just been so terrified of being too pushy that I've been...kind of a prude. And not taking the lead, because I don't want to push too far and push you away. Make sense?"
Artie swallows and messes with his glasses. "As far as the uncomfortableness and embarrassment goes," he continues, "I think that's just part of this relationship thing. Not that I don't hate it, because I do, and it feels silly to be uncomfortable and embarrassed around my best friend, but it's normal, I think. I mean, we're still new at this, and I think that it's just part of it. For now.
"But," he presses on, looking her in the eyes, "I would like you to tell me, eventually, what you like and what you don't like. And it's going to be kind of uncomfortable and embarrassing, at least at first, but it needs to happen so that this," he gestures wildly, "doesn't happen again. So when you're ready, tell me what you like. What you don't like. When it's too much sweetness and sappiness. When you need me to be romantic and--yeah, okay, girly. Okay?" He sighs, and gives a small smile. "And I love you."
Her smile becomes genuine. "For the record, I do want to sleep with you. At some point. But not yet. But um," she trails off, getting redder, but pushes forward, "maybe you could, ah, put your hand there? I'd be all right with that. And everything else we've done already." She sets her hands gingerly on the table, but doesn't make any effort to hold his. "I don't mind your clinginess sometimes, but I don't want us to start hating each other because we spend too much time together. We need to go back to having some best friends only time, I think."
"And also? It's just that I've felt kind of well, guilty, for being so pushy," complains Tina miserably, "but mostly, I feel so horrible about being such an emotional trainwreck. I mean, I just... ran away from you." With a shuddering sigh, she forces herself to give him a small smile, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Artie, I love you, and I love the way you make me feel. Only you, you know that? That's why I know I won't regret much of anything because I know you care about this as much as I do. Maybe even more."
"You shouldn't feel guilty," he says, almost casually. "And being an emotional trainwreck is partially my fault. I do need to man up and be less--well, girly. And I'd rather you not run away from me, obviously, but it's totally forgivable." He sighs, contemplating his next words. "If you feel comfortable with-with that then I can do that. And--if you're comfortable with it--you can do the same. To, um, to me." Artie blushes deeply, but smiles back. "And I agree. We should have best friends only time. At least for awhile, until we can be best friends and a couple at the same time again."
Tina gives a sigh of relief. "Also? When I wear lingerie? Or some of those outfits I know you like but I'm less than fond of? I wear them because I know they make you happy, and in a weird way, it makes me happy too. That means I'm okay with you being forceful and tugging or removing as you like. That's why I wear them, after all."
Tina toys with her necklace nervously before speaking again. "I love you, I'm sorry I got mad, and can my best friend give me a hug now, please?"
Artie laughs and opens his arms. "Of course, Tee."
Tina wipes away a tear threatening to escape and darts into the safe cocoon of his arms as a feeling of intense relief overwhelms her.
He kisses the top of her head chastely and squeezes her tightly. "Love you, Best Friend," he says lightly.
"Love you too," she mumbles against his chest, reluctant to break away. "So. We should to something best friendish, Best Friend."
Artie thinks for a minute. "We could watch a movie?"
"You're thebest best friend ever," Tina declares, reluctantly pulling herself out of his lap. "Thanks for sticking with me. Through everything," she replies, her tone grateful. "Any movie in mind to watch?"
He shakes his head and stretches, feeling strangely...light, like a huge weight has been taken off his chest. "Nope. And you're welcome. Thanks for sticking with me."
"I guess we're stuck with each other," replies Tina. "How much will you kill me if I said I wanted to watch Ten Things I Hate About You?"
"I'm okay with that," Artie says, shrugging. "And I won't kill you if you want to watch that movie. I will grin and bear it, because I am your best friend, and it's in my job description."
"Well, I kind of want to watch it, but we can do it later. Ghostbusters instead?" Tina smiles at him, and places the DVD in the player. "So uh, is it okay if I lay my head in your lap? In a totally, completely, 100 percent platonic way?"
Artie nods. "Perfectly fine. And you're the greatest," he grins. "Ghostbusters over Ten Things I Hate About You? Yes, please."
Tina smiles at Artie, happily, and rests her head in his lap. As the movie starts, she lets out a small sigh of content. She feels lighter, like a page has been turned in regards to her relationship with Artie. Sure, it won't be perfect, and they're bound to fight again sometime--but she has a good feeling that things will be even better between them now. She now knows that after something like this, well, she and Artie really can take on whatever life throws at them. Together. And she wouldn't have it any other way.
Ghostbusters or Ten Things I Hate About You?