"This isn't right, Sam, Mike and I only broke up 2 weeks ago. Besides you're still with Mercedes!"

Sam continued to kiss his way down Tina's neck, only pausing when he reached the collar of her blouse. He never thought he would find himself having feelings for Tina but it was so hard the first couple of weeks without Mercedes. She was off in California doing great things, all the things she deserved to have but still…it was hard.

Bonding with Tina at the beginning of the school year was a pleasant surprise. She was funny, sweet and incredibly talented. She had confided in him that she wanted to try out for the lead of the school musical but was afraid she wouldn't be good enough. And after everything he's seen in the last two years is that while Tina might be pushed in the back quite often, ignored by the more passionately aggressive members of the club, she had the vocal talents and performance presence to wow an audience.

And she certainly wowed him.

Days spent getting coffee after school had led to the realization that he was growing to like her. More than a friend. And he was positive she had feelings for him as well. However, with both having significant others they never allowed those feelings to take a hold of them, to never act on them.

Then the possibility of them getting together presented itself shortly after Thanksgiving vacation. Mike had returned for the holidays and Sam had to listen to Tina, impossibly giddy with excitement, list all the things she wanted to do while her boyfriend was in town. He smiled and continued to sip on his coffee, reveling in her smile because it was infectious and impossible not to.

Any excitement she had was short lived as the first day back from the holidays had Sam finding Tina in the choir room crying before glee club started. A hand on her back and a whispered, "What's wrong?", resulted in Tina throwing herself in his arms and through her sobs relayed the story on how Mike broke up with her the day before. Murmured phrases of, "he said the distance was too much", "..some girl names Lisa…" and "says he will always love me" broke his heart and he held her until she heard the voices of the other members approaching the room.

She looked up at him and gave a watery smile. He tried his best to return it even though every instinct in him wanted to reach out and bring her into his arms again. After one more lingering look between them she leaned down and grabbed her backpack and retrieved what looked like a small pack of tissues. He laughed at that and she looked at him and through her giggles just said, "I tend to keep them with me at all times, just in case."

It was that moment and so many more that brought them to this point. To them sitting in her backyard, on the family swing. Tina's parents were kind enough to let them talk by themselves, knowing she needed a friend. But Sam knew he wanted to be more. He knew that there would be numerous conversations between them to cement that realization home. Not just between them but between him and Mercedes, someone who always cherished him and treated him better than any of his previous relationships. He also knew there was no way Mike wouldn't find out about it. He might be a distance away but he was still friends with them all.

All that seems worth it when he pulls back from Tina's neck and stares at her face. She looks shy and she's biting her lip with a nervousness he understands completely.

"I know," he begins hesitantly, "but it doesn't make me want to stop." She gasps and draws her hands into her lap, twisting them in a way that amuses him.

After a couple of moments pass by she brings her hand to his face, they both smile and lean in for a kiss, one that lasts just a few moments. She draws away from and still has the smile on her face, the one that tells him that this is all worth it.

"What are we gonna do then?" she asks why reclining back on the swing and reaching over to grab his hand.

"I don't know, " he replies honestly, "but I do know that no matter what happens, we're in this together." He brings their joined hands to his mouth and lightly brushes a kiss on the back of her hand as she leans over and rests her head on his shoulder.