Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of the characters.
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Mike Chang's Office1008 A 14th street Seattle, Washington
Mike Chang moved the last of his boxes to the door and looked at the guys who were waiting outside his office to help him move his stuff down to his SUV.
"Thanks guys, you don't really have to help me carry my stuff down. I can do it by myself."
Jake Tassum grinned and grabbed a box. "Good reason for us to take you out for beer. Well, for you to take US out for a beer." He nodded towards the other two men who were standing in the doorway, Tomas Wright and Marcus James grinned.
"Though man, we're going to have to look for a new centre for our basketball team…and a new catcher for our softball team…and a new receiver for our touch football team…" Marcus said sadly. "Man, our teams are really gonna suck. Why do you have to go off and start your own firm?"
"Just something I have to do." He grinned. "But seriously, I'm going to miss you guys, who else would make me look so good? If you guys ever move to the East Coast, call me up." There was another round of laughs, hand shakes and goodbyes as Mike did one last circle around his office. It was time for him to move on, to make a new start, to make it on his own merits. Pennsylvania might not be Ohio, but it was close enough that it wasn't a transcontinental flight or two days driving to get there. It was closer to his friends. Yes, Marc, Jake and Tommy, they were his friends, but they were different. They were work friends, people he met as a way to survive. His other friends, they knew him for him. Opening his wallet he looked at the picture he had safely tucked away. It was before everything happened. Finn and Rachel, both grinning at the camera, her small frame covered by his large one. They were still together, of course, living in New York. Rachel was starring on Broadway the way she always wanted and Finn, well Finn surprised everyone. Finn was teaching high school and with the help of Rachel coaching a glee club. Then there was Quinn and Puck. They lived in Ohio, Columbus to be exact, with Quinn a social worker and Puck running his own construction company. The last he heard from Kurt, he was working at some fancy fashion department in a big company, and he said that Mercedes was in Baltimore trying to start her own company, but that was a while ago. Matt, after he transferred had moved up to Canada with his Dad and finished high school and University up there. He got his degree in education and was a substitute teacher while playing professional football in the Canadian Football League. He was engaged and always spent his offseason teaching in Ohio. Santana and Brittany were, at last count, still in Ohio, Santana owning most of the Breadstix in the state and Brittany running a dance studio. Then there was Artie. Kurt said that he was in LA working as a talent scout for a music company. And Tina. Last her heard she was at Sarah Lawrence as an undergrad. And of course Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsbury. They were still in Lima, married, and teaching at William McKinley. And him. He was in the twilight of his life, and things just seemed to go down from there. With a wince, he rubbed his right leg that still pained him. He was on the fast track, he was at his last try out at Julliard when it happened. He felt something in his knee snap, and it was all over. Four years of surgeries, rehab and maybes, and he still couldn't dance. Thankfully he had kept his grades up in high school and got into the Virginia school of architecture. He had lost touch with a lot of them, but the one he regretted was Tina. They didn't leave on a bad note, but they left. After the first year the emails trailed off, he knew she had moved on. With a sigh he closed his wallet and sat down at his desk for the last time…
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Tina Cohen-Chang's condominium25A Winters BlvdPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
"Hey Girl!" Mercedes Jones cried into her webcam on the internet program Skype.
Tina Cohen-Chang smiled and sat down at her computer desk, pulling her dark hair into a ponytail.
"Hey 'Cedes."
"You're SURE it's okay that I move in with you?"
Laughing, Tina nodded. "Positive. I want you to. It'll be nice to have a friendly face in the city. Plus this condo needs some Mercedes love."
The darker woman laughed. "EVERYTHING needs Mercedes love."
"Seconded." Tina grinned. "I'm really excited that you're moving to Philadelphia. It's been strange here alone, and I mean, come on. Who can take on the city of brotherly love better than Tina and Mercedes?"
"NO ONE." They roared together.
"Thanks for dealing with all of the legal issues." Mercedes said with a small smile. "It took a load off of my shoulders."
"No problem. What good is it to have a friend as a lawyer if you're never able to use their skills, right?" Tina grinned. "It was old hat. You should be set up as soon as you get her. Your room is ready to go and I'll give you a tour on how to get to your office building…and show you where you want to get your Philly Cheese Steaks."
"Deal." Mercedes smile. "Well girl, I gotta go. I should keep packing. I'll see you on the 30th."
"Sounds good." Tina smiled and closed Skype and opening her email.
14 new emails.
Tina rolled her eyes and was ready to see 14 new spam messages offering her a larger penis, or that she won a million dollars. Instead she saw 13 spam messages and a message from a faintly familiar email address. Out of curiosity she opened the email that was simply labelled "Update".
Hey guys,
I decided to send this email to everyone I have in my contacts folder, no matter how old the address is. This also means that I'm expecting about half of these to bounce back to me saying that the email address no longer exists. Oh well. Anyway, the reason why I'm sending this email is because I'm moving. Yep, leaving rainy Seattle for the East Coast. I'm starting my own firm in Philadelphia and I will be there as of the 27th. You can reach me at this email address until I have a phone hooked up since my cell number will be deactivated as of tonight. Thought you might want to update the address book if you have one.
Oh, here's the Chang180 North Haven , Pennsylvania
So if you want to send a naked dancer in a cake, send it . Mom and Dad, I'm kidding.
Cheers, Mike
Tina stared at the email for about five minutes before cracking up. She laughed so hard she couldn't catch her breath. After all of these years, in three days Mike would be six blocks from her. Tears streamed down her face and she hiccupped with laughter. Sometimes things came full circle, and obviously this was one of them. She grinned and closed the email without replying. Sure, they weren't dating anymore but they could be friends, couldn't they?
She looked at the calendar and shook her head with a laugh. Mercedes was moving into her condo on the 30th of the month with her business just starting. She had just moved to the city a few months ago herself, taking a senior attorney position in the firm she had been working for. She couldn't help but smile at the way this month was going. Now how was she going to surprise Mike?
.Mike Chang's apartment10 477A Hughs DriveSeattle, Washington
"So the city of brotherly love, eh?" Matt said into the webcam. He grinned at his friend, still one of his best friends.
"Yeah, I found a great house, fine architectural style, turn of the century. Got an awesome deal on it too. Probably too damn big for what I need, but when you find a deal like that, you can't pass it up."
"How big?"
"Five bedrooms." Mike gave him a sheepish grin. "I couldn't pass it up!"
"Sure sure." Rolling his eyes Matt smiled. "You just wanted the biggest house on the block. At least you'll be close enough to visit almost everyone, eh?"
It was Mike's turn to laugh. "Dude, you've been spending too much time up there, that's two eh's I've counted since we've had this conversation."
"Shut up." Matt rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna complain, I get to do what I love." He noticed the look on Mike's face. "Sorry Dude. I didn't mean…"
"Nah, it's not a big deal. I mean, I found something else I love and am good at, right?"
"I guess." Matt sighed. "It's just…you should be the one who's famous, not me."
"You're not famous, you play in Canada." Mike retorted with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Anyway, I should get going. I still have some crap to pack before the trucks come tomorrow."
"Alright." Matt gave him a smile. "Give me a call when you get in. The season's almost over…"
"Sure. I'll fire off an email when I get into town." He closed his computer and rubbed his knee idly. At least it didn't rain as much in Philadelphia, he hoped that his knee didn't hurt as much there as it did in Seattle.
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It's obviously going to be a future fic, but let me know how it's going, if you like it…if you hate it…if I should continue…