okay, first glee fic ever.... but I adore TArtie and know that FF needs way more fics for them so here i go....

Anything you don't recognise is mine... as well as all mistakes (I wrote this quickly and impulsively so be kind), everything else is 100% glee-owned.

Please review, if only to gush at how cute these two are in the show.

btw, it's set sometime during the hiatus...

"I can't believe Mr Schue is making us sing songs from High School Musical. That's so embarrassing! " Artie muses as they pass the familiar neighbourhood on the way home. All he got in return was a bright giggle from behind him. But like always, he couldn't help but smile.

"Y-Yeah. Sooo emb-b-barrasi-sing." Even with her stutter she manages to drag the word out, a light sarcasm spilling through.

"People already think we're geeks." He continues, because seriously, he did have an issue with the song choice. High School Musical? If anyone out of Glee found out, they would be tormented for weeks. He didn't mind so much. 8 Years without standing up kinda got you ready for all types of humiliation. But she didn't deserve it.

Again she laughs, and pushes his chair a little harder so that his bag nearly falls off his lap. He raises and eyebrow as he turns around and sees her jogging lightly to catch him. She shakes her head, giving to reason for her sudden burst of energy.

"Ouch!" Immediately his own hands fly down to stop his chair and he turns around to see her standing there. He looks at her questioningly.

"I-I've go-got a rock in my sh-shoe." She looks down at her lace up boots, wondering both how a rock got in there and how she was going to get it out. He looks at her skirt and notes that it's both a little bit too short and tight for her to be able to sit on the ground decently.

After of careful consideration from both of them, she looks a little hopeless and he moves his bag to the side and pats his leg. "Sit."

She stares at him, then at his leg, then back at him. She wants to say something about hurting him with her weight, but stops herself in time.

"You wanna get it out, right?"

"Yes. But y-you-"

"It'll be fine. Just sit." He cuts her off, a little impatiently. He's just eager to get that rock out of her boot, of course.

He looks at him a little longer but moves towards him and tentatively seats herself on his lap. She's careful to place most of her weight on the leg she doesn't lift up to unlace. He's a little annoyed and a lot touched that she thinks he's so fragile.

"Th-Thanks." She mumbles as she fiddles with her knots. He places a hand on her back and gives her knots of a different kind.

She finally pulls off her heavy boot and reveals a canary yellow socked foot. He chuckles lightly, because the last time he'd seen her in something that bright was the Mash-Up competition. She had been hilarious that day, still slightly high on whatever vitamins they had been given – she sang along to Cher all day and gave him a hand massage at lunch.

When she tips her boot over a seriously large stone rolls out and they both look at it in bewilderment. How did it get in there? She goes to put her boot back on but as she leans over she loses balance on the one foot she had been keeping her weight on.

His reflexes are fast, surprising both of them. But then again, she isn't exactly far away. Whatever the case, his arm wraps around her waist, keeping her on his lap and more importantly to both of them, pulling her even closer.

"Careful." He breathes into her hair, which smells like strawberries. Which are her favourite fruit, he knows. The list of everything else he knows runs through his head as he feels her smile and lean down to reach her feet again. She puts more weight on him now, and a weird mix of pressure and numbness and it's comfortable.

She finally manages to stand up and turns to him. "Thanks" She says again, and they both notice there's no stutter.

"Anytime." He smiles and they both know he means it whole-heartedly. She smiles back, before reaching around to grab the handlebars of his chair and pulls him to the right direction.

He moves his bag back to the centre of his lap and checks his cell phone for the time. After a couple of metres she releases one of the bars and places her hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly.

He sighs contentedly, because this time, he can really feel her.