AN: Wow, I'm so glad you guys like the story :D I probably won't get another update in till Sunday, because my senior prom is tomorrow, so I really hope this super fluffy first date tides you over. It's super long, so that should help.

Johannorlunda: thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story
fi . in .a .box: OMG you're one of my favorite fanfic authors, so this meant a lot
sartiebodyshots: I'm dreading that too! :O
rebeccah20: I'll do my best to update quickly :)
Maureen Anson: I'll take your advice, swimming Sartie sounds so cute!

Chapter 3: Courtship

It was officially five days after they'd gotten together, and Sam was actually sort of nervous for the first date. He felt like such a girl, wondering what to wear (and feeling particularly stupid about it because, honestly, he didn't have much to choose from). The fact that Artie refused to tell him where they were going made it that much more difficult. The two had agreed to do what Artie called a half-and-half date, where each person in the couple chose one thing to do. Artie refused to tell Sam what his idea was, insisting it'd be better as a surprise. In retaliation, Sam kept his half of the date a secret too, and he couldn't help but worry that his half of the date would pale in comparison to Artie's "best idea ever"; Sam's half was the second and last part of the date, so it had to be epic. After lots of thinking, Sam had decided to take Artie to the street fair after whatever his secretive boyfriend was dragging him off to do.

Sam walked over to the Abram's house, which wasn't too far from the hotel where he was staying. With every step, Sam got more and more anxious. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable about how he looked; he knew that he looked fly in his dark green and light gray plaid shirt and gray jeans. Sam already knew that he was the one that cared more about this date working out; he'd liked Artie for a lot longer than Artie'd liked him, so Sam had more to lose. He got more and more worried that halfway through the date, Artie would panic and leave, claiming to have just been confused, but then Sam remembered that look in Artie's eyes as they said good night on their first night as boyfriends. This was going to be great, he convinced himself in time to knock on the Abram's wooden door.

The door opened more quickly than Sam had expected, and his wheelchair-bound boyfriend rolled out of the house at what had to be top speed. "I'll text you later, Mom," Artie called over his shoulder into the house as he wheeled down the ramp to the empty driveway. "Nice way to talk to your mom," Sam commented sarcastically as he scanned Artie's outfit for any indication of where they might be going first, but the only thing that Artie's long sleeved dark blue tee-shirt and brown jacket tipped Sam off to was that Artie actually owned clothing that didn't come from the Seniors department of Sears. Well, that and his boyfriend was hot. "You look nice," Sam said sincerely as Artie adjusted the breaks on his wheelchair, preparing for travel. "No time for the proper social decorum," Artie teased, beginning to roll away. "We've gotta move fast, or we'll never get there in time."

"Where's there?" Sam asked, wondering where on earth they were headed. Artie smiled and shook his head –"Not telling"- before wheeling off without another word. Sam hesitated for a moment, then jogged a bit to catch up with his boyfriend. "Well, if we're not going to talk about where we're going, can we at least talk?" Sam asked a bit tensely. His boyfriend was acting really weird.

At that comment, Artie slowed down a bit and let out a laugh. "Sorry, I got kind of nervous," Artie admitted. "I'm not really great at the dating thing. Tina didn't want us to go out much because she thought I'd get upset about the number of things I can't do, so she and I always stayed in to watch movies or something. Brittany…she thought I was a robot at first, but then she decided I was a vampire because I never tan. So she never wanted to go outside with me either," Artie explained hurriedly, his voice getting higher as it went faster. "I guess I just wanted to make this work. I haven't had the best luck with this, you really matter to me, and I picked the coolest place EVER to share with you… Sorry for being aloof." Sam laughed at his boyfriend's signature word vomit and took the handles of Artie's chair, pushing him down the street. "Now that sounds like my boyfriend," Sam said, nodding and smiling. At the word boyfriend, Artie's neck turned red.

"Didn't you want to know when I first started liking you?" Sam asked, hoping to get to talk about it. Artie's eyes widened in surprise as he turned his head so that he could see Sam from the side. "Well, honestly, yeah I'm curious, but I figured I'd drop the subject because it could be embarrassing," Artie admitted, wrapping his own hands together on his lap. Sam sighed deeply before suddenly spinning Artie's chair around so that the boyfriends could face each other. "I'm only going to say this once, Artie," Sam intoned, a serious look on his usually grinning face, "You're my boyfriend. And I'm yours. You never need to be embarrassed to tell me anything. Ok? It's just like before, really. We're still bros. We can still talk about anything and stay up late playing Skyrim. The main difference is that we can make out now, too," Sam added jokingly at the end, in his usual tone. Sam really wanted this to get through to his boyfriend, and based off the spark that reignited itself in Artie's startling blue eyes, it did. "Ok, then. If you put it that way it doesn't sound so….imposing," Artie half-smiled at Sam before a look of panic overtook his bespectacled face. "OH MY GOD, WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!" Artie realized as he spun himself around faster than Sam had ever seen him move. "You can tell me on the way, I declare a race!" Artie yelled as he pushed himself forward with his arms. Sam kept up easily enough, straining to get his words out despite the fact that he was going pretty fast.

"I started liking you when we did the Bieber number together," Sam admitted, his face turning slightly pink with both the activity of running and with the realization that he was actually telling Artie the story. "I was having my doubts about Quinn- I just knew that she cheated. I didn't want to admit it, but I was almost positive. Part of me also wanted to break up with her because of you, though. Singing that Bieber song was the first time I ever-" Sam was cut off by Artie making a sharp turn to the left. As soon as Sam realized they were changing directions, he caught up with Artie and continued. "You realize this race could only be fair if I knew where the finish line was!" Sam pointed out, his breathing turning into panting. Artie rolled his eyes and shouted back, "I know. But you would've let the kid in the wheelchair win anyway, right? You were saying, it was the first time you-?"

"Right. It was the first time I saw you in that way. You know, as a guy. I always knew you were good at singing, but you channeled some of the Bieb's confidence for once and that," Sam paused to look at Artie and wink, "was muy sexy. Quinn and I were done within the week, but then I got Santana. Why not, right? She and Brittany are best friends, so you and I got to spend more time together." Artie stopped as soon as Sam finished, and both boys took the time to catch their breath.

"Let me get this straight, Sam. You thought I was hot…because I reminded you of Justin Bieber?" Artie laughed with a laugh on his face. Before Sam could answer, Artie burst out laughing and said, "Wow. I'm lucky that worked. Well," Artie continued, gesturing proudly at the old building in front of them, "here we are!" Sam looked at the run-down white building, and despite the fact that they were there, Sam had even less of an idea about where here was. Artie checked his watches and smiled proudly. "It's 6 to 4. We're early!" he exclaimed proudly, wheeling towards the building. Sam paused, wary of their surroundings. He really liked Artie, but if Artie wanted his kidney or something else shady, Sam had to duck out. Artie turned, looking surprised at Sam's reluctance. "I promise, it's way nicer on the inside," Artie smiled, turning to face his boyfriend head-on. "Don't you trust me?" With that, Sam smiled, deciding to confide in his boyfriend, and pushed Artie through the door.

It really was nicer on the inside, Sam could tell even with the dim light. It was a room full of chairs, all facing a white wall. Was it a theater? Before Sam could ask, a black figure stood up from nowhere. Sam flinched, grabbing Artie's shoulder and preparing to protect his smaller boyfriend. For some reason though, Artie wasn't scared. "Yo, Steve!" Artie yelled happily, wheeling towards to silhouette. "I brought someone for you. This is my…this is Sam. Sam, Steve," Artie said. He seemed really happy to introduce Sam to the quirky looking, maybe thirty year-old who spent his time on the floor of dilapidated building, but when Sam got closer he could see that Steve wasn't that intimidating. He was thin, with a crooked smile on his face and blue eyes that reminded Sam of Artie's. "Steve here owns this run-down theater, and tonight, it's ours, baby," Artie commented happily to Sam, his eyes twinkling even in the bad lighting. "Anything for Artie," Steve nodded, his voice higher than Sam had expected. "I'll get the rolls," Steve announced before slinking off to some back room.

"You brought me to our own theater?" Sam asked incredulously, as the lights in the room turned on revealing a really nice looking place. Artie nodded with a huge grin on his face. "It's amazing, isn't it? Crazy Uncle Steve runs a tight ship, with about a million movies, literally," Artie rambled before realizing what he'd just said. "Well, not literally, obviously," Artie amended, "but still. He's got a ridiculous collection." Sam just stood there in awe. The street fair would seem pretty tame after this, Sam thought, deciding he'd better win Artie a huge teddy bear to compensate.

Steve trudged out of the back room, pulling an enormous box with him. "Alphabetical order. If you don't see it, we don't have it. Guest's choice," he proclaimed, leaving the box at Sam's feet. "Bring the roll up to me in the high room once you decide." With that, Steve patted Sam on the shoulder, really looking at his for the first time. "He's cute," Steve told Artie with a smile before leaving them. Sam looked at Artie, and the two burst out laughing. "He's strange, but awesome," Artie explained, "and he definitely knows a cute boy when he sees one." Sam giggled before saying, "Stop, you're going to make me blush," Sam said jokingly, imitating Artie's voice almost perfectly. Artie smacked the part of Sam's arm he could reach. "Scoun, don't imitate me," Artie said, laughing despite his insult. Artie rolled to the front row of seats in the back half of the theater, and painstakingly moved himself into one of the plush seats. "Pick any movie you want," Artie insisted, setting down the armrest next to him. "I'll be here."

Sam dove into the box of movies like it was a treasure chest, which it kinda was. Artie wasn't kidding when he said that Steve had a ridiculous movie collection. Sam found every movie he'd seen, every movie he'd heard of, and then some. He pulled out Avatar (score!) before thinking about it. He and Artie had seen that movie together so many times that it was almost there movie, but was it first date material? Then again, a chick flick would make everything awkward, while a random comedy would make everything seem far too casual.

"Hurry!" Sam heard Artie's voice from behind him before Sam felt something small hitting the back of his head. "Scoun!" Artie yelled, throwing popcorn. Sam turned around and caught the next popcorn in his mouth, causing Artie to clap excitedly. They proceeded to play that game for the next ten minutes, and Sam prided his big mouth for being able to catch every toss. Finally, Sam announced that he picked a movie, and Artie stopped harassing him long enough for Sam to give Steve his selection. Sam hurried back to the theater, sitting to Artie's left. "This is going to be legendary. So just…sith down," Sam whispered as the movie started. The epic fanfare filled the room as letters scrolled into the screen. "Really? I have the coolest boyfriend ever," Artie grinned before admitting quietly, "this is totally the movie I would've chosen." Sam grinned at his boyfriend before leaning over the armrest and sealing the sweet moment with a kiss, their first as a legit couple. Artie took the hint and leaned in, their lips meeting for the first time since they got together. Sam did the unthinkable and actually let himself ignore the first moments of Star Wars, thinking only about how soft his boyfriend's lips were and how much he wanted this moment to last forever. Eventually, Artie pulled back, apparently out of breath. "Asthma," he explained while pulling an inhaler out of his pocket. "It seems I take his breath away," Sam joked before leaning in for another kiss.

There was no way not to enjoy Star Wars. The two boys spent the whole time talking about things that had never made sense to them but were still awesome, about how epic everything was, and about how many times they'd individually seen the Episode IV (the count was Artie-7, Sam-8). Sam was grateful that there were no awkward silences, and that the relationship didn't seem strained; in fact, he was almost surprised by how natural it felt, as though they should've been doing this all along. The movie ended far too soon, in both of their opinions, but it was almost seven so Artie insisted that the boys venture to Sam's half of the date before the light went away. Sam felt almost embarrassed to take Artie to the street fair after what was undeniably the coolest date of his life, but Artie wouldn't take no for an answer.

"I've got to warn you- my date idea isn't as awesome as yours," Sam admitted sheepishly while pushing Artie in the right direction. Artie frowned up at the handsome man pushing him along. "It's a date with you; I'd groom cats if it was a date with you, and I'm allergic," Artie retorted. Sam snorted good-naturedly: "I didn't know you were allergic to cats." Artie made his voice as mysterious as he could before responding, "There are lots of things you don't know about me, Sam. Lots. Of. Things." The two boyfriends took a moment to look into each other's eyes seriously before they burst out laughing at the same time. Sam affectionately ruffled Artie's hair with one hand and bent down over Artie's shoulder to whisper into his boyfriend's ear, "Well, I intend to learn just about everything about you. Starting-" Sam began, as the boys pulled up to a booth- "with how good you can throw. Go on, take your best shot." Sam asked the carnie for a couple of baseballs and handed one to his boyfriend.

Artie looked at Sam with a look that reeked of Seriously? "Sam, there's no way I can hit those bottles. For one thing, the counter is too high. For another-" "For another, you're a pussy who's afraid to throw a ball," Sam said teasingly. "Come on! Try it," Sam insisted, pulling Artie back so that he could get the best possible shot. Artie sighed, then looked at Sam with a comically child-like "Do I have to?" Sam laughed out loud, then looked at his boyfriend pointedly. Artie took the hint, let out another exasperated sigh, and then threw. Sam was so impressed with the strength of Artie's throw that he it took his a while to realize that Artie missed the bottles completely and hit the carnie. A yelp of pain brought both boys out of each other's eyes and into reality. "Is ok! Happens all the time," the carnie insisted, nursing a red spot on his bald head. "You, go," the carnie insisted to Sam. "Watch and learn, hot stuff," Sam teased before knocking down all the bottles on the first try. The carnie was so happy that it was like Artie hadn't just nailed him on the skull. "Take the big one," the carnie said enthusiastically, gesturing towards an enormous teddy bear, "take for the pretty girlfriend." At the word girlfriend, the carnie waved his hand in Artie's direction. Both boys fought the urge to laugh as Sam took the bear he'd earned. "Here," Sam said, placing the bear in Artie's lap, "I think it's as big as you are." As Sam pushed him towards the next activity, Artie grumbled, "I'm clearly a boy. Why would he think I'm a girl?" Sam laughed, and tussled Artie's hair again, a behavior that would persist throughout their relationship. "Maybe it's because you throw like one," Sam said lightly, anticipating the slap and muttered "Scoun."

The boys continued down the street, chatting about anything until Artie stopped talking. Sam followed his blue-eyed gaze to the small roller coaster down the street. "You want to take a ride?" Sam asked, though it was more of a statement than an assumption. Artie hesitated before responding with, "Yes. I mean, no. I mean, it looks pretty cool and I can't remember the last time I got on a roller coaster, but I don't think-" Sam cut Artie off with a smile and a whispered, "I wasn't talking about the roller coaster." Artie's entire being blushed, and Sam laughed louder than he ever had in his life. "Seriously though, dude," Sam said, sobering up, "you should. I'll help you get in. You'll be all strapped up, it'll be fine." Before Artie had more time to convince himself it was a bad idea, Sam had rolled him over and was helping him into the ride. Artie couldn't help feeling his abdomen tighten again when Sam buckled him in and Sam's hands were ghosting his lap. "Thank you," Artie mouthed. Sam smiled, ran to make sure the operator of the ride would watch the chair, and then rushed to strap himself in next to his boyfriend. "If you're scared, hold my hand. And scream. Scream like you want the world to hear you," Sam advised, holding his hand out. The sound of the ride starting made Artie flinch a bit, and he took Sam's hand. The boys shared a brief moment before the ride began ascending, each click adding to the tension. Artie's grip tightened around Sam's hand up until the coaster began to fall. The ride wasn't that big, but Artie screamed all the same. Sam had heard Artie sing full-voice before, but even that wasn't as loud as his scream right now. When the ride ended, Artie sat still. Sam was beginning to fear for his boyfriend's safety and sanity when he heard Artie ask a single question: "Can we go again?"

The operator let them stay on the ride, since Artie getting out of the ride and into the chair just to get back into the ride seemed cool, and besides, there was no line. Not a lot of people went to the street fairs. After riding it twice more, the boyfriends left, taking with them a picture of their reactions. Artie laughed at how terrified his own face was, while Sam pointed out that it was the first picture of them as a couple, hair streaming, faces distorted by speed and adrenaline. That made the boys laugh and scour the grounds for a photo booth for a proper picture session. With a little help from his boyfriend, Artie got into the booth and posed just as cheesily as Sam did. Sam dared to kiss Artie for the last frame, but judging from the response he got, his boyfriend clearly didn't mind. The last stop was the cotton candy machine, and the boys shared on the walk home to Artie's. By now it was almost nine, and neither could ever remember having such a great date. The boys stopped outside of Artie's front door, unsure of how to wrap up the night.

"Today was so great, Sam. Thanks. I think I can say with absolute certainty that this thing between us, whatever you want to call it, is the real thing. I really like you, and now that I let that slip, I'm just going to shut up and hope that you still think you like me," Artie rambled, tugging at the bottom of his shirt. Sam answered by getting on his knees, whispering "Scoun", and kissing Artie good night. The boys lost themselves in each other, almost forgetting that they were right in front of Artie's house. The kiss only stopped when they heard a noise from within. Artie pulled back with fear, as though his parents were listening on the other side of the door. They waited a few seconds, then heard nothing. "Tonight was great," Sam assured his easily-unnerved boyfriend. "I can't wait to do it again sometime." With that, Sam stood and played with Artie's hair again. "I'll text you," Sam assured Artie over his shoulder as he walked down the front lawn. "See you!" Artie yelled out to the retreating figure. He stayed outside until his boyfriend's silhouette could no longer be seen, and felt his head reeling. Tonight had been perfect, and Artie really hoped that tonight was the foreshadowing for how the rest of their relationship would pan out, because if it was, then his relationship with Sam could be the best thing that ever happened to him.

AN: Wow, that was SUPER LONG! Did anyone think it was too long? I could make more chapters this length, but it would obviously take more time. I hope everyone enjoyed the Sartie date, because I know they did :) Leave me messages- how am I doing? What do you, the reader, want to see? What parts did you like?

Until the next update! :D