Big thanks to everyone who's waited patiently for the newest section. I'm sorry it's been a long time coming! There's plenty more written already, I promise, so don't worry – you'll catch up soon!
Big thanks as always go to everyone who has read and reviewed, and as always to my lovely supportive PJ and lastly my unfailing puzzle piece, ML. I loves you!
Comments, crit and reviews always appreciated.
xXx
"What should I wear?"
Tina's sweeping mascara across her lashes but still manages an eye roll as she stands in her heavy black boots, black chain-clad skirt and lavender bra. "Clothes, Michael," she tells him simply, reaching across to grab her white t-shirt from the end of the bed. Shucking it on over her shoulders she allows him a moment to stare down the simple v before snapping her fingers to bring him back to the conversation at hand. "It's not a fashion show, it's a protest."
Groaning, Mike sinks onto the edge of the bed. "I know I just…I don't want to embarrass you," he tells her, looking shy all of a sudden.
Letting a little giggle slip from her lips, Tina bends down and places a sympathetic kiss to his cheek. "I was fine at your giant hospital b-benefit, you'll be fine at one simple p-protest." Then reaching into the chest of drawers, she pulls out a pair of dark jeans, tossing them towards him, and a simple grey t-shirt. "I'm sure you can handle the rest?" she teases.
Ducking back into the bathroom Tina's brushing her teeth – loaded toothbrush between unglossed lips – when her phone buzzes on the nightstand. Hopping on one foot as he tugs on his jeans, Mike leans over and grabs it. "Tina," he calls to her, "message." Glancing down at the screen, he pops his head through the door as she's rinsing out her mouth with the cool water. "Tee?" he says again. "Message. It's Quinn."
Taking the phone, Tina wipes her mouth with the back of her wrist and flicks her finger on the screen, reading the little type as she walks back into the bedroom. "She says she and Puck'll meet us at the noodle bar by St Marks and we'll head down from there. There are m-meant to be some fantastic speakers." Digging in a drawer, she unearths two leather cuffs and straps them on her wrists. "Just in case," she teases him with a wink. "No ER visits today."
He makes her pancakes – telling her off every time her fingers dart into the bag of chocolate chips but then kissing the sweet bitter taste from her lips – and her legs swing as she sits on the counter next to him. "It won't be a big one today," she assures him, letting him feed her a slice of apple as he cuts them up to garnish the plates. "But just k-keep close to me or Quinn or Puck, okay?"
Moving the two plates to the table, he helps her down – unnecessarily – from the counter with his hands firm and warm on her waist. "Like glue," he assures her, knowing that assurance is what she needs; she worries her bottom lip between her teeth. "Now eat your pancakes."
She grins, feeling spoiled, feeling loved, and does as she's told.
As they walk down town, their fingers laced, Tina keeps up a rambling exposition. "The Planned Parenthood place is a block over from an Elementary school. Somehow p-people have got it in their head that this m-means young girls are being encouraged into having lots of pre-marital, unsafe sex and then g-go and get their pregnancies terminated. Murdering babies, you know? So there's a p-protest against the Clinic. We're going down in support."
"So we're protesting the protestors?" Mike clarifies, pushing his sunglasses up his nose as the Spring light bounces off the gleaming windows of the buildings they pass.
Looking up at him, Tina smiles almost sadly. "Yeah." There's a pause as she watches a mother cross the street with two daughters; each firmly held in hand, matching pigtails bobbing around childish heads. "You know the girls from class heard I was d-doing this today. They w-wanted so much to come I had to practically order them to school instead."
Smiling, Mike squeezes her hand. "They're socially conscious kids."
"Yeah," Tina nods her head thoughtfully as they wait for the walk signal to kick in. "And they have strong feelings about a woman's power over her b-body." She shrugs her shoulders, letting Mike tug her hand slightly as they begin to walk again. "Chantel was reading on her phone about it and almost k-kicked off when she heard that this group d-doesn't even support abortions after rape." Tina shivers then, even though the day is unusually warm, and has to stop for a moment as though to collect herself.
"Hey," Mike starts when he sees tears begin to eek from Tina's lashes. "You okay?"
They're stopping in the middle of the sidewalk with people ebbing around them, and his hand reaches up to cup her cheek, wiping the escaping moisture away with the pad of his thumb. Taking in a deep, hiccupping breath, Tina quirks a sad smile and ducks away from his touch long enough that she can scrub at her cheeks with her jacket sleeve. "Yeah," she assures him, sniffling and nodding her head, only looking back up to meet his gaze when she's sure the tears have stopped. "Just…these p-people are wrong, Mike. I mean, how can they think…don't they understand what that k-kind of assault does to a p-person?"
"No, they don't," he tells her, rubbing his hands up and down her arms, a frown pinching his face. "Tee, they don't know your girls and they don't see the women I see coming into the ER. They don't see the real people that this affects – what difference having options makes afterwards. The feeling of power they get back."
Sniffing hard, Tina reaches out for his hand again and they pick up walking, pace considerably slowed. "You know I'm n-not just upset for the girls," she starts, and her voice is very low and gravely and almost inaudible.
"I know," he tells her. "This is about a lot of people. That's why we're going, right?"
She looks up at him then and while her mouth parts as though she's about to say something else, the words seem to leave her and she just breathes in deeply, nodding her head. "Yeah," she agrees. "That's why we're going."
xXx
When they get to the noodle bar Quinn and Puck are waiting outside, empty bowls in front of them and Quinn's hair bright in the sunshine. Puck's holding Beth in his lap; pinching noodles between her chubby thumb and finger she attempts to bring them to her mouth though most end up splattering the sidewalk below.
"I like the purple," Quinn says by way of greeting as she folds Tina into her arms, tugging on one of the pinned in violet strands of her hair. Pulling back, she looks Tina in the face. "You ready for today?"
"Absolutely," Tina affirms, leaning down to press a quick kiss to Puck's cheek before lifting up her goddaughter with a grin. "Hi Beth," she greets as the little girl lights up at the sight of her.
"Nee!"
Tina straightens the little white mouse hat that sits atop Beth's blonde curls and presses a kiss to the tip of her nose, making the little girl laugh. Quinn watches on, an amused – and slightly knowing – smile on her face.
"She's coming with us?" Mike asks curiously as Puck gets to his feet, tucking enough money under a glass to cover the bill. Strapping a large sturdy carrier on his back, he waits until Tina has deposited Beth in it before securing the strap around his waist.
"She's been protesting since she was five months old," Puck says proudly, reaching behind to tickle the little girl's feet. "And this is an important one for her to be at."
"Part of the 'Awesome women and the men who love them' club?" Mike suggests with grin as they all begin walking again, and it's enough that Puck laughs, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Yeah, you're our newest member," he jokes, "come see me later, we'll get you your jacket."
As they approach the site of the protest, Mike can hear it before he even gets close to seeing it; car horns blaring, the sound of muffled voices through megaphones, shouting and heavy footsteps. Even as he's tickling Beth to make her laugh, he's amazed that she looks so calm; the street is getting busier and people are packing tighter them the nearer they get to their destination, bodies pressing against bodies – he loses sight of Tina for a second when she and Quinn break off to hug a guy with dreadlocks.
"Mike, Joe, Joe, Mike," Quinn is calling over the crowd noise, pointing between the two men and Mike's barely had time to nod his head in acknowledgement before the dreadlocked guy is pulling the two women through the crowd; Mike catches about every fifth word that they say. Something about crowd numbers and the police, and it's then that Mike glances over the top of the mass and catches sight of the thirty or so police officers in full riot gear making a physical barrier between the protesters outside the Family Planning Clinic and the protestors protesting their protest.
He's staring when he feels a hand on his arm. Puck still has Beth on his back – she's merrily waving at the people around them as though this is all a great party – but his touch is warm and strong on Mike's shoulder. "Tear gas," he explains, pointing to the first half of the police force, "and rubber bullets." His voice is matter of fact and it makes Mike have to double take because wow, yeah, okay, he hadn't noticed the large weaponry strapped across their bodies.
"Rubber bullets?" he echoes faintly, and can feel his stomach flip. He picks up his pace slightly until he is at Tina's side again; she and Quinn and Joe the dreadlocked guy have met up with a smaller man – not much taller than Quinn – with a broad Irish accent and clutching a clipboard as he points through the crowds.
"What's the craic, ladies? Looks like numbers are bigger than we expected – apparently their sister group got bussed in from Jersey, more's the pity."
"So where do you want us?" Quinn's shouting over the din, her pink streaked hair getting mussed in the wind and she holds it back in a fisted grasp. She looks between Puck, Mike and Tina and the two girls share a tacit split-second conversation as the other men look on.
Rory – apparently the Irish guy is called Rory – points them up towards the front of the melee. "Not to be superficial but you gals should get to the front. We got cameras around and you're more likely to get play than Hairy Helen or the guy with the giant middle finger on his t-shirt." Waving his hand towards the masses, he hears his name being called and starts moving away from them. "Feck, I'll catch you guys later, right? Stay safe!" And with that, he disappears into the crowd.
Joe goes ahead of their little group, and Mike moves up as Quinn falls back to talk with Puck, her hand coming up to smooth Beth's curls as the little girl babbles from her carrier. Mike, on the other hand, is staring all around trying to take in the volume of different people and all the signs and shouted slogans when he feels a small hand press into his. "You okay?" Tina asks, her voice raised over the noise and her fingers squeezing tightly.
He's nodding his head before he realises and she looks proud of him as they work their way through the crowd. "Just loud," he admits, because while he's seen protests on tv he's never been in the middle of one like this. Lifting his free hand, he rubs at his ear, hoping the ringing will go away. "Are we going somewhere?"
"The front!" Tina explains as Quinn and Puck pass them and Beth calls merrily for Tina as she wiggles her hands. "Get an idea of what we're f-facing off against."
Mike's happy that Tina's hand stays in his as they squeeze through the crowds. At one point the guy with dreadlocks branches off (and Mike didn't miss the way Puck's eyes narrow as he leans down and presses a kiss against Quinn's cheek) and then it's just the four of them again. Placards wave around and Mike has to duck under a particularly low-hanging one before he gets another one to the back of the head and curses loud enough for Tina to hear over the yells. Laughing, she leans up and presses her lips against his cheek.
"I thought we said we'd be c-careful today?" she teases, tugging him so he walks closer alongside her.
The crowd is busy and dense but they end up in a position near the front of the barricade. Here the police presence is thicker and he comes face to face with the first lot of people doing the initial protesting across the street. On their placards he sees pictures of dead foetuses and one of them carries a large doll with a knife stuck through its chest. The stark image is enough to make Mike recoil, but then Tina's eyes follow his and she's squeezing his wrist. "Don't let them g-get to you," she tells him. "You're a d-doctor. You know that isn't how it w-works."
For the next thirty minutes as they move around the crowd there are words being spat at them, and while he can't make all of them out he can tell from the faces of the people saying them that they're not kind. Tina – who clearly has better hearing than he does or is just more used to the noise than he is – flinches at a couple of them and Mike can hear Puck yelling things back that are definitely not polite but he feels like doing the same thing because how dare they yell that kind of thing at Tina? And Quinn? Who they don't know at all?
He wonders if these protesters even know real women and can imagine what they would do if something happened to them. He can't help but think of Santana and Brittany – women he thinks of as family – and about Tina, and what he would do, how he would feel if they were denied the right to access the medical help if they needed it. If the protestors are so worried about the Clinic being by an Elementary school, shouldn't they simply be thinking about educating the young women there? Teaching them how to make good choices? And how to be in control of their bodies and their lives?
A bitter taste washes over his tongue; he recognises it as adrenalin.
An hour in Mike sees a new wave of media vans driving up, and the crowd surges with their arrival. He finds himself getting pushed back slightly and loses Tina's hand in the crowd, but he can still hear her voice – and Quinn's – shouting so he doesn't worry too much. There are still vicious words being thrown around and he's just heard a particularly crass insult – one he wouldn't ever say and can't believe it would come out of the mouth of someone claiming to be religious – and it makes his blood boil.
"Hey doc," Puck's suddenly up next to him, swinging Beth off his back and holding her carrier out. "You hold her for me for a minute?"
Mike finds Beth in his arms, her happy chubby face staring up at him and her cheezit stained fingers grasping at the front of his t-shirt. "Sure," he agrees, shifting Beth more securely against his chest, not wanting her to get barged in the crowd. "Why?"
"Need to go punch this son of a bitch," Puck says simply, and is just about to plough through the barrier, the line of cops separating the two sides and towards the bad-mouthed protester when Rory appears from nowhere (as though perhaps this isn't the most unusual of occurrences) and throws himself in front of the mohawked, taller man, holding him back.
"Quinn!" Rory calls out, his accent brash as he shouts. "Need to sort out yer man!"
The blonde snakes out from under the arm of a woman in a bright red tank top and takes Rory's place, but her grip isn't half as strong. Instead, she just reaches up and cups Puck's cheek. "Don't you even think about it Noah," she orders in a no-nonsense tone.
"Yeah!" Tina pipes up, and it's then that Mike finally relocates her, jumping up and down on the balls of her feet, her fist pumping in the air about six people over. "Rachel's in c-court today and can't come bail us out!"
It seems to cool Puck down enough that he just shakes his head, jaw clenched, and then throws some choice insults back at the man in question. Mike's pretty sure that some of them are in Hebrew; either that or he's either deafer than he thought or just not up-to-date on today's insulting lingo. Instead of thinking too hard about it, Mike just holds Beth a fraction closer to his chest and she seems happy to go; smacking his shoulder she babbles freely, pointing around the area and squawks with delight when Mike presses a kiss to the top of her head. "My!" she addresses him, and Mike is briefly amazed that she's said his name when suddenly the crowd heaves and the guy in front of him falls to his knees and then all that is on his mind is not dropping the baby and where is Tina because people have started yelling louder and their footsteps have become more frenetic.
"Quinn!" he hears Puck's voice over the crowd, but he's lost sight of the other man. In fact, he can no longer see any of the people he knows; instead it is just a crowd of nameless, faceless people and he doesn't know whether to move – to try and find Tina – or to stay still and in places, like a lost child at the mall. He hears slurs being thrown and wow, he hadn't realised there were so many synonyms for the word whore, but he just keeps Beth tucked into his chest and one hand over her ears – as though to protect her from the hateful vitriol.
Luckily, the decision over what to do next is made for him when a head of pink hair appears under the sea of waving arms. "Mike!" Quinn yells, and the look of relief that breaks over her face when she sees him with Beth is indescribable. "We need to move back!" she tells him. "It's getting really crazy up there!"
Still holding Beth, he follows Quinn as she makes a path through the crowd. "Where's Tina?" he calls at her back, because he hasn't seen her purple-streaked hair anywhere and all he can think of is the first time he met her after a protest – bruised and broken and bleeding.
"She's with Jacob Ben Israel, filming some footage of the protests," Quinn calls back. "A human face to put on the issue – but don't worry, Joe's with them! And I saw Puck up ahead but he didn't have Beth."
"He gave her to me," Mike explains needlessly, and is relieved when the crowd starts thinning as they reach the back of the melee. He's even more relieved when they get to an empty alleyway and Quinn reaches out for her daughter, holding her tightly against her chest.
"Hey baby," she greets with a murmur, and it makes something in Mike's chest tighten – the sheer joy, he thinks, of a mother being reunited with her child.
"Quinn!" Puck's voice is loud in their little oasis of quiet and tinged deeply with worry and Quinn answers automatically.
"We're here!" she calls back, and Mike can hear Puck break into a short run before appearing before them. There's a split second before his arms are around his wife and his daughter, and he's pressing a kiss to Quinn's lips. "I'm fine," she assures him, words mumbled against his mouth, shifting Beth more securely on her hip. "We're okay."
Mike feels bad, but since Beth's been returned safely to her parents he can't help but turn back to his initial concern, so he interrupts. "Have you seen Tina?"
Puck nods his head and it's enough to make Mike's heart swell with relief. "She's just finishing up with JBI," he tells Mike. "Teen Jesus is gonna bring her back." The name is said with a bit of a snarl, but after a cutting look from Quinn, Puck raises his hands in a placatory gesture. Taking a deep breath, he reaches out and grasps Mike's upper arm. "Look, bro, thanks for taking care of my little Puckasaurus for me."
There's a loud burst of shouting from the crowd and all three heads snap back towards the sound. "I should go back in there," Quinn says softly, passing Beth over to Puck, who cradles her against his chest, but she reaches out to grasp her mother's hair and whimpers softly.
"She wants you, Q," Puck says softly, shifting Beth up to his shoulder where she continues to sniffle and repeat her babble of 'mamamama'.
The crowd surges again and instead of Quinn moving it has Mike stepping forward. The word "Tina" has barely left his lips before he starts to move and is almost going to break into a run when a guy with a comically large Jew-fro breaks through the back of the crowd, along with the most beautiful sight he's ever seen. "Tee!" he greets her with relief, wrapping her up in his arms and not even noticing how the guy with the dreadlocks has followed her out and is now talking with Quinn.
"Rory t-told us to fall back," Tina admits against Mike's chest, wrapping her arm around his waist as they approach the rest of the group. "Someone said something about a g-guy with a gun and we all pretty much ran – everyone's splitting on both sides and he said we should too. He's up there giving his statement to the police."
The words are enough to make Mike's heart freeze and he presses a kiss to the top of her head, a volley of curses running through his mind and his eyes squeezed shut. "So what now?" he asks, praying they aren't going to suggest going back despite the scattering crowd, because he's not sure his nerves can take it. Instead, sheer relief washes over him as he hears Puck's next words.
"We go to the bar," he tells him, "and we get very, very drunk."
xXx
When Mike flops down on the couch his head is fuzzy and his skin is pleasantly warm. His ears still have a slight ring to them but the earlier terror has left him, leaving him with just a faint shudder every now and then when he thinks about the protest, and an urge to keep Tina within arm's distance at all times. On that note, he reaches out as she walks past and tugs her until she is laying on him, her arms folded atop his chest and her chin propped on top.
Her bare feet wiggle so they're resting between his socked ones. "You okay?" she asks, cocking her head and leaning into his touch as he runs his fingers through her hair. "I know today wasn't quite what you w-were expecting."
"Is that always how it ends?" he asks earnestly, staring up at the ceiling so she can't see the worry so clearly in his face. He knows she can hear it though, because she wriggles up higher on his body and presses a kiss below his ear.
"No," she assures him, her lips a millimetre away from his stubble-rough skin. "Sometimes, but not always. Today got a b-bit out of hand." She shrugs slightly, and goes to lift herself off of him, but his arms wrap tighter around her body and he buries his face in her hair.
"Don't go," he pleads with her. "Want you with me."
She lets him hold her for a minute, but then rubs his arm. "C'mon," she tells him. "Mike. I need to like, b-breathe." It's said with a little laugh, but makes him relax his arms, and then she pulls them both upright so they're sitting face to face. "Quinn and I are always careful at protests, but the thing is…it's a mass of p-people. And people are the m-most unpredictable thing in the universe." Leaning forward, she cups his face in both her hands and lays a long, warm and reassuring kiss against his lips.
When she pulls back, he sighs, softly. "I wish I could ask you never to go again."
"I know."
"I won't but…can I just ask…could you do something for me?"
Standing up, Tina stretches her arms above her head and Mike watches as her shirt rises slightly and shows of a sliver of her bare skin. "Of course."
"If you know it's going to be dangerous…if you know you're likely to get hurt…please don't go." Leaning forward, he holds her hips, resting his forehead against her stomach. "I know there are gonna be times when things happen but…if you know beforehand…please."
There must be something in his voice – some trace of honesty or desperation or the fact that his face is pressed into her – because Tina just stares at him for a moment before nodding her head. "I'll try." It's all she promises, but it seems enough. Mike lets out a breath he didn't even realise he'd been holding and tilts his head so he's kissing the skin above her waistband.
"Thank you."
Tina has a vague memory surface then, of Kurt sitting next to her in this very room and telling her that Mike loved her and couldn't cope if anything happened to her. She has to duck her chin to hide a small smile because somehow it's funny how these things happen.
Tina pulls her t-shirt away from her neck, and wrinkles her nose. "I n-need a shower," she says softly. "And so do you. Protesting is dirty work." Holding his hand, she's just dragging him down the hallway when she hears her phone ring in the kitchen and gives him a slight shove towards the bathroom. "Get started without me," she tells him. "This'll only t-take a minute."
Mike does as he's told; he's stripped off his clothes and dumped them in the hamper, and is just getting the water set to the right temperature when the door opens and closes and a pair of arms slide around his naked body. "Quinn?" he guesses, turning around and helping Tina pull her t-shirt over her head.
"Mmmhmm," Tina answers in the affirmative. "She said she's sorry she and Puck had to leave the bar early but she really thought he m-might punch Joe."
"No love lost there?" Mike asks, unzipping Tina's skirt and sliding it down her legs, watching her unhook her bra and throw it in the sink before kicking off her underwear, letting him grab her around the waist and pull her under the pelting shower spray.
Picking up her shampoo, Tina pours some into Mike's hands and turns around so he can massage it into her hair. "Quinn slept with Joe like a m-month before she and Puck got serious. And Puck doesn't share w-well. Especially with people he knows has seen his wife n-naked."
"Ah," Mike acknowledges, running his fingers gently over her scalp until she melts back into his chest and begins to almost purr. "Well, I can understand that."
"Plenty of p-people who've seen me naked in this city Mike," Tina reminds with a laugh, but it's the truth and she knows he needs to hear it.
"Doesn't mean I can't be jealous."
"You shouldn't be. It's not like you thought I was a virgin when we met."
They both laugh at that as Mike lets her turn around in his grip and rub shampoo into his own hair. Suds drip down his forehead as he smiles at her. "No, you definitely weren't that…but I'm just saying, I know how Puck feels. If I thought you'd slept with…I don't know, that video kid or what was his name? Rory? I would feel weird about you hanging around with them every day."
Leaning back and rinsing the soap out of her hair, Tina raises an eyebrow. "You don't seem to care than I hang out with Quinn most days."
There's a moment of silence, Mike gold fishing, before Tina laughs and lets him off. "I'm joking," she says matter-of-factly. "But you shouldn't have such heteronormative assumptions Michael."
Letting go of a breath, Mike strokes her sopping wet hair back from her face. "I'm sorry," he tells her, pressing a kiss to her naked shoulder. "I'd like to amend my statement to say I would be jealous of any guy or girl you had slept with if they were still hanging around you and acting like they weren't over you. You're mine."
Lifting her chin, she shakes her head and smiles at him. "I am. And you're m-mine."
"Yep."
Picking up a bottle, Tina squeezes yellow gel into her hands and begins rubbing it over Mike's chest. It smells like citrus fruit and clean sheets and they both breathe in deeply, taking in the familiar scent. "Thank you for c-coming with me today," Tina tells him, running her hands over his biceps and down his forearms. She tangles their soapy hands together.
"Thank you for trusting me enough to let me," he replies, letting one hand go and bringing it up to cup her breast. "It meant a lot to me."
"Mmm," she responds as his thumb trails over her pink-tipped nipple. Her back arches into him. "I trust you to d-do everything with me," she grins, bringing their hips together.
One eyebrow arched, Mike quirks a grin. It's laced through with desire. "Reeeally?" he asks, trailing his hands down to wrap around her wrists. Grasp gentle, he captures her hands above her head, pressing her against the tiles. "I know last time we talked about it you said you were more comfortable being the tier than the tieee, but that was when we were first together and I understand if you don't want to…" He rambles slightly even as his lips travel down her neck. For a moment he can feel her body tremble, and he lets go immediately. "Tee?"
Naked, wet hair down and stuck around her face, Tina looks small and vulnerable and is staring down at her wrists like they somehow belong to someone else. Mike's about to shut off the water – because honestly, her silence is freaking him out – when she stretches out her arm and puts it back in Mike's grasp. "I w-want you to," she says slowly, taking a deep breath in and out.
"Are you sure?" Her response is a surprise, and Mike emotions flicker between utterly concerned and completely turned on and either way he's not feeling as level headed as normal, but Tina just nods her head.
"You love me," she says softly, and it's more of a statement than a question, but Mike answers anyways.
"I really really do."
"Okay," she says, and it's like it prompts her to move because she sticks her face right under the showerhead and lets water rain onto her face. He can see the muscles in her back are tense but she sounds resolute.
He gets out of the shower first and holds out her towel for her, and when she steps into it he can feel how taut her body is. "You can change your mind," he promises. "Tee, It's okay."
Letting him pat her dry, she shakes her head. "No, I w-want to share this with you," she insists but her brow is knitted in a frown that makes her looks like she's thinking about how to divide imaginary numbers.
Letting out a sigh, he follows her into the bedroom as she unwraps the towel from her body and uses it to rub at her hair, combing through with her fingers. He's about to call time – because there's clearly something that isn't quite okay about this – when Tina drops the towel in her wake and is suddenly in his arms, naked still-slick body pressed against his and her arms wrapped around his neck. "Tie me up," she tells him, her voice barely above a murmur, her fingers twirling in the hair at the nape of his neck and her lips ghosting his sensitive earlobe. "Do it."
He knows part of the brazen attitude is a front, but he goes with it nonetheless. Hands sliding under her legs, he picks her up so she's wrapped around his waist, carrying her until she's close enough to dump on the mattress. Crawling up her body, he presses kisses to the hollow of her hip, the dip of her belly button, the shadow of her ribs and the swell of her breast before reaching her mouth. He kisses her there – hands trailing up her body and again wrapping around her wrists as they rest above her on the pillows – until they are both breathless. "You're sure?" he asks again, wanting to be sure, wanting to know that she's okay with this, but despite Tina's shoulders still being tense, she nods her head resolutely.
In their drawers, Mike searches through until he finds the softest, oldest ties he can find. One is his own but he doesn't recognise the second; it's blue and red striped and feels like it's been through the wash way more than normal ties. Still, he just shrugs his shoulders at its appearance and returns to the bed, lifting first one hand towards the headboard, and then the other.
"I'm going to do them loose," he promises as he wraps the material first around her wrist and then around the skinny wooden slats. "So you can get out of them any time you want okay? And tell me if you want to stop." She swallows thickly as she nods, but lifts her other hand up to join the first. When he's done tying, Mike leans back on his heels. "Do they feel okay?"
Tugging and twisting gently, so she can feel the give and pull of the material, Tina nods her head slowly. Her body still looks a bit tense, so he stretches out next to her, his hand coming up to cup the back of her head, tangling in her damp hair. Leaning in, he kisses her soundly until he can feel her relax against him, her lips pressing back against his. Wiggling a leg between hers, he eases her knees apart, running his hand up and down her inner thigh. He keeps the touch gentle and soft, but still slightly teasing, always stopping short of the top until she finally, finally, breaks into a smile.
"Are you j-just going to t-tease?" she asks, arching her back as he kisses the side of her neck, keeping pressed against her so she can feel him close.
"Maybe…"
She twists her hips then, tugging slightly on the ties, and goose bumps break over her skin. Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment she swallows thickly and whispers his name, almost pleading.
"Tee?"
Deep breath, she opens her eyes, locking on his. "Can you k-kiss me please?" she asks, and it's such a simple request he has to acquiesce. He kisses her lips, then her cheeks, her eyelids, down her neck, down her sternum, one on each nipple, across her hips until she's giggling. Leaning down between her legs, he kisses her there until she's wet and writhing. He keeps up a running conversation as he does – not about anything important, just telling her how special she is, how hot and how amazing – but it keeps her muscles relaxed until he wants them to tense. Then he calls her beautiful and flickers his tongue and she is pulling hard against her bonds so he crawls up her body, kissing her with her own taste still on his lips.
He slides into her slowly, holding his weight on his knees and one elbow, reaching up to tangle the other hand with hers at the headboard. "Okay?" he asks, though it's more of a pant because keeping things slow and steady is almost painful; he's been imagining this for a long time and he wants her to enjoy it as much as he is.
"Mmhmm," she replies, biting her bottom lip. Hooking one leg around his back, a small mewl escapes from her lips as a flush colours her chest and cheeks.
Mike's head rests on her shoulder, hands reaching up to cup her breasts, thumbs sweeping over her nipples as he thrusts into her harder. Their bodies pressed together, they slide against each other, both of them murmuring words of encouragement and adoration and before he knows it – before he's even had time to check whether Tina's close – Mike's coming hard, spilling into her. His teeth bite down on her shoulder making her gasp.
"Sorry," he manages, trying to catch his breath, kissing the mark he's just left, lathing it with his tongue. "Are you okay?"
Tina's still breathing hard too, but nods her head. Licking her lips, she shifts slightly beneath him. "Could you m-maybe untie me now?" she asks, but it's calm and said with a wiggle of her fingers that makes him laugh.
Reaching up, he helps her slide her hands out of the knotted ties, and then wraps his arms around her as she tangles her fingers in his hair. They kiss, slowly, warmly, Mike's large hands rubbing up and down her back before easing her down against the pillows. Lying next to her, he brushes her hair back from her cheek. "I'm sorry."
Looking at him curiously, their noses only an inch or two apart, Tina asks curiously, "Why are you sorry?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Mike doesn't break eye contact, but says honestly, "I could tell it wasn't the best for you."
"Mike - "
"Tina," he cuts in, almost laughing. "I know you. I've been having sex with you for long enough to know when you're not 100% with me." The words are direct but he softens them with a sweep of his thumb against her cheekbone. "Are you okay?"
Tina stares at him for a long time before leaning over, pressing her lips hard against his, eyes screwed shut. Her hands clutch at his biceps. "It's just new," she assures him, "and different. And after kind of a f-full on day." A smile tickles the edges of her mouth, and she bites at her bottom lip as she squeezes his arm. "I promise it's no c-comment on your prowess."
Letting her shift around in his arms until he's spooning her back, Mike presses a kiss to her bare shoulder. "And you're sure you're okay?"
"Just tired," she promises him, tugging his arms around her as she roots further into the pillow, her still slightly damp hair curling down her back.
His arms settle around her, one hand flat against her stomach and the other curling over her chest and resting lightly on her upper arm. Closing his eyes, he breathes in the fresh citrus of her hair mixed with the warm scent of her skin. "I love you Tina. Sweet dreams, okay?"
Picking up his hand, she presses a kiss to the centre of his palm. "You too."
xXx
The Sesame Street theme song is playing loudly as Tina lets herself into Quinn and Puck's apartment, having been buzzed up from the street. When she gets in she can see Beth holding onto the edge of the coffee table, jumping up and down in time with the Muppets, wearing only a diaper and a smile on her face.
"Quinn?" Tina calls out, setting her bags down by the door and shucking off her jacket, hanging on the over-full coat pegs.
"In here!" The voice comes from the bathroom, and when Tina pops her head in, Quinn is leaning over the sink wearing only her bra and jeans, her hair soaking wet and water dripping from her face and arms. "Lunch disaster," she laughs, picking up a towel and using it to dry off her face, chest and arms.
"The p-peaches again?" Tina guesses with a wry smile. "You know she h-hates them."
"We had one jar left!" Coming out of the bathroom, Quinn finally leans into Tina, pressing a kiss against her cheek. "Hi, by the way. Thanks for coming to lunch today instead of going out."
"No problem. You said she's got a cold?"
At the words, both women look over to where Beth is dancing, her arms above her head and her round toddler's stomach sticking out. Her nose is slightly pink, but she giggles at the screen. "I'm probably being ridiculous," Quinn admits, grabbing another t-shirt from the laundry pile and pulling it over her head. "But I figured this way if she gets worse I can just put her to bed instead of having to drag her across town."
Going back to the front door, Tina picks up the paper sack she had carried up, and places it on the breakfast bar. "I got Katz's," she admits with a grin at Quinn's appreciative groan.
"The corned beef?"
Ruffling her hand through her wet hair, Quinn edges close to Tina's side as she begins pulling out the wrapped sandwiches. "C-corned beef for you, Reuban for me," Tina says, causing Quinn to wrap her arms around her and squeeze tightly.
"You know me too well!" she grins, reaching into the cupboards to get plates before pulling two iced teas out of the fridge. "God, do you remember how many of these I ate when I was pregnant?" Taking the plates, drinks and sandwiches, the two women drop onto the couch behind still-bouncing Beth, Tina sitting cross-legged and Quinn propping her heels on the coffee table.
"I thought Beth might actually be born part c-cow," Tina teases, taking a bite of her sandwich and cursing as Russian dressing drips down her chin. Reaching out for a paper napkin, she dabs at her face and licks her thumb, thankful that she has known Quinn long enough that she has no hesitation eating like a caveman around her. "And even then, I was okay until you started p-putting grape jelly with it."
Leaning her head back on the couch, Quinn laughs brightly, patting her now-flat stomach. "It was sooo good," she admits with a smile, before reaching out and poking Tina in the side with her finger. "Besides, I'll be the one laughing when you're pregnant and sending Mike out at 3 in the morning for like, churros and salsa verde."
Wrinkling her nose, Tina pulls a piece of corned beef from between her slices of bread and offers it to Beth who's now paying far more attention to the two women eating than the bright Muppets on the screen. Beth takes it and shoves it in her mouth with a look of glee. "That's really gross," Tina tells Quinn as she watches the other woman offer half her pickle to the little girl. "Seriously, why d-did you have to put that flavour combination in my m-mind."
Quinn takes a swig of her tea and grins widely showing her perfect white teeth. "Because I'm your friend and it's my job to prepare you for these things."
"Well thanks."
There's silence for a while as the two women work at their sandwiches, occasionally being transfixed by the bright colours on the screen or Beth's semi-constant chatter. Only when Tina is reaching forward for her drink and the cuff of her sweater rides up is their lunch interrupted by the sound of choking and a single curse word.
"Fuck!" Quinn coughs, reaching simultaneously for her drink and for Tina's arm. Taking a long pull of iced tea, she manages to drag in a breath before asking, "What the hell happened to you?"
This time it's Tina's turn to cough as she pulls her arm back towards her body, but she knows what it is Quinn's eyes caught sight of; her wrists are ringed red and slightly purple and she knows her face must flush furiously because her cheeks burn. "Nothing," is her immediate response, like she's been caught doing something she shouldn't, but off of Quinn's pained concern, she clarifies. "Mike and I…tried seeing how I would feel…you know, tied up."
"When?"
"A couple n-nights ago. After the protest."
"And?"
"And nothing." Sticking her thumb in her mouth to suck off some melted Swiss cheese, Tina just shrugs her shoulders gently. "It was okay." Settling her plate aside, she lifts up Beth from where she's dancing on the floor and brings her to her lap, starting a game of pat-a-cake.
Quinn watches her for a moment before setting her own sandwich aside. "It was okay," she echoes.
"Yeah."
Sighing deeply, Quinn reaches out and takes her daughter – who squawks at the sudden removal from her game – and places her back down on the floor where her teddy and play mat are set out. Beth quickly forgets her previous game and goes to her toys in an instant, and it allows Quinn to stretch out and take Tina's hand in her own. "Tina," she begins gently, "this is me. Did you want to do it?"
There's a pause, and then Tina's nodding her head. "Yeah, I d-did," she assures Quinn firmly. "It's something Mike r-really wanted and I f-felt ready to try it. And I promise," she says, scooting closer to the other woman and resting her head on her shoulder, "he was really g-good. Patient. Gentle."
"But it was only okay?"
Burying her face against Quinn's soft t-shirt, Tina shrugs her shoulders. "It'll t-take time I guess," is her answer. Then lifting her head up, she murmurs almost proudly, "but I did it."
Smiling, Quinn presses a kiss to Tina's temple. "Yes you did." Then, taking Tina's bruised wrist in her own hand, she tsks with a light laugh. "You know you really need some arnica on these. Twice a day'll help the bruising." Getting up, she wanders back into the bathroom and then returns with a small white tube of cream.
Taking it, Tina nods, biting her lip gently and keeping her head down. "Thank you."
Studying her for a moment, Quinn finds herself frowning at Tina's hunched shoulders. "Tina," she begins. "Do you think I'm mad at you?"
Tina shakes her head vehemently and swallows thickly. "No. I just feel…k-kind of ashamed."
"Because you let Mike tie you up?"
Slowly, Tina nods, causing Quinn to exhale hard and throw herself onto the sofa and wrapping her up in a strong, maternal hug. "You have done nothing wrong. You love Mike and Mike loves you and whatever the two of you do together is fine, as long as you're both okay with it. That's what you tell the girls, isn't it?"
There's a watery chuckle as Tina nods her head. "Yeah, it is." Reaching up, she pinches the bridge of her nose hard. "I guess I j-just…in my head for a l-long time I've thought of it as something I d-don't want. Something I d-don't like. So it's weird to try and m-move it over, you know? I mean, it wasn't b-bad…it was just…strange."
Pulling Tina's legs over her own lap, Quinn narrows her eyes, apparently deep in thought. "You are an amazing, strong woman," she says simply, making Tina laugh again as a blush colours her cheeks. "You are Tina. And you have so much love in your heart. You and Mike are happy together – I can see how happy he makes you – so you'll figure this out." Patting Tina's fishnet-clad knee, she nods her head with fervour. "I'm sure of it. And I'm here in the meantime, okay?"
Sniffing lightly, Tina reaches out and takes a bite of her pickle. "Thank you," she says around the mouthful, and Quinn just shrugs her shoulders as she reaches for the rest of her sandwich.
"No problem."