AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thanks for the amazing reviews! Here is part two of Nancy and Harrison's wedding (and the final installment of this story)! I have loved writing it so much, and I hope you have loved reading it!

Enjoy, and please don't forget to leave me some reviews!

Chapter 20

ARTIE

Directly following the ceremony, the guests moved into the other ballroom to begin consuming hors d'oeuvres and beverages as the newly-conjoined Abrams-Smythe family headed outside into the hotel's courtyard garden with the photographer to begin taking some photos.

Even though the kids are older, there are still four of them, making it difficult to take a family shot where everyone is smiling at the camera.

"Ah! Stop!" Artie shrieked as he did the best he could to duck away from Sebastian, who was trying to give him a wet willy.

"Boys! The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can all head back inside to the air conditioning and after party," Nancy scolded them as Sebastian cackled at Artie's reaction.

Both boys listened to Artie's mom, cooperating for several more snapshots.

"Alright, now let's get a picture of the happy couple kissing with their kids surrounding them!" The photographer suggested.

Sebastian and Artie shared a confused glance at the photographer's strange idea for a shot. Being the fun-loving young adults that they are, all four kids decided to turn this into an opportunity for a funny photo. Without warning Artie about what he was about to do, Sebastian leapt into his step-brother's lap, causing Artie to let out an "oof!" when he plopped down. Griffin stuck his tongue out at the camera and crossed his eyes. Seeing what her big brothers were doing, Ella formed peace signs with both of her hands and placed them behind Artie and Sebastian's heads, making the illusion of bunny ears. The flash went off as the photographer snapped the comical photo. That one would be framed above the mantle for sure!

"All set! You are free to go enjoy the reception!" The photographer released his subjects.

"Wheel me inside, my prince!" Sebastian said dramatically, refusing to get up from Artie's lap once the photo op was complete.

Artie rolled his eyes. It was nearly ninety-five degrees out, and he was sweating in his suit jacket. Having a one-hundred-and-fifty pound seventeen-year-old boy on top of him wasn't really helping with the situation, especially because he knew that his lower half wouldn't sweat to regulate his body temperature. He knew better than to argue with Sebastian, though.

"If I'm your prince, does that make you my princess?" Artie joked as he gave in and pushed himself and Sebastian fifty yards back into the hotel.

Immediately upon arriving in the second ballroom, Artie heard a familiar voice calling out his name.

"Artie Man!"

Artie spun himself around, forced to use more effort than usual due to the fact that Sebastian was still seated in his lap.

"Dad!"

Sebastian immediately got up and stood awkwardly beside Artie with a hand placed on his chair's handle as he waited for an introduction.

The father and son duo greeted each other with a hug.

"Hey, Bud! You were amazing when you sang during the ceremony! Your friends too! I can see why you all do so well at your competitions!" Art praised his son.

Since he lived a couple of hours away and had a very time consuming job, Art wasn't always able to make it to watch the New Directions compete. Whenever he did get the chance to see them perform, he couldn't help but be blown away by their talent.

"Thanks," Artie grinned before turning to Sebastian. "Seb, this is my dad, Art. Dad, this is Harrison's son Sebastian."

"Hi, it's nice to finally meet you," Sebastian said, shaking Art's hand. "Artie doesn't shut up about you."

"Likewise," Art laughed, causing Artie to blush.

They talked for a few minutes more before Quinn appeared at Artie's side, leaning over to whisper in his ear, asking if he wanted to go dance with her. Artie's face lit up and he eagerly nodded before addressing his father.

"Later, Dad!" he called over his shoulder as Quinn took him by the hand and led him over towards where their friends were already tearing up the dance floor.

Sebastian joined his brother Warblers on the stage, as they were scheduled to provide the music for the first half of the night. Quinn and Artie danced for what felt like hours, continuously laughing and smiling together. Artie could not believe that Sebastian's (initially unwanted) matchmaking service had led to something so great. Even their friends were taking note of the newly set-up couple, noticing that this had to have been the happiest any of them had seen Quinn all year.

Just before dinner, Sebastian and his teammates exited the stage, allowing the part-time DJ to queue up the tunes until after the meal when the New Directions would be taking over.

The guests all took their deliberately assigned seats as they waited for the waiters to bring their food over to them. The large main table in the center of the room was occupied by the happy couple, as well as their children and their children's dates: Sebastian, Ella, Artie, Quinn, Griffin, and Griffin's girlfriend, Hadley.

The newly united family laughed together throughout the meal, and Artie kept glancing over at Quinn beside him. He still could not believe that she had agreed to be his date in the first place, let alone the fact that it appeared she was having a good time chatting it up with himself and Ella, despite being seated away from their other friends.

As the dinner went on, some of Harrison and Nancy's friends from work decided to share some fun memories they had of the couple and make toasts to their relationship. Everyone was surprised, however, when Sebastian stood up himself and reached for the microphone.

"Uh, hi," Sebastian said into the microphone, sounding a little more nervous than anybody expected him to be. "For those in attendance that I haven't met before, I'm Sebastian Smythe, Harrison's son."

Sebastian cleared his throat before speaking again.

"To start, I want to say a huge congratulations to my dad and Nancy. I'm glad you found one another and that you're happy, but, sorry to disappoint you both, the person I want to raise a toast to tonight is Artie."

All eyes turned to Artie who sat at the table with his mouth hanging open. His face flushed as he felt everybody staring at him. Quinn smiled and snuck her hand in his under the table as Sebastian pulled a notecard out of his uniform blazer's interior pocket.

"As many of you know, because Artie and I are on rival show choir teams, we didn't start off on the best of terms. We fought like cats and dogs constantly- so much so that we could hardly be in the same room as one another without all hell breaking loose," Sebastian said, eliciting a laugh from the audience. "One misdirected slushie facial and phone-into-pool situation later, I can now say that Artie is somebody who will be by my side until the end of time."

A couple of guests let out an "Awww" at that before Sebastian continued.

"Artie and I's brotherly relationship did not come easily, and it took a lot of work on both sides to get to the point we are at today. I've been an only child my entire life, and I always prioritized my own feelings over those of others. Going from having no siblings to three overnight would be a hard adjustment for anybody, and I was no exception," Sebastian shared. "If you ask him, he will be quick to tell you that it took a lot of trial and error- on my part, especially- but I believe that the strong relationship that Artie and I have since curated was built on mutual respect for one another."

"I respect the hell out of him, not just because he's quite easily the funniest, smartest, and kindest person I know- ha! I'm embarrassing him," Sebastian paused mid-sentence to laugh as Artie hung his head, once again attempting to hide from all of the attention. "I don't just respect Artie because of all of those things, but because of the way he adapts to a world that wasn't made for him. I've never met somebody so positive and easygoing as he is every day, despite everything life throws at him."

Turning his attention directly to Artie, he finished off his toast.

"Artie, you've taught me how to be a brother and you've made me a better, more open-minded person in the few months that we've known each other, and I promise to have your back forever. I love you, man."

Artie's face was still flushed and his eyes welled up with tears. Nobody had ever said such nice things about him before- at least, not in front of a group of people like this. He was shocked and moved and touched beyond belief by Sebastian's words.

Before sitting back down in his seat, Sebastian walked around to the other side of the table and bent down to hug his step-brother.

"Thank you," was all Artie could muster to whisper in his ear as they embraced. "I love you too."

"I meant it. All of it," Sebastian nodded, locking eyes with the smaller boy.

Straightening back up, Sebastian once again raised the microphone to his mouth.

"And now, if you'll turn your direction to the dance floor, the newlyweds will be having their first dance," Sebastian announced. "The music will be performed by- if you know me, then you know how hard this is for me to say- the 2012 Show Choir National Champions, the McKinley High School New Directions!"

The guests laughed again as the New Directions headed towards the stage (which had a convenient ramp in place for Artie and Watson to use, respectively). Nancy and Harrison graced the dance floor as the team sang Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This".

After the dance was complete, the New Directions took turns singing some more slow songs for the guests to dance to, and- much to Artie's surprise- Quinn was eager for her chance to slow dance with her date. She once again led him onto the dance floor as the girls formerly known as The Troubletones began singing their own song.

Artie had been excited- yet also incredibly nervous- when Sebastian had first told him about the wedding date that he'd arranged for him. His reasons for being excited were obvious- this was Quinn, one of the few people who even knew and remembered him from his days before the chair. And she'd always had a casual way of acknowledging him with respect that he'd appreciated, even if they weren't all that close.

And speaking of closeness, this was the part that made him nervous. There were two options for slow dancing with Artie. The first was the girl sitting in his lap- the very intimate and close option. The second was completely the opposite; the kind of awkward dancing he'd do in Glee Club when it came down to exactly the same number of guys as girls, and he didn't have an excuse to roll himself into the wings for a few minutes. Whereas the first option was almost too close for comfort, the second was so distant that it hardly felt like he was dancing with another person.

Quinn didn't hesitate to sit in his lap, although she did make some kind of silly comment about how she hoped she wasn't too heavy. Artie quickly assured her that she wasn't, and the rest of their time dancing was pretty uneventful, and, surprisingly, quite comfortable. Quinn wrapped her arms around Artie's neck as he slowly rolled them back and forth.

Sebastian danced by a few times, deliberately spinning Ella or doing something to draw attention to himself and get either Artie or Quinn to look his way. Sebastian winked when Artie glanced away from Quinn's beautiful green eyes long enough to notice his less-than-subtle way of spying on them.

After he'd done it a few times, Quinn laughed and asked Artie, "Did you want to murder him when you found out he was fixing you up for the wedding?"

"Yeah," Artie admitted, with a laugh. "I, um, kind of made him drop his phone in a pool. But, well, then he told me you were coming as my date and that changed things. He redeemed himself."

That made Quinn blush. Artie couldn't believe it. He had made Quinn Fabray blush.

"So, how was that trip anyway?" she asked him. "Is it weird adding a stepbrother to the family? I ask, because my mom just started seeing someone recently, and I think he has kids."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that you and your mom's boyfriend's kids aren't already sworn enemies going into the arrangement," Artie joked, causing a small smile to appear on Quinn's face. "In all seriousness, it really sucked in the beginning. We fought a lot, and, looking back on it, keeping everything a 'secret' was definitely a bad call. But once we started actually hanging out and getting to know one another, it wasn't so bad. He turned out to actually be sort of cool."

As the slower songs died down, Artie and Quinn decided to take a break from dancing, and wandered over to the bar to get themselves each a Shirley Temple ("With extra cherries!" Quinn had insisted). As they waited in line, Artie felt a light tap on his shoulder. Glancing behind him, he was met with none other than Watson the Wheelchair Warbler.

"Hey, Watson! What's up? I haven't seen you in a while," Artie greeted him, as the boys dapped up.

"Nothing, I just wanted to say a quick hi, and thank you," Watson replied, a sincere smile on his face.

Artie cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy.

"Thank you? For what?"

"I know you probably played some sort of role in getting me a spot on The Warblers," Watson explained.

Artie shrugged.

"Not really," he lied a bit. "Your voice is what got you a spot on the team, I just reminded Sebastian to look past the chair. You're really talented, Watson. Don't sell yourself short."

Watson smiled and nodded. Artie had kind of been a mentor of sorts to him, and he was always grateful for the older boy's encouragement and advice.

The boys said their goodbyes as Quinn returned with their Shirley Temples. The two friends headed over to the table they had occupied earlier and sat down. They both sipped on their drinks as they watched their friends continue to dance.

Eventually, it appeared as though Sebastian had ditched Ella and come to check on his matchmaking clients.

"So how are we doing this evening, lovebirds?" He asked with a cocky smirk on his face.

Before Artie could get the chance to roll his eyes and insist that they were just friends, Quinn spoke up for them both.

"It's been a lovely day so far, Sebastian. Thank you, again, for setting us up," the blonde girl replied, once again slipping her hand into Artie's, however this time, it was on top of the table in full view of Sebastian and everyone.

"Well that's one pairing we haven't explored yet in Glee Club," Puck commented as he walked by, noticing his friends' clasped hands and that they were sitting a little closer to one another than normal.

"Oh, hey, man," Puck turned to Sebastian, placing a hand on his shoulder. "All that stuff that you said about my guy Artie earlier… That was really nice. And I'm sorry for saying that you had a punchable face."

Artie giggled, as Sebastian furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Uh… I accept your apology? But you didn't say that."

"He did," Artie nodded, remembering the conversation he and Puck had had alone while The Warblers were performing at Regionals. "Just not to your face."

Puck shrugged and walked towards the bar, fake I.D. in hand, as Sebastian returned to his Warbler buddies, leaving Quinn and Artie alone at the table.

"I agree with Puck," Quinn said, resting her elbow on the table and putting her head in her hand. "What Sebastian said about you was really sweet."

Artie blushed. He didn't know what to say, but lucky for him, Quinn still had more on her mind.

"It made me open my eyes to what had been in front of me all these years," she said. "I'm done wasting my time with the airhead Lima Loser jocks. It's just a shame that it's taken me until senior year to realize."

"Realize what?"

Quinn's laugh was like music to Artie's ears.

"That who I want to be with is right in front of me. You."

She giggled again at the look of shock that appeared on his face. He had not been expecting this.

"He was right. You're witty, and charming, and so smart. Despite every rough patch I've ever gone through, you've always been nothing but a good friend to me. I appreciate you, Artie. More than you know."

A moment later, she leaned over and planted a soft kiss on his lips, his eyes widening with surprise again.

"I'm glad Sebastian set us up tonight. I like spending time with you," Quinn said, squeezing Artie's hand.

Artie smiled back, his big white teeth and dimples showing. He was at a loss for words, but he knew that he owed his step-brother big time for this setup.

Artie couldn't help but think back to a few months ago when he had found out that Sebastian was going to be a part of his family. He had spent so long being angry and anxious and bothered… Now he knows that Sebastian is a great kid who was going through his own battles. He just needed somebody to come in and figure him out, and Artie was glad to be that person.

Over the last few months, he had grown to consider Sebastian his real sibling. He saw him as an equal to Griffin and Ella- somebody who would be there to support and protect him through it all, even if they had become family later in life. Artie was grateful for the support and encouragement that Sebastian was giving him now and knew that he would be there for him for decades to come.

"I like spending time with you, too," Artie eventually replied, leaning into another kiss.

THE END

I hope you all enjoyed this story! It's one of my favorites I've written for sure. This is the longest story I've ever written, and I had a ton of fun writing it! I think Sebastian and Artie are two really underrated and interesting characters, so I had a lot of fun writing for them.

Special thanks going out to gigundoly for her continued reviews, suggestions, and dialogue excerpts throughout the writing process of this story! I appreciate you more than you know!

Please leave me any reviews, thoughts, and messages you have after reading on this story! Reading your feedback really motivates me to continue writing! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you liked reading this as much as I loved writing it!

xoxo QuinnAbrams