Upon the start of the new year, Tina keeps her promise of talking to Mike all the time and they are strictly staying friends, restricting themselves from sending any flirty comments to each other. Despite being almost 1000 miles apart from each other, the two do not go a single day without talking to each other, even if it's just a simple text or replying to each other on social media.
Even today, 8 months into the school year, in an attempt to tune out her roommate, Tina lies on her bed, scrolling through Instagram when she sees a new post from Mike about a dance recital he will be partaking in. With a gasp, she immediately sends him a direct message regarding this post.
Tina: omg your recital is only a few days from rachel's FG opening
Tina: does this mean you're not going to nyc to watch?
She receives a response from Mike almost instantly.
Mike: I really wanted to go but this recital is worth 50% of my grade :/
Tina: boooooooooooooo
Tina: I was really looking forward to seeing you in person again :(
Mike: yeah, I know me too :(
The following week, Tina arrives in New York to support Rachel on her big opening night on Broadway. However, after putting her foot in her mouth one too many times, she is banished to Mercedes' brownstone to stay with her, Sam and Blaine.
After settling in, Tina flops onto the couch next to Blaine and he wraps his arms around her. "Oh, I've missed you, Tay-Tay," Blaine says, squeezing her tightly. "I'm so happy you got into Brown but I really wish you were here all the time."
Tina laughs in response as she grips onto his forearms and leans her head against his. "I've missed you too, Blainey-days. I've missed all of you," she responds before looking pointedly between Sam and Mercedes as they cuddle together on the couch, "I'm very excited that you two are back together, by the way, and I'm not even going to comment on the fact that I had to find out about it through Sam's Instagram."
"Were we supposed to call everyone individually just to tell them we're back together?" Mercedes asks with her eyebrow raised.
"Not everyone! But me? Yeah, you should've called me personally – Both of you are my best friends!" Tina claims.
"Now you know how it feels to find out that your best friend is dating one of the hottest guys in school through a weirdo's lame blog," Mercedes counters before crossing her arms.
"I only didn't tell you sooner out of respect for the person I was officially dating at the time," Tina defends. "Speaking of Mike, he's really sorry he couldn't be here."
"You and Mike still talk, huh?" Blaine inquires with a wag of his eyebrows.
"Don't," Tina warns while rolling her eyes. "We're just friends – for real, this time."
"Mmhmm," Mercedes mumbles, unconvinced.
"We are!" Tina insists but her persistence is shattered when her phone starts ringing. She looks down to check who is calling and tightens her lips.
Mercedes stares at her in amusement before exchanging knowing looks with Sam and Blaine. "It's Mike, isn't it?"
"Maybe," Tina replies, attempting to ignore the way her phone is insistently ringing.
With a devious smile, Blaine grabs the phone from her hand and answers it, "Hi, Tina's phone, Blaine speaking."
Tina starts to move, reaching for her phone in Blaine's hands but Sam tackles her, pinning her to the couch. "Blaine, give me my phone back!" Tina demands, trying to push Sam off of her but he is too strong.
"Uh, hey, Blaine?" Mike says, his confusion apparent in his voice.
"Blaine, I'm serious!" Tina yells.
Mike chuckles at the sound of Tina's protests in the background. "Sounds like you guys are having a lot of fun," he muses.
"Would be a lot more fun if you were here," Blaine comments.
"Sam! Get off me!" Tina demands while wiggling beneath him before sighing in defeat and pouting at Mercedes. "Aren't you gonna help me?"
"Nope!" Mercedes exclaims before standing up from the couch and taking the phone from Blaine, putting it on speakerphone. "Hi, Mike!" she says, drawing out his name teasingly.
"Hey, Cedes!" Mike greets.
"So, why the hell aren't you here?" Mercedes questions.
"I told Tee how badly I wanted to be there and see you all again but I've got things to do for school," Mike replies.
"God, Mike, I wish you didn't have that recital so that you could be here to help get Sam off of me!" Tina shouts pointedly at Sam while he shrugs nonchalantly. "Seriously, dude, I can't breathe."
Mike laughs heartily at their exchange, wishing badly that he could be with all his friends again. "Well, I'm gonna leave you guys to enjoy your little slumber party. Sam, try not to suffocate Tina and Tina try not to murder anyone when you eventually get free," he instructs before hanging up the phone.
The moment Rachel has dreamed of her entire life has finally arrived – it is her opening night playing the role of Fanny Brice on the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. After putting her entire heart and soul into her performance, she decides to take her friends to a club where for the next few hours, they can just bask in the joy of this moment before the critics' reviews are up on the stands.
As everyone spends the night dancing and celebrating together on the dance floor, Tina takes a quick break to sit down on the couch, her fingers busy sending a text. Unbeknownst to her, Santana approaches her from behind and peers over her shoulder to see what she's doing. "Ugh, can't you get off your phone for two seconds and dance with us?" Santana scolds as she grabs Tina's phone from her hands and scrolls through her messages before gasping and smirking devilishly at her, "You're texting my good friend, Mike?"
"Santana, no," Tina reprimands when she sees her clicking on things on her phone but Santana ignores her and starts to call Mike.
After two rings, he picks up, "Hey, Tee?"
"Nope, not Tee!" Santana answers. "Your next favourite girl –not your mom either!"
"Santana, my phone please," Tina begs, trying to reach for her phone but Santana holds her arm out in front of her, keeping her away. Tina sighs exasperatedly. "Why does this keep happening to me?"
"Hey, San," Mike greets with a chuckle. "How are you celebrating Rachel's opening night? By causing trouble?"
"Oh, that's all we know how to do," Santana quips. "But your girlfriend keeps hitting on the DJ – I really think you should come get her."
"Not my girlfriend, Santana," Mike half-heartedly corrects, shoving away the twisting feeling he has in his stomach. "And I think she's allowed to hit on whoever she wants."
"But he's totally gay," Santana says in a stage whisper, earning an eye roll from Tina.
Mike laughs heartily because while they try to minimize their conversations about dating and flirting with other people, he has definitely given her his fair share of warnings about hitting on gay men. "That's Tina for you."
"Anyways, if your girl doesn't reply to you tonight it's because I've gotten sick of her hiding in the corner and typing on her phone all night, okay? We're gonna dance and she'll talk with you tomorrow if we're not passed out by then. Good night, Mike, love you!" Santana declares before hanging up the phone.
"The DJ is not gay…" Tina mutters, crossing her arms.
"Tina, sweetie, let's just go on the assumption that all the guys in here are off limits," Santana advises, placing a hand on her arm while she grumbles. Santana crosses over the couch to sit beside Tina and watches her carefully. "Is there a chance that you keep going after all these guys that deep down you know will never love you because you know who you want to be with and you can't be with him?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Santana," Tina exasperatedly replies, having had a long night of dancing and excitement, and it's a little stuffy in the club and the music is blaring loudly.
"Fine, you don't wanna talk about it but you know I'm right," is all Santana says before grabbing Tina by the wrist and dragging her back on the dancefloor to join their friends.
A few days later, in Chicago, Mike warms up for his big dance recital, stretching his limbs backstage. He has been spending weeks rehearsing and perfecting his dance routine, even having to miss Rachel's big opening night, much to his dismay. He misses his friends so much and he wishes that they were all present tonight.
After taking a few calming breaths, Mike enters the stage and starts performing his routine. He looks out into the audience and a familiar face catches his eye, causing him to do a double take. No. It couldn't be? Is she really here? Maybe my mind is just playing games with me. But the person locks eyes with him and smiles brightly before giving him two thumbs up and he knows that it's really her.
Tina is really here.
She doesn't miss the way he visibly lights up on the stage at the sight of her and continues his performance with even more gusto than he was before. When he finishes his performance, she joins the audience in giving him a standing ovation.
After the recital is finished, Mike rushes to find Tina in the audience. "Oh my God, what are you doing here?" he exclaims as he pulls her in for a tight hug and spins her around causing her to laugh.
"Well, you made this recital sound like such a big deal, so I wanted to come out here to show you some support," Tina discloses before handing him a bouquet of flowers. "These are you for you, by the way."
He stares at the flowers before slowly refocusing his gaze at her, his jaw slightly agape in amazement. He couldn't believe that she was really here. Tina, his absolute favourite person in the world, flew all the way over here just to watch him perform because she could tell how important it was. It takes everything in him not to grab and kiss her right now.
Mike takes a deep breath and smiles at her. "I'm really glad you're here," he utters, not trusting himself to say anything more.
Tina attempts to shrug nonchalantly, a smug smile plastered on her face. "I mean… I'm kind of the reason why you're here. It's only right that I see how my hard work paid off," Tina jokes and Mike pulls her in for another firm hug.
"You really don't have to come," Tina insists on the phone with Mike a month later. She's balancing her phone in between her cheek and shoulder as she parades through her dorm room, making herself a cup of tea while looking over her lines. Tonight is the opening night for her play at school where she finally gets to be the lead and she has been busy preparing for this moment for the past few weeks. "I'm sure you've got a ton of exams to worry about right now."
"It's your first play and you're playing the lead — I have to be there," Mike asserts when Tina hears someone knocking outside her dorm room. She goes to open the door, not bothering to check the peephole, and is greeted by the sight of Mike, grinning with his arms open, a bouquet of flowers in one hand. "Besides I'm already here."
In her excitement, Tina drops her phone to the ground and jumps into Mike's arms. He chuckles as he wraps his arms around her waist, squeezing her tightly. "I can't believe you're here," she whispers, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
"Tonight is a big deal for you, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," Mike replies.
Tina and Mike's close friendship and constant contact remain even in the new school year. It seems like everyone's lives have gone severely downhill in the past couple of months – Rachel has a failed television pilot after tossing away her Broadway dreams, Blaine and Kurt broke off their engagement and now Blaine is dating Karofsky – but at least Tina and Mike can rely on each other to always be there, despite the almost 1000 miles physically separating them.
One morning, at the beginning of the school year, Kurt sends a mass text to the original New Directions alumni and Tina immediately gives Mike a call as she prepares for her acting class. "Hey, did you get Kurt's text asking us all to come back and help him and Rachel rebuild the glee club at McKinley?"
"Yeah, I did, but I can't miss school any time soon," Mike responds, balancing his phone between his cheek and shoulder as he hops on one foot, trying to put his shoes on, before heading out of his dorm toward his class. "I wish I could be there to help out though."
"It seems like you're always missing things because of school," Tina notes pointedly before putting him on speakerphone and placing her phone on her dresser so she can get dressed. "So, how come you could leave all the time during your first year to visit McKinley?"
"You weren't talking to me… I needed a reason to see you," he says simply with a shrug.
Tina tries to ignore the pang in her chest at his response and instead rolls her eyes with a smile as she zips up the back of her dress. "Oh, so, maybe I should stop talking to you again so that we can finally see each other," Tina quips.
"Please, don't…" Mike pleads. "I don't like not having you in my life."
Tina pauses and looks at herself in the mirror, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart. "The New Directions aren't gonna be the same without you there."
"Then, maybe you'll have a glee club full of people that can actually sing," Mike jokes.
"They need dancers too, Mike," she retorts.
"I'm sure you'll find singers that know how to dance – you were definitely good at both," he praises.
"You're good at both, too!"
"Yeah, thanks to you for coaching me for two years," he recalls. "But the glee club doesn't have that kind of time, not with Sue still being the principal."
"I'm sure we can beat her, we've done it before," she assures.
"Well, I wish I could be there to see it happen but keep me updated on how it goes," Mike instructs before hanging up the phone when he enters his dance class.
"I see how he looks at you when you're not looking. I wish a guy would look at me like that," Tina says wistfully, causing Santana to look at her incredulously from behind.
When the girls finish delivering their advice to Becky about her relationship, they exit the classroom together, Tina walking alongside Quinn while Santana and Brittany follow closely behind, their fingers intertwined.
"They really are cute together," Tina comments pensively. "It must be nice to have that."
Santana and Brittany exchange a look of judgment. "You did have that," Santana points out with a scoff. "With Mike."
"Have you never seen the way he looks at you?" Brittany questions. "Or have you two been separated for so long that you forgot?"
Tina goes silent as they continue walking down the hallway, mulling over their words and thinking about Mike. She'd be lying if she said that she isn't still in love with him but they're in a good place right now, she doesn't want to mess it up and never have him in her life again. But she briefly looks over her shoulder and Brittany's engagement ring shines in the light, catching her eye and prompting her to look at Santana and Brittany as they smile softly at each other. The distance broke them up but now they were back together and are about to get married. Maybe, she could have that with Mike, too. She wants to have that with Mike too.
She knew it was crazy and impulsive to propose to Mike especially when they weren't dating and are living hundreds of miles apart but she also knew that there was no one else in the world that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. And as Billy Crystal said in When Harry Met Sally, "When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible".
Unfortunately, Mike turned her down, reasoning that they have the rest of their lives still ahead of them but proposes to dance with her instead. When Santana calls the couples to the dancefloor for the newlyweds' performance, Mike places his hand on the small of Tina's back, guiding her to dance.
They dance together, one of Mike's hands wrapped around her waist while the other clutches her hand. She rests her head against his chest, savouring the feeling of his presence and praying she hasn't ruined their friendship.
"I hope this doesn't mean that you're gonna ice me out again," he whispers in her ear.
"Hmm?" Tina mumbles, not having much strength to look at him, still reeling from the mortification of his rejection.
"I meant what I said before about not liking not having you in my life… I will completely understand if you don't want to talk as much anymore but, any day I don't get to talk to you sucks," Mike admits with a shrug.
Tina finally musters the strength to face Mike, feeling her heart skip a beat when she does, and she smiles softly at him in response. "I like having you in my life too," she replies before resting her head on his chest once again.
After a beat, Mike remembers, "By the way, if I remember correctly, you turned down my proposal first."
Tina raises her head and laughs uproariously, "Oh my God, you still remember that?"
"I remember everything about you," he confesses.
"I got you a nicer ring, though," she quips.
"Hey, don't act like you didn't like your ring – you ate the whole thing!" Mike recalls.
"Okay, yeah, I guess you're right," Tina concedes, rolling her eyes.
After being called back to McKinley so that Sue can give them their wedding present, Kurt, Blaine, Brittany and Santana walk out of the auditorium together when Blaine gasps as he remembers something. "Wait, I think Tina mentioned having lunch with Artie here today. I have to know how it went," Blaine enthuses before excitedly grabbing Kurt's hand and dragging him through the hallway.
"How what went?" Santana inquires as she and Brittany follow closely behind them out of curiosity.
"Tina was planning on proposing to Mike," Blaine reveals.
"What?" Brittany, Santana and Kurt exclaim in unison as Blaine leads them to the choir room where Tina is having lunch with Artie.
They all smile widely at Tina, catching her off guard and kind of creeping her out. "Hello, newlyweds…" Tina greets slowly as she pops a grape in her mouth.
"So? How'd it go, Queen T?" Blaine implores while bouncing on the balls of his feet.
Tina grimaces at the memory and sighs. "Not well… he said 'no'." The two couples exchange looks of disbelief as their jaws hang agape. In what world would Mike Chang not want to marry Tina Cohen-Chang? "But on the bright side, Artie and I made a pact that we'll marry each other if we're still single at 30, so at least I know I won't die alone," she says with a shrug while Artie nods his head in confirmation. The four newlyweds exchange another look with each other, this time one of discernment, knowing how terrible Tina and Artie's relationship was.
Santana shakes her head disapprovingly and drags Brittany out of the choir room. "Let's go, Britt," is all she says and Brittany isn't sure if it's because of some new psychic telepathic ability that comes from getting married or if they just share the same strong feelings about Tina and Mike but she understands exactly what Santana intends to do.
Santana speeds them over to Mike's house and bangs on his front door. Oblivious to her anger, Mike answers the door promptly with a surprised smile. "Oh, hey! I'm actually supposed to be heading back to Chicago in a little bit – wait, aren't you two supposed to be on your honeymoon?"
Santana shoves past Mike and enters his house, Brittany following closely behind, glaring daggers at Mike. "We are, but my wife and I have a bone to pick with you."
Brittany softens and smiles brightly at Santana, "Aw, you just called me your wife."
Santana returns her smile. "Yeah, I did," she replies bashfully, interlacing her fingers with Brittany.
"You guys are really cute and sweet, but what's up?" Mike asks, shoving his hands in his pockets.
The sound of his voice causes Santana's anger to return and she narrows her eyes at Mike, poking him in the chest. "You turned down Tina's marriage proposal?" Mike opens his mouth to start protesting while trying to get Santana's hands away from him but she doesn't let him get a word in. "Does your mom know about this? Did Tina ask her for her permission? She's gonna be so pissed when she finds out. DR. CHANG, ARE YOU HERE? LET ME TELL YOU WHAT CRIME MIKE JUST COMMITTED."
Mike's eyes widen and he slaps his hand over Santana's mouth causing her to bite him in retaliation. "Ow," he says, pulling his hand away in pain. "My parents are out of town, remember? That's why they couldn't come to your wedding?"
"Then I'll just let your mom know when she comes back," Santana threatens.
"Please, don't tell my mom. The news might actually kill her," Mike begs.
Santana scowls at him, smoke practically coming out of her ears. "What were you thinking?"
Mike sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "It's not the right time for us."
"Is there ever a right time?" Santana voices.
"I think that we need to do a lot of growing apart before we think about starting anything again," Mike explains, his voice strained. "I just… I want her to be sure that I'm the one she really wants to be with and she's not just settling for me."
"It's Tina. She's not settling for you – actually she's settling for Artie," Brittany mentions.
"What?"
"They made some pact, I don't know, it was really stupid," Santana nonchalantly elaborates.
"Okay, whatever," Mike dismisses before taking a deep breath. "The point is, if we get married right now and then a couple of years later she wakes up and realizes that she never actually wanted a life with me, it might kill me."
Santana and Brittany soften, seeing the fear and worry in Mike's eyes, and nod their heads in understanding. "Okay, we get it. Just because we were ready to get married, doesn't mean that you are," Santana acknowledges.
"I am still counting on being your bridesmaid though," Brittany reminds him before she and Santana give him a hug goodbye and exit his house.
When the couple re-enters Santana's car, Brittany stares absentmindedly in front of her. "Where do you think Sue got that fake elevator?" Brittany wonders.
"Britt, we're not gonna do that," Santana advises, already knowing what she's implying they do.
"We could tell her that they're the next couple she should target," Brittany proposes.
"You know what, we can suggest it," Santana concedes before interlacing her fingers with her wife. "But first, we have a honeymoon to enjoy."
2020. The New Directions alumni are all reuniting at McKinley High to commemorate the renaming of the auditorium to "The Finn Hudson Auditorium". A lot has happened over the last five years – Sue became president, Rachel won a Tony, Mercedes did a world tour – everyone is living their dreams.
After graduating from Joffrey, Mike moved to New York City, living in an apartment beside Santana and Brittany, and working in a prestigious dance company. Brittany and Santana followed through with their plan of going back to school and graduated from NYU Tisch's dance program. Today, the three of them work together as choreographers at their recently opened dance studio.
Tina, on the other hand, travels back and forth between Los Angeles and New York City as an actress. After graduating from Brown, she mostly starred in small, indie films and off-Broadway plays. Her most recent film, however, was a huge hit at Slamdance Film Festival and resulted in her receiving huge movie deals and the rekindling of her relationship with Artie.
After performing "I Lived" in the Finn Hudson Auditorium with everyone, Mike and Tina end the number standing beside each other and they smile widely at each other. Despite rejecting her proposal, Tina and Mike did remain in close contact throughout their time in college. It wasn't until they graduated and found success in their careers that it became more difficult to remain in constant contact but the two occasionally keep in touch.
Artie wheels up to where they stand and Tina smiles at him, giving him a hug. Mike swallows a lump in his throat as he watches them and fakes a smile. "So, you two are back together?"
"Yeah, we are," Artie responds, lacing his fingers with Tina's.
"We got back together when we were promoting our movie," Tina details.
Mike nods in understanding as he shoves his hands into his pockets. "I'm really happy for you both," he manages to say and he can't help but feel like they are right back to where they started.
a/n: and that was the final chapter of this silly little fic filled with all my tike headcanons! this last chapter in particular was so horrifying to relive btw, like, i wish i was exaggerating but i genuinely think it caused me ptsd. only the real ones understand the struggle of experiencing the entirety of 6x8 in real time with the anticipation & constant teasing of this "big tina & mike scene", thinking that we were securing the endgame just to watch those scenes happen live. i swear it took twenty years off my life span.
but anyways… thank you to everyone who read this and tuned in every week! i really do hope that you enjoyed it! i am currently in the process of writing a sequel/epilogue that fixes the mistakes of the writers (and jenna kevin - i blame them too) outlines how tina & mike found their way back to each other! i planned on having all the chapters out by next week but i had a multitude of responsibilities come crashing in recently that had to take priority over my mental illness but she's on her way and will be out shortly, i promise!
in the meantime, idk if anyone noticed but each chapter is named after a taylor swift song (bc she just gets ships yk?) and i may or may not have created a playlist on spotify with all the songs, if you want to check it out, it has the same name as this fic!