a/n: hiiiiiiii! so a lot of you here might be coming from the first part of this story called "in the background: the untold story of tina & mike". and if not i recommend checking that out before readin this one bc while it is canon adjacent, i do bring a lot of my headcanons from that into this fic so it might get a little confusing. i've explained in that first one that i regressed back into my gleek phase and therefore had to write that fic to hopefully heal but i didn't mention that my need to write a story actually started with this one you're about to read now. obv the way tina & mike ended was an abomination and i felt like i needed to fix it. but i decided to write in the background first bc i realized that i had so many little tina & mike headcanons that nobody else shared so i had to introduce them all first and now that they're all introduced i can finally get to my real purpose which is fixing the mistakes of glee. i really tried to get this out before 2023 so that i didn't have to spend another year of my life writing glee fics but i got employed or whatever so that obviously had to take priority but i'm glad it's finally out! and i'm completely aware that this could've been a short & simple one shot but i like to overcomplicate things and add drama so if you were expecting me to get straight to the endgame that's just not what this is going to be, sorry! anyways i'm gonna stop rambling & get on with the fic — thanks again for tuning in and i hope y'all enjoy it!

i'll watch your life in pictures like i used to watch you sleep - last kiss, taylor swift

2021. New York City.

Mike Chang strolls inside his lavish apartment, his AirPods blasting music in his ears as he bounces along to the beat, somehow still finding some energy to dance despite having spent the entire day teaching dance classes.

After graduating at the top of his class from the Joffrey Ballet Academy of Dance, Mike was immediately offered a position in one of the most prestigious dance companies in New York City. For the last five years, he has been building his career as a dancer whilst living across the hall from two of his childhood best friends, Santana Lopez and Brittany S. Pierce.

The three of them have spent some time together touring as backup dancers for some big-name pop stars (and Mike even served as the lead choreographer for the Mercedes Jones). But more recently, this past year, they opened a dance studio and are currently preparing for their first big showcase in a few months. It seems like dreams really do come true.

Mike tosses his keys on the entry table before parading to his kitchen and grabbing a bottle of soda from the fridge. Taking a moment to unwind from his workday, he sits by his kitchen island and sips his drink while scrolling through his phone.

He spits out his drink at the sight of the first post on his Instagram timeline. A multiple photo post from his high school friend, Artie Abrams, with the caption: She said YES!

Mike swipes through the post while holding his breath. The first photo is a stolen shot from a hidden camera of him holding a diamond ring in front of his girlfriend, Tina Cohen-Chang, as her hands cover her face in surprise, her eyes visibly welling with tears. The second photo is from a few seconds later of the couple sharing a sweet kiss. The final photo in the post is a selfie taken by Artie with his new fiancée perched on his lap, kissing him on the cheek as she holds up her newly adorned left hand towards the camera.

With a deep breath, Mike continues scrolling through Instagram to find a similar post from Tina with the caption: yes 3. In addition to the same three photos from Artie's page, she includes a photo of just her left hand, showing the intricate details of her new princess-cut diamond engagement ring.

At that, the dancer locks his phone and tosses it aside as he processes the big news. His first love is getting married to one of his old friends.

It has been a while since Mike last spoke with Tina. After turning down her proposal six years ago, he was still determined to keep their friendship alive. They remained in constant contact throughout college, exchanging frequent text messages and phone calls at least once a week.

However, upon graduating from their respective schools, it became increasingly difficult to remain in touch. His job demanded more from him, requiring him to work extremely long hours, and he suspects the same happened on her end as well. Now, it seems they only keep updated with each other's lives through social media and speak occasionally.

It's been a year since he learned about Artie and Tina rekindling their past relationship and the thought still makes his stomach turn with unease. And he knows that he doesn't have much of a right to feel this way. He and Tina have been broken up for years and they could have been married by now if it weren't for him but he knew it would not have been right. They needed more time to grow as individuals and were not in the proper state to get married.

For the past eight years since he and Tina broke up, Mike's dating history has been quite dull, to say the least. While he was in college, his friends would set him up on a few dates here and there, but he never felt a strong enough connection with any of them to start a real relationship. Upon graduation, he went on more dates and even had a few girlfriends, not a single one lasting more than a year. None of them could ever compare to how he felt with Tina.

In an attempt to distract himself, Mike flops onto his living room couch and turns on his television. As he flips through his channels, he stumbles on E! News. "This just in, actress, Tina Cohen-Chang gets engaged to her boyfriend, director, Artie Abrams," the reporter announces to the camera before turning to her co-host excitedly, "Did you know that the two of them actually first started dating in high school, broke up, and the got back together while promoting their movie? I guess that just proves there is a right time for everything."

Mike groans and shuts off the television in frustration. He flops his head against the back of his couch and squeezes his eyes shut, pressing his hands on his forehead when he hears someone unlocking his door.

"Did you hear about Tina and Artie?" Mike peeks one eye open to determine the voice is coming from Santana, who is barging into his home with her spare key, Brittany, her wife of six years trailing closely behind her.

Brittany and Santana gingerly approach Mike at his position on the couch and exchange a look with each other at the sight of his disgruntled expression. "I'm guessing that's a yes," Brittany quips.

Throughout all their years of knowing each other, time has done very little to dampen their close friendship. After getting married, Brittany and Santana settle into their new place in New York City before convincing Mike to move into the apartment across the hall one year later. They both got into NYU Tisch's dance program and graduated after four years. Santana is slowly on her way to becoming a renowned triple threat while Brittany is a professional dancer.

The married couple joins Mike on the couch, sitting on opposite sides of him. "I never thought they'd last this long together, let alone get married," Santana marvels, taking a sip from Mike's soda bottle despite the odd look he gives her.

"And they're not even 30 yet. Didn't they say they'd get married when they turn 30? They couldn't wait?" Brittany recalls.

Santana turns to Mike and watches him carefully as he stares blankly in front of him. "What do you think about all this?"

All he does is blink in response. "You okay, Mikey?" Brittany asks, lightly stoking his back in comfort.

Mike sighs deeply and nods his head warily. "Yeah… it's just… weird," he replies with a frown before shaking his head vehemently. "Good for them."

One week later. Lima, Ohio.

Wanting to celebrate their new engagement with their family, Tina and Artie visit her childhood home unannounced. "Tina! What a pleasant surprise! And Artie!" Judi Cohen-Chang, Tina's mother, exclaims at the sight of them entering her home. They have just barely made it passed the front doors before she is pulling both of them in for a warm, welcoming hug. "I wasn't expecting the two of you to drop by."

"Well, I figured you wanted me to announce the engagement to everyone in the Asian community," Tina explains with a laugh as she pulls away.

Judi snorts. "I don't think you have to announce anything. I'm sure everyone has heard about it already."

Tina shrugs, supposing that what her mother says might be true.

After graduating from Brown University, Tina moved to Los Angeles to being her acting career. It is there where she reconnected with her high school friend, Quinn Fabray, who has now been working as her agent for the past four years. With Quinn's assistance in getting her roles, Tina travels back and forth between LA and NYC, starring in a few indie films and off-Broadway plays.

But two years ago, Artie Abrams contacted her about starring in his new film since their mutual friend, Mercedes Jones, was occupied with her tour and she gladly agreed. The film was entered into Slamdance Film Festival (which is notably not Sundance Film Festival as she was reminded multiple times). Nonetheless, the film became a blockbuster hit and immediately skyrocketed Tina and Artie's careers.

The film not only boosted their reputations in Hollywood but also helped them to rekindle their romantic relationship. Artie and Tina did not speak much while they were in college, only choosing to keep in touch occasionally through social media. But when Mercedes' schedule couldn't accommodate time for his movie, he thought of the next best person to star in his film, which is Tina.

While filming, their relationship remained platonic and professional (mostly because Artie can be somewhat of a tyrant when he is directing). But while promoting their movie together months later, something shifted in their dynamic and they decided to give their relationship another try.

And now, a year and a half later, they are engaged and about to announce it to the people that Tina holds so dearly to her heart. Tonight, Lima's Asian community is hosting an event at the local community center and they figure that this would be the perfect time to celebrate their upcoming nuptials.

When they arrive at the community center, they are immediately greeted by multiple people, swarming her and Artie to offer their congratulations and asking to see her flashy ring. In the back of her mind, Tina can't help but notice how much more restrained everyone's reactions are in comparison to the excitement they all exhibited when her older sister announced her own engagement almost 13 years ago. She was definitely expecting more enthusiasm but she shoves the thought away quickly.

"Oh, you and Michael are finally getting married? How wonderful!" Mrs. Choi, one of the community's highly respected elders, proclaims as she kindly places her hand on Tina's forearm. "Your mothers must be so thrilled. I know they have been waiting for this moment since you two were just young little children running around these halls together."

The comment causes Tina and Artie to pause briefly, unsure of what to say. "Oh, no, Mrs. Choi. I'm actually getting married to Artie here," Tina corrects, trying to sound as polite as possible, as Artie awkwardly waves to the elder.

"Oh, not Michael? What a shame," Mrs. Choi bellows before walking away, leaving Tina and Artie frozen in their spots, their jaws slacked in shock.

"Please, excuse her. I'm afraid her mind is not as sharp as it used to be," Mrs. Choi's daughter and Tina's former Asian camp director, Evelyn explains with an apologetic smile. "But since she brought up Mike, I was wondering if the two of you would be willing to make an appearance at camp this year to show the children how great the arts can be."

"Really?" Tina asks, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "We're not banned from anymore?"

Evelyn chuckles at Tina's reaction and elaborates, "Well, the two of you have become quite successful over the past couple of years that most of the parents have looked past your scandal."

Tina turns to Artie as if asking for permission and he nods in response. "Okay, then, yeah. I'll ask Mike about it but I would love to come back to camp," she enthuses.

"Great! Please bring it up to Mike and we can coordinate a good time for you two to return – I'm sure you both have such busy schedules," Evelyn says before placing her hand on top of Tina and Artie's intertwined fingers. "And congratulations on your engagement."

After passing a few hours at the Asian community center, Tina and Artie decide to have dinner and spend the night at Artie's childhood home. When his mother had gone to bed for the night, Artie goes inside his bedroom to finalize some pre-production details for his next movie that starts filming in London next month. While he is busy with his work, Tina takes the opportunity to slip outside, sitting down on his front porch and calls an old friend.

It only takes a few rings until the phone is answered. "Hello?"

"Mike! Hey, it's Tina," she greets.

She hears the way his breath subtly hitches on the other line. "Oh, hey, Tee! Did you change your number?"

"Yes, I did. One of the perks of fame is having weirdo stalkers find out your phone number and call you nonstop," Tina explains with a laugh before pausing for a moment, absentmindedly drawing circles on her pyjama-clad knee. "Speaking of the perks of fame… Guess who is officially unbanned from Asian camp?"

"No way," Mike utters in disbelief.

"Yup," she confirms while nodding her head despite knowing that he can't see her. "Evelyn told me today that we are no longer banned and asked if we would like to come back to give a presentation to the kids about the importance of the arts."

"Well, I'm down for it if you are," he responds with a shrug.

"Then, I guess I will see you there," Tina pronounces, unable to hold back a grin. "I'll let Evelyn know."

"Great!" Mike extols before taking a deep breath and Tina can sense the shift in his demeanour. "Congratulations on your engagement to Artie, by the way."

She suddenly feels an overwhelming pang in her chest at the tone of his words. "Thanks," she croaks.

"Are you happy?" he inquires, his voice soft.

Tina takes a moment to consider her answer and slowly nods her head. "Yeah, I think I am."

"Good," Mike says, despite the twisting feeling in his heart. "That's all I want."

The following morning, Mike is up bright and early with Brittany and Santana in their new dance studio, planning their first big showcase. The idea of the dance studio first came about two years ago while they were touring with Mercedes.

After performing for a segment on the Today Show during the east coast leg of her tour, the four of them decided to go out for brunch together. They are in the midst of perusing through their menus when a young girl approaches them. She stared up at them, her eyes wide and jaw agape. "Hi?" Mercedes says warmly despite her confusion.

"Were you the lady performing on the Today Show this morning?" the young girl inquires, bouncing excitedly in her spot.

The four of them exchange looks of understanding before Mercedes responds to her with a bright smile and a flip of her hair. "Yeah, that was me."

"You were amazing!" the young girl raves, prompting a chuckle from Mercedes. "And so was all of your dancing!"

"Thank you," Mercedes says.

The young girl looks up at Brittany and Santana in awe and voices, "I wish I could dance like you."

"All it takes is a little bit of practice," Santana advises with a shrug.

"I want to take dance classes so badly but my mom says we can't afford them," she discloses with a frown.

Mike smiles softly at the young girl and places a comforting hand on her shoulder before crouching down in front of her to meet her eyes. "You know, I didn't really start dancing until I joined the glee club in high school even though I loved it when I was a child," he shares. "If dancing is something you want to do, it's never too late to start."

The young girl shines brightly at him. "Really? I will never give up on dancing, thank you!" she declares before skipping away from their table.

The four of them continue perusing through their menus but there's an niggling idea clouding Mercedes' mind that she has to vocalize to her friends. "Have you ever thought about opening up your own dance studio?"

"A dance studio?" Mike echoes.

"Yeah, I mean, I would have never been able to do those dances in high school without all of you helping me out," Mercedes recalls.

Mike shrugs and looks around at his best friends. "I guess I've never really thought about it… A dance studio sounds like it would be a lot of fun, though."

"And we could teach dance to little girls just like the one we just met whose parents can't afford it," Brittany enthusiastically suggests.

Brittany and Mike nod in excitement at the prospect of opening a dance studio before staring at Santana expectantly, waiting for her reaction. She struggles to hold back a smile at their expressions, wide-eyed and hopeful. "Yeah, I guess we can open up a dance studio," she concedes.

Upon wrapping Mercedes' tour, the three dancers began the process of starting their dance studio and six months ago, they opened the Valerie Dance Academy in NYC. They have formed a dynamic trio. Brittany works at the studio full time, teaching most of their dance classes, and loving all the interaction with different people, while Mike and Santana work part-time, balancing their time teaching classes and working on other side projects.

They primarily offer classes to low-income people in the city who have a passion for dance, getting most of their funding from their other dance gigs and generous donors. They currently rent a small space in the city and they don't have many students yet but they believe in all of them and they have big hopes that this upcoming showcase they are planning will help to boost their recognition.

"Okay, so I think that we should start the showcase with Britt's junior ballet class and then work our way up by age," Santana proposes as the three of them sit together in their office. She waits for Brittany and Mike to nod their heads in agreement before jotting the idea down on their big brainstorming board.

"Oh, before I forget, I've gotta take a few days off next month to go back to Asian camp," Mike mentions.

The married couple slowly look up from the notes they were reviewing. "Asian camp? Aren't you banned?" Santana questions, furrowing her eyebrows at him in confusion.

"Not anymore apparently! They asked me and Tina to come back and give a presentation on the arts," he elaborates nonchalantly.

Brittany and Santana exchange an amused look with each other before smirking knowingly at him. "Tina, huh? Aren't you worried about being back there with her? You know… the place where it all started? Or is that what you want?" Brittany probes with a wag of her eyebrows.

"Do we need to come up with a plan to steal her away from Artie again? Because if so, I honestly think that the whole dancing around with your abs out and glistening could work again," Santana plots as she flips their drafting board on the opposite side and writes:

CHANG SQUARED ASIAN CAMP 2.0

**** ABS

Mike rolls his eyes exasperatedly. "Okay, first of all, that wasn't a plan to steal her away from Artie – it was the hottest day of the summer –"

"Um, yes it was a plan. Because you wouldn't shut up about how in with Tina you were so Matt and I came up with the genius idea of you using your hot bod to lure her in – which it did. And boom, the rest is history," Santana interrupts, pointing her dry-erase marker directly at him.

Mike ignores her comment and gets up to erase Santana's plans from the board despite her protests. "And second of all, no, I don't need a plan to steal her away from Artie."

"Because you already have one?" Brittany teases.

"No, come on. They got engaged," he says, brushing them off. "I'm not gonna mess with that."

"Even though you're still in love with her?"

"Oh, come on, Santana, he's not still in love with her. How can he be when he turned down her proposal six years ago?" Brittany sneers while pointedly glaring at Mike.

"You're still mad at me for that?"

"Yes! That was the worst part about our wedding day," Brittany exaggerates.

"Really? Not even the fact that we forever share a wedding anniversary with the gay Winklevoss twins?" Santana quips.

"That is the second worst part about our wedding day," Brittany corrects.

"Isn't it about time to move on from that? I mean, Tina clearly has," Mike says, trying to ignore the way it makes his stomach turn.

"And have you moved on from that?" Santana probes, her eyebrow quirked at him dubiously.

"I just want her to be happy," is all Mike says, a hint of sadness in his voice.

That same afternoon, Tina decides to meet her old friend, Sam Evans, for lunch where he currently works at William McKinley High School for the Arts while her fiancé spends the day with his mother.

For the last six years, Sam has been coaching the New Directions through victory after victory. He is comfortable with his life but he often finds himself missing his friends as they have all moved on from Lima to do bigger and better things. One person he especially misses in particular – Mercedes Jones.

"This is nice," Sam remarks from where he sits across Tina in the staff room as they eat takeout from Breadstix together. "I've missed having you in town."

Tina smiles bashfully at him, returning his sentiments. "Well, I might be stopping by next month too for a little bit," she reveals. "I'm supposed to be making an appearance with Mike at Asian camp."

Sam stops chewing his food and raises an eyebrow at her skeptically. "Didn't you two start dating in Asian camp?" Sam recalls, his words muffled by the food in his mouth.

"Oh, come on, that was years ago. We've all moved on," Tina denies with a roll of her eyes before taking a bite of her salad.

"Uh huh… didn't you want to marry him?" Sam reminds, watching her carefully before finally swallowing his food.

Tina pauses and pokes at her salad before releasing a shaky breath. "I did… yes," she confirms cautiously, brushing her hair behind her ears and shrugging. "But I'm glad he turned me down. He was right."

Sam nods his head slowly, still dubious. "Well, you better hope that Mike keeps his shirt on this time," he mutters under his breath but Tina still manages to hear.

"Sam," she scolds, her face unimpressed as he chuckles.

"Just be careful," he warns, "You don't want anyone getting hurt."

"Nothing is going to happen," Tina assures but her voice wavers slightly.

a/n: hope y'all enjoyed the first chapter… see y'all next tuesday!