"if the whole world was watching, i'd still dance with you" — this town, niall horan
March 2022. Lima, Ohio.
With only one more week left until Tina and Artie's big day, the New Directions alumni have flown in from all over the country to celebrate the occasion. While Tina and Artie have the means to get married anywhere in the world, they wanted to do it surrounded by all their loved ones at home in Lima — where it all started.
Ten of the New Directions class of 2012 and 2013 currently sit and chat amongst each other while waiting for Tina and Artie's arrival as they run late, doing some last-minute wedding planning. Since all of them being together in the same place happens so rarely nowadays, they decided to have a little reunion dinner at Breadstix once everyone has landed in town.
"Can you believe that another one of us is getting married?" Kurt marvels aloud.
"Another two!" Rachel corrects, holding up her two fingers to cement her point.
"And those two are Tina and Artie of all people," Quinn says with a twinge of wonder in her voice.
"Marrying each other," Mercedes adds and the entire table mumbles their thoughts of disbelief aloud.
Noah Puckerman glances around at his old friends, narrowing his eyes at everyone hesitantly and expresses, "Okay… I can't be the only one that thinks it's a little weird."
And to his surprise, everyone releases a breath of relief, glad that someone finally said it so that they didn't have to. "Oh definitely." / "So weird." / "Just plain wrong."
While everyone else mutters their agreement, one person remains silent throughout this conversation. Mike Chang slumps back in his seat and nurses a drink in his hand. But all their chatter subsides and their eyes are suddenly drawn to him at the sound he makes, loudly sipping his soda through his straw and looking visibly uncomfortable.
Quinn frowns sympathetically at him and leans forward from across the table, looking him directly in the eye. "We were so sure it was going to be you two."
Mike looks around at the table at his friends as they nod their heads in agreement. "Look, it's weird for me too, okay?" Mike sighs deeply in response and runs his fingers through his hair. "If it was up to me, this would have been mine and Tina's wedding from the start… But she chose him."
"Oh wow, you are definitely better than me because I wouldn't have even shown up," Puck comments with a scoff.
"Well, Tina asked me to come," Mike replies simply with a shrug, trying to seem nonchalant even though he'd rather be anywhere else, and his motives become clear to everyone.
After knowing each other for years, they have all developed a deep understanding of each other. And while their relationship might have been short-lived in comparison to the number of years they have all known each other to date, the nature of Mike and Tina's relationship has not changed much throughout the years. The fact still remains that Mike Chang would do anything and everything that Tina Cohen-Chang asked him to.
An awkward silence hangs in the air as everyone acknowledges how uncomfortable and painful the situation must be for Mike. Not a single one of them could have expected their relationship to end up like this. Mike and Tina were the power couple — if any two people were going to last forever, they were sure it was going to be them.
"You must be regretting turning down her proposal all those years ago right about now," Puck quips under his breath, breaking their silence, and earns himself a slap on the arm from Mercedes. "Ow!"
Mike rolls his eyes in response as Mercedes continues to scold the former football player. "I'm not gonna apologize for being pragmatic," Mike says defensively.
Half of them mutter their confusion about the dancer's choice of words, not having the capacity to understand his vocabulary but Rachel just scoffs at him and crosses her arms. "Pragmatic? More like masochistic! Mike, you are the one who has suffered the most after turning down Tina's proposal."
"Oh, you don't even know the half of it," Santana comments exaggeratedly as she takes a long sip from her wine glass. Mike shoots her an unamused glare but she doesn't cower. "Sorry, buddy, but I'm not gonna lie — it's hard to watch."
"Surely, you can't believe that rejecting Tina's proposal was the reasonable thing to do when everybody here knows that marrying Tina is all you've wanted to do for your entire life," Rachel points out before reaching across the table to grasp his arm firmly and advises, "If you know that you want to spend the rest of your life with her, then you should fight for her. Don't wait until it's too late… Life is too short."
"Rachel, it's not that simple — she wants to be with Artie," he protests but she doesn't let him continue, interrupting him with a shake of her head.
"I still remember Finn dropping me off at the train station instead of our wedding like it happened yesterday. And every time I do, I can't help but think about how I shouldn't have let him let me go," she shares, her voice breaking and tears welling in her eyes causing Kurt to reach for her hand under the table sympathetically. "I should have fought harder for us – insisted that we get married because being a star is great but it would have been better with him by my side."
"You don't know that it would've worked out," Quinn counters.
"Maybe not. Maybe we would have gotten divorced two weeks later. But it's that 'what if'. That possibility that maybe everything would have been different – that's what eats me up inside," Rachel divulges before taking a deep breath and shutting her eyes as a tear slowly slips down her cheek. "I love Jesse. And I love the life that we've created together but if there was some way that I could go back and change everything so that I can be with Finn longer, I would."
Mike opens his mouth to respond to her but quickly shuts it at the sound of the restaurant's front door ringing, signalling the arrival of new customers. The New Directions alumni all turn toward the door to see the soon-to-be-married couple entering through the front door, waving at their long-time friends.
When they reach the table, Tina and Artie greet everyone and pull each of them in for warm hugs and it's a little bit twisted how easily they all pretend like they weren't just the topic of conversation mere seconds ago.
And Mike's discomfort from earlier is nothing compared to how he feels now. All he can bring himself to do is take a deep cleansing breath before plastering a fake smile on his face as the couple take their seats on the other side of the table.
"Hey, you two finally made it!" Mercedes exclaims.
"All that wedding planning keeping you too busy to join us on time?" Blaine teases, nudging Tina with his shoulder and she sticks her tongue at him in response.
"Well, you know how stressful it can be… So many details still left to finalize," Tina says, puffing out air from her cheeks before smiling appreciatively at everyone. "But, I'm really glad you all found the time to come celebrate with us – it really means a lot."
"We'll always try to make time for the special things," Kurt tells her with a soft smile.
Everyone nods their head in agreement but their expressions turn worried when Tina starts sniffling, unable to hold back tears.
"Oh, God, I forgot how emotional you get," Sam mutters as he pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head.
"Sorry, I just love you guys," Tina mumbles through sobs while Artie rubs her arm comfortingly and Blaine reaches for her hand, squeezing it tightly.
"Ditto. Now can we order? I'm starving," Puck declares and gestures around the table. "These people wanted to wait until you two got here."
"Sorry for having manners, Noah," Rachel snaps with a roll of her eyes.
"I'm sorry too," he retorts before waving the waitress over to their table.
The New Directions alumni spend the rest of their night at their beloved Breadstix, savouring the taste of home and catching up with one another. Mike tries his best to remain in conversation with Sam, Quinn, Brittany and Santana as they animatedly debate which restaurants outside of Lima could compare to the superiority of Breadstix. But his attention keeps being drawn to where Tina sits across the table, her arm interlaced with Artie's as they chat with Puck, Mercedes and Blaine.
Feeling the way he tenses in the seat next to her, Brittany follows his gaze to the engaged couple before glancing back at Mike and reaching to squeeze his hand underneath the table. He attempts to smile at her, feeling grateful for her sweetness, but he can't help but roll his eyes, his stomach twisting at the sight of them.
With a deep sigh, Mike downs the rest of his drink before excusing himself to go to the restroom. He stands in front of the sink and splashes some water on his face before giving himself a pep-talk in the mirror. When he finally feels like he is ready to rejoin the group, he exits the restroom but stumbles on something on his way out.
Mike looks down to find Artie parked in front of him, his expression stoic and cold. "I thought you were going to say yes."
"Hmm?" Mike mumbles as he scrunches his eyebrows in confusion, unsure about what the boy could talk about.
"Seven years ago… Tina told us about her big plan to propose to you," Artie clarifies and the memory of it makes Mike feel sick. "I was against it when she brought it up. At first, I thought it was because it's insane to propose to someone you're not dating. And while, yes, it absolutely is insane — I was also still in love with her and I was so sure you would say yes and you two would live happily ever after… but you didn't."
"No, I didn't," Mike confirms, his voice soft as a whisper as he swallows the lump that has formed in his throat.
"I know about what was happening between you and my fiancée," Artie reveals, his jaw ticking with infuriation.
"Oh," is all Mike can bring himself to say.
"Yeah," Artie responds, narrowing his eyes at him.
"Look, I'm sorry that we hurt you, Artie. I never wanted you to get hurt… And I'm sorry for how it went down," Mike laments before taking a deep breath and running his fingers through his hair. He stares down at the boy in front of him and he feels terrible for the incredible lack of guilt that he has for his actions. "But let's get something clear, I don't regret anything that happened between me and Tina — I didn't regret it in high school. And I sure as hell don't regret it now," he affirms and looks Artie straight in the eyes to ferment his point. "There is nothing in the world that could ever make me regret being with her."
Artie looks down at the ground and slowly nods his head, processing Mike's words. "Well, I certainly appreciate your honesty," he responds and tries his hardest not to roll his eyes with annoyance. "I can't revoke your invitation because we both know that you mean a lot to Tina and she wants you at our wedding. But I trust that if you do choose to attend, you will understand your place. I am the guy she's marrying — not you," he asserts. "I backed off in high school when you asked me to and now I'm gonna ask you to do the same. You already had your chance with her and you blew it."
Mike nods his head in understanding despite how difficult it seems for him to breathe. "Yeah, I get it… She chose you. And I have to respect that."
"Good. I'm glad we had this talk," Artie says before rolling away from Mike, leaving him to sulk alone in his thoughts for a moment.
The week passes by quickly as everyone is busy preparing for Tina and Artie's wedding. With only three nights left before the big day, the bridesmaids have stolen Tina away from her wedding planning for her bachelorette party.
Blaine, Kurt and the girls go to a nightclub just outside of Lima where they are not as recognizable, allowing them a semblance of anonymity. The club is lively and loud and they can barely hear themselves over the music as they squeeze together in a tiny booth. Raising their glasses, the eight of them toast to Tina's upcoming nuptials before downing their 3rd round of shots of the night.
Rachel shudders as the alcohol runs through her body and she slams her now-empty glass on the table before pointing her finger at Tina. "Okay, Tina, we have a special little surprise for you," she teases in a sing-song voice, her speech slightly slurring.
Tina glances suspiciously around the booth at her friends' cheeky grins, not knowing why she suddenly feels worried. Tina adjusts the sash that currently rests on her chest that reads 'Bride-to-Be' and tugs down her too-short dress before opening her mouth to ask what they have planned when she hears a familiar voice coming from the stage. "Did somebody order some White Chocolate?"
"Oh no," Tina mutters, hiding her flushed cheeks in her hands.
"Oh yes," Mercedes confirms as she drags Tina out of her seat and toward the stage where none other than Sam Evans stands wearing a costume eerily similar to the nightclub's waitstaff.
"This is for you, Tee!" Sam declares as he points directly and winks at Tina before ripping his shirt open, revealing his chiselled chest that sparkles under the stage lights. Despite her drunken haze, Tina doesn't miss the way he tosses his shirt right at Mercedes causing her to blush furiously in response before he does his signature windmill move.
He slowly inches closer to the edge of the stage, moving in a combination of stripping and gyrating before ultimately hopping off the stage and approaching Tina. She's shaking her head at him and laughing uproariously as he twerks against her. "Was Sam really the only stripper you guys could find?" Tina asks Blaine.
"He wouldn't let me hire any other stripper," Blaine elaborates as he throws some bills at Sam. "Sorry, Queen Tee, but you're stuck with him."
With a roll of her eyes, Tina just allows Sam to continue his routine and tries to bite back a smirk, noticing the way he seems to be giving Mercedes most of his attention. Once he is down to only his underwear, stuffed with multiple wads of cash, he finishes his dance with a flourish. "Congrats on getting married, Tee," he tells her, bending down to kiss her on the forehead as she jokingly pushes him away with a grimace.
"I feel like I should remind you that you're a teacher now," Tina points out as she fixes the tacky tiara that is threatening to slip off her head.
"Oh, well, I only do this for special occasions," Sam responds with a wink before digging out the money from his underwear and waving the bills in her face. "I'm gonna go change real' quick and then the next round is on me!"
Sam rushes to the restroom and roots through his backpack in search of his regular clothes. After spending a few minutes digging around and flipping his bag upside down, he realizes that there are no spare clothes inside. "Fuck," he curses as he becomes increasingly aware of how cold the club actually is. He pulls out his phone from the front pocket of his backpack and says a silent prayer thanking God that at least he has this with him.
Sam: hey man can u do me a huge favour
Sam: i might have ripped my clothes off stripping & forgot to bring something to change into
Mike: ok fine im omw
Sam: thank u ur a lifesaver
Back in his childhood bedroom, Mike lies on his bed when he receives Sam's request. He takes a moment to stare at his phone and shakes his head at his friend's current predicament before grabbing some spare clothes from his closet and heading downstairs to rescue Sam from his crisis. He's almost made his way to the front door when he hears some familiar voices coming from the living room that stops him in his tracks.
"Mike! It's so wonderful to see you again!" Judi Cohen-Chang exclaims, sitting in the living room with her husband, Brad Cohen, and Mike's parents.
"Hey, Mrs. Double-C and Mr. Cohen! It's great to see you, too," Mike says as he enters the living room to give both of Tina's parents a hug. "I wasn't expecting to find you both here."
"Well, we needed a few moments and peace of quiet from all the wedding shenanigans happening in our house right now," Brad explains with an exaggerated eye roll. "I swear it wasn't this chaotic with Mel's wedding."
"That's because Tina is more particular than Mel is… And now that I think about it, so is Artie," Judi quips before taking a sip of her tea.
"It must be because of their new Hollywood lifestyle," Julia Chang, Mike's mother, theorizes. "The mindset is different over there."
"Eh, I don't know, Tina and Artie have always been very particular people – when they have a vision, they want it to be executed to perfection," Mike interjects as he shoves his hands into his pockets.
"Yes, they certainly do," Judi says. "We finally got to take a break from it since Tina got dragged out for her bachelorette party tonight."
"It's her bachelorette party tonight?" Mike clarifies before muttering under his breath, "Ohhhh, that's why Sam was stripping."
"Somebody is stripping?" Brad echoes with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, no, it's nothing," Mike dismisses with a wave of his hand before pointing towards the door and taking a step back. "But, I think I'm gonna go join her party."
"Okay, bye, Michael, have fun! We'll see you at the wedding, right?" Judi asks.
"Yeah, I'll be there," he replies, trying to hide his disdain for said wedding from his face before turning around and heading toward the door once again.
He's barely made it a few steps before he hears Brad utter, "You know… I really thought it would be you."
"Brad," Judi warns, placing a hand on his arm.
"What? It's true," Brad retorts and looks back at Mike as he slowly turns around, his heart pounding in his chest. "I thought it would be you – the person our Tina would be marrying."
"Well, Artie's a great guy," Mike says with a shrug.
"Oh, yeah, I know. When he's not critiquing my directing skills on all our home movies, that is," Brad comments and Mike chuckles knowing how meticulous Artie is when it comes to directing. "But, we were all just expecting you and Tina to end up together… I guess some things just don't work out the way you think they will."
"Yeah, I guess not," Mike replies sadly. With a deep sigh, he finally opens the front door. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go save my friend from a wardrobe malfunction."
Mike drives for twenty minutes to the nightclub, blasting the music in his car to drown out the way Brad's words ring repeatedly in his head. Walking inside, he looks around the club in search of Sam and much like his feelings this past week, he hopes that this exchange will be quick and painless.
He pulls out his phone to text Sam for his whereabouts when he spots him on the dancefloor with Mercedes, their bodies pressed closely together as they move along to the beat of the music. Mike can hardly contain his amusement at the sight of them, a low chuckle escaping his lips before he maneuvers through the crowded dancefloor and approaches them.
"Sam!" Mike calls, drawing the blonde's attention away from Mercedes. He holds up his bag filled with his spare clothes and can't help but laugh at the way Sam releases a breath of relief.
"Thank you, bro, you're my hero!" Sam exclaims and takes the bag of clothes from Mike's hands before turning back to Mercedes and promising, "I'll be right back."
Assuming his job for the night is completed, he begins to walk away and head back home when he hears a familiar voice calling his name. "Mike!"
He turns around and finds Tina stumbling away from dancing with Blaine and Brittany, making her way toward him. She trips over her own feet and falls into his arms, landing smack on his chest. Based on the faraway look in her eyes and the smell of alcohol on her breath, he can tell she's had a bit too much to drink.
Giggling hysterically, she tries to stand upright with Mike's assistance, holding her steady by her biceps until she regains her footing. He glances her up and down, taking in her appearance. She's wearing a typical, tacky, bachelorette party get-up and yet she's glowing and Mike still finds her the most beautiful person in the room.
"Come dance with us!" Tina prompts and she wraps her hand around his wrist, attempting to drag him back to the dancefloor.
Starting to feel panicky, Mike plants his feet firmly on the ground and tries to protest. Dancing with Tina is just playing with temptation – he doesn't know what that could lead to. "I just came to drop off some clothes for Sam."
"No, you can't go without at least one dance," Tina insists and tightens her grip on his wrist. Before he could protest any further, she presses a finger against his lips and points to her sash using her other hand. "You can't 'say' no to me – I'm the bride."
Mike nods his head reluctantly in acquiescence. "Okay, fine, one dance."
"Yay!" Tina cheers with a bounce before taking Mike's hand and dragging him along with her on the dancefloor.
Weaving themselves through the crowd, they find an empty spot to dance and it starts off innocently at first. Just two friends bouncing along to the beat together while their other friends are scattered elsewhere around the room, distracted by their own inebriation.
But the alcohol running through Tina's system does not bode well in maintaining her balance because when Mike spins her around, she stumbles once again and her back lands smack against his chest. He keeps his hands around her waist, afraid that she'll topple over if he doesn't, and Tina uses their close proximity as an opportunity to press their bodies together.
She moves his hands from where they rest respectably on her waist to her ribcage and Mike starts to feel dizzy. They move fluidly against each other and he marvels at how perfectly they fit together. The shakiness of his touch tickles her and she's laughing as he whispers curses in her ear, indulging in the best kind of torture.
Mike closes his eyes and tries to regain control of his breathing but it makes everything worse. With his eyes closed, he can focus more on her intoxicating scent and the way she moves against him as he pictures their bodies being pressed together in a lot more satisfying ways than this.
Tina twists in his arms and faces him before wrapping her arms around his neck, still pressing her body to his. "It's always fun dancing with you," she shares, her speech slurred, as her finger draws patterns against his chest.
Mike smiles fondly at her. "It's always fun dancing with you, too."
"You just like to dance," she points out with a scoff.
"That's true," he says with a chuckle. "But it's a lot more fun when it's with you."
"You're just saying that because I'm the bride and you have to be nice to me," Tina dismisses, a pout suddenly gracing her face. She rests her head against his chest and sighs deeply. For a moment they just sway slowly together despite the club's upbeat music. "It destroyed me when you said you didn't wanna marry me because I really wanted to spend the rest of my life with you… still kinda do," she admits, her words muffled against his chest and he almost doesn't hear it through the loud thumping of the music.
Mike's breathing becomes staggered at her confession. He grasps her shoulders and pushes her away slightly so that he can look her in the eyes. He's about to open his mouth to question her when she closes the gap between their lips.
His hands immediately find their way back to her waist, pulling her body closer to his. He sighs against her lips and she uses the parting of his mouth as an opportunity to slip her tongue inside and it's the taste of tequila that brings him back to reality. This was wrong.
With all his willpower, he pulls away from her and rests his forehead against hers, not having enough strength to open his eyes. "Tee, you're drunk," he says, not sure if the reminder is more for her or him.
"Next round is on me!" They hear Sam proudly announce as he rejoins the dancefloor, now more modestly dressed.
Mike takes a large step back from Tina and he isn't sure if he should feel relieved or annoyed at the interruption. But Tina just gasps in excitement and hops away from Mike to assist Sam in gathering her bridesmaids from all over the club.
He watches as they all head towards the bar, ready to take another shot, and sighs deeply before finally finding the energy to turn around and go back home. Before he could make it out the door, Sam grabs him by the arm, holding him back. "Wait, you're leaving already? The party's not over yet."
Mike nods his head in response and shoves his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, man. It's been a long night," he replies and continues his way out the door before quickly adding over his shoulder, "You all really need to stop calling me over and forcing me to see Tina when I don't have to."