Blind Hope

"Where've you been?

Aerrow and Piper stopped laughing, but their warm smiles remained on their faces as they looked at Finn, who was sitting with his arms crossed, clearly irritated.

"What's up with you?" Aerrow chuckled, walking over to sit across him. Finn pushed his chair back, walking away to the window.

"Nothing."

"Finn?" Piper frowned, walking over to lay her hand on Aerrow's shoulder as they both looked at him confusedly.

"What?" He snapped, still looking out of the window.

Piper met Aerrow's baffled look, utterly taken aback. He shook his head at her and she nodded, comprehending. Leaning down, she pecked his cheek before grabbing the scattered stationary on the table.

"I'll just… go to bed." She announced softly, helplessly watching Finn's back. He stood still, saying nothing, causing her to sigh inwardly before departing. Aerrow furrowed his eyebrows, walking over to Finn hesitantly.

"What's up, mate? Is this because we took a while?"

There was a moment of silence before Finn released a long, drawn out sigh, nodding slowly. "Yeah… yeah, sorry. Bad mood."

"I'm sorry, Finn. I should've watched the time. But then Piper and I-

"-Leave it," Finn turned to him, a huge fake smile on his face. "It's no big deal. Like I said, I'm tired. I should probably go to bed too."

"I'll walk with you," Aerrow offered, a thought hitting him. "I'll say goodnight to Piper."

Finn nodded briefly, clenching his jaw: But Aerrow didn't see. They took off down the hallway, nothing but the clicking sounds of the metal part of their heavy boots echoing around them. Aerrow stopped at Piper's door, knocking lightly on it, and Finn couldn't help but stop, smiling a little at the nervous, happy look in the Captain's emerald eyes.

The door opened, and a beautiful pair of tangy-orange eyes peeped through the crack, blinking up at them. It opened a little wider to reveal the pretty Piper, her flowing, fluffy hair kissing her smooth shoulders, wearing a thin, short midnight blue nightdress. She smiled at Aerrow, who returned it, until Piper noticed Finn.

"Oh… has something happened?"

"No," Finn intervened quickly as Aerrow opened his mouth. "No, sorry. I just thought I'd watch you two lovebirds at it," A nervous laughter left him, a strange too bright beam on his face. "Seeya!"

Finn swiftly left before they could say anything, slamming his bedroom door behind him and leaning against it, closing his eyes and he started to take deep breaths, relieved to be in the safety of his bedroom: but not feeling any better for it.

If one looked closely, they'd have spotted the way his fist clenched as he thought of Aerrow with his arms around Piper.

"Okay," Piper laughed, gently pushed Aerrow away. "That's enough. I'm on patrol early in the morning."

His smooth lips that had been pressed against her neck started to move up it, before finally he kissed her temple, a smile spreading on his face. "Tease."

"Yes yes, now go on," Piper poked him, missing the warmth his body provided as he was forced to wriggle away. "Out."

"You do realize we've been seeing each other for… seven months now?"

Piper turned her head lazily towards him; her bright amused amber eyes looking up at him in interest. Her bottom lip stuck out as she pretended to ponder, trying to bite back a laugh.

"Oh, have we? I didn't notice."

"Liar," Aerrow grinned at her, leaning forwards to kiss her; but her hand immediately pushed him away before she snorted with laughter, crying out as he started to tickle her mercilessly.

"No- stop!" She breathed, tears springing to her eyes as she tried to fight him, laughing delightedly. "Sto-op-

He laughed along with her, feeling her leg swing around so she was sitting on him, rolling them over so they were a heap on the floor.

Their heartbeats thumped heavily as they both took deep breaths, trying to calm themselves. Piper's fingers scraped along his chest as she laid on him, her hair tickling the nape of his neck.

"You have to go now," Piper repeated sleepily, yet didn't move. Aerrow murmured in reply, tightening his arm around her. She smiled. "Aerrow, seriously. Go away."

He only chuckled in reply.

"Finn? Why are you up?"

"I thought it was my turn on duty."

"...No."

Piper stepped closer- but only slightly, hesitation evident in her expression. Bravely, she attempted to break the silence between them.

"I… I was wondering what was wrong today. With you, I mean. If you're… alright." Piper asked slowly, but he didn't reply. She took a deep breath, before continuing. "Because you didn't seem to be… when Aerrow and I came back."

Nothing. Piper instantly felt a surge of irritation rise through her and her eyes slowly starting to narrow.

"You know what, Finn? Fine. It's not my fault you have a problem. If you're going to carry on ignoring me then you can just-

She was completely taken by surprise when Finn swung around, his eyes unusually bright.

"You don't get it do you?" He interrupted, shaking his head and almost laughing aloud. "You never will."

A frown swiftly appeared on her face. "Get what?"

"Nothing."

"Oh come on, spit it out." She snapped, gritting her teeth. "Stop messing about and just tell me, then I can help you-

"-I'm in love with you."

There was a terrible phase of utter silence as Piper stared at him, her mouth half-open in shock. Finn's expression was no different. He stared back at her, completely taken aback with his confession.

"Piper…" He started to move towards her, unsure of what to do.

"You…" Piper stepped backwards sub-consciously, still staring at him. "You… love-

"-It slipped out." He told her harshly, stopping slowly in his tracks.

"Slipped out? Finn, we have to talk-

"-Talk about what? You're with him now, aren't you? We're 'just friends', aren't we? What do you want to talk about, Piper?"

Piper opened her mouth, only to close it again, her cheeks damp with tears. Finn only looked at her coldly, continuing as he moved towards her.

"You never noticed," He was almost choking, his own eyes filling with salty tears. "It's always about Aerrow. Everyone expects you to be together and why wouldn't they? The amazing Captain and his brilliant navigator, the perfect little couple. And what am I? What am I ever going to be? Just the joker Finn, with nothing to do but mess up everything. I'm tired," He almost looked like he wanted to collapse, his shoulders slumping heavily. "I'm tired of being me."

These words almost broke her heart and she felt her breath catch in her throat. "Finn…"

"So forget it," He walked over to her, taking her by the shoulders harshly and shaking her a little. "Just forget what I said, and keep your voice down, the others will wake up-

"-Get off me, you're hurting!"

He almost pushed her away as he obliged, turning around to quickly move away from her, his hands clawing through his hair. Piper rubbed her upper arms, instantly feeling bad. She moved towards him, stretching out her hand to rest it on his shoulder.

"Hey."

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

He turned his head to look at her, his blue eyes sad and pitying. "No you're not. But that's okay. No one ever is."

A/N: For some reason, I'm not too sure of this, but I really don't know why. So please let me know what you think: it would be appreciated.