As Stork walked onto the bridge, whistling softly to himself, he saw Finn and Aerrow staring at him. He raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"What? Is my fly undone?" He asked hesitantly. Aerrow was the first to say something.

"No, no... it's not that... we just wanted to let you know we're planning a big recon mission... when Piper gets up, she'll help us decide who's all going..." He answered innocently. The Merb eyed him with suspicion, but said nothing as he made his way over to the controls. The 2 Hawks shared a look of concern as Piper came into the room.

"Good morning, everyone." She said cheerfully. Aerrow's eyes narrowed a bit as he saw Stork smile and blush a bit.

"Good morning, Piper." Junko cheerfully replied. Apparently, he had no idea what was going on.

"Hey, Piper, can we talk to you for a minute?" The redhead behind her queried. She turned to face him and saw the look in Aerrow's and Finn's eyes. She rolled her eyes but followed them into the hallway. As the door closed behind them, Aerrow began the "interrogation."

"Piper, what were you thinking, getting involved with Stork? You should know better!" His eyes betrayed him, showing the jealousy he wouldn't admit. Piper blinked a bit in confusion.

"Um, ok, first; it's none of your business; second, if you felt that way about me, you should have said or done something by now; and third, I happen to like Stork that way. What's wrong with that?" She answered in her signature know-it-all way. Neither boy could believe she had any interest in the Merb.

"Piper, he's not even human! Won't that be a little weird?" Aerrow continued, unwilling to let this go.

"C'mon, dude. Give her a break. I bet they have a lot in common." Finn said, trying to be supportive.

"Thank you, Finn." She said as she turned to face the blond, who was smiling suggestively.

"Yeah, you both like sex, apparently..." He suddenly blurted out, both boys chuckling after he said this. Piper's eyes flared in anger.

"I can't believe you 2! First, you tell me to get a life outside my lab, then you make fun of me because of who I chose to spend time with! I didn't ask you to lecture me about the ethics of inter-squadron dating, Mr. Savior-of-Vapos!" She glared angrily at Finn, who shrunk back a little. She promptly turned to the Sky Knight next.

"And of all the people I've ever known, I would've expected you to be the most supportive! You know how lonely Stork is here, but when he finally finds someone he likes, you suddenly want to take that away from him?" The redhead lowered his head in shame.

Meanwhile...

"So, you and Piper have fun last night, Stork?" Junko's abrupt question took the pilot by surprise. His face darkened considerably and he nervously turned to answer him.

"Y-yeah... we h-had 'fun'..." He stuttered. For some reason, Junko didn't seem to be judging him.

"Yeah, it's hard sometimes, isn't it?" He said cryptically.

"What is?"

"Being away from others of your kind... you get kinda lonely, all by yourself... I don't know how the other guys feel, but I'm just glad you found somebody..." He said in his friendly, supportive tone. Stork was taken aback. He'd never thought Junko could get lonely away from Wallop. "I guess it makes sense, now that I think about it..." He thought to himself. As the door swished open, they both turned to look as Piper yelled back into the hallway.

"You should both be ashamed of yourselves, being so judgmental! We'll talk more about this later!" As the door closed, she turned to face her other 2 teammates.

"Junko, could you give Stork and I a minute alone, please?" She asked sweetly, trying not to let the other 2's actions cloud her thoughts.

"Sure, Piper... oh, and..." He pulled her into a hug, one that was uncharacteristically soft.

"I hope you guys stay happy together..." He walked out, leaving both of them puzzled. Shaking her head to clear her mind, Piper turned to face to skittish Merb next to her. He backed up a little bit, unsure of what to do.

"It's okay, Stork... last night wasn't a mistake. I want to be with you...." She cooed, stroking his cheek softly. He shuddered under her warm touch, letting out a moaning sigh as she pulled her hand away.

"P-Piper, I-I... d-don't think th-this is s-such a g-good idea... m-maybe we sh-should stop..." His stutter returned in full swing, but Piper didn't pull away. In fact, she came closer.

"Stork, is that what you really want?" She asked as she pulled back just a little, staring longingly into his eyes. He shook his head, suddenly unable to speak.

"I didn't think so..." She pulled herself into his lap and kissed his cheek softly. His blush darkened even more, and he moaned a bit as she moved to kiss his neck.

"P-Piper, n-not here..." He pleaded. To his relieve, she pulled away. Her devilish smile meant doom for the pilot later, but he didn't mind. In fact, that doom he welcomed with open arms.

"Stork, I love you... and I know you love me, too... there's no need to hide it just because the others don't understand..." She put one finger under his lowered chin and raised his head up to see the smile that spread across his face.

"Actually, Junko made it clear he's happy we're together..." She blinked a bit, but a smile of her own appeared.

"Really? I'd glad..."

"Me, too..."

"Stork?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not stuttering anymore..." The Merb simply smiled, took the navigator in his arms, and carried her to his room. Just before entering it, he finally whispered;

"I know... I'm not afraid anymore..."

The End

Author's Note: Sorry if the end was anticlimactic... let me know if I should make a sequel... or shouldn't... let me know something, please!