Falling for a Broken Heart

Chapter 4

When Finno got back to his apartment, his siblings were smirking at him.
"What?" he asked, extremely confused.
"Oh, nothing." Aredhel said, but Finno knew she was lying.
"No," he said. "What is it? Did I do something wrong? Was it the food?"
"No, believe me, the food was perfect." Turgon said, an empty plate sitting in front of him.
"Then what is is?" he paused for a moment as something crossed his mind.
"Was it Mae?"
"Nickname basis now, huh?" Aredhel teased. Finno gave her a look before sitting down in one of the chairs. His head hit the back of the chair as he sighed, wishing Maedhros hadn't left.
He sat there for a moment, pretending that at any moment, Mae would come out and sit near him. He sat up and looked at the other two before saying, "He's a nice guy, okay? He's a good friend and I wanted you to meet him."
"Sure," Aredhel said. "A friend."
"What are you on about?" he asked. "He really is just a friend." He tried as hard as he could to control his blush, but knew in the end his efforts were pointless.
"Okay, maybe he is just a friend but that doesn't mean you don't want him to be more than that." Turgon said.
To that, Fingon had no reply. He looked away, not wanting his siblings to see his face. So far, he had been able to deny it, but he couldn't anymore. It was out in the open and he couldn't take it back.
"Hey," Aredhel said. "He has to like you. Who couldn't? You Finno, the only one of us who hasn't been in the hospital at least twice."
At that he laughed. He remembered the long nights sleeping in the hospital, waiting for his siblings to get better. Their father sighing and muttering to himself about how insane his children were.
Turgon and Aredhel smiled at how happy Finno looked. It had been awhile since they'd seen him smile like that. Except for when the redhead was in the room of course.
"Perhaps, but he's not like everyone else," his voice was quiet. "There is something about him that I can't understand. You both know how rare it is for me to be confused by a person."
"Why do you say he confuses you?" Aredhel asked.
"It's almost like he wants to smile, he wants to be happy, but something holds him back. Some memory, some thought. I just don't know what."
"It seems our brother has himself a mystery that needs solving," she teased.
He just groaned and gave her a slight glare, but she knew he didn't mean it as his cheeks tinted red. The other two laughed and eventually he joined in.
They were there for several days and Mae came over frequently. He didn't want to say it out loud because he didn't want to jinx it, but Fingon was happy. For the first time since his brother died, he was truly happy.

Finno groaned.
"Why do you have to leave so soon?" he asked in a slightly whinny voice. Mae smiled as he watched him interact with his siblings. He missed home.
"Please, stay for just a few more days."
"C'mon Finno, you know we have to," Aredhel said. "Father will be missing us."
"If you want to stay around us, come upstate. I'm sure Father would be glad to see you." Turgon was distracted by his packing, but also by the little treats Finno had set on the counter.
Finno let out a heavy sigh before saying, "I can't. I have a job here and they never let me have any time off."
"Then just say you're sick. You know how it is nowadays, they won't want you to come in." Aredhel was tying up her hair as she spoke, the hair clip between her teeth making her voice strange.
"I've gotten sick before, but they told me to come in if I wanted to keep my job. They said that unless I was in the hospital, I was fine."
"That ridiculous," Maedhros said. "I can talk to your boss if you'd like." He regretted saying it the moment the words left his lips.
"Why would your word have any affect on my boss?" Finno asked, turning around to look at him sitting on one of the bar stools.
"I don't know..." he said. "I'm tall?" he offered, trying to come up with an excuse, any excuse for what he had said.
Finno chuckle and said, "I think it takes more than height to scare my boss." Beyond that, the subject was dropped.
After they got back from taking Aredhel and Turgon to the train station, Maedhros sat down on the couch and Finno stood behind counter watching him.
He couldn't get it out of his head that there was more to what Maedhros had said. It was like it was a habit, something he'd been saying for a very long time. He decided not to press, assuming that Mae would tell him when he was ready.