Feet In Mouths and Hearts On Sleeves

Finn doesn't have anything together, but if there's one thing he knows, it's that he's honest to God in love with Rachel Berry and would do anything to have her, to make her happy. He just hasn't quite figured out how to do that yet.

All Finn needs is a little time to learn how to keep his foot out of his mouth and his heart on his sleeve, but the longer he keeps messing it up, the more afraid he gets that she'll lose any inclination to wait around for him.

For so damn long, he keeps at it. And yeah, maybe everything's his fault because he's been such an ass lately, but that doesn't make Finn the bad guy, does it? Even if he's always wrong, at least he's botching everything up because he cares too much and doesn't know how to handle it.

At least he loves Rachel. That Jesse kid can sing duets and wrap his arm around her all day long, for all Finn cares, but that's not love, that's too superficial to be love. What Jesse doesn't know is that love isn't just sunshine and butterflies and Lionel Richie ballads--sometimes, it sucks.

Sometimes, love is guilt--for avoiding her to save your own reputation, for selfishly wanting her when you're not over your pregnant ex, for being such a goddamn hypocrite all the time. He asks her to leave her boyfriend for him at the drop of a hat after running away for so long; he tells her they can't be friends if Jesse breaks her heart when she was the only one there for him through sectionals; he resents her casting in Run Joey Run when it's not his place to make that call--Finn doesn't have that right, he gets it. But it's like he told Mr. Schue: sometimes he screws up, sometimes he kicks over chairs and stuff, but that doesn't mean he's a culprit.

He just needs a little time. Just a little time to show her how he feels without letting the bad stuff control him or acting like an asshole in the process. He can't be wrong for her if he wants so much for her, can he?

(But the more time he needs, the more she pulls away...)

A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews are always appreciated. :)