Disclaimer: I do not own Galactik Football.

A little explanation: remember when Sinedd met his "parents" in Episode 10 of Season 3? And he wasn't convinced until they talked to him later again? Well, I extended the period in-between a bit, so that he could have more time to think it over (for the fic's purposes but also beause it was rushed in the episode I think, anyway); so this takes place a day after Sinedd appears on the Cyclop Paparazzi's Show (forgot his name, shame on me). And before that poorly-handled Lun-Zia kiss in Episode 11, so Tia still thinks she is hitting on her boyfriend. Yeah, I shuffled things a lot, didn't I? :( Sorry, the not understanding much of Season 3 is getting to my head. I may have made some mistakes of the timeline, too, because I couldn't check back to most things. I've been a lazy author :(

Edit: Hold it! I checked it! There really was a day inbetween! Wooo, the show is less retarded than I thought! And I am more retarded than I thought! Okay, sorry about that so it is the morning, the following day Sinedd meets his parents in the Cyclops' Show and then Tia still didn't know about Lun-Zia's boyfriend so this all fits :))) YAAAY! I knew I had reason for believing there was a day inbetween :D I probably messed some other things up though, so still beware!

But this is for the amazing and one-and-only Turkmen, for that hilarious nyoro-n comic: turkmen . devianart. com/gallery/#/d2z7qro. Hope you like it, dear!

Anyway, without further ado:

Skipping Rocks

She had told Lord Phoenix that his planet was beautiful, and it was no lie. It was probably the most fascinating place she had seen; it had a calming effect on people, like they were there on vacation, like they could spend their lives sitting and singing on the never-ending golden beaches looking at the stars and talking of sweet nothings.

It really was a unique place and Tia would know: she had visited many planets, and had not wasted those visits with merely attending bureaucratic events like her parents did; she had explored them so she knew more than the interiors of the governmental offices and ballrooms. She had tried to convince her parents to extend their stay for a few hours so that she could show them something local and impressive she had discovered when Stella took her out to distract her from the emptiness of the expensive hotel rooms they stayed, but the answer had always been no. There were other places to go, other matters to attend, and time was important. There was such a thing as an opportunity cost.

Surely, she had been heartbroken as a child –that was understandable, she had been a kid with many expectations on her shoulders, it was normal that she would feel neglected when her parents didn't take a few minutes to spend with her- she was not going to deny it. Of course, she could understand where her parents were coming from better know. The world of politics, albeit not her cup of tea, was a severe and competitive place and her parents were representing the wishes and demands of many people. Still she felt like all those trips they had made had been wasted; they hadn't gotten to see an ounce of all the breathtaking footage she had stored on her computer. Pity.

Maybe she could get them to watch this one, though. They had never been to Paradisia before and it would definitely be interesting, and they were better at taking time to listen to her ever since that time Rocket had convinced them to visit the party they had thrown before acquiring their first Galactik Football Cup.

She sighed, and shook her head, telling herself not to think about Rocket at this moment. He had been so frustrating lately, with all that "Lun-Zia Admiration Campaign" he had been leading. Not to mention the girl was all over him at all times and he was not doing anything to stop it. Tia didn't know what the problem was; she wondered whether he was bored of her. Instead of being so evasive about it, he could man up and talk to her though, this kind of "on the fence" behaviour was really irritating. And she had made a lame excuse to have him leave with her a few days ago and she had sent a mean smirk at Lun-Zia when he complied without as much of a glance at the Wambasian; was she scared enough to make "marking my territory" declarations to the other girl? Was she that ugly when she was jealous? These were all new for her and she didn't think she liked that side of herself, and she didn't like Rocket for putting her in such a situation either. And what was with Lun-Zia, hanging onto him at all times and playing with his hair, so much so that they were on the news as a rumoured couple? Also she was the only one allowed to touch him dammit! Especially the hair, she was sensitive about the hair!

A rock skipping over the sea came into the view of her camera and distracted her destructive thought process. She turned on her spot to see where it came from, allowing a certain raven haired boy into her vision.

She was surprised at first; it wasn't always that she would just randomly run into Sinedd. They usually resided in different planets and when they met on one, well, it was obviously for football reasons and football reasons meant not much interaction except when on the field or passing by through hallways while going to changing rooms or broadcast programmes. And those were always filled with Sinedd and D'Jok snarling how the other was a loser, more often than not taking it a bit too far and forcing Rocket and sometimes the other guys to interfere and Mei to pull D'Jok away. Of course, lately Mei had been pulling Sinedd away.

Either way, they were on Paradisia now and there he was; standing a few feet away from her on the shore, wet in only his swimming trunks, skipping rocks over the water four or five times each and looking lost in thought as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

She zoomed her camera to him, trying to catch his movements more clearly without completely blocking the breathtaking Paradisian background. It came with having recorded Rocket for years, she was familiar with the male anatomy and she was actually fascinated by the strength it could display over such small actions. Sinedd was not as broad as Rocket was, and compared to him he looked like he was in desperate need of sunshine –even if Rocket's chocolate colour was genetic, it was not normal for a person to be this pale, and she should know, she was pale enough to disguise herself almost perfectly amongst Akillian's snowy landscape- but he was a professional football player. The muscles on his back tensed and relaxed in accordance with his right arm as rock after rock was thrown into the depths of the water. The early sun shone over the water drops sprawled over his lean body and he blinked a few times to rid some from his eyelashes.

Unfortunately, Sinedd felt the presence of someone watching him and turned around to stare directly at her camera. She was so stunned that she simply kept on recording him for a few moments before finally pulling it down so that he could see her face, it was inappropriate to greet people with a machine that they may not be comfortable with, her mother lectured her constantly. "I wanted to see you, not your camera," Aarch had once told her.

Still, she felt a bit uneasy staring at Sinedd now and for a moment considered just hiding behind her trusted object again. This kind of occurrences were not so regular either (Rocket was good at feeling her recording him, but Rocket was good at feeling her looking at him, too, and Rocket was used to her recording him so when he didn't particularly feel like scaring her with a direct look of "I know where you are!" he just kept on doing what he was doing and made a snide remark for her to stop when he wanted her to stop; other people usually didn't even notice, she was good at blending in and pretending like she wasn't there) and she had no idea how Sinedd would react so she didn't know what to say.

But he was looking at her seriously, sun shining behind him giving his eyes an amethyst glow and his stance a commanding appearance and she felt like she had to say something.

"Good morning," she said finally, lamely. And apparently, he thought so too. Way to go and make a fool of yourself, she berated inwardly.

"Good morning," he answered, nonetheless, but didn't make any attempt at further communication.

Tia wondered whether she could simply walk away, or if that would be rude; she had been caught taping him after all.

"Early swim?" she asked.

"Yes," Sinedd quirked an eyebrow and looked at her as if he was questioning her mental health.

Well, she wasn't blaming him on that part, but her captain-obviousness aside, it was hard to carry out a conversation on your own. Especially with someone you didn't know much. Especially with Sinedd.

"Good for you," Tia scoffed. Confident that he didn't want her around if he was going to give such curt answers, she turned on her heels and started walking away, "Have a nice day."

"How rude," Sinedd tsked, stopping her in her tracks, "You use me as your model without my consent and you don't even have the decorum to show me what you have recorded."

Tia turned around, almost in slow motion. His arms were crossed over his chest and his typical teasing smirk was in place.

"You didn't seem interested," she stated.

"Frankly, I'm not," Sinedd shrugged, "It is a valuable tape, though."

"How come?"

"It has the best player in the Galaxy in it, like no one's ever saw him before," he cocked his head to a side, "Sounds like great marketing to me."

Tia mimicked him and crossed her arms and cocked her head:

"Before it comes to this ten-second video, I have hours of footage of Rocket –doing a lot more interesting things than throwing rocks," she smiled sweetly, "Sounds like better marketing to me."

"Interesting things," Sinedd grinned suggestively, "Such as...?"

"Oh, shut up," Tia huffed, blushing some.

Sinedd laughed then.

"Still, I am more profitable, I am the better player," he repeated, walking towards her.

Tia knew he was coaxing her into saying no, and that was why she had avoided making a mark on that statement earlier; but she guessed if he was teasing her, she had a right to retaliate –she was the daughter of two diplomats, she liked having the upper hand.

"He did beat you in the Sphere, though," she said, although she didn't think of Netherball as a credible basis.

"I sprang my ankle," Sinedd snarled bitterly, standing before her to his full height. Oh, but apparently it was still a sour spot for Sinedd.

"Poor you," she mocked, "And I got thrown into a metal wall and hit my stomach, also hurting my leg in the process," she shrugged.

"He wasn't playing full force against you," Sinedd frowned, "You are his precious little girlfriend, after all."

"Well, his shock over the realization that I was his opponent can cancel off my injuries –still doesn't make you the best player."

Sinedd glared at her for a good minute before Tia broke into a wicked grin and opened her camera. Arranging it so that both of them could see it, she fast forwarded the parts of just the sea with a roll of her eyes when Sinedd looked at her like it was the most boring thing he saw in his life. When he came onto the screen, she stopped so he could watch.

"Well, don't I look dashing?" he nodded approvingly, "Zooming and all, you caught me in my prettiest, I'm impressed."

"It's the light," she said, "See? It's hitting you in a very endearing way, covering up your paleness a bit and accentuating your bone structure. I also put you into focus and blurred the background a bit so that you are the most prominent thing to look at –your surroundings are there but only to complement you."

"You thought of all those within –what?- five seconds of seeing me?"

"I have practice," Tia smiled, "It's not easy trying to catch Rocket," she then remembered she was kind of mad at him and turned back down at the video, "Oh and there's the part you turn, staring blankly and ruining that whole misunderstood-mysterious-badboy-vibe."

"How's he anyway?" Sinedd asked and Tia looked up at him sharply, clearly not understanding why he would be concerned for her boyfriend when he seemed to despise all Snow Kids like the plague. Sinedd frowned, "There are rumours he is sick because of Netherball, anyone who went in there is kind of curious now."

"He's okay, I think," Tia said, tentatively not sure where that word had gone out from, though this was Sinedd and he seemed to know everything, "They're still not sure if that's why he is sick though."

"Well, he better be," Sinedd nodded, "He's the only thing that could make playing against you guys a tiny bit fun," Tia frowned a bit, closing her camera and giving him her full attention, "Especially now that the redhead's gone, I'm afraid I'll fall asleep if we ever play against each other. It was amusing, how he made a fool of himself constantly."

"You really like Rocket, don't you?"

"What?"

"As a player, I mean," she grinned at the ridiculous expression of shock on his face, "You told him he was wasting his talents with us, the first time we came to Shadows Archipelago to play against you."

"I had asked him once before," Sinedd said.

"Yes, you said so, I remember."

"And I asked him again when he was playing in the Sphere," Sinedd looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, "You might be the reason he was constantly refusing."

"Couldn't it be because we won the Galactik Football Cup?" Tia raised an eyebrow, especially sceptic of that statement now that Rocket was acting like he didn't care about her, "Twice?"

"Both barely," Sinedd dismissed and Tia shook her head deciding there was no convincing him, "I bet if I got you to switch to us, he would come running like his knickers were in a twist... but anyway, he was rubbish along with the rest of you in that last friendly, he probably spent too much time with the losers to be converted back."

"Mei was with us for that long too," Tia reminded him, "You seem to enjoy having her over, am I wrong?"

"Mei is pure talent, and she has a drive because her talent was being ignored under Aarch's pathetic coaching."

"By the way, how is she?" Tia asked, turning the cards over him; not caring to remind him that said pathetic coaching had won two GF Cups, obviously Sinedd did not hold value to that. Funny how he was more bitter at his Netherball loss –maybe it was because it was personal, because it was one-on-one.

"Like a slut in heat," Sinedd said, with a smug grin, "She doesn't let me rest."

Tia blinked a few times.

"I didn't mean in bed," she said finally.

"Oh, sorry," Sinedd mocked, "How did you mean then?"

"Like generally, how she feels...?"

"She feels good, if you know what I me-"

"Her health?" Tia cut in.

"Well, if her jumping up and down my sha-"

"Good grief, I get it already," Tia rolled her eyes, "You guys are at it like rabbits, fine. Stop rubbing it in my face, I'm actually trying to ask about my best friend here."

Sinedd blinked.

And then Sinedd grinned the slyest grin Tia ever saw in her life.

And it was terrifying.

"Why, shame on Rocket for not satisfying you," Sinedd shook his head and tsked disapprovingly, "What're all those skills for if he doesn't put them to good use?"

"What gave you that idea now?" Tia huffed, as she wondered how football skills could come in handy in bed.

"The fact that you're all prudish," Sinedd tweaked her cheek and she swatted his hand away, "But seriously, you can do something to change it, talk to Mei I'm sure she'll have loads of advice..." he smiled, looking at the distance dreamily as Tia resisted the urge to slap the expression away from his face, "Rocket so owes me for this; I should let him know... Provided that you have what it takes of course, that depends on you."

Tia sighed:

"Are we actually having this conversation?"

Sinedd pretended not to hear as he turned and gave her a calculative head-to-toe:

"Well, you do show some potential, now that I think about it. I liked you in the Sphere," he scratched his a day old stubble, and Tia noticed for the first time that he looked like he seriously was bothered by something, "And how you got back at that Wambasian with the same foul, that was sweet. So we have a girl with some attitude... you could try some S&M? Or bondage?"

"Seriously? Stop?"

"I have never seen you in a bikini, though, maybe you're not so attractive under the clothes," Sinedd shrugged, "Then again it might be a problem with Rocket, too, can't put all the blame on the lady."

"Sinedd, I don't need sex advice from you," Tia said tiredly.

"Oh, I was actually doing that just to mock you," Sinedd said, as if he was explaining it to a five-year-old and earned himself a glare from Tia. He smirked in response, "Mei is fine, haven't you seen her last week?"

"I'm worried about the Smog's effect on her," she said, "She wouldn't tell me about it."

"She's great, I told you," Sinedd stressed, but Tia still looked sceptic.

"Well, I hope you're treating her right." She added when the same suggestive smirk started forming again, "In general, not just in bed."

"Tia, I don't need relationship advice from you," Sinedd quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh, I was actually threatening you to do as I say," Tia smiled slowly, "See, I wouldn't take it nice if you'd break her heart after all that mess you caused in her life already."

"Vicious," Sinedd nodded.

"I can be," Tia confirmed.

They stared, trying to measure the other and see if there was a way to win the round; it would only take them to start circling each other to make the resemblance to two warriors about to engage in a fight to be complete.

What Tia could see was she needed to take him seriously. Mei had said Sinedd had a strong character, and it was written all over his face, into the depths of those uniquely coloured eyes and to the tension in his body that he so successfully masked with coolness that it was true. She didn't know what was bothering him, for she could see the tell-tale signs of at least a night of non-rest and psychological exhaustion; but she now had a new found respect for the guy. It took a strong will to live through some of the things he had; and it took a stronger heart to still have the ability to love and take risks to the extreme he had for it.

Maybe Sinedd had seen something in her that had deserved his respect too because he said:

"You would be great with the Shadows, you know," with a serious expression.

Tia smiled and it broke the tension between them to a teasing rivals level again:

"Isn't it too much trouble to go around trying to break Aarch's team down like that?" she said.

"The old coot has it coming for him," Sinedd muttered.

"You'd have to be more convincing Sinedd," Tia said backing away from him to the sea line where he had been standing when she first found him, "Say; tell me how you managed to get Mei to agree?"

"It was a blend of promises," Sinedd followed her and shoot her smug look, "Better team, more time to spend with me, time away from the boring old boyfriend, more time to get naked with me... would those convince you? It can be arranged."

Tia shook her head and wondered why he was acting like what they had with Mei was just physical to her; she was Mei's best friend, she knew her well enough to know she wouldn't have done this if it wasn't more than sex. It was Sinedd though and she had not expected to figure him out and have him be honest with her with such a small conversation. She bent over to grab a few rocks:

"Teach me how to skip them over the water," she said.

"To convince you?" he looked surprised.

"As a starter to have me consider," she clarified, smugly.

He knew it was a lie, he knew she would never think of such a thing, and he really did not want her over anyway. So he didn't have any reason to do as he was asked but he still shook his head at her rocks and picked up new ones:

"They have to be smooth and round, and a bit flatter," he explained, "You have to have the right ones for it to work," he laughed when she threw one and it flopped a few feet away from them right into the calm surface of the sea, "And you have to throw them right, too. Here, watch and learn."

Tia liked D'Jok; despite all his big headedness, he was like a big brother to her and he had always supported her and been there for her (especially during the Netherball episode). Tia liked Micro-Ice; he always had his heart in the right place and he was just a delight to spend time with (and he was her most willing model). Tia liked Thran; they regularly found they had more and more in common and the boy was just loveable (she hadn't seen anyone that didn't like him). Tia liked Ahito; he was there when needed, he was never a bother otherwise and he was damn funny (when he was awake).

And Tia wondered why she felt like she could get along with someone they all despised so much. She wondered what Rocket thought of Sinedd, and she wondered what it would be like to be friends with him. She thought surely she could learn a lot from him, Sinedd had that (street-) wiseness about him and he was fun to bicker with, he interpreted her words in the most inappropriate way but it was a refreshing difference.

Tia wondered what was bothering him so much that he had agreed to kill time with her as a distraction.

Later that day, after Sinedd had been convinced that he had actually found his parents and introduced Mei to them, she said Tia had sent something for him, curiously handing him an envelope.

There was a printed photograph in it, a caption from that video; focusing on his solemn, thoughtful face. There also was a chip which quite possibly contained the whole video itself. Mei looked at the picture from over his shoulder and smiled:

"Welcome to the club," she said, taking it from his hands, "There must be one frame of everyone Tia met that shows them in their most sincere," she glanced at him, "You were really tormented with this development, then?"

Sinedd nodded mutely, surprised that the girl had actually chosen that one shot, implying she had noticed his mood. It was impressive for someone who didn't know him; he was good at masking things even when no one was watching, and most people assumed sourness was his default mood. But the evidence of the previous day he had spent thinking and revolting inwardly over the discovery of his parents –not understanding where they had been all these years, feeling suspicious that they may be posers especially considering how they had reached out to him in a broadcasted show, and wondering whether those uncertainties were worth a risk to refuse them and how life would be with parents- could be read like an open book from the picture

"It will turn out okay," Mei squeezed his shoulder reassuringly and he looked over at his parents before turning around to gather her in a hug; she was the reason he was probably even giving this a shot.

Mei smiled at him and ran her fingertips over the sad lines on his photograph when they broke away.

"Hey, Mei?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes?" she looked up into his eyes.

"How have you been feeling lately?"

So, liked it? Hated it? I am so nervous about my characterization of Sinedd, I have always been even though I love him, that's why I've never written him before. In desperate need of constructive critism here, guys :)