All His Life

Disclaimer: I do not own Galactik Football and I make no money from this fanfiction.

All his life, he'd been average, ignored. They came as a unit- the twins, together since birth. Although, actually, that wasn't true; he'd come first and there'd been minute, mere minutes where he was completely alone in the world. But of course, he couldn't remember it; should his life flash before his eyes then it would be filled with so many images, his twin present in almost all of them.

It didn't take long after Ahito was born for the doctors to realise there was something wrong with him- he slept far too much, just like their father. Thran could remember hospital appointments and support groups because they just wanted Ahito to be normal, just like Thran.

"Take care of your little brother."

He'd been given that instruction more times that he could count. Telling him to look after Ahito was really unnecessary; he would have done it anyway because he wanted to keep him from harm- that was just what big brothers did and Ahito was in harm's way far more often than most ordinary younger siblings.

Amidst all the chaos, he'd always been pushed to the side- he was healthy and self-reliant, he didn't need the attention. He learnt to become an island of calm and sanity, able to handle anything, to remain drama-free whilst everyone else was acting out a soap-opera (Micro-ice and D'jok were fond of this, it was amusing to watch).

He never resented not being in the spotlight, truly he didn't, he played defence and he was happy to do so (unlike Mei). It wasn't that he wanted to be the star, with all eyes on him.

But he didn't want to be ordinary, something he secretly feared he was; he wasn't the funniest, the most talented or the bravest. He was reasonably intelligent, sure, but his skill with machines could never top Clamp's. Sometimes it just seemed like he didn't contribute anything, that he was just there. Just there to make sure Ahito was okay.

He didn't want everyone to pay attention to him; he wanted just one person to notice him.

Tia.

Of course she would be the one he noticed, the one who barely anyone else did. From the moment she'd arrived on the Team all anyone noticed about her was her extraordinary talent, the Breath. D'jok and Micro-ice barely even noticed she was a girl at all, they were too busy lusting after Mei- the obvious, girly-girl, all strut and no substance.

No, he watched Tia, as she was watching everyone else through that camera of hers. She had such a talent, such a sensitivity to everything that was around her- almost like a second sense.

And she was beautiful too, in her own modest way. She somehow managed to be the toughest, the fiercest of them all and yet still so fragile- there was something that was just so genuine about her that Thran found enchanting; she didn't try to hide behind a front of false confidence. She just was.

It just seemed a travesty that no-one had noticed.

It didn't take Thran long to realise that someone had noticed, Rocket was pretty obviously (despite his attempts to cover it up) interested in Tia and she was interested right back. They seemed right together, a perfect fit, like a fairy tale couple.

Realistically speaking, he was never going to make a move, but now he was even more determined not to let her, or anyone else, know how he felt. He made enough dry remarks about her that he was certain that he had masked his true feelings well enough.

He'd slip up occasionally, like the time she came out wearing that dress (for Rocket's benefit of course); he'd stammered and stuttered, blushing, knowing that he was making a complete fool of himself. It was uncomfortable how hot he was getting just seeing her, hoping it wasn't obvious. But one of the advantages of being practically invisible is that no-one really notices when you mess up.

He felt jealous of Rocket, but he knew that really he was a good guy, the Captain. If anyone deserved Tia then it was him. Thran knew he couldn't compete and nor did he really wish to because that might put her in an awkward situation. He could restrain it all to his fantasies and leave her be in real life. He knew from watching Micro-ice and D'jok fight over Mei that love triangles were messy; everyone involved ended up getting hurt.

That was his stance and his stuck to it. He was nothing if not consistent (not exactly the most exciting or interesting of personality traits) and his love for Tia just became a part of him, something he could ignore if he didn't try too hard.

Still, things changed, even if he didn't. Rocket fell from his pedestal, into the den of vice, playing the dangerous game at midnight. And Tia had been right there to catch him. It worked out for the two of them, but as anyone with eyes could see, Rocket wasn't the same- so their relationship was never going to be the same either.

He could see it disintegrating even before they could. It was the little things that tipped him off; the way that Tia was clinging to Rocket in a way that she never had done before, it was Rocket's increasing air of indifference. Thran knew that it was normal to be pleased but instead he just felt worried for her.

It seemed like the last straw when they all went to Paradisia; Lun-Zia was flirting with Rocket and he let her. It was painful how unaware he was of how Tia felt about it; she looked furious half the time and like she was going to burst into tears the other half.

So he'd reached out to her, feeling guilty even as he did, despite the fact that he was doing nothing untoward- just acting like a friend. Besides, he couldn't ruin something that was already self-destructing from the inside out.

There were moments, just moments, when he almost thought that Tia might notice him now (they'd bonded over their shared love of 'The Famous Three') but every time he thought to cross the line of friendship he stopped himself. Self-restraint is the worst cage there is.

He never got everything right (he was only ever clever when compared to the rest of the team), he hadn't foreseen Rocket and Tia's relationship bouncing back so easily- that thing with Lun-Zia all a big misunderstanding, like that was their only problem.

And it was tragic because he realised that he'd spend all his life watching her go back to him, time after time.

Not sure how this fic turned out, I don't write Thran very often so I'm not sure about his characterisation (I think I made him a little Norata-ish). Also, I don't know why I suddenly had to write het either *shrugs*, I didn't even mention Aarch or Artegor in this fic! So yeah, review please!