Author: Freya-sama
Pairing: Yzak/Dearka (mentions of Athrun)
Fandom: Gundam SEED
Theme: #7. - superstar
Disclaimer: I don't own SEED.
000
The grump just preferred to be alone, and that's simply the way he was, to most. No one ever argued it; they were all too afraid to try. Yzak was an enigma, with a venomous bite that struck to kill, and no one messed with that.
Being second best was always the pits. The day he graduated second best in his military training all but killed him. He tried his best; he gave it his absolute all, and dominated. He dominated that day, he knew he did, or rather, he thought he did. It was the moment he'd been waiting for all his life - to be the star; to be the best. Then, Athrun Zala ripped that dream right from his arms, when, indeed, he was the top graduate.
Yzak's pride crumbled that day, and having that bottled up inside was sheer hell. He released his self-contempt with anger directed toward others. The fact that he was sencond cut through him like a knife every single day, and his anger was the blood that gushed out of the stab. He just couldn't believe it. Even when giving his absolute all, he wound up in second. Since then, he was always second, and his insides smoldered with molevolent loathing for himself.
His best just wasn't good enough... and he felt he was deemed absolutely worthless in the eyes of everyone.
There was nothing he could do to take back being second. He couldn't pin point a single flaw in the work he accomplished. Somehow, someway, Athrun bested him, and his arrogance at the time blinded him from reality.
Athrun Zala was just plain better than he was, in some ways.
Not in all ways, however. One weakness Yzak had that Athrun did not strengthened his heart, and his pride.
He held a gun between Dearka's eyes, he did. Clear as day, Dearka Elthman had betrayed ZAFT and everything the two of them had always fought for together. He could have and should have killed that man in cold blood, everyone told him. Any traitor of ZAFT was an enemy, and that included Dearka. His finger had the physical strength to pull that damn trigger, and lodge a bullet into that traitor's head... but, his heart kicked in big time.
Unlike Athrun, Yzak didn't possess the ability to purposely shoot down his best friend, no matter what the situation was. Until that very day, he didn't realize just how deep his feelings for Dearka ran.
His biggest weakness became his biggest strength, once Yzak was on ZAFT's council. For once in his life, he was okay with not being the best. He was not the big shot hero his mom always told him he would be. He was just an ordinary young boy, with a great friend who had an undying amount of faith, love, and respect for him.
Dearka never stopped standing by his side, even if he sacrificed his own pride just to be back on ZAFT. Yzak, too, sacrificed himself just to keep him near. No one knew just how deep their friendship ran, or so Yzak assumed. They never questioned why the two of them lived together, and why the stood so close to one another, and had stopped questioning Yzak's "risky" choice in body guards.
One day, Yzak felt like an absolute winner. He could recall that bemused look on Athrun's face when he caught Dearka giving him a peck on the cheek. Yzak told him to fuck off, and sure enough, he shot out of sight like a bullet.
Finally, Yzak was on the board; 100-odd Athrun, 1 Yzak. Athrun may have been about a hundred tallies ahead of him, but Yzak didn't care anymore. He found that there was nothing more satisfying than the veneration of someone who loved him, and he kissed Dearka deeply for that.
Athrun could have the fame. Yzak no longer needed it to be happy.
End