Hi everyone!

So, this is not the long Rocket/Sinedd fic that I promised. Just a little OS dedicated to Turkmen who kind of defied me. But, don't worry, I will post the first chapter of the long story as soon as possible.

But, for now, I give you...

Ride.

Rocket exulted. He had done it. He had beat Sinedd. And now he was enjoying his victory. This match had been the best of his life: more spectacular, more intense that the final four years ago. He had felt like a wild animal fighting in a cage. This feeling was unusual for him; he had always been told that football was a game, not a fight. And that had been, so far, the big difference between the two boys: Rocket played, Sinedd fought. But, after this match, the former Snow Kid understood better the Shadow striker's vision of football. He even felt closer to him than to his former team-mates. This thought disturbed Rocket but the cheers of the crowd quickly dismissed it from his mind.

Sinedd panted. Everything was confused in his head: the rage, the bitter disappointment, the noises of the crowd and this shooting, horrible pain. Each step made him suffer. The pain was so strong that when he exited the Sphere, he fell to his knees. But he got up quickly. He would never show his weakness. Never.

While Warren was lecturing him, Rocket caught sight of Sinedd exiting the room limping. Little by little, guilt replaced the satisfaction of the victory. He dismissed Warren and exited the arena.

Sinedd grunted. Forty-five minutes to change. Even the easiest things became a painful hardship because of this bloody ankle. The young man took a deep breath and sat down on a worn bench. He still had to go back to his hotel. He was about to leave when he saw Rocket standing in the dark hallway, a white bandage in one hand, a tube full of pills in the other.

"What do you want?" Sinedd asked coldly.

"Do you really intend to make all the way to your hotel with your broken ankle?"

"And what am I supposed to do? Sleeping here? Calling Artegor? Yeah, sure…" the black-haired boy answered sarcastically.

Rocket shook his head and moved forward.

"Let me see it." he said pointing the ankle out with his chin.

"Go fuck yourself."

Rocket sighed. Sinedd was angry because of his defeat. But he was above all very distrustful. In order to reassure him, the former midfielder squatted in front of him and looked at him in the eyes.

"I don't need your pity."

"It's not pity", Rocket said." It's guilt."

Sinedd raised an eyebrow. Reluctantly, he stretched his left ankle. Rocket took it with the greatest care and started bandaging it up. The black-haired boy bit the inside of his jaw not to groan.

"Take this." Rocket said, handing him the tube.

"What is it?"

"Painkiller."

Sinedd took two pills and put it in his mouth.

"Done." Rocket gently let go of the ankle. "Now, I take you back to your hotel."

"What?" Sinedd exclaimed, looking dumbfounded at the other boy.

"Don't look at me like that. You know you will not be able to make all the way on your own. Come on, get up."

Sinedd got up grunting. He started walking with Rocket by his side. But, after only four steps, he tottered. Rocket caught him before he fell.

"It's ok. I can deal with it."

"No you can't obviously." Rocket thought about it. Then an idea came up. "I could carry you on my back."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. We will go much faster."

Sinedd considered it. With a sigh, he accepted Rocket's suggestion and heaved himself up onto his back.

Rocket was surprised of how light Sinedd was. Well, not really surprised. As a professional sportsman, the black-haired boy had a nicely sculpted body. But he was slender and had a very thin waist. Maybe too thin for a man. Rocket remembered the dinners when Sinedd was a Snow Kid. He had noticed that the boy didn't eat much. He ate even less than Mei, who was obsessed with her weight. He had often wondered if Sinedd had some eating disorder.

"Are you anorexic?" the question left Rocket's lips before he could stop it.

Sinedd chuckled. He had already heard this question. A lot of people were bothered by his slender, almost lanky form. Still, he was not anorexic. This lack of appetite was only due to the fact that, in the orphanage where he had grown up, food was limited. And as Sinedd was not very popular among the other kids and the staff of the orphanage, he had to content himself with what was left. Thus he got used not to eat much.

"No" he simply answered, not wanting to tell Rocket his life.

Rocket nodded and started walking. The two boys remained silent. Suddenly, Rocket heard noises coming from the boy on his back. Then the noises became louder. The midfielder couldn't believe his ears: Sinedd was giggling.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Horses don't speak."

"What?"

"I said: horses don't speak."

Horses… Rocket didn't understand what the other boy was talking about. Then he felt Sinedd's hand grabbing one of his lock and pulling on it.

"Ouch!"

"Faster!" Sinedd cried.

Rocket rolled his eyes. The black-haired boy was clearly delirious: he acted like a five-years old, or a drunken man. Fortunately for him, the hotel was in sight.

Five minutes later, the two boys were in Sinedd's room. Rocket put him on the bed and checked his temperature with his hand. No fever. So, what was responsible for the Shadow striker's state? He didn't just go crazy, did he? Or else… Rocket grabbed the tube of painkiller. The pharmacist had said that those pills were for human beings only. Sinedd was human but he had an alien flux. Obviously, mixing those pills with the Smog was not a good idea.

"Listen, I've found out why you are acting like a weirdo. It's the pills; they are not made for…" Rocket stopped talking. The other boy wasn't listening. He was sleeping.

The midfielder silently left the room. Sinedd needed to rest. He had an important match. A very important match.

Fin.

That's all for now. Hope you liked it.

Reviews!