Never Give Up On You by eternal_elenea (PG)
Fandom: MEN'S PROFESSIONAL TENNIS RPS
Pairing: Novak Djokovic/Andy Murray friendship
Length: 1762 words
Author on LJ: eternal_elenea
Author Website:wanderingawake
Why this must be read: If you were watching the Australian Open the last few days of this year's tournament, you'd well imagine that there was a lot of inspiration for fic writers. While the Roger/Rafa match was the semi that was promoted, the Novak/Andy match stole the show (only to be later stolen by the nearly 6 hour final). As fandom tends to gravitate toward the #1 player as the leader, this is the pairing that seems to be most prominent. There's been drama to this pair, from best friends to their distance for a few years to best friends again, and this fic shows how far Novak and Andy have truly come. It's after their semifinal and Novak worries about losing his best friend again. The flow of the words are so beautiful as they convery the concern, then shock as Andy does turn to Novak after all.
Excerpt:
Novak promises to beat Rafa for Andy because he always does, except this time it's into the thin air; imagines Andy saying, "Kick his ass for me," and how he might smile, except it's sad. Novak promises, promises to do what Andy doesn't have the chance to, and knows that he'll never try less than giving everything that he is.
He promises, even though he knows that tomorrow Andy will go to the press, tell them that he thinks that Rafa will win, because that's what he always does. He always picks Rafa because, whatever else Andy is, he's always a pessimist. He picks Rafa because even though he works hard, has confidence, believes in himself, he still (still, still, still) can't shake the idea that the worst will always happen. He says Rafa because it's Andy and therefore what he thinks always comes before what he wants and he thinks that it will always be Rafa and never, never, never himself.
He always picks Rafa because maybe one day (maybe tomorrow) it will stop being true.
Never Give Up On You