Can't promise you the world, but... (A Rohit-Shreyas Fanfiction)

Chapter 10

A/N: I know I'm writing this after a long time, plus with this past-present drama, so I managed to confuse even myself. This is basically a chapter set in the present, during the Border Gavaskar Trophy '23, and it's a direct continuation from Chapter 6. [Clarifying because I get annoyed when other writers do this irregular thing in past-present timelines, too.]

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Present

9th March 2023

Most of the team had freshened up and dropped in and out of the room several times, but Rohit bhaiya had not budged once when the reports of the scans came--only Rohit and Rahul were present right then--and Nitin sir said grimly he had to undergo a surgery this time, or it would keep recurring.

"Possibly you've already aggravated it a lot by overstraining," he added, but he didn't add, 'serves you right,' which Shreyas knew he deserved.

Rohit bhaiya put an arm around Shreyas and squeezed gently, which made Shreyas worry how much of his emotions had showed on his face.

"Going under the knife isn't quite as bad as you imagine it up to be, remember?" Rohit said, teasingly.

Shreyas nodded dully.

"It's not bad at all," said Rahul bracingly. "They put you under anesthesia and it'll barely take a couple of hours."

"He has already has a surgery, Rahul," said Rohit. "His shoulder?"

"Oh! Right, I forgot." Rahul sounded sheepish. "It wasn't bad, was it?"

Shreyas shook his head. He did not want to go into the details of his irrational terror of the idea of going under the knife--which was certainly irrational because it was exactly like what Rahul said--anesthesia, a couple of hours, done...

"Look at the bright side, Yas," coaxed Rohit. "The World Cup's late...you'll not be missing much except IPL and you don't even like your team all that much--"

"What?" asked Rahul avidly.

Rohit gestured a silence at him.

Shreyas slouched deeper into the depths of the bed, wishing Rohit bhaiya would remove his arm around him.

"Can you not sit like that?" said Rohit.

"Like what?"

"You are putting pressure on your back, which is already sore," said Rohit, exasperated, "and you don't pester places that are already sore."

Shreyas paused for a while long enough to make Rohit look mildly uneasy.

"Then, don't," said Shreyas.

"Um," said Rohit. "What?"

"It's late. I guess you should go and eat."

Shreyas had probably not managed to pass that off as veiled concern. Rahul, looking a lot more than a mildly uneasy, rose and slipped off with a muttered goodbye.

Rohit was frowning. "You don't tell me what I should do."

"Yeah," said Shreyas. "Of course."

"What's with this sour sarcasm today?"

It IS not about today! thought Shreyas, suddenly furious. Oh, and who am I expecting to notice that?

"Did I do something--?" Rohit asked, retracting his arm finally, his frown deepening.

Shreyas hoped he sounded cool. "No--what made you think that?"

"I'm not sure," said Rohit, dubiously. "But you're suddenly making me feel like you're-not-scared-of-OTs and you don't need me."

Shreyas felt his cheeks flame with indignation. Part of him couldn't even believe--

The gall of this man. Demanding him to need him, after everything.

"Is it this nice always having someone staying dependent on you just so you can feel good about yourself, Rohit bhaiya?"

Now Rohit bhaiya looked like he couldn't believe his ears. And he also looked genuinely hurt, which got Shreyas sitting a little straighter.

"Did you just hear what you said?" demanded Rohit bhaiya.

Shreyas hesitated only a moment before saying, defiantly, "Yes, I did."

"And you mean it?"

Shreyas hesitated a bit longer, and wondered why he couldn't say an outright yes. 

Rohit bhaiya must have read the burning resentment in his eyes anyway; when Rahul returned soon after, he got up, patted Shreyas' head once, and left.

Shreyas scowled darkly after him.

"That wasn't a nice thing to say," said Rahul.

"What?" asked Shreyas, still glowering at the door.

"What you said to Rohit," said Rahul unexpectedly. "Projecting your bad mood about the injury on him wasn't a nice thing to do, you know."

"I wasn't--it's not like that. I'm not projecting my bad mood on him."

"All right," said Rahul, in a patronizing tone that made Shreyas want to strangle him and Rohit bhaiya both. "If you say so."

Shreyas bit his tongue before he could say something rude to Rahul, too, like what the hell were you listening at the door for--to PROTECT Rohit bhaiya?

He didn't fancy an empty room much, with the prospect of leaving for the surgery tomorrow. Not that he'd have had to face an empty room even if he'd driven Rahul away, if Virat bhaiya, Jaddu bhaiya and Shubman had anything to do with it.

__________________

When the team gathered to tell Shreyas goodbye before he left for the airport for a rather early-ish flight to Mumbai, Shreyas told Rohit bhaiya in his head not to put in an appearance at all.

Keep sleeping, and don't come. I don't want to talk to you. Or look at you.

Rohit bhaiya didn't listen to the enjoining in Shreyas' head. He came to join the others, clearly straight from bed. Waking up at eight in the morning was a pretty big deal for him--and something he'd do just to annoy Shreyas.

But Rohit bhaiya didn't try to corner him, or even try to talk to him. He simply offered Shreyas a silent smile, eyes all warm, like giving him the choice to talk or not.

Of course Shreyas chose not to.

But it was worse, because now he suddenly felt close to tears.

He didn't want to get into a surgery ward again, any more than he'd wanted last time, for his shoulder surgery. And he hated himself for craving Rohit's reassurance, of all things. Which Rohit had tried to provide yesterday night...fake reassurance, Shreyas knew, but he craved it anyway...and he hated himself for it.

Shreyas made sure not to look in Rohit bhaiya's direction as he accepted the chorus of well-wishes from his team, their handshakes and hugs (a particularly violent one on Virat bhaiya's part) and got into the cab.

Then, as the cab was pulling away, he did look once. Rohit bhaiya smiled at him again, like he had no idea anything was wrong at all. He was an expert at that...

Nothing was ever wrong if Rohit bhaiya himself decided it was right.