Walking In The Wind

II

A/N: Exams are a pain in the ass anywho, the next chapter.

The move was surprisingly very smooth. Vamika and Maggie joined the same pre school. Nushka was pregnant and this time they were having another girl. Virat surprised everyone telling he'd go to culinary school for a year and he was a fast learner too and an overachiever at that. People in his class did recognize him but on explaining he was done with the sport and he wanted to live a low key, out of the spot light life, they understood. He was enjoying life again. 

A few weeks after they moved, the black caps decided the Kohli family needed to have a proper welcome home party so they threw a grand one for them. Neesh had pulled Virat aside and asked jokingly,

"You didn't take my tweet very seriously did you?"

"Huh?"

"The thing I tweeted way back in 2019 after we lost the finals...about never choosing sports and to take up baking or something."

Virat laughed and clapped him on the back, 

"You know what I might just open a bakery soon."

"Dude!"

"No I'm serious. I'm starting culinary school soon. Once I get my degree and license I can open a cafe."

Kane backs him up on it when on hearing his best friend's laugh he'd wandered over. The other boys eagerly tell him, they were going to be the first customers.

None of them expected the cafe to take off the way it did. Like promised, Boulty would come every week to try out whatever new bakes Virat had cooked up and he'd give him honest reviews and if he liked it, it would go up on the monthly menu specials. And of course their kids would go to the beach and have a blast, each of them having adopted Vamika as their little sister almost immediately.

People of Tauranga were genuinely nice people who'd leave him alone, of course there were the occasional, "Can I have your autograph" and "Can I take a picture" and the customers did keep their promises of not revealing his location. They also did help fend off paps or people they thought looked a little suspicious. 

He stayed in constant touch with Yuvi and Hazel, talked regularly with Faf and Maxi, he suspected Siraj knew something but he never asked. AB flew down anytime the kids had a long break.

Months passed, they were blessed with a healthy baby girl, Anvisha. Anushka started a ballet studio. Things were going alright. Until they didn't. A dizzy spell which wasn't so uncommon for him apparently, had him pass out in the cafe and was rushed to the hospital when he hadn't responded. Blood tests were drawn on noticing random bruises on the body. The report was then received a week later.

Anushka wailed, Sarah just held her friend as Kane stared in disbelief at the papers, refusing to let Virat go, having a vice grip over his torso, pulling him into his body.

"You're going to be fine. We'll get through this."

***

The boys didn't want to move on. They relentlessly searched everywhere. Vi's mom, brother, sister, Nushka's parents none of them would budge, they would just tell them, they were somewhere safe and they were happier now.

Mahi bhai broke down in front of the kids, feeling he failed at being a big brother because why else would Virat leave without telling him. Why else would he leave with no letter nothing. Come IPL, Faf, Maxi, Starkey were badgered with questions on his whereabouts, because if there was anyone who could know it was them. 

It was also the first time Faf watched MS plead like that,

"Faf please! I just want to know if he's okay. If he's happy. And just where he is. I won't hunt him down. I just need to know. He's my baby brother."

Miyaan had stared at them too, begging for answers, but Faf looked straight at them and said with a straight face, 

"I honestly don't know where he is MS. All he left us with was a message saying he was retiring from all formats. I'm sorry."

Maxi felt a sick bit of satisfaction, everything was in disarray with his best friend gone, cricket wise, the team was scrambling to find a reliable number 3 to fill his spot, Shreyas and Ishan ran hot and cold at the position, and their T20 squad situation was even worse especially with the WT20 coming up. He had watched Vi react to all those reports of him being apparently dropped from the T20 squad despite being their best batsman in that format, he'd watched how every comment of "playing for milestones" affected him during the ODI WC.

But his heart broke watching how Rahane and MS tried their best to pull themselves together, even Rutu looked downcast and Faf felt ever so guilty of watching them like that but he made a promise and he was going to keep it, take it to his grave if he must. Only a select few knew of Virat's whereabouts and it was going to remain that way, no matter who it hurt. 

They had to lie to Rohit, Hardik, Shubman, Ishan, Rishabh, hell even Ricky Ponting had asked them in passing if they were in touch with the lost legend, but they all kept their silence. In all honesty even they weren't fully aware of just HOW Virat was doing, so after their match against GT, they assaulted Kane with questions, who patiently answered every single one of them. In the quiet of the night Maxi asked him,

"He's genuinely happy right? Truly away from all this drama?"

"Yes Maxi. And don't worry, he does miss you guys, whenever it is you guys come over you'll get to see his creative, new donuts he's customized for each of his friends. It's adorable actually."

A few months later, when Maxi, Faf, AB do come over together to meet their niece, they wouldn't be ready to see the state Virat was in. But they'll get through it. Years ago a promise was made, 

"Together, forever."

They were going to stick by it. Faf may have been new to that family oath, but the sentiment was never lost or taken for granted by him.

A/N: Kind of a filler on how things did go down with his teammates and a little sneak peek of their new lives in Tauranga. And hey what's a story without some drama in it?

And y'all I appreciate all those likes and comments on the previous chapter. Really. Thank you.