Hulrat- A Saga of Stories

The One With All the Jealousy and Love Part-1

Requested by @ Suwani07and @mysticmood23

It had been 15 minutes since the practice session had ended. The sun was a deep orange colour, setting along the horizon. The energy around the ground was lively. All the players were jesting and laughing around, except one bhatakti aatma. Kl Rahul. India's one the best wicket-keeper batsman. He was roaming around the ground, his eyes trying to find that one person, who was nowhere to be seen. The person who had promised Rahul some quality time after practice. Lastly, he went to the man's best friend. 

"Rohit, Vi kahan hai?" he asked, coming straight to the point.

"Kyu be Rahuliyaa, miss kar rha hai?" Rohit wiggled his eyebrows funnily at the other man.

"Ro! Bata do...please," he added quickly.

"Arey mere bhai, tera Vi bahar gya hai, Shubi ko dentist ke paas like. Aata hi hoga?"

As much as the younger brother in him got annoyed at the prospect of Shubman being with his bhaiya, his elder-brother instincts kicked in too.

"Kyu? Kya hua? Theek hai vo? Lagi hai use? Mai phone karu?"

"Shaant, Rah, shaant. Theek hai vo and aa rhe hain dono. Halka dard tha Shubi ko, Vi le gaya bas, and Doctor ne light injection diya hai, tooth extraction hone wala that, par series ke baad hoga. Udhar dekh, aa gye Karan-Arjun." Rohit pointed lazily towards the gate where the two men in question were entering from. Rahul could hear their voices clearly, they were loud-loud people.

"Bhaiya! Bas abhi ho gaya, aur nahi khaunga!" Shubman whined loudly.

"Kha le ek aur bite chup-chap." Virat threatened. "Ice cream ko kon mana karta hai and vo bhi tu?"

Rahul's annoyance levels peaked just like that. He momentarily forgot that Shubman was younger than him or that he was just coming from the dentist's office. He burned in jealousy seeing Shubman being fed ice cream one spoon at a time by his Virat bhaiya. Till then the duo had reached where Rahul stood, glaring at them.

"Arey Shub, theek hai bacha?" Rohit asked from behind him, concern clear in his voice.

"Mai theek hun bhai bas numbness ho rha hai thoda and injection se nahi, Vi bhai ice-cream pe ice cream khilaye jaa rhe hain uski wajah se." Shubman threw Virat under the bus with a cheeky expression.

"It's important to minimize any swelling that might occur Shubi. Puch Rah se," Virat instructed.

Rahul nodded slightly, his glare not loosening even a bit.

"See? Chal ab mere saath, no more nautanki. Kha le beta abhi ice creams, phir ghas-phus hi milega."

Shubman scowled and was soon led away by Virat and Rohit, each on one side of Shubman.

Rahul could only stare at their retreating figures.

"Par ye toh humara time that na..." He whispered so that only the air could hear.

xxxxxx

Rahul and Virat were on call because it was IPL time and their match was over a long time ago. Ipl was reaching its last leg now, with 2 or 3 matches remaining for each team. Virat was in Mumbai with his family at the time.

"....Haan and pata hai aapko? Itna sara acha khana dekh ke na muh mei paani aa gya tha phir aap yaad aa gye toh nahi khaya maine," Rahul boasted his self-control and heard a snicker on the other side.