The Beautiful Bond- ICT Friendship OS Series

The Bouncer (MahiRat)

A/N: The setting is real, and Virat was actually hit on the head by a Johnson bouncer, but all the other events are fictionalized.

Ind vs Aus, 2014 

Johnson was bowling to Virat Kohli. It was a fierce contest, and everyone was on the edge of their seats. That was when a rapid bouncer hit Kohli on his head. The players of both the teams were worried, but no one was more anxious than Mahi Bhai.

So, when the physio walked out to the field, MSD followed him. 

"You alright?", he asked Virat immediately.

"Yeah", Virat lied.

The physio took a concussion test, and turned to MSD, "He has a minor concussion. Nothing serious, he can continue batting, but only if he wants to. Walking off isn't a bad idea, though."

Mahi bhai thanked the physio, and said, "Cheeku, you should retire hurt."

"No way. Mahi bhai, I'm fine. I don't want to leave this game right now. I can win it for us!"

"Your health is way, way more important than winning a match. You need rest. You don't want to injure yourself more, do you?"

"Mahi bhai, please? I'm not retiring hurt. The physio said I can play, and I will play", Virat declared.

"You won't listen to me because I'm not your captain anymore. That's what this means, right?"

"What?! No, of course not. It's just that-"

MSD cut him off, "Virat Kohli, are you walking off, or not?"

"I am", Virat sighed in defeat.

He retired hurt, and went and sat in the dressing room, right next to Mahi bhai. It was probably a good thing- his head was hurting like hell in no time. MSD looked at Virat's distressed face, and asked, "Cheeku, what's wrong?"

"Head hurts", Virat mumbled in response.

"Here, lean on me. I'll give you a head massage, you'll feel better."

"Mahi bhai, can I have  water?", Virat requested after some time.

"Yeah, I'll get it for you."

A few minutes passed. Mahi bhai seemed to be taking forever to get the water.

Is he making water out of hydrogen and oxygen ions?, Virat wondered miserably.

First, Virat misjudged a bouncer. Then he had to retire hurt, even though he could've carried on playing. He had a a headache, too. So, when MS came back with a glass of water and accidently tripped and spilled it all over Virat, it was the last straw for him.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?", Virat shouted, frustrated.

"Come on, don't raise your volume. I get that you're irritated, but you need to calm down. You'll only make your headache worse. It's just water. Go, change, and I'll get you another glass", MS said understandingly.

"WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU? YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME."

"Cheeku, I mean the best for you when I say this- shut up and sleep", Mahi bhai was still calm.

"I MOST CERTAINLY WILL NOT."

"Yes, you will. That's really important, Cheeku."

"I AM NOT A KID. STOP TREATING ME LIKE ONE", Virat stomped away furiously. He didn't really have many places to go, so he sat at the other end of the dressing room. He couldn't stay awake for long, though, and ended up falling asleep with his head against the wall.

The next thing Virat knew, he was in his hotel room. He vaguely remembered Rohit waking him up to board the bus, and then again to go to his room. He checked the time- it was 8:30 pm. He should probably go and have dinner. Dinner. The team. Mahi bhai.

Oh, damn. That was when the memories of how he had behaved came flooding back to him. He covered his face with his hands, and muttered a remorseful, "Oh, no."

He mustered up enough courage to go down for dinner. As he expected, everyone was already there. They all asked him about how he was, and whether he still had a headache.

"I'm fine. Nah, the headache's gone", he replied.

Mahi bhai was pretty normal. He smiled at him, talked to him, laughed with him. That only made him feel guiltier. Mahi bhai was so nice to him, took such good care of him. What did he do in return?

After dinner,  Virat went to MSD's room. Mahi was cleaning his sneakers, and Virat took the other one of the pair, and started cleaning it.

"I'll do it, you leave it, Cheeku", Mahi bhai told him.

"Let me help you, bhai", Virat insisted.

They worked in silence for some time. 

"I'm sorry, bhai", Virat spoke up after a while.

"What for?"

"For- er- shouting at you. You were taking care of me, and I did that. I'm sorry", Virat said sincerely.

"You remember that? I was half sure you'd forget. You did have a really bad headache, you know."

"That's not an excuse, bhai. I was being such a baby."

"Yeah, but you're my baby brother", Mahi said teasingly, and Virat whined. He continued, "I won't say it's okay to lose control like that, though. We'll work that out together, okay?"

"Yeah, bhai. And- and, bhai, you can tell me what to do. I didn't mean it when I said you couldn't. I won't speak rudely to you ever again, bhai. Promise."

"Alright, I'm not mad, Cheeks. I understand. It's fine", MSD smiled.

"You're the best, Mahi bhai", Virat hugged him.

A/N: First of all, THANK YOU guys for the 10.2K reads ❤️! Honestly, I can't believe it 🙈. Grateful ✨.

This one was requested by gavakshi. enamot requested something similar, hope you guys like it 🤗.

Love
Agastha (: