Laughter which slowly tuned into sobs and hiccups were heard in the eerily silent terrace where Jassi and Rahul were painfully clutching their stomachs, bent and laugh-crying. They stopped their portrayal of mixed emotions and gave each other a tight hug. "We grew up." They chorused again and fell silent.
"I hate it" Rahul spoke out and Jassi was amazed at the usually non-expressive Rahul showing so many emotions in mere 3 words. "Where did we go wrong Jas?" Rahul asked with so much of vulnerability that Jassi felt his heart clench for his mutual friend. "Which one are you asking? The loosing or the growing up part?" Jassi replied with a hint of chuckle in his voice. It is time for Rahul's heart to clench, this was the same man who cried like a baby for a no ball in a final and it took joint efforts of all the seniors to cuddle him that night to sleep. Today this man infront of Rahul did not resemble that boy anymore, he looked mature and almost immune to knockout heartbreaks.
"Maybe both" blurted Rahul. Jassi replied with a tremble in his voice "I know, loosing a final is hard and so is growing up in sorrow, but do you know what is harder?" Rahul breathed a small what "It is seeing your elder brothers bend their heads and hide their tears and go away from you, leaving you to handle the younger ones" Jassi's voice cracked at the end and Rahul gave a fierce hug to Jassi which made them stumble to the ground.
Life is a chain, Jaddu remembered his teacher saying in a class where he was trying to sneak a rubber lizard in the bag of his classmate sitting in a bench before his. The sight of Rahul and Jassi crying in each other's arms on the terrace of Ahmedabad's hotel brought back memories of Virat and Rohit crying on the terrace of the team hotel in Manchester in 2019. Jaddu felt like deja vu the only change being the reason of the tears then it was because Virat and Rohit knew it was the last tournament with Mahi Bhai and now Rahul and Jassi doubt this will be Rohit and Virat's last tournament together.
Jaddu did the same thing what he did four years back, he quietly retraced his steps back to his room closed the door as softly as possible and sank down while leaning on the closed door and again his eyes filled with tears. Tears not due to the loss, tears due to the loop they were all stuck in, the loop of knockout heart breaks, the loop of the same tears with just a change of generation, the loop of seeing his brothers breakdown due to a sport they love, worship and value more than their life, the loop of longing a metal piece at the end of a tournament.
AN: Sorry for being awfully late. I had to include Jaddu, he gets the least sympathy, consideration only because he laughs. Hope everyone likes this. IK this is short, will be back with next part shortly, till then take care folks!
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The Hardships Of Adulting
FanfictionJoin the journey of two youngsters who turned seniors in the ICT over night after the fateful loss in Ahmedabad where they had to lend their shoulders to not only their juniors but also their seniors, their elder brothers.
