Will you stand by me?

Chapter 7 - As different as chalk and cheese - And yet so alike

Chapter 7 - As different as chalk and cheese - And yet so alike

A/N - This one is weird. But please bear with me?

I have to thank AadeezTrashLuv for the much needed clarification on MS's bonds with his seniors

And to DilSeRe_ for his bonds with his Juniors.

And also thanks to every single one of my readers, commenter and voter. Thanks a ton. You all keep me going.

An onion chopped - They called them shallots here.

Garlic positioned on the chopping board, held on and minced into tiny little cubes. A couple kept whole and smashed using the flat end of the knife. Tomatoes chopped haphazardly, their redness spreading over the edge of the wooden slab and onto the counter.

It oddly looked like blood.

The tofu was sizzling away on the pan, liberally coated with spices; MS needed something to take away from the awkward taste of the glorified, wannabe paneer. The ingredients were not ideal but he would have to make do.

"Capsicum... Where is the capsicum?" MS murmured to himself hunting for the elusive vegetable.

"Searching for anything?"

MS looked back and smiled at the Captain of the New Zealand cricket team. The youngster was hanging around the kitchen entrance, looking terribly out of place and ambivalent.

"Capsicum."

"What?" The head was cocked and if MS were a more verbose person, he may have called out on the adorability of the person.

But several reasons, including the fact that he was supposed to be the senior most player of the opposition team, stopped him from lending voice to his thoughts.

"I was searching for the Capsicum." He replied instead. "Cannot find it."

"Capsicum?"

The note of query in Kane's was puzzling to MS but it got sidelined as he found what he was looking for. "Gotcha," he murmured.

The red, yellow and green peppers were sliced up and it lent a riot of colour to the already assembled vegetables.

MS had needed to calm down and there was nothing better than cooking at this moment. And the kids needed to be fed too. Especially Virat, who required something warm and hearty before the doctor could give him the next dose of medication.

And MS required some time away from Virat; he was in a state of perplexity over the entire situation. He could have accepted Virat's apology and be done with it but for once, even though he had forgiven his Captain, it would take some time before Virat could forgive himself.

And for that to happen MS needed to get his thoughts in some order.

"You meant bell peppers!" MS found Kane peaking over his shoulder and was amused to see the slightly baffled look on his face.

"Yeah... The same thing; almost."

"Oh.. What are you making?"

"Hungry?" MS's lips lifted up in a crooked smile. "Just stirring up some Jambalaya."

Kane's eyebrows rose dramatically, making MS chuckle. "That is not an easy dish."

"Not too tough either. The kids would have loved something like dal rice or rajma; Indian dishes; but lentils were not available, I believe. So Jambalaya it is."