SAFE SPACE⇄ RO'S BONDS

~Partnership~ ShubRo

A/n: They are so criminally underrated that I have to write on them.

If someone would have told little Shubman that he would be playing for the country at the age of twenty four and would be called 'the next Virat Kohli', he would have laughed at their faces.

But time, the clever being changed quicker than a chameleon changing its colours. He quickly burst into the scene and was given the title of the Prince of Cricket.

But the quicker you rise, the quicker you fall. He fell prey to time and was going through a rough patch. The very people who praised him dismissed him in the span of just a few matches.

It was his falling of grace. Yet, the depth of your fall barely matters if you are able to pick yourselves up at the right time and Shubi was able to do it.

He stoped trying to live up to the title of Prince, instead he tried to reach the potential he had. Hours of endless practice, scolding from his father led him to gain his rythm once again.

He had found the flow to his life slower than he had lost it but it was much more important.

It was the night of the day 2 of the 5th test against England and Shubi had scored a century. It was his second in the series. He was happy with what he had done but one could never not be disappointed after getting out.

He had a good three hours of sleep after the umpire called stumps and he hadn't really ate anything after lunch. So, he went to the dining.

He took a cup and made some coffee with the help of a coffee maker. He took the coffee and decided to drink it on the balcony of the third floor, where his room was located.

As he sat on a bench in the balcony and took a sip of his coffee he recalled his innings.

What stood up to him was his partnership with Rohit Bhai. His relationship with him wasnt as simple.

He was not as close to him as he was to Virat Bhai because unlike Virat bhai he was a little closed off, reserved, sometimes even a little serious. Compared to how Virat bhai treated him like a baby, Rohit bhai expected him to act more mature.

Giving him advice and even scolding sometimes. But the greatest thing about him was he would scold you and then appologise just moments after. And he was grateful that he had done it all because it somehow shaped Shubi.

He didn't really get to see the warmer side of him until his bad phase. He remembered Rohit bhai coming to him to check on him, blindly backing him up, showing faith in him when he couldn't keep faith in himself.

He took the last sip and thought about the little praises Bhaiya had been showering him with in between overs or once he hit a six. He would look forward to those like a kid looking for validation.

Really, what a partnership they had, he thought.

"Shubi?" Rohit called from behind "What are you doing here?"

"Arrey bhaiya come sit with me no." Shubi asked signalling a seat next to him and Rohit sat down. Seeing the phone in his hand Shubi asked, "Virat bhaiya called?"

"Yes he did. He said he had called you too but you didn't pick." Ro said surprise audible in his voice because Shubi adored Virat.

"Actually I fell asleep.I'll call him back later." He admitted. Ro looked around to see an empty cup beside Shubi.

"You were having coffee all by yourself? Didn't you get bored? I mean you could've called one of your partners." Rohit said.

"I didn't get bored because I was thinking." Shubi replied and Rohit again asked, "Thinking? About what? I hope you aren't overthinking again. I mean you are a carbon copy of your Virat bhaiya."

"I was thinking about our partnership today bhaiya.I love batting with you." Shubi said beaming. Rohit smiled at the younger boy and patted his back."I love batting with you too."

After a short silence that followed Shubi asked, "Bhaiya, Can I ask you a question?" "Yes go on."

He hesitated for a while but then finally asked, "Why don't you celebrate your centuries? I mean the last time you celebrated was during the-" He stopped before be could open a barely closed wound and immediately appologised.

Rohit cleared his throat and said, "No need to appologise." he then continued "When I was your age I used to care about these scores but after I matured and now that I am a captain I play for trophies not milestones. I am not celebrating the latter until I get the prior."

Shubi immidiately felt guilty after hearing Bhaiya's voice break a little. His heart broke. "I'm sorry bhaiya, I am sorry because of me we couldn't-"

"Stop Shubi please" Ro cut him off "Look for the longest time I have blamed myself for the lost and all of you have blamed yourselves. I am done with this blame game now. As much as it hurts It is just not in our fate." Rohit said slowly and steadily emphasizing on every word.

"I felt really proud of you today. I was very proud to see how you have changed. We were identical weren't we? Both hundreds and both bold." Rohit said attempting to lighten the mood.

"Dont remind me. Everytime I think about it that cheeky Anderson Sir comes to mind." Shubi said letting out a laugh.

Ro smiled at the fact he was calling Anderson cheeky but with respect. "You are spending too much time with  Vi you are turning into him"

"Isn't that why you love me so much?" Shubi said cheekily recieving a playful hit from his captain.

Truly, their partnership stretched beyond the field.

¤¤¤

A/n: The top order batsmen served and ate leaving no crumbs.
Also brilliant debut from devdutt and I'm loving Kuldeep the batter.

What was your highlight of day 2?