Chapter Text
That picture shouldn't have hurt him so much. He and Yas were not a thing. They pulled girls- they had enough charm and fame to find women interested enough to spend the night with them. But some days are just too tiresome to put efforts to woo someone for just the night. So they used to keep each other entertained. Till the last few tours they were just each other's last resort fuck buddies, but during the last tour he noticed that Yas hadn't put much effort to woo anyone and they had end up in each others' bed almost all nights. Had he misunderstood the closeness?
They hadn't met for a month now. Apart from sharing occasional reels, they hadn't kept in touch. Keeping in touch and enquiring each others' well being was not what they did. He hadn't expected sparks to fly when they met at the Eden on their net session, but a slight nod of the head from Yas felt too distant. It was towards the end of the session that an envelope had been handed over to him by one of the training staff with the message that it was from the KKR team. Inside was an access card with a note on how to get inside,unnoticed. The "miss you Mos" in the end had him smiling ear to ear for the rest of the day.
It was almost 10 by the time he could get out of their hotel without drawing attention. Of course, he had to inform Virat- if anyone could manage Faf, it was Virat. He send him off with a mischievous, "Aaram se, protection use karna. You don't want Jr. Sirajs all over Kolkata". Little did Virat know that there was literally no chance of any juniors being conceived tonight.
He sneaked into the hotel room and was greeted by a skimpily clad KKR captain- seems it was his turn to top tonight. Yas seemed too mellow and soft tonight - the little sounds he made missed the usual aggression and masculinity- if soft passionate love making was what he wanted, then Siraj would give him exactly that. "The talk" could wait - Yas needed him tonight.
It was almost morning when he heard Shreyas call him, "Mos, we need to talk". He knew it was all coming to an end. Shreyas had found love and this was their last night together - that was the reason for his needy demeanor tonight. "Mos, mere se nahi hoga ye ab se. I.. I need more from you in this relation. And I know you don't feel the same way, so it would be better if we stop meeting like this. I can't take a heartbreak after getting too close".
Siraj's eyes were wide in surprise,"You need more from me? Nice way of asking for more after posting all those clingy pictures with half naked women, just two days back. Just say it if you have found someone else Yas, I won't come in your way", he responded.
"One- the pictures were part of the promotional activities I had to do being the KKR captain. Two- I haven't been with anyone since IPL started- I just don't feel that way with random strangers now. And three- I know enough about RCB after-parties- don't act like you aren't getting laid every night", Shreyas retorted, angry with the accusation.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you like that. I.. I just felt something in my heart when I saw those pics. For your information, I haven't been able to get it up for anyone else for quite some time now. It is an inside joke in the team now that I love someone passionately and that's the reason for my abstinence", Siraj said.
"Sooo.. Are you? In love with someone, passionately?", Shreyas enquired with a bit of self doubt.
."Depends on what is the "more" that you needed from me Mr. Iyer. If a steady exclusive relationship and a possibility of a future together is what you want, then yes, I am in love- the passionately part can be arranged", replied the fast bowler with a blush creeping on his face.
The KKR captain had a very non verbal reply to the proposal - something that involved much better utilization of his mouth and other body parts. They said their goodbyes around 7 am, with Siraj handing over his room keys for Shreyas to visit later that day.
They met on the ground again for practice but KKR was on their way back and quick hug was all they managed. They couldn't wait for the night. Though, being the captain Shreyas wasn't expected to report to anyone about his nocturnal activities, he had informed the coach that he would be out for some time and be back by morning. Getting into the Siraj's room was a cakewalk for the KKR captain- he owned the city now. Being the night before the match day, they had to keep their activities mellow- it was their policy not to involve in rough sex before match days. So they talked a lot- how they were going to maneuver their paths to make time for each other, how much they were ok to reveal to their team and the rest of the world, options to meet each other when the team is not in sesssion. Surprisingly, the long talk got them much closer than a whole night of sex could have.
On his way back to the hotel Shreyas held his boyfriend close to him and said, "Siri, I know how aggressive you can get when egged on by Virat and Maxi. I don't expect you to hold back but please keep in mind that we are not just teammates now".
The match started with KKR winning the toss and deciding to bat first. Two quick wickets from Yash Dayal meant that KKR were reeling at 10/2. It was upto their captain to rescue them and lead them to a decent total. Shreyas Iyer had been in red hot form throughout the tournament and it looked like he was leading his team to a good total. Siraj came in for his second spell and Shreyas hit him for three consecutive boundaries in the first three balls. That was when the chatter started.
"Pepper him with some bouncers Siraj, let's see him dancing", said Maxwell.
"Kandhe tak ball pahuncha de, woh maarega nahi", Virat joined in. Siraj bowled one near Shreyas's chin and joined the banter,"Maar na, kyu hook aur pull karni nahi aati?".
"Star batsman can't face his own teammate's bowling, no wonder you folded so easily in front of Mitch and Pat",Maxwell wasn't resting. Shreyas would have been okay with Maxwell's words if he hadn't seen his boyfriend joining in the laugh after that. Yes, he was a professional, but the World Cup loss was still too raw a wound to be scratched. It was a lapse of concentration but he was too late to duck away from the beamer coming his way. He got hit on his helmet and the grill had somehow broken away. He was in a lot of pain but it didn't look like he need to get off the field. The mandatory concussion test was done and he was given the basic first aid to stop bleeding from the cut beneath his eye. He faced just one more ball before collapsing on the pitch with a bleeding nose.
Siraj looked on in shock when the medical team carried away Shreyas on the stretcher. He wasn't responding to the treatment on the field- noone knew what was happening. He hadn't meant to bowl the beamer- it had slipped out, but the events leading to that beamer was completely his fault. Shreyas had warned him of exactly the same thing happening - him getting aggressive, Max and Virat joining in and them taking it too far. He knew how much Shreyas was hurt by the World Cup defeat and how painful it was for him to be bullied about it. Instead of opposing Glen when he went down that bullying path, he had joined in the laugh at the expense of his boyfriend. He could see the disappointment in the eyes of Shreyas- he should have pulled back from that run up and talked to Yas to make sure he was okay. Instead he continued on his aggressive run in with the aim of bowling his second bouncer of the over- he wanted to take advantage of Shreyas's discomfort. He let his competitive side win over his compassion. Yes, the beamer was a mistake - but everything that happened before that wasn't.
Siraj couldn't concentrate in the match after that. He had an eye on the KKR dressing room all throughout - he hoped someone would give him an eye contact and assure him that his Yas was fine. But it wasn't happening - it seemed the whole team was upset with him. He dashed to the KKR dressing room as soon as the first innings wrapped up, without waiting for the rest of the team. He asked Gautam about the KKR captain but he was just greeted with a disappointed shake of his head. He waited for Nitish bhai to come out but it was obvious that none of them were ready to talk to him.
Virat pulled him away and tried to console him, "Main jaake poochta hu. Tu fikar mat kar- ye sab hota hai na match me. Shreyas will be fine".
How could Siraj tell him that it wasn't just guilt and concern for his teammate but disappointment in himself and worry for his boyfriend that was killing him. Someone from the KKR dressing room just informed them that Shreyas wouldn't be taking the field and Nitish would be leading them.
"Virat bhai, mujhse batting nahi hogi aaj. Please handle kar lo- I can't today. I need to know he is fine", Siraj begged. All he wanted to do was barge into that dressing room and see for himself that his Yas was fine. It seemed like an eternity before the match was over- RCB had fallen short by 10 runs. Faf talked to Phil Salt and came to know that Shreyas had been taken to the hospital and they were waiting for an update. Siraj tried to talk to Nitish to know which hospital he was admitted to, but was told there was no point in going- Yas was in the ICU and nobody was allowed to meet him."Woh area me bhi mat jana miya, Shreshta hai uske sath. You know how protective she is- I don't know how she would react if she sees you there", Rana warned him.
RCB team was scheduled to travel back the next morning. So he couldn't wait too long to visit the hospital. He somehow made his way inside the hospital, but was met with a lot of glares when he enquired about Shreyas. "Why are you here? To see if he is alive? Zinda hai- you don't need to worry" Shreshta said.
From the few times they had met, Siraj knew that Shreshta was extremely attached to Shreyas and her reaction was much milder than he expected. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to hurt him- it was a mistake. I wanted to see for myself that he is fine- that's why I came", he explained.
"He is in an induced coma now- they said something about not stressing his head or something. He would need another scan some time tomorrow to check for bleeding. Hopefully he will be ok. I didn't mean to lash out at you. It's just that I was too scared", she explained, tearing up a bit. Siraj wished he could stay back and offer her a shoulder to cry on- after all she was going to be his sister-in-law some day. But with today's incident, he didn't know where his and Yas's relation stood. So he just gave her a short hug and saved his number on her mobile with an instruction to call if any help was needed.
He was on auto pilot mode after that - he went back to the hotel, stuffed his scattered things in his bags, covered his eyes with the biggest shades he had and got himself seated in the back of the team bus. The check in, security check, boarding, arrival and hotel check in all went on and Siraj just went with the flow. All his teammates just assumed that he was stil upset about the Iyer incident and gave him wide berth. It was when Siraj failed to turn up for dinner that the team started worrying. Virat tried to call him down for dinner, but Siraj told him that he had ordered dinner in room and wanted to be alone.
The team met for the practice session the next morning. The otherwise chirpy Siraj was very quiet today and it seemed to affect the team atmosphere. When it became too morose to handle, Virat told Faf to call for a break. He took Siraj to the side and tried to speak to him, "Miya, you cannot let this affect you like this. Woh theek ho jayega. I am sure use bhi pata hai teri galti nahi thi. Stop blaming yourself".
"He is in an induced coma bhai. I put my boyfriend in a coma, two days after we got together. Why shouldn't I be feeling guilty?", Siraj asked Virat.
The shock on Virat's face would have been funny if it was under different circumstances."Kya maylab boyfriend? Kab? Kaise? Tu Shreyas se milne gaya tha us raat? The fuck BC? Aur ab bol raha hai?", Virat went on a rant and then stopped suddenly."Shit.. Sorry yaar. Tu theek hai? I don't even know how to console you. Why didn't you stay back in Kolkata?", he asked.
"Kya muh leke jata main? He had warned me against exactly that- he told me that I would get too aggressive and you and Maxi would get involved and things would spiral. I joined with Maxi and laughed at him about his failure in the world cup final. I could see his hurt Virat bhai. Instead of apologising, I ended up bowling a beamer at him. If he wasn't upset by what I did, he would have easily ducked away from it. He lost his concentration and look what happened to him. Usko kuch ho gaya toh I won't be able to forgive myself bhai. I don't even know if he will still consider me his boyfriend when he wakes up; if he wakes up", Siraj explained.
Virat had questions,the first of which was how were the two supposedly biggest casanovas of their team dating each other, but those could wait. He needed to arrange for Siraj to fly to Kolkata discretely. Only Faf and one or two of the management could know. He might have to miss the next match, but that was secondary now- Siraj and Shreyas needed time together now. Everything was arranged and Siraj was on his flight to Kolkata in two hours.
He went directly to the hospital- this time Shreshta was accompanied by one or two of Shreyas's friends. Their reaction to seeing him wasn't much better. It was Shreshta who diffused the situation by taking him to the side and giving him an update, "Bhai had his scan late night yesterday- they think he is out of danger as there isn't bleeding anymore. He is expected to wake up anytime. I will go in and if he is ok with meeting you, I will call you inside. If he says no, you need to go", she said to Siraj.
The two hour wait for Shreyas to wake up was a cakewalk compared to the two days Siraj had spent in worry. Shreshta went inside as soon as the nurse gave an ok."Bhai, dara diya sabko tune. You are ok na?"she asked.
"I am feeling fine, just a bit a pain on the area I got injured. The doctor told me I can be discharged tomorrow if the pain subsides",Shreyas replied.
"Waise, Siraj bhai has come to see you. He came the night you were admitted and stayed here for some time. He is here again today- guess he didn't go back with the team. Do you want to see him?" she asked.
"Wo gaya nahi? Tell him to come inside- aur tu baahar rukna please. I need to talk to him alone",Shreyas requested his sister. Shreshta sent Siraj inside with instructions not to irritate her brother.
"Hi, tu theek hai? I.. I am sorry. I didn't mean to.." Siraj tried to apologize.
"Tu sorry kyu bol raha hai Mos? You didn't do it on purpose. I wasn't concentrating, so got hurt. I am fine now. You don't need to stay back", Shreyas said.
"Yas, I know you warned me about my needless aggression. I should have controlled myself. I will always regret causing you hurt by joining in the bullying with Maxi. I understand if you don't want anything to do with me after this. I just wanted to see for myself that you were fine and apologize to you personally. I will go back if you don't want me around", Siraj replied, trying to maintain his composure.
Shreyas stretched his arm out and called,"Mos, idhar aa toh. Tu break up karna chahta hai kya? Because I thought we had decided to actually give it a try. Ek hi incident ke baad chod raha hai mujhe? Mana tere aggression aur bullying se main hurt tha, but I am a professional cricketer playing at the highest level. If I can't regulate my thoughts in such situations, then I have no right to blame you for my injury".
"Mujhe kyu break up karna hai? Tu ne hi abhi mujhe jaane ko bola. Main gaya bhi tha kal- din raat robot jaise ghoomte dekhke Virat bhai ne pakad liya. I had to confess everything to him- he arranged for me to come back here. Tujhe collapse hote dekha toh darr gaya tha Yas. Agar tujhe kuch ho jata toh pata nahi main kya karta. I thought you would choose to end our relationship after that. Thank you for not leaving me. But kasam se Yas, I will make it up to you", said the bowler.
"Bada aaya making up to me wala. Just kiss me and say sorry. Baat ko kheenchne ki koi zaroorat nahi hai. Tu dekhna, next time I am gonna blast you guys all over the park and then..."Shreyas's rant was cut off by his boyfriend's mouth on his. After thoroughly kissing the man beneath him, Siraj said,"Ab meri baari".
"Bullies don't get kisses Mr. Mohd Siraj, they get punished. Your punishment is to wait for my kiss, till I get better and visit you in Bangalore", Shreyas replied mischievously.
"Not fair babe. But theek hai, I will wait. I will also be waiting for you to actually punish me properly- remember it's your turn to top next", Siraj responded.
The seductive tone did things to the KKR captain, but he had to keep it in his pants- he was in the bloody ICU."I promise I am going to make you pay next time we meet, baby", said Shreyas with a tight squeeze to his boyfriend's hand.