"Rohit, Jassi is not talking to me!" Hardik wailed. "Tell him he's not allowed to do that!"

Rohit looked up from the piece of paper on which he'd been scribbling a strategy, and sighed.

"What did you fight about again?"

"Nothing! I just defeated him ten times in thumb wrestling, so he stopped talking to me."

"Hardik," said Rohit sternly, in a I-know-perfectly-well-you're-lying way.

"And I, er, taunted him a little," admitted Hardik. "Um, a lot. But--"

"Taunted him about what?"

"About fast bowlers," said Hardik.

"You're a fast bowler," pointed out Rohit. 

"Just fast bowlers, not all-rounders."

Rohit sighed again. "You know he's touchy about how hard a fast bowler's life is."

"But he's not allowed to stop talking to me because of that!"

"He probably did it to steal ten minutes of peace," muttered Rohit.

"What?"

"Nothing." Rohit put away the pen and paper and stood up. "All right, come, I'll talk to him."

***

"Rohit bhaiya, Hardik isn't talking to me!" complained Jassi. "Tell him he's not allowed to do that!"

"Hm?" Rohit said, half-asleep on the couch at noon.

"Rohit bhaiya!"

"Wh-what?" Rohit shook himself awake. "Why isn't he talking to you?"

"Because I said his hairstyle is worse than Shakti Kapoor's."

"Why would you tell him that?"

"Well, I wasn't lying."

"That's not the point," said Rohit impatiently. "You never tease Hardik about his--" He coughed. "--glamorous hairstyles."

"I tried saying sorry," said Jassi, aggrieved. "He slammed the door shut in my face. He's not allowed to do that."

"All right, all right," said Rohit. "Don't worry, I'll go and talk to him--after a quick nap," he added in an undertone.

"No, come now," protested Jassi. "Come right now."

Rohit sighed and got up. "All right."

***

"Rohit bhaiya, Hardik says he has plans to go out for a midnight party and tomorrow is my birthday. Tell him he's not allowed to do that!"

***

"Rohit, Jassi isn't playing Anagram Magic even when we're meeting after three weeks. Tell him he's not allowed to do that!"

***

"Rohit bhaiya, Hardik said he loves his pet dog more than me. Tell him he's not allowed to do that!"

***

"Rohit, Jassi always makes fun of me in interviews. He always does. Tell him he's not allowed to do that!"

***

26th January, 2016

"Rohit bhaiya, Hardik isn't opening the door," Jassi said, barging into the dining hall when the team was sitting for a late dinner after winning the first T20 against Australia, where Jassi and Hardik had made their debuts.

"Give him a bit of time," said Rohit. "Ashu bhai talked to him already."

"I've given him nearly an hour...come and tell him, Rohit bhaiya..."

Rohit got up to wash his hands and followed Jassi up the stairs to the room in question.

"Hardik!" Rohit rapped on the door.

No answer.

"Well, if he wants to be alone for a bit--" Rohit tried.

"No, he's not allowed to lock me out of my room just because he bowled a couple of wides!" Jassi shouted.

The door flew open.

"It was not just a couple of wides!" shouted back Hardik. "It was five wides in the same over!"

"And then you got Lynn, their best player--"

"And that was a wide he went after, too!"

"Stop acting the victim," said Jassi impatiently. "It could have been a lot worse. People have had a lot, lot worse debuts."

Rohit raised his eyebrows and as Hardik made to slam the door again, he put his shoe in the way.

"Jassi," he said significantly, trying to convey I-don't-think-you're-going-about-the-right-way-and-can-you-please-leave-so-I-can-have-a-word-with-him-alone? in that one word.

 Jassi didn't get it, or even if he did, ignored it.

"Don't you think he's overreacting about the wides, Rohit bhaiya?" he demanded. "Don't you think he bowled well for the rest and will be even better next match?"

"I do," said Rohit. 

He turned to Hardik, who was scowling, looking increasingly pissed, Rohit thought, to have his victim card snatched away from him.

"Better listen to him, Harry," he scolded without venom. "And don't be more disappointed in yourself than you have reason to be."

"Overreacting," muttered Jassi, stalking into the room.

"You're one to talk, you had your dream debut!" said Hardik.

Jassi turned around. "Aren't you the one who says you have to believe you're going to be the best allrounder in the team if you've got to get anywhere in life? What happened to the belief, gone with just one over, Hardik?"

Rohit smiled to himself as he saw Hardik had finally be stumped, and decided he could go back to dinner so long as Jassi was there to taunt and motivate Hardik.

 ***

18th June, 2017

Hardik was in a terrible frame of mind.

They'd lost.

They'd lost a final.

They'd lost a final to Pakistan.

They'd lost a final to Pakistan and he had shouted awful things at Jaddu in public.

They'd lost a final to Pakistan and he had shouted awful things at Jaddu in public and he didn't know how to apologize.

They'd lost a final to Pakistan and he had shouted awful things at Jaddu in public and he didn't know how to apologize and Jassi had got Zaman out on a no-ball.

They'd lost a final to Pakistan and he had shouted awful things at Jaddu in public and he didn't know how to apologize and Jassi had got Zaman out on a no-ball, and--

"Rohit," Hardik said, reaching Rohit's room at a run and gasping for breath. "Jassi isn't opening the door. Tell him he's not allowed to do that--he can't--"

Rohit, who'd just lost a battle to coax one guilt-stricken person out of his defense walls--Jaddu never talked unless he wanted to--and had been preparing to step into the other's anyway, nodded grimly.

"He wouldn't talk to anyone but Bhuvi," Hardik said as they almost sprinted down the corridor. "And even to him, not much."

"Not surprising," said Rohit. When he reached, he knocked. "Jass?"

Footsteps came up and the door opened. Hardik's jaw dropped with indignation, but he had the sense not to go into an accusing rant about Jassi opening the door for Rohit bhaiya but not for him.

"Yes, Rohit bhaiya?" Jassi asked tearfully. He'd bitten away at his lower lip so much, it was bleeding.

"What have I always told you?" Rohit said, going in and putting an arm around him. "Don't dwell. You never dwell on mistakes the night of a match. Dwell later and try to improve, but not today."

"There's no improvement anymore, Rohit bhaiya," said Jassi dully. "We've already lost the match that mattered more than anything."

"There will be so many more matches that will matter just as much as this one--"

"I defeated us. Pakistan didn't defeat us. I defeated us, Rohit bhaiya."

"No, you didn't!" said Hardik loudly. "In fact, you're the only one who could get that bastard out once before it was too late."

"Language, Hardik," said Rohit automatically.

"Don't be a saint, Ro!" Hardik's face was flushed. "Jassi's--"

"You--of all people--" whispered Jassi. "You don't speak at all."

Hardik looked confused and hurt.

"I spoilt the best knock of your life. You should have got to hold that trophy, more than anyone, Hardik, and you couldn't because of me."

Hardik's face cleared of the confusion, though the hurt remained. As he walked up to Jassi, Rohit's phone rang. It was Bhuvi.

"What?" he whispered.

"Jaddu's leaving," said Bhuvi. "Well, he left. I didn't know how to stop him."

"Leaving? Where?"

"To India."

"God."

Rohit looked up at Jassi and Hardik. Jassi was still tearful, but he had his head against Hardik's shoulder. Hardik looked uncharacteristically serious.

And Rohit decided he could trust Hardik with Jassi that night.

"I'll be back," he said, and patted both their heads, and sprinted out to look for Jaddu.

Hardik felt trapped in responsibility when Rohit left.

Yes, he'd wanted to get Jassi open the door and comfort him somehow, but he hadn't got as far as to wonder how. It was the first time he was ever seeing Jassi cry--on his shoulder--which meant surely he could cook up some way to comfort him too?

"The wh-whole mess is my fault," Jassi sniffled. "Did you talk to Jaddu bhaiya?"

Hardik stayed silent.

"I'll go and apologize to him--" sobbed Jassi. "--you shouldn't have to--after everything--"

"It's not your fault I couldn't hold my temper, Jass."

Jassi cried harder. Desperately, Hardik tried the first thing that came to his mind. He caught Jassi's arm, brought it to his lap and traced on his forearm, like they did on flights sometimes when they were particularly bored.

'You are still the best bowler in the world.'

Jassi tried to take his arm away, but Hardik held on, fast.

'I am proud of you.'

Jassi stopped squirming.

'I love you.'

Jassi lifted his inert hand after a long time to trace on Hardik's forearm, 'I love you too.'

'I know,' wrote Hardik.

Through his tears, the corner of Jassi's bleeding lips lifted in a smile.

***

10th July, 2019

The day they lost the semi-final to New Zealand, Hardik and Jassi both isolated themselves initially. After a couple of hours of staring at the ceiling blankly, Jassi stirred.

He had to check on Hardik.

That'd give him something to do, and maybe make the emptiness go away a little.

Hardik's door was locked from inside, and like so many times before, he refused to answer to knocks or summoning.

Jassi had almost turned to make his way to Rohit bhaiya's room.

'Rohit bhaiya, Hardik isn't opening the door, tell him--'

Which was not an option this time.

Jassi squeezed his eyes shut to banish the image of how Rohit bhaiya had looked, his forehead pressed against the glass of the balcony, when the last wicket fell.

"Hardik," he called, pleadingly. "I can't bring Rohit bhaiya this time. Please open."

After a while, Hardik opened.

His face was swollen with crying. Jassi, who had developed an increasingly inability to cry as he got older, instantly felt it was his responsibility to make Hardik stop crying.

Words felt insufficient, so all Jassi could do was envelope his best friend in a hug. Hardik's fingers were trembling as he gripped back Jassi's shirt, burying his head in Jassi's shoulder. Jassi guided them to the the bed to sit, and let Hardik cry himself out.

"Why do you think losing knockouts never get easier, Jassi?" Hardik demanded at some point that night.

"Maybe 'cause each one's worse than the last. Surely the next one will be easier...we've had the worst..."

"Rohit doesn't deserve this." Hardik dissolved into tears again.

"No," said Jassi, unnaturally steady. "He doesn't."

He groped for Hardik's arm and traced.

'Rohit bhaiya is still the best and nothing changes that.'

'We are proud of him.'

'We love him.'

Hardik's hand was still shaking as he wrote on Jassi's arm, 'We love him.'

That was when Jassi's control broke, too, and they cried in each other's arms till dawn broke over the horizon.

***

19th November, 2023

When India lost the final to Australia, Jassi and Hardik were seniors, and it was their responsibility to check on the juniors, who had been playing their first World Cup, and were inconsolable.

After they'd both tried in their own ways, they met each other on the stairs.

"Are you returning?" asked Jassi.

"That's what I'd planned..." Hardik had his car waiting downstairs, and he didn't have a room in the hotel, either, but he didn't feel like returning home.

"I told you," said Jassi, with a smile. "It would be easier this time."

That smile was more terrifying to Hardik than tears.

"Jassi--"

"G'night, Harry. Safe journey."

"D'you want me to stay back?" asked Hardik.

"No, it's all right," said Jassi. "I'm going to go and sleep anyway."

Jassi spoke so steadily, Hardik could not say anything, except, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," said Jassi. "If you stay back when you'd planned to return tonight, we will be making an unnecessary big deal out of it and I don't want that. Do you?"

"Um, no."

Hardik watched Jassi taking brisk steps to the elevator, and turned away only when he'd got inside. He hadn't taken ten steps when his phone rang.

"Have you gone already?" asked Jassi.

"It's been less than two minutes, obviously I haven't gone already."

"Hardik, Rohit bhaiya isn't opening the door. Tell him--" Jassi choked. "--tell him he's not allowed to do that."

The wave of tears Hardik had held back burst out right there with the phone in his hands, and it took such enormous effort to force it back again, it left him winded. On the other end of the line, Jassi seemed to have succumbed, too.

"Where's--where's his room?" Hardik managed to ask, barely.

"Come one flight up--" Jassi said with shaky calm.

When Hardik had complied, he found Jassi sitting with his back against the wall beside a door. He didn't appear able to stand up even as Hardik walked up to him.

"You try," Jassi said tiredly.

"Rohit?" Hardik knocked, then banged. "Rohit--bhaiya?"

"That's a good idea..."

And it turned out it was, because Rohit did open the door. He was not crying, but his face was damp in the corridor light.

"I'm sorry, Jassi, I was just about to open," he said as Jassi stood up. "Come in, you both."

The sheer bleakness in the way Rohit bhaiya walked made both Jassi and Hardik freeze on spot.

Realizing they hadn't followed him inside, Rohit turned around questioningly.

But there was no answer to that question.

There were no words.

Together, without exchanging even a glance, Hardik and Jassi lunged to hug Rohit, who almost fell back with the double impact. When he'd steadied them, he extricated his arms to put one around each of them and pull them closer, as close as possible.

There were still no words, no tears, the ache consuming all inside Rohit.

And yet, just for a moment it flashed inside his head that he might have failed to achieve his dream, but he'd gained much in its quest, and he would not have given those up even in exchange of his dream coming true.