It wasn't that Rahul was not fond of the entire team. But when it came to batting partners, he did have a preference. A couple of them.

________________

Trent Bridge, Day 2

"Nervous?" asked Rohit, as the openers were walking out to bat during the 1st innings.

"No," said Rahul quickly. "Are you?"

Rohit saw right through the cover-up, because he grinned teasingly and said, "Not as much as you. Best of luck!"

Luck was certainly on their side that day. Rohit and Rahul's 96-run stand in the challenging conditions rendered the team balcony hysteric with happiness, till Rohit played one his clever holing-out-into-the-deep pulls.

"What did you do that for?" said Rahul in exasperation, as Rohit crossed him to return to the pavilion.

"Sorry, kiddo," said Rohit, morosed. "You carry on, ok?"

Rahul chose to ignore the kiddo, which was plain insulting actually.

_________________

Lord's, Day 1

"PERFECT, THIS IS PERFECT, AND IT'S LORD'S, RAHULIYA—IT'S LORD'S—"

Rahul raised his bat to his team, and looked up at the sky, thanking every god in existence.

"—YOUR NAME WILL GO UP IN THE HONOUR'S BOARD OF LORD'S, EVEN SACHIN SIR DOESN'T HAVE THAT!"

Virat slapped Rahul on the back so hard (to vent his excitement) that Rahul almost stumbled forward. He turned to look at Virat sternly—imagine if he had stumbled—one of the most prestigious moments of his life would have been rendered ridiculous.

"Won't you hug me, Rahuliya? Won't you cry on my shoulder?"

"NO."

"Please cry on my shoulder, I loved that, it'll be just—"

A couple of English players were within earshot, and a mortified Rahul, mostly to shut Virat up, hugged him. But he did not bury his head into his shoulder and cry.

That had been so childish in the first place.

Virat's eyes were shining with pride. It made Rahul feel warm with happiness.

"I'm just so happy, kiddo."

Second time in two Tests someone called him kiddo.

_________________

Rahul thought everyone in team sort of respected him. Well of course, Mayank didn't, but what would you expect from him? Hardik also didn't, but what would you expect of him?

Well, amended Rahul in his head. Everyone in the team treated him his age, except two. Virat, honestly, had never treated him like a grown-up, right from day one. These days it increasingly seemed to Rahul that Rohit didn't really treat him like a grow-up either. Something had changed in their equation since the 2019 WC. For the better. Definitely.

It was strange those two were the ones he loved batting with the most. [Mayank wasn't even in consideration.]

_________________

Lord's, Day 5

Post dinner on the day they won the historic Test at Lord's, 16th August, 2021, Rahul had made the mistake of letting slip to Virat that he loved batting with him and Rohit the most.

"It's not like I don't like batting with Pujji and Jinks," he added hastily. "But I think I play best when you or Rohit are at the other end. Is it weird?"

Assuming his elder-brother avatar at once:

"Of course not, Rahuliya—"

So Virat was discoursing upon the topic of favourite batting partners to a too-happy-to-protest Rahul.

"You can be my favourite T20 partner," said Virat patronizingly.

"Can be?" said Rahul, offended.

"Yeah, then Rohit gets some, Jinksy gets some, you get some," said Virat benevolently. "Fair, isn't it?"

"We're dying for him to have us as his favourite, aren't we, Rahul?" said Rohit, dropping by. "Funny, did you call me your favourite ODI partner? 'Cause mine's Shikhar. In T20s, also Shikhar. And in Tests, Rahuliya."

"Did you—did you also call me—" began Rahul, almost speechless with indignation. After all the times he'd called him Rohit bhaiya so that he could pretend to get one over Virat!

"You'd be eating your words in a minute," said Virat, "if I said ABD is mine, in T20s."

"Why?" asked Rahul curiously.

"Don't believe the nonsense he says, Rahul." Rohit walked off huffily.

"All right, all right, Rohit, come back!" shouted Virat for the entire room to hear.

"What was that about ABD?" persisted Rahul.

Virat thought it'd be an insult to Rohit to divulge the story at the moment. Hence, he was not going to do it. Jassi had told him to be nice to people; at least, he'd told him to not sledge the opposition, but Virat had resolved to act nice to everyone, in general.

Just to, you know, show Jassi that he could be a decent person.

"Nothing," he told Rahul.

Rahul looked offended again. Jaddu slipped up to them.

"I can tell you of the whole Rohit-Virat-ABD triangle," he said smoothly. "Want to hear?"

"Triangle?" said Rahul, baffled.

"Go away, Jaddu," said Virat. "Dunno how you smell trouble from a mile away and turn up—you're inco—"

"I was definitely less than a mile away." Jaddu started to guffaw, the kind that echoed up and down the corridors.

It made Ash hurriedly come up and order him to stop laughing, because a sweeper outside had just been so startled, he'd slopped his bucket of soapy water, and a child outside had started howling.

That made Jaddu collapse to his knees, he was laughing so hard, and it et Virat off. Rahul exchanged a deadpan glance with Ash.

Eventually Jassi came up to ask if he wanted to go out for ice cream or not, because they were leaving.

"Yes, I'll go too," said Virat brightly.

"It's a bowlers' special ice cream treat from Arun sir," said Jaddu, who'd swiftly stopped laughing. "No batsman weirdos allowed."

"Weirdo? Who're you calling a weirdo?"

"You can come along, Virat bhaiya—" began Jassi.

"The whole point of the outing is to show how bowlers toil away for hours and never get the credit they deserve," put in Ishant mournfully from a distance. "Virat isn't allowed."

Ash herded Jassi, Jaddu and Ishant out of the room before Virat could say anything clever.

Virat turned to look at Rahul's expression and conveniently mistook exasperation for wistfulness.

"I know," he said kindly. "It's mentally very disturbing when they have a go at you because you're a batsman."

Rahul stared.

"Trust me, I've faced this all my life, I know. They always do that, bowlers. Think they deserve all the credit." Virat patted Rahul on the shoulder. "And then they don't even let you go out for ice-cream with them."

"Virat, seriously."

"And after your 129," said Virat gently. "Don't be upset, Rahuliya, I'm here, I'm a batsman too."

"Funny," said Rahul sardonically. "I actually knew that."

"And you're my favourite batting partner in all three formats," soothed Virat.

"Wow, thanks."

"I can take you out for ice-cream." Virat brightened.

"We just had dinner, I don't want it," said Rahul.

"No, I insist," said Virat. "It's not good to keep your hurt bottled up inside—talk to me, Rahuliya."

Rahul raised his eyes to the ceiling.

"And ice-cream makes everything better." Virat took his arm and led him out into the corridors, down the escalator, out into the streets, and they were soon passing a brightly-lit gelato shop.

"Are you sure this has nothing to do with you craving an ice-cream?" muttered Rahul.

Virat pretended he couldn't hear, and skipped into the shop.

"Butterscotch with mint chunks or Enhanced strawberry+coffee, Rahuliya?" he called.

"Are they real flavours?"

Rahul followed him inside, shaking his head to clear it off Virat's nonsense. Half the time talking to Virat left his head reeling.

The other half, it left his whole heart warm.

A/N: I counted out Rahuliya in Tests, I'll admit that. I was terribly glad when he and Vijay were dropped before MCG, 2018. No personal vendetta; I just felt it was best for India.
Rahuliya proved me wrong, and I'm SO happy. I'm so, so happy for him.
For no reason I find it cute that Rahuliya's taller than Rohit and Virat and they treat him like a kid (last part is imagination of course, but it's still cute).
Love, Neha
I can never have enough of HulRat.