Of all the gifts Jassi received on his 27th birthday, the best one arrived through his phone a couple of hours after midnight, once their hotel had settled back into silence.

"Happy birthday Boom Boom, I love you," said Sam, smiling up at him toothily.

"Love you too, Sammy," said Jassi, and didn't even feel stupid talking to a video.

Best of all, Sam was wearing the fuzzy silver frock he had bought her, and had the unburstable heart shaped balloon in her hand, which also he had bought her.

It was a clear message from Rohit bhaiya—Sammy likes your gifts best.

Jassi's smile widened as he wondered if he should call Rohit bhaiya. He decided against it, however, because he would not want to disturb Rohit bhaiya's sleep, and he had already wished him two hours back on video call, as had Bhuvi bhaiya.

It would be stupid to call him again.

***********

2 months ago, Mumbai Indians bio bubble

Jassi was currently trying his best to stop scowling, but his brows would persist in knitting together and his jaws would persist in clenching and his brain would persist in screaming at Ishan, GET AWAY FROM ROHIT BHAIYA.

It was not like Jassi wasn't fond of Ishan, because he was.

It was not like he didn't know that it was he captain's duty to cheer up a youngster who'd been injured that day in the match, either.

But Rohit bhaiya was being too attentive to him. He hadn't even told Jassi a 'well done' for his awesome performance. AND he had placed Sam in Ishan's arms in a bid to cheer him up.

"You look mad," said an annoying voice in his ear, rousing him out of his reverie. "Why do you look so mad?"

"I don't look mad at all," lied Jassi coolly.

"Hah," said Hardik scornfully. "Lying to your best friend ends you up in hell after death, did you know that, Jass?"

"I refuse to be best friends with a superstitious prat like you," shot back Jassi, standing up and attempting to leave.

Hardik's next words were drowned by Rohit bhaiya saying nearby, "Could you take Sam shopping for a bit, Ish? She's been nagging for a while now, and she won't be any bother."

Since Sam loved to go shopping, and was, in general, an angel to anyone who took her shopping, this offer was Rohit bhaiya's ultimate cheering-up tactic.

"Did you hear that?" Jassi whispered to Hardik, outraged. "We're the only ones allowed to take Sam shopping!"

Of course, Jassi instantly regretted letting the anger get the better of him, because Hardik's smirk was pure evil.

"ROHI—" began Hardik.

"I didn't say anything," Jassi growled, glaring at Hardik. "Don't you dare tell him anything!"

And then he fled before Hardik could have him caught up in some mortifying situation with Rohit bhaiya.

************

Later, Jassi was to be found lying on his back and brooding.

That clingy Ishan Kishan, he thought, always holding on to Rohit bhaiya like a leech. Was he a kid that Rohit bhaiya had to babysit him all day?

Of course he knew at the back of his mind that his own thoughts were turning distinctly clingy, but Rohit bhaiya was his elder brother, he thought defiantly. He had a right over Rohit bhaiya, surely? He and Hardik. Not anyone else.

He had a good mind to set Hardik on Ishan to scare him away from clinging to Rohit bhaiya all the damn time.

Ishan hadn't even let him go near Rohit bhaiya lately, thought Jassi, aggrieved.

Something had to be done, but the question was, what?

And he more important question was, why was he behaving like a possessive idiot like Harry?

*********

The supposed possessive idiot was presently having a hilarious time.

"Hello, Hardik," said Rohit, when Ishan had taken Sam out."Where's Jass?"

"Oh, him," said Hardik gravely. "He's crying his eyes out in his room."

Rohit's jaw dropped.

"Why?"

"You should know why, Ro," said Hardik, trying to sound his maturest. "Sometimes neglect can have a very bad effect on immature kids."

Rohit, of course, did not have the vaguest idea about what Hardik was talking about, and since he sounded so grave, he suddenly got scared.

"What happened to Jassi?" he asked ith forced calm, running all sorts of dire scenarios inside his head.

Hardik could've made up a dire scenario and told Rohit, but he didn't think he should worry him like that.

Besides, he thought wickedly, not saying anything would worry him the most.

"Go and talk to him," he said quietly.

When Hardik talked quietly, something terrible must have happened, and with that conviction, Rohit flew upstairs to Jassi's room, out of his mind with worry.

***********

"Jassi—Jassi—"

"R-Rohit bhaiya?" said Jassi, disconcerted to see the person he had been brooding about for an hour bursting into his room.

"What happened, kiddo?" asked Rohit, his eyes full of concern.

"What? Nothing happened."

Rohit's heart went cold at the thought that something so terrible had happened to Jassi that he didn't even want to speak about it.

He sat down beside Jassi and put an arm around him and said, "Hardik was saying...something about..."

Jassi blushed furiously, clenching his fists.

Could that monkey never mind his own business?

"I'm sorry," he said stiffly. "I didn't want you to know."

"Know what?" demanded poor Rohit. "Harry wouldn't tell me anything clearly!"

Jassi calmed down a little, starting to feel hopeful.

"What did he tell you then?"

"Just vague stuff...he said...you were crying in your room," said Rohit. "What's bothering you?"

Now Jassi began to get mad at Hardik again, because clearly he had managed to give Rohit bhaiya a bad scare.

"Oh, Rohit bhaiya, it's nothing," he tried to say convincingly. "He was just having you on as usual...and you can see I'm not crying."

Rohit took a good look at Jassi's face and saw that there were indeed no traces of tears in his eyes.

"I'm glad," he said. "I'm really glad; for a while I thought something awful had happened."

Rohit bhaiya still had his arm around Jassi, and the latter was considering forgiving Hardik after all...

Till Rohit bhaiya asked, "But what did you think Harry told me? You said—you didn't want me to know...?"

"Just that—" said Jassi evasively.

"Jassi," said Rohit coaxingly.

Jassi gave in and said, "Does Ishan have to cling to you so much?"

A bemused Rohit saw the scowl on Jassi's face and realized everything at once.

"No, he doesn't," he said solemnly. "The next time he tries to cling to me I'll tactfully slip away."

Jassi glowered at Rohit, clearly not oblivious to the sarcasm.

"You also let him take Sam out," he said accusingly.

"Come on, Jass, you and I and everyone else knows Boom Boom is Sammy's favourite person in the world," said Rohit, with the air of a person stating the obvious.

Jassi glowered some more at Rohit, who felt increasingly amused at the unexpected turn of events.

"I've overheard Virat give this heart touching speech to Rahul sometimes, you're my first kiddo and stuff," said Rohit, grinning. "So I can go ahead and safely say that you're my first kiddo, Jass, now stop being an idiot."

Jassi stopped glowering.

"You will slip away the next time he tries to cling to you?" he asked.

"I promise," said Rohit. "Because you're my first—"

"It's ok, it's ok, I get the point," said Jassi hastily.

"What am I, then?" demanded Hardik from the door. "How come only Jassi gets to be first?"

"You're my oldest headache giver," said Rohit. "Um, no, that'd be Virat. You're the most annoying person I've ever encountered. Now come here."

Hardik cheerfully went and sat down on Rohit's other side.

"A jealous Jassi is a sight to behold, isn't he, Ro?" he said, smirking.

"Don't bother my first kid," ordered Rohit.

Rohit really did a good job of hiding with sarcasm how much he himself counted the fact that he was Mahi bhai's first kid.

*******

Present day

God, Rohit bhaiya, thought Jassi as he drifted off to sleep finally. Come back soon.