I saw a blog of yours (?) of starcy's podcast where he said about cuddling Josh!!
So if u could write a little 10k (or more if u want of course) words fic about how they started cuddling and now they're married or like a different times eg: when they won the odi wc in 2015 or they lost in 2016 T20 wc or 2019 ashes or winning in T20 wc 21 or odi wc 2023 and losing wtc in 2025 or just anything in between (upto u really)
We all know Pat is a ragebaiter, he ragebaits virat unnecessarily but what if pat ragebaits him because it's virat like pat,s fav thing is ragebaiting virat because he loves it when virat gets angry pouting complaining to pat (p.s they are in established relationship but secret) - pat,s teammate teasing pat saying bro i still wonder how you're alive breathing , how kohli haven't strangled you in sleep yet after all the ragebaiting you does in every MEDIA CAMPAINIG AND PRESSERS.. Likr bro seriously how - and travis saying no serious this man pointing at pat said kohli is king to India literally implied he is not a king of cricket it's clear disrespect but kohli did nothing but I, I tried to seldge him once in that rcb vs srh match and that bloke refused a handshake like seriously patty what blackmail material you have bro that you survive even after pissing the hell out of virat..
Pat just laughing thinking how to tell them that i survive because he loves me too much and tolerates me and knows that i don't mean half of the shits i say about him.. It's all just to rile him up to irrirate him..
hmmm that is interesting hahaha like pat doing it on purpose just to see virat get all riled up and then coming back home in private to reassure him and kiss all of virat's worries away again :')
i also love how the aus team doesn't know they're dating actually i'm surprised pat kept his mouth shut in front of them for as long as he has in this hc š
What if like pat & virat was seceretly dating & pat lost virat because of his insecurities, because of the way he treated virat took virat's love for granted.. ( break up could happen during 2023 wc)
& now 3 years later he is seeing virat happy with his bestfriend hoff ( hazelwood) .
You can add like hoff had real admiration for virat hoff knew about virat & pat & even warned pat to treat virat right take things seriouly or he will loose virat..
Hoff x virat was not rebound it happend naturally by sharing dressing rooms during ipl it was a slow burn friends to lovers like hoff fell first confession first & virat fell later..
hi there! thanks for sharing the idea with me! š
just to be clear, do you mean that pat and virat were dating first, and their friends like josh were aware of their relationship. but pat was insecure and his nonchalance and insecurity drove virat away? and only after that josh makes his move on virat? did he like virat too when pat and virat were already dating? what made pat insecure?
if we say they broke up around the world cup (i actually wanna up the angst and make them still break up in 2023 but sometime before the wtc final instead, where pat was actually spiralling down because of his mother's death, and so he pushed virat away as well, albeit unknowingly. virat already raised concerns to josh in the 2023 ipl that pat was no longer talking to him after his mum had passed away in march, and josh then tries to warn pat?) and virat tried his best to be there for him but you cannot help a man who does not want to be helped, so virat walked off. nobody is really to be blamed here, and that makes it more tragic.
then in the world cup, if we remember the hoffrat hug, we could then see it more like a him comforting virat on the loss? but as he knows it's been at least 5 months since virat and pat have broken up, he offers to stay longer for virat and idk things sort of start changing from there?
i like to imagine that yeah hoff probably tells virat that he likes him sometime between the world cup final and before the new year's of 2024. and then virat wouldn't know how to respond because josh is a really nice guy, but it feels too soon, after pat. to which josh just says that's okay because he won't be coming to the ipl in 2024 anyway, so virat has all the time in the world he needs.
absence makes the heart grow fonder yada yada yada and then when it's bgt time and india fly to australia, this time it's virat who reaches out to hoff and they start exploring what they could be :') and by 2026 hoffrat are healthy and strong and while pat has since gotten a therapist too and is doing better, he feels bittersweet, is all. he misses what he had with virat, and he knows a part of himself is to blame for losing it, but he is not mad that josh and virat are now together. in the long term, they all ended up in a better place mentally.
this isn't a wip-snip, but more of a summary of the discussion @avachan08 and i had regarding the starcummims prom au, as requested by @healyshealinghands :)) this was inspired by some photos of younger mitch and pat, that i'm sure aves can provide.
for the purposes of this fic, mitch is about a year older than pat (who is 18) and we're going to be using the usamerican high school system because that's what iām more familiar with compared to other western systems
senior year pat has his school dance/prom coming and he's struggling to get a date, until he bumps into his senior mitchell starc (who's now in college) that he had a massive crush on. he doesn't know how he gets the courage, but he asks him to be his date.
mitch smirks and asks pat to repeat what he said, slower this time, while pat's face burns to a fucking crisp. he stammers and fails to speak, and mitch says some shit like, "use your words, darling."
when pat has finally asked him properly, mitch is still gently teasing him and pat thinks he's going to say no. he's panicking when someone else (maybe one of the most sought after girls in the school) happens to be there as well and asks mitch out, ignoring pat, but he just bluntly says, "no thanks, i got a date,ā and gestures to pat.
the build up to the prom has patās blood pressure rising. pat asks him a couple weeks before, and now is being teased by mitch every second of every day. picks him up from school, calls him babe and darling and sweetheart very loudly, absolutely catcalls him
pat blushes as he hisses at him to stop, because his sisters will hear. mitch just winks and blows him a kiss (of course, his sisters have seen already, he's going to get bullied some more at home)
"why are you so mean to me?"
"because i like you, darling. and don't look at me and say you don't like it. how can i not be mean when you look so precious when i do it?ā mitch says this while poking his pink cheeks
they don't kiss yet, though. mitch will corner him everywhere and get him absolutely weak in the knees, then just grin, smack a kiss on his cheek and leave him like that in agony. their first kiss is at prom, mitch just likes torturing pat. maybe mitch kisses his cheek when they take pictures as they arrive
their first proper kiss is on the dance floor. mitch getting handsy and pat getting redder while he tries to push him away, but mitch just catches his wrists and yanks him closer on the dance floor
it's pat who actually kisses mitch first, just a small lil smooch without warning, shocking him completely before he asks, "you're sure?"
when pat shyly says yes, mitch absolutely devours him right in the middle of the dance floor. music blares as pat clings to him desperately, and mitch is just murdering him with a kiss.
pat was not expecting mitch to be a romantic and gets surprised when mitch sweeps him up in his arms during a slow song and smiles at him so sweetly that his knees buckle. they're so close that pat can count mitch's eyelashes, their smiles keep touching, and they're just giggling softly at each other, arms around waists and arms over shoulders
there's always a sort of expectation that prom dates will put out after the party and all, so pat is anxious at the prospect of having sex with mitch.
maybe patās friends are teasing him, saying things like āooh, get some!ā or āsomeoneās getting lucky tonight!ā
at first mitch thinks pat doesn't have a problem with it, and he laughs along with them but stops when he sees patās nervous face
mitch is such a gentleman all night that pat can't even deny he's so attracted to him
it's possible someone spikes the punch, because high school kids are notorious for doing shit like that, and pat ends up a little tipsy
it would be a cute little scenario for mitch to take pat home and coax him into his bed. pat is mumbling about how he's sorry mitch had to deal with that and mitch shushes him gently as he takes his shoes off and pulls the blanket over him. he leaves with a kiss to his forehead
mitch thought nobody was home at pat's house but as soon as he turns to leave after getting pat settled, he bumps into Older Protective Sister
"i. thought. no one was. home?"
"why were you hoping no one would be home? so you could defile my baby brother?!"
"no no no no, that's not -- i didn't -- he's sleeping! not -- not with me! i just put him to sleep! wait, no, not because we -- he was drunk -- I didn't give him any alcohol -- he got drunk and i took him home -- please i didn't do anything!ā
mitch is in hysterics before she admits she's just pulling his leg
mitch wouldn't normally be the type but pat once mentioned he likes cute and romantic gestures, and never had anything like that before. so mitch leaves a note with a quote on it or something pat would like
a fun touch of angst: pat doesn't hear from mitch after the prom and thinks maybe mitch only agreed to be his date until the dance, maybe it was just a transactional thing or he was just amusing himself. but turns out mitch was waiting for pat to call. pat was terrified at first that mitch was just taking it as a game and having fun with him, and mitch is terrified of vulnerability until he can trust pat enough
we had other hcs outside of the prom storyline:
mitch is just taller than him, so pat has to look up at him when they talk, and he gets bowled over by his clear blue eyes every time.
he can't say no to pat for anything. pat just has to break out the puppy dog eyes and mitch breaks down
"how does anyone in this family get anything done when he's looking at you like that?!ā
"we're not smitten fools like you, starc.ā
just imagine pat gazing up at him and inching closer, saying, "please, love?" while mitch sweats and tries to get away, and oh look, when did he come up against this table, now he's trapped.
this is how pat gets back at him for all the embarrassing teasing before the prom
pat gets away with everything. it pisses mitch off that pat walks around making people believe he's an angel, and people are pulling him aside to threaten him
"if you hurt that boyā"
āno but what about how he hurts me!!"
mitch tells pat, āthey don't know what the fuck you get up to when we're alone, you little shit," and pat just gives him a sweet smile
pat is generally seen as off limits because mitch has scared everyone off. mitch was always popular and pat was a leetle bit of a loser but he's climbing the ranks now that people see him with mitch
after pat tortures him for smiling at another boy for 2.7 seconds, mitch now has to scare people off from himself
"i'm not worth it, man, go find someone else or we're both fuckedā
they both rope josh into their shenanigans. pat wants to get fucked so he clings to josh in mitch's line of sight, and mitch wants to get tortured so he is unnecessarily touchy with josh, too. josh is just regretting his life decisions in the middle
we had an idea about pat standing up for mitch or stepping out of his comfort zone for him and shocking mitch
mitch has a reputation and there are always people commenting on him when they're out together, and pat defends him. mitch doesn't care about the comments, he's used to them. but pat is frothing at the mouth
mitch always has an eyeroll or a "yeah, yeah, so clever" or a snarky comment ready to go when someone's taking a shot at him
pat, on the other hand, just whirls around like, "what did you say?!ā
mitch grabs pats arm and mutters, "whoa, stand down, tiger" in his ear
imagine they both have a long day and when they're finally together, mitch drops into a chair and pat crawls into his lap. they curl up like that for hours, like their arms fully around the other and holding each other close, with pat's face in the crook of mitch's neck while he sighs into pat's hair
and some nsfw hcs:
mitch pressing pat against a wall before they become official, during the weeks before prom, and smirking at him like that while pat's life flashes before his eyes
since mitch is the "horniest most depraved kinda guy who's actually a gentleman and sweetheart", pat probably initiates any kind of sex
(no but the image of babyface pat riding mitch for the first time? iām dead)
mitch kinda gets turned on by pat spitting insults at assholes who comment on him. he pulls a still cursing pat to the nearest washroom and proceeds to drop to his knees to suck him off.
pat who is still ranting as mitch unhooks his belt and just stutters to a stop as he gets started. he doesn't even realize where they are or what mitch is trying to do because hes so caught up in the comment
he's rudely pulled back to reality as mitch looks up at him and he thinks he's actually ascended to heaven
mitch discovers he has a liking for pat mouthing off and pat absolutely exploits it
that's all we had! you guys are welcome to expand this if you like <3
Pat is back at ragebaiting viratšš¤¦š»āāļø
Wdym he smiled big throughout the video except he turned into a broody boyfriend the moment Kohli came to the picture. See how he was acting like "kohli? You can't say what's what" yeah sUrE
Someday I'll strangle him myselfš
Btw I came bearing screenshots as my proof your honour š š»
Patty when it was othersšš»
& the same man when it's Virat šš»
@hazlehoff I'm starting to believe your theory of Pat provoking Virat through social media contentsš. Probably it's because Vi stopped talking to Patty after that Head inchident š
Also patty's smile š§æ
That smile does black magic on me everytime. Can't even get angry on this man.
helo š«µI is heres to discoos ideas with yous. You Have No Choice But To Entertain my Crack idea that my Extremely Sleep Deprived Brain Thought Of. because you Larve me :D
i don't remember where i saw it, but didn't you say something about ben stokes giving phil salt a right lecture about dating and aussie? and yeah, they wouldn't have had much chance to know each other - but āļøjos buttler and ben are very close! and jos has opened with salty for england, so they also would have some kind of bond formed, right? (besides, jos seems so sweet. he looks like he'd defend all his teammates.)
anyway, crack idea - ben drags salty off for a stern lecture on dating timmy, how it goes against the Principles of the Ashes, a brit dating and aussie is scandalous, basically blasphemy (we dial the drama up to 21) while salty is sitting there with his eyebrows raised like an insolent child. and Somewhere, mr Arrogant Tall Thing aka pat cummins is giving tim the same fucking lecture, fuelled by rage (while tim is trying not to laugh straight in his face.)
it's jos who finds ben and salty like, and is all "ben, is this strictly necessary," and ben is like "Yes." and salty is rolling his eyes even harder while jos tries to convince ben It's Not That Big Of A Deal. eventually, he gives up and is like "well, if you have a problem with david and salty, you're.... definitely gonna have a problem with who i'm dating too." "who?" ben demands.
jos turns to glare at him, slowly. "I'm trying to defend you and your fucking kangaroo, and you're mouthing off about another man? my boyfriend?"
meanwhile, guess who bursts in to defend timmy from cummins's wrath? your darling reggie. their conversation goes pretty much about the same. trust patrick to get increasingly pettier about it. he's escalated to threatening to disown tim (somehow) until josh throws up his hands and is like. "you know, cummo, i didn't want to tell you like this, but you're making this impossible. you have a problem with tim dating a brit? well, you're not gonna like who i'm dating."
tim's mouth drops open. "mate. you're actually gonna do it?"
"better not be another bloody pom," pat mutters.
josh's lips twitch. "much worse."
"who, josh?"
josh winces. "well. virat kohli?"
silence.
"you actually bloody did it," tim mumbles, a disbelieving laugh puffing from his lips.
pat blinks at josh, terrifyingly still. apex-predator still. "virat kohli."
"yes."
"you're dating virat kohli."
josh sighs, done. "i know you heard me the first time, cummo."
okay bye šhave Fun š¦š
hello jiiiiiii! what a familiar face i have in my inbox wah wah
sleep deprived or not i love all the ideas you put out ji i veel entertain them all for you at your beck and call always (kisne kahan i larve you hawwww false allegations)
yes yes i did say that about the lecturing bit in this post's comments here (it was actually @fortuna-majoris's idea and i only pointed out how maybe stokesy and phil salt aren't toooo close afaik)
and you're right!! jos and salty are the first pair of opening batsmen to score 1000 runs together in T20Is! they are definitely close to say the least (or at least i hope so, heh)
according to the original hc we had stokes making a PowerPoint Presentation on "Reasons Why Dating an Aussie Is Blasphemy" - I reckon Patty on the other side would be doing the same to Timmy HAHAHAHA - i can imagine salty just calling stokes an old fashioned man and asking him to "keep up with the times! we're all global citizens!"
i can imagine jos going "well... shubman" SO CLEARLY in his sweet soft gentle voice too š (also i love this let's have everyone be dating everybody) except stokesy and patto themselves who are "married to their workā¢ļø" - they will also become eventually canon duh!!!! but anyway coming back to this - POSSESSIVE JOS YES YES YESSS GIVE ME MORE GIVE ME MOREEEEEEEE SEEING HIM MORE FIERCE AND PROTECTIVE LITERALLY WOULD REWIRE MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY
(salty, if td finds out about that comment, he's gonna spank you as punishment so shhhhh)
on the other hand, for pat, maybe he feels this frustrated because he already knows he's lost mitch starc to joe root, maybe? like maybe they're not together yet but pat knows starcy has a huge crush on joe root and he's already been through the whole convincing with him but starc is not yielding, so he's hoping that at least tim, who's still his junior, would be easier to influence and educate. and pat would say that he'd ask bison to drop tim off the t20 side if he doesn't break up with salty effective immediately 100% out of pettiness
MY DARLING REGGIE <3 the implication that tim knows about them but didn't tell anyone? they've kept it private for how long now omg tell meeeee did hoffrat start dating 2022? 23? 25? because that'll be really interesting - i like to think at least for timphil they probably started dating end of the 2025 season - they spent the entirety of that year thinking the other person only sees them as a best friend and nothing else until the night of the finals celebration where they got too drunk and kept provoking each other like "we're best friends... but i really wanna kiss you on the lips... haha... unless" and then they did it and hoff saw them of course but he didn't comment on it because he had his own secret to hide š (it was phil salt who saw them the next morning - timphil had passed out in the party room and in the wee hours of the morning, maybe at about 5 am when half the world was still asleep, joshy had to leave for england for the wtc finals immediately that day, and virat was seeing him off. salty was reeling from a massive hangover and was walking from the party room back to his hotel room to get some meds, when he saw virat tiptoeing and hoff bending down to kiss each other. on the lips. much like him and tim did last night. but he wasn't sure if he was hallucinating, an aftereffect of all the alcohol, so he took a picture of the two figures on his phone, and decided to revisit it later when he felt better. naturally he investigated it together with tim to get a second pair of eyes check, and both of them could make out that they were hoffrat, clear as day. tim proceeded to send joshy tons of poorly made edits of him and virat to his WhatsApp while reggie was still on flight, and when hoff lands, he knows they were caught. josh leaves a sinister "i saw everything you and tim did last night" as the only reply, and since then they got into an unspoken agreement of covering for one another)
PHEW NOW ANYWAY COMING BACK TO THE PRESENT, yes pat would be so dumbfounded because how on earth did he miss it?! of course hoff was dating virat! the signs were all there!!! josh trying his best to fly back to rcb year after year for the full tournament even if he was ruled out because of injuries, hoff not needing a hotel room in london anymore with the rest of the team because he suddenly had "family" there in an airbnb, the way hoff never tried to get under kohli's skin - god, how has pat lost his 2 best friends to the people who frustrate him the most?!
pat would give up once and for all because if there's one thing he knows about virat, it's that he wears his heart on his sleeve. and if there's one thing he knows about josh, it's that he keeps his business, including his emotions, extremely private. and as polarising as they sound, if josh felt confident enough to tell him this, and if virat was able to keep it under wraps for this long, it meant they were serious about each other and were willing to change things about themselves and meet one another in the middle. so, he would just defeatedly mutter under his breath "at least it's not another bloody pom" (josh would hear him anyway and then go gloat about it to starcy - well now that the cat is out of the bag he might as well tell people about him and virat - but mitch would just say "mate, anybody who saw the ipl in 2025 could smell you two being in a relationship from a mile away. pat is just daft sometimes." and josh would swat his stomach and say "not as daft as rooty who cannot feel the way you undress him through your heart eyes each time you see him on field")
okay idk why i built so much on this this was so random i hate you very muchs jis look what youve done to mes
helo š«µI is heres to discoos ideas with yous. You Have No Choice But To Entertain my Crack idea that my Extremely Sleep Deprived Brain Thought Of. because you Larve me :D
i don't remember where i saw it, but didn't you say something about ben stokes giving phil salt a right lecture about dating and aussie? and yeah, they wouldn't have had much chance to know each other - but āļøjos buttler and ben are very close! and jos has opened with salty for england, so they also would have some kind of bond formed, right? (besides, jos seems so sweet. he looks like he'd defend all his teammates.)
anyway, crack idea - ben drags salty off for a stern lecture on dating timmy, how it goes against the Principles of the Ashes, a brit dating and aussie is scandalous, basically blasphemy (we dial the drama up to 21) while salty is sitting there with his eyebrows raised like an insolent child. and Somewhere, mr Arrogant Tall Thing aka pat cummins is giving tim the same fucking lecture, fuelled by rage (while tim is trying not to laugh straight in his face.)
it's jos who finds ben and salty like, and is all "ben, is this strictly necessary," and ben is like "Yes." and salty is rolling his eyes even harder while jos tries to convince ben It's Not That Big Of A Deal. eventually, he gives up and is like "well, if you have a problem with david and salty, you're.... definitely gonna have a problem with who i'm dating too." "who?" ben demands.
jos turns to glare at him, slowly. "I'm trying to defend you and your fucking kangaroo, and you're mouthing off about another man? my boyfriend?"
meanwhile, guess who bursts in to defend timmy from cummins's wrath? your darling reggie. their conversation goes pretty much about the same. trust patrick to get increasingly pettier about it. he's escalated to threatening to disown tim (somehow) until josh throws up his hands and is like. "you know, cummo, i didn't want to tell you like this, but you're making this impossible. you have a problem with tim dating a brit? well, you're not gonna like who i'm dating."
tim's mouth drops open. "mate. you're actually gonna do it?"
"better not be another bloody pom," pat mutters.
josh's lips twitch. "much worse."
"who, josh?"
josh winces. "well. virat kohli?"
silence.
"you actually bloody did it," tim mumbles, a disbelieving laugh puffing from his lips.
pat blinks at josh, terrifyingly still. apex-predator still. "virat kohli."
"yes."
"you're dating virat kohli."
josh sighs, done. "i know you heard me the first time, cummo."
okay bye šhave Fun š¦š
hello jiiiiiii! what a familiar face i have in my inbox wah wah
sleep deprived or not i love all the ideas you put out ji i veel entertain them all for you at your beck and call always (kisne kahan i larve you hawwww false allegations)
yes yes i did say that about the lecturing bit in this post's comments here (it was actually @fortuna-majoris's idea and i only pointed out how maybe stokesy and phil salt aren't toooo close afaik)
and you're right!! jos and salty are the first pair of opening batsmen to score 1000 runs together in T20Is! they are definitely close to say the least (or at least i hope so, heh)
according to the original hc we had stokes making a PowerPoint Presentation on "Reasons Why Dating an Aussie Is Blasphemy" - I reckon Patty on the other side would be doing the same to Timmy HAHAHAHA - i can imagine salty just calling stokes an old fashioned man and asking him to "keep up with the times! we're all global citizens!"
i can imagine jos going "well... shubman" SO CLEARLY in his sweet soft gentle voice too š (also i love this let's have everyone be dating everybody) except stokesy and patto themselves who are "married to their workā¢ļø" - they will also become eventually canon duh!!!! but anyway coming back to this - POSSESSIVE JOS YES YES YESSS GIVE ME MORE GIVE ME MOREEEEEEEE SEEING HIM MORE FIERCE AND PROTECTIVE LITERALLY WOULD REWIRE MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY
(salty, if td finds out about that comment, he's gonna spank you as punishment so shhhhh)
on the other hand, for pat, maybe he feels this frustrated because he already knows he's lost mitch starc to joe root, maybe? like maybe they're not together yet but pat knows starcy has a huge crush on joe root and he's already been through the whole convincing with him but starc is not yielding, so he's hoping that at least tim, who's still his junior, would be easier to influence and educate. and pat would say that he'd ask bison to drop tim off the t20 side if he doesn't break up with salty effective immediately 100% out of pettiness
MY DARLING REGGIE <3 the implication that tim knows about them but didn't tell anyone? they've kept it private for how long now omg tell meeeee did hoffrat start dating 2022? 23? 25? because that'll be really interesting - i like to think at least for timphil they probably started dating end of the 2025 season - they spent the entirety of that year thinking the other person only sees them as a best friend and nothing else until the night of the finals celebration where they got too drunk and kept provoking each other like "we're best friends... but i really wanna kiss you on the lips... haha... unless" and then they did it and hoff saw them of course but he didn't comment on it because he had his own secret to hide š (it was phil salt who saw them the next morning - timphil had passed out in the party room and in the wee hours of the morning, maybe at about 5 am when half the world was still asleep, joshy had to leave for england for the wtc finals immediately that day, and virat was seeing him off. salty was reeling from a massive hangover and was walking from the party room back to his hotel room to get some meds, when he saw virat tiptoeing and hoff bending down to kiss each other. on the lips. much like him and tim did last night. but he wasn't sure if he was hallucinating, an aftereffect of all the alcohol, so he took a picture of the two figures on his phone, and decided to revisit it later when he felt better. naturally he investigated it together with tim to get a second pair of eyes check, and both of them could make out that they were hoffrat, clear as day. tim proceeded to send joshy tons of poorly made edits of him and virat to his WhatsApp while reggie was still on flight, and when hoff lands, he knows they were caught. josh leaves a sinister "i saw everything you and tim did last night" as the only reply, and since then they got into an unspoken agreement of covering for one another)
PHEW NOW ANYWAY COMING BACK TO THE PRESENT, yes pat would be so dumbfounded because how on earth did he miss it?! of course hoff was dating virat! the signs were all there!!! josh trying his best to fly back to rcb year after year for the full tournament even if he was ruled out because of injuries, hoff not needing a hotel room in london anymore with the rest of the team because he suddenly had "family" there in an airbnb, the way hoff never tried to get under kohli's skin - god, how has pat lost his 2 best friends to the people who frustrate him the most?!
pat would give up once and for all because if there's one thing he knows about virat, it's that he wears his heart on his sleeve. and if there's one thing he knows about josh, it's that he keeps his business, including his emotions, extremely private. and as polarising as they sound, if josh felt confident enough to tell him this, and if virat was able to keep it under wraps for this long, it meant they were serious about each other and were willing to change things about themselves and meet one another in the middle. so, he would just defeatedly mutter under his breath "at least it's not another bloody pom" (josh would hear him anyway and then go gloat about it to starcy - well now that the cat is out of the bag he might as well tell people about him and virat - but mitch would just say "mate, anybody who saw the ipl in 2025 could smell you two being in a relationship from a mile away. pat is just daft sometimes." and josh would swat his stomach and say "not as daft as rooty who cannot feel the way you undress him through your heart eyes each time you see him on field")
okay idk why i built so much on this this was so random i hate you very muchs jis look what youve done to mes
how about a snippet for 'the trophy is ours'?? (not a single mitch starc x joe root fic? šššššš)
ehehee - I was waiting for this one to be requested š
And sadly no, but this is just a list of one shots/WIPs that have sat as ideas only and not yet been started (or have been started ages ago and just left abandoned to gather dust looking at you Bowing Out). Fear not, there is still plenty of rootarc and stootarc in my plans š
---
Eighteen years heād been trying. Eighteen years heād been so close and fallen at the final hurdle. Eighteen years, and finally his blood, sweat and dedication to this team had paid off. Everything he had given to the Royal Challengers Bangalore, all the things he had sacrificed in the pursuit of success, and the trophy was finally theirs.
They were IPL champions.Ā
The moment didnāt quite feel real. He vaguely remembered the last ball. Watching Josh run in, knowing it was basically done despite the boundaries that had come from the over. One legal delivery would clinch it, even if it sailed over the boundary for six. And that it did, but Virat found he didnāt care. He didnāt even know where the ball had ended up.Ā
He was on the ground before he knew it, the scent of grass infiltrating his entire being and somehow grounding him as the arena around him erupted in sound. Almost so much he couldnāt hear a thing, face down in the grass finally letting himself believe, comprehend, understand. Just a few seconds. Just a few moments to let go of the restraint heād been holding onto, finally let himself fall into the bliss of what it would feel like to be an IPL champion.Ā
Bodies were all over him, piling in, desperate to celebrate with him. And why wouldnāt they? Saying RCB is so quickly followed by his own name, and heād managed to be in the team when they finally got their hands on the trophy. So many times the bridesmaid but never the bride, and now it was their time to throw the whole damn bouquet.Ā
Virat quickly lost track of whoās arms were around him. He recognises the distinct smell of Philās deodorant as heās first dragged to his feet, cocooned by the Englishman as the first to give him his moment of respite. But itās not right, not the right arms. Those come later, when theyāre alone and itās safe to let his guard down. When there arenāt cameras in his face and a billion screaming fans hungering for his reaction. AB is the one who nearly sets him over the edge, and maybe if this feat had come a few years earlier, at a time they were playing together, it would have been his embrace that Virat craved. Although the mission never changed, time had moved on from them, and it was now someone elseās arms that felt like home.Ā
Honestly, he was avoiding him. Only because Virat didnāt trust himself not to crumble as soon as they were in each otherās vicinity. But as the two teams started to move together, started the traditional post-game handshakes, Viratās mind started to work in overdrive. Wouldnāt it be weird if he completely avoided him? That would look even more suss than if heād run straight into his arms. They were on the same team for once, they could celebrate success together. But here, with everything still so raw, Virat wasnāt confident the floodgates would hold if he ended up in his arms.Ā
The choice was taken out of his hands. Virat had completely lost track of whose hand he was shaking, which teammate he was embracing, and before he knew it the soft cologne heād pick out of even the most scent-filled perfume shop was climbing up his nose, drawing him in before he could resist. Arms had opened just like they always did and the tall frame of his boyfriend was wrapping around him.Ā
Josh always gave the best hugs. Itās like he had a hug for every occasion and he just knew exactly which hug Virat needed. Sometimes, in celebrating wickets or a great catch, it was a grounding hug. One that Virat absolutely sprung into, and Josh was there to set his feet back on the ground, reel in the emotional explosion. Other times, after a loss or a particularly bad knock for Virat, they didnāt seem special from the outside, but were inviting and drew Virat in. Even if they were in the middle of a batting innings and Virat just wanted to throw his bat across the room, there was Josh and his nonchalant hug, waiting as if he didnāt even realise it. Then there were the hugs that were exclusively for them, tangled in bedsheets when Josh held him like he was made of china, the most fragile and precious thing in the entire world. And perhaps Viratās favourites, when Josh was lost to sleep but still his arms reached across the distance between them and drew him close to the other side of the mattress. Even if Josh was roasting, his subconscious wouldnāt let him be more than a mere inch away at all times.Ā
Just like every other time, Joshās hug was exactly what Virat needed. His hold was tight and secure, offering a place of refuge to hide from the cameras and the crowds and the chants of his name. Safety. Protection. An understanding of exactly what this moment means to Virat, exactly what heās put in to make it come true, and exactly what the batsman needs as emotions run rampant through Viratās system. It was the thing Virat had feared most in an embrace with Josh and he can already feel the fragile walls of keeping it together vibrate with the strain of crumbling down. He could just fall, knowing Josh absolutely has him, and will hold him up and put him back together if he needs to.
The hug felt like a lifetime and no time at all. It was everything, too much and not enough. But as his arms slid from around Josh, separating them, he knew Josh understood what he was asking for without having to utter a word. I need this, but not right now. Now he had to stand strong, stand on his own, face the fans heād given everything for and give them a little bit more of him. They would have their time in private, in silence, where Josh could delicately lay out each piece of him and experience every emotion together. And they would.Ā
The hair ruffle almost saw his carefully structured facade crumble down. Itās enough of a small gesture for Virat to know Josh understands but itās also enough to let him know Josh doesnāt want to let him go. Doesnāt want Virat to give the screaming crowd any more of him. Doesnāt want to stand by and watch Virat bottle up his feelings and pretend he isnāt an emotional wreck from everything this particular Everest has taken out of him. Itās the mask he wears for being the King, and Josh has always understood that. This is the first time, publicly, heās shown a hint of disdain for having to share his boyfriend with so many.Ā
How did I miss this part before. https://youtu.be/BDIWeu96gG8?si=dq6DAp2fw2LikR8p
Timestamps - 28:07 to 28:27
hi there! is it bad that i knew exactly which podcast this was going to be the second i saw the timestamp š
sorry i just have the 28th minute of this podcast memorised because what do you meaaaaaaaan starcy and hoff cuddle each other?!?!! starcy saves his hugs and cuddles for josh what the hell they are not even boyfriends-coded anymore. they're husbands.
"big joshy, big cuddly bear that he is" SEE I ALWAYS KNEW JOSH WAS AN AMAZING HUGGER HUHUH WHY WOULD THEY SHOW ME SOMETHING I CANNOT HAVE
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