Make your own kind of Music | A Shubman Gill x Ishan Kishan Fanfiction

The VIP returns

Contrary to what Shubman had feared, the downward mood swing after winning the World Cup never came at all.

Team India clean swept the T20 series against Australia at home and flew to South Africa for a long tour spread across all formats in December. Maybe it was Shubman's imagination, but people welcomed them and cheered for them with greater enthusiasm than ever before. It was hard to believe that was even possible.

They did not fare badly in South Africa. There was one ODI they lost a bit badly, but the mood in the team did not take much of a hit. For years and years they'd been told bilateral trophies didn't matter if you couldn't win ICC trophies, and even Rohit bhaiya and Virat bhaiya were chilled out in bus ride back.

There were even talks of cancelling the practice session next morning. To everyone's surprise, it was Hardik bhai who put his foot down.

"In my career, after losing a match between a series, I have never seen the practice session next morning be cancelled," he said. "Are we going to abandon our good practices because we won a World Cup?"

"Hear, hear!" shouted SKY.

Everyone laughed and lauded Hardik's sudden maturity and Jassi bhai speculated loudly on who exactly Hardik was trying to impress at present.

"He's already getting into the zone of being the future captain, isn't he?" Shubman thought aloud to Ishan.

"Don't-" said Ishan. "-say it."

"What?"

"Don't speak of a time when Rohit bhaiya's not...Virat bhaiya and Rohit bhaiya are not..."

"Oh!" Horrifying realization struck Shubman. "Oh, I didn't consider-I'm sorry, what am I even thinking of?"

"'S all right," muttered Ishan. "Sometimes I wish I could freeze time, Shubi."

Shubman was tempted to comment on his philosophical turn of mind, but couldn't. Because he wanted to freeze time, too.

Both of them were subdued all day, and that was when they realized no matter how rosy the present, how many wishes of yours got fulfilled in the present, the future would always have the scary prospects looming large.

***

Upon their return to India from South Africa, there was a huge surprise waiting.

Rishabh came to receive them at the airport. He flew to hug Rohit bhaiya and said, "They said I am fit for international matches, Rohit bhaiya!"

"I got the report too," said Rohit bhaiya drily. "It had some terms and conditions, like spending certain amount of time in practice and not having a relapse."

"I will do them! I won't have a relapse!"

"Of course he won't," Shubman and Ishan shouted and everyone made a rush to grab Rishabh in a hug. The ones who had come out of the airport last took some time to realize what was happening, but when they did, they rushed, too.

***

Rishabh needed a month to clear all the fitness requirements and was finally back in the squad for the home series against England in February.

When Rohit bhaiya announced the squad in the press conference, he actually teared up and had to keep silent a minute to compose himself.

"Why does everyone love a troublemaker like you?" Shreyas asked Rishabh with dramatic wonder when the team collected in Hyderabad for the first day of camp.

"You tell me why you love you, Shreyas bhai," said Rishabh. "Maybe that will throw some light."

Shubman and Ishan hooted. Rishabh came to grab an arm of each of them and drag them outside for a food experiment outing, on the way of which, they would also, of course, lay out a dozen pranks, the targets starting with Shreyas and Surya.

Rishabh was allowed to have his way in everything that evening.

He wanted samosa wrapped in candy floss?

All right.

He wanted the three of them to buy matching tshirts of a hideous peacock blue with 'Searching for a food truck' written in clashing red?

All right.

"What happened to you two?" Rishabh asked suspiciously when they didn't protest at his choice of ice cream, usually an active topic of argument. "Don't tell me the World Cup made mellowed you down?"

"Yes, it did," they chorused.

"It taught us not to care about mundane everyday stuff," said Ishan.

"It taught us not to indulge in earthly desires," said Shubman.

Rishabh glanced at Shubman's ice cream cone, the only one left of the three, and caught Ishan's eye. Then they both made a lunge for it before Shubman realized.

"This counts as an earthly desire!" They broke it in half and crunched them down, evading Shubman's attempt to grab it back.

"Not fair," Shubman protested. "Two on one is the coward's way."

Ishan slung an arm around him. "Aw, we'll get you another."

"We have to go back," said Shubman sulkily. "Virat bhaiya said to be back by ten."

Their watches showed a quarter past ten.

"Shit, we have to run," said Ishan. "Can you run, Rishu?"

Rishabh wiped his ice cream stained hand on Ishan's shirt.

"Hey!" 

"Ask me again if I can run, Ishan Kishan," said Rishabh.

"Don't," advised Shubman. "He has something worse planned."

Ishan raised his hands in surrender. "No, of course you can run. Come on-RACE!"

They sprinted all the way back to the hotel. Shubman won, as he always did. Rishabh and Ishan had a tiff about who had come last, but Virat bhaiya appeared to tell them off for being late, and they had to call a temporary truce to unitedly justify themselves.

The practice session early next morning, normally annoying in winter due to the bite in the air, was the best one Shubman had attended in ages.

Because finally, finally, it was the three of them-Rishabh, Ishan and Shubman-together on the field, after an age.