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

Someday

Ishan felt like his world had turned upside down.

The day before MI vs GT, either Shubman was actively avoiding him, or it was just bad luck that he was never there in his room when Ishan went to talk. Or that he would see each text too late, and be in the field or outside when each time Ishan called.

Ishan had never felt Shubman going so distant. What made it worse that he did not have the faintest idea what was wrong.

So it happened that the first time Ishan saw his best friend was an hour before the match, when the teams gathered at the Wankhede.

Ishan made a dash for him without even taking off his helmet or gloves.

"Shubi!" he shouted, grabbing him from behind. "What on earth are you playing at?"

When Shubman turned, his expression was withdrawn.

"We're in the same city for two days after a month," said Ishan. "And the first time I'm blessed with a glimpse of you is on the field."

"I thought we were supposed to avoid interacting too much," said Shubman.

"There's a whole lot of difference between not too much and not at all!" Ishan realized he was talking too loudly, and tried to speak softer. "I never said we shouldn't talk at all. And it's not like I haven't been trying to meet you-"

"Shubi!" Hardik bhai called. "Over here, a moment!"

Shubman's relief was unmistakable.

"Uh, we'll talk after the match," he said, and slipped away, leaving Ishan feeling more miserable and empty than ever.

***

MI won, but Ishan wasn't in a mood to gloat.

He was so afraid Shubman would try to leave without talking to him, and Hardik bhai having said GT had their flight out of Mumbai late that night itself, that he went straight into the opponent dressing room and caught up with Shubman.

"Well played," Shubman said.

"Seriously?" said Ishan. "Well played?"

Shubman gave him a bit of a smile. Ishan's heart lightened by several thousand tons, and he felt a lot braver.

"Right, what is up with you?" he asked pleadingly. "Don't say it's nothing, I'm not an idiot, all right?"

Shubman hesitated. "I met Sara...she said she's seeing someone..."

"Oh!" Ishan felt a burst of sympathy, but a larger burst of relief. "Oh, I thought it was me why you were acting so distant. God, Shubi, I was so scared."

"Of course it's not you," said Shubman.

Ishan pulled him into a tight hug. "So I guess you're not very happy Sara's dating."

"Nope."

"But not very upset, are you? It's been so long since she turned you down, Shubi..."

"Not very, no," said Shubman. "Moderate."

Ishan laughed.

A bustle rose in the dressing room, someone saying the bus had arrived and they needed to return quickly for the flight.

"When's the flight?" asked Ishan. "Do we have time to go out for tea?"

"I don't think so, the flight's in four hours," said Shubman apologetically. "Hardik bhai said we have to leave right after we reach the hotel. This time we actually have to."

Ishan wished with all his heart the two of them could sneak off somewhere for a tiny outing like they always did when their teams met in IPL. It drove Rohit bhai and Hardik bhai mad, because one of them would always be on the verge of missing the flight.

Shubman returned his parting hug and gave another small smile.

Never mind, Ishan told himself. Just a few weeks more, and we'll be fine.

***

Nevertheless, after that, Shubman went all distant again, and Ishan was at his wits' end.

Now, even if he tried to, he couldn't text with Shubman all day. Shubman's replies were formal. Controlled.

And he didn't send as many stickers.

It made Ishan feel like he was talking to a stranger.

And he had no idea what had gone wrong, suddenly. It could not be the news about Sara... all right, Shubman might be upset over it, but he wouldn't cut Ishan off over it. It could not be the arrangement they had reached of talking less... or could it?

But Shubman had accepted it sportingly enough earlier. What had gone wrong so suddenly?

Ishan supposed he wasn't being the best at not letting his lousy mood spilling over. One day at practice, he yelled at Tilak so loudly over three consecutive catch drops that Tilak looked quite frightened and Rohit bhaiya told him later, softly, to try not to get impatient on the field. Another day he cancelled a whole Amazon order because it would be a day late. He even ended up speaking shortly to his brother on phone when Raj asked if he was upset about the previous day's match, which MI had lost.

"No, I'm not upset, what makes you think so?"

Of course Aditi noticed.

"It's been two weeks," she said one day, finally. "Will you tell me what's wrong?"

Ishan got the urge to jump down her throat, too. But he managed to calm himself down in time.

"Nothing's wrong with me," he said, "but something's wrong with Shuhbman, and I can't figure out what."

"Yes, I thought so too," said Aditi, frowning. "The way he behaved when their team reached Mumbai. It didn't seem like him."

"He says it's because Sara's dating someone..."

"But you're not convinced."

"No."

"Why have you two been talking so less the past month, anyway?" asked Aditi. "Are you sure you didn't have a huge fight where you offended him?"

"No," said Ishan, deciding to be honest. "No, it wasn't a fight. It was just, you know, a discussion. About what we discussed, you and I..."

"Hm?"

"About how unnaturally attached we are to each other, which has often led me to treating you badly..."

"Goodness," said Aditi.

"So...so I thought we could talk a little less than usual and see..."

"This is not what I meant, you know," said Aditi. "I don't have any problem with you two being close. He's your best friend..."

"What did you actually mean?" asked Ishan.

"I hope we'll figure it out," said Aditi. "Someday."