EYES LIKE THAT (Shubman Gill X Ishan Kishan)

the end

Ishan chokes out a breath. Why was it so difficult to breathe around this man?

"Well, I'm waiting," his expression was smug, but Ishan could see his breathing getting heavier.

"You're being really bossy, you know?" They both carry the conversation into the room, and Shubman leans against the wall, his fingers brushing Ishan's claim away.

"But Kishan, I didn't hear you say 'no'," Shubman says, smiling.

Ishan blushes and feels the urge to climb onto him. But he needed to clear things up first.

"I've wanted to ask," he swallows before saying the next line, "But do you actually like me? I mean, is it a... body thing? Or is it like..?" He lets the sentence trail off, not wanting to suggest love.

Shubman's entire body grows tight at the sentence, his smile slipping off, his face grows concerned as he says, "What? I don't feel... it's not just lust, Ishan. Did I make you feel that way? I am sorry if I did. I guess I've a hard time keeping myself off of you," he bites his lips, contemplating, "Ishan, what I feel for you is love."

Ishan thinks he hears the universe pause. His heart starts pounding harder than ever before.

Shubman pauses, a frown on his face from thinking, "I don't know how to describe it, but I want you to know. I guess... it's the little things. The way you can barely hold your laughter back, the way your eyes light up when someone suggests a prank, the way you cuddle up to me at night and deny it in the morning. For me it's not a body thing, it's an 'Ishan thing'."

"I don't know when I realized it, I guess it was when you were talking that one time and I thought I could listen to you forever. I just wanted to be near you all the damn time. But soon, being in your radius wasn't enough. I wanted more. More of you, all the parts you kept secret, all the worries that you kept to yourself, I want to make them mine. Yes, I wanted more of your touch, but it was not just physical desire. Ishan, I'd still want to f**k you if your body was a warped twig, but after I'd heard your voice in my ear, telling me a stupid joke."

He laughs at the last admission, and then looks nervously at Ishan. "I mean it's the first time I've felt this for a person. So I guess I f**cked up a lot, didn't I? I mean, the girls in our room and all that."

Ishan, who had been listening to his voice speak as if from a distance, feels high. It was unbelievable, the rush in his blood, the happiness in his veins. It was like someone had released a million butterflies in his chest.

"Well... silence was not what I had been hoping for," Shubman tries to joke but his voice sounded uncertain.

"I love you, Shubman."

Shubman closes his eyes, breathes in a deep breath, a slow smile playing on his lips. "Can I record that?"

"You don't have to," Ishan laughs, "I'll say it every day. I love you I love you I love you."

Shubman looks like someone had just switched on the moon for him, the expression on his face was pure bliss.

"So... we are... dating?" Shubman asks, "Or maybe you should tell me why you thought we shouldn't."

Ishan sits down on the couch and Shubman joins him. And he begins. Voicing every single concern, every single worry, every single thought that haunted him. All about Kartik, Rakhi's article, the penguin girl, his friendship with Dhruv, his concern about his parents' reactions.

Shubman listens patiently, not interrupting once. After Ishan has finished, he lays his head tiredly on Shubman's shoulder. They both sit quietly.

"What do you think is the worst thing Kartik can do to us?"