ishan is smitten, absolutely lovestruck. he just hides it better.
it’s as if a dam broke off and now he’s overflowing with feelings. he’s back to square one, thinking about shubman everywhere he goes. when he cracks a joke in the net practice, he imagines how hard shubman would have laughed at it. when he’s working out, he inevitably starts thinking of what a swoony sight it’d have been to have shubman there working out too. the worst of all, when any of the seniors talk about their wives, ishan thinks of shubman.
he realizes how desperately he’d been holding off himself, keeping all the love at bay.
“do you think we should just get married?” ishan mutters, stirring his coffee.
“sorry, i have a wife.”
ishan looks up, rolling his eyes at surya. “stop joking.”
“who started first?”
ishan sighs, leaning back. “i was thinking of promise rings, what’dya say?”
surya whistles, grinning. “i can’t believe i’ve lived long enough to see ishan kishan in a committed relationship- which started?”
“um, six days ago. am i rushing things?”
“honestly, you two have been together for six years, you just didn’t know,” surya says, patting his back.
ishan realizes how they have been acting like a couple all these years anyway. going everywhere together, sharing clothes, holding hands in practice, sharing the bed in every hotel, feeding each other. the list could go on forever.
“i hate that you’re right. but, minus the sex.”
surya squints his eyes. “are you sure?”
ishan smirks. “i’d definitely remember if i had that big dick in-”
surya slams the table, getting a look from the barista. “jesus christ, ishan. sorry i asked!”
ishan snickers, sipping his coffee. “seriously though, what should i get him?”
surya sighs, scratching his head. “you could give him a half-eaten sandwich and he’d be out of this world. but sure, go for the rings.”
ishan hums in thought, debating his choices. he doesn’t want to come off as too cheesy since shubman has expressed his indifference for it in his past relationships.
his phone flashes with a text from the devil himself.
shubman: hi boyfriend ;)
ishan rolls his eyes fondly, typing.
ishan: what’s up
shubman: :(
ishan: what’s up boyfriend
shubman: :)
shubman: party tonight. what should i wear?
ishan frowns, looking up at surya. “do we have a party tonight?”
surya nods, snapping a photo of his croissant. “heard so.”
this might be an opportunity to surprise shubman, ishan thinks.
ishan: just wear anything who cares
shubman: wdym who cares? bitch i need to look good
ishan: for????
shubman: my boyfriend
ishan bites down a smile.
ishan: he’ll rip it off you later anyway. wear whatever you want.
there’s no response for a while, which ishan knows is because shubman probably dropped the phone on his face.
shubman: are there people around u
ishan: surya bhai. why?
shubman: would’ve shown u the boner u just gave me
ishan laughs out, flushing a little. he finds in his gallery the video he shot today of himself working out, sending it to shubman.
ishan: enjoy
shubman: fuck
shubman: come back
shubman: RIGHT NOW
chuckling to himself, ishan asks surya if they should head out yet. he has to make a few stops anyway.
it’s their first party where they know they won’t wake up beside a random girl next morning.
“it feels weird in a way, doesn’t it?” ishan says.
shubman slings an arm around him, borrowing ishan’s cigarette for a drag of smoke.
“do you miss hooking up?” shubman asks.
ishan laughs, shaking off the lightheadedness. “no. the adrenaline was good though.”
“all these years, every night we went back without getting any, we should have just fucked each other,” shubman says, nudging him affectionately.
ah, he’s starting to get tipsy. ishan nods, glancing at his boyfriend. who’s looking hotter than he should, in his half-buttoned black satin shirt. the pearl necklace hugs his collarbone deliciously, he deliberately bought it to match with ishan’s.
ishan licks his lips, inching closer to shubman- not too close because he’s not drunk enough to forget about the whole team in the same room. the smoking is making shubman lightheaded as well. he looks at ishan like they are the only ones in the room.
ishan might be a tad bit turned on. he reminds himself that it’s not the place to be. so he diverts his thoughts to the rings, which are currently in his back pocket.
‘it’s just a promise ring, chill,’ he tells himself. nothing to be nervous about, not at all.
he gulps down a shot of whiskey, feeling brave, he drags shubman through the crowd into the corridor. his back meets the cool surface of the wall as he pulls shubman by his collar.
shubman dives in for a kiss immediately. his hand finds its way around ishan’s jaw, gripping it. his other hand is placed on ishan’s warm chest, feeling it heave up and down with each breath.
ishan smiles against his lips. “wait, this is not why we’re here.”
shubman lets out a whine, his voice hoarse. “this is cheating.”
ishan’s heart thumps against his ribs as he tries to bring up the topic. “um, i have something for you.”
shubman hums inattentively, pressing kisses along ishan's neck. “you smell so fucking nice, ish.”
ishan chuckles, trying to pull away but shubman just grabs his waist tighter.
“meri jaan, listen to me-”
“less talking, more kissing.”
shubman connects their lips again and ishan can’t help but give in. he lets shubman swirl his tongue around, tasting every corner of his mouth.
he parts away with a short moan. “that’s enough. we're not alone here, okay?”
“you wouldn’t still be in your clothes if we were, baby,” shubman says, sighing.
ishan clears his throat, drumming his fingers against the fabric of his pants. “so. you know i love you a lot, right?”
shubman stares at him. “are you pregnant?”
“can you be serious for a moment?”
shubman smiles, stroking ishan’s cheeks gently. “you seem nervous, baby. is everything alright?”
ishan looks up at him, finding a sense of security in shubman’s eyes. he takes a deep breath.
“okay, so i have something for you. not necessarily a gift but,” he reaches for his back pocket. “wait, why does it feel-”
ishan checks his pockets jitterily, not finding the ring case. shubman frowns in confusion as he looks around at the ground anxiously.
“hey, what happened?”
ishan runs his fingers through his hair in agitation. “did it fall off? where’d it go?”
“where’d what go, baby?” shubman asks, starting to get concerned.
“are you looking for this?” a voice interrupts.
both ishan and shubman still, their eyes widening at the same time. they turn to see rahul standing there, holding the box in his hand. the disbelief and shock on his face tell them that he saw everything.
ishan feels the weight of the world crashing down on him as they sit in silence with rahul- who hasn’t said a word since they’ve rushed him into one of the rooms to explain the situation.
“bhaiya-”
“shubman, please.” he finally speaks. “just give me a moment, okay?”
shubman nods, looking down. ishan feels an uneasy knot forming in his stomach. he slowly laces his fingers with shubman’s, reassuring him with a faint smile.
shubman’s tension melts away a little at that. he knows ishan is afraid, just like him. afraid for their career, for their love.
he tries to push away the thoughts gnawing at him. what if rahul bhaiya hates us now? what if the management hears of this? my career can’t end over this. ishan’s career can’t end over this.
after what feels like an eternity, rahul looks at ishan, saying, “are you sure about this?”
ishan’s shoulders slump, he nods. “more than anything.”
shubman smiles, his heart warming.
rahul’s face doesn’t give away any expression. “okay. don’t mind me saying this but you two are still very young, you’ve got your whole lives ahead of you.”
“we know, bhaiya. we just…i really love him,” shubman says, holding their joined hands closer to his chest.
“i love him too. i can’t imagine myself without him,” ishan says, his voice softer.
rahul tries to remain calm. all his life, he’s been trained to remain calm. in matches, in death overs, in knockouts. if you lose your cool, you lose the game.
but this is real life. and losing in a match has far less consequences than in real life.
“i can’t stop you, i won’t. but i hope you two really know that this is going to be a lifetime commitment. and this will have repercussions.”
“i promise you, we’ll behave responsibly,” ishan says, hope budding in his heart.
rahul sees the big, innocent eyes of them looking at him just like they do before matches- putting their faith in him.
he sighs deeply. “it feels like yesterday when i met you two for the first time. and now you’re getting engaged.”
“we love you- wait, what?” ishan almost chokes on air.
“we’re getting engaged?” shubman yelps.
rahul blinks in confusion. “you’re not?”
shubman turns his head to ishan, fumbling with his words. “we’re not, right? right?”
ishan nods rapidly. “no, no, of course not. bhaiya, why would you think that?”
“uh,” rahul rubs his neck awkwardly. he pulls out the ring case. “i found these rings?”
shubman turns to ishan again, asking shakily, “ishu, what- i- i mean i won’t say no but i’m not really ready for-”
ishan breathes out, exasperated. “god, no. guys, those are promise rings. i just thought…i was trying to be romantic, i guess.”
shubman relaxes, sighing. “oh, god. that’s um, actually really sweet.”
ishan nods, his cheeks flaring up in embarrassment. shubman rubs his back comfortingly. he wants to hug and kiss ishan all over but doesn’t, out of respect for rahul.
who seems to be really guilty. “i’m so sorry, ishan, seems like i messed up your surprise. i saw the box fall out of your pocket and followed you to return it, i shouldn’t have. i’m sorry.”
ishan feels guilty as well. “no, bhaiya, don’t be sorry. it’s my fault for being clumsy. i shouldn’t have brought it here.”
shubman feels like he should feel guilty too, but he can barely contain the happiness bubbling in his chest. he feels giddy all of a sudden, knowing ishan tried to be romantic for him. isn’t that the cutest thing ever?
he ends up wrapping his arms around ishan, giving him a quick cuddle. ishan swats him away when he presses a chaste kiss on his cheeks.
“oi, rahul bhai is still here,” ishan hisses.
shubman pouts, looking at rahul- who shrugs, saying. “it’s not like i haven’t seen you two kiss.”
ishan’s mouth falls agape. shubman chuckles nervously. “um, where?”
“back in new zealand, at the zoo.”
shubman groans as ishan shoots him a glare. “you saw that?”
an amused smile plays on rahul’s lips. “like anyone would believe in naked dancing man.”
ishan huffs, making a mental note to show his gratitude to surya’s credit card.
“so you knew all along? i thought we just got busted,” shubman says, his eyes widening.
“i knew something was up. but i didn’t feel it was right to intervene. but now, when i walked in on you, i thought ishan was going to propose and i felt a little concerned about that.”
so, rahul was in shock about a whole another situation, which he basically misterpreted. ishan rubs his temples, sighing. “this is embarrassing.”
shubman chuckles, nudging him. “hey, i love you,” he whispers.
ishan looks up at him, smiling. “i know. i love you too,” he whispers back.
rahul finally hands the box to ishan. “i can leave if you guys want.”
shubman perks up, restraining himself from saying “yes, please!”
but next to him, ishan’s clenches his fists, inhaling sharply. “let’s all leave. i want to do this in front of everyone.”
shubman double-takes, getting a shock for the second time in the span of an hour. “ishu, baby, we don’t have to-”
“i want to. what we don’t have to do is hide it from them. they are our family, shubi.” ishan has never sounded firmer.
shubman feels nervousness coil in him. he grunts, shaking his head. ishan grips his hand tighter, saying, “do you trust me?”
“more than anything,” shubman says.
“and do you trust our team?”
shubman thinks of every dressing-room pep talk that he’s heard in his career. coaches, captains, seniors. all they said had one line in common-
trust your team. they have your back, you are not alone.
shubman swallows the lump in his throat, starting to stand up. he looks at rahul, as if silently asking him if it'll be okay.
“we will make it okay,” rahul says, like cricket has taught him.
—x—
author’s note:
best cameo of this story is the naked dancing man. bro’s impact is beyond reality.
also 2 chapters left lesgooo