A Touch of Serendipity || A Devdutt Padikkal fanfiction

| 07 | Raabta

"Tere Milna Hai Uss Rab Ka Ishaara Maanu
Mujhko Banaya Tere Hi Jaise Kisi Ke Liye"

~•~

"...so the genius decides to prank Siraj by tying all his shoelaces together right before practice," Dev said, grinning wide, that dimple making a scandalous appearance again.

Avantika laughed, a loud, unfiltered laugh that made people at the next table glance over. "Please tell me this was during an actual match day."

"Worse," Dev said, smirking. "Right before a team meeting. Siraj walked in like he was learning to walk for the first time. Nearly face-planted."

She gasped, eyes twinkling. "Who does that?"

"Apparently, Glenn Maxwell on too much filter coffee and no supervision."

She shook her head, still giggling. "I swear, RCB deserves an award just for team chaos."

"You support RCB?" Dev looked part surprised part gleaming.

"Every season," she said proudly, straightening her posture. "Much to my dad's disappointment."

"Oh no. He's one of those?"

"The worst kind," she whispered dramatically. "He pretends to like RCB just for Virat, but he's actually a Gujarat Titans fan."

Dev blinked. "Wait, what? Why?"

"Because of Shubman," she said with an eye roll. "They're both Punjabi. Apparently, that's all the bonding they need. He loves everyone... except-" She paused, eyes glinting.

Dev narrowed his eyes. "Except?"

She gave him a look.

"No. Come on," he said, incredulous. "Me? What did I do?"

"You exist," she deadpanned. "And Shubman and you keep having that fight for the opening spot. So, naturally, Papa's loyalties lie with the 'fellow-Punjabi good boy.'"

Dev leaned in, elbow resting casually on the table, voice dropping just enough to make her heartbeat feel inconvenient. "So now I've got a rival in love and cricket."

Avantika swallowed.

"And here I thought Rishabh was bad enough," he muttered under his breath.

Her brows lifted. "What do you mean?"

Dev didn't look at her as he answered, almost too casually. "No guy wants to hear the girl he wants say another guy's name. Even if it's by mistake."

Avantika stilled, caught somewhere between a breath and a blush. She wanted to say something witty, deflect maybe, but her mouth had suddenly forgotten its job.

"Don't hate Rishabh," she managed, finally, her voice a little too soft. "It wasn't his fault."

That made Dev look up. "Hmm," he said, gaze lingering. "Then whose fault was it?"

She gave him a sheepish smile. "Yours."

Dev raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't say thank you that day, remember? After I saved your too-proud ass from an aunty ambush? I thought you were rude. Arrogant. And maybe I wanted to knock you down a peg."

Dev laughed, slow and deep. "So calling me Rishabh was your version of revenge?"

She shrugged. "It worked."

"Not really," he replied, smiling in a way that made her toes curl. "Still can't stop thinking about you."

Before she could react, the waiter appeared with the bill, and the moment folded in on itself. She reached for it instinctively, but Dev was quicker.