All that matters is that you're ok... (Ishman Fanfiction)

chapter 1

“Shubiiii, aur kitni der ghumna padega?” (How much longer will we have to walk?)

“Chup kar yaar, 2 hi to ghante hue hai. Aur aisa nahi hai ki mai hi bas shopping kar raha hu, tune bhi to kitni chize kharidi hai,” (Shit up, yaar, it's only been 2 hours. And it's not like I'm the only one whose shopping, you also bought so many things.)

“Maine kharidi kyuki agar mai nahi leta to tu le leta! Aur vaise bhi, ismese aadhi cheeze to tu churane vala hai,” (I only bought them because if I didn't, you would! And anyway, you're going to steal half of them anyway.) Ishan was so tired, they must have walked the entire mall twice, yet still Shubh wasn't satisfied. He was close to dragging the taller man home by his ear if this went on for any longer.

Shubh turned around and started to say what was bound to be more whining, when a flash of something shined in the light behind him and caught Ishan's eye. It took a few seconds for him to realize what it was, and by that point it was already too late. Shubh was oblivious, still going on without knowing that Ishan had stopped listening.

Before his brain caught onto what was happening properly, he'd already grabbed Shubh and pushed him to the floor. 

“Wha— Ishan, what the hel—” Ishan didn't waste any time. He clambered on top of him, draping himself over the taller man like a blanket.

And then someone screamed. All hell broke loose seconds later, but Ishan refused to move from his position.

A distinct noise was heard over the sound of people running, one which Shubh had only heard in movies. The sound of a gun firing.

Ishan had seen what everyone else saw seconds before them. He saw the gun in the man's hand, recognised the crazed expression on his face. Realized that a man like that couldn't be reasoned with. And then he registered who the gun was pointing at, at which stage he stopped thinking and let his instincts take over.

And his instincts were screaming at him to protect Shubhman, at all costs.

Ishan stared into his Shubh's eyes, terrified. He didn't know, but somewhere in the back of his mind he hadn't expected the man to actually shoot. He could see the dawning knowledge of what was happening in the other man's eyes.

The screams stopped suddenly, and the lack of noise is what alerted Ishan to what was happening to him. The adrenaline left his body in a rush, and the pain came in all at once. His vision almost blanked out, and he collapsed on top of Shubh. His back was on fire, a pain so excruciating he knew he was going to pass out soon.

“No, no, no, Ishan!” Shubh got up suddenly, the move jostling Ishan's broken body and drawing a moan of protest from him.

Shubh stopped moving immediately, afraid of making it worse. He sat up slowly, and drew Ishan's body closer into his arms. His hand came back stained red when he put it around the smaller man's back.

Tears gathered in the corner of Shubh's eyes as he realized what Ishan had done for him. He'd literally used himself as a shield to protect him.

Shubh curled himself even closer and tucked Ishan's head under his chin. His other hand was steadily applying pressure on what he knew now to be a bullet wound in his best friend's back. One of their newly acquired clothes was being used to staunch the blood flow.

“Ishan, Ishan please, stay awake Ishan. Mujhpe nazar rakho. Somebody call an ambulance!” He screamed.

A hand on his cheek made him look down again, at the precious cargo he had in his lap.

“Ishu, kuch nahi hoga tumhe. Help is coming, ok? Just please, please don't fall asleep till then. For me, yeah? Just please keep looking at me,” (Ishu, nothing will happen to you. Help is coming, ok?)

Something close to peace flashed in Ishan's eyes. He smiled up at Shubh, and for a moment he forgot that there was a bullet in his best friend's body. A lone tear escaping from Ishan's eye brought him back to reality.

“It's, it's ok, Shubi. It's all going to be ok,”

“No, no Ishan, don't do this to me, please. I'm begging you, please, stay with me,” Water was dripping down Shubh's face onto Ishan.

“Don't—” A hacking cough interrupted Ishan mid sentence. All Shubh could do was hold him through it, his heart cracking at the pained gasps coming from the man.

“Don't cry, Shubi. You're safe. That's all that matters…” Saying that, Ishan's eyes slipped shut.