Thousand Years | A Shubman Gill & Ishan Kishan Fanfiction ✓

The heart remembers what memory doesn't

Monsoon, 2019 AD, Thiruvananthapuram

Ishan was sitting in the team bus, forced to listen to songs as Shubman was dozing on his shoulder and he would rather listen to songs using earphones for once rather than disturb his friend. The weather made him feel gloomy and perhaps his teammates as well. The atmosphere in the bus was unusually quiet, with everyone with the window seat busy admiring the freshness of this city.

Ishan was glad that he could do the same. He couldn't see much as the rain had started falling heavily, nonetheless, he enjoyed looking at the streets with the foggy filter of the glass window. Feeling extremely drawn to the rains, Ishan opened a monsoon themed playlist on Spotify and clicked the shuffle button.

After the damn ad, Mann Mera from Table Number 21 started playing. The drumming of the guitar matched the soothing mood Ishan was in.

He closed his eyes and felt Shubman snuggle closer to him. A giggle almost escaped him but he managed to stop himself.

As Gajendra Verma sang the beautiful song, visuals of Shubman filled Ishan's eyes. He remembered the first time Shubman had coloured his hair. How could he not, after all, he was there with him and it was his first attempt at coloring his hair too! As the song progressed Ishan saw different versions of Shubman's smiles.

The polite one that did not betray a dimple.

The timid one that was accompanied with downcast eyes, each time an admirer complimented him.

The formal one that was sincere despite its formality.

The grin that escaped every now and then.

The toothy smile that was so wide that it would make the other person feel lucky to have witnessed it.

The sarcastic smile that he thought made him look smug but Ishan knew he could only look sweet as long as he smiled.

And Ishan stopped the song midway. He wondered why he had Shubman's smiles so readily accessible in his memory? Was it because he was so familiar with him? What else could be the reason?

He pressed the play button and the creator played the answer but it fell on deaf ears,

"Aashiq Dil Tera purana hai ye"

Ishan risked a glance at Shubman and was extremely content to see him deep in slumber.

*****

Monsoon, 2020 AD, Mohali.

Shubman was working out on the terrace, currently doing pushups. He had adjusted a phone stand where the screen showed Ishan doing pushups as well. Among all the routines the two had formed, this had become another lockdown routine where 4pm meant working out together, with the other person on video call.

When Shubman's pushups felt labourious, he slowed the pace, wondering when he would be able to meet all the people he terribly missed.

Faces after faces flashed in front of him.

He had not seen his closest friends in months. It was only natural that he yearned to meet them, clap on their backs, maybe even gently hit their heads, engaging in all the mishaps that messages and calls couldn't cultivate.

Shubman realized with a sudden force that he had not thought of Ishan when he was thinking about the people he missed. And this intrigued him.

Maybe he did not think of Ishan because Ishan had never left. Of course there were moments when the two were apart, leading their own lives yet somehow Shubman was always certain of Ishan's presence.

He did not know how to explain this, even to himself. Maybe the best way of understanding this was attributing this lack of missing to Ishan himself. The guy made himself available for Shubman with such consistency and unconditionality that if there was something that Shubman was certain of in these unceetain times then it was that he would always have Ishan.

As Shubman ruminated on this throughout the workout, he realised that Ishan had never once told him, "Bye." Goodbye was a word that did not exist in Ishan Kishan's language. Especially when it was Shubman, it was always, "Milte hai" or "See you." This realisation made Shubman experience a burst of warmth in his chest.

"Aise hi ghoorta rahega ya workout pe bhi dhyaan dega?" Ishan jokingly asked Shubman if he'd continue staring at him or get some workout done as well.

Shubman did not realise when he had focused his attention on the screen but now that he did, he shook his head and then shrugged as he answered,

"Tujhe kaun dekh Raha hai? Mai toh tere peeche Lage hue Mahi Bhai ke poster ko dekh Raha tha inspiration ke liye." Shubman said, very smoothly denying that he was unintentionally staring at his bestfriend by saying that he was looking at Mahi Bhai's poster behind Ishan.

Ishan chuckled and replied, "Whatever you say, meri Jaan."

And Shubman tore his eyes away from him, looking at the floor. Today was one of the days when Ishan's 'meri jaan' felt more like a sword piercing his heart rather than a crown adorning his head.

And Shubman wondered why it was so.