My Lover's The Sunlight...

Aankhon se Batana...

Brevis was overwhelmed to be true the moment he entered the store Ishan picked for the ring shopping. The glinting metal and stones made him feel like he had entered heaven suddenly amidst a mall in Mumbai. The ring section was huge and somehow it seemed that the rings were either too gaudy, too extra, too showy, too heavy, too loud or too little, too subtle, too elusive. The perfect ring was no where in sight. The South African looked around, trying to find his friends who had dumped him to look at jewelries on their own. "Ishan, help me, bro", baby AB whined as he tugged on Ishu's long sleeves. It earned him a dirty look from Shubman but the coconut tree did not open his mouth. Ishan went for himself and suddenly it seemed like he had enchanted the store workers too, for they brought the better pieces out.

"It seems like Ishan bhai is again collecting hearts like pokemons, Shubman bhai!" DB dared to tease the other cricketer who was pouting and sulking quietly. "Ishu ke age koi bol sakta hai kya?" "Tum dono kya ghusr ghusr kar rahe ho? Idhar aao." The two of them went like calves following the shepherd. Ishan was looking at a collection of topaz rings. A single silver ring stood out and DB fell in love with it at a glance. It was a diamond and topaz combo on a silver band. It reminded him of how the sky looked after the clouds cleared and sun peeked through. Tilak was the Sun to his Earth and he deserved it. It did not escape Ishan's eyes that baby AB was literally drooling over a ring. He asked the salesman, "Yeh kitne ka milega?" "It will be about Fifty thousand including GST", he replied after checking the tag. DB turned to his brother, "Bhai I want this." "Well, this does look perfect", Shubman approved. "Tujhe kuch engrave karwana hai?" 

(Tilak's ring)

Dewald nodded eagerly and noted how he wanted their birth dates, names and two quotes etched in it. The salesman looked a bit subdued as he tried to counter, "Sir, it is a ring, not a diary! So many things will not fit in!" Brevis deflated. He asked for a paper and did the design he wanted in it:  𓂀 𝔽𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣, 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤... 𓂀

"Can you engrave this at least?" "We will try our best. We have another option where the writing will be microscopic and when seen through the magnifying glass, it will be visible. Would you like to go for it?" "Yes, do that." Brevis blushed when he saw Ishan and Shubman looking at him with knowing smiles. "You're such a simp for Tillu", Ishu cooed while pinching the fair cheeks. "Oww, oww, Bhai! That hurts." DB pouted while rubbing at his cheeks which were rapidly turning red. While covering his face to protect it from the meanies he commented, "As if you are not simps." "Sir?" The salesman's voice broke them out of their bubble. He wanted to check the size, but the green eyed lad had been a fool to not bring any of Tilak's ones. After a heated discussion, it was decided, Tilak's fingers were somewhere between Shubman and Ishan's so their average should work. 

The twenty nine year old glared holes through the salesman who held his "best friend"-'s hand for too long on the pretense on checking his finger size and if Shubman noted it secretly, it was his own business and no one else's. After finalising Tilak's ring, Ishan took to roaming through the store, Shubman following him like a long lost puppy while Brevis settled the deal about the price, payment options, exchanging his South African currency for Rupees and other technical matters. Shubman stopped suddenly when he saw Ishan looking longingly at a pair of anklets. He observed the shorter who approached the saleswoman there. "Didi, do you have anything for children?" She smiled professionally as she asked, "How old is the child?" "4 years." "Wait a moment." She brought out a collection of silver anklets but none of them fit Ishan's taste. "Sone ke payal nahi hai?" "Aap ko kaise chahiye sir? Thode se specify kar denge toh it will be easier to find the exact one." Ishan showed him the picture he wanted.

(Aleya's anklet)

"Well sir, luckily we have this exact design available right now." She brought them and Ishan motioned to Shubman to come nearer. "Shubi, dekh na yeh Aleya par kaisa lagega?" "She'll look like the princess she is. It's gorgeous Ish." Their eye contact was electric, so much that the woman felt like she was intruding on the couple. "Umm sir?" She stuttered. "Ji?" "Aap ko iske saath ghunghroo chahiye?" "Woh toh baadmein hum khud se remove bhi kar sakte hai na?" Shubman asked. "Yes sir." "Toh add kar dijiye." The woman left to weigh it, when Ishan asked, "Agar Aleya ko awaaz pasand nahi aayi?" "Toh Ghunghroo khol denge." "Agar design pasand nahi aayi?" "Aleya ko flowers bohot pasand hai." "Tujhe kaise pata?" Shubman tucked a stray lock behind Ishan's ear and leant closer, "Tu aur main kya alag hai, Ish, jo mereko pata nahi hoga? Aleya teri jaan hai, aur meri jaan tujhme basti hai. Apni jaan ko na jaanu, toh jeene kya matlab hi kya reh jaayega?" Ishan looked delectable as roses bloomed across his plump olive skin. "Tu ja, mai pay karke aata hun." He left but not without a glance at a simple rajasthani silver anklet. The dark brown eyed glinted in reflection at the memory of the night where Ishan had disclosed to him that he had always loved anklets but could never wear them as the society had restricted him. 

(The anklet Ishan was eyeing)

Ishan and Brevis were waiting for more than ten minutes in front of the store when Shubman came out panting. "Saale, itni der se kar kya raha tha?" "Woh main di ke liye ek jhumka khareed raha tha." "Dikha na kaisa hai?" "Room mein jaake dekh lena. Ab chal. Bhukh lagi hai." "Baby AB, baata tujhe kya khana hai?" The foreigner wrinkled his nose at the nickname but knew it would be vain to even try to make Ishan to stop. The shorty pulled him with him as they ran towards the sushi place in the mall while Shubman stared at Ishan lovingly. How beautiful his smile was! The sound of his laugh was like a soothing balm to his distressed soul. The parcel in his pocket felt heavier than it was due to the unsurety that Ishan would even like it. The jhumka was just a farce. He had gotten the first one he saw, to cover up for the real thing. He just hoped Shahneel di would forgive him this one time. He saw Ishan looking here and there searching for him in the crowd and ran to them, his heart eyes permanent as he hooked an arm around Ishan's shoulders and taking the packet from his hand. Ishan deserved to be treated like the prince he was and only a fool would disagree.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Many many thanks to my wattpad family for standing by my side. Thanks to your encouraging words, I feel a lot better. Some may say what I wrote yesterday was a publicity stunt, but I truly wanted to share what was going on in my life.

Sorry readers, for dumping my trauma on you. So, here is this extra update. Next one will be on Monday.

Enjoy, Adiraj. 

P.S.: Mereko pata hai, maine pichle chapters delete kar diya. To be honest these ones are better. I can do more character development this way. Maine kaha tha ki naye chapter update February main dunga, but aaj January ka aakhri din hai aur main khud ko rok nahi paaya. These boys deserve the world and I will do my best to make a safe place for them, at least in my fics. And yeah, imagine karlo, yeh din saare paparazzies ke liye holiday tha and nobody clicked pictures of them when they went out.