fade into you | shubman gill x ishan kishan

first kisses under the moonlight

ishan was in a haze since the evening, running around and giving instructions to the team. he had masterfully organised shubmans 24 birthday party, with help from the ict, who were currently in the hotels yard in vizag, blowing up balloons and decorating.

siraj was impatiently tapping bumrah on the shoulder.
'WHAT do you want this time?' bumrah snapped
'what did the balloon say to the doctor bhai?'
'no. no i don't want to know. just shut-'
'i feel light headed!!!' siraj cackled, hitting his knee and kneeling down. bumrah positively had steam escaping his ears, as he stormed up to ishan.
'either he dies or i die. you choose.' he said, welding a butter knife.
ishan gave him a sympathetic smile.
'just a couple hours bhai, then i promise it will be over. all for shubi, remember?'
bumrah solemnly nodded and walked away.

ishan took in a deep sigh as he analysed the sight before him. jaddu bhai and hardik bhai were engaged in a very serious silly string war, using a traumatised shami and surya as their personal sheilds. virat and rohit were over by the chocolate fountain, debating whether white or milk was better. it was chaos. but it was home.

amidst the chaos, ishan was petrified , nervously eyeing the clock which showed 11:56. in three minutes, he would execute the plan, luring the sleeping shubman outside, surprising him with cake, gifts and all his cricket family, and then once the team had gone to bed, taking him to the beach next to the hotel, where they could kick back and relax, just the two of them. he was looking forward to the party, but deep inside, he couldn't wait for them to be alone.

the last few months have been subject to a lot of inter turmoil for the poor boy. their simple touches and looks shubman and him had shared before suddenly felt momentous. every hug, every cuddle, every brush of the hands sent what felt like a rude electric shock through ishans body. he caught himself loosing himself in shubmans lips whenever the younger was engrossed in a conversation, and it took all his might to not let his eyes wander to his body when shubman came out of the shower, water dripping of his sinful chest. but the one thing he couldn't control was his lustful mind, which dreamt up unholy scenarios starring shubman and him. one particularly memorable one had occured just over a week ago, which resulted in him waking up in the middle of the night, sweaty and rock hard. that night, he watched shubman sleep for a disturbing long time, taking in the plumpness of his lips, the furrow of his thick brows, the pink of his cheeks and his hair, falling on his face in a way that made him forget the difference between bowling and batting.

he hadn't quite made up his mind on how he felt about these newly arisen feelings, but all he knew was that it was too easy to dream about, but all too dangerous to actually act upon. ishan would not be able to handle the loss of shubman, not now, not ever, not when he was his backbone.

but he couldn't handle the younger acceptance either, because then what would that mean? not now, not at the height of his career could he manage a homosexual, 'scandalous' relationship with his teammate. so, aside he put his feelings, deciding to rather embrace the time he got with shubman rather than be a worry wart about it.

11:59. it was time. ishan excitedly pulled out his phone, dialling his number. ring ring ring-
'ishan?'
his breath caught in his throat. shubmans voice dripping with sleep was too much for him to handle right now.
'um, shubi, come outside'
'what? is everything okay?? why are you not in bed?? who's dead!!'
ishan had not thought this far ahead. he cleared his throat noisily, looking around the room, looking for ideas. his eye caught on virat bhai.
'virat bhai's hes, well he's..'
virat was licking a ice cream cone..
ishan panicked
'HE BROKE A BONE IN HIS TONGUE!'
the team went silent. everyone turned around to stare at him. virat stopped licking.
and shubman had hung up.
ishan face palmed. he had just ruined shubmans birthday. he couldn't believe his stupidity. he could've chosen ANYTHING else to say!! he turned around and gave the team a sheepish smile
'sorry guys, i guess party's ove-'
the slam of the door rudely interrupted ishan, followed by
'WHERE IS HE!'
shubman was standing at the door, wearing grey sweatpants and nothing else.
ishans jaw dropped. he quickly shut it before frantically waving his hands, signalling the team to speak.
'oh, SUPRISE!!' exclaimed the baffled team.
there was no way shubman had believed that.