Rent Free

2.See you again

You sat in the living room, just done feeding your daughter as you watched the match between GT and MI.

Rubbing her back, you burped her and she was already half sleepy.

You cradled her as she laid over your lap, pillowing her head with your arm and at 31 runs, Shubman got out.

There was a brief pause in your actions and you swear you felt your heart stop.

Internally, you were screaming and cursing while externally, you were still cradling Shahneel.

As he walked away, you leaned towards the coffee table carefully and got hold of the remote, turning off the TV.

You felt like you could cry.

Though you could not react much that day when you met Shubman, you've been quite a fan since his U-19 days.

Is this just you at this point? Any time you sat down for a match completely, the team you rooted for would lose.

Sighing, you got up from the couch and walked to the bedroom.

You placed a kiss on Shahneel's head before laying her down in her crib, making sure she was comfortable.

Switching the lights off, you walked to the kitchen, placing your own dinner on a plate before taking heavy steps towards the living room again.

You sat down on the couch again with legs crossed and slowly chewed on your food.

For five minutes, you just lost touch with reality and then took a deep breath.

This is not the end. Even though he isn't there, that's still his team. Win or lose, you'll watch the entire match.

Motivating yourself a little bit, you turned the TV back on and continued with your dinner too.

The next day~

"So how is the new day care?" Anish asked as soon as you walked into the hotel.

"Nice environment," you said. "Qualified caregivers, nice reviews from the other parents as well. Nini's quite enjoying herself."

You both walked the hallways with Ara, having a small talk until you reached the destination.

"Are we all set?" You asked, looking at the other minimal staff in the billiard room.

"We are," Ara replied, handing you the paper with the questions. It was for the post-match interview before the team left for Chennai.

"Alright," you mumbled, handing it back to her. "Anish, what about the filming crew that'll be leaving with them for-"

You paused when he did that look again.

"If he's behind me, just tell me," you told him and he nodded before you turned around. "Hey there."

"Hey," Shubman smiled, greeting the duo beside you too.

"Nice match," you said. "The whole team, you know, fielding, bowling, and then-" you stopped. You were just ranting now. "You're ready to start?" You gestured towards the chair and he nodded.

And when you were almost about to turn away, he spoke out of the blue, "I never caught your name."

You turned again to look at him while Anish and Ara were already writing a whole fan fiction in their minds.

"Y/n," you told him and he smiled.

"That's a beautiful name," Shubman said and Anish almost passed out.

(A/n: When I think about it again, it's just two letters with a slash in between)

"You didn't bring Shahneel today?" He asked before you could react, referring to your daughter.

"No, she's at the daycare," you said and he mouthed a small 'oh.'

"Maybe some other day?" Shubman asked again. "I was waiting to see her again."

"As long as you're in Ahmedabad," you said. "I won't really be here after this. It'll be Anish and Ara."

His expression fell a little, knowing this he possibly couldn't ever be seeing you again after this season ended.

"Tanvi's here," Ara said from beside you. "We're ready to go."

You looked at her briefly before giving Shubman a small smile.

Once again, when you were about to walk away, his voice stopped you.

"Can I have your number?" The words came out before he could process them himself. But now that he's said it, there's no going back. "You don't have to if you're not comfortable, but I'd love to see you both again."

A/n

I typed the first half of this chapter while watching the match between GT and MI. And I'm sorry for the late update. I was confused as to how I was supposed to go on with the following chapters. There will be a major time skip in the next part, because I realized that there was no other way I could get the plot started. It's confusing so far but I swear I'll keep working to make it better.