Is This Love? [Shubman Gill x Ishan Kishan]

Chapter Eight

July 2023

All the trust, all of the work and effort Ishan puts into his relationship with Shubman and all of the dedication he gives to cricket is broken by one single headline: "Shubman Gill and Sara Tendulkar Spotted Together at a Party: Are they dating?"

It comes right after one of his best series of performances during the test series. Any sense of accomplishment he feels is shattered by the news. To make matters worse, it's right after a match and he has to hear everyone in the locker room talk about the news.

"Aree, tum toh bhot shaana nikla, Shubman (Wow, you turned out to be clever, Shubman)," Rohit comments, throwing his arm around Shubman's shoulders. "Itna bada chakkar chala hai aur tumne hame nahi bataya. (There's been a big affair happening and you didn't tell us.)"

"Nahi bhai, aisi koi baat nahi hain (No, brother, it's nothing of that sort)," Shubman replies, glancing over at Ishan who is packing his back and keeping his head low.

"Yaar, why are you still hiding it? It's fine, we saw the photos," Jadeja comments from his locker. "Hum logo ne bas yeh jaana hai ki shaadi kab hai? (We just want to know when the wedding is?)"

Shubman groans lightly, throwing his head back, clearly frustrated, "Seriously, humare photo galat time bhi keche gaya. (Seriously, our photo was taken at the wrong time.) I don't even know her."

"Aache, phir aab manager shaab bhi galat hai? Unhonne hee hamen bataya tha ke tum aur Sara are dating (Okay, so the manager is also wrong now? He's the one who told us that you and Sara are dating)," Virat speaks up, giving Shubman a knowing look. "Dekho, hum teasing toh karenge. (Look, we're going to tease you.) It's better that you just accept it."

Ishan closes his locker, a little louder than he intended to and picks up his bag, making his way out of the locker room.

Shubman takes a deep breath when he sees Ishan walk out, throwing his hands in the air, "Yaar, jo cheez galat hain vo main kasi accept karloon? (Dude, how can I accept something that's not true?)"

"Like how I did it when they found out Anuskha and I were dating," Virat says before laughing.

The whole room breaks out into laughter and Shubman wants to hit his head on the wall. Repeatedly.

They don't sit together on the bus back to the hotel and the tension can be cut with a scissor. Ishan sits next to Kuldeep, switching his usual seat next to Shubman in the front of the bus. He can see Shubman glancing back at him multiple times throughout the ride back to the hotel but he keeps his head low and stares at his phone.

As they arrive at the hotel, the manager begins to hand out key cards. When it gets to Ishan he asks, "Are you okay with sharing a room with Yadav?"

"Yes," Ishan answers.

"No," Shubman answers at the same time.

Kuldeep rolls his eyes at the antics, accepting the keycard from the managers hand and putting it in Shubman's hand, "Tum dono bhi bas..." He trails off, rolling his eyes and moving over to Akshar. "Main aur Akshar always share."

Ishan sighs before making his way to his room, he opens the door and closes it behind him, not caring if it hits Shubman in the face or not. He places his bag on the bed before making his way to the bathroom. He's about to close the door when Shubman puts his foot in between the doorway.

"Move your foot," Ishan says, avoiding Shubman's gaze.

"Can we just talk? Why are you acting like this?" Shubman replies, holding onto the door with his right hand.