What after That?

Ch 85

By the time the sky turned a deep shade of blue, the entire house had gathered downstairs for dinner. Ishan quietly lied that he wasn't feeling hungry and would eat later in his room.

The moment everyone got busy serving food, he slipped out of the house through the back door. Carefully making sure nobody was watching, he climbed the old wooden ladder leading to the terrace.

The evening breeze welcomed him.

And so did Shubman.

He was sitting cross-legged on an old mat, arranging two steel plates, a flask of water and a few bowls of sabzi as if he had planned an elaborate candlelight dinner.

The moment he saw Ishan climbing onto the terrace, a slow smirk spread across his face.

"Menu laga ni si...

...aap itni bahaduri dikhayenge."

Ishan rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out before deliberately looking away. "Kyun bulaya hai?"

Shubman answered without missing a beat.

"Shaadi karne." Ishan slowly turned towards him.

His expression screamed—

Kabhi toh serious ho jao.

Shubman pointed towards the wooden ladder lying nearby.

"Nahi, sachchi. Abhi kar lete hain. Ye ladder ki lakdi jala lenge."

Ishan sighed dramatically.

"Agar yahi bolna hai na...
...toh main jaa raha hoon."

Before he could stand, Shubman caught his wrist.

Gently.

He pulled Ishan back towards himself until their foreheads rested against each other.

His voice lost all its mischief.

"Mujhe...
...tere saath khana khana hai."

Ishan's heart melted.

Completely.

Shubman held both his hands like an impatient puppy.

"Please...Sirf pandrah minute ruk ja na."

For a long moment...

Ishan simply looked at him.

Then, without saying a word... He sat down beside him. A victorious smile appeared on Shubman's face. He immediately picked up the plate, tore a small piece of roti, dipped it into the sabzi and held it in front of Ishan.

Ishan obediently opened his mouth.

The first bite barely went down before his eyes started burning.

It had been so long. He had forgotten what it felt like to simply...

Eat with Shubman.

Without thinking, Shubman prepared another bite and fed him again.

This time...

A tear escaped. Ishan quickly wiped it away before Shubman could notice.

But he noticed.

"Shubman..."

His voice came out as barely a whisper.

"This isn't making anything easy for me. If anything...
...it's making everything harder."

The smile slowly disappeared from Shubman's face. He placed the plate beside him. Then Shubman quietly asked,

"Agar tere papa...
...aur ye duniya exist hi nahi karti...
...tab tu kise chunta?"