fade into you | shubman gill x ishan kishan

flowers pt3

ishan and shubman formed an understanding after the incident. ever since shubman showed up at ishans doorstep that night, teary eyed and hurt, ishan watched shubman like a hawk. he would take extra concern over every trivial thing the younger did, watching his expressions fervently for any sign of discomfort, being wary of when and how to touch him, and what to bring up about it he incident. shubman hadn't revealed much else about his deranged sister, other than the obvious abuse he mentioned that night, and ishan didn't pry. he didn't want to force the younger into admitting anything he didn't want to, and to be honest, ishan was content just in shubmans presence. it was enoguh for him just to be able to see him as much as he wanted, given their 4 year drought had ended. shubman would come down on days he had a match in delhi, and ishan would try to make his way to bihar most other weekends. it wasn't ideal, he wanted to bask in shubman for longer, but it was better than nothing.

ishan had promised to fly over to bihar that weekend, the first one without a match in a while for shubman. he had spent his days that week at work, mindlessly going through patients, the thought of a weekend around shubman twisting in the back of his mind. so you could only imagine the excitement within him as he finally made his way to the familiar door, a white tulip bouquet in his hand, knocking eagerly. he waited a minute. then two. then three. before worry set in.

ishan gently pushed the door, and to his surprise, it was open.
'shubi?' he called meekly
no response.
he made his way down the hallway, to the third door on his right, shubmans. he knocked again. waited a minute, before hesitantly pushing the door. he felt like he was intruding, but ever since the incident, the thought of shubman being alone gave him a fluttery feeling within him. his eyes snapped through the younger a room, before he heard the sound of the shower running in the bathroom. ishan let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, before settling on the bed. he scrolled through his phone, mindlessly on reels, before something struck him. shubman knew when he was coming over. he knew what time he would land at bihar. he knew the distance between the airport and his house. and they were still in their honeymoon stage, where they would get dressed up for each other. so why would shubman be in the shower for this long?

he paused, knowing that if he was overhtinking this, he would look like a fool. but shubman came before any silly pride for ishan, so he made his way to the bathroom door, and rapped on it gently.
'shubi, come out baby. it's me' he said over the sound of the water running. no response.
the silence was getting to ishan. this whole scenario was getting sketchier by the minute. oh and, where was shubmans family?

ishan pushed open the door, squinting just in case shubman was actually just in the shower and he was being a creep. but ishan was right. there shubman sat, cross legged, water pouring down his body, fully clothed.

and the red.
it didn't register to ishan what it was at first. he had never seen anything like it. shubman had carved long, winding lines down his arms. so deep that they had cut his veins. and he was staring, almost unaware of ish and presence, into the wall.

ishans breath constricted in his throat. his mind was a blur, as he rushed to shubmans side, almost screaming his name.
'shubi, shubi look at me. please' he begged, cupping shubmans face in his hands. he ran a thumb down his cheek, unflinching in the icy water. after a moment of silence, shubman broke out of his trance, registering ishans presence. his eyes met with ishans, red and swollen.
and shubman was 16 again.
shubman became just the 16 year old boy he knew all those years ago who would sneak out of his house and climb into his bed at night when his sister was the worst, pushing his cold feet into ishan to wake him up, hugging him like a koala. ishan would mumble incoherently and pull shubman into him, never admitting that he would trade anything for shubmans warmth. his eyes those nights would be wide and mysterious, the same way they were now, as if they held a thousand secrets only meant for ishans ears. and ishan loved every moment of it.