When they reached the quiet house, Shubman asked, "Now we can talk safely. What exactly are your parents saying?"

Ishan realized he could not and did not want to repeat what his parents had been saying, especially the awful things about Shubman. He did not want to think of them anymore, he had escaped, however small the duration may be, he had escaped....

"Are there any cameras here?" he asked.

Shubman raised an eyebrow. "Um, no, I assume."

"And you still want to talk?"

Ishan pushed Shubman against the wall and kissed his neck before pulling his head down. Normally it would be the other way round. Shubman's smile was surprised, but he didn't look like he minded. At all.

It was lucky the bedroom was just next door. Ishan didn't think they could have made it much further.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ishan woke up sometime in the middle of the night with Shubman's phone ringing.

"It's fine," Shubman whispered. "Putting it on silent."

"Who is it?" Ishan asked sleepily.

"Doesn't matter."

Ishan might have probed but he was so tired and Shubman's arms were so warm and comfortable that he fell asleep again almost immediately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the morning, Ishan felt the acute absence of Shubman's presence beside him when he woke up.

"Where are you?" he complained, blinking against the sunlight.

"Just trying to figure out how we could go have breakfast without those creeps spotting us," said Shubman, shaking his hair in front of the mirror. "What kind of disguise do you want?"

"Disguise?" Ishan grinned.

Shubman's phone on the bed lit up with a missed call. Ishan took a glance and exclaimed.

"Shubi, there are dozens of missed calls from your parents and sister, haven't you told them you're here?"

"Have you told yours?" Shubman asked, surprised.

"I mean, I texted bhaiya," said Ishan. "You didn't tell anyone?"

"Screw them all," Shubman said fiercely.

Ishan was taken aback. "They would be worried."

"And why should I do anything to stop them from worrying?" asked Shubman. "They haven't done anything in return lately, have they?"

"Shubi," said Ishan. "You can't do this to your sister, all right? If you know she's worrying, you should end it."

"If I tell di where I am, it'll be as good as telling Mom and Dad." Shubman glared at his phone. "Do them good to go crazy with worry once in a while."

"But Shahneel di, Shubi-"

"Innocents are hurt in all wars. And all wars aren't fought on the battlefield, Ish." Shubman's eyes blazed the same way Rahul bhai's sometimes did when he was about to make a stand.

"You're being unreasonable, you know."

"I. CAN'T. HELP. IT."

"Yes, you can," said Ishan firmly. He got his phone and dialed Shahneel di.

Shubman didn't realize what he was doing till Ishan had started speaking. "Shahneel di, I'm sorry for the bother....don't worry, Shubman is with me. We're in-where are we?" he asked Shubman.

Shubman's face was flushed.

"Okay, some empty house of a relative of yours, I don't know...." said Ishan.

"I know it," said Shahneel. "Thanks, Ish. You have no idea what the night was like."

"I can imagine," said Ishan drily. "Okay, bye."

Ishan looked at Shubman, who was shaking now.

"Shubi, come on-"

"Why?" screamed Shubman. "Why do you have to interfere with every decision I take?"

"Because it was a crazy decision!" Ishan shouted back. "We're adults, Shubman, act like it!"

"Since you were an adult about it, they are coming to take me back. They would be coming any minute." Shubman turned his face away but not before Ishan saw tears springing in his eyes. "And you have to go. And I don't know when we're going to meet again because those fuckers in the selection committee decided to drop you from the England Tests and the fucking boards did not schedule any ODIs or T20s in the series and there's the IPL right after that and I was too fucking weak to fight for you."