And I've heard of a love that comes

Once in a lifetime

And I'm pretty sure that

You are that love of mine

***

January 2025

"Can anyone tell me why we are going to Pune when we could have gone to Goa?" Rishabh complained when a bunch of their closest friends had planned to go on a brief trip from Mumbai, where they'd played their last match of a series.

"Can anyone tell me the same?" said Ishan, catching Rishabh's eyes in the rear view mirror from the passengers' seat.

"Whose idea was it again?" asked Shreyas.

They looked at Shubman, who was driving. He was the safest driver (a couple of years back, safe used to be slow and boring, but a lot had changed since that accident), so he always was the one driving in highways.

"Pune is nice," said Shubman defensively.

"Pune is nice, but not quite a place to go for a weekend holiday, don't you think?" said Kuldeep mildly. "Not that I'm very fond of Goa, it's too chaotic."

"Chaos is the whole point of a holiday," Rishabh and Shreyas said.

"Ah, well." Ishan patted Shubman's hand on the gear. "The youngest kid always gets his way, you know."

If Shubman wasn't scared of removing his eyes from the road on a highway, he would have given Ishan a glare. 

Instead he could only glare at the blameless highway.

***

"I don't know how you even ask someone to get out of bed at five in the morning in winter," Ishan said, not bothering to open his eyes.

"The others will wake up soon enough, and if they do, I can't take you where I want." Shubman shook him again, not at all gently. "And it's nearly six, not five."

"Big difference."

"Ishan, please get up?"

Ishan opened his eyes and sat up, scowling. "It's unfair, that sweet, innocent voice you can fish out at convenience. Oh, and that look. All right, I'm getting up, don't look like that!"

Shubman looked at himself in the mirror as Ishan went to get ready. He didn't see any special look that Ishan always complained about when Shubman got to wheedling.

They were on their way in a few minutes, without breakfast, because which hotel served breakfast at the ungodly hour, as Ishan pointed out several times.

"Where are you taking me barely past sunrise?"

"There's a word you really need to add in your dictionary," said Shubman, who was driving again. "It starts with a P. Guess what it is?"

"Huh, patience is far too overrated," said Ishan. "There's one word with P I would like to delete from my dictionary. Guess what that is?"

"Uh," said Shubman, sheepishly. "Priorities?"

Ishan ruffled his hair violently.

***

Shubman took them to the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium and led them in to the spot he remembered, facing the south of the stands.

"Seriously?" said Ishan. "You woke me at five to see Pune's cricket stadium?"

"It was six, not five."

Shubman pulled out the old silver medal which he had taken enormous care not to forget and hung it around Ishan's neck. Ishan's eyes went wide with realization.

"Remember something?" said Shubman

"Oh yes," said Ishan, grinning. "Lots."

"It's the exact date. Seventh January. I searched back all the way to 2018 in my mail to find when the flight to New Zealand from the Pune airport was. You and Rishabh visited two days before that."

"Now I see why Pune instead of Goa." 

Ishan circled his arms around Shubman's waist and rested his head on his shoulder. Shubman drew him close.

"Knew you would..." 

"Some silvers are better than gold," mused Ishan. "What would I have said if I had a gold? You can't convert a gold into anything...I wonder if Rishabh and I would have even bothered to come and visit our junior batch?"

Shubman, who had been too busy soaking in the homey smell of Ishan's hair, replied a second late. 

"Why did you visit?"

"There was no concrete reason we discussed or anything," said Ishan. "I think we wanted to come because it felt like an unfinished business, the silver."

"Then some silvers are definitely better." Shubman pulled away from the hug so he could look into Ishan's eyes, but he kept holding both his hands. "Now guess why I brought you here?"

"Because, um, you felt nostalgic?" suggested Ishan.

"No," said Shubman, grinning. "You know how we're never able to decide the moment we fell in love with each other?"

Ishan nodded.

"I brought you here because this is where, exactly seven years ago, I fell in love with you," said Shubman. "I didn't know that then, or till much later...I guess I've realized it very recently. But the kind of spell you cast on me, it couldn't have been anything but falling in love."

Ishan looked intrigued.

"You fell in love with me because I bullied you about being unable to speak?"

Shubman twirled the silver medal around Ishan's neck. "I like how you're ignoring the inspirational part."

"Even then," said Ishan. "I was mostly intimidating you. I could see you were intimidated."

"Well, maybe I fell in love with you because you were intimidating me," said Shubman. "Maybe I fell in love with you because you were the most beautiful person I've seen. Maybe I fell in love with you because I could see the goodness underneath the intimidation. Have your pick."

Ishan was quiet for a bit.  

Then he muttered, "Oh, damn. Now I need to hurry up and find my moment."

"You better," said Shubman.

Ishan smiled. 

At the very spot, in the very same way he'd smiled at a junior seven years ago and began the injection of confidence and hope and love and happiness of a lifetime into him. 

Suddenly, Shubman knew why Ishan's smile reminded him of sunrise.

Seven years ago, here where they were standing, Shubman's sun had risen.

***

Cause I'm in a field of dandelions

Wishing on every one that you'd be mine

Mine

And I see forever in your eyes

I feel okay when I see you smile

Smile

***

A/N: Yeah, now I'll ask for the review! I'm literally so sad now that it's ended (: