The team flew from USA straight to Sri Lanka for their next series.

"How come we never seem to catch a break?" Ishan complained to Shubman when they touched down on Colombo.

"You want a break from cricket?" said Shubman.

"A little one, maybe," said Ishan. "Hardik bhai said I should take Aditi to the Taj Mahal, but I think that's over."

"You think?" Surya bhai said from behind, ultra-sarcastic. "Just invite her over here-"

"She's coming tomorrow."

"-and ask her to move in the first time you're alone with her."

"Maybe at the airport," Shreyas suggested.

"No, airports are really cliched," said Surya.

"Cliches are cliched for a reason."

Ishan turned to Shubman. "Do you think asking at the airport would be cliched?"

Shubman was tempted to say, Asking her to move in is cliched in itself because everyone asks their girlfriend to move in with them.

But he suspected that would bring on many more patronizing looks from Rishabh, who was already hovering around in patronizing silence and not taking part in the conversation.

"Yeah, airports are a bit cliched," he said, neutrally. "Maybe take her to the poolside. The hotel has a great pool."

Ishan rejected all other suggestions instantly. "I'll ask her by the pool when she comes tomorrow."

He linked his arm with Shubman and pulled him ahead. Rishabh came to link his arm with Shubman's other one.

"Yeah, really, really great suggestion, Shubi."

Shubman elbowed Rishabh in the chest hard enough to make him yelp and Ishan almost took all three of them down as he bent over, laughing.

"We shouldn't have taught him to give it back to people, Rishabh," said Ishan. "That's where all the trouble started."

***

The irony was, Ishan wouldn't have been able to go with the airport proposal anyway.

The next day, when they were returning from practice, Ishan was walking with his nose inside the phone, alternately gasping and laughting.

"Will you tell us what the joke is?" Shreyas asked in exasperation.

"No, I'll directly show you, wait-" said Ishan.

Shreyas held out a hand for the phone. Ishan pushed it away.

"I'll show you in person."

Ishan paused at the head of the stairs of the first floor. Shubman, Rishabh and Shreyas also did.

"Right," announced Ishan, waving a hand. He'd always had a flair for drama. "There's the most amazing trick possible with nothing but the banisters of a staircase. And you wouldn't believe how easy it is. Rishabh, take a video."

He lowered his kitbag and leapt atop the banisters. Shubman looked down the cavity into the ground floor over the banisters, at Rishabh and Shreyas, both of whom had poised their phone cameras, and back at Ishan.

"Seriously?" he said. "Get down, Ishan, if you fall you'll break your neck!"

"Why would I fall?" Ishan laughed, straightening up and lifting his arms above his head.

His confidence instilled a bit of faith into Shubman. Maybe it was a safe trick, maybe he wouldn't fall...

Of course he would fall.

Mid-swing on the banisters, Ishan lost balance and fell over the wrong side. Rishabh flung away his phone and made a wild grab at him, but he was already hitting the ground floor.

"ISHAAN!"

Shubman, Shreyas and Rishabh's shouts mingled with Ishan's agonized yell brought everyone running out of their rooms. Shubman didn't notice anything, though, as he dashed for the banisters and climbed up, his horrified gaze fixed on Ishan crumpled below.

Then he was yanked back.

"Are you seriously thinking of jumping after him?" demanded Shreyas.

"What?" Shubman's head cleared slowly. "Oh-of course not-"

They sprinted down the stairs behind Rishabh, so fast it was a miracle none of them misstepped.

Ishan's face was drained of colour as he was curled on the floor and his eyes were closed.

Shubman lifted him up by the shoulders and shook him.

"Ishu! Ishu! Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," said Ishan faintly. "Shubi-" His hand grappled with thin air till Shubman took it and squeezed. "Ow-"

Shubman tried to let go of the hand in alarm but Ishan almost crushed it so that he wouldn't.

"Where are you hurt?" Rishabh shouted.

"Leg-ow!" He'd tried to move his foot. The left one, they noticed now, was bent the wrong way.

"I think it's broken," said Shreyas, as the others reached up, asking frantically what was wrong.

Ishan appeared to have passed out again, because he felt heavy. Shubman lowered him to the floor gently and buried his face in Ishan's head so that the others wouldn't see him sniffling.

"Aw, Shubi," Ishan breathed into his neck, so softly Shubman almost thought it was his imagination. "Don't cry, I'm okay."

"Okay?"

"Just a bit...out of ac-action..."

Then he passed out fully, but Shubman kept holding him till the physio came with a stretcher to take him up.

***

Try as I may, I can never explain

What I hear when you don't say a thing

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me

There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me

The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall

***

Their physio checked Ishan's parameters, then put his ankle on plaster and injected some fluids into him for recovery from shock. Ishan was unconscious the most part, but the doctor assured there was no damage done and he'd be fine soon enough.

Rishabh didn't even give Shubman any weird look when he kept Ishan's hand clasped in his. Even Rohit bhaiya had Ishan's head on his lap, Shubman reasoned, and the whole team crowded around the bed.

Ishan was still semi conscious a couple of hours since he blacked out. When Aditi came-Surya and Hardik bhai had gone to receive her from the airport, since her boyfriend was out of action-most of the team left the room. Shubman tried to make himself invisible at the foot of Ishan's bed, a hand on the plastered ankle. Of course, he remained quite visible.

"What exactly was the idiot trying to do?" Aditi asked Shubman, sitting down at Ishan's side and touching his face.

"Slide down the banisters," said Shubman. "Luckily, we were on the first floor."

"Such a glorious endeavour," muttered Aditi, slapping Ishan's cheek lightly.

That made Ishan stir and blink. "Oh, you came, Aditi," he said thickly.

"I did. Nice welcome you gave me."

Ishan laughed weakly, trying to lift his head. But he slumped back into unconsciousness almost immediately.

Aditi turned to Shubman in alarm.

"He's been drifting in and out for a while now, there's nothing to worry," said Shubman quickly. "Just keep talking to him."

"Okay." Aditi cleared her throat. "So, Ishan, Surya bhai tells me you're planning to ask me to move in with you."

Shubman stood up and turned to leave, but he stopped to bend and give Ishan a hug. Ishan threw his arms around Shubman and pulled him down so suddenly Shubman's knees buckled.

"Stay."

"Yeah, I'm...I'll just be outside," said Shubman. "Aditi's here..."

It took a while for Shubman to free himself from Ishan's grasp, since he couldn't bring himself to be rough.

He could hardly bring himself to leave at all, but he didn't think it would be tactful or wise to intrude upon Aditi talking about moving in with Ishan.

So he left.

But he did stay just outside, like promised.

***

Maybe Shubman left, but his comforting smell, a tangy sort of aftershave smell that belonged to him alone, lingered in the air.

"Breathe normally," he was instructed.

Or maybe Shubman was still here, because his aftershave was all Ishan could smell every time he breathed.

"Try to open your eyes, Ishu?"

His voice sounded strange, though.

Ishan tried to oblige, but it was too much effort. His eyes kept fluttering shut.

A hand caressed his hair. "Never mind. Just talk to me. Tell me what we're going to do when we're living together."

Ishan found it easier to smile than open his eyes.

"Play FIFA all day. We'll set the record for the biggest gaming room in the country. Or the world. Do you think we could get into the Guinness Book by that? Anyway, then there has to be a tower that goes higher up than every building around so that we can get the best view of the stars, so that when you're acting like a ten-year-old about injuries or Punjabi colonies or anything, I can take you there and we can sing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars' and try to decide whether they're diamonds or zircons. And we'll have separate cricket and footballs pitches, and one tennis court maybe, for Nisha and Shahneel Di, since that's the only sport they play with us. Maybe we should also offer free training to poor kids, that could be our good deed for every day. And oh, I forgot...we have to start each day with a hand cricket match, and whoever wins gets to call the shots the whole day. You know I'm the better player, so beware of mundane chores, Shubi."

Shubman didn't answer.

"Shubi?"

Shubman's smell in the air seemed to fade suddenly. With that, Ishan's memory went sluggish again.

Where was he?

The last thing he remembered was plummeting through space and an explosion of white in his vision.

He opened his eyes to find that everything was still white. Hazy white, though, unlike the blinding white in the explosion.

He was in a hospital.

When the haze cleared, Ishan found Aditi sitting in front, her face turned to his.

"Hi, Adi-"

Her eyes were sparkling.

For a moment, he thought it was joy that was sparkling.

Then, he saw it was tears that were sparkling.

Tears tracing a zigzagging line down her cheeks.

Ishan reached out for her. "What's wrong?" His voice sounded all croaky. "What's wrong, Adi?"

"Nothing," said Aditi, taking his hands and lowering them gently. "You get better fast, Ishu."

***

You say it best, when you say nothing at all