"Oh, God, Shubman, why did you drink so much?" Ishan sighed, looking at Shubman's totally wasted state.

"Ishan? Is that you?" Shubman mumbled, blinking owlishly at him.

Abhishek snickered even though he felt very concerned for his friend, it's just Shubman looks so funny right now, "Dude, sit back down," He said, trying to make him sit.

"No," Shubman swatted away his hand, turning to the drink counter again, "I wanna drink more,"

"No, you're not drinking anymore," Ishan glared at him, snatching the glass away from him.

"You're so mean," Shubman mumbled, pouting as he slumped down on his chair.

"I'll go take him to the room," Abhishek muttered.

"No, no, I'll take him," Ishan intervened, "You go to Mayu, he was looking for you,"

"Are you sure, Ishan?"

"Yeah, I am," Ishan smiled.

"Okay, the room is there," Abhishek muttered, pointing to a particular direction, "In the left towards the corner. You can also rest there if you want to or come back to the party, or even go home if you want to,"

Ishan nodded as he helped Shubman up, "Let's go, Shubi,"

"Where are we going?" Shubman asked excitedly.

"Well, you're going to sleep," Ishan replied.

"No, I don't wanna sleep," Shubman whined.

"Shubi," Ishan mumbled as Shubman stopped in his tracks, "Don't be stubborn. Are you not going to listen to me now?"

"Fine," Shubman pouted, "I'll listen to you,"

"Now, that's more like it," Ishan smiled, ruffling his hair, "Come on,"

He somehow dragged him to the room since Shubman was too drunk to even walk straight.

"Okay, sleep now," Ishan breathed as he sat Shubman on the bed after helping him remove his shoes.

"Nahi, abhi nahi," Shubman mumbled, pulling him down and snuggling in his side.

Ishan's heart skipped a beat, like it always does whenever Shubman's in a close proximity, "Shubi, what are you doing? Let go,"

Shubman didn't say anything for a while, until Ishan felt his shoulder getting wet. He panicked, pulled back to see Shubman crying.

"Oh, my God, Shubi, why are you crying?" Ishan asked.

Shubman didn't reply, just kept wailing loudly. Each sob felt like a knife piercing through Ishan's heart, his own eyes watering. You're not supposed to cry right now, Ishan. You have to calm him down.

Ishan took a deep breath, holding Shubman's face and making him look at himself, "Here, look at me, Shubi. Tell me what's wrong, maybe we can figure something out,"

"There's nothing to figure out," Shubman mumbled, almost choking on his own tears.

"Please, tell me first, maybe we can find something," Ishan muttered softly, grasping Shubman's hands in his own, "Or if not, you can atleast feel a little lighter by talking about it,"

Shubman was starting to calm down a bit, but some tears were still there, "You will hate me if I tell you,"

"I'll never hate you, Shubi," Ishan smiled softly. I CAN never hate you.

Shubman sniffled, messily wiping away his tears, "I think, no not think, I'm sure that I like you,"

"What?" Ishan mumbled, it didn't sounded above a whisper, almost inaudible. He didn't know what to feel about this revelation. His heart skipped a beat and there was a tiny bit of happiness but more than that he was scared, petrified even. For obvious reasons. Till now he was thinking he'll probably try to suppress and get rid of these feelings he have for Shubman but what now?

"I'm sorry," Shubman mumbled, his lips quivering as he was on the verge of tears again. This time seeing tears in his eyes felt more painful for Ishan, almost heart-shattering as he felt like he was the reason Shubman was crying.

"It's okay, it's not your fault," Ishan mumbled as he pulled Shubman in a hug, rubbing his back.

"I'm sorry, Ish. I didn't mean for it to happen, I'm so sorry," Shubman burst out into tears again, muttering sorry over and over again, his whole body trembling and Ishan has never felt more helpless, so fucking helpless. He wants to do something, anything to make this better, ease Shubman and his own pain as well. But what can he even do? His own eyes glistened, leaking along his cheeks as he heard Shubman crying, he could physically feel his heart breaking into pieces.

"It's okay," He mumbled. It's not okay, it's not fucking okay. Ishan has never had any problem with the soulmate system before, he always thought having a destined soulmate was cool, how they felt an unknown connection with someone they didn't even know was really magical in a way. But right now this soulmate system seemed nothing more than a barrier, a chain tying them to the ground and stopping them from finding their happiness, 'cause right now the only happiness Ishan could see was Shubman.

Shubman pulled back from the hug, still sniffing as he looked up at Ishan with tear filled eyes. Ishan had always found his eyes beautiful and bright, so damn bright like they hold all the stars in them, but right now those same eyes were filled with such profound and intense sorrow that literally sent searing pain spreading throughout his heart.

Ishan could care less about everything else as he lifted his hand up to wipe away Shubman's tears, he desperately wished he could also wipe his pain away just like this.

Shubman closed his eyes, involuntarily leaning into the touch, Ishan's touch felt burning against his skin but at the same time it felt like the only thing that could heal his heart.

"Ishan, I know none of it matters since there's no way we can be together, probably you don't even like me, but," Shubman mumbled, his eyes still closed, "I don't know how and when this happened, but I had grown very attached to you, I know there's no future of us but if there was then I would want to laugh with you, sing with you, dance with you, cook with you, travel with you, throughout the whole wide world. I would want to live with you and most importantly I feel like I would want to learn how to love you, just like the way you deserve,"

He opened his eyes, giving Ishan a small smile that seemed extremely sad, "I know it might sound so fucking stupid and selfish and you probably wouldn't even believe me but at this point, I don't care who my soulmate is, I just want to be with you," He mumbled and he meant every single word, even though the thought of rejecting his destined soulmate pained his heart, he was sure a life without Ishan would be much more painful, "But I know all of this is just going to be an unfulfilled desire and that breaks my heart," He added with a sigh.

Ishan felt like crying his heart out right now, maybe he wants all of these things as well, he also wants to be with Shubman, more than anything. Why does fate have to be so cruel? Why?

Shubman smiled softly, wiping away the tear that slid down Ishan's cheek. That's when Ishan realised he was actually crying.

Shubman leaned closer to him, pecking his forehead, maybe for the first and last time, "I'm sorry,"

More tears leaked along Ishan's cheek at the contact and his words.

"You should go sleep," Shubman murmured softly, "I'm sleepy as well,"

Ishan closed his eyes, not moving at all. Well, fuck it, who cares who his soulmate is? Is a bond decided by the universe that necessary to be happy? There had been a few people who had dared defy this soulmate system and still found their happiness, Ishan wouldn't mind being one of them. Everything will be fine as long as he get to be with Shubman.

He opened his eyes, "Shubman-"

"Fuck," Shubman cursed, he was trying to drink water but his wobbly hands literally spilled all the water on his shirt, "What the fuck is wrong with me?" He mumbled to himself, frustrated as he fiddled with his button before removing his shirt and throwing it away. He lay down to sleep without looking at Ishan once, he'd definitely cry again if he looked at him. Maybe sleep can help him escape his problems, even if just for a few hours. It didn't took him even a minute to fall asleep considering how much he had drank. He had also exhausted himself by crying for so long and so much.

Ishan was frozen in his place, his eyes stuck on Shubman's sleeping figure, particularly on his soulmark, right above his heart, a moon and sun connected by an eternity symbol, the only difference to his own soulmark was that the moon in Shubman's soulmark was filled while the sun was empty.

He heaved a shaky breath, standing up and walking closer to Shubman. He extended his trembling hand, fingers lightly gracing Shubman's soulmark before he immediately retrieved it back, his heartbeat in his ears.

OH, MY GOD!! OH, MY GOD!! OH, MY GOD!!

Ishan covered his mouth with his hand, tears escaping his eyes again but this time they weren't of sadness, it was joy instead.

He sat beside Shubman, a huge smile smearing his face, eyes still filled with tears, "My moon," He whispered, extending his hand to gently caress Shubman's hair, "You're my moon, Shubi, my moon, Oh, God,"

Ishan chuckled weakly, leaning down to plant a kiss on Shubman's forehead who smiled even in his sleep. He wiped away the tear that dripped onto Shubman's cheek before getting up and covering the man with a duvet.

Again pecking his forehead, Ishan lay down beside him to sleep. I'll talk to him in the morning. He thought, closing his eyes. Okay, he don't hate this soulmate system anymore. Everything will be fine as long as he get to be with Shubman.