"Move in?" Ishan asked for confirmation and the younger one hummed in response. "Isn't it too early for that?"

"There was a sniper in a building near her house," he told him about the evening. "I just know it was for her."

If it was for him, there wouldn't have been a wait so long when he had the chance.

Because they wanted him to see you crumble right in front of his eyes. To see his greatest strength and his biggest weakness perish in his arms. To hit him where it truly hurts.

Of course, Shubman always made sure you had security around you.

The chances of you being attacked in plain sight are less, but never zero.

Would things be different if he hadn't seen the sniper? What if there was another attempt and he wasn't there to protect you? What if he fails you, his love and his purpose?

Just then, his phone rang and he didn't even care to look at the caller ID before answering it on speaker, proceeding to throw it across the speaker.

"Where there is Gill, there is a way," an irritating voice said through the call.

The level of annoyance Shubman felt couldn't even be described. He was supposed to drop you home after a happy day like the previous ones, knowing he loves you and you love him.

"Cut the crap, Sid," he said, not in the mood for puns.

"Well, it's the only thing I want to tell you since you found your beloved a way out of death," he replied in a relaxed manner. "Shubman Gill finally has a soft spot, huh?"

"Is it just me or does that really sound perverted?" Ishan chipped in.

"Just know that I could've killed her that instant if I wanted to," Sidharth said. "She lives because I let you kill my man. It's not for your count."

On a side note, he preferred snipers over anything.

"Maybe keep your schedule free for the next attempt too, Shubi," he said over the phone.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's in love with you," Ishan added observantly.

"Alright? I'll see you at the next shootout with my brother," Sidharth told nonchalantly. "Don't be late, Shubman," and with that, the call ended.

"At this point, I'm actually starting to doubt it. He's so obsessed with you, Shub," Ishan sighed and muttered to himself in the end. "Competition."

When he looked at the younger one still glaring at the wall, he tapped his shoulder.

"This guy is more like Sid from Ice Age," he said, trying to get some kind of reaction. "Don't let him rile you up."

"He dared to," Shubman muttered. "He managed to get that close."

Losing you was just unacceptable. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he let that happen.

"I've told you, Ishu. I've never felt this way for anyone else and I finally know how to tell her," he said. "Now I can show Y/n how much I love her. She's with me."

He looked at Ishan with the eyes of a deranged man who was ready to burn the whole world down if it meant keeping you safe.

No matter how many times he voiced it out, it was just not enough. You were his love, weren't you? His purpose, his sanity. You kept him sane, after all.

He wanted to paint those words with blood on the walls of hell.

You have so much effect on him and you didn't even know to what extent.

"I'm crazy about her, Ishan," Shubman said as if he was possessed. "She can tell me to put a bullet in my own head and I will do it."

Thus, he can't let you go.

"Y/n is never going to ask you to put a bullet in your own head," Ishan repeated the words as a matter of fact. "And if you want her to move in with you, just ask her."

He eyed the younger for a second longer.

"The next time you scare me with this kind of monologue, I'm telling Shahneel," he warned.

Who knows? Maybe they'll even perform an exorcism on him.

William Shakespeare said, 'Hell is empty and all the devils are here.' And Ishan felt it now.