The entire team was gathered at the training ground ; the sun hot on their heads. They had the first match of a three day ODI against England the next day ,and Dravid was scrutinizing everyone extra close; he just couldn't afford anymore slip ups from the team.

The training session itself was not too brutal considering they had a match just the next day. Dravid made them warm up with their trainers and then split them into two teams to play against each other.

Shubman and Ishan were on the same team as always; Dravid did this intentionally to further improve the already unreal partnership they had on the pitch. It was like their brains worked as one or there was some sort of mind reading that only they could do. Only if he knew just how 'compatible' they were off the pitch as well...

After the sessions, they went over a few tactical instructions by the trainers in the office; a huge screen displaying their videos from previous matches , their mistakes were corrected , positions explained for the upcoming match and almost everything cleared up before the next day.

Even though the training itself was not so straining, everyone seemed to be absolutely drained by all the pressure and stress for the next day. Everyone piled into the locker rooms , some chatting away while the others immediately rushed into the showers.

After Ishan was done showering, he stepped out into the locker room and changed into his clothes while talking to Mayank about their weekend plans, which he promised not to bail on this time. Mayank left first, saying he needed to rush home to watch his favourite show which would start soon. Ishan could only laugh at his bestfriend; his habit of getting immediately hooked to certain series and shows was still just the same as they had been when they were 11.

His eyes scanned for Shubman as if on autopilot. He noticed him talking and laughing in the corner with Virat and Shreyas, Ishan slowly walked up to them and stood behind Shubman.

Virat immediately noticed him and pinched his cheeks.

"Aww.... Shubman look, the baby wants your attention.." he spoke smiling bright, and gesturing his head towards the older boy.

Ishan hated how the older boys babied him and treated him like a kid, calling him cute every chance they got. He understands that they did it out of adoration but he couldn't help but get mad at it.

"Oh please Virat Bhai, I'm older than Mr.Gill here..." He muttered, his eyebrows frowning deeply.

Shubman turned to smile at him, his eyes shining even in the locker room lightening, even he brought up his hands to gently pinch the older's cheeks. He couldn't help it himself, Ishan looked so soft with his fluffy messy hair after the shower.

"Guys, I think we'll be leaving now. The baby's nearing his bedtime." He spoke, fist bumping the two boys and dragging Ishan along.

"Goodbye kids" he heard Shreyas say, rufling his hair.

Ishan's frown only got deeper, he hated being treated like a child by his own teammates, people who were supposed to consider him as their equal and not a literal baby.

The entire ride to his appartment Ishan's thoughts were occupied by what he could do so that he seemed more 'mature' to his teammates. He didn't even noticed that Shubman had missed the turn to his house and was now pulling up at his own appartment.

"Shubi, I need to go home. We have a match tomorrow ," he spoke , trying his best not to whine.

"You can sleepover tonight..." the younger replied the nonchalance evident on his tone, he kept one hand on the wheel and the other on Ishan's thigh, as he parked the car on the garage.

"I can't be sore tomorrow" the older mumbled, thinking the younger was implying something else and trying his best not to turn red.

The younger couldn't help but smile at his cuteness.

"Who said I'm doing anything to you tonight?"

"Huh..." Ishan felt his mouth open, eyes wide with embarrassment. He resorted to slapping the younger's shoulder harshly.

"Ouch!" Shubman flinched but laughed at the same time. He grabbed the older's hand and intertwined their fingers settling them over his lap.

"What about my clothes ? We can't slip up in public with wardrobe malfunctions.." he said, the media would never stop talking about the Starboys who are a little 'too close' even sharing clothes...

"I have some of the clothes you left over last weekend, but if you don't want to wear that tomorrow, we can make a quick stop at your house before leaving. " Shubman replied patiently; he knew how easily the older gave himself to overthinking and worries.

Shubman was always calm and tranquil like this, bringing Ishan down from his burning heart.

"Okay..." the older finally sighed out.

They got out the car and headed into the appartment, Ishan went straight into the kitchen, looking into Shubman's refrigerator and pantry for ingredients to cook something healthy; since they had a match the next day, they just couldn't eat takeout , their bodies required proper nourishment.

Ishan wasn't necessarily a chef; he was however, taught how to cook for himself from a young age since he was brought up by a mother who didn't believe in gender roles and strived to make her two sons to cook and clean on their own. This made him wonder if his own other with such modern values accept if her son came out as gay.

He was chopping the vegetables, still in his thoughts when he felt arms twisting round his waist from behind. He felt Shubman's breath against the back of his neck and couldn't stop the goosebumps from breaking out on his skin .

"What're you making?" he asked.

"Chicken soup for us. Or should I go to sleep since my 'bedtime' is nearing?" he asked sarcastically.

The younger frowned at him, taking a brief moment to recall his own words said earlier.

"That was just a joke, Ishu... I'm sorry if that made you upset " he made a sad face , resting his chin on Ishan's shoulder looking at him .

"Might've been a joke to you, not me."

"Lemme make it up to you babe" Shubman whispered as his hands trailed under Ishan's shirt.

Ishan was having none of it as he dropped the knife , grabbed unto the younger's wrists and removed them from his waist. He turned around to face him and pushed him back; hands flat against his chest.

"Shubi, please just leave me alone... Go play FIFA or something" he raised his voice, slightly irritated.

"You can't tell me what to do Ishu, " the younger replied, his tone still calm and gentle almost coaxing the older into forgiveness.

"Fine" Ishan sighed, " do what you want". And with that he returned to pay attention to his vegetables again.

The younger's arms found their way back to Ishan's waist and held them there . His lips were back on his neck kissing gently.

"I'm sorry." *Kiss*

"I'm sorry." *Kiss *

"I'm sorry. " *Kiss*

"I'm sorry..." *Kiss.*

He attacked Ishu continuously with the sweet torture.

"Okay okay!! Fine. I forgive you. Now can you leave?" Ishan asked.

"No, I just wanna hold you a little longer."

And so that's how Ishan cooked their meal, struggling to move around while the younger latched onto him like a leech, planting random kisses along his neck,his jaw, his cheek, basically anywhere he could reach.

The older was down bad, he couldn't believe his stupidity for enjoying these brief moments of domesticity he had with the older...

Surprisingly the soup turned out absolutely delicious. They completely devoured it leaving nothing behind.

Shubman offered to do the dishes while Ishan went upstairs to the bedroom to brush his teeth and wash his face before bed.

He was searching for something to wear to sleep when the younger walked into the room .

"Can you lend me one of your shirts and pants to sleep in, I don't wanna ruin these clothes" he asked, pointing to the wardrobe.

Shubman took out a soft pink cotton shirt for the older and passed it to him.

"What about the pants?" Ishan asked confused.

"Come on, Ishu... You don't need pants in this burning weather anyways. The shirt will be big enough for you." Shibman insisted smiling suggestively, secretly though he just wanted to feel the older's bare legs on top of his.

"Lemme just remind you that you said you wouldn't do anything cause I can't be sore for tomorrow's match ..." Ishan argued.

"And I still stand by my word babe" Shubman said holding up his hands.
The older sighed as he changed into the slightly oversized shirt that covered only a teeny tiny portion of his thighs. Come on, it was a shirt afterall, how long could it possibly be...

Ishan climbed into the soft matress of the bed and made himself comfortable on the side. He could hear the younger in the bathroom with the tap running, finally he heard him close the bathroom door and switch the lights off and felt the bed dip as he climbed onto the spot right next to the older.

The younger always slept without a shirt on, just in his sweatpants.He had told Ishan that he felt suffocated to sleep in shirts; his chest covered and the collars coming up to his neck , he'd rather be free from them clinging to his chest.

The older felt Shubman get close to him and press his chest flush against the older's back ; spooning him. He could feel the heat from his bare skin seep through his shirt and soak into him. He yawned sleepily; content with the warmth and soon drifted off to sleep.

Every night Shubman found it hard to lose himself to sleep even after crashing into bed. The older's presence helped, but he still couldn't sleep even with the peacefull rhythm of Ishan breathing in and out against his chest. The younger slid his hand under Ishan's shirt and placed it over his naked waist, he really needed to look into this obsession he'd developed lately with the older's waist.

Shubman sighed at the thought of Ishan; if only things were different, if Shubman wasn't Shubman and Ishan wasn't Ishan then maybe .... they'd be so much more than what they were now. Shubman liked to think that maybe in another life, he'd be just a university student without a care in the world and Ishan would be there too; and maybe... just maybe...or rather surely, in that life they'd be together. But ofcourse he'd never voice that out to Ishan...

He was just drifting off to sleep when he heard his phone bleep with a notification. He thought of ignoring it but then considering how he'd just recovered from his injuries; he wondered if it was from his doctors giving reports of recent tests for the match next day.

He stretched out his hand, too lazy to move away from Ishan and searched around in the dark for his phone on the table . He finally grabbed hold of it and unlocked it, his eyes widening at the notification:

Sara💖: Shub, can we talk?? ?

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A/N : Likes and comments are appreciated if you have time!! ✨💞💖