Chapter Text
“Martin?”
Jules knocked on the door and waited but there was no answer from Martin.
“I will open the door.”
The Frenchman carefully turned the doorknob and peeked inside.
“Martin? Are you sleeping?”
The carpeted floor muffled the sound of footsteps so Jules could reach the center of the room without making any sound.
He naturally checked the bed first, but there was no trace of Martin, only a neatly folded KCORP on the bed and his iconic reddish orange shoes on the floor. His phone screen was blinking with notifications.
Where did Martin go at this hour without his phone?
Their hotel was located was in a safer neighborhood but it was still dangerous going outside at this hour alone, especially for someone who was not familiar with the location.
That was when Jules noticed something golden on the bed.
“What the… cat?”
There it was, a cat half hidden under the jersey, sleeping soundly.
Platinum blond, the color of the cat was ethereal, Jules forgot about everything in the world for a full minute.
“Ouais…”
He removed the t-shirt from the cat’s body with care and he could now see the whole beauty of the cat.
Jules expected to see full platinum blond hair but in turns out it had some black hair around the paws and legs, giving it an exquisite look.
“Wow, très belle.”
The sleeping cat did not wake up so he softly patted the cat, and the small creature stretched his limbs, one of cats’ typical behaviors when they were satisfied. It would be a total lie if the Frenchman did not gasp at the sight of those cute pink jelly bean paws.
“Awww.”
Jules cooed at the cat while scratching the neck of the cat in a practiced manner, and it responded by jerking his head back, relaxing into the touch. It was so adorable seeing it flipping his ears along with the touch.
The Frenchman had a chance to take a look at the cat’s furs and the black hair seemed like it meant something, completely different from the typical tiger-like patterns.
If Rekkles was a cat, this would be the perfect fit.
Wait, Rekkles…
Why was there a cat in Martin’s room?
There was no way this was Martin’s pet since they were only bootcamping in Paris for a few weeks. Martin would neither bring his pet nor adopt one out of blue. Also, the Swede did not breathe a word about having a cat in his room. What were the chances of a stray cat ending up in none other than Martin’s room? One of the guests' in this hotel maybe? But then, the cat looked way too comfortable in a stranger's room.
Martin was the only person who could answer these questions, unfortunately he was not present in his room yet. Since his phone was here, there was no way he could reach the Swede.
Should he tell others about this and Martin’s absence?
Too distracted by the questions in his head, Jules unconsciously stopped the rubbing.
“Meow!”
The cat let out a short annoyed cry, thrashing his tail on the bed.
“I’m sorry… Oh.”
Their eyes met and Jules felt the time froze around him.
Those aqua blue eyes with an extra glint, they were beyond beautiful. One look and Jules felt like he was enchanted by a magic spell.
“Martin…”
A name slipped from the Frenchman’s lips when he saw the cat’s eye color that was similar to Martin’s.
The cat gracefully lifted his head up and silently stared at him as if he was studying Jules’ face.
Jules’ hands automatically started scratching under the chin of the cat and it purred, his eyes closed with satisfaction.
“Aww, do you like it?”
It felt like heaven when the cat started rubbing his face against his hand.
“Oh, God. You are so adorable.”
He lifted the cat in his arms bringing it close to his chest and the cat did not resist, just rubbing his head against Jules’ chest. The incessant purring was music to Jules’ ears.
“Putain, I would’ve taken you home if I didn’t have a cat at home.”
The cat looked up at him and cutely tilted his head.
‘Really?’
The feline eyes were asking.
Jules could hold himself back and kissed on top of the head of this furry creature. He was already so in love with this cat, he would ask Martin about it and if it was not his, Jules would ask the team to keep him in the office.
Everyone in the team loved cats so the Frenchman did not see it as a problem at all.
When was Martin coming back anyway?
After sending a text to his teammates about the whereabouts of the Swede, Jules turned his attention back to the cat that was now sitting quietly on his lap, its head comfortably placed on the Frenchman’s knee.
With a soft smile, Jules softly stroked the back of the cat and it soon fell asleep.
Jules did not miss the chance and took several photos of the cat.
He was thinking about posting them on his instagram, but then his teammates would all come to Martin’s room and disturb the cat’s sleep so he decided against it.
Watching the sleeping cat made him feel sleepy as well. He yawned, but he could not sleep just yet, he had to wait for his ADC, but his eyelashes felt heavy and soon the Frenchman dozed off.
Constant notifications from his phone woke up the Frenchman.
Was Martin back?
Jules looked around but there was still no sign of Martin.
Worried, he abruptly moved, totally forgotten about the cat sleeping on his lap.
“Meow!”
The surprised cat jumped into the air and gave Jules an angry look.
“Sorry.”
Apologizing to the cat, Jules checked his phone.
‘Rekky isn’t in the office.’
‘He must be sleeping in his room.’
‘Did you find him?’
‘Answer dude.’
He kept scrolling down to the recent messages.
‘Dude, come watch this. Bumm will shave his head.’
“Ouais?”
Martin was missing and Bumm was about to shave his head.
What the hell was going on with the team?
For now, he needed to let the team know about the absence of Martin in his room.
“Allo, Lucas, oh, Bumm. Where is Cabo? Oh, is Martin with you by any chance? No? He isn’t in his room. No, uh-”
Jules could not continue his phone call because something bizarre was happening in front of his eyes.
With a small puff, the cat on his lap was gone and there was the missing Swede looking down at Jules with those mesmerizing blue eyes.
“Jules? What happened?”
Despite Bumm’s loud voice, Jules could not take his eyes off the Swede on top of him. While Jules was blankly staring at Martin, the Swede swiftly took the phone out of Jules’ hand and said something into the phone then returned it to the motionless Frenchman.
“How…?”
Jules opened and closed his mouth again like a fish, his big eyes almost popping out.
He was not even aware that Martin helped him get back up.
“Jules, you okay?”
“No, yes, I…”
Was it all his dream? Was he going crazy after playing too many games?
Then he remembered the cat pictures he took. He hastily opened the photo album and there he saw the photos of the sleeping cat. It was not a dream, there really was a cat and it morphed into Martin. But how was that even possible?
“Did you, did you really…?”
“It’s complicated.”
Martin said scratching the back of his head.
“Tell me.”
Jules’ hands desperately clutched onto Martin’s black t-shirt, too afraid of things that would happen if he let go of him.
“Calm down, Jules, I won’t turn for now.”
“For now? What do you-”
Before Jules finished his sentence, someone barged into the room.
“Jules! Are you- Martin! You’re here!”
Bumm and Lucas looked between them and the Turke blushed and Lucas gave them a dirty look.
“Ayaya, we’re interrupting them. Let’s go, Bumm. I guess they won’t be interested in watching you shaving.”
Lucas pushed the younger player towards the door then briefly turned to them.
“Guys, lock the door and use the protection, okay?”
“What, no, it’s not what you’re thinking!”
Embarrassed, Jules pushed Martin away but the barefooted Frenchman just waved his hand at them and left with Bumm.
“Dude! Why didn’t you say anything!”
Jules urged the Swede but Martin bursted into laughter.
“Unbelievable.”
Jules squinted his eyes at the amused Martin, but his annoyance melted away at the Swede’s beautiful laughter.
It’s unfair that he looks so handsome whether he's human or not.
Sighing in defeat, Jules decided to wait until the Swede stopped laughing.
He would not back off before knowing the truth tonight.