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Virgil walks through the aisles of AXA as soon as the bus drops them off at home. All he needs now is a good snack from the cafeteria and he can go home in peace with Alisson, after all, it's been a while since Ali came back with him. The weather was mild, a light rain falling over the city plunged into night. A sign that spring was truly coming.
When he arrived at the cafeteria, all the other boys were already there, including the youngest ones, who had stayed there to watch the game. Silently, Virgil takes the opportunity to count if everyone is really there or if someone is missing, so he can go after them and look for them. Eyes widening, he realizes something. Alisson is missing. Feeling his blood freeze in his veins, Virgil claps his hands, drawing everyone's attention to him.
"Alisson isn't here. Has anyone seen him?"
"Look," Mo begins, scratching his beard. "He told me he was going to take a walk around the halls, that he was tired."
"He looked really exhausted when we got here." Kelleher speaks, arms crossed over his chest, a worried look on his face.
"Right." Virgil sighs. At least Ali was at AXA. "You can have dinner in peace. I'll look for him."
"I'll go with you." Macca says, standing up and putting his cell phone in his pocket.
Virgil shrugs and smiles. "Of course. Let's go."
The two men begin the challenge of looking for Alisson. Since he was a big man, it wasn't exactly difficult to find him. But this task was proving particularly difficult. No matter where they went, Ali wasn't there. Gym, recreation room, the synthetic grass space, not even on the lawns outside the goalkeeper was there. Macca and Virgil exchange worried looks. It had been at least ten minutes of searching and nothing really convincing had happened that proved Ali was okay.
"Virgil? Macca?" Mo's voice resonates through the empty hallway. The two men turned around almost immediately. The Egyptian is holding a large Maine Coon in his arms, with spotted fur and blue eyes. "I think I found Ali."
Virgil hits his forehead with his hand. Of course! Ali is a shapeshifter, he would obviously choose his favorite breed of cat to transform into if he was tired. Cats are sneaky and silent. Surely Alisson had transformed into this big, beautiful cat and looked for some quiet corner without others knowing his current form.
"Of course he would turn into a cat." Virgil laughs, approaching the big cat as Mo sets him down. "Hello, Ali."
The cat purrs when Virgil rubs his chin. Macca approaches. "Last time it was a bear. Why a cat this time?"
"I don't know." Mo studies the feline with his eyes. "But it's funny how he always chooses things that look like him."
"A big, silly, furry cat." Virgil kisses the cat's nose, which lowers its ears, as if it were shy. "He even has Ali's shyness."
The three men laugh. With his hand brushing the top of Ali's head, Virgil guides him to the cafeteria, but Ali refuses to go in, eyes getting big, like he's scared. Virgil kneels in front of the feline and gently scratches behind its ears, enjoying the deep, calming purr.
"Don't you want to come in?" Ali meows in response, making Virgil smile. "Okay... Let's go home then, I'm sure you'll feel better there."
It's strange to drive with a cat lying in the back seat of the car, but Virgil thinks it's funny how the feline purrs when the songs Ali likes are played on the generic Spotify playlist. It's like he wants to sing too and that's cute. Virgil keeps an eye on Alisson the entire time, internally worried about all this exhaustion. Had he exhausted himself too much? Virgil is frustrated with himself for not going to visit him.
At Virgil's house, Alisson is fed boiled chicken and some bread soaked in milk. It's a little gross, but the cat seems to be enjoying his little feast and that's good enough for Virgil, who will sit on the couch after dinner. The television turns on and soon Ali appears too, big curious eyes and paws that barely make a sound as he sits almost in Virgil's lap, asking to be petted as he pushes his head against his Dutchman's hand.
"You slacker." Virgil says fondly, fingers tangling in the silky fur.
There's not much he can do with so much silence. Normally, Virgil and Ali would talk, but cats can't talk and Alisson decided to be a very realistic shapeshifter, imitating every possible cat mannerism. While watching television, Virgil notices that Alisson's fur is shorter and frizzier than before. Looking at his lap, he almost lets out a scream. Alisson had transformed back into a human. Virgil feels his cheeks flush. Of course, he would be the one who could make Alisson comfortable enough to get back to normal.
"Hey." He playfully scratches behind his ear.
"Hmm?" Ali mumbles, watching the movie on television.
"Feeling better? Still really tired?"
"Better. Thank you."
Virgil gently pulls Ali up, locking eyes with him. Ali is so beautiful like that, tired blue eyes, but that smile complemented by naturally rosy cheeks. Ali is beautiful like a cat, but Virgil prefers him as a human, to hear his voice forever.
"Sorry." He says as he gently kisses Alisson's mouth.
"Virg." Alisson scolds him and kisses him back. "We've already talked about this."
"But- it's just that I-"
"Sh." Alisson silences him with another kiss, this one longer. "I've already forgiven you. We're both imperfect. But I love you. It would be impossible for me to hate you."
Virgil hugs him tightly, burying his head in his shoulder. The film is forgotten for a few good minutes. Now, he just wants to feel the warmth of his lover against him, his cat, his prince, the man who stole his heart and who he desperately wants to marry.