This was written for the FUCKYEAHRAINBOWSIX Valentines event on Tumblr, back during the month of February.
A purrfectly normal day
A scratching sound awoke Glaz, coming from the other side of the corridor. His first idea was that Kapkan had already returned from his hunting trip, although it was odd he came in the middle of the night, instead of camping somewhere and returning next morning as he usually did. Still, it was a perfectly reasonable explanation for the noises coming precisely from Kapkan's room. Or so he thought, until the strange scratch sounds continued and continued. It sounded like an animal, but that was ridiculous, Kapkan didn't bring animals back alive from his trips.
Curiosity getting the best of him, Glaz got up from the bed and went out into the corridor. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes to make sure he was seeing things correctly. A huge ball of fur was desperately clawing on Kapkan's door. Since when did Kapkan have a pet? The animal sat down, looking at Glaz, and meowed, the wailing and pitiful sound not befitting for such a big cat. Perhaps he was still dreaming, but in that case, it was one of the most bizarre dreams he'd ever had. Glaz took one step forward, hand stretched towards the feline. The animal took a step back and faced Kapkan's bedroom door again. It got up on its hind paws as if trying to reach to the handle.
Glaz knocked on the door, softly, since he did not want to wake up anyone else. There was no answer. Sighing, he opened the door a fraction, just enough to poke his head in and see if Kapkan was there, but the cat slipped between Glaz's leg and the wooden frame, jumping into the dark room. Feeling a bit like Alice chasing the rabbit, Glaz stepped into the room and turned on the lights. It was empty as he expected, no signs of Kapkan's return. The cat had jumped onto the pillow and was looking around as if it were expecting something.
"C'mon kitty, you can't be here," Glaz went to grab the cat, but it jumped down and hid under the bed.
Oh great. Glaz was tired and wanted to go back to sleep, not chase the mysterious cat out of Kapkan's room. He knew the hunter wouldn't appreciate it if Glaz let the cat roam around, and even if they were currently angry at each other, he wasn't a jerk. He knelt down to peer under the bed and extended his arm to grab the cat. The animal scooted further away from Glaz, hiding in a darker spot and meowing mournfully.
He made the typical kissy sound people used to get a cat's attention, feeling only slightly silly while doing it, "Come here, kitty. Be a good cat, come here."
This was what his life had become, laying on the floor and talking to a strange cat at three in the morning. Honestly, if this all turned out to be a dream, it would make more sense than being real. The animal didn't seem inclined to move at all, and Glaz knew that sticking his arm there to drag the cat out forcefully was a bad idea. Out of options and with his brain more asleep than awake, Glaz decided to sleep on Kapkan's room. Eventually, the cat would get out of there, and he would catch it. And in the meantime, well, it wouldn't be the first time he spent the night on this bed.
The sheets were cold, but as soon as Glaz put his head on the pillow, he was enveloped by what he identified as Kapkan's smell, mainly a mix of his aftershave, leather and the oil he used for his knives. The sniper sighed in frustration. If they hadn't argued, he would be sleeping next to his boyfriend, not chasing strange cats and being angry at himself for already missing Kapkan when he had been gone for only a day at most. But of course, he missed the hunter; Glaz always missed him when he was gone, and was romantic enough that he hoped Kapkan missed him too.
If due to their foolishness Glaz couldn't lie in bed draped over his boyfriend, this was the next best thing. He just needed to sleep, and tomorrow would be another day. Hopefully, a better and less weird one.
He woke up hours later, a warm weight pressed against his side. Glaz extended his hand, and it landed on a mass of fur, which started to purr loudly when he petted it. Perhaps the cat was friendlier than what Glaz had first imagined. In fact, he was alternating between licking Glaz's hand and rubbing his head against it. Okay, the critter was adorable, but he couldn't keep him. Getting a pet should be a more thought out decision, not adopting the first stray he saw.
"What am I going to do with you?" Glaz said to the cat, sitting up on the bed and scratching his furry head.
The cat looked up at him as if he had understood every word, settled on Glaz's lap and purred even louder, head-butting his other hand in a demand to be petted again. Glaz quickly discovered his steely resolve didn't seem to apply when Kapkan or cute animals were involved. He lost the battle before it even began.
Glaz scooped the big cat in his arms to get him out of Kapkan's bedroom, and the cat did not protest or try to jump away. In fact, he loved being in Glaz's arms and wanted to remain there, clinging with his claws to the shirt when the sniper tried to put him on the ground. After much trying, Glaz eventually pried the cat off of him and used the opportunity to change out of his sleeping clothes. The cat waited patiently, watching him get dressed, and once Glaz was done he jumped on his arms again. Instead of clinging to him like before, the cat climbed higher, using Glaz's shoulders as a perch to sit. It was like wearing a warm and fluffy collar, only this one purred and flicked his tail against Glaz's neck.
It was surprising how accepting everyone was of the giant cat riding on his shoulders. Of all the people present when he strode in the canteen with the cat riding on his shoulders, only Tachanka asked him questions. The rest just threw a glance at them and carried on with their breakfast as if this was a common occurrence.
"Where did that come from?" Tachanka pointed at the cat, who chose that moment to jump from Glaz to the table, interested in Tachanka's breakfast. "Shoo, get your own food."
"Found him last night scratching Kapkan's door," Glaz explained while sitting down with a plate of food, he was ravenous. "I don't know how he got in."
"And you just decided to keep it?"
Glaz grimaced and shrugged, unsure of how to tell them he only needed two minutes to get almost as attached to the cat as the cat seemed to be attached to him. Meanwhile, the cat sauntered along the table, begging for food. Finka looked faintly amused to see Fuze cooing quietly at the monster cat while feeding him scraps of his blinis.
"What did you name him?" Fuze asked between getting a bite for himself and tearing a piece for the cat.
"I haven't thought of a name yet."
Little did Glaz imagine that would be read as an invitation to find a name and that he would spend the rest of the breakfast rejecting his teammates' increasingly ridiculous suggestions.
It was interesting watching the rest of the base interact with the cat, which he would not call Mr. Fluffy despite Finka's insistence that it was the best name. Soon Glaz discovered the cat, while sociable and affectionate with him and the rest of the team, was an asshole to people in general. And since the cat followed him everywhere like a dog, Glaz had the opportunity to see many people reacting to his newly acquired pet.
The first one was Alibi, who crossed paths with him in the corridor. The usually composed and aloof woman saw the cat trailing behind him and her expression changed, smiling like she'd seen a long lost friend. She bent down, making the same kissy sounds Glaz used to try to lure the cat from under the bed, and extended her hand to pet him. The cat growled, flattening his ears against his head and looking at Alibi's hand in distaste.
"Tu hai un caratterino, micio," she cooed. Instead of petting him, she booped the cat's nose and got her hand swatted away with a warning hiss.
After that unexpected interaction, she nodded at Glaz and walked away as regal as always. Fascinating, he had seen her smile more in this minute than in the months he'd known her.
After that, Glaz went back to his room to get his easel and paints. It was a nice day for painting, and the view from the living room area was great. He wanted to set his easel there, and not only because he had a perfect view of the entrance from there. The fact he could see everyone who came into the base had nothing to do with it, or that Kapkan was probably coming back soon. Glaz was picking up his painting materials when someone knocked on the door. He opened it to reveal Blitz, who looked excited like a child on Christmas.
"I heard you have a cat! Where did you find him? And what did you name him?"
Oh right, Blitz adored cats. He was always showing the photos of his cat and talking about her like she was his daughter, of course he'd be interested in Glaz's mysterious cat.
"It appeared out of nowhere, I don't even know how he got inside the base," Glaz replied with a minuscule shrug. The cat chose that moment to appear, rubbing against Glaz's legs and meowing softly, almost like a question.
"Ooh! What a beautiful, fluffy boy you are!" Blitz used that kind of voice people sometimes use with animals and children, high pitched and annoying to whoever else was standing around. "I think we have some leftover dry cat food on the storage, from when I tried to feed those strays. I'll bring it to you."
"Sure, thank you," Glaz told him, forestalling the German's movement to touch the cat since Glaz saw the animal flattening his ears and growling again. The cat didn't like to be touched unless it was him. Or Fuze. Or Tachanka. Or Finka. He hoped the list of people the animal tolerated would expand once Kapkan came back from his hunting trip.
Blitz went to find the cat food while Glaz settled his easel and painting materials on the living room. The cat remained at his heels all the time, and Glaz once again thought he acted like a small dog. However, the only dog example he could think of was Sledge's corgi, and the cat so far behaved better than the hyperactive Diana, thank goodness. Blitz returned with a bowl of cat food and left it next to a window, in case the animal was hungry. He then left, not without trying to pet the cat again and getting a hissed and scratched for his troubles. It was all the confirmation Glaz needed: his cat was an asshole. But then he looked at Glaz with those adorable blue eyes and Glaz was unable to scold him.
Painting usually relaxed him, but today Glaz was restless, adding colour aimlessly to his canvas while he checked the entrance path again and again. It was almost mid-morning, Kapkan was about to arrive, and Glaz wanted to kiss him and hug him and solve their stupid argument before it festered between them. He was so distracted he didn't hear Caveira coming in, but in his own defence, Glaz would point out Caveira barely made any noise when walking. Most puzzling was the fact she came in with a cardboard box in her arms. Caveira looked at Glaz, Glaz looked at her and her strange cargo.
"Cats love boxes," she said somewhat defensive. Glaz was sure he wasn't hiding well the amused smile blooming on his face. He was discovering a different side of so many people today.
Caveira huffed and left the box next to the food bowl. The cat, who had been lying on the floor next to Glaz, ran to investigate the cardboard offering. He jumped into the box and seemed as pleased as Caveira herself.
"See? I told you." Caveira crouched, wiggling her fingers over one side of the box and not uttering a single sound of protest when the cat caught her, claws digging into her skin. "You have acquired another fine hunter."
She played a bit more with the cat until it scratched all her fingers, then she left as silently as she had come. Glaz suspected that of all the visitors so far, Caveira had probably been the cat's favorite. And she also had given Glaz a good idea.
"I think we found your name. What do you think, Hunter?" The cat looked at him, blinked, then meowed softly. Glaz would take that as a yes.
Lunchtime arrived, but Kapkan didn't. The Spetsnaz table was oddly quiet, Kapkan's absence the proverbial elephant in the room that nobody wanted to acknowledge.
The only one happy was Hunter, who was reaping food scraps from everyone. Glaz tried to get him to eat cat food, but Hunter had sniffed the bowl's content and looked at Glaz like the sniper had offended his whole lineage.
"He'll be fine," Tachanka said to no one in particular. "Maxim is a great hunter, he'll be back soon with a funny story to tell. I'm sure."
The fact Tachanka was trying to reassure them all only proved he was worried too. Nobody replied, but Glaz saw his doubts reflected on Finka's face. The rest of the meal was depressingly silent.
Glaz spent the whole afternoon transforming his anxiety in paintings, splotches of dark color violently crisscrossing the canvas. And, as before, Hunter observed Glaz work from his cardboard fortress. He was occasionally interrupted from his artistic maelstrom, usually when someone passed too close to the box and became the victim of Hunter's new pastime of attacking ankles. Smoke thought it was funny and tried to train the cat to attack his feet. While Hunter had only been sweet and affectionate with Glaz, the cat had an undeniable mean streak. Glaz saw how Hunter struck Smoke's boots and prayed the cat wouldn't claw like that anyone's exposed feet; otherwise they'd probably need to go visit Doc.
"Wait, I want to try something!" Smoke said, running into the kitchen. He re-appeared shortly after with a cucumber, much to Glaz's surprise.
Smoke took out his phone, then set the cucumber on the ground, behind Hunter. The cat had been looking at Glaz, chirping to get his attention away from the canvas, but turned around when he felt Smoke's presence. Hunter jumped, no, somersaulted into the air, doing a backflip while Smoke laughed his ass off. Then the cat ran to Smoke and climbed his leg, viciously clawing at him and making Smoke's laugh turn into yells to get the cat off of him. Glaz looked at the scene, trying to hide his grin. Surely this was a valuable lesson for Smoke, but Hunter was having fun, and a few scratch marks were nothing to worry about. Eventually, he got up and pried Hunter away from the other man. At least Smoke laughed it all off as good fun and promised Glaz to send him the video he recorded with his phone.
The sun started to set, painting the sky in deep reds and oranges like Glaz did on the canvas, and Kapkan hadn't arrived yet. Glaz had tried to call Kapkan, but he hadn't answered. Same with the message the sniper sent. Denying the mounting worry he felt would be useless, not when all Glaz was doing was spacing out while looking at the door and petting Hunter, who had been demanding cuddles loudly and now purred equally loudly on his arms. Logically, there was no proof that something had happened. The fact Kapkan always came back early to mid-morning didn't mean he couldn't come any other time, even as it was already getting dark. Right?
After getting one too many odd stares from everyone passing by, Glaz put Hunter on the couch and picked up his painting materials. Perhaps it was his imagination, but he could feel everyone's pity when they saw him staring at the door with Hunter on his arms, and it had been a close call that he didn't snap at any of them. The only one who approached him was Ela, but only because she was curious about the cat. Glaz had tried to warn her that Hunter didn't like people, more so after Smoke's prank. It was hard to believe when the cat was rubbing against his legs and sprawling on the floor, practically begging attention from the sniper.
Despite Glaz's best efforts, Ela learnt first-hand what it was to have a huge, pissed off and hissing cat jump at her. Glaz had to intervene to pick up Hunter, again, and this was quickly becoming a pattern. She only had a couple of shallow scratches, but after that fiasco she kept her eyes on the cat like it was a snake about to strike her. Thankfully Ela quickly realised Glaz wasn't in the mood for conversation, so after a brief chit chat about his latest painting she left.
Glaz carried his painting stuff back to his room and decided he'd skip dinner and go directly to sleep. It was difficult to feel hungry when there was a ball of anxiety on his stomach, weighing him down. Kapkan should have arrived hours ago and Glaz was convinced something was wrong, but he had no proof, and technically they could go wherever they wanted during their free days. As long Kapkan was here tomorrow morning for training, it would all be fine to Six.
He went to sleep, or at least he tried to. Kapkan's bed beckoned him, and Glaz rationalised it was a logical choice since it would be the quickest way to know when Kapkan was back. As soon as he laid down, Hunter hopped on top of his chest.
"Oof, down you go," Glaz moved the cat, since having that weight on top of his chest while lying down was uncomfortable. "You're not exactly light, buddy."
Hunter settled by his side, a comfortable ball of fur that occasionally licked his hand while Glaz petted him. It was nice, but no matter how much he tried to relax, sleep wasn't coming to him.
After tossing and turning for way too long, Glaz sat up, turned on the bedside lamp and willed himself not to check the time on his phone. Instead, he picked up the book Kapkan had left on his bedside table. It was one of those psychology books Kapkan read with a faint frown of concentration and worry until Glaz eventually swooped in and transformed his serious face into a happier expression with just a few kisses.
Opening the book at a random page, Glaz started to read, just to do something and pass the time. Something that would make him forget the reason he was alone in Kapkan's room and unable to sleep. The book, while insightful, was rather boring for his taste. Eventually, the lines blurred together until its contents lulled Glaz to sleep, and he dropped the book over his face.
He had a faint memory of waking up for a moment in the middle of the night. Kapkan was there, cuddling him as they slept. Glaz fell back asleep almost instantly, relieved and happy.
Someone bit his shoulder, soft enough to not be painful but Glaz still noticed the pressure. A pair of intense eyes peered at him from over the book partially covering his face. Kapkan liked to wake him up like that when he was in the mood to get frisky, teasing Glaz until he straddled him to make out. Still half asleep, Glaz hoped with all his heart this wasn't a dream.
"Maxim?" he mumbled drowsily.
"Mrow!"
Okay, it wasn't Kapkan. Hunter headbutted his chin, and whoever said cats were aloof and standoffish clearly had no idea what they were talking about; Glaz had never found a clingier animal than Hunter, even if it was like that only with him. Between the cat and Kapkan, he didn't know who could be more demanding.
Speaking of Kapkan, Glaz's stomach sunk when he saw no signs of his arrival, everything was exactly as it had been last night. This wasn't good, he must have dreamt about Kapkan being there tonight. Damn, where the fuck was Maxim? Glaz had half a mind to go ask Dokkaebi to track Kapkan's phone, he was sure she could do it. Some might think it an exaggerated reaction, but Glaz knew this delay in Kapkan's return wasn't normal.
Glaz got out of bed and dressed quickly, he wanted to check the base first, just to make sure Kapkan hadn't arrived and was avoiding him for some reason. It would be preferable to the alternative. However, he had no chance to do that since an alarm on his phone went off, reminding him he had a rather busy training morning planned already. Dammit! He couldn't be late or miss those matches, Six would perform an evaluation of the results. Okay, the new plan was to be efficient to get done with it quick, then he could look for Kapkan.
As it had happened yesterday, Hunter followed him like his shadow, and while it hadn't been a problem in his free day, Glaz couldn't go into a match with the cat following him. The more he tried to get Hunter to stay in the room, or confine him to the common area, the more Glaz understood the literal meaning of the phrase "as difficult as herding cats". In the end, he grabbed Hunter and went to Fuze's room, not bothering to knock before entering.
"Sorry to ask this, but you're one of the few persons who gets along with the cat," Glaz quickly explained to a barely awake Fuze, who was sitting on his bed and looking blearily ahead. "Can you take care of Hunter until I come back? Thanks!"
He unceremoniously dropped the cat on the bed and bolted out of the room, mentally vowing to do something nice for his friend after suddenly saddling him with babysitter duty. At least Fuze genuinely liked the cat, he was always feeding him during mealtimes and was always disappointed when Hunter ignored him. Yet the cat occasionally let Fuze touch him and had never attacked him, so that put the Uzbek on top of the brief list of people who Hunter liked, right below Glaz.
The morning went much slower than Glaz imagined, time agonizingly crawling by as Glaz gritted his teeth and endured the torture of drawn-out matches and endless types of situations they had to tackle. They barely finished before lunchtime, and by then Glaz was tired, hungry and worried. It was no surprise then that, upon entering the common area and seeing someone struggling with Hunter while the cat growled, his first reaction was rather uncharitable.
"What are you doing to my cat?" His voice was icy enough to freeze water.
Maverick turned to face him, grimacing while trying to shake his arm free from Hunter's grasp. Glaz felt a twinge of regret since it was now clear the correct question was what was Hunter doing to Maverick.
"Playing! He was sleeping belly up on the couch and I- Ow!"
Glaz didn't have the heart to tell him that Hunter was most definitely not playing, more like the cat was trying to slice Maverick's arm open. Although he brought this down on himself if he had tried to pet the cat's belly. In that moment, Pulse stormed into the living room, looking livid.
"Glazkov, you better keep a leash on that furry psychopath!" Pulse pointed a finger at him, his usual calm facade crumbling. "I've been cleaning rat guts and picking up the carcasses from around my room for the last half an hour! And there's cat hair all over my sheets! I'm allergic!"
"How did the cat get into your room?" Gaz asked. As intelligent as Hunter was, the sniper doubted the cat could reach the door's handle on its own.
"He probably left the door open again," Maverick answered, still trying to pry Hunter away from his scratched arm and nearly getting bitten in the process.
"That doesn't matter! And I don't know why you're defending that beast when your arm is bleeding like that, Erik. That cat is a public menace and shouldn't be allowed to roam freely!"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Glaz thought of any polite answer to this situation. He didn't have time for Pulse's grievances now, all he wanted was food and finding Kapkan.
Miraculously, Pulse's angry rant made Hunter release Maverick's arm and come to Glaz's defence, poised in front of the sniper like he wanted to protect him, hissing at the already upset defender. While it didn't help defuse the tense situation, Glaz was amazed by how Hunter had come to his defence. He had no idea what he'd done to deserve this unwavering loyalty from the cat, but it filled Glaz's heart with warmth. Out of reflex, he scooped Hunter up into his arms, gave a half-assed apology to both Americans and promised to try to keep the cat out of Pulse's way, then left to have lunch.
The Spetsnaz's usual table was almost empty, only Fuze sitting there. Finka was still running tests in the lab, and Tachanka was doing what Glaz had been doing all morning. No trace of Kapkan, and most infuriatingly, Glaz wasn't sure if he was still missing or if he was sequestered away in some intensive training session. Glaz had asked around, and while nobody had directly seen Kapkan, that wasn't exactly uncommon either. How frustrating.
Fuze spent the whole meal telling him how he brought Hunter to the workshop, Echo and Mira making the cat play chasing the dot from the laser sights until Mute and Jäger complained about the ruckus. At this point, Fuze let Hunter into the living room, and Glaz deducted that was when the cat went to explore and leave his bloody gifts on Pulse's room. Speaking of the devil, Hunter had been sitting between Fuze and Glaz during the whole meal, getting morsels from them both and eluding Fuze's attempts to pet him.
"Ready for recruit training?" Rook's question shattered any semblance of peace Glaz had gained. He groaned, resting his head on his hands. Glaz had completely forgotten about it, and Rook's enthusiasm wasn't contagious. "C'mon, mon ami, trust exercises can be fun!"
That was not the adjective Glaz would use for it, but it was good that at least one of them was looking forward to this. "Have you seen Maxim around?"
"No sorry. But it's been a chaotic day, I don't even know where most of my team is."
Same damn answer Glaz had been getting all day. How hard could it be to locate a single person in this base? He just wanted to know Kapkan was here, that was all, but apparently it was too much to ask.
He went with Rook, Hunter following him like a dog and ignoring Fuze's bribe of more food. Seeing as Rook kept looking like he was about to crouch and pet the cat, Glaz preemptively grabbed Hunter to avoid yet another incident. In a stroke of good luck, they crossed paths with Tachanka, who hadn't seen Kapkan either but accepted to babysit the cat for a while. Glaz had expected Hunter would try to weasel his way out of Tachanka's arms, but to his surprise the cat accepted being transferred from Glaz's arms to Tachanka's. Still, Hunter put his head on Tachanka's shoulder and looked sadly at Glaz, eyes big and imploring. It was a devastating stare crafted to tug at the sniper's heartstrings. As if Glaz wanted to leave and go to that trust building training session with the recruits. However, work was work, and the sooner he was done with it, the sooner he'd be free.
The session didn't go too terribly. Nobody was injured, and that was always a winning point when talking about recruit training. The bad part was that someone let Hunter out of the base and Glaz spent the next hour looking for the cat, then coaxing the cat down of a tree. When he arrived at his team's common area, there was no one around. Since Glaz was tired and dinner wouldn't happen for a while yet, Glaz sat down on the worn couch. From there he'd see anyone coming in, which hopefully would be Kapkan or someone with news about where Kapkan was. Hunter curled up by Glaz's side, resting his head on the sniper's thigh. The cat's content purring was quite relaxing, and Glaz could feel his eyes closing against his will. Perhaps he could shut them for a moment, just to rest his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, he was immediately aware more than a few seconds had passed. The room was dark, the only light was the moon's faint glow coming in from a window. And something much bigger and heavier had replaced Hunter's comparatively small body and weight. Looking down, Glaz saw Kapkan sleeping on the couch, his head on Glaz's lap just like the cat had been. A rush of relief and affection filled him. However, Glaz didn't dare move and shatter the moment, lest it be a dream that would vanish and take his happiness with it.
Slow and gentle, Glaz put his hand on Kapkan's head, combing his fingers through the head and caressing his lover's face with his fingertips. It felt real enough, solid and warm. Kapkan woke up as the sniper's fingers reached his lips, thumb swiping over the old scar on his lower lip. Watching the hunter go from drowsy and sleepy to full alert in a matter of seconds was fascinating.
"Timur!" Kapkan sat up, uncaring that he was apparently naked. Glaz surged forward, capturing the hunter's lips in a sweet and lingering kiss. He wanted to ground himself in the moment, find reassurance in his boyfriend's presence.
"I'm sorry love," Glaz whispered against Kapkan's lips, foreheads pressed together as he spoke. Words spilled from him, pouring all the uncertainty and regret he felt these last two days. "I called you a coward, but that's not true, you're one of the bravest people I know. I was frustrated and-"
"You were right, I was scared," Kapkan cut him off, hands grasping Glaz's shoulders. "We've been lucky our friends have all been accepting of us, but telling our families? Yes, I am afraid of how they'll react, of what they might try to do to us, to you."
"I know, I'm also scared. And I'm sorry for trying to pressure you."
"And I'm sorry for all the things I said to you. I reacted poorly," Kapkan confessed with a wince. Glaz would not pretend the things that were said hadn't hurt him, but the uncertainty and anxiety of not knowing where Kapkan was had been worse.
Glaz kissed him again, a small peck that was followed by another one, this time longer; then another one, open-mouthed and passionate. Kapkan pinned him against the couch, nearly getting on top of him, and it was impossible to ignore the fact he was naked, while Glaz still wore his Gorka suit. As much as he was enjoying this, Glaz had questions.
"Maxim, where have you been all day? And why are you naked?"
Kapkan fell back, sitting next to him and pursing his lips in concentration. "I… don't know. The last thing I remember was following a deer, and then it gets blurry. I was… small, and running through the forest, I think? I remember being confused and wanting to get somewhere safe. But I'm sure I slept next to you yesterday."
While Kapkan's tale was somewhat worrying, Glaz was taken aback by the implications. It was crazy to think about it, but the tale matched with the fact Kapkan was both times in the same spot and position Hunter had been. Glaz couldn't believe what he was about to ask. "Are you telling me you were my cat?"
"That was only a strange dream!"
Glaz couldn't hold an incredulous chuckle. "So you dreamt you were my cat. And you remember dreaming that you scratched many people, getting hand fed by Fuze, and leaving dead rats on someone's room?"
Kapkan paled, his eyes getting wide as saucers, and they were the same colour Hunter's had been. Glaz broke into semi-hysterical giggles. This was definitely the most surreal moment in his whole life.
"Stop with this nonsense Timur! That can't have truly happened," Kapkan's voice was a mix of imploring and confused denial. "It's madness, people don't turn into cats."
"Of course, pet ." Glaz got swatted hard in the arm for that joke. "You were adorable, Lera wanted to call you Mr. Fluffy."
"I refuse to believe it's true!" Then, after a pause, "Was there an incident with Smoke and a cucumber?"
Glaz went to retrieve his phone from his pocket to show Kapkan the video, and at that moment the door opened, and the lights were turned on. Finka came in, stopping in her tracks when she saw them.
"Gah, tell me you were not about to fuck on the couch. We all sit there!"
It was an incorrect but more plausible scenario than the truth, so instead of getting embroiled in a strange discussion, Glaz took the convenient outing. Finka left, muttering curses and something about horny teammates. Not wanting to get interrupted again, they relocated to the closest room, which was Glaz's.
While usually he loved sleeping with his head on Kapkan's chest, listening to his heartbeat, Glaz knew he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. He feared that if he closed his eyes, Kapkan would be gone again in the morning. Weirder things had happened, after all. Besides, he planned on showing Kapkan how much he had missed him.
They kept each other awake for most of the night, and come morning Kapkan was still there, his arm encircling Glaz and his breath caressing the sniper's naked skin. Everything was once again as it should be. They'd have to lie about where had the cat gone, but he doubted many people would believe the truth if they told them.