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Sometimes it was easy hiding it.
Sometimes it wasn't.
He didn't have whiskers, which was a relief, but had an extra set of pointy ears and a tail. It wasn't too hard to arrange his tail in his pants, because he arranged...other parts of his body…every day, too.
The ears were a little more difficult to hide. He'd wear a beanie most of the time, or a snapback or something, and boom, they were covered. When he would change around the guys, he'd keep his hat on until the boys left or he got into the showers, and replace it with his helmet.
When he'd go home, he'd strip all his clothes and coverings and shift into a pretty brown tabby cat. He'd curl up on the bed or the couch or the dresser high up top. He'd shift back in the mornings before skate.
Today was like any other gameday. Morning skate and practice, go home for a few hours, and be right back for the game.
They'd just finished practice, and Jonathan was beyond exhausted. It didn't help that cats usually get twelve hours of sleep, and Jon was functioning on seven. His helmet was still on, clipped, because he'd learned one day that the guys liked to yank them off, and Jonathan had fallen off the bench trying to keep it on.
“Hey man,” Kaner called, “We’re all going to the bar before the game. You wanna join?”
Bars. Bars meant people. People meant touching. Touching meant pulling off his beanie and shoving their hands down the back of his pants and that's not okay.
“Nah, I'm okay,” Jon dismissed, before forcing a yawn, which wasn't that forced, “I've been having trouble sleeping, so I'm gonna try to get in a longer nap before the game.”
The boys simultaneously groaned. “Come on, Tazer,” Duncs sighed, “You haven't gone out in months. Live a little.”
Jonathan put his foot down. “I appreciate the offer, but I can't. Thanks for the invite, though.”
The others watched him warily, before shoving one another out with cheers of, “Let's kick it!”
Jonathan watched his team leave in amusement, before unclipping his helmet. His ears popped out and twitched, and he scratched them a little. He slid on a beanie just incase and gathered up his things, heading home.
Jonathan locked the front and back doors, windows, closed the curtains, and stripped. He shifted into his cat form. And stretched, yawning.
He pranced around, looking for a good spot to sleep. He found a moveable closet space that had room at the top to sit on, about two feet from the ceiling. He climbed into the table and leapt, pulling himself up onto the top. He settled down, resting his head on his front paws, and fell asleep.
______________
“Tazer? Dude? Are you dead?”
Jonathan blinked open his eyes, once, twice, and looked around. What time was it?
“Jonathan? Okay, now you're scaring me, man.”
That was Patrick’s voice.
Jonathan’s head shot up. Shit, he had to get down from here. He needed to change back before Pat-
Kaner walked into the room and set eyes on the tabby cat, and Jon knew he was fucked.
“Woah, Tazer’s got a cat.” He mumbled, walking over to the closet. “He never told us about you. Wonder why?”
Oh. He was talking to Jon. Jonathan stood on his four legs, stretching, butt in the air. He walked to the edge, peering down at Patrick. His tail swished behind him.
“Where's Jonathan, little dude? Little girl? I dunno. Where's he at, though? Pregame practice started an hour ago.”
Jonathan tensed. He turned his head up to the clock and dammit, it was six thirty. Patrick was right. Jonathan jumped down, startling the shit out of Pat, and the tabby trotted off. He was fast enough to escape Patrick’s eyes as he followed, and threw himself into the blankets. He shifted back to a human and was able to pretend to be asleep for enough seconds for Patrick to walk in.
“Tazer? There you are, man.” Kaner chuckled. “Thought you were dead.”
Jonathan groaned, rolling over, hoping to cover up the fact that he was stark naked. “Oh. My alarm didn't go off.”
And Patrick believed it.
______________
A week later, Jonathan was still thinking about Pat’s visit. He was pretty good with the cat, even though they only spoke for a minute or so. (Well, Patrick spoke. Jon listened.)
While at practice one day, Jon was informed that due to weather issues, the game that was scheduled for tonight was switched to be played in two days. They didn't have a game tonight, or tomorrow.
Jonathan grinned; he had a perfect idea. It was even more perfect when he heard Pat mumble, “Damn. That means I'm alone tonight.”
“No plans, Peeks?”
“Nope.”
Jonathan jumped at the opportunity before any of the others invited him to drinks. “Hey, Kaner,” he asked, “So, I'm meeting up with an old friend of mine tonight. We were gonna meet for lunch, but since we're free, we decided to hang out tonight. Do you think you could watch my cat? He's…a bit of a handful sometimes.”
Patrick looked up and Jonny and smiled. “Yeah, sure man,” he agreed, “I'll be there at six? Cool. What's his name? You never told any of us you had a cat.”
Jonathan thought of a name as quickly as he possibly could, “Oh, um, his name’s, in, Jay.”
“Jay? Like Jay and Jonny?”
“More like Jonny and Jay.”
“You're so stupid.”
Jonny smiled fondly. “So I've been told.”
_______________
Patrick arrived at six-oh-one. Which Jonny had to mock him about being late. They ended up wrestling for a good ten minutes.
“Okay, I should get going.” Jonathan stood up, a faint blush on his cheeks.
Patrick nodded, “Yeah, okay. Where's Jay?”
Jonathan shrugged, “Somewhere. Probably sleeping. I'll see you later tonight.” Then he left, and ran to his backyard behind a tree. He stripped to his boxers and tore off his beanie, shifting. When he was a cat, he found the open window in his bedroom and hopped through it.
He trotted around the house, and hissed when Kaner almost tripped over him. Patrick caught himself and looked down at the little tabby cat. “There you are,” he chuckled, “Trying to kill me or something?”
Jonathan pranced over and rubbed himself on Pat’s leg, looking up at him. Patrick smiled and bent down, picking him up. Jonathan rubbed his head on Pat’s cheek, purring affectionately.
Patrick cooed and scratched him behind the ears. Jonathan licked his finger. Kaner chuckled. “Okay, Mister. What am I supposed to do with you? I haven't had dinner. Have you had dinner? I don't think Jon would be too upset with me using his fridge, right? It's practically out fridge at this point.”
As Patrick mumbled to himself and the cat, Jon squirmed out of his arms and trotted to the kitchen. He'd set up some cat food and water – he's always got a bowl ready because cat him actually likes it – and began eating.
Patrick watched in amusement before throwing the fridge open with a loud, “What am I going to stuff my face with tonight?”
The slam of the door startled Jonathan to the point where he lost his footing.
Patrick burst into laughter. Jonathan snarled a little at him, but continued to eat. Patrick made a chicken caesar salad and sat down on the couch to watch some tv. Jonny, upset that he wasn't getting any attention from Kaner, ran full speed towards him, leapt onto the couch, and head-butted his side.
Patrick yelped in surprise. “Jay!” He exclaimed, mouth full of salad, but sighed when Jonny rubbed himself against Patrick. He swallowed, putting his bowl onto the coffee table, and leaned back. “Fine. Do what you will.”
Jonathan purred, climbed onto Pat’s lap, and laid down. He curled up into a fluffy ball, snuggling into Patrick. He closed his eyes and felt Pat’s hand come down to pet him. He purred more, eventually falling asleep to the steady movement of Patrick’s hand.
That's how they spent the rest of the night: Patrick on the couch watching tv, Jonny in his lap asleep. Around midnight, Patrick fell asleep. Jonathan was awake, and when he was sure Pat was knocked out, he began licking his hands and fingers.
Jonathan did this to other cats and sometimes people, but only if he liked them enough.
Patrick should be honored.
Eventually, Jonny stopped, and shifted back into human form. He got dressed and slid into bed, only wishing Patrick were there to hold him.
When Jonny woke up the next morning, he found Patrick rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Morning.”
“Morning,” Pat mumbled, “When did you get in? Why didn't you wake me?”
Jonathan shrugged, “Got home around one. You looked so comfortable with Jay, I didn't want to wake you.”
“Where is Jay?”
“Dunno. Probably hiding somewhere. I swear, ever since you stopped by here, he's liked you more than me.”
Well it was true. Pat didn't need to know that, though.
Patrick smirked, “It's the Kane charm.”
Jonathan rolled his eyes and threw the empty plastic bowl that once contained salad at Patrick. “Yeah yeah, whatever. Now get out of my house.”
__________________
This routine went on for weeks.
Every opportunity Jonathan had, he'd ask Patrick to cat sit. Patrick was always eager to do so. He never suspected Jonny to be Jay. It looked like Jonathan was going to get away with it.
That is, not until Seabs brought catnip into the locker room.
Seabs pulled out the bag, saying, “Very funny, Sharp.”
Sharpy chuckled. It was a stupid prank, but there were a lot of stray cats around Seabs’s house. The catnip bag was bound to draw in a couple felines.
And oh, did it attract some attention.
The moment Seabs pulled out the plastic baggy, Jonathan's entire body went slack. He stumbled a little, whacking his head against his stall.
“Woah there, Tazer,” Duncs raised an eyebrow, “Hit the booze already?”
Jonathan gripped his stall to keep himself upright. “Something like that.” He muttered, and slowly continued to get dressed.
But Seabs – fuck him – decided to throw catnip onto the players.
Jonathan didn't even have time to dodge. Seabs threw a finger-full of the cat drug directly at his face. Jonathan slammed backwards, holding his stall in a death-grip. His mind was getting hazy. He shook his head, rubbing away the catnip, but the small just caught on his fingers.
“Jonathan?”
Jonny looked up from his hands to meet the team’s worried faces. Sharpy put his hands on Jonathan’s arms. “Tazer, you're shaking.”
He was. He was shaking violently. Fuck, he was high. Cat him was high. High off of fucking catnip. Great.
Jonathan grasped the ends of his beanie, pulling it down his head even more. Oh God. He needed to get out of there.
“Jonny, what's my name?” Crow asked him.
Jonathan stared at the goalie, eyes wide and frantic.
Patrick squinted, “Jonny, are your eyes…gold?”
Jonathan slid down the wall, breathing heavily. He couldn't walk. That was too much catnip. He was high as fuck, and that wasn't a good thing. If he were in his cat form, he'd be able to control it more. He'd just be spastic. But while he was in a human body, the catnip didn't have the same effect.
“Should we call 911?” Duncs asked.
Sharpy knelt in front of Jonathan. “Tazer look at me.”
Jonny’s wide, frantic eyes met Sharpy’s. Sharpy reached out to touch him, but Jon flinched away.
“Nnn. Pat.” He mumbled, staring at his feet, “Pat. Pat.”
Kaner knelt down beside Sharpy. “Jonathan?”
Sharpy once again tried to reach for Jon. He hissed. His nose twitched. Sharpy jumped back.
“Pat.”
Patrick carefully slid over next to Jonathan, leaning against the wall. “It's Pat, Jonny.”
Jonathan muzzled his face into Patrick's shoulder. He felt loopy. He didn't like it. He was scared.
“Scared, Pat.” Jonathan whispered, trembling more. He could just shift. He could shift and he'd feel better. But then the team would know his secret. God know what they might do. He couldn't.
But then, Patrick came to rest his hand on the back of Jonathan's neck, gently caressing it, and all self-control was thrown out the window.
And Jonathan shifted.
The team took, like, seven steps backwards when a tabby cat poked its head out from a pile of Jonathan's clothes.
Patrick paled, “Jay?”
Jonathan hopped onto Patrick's lap, playing with the strings on his hoodie.
“Jay? You mean Jonny’s cat you've been taking care of?” Crow asked, “Jonathan is a cat?”
Patrick looked down at the little tabby on his lap. “You're a cat,” he remarked, “Why didn't you tell me? What the fuck, Jonathan?”
Jonathan looked up at Patrick. His eyes were suddenly filled with sadness. Pat angry, he thought, Made Pat upset. Jonathan’s ears slumped, and his tail stopped flicking. He meowed weakly.
Patrick realized his mistake. “No, no, Jonny, I didn't mean-” Pat bit his lip and picked him up, cuddling him to his chest. Jonathan was happy to snuggle up close. “I'm mad, just shocked, that's all. I'm not mad at you.”
Jonny’s ears perked back to a little. He leaned over, licking Pat’s hand again. Patrick scratched him with his free hand as Jonny cleaned his fingers and palm and wrist eagerly.
“Awe, how cute.” Duncs cooed.
Jonathan froze, not moving a muscle. He growled as Duncs got closer. Sharpy carefully pulled him back. Jonny watched them a little while longer, before going back to cleaning Kaner.
“I think I should take him home.” Patrick suggested, “I think he's still a little overwhelmed by the catnip fiasco.”
Seabs smile sheepishly.
“You wanna go home, Jon?” Patrick asked the cat, and Jonny meowed back, nuzzling Pat. Patrick took that as a yes, and drove him home.
The moment Jonathan was in his house, he shifted back, stumbling upstairs. He slammed his bedroom door shut. Patrick banged on the door. “Tazer? Jonny, please open the door. It's okay.”
“I have to get dressed,” the captain called out shakily, “I'll be right out.”
When Jonathan emerged, he was fully dressed, blushing, and still trembling. The two sat down and Jonathan explained how he was a cat hybrid and could transform from human form animal as he pleased.
He took off his beanie – per Pat’s request – and exposed his kitty ears. Patrick was fascinated by them. He also pulled his boxer briefs down enough to show his tail.
Currently, the two were laying on the couch, hands intertwined, Jonny’s head on Pat’s chest, both human. They were watching a Golden Knights-Leafs game when Patrick spoke up.
“So does this mean you like being called ’kitten’?”
Jonathan shivered, gulping, and oh, Patrick was going to have some fun with that.