UMBRELLA ∞ Kylian Mbappe Oneshots

ONE

ALL THE FEMALE CHARACTERS ARE MY OWN. I DO NOT OWN ANY FOOTBALLERS OR COMPANIES MENTIONED IN THIS. ONLY THE PLOT IS MINE.

The third time Julian catches Kylian staring at Amelie, he realises he may have a problem.

"Dude," he says reproachfully. "Again?"

Kylian doesn't even look ashamed. "What?"

Julian can't believe he even has to point this out. "She's married," he says. He's surprised Kylian hasn't heard yet. A few months ago, she showed up to work with a wedding band on her finger; and no one said anything to her, except Antoine Griezmann, who has no self-preservation, and had continued to gloriously hit on her like nothing had changed, but in the office it was a Huge Deal, with capital letters at the front. It was such a Huge Deal that twenty-seven minutes of their thirty minute debrief was spent discussing who it could possibly be. The only reason why it hadn't been all thirty was because at twenty-eight minutes Amelie had come in to see their ideas for the cover redesign and no one in there was Antoine except Antoine, so none of them actually wanted to die via scary boss.

"Really?" Kylian says.

"Dude, yeah! She's totally taken."

Chloe pops her head over the top of the dividers. "Who are we talking about?"

Chloe works on the desk in front of Julian's , and she's also the most beautiful person Julian has ever seen. The two are not really related, other than the fact that the low dividers mean that whenever Julian gets stuck he can just gaze at the back of her beautiful head and daydream about their future stunning biracial children. She likes animals, has a laugh a bit like a goose and also his heart on a platter. Not that she knows that last bit. Everything she does is enchanting, and Julian's been trying to work up the courage to ask her out for months now.

Honestly, he's just not sure how. Someone like Chloe deserves to be spoiled, and Julian doesn't think he has the requisite tools to do that quite yet. Soon, though, he promises himself, as he gazes up into her face. He just needs to be able to find out a way how. And it has to be good, too. Chloe seems like a woman who knows what she wants. He's heard her talking about going to women's marches and on her computer is a little feminist badge.

It sort of makes Julian swoon a little, to see her so totally in control of her life. Which brings him back to the main issue.

"Amelie," he explains to her. "Kylian won't stop looking at her."

The look of pity Chloe gives Kylian is similar to how Julian is feeling about the whole situation, like the look a lamb is given before it's about to be slaughtered. "Definitely taken. Did you see that wedding ring?"

"Told you," Julian says.

"Do you know who it is?" Kylian asks.

"No, but we have theories," Chloe says. "I personally think it's a celebrity."

"Thalia thinks she's gay," Julian says, a bit thoughtfully, because it does have some merit. "I heard her talking yesterday."

Chloe rolls her eyes. "Thalia thinks everyone is gay. No, I think it's a hunky actor. Like Olivier Giroud." She swoons. Julian frowns. Olivier Giroud?

At that moment, Raphael comes gliding by on his spinny chair. He has a leg impediment which means he can't walk without his crutches, so Amelie had made the aisles wider so he would be able to move through the office on his chair alone. It was a good idea in theory, but now Hugo from graphics and Thalia from HR have a daily bet on who can stay in their chair the longest, and Raphael takes the expanded aisles as permission to meander through the desks practising his trumpet. Today is no different, except now when he passes he drops the instrument on his lap and moors himself into the desk. "What is this I hear about a hunky actor?"