Chapter 236: [236] "HOUSE 3 PART 2"

He looked at the shared sit-out area. It was practical. A solid wooden table, a few durable outdoor chairs, and the grill. It was a space designed for a quiet evening, shielded from the chaos of the city and the media scrutiny that dogged their every move.

"It’s quiet," Luc said, turning around to face the rear exterior of the twin house.

He looked at the left unit, which Hugo was currently inspecting. Then he looked at the right unit.

The right unit was empty. The blinds were drawn, the interior dark.

Luc’s mind shifted away from Hugo’s requirements and began to analyze his own situation.

He lived in an apartment in the city center-ish. It was expensive, flashy, and situated perfectly for a young, single athlete looking to dominate the nightlife and the headlines. When he bumped up his contract, that apartment had represented everything he thought he wanted.

But things had changed.

He had spent days there and had now realized how isolated the high-rise felt. The parking too was a hassle he never complained about till now. The elevator rides were tedious. The constant vehicles of the city traffic bleeding through had grated on his nerves.

More importantly, Juliette had basically left her own apartment and moved in to take care of him. She had managed his recovery the best she could when available, regulated his diet, and kept him from losing his mind while the race for the top moved on without him.

He didn’t like how both of them kept on switching apartments for each other. One moment Juliette moves in with him, the next he moves in with her.

They had navigated the confined space seamlessly. There were no arguments over territory. It had just worked.

Another thing be disliked was how she drove to his place, managing a chaotic schedule just to balance her professional obligations with their relationship.

Luc looked at the right unit of the twin house.

Single-story. No stairs. Private parking directly out front. A quiet, heavily wooded neighborhood that completely eliminated the paparazzi threat. A shared compound that required zero effort on his part because his neighbour would potentially be Hugo.

"Hugo," Luc said, his sounded through the quiet rustle of the trees.

The teenager was currently inspecting the patio covering. He turned around. "Yes, Captain."

"You said the right unit is actively listed on the rental market too," Luc stated, pointing a finger at the identical door on the other side of the planter box.

"That is correct," Hugo confirmed. "The listing agent represents the entire structure. Both sides are currently vacant."

Luc walked slowly back toward the patio, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He looked at the sit-out area, mapping the beauty of tge space.

"If you take the left side," Luc began, testing the concept out loud, "you don’t want a random neighbor. You don’t want a family with kids, and you definitely don’t want a college student throwing parties."

"A random neighbor introduces uncontrolled issues into my environment," Hugo agreed, his brow furrowing slightly as he tried to anticipate where Luc was going with this. "That is why I intended to have Valérie’s team vet the applications."

Luc stopped in front of the teenager. "What if you didn’t have to vet them? What if you already knew exactly who was living on the other side of that wall?"

Hugo pondered on his captains hypothetical.

His eyes darted from Luc after checking around.

"You are considering relocating," Hugo deduced, his tone entirely neutral.

"I’m considering it, yes," Luc admitted, looking back at the house. "My apartment is fine, but it’s in the middle of noise. Getting in and out is a task on its own. I just spent a days trapped in it with a bad knee, and I realized I hate the layout. Plus..."

Luc hesitated for a second. He rarely discussed his relationship with his teammates. But Hugo wasn’t just a teammate anymore.

"Plus, Juliette and I have been basically living together in one way or another for months now," Luc continued, committing to the thought. "She drives back and forth across the city. It’s exhausting for her, even though she won’t say it. If I rent a place like this, a place that actually feels like a home, it makes sense for her to just move in with me permanently. It corrects everything."

Hugo remained speechless, thinking about the points being made.

Luc living next door.

On the surface, it sounded suffocating. Living next door to your captain, the man who dictated the offensive line and demanded perfection on the training pitch. Most young players would run in the opposite direction, desperate to escape the shadow of the club’s apex.

But Hugo did not operate on those useless impulses.

"If you occupy the right," Hugo began, organizing his thoughts aloud, "I think it’ll be alright. Afterall, you adhere to the same professional calendar that I do. Our sleep schedules are synchronized around matchdays. You do not host loud, disruptive gatherings as well."

"Exactly," Luc nodded, now standing beside the wooden post of the patio cover. "I’m not going to be throwing massive parties on a Tuesday night."

Hugo continued, his eyes tracking the shared yard. "The commute to the Valois complex is not too far from this location. We would both benefit from the reduced travel time. And, regarding the shared compound, coordinating the use of the sit-out area or the pool would require minimal negotiation, as our recovery should be aligned."

"It’s a clean setup," Luc said. "We share the yard, we share the maintenance fee, but we have our own spaces. You shut your door, I shut mine. No forced interactions. Just two guys trying to win a league title living in a quiet pocket of the woods."

Hugo looked at the house one last time. He looked at the thick trees guarding the property line. He looked at the simple, functional kitchen visible through the sliding glass door.

It was a highly optimized, perfectly rational space.