🐾にゃんこから、あなたを好きになるまで&守護から恋心へ - Ch33

💜💗💜💗💜 Story 💗💜💗💜💗 Tender Confusion Once Gakupo was fully awake, his first reaction wasn't to demand who the person in front of him was. It was to suddenly freeze. Only now did he truly register something deeply embarrassing. The Luka in front of him wasn't wearing any clothes. A moment ago, between the late hour, his drowsiness, and the sudden transformation, his mind had been entirely stuck on the question of whether or not this was really Luka—he hadn't paid attention to anything else at all. Now that he was fully conscious, he jerked his gaze away. "...!" Gakupo's entire face flushed red instantly. He glanced frantically at the window, then at the nightstand, then fixed his eyes on the corner of the room, as if suddenly every single spot in the room deserved more study than what was right in front of him. "Th-this is..." He trailed off partway through the sentence. No. Now was not the time to think about this. Gakupo took a deep breath and reached for the blanket beside him. Moving carefully, doing his best not to wake the still-sleeping Luka, he slowly pulled the blanket up over her, tucking it carefully around her. Only once her entire body was covered by the soft blanket, with just her hair, her face, and those familiar cat ears on top of her head left visible, did he finally let out a breath of relief. "...There." Gakupo still didn't dare look directly at her for too long. He sat at the edge of the bed, the tips of his ears still red. "This will do for now." He murmured to himself. "At least... she won't catch a cold." Beneath the blanket, Luka seemed to sense the warmth. She stirred slightly. Her closed eyes trembled faintly. Gakupo noticed immediately. "...Are you awake?" Luka didn't open her eyes right away. She only furrowed her brow, as if slowly surfacing from some very deep sleep. Her ears twitched first. Then, she slowly opened her eyes. Those blue eyes still held the haze of having just woken up. She gazed at the room in front of her—both unfamiliar and familiar at once. "...?" Luka seemed to have no idea why she was here. She tried moving her hand. Her fingers brushed against the blanket. She paused. She looked down. "...?" She seemed to notice that her body felt completely different from how she remembered it feeling. Luka slowly started to sit up a little. Gakupo spoke up immediately. "Wait." Luka looked up at him. Gakupo quickly reached out to press down the edge of the blanket, making sure it wouldn't slip. "Don't move yet." His tone was still gentle, though clearly a bit flustered. Luka blinked. She looked at Gakupo, then looked down at herself. Then, as if she'd finally realized something. Her blue eyes went wide. "...!" She instinctively clutched the blanket tighter. Seeing her reaction, Gakupo was even more at a loss for where to look. He quickly turned his face away. "You... pull the blanket up first." Luka said nothing. She only gripped the blanket tightly. The room fell silent for several seconds. Finally, she slowly lifted her head. "...Gakupo?" The voice was very soft. But it made Gakupo freeze completely. He slowly turned his head back. "...You can talk?" Luka herself seemed startled. She opened her mouth. As if she herself hadn't even realized what she'd just said. "Gakupo...?" Once again. A clear, human voice. Gakupo stared at her. The last of the confusion in his mind seemed to come to a complete stop in that instant. He looked at those blue eyes. Then looked up at the familiar cat ears on top of her head. And finally, in a low voice, he spoke the answer he hadn't dared to be certain of. "...Are you Luka?"