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❝ Meow? - Leo ver. ❞

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"UGH, WHY IS EVERYTHING SO LOUD?!"

Howled an agitated composer, whom held numerous sheets of tablature. You noticed he was much more sensitive than usual, becoming overstimulated far quicker. With a slight drop of concern, you eyed him.
"Loud?"
"YES!" Hollered Leo. "IT'S LIKE THERE'S REVERB IN MY SKULL!"
You blinked thrice, cocking your head to the side. "That's weird, I don't really hear anything right now."
Huffing, the orange-haired knight turned towards you. In an irritated state, it seemed as though he'd wished to depart. However, almost as soon as he grabbed your wrist, he staggered on his feet. With a "hmph..", the composer quickly turned clammy.
"Hah.. hah.. hah.." the composer panted several times, eyelids beginning to droop.
"Woah, easy," you warned him. Before you could react to his sudden faintness, the knight stumbled moments before soaring to the ground. "LEO—!" In a surprised yell, you hurried to break his fall.

The unconscious Leo landed conveniently in your arms, fall cushioned by you. In a panic, you hoisted him into your arms bridal style. Music sheets flew about in your wake as you rushed him to the infirmary.

—

A nurse dressed in ES attire had taken him to a bed, placing him there to rest. She inspected his overall condition, reporting to you that he'd contracted a rather high fever.
What the hell happened?

You sat on the nearby couch, consistently staring out into space as you stressed the situation silently. If he had suddenly fainted with such a high fever, what caused it? Will he be okay?
You'd taken note of his unusually irritated behavior earlier, but you assumed it went hand-in-hand with a bad mood, not a fainting spell. Being that the rest of him was completely fine, you found yourself musing over the cause.

30 minutes later..

The nurse had left you with Leo, for some reason. She failed to inform you of her reasoning behind this.
The sound of bedsheets stirring caused you to immediately stand, head craning towards the noises. Approaching it hesitantly, you were greeted by a sleeping Leo. He was smiling like a child in his slumber, head propped up against a pillow. It was quite adorable..

Perk!

Your eyes widened, heart momentarily halting. Cat ears had perked up from atop his head. A gorgeous calico pattern dotted them. At first, you shrugged it off. Must be fake, very funny, Nurse.
But as you drew closer, gingerly grazing the fur with your fingertips, the ear flicked up and down; as if dismissing your hand. You jolted backward, eyes widening. You were almost certain you'd fallen asleep on the couch of the infirmary, and this was naught but a dream. Yet the moment you pinched yourself, nothing changed.

It's not a dream..?

In disbelief, you stared in shock. Beginning to stir once more, Leo yawned upon awakening. He stretched, eyelids peeling back as he did so.
"Huh? Good morning, Producer~!" He cooed upon seeing you.
"Hey, Leo," you smiled softly. "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay?" He repeated aloud, evidently confused. "Uh, yeah, why?"
"You fainted before," you told him. "And you had a high fever."
"Was that why I felt terrible?" He questioned, mostly to himself.
"Leo," you leaned forwards, cupping his cat ears in your hands. "Feel these. You sprouted cat ears.."
"Lion? House cat?" As you tilted your head in response to his questions, Leo raised an eyebrow. "Don't know?"
"They're not round enough for a lion or tiger," you reported. "It's probably a house cat's."

The two were strangely casual about the ordeal, being that there were quite literally calico cat ears poking out of the boy's hair. Snickering a mischievous laugh, Leo leaned forth, one ear maneuvering downwards. "Wanna pet~?"
Taking a flustered pause, you hesitantly nodded your head. Bent down beside the couch, you gingerly pat his head, fingertips fondling the fluff upon the calico ears. "Oh my god. It's so soft."
Leo took your wrists in his hands, a smile on his reddened face. "The melodies are coming to me now!" He exclaimed, afterwards flinching at his own voice.
"Ouch. That's loud." He spoke in a hushed voice.
"Haha," you mocked him with a laugh, afterwards beginning to massage at his fluffy ears. He shut his eyes, lifting his hands to hold onto your wrists once more. "What does it feel like?"
"Ah, it's like a pillowy melody~!" Exclaimed Leo, unconsciously beginning to lean into your touch.

"How can we explain this to anyone?" You questioned.
"Oh, right," Leo bounced to his feet. "Simple answer is— we don't."
Nodding your head in return, you pursued at Leo's heels once he departed. You hurried to place a coat over his head, although it made a weird imprint, his tail had been hidden with his pants. Easy.

                                          At your apartment..

Leo stretched his arms over his head, yawning as his tail writhed free. A smile crossing your features, you locked the apartment door before advancing towards him. "Here, we can go to my bed for now."
"Hehe, great~," Leo then swished his tail a tad, seemingly showing it off to you. He removed his shoes before striding over to the bedside, flopping into the sheets on his back. "Come on, Producer! These ears won't pet themselves! Wahahah!☆"
You slid out of your shoes, afterwards approaching the bedside. "Alright," you playfully laid upon his chest, hands reaching upwards to cup his cat ears. As his tail slinked around your waist, your eyes widened. "I did not know it could do that."
"Surprise!" Shouted Leo, grinning toothily down at you.

You laughed off his energetic behavior, simply resuming the action of gingerly stroking his head. It was akin to a dream, floating atop fluffy, calico clouds. The feeling was heavenly, no plush could compare. The fluff was such a wonderful feeling, you almost felt sorrowful whenever you were reminded that this would most likely pass. In spite of the subtle somber you felt, you couldn't help smiling uncontrollably at the kitty ears.
He looked so cute with them. You wished to squish him as much as possible. Shifting upon the mattress, Leo's tail following your waist, you cupped his face in your hands. Smushing his face, your heart couldn't take his adorableness.
In a moment, you could have sworn you'd pass out from cuteness overload. Leo chortled a laugh, nuzzling into your palm. He stuck his tongue out at you, tail tip twinging behind himself.

Playfully ruffling his ear fluff, you began to wrestle the composer. After a brief moment of rolling, Leo had pinned you to the mattress, crowning him the winner of your miniature duel. As he cackled his laughter, he sat on your abdomen. You took his hips in your hands, laughing alongside him.

I want to find who did this. Let's make it happen again.

[ I know, I restrained from making a cat-boy chapter for a whole week. I apparently have a thing for cat tropes and hip grabbing?😭 I accidentally have you do it so much. ]