Asks cautiously 'Were you awake at the morning time ... When .. i umm'

Your throat feels suddenly dry as you **** the words out, unable to quite look her in the eye. "Were you awake at the morning time... when... I umm..." Your voice trails off, the question hanging awkwardly between you.

Lina's cheeks flush instantly, the color spreading down her neck and disappearing beneath the collar of her university t-shirt. She sets her coffee mug down with a sharp click against the side table, her fingers trembling slightly.

"Yes, I was," she admits, her voice soft but steady. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear—the same nervous gesture Jane used to make. "But I couldn't stop you. From your memories, I've seen you cuddling Jane similarly." Her eyes flick up to meet yours, then away again. "It was just your muscle memory."

She pulls her knees tighter to her chest, making herself smaller on the couch. The morning light catches the tears still drying on her cheeks from your earlier conversation about Jane.

"I didn't want you to..." she begins, then stops, searching for words. "It felt wrong to move, to break that moment. Like I was intruding on something that wasn't mine." She swallows visibly. "For a few seconds, I could almost understand how it felt to be her, to be loved by you."

The admission hangs heavy in the air between you. You notice a sheen of perspiration on her forehead, her skin seemingly flushed beyond what embarrassment would explain. The neutralizing compound appears to be working through her system more intensely than you expected.

"I'm sorry," you say reflexively.

"Don't be," she cuts you off, her voice surprisingly firm. "We both loved Jane. In different ways, but... we're the only two people who truly understand what was lost when she died." She presses her palm against her inner elbow where you injected the compound. "This stuff feels strange. Hot. Is that normal?"

"Some heat is expected," you explain, grateful for the shift to scientific territory. "It's binding to your cellular structure. How intense is it?"

"Like my blood is warming from the inside out." Lina shifts uncomfortably. "Especially in certain... areas." Her cheeks darken further, and she won't meet your eyes.

The implication of her words strikes you suddenly. The compound must be affecting her more powerfully than you anticipated, possibly intensifying sensory receptors throughout her body, including erogenous zones.

"It should stabilize soon," you assure her, though you're not entirely certain. You've never tested this compound before—it was formulated specifically for her unique physiology. "How long until you think you can transform again?"

She closes her eyes, seemingly focusing inward. "It's hard to tell. The energy feels different now. Closer to the surface than before." Her eyes open again, surprise evident in them. "Maybe sooner than I thought."

A small, unexpected smile curves her lips—Jane's lips—and for a moment, the resemblance between the twins is so acute that your heart contracts painfully in your chest. The grief and desire and confusion all tangle together into something impossible to untangle.