The Mylar Cat: Star Trek Voyager (Complete)

Star Trek Voyager: The Mylar Cat (Chapter 6)

After seeing the doctor, Janeway headded for her ready room with Aki in-tow. Tuvok returned to his duties.
It was still quite early, an hour before her shift started. Her mind was tying itself in knots with endless questions regarding Aki, none of which she yet had answers to.

On entering the room, she gestured for Aki to have a seat on the sofa, before heading straight for the replicator.
"Coffee, black, extra strong."
She turned to the cat boy and asked if he'd like any food or drink.
"What is coffee?"
"It's a hot beverage I enjoy, especially this early in the morning, it is an acquired taste though, quite bitter, I'm not sure you'd like it."
"Please may I try some? It smells nice," He asked enthusiastically.
Kathryn smiled and nodded, charmed by the politeness of his request.
She ordered a second cup of coffee, this one with a little added sweetness.
Completely unaware how enthusiastically Aki might go about consuming it, she made a point of setting the temperature low to ensure it wouldn't burn him if he ended up gulping it down.

She gently handed him the cup. The young cat boy licked his lips and sat straighter in the chair, looking eager and enthusiastic to try this new mysterious beverage that smelled so good.

Moments later, a splutter and spray of coffee violently ejected from Aki's mouth, followed by a cat-like hiss as he slammed the cup down on the table and backed away from it.  He hoisted his feet up onto the sofa huddling his arms around his legs.
"Oh! It is horrible!" He hissed again, gagging, almost retching.

Kathryn couldn't prevent a slight involuntary grin forming on her face as she watched the reaction, it wasn't particularly funny, but in her eyes it was so adorably cute.
"I did say it was an acquired taste," she mused, removing the cup from the table and returning to the replicator. She ordered a wipe cloth and a glass of milk, a drink she knew Aki loved, at least when in his little cat form, she figured it was probably a safer choice for the moment.

As Kathryn approached the sofa, Aki remained hunched up, staring blankly ahead. She could tell he seemed upset by the bad-taste experience; his tail swishing and flicking from side to side just like an annoyed cat.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly, sitting down close beside him.
Saying nothing, he looked away from her, as if disowning her, his expression wounded.

"Oh Aki, don't be upset," she whispered compassionately, now looking at the back of his head, her eyes once again drawn to the silky soft fur of his big cat ears.
Her instinct was to reach out and stroke them, just as she loved to when he was in his cat form. She reached her hand up but hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was okay or even inappropriate somehow, after all, he wasn't a cat any more, at least for the most part. But then she remembered just how much the little cat loved to have its ears stroked and petted and how settled it made him.
She cautiously began very tenderly caressing Aki's ears, ready to stop if he pulled away or gave any hint of rejection, but on the contrary, his head immediately pushed back into her hand, clearly wanting her to do it. She could sense him immediately become less tense and begin to relax.
He soon began giving out little purring sounds, calming right down. His tail stopped flicking and began to brush approvingly up against her wrist and hand as if encouraging her to keep doing it.

"You really are just like a kitty cat, aren't you," Janeway mused softly, smiling, continuing to lovingly caress his ears and hair, "even in your human form, it's still in your nature to be cat-like. I've never met anyone like you, Aki, I'm so glad you felt safe and loved enough to transform into your human self. I think you're going to be very happy here with us on Voyager."

Aki gently turned around, smiling mildly. In a very cat-like way he nuzzled up against her, pressing his face into her shoulder before pulling her arm around him like a scarf, hugging onto it with both his arms.
"I have never felt so happy or safe before," he spoke softly, "there are so many good people here on Voyager that I love, especially you, Kathryn, I knew you were a good kind person the first time I saw you on Mylar, long before you brought me to Voyager. Nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life here with you and everyone."

His sincere words landed straight on Kathryn's heart. Despite his transformation from being a cute little cat barely out of kittenhood, to a human boy, everything about him still remained immensely adorable, charming and cute, with his mesmerising big piercing-blue eyes, his adorable silky soft cat ears, his long fluffy tail and his reticent yet often very trusting, cat-like disposition.
Kathryn had fallen in love with him as a cat long before she'd bought him aboard Voyager, and even now, after the initial shock of his transformation into a human boy, she realised she still retained that same strong sense of love for him, but now she was sensing an extra, very powerful dimension to that feeling; a strong maternal instinct that made her feel like she wanted to care for and protect Aki, like a mother.

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