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You are more nervous than you have probably ever been in your life.
The massive Na'vi on the other side of the glass had quickly become violent upon awakening from his incubation, easily wreaking the room and fighting everyone who dared to come near. It took multiple of the other recombinants holding him in place for him to finally calm down enough to process the situation. He was a Na'vi now.
You weren't surprised by the explosive reaction per se, the others had reacted negatively as well after all, but the danger radiating off of the Colonel was thick in the air and his almost instant control over his new body was intimidating to put it lightly.
Seeing him examining his appearance in the one way glass separating you certainly didn't help. All sharp edges and the aura of a predator. He was terrifying. Oddly beautiful, but terrifying.
Reality sets in that you will have to examine him up close. Make sure everything turned out as it was supposed to. A shiver of excitement and fear goes up your spine before you head off to prepare a private examination room.
---
The door hisses as it slides open, the towering Na'vi crouching down as he enters.
"Hello Colonel Quaritch." You greet from where you're laying out your instruments before turning to face him. "Im gonna be your doctor today. Just a check up and some tests. Im not planning to take up all your time sir."
The colonel stares you down, large eyes squinting as he examines your resolve. He nods in what you guess is approval and fully enters the room.
"Alright." His ear twitches.
'Cute' you think to yourself. You can't help but stare a little. The hoarse accent he had was surprising but rather charming paired with the little tics he couldn't yet control.
"Am I supposed to sit on the floor or something?" His tail whips behind him, clearly not a fan of the prospect. "There ain't shit in here."
"You get the floor and can sit comfortably or a table and have to hunch over the entire time. Your pick Colonel." You state matter of factly before you can think it through.
He stares at you with an unreadable gaze and you want to sink through the floor to escape its intensity.
'This is where I die.' You think.
"Well damn." He huffs out what almost sounds like a laugh and gives you a dangerous grin. His tail curls slightly. "Guess I just gotta sit pretty then." He sits down on the floor in the middle of the room.
You let out a small sigh of relief. You get to live another day. As long as you don't fuck up again.
"Thank you. I'm going to start with checking your pupils." You take out a small light and shine it into the colonels eyes one by one. His pupils retract to almost pinpoint dots. You nod before switching off the little light and sway it in front of his face. His pupils expand and his ears draw back slightly in response as he follows the objects movement.
"Sir please keep your head still." You smile at the frustrated look that flashes over Quaritchs face.
"I am still."
'You're not.'
You try again and he moves once more. You click your tongue in amused frustration and gently grab onto his face by his jaw to keep him still.
"I need to see that your eyes move like they should Colonel. Please behave for me."
His eyes widen slightly but he obeys. His gaze follows the flashlight easily but you can feel his muscles twitch to move under your grip.
"There you go. Good job." You instinctively rub your thumb over his skin where you hold onto him. His pupils expand and you know you must be imagining feeling him leaning into the touch.
You meticulously continue to examine him, checking the movements of his queues neural tendrils, hand eye coordination, general dexterity etc.
"Alright Colonel, I'm almost done. I just have to check your hearing and ear mobility."
Quaritch makes a noise in the back of his throat, his tail swishing behind him. His brows furrow and he scowls, impatience and frustration having gradually mounted as time went on.
'Huh..he's kind of like a big cat. I wonder...' You reach out and snap your fingers behind him. Both his ears fold against his head in the direction of the noise, tail smacking loudly against the metal floor in annoyance every time you snap.
"Okay okay I'm done I'm done." You rub his pointy ears to try to soothe him without thinking about it. "You did well sir. Everything seems to be working-...sir?"
Quaritchs leg twitches as you rub his ears. He begrudgingly leans into your hand, a low rumble coming from his throat.
'Oh. O h.' You stare in shock at the massive man and he glares back at you when you stop. An immediate tell to keep going. 'No one will ever believe this.' You quickly resume rubbing his ears, one hand finding it's way to the nape of his neck and gently scratching at his scalp. The rumble slowly gets louder and you realise he's purring. Colonel Miles Quaritch is purring. You feel the gentle trembles from his tail as it wraps around your leg.
The Colonel blinks slowly, large yellow eyes almost closed. You move a hand to his chin and scratch him softly there as well. The purring vibrates through your hand as you reach beneath his jaw. Quaritch quickly keening into your touch despite the disgruntled look on his stern face.
You are allowed to pet and scratch the man in front of you for a few minutes before he suddenly comes to and shoves you to the floor.
"No one. And I repeat no one can know about this." Quaritch growls as he bares his teeth at you, his tail thrashing violently behind him. "Is that understood?"
"Yes sir." You respond, your hands up in defence. "Sorry sir."
"Good." The Colonel says in a dangerous low tone before standing.
You stare at him silently for a moment from where you lay, lazily taking in his impressive physique. 'damn he's handsome..'
"Come back anytime you need to let off some steam sir!" You dare to call out to the man, not sure if he'll just turn around and rip you to shreds but willing to take the risk if it meant getting a chance to see him like that again.
He stares at you from the door and hisses before leaving. He'll definitely be back if those red ears are anything to go off of.
'Who would have thought Colonel Miles Quaritch would be such a lap cat?'