Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Stephen was accustomed to the cat’s presence in his lab now. He apparently didn’t have a say in the matter since all of his attempts to shoo the animal away failed. To his astonishment, the Arachnamechs were afraid of it.
“You were designed to engage Cybertronians. A cat shouldn’t be an issue for you!” he shouted at his creations.
The robots fidgeted in shame. No matter, it wasn’t as if the cat interfered with his work. He never owned a cat, but he interacted with a few over the years. He much preferred them over dogs because of their general temperament.
Right now, the feline in question claimed a spot on his desk. He wouldn’t have a problem with that except that it was currently sitting on top of schematics he needed for his latest project.
With a sigh, he tried gently nudging it with his human hand. The cat let out a “Mrr” and stared at him in annoyance.
“You’re sorely mistaken if you think you can just claim my lab as your home and do whatever you want.” He spoke as if he was talking to another person.
He made another attempt to move it, but the cat wouldn’t budge. When that didn’t work, he grabbed an edge of the blueprint and slid it a few inches. The animal was unphased as its body slightly wobbled from the movement. It occurred to him that he could bribe it with food, but he didn’t have any that was suitable for a cat. Even if it annoyed him, he didn’t want to harm it. That was why he was hesitant to touch it with his Cybertronian hand. He still wasn’t accustomed to fully using the limb yet.
Running a hand over his face, he scanned the desk to see if there was anything close by to use as a distraction. He did have a laser pointer, though he normally used it for measuring.
With a smug smile, he grabbed the tool and pointed it on the floor. The cat’s eyes immediately dilated, clearly interested in the makeshift toy. He moved the red dot back and forth, the feline’s head following it. Just as he was beginning to lose patience, it jumped down to pounce on the light. Thankfully nothing was knocked off his desk. Unfortunately, the schematic was now slightly wrinkled. He supposed he would have to start putting important things away to prevent the cat from getting to it.
Putting the laser pointer down, he picked up the sheet, but stopped when he saw how offended the animal looked.
“I’m not here to amuse you.” he said. “I have matters that require my attention.”
“Mew!” It headbutted his leg.
“Begging or acting adorable won’t be enough to sway me.” He froze, unable to believe that he just said the word ‘adorable’.
A clunk interrupted his thoughts. The cat had jumped back on his desk and knocked off the laser pointer. He raised his eyebrow, but the animal started grooming its paw.
With how long his new right arm was, he didn’t even really have to bend down to pick the tool up. He placed it back on the surface. Without warning, the animal pushed it off. In the background, the Arachnamechs let out a robotic laugh.
“I forgot just how difficult cats could be.” the scientist commented. Without breaking eye contact with the cat, he put the laser pointer back. A paw immediately went for it. “Stop!” He didn’t yell, but was close. That seemed to work, until the feline batted the item to the side. He had the Cybertronian threat to deal with and yet he was currently locked in a battle of wills with a stray. Why was he even concerning himself with this?
Instead of putting the laser pointer on the desk, he placed it in his lab coat pocket. “You’ve proven you that can’t be trusted.” He was answered by another “Mrr”.