Sting wasn't planning on coming home with a cat.
Looking back on it, he should have known better. It had seemed harmless enough at the time. Chad had said he was going to the Valentine's Day event at the animal shelter because he'd been wanting a dog forever, and would Sting like to come along, and of course he'd said yes because how could he turn down an offer of visiting puppies?
The first warning sign should have been when he'd seen the cats and had told Chad he was just going to go visit them and maybe pet one or two. It couldn't hurt to look, and besides, they already had three cats at home so it wasn't like he would be tempted to get another.
Then he overheard the vet talking to one of the nurses.
"They decided not to take her," she said, a pinched look of disappointment on her face. "I just don't know what to do – that's the third family who've changed their minds."
Before he could stop himself, Sting was at the desk, asking what she was talking about.
"We have a cat that's been difficult to place," she said, giving him a wistful smile. "She's older and she's got some special needs – people tend to prefer the kittens."
"Can I see her?" Sting asked immediately.
Which is how he ended up sitting on the floor in the back room of the animal shelter, holding out his hand and making soft sounds at the uncertain-looking cat hiding behind the nearby table.
"C'mon, darling," Sting said gently. "I won't hurt you."
"She's been through a lot," the vet explained. "Someone found her half-frozen on the side of the road back in November; she almost didn't make it. She has separation anxiety so she's better off in a home that already has a friendly cat to keep her company. We haven't had much luck finding her a family."
A piece of Sting's heart crumpled, and he made a comforting sound, waiting patiently until the cat peeked her head around the table leg again. Her coat was a dark, smoky color, and she stared at him curiously with a single deep blue eye. The other side of her face was scarred and blind, and when she finally took a few steps forward, Sting could see that one of her front legs was missing.
"She had bad frostbite," the vet said. "We couldn't save her leg. She gets around okay, though."
"I bet she does," Sting said softly, keeping his voice low and gentle as he watched the cat. "You've been a very brave girl, haven't you?"
The cat's ears perked up and she took a few more cautious steps forward, then stumbled right into Sting's lap.
"Oh," he breathed as she stared up at him, then let out a tiny, barely audible meow. He stroked the top of her head gently and she immediately started purring, rubbing herself against his hand. "You like cuddles, don't you?" Sting murmured, laughing as she nosed at his hand, then turned in an awkward circle and settled against his leg contentedly.
Sting swallowed back the lump that appeared in his throat and sniffed, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "She's perfect," he said softly. "I'll take her."
Gray woke up from his nap to the sound of cursing. Rogue was curled up at the other end of the couch knitting, and Natsu was sitting on the floor, playing some new fighting game and swearing at the television.
"Motherfucking…" He growled, shifting to the side and nearly knocking over his bowl of popcorn. "Stupid son of a…"
Gray rolled his eyes, stretching and yawning. "I'm sure swearing at it will help," he said, laughing when Natsu glared at him.
"It can't hurt," he grumbled, grabbing a piece of popcorn and tossing it at Gray's head. "I need Sting on my team, I suck without him."
"Looks like you're in luck," Gray said as the front door swung open and Sting appeared, shaking the snow out of his hair and kicking off his boots. "Hey, love."
"Hey," Sting said, moving hesitantly toward the couch with something held in his arms. "I, uh…" The bundle turned to Gray and meowed at him. "Surprise?"
The other three cats were instantly awake, heads tilted and ears flicking toward the newcomer. Happy hopped up on the back of the couch and moved closer to Sting, tail flicking as he sniffed the new cat curiously.
Natsu tipped his head back, looking at Sting upside-down before pausing the game. "Babe, what did you—"
"Okay," Sting interrupted quickly, "before you say anything, I wasn't planning on it, but nobody wanted her and she didn't have a home because everyone wanted the kittens and she's older and only has three legs, and I couldn't just leave her there." He sat down carefully on the couch between Rogue and Gray, who could see the beginnings of tears in his eyes. "Please don't be mad."
"Sweetheart," Gray said gently, sitting up and shifting closer to Sting. Something in him melted at the tender way Sting held the cat while Frosche, Lector and Happy sniffed her curiously. "How could you possibly think we were going to be mad at you?"
Sting looked up at Gray uncertainly. "I know we already have these three, and I didn't ask, I just… she didn't have anywhere to go." He looked miserable, and Gray reached out and pulled him close.
"You have such a big heart," he murmured, wrapping an arm around Sting and kissing his forehead. "It's why we love you."
"She's gorgeous," Rogue said softly, shuffling closer and reaching out his hand. She sniffed it, headbutting his fingers and making a quiet, contented sound as he scratched behind her ears.
Natsu set down the controller and moved closer too, sitting on the floor so he was eye level with the cat. "Aw, poor baby," he murmured, running his finger above the scar where her missing eye would have been. "You're gonna love it here, Gray and Rogue are gonna spoil the shit out of you."
Gray snorted. "I'm pretty sure Rogue's already picked out what color sweater he's gonna knit."
Rogue glared at him, then sighed and admitted, "Yellow."
The other three cats seemed pleased with their inspection. Happy settled onto Sting's lap next to the new cat and immediately began grooming her, while the other two returned to sleeping on the soft blanket behind Gray.
"Happy Valentines Day, I guess?" Sting said uncertainly.
"She's definitely better than flowers," Rogue said, kissing Sting's temple. "She's lucky you found her."
Gray laughed when the cat settled down on Sting's lap, balancing carefully on her hind legs before batting out her front paw at a piece of string that had escaped from Rogue's knitting.
"What's her name?" he asked as he ran a finger over her nose.
Sting's uncertain expression turned into a soft smile, and he kissed Gray on the cheek before responding.
"Soleil."
A/N: Soleil means 'sun' in French ^-^