Disclaimer: Been a while. This scenario just popped up in my head yesterday as I went to bed, I just thought there wasn't enough Greil/Elena on so a little fluff cannot hurt. Once in a while .

CAT-ASTROPHY

Elena uneasily looked up and out the window. Night had long since fallen on the small village, and Gawain had yet to come home. He usually warned her when he would have to patrol until late in the night, but he had assured her in the morning that he wouldn't be late. This is your birthday, after all, he had smiled, before kissing her goodbye and hurrying to his horse.

While the young woman knew there was no real reason to be afraid – Gawain could defend himself perfectly well, even if outnumbered – worry gnawed at her heart. At first she had just been disappointed that he was late the evening of her birthday, although she cherished every day spent with him just the same, but now that it was pitch black outside, she was beginning to feel frightened. Pacing in their small but cosy living room didn't help her nerves at all. It was near ten now; dinner was cold and long forgotten.

Elena took a big breath to calm herself as she sat down on the brown couch Gawain had built during last winter. She once again glanced outside; black, and probably bone-freezing. A true December night.

Suddenly she heard the hooves of a running horse. The young woman jumped up from her seat and rushed to the window, just in time to see Gawain dismount his steed. A grin crossed Elena's features and she frowned immediately after; wasn't she supposed to feel angry at him for leaving her all alone? She just never seemed to quarrel with him, and right now, she was just too happy to see him that nothing else mattered.

Elena reached the door the exact moment he opened it.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" was the first thing Gawain said upon seeing her, raising his hands. "It wasn't supposed to take that long, I just ran into a few-"

"Oh will you shut up?" Elena stood on her tip toes and kissed his cold cheek. "Goddess, Gawain, you're freezing out there! Don't stand like that!" She gently took his hand and pulled him inside, closing the door behind him and shutting the cold air out.

Elena turned around to take a good look at the man she loved; he wore a dark tunic and had his travelling cloak wrapped around himself. Probably to warm him up, she mused, although she wondered why he was holding the cloak against his stomach.

Elena brushed those thoughts away as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and snuggled into his back. "And how was your day, sweetie?" she asked, her voice muffled by his cloak.

"Boring," Gawain said with a tired smile, caressing one of her hands that were clasped on his belly. "We just had to escort a few senators and I finished some paperwork I had left. I was ready to go until I noticed Bryce had left… without filling his paperwork." Gawain sighed. "I did it for him and that's why I'm late, I'm sorry. I couldn't let Bryce get punished by the King, he's… well, he's not feeling very well these days, Petrine keeps on pretending he's not even here, I just thought I would help him out."

Elena smiled and kissed his shoulder blade through the clothing. "You did well, Gawain, I'm not mad at you, you big hero." The taller man turned around in her arms so he could look down at her, smiling. "It's not your fault if you are such a softie after all."

Gawain chuckled and bent down to press his lips to hers for a gentle kiss. Elena raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck, slipping one hand in his collar to rub his shoulder. In order to deepen the kiss, she pressed herself closer to his body. And that's when she felt it.

Elena startled when she felt something squirm against her belly from pressing up to Gawain. Widening her eyes, she looked up at the horse fighter, who just sighed. "That's… the next thing I wanted to talk to you about," he said hesitantly.

When Elena made no move his way, Gawain felt it was better if he got this over with. With his right hand, he gently unwrapped the cloak that was against his stomach, all the while supporting the small bulge there with his left hand. The cloth slipped away to reveal a bright orange kitten that was so tiny Gawain could hold it within one fist.

The small creature blinked, taking in its surroundings, its sharp ears flicking now and then. Neither of the two humans in the room spoke, before Gawain cleared his throat. "H-Happy birthday, Elena."

Silence. Gawain knew he had taken a great risk taking in this kitten, because he knew for a fact that Elena didn't cherish the idea of a pet. When he had brought that matter up, she had answered that they had no use of a pet, with them away from the house all day. Although Gawain was more of a god person, he had thought a cat might do the trick: it wandered as it pleased, able to take care of itself and needing only a bowl of food every day. It wasn't a big responsibility from his point of view, less than a dog or a kid for that matter.

Then again… he had this nasty habit of picking up strays because he didn't have the heart to abandon a lost puppy or a famished cat to its fate. If Elena hadn't made him release the animals as soon as they were better, they would have four cats, two dogs and a couple of birds. Gawain didn't want Elena to think he had found another stray and took advantage of her birthday to adopt it.

And, by the way she walked out of the room without so much as a glance at him, he figured that she thought exactly that.

Gawain sighed and set the orange kitten on the couch. The cute ball snuggled up to a pillow, fluffing up its fur. The man chuckled and scratched the kitten behind the ears. "Make some room for me, little one, I've got a feeling I won't get near the bedroom before a long time." He smiled bitterly when the cat yawned, showing off his toothless gums. The kitten had just been an idea, so he didn't come home empty-handed, but his real present… well, he guessed there was no way he could talk to her about it that night.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a neat pile of blankets being dropped on the couch next to the cat. The brown-haired man looked up to Elena who, though she showed nothing of it, was definitively angry at him. "I'm sorry I didn't warn you, but it was supposed to be a surprise," he muttered.

"Living with you taught me one thing: surprises are never good," Elena said sharply, her hands on her hips. "I thought I made it clear that I wanted you to stop picking strays from the streets and bringing them home."

"I did not find him in a street, Tauroneo's cat gave birth to kittens and he gave one to me, that's all," Gawain countered calmly, aware that it wasn't in his best interest to get Elena worked up if he wanted to have a chance to sleep in his bed that night.

The young woman sighed. "I told you a pet would be too troublesome given our respective jobs."

"He won't be a bother! I'll feed him if you don't want to. Once he is adult he'll be able to take care of himself, but as for now he doesn't take up so much space, I mean, he's just a baby," Gawain almost begged.

"You're the one who sounds like a baby." Elena turned around and walked to their bedroom. "Make yourself comfortable on the couch."

"Can I at least have a goodnight kiss?"

The only answer he got was a pillow to his head; the Rider realized he was in for a long, cold night.

Midnight. Elena rolled over once again, trying to settle her mind down to sleep, although she knew it was a lost cause. She had long since become accustomed to drifting off to sleep with Gawain's strong arms around her, his chest pressed up to her back and his hot breath on the back of her neck, their hips clasped together… It was so cold at night she wondered how he could still sleep shirtless, but she never complained when the warmth radiating from his chiselled chest seeped through her nightgown and into her flesh.

A warmth she was missing now. And thinking about her poor man lying on his own on a cold couch made her heart clench.

As quietly as she knew how, Elena got up, grabbing Gawain's travelling cloak and wrapping it tightly around herself, taking in his spiced scent. She then tiptoed out of the bedroom , but what she saw made her stop in her tracks.

The tiny cat was stretched out on the couch, although he hardly took up more space than a pillow, fast asleep. On the floor before the couch, Gawain was curled up under a thick grey blanket, scratches running up and down his arms and his cheeks. It seemed he had tried to arrange pillows to form some sort of mattress, to no real avail because the pillows had ended up scattered around the floor by his shifting.

Elena stifled a soft chuckle as she walked over to the couch and stroked the kitten's belly. "You've got some nerve, attacking the man who took you in although he was told not to," she whispered, amused, as the small cat opened one eye halfway and looked lazily up at her. Elena stopped her urge to coo at the sight of the bright green orbs. "Come here, little one."

The healer slipped her hands under the kitten and picked him up effortlessly, chuckling at the squeak that resulted from the sudden change of position. She sat down on the couch before lying onto her side, the small animal curled up against her stomach.

Supporting her head with her right hand, Elena reached down with her free one to stroke Gawain's hair. The small movement was enough to wake the Rider from his light sleep.

"Hey down there," Elena called out gently, her hands still caressing the short spikes.

He blinked in the darkness before he finally registered what was happening. "Hey up there," he replied sleepily, shifting so he could look up at her without twisting his neck at a painful angle. "Trouble sleeping?"

"Kind of." Elena's hand trailed lower to rub Gawain's cheek and neck. "I feel like something is missing."

"Maybe you forgot to lock the door," the man joked, but his voice held some level of uncertainty.

The hand on his cheek gave him a mock slap. "No, silly. Not that kind of something."

"Oh, right."

Silence settled between the two of them, only broken by the kitten soft snores.

Gawain felt he had to say something. "Could we… talk a bit about the cat?" he asked.

"Yes, there are things I'd like to say."

"I never meant it as a burden, I mean, I just wanted you to have something to come home to on those nights I'm away patrolling. You've been under a lot of stress these last few days, and I just thought a cat might be a good way to relax, you know, because dogs need to be taken out and need a lot of attention, whereas a cat-"

"I want to name it Fireball."

Gawain still had his mouth open, having been interrupted in the middle of his tirade. He couldn't believe Elena had just popped the idea out of the blue while he thought he still had to convince her to keep the animal. As his eyes bore into his loved one's, though, he saw no hint of malice. Just sincerity.

Gawain smiled warmly. "Fireball? Why that?"

"Well, first, because he's almost red… and then, because he must have a fierce temper if he managed to throw you off the couch and make you sleep on the floor," Elena chuckled, her hand rubbing at the scratches.

Gawain scratched his head. "Yeah, we had a bit of a tussle earlier…I think it's obvious who won."

The young woman laughed softly and bent low to kiss him. "I think so too."

"So it's settled, you want to keep him?" Gawain asked.

Elena nodded. "Yes, I'll give him a chance. Thank you for the birthday present, love." She bent once again to place a longer kiss sideways on her Rider's lips.

Then it clicked in Gawain's head that he still had something to say. "Birthday present?" he repeated as he sat up to be at her level, playing dumb. "I haven't even given it to you yet."

Elena tilted her head to the side, puzzled. "But you said-"

"Never mind what I said." Gawain took both of her hands in his and looked at her in the eye. "Elena, I've been meaning to ask you this for quite a long time now, but I just needed time to work up the courage. So, ever since we started living together, I've wanted to know… Elena, will you marry me?"

Suddenly, the night wasn't so cold anymore as Elena felt her body temperature shoot through the roof. She had made him sleep on the couch while he had wanted to propose to her… she didn't even deserve him! But deep down, she knew there was only one answer she could give him.

"Yes! I'll marry you!" She threw herself at him, knocking him on the floor onto his back and waking Fireball out of his beauty sleep. Both of them ignored the seething kitten as they kissed with more passion than Elena remembered showing the last few weeks. Gawain's hands were gripping her lower back, pushing her belly into his stomach, while hers were either caressing his hair or massaging his nape.

"I love you," Gawain whispered against her lips.

"I love you more," Elena countered playfully, nuzzling his chin and scattering kisses along his throat, making him growl. "Come with me to the bedroom?"

"You're not comfortable down here?" Gawain asked, nuzzling her hair and stroking her back.

"Some of the things I'd like to do with you require a bed so… unless you'd rather sleep on the floor…" Elena grinned when Gawain scooped her up into his strong arms and stood up. "Just as I thought."

Fireball was glad those two hormones-driven humans were going away. He had the feeling it would be hard to spend peaceful nights in that house.