Author's Note:
For those wondering, Celina was adopted at a very young age into Henry's family. That makes him her non-biological brother, so he does not share the bottechat gene with her. As we can infer from our beloved Grimm episodes, most of these creatures are born, not made. Poor Celina is all alone...
Hope that helps!
Eddie drove to the restaurant in his newly fixed and much quieter car. For all the irritation that Bobby had caused, the mechanic knew his stuff. He had even waxed the gracefully aged VW, which made the blutbad feel guilty for grinding his teeth at him. After all, if the mechanic had not been so irksome, Eddie would not be here...
About to walk into a kebab place...
to have lunch with a cat-woman...
Grinning stupidly as he imagined Celina dressed as Cat Woman, Eddie parallel parked across the street from the restaurant, silenced the engine, and cocked the rearview mirror to look himself sternly in the eye. "You can do this," said the serious blue eyes reflecting back. "You're handsome as hell, and you smell great, and she obviously isn't scared off by beards..."
The blutbad trailed off when a couple walked by the car, casting furtive glances his way.
With a steely nod, Eddie popped out of the car, the door creaking as antiques are wont to do. With a stride like he was going to war, he began to cross the street.
Against the light, as it turned out.
In a blur of horns honking and tires shrieking, Eddie made it across the street. What did I ever do to cars? he bemoaned internally. After panting with his hands on his knees for a minute (going from Beatles-on-Abbey-Street to dead sprint was a hair taxing), he straightened, self-consciously wondering who had witnessed his ordeal.
On the other side of the decorative wrought iron fence, literally right in front of him, Celina was sheepishly staring at him from her seat at a table for two.
"I was wondering when you were going to notice me," she said, biting her lip.
Eddie, through his wolf side, was a master at reading body language. Humans were a bit more subtle than raised hackles or tucked tails, but still, he knew she was close to laughter: all he had to do was nudge her over the edge. The blutbad leaned over the fence partially so that only Celina could hear his quiet tone. "How many wolves does it take to cross the street?"
Celina bit her lip again, dimples in distress but eyes flirtatious. "I don't know."
Eddie grinned. "One to cross, and one to call 911."
That did it. Celina's carefully contained laugh burst loose and threatened to leave her breathless. A few people looked up from their meals at the disturbance of the two of them, but Celina and Eddie did not care. They had eyes only for each other, a magnetic, affectionate attention.
They hadn't even sat down yet.
After her peals had subsided, she beamed at him, and they took a moment to quietly appraise each other. "You look nice," she said. She leaned closer, slightly over the fence, nose twitching and pupils lengthening like a cat's. "And you smell really nice," she purred approvingly.
"Thanks," replied Eddie. Her minor shift from woman to cat in her eyes and voice made him clear his throat to rid it of the sudden deepness. "You look..." Wow. Her hair was straight this time, and every strand shone like faceted rubies. She had on an amazing top that did things to her chest, giving hints but no promises. It made her eyes look like jade fires, but that might have been the lingering cat. He didn't care which nature she exhibited: she was still beautiful.
He couldn't believe he'd just thought that of a girl he'd only met twice. That engrossed him for a moment, sent him for a minor loop. He had to reel himself back in. She can be a supermodel, he chided himself. And still be a rotten person. You've been burned before: best leave the verdict out for now.
Eddie realized he'd left her hanging just as she giggled, "Your face says plenty." Motioning to the seat opposite of her, she said in a parody of formality, "Join me, Eddie?"
"Gladly, Celina," replied the blutbad, swinging over the low fence with Mexican sage and sitting down across from her. "I hope you weren't waiting long."
"No, no, I got here early," she assured. She was secretly pleased that he couldn't wait to sit across from her, forgoing walking through the restaurant in his eagerness. "No fault of yours."
"Did you drive?"
"Yeah. Mine's the little VW Beetle." She pointed to a mint green number in the corner of the lot. "She's my baby."
"I drive a VW, too." It had to be a sign. Really, what were the odds?
"Aren't they the sweetest rides?" she gushed. "Gotta love German engineering."
Eddie chuckled, gesturing to his car across the street. "Mine's a little less sweet, a little more antique."
The bottechat looked where he directed. "Nonsense. She's a stunner!"
"Yeah," Eddie said, crooking a meaningful smile. "She is."
Celina blushed spectacularly and hid behind her menu. "Do you know what you want yet?"
"Yeah, actually," replied the blutbad, pleased that his compliment hit home. "What the guy three tables over got."
Celina peered out from behind the menu, sniffing the air and wrinkling her nose. "Hmm. I like what the lady behind me has."
Eddie glanced over Celina's shoulder at the woman in question, whose entree was a mushroom and vegetable kebab on couscous with a cucumber salad. "That looks...nice," he said evenly.
She snickered. "Convincing," she ribbed sarcastically.
"I try," he replied, equally sarcastic.
They swirled in their own private galaxy as they laughed. "You're a snarky one, aren'tcha?" she teased, noticing how light his face looked when he laughed. It made her heart light, in turn.
"Come for the snark, stay for the conversation," he responded with a smile. "I have that on a t-shirt, somewhere."
The conversation paused when the waiter came by to take their orders. Moments later, bottechat and blutbad were sucking down iced water.
"No one else I know drinks water with meals," griped Celina mildly around her straw.
Eddie frowned, thinking. "Come to think of it, no one else I know does, either." Yeah, all of the three people he saw regularly, with Nick Burkhardt the Grimm being the only one Eddie drank anything with. And that was mostly beer or coffee, depending on the hour.
For the moment of silence in which they sated their thirsts, Eddie reflected on how socially deprived he was. Living the quiet, veggie-wolf life was lonely, if he thought about it, despite being rife with silver linings like peace, easy living, and being able to work from home.
Still, he opined mentally that he didn't have enough contact with people, by his and probably the American Psychology Association's yardstick. It weighed on him in various ways, none of which were readily visible, but took their toll nonetheless.
Was he damaged? His eyes flickered to his date. Did she notice any awkwardness about him? If she did, warned the eternal cynic inside him, it would probably be the cause of their parting.
Even if Celina and I don't...work out long term, he thought, by way of consolation and galvanization. It will mean more social...stuff. Getting out of the house...
Her next question neatly chucked that train of thought out the window.
"Have you figured out what I do for a living yet?" Celina asked.
But dang, he was a sucker for a coy and teasing woman. "You haven't given me any hints," Eddie replied.
She tapped her pink (again, Wow) lips with her finger, eyeing him thoughtfully. "I will give you one, for now." With that she stood up, turned once on her booted heels, and sat back down.
Eddie's brow furrowed. "That's all I get?"
She gave him a coquettish shrug and quirked her eyebrow.
"What is this, Rumpelstiltskin?" he asked in mock outrage. Whilst she giggled at his tone, he continued, "Seriously? A catwalk turn? That's all you got for me?"
"Think of it this way," Celina said, swirling her sweating glass. "If I keep you intrigued, at least I know you'll be thinking of me."
Eddie made a pfft! noise. "Like that was ever a problem."
She blushed bright red again.
Eddie pressed his advantage. "Did you know," he asked conspiratorially. "That blutbads are attracted to the color red?"
Ever the hungry one for knowledge, Celina's face expressed interest. "No." She touched her hair suddenly, eyes wide. "Is that why you...?"
"No, no, no," he assured, pulling her hand away and reluctant to let it go. "Not the only reason, trust me."
"Phew," Celina said with exaggerated relief. Their hands stayed joined, and Celina's blush deepened at the attention. In the same conspiratorial tone, she asked, "Did you know that bottechats, at least this bottechat, are attracted by smell?"
He shook his head. "I did not."
She nodded. "Think catnip, or lavender. You use a mint shampoo, don't you? I smelled it on you yesterday, even over the coffee." She voice dropped a little, fingers tightening in his grip. "And that cologne you have on now, that's got sandalwood in it. Serious kitty mojo, mister."
"Is that so?" he asked, leaning forward. "So if I rub on a little catnip, you'll go crazy for me like a cat does?"
She laughed, and met his gaze in a way that made both their hearts stutter. "Trust me, you don't need the catnip."
Eddie raised his sweating glass with his free hand. "To good smells, and even better company."
She clinked with him, lashes fluttering. "To even better company."
Their food came and the conversation flowed. Later, privately, neither could remember when the plates were cleared or exactly what the conversation was about. The only thing either could recall was the feeling of intense familiarity, and of shyness overcome -
"Can I walk you to your car?"
"Okay."
- and of smiles that wouldn't quit
Oooh, what's gonna happen? What's old wolfie up to? And what does Celina do for a living? Can anyone guess?
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