The Misadventures of Kade and Celine

Celine was both excited and nervous to have guests over for dinner. Guests besides Gibbet and Tillie, who had of course been invited over to see the place as soon as it was officially Kade and Celine’s. There was some part of her that had always liked the idea of playing hostess, though she’d never had many people to invite over. Now she was likely overcompensating by obsessing over every detail.

“Celine, these guys are just happy to be invited out. I really don’t think they’re going to care about which plates you use,” Kade remarked.

“But I care,” she insisted. She added a little more water to the vase of roses Kade had brought her, which were currently sprucing up the kitchen from their place on the windowsill. She zipped back over the oven, checking yet again that she hadn’t missed the timer and let her roast burn. Then she returned to the pie she was in the middle of prepping, wiping some flour on the frilly apron she was wearing.
She stood staring at her table spread with her hands on her hips for about the tenth time since she’d gotten home.

“The place looks amazing, the food smells amazing, you’re amazing,” Kade said, shaking his head and smiling. “You can relax.”

“Okay well that’s something I cannot do, actually. Not until the evening has been successful.” She untied her apron and then picked up her ring from the little dish she’d placed it in by the window so it wouldn’t get banged up as she cooked. She slipped it almost reverently onto her finger. Kade was watching her, smiling ever so slightly.

“So you like it?” he asked.

“You know I do.” Celine wrapped her arms around his waist. “I kinda like you, too.”

“Yeah? You're not so bad, either.”

“The words every girl dreams of hearing,” Celine said jokingly. Kade leaned down to brush a kiss across her lips and when he started to pull away, she yanked him back. She didn’t release him until the timer finally went off, and she had to untangle to go pull her dinner out of the oven. She glanced at the clock and let out a nervous squeak.

“They’re going to be here soon. I need to change. Kade, fix your hair.”

“You're the one who messed it up in the first place,” Kade mumbled as she bounded up the stairs to put on a slightly nicer dress. When she returned downstairs, she finished setting the table and Kade had, more or less, fixed his disheveled hair. The doorbell rang cheerily and Celine resisted an urge to gnaw on her cuticles.

“Wait,” she said as Kade moved toward the door. She inspected the silverware one last time to confirm that it was still as spotless as it had been earlier. “Okay, you can let them in now.”

Kade gave her a look of fond exasperation, planting a quick kiss on the top of her head as he went by. He opened the door and Celine heard him greet the other shifters.

“Oh, good. I was almost worried we had the wrong address,” Bobby said. “Your house is really nice.”

“Oh, that’s all Celine’s doing,” Kade replied. “Come on in, she just finished cooking.”

Celine gave them a sweet smile as they filed into the kitchen and they gave her shy hellos.

“I’m so happy you could make it,” she said. They got introductions out of the way as they fixed their plates.

“Um, thanks for having us,” Bobby said, still apparently too shy to look directly at her. “It’s pretty cool that you’re willing to, uh, you know. Have Mutts over to your nice house.”

“Shifters,” Celine said automatically, scooping some potatoes onto her plate. They all looked at her blankly while Kade smiled into his glass of cider.

“Shifters,” Celine repeated gently. “I don’t like the word Mutt.”

“Oh. Well…it’s nice that you’re willing to have shifters over, then.”

Celine kept the chatter going, trying to make sure no one got left out or stuck with long awkward pauses. They seemed surprised by her genuine questions and even more so when she mentioned that her best friend was a werewolf.

“Tillie is great,” Celine said. “She was tending bar at the lounge when the old owner hired me, but she runs the whole place now. The old owner sort of…lost his head and needed to give it up.”

Kade choked on his roast trying not to laugh. He shot her a sideways look and Celine winked quickly at him. After dinner she shooed them all into the living room, where Jinxie was munching on the sugared figs she’d bought for him. She could hear him telling the shifters all about how he’d escaped from some fairies conducting magical experiments in augmenting animals so they could sell them for outrageous prices. Celine remained in the kitchen, slicing pie and pouring cups of coffee. Kade came up behind her, gently resting a hand on the small of her back.

“I came to help with dessert while Jinxie entertains,” he said.

“That bat loves an audience,” Celine laughed. She glanced back toward the living room and then lowered her voice. “Do you think it’s going okay?”

“Yes. I told you you didn’t need to be nervous.”

“It was sweet of you to invite them over.”

“I think they might be a little in love with you now.”

Celine giggled softly. “You think everyone is in love with me, you big doofus.”

“Maybe I just love you enough for everyone.”

Celine couldn’t stop the blush or the big stupid smile that spread across her face. She kissed him softly.

“Careful, sugar, you're getting dangerously close to charming,” she teased.

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

He helped her carry the plates and mugs to the living room, where Jinxie had finally finished his grand tale of adventure. Celine seemed to have finally gotten the shifters to overcome their shyness the smallest bit, and her own nerves were mostly forgotten as she sat beside Kade. Even if he insisted that she was a charming hostess, she always felt shy and she admired his more laid back manner. Even if it meant he sometimes forgot to filter himself.

It was getting late when the shifters left, and Celine curled up on the porch swing with Kade. Her head rested on his shoulder as he brushed his fingers through her hair.

“Are you asleep?” he asked finally. “You’ve been quiet for a long time.”

“No, I’m awake. I was thinking about my parents, actually.”

“What about them?”

“My dad is a vampire, obviously. But he visited sometimes when I was little. And I’d sneak down after I was supposed to be in bed and eavesdrop on them. They seemed content with each other. I spied on them kissing once and I got embarrassed for snooping but it made me kind of happy too, to think that at least the two people who made me maybe actually loved each other.”

“I’m sure they did. I don’t know how else you get a Celine.”

She smiled, then shifted and sat up to look at him. “I was also thinking about how my mom continued to see my dad and she kept her dhampir daughter, even though people reviled us for it,” she said slowly. “She loved me anyway, and she always had my back. She was literally willing to die to protect me. And that got me thinking about you.”

“About me?”

“I love you, and I’m always going to have your back. You’re…” She thought for a moment, searching for the right word. “You’re my home.” She settled back down next to him, tucking her head under his chin. “I just wanted to tell you that.”