Falling in Love is Embarrassing

~Epilogue~

"Are you coming or not?" Ren asked in irritation as Natsumi sauntered behind him. "Quit dragging your feet - the sooner we get this over with the better."

"Obviously." She mumbled.

The vampire sighed, turned briskly, and stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Do you honestly think I'm thrilled about it?" He spat.

Ren had made every effort to keep his relationship with Natsumi off the radar, and for a while it had seemed to be working. Often, he would manage to sneak into his room without any notice by his family. Of course, much to his annoyance, his unvampire sister was a light sleeper/ Combined with the fact that she woke up shortly after dawn, he should have known that sooner or later she would snag him. Just the thought of that morning made his lips curl into a snarl.

"It's your own fault." She sighed. "Although, in all fairness, your sister and I are acquaintances so sooner or later she probably would have found out on her own, anyway."

It was true, of course. Natsumi went to the same school as his twerp of a sister, and was in the same grade to boot.

"Yeah, I know that." He rubbed his temples and then cupped her shoulders, pulling her closer. When he was nose to nose with her smirked. "But now you've brought this upon yourself so much sooner than it needed to happen."

"Oh come now," She snorted. "Surely you don't think I'm afraid to meet your family?"

Ren winced. Bringing a human, especially one that smelt as divine as Natsumi into a house full of virulent vampires (with the exception of his runt of a sister) was surely reason for alarm. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'm sure they're very pleasant. They can't be worse company than you ever were."

The vampire rolled his eyes, gold piercing at her swiftly before looking away.

"Suit yourself."

After a bit more walking, she let out a half groan. "I must say, you do live quite deep in the wood."

"Oh yes," He said with a grin. "Makes it easier for us to dispose of all the lifeless bodies we've drained."

"Knock it off." She smacked his arm in annoyance, but Ren could also detect a hint of her playful sarcasm. He smirked and continued,

"It's no laughing matter, Natsumi. I think you'll find I'm the most . . . sympathetic of my family in regard to human life."

"Right."

"Well . . . " He said as he came to a stop. "Here we are."

Ren watched Natsumi's face distort from composed to somewhat surprised. Sure, she was expecting it to look . . . different from regular human households, but it gave off the aura of an abandoned haunted house to her. The flock of bats circling the rooftop definitely gave it a nice finishing touch. She swallowed hard and Ren scoffed.

"Having any second thoughts?"

"No." A pause. "Just . . . taking it all in. It's very . . . different from what I expected."

"Just wait until you see the inside."

Without even knocking, Ren opened the door. He stepped inside expecting his family to bombard Natsumi like the paparazzi would a celebrity. Instead, he saw his youngest sister sitting on the couch with her demented doll between her arms. She blinked and stood up from the couch.

"Hello, big brother." She said softly.

"Hey." He peered around before adding, "Where are Mother and Father?"

"I believe Mother is 'tidying up' still. Father is moving around some of the 'furniture.'" Anju had made an effort not to disclose anything that might come across as unsettling to human guests, as she had seen firsthand how caskets and other trinkets seemed to disturb them.

Ren nodded. "And the runt?" He inquired.

"Big sister Karin is in the kitchen preparing dinner."

Natsumi slowly peeked in from behind the door. When she met eyes with Anzu she waved.

"Hello." Anju purred while approaching her with ghostly elegance. She grasped Natsumi's hand in both of her own, looked up at her, and smiled politely. "You must be my big brother's 'exception.' Pleased to meet you."

Natsumi blinked and then scowled at Ren, who pretended not to notice. She certainly didn't like the idea of being introduced to his family, and referred to as being his 'exception.' It made her feel devalued.

"Yes, I'm very pleased to meet you as well." She replied just as cordially.

Anju nodded and, from Natsumi could have sworn, skipped into the kitchen out of sight.

"'Exception,' really?" She hissed.

Ren turned away, somewhat insulted that she questioned it. "Well, you are an exception. I've been with hundreds of women, my dear, but you are the only one who stands out in a meaningful way to me."

"You flatter me." She murmured with scorn.

"Well then, if that upsets you so much, what shall I introduce you as?"

Natsumi looked away. Truly, this had been something that had eluded her from the very beginning. Friend didn't seem right, but acquaintance seemed too informal. They weren't boyfriend and girlfriend either. Her head began to spin as she siphoned through her options. Ren raised an eyebrow.

"Well?"

"I don't know." She said finally. "Just . . . whatever, it's fine for now."

"Hello!"

Ren narrowed his eyes as the shrill voice of Karin, who emerged from the kitchen with a plate of hors d'oeuvres, rang in his ear.

"You must be the lady Ren likes."

Natsumi stifled a chuckle. "Oh yes, he's become quite fond of me apparently."

Karin smiled. "Yeah, he thinks about you an awful lot . . . almost as much as I think about Usui-kun-"

Suddenly, Ren was squeezing her head between his fists. Karin began to bawl.

"Wahhhh Ren cut it out!"

"Don't even think of comparing my situation with Natsumi to your stupid high school romance!" He said venomously before huffing away.

Natsumi watched in a stupefied manner. Karin massaged her head and turned toward her.

"Ouch." She whined momentarily. "Stupid Ren. Why can't he just be honest with himself?" After letting out a deep breath, she smiled. "Anyway, my name is Karin! We've actually sort of met."

Natsumi nodded and shook her hand. "Ah yes, that's right. You're an excellent cook. I've really enjoyed the meals Ren has brought over."

Karin was beaming. "Oh, why thank you!" She squealed. "It was my pleasure. Ren certainly has no sense of taste. Then again . . . " She looked around the room and then whispered, "I'm probably the only one who does. Vampires only have a flavor for, well, you know . . ."

"I can imagine."

"Well, want to try one of my spinach and cheese quiche puffs? They're delicious!"

"Sure." She took one and added, "Thanks a lot."

Soon, Natsumi and Karin were sitting on the couch exchanging stories and laughter.

"It's still so strange to me . . . seeing my brother in a steady relationship, I mean."

Natsumi chuckled lightly. "Yes, it is indeed."

"I mean, there must be something different about you from other girls . . . something special."

Unconsciously, Natsumi traced the slightly raised skin on her wrist, where a pearly white scar had formed as a reminder of that night he had first tasted her blood. She shuddered at remembering his drunken words of approval at the flavor, how it was so much better than he had ever imagined. Ren had not drank any more of her blood since that evening, and she had wondered if he had drank any ever since. Surely he must have - he needed it to survive just as she needed water and oxygen. Yet somehow his demeanor seemed uninfluenced by thirst. Perhaps he had been satiating himself prior to visiting her? Natsumi had wanted to ask Ren about it, but hadn't the faintest clue is she should or not. And even if she did mention the topic, how would she integrate it into daily conversations? Somehow it had just seemed better not to ask, but his sister had unknowingly brought it back into the spotlight. Natsumi turned to look for Ren. He had been gone quite a while now. What was he doing? Surely he wouldn't have left her alone to meet the rest of his family?

Karin noticed that she was deep in thought and wondered if she had said something she shouldn't have.

"Well, either way, I'm just glad he finally made a friend." Then, she patted Natsumi on the shoulder. "A friend, might I add, who can keep him in line. You have already earned my respect."

Natsumi smiled.

Footsteps coming from the corridor caught their attention. Suddenly, Ren was walking over toward them. He had changed his clothes, garbing himself in a more elegant blazer with leather pants. His eyes met Natsumi's and he smirked.

"Like what you see, babe?" Then, leaning closer he added, "I'm wearing it just for you."

His flirt was met with a fist to the face, sending him blowing backward. Karin stifled a laugh, which wasn't hard to do as Ren leered at her dangerously.

"Hmph. Some way to show your appreciation."

More footsteps signaled the descent of the patron and matron of the household. Natsumi smiled and held out her hand congenially. Internally, she was trembling - the duo looked like a power couple, for sure.

"You must be the lovely enchantress of my boy. I'm Calera." The woman said with a smile that revealed just a hint of her fangs. She shook Natsumi's hand fluidly.

"And I am Henry, the master of this household." Calera's eyes shifted and looked at him incredulously, at which he swallowed hard. "Alongside Calera, of course."

"Of course." She purred while stroking his arm. "And you are?"

"Natsumi Fujikawa." She said softly. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. You have a lovely home."

"Yes, we cleaned up a bit for you." Calera said passively. "We put away the caskets and all of the things that are less . . . humanlike, I suppose."

"Oh, you really didn't have to go through the trouble."

"Please, it was no trouble." She fixated her gaze on Natsumi, inhaled deeply, and then smiled. "Well, shall we eat?"

"But Usui-kun isn't here yet." Karin chimed in. "Can we wait for him?"

"I'm sure our guest is hungry, so he can eat whenever he gets here."

Natsumi blinked, awaiting the green light so to speak.

"Please, sit." Calera said finally.

Dinner felt long as Karin and Natsumi ate, with the rest of the Maaka family sitting silently watching. Occasionally, someone would ask a mundane question, but silence held thick in the air. Karin decided to break the ice.

"So, how did you meet Ren?"

"Grocery shopping." She paused. "I was buying canned vegetables."

"So hot, right?" Ren mocked, at which she rolled her eyes.

"What were you doing in a supermarket, Ren?" Calera asked.

"Oh, most likely looking for a stressed out single mother or something." Anju said only half paying attention.

"I don't even remember, but that would sound about right."

"What do you like about her?" Calera added. "She's rather . . . simple, Ren."

"Mom!" Karin gasped.

"What?"

"That's so rude!"

Calera blinked indolently. "Oh, my apologies. I meant no personal offense. My son is normally drawn toward more . . . exotic women. More . . . curvaceous, buxom women."

Natsumi nodded, feeling somehow less than adequate, but realizing how ridiculous it was for her to feel that way, They weren't couple or anything, so why should it bother her?

"What do you like about big brother Ren?" Anju wondered.

"Ah, well let's see." Natsumi pondered. "He understands my sense of humor, so I guess that's something."

Ren rolled his eyes.

"And he's actually quite easy to talk to. I feel like he's listening, at least most of the time."

Turning her head, she looked over at him. Ren sensed her gaze and turned to meet it.

"He's just . . . I don't know. I enjoy his company."

Calera raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's a new one."

Henry smiled. "Interesting response. It leaves me wondering what exactly you two are to each other." Standing up he adjusted his tie. "No matter. As long as you two aren't planning on being in a romantic relationship of any kind, it's fine."

Ren cleared his throat and looked down at the fist he had made.

"As relationships of that nature between humans and vampires is strictly forbidden."

"Oh, daddy! That's not fair! Usui-kun and I . . ."

"Are a special case. You're more human than vampire, Karin. Ren on other hand . . ."

"But what if he really likes her?"

"Please." Calera snorted. "Ren may have a temporary interest in her, but it will die off. He will eventually settle down with a vampire noble's daughter or someone of similar rank." She scanned Natsumi for any sign of protest, which she did not give. "Once Ren gets his juvenile teenage boy needs out of system."

"Mother, that's quite enough." Ren didn't like the road the conversation had taken and was promptly putting an end to it. While he made no suggestion as to his anger, Natsumi could tell he was upset. My future is yet to be decided, but rest assured, those decisions will be mine to make."

Calera wrinkled her nose in disgust, and gestured for her husband to follow her into the living room. Anju stealthily got up from the table and proceeded to eavesdrop. Karin was about to invite Natsumi into the kitchen, but thought better of it and decided to give her and Ren some privacy. Once the room was cleared, Ren leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Sorry about that." He stated flatly. "My mother is . . . rather abrupt."

"It's all right." A pause. "There is actually something I've been meaning to ask you."

Ren looked at her curiously and waited her for to start.

"What exactly are we, at this point?"

The vampire, normally so suave and quick with comebacks and answers, said nothing.

"I mean, I know we're sort of like friends. Yet, there's a part of me that thinks . . . we're more than that."

Ren raised an eyebrow.

"But not, like, a couple or anything."

Ren shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, I have no words for it either. I just like being around you."

Natsumi's face became tinged with red.

"Yeah, me too." She began to drum her fingers on her lap. "Well, it sounds like what we have right now is okay with your family, so that's good."

"Yeah. Whatever it is."

Silence.

Natsumi swallowed the lump in her throat and turned to face him directly.

"Ren, are you thirsty?"

He hadn't been sure what to expect out of her, but the look on his face clearly revealed it had been that.

"What?"

"Are you thirsty?" She gestured to her wrist. "Like, right now?"

Part of him couldn't fathom her reasoning for asking such a question. And yet the other part of him was interested.

"Aren't I always?" He smirked, revealing the tips of fangs. "Why do you ask? Were you about to offer yourself to me yet again?"

Leaning forward and bringing his lips to her ear, he added, "My, my you can't seem to get enough of me."

"I'm being serious."

Quickly, Ren withdrew from her and examined her face closely. Was his misreading her?

"All jokes aside, yes." He sighed. "I haven't had any blood since . . . that night."

Natsumi's eyes widened. "What?" Panic spread across her face. "How can that be?"

Ren shrugged. "Not sure, to be honest. I thought I would die if I didn't, and yet somehow I've managed to avoid drinking other women's blood."

He grasped a single strand of her russet brown hair and inhaled her lily scent. "Perhaps I've become more man than beast?"

"Be serious." She stammered. "You really haven't?"

Ren released her hair and instead reached for her chin. He tilted it up to meet his gaze. That familiar scarlet red hue had replaced his once golden irises. "No, I haven't." He growled low in the back of his throat. "And it would be wise to stop reminding me."

The sound of her blood flowing through that beautiful artery in her neck beat steadily in his ears. "Unless of course you plan to do something about it."

Natsumi's light gray eyes seemed distorted by many different concerns, but for whatever reason she stood up from her chair, grasped Ren's hand, and pulled him out the room.

"Where are we going?" He inquired.

"I don't know." She said as-a-matter-of-factly. "But I need some air."

After thanking the Maaka family for having her, Natsumi proceeded outside into the cold night air. She inhaled it graciously, feeling her anxiety diminish with each breath.

"I'm sorry about that." She apologized. "I couldn't breathe in there."

"Try living with them." He jeered.

Watching her collect herself, Ren suddenly felt a shred of guilt.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have brought you." He said finally. "Seeing how they didn't exactly outright accept you."

"But they didn't reject me either." She collapsed onto the ground and lay her head back so she could see the stars. "You have a good family, Ren. They care."

"Pssh. Is that what it's called?"

She smiled and then closed her eyes. Ren joined her on the grass.

"To answer your question earlier . . .I'm not really sure about a lot that's going on between us." He started absentmindedly plucking grass out of the ground, blade by blade. "To be completely honest, I never expected to see an individual woman, just the collective bunch of women. You've completely reconfigured my world."

Natsumi turned her head and looked at him. "I'm sorry."

Ren blinked and was quickly on his side. "What?"

"I'm sorry for complicating things." A pause. "Perhaps it would just be best if we forget about each other and just hit the reset button."

"I didn't say that . . ."

"I know, but it would be easier to do that than to try and figure this out, right?"

" . . . "

"Well?"

Ren narrowed his eyes in frustration.

"Yeah, it would be easier, but not necessarily the right way to go about this."

"Then what do you want to do?"

The night breeze rustled the leaves in the nearby trees. The moon, opalescent as ever, peeked out from behind a cloud. Ren sat up and pulled Natsumi into him. She was about to protest, but he held her securely to his body.

"Honestly," He said, his voice sounding particularly strained at the moment, "I just want you to be mine."

Roughly, he crushed his lips across hers, parting them with his tongue. Despite her initial efforts of protest, Natsumi gave in to his advances. Ren could feel himself caving in quickly, his teeth transforming into fangs. He heard a muffled whimper, followed by that familiar taste he hadn't had the pleasure of enjoying since that night. His tongue trailed over her lips, teasing himself with the small sample of her blood. Natsumi broke this kiss and gasped for breath. Ren narrowed his eyes, which glistened a vibrant red now.

"Ren . . ." She pleaded. "We can't do this anymore. It's not going to wo-"

Another kiss, and Ren had managed to silence her. He knew she wanted him, and he her, so what did it really matter what the nature of their relationship was? Not having the words for it didn't make it any less real or understood by them.

"You talk too much, my dear." He chided while kissing the skin of her neck.

"So do you." She retorted, running her fingers through his silver strands.

"Then let's stop talking . . ." He purred, nipping at her flesh.

Natsumi closed her eyes and hugged his head to her. There was nothing to discuss or mull over. No words could accurately paint a picture of what they were. Their feelings were mutual, and that was all they needed. And who wants to believe in something as silly as falling in love, anyway? After all, falling in love is embarrassing!

A/N: A very, very, VERY special and heartfelt "THANK YOU!" to all of the readers who supported me in finishing this fanfiction! Honestly, it took me wayyyyyy too long from start to end, and many times I became unmotivated to finish writing. Your kind words and interest in this little fanfiction of mind propelled me forward, as I didn't want to let any of you down (and sincerely hope that I haven't!) I truly hope you have enjoyed reading about Natsumi and Ren's story about not falling in love ;) I honestly wouldn't have been motivated to continue writing this fanfiction without your constant support - thank you!

As always, I appreciate your comments so please tell me what you think! :)