"Unrequited Love"

Her mind froze at the sight of her fiance's turquoise eyes when she gazed at them. Her tongue seemed to be paralyzed, unsure of whether she should casually greet him or disturb that mornings idyllic mood with a scream.

Remaining silent, he smiled with his eyes, "Morning Haruna," he lightly sang. Her heart fluttered, just a little. What girl in their right mind wouldn't want to embrace him and take him right there? She was an exception. Every time she wakes up to see that man watching over her, it doesn't please her one bit.

Though, remembering his argument with his father last night, she didn't want to make him feel worse. "Morning," she timidly greeted, shying away beneath the covers.

Aido smirked, 'What a lewd face you're making... And you probably don't even know how much you're provoking me right now.'

Awkward mornings like this happened everyday and she still hasn't adjusted to them yet. "U-uhm... We should go downstairs before father-in-law-"

"Father this, father that," Aido rolled his eyes, "I'm tired of you giving him more attention than you give me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were cheating on me with him!" He exasperated, nearly gagging at the thought. She never failed to turn a shade of pink. "From now on, I want only me in your thoughts."

"Sorry," she meekly whispered. He sighed, forgiving her instantly. Of course, how could he not when he loved her so dearly?

"Father went away for the day. Ah, look at that relief on your face - you hate father, right?" He smirked, glad to know that she at least had some other emotion in her system other than embarrassment and shyness. She sat up, quickly shaking her head no.

"I don't hate him!"

Aido pretended to devastated, "Oh, you must not like it here at all... My father doesn't like you, I'm blackmailing you to be my wife, and plus the fact that we're vampires... This is all so scandalous!" He laughed aloud-

"Er... Haruna, I was only kidding! Don't cry," he panicked, watching in horror as he made his precious darling cry. He had to make a note to himself to never toy with her feelings - she obviously didn't know what a joke was.

She wiped away her last tears with her forearm, "Y-you were only kidding?" Aido felt struck at the heart; with the way she was looking at him, he felt like he had just betrayed her tiny heart..

He groaned, entangling his fingers within his blond locks. "Sorry," he murmured. She gradually let down her walls. Haruna felt a little moved that he'd be so sincere in his apology for making her cry; it was her fault for being so gullible. It was crystal clear how important she meant to him.

"It's okay," she twitched a smile.

Aido's hands clenched into a fist while he bit his lips. "Argh! You make me want to do it again," he rested his head upon her shoulder. She blinked simultaneously before whacking him away and running into the restroom for cover.

Later

"How's the breakfast?" Aido asked, adoring her from across the table. She didn't make eye contact, only nodding briefly while stabbing at her eggs. He personally made the food himself, wanting her smile only to made because of him.

Every few minutes, so that it wouldn't be noticed, she'd anxiously glance at him from the corner of her eyes. Being the sharp man he was, he did after the first few glances. He smiled, wondering to himself if he were considered sadistic because he loved to see her whimper every time she was near him.

"A-are you hungry?" Haruna finally gathered the courage to speak. He shrugged, telling her he already took a few blood tablets and a bagel. "Did you want... More blood?"

He was amazed at her sudden attempt to lessen the gap, but shook his head no anyway. "Don't worry, it's not because I dislike your blood," he noticed her disappointed look, "it's just because I already took a lot from you the other night. I wouldn't want you passing out on me."

She gave a small laugh, "Thanks for your consideration." Aido couldn't have been any more satisfied with the morning.

"Did you want to do anything in particular today?" She took the initiative to ask. Days together were usually spent in her interest since he usually wanted to please her.

"I'd like to keep you company, but I have a ball to attend later tonight. You'll have to make plans for yourself," he gave a tired grin, regretting that he had to waste time on a meaningless event when he could spend his precious time on her.

Being quite sensitive, especially when it concerned her, he felt a bit unwanted when she easily took the news.

A little later on the day, after Aido had already left, she spent the time to explore the mansion. With little time she was there, she never truly had the chance to. When she first stumbled upon the place, she even thought it'd take her a whole year to explore all the corridors.

Haruna made sharp turns, admiring every portrait hanging on the wall. Each portrait was probably worth more than she had ever earned in her pocket, hell, even including the silverware!

"I can see you're enjoying yourself." A loud gasp left her, perhaps her soul as well. She came face to face with her own father-in-law, who at this point seemed to be the devil himself. "Hanabusa must have already mentioned my departure for the day, but I came back to personally invite you to the ball myself."

She picked up the little pieces of courage she had dropped on the floor earlier and managed to nod her head. "Why am I invited?"

She had hoped for some sort of welcoming gesture, but not even a wrinkle fell upon his face. "Why not? You are my daughter-in-law, are you not?" He even seemed to cringe at the word of 'daughter-in-law.'

Still, the man did have a point. "I suppose..."

He smiled, for once, "Very well. Get dressed and I will be waiting for you downstairs."

Later

The car drive was awkward and silent; she didn't expect anything more in the beginning. Upon arrival at the event, she could already hear the orchestral music and the see the intimidating vampires that awaited inside.

"Afraid?" Her father's voice seemed to be mocking in a sense, but she ignored it, shaking her head no.

The only thing that crossed her mind was reuniting with Aido inside since she depended on him solely. She had a feeling that she was the only human attending.

The first thing that had caught her eye was the stunning chandelier that hung overhead, looming quite closely like the moon. The second thing she noticed was that every single guest happened to be... Females.

Her presence already caught every vampire's attention. Well, instead of presence, her scent did. Flickering red for a moment, they quickly diverted their attention back to the whine, or blood, in their cups when they caught sight of Aido's father.

Haruna's eyes searched the crowd, hoping to find a particular blond. "Shall I lead to you your fiance?"

A moment of hesitance occurred while she wondered why her father-in-law was strangely being so kind.

"No need, I'll find him myself," she spoke in the kindest voice, hoping he wouldn't be offended in any way.

At that moment, almost as if on cue, Aido stumbled upon them, frantic eyes falling on her.

"What is she doing here father?" A slight hint of anger was noticeable between his words. She quirked a brow, feeling like a fish out of water. Was he ashamed of her?

Aido's father expression was serious, not a bit of humor in his eyes, "Why isn't she here, is the question. I just thought it'd be nice to invite her to your own soiree where you'll be picking your true partner, not some human."

Aido reached out, dropping his hand when it seemed like he just lost something. Haruna's became ill with the thought, her face turning red. Why would he hide something like this from her? "So I'm just some... Concubine?"

"No! I didn't want to tell you this- I didn't have a choice but to have this stupid event... I swear I wasn't going to pick any of these women," his voice faded when it seemed like none of his words reached her.

All eyes were set on her, probably making fun of her inside their heads. She knew her father-in-law was.

"Father..! This event is done. I'm taking her home," he immediately pulled Haruna out of the place, realizing that she was suffocating being their any longer.

Later

She flinched a little when Aido threw his clothes over the place, rampaging and cursing to himself. "Please don't misunderstand Haruna."

"I'm not..."

He sighed; her words sounded so unconvincing. "What do I have to do to make you understand-"

"Have you ever thought about the consequences of marrying a human?"

Truth be told, he hasn't. It never crossed his mind. "Because I'm human, I can't benefit your family background. I'm more of a meal than a wife. Plus the fact that fifty years from now, I'll be looking like an old lady, while you'll still be... You."

Aido was quiet. Not because everything she said was true, but because he was hurt. It's like she was trying to pick reasons to get away from him. "I understand all that. But for now, all I'm focusing on is you, nothing else. Why must you be so negative about this whole thing - or are you still pushing me away?"

She wanted to bash her head against the wall. "That's not it! What I'm saying is... I don't want to fall in love with you and then remember that this love that we're forming, is sort of impossible. I'm only trying to save us both some hurt here."

He glared a little. Why did he have to love such a troublesome person? "I'm sorry to hear that I'm the only one who's getting excited about this relationship that we have so far," he brushed past her shoulder.

Haruna paused, face-palming. She didn't intend to make it sound as though he had some unrequited love going on. She cared for him, honestly, but it wasn't to the point of that sort of love. "He's angry at me..."