Hey everybody! I had some extra time, so I decided to start another AU… Because Renora is fun to write, and since I'm in a RWBY mood -saw some really cool cosplayers at the theatre for season one- I felt like writing. And besides, vampire. Like the drabble, but longer and more fun. Plus, I have to work on theatre stuff all day today, so… Haha, anyway, I own nothing, but I hope you enjoy!

Vampire AU: Ties Thicker than Blood

He didn't remember what the sun felt like anymore. It had been so long, lifetimes ago, that it was something that didn't make a difference in his existence. The memories had faded long ago… so long that he didn't even miss it.

The same logic applied to his relationships. They could never last, so he never made any real effort to make any true friendships. He went through the world like a shadow, there one moment before disappearing into darkness.

Except now there was a change in his existence… one ray of light that followed him everywhere he went, never letting him out of her sight.

He hadn't even meant to let her notice him. She was just an orphan in a town that he was passing through; he certainly had never meant for her to start following him.

But once she had, it wasn't as if he could just let her starve or get herself killed. He might have a slightly skewed moral compass after all these years, but he'd never harmed a child… though it had been tempting at times.

"Ren!" The girl came bounding in, slamming the door behind her before pouncing onto his back. "You're up early! Like, I didn't have to wake you up, like I have every day for the past like… ten years! Cause it's been that long! Can you believe it? We've been travelling together for ten years now and…"

"Nora."

"Yes Ren?"

"Please get off."

"Okay Ren!" Nora climbed off easily, darting across the room with a bright laugh. "Have you had a chance to wander around the town much? There's a lot of really cool people here! Like, there's this girl a little younger than me who likes cookies -she has really good cookies that she shared with me! Ooh, and there's this boy who is kinda this big klutz, and there's always this girl with him with this really long red hair! Should I grow my hair out? I sometimes think so, but then it just gets messy and I don't wanna deal with it! I…"

"Nora…" She was always talking so much… He didn't mind it; he had never been much of a talker himself, but Ren wasn't sure if she ever breathed. Sometimes he would stop her just to see if she took a breath when he interrupted.

She always did.

"Yes Ren?"

Ren looked at the girl, realizing after a moment that to the rest of the world, they looked to be the same age. It seemed surreal that he hadn't noticed it before, but he supposed that he had the excuse that he always saw Nora. The only times that they were ever apart were when she would go out, right before shops closed, to buy food for herself.

Ren didn't need the same nourishment.

"You could go out during the day more."

"Why would I do that?" Nora flopped onto the couch cheerfully, kicking her feet onto the table, making Ren wince. He'd just cleaned that table… and that thought made him wince inwardly. What kind of vampire really worried about how clean their tables were?

Maybe more of them would if more of them had a Nora following them around.

Nora stretched out, purring to herself as she made herself comfortable. "You're stuck in here while the sun's out, so why would I want to go? You're like… my best friend! And besides, what would you do without me? I mean, you won't drink from me, and I don't understand why, but what would you do without someone like me to cheer you up!"

Ren blinked at the girl, resisting the urge to tell her to sit up, and cover up her stomach, as her shirt had risen just slightly when she'd stretched. It wasn't so bad when she was younger, but it was a lot different now that she was a young woman… but if he said something, she'd just stick her tongue out and complain that he was being too old again.

Never mind that he was almost six hundred years old compared to her sixteen. Of course he would never sound old… that would be ridiculous.

"Nora, I'm not…"

"Boop!" With almost enviable speed, for a human, Nora reached out and tapped Ren's nose softly, giggling quietly. "You're so serious! Oh hey, before I forget, I saved you a cookie!"

"I don't eat."

"Well, you don't need to eat, but I've seen you do it! Come on, these cookies are incredible!" Nora was reaching for her bag, not quite reaching it before Ren reached out to stop her.

"You eat it." Ren took in Nora's delighted grin, his fingers barely touching her hand to stop her. "I left dinner for you in the fridge."

Nora had half the cookie in her mouth already, but the grin turned into a look of dismay. "You're not going to be home tonight? But…"

"I do have to feed."

And he refused to feed off of Nora. It would have been the easy, convenient thing to do, and while she hadn't said it outright, Ren didn't think that she would have refused if he asked. But just as he wouldn't feed off a child -it seemed wrong and unnecessary- he wouldn't feed off the one person he felt a connection to. Even through the anonymity of his feedings -and the fact that he practically brainwashed people to make them forget it- it was still a very intimate experience.

It wasn't something he felt comfortable sharing with Nora… and it was something he wanted with Nora far too much to admit.

"Oh…" Ren processed Nora's disappointment, but brushed it off. Nora got disappointed by many things, and then brightened up immediately. She was the definition of an optimist, and Ren didn't worry much over her getting heartbroken over anything.

If anyone tried to hurt her, she'd probably end up breaking their legs and laughing over it.

"Well, if you're heading out, then I guess I'll go out with a few people!" Nora was back to her happy self, bouncing into a straighter position on the couch. "Jaune and Pyrrha have their date, though they're saying it's not a date, so that's out… Ooh, I could see if Ruby has more cookies! And then Yang will be there, and Yang knows where all the good dance places are! She'd probably be down to go clubbing, and we can drag Weiss and Blake away, because they need more fun too, and…"

"Clubbing?" Visions of wooden clubs flashed in Ren's mind, a pit of concern forming immediately. Nora with any form of weapon was dangerous.

"Yeah, like dancing! It'll be fun!" Nora was on her feet, not bothering to wait for Ren's reply before she dashed out of the room and upstairs to change into something more appropriate for a night out. "I'll see you tomorrow then! Happy hunting!"

Happy hunting. She said it every time, and Ren knew she just meant it as a more relatable version of good luck. It didn't bother him… but the idea of her 'clubbing' did. What if some boy got the wrong idea? Or worse, what if Nora approached some random boy and he went along with her crazy ideas?

And could he really trust Nora's new friends to keep her safe?

Ren's eyes narrowed slightly, enhanced hearing allowing him to overhear Nora on the phone perfectly. He could wait one more night to feed… he wouldn't be able to focus unless he knew Nora was safe at home anyway!

()~~()~~()~~()~~()

So many people… all that blood, practically singing out to him. People were so unprotected, so open to manipulation… practically anyone in this building would have made a decent meal for a hungry vampire. But Ren couldn't focus on his hunger… Nora was in this mass of people, somewhere…

What did she find appealing about all this noise? He wasn't even sure that it even counted as music, but the rest of the room had found a beat to dance to…

Please don't let Nora be in there… If he had to fight the crowd to find Nora, Ren wasn't sure he had the willpower not to hurt someone. Crowds made him more unnerved than he would ever admit to anyone, and he only ventured into them when he needed a meal. Like now. And the hunger didn't make it any easier to fight back the urge to send those idiots flying, like the ones who were practically having sex right next to him through their clothes.

"Ruby, come on! Let's dance!" Ren heard Nora, but through the noise, it was almost impossible to pinpoint her location. "It'll be fun!"

"I can't! Yang put me in these stupid lady stilts!"

"Heels are awesome though! And they make you taller!"

Where was she? If he could just find her, then he could find a corner to watch her from without being caught in all these…

"Hello handsome," The woman sidled up to him, running a hand down his arm, an overwhelming floral scent taking over his senses. "I haven't seen you here before."

Resist. Do not kill the woman. Ren forced himself not to scowl, keeping his face blank. "I haven't been here before."

"Oh?" What would have been plain curiosity from Nora was a very meaningful purr from this stranger. "Well, I should show you around…"

She was touching him. Ren's eyes darted to the woman's neck unconsciously before he trained them onto her face. She was practically begging to be alone with him… it would be so easy, and once he was fed, he could find Nora… but there were so many people…

"A handsome young man like you shouldn't be alone… there's…"

"Ren!"

Ren closed his eyes when Nora interrupted the stranger, immediately latching onto his free arm. "I've been looking everywhere for you! I thought you were getting me a drink, and I was really getting thirsty so… who is this?"

He didn't see Nora's face, but it was likely terrifying if the woman's instant stammering and retreat were anything to go by. He wouldn't say thank you for this, but it didn't matter.

Nora already knew he was grateful.

"So hey… I didn't interrupt anything right?" Nora moved to place herself right in his sight, tilting her head to the side. "I mean, I didn't expect to see you here, but then you were, and I didn't believe it for a second, but then you looked really uncomfortable, so I came over! Plus, I wanted to say hi, because I totally never expected to see you in a place like this! But if you were planning on… well, you know! Then I'm really sorry, because I didn't want you to go hungry, but at the same time, you looked…"

"Nora."

"Yes Ren?"

How could it be so easy for her to just… stop? It only took one word from him, and then she would stop and look at him with wide, expectant eyes for whatever he was going to say.

That was the reason… the real reason he didn't want to feed from Nora. Because sometime during these last ten years, she had snuck past his defenses and become the most important person he had in his extremely long life. And he couldn't destroy the trust she had in him by being selfish and drinking from her.

Because if he fed from her… Ren wouldn't want to stop there. He didn't want Nora to just be his food, drinking from her when he needed it. He didn't want to lose Nora in any way… but he couldn't find it in himself to turn her, when she still had a chance at a life.

A normal life, with normal friends… a normal life, where she could settle down and have a family. Where she could fall in love and grow old and have an end that didn't involve violence.

Ren blinked, feeling a small tap on his nose, glancing down towards the girl looking at him with an amused glint in her eyes.

"You must be really hungry! You totally just spaced out on me!" Nora beamed, linking her fingers behind her back. "You should go find something, so you feel better! I always feel better after a full stomach! Ooh, but afterwards, you should come find me, and we can dance together! You could meet Ruby and all of them too! Or we could go home and you can make me pancakes! Cause you make the best pancakes!"

Ren smiled gently down at Nora, sighing quietly when she took it upon herself to dash off into the crowd, hunting down the friends she had come with. Every day, it grew a little harder to resist Nora…

And every day, it became more and more important that he continue to fight those urges. Because while he didn't want to admit it, Ren needed Nora just as much as he needed blood to survive.

And without Nora, his existence was no longer worth living.

And there we go. I, uh… don't exactly like blood, so the actual blood drinking scene… I tried. It sucked. And I took it out. So… vampy Ren, with his human follower (like, literally follows him follower) Nora, with some cutesy stuff? I guess… I don't know, it went a completely different direction than I expected it to. But I didn't want too dark of a vampire, but I did not want Twilight, though it went that way a little bit… I don't know. I'm rambling. It's almost midnight where I am, and I'm a little tired, so… if you have any AUs that you'd like to see, let me know and I'll see what I can do! Thanks so much for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter!