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“Guillermoooo!” Nandor shouted across the dark train station, eyes scanning a bit frantically as he searched the nearly empty station for his short former familiar.
His heart began to sink as he recognized the familiar feeling of abandonment curling around it, tightening. His shoulders slumped as the ticketer called out to him, asking if he was getting on or not. He started to resign himself to the fact that he would be taking this trip alone when he heard the commotion of feet pounding on pavement and a voice calling out.
“Ma- Nandor! Wait!”
He whipped around to find Guillermo, his Guillermo, nearly crashing into him with the speed he was going, careening recklessly through the train station. He put a hand out against his shoulder to steady him and keep him from slamming into Nandor, a smile already spreading across his face as he greeted his former familiar.
“Guillermo,” he purred, the icy grip of abandonment loosening its stranglehold in his chest momentarily. “I thought you might have changed your mind.”
Guillermo’s eyebrows furrowed together like he couldn’t possibly imagine such a thing, shaking his head fervently. “No, never,” he panted, a bit out of breath from his run. “Laszlo just had a bit of a freakout-”
“On or off?” Shouted the ticketer insistently.
Nandor grumbled at the interruption but ushered Guillermo on board the train, pulling his suitcase along for him. It felt a little strange as he lifted the bag up to stow above their seats, something that Guillermo certainly would have been doing for Nandor even a week ago. But Guillermo wasn’t his familiar anymore, he wasn’t really sure what he was right now.
He took his seat beside the shorter man, returning the excited smile he gave Nandor. He was honored to have the slayer accompany him on this trip, and more grateful than he could really express that Guillermo hadn’t actually abandoned him as so many had before.
The train began to tremble and chug along as it departed from the station, a quiet hum overtaking the locomotive. The bright lights made it nearly impossible to look outside the window, merely showing Guillermo’s reflection and an empty space beside him that Nandor occupied.
Guillermo’s hand reached out tentatively, hovering above his own for a moment before he closed his fist, tapping his own thigh.
“Um, thank you,” Guillermo said, looking up at Nandor with a soft look in his eye, and something behind it that Nandor couldn’t quite place. “For inviting me. I- I really appreciate it.”
“It’s my honor,” Nandor responded seriously, bowing his head slightly. Guillermo smiled.
They traveled in comfortable silence, Nandor occasionally pointing at a blurry shape in the distance to ask Guillermo what great landmark that was, or if there would be any horses roaming the fields beside them. After a while Guillermo pulled out his intelligent phone and plugged a wire into it, placing the ends in his ears. Nandor wasn’t sure what the device did and was about to ask when suddenly music started to play from it, soft enough that he understood it was only supposed to be audible to the human with the listening wires. He wondered if Guillermo knew he could hear it as well.
He caught himself staring at his profile a bit longer than perhaps was strictly friendly, noticing how his usually warm skin blanched under the offending bright light. His coiffed curls were loose, falling over his forehead, and the top buttons of his usually stiff top were undone, he couldn’t even see where the buttons did eventually close before they were cut off by the top of his sweater. He’d heard Nadja and Laszlo griping about Guillermo’s sweaters a few times before, either teasing that he looked like a quilt or wishing he was more fashionable like them. Nandor hadn’t said anything at the time but he remembered thinking that he didn’t mind Guillermo’s sweaters. Vampires were naturally cool creatures, and Guillermo’s sweaters always looked so deliciously warm. He followed the open collar of the slayer to the tan skin beneath it, he could see the faint pulse beneath, just slightly exposed to Nandor’s gaze. Another deliciously warm thing about Guillermo that Nandor would have to prepare to lose soon.
He came out of his reverie, noticing the upbeat music playing in Guillermo’s listening wires. With a small laugh, he realized it was one of the songs from the Twilight soundtrack, specifically the one that played while they were playing base-ball.
~ ~ ~
Nandor was tossing and turning a bit, trying to get comfortable with his Jan’s Port still on his back as he laid down in one of the motel beds. The Guide had suggested it to him so that he wouldn’t have to spread his ancestral soil at each place they stopped. But it wasn’t nearly as comfortable as she had made it sound.
“Nandor?” Guillermo grumbled sleepily, “Do you need something? Why are you turning like that?”
Nandor huffed, grumbling, “It is nothing Guillermo, go back to slumber.”
It was Guillermo’s turn to sigh then, eyes opening slightly as he pushed himself up to his elbow to look at Nandor better. “Yeah, well it’s kinda hard to slumber when you’re rolling around like there are ants in your bed.”
Nandor made a confused face at him. “It’s nothing. It’s just harder to sleep with this Jan’s Port than I thought it would be.”
Guillermo was suddenly standing next to him, holding out an expectant hand. “Here, give me the bag, I’ll spread your soil for you.”
Nandor protested, “No, you’re no longer my familiar, you do not have to do these things for me, Guillermo.”
Guillermo rolled his eyes, still holding a hand out. “No, but I’m still your friend. Here, give it, I don’t mind.”
Nandor slowly held out the bag, letting the man take it and spread his soil out under the bed. Friend. He supposed they were friends now, though the word didn’t quite fit their relationship to Nandor. There was something missing from the word friend, something that didn’t quite sum the two of them up. But he wasn’t sure what it was.
He supposed he stared a little too long as Guillermo re-settled into his bed, giving Nandor a quizzical look.
“What?”
Why are you still here? Why didn't you leave me like everyone else? “Nothing.”
Nandor folded his arms across his chest, shutting his eyes and falling into a dreamless slumber.
~ ~ ~
The next few days of travel were mostly unexciting. Nandor did see a large field filled with horses, pressing himself up against the glass eagerly when he did, absolutely beaming. And if Guillermo noticed the way his eyes watered when he pointed at a horse that looked identical to John, he didn’t mention it.
He was tracing a long finger along their marked path on the map The Guide had given him, trying to see what they might be able to see coming up. So far he had not been impressed. Mount Rushmore was a bust, the Mississippi River was not even running red with anyone’s blood, and the White House had been much smaller than he was hoping for. Hardly the grand palace he was expecting of such an unholy nation.
Nandor’s eyes alighted as his finger stopped at their next destination. “The Grand Canyon,” Nandor whispered reverently. Now that sounded exciting.
He nudged Guillermo next to him excitedly.
“Guillermo, have you ever seen the Grand Canyon?”
Guillermo looked at him a little strangely, huffing out a laugh. “I haven’t even been off the East Coast until last year.”
“So…”
“No,” Guillermo supplied.
Nandor smiled, placing a hand on top of Guillermo’s. “Well, I’m very excited to share this with you then, Guillermo.”
Guillermo flushed, hand twitching underneath Nandor’s.
“Guillermo, are you alright? Are you feeling feverish?” He lifted his hand to the man’s forehead, a move he had seen in movies, though he wasn’t exactly sure what he was supposed to be feeling. Guillermo always felt very warm to him.
“No, I’m-I’m alright.” Guillermo moved out from under Nandor’s hand but looked just as feverish as before, quickly reinserting his listening wires and looking purposefully out the window. The woman crooning in the wires was singing of a lost love. It was quite a sad song and Nandor almost wanted to tell Guillermo to put on something happy but remembered that he probably didn’t know Nandor could hear it.
It was around 3 am when they approached their destination, Nandor was nearly vibrating with excitement. Apparently, this Grand Canyon was one of the wonders of the world. Nandor had extremely high hopes.
They had to walk down a short trail to find the spot that Guillermo wanted to take them to, apparently, it was a very good view. They turned a corner, emerging from the sparse bushes to overlook an impressive cliff face. Nandor stopped in his tracks, breath hitched in his throat, stuck there.
The earth before them split into a great ravine, looking to him as if Ancient gods had parted the soil and rocks themselves. A river flowed through the bottom of it, and colorful striations marred the walls of the canyon. When he looked up the sky was so full of stars it was nothing like Nandor had seen, not since he had been a human in Al Quolanudar, trekking through the desert with his fellow soldiers. But in Staten Island, the stars were hidden behind light, smoke, and smog. He remembered Colin Robinson explaining to him that the stars in the sky were millions and billions of miles away, just balls of gas, most of them probably dead or dying. But right now he didn’t really care what the stars actually were, they were beautiful. Jewels hanging in the tapestry above them, more dazzling than the rarest of diamonds.
He turned to look at his companion, Guillermo was just as breathless as he had been, wide eyes taking in the beautiful expanse before them. Perhaps they were just fuzzy grains of sand, floating on an uncaring rock through an endless black void, but this was a pretty cool thing for a fuzzy grain of sand to be lucky enough to witness. He had traveled in his human life, sure, but that was not to see the sights, that had been work. Then as a vampire, he had grown complacent and comfortable with his homes, not feeling the need to venture too far. He thought he had seen it all, 800 years of life, it all really starts to blend together. But this was quite different, and he was starkly glad he wasn’t experiencing it alone.
The man beside him was lit up by the stars and moonlight, watering eyes reflecting their brilliance. He wasn’t sure what came over him but he reached over and grasped Guillermo’s hand in his own, quickly looking back out over the canyon so that he wouldn’t have to answer Guillermo’s questioning gaze. Maybe he was missing their nightly routine of Guillermo holding his hand as he guided him to his coffin. Maybe he just wanted to be reminded that he wasn’t alone. Maybe he just wanted to feel the warmth of Guillermo against his cool hand, feel the delicate pulse quicken beneath his touch, remind him that despite having no heartbeat, no reflection, no breath fogging the sky, his touch still caused ripples.
Guillermo squeezed his hand gently and Nandor glanced over at him, a shy smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Guillermo returned it and warmth flooded Nandor’s chest, swooping through his stomach. Nandor stepped closer, gravitating to his warmth, wanting to be encompassed in it, swallowed in the warmth. Their arms brushed and Guillermo tentatively rested his cheek on Nandor’s shoulder. Before he could stop himself he pressed a soft kiss into the crown of Guillermo’s head. If he could blush he’s sure he’d be as red as freshly spilled blood.
~ ~ ~
Guillermo fell asleep first this time, usually, it was Nandor who was out like a light as soon as he laid down to slumber. But something was keeping him up, and it wasn’t his Jan’s Port tonight. He couldn’t stop staring at Guillermo, he knew it was rude to do but since he was asleep he thought the rule could be bent a little. Guillermo’s lips were parted as he snored gently, cheek smushed into his pillow, and brows furrowed like he couldn’t stop worrying, even in his sleep. He was dressed down from his usual button-up, sweater, and khakis. Only donning a thin white t-shirt and sweatpants. He rolled slightly, hiking up his knee, though he still laid on his stomach. This position pushed his ass up slightly in an indecent way and Nandor tore his eyes away.
Nandor didn’t know what had gotten into him lately. He hadn’t always been so intrigued by Guillermo. He used to just be the soft-spoken familiar that was perhaps a little more interesting than his other human counterparts, but not in the way that he felt now. The way that made Nandor’s stomach catch fire, a deep ache growing ever hungrier, ever needier. The more the soft-spoken facade had dropped, the more disrespectful and downright rude he got, the hotter the fire within him grew. It had been steadily growing hotter, but then that night at the Theatre, it nearly set him ablaze. The only thing that could reduce the heat was how freaked out Nadja and Laszlo had been, and that distraction had given him the chance to tamp down his feelings before he did something reckless.
Nandor was affectionate enough already with Guillermo to get shit about it from his roommates, he certainly didn’t need to explain this to them. But since then their relationship had just gotten more complicated, more muddled. Guillermo was no longer shy to speak his mind, and Nandor found himself more than impressed with his tactical planning and the way he fought off their attackers. He’d thrown himself into his romantic relationships over the past year, trying to distract from the confusing feelings he had for his familiar/bodyguard.
And then everything had come to a head before their trip, finally erupting into the fight that Nandor had been dreaming of. He knew Guillermo was a skilled soldier, but his equal? He hadn’t been sure. A smile crept over him at the memory. He’d fought bravely, smartly, and he’d bested Nandor. He would have been humiliated by the loss before, but he was happy to lose to a worthy opponent.
~ ~ ~
Nandor was content to look out the window for the majority of their next train ride, letting a comfortable silence fall between them. But the silence was interrupted by the sad woman crooning in Guillermo’s listening wires. Nandor frowned, listening to the lyrics.
I don't know what to do without you
I don't know where to put my hands
I've been trying to lay my head down
But I'm writing this at three AM
I don't need the world to see
That I've been the best I can be, but
I don't think I could stand to be
Where you don't see me
For the first time in a very long time Nandor felt happy, he wanted his Guillermo to feel this same happiness and he couldn’t understand why he didn’t. Isn’t this what Guillermo wanted? They were going to his homeland, where Nandor would finally turn him on the banks of the River Tigris. Guillermo would finally get his wish.
“Guillermo,” Nandor started tentatively, tapping his shoulder.
Guillermo took out the wires, giving him a questioning look and a small, “Hm?”
“This is what you want, is it not? We are traveling together to my homeland of Al Quolanudar, where I will finally turn you. Does this not make you happy?”
Guillermo’s brow scrunched in confusion. “Yes, of course, this makes me happy. Why, M- Nandor?”
Nandor debated whether or not he should tell him he can hear his listening wires as clearly as if they were in his own ears. “I just want to make you happy, Guillermo. You… deserve it.”
Guillermo gave him another questioning look. “Thank you.”
But he still listened to the sad music when he returned the wires to his ears.
“And Guillermo,” He added. “I want you to know you are free to do as you please after your turning. You are no longer in my service. You don’t need to worry about me, I will be fine without you.”
It wasn’t entirely true, but he didn’t want Guillermo to feel indebted to him. He truly did want Guillermo to be happy.
Something in Guillermo shifted, a warmth that had been in his eye turned cold, distant. He nodded but his smile was pained. The music only became sadder.
~ ~ ~
Nandor was struggling to comb out his hair, unsure of how it looked since he couldn’t see his own fucking reflection. There had been a tension hanging in the air since their train ride and Nandor couldn’t figure out why. He had only been trying to reassure Guillermo, why did it seem to have only made things worse?
It was getting to him though, and he found he didn’t have the patience to attempt the nightly routine that his familiar had previously helped him with. Huffing out an impatient growl he let the comb clatter to the desk, shoving the stool away and coming to sit on the bed. He started to jerk his boots off, another thing that he had gotten too used to having someone else do.
Guillermo seemed to finally notice, or maybe he just couldn’t stand listening to Nandor’s huffing and puffing anymore, coming to kneel beside the bed and holding out a hand for Nandor to put his foot into.
“I am fine, Guillermo. I do not need your help.”
“Nandor, I don’t mind helping! Just let me help you.”
“No, Guillermo, I am fine!” Nandor raised his voice.
“You’re clearly not !” Guillermo yelled back. “Stop being so pig-headed and just accept help, you’ve had no problem taking it the past ten years!”
A growl started building in Nandor’s chest but Guillermo just grabbed his boot, yanking it off and then doing the other. He stood up, reaching for the buckles on Nandor’s ornate shirt and starting to undo them with deft precision, practiced movements. The frustration that was bristling through him died, the true emotion hiding behind it coming out. Nandor was sad, he was grieving. He had always known his partnership with Guillermo had an end date. But it had never loomed so close before. He knew that once Guillermo was turned there’d be so much he wanted to do, so much he wanted to see and experience. He wasn’t sure when or if he’d ever see him again.
Guillermo folded his shirt neatly at the end of the bed, grabbing the comb and starting to gently work it through Nandor’s hair, coming to sit on the bed beside him. Nandor couldn’t resist leaning back slightly, his shoulders relaxing as Guillermo’s fingers worked over his scalp.
“What’s going on with you?” Guillermo asked softly.
Nandor sighed deeply. “I am not a fool, Guillermo. I know you are being kind, helping me with these things. But I am not foolish enough to think you will be here to help me after I turn you. I know you’ve been wanting this for a very long time. I know this is the end of our time together. I suppose I am… sad… about it.”
Guillermo stopped combing his hair and Nandor resisted the urge to whine and demand he resume the brushing.
“Nandor…”
“Please, Guillermo, this was already very hard for me to say, you really don’t need to say anything.”
“Yes, I do.” Guillermo planted a firm hand on his shoulder, turning him so they were facing each other. Guillermo had a fierce determination in his gaze, something that he remembered seeing on the face of enemy warriors as he charged into battle. “Yes, I’ve wanted you to turn me for a very very long time. But that’s not the only reason I’ve stuck around.”
It was Nandor’s turn to furrow his brows, feeling a bit lost. He opened his mouth to speak but Guillermo shushed him with a finger to his lips, quickly drawing it away before Nandor had a moment to think about how that felt.
“Nandor…” Guillermo shook his head, a fond smile blooming across his face. “You are a fool.”
Nandor started to protest but Guillermo leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his lips and silencing him. Oh. Oh.
Guillermo’s hands reached up to cradle his face gently, pulling him in tighter as the kiss deepened. Nandor couldn’t remember the last time someone had handled him this gently, if anyone ever had. Nandor suddenly remembered that he had hands as well, one reaching around Guillermo’s waist to pull him in even closer, the other large palm sliding against his jaw and neck, feeling the delicious thump of Guillermo’s pounding heartbeat beneath it.
Guillermo pulled back and Nandor chased after him with a whine. To which Guillermo huffed a breathless laugh.
“Nandor, I want to be a vampire so I can be with you, forever. If you'll have me.” Guillermo looked vulnerable, pulse beating hard beneath Nandors palm as he waited for a response.
A hungry growl rumbled through Nandor’s chest and he yanked Guillermo into a searing kiss, tongue slipping into his mouth and chasing after his heat.
“Guillermo de la Cruz, it would be my honor,” Nandor breathed the words fervently, looking into his eyes but not able to bring himself more than a few inches away before slamming back into him for another feverish kiss.
He laved kisses along Guillermo’s jaw, behind his ear, along his throat, worshipping every inch of skin he could get his mouth on. He had wanted this for so long, wanted Guillermo for so long, he wanted to take his time, wanted to show Guillermo how much he meant to him. Nandor sucked a soft bruise over his pulse point and Guillermo’s hand tugged roughly in his hair, eliciting a rumble of appreciation from Nandor, a new wave of hunger overtaking him as he pushed Guillermo down, throwing him onto his back on the bed.
He was wearing one of his cozy sweaters, and despite Nandor’s attachment to the things, he wanted nothing more than to rip it off of the slayer lying so debauched beneath him. Chest heaving and lips glistening and plump, light bruises already blooming across his throat. His hands skimmed under the sweater, grasping at the plump flesh there and moaning with appreciation. He was so full, so beautiful, a feast that Nandor wanted to take his time devouring.
Nandor tossed his own undershirt aside, smirking at the wide eyes Guillermo raked over his body, drinking him in. He felt like a King once again the way Guillermo was looking at him with such reverence, like seeing him like this was a great honor.
Nandor reached to tug Guillermo’s sweater away too but his hands hesitated on top of Nandor’s, stilling him.
“Are you sure? I can keep it on, if you want.”
Nandor felt outraged. “Am I sure?” He growled. “Guillermo there is nothing more in this world I want more than to see you, every beautiful, lush, inch. I love the way you fill my hands, love feeling how strong you are. You have the body of a warrior and I want to worship you the way a warrior deserves to be worshipped.”
Guillermo’s eyes darkened impossibly more, yanking Nandor up by his hair to pull him into a fierce kiss. This time he let Nandor lift away his sweater, trembling slightly as Nandor’s large hands roamed across his chest, his stomach, then reaching lower to his waist. He could feel Guillermo’s hardness against his thigh, it made his mouth water. When he pressed a palm to the growing hardness Guillermo gasped, bucking up into his hand.
Nandor buried his face in Guillermo’s neck again, licking greedily and letting his teeth gently scrape against the soft skin there, enjoying the reaction it elicited in the man below him. His breath hitched, fingers tightening in Nandor’s hair.
“You can bite me, if you want,” Guillermo whispered breathlessly. Nandor met his eyes with wide ones.
“Are you sure?” No matter how much Nandor wanted it, he wanted Guillermo to be sure, absolutely sure.
Guillermo nodded frantically. “Yes, please.”
Another growl ripped out of Nandor, his own hardness throbbing as he nosed along Guillermo’s jugular, searching for the perfect spot. He remembered the way Guillermo had bested him in his crypt. If he wanted Nandor to stop he could make him. But he didn’t want to, the trembling man beneath him was begging for it under his breath, aching cock pressing against his hip.
He laced fingers through Guillermo’s hair, pulling his head to the side and using his other hand to steady his shoulder.
“Don’t move,” he whispered against his throat, licking again and grinning as Guillermo moaned beneath him. He opened his mouth, fangs resting against the delicate skin, bathing in the soft breaths of his slayer and the aborted hip rolls as he clearly tried to restrain himself.
“Nandor, stop teasing,” Guillermo bit out.
Nandor chuckled and grasped Guillermo tightly, hopefully not too painfully, careful to hold him perfectly still as he punctured his neck, teeth sinking in deep before removing them. He quickly covered the wound with his mouth, lapping at the blood before sucking in earnest with a hungry moan. Guillermo let out a cry beneath him, but the aching hardness that he rubbed into Nandor’s hip let him know that if there was pain, it wasn’t something he was opposed to.
Guillermo was absolutely delicious, he wasn’t sure if it was another effect of his slayer blood, the forbidden fruit being always the most enticing, or if it was simply Nandor’s own strong feelings for the man that made this the most enjoyable feeding he’d ever had. Despite that, he pulled away, probably sooner than both of them wanted, but he didn’t want Guillermo to get woozy, or lose the blood that was needed in other places. He was grateful for the pleasure Guillermo gave him, but Nandor wanted to give him pleasure as well. He lapped lazily at the punctures until the blood slowed enough to stop spilling.
Guillermo made a small noise of protest as he pulled away, making Nandor laugh.
“You’re a funny one, slayer,” Nandor teased, kissing a path towards his waist, working at the buttons of his pants with unpracticed movements.
Guillermo’s eyes were wide as Nandor pulled his pants down, tugging his briefs along with them, releasing his leaking cock. Nandor couldn’t help himself, licking along the underside and pulling a strangled moan out of his Guillermo. Another cry escaped him as he flicked his tongue across the tip, looking up into his dark eyes with a hungry look as he kissed and sucked along Guillermo’s length.
“My warrior, my protector, my slayer,” Nandor whispered praise between licks of his cock, pumping him with his hand at the same time. Guillermo was a whimpering wreck beneath him. Nandor swallowed him down, sucking this time and pulling a guttural moan from Guillermo. He swallowed him even deeper, nose buried in the fine thatch of hair at the base of his cock, fingers digging into his plush hips, pulling him, encouraging, until Guillermo took the hint and really started to fuck his face in earnest.
His fingers tightened in Nandor’s hair and he hummed his approval around the cock in his mouth. His eyes were shut in concentration, it had been a while since he’d done this, and he wanted to do it right. Wanted his mouth to be perfect for his Guillermo to fuck. Guillermo yanked his hair again.
“Look at me,” he demanded, and Nandor listened. He met his eyes as Guillermo bucked up into his mouth, spilling down his throat with a choked cry. Nandor swallowed everything he could, swiping his tongue across the over-sensitive head as he came up.
He pressed kisses to his hip before laying down beside Guillermo, who turned into him, cheek pressing into Nandor’s chest as he caught his breath.
Guillermo reached a hand down to Nandor, but he caught his wrist, stopping him. Nandor motioned for Guillermo to look and he noticed the wetness against Nandor’s trousers.
“Really?” Guillermo asked, a look of interest and perhaps some smugness on his face, paired with a grin. “Just from… me?”
Nandor nodded. “Yes. I very much liked sucking your cock.”
Guillermo flushed, burying his head in Nandor’s chest. They lay comfortably, Guillermo catching his breath as Nandor pet his curls absentmindedly, basking in the warmth of the man partially on top of him.
“Guillermo?” Nandor asked.
Guillermo hummed a sleepy, “Hm?”
“Would you… stay here, with me, tonight?”
Guillermo’s arm tightened around his waist. “Of course.”
Nandor felt his eyes beginning to slide shut, quiet warmth wrapping around the two of them. Maybe now Guillermo would stop listening to such sad music.