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“Guillermo, it has come to my attention that you seem not as happy about my wonderful painting as you should be,” Nandor said and Leah almost let out a surprised gasp. Only the knowledge that it would be audible on the recording of the ambiance microphone and that Jacob had major opinions about camera operators making themselves heard stopped her. Instead she quickly adjusted her camera, focusing it on Guillermo.
“No it’s … it’s a good gift, master,” Guillermo said.
“Well, obviously it’s a good gift, I made it myself,” Nandor said in his usual haughty tone of voice that implied that the greatness of his gift had never been in question. Leah reminded herself to tell Jacob he better include the about three hours worth of B-roll they had of Nandor cursing quietly under his non-existent breath at the glue and glitter sticking to his hands.
“It’s truly great,” Guillermo said or rather lied through his teeth. Not that Nandor would notice, Leah thought. Not that Nandor ever really noticed anything about Guillermo’s actual feelings.
“It’s just that I had hoped for something else, maybe?” Guillermo went on.
“What else could you possibly want! This is a very precious painting I have gifted you,” Nandor said, sounding baffled.
“Maybe something a bit more personal?” Guillermo mumbled.
“Personal? Like what?” Nandor asked with a frown and honestly, sometimes Leah was tempted to “accidentally” hit him with her camera. The only thing stopping her was professional pride and Jacob’s likely ensuing glares.
“Is this about me turning you,” Nandor then said and Leah had to give him at least a few points for not being completely stupid. “Cause I said that I was-,“
“No,” Guillermo interrupted him. “I mean yes, that too, but I had also maybe thought … cause I was thinking if you had turned me tonight then I could have … would have…”
There was a complicated mess of emotions happening on Guillermo’s face, all of them at once it seemed. It would make for good material, Leah thought. It also felt almost too personal too keep filming.
“Cause you know I’ve been thinking about our … our relationship,” Guillermo continued and the way he said relationship made Leah wince inwardly.
“If there is something you want to say, spit it out,” Nandor said, impatience in his voice warring with something that could almost be mistaken for actual curiosity. “Not literally though,” he added. “That would be unhygienic.”
Leah very pointedly tried not to remember Nandor’s last meal. She hadn’t known carotids could spray that high.
“It’s just that I was thinking-,” Guillermo began.
For a moment Leah thought he would finally say it. She honestly wasn’t even sure herself what exactly it would be but after ten years, it would be big. Had to be big she thought, as she focused on Guillermo and his troubled expression. You didn't look like that if you weren’t holding in something big.
Either a stake or a kiss, she thought to herself, a sense of anticipation building in her.
“Thinking what?” Nandor interrupted him though before Guillermo could say anything else. “I do not have time for you or your thinking, Guillermo! The Baron has arrived and we have many American streets we haven't taken over yet!”
Guillermo deflated almost visibly.
“I just wanted to thank you for the gift again, master,” he mumbled. “It’s … amazing.” He reached up to fix his glasses, staring at the floor. He looked tired, Leah thought and a wave of sympathy flushed through her.
“I already knew that, Guillermo. You are wasting my time and I do not have a lot of time to waste with the Baron here!” Nandor let out an annoyed huff, mostly for show since Leah knew he didn't actually need to breathe.
“Sorry, master,” Guillermo mumbled.
With a dismissive hand gesture Nandor turned away from him and Leah quickly looked over to Nicola to make sure she was following Nandor’s exit with the second camera. He stopped at the door for a moment.
“Also you need to clean up the attic. It got a little bit … messy,” he said. As he left Leah wondered if his supernatural hearing was good enough to pick up Guillermo’s soft “Yes, master,” following him out of the room.
He probably wasn’t even really listening, Leah thought. Just assumed Guillermo would do what he was told. Like always. Guillermo threw her, or rather the camera, a tired look that turned into a forced smile.
“Well,” he said. “Time to get out the bleach. Again.” And Leah and the crew followed him silently for another hour of Guillermo washing off blood from walls and floors.
She supposed it was still better than Colin Robinson's speech at the city council the following week. She had deleted that material afterwards, Jacob’s loud complaints be damned, there was no reason to waste another two terabyte hard drive on Colin Robinson. All of this was storage space that should be reserved for some actual cool stuff. Like werewolves. Werewolves fighting vampires for example. Which had still been very cool even if it hadn’t quite turned out the way the crew had expected.
She had equal high hopes for the vampire nightclub but the club and Simon The Devious, for a lack of better word, just sucked. She had still felt sorry about the explosion. And sorry about what had happened to Guillermo afterwards. Though not so sorry that she’d delete the drone footage she had captured of it.
“Master,” Guillermo rasped from his hospital bed, a painful sounding noise. “Are you there?”
“Yes,” Nandor said in a tone of voice he probably considered calming. “I am here.” He reached out to awkwardly pat Guillermo’s shoulder which led to a sharp intake of air and a pained frown. Nandor almost looked guilty as he quickly pulled his hand away.
“Where am I?” Guillermo mumbled. It might have been the painkillers, Leah thought. Or Nandor making him forget that whole “You are my friend” thing. She had the slight suspicion that hypnosis wasn’t quite Nandor’s strength.
“In the hospital. You ... dropped. Out of the air. Onto a food truck,” Nandor said and now Leah could definitely tell he was feeling guilty.
“Oh,” Guillermo said, blinking up at Nandor. His eyes were glassy when Leah quickly zoomed in on them. “We went flying?”
“Yes, it was very nice,” Nandor said. He made a move as if to touch Guillermo’s shoulder again but stopped himself. Instead he made a vague gesture with his hands, flattering his fingers around. Leah caught a few seconds of it with her camera.
“We flew very high,” Nandor added somewhat lamely.
“Over Manhattan? We were … we went to Manhattan, didn't we?” Guillermo frowned, looking as if he was trying very hard to remember just what exactly had happened in Manhattan.
I feel you buddy, Leah thought. She also had had a few days where she had been trying very hard to remember just what the hell exactly had happened in Manhattan the night before.
“Yes, yes,” Nandor prompted. “We went to the club and it was very weird and nobody was wearing any capes and...”
“And you told that vampire he could eat me if he wanted to!” Guillermo finished, tone turning accusing if still droopy. Nandor looked even more guilty than before.
“Eh, maybe but I did take you flying! I am a good master! That I dropped you wasn't on purpose.”
Instead of his usual eye-roll towards the camera once Nandor had looked away from him, Guillermo just started laughing. Or rather, he started giggling, high-pitched and slightly breathless. It wasn't a sound that fitted Guillermo who normally seemed to consist of nervous slightly off-kilter grins. Quickly Leah focused on the camera on him, glad that André, their sound-guy, had stayed with her and had not followed Nicola and Jacob who had gone with Laszlo and Nadja.
“It's funny when you're like this,” Guillermo mumbled and boy, those painkillers were working a lot better than Leah had first assumed. She turned the camera just in time to catch Nandor's befuddled expression.
“I'm not funny, I am serious,” he said, straightening his shoulders in a blatant attempt to appear more dignified. It just made Guillermo giggle harder.
“Don't worry, I'm not making fun of you or something,” Guillermo laughed, blinking up at Nandor through half-shut eyes. Leah would almost call it bedroom eyes, if she had thought Guillermo was capable of such a thing. And if Nandor would have been able to understand what was going on.
“I think it's funny, is all. Like you are funny. Funny and strong and powerful and pretty and you know, I really think that...”
What wouldn't she had given to have Nicola here right now to capture Nandor's reaction to Guillermo's words. If this was going the direction she was thinking it was going, they really would have needed two cameras.
But instead of continuing Guillermo's voice grew more and more quiet.
“I think...” he drawled and then he blinked again. This time there really was no confusing the painkillers with a bad attempt at flirting. “I think … I'm gonna sleep...” he finished and then his fluttering eyes shut close. After a few moments of silence a loud snore could be heard.
Leah panned towards Nandor quickly but it was too late to catch anything but a soft exhale as Nandor stared as his now peacefully sleeping familiar.
“Well,” he then announced, either to her and André or to the otherwise empty room. “He can sleep a bit. And then tomorrow he can get my cape clean.”
He looked down at it, making a face.
“I got some ash on it during that explosion,” he added before quickly making his way out of the hospital room, leaving Guillermo behind.
It somehow stuck with Leah, coming back the night, or rather morning, a few weeks later when the Baron burned to ash in front of Guillermo's eyes and her camera. And it stuck with her during the following night, right up to the point where the vampires, and Guillermo, were standing in front of the council.
The Vampiric Council was absolute terrifying.
The idea of somebody or something with the actual power to govern vampires, who themselves were already quite terrifyingly powerful, didn't sit well with Leah. But she kept her camera steady through the trial, even with slightly shaky hands. Focused on Guillermo and his confession, on Nandor's counter-confession and then on Guillermo and Colin Robinson coming to the rescue with the box.
She was still filming back home, when Nandor, Laszlo and Nadja had turned back from their bat forms.
“We will talk about this,” Nadja had hissed loudly, pointing at Nandor. “After I get this dirt out of my clothes!” With that she had whisked Lazslo away to their crypt. Leah was glad about it, all things considered. One almost-death for half their documentary subjects was enough for a night.
Nandor just tiredly waved at Guillermo who quickly scrambled after him towards Nandor's crypt. Leah followed silently behind them, camera focused on Guillermo's tense back.
Guillermo closed the door behind her once they were inside the crypt. Then he quickly made his way to Nandor and started pulling off his robe. Nandor just stood there, letting it happen.
“Why did you lie, Guillermo?” Nandor then suddenly broke the silence. Leah could see Guillermo's hands stop in their movements.
“Because you were lying, right? About killing the Baron?” There was something in Nandor's voice, something that almost sounded pleading. Leah desperately wanted to walk over to him to capture his expression but the coffin was in the way.
All she could see was Guillermo's face, the conflict and fear and pain that seemed to have become his defining features lately
“I … yes, I did lie. I'm sorry,” he mumbled. His hands were still on Nandor's shoulders and Leah wondered if he was actually touching Nandor or just his robe.
“I tried to keep you save and I couldn't think of anything else,” Guillermo then added. Another long silence followed this confession, the only reaction Leah and her camera got from Nandor being his tense back.
She wondered what Guillermo was seeing on Nandor's face.
“Why did you lie?”
“Cause I didn't want you to die!” The confession broke out of Guillermo almost violently and Leah had no doubt that this was the truth for once.
“Why?” And then Nandor turned towards him, Guillermo's hand on his shoulder slipping away. The look in his eyes was intense, almost piercing. Guillermo stared back and for the first time Leah felt ill-equipped filming something.
She doubted she could capture even half of the intensity between the two of them, the way they seemed to be caught in each others' gaze. The tension was palpable, at long last seeming close to breaking.
“I-,” Guillermo begin, voice rough and then stopping himself as he nervously licked over his lips. Leah noticed the way Nandor's eyes followed the movement for a brief second before snapping back up to Guillermo's face.
“I want to … be a vampire,” Guillermo then mumbled. “That's why I saved you.” Nandor was still staring at Guillermo but the expression in his eyes had changed.
“That's stupid, Guillermo,” he then said, abruptly turning away from Guillermo. He made an impatient gesture and Guillermo quickly went back to helping Nandor undress. “If you tell other people you are killing vampires, you won't ever become a vampire! Cause killing vampires is bad!”
“Right, right,” Guillermo mumbled. “Right. Sorry, master.”
“You better be sorry! We almost died today. I almost died today!”
“It won't happen again.”
“It better not!” Nandor's voice was slightly muffled under the robe as he abruptly pulled it over his head. “You can leave,” he then said, marching towards his bathroom. “I do not require your service tonight.”
Guillermo opened his mouth as if to protest but Nandor opened the door and slammed it shut behind him. Leaving Guillermo to stare at the closed door, expression helpless.
Oh honey, Leah thought as she focused the camera on him, a wave of pity rushing through her. You got it so damn bad, don’t you?
The knowledge stuck with her but it was hard to focus on it. Stuff happened and the ghosts somehow were among the least weird thing that happened. Colin Robinson got a promotion and became even more annoying, Guillermo kept killing vampires and became even more upset, Nadja and Laszlo continued having the sex life, or rather sex un-life, of Leah's dreams and Nandor … well, Leah was sure he was also doing something during all of this.
She had been tasked to film Laszlo going on the run and as much as she had enjoyed filming the life and following insurance fraud of Jackie Daytona, she was also glad to be back in New York.
She was less glad to be greeted with Simon The Devious. Dickhead, she thought, exchanging a look with Carlos, their new sound guy after André had gotten eaten by the Baron. And Simon's entourage sucked equally , pun maybe or maybe not intended. Especially Carol. Though Carol honestly was also just creepy.
Still Leah couldn't help but feel a bit sorry as she focused the camera on the pile of ash that had been Carol a few minutes before. She almost flinched when Nandor appeared though it was nothing compared to the fear flickering over Guillermo's face as he noticed his master.
There was a back and forth and Leah didn't doubt that Guillermo would get away with it again. He had killed so many vampires at this point, what was one more?
“Guillermo?” Nandor then suddenly asked, voice turning serious. “Did you kill Carol?” And Leah had seen Guillermo close to tears many times now. He had needed a minute, back with the Mosquito Collectors of the Tri-State Area and afterwards too. But tears like this were new.
It didn't really surprise her that it had been Nandor who had brought them out of Guillermo. It surprised her however that Nandor then immediately tried to think of a plan to keep Guillermo's “accidental” slaying secret.
“Because it reflects badly on me,” Nandor said. “And you will be killed,” he added, almost like an afterthought. Knowing him, Leah thought, it probably was.
It seemed to have been enough though for Guillermo, who had stopped sobbing and had been nodding along to Nandor's suggestion. But then the stakes had come up, pointed right at Nandor's un-beating heart, and Nandor had slowly backed away from Guillermo.
“Thank you,” Guillermo blurted out. “For not telling on me.” Nandor stopped, his conflicted expression settling into something a bit more normal.
“It's bad if you have a familiar who kills vampires. Means you get a lot less invitations to parties.”
Nandor hesitated briefly and then he added more softly. “And you getting killed would be … of some inconvenience to me.”
“It would?” Guillermo asked and Leah quickly moved the camera towards him, trying to see if the slightly hopeful tone in his voice was reflected in his expression.
Nandor cleared his throat and out of the corner of her eyes Leah saw that he adverted his eyes.
“It would. Training a new familiar always take so long. And you are … adequate. Most of the time.”
“And you are a good master,” Guillermo added and then he did that truly annoying thing where he nervously swayed on his feet and right out of focus. Leah quickly followed him with her camera, just in time to catch the expression in his eyes. Happy but also hopeful.
Nandor must have caught it too. They were staring at each other again, the way they had done after the trial at the Vampiric Council.
Equally charged but different somehow.
“There is something I've been meaning to tell you,” Guillermo began and Leah felt herself leaning slightly forward with anticipation.
“It's … it's about you and me and...”
Tell him, Leah thought. You killed so many vampires to keep him save, he almost died to keep you save. Just tell him already!
“...and the fact that I've found a new way to get blood out of your clothes,” Guillermo then finished the sentence though. Leah felt a wave of frustration flush through her.
“Oh, that's ... good,” Nandor said. “Very … very innovative! You keep … cleaning up my clothes then. And that ash. Start with the ash though.”
He turned away before Leah had a chance to catch his expression. Or Guillermo's, who had quickly turned towards the pile of ash. Instead of starting to sweep it up though, he stared at it for a long moment.
A cold shudder ran down Leah's spine when she noticed Guillermo's hand flexing around the broom stick. For the first time she wondered if the vampires weren't the only thing to be afraid of in the house.
She took that thought back a week later. Vampires were scary. Vampires were absolutely more scary than any human, vampire slaying van Helsing descendant or not, could ever hope to be. She had no clue how exactly they had escaped the orgy-turned-bloodbath but they did somehow.
Nandor finding Guillermo outside of the condo afterwards and their conversation was almost comforting in contrast. Failed attempts at hugs aside. She was considering whether or not it was against the rules of no intervention to pick up the pillow Guillermo had dropped when the two landed again.
“You could have gotten another pillow to beat off,” Nandor grumbled. “We could have been half-way home already at this point!”
“I can walk if you want to,” Guillermo offered though he didn't sound too happy about the suggestion. Leah, who had a healthy respect of heights and remembered how long Guillermo had been wearing the bandages after being dropped over Manhattan, thought that it was just another proof of how desperately Guillermo wanted to be a vampire.
“But I like flying with you!” Nandor whined and then he flinched, looking uncomfortable.
“You like flying with me?” Guillermo asked, sounding surprised.
Great, Leah thought, if he hypnotizes Guillermo to make him forget this too, this is like Manhattan all over again.
But instead of another bad attempt at mind control, Nandor straightened his shoulders and nodded.
“I do,” he said. Guillermo stared at him, looking even more surprised then he had when he had been handed the pillow moments before.
“I also like flying with you, master,” he said, voice gentle. A soft smile appeared on his face and once again Leah watched the scene unfurling before her eyes while vaguely wishing for popcorn.
“I … I like doing a lot of things with you,” Guillermo continued.
“And I like … I like the way you … you get the blood out of my clothes.”
If this had been a contest for smooth pick-up lines, both would have been losing by a mile, Leah thought. But this was eleven years in the making and even filming just a year of it felt too much so she'd take what she could get.
She panned towards Guillermo, trying to catch his eyes likely lighting up at the compliment. But instead they had turned dark all of a sudden. Guillermo's clenched his hand, still red with blood.
For a moment Leah remembered the hand wrapped around a stake. And then she thought that thinking of Guillermo's hands, all she could really see, both before her inner eye and on one year of camera footage, were stakes and blood.
“I … I think I'll take the bus, master,” Guillermo said. Nandor looked at him startled.
“We can still fly, it won't take that long-”
“I'd rather take the bus,” Guillermo interrupted him. “In fact, I'm taking my break time right now. To take the bus. See you at home, master.”
And without another word, he abruptly turned away from Nandor, leaving him to stare after him. There was confusion in Nandor's eyes and something else, something deeper and sadder. It disappeared when Nandor without a word turned into a bat and flew away.
Leah quietly picked up the pillow and then followed Guillermo. Eleven years, she thought, were a long time. From the distance she could see Guillermo's bloodied hand opening and closing over and over again. Maybe, she thought, it had just been too long. Or maybe there had just been too much blood to move on from.
There was even more blood later. So much more blood and Guillermo's hands, empty for a short while, were once again wrapped around a stake. There was a seemingly endless amount of vampire corpses scattered around the theater, some already turned to ash others in the process of it.
And in the midst of it all, Guillermo.
Guillermo de la Cruz.
Leah could see Laszlo swallowing heavily while she noticed the way Nadja was leaning further back into her seat away from Guillermo. Colin Robinson not trying to feed on the obvious discomfort spreading in the room spoke for itself.
“Don't care what the fuck your name is. We had to pick up our own laundry!” Nandor exploded.
For a moment Leah thought Guillermo would stake Nandor too. But he just blinked and briefly he was Guillermo again, the eternal familiar instead of Guillermo de la Cruz, the vampire slayer.
“Aren't you … aren't you afraid of me?” he asked, voice shaking slightly.
“Why would I be?” Nandor made a move as if trying to stand up, maybe having forgotten that he was still tied up. Guillermo immediately moved towards him, dropping one of the stakes as he reached for the ropes.
“I could kill you,” he said. “I killed all those other vampires.”
“Would you?” Startled Guillermo looked up from trying to untie Nandor. The vampire was staring at him.
“Would you kill me?” There was still a stake in Guillermo's hand, Leah noticed. The other was trying and failing to get the rope loose.
“I'm afraid of hurting you,” Guillermo said slowly. “It would be best if I leave.”
“Don't!” Nandor said sharply and the sound of his voice echoed in the theater. “They will find you. And they will kill you.”
“And if I stay they will kill you!”
“I can fight!”
“You didn't fight tonight!”
“I got surprised, that's all, I'll be prepared now. We will be prepared.” Guillermo had given up on untying the knot one-handed, was now just staring at Nandor instead.
“Don't leave again,” Nandor said softly. “Please.”
“It will just put you all in danger. It will put you in danger!” Leah could see Guillermo's hand shaking. “I should .. I have to leave.”
“Don't.”
“Why?!” Guillermo yelled. “Why would you want me to stay after everything you've just see me do?!”
“Cause I love you!” Nandor yelled back. Silence settled in the theater and all Leah could think as she looked at Guillermo and Nandor staring at each other was, finally.
“You do?” Guillermo sounded startled.
“I … I mean..” Nandor stuttered. And if he was going to take it back, Leah would break her camera over his head. “Yes,” he said though, voice growing louder again. “Yes, I do. So please, stay with me.”
“I love you too,” Guillermo mumbled and suddenly they were kissing, with clattering teeth and way too much wet sounds if Leah was being honest. She still zoomed in on it. It was the climax of eleven goddamn long years.
“As much as I enjoy the vibes here,” Colin Robinson interrupted after a few long moments. “We maybe really should get going at one point? Which should start with you untying us, Guillermo?”
“Oh yes, sure,” Guillermo said, breaking away from Nandor. His face was flushed bright red and Nandor had nicked his lip slightly with his fangs. Nandor's eyes were following the drop of blood trickling down his lower lip.
Quickly Guillermo dropped the stake and tried to untie Nandor again. It worked better with two hands and after a few minutes Nandor was free and helped Guillermo untie the rest of the house.
“Thank and ugh, don't do that again in front of us,” Nadja said, fixing her dress.
“Yeah, congrats and all that stuff, my man but no need to be so public about your private life,” Laszlo added. Images of the things Nadja and Lazslo had done in the fancy room flashed through Leah's mind and maybe also through Nandor's considering he opened his mouth.
“We really need to get going,” Guillermo cut him off before he could say anything though. A nervous look around the empty theater and the corpses still in the process of turning to ash. “Quickly,” he added.
“I parked my car around the block, in a way that blocks two parking spaces,” Colin Robinson said. “Come with me!”
Once again Leah and the rest of the camera crew quickly followed the group of retreating vampires out of a mess they had made. But as they left, she saw Guillermo reaching for Nandor's hand, squeezing slightly. And Nandor squeezing back.
Maybe, she thought, at least one good thing had come out of this night. After all those years, they did deserve it. And with that thought, she quickly changed her camera's battery before running after the rest of the crew and the vampires.