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He empties his pockets and puts the victims belongings in the small desk in his room. He opens the man’s wallet, avoiding looking at his full name and age. He had $57,55, two credit cards, a few documents and a bunch of gum wrappings he didn’t throw away. Guillermo takes the money, deciding to deal with the rest of his things and the body tomorrow. He falls heavily into the bed, exhausted. He lets the curtains open to see if the claustrophobic feeling goes away.
Like every kid in the world, at some point in his life he really wanted to be like Harry Potter, so this is kind of like living the dream - though he is pretty sure that living in a closet under the stairs was not the appealing part of the books. He stares at the walls of the tiny space and, for the thousandth time, reconsiders all his life choices so far. He definitely needs to get better at cleaning blood stains and hiding the corpses if he intends to keep this lifestyle. At least he was done for the day. It would all have been worth it once he got turned.
Having finished all his chores, he made Colin Robbinson agree to leave him alone for the rest of the night, which would be the first time in a long time he could just be by himself and do a glorious amount of nothing. So he does what he has always done when stressed: watch Interview with a vampire while drinking tomato juice from a box.
He wasn’t sure of what he expected the job to be. When Nandor offered it he thought it would be a lot cooler and fun. Instead, he was just a maid for some weird guy who murders people. And maid was a tame word considering he didn’t have any basic rights or payment.
He stares at the screen, watching Claudia be bitten, wondering when it would be his turn. The door swings open as the three laughing vampires step into the house. Guillermo closes his notebook. They see him, seeming very pleased to do so - which in itself was unusual - but what really surprises him is the excited tone in which Nadja says his name.
“Familiar!” she shouts as Laszlo waves from her back. “You’re here!”
“I live here.” He tries to sound polite, but they can probably hear the tiniest bit of annoyance in his voice. “How was the hunt?”
“It was fantastic! We just had a terribly fun evening. We went to the bar, we drank some drunk people…”
“Got drunk ourselves ” says Lazlo.
“ And now…” Nadja jumps, her voice getting louder by the word. “Me and my dark love are going to engage in the sexual intercouse.” At this point, Guillermo didn’t even mind the oversharing anymore.
“ Yum, yum” her husband states, hugging her neck thigher and giving it a kiss, her smile widening.
“So, yes! Bye bye” she runs up the stairs with her husband still riding piggyback.
“ Bye bye” says Nandor, drowning the sounds of the couple before they close the door with a loud thunk. He had been oddly quiet during that brief interaction. Unfortunately, Guillermo knew by experience that he would hear the vampire couple all night from his room.
He looks back at his master and decides there is something wrong with him. The man that until a few seconds ago was laughing has a somber look on his face, staring longingly at where the other two vampires had just entered.
“Master” he tries “Is everything ok?”
Nandor looks around, seeming a bit lost, his eyes only then fixing on his familiar. Guillermo had never seen him drunk until now - acting a bit more ditzy than usual.
“I’m fine, Guillermo.” His voice sounds strained. His hand reaches for the boy’s shoulder, laying there softly. Guillermo can feel his heart beat a little faster. “Only a bit tired. Could you prepare a bath for me? I would like to do some relaxing.”
“ Sure. Do you want the-”
“ The pink bomb, yes.”
“Ok, I’ll call you when it’s ready, master.” Nandor only nods slowly before going to his own room.
He waits as the warm water fills the tub. The house was relatively quiet for that time in the night - other than the sounds of Nadja and Laszlo's activity in their room . Guillermo can hear the calm wind, the dogs barking across the street and the wild screaming of the neighbors fighting. Sean had forgotten to pay cable and they had nothing to do all night apparently. It was nice.
Once the water reaches the appropriate height and temperature he turns to call for his master, only to see the man already standing in the doorframe.
“Ah!” He yells, almost falling with the scare, but the sides of the tub help him stand. “ I didn’t hear you coming, master.” Nandor only looks at him, like he has something to say. Guillermo feels nervous. Had he done something wrong? “The bath is ready.”
“I can see that.” He has no emotion in his voice. Guillermo does his best to remain calm. “Now you take off my clothes.”
Oh, he didn’t like that part. He was still getting used to the idea of seeing other people naked - other men naked. And that was very common in the house. All of the time. The vampires seemed to treat the exposure of their bodies with the same casualty with which they treated death. But for some reason, in Guillermo’s little catholic raised brain, helping them kill innocent people and burying their corpses was a lot easier than seeing some genitalia.
“I- ok, I will just get the bath bomb.”
Guillermo goes for the cabinet under the sink, reaching for one of the star themed balls of oils, fragrance and pink colorant. There were about twenty of them in there - he always made sure to always have it in stock since it was Nandor’s favorite, even if he didn’t bathe that often.
He leaves it on the counter, turning back to Nandor. Usually he would be telling him to hurry up but tonight he seemed calmer. Maybe the alcohol added some patience into his bloodstream - or whatever it was that vampires had going on inside of them.
He helps him with his cloak, taking the heavy piece and hanging it on the hook near the tub. He does the same with the rest: he goes down on his knees to take off the boots, one hand cupping Nandor’s calf as he pulls each piece, placing them tidily on the corner of the room. He stands, hands fumbling with his masters shirt, followed by the belt, the undershirt, the pants, the antiquated underwear - everything came out through Guillermo’s hands in a process that even if done in the quickest fashion possible would still take some long torturous minutes. Every time their bodies touched, every inch of skin that became exposed, Guillermo could feel his heartbeat increase in an overwhelming mixture of anxiety, curiosity and shame.
And now, with his job now done and his vampire boss properly in the nude, he stares at the marble floor as he turns around to leave him to it.
A hand rests on his shoulder. He freezes.
“Would you…” Nandor starts, unusually unsure of what to say. “Would you help me bathe? Just tonight.”
If before Guillermos heart was working at an alarming rate, his brain now joined in on the freaking out. It wasn’t the first time Nandor asked for help in this department. Last time, about a week after Guillermo started the job, he had requested his assistance - though they hadn’t gone through with it since Guillermo’s blood pressure went up to the point of him passing out. After that, Nandor had been merciful enough to not bring it up again. At least until now.
He turns around to face him, looking down at his feet - a mistake, he realizes, seeing the man fully naked before him with his appendage completely exposed. He does his best to keep his eyes above the shoulders and, with that, his eyes focus on his master’s face.
His eyes are staring back at him, wide and… oddly vulnerable. In that moment Guillermo realized two very important things: the first was that the request wasn’t an order, he could say “no” if he wanted and move on with his night. The other one was that he couldn’t bring himself to. He never thought he would pity one of the most ancient powerful warriors to have ever lived, but this job came with a lot of surprises.
He inhales deeply before breathing out a shaky “sure”, offering his hand to help him enter the tub. Nandor places his cold pale palm over his, raising one foot at a time and slowly sinking into the water.
The vampire let out a sigh of relief, followed by words that came out so rarely from Nandor’s mouth Guillermo felt the need to write every single time he heard it in his diary.
“Thank you, Guillermo.”
He can’t help but smile proudly, cheeks burning a little. “You’re welcome, master.”
Guillermo gives him the bath bomb, which Nandor quickly drops and watches it fizzle while it turns the water pink and opaque, chuckling as glee covered his face. It was cute, actually, the way he would let these small bits of the current world into his life. One of the things he noticed about the vampires was their absolute lack of both awareness and interest in modernity: except for Nandor. He often asked Guillermo about the “ethernet”, or to play one of the songs he murmured while cleaning the house. He had even sat down with the familiar to watch some movies and had grown quite attached to some of them (specifically Twilight, he really liked Twilight).
With eyes closed, Nandor lays his head back, resting the nape of his neck on the porcelain behind him. He looked so good Guillermo almost forgot how to breathe. Or what he was supposed to do now that he was ready.
“I am waiting.”
“Oh!” His heart starts racing again “Right! Hmm… would you like me to wash your hair first?”
“Sure.” He nods, still with his eyes closed.
Guillermo takes a bucket from the closet underneath the sink and fills it with cold water. He kneels behind his master, taking his loose hair and wetting it. Nandor’s hair is soft, dark and dense. He took good care of it, even before Guillermo arrived, brushing it often, spreading scented protective oils and-
“You know…” Guillermo stares as Nandor breaks the silence, eyes closed with a sly smile appearing between his cheeks “I used to have a lover who used to bathe me like this.”
He is not sure how to answer, what to say. Part of him wants to comment on the comparison of him and a lover. Another part is curious about the ancient man’s long everlasting life. Did he and said lover meet when he was alive? How long ago was that, exactly? Where did he live? Where did he die? Who turned him? Was it her? Why? A sea of questions cover his mind, yet he settles for a simple one.
“What was her name?”
At least he thought it was simple.
“I-” he stares blankly at his feet, face scrunching into a frown “I’m not sure.”
Guillermo stops rubbing his scalp “You are not sure?”
Nandor shrugs. “It’s been so, so long.” His voice is low, tired. “Time is not kind to the memories of ancient men.”
His hands start moving again “So you remember nothing?”
“I do!” He sounds defensive. “But as it goes by, the days, the years, the decades, the centuries just all start to look alike. The memories are there but they are all… blurred.”
“Blurred?
He nods. “Like a smudged painting. Or one of those moving pictures that we saw on your computing machine.” He trails off, waving his wet hand as if to say there is nothing you can do about it.
Why don’t you keep a journal?, he thought, but he does not dare say it. It was too late to salvage the memories of his master. When I am turned, I will remember every single detail. Take notes, take pictures and souvenirs. I can do that.
“Sounds terrible.” Guillermo admits and once again Nandor shrugs, closing his eyes.
“It is fine.” He decides not to argue. He expects silence to settle again, but Nandor keeps talking. “I remember he had warm hands. Like yours.”
Guillermo frowns “Who?”
“My lover. He had warm hands.” He answers, like it was nothing. Yet, the words stuck to Guillermo’s mind. Specifically one. He.
It made sense, he guessed. One of the things that attracted him to vampires ever since he was barely a teenager was the liberation, that liberation. From the small recurring fears of life and from the cruel punishment that would await his poor christian soul after death, so never dying seemed freeing for someone like him. Or like Nandor. Though right now he wasn’t free.
“Can you sit up straight for a minute?” His voice cracks. “Master.”
It surprises him when Nandor simply obeys, so Guillermo can pour the water over his master. He throws his neck back, facing the ceiling, as the cold waves wash down his back, cleansing his hair from the products Guillermo had used.
He takes the loofah and starts the next step of his torturous job. The coconut soap smelled nice as he rubbed it on the white sponge and then on his master’s back. Nandor hugs his knees as he waits for him to be done. A deep moan leaves him as he relaxes into the almost massage Guillermo gives him.
“Ok, I’m done.” His throat feels dry.
Once again, Nandor rests against the tub, raising a leg and placing the crook of his knee on the sides of it, drooping foot dripping water over the floor.
Now, he kneels by Nandor’s side rolling up his sleeves. As he starts his job, he doesn’t let his eyes wander the body before him - he stares directly at the arm he was washing, the thin hairs darker when wet. He does the hand first, noticing Nandor’s fingers are almost twice as big as his own. He holds the man’s wrist in his fist, spreading soap in his palm and rubbing it through his fingers. The only heat he felt came from the water.
He follows the lines up his arm, strong muscles lying beneath scarred pale skin. He must have trained a lot when he was younger. Fought a lot.
And then, Nandor moves his hands, softly taking Guillemo’s on his own. His eyes study him intently, following the purple veins that are only slightly apparent beneath brown skin. He can’t tear his eyes away as Nandor examines him, thumb rubbing small gentle circles over his palm.
Warm hands. He hears his brain repeat. Like yours.
Nandor’s grip is not too strong. He could move, get away from the man if he wants, and yet Guillermo doesn’t dare to. He brushes the fingers from his left hand onto the familiar’s wrist, right one pulling him closer. Closer to his mouth, he notices.
He is going to bite me. He thinks, To turn me.
The fangs grazed the sensitive thin skin of his forearm, he barely registers the cold lips and wet tongue that follow it. He closes his eyes, feeling as ready as ever for the gift only Nandor could give him, but the bite doesn’t come.
He can feel his heartbeat increase again. His master chuckles against his flesh.
“You don’t have to be nervous, you know?”
“What?” His voice is barely a whisper.
“If I was going to eat you you would already be ate.” He sounds annoyed and lets go of the boy’s arm as he settles into the relaxed laid back position he had been a few seconds earlier. “I have more self control than that.”
What the fuck?
“Of course, master.”
So he gets back to work. He follows with the soaped loofah towards Nandor’s chest, as still and quiet as a dead man should be - in starking contrast with Guillermo’s own pulse that could power a house in this intensity.
One day he would get used to it, he assumed, the lack of heart inside his master. And then, hopefully, one day inside himself.
Warm hands , he thought and wondered how long he would stay this way.