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It had been a long night.
It's always a long night for Guillermo de la Cruz. Between his myriad of duties as familiar, bodyguard, accountant, boyfriend, and son it feels like he hasn't had a true moment to rest in ages. Even with all of his duties accounted for, though, tonight was particularly draining. Not even an hour ago he had been playing dead in the arms of his Master after an intense and very public battle between the two.
It wasn't the physical labor of the fight that left him exhausted – it was the way he and Nandor had fought. He had come to the Night Market excited and ready to experience something new and do what he did best: make the most out of an errand. He didn't think he'd find himself thrust into not only fighting and ultimately killing other familiars but his own Master. He didn't think the fight between the two of them would turn so ugly and intense. He didn't think his night would devolve to holding a wooden stake to the chest of the vampire he swore to protect. He didn't think – but he should have. He should have known better.
While Guillermo was used to running on fumes, fighting with his Master took the wind out of him in a way he didn't yet have words to explain. Not for lack of trying – he'd been trying to pinpoint why it affected him so for the past 11 years. Of course, a Familiar and their Master won't always have a perfect relationship. It's an intense commitment for both parties to agree to. The Familiar must do their Master’s bidding at all costs. In return, the Master must protect their Familiar and teach them the ways of vampirism in an incredibly dangerous environment. However, whenever he got the chance to talk to other Familiars he never felt like they truly "got" the way he and his Master fought.
His fights with Nandor didn't just anger him – it awakened something within him. It made him feel simultaneously useless and all-important. It was a paradox that only Nandor could inspire within Guillermo and tonight's battle made for a perfect example of the type of mess it made him.
"Guillermo! What are you doing? You're supposed to be dead!"
Ah, yes. That bit didn't help his mood either.
Guillermo turned around to see Nandor lumbering through the door, throwing his hands up in exasperation at the site of him. It didn't look like he carried an ounce of weight from the night’s activities on his broad shoulders. Guillermo's own shoulders grew a little heavier at his Master's quickness to composure.
"Sorry, Master. I just – I needed to get a drink."
"Yes well, you aren't going to get one here, Guillermo. This is a blood bar! Why don't you go to a normal human bar? Like Denny's?"
"Denny's isn't a bar, Maser."
"What? Well, then why is named after a person and open 24/7?"
"What bar is open 24/7?"
"It's named after a person. Nadja's nightclub is named after a person. I just thought that's what people did these days. It's an honest mistake, Guillermo."
"Not necessarily."
"Sheesh, you are a testy little rascal tonight!'
"Listen, I needed to get away and think for a moment. Just clear my head. Do you mind?"
"I wouldn't mind if you could do it while being more dead. Can you look more dead while you think Guillermo?"
This was exactly the type of dance he was exhausted of. Nandor asked him to do the impossible after he already had busted his ass to achieve an entirely different impossibility. As always, it was asked of him with a nonchalance and lack of concern that should be reserved for asking someone to pass the salt at dinner. To Nandor, what Guillermo could do was infinite as long as it was for his Master. Guillermo wished, just once, that his Master would treat him with a respect that matched that expectation.
"I'm getting a drink. Because, you know, I can actually get a drink here."
Like he had to rub it in.
He always has to rub it in.
He heard Nandor mumble "Why couldn't he have just gone to Denny's like a normal human?" before disappearing into the crowd.
How he wished he could just "go to Denny's". He'd love a large stack of pancakes and a hot cup of tea. But here he was – sitting in a dive bar that catered exclusively to anyone that wasn't him.
He was tired of being human. He had already paid his dues to the parts of humanity he cared about. He saw to it that his mother was taken care of and settled into a house surrounded by her favorite comforts. He explored love with his new boyfriend. He slogged through humanity with the understanding that it wouldn't be much longer before he could leave it behind. Always, always, his deadline was being extended even though he was always, always doing extra credit to finish early.
"Hellooo? Is there anybody tending this bar?"
"One second there, pal."
Guillermo's lamenting was interrupted by the beginning of what he could already tell was a situation brewing between his Master and a rather gruff-sounding bartender. He steeled his nerves and kept his intention on the splintering wood of the table in front of him. He had to stop listening to his instinct to jump in whenever he thought things could go awry...even though his instincts were typically right.
"I've already been waiting a lot of seconds!"
"Well, wait a couple more."
Nope, Guillermo thought. He wasn't going to get involved. Sure, it was his job to do his Master's bidding. Right now that meant keeping a low profile, not stopping him from getting in a bar fight.
"Whaaat am I invisible or something?"
"Buddy, you better cool your jets-"
"Who're you calling buddy? I'm not your buddy! I'll be buddies with you when you serve me!"
"Alright, that's it!"
The crashing of glass thundered behind him and Guillermo finally stole a glance over his shoulder to see Nandor's head pinned to the bar. He let out a loud sigh.
If he were in a less public place Guillermo would have taken care of the situation swiftly and with ease. Even amidst the heightened danger of the Night Market he still carried a few hunting tools in his satchel, just in case. He had learned that nowhere was truly safe - especially places he would assume would be so. He always had to be prepared, even if it meant risking his cover. He'd gotten pretty good at protecting his cover along with his Master, though. Multiple years of very active vampire hunting while being surrounded and caretaking for vampires trained that into him fast.
He pulled out a compact mirror and a laser pointer from his bag. He'd been waiting for an excuse to try his new invention, so now seemed like as good a time as ever. Flipping open the compact, he first used it to get a read on the situation without further revealing his hand. He could now match the pathetic sputtering sounds his Master was making with the bartender's brutal and ever-tightening grip. Oh boy. He had to work fast.
He positioned the mirror more tactically now, knowing he had to be precise – his goal was to instill fear, not incite more violence. Once he felt he had a good clear shot Guillermo pointed his laser at the mirror. It looked like a cat toy that had been altered so that instead of a rotating cast of images such as mice, bugs, and stars it projected a small red crucifix. Guillermo smirked as the imagery blinked into existence on the bar in front of the two vampires, causing them both to hiss and scramble away from it.
As soon as Nandor was out of the bartender's grasp Guillermo slyly snapped his compact closed and slipped it and the laser back into his bag like nothing had happened. His speed left both Nandor and the bartender questioning if it was just a trick of the eyes.
"Did you just see that?" The bartender asked Nandor, gawking.
"It was scary! You should have your establishment checked for traps!"
"Yeah...Yeah maybe,” The baffled bartender responded, scratching is head and looking around. Guillermo didn't have the vantage point of his mirror anymore, but he could tell by the bartender's dazed voice that the experience had shaken him up. He seemed thrown off enough to have seemingly cooled off.
"Hey, sorry about all that. Uh, long night. Night Market is crazy, y'know. Anyway, what can I get ya?"
Guillermo tuned out from there. The danger had subsided which meant he wasn't needed anymore. It was a dance he was used to and knew quite well, no matter how tired of the choreography he was. He buried his head in his hands and tried to lose himself in the darkness for a moment. Until his Master appeared in the chair beside him.
"That bartender needs to check this place for traps, Guillermo. A crucifix appeared out of nowhere while we were fighting! That's dangerous."
Guillermo couldn’t help but groan into his hands.
"That was me, Master,” Guillermo responded, despondently raising his head.
"You set traps in this bar? Guillermo, you shouldn't do that! This bartender is a very nice man and he is just trying to make a living – how dare you!"
"No, I didn't set traps. I was protecting you because you were about to-" Guillermo stopped himself, throwing up his hands in aggravation. "You know what? You never listen anyway, so never mind. Why bother."
Guillermo got up to leave but Nandor reached out to stop him, inviting him to sit back down with a touch on the shoulder. Guillermo obliged on instinct.
"I get it. You are upset."
"Yes. Yes, I am."
"It's about the Orc comment from earlier. Orcs are very respected warriors, Guillermo, and very strong. You shouldn't take it as such an insult."
The human furrowed his brow and something died behind his eyes.
"It's obviously not that,” Guillermo answered.
Nandor didn't have an immediate response to that. Probably because it was impossible to ignore tonight's events. For once, there was a moment of hesitation before the vampire spoke.
"I know it isn't."
Nandor took a thick sip from the goblet the bartender had given him and shuddered.
"That's some pretty intense liquor blood."
Guillermo ignored that latter comment and instead chose to focus on the prior. No matter how many times he told himself to let sleeping dogs lie, his compulsion to know where he and his Master stood always won. No matter how exhausted, how disrespected, how hurt he felt – he always had to know.
"You...do?"
"Yeah! It's been a crazy night. That was a pretty good show we put on, ey?" Nandor nudged his Familiar playfully – which Guillermo shirked away from.
"Yeah, I guess." Guillermo could name a thousand other things Nandor could have said at that moment that would've been more conscientious. He would usually take the time to point that out...but he was tired. His body ached and his spirit felt particularly broken after watching the person he'd committed the better part of his adult life to offer him up for entertainment's sake so quickly.
"I don't know why we didn't leave as soon as the fight was over."
"Oh, come on. It's the Night Market! There's so much cool shit here. And also you drove us here and we couldn't leave Nadja behind. She would be so mad and I don't feel particularly keen on getting involved in a...What is it called in modern language? Ah yes. Bitch fest." Guillermo threw up his hands in exasperation.
"I get it's the Night Market but that doesn't mean you should throw me in the middle of a human dog fight! I could have been seriously hurt – or even killed. Even worse, if we hadn't, i-i-if you and I hadn't fought together and they chose to bring out some other vampire it could have ended so badly. I mean, what would have happened if I killed all those vampires, huh? And then instead of going straight for an exit you disappear and get involved in a bar fight and-"
Nandor waved his hand dismissively at Guillermo as he got more and more worked up, shutting him down with a soft, rather patronizing hush.
"I know you were just trying to do your job, Guillermo. Don't worry. I wasn't worried at all. I knew you could beat all those guys because you do such a good job protecting me. You were a strong warrior and a formidable opponent."
The statement stunned Guillermo out of speech. Nandor complimented him few and far between and typically only in situations where Nandor's own pride was a stake.
"Yeah, well, you're just saying that because I beat you."
Nandor smiled. He seemed legitimately impressed. Guillermo sat up a little taller.
"I was going to wait until we got back to the house but...I got a special little gift for youuu!" Nandor ended his sentence in an excited sing-song voice as he reached into his pockets. He pulled out a small bottle that contained a dark, syrupy-looking liquid and placed it on the table in front of his Familiar.
"It's Orc Mead!" Nandor exclaimed.
"You got this for me?" The man asked as he picked up the bottle and inspected it with caution. He wasn't used to receiving gifts from his Master – or at all, really. It was hard not to soften a little bit at the gesture.
"Thank you, Master. This is a, uh, very nice souvenir," he said, beginning to pocket it.
"No! It's for you to drink!"
Guillermo raised a brow at him.
"Are you sure that's safe?"
Nandor shrugged. The Familiar couldn't help his curiosity. He unstopped the bottle and took a tentative whiff and immediately scrunched up his face. Whatever Orc Mead was made out of, it was something much stronger than honey. It had a smell that was close to licorice and was followed up with a peppery, almost savory note. He couldn't help but feel Nandor's eyes boring into him expectantly.
"Well, take a sip!" Nandor urged.
He didn't want to. The drink seemed strong and he had no idea what it would do to him if he followed through with the request. There was something about the way Nandor was looking at him, though. It was with an excitement behind his eyes Guillermo wasn't used to – not directed at him, at least. It was rare the vampire wanted Guillermo to do something with him rather than for him. It was hard for him to resist the temptation of what an amicable night with his Master might look like. Before he knew what he was doing, he upturned the entire contents of the vile into his mouth. Nandor all but squealed in excitement.
Guillermo couldn't quite place what the liquor tasted like but it was unlike any alcohol he'd tasted in his life. Admittedly he wasn't a heavy drinker, but the Orcish liquor felt like it contained tastes yet unknown to the human tongue. It tasted like a campground fire, pine sap, spices, and earth. It was bitter at first, causing Guillermo to scrunch up every muscle in his face, but eventually settled in the back of his throat with an almost calming, oolong-adjacent flavor.
"Yes, Guillermo! That's a boy!" Nandor clapped his familiar sturdily on his back, forcing out a rather vicious burp.
"I'll admit, I didn't think you had it in you. Look at that-you drowned the whole fucking thing!"
"I did, didn't I," Guillermo replied, just as surprised as Nandor by his actions.
"Hey – that's not going to like, poison me, is it?"
"I have no clue," Nandor responded, obviously distracted by getting the answer to his question – "Soooo...How do you feel?"
Guillermo sat with the question for a moment, trying to tune into his body and see if anything was different.
"Uh – not that different. It's warm."
"I'll drink to that!" Nandor raised his goblet of blood in a faux toast before downing it, satisfyingly smacking his lips once it was drained. Guillermo let out a small giggle as he watched his Master drink. He couldn't help it. Maybe the liquor was working quickly in his system and his inhibitions were lowering – or maybe he was just so relieved to have a moment of kinship with Nandor.
Guillermo's laugh infected Nandor with a hearty chuckle of his own.
"Why are you laughing? Are you drunk already, Guillermo?"
"What? No. Uh-Actually. I don't know. Maybe. What does an Orc Mead buzz feel like?"
"What a lightweight you are," Nandor teased, leaning playfully on Guillermo. Guillermo held his position sturdily on his chair to hold his Master's weight despite him being twice the man's size.
Guillermo wanted to stay mad but somehow couldn't. He could chalk the feeling up to the warm campfire the Orc Mead had lit in his stomach – but he knew it wasn't that. It was almost frustrating how quickly Nandor could make him feel as though all was right with the world, even after a big fight. Just like he never quite felt like other Familiars understood the toll fighting with his Master took on him, he felt others didn't quite get this feeling either. It was stupid to say he felt safe with Nandor when the reality couldn't be more contradictory...But he did. Instead of fighting it, Guillermo chose to enjoy this moment. It was easier to lean into his feelings rather than interrogate them.
"Master...Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Guillermo. A fierce warrior such as yourself can ask many questions."
Guillermo could tell his Master's drink was affecting him quickly. It wasn't surprising that liquor blood worked quicker than actual liquor given the way Guillermo had deduced vampire digestion worked. However, he wasn't often in the presence of a drunk Nandor outside of the context of putting him to bed. He had never chosen to drink with him and only him.
"Back there, during the fight...Were you really going to let me just....you know?"
Nandor did know. His question was met with silence. The vampire gripped his cup a little tighter.
"Yes," Nandor finally answered.
Guillermo wasn't expecting that reply. He didn't know how to respond. Guillermo couldn't imagine a world without Nandor in it – he thought his Master and him were on the same page there. It was deeply jarring to think that Nandor was willing to take a stake to the heart at all, let alone in front of hundreds of his peers.
He finally settled on asking "Why?"
Nandor kept a contemplative silence. Perhaps that was the wrong question to ask.
"Lately I've been feeling like my best days are beginning to be behind me."
"Oh Master, that's not true. You're doing so many amazing things. I mean, you're the co-leader of the Vampiric Council!"
"Yeah, of the Tri-State Area! Do you know how little of an area that is? In Al Qolnidar I reigned over quadruple that! And my name was known and feared far beyond what I occupied. Now..." Nandor shrugged. "Meh."
"Master-"
"-Don't try to butter me up, Guillermo. I don't want empty compliments." The vampire let out a heavy sigh.
"I'm glad you didn't...you know."
Guillermo studied his Master. He seemed smaller. Weaker. Tired. He reflected on his own weariness. Maybe he wasn't alone in what he was feeling. If Guillermo wasn't alone in his exhaustion, perhaps he wasn't alone in the other feelings he was having for his Master. When Nandor was speaking with other vampires about his Familiar, did he also feel like they didn't quite understand? Maybe, just maybe, they were on the same page.
"Me too," Guillermo finally replied.
He didn't even feel himself do it, but Guillermo had reached out and put his hand over Nandor's. Nandor smiled softly at the gesture. He put his other hand over Guillermo's and squeezed it gently, reassuringly. Something settled in Guillermo that he didn't know needed settling.
"If you tell anybody about any of this, I'll have to murder you, of course."
Guillermo couldn't tell if Nandor was joking or not so he just chuckled softly.
"I'm serious."
"Ah."
He wasn't, though.
"Hey, can I clear any of this out of the way for you?" The harsh voice of the bartender cut through whatever had developed between the vampire and the human with a jagged knife. They quickly untangled their hands, though neither of them was quite sure why.
"Oh, uh-" Guillermo tried to respond, but couldn't quite get any words out.
"Still using that goblet buddy?" The bartender pointed to the cup in Nandor's hand and Nandor pushed it toward him wordlessly. Once again, Guillermo and Nandor found themselves on the same page – this one blank. The bartender dutifully swiped up the goblet and the empty Orc Mead vial, leaning over them to mop up any spills and condensation. Guillermo realized a moment too late that the barback was squinting at him like he recognized him as he cleaned.
"Hey..." The bartender said, sniffing the air suspiciously. "Aren't you that Familiar from those fights back there? Ain't you supposed to be dead?"
"Uh – no! You've got the wrong guy, I'm just an Orc here for the, uh, Night Market festivities."
The bartender moved a little closer.
"You don't smell like an orc."
Nandor leaned into Guillermo and whispered sing-song in his ear "Guillermooo, I think it's time to get out of heeere."
"Agreed. I've got a plan, but we've gotta make a quick escape. On the count of 3."
"What?" Nandor blinked. The bartender abandoned his washrag and grabbed Guillermo by the cuff of his shirt.
"Three!" Guillermo yelled in the vampire’s face and jumped up, grabbing the stool out from under Nandor and hurling it at the bartender's head. The bartender let out an agonized yell and stumbled backward, letting go of Guillermo as he did. Nandor took the cue and grabbed Guillermo by the waist, hoisting him up and taking flight. He zoomed through the bar before the bartender even had a chance to right himself. Guillermo sometimes forgot that Nandor had the instincts of a great warrior as well. He knew it in theory of course, but this facet of his Master often got lost in the vampire's aloofness.
"My knight in shining armor." Guillermo joked with a laugh as they continued their ascent into the sky.
"Now is not the time for jokes, Guillermo," Nandor hissed. "We have to find Nadja and get out of here. This is so embarrassing."
"You're right, you're right," Guillermo conceded. "You have to admit, that was pretty badass, though."
Nandor smiled. It was a wide, proud kind of smile. Guillermo hadn’t seen it before and found he was having trouble taking his eyes off of it, even though it strained his eyes to look up for so long.
"Yes, it was pretty badass, wasn't it."
Guillermo could feel Nandor's grip tighten around his waist and a sense of calm washed over him. He knew they were still, technically, in danger. The two of them would always, technically, be in danger. He knew Nandor probably just held tighter because the wind was catching up and he didn't want his Familiar to slip out of his grasp. He knew it was probably just the Orc Mead's intoxication starting to really get to him. He knew, he knew, he knew – but knowing and feeling, Guillermo was starting to accept, were two very different things. He breathed in the feeling and the chilly night air and watched the Night Market shrink below him. Nights like these were tough, but there was something perfect to him about them. Even in their exhaustion, frustration, pain, and anger – an adventure with his Master was always ultimately worth it.
Guillermo felt weightless.