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He knows how this will end.
As the night draws on the heavy burden of knowledge grows heavier, pulling his shoulders down and making his shoes drag against the rug with each heavy step he takes. It is hardly the grandiose display of vampiric power and confidence that he knows Guillermo is so clearly excited for. He can feel his eyes boring into the back of his skull, so warm and bright, his barely contained excitement highlighted by gold as candle light flickers and swims across his lens of his glasses.
He should feel guilty for not leaning into it a bit more, putting on a show, saying his lines with vigor when he knows them so well. He knows each cue, where to stand and how to do it just right so to earn him a delighted little gasp as Guillermo's heart kicks into overdrive.
He's been here before afterall.
The first time he was filled with vigor, not every familiar was so eager to please and wore their adoration out on their sleeve like Guillermo had. It made him puff out his chest, raise his head a little higher, enunciate his words a little more so show off the fangs he was once so proud of.
Now?
Now he just wants this night to be over.
His fangs sit awkwardly in his mouth, lips curling around them every time he spoke. He so desperately wants to be vapour and disappear under the floorboards where no one can reach him, not even with the little vacuum Guillermo used for the furniture. At least as a vapour he would no longer feel the phantom ache of his heart mourning his greatest loss since the night his fingers combed through Jahan's mane for the final time. Despair catching on his lashes as he uttered his goodbyes.
Would he even get to say goodbye this time?
Nandor shakes his head, trying to dislodge the thought before it can take root in his mind, walking a little faster so it can't creep back up on him.
A set of footsteps mirror his own trying to keep up to the sudden change in pace, but always two steps behind. It was easier than walking side by side with the ghost of his former friend, made it so Nandor didn't have to catch the tail end of every smile that has his fingers reaching out to touch only to be met with cold air as he pulls himself together.
This one wasn't his to keep.
It would only end up the same as before.
A tired old record drones on, filtering through the house from the music room. It's one Nandor had heard a million times before and had grown to detest, now he's thankful for it as it mutes Guillermo's fluttering heartbeat, drowning out each little rasped breath as he tries to keeps up.
Had he always breathed so loud?
"And this will be your room." His arm swoops out as he finally spins to meet Guillermo, though his eyes quickly retreat to the cramped space below the stairs so not to linger a second too long. "I am sorry about the current state of it. I was not expecting you so did not think to tidy, you can just move all the pornography and spare body parts into the corner there."
Nandor winces at his own word as if they had slapped him across the face. This Guillermo deserved better than this, maybe if he had gotten better then he would want to stay here with him?
His chest pangs. He puts that thought into his breast pocket to agonise over later after his Guillermo is asleep and none the wiser to tonight's transgressions.
"I get my own room?" His voice is soft, softer than Nandor had heard it in years as Guillermo's face lights up as if Nandor had bestowed upon him the greatest gift in the world and not a shitty little storage space completely lacking a bed.
"But of course, it is not proper to go sharing a coffin with a familiar." Nandor rolls his eyes momentarily forgetting himself to the lull of the moment, drawn in by Guillermo's gentle glee. It's only when a soft heat rises to his cheeks that Nandor remembers himself and the moment he has found himself in. He clears his throat. "Well I should leave you to it, you must be tired."
"Wait- ah, Master?" Guillermo's voice wavers, uncertainty lacing the title that Nandor knows will take months of practice to finally come out less awkward. "I just want to say thank you."
"Oh." Nandor waves his hand trying to put out the spark before it even has chance to catch. "There is no need, we will have plenty of time for all that."
"N-No, I want to. Please." When Nandor finally dares a look Guillermo's eyes are so warm and bright, a lovely little smile curling the corners of his lip, and how could Nandor ever deny him anything? "It is such a big honour to be able to work for you, I know you could have chosen anyone so it really means so much. I can't wait for everything you have to show me, and I look forward to getting to know yo-"
Guillermo's last word is cut short, forced out of his lung in one sharp gasp as Nandor breaks. Colliding into his chest, his arms wrapping around his warm, plush frame and holding him so close. It wasn't close enough. It could never be close enough. He could become a vapour and be breathed in, make Guillermo's lungs his final resting place and it still wouldn't be enough to quell the ache in his heart.
He doesn't cry, that would be embarrassing and too much too soon, no. He does however get dust in his eyes, a telltale sign of the house's lack of familiar that causes his eyes to water, his vision blurring before it all goes black in his desperate fight to keep despair catching on his lashes once again.
He sniffles, fingers groping the work fabric beneath his hold, never wanting to let go.
"I am going to miss you."
The words are muttered and quiet, spoken more to himself than the other man, but when pressed so tightly his lips brush the shell of his ear it's no real surprise when Guillermo responds.
"I'm only going to sleep?" His confusion rolls off him in heavy waves, drenching his words, though even through his confusion a single warm hand comes up to rest on Nandor's back. "I'll see you tomorrow."
One light tap, then a second. An awkward attempt to soothe a grieving stranger when there are no words to exchange.
It makes Nandor grip him a little tighter, his dear, beloved Guillermo, heartbreak adorning his lashes as hidden tears fall into his beard.
"I know."