Chapter Text
Taking in the chaos that had engulfed Casita in her absence, Mirabel was torn between regret at having left and coming back at all.
One Week Earlier
Mirabel sighed as she nibbled on a snack, sulking in Casita’s kitchen. She could hear the rumble and cheers of the party carrying on without her in Antonio’s amazing new room. Dimly she thought she heard something break but couldn’t muster up enough curiosity or care to go and see what it was.
Thoughts spiraled relentlessly through her head.
She felt bad that her primo had gotten a gift while she hadn’t.
Then she felt bad about feeling bad because she loved Antonio and wanted him to have a gift. He deserved it and being able to talk to animals? It was perfect for him!
But she still felt bad about how her ceremony, and the door that wasn’t, and on and on the thoughts went until a voice finally brought her back out of her head.
“Hey mija,” her mamá called gently, hopping up to sit next to her youngest on the counter. “Cómo te va?”
Mirabel sighed again, not meeting her mother’s eye and instead fiddling with the arepa she’d snagged from the party before she left. She thought about lying, but…she just couldn’t anymore.
“...I’m tired,” she mumbled, leaning against Julieta’s shoulder, snuggling as an arm came up to wrap around her.
“Ay, I’m sorry, mija,” Julieta sighed, squeezing her in a one armed hug. “I knew today would be hard for you. I wish there was something I could do.” She pressed a kiss into her daughter’s curls before resting her head against hers. “What can I do, querida? What would make you feel better?”
Mirabel stayed silent but rolled the question over in her head.
What would make her feel better?
She honestly wasn’t sure.
She knew what was making her feel bad– guilty about it as she felt –and that was being here. Constantly surrounded by the reminders of what she wasn’t and could never be, no matter how hard she tried.
So, maybe…
“...I want to leave…” she mumbled; not realizing she’d said her thought out loud until her mother had tensed beside her. In the blink of an eye Julieta’s warmth moved from beside her to right in front of her, hands grasping desperately at Mirabel’s own.
“No! Mira please, no! I can’t lose you too,” Julieta cried, eyes wide with what almost looked like fear. “Not like my brother!”
“Wha-Mom no!” Mirabel jolted up straight, returning her mother’s grip. “Not like that! I’d come back, I swear! I just meant- for a little while! Like a vacation! ” Julieta released a huge shuddering breath and all but sagged with relief.
“Ay… I’m sorry, mi corazón; I didn’t handle that very well,” she chuckled weakly.
“No no- I get it! I could have phrased that a bit better,” Mirabel reassured her. “But…I mean it. I think…I think I just need to have some ‘me’ time, ya know? Just…” she sighed and shrugged helplessly; unable to explain how tired she was. Of not having a gift. Of being asked to stand aside.
Of not being enough.
Julieta hummed softly, frowning as she realized her grabbing of Mirabel’s hands had caused the arepa she’d been holding to become a squished mess between their grips. Absently grabbing a towel to clean them both up, Julieta mulled over the words her daughter had said– and more importantly, the ones she hadn’t. Mirabel sat quietly and let her wipe the snack up, recalling fondly how often her mamá had done this when she was younger. Especially after she’d been out traipsing through the outdoors with her pá. She chuckled softly at the memories; she always did have a knack for finding the best mud puddles…
Mess finally cleaned up, Julieta rubbed a thumb along her daughter’s palm as she ducked her head down to catch her youngest’s eyes with a warm smile.
“I think-” she lifted their hands and gently placed a kiss on Mirabel’s knuckles, “-that that is a great idea.”
Mirabel smiled shyly back. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. As big as Casita is, we still manage to trip over each other sometimes,” her mother chuckled, patting her hands. “A little peace and quiet sounds wonderful, querida.” Julieta almost yelped in surprise as Mirabel slid abruptly off the counter and wrapped her in a hug.
“Thank you,” her baby mumbled into her shoulder. Ay, when did she get so tall?
“Of course, mi vida,” she cooed, returning the hug with gusto. “Whatever you need.”
They stood like that for several minutes before Mirabel finally pulled back, giving her mamá a watery smile, one relieved tear making its way down her cheek that Julieta was quick to wipe away.
“So-” Julieta grinned, excited for her daughter, “-Any thoughts on where you’d like to go?” Mirabel bit her lip, once again remembering the times she went out exploring the Encanto with her father.
“Yeah, actually,” she smiled, the idea becoming more and more enticing the more she thought about it, “I think I do.”
“Miraboo wants to go camping?” Agustín remarked in awe as they were getting ready for bed, the party finally ending just shy of midnight.
“Mhm,” Julieta replied as she turned down the covers of their bed. “I plan on making her some snacks for the trip. Ay, you should have seen her, love; she’s so excited she’s already dug out your old camping gear.”
“Ah, I love that gear,” Agustín smiled fondly. “It got me through my journey to you after all~” He gazed at her with nothing but adoration in his eyes, making Julieta slap his shoulder playfully. Straightening back up, he nodded determinedly and hopped into bed, bouncing in place. “Bien! I’ll go with her! We’ll go to that spot we used to go to back-”
“-Ay, I’m sorry, amor,” Julieta shook her head, smiling sadly, “Mirabel wants to do this herself. Alone.”
“Oh…” Agustín drooped down beneath the sheets, looking so much like a puppy that had been denied a treat that his wife couldn’t help but chuckle and kiss his cheek as she settled in next to him. Casita dimmed the lights down to nothing. “That makes sense, I suppose… It’s just- it’s been a while, ya know? Since I took the girls out for a trip. Ay we would have so much fun…” His pout melted away to a wistful smile, recalling how he’d take his girls out and taught them everything he knew about the outdoors and how to traverse it. Clumsy as he admittedly was, he was still proud of the fact that he did know how to handle himself out in the wild. In fact, if it wasn’t for his skills he may have never stumbled upon the encanto in the first place all those years ago…
He was brought out of his musings as Julieta sighed and snuggled into his side, his arm naturally rising to wrap around her.
“...Do you think she’ll be alright?” she asked quietly, the barest tremble in her voice. “Out there? All alone?” Agustín smiled and kissed the top of her head, feeling her reluctant smile against his shoulder.
“Our Mirabel? Absolutely. She took to my lessons like a duck to water. She could probably survive just fine with nothing but the clothes on her back and a smile on her face!” He grinned in the dark as his wife gave a relieved little chuckle.
“Be that as it may, I want you to double-check everything tomorrow; I don’t want her to settle down for the night only to find her hammock full of holes.”
“Double? She’s not setting so much as one toe out of Casita until I’ve triple-checked everything. At least!” Agustín nodded resolutely. “No daughter of mine is going out under-prepared!” Julieta laughed again.
“Gracias, mi amor,” she grinned, burrowing even deeper into his side with a sigh. He was right of course. Mirabel knew what she was doing and it would only be for a few days; a week at most.
What could go wrong?