Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You sit with your back leaned up against the wall of the stairwell. You can hear the voices floating in from the kitchen, but you can’t make out the words they are saying. It shocked both you and your father to see Alma Madrigal at your door today. Your father sent you to your room and brought her to the kitchen to talk. He was nervous, but she felt mostly calm. You closed your eyes to focus on the feelings they were emitting. Your father’s nerves died down quickly, and he soon seemed.. Surprised? Excited? Whatever it was, it was good.

You hear the chairs scraping along the floor and you scurry back up to your room, sitting at your desk and picking up your pencil. You continue the sketch you had on your desk from before, pretending to have been working on it this whole time. You hear a knock at your door and you open it up to see both your father and Alma.

“Oh, Mrs. Madrigal.. It’s so lovely to see you. Can I help you with anything?” You ask, heart pounding.

“Will you come downstairs with us? We want to discuss something with you.” She says coolly. You nod and follow them downstairs. Once in the kitchen, she gestures to you to take a seat.

“Is something wrong?” You ask, shifting nervously in your chair.

“Chiquita, Alma here has come to us with a request.” Your father says. He kneels beside you, putting a hand on your shoulder. He feels nervous, excited and.. A little guilty, maybe?

“You know my son, Bruno?” Alma begins. You nod your head. “His sisters both have found loving partners, and yet he remains alone. It pains me to see my only son without someone. With his gift.. Well, many shy away from him without giving him a chance.” You feel a pit growing in your stomach. Where exactly was this going?

“I would like to match him with you. I know of your gift of empathy. You can feel what others feel. Bruno needs someone who understands him, and I believe with your empathic abilities, you might be the best person for that job. Besides.. Having gifts from both sides of the family could make us that much stronger.” She explains.

“Are… you asking me to.. marry Bruno?” You ask, voice quivering.

“Chiquita, it would be very good for both of you. Me and Alma will arrange everything. And the marriage doesn’t have to be right away. You could have some time to get to know him first.” Your fathers voice is gentle, but pleading. You can feel his anxiety, his sadness, and his hope. It would be good for you, being a Madrigal.. But you’ve never formally met Bruno! How could you give a definitive answer to this?

“Um…can I meet him, at least? Before answering?” You squeak. Alma smiles at you.

“He is waiting outside. You may go see him.” She tells you.

You rise from the table slowly, and make your way to the door. You put your hand on the handle, then turn back to look at your dad. He is talking quietly with Alma. You turn back towards the door and close your eyes, letting yourself feel him before seeing him.

He was nervous, almost scared. He was also sad, and feeling guilty. Helpless. Lonely. This flurry of emotions softened you. It helped, knowing he was in the same boat you were. You pull the door open and step outside, shutting it behind you.

Before you stood a young, handsome man. His eyes were wide and he was shaking. He seemed to gulp when he saw you. You felt a rush of infatuation rush through him as he took you in. The feeling made you smile. You walk towards him, stopping just in front of him.

“Hello, Bruno.. I’m sure your mother has told you why you’re here.” You say softly. He nods and stiffly holds out a few flowers to you. It looks like he picked them from the ground while he waited for you. You smile and take them, brushing your fingertips over the petals.

“So.. did you choose me? Or your mother?” You ask. Anxiety jolted through him at the question.

“M-my mother did… she heard a young girl with powers of empathy had moved into the village a few years ago.. She thought a family with gifts from both sides would be…fruitful.” He cringed at his words, glancing down at the ground. You nod and take a step closer to him.

“I’m y/n. It’s wonderful to formally meet you.” You give him a soft smile, and he seems to relax a little. He gives you a nod in return.

“Would.. You like to go on a walk?” He asks.

“I would like that, yes.” You say.

Bruno holds his arm out to you and you take it. Being so close to him, you could smell him. He smelled clean and fresh, with a hint of sand. You can see his face much better, being closer to him. He looked like he had shaved recently. His stubble was small, but present. You could make out a few marks on his face, a few freckles, maybe a mole or two. His eyes were staring straight ahead, and his cheeks had a reddish tint to them.

The two of you walked in silence for a little while, unsure of what to say. You could feel panic and anxiety within Bruno, and you wanted to comfort him somehow. You look around at where you are, and spot a big willow tree in the distance. You tap his arm, and he looks over at you. You point to the willow, and he nods.

When the two of you make it to the tree, you sit beneath it, leaving a few inches of space between you two. Again, more silence. You play with the hem of your skirt, trying to think of something to say. After a few moments, the silence became just too much.

“Look.. if we’re going to be arranged to be together, then we should at least get to know each other.” You say suddenly. He looks over at you, blushing. “I mean.. I’d like to get to know you.” you say. He doesn’t say anything in response. You feel panic from him, anxiety, and.. Intimidation, almost.

“What’s.. Your favorite color?” You ask him finally.

“Green.” He mumbles. He draws his knees to his chest and rests his chin on them. You can see him shaking a bit. He says nothing else, and you almost feel annoyed. You would feel annoyed, if you didn’t know he was acting this way because he was frightened.

“Bruno.. It seems like your mother is pretty set on us being married. I don’t think either of us are getting out of this one.” You say finally. “So.. we need to trust each other, okay? We need to be in this together.” He looks over at you, and you can feel some guilt settling into him.

“What if we swap secrets, hm?” You say. “We tell each other something no one else knows about ourselves. And that will be our secret.” He seems reluctant, but he nods anyway.

“O.. okay.” He says finally. You smile softly at him.

“I have a way we can reveal them at the same time, okay? So just.. Think of your secret, then hold out your hand.” You tell him. He holds his hand out to you.

You enclose his hand in both of yours, closing your eyes. He freezes, looking down at your hands. You suddenly smile and open your eyes to look at him.

“That’s so sweet.. You play out stories with yourself. I’d love to hear one sometime.” You tell him.

He jerks his hand away and sits back, surprised at your response. You feel fear strike him, and your face drops. You look down into your lap and play with your fingers, trying to hold back tears. You’ve never told anyone about this other ability, and it stung to be rejected the first time you show it to someone. You can feel his demeanor change, and he moves to sit on his knees in front of you. You look up at him, and he looks and feels remorseful. He can tell he upset you.

“I’m sorry.. That just surprised me. I wasn’t expecting it, and-”

“You’re scared of me now.” You cut in. He reaches forward and tilts your head up.

“No.. I'm not scared of you. Trust me, I’m probably the only other person in the world who knows what it’s like to have a powerful ability that could scare others. Don’t feel guilty for your gift.” He gives you a small smile and you can tell he’s being genuine.

“I can’t always read thoughts, just so you know. Only by skin to skin contact with someone.” you explain. He nods and hesitantly reaches out, then cups your cheek in his hand. You close your eyes, and you can tell he’s thinking about different times he was made fun of for his power, or when people reacted to him with fear.

You put your hand on his wrist and look up at him. His expression is one of understanding and pity. He thanks you in his thoughts for sharing this with him, which makes you smile. When you do, you hear him think how pretty your smile is.

“I’m glad you think so. I was worried you might not like me at all.” You tell him. His eyes widen and he blushes, pulling his hand away slowly. You release him and let your hands fall into your lap.

“So.. were you born with this power?” Bruno asks, settling back against the tree. You stiffen a bit, knowing the answer is not as miraculous as his own. You sit next to him against the tree, closing the distance between you.

“My.. mother. She was awful, vile. I don't know what my dad ever saw in her. He says she was different when they met, but.. I can’t imagine that.” Bruno looks over at you with concerned eyes. He rests a hand on your shoulder, waiting for you to continue.

“She was so mean to everyone else. She thought she was above everyone. Especially the town’s bruja. The rest of the town respected the bruja, as she was known to show kindness to all, even my mother.” You fiddle with your fingers and look down into your lap.

“When my mom decided she wanted to be a mother, she went to this bruja. She asked her to give her a daughter, one she could raise to be just like her. She wanted a daughter she could dress up like a doll, that she could mold into being a mini her. The bruja told her she would make a tea for her to drink before she tries for a child. The tea would ensure her a daughter. She also promised to give a gift to her daughter. She said her daughter would feel for others much stronger than her mother. In essence, she gifted me empathy so that I could feel what my mother did to others and how much she hurt them.” you take a deep breath and play with your skirt, not wanting to look at Bruno.

“So, I never turned out like her. I could feel pain and sadness and anger radiating from everyone who passed her by. I could feel the desperation and sadness of my father when she would berate him. I grew to resent my mother, so when I didn’t turn out the way she wanted… She left. She literally picked up in the middle of the night and left.” You close your eyes, trying not to look at Bruno. He was feeling so many things.. Sympathy, sadness, pity, even a bit of anger towards your mother.

You feel his arms wrap around you in a tight hug, and this surprises you. You slowly reach your arms around him, resting them on his back. He presses his face into the crook of your neck. You felt his skin brush yours, and you could instantly hear his thoughts.

His thoughts swirled around, and you could pick out many different things going on in his mind. He was apologizing to you, he was imagining what your mother looked like. He thought of you as a small child, pouting at your mother. He thought of your father looking defenseless as your mother yelled at him. He thought about his own experiences being yelled at for what he saw. This thought caused his hug to tighten. But the loudest thought, the most prominent one, was that he wanted to protect you from ever feeling that way again. This thought surprised you. You had only just formally met him.. Yet he already seemed to care for you.

You tilt your head and bury your face in his curls. His clean, sweet scent was so strong this close. He sighs and pulls away from you, and his thoughts die down. He brushes a hand over your hair, and looks at you with sympathy.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that it was so hard for you to talk about.” he says.

“It’s okay.. I don’t talk about it much. Really, I try not to think about it. If anyone in the village asks, I just say my mother died. That usually stops the questions about her.” you tell him.

The two of you sit in silence for a few moments, facing each other. Your eyes both scan over the other person, taking them in fully. You realize Bruno was quite handsome. His curls, though messy, were long and well taken care of. He was skinny and lanky, which sort of surprised you, considering his sister’s gift. His ruana draped over him nicely, and his eyes were big and full of emotion.

You look up at the sky, and realize it’s nearly noon. You’ve been out here a while, and should probably go back to the house. You rise, and take Bruno’s hand to help him up. Once standing, you take his arm once more, grabbing at the fabric of his shirt with your fingers.

The two of you walk silently back to your house. When you arrive, your father opens the door to greet you.

“Ah, welcome you two! We were just wondering when you would be back.” Your father welcomed you into the house, and you could see the table was set for lunch. Alma was at the head of one side of the tabel, and your father sat at the other. You and Bruno had seats set across from each other.

You take your seats and dig into the food before you. Your father was an excellent cook, and you were grateful to share this meal with everyone. The room was silent as everyone ate. You could feel that Alma was impressed by your father's cooking. Bruno seemed to relax as he ate, the food bringing him some comfort. You wished you could touch him and read what he was thinking in this moment.

“Your cooking is wonderful, Oscar.” Alma says to your father.

“Oh, thank you, Alma. My daughter is much better though. You should try her cooking sometime.”

“I look forward to it. Perhaps she and my Julieta will dominate our kitchen someday.” Alma says. The comment brings a rush of blood to your cheeks, as well as Bruno’s. Your father clears his throat before speaking.

“Will we get to meet the rest of the family soon?” Your father asks.

“Of course. Would you like to come for dinner tonight?” Alma asks. Your father looks to you, and you give him a nod.

“Sounds wonderful, Alma. What time should we be there?” Your dad asks.

“Around 5 should be wonderful. It will give you a chance to meet everyone before we settle down to eat.” Alma tells him. She wipes her mouth with her napkin and sets it down on her now empty plate.

“I think I'll be taking my leave now. Bruno, would you like to stay here, or come with me?” She asks, turning towards him. Bruno jumps a little at the mention of his name, and looks between you, your father, and his mother before answering.

“I.. I think I'd like to stay. I’ll see you tonight Mamá.” Alma smiles and gives him a nod.

“Then I should be leaving. Casita and I have some preparations to make for tonight.” She says.

Your father gets up to walk her to the front door, leaving you and Bruno alone together. You both stare down at your plates for a moment, then you get up to start clearing the table.

“Um, here, let me help..” Bruno stands and takes a few plates as well, and your hands bump together as you reach for the same glass. You laugh nervously and let him take it, then bring your stack into the kitchen.

“I wash, you dry?” You offer. He nods and stands beside you.

You hand him a towel and begin filling the sink with warm, soapy water. You begin to clean the dishes, scrubbing each piece until it shined. Once it was clean, you handed it to him and he gingerly dried everything, stacking it carefully on the counter. The two of you focused on the task at hand, though occasionally glanced over at one another, happy to see the other entranced in their work. Once, you both glanced over at the same time, and you held eye contact for just a moment. You felt a flutter in your stomach, and you felt a rush from Bruno as well. You gave him a small smile and looked back down at the fork in your hand, scrubbing off all the bits of food from the meal.

You hand him the fork and he rests his hand on yours, not moving it for a moment. You look over at him, but he’s not looking at you. He closes his eyes and you hear one prominent thought in his mind. I like spending time with you. You smile at him and pull your hand away. He dries off the fork, and you two finish the dishes in silence.

“Would you like to see my room?” You ask Bruno. He blinks in surprise, and you let out a small giggle. You take his hand and lead him up the stairs. You try not to focus on his thoughts, but you can hear him thinking how awkward it will be to be alone in your room with you, having just met you, yet practically engaged.

You take him to your room and open the door for him, allowing him in. You follow him inside, leaving the door wide open for him. He seems a bit relieved at that. He stands in the middle of your room, looking around. Your art was all over the walls, sketches of flowers and trees and people from around town.

Bruno walked up to them to get a closer look. He traced his fingers over one drawing. He recognized it as his sister, Pepa, with a cloud over her head. Despite the fact it seemed to be raining, Pepa was dancing joyously. He looked around and saw many other townspeople. HE even saw a sketch of his own house.

“Y/n.. these are amazing.” He breathes. He looks over to see you blushing.

“It’s just a little habit. When I'm bored, I go into town and draw something I find interesting.” you tell him. He nods and turns back to the drawings. Suddenly, you get an idea. You sit down at your desk and move aside the drawing you were working on before. You pick up your pencil and start a new one. Bruno starts to move towards you to see what you’re doing, but you stop him.

“Just keep looking at the drawings. I’ll let you know when you can look.” You say. He looks at the wall next to you and examines some of the drawings there, and you furiously scribble away on your paper. He glances over every so often, but can’t make out any major details.

He walks around your room a few times, taking a close look at every drawing. He notices you sign the bottom right corner, and date each drawing in the bottom left. After a while, he forgets you’re even drawing in the corner, he’s so interested in your completed drawings. So much so, that he jumps when you call his name.

“Bruno, you can look now.” You say. You sit back in your chair and he walks over, placing his hands on the back of your chair. He stares down at the paper, looking at himself. You had drawn him a few times over the page, with his different expressions and angles. There was one full body drawing, and a few of just his face with various expressions. He stares at the paper in wonder, and you look back at him nervously.

“Do.. you like them?” You ask. He tears his eyes away from the paper to look back at you, but can’t seem to find any words. He suddenly reaches down and holds your hand, looking back at the paper.

You can hear his thoughts jumbling all over the place, as well as a strong swirl of emotions. He feels honored that you drew him, for sure. Surprised that you would want to at all. You caught a hint of a thought that made you smile. Is that how she sees me? The question was not malicious, but.. Wondrous. As if he didn’t expect to look like that in your drawing.

You squeeze his hand, and he squeezes back. He found it much easier to communicate this way with you. Not having to form a sentence, but you still know what he wants to say.

“You can keep it, if you like. I have a feeling there will be more.” You finally tell him. He blushes bright and takes the paper. He folds it gently and puts it in his pocket. You stand next to him, stretching your arms up.

“So, what should I expect from this dinner with your family?” You ask, moving to sit on your bed.

“Well, you’ve already met mamá, so i’m sure you know what to expect from her…” Bruno says. He sits on the bed next to you.

“My sisters are very protective of me. I’m the youngest, and they use that as an excuse to baby me.” He says with a huff.

“Youngest? I thought you were triplets?” You said, tilting your head.

“We are! I was just born last. Doesn’t matter to them.” You giggle at his frustration and he looks over at you with a half smile. You notice he’s finally starting to relax around you. You’re starting to feel more relaxed as well. You lay back on your bed and stare up at your ceiling. Bruno follows suit, his curls spilling out around his head.

“Julieta will probably make dinner. She’s a whiz in the kitchen. All her meals are healing. Our family is never sick.” Bruno says. “And Pepa is… Pepa. She controls the weather. Make her mad, and she might zap you with lightning.” Bruno waved his arms for emphasis, making you laugh. He looked over at you as you did, his smile growing.

“They’re kind siblings. They love me very much. I’m grateful to have them. Sometimes I think they’re the only ones who really care about me..” His words come with a pang of sadness. You furrow your brows slightly, and reach over to touch his hand next to yours. He looks over at you, surprised.

“I know we just met, but.. I care about you. I like who you are. I wouldn’t change a thing about you.” You tell him. He blushes hard and jerks his hand away, not wanting you to read his thoughts. You don’t take any offense to this action, you want him to know he’s allowed to have privacy with his thoughts.

“Th..thank you.. y/n.” He squeak out.

The two of you lie on your bed, staring up at the ceiling. You hear your father pass by your room once, and feel his relief that you left the door open, and slight confusion at the sight of you two just laying on the bed, not speaking. He continued past your room and went into his own.

“You know.. When I was little, my dad, every night before bed, would pull me close and we would stare up at the ceiling. The ceiling had all kinds of bumps and lines from when the house was made, and he’d whisper to me ‘look at all the stars’ while waving his hand out for me. We would take turns pointing at random spots and saying what “constellations” we saw.” You smile at the memory. He’d always been such a good father to you, even when your mother was around.

Bruno turned his head to look at you as you were lost in thoughts and memories. A small smile graced his face, and he laid there, watching you hum happily to yourself.

“Well.. what do you see now?” He asked. This surprised you a bit. You glanced at him, then smiled softly.

“There, a flower with long, wavy petals.” You point to a random spot on the ceiling.

“I see.. A rat. Right there.” He says. You giggle.

“A rat?” You ask, and he looks over at you.

“What? Rats are cute!” he says, sitting up. His face looked offended, but you could feel that he was being playful.

“If you say so…” You tease back.

“Ah, well, then i’m sorry, y/n but that's the dealbreaker for me, this won't be working out. Nice meeting you!”

You giggle and give him a light shove. He smiles back at you, glad you knew he was joking and found it funny.

“Um, but for real.. I do like rats. I’ve.. befriended.. A few.” He says. A twinge of anxiety pushes through as he awaits your response.

“Ah, well, I suppose I should accept that now then. Bruno, lover of women and rats!” You giggle and he laughs back.

This was so nice, seeing this side of Bruno. He was funny, talkative, and very kind. Once that wall came down, he was so sweet. You wondered why people in town were starting to avoid him.

A knock on your door pulls you from your thoughts, and you look over to see your father.

“Chiquita, it’s time to get ready to go. Bruno, would you like to come downstairs with me while we wait for her?” Your father asks, though you know it’s not really a request. Anxiety shoots through him and he nods, shutting right back down. You wave to him as he goes downstairs, and your father shuts your door.

You go to your closet and look at all of your dresses. You pull out a white bogota with jade green ruffles, underlayers, and details on it, since you recall Bruno liking the color green. It has longer sleeves that cover more of your skin, so less of a chance of reading other’s thoughts. You wanted to meet them this time, and give them their privacy for the time being. Besides, you never really liked to use that part of your talent unless you really, really had to.

You slip into the dress, then go sit at your desk to put your hair up. You add braids and a few flowers to your hair, and paint your lips and cheeks with a soft reddish tint. You want to make a good first impression on his family, since they expect you to be one of them.

You stare at yourself in the mirror, and the realization of what this is hits you like a pile of bricks. You’re meeting Bruno’s family. You’re meeting them because you’re supposed to marry him soon. You’ve only just met the man, and your father and his mother are already planning your wedding. You see the color draining from your face a bit, and your stomach lurches. This was all happening so fast.

You’ve only just met him, and sure you like him, but.. You weren’t really given much of a choice in this. Your father asked you to do it, but you know it wasn’t a real question. Your breathing picks up, and you grip your skirt. You’re nervous, and you’re just fully understanding the gravity of the situation.

You hear another knock at your door, and Bruno’s voice floats from the other side.

“Y/n, may I open the door?” He asks.

“Yes.” You croak out.

Bruno opens the door and looks at you. Initially, he’s star struck at how you look, but then he realizes you’re on the brink of tears. He rushes to your side and kneels next to you.

“y-y/n, whats wrong? Is everything alright?” He asks. You feel genuine worry radiating from him, and it’s almost comforting.

“I’m sorry.. It just- it hit me all of a sudden… that this isn’t just our parents setting us up for a date. Bruno.. We’re going to get married. That’s not really a question of if, but when.” You tell him. His eyes soften and he frowns a little.

“I see..” Is all he says. You feel sadness bubble up from beneath the worry.

“No, Bruno, wait.. I’m not sad about having to marry you.. It's the fact that my father just suddenly decided I needed to marry at all. It’s so sudden, and such a huge step in my life-”

You stop when Bruno wraps his arms around you. Since he was kneeling on the floor, and you were sitting in a chair, his head rested on your stomach as he embraced you. You look down at him in surprise, and then let your arms settle down, one on his head and the other on his back.

“I’m scared too.” He says quietly. The words were comforting. It dawned on you that you both really were drifting aimlessly in the same boat on many different levels.

Bruno pulls out of the hug and sits up. He wipes away a tear that had fallen down your cheek, and takes your hand to help you up. You look beautiful. You catch the thought before he moves your hand to his arm to escort you downstairs. The thought makes you blush, though it’s not too noticeable under the red tint already on your cheeks.

You two walk downstairs to see your father is dressed up as well. He smiles broadly at the two of you, and you notice he’s holding a vase of flowers.

“A gift, for your family.” He says to Bruno, nodding at the flowers.

You look over at Bruno once more before taking a deep breath.

“Well… I suppose we should get going.”

Chapter Text

You sit on the couch inside the Casa de Madrigal. Pepa and Julieta stared down at you, looking you over. Pepa had her arms crossed and a sour expression on her face, while Julieta seemed to be taking you in. Despite their serious expressions, you could feel that they were excited to meet you. Julieta seems to have already decided she likes you, and Pepa seemed to want to deny it. This was, after all, just the first impression. The sisters looked at one another, then back at you.

“You’re not going to hurt our Bruno, are you?” Pepa asks. You shake your head quickly.

“Ay, Pepa, hermanita, leave her alone! She’s here to meet you all, be nice.” Bruno chides his sister.

It was the first thing you noticed when you arrived at the house. Well, after the fact that the house truly was alive, as the others in the village had rumored. When Bruno walked in, it was like a great weight was lifted off his shoulders. He was lighter, happier, more confident. He truly fit in here, at home with his family.

Pepa swatted him with a smile. Casita nudged Julieta towards the kitchen, so she went back to check on her cooking. Pepa followed her into the kitchen, leaving you alone with Bruno.

“So.. what do you think?” He asks, rubbing his arms nervously. You smile.

“Your sisters are sweet. I think they like me, despite Pepa’s demeanor.” You tell him. He smiles and relaxes a bit.

“Well, we have some time before dinner… do you want to see my room?” He asks. You smile and nod, balling up your voluminous skirt so you don’t trip.

You follow him upstairs, and he takes you to the base of his tower. His door was shining, with a beautiful etching of him with an hourglass in front of him. You stare in wonder, tracing your fingers over the etchings. They were warm with the candle’s light. Bruno smiles at you and opens his door. Your heart drops when you see the sheer amount of stairs you’ll have to climb. You look over at him in disbelief, and he bursts out in laughter.

“Don’t worry… Casita will get us up in no time. Step on the first step.” He says. He takes your arm as you both step on the first step of the vast staircase. It pulls you up quickly, generating a breeze. One of your flowers flies out of your hair, and you see Bruno’s curls dancing behind him as you fly up the stairs.

Even with the ride, it still takes a few minutes to get all the way up the tower. You land at the edge of his room, which you had to follow a long tunnel to get to.

“Well.. at least no one will go snooping in your room..” You say. He laughs softly and lets you into his bedroom.

His bedroom is smaller than you thought it would be. It was a simple room, with shimmering emerald panels. There was a hammock instead of a bed, and not much furniture wise. He had a dresser, but it wasn’t very big. The floor had a beautiful mandela-like circular pattern that bloomed out from the center.

“Wow.. this room is beautiful.” You say. You feel him grow warm with happiness at that.

“There’s more..” He puts his hands on your shoulders and guides you out of his room to a giant circular door you passed on the way to his room. He pulls it open and you see a giant cave inside full of sand. More emerald slabs line these walls.

“This is my vision cave. I have my visions here.” He says. You look around in wonder, and then turn to him.

“Bruno.. Would it be too much to ask you for a vision?” You ask.

Another spike of anxiety. His face falters, and he grows nervous.

“Well… if you really, really want to, but.. I have to warn you. They’re not always… positive.” He says.

“That’s okay. If you can control what you see though.. Maybe nothing about us, or our future. I’d like to be surprised.” You tell him. He relaxes at that.

“How about.. We see how tonight’s dinner will go?” He asks. You nod, and he kneels down inside the circle. He reaches into his ruana and grabs a pinch of salt, and throws it over his shoulder. Then, he pulls out a match and lights a few piles of dead leaves. He gestures you to kneel ahead of him, and holds out his hands.

“You’ll have to hold on.” He says. You look down at your hands, then glance at him.

“I’ll be able to read everything you’re thinking..” You warn him. He nods.

“I’m aware. You shared all of your gift with me, so I'll share all of my gift with you.” He says. You smile and take his hands, and are surprised to find he has a very clear mind. He inhales softly, and then exhales. The sand around you rises into a dome, and his eyes are glowing green. You find it captivating. You start to see green images floating around you, and Bruno smiles, pointing behind you.

You turn and see everyone at the table laughing together. The image changes, and you see Pepa with a cloud over her head. Bruno falters, wondering if that would turn into a disaster, but presses on. You see yourself with him at your front door, staring lovingly at each other, as if you were old lovers. You swear you could feel Bruno's heart skip a beat at the expressions on your face. You hear your own words "nothing about us, or our future" echoing in his mind. He squeaks a bit, and the sand around you falls. You turn back to Bruno, now holding an emerald tablet in his hands. You walk over to him and look down at the tablet. The image of you two staring at each other is printed on it. You look over at him, and he has this relaxed, almost goofy smile.

“Well.. looks like it goes well.” He says. You nod and chuckle softly.

“I suppose it does. Thank you, Bruno.” You tell him. You surprise the both of you by leaning in and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. He looks over at you in surprise, placing his hand over where you just kissed.
Before he can respond, Casita lets you know it's time for dinner. Bruno leads you out of the vision cave, and back to the stairs.

“The trip down is way more fun than the trip up.” Bruno says with an almost mischievous grin. He wraps his arms around your waist, and you don’t even have time to process the action before the stairs turn into a steep slide. You squeak and cling onto him, holding on for dear life. He laughs and holds you close, making sure you don’t slip away from him.

Once you reach the bottom, you’re shaking. Bruno’s eyebrows dip in concern.

“Oh.. did that scare you? I’m so sorry, casita can make another way up for you-” You cut him off.

“Bruno, that was exhilarating! Can we do it again?” You exclaim. He stares at you for a second before breaking out into a wide grin.

“For you, we can do it a thousand times. But for now, we must go to dinner.” He says. He tucks a few strands of your hair back that had gotten blown out by the wind before escorting you down to the dining room with the rest of the family.

You two are seated next to each other. Again, Alma was at one head, and your father at the other. Pepa was across from you, and Julieta was across from Bruno. The meal before you looks absolutely amazing. The smell alone already had your mouth watering. You see Pepa take a bite and a little rainbow sprouts above her head. Julieta giggles and nudges her, noticing Alma’s annoyance at her just digging in. Once she sits up and is paying attention, Alma makes a speech.

“We are honored to have you here, y/n. Bruno has not had much luck when it comes to forming relationships outside the family. If what I’ve seen today is any indication, the two of you will be just fine. Oscar, you have a wonderful daughter. I can already see she is making my Bruno happy. It’s a rare sight to see him smile at anyone outside this table.” She says. You blush and look down at your plate, and you feel embarrassment radiating from Bruno. His mother sure had a way of making compliments sound sort of rude.

She sits, and everyone begins to dig in. Red beans, white rice, chicharrón, carne en polvo- so many wonderful foods to go around. And of course, Julieta’s famous arepas. Everything tasted like it was sent down from the heavens. You had to pace yourself so you didn’t stuff your face in front of his family.

While everyone was eating, there was no talking. Everyone simply enjoyed their food for the time being. As the others started finishing their food, conversations began to arise.

“So, y/n. What do you do in the village?” Pepa asks.

“Oh, well my father owns a feed and seed shop. We have farming supplies, husbandry supplies, even some pet food for the cats and dogs around town. Mostly I run the counter, or deliver certain items on a regular basis." You say. Pepa seemed impressed.

“Where is your mother tonight, y/n?” Julieta asked innocently. You tense and look down awkwardly. Bruno takes your hand under the table, giving you a comforting squeeze.

“She is.. No longer with us.” Your father finally says.

The silence in the room grows thick at the response. You didn’t think this subject would come up so quickly. All that can be heard in the room is the occasional scrape of a fork on a plate.

“Y/n is an excellent artist.” Bruno says. You look up in surprise, and Pepa and Julieta look at you, interests piqued.

“Oh really? What do you draw?” Julieta asked.

“I draw nature.. And people. Sometimes I go into town, sit down somewhere and just draw people I find interesting.” You say. Bruno reaches into his pocket and pulls out your drawing from before. You feel embarrassment crawl up your body, not expecting Bruno to have shared that. Pepa and Julieta both take the paper and stare in wonder.

“y/n, this is fantastic!” Julieta says. “You really captured his likeness. These expressions are so accurate..”

“You made him look WAY more handsome than he really is.” Pepa huffed, but you could feel that she was only teasing. They were both impressed by your drawings.

“Ay, Pepa, you’re not that easy to look at yourself.” Bruno quips. Pepa’s expression twists in annoyance and a cloud forms over her head.

“Pepa, cloud..” Alma says, unphased.

Bruno smirks and takes another arepa for himself. It surprised you how much he ate, considering how skinny he was.

“I’ve drawn this casita a few times, from a distance. I could bring those over sometime if you like. I could even draw each of you!” You offer. The family seems delighted.

You feel a lot lighter knowing everyone has a good impression of you. If you were forced into this, at least you would have good company.

Julieta stands to start clearing the dishes, and you stand as well.

“Please, let me help- oh!” you start to pick up dishes, but your chair pushes itself back against you, forcing you to sit.

“Nonsense, mija. You are our guest.” Alma says with a smile. Your heart flutters as she calls you that. She warmed up to you really quickly.

Bruno stands and holds out his hand.

“I can show you the rest of the house if you like. It’s not much, but it's our lovely home.” He offers. You take his hand and stand, and thankfully Casita allows you this time.

He walks you out of the dining room and shows you the kitchen. It’s huge, with plenty of space for several people to bustle around. From the kitchen, he takes you out into the main entrance, where you see the staircase leading upstairs and to the bedrooms. He walks you up there, gripping your hand tight.

When you pass a door, he stops and tells you about each one without speaking. He lets his mind do it’s thing, rather than try to use words.

“Pepa’s door. She looks so calm here. Wish she was always like that.”

You giggle and look at the door. It glowed like all the rest, and had an etching of Pepa looking calm and happy with the sun shining bright above her. You move on to the next one.

“Julieta’s door. Can you tell all the herbs on it?”

You look it over and she looks peaceful. She holds a pestle and mortar that seems to be steaming with magic.

“I see.. Mint. And, Coriander?”

“Good eye. Last, here is Mamá’s door.”

Her door is a perfect, regal fit for the matriarch of this family. In her etching, she holds her candle protectively.

“These doors are amazing, but.. Well, what about when your family expands?” You ask.

You feel him grow warm at the question, and just for a second, he flashes a thought of having children with you. This thought makes you blush as well, though he quickly pushes it away.

“Casita will make more doors. When the children turn five, they will get their own door and their gift.” Bruno explains.

“Where do they stay until then?”

“Hmm.. I'm sure casita will have something for them in the meantime. We have a lot of time before we figure that out.” Bruno says.

The two of you go back downstairs and sit on the couch once more. Your father is talking to Alma somewhere, and Pepa and Julieta are still in the kitchen, doing the washing up.

“So, do your sisters have.. Arrangements as well?” You ask. Bruno looks down into his lap.

“Well… no. They’re beautiful Madrigal girls, you think they had any trouble finding a man to love them? No.. Julieta has Agustín. Mama says they’ll be engaged soon as well, but they get to do it on their terms. Pepa just got out of a long relationship.. Remember that month where the weather was all over the place? Yeah, that was the aftermath of the breakup..”

You laugh as you remember that month. The first day, the sky clouded up so fast and so dark, then rain poured harshly all over town. Everyone had to stay inside, because the winds picked up so strong. Probably one of the worst hurricanes this town has ever seen. From then on, it would snow, or hail, or rain, or clear up with no warning. The people in town were unphased at this point. Many left the house with several different types of weather gear, including umbrellas and heavy winter coats, just in case.

“Yeah, that was a rough month.. I'm glad she seems to be doing better now.” You say.

“Yeah. Mamá wants to give her a little more time before she expects her to find someone else.” Bruno says.

“Your mom seems keen on marrying you all off..” You comment. Bruno lets out a stiff laugh.

“Yeah.. I think she’s anxious to be an abuela. She wants to know that her children will be taken care of, and that our family and legacy will go on..” He leans back against the couch with his arms crossed.

“What’s wrong, Bruno?” You ask.

He sighs a little, then glances at you with sad eyes.

“It’s just.. I feel sorry you got roped into this. Roped into me. The townspeople.. They’re growing wary of me. All I ever seem to do is give them bad news. They’re starting to say I'm ‘bad luck’. Yet they keep coming to me with requests! Sometimes they’re good, and right now.. I think that's what they cling to. But all I ever seem to see are bad futures, and I just ruin everyone’s day..”

Your eyes drop in worry. You can feel sadness, guilt, anxiety radiating off him again. Just like when you first met. He’s worried about you, and what being with him means for you. You want to comfort him, because after all.. You’ve enjoyed your time with him today. You’ve seen him around town, and always thought he was handsome. You’ve heard him talk with townspeople, making jokes here and there. He had a good sense of humor. Seeing him like this made you sad. He looked broken and rejected. It hurts your heart.

You lean in and kiss his cheek once more. Again, he looks surprised by your action.

“Why.. why did you do that?” He asked softly.

“Because, you looked like you needed it. Bruno, it’s only been a day, but I have to say.. I’ve really enjoyed my time with you. I think you’re funny, and you have a good heart. I can feel your kindness, even through your sadness. Besides, if you’re bad luck, then how come we’ve had such a good day? Nothing bad happened at all.” You say.

Bruno stares at you, surprised by your response. He has so many feelings swirling around inside him. He just stares at you for a moment, before reaching up with both hands to cup your face. He looks at you nervously, and you can hear what he wants. You smile and lean in slightly, giving him permission to carry out his request.

He leans down and kisses you gently. It’s a soft, tentative kiss. You feel the butterflies from you both as he does. It only lasts a second, but leaves you both breathless and flushed. You hold one of his wrists with both your hands, closing your eyes. In his mind, you find out that was his first kiss. You hear snippets of listless thoughts floating around. He enjoyed the kiss, he wants to do it again, but doesn’t want to move too fast. He thinks about how warm your cheeks are, and how sweet your smile is.

You reach you and brush a lock of curls out of his face. He looks tired, but relaxed. It has been a long day. You find yourself suddenly feeling tired as well. You stifle a yawn, and Bruno pulls away from you.

“If you’re tired, let me walk you home. I’d like to see you get home safely.” He stands and helps you up. He’s quite the gentleman to you, always being there to be a steady hand to hold. You pop your head into the dining room, where it looks like your father and Alma are already making wedding plans.

“Papá, I’m going to head home. Bruno is going to walk me.” You tell him.

“Alright, chiquita. See you when I get home.” He says, waving you off.

You rejoin Bruno and he takes you out of the casita, and walks towards your house. The two of you walk arm in arm through the town. The sun was just setting, and there were fireflies dancing around. You could see a few houses had torches lit outside already. A few people catch sight of you, and you feel mixed reactions from those people. Some are happy to finally see Bruno with someone, while others feel pity for you. It’s a bit embarrassing, having so much attention on you, but such is the life of a Madrigal, you suppose. You look over at Bruno and see his smile has faded, and he feels uneasy. You’re sure he’s noticed the stares too. He doesn’t always get the same praise as his sisters, so he seemed nervous to be out and about. You give his arm a reassuring squeeze, and you feel his tension lower.

When you make it to your house, you stop in front of your door. He turns to face you, looking down at you with a sweet expression on his face. You look back at him, not wanting to go back inside yet. You bite your lip a bit, ready to make a request.

“Bruno.. May I kiss you again? I enjoyed our kiss earlier.” You say to him.

Without a word, Bruno leans down and kisses you once more, holding you by your sides. You place your hands on his shoulders and let this kiss linger a little longer. His curls tickle your face, and his stubble scratches a little, but you couldn’t care less. Kissing him felt like soaring, from both of your elated feelings.

He grips your waist, thinking about how his hands fit perfectly on your sides. He wonders about his stubble, if it makes you uncomfortable. He remembers you can hear this train of thought, then wonders if you're enjoying the kiss as much as he was.

When you pull away, you both have warm, red cheeks. He smiles at you, and you think about how much you like his smile. It’s lopsided, but genuine. Seems like something he doesn’t share with just anyone.

“I should get to bed..” You whisper. Bruno hands linger on your sides, his thumb rubbing up and down.

“Sleep well..” He says. He places a small kiss on the top of your head. You smile and turn towards the door, opening it a bit before hesitating.

“Bruno..?” You say.

“What is it?” He asked, looking a bit nervous.

“Can you do me a favor? …Don’t look into our future. I don’t want our relationship to be clouded by what’s to come. I want to be surprised. I don’t particularly like spoilers.” You tease. He nods.

“I understand. I promise, I won’t.” He responds

“Pinky swear?” You ask. You hold out both your hands crossed over one another with your pinkies extended. He does the same and you lock fingers. You giggle and drop your hands.

“Goodnight, Bruno.” You tell him.

“Goodnight, y/n. Sleep well.”

You close the door behind you, but you can tell he lingers a moment. He dwells in his elation of today having gone well with you. You glance out the side window and see him walking away with practically a skip in his step. You smile to yourself and walk up to your bedroom.

Well, you suppose, if you had to be stuck with anyone, Bruno and the Madrigals weren’t the worst choice in the world.

Chapter Text

It’s been a few days since you met Bruno. Today was a special day- you were performing in the town center with your studio. You’ve been looking forward to this day for a while, even before Bruno. You were a bit shy to invite him about the performance directly, but you told Pepa about it, and she definitely told everyone else. You hoped that meant they would be there.

Once you’re dressed and made up, and your hair is tightly styled, you head downstairs and rush out the door past your father.

"Good luck, chiquita!" He shouts as you exit the front door.

This was the one good thing your mother ever did for you. She made you dance Ballet Folklórico with her. She had been a star in her day, adding to her already inflated ego. Those memories were your only good memories of your mother, learning to dance in her studio. Of course, you became the star in your class. You could feel the envy and resentment from the other dancers because you seemed to get special treatment.

Because of that, you always tried to help others, and you were conscious of never making anyone feel inferior. That seemed to help a bit, at least. But when your mother would announce roles in performances, you were always the lead. That's when the resentment was strongest. It always cut through you like a sharp blade. You wished you could let the other kids have a chance, but your mother would always refuse.

Today, however, you found a Folklórico dance studio in the village, and you downplayed your talent. You wanted to enjoy yourself while dancing, but see others get the chance to shine. The director had even offered you a lead once or twice, but you turned it down to let someone else have it. Maybe they thought you were shy, but you were happy to give up the lead to see your friends flourish in the spotlight.

Today, your partner is Victor. You and him have been partnered for years now. The two of you have a wonderful chemistry in your dance, and the studio never wanted to split you up unless they had to. You spot him among all the dancers in the center of the village and run up to him.

"Victor! So much happened recently, I HAVE to tell you-" you were cut off by the sound of your Director's voice calling you all to group up. You huff, and Victor smiles, ushering you along.

"Dancers! Singers! Musicians! We've practiced so much for this. Now is your time to shine. The stage is yours!" She says. The performers and crowd give a small cheer.

You and Victor step to the side while the band and singers warm up by playing a few tunes for the crowd to sing and dance to. You pull Victor to the side, away from most ears.

"Conejita, I’m pretty sure I already know. My brother saw you walking arm in arm with Bruno Madrigal last night! Why didn’t you tell me about him!” He playfully shoves your shoulder and you flush.

“Victor… His mother and my father are arranging us to be married.” You say, covering your mouth. Victor’s eyes widen and he’s struck speechless. You nod at him and he pulls off his hat to run his hand over his thick, tight curls.

“No me digas… You’re joking.” He says finally. You shake your head.

“To Bruno?! Bruno MADRIGAL?!” you shush him, shoving your hands in front of his mouth, frowning at him.

“Geez, Victor! Do you want him to hear you all the way from Casita?” You huff.

“I just can’t believe it… You? Of all people, you?” He says with a smile. Even without the smile, you can tell he’s incredibly happy for you. He’s only teasing you. He treats you like his little sister. You do, however, notice a twinge of jealousy from him. He was never good at hiding his crushes, or the way his emotions spiked in glee at any mention of the Madrigals, much less Bruno.

“Are you going to move into their house?” Victor asks.

“I.. haven’t actually thought that far ahead. It just started, and it all happened so fast. We talked, we went on a walk. We had dinner at his house, and… we kissed. Twice.” You say. You feel bad telling him, knowing it would make him sad, but you needed someone to vent to, to talk about this to. You feel his jealousy twist a little stronger, but he seems overall happy for you.

“Was it good, hermanita?” He asks teasingly.

“Victor!” You swat his arm lightly. “You know I would never kiss and tell.”

He’s about to reply, when the music ends. You know this means it's almost time for you to perform. You and Victor move to your spots among all the dancers and take your positions. He slips his hat back on and gives you his dazzling smile, just like he does before every performance. He glances over your shoulder and you feel his anxiety spike. That’s new… he never gets nervous before a dance.

“They’re here.” He hisses through his teeth. It’s all he can get out before the music starts, and you must dance.

Once you make your first turn, you can finally see what he means. You see all of them. The entire family Madrigal, right there in the front. They were looking through the sea of dancers trying to spot you. Your stomach fluttered, but you had to push that out of your mind for now. You need to focus on your dance.

The sea of dancers ripples and flows in a flurry of colorful skirts, and the clicking of heels on the stone tiles beneath your feet. You hear shouts and whoops coming from dancers and audience members. The singers are performing their hearts out, and you can even hear the crowd join in sometimes.

Your blocking for the dance brings you closer to Bruno and his family. They’ve all spotted you by now, and were watching you intently. You managed to pick out their emotions from the crowd. The girls and Alma were pleased, seeing you so happy. They were enjoying themselves, even a little impressed. But you felt something different from Bruno. Even if you weren’t an empath, it was written all over his face.

He was absolutely smitten with you at this moment. He was in awe of the way you seemed to float around Victor. His eyes were wide and his mouth slightly agape. A quick glance at the sisters, and you could seem them giggling and nudging him, but he didn’t seem to notice.

A point in the dance comes where Victor dips you all the way back. You see an upside down Bruno, and time slows for just a second. It's like the sunlight around you fades, the music stops, and it’s just the two of you in this moment, staring at each other. You smile and give him a wink right before Victor pulls you back up, and the lights and music return for you to finish your dance.

The music stops and the crowd erupts. You all bask in the approval of the audience for just a moment, before the music starts right back up again. This time, it’s a series of solos.

This section was the one you’ve been most excited about for weeks now. This was a top secret project in your studio. Each pair was tasked to create a dance up to a minute and a half long. Only the director got to see every performance before today. This means you got to see your friends perform their own dances for the first time along with the audience.

You cheer and whoop as you see the creativity of your group. Some of them stick to more basic, easier routines, and some shake it up completely with something new. Everyone flows and bounces to the lively beat of the music.

Finally, it's time for you and Victor to shine. He is the only one in the studio who knows about your mother. He let you choreograph everything, because he’s truly just here for the ride. He loved the dance you came up with. It's flowing and smooth, like a river. The ending is particularly captivating, as he raises you over his head and spins you around before setting you down and dipping you down low. The crowd goes wild and you step back into the circle of dancers to watch more of your friends perform. The performance lasts a little longer, but you and Victor were done for the most part.

When the performance is over, the crowd rushes in, searching for family members and friends to congratulate. The first person to come up to you and Victor is his brother, Félix. He scoops the two of you up in a strong hug, laughing loudly.

“You two! You never disappoint!” He exclaims.

“Thank you, Félix. I’m glad you enjoyed it!” You tell him.

“Well worth the wait, hermanito.” Félix says, nudging his brother.

You’re surprised to feel a hand on your shoulder, and you turn around to see Alma and her children. You blush bright and smile at them.

“Oh.. hello! I- uh, I didn’t know you were coming to this!” You said, rubbing the back of your neck.

“I heard you were dancing today, and we just couldn’t resist. We had no idea you were so talented!” Julieta exclaims.

Bruno is still staring at you, speechless. You can feel so many emotions from him, all wonderful and happy. He swallows and steps closer to you.

“That was really lovely, y/n.” He manages to squeak out.

“Oi, aren’t you going to introduce us?!” Félix says, stepping between you and Victor. He smiles at you, then meets eyes with Pepa.

Pepa’s eyes widen at the sight of him, and you notice the temperature grow a little warmer. Félix gives her his award winning smile and smoothly slides in towards her.

“I believe I would like to be introduced to you first, mi princesa…” He takes her hand and kisses her knuckles, and a rainbow explodes out above the crowd, causing a wave of audible awe. Pepa’s mouth is agape, and you can already feel her falling in love. Julieta reaches over and closes her mouth, letting out a soft giggle.

“This is Félix. His brother, Victor, is my dance partner.” You gesture to them as you speak.

Victor looks between you and his brother, then lets out a huff.

“I suppose everyone but me gets close to the magical Madrigals, huh? Dios mio..” He shakes his head and you let out a laugh.

“Victor, please be kind. This is Señorita Madrigal, Julieta, Pepa, and.. Bruno.“ You smile at his name, taking his hand in yours as you speak. Instantly you hear a flurry of thoughts in his head, though there’s not a prominent one at the moment. He’s just replaying images of you dancing in his mind, and you can feel he’s bubbling with adoration of you. The feeling makes you blush. You move your hands up to grip his arm over his sleeve so he can have his privacy.

Pepa and Félix haven’t taken their eyes off each other yet. You can definitely feel something between them, and you would hate to interrupt. Victor turns his attention to you and Bruno.

“So… this is new.” He swirls his fingers between the two of you, and you look over at Bruno, who finally seems to be coming out of his stupor.

“Yes… M-my mother arranged it.” He says. He’s going back to being the anxious, nervous boy you first met outside your house. You can tell he doesn't seem to like the crowds. You scan around the town center and see a booth selling elote not too far away. The crowd is thinner there.

“Victor, dancing like that always makes me so hungry! Let’s go get some elote, hm?” You say. You pull Bruno with you towards the booth, and you can feel him calming down already. You squeeze his arm reassuringly as you go to the booth.

“Ah, young dancers! And the sole son of the Madrigals.. What an excellent surprise.” The booth owner says. He hands you each your own elote. “On the house.” He winks at the three of you.

You thank him profusely, and walk a bit further away from the crowd. You keep a smile on your face, but you can’t help but falter. The booth owner seemed genuinely happy to see you and Victor, but.. When his eyes landed on Bruno, he felt fear. Just for a quick second, but it was there.

The three of you sit on the edge of a short wall, and enjoy your elote. Bruno seems to be calming down now that he’s away from the crowd. You lay your free hand on top of his, and you can see images of you dancing still swirling in his mind.

You were beautiful out there.

The thought catches you off guard. He glances over at you, keeping a neutral face, but you can feel adoration radiating from him once more. You squeeze his hand, then release it.

“So, Bruno..” Victor begins. He’s a nervous wreck, finally getting a chance to talk to bruno. “Did you like the performance?” Embarrassment pools immediately after the words leave his mouth.

“It was wonderful. You and y/n make such a great pair. If I didn’t know better, I'd think it was you two who were together.” Bruno said, taking another bite. You and Victor glanced at each other and let out a hearty laugh.

“Don’t worry Bruno.. I don’t think I’m his type. Besides, you’ve got me all to yourself.” You say, scooting closer to him. If he could melt on the spot, he surely would at this moment. You expect to feel more jealousy from Victor but.. He just seems happy. He sees that Bruno seems different around you, and that he brings out a doting side of you.

You see Pepa and Félix pass by. Pepa is holding on to Félix’s arm, and they’re walking as if it’s just the two of them in the world. You smile and nudge Bruno, who rolls his eyes in response.

“Looks like Pepa rebounds fast.” You joke.

“Ugh, if this ends badly, it's your fault.” Bruno says, and you stick your tongue out at him. Victor groans loudly beside you and throws his head back.

“Can all of my closest friends and family stop falling in love please? Or can one of you find someone for me?!” He groans.

“I’m sorry Victor, I can't help that we’re all ridiculously blessed and you aren't.” You say to him. He pulls his hat over his face and lets himself fall backwards off the short wall, landing in a patch of tall grass. You and Bruno laugh, and Bruno extends a hand to help him back up.

“Don’t worry friend. Want me to see if you find someone soon?” Bruno asks. Victor’s face falters, and you feel anxiety jolt through the both of them, but for different reasons. “I-it’s just a joke.. I don’t have to.” Bruno looks down into his lap.

“Bruno gave me an excellent vision the other night.” You say, trying to lighten the mood. “He showed us that the dinner would go well, and he even got a tablet of the moment leading up to us kissing. It was a very sweet reading. Maybe he can do the same for you!” Victor relaxes and nods, but Bruno keeps his eyes down. His hair shields his eyes, and you can just feel sadness slowly enveloping him. You sigh a bit, knowing he was probably down for the count now.

“Um, Bruno.. My feet are starting to hurt from all the dancing, and my hair is tied pretty tight.. Will you walk me home so I can get more comfortable?” You ask. He nods and stands, holding his arm out for you.

“Bye, Victor.” He says softly.

“I’ll see you at our next practice, okay Victor?” You give him a comforting smile, but the mood has shifted too uncomfortably for this to be anything but awkward.

Bruno walks you home in silence, and you can feel negative emotions creeping up. You stop for a moment to pull off your shoes, sighing in relief. Instead of carrying them, you throw them down and grab Bruno by the shoulders. He looks up at you in surprise, and his anxiety spikes.

“Talk to me.” Is all you say. He sighs and looks down at his feet for a few moments. He seems to be trying to formulate something, but can’t get the words out. You look down at his hand and take it gently in yours. He squeezes it tight and rests his forehead on your shoulder, letting his thoughts do the talking. It almost hurts to listen to, not only the content but how disjointed and jumbled his thoughts are.

I’m just a bad omen for everyone.. They’re all scared of me. You’ll look at me like that some day. He thinks I'm a freak. Your friends will never like me. The town is scared of me. Did you see his face? All I ever do is bring people misery. You should hear the whispers from the crowd. It’s only a matter of time… He looked so scared. You’re going to get scared too one day. All I do is give people advanced notice on their worst moments.

You drop his hand and lift him up by his face, trying not to continue reading his thoughts. You see his tears pooling and he won't look you in the eyes.

“Bruno Madrigal, you stop that this instant.” Your tone is so firm, he looks up at you in shock. “You are so, so much more than that. Victor isn’t scared of you, Bruno. I’m not scared of you either. I know that look was.. Scary, but..” You sit him down on a rock, and you kneel in front of him. You wish you could ask Victor before telling Bruno this, but you’re desperate to make him feel better. You’ll just have to hope Victor forgives you.

“Bruno, Victor wasn’t scared because of what you might show him. Victor… is gay. He doesn’t like women. I’m the only one who knows that. And now you do too. He was scared that you would see that and expose him. I know you would never do that, but it’s something he is always scared about.”

Bruno finally looks up at you, and you feel he has a pit in his stomach at the realization. He read the whole situation wrong. His eyes are shining with tears. His sadness cuts you so deep, you actually feel tears of your own pricking behind your eyes. You close your eyes and take a deep breath, trying to relax before you continue to talk to him.

“Are you okay?” He finally asks. You open your eyes and give him a gentle smile.

“Yes.. it’s just- sometimes strong emotions affect me physically.” You tell him.

“I’m sorry.. Oh, I’ve already made you cry..” The pain in his voice tugs at your heart. You run your fingers over his hair, and kiss his forehead softly.

“I forgive you.” You whisper. You can tell this wasn’t the response he was expecting, but it made him feel better nonetheless. It made you wonder how many people actually said something like that to him.

“Come on, let’s get to my house.” You say. You lift him off the rock and you walk hand in hand together. You focus on blocking his thoughts out, and just enjoying the feeling of holding his hand.

When you arrive at your house, you invite him in. He enters, and you lead him up to your room once more. You sit down at your desk with a relieved sigh. You let yourself relax for just a moment, before reaching up to start pulling down your hair. Before you can do anything, you feel Bruno’s fingers brush against the back of your hand.

May I do it?

You smile and drop your hands, closing your eyes. Bruno begins to untwist your hair gently, being sure he wasn’t pulling or tugging. You realize he must do this for his sisters sometimes, because he's actually quite good at it. His fingers running gently through your hair is a very relaxing feeling. Once your hair is down, he takes to just running his fingers through the waves. You begin to feel drowsy, and even nod off a bit.

Bruno nudges you and helps you stand, guiding you to your bed. He helps you lay down, then pets your head softly before pressing a kiss to your temple. He turns to go, but you grab his ruana, stopping him.

“Stay…” Is all you can manage to say. He hesitates, glancing at the open door. He looks back at you and he softens.

He pulls off his ruana and lays it over the back of your chair, then climbs into your bed next to you. You’re barely awake, so when you immediately cuddle up to his side, you don’t think much of it. He lays flat on his back and you lean your head on his shoulder, draping your arm over his stomach. He lays one arm over your shoulders, and the other strokes your arm gently.

You fall asleep so fast, it surprises him. He looks down at you, your face fully relaxed in peaceful sleep. Even now, you’re beautiful to him. He pushes a lock of hair off your face and looks down at you. He wondered how your gift worked when you were sleeping. Could you still feel emotions? Could you read his thoughts in your sleep? Would they seep into your dreams? He would have to ask later. For now, he simply held you as you slept.

About an hour passes, and your father comes up the stairs, peeking into your room. Bruno tenses, blushing as your dad eyes him suspiciously.

“Sh-she’s just napping.. Busy morning, heh…” He says. Your dad gives him the stare down for a moment longer before accepting the response and moving on. Bruno breathes a sigh of relief, glad he’s still alive after being caught like that. Had it been his Mamá… ho boy. That would not have ended well.

Bruno looks back over to you and turns onto his side, pulling you into his chest. He wraps you in a hug, and kisses your forehead before resting his head against yours and closing his eyes as well.

***

When you open your eyes, you find yourself buried in Bruno. He was snoring softly as he held you loosely. You look up and see the sun is setting. Already?! How long were you asleep?!

You look over at Bruno and see his face fully relaxed. A rare sight. You trace your finger down his cheek, and you shudder, as images of his dreams fill your mind. Dream images were much harder to understand and interpret than waking thoughts were. These were even more disjointed. You tried not to touch someone sleeping too often, but in this case, you couldn’t help yourself.

You hold his cheeks in your hands and press your forehead to his, closing your eyes so you can focus on his dreams.

There was a strange green fog around his dreams. You could see you and him together, looking happy. The dream shifts and it looks like you’re fighting. He tenses up in his sleep. It changes again and he’s alone in his tower. He seems to relax a bit. You just watch the floating images pass by, though you don't attempt to make any sense of it. There isn’t a coherent thought to latch onto, or a specific image that makes sense on its own. He is seeing these things much differently than you are.

You release him and move so your chin rests on his hair instead. He hums in his sleep and pulls you in tighter. You smile softly and stroke his hair until his eyes flutter open.

“Y/n..?” He looks up at you sleepily and sits up, rubbing his head. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep too- oh, shit, is the sun setting?” He sighs and rubs his tired eyes.

“Yeah, I didn't realize we slept so long.. I was just so tired after dancing all morning.” You say. You yawn and sit up next to him.

“I should go..” He says, though you can tell he doesn’t really want to just yet.

“...why don’t you stay tonight? We can ask papa, and you could take my room, and i’ll sleep on the couch-” Bruno cuts you off.

“No, I'd never let you sleep on the couch just for me to have the bed.. Sleep in your own bed, cariña.” He says sleepily. He catches the words he just said, and he looks over at you sheepishly. He is embarrassed to have let that slip, but he felt hopeful you liked it.

“Well, you sure warmed up to me quickly.. Cariño.” You say to him. He lets out a soft laugh and pushes his hair back.

“I guess I have..” He folds his arms and looks down into his lap, though he has a small smile on his face. “No one.. No one has ever really given me a chance like you have. It’s nice.. To have someone who sees past the bad parts of me.”

“Bruno.. There are no bad parts to you to look past. Your gift is your gift. Just because people don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s bad.”

He smiles and you can feel that the words comforted him. He looks at you with one of his big, genuine, lopsided smiles, and it just melts your heart.

“I should get going. But.. I will see you tomorrow.” He stands and kisses the top of your head before grabbing his ruana and walking out your door. You watch him walk away from your window. Once he’s gone, you roll over to the pillow he was sleeping on, and you notice it still smells like him.

You nuzzle into it and close your eyes once more. Strange, how you were still tired despite sleeping all afternoon. Nonetheless, you let yourself drift back to sleep, pretending your cold pillow was Bruno’s warm arms.

Chapter Text

It’s been a month since you and Bruno were arranged. You haven’t taken many steps past the occasional kiss. Everything was quite new to you both. However, you two have grown quite close in the last month. You’ve started to notice you can feel Bruno’s emotions from a greater distance. This only half surprises you. You can feel your father’s emotions from anywhere in town, but he was your father, your only parental figure so of course you were close. The only thing that surprised you was how soon it started to happen with Bruno.

You had become a regular guest in the Casita. After two weeks, you noticed a new door near Bruno’s room. You peeked inside to see a guest bedroom, and you had a feeling the Casita was welcoming you in as a family member.

The town seemed to be getting used to seeing you two walking around together too. It’s actually been quite a good thing. Rather than his iffy reputation rubbing off on you, your kind and happy reputation seemed to make people rethink about Bruno. People in town actually wanted to speak to him, and didn’t avoid eye contact. He was still getting used to it, but it made you so happy to see him growing comfortable in public.

You two weren’t the only hot young couple in the town. Pepa and Félix had spent every day together since you introduced them. He was very kind to her, and she loved his charming, happy go lucky demeanor. He seemed to be able to soothe her storms away before they happened. You actually had to make Bruno annoy her so it would rain, because you heard some farmers in your father’s shop talking about their concern when it hadn’t rained in two weeks. Bruno, of course, had no objections.

Today, your father and Alma asked to see you and Bruno. You knew what this meant. Details were being finalized for your wedding. Sure, you really liked Bruno. You really liked him. Was one month too early to say you might love him? Probably, just ignore that thought. But the idea of getting married was still so intimidating.

The four of you sat in the dining room in the Casita. You knew that Pepa and Julieta were nearby, listening in. This was going to be the first Madrigal wedding after all, of course they wanted to know the details! You and Bruno sat side by side, while your father and his mother stood together on the other side of the table. The two of you were shrunk down in your chairs, equally as nervous about this.

Your parents had you pick a date, and a few other details, and that was really it. Sure, it didn’t feel like much, but.. Now, there was a deadline. Now it was concrete. In two weeks, you would be married. In two weeks, you will be a Madrigal. In two weeks, you will be Bruno's wife.

When your parents left the dining room, the two of you remained in your seats, not looking at each other. It’s not that you were upset at each other, it was just.. The reality of it all settling in. You could feel it from Bruno, which only increased your anxiety. Suddenly, you feel his hand touch yours ever so gently.

It’s okay to be scared.

You finally look over at him and he looks concerned. You turn your body to face him and he does the same.

“I’m not afraid of you, Bruno.. You know that. It’s just.. This is all happening so suddenly and so fast-”

“Hey, hey, cariño…” The use of the nickname surprised you. He hadn’t used it much since that first time, but each time he did sent chills across your body. Good chills. “Remember what you told me? We’re in this together.”

You look up at him and smile, giving him a slight nod.

“I know.. Thank you.”

Bruno stands and holds out his hand to you.

“Would you like to go on a walk?” He asks. You nod and stand, taking his hand.

The two of you step out of the casita, walking down a path behind the house that leads into some thick nature. It was a secluded spot that would eventually lead to a meadow. The two of you had found it once when wandering around, and it was now one of your favorite spots.

You’ve gotten used to holding his hand and letting the flow of thoughts drown out. It was like quieting your own mind in a way. That way, you could still touch, while giving him his privacy. Though he didn’t really seem to mind either way, you still liked to make sure he always knew he had the right to keep his thoughts to himself.

You reach the middle of the meadow, and you lay down together in the tall grass and flowers. You stare up at the sky, watching clouds go by. You lay there together in silence for a while. You liked these moments with him. Quiet, just the two of you. All you could hear now was the breeze dancing with the leaves and grass.

“What do you think it’ll be like?” Bruno asks after a while.

“What?” You ask, looking over at him.

“You know.. Being married.”

Neither of you says anything for a few minutes. You consider touching Bruno’s hand, but you decide if he wanted to share his thoughts, he would.

“I think it’ll be nice. I remember waking up next to you after napping with you the day of your performance. Honestly, if I got to wake up to you like that every morning, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.” He says. You close your eyes and smile. You aren’t sure what else he’s thinking about, but he’s calm and happy. A combination of feelings he doesn’t have often.

“I think I'd like to stay with you in la casita. Unless, of course, you’d rather stay at my house with me and my dad. You could help run the shop..” You say. You look over and he has that dopey grin on his face. You’re sure he’s imagining himself trying to help farmers find the right kind of fertilizer and failing miserably.

“Yeah.. casita may be a better choice. Besides.. If we stay at Casita, our kids can get their gifts and their own rooms.” He says.

“Kids? Now you’re really getting into that married life dream, huh?” You tease him. He lets out a soft laugh and turns onto his side to look at you better.

“Do you want kids, even?” He asks.

“I do, but not until later. I think you’d be a good dad.” You say. You reach out and touch the tip of his nose gently with your finger. His eyes follow your finger until they’re crossed. You laugh and sigh contentedly.

“You know.. You make this whole thing seem less scary, Bruno.” You tell him. You run your fingers gently through his curls.

“Well, I've gotten used to having you around. It’d be a shame to see you go now, cariño.” He reaches down and takes your hand, kissing your knuckles softly. “And you.. Well, you make me feel like a person again.”

You smile softly at him. You don’t need to be an empath to see how Bruno has changed over the last month. He’s much happier, more outgoing. The people in town are nicer to him, and he seems to even be making a few friends. Victor showed him a few Folklorico moves last time the three of you were together. Once Bruno got the hang of the moves, you paired up with him. Bruno may have two left feet, and stumble all over the place, but when he danced with you, he felt so confident.

“Come here, cariño, I want to tell you a story.” Bruno said. You grin and shift so you’re laying with your head on his chest. He wraps his arms around you and sighs contentedly. This was something new he was doing with you, sharing his stories with you. You loved each silly tale he managed to make up.

“Where did we leave off last?” He asked you. You smile and close your eyes.

“Marisol and Hector were on the beach, and he wanted to tell her a secret.” You remind him.

“Ah, right! Hector stood nervously before Marisol, taking her hand in both of his. ‘Mari, I have something to tell you..’ Marisol looked at him worriedly. ‘What is it Hector?’ She asks. ‘I…am not Hector. But his twin, Dante!’” You gasp at the revelation. Bruno does silly voices for each character, making up this long, dramatic, neverending story of love, betrayal, amnesia, and many, many twins. You weren’t sure where he got all these ideas from, but at this point he had threaded together such a long story, it felt wrong to just start over with something new.

You listen to him weave his story for a little while. He waves his arms around, he makes silly voices, and occasionally he’ll grab you and shake you for emphasis. That one never fails to make you laugh.

The two of you spend at least an hour on this story, until you hear Alma calling for you. You sit up and sigh, stretching your arms up. “Time for chores, then, huh?” You rise to your feet and stretch your tight muscles. Laying in that position for so long left you stiff.

“Just one more thing, cariño.” Bruno says. You feel a strange surge of confidence from him, and his next actions take you completely by surprise. He wraps his arms around you and dips you down dramatically, just like in one of his stories. “You will make the loveliest wife to ever exist.” He kisses you and you wrap your arms around his neck as he pulls you back up.

The two of you walk hand in hand back to Casita, meeting up with Alma near the back door.

“There you two are. You’re not getting into trouble in that field, are you?” She asks, raising an eyebrow.

“N-no ma’am! We were just talking.” You say, holding your hands up defensively. She nods, though she doesn’t seem quite convinced.

“Bruno, you have a few requests for visions. Will you take them today please?” Bruno slumped a little. He hated this part of being a Madrigal.

“Yes, mamá.” He says quietly.

“Ah, if it’s not too much trouble.. Can I go with him? Maybe I can help his readings by interpreting the feelings going both ways..” You say. Alma considers this, then nods.

“Very well. You two may go together. Just stay out of trouble, alright?” She smiles at the two of you and kisses Bruno on the head. Bruno looks over at you, smiling sheepishly.

“Thank you..” He mumbles.

“Of course, cariño. I could tell you needed some support.”

You and Bruno walk into the village together, chatting idly until you reach the first house. Bruno stops before the front door, taking a deep breath.

“Time to earn our Miracle..” he whispers to himself.

He knocks on the door and it swings open. It’s a woman and her husband. They seem to have been waiting anxiously for you.

“Bruno, good to see you! We bought sand, like you asked.” The wife says, stepping aside to let the two of you in.

“Who’s the lovely little lady?” The husband asks. Bruno smiles.

“This is my partner, y/n. She’s an empath, so she wants to see if she can help with my visions."

You give a small nod to the couple, and they lead you into their living room. You see a bucket of sand in the center, and all the furniture has been pushed to the edge of the room. He picks up the bucket and draws a little circle of sand in the middle of the room, just big enough for him to sit inside. The couple grimace at the sight, and Bruno glances up at them.

"My sister Pepa can sweep this out for you, no trouble." He says, and they relax.

Bruno sits inside of the circle, then gestures for you to sit across from him. You do so, and he takes a deep breath. He traces his fingers over the wooden floors, then gives it a few knocks, then a knock on the head. You've noticed him do this a few times before when he got nervous, but he only ever really seemed to do it at home. Maybe it was also a way for him to calm himself before a vision. He then pulled a punch of salt out, and threw it over his shoulder, then did the same with the sugar. You could feel his nerves now. This is the first time you've seen him do a vision for anyone outside the family. He was way more scared now than he was then. The actions seemed to calmed him enough to clear his mind.

"Step back into the doorway, I don't want you to get blown around." Bruno says. Once the couple steps back, he turns to them.

"What do you want me to look for?" He asks.

"Will we have children soon?" The husband asks.

"If we do, will it be a boy or a girl?" The wife asks, clinging to her husband's side.

Bruno sighs and closes his eyes. He inhales deeply, and let's it out slowly. Then, he opens his eyes and they're glowing green, just as they did before. He looks around in the swirling sand for an answer. He is silent for a moment as he looks, then the sand drops around him. No emerald tablet falls this time, but he turns to them.

"You will have children, but it will take time. A girl, and then a few years later, a boy." Bruno says.

You thought the couple would be ecstatic, but they seemed almost deflated.

"How.. long does it take?" The wife asks.

Bruno looks down at his lap.

"At least a year before you become pregnant." He responds.

The couple isn't reacting the way you thought they would at all. You would think they would be happy, knowing what's coming. Even Bruno can sense they're unhappy. You lean forward and touch his hand, and all you hear is one, almost angry, thought.

Every damn time.

You frown and stand, walking over to the couple you take their hands in your and you grin.

"I know the wait is hard, but won't it be worth it to see the face of your little one? No matter how long it takes, you know now it will happen. And you'll get more than one! Isn't that exciting?" The couple relax and look at each other, smiling.

"I.. suppose it gives us time to make a nursery. And prepare for the baby.." the husband says. "I can take my time and build a beautiful crib."

You feel the couple's mood lift, and they start chatting excitedly about their new baby. You walk back over to Bruno and help him up, and he has a weary smile.

I don't know how you did that.. but I'm grateful.

The two of you leave the house, and the happy couple waved you off excitedly. You look over at Bruno and you can see he's relaxed since leaving the house.

"I have a question." You say.

"I might just have an answer then." Bruno says, the corners of his mouth lifting up.

"Why do the whole ritual for the townspeople? I know at home, you can have vision without all that.." you ask him quietly. You feel guilt creep through him, and he looks down.

“I.. I do it because I hope that if it’s a big process, people are less likely to ask me for visions.” He admits. “I know our family is dedicated to serving this community, and I am too. I just wish I could do it in other ways. Ways that don’t end with the whole town avoiding me.” He wraps his arms around himself, avoiding looking at you.

“Oh, Bruno..” You forget sometimes how hard this can be on him. You hate that he feels so guilty for his actions, and you hate that he even feels the need to go that far.

You follow him to his next few appointments, and it’s more of the same. People asking for questions, Bruno doing his thing, them not getting the exact answer they want and being disappointed. You try to make it better, but it doesn’t always work.

Going with him today made you understand him a bit better. Nothing he said or did was ever good enough for anyone. By the end of the day, he looks worn out and defeated. The walk back to his house was mostly silent. You walk with him into his house, and all the way up to his room. When you make it to his bedroom, he slips off his shoes and crawls directly onto his hammock. He lays facing away from you, curling up into a fetal position. You can feel sadness radiating from him.

Despite looking like he wants to be left alone, you can also feel a growing loneliness. You walk towards him and kneel down next to the hammock. You run your fingers through his hair, and he relaxes a little. He finally turns over after a few moments, and his sad, puppy dog eyes made your heart melt.

“Are you sure… you’re okay with being with me?” He asks. “You finally saw what a disappointment I can be.. Do you really want to be stuck with me forever?”

You take a moment to think about your answer, wanting to choose your words carefully. The silence does nothing for his anxiety, and you can tell he truly believes for a moment that you’re going to leave.

“People hear what they want to hear. You told everyone what would happen. You aren’t making their futures happen, you're just telling them what will be. Pets die. People lose their hair. Bad things happen, that’s a fact. Have you ever had a prediction be wrong? Who is to say that they aren’t the cause of their own misery?” You say finally. You pause to let him respond, but he doesn’t say anything, so you continue.

“Think about that first couple. You told them it would take a year to get pregnant. Sure, that could be true. Or, since they now know it will take a whole year, how do you know they won't start actively trying until a year from now? That’s also why I don’t want you to look into our future. Simply knowing what will happen might just make it more likely to play out. I want to be happy with you, not dreading some awful event forever with you.”

Bruno closes his eyes and considers your words. Now it's your turn to worry through the silence. His feelings are so mixed up right now, it’s hard to guess what he’s thinking. You let him have his moment to sort out his thoughts before letting him speak.

“Thank you.” He finally whispers. You smile in relief and kiss his forehead.

“Stay here and rest, okay? You look tired. I’ll bring you something to eat, okay?” He nods and you rise to your feet.

You slide down the stairs and make your way into the kitchen. Julieta is finishing up dinner, humming softly to herself. She sees you walk in and she beams at you. You find you enjoy spending time with her, she was always such a ray of sunshine, full of happiness and kindness.

“Hello, y/n. Where’s Bruno?” she asks. You grab the tea kettle and start to warm up some water.

“He.. had a long day.” You say. She nods, understanding without you having to explain.

“Yeah.. he usually doesn’t eat with us after he’s been doing predictions around town all day. He goes straight to his room and sometimes doesn’t even come out the next day.” She says. This worries you a bit. You hate the idea of him sulking in his room, stuck in his own toxic thoughts. You need to think of something, anything, to get him at last feeling better.

The kettle on the stove whistles, and you pull it off. You pour the water into a teapot, and place some tea inside. You grab a tray and place the teapot along with two small cups on it. Once Julieta is satisfied with her stew, she hands you two bowls and you put those on the tray as well.

“Thank you, Julieta.” You tell her. She gives you a warm smile.

“Of course, y/n. You’ve been so good to Bruno, you know. He’s very lucky to have you. We all are.” You smile and tuck back a bit of your hair.

“I’m glad to be here.” You say.

You take the tray and walk up to Bruno’s door. You go in, and you frown, thinking about how you’ll get all the way up there without spilling anything. Casita seems to have your back, though, and it creates a lift that takes you straight up, rather than following the spiral of the stairs. It moves a little slower so you don’t spill anything, but you still get up there faster than you would have the usual way.

You take the tray into Bruno’s bedroom and sit it down on the ground next to his hammock. You pour out a cup of tea for each of you, and wait for him to join you. He peeks at you from behind his arms, but he doesn’t move. You give a somewhat dramatic sigh and sit back.

“Oh, if only there were someone to share this lovely meal with..” You say. You see a rat scurry up at the smell of the food, and you let it crawl into your hand, lifting it up to talk to it. You weren’t phased by Bruno’s rats. They were suspiciously well trained.

“Oh, little rat.. I’m so lonely here, eating all on my own. This lovely stew is just going to get cold and go to waste. This tea is simply too much for me, I’ll never be able to drink it all on my own.” You speak in a dramatic way, emphasizing your words and adding extra emotion to them. You can feel Bruno’s mood pick up as he watches you.

“Little rat, you’re my only company. If you were to scurry away, I would surely be doomed to enjoy this meal alone!”

You lower the rat and it scurries away as if it understood what you were doing. You let out a mock cry of anguish and fall backwards, laying on your back and throwing your arm across your eyes.

“Even the rats abandon me! I am truly sentenced to a life of solitude and delicious stew!”

You hear the hammock creak, but you don’t look out from beneath your arm. You decide to let Bruno come to you. If his emotions were any indication, he would be doing so soon.

Indeed, Bruno soon kneels beside you, lifting your arm and brushing your hair out of your face.

“My lady, I have heard your cries.. Shall I join you for a meal?” He asks. You look at him and he has a weary smile on his face.

You sit up quickly and throw your arms around him, hugging him close. He relaxes into your arms and sighs softly.

“To be clear, I'm only doing this for the stew and not for you.” Bruno says, causing you to laugh out loud. You pull away from the hug and hand him a bowl before taking your own.

“You’re not so bad at acting yourself, you know. Maybe we could create a story together sometime.” Bruno suggests, putting a spoonful in his mouth.

“That sounds nice, Bruno.” You begin to eat as well, savoring the taste. You looked forward to eating Julieta’s cooking every day.

You two enjoy your food together, sitting side by side. When you’ve both finished, Bruno wraps his arm around you and pulls you into his side. You lay your head on his shoulder and the two of you sit like that for a few minutes, enjoying each other's presence.

“You know you’re going to have to get an actual bed soon, right?” You say, looking up at his hammock. He lets out a soft laugh and looks over at you.

“What, you don’t want to cuddle in a hammock every night? There’d be no escape from my embrace.” He responds.

“That’s true, but.. There are some things we simply can’t do in a hammock.” You retort. Your comment sends several feelings through Bruno, and you see his face glow red.

“Well.. I mean.. We could if we tried hard enough.” He says after a moment. You gasp, not having expected him to come back at you so strong. You look over at him and giggle, shoving him playfully.

“Bruno!”

“What? Sure, I mean, building a pillow fort would be difficult but not impossible- what? What did you think I meant?” Bruno says.

“You are such a dork.” You respond playfully.

“Aha, but YOU are the one marrying the dork. So. Who really wins here?”

The two of you gaze at each other for a moment. You loved these silly moments with him. You were glad you were able to make him feel better after a rough day. You lean forward and wrap your arms around his waist, resting your head on his chest. He wraps his arms around you and presses his nose into your hair. You hum contentedly and relax into his embrace.

“Thank you for taking care of me.” He whispers.

“Of course, cariño.” You murmur into his chest.

He presses a kiss to the top of your head and you look up at him. The two of you lean in and kiss, holding each other close. Bruno lifts you onto his lap, which surprises you. Your cheeks grow red and he leans him to kiss your cheek, and then the other. He kisses the tip of your nose, your forehead, and finally on your lips again. You lean into his kiss and linger with it, wrapping your arms around his neck. He holds your waist, rubbing his thumb up and down. You push a hand into his thick curls, tangling your fingers in them, and you hear a thought jump out at you.

Don’t stop…

He pulls you against him as you kiss, and you lean into it. He starts to lay back, but before he can lay all the way down, the ground rushes up to meet him and pushes him back into sitting up. He jumps and releases you, letting out a yelp. You fall back onto the ground, and you see him rubbing his lower back.

“Ay, casita, we weren’t doing anything!” He grumbles. He looks at you and gives you a small smile. “Guess we were getting too frisky for casita’s liking..”

“Don’t worry Bruno. It’s okay.” You tell him. You lean in close to him and lower your voice. “In two weeks, casita won’t have any reason to stop us.” You kiss his cheek and it feels warm. You ruffle his hair and stand up, dusting off your skirt. Bruno looks too flustered to stand, so you take the moment to clean up the dishes. You glance over at him and smirk.

“You gonna walk me home? Or are you gonna sit there for the rest of the night?” You ask.

Bruno stands up and fixes his hair and his ruana. He takes the tray from you and leads you to his long staircase.

“Let's get you home before you get me into any more trouble.”

Chapter Text

Oh fuck.

Oh fuck.

This was it. You slept in the Casita last night. Well, slept is a generous term. More like laid in bed all night. There was a guest room for you on the opposite side from Bruno’s room. Casita even included a bathroom, giving you no excuse to leave before it was time, even just to sneak a peek at Bruno.

You were awoken by Pepa and Julieta bursting excitedly into your room. They jump on your bed and wrap you in a tight hug. You laugh and hug them back. They each take a hand and pull you out of bed, practically dragging you to the floor. You catch your balance and grin at them.

“Let’s get you ready!” Pepa exclaims.

“You’re going to look so beautiful, y/n.” Julieta says.

They waste no time getting you clean and ready for the day. Pepa works on your hair while Julieta paints your face with makeup.Pepa gives you a simple braid in your hair, fluffing it out so it’s wider, like her usual braid. When she’s done, she pins a few flowers in between the twists. Julieta doesn’t use much makeup on you, but what she does use makes you look almost completely different.

The girls chat excitedly, and every one in a while, their hand will brush over your skin and you catch a quick thought or two. Pepa’s mind was mostly set on keeping the skies clear, and the temperature cool. Julieta’s thoughts wandered to her own wedding, whenever that day may come. It made you wish Agustín would propose to her soon.

They work quickly, but the result is stunning. You barely recognize yourself in the mirror. Pepa opens up the dresser in your room, and you see your dress hanging inside. Julieta had been making alterations on it all week, wanting it to fit you just right. Pepa carefully pulls it out, and the sisters help you slide into it, hooking it on. Once it’s properly on, the girls step back to examine their work.

“Bruno might just pass out when he sees you..” Pepa snorts. Julieta smooths out your dress and puts her hands on your shoulders.

“He’s been practicing his serenata all week. Are you ready?” Julieta tells you.

“If I have to hear that song one more damn time after today-” Julieta elbows Pepa before she can finish speaking. She looked annoyed, but you knew she was proud of her brother. They both were.

You take a final look at yourself in the mirror, and turn to the girls. They beam with pride and wrap you up in a hug. You hug them back, squeezing them tight.

“I’m so excited to have another sister..” Pepa says.

“You’ll love it here with us.” Julieta assures you.

“Thank you both.. I’ve never had sisters to dote on me like this. I didn’t really have a woman figure in my life.. But now I'm going to have the two best sisters anyone could ask for.” You say to them. Your words flood them adoration, and they lean in to kiss your cheeks at the same time.

They take your hands and lead you out of your room. The atrium of the house has been decorated with flowers all over the place. You see a few other family members gathered around the atrium, and Victor was standing in the middle with his guitar. He watches you come down the stairs and he beams at you. He’s only a little jealous, but he’s mostly happy for you.

When you reach the bottom of the stairs, you see Bruno waiting for you. He’s wearing a thin, white cotton shirt, and a pair of light cotton pants. His hair was down, though it looked like he took a little more care in styling it this morning. He really does look like he’s going to pass out. You worry for a moment that he might. You give him a smile and you practically see his knees buckle. You bite back a laugh and walk over to him, taking his hands. His thoughts are jumbled, it was hard to make out a coherent thought from him.

Bruno takes a deep breath and looks over at Victor and nods. Victor starts playing his guitar, and Bruno grips your hand tighter. He begins his serenata, and you can tell he really has been practicing. His thoughts are focused on getting the song right, and not letting his voice shake. His voice is soft, like he only wants you to hear. Perhaps he did. It didn’t matter to you either way. You were just happy he was making it through this without passing out or throwing up or something. And honestly, you were glad for the same on your end as well. When he finishes singing, your families clap, and you give him a kiss on the cheek.

“You did wonderful, cariño.” You whisper to him. You feel a big wave of relief flow over him. It didn't completely cure his nerves, but the first part was over. The next part would be the most nerve wracking, and it would just get easier from there.

Bruno squeezes your hand one last time, then makes his way out of the casita to where the ceremony would be held. The ceremony itself was thankfully a private family affair, but the party afterwards was open invitation.

“He did so good! I told you he could do it, Pepa!” Julieta said as they rushed up to your side.

“Don’t go annoying me, Julieta, I have to keep the clouds away!” Pepa warned. Julieta giggled as your father walked up to you.

He took your face in his hands and you could hear him thinking about how proud of you he was, how beautiful you looked, and how sad he was you were leaving. He didn’t say a word though, only leaning down to kiss you on the forehead.

“Mi hija…” He couldn’t decide on what to say, so he just hugged you instead. A thought crossed his mind about your mother, but you ignored that one as best you could. You didn’t want to think of her at all today.

Your father takes your arm, and the sisters leave to go sit down for the ceremony. Your father takes a few flowers and pins them into the front of your hair, and you smile at him.

“You look so beautiful. All grown up..” You could see tears welling in his eyes, and you rolled yours in turn.

“Papa! Don’t cry now! There’s already so many emotions going around, and if you cry I probably will too.” You tell him. He laughs softly and glances at the door.

“We shouldn’t keep him waiting.”

You take his arm and you walk out the door. There is soft music playing for you as you walk in. Bruno has calmed a bit, but seeing you again causes his nerves to creep back in. You smile at him, hoping to calm his nerves. It works a little, and by the time you get up there, he’s only slightly more nervous than usual.

The ceremony goes off without a hitch. You exchange vows, you have your candle ceremony, and the priest pronounces you married. There’s a cheer from the crowd as you kiss Bruno, and everyone throws flowers and flower petals at the two of you. You smile happily, and the two of you head back into the casita for a moment alone while the rest of the family prepares for the party.

You stop in the kitchen, and turn to each other. Neither of you say anything for a moment, just gazing and taking in the moment.

“Hello, wife.” Bruno finally whispers.

“Hello, husband..” you whisper back. “I liked your song. It was really beautiful.”

“You’re really beautiful..” He says. He kisses you again, and then trails kisses all over your face. You grin and let him dote on you. It was sweet to see this side of him. He places a hand on the side of your face, and you lean into his hand.

“That wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. I mean, it was nerve wracking, but… seeing you every step of the way really helped.” You tell him.

“Yeah.. Dios mio, I nearly passed out when I saw you on those stairs. You looked like a true princesa.” He murmurs. He’s thinking about you on the stairs, and it makes your heart flutter. In his recollection, it almost seems like you’re glowing.

Bruno leans in to kiss you again, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you tight against him. You kiss him back, melting in his arms. He pulls away from the kiss and tilts his head to rest his forehead on yours. You stare into each other's eyes for a few moments. There’s so many things the both of you want to say, but neither of you could put them into words. You simply stood together in this moment of silence, settling into your new roles with each other.

After a little bit, you hear music starting up outside, and you realize it’s time for the party to begin. The whole town was going to be there. You feel Bruno dreading it. You ruffle his hair a little and give him a smile.

“Don’t worry, cariño. We will stay for a little bit, but once everyone is good and drunk, we can slip away. No one will even miss us.” You tell him. He relaxes, giving you a loving smile. He knows you’re an empath, but you read him so well, and you know just how to soothe his nerves.

He takes your hand and the two of you walk back out the casita doors, and the town cheers upon seeing you. You walk together towards your family, where they all give you each a hug.

A guitar starts to play, and the melody is soft and sweet. Everyone steps back and gives you space to have your first dance. Bruno wraps one arm around your waist, and grips your hand in the other. You place your free hand on his shoulder, and you sway slowly with him. He’s a surprisingly good dancer, though you hear him thanking his sister for the dance lessons in his thoughts. It surprised you how much he wanted to be prepared for today. He gazes down into your eyes, and you can feel love radiating from his core. It's been a month and a half, but you feel like you've known him forever.

As you dance, the music fades, and the light around you dims. Just like when you made eye contact at your performance, you feel like you're the only two people in the world right now. His thoughts reflect that he feels the same. Bruno leans down to kiss you on the cheek, and he whispers softly in your ear:

"I love you, cariño."

The words send chills down your spine and you grin. You kiss him on the lips before whispering it back.

Soon, the world fades back in, and your first dance is complete. The band begins to play a livelier tune, and the whole crowd begins to dance. You walk arm in arm with Bruno, keeping an eye on his emotions. If he got too anxious, you already had a plan to pull him away. He seemed fine though. Elated, even.

As you walked around, lots of people stopped you to congratulate you, and chat with you about your wedding. Several older married couples in the town stopped to give you their own advice on how they made their marriages last. You appreciated each one, but you were getting a little tired from all the attention.

You finally run into Alma, and she gives the both of you a tight hug. Then, she cups your face in her hands.

"Ah, it's so wonderful to have a new daughter. It fills me with joy to see how happy my Brunito is around you. Thank you, Mija." She says. You smile and thank her back. Bruno seems to be a bit embarrassed at his mom's doting, but he does still appreciate it.

You make it over to the buffet table that was set up, and you hear your stomach growl at the sight. Bruno must have heard it too, because he looks over at you, and starts laughing.

"Let's get you something to eat, cariño." He says. The two of you pick up some food and walk a bit away from the crowd to get some space and air while you eat. You can't help but to stuff your face, and Bruno smiles at seeing you be messy. He reaches over to wipe a few crumbs off your cheek, and you blush a bit.

"Slow down, you'll get sick. Can't have that on our wedding day." Bruno says. You swallow and smile at him.

"I haven't eaten all day! Your sisters woke me up super early and started doing things to my face and hair- I was so tired I barely remember it. The rest of the day's gone by so fast and- look, the sun is setting!" You point at the sky and Bruno looks up, then back at you. He seems amused by you seeming to be flustered.

"Yeah, I know, I know.. just be careful, hm?" He kisses the top of your head.

"Bruno, you're suspiciously.. not anxious. I expected you to be a mess all day long, and have to drag you out of here early to recover but.. you've been good all day. I'm surprised." You tell him. His face drops a bit and he blushes, and you feel guilt creep in. You put your hands on your hips and lean your face closer to his.

"What did you do?" You ask, narrowing your eyes.

"I- okay, look I- I was so nervous about today, and I couldn't sleep and none of my tricks to calm down were working and i- I didn't even use my ritual! I just- peeked into today to see how it would go." He admits. He shrinks back a little. You want to be mad, knowing he broke his promise, but you couldn't be. You kept your stern face though.

"Well? What did you see?" You ask. He's surprised at this response. He relaxes a little bit, and rubs the back of his neck.

"Just.. us. Being happy. No one looked sad or angry, and everything just looked.. good. It's not often I see such overwhelmingly good things, but.. well, when I looked, today was good. And since I knew nothing bad would happen today, I suppose it just took the edge off." You soften as he speaks, dropping your arms to your sides. You step forward and wrap your arms around his neck, and he relaxes fully in your embrace. "You're not mad?"

"I want to be… since you did break your promise. But I think I can let this one slide." You tell him. "Just don't do it again, okay?" He nods and kisses the tip of your nose.

"There you two are! We've been searching for you. This is YOUR party, you know!" Pepa says, running up to you. Her tone is sharp, but she's not at all angry. Maybe a bit worried, but not angry. You can also tell she'd had several drinks, though it was because her feelings flowed in a different way. Another reason you had been a bit keen on leaving early; drunk emotions are weird and strong, and with enough people, can make you react physically.

"I know Pepa, we just wanted a moment alone together. Are we needed?" Bruno asks. You wonder if he can tell you're anxious about going back.

"Mamá wants to do the parent child dances." Pepa says. Bruno rolled his eyes but smiled.

"Alright, alright.. but then we're gonna sneak out. We've had a big day and now we want to spend some alone time." Bruno says. "Will you cover for us? I'll owe you big time."

She considers this for a moment, then nods.

"Alright then. I'll cover for you. But I get to choose when I come to collect on that debt." She says, poking his chest. Bruno laughs and nods.

The three of you walk back to the crowd, and you have to separate from Bruno. You find your dad in the crowd, and you make your way to the dance floor. The music slows again, and you dance with your father. You can see happy tears brimming in his eyes and you roll your eyes playfully.

“Papá, you know that when you cry, i’m probably gonna cry too.” You tell him. He nods and takes a deep breath.

“I know chiquita, I’m just so proud of you. You look so beautiful, and.. When I see you with Bruno, I can tell you’re truly happy. He’s a good man, and you bring out the best in each other.” He says. You smile and nod, glancing to the side and seeing him dancing with his mother.

“He is a good man, papa. I know how guilty you felt about pushing us to be together in the beginning. I know you always wanted me to find someone kind to me, so I didn’t have to go through what you did with mama.” You say. Your dad swallows hard and nods. “Bruno is good to me. He’s funny, sweet, caring.. I’ll be okay. I promise.” You assure your dad.

The music ends and your father wraps you in a tight hug. He lets you go when Bruno walks over to take you back at his side. You kiss your father on the cheek and wave as you two exit the dance floor.

You slip out of the crowd with Bruno, and the two of you rush towards the house. You get inside quickly, giggling like school children playing a game. Bruno pulls you into the atrium of the house and gives you a twirl, then pulls you into his chest.

“Let’s get upstairs, cariño.” He says. He kneels down and hooks his arm under your legs, and lifts you up, carrying you up the stairs to his room. He holds you the entire ride to the top of his tower, and only sets you down once you’re right outside the bedroom. He kisses you on the side of the head, then puts his hand on the doorknob.

“Guess what, amor..” He opens the door, and you immediately notice the change. Instead of his hammock, there was now a bed, with a wooden frame sitting in the middle of his room. You grin and look over at him, grabbing his hand. You pull him quickly into the bedroom, giving him another long kiss.

It’s been a long day, but you were happy to now be alone with Bruno. Now that his room was properly equipped, and Casita couldn’t interrupt, you were excited to spend your first night in the Casa de Madrigal. However, you knew you probably won’t be asleep for a while. You just wanted to settle in and finally make love to Bruno. To your husband.

Chapter Text

You awaken in the morning with Bruno’s arms wrapped tight around you. You smile softly and turn over so you’re facing him, to see he’s still asleep. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, even if he did drool a little. You smile at him and kiss his forehead, thinking about how lucky you are to wake up to him each morning. You slip out of his arms reluctantly, wishing you could spend a few more minutes with him. He stirs and opens his eyes, whining as you leave his grip. 

“Amor, don’t go..” He mumbles. You giggle softly and run your fingers through his messy hair. 

“I have to go help Papa in the shop today. I promised him I'd still help out, even after moving out.” You remind him. He groans and sits up. 

“Can’t he wait one more day before you get back to work? We’re newlyweds, I want to spend all my mornings with you.” He says sleepily. He leans forward and wraps his arms around your waist, resting his head on your stomach. You smile down at him and ruffle his hair. 

“It’s been a week already, cariño. He’s not used to running the shop alone for so long. He needs a break.” You pull away from him and he flops down, grumbling a little. He rolls back onto his side of the bed, curling up in the blankets. He doesn’t close his eyes or try to go back to sleep, though. He watches as you go to the dresser and pull out a fresh outfit for the day. 

He grins when you slip off your nightgown and he sees all the love bites he’s been leaving on your thighs. You glance over at him and smile, shaking your head. You slip into your clothes, and tie an apron around your waist. You sit on the edge of his side of the bed so you can twist your hair into a braid with a scarf. Bruno rubs your back as you work your hair, humming softly. 

“Can I at least come visit you at work?” He asks. You smile at him and nod. 

“Sure, cariño. I’d love that.” You finish tying your hair and lean down to kiss him gently. 

“I love you..” He whispers just before you pull away. 

“I love you too. Now, go back to sleep. Get some rest.” You tell him. He nods and sighs, closing his eyes once more. 

You slip out of the bedroom and slide down the stairs. You’ve gotten quite used to the long ride up and down. It sure as hell beats having to walk up and down all those stairs. You learned at some point he’s never told his sisters OR his mom about the shortcut, and that if they need to get up there, they have to climb every. Single. Stair. 

You leave his room and you can already smell whatever Julieta has cooking up in the kitchen. You follow your nose and walk in, seeing her working near the stove. Her partner, Agustín stands just behind her, his arms around her waist and his head on her shoulder. He whispers something in her ear that makes her giggle. 

“Morning, you two.” You say. They both turn to look at you, smiling. 

“Good morning! Where are you off to so early?” Julieta asks. 

“I’ve got to help my papa in the shop. I promised I would keep working, so he can have a break sometimes.” You tell her. 

“Ah, that’s right. Well, I made some fresh arepa con queso this morning, take some to your father.” She said, pointing with her spoon at the steaming plate. You grab four arepas and wrap them in a cloth, then take one for yourself. You wave to them and start the walk from the house to your father’s shop. 

You walk in the front door of the shop, the bells tied to the handle jingling. Your father pops up from behind the counter, and his face lights up at the side of you. You smile and set the bundle on the counter, pushing it towards him. 

“A gift from Julieta.” you tell him. He opens the bundle and takes an arepa, savoring it. 

“You’re so lucky to have that girl living in your house.” He says, and you roll your eyes playfully. 

“Do we have a lot of deliveries today?” You ask him. 

“A few. They’ll probably take you all morning.” He says. He hands you a list of who will receive what. You take it with you and go around the shop, pulling orders. There’s a horse and cart outside you load up with each order. Once it’s full, you’ll make your first run. 

The first few orders were for some farmers near the edge of town. A few 40 pound bags of fertilizers, some different seed packs, bales of hay and heavy sacks of feed. You load up the cart with ease, having lifted these bags for years. 

Because the farmer’s orders were so big, they usually went out first. You mount the horse and head off to the edge of town. You wave at a few people you pass, and they wave back with a smile. 

When you reach the first house, you knock on the door. A man, Mr. Ramirez, answers. He grins when he sees you and throws his arms around you. 

“y/n! I thought I wouldn't be seeing you anymore, now that you’re a magical Madrigal..” He says. You smile. 

“Of course I'm still here! Being a Madrigal means helping the town, and how can I do that better than helping my papa with his shop?” You say. 

“That’s true!” He says with a laugh. You go back to your cart and lift up his bags of fertilizer, handing them to him at the door. He sets them down, and you deliver the rest of his items. He smiles at you and takes your hand in his, slipping a few coins into it. 

“Mr. Ramirez, you know i don’t like to-” 

“Consider it a wedding gift then.” He cuts you off. He always hands you a little extra, even though he knows you don't ask for it, or even really want it. You decide to give it to your father later. You put the coins in your pocket, and wave to him as you make it to your next stop. 

The rest of the morning is more of the same, making deliveries, picking orders, running them to folks in town. A few more try to hand you tips, and you take them only to pass them along to your father. He’s grateful for each one. 

Once your deliveries are done for the day, you put the cart behind the shop and head in, taking a look around. Your father clearly struggled to keep up without you. Some areas of stock were low, and the floors looked like they hadn’t been swept recently. 

You go about restocking the shelves, making everything look nice and neat. Once the shelves are full again, you go about sweeping up the floors. This sweep takes you much longer than usual, to your slight annoyance. But once that’s done, you decide to mop for good measure. 

People come and go as you clean, and you stop once in a while to help them with something. A little while after you’re done mopping, an older woman comes in, looking for some food for her dog. You grab a large bag of food and carry it to the front for her. You get her all checked out, then offer to carry it home for her. She accepts your offer, and you walk out the door with her. 

“Your father tells me you married the Madrigal boy. How sweet! How is married life treating you?” She asks. 

“Oh, very well. My husband is a loving man. He helps around the house a lot. His sisters are also very sweet. Julieta is a master in the kitchen, and Pepa and Bruno always have some spat that’s entertaining to watch.” You tell her. 

“That’s wonderful, dear. You know, I've heard some off color things about that Bruno, but you seem to have a completely different view on him.” She says. 

“Yeah.. he gets a bad rep. But he’s truly the sweetest, kindest man I've ever met.” You say.

You drop the food off in her house, and wave to her before returning to the store. When you walk in, you see your husband chatting with your father. Bruno was leaning against the counter, and your father had a smile on his face. You weren't sure what they were talking about, but you were glad they seemed happy.

They both turn at the sound of the bells on the door jingling, and Bruno waves to you as you walk up. You smile at him and greet him with a kiss on the cheek. 

“Good to see you out of bed, cariño.” You say. You reach into your pocket and pull out the coins, handing them to your father. He drops them in a little jar he has behind the counter. 

“What’s that?” Bruno asks. 

“Ah, some people in town like to tip me for bringing their stuff to them. I always tell them no, but sometimes they insist. I always just give it to Papa.” You tell him. 

“Mama does not allow us to accept any tips like that. She says earning our miracle is enough.” Bruno says. You nod and slip your hand into his. 

“Would you like me to show you around the shop?” You ask. He nods and you bring him around, showing him shelves of fertilizers, your giant wall of seed packets, the pet section full of food and collars and harnesses and even a few little dog sweaters someone in town made to sell in your shop. He listens to you explaining everything, and while he doesn’t seem to fully retain it all, he just loves listening to you talk about something you’re passionate about. 

You hear the door jingle, and you excuse yourself from Bruno to go check on the new customer. Bruno watches you walk up to the man, asking some question he doesn’t hear. He stands back, watching you work. He sees how you listen intently to the questions, and how you make recommendations for him. He sees you bring the man to the section he needs, and is surprised when you effortlessly lift the heavy bag and bring it to the front. The man does a little more shopping, and once he’s done, Bruno watches you check him out. 

When you return, you can feel adoration from Bruno. He kisses the side of your head and squeezes your hand. 

“It’s nice to see you work. You clearly care about what you do here.” He tells you. 

“Yeah.. Me and papa moved here right after Mama left. I was twelve. He opened up this shop to make ends meet, and now nearly everyone shops here.” You tell him. 

“You’ve worked here since you were twelve?” He asks, surprised. 

“Yeah. I got used to picking up those heavy bags pretty quickly.” You respond. 

“I see. Well, you look like you’ve been working hard. Cariño, take a break with me. I brought some food for us to share.” He says. You turn towards your father to see if he needs any help, but he waves you off without a word. Bruno grabs a basket off the counter and takes your arm.

You walk out with Bruno, and he leads you to a quiet park near the shop. He sets down his basket, and the two of you sit beneath a tree, just like you did that first day you met. It’s so different this time. He’s smiling, and excited to see you, rather than being a guilty, nervous wreck. 

“ I-I made these myself.. With a little help from Julieta.” He says, handing you a sandwich. You smile and take it, taking a bite. It’s really good, and you take a few more bites, realizing now that you were starving. Bruno watched you eat happily, taking a few bites of his own food. 

He sits next to you against the tree and leans his head down onto your shoulder. You rest your head on his and close your eyes, enjoying the cool afternoon breeze. Brun rests his hand on your leg, rubbing it up and down a little. It’s a sweet, loving move, which you know he only wanted to touch you and be near you. 

You open your eyes and look around the park. You see kids running around with kites, or playing games. A few people are out with their dogs, running around and getting some exercise. You suddenly spot Pepa and Félix on the other side of the park. They’re also having a picnic together, though one a bit more grand than yours. They have a blanket and plates of food and drinks. Félix even brought a guitar to play for her. You close your eyes and try to focus on her emotions, and you feel love and adoration coming from her. She’s oblivious to the world, seeing only Félix. You know that feeling well, and it made you happy to know she found someone to feel that with. A thought occurred to you that if they get married, you really will be Victor’s little sister! 

You smile at the thought and you nudge Bruno. He looks up at you, and you point to his sister and her lover. He looks over and smiles. You can feel he’s happy to see his sister so happy.

“Still think it’ll end badly?” You tease, and he grins. 

“Nah.. I already checked. They get married.” Bruno says. You gasp playfully and give him a little shove. 

“Bruno!” 

“What? I wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to destroy the town again! Besides.. I had a feeling they’d end up staying together.” He says. You give him a playfully chiding look. “What! You said I couldn't look into our future, not that I couldn’t look into my sisters!” You giggle and shake your head. 

“You have too much fun with your little ability.” You tease. 

“Oh, like you don’t.. Because you seemed pretty happy using yours last night when-” You shush him and put your hands over his mouth, giggling. 

“Bruno! You want to let the whole town hear about our married life?” You laugh and he grins. He pulls your hands away and leans in and kisses you softly on the cheek. 

“Let’s get you back to work, cariño.” He says. He stands and holds out his hand to help you up. 

You take his hand and stand with him, and he walks you back to work. The rest of your day goes by pretty normally, except when the shop closes for the night, you don’t walk home with your father. You split ways, and it's bittersweet. His hug lasts just a little too long, like he never wants to let you go. 

You walk back to your new home, and the family is just settling in for dinner. You take your seat next to Bruno, and Julieta stands up before anyone can start eating. 

“Before we start, now that everyone is here, I'd like to make an announcement.. Earlier today, Agustín proposed, and I have accepted. We are getting married!” She exclaims. Agustín is seated next to her, and he’s beaming, looking proud as hell. Everyone cheers for her, glad that he finally did it. 

“Ah, another wedding! I’m so happy for the both of you! Seeing this family grow brings me so much joy.” Alma smiles and claps her hands together. 

You feel a small pang of jealousy from Pepa. She was about to be the only unmarried Madrigal in the house. She smiled anyway, and she did feel excited to get to see her sister be married to a man she truly loved. 

Dinner was full of wedding chatter. You are sort of getting sick of wedding chatter, but to Julieta it's new and exciting, so you participate anyway. Once dinner is over, you help Julieta with the dishes. Casita no longer stops you from doing the dishes thankfully. You’d hate to feel useless around the house. You dry the dishes as Julieta washes, and you keep a small conversation going. 

“Was it scary?” She asks, looking over at you. 

“Which part?”

“Any of it.. The ceremony, the serenata, the waiting..” You smile softly as you think back to your own wedding. 

“Well.. yeah. It’s scary. There’s a lot of pressure on just one day. But.. he’ll be there every step of the way. And that makes it a little easier.” Julieta smiles and continues to scrub dishes. 

“Your wedding was so beautiful. I hope mine can be too.” She says. 

“It can be whatever you want. Me and Bruno.. We were a bit shy, so our ceremony was private. You could have the whole town there if you want.” 

“And.. tell me if this is too much, but.. Have you two thought about kids? Agustín and I want to start trying right away.” She says. You feel your cheeks glow a bit red. 

“Ah.. well, we don’t plan on trying for a kid right this moment.. But if it happens, it happens.” You tell her. She nods. 

“Mama would love to have little children running around her again.” Julieta says. “Do you know how many you want?” 

“I.. honestly haven’t thought that far ahead.” You admit. 

“That’s fine! Me and Agustín have had a lot more time to discuss these things than you and Bruno did. We want to have three, maybe four.” 

“Agustín would be a good dad. Clumsy, silly, but good. And he would love each of your children with all his heart.” You tell her. 

“Bruno will be a good dad too. He’s so goofy.. He tells such good stories. Your kids will never be bored with him around.” The two of you laugh and continue chatting. 

Perhaps he thought he was being sneaky, but you knew Bruno was just around the corner, listening in, the whole time. You could just feel his emotions. You felt a rush of excitement when you spoke about having kids with him. He seemed to really like the idea. He felt grateful the both of you were confident he’d be good to his children. Only when he notices the clanking of dishes dying down does he slip away. 

Once everything is dried, you walk up the stairs to your shared room, and see him sitting cross legged on the bed, his eyes glowing green. He doesn’t seem to hear you come in, he was so intently focused on what he was seeing. You smirk and cross your arms, watching him a moment before speaking. 

“I hope that’s not our future you’re looking at.” Bruno yelps and jumps, blinking his eyes. He looks over at you, blushing hard. 

“No, no, cariño, I wasn’t. I was looking at Julieta’s wedding. It goes very well. But, then it kept going.. And I could see she would have a baby soon after. I couldn’t help myself, i just-” You hold out your hand to him to stop his rambles. He blushes and looks down into his lap. 

“I know you were listening to us.” You say. His blush grows deeper as embarrassment takes over. 

“S-sorry..” He mumbles. 

“I’m not mad, amor..” You take his hands in yours. “I was just going to say.. Maybe we should seriously talk about kids. I know your mother wants to see her family grow, and I know you’re excited at the thought of us having them.” He looks up at you, and you feel hope growing in his chest. 

“Y/n.. Are you wanting to try for kids?” He asks, his heart racing. You hum and brush your fingers over his hairline. 

“Y/n Madrigal if you’re serious, you tell me right this instant.” Bruno says with a surprisingly firm tone. It makes you giggle and you give him a nod. 

“Yes, cariño. Let’s give it a try.” Bruno beams at you and he tackles you in a hug, peppering kisses over your face. You laugh and wrap your arms around him. 

“You really want to start this instant?” You ask, and he mumbles a soft yes in between kisses. You grin and take his face in your hands. 

“Alright, alright then. Let’s get started.” 

Chapter Text

You and Bruno decided not to tell anyone that you were trying for a child just yet. You wanted to have your privacy, and you were almost afraid that if you said something, it would take longer, or wouldn’t happen at all. 

Besides, the house was abuzz with planning for Julieta’s wedding. They wanted to have it soon, and the date they set was in two months. There were a lot of preparations to be made. You didn’t want to take away from your sister’s attention and excitement. She and Agustín already had a few ideas. You assumed they have talked about it before. It also dawns on you that they might have pushed back their engagement so they didn’t distract from your wedding. 

You and Bruno spent a lot of time together in his room. You wanted to have privacy when talking about your plans for your kids. You agreed that the stair slide, while fun, was dangerous for a child, or even for a pregnant woman. You asked Casita to build you a secret, safer route to the top. It took the casita a few days, but eventually, one was made. 

You and Bruno would lay in bed for hours, discussing all sorts of things. You discussed names and what gift your children may have. There wasn’t much to go on currently, so you had no idea what the miracle might bring them. 

Bruno was much softer with you since that night, if possible. He wanted to protect you, just in case. He always held you at night with his hands resting on your stomach, as if he could will the child into existence. 

Your father noticed at work that your head always seemed to be in the clouds lately. He asked you about it a few times, but you always brushed him off. He wasn’t convinced though, but he left you alone. 

Bruno would sometimes ask, or even beg you to allow him to look into the future to see when it would happen. You always refused him, telling him you wanted to be surprised. He would get frustrated, but never mad. You knew he was just excited. 

One day, he took you out into your secret meadow. You two tried to go there at least once a week, to be alone and to act out your silly stories. It was a wonderful way to relieve stress and to get out of the house. 

“Dante, I have to confess to you…Every time Hector and I kiss, I pretend he’s you.. When he says he loves me, I hear your voice. Dante, I am in love with YOU, not your twin. I see that now, and I would do anything to be in your arms for the rest of time..” You say dramatically. Bruno has his arms around your waist, holding you close. 

“Marisol, I always knew. But unfortunately for you, You’re just too blind to see when you have it good. You can’t even tell two twins apart!” Bruno says in one of his silly voices. You gasp and push him away, dramatically throwing your hand to your face. 

“Hector! How could you! I poured my heart out, and you stomp all over it! Where is Dante?” You demand. Bruno smirks. 

“Dante? Well, if he’s lucky, he’s halfway to Bogota right now. You will stay with me forever, Marisol, there’s no escaping our bond!” Bruno shouts. You let out a cry of anguish, and you collapse in his arms. 

“Bring Dante back to me this instant, you monster!” You shout. 

“You two are so weird.” You hear behind you. You both turn quickly, and you see Félix standing there, arms folded. He has one eyebrow raised, and you wonder how long he’d been standing there. 

“F-Félix!! What is it? …How long were you standing there?” Bruno says, still clinging on to you. 

“Too long.. y/n, you sure picked well at least. Never thought you’d ever find someone as strange as you.” He teases. 

“What do you want, Félix?” You ask, annoyed. 

“Well.. I wanted you to ask Julieta something for me. I don’t know her that well, and I’m afraid she won’t say yes to me, but.. Well, she adores you two. I’m sure she’d say yes if you ask her.” He says, suddenly seeming nervous. 

“...What do you want us to ask?” Bruno asks, glancing between you and him. 

“I know it’s only been a few months, but I really love Pepa. She’s the one for me. I’ve never met someone so fiery, so magnificent, so.. Perfect. I want to ask her to marry me. I was hoping that when Julieta does the shoe pull from her dress.. Well, I’m hoping you’ll rig it so she pulls my shoe.” He explains. You smile and release Bruno, walking over to Félix. 

“You’re always so confident. How do you even know she’ll say yes?” You ask, crossing your arms. 

“...Julieta, or Pepa?” He asks. 

“Either.” you smirk. 

“Pepa will say yes. She loves me as much as I love her. I know she will. Julieta.. Well, I’m not so sure.” He says. 

You look back at Bruno, who shrugs. He doesn’t seem to mind either way. You turn back to Félix, and you look him up and down before responding. 

“Alright, we’ll ask her. But don’t expect her to say yes, alright?” You say. Relief floods Félix, and he scoops you up in a big hug. He laughs and thanks you profusely before setting you down. 

“Thank you so much! You won’t regret this.” He beams at you. “I’ll leave you two to…. That.” He waves his hand around before dashing off back towards the house. 

You turn back to Bruno, and you stare at each other for a moment, before you both snort, and fall into a laughing fit. Bruno comes up to you and kisses your forehead. 

“What did I tell you, cariño? I’m never wrong.” He says, smiling softly at you. 

“Yeah, yeah.. Whatever.” You say, rolling your eyes playfully. 

“I’m telling you, amor.. Just one little peek, and we could see how soon it happens. I have a feeling it’ll be so soon! Please, I just have to know..” He says, resting his hands on your hips. You shake your head. 

“No, Bruno. I told you, I want to be surprised! You can wait until it happens, I promise.” You assure him. You grab his face and kiss his cheek, and he pouts at you. 

“You ruin all the fun of being a seer.” He grumbles. You smile and ruffle his hair. 

“Come on, we have to go talk to Julieta now. We should make it quick.” You tell him. You start to walk away, but you soon realize he isn’t following. You turn and look back, seeing him standing there with glowing eyes. 

“Bruno!” You shout. He blinks and the glow is gone. 

“What! I’m just making sure she says yes! Let me have SOMETHING here!” He says. His tone is annoyed, but he has a smile on his face. You grab his hand and drag him out of the field, towards the house. 

You two enter the house in the kitchen, where, of course, you find Julieta. She's rolling some dough out on the floured counter, humming to herself. 

"What are you making, dear sister?" Bruno asks, standing next to her side and peeking over her shoulder. She glances at him and smiles. 

"I'm making bread for some sandwiches later. What's up?" She asks, continuing to knead. 

"Well.. we have a question." Bruno says. He turns around and leans back on the counter, and she stops for a second. 

"Oh?" 

"It's about Félix.." Julieta smiles and nods. 

"He wants to propose to Pepa." She says. Bruno blinks and nods. 

"Y-yeah.. had he already talked to you?" Bruno asks. 

"No, but I can see it in his eyes. Agustín had the same look for a few months before proposing to me." She said. 

"Well.. he wants you to help him." You say. 

Julieta puts the dough in a bowl and turns around to look at you. She raises an eyebrow and glances between the two of you. 

"He wants you to rig the shoe pull, so you pull his." Bruno tells her. You feel a strange relief flood her, and you realize she probably assumed he wanted to try to propose at her wedding. You knew Félix better than that though. He'd let Julieta have her day, he'd get his soon enough. 

"I think I can manage that." She says. You smile, happy you get to tell him good news. 

"Thank you, Julieta." You say. 

"Of course, you two." 

"Oh, Bruno, what time is it? We have to go meet up with my papa. We promised to help him do deliveries this afternoon, remember?" You say. Bruno's face drops and you can feel him dreading it. 

"Cariño, don't back out now, you asked if you could help!" You say, poking his chest teasingly. 

"I know, I know.. I just- I'm not too keen on.. having to talk to all the town members. I thought I'd.. I dunno, sweep, or straighten shelves.." he says. 

"Deliveries are way more fun. We get to ride the horse!" You say, trying to encourage him. He smiles at your attempt, knowing he can never say no to you. 

"Okay, okay.. let's get going." He says. 

The two of you walk out of the Casita hand in hand. Bruno still feels reluctant and nervous, so you decide to try something to cheer him up. 

"Hey, I had a new idea for our stories. Do you wanna hear it?" You ask. He glances over and gives a small smile and a nod. 

"Okay so get this.. Marisol asks Dante to meet at their special beach spot. She wants to promise herself to him before Hector can try to take her. However, Hector overhears this plan, and he makes a plan of his own! He kidnaps Dante and locks him up, going to the beach in his place. Marisol is none the wiser. When he arrives, she is sitting on the rocks, two glasses of wine in hand. She holds one out to him, and they cheers and take a drink together. Marisol wraps her arm around Hector, who she thinks is Dante, and confesses her love to him. How it was always him, never Hector. Hector grins and tries to speak, but finds his throat beginning to hurt. He clears his throat and tries to say something, but Marisol shushes him, putting a finger to his lips. 'let me do all the talking' she says. She tells him a few more sweet nothings, as he begins to couch and sputter. Finally, she says 'i just have one final question, my love.. do you really think I'm that stupid, Hector?' Hector cannot believe it! He's been tricked! Dante hops out of the bushes and grabs Marisol, the two of them watching as Hector sinks to the ground. Turns out, they knew what they were doing each step of the way. They just wanted Hector out of the picture for good." You tell him. 

Bruno is enraptured by your tale, hanging on to every word. He's so focused and so excited, that he doesn't even seem to notice that by the time you're done, you're almost at your father's shop. 

"I like the way you think. Betrayal, secret plots, poisoning! You really get it, cariño." He says, now grinning from ear to ear. 

And that's all it takes. You get him excited, and his nerves melt away. You smile and squeeze his hand as you walk in the door to the shop. 

You're greeted not by your father but by Victor. You're surprised to see him in the shop. He didn't have much of a reason to shop there, so you were a bit confused. 

"Conejita! Good to see you! Your father said you'd be by today. How are you doing?" Victor asks. He wraps the both of you in a hug, and you smile at him. 

"We're good, just here to help out with deliveries. What are you doing here?" You ask, tilting your head. 

"I work here now!" He says, beaming. You blink once or twice, wondering if you really just heard him right. 

"You.. hang on, what?" You say, and he nods. 

"Yeah.. it was starting to get lonely at home. You, being busy being married.. Félix, being busy with Pepa.. I was starting to get sick of spending so much time alone at home. I saw your father in town one day and we got to talking. He mentioned how he was struggling without you, and I offered to help pick up some slack!" He says. 

You take a moment to process all of that new information. Wait, had you really been gone that much? Why hadn't your dad said anything to you? Strange as it was, you were grateful that Victor was helping. 

"Well, thank you, Victor. I'm sure you are a huge help to my father." 

Speak of the devil, your father walks in from the back. He looks tired, and despite having only been moved out for a little over a month, he looked.. older. It worries you. 

"Hey papa! Me and Bruno are here to help with deliveries." You say, masking your worry with your chipper tone. 

"Wonderful! Victor already loaded up the cart. Just get it hooked up to Maria and you two can be off!" He says with his usual grin. 

"..Maria?" Bruno asks. 

"The horse, silly." You say, nudging his side. You lead him to the back of the store, where you see the loaded cart. A few feet away is Maria's stable, where she waited for you to bring her out. 

You give her a quick brush over, and lay down a few blankets onto her back. Once she's all situated, you hop on her and bring her out of the stable and up to the cart. 

"Bruno, can you see how we connect the cart to her back?" You ask, pointing at the mechanism. He nods and moves it over to you. He lays in on Maria's back and you help him get it secured. Once it's in place, you hold out your hand to him to help him up. 

He looks up at you nervously, then over to the cart. He doesn't make a move to take your hand. 

"What's wrong, cariño?" You ask, your smile faltering a bit. 

"I, uh.. I've never ridden a horse.." he admits. 

"Oh! Here, let me help you then." 

You slip down easily and land next to him. You boost him up onto the horse, which he clumsily flops onto. You hop back on with ease, sitting yourself behind him. 

"It's easy, amor. Here, these are the reins.." you put the reins in his hands, then lay your hands over his. "Now, kick her side. Gently, with your heel." You say. 

"K-kick her?" He asks, looking worried. 

"It won't hurt her. It's her signal to move." You assure him. He nods, and lightly taps her side with his heel. Nothing happens. 

"...a little harder, Cariño." You say. He repeats the action, a little harder, and Maria begins to walk. You guide Bruno's hands with the reigns, showing him how to guide her. 

"Now, this is a slow walk, so it shouldn't be too painful to stay seated. But if we go up to a trot or canter, you'll need to move with her." You tell him. He nods, though he doesn't exactly know what you’re talking about. 

The two of you make your way across town to see Senor Hernandez. He was looking forward to seeing you and your cart of goodies. He was waiting outside for you when you pull up. 

“Afternoon, y/n! And.. Bruno.” He falters a bit, and you don’t even have to look at Bruno to see it upset him. 

“Senor Hernandez, my husband is here to help me today.” You tell him, putting a little extra emphasis on the word ‘husband’. Bruno awkwardly slides off the horse and joins you at your side. 

“Right.. Well, did you get everything I asked for?” He asks, trying to change the subject. 

“Yeah, it’s all right here!” You say. You start unloading the cart, but stop when you see Senor Hernandez stop. He’s staring at Bruno behind you, eyes wide, He looks nervous. You whip around to see Bruno’s eyes glowing green, and he looks worried. 

“Senor, do you usually use this fertilizer?” He asks. 

“U-uh.. n-no, i’d just heard that.. It was good, would make the grass grow faster. For my cows.” He says. He doesn’t even try to hide his anxiety. Bruno either doesn’t notice, or he ignores it. 

“If you use that fertilizer on the pasture your cows eat from, they’ll all get sick. Very few will recover.” Bruno warns. Senor Hernandez looks terrified, like Bruno just handed him a death sentence. You step in quickly. 

“What he means is, you probably should just use what you’re used to. Maybe changing it up is a bad idea.” You say. Bruno nods. 

“It’s changing, hang on… now that you’ve decided not to use it, and keep using your regular one, I don’t see your cows getting sick anymore.” Bruno says. He blinks and his eyes stop glowing. The relief from Senor Hernandez is audible. 

“Wow.. thank you for the warning. You just saved my livelihood!” Senor Hernandez says, slapping Bruno on the back. Bruno stumbles, but smiles at the compliment. 

“We’ll take this back and switch it out for your usual, Senor. No extra charge.” You tell him. He nods, then goes back to helping you finish unloading his order from the cart. 

Once everything is unloaded, you boost Bruno onto the horse before hopping on yourself. As you walk away, he leans back on you and glances at you. 

“Um… thank you. For that.” He says. 

“For what?” You ask, looking down at him. 

“For.. interpreting for me. He probably thought I was sentencing his cows to death, that I am going to make his cows die. It wasn’t that, it was just.. You know, sometimes i get that itchy feeling in my brain when I need to look into the future. I felt it back there, and started seeing it before thinking about what I was doing.” Bruno says. You kiss the side of his head and hug him tight. 

“You did nothing wrong, cariño. You were only trying to help.” He relaxes in your arms, and you guide the horse all the way to your next stop. 

The rest of the day goes pretty smooth. The same thing happens again once or twice, but you were there to help “interpret”, like he said, and it left all of you feeling much lighter after. People didn’t seem so scared of him when you were there to help. 

Once your deliveries were done, you returned the cart and put Maria back into her stable. You return inside the shop and hug your dad tight. 

“You can always come see me anytime you want. And if you need help, any help, we are all here for you.” You tell him. He nods and kisses the top of your head. 

“I know chiquita. Thank you. Have a safe trip home, okay?” He says. 

You and Bruno leave the store and start walking back to the house, but you can’t help but feel like he’s hiding something from you. 

***

You wake up early the next morning. It's way too early for you, and you try to roll over and go back to sleep. However, your stomach suddenly lurches and you shoot out of bed and make a mad dash for the bathroom. 

You come out a moment later, wiping your mouth and groaning. Great, a stomach bug. Ah well, Julieta had some leftover arepas downstairs. You'd just run down, eat one, and come back up to sleep a little longer. 

You hold your stomach as you slip downstairs, taking the new secret route. As fun as the sliding stairs were, you were afraid the motion would make you sick again. 

You creep downstairs into the kitchen, searching for some leftovers. The sun is just barely rising. You hate being up this early, but at least you'd get to go back to sleep soon. 

Finally, you find a stash of arepas and you grab a few. The thought of eating made your stomach turn, but you knew that once you finished it, you would feel a lot better. Maybe you'd sneak some up for Bruno and a few of his rat friends too. 

You stuff one in your mouth and chew slowly, trying not to choke or gag. You swallow and take a minute, waiting for the effect to take place. But strangely, nothing happens. You groan and decide to try another. Sometimes it took a few arepas if you were sick enough. 

"You're up early this morning." You hear from the kitchen entryway as you take another bite. 

"Yeah.. uh, Julieta? Did you make these?" You ask. She looks at you with a weird expression. 

"Um, yeah, i- oh!" She gets caught off guard when you get sick once more into the sink. She rushes over to you, rubbing your back. 

"Are you okay?" She asked, looking concerned. 

"I don't know.. my stomach was hurting, and so I came down here to get an arepa to make it go away, but it didn't work. Has that ever happened to you before?" You ask. 

"Well, my food doesn't fix everything, but I don't think that's the issue here." She says. You furrow your brows at her in confusion. 

"Y/n, when was your last cycle?" She asks. 

You blink and think about it. You count back in your head and.. oh. OH. 

You drop the arepa and cover your mouth with your hands, your eyes wide in shock. Without another word, you begin to rush upstairs back to your room. You fly up to the bedroom and you jump on top of Bruno, shaking him awake. 

"Ay, cariño, not now.." he mumbled. You sit up on his lap and shake him again. 

"Bruno, I've been throwing up all morning." You say excitedly. 

"Julieta has a stash of arepas downstairs, amor. Do you need me to do anything?" He asks, opening his eyes a bit. You lean down and smile at him. 

"I'm late, Bruno." You say. 

"...what?" He sounds confused, mumbling to himself. Suddenly, it seems to click in his head and he sits straight up, eyes wide open. His heart is racing, and he doesn't quite believe you. 

"...cariño?" He breaths. You press your palms together against your lips and nod excitedly. 

Bruno looks like he might faint for a moment. However, he instead breaks into a grin and throws his arms around you, peppering kisses all over your face. He's so happy and excited, and his mind is racing with so many thoughts, it's hard to pick a whole one out. He sits up and you see his eyes welling with tears. They're happy tears, though. You don't think you've ever seen him this happy. 

He was much more careful with you after that morning. He would sneak you extra food, even when you insisted you didn't need it. He worried about you at work with all the heavy lifting you did. At night, he laid behind you and rested his hands on your stomach, as if he could will the child into existence sooner just by his touch. 

Hiding it from the rest of the family was a lot harder than you thought it would be. You had a lot of morning sickness, which, annoyingly, turns out to not only happen in the morning. Thankfully, Julieta and Bruno made a joint effort to keep it hidden. You were thankful to have them. 

One night, you and Bruno were cuddling and laying in bed. You were laying flat on the bed, and Bruno had his head on your stomach. You were running your fingers through his hair, playing with his curls. He had one hand on your stomach, and was dragging his finger in small circles over your skin. 

"Do you want a boy or girl?" He asks softly. You glance down at him and smile. 

"I'm not sure.. do you have a preference?" You ask. He shakes his head. 

You sit up, causing him to sit up as well. You take his hands in yours, and he gives you a loving smile. 

"Bruno.. you're thinking about peeking into the future to see what we have." You say. His face glows red and he looks away. 

"Y-yeah.. but I know you don't want me to do that. So I won't." He says softly. You squeeze his hands. 

"I know.. I really don't want to make it a habit, honestly, but.. I am dying to know. Plus.. it would be a little easier if we knew to prepare for a boy or girl.." his eyes light up and he grins at you. 

He wastes no time blinking into his seer state. He bites his lip, and you can see his eyes moving back and forth as he searches for an answer. However, his smile soon fades, and he seems worried. You tense up, and he blinks out of it, noticing your anxiety. 

"What happened..?" You ask. 

"I-it could be nothing.. but I just-.. I couldn't find an answer. Sometimes it's hard to find.." he says. You blush and nod. 

"Maybe it's a sign we should just find out the old fashioned way. You know, the universe making us keep our promise." You say. You feel his nerves soothe a bit, but he still seems worried. You kiss him on top of the head and he smiles gently at you. 

"I love you, cariño. And I will love our child unconditionally, no matter what." He promises. You smile and kiss him gently, and you lay down. The two of you resume your previous cuddle position, curling up together. His embrace is warm and comforting, but you can't help but wonder what he saw. 

Chapter Text

Only two days remained until Julieta’s wedding. She was growing more and more nervous as time went on. Meanwhile, you were having a hard time with your pregnancy. Constantly being sick, and lots of strange cramps and aches. You had to keep quiet about them, because you were waiting to tell the family. It made you feel guilty, but you also hid some of it from Bruno. You knew he would just freak out and get upset, especially after the vision he had. 

You were asleep next to him, and the aching and cramps started up again, more intense than usual. You groan and rub your stomach, trying to calm it down. The pain is making it hard to sleep. Bruno, however, was sound asleep next to you. His face was buried in your neck, and his arms held you protectively close to him as he slept. As much as you loved being in his arms, you were growing more and more uncomfortable with each cramp. 

You sigh and decide to get up and get some water. Sometimes it helped, just having a little something in your stomach. You gently push his arms off of you and sit up, rubbing your stomach once more.

You pull the blankets off you, but you don’t get up. You see something that makes you stop cold, and you feel like everything around you stops. It’s faint, but in the dim light of the room, you can see what looks like.. Blood. Between your legs. You feel panic rising in your chest and you shake Bruno, trying to wake him up. He opens his eyes lazily, groaning at being pulled from his peaceful sleep. 

“What is it, amor..?” He asks, sitting up. He sees the look on your face, and he’s suddenly wide awake. 

“S-something is wrong..” You whisper. 

You swear you’ve never seen him move faster. He leaps out of bed and rushes out of the room. He takes the secret path down, and runs out of his room. He makes his way down the hall, bursting into Julieta’s room, not even bothering to knock. 

He kneels next to her bed and shakes her awake. She’s confused to see her brother in her room at this strange hour, but even just in the moonlight, she can see he looks pale and frightened. She gets up, and Bruno takes her hand, dragging her back to his room. He’s so scared, so desperate, he takes her up the secret path to the top, not caring that she’d now know it existed. 

When they come into the room, you’re shaking and hugging yourself. The blood spot between your legs has grown a bit, and your fingertips are bloody from touching it to see if it was real. 

Julieta kneels next to you, trying to comfort you as she looks you over. You had felt a glimmer of hope in your chest when you saw her enter the room, but the way she was looking at you now.. The hope faded quickly. Your eyes filled with tears and she stood up, taking Bruno’s arm. She pulls him out of the bedroom, giving you a moment alone so she could talk to him. 

“Please, tell me you can heal her..” His voice is soft and shaky, and it breaks his sister’s heart. 

“Bruno.. All my food would be able to do for her is.. Take away the pain. Heal whatever caused it to happen. But.. it can’t stop or reverse this. I’m so sorry.” She tells him. 

Julieta has never seen her brother look so.. Broken. He looks towards the door of his bedroom and swallows hard, putting his hand over his mouth. 

“I just don’t .. how..” He can’t even form a full sentence. Julieta wraps her arms around her brother, and he hugs her back, trembling. She lets him let go first, and she can see he’s started to cry. 

“Do you want to talk to her? I can go get her something to eat..” Julieta offers. Bruno nods, and he steps back into the room. 

Bruno approaches you slowly, kneeling on the side of the bed. You sit with your knees hugged to your chest, and your face buried in your hands. Bruno reaches out slowly and lays a hand on your back. You look up at him, and his heart just shatters. He’s never seen you look so heartbroken or defeated. There was nothing either of you could say in this moment. He climbs up onto the bed next to you and pulls you into his chest. 

“I’m..so sorry..”You whisper. He hugs you tighter and rests his chin on your head. 

“Don’t apologize.. It’s not your fault. It’s okay..” He whispers back. You both have silent tears running down your cheeks. Bruno rubs your back and breathes slowly, trying to stay composed for you. He knew that’s what you would do for him.

You are so overwhelmed with emotion, you can’t feel anything else. Or perhaps it was just Bruno’s feelings intensifying your own. As Bruno held you, you felt like everything was falling apart. 

Julieta appears back in the room a little bit later. She sits next to the two of you and holds out a plain arepa. She made something simple and quick, something that would be easy to eat. You ignore it for a moment, but she places it in your hand, forcing you to take it. 

“Y/n.. this won’t reverse what happened. But it’ll make the pain go away, and heal whatever caused it.” She says gently. “Please, eat.. At the very least, you need to process this without the physical pain.” 

You knew she was right. You slowly brought it to your mouth and took a bite. It felt heavy and dense in your mouth, and it took you way longer to eat it than it normally ever would. She was right.. Once you finished it, the physical pain was gone. No more cramps, aches, or nausea. No more.. Anything. 

“Bruno, will you clean her up? I’ll refresh the sheets for you. Go take care of her.” Julieta says.

Bruno nods and lifts you up and off the bed. He carries you out of the bedroom and into his bathroom. He sets you down on the ground, then runs the water into the tub, making sure it's warm before sealing it and letting it fill. He turns to you and helps you undress, hands shaking. He puts the bloodied clothes into a pile, then helps you into the tub. 

He kneels beside the tub, holding your hand as you sit in the steaming water. It’s tinged pink as the water starts to pull some of the blood off your body. Bruno grabs a rag and starts to gently clean you off. His hands are shaking and he sniffles every once in a while, but the bath is otherwise silent. 

You want to be annoyed at him for washing you like you were a child. You wanted to yell at him that you could do it yourself, but you just didn’t have the energy. You weren’t even truly mad at him.. You were mad at yourself. You felt like you failed in a big way. So, you let him scrub you clean wordlessly. 

He cups his hand and pours some water on your hair before taking a brush and gently brushing it out. Once it’s fully brushed, he puts it into a lazy, quick braid to keep it out of your face. He kisses your cheek, then tilts your head to look at him. 

Your face is dull and expressionless. You don’t even look him in the eyes. He falters and wraps his arms around you, pressing his face into your neck. You lean against him, but don’t make any move to hold him back. 

After some time, he realizes the water is getting cold. He helps you out of the tub and hands you a towel so you can dry yourself off. He returns to the bedroom to grab you a fresh nightgown, and he sees Julieta made quick work of changing the sheets. You’d never even know what happened there. 

He returns to the bathroom and helps to dress you before bringing you back to bed. He lays you down first before getting in himself, curling up next to you and holding you close. He pulls you into his chest, with one hand on the back of your head and the other on your back. The two of you lay like that until the sun starts to rise. Bruno kisses the top of your head and looks down at you. 

“Cariño.. I have to go downstairs for breakfast. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He whispers. You don’t respond, though you do nod. 

He slips out of bed, and you just lay there, unmoving. He pets his hand over your hair before taking a deep breath and heading downstairs, this time, taking the long way. 

***

“Good to see you up so early Bruno! Will you be joining us for breakfast?” His mother says. He nods and puts on a fake smile. He takes his seat at the table, trying not to focus on the empty space next to him. 

“Where is y/n this morning?” Alma asks. Shit. 

“She’s uh.. Very tired. Had some trouble sleeping.” Bruno says. Alma nods and digs into her breakfast. 

“Well, when she wakes up, the two of you need to show me what you’ll be wearing to Julieta’s wedding tomorrow. I’d like to approve everything before the big day!” She says. 

Bruno and Julieta make eye contact for a moment, before Bruno looks down at his plate. 

“Um, actually.. Mama? Uh.. y/n might not.. Be able to make it.” Bruno says. Alma stops and stares at Bruno. 

“What? What are you talking about?” She says, furrowing her brows. 

“Sh-she’s feeling a bit sick. I’m not sure she’ll be well enough-” 

“Nonsense. One of Julieta’s arepas will heal her right away, you know that.” She says, frowning. 

“Mama.. I don't think this can be fixed by Julieta. Sometimes, you just get really sick, and-” 

“How sick is she that Julieta can’t fix her? Bruno, I don’t know why, but I feel like you’re lying.” His mother’s tone grows harsh. Bruno gives Julieta a pleading expression. She softens, tilting her head, and Bruno nods. At that, Julieta clears her throat. 

“Mama.. y/n miscarried last night.” She says softly. Bruno’s eyes fill with tears and he shuts them tight to keep them from falling. 

The silence at the table is deafening. Bruno was glad you weren’t here, because he’s sure the emotions around the table are going wild. He looks up to see both his mother and Pepa’s mouths open in shock. 

“She.. you mean.. But..” Alma struggled to put together a sentence. 

“Did you know she was pregnant?” Pepa asks. A cloud was forming over her head. Bruno nods, and the cloud grows dark. 

“Brunito, why didn’t you tell us?” Alma asked, her tone now much softer. He shook his head. 

“Julieta’s wedding was so soon when we found out.. We didn’t want to take away from that. It just happened, and we were happy. We were going to tell you after the wedding, but.. Well, now there’s nothing to tell.” He says. A soft, small sob betrays him, escaping without his consent. Alma gets up and walks over to her only son, wrapping him in a hug. 

“Go see her. She needs you.” She whispers. “We’ll take care of everything down here. We can talk later, okay mijo?” She says. Bruno nods and wipes his eyes. He wordlessly stands and makes his way back up to the bedroom with you.

You're curled up in a ball on the bed when Bruno comes in. He crawls back into the bed with you and pulls you to his chest in his usual protective position. You slip your hands under his shirt, resting them on his back. He doesn't even need to speak, he just replays the previous scene in his head. 

I'm so sorry.. I didn't mean to, it just.. it slipped out- 

You hug him tighter, unable to bring yourself to respond to him verbally. He clings onto you and the two of you lay together wordlessly, though you occasionally pick up Bruno's thoughts. You're trying not to, though. His thoughts are every bit depressing as yours. You eventually have to just move your hands so your hugging him over his shirt, not touching his skin. 

Bruno is doing his best for you. You had taken care of him many times in the past few months. Each time you were strong and calm and ready to help. It was his turn to step up and be that for you. He controls his breathing to be slow and steady, trying to ignore his own depressing thoughts. Instead, he tries to focus on stroking your hair and giving you small, affectionate gestures. 

You don't react to it, and once or twice he genuinely found himself checking if you were still breathing. He'd never seen you like this. You were always so chipper and cheerful, always ready to brighten his day. This sad, scared, silent you was terrifying to him. 

Later in the day, Pepa and Julieta came upstairs. They were panting a bit, so Julieta must not have told her about the secret way up. Pepa was holding a small plate of food for the two of you, and Julieta had two glasses of water. They set the dishes down and crawl into your bed with you. Julieta sits next to you, and Pepa sits in front of you three. It's quiet for a moment, but you can feel the temperature dropping. Pepa reaches you and lays a hand on your shoulder. 

"I.. I'm sorry I can't find anything to say to you. There's just- there's no good words for this. Is there anything we can do..?" Pepa asks. The temperature in the room is getting close to freezing, and you're afraid it might snow if you respond. So, neither of you answer. She sighs and looks over at her brother. 

"Are you doing okay? I know you were a wreck this morning.." she says. He shrugs. Julieta gets up and places her hand on Pepa's shoulder. 

"I think they just want to be alone. We'll leave them their food, okay? Let's go downstairs, we have a few more things to do before tomorrow.." Julieta says. Pepa nods and stands, looking back at the two of you before she exits your room. As soon as she leaves, the temperature is noticeably warmer. 

No one else came upstairs for the entire day. The two of you stayed in your bed, not talking. You barely let your skin brush his, so the two of you were truly alone with your thoughts. You barely moved at all. Thanks to Julieta, you had no pain left in your body. At least.. No physical pain. The emotional pain you were going through was almost worse. Nothing Julieta could ever make would be able to heal this type of pain. 

When you finally fell asleep, Bruno finally let himself do his crying. He tried to stay as quiet as possible so he didn’t wake you. He wanted to be strong for you when you were awake, ready to talk if you needed it. He wanted to help you in the same way you always helped him, but.. This was so different from anything you’ve ever been through before. There really was no comparison. He trembled and sniffled as he held you, burying his face in your hair. His heart hurt so much for you and what you were going through. If it was this hard on him, he had no idea what you must be feeling. 

Eventually, he cried himself out, and fell into a dreamless sleep with you. You wish you could say the same, but you found yourself with restless images floating through your head that you couldn’t quite make out. When you awoke the next morning, you felt like you hadn’t slept at all. You sit up and put a hand on your head, sighing softly. You realize Bruno isn’t next to you and you start looking around, feeling panic rise in your throat. He walks in from the bathroom with wet hair, and he comes over to sit next to you. When you see him, you relax a bit. 

“Sorry cariño, I needed to clean up. You were finally sleeping, so I wanted you to get as much as you could.” He says softly. He kisses you on the forehead and rubs your shoulder with his hand. “Mama said she wants to talk to you this morning. I’m gonna go help Julieta get ready, and she’s gonna come up here with you, okay?” 

You nod and lay back down. You can’t bring yourself to speak, much less get up and get ready for a big fancy wedding where everyone is happy and celebrating. You curl up under the blankets and watch your husband get dressed. When he’s ready, he comes back over and leans down to kiss you again. You watch him leave, and you simmer in the silence of the room. 

After a little while, you see Alma come into the bedroom. Did she really climb all those stairs, just to come see you? She looked beautiful, just like she did for your wedding. She sits next to you on the bed, laying a hand on your shoulder. 

“I know you’re in no mood to get up, but I think you should at least go to the ceremony. I know you like your privacy, but if the other people from town notice you’re not there, well.. People do like to talk.” She says. She sounds genuinely worried for you. You consider your options, and you decide she’s right. You’d much rather fake a smile for an hour, then come back to bed, rather than be alone and miserable, and have the whole town gossiping about your absence. 

“I’ll help you get ready. I.. I know a lot about loss. No matter who you lose, it's never easy.” she says softly. 

You sit up and hug your knees, looking over at her. She gets up and turns on a few lights, and your eyes sting at the sensation. You’ve been in the dark since the night it happened, and your eyes weren’t used to the light. She grabs a hair brush and sits behind you, pulling out the loose, now very messy, braid Bruno had given you. She brushes through your hair silently, going slow and gentle, trying not to pull too hard on your hair. Once it’s brushed out, she begins to work on braiding your hair around your head with a scarf. 

“When my children had just been born, me and my husband had to flee our home with the entire town. The children weren’t even a month old yet. Pedro led us far, far from our village, but.. They followed us. When they came back to try and attack us again, he defended us, and he lost his life. I.. watched it happen.” She says. You can feel the grief in her like its fresh. This must not be easy for her to talk about, yet she’s opening up to you so willingly. 

“I felt like I was dead too. My body was numb. My mind was empty. But, I had three children and an entire town relying on me to keep us safe.” She explains. She finishes your hair and helps you out of bed, bringing you near the dresser. She pulls out a dress for you and hands it to you, letting you get dressed. 

“In times like these, where we are at our lowest, is when we can show our most strength.” She tells you. She stands behind you and helps you fasten up your dress. “You put on that brave face for others, and when you’re alone again, you can let it all out. There were many days where I came home from helping people build their houses, their lives, and just broke down as soon as I was alone.” 

She turns you around to face her and tilts your head up to look at her. 

“Be strong today, mija. For your sister. For Bruno. And after the ceremony, you can come right back here and break down as much as you need to.” She says, smiling softly at you. You nod and you wrap your arms around her, pressing your face into her shoulder. She hugs you back, holding you tight. 

“Thank you..” You say. Your voice is crackly from not having been used in two days. . 

“Now come on. Let’s get downstairs and make it through the next hour.” She says, putting a hand on your back and leading you to the stairs. 

You do as she advises. You cling to Bruno’s side and put on a fake smile for the ceremony. She was right, a large portion of town was there. Someone would have noticed you were gone, and it all would have snowballed from there. You easily faked your smile, as you had faked a smile so many times for your dance performances. And thankfully, you could easily explain away the occasional tear that betrayed you as you just being happy for your sister. 

When the ceremony was over, you and Bruno slipped upstairs and went back to his room. While it had helped a little, leaving the room, you still felt utterly broken. Once you were undressed and your hair taken down, you sit on the bed, taking slow deep breaths. They didn’t seem to do a single thing though, because soon, those breaths were shaking. From shaking, you moved to crying, and from crying, to sobbing. You let it all out and you buried your face in your hands as Bruno rushed to your side. He held you against his chest and let you cry, petting your hair and rubbing your back. 

It killed him to see you like this, but at least now, you were showing some sort of emotion. From there, you two could work on healing. He knew he could be strong when he knew what you were feeling. Bruno only wished he could take away this pain forever. 

Another part of him was so, so angry. Angry at himself for looking into your future. You had asked him not to for this very reason . But, he did it anyways, and he saw something he didn’t want to see. There was no stopping it from there. Stupid Bruno, bringer of bad luck. In his head, he swore to himself he would never, ever use his vision like that for you again. Thankfully, he realized, you probably wouldn’t object to that at all.   

Chapter Text

It took time for the two of you to heal. There were lots of tears shed between the two of you. Some days would be okay. You started smiling again, and he even made you laugh once or twice. Some days were unbearably painful and you couldn't even drag yourself out of bed. Those days were the hardest. 

There was also the issue of telling your father. You knew he would immediately notice the change in your personality, and how you weren't coming in to work as much. You knew you had to tell him, and it was gonna hurt. 

You and Bruno went to his house for dinner one night. He seemed excited, which only made you feel worse. When you explained what happened, his smile slowly faded and his eyes fell. He got very quiet, you could feel all sorts of emotions coming off of him, and at some point it just got too overwhelming. You got up from the table and went outside, trying to get some distance between you. Unfortunately you could always feel your father's emotions, but at least from a distance, they were dulled. 

He had tried to get up and follow you, but Bruno stopped him. Apparently the two of them talked for a while. You felt both of their emotions shifting around as they talked. You find a secluded area and sit on the ground, putting your face in your hands. It hurt so bad to give him that spark of joy only to douse it with an ocean of pain. 

Eventually, Bruno managed to find you in your hiding spot. He sits on the ground next to you, looking at you. You kept your eyes in your lap, and he said nothing, but lay his head on your shoulder. He wanted to do something for you, something you would do for him in this situation. Suddenly, he got an idea. He moves to sit in front of you, taking your hands in his. 

"Cariño, I have an idea, okay?" He tells you. You look up at him finally. 

"Let's create new characters for each other. I make one for you, and you make one for me. We can't veto anything the other says though. Plus.. we can make each other be that character any time, and we have to do it. It'll be like a game." He says. You feel yourself relax a little, and you nod. 

"Can I go first?" You ask. He nods. 

"You.. your character.. is afraid of nothing. Nothing scares him. He's brave and boisterous and maybe a little arrogant, but he never backs down from a challenge." You tell him. You feel Bruno slightly regretting this idea. 

"O-oh.. okay. Um, what's my name?" He asks. You think for a moment, then smile. 

"Hernando." 

"Hernando it is then. And you will be.. Esmeralda." He says. "A damsel always in distress… never afraid to ask for help when she needs it, but always speaks her mind." He says. You blush and nod. 

"Okay.. so, now what?" You ask. 

"Well, we just call the other by their characters name, and we have to become them. And we have to stay in character until the other says our real names again." He says. You nod. 

"Alright then.. Hernando." You say, deciding to see what he would do. He puffs up his chest and pulls his hood up. 

"My darling Esmeralda! Why have you come all this way?" He asks in a goofy voice. It makes you giggle, but then you realize you have to be in distress. He needs to save you somehow. 

"The conversation was too intense! I felt faint with overwhelming emotions." You say in an equally goofy voice. Bruno stands and holds his hand out to you. 

"Well then, we must relieve you of your emotions! Quickly, we must go!" 

"Oh, but Hernando, where are we going?" 

"Ah, this is but a secret, cariño." He pulls you up and he runs with you, and you actually aren't sure where he's taking you. You're getting closer and closer to the edge of town, and soon he stops just short of leaving the Encanto. 

"Whatever are we doing here?" You ask him. 

"Here is where I take beautiful women to impress them." Bruno says. "A glimpse of beautiful scenery, a sweet kiss, and all your troubles will melt away.." 

You smile at him and he pulls you in for a passionate, over the top kiss. You kiss him back and wrap your arms around his neck. 

"Thank you, Bruno." You say. Bruno relaxes his form and pulls his hood down. 

"Anything for you, y/n." He says, kissing your forehead. 

From then on, it started to get easier. If Bruno could see you getting overwhelmed, he would call for Esmeralda, and he was better able to know what was going on with you. You two quickly got used to jumping in and out of character. The game became a fun, easy way to let you help each other in the harder moments. 

Julieta and Agustín seemed to be settling into their married life easily. You didn't realize just how clumsy the man was until he lived with you. Always stumbling and falling, always sheepishly walking up to Julieta, who had learned to keep a stash of arepas on her to carry around. She would playfully roll her eyes and shove one in his mouth, and would instantly feel better. 

You liked having him around. He was goofy and eccentric. He was also very kind, always around to lend a helping hand. Julieta had told him after the wedding what happened, and he was very nice about it. He never asked you about it thankfully. On days he noticed you were having a bad day, he always seemed extra goofy and clumsy, probably just trying to cheer you up. 

You hated how the family walked on eggshells around you, but it got better with time. When they saw the two of you healing, it got easier. Alma has been extra kind with you since that day she spoke to you. You knew she was a strong matriarch and an amazing woman, but hearing about her working through intense grief while building a town and caring for three infants truly put her in a different light for you. 

A few months passed, and you found yourself getting better day by day. Bruno didn't bring up kids again, though you knew he still thought about it sometimes. He would get a warm feeling that would devolve into sadness, then guilt. You never brought it up to him, though. 

As for Pepa, she and Félix were engaged pretty soon after Julieta's wedding. They decided to take a little more time to plan their wedding, because they both were nervous wrecks. Alma didn't seem to care though. She was overjoyed that all three of her children were to be married within the same year, to loving and doting partners. 

One day, you and Bruno were out in the garden. You were tending to the plants while he laid down in the grass behind you, basking in the warm sunlight. You glanced back occasionally at him, and noticed sometimes he would be in his seer state. You wondered what he was looking at, but couldn't bring yourself to ask. You weren't afraid of Bruno or his power, but the memory of his last reading for you was still a fresh wound. 

You focus on watering, weeding, and pruning the flowers in the garden. It had become a calming pastime for you. Taking care of something and watching it grow, well.. it made you feel a little better. 

Bruno suddenly wraps his arms around you from behind and rests his chin on your shoulder as you work. You smile and tilt your head to kiss his cheek. 

"What is it, cariño?" You ask, and he hums softly. 

“Don’t forget we need to go shopping today. They’re doing the farmer’s market in the town square today, we should go to that.” He reminds you. 

“Ah, right. I wanted to pick up some things for dinner. I’m going to help Julieta cook tonight.” You tell him. 

“Oh? What are you making?” 

“I’ll be making tamales. My father taught me his mothers recipe, they’re really good. Julieta is making chuzos de pollo, I believe.” You dust off your hands and stand, taking Bruno by the hand. 

“You ready?” you ask. He nods, and the two of you walk into the kitchen together. You see Julieta cooking away on the stove, as usual. 

“Are you making dinner?” You ask, face twisting in confusion. 

“Oh, no, one of the villagers is sick, so i’m bringing them food. I’ll start dinner later.” She says. She sees Bruno grabbing the market bags out of the corner of her eye, and she turns to you. 

“Are you headed out? I have a list of some things I would like from the market..” She says. She pulls a list out of her pocket and hands it to you. You look it over quickly before shoving it into your own pocket. 

“I’ll be sure to get these for you. Bruno’s coming with me, we’ll be back later okay?” You tell her. She waves to you two, and you set out towards the village. 

The walk with Bruno is nice. There is a light breeze blowing, and people are milling about town. There is a buzz of conversations and laughter and music floating around from somewhere you couldn’t see. The market itself is busy, with people crowding around all kinds of stalls. You pull out Julieta’s list again to remind yourself of what she wanted. 

Bruno walks hand in hand with you between the stalls. You pick up some vegetables, fruits, some flour and corn meal, and some fresh cheese. The vendors are all very nice to you, which makes Bruno feel better. They’d started to come around to him, not seeing him as a threat anymore. Occasionally one would ask for a vision, and he’d give one quickly. People seemed content with him, and it made him feel almost at ease in public. It was weird, but nice. 

You find a stall selling the corn husks you need. You pick up a bag, looking at the husks inside. You see a few that look a little too small for your liking, so you set it down, looking for another. 

“If you’re interested, Mrs. Madrigal, I have a few mixed bags of both corn husks and banana leaves.” The vendor tells you, handing you the bag. You look inside and you smile. 

“This looks wonderful! I’ll take two bags.” You tell him. You hand over the money, and Bruno takes the bags for you. He’s carrying everything, and his arms were starting to get full. 

“Cariño, let me carry something.” You say, reaching towards him. He shakes his head and steps back so you don’t take anything from him. 

“Nonsense. I am perfectly capable of carrying all this. It’s the least I can do.” He tells you. He leans over and kisses your cheek, and you give him a playful thump on the shoulder. 

You pass by a stall selling mangoes, and the smell alone draws you in. It’s a sweet, thick, nectary scent. You look at some of the mangoes, and pick a few up. You hadn’t had mangoes in a very long time, so you were excited to see them. You buy several from the vendor, and you cling tight to the bag, refusing to let your husband take yet another bag into his almost overflowing arms. 

“Do we need anything else?” You ask. Bruno looks around, then his eyes light up. 

“Let me go get something. …uh, i might need you to hold a few of these..” He blushes. You laugh and take most of the bags from him, and he darts off to whatever he saw. You wait for him, deciding to check Julieta’s list one last time as you wait for him. 

Bruno returns a moment later, and he has a bundle of flowers in his hands.He smiles sheepishly at you. 

“I saw these earlier.. They were pretty and reminded me of you.” He said. You feel your cheeks grow warm and you lean in to give him a kiss. 

“Thank you, amor. I love them.” You take the bundle from his hands, and the two of you split the bags between you for the walk home. 

When you get back to the casita, you set all the groceries on the table, then set out to find a vase for your flowers. Bruno and Julieta make quick work of sorting the groceries and putting them away. Julieta picks up a mango and gives it a sniff. 

“Oh, this smells wonderful! It’s perfect! We don’t see mango around here often.” She says. She takes one and immediately starts to slice if up. She hands you each a piece, and you savor your bite.It’s sweet and light, and it’s very juicy. You see Bruno bite into his piece, and some juice spills down. He tries to catch it in his hand, but it just dribbles all over his pancho. You giggle and grab a rag, drying him off. 

“Such a messy eater.” You say to him, tapping him on the tip of the nose. He smiles and sticks his tongue out at you playfully. 

“Hermanita, let me bring some of that to mama. She’ll be so happy!” Bruno says. He puts a few pieces of the mango in a bowl and leaves the kitchen, searching for his mother. 

It was just you and Julieta in the kitchen now. The two of you get started on making dinner together. You make idle chat, as you work on your separate dishes. You can feel something in her, something like she was anxious. But not a general anxiety, she seemed to have a specific thought in her head. 

“Y/n.. I want to ask you something.” She says, glancing at you nervously. 

“What is it?” Julieta swallows. 

“Well.. Me and Agustín have been talking about it, and.. Well, we want to start trying to have kids.” She says. You feel your stomach drop, and you look down at the bowl you were working in. 

“Oh.” was all you could muster. 

“If it would be hard on you.. If you want us to wait, we will. I’m sure its not an easy thought, so soon after.. Well. And it almost doesn’t seem fair to you. I just wanted to ask, because we care about you.” She says. You listen to her and consider her words. 

It was kind of Julieta to consider you in this scenario. Truthfully, she didn’t need to. It was her body, her life, her marriage. She didn’t need your permission for anything. But she wanted it, because she saw how heartbroken you’d been. 

“If it’s too much, we can hold off-” Julieta starts, but you cut her off. 

“No, no. It’s okay. Start your family. Besides, that just means i’ll get to be the best tía in the encanto!” You say, giving her a smile. Relief floods through her and she smiles. 

“Thank you, y/n. And whenever we do have a child, you can babysit them any time you want. I know you’ll take good care of them.” She says. The thought warms you a bit, thinking about caring for her kids. 

It also makes you a little sad. If your counting was correct, you would have been pretty far along at this point. You wondered if there were some reality where it didn’t happen. You wondered if maybe, somehow, in another timeline or something, you already had a wonderful kid with Bruno. A little boy full of energy that you could chase around, or a little girl that you would tell stories to every day. 

You shake those thoughts from your head. There was no use in dwelling on what could have been right now. Instead, you should be thinking about what might be. Bruno did say they’d have a baby soon after they were married. They’d probably be expecting soon. Then in a year, you’d have a little niece or nephew you could help take care of. You smile at that thought. Maybe it won’t be so bad with a little tyke running around the house. You only wished it could have been yours first.

Chapter Text

You wake up with Bruno's arms and legs wrapped around you. You smile and kiss his forehead, brushing your fingers through his curls until his eyes flutter open. He smiles sleepily at you and sighs, pulling you closer. 

“Buenas días, cariño..” He mumbles into your neck. You pat his back and sit up, and he whines. 

“Come one Bruno, you know what today is. I am NOT missing another one of your sister's weddings!” You say. 

You’re especially chipper this morning. You and Julieta were going to help Pepa get ready before the wedding, and bring her down to her serenata, just like they had for you. Of course, knowing Félix, his serenata would be over the top and loud and exciting, whereas yours with Bruno had been intimate and soft. 

You slip your nightgown off and pull on the dress you were going to wear for the day. You pick up Bruno’s guayabera out of the dresser and throw it at him, and he groans. You giggle and walk over to him. 

“I have to go help your sister. I’ll see you in a bit, okay? Stop by later if you want. I know Pepa’s nervous, and I'm sure her favorite brother can ease her nerves.” You tell him. You give him a kiss, and then exit the room. You’re in such a good mood, you take the fun way down, a way you haven’t taken in a while. 

When you leave Bruno’s room, you can see the skies look promisingly clear. Pepa either isn’t awake, or is holding herself together fairly well. You see Julieta exit her room at the same time as you, and you race over to her, grinning. 

“I’m so excited! Oh, I'm so sorry I couldn't do this for you..” You tell her. She waves you off. 

“I understand. But now, you get to see how exciting it is to be on the other side of wedding day prep!” Julieta says. She grabs your hand and the two of you burst into Pepa’s room. Just like they had woken you up, you and Julieta wake her by jumping on her bed. She jumps and yelps, and a small bolt of lightning flashes across her ceiling. You and Julieta smile down at her and she calms down a bit. 

“Oh, dios mio its time, isn’t it..?” She asks. You nod and drag her out of bed, giggling. 

You lead Pepa to a chair by her mirror, and make her sit down. Julieta takes her place in front of Pepa and begins to do her makeup. You stand behind her and get to work on her hair. You get it good and wet before rubbing some coconut oil into it to make it shine. Once the oil is in, you gently brush her curls, taking care not to pull too hard. Pepa taps her toes nervously, and you can see a cloud forming over her head. You glance at Julieta nervously, trying to think of something to say. 

“You know, it's not as scary as you think.” You say. Julieta hums in agreement. 

“Yes b-but.. The whole town is going to be there, and his family, and all of you.. And I have to keep the skies clear! Clear skies, clear skies…” She starts to mumble, absentmindedly stroking where her braid usually is. You can feel the nerves radiating from her, and you have to do something to keep her calm. 

“Pepa, look at me.” Julieta stopped with the makeup and is holding her sister by the shoulders. “You love Félix. Remember that. It seems scary going in, but once you get to that altar, it may as well be just the two of you in the entire world. Félix loves you so much. Today is going to be amazing.” 

You feel Pepa calming at her sister’s assurances. She takes a deep breath and hugs her sister tight. 

“Thank you, hermanita..” She whispers. The two of you finish getting her ready, and she looks so beautiful. You twirl her around in her dress and she seems so excited, so happy. 

Now that she was all ready, it was time for her serenata. You and Julieta stood by her sides, and walked her out of the bedroom. You walked her to the top of the stairs, where she slowly went down to meet Félix at the bottom. You had been right, of course. Félix’s serenata was one to be remembered. He danced with her, spun her around, and sang to her, and he even got an entire band together to play the music for his song. Your families laughed and clapped and cheered for the two of them. By the time he was done, Pepa was absolutely elated. 

Bruno met you at the bottom of the stairs after you and Julieta descended. He looked so handsome in his guayabera, and he had a little half up/half down hairstyle that really seemed to suit him. You smile and lean in and kiss his cheek. 

“You excited to walk your sister down the aisle?” You ask, and he nods. 

“Yeah, i am. I hope it all goes well. It seems pretty good so far.” He says, glancing up at the sky. 

Félix exits the casita to make his way up to the altar, and the family begins to trickle out to go take their seats. The last thing you see is Bruno walking up to his sister with a little smirk. He was so proud of her, it was absolutely radiating. 

You all take your seats in the audience, waiting for Pepa and Bruno to begin their walk out. You find yourself thinking about all the contingencies you all had set in place in case her emotions overwhelmed her. So far though, things seemed to- oh no. 

The sky begins to darken, and the air temperature drops. You glance nervously at Alma, who was sitting next to you. She sighs and gets up, motioning to a few volunteers she had recruited. They quickly set up a tent over the altar and audience, and she had several umbrellas at the ready. 

You could feel from here that Pepa was freaking out. You could feel panic from Bruno, but.. Something else mixed in there too. What happened in there? 

Whatever it was, it was building fast. The wind was starting to pick up as the doors opened. She looked like she was about to pass out. Bruno looked nervous beside her, walking her towards the front. When he reached the front, he lets her go and takes his seat next to you. His nerves are gone, replaced by what felt like guilt. You glanced questioningly at him and he just shakes his head. 

The ceremony goes on as planned, since your contingencies managed to hold the storm at bay. However, the winds were so strong, you couldn’t hear what was being said, and you were in the front row. Hair and fabric ripped around in the breeze, and soon rain began to pour from the sky. Pepa looked devastated that she was causing this. You see Félix lean into her and whisper something in her ear. Whatever he says must have worked, because the winds were starting to die down. 

Bruno sank down in his chair as the ceremony continued. Félix must have said some magic words to her, because by the time it came for them to kiss, the wind and rain had stopped completely. Everyone cheered and stood and clapped. They ran back down the aisle just like you had, to get a moment alone inside the house. As everyone began to move, you saw Bruno take off. 

You don’t even think about it, you just follow him. You push through people and dash after him. You manage to stay pretty close behind, your adrenaline pushing you to go faster than you normally would. He runs into town, looking for somewhere quiet to hide, but he never stops running. He slows down near your fathers shop, where you finally catch up to him. The two of you are drenched, as it started raining a little bit again after Félix and Pepa returned inside. 

You grab Bruno by the shoulders and you can see he’s crying. You pull him in for a hug and he hugs you back tight, burying his face in your neck. You shush him gently and pat his back. He clings onto you tight, gripping the soaking fabric of your dress. 

After a few minutes, the rain starts to let up. You realize you’re really close to your father’s shop, though he was at the wedding at the moment. He probably didn’t even know you had left yet. You lead Bruno into the shop, closing the door behind you. The shop is dark and cold, and you can hear him sniffling and gasping. 

“Bruno.. What happened?” You ask, keeping your tone soft. 

“I.. she looked so nervous, and we always liked to joke around.. It always helped her. I just started to say something- i dunno, something stupid. I don't even remember. Something about the rain. When I did, she stopped and she started to freak out. She kept asking me what I saw and I told her nothing, but she didn't believe me. I managed to calm her down just enough to walk her out, but..” He buries his face in his hands, letting a few heaving sobs out. You walk over to him and wrap him in a tight hug. 

“Cariño.. That was not your fault. You know Pepa. We had to talk her down from the ledge a few times this morning. She was already nervous, and you know how she is when she’s nervous. It could have been literally anything.” You tell him. If he’s listening, he doesn’t show it. He just keeps sobbing and he falls to his knees. You rub his back and let him cry it out. The guilt you feel from him is so intense, and he’s so angry with himself. You sigh softly and tilt his head up so you can look at him. 

“Bruno.. Let’s get you home. We’ll sneak back into Casita, get up to the tower. We’ll get you some dry clothes, and we can stay in your room as long as you need to.” You whisper. 

Finally, he nods, standing shakily. You hold his hand with one hand and rest the other on his back, and with that, you lead him back to the house. 

***

It's been three days since Pepa's wedding. Bruno hasn't left the tower. Pepa is refusing to speak to him, and everyone thinks she's angry (though rightfully so). You can tell though.. she feels bad. She is mad her wedding was ruined by the hurricane. It also destroyed a lot of crops and some buildings in town, which didn't help Bruno's image at all. But she felt bad too. She knew she let her emotions get the best of her. She thought back on the moment, and she realized he was just trying to make her feel better. He had no way of knowing exactly how terrified she was, and how close to the brink she was when he said it. 

He just laid in bed all day and all night. Sometimes when you held him at night, you could hear him sniffling and feel him shaking. You'd learned to try not to touch his skin at the moment. His thoughts were so messy and all over the place and intense. There were a few times you'd cried with him, he was so upset. You would bury your face in his hair and hold him close. Sometimes he would cling to your arm as if, once he let go, you'd slip away, never to return. 

You've started taking your meals upstairs with him. The first family dinner after the wedding was.. well. It was awkward. Silent. Julieta and Félix tried their best to make conversation, but Pepa wasn't feeling it. She had a giant storm cloud thundering over her head. Plus, Bruno's seat was noticeably empty. After that, you just grabbed two plates of food and carried them upstairs and into his room. You still made use of  the secret entrance, since it made getting up there much easier. 

You always took two plates, but one always went untouched. You would sit next to him in bed and try to get him to eat, but he just couldn't. Sometimes it actually hurt being in there with him, because his sadness and anger at himself ran so deep and so strong, it almost started to rub off on you. When you did get him to eat, it wasn’t much. He was looking so tired and weak. 

Today, you decided he needed a change of pace. He had barely left the bed in days. You’ve never seen him in such a bad spiral. You remembered something he once did for you, and you knew it was time to return the favor. 

"Amor.. you need to get out of bed. You can't stay here forever. Let's get you a bath, hm? It'll help a little. I can help you, if you want." You tell him as you rub his back. He turns and looks at you and he looks exhausted. 

He doesn't say anything, but he does sit up. You grin and take him by the hands, leading him to his bathroom. You run the tub full of warm water for him, making sure it's not too hot. 

You turn to him to see he's slowly undressing himself. He runs a hand through his hair, though it doesn't go far because it's knotted. He sighs and steps into the tub you prepared for him. 

"Thank you, Bruno. Can I wash your hair?" You ask. 

He nods, and you get to work, gently wetting his hair. It takes a little bit, but once it's good and wet, you put some shampoo on your hands and scrub his scalp. You gently rub your knuckles against his head, and he seems to lean into it, just a bit. You're glad to see he's finally starting to relax a little. 

Once his hair is washed, you pour water over it to raise the shampoo out. He leans his head back with his eyes closed, not saying a word. 

Next, you take a lot, and you do mean a lot , of conditioner and start to rub it onto the ends of his hair. Once the conditioner is in there, you take a brush and slowly and gently brush his knots out. It takes a little while, because you don't want to hurt him. Soon, however, the brush is sliding through his hair easily. You let the conditioner sit in his hair for a bit longer before rinsing it out. His hair feels so soft now, and smells clean. 

"Do you want me to wash you too? Or do you wanna do it?" You ask. He looks over at you and weakly takes the rag from your hand. He wets it and gets it soapy before he starts to wash himself. You watch him, leaning on the edge of the tub. 

"You know.. when you did this for me, I was actually a little annoyed." You say with a slight laugh. He looks over at you with a slightly guilty expression. 

"Wait, no, not because of you. Just.. no one has ever done this for me before. I thought you were treating me like a child, but looking back on it, I would never have had the strength to do that on my own. You helped me a lot by doing it, and I'm glad I can return the favor to you." You tell him. He goes back to washing himself as he listens to you. 

"Bruno.. I know its hard. I know it sucks. But hiding in our room all day is gonna solve nothing. It's gonna make you feel worse. When your mom got me out of our room, just for an hour for the wedding, it helped a lot. To be outside, to have sunlight around me. To have a distraction from it all." You tell him. You rub his back and he looks at you. "Will you go on a walk with me? A short one. Maybe just to our meadow and back." 

He takes a moment to respond, but he finally nods, and you grin. You kiss his cheek and grab a towel for him, setting it near the tub. I'll give you some time alone, okay? I'm gonna set clothes out for you on the bed, and I'm gonna go make us some lunch. I love you, cariño." You say. You turn and start to walk out of the bathroom, when you hear a little sound. You almost missed it, but you're glad you didn't. 

"I love you too." Bruno mumbles. You smile and exit the bathroom, giving him his privacy. 

***

You were so glad to get him out of the house. Thankfully, no one was home right now. You and Bruno slipped out easily and walked behind the house, following your desire path to the meadow the two of you loved so much. Bruno winced initially at the sunlight, but he soon got used to it. 

He looked so tired still. Despite having been sleeping on and off for days, he looked like he hadn’t slept in months. The bags under his eyes were dark, his face long and sad. You hold his hand tight, swinging it gently between you two. You wanted to say something to get him talking, but you had no idea what you wanted to say. 

You could feel him relaxing a little, his anxiety and self anger dying down a bit as the two of you walked. He squeezed your hand every once in a while, and you always returned it with a reassuring smile. 

You made it into the meadow and you sat down, pulling Bruno down to sit next to you. You have him lay down with his head in your lap, and you stroke his hair gently. His eyes are closed, and he’s taking slow, calm breaths. 

“How do you feel?” You finally ask him. He opens his eyes and looks up at you. 

“You should be able to answer that better than me.” He mumbles. 

“Yeah, but I wanna hear it from you.” You say. He sighs. 

“I feel.. Sad. And so angry at myself. I’m scared to go into town now. I glanced at the future, wondering what this would lead to. And wouldn’t you know it? The whole town hates me again.”  He says. Your face softens and you take his hand in yours. 

“I’m sure no one hates you, Bruno. They’re just… scared.” You say. 

“Pepa hates me.” 

“Pepa does not hate you. She’s upset, but she does not hate you.” You tell him, squeezing his hand. He only sighs in response. You stroke his hair gently, wishing there was more you could do or say. 

“Do you want me to tell you a story?” You say after a long pause. “Your stories always make me feel better. Maybe I can tell you one in return.” 

“...sure.” He says.

You smile and spin him a dramatic tale, just how he likes it. You make sure to include betrayal, and plenty of twists. You try to add in as many jokes, goofy voices, and gestures as you can, trying to get a laugh out of him. It takes a while, but you finally see him crack a smile at a particularly bad pun. This only encourages you more, continuing with the awful puns and jokes. You finally get him to laugh, and once he starts, he finds it hard to stop. You start to laugh with him, and the air around you feels so much lighter. He sits up and wraps his arms tight around you, hugging you close. 

“Thank you, cariño.” He tells you. 

“Of course, Bruno. You know i’ll always be here for you.” You tell him, kissing his cheek. “Now, you must be hungry. The lunch I made is waiting for us in the kitchen. Let’s get going, shall we?”

Chapter Text

It was a warm spring day. All the Madrigal children had settled into their married lives pretty comfortably. The only difference now is that Bruno and Pepa’s relationship had completely changed. No longer were they best friends, with quick tongued responses to throw at one another. If you saw them in town, you'd think they were strangers. As sad as it was, well.. At least they were civil to each other now. 

You all were gathered at the table for breakfast. Everyone ate and chatted together, but you knew something was coming. You could feel something.. Anxiety? Excitement? Coming from Pepa and Julieta. You glanced at them every so often, but whatever they were planning, they kept it hidden. 

Until the meal was finished, at least. Before everyone could get up, Pepa stood up, followed by Julieta. They went over to their mother and gave her a kiss on each cheek. She looked pleasantly surprised, and Julieta set a small box down in front of her. 

“We have a gift for you, mama.” Pepa says. Alma looks at the two of them suspiciously, then looks down at the box. She slowly pulls off the lid and looks inside, and you see her looking confused. Realization hits her, and she looks at her two daughters. 

“Are you- is this-” She asks. 

“What is it?” Agustín asked, confused. Félix looked at him, equally confused. 

“Did you know about this?” You lean over, whispering to Bruno. He shakes his head. 

Finally, you all see what made her react that way. She pulled out not one, but two little baby onesies from the box. Their husbands both jumped up and ran to them, hugging them tight. You clapped and got up as well, going to congratulate them. 

Truly, you really were excited. You were going to be an aunt! But you couldn’t help the pang of jealousy spreading in your abdomen. Bruno looked just as excited, but you could feel the sadness from him too. You all crowded together in a big group hug to celebrate. 

Soon, everyone had to go get ready to help out around town. You start clearing the dishes from the table and bring them to the kitchen before filling up the sink with water. You stand there, watching it fill, trying to swallow the lump in your throat. 

"Are you okay?" A hand touches your back and you jump, but it was just Bruno. You nod, blushing a bit. 

"Okay, I don't even need to be an empath to tell you're upset." Bruno says, brushing some hair behind your ear. You sigh softly. 

"Really Bruno.. I'll be okay." You say, looking over at him. You give him a weak smile and he doesn't seem convinced. 

"We are gonna be the best tía and tío to those little kids. It'll be fun! We get to do all the fun things like spoiling them and playing with them, and we get to hand them back when they start crying." You say teasingly. He lets out a little smile and kisses your temple. 

"You're right. Those kids are gonna be crazy." He says, and you laugh softly. 

He helps you dry the dishes as you wash them, and you chat about things like how you were gonna spoil the kids, what kind of gifts they may have, things like that. It wasn't a perfect replacement for your own children, but you were excited nonetheless. 

***

The house over the next few months went through a lot of changes. Rooms had to be moved around to make room for the new members of the family. A nursery was constructed in just a few days, and it was absolutely darling. You and Bruno were attentive to your sisters' every need, to the point they had to stop you sometimes from helping so much. 

You ended up having to pick up some of the slack in the kitchen as Julieta neared her due date. She was getting uncomfortable doing just about anything at the moment. Everyone seemed to enjoy your food though, which made you feel really proud. 

Julieta had her little one first. A baby girl they named Isabela.Everyone was gathered in her bedroom after she was born. Agustín looked like he was about ready to pass out, he was so worked up. Bruno sat next to his sister on her bed, and she handed him his first niece. He took her gingerly and looked down at her with wide eyes, and you could tell he was shaking a bit. A small smile graced his lips and he gently stroked her cheek with one finger, mumbling something to her. 

The scene made you so happy. He had such a paternal instinct when it came to holding her. You felt some strange emotions coming from him, something protective and loving. It made you wonder how he would feel about your own kids, should you ever have them. 

Bruno then passed Isabela off to you. You held her close and rocked her gently. She was sound asleep already. Today had been a big day for her, being born and all. You closed your eyes and tried to see if you could feel any emotions from her yet, but there wasn’t much there. You stroked her cheek with your thumb, wondering if maybe she already had some thoughts in that little head of hers, but again, nothing yet. Maybe when she was a bit older. Bruno was beaming at you, and you could feel pride and longing coming from him. 

That night, the two of you cuddled up together in your bed, talking quietly about little Isa. You talked about how pretty she was, how tiny, and you talked about what her gift could be. You see Bruno with a big, lazy smile on his face, and you ran your fingers through his hair. 

“What is it, cariño?” You ask gently. 

“I was just remembering how you looked holding her. She looked like she fit perfectly in your arms, amor.” He whispers. You smile and take his hand in yours. 

“...cariño?” He asks, and you feel a small spike of nerves. 

“Yes?” 

“Do you.. Do you think you’d be ready to try again sometime soon?” He asks. You blush and you look down, and a pang of sadness from Bruno hits you. 

“I.. I want to. Really, I do, but.. It’s so scary to think about it now. What if.. What if that happens again?” You whisper, voice trembling a bit. Bruno pulls you close to him and strokes your hair. 

“I know, I know.. I think about that too. I worry about it too.” He responds, leaning his head against yours. “But i think you would make a great, loving mother.” 

“And you would be an amazing father..” You whisper. 

Bruno was so good with Isabela. He would hold her whenever he got the chance. He loved to dote on her and you always caught him mumbling to her, though you could never make out what he was saying. 

The two of you often took turns watching after her during the day so Julieta could have her time to cook, help others, or even just take a nap. She loved letting you two take care of her, because she knew her little girl would always be in good hands. 

When Dolores came along, Pepa was a little hesitant to leave her alone with Bruno. You could see how much it stung him. You talked to her privately, and she finally relented. From then on, you were now the babysitters of the house. 

She would never admit it, but Pepa was grateful to have you both looking after her daughter. When she would get overwhelmed, one of you would always swoop in and let her have a break. Having an empath in the house really helped when it came to her mood shifts, which seemed to become much worse when she got pregnant, and never got much better. 

You tried to get the two of them to talk, but they both seemed almost too stubborn to try. Bruno was convinced Pepa hated him and would zap him with lightning if he so much as looked at her for too long, and she felt extremely guilty about putting all the blame on him. She’d heard the whispers around town changing back to “Bruno is creepy” and each one stung worse than the last. She had trouble facing him after that. She knew she was equally to blame for this. 

You tried a few times to mediate a talk between them, but it never went well. There were no screaming matches or fights.. They just didn’t want to talk. The incident built a wall between them, and they were no longer as close as they once were. It made you so sad, seeing them grow apart. You remember back to when you first met her, how they joked back and forth, how they poked fun at each other. You miss those days, when things were simpler. 

One day, you and Bruno were in the atrium of the house. The sun was shining, and you each had a little toddler in your arms. They were about two years old now. You held Dolores, and Bruno held Isabela. They were sat on your laps and you were moving their arms around and speaking through them. This was one of your favorite games to play with them. You each held one, and you made up stories that you told, using them. 

“Isabela, how could you! That binky was mine! For you to throw it to the ground like it’s nothing!” You say in a silly voice, and you mimic Dolores backhanding Isabela, though no contact is made. The toddler, unaware of what was going on, simply giggled at being shaken around. 

“Dolores, how dare you strike me! I am your elder, did you not learn to respect our elders in preschool?” Bruno said in an equally dramatic, silly, and high pitched voice. 

The babies loved it. They had no idea what was going on, and they loved being wiggled around in that way. The voices often made them laugh as well. 

“You fool! You’re only a few months older! You are no elder, you are my equal!” You say, posing her like she has her hands on her hips. 

“Oh yeah? Fine then, you wanna fight? Lets fight!” Bruno waved Isa’s arms around like she was inviting Dolores to engage in fisticuffs.

However, the fun stopped as soon as you hear Pepa from behind you. 

“WHAT are you DOING?” She asked. She looked pissed . A cloud was quickly forming over her head, dark and rumbling. Felix was next to her with a shocked look on his face. The room was dead silent as you all stared at each other. You could feel Bruno’s panic, Pepa’s anger and from Félix.. Well. It didn’t surprise you when he burst out into boisterous laughter. Pepa looked over at him angrily, and a small lightning bolt zapped him in the ass. He jumped and tripped, falling to the ground. Unfortunately for him, it only made him laugh harder. 

You and Bruno were now giggling too, covering your mouths and trying to contain it. Pepa grew even angrier and she was soon drenched. She stormed off, leaving all of you behind as you dissolved in laughter. 

“You two are so weird. But, also a match made in heaven apparently.” Félix says. You grin at him and wave Dolores’ little arm at him. 

When the sky opens up and it starts to pour, you and Bruno run for cover, holding the babies close. You hand Dolores to Félix, giving him an apologetic smile. 

“You should probably go talk to her..” You say. 

“Yeah.. it’s alright. I can smooth things over with her. You’ll see, the rain will stop in an hour or so.” He says. 

You and Bruno look at each other and giggle a little more after Félix leaves. He’s still holding little Isa, who is just babbling away as she looks around. You smile and lean up to hiss him on the cheek. 

“We should probably get her back to Julieta. She’ll need to be put down for a nap soon.” You say, holding your finger out for her to grab. Bruno smiles at you, gazing at you with love and adoration. 

“You’re going to be an amazing mother one day.” He says. It catches you off guard, but it makes you smile. 

“You think so?” He nods. 

“We’ll get there. I promise.” You tell him. He nods and kisses the side of your head before leaving to take Isa to her mother. 

You watched him walk away, thinking about how much the two of you wanted kids. It was hard after what happened, but having two babies in the house.. Well, it made you look at it differently. You weren’t quite there yet, but you knew you would be soon.

Chapter Text

Luisa came into this world with a cry that shook the mountains. Her cries were heard through the house. She was a beautiful baby, if a little small. When it came time to meet her, you held onto Dolores, now three, while Bruno set Isabela next to her new sister. Isabela reached out and poked her cheek, tilting her head at the baby. 

“She’s so loud.” was all she said. 

Laughter rang throughout the room, and Bruno ruffled Isa’s hair. She looked up at him, almost annoyed, reaching up to pat her hair down. 

“What do you think of your sister?” Her mother asks. Isa stares at Luisa for a moment, then looks to her mother. 

“Squishy.” was all she said, and another laugh rolled like a wave through the room. Isa seemed a little annoyed that everyone kept laughing at her because she couldn’t understand why yet. She curls up with her mom and looks at her new sister, wondering to herself how long this thing was gonna be around. You could feel a little bit of jealousy from Isabela, and it made you a little sad. You’d have to talk to Julieta about it later, to make sure her older daughter doesn’t feel like she’s been replaced. You and Bruno will have to be careful with her too. 

Of course, some things are easier said than done. It might have been easy to balance the attention they gave the two girls, but Luisa turned out to be a very sick baby. She was colicky, she ran fevers, it was a rough start to her little life. 

Julieta was freaking out about how sick her baby was. She wasn’t old enough to eat, so how would she heal her daughter? You could feel the panic and fear coming from her when she would try to comfort her new little one. 

One day when Julieta seemed on the brink of tears, you finally go up to her, taking luisa from her. She looks at you with tears in her eyes, and she feels so scared and helpless in that moment. 

“Let me show you the old fashioned way of caring for a sick baby.” You say softly, tone light and teasing. “I used to babysit when I was little, so I have some experience helping out the sick little babies.” 

You showed her a few tricks to calm her and ease her pain until Luisa was old enough to try eating some solid foods. Julieta seemed relieved that you were able to help her. She hadn’t had to care for someone who couldn’t eat before, and she felt so out of place, so useless to her own daughter. 

The situation caused a lot of mixed feelings for Julieta. She started to feel useless and unworthy to care for a daughter she had no ability to heal. She was always on edge, worried that something was gonna happen and she would be absolutely helpless, doomed to watch her little girl wither away without a hope. 

You tell Bruno to watch the girls one day, and you bring Julieta into the kitchen. You make her sit at the table as you start up some water for tea. The kitchen is silent as you wait for the water to boil. Once it’s ready, you make two cups of tea and hand one to Julieta, sitting beside her. 

“Tell me what you’re feeling.” You say to her. She looks at you, confused. 

“W-what? Can’t you tell?” She asks. You shrug. 

“I can. But it would help to hear you say it, to interpret your own feelings. I can help from there.” You say, taking a sip of your tea. 

She takes a deep breath and starts confessing her depression and anxiety to you. You listen intently, nodding every once in a while, but never interrupting. Once she’s done, she has a few tears rolling down her cheeks. 

“Am I an awful mother, y/n?” She asks. You shake your head. 

“Julieta, you are an AMAZING mother. I know it’s been hard watching her be sick and weak, and knowing there is nothing you can do to help her. I know how foreign it is to you, but to almost every other mother, it’s familiar and just as scary. People have been having babies for centuries without healing powers. Sometimes babies are just sick, Julieta. But I can already tell, that little girl has a strong heart. I think she’s gonna be okay.” Julieta nods and wipes her face before taking a sip of her tea. 

“Thank you, y/n. That actually helped a lot. Sometimes I forget that not everyone can make everything okay with just a little food. I’ve never really dealt with much I couldn't at least take the pain away from. It’s scary to me, not being able to heal someone.” She says. 

“I know. That’s perfectly okay. But you’ll see, once she’s able to start eating soft foods, you’ll make her something and she’ll feel so much better, and all your worries about her being so sick will just melt away.” You assure her. 

You were right, too. Soon, Luisa was old enough to start eating soft foods, and when Julieta would prepare them for her, the girl's pains and aches and cries seemed to melt away. Julieta was finally feeling lighter again, knowing she could help her daughter now. 

It felt like no time at all before it was finally time for Isabela’s gift ceremony. Abuela invited the whole town to come to the casita to celebrate. Julieta was a nervous wreck. This was the very first gift ceremony since her own, and she had no idea how it was gonna go. The rest of the family took over decorating the house and preparing foods and drinks for the party, allowing Julieta and Agustín to worry about Isabela and getting her ready. 

When the ceremony came, Julieta and Agustín stood at the top of the stairs, holding each other tight. You could feel full on panic from Julieta, but her husband was so calm, if not a bit worried for his wife. 

Abuela stood on the stairs and announced the story of how their miracle came to be to the crowd. Soft murmurs drifted around, as many hadn’t actually known the true story of their gifts. Alma explained how this family had been given a special gift, and how it was their duty to serve the community it gave them, to continue earning their miracle for generations to come. 

When her speech ended, she joined her daughter and her husband at the top of the stairs, and Isabela appeared at the entrance, looking terrified. Spotlights shone on her, and the whole crowd fell silent. She looked around nervously, and the casita pushed up a few tiles to nudge her along. 

She took slow, nervous steps down the aisle, looking around at all the faces and people that were watching her. She ascended the stairs, and her grandmother held the candle out to her, making her promise she’d serve her community and earn her miracle not just for her, but for the rest of the family. Isabela nodded, then she stepped forward to touch her doorknob. The door glowed bright, and Isabela could feel her fingers tingling. She nervously looked at her hand, then waved it in front of the door, and flowers sprouted all along the top and side of her door. An excited murmur swept through the crowd, and the light around her door exploded as the etching created itself. It showed an older version of her, waving her hands around and creating flowers. 

Isabela grinned and looked at her hand. She waved it around and watched petals flow from her fingers and she giggled. Alma grinned and Julieta and Agustín knelt down to embrace their daughter. 

“We have a new gift!” She exclaimed. 

The town erupted into cheers and Isabela broke free of her parents to rush into her room. She was amazed to see it was made completely of flowers, and there was a platform with a bed hovering over it. She looked at her little hands and waved them around, creating all sorts of sculptures with flowers and bushes. She ran up to the bed and jumped on it, controlling the vines to make it twirl around. The scent of the room was light and sweet, and the air was crisp and cool. 

The town entered her room and chattered excitedly, excited for the newest Magical Madrigal. The party that then ensued lasted nearly the whole night. People dancing and singing, eating and drinking, laughing and talking. It was a most wonderful night, full of joy and laughter and love. 

Except for Dolores. She was just a few months younger than Isabela, and she was insanely jealous of her. She asked every single day (or so it felt) when she would get her gift. You gently reminded her she had to wait until her birthday, but she was impatient as ever. 

When her ceremony did finally come, she was way more excited than her cousin. She practically ran down the aisle and up the stairs, and bounced excitedly before her door. When she touched the knob, the door again exploded in light, and Dolores squeezed her eyes shut, excited for what was to come. 

Suddenly, she could hear everyone’s whispers clear as day. She heard animals moving around and chittering outside. She could hear the candle flickering, and she could even hear her own heartbeat. She opened her eyes in surprise, and she saw her door. A depiction of an older her, hands behind her ears. 

The crowd cheered as they saw her door form, and she suddenly slammed her hands over her ears and screamed, collapsing to the ground. Pepa and Félix rushed forward to comfort their daughter, mumbling softly to her. Abuela silenced the crowd and glanced worriedly at her granddaughter. 

“We have a new gift! And as much as we all would love to celebrate with you, it appears this particular one will need some getting used to. I hope you understand, but we must cut tonight short.” She announces. 

The crowd murmurs, disappointed, but they all understand. You hear some of the people around you whispering their congratulations to Dolores, and soon everyone filed out of the house. 

You and Bruno went up to her, sitting next to her as she cried. Pepa was sitting down the hall, because she started raining, she was so worried about her daughter. You sit in front of her and reach behind you to undo your hair and the scarf that’s in it. You then wrap the scarf around her head, covering her ears and tying a little bow with it. 

“Better?” You ask softly. She sniffles and nods, rubbing her eyes. 

“Th-thank you Tía.” She whimpers. 

The next few months were rough for Dolores. She had to learn to get used to hearing quite literally everything. Unfortunately, this led to her having many awkward conversations with her parents, as she started to hear something she was most definitely WAY too young to be knowing about. There were many nights where she would come into her parents room, crying, because everything was just so loud. 

You all worked together and finally managed to make her something to cover her ears that would mute the sound. She could wear that until she got used to the sheer volume of everything. It seemed to help, because she finally started to calm down after a little while. 

Her gift changed her forever, though. No longer was she an energetic little ball of energy and playing with other kids. She was much more reserved now, wanting to stay inside and try to hide from at least some of the noise. Pepa hated to see the shift in her little girl, but she understood where it came from. 

Since the girls were older now, you and Bruno needed to find some other pastimes, since you couldn’t exactly wiggle them around like you used to. Isabela distanced herself from Dolores, finding her joy in going out and dazzling the town with her power. Luisa was still a sick little toddler, though now she could eat her mothers food, at least she wasn’t sick for long. 

You found yourself falling back into drawing. You would often sit at the kitchen table and sketch away. Bruno walked in on you a few times, leaning over your shoulder to watch you draw. He hummed softly and would give you kisses on your cheek before letting you work. 

One day, Alma came up to you while you were drawing. She looked over a few you had on the table, and you paused, looking at her curiously. 

“I have a request. Do you think you could paint a family tree for us?” Alma asks. You blink, completely surprised by the question. 

“Um, i- uh, yeah. I can do that. Where?” You ask. She points to the empty wall behind her chair. 

“I’d love to see a big family tree with all of my children on there, and their children as well.” She says. You smile and give her a nod. 

“I think I can manage that.” 

That’s your big project over the next few months. You’re painting the wall behind her, and the family loved to see it coming together slowly over time. You made sure to leave enough space below each couple to fill in if they have more children. Each mini portrait was done slowly to make sure all the details were just right. You were particularly proud of Bruno’s portrait. He felt such a rush of love and adoration when you showed it to him. He also loved seeing your picture right next to his. 

Once the mural was done, you found yourself missing having something to do all day. You wandered around the tower one day, suddenly finding a stash of Bruno’s vision tablets. You pick one up and smile at it, and suddenly you know what you want to do next. 

You sit in the tower a lot now, drawing out his visions and adding a bit more detail to some of them. You always showed them to Bruno, and he appreciated each and every one of them. He sometimes truly hated his visions, because people always got so mad when he gave them. But seeing you draw them in your style, it made them all look beautiful, even if they depicted some not so happy prophecy. 

It soon became your daily ritual. You picked one to draw each day, and at the end of the day you would give it to Bruno. He’d tell you who it belonged to and what it said, which sometimes made the two of you laugh. After that, he put it up on the wall in the room where he stashed some of his visions, soon covering a large portion of the wall with your art. 

Today’s drawing, however, was going to be different. You picked up a tablet, as usual, but you weren’t drawing what was on the tablet. You had your own little surprise to give him. Your heart raced as you drew it, just imagining Bruno’s reaction to it. 

Because the truth is, you’ve been feeling this way for a while, but you ignored it. You didn’t want to set yourself up for disappointment. Even when your cycle never came. Even when you found yourself much hungrier, and a bit moodier. You wouldn’t even admit it to yourself until a few nights ago, when you felt a tiny little foot kick from within you.  

At the end of the day, when Bruno was getting ready for bed, you walked up to him with the drawing held close to your chest. You smile at him and he leans down to kiss you. 

“And what did you draw today, amor?” He asks.  You gingerly hold the drawing out to him and he looks it over. His smile fades, and his eyebrows furrow in confusion. 

“I don’t remember-.. Wait.” He looks closer at it, only to realize it wasn’t a vision he had. It was something he’d never seen. You were in a bed and he was sitting behind you, hugging you and resting his chin on your shoulder. In your arms was a small little bundle that you both gazed at. His heart pounded, and he looked up at you eyes wide. 

“...are you serious, is this real?” He breathes. You nod and he scoops you in a hug pulling you down on the bed and curling up on you. You hold him back and he kisses all over your face. 

“Amor, I- but are you sure-” He starts to question it, but you just grab his hand and place it on your stomach. After a few moments, he feels the same thing you did just a few nights ago, a tiny little kick. His eyes well with tears and he hugs you close. You hold him back, kissing the top of his head. 

Neither of you slept that night. You were too excited, you just talked all through the night about all the topics you’d avoided for so long. Baby names, what you hoped to see in your kids, what kind of tías his sisters would be, and so much more. You felt so sure about it now, and you were excited to finally start your family with him.

Chapter Text

The day your little boy came into this world, Bruno was an absolute mess. Pepa and Julieta had to kick him out of the room until after your son was born. Thankfully, they put you in a spare room downstairs once labor started, so no one had to deal with the insane amount of stairs in the tower. When he returned, Julieta practically had to hold him up to walk him over to you. He reached down with a shaking hand to touch the cheek of his son. He teared up and crawled into the bed with you, wrapping his arms around the both of you.

“Do you have a name?” Julieta asks, sitting on the bottom corner of the bed.

“Yes, we decided on Thiago for a boy.” You tell her. Julieta hums in approval at the choice.

The next few days were a blur of family coming to meet the little one. Your father visited too, Though he didn’t stay long. He’d definitely seen better days, and his declining health was making it hard for him to leave the house or the shop anymore. After a few days of this, you were starting to get tired of visitors, and Bruno helped you and the baby up into your own bed in the tower.

You slept so soundly that night, happy to be back in your own bed. You slept hard, since your body was still recovering. You sigh when you wake up in the middle of the night to a crying baby boy, but you barely get a chance to open your eyes before you feel Bruno get up and walk over to him. You smile and watch him pick up the baby and shush him, soothing him gently. When the baby falls back asleep, Bruno returns to bed and you pull him into you, kissing his cheek and cuddling him close. He smiles and wraps his arms around you, settling into your embrace. The two of you laid together and fell back asleep, taking turns throughout the night to care for the baby. For your baby.

His personality started to emerge as he got a little older. As a toddler, the kid would run everywhere, and Bruno would chase him. Thiago was surprisingly fast for a toddler. He looked so much like Bruno, it made you happy. He had thick, springy curls and the exact same nose as his dad. The two of you adored him, and he was most definitely spoiled by the two of you. His cousins liked him too, always dressing him up and playing with him. Isabela liked to put flowers in his hair, and Dolores would whisper stories to him in their playroom. Luisa tended to be sick, but when she was feeling well, she would chase him around, and BOY did he give her a run for the money.

That is, until it was Luisa’s gift ceremony. When she touched her door, you could see the shiver run through her. She looked down at her hands and then looked at the pot next to her. It was taller and wider than her. She walked over to it and lifted it like it weighed nothing. Dolores covered her ears just in time for the crowd to break into laughter and applause.

Luisa wasn’t really sick again after that. She was much stronger, and her mother’s cooking also helped her to stay healthy. She could run around with Thiago now, and not get tired. She and Isabela started a game with him, where Luisa would launch him into the air and Isabela would catch him in a pile of soft petals. The girls giggled as they played this game, and thiago seemed thrilled in the air and full of giggles when he landed. However,t the first time you saw them do it, you nearly passed out. Without thinking, you scooped him up and checked him over for injuries before running back in to find Bruno. Luisa and Isabela looked at each other, with a mixture of confusion and guilt.

Bruno found you and you broke down crying. You explained what happened, and to your surprise (and some anger), he held back a snort. He found it amusing! You scowled at him, and it only made him lose his control and laugh out loud. He took Thiago from you and kissed you on the forehead.

“Cariño, he’s fine. They’re just playing. I know your instinct is to protect him, but he’s fine. They’re all fine.” Bruno says. You soften and nod, brushing some hair out of Thiago’s face.

Julieta comes up behind you, looking a bit confused.

“Um, the girls said they wanted to..apologize? What did they do?” She asks. You look down at the girls and felt guilt radiating off of them. You smile softly and kneel down in front of them so you’re closer to their height.

“You don’t need to apologize. In fact, I think I do. You were playing a game, and I got scared. But Thiago is okay, and you’re okay. That’s all that matters. Just.. promise to be a little more gentle with him.” You say. They nod, and you’re about to stand but you hesitate, looking over at Luisa. "And.. maybe don't throw him so high."

Luisa giggles and nods. They both hug you, and you hug them back. They grin at you and run off to go play again. You stand up and turn to your husband and son. You take the boy in your arms and kiss the side of his head.

"We should eat soon. Your nap is coming up, mister." You say, tapping the tip of his nose.

You had to learn to be less overbearing on him. Bruno helped you learn when to hold back, even when you really.. really really.. didn't want to. He would wrap his arms around your waist when you watched the kids while they were playing. That way, when you tried to go over and scoop him up and away from a perceived danger, you wouldn't get very far. He would just kiss the side of your head and mumble assurances he was okay.

You were growing so proud of the boy your son was becoming. He was so full of energy, he had a wild sense of humor, and he adored stories. You and Bruno would take turns making up stories with him from the time he could understand him.

Once, when he had turned four, he ran up to you with drawings based off the stories you told him. You were so happy you cried and scooped him up in a giant hug. From then on, you would find little drawings littered around both yours and his room. You saved each one, putting them up on the walls around your room so you could always see them.

Things were going well in the casa de Madrigal. Everyone was getting along, even Pepa and Bruno were on civil terms. They still hadn't talked about it, but they weren't afraid of each other anymore. It made you feel better, seeing them get along.

One night, Isa, Dolores, Luisa, and Thiago were all sitting around, listening to Bruno tell his stories. You say behind the kids, smiling at your husband. He waved his arms around and made silly voices that brought a chorus of giggles from the children.

“Tío Bruno i have a question!!!” Luisa said, raising her hand.

“Yes, Luisa?” He asked, turning towards her.

“What’s your gift? I’ve never seen you do anything.” She said innocently. Bruno flushed a little and laughed.

“Well, I can see the future. I give people readings and tell them what's to come.” He says. The kids all gasped in awe.

“Tío Bruno, Tell my future!” Isabela said, jumping up.

“Me too!” Dolores chimes in. Bruno laughs and stands up.

“Alright, alright.. But we have to go somewhere special. Will you follow me?” He says.

The entire group gets up and follows him upstairs. You are carrying Thiago, and the girls trail Bruno, crowding around his legs. He opens the door to his room and lets the girls in, and the make it into his room. They stare up in awe at the sheer amount of stairs he has in there.

“Do you climb these every day?!” Luisa asked, mouth agape. Bruno laughs again.

“Actually.. I have a secret way of getting up there. Girls, come stand on this first stair, and hold on tight to me and each other, okay?” He says. The girls nod and crowd around him, and let out an excited scream as they all zip up the stairs. You can hear them screaming and laughing as they ride all the way to the top. You watch Bruno, his hair blowing in the breeze, and he smiles lovingly down at his nieces.

Once they reach the top, you go up the same way, and Thiago giggles in your arms, playing with the hair that's blowing behind you. Once you’re all at the top, Bruno leads you all into his vision cave. The girls look around, taking it all in.

Bruno takes Isabela’s hand and leads her into the sand pit. He takes her other hand in his and kneels down, taking a deep breath. You hold Luisa and Dolores back, watching as the sand starts to swirl up and around them. Bruno’s eyes glow green, and the girls are fascinated. Bruno searches the sand at the images flying around. Isabela looks nervous, and she grips Bruno’s hands tighter.

“Isa.. you’re going to have a wonderful life. You’ll be beautiful, and the town will adore you. You have everything you could want. And your powers will only grow from what they are now. You’ll be able to create so many things, the possibilities are endless.” He says. He blinks his eyes and shields her from the falling sand. She looks starstruck at him, and he hands her the tablet. She looks at it and sees herself flourishing her hand while all kinds of flowers sprout out around her. She’s older in the image and she looks so happy.

“Thank you tío!!” She hugs him and runs to you.

Bruno holds his hand out for Dolores next, and she steps forward. He repeats the process with her, and she squeezes her eyes shut, nervous about the sand moving around her.

“Dolores.. You are going to be the town’s secret keeper. You hear everything, know everything. People trust you, though. And.. Oh, what’s this?” He smiles at her. “Ah, my little telenovella star.. You fall in love with a man, betrothed to another. Will it work out? Find out next week..” He says dramatically. Of course he can see a little further than that, but he liked the dramatic twist he gave her.

Finally it was Luisa's turn. She timidly stepped forward and grabbed his hands. He winced, and she loosened her grip, still trying to remember her own strength.

“Luisa.. You’re strong in so many ways. You always lend a helping hand to the town. But you need to remember that you need help too sometimes. You deserve a break as much as anyone else.” He tells her. She nods and smiles at him.

“What did you think girls?” You say, and they chatter excitedly to you all at the same time.

“Tío, do one for Tía!” Dolores says. The other girls shout in agreement, and you hold up your hands.

“Oh, actually.. We don’t look into our future..” You start to say. They give you a practiced puppy dog eye look, and you sigh, rolling your eyes.

“Ay, you three. You can never take a no, hm?” You smile and look over at Bruno. He’s waiting to see what you want to do. “One can’t hurt.”

Bruno nods nervously, and you kneel in front of him, taking his hands. He takes a slow, shaky breath and his eyes glow once more as the sand rises. You squeeze his hands for encouragement, hearing his thoughts buzz about how bad of an idea he thinks this is.

“Y/N.. you..” He swallows and searches the images, then lets out a little smile. “You’re still working in your father’s shop. Tío Victor is still there too, and you seem to be running it.” He says. The sand falls once more, and you smile.

“Good! Maybe that means Papí will finally retire.” You say with a smile. He gives you a relieved nod, and you stand, pulling him with you.

The two of you take all the children back downstairs. When you exit his room, you see Pepa has a cloud and is running around frantically.

“Dolores? I know you can hear me, where are you?!” She yells.

“Here mama!” She calls, waving excitedly. She turns to see the group of you standing outside her brother's door, and her cloud thunders.

“What were you doing in there?!” She shouts, running over.

“Tío Bruno gave us visions!” Dolores exclaims, ignorant of the sometimes true nature of his visions. You see the color drain from her face and she snatches Dolores up, taking her away quickly.

“Dolores, dont you ever go in there again! Tío Bruno’s visions cause nothing but trouble..” Her voice fades as she walks away, and you can feel the hurt radiating from him. Luisa and Isa run off to go play somewhere else, leaving you, Bruno and Thiago standing in front of his room.

You reach over and give him a hug, rubbing his back. He hugs back weakly, turning his face towards Thiago.

“I.. i tried to give good ones. I looked for good stuff. And for you, I just- latched on to something that didn’t have us in it. Just to be safe.” He said. You nod and kiss his forehead.

“I know, cariño. You did very good. They’ll remember this fondly someday.” You tell him. He sighs and rubs the back of his head, shaking his hair.

“I hope so..” he sighed. However, you weren’t sure he was totally convinced of that.

Chapter Text

Thiago stood in front of his door in his little white suit. You clung to Bruno’s side anxiously, gripping him like you might float away if you let go. You watched as Thiago reached forth and touched his doorknob. The light exploded, and you could see the etchings forming in the door. When the light faded, you saw your son standing there, holding a paintbrush in one hand and a pencil in the other. There were little doodles around him, and the way the light flowed made it look almost like they were moving. 

Thiago beamed, and pulled a pencil from his pocket. He ran to the wall and scribbled a little mouse onto it. As soon as he lifted the pencil, it sprang to life and ran around on the wall. You looked over at Bruno and you hugged him tight. 

“We have a new gift!” Alma shouted, and the town cheered. Mirabel and Camilo rushed up to meet him, begging him to draw more. 

“I hope my gift is that cool!” Camilo shouts. 

“Me too!” Mirabel says. 

The house erupts into a party, one that lasts all night. You go over to your little boy and lift him up and twirl him. He laughs and beams down at you. 

“Mamí, do you like my gift?” He asks. 

“I love it mijo! It’s perfect for you.” You kiss him loudly on the cheek as Bruno walks up. He takes Thiago from you and rubs his nose against his. 

“See, now you’ll have to put on shows for me and your mamí, with your drawings!” Bruno tells him. Thiago nods excitedly. He sees one of his friends and he squirms excitedly, hopping down from his dad’s arms. You turn to Bruno and you grin, taking his hands in yours. 

“Our little boy is growing up..” You say. He hugs you tight and kisses  your forehead. 

“Tomorrow, he gets to help with chores! That’s so exciting..” Bruno says. You see out of the corner of your eye, little drawings racin along the walls. You grin and turn Bruno’s head to look. He smiles as well. 

Thiago’s power proved to be very useful in the town. He gave each house their own little messenger drawing. If he drew people, they could talk, so the people in town used that to send messages across the house to each other. Sometimes, when people lost something, he would create the drawings to help find the item. The only drawback on that was that if it wasn’t visible from a 2d plane surface, it wasn’t likely to find it. 

You followed your son around all day as the town doted on him and his power. When you returned to the house that afternoon, Mirabel and Camilo greeted him, and the three ran off to play together. You meet Julieta in the kitchen and decide to help her with making lunch. 

“Your Mirabel is so sweet. She just loves Thiago. They play together all the time. He’s always telling me about some story they made up with his drawings.” You tell her. Julieta smiles. 

“I know, and Thiago is so good with Camilo too. Those three are thick as thieves. Dios mio, when all three have gifts, I have a feeling they’re going to be menaces upon the town.” The two of you laugh and continue making your meal together. 

Most days go like this. In the mornings, you take Thiago out to do his chores around town, and then come back in the afternoon so he can play with his cousins. His little cousins absolutely adored Thiago. They would request him to draw something and he’d scribble it on the wall, and giggle as they watched it move around and dance. 

Bruno always came back from town looking tired and worn. He started getting headaches each evening after he did readings. You kept catching him knocking on wooden surfaces and sometimes his head. He’d mumble a little ‘knock on wood’ every time. You were starting to get worried about him. Despite the fact many people were still wary of him after the hurricane, they kept asking him to come do his readings for them. Of course, they only heard what they wanted to hear, which was the bad parts, and they got angry with him. 

One night you sat with him in the kitchen after dinner, sipping on some coffee. It was just the two of you, enjoying the quiet while his sisters took care of all the kids. Bruno had been so quiet today when he came back, it worried you. He looked lost in his thoughts. Occasionally, his face would twitch and he’d knock on the wooden table. You finally decided to bring it up to him. 

“Cariño.. I’ve noticed you doing that a lot lately.” You say. He jumps a little and looks over at you, as if he were surprised you were still there. He glances down, his cheeks turning a bit red, but said nothing. 

“Is something bothering you?” You ask him. 

“No- well…no.” He says, though he sounds very unsure. 

“Talk to me cariño. Use your words.” You say to him. He sighs and pushes his hair back off his face. 

“It’s just.. I’m getting tired of the town treating me this way. Always calling me Bad Luck Bruno, but still asking me about the future. They focus on the bad, and blame me for it. It’s just.. Ever since Pepa’s wedding, it’s been overwhelming.” He says. You soften and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“I find myself almost believing I am bad luck, you know?” He says with a small, wry laugh. “It just seems to follow me everywhere.” 

Bruno crosses his arms and hugs himself, looking down into his lap. You rub your hand up and down his back for a moment. 

“Bruno, you know you’re not bad luck. You tell people all sorts of things, they just latch on to the bad stuff. You never once made a bad thing happen. All you can do is warn people about them.” You assure him. You feel a small pang of guilt come from him, and he just shakes his head. 

“That’s getting harder to believe these days.” He says. 

Bruno stands from the table and knocks on it a few times, and mumbles something to himself. You watch him walk out of the kitchen, and you sigh softly. You look down into your cup, wondering what these people could possibly be saying to him. It hurt to see him so depressed. You considered that all you had to do was touch him to read his thoughts, but you’d mostly stopped doing that a while ago. Not for any particular reason, but maybe because you noticed he stopped talking about things that bothered him, and you didn’t want him to keep bottling it up. You wanted him to talk to you about it, not just dwell on it in his head. 

When you finally went upstairs to go to bed, Bruno was already asleep. You silently get ready for bed before climbing in next to him. You wrap your arms around his waist and kiss the back of his head,pulling him into you. He’s sound asleep, but you can feel a flurry of strange emotions from him. He was probably having a bad dream. You just nuzzled your nose into his neck and drew little circles over his stomach with your fingers. After a little while of this, he relaxed again, and you found yourself drifting away into sleep. 

***

Camilo’s ceremony was just as exciting as the others had been. Thiago was ecstatic to have his little cousin have a gift too. You and the triplets dreaded Camilo’s new power. He was already a little rambunctious prankster, and now they had to consider that he could be literally anyone when pulling his pranks now. You already scolded him once for knocking into people because he’d shifted to look like Thiago and you thought you were scolding your son. 

Bruno stood by your side the whole night, pretending he didn’t see the anxious glances of the villagers. You knew he was feeling bad about it, so you let your bright, chipper personality shine through even brighter than usual tonight, trying to keep his spirits up. You made him smile every once in a while, but his anxiety never fully let up. When the night ended, the two of you went up to your room and he fell asleep quickly without much of a word. 

Now that Camilo had his gift, He was able to go out with you and Thiago. Instead of touring them around town though. You brought the two of them with you to your fathers shop. He had recently stepped back from doing day to day work, leaving most of that to Victor. He still loved his work in that shop and took very good care of your father. 

The three of you now ran the shop while he did deliveries. People would come in and the boys would help them. Thiago helped by drawing little creatures to guide people where they needed to go for certain items, and Camilo helped by shifting into José, the tallest man in town, to get things off high shelves.Occasionally, someone would come in and ask for a favor that meant one of them had to leave the store, but they usually didn’t take long at all. 

The boys loved helping in the shop. If Bruno was in town, he would stop in and watch them work. He felt proud, watching the boys work so hard. He always brought food with him, so the four of you would eat together and chat, stopping only to help someone. If Victor was in the store, Bruno always let him have what he’d brought for himself. Victor was so thankful, and usually tried to insist Bruno eat, but Bruno would always insist. 

When they all got home, Camilo and Thiago would rush to see Mirabel to tell her about their day. They would excitedly chatter about what they’d done, and even re-enact a few things, with Camilo shape shifting and Thiago making little drawings. Mirabel would giggle and then they would discuss what her gift was going to be, and how she could use it to join them in helping out the town. 

As the day of her ceremony grew closer and closer, she became more and more impatient. The door was upstairs already, glowing with potential magic. She would sometimes just sit in front of it and stare, wondering what secrets were held beyond. She would occasionally touch the door just to feel the warmth of the candle’s magic. 

Bruno caught her sitting there a lot. He would always scoop her up and spin her around and tell her “you can’t hurry the future, Miraposa!” making her giggle. He had a soft spot for his youngest niece. It made you so happy to see him enjoy his time with her. It was getting harder and harder to see him truly happy lately, but he always had a smile for Mirabel. 

Finally, her day came. The house was abuzz with activity. Isabela was throwing flowers all over the walls, railings, posts, anything a flower would stick to. The house constructed it’s staircase towards her door, and Isa sprinkled it with petals. Camilo wasn’t much help, but he did take the opportunity to shadow as many people as he could, mimicking their mannerisms and body language. His dad caught him a few times, but always let it slide because he thinks its hilarious. They both promised his mother wouldn’t need to know about this. 

You and Bruno were in Mirabel’s nursery. He was styling her hair, while you were making sure her dress was on properly and all the details were set. She was content with the attention from her favorite tía and tío. You smooth out the little chest layer of her dress over her shoulders, giving her a smile. Bruno ties a little bow in her hair, and the two of you smile at each other. 

“Alright, Miraboo.” You tell her. “Abuela is going to come in here soon to tell you how we got our miracle. You’ll need to listen close, because this is our family history, our legacy. This is the reason we are here at all today. “You tell her. She nods excitedly, and you give her a little squeeze. Bruno wraps his arms around the two of you, and she’s now sandwiched between you, her little cheeks all squished up as she giggles. 

You hear a knock at the door and you turn to see Alma. You give Mirabel a soft pat on the head, then stand to leave, allowing the matriarch to have a private moment with her granddaughter. 

The townspeople were starting to file in as you went downstairs, so you went to go find the rest of your family. Julieta was no longer nervous, as she had been for Isabela’s, but she was excited! She couldn’t stop chattering about what she might get, and how she’d be able to go with her to help the town tomorrow. The adults joined in on her chatter, and were congratulating Julieta and Agustín on their youngest finally getting their gift.

Camilo, Luisa and Thiago were chasing each other around with sparklers, while Isabela dazzled the town with ehr flowers, and Dolores hid in her room. There were so many people in the house now, and these ceremonies always made her so anxious, after her own. The noise had been so sudden and loud, it nearly made her pass out. She only came out when she finally heard her abuela tell the family “it’s time.”

She joined her entire family at the bottom of the stairs. Her mom and dad were holding each other, and each had one hand on Camilo’s shoulders. You and Bruno were standing with Luisa and Isabela, and Thiago stood between you, bouncing excitedly to see what his cousin would be able to do. Dolores took her place between the two families, standing between her mom and you. 

The lights go out, and two spotlights shine on Mirabel. Alma gives her speech, and then motions for Mirabel to walk forward. You watch with pride as the little girl walks down, her curls bouncing and her hands fumbling together- no doubt a habit she learned from Bruno. She made her way up the stairs and beamed as she made the family promise. Alma gave her a loving smile, then stepped back so Mirabel could touch her door. She wiped her little hands on her dress and slowly reached out and put her hand on the knob. 

And that’s when everything slowed to a stop. The door shone bright for a moment, and then you felt a very strange shift in tone. Soon everyone was whispering and murmuring, and you could feel such a wave of anxiety and confusion rise up it made you shake. Alma looked terrified, and Julieta and Agustín looked heartbroken as they watched it happen. The whole family stiffened, and you slowly looked at each other. Thiago and Camilo looked at each other, then to their respective parents, wondering what was going on. Bruno looked at you and you could feel fear from him. He put a hand on your shoulder, and the two of you looked back up, just in time to see the door finally, slowly, dissolve and disappear. 

Chapter Text

As soon as the door disappeared, Mirabel looked to her grandmother in disbelief. The crowd exploded in chatter, wondering what was going on as Mirabel’s eyes teared up and she ran to her parents. The family all ran upstairs together, huddling around to comfort the little girl and to figure out what just happened. Julieta and Agustín picked their daughter up and took her to the nursery while she cried, and the rest of you stood around Alma. 

“Mamí, what does this mean?!” Pepa asked, stroking her braid anxiously. 

“Did she do something wrong?” Camilo asked. 

“Why didn’t she get a gift?” Luisa asked. 

“Sounds about right, the little brat didn’t get a gift.” Isabela huffed. She received a few glares, but no one corrected her. 

Alma held up her hands to stop the barrage of questions headed her way. 

“Okay, okay.. This is completely new to us. We need to take some time and figure this out. For now.. We should just send everyone home.” Alma says. She walks out of your huddle and down onto the stairs to make her announcement. You all watch from the second floor as the town slowly departs from your house. The mumbles grew quiet, and soon the house was dead silent, cut only by the cries of Mirabel from the nursery. 

Alma came back over and took Bruno’s hand, pulling him to the side. You watched them whisper together, but stopped when you realized Thiago was now crying as well. You pick him up and shush him, asking what’s wrong. 

“Mamí, why did the miracle reject Mira?” He asked. 

“Maybe its proof she’s not actually one of us! Maybe she’s adopted.” Isa snarled, crossing her arms. 

“Isabela, you stop that. Mirabel is your sister,  and she is going through something very difficult right now!” You scold. You look back over to Alma and see her and Bruno talking. He looks a little pale, and nervous, but he’s nodding along to whatever, she’s saying. 

Soon, Bruno walks back over to you and hugs you and Thiago. 

“Cariño, I have to go into my vision cave. I expect to be in there for a while. Mamí just wants me to make sure everything is okay.” He says, though his eyes are sad. He kisses you, then kisses Thiago on the forehead. You watch him go up to his room, and you hug Thiago close in your arms. 

“Come on, mi vida. Let’s get you to bed.” You say softly. 

“But mamí, im not tired.” He whines. You soften and ruffle his hair. 

Then how about a sleepover with Camilo, hm? Camilo?” You ask, and he comes up. 

“Yes tía?”

“Do you wanna have a sleepover with Thiago tonight?” You ask, and he nods eagerly. You set Thiago down and the two rush off to Camilo’s room. You stare at his door for a moment, wrapping your arms around yourself. You then turn to Bruno’s door and stare for a bit, before deciding to go inside. 

You take the long way up to the stairs, giving Bruno time in his cave, and giving yourself time to think. Tonight was going so well and it all just exploded in everyone’s face. Mirabel’s sadness was so deep, you could still sort of feel it from here. You could also feel what Bruno was feeling as he sat in his vision cave. He was so anxious, it made you wonder what he was looking at. 

You finally make it to your room with him and you sit on the edge of the bed, drumming your fingers on the sides. You look around your room nervously, just waiting for Bruno to be done so you could talk to him. The energy in the house was so high right now. While it was nice to have distance from everyone and not feel exactly what they do, there’s an inkling digging at you still. 

Bruno finally came out of his vision cave with his hand over his mouth and his hand on his hip. Whatever he saw, it terrified him. He looks up at you and you feel a rush of sadness in him. 

"...cariño? What's wrong?" You ask nervously, standing up. 

"I have to go. I-i can't stay here, I-" he's stuttering and his emotions are rolling around like tidal waves inside him. 

"Bruno- Bruno, stop.. What are you talking about? Where are we going?" You ask, putting your hands on his shoulders. He looks up at you with big, sad eyes. 

"Not.. not we, y/n… just me." He says, shrugging off your hands. You feel like your heart stops. 

"Wait, whoa, stop- Bruno! What the hell are you talking about?!" You ask, and his sadness just grows. 

"I'm no good for this family anymore, okay! I'm Bruno fucking Madrigal, okay?” He’s shouting now and waving his arms around angrily. “I make bad shit happen! I look into the future and tell people all the bad shit they don't want to hear. When crops dry up, it's my fault. Animals die, it's my fault. Even-.." his breath catches and his lip trembles, making him look away, hugging himself. "It's also my fault we lost our first baby." He says finally. 

Oh, shit. He's been blaming himself all these years? You try to step towards him but he backs away, and it breaks your heart. 

"Bruno.. that was not your fault.." you say, voice soft. He just shakes his head. 

"Yes it is! Any time I look into the future, bad shit happens.” Tears well in his eyes. “So, I'm leaving. The whole family will be better off this way.." he says. A tear spills over and he wipes it away with his fist. 

"The whole family?! What about me and Thiago?!” You say. “How am I going to explain to our six year old that his dad just disappeared?!" Your voice raises in anger. You can't believe this is happening or that this is real. Bruno doesn't make eye contact with you. 

"Y/n, I'm leaving. And I'm not telling you where I'm going. If you try to touch me to read my thoughts, I'll just pick somewhere else to go." He says, voice shaking. "I am done being a burden to everyone around me. I'm done being everyone's bad omen, harbinger of their grief and sorrows." 

“You are not a bad omen, or a harbinger of sorrow.” You say desperately. “Bruno, you can’t listen to the people in town. They’re scared, because they don’t understand you. Never once have you made a bad thing happen. Not even losing our child. That was neither of our faults. Sometimes bad things happen and we can’t change it!” 

“It doesn’t matter. Bad Luck Bruno has to go.” He says, his voice now scarily level.

He turns on his heels and walks towards the door. 

"Bruno Madrigal, if you walk out that door, I will NEVER forgive you." You shout, voice shaking in anger. He stops, looking over his shoulder at you. 

"...I hope you never do." He says softly, before running out the door. That was the last time you would see Bruno Madrigal, your husband and father of your son, for a very, very long time. 

You stand there, frozen in place. He really left. He really just.. Walked out. Your whole body is tingling with disbelief. You quiver and you have to back up and sit on the bed for a moment so you don’t fall over. You process that entire scene for a moment, then realize you should probably chase him. If you can catch him, just talk to him.. Maybe he won’t do whatever he’s planning. 

You race out of the bedroom and look around. You peek outside, but you dont see him on the long spiral stairs, so he must have taken the shortcut. You fly through it and burst through the door, but in doing so you nearly fall onto Dolores. 

She’s standing in front of your door with tears in her eyes. She reaches up and hugs you tight, burying her little face in your stomach. It occurs to you that she probably heard the entire argument. You hug her tight, then kneel down, holding her shoulders. 

“Dolores, do you know where your Tío Bruno went?” You ask her, voice shaking. She shakes her head. 

“There’s so much noise.. I can’t make anything out.” She says softly. “I'm so sorry, tía..” 

You shush her and pull her in for another hug, rubbing her back. 

“No, no, Dolores, you have nothing to be sorry for.” Your eyes start to tear up as you speak, as it dawns on you that he had such a good head start, he could be anywhere by now. You squeeze Dolores tight and she buries her face in your neck. Your gaze lands on Camilo’s door, and you remember that Thiago is in there. It hits you that you’re going to have to tell him that his dad is gone. Oh, god.. You’re going to have to tell the whole family tomorrow. 

You let go of Dolores and send her back to her room, and you go back into Bruno’s room. You again take the long way up, using the time to think about what you’re going to do. This is so unlike Bruno. How could he just leave you like this? You also had to plan what you were going to tell the family. They were definitely going to ask you what he saw but.. He never told you what he saw. You look at the top of the stairs and see his vision cave is still wide open. 

You move up the stairs faster and race into his cave to see if you can find the tablet. He didn’t come out with it, so it was probably still in here. You searched everywhere in the dim light from the door, but you saw nothing. Tears welled in your eyes as you realize you won’t even get to know why your husband just up and left you. You grip your fists and stomp out of the cave, slamming the door shut. 

You sit on the bed and look around your room. It was still so bare, he didn’t have much in terms of decorations or belongings. You wished he did, so you could have something to destroy. You were so angry now, you wanted to hit something, you wanted to kick things around, you wanted to burn something. Anything to get these feelings out from boiling in your stomach. 

The entire night was spent flipping through various emotions. Sadness, anger, desperation, disbelief, denial. You didn’t get any sleep. When you realized it was morning, you were exhausted, but you knew you couldn’t sleep yet. You had to go down to breakfast with everyone else and break the news. 

You decide to go to Camilo’s room first and grab Thiago. He was still asleep, curled up with his cousin. You lift him gently and carry him to his own room, sitting down on his bed. You wake him gently and he looks at you, confused. 

“Mamí..?” Your breath catches in your chest, and you feel like your words are caught in your throat. 

“Thiago.. There’s something you need to know.” You say, voice barely above a whisper. He looks at you with fear in his eyes, now wide awake. 

“Last night.. Your papá had.. He had a vision. He didn’t show anyone what it was but..” You feel tears spilling onto your cheeks and a small sob leaves you. “You dad left, Thiago. I don't know where he is.” 

Thiago’s face drops. He looks at you with confusion and sadness, and his only reaction was to wipe your cheeks. 

“When will he be back, mamí?” He asks. You close your eyes and take a slow breath. 

“I.. I don't know if he will.” You respond. Thiago now starts to cry and you hug him tight, the two of you crying together. You hug and hold each other for a bit, but you know you have to inform your family soon. You let him go and set him on his bed. 

“Wait here, chiquito.. I have to go tell everyone else. I’ll be back soon.” You whisper. You kiss his forehead and you leave the room, slowly making your way to the table. Everyone already looks upset, but when Alma sees you, her heart drops. 

“Y/N?” She asks, and everyone turns to look at you. You look back at everyone, and they’re horrified by your tears stained cheeks and the bags under your eyes. They don’t see Bruno with you, and it seems like they all know something awful has happened. 

“Bruno… left.” Was all you managed to squeak out before collapsing to the ground and sobbing. The sisters jump up and race over to you, holding you up and hugging you. Pepa was forming a cloud while rubbing your back, and Julieta was whispering to you, trying to calm you down. Alma stands and walks over. She kneels in front of you and lifts your face up to meet her eyes. 

“Mija, what are you talking about?” She asks, voice shaking. 

“He- He had a vision a-and he came out of his ca-ave, and he was so scared.” You say between sobs and hiccups. “He just s-said he ha-had to leave. He told me not to follow him, or look for him.” You say. 

“...She’s right, Abuela.” Dolores pipes up. You all turn and look at her. “I heard it all. He was upset, and he just left. I don’t know what he saw, but it really scared him.” 

Alma’s eyes filled with tears and you just broke down again. The sisters helped you up, and they took you out of the dining room and brought you upstairs to Julieta’s room. They set you on her bed and give you tissues, kneeling in front of you. Pepa’s cloud started to drizzle, getting the three of you wet, but none of you cared. 

“Y/n, we are going to find him, okay? We’ll start a search. Get the whole town in on it. He can’t hide from everyone, can he?” Julieta said. She was scared too, but she knew she had to be strong for you right now. Pepa was barely hanging on, by the look of her cloud over her head. There was a loud crash of thunder from outside too. 

The entire day was spent searching for Bruno. You managed to make it back to Thiago’s room, but the two of you just stayed curled up on his bed, holding each other. He occasionally sent out a few drawings to aide the search outside and in the forest, but nothing came of that. You tried to close your eyes and hone in on his feelings, but you were so close to him now, you could feel him from anywhere in the encanto, just like you can with your father. Sure, you picked up some of his feelings, but you couldn’t tell where they were coming from. Honestly, you almost doubted they were even his, because emotions in the entire encanto were so high. But there was a little pang in your chest you knew just had to be him. So he was in the encanto, and that’s all you knew. 

The search went on for days, though each day, less and less people were looking. The weather was all over the place while Pepa tried to keep herself under control. She was so worried about him, and you could feel deep regret and guilt coming from her. Julieta stayed in the kitchen almost all day, trying to use her cooking to distract her from her grief. Alma didn’t leave her room for a while. You remember what she told you about her husband, and from outside her door, that same wave of grief you felt from her on Julieta’s wedding day returned, but stronger. She now not only lost her husband, but her only son. 

You moved out of the tower not too long after he disappeared. Casita made a guest room close to Thiago for you. You couldn’t bear to be up there, surrounded by your memories of him, the sheets and clothes that smelled like him, all the drawings and memories that were held in that room. Your guest room was bare. A bed, a night stand, a dresser, and a vanity. That was it. You spent a lot of time in there now. Thiago would try to get you to come out, but you would feel the pity, guilt, sadness, and grief of the family and it just became too much. You always returned to hide in the bedroom. 

One day, a few months after Bruno disappeared, Victor came to the house. He sat next to you on the bed and told you that your father’s health was reaching a critical low. He didn’t seem to have much time left. You cried in his arms and he held you close, rubbing your back. The two of you spent a long time talking, and you ultimately decided it might be best if you moved out of the Madrigal house. You needed to take over the shop from your father, because Victor wasn’t able to do it alone. You also just.. Couldn’t stand living there anymore. He was everywhere and nowhere, and it hurt you every single day. 

You sat down and talked to Alma about it one night. She seemed sad, but understanding. She kissed your forehead and told you that you were always going to be one of her daughters, and you were welcome at Casa de Madrigal any time you wanted. There would always be a room for you and Thiago. 

The day you moved out, it was raining. Pepa was crying, some of the kids were crying, and everyone was mourning. You had been such a chipper influence in the house, and there would always be a you shaped hole in every room. Thiago waved sadly to Camilo as he walked next to the cart carrying all of your things, being driven by you and Victor. Though he would sometimes visit, he knew he wouldn’t truly be a member of the madrigals anymore, possibly ever again.

Chapter Text

“...I hope you never do.” He says, before running out of the room. His heart was pounding and aching. He ran down the secret tunnel and slipped out of his room. Casita stopped him, and he saw a painting… ajar? He pulled the painting all the way open, and saw a hole with hallways inside the walls. He put a hand on Casita’s walls, giving it a grieving smile. 

“Thank you, Casita..” He whispers. He hops in and shuts the painting. 

He follows the trail through the walls, treading carefully so he’s not heard. He sees all the walkways and paths casita has made for him, and he’s grateful the house seems to understand. At the end of one long path, he sees a little door. He pushes it open and walks in, seeing a few things. A chair, a small plank sticking out for a table, and a hammock hanging in the corner. He sees a crack in the wall, and looks through it to see.. The dining room. He looks down at the table, and he realizes casita left him a place at the table. Tears form in his eyes and he sits in the big, red chair. He curls into a little ball and reflects on the decision he just made. He replays the fight with you over and over in his head, and it only makes him cry harder. He doesn’t even realize he’s asleep until he wakes up to the clatter of dishes on the other side of the wall. 

He goes over to the crack and watches his family eating in their ignorant bliss of his disappearance. That is.. Until you walk in. He sees you and his heart shatters. It physically hurts him to watch you break down and fall to your knees as his sisters rush to see you. He puts a hand over his mouth, forcing him to stay silent as he watches. He listens to his sisters assure you you’re gonna be okay, that they’ll find him. He listens to Dolores admit she heard the whole argument. Suddenly, his blood runs cold. 

…Dolores. He never thought about her. He didn’t consider that she might.. That she’d know. Would she tell anyone? It was just too much to ask her to keep that secret, he’d never force ehr to do that. If she told, then, well.. He supposed that would be that. Maybe he’d just run away again if he could get an advanced notice. They wouldn’t find him then, and he could stay gone. He’d just have to wait and see what happened. 

The day he watched you leave the casa de Madrigal was the saddest day of his life. He couldn’t even watch you formally leave, he just saw you one last time go down the stairs before you went outside. Part of him had hoped you would stay, so he could watch his son grow, and watch you get to live your life free of his baggage. That was crushed as soon as he overheard your conversation with his mother. 

After that, he spent a long time in his hammock. The only time he ever really left was to sneak some food from the kitchen. The rats in the walls would crawl on him, and he’d just pet their little heads. He wasn’t scared, they were just his only company. He couldn't be scared of them, or else he’d truly be alone. 

Bruno didn’t see you return to the casita for a long, long time. He quickly lost track of time, so he wasn’t sure how long it had been when he finally saw you again. He wished he hadn’t though, because when you walk in, Victor is at your side, as is Thiago. And… a small bundle. A baby. You were holding a baby. Whose baby was it? Was it yours? Did you and Victor have a child together? He pushed his thoughts away, not wanting to dwell on it. If you so chose to move on with your life without him, that was your choice. He’d made his, so he would have to respect that you made yours. 

That night, they all had dinner at the table. He learned the little girl’s name was Nora. He caught a glimpse of her face as she was passed around, and she was just as beautiful as her mother. His heart broke and he looked away from the crack, sitting in front of his drawn on plate to pretend he was eating with the rest of them. 

“She’s just so beautiful, Y/n. I’m so sorry Bruno won’t get to meet her..” He hears Julieta say. There’s a silence at the table. 

“He didn't know when he left. It’s okay.” he hears you say quietly. 

“I swear, If I ever see him again, I’m gonna kick his ass for leaving you like this.” Pepa mutters. You hear a rumble of thunder, and his mother shouts at her for her language. 

What were they talking about, ‘he didn’t know’? Had.. had you cheated on him? What was there to know?

He couldn’t stand the thought, so he just shook his head, putting his face in his hands. He listens to the rest of dinner, wincing slightly when the baby starts to cry. He hears you get up to go feed your daughter, and he follows you to the next room. 

“It’s okay, Nora.. Shh.. This used to be our home. You dad and I lived here for so long. Some day, i’ll show you our little meadow out back. One day, you’ll have a magical door here, and you’ll get a gift, just like your brother. And.. maybe one day, you’ll get to meet your dad.” He listens to you, and his stomach drops. 

Wait.. wait, hang on. He.. he was her dad? Nora was his daughter? But.. But you never said anything.. You must not have known yet. Or maybe you were going to tell him, but he didn’t give you a chance. He cups a hand around his mouth to keep him silent as tears fall down his cheeks. 

He’s so shocked, so lost in thought, he doesn’t even realize when you leave to return to the table. He runs back to the dining room and watches the dinner from the crack in the wall. He keeps his eyes on Nora, on his little girl. Would he ever get to truly meet her..? His heart ached for the daughter he knew would probably never know him. 

He was grateful that your appearances after that became a little more frequent. He would always watch you, and keep an eye on his children. One day, though, you came in with Victor and you looked.. Hollow. You had bags under your puffy red eyes. When his sisters saw you, they rushed to hug you. His mother walked up to you and gave you a soft, sad look. 

“Everything is arranged, you don’t have to worry about a thing. Just let us be here for you.” She says. You nod and sniffle. Wait, what was going on? Why were you so upset? 

Thiago pulled on his abuela’s dress, and she looked down at him. 

“Abuela? Where did Abuelo go? Is he with Papí?” He asks. He sees you burst into tears, and his stomach drops as realization dawns on him. Your father had finally passed. 

“No, mi vida. You papí is.. He’ll come back one day. Your abuelo is with the stars now, watching over you every day.” She says, running her fingers through his curls. 

“I don’t want Abuelo in the sky, I want him here.. I want Papí back here too.” He starts to cy, and Bruno has to rip himself away from the scene. He feels so guilty, he might throw up. His son was suffering now, just like his wife. His wife needs him now, but he can’t just pop out for a quick comfort, only to disappear again. 

Your words rang around his head once more. If you walk through that door, i’ll never forgive you. If you hadn’t meant it then, you surely would now. He left you with an unborn child, and now he wasn’t there for you to help you through your fathers passing. He sat down in his red chair and let a few mice crawl up around him. He gave them pets as they nudged him, trying to be comforting. 

Years went by in those walls. Dolores either didn’t hear you, or she pretended she didn’t. His name never really came up in the house anymore. Even when you would visit, you’d talk about the shop, about Victor, about your children. He loved seeing the children visit. Thiago was becoming a handsome young man, and soon, Nora was walking. Sometimes he’d see his son carrying her around and touring her around the house. He’d point at things and tell her about them. 

The worst was when he brought her to Bruno’s door. They stood at the bottom of the stairs and stared up at it. Thiago looked sad, but Nora seemed confused. 

“Door no glow?” She asked. Thiago nodded. 

“This door.. This was our papí’s door. He could see the future, you know. When he lived here, it glowed, but now.. Well, no one’s been in there a long time. 

“Where's papí now?” She asks. Thiago looks at his little sister with sad eyes. 

“We don't know, Nora..”

“Papí come home soon?” She asks. 

“I hope so.” He says. He kisses her cheek and continues to carry her around. 

Bruno cried on and off for days after that interaction he witnessed. He regretted his decision more and more every time he saw them. But.. then he would also see how Abuela treated Mirabel, and he knew what he did was right. She treated her like a bother, like an outcast. Less than. If he stayed and showed her the prophecy, it would have been way worse for her. 

You stopped coming around very often at some point. Bruno figured you were probably busy with the shop or something. Maybe you had a new lover. He didn’t know, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. 

There was a gap of a good few months where he didn’t see you. One night, though, he sees his mother greet you, Thiago, Victor and Nora at the door. Nora had on a little white dress, and it dawned on Bruno that today had to be her fifth birthday. Five years? It had been five years in here? He shook his head and followed them up to the top floor, where she did her door ceremony in silence. The only ones around to witness it was his mother, victor, and his wife and kids. 

Her door glowed so bright, and it had a beautiful etching of her on it. You could see her heart, and it was radiating. She was smiling, and had one hand up, touching someone leaning into the fram who was also smiling. You see another person on the other side of the frame who looked sad. You and Victor looked at her with wonder, and Nora turned to face you. She took your hand in her little one, and Bruno sees you smile like you haven’t smiled in years. Victor grinned and hugged the two girls. 

“Y/N, i haven’t seen you smile like this in so long!” He says. 

“I know, i just.. When she touched my hand, I felt overwhelmingly happy.” You say. Tears fall down your cheeks, but Bruno can’t tell if they are happy or sad tears. 

“I’m an empath like you, mamí!” Nora exclaims. 

“Looks like you can affect moods too with a touch, mi vida.” You say to her, kissing the top of her head. 

“What a beautiful gift, Nora. Truly a wonderful new addition to the Madrigal legacy.” His mother says. 

Bruno feels so many things in this moment. Pride, sadness, guilt.. But all that shifts to fear when he swears, little Nora looks right over at him. He jumps back from the wall, heart pounding. Could she tell he was there? Maybe she could just pass it off as not knowing how her power worked yet.  

Just as the door appeared, Casita hid this door, just like it had hidden Thiago’s when he left. Bruno wasn’t sure if that was you asking for it to happen, or if Casita just wanted to remove painful reminders for everyone. But if that were the case, why wasn’t his door removed too? 

That was the last time for a long time Bruno saw his family. They must have stopped coming around as often for one reason or another. Perhaps you were just simply too busy with the store. Bruno liked to imagine you found someone else, perfect for you in every way, who loved your children and took them in as his own. That way, at least you would be a whole family again. Maybe you would forget about him, and learn to be happy again. 

From then on, his days were filled with mostly playing with the rats. He trained them very well, and he used them to act out his stories, just like he used to with you. It was bittersweet at first, but he was used to it now. He drew on his loneliness and would even use some of your characters you had made when you told stories together. Bruno put Marisol and Hector back together, because he secretly liked that pairing much more than Marisol and Dante. Hector had, of course, secretly lived through the poisoning. Marisol hadn’t given him a high enough dose, so when he awoke in the monastery, he was quite surprised. 

Bruno passively listened to the family most days. He heard his little sobrino be born, and heard him growing up and living with Mirabel in the nursery. Antonio was such a sweet, adorable little boy. He had so much energy, and he loved to chase the animals that lived around the house. Sometimes, Bruno would send him a few rats to play with, since he never seemed scared by them. Antonio was delighted by his little rat friends. Between him and Bruno, they were quite well fed. 

When Antonio's ceremony came, he wasn’t at all surprised that Antonio got a gift to speak to animals. He watched the celebration happily, until he spotted something in the crowd. It was you. You had a few grey hairs now, but you were beautiful as ever. Thiago was now a man of 16, and he was just taller than you. Nora, now ten, looked so cute in her little dress and braids. She chased Antonio around with the animals, giggling excitedly. Thiago set out to start drawing on the walls, it amazed Bruno how his skills improved. No more were the little doodles of a child. He was now drawing realistic animals that would make their respective noises and fly around on the walls. He felt such pride for his son. He wished he could just reach out and hug him, but.. Well, his son probably already forgot him. 

It was all good, until he started seeing the cracks. He had dreaded this day. He knew they were coming, so he’d taught himself to make a good spackle. Well.. he didn’t. Jorge did. Hernando, his fearless secret persona, always patched the cracks up at night, because he feared nothing, which included falling or making loud noises that might alert the family to his presence. He spent so long patching cracks over the next several days, he didn’t even notice what was going on. He heard a ruckus in the dining room, and he peeked in, only to see his mother staring down at… oh no. 

He ran to the other side of the house, squeaking to get his rats to come to him. They each carried little pieces of the tablet, and he shoved them all in his pocket. He was still missing one thought. He went towards the painting entrance, and he picked up the little mouse as it scurried up. Lightning flashed inside the house, and he caught a glimpse of- mierda. Was that Mirabel?! 

His heart raced as he ran away, trying to prevent her from having to deal with him. He just wanted to disappear. He had the advantage though, he knew these walls like the back of his hand. Mirabel, on the other hand, just chased him clumsily, bumping into walls and shouting for him. He managed to do a pretty sweet leap over one of the bigger holes and dart around a corner. He paused for a few moments, hoping she would give up. 

But Mirabel was not one to give up. She made an attempt at jumping over, and he hears her scream. Panic grips his heart as he hears her screaming for help and for casita. Then, without thinking, he runs back just in time to grab her little hand. He’s staring at his sobrina, his beautiful sobrina he could only watch grow from a distance, and said the first thing that came to mind. 

“Y-you’re very sweaty.” Stupid, stupid. 

Suddenly she slips and he was pulled down, only to be caught by her once more. He hangs for a second, and a rat pops out from his sleeve. She drops him and he screams, just before landing in a heap on the floor.  He stands and waves some dust out of the way, then shrugs. He lets his niece help him up out of the pit, and he just wants her to leave. So, he leaves. 

“Bye.” Was all he could manage. 

Damn that little girl and her curiosity though, because she follows him down the hall. His heart is so happy, though. Finally, a real conversation with a human, not just him pretending to be involved, or pretending the rats are talking to him. He jokes around with her just like he did when she was little, but she seemed.. Off put by it. Instead of kicking her out, he decides maybe it’s best just to explain himself. 

He brings her to his little dining room hideout, and he sits her down, telling her everything. He sees so much good in her, and she’s desperate to help him and the family. He wanted to ask about you and his kids so bad, but he was afraid to bring them up. Instead, he just helped her along as she needed it, the whole time, secretly hoping she would finally get him out of there for good. 

Chapter Text

You moved back home with your father to take care of him and to help out in the store. You worked your ass off because it was all you had to keep your mind off everything. There were so, so many things you had to keep off your mind. Your father’s health was failing, and the shop was in desperate need of an update. You and Victor worked hard on bringing some life back into the store. People loved getting to see you all the time now, and seeing all the wonderful changes you made to the store. It made you feel a little better. 

But there was something you were hiding. No, not hiding.. Denying. But Victor could read you like a book. One night, when the two of you were closing, he broached the topic gently. However, even that causes you to break into tears. You fell to your knees and Victor ran over to you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders. You confessed that you were pregnant, and you couldn’t deny it anymore. It had to have happened just before Bruno left, which was a good several months ago. Victor realized that probably meant you would have this baby soon. 

He knelt down in front of you and promised he’d be here for you. He’d help you take care of your children, and he would be the best tío they’d ever had. You hug him tight, grateful to have him on your side. 

This arrangement became beneficial to the both of you. The town started to assume you were together. This helped him, because he was now free to find someone he truly liked, while keeping you around as his beard. And people stopped asking you about Bruno. They could see you were happy with Victor, so you let yourself pretend that it was now the two of you. 

You hadn’t been to the Madrigal’s since you’d confessed your pregnancy to Victor. He was the first person you told. When the baby arrived, you sent Victor there to inform them, and they invited you over. You went there for dinner with Thiago, Nora, and Victor. Félix was so excited to see his brother at the house, and you felt grounded having him near. 

At the table, you let everyone pass Nora around, getting to see her and coo over her. When Julieta took her in her arms, she was smiling down at her and stroking her cheek. 

“She’s just so beautiful, Y/n. I’m so sorry Bruno won’t get to meet her..” she says. There is a silence at the table. You look down at your plate, trying not to think too hard about Bruno. 

“He didn't know when he left. It’s okay.” you say quietly. Victor puts a hand on your shoulder comfortingly. 

“I swear, If I ever see him again, I’m gonna kick his ass for leaving you like this.” Pepa mutters. You hear a rumble of thunder, and Alma shouts at her about her language at the table. Pepa crossed her arms and it started to sprinkle a but, but Félix chased the cloud away. 

Nora eventually makes her way back to you, and you hold her with one arm as you eat. At some point, she wakes up and starts to fuss, so you excuse yourself into the kitchen to go feed her. 

You lean against the counter as you feed your daughter, sighing softly and looking around. You look at the beautiful kitchen, thinking of all the memories you’ve made in this house. It hurts to be gone now. You wished your family could have stayed in this house, grown up together and happy. You look down at your daughter as she fusses a bit.

“It’s okay, Nora.. Shh.. This used to be our home. You dad and I lived here for so long. Some day, i’ll show you our little meadow out back. One day, you’ll have a magical door here, and you’ll get a gift, just like your brother. And.. maybe one day, you’ll get to meet your dad.” You tell her.

Suddenly, you get that pang in your chest again. You rest your hand on your chest, taking a slow breath. You knew it was Bruno. Something about it just felt like him. But you could never be sure how close he was. He could be anywhere in the encanto, and you would feel him. That little pang was your only assurance he was still here and still alive. 

Meanwhile, either your voice soothed her, or she finally had enough to eat, because Nora began to drift back to sleep. With that, you bring her back into the dining room to finish your own meal with the rest of the family. 

After that night, you found it easier to keep showing up at the house.The only real change was Dolores seemed to avoid you now, carrying guilt when she saw you. You weren’t surprised, though. She’d heard a very personal fight between you and Bruno, and a very personal family secret. She probably thought you were mad at her, but you never were. 

You would bring Thiago and Nora over to play with their cousins. Isa and Luisa absolutely adored Nora, and they would play dress up with her. Luisa picked all the outfits, but let Isabela do the dressing, scared of accidentally hurting the little baby. Isabela would dress her and shower her with flowers, making her giggle. Camilo, Thiago, and Mirabel always played together, making up little stories and running around like wild. Dolores would hop between the two groups, but didn’t seem to have a preference either way.

You spent that time with the sisters in the house. They would talk to you and comfort you, but after a while, Pepa stopped wanting to talk about Bruno. She would get annoyed when his name would come up, and for a few months ‘we don’t talk about bruno!’ became her mantra. Everyone thought she was angry at him, but you could feel her pain and grief and regret when his name would pop up. It became harder and harder to talk about him in the house, and soon, no one would talk about him at all. 

Back at your own home, your father was not doing well. His health had always been bad, but this was the worst you’d ever seen it. He was weak, and skinny and frail. The tall, large, muscular man you once knew your father as was no more. You brought Thiago and Nora to see him as often as possible, but little Nora was scared of him sometimes. 

You spent each night with your father, sleeping on a couch in his room. He tended to wake up a lot, and needed help going to the bathroom or getting comfortable. You stayed in his room to wake up and help quickly when he needed it. Each morning when he would wake up, you would wake as well and go downstairs to make breakfast. 

However, one morning, before you could leave, he weakly reached out and grabbed your hand. 

“Mi hija..” he croaked. You turned to look at him, kneeling beside him. 

“Yes, Papí?” You say, voice shaking. 

“Mi vida.. I can feel my time coming. And I want to have one last talk with you. Will you stay?” Tears spring in your eyes and you crawl into the bed with your father, hugging him tight. 

“Of course, papí.” You whisper. 

Your final conversation with your father was one of the best you ever had. You talked about your life together and shared memories. He told you how proud he was of the woman you were becoming and how strong you had grown up to be. You were a good mother, he told you, and those kids would grow up to be amazing people because of you. He talked to you about Bruno and how much he loved him, viewing him as a son. He loved what Bruno did to you, making you this happy, kind girl, so full of life, even if he ended up hurting you by leaving you the way he did. You even talked about your mother a little. You find out that she was quite humble in her early years, but as her fame rose, she became more egotistical and selfish. He stayed with her because he clinged to that early image of the woman he loved. Then, when you came into his life, he knew he wanted to love and protect you more than anything. It was actually him who kicked her out. She didn’t leave. 

You hug your father as he tells this story and you wipe away the tears in your eyes. He’s been so kind to you your whole life. He’s always been there for you. This last conversation you were having with him was the best way to see him go. You could hear his voice getting weaker and his words coming out slower, so when they finally came to a stop and his body stilled, you weren’t surprised. You laid in the bed with your father, crying next to him and holding him tight. 

Thiago had sat outside the door, listening to the entire conversation. He wondered why his mother hadn’t come to make breakfast yet, but then he heard them talking and decided to listen. When his voice stopped, Thiago’s eyes filled with tears. He scribbled a little person onto the floor and instructed it to go to Victor’s room and tell him what happened. The drawing does a little salut before dashing down the hall. 

Victor comes bursting out of his room a few moments later, shirtless and frantic. He runs over to your fathers room and pushes the door open. When his eyes land on the sight, he covers his mouth and kneels next to the bed. He rests on hand on yours, whispering your name. 

“Are you okay..?” He whispers. You nod. 

“As much as i can be.. He was in so much pain. We had a really good talk up until the end. He left knowing how much we all love him.” You say. You wipe your tears and sit up. You see Thiago standing nervously in the doorway, and you reach out your hand for him to come in. He steps in slowly and takes your hand. 

“Abuelo is gone, mi vida. We have to say goodbye now.” You whisper. Thiago starts to cry, shaking his head. 

“I don’t wanna say goodbye! When will he wake up?” Thiago asks. You let out a soft sob and shake our head. 

“I’m.. im sorry, Thiago, he’s not waking up.” You whisper. He looks devastated. 

Victor ran to the Madrigals to inform them of what happened. They all cried with him, for he was beloved by the whole family. They immediately set to making funeral arrangements for him, taking care of everything so you wouldn't need to worry about a thing. Victor ran back to the house and brought you over. You looked rough. You’d been crying all morning, and your heart was just ripped into pieces. 

Alma came over to you to comfort you, and she assured you that they were taking care of everything. You hear some thunder in the sky, and you see Pepa wiping away a few tears. Thiago walked up to Abuela, and he tugged on her skirt. She pulled out of the hug she had been giving you and looked down at him. 

“Abuela? Where did Abuelo go? Is he with Papí?” He asks. You burst into brand new tears, and your knees almost buckle. Your son either thought your husband was also dead, or that your father was just hiding away from you. Victor wrapped an arm around your waist, supporting you with one hand while holding Nora with the other. Julieta came over and took Nora from his arms so that he could hold onto you. 

“No, mi vida. You papí is.. He’ll come back one day. Your abuelo is with the stars now, watching over you every day.” She says, running her fingers through his curls. 

“I don’t want Abuelo in the sky, I want him here.. I want Papí back here too.” He starts to cry, and he runs to you and Victor and joins the hug. The three of you sink to the ground and hold each other, mourning the loss. 

His funeral was beautiful. It rained, but it was fitting. You were dressed in all black, and you looked like you hadn’t slept in months. When the service was over, you and the Madrigal family returned to the house. They offered to let you stay and eat with them, but you just wanted to go home. 

It took you a few years to be able to really go back. In fact, the only thing that brought you back was Nora’s fifth birthday. You talked to Alma about it and told her you didn’t want the big celebration or anything. You just wanted to give her the door so she could have her gift. Alma was very understanding, and allowed it to happen. 

You brought the children and Victor over to the house that night. You all had dinner together, and then Thiago got up and carried his sister around the house, giving her the tour. He took her upstairs and started showing her all the doors. 

“This right here is the nursery. This is where I stayed until I got my door. This one here is our cousin Isabela’s room. She makes flowers grow!” He says. Nora reaches over and plucks a flower from the wall, then places it into Thiago's hair. He laughs and gives her one of her own. 

“Next, we have Luisa’s room. She’s super strong! She can pick up like six donkeys and not even get tired!” He smiles, then turns to the next room. He sees the bottom of the stairs, and his smile fades. He walks up to the base and stands there, looking up at it. His eyes looked longingly up the stairs, at the door with his father’s image. 

“Door no glow?” She asked. Thiago nodded. 

“This door.. This was our papí’s door. He could see the future, you know. When he lived here, it glowed, but now.. Well, no one’s been in there a long time. 

“Where’s papí now?” She asks. Thiago looks at his little sister with sad eyes. 

“We don't know, Nora..”

“Papí come home soon?” She asks. 

“I hope so.” He says. He kisses her cheek and continues to carry her around. 

He shows her the rest of the doors, telling her about each family member as he went along. When he was done, Abuela came up and took her, bringing her into the candle room. 

The ceremony went well, albeit quiet. You requested that it only be you, Alma, the kids, and Victor. Casita was going to hide Thiago and Nora’s doors so they didn’t remain empty, but still existed so they could use their magic. 

It was almost no surprise when her power was very similar to yours. She was also an empath, one who could affect emotions with a touch of her hand. She tested this out on you, sending you happiness. It made you smile so wide, and you felt happier than you had in many years. 

“Y/N, i haven’t seen you smile like this in so long!” Victor says as he scoops you two into a hug.

“I know, i just.. When she touched my hand, I felt overwhelmingly happy.” You say. Tears fall down your cheeks, though you aren’t completely sure they’re happy tears 

“I’m an empath like you, mamí!” Nora exclaims. 

“Looks like you can affect moods too with a touch, mi vida.” You say to her, kissing the top of her head. 

“What a beautiful gift, Nora. Truly a wonderful new addition to the Madrigal legacy.” her grandmother says. 

Casita hides the door, and you all head out of the casa de Madrigal. You wished you could visit more often, but the shop needed both of you there, now that your father was no longer around. Thiago started working in the store as well, and he even took over deliveries so you and Victor could stay in the shop. 

When you took over, you made a bunch of changes you’d been wanting for a while. You organized things better, added an area for locals to sell crafts or crops. You also expanded some of the pet items, now including toys and treats along with the food.  The store started to become more popular, and more busy. You didn’t have much time to visit the Madrigals anymore, thought the children would often stop by to pull Thiago from his work to play. Mostly Camilo, those two stayed very close even after he left. Camilo even helped out in the shop sometimes. 

You didn’t actually set foot in the house again until it was time for Antonio’s ceremony. You were reluctant to go, but Thiago, now sixteen and taller than you, begged you to go with him and Nora. Nora, now nine, begged as well, going as far as to try to poke her mom, though you knew better. Still, you relented. 

When you all arrived, you stayed in the back. Thiago ran up to Camilo and high fived him. Camilo shifted to look like Thiago and they laughed together. They ran around and went up to people, trying to get them to guess which one was Thiago and which was Camilo. Surprisingly few got the correct answer. 

Julieta came up to you and gave you a hug, then offered to pull you into the kitchen so you could talk. You helped her cook, and you chatted, catching up over the last few years. Soon, casita nudges the two of you towards the door, and you realize it’s time for his ceremony. Julieta offers to let you stand up front with them, but you decline politely, opting to stay in the back. 

You went into Antonio’s room with everyone else and danced for a while, but when Abuela asked for a family portrait, you and Thiago held back. Nora was too busy playing with some birds to notice. Thiago looked at you with sad eyes and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. You give him a sad half smile and sigh. 

After that, you decided to leave early. You told Thiago to bring Nora home, later, and you set out back to your own home, alone for the night. 

You were surprised when you saw Mirabel pop into your shop. You worked behind the counter, finishing up your task, when you heard her asking about Bruno. She was going around, asking many people about him. You set down what you were doing and walk over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

“There you are, tía! What do you know about Bruno? I mean, you obviously know a lot, he was your husband and all-” You cut her off by putting a hand up, and she looked up at you. 

“Mirabel.. Bruno had his issues, but he was a good man. Everyone has their own thoughts on him, but we just don’t talk about him anymore, and I think its best for everyone.” You say sadly. Mirabel looks sad, and it dawns on you that you might have been her last hope for real information on him. She leaves, and you get back to work, trying to keep your mind off the encounter. 

You don’t know what was going on in the Madrigal home, but when the sky darkened, and the cracks began to form in the roads and on the mountains, you felt fear bubbling up from all around the encanto. You rush outside and look around, seeing your village and home crumble. You run towards casita just in time to see it crumble to the ground. 

You run up to the ruins, Thiago not far behind, dragging Nora by the hand. When you run up, the house is completely destroyed, and voices are shouting. You run up to Alma and you kneel next to her. She looks at you and gives you a hug. 

“Alma, what happened?” You ask, and she just shakes her head. 

“Mirabel? Where is Mirabel?!” Julieta shrieks. You feel your face go pale and you move around the rubble, searching for Mirabel. 

The entire family looks all night, but no one finds her. You all decide to go to sleep for the night, camping out near the rubble of what used to be your home. The night was filled with soft sobs and little sniffles. You, Thiago and Nora all decided to stay so you could be up first thing in the morning to continue the search. 

When morning comes, no one looks like they slept well. They’re all adjusting to life without their powers, some struggling more than others. Thiago sighs every time he draws something and it stay still, and Nora looks anxious now that she can’t tell what people are feeling. She runs around, grabbing people’s hands trying to cheer them up, but it doesn’t work.

It dawns on you that you’re the only one with working powers in the whole encanto right now. You close your eyes and try to focus in on Mirabel, but she’s either too far away, or all the emotions are just clouding everything up too much. You may as well be powerless too right now, unable to help in any way. 

You and Julieta stay near the rubble in case she comes back on her own. She’s been crying on and off all day. By mid afternoon, you can tell shes on the verge of a full on breakdown. That is, until you hear hoofbeats pounding towards you, church bells, and lots of clatter to announce Mirabel’s return. 

Julieta runs up to her daughter and hugs her tight, but you feel something strange from Mirabel. She’s no longer sad, or depressed. She’s.. Confident. Determined. You watch as she gathers the family with an inspiring speech about rebuilding the family as well as the home. Alma comes in and apologizes for letting her trauma rule her decisions and holding onto the family too tight. 

And then, the entire world stops. Everything goes silent. The lights fade away as you lock eyes, and you feel yourself start to tremble. As soon as your eyes meet his, you and Bruno are truly the only two people in the world for a moment. He looks at you and you feel so many things coming from him. Sadness, regret, grief, sorrow, love, happiness… 

You slowly walk up to him, and you just stare at him. He looks terrified of you, wondering what you would do to him. You suddenly raise your hand like you're going to slap him, and he flinches, cowering down and shutting his eyes. But it surprises you both when you instead hug him tight, squeezing him as hard as you could. He hugs you back and he presses his face into your neck. You want to shout and scream at him, but right now you were just so overwhelmingly happy that he was back, that it would have to wait. Right now, you just wanted to hold your husband. 

Chapter Text

You were so grateful for the town coming to your aid. Everything was happening so fast. They all came up as you were holding Bruno, and offered to help rebuild your house. You were all so thankful, you got to work right away. While the work did go quickly, it would still take a while to build the house. As night began to fall, everyone began to finish up what they were doing. 

The families had offers from just about everyone to stay in their spare rooms, so no one had to sleep outside. The families split up for the night, wishing their goodbyes and goodnights as they went off to stay with various friends around town. Bruno stood awkwardly, holding his arm as he looked around, wondering if he should ask for a room, or if he should just camp out for the night. 

You take a deep breath and walk over to him, taking his hand in yours. He jumps and looks at you, and you can still feel some fear and anxiety in him. You squeeze his hand and start walking towards your house with him. The walk there is silent. Neither of you say anything. When the town came to your side, you two split up to do different tasks. You needed some time to think. You needed to figure out what you wanted to say. 

Your first instinct, of course, is to yell and scream, and maybe hit something. But when you think about that, you flash back to your mother in your childhood years, and all the time she spent chewing people out, and how awful they would feel. You thought about how you felt when you watched your mother screaming at your father, and you definitely didn’t want to put your kids through that. You didn’t want the first interaction they see between you two to be a big fight. So, you had to come up with what you really wanted to say, and not how you would say it angrily. 

When you arrive at your front door, you look over at him. He’s not looking at you, and despite the years showing on his face, it reminded you so vividly of that timid little boy who stood outside this very door while his mother set the two of you up. 

“Um, Nora and Thiago are inside already. I told them to go home early to make dinner. They’re really excited to meet you.” You say. He looks up at you, surprised. He nods his head, and you let him into the house. 

He looks around and notices it looks exactly the same. Barely any changes to be made. You walk into the kitchen to see your children cooking away. You smile and kiss each of them on the heads. 

“Kids.. your dad is here.” You say. You feel a jolt of anxiety and anger from Thiago, but also some excitement. 

“Chiquito, you be nice to him right now. This is a lot to process for us all. He really wants to meet you two.” You tell them. Nora looks up at you with big eyes. 

“Mamí, is he gonna stay?” She asks. You give her a weak smile. 

“I hope so, nena, but i need to talk to him before we decide anything.” You tell her truthfully. You never liked lying to the children, because when the lie came out, you could always feel their sadness. 

“Ma, will I get a chance to talk to him alone?” Thiago asks. You put your hand on his shoulder. 

“Only if you promise to go easy on him. I already know what you want to do, and you better not. He had his reasons, and he made a reckless decision, but we can’t change the past now. We can only fix the present for the future, so don’t burn any bridges, okay?” You tell him. He nods, looking down at his hands. 

You return to the living room where Bruno is still standing awkwardly. You walk up to him, hugging yourself. He won’t make eye contact with you, and his dominant emotions are fear, guilt, anxiety, and sadness. You reach out and cup his cheek in your hand, surprising him. He looks at you and you feel a rush of love from him. 

I dont deserve this kindness.. Why aren't you screaming at me?

“Bruno, I watched my mother be a cruel woman for years to anyone who crossed her. I learned very young how to contain my anger and how to approach intense situations calmly. Or at least to think about them first.” You tell him. Tears well in his eyes and he reaches up to put his hand over yours. 

“Would you like to meet our kids? Thiago is so different from when he was six, and Nora- oh, you’ll love her.” You smile at him and he nods. 

You bring him into the kitchen, and Nora turns to see the two of you. She runs up to you and she stops just short of Bruno. You feel a sudden anxiety within her, and she hides behind your leg, peeking out at him. Bruno kneels down so he’s closer to her height, and he nervously holds his hand out to her. She looks up at you, and you give her a nod. 

She steps out from behind you, and takes a little step forward. She looks between you two, then takes another, this time reaching to slip her hand in his. You feel a rush of relief and love from him as he gives her a tired smile. 

“H-hi, Nora.. I’m your papa..” He says. She nods. 

“Mamí has shown me pictures of you.” She says. Bruno looks up at you and you nod, giving him a soft smile. 

“I.. i can’t tell you how sorry I am for not being able to meet you sooner.” He says. She squeezes his hand. 

“You’re here now.” She responds. She lurches forward and hugs him, and he wraps his arms around her, pressing his nose into her hair. 

Thiago watches from the other side of the room, with crossed arms and a frown. Of course she would warm up to him so quickly, she learned to be very forgiving when she had her empathy. Thiago was not so forgiving. He still remembered that morning when his mother told him his dad was gone. He remembered how much she cried after that. He knew how much you relied on him and his tío Victor because he wasn't there . 

Bruno glances over at him and blushes, seeing the look on his face and quickly looks away. He pulls out of the hug and looks at his little girl. He pets her on the head and gives her a gentle smile. “You look just like your mother.” He says, and she giggles. 

“I get that a lot. Tío Victor says I look just like she did when she was young.” She says proudly. 

“So.. wait, Tío Victor..?” Bruno says, looking up at you. You nod. 

“He moved in to help me with my dad and the kids. The town assumed we were together, and we just sort of let it happen.” You explain. He nods and relaxes a little. 

Thiago cleared his throat, and you look over and see he’s about done cooking. You go to help set the table while the kids and Bruno bring out the food. The four of you sit down together and start serving yourselves. You sit next to Bruno, while Nora is across from him, and Thiago is across from you. 

The dinner is awkwardly silent as you all eat, none of you knowing what to say. You know that Bruno was desperate to reconnect with his kids, and Thiago was holding back a slew of insults at the man. No one really conversed the way you hoped, so you decided to just finish your food, then bring him upstairs to talk. When you and Bruno are finished, you stand up and instruct the kids to clean up when they are finished. 

You lead Bruno upstairs and back into your bedroom, the same one you’ve always had. You sit on your bed and pat the empty space next to you, wanting him to sit. The two of you sit there, wondering which one will break the silence first. 

“Why did you run?” You finally ask. He closes his eyes, having dreaded this question. 

“I.. when I had that vision, it terrified me. We were all already worked up because Mirabel didn’t get her gift. When I saw that vision.. I just knew that If i showed everyone that Mirabel was responsible for the whole family losing their magic, that Mirabel would destroy everything, then she would end up.. Like me. Or worse.” He said. “The idea of her, or any of the kids really.. Going through that. Just.. Oh, and I can’t even imagine what mamá would have done to her. Mirabel was a threat to the perfection of the Madrigals. Having been that threat my whole life, I just couldn’t bear to pass that mantle on.” He says. 

“Bruno, you had so many other choices. You had me to talk to. Your wife. There were so many things you could have done besides run. And it hurt me so bad that you chose to run over choosing to stay with our family. I understand your thought process, but I don’t understand how you could have made that choice. How you could just leave your family like that.” There were tears in your eyes now, and you were looking down into your lap. Bruno looked over at you and the guilt was eating him up. 

“I.. i know. I thought about that every single day. I regretted that choice every single day. I was so blinded by fear and.. And anger at how people treated me for so long. You know how bad it was right before I left. Pepa still barely spoke to me after her wedding. The people in town would avoid me and talk bad about me. Y/n.. I never told you this, but I got hit by villagers a lot. They would slap me or punch me for giving them their futures, and then again when that future would come true. They always reacted out of anger and fear to me. I couldn’t let something like that happen to Mirabel. If it had been Dolores, or- or Thiago in that vision, I would have done the same thing. It was a culmination of being treated like that my whole life, and seeing someone I love and took care of be put in that same position-” He choked on a sob and he buried his face in his hands. 

You put a hand on his back, rubbing it gently. You pulled him towards you and he leaned on your shoulder as he shook and cried. 

“Y/N.. if you want me to go.. If you never want to see me again, or have nothing to do with me, i’ll understand. You said you’d never forgive me, and I’ve been prepared for that for a long time. So, just say the word, and-” You cut him off by putting a hand up. 

“Bruno Madrigal, no matter what you have done, no matter where you have been.. You are still my husband, and you are still the father of my children. You made many mistakes here, but we promised ourselves to each other for the rest of our lives. I don’t intend to break that promise, Bruno. But.. it’s also not magically going to fix itself. We’re going to need to work on this. You have to earn our trust back. You’re going to have to show us that you’re here for us for good. Now, Nora is probably going to accept you with open arms, that's just how she is.. But Thiago and I are going to need a lot more convincing. Thiago has a lot of resentment towards you.” You tell him. He nods and sits up, wiping his eyes with the heels of his palms. 

"I know. I know, I honestly didn't even expect this .. I thought you would be so angry with me.. I was ready for you to shout, or to hit me, or worst of all.. just never speak to me again." He admits. 

"I am angry. I'm fuming , actually. But yelling would get us nowhere. Saying everything that comes to mind in the heat of anger only pushes us further apart. I've lived ten horrible years without you, Bruno. I needed you then, and I need you now. Thiago needs you now, Nora needs you now." You tell him. He looks up with you with glassy eyes, and he feels a mix of guilt and regret that makes your own stomach churn. 

"I.. I don't deserve you. Or your kindness." Bruno says, looking into his lap. 

"You honestly don't." You say truthfully. "But I'm giving it to you anyway. I've lost so much.. I'm not going to lose you too."

He nods and sniffles. You lean forward and wrap your arms around him, and he hugs you tight. You two hold each other for a while, before you slip away. 

"You'll sleep in here tonight.  I'll sleep in dad-... In the, uh, spare bedroom." You blush hard at the slip, looking down at your feet. Bruno doesn't argue, he just stares down at his feet until you leave. 

It's silent for a while, until Bruno notices someone standing in his door. He looks up to see Thiago, frowning at him. He swallows hard and can't bring himself to say anything, though he knocks on the wooden bedframe a few times. 

"You are one lucky cabrón, you know that?" He finally says. Bruno's instinct is to correct his son's language, but he realizes he's in no position to do any parenting right now. Thiago steps into the room and shuts the door, standing over his father with his arms crossed. 

"Mamí went through so much pain because of you. She would cry every night for over a year after you left. When Abuelo died, I heard her talking to tío Victor about how she wished you were there for her. How much she missed you, how much she needed you. Do you even know what she went through to take care of him? She slept on a couch in his room. Abuelo couldn't get out of bed. He couldn't use the bathroom or take a shower by himself. He would wake up scared and confused. He had nightmares that made him scream sometimes. And Mamí was always there beside him, comforting him, caring for him. Sometimes she would wake up every hour to help him. And the next day, she'd have to go to work in the shop, only to come home and do it all again." His face was angry, but tears were pricking his eyes. Bruno shrunk back and looked down, not making eye contact with his son. 

"...I needed you too. I needed you to help us take care of Nora. I needed you when I started getting older. Tío Victor was helpful, but.. he didn't know how to talk to me about girls. He didn't know how to comfort my nightmares the way you used to. He never sang to me the way you did. When Tío Victor and Mamí we're busy in the shop, I was raising Nora. I didn't get to go out and play with my friends. I missed out on dates. Because I was there when my family needed me." His eyes had finally betrayed him and were spilling tears down his cheeks. He wiped them away and sniffed, trying to calm himself. 

"Thiago.." Bruno began. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, struggling to find the words. Thiago scoffs. 

" Gueva. Can't even come up with a defense for yourself? Can't even try to excuse your shitty actions?" His face twists in anger. He takes a step closer to his father, feeling his breath pick up. 

Instead of reacting, he closes his eyes and breaths slowly. He stands like that for a moment, crossing his arms again. Once he's calmed, he walks to the other side of the room, near the window, and stares out. 

"Mamí doesn't know how much I hear. I can be very quiet sometimes. Or my drawings will tell me things. I'd send them out to listen to mamí and Tío Victor talking, and I heard a lot about you. She never once said an ill word about you. She never once insulted you or put you down, and would even stop Victor from saying mean things about you. I always wondered why she never let herself get angry at you. Until Nora came into my room one day and started yelling and trying to break things. She was seven. I asked her what was wrong, and she said she didn't know, she was just angry. We talked about it for a while, and we realized she was feeling mamís anger. She hid her anger from us. Mamí never yelled, never got mad. But then we realized why. She hid it from us. From then on, Nora was always able to identify when mamí had strong feelings about you. Some were good. She'd see a photo of you when you were young and she'd be happy. Some were awful. On your anniversaries, she spent the whole day in her room. Nora would cry as long as she was in the house, that's how intense mamís sadness was. Tío Victor learned to just take her out for the day so she wouldn't cry so much." Thiago sighed and let his hands fall. He looked at his father in the reflection of the glass. He was turned around now, sitting cross legged on the bed and facing his son. His face was weary and broken, a few silent tears beaded on his cheeks. 

"Papá… you hurt us when you left." Thiago says, looking over his shoulder at his father. 

"I.. I know, Thiago. I know I did. And I don't expect you to forgive me anytime soon. You, or your Madre. I made a mistake, one that I regret every single day. And I will regret it for the rest of my life." Bruno says finally. "I can't get those years back with you. I can't turn back the clock and make everything like it never happened. But.. I want to make up for it. I want to be here now. I want to be here for you , Thiago."

Bruno slowly stands up off the bed, walking towards his son. He takes a few cautious steps forward before reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder. Thiago doesn't move. He just stands there, letting his father touch him. 

"That's going to take a lot of convincing." Thiago says quietly. 

"I'll be here.. every day. Every single day, whenever you need me. You are my son.. you have no idea what we went through before having you-" 

"..yeah, I do." Thiago cuts him off. Bruno stiffens. 

"I heard mamí and tío talk about it once. While she was pregnant with Nora. She talked about how being pregnant still scared her after what happened the first time. Tío didn't know what she was talking about, and it turns out she never told anyone outside the family what happened. That she.." he takes a deep breath. "So yes, I know. That's what hurts me so much, really. You went through all that to have me.. only to leave me behind for ten years ." Thiago fully turns around now, looking his dad dead in the eyes. 

"I'm so sorry, Thiago.." Bruno whispers. Thiago nods, crossing his arms again. 

"I know you are." 

They stand in silence for a moment, and then Thiago steps forward and wraps his arms around his dad. They both tear up and embrace each other tightly. 

"Thank you for coming back." Thiago whispers. 

Bruno pulls away from the hug and gives his son a nervous smile. 

"I'd.. really like to get to know you. And your sister." Bruno says, and Thiago nods. 

"Well, you have a lot to catch up on. But it'll have to wait. We need to be up early tomorrow." Thiago steps past his dad and walks towards the door. He pauses with his hand on the knob. 

"Goodnight.. padre." He says softly before exiting the room. 

Bruno stared at the door for a little while, playing this whole day over in his head. Eventually, he laid down on the bed, and closed his eyes, trying to will himself into a dreamless sleep. 

Chapter Text

Nora burst into his room in the morning and jumped on the bed next to him, shaking him awake. She beamed down at him, and he couldn’t help but smile up at her. 

“Papí! Get up! We have to get ready to go rebuild casita!” She said, poking his side. 

“Alright, alright, i’m up..” He sits up and ruffles his hand through his curls with a sigh. You poke your head in the door as you watch this scene. 

“Nora, the poor man just woke up. Come downstairs and eat, he’ll be down soon.” You tell her. She hops off the bed and runs downstairs, and you step into the bedroom. 

“She was so excited to wake you up. You’re probably gonna get a lot of questions from her today.” You tell him as you cross the room to sit on the bed. He nods and sighs softly. 

“Thank you… for the bed. I haven’t slept on an actual bed in.. well, ten years.” He said, looking down. 

“What were you sleeping on before?” You ask furrowing your eyebrows. 

“An old hammock.” You grin at him. 

“How in the world did you make your pillow forts then?” You ask him. He looks at you confused for a moment, then he remembers the joke. He laughs and smiles, finally relaxing a little. You lean forward and kiss his forehead. 

“Come on. Let’s go eat.” You tell him. 

The two of you come downstairs to see Thiago serving breakfast. You greet your son with a kiss on the cheek and you sit down at your usual spot. Nora is seated beside you and is absolutely devouring her breakfast. 

“Whoa, slow down nena! You’re going to choke.” You say. 

“I’m so excited mamí! I’m gonna get to build stuff with Tonito, and we’re gonna make the casita beautiful again!” She says with her mouth full. 

“Ma? Are we going to live in casita again?” Thiago asks. You hesitate, then look at Bruno. 

“I.. i dont know. We haven’t talked about it.” You say. 

“We can talk to my mama, but she loves your mother, so i’m sure it wouldn’t be an issue.” Bruno says. You smile a little, and you continue eating. 

Once everyone has eaten, you all head back over to the casita, and you get split up to help with different projects. The months go by in the same routine; build, break, build, sleep. Bruno stayed at your house each night. For the first week or two, you slept separately. Finally, one night, you couldn’t stand it any longer. You snuck out of your room and crept into his. He was sound asleep on the bed. You silently closed the door and crawled into the bed with him, wrapping your arms around him. He was a lot skinnier now, but you could also feel some muscles he didn’t have before. You cuddled up close to him, and you slept like that the rest of the night. 

After that, you and Bruno shared your room. Nora warmed up to him almost immediately, and Thiago was slowly coming around. You secretly asked Mirabel to pair them up together more often so they had a chance to talk while they worked. It seemed to work, because they started having actual conversations, and less tense encounters. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

Of course Alma had agreed to let you all stay back in the casita. They added plans for Nora and Thiago’s rooms, and made Bruno’s big enough for the two of you. When the casita was complete, you and Bruno were close as ever. You all smiled at your work, seeing the completed casita. You watched as Mirabel placed the doorknob in, and were amazed when the house once more lit up with magic. Everyone slowly realized their powers were back. Nora was extra excited, her own emotions being increased from feeling everyone else’s. 

The casita pushed you all inside, and the whole family gathered for a photo. You laughed wildly as casita pushed you all together, causing you all to fall into a pile together. Nora, Thiago, Camilo, and Antonio all rushed upstairs to go see their rooms. Once they found their doors, they touched the doorknob, and their original designs were back. Nora and Thiago beamed up at their doors, then looked at each other. 

“Do you wanna see them together?” Thiago asked. Nora nodded and moved over to her brother. He took her hand and brought her inside his room. There were all sorts of paints, pens, markers, crayons, and pencils strewn about the room. There were surfaces everywhere he could draw on. It looked exactly how he left it. Nora was amazed at his room. 

“Lets go see mine!!” She had never actually gone in. She just received her gift, then her door was hidden away. Thiago took her to her room, and it was incredible. There were all kinds of little cubbies for her to settle in,each with a different emotional theme. Her bed seemed to be in a relaxation themed cubby. The bed was like a tall, raised bowl with soft pillows and blankets filling it up. Perfect for her to cocoon herself in. There was an anger cubby full of breakable things, and a happy cubby full of her favorite things, like her dolls and her books and had space for her to dance around in. All kinds of cubbies filled the room, and she loved every bit of it. 

“Thank you casita!!” She said. She ran around her room, and Thiago left her to it, going back into his room. He picked up a few pencils and made some drawings on the wall, smiling at how they came to life as soon as he lifted his pencil away. He missed having these companions to keep him company. 

Meanwhile, you and Bruno decided to go to the tower to see his room and door. You held his hand as the two of you went up to it, and he reached out and touched the doorknob. The door showed his original etchings on it, but he didn’t move to open it. He swallowed, and you squeezed his hand reassuringly. 

When he opened the door, his room was completely different. No more stairs. Instead, off to the right was a little bedroom area that was sort of inside a cave. The room was lit by emerald slabs all around the walls and on the floors. The rest of the room was still covered in sand, though. Straight ahead was a beautiful pavilion. It was tall, and had little water rings around the center, with bridges leading into the middle. The two of you walk over, and the pavilion is his new vision area. It had room for him and one other person to sit. 

Bruno ran his hand over one of the pillars that held the pavilion's roof up. He smiled softly, enjoying this room much more than his previous one. 

"No more stairs, cariño." You say, smiling over at him  

"Yeah.. it's nice." He says. 

Everyone gathers in the dining room to eat their first meal as a whole family in a long time. You sit between Bruno and Thiago, and Nora insists on sitting on Bruno's other side. She became very attached to her dad, but you can tell it was out of a fear he would disappear again, rather than a bonded connection. 

The dinner was lively and happy. Everyone chattered and ate together, telling stories and sharing memories. You all day at the table well into the night, nibbling on leftovers, sipping on coffees, and just generally catching up. 

People started to trickle out well after dark. First was Antonio, who had an earlier bedtime. Nora went next, followed by Camilo and Mirabel. After that was Pepa and Félix and Julieta and Agustín. Alma followed not long after, then You, Isabela, Dolores, and Luisa all left together. This left Bruno and Thiago at the table. 

The two of them sat in silence for a while. Sure, they could have gotten up and left, but the air was thick with words waiting to be said. Thiago sipped on his coffee, looking down into his cup. 

"Looks like mamí is starting to trust you again." He says finally. 

"Y-yeah.. it's nice. I've missed her." Bruno says, looking into his lap. He felt so foolish, being scared of his own son. 

"You didn't have to miss her. You could have stayed." Thiago says, still not looking at him. Bruno sighed softly and closed his eyes. 

"I know. I wasn't thinking when I left, and.. by the time I really thought about it, it was too late to go back." He says. "I get the feeling you're never going to forgive me. A-and that's okay, I don't expect you to. But you are my son. I did help raise you until you were six. I watched you walk for the first time, I watched you get your door.." Bruno sighs and leans back in his chair. 

"You're right. I won't ever forgive you for abandoning us for ten years." Thiago says. "But.. you're also right in that you're my dad. And, I eventually want to get to a place where we can be close. But for now.. I'm just not there yet." 

Thiago set his cup down and stood up, pushing his chair in. He gathers the abandoned coffee mugs on the table, getting ready to take them to the kitchen. Bruno watches him silently, then decides to get up and follow him to the kitchen. 

"You wash, I dry?" He asks. Thiago turns to look at him and shrugs. 

Bruno takes his place near Thiago and starts drying off cups once they're good and washed. They do this silently for a few minutes, with only the splashing of water and clinking of dishes to fill the air. 

"Mirabel isn't even your daughter. What could possibly have been so bad that it made you leave for her?" Thiago asks. Bruno's cheeks heat up. 

"I knew.. I knew that if Abuela found out about the vision, she would have been ruthless to Mirabel. Mirabel was always going to be the reason the magic disappeared. It was just a toss up on if she could save it again or not." He began, taking a deep breath. "This family has plenty of issues. My mom treated me like a golden child as a kid. I told futures, and people loved it. Even if I said something bad, it was cute to hear it from a little kid. I didn't always explain things well, so people never took them seriously. Then, I got older, more articulate, and people stopped thinking it was cute. Bad things started to happen because I said they would. That's when people started to get scared of me. From then on, I was the scapegoat of the family. Whenever things went wrong, it was my fault. Those insecurities cut me deep. By the time I met your mother, I felt worthless. Sure the town made me feel bad, but hearing some of that stuff from my own mother was heartbreaking." They had long since finished the few cups they had to wash, but Thiago was interested in the story. 

"So.. when I saw that prophecy, I knew that that was what my mother would do to Mirabel. The thought of that broke something in me. If it had been any of you, you or any of your other primas, I would have done the same thing. My instinct was to protect my family. And.. running was the only way I knew how." Bruno says. He looks over at Thiago, and his face is a mix of angry, betrayed, and sad. 

" I am your family. You needed to protect me, and mom. You needed to be there for mom when Abuelo died. Nora got sick for a while when she was 8. Even tía Julieta's cooking didn't help much, and we thought she was gonna die. We needed you then. We've needed you for ten years , pà, and you were just, what, watching it happen from inside the walls? I had to grow up real fast because you left . I was the man of the house, because tío Victor took care of the shop. I got a job at 10 working in that store, and I did it because we needed the help. Because I know how to step up when shit gets hard." The words cut Bruno deep, and all he could do was stare down at his feet. This just made Thiago angry. 

"What, you don't have an explanation for yourself?" He growled. Without thinking, he lunged forward, grabbing his dad by the front of his shirt. He reared back like he was going to punch him, but the older man simply tensed, ready for what was to come. Thiago stopped himself, knowing he would regret it if he followed through. Instead, he dropped his dad into a pile on the floor and turned to walk away. 

"Pathetic." He spit as he walked out of the kitchen. 

Bruno put a hand on his chest, trying to catch his breath. He sat on the floor in silence, processing what just happened. He thought they had made some progress while the house was being built.. but maybe he was wrong. He took a deep breath and stood up shakily. He dusted himself off and sighed. Maybe he should just go to bed. At least his wife would be there, waiting for him…

Chapter Text

Pepa must have been in a wonderful mood that day, because it was clear, cool, and there was a slight breeze. You woke up with your arms tightly wrapped around your husband, who was still fast asleep beside you. You cuddle up closer to him, waiting for him to wake up. 

When he stirs, you kiss the back of his head. He turns over and gives you a sleepy smile, and a good morning kiss. 

“Buenos días, mi vida..” he mumbled. He wrapped his arms around you in turn and pressed your foreheads together. 

“It’s nice out today.. What do you say we take the kids to our little meadow today?” You ask. He smiles. 

“That sounds wonderful.” He says. 

The two of you spend the morning cuddling in bed, until Nora bursts into the room and climbs into the bed with you. She looks happy and excited. 

“Mamí, papí!” She slides in between the two of you and you laugh, giving her room. 

“Good morning, nena. What’s got you all worked up this morning?” You ask. Bruno runs his fingers through her hair, sitting up slightly to look down at her. 

“Dolores is super excited, and i think tía Pepa and Abuela are too!” she tells them. 

“Mariano must be proposing today.” Bruno says. The two of you lean in and kiss her on both her cheeks, and she giggles. 

“Come on, burbujita, we’ve got plans for you and your brother today. Go get him up, and we’ll get some breakfast before going out.” Bruno tells her. 

“Okay!” She hops out of the bed and runs out of the room to go find her brother. You smile as you watch her go. 

“She’s so much happier these days.” You say. You look over at Bruno and you lean your heads together. 

“I think we all are. Even Thiago and I are getting along better.” Bruno says. 

“Oh, good! How did shopping go yesterday?” you ask. 

“It went well. He and I talked for a while. He didn’t blow up at me about being gone at all, which im taking as a good sign.” Bruno responds. 

“Mm, yeah. He’s taking his time warming up to you, but he’s getting there. You’ve been a good father since you got back.” You tell him. 

You lean in to kiss him, wrapping your arms around him. He wraps his arms around you, pulling you against him. You smile into the kiss as he puts his hand on the small of your back, pressing your abdomen towards his. He then tilts his head and starts to kiss your neck, causing you to giggle softly. 

“Cariño, cariño! Please, Nora will come in here again if we take too long..” You say through your giggles. 

“Ugh, fine.. But we need to continue this later.” He mumbles into your neck. He gives you one last kiss on the shoulder before getting up to get dressed for the day. You get up as well, dressing alongside him. He lets you button up his shirt, and then he adjusts your shirt so it sits just right on you. 

You take his hand and you walk into the dining room, where some of the family has already gathered for breakfast. The two of you fill up plates and take your seats next to each other to eat. Nora, who had just finished her food, crawled onto Bruno’s lap and looked up at him. 

“Papí? What are we gonna do today?” She asks. Bruno smiles down at her and kisses her forehead. 

“You mamí and I have a plan. You’ll see. You have to let me eat first, though.” He says. She grins excitedly and slides off his lap, running up to her room to get dressed. Thiago looks at her as she rushes past, then looks to his parents. 

“Morning, Thiago! We’re all gonna go do something today, so eat up and get dressed, okay?” You tell him. He nods tiredly and goes to grab himself some food. 

When you and Bruno finish eating, you go upstairs to get dressed and get ready to go out. When you’re ready, Nora is bouncing at the bottom on the stairs reading to the tower, waiting for you. Bruno scoops her up and she laughs, hugging on to him tight. You go and knock on Thiago’s door, and he walks out, ruffling his hair. 

“Do we have to go so early in the morning..?” He groans. 

“Mi vida, it’s already 10. Come on, you’ll like what we have planned.” You tell him, taking his hand. 

The four of you walk out of the back door of casita, and you follow the still well-worn path to the meadow you and Bruno loved so much. Nora clung onto Bruno as he carried her, and Thiago walked next to you. When you reach the meadow, you and Bruno sit down. Thiago sits next to you, and Nora lays down between you. 

“What is this place? I never knew this was here..” Thiago said, looking around. 

“This is me and Bruno’s meadow. We came here when we wanted to be alone. It’s quiet, its open, and no one else really comes back here, unless they’re looking for us.” You tell him. 

“We made a lot of good memories here…” He says, smiling over at you. 

“Indeed, we have.. In fact, here is where we made a good friend as well.” You say, smirking at Bruno. He looked at you, eyebrows furrowed. “Yeah, you remember, don’t you, Bruno? Our good friend… Hernando?” Bruno grins and he pulls his hood over his head jumping up. 

“I am hernando and I am scared of nothing! But, alas.. I do not see my beautiful Esemerelda anywhere..” He says. Nora giggles at his funny voice, and Thiago looks at him like he’s gone insane. You jump up and you swoon into his arms. 

“Oh, hernando! It’s been so long! I thought I had lost you forever!” You say. Thiago looks between the two of you as if you were strangers. Nora laughs and claps her hands. 

“My beautiful Esmerelda, I could never live without you..” Bruno says. He plants a big, loud, dramatic kiss on your lips, and Thiago groans. 

“I wonder what adventures await us now..” You say, looking up at him. Nora jumps up, as if she could read your mind, and tugs on Bruno- er, Hernando’s- ruana. 

“Sir, you have to help me! My brother is trying to kidnap me!” She shrieks, giggling. 

“Aww, Nora, don’t rope me into this..” He sighs, leaning his head back. You can feel he’s enjoying himself though, that he’s just putting on an act. 

“Ah, a young princesa! How may we help you?” Bruno asks, looking down at her. 

“Save me, before my evil brother gets me!” She says, giggling. 

Bruno lifts her up and tosses her over his shoulder, holding her with one arm and you with the other. 

“I shall save these lovely ladies, and fight any adversary who may try to take them away!” 

You all stare expectantly at Thiago and he sighs, rolling his eyes. But, he gets up anyways, stepping towards you. 

“I’m, uh.. I’m her evil brother…” He says awkwardly. 

“Ah, the young price has come for you, princesa! Esmerelda, hold the girl while I fight off the fiend!” Bruno shouts, shoving Nora into your arms. The two of you laugh and you hold her princess style as Bruno gets into an exaggerated fighting position. Thiago looks at you, as if to ask “Really, ma?”, but you just nodded excitedly. Thiago sighs and gets into a similar, but weaker, fighting position. 

“H-hand over the, uh, girl, or i’ll..” He trails off, trying to come up with something. 

“You’ll what, stutter like a fool? Ha ha ha!” Bruno says, cackling dramatically. Thiago cracks a smile, unable to hold it back. 

“I’ll.. infect you with my curse! And you’ll be under my rule!” He says, more confident now. You gasp dramatically. 

“A curse! Hernando, my love, be careful!” You shout. 

“Be careful, papí!” Nora echoes. 

The four of you continue on like this for a long time, until the sun is high in the sky. You hear Pepa calling for you all, and you look at each other, and suddenly collapse into a pile of giggles. You all collect yourselves, then make your way back to the house. 

You all settle in to eat lunch with the family. When you sit down, Thiago sits himself between you and Bruno. It makes you smile to see him warm up to his dad. Bruno and Thiago have grass in their hair from play wrestling in the grass over Nora- or rather, over Princess Adria. 

Abuela passes by them on the way to her seat and pauses, moving to pluck a strand of grass from Bruno’s hair. 

“...Why do you two have grass in your hair?” She asks, looking at them quizzically. The four of you cast glances at each other, and then burst into a new fit of giggles. This takes Abuela by surprise, but she doesn’t question it further. 

After lunch, Nora and Thiago go off with the rest of the Madrigals to do their chores for the day. You and Bruno are left alone in the house with Agustín and Félix. The two of you go up to your room together, and lay down on the bed. 

“Today was a good day.. Thiago looked like he was really having fun with you.” You say, looking over at him. Bruno smiled and nodded, tilting his head to face you. 

“Yeah.. everything felt.. Normal.. today.” he says. You lean forward and kiss him gently. 

“Things will slowly find their way to normal. What counts is that you keep trying, every day. And you’re always here for us.” You tell him. He smiles and wraps his arms around you, pulling you close. 

“Cariño, I promise you.. I’ll never leave you again.” He says, pressing his forehead to yours. You smile at him, taking his face in your hands. 

“You better not.” You kiss the tip of his nose, then rub your own against it. “Now.. where were we this morning..?” 

Bruno grins and pulls you on top of him, kissing you all over your face. You grin and kiss him back, enjoying the feeling of being in his arms. Thankfully, you know now, that feeling will never, ever go away again. 

Chapter Text

The house was abuzz with activity. Well, for the most part. You and Bruno were still tangled up in each other's arms, half asleep in bed. All the work was thankfully being taken care of by your sobrinas and sobrinos. 

You pulled Bruno closer to you and nuzzled into his shirtless chest, humming softly when you hear his heart gently beating. He opens one eye and looks down at you, then wraps his arms tighter around you. 

"Buenos dias, cariño…" he mumbled. His voice was thick with sleep, nearly an octave lower than usual. 

"Buenos dias, mi vida." You whisper back. "You excited for today?" 

"Mm.. not particularly." He groans. You giggle and kiss his chest, and he gives you a sleepy smile. 

"I can feel Dolores from here.. she's freaking out." You tell him. 

"What's she got to worry about? Today is gonna go fine." 

"Yeah, but.. well, this is Mirabel's first time hosting this ceremony." You say. Bruno goes quiet and he nods softly. 

"Yeah.." you feel the grief pour in like a wave and you hug him tight. You knew today would be hard for him. For him and his sisters. The emotions in the house were truly all over the place today. Excitement, grief, nerves, it was almost too much for you. Made you wonder how Nora was feeling. Maybe she could calm everyone down today. 

Speaking of, you hear a knock on the door, and your daughter pokes her head in. You look up at her and she steps slowly into the room. She’s looking at her dad, and you can feel how worried about him she is. 

“Papí.. I could feel the mood shift from down the hall.” She says softly. She sits on the bed next to him and reaches out to touch his shoulder. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, and you can feel Bruno’s grief melting away. You smile up at your daughter. 

“Thank you, Nora.. you should probably go visit your tías too.” You tell her. She nods softly and slips out of the room, leaving you two be. 

“She never lets me feel sad for too long.” Bruno mumbles, looking down at you. 

“She hates to see you sad. She hates either of us being sad. She got enough of that as a kid..” You say. Bruno presses his nose into your hair and kisses the top of your head.

“What do you think her gift is gonna be?” Bruno asks. You shrug. 

“It could be anything. Who knows at this point.” You say, yawning. 

“Maybe it’ll be music related. You know how much Mariano loves music.” Bruno suggests. He snakes a hand under your shirt and lays his palm flat on your back, rubbing it gently. 

“We’ll see tonight.” you muse. 

“Mirabel is going to do a good job. I know she will.” Bruno says. 

The two of you lay there for a little while longer, then decide to get up for the day. The two of you sit up, and you tie back Bruno’s hair for him, pulling it out of his face. He smiles and thanks you with a kiss on the cheek. Then, the two of you turn around, and he pulls your hair into two long braids.

Once that’s done, the two of you get up and start getting dressed for the day. You get dressed next to each other, and take a final look in the mirror together. He wraps his arms around your waist and kisses your cheek gently. 

You can see the age in your face now. You both had many grey hairs now, and a few extra lines on your faces. You both have grown much closer in the past few years, almost back to where you were before he left for the walls. 

You have had a few moments that remind you your relationship will never be the same. There was one night in the first year he came back. He had woken up with a headache, and went downstairs to get something of Julieta's in the kitchen. You woke up while he was gone, and you felt panic flood your brain and body. You had jumped out of bed and searched the room. When he wasn't in there, you ran towards the door to go search for him. You both tried to go through the doorway at the same time, and you bumped into him hard enough to knock you down. Bruno looked surprised as he helped you up. You were shaking as you held onto him, and Bruno could see the tears welling in your eyes. You didn't even need to tell him what was wrong, you could feel the guilt from within him. He gave you a strong hug, letting you determine how long it went on. 

That night was a realization for the both of you, that his absence left a permanent mark on the both of you. Bruno made his best effort to assure you that he'd never leave you again, but sometimes it just wasn't enough.  

Things had been good for a while now though. With Angela's ceremony tonight, there has been a lot of excitement. The house downstairs was a bit crazy. The younger generation of Madrigals we're running around, trying to make everything look good. 

Antonio had a few birds hanging the banner above Angela's door. He directed them on where to move it until it was perfectly straight. Mirabel was walking around, checking on everything. She had the black shawl around shoulders. There were now beautiful patterns embroidered along it in golden thread. Butterflies and sparks surrounded a beautiful stitched version of the candle Mirabel had added. Alma wore it for a few years, but when she passed, it was her insistence that Mirabel get it. 

She'd grown up so much in the past six years. She had the energy and the passion of her younger self, but she now had more patience and experience to handle the challenges as they fly her way. 

The two of you made your way to the kitchen, which was a mess currently. Julieta was running around and doing a lot of cooking. Isabela moved in time with her, almost anticipating what she would need. They had grown very close once Isabela began growing more diverse things in the back yard. She grew herbs and vegetables for her mother, and she rarely used her powers to help this garden grow. 

Isabela caught sight of the two of you first, and she shoved plates into your hands that had already been prepared. Apparently they had made plates for everyone so that the kitchen could be free for food preparation for that night. 

You and Bruno decided to go sit outside and eat. Pepa was doing an excellent job of keeping the skies clear these days. The morning is warm with a gentle breeze to keep the temperature perfect. 

You eat together until you're nearly done. That's when Thiago comes out to greet you, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Hey, pa..? Can we talk?" He asks. You and Bruno glance at each other, then he nods. You collect your dishes and bring them back inside as Thiago and Bruno walk towards the meadow past the treeline. 

"Everything okay, Thiago?" Bruno asks, walking beside him. 

"Yeah, I just.. I, um.. Lucia. I want to, um.. I want to propose to Lucia soon. And I.. don't know what to do." He said. Bruno smiled and looked over at his son.

"That's good! I'm so happy for you two. She's a wonderful girl." Bruno said.

"Yeah.. what did you do when you proposed to ma?" Thiago asked. The question made Bruno come to a complete stop. Had that really never come up in all his 22 years? Thiago looked at him, confused. 

"What? Is something wrong?" He asked, now looking a bit nervous. 

"No, it's just.. well, I didn't get to. We were, um.. our marriage was arranged. By our parents." Bruno said. Thiago blinked a few times, processing the words. 

"Wait.. what? I thought you two were childhood sweethearts or something like that.." he said. 

"Did your mamí tell you that?" Bruno asked, just as confused. 

"No.. well, I never really heard about the beginning much, so I thought you've just always known each other.." he said. 

"Oh. Well, no.. we met when we were quite young. My mother liked her for me, since she has a gift too. She told me that she believed we would be a good match, but.. she asked me to be sure. So I did a vision, and.. well, I didn't see far into the future, but I could see we were happy. So I went along with it. And we just clicked really well." Bruno said. "I.. don't think I ever told her about that vision. Your ma, she.. didn't like the idea of me looking ahead for us. The one time we tried, well.. didn't end up too good." 

Thiago nodded and looking down at his feet. They were silent for a moment as they exited the trees and into the meadow's clearing. They made their way towards the middle and decided to sit. 

"Well, if you could have proposed to ma, how would you have done it?" Thiago asked, pulling his knees close to his chest. Bruno sat back on his hands and looked up in thought. 

"Well.. I'd definitely do it here. This was our place for so long. It's far from the family, far from the house.. we could be ourselves here. She let me tell my stories, and she eventually joined in on making them. We spent a lot of time out here. I probably would have set something up before we got here, and made it special." He says after a few moments. 

"What do I even say? How do I lead into it?" Thiago asked. His cheeks were turning red as he thought about it. 

"Just.. talk to her. Tell her why she's everything to you. Tell her why you love her. Make her feel special. Thiago, I've seen the way she looks at you. It's going to go well. You two will be okay, I promise." Bruno smiled at his son, and Thiago nodded softly. 

"Um… pa? Will you.." he trailed off, but Bruno knew what he wanted. 

Without a word, Bruno sat up onto his knees and held his hands out for his son. Thiago gingerly took his hands, moving to mirror his father's position. Bruno took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, they glowed a brilliant green. Thiago had never seen it so close up. On bad days, he'd see his father from a distance, gripping his head as he rushed to his room to get the vision out. Sometimes he watched his dad do readings for others. He never knew just how bright they shine, though. He never noticed the way his father looked so at peace as the vision settled in. It was a small moment, but enough for Thiago to see it. 

The wind whipped around them and Thiago looked around, amazed by the display of his dad's power. Before he even really knew what was happening, the vision ended. His dad had let go of his hands and was holding an emerald tablet. Bruno smiled gently at Thiago as he held out the tablet to him. Thiago took it and looked down. His nerves melted away as he stared at the image of him kissing Lucia. She was holding his face, and had a ring on her finger. 

Thiago hugged the tablet close and smiled at his dad. Bruno wrapped his arms around his son, then smiled at him. 

"You're gonna do just fine, kid. You always have." Bruno assured him. Thiago nodded gratefully. 

The pair got up and began to walk back towards the Casita. They chatted idly as they walked back, wondering how the day was gonna turn out. Everyone was so excited for Angela's ceremony. The first child of the new generation to receive a gift. 

When they arrived at the house, the decorations were complete. The house looked beautiful, and there was a grand staircase leading up to Angela's new room. 

When night began to fall, the village slowly started to trickle in. There was a buzz of excitement in the air. Mirabel stood nervously in her room. She was happy to finally have her own room but she wished it hadn't been at the expense of her beloved Abuela. The room had changed to suit her needs and wants, but it still felt like she was a stranger in the room. 

Angela sat on the bed excitedly as Mirabel brought the candle over to her. She had her eyes squeezed shut, as Mirabel had instructed. 

"Abre los ojos. Open your eyes, Angela." She said. The words tugged at her heart as she remembered her Abuela saying them to her. "What do you see?" 

"It's the candle.." she said, tilting her head. 

"That's right, mi vida. This candle represents our family, our history, our story. My grandmother received this candle 56 years ago. My mamí and her sister and brother had just been born. They were forced to flee their home. They ran for the mountains looking for refuge. Unbeknownst to them, they had been followed. My Abuelo Pedro made the brave choice to stay behind and fend off their attackers. It was his final act of love for his wife and children. In that moment, a miracle was given to us. This encanto sprouted from the earth, and Casita bloomed at the epicenter. The house became our protector, and from then on, each child would be blessed with a gift on their fifth birthday." Mirabel said. Angela stared at the candle with wide eyes. 

"This miracle has seen a lot of ups and downs. It has helped us through even the hardest moments of our lives. But we must always remember the basis of it; love. This miracle is sustained through the love of this family. Their love for each other, their love for the community, and their love for their home. This love is what drives us to keep the candle burning, and our miracle alive. Tonight, you will receive a gift. This gift will be uniquely yours. You will use it to help those around you, to care for the community that took care of us in our time of greatest need." Mirabel takes a deep breath and Angela nods. 

"Are you ready?" She asks. Angela nods excitedly, and Mirabel sends her down to the living room, near where she will walk to find her door. 

Mirabel takes a deep breath and walks out to the stairs, preparing to give her speech to the crowd. She had no idea how her grandmother did it.. all these eyes on her, hanging on to her every word. Every time she stepped into her abuela's shoes, her respect for the woman grew exponentially. 

When all the eyes landed on her, she took one more deep breath as the crowd went silent. She smiled at Mariano and Dolores, who were standing next to the door that was teeming with potential. Mirabel stepped down a few stairs, holding the candle in her hand, the way she'd seen her Abuela do it so many times before. 

"56 years ago, my Abuelo Pedro made the ultimate sacrifice of love. Six years ago, our family fell apart a little. We had to learn how to hear each other and take each other for what we are. Our family is built on love and acceptance. Tonight, that love brings another member into the light. Another member who will learn to love herself, love her community, and love her family in a way she never has before." Mirabel nods, and Casita shines lights on the entrance as the curtains pull back. Angela is standing there in her white dress, eyes wide with anxiety. Mirabel steps back to the top of the stairs as Angela makes her way across the floor and up the stairs. When she reaches the top, Mirabel smiles at her, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to spill. 

"Do you promise to use this gift to serve your community and your home?" She asks. Angela nods, and Mirabel steps back to let her walk to the door. 

Angela reaches out and lays her hand gently on the doorknob. The light explodes, and Angela shields her eyes with her free hand. When the light dies down, she looks to her left, eyebrows furrowed. Dolores looks like she's going to pass out, as it seemed like nothing was happening. Suddenly, Angela's eyes glowed white, and she smiled. She stepped towards the left and held out her hands. 

"Yes, I see you! And hear you!" She said. Dolores looked at Mariano, confused. She couldn't hear ANYTHING her daughter might be responding to. 

"Of course I'll tell them!" Angela says. She turns around to face Mirabel as her eyes dim down. "Abuela Alma said you couldn't have done a better job!" Angela says. Mirabel's mouth drops, and Dolores covers her mouth as tears well in her eyes. 

Suddenly, an etching appears on the door, and it all becomes clear. Her little girl can talk to the deceased. She just spoke to their Abuela, the woman who raised them. She had been so little when Alma had died, so she never knew the woman properly. 

"We have a new gift!" Mirabel announced. The crowd cheered and Dolores ran up to her daughter and scooped her into a big hug, whispering about how proud of her she was. 

The crowd cheered and music started up. The party was in full swing now. You would catch glimpses of Angela throughout the night with her eyes glowing bright white. She looked so happy, and she kept walking up to strangers to deliver messages from loved ones who have passed. 

You and Bruno were standing to the side, away from people but still enjoying yourselves. You were dancing together, with Bruno swinging you around and making you laugh. Angela runs up to you and tugs on your skirt. You look down at her, and her eyes are glowing still. 

"Tía y/n?" She says. 

"Yes, Angelita?" You say, letting go of Bruno and kneeling down closer to her. 

"A man named Oscar said to tell you that he's very proud of you." You felt your heart and stomach drop at the name. "He said he watched you struggle so much, and he's so happy to see you happy again." She said. She looked over to the side, then raced off to find the next person to give a message to. 

You stood up straight, and Bruno put on hand on your back, and took your hand in the other. His eyes were concerned, and he could tell something was wrong. You looked like you just had the lights knocked out of you. 

"Y/n, are you okay..?" He asked, squeezing your hand. 

"She just.. she just gave me a message from my father." You managed to squeak out. Bruno softened and wrapped his arms around you. 

The feeling you had was strange. Your father had been dead for over a decade now. You'd mourned him many times, but hearing those words come out of Angela's mouth carved the wound open, and you could feel your grief pouring through you anew. You feel like you're on autopilot as your hands rest on Bruno's back as he hugs you. 

Nora comes running up, looking tired and out of breath. She lays her hand on the side of your face, and the grief washes away. You dry your cheeks and blink a few times, trying to process what just happened. 

"Sorry, ma.. I've been having to follow Angela all night, calming down the villagers… we're gonna have to explain this to her later." Nora sighs and puts a hand to her head, looking off in the direct Angela just ran off to. "Ugh, she's still going.. I'm sorry mamí, I gotta go." She races over towards the new source of intense grief. 

Bruno looks over at you. You look at him and wrap him up in a hug. There was still sadness there, but the intense grief was gone. He held you close and rubbed your back gently to calm you. 

"It's okay, amor.." he mumbled. You nod and let out a slow breath. 

"That was just.. really unexpected." You say. Bruno nods and lays a hand on your cheek, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb. You tilt your face and kiss his palm gently, laying your hand over his. 

"We should.. probably go warn her parents." Bruno says. You nod and give him a small smile. 

"She'll learn in time." You say. 

"You know.. I was just like that when I first got my gift. So excited to use it, unaware of the consequences of such a powerful gift. My visions ran wild at first. I wasn't able to control them well. I'd run up to people and tell them the strangest things. They'd get confused, sometimes scared if I described it wrong. Mama eventually had to sit me down and teach me restraint. From then on, I sort of explored my powers on my own." Bruno tells you. You nod and smile. 

"Well, at least she'll have plenty of help to guide her through this. She has you, she has Mirabel, her parents.." you look off into the crowd, smiling absently to yourself. 

"She'll be fine. All the new grandkids will." Bruno says, sounding sure. You narrowed your eyes slightly. 

"You sound a bit too sure about that.." you say teasingly. Bruno laughs and rubs the back of his neck. 

"Look- Thiago told me today he wants to propose to Lucia. So, I decided to check in on the future. Just to see." He admits. 

"And?" 

Bruno smiles and takes both of your hands in his. 

"He and his wife are very happy together. We get to be grandparents to four little kids, and we adore them. They'll have so many cousins, Casita has to build a third level to house them all." Bruno says. You smile and lean in and kiss him gently. 

"What about us?" You ask. Bruno sighs contentedly, staring at you with eyes full of love. 

"I don't need to look into the future to know we're gonna be okay. I'll never leave you again, and we'll be happy together as long as we live." He says softly. You smile at him and wrap your arms around his neck, kissing him lovingly. He rests his hands on your waist, holding you against him. 

You find great comfort in his grip. You knew he wasn't lying. He'd kept his word not to look into your future together. But you could also tell he meant every single word about staying deep inside. You were sure, finally sure, that the two of you were gonna be okay. Your husband was back, and he was here to stay. No matter what.