#I’m Jorge I make the Spackle | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hurt-comfort-lover · 10 months

Text

Mirabel AU / Mirabel Angst / Mama Mirabel / Part Ten

“Ah! Sorry- sorry I didn’t mean to- uh-” He stops not knowing what to say. Mirabel was so surprised that she stopped shaking and her breathing slowed.

“Tio Bruno…? What are you doing here?”

“Well- um, I kind of live here? Unless you mean like- like in this area which is because I heard someone in the passageways, and then I saw my vision and you know uh, yeah.”

“Oh.. um, what do you mean live here? How?”

“It’s a bit hard to explain, it might be easier for me to just show you.” He says offering his hand, Mirabel takes it, pulling herself up. He takes her through the passageways to his “room.” Mirabel walks by and sees cracks that are covered in cement.

“Are you patching up the cracks?”

“Oh! No no no no no, I don’t go near those. All the patching is done by Hernando.”

“Who is Hernan-” Bruno puts up his cape and says,

“I’m Hernando and I’m afraid of nothing!” he pauses, “It’s actually me, I say my real gift was ‘acting,’ haha.” Mirabel looks at him and she can’t decide whether to find it funny, charming or concerning.

“I’m Jorge, I make the spackle,” Bruno says. Mirabel decides she should probably be concerned. They make it into Bruno's room. It’s filled with rats messing with his stuff, and his room is small and covered in small things he’d collected over the years.

“You never left?”

“Well, I left my tower- a lot of stairs you know. It’s kitchen adjacent, and-” He goes over to the television, “free entertainment! Telenovelas!” He says as he flips through different cutouts for the rats. He sits down on his red chair.

“Their love could never be.”

“I don’t understand, why did you leave, but not actually leave?”

“Well, free food, and uh ya know.” He just shrugs. Mirabel looks through a hole in the wall to see the dining table, and then looks at a small table that’s labeled with his name, showing that he uses it to pretend like he’s still a part of the family. Bruno stands up and walks behind her.

“Yeah, my gift wasn’t really helping the family, but, I love my family, ya know?” Bruno says. Mirabel nods and looks at the vision in her arms.

“Nobody was ever meant to see that vision.”

“Why- why did you take the vision?”

“Well, after you didn’t get your gift Abuela was worried about the magic and asked me to take a vision. When I saw the vision I knew how it was going to look, because I’m Bruno and everyone always assumes the worst, so.. So I left.”

“You left… for me?”

“I mean not just that, but yeah I guess. You are my niece after all.” Mirabel smiled sadly, just happy that he cared that much.

“Thank you, Tio.”

“Ah- no don’t- I uh, you don’t need to,” he stumbled.

“I feel like I should though. I messed up Isabella’s proposal and now I’m hiding in here instead of facing Abuela. I know I don’t have a gift but I love my family and I just want to help.”

“You are helping.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do know sobrina. I still know a little about what goes on in the Casita. You’re doing fine. Whatever is happening with Isabella, it’ll be ok.”

“Gracias Tio,” Mirabel says as she hugs him. He awkwardly hugs back,

“Anytime, kid.”

“I think I know what I need to do. I need to apologize to Isabella.” She says as she goes to leave but Bruno stops her.

“Wait, before you go, if you save the miracle, could you visit sometime?”

“When I save the miracle, I’m bringing you home,” Mirabel says confidently. Bruno smiles and then knocks on a bunch of wood as Mirabel leaves.

Mirabel walks up to Isabella’s door, and a lot of emotions run through her, debating if this was the right decision. She goes into the room anyway to see an angry Isabella.

“What are you doing here?!” She says irritated.

“I came to apologize.”

“I’m listening.”

“I’m sorry for ruining your proposal, I’m going to talk to Mariano and try to fix this.”

“Don’t bother.”

“Why?”

“It’s not like he’ll change his mind.”

“You don’t know that- Do you… want to marry Mariano?” Isabella looks surprised at the question and thinks.

“I- I mean yeah. It’s good for the Ecanto, and Abuela-”

“I’m not asking about that, I’m asking if you want to marry Mariano.”

“I don’t know. I mean, I thought I was fine with it, but now- now that I have a chance out… I don’t know.”

“Why would you marry someone you don’t love?” Mirabel asks.

“Well, I don’t really want to get married, but Abuela just seemed so happy when Mariano and I started getting along. When she suggested getting engaged, I-”

“-Wanted to make her proud?”

“Yeah. I don’t know why I’m even telling you this. You know Abuela is livid right now? Mami and Papi were arguing with her and everyone’s looking for you.”

“Oh… well, I’m sorry. For all of this. I hope that you can get the ending that you want. I think I need to talk to Abuela,” Mirabel says. Isabella nods,

“It’s fine I guess. You kind of gave me a chance out, so thank you.” Isabella says. Mirabel walks out of the room and goes to talk to her Abuela, though she runs into her mami first.

“Mirabel! There you are!” she says as she pulls her youngest daughter into a hug.

“Hola mami.”

“I don’t know what’s going on. Your Abuela is being unreasonable and there are cracks littered around the house. I don’t understand.”

“I think it’s the miracle mami. I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet, but I need to talk to Abuela,” Mirabel asserts. Julietta just nods and lets her youngest go. Mirabel goes to the living room to see Abuela talking with Senora Guzman. She goes up to both of them, and Senora Guzman sees her first.

“Mirabel,” she says. Abuela turns around to see her youngest granddaughter, anger written all over her face.

“You need to fix this,” Abuela says.

“Lo siento Abuela. I won’t. Isabella-”

“What?! Don’t disrespect me.”

“I didn’t mean-”

“No, you listen to me. I don’t know why you weren’t given a gift but it is not an excuse to hurt this family.” Abuela says with venom. To Mirabel, it feels like a stab in her heart. Senora Guzman looks shocked. Her Papi comes to see what’s going on while Dolores and Camilo were sitting on the couch nearby. Tia Pepa and Felix were near the kitchen.

“I will never be good enough for you… will I? No matter how I try- No matter how hard everyone tries! Luisa will never be strong enough! Isabella will never be perfect enough! Tio Bruno left because you always saw the worst in him!”

“Bruno did not care about this family!” Cracks begin to form on the walls and ceiling.

“He loves this family, I love this family, we all love this family! You’re the one that doesn’t care.”

“Don’t you ever-!”

“The Miracle is dying because of you!” As Mirabel finishes her sentence the house begins to fall apart. Mirabel runs straight for the candle, while Casita tries to help her while also pushing everyone out of the house. Everyone is yelling at her to stop, telling her it’s not worth it. She continues though. As she goes up she sees her Tio Bruno escape the house with a bucket on his head, and she smiles slightly to herself. She makes it to the candle but the house is too far gone. Casita’s last efforts are covering Mirabel with furniture to protect her. The Casita was gone, all that was left was the rubble of what it once was. Mirabel holds the unlit candle as her Mami runs over to her.

“Mirabel! What were you thinking?! Are you hurt?” Julieta says while checking her, Mirabel is despondent, still looking at the candle. Julietta looks at her daughter, who had dropped the candle on the ground, and then back out hearing her hermana call her.

“I’ll be right back- don’t move,” Julietta says as she runs towards her hermana.

When most of the fog clears and most of the familia is together, they realize that Mirabel is gone. They call out to her but there’s no response. Everyone goes looking for her, including Abuela. After hours of searching it just so happens that Abuela ended up finding her, she found her holding her knees to her chest while crying next to a lake she knew too well. She walks up to Mirabel and sits beside her.

“I’m sorry, I- I just wanted to help. Instead, all I ended up doing was hurting us.” Mirabel says as she cries into her knees.

“No, it’s not you. Mirabel, this is on me. You are a child, I’m an adult. Ever since we got our miracle I’ve tried so hard to give back to the world. Why out of all people did I deserve a miracle? Instead, I’ve been so focused on the miracle that, now that it’s gone, I can see clearly. Mi familia, they are the most important thing. Not the candle, mi familia. So truly, I’m so sorry Mirabel. I don’t deserve forgiveness yet, but I’ll do my best.” Abuela says as her hand glides against the current. Mirabel looks over to Abuela and pulls her into a hug.

“I could never stay mad at you, of course, I forgive you. You’re mi Abuela, you’re one of the bravest women I’ve ever met.”

“Gracias Mirabel, you’re too kind.” They break from the hug as Bruno jumps through the bushes with a horse, and jumps off.

“Don’t blame her! I gave her a vision-” he says before his mami pulls him into a hug.

“Oh mi Brunito, I missed you. I’m so sorry I pushed you away.” She says as she squeezes him tightly. He wheezes,

“I think I missed something.” He smiles sheepishly as all three of them jump on the horse.

“Mirabel! Mija I was so worried!” Julietta exclaimed as she pulled Mirabel into a tight hug.

“Lo siento Mami,” Mirabel says while muffled by her mother’s arms. The familia gathers, happy that Mirabel was found and the entire familia was together. After Mirabel was released from Julietta’s death grip, Antonio jumped on her, Mirabel caught him and hugged him as well. From behind the horse came both Abuela and Bruno. Julietta and Pepa both look to see their brother, Pepa goes up to him first and slaps him in the face, and then pulls him into a hug.

“Don’t you ever do that again pendejo,” she says. Bruno awkwardly hugs her back.

“Lo siento hermana..” he says, not sure if she’s happy he’s back or angry he left. Pepa let him go and then Julietta hugged him as well.

“Welcome back hermano,” Julietta says.When the familia was reunited they realized they needed to figure out a plan as to where they were staying, and how they were going to rebuild their home. Despite earlier events, the townspeople all came to help including the Guzmans. Multiple people had guestrooms for the family to stay, Senora Gabriela had two guestrooms that Mirabel and Bruno took, the Garcias had a guest room that Julietta and Agustin stayed in, the Lopeses had one spare bedroom with two beds that both Isabella and Luisa too, the Guzmans had two extra guest rooms, which Pepa and Felix shared one, while Antonio took the other, Lastly the Gomezes had two extra bedrooms that Dolores and Camilo stayed in. The family was really grateful to all the townspeople, but they insisted because the Madrigals had helped them so much over the years. Plans were made for the next day of clearing the rubble from the area, while also planning out the blueprints for the Casita. That night though, the Madrigals got some much-needed sleep, at least most of them. Mirabel couldn’t sleep no matter how hard she tried, despite the apology from her Abuela, which she was elated about, her negative thoughts still flooded her brain. It was almost as if they got worse. Did she deserve to be apologized to? Does she deserve forgiveness? The more she lay in a bed that was not her own, the louder the thoughts became.

22 notes · View notes

foggyfanfic · 6 months

Text

The Jorge Situation

Fic Summary: In the same universe as Love and Fury, and Mirabel's Super Secret Adventure. Bruno tries to figure out what's causing the cracks, and how to make spackle. Leandra covers for him. Pre-movie AU. This one will be updated more sporadically, and doesn't have an overarching plot. It's essentially interconnected oneshots.

The Wall

“No!” Amada crossed her arms and stomped her feet.

“No?” Alma asked, looking nervously from the five year old girl to the assembled village down below. After what had happened a year ago at Mirabel’s gift ceremony she had been a bit high strung all day.

“I don’t want a gift until Mirabel gets one,” Amada insisted.

Leandra closed her eyes and breathed a sigh out through her nose. She loved her daughter dearly, and she was very proud of her little girl’s sense of justice, but she had spent all day trying to talk Amada out of this exact tantrum. She peaked an eye open to look at Mirabel and found the poor girl standing wide eyed between her parents.

“Amada,” Leandra said gently, coming to kneel by her daughter’s side, “do you remember what I said about letting your cousin have some space today?”

Amada turned her tiny scowl on Leandra, “But it’s not fair!”

And there it was, there was the rub. Everything had to be fair for Amada, everybody had to get the same amount for dessert, everybody had to follow the same rules, everybody had to be held to the same standards. It was an admirable thing for a little girl to care about, and again Leandra was very, very proud.

But god did this kid need to learn about nuance.

“I know, I know, I agree with you,” Leandra said, then dropped her voice to a whisper, “but there isn’t anything we can do to fix it, so we need to focus on making things better for Mirabel, not worse.”

“Why can’t we fix it?” Amada asked, not ready to give up.

Leandra threw a desperate look over her shoulder at Bruno, who was wringing his hands, he opened his mouth while shaking his head, then took a deep breath and knelt on Amada’s other side.

“The miracle is a gift, w-we don’t control it,” Bruno explained, but Amada just scowled harder.

“Why is the miracle being mean? Miracles are supposed to be good.”

Bruno pressed his lips together then nodded, “That’s true.”

Leandra waited for him to tack on a “but”, however that seemed to be the entirety of Bruno’s response. She sighed again. Leandra opened her mouth to say something else but was cut off by a gasp from the crowd below. She turned to see what those gossip mongers were whispering about this time, and froze.

Mirabel was walking up the stairs, looking as nervous as she had on the day of her own gift ceremony. Nervous, and noticeably miserable.

Leandra sent a panicked look at Bruno, they had both worked so hard to protect Mirabel as much as they could this past year. They still weren’t entirely sure what his vision had meant, but they knew little Mirabel was at the center of it.

Mirabel reached the top of the stairs and Amada immediately trotted over to her, grabbing her hand and trying to tug her to the candle, “I don’t want it. You should have it.”

Leandra grimaced. Shit.

“Family is the real gift,” Mirabel said, quiet, voice shaking, but certain, “I’m happy. Not having a gift means I get to spend more time with mi familia. Go ahead and take it.”

She gave Amada a shove that almost pushed her over, forcing her to step back, closer to the door, in order to keep her balance.

Leandra looked at Bruno again, but not out of panic this time. Everything Mirabel had just said were things Bruno had told her, granted he’d said that the migraines his visions gave him were worth it because his gift meant he could stay home with the kids, but the point stands. Mirabel had learned all that from him.

Bruno stared at Mirabel gobsmacked. Apparently unaware that Leandra was planning to kiss him silly the second they were in private.

“But it’s not fair,” Amada whispered.

“I’m happy,” Mirabel repeated, doing an admirable job of not breaking down into sobs as she once again gave Amada a forceful shove.

Amada pouted but, after a few more shoves from Mirabel, turned and returned to her place in front of the door. Mirabel shuffled awkwardly, hands fisting in her skirt and bottom lip wobbling. Leandra waved at her to get her attention, then opened her arms for a hug. Mirabel slowly walked into the hug.

“That was very kind and brave of you,” Leandra said, deciding she’d let the shoving go unacknowledged, just this once. She kept her voice low enough that it wouldn’t distract anyone from Amada make her vows to help the Encanto.

Mirabel didn’t say anything, she just sniffled a little. Leandra looked over her head at Bruno, who took the silent cue to join the hug.

“You’re the real gift kid,” Bruno whispered, Mirabel lifted her head to look at him and he smiled at her with all the warmth of a thousand hearth fires, “thank you.”

She smiled shakily at him, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Leandra looked up when Amada stepped away from the candle. She stared at the glowing door, glared at it really. Leandra smiled fondly and shook her head. Her little warrior.

“Do you want to stay and watch,” Leandra asked Mirabel as quietly as she could, “or do you need space?”

“I wanna see,” Mirabel said, turning in her and Bruno’s arms.

They glanced at each other and silently agreed that they would continue to hold her until her parents could get up the stairs to comfort her. Then they turned their attention to Amada as she finally reached for her doorknob.

There was a great big flash, then Amada stumbled back. Everybody stood silent, waiting. Amada looked around and Leandra could hear people start to whisper something about her eyes, then Amada faced them and Leandra saw that her little girl’s eyes were glowing gold.

Beside her, Bruno tensed up.

Amada stared at Mirabel with her glowing eyes for a few beats then walked to the edge of the stairs and looked out at the party. Then she took off her shoe and tossed it into the crowd.

Everybody scattered away from the shoe as it plopped harmlessly onto the ground. The shuffle of bodies rippled out until even the people at the edge of the crowd were forced to shift around. One of the teenagers stumbled on his untied shoelace and fell onto the nearest table, launching the plate, and its contents, that had been on the table into the air. At the same time, the man behind Pepa shifted forward and stepped on the back of her heel. Clouds started to appear but she immediately chased them off with a gust of wind.

The wind caught the plate and propelled it farther up into the air, everybody watched it soar up, up, up, then arc and fall back down. It landed at Mirabel’s feet, and was followed immediately by the treats that had been on the plate before it was launched.

Somehow, each and every pastry landed on the plate, not a single one hit the floor.

Leandra recognized some ginger snaps, some cocada blanca, a brownie, and some of the cinnamon cake the Guzmans had brought.

All of Mirabel’s favorites.

Amada giggled and clapped her hands, “Ta-da! That’s for you!”

There was a stunned silence, then, like any six year old who had just been magically delivered a plate full of sugar, Mirabel cheered and broke out of her Tia and Tío’s arms to pick up the plate.

Everybody else took their cue from Mirabel and began chattering excitedly. The rest of the family came running up the stairs, Gabriel rushing up to his cousin/sister to lift her up and swing her around while she shrieked with laughter. Leandra patted Mirabel’s shoulder one more time then embraced her children, the second she stepped aside Bruno took her place.

“Your room! Your room! I wanna see your room,” Camilo cried, pointing excitedly at the door which now displayed a young woman holding what looked like a bucket of rocks with one hand and a basket of gems with another. By her feet, a line of dominoes was halfway through toppling over. The young woman stared out at them with a mischievous grin.

Leandra chose to believe that wasn’t an ominous warning of what parenting Amada would be like going forward, no, no, no. Surely her very righteous daughter being given the ability to mete out some sort of karmic justice, or whatever, by throwing things would make parenting a breeze. No possible way this could go wrong!

Amada opened her door and they all followed her in, watching the room be constructed before their eyes. It was, of course, very large, and lined with shelves waiting to be filled.

While the children ran around the new space shouting and laughing Leandra grabbed Bruno’s hand and walked over to Agustín and Julieta. He gulped when he saw where they were going, but also picked up the pace so he was soon pulling her to his sister and their brother in law.

“We are so, so, sorry,” Bruno said, “I-I can’t imagine what th-that must have felt like for Mirabel.”

Julieta sighed, shaking her head, “Well, in the long run, I’m sure it’ll be good for Mirabel to look back and see how much her cousin loves her.”

“In the short term however, you owe our daughter so much ice cream,” Agustín jumped in, and Leandra could tell he was only half kidding.

“Of course,” she nodded, immediately offering, “how about tomorrow we take you guys out to thank her?”

“I’ll be busy,” Julieta said, “but you guys should go.”

Bruno cleared his throat, hand tightening on hers, “A-and I should probably check on you know, things.”

This was code for he was planning to try having the vision about Mirabel again, to see if anything had changed. She nodded, out of the corner of her eye she could see Julieta doing the same. Agustín on the other hand, took a long, slow breath, clenching then unclenching his fists.

“Right, of course, what about you and me, hermano? We can take our kids out and I’ll buy Mirabel whatever toy or dessert her heart desires,” Leandra asked Agustín, distracting him from the secret he was only kind of in on.

He smiled, “That sounds great.”

“Great!” Leandra glanced over at the kids, “Alright, Bruno and I should probably go do Parents of the Birthday Girl things, but I’ll catch you when things start winding down.”

“Sí, claro, disfruten,” Julieta waved them off.

They walked away and Leandra waited for Bruno’s hand to relax in hers. When it didn’t, she turned to him with a raised eyebrow. He didn’t notice at first, too busy staring off into space, watching his own anxieties pile up. Eventually he glanced at her and noticed her look, then he sighed, looking so incredibly tired for a few seconds.

“She’s a seer,” he said.

“Her gift doesn’t seem to be the same as yours,” Leandra began gently rubbing his bicep, “we’ve only seen her use it once.”

“Her eyes glowed, mi reina,” Bruno insisted, “whatever else she can do, she can see, y’know, beyond.”

Further into the room a group of children cheered and when Leandra looked over, Amada stood surrounded by her peers. She had somehow made the entire birthday cake appear in Mirabel’s hands this time.

Well, at least Mirabel was cheered up.

“It’ll be alright,” Leandra reassured him, “we’ve got this.”

He sighed, clearly not completely convinced, but nodded.

—

Bruno couldn’t sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his little girl with her eyes glowing gold, surrounded by the villagers. He’d asked her to describe her gift to him, and it sounded distressingly similar to his own.

He didn’t know how long he’d been tossing and turning before Leandra slung an arm over his waist and murmured, “You alright?”

“No.”

“You think talking about it will help?”

“No.”

“Does me holding you help?”

“Not that kind of problem.”

“Hm. Sex?”

He thought about it, “Don’t think I’ll be able to focus long enough to uh, do anything really.”

“Then I’m out of ideas,” she drew her arm back and rolled away.

Bruno chuckled, “I think I’ll just get some air, clear my head.”

“Get yourself a snack,” she yawned, “you barely ate at the party.”

He just grunted and got out of bed. For lack of any better ideas, he slipped his ruana on over his pajamas, and headed to the kitchen. Maybe she was onto something, maybe he’d feel better after he ate something.

He grabbed some of the food leftover from the party and carried it into the dining room, where he stopped short.

“Agustín?”

Agustín looked up from his glass, which was filled with an amber liquid, “Oh, hey Bruno. Couldn’t sleep either?”

“I- no,” Bruno shrugged and padded over to the table, he set his food down next to Agustín then took a seat.

Without a word, Agustín grabbed one of the other glasses from the center of the table and poured a drink for Bruno.

“Gracias.”

“De nada.”

They sat in silence for a while.

“H-how is Mirabel?” Bruno eventually asked.

Agustín didn’t respond at first, then he chuckled, “Well, once the sugar high wore off, she was too tired to be anything other than asleep.”

Bruno nodded, “Good.”

“Sí, thanks for asking.”

“Eh, wanted to know,” Bruno pushed a bite of food around on his plate, “I worry about her.”

“I know,” Agustín said, softly, “me too. And of course, my imagination is running away from the little bit that I know about that whole situation I shouldn’t know about.”

“If it helps, I only know a little bit more than you,” Bruno admitted.

Agustín thought for a minute, then said, “You know something? That doesn’t help at all. It actually makes it a lot more terrifying. Por favor, lie to me, tell me you know all.”

“Right, sorry, sorry, I uh, I know everything, every last detail,” Bruno deepened his voice and tried to sound powerful and wise, “nothing is beyond my gaze.”

“And my daughter will be ok?”

“Your daughter will be better than ok, she’ll be happy, and loved, and uh the fairest in the land,” Bruno said.

Agustín chuckled quietly, then sighed, “Gracias Bruno, that helps.”

“Claro.”

They slipped back into silence. Bruno made a valiant effort to eat everything on his plate, but eventually decided that eating most of what was on his plate was good enough. Agustín continued to nurse his drink, staring at it more than sipping it. Every once in a while, one of them sighed.

Bruno picked up the glass Agustín had poured for him and took a sip, he rolled the drink around on his tongue, but couldn’t identify it by taste alone. Even as adults, his Má did not approve of them drinking much, la Familia Madrigal had a reputation to maintain after all. As a result Bruno only really knew the taste of fine wines, and snucken tequilas, well enough to identify by one sip.

This was neither, but it wasn’t bad.

“What’s keeping you up?” Agustín asked, “Is it just Mirabel?”

“Oh, no, by now I’m able to seamlessly transition from worrying about Mirabel to having stress dreams about her,” Bruno said, not joking, but not not joking, “right now I’m worrying about Amada.”

“Oh?”

“She’s a seer.”

“Oh.”

Bruno drained half of the mystery liquor, then put the glass down and went back to pushing food around on his plate.

“Fatherhood, eh?” Agustín gently nudged him with his elbow, “Didn’t realize there’d be this much fretting involved.”

“Can’t relate,” Bruno gave him a rueful grin, “I-I never stop fretting, if it wasn’t the kids, it’d be whether or not my wife still likes me, or the rats have a balanced diet, or even about nuclear armageddon.”

“Nuclear Armageddon? What’s…?”

“Uh, don’t worry about that, I-. It doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.”

“Bien,” Agustín said slowly, before taking an equally slow sip of his drink.

Bruno sighed, “I suppose I should be happy that this time I’m actually fretting about something important. You know?”

“Sí, thought Leandra was going to murder you back before the kids came along the way you kept- well. Glad she didn't,” he shrugged, “would have been a bit of a downer.”

“Ah, sí, well, I’d hate to b-bring down the mood by being murdered by my wife, so I guess it’s uh, it’s really good that I have kids now.”

They shared quiet smiles, and slowly finished off their drinks. Agustín picked up the bottle and used it to gesture at Bruno’s glass. Bruno smiled, but shook his head. Agustín nodded, instead of refilling his own glass he put the cork back in the bottle and stood. He groaned as he stretched.

“Ay, fifty seems to be getting closer and closer,” he shook his head.

Bruno snorted, and rolled his eyes minutely, but refrained from pointing out that Agustín was still forty. Right up until his fortieth birthday Agustín would complain that his forties were getting closer every time his back hurt, or knees ached. Now that the dreaded forties’ had arrived, Agustín was forced to complain about his far off fiftieth.

As a complaint, the effect was greatly decreased, but as a joke? As a joke, it was quickly getting old for everybody but Julieta, who was really the only person Agustín truly cared about in matters such as this.

“I’ll take care of the dishes,” Bruno volunteered, “I’ll be up for a bit longer either way.”

“Hm, if you’re sure?”

“Sí, sí, don’t worry about it,” Bruno made little shooing gestures until Agustín gave in and headed towards the courtyard.

“Bien, gracias hermano,” he yawned, then gave Bruno a tired smile, “see you in the morning.”

“Mm-hm, good night.”

Bruno collected the dishes and carried them into the kitchen. He’d accidentally spilled some food onto the table without noticing, so when he had finished with the dishes, he went back to the table with a rag and cleaned the spot where he’d been sitting.

With that done, he stood there, staring into space, trying to feel less worried about things he couldn’t change.

Eventually, he turned towards the wooden painting behind his Má’s chair. Once upon a time, that spot had been decorated by a family portrait, but that was back when it was just the four of them, just him, his sisters, and their Má. Now there were plans to get a family tree made, but after a bit of discussion they’d all agreed to wait until they were sure they were done having kids. For the time being, it was a portrait of all the current grandchildren, all eight of them. It was a year old, painted when Octavia had just come to them.

He stared at his own three children, his three little gremlins, his three little blessings. All he wanted was for them to have a better life than he had.

But now Amada was a seer.

He gulped, then knocked on the wooden picture.

Bruno paused, frowning. He knocked on it again.

“Casita,” he asked, slowly, “why does this sound hollow?”

He only picked up half of Casita’s answer, but he got something about a room? He paced around the corner, double checking for a door he’d somehow managed not to notice his entire life. When he didn’t find one he asked Casita how to get in. To his surprise, Casita led him up the stairs and to a painting.

Bruno examined the painting. It was large, maybe a bit larger than Bruno himself. A painting that size, if this were a book or particularly cheesy telenovela, would hide a secret door.

But that was ridiculous, of course. And completely unrealistic.

The magic prophet Bruno’s magic sentient house that sat in the middle of a magic paradise urged him towards the painting.

Carefully, Bruno moved it to one side to check behind it.

It swung out like a door, revealing a dark, narrow hall. Bruno stared down the hall, curiosity battling with his trepidation. Eventually, he closed the painting and went back to his room.

He did not have the emotional bandwidth for this shit tonight.

#bruno madrigal #bruno encanto #bruno madrigal x female oc #Bruno kids #encanto #bruno madrigal fanfic #fanfic #Foggy writes

7 notes · View notes

sleeplessdreamer14 · 2 years

Text

Mirabel: Y/n, can I ask you a question?

Y/n: sure, what is it?

Mirabel: when did you fall for tío Bruno?

Y/n:

[flashback 30 years ago]

Bruno: I’ve always said my real gift is “acting”, hehe.

Y/n: (stares in confusion/starts to crack a smile)

Bruno w/ a bucket over his head: I’m Jorge, I make the spackle.

Y/n: (starts giggling) ‘new life goal: put a ring on this man.’

[present day]

Y/n: (glances around awkwardly) um…

#mirabel madrigal #encanto x you #encanto x y/n #encanto x reader #bruno x you #bruno madrigal x reader #bruno madrigal x y/n #bruno x y/n #reader insert #encanto #bruno madrigal #encanto jorge #encanto hernando #my stuff

235 notes · View notes

long-live-the-gobop · 1 year

Text

Buckethead (An AIO Crossover)

472 words. Also on AO3 and FF.net. Just a little ficlet, but I think it's kind of fun. Enjoy!

~~*~~

Bernard whistled a little tune as he got his equipment out of his truck. For a second, he wasn’t quite sure what song it was. Right, that was that old song those folks were singing earlier, wasn’t it? he thought to himself, starting to remember. Heh! Though why they didn’t wanna TALK about the guy when they just SANG a whole song about him, I’m sure I don’t know.

Well, as soon as he’d gotten everything he thought he needed, he double-checked. “All right, we’ve got the rag, we got paper towels, all the cleaning supplies—” (he went over them once again just to make sure he didn’t miss one), “—yep, all of them, the squeegee, and—”

Bernard blinked. He scanned over the objects on the tailgate of his truck. But the thing he was looking for wasn’t there.

“Wha—now, where did—?” He frowned, and rummaged through the rest of the stuff in the back of the truck. Not there. Then he went around to the front and checked in the cab. Still not there. He walked around the whole vehicle to see if he’d gotten it out and left it someplace. But nothing. He was stomping by the time he got back to the other stuff.

“Well, open me a magic door and call me a Madrigal, I know I wouldn’t have just gone and left it at home! And I thought I saw it here just a min—”

It hit him.

“Never mind.” He facepalmed, then stormed off toward Whit’s End, yelling, “Bruno! Ahh, where’s that buckethead—BRUNO!”

~~*~~

Inside Whit’s End…

Wooton was just heading to the counter for another licorice milkshake when he bumped into somebody. “Oh!” He snorted. “Sorry about that.”

The man nodded.

“Hey, cool buckethead.”

“Thanks,” came a thick voice from under the bucket.

“My name’s Wooton Bassett, what’s yours?”

“I’m Jorge. I make the spackle.” And he held up a trowel.

“Wow, that’s so cool! I wish I could make spackle! Hey, Jorge, maybe you can show me!”

“Really?” The guy’s voice shifted a little, turning a bit raspy, but he cleared his throat fairly quick. “I mean,” and his voice was back to normal, “sure, I can show you how to make the spackle!”

“Yeah! C’mon, Jorge, let’s go!” And Wooton started off eagerly to ask Whit where they could find a good place to make spackle. As he went, however, he remembered something he’d been meaning to ask people about, and spun around. “Oh, hey, by the way, Bernard—that’s Bernard Walton, awesome cranky window-washer—he was talking about some guy called Bruno a minute ago. I think he was looking for him. Do you know him?”

Jorge grabbed the handle of the bucket on his head, as if tugging at a tight collar, and hesitated for a moment.

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh… no.”

#adventures in odyssey #aio #encanto #salt and light #bernard walton #wooton bassett #bruno magridal #jorge encanto #fanfic #my fanfiction #funny stuff #kinda random #crossover

4 notes · View notes

aeoneri · 2 years

Text

[What We Don’t See] Chapter 43: Guardar Secretos

Summary:

Bruno barely escapes before his secret can be revealed. -- Written in Bruno's and Gabriela's POV.

++++

“You’ve been distracted lately, Tío Bruno. Why is that?” Mirabel asks me as I help her make the spackle to plaster onto the walls. “Where are you escaping to these days?”

“Hm? Who’s Tío Bruno?” I joke as I hand her the trowel. “I’m Jorge.”

Her skirt makes an airy swishing sound as she quickly turns to face me. “Okay, Jorge,” She sighs defeatedly, a slight hint of impatience in her tone. “Where has my Tío Bruno been these days?”

“Oh, I haven’t seen him. I don’t know where he goes. You should ask him that. I’m just here to make spackle…”

Mirabel lifts the bucket off my head and I squint at the sudden light. “I’m being serious, Tío.” She gives me a leveling glare. “You’re acting very strange. Stranger than normal.”

“Heh…hey, Mirabel! Am I?”

“Tío Bruno…”

“Fine, fine. I…uh…just go into town.” I lie, knowing she won’t drop the subject unless I respond properly. There’s a scary glint in her eyes that I can’t quite place. “You know, checking everything out. It’s no place special…”

“Really? Because I see a mishmash of flowers hidden in your ruana. Are you…meeting someone today, Tío Bruno?”

I immediately scoot away. Busted.

It’s been two months since my sisters and I dropped by unannounced at the Álvarez household.

Two months since…everything else.

Julieta and Pepa have been quiet up to now, though Pepa is getting impatient with the lack of progress. There are moments when she would do nothing but badger on if I’ve found Gabriela, sometimes within earshot of the rest of the town. I incessantly steer clear of the conversations, quelling the suspicions with fibs and half-truths.

The fear of losing my beloved again is reason enough to keep my mouth shut. Sometimes I feel guilty. I know they both treat Gabriela like a sister.

But I want to keep my time with her a secret for a little while longer.

It’s not easy to do so when everyone keeps a watchful eye on my actions. I’ve been increasingly more reclusive, always sneaking away whenever I get the chance. There are a handful of times when someone in the family comes too close to figuring everything out. When it happens, I hold out a bit longer and hope for the best. I haven’t had much luck in convincing Gabriela to come back home, but at least she’s slowly warming back up to me. Having anyone hot on my tail would complicate things.

Redirection is the only option I have.

Mirabel has her arms crossed, waiting for an answer. “What flowers?” I pretend not to know what she’s saying, deflecting her comment. “I, uh…think you’ll be able to handle the renovations on your own for today. I do have somewhere to be, so I better get going…”

I quickly break towards the exit, but Isabela suddenly appears out of nowhere, blocking my way. “HOLD ON, where do you think you’re going, Tío Bruno?”

“Isa!” I shriek. I’m still getting used to her ‘wild child’ look. It suits her, though. “Didn’t see you there. May I…pass?”

“You’re going to run off to somewhere and leave us with your share of the work again, are you?” Her eyes turn into slits. “That’s not pretty fair.”

“No, I’m not! It’s just that…I have somewhere really urgent to be.”

“He’s hiding something!” Mirabel yells to her sister. “There are flowers hidden in his ruana!”

Santa mierda. I was hoping to avoid being the target of attention. Mirabel just placed the spotlight on me. “Your eyes are probably playing tricks on you, mi mariposita. No, no flowers!”

“What’s this about flowers, Mira?” Isabela asks, trying to peek behind me. “For whom?”

“De nuevo, ¡sin flores! And if I do have any, it’s not for anyone…”

“Don’t listen to him, Isa!” Mirabel insists. The way she talks comfortably around her sister makes me beam with pride but also fills me with dread. Who knew that the embrace would be the beginning of their rekindling relationship? The two are now attached at the hip, working together and even successfully matched Dolores with Mariano Guzmán, much to her glee. Their newfound bond reduced the amount of bickering that Julieta had to deal with, but meant that there was more trouble when they play pranks on the family. And when someone is the subject of their interest, it’s hard to shake them off. “Tío is lying, look at his face! He won't tell me who or what it’s for, but I think he’s probably going off to see someone special.”

That stops Isabela in her tracks. “Wait. What?” She stares at me. There’s a terrified look on my face knowing the pieces are coming together in her mind. “You...you’ve…?”

“OKAY, I have to go now. ¡Adiós! I’ll be back before dinner!” I exhale in one breath and retreat, not daring to look behind me.

++++

I break into a sprint towards the mountains the soonest I get myself out of the house, careful to take alternative routes to ensure I don’t get followed. If I’m not yet ready to let the truth be known to the world, I’m sure Gabriela isn’t keen on it either. Why else would she be living in seclusion instead of being in town?

“Gabriela?” I call out when I finally reach the clearing. I find her outside, tending to her small garden. Her hair is tied up high on her head, stray ringlets grazing her forehead. My breath catches in my throat at the sight.

Tan hermosa, mi amor.

“There you are,” I find my voice moments later. “You look so beautiful. I mean…hi. Sorry, I took so long. I had a little bit of a mishap at home.”

“Oh, hey,” She beams at me and my heart immediately jumps. “That’s okay. I wasn’t expecting you for at least another couple of hours. Are you done with the renovations for the day or did you leave early again?”

I offer her a weak smile and fight the urge to replay the events in my head. In the past, Gabriela avoided using her gift unless needed, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t 'hear' bits and pieces of anyone’s thoughts.

I don’t want to take any chances.

She tuts at me disapprovingly as she pats the dirt off her skirt. “Mmmhmm. Figures. The house won’t be finished in time before the rainy season starts again if you keep escaping to see me, Bruno.”

“There are three more months before that even happens,” I assure her, relieved that she didn’t pick up on my nervousness. I allow myself to relax. “I think we’d be able to finish the house fairly quickly given the whole town is helping out.”

“Still, that’s not much time. Casita is big.”

“Ay, trust me, it’s more than enough. The second floor is almost set and we’re now working on the tower wing.” I shrug nonchalantly. “They’ll be fine. I have ten years' worth of catching up to do.”

Gabriela rolls her eyes. “Hm. You’re illogical sometimes, Bruno Madrigal. I’ll never understand you.”

“Ah, but you love me anyway, don’t you?”

She shoots a look and I reel myself back in. Too soon? “Um…” I gulp when the silence becomes a little awkward. Sometimes I forget that Gabriela doesn’t see me the same way as I do with her. “...I wasn’t thinking again. I’m not trying to rush you into anything. Ah, I…I got these for you.” I hand her the flowers I’ve been hiding in my ruana. “A gift. Sorry, they’re a little smooshed.”

I wish I knew how to woo someone. I didn’t need to court Gabriela in the first place when our relationship then just simply…happened. I feel out of my element, but I want to make her feel special every chance I get. I missed out on so many years.

If only I could give her the entire world.

Better late than never.

“What’s with that expression? I’m not mad at you,” Gabriela says as she takes the bouquet from my hands. “They do look messed up, but I love them. Gracias, Bruno.”

“I thought I said something stupid.” I chuckle nervously. “I know…I still have to prove myself.”

“Yes, but…ay, I don’t know what to expect with you. You always leave me wondering. Maybe that’s why I like you.”

“You do?”

“Don’t let it get to your head, you’re still not forgiven,” Gabriela bumps my side with her hip playfully. She presses her nose to the flowers and breathes in. “Anyway, you didn’t get a sneezing fit when you were getting these, were you?”

“What?” I’m in the clouds at this point. “A little, but…you remember?”

“How could I forget?” She grins. “I mean, you shouldn’t put yourself in harm’s way for me, but this is such a nice surprise.”

“Oh, heh,” The cool metal of her ring that's hidden around my neck feels like it’s burning my skin. Or maybe it’s just me. “It’s not much trouble. I like seeing you smile. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for mi princesa.”

Gabriela’s face immediately flushes pink at my words. “Speaking of which,” She coughs, turning away to enter her home. “Can you hold on for a moment? I’ll put these in a vase.”

“It’s okay. I’ll just be here.”

I blush when she suddenly kisses me on the cheek. Before I can say anything else, she leaves me alone, softly closing the door behind her. My heart is beating so fast and I wonder if I’m imagining things. A wide grin spreads across my face.

The feeling of the kiss lingers.

It’s slow, but it’s progress.

Just like the house, I’m rebuilding our relationship all over again.

++++

I stare at the flowers Bruno gave me earlier with a big, goofy smile on my face. We just spent the afternoon together by the river, quietly enjoying each other’s company. He told me the next installment of his telenovela, new stories about the family, and even gossip in town. It warmed my heart knowing he’s finally doing well, and that people are treating him the way he should have been treated in the first place. Bruno is much livelier and less alone, though it's sad to know Casita had to fall for their family to become whole again.

He looks a whole lot more attractive when he’s happy.

“You’re being crazy,” I tell myself for the umpteenth time as I burrow into my arms, trying to quell the excited feeling sitting in the pool of my stomach. Recently, I find myself looking forward to his visits. He’s making an effort to rekindle our friendship first and didn’t push me to decide right away. It made everything easier.

I’m drawn to him, like a moth to a flame. He feels familiar. He feels like…home.

Home. I haven’t been home in so long, ever since that day. Bruno and I are so similar and yet so different in so many ways, forever watching and guiding our families from the shadows. Maybe that’s why we are a perfect match.

WERE. I suppress the thought, but the more I do, the more Bruno comes to mind. All of my emotions start jumbling together into one hot mess. “Him calling you ‘mi princesa’ doesn’t mean anything." I chant the reminder. "I’m not in love with Bruno Madrigal. No. No way.”

As soon as the words leave my lips, my mind betrays me. My pulse quickens, pounding in my ears when I remember kissing him on the cheek like a shy schoolgirl. I groan in embarrassment. Why am I acting the same way I did when we were younger? “We’re starting to become friends again." I fret. It can't be, can it? "I’m not FALLING in love with Bruno…”

Denial, denial.

A knock on the door breaks me from my reverie. I turn to the wall clock behind me to check the time. Who would be here this late?

Another knock. “Is anyone home?” A voice calls out.

“Yes! Um, coming!” I say as I get up from my seat. I’m thankful for the distraction, but it makes me wonder who's outside at this hour. I rarely get visitors, what with me living in the densest part of the forest. Most of the time it’s just a random villager that mistakenly took a wrong turn and needed to find their way back into town.

I ignore the goosebumps rising from my arms as I turn the knob. I'm probably overthinking things. “How may I help–” I stop short when I see who it is. “–you?”

Qué diablos. Joder.

What in heaven’s name are they doing here?

++++

Glossary of terms (in order of appearance in-text): De nuevo, ¡sin flores! - Again, no flowers! Tan hermosa - So beautiful

-- Research links for this chapter: Best time to visit Colombia (for the weather)

Back to main | Previous chapter | Next chapter

#fanfiction #encanto #bruno madrigal #original character #young bruno madrigal #tooth rotting fluff #fluff and romance #fluff and angst #friends to lovers #mutual pining #slow burn #original character has a gift #madrigal family #humor #trauma #ao3fic

4 notes · View notes