#bruno fluff

la casita let the animals and me in the moment we stepped foot on the property, taking me to the center of the entrance room. i sway a bit, trying to balance myself after being moved so fast and suddenly by la casita. as i look around, i notice decorations put in every corner and the amazing smell of food coming from the kitchen. a banner is hung high from the upstairs balcony, painted beautifully feliz cumpleaños y/n!

oh…

“happy birthday!” each member of the family pops out from upstairs, grinning from ear to ear and shouting to me. i laugh loudly, feeling a prick of tears in the corner of my eye. pepa comes running down the stairs, catching me in an embrace and whispering a smaller happy birthday to me. i thank her, looking past her and seeing the rest of the family coming to give me a hug. they do so and i accept each one. i even got one from bruno. i’d spoken to the man only a few times. during the rebuild of their casa and the very few times i was over and we bumped into each other.

“happy birthday, y/n. we hardly know each other, but any friend of pepa’s is a friend of mine!” he exclaims grinning widely. i smile. “thank you, bruno.”

pepa brought me back into her arms. light rain had started to sprinkle over us as a cloud formed over her head. “why didn’t you come over sooner?” she asks. félix gently moves her back, saying she’d get me wet. “good question.” i smile awkwardly, looking around to find anything to get the conversation off my absence. “better question, why haven’t you been coming around at all?” damn you, camilo.

“yeah, tía y/n, we hardly ever see you anymore!” antonio frowns.

“i almost forgot what you looked like!” camilo changes to look like me and no matter how many times he does it, it still looks weird to see me from others point of view.

“tía y/n, are you okay? it’s like after la casita was rebuilt you disappeared…” mirabel frowns too. i chuckle awkwardly. that’s what i do, i laugh in situations that are not for laughing. “i came over a few times.”

“you came over three times in the last two months, dear.” juleita says, putting a hand on my shoulder. i look around me and everyone seems so sad because of my absence. i did not expect this.

“sorry. i wanted to give you all some time to recover from the whole miracle disaster thing, catch up with bruno and stuff.” i glance over at said man. he gives me a small lopsided smile and i can't ignore the small skip of my heart beat.

“mija, you are practically part of la familia madrigal, you should be here with us.” alma said, taking my hands into hers. she said she always considered me like another daughter when i'd gotten really close with pepa and came around la casa to help around whenever i could. albeit, she wasn’t as hard on me as she was the rest of her family.

“right…”

“shall we eat? mamá made all your favourites!” mirabel grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to their dining room. i took a seat next to pepa, camilo on my other side, bruno across from me. i looked at all the food and it was indeed all my favourites. “thank you.”

“you’re welcome, tía, it was all my idea really.” camilo boasts, handing me the cream. i laugh. “oh, really?”

“it’s true,” pepa smiles fondly. “he asked if we could throw you a surprise a few days ago.”

“you’re his favourite tía.” dolores says nonchalantly. camilo laughs nervously. “that’s not true…”

“i heard you muttering about how much you missed her.” dolores smirked. pepa cooed and reached around me to squeeze his shoulder. he groans. i lean over and give him a hug, squeezing him as hard as i can. “you’re too sweet, cami!”

the lunch they made for me would be enough to fill me till tomorrow. i caught up with all the drama and fun i’d missed in the last couple months. i got to know bruno. he was funny, making me laugh a lot. he had a way with the kids too. they seemed to love him, even if they’d missed him half their lives. and everytime he looked in my direction i couldn’t help the blush that took over my cheeks. he was far too attractive for his own good.

“y/n?” pepa shakes me by my shoulders. i look up at her in question. “what?”

“you’re staring at mi hermano bruno.” the tease in her voice does not go unnoticed by me. we were done with lunch and had moved to sit around outside. everyone was doing their own thing. bruno just happened to be across from me in my line of sight and chatting with félix.

“shut up, pepa.”

a light sprinkle started to go again, though i did not mind. i like how she was letting her gift be what it wanted. “you and him would be so fantastic! if you and him married, you could be a part of la familia officially!” i gulp. “pepa! you are getting ahead of yourself!” the rain cloud became heavier as she got more into the idea of bruno and me. i was starting to soak a bit.

“mami! why are you drizzling?” camilo shouted over to us. dolores walked over to him and whispered in his ear. camilo looked like he was seeing stars with a large grin on his face and sparkling eyes.

Several of the children immediately scattered, running out of the yard as quickly as they could muster. Mirabel let out a slight sigh of irritation, ducking around the woman as she wordlessly turned and walked towards the garden. The giftless Madrigal then followed after one of the children, a girl with beautiful orange hair named Ezra, to make sure she was alright. 

“Who was that woman?” Ezra asked, her voice quivering a little bit as she peered around Mirabel, trying to catch a look of the woman from afar. “Is she a witch?”

Mirabel huffed slightly. “She might as well be,” she whispered under her breath before sitting down next to the child, crossing her legs. “That is my Tía Daniela. And she has a good reason for acting the way she does. I think so, at least.”

Ezra and Mirabel watched as Daniela sat down on a bench in the garden, looking down at the nearly identical flowers Isabela had created. Her shoulders slumped a little as she looked at them, and Mirabel could only wonder what was going through her mind. 

“So, what happened to make her so…sad?” Ezra asked with a little pout. 

Mirabel looked down at the child, nibbling on the inside of her bottom lip before sighing. Nearly every adult in town knew so, sooner or later, the kids would know, too. “Alright. But you have to promise not to tell the other kids,” Mirabel told her sternly, holding out her pinky as a promise. 

Once Ezra linked their pinkies together, Mirabel spoke again. “Tía Daniela is married to my Tío Bruno,” she told the young girl sadly. “So, she has no powers. Like my dad and Tío Félix, she married into the Madrigals. She and my Tío Bruno were very happy. They were always smiling and Bruno would actually laugh. Even when I was five, I knew that Bruno laughing was a rarity by the way the rest of my family reacted.”

Mirabel then looked up at the sky, sighing softly as she watched a single puffy cloud float by. “Bruno left shortly after my ceremony. He didn’t tell anyone as to why or where he was going. Not even his wife. And at the time…Tía Daniela was pregnant. From what I remember, she was pregnant one day and the next, she wasn’t. In a span of a week, Daniela lost her husband and her child. So, yeah. She gets a pass for being grumpy in my books.”

When Mirabel looked back down at the spot where Ezra had been sitting, the child was gone. In her place, a little rat stood on its hind legs a little bit and looked up at Mirabel with wide, curious eyes. Mirabel scoffed at first, but wasn’t surprised. Children didn’t have the best attention spans. Instead, she gave the little guy a pat on his head with her finger. “At least you’re a good listener.”

The rat twitched its little ears before scurrying back to La Casita. Mirabel stood with a little groan, nodding in agreement. Her family would be expecting her back as well. 

When she entered the front yard once more, she looked over at Tía Daniela. The woman was now sitting up, her arm outstretched a little bit with her palm open and facing the sky. The rat who had been listening to Mirabel’s story was sitting in it, ears and nose twitching. Mirabel could have sworn that Daniela was…smiling? Tía Daniela never smiled. Before she could think about it anymore, her Abuela was calling for her to help with the preparations.

 Ten Years Prior

“Mi amor,” Daniela laughed softly as she watched her husband pace the floor in front of their bed. While Bruno did have his tower, they also had a normal bedroom so Daniela didn’t have to deal with all the sand constantly. “You’ll burn a rut into Casita. There’s nothing to worry about, okay? Mirabel will get her gift and all will be okay.”

Bruno immediately began knocking on any wooden surface, hitting the surfaces five times before knocking the sixth time gently against his forehead. “Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock on wood…”

Daniela giggled softly at her overly superstitious husband. He was constantly labeled as being bad luck, as his visions of the future often showed things people didn’t want to see. So, since he was a teenager, he had developed anything to help ward off that bad luck. Crossing his fingers, knocking on wood, throwing salt over his shoulder. You name it, he did it. “Brunito,” the woman spoke softly, sitting up from where she was laying on the bed and gently reaching out for him. Bruno looked over at his wife, hurrying to the bed and sitting down so she could wrap her arms around him. “Don’t stress, mi amor. Things will turn out okay in the end.”

Bruno sighed softly as he nodded, leaning into Daniela’s embrace and giving her a reassuring smile. “I know it will, I know. Thank you, querida,” he whispered to her softly, reaching behind him and placing a hand on her cheek. “Know that I love you. No matter what, okay? Never forget that.”

“I love you, too, Bruno,” Daniela replied softly, leaning their foreheads together briefly. Casita then moved a clock towards them with their tiles, showing that it was seven o’clock in the evening. Looking out the window, the couple could see the townspeople approaching for the party that evening. “I guess it’s that time. Let’s go, honey, we have a party to attend!”

Bruno’s face, which had been soft as he looked dotingly at his wife, contorted into a face of slight discomfort. He wasn’t like his Daniela. She had always been the life of the party, and he was the social outcast who didn’t like them in the first place. 

It was a wonder to the town why those two got married. They were the sun and the moon personality-wise, seemingly polar opposites. Daniela was also five years younger than Bruno, having married when she was nineteen and he was twenty-four. The woman had moved to Encanto with her two fathers when she was seventeen, as they wanted to open the café they had always dreamed of. She actually met Bruno Madrigal when she was eighteen, as he rarely left his tower, and it was love at first sight for the both of them. A year later, they were married. 

Now, six years later on the night of Mirabel’s Gift Receival Day, they were just as in love as they were the day they met. Daniela took both of Bruno’s hands and hoisted him to his feet, giving him a cheerful giggle to assure him that everything would be okay. Bruno couldn’t help but smile back. Daniela was the best thing in his life and everything she did made him smile. 

When they finally left their bedroom, nearly everyone in town was already partying it up in the middle courtyard. La Casita was taking people’s coats and hats, directing them around, and even cooking food. It truly was a magical house. Daniela laughed happily as she peered over the balcony, watching the crowds below as Abuela Alma and a few others got the rest of the party ready. Bruno was standing behind his wife the entire time, holding her hand tightly. 

“I wonder what our little one’s Gift will be,” Daniela then smiled at her husband as they made their way down the stairs to join the party. Bruno’s eyebrows raised in silent excitement at the mention of their child, currently growing within Daniela, getting their Gift. He hoped it would be one that would bring happiness to their family instead of one like his that only brought suffering. “And before you say anything about how your power sucks, Brunito, I will send you over this banister.”

Bruno laughed in response, opting to squeeze Daniela’s hand and kiss her cheek instead of saying actual words. After mingling with neighbours and other family members, Casita let everyone know it was time. The townsfolk parted down the middle of the courtyard, a group standing on either side as Casita rotated the tiles to form a pseudo red carpet as young Mirabel Madrigal stood at the end. Her immediate family stood at the top while her cousins, aunts, and uncles stood at the bottom. Daniela smiled happily as she watched the adorable little girl smile softly as she walked down the pseudo aisle. 

Bruno gave her curly head of hair a fond pat as she walked past them. He loved the children of the Family Madrigal, as they were always so energetic and laughed at his jokes, so he was more than excited to have one of his own. Daniela smiled brightly at her husband, holding his arm in excitement as Mirabel reached the top of the stairs and placed her little hands on the candle as Abuela knelt down in front of her. 

“Any guesses on what her Gift is going to be, querido?” Daniela whispered to Bruno, making the man look over at her. They stood at relatively the same height, with Bruno being about a centimeter or so taller. “With a firecracker like Mirabel, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s something fire related.”

Bruno smiled at her. “I’m thinking something more nurturing, like Julieta,” he responded, his voice barely a whisper. His eyes then focused behind his wife’s head on Mirabel’s door, face falling almost immediately. Daniela then turned her head back around to see what was going on. 

Mirabel was standing in front of her door, hand gripping the doorknob. However, instead of it glowing bright and her Gift showing itself, the door was fading away until all that was left was a blank wall. The young girl turned towards her Abuela, hands folded in front of her shyly and her bottom lip tucked between her teeth so she wouldn’t cry. Abuela herself was absolutely stunned. All Gift Ceremonies before this went off without a hitch and she had put so much faith into the youngest Madrigal child. 

The crowd then began murmuring to one another, different questions floating around the different conversations about what was happening. Bruno and Pepa shared a look, equally as confused but they couldn’t even imagine how Mirabel was feeling. Speaking of the scared and lost child, Abuela quickly guided her to her parents so they could take her away from the crowd. 

“Everyone, everyone!” Abuela Alma then called to the crowd, who quieted down when the matriarch raised her voice. “Please, continue to enjoy the party while we figure things out!”

Abuela then motioned for the rest of the Madrigals to come with her, as they were probably all going to panic as a family. They all climbed the stairs, Casita helping out as it basically turned the staircase into an escalator. They all went to Dolores’ room, as her room was specifically tailored to help her sleep at night, ensuring outside noises and conversations couldn’t be heard. No sound could get in and no sound could get out. 

Daniela and Bruno stayed away from the circle of family members who were arguing amongst each other, as they both felt out of place. Daniela was easily accepted into the Madrigals, but when it came to family arguments or bumps in the road, she found it easier to stay out of it. Bruno felt much the same, as he was always afraid of saying something wrong. 

He always seemed to say something wrong. He was Bruno, after all. 

“I’m just so confused,” Daniela whispered to her husband, holding his arm tightly as he nodded in agreement. “What could have gone wrong?”

Bruno shrugged. “I’m not sure…”

“Bruno!” Abuela Alma called as she quickly approached the couple, who looked over at the older woman. She grabbed Bruno’s other arm, gently tugging him so Daniela instinctually let go. “Come with me quickly, mijo. I have to talk to you privately in my room.”

The youngest Madrigal triplet furrowed his eyebrows slightly in confusion, looking at his mother. “Yes, Mamá, I’ll be right there. Let me walk Daniela back to our room first, okay? She doesn’t need to hear all this bickering.”

Abuela Alma nodded in agreement, then hurried out of Dolores’ room so she could head to her own. Bruno then wished the rest of his family goodnight, a few of them acknowledging him but more or less continuing to talk loudly amongst one another. 

Bruno wasn’t in any rush to get Daniela back to their bedroom. Daniela knew entirely why as well. Bruno and his mother didn’t have the best relationship. 

Well…No one really had the best relationship with Abuela Alma. 

“Bruno,” Daniela spoke up softly as they reached their shared bedroom. Bruno looked over at his wife, and her heart nearly broke when she saw how worried he was. Her hands immediately went to his cheeks, looking into his eyes. The hazel of his irises now had some lime green mixed in. “Mi amor, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. We both know what she’s going to ask.”

Bruno nodded slowly, placing his hands over top of Daniela’s. “I know…But maybe doing it is what’s best for the family. You saw how scared Mirabel looked. Maybe looking into the future will help her along the way. I have to do this.”

Daniela let out a little sigh, looking away for a moment. When Bruno was determined, she could tell. There would be no changing his mind. Looking back up at her husband, she gave him a nod. “Okay. I’ll keep the bed warm for you in the meantime. Don’t take too long, okay?”

“I promise, querida,” Bruno told her sincerely, moving her hands from his face so he could lean in and give her a loving kiss. After a moment, the couple pulled away. Bruno gave her a small, reassuring smile before opening the bedroom door. “I love you.”

Daniela gave Bruno another quick kiss before stepping into the bedroom, eyes never leaving his. “I love you, too.”

Bruno nodded, then turned and walked down the hallway towards Abuela Alma’s room. The party-goers had since cleared out so it was now dead silent in the house. It usually would’ve made for a good night’s sleep but not in this case. 

Within the hour, while Daniela was in bed and trying to sleep, Casita began to shake slightly. That type of small tremor came hand-in-hand with when Bruno did his readings up in his tower. It usually calmed Daniela down, knowing that he was almost done with his reading but something about this situation…it felt off. Daniela couldn’t pinpoint it but something was wrong. 

Bruno didn’t come to bed that night. In the morning, no one could find him, either. There one moment, and gone the other. 

Daniela was distraught. Well, distraught was an understatement. She was absolutely devastated. While leading the search for Bruno, which only involved a few people as some of the townspeople and even a few of the Madrigals saw Bruno disappearing as a good thing, Daniela was completely and utterly wrecked. And it took a toll on more than just her. 

Dolores was the first one to tell her tía that she was no longer pregnant, only five days after her tío Bruno disappeared. It had been shortly after their usual breakfast as Daniela was clearing up the table. Dolores, only eleven at the time, didn’t understand why saying that she didn’t hear the baby’s heartbeat anymore made her tía scream and wail in anguish. 

Pepa and Julieta helped her through the difficult and heartbreaking process of no longer being pregnant, but once it was all over, Daniela demanded to be left alone. 

The woman stayed that way for the next ten years. She rarely spoke to anyone unless directly spoken to first, and rarely spent any time out of her bedroom unless it was for meals and now, Antonio’s upcoming Gift Receival Ceremony. Only thirty-five and already a hag. 

Fitting for a presumed widow. 

At this Gift Receival Ceremony, Daniela stood at the bottom of the stairs once more as the youngest Madrigal stood where Mirabel stood the night her husband disappeared. She was alone this time, though. She hadn’t mingled the entire party, only emerging from her room when it was exactly time and even stood the furthest possible away from her in-laws. 

Bruno had always made these ceremonies better.

Once Antonio’s Gift was revealed, nearly the entire party filed into his room to see what was inside. Daniela was disinterested, as usual. Seeing so much joy just made her feel angry. 

It wasn’t like Daniela wanted to feel this way. She longed for the days where she always had a smile on her face, happy to talk to anyone and always involved in the community. Sometimes, she even longed for the time before she had met Bruno or even moved to Encanto to begin with. If that hadn’t happened, she would still be happy instead of in constant mourning. 

That was selfish of her. Daniela loved Bruno dearly and would honestly go through this again if she could only know if Bruno was still around or even alive after ten years. 

Just as the woman was about to get ready for bed, Daniela swore that she could feel the house shaking. The last time she felt the familiar shaking, it was when Bruno had disappeared. That could not have been good. She could hear Mirabel hurry up the stairs shouting about how there were cracks forming in the walls of the house and how they were all in danger. Now that was interesting and well worth another exit from her room. 

Daniela quickly pulled her ruana back over her body as she left the room just as the rest of the Madrigals and the party-goers filed out of Antonio’s room to see what Mirabel was talking about. There were no physical cracks in Casita and the candle in Abuela’s window was still burning bright. Abuela also looked pissed. Daniela watched on from the balcony. 

“That’s…” Mirabel panted softly in exasperation when she realized there was nothing wrong with the house. “The cracks were there. They were everywhere,” she said in disbelief, turning to face Abuela who was standing on the stairs. “The house was in danger, the candle was…Abuela, I promise–”

“That’s enough,” Abuela Alma cut her off with a simple cutting hand gesture. After a stern look to Mirabel, which made Daniela’s blood boil, the woman put on a crowd-pleasing smile and turned to face the crowd. “There is nothing wrong with La Casa Madrigal! The magic is strong! And so are the drinks. Please! Music!”

Daniela rolled her eyes as the party quickly went back to being full swing, huffing slightly in annoyance at how easily they all pushed Mirabel aside. It was like deja vu. For years, Daniela had witnessed them all do the same thing to Bruno. And where was he now? 

Who knows. 

As everyone went back into Antonio’s room, Julieta actually went down the stairs to see if her youngest daughter was alright. The woman then led her towards the kitchen, noticing that she had a cut on her hand from something. Daniela looked to Antonio’s door, watching it close behind the last person before hurrying down the stairs. 

As much as she distanced herself from her family, she still loved them and could see that Mirabel was in honest distress so she wanted to make sure she was alright. As Daniela approached the kitchen, she could see that Julieta and Mirabel were leaning against the counter and talking to one another. 

“I know what I saw,” Mirabel was telling her mother as she pulled away from her grasp. 

Julieta let out a soft sigh, thinking of her next words. “Mira, my brother Bruno lost his way in this family,” she finally said. “I don’t want the same for you. Get some sleep. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

Lost his way? Bruno didn’t lose his way. 

“That’s a lovely way of saying that Bruno was outcast just for telling the truth about peoples’ futures,” Daniela deadpanned as she entered the kitchen, making eye contact with Julieta. “This family pushed him away. He was never lost. He was abandoned.”

Julieta let out a heavy sigh, rolling her eyes. “Aye, Daniela, not now. Not tonight, not in front of Mirabel!”

“Then stop telling lies about my husband!” Daniela yelled in response, slamming her closed fist against the nearest countertop. “Everyone in this damn town talks nonsense about Bruno and are so wrapped up in the ‘enigma’ of Bruno Madrigal that they have never seen him for who he truly is!”

Tears were now pouring down her cheeks as she began to let out her feelings that had been bottled up for ten years, but took a deep breath before wiping her cheeks. She wasn’t mad at Julieta, just mad in general. “I’m sorry, Julieta, I’m sorry…”

Julieta just shook her head and stepped forward, wrapping the poor, broken woman in her arms. “No, I’m sorry…It hurts me too to hear what they have to say about him. Even Pepa does it and it makes me wanna smack her silly.”

Daniela groaned a little bit as she pulled away now, wiping her eyes before any more tears could fall. “Because of her wedding still? That was just a stupid joke Bruno said.”

“Well, she was incredibly sweaty that day,” Julieta laughed. “It was a good joke, but she still blames him for that hurricane.”

“Everyone blames him for something,” Daniela replied softly before nodding once at Julieta, then turning away so she could head back. Before she did so, she came face to face with the Familia Madrigal portrait on the back wall of the dining room portion of the kitchen. It was of a family tree, stemming from Abuela Alma and Abuelo Pedro to the grandkids. Casita updated it whenever someone married into the family or had a child but it hadn’t been updated since Antonio was born. A line connected Bruno and Daniela, signifying they were married but no lines stemmed downwards. The woman ghosted a hand over the image of her husband before turning back to Mirabel. “I believe you, Mirabel. And I know Bruno would, too.”

Without another word, Daniela turned back to the doorway and hurried up to her room before the party could wrap up. She didn’t want to be seen with tear-stained cheeks. 

Things felt different the next day when Daniela woke up, closer to noon so she had completely missed breakfast. It was like there was this nostalgic feeling within her, one that she had been chasing for ten years. 

Someone had been in Bruno’s tower. And she had a pretty good idea who it was. 

As Daniela got dressed, she could hear the conversation coming from the nursery just two doors down from her room. Mirabel and Pepa were talking, and she could hear slight thunder as well. Daniela quickly threw on her ruana and stepped into her shoes, as Casita was always on top of their game, before hurrying down to the nursery. The woman stopped before she rounded the corner, closing her eyes so she could focus on what they were saying.

“I just wanted to get the last of Toñito’s things and then I heard the name we do not speak,” Pepa was speaking sternly to Mirabel, a storm cloud forming over her head. “Great. Now I’m thundering! And that thunder will lead to a drizzle, and a drizzle will lead to a sprinkle!”

Pepa then took a deep breath, turning to sit on the floor in front of Antonio’s dresser. “Clear skies, clear skies…” she singsonged to herself. 

“Tía Pepa, if Br–” Mirabel began, but stopped herself from saying her uncle’s full name as another storm cloud had formed over Pepa’s head. “If he had a vision about someone, what would it mean for them?”

“We don’t talk about Bruno,” Pepa stated flatly as she wrung out a piece of fabric, presumably a shirt, as it had become soaked under Pepa’s personal cloud. 

“I know, it’s just hypothetically if he saw you…” Mirabel said cautiously. 

Pepa reached up and shooed away her storm cloud. “Mirabel, please, we need to get ready for the Guzmans!”

Mirabel sighed in irritation. “I just wanna know if it was generally positive or, like, less positive…”

“It was a nightmare!” Felix suddenly shouted, the door to the nursery bursting open. His outburst seriously made Daniela jump, as she hadn’t heard or seen him coming since her eyes were closed and he walked silently for such a round man. 

“Felix!” Pepa gasped as she scrambled to her feet. 

“Hey, she needs to know, Pepi,” Felix told his wife as he stepped further into the room, approaching Mirabel. “She needs to know!”

“We don’t talk about Bruno.”

Felix continued despite his wife’s warning. “He would see something terrible. And then,” Felix made a bunch of ticking sounds. “Boom! It would happen!” 

Daniela rolled her eyes behind her lids, sighing out in irritation. Bruno didn’t make bad things happen, he just predicted that they would. It was an inevitability. 

“We don’t talk about Bruno!” Pepa repeated, more harshly this time. 

“What if you don’t understand what he saw?” Mirabel then asked. 

Felix grabbed his niece by the shoulders, shaking her slightly. “Then you better figure it out, because it was coming for you.”

“For the last time!” Pepa insisted, practically shouting now. “We don’t talk about Bruno! But,” she sighed, crossing her arms as she looked at her niece. “He ruined our wedding. We were getting ready and it was a beautiful day, no clouds in the sky.”

Felix nodded in agreement. “Pepa wouldn’t allow one.”

Pepa placed her hand on her husband’s shoulder to allow her to continue. “Then Bruno walked into the church with this mischievous grin–”

“Thunder!” Felix suddenly shouted, making Mirabel flinch. 

Pepa rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, turning away from her husband. “Are you telling the story or am I?”

Felix wrapped one arm around his wife, making sure she was calmed down as another storm cloud was forming around her head. “I’m sorry, mi vida, go on.”

Pepa smiled genuinely at her husband, nodding before turning back to Mirabel. “Bruno said that it looked like rain, and of course it messed with me. Before we knew it, we were in the middle of a hurricane! It was still a lovely day, but that’s why we don’t talk about Bruno. He just tends to make bad things happen.”

Daniela couldn’t bear to hear this any longer. All Pepa has had to say about Bruno for years was how he ruined her wedding and everything he did was wrong. She was about to swoop in and tug Mirabel out of that room when Dolores did that for her, saying she wanted to see Mirabel on the first floor about something. 

From what Daniela could see up on the balcony, Dolores was speaking quickly to her cousin about who knows what. Dolores spoke so quietly that it was bound to be hard for even Mirabel to hear, and she was right in front of her. Looking up with a sigh, Daniela ran her fingers through her hair before promptly freezing in place. Across the courtyard on the opposite side of the balcony stood a hooded figure, one with their hood up and seemed to be hurrying towards the other end of the balcony. Daniela could only guess where the person was going. 

For a second, it looked like Bruno. When she blinked, however, the figure was gone. She chocked it up to being Camilo, as he also wore a ruana and sometimes wore it with the hood up and could easily shapeshift. If they were talking about Bruno, she could definitely see Camilo shifting into his shape just to bug Mirabel. 

There were some things she did not want to see, as being faced with even the projected image of her husband could be hard for her. Daniela then retired to her bedroom once more, opting to skip the dinner with the Guzmans entirely. She found Mariano way out of Isabela’s league and didn’t want to cringe through the entire thing. 

Daniela was glad that she did, as about twenty minutes after the dinner began, things began to go wrong. She could hear thunder, shouting, birds squawking, and cracking. Casita was cracking, and for real this time. The woman got up quickly, hurrying out into the hallway to see what was going on. Luisa was sobbing, running into her room and slamming the door behind her while a storm raged over Pepa’s head. The Guzmans were also hurrying out of the house, Abuela trying her best to apologize. 

The weirdest of all, however, was the rats that were running up the stairs. Daniela watched as they ran by her feet in a single file line, each carrying a piece of green, glowing glass in their mouths. The same glass that Bruno’s visions were printed onto. Mirabel was hot on their trail, watching as they disappeared behind a painting that was on the wall next to Dolores’ room. Daniela’s eyes widened as Mirabel gently pulled open the painting, as it was acting like a door that guarded a hole in the wall. Without a second glance, the girl climbed in. 

Daniela quickly shut the door to her bedroom, the sound of its slamming echoing throughout the house. Placing her back on the door, she slid down the wood until she was sitting flat on the tiled floor. Her eyes were wide and filled with tears, one hand covering her mouth. 

Two and two were being put together in her brain. The rats, the green glass, the hole in the wall big enough for a person to fit through…It was all starting to make sense. 

Daniela needed to see it for herself. After about twenty minutes of collecting herself, she slowly got to her feet and ventured back out into the hallway. A few members of the family were searching for Mirabel, demanding to know what exactly went down during dinner. Daniela was as stealthy as possible as she approached the painting, slowly opening it and sliding into the hole before closing herself in. 

The air was musty and dusty, as not much airflow got behind the sturdy walls of La Casita. What was more intriguing was the cracks in the actual walls, which had seemingly been plastered. This was more confirmation for Daniela, as no one else in the house knew about these cracks or had even known of this little structure within the walls. 

Following the path, which was a little topsy-turvy, Daniela found herself at this giant hole. It had obviously caved in from the Casita shaking and cracking but the woman didn’t have a problem simply jumping into it and climbing out on the other side. It was maybe a seven foot drop so it wasn’t too hard on her. 

Daniela finally found herself at this makeshift door. It seemed to be made out of dried sugar cane, or bamboo, but she could hear two voices behind it. One was definitely Mirabel, and the next voice was unmistakable. 

Bruno. 

“Tío Bruno,” Mirabel was saying in a soft, gentle tone. “You need to tell Tía Daniela you’ve been here all along. If you could see how she is now–”

“I have,” Bruno interrupted Mirabel, a slight harshness behind his voice. “It breaks my heart every day to see her the way she is now. I miss her smile,” his voice was now softer, yearning behind his tone. “But my Gift wasn’t helping the family. But I love my family, y’know?”

Daniela’s heart could have shattered the same way it did ten years ago hearing his voice. He too had been in pain this entire time, being so close to his family but knowing he wasn’t welcomed like the rest of them. 

“I just don’t know how to…I just don’t know how to…” Bruno repeated himself twice, trying and failing to find the right words. “Well, anyway, I think you should go, because, um…I don’t really have a good reason, but if I did, you’d be like, ‘I should go because that’s a good reason’. No one’s found me yet, so it’s best that they keep living blissfully unaware…”

Daniela had had enough. Pushing open the door, tears already spilling from her eyes, she came face-to-face with Bruno for the first time in ten years. He looked tired, like the ten years behind the walls had aged him twenty. A decade with barely any sunlight could do that to a person. However, he was still the same handsome man that Daniela fell in love with. 

The space he was living in was cramped as well, littered with things the family didn’t want to keep over the years. Dishes, clothing, a record player, and a chair that used to belong to Abuela before she had gotten a new one six years prior. No bed was in sight.

Bruno looked terrified that another person had found where he had been living all those years, but nothing broke him more than seeing his wife. “Querida…?”

“This whole time?” Daniela sobbed, eyes never leaving Bruno’s. “This entire time, you were in these walls?! Night after night, I called out for you and you were ten feet away?!”

Bruno quickly stood up from his seat, taking a step towards Daniela. He stopped, however, when Daniela took a step back. “Daniela, mi amor, I can explain–”

“I went through a miscarriage without you!” Daniela then shouted at him, hands gripped tightly into fists. “I needed my husband with me and you were just behind these walls, watching! How could you?!”

“Daniela, please!” Bruno begged, taking another step forward but Daniela simply shook her head. “Querida, please, I beg you.”

Daniela couldn’t say another word. With tears streaming down her cheeks, the woman turned and ran back the way she had come. Bruno hurried to the door, calling after her but she was already gone. She didn’t know where she was going once she exited the painting door and sprinted down the stairs, but all she knew was that she needed to get out. 

Despite that it was thundering outside, close to a full on thunderstorm, Daniela left with just her ruana to keep her warm. A few family members called after her, wondering why she was sprinting from the house with tears running down her cheeks, but she didn’t pay them any mind. She just needed to get away. 

As she sprinted through town, she could feel the air shift and the familiar taste of sand entered her mouth. Bruno was using his Gift for the first time in ten years. Being tied so closely to Bruno, she still found sand everywhere and just him using his Gift made it feel like she had face-planted at the beach. 

After traveling for about thirty minutes, Daniela came across a familiar clearing. Behind some bushes and across a small creek was a flat spot of land. It was surrounded by blooming shrubs and flowers, shielded away from the rest of Encanto. It was where she and Bruno had gone on many dates before they got married, and even a few afterwards. She hadn’t been able to return since Bruno disappeared, and it seemed even harder now that he was back but it was the only place she could think of escaping. 

Just as she was about to sit down, the entire town began to shake. The woman turned around quickly, peering through a few branches in the trees to see La Casita. It too was trembling, but an unnerving kind this time. Before her eyes, it began to collapse. Cracks spread throughout town, cutting streets in half and even going up some buildings. A cloud of dust went up as Casita fully came down, leaving the Magical Madrigals now without their beloved home. 

Daniela just fell to her knees, staring at the spot in the sky where her husband’s tower had once been. Another wave of emotions completely wrecked her, but this time it made her completely numb. As the sun finally fell over the horizon, blanketing the town into night, Daniela Madrigal stayed sitting in the same spot staring at the sky. 

All night long, she could hear people calling for Mirabel as well as for her. Apparently during head count, those two were missing. Daniela had very publicly sprinted from the house but it surprised her to hear that Mirabel was also missing. She so desperately wanted to get up and help find her niece, but she couldn’t will her body to get up. She was just emotionally ruined. 

As the sun rose over Encanto once more, Daniela could now truly see how the Madrigal home coming down really affected the rest of Encanto. Not only was the town in shambles, but the mountains surrounding them had a huge crack going up the biggest peak. When she was told that the Madrigals had a lot of power over the town, she didn’t know its true extent until that moment. 

Daniela’s eyes were heavy, as she had been awake all night and had done a great spell of sobbing over the hours so that was bound to tire someone out. At around six in the morning, Daniela could hear someone approaching. They came from the east side, the direction of the Madrigal home, so she knew who it was almost instantly. 

“I, uh,” Bruno stammered nervously as he approached his wife, standing slightly behind her and fiddling with his fingers. Her face was void of emotion as she continued to stare straight forward, so he wasn’t quite sure how to approach the situation. “I figured I’d find you here…”

Daniela shrugged a little bit when he spoke, eyes closing for a moment before reopening. “I didn’t know where else to go…”

Bruno took a deep breath then, eyes closed tight as he crossed his fingers. Daniela raised an eyebrow when she heard his deep intake, looking over her shoulder just in time to see him dash some salt from a shaker into his palm and throw it over his shoulder. “You’re still doing that, huh?” Daniela joked lightly. 

“Yeah,” Bruno laughed nervously, finally gathering his nerves enough to sit down next to his wife. “Um, if you’d let me, I’d like to explain myself now.”

Daniela looked over at Bruno, trying to keep her expression neutral but just being this close to the man she loved for the first time in ten years made her lower lip tremble. She cleared her throat, however, before nodding. “Fire away.”

Bruno took a deep breath before beginning to ramble quickly. “When Mirabel didn’t get her gift, Mamá asked me to look into the future to figure out what it meant and I saw Mirabel standing in front of Casita and there were cracks all over it, but the image would shift to show no cracks and I didn’t know what it meant but I knew since no one had any faith in me that I couldn’t show anyone because they’d never listen and also shun Mirabel.”

Once he was done his rant, he panted slightly to catch his breath while also never looking away from his wife. Daniela’s eyes were slightly wide as she listened, then nodded slowly once she was able to wrap her brain around his words. “So…You left without a word to protect Mirabel?”

Bruno nodded slowly. “She was only five and scared after her door faded, mi amor. I couldn’t let the family treat her like they’ve been treating me all my life. I had to leave to protect her. But look where that’s gotten us, huh?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Daniela then asked, trying to force her tears back but ultimately failing as they just rolled down her cheeks. “I wouldn’t have told anyone. I’ve always hated the way they treated you and if you asked, I would’ve kept that secret.”

Bruno looked forward now, heaving out a sigh. “I know…But I wasn’t thinking at the moment…I was already in way too deep when I came to the conclusion that you would’ve if I had just asked. And I’m…I’m sorry you had to go through losing our baby by yourself,” he then whispered, his voice catching in his throat. “I’ve hated myself every day for not being there for you. But I’ve always been by your side, even if you didn’t see me.”

A sob now shuddered Daniela’s body, looking down at the grass before looking back up at Bruno. His eyes were glassy as well, tears threatening to spill. “I’ve missed you so much, querido…”

Bruno heaved out a sigh of relief, tears finally rolling down his cheeks. His arms instantly went around his wife’s frame, holding her as close as possible as he rocked the both of them slightly. Daniela took not a second longer to climb into his lap, burying her face into his neck as she just let sob after sob leave her body. Ten years of pent up frustration and depression were finally being let free. She didn’t know if she would ever truly be the same again, but with Bruno back in her life, she was sure that things would start to look sunnier. 

“I love you so much, mi amor,” Bruno whispered softly, holding Daniela as close as possible. “You did say that things would turn out okay in the end, didn’t you?”

Daniela couldn’t help but let out a laugh, a genuine laugh, at his words. It was just like Bruno to remember something she had said offhandedly ten years ago. Hearing her laugh for the first time in a decade made Bruno’s heart soar. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

Bruno nodded as he gave the woman a kiss on the top of her head. “Querida, go back to the house, okay? I need to go find Mirabel because I have a feeling that Mamá’s already found her.”

Daniela whined a little bit in protest, holding his green ruana a bit tighter like she didn’t want him to leave her again. Bruno couldn’t help but let out a fond sigh, hugging her a bit tighter now. “I’ll come back,” Bruno then whispered. “Faster than ten years this time.”

“You better,” Daniela mumbled softly in response, looking up at her husband. “If you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m finding you myself and throwing you off one of the mountains.”

Bruno laughed softly in response, placing another kiss on Daniela’s forehead. As he got up, helping his wife up in turn, the sun began to break through the clouds that had been looming over the town since last night. Daniela and Bruno looked up at the sky now, the soft pink of the sunrise visible between the clouds. Daniela then let out a gasp of wonder as a whole family of yellow butterflies, thousands of them, flew over the town of Encanto. 

“Wow,” Daniela whispered softly, a big smile plastered on her face. 

Bruno whined softly at how adorable his wife was being. “You’re making it so hard for me to leave you right now, but I really need to go,” he told her, taking her face into his hands. “I will be right back. I promise.”

“Good,” Daniela smiled up at her love, placing her hands over his. “Because as soon as you get back, you’re getting a bath. You smell like sand and mildew.”

“Harsh,” Bruno replied with fake-hurt, which earned him another beautiful giggle from Daniela. Before he could convince himself to stay, however, he gave her a loving kiss before hurrying back the way he came. 

Daniela breathed in deeply as she looked to where the Madrigal home once stood. Removing her ruana, she draped it over her arm before walking back to where she had called home for the past sixteen years. It was reduced to rubble, but it was still home. 

Many of the Madrigals were waiting around the wreckage, wondering what to do. Julieta, Luisa, and Augustín had returned from their search for Mirabel since the man had suffered multiple bee stings all over his exposed skin. 

“Healing arepas would be good right about now,” Daniela joked lightly as she approached the rest of her family, hands tucked into the pockets of her skirt. Julieta looked over when she heard the woman’s voice, hurrying over to her and pulling her into a tight hug. “Oof! Julieta, you’re going to crack a rib!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Julieta replied with a little laugh, but the worried look soon returned. “We’ve been looking for you and Mirabel all night. Is she with you?”

Daniela shook her head sadly, sighing softly. “I’m sorry. I have no idea where she could’ve gone, but something tells me she won’t be long now. Come on, I’ll help you look for any mementos that survived in the meantime. I know I’m looking for a few.”

Julieta nodded in agreement, sighing out softly before linking her arm with Daniela’s and walking back into the rubble. “You know, something’s changed in you…”

After about thirty minutes, they could hear a horse approaching the house. Daniela’s eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion as she looked up, watching as all three of the remaining Madrigals not currently at the house came basically flying in on a horse. 

Where had Bruno gotten a horse?

“Mirabel!” Julieta cried out immediately, hurrying to the front of the house to see if it was truly her daughter. 

Daniela got up with the rest of the family as they made their way around as well, clutching a ceramic plate close to her chest. As Daniela rounded the corner, Augustín was assuring Mirabel that he would be okay even with all his bee stings. 

“Uh,” Camilo spoke up. “Not if we don’t have a house.”

Felix elbowed his son in the side gently, a silent gesture begging him to read the room. 

“What?” Camilo demanded as he looked at his father. “We don’t have a house! I can’t say we don’t have a house?” He then gestured to some rubble in front of him. “What is that? Not a house.”

Daniela laughed softly at her nephew’s words. He truly was the comedian of the family. At the sound of her laughter, all of the Madrigals turned to stare at her with wide eyes. It had been an entire decade since the woman had even smiled, and here she was laughing. 

“Tía Daniela?” Antonio’s tiny voice spoke up from below her, making the woman look down at her youngest nephew. “I haven’t seen you happy ever in my entire life. Are you happy because our house is gone?”

Daniela crouched down to the little boy’s level, shaking her head. “No, sobrino, no. It was never anything to do with Casita. I’m happy because someone finally came back to me.”

Julieta and Pepa immediately looked over at the woman, eyes slightly wide. “Excuse me?” Pepa asked in slight disbelief, wanting to make sure she was hearing correctly. 

Daniela giggled a little bit as she turned to the archway of the house, or what remained of it at least. Abuela Alma was entering to join the rest of her family, but looked behind her to urge someone else along with an extended hand. 

Bruno peered nervously around the corner, afraid to face his family for the first time in ten years but he couldn’t turn back now. He gently took his mother’s hand as he stepped into what used to be the main courtyard. He looked so small and scared, but his sisters were so floored that they couldn’t do anything but stare at him for a couple of seconds. 

Daniela watched on fondly as Pepa and Julieta then rushed the man, Pepa grabbing onto him tightly as Julieta wrapped her arms around the both of them. Bruno looked so shocked to be accepted by them so quickly, giving a nervous chuckle as he timidly hugged them back. 

“Okay, so,” Camilo began, confusion laced over his face as he looked between his mom, aunt, and infamous uncle. “We gonna talk about Bruno?”

“That’s Bruno?” Antonio asked now, looking up at his big brother. He had been born five years after Bruno had disappeared so he didn’t know what the man looked like at all. 

“Yeah,” Daniela confirmed to Antonio, ruffling his curly hair. “Well, there’s a lot to say about your tío Bruno.”

“I’ll start!” Bruno shouted, throwing his arm up quickly as if he was asking the teacher to use the washroom. It was evident how nervous he was to be back around his family and didn’t quite know how to act. He quickly turned to Pepa. “I’m sorry about your wedding, I didn’t mean to cause a hurricane. I mean, you were just so sweaty and I made a joke but I don’t think you got it.”

Felix gasped in realization. “Yo, that’s actually kinda funny!”

Bruno laughed nervously as he then looked at Julieta. “I have a lot of apologies I’ve got to say to so many people. Like, that lady in town whose goldfish died. I mean…it was ancient but–”

Julieta laughed as she tugged her brother close. “We’re just happy that you’re here, okay? Relax, Bruno. We’re all reunited and we’re gonna do what’s right for all of us now on.”

Dolores then elbowed her brother in the side, making the boy whine as he looked up at his sister. “Yo, I knew he never left. I heard him every day.”

Daniela immediately turned to look at Dolores, eyebrows raised. “Care to repeat that, sobrina? I didn’t quite catch that.”

Dolores quickly dropped her smile, then gave an awkward laugh before hurrying off to avoid the wrath her tía was bound to drop on her. Daniela just laughed, shaking her head as she approached her husband and took his hand. 

Bruno looked over at his wife, smiling lovingly at her. Even if their home was rubble, the Madrigals all had each other for the first time in a long time and they were going to keep it that way. As for rebuilding Casita, the townspeople came in clutch. Everyone helped out in rebuilding the home, as the Madrigals had helped them so often over the years that they were determined to help them rebuild. 

With everyone’s help, La Casa Madrigal was rebuilt in just under three months. While it seemed to go up in a flash, as everyone worked hard day and night, autumn had come to Colombia and the temperature began to drop. Thankfully, Casita was fully rebuilt. Well, all except for one part. 

The local blacksmith had graciously accepted a commission from the Madrigals for the doorknob that would go on the front door. While he had originally inscribed an ‘M’ in it for Madrigal, the rest of the family agreed that it would truly stand for Mirabel. After all, it was thanks to her that the family was reunited and happy once more. 

Antonio placed the shiny, gold door knob into Mirabel’s hands. The girl looked a little bit conflicted, almost as if she wasn’t sure that she should be the one to do the honours. The Madrigals then stood on either side of the walkway, with Pepa’s side on the left and the rest of them on the right. It was like the Gift Ceremony all over again, but this time, everyone knew that it would work. Antonio held Mirabel’s hand as they walked up to the front door. 

Bruno and Daniela were near the front on the left side. Bruno’s arm was comfortably around his wife’s waist, the both of them smiling at the girl like they had all those years ago when she made the same walk. Mirabel looked to her tío when she got to the front. 

Bruno gave her a gentle, supportive smile. “You’re the real Gift, kid. Let us in.”

Mirabel nodded at him with a grateful smile, then turned to look at her Abuela when she reached the front. “Open your eyes,” the woman spoke softly to her granddaughter, turning the doorknob in her palm so the flat surface faced Mirabel. “Abre los ojos. What do you see?”

“I see…” Mirabel said softly, blinking away tears. “Me. All of me.”

After one more quick glance at her family, Mirabel placed the doorknob into its rightful place. Casita came alive once more, the entire building and town shining like Mirabel’s door was supposed to all those years ago. Thanks to Mirabel, the Madrigal’s miracle could live on. 

Six Years Later

La Casa Madrigal was alive as ever. Excitement buzzed through the courtyard as the Madrigals welcomed their friends and neighbours into their magical home, now with Mirabel leading the charge. Abuela Alma had passed on a few years prior, happily rejoining her Pedro, and Mirabel took charge as the head of the Madrigal family. It was a lot for a twenty-one-year-old to shoulder but she did it beautifully. 

A new door stood at the top of the stairs, glowing brightly and waiting for the youngest Madrigal to turn the knob and reveal their Gift. 

Behind the red curtain, separating them from the party guests and the rest of their family, were Bruno and Daniela Madrigal. Bruno was pacing back and forth, knocking on wood and throwing salt over his shoulder. 

“Bruno, querido, you’re burning a rut into Casita,” Daniela told her husband, taking his hands now in order to calm him down. “You’re stressing out our son.”

“I’m not stressed, Mamá!” Pedro Madrigal replied excitedly, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his little feet. “Papá told me to be brave so I am being the bravest! Now Papá has to do the same!”

Bruno looked down at his little boy, immediately smiling. Seeing his little face, he knew that he couldn’t stress when this little angel was so brave and excited. He then knelt down in front of him, kissing his forehead. “You’re right, mi amor. You’re the smartest boy in the whole of Encanto.”

Dolores then popped her head in with a little squeak. “Mirabel says it’s time.”

Daniela nodded in response, thanking her niece before looking down at Pedro with a smile. “Are you ready, baby?”

Pedro nodded quickly, standing in between his Papá and Mamá so he could hold both of their hands while walking up the aisle together. “Ready!”

"No no no no no" He began.

"No what, amor?" You teased grinding down on him. A quiet groan met your ears.

"(Y/N), por favour" he pleaded. "Leave it alone"

"Or what?" you grinded again, this time finding a rhythm that you liked. Fast enough to make him whimper but slow enough to make it go unnoticed.

"O-or o-or" Bruno started but was cut off by his own moaning softly into your ear. Even his own mind had betrayed him, allowing his judgement and logic to slip out the window as you grinded against his dick. "o-oh god" you heard him groan.

"Oye! Bruno, whats wrong with you?" Pepa asked as she passed. "Lightweight?" She joked. Bruno gave a half-smile at the ill mannered joke. But that half smile quickly turned into a quick biting of the knuckle as your hips bore down in his cock.

"Light weight?" you teased. "No that's not your problem, you just can't handle the grinding" you pat the hand that so fiercly gripped your hips, surely leaving a mark.

"K-keep messing around and i-i-i'm gonna cum in my trousers" he whimpered silently in your ear. he allowed himself to grind up into you slowly, making himself nearly gasp at the amazing feeling. "f-fuckkkkkk" he groaned.

"ooh is someone excited?" you said. "well, Mi vida, you must be close for a sound like that." you giggled as you sped up.

"w-wait, (Y/N) please" his whimpers sounding like an adolescent boy humping his pillow. Tight and sharp. Pure lust and satisfaction. "i-i-im gonna c-" his own tight groan cut himself off as he release in his pants. "oh fuck" he muttered.

"good boy" you smiled and pat his thigh. "you know i love you right, mi amor?"

"yeah, (Y/N), i love you too." he kissed your neck tiredly. "but i need to clean myself up." he spoke in a concerned tone.your giggle set his nerves on fire again as you stood up.

"Go clean up, Brunito. I'll be right here waiting for you so I can make you cum again." you smiled salaciously. You pulled him close to you and whispered in his ear: