#cold tag

“Dolores, please don’t tell your Tía about this,” Bruno whispered at one point, eyes watering from the rapidly growing need. “It’ll pass on it own. There’s no need to bo-hhhther h-hhheraaHH’KSHUE! HhhHSHue! HhrSHUE!”

He didn’t manage to quite stifle them, sudden as it was. Bruno muffled a groan, fishing out a handkerchief that had seen better days to quietly blow his nose.

He looked down upon hearing faint squeaks. A bunch of his rats were gathered by his feet, staring up at him with their black, beady eyes. A sudden thought occurred to him.

“Don’t tell Tonito about this too, alright?” Bruno wagged a finger at Rosa, Juanita and Mateo in particular. Those three in particular love to visit his sobrino and chatter away about anything and everything. There were the ones most likely to spill the beans about his current state.

All he received were tilted heads and twitching whiskers. Rosa raised a hindleg to scratch at an itch behind her ear.

Bruno believed they got the memo. Now he just needed to hide and hoped that this cold would pass before Julieta caught wind of it. You could say he had plenty of experience in hiding. So long as he kept quiet (a difficult feat with his notoriously loud sneezes) but he can manage. Only Dolores would hear him and… well, he could only put his trust on her ability to keep this a secret.

It was fool proof.

…Until he remembered today was Sunday. The one day where everyone will gather for dinner and that there was no reasonable excuse to give for skipping it.

Miércoles.

--

It was fine.

Bruno simply had to come down, eat as quickly as he could before hiding away in his room. He can easily avoid talking with his family thanks to his reclusive nature. All he needed to do was blend into the background until he got the chance to leave.

Of course, nothing ever went his way.

He’d been the most nervous with Dolores when he joined the table, helping in setting down the plates. She gave him a pointed look, gave a faint shrug before turning away. It didn’t look like she was going to mention anything so he could relax a bit.

(On her part, Dolores chose to remain quiet because she knew that her foolish Tío would expose himself before long. She heard everything, from the slight flare of his nostrils to the soft, hitchy breaths that he tried to conceal. It was just a matter of time before that nose of his exploded).

And it didn’t take long at all. Bruno managed to dodge most questions and kept attention away from himself but ten minutes into dinner, no amount of subtle swipes or holding his breath could stop the itching, burning need.

The only thing he was able to do was push his plate aside and turned his head away from the table, too consumed to listen to anything but his nose.

He needed to sneeze so badly.

“HhaHSHUE! HhI’TSHUE! HhH’KSHOO!”

“Bruno, what—"

“L-Lo siento, I just ca-hhKSHUE! Can’t seem t-to-ISSHUE! Dios mío! I just—just nee-hhHRS’HUE!” Bruno gave up on trying to talk, given that he can’t seem to stop sneezing at this moment. All he could do was keep his head over the side of the table and aimed downwards, minimizing the chance of spraying the food.

“Bruno, if you were sick, you should have so!” Pepa sounded both frustrated and worried. A grey cloud slowly formed above her head.

“Lo siento…” came the pitiful whisper, drowned out mostly by his pitiful sniffling after the fit ended. He heard the sound of someone getting up from their chair. A brief glance showed that it was Julieta.

“Sit tight. It won’t take long for me to make it.” She gave Bruno an encouraging pat on his back before heading into the kitchen.

“Ohh~ Tía’s going to make him that.” Camilo mock whispered.

Bruno groaned; his worst fears realized.

What Camilo meant by that was something the Madrigals simply called as Julieta’s Special Soup. No one ever really knew what she put into it, only that it both hurt and heal them. Her Special Soup would cure whatever that ailed a person but it left their tastebuds crying after. She can cook some of the best meals in Encanto but this was one dish that everyone (quietly) agreed that they disliked with a passion. If not for the fact that it was more miserable being sick, no one would ever willingly consume it.

The family didn’t have to worry about Bruno making an escape while Julieta went about in making the Special Soup. It seemed that sneezing fit had fully drained him, leaving him slumped over the table with his face buried in his arms. Luisa still kept an eye out in case her Tío still made an attempt but she doubted he could walk five steps without buckling over, let alone reach his room before she caught him.

Bruno suddenly tensed, faint hitches shaking his shoulders before he muffled the sudden fit into his arms.

“Hhh’kshue! HhhsHUe! Hhh’TCHue!”

Various calls of Salud! came from around the table. Bruno simply groaned, sniffling miserably. Mirabel was kind enough to pass him a wad of tissues for him to use. He accepted it with a weak thanks, keeping his face mostly concealed before tucking into himself with his head bowed. He tried to blow his nose as discreetly as possible, trying not to disgust his family from the noise.

Soon, Julieta returned whilst carrying a small pot of… something.

“Eat up Bruno. You’ll feel better,” she said, ladling out a bowlful for her sick brother.

Bruno raised his head slowly, staring at the bowl of brown sludge with barely concealed terror in his eyes. It didn’t look like anything he wanted to put into his body but Julieta will never let him leave the table without eating it.

His eyes flickered towards his family members, hoping for someone—anyone to come save him from this. None of them really met his eyes, instead engaging one another in weak conversation, as if his misery didn’t exist.

Mirabel was the only one who met his pleading gaze. She simply raised a thumbs up, shooting him a sympathetic smile.

He tried not to wail in nasally despair. No one would come to his rescue, it seemed. Bruno had no way out except for ingesting this thing.

Well, he might as well get it over with. After he clumsily threw a bit of salt over his shoulder, he pushed himself into sitting up straighter, leaning most of his weight on his elbows. A trembling hand picked up the spoon and brought it to his awaiting doom. He found that the soup was thick enough to coat the back of his spoon when he had a spoonful.

Ever so slowly, the spoon went to his closed lips. With his eyes squeezed shut, he opened his mouth just enough to tip the sludgy content in. His throat visibly bobbed as he swallowed the soup.

Huh? It… tasted alright?

Bruno’s eyebrows disappeared beneath his hairline. After swallowing that first spoonful, he stared at the bowl before taking another cautious sip. The thought that his blocked nose tricked his tastebuds disappeared when he found that it really didn’t taste bad.

In fact, Bruno sort of actually liked it?

Unbeknownst to his family’s disbelieving gazes, he took another spoonful of soup. And then another. And another. He couldn’t actually identify what exactly made it so palatable to him but he genuinely enjoyed the flavour swirling on his tongue.

Julieta’s magic slowly cured him from his dreadful cold. His headache drew back, finally easing the crease between his brows. No longer did it felt like he was swallowing knives. The warmth helped ease the chill that wrecked his frame all day, too.

Most importantly, that awful itch no longer plagued his sinuses and he could actually breathe through his nose now without the risk of triggering sneezing fits. Now that his sense of smell returned, he could fully taste the soup.

And he still enjoyed it, much to his quiet surprise. Bruno steadily drained his soup till the last drop. He placed his spoon down and released a happy sigh, relieved now that he felt more like himself again.

His eyes had slid shut from the contentment but opened them again upon realizing the long stretch of silence. He found his family openly staring at him in various states of disbelief.

Except for Julieta, who looked pleased as pie.

“Uh… lo siento, did I do something wrong?” Bruno defaulted to an apology; shoulders hunched as he prepared himself for beratement on something that he probably did.

“N-No Tío, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Mirabel was quick to assure him. “It was just…”

“You looked like you actually enjoyed that thing,” Camilo chimed in, earning himself a sharp nudge from Dolores. “Ow! What? I’m totally not the only here who—”

“You enjoyed it hermanito?” Pepa was the one who spoke next, the grey cloud hovering above her head before dissipating in the wake of her confusion.

“Yeah…?” Bruno licked his lips, giving it a moment’s thought. “Yeah. I… I actually enjoyed it.” In fact, he liked it so much that he didn’t feel like eating the food made for dinner. He just wanted another bowlful of the soup to sip at his own pace.

“Can I… have some more?” He tentatively voiced out that desire, nervous eyes flickering from his family to Julieta. She was positively beaming.

“Of course, Brunito! Have as much as you want!” Soon, he had another bowl of brown sludge placed in front of him. Lips unknowingly stretched itself into a happy little smile as he started to dig in with gusto. Seeing him eat reminded the family of their own half-finished dinner. While rather cold by now, the food still tasted heavenly, especially when they paired it with Bruno’s enjoyment of the Special Soup. It was a rare sight to see the skinny man eating anything so heartily.

To Julieta, it felt like all their birthdays rolled into one. She had made it her goal to feed her brother up into a healthy weight upon realizing just how thin he was. While some progress was made, it felt like a battle and a half on some days to have him eat her food. To see him eating something and actually wanting seconds? Despite the whole mess earlier, today was officially one of the best days she had since her brother returned.

Bruno managed to eat one more portion of soup before he felt full. He didn’t expect to pack away that much. Granted it was just soup but he couldn’t recall a time where he ate just one food item to the point of being full. Maybe being sick all day without eating much contributed to this rare show of appetite.

Still, even he didn’t expect to enjoy Julieta’s Special Soup as much as he did. Perhaps his childhood of being her guinea pig fed that particular soup whenever he got ill simply made it taste worse than it actually was. He associated that soup with negative feelings, thus affecting his overall experience.

Or maybe his tastebuds changed after eating mostly bland food for the past ten years. He only ate leftovers for the most part and whenever he did cook, it wasn’t like he had spices to add to his meagre dishes. Anything she made now simply tasted like it was the best thing he had in his life.

“Uh… Juli?” Bruno called out when there was a lull in the conversation.

“Yes, Bruno?” Her attention shifted towards him, as did most of the family. He swallowed through the sudden apprehension.

“I was... was wondering if you could…” He paused for a moment, hoping that this wouldn’t sound selfish. “…make me more of your Special Soup sometime, e-even when I’m not sick.”

The abrupt silence that fell upon them and her surprised look made him backpedal real quick. “L-Lo siento, please ignore that. I don’t—don’t want to put more work on your plate when you’re already c-cooking so much as it is—”

“Cálmate, Brunito.” Julieta quickly assured him in this gentle tone. It certainly helped ease his rapidly beating heart. “Of course! I’ll make more of that soup for you, as often as you want it.” Her warm smile felt like a soothing balm on his soul. “I’m happy to cook anything that makes you want to eat seconds and thirds.”

“Well, maybe not so often,” he replied with a nervous laugh, idly picking at a stray thread from his ruana. “And-- and I think not eating much all day made me hungrier than I thought.”

“Still, that was the first time I saw you eat something so heartily.” Julieta responded kindly. “Anytime you want, Bruno. Just let me know and I’ll cook it for you.”

Bruno didn’t have the best immune system even before his self imposed isolation. Always the smallest among the triplets, the one who’d get ill every time the seasons changed or when something went around the Encanto. Before he had Julieta’s cooking to help ease the symptoms (her gift could heal the injured but not the sick, something that they discovered early in their childhood) but now, he could only hope that this latest cold wouldn’t end up being what tipped his family off on his living situation.

Thankfully he never really contracted anything dangerous– or at least life threatening. A bite of stale arepa still eased enough that he just needed to tough it out until whatever that he was sick naturally passed. Until then, Bruno had to deal with all the ‘fun stuff’, like the restless sleep, coughing and sneezing.

¡Ay Dios, the sneezing was the worst.

With a nose his size, of course the sneezes would be loud. And it was never just one with him. He always fell into at least a small fit, which can vary in length and intensity depending on how itchy his nose was at the time. Before he left, anyone within Casita knew he’d just gone through a fit cause he’d hear calls of Salud! from somewhere within their home. It never failed to make him feel embarrassed, knowing that he'd been loud enough for just about anyone to hear regardless of where they were.

So when he retreated into the walls, Bruno had to learn on how to stifle his sneezes. It was the only way to keep things as quiet as possible. He learnt to ignore how stifling left his head pounding, eyes watering and gasping for breath. This intense feeling of dissatisfaction that he had to live with until it faded.

Stifling became the norm for him so even after his return to the family after Casita’s fall and subsequent rebuilding, he still found himself pinching his nose to stifle a sneeze or four, feeling lightheaded after.

Of course the first time he did so in front of his family, Bruno found himself on the receiving end of gentle advice and reminders that he shouldn’t be stifling. It sounded painful, so they imagined it felt way worse for him.

He recalled stammering an apology, cheeks pinkened from the attention (some part of him would never get used to this… acceptance, that he was honestly out of the walls). Bruno still stifled his sneezes though, prompting conversations like “There you go again--you don't have to do that anymore.” from various family members.

Each time Bruno would apologize, smile nervously then scrambling away before the awkwardness got too much for him. He knew logically that they had his best interests at heart but old habits die hard, you know?

So when he woke up one morning with the beginnings of a headache behind his temples, sore throat and stuffy nose, he knew that he couldn’t avoid what will happen to him in the coming days. Still, that didn’t mean he won’t try to keep quiet about it. Bruno had been extra careful, keeping talking to a minimum and making quick, subtle swipes to his nose to stave off the itch until he could find a secluded enough space to stifle the fit that was desperate to be released.

He survived through breakfast, having only one stifled fit that the family couldn't focus on long enough thanks to Antonio's jaguar making a surprise appearance at the table. He managed to get through the afternoon, mostly keeping to himself and staying out of sight (which wasn't super difficult given that most of them had plans in town).

Of course he could hide this from his family for only so long.

He just didn’t expect to get cornered by Julieta of all people.

Bruno had ducked into one of the empty guest rooms when he felt that itch grew to a burning need. He was barely able to knock on the frame prior to his hasty entry, let alone properly close it behind him. His hands steepled over his nose, eyes squeezing shut as his quiet hitching slipped into a fit of repressed spasms.

“Hh-ihnxt! I-chxt! N’ghxt!” Each stifled sneeze left him breathless, head pounding from the withhold pressure.

“Oh Bruno, you know you don’t have to do that.” As he geared up for the next fit –of course his nose never seemed to be satisfied with just one round– the voice coming from behind startled him enough that he almost tripped in his haste to turn around.

It left him slightly dizzied so Bruno didn’t see Julieta’s approach until he felt hands gently grabbing hold of his wrists. She pulled them away from his face, where his nose twitched in anticipation.

“J-Juli please le-hhh go…” His eyes watered from the effort of holding back for as long as possible. No amount of weak tugging could free his hands from his hermana’s surprisingly strong grip. For her part, she merely looked at him with open fondness.

“Like I said hermanito, it’s not good for you to stifle them. Just let them out.”

“Bu-hhh I can’t… I c-can’t ju-hhha…” Bruno’s cheeks burned at the thought of accidentally making a mess. The last thing he wanted was to…

Julieta simply let out a soft laugh, pulling him closer. “Bruno, I’ve had to take care of people when the cold or flu makes their rounds. I’ve seen worse. I just don’t want you to be in pain when you don’t have to.”

Even if her words assured him, it wasn’t like he had a choice in the matter. Bruno could only hold back for so long. Thus, as a last-ditch attempt to keep her out of the spray zone, he closed the distance between them, bodies pressed with his head over her right shoulder. With one last full body shudder, he let them loose.

“HeH’RSHhue!” The first one that burst out would have bent him over if not for Julieta. She had released his wrists to properly support him as he continued to hitch, gearing up for the next one. “HhRSSHHue! Hehh..hhAA'RSHue!”

Eyes squeezed shut, he knew that this next round would be his last—and biggest. Through the confusing rush of feelings going through him, a part of his mind still wanted to be let go so he could steeple his fingers over his nose and stifle them silent. Bruno tried to pat at his sister’s back, a quiet plea to be released. Even tried to say something but was unable to through the desperate hitching.

“I know you want to,” she simply said, sounding far too amused with his predicament. “Don’t hold back on my account.”

As if given permission, the last bit of stubborn willpower buckled underneath the sheer need for release.

“Hhheh…HHEAH…HEH’GGSHUUE! HH-RSHUUE! HHAH’KSHUE!” Bruno can’t recall the last time he sneezed loudly and openly like that. It left him dazed once again, this time from this crashing wave of relief and exhaustion, like that last sneeze took everything out of him. He found himself slumping against Julieta, sniffling.

“Salud, Brunito.” His sister started rubbing his back, and he swore it was from the fit that his eyes watered again.

It dawned on him that maybe he really didn’t have to stifle them anymore out of fear of someone hearing him. Didn’t have to squelch them silent until his head hurt, leaving him with this… unsatisfied feeling. He felt warm from the embarrassment but at the same time, he can’t deny that it felt… good to let them out. It left him feeling… tingly all over.

Hmm, now that was a thought to unpack later.

First he had to address the fact that the fit left him in need of a tissue, handkerchief—anything to wipe away the mess and blow his sniffly nose into. Bruno would die out of shame if he wiped on Julieta’s dress.

This time he did tap his sister’s back as a sign to be let go. She obliged and the moment his arms were freed, he ducked away with his hands covering his nose. Bruno glanced up at her, twin spots of red high on his cheeks.

“U-Um Juli… could y-you…?”

Thankfully, he didn’t need to elaborate. She laughed softly, eyeing him with this sort of fond adoration that simultaneously made him want to squirm and preen under the attention. Julieta fished out a kitchen towel from her apron, handing it over to him.

Bruno eagerly snatched it up from her hands –uttering a muffled lo siento! when it felt more like a slap on his end—before bringing it up to his nose. He tried to quietly blow into it without being too loud, feeling quite relieved now that he didn’t feel so stuffed up.

“Gracias,” Bruno mumbled, still keeping the towel to his face. “And, um, lo siento for… you know…”

Julieta simply laughed that gentle laugh of hers, shaking her head with her lips curled into a kind smile. “Like I said Bruno, I’ve taken care of people going through colds and flus.” Here, she raised a hand to press against his forehead. “And it looks like you’re in the midst of catching one,” she tsks in a motherly way.

“Lo siento.” Bruno sniffled, knowing that he didn’t have to apologize for getting sick but still felt the need to anyway.

“Silly Brunito, don’t apologize for catching a cold.” The way she smiled at him, so full of affection, made his chest bubble with warmth. “Now my gift might not be able to do much against illnesses but I do know that a mug of aguapanela can help. Go wash up and meet me in the kitchen later.”

With that, Julieta left the room, leaving him to stand there sniffling pitifully into the kitchen towel. Bruno gave a louder blow now that he was alone, sighing in relief when it felt like that had cleared out his sinuses-- and one last sneeze.

"HhhaaHK'SHUE!" Bruno rubbed his nose, letting out a little sound of something from how good that felt. There was this little rush too and a tingly sensation of something that he felt from the tip of his nose to the tips of his toes. All he knew was that it didn't feel... unpleasant. Rather the opposite. Pleasurable, dare he say.

Once again, that was something to unpack later.

He should probably wash this towel before meeting up with his hermana in the kitchen… and bring his own handkerchiefs, knowing full well that this would not be the last of the fits that would plague him today and the next few days. He didn’t need to see the future to know that this would be one hell of a cold.

Though this time, instead of sitting miserably in his chair, muffling his coughs and stifling his sneezes until his eyes welled with tears (and feeling the crushing feeling of loneliness settling over his shoulders like his thin, raggedy blanket), he could go into the kitchen, be passed a warm drink and listen to his sister list down the things she’d feed him so he could beat this cold faster.

(Not to mention all the attention his family would give him once word got out. Sure, Julieta would want to limit contact between them to minimize the risk of it being passed around but Bruno would find himself the recipient of many get well gifts, ranging from cards to stuffed animals and a specially embroidered handkerchief from one talented sobrina).