#joey.writes

"buenas tardes, amor," you say, looking up. luisa looks out, and waves at you. "you look nice."

"as do you, preciosa."

you smile because endearing terms do still fluster you. it's pathetic, sure. but it feels nice. suddenly, you get an idea. "luisa, amor, will you help me up? i want to see you," you say, gesturing up to her window. she grins like a child and nods. she wasn't that high up away from you, all you had to do was climb a few feet, and you'd be in the window.

you climbed a few feet, and luisa helped pull you up the rest of the way. "there you go, y/n, you okay?" she asked, placing a hand on your shoulder.

"i'm fine, luisa. thank you."

she laughed. "no need, you know i'd do anything to be with you. and believe me, i would lift you through windows every hour on the hour if it meant being close to you."

she had a certain way with words that made you lose track of who you were. her ways made you stutter and stammer and blush and forget your name. but you never forgot her. "you'd do that for me?" of course, you knew the answer. you just wanted to hear it from her.

"mi vida, of course. you know i'd do anything for you. you know that." she said, rubbing your shoulder. "every day when i work, i work for you. are you doubting my love for you?" she asks. this time, you truly can't tell if she's joking or not.

you gasped, and shook your head. "no! my love, no. i just like hearing it from you, i know you love me. i really do," you said, holding her face. she smiled and nodded.

"i know that you know i love you. i've never doubted that for a second. and i never will." she confirmed, grabbing your hand. "and i'm glad you do," she said, before kissing your cheek.

"mi amor, i have a question," you say, holding her cheek. she nods at you, gesturing for you to ask it. "would you ever marry me?" you ask. you think luisa stopped breathing. "mi amor?" you ask. she blinks.

"would i ever marry you?" she repeats. you nod. slowly, ever so slowly, she begins to smile and nod. "mi reina, of course, i would marry you. i would marry you in the middle of a tornado, i would marry you on my deathbed. i would marry you right this second if you asked me." she said, as you pressed your forehead to hers.

your heart almost melts. "really?"

"yes, of course. why would i ever lie to you? i'm honest, love."

you two stare at each other for what seems like hours, before luisa kisses you, and holds you in her arms, for the longest time. "would you really marry me?" you whisper, so quiet that you didn't think she heard you. you feel her nod, and you smile, before lifting her chin to look at you. you look at her, and almost immediately she registers your question.

"are you serious?" she asks, desperately trying to contain her excitement. you nod, and she laughs. "y/n, i'll marry you, i'll marry you, i love you," she said, murmuring into your hair like a prayer. she kept repeating those words until she abruptly stopped. "nobody needs to know. we'll be engaged for a while, then we'll tell my family. until then, nobody needs to know." she says.

you nod. "i understand. i'm not mad at you, amor. don't think i am." you say, stroking her hair. she sadly nods. she opens her mouth to talk, before you both hear the door creak open.

how great.

luisa was in the marketplace, helping fix a broken stall. she wasn't paying much attention to anything other than the person she was helping. well, until a trio of musicians began playing her favorite song. damn. she couldn't leave her job, so she stayed, and worked, and kind of hummed, and kind of nodded her head along to the music. when she was done, the song was still going. why? because kate was dancing. hooray!

luisa loved watching kate dance. the way she moved, was so delicate and calming, like words flowing from a pen, to create beautiful poetry, admired for years afterward. her smile was a light of its own. so bright that it could go against casita in a shining contest. her hair flowed in the gentle wind, and the sun hit the right angles on her face, at the very right second.

what a lucky woman.

kate must've noticed luisa staring, because she grinned, and waved her over. suddenly, luisa turned into a shy little girl. not the strongest madrigal. she was very visibly shy. embarrassing. but kate must've liked it, because she began clapping, single-handedly causing the small crowd to clap too.

a small sliver of luisa hated kate at that moment. but it was soon replaced with admiration, as kate gently took her hand, and led her into the circle that formed.

"come on, luisa, let's see you dance," she challenged, raising an eyebrow playfully. luisa laughed, and shook her head. "come on!"

"i can't dance," luisa laughed.

kate smiled and nodded. luisa danced with kate once. it was really nice. but it was in front of abuela, so that made it weirder than luisa (and probably kate too) preferred. "yes you can! come on, you three, play the song again." she said, nodding. the trio smiled and then began playing.

kate took both of luisa's hands, and just started moving. nodding, luisa followed suit. but she didn't look at anything else besides her dance partner. she saw happiness. she saw warmth. she saw comfort. she saw...her future?

no, she was not turning into tio bruno!

but whatever she was turning into, whether it was tio bruno, or an in-love madwoman, she didn't really mind. she didn't mind the beautiful smile kate gave her. she didn't mind the way kate mindlessly swept a loose hair from her forehead, without a word.