Mirabel pushed through the door and entered Bruno's little hideout. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the old chair he was currently sleeping in. His legs were pulled up in the chair, and his head was leaning forward, resting on his knees. It didn't look like the most comfortable way to sleep, and to top that, his poncho was the only thing keeping him warm. Was this how he slept all these years? Just in this dingy old chair, no pillows, blankets, or anything? Maybe he did at some point, but there weren't any in here now.
It did look better in here than when she last saw it, though. There was less rat poop everywhere, and it wasn't as dusty, things like that.
"Tio?" Mirabel said, raising her voice loud enough to hopefully wake him. No answer, he was still fast asleep. She felt a little bad for having to wake him now; he looked like he could use a lot more sleep. If she didn't though, someone else (most likely Pepa or Julieta) would come and get him, and, well…She and Antonio were the only ones who had actually seen the space Bruno had lived in for all these years. Everyone else now knew he'd lived in the walls, of course, but knowing that and actually seeing what it was like were two completely different things. Even though it wasn't as filthy down here as before, it still wasn't the best of living conditions, and if anyone else saw this…They would probably just freak out a little bit and worry over Bruno more than they already did.
Mirabel sighed and walked over to the chair, before gently nudging her uncle awake. "Tio Bruno, wake up."
Almost immediately, the man snapped awake from that touch. "Ah! Oh! Mirabel, what-what are you doing?" Bruno asked as he rubbed his eyes and sat up a little straighter. Several rats, who had previously been resting on the sleeping Bruno, scurried away. "It's the middle of the night!"
"Uh, Bruno, what are you doing?" the teen asked in return. "It's morning, everyone's waiting for you for breakfast, and now Tia Pepa's storming because you went back in the walls."
A hint of panic flashed through Bruno's eyes. "What are you talking about? It's-its…It's still night time. I was, I was just-I might have nodded off for a few minutes, but I haven't been asleep that long."
Mirabel sighed and pushed up her glasses. So that's what happened then; Bruno only meant to stay back for the rest of the night, he hadn't planned on falling asleep and causing everyone panic. He probably was going to try and hide the fact that he came back here. "Just look through the crack in the wall. Everyone's at the table already!"
Bruno yawned widely and then stood up, quickly stretching before walking over to the crack in the wall that was somehow still there. The little crack where he'd watched his family dine without him for years. Sure enough, everyone was there now, though no one seemed to be in a particularly happy mood. He frowned.
"They're really all waiting for me? Why would they do that? Why don't they just start eating?"
"Because!" Mirabel exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "It's your first official meal back with everyone. It's important. Abuela refuses to start without you."
"Oh…" Bruno suddenly looked very uncomfortable, and he shifted to the side a little. "Oh!" Realization dawned on his face. "Oh, no, no, no, they weren't supposed to know I was back here! They're all going to freak out-they already are, like you said, aren't they?!"
"...Yep…"
Bruno looked almost afraid now. He shook his head and plopped back down in his chair. "Great, just…Ah, I messed up again."
Both of them were silent for a moment. Mirabel glanced at her uncle. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was frowning and staring at the ground. He…Really was worried about disappointing everyone, wasn't he? Even just over something like this…He may have 'returned home,' but he still wasn't comfortable here, that much she could see.
"Tio…It's fine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you with what I said. No one's mad at you, they're all just worried."
Bruno tilted his head up slightly so that he could meet her gaze. "You sure about that?" He looked back down at the ground, where one of the rats was sitting, chewing on a large crumb. Another clash of Pepa's thunder roared through the air. "They seem pretty angry to me. Pepa, at least."
A slight, sad smile came to Mirabel's face, and she shook her head. "Tia Pepa is only worried that you coming back to the walls means you aren't comfortable here. She's worried that you came here to hide. All she-and all of us-wants is for you to feel like you belong here again. Because you do, Bruno. If there's anything wrong-if you came back here for a reason-you can talk to us about it, okay? All of us."
Bruno stayed silent for a minute again, just watching his rat nibble on its crumb. Then he raised his head and looked over at that small crack in the wall separating them from the kitchen. "That's the thing though. What if-what if I did come here to hide away?"
"What do you mean?"
"I…I dunno…" He gave a quick, nervous laugh and rubbed his neck. "I've just been living here for so long that it just-well I…" He sighed. "I couldn't sleep last night, so I got up, and, uh…Well, it was either here or my tower."
"You really don't like your tower, do you?"
"Nah…Not really. Never have. I mean, after I get a bed in there, it won't be-it won't be too bad, but…I just feel better here, you know? So I came back. I didn't mean to stay the whole night, but I guess I accidentally fell asleep…Heh."
"That's not so bad though! You couldn't sleep, so you came here for a little while, right? They'll understand that!"
"Yeah, but I-"
"That's it!" Pepa's voice suddenly exclaimed from the other side of the wall, with another loud boom of thunder and flash of lightning. "They are taking too long! I'm going to go in those walls and get Bruno myself!"
Bruno and Mirabel froze and stared at each other. Bruno really looked terrified now.
"Yeah…" Bruno said, shrinking into himself in his chair. "Pretty sure this is the part where I die."