Bruno stared at her for a minute like he couldn't believe she was there. She looked like a dream. He had missed her, all of her, and there she stood in a nightgown with her hair back. It was as if an angel had come down to earth. She looked nervous though and that confused him for a second. Then he realized that she thought he was angry. How could he be angry when she was finally home? He quickly strode towards her. Hw noticed her flinch back as he stood in front of her. Bruno knew she expected him to hurt her, but he would never.
"I have missed you more than I have ever missed anything before." Bruno said as he pulled her into an embrace. Claudia flinched and it broke his heart so he held her even closer. Soon enough she relaxed and then he continued.
"I don't care why you left or that you left. All I care about is that you're here now, little mouse." He pressed a light kiss on her forehead and Claudia looked up at him with wide eyes.
"You're not angry with me?" Her voice quivered as he brushed a tiny strand of hair out of her face.
"I'm sure we'll have a fight at some point, but not today. You were trying to protect us, weren't you little mouse?"
Claudia gave him a small nod with her eyes on the floor.
"I just didn't want to hurt you," she whispered.
Claudia felt small knowing the trouble she had caused him. The guilt of it consumed her and she kept her gaze steadily on the floor.
She had done it to protect him, and it made Bruno love her even more. Aye dios mio, he had missed her. He had missed her more than he would even miss the moon and stars
"The only way you could ever truly hurt me is by leaving," he admitted, "You being gone hurt me worse than any wound could ever. "
"I'm sorry for running away," she whispered into his ruana.
Claudia hoped he would forgive her with time. She had never meant to hurt him as much as she now knew she had. She just hoped that he could love her again. What if he had given up on her forever? She had left him that horrid note, which said she had never loved him. Claudia could only imagine how that had made him feel.
"I can hear you over thinking little mouse," Bruno chuckled as he stroked through her hair. "What's wrong?"
Claudia took a deep breath and shyly turned her eyes up to meet his.
"The note…I should've never…" her eyes teared up. "It must have broken you. I..I-"
"It did a bit," Bruno admitted. He would rather tell the truth than lie to her. "I was depressed for a while, because I thought that you didn't love me. Then mama admitted what she did and I knew you were just trying to make me let you go. Now that I know, however, I will never let you try to run again little mouse. Whatever comes, we will face it together. I refuse to let you think you need to run away from me."
Tears began to run down her face and he carefully brushed them away.
"I'm so sorry. I'm just so sorry. I just worried with my powers and my scars and…and," Claudia trailed off as she began to tap her foot.
"I don't care about your powers. If you don't think mine define me, why would I think yours define you? Plus it might be nice to not have to worry about random visions from time to time."
Bruno was quiet as Claudia's lower lip began to tremble, watching as she took in a choked breath as tears began to stain her already red cheeks. He pulled her in for a hug, feeling her hands grip and dig into the rough fabric of his ruana. Her tears dampened the fabric as he rocked her back and forth in a soothing motion.
"Shh…Hey, it's okay little mouse. No one's ever going to hurt you again, I swear it on my life," he whispered into her hair.
"It was awful without you,"her voice came out softer than she intended. "They were so cruel."
"Then why did you go back to them?"
Bruno was genuinely curious. He would've never expected her to run back to her tormentors. He would've never thought to look for her there. He was lucky the vision even said the name.
"Because I had nowhere else to go and…I thought I had to hide from you. It was…They did…"
"What did they do to you?" Bruno softly asked.
Claudia shrunk back. She didn't want to tell him. She was ashamed of herself for the things that had happened. The things Andres had said to her and the things he had tried to do. She knew she had to be honest though so she pushed through.
"They beat me…and Senor Rojas, he…he tried to force me to…to" she looked at the floor. "To sleep with him."
Bruno froze, his body tensing with anger. He should've punched the man harder. Andres had harassed his wife. He had scared her and made her ashamed of herself. He didn't blame Claudia at all. She had been pressured and, he was sure, beaten for her refusal. He wanted that man out of the village. He would make sure that man was forced to leave.
"And there was this contract, a horrible contract. He threatened to tell you where I was if I didn't sign it. I was so scared that I almost signed it. I was in pain and I just should've never left."
Bruno turned Claudia to look at him. She expected him to be horrified, but of course he wasn't. He was always too good to her. She knew this. It was one of the reasons she had grown to love him.
"I'm so glad you didn't sign it. He could have-," Bruno frowned,"No, I found you in time. There is no what ifs. I'm so glad we got there in time, little mouse."
Claudia looked up at him. She was glad he had found her as well. She felt her chest swell as a feeling took over her. He was her everything and she wanted him to know that more than anything. So she took his face in both of her hands as he looked at her shocked.
"What are you-" and then she pressed her lips to his.
It wasn't a perfect kiss, they were both inexperienced, but to them it meant everything in the world. As soon as it started it ended and Claudia began to pull away embarrassed. Bruno chuckled.
"Don't run away from me now, little mouse," and he pulled her back in.
When they broke apart Claudia was flushed red and Bruno was over the moon.
"Sorry I just had to-"
Bruno kissed her again. "Never apologize for that." Then he pulled her in again.That night Claudia stood by the bed wondering what to do. Bruno had already crawled in and she wanted to get closer, but fear was getting the better of her. She knew what she wanted was just in her reach, and months before she wouldn't have dared, but now…now she would try. She slowly crawled into bed and moved closer to Bruno. She tapped on his shoulder and he turned over and smiled at her.
"Well hello little mouse." He moved closer and opened his arms and she crawled into them. He gave her a small kiss on the top of her head, and she snuggled in happily.
"Hello mi amor," she whispered into his bedclothes. As Bruno heard it he gave her a kiss on top of her head.
"MI amor, huh?" He whispered back. "I like that name, little mouse."
"I know," she looked up at him with a smile on her face and gave him a quick peck on the lips.
Bruno smiled as Claudia snuggled back in and that's how they fell asleep, comfortable in one another's arms
