Bruno decided to follow his rats example and he headed outside and crawled up on the roof. He laid along the tiles, his feet propping him up and his head on the ridge. He watched the stars, thinking about how they seemed to twinkle so gently, and yet, they were really just angry balls of flame, burning furiously for thousands of years, not yet finding relief in death. They would extinguish one day, only to be replaced with more.
He sighed, almost sad that one of the most beautiful and romantic things he could imagine, had actually been something so terrifying and sad.
As he laid there, trying to focus on the fragility of human life rather than his own problems, he heard footsteps clanking on the roof tiles near him.
He turned quickly and he watched Camilo sit on the ridge beside him. The boy grinned at him.
"You couldn't sleep either?"
Bruno shook his head, trying to shrug it off with a smile.
"Old habits, ya know?"
His nephew nodded and gazed up at the stars himself. His eyes seemed to be far away and tired, despite the playful persona.
"So, you're in love, right?"
Bruno sat up quickly, turning to Camilo with a look of shock and uneasiness. How could he possibly have any idea of what was going on his head? He tried hard to play it off as annoyance and disgust as he snorted and stood up, dusting himself off.
"No need to project your hormones onto me. If you want to talk about things like love, maybe ask your dad. I wouldn't know anything about it outside of family."
He looked away, plopping his hands on his hips, trying to hide his burning face from the boy. He could hear the voraciousness in his serious tone.
"I know that."
When Bruno turned back around to confront him, he was greeted with the sight of Mirabel, dressed in a partially sheer nightgown that hung low off of one shoulder. The look of pure lust in her eyes caused the man's heart rate to skyrocket and his face became burning hot.
He knew it was Camilo, but the image was too much to handle. As her form slinked towards him, laying a hand on his chest and walking around him, he felt like he may pass out. He could see his vision shake and throb with each heart beat. This was too much.
As the soft hands clung to his shirt, and a nose brushed his neck he quickly pulled away, taking several steps and trying to breathe, before turning to face his nephew who was again in his own body, smirking at him.
"See? That turned you on, didn't it? I could feel your heart racing."
Bruno gulped and slowly shook his head.
"What did you expect? It disturbed me. What exactly are you trying to accomplish here?"
Camilo shoved his hands in his pockets, and he began to walk slowly towards his Tio, balancing on the apex of the roof, his expression now teetering on the verge of sinister.
"No point in arguing with me. I've seen the way you look at her. The way your fingers twitch and your pupils dilate when you watch her."
Bruno blinked, his brain declining to send him anything helpful. Camilo was wrong. He had to be. As he fought with his own mind, the boy immediately lost the cockiness and he seemed to slump.
"Wait, you're not? Or are you really that clueless about it?"
Bruno sat down slowly his eyes stinging with unshed tears. No. He just couldn't be, could he? He wanted so much for it to not be true. His eyes wandered to his niece's door and his heart began to break.
Why did this have to happen? He was finally becoming used to the townspeople and his family had welcomed him back into the home. What would they think of him when they heard about this? What about his mamá? Would she disown him again? Would he be exiled beyond the mountains?
His body stiffened when he realized that Cmilo was kneeling beside him, hugging him tightly, holding his head gently against his chest.
"Lo siento Tio, I didn't mean to make you cry."
The man felt his face. He was crying? He blinked a few times as he stared at his wet fingertips. Then he wrapped an arm around the boy and he allowed the tears to fall as silently as possible.
"You didn't do this, Camilo. It's my own fault. I should've... I really shouldn't..."
He finally began to calm down a bit and he sat up straighter as his nephew sat back on his haunches. The boys eyes were sad, his brows knit tight together. He clearly felt guilty for what had just happened.
Bruno looked at him, his bottom lip quivering a bit as he smiled the best he could. He reached over and pat the boys head, grateful for such a caring person at this moment. He knew that Camilo didn't mean to upset him.
"Please don't blame yourself, okay? I've just had a rough few days."
Camilo sat closer and looked into the man's tired eyes.
"Tio Bruno, are you in love with Mirabel?"
The older man took a deep, shaky breath before he finally answered honestly, his eyes studying Camilo's reaction.
"I don't know. I hope not. I've never been in love before, so I don't know what I'm supposed to feel. But, if that's what this is, it's terrifying and I don't want it."
Camilo nodded slowly, trying hard to understand where his uncle was coming from. He didn't want to pressure the man, but his curiosity got the better of him.
"So, if you are, what are you going to do?"
Bruno sighed and fiddled with his shirt, that feeling of nausea coming back.
"I don't know, hombre, I suppose I'll just have to ignore it til it goes away. It's not like I can do anything about it anyway, right?"
Camilo shrugged sighing helplessly.
"I don't know any more about love than you do, but, I don't think it just, goes away."
Bruno suddenly felt tired and he pat the boy's shoulder as he stood up.
"I'm going to try to get some sleep, and you should too."
He went to drop off of the roof, dangling by his fingers, when he pulled himself back up and smiled at his sobrino.
"Thank you for being here when we need you. If you ever need an ear, you know where we are. Yo quiero, Camilo. Buenas noches."
Camilo smiled crookedly, a bit proud of himself as he watched his Tio crawl back into his wall. Here he had thought that he had hurt the man's feelings, and instead, he thanked him. He laid back on the roof, hands behind his head. He suddenly felt peaceful and sleepy and he dozed off as a warm breeze lulled him.