Agustín is a different kind of man and requires a different kind of approach.

I had so much fun with this one. I actually like this chapter better than the previous.

Julieta was different from Pepa when it came to love. Julieta had always been a patient woman and not much of a worrier. She was the kind of woman who would deal with a problem when it came up and not think up a situation that might happen. She worked in the here and now and it led to her having a rather calm lifestyle.

"Don't borrow trouble." Was something that she'd started saying and Bruno couldn't deny the envy that had settled in him.

That wasn't possible for him seeing as how it was literally his job to worry. He was a wreck. Not that he'd let anyone see that. He couldn't do that. He couldn't be weak. He could be evil. He could be mean and cruel. He could be a man who'd lost his mind, a shattered version of reality, and a muttering babbling mess, but he could not, could never be weak. Being weak was unacceptable. The Madrigals could never appear weak and he could not be the one to break that. He'd break himself but he'd never break this family.

That's what he swore to himself.

He'd been young and stupid but that's not the tale to tell.

This story is about Julieta and the ways that she was different and the ways that she was the same. It's about her ultimate journey and if Bruno had a small hand to play in it she never had to know about it. He didn't worry about Julieta as much as he did Pepa. Pepa was the kind of person that needed to be worried about. Pepa was so eager to get what she wanted and so impatient about it too. She'd always wanted to fall in love and it was the one thing she wanted most. It led to...problems. Those who are too eager in love found love in the wrong places and Pepa kept finding those wrong places. Until Félix that is. As it turns out Félix had been the right place to look and it had turned into everything Pepa had ever dreamed of and more.

Julieta was content in her life however much mamá wasn't. Mamá had always been….Bruno didn't want to say weird but neither did he want to say obsessive, about her children getting married. Admittedly Bruno had been a little manipulative about things too but at least he had the good sense to be subtle about it. Mamá was anything but subtle. Pepa had needed to fall in love, Julieta wanted to fall in love, and Bruno? Well, Bruno never wanted to fall in love.

But this story isn't about him.

Bruno saw Agustín before anyone else did but he did have future sight so there really wasn't any surprise there. He hadn't meant to. It had just happened and he didn't like looking into his own family's futures. So, Bruno already knew how things were going to end but that didn't mean that Agustín could just get a free pass. Marriage didn't always work out and mamá certainly would not stand for any kind of separation. What if his hermana got stuck with someone that she didn't love? What if it didn't last? This man wasn't from the Encanto. Would he bring anyone with him? Who would he bring with him? Was he really safe? Bruno was about ready to crack his head open in both frustration and wanting to just know what was going to happen. That's what he was. That's who he was! He was the guy that was supposed to know things. He was the guy with the answers. No one could ever know that there were some things that he didn't have the answers to and all he could do was cross his fingers, knock on wood, and beg the stars that no one would ask.

Honestly Bruno really shouldn't have worried so much about Agustín or his arrival in the Encanto. There was something about the magic that Bruno could feel echoed in his own. It was odd to him that no one else wanted to talk about the way it felt in their magic. He didn't understand their expressions or reactions like how they would just brush him off. Maybe it was just one of those things that was a little too personal to talk about so, over time, Bruno stopped asking. He didn't understand why they wouldn't want to talk about it. A feeling, a heartbeat that resounded in his soul, and a gentle kindness that flowed warm and welcoming through the Encanto. The magic had a mind of its' own no matter how much other people pretended that it didn't. It found those in need, those who needed safety and protection from the outside world and drew them in to its' embrace.

Agustín and his family just happened to be the kind of people that the magic called out to. Bruno really shouldn't have been so worried. He knew better and yet he had still gone and made a big deal of it in his head. It had been so silly of him. From the moment he first saw the man he'd realized that and had almost smacked himself upside the head for his stupidity. He could just feel the acceptance and, even happiness, of the magic. They had been welcomed by the magic and who was Bruno to argue with that?

They had needed the Encanto, Bruno learned. They too had found themselves fleeing from danger and the magic had felt their need. It was odd how they described it. They hadn't even realized they'd crossed over a mountain until they looked back and saw the cliffs and peaks that surrounded their home. They had all just, somehow, stumbled their way into a place that should have been impossible for them to find. It had been a sad story. Of course it would be. How else, why else, would the magic have decided they needed the Encanto?

Agustín had recently finished his schooling and got his MD when his family had needed to leave Bogotá. Apparently his own hermana had married into a family that was not what they had appeared. Agustín had been the one to make the decision to leave and take her with them the moment he'd found out she was pregnant. It was highly doubtful that his family wasn't going to be pursued and, according to the magic, they absolutely were. His family had settled in quite quickly and happily once they understood what they had found although it had led to a bit of a panic that outsiders could find their way into the Encanto. It was strange that, for once, Bruno wasn't the one who was worried. He knew that Agustín wasn't anything even close to what Pepa's old flames had been like and that was comforting to say the least. Although he was certain that Julieta would not have stood for it and made any man regret the day they were born if anyone played that game with her. He was a good man and Bruno didn't need a prophecy to see that. He was excited at the idea of Julieta finding someone. She'd make such a good mother and had never been able to hide her want to have children of her own.

It still didn't mean the guy got a free pass.

Sure Bruno may have gone and stuck his hands in their relationship too but this time was different. First of all, the two were both clueless. They were painfully clueless. Bruno knew it wouldn't be fair to get angry at her but dang it he was! Bruno could excuse the first month or so while Agustín and his family got settled in. The next month could be waved off as getting used to the idea of a magic healer. It was just instinct for Agustín to take care of himself and that's what he did. Bruno wouldn't deny, to himself anyway, that he'd totally turned stalker on Agustín and he desperately needed for the man to never know this.

The first thing to learn was that the man was a complete klutz and that should have been enough! But noooooooo, the guy had to go and be a doctor. Broken finger? He set it himself. Nasty cut? He'd pull out antibiotics and a bandage. It was infuriating to see a man that was literally destined to marry Julieta wind up being the one man that should be seeing her almost every day and never having seen her for months after what Bruno considered to be an acceptable adjustment period. At some point there had to be a serious enough injury or condition that would finally get those two to actually look at each other.

That was also part of the problem. They'd pass right by each other and all it would take is for that clumsy idiot to just trip or something. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. How was this possible?! How was it possible that the only time he wasn't a stumbling, graceless, moron was around his hermana so they never even looked at each other?! Bruno was going to die, this was going to kill him, Agustín was going to kill him and wouldn't even be around to see his good work. Bruno wanted to scream.

Bruno knew that he couldn't just go over and introduce himself because that would scare the man off for sure. Perhaps dropping a beehive on top of your future cuñado's head wasn't the best way to go about things but it had worked hadn't it?! Bruno at least had good aim. If Bruno had just wound up hitting Agustín instead the man would've just patched himself up. Nope, the bees would be just enough of an emergency that he couldn't handle it by himself. Within the hour the two had met and bonded over both having careers in medicine even if the two were drastically different. Bruno had never felt so smug in his entire life. The man didn't even need to make up excuses to see her either. Bruno certainly noticed that he'd stopped patching himself up though. He saw Julieta nearly every day and didn't even have to try. Bruno had just nodded at his own work, messy though it may be, and returned to sitting around in his tower all day. He was content with that. His hermana's were happy and if they were happy so was he.

That still didn't mean the man got a free pass.

He did have to go and be weird by worrying about Bruno. Who does that? He didn't even wait to be introduced or anything either. He'd just showed up at Bruno's door one day as he went to open it and nearly gave a seer a heart attack. Being officially introduced to your future cuñado by leaping back and shrieking in pure terror was not the way Bruno had wanted that to go. Of course he'd nearly gone and blown it by using Agustín's name before being told it.

"Jesucristo Agustín no me hagas eso."

So, that was how Agustín learned he could see the future. People in town didn't exactly like talking about him so Agustín knew absolutely nothing about Bruno until that very minute. Not his finest moment. Well, it didn't really matter too much what Agustín thought of him it only mattered what the man thought of his hermana and, going by how often he ran into things because he wouldn't stop looking at her, he adored her. He was an interesting man to say the least. He was kind and gentle but there was a fire in there that came from a fierce need to care for those he loved. Heck, even those he didn't. It just seemed to be a doctor thing but it was far more intense when it came to his family…..and Bruno apparently. That was strange, and then Agustín had to go and get mad at him for shrugging off getting a rock thrown at his head. Like the man didn't know that that was a normal thing. He really didn't understand how things worked around the Encanto.

He'd gone on and on about concussions, head injuries, and brain trauma then got even angrier when he turned and saw the bored expression on Bruno's face as he waved a half eaten arepa in front of him. Bruno wondered if maybe that anger was something to worry about but Agustín rarely got angry and when he did it wasn't the kind of anger to necessarily be worried about unless you were really really stupid about things. Doctors could be scary.

Th-that still didn't mean the man got a free pass. I-it didn't.

Agustín wasn't like Félix. He wasn't loud, or energetic, or obnoxious. He tended to be a little more serious and more emotionally open then the larger man. He seemed to have no problem with adapting to his skills not really being needed anymore. There were sometimes where he even seemed relieved, although he had come in handy more than a few times by being able to keep someone stable long enough for Julieta to get to them. He certainly had a strong stomach and did not shy away from blood, very unlike Félix. The times where Agustín's skills were really needed was during childbirth. Sometimes complications arose that Julieta's food would do nothing to fix. Sure she could fix hemorrhaging but she couldn't change a breach birth, inducing early labor, or handle an instance where the baby kinda got….stuck. Bruno didn't want to know.

Bruno could spot when things were getting serious between people. He'd always had an eye for romance and Agustín could be painfully obvious sometimes. Bruno had watched him accidentally almost drop a ring down the drain while doing dishes. Why anyone let him keep doing that was beyond Bruno. They only had so many plates and Agustín only had so much space on his hands and only so much blood he could lose. He'd accidentally startled the man once by catching a falling plate with his foot while reading a book and kicking it back up into the sink without a crack.

"You are one broken plate away from mamá calling off the wedding." He'd said without thinking.

Oops. There had been a moment of awkward eye contact before Bruno grabbed his book and scampered out of the room. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage actually seeing as how they were the only people who knew what Agustín was planning. There was no way Bruno was just going to let him go through with this without understanding that there could and would be consequences. Bruno just had to put it in a way that Agustín would take seriously enough. He didn't feel like he needed to be quite as…..sinister with Agustín. He took things a bit more seriously than Félix. It still needed to be memorable. The guy was a little absentminded and tended to forget things sometimes and Bruno was easy enough to forget about. Not this time though. He figured that this could be a touch more casual. Agustín didn't tend to wander off by himself like Félix did so he had to figure out how to do this in front of people without it being obvious to any onlookers. That was going to be the challenge this time around.

He could do this. For Julieta. Agustín wasn't quite as intimidating as Félix but that was because he had a calm kind of anger. Honestly that was a bit scarier but it didn't happen very often. He could probably work with letting Agustín getting a word or two in, unlike with Félix. Agustín was just a touch more predictable than Félix. He could get Agustín to listen to him by getting Agustín to listen to himself. An ask a question and answer that question with a question kind of scenario. He had to be casual about it. It had to look like an average, everyday conversation to anyone passing by. He took some time to himself after the dishes incident to think. He had to be a bit more careful in his planning on this one and there was still the problem of him losing his nerve. As a doctor Agustín seemed to be pretty good at reading someone's anxieties. So, Bruno had to be rock solid in this performance. No stuttering, no waver to his voice, no shaking hands, and not a hint of nervousness. He could faint later and, going by how it went with Félix, he was guaranteed to faint. That also meant he had to make sure that he didn't look woozy either. He'd had a bit of an advantage with Félix seeing as how it had been so dark but, for obvious reasons, Agustín tended to stay out of the jungle at night. He almost died once. He wasn't the type of person that actually tended to go anywhere near the jungle at all so that was entirely out of the question, even during the day.

The opportunity had wound up springing up all by itself and Bruno got his chance to practice some improv. Agustín had been carrying that ring around in his pocket for weeks trying to figure out how to go about it and, honestly, it was kind of adorable. Félix had far more confidence in this than Agustín did. The man had been out chopping wood, why anyone let him do that Bruno had no idea, which just so happened to be out by the trash bins that Bruno had been sneaking his way over to. On the upswing that small golden ring flew right out of his vest pocket. Who chops wood in a suit? Who does that? Apparently Agustín did. Bruno rolled his eyes and caught it as Agustín dropped the ax and made the dive. He held it between his fingers, scrutinizing it, as Agustín stood and brushed himself off.

"Hm." He tilted his head. "She never was one for anything fancy."

Keep it cool. Breathe steady. Breathe steady. Oh god, oh god, he probably knows already.

"You've been trying to figure this out for week." He rolled his eyes as he handed the ring back over. "It's almost painful."

"W-well, it's not the easiest-"

"I know." Holy mother of god did he just interrupt someone?! "I can only imagine." He shrugged.

It was the truth.

"Well…." He lifted a hand to his chin in thought. "You do have a pretty solid routine. You're both usually the first ones up. Although," He turned back to look at him. "I do sometimes beat you to it."

Breathe Bruno. Breathe. Don't blow it. Agustín needed to take him seriously.

"You almost always start the day off with a cup of coffee. You're addicted I swear."

"I get groggy sometimes."

"Hey." Bruno held a hand up, the other being occupied with what he'd been planning on throwing away. "Not like I'm criticizing you or anything. Well….maybe a little bit." He held up his fingers in a gesture to match his words. "You're bad at planning Agustín. So, why plan?"

Agustín looked at the ground, expression pensive.

"I've always been the planner." He gave a small smile. "I'm not helping with this though." He winked.

He felt that was a nice touch.

"Start off your day, have your coffee, and don't mess this up." Agustín looked back up at him, seemingly offended.

Abort! Abort! Abort!

"Oh!" He snapped his fingers and turned back around to face Agustín. He'd turned back toward the bins in a mild panic. "Speaking of planning. I'm working on this story. I've got a question I'm kinda stuck on."

"Okay." Agustín nodded as he tucked the ring away securely.

"Usually I think up some more light-hearted stuff but I've got this really dramatic story line in my head. Romance, jealousy, and murder. Exciting stuff but I like to be as realistic as I can. Now," He ran a hand through his hair. "I know one of the best and by far most dramatic ways to murder someone is like poisoning and that nonsense right?"

Agustín blinked, squinted suspiciously, and nodded.

"I know there is some kind of poison that's tasteless, odorless, and even colourless, but I can't for the life of me remember what it is."

"That would be arsenic." Agustín answered slowly and Bruno smacked his forehead.

"Dios mio, I'm an idiot." He kept one hand on his forehead and gestured around with the object in his other hand and watched Agustín's eyes nearly pop out of his skull.

Bruno looked at it like it had been a mistake for Agustín to see it.

"Please, do not tell mamá." He grit his teeth and looked around nervously. "You know how she gets when I throw out the rat poison."

Agustín's gave a wide-eyed nod, back straight as he chewed on his lip.

"Thanks." Bruno whispered with a smile.

He turned and buried the offending object in the bottom of the bin and walked around a very stiff looking Agustín and back into Casita. He made it all the way up to his tower before falling over and gasping for breath, spots dancing in his vision. He rolled over and stared at the stone above him and trembled. He gave a quiet whimper and crawled to his bed. If he stood he would pass out for sure. He just needed an hour or two to lay down.

Agustín, on the other hand, had needed a day or two.

In the 50's arsenic was used as rat poison.