Bruno walked the familiar path between the Casita and Reni's casa, carrying his hijo on his hip. He was so lucky that Dante was a good boy. That he knew to be quiet and could manage it for so long. He couldn't imagine doing this journey with his dulce bebita. Valeria was just a naturally louder child, confident and always singing or squealing (or screaming). Hopefully, when he was making this trip in nineteen months, like it looked like he was going to have to, she will have matured enough to understand the need to sneak around. Maybe if he made a game of it?

An hour or two ago, he had been creeping into the Casita proper to stock up on food for himself and his mischief of rat company, when the plain, glowing door had appeared on the first-floor landing. He'd thought the light it threw had been someone opening their door at first and he had ducked behind a pillar and held his breath, praying not to be caught. But when he had heard nothing and risked peaking back, all he could do was blink in stupefaction. He'd known it was the night before his eldest's quinto cumpleaños, but he'd spent so long wishing and hoping and praying that this wouldn't happen, it was like he couldn't believe his eyes.

It had taken a lot of badgering, cajoling and begging for the Casita to finally move the door to his tower, and therefore out of eyeshot in case anyone woke up. But he had managed to get it done before racing off to Florencia's to share the news. They had talked back and forth a lot over the years, finally deciding to take Dante to touch the door, receive his gift or not, and hope that the door's light faded like his had when he left the Casita and was a lot less conspicuous for it. It was lucky things had gone as they thought it would.

Almost too lucky. When had things ever gone his way? He was Bad-Luck Bruno and everything blew up in his face given half a chance.

His Familia could still find the door. Someone could go up there for something, he couldn't imagine what but they might, and see it. That was how it was going to come tumbling down, he was sure. Especially since his hijo's door, unlike every door before his, had shown Dante exactly as he was and not as the adult he would one day become. How could he stop that from happening? Even if he switched up when he slept and kept a close eye on his Familia, what would he do if he saw one of them heading up there? He couldn't stop them himself, not without exposing everything he was keeping hidden.

With a final look around to make sure they weren't being observed, Bruno arrived back at Reni's casa. She practically jumped up from her seat on the sofa when he pushed open the door. Dante reached for her, so he passed their son over.

"How did things go, Muñeco?" She asked him, but her gaze drifted to Bruno, searching his face for clues.

"I have a Gift! It was so cool, Mamá. There was this candle I had to touch and I met my prima, Delores, and a picture of me was on the door and I had a paint brush. Can I do painting now, Mamá?" He rambled out, clearly excited by his midnight adventure.

"Not right now. It's very late and we've got to get back to bed." She told him, already turning towards the stairs. "You can do all the painting you like when you wake up. It'll be your birthday, after all. And the sooner you fall asleep the sooner it'll be morning."

Bruno watched them go but couldn't bring himself to follow. To tuck his son in bed would mean maybe five more minutes in which he had to pretend he wasn't about to hyperventilate or start tearing great chunks out of his hair. He'd let Reni handle it and keep his mad pacing where his hijos couldn't see it.

Dante, his hombrecito, had a Gift now. And they were going to have to hide it from everyone they knew. Or Florencia would, because, like usual, he wouldn't be there. He wouldn't be able to distract people or mitigate rumours as they cropped up. He would be in the walls of the Casita doing whatever he could to stave off boredom when he wasn't frantically forcing himself to fill in the cracks that now appeared at ever decreasing intervals. What could he do to help su pequeña familia? Dios, had he ever felt so useless before in all his life?

It seemed like ages before his amante joined him again, but that was probably only because his thoughts were spinning around and around his head as he paced around and around the living room. She had one of the twins in her arms. At sixteen weeks old, there was very little difference between them to look at, except that Lorenzo's eyes were maybe a shade darker so far. They were both still a little on the smaller size for their age due to their early birth and they both grown thick, black baby-hair that tended to stick up at odd angles given half a chance.

"Here," She whispered, handling the bebe over to him and halting his distressed movements. "She was starting to fuss. Hold her while I get Lorenzo."

Luciana was wide awake when he took her into his arms, looking down at her little, slightly red face. He supposed she was due her night-time feed. He bounced a little, hoping to keep her from deciding that bursting into tears might be a good idea. If that failed, he'd turn to the toy box for something soft and brightly coloured as his next port-of-call. He heard the faint sound of whining start up, so it looked like her hermano had been unable to resist.

"Hear that, mi estrella brillante? Looks like your hermano is going first again." He muttered, his voice as low and soothing as he could make it. "You can be nice and patient for Papi though, can't you? You won't have to wait too long."

She obviously didn't answer but she didn't start crying either, even when Lorenzo was brought downstairs too and was settled at his Mamá's breast, so Bruno was counting it as a win. They swapped once his hijo was full and he had spread the towel over his own shoulder to save his ruana from any unfortunate stains. Little Enzo was falling asleep against his shoulder by the time his hermana was finished with her midnight snack. Once she was burped and cleaned of spit up, he followed them back up the stairs and into the Master bedroom where the mellizos cribs were still placed. Really Florencia's casa was due an extension, but he knew she had been putting it off because of this exact situation. Just as Dante hadn't had a party planned for him this year. They had known that they might have to limit his contact with the rest of the village, at least for a little while. Until they were sure he had a handle on whatever Gift he had been given.

He grabbed some nightclothes while his amante got into bed and headed for the bathroom to get ready and brush his teeth. He slipped in next to her once he was finished, momentarily basking in how easily she shuffled towards him, snuggling into his chest and entwining her bare feet with his own. He let out a long sigh, feeling how heavy his eyelids felt and how hard it was to keep them open.

"Everything can wait until the morning, mi amor." She breathed across his ear. "Just sleep now."

He wasn't even aware that he had dropped off until the shrill cries of the twins pulled him back to consciousness and he became vaguely aware of the morning light peeking through the shutters. As had become normal when he had the opportunity to share a bed with the amor de su vida, he rolled to the edge of the mattress, pushed himself to his feet and worked his way over to the cribs to pick up one of his children. He gave his hija to her Madre and set about calming Lorenzo down as best he could without anyway to feed him. Luckily suckling on his pinky assuaged him for now.

Then there was the sound of running feet and a hurried knock at the bedroom door that he could do little more than blink stupidly at, the previous night's events slowly filtering through his slightly groggy mind. Dios, he needed some coffee.

"Come in." Florencia called, shortly followed by his eldest two bursting in.

Dante came to the edge of the bed, but Valeria took a running jump, clinging to the blankets while trying to get her leg up on to the mattress. He walked round as his hijo greeted them, putting his knee under Val's bum, since he still had Lorenzo in his arms, and gave the nudge she needed to pull herself up.

"Mamá, Mamá, Mamá, please can I do painting now? Please? I really wanna see what'll happen." Dante chirped.

"Breakfast first." She insisted.

"Why don't you help me get that started, hombrecito?" Bruno suggested, carefully placing his hijo mas joven on the opposite side to where Val was snuggled up to Reni.

Dante was happy to follow him downstairs and sit on the counter while Bruno got everything ready. It wasn't too long before they were joined by the rest of their Familia. The Mellizos were laid on a blanket in the living room, well within sight of the kitchen, while they sat around the table and ate. He was almost finished when Dante's rambling about things he would paint was interrupted by a knock at the door.

The sound sent his heart thumping near painfully in his chest. He jumped out of his chair, flinching when he sent it tumbling to the ground with a crash. Florencia was already reaching across the table to assure their hijos that everything was fine, as she made to stand. He tried to send a reassuring smile their way, but it felt like a strained grimace. He concentrated on grabbing his plate and scanning the downstairs for anything that gave away his presence. Not seeing anything obvious, he darted passed everyone and up the stairs, taking his breakfast with him.

As he caught his breath, making sure to keep his plate steady, he could hear Reni opening the door and greeting whoever was there. He didn't hear whoever it was answer her, but the door remained open, so he assumed there was conversation to be had with whoever had interrupted their morning. Moments passed before he finally heard the door shut, letting him release the breath he had been holding and turn back around the corner so as to make his way back down to breakfast.

Except no, Meirda! There was someone there! Did they see?

He ducked back the way he came, almost tripping over himself and spilling breakfast on his night shirt, as he processed who he had seen standing in the living room next to his amante. Edging back towards the corner and leaning so he could properly see the downstairs, he confirmed that it was Delores kneeling down to whisper hello to his eldest niños. His sobrina that could hear him stumbling and shuffling about like an idiot right in that instant. She must have known he was here.

Straightening up, running a hand over the stain he had just created in the vain hope that that might help, he made his way back down the stairs, his every step hesitant. He came to stand behind Dante, putting a hand on his shoulder when his hijo smiled up at him and leant into his leg, watching Valeria compliment the bright red bow her prima used to secure her hair.

"I like your hair." Delores told his hija. "It's such a pretty colour. Mi Madre has hair that colour too, you know."

Honestly, he thought Pepa's hair couldn't hold a candle to Florencia's, nor their daughter's, hair, no matter how similar the shade. And they were only similar, and not actually the same. Reni's was maybe a shade or two darker, and just a touch more red. Especially when it caught the sun. He hadn't seen such a sight in years, but he did remember how it used to look when he, once upon a time, had had the chance to escort her around the market and carry her bag. Her hair had always seemed so bright, especially coupled with the darker hazel of her eyes. Not that he didn't enjoy the way candlelight could play upon her curls, highlighting this piece, then that as it danced.

Or even how it looked now, in the shadowed sunlight that spilled around the edges of the window shutters, stuffed atop her head in a chaotic and un-brushed bun. She met his eyes over the top of the conversation, her face communicating her question about his feelings on their present company. He sent half a smile her way, shrugging his shoulders. He shouldn't have been surprised. Not really. Not with her having seen them the night before. She obviously had more to say and wanted to say it to his face.

One of the twins made a little gurgling noise, so Florencia went to check on them. With skills he had yet to master, she picked them both up and began herding their niños upstairs to get ready. After a few moments of whining about not wanting to brush their teeth quite yet, he was left alone with his sobrina, face-to-face, like he hadn't been in more than half a decade. The night before had hardly counted, the whole thing a mission of stealth and quickness. Now he could take a moment to take in how grown up she had become. She was taller than him now, not much, probably only an inch, but still... She reminded him so much of his hermanas at that age.

He just wished he was putting on a better showing. Instead, he was still in his pyjamas with a great strain running down his front, and his hair felt tangled and a little greasy. He wondered if he looked old to her. His black hair now had a few grey streaks running through it that it hadn't had before. The lack of sun hadn't done him any good either, making him look pale and the circles under his eyes seem darker. Casually running a hand over his cheek told him that his goatee needed touching up too. That surely didn't help his overall appearance. He suddenly wondered if he had let himself go during all these years in the walls. Florencia had never said but...

"I apologise for coming over so early and disrupting your breakfast. I didn't realise until I was already at the door." She said in her usual quiet, fast-paced manner.

"It's fine." He quickly brushed aside, hoping to halt the heat rising in his face as he thought about his state. "Wha, What was it you came her- er... I mean, why are you..."

He sighed at himself, putting the mostly empty plate he had been holding on to aside. He didn't want to sound rude. Delores had kept his secrets and had helped him in so many different ways over the years. She whispered news about their Familia and the village and Florencia to the walls, so he knew what was happening. She distracted everyone when the food he took was occasionally noticed. She had helped him sneak Dante through the Casita to reach his door and hadn't seemed to judge him for what felt like the absolute blasphemy that was stealing The Candle from his Madre's windowsill in the middle of the night, even if he did ask her to put it back practically the second he was done with it.

"I wanted talk to you without a wall in between us, maybe just this once." She began, her tone turning serious and the muscles around her chocolate brown eyes becoming tight with emotion he couldn't begin to name. "I'm not a little girl anymore Tio, and I'd like to know what is going on with you and... Everything? Why won't you let anyone know where you are? What are you really hiding from? Why would you let people go on talking about Florencia the way that they do and not just marry her? Why won't you let any of our Familia know about them? Mi Primos, Mamá's sobrinos, Abuela's nietos?"

And, ow. He knew he hadn't quite been able to suppress his flinch, but it was almost as if he had been physically punched. It wasn't like he hadn't thought it to himself over the years. What a complete and utter selfish cretino he was from basically the moment he had first laid eyes on Florencia. She had been a pretty, young thing he should have stayed away from, but he hadn't been able to summon the willpower to do the right thing. Instead, he'd trapped her with him in his self-imposed mission to try to protect Mirabel and gotten her shunned and scorned by almost the entire town for it. He knew the damage his actions had caused. Not only to her and the life she could have lived, but to his niños too.

"I..." But what could he say?

He couldn't tell her, wouldn't tell her. Defending himself and his circumstance wasn't as important as protecting Mirabel from the consequences of his stupid gift.

"I hear you talking to yourself, Tio. I know something is wrong. What's going to happen?" She continued when he stuttered but said nothing. "What did you see?"

Before he had hidden himself away, he had heard that question at least twelve times a week. Now, it had been so long since someone had made that particular demand of him, it almost felt strange to hear it. But this time things were different.

"I've got this handled." He said with a confidence he usually had to use 'Hernando' to summon.

Florencia knew everything he knew and hadn't thought he had been crazy to hide himself away. She'd known as well as him how much public opinion mattered in such a small community as theirs, just as they both knew how being the black sheep of the family was heart-breaking. She had agreed he had done the best he could and was still doing that now, by avoiding everyone and spending his days trying to fix the ever-cracking walls of the Casita.

What could Delores do if she knew? What would she do? How could she go on living in that house with Mirabel, the Candle, and the failing Miracle hanging over her head and pretend that everything was normal?

"But Tio-" She tried to insist but he only shock his head; he'd kept this secret for more than half a decade and he would keep it for a while longer at least.

She might have continued questioning him, but she was interrupted by footsteps and the sounds of childish conversation coming closer. He looked around just in time to see Valeria turn the corner at the top of the stairs and begin making her way down them quickly. Dante followed, obviously excited to have a chance to finally try out his Gift. Florencia brought up the rear, a fully washed and dressed bebé in each arm. She took the stairs slower than the elder two, her eyes focused on each step, obviously careful with such precious cargo.

"Papá, Papá, Papá! Mamá says it's time. I can do it!" Dante exclaimed, already running around to collect some paper and pencils. "You're going to watch, aren't you?"

"Of course, I am." He told him as he approached his amante and took his estella brilliante to free up one of her arms.

"I want to watch!" Val squealed in excitement as she climbed on to one of the chairs so she would be able to see.

It didn't take too long for everyone to gather around the kitchen table.

"Can I?" Delores asked, as he bounced Luciana on his hip.

After a moment's hesitation, he handed his hija over and sidled up closer to his eldest, wanting to be right there should anything go awry. Dante beamed at Bruno when everything was ready in front of him, clearly excited for what was about to happen. He tried to smile back, ruffling his hijo's hair.

Inside, he was a bag of nerves. He hardly noticed how everyone had crowded closer to watch what was about to happen, Reni holding Lorenzo to her chest. Dante hadn't seemed to suffer any immediate change, which was good, but who knew what would happen when he tried to activate his gift. His own gift, apart from the obvious visions of the future, usually caused a lot of wind (which always swept the sand he had to used everywhere) and left him feeling physically drained and with a pounding headache. Would his hijo be the same? Or...

Almost as soon as Dante picked up his pencil, he took in a sudden deep breath, his head tilted back, and his eyes began to glow unnaturally green; in the same way Bruno had been told his own did when he was looking into the future. He held his breath, trying to determine if his hijo was in pain in any way. But he looked... Impassive, sort of blank and sightless. His hand started moving, putting the pencil to paper and beginning to draw.

"Dan?" Valeria shifted off her chair and walked around the table towards her hermano, but Bruno caught her, lifting her into his arms.

"Just wait." He told her, his voice barely above a whisper. "He's okay."

He didn't know if he was trying to reassure his hija or himself. Dante's hand seemed to be moving faster and faster as his picture, which was more detailed than he had ever managed before if still somewhat childlike, started to take shape. He thought it was somewhere in town, not too far from the church by the look of the steeple poking out from behind the building on the left. Two people held the foreground, one standing, the other sitting on the floor with one thin arm reaching up to hold their head. Wait... Was that him? It was. As Dante's hand began to slow and Bruno got a proper look at what his hijo had created, he could suddenly tell that it was a picture of him and Florencia. The hourglass pattern on his ruana giving him away, as did the handkerchief the female figure was handing to the drawing of himself. It was the first time they had really met, as clear as day.

The glow faded from his hijo's eyes, and he began panting, leaning over the picture he had just done. Bruno instantly knelt down, vaguely aware of his amante doing the same on Dante's other side.

"Mijo?"

"Dante?"

They spoke at the same time, Florencia shifting Lorenzo in her arms so she could get one free to push his curls back from his face. His usual hazel eyes flickered up to meet theirs, a small smile growing quickly as he looked to his creation. He seemed out of breath, as if he had been running around, but no worse for wear.

"You okay?" He asked, as is hijo picked up his picture to get a better look.

He nodded, "Yeah. I'm okay. I saw you and Mamá. Someone threw a big rock at you Papá!" He frowned as he said the last part, obviously angry on his father's behalf.

"That's alright, mijo." He tried to assure him, his mind racing with implications. "If they hadn't, your Mamá wouldn't have had a reason to talk to me. That's the day we met; you know."

Dante had seen the past, a past that predated his birth even, and had been compelled to draw it out. Would that happen every time he picked up a pencil or paintbrush? Why had he seen that moment in particular and not another? Dios, what were they going to do if he saw something they'd rather he didn't; like the night they had conceived Dante for instance? It was going to be just like him all over again, wasn't it? Dante saying things he shouldn't know and was too young to understand, putting the people around him on edge as he did it.

"It's a lovely drawing." Florencia told him. "Do you want to put it on the wall in your bedroom?"

Valeria squealed, leaping out of Bruno's arms and hurriedly tugging at her brother's arm and telling him she had the 'bestest' place to put it. His amante passed over his chiquito before following their eldest two upstairs. He pressed a kiss to the top of Lorenzo's head and bounced on the ball of his feet when he gave a little squirm. Luciana, who was still being held in Delores's arms, seemed to have decided to have a snooze while all the excitement was happening.

"That's how you and Tia met, huh?" His sobrina asked.

He couldn't stop himself spluttering at the use of the word 'Tia' and he ducked his head as he felt his face begin to heat up. When he managed to meet his sobrina's gaze once more the look in Delores's eyes suggested she had done it on purpose.

"Yeah, it is." He chuckled, rolling his eyes.

She stifled a laugh too, trying not to disturb his bebita.

"Did anyone know you were courting?" The laughter lessening from her voice as she became more serious, more sincere.

"Err, well... We weren't. Not really." He hesitantly informed her; she wasn't a little girl anymore, after all. "Her Padre didn't like me and your Abuela was... She didn't really approve either. I mean, I'm quite a bit older that her, you know. And after it had gone so badly with everyone Mamá picked out... But yeah, then I was er, leaving, you know, and I couldn't just go without telling Reni so..."

He shrugged, not knowing what else to say. It wasn't like any of that mattered anymore. Bruno had gone into hiding and Dante had come along and suddenly their parents' approval wasn't as important anymore. All that mattered was protecting their pequeña familia and keeping the secret of his vision. That had become the priority. And, when he was feeling particularly kind to himself, he liked to think he was doing a good job. The fact that it looked like his niños would be inheriting the Madrigal gifts from him was a new complication, but he was sure, sort of, that him and Florencia would find a way to manage.

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The mellizos got bigger and bigger, and by the time their primer cumpleaños came around, it was impossible to tell that they had been born almost a whole month too early. They were pulling themselves up on the furniture and saying words like Mamá and Papá right on schedule. His estrella brilliante had started calling her hermana 'Fao' and her hermano mayor 'Dam', which was close enough. He was sure his chiquito would be joining her in no time. Their eyes seemed to have finally settled on a colour as well. Luciana had her madre's eyes, deep hazel, occasionally flecked with brown, while Lorenzo's had darkened even further, turning to an almost-amber, brown. They were on the larger, rounder side too, like his and Dante's. Florencia had laughingly told him that little Enzo would be a charmer when he grew up, with such soulful cow-eyes. That he'd have all the girls in the village batting their eyelashes his way.

The extension his amante had been putting off had been finished in late May, so the pair had moved into the nursery while his eldest now shared a bedroom on the ground floor. And that was only possible because his pequeña familia had managed, by some miracle he was sure, to keep Dante's gift under wraps. They'd had to take him out of school for a few weeks, until he had been able to reliably pick up a pencil without diving into the past, but he had done it and had been very grown up about the whole thing. Bruno honestly couldn't be prouder of him.

And no one had gone up to his tower to discover Dante's door. Delores had even agreed to try to intercept anyone who did. Everything he had been worried about had failed to come to pass. So far, at least.

He waited for an hour after sunset to arrive at Florencia's casa, giving plenty of time for all the party guests to have returned to their homes. It had started to rain a few moments after he had left, so he had his hood up as he knocked at the door. Tucked under his ruana were a pair of painting he had done especially for his mellizos. The walls of the nursery had been looking a little bare since Dante had taken his artwork downstairs to his new room. He thought they'd go a long way to brightening up the place again.

It was his hijo who answered the door, letting him slip in and shut it behind him, before wrapping his arms around his leg.

"Hey, hombrecito. How was the party?" He greeted as he took off his soaked-through ruana.

"Papá! It was really good. Luci and Enzo got loads of presents. Even from Delores and Señora Julieta. And there was cake. But Tio Berny stayed for ages and ages, and I was worried he would see you, Papá!" Dante told him almost in one breath.

"Well, it's good he didn't." He leant down and hefted his eldest up on to his hip. "Try not to worry about it though, okay? It's up to Mamá and me to worry about this kind of stuff."

Valeria had obviously heard his voice because she came running across the room to collide with his legs. Then came a lighter, slightly less co-ordinated patter as the mellizos ran along the landing. Shuffling closer to the bottom of the stairs, dragging a giggling Val with him as she clung to his leg, he got there just in time to see the two of them sit on their bums at the top and proceed to thump-thump-thump down the stairs as quickly as they could. His amante followed them halfway down, probably having been in the middle of putting them to bed when he arrived and interrupted.

"Hola, mis hijos. Did you have a good cumpleaños?" He asked as he knelt, making sure Dante had his feet under him and that Valeria didn't get squished in any way.

He got a double hug in answer, along with a lot of incomprehensible baby babble. After a few moments of hums to show he was listening, kisses and hugs, he sent them back up to bed. It was late, after all, and he didn't want to disrupt their routine any more than he already did. He let Val pull him towards the sofa and sat through a blow-by-blow of the day's events, with Dante interrupting every so often to add his own thoughts.

"Did you know Tio Berny has asked Señorita Darlisa Sánchez to marry him, Papá?" Dante asked him as his hermana began to flag and her head began to dip until it rested against Bruno's side.

"Ay, no. I hadn't heard yet." Although he probably would have done eventually, if Florencia hadn't told him herself.

"That means she's going to be our Tia. He says he's going to bring her 'round to meet us on Christmas eve." His hijo carried on, snuggling into his side. "He said Val can be a bridesmaid and wear a pretty dress. I'll be an usher and help everyone to their seats. That sounds good, doesn't it Papá?"

"Very exciting." He agreed, running his finger through Dante's loose curls.

"He told Mamá he doesn't know if he should pick Tio San or Tio Seb to be his best man." His hijo sleepily informed him, making him chuckled under his breath.

"I suppose that's a hard decision, picking between your brothers." He replied, trying hard to keep the humour out of his voice.

"Who was your best man, Papá?"

And there went the calm feeling he had been soaking in from his niños. His throat was suddenly dry, and his mind went blank. He looked over his shoulder, hoping Florencia would appear to rescue him, but he had no such luck.

"Erm... Me and Mamá haven't actually gotten married, you see, so, errr... I never did have a best man." He stuttered.

Dante pulled back from him, looking up at him with a confused frown on his little face. "But Señora Gacia said you have to be married to do the special hug."

Okay, now his thoughts could be summed up with a simple '?'.

"A special hug?" He dared to ask.

"That's how a bebe is made." Dante informed him, as if that was obvious.

Ah, right. Okay. This was... That. He could do this. He wanted to do this, in fact. He didn't want to leave his son flailing around like he had done. He wanted to him to be able to come to Bruno with any questions he had. Always. But Dante wasn't even quite six yet. What exactly did he tell him? And how?

"Well, it technically is possible to do the erm... 'Special hug' without being married, but you should wait to do it with your wife. Because it's erm, special and your wife will be special too. Your Mamá is very special to me. I love her and she loves me. So much that we're practically overflowing with it. So, erm, we decided to make you and your hermanas and hermano to take up all that spare love. But you know what happened?"

"No. What?"

"Instead of taking up that love, you guys just made more and more of it. Now it's like a great big flood." He told him, his smile growing as the right words kept coming.

Dante giggled, tipping to his side to give Bruno a tight squeeze. He wrapped an arm around his small body in return, holding him to his side.

"Bedtime." Florencia's low voice sounded over his shoulder, making him jump slightly.

Valeria barely gave a snuffle, but his hijo wiggled around to get his knees under him and plant a goodnight kiss to Bruno's cheek. Once Dante had slid off the sofa and started following his Mamá up the stairs so he could brush his teeth, Bruno set about waking his hija. She whined as she did, clinging to his neck when he picked her up and carried her up to the bathroom. After a little encouragement, he was allowed to put on her on her feet next to her brother and watched as she brushed her teeth. Fifteen minutes later, everyone was in bed, including Florencia and himself.

"You handled that well." She told him, after blowing out the candle and snuggling into his side, laying her head on his chest.

"It came out of nowhere!" He muttered, rolling his eyes.

"I think Little Lando overhead something he probably shouldn't have. He then proceeded to ask Señora Gacia where babies come from while him and Dante were having a playdate." She laughed, turning so it was muffled against his chest. "She apologized when she brought him back. But she had to say something, so she decided on the most innocent of explanations."

He let out an exaggerated huff. "But I handled it well?"

"Yes." She answered with a certainty he appreciated. "There's no need for the ins and outs of it yet. Until they are, we should just give them as vague an answer as possible, as casually as we can."

He nodded, wrapping an arm around his love's waist to keep her at his side and tilting his head so his chin rested against the top of her head, but he didn't end up drowning in her curls.

He supposed that was for the best. It was different than what his Madre had done but seemed less likely to have his niños squirming to get away from him and the subject altogether. And that would, hopefully, lead to his hijos not having to go through the blind fumble he had gone through in his younger years (and unfortunately beyond that, given how dulce bebita had come about).

"And the party?" He inquired after a few moments of quiet consideration.

"Fine. The twins enjoyed opening their presents and we didn't have any tantrums from Valeria, so I think we can say it was a success." Her felt her shrug against him. "Your Hermana dropped off blankets for them yesterday. Lorenzo's is green and blue, and Luciana's is green and pink. I'll show you in the morning."

She gave a little yawn and shuffled so she could turn to face him. Florencia tucked her face under his chin and into his neck, causing him to have to brush her hair away from his face once more.

"I can't believe they're a year old already." He murmured. "It feels like it was only yesterday they were small enough to fit in the palms of my hands. And now they're tottering about the place and Val said she was teaching them to play pat-a-cake earlier."

"Hmmm," She hummed in agreement. "It was cute."

He huffed in amusement, feeling his eyelids begin to get heavy. "I'll have to see if they'll do it again tomorrow."

He must have fallen asleep as the next thing he knew someone was prodding him in the shoulder.

There was a whispered "Papá?" and a bit more poking before he managed to open his eyes. Dante stood next to the bed, his eyes looking large and scared in the dark.

"What's wrong?" He whispered back, pushing himself up.

"I had a bad dream. Can I come and sleep with you and Mamá?"

"'Course." He answered sleepily, holding up the covers and sliding back a little to make room, feeling Florencia turn over towards them as he did. "D'you wanna tell me abou' it?"

Dante quickly scrambled up on to the bed and tucked himself under Bruno's arm as he brought the blankets back down around them. He did his best to ignore to cold toes that were squigging themselves under his thigh and the elbow that was millimetres from digging into his ribs.

"It was the scary men with the horses." His hijo answered after a brief pause, the waver in his voice making him tighten the arm he had around him.

"The scary men?" He asked, rubbing his hand up and down Dante's back.

"They've got lots of fire, and they hurt you, Papá." He managed to answer before bursting into tears.

He felt Florencia reach her arm over his side so she could rub Dante's back too and try to calm him down.

"It's okay, mi hombrecito. I'm right here. I'm not hurt. It's just a dream."

But that seemed to do little to comfort him. After a few moments, Bruno secured his head and bum and careful rolled them both over, so Dante was laying between them. Reni started running her fingers through his curls while he continued rubbing up and down his back.

"It's not." Dante eventually blubbered.

"It's not what, hijo?" Reni questioned, her voice low and gentle.

"It's not a dream. I saw it." He insisted through his tears.

And suddenly Bruno understood. He should have realised sooner but he had assumed it was just a dream.

"You mean you saw it in a vision? When you were drawing?" He felt Dante nod against his chest and couldn't help it as he closed his eyes and held him even closer to his chest.

He had known this would happen eventually, but he'd thought that he'd have more time. That Dante would be older when he stumbled across this chapter of their family history. That he might have had the vision while Bruno or his Mamá was right there with him to see him through. Instead, it seemed as if Dante had seen the death of his abuelo and not told them. Had had nightmares about it.

And now he had to say something. Something comforting. Something that might make this all better, even just a little bit.

"You remember that you can only see things that have happened already. And I've never been hurt by men on horses." He began, trying to find the words to explain.

"But it looked like you!"

"And I bet the man looked a little like you too. That's 'cause I think that man is your abuelo, mi Papá. He was killed when I was a little baby, by some very bad men." He took a deep breath, trying to trust in himself that he would pick the right things to say. "I think that's what you're seeing, hijo, and I'm very sorry that you had to."

Dante didn't say anything for a moment and Bruno held his breath, waiting. After a moment, it was Florencia that spoke up, her voice low and full of compassion and understanding.

"Why didn't you tell us when you saw it?" She asked, "It must have been scary."

He sighed into Bruno's chest, before wiggling around so he was facing his Mamá. "Luci and 'Enzo were crying, and Val didn't want to brush her teeth, and I just wanted to do a little picture before school. Just a quick one. I know I wasn't s'posed to."

He glanced up in time to watch as Reni's brows knit together into a frown. School mornings could be a bit of a hectic rush sometimes and Bruno had only seen it when he was here to lend a hand. He could imagine the chaos the four of them could cause when there was only one Florencia to rein them in. No one could blame her for missing him sneaking off to do mischief. Except herself, of course.

"You- You're not in trouble this time." She reassured him after a moment of silence where they both just held Dante close. "But can you see why you're supposed to wait for one of us to be with you when you do your special drawing? I want you to feel like you can always talk to us. About anything. I know the others can be loud- and demanding, but I want to know what's going on with you just as much."

He wiggled across the bed and threw his arms around her. "I love you, Mamá."

"And I love you too." She answered, her voice cracking a little in the middle.

Bruno shuffled closer, wrapping a loose arm around the both of them. "Try to get back to sleep now, huh, hombrecito?"

He laid there for a while, listening as Dante's, and then Florencia's, breath slowed into the even cadence of the unconscious. He wanted to follow them, but his brain wouldn't shut up. His son had watched his grandfather die. Not just die, in fact. He had watched him get murdered. And Dante had probably been forced to draw it all, too. That was how his power worked. What had happened to that drawing? Had Dante hidden it away, or had he thrown it away maybe? It wasn't exactly a moment that anyone would want commemorated.

How much had he seen? In how much detail? How much did he understand? He'd thought his abuelo had been Bruno, and while they had corrected him, did that make it any less traumatising? Was this worse than him watching Old Señora Velasquez die of old age in a vision and knowing he wouldn't be able to change it when he was seven? That had given him nightmares for ages. This kind of thing was sure to do the same or worse to Dante. He remembered there being a bout of bedwetting too, so he might tell Reni to keep an eye out for that.

And, actually, it might be worth having her check with Señora Gacia to make sure it had been Lando who had heard something he shouldn't, and that it hadn't been Dante who had Seen something they really, really, really hoped he didn't. Not yet. It was sure to be an inevitability, just as it had been with Bruno. Their gifts were just so similar, even if they were almost the opposite of each other.

He hadn't even had his gift for a year. Had he made a mistake bringing Dante to the Casita in the first place. Should he have just left the door there, glowing but blank, so his hijo could just be a kid like anyone else? Anyone not named Madrigal. Would it be the same for Valeria? Should he ignore the door if it appeared for her? Could he?