"Hi,"
Mirabel looks up to see her uncle leaning against the open frame of the door leading to the nursery, looking nearly dead on his feet. His skin is tinged with gray, and the dark circles that always seem to be underneath his eyes somehow look even more pronounced than usual.
"Thanks-thanks for-for taking him." Her tio adds hoarsely. He takes a long, slow breath and pushes himself upright, crossing the room and sitting gingerly on one of the beds.
Mirabel tries to smile at him. It comes out all wobbly. "Are you okay?" she asks. "Dolores said-" she swallows back the lump trying to form in her throat. "And Brunito-he cried through the whole thing, just about."
Bruno closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them, she can see the guilt in them. "I c-can't stop him from know-from knowing when I have them," he says. "I-I-I wish I could, but-"
"He wasn't hurt." Mirabel hurries to reassure him. "Just upset. I think he...knew that it was hurting you?"
Bruno sighs. "T-They d-do that, some-sometimes. The-the visions. You don't have to worry about me, though. I-I'm okay."
"You're stuttering," Mirabel points out, because it generally seems to do more harm than good to ignore these things. "You do that when you're tired. Or stressed."
"T-There's a time-time traveling version of-of me in your lap right-right now," he counters, his expression still tired but somehow also mildly amused. "I-I think I have a right to be-to be stressed."
"Fair enough," Mirabel concedes. She looks down at the boy currently sleeping in her lap. "He looks like he's going to sleep for a while longer, if you want to rest or get some tea or something.
Her uncle brings one foot up to rest on the edge of the bed, slipping out of his sandal in the process and wrapping one arm around his knee. "I-I could use a nap," he admits. I feel like I-like I haven't slept in over a week."
"Then take a nap," Mirabel says. "There's a perfectly good bed right there. And if he gets fussy, I'll just plop him down next to you. Problem solved." When he hesitates, she adds. "I'll wake you if anything happens. I promise."
She's not sure he wouldn't wake up anyway, as nervous a sleeper as he usually is.
He yawns and gives in, kicking off his other sandal and shifting to a more comfortable position. His eyes close almost immediately, and in less than a minute her tío has dozed off. He's exhausted, that much is clear, and Mirabel promises herself that she'll do what she can to let him sleep for as long as he can.
It's only about five minutes later that Brunito stirs, eyes opening, and looks around. As soon as he catches sight of Bruno he reaches out, leaning toward the man lying prone on the bed.
"He's sleeping," Mirabel tells the boy. "I thought it might be nice to let him rest."
Brunito looks at her, then back at her uncle, and reaches out again.
"Maybe try not to wake him unless you absolutely have to?" she suggests, and the kid nods, so she stands, hoisting her up with him, and carries him across the room.
She sets Brunito down on the bed next to his older self, and the boy settles himself ever so carefully, curling up against the man without waking him. He lets out a small sigh and closes his eyes. A moment later he, too, is asleep.
Mirabel returns to the rocking chair, content to sit and watch over the two of them.
Both of them nap through the morning, only stirring when Camilo pokes his head in and announces that lunch is ready.
Mirabel looks up from her current sewing project as the two of them sit up, blinking and looking around the room a little dazedly, and in the moment it really hits her, that the boy sitting on the bed with her uncle is, in fact, a younger version of the man.
Bruno rubs his face and stands up, retrieving his sandals, and turns to scoop up Brunito. "Ven conmigo," he almost whispers, setting the boy on his hip.
Mirabel smiles at the two of them. "Do you want me to take him? I can carry him down the stairs, if you want." She asks mostly because her tío is still a little unsteady, and Brunito's weight is almost too much for him, but also because the kid is adorable. If she's being totally honest with herself, she's a little bit enamored with the boy.
"If he'll go to you," Bruno says uncertainly, but when Mirabel reaches for the child he hesitates for only a second before holding his arms out for her to take him.
Mirabel plucks him out of her uncle's grasp and sets him on her own hip. "Shall we?" she asks, and the boy offers her a nod.
Bruno follows her down the stairs tiredly. He doesn't look near as rested after his nap as Mirabel would have hoped.
They join the rest of la familia at the table for lunch. Mirabel tries settling with Brunito in her lap, and is delighted when he goes along with it. They forgo their usual seating arrangement so that Bruno can sit beside them, and Antonio takes advantage of the change to worm his way into the seat on Mirabel's other side.
He doesn't immediately start talking to the boy, though. Just smiles at him and Mirabel before turning his attention to his lunch.
Brunito watches him for a bit. He seems to have absolutely no interest in the empanadas on his plate. Beside them, Bruno doesn't seem any more interested in his.
Mirabel's mother and aunt are both trying to not watch as the two of them refuse to eat, and while they aren't going a very good job at it, they seem to be trying, and neither of them have actually said anything. Bruno himself seems content to ignore them for the time being, until Brunito's stomach rumbles loudly enough that it can be heard by everyone at the table.
Bruno sighs, refusing to acknowledge the pointed glances he's now receiving from both sisters, and turns to study the child still in Mirabel's lap.
She's not unaware that he's shrinking against her and refusing to meet anyone's eyes, but doesn't know whether it will do more harm than good to say anything.
"Qué pasa, mijo?" he asks, softly, but the rest of the table has gone silent, so everyone hears. Still, Bruno focuses on the child as if they are the only two in existence. "Duele?" The boy shakes his head, and Mirabel feels herself relax. The kid's not hurt, at least.
Bruno frowns. "Estas enfermo?"
Again, he shakes his head. Bruno's frown deepens. "No tienes hambre?"
The boy looks away, and Mirabel feels him tense. Bruno looks no less troubled, but rather than pursue the matter, he simply shrugs. "Esta bien, niño."
Brunito's head whips up so fast he almost cracks his skull against Mirabel's chin, and stares at the man sitting beside him. Bruno offers him a small smile that is ultimately meaningless.
"Tampoco puedo comer," he admits. Looking up and meeting his sisters' gazes, he adds, "Sometimes the visions make me nauseous." He sounds like he's reminding both of them of this fact.
Camilo looks up, interested. "Is that why you still have so much trouble eating?" he asks. Both his parents go to shush him, but Bruno nods.
"The headaches make it hard too, sometimes," he adds. "Hard to have much of an appetite when it feels like someone's shoving a spike through your skull."
"Bruno!" Pepa scolds him, shooting a glance at Antonio, who is thankfully too busy trying not to pay too much attention to the boy beside him to notice.
Bruno shrugs, but doesn't say any more, and it occurs to Mirabel to wonder if maybe that's why he doesn't like to talk about his gift, if every time he opens up about it someone gets upset.
She's not sure about the wording, though, at least where Antonio's concerned. Though she's pretty sure the kid might worry less about their tío if he had a better idea of what was going on. All he really seems to know-because they usually don't talk about it in front of him-is that sometimes Bruno disappears because of his visions, and that when he comes back he usually doesn't feel well.
Julieta looks from Bruno to Brunito, her expression reluctant. "What about hot chocolate?" she asks, and she sounds more than a little resigned to Mirabel.
Brunito looks up, interested. Bruno does not answer, but he also is not saying no. Pepa looks like she does not entirely approve.
It's interesting to Mirabel that so far Abuela has stayed out of the entire conversation, but maybe it's just that she and Tío Bruno still haven't quite figured out how to get along with each other. Mostly they've been polite but awkward, staying out of each other's way as much as possible.
She's watching the situation unfold now, and it's clear that she's worried, but equally obvious that she has no idea what to do or if her input will even be welcome.
Mirabel isn't used to seeing Abuela look so uncertain. It hurts, just a little, and she wishes the two of them could figure things out.
Mirabel's mother starts to get up from the table, and Bruno turns to look at her. "You haven't finished eating," he says, and his voice is so low, so timid and uncertain, they almost don't hear him.
Her father and Uncle Félix both cough into their napkins, face reddening, but do not comment on the fact that it's Bruno, of all people pointing out that she's not done. Her mamá just shakes her head, either at them or her brother, Mirabel's not sure which, and heads to the kitchen.
"Can I have some too?" Antonio pipes up, as she leaves the room, and Pepa shakes her head.
"You don't need any right now, mijo," she says, and Antonio doesn't look particularly happy about it, but doesn't argue. "Maybe later,"
Everyone else has pretty much finished by the time Mirabel's mom returns, and they're tidying up the table and going on their way, leaving Bruno, Mirabel, and the child in her lap seated at the table.
Antonio leaves only to return almost immediately, his stuffed leopard in his arms, studying the other boy almost shyly.
Brunito looks up, and Antonio smiles at him and holds out the stuffed animal.
"I know sometimes your visions are scary," he says, and Mirabel wonders how he knows that. She can't imagine Bruno telling him. "So if you want to, you can hold on to this. It's real nice to hug when you get scared or sad."
Brunito stares at him for a moment before hesitantly reaching out and accepting the offering. He pulls it into his own lap and twists around stare at Bruno, as if checking to make sure it's all right.
Bruno winks at the boy before turning to Antonio. "That's very kind of you. I know he appreciates it."
Antonio grins back at him. "It's okay, I know he doesn't feel like talking right now."
Mirabel's mamá returns with a cup in each hand, setting one down in front of both Bruno and Brunito. The boy maneuvers the stuffed animal so he can carefully reach for his mug.
Bruno also doesn't hesitate, for all that he wouldn't touch his plate earlier. Mirabel looks at her mom, curious, but the woman just shakes her head at the two of them, a small smile threatening to emerge.
"Never could refuse a cup of hot chocolate," she says. "Especially with extra cheese."
Antonio is still hanging around, though he's trying not to bother anyone. He's clearly fascinated by Brunito, though, and is trying not to stare.
Brunito pauses in drinking, frowning just a little at the other boy, his eyebrows furrowing as he considers Antonio with a solemnity that is absolutely adorable. After a moment he shifts, holding out his mug to the other boy.
It takes Mirabel a second to realize that it's an offering. Antonio looks at the mug, then at Mirabel's mother.
"It's okay," Bruno says around his own mug.
Antonio accepts the cup and takes a sip. "Thank you," he says, handing the mug back.
Brunito flashes him a shy smile.
They end up passing the cup back and forth, and somehow manage not to spill any of it. Mirabel thinks it's sweet, and Bruno seems to approve, based on the way he's smiling into his own hot chocolate.
Author's note: It's been a minute. Been a rough week, really. But here we are, and I hope you enjoyed this new chapter in this silly little piece.
Disclaimer: Disney's Encanto does not belong to me.