hey both sleep in, actually. Antonio stops to knock on her door on his way to breakfast, waking them up. Yawning and stretching, the two follow him downstairs, both still in their pajamas.
Tía Pepa and Mamá both look tired. Dolores looks exhausted. So does Tío Bruno, who is sitting in his usual spot with his head propped up on his hand.
Antonio makes a beeline for his tío. "Are you okay?" he asks, clambering up awkwardly into the man's lap. "I'm sorry about the paints! I didn't mean to make you sick yesterday. I just wanted to-" he stops abruptly as Bruno pulls him into a hug.
"Not your-not your fault, mijo," he assures the boy, and as tired as he is, he manages a small, tight smile. "Está bien."
When it becomes apparent that Antonio has no intention of moving from his uncle's lap, Brunito slips into his abandoned seat.
There's changua for breakfast, a creamy soup made with milk and eggs, and obleas, round wafers topped with caramel. Mirabel's puzzled by the presence of the obleas,which are less a breakfast food and more of a snack, but Brunito goes straight for them, which makes her think that her mother made them because she knew he would eat them.
He munches happily away at them throughout breakfast, and Mirabel doesn't miss the pleased smile that appears whenever Mamá looks his way.
Or the way it fades when she looks at Bruno, who is only picking at his.
Dolores catches her watching him and purses her lips, shaking her head. Mirabel has no idea how late the two were up the night before, but her prima looks like she hasn't slept at all, and she, too, is still in her nightgown.
Brunito sets down one of the obleas, this one only half eaten, and turns to Bruno expectantly. The older man looks down and shifts, seeing something the others cannot.
"Perdoname, Toñito," he says, his voice soft, and the boy slides out of his lap.
"Are you okay?" he says, and Bruno nods even as he stands and scoops the younger version of himself out of his chair. Brunito lays his head on the man's shoulder, closing his eyes.
Bruno looks around, realizing they have an audience. "Another vision," he offers. "Excuse us."
The table is subdued in their absence. No one is happy, and Mirabel can tell just by looking at her mama-and aunt-that neither is going to be able to go much longer without demanding some sort of an explanation.
"He's doing his best," Dolores says, yawning into her coffee cup.
After breakfast Mirabel finds them once again in the nursery, curled up on the bed, Brunito tracing the outline of one of the hourglasses on Bruno's ruana.
"Hey," she says, when they both look up. "Feeling any better?"
The kid looks up at Bruno, then back at her, but doesn't answer. She doesn't expect him to, really, but her uncle doesn't seem inclined to say anything either.
"You know, you don't have to do this alone," she says. "We want to help. Maybe just-tell us what to do?"
Bruno sighs and brings a hand up to massage his eyes.
"I'm sorry," he says, but doesn't offer anything else. The eight-year-old boy with him reaches out to pat him comfortingly on the arm.
Mirabel looks them both over and resists the urge to sigh. Instead she settles at the edge of the bed, careful to give them both space, if they need it. Maybe she can't fix whatever this is, but that doesn't mean she has to leave them both to suffer though it alone.
"I can leave if I'm bothering you," she says, but she doesn't think she is.
The boy offers her a smile that is both entirely too small and entirely too sad for an eight-year-old child.
They spend the rest of the morning just sitting. Bruno dozes off at one point. Brunito does the same not too much later.
Disclaimer: Disney's Encanto does not belong to me.
Author's Note: I'm sorry it's been so long! Life has been happening, and while it's been pretty good, it's been busy. I've missed you all, though.
Oh! The first chapter of Open Your Eyes, a sequel piece to Just Happy You're Here is officially, finally up. I've also got some new Avatar: The Last Airbender fics up, if you're into that sort of thing.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read. Reviews are always appreciated as well. Take care, y'all, and stay safe out there.