(Author's Note: Hello there, my readers, and welcome to our next installment.

Hope you guys enjoy:)

Chapter Twelve: Opening Up

Concept: Bruno is the happiest he's been in ten years, finally out of the walls and truly with his family again. But that doesn't mean that everything is "perfect"…nor does that mean that EVERYONE is perfectly okay either.

Bruno took a bite out of the arepa in his hand, glancing at his family with fond eyes. He wanted to help with the reconstruction, but he had been "ordered" to sit and rest. At first, Mirabel was the one who told him that he needed to take it easy. When he refused, she went for the throat.

She told on him to his hermanas.

Needless to say, Julieta and Pepa were quickly able to "convince" their brother to rest under a nearby tree. And, because she had CLEARLY been spending too much time with her tia, Mirabel had skipped away with quite a smug expression on her face.

(And no, Bruno did NOT stick his tongue out at her in annoyance and anyone who says otherwise is a liar)

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Bruno was enjoying the snack break. He had spent the last decade within the walls of Casita, with limited access to nutrition, sunlight, or any opportunity for serious work. He could only work for so long before getting tired and there were only so many jobs that he could be trusted to do properly.

On top of all of that, there was the glaring problem of the fact that his being out of the walls meant that he was visible to EVERYONE. His family may have been happy to see him (besides some lingering awkwardness) but that doesn't mean that everyone was glad to have "Bad Luck Bruno" back in their lives. That's why he'd been too scared to stray too far from his family (primarily Julieta, Pepa, or Mirabel). It made him feel pathetic for having to "hide" behind his family, but he wasn't the most social person BEFORE his "decade retreat".

As his gaze went along everything it could, it stopped on Isabela and Dolores. Bruno couldn't help but smile as he watched his eldest sobrinas, talking and laughing with one another. They were always close as children. Before Camilo and Mirabel, their hermanas were the (self-proclaimed) "Madrigal Twins". Bruno remembered days when they would race through Casita hand-in-hand, giggling as they searched for someone (usually Bruno) to play with or something fun to do.

That's why it was so upsetting to see them grow apart throughout the years. Outright hostility hadn't formed between them (unlike Isabela's relationship with Mirabel), but it was noticeable to anyone who knew how close they were as children. Due to a combination of Isabela's struggles to be "perfect", Dolores having to deal with living in her prima's shadow, and the whole "thing" with Mariano, the relationship of the self-proclaimed mellizas had deteriorated into that of simply close relatives. Now, seeing them grow closer again-

Bruno had to wipe his eyes, tears of joy beginning to form. It certainly brought back memories…


(Sixteen Years Ago)

Bruno was lying on the couch in the living room, an arm over his eyes.

Another day, another vision, and another villager screaming at him and stomping out of Casita in anger (with Casita's direct intervention being the ONLY reason that the confrontation hadn't turned violent). That's pretty much what his life has become.

It doesn't matter that Bruno has had his Gift for twenty-nine years and was always willing to tell people exactly how it worked. It doesn't matter that his visions were never set in stone and only showed what was most likely to happen. It doesn't even matter that the villagers themselves were the ones who ALWAYS asked him for visions in the first place!

No, of COURSE none of that mattered. No matter what, it was all "Bad Luck Bruno's" fault. It was all the fault of the man who cursed you with his power. The man who saw your dreams and feasted on your screams.

Bruno sighed, "Why are people so annoying?"

"Which people, Tio?" Yelping at the sudden voice, Bruno's limbs flailed out and he partially fell off of the couch (his head on the floor and his lower half still on the couch). Hearing laughter, he opened his eyes to see Isabela and Dolores standing there (the latter held a hand over her mouth while the former wasn't even TRYING to contain her amusement).

"Hola mi sobrinas," Bruno muttered as he picked himself up. "I thought you both were off playing in one of your rooms."

"Yeah, but we got bored," Isabela replied, "SO…we decided to come out and see who we could play with."

"What people are annoying, Tio?" Dolores repeated her question before her doe eyes got even wider as her frown deepened, "You…you don't mean us, do you?" At her prima's words, Isabela's face dropped too.

"NO!" Bruno yelled out, kneeling to the two girls and pulling them into his arms, "No! DEFINITELY not! You two could NEVER annoy me! It's ridiculous for you to even THINK that way! You two-," Bruno tickled their stomachs, causing both girls to laugh, "-are TOTALLY the BEST girls in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD! Getting annoyed with you two? That's so crazy that it's downright LAUGHABLE! HAHAHA!" Hearing his sobrinas' laughter brought a big smile to Bruno's face (as it always did) and he couldn't help himself from pulling them in closer.

"Good," Isabela spoke as she and Dolores hugged their tio tightly, "Because YOU were the one who we were coming to play with!"

Bruno raised an eyebrow, "I was?"

"Yep!" Isabela gave that big smile that just told him that she KNEW that she had him (and the other adults, but mostly him) wrapped around her little finger…which was absolutely true. "You have to come play with us, tio!"

Bruno put a hand to his mouth to keep the girls from seeing his smile. He then scratched his chin in (pretend) thought, "Well…I don't know. I mean, I'd certainly LIKE to play with you girls. But you DID interrupt me while I was in serious thought…and you didn't even say "Please" at that." Bruno slightly turned, but quickly found his ruana being grabbed by two pairs of tiny hands.

"We're sorry, tio!" Isabela cried as she threw her arms around Bruno's leg.

"We didn't mean to bother you!" Dolores pushed her face into Bruno's ruana. The seer's eyes widened in concern and realization, understanding that he had gone too far with his joke.

"Don't worry! Don't worry!" Bruno knelt and pulled his sobrinas into his arms (who promptly wrapped their arms around their tio's neck), "Y-You were just EXCITED, that's all! A-And I was only telling a stupid joke, anyway! I-I would LOVE to p-play with you g-guys! I-If you still want, t-that is!" Sniffling a bit (breaking Bruno's heart even further), both girls pulled themselves away from Bruno to look him in the eye.

"Y-You really want to?" Dolores asked, pressing the tips of her index fingers together.

"You aren't just saying that?" Isabela pressed on, rubbing at the end of her shoulder-length hair.

"A-Absolutely!" Bruno's eyes then widened, "N-NOT! Or…wait, I mean…-," Bruno ran his hand down his face (causing his sobrinas to laugh), "…-I mean that I would LOVE to play with you guys. I ABSOLUTELY mean it!"

"YAY!" Isabela and Dolores cried out in joy before latching onto Bruno's hands and pulling him out of Casita to play. The three would spend the next hour and a half playing tag, hide and seek, and "Climb on Tio Bruno" (a game that they had invented that morning). It all ended with the two girls snuggling in their tio's arms as he told them a story about a brave knight who vanquished an evil sorceress and her army of monsters to save his one true love.

A perfect afternoon, if Bruno was allowed his opinion.


"Tio? TIO? TIO BRUNO!" Said man leaped off of the ground at the sudden yell, promptly hitting his head against the tree.

"Ow," he held a hand to the back of his hand.

"Ay Dios Mío! Tio, are you alright?!" Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Bruno looked to see Isabela kneeling next to him with a concerned expression on her face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dolores on his other side.

"Y-Yeah," Bruno coughed into his hand, hoping that his long hair blocked his embarrassed face, "I'm fine. D-Don't worry about me, sobrina. J-Just, getting myself hurt by being a klutz. Like normal," he chuckled nervously as he scratched the side of his face.

To his relief, however, both young women softly laughed.

"Just like old times," Dolores nearly whispered, taking ahold of Bruno's hand into hers as she moved to sit on his left.

"Yeah tio," Isabela scooted to Bruno's right, "Be careful, or Papa will get upset with you for trying to take his place." Isabela nudged Bruno with her elbow with a wiggle of her eyebrows, which caused all of them to laugh out loud (or…louder than usual, in Dolores' case).

Soon, the area was enveloped by silence. Unlike the silence that he had become accustomed to within the walls (the ones that messed with his mind and, more often than not, left him crumbling on the floor in a puddle of his own tears), this one was calm. Relaxing. Nice.

"You know," Bruno spoke up, causing both girls to look at him, "You two don't have to waste time with your crazy old tio if you don't want to," Bruno chuckled, rubbing the edge of his ruana nervously.

Dolores poked Bruno's cheek (causing him to flinch), "And, why does it not occur to you that we're here because we WANT to be?"

"Yeah, we're big girls, tio," Isabela smirked, "We can decide on what we want to do."

"I-I know that! I'm just s-saying, you know," still rubbing on the edge of his ruana, Bruno reached behind him and knocked on the tree, "Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock…knock on wood," after finishing by knocking on his head, Bruno let out a breath, "If being here with me makes you upset, I'd rather you guys would be off doing something you'd want to do. J-Just don't want to be a bother, you know?"

"You're NOT a bother, Tio Bruno-," Dolores squeezed his hand tighter, "-and you need to STOP thinking otherwise."

"But I'm so good at self-deprecation! It's so easy too!" Bruno chuckled a bit but quickly stopped when he saw the firm frown and raised eyebrow of Dolores. Feeling small despite his age, Bruno looked to the ground, "You know you look like your mama when you glare at me like that."

"Good. Then maybe you'll listen when I tell you to stop it!" She poked him in the chest, "You are NOT a bother, or a burden, or any other words like that! Thinking otherwise for even a second is idiotic and I won't let ANYONE think that way. That includes YOU!"

Bruno moved his head back when Dolores' finger pressed against his nose, "Can you stop poking me, please?!"

Dolores didn't listen and poked his cheeks in rapid succession, "Not until I know you're listening! Stop thinking that way! No one is bothered by you, and no one is upset with you," Dolores then motioned toward her prima, "Isa, back me up. Tell him." Isabela, however, was silent. When both Dolores and Bruno looked at the girl, they found her staring at her hands with a frown on her face. "Isa?"

"I can't say that, Lola. Because…because I am upset." Isabela knew that her prima and tio were staring at her (likely in shock), but she couldn't be bothered to look at them.

Isabela had been silent during Dolores' "rant" (something that she hasn't heard from her in a VERY long time), simply shaking her head with a small smirk. Until Bruno mentioned them being "upset" with him…and Isabela couldn't stop her thoughts from traveling.

The way that Bruno's face dropped was like that of a sad puppy, "O-Oh."

"Isa!" Dolores hissed at her prima, who didn't react at all.

"N-No Dolores, it's fine," Bruno placed a hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her back to keep her in place. He then turned to his eldest sobrina, "I-Isa…could you at least tell me w-why you're upset with me in the first place?" Isabela knew that both of their gazes were on her (one confused and upset while the other was quite annoyed) but she kept her own sight on the ground.

Eventually, however…she spoke.

"You. Left," Isabela bluntly spoke through gritted teeth, her hands clenching on her dress.

Oh. Oh. Ooooooooooooh.

"Isa-," Bruno reached for his sobrina's shoulder but she pulled herself out of his grasp.

"You left me. You left all of us. You just-," Isabela furiously rubbed away the tears forming in her eyes, two small cacti popping up at her feet. "It's not that I'm not happy that you're back, because I am." Isabela had "gathered" herself after a few moments but the frown hadn't left her face, "But that doesn't change the fact that you LEFT, and I'm sick of pretending that I'm not upset. That it didn't hurt."

"Isabela, that's not fair," Dolores spoke up, "Tio Bruno left to protect Mirabel. It was too risky to let Abuela see that vision."

"No Dolores," Bruno spoke up, "Don't defend me."

"What? But…tio-."

"Stop," Bruno gently (but firmly) told her, causing her to lean back against the tree with a frown. Once he was certain that Dolores wasn't going to speak up again, he turned back to Isabela, "Sobrina…you're right."

Both young women look at the older man in confusion, "Huh?"

"I said you're right," the timid and sad look on Bruno's face was gone, now replaced by an expression that looked almost…serene. "Listen…when I had that vision the night that your sister didn't get her Gift, I was scared. Not just because of what I saw, but because of how I thought everyone would react. I had spent decades as the one who people looked at with fear or disappointment, and I didn't want that for Mirabel. I knew that Mama would want to know the vision more than anything and that I wouldn't be able to stand up to her. I only wanted to protect Mirabel…but none of that changes the fact that I chose to hide the vision, I chose to run away, and I chose to stay away for ten years. I wasn't tricked or forced; I made the conscious choice to do what I did." Bruno sighed as he ran a hand through his hair (looking even older than he already was), "I made what I thought was the best decision at the time for everyone involved. Maybe…maybe things would have gone better if I wasn't such a coward. If I could just…if I could just-," Bruno pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out another sigh, "You're right, Isa. I didn't think about how you kids or anyone else in the family would feel about me leaving…and I'm so, SO sorry for hurting all of you."

"It's easy to be sorry after you've already done it," Isabela muttered as she picked at the ground.

Bruno chuckled a bit, "Well…to be fair, it IS pretty difficult to apologize before you mess up. Although, you would think that I would be pretty good in that regard. You know…future seeing and all." That TINY upturn of Isabela's lips increased Bruno's confidence (if only slightly), "But…I AM sorry for what I did. I…honestly thought that it would be better in the long run for everyone involved. Not only would Mirabel not have that damn vision hanging over her head, but the entire family wouldn't have to be weighed down by "Bad Luck Bruno". I never stopped to consider how anyone else would feel because I didn't think that it would be that big of a deal."

"It was," Isabela muttered, the fire in her tone and eyes now all but extinguished. By this point, even Dolores was looking sad.

"I know," Bruno spoke lowly with a nod, "And I'm so sorry for what I did. For how much I hurt you. If there was anything I could do to make you feel better, I would…but I don't think there is."

Isabela was silent. Her glare had faded, and she couldn't bring up the energy to be angry. This had been burning in the back of her mind since Mirabel and Abuela had brought him back.

She was THRILLED to have her Tio Bruno back. Of course she was. How could she not be? She loved her mama and papa. She loved her tio and tia, and her abuela…but Bruno had been her favorite adult when she was a kid.

(Frankly, she was positive that he was EVERY grandchild's favorite before he…left)

Whereas the other adults were usually either too busy or "unwilling" to play with the kids when they asked, Bruno hardly ever said "No" (as long as it didn't hurt them or anyone else). He wouldn't care about things like "time" or "appearance"; he would be happy just to spend time with them. He would look at them with so much pride and love that it would make Isabela (who always tried to prove how "mature" she was) feel all embarrassed. Even before Mirabel's ceremony (and the beginning of Isabela's decision to try and be "perfect" in an attempt to protect her hermanita), Bruno felt like the one sturdy island in an ever-evolving ocean. Someone who never failed to make the children (and even the adults, on occasion) feel better and happy no matter what.

When he disappeared, it felt like someone had torn away a piece of her heart. One of her favorite people, one of the few who would never care about any "image" being put up, was just…gone. She remembered feeling so…angry in the months after. How could he just ABANDON them like that?!

How could he just abandon her?

(What didn't help matters was how her life slowly but surely began working away from the vision he had given her as a kid. Instead of the "life of her dreams" and her "power growing like the grapes that thrive on the vine", she was pushed into a future she didn't want and had her Gift limited just to look "pretty")

When the "We Don't Talk About Bruno" rule appeared, Isabela accepted it without a fight. Not only because of her own frustration but because she thought it would be best for the little ones (who were absolutely DEVASTATED when Bruno left). But…every once in a while, she would get a reminder that her mind and heart wouldn't let her forget. The right shade of green, the scurrying of a rat once in a blue moon (Tio Bruno did love his rats), or seeing an older relative playing with children.

That one especially hurt.

There was a part of her that wanted to be angry. That wanted to yell at Bruno for leaving them, at Dolores for keeping his presence in Casita a secret for ten years, at the other adults in the family for making Bruno feel like he couldn't trust them with that vision, and even at the villagers for grinding her Tio's confidence and self-esteem away into dust since he was five. She wanted to scream and cry and tear apart the ground with her Gift until there was nothing left around her.

But…there was another part of her that didn't want to be angry anymore. Her family was FINALLY complete again. They were opening up to ensure that they didn't (unintentionally) hurt each other again and were firmly standing up to the villagers to make sure that THEY didn't cause any problems for the family in the future.

It was SO easy to be angry…but that doesn't mean that it was the best option.

"Promise me."

Bruno was caught off-guard by both Isabela's words and the intense look in her eyes, "W-What?!"

"Promise. Me. You always said that you would NEVER break a promise to us…so promise me. Right here and right now. Promise me that you'll NEVER leave us again!"

Bruno would be lying if he said that he wasn't intimidated by the glare on Isabela's glare (not exactly a surprise, seeing as how every woman in this family could get a pretty scary look in their eyes when you REALLY pissed them off). But then he looked at her. REALLY looked. Despite the fire in her eyes, Bruno was able to see what truly lay within.

Fear. True fear at the mere IDEA of him leaving again.

"Isa-," Bruno raised a hand to cup Isabela's cheek but frozen about an inch away from her skin. Whether consciously or unconsciously, Isabela moved forward so that they were touching. "Please…listen to me, and listen to me closely: I promise that I will NEVER leave our family again." Even beyond understanding that his actions after Mirabel's ceremony weren't the best decision he could have made, Bruno didn't want to leave again. It hurt him SO much to have to spend the last decade so close yet so far from his family, unable to be a part of their lives in any meaningful way. He…He couldn't do that again, no matter what. "On my life, on my SOUL, I swear that I will NEVER leave again. Please, believe me, mi luz."

Mi luz. My light. A nickname she hadn't heard in ten years because the other adults had come to an unspoken agreement that it would be for the best if Bruno's personal nicknames for the kids had gone with him. (1)

Isabela tried not to. She blinked her eyes to keep away the tears and bit down on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. But hearing Bruno speak like that and being so passionate about a promise to her…

Isabela felt like she was five years old again.

Bruno couldn't help but let out a small scream when Isabela suddenly threw her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. But his shock quickly faded when he noticed how his eldest sobrina quietly cried against his shoulder. Despite his initial concern, however, he didn't feel concerned about the tears that she shed.

"I missed you…SO much, Tio Bruno," Isabela breathed against Bruno's shoulder.

Bruno wrapped his arms around Isabela's body, gently running his hand through her hair (like he used to always do when she was sad), "I missed you too, sobrina. All of you."

"Well then-" Dolores (who remained quiet throughout this whole endeavor out of respect) spoke up, causing Isabela to peek an eye out. Her prima held her hands together and was smiling at the two of them, tears visible in her eyes, "-does that mean I can get in that hug?"

Isabela let out a watery chuckle as she simply held her arm out (feeling too emotional for one of her usual snarky comebacks), prompting Bruno to do the same. Dolores tightly wrapped her arms around her tio and melliza, pressing kisses against each of their cheeks before resting her face against them.

Bruno sat there, holding his eldest sobrinas in his arms. If he shut his eyes, he could almost imagine that he was holding his two little girls in his lap again.

But this was better. The family was finally talking to each other (TRULY talking) and making real progress to fix their problems. Regardless of the pain and difficulty their path had held, it felt like they were finally on the right track.

But those thoughts (while pleasant and hopeful) were pretty complicated, and he just wanted to relax with his sobrinas for the foreseeable future.

(Author's Note: Annnnnnnnd scene!

(1): I am firmly of the opinion that Bruno has his own personal nickname for each of his sisters' children (and that the other adults came to an unspoken agreement that those "special nicknames" should go with the missing Tio).

Hope this chapter gets some feels out. It actually has a little story behind it.

Originally, this was only going to be Bruno with a younger Isabela and Dolores (definitely before Camilo and Mirabel were born). This was inspired by numerous stories I read about Bruno interacting with the grandkids in their youth, but primarily by chapter 6 of "Through The Roof, To The Skies" by "Sokkas_First_Fangirl" on Archive Of Our Own. I decided to include a setting in the modern day after thinking about how Isabela would react to Bruno's return. Out of the three eldest grandkids, I can see Isabela being the one really upset with him. Dolores knew that he was around, and I could see Luisa focusing more on the joy of him being back rather than being upset at his leaving.

A while ago (probably no more than two months after I first saw the movie), I saw a fanfic that ran with the idea that Bruno was the one who needed to apologize for leaving. At first, I thought that was madness! Especially after everything he'd been through and sacrificed for his family.

But then I got to thinking. REALLY thinking. What if we put ourselves in the position of Bruno's family: a beloved relative of ours just leaves in the middle of the night? No explanation and not even a goodbye. We don't know where they are, if they're okay, or whether they're even alive or dead. That goes on for ten years and THEN we find out that they have been living SO close by the entire time. Any of us would be glad our relative was back but angry at what they did. That's what I wanted to explore in this chapter.

Plus...I feel like Bruno's decision to go into the walls was pretty stupid if you REALLY think about it. Alma asked him for a vision immediately after the first "failed" Gift Ceremony...it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Alma would connect Bruno's disappearance to whatever he saw in Mirabel's future.

Here's how I summarize Bruno's decision: well-meaning, but stupid. I understand why he did it and still love the guy (one of my favorites), though...don't get it twisted.

Constructive criticism ONLY…no flames, please.

Review, Favorite, Follow, and I'll see you guys next time:)