(Author's Note: Hello my readers, and welcome to a new chapter! Just came off of a pretty eventful last couple of days with visiting family (no less than FORTY people in my house), but I'm back with my writing.
Not much else to say here except…hope you enjoy:)
Chapter Fourteen: A Day with Tio
Concept: For the first time in ten years, Bruno was able to relax and enjoy being with his family. Though truth be told, he hadn't expected anyone to truly want to spend time with him by CHOICE...fortunately for him, though, the two youngest Madrigals seek to prove this belief wrong.
Bruno couldn't keep the pleased sigh from leaving his lips if he wanted to as he lowered his mug to the table. He could hear his sisters giggling nearby but couldn't be bothered to care.
"Enjoying that coffee, hermano?" Julieta teased while Pepa giggled like a girl less than a fifth her age.
"Very much," Bruno responded without even looking her way. Hey, he had gone ten years without the beloved beverage and he wasn't going to be dissuaded in any way.
"THERE you are!" All three triplets flinched at the sudden yell of Mirabel, who had raced over into the kitchen. Taking a moment to "steady herself" (seemingly having been running for who knows how long), Mirabel looked towards Bruno with a bright smile, "We've been for you all OVER, Tio!" Before anyone could say anything, Mirabel turned to her right, "Antonio! I found him!" In mere moments, the youngest Madrigal came zooming into the kitchen and threw himself onto Bruno's lap (causing the older man to grunt).
"T-Tonito!" Bruno coughed out as he scrambled to properly hold his sobrino in his arms. "Be careful!" But any frustration Bruno had (which already wasn't much) died out when Antonio pulled his face from Bruno's stomach and gave a smile brighter than the sun. He really is his mother's child, isn't he? Bruno couldn't help but think in amusement.
"Tio Bruno! We've been looking for you all over Casita!"
The seer raised a single eyebrow, "Really?"
"YUP!" Mirabel replied, "Do you have any plans today, tio? Anything you have to do or anywhere you have to go?"
"Uh-," Bruno looked between her and Antonio, both of whom were looking at him with bright and hopeful eyes, "-n-not much, no. I-I mean, I was GOING to work on my next telenovela, but I still need to figure out the plot. S-So I guess there's nothing definite put down and-."
"Alright!" Mirabel suddenly called out (causing Bruno to flinch), moving to place her hand on her tio's shoulder, "That's great!"
"Whhhhhhy?" Bruno asked, looking at his sobrina with slight suspicion in his eyes.
Antonio stood up and placed his hands on Bruno's cheeks, smushing them in the process, "Because we're here to KIDNAP you!" Bruno looked at Antonio like he had two heads while Julieta chuckled and Pepa cackled out loud.
"Is that true, mija?" Julieta asked, still smiling.
"YEP!" Mirabel replied to her mother, still smiling that bright and confident smile, "Tonito and I were hanging out in his room when he said that he wanted to spend time with Tio Bruno…and I decided that it was an EXCELLENT idea. Plus, it just makes sense."
Julieta raised an eyebrow, "Makes sense?"
"Yep." Mirabel then motioned to herself, Antonio, and Bruno (whose cheeks were still being smushed), "We're all the youngest of our respective sibling lines. Of COURSE, we need to hang out together!"
"She's right, Juli," Pepa spoke, having calmed herself down enough to talk, smirking wickedly, "I think it's VERY important for the precious "Madrigal Babies" to spend time together."
Bruno rolled his eyes and threw his arms out, "Ah dios mio, you are SEVEN minutes older than me, Pepa!"
"And I both learned AND matured a lot in those seven minutes," she responded instantly, almost as if this was a conversation that had been repeated hundreds if not thousands of times (which it likely has been).
"So then-," Mirabel appeared by Bruno's side and pulled him up by his arm while she snatched Antonio up in her other arm, "-let's GO, Tio!"
"B-But even still, wouldn't you guys be able to have more fun on your own? I-I'm sure that you don't want your weird old Tio Bruno messing things up."
"Hey now," Julieta nudged her brother with her elbow, "They're clearly asking for a reason, you know."
"Mama's right," Mirabel spoke up, "We wouldn't ask you to come with us if we didn't WANT you to." Then, she moved her mouth to Antonio's ear, "Now Tonito…do the thing." The two youngest Madrigals pressed their cheeks together and stuck out their bottom lips, looking at their tio with big eyes full of "sadness" like they were a split second from bursting into tears. Julieta and Pepa saw the fight leave their brother's body so fast that they couldn't help but laugh out loud (which caused him to glare at them).
It was a well-known fact in the Madrigal household that Bruno was completely and absolutely weak to his sisters' children. He would always play with them when they asked, dropping everything at a word from them, and would let them do almost anything they wanted (as long as it was safe, of course). Isabela and Dolores had figured this out before he left and thoroughly enjoyed the knowledge that they had their Tio Bruno wrapped around their little fingers (and still do to this day).
"Alright, alright…knock it off already," Bruno muttered, looking at the floor with red cheeks, "I was gonna say yes anyway."
"Better safe than sorry!" Mirabel replied, she and Antonio quickly changing from sad pouts to bright smiles. "Now then-," she quickly stepped to Bruno's side (still holding onto Antonio) and grabbed him by the arm, "-off we go!"
Despite how they teased their hermano, Julieta and Pepa couldn't help but smile wistfully as he was dragged outside by their children. As happy as they were to have Bruno back (and even that felt like it BARELY conveyed their true feelings), there was also a great deal of sadness at the fact that they had gone a DECADE without their brother in their lives (never mind the fact that he had been within Casita's walls the entire time). All of the anger and refusal to speak his name came from a deep sense of sadness of the idea of their triplet, a part of their very soul, was gone and that they may never see him again.
But he was back now. He was here and he was NEVER leaving them again (they would make sure of it). It had taken some time for him to fully "reintegrate" into the family but that time and effort hadn't gone to waste.
Being as great of a tio as he is, it came as no surprise that Bruno was quicker to bond with the children. Even though he was still a little hesitant, the kids didn't hesitate at all to hang out with their Tio Bruno as often as they could.
Seeing their children being so happy at being with their Tio Bruno? It warmed their hearts more than they could imagine.
"-and then Pico flew in-between the trees and Parce got stuck between them!" Antonio held a hand to his mouth to keep himself from laughing, but he waved for Bruno to lean down. When the seer did, Antonio whispered into his ear, "Promise you won't tell Parce I'm laughing, okay? He can be kinda sensitive." Bruno couldn't decide what was funnier: the fact that a jaguar could be "sensitive" or the fact that Antonio actually thought that Bruno would say anything like that to his carnivorous friend.
"I promise, Tonito. Not a word of it will pass from these lips." Bruno held a finger to his mouth and winked at his youngest sobrino, who smiled and went back to happily munching on his churro (topped with sugar and caramel).
(Bruno was 90% positive that Mirabel had only bought churros so that he would eat something. Especially seeing as how she got herself and Antonio a single churro, while she made him eat two)
Bruno simply…watched as Antonio crawled over his lap to talk to Mirabel, with the two quickly delving into another conversation about Antonio's animals.
Truth be told, Bruno hadn't remembered the last time that he smiled so big for so long. How could he not be? He had spent the last ten years thinking that he would NEVER get to spend time with his sobrinas and sobrinos like this ever again.
A "necessary sacrifice" was how he always justified it to himself (no matter how much it made him cry).
And now, this? Being able to spend time with Mirabel and Antonio? Not only that but them actually WANTING to spend time with him (seeking him out)? He'll be fully transparent about how happy it makes him.
The only thing that could make it better is if the rest of the kids had gone with them, but beggars can't be choosers (and they were probably busy anyway).
Bruno popped his fingers in his mouth as he finished off his first churro before quickly moving to his second one (as much as he always denied "extra food" when it was given to him, he'd be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy it).
"Oh good God…there goes MY good day," a male voice suddenly rang out from behind them. Whereas Mirabel and Antonio looked back, Bruno flinched at the sudden voice (not needing to turn around to identify the owner).
"W-What do you want, Ricardo?" Bruno didn't even look back as he spoke (hand clenching on the fabric of his ruana).
Ricardo. Yet another person in the village who got a bad vision from Bruno and took it out on the seer. On the one hand, Bruno could sympathize with the man more than others since his vision (which he got when he wasn't even a teenager) was of his mother dying…which happened only a few months later.
On the other hand, however, Ricardo was one of the few villagers who FULLY understood that Bruno only saw the future and couldn't create or control it. He figured this out around their teen years but didn't cease his bullying of the seer (if anything, he seemed to get some sort of twisted joy from letting the misconception thrive in town).
It wouldn't technically be correct to say that Bruno was "afraid" of Ricardo. Truth be told, he dealt with the man too often since childhood to maintain the same level of fear as he has for people he didn't interact with as much.
His main concern was for the kids (who he made sure stayed in his sight).
"Wow! That's all I get from you, Bruno?" Ricardo chuckled, "And here I thought we were pals!" Ricardo slung his arm around Bruno's shoulders, but the shorter man all but SPRANG up like the limb was made of fire (glaring at Ricardo as he brushed off his ruana).
"Don't touch me." Mirabel and Antonio were left stunned and concerned about their tio's reaction to this man (Mirabel, in particular, couldn't help but tighten her grip on her little primo as she glared). Bruno flinched when he realized this and tried to slow his breathing to calm down.
Not very easy to do when the worst tormentor of his youth was less than a foot away from him (with that same cocky smirk and a superior glint in his eyes).
"Whoa, Bruno! Calm down, man. Why so stressed? Can't a guy come up and say "Hi" to an old friend?"
"We're NOT friends," Bruno all but snarled back, motioning for Mirabel to stand (which she did, not putting Antonio down).
"OUCH!" Ricardo placed a hand on his chest, pretending to frown before letting a smirk appear, "You REALLY know how to wound people, don't you fenómeno?" Bruno's eye twitched at the (familiar) insult while Mirabel glared in a combination of anger and shock.
"Excuse ME?!" The teen girl stood up, stomping in front of Bruno, "Who do you think you're calling freak?!" Even little Antonio was glaring in his prima's arms.
"Mirabel," Bruno put a hand on his sobrina's shoulder to try to push her behind him (not wanting either of the kids to be within reach of Ricardo).
Ricardo, however, just laughed, "Your uncle. Wasn't that obvious? Although…I guess you could qualify too, right "Giftless"?" This time, Mirabel was the one to flinch.
"Hey!" Antonio yelled, struggling in Mirabel's arms like he was trying to wiggle out (which she wouldn't let him, obviously), "Don't talk about Mira like that!"
"Hush, squirt. Big people are talking."
"What do you want, Ricardo?" Bruno growled, "Don't you have anything better to do with your time?"
"Of course I do," Ricardo quickly replied, "But it's not every day that we see each other. I COULDN'T just walk away without a proper greeting, now could I?"
"Consider your "greeting" received," Bruno spoke through gritted teeth before he grabbed Mirabel's shoulder and began pushing them both away from Ricardo.
"Hey now," the brown-haired man grabbed Bruno's shoulder (in an intentionally tight grip), "Where are you running off to?"
"None of your business," Bruno shot back as he turned, ensuring to push himself in between Ricardo and the children (hoping that he didn't look as nervous as he felt).
"Hey now, don't be rude Bruno, "Ricardo placed his hands behind his back and leaned down to Bruno's level, "Didn't your mother teach you better than that?"
"Don't speak about my mama," Bruno all but snarled back (which caused Mirabel and Antonio to flinch, even though they knew that they had nothing to fear from their tio).
Just then, Ricardo shoved Bruno as hard as he could (the sudden force knocking him clean off of his feet), "You're the last person who gets to lecture me about "mothers", eres un desastre ambulante."
"Oh, shut up!" Bruno yelled back as he picked himself up, "If you think you're eliciting any sympathy from me, you're wrong! Because I know that YOU know full well how my Gift works, and HAVE known since we were children! You just played that "wounded gazelle" gambit and made those rumors worse because you were a sadistic little brat! And, I can tell you, old age has NOT made you better." Quicker than Bruno could react, he felt a steel-like grip wrap around his throat before slamming him against the nearby building.
"I don't know where this newfound confidence of yours came from," Ricardo snarled, "But I. Don't. Like it!"
"LET GO OF HIM!" Mirabel ran forward and grabbed Ricardo by his arm, pulling with all of her might. Seeing her tio suddenly being pushed to the ground stunned Mirabel so much that she froze up for a few moments, but seeing him being shoved like seem to pull her back to reality.
And then…everything seemed to move at slow-motion as Ricardo (without the slightest shred of hesitation) spun around and backhanded Mirabel!
"MIRABEL!" Antonio (barely saved from hitting the ground due to his prima covering his body with hers) cried out, moving up to her face. He placed his hands on her cheeks and examined her head…before he spun around, glaring at Ricardo so intensely that it was like lightning was coming from his little eyes (he WAS his mother's son, after all), "You JERK! Say you're sorry for hurting Mira!"
Although he raised an eyebrow at the (normally cheery yet shy) little boy screaming at him, Ricardo scoffed even as Antonio began slapping and scratching at his legs. "Stay out of this BRAT-," he shoved Antonio with his foot, sending his falling on his butt, "-if you know what's good for you." He chuckled as Antonio began to cry, holding his (bleeding) hands in front of him, "Let that be a lesson to NOT get involved in grown-up business, animal boy." Ricardo rolled his eyes even as Mirabel raced over to cradle (translation: baby) her little primo, "Now then…as for YOU-," Just then, Ricardo felt a sudden and intense pain in his crotch. Before he could move a hand to cover it, another blow shot into his nose and knocked him to the ground. While on the ground, he held a hand to his nose…only to pull it back and see blood. Rage surged through him as he clenched his hand into a fist, knowing full well what had happened (even if it seemed like an impossibility), "Why you little-!" And then he stopped. Eyes widening and face beginning to pale.
Why, you may ask? What could possibly make such a large, arrogant man freeze in fear? Why, one Bruno Madrigal of course!
But it wasn't Bruno like before. It wasn't the shy, timid man that most of the village had gotten used to. It wasn't even the smiling, snarky man that his family was getting used to seeing again. He was glaring at Ricardo with so much hatred, that it was like he was disgusted by his very existence. The sand by his feet seemed to shift and swirl around him as the sky began to darken. But the worst part? His eyes. Those glowing green eyes seemed to pierce into Ricardo's very soul.
"You know, Ricardo," when Bruno spoke, there almost seemed to be something…mystical to his voice, "When you started bullying me when we were children, I tolerated it because I felt bad for you. After all, I had given you a vision of your mother's death. When she did die, I even began to wonder if I could control the futures I see…and if I truly was responsible for her death. Either way, I understood your pain and forgave you for your behavior." Bruno began walking forward, causing Ricardo to go crawling backward (his legs feeling too weak to stand) until he hit a wall, "As we got older, and your mistreatment got worse, you made it clear that your bullying went beyond my vision…and that you were just a cruel, spiteful little boy. And, even then, I still tried my hardest to forgive you. When I couldn't? I accepted you as an inevitable annoyance in my life. Like a bug in the sun, who wouldn't leave me alone."
That got a reaction out of Ricardo, who promptly picked himself up from the wall, "Who the hell do you think-?!" Just then, Bruno suddenly grabbed Ricardo by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in closer.
"I'm not. Finished. Speaking." Upon seeing Ricardo's fearful expression (and confident that he would stay silent), Bruno shoved him back against the wall, "I suppose it's my own fault for letting this continue for as long as it has. I never stood up to you or ensured that you faced REAL consequences for your actions. The kind that either made you change or stop," Bruno chuckled, "I never wanted to be a bother and had, more or less, learned to simply tolerate my "pariah" status. Do you know what I won't tolerate, however?" Bruno's smirk dropped into a frown as his eyes seemed to glow brighter (almost completely consuming his pupils), "Harm of any kind being brought to mi familia. If there's one thing that I WON'T tolerate…it's that. So, let me make sure that you and I are on the same page: you will leave Mirabel and Antonio alone. In fact…you will leave all of the Madrigals alone from here on out. If you ever lay a hand on them again, or hurt them in ANY way…I'll kill you."
Ricardo couldn't stop the tremble in his body at those words (though the glowing eyes, shifting sand, and darkening sky certainly helped matters). But then, he found something to latch onto.
"I-I'll tell Alma about this! You can't just threaten people like this! Y-You'll have to answer for this offense!" Instead of panicking or even getting angrier at Ricardo's threats…Bruno just chuckled.
"Okay. Let's go."
"W-What?!"
"I. Said. Let's. Go. Despite our differences throughout the years, mi mama does know who I am as a person. If she finds out that I had threatened someone's life, she'll be VERY curious as to what could have caused her "Brunito" to act in such a manner. So, let's go tell her together why I said such a thing." Just then, he snapped, "As a matter of fact, let's get mi hermanas and cuñados involved as well. I'm sure that they would be VERY interested to hear about how you treated their babies." Bruno tilted his head, "Don't you?" Ricardo froze, likely realizing that Bruno was 100% correct (and not wanting to be on the wrong side of the anger of more Madrigals, especially Pepa and Julieta).
"You…y-you-!"
"Y-You, y-you," Bruno mocked before rolling his eyes, "Shut up already. Now then-," he looked back at Ricardo with an almost bored expression, "Do you and I understand each other?"
"I-I-…-."
"Let me reiterate, just to make sure there's no confusion. A: you can leave my family alone, B: we can go visit them together and tell them about what's happened, or C:-," Bruno suddenly grabbed the back of Ricardo's neck, causing the larger man to freeze, looking him dead in his eyes, "-I can make good on my threat. Right here…right now. So, which will it be? A, B, or C?" The cheerful tone that Bruno had undertaken only terrified Ricardo further. Between his visible magic and how he acted, Ricardo began to wonder if he truly understood who Bruno was.
If he truly understood what this man was capable of.
Eventually, Ricardo looked away, "A-A," he muttered.
Bruno moved closer, "Then why are you still here?" After whispering in Ricardo's ear, Bruno promptly let him go and took a step back. "Get out of my sight…before I change my mind." Ricardo took one last look into Bruno's (still glowing) eyes before promptly fleeing as quickly as he could (without outright running, anyway). Once the man was finally out of sight, Bruno took in a DEEP breath as he calmed himself down (causing the sand to fall, the sky to regain its brightness, and the green to fade from his eyes).
"Whoa." Bruno leaped at Mirabel's voice, remembering that he and Ricardo weren't alone. "That was…certainly something, Tio."
Bruno. Was. Mortified.
"I-I'm sorry! I-I forgot you guys were there! I d-didn't mean for you to s-see that. D-Damn IT! I-I-I didn't mean…I mean, I didn't w-want-!" Just then, during his rambling, Mirabel surprised Bruno by stomping forward and wrapping her free arm around him as tightly as she could. Bruno all but froze as Mirabel buried her face into his neck and Antonio wrapped his little arms as far around him as he could, "W-What are-?"
"You have NOTHING to apologize for, Tio Bruno. We should be THANKING you!"
Bruno's eyes widened so much that they looked like they were about to pop right out of his skull, "B-But I scared you. A-All I-."
"Don't be silly, Tio Bruno," Antonio spoke up, "You didn't scare us."
"H-Huh?"
"You only need to be scared of things that hurt you. And you would NEVER hurt us…so we have no reason to be afraid of you." Antonio finished his sentence with a confident nod as if that was just the way it was.
It took every last TRACE of Bruno's willpower to keep himself from bursting into tears.
"Tonito's right," Mirabel (likely noticing how emotional Bruno was getting) spoke up, "Besides, that was pretty cool?"
"C-Cool?"
"Yeah! I remember everything getting darker when you had a vision in Antonio's room, and how your magic always forms those tablets from sand, but I've never seen or heard of anything like that!"
Bruno's cheeks darkened, "W-Well…I've never really known why the sky and the sand react with my Gift," he shrugged, "J-Just afterthoughts, I guess. I've always suspected that I could do more specifically, but I never really tried (1). I can actually make my eyes glow without seeing the future," to demonstrate, he blinked…and his eyes promptly glowed, "Pretty useful trick when I want to look intimidating. I-I guess it's kind of like…I was using my magic without seeing the future, s-so those were the "effects" let out. I still wished you hadn't seen that, but...I just go so angry and-," Bruno's eyes started to glow brighter as he glared.
"Hey," Mirabel grabbed his shoulder, "It's alright. You were only protecting us. You did something GOOD; you have nothing to apologize for."
"S-Still-."
"No!" Antonio reached up and grabbed Bruno's cheeks, squishing them as hard as he could (which wasn't very hard), "You didn't scare us and chased away a mean guy! Those are GOOD things! And me and Mira say you can't be sad…so you can't be sad!"
Mirabel then took on what could only be described as a "shit-eating grin" on her face, "Well…Antonio put it best, didn't he? And you can't argue with Antonio," she then smushed her baby cousin's face, "He's too cute."
Bruno chuckled, feeling more of the tension and fear leaving his body as he ruffled his sobrino's hair, "Well, that is true." Antonio reached out to his uncle, who promptly took him from Mirabel's arms.
"Can we go have fun now that the mean man is gone?" Just then, Antonio's eyes widened, "Oh! Can we go play with my friends?! Juancho, Cecila, and Alexandra have been asking about you!"
Mirabel laughed, "I can second that!"
This time, Bruno laughed out loud (easily the largest he had all day). "Sure. Whatever you want, kids."
Hands held together, Dolores speed-walked toward the kitchen where the adults (minus Abuela and Tio Bruno) were.
Earlier today, she had been on a date with Mariano (feeling happier than she had felt in a LONG time) when she happened to overhear her youngest prima scream "LET GO OF HIM!" Dolores turned her head to focus on the sound (appreciating Mariano's recognition that she was trying to focus on something important)…and heard it all from there.
Ricardo Sanchez. She knew all about him. Even if she hadn't heard the stories of how awful he was to the triplets (as well as her papa and tio for standing up to him), she knew that he was an absolute scumbag already. He was selfish, arrogant, and greedy. He only cared about himself and didn't care how his desires affected other people.
He was also a perfect example of the villagers' "privileged" mindset, seeing as how he always expected the family to do things for him without even PRETENDING to be polite about it. He didn't even have the decency to ask and just barked orders as if they were his pets. Even Abuela held no appreciation or respect for him, but he had QUITE the silver tongue on him and knew how to get enough people on his side to maintain a "good public image".
Or…good enough, anyway.
Things had gotten a bit better since the collapse and reconstruction of Casita. With everyone in a better condition to support one another (as well as Abuela not putting the well-being of the village over that of her family), Ricardo wasn't able to pick on/demean them as he did before. He'd actually been pretty "quiet" (pun not intended) over the last few months, so Dolores had foolishly thought that he had even turned over a new leaf as well.
That was a mistake.
Continuing to listen, Dolores eventually calmed down (and was pleasantly surprised) when she heard how Tio Bruno had…"handled" the situation. That was hours ago, but she wasn't going to let Ricardo get away with attacking her family without extended punishment.
"Mama? Papa? Tio? Tia? May I speak to you for a moment?" Dolores asked as she stepped into the kitchen.
"Of course, mija," Felix nodded, "What's up?"
"It's about Senor Sanchez," Dolores spoke simply, noticing how all four of their expressions immediately darkened at that name.
"What happened, sobrina?" Agustin asked just before his eyes narrowed, "Did he do something? Was he bothering you?" The crackle of thunder that followed was expected, so Dolores pushed herself through it.
"Not me," she answered, "But he was bothering Tio Bruno when he, Mirabel, and Antonio were out in town." Dolores knew fully well the reaction that she was about to get from her next words, but they needed to hear this part, "From what I heard, he attacked Tio Bruno, hit Mirabel, and pushed Tonito to the ground." The INSTANT that she finished her sentence, Dolores covered her ears as tightly as she could…narrowly avoiding the ROAR of thunder that followed.
"WHAT?!" All of the adults called out. It was only when Dolores saw her mama try to calm herself (and her cloud shrunk) that she uncovered her ears.
"Tio Bruno took care of it, though." That got another reaction from the four of them.
Tia Julieta was the first to respond, "He…did?"
"Yes. He stayed…somewhat calm for a while. When he hurt Mira and Tonito, however…it sounded like he hit him twice, and then threatened to kill him if he ever hurt anyone in the family again. Hmph!" To her surprise, mama, papa, and tio started laughing out loud, while tia just chuckled and shook her head.
"That sounds like Brunito," Mama spoke up, "People pick on him and he'll always either downplay or come up with an excuse for them. But the instant that they go after someone he cares about? That's when your tio rains down HELLFIRE."
"Do you think he'd actually do it?" Truth be told, Dolores couldn't say that she would have cared if he did mean it (she HATED that man, and that was BEFORE he hurt her baby prima and hermanito). But it was something that she never would have expected from Bruno.
"Well," Felix ran a hand through his hair, "Normally, I would say that it doesn't matter if someone intends to make good on a threat as long as they're able to convince the one they're threatening that they're serious. But…given Bruno and Ricardo's history? If that man pushes your tio like that again, I can't exactly say that I'd be surprised if Bruno does make good on that threat."
"Assuming Pepa doesn't get to him first," Agustin teased. Dolores noticed how her mama didn't even look offended by that comment; she just crossed her arms and smirked smugly (not a surprise, since everyone knew of her temper and that she was the first to throw punches if someone harms her family).
"We'll deal with Ricardo later," Julieta spoke up, her voice making her anger clear, "In the meantime, Dolores," Julieta stood and put a hand on her sobrina's shoulder, "Do you know where Bruno and the kids are?"
Dolores tilted her head up to listen, and then-, "They're in the living room. Hmph!" With that, the adults quickly raced to said room (with Dolores following).
When they arrived, they saw Alma standing just outside (looking on with a warm smile). She saw them coming and, just as Pepa was about to speak, held a finger to her lips. When she felt confident that they would all stay quiet, she motioned for them to come closer.
When they did so…they understood why Alma looked so happy.
Bruno was lying (length-wise) across the couch. Mirabel was lying on top of Bruno, holding Antonio to her chest while Bruno had his arms wrapped around both of them.
All three were asleep.
Julieta and Pepa had tears in their eyes as they watched their babies in the arms of their brother (a sight that they would have thought impossible only a few months ago). Felix and Agustin wrapped their arms around their wives, smiling just as hard at the sight before him. Dolores linked her arm with Abuela's, who patted her arm as they looked on. When the three woke up, they would be coddled and teased about how adorable the "Madrigal Babies" were.
For now? Their family would let them sleep (agreeing that they needed the rest).
(Author's Note: Annnnnnnnd scene!
(1): One of my biggest and favorite headcanons about the Madrigals is that most of them haven't reached their full magical potential. With Bruno in particular, I have two confident theories for Bruno's full potential and one on a bit shakier ground.
*The first two are that Bruno can manipulate both sand and the weather itself. Why do I think that? In the case of the former, we see Bruno's magic manipulate the sand when he does his visions. So, the idea of Bruno becoming a "Psammokinetic" (someone who can manipulate sand, BTWs) isn't outside the realm of possibility.
*In the case of the latter, we see not only the wind intensely pick up in Antonio's room when Bruno uses his Gift but we see the sky outside visibly darken as well (we even see people, including Alma, react for a few seconds, so I think the movie was trying to tell us something). So, I don't see it as impossible for Bruno to control the weather like his sister. I think the sand and the weather are aspects of Bruno's Gift that he hasn't been able to consciously activate yet.
*The more "shaky" aspect of Bruno's Gift that I've considered is his having a "heat-based" power. This was because I thought his tablets were glass, and how do you get glass from sand? Heat. Then I heard that they were made of emerald, and I don't know if the same principle applies.
Hope you enjoyed it. I definitely wanted to do something with Bruno, Mirabel, and Antonio, and I hope this was good.
We have the "Madrigal Triplets", the "Madrigal Sisters" (Isabela, Luisa, and Mirabel), and even the "Madrigal Brothers" (Bruno, Agustin, and Felix). I am SO hoping that this chapter will get the ball rolling on getting the phrase "Madrigal Babies" added to this fandom's vocabulary for describing Bruno, Mirabel, and Antonio.
I didn't focus as much on Bruno, Mirabel, and Antonio's time to themselves as I had planned, and I'll admit that this was fairly similar to Chapter 10…but it's just kind of where the story took me.
I am WHOLEHEARTEDLY of the opinion that the quickest way to bring out Bruno's most intense anger is hurting his family, especially if it's one of his nieces and/or nephews. Combined with the fact that Ricardo is someone that he truly hates without any fear, I believe that his reaction is realistic. I've seen a lot of people have Bruno makes threats along the lines of "I'll foresee your future and make you watch/tell you every excruciating detail" in their stories, but those always sounded weird to me (and not very threatening). So, I had him go for the blunt and effective "I'll kill you".
Constructive criticism ONLY…no flames, please.
Review, Favorite, Follow, and I'll see you guys next time:)
