by the time lunch arrived they had gotten clothes, having gotten them for very cheap from Miras work and the twins bathroom supplies. now they were sitting in one of the only two restaurants in the town(both of which were run by the same familia) giving the only girl in the trio a lesson in Portuguese.
"so how do I say 'I love my family'?" Mira asked.
"Eu amo minha família" Lucas replied. he already looked much healthier in his buttoned-up shirt striped with yellow & blue, dark brown pants and black alpargatas, the flower Mira now knew as the golden trumpet tree flower on his left ear.
she had to admit he looked surprisingly attractive with his hair tied back in a ponytail and his speech smooth and calm.
"Eu amo minha família" Mira repeated.
"wanna hear how to say f-ck?" Miguel grinned. he was thinner than his brother but it could hardly be seen in his buttoned-up brown shirt over-top a white t-shirt, dark brown pants, very dark brown alpargatas and the earring mirroring his twins. the only thing that gave his unhealthy weight away was the black cloth tied around his waist.
Mira made a note to ask if she could embroider any of his outfit later. his hair also reached his collarbone and he kept fiddling with it and pushing it away from his face. she knew he'd love his haircut.
"no thank you" Mira declined.
"you gotta know it if you want to have a normal conversation with Miguel in Portuguese" Lucas joked, putting his arms behind his head.
"hey!" Miguel exclaimed while Mira laughed.
"so what are you going to do when we get back?" Lucas asked.
"I was wondering if I could embroider your clothes for you. I can already see what I'd put on them" Mira questioned nervously, to which Lucas' eyes lit up.
"you like embroidery too? I love it! none of our clothes back in Brazil were safe from my skills. what's your favorite thing to embroider?" he exclaimed.
"yellow butterflies. they were everywhere in my childhood home" Mira replied with excitement, taking quick note at Miguel rolling his eyes.
"I like embroidering yellow flowers like the one me and Miguels earrings are of. its our favorite flower and was all around our childhood town" Lucas explained, fiddling with his earring.
"man have I missed your annoying little embroidery rambles" Miguel laughed, sending more joy into Lucas' eyes.
despite what anyone in the Encanto said, Mirabel was observant, probably the most out of all the Madrigals. she noticed small movements like how in rhythm with her eye Luisas shoulders would shake ever so slightly and how Isabelas shoulders would just slightly sulk when she saw Alma. Mira was now noticing when one of the boys showed joy, the others eyes lit up, causing a sort of cycle of them making the other happier.
Mira could only imagine what the twins had been through with those bandits. Daniela had told her about how Miguels wrists and ankles were bruised and sore when she untied them, showing how long they'd stayed there. Andres had told her how Lucas had more bruises on his back and stomach than he could bring himself to count.
the thought brought a tear to her eyes. she saw how the color in Miguels left eye was slightly faded compared to his rights and how his depth perception was off, causing him to bump into both people and objects multiple times. if she looked close enough she could see the scar across his eye and the way his left eyelid drooped slightly more than his right. the evidence was there and no one could deny it. Miguel Santos was blind in his left eye because of physical abuse he recieved from bandits.
"so what kind of stuff did you embroider on your clothes growing up?" Lucas asked, bringing her back to the present.
"oh I still have my favorite outfit. its a little scratched up but it still shows all my familias symbols. flowers for my hermana Isabela, animals for my favorite primo Antonio, a rain cloud for my tia Pepa, that stuff" Mirabel shrugged.
"I'd love to see it" Lucas smiled.
"here it is" Mira declared, pulling out her old dress from her closet.
"its beautiful. how long did it take you to make it?" Lucas asked, crouching down slightly to look at it.
"about a month. although Alma told me to go change when I first wore it. but she never commented on it again after I didn't change out of it so" she explained before shrugging.
"she sounds mean. she your tia or something?" Lucas questioned.
"no, she was my abuela" Mirabel replied, ignoring the past tense she used.
"then why didn't you call her 'abuela Alma'?" he queried as he stood up straight.
Mira stuttered, looking for an answer she couldn't find.
"so this means 'can we come out now'" Aaron knocked the words as he said them on the table.
across from him was Miguel, who quickly copied his movements.
"you know. I can only see through my right eye" Miguel admitted.
"oh I knew" Aaron nodded.
"you made it pretty obvious. you've bumped into me twice today and its only the afternoon" Aaron continued.
"I used to hate Lucas' embroidery rambles and how he kept asking if he could embroider my clothes after he'd embroidered all of his but after the bandits, all I get from it is joy. we never had the time to talk about such small things like doodling on clothes when we were with those-those idiotas!" Miguel couldn't continue once he became a sobbing mess and Aaron hugged him tight.
"your not with them anymore, you can worry about stuff like that now" Aaron reminded him.
"Miguel! are you alright?" Lucas called out as he entered the room, rushing over when he saw his twin.
"I'm fine. I'm just happy you can worry about dumb stuff like embroidery" Miguel replied, letting out a small laugh.
Lucas smiled as Mira entered the room behind him.
"well I'm glad I have someone to talk to about embroidery" Mira smiled.
"same here. Miguel always tuned me out" Lucas grinned, putting his arm over her shoulders.
"sometimes I think Antonio did the same" Mira replied, earning a laugh from Aaron.
knocking from the front door interrupted their conversation.
their eyes widened as the twins looked at each other confused, not knowing what the knocking meant.
the bandits are here