Chapter Text
Camilo laid in his bed facing the ceiling of his room. The bags under his eyes darkened every day as sleep ran from him, often waking up from bad dreams or from chasing you in his dreams. He sighed and ran his hand over his face, stretching out his face that hasn't been used in a while. Groaning, he willed himself to sit up in his bed and swing his legs off the side, only to slump over his legs and place his chin in his hands. Looking into one of the many mirrors he had in his room he cringed.
He looked awful, “gross,” he mumbled, trying to wipe his eye bags away but failing.
Two weeks. It’s been two weeks since Camilo has seen you. Two weeks since you’d stepped foot into the casita Madrigal. Sometimes, when the family went into town for the day, he swears he could see the flash of your skirt around corners or the top of your head in the crowd, but he never caught you. Camilo felt like a kid again, running to the door at every creak with the idea that maybe, just maybe it would be you. And you’d be coming to talk to him. And you’d make up, Camilo would tell you his feelings and then you’d, oh he doesn’t know, kiss? Maybe?
Camilo groaned and shook his head, “that’s not the point.” Camilo has a plan. He has a thorough plan that he’s been coming up with, oh about, two weeks? Give or take. Camilo stood up and walked in front of his mirror, trying to fix his appearance.
He looked his reflection in the eye, “You’re gonna get her attention, ya know, so she doesn’t run away this time,” He sighed and spoke through his teeth, “which was kinda her fault… but anyway, get her attention. Make sure she doesn’t leave and then… tell her.”
Camilo’s face flushed, “gahh, what the hell are you so nervous about, she’s literally already told you how she feels,” he patted his face, closing his eyes, “She. Likes. You.”
Opening his eyes, Camilo was surprised to find you standing where his reflection should be.
“AHH!” The shapeshifter jumped, throwing his hands in the air at your image. He slowly put his arms down when he realized your image followed his movements, and only a second longer to realize that he’d shifted into you. He stood in his mirror, staring at you for a bit longer than he would find comfortable if this was the real you, but it wasn’t, so he kept looking.
His gaze met… yours? And he flushed, looking away for a second before shifting back into himself. Realizing that he just got nervous looking into his own eyes, Camilo shook his head in embarrassment and sat back on his bed.
He patted his cheeks again, “get ahold of yourself man,” before looking at his hands. He stared for a few moments before his hands changed in front of him, not so accidental this time.
Camilo stood in front of his mirror again, his reflection showing the object of all his thoughts once again.
This time, Camilo took some time to take you in. Despite it only being two weeks since he’d seen you, it felt like months. He looked at your hair, your cheeks, your ears. He longed to see the light bounce off your eyes, the curve of your smile and your laugh…
He frowned at his reflection. One of the couple of flaws that came with his so-called gift was that he couldn’t change his voice. God, he could change his whole biology, down to the eyelashes, something that often spent Camilo spiraling, but the one thing he wanted right now was to change his voice. To hear you. To listen to your laugh, your real laugh. He just wanted to hear you, see you, feel you.
Camilo stared at you in the mirror, reaching his hand up to your face. He never had the guts to touch you more than holding hands, more than brushing arms. He covered your lips, thinking about the kiss you’d given him after the wedding. Well, that kiss was more than brushing arms but still, he wanted more.
He wrapped his arms around his- your body, attempting to feel the way that warmth that you always brought with you, but it just didn’t feel the same. It wasn’t really you.
Camilo’s fingers lingered around your waist as he grew more disappointed with the fake you in front of him. His hands dropped and brushed along the curve of your waist, where he had rested his hand during your dance. His hand jerked away and he flushed, embarrassed at his actions, nor trying to take advantage of his gift more than looking.
Taking a deep breath Camilo calmed himself down, looking back at you when an idea came to his head. If he could kill his nerves, if he could practice, maybe he’d be able to get it right this time. Clearing his throat, he stood firmly, which of course made you look a little intimidating too.
“(Y/N)... hey,” Camilo started, but stammered off when he locked eyes with the fake you and groaned, “why are you so hard to talk to!”
He tried again, and again, and… again, but his plan was easier thought than done, Camilo has come to realize. He was about to start again but-
“Is she really here-”
Camilo, well you, spun to look at Dolores who stood in the doorway, still holding onto the doorknob, looking equally surprised as Camilo to see each other. Camilo’s facade just as Dolores opened the door, but his transformation wasn’t missed by his sister who just continued to look stunned.
“...were you doing something… weird?”
“GET OUT OF MY ROOM!”
Dolores peeped before heading out of the room, leaving Camilo standing there with a
red face, dreading leaving his room even more than before now. So he stayed there for a bit… until he got hungry.
–
“Abuela is pushing for Dolores and Mariano to have a kid… again.”
“So nothing really new then.”
Because of your… more than lackluster exit from the Madrigal house all those two weeks ago, you and Mirabel have been meeting in random places around the Encanto, making sure that Camilo couldn’t find you. The current meeting place was by the river that ran through the town, a relaxing site for you two to catch up. Nothing like the casita though.
Mirabel took a bite of an empanada that you’d bought from town, kinda as a thanks for having her make the trek into town for you, “I dunno, she’s really amped it up now, even has my mom wrapping arepas in little diapers.”
You spit your own bite of food out as you laughed at your friend's story, getting her to laugh too, albeit after she swallowed.
“You’re kidding me. I didn’t think your abuela still had it in her still.”
“Eh, she’s not so hard on us anymore, but that doesn’t mean she’s still not an abuela.”
You nodded in agreement, resting back on your palms as you smiled, “I’d kill to see an arepa in a diaper.”
A silence arose in your conversation, one that lasted a bit longer than normal, before Mirabel spoke softly.
“Camilo is still waiting for you to come back.”
You tensed at her words, pursing your lips, “I… it’s something he’d do.”
“He misses you. Like a lot.”
“I miss him… a lot.”
“(Y/N), you gotta talk to him.”
“I know, trust me I know,” you groaned and slumped into the grass gripping your hair, “I feel stupid.”
Mirabel glanced at you with a deadpan face, “you are.” You sighed and released the strands of your locks, sitting up to look at the running water in front of you.
Still watching the water, you brought your knees up to your chin to rest it on your arms, “I just need to work up the courage to apologize,” you sighed and mumbled into your arm, “If I ever do.”
Mirabel tweaked the side of her mouth, “Why wouldn’t you?”
“I’m just… embarrassed?”
“Being embarrassed isn’t a reason to hear Camilo out.”
You made a sound of agreement, “I- I mean, it’s just a weird awkward feeling I guess. It’s stupid I know, but maybe it’s better off this way-”
Mirabel groaned, “No. It’s not. You can’t go to the casita, Camilo can’t see you, you can’t see Camilo,” she looked at you from the side of her eye, “does that really scream ‘paradise’ to you?”
“...no.”
Your friend sighed, “(Y/N), this is going too far, even for you. It’s ridiculous, you both love each other, get over this funk and be together.”
“Well, we don’t know if he loves-”
“(Y/N), do you really think I’d be encouraging you to go talk to Camilo if he didn’t like you, no wait, LOVE you?”
“You guys have said that for years, the jokes gotten pretty old-”
“(Y/N)! It’s not a JOKE!”
You looked over at Mirabel with a surprised look, almost matching Mirabel’s own face, “You… you didn’t think after, oh what is it? EIGHT YEARS? That, maybe, our teasing wasn’t just something to make you all bothered??”
“I-I, well I mean, you guys said it all the time so it didn’t seem-”
Mirabel faced you, grabbing your upper arms, “(Y/N), I want you to hear and process every word coming from my mouth.”
You nodded at her focused face.
“Camilo Madrigal is in love with you.”
“I-”
“CAMILO MADRIGAL IS IN LOVE-”
“OKAY! You don’t have to tell the whole Encanto!”
Your face was red as Mirabel pulled away from you, muttering to herself, “she’s twenty-two and can’t tell when a guy’s been in love with her for eight years, ay dios mio.”
You looked straight in front of your body, even after Mirabel pulled away, as her words settled in your body, in your mind. Your gaze went down to your hands, watching the way the creases navigated across your palm, before making a fist.
You whispered, “... what am I doing…”
Mirabel faced you, “What?”
You looked up at her, a confused look on your face, “If-If he loves me,” Mirabel sent you a look, “Okay, he loves me, but then, oh my god.”
You stood up, “I’m so stupid.”
“Now she sees it,” Mirabel threw her hands in the air, standing up beside you.
Your wide eyes flew to meet her gaze, “I have to talk to him.”
Mirabel’s smile grew, “YES! PLEASE!”
You smiled at your friend, grabbing her arm, “YES!”
The two of you ran off to the casita, optimism practically pouring from your pores, promising to yourself, and to Mirabel and definitely to Camilo that you’d listen this time.
–
On the other side of things, Camilo’s pores were exuding a nice mix of what seems to be embarrassment and… depression. The shapeshifter sighed as he walked into his tia’s kitchen, hoping to grab some food and eat his feelings. No matter how much he ate through, Julieta’s gift would never heal his broken heart… sad face.
Walking past the doorway, Camilo looked around the room for anything left out, but his gaze brought him to his tio sitting at the table, seemingly talking to a rat that sat in front of him. When Camilo walked in, Bruno’s gaze shot up at the boy, a friendly smile rising to his bearded face. Camilo just raised his hand a little in greeting before trying to find some sustenance.
“Hey! Wh-whaddya looking for?”
Camilo took a look back at Bruno, dully speaking, “I dunno, just… something.”
Bruno nodded, “Julieta just made some fresh arepas,” he gestured to the plate on the table, “take what you want.”
Camilo strode back over to the table, sitting in the chair across from Bruno before grabbing an arepa from the stack, watching the rat that sat in front of him scatter away. He held the arepa by the diaper before taking a huge bite. It may not cure his sadness but it sure tasted delicious.
“What’s got you so down?”
Camilo’s eyes met his tio’s, almost forgetting he was there before he shrugged indifferently.
“Trouble in paradise?” Camilo scrunched his eyebrows in confusion at Bruno, who was looking at Camilo with a smile, resting his hand on his cheek, “haven’t seen your girlfriend around in a while.”
Camilo flushed, not ready to be teased by his previously distant tio, “I- she’s not my girlfriend.”
Bruno blinked, before shrugging, “eh, it happens, ya break up, get back together, break up, get back- you get the point,” Bruno waved his hands around to make a point, “you’ll be back together in no time.”
“We were never together.”
Bruno stared at Camilo, a tenseness rising in his posture, “uhhh, how old are you?”
“Twenty-three?”
Bruno looked at the table, muttering to himself, “it should’ve- when does that happen?”
Camilo stood up, his chair clattering behind him, only to be straightened out by the casita, “Woah, when does what happen?”
Bruno looked nervous, “Oh nothing!” He stood from his spot, shoving a few arepas into his shirt before laughing awkwardly to himself, “heh… gotta go!”
Bruno tried to make his way out of the kitchen but was promptly stopped by his much taller nephew, “No, you called (Y/N) my girlfriend,” Camilo looked the nervous man in the eye, “what are you not telling me?”
Bruno gulped, “I- well, you know, It’s not anything…” the man looked to the side before looking back at Camilo laughing a little, “um you know, it’s just-”
Camilo cornered him even more, leaving Bruno with one option.
“W-When you were younger, uh, your sister, ya know Dolores, of course you know Dolores, well she asked me if I could do my little thing and look into the future,” Bruno fidgeted with his fingers, “... she wanted me to look into your future.”
Camilo looked suspicious, “and you just… did?”
Bruno shrugged, “she blackmailed me a little, uh, a couple of my telenovela scripts were on the line here,” he looked seriously at Camilo, “you know your sister can be very. scary.”
“I’m aware, back to the visions. What does my future have to do with (Y/N)?”
Bruno pursed his lips, “uh, isn’t it kinda obvious about now? I kinda already said it…”
“You’re telling me that (Y/N) and I do get together?”
Bruno nodded, “ eehh, and more.”
Camilo’s grip faltered on Bruno, enough to let the skinny man shimmy from his grasp and out of the room, “you can’t blame me for anything! We are past that!”
The shapeshifter watched his ratty tio scamper out of the kitchen, laughing a little to himself, “What’s there to blame?”
He stood there for a minute before his body began to move, a mind of its own at the breaking news.
And if you weren’t going to come to him, then he was going to try his best to get to you.
He ran through the doorway to the kitchen and into the plaza, making a short distance of the inner area as he made it to the door.
“Casita!” He yelled and was happy to see the blue front door open, only to falter at the words ‘thank you’ that most definitely didn’t come from his own mouth.
Before he knew it, Camilo found himself on the ground, the tiles of the casita cold on his back as he groaned. Finally opening his eyes, he saw a tuft of your hair in front of his eyes, enough to knock the remaining wind out of him.
You groaned from your position on top of Camilo, raising your head from his clothes chest to look at his face, finding your eyes meeting. This whole staring too long for comfort thing was a common thread, and there was no stopping it, especially now. As you stared at each other, a smile grew on both of your faces.
Camilo laughed, wrapping his arms around your body, he teetered left and right on his back, pulling you closer than he ever thought he could, and enough to push the air from your lungs, not that you really mind. When he stopped he looked up at you and said your name softly, before his eyes widened.
The shapeshifter shifted underneath you, pulling his body gently until he was standing on his feet again, pulling you up with him but not letting go of you, not even for a second. You followed his every move, taking this whole ‘listening’ thing a little too far as you haven’t made a single sound so far.
“(Y/N).”
Camilo looked at you again, both standing straight up, it was hard for him to keep a smile off his face with you so close, “I- Oh my god, (Y/N), It’s-”
And it was then that Camilo realized that the ‘plan’ that he had, yeah that wasn’t going to work.
“I’m so happy to see you, like overjoyed, so happy, and to have you here, it’s just ugh. (Y/N), you are so important to me,” He combed a hand through his hair with his free hand as his face flushed, although his smile had yet to falter, “the most important thing to me, like my family. Or I guess, you’re not my family, like more important, importanter… it’s- I just know you’re more than that to me, always. It’s like a gift. Yeah! You’re my gift!”
Your smile had yet to fall, if anything it’s gotten bigger since Camilo had begun to talk, but your eyebrows couldn’t stop from scrunching in confusion at the last string of words.
“W-well, you’re not my gift, obviously I have a gif… it’s not, it’s like I lov…” Camilo slowed down, his words meaning more, “I love you.”
Your eyes widened at his confession, almost opening your mouth to say something, you bit your lip as you saw he had more words.
“And, and I know it’s late. I mean, you could've moved on already and I understand if you did, I mean who wouldn’t. I guess a lot of people wouldn’t but still, I understand if you did. I just wanted to actually tell you, because, well because I didn’t tell you before,” Camilo’s eyes darted back and forth from your face to the floor to his door, his retreat if all this went wrong, “Sorry about that by the way, uhm, it wasn’t my best moment to e honest. I just wanted to see you, which isn’t an excuse but it’s my genuine reason I swear. It wasn’t anything creepy or gross-”
A small laugh broke Camilo’s train of thought, or lack thereof. You looked at him with flushed cheeks and a huge smile with a bitten lip, a face that Camilo would probably always shut up for.
“... Laughing isn’t exactly the response I wanted…”
You shook your head, speaking for the first time, “no, no! It’s just, heh, you sound like me.”
Camilo looked at you, his smile turning gentle at your comment before laughing under his breath too, “yeah? Is that how you work?”
He leaned his head forward, pulling you into an embrace and placing his forehead on yours, something you didn’t hesitate to reciprocate.
Looking up at him through your lashes, you smiled, whispering gently, “I love you too.”
Camilo’s smile faltered before picking back up again, and as if he couldn’t last another second without doing it, which Camilo would fight he couldn’t, he kissed you.
When your lips met, Camilo pulled you tighter, one of his hands held you in between your shoulder blades, the other found the back of your head, slightly pushing you toward Camilo, as if it were to let go you’d pull away. You wouldn’t but this is all new for Camilo and he wasn’t taking any chances.
The kiss felt short to you, anytime you touched Camilo it felt too short for you, but in due time, you had to pull away. Dying by kissing Camilo may not be a bad way to go, but you wanted to spend some time with him before that. The hand that held your head close to Camilo didn’t want to falter as you pulled away, but allowed for you to, gently falling to the nape of your neck where it sat.
Two sets of eyes fluttered open to stare at each other, your breathing mingled and if the kiss wasn’t already, the way you were out of breath ignited something in Camilo that he wouldn’t share.
Camilo’s smile was contagious, you found yourself reciprocating it as well, making Camilo dip his head into your shoulder. You stuck your face into the side of his head and mostly into curls as you felt his breaths hit your neck, a faint whisper from him, “I love you.”
You smiled into his hair, a small bit of movement from your peripheral vision drew you out of your lovestruck state.
“Camilo,” you tapped his back, pushing him up out of his slouch.
Not easily, Camilo stood straight, confused about your movements before seeing your bright red face looking into the plaza. Looking around, he could see why.
The family Madrigal wasn’t super nosy, but you see, when there is a conversation, or rather a loud conversation going on inside their home, well it only seemed fair they got to listen in. And that’s exactly what they did.
With his family surrounding the two of you, you buried your face into his shirt, hiding yourself from prying eyes, and laughing to yourself as he spoke, “oh uh… hi?”
A split second of silence erupted into cheers as the whole Madrigal family swarmed around you making comments and congratulating you two on ‘finally confessing’.
Camilo held you close still, afraid that his family might sweep you away if they got the chance and you continued to laugh as the family ran through giving you and Camilo their blessing for… everything at that point.
As they went on and on, you continued to listen to the beat of Camilo’s heart, seeing how it synched with your own rapid beat.
And you knew, you finally had him.
And he had you.