Chapter Text
By dinner time, the whole family knew what the kids had planned. Antonio wasn’t very good at keeping secrets. They had all worked hard all day on their projects, and were enjoying their dinner now. Julieta had brought Bruno some bread earlier, leaving it on a plate -covered, so the rats wouldn’t get it- and some fresh tea on the nightstand, but he had been sleeping peacefully and she hadn’t wanted to wake him up. He had always had trouble sleeping, even as a child.
After dinner, she went up to see if he was up for having all the kids in the room or not. They were all itching to show him what they had prepared, and she was sure he would love it since he had always loved anything the kids had made for him before. She pushed open the door after knocking, and found him up and out of bed, carrying a bowl with some water in it. His hair was wet and the smell of his usual soap was filling the room. He barely seemed to notice Julieta had come in, as he was busy talking quietly to his rats. The bowl was put down and a few rats bounced over to it to drink.
“Feeling better, I see.” Julieta said with a smile, leaning on the doorway.
“Much. Still a bit weird, but I can see again. And I ate some of the bread.” He said, still fiddling with random things. “Thank you, by the way. For…” He gestured vaguely with his hand, but she knew what he meant.
“Of course, Bruno.” She walked over to him and turned him around, putting a hand to his forehead before he could protest. There was no fever, and that was a relief. He had been burning up the night before.
“The kids are wanting to come in. They say they have something for you.” She said.
“Oh. Umm…okay. If they want to, it’s not like there’s very much really in here…” He rubbed the back of his neck, one hand automatically going to knock on the wood of the wardrobe.
Julieta could see that Isabella had already left some plants in here. The moss on the floor, the succulents growing on the wall…She had been in the room not long ago. “I’ll go get them then.”
Juliet went to go get the children while Bruno tried to find a clean rauna in his wardrobe. He had just pulled it over his head when they all walked back in, along with the rest of the family, so the entire Madrigal family was in his bedroom.
“Are you feeling better?” Antonio asked before anyone else could even think to say anything.
“Very much, yes.” He nodded, and sat on the bed.
“Good! Because we have a surprise for you!” The youngest of the family hurried over to sit beside him.
“If you want it, of course.” Isabella spoke up. “We were thinking that maybe…we could decorate your room for you?”
“Decorate?” Bruno tilted his head, and looked at each kid in turn. “I mean….if you want to.”
“Ok!” Before he could think to ask what they intended, the whole family seemed to spring into motion. Antonio jumped off the bed, grabbed Camilo’s hand, and dragged him out to go get what they had made. Lousia followed to help move things, while Isabella began her work. Soft, squishy moss sprouted all over the floor, so it wouldn’t be as hard to walk in. Lousia carried in a huge flower pot that had been broken, but they had fixed them with the same sand-based spackle that he had used to patch the cracks in castia. Succulents of every color were in the pots that she, Mirabel, and Dolores were bringing in. Camilo, using Lousia’s form, was carrying in a giant…thing. It had lots of levels, coconut halves with little holes cut in, small hammock-looking…it was for the rats. Antonio had had Camilo’s help in gathering the stuff, and had built an open cage-type thing full of hiding spots and climbing areas for the rats.
Even the main part of Bruno’s tower, on the other side of the sand curtain leading up his vision cave, now had thick green vines growing up the wall, filling the air with the clean smell of growing things. It all happened within a few minutes, while Bruno sat on his bed and watched in amazement. Isabella’s powers truly had grown, and the grape vines growing up his wall said she remembered that prophecy as well as he did. Since the plants were grown with magic, the climate didn’t matter too much. And from the lack of flowering plants, she remembered that pollen sometimes bothered him. It would be a lie to say he didn’t have tears in his eyes as he saw all the kids had done.
“I-I….I don’t know what to say.” He managed to choke out. It had only taken them a few minutes to get the whole thing set up.
“Do you like it?!” Antonio asked excitedly.
“I love it.” He wiped at his eyes with the palms of his eyes. “I…you guys really did it for me?” It felt stupid to ask, of course it was for him, it was in his tower! But after 10 years of living in the walls on his own, and so many years before that getting so little and feeling so out of place…it was hard to believe anyone would care so much to do something that seemed so little but was huge.
“Your room was so bland and dark. We wanted to help you make it brighter.” Isabella said, smiling as she looked at the work. They had really done good this time. The rats were already exploring the giant condo that Antonio and Camilo had built, and the plants seemed to bring more light into the room. It made it more welcoming and homey, a place someone would actually want to be.
“You did, you really did.” He got up and looked down when he felt the soft moss on his bare feet. “It’s beautiful.” Before he could say more, he found himself in the middle of a hug as all his nieces and nephews more or less tackled him. Thankfully, they stayed standing because he probably would’ve had some trouble getting off the ground, since he was still sore from the seizures the day before.
It had been a completely wild few months. From coming out of the walls after 10 years, finally getting peace without his gift but having to learn to function in society again as they rebuilt Casita, and then the onslaught of the magic returning causing him to get so sick so quickly. It had been exhausting, and a part of him had wanted to crawl right back into the walls because it would be easier than trying to heal all the damage his leaving had caused. But this moment was enough to tell him that no matter how stressful it got or how hard it got, his family still loved him. He could learn to adjust to having his powers back, and he could learn to live with his family again. It wasn’t as impossible as it had seemed only a day before.