Chapter Text
“Where are you taking me?” Mirabel giggled.
“It wouldn’t be a secret if I told you!” Sora replied.
“Well at least give me a hint, I felt like we’ve been walking for ages.”
“Nope! No hints, you’re just going to have to wait and see!”
Mirabel sighed in defeat. Sora was currently taking her to the destination of wherever he had decided their next date would be at. His hands were held over her eyes, and he guided her gently to their venue, and she felt a rush of excitement at his desire to keep where they were going a secret. He’d openly told her of all the places they’d go to on their other dates before they went on them, so why the sudden need for secrets now?
Over the course of an amazing ten days, Sora and her had gone on several different dates, each better than the last, and for Mirabel it had been everything she’d wanted and more. They laughed, ate, played, talked, sat in comfortable silences, and all the while they got far more intimate with each other. They held hands, cuddled, and shared more than a few kisses on the cheeks and lips, and each filled Mirabel with a rush of pure serotonin. It was a wonder that less than a month ago, she hadn’t even known he existed, and now she couldn’t imagine living in a world without him.
The thought of Sora leaving had vanished from her mind all together.
“Okay, ready?” Sora chirped.
“Ready!”
She laughed when he removed her eyes. She was standing in the insides of la Casita, the very same corridors she had guided Sora through on her first day when they had hunted that Heartless, but sticking out in polarizing contrast from the cracks and dust was a beautiful picnic spread. Laid out on a beautifully woven blanket was a spread of different types of delicacies, sandwiches, arepas, tortillas, churros, taquitos. It was a spread of some of her favorites.
“Hey, what’re you laughing for? Do you not like it?” Sora pouted.
“I just find it funny that you wanted to come back to a place crawling with ghosts for our date,” she teased, and he shivered before she kissed him on the cheek. “It’s a nice change of pace. I love it. I’m guessing Mami helped you make this?”
“Nope, I did this all by myself!”
“Right, and Luisa suddenly decided she hates weightlifting.” Mirabel’s brow nudged to her forehead playfully as she took a seat. “That must’ve been why Tia Pepa was creating rain clouds in the house yesterday.”
Sora crossed his arms. “Okay, maybe I nearly burned down the kitchen if it wasn’t for your mom’s help, but I tried my best!”
“I appreciate that,” she said softly as she grabbed an arepa from the basket, tore it in half, and held it out towards him. When he tried to grab it, she held it back. “Open your mouth.”
“Huh?”
“I’m trying to feed you idiota ,” she said, a blush covering her cheeks. Her brain forced her to tease when she felt embarrassed. “A princesa has to keep her knight in shining armor fed.”
“I think you like when I call you that more than you want to admit,” he said smugly as he took a bite of the sandwich before snatching it and holding out in front of her. “Your turn, princesa.”
She grumbled, hiding her likeness of the cute pet name he’d given her as she bit at the arepa in his hand. She hadn’t found a good pet name for him yet besides idiota , which she loved calling him in her own teasingly blunt way, but she wanted something cute to call him too. She had ideas, mainly through observing what Mami called Papi, but they were far too intimate to make Mirabel feel like it’d be appropriate to use.
“Your abuela helped us cook too.”
“She did?”
Sora scratched his head in thought. “I think she still feels guilty about everything that happened, but it was nice, she actually talked to me. She isn’t as mean as I expected she’d be.”
“Trust me, when you get on her good side, it’s like she’s a whole different person. It took my dad ages to convince her to let him court my mom.” She laughed as she began recalling a tale her dad had told her about his attempts to sweeten her up. There was a feeling of content to be found in the fact that Abuela had started to take a liking to Sora; it boded well for whatever future was in store for her and Sora.
“Mirabel?” She started when Sora’s voice rang through the hall, not realizing that last thought had made her pause her story. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just thinking about some things.” She nervously giggled. Focusing on the present state of her relationship with him was the only thing keeping her sane these past few days.
“Wanna talk about it?”
Oh, she desperately did, but it’d be nothing but something that might ruin the romantic mood Sora had worked so hard to make. “No, it’s okay.”
There was a few seconds of silence before Sora abruptly said, “I really like you, you know?”
Mirabel felt her heart skip a beat. “I-I really like you too.” And then she laughed. “Why’d you decide to say that so suddenly?”
“No reason, I just like that I can say it aloud.” He grinned, flashing a set of teeth with pieces of arepa stuck between, and spreading cheeks that were dusted with crumbs.
Mirabel giggled as she gingerly brushed the crumbs off his cheek. “Well make sure that the next time you say it, there’s no food in your mouth.”
“Oh yeah, or else what?” Sora smirked as though challenging her.
“Or else, no more kisses.” Mirabel snickered as Sora’s face faltered. She kissed him on the cheek just as quickly as his expression had shifted. “Kidding, kidding, I know how much you like them.”
She rested her head on his shoulder, and he leaned his head against her own. While Mirabel loved the kisses, there was something about being able to be so close and feel Sora’s warmth whenever she wanted that she loved more. She found sanctuary, safety, and serenity in his presence.
The sound of something heavy being dragged across the floor rang in their ears, the dull tone sounding as though it were coming from past the walls, and with a curious glance, Mirabel eyed one of the larger cracks lining them and peeked through.
Through the tiny fissure, she saw Luisa planting the family piano into the room adjacent to the corridor they had been picnicking in. Her older sister smiled boldly at a job well done before picking up her father and placing him in the seat in front of the piano. Mirabel could read Luisa’s lips mouth “good luck” as she slapped Papi on the back, making him jolt upright in response. He fixed his glasses which had gone askew with a nervous laugh before stretching his fingers.
Sora coughed behind her— almost oddily loud— before squeezing next to her to get a peek too, and just as he did, Papi’s fingers began speeding across the keys, a beautiful sonata created from his fingertips, it’s sound carrying through the walls brilliant and unsullied.
Her father was a skilled pianist, and the wondrous sonata he played now seemed oddly reminiscent of one of the songs he’d practiced in front of Mirabel when she was younger. He claimed that it’d been a piece he’d performed when courting Mami (and breaking his fingers afterwards when he accidentally slammed the keyboard case). The piece was soft, lulled, and nostalgic, and Mirabel found herself humming along, a smile gracing her lips.
Sora shifted, and she caught movement in the corner of her eyes. She turned to find his hand held out towards her, and a toothy smile on his face.
“Wanna dance?”
“Promise not to send us crashing to the floor this time?” Mirabel joked as she took his hand.
“No promises!” His smile was infectious.
They rocked through the corridor slowly, nothing fancy or flashy — and a far cry to the greco-roman wrestling of a dance they’d performed at the festival — but Mirabel loved it nonetheless. It felt nice to be able to be this close and intimate with her crush without having to have a reason other than wanting to feel his touch. Laying her head against his chest, she took in the rise and fall of his chest as he hummed along to the song with a joyful lull as though he’d heard it performed a million times before.
She licked her lips. “How do you know this song?” Though she asked, she didn’t remove her head from its comfy position against him. This piece was an original of her father’s, and he hadn’t busted it out in a long time, so she doubted Sora had heard him randomly play it.
Sora’s stutter was an answer itself.
“You’re way more romantic than I thought you’d be, but considering how cheesy you can be, it makes sense.”
“You know I can’t help it!” Sora said, almost exasperated.
“Don’t help it,” Mirabel said wistfully. “It’s one of my favorite things about you, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“Well, I wouldn’t change you for all the Worlds either.”
“You’re going to have to be a little bit more specific than that.” Mirabel hummed teasingly. ”What don’t you want to change about me?”
“Everything!” The way Sora said it so matter-of-factly made her so happy. “You’re cute, pretty, funny, smart, and you feel like a missing piece of me that I never even knew existed.”
Mirabel hesitated before saying. “Is that why you like me?” She'd been sneaking around the conversation of their feelings towards one another for the past few days. The topic made her nervous, and fun flirting and intimate kisses felt so much better in comparison.
“Why the sudden question?”
“Well… I’ve just been wondering...” she said hesitantly, her voice shaking.
Lost in thought, Sora hummed, sending a vibration to his chest that came off as a rumble of hesitation which made Mirabel’s throat dry.
“I guess I don’t really know why, I just do,” he said simply.
Breath nearly caught in her throat, it took Mirabel a few seconds to respond, “Y-You don’t feel weird about not knowing why?”
“Nope! But that’s the great thing that makes us human, we can’t always explain why we feel the way we do, but no matter what I trust my Heart because it’s never wrong, and it’s telling me that I like you.” He gave her a peck on her forehead before giving a sheepish chuckle. “Though I didn’t need it to figure that out.”
Having huddled into his chest while nervously awaiting his answer, Mirabel finally dared to meet Sora’s gaze, and her eyes wavered.
“Don’t tell me you think I don’t like you anymore?” The pout lowering his lips made her heart drop.
Her lips nervously wobbled in response.
“Why didn’t you just ask?”
“I didn’t want to sound stupid, and I guess I was worried you’d end up saying that you didn’t anymore.” She sighed, glad to finally get it off her chest. She yelped as Sora carried her and shot into the air before flying in circles.
“I like you.” He pecked her cheek. “I like you.” He pecked the other cheek, and he repeated it as though lost in a lover’s trance with those words as his mantra.
Cheeks flushed a violet red, Mirabel begged him to stop between bouts of giggles, although there was a part of her that wouldn’t have minded if he kept going.
He eyed her suspiciously as he paused though remained hovering mid-air with her in his arms, and she sighed.
“It’s just hard not to overthink… well everything, especially when I’m this happy. Ugh, it feels embarrassing even having to admit that,” she said, making sure to ignore her desire to avoid meeting his eyes.
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about!” Sora wagged his finger exaggeratedly as he finally lowered her to the ground. She couldn’t help but giggle at the childlike look on his features. “But if we’re being honest, planning these dates have been terrifying, I keep thinking you’ll be disappointed if everything’s not perfect. I kept asking your mom for help too!”
Hearing that shocked Mirabel. With all of Sora’s confidence and enthusiasm, she never thought he ever doubted himself. It seemed almost alien to hear that he thought she wouldn’t be satisfied with just his presence, considering him just being there for her was enough to make her feel good.
She grabbed his cheek and softly stroked it. “If you’re there, then it’s already perfect.”
“And if you need me to remind you that I like you, all you need to do is ask!”
How did he always manage to say the right thing?
“You know, I call you cheesy, but you really have a way with words. Maybe you should write poetry, that stuff about the Heart was beautiful.” He was a terrible flirt, but when he said something genuine, it managed to be the most romantic thing she’d ever heard.
Sora smirked. “I’ll give it a shot, but you have to listen to it before anyone else.”
“Was that even a question?” Mirabel snickered before licking her lips. “Well you know what mi corazon is telling me?”
“What?”
“That you deserve a kiss.” She pecked his cheek.
“Well my heart wants me to ask you a question,” Sora said, the blush on his face dusting all across his pearly features.
“I’m all ears.”
“Mirabel Madrigal, will you be my girlfriend?”
It was hysterical how long it took the words to register in Mirabel’s head. She could only stare at Sora confused, the words looping in her head before her eyes widened. The sudden rush of euphoria in her rendered her unable to form a sentence. Her immediate response would’ve been to question if he actually meant it, but the sincere tone in his voice, and the trust she had that he’d never say something like that if he didn’t mean it was almost instinctual.
So instead the words, “ Si, Si, Si! ” rushed past her lips like water that had been held back by a dam.
She didn’t even fight the primal urge to leap into his arms, sending them both toppling to the ground in the process as she hugged him tight, the biggest smile crossing her face.
And there they sat exploding into a symphony of giggles, each one mixing in harmony with the other’s. Sora held her close to his chest, and it felt as though she were being hugged by the sun.
“I was starting to think you’d never ask,” Mirabel said when she finally got a breath of fresh air. Well scared that he would never want to ask was the more accurate way to say it, but he needn’t hear that.
“I wanted to ask two dates ago, but I wasn’t sure if I should ask how Dolores said I should, or if I should do what Camilo wanted.”
“You listened to Dolores didn’t you?”
“How could you tell?”
“Camilo probably wanted you to say it in the most flirtatious yet joking way possible.” Mirabel snorted.
There was a long yet relaxing silence as they held each other, the mice scurrying around them and granting them peace as Mirabel sighed oh so dreamily. The boy of her dreams was her boyfriend, and it wasn’t like one of those dreams she’d been having recently, but the actual thing. Dios , words couldn’t even describe how happy she was.
“So what now?” Sora said suddenly, there was nervousness to his voice that Mirabel found cute.
“I don’t know, I’ve never had a boyfriend before.”
“I’ve never had a girlfriend either.”
Mirabel hummed in assent. There was something cute about them being each other’s first.
“I guess we should tell the rest of your family?” Sora asked.
“Not yet!” Mirabel blurted suddenly. Sora raised a brow and laughed as she cuddled into his chest. “I just want only us to know… for just a little while longer.” She was in no rush, besides, she wanted to savor the moment.
-
“Ay just tell us what happened already!” Camilo shouted impatiently, rounding on his older sister.
Dolores shook her head and rolled her eyes; however, the warm smile spreading across her cheeks contrasted her refusal. “Why ruin the surprise. You’ll find out soon. Just be patient.”
“She’s smiling, so we can assume it worked,” Luisa said with a chuckle.
“Well duh, I just want to know if Sora asked the way I told him.” Camilo crossed his arms before turning back to Dolores. “You practically blurt out every other secret, but you can’t say this on — OW!”
Dolores cut him off with a sharp elbow to his arm. “Hush hermanito, they’re coming.”
The hallway filled with the rest of the Madrigals fell to an abrupt silence as they all turned to the portrait frame hung onto the walls. Sora hadn’t told anyone besides Dolores and Camilo that he was planning on asking Mirabel out, but with those two in the know, word has spread to the rest of the Madrigals like wildfire.
So the rustling of the frame made all of their breaths hitch, the excitement on their faces practically palpable.
Sora emerged first, oblivious to them and their anticipation as he turned back to the open hole and took Mirabel’s hand to help her get to the ground. Their hands remained intertwined afterwards.
“Sora and Mirabel are boyfriend and girlfriend now!” Dolores suddenly blurted, and both of their heads whipped to the crowd, their faces flaring with embarrassment. Dolores squeaked. “Sorry, I couldn’t keep it in anymore, you two are too cute!”
“You told everyone?” Mirabel whispered, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the stares.
“Only Dolores and Camilo, I should've known they can’t keep a secret,” Sora whispered back.
A tidal wave of Madrigals had engulfed them as they were roped into a massive family hug, a hearty “congratulations” being cheered in unison by many of them..
“Okay, alright, everyone relax!” Mirabel shouted over the hugs.
There was a sudden awkward shuffling from most of the family as they gave the two breathing room, and using her free hand to adjust her glasses that had fallen askew from the bombardment of affection, Mirabel squeezed the hand she was holding onto.
She’d wanted a bit more time to relish in only Sora and her (and Dolores) knowing about the status of their relationship, but the secret was out and there was no point being mad about it. Secrets did move quickly through the familia anyways, so she hadn’t expected that to have lasted long anyway.
Mirabel shared a glance with her boyfriend — a warm feeling swelled in her lungs at the fact that she could refer to him as that now — and coughed to get everyone’s attention. She gestured to him with a shaky grin as she said, “Everyone, Sora’s my boyfriend now.”
There was a silence, and then Camilo blurted, “We know, Dolores just said that.”
“I know, but I wanted to be the one to tell everyone.” Mirabel glared.
“Wait, I wanna say it too,” Sora said with an innocent pout. “Mirabel’s my girlfriend!”
That warm feeling swelled further hearing that. Oh, she never wanted to get used toit. She squeezed his hand tight before pure blissful laughter burst from her lips, Sora and the rest of her family joining along with her for the moment. Everything felt so perfect.
“I say that we take some photos for the occasion,” Abuela suggested, and Mirabel started in surprise.
Abuela sounded so genuine, it was scary. Did she really have no qualms on the fact that she was dating him. As though she could sense her nerves, Abuela flash a smile and cupped her cheeks.
“As if I’d let my granddaughter be so happy and not take photos so that we could remember it forever,” Abuela said.
Mirabel held her free hand over Abuela’s and sighed contently. It was wrong to not acknowledge Abuela’s attempts to get to know Sora. She had really warmed up to him.
“Just give me sometime to get ready for the photo,” Mirabel said, eyes and hands wandering up to shake off the random sprockets of dust caked in her hair and clothes. Casita’s insides were not the cleanest place in the house.
“You get a boyfriend and now you suddenly start worrying about how you look in photos?” Camilo teased, which made Mirabel elbow him.
“You look completely perfect Mirabel,” Sora said happily, his blue eyes shining as he squeezed her hand. Then he flicked some dust caking his spiky hair and pouted. “Do you think I should fix my hair too?”
Feeling the stares of her entire family, Mirabel ignored the sudden attention on her as her heart raced from Sora’s first sentence, though from the corner of her eye she could swear she could see her motherbarely catching her fainting father in time. “Your hair… you look perfect too.”
She could hear Camilo snicker at her statement, but focusing her attention on Sora’s cute smile was a bigger priority than sending her annoying prima another glare.
Abuela clapped her hands and the tiles bounced and hopped and carried the two in it’s current towards the lobby. Casita bounced the camera next with a few more hopping tiles.
“Say cheese!” Abuela said, operating the large contraption..
Mirabel squealed as Sora pulled her in close, the warmest, goofiest smile ever naturally working its way onto her lips as she and Sora both yelled, “Cheese!”
The camera flashed and then suddenly the Madrigals watching the photoshoot suddenly exploded with laughter. Mirabel followed their gaze to Sora who’s cheeks were pulled both directions by his fingers and his eyes were strained in opposite directions making the goofiest expression she’d ever seen.
“Hurry and make a silly face, we don’t have all day.” Sora’s voice came muffled.
Mirabel’s lighthearted exasperation was made apparent as she shook her head before tugging his cheek and making and looking to the camera with a deadpan stare.
The camera flashed, and then she shrugged before joining him in his idiocy. Puffing out her own cheeks, flipping her glasses around, closing her eyes half-shut, and squishing her left cheek against his right one. Another camera flash.
And then finally, she kissed his cheek, making Isabela, Dolores, and Luisa squeal as another flash went off. Mirabel was certain the developing photo would show Sora’s cheeks as red as the dresses Dolores like to wear and with his eyes wide open.
“Ay Agustin, your daughter moves faster than you.” Felix chuckled as Papi’s mouth fell agape.
“ Corazon , bees will fly in your mouth if you keep it open like that,” Mami sighed, as closing his mouth for him.
“That was bold,” Sora whispered, smirking as the family laughed at her father.
Mirabel met his smirk with a teasing version of her own. “The only reason it wasn’t on the lips was because I didn’t want Papi to have a heart attack.”
There was a sudden cute squeak, and Mirabel’s head almost robotically turned to Dolores who stared at her with the most devious smile known to man. For Mirabel’s own sake, she decided to pretend that her eldest prima didn’t have superhuman hearing.
But suddenly, Dolores’ face fell, lips straining and her ear shooting up.
“What’s wrong, Dolores?” Luisa was the second one to catch the sudden shift in Dolores’ mood, and soon the entire family had turned to her.
She closed her eyes, silently listening, before biting her lips. “I just heard someone’s voice, a voice I haven’t heard before in the encanto… but it sounded really weird. Wait, I just heard another!”
There was another few minutes of silence as Dolores focused even harder on whoever she was hearing, and every so often her face would contort into some expression Mirabel couldn’t discern.
“What?” Sora said as Dolores suddenly turned to him, her eyes wide.
“They just said your name.”
-
Mirabel’s lip straightened as she pushed past a thicket of branches that blocked her way. Flies buzzed around annoyingly, and the blades of grass that reached her ankles tickled, irritated, and itche her skin. She hated having to explore this deep into the forests surrounding the village.
Dolores and Sora moved ahead of her, the latter keeping tabs on her to make sure she wouldn’t get left behind, and while Mirabel appreciated her boyfriend’s concern, she wished he’d stop looking so often. She could only hold a straight face for so long.
To her, Sora, and Dolores, it was already obvious who the newcomers in the Encanto were, and that made a cold feeling sink in her stomach.
“We’re getting close,” Dolores said, lifting her dress as she crouched under a half fallen tree to continue the fourty-minute trek. Sora jogged forward and lifted the entire thing for her, and she thanked him. Mirabel often forgot that her boyfriend was freakishly strong.
Mirabel mumbled a thank you of her own as she passed through, mentally cursing at how awful she was at hiding her emotions as Sora visibly rose a brow.
“You okay?” Sora whispered, despite the fact that Dolores would still be able to hear everything they’d say.
“Y-Yeah…” Mirabel began. “I’m just a little nervous about meeting your friends.” A half-lie was better than not acting like she wasn’t feeling a little down, though that wasn’ the main reason she was feeling down, she actually was nervous to meet them.
“Donald might be a little…” Sora crossed his arms and pondered for a few seconds before chuckling, “rough around the edges, but he’s a nice guy, and Goofy is a sweetheart, your dad reminds me of him a lot.”
The image of some tall, skinny, clumsy man already began forming in Mirabel’s head and she couldn’t help but laugh. If one of them was anything like her dad, then aybe they wouldn’t be as intimidating as she was thinking they could be.
“They’re going to love you, promise!” Sora softly locked his fingers around hers and continued to trail behind her older prima . She squeezed his hands for comfort. She couldn not shake the cold feeling that she wouldn’t be able to do it tomorrow.
Mirabel could’ve sworn Dolores momentarily turned her way and softly smiled at the two, but her head whipped back so quick, it was impossible to tell.
After a few more minutes of treading, Dolores crouched behind a bush, placing a finger between her lips and gesturing for them to follow, and Sora peeked his head over the bushes when he neared. His eyes scanned the forest for any signs of life unusual to the forest, and Mirabel followed suit along with Dolores.
“Donald, are you sure we’re going the right way, I don’t think we’ll find Sora stuck in the middle of a forest,” one voice suddenly rang through the forest.
The voice that replied grumbled before speaking with the strongest lisp Mirabel had heard, “Goofy, I already told you ten minutes ago that we’re getting close!” He sounded angry, but the lisp made that rage sound laughable.
They were blocked by a heavy section of tall grass, but she could make out a small figure and a much taller one who wore a green hat. There was something about their silhouette that was odd though.
“Sorry Donald,” the man known as Goofy replied with a loud ‘hyuck’, “I just miss Sora, and we’ve been walking around for hours.” The shadowy silhouette seemed to sag forward, their long arms trailing across the ground in exaggerated sadness. “Gorsh, I hope he’s okay.”
Donald gave a sad quack. “Me too Goofy.”
“I’m right here!” Sora suddenly exclaimed, leaping out from the tree and rushing towards the two figures. “Donald, Goofy, I missed you guys too!”
Mirabel could make out the startled silhouettes of Donald and Goofy starting as they yelled whenSora jumped at them. He crashed into them with laughter, sending all three of them spiraling into the forest floor below. Mirabel sent Dolores a nervous glance with an odd laugh before they both scurried forward to reach them.
And then Mirabel and Dolores both screamed at what… or better who they saw Sora collapsed on top of.
An anthropomorphic pair of a duck and a dog. Both wearing clothes — though the duck was bottomless — as they grinned and laughed as they hugged Sora tight. The duck’s eyes were flowing with tears as he embraced Sora with complete disbelief, and then he turned to stare at her and Dolores who stared back as though they were seeing a ghost.
“Hey, what’s the big idea, you’re ruining the moment!” the duck angrily shouted.
Mirabel flinched before Sora hopped onto his feet with a laugh.
“You didn’t say your friends were talking animals!” Mirabel shrieked. As far as she knew, King Mickey had been the only talking animal he knew (besides the ones Sora had met in that acre world or jungle world), and the fact that he was a mouse had been significant because he was a king.
“Oh, I guess I forgot,” Sora said slowly, crossing his arms.
Forgot that your best friends are a talking dog and duck?
Mirabel took a deep breath. Maybe this shouldn’t be too weird, her family did have magical powers, but as she looked at the duck who clambered to his webbed feet, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion, and at the dog who stood upright and waved to her with a toothy grin she knew that this had to be the weirdest thing she’d seen before.
“Well, are ya gonna introduce us to yer friends, Sora?” Goofy said.
“Oh right!” Sora hopped next to Mirabel and grabbed her hand. “Donald, Goofy, this is my girlfriend, Mirabel, and her cousin Dolores. ”
Mirabel’s lips curved upwards of their own consciousness as Donald and Goofy started, mouth hanging open in silence. The sudden stares made her lips quiver uncontrollably.
“Girlfriend?” Goofy said with a ‘hyuck’, and he smiled as he got over his shock, Sora nodded immediately. “Well shucks, congratulations Sora!”
“Girlfriend!?” Donald shouted, his sudden fury eclipsing the peacefulness of Goofy’s voice. “You’ve only been gone for twenty-something days! We’ve been looking everywhere, and you were here getting a girlfriend?!”
“Yeah… it’s a lot to explain, and I know you’re a bit frustrated, but you know I would’ve contacted you if I could’ve,” Sora said, scratching his neck sheepishly.
Donald’s small form shook in silence before he took a deep inhale. He looked to Mirabel and then Dolores and back, and waddled up to them, chest held high.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Donald,” the duck said, stretching his palm their way. His tail wagged impatiently at Mirabel’s hesitance to shake it.
“And my name’s Goofy, but you can call me… Goofy, because that’s what everyone calls me!” Goofy stretched his hand outwards too.
Mirabel hesitantly shook their hands. “Sora’s told me a lot about you both, and any friend of his is a friend of mine!” She was certain they’d be able to tell she was nervous from her shaky voice.
“So there really are Worlds with talking animals… Antonio’s gonna love this,” Dolores idly said as she stared at Donald and Goofy.
“Worlds?!” Donald yelled, and Dolores flinched in pain from the sudden sharp sound.
“Donald, try to keep it down, Dolores’ hearing is very sensitive,” Sora hushed.
Donald crossed his arms, his feet tapping on the ground impatiently. “Sora,” he began, hissing, “why does she know about there being other Worlds?”
Sora laughed nervously. “Long story, I'll explain on the way back.” The look he shared with Mirabel was not one that seemed excited to tell the events of what had happened since he’d been here.
-
“Is Senor Donald mad at you?” Mirabel whispered to Sora.
Sora sighed, his shoulders slumping as he watched Donald and Goofy introduce themselves to the rest of the Madrigals, who greeted them with much interest. Antonio was starry-eyed and as jumpy as the boy Sora had met in the village who was addicted to coffee. He attempted to hop onto Donald’s back several times, despite several warnings from Tia Pepa not to do so which got a laugh out of them.
“A little, but I think it’s more him venting off how worried he was about me. He has a weird way of showing he cares. I just feel guilty because I never even thought about how worried Donald and Goofy were the entire time I was here.” Another sigh escaped his lips.
Mirabel shrugged. “Worrying wouldn’t have changed how fast they found you.”
“I guess,” Sora said, but he didn’t sound like he’d been convinced.
Mirabel grabbed his shoulder and shook him before cupping his cheeks and stretching them wide. “Come on, you’re seeing your best friends for the first time in nearly a month, and you’re frowning.”
Sora’s words came garbled through his stretched mouth, but Mirabel understood the words clearly as the summer morning they’d woken up to.
“No, I will not let you go unless you promise to stop sulking.”
“I rogise,” the muffled words sounded from Sora’s mouth, and Mirabel stopped stretching his mouth with a satisfied smile. Sora scratched his throbbing face with the smallest hint of smile. “Is this better?”
“Perfect,” Mirabel smirked. “Like I said, you look cuter when you’re not feeling guilty.” Sora gave a lighthearted grumble in response, and Mirabel wistfully sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder and watched as Camilo transformed into Donald, making the duck quack in shock.
“Your friends are just as interesting as you,” she said mirthfully as Sora leaned his head against her own. “Not quite as odd as you, but I see why you get along with them.”
“Says the one whose family have magical powers and has a house for a best friend.”
Mirabel scoffed. “I’m the only one who doesn’t have powers, so I think I’m actually way more normal than you.” It was odd being able to say that in jest, but she felt so comfortable with Sora that saying that now wasn’t even something she was mixed about. “Plus having a house for a best friend is way cooler than having animals for one!”
Sora crossed his arms and smirked. “Nope. I have another best friend who’s way cooler.”
Mirabel raised a brow, trying to wrack her brain to think about what could set Kairi and Riku out from Donald and Goofy. Or was she missing another best friend he had.
Taking her silence for an answer he continued. “You.”
There her boyfriend went being cute again. The smile on her lips was so wide it was starting to pinch her face, and she took a few moments to show her affection by nestling further into him.
“I guess I have a best friend who’s cooler than a living house and a talking dog and duck,” she said. They stayed in comfortable silence as they watched Goofy shake hands with Papi. They stood at a similar height. “You know Sora, no matter what happens next, I’m happy that we got to meet, even if that’s only because you crashed face first into the Encanto.”
There was no response, and Mirabel assumed she’d stunned her boyfriend into silence, but she didn’t give it too much thought. She simply grabbed his hand and rushed to join her family, only briefly aware of the confused look Sora gave her.
“Well now that introductions are out of the way, I’d like to thank you all for taking care of Sora for us while he’s been here! I don’t know how we could ever repay you,” Goofy said, suddenly standing firm and tall, though living up to his name with how rigid he looked.
“There’s no need for that, we welcome any and all who stumble into the Encanto with open arms, and Senor Sora helped us out far more than any of us needed. It’s been a pleasure having him as a guest,” Abuela said, smiling at Sora who smiled back. “This is our home as much as it is his now.”
“Thank you anyway, I know Sora was probably a lot to deal with,” Donald said, snickering when Sora yelled a ‘hey!’. “But I guess, it’s time to say goodbye.”
There was a fraction of a second between Donald’s sentence ending, and Sora speaking up, but the panic Mirabel felt quickly shifted to acceptance far faster than she could accept.
“Wait what?”
Goofy looked at Sora, though Mirabel swore his eyes focused on her for a brief second. “Master Yen Sid’s been having Riku, Kairi, Donald, and I look all over for you. He probably wants to know where you’ve been, and Riku thinks he might have some mission for the two of you.”
“B-But…” there was a sudden confusion in Sora’s voice as he turned from Goofy to Donald to the Madrigals, and then finally to Mirabel. His blue eyes were choked with sudden realization, as though he’d woken up from a good dream and he’d been forced to face reality. Mirabel gripped his hand tight.
“No buts, Sora,” Donald said forcefully, but he looked a little guilty when Sora turned back to him. He scratched his arm and looked away. “I don’t want to rush you, but it’s orders from Master Yen Sid himself.”
Mirabel wondered what Sora was thinking as he stared at Donald, his lips being gnawed at by his teeth. His obvious want to stay in the Encanto filled Mirabel with a sudden rush of joy she wasn’t happy admit, but she knew just as well as he did, that he couldn’t stay here.
Sora opened his mouth to speak, but Abuela beat him to it. “It won’t hurt to spend one more night will it?” She stepped forward, her hands clasped over her chest as though she were pleading.
“Master Yen Sid’s pretty scary when he gets angry, Miss Alma…” Goofy said. “I don’t think he’ll be happy to find out that we disobeyed his orders.”
“Well what if you just tell him that you found Sora tomorrow instead of today?” Camilo spoke up.
“Isn’t that a lie though?” Donald said.
“A little lie never hurt everybody every now and then, no?” Tio Felix said, sheepishly smiling with a shrug.
Donald and Goofy shared a concerned glance before looking at Sora, their eyes wavering over his hand that was held by Mirabel.
“Well, I guess you’re right, but we’ll leave the final call to you Sora, what do you say?”
“Yeah! One more day won’t hurt!” Sora said, hastily, almost desperately. Mirabel was sure he didn’t realize how hard he was holding her hand when the words left his mouth.
“Well that settles it, we’ll leave in the mornin’!” Goofy happily hyucked. “Do you all mind if me and Donald spend the night too?”
“It’d be a pleasure!” Julietta said, happily beaming at the two. She clapped at the Madrigal familia. “How about we have a farewell dinner for Sora, the day’s still early, there’s enough time to start making a feast if everyone chips in.”
There was a hearty cheer from everyone, and before she could even blink, the Madrigals had begun divvying up tasks to prepare for the grand banquet, Donald, Goofy, and Sora being swept along the ride.
Sora and Mirabel shared a glance that felt eons long yet far too short for either of their liking before they got split up.
Mirabel hoped she had more time to spend with Sora later. It might be the last chance she gets.