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Chapter Text

Camilo was jumping around the nursery, excitement filling his body and a large smile plastered across his face. Today was his 5th birthday, which also meant today was the day he would get his gift, so while his mum stressed downstairs he was stuck in the nursery. He usually had Mirabel alongside him, but his cousin decided to help tía Julieta in preparing food. So there he was, in the nursery bouncing all over the place, he has always been an energetic child, ever since his birth even. No one could keep him still, he would always be running around casita, pulling any pranks he possibly could think of on anyone, even Abuela.

His mum has yet to put on his white clothes that he would waer for his gift ceremony, as she was afraid that he would get them dirty or ruin them within a matter of seconds, so he was still wearing his usual white shirt, black trousers and yellow poncho. When he finally sat down for a bit, after tiring himself out he laid on his bed and started at the ceiling. Camilo wondered, what would his gift be? He couldn't think of anything in particular really, he just silently hoped that whatever his gift was it would help him carry on his mischief.

When Pepa finally opened the door to the nursery, Camilo sprang up looking at his mum, who had his white clothes in her hands. His eyes glowed with excitement as he stood up bouncing a bit.

''Mamí, is it finally time?" He asked, looking up at his mum, who had a rainbow over her, with pride clearly filling her eyes.

"Nearly Camilo, but you should get dressed now so we're not rushing later, mi hijo." Pepa tilted her head as she fixed her son's clothes making sure they were as neat and clean as they could be. She couldn't be more happy for her son, "Now Camilo, promise me you'll try and stay clean?"

"I promise, Mamí." Camilo held his hand out with a pinky, as if to make a pinky promise. His mum only laughed, shaking her head before accepting the pinky promise.

After his mum left, he sat on his bed waving his little legs back and forth as they dangled off the bed, he had to keep the promise to his mum, after all it was a pinky promise and as much as he enjoyed mischief he stuck to his promises, especially the pinky ones. So he sat there until casita's floor rumbled and an alarm clock tumbled in front of him, the hand turning to 12 and the ringing beginning. He smiled brightly, standing up and rushing out the door and down the stairs. Finally, it was time, he was going to get his gift, though despite his excitement he couldn't help feeling slightly bad for leaving Mirabel in the nursery alone after getting his gift. When he arrived downstairs he saw both his mum and dad, as well as his older sister, standing there smiling.

"Mamí! Papá ! Dolores!" he shouted as he ran towards them with the intention of hugging them. Dolores has gotten her gift a while back, before he was even born, he never knew whether to feel bad or not for her. On one hand, hearing everything sounded cool, you would always be able to tell what people are doing, making it the perfect gift for stealing tía Julieta's arepas, though that might just be him. On the other hand, he'd sure get overwhelmed quickly if he could hear everything, even the littlest things. After hugging them he let go and stepped back, looking up at his family with a smile. Both of his parents gave him some encouraging words before Dolores tilted her head and said that it was time for his celebration. He took a deep breath while standing while standing before the curtain, while he loved attention and being in front of people, walking in front of almost the entire town was daunting. When he heard Abuela finish her speech, saw the curtain finally unfold, and casita's tiles turning red to imitate a red carpet he took a little step forward. Then another, and another, before he knew it he was at the top of the stairs standing in front of the glowing door, with his parents to the side. He blinked, looking back to the crowd before looking at Abuela again.

"Will you use your gift to honour our miracle, will you serve this community and strengthen our hope?" Abuela asked, holding the candle in front of him, Camilo was stunned, he didn't know what to say so he simply nodded and when he did Abuela moved to the side and let him go forward to touch the door. So he did, he moved forward slowly, somehow showing both excitement and worry in his walk, and when he touched the doorknob a golden light engulfed him. Small, glitter-like particles floating around him, happiness filling his eyes, a smile once again plastering itself over his face. When he went to look at his mum, expecting to see pride in her eyes he only saw shock from not only her but also his dad and Dolores. He raised an eyebrow before realising he was almost, if not the same height as Dolores, and with that he looked down seeing Dolores' dress instead of his white clothes. He could shapeshift, the moment he realised he thought of his mum trying to shift into her, and it worked, he was now standing in front of his parents in his mum's yellow dress, enough was enough for him, he quickly learned shapeshifting took a lot of energy from him, so he shifted back into himself before looking at the door. An image of himself smiling, a woman and man behind him carved into the wood, glowing golden. He looked over it with his green eyes before rushing to the door to open it.

He put his hand over his eyes and squinted as a bright light filled his vision, and when he adjusted he took in his room. A large theatre, a stage right at the end, with stage lights and curtains, mirrors plastered on the walls and empty space in front of the stage. It didn't seem much at first, he ran around and seemed kind of, bland, he was hoping it would be something cooler, maybe something bigger like Isabela's room, and that's when he realized something special about his room. While the spotlights shifted to a light blue, the empty space shifted into a flower field similar to Isabela's room, his jaw dropped and he gazed at the room in awe. The lights shifting to their normal colour again, and he ran again inviting everyone in. He scrambled on top of the stage, and peeked behind it, realising that's where his bed was, it was a bright room mostly filled with yellow. He soon ran out again gazing at everyone gathering in the flower field that the empty space turned into. He smiled, closing his eyes just like on his door.

He was happy.

Chapter Text

Camilo lay sprawled on his bed, he hasn't left his room yet which isn't unusual, contrary to what many people believe as much as he liked tía Julieta's food he also wasn't the biggest fan of mornings and would rather sleep in. That was until he heard rapid knocking on his door, which caused him to sit up and sigh, Mirabel, his cousin was probably getting everyone to leave for breakfast, after all, everything would be happening a bit earlier today due to Antonio's ceremony today and with what happened during Mirabel's it worried a lot of people, especially Abuela. Camilo shook their head, fluffing their hair up a bit with his hand before pulling his yellow poncho over his head and leaving his room, surprised to see everyone out already before him. That's when he heard Mirabel's singing, while his cousin certainly didn't have a magical gift she was talented in other things like singing and sewing. When he heard the singing he giggled slightly before doing a little twirl of his own and walking downstairs to eat breakfast and get his job for today. He's yet to really 'help' in terms of preparations for gift ceremonies since he was too young to do much for Mirabel's and decided to spend time with her instead, Antonio's would be the first time he'll properly help his family.

Abuela was sat at the top of the table as always, while Camilo was sat between Dolores and his dad, "Everyone, today is a very special day and I want it to go perfect. It must be, we cannot have a repeat of the last ceremony."

Camilo wished he could roll his eyes, but he didn't dare to disrespect Abuela, so instead, he just nodded before finishing his meal and following everyone out of casita. Today was going to start like a normal day, helping out the town with their gifts, wherever they could. Camilo couldn't do much, as much as he loved his gift when he was younger, it certainly didn't feel helpful now. At least not when the whole family was helping the town out, he sighed before splitting off to go look for anyone that might need his help, he mostly helped tired mothers who just needed a break from their child, shifting into them and playing with the child while the mother slept peacefully, he didn't mind it much but he wanted to do more. That's when he noticed Mirabel slowly making it down the street with a group of kids following her, he continued holding the child in their arms before raising an eyebrow at Mirabel. He knew she couldn't help much around since she didn't have a gift, but he didn't expect her to be followed by multiple kids as she talked, or more like sang, about her family. So when he heard his name his eyes went wide, and he quickly shifted showing the other children following Mirabel what he could do, receiving a thankful look from Mirabel as she passed him.

They continued with their day, helping any mothers and playing with kids that wanted to play, or even scaring younger kids with Bruno, the image of tío Bruno certainly wasn't perfect, if even remotely close, but he couldn't remember much of tío Bruno as he left when Camilo was still 5, mind too occupied with his new gift to pay attention to his tío that left. He didn't mind much though, the image was as close as he could get it, based on the stories from townsfolk, his own family, and any mural of tío Bruno that remained. He wasn't worried if his tío saw him, knew of this, he couldn't anyway. He was gone. It was nearing the end of the morning, coming to the afternoon meaning time to go home and decorate casita for Antonio's celebration, he was excited for his little brother, though some anxiety remained as he worried that his hermano wouldn't get a gift just like Mirabel. Sighing, he shook his head before throwing the ball at the kids to catch, who threw it back at him shortly, he laughed shifting into some random man and a lady he saw on the streets hitting the ball away before shifting back into himself.

"Right, right that's enough for now, I need to go decorate casita and help out mi familia for Antonio's ceremony. Adíos!" He waved the kids goodbye before running off to casita.

When he entered he saw some of the townsfolk already setting some decorations up, he smiled before going upstairs and towards Antonio's door, perfect timing he guessed when he heard Abuela tell him that they needed another José, he smirked quickly transforming into the man helping him hang up the banner before turning back into himself. Camilo sat down on the stairs as Abuela left him and José after they had hung up the banner of Antonio's door.

They were going to go to Antonio and see how his younger brother was doing until they heard Abuela's voice pierce the air, "Go clean your rooms! I don't care how big they are!"

He sighed, rolling his eyes and walking into his room, glancing over his shoulder when he heard Mirabel's voice alongside Abuela's. He winced as he heard his prima being told off, he didn't want to hear more of it so instead, he slid into his room and closed his door as quickly and quietly as he could hoping Abuela didn't see him eavesdropping. He inhaled, slid down his door, and looked at his room, the lights were a slight purple mixed with green, the empty space wasn't turned into anything, he didn't have a reason to turn it into anything.

"There's no way I'm cleaning all of this." He mumbled as he looked at the multiple blankets and ponchos scattered across his room, alongside the couple cups of water that he sometimes brings upstairs at midnight alongside any leftover food, "It's not like anyone will walk into here, right?"

To be honest, he wasn't exactly sure about the last part, especially since even the little kids would be at the ceremony, and they wouldn't listen to anyone, even if Antonio's room is amazing they would still probably stray and try to go into everyone else's rooms. He stood up deciding to clean up the ponchos first, picking up the many that were scattered across his room and folding them just like his mum showed him before bringing them backstage and putting them gently into one of the drawers. They dusted off their hands before going to collect the many glasses laying on the main stage, he shifted into someone that could carry more than he could, not wanting to do 2 trips of just carrying glasses out of his room. As he carried them downstairs he got many questioning looks from his family, he sure wasn't expecting to be judged for having this many glasses. Surely it was normal?

When tía Julieta saw him she widened her eyes before sighing, "Camilo stop hoarding the glasses in your room, how long have you had these? The whole 5 years that Antonio was growing up?"

Camilo lifted his hands in defense after putting the glasses in the sink, "No! Of course not, tía Julieta! I clean my room... sometimes."

His tía shook her head laughing, "Oh Camilo whatever will Abuela do with you if she finds out how many glasses you've been hoarding."

"I don't hoard them!" He paused, furrowing his eyebrows and making his lips for a straight line as he shifted back into himself, "They're just inconvenient to bring down, anyway is there anything I can help with?"

"No, not much, everything's almost finished."

Camilo nodded, waving a quick bye to his aunt before going outside of casita to greet townsfolk, it was still a while until Antonio's ceremony, and he didn't want to deal with his stressed mum whenever something isn't perfect. This wasn't exactly the day he wanted to be pushed over by a hurricane, or drenched by rain, so instead, he stood outside their door as townsfolk began to enter casita. He greeted them by shifting into them and hugging them or high-fiving the kids, a smile on his face as he did. When the majority of people had entered casita he left and went into his room to get himself ready.

Chapter Text

Camilo fixed his hair, dusted their poncho and put on a smile before moving to leave his room. It was almost time for Antonio's ceremony, he couldn't help but look at the spotlights shifting to just purple as he left. It was true, he was anxious, worried for his little brother's ceremony. Why wouldn't he be? The moment he left his room he saw Dolores already making her way downstairs as townsfolk entered casita, he smiled as the children ran around the house, trying to walk up the stairs only for them to become flat, almost like a slide. They turned away from the children and made their way downstairs to his family, Dolores and his dad were already there while his mum and Antonio were still missing. He raised an eyebrow, looking over at the two family members.

"Pepa can't find Antonio," his dad answered his unspoken question and Camilo nodded, knowing fully well where Antonio probably was. He sat down on the steps and looked on at the stairs expecting Antonio to arrive soon, after all it was almost time. When his mum showed up without Antonio that's when he got slightly worried, well until he heard that Mirabel was with Antonio and would bring him down when it was time. So there they sat, waiting for Antonio, praying that he would get a gift, that Abuela wouldn't get angry if he didn't, that it would be a good gift if he did get it. Camilo's eyes lit up when he saw Antonio make his way down the stairs beside Mirabel,  he stood up putting on his best 'proud brother' face, masking his worry. Antonio walked over to them, and his father immediately lifted his hand letting out a laugh.

"There you are!" walking over to his son, the family following, Camilo stopped early, putting his hands on his knees and looking at Antonio a true smile on his face.

"Look at you all grown up," his mum walked over to Antonio, putting her hand on his cheek almost ignoring the rain cloud forming above her head, Camilo couldn't help but roll his eyes slightly as his dad shooed the cloud away with his hands. They continue telling him that he was looking all grown up and would make the family proud, Camilo shifting into his dad to say a couple things and then shifting into himself again only to hug his brother. As his dad walked out, waving his hand for them to leave, Camilo quickly transformed into a shorter version of him and also raised his hand.

"Vamos! Vamos! Vamos!" he repeated what his dad said in a slightly higher pitch smiling until his dad picked him up by the shoulders, a nervous grin appearing on Camilo's face, "That's it! Alright, I'm done!"

He tried to sound apologetic in the last part, but to him it was funny, so there was a slight hint of laughter in his voice. He stood next to tía Julieta, holding her hand while his parents walked upstairs. Abuela repeated the same words she did every ceremony, Camilo smiled looking at the curtain which his brother stood behind. When it opened, and the tiles once again flickered to red to imitate a red carpet he looked at Antonio, hoping it would encourage him to go on, but even casita couldn't get him to move. He saw his brother reach out a hand saying something, only for Mirabel to join him reluctantly and holding his hand, walking him down and up the stairs. Camilo's eyes followed, slight confusion written on his face while still keeping up his smile. He watched as Antonio touched the candle and nodded, while his parents and Mirabel stood to the side, solid fear in their eyes. He watched as Antonio touched the doorknob, expecting nothing. He watched as the golden glow engulfed Antonio from it's bright shine, he watched as a colourful toucan landed on his brother's arm and as his brother nodded, only to see multiple animals rushing to Antonio. His brother got a gift. Camilo saw the pride and joy in his parents' eyes and the sadness in Mirabel's. He quickly rushed upstairs, breaking his hand free from tía Julieta's, running behind his brother as he entered the room; a large tree in the middle, a lush jungle with waterfalls and many animals rushing into it. He stood to the side as a jaguar rushed into the room and flicked Antonio onto his back. A proud smile on his face as Antonio explored the room, it reminded him of when he saw his own room, he laughed to himself as he realized how different their reactions had been. When Antonio came down and slid to a stop on the jaguar jumping off Camilo walked over to him, hand on his hips giving a small nod of approval. He was happy for his brother, after all he's gotten a gift even after what happened those years ago on Mirabel's. Camilo was happy that his brother didn't feel the disappointment that he felt when he saw his room originally.

"We need a picture! Everyone come on!" Abuela raised her voice, with pure joy in it and Camilo rushed to be next to his brother and at the front. Everyone shook their heads at him but he could only smile and stick his tounge out as he stood right at the front. Once everyone got into their positions, or at least he thought everyone did until he saw Mirabel rush out of the room just as the photo was about to be taken.

"La familia Madrigal!" they all shouted in unison as the photo was taken, Camilo couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong with his cousin but decided it was best to be pushed aside. He belittled it to just Mirabel being upset over the fact that she was yet again alone in the nursery, instead of going to look for his cousin he pushed the feeling to the back of his head forcefully joining the party that was happening in the tree. Camilo took his time to look around, the room seemed cosy and relaxing with plenty of room for not only Antonio but also his animals, a large open space for the birds to fly in as well. It was definitely bigger than Camilo's room but he didn't complain, he learned to like his room. He ate some of the food set out by his tía, and chatted to the townsfolk but he still couldn't forget the sight of Mirabel rushing out of the room. He got more worried as his cousin didn't return, deciding to excuse himself saying that he would go sleep he left the room too, almost running out and looking all over casita for Mirabel. He put his hands on the railings and looked up at the fireworks, only to see a small silhouette sitting on the roof, highlighted by the colourful lights. His shoulders dropped and relaxed as he realised his cousin was okay. That Mirabel was okay. He let go of the railing about to go into his room when he heard a quiet tune, some lyrics carried by the wind not to be drowned out by the fireworks and shouts in Antonio's room, Mirabel.  He wished he could go and comfort her, but she looked like she need to be left alone, not to mention she was sitting on the roof and he didn't feel like climbing up there, so instead he left and entered his room.

He picked up and folded anything he could find: blankets, shirts, trousers, ponchos. Anything to distract himself from what happened, he didn't want to think of his cousin sitting on the roof singing to herself, alone watching the fireworks as her whole family celebrated. Why wasn't she? He sat down on the stage after running out of things to fold, thinking about his cousin, why was she so upset? He wanted to think it was because she wasn't in the photo but to him it seemed like she rushed out the moment everyone started to line up to take it. Was it the fact that she was the only one without a gift? He shook his head standing up and walking over to one of his many mirrors, once again looking directly into his own eyes, tugging at his poncho and pulling his hair. Had he once again betrayed his cousin?

Camilo wanted to sleep, he wanted to sleep through the rest of the night and hopefully forget it all the moment he woke up, he didn't want the lonely image of Mirabel in his head and didn't want to think of who was looking back at him in the mirror. That was until he heard something fall and shatter outside. He perked up running out of his room and looking around, pausing when he saw Mirabel running into Antonio's room. He took this as an opportunity to look down into the center of casita and see the broken roof tile. He took a step back eyes wide open in shock, was casita breaking? Their attention was soon turned to the muffled yelling coming from Antonio's room, and soon the whole family leaving the room being led by Abuela and Mirabel. His eyes only followed Mirabel with doubt and confusion, she was rambling on about how casita was breaking how there were cracks, how the roof tiles were falling but even though he's seen the broken tile he didn't see the cracks. What was she doing? He blinked, going into his room again, he didn't want to listen, he didn't want to hear as Abuela ignored Mirabel's worries, he didn't want to see the disappointment spread through his family. He moved to his bed slowly, looking at his own feet refusing to look in the mirrors.

His room always reminded him that whoever was looking back was never truly him.

Chapter Text

Camilo had woken up at the edge of their bed, their yellow blanket had fallen onto the floor and they were about to join it. They yawned, stretching before pushing themselves up only to rub their eyes. Surprisingly, the thought of casita and their lonely cousin still hasn't left like they had hoped, it was still in their mind. They swung their legs over to the side of the bed, their feet weren't dangling like they used to, instead touching the floor, they didn't know the time, but they weren't woken up by Mirabel's knocking which meant that they hadn't slept through breakfast. Unless Mirabel decided to not knock today and if she hasn't knocked then sitting on their bed and doing nothing wasn't helping. Camilo pushed themselves up realising they had fallen asleep in yesterday's' clothes, a disappointed look formed on their face before they went over to their wardrobe to change into some new ones, leaving the ones they slept in on their bed. They fixed their hair, trying to make it less messy though that ended up being a failed effort, so instead they left the room, ignoring the thought of their cousin. They were surprised to see their family already moving around casita, have they woken up late? They turned the thought away going downstairs and grabbing their plate of food from the kitchen only to nearly walk into Luisa who was carrying the table outside, they took a step back before following her outside. They saw the table of food outside and a mischievous thought popped into their head, along with a smirk on their face. They made sure no one was looking before shifting into Dolores and walking over to the table adding arepas to their plate. It wasn't like they were doing this purely for being the little gremlin they were, recently shapeshifting had been taking more and more energy out of them, so they decided to take more food to not disappoint the children by having to leave early. They continue putting the food on their plate until they see Mirabel running at them with full speed, their eyes widening in shock and fear.

"Dolores, hey! You know out of all my older cousins you're like my favourite cousin. So I feel like I can talk to you about anything, ergo you can talk to me about anything. Like the problem with the magic last night, that no one seemed to worry about that maybe you heard about, that maybe I should know about?" Mirabel rambled on, he could barely understand her, slowly stacking arepas on top of eachother as she spoke, not even blinking from shock. Though, he has to admit that he was shocked and a bit disappointed at the fact that he wasn't Mirabel's favourite cousin anymore, unless she was lying but he doubted it, after all he left her. Twice.

"Camilo. Stop pretending to be Dolores so you can have seconds," His dad appeared from the doorway with Dolores right behind him, he was mentally making note to thank his dad because he truly didn't know what he would've done otherwise.

"Worth a shot," Camilo shrugged transforming back into himself, he didn't mind too much he was satisfied with the amount of food on his plate, looking down at it with a smile. Casita was hit him to get a move on, and when he didn't move the first time it had hit him again, he quickly walked away not catching the conversation Mirabel had with Dolores as he left to take his seat at the table being the first to put his overfilled plate down. He took the arepa into his hand and was about to bite down into it, but it seemed like karma was catching up to him and wouldn't let him eat in peace.

He watched as Abuela stood at the top of the table, "Family we are all thankful for Antonio's wonderful new gift."

He snorted as he saw the animals rise up from the chair when Abuela was about to sit down, earning a stern look from him mum which made him shut up instantly.

"I told them to warm up your seat!" Antonio beamed, smiling brightly, only to receive an awkward look from Abuela perhaps a bit concerned even. The animals quickly rushed off the chair and next to Antonio, Camilo took this as a chance to eat his arepas while he could, at least that was the plan until Abuela spoke up again. Why couldn't he just eat, wasn't that what breakfasts were for?

"Thank you Toñito," Abuela sat down and looked down the table at the family, no smile or emotion on her face, which wasn't a bad thing it was better than disappointment or anything else Abuela could show, "I'm sure today we will find a way to put your blessing to good use."

He quickly turned back to his food, digging into his food immediately he managed to finish three out of his nine arepas before being interrupted again, this time by Mirabel rather than Abuela. He cast a confused yet angry gaze at Mirabel as she rapidly whisper-yelled at Luisa, he rolled his eyes turning back to his food as Mirabel continued her rant, whatever it could've been. It's not like he had no idea what she was talking about, probably the magic that she mention to 'Dolores'. Ignoring the mumbling was simple enough, though what seemed to finally send him over the edge, alongside his mum and the whole family, was when Mirabel slammed her hand on the table even shocking herself.

"You do!" Followed the loud bang, and Camilo rolled their eyes. He had managed to finish his arepas but god he wished that for once, breakfast could be peaceful.

"Mirabel, if you can't pay attention I will help you. Casita." Abuela's tone became softer towards calling casita, but he couldn't help but notice the anger in her eyes. He couldn't help but see the angry look his mum passed to Mirabel as his cousin was moved towards the front of the table beside Abuela. He knew Mirabel has interrupted Antonio's night (she hasn't ruined like the entire family was saying he didn't think she ruined it her worries were valid after all he saw it too) but was it really a reason to be that upset to show clear anger?  He shook his head turning to look at the rest of the food on his plate before looking back at Abuela who started speaking again, at least he has finished the arepas he had taken. He didn't pay much attention, just catching a few odd words here and there, he couldn't bring himself to pay attention after the breakfast had already mentally tired him out. What caught his attention, even making him slightly shapeshift out of fear was when he heard and saw Mirabel being shoved against the table by casita after trying to walk away from breakfast. He couldn't blame her, he would get out as soon as he could as well, but he didn't fancy being the victim of Abuela's and his mum's wrath. He was about to continue eating anything left on his plate until he saw Abuela stand up and walk over to Isabela, still talking, but he wasn't paying much attention again. That was until he realized that what they were talking about was Mariano's proposal to Isabela. As Abuela passed him and Isabela turned her head in order to follow Abuela he shifted into Mariano and made some kissy faces towards his cousin, only to receive a bunch of flowers shoved into his mouth by her, as much as Isabela or 'Señorita Perfecto' as Mirabel liked to call her, the flowers certainly didn't taste great. Once Abuela was stood at the opposite end of the table, they did their toast calling out 'La Familia Madrigal' as always and raising their cups, well that was what Camilo intended until he saw a certain girl dressed in a white and teal dress run off. Now he couldn't help but get more curious as to what his cousin was up to.

Camilo wished he could follow her but of course, he couldn't as they were once again out to help the town with their miracles, so he stuck to the kids, playing different games with them, constantly shifting draining all energy from himself. When did shifting become this exhausting? Sure it had always used a lot of his energy to shift this quickly, especially when he was younger, but never this much. Despite this, he continue playing with the kids laughing until afternoon came and the kids were called home for lunch, he had stayed as himself for the last couple hours too tired to shift. When they were all finally gone he let out a sigh of relief, his knees felt like they were about to give in, he took his time walking back to casita, trying to not pass out on the way back. He took in the town around him as he walked, there were new flowers made by Isabela all over the place, the town was quiet as everyone ate their lunches at home, the sky was clear suggesting his mum was happy while the sun was in-between its highest point and sunset. When he entered the house he saw the family spread across casita, relaxing or cleaning probably preparing for the Guzmans to arrive for supper and for Mariano to propose to Isabela. He decided to walk to the kitchen, hoping to find tía Julieta in it, which of course he did. He smirked at the fresh arepas and other food beside her, sneaking behind her to grab some quickly, reaching for them carefully only to have his hand smacked away. Camilo quickly retracted the hand to his chest looking at it and then looking back at his tía.

"Camilo Madrigal, don't you even think about it."

"Just one tía Julieta? Por favor?" He asked, pulling his best puppy eyes and looking at his tía, in hopes of making his aunt give some to him. His face lit up with joy when his aunt rolled her eyes and nodded, he thanked her before taking one and walking out the kitchen. What surprised him was Dolores and Mirabel in the center of the house.

Chapter Text

Camilo looked on, his eyes following the two girls' movement, his ears straining to hear what Dolores was saying. Though that proved to be useless as he still couldn't hear her properly, after all, he didn't have her gift even if he shifted into her but what he could tell was that Mirabel was scared, her eyes wide almost screaming 'help'. Camilo bit the arepa as he watched his sister put on a show, while he couldn't hear all the words he could certainly make out some of them, one of the words that stuck out to him was 'Bruno' slightly louder than the others. He blinked in shock before smirking, deciding to follow on with what Dolores was doing, he quickly ate his arepa before shifting into his horrendous image of tío Bruno. When he saw Dolores step away from Mirabel before leaping into action, he twirled his cousin, shifting between himself and tío Bruno, an odd addition was rats that joined him whenever he was tío Bruno he didn't mind though it only seemed to scare his cousin a bit more. While he certainly wasn't as good when it came to singing as his cousin he was at least adept at it. He smirked as he finished, watching as Mirabel quickly walked away from him bumping into Isabela with that he transformed back into himself, satisfied. He walked away towards the entrance only to see Abuela walking back with the Guzmans, slowly getting closer while they were still trying to scare Mirabel. He quickly turned to where Isabela was still standing.

"Isabela, you're boyfriend's here!" he shouted, trying to still stick with the singing that was happening within casita, shifting into Mariano towards the end flexing his muscles before laughing at Isabela's annoyed expression. Camilo once again shifted back into himself before walking into the kitchen to help set the table for the supper. The thought of why they were scaring Mirabel was stuck at the back of his head, it puzzled him. He sighed grabbing the wine glasses, humming his part quietly as he set the wine glasses on the table, the whole family slowly gathering to set the table. Tía Julieta had put the food on the table just as the Guzmans arrived, Mirabel following soon apologizing for being late before sitting down next to Isabela and her dad. Camilo turned his attention to the food already putting some of the food in his mouth already, almost spitting it out when he saw the staring that was happening beside him. Dolores hadn't blinked and neither has Mirabel, it was kind of funny as Mirabel put food on her plate while not losing eye contact with Dolores. Did Dolores know something? He shrugged his shoulders and turned back to his food, only to be interrupted by a tap on his shoulder and a hurried whisper in his ear.

"Mirabel found Bruno's vision and she's in it."

Camilo shifted between Bruno and Mirabel from shock and confusion before finally settling down on himself again, only to receive a nudge from his dad.

"Camilo fix your face," Camilo shook his head, fixing his face before looking at Mirabel in confusion, only to turn to his dad and repeat what Dolores had said to him. He couldn't help but awkwardly smile as his dad spit water towards Mariano, he noticed the tension building up in Mirabel as she looked at everyone who passed on what Dolores said, betrayal masked by shock and fear in her eyes. As the information finally reached tía Julieta, everything was already out of hand, his mum's cloud was getting out of control, rain pouring on top of them despite her trying her best to stop it. Mirabel trying to speed up the proposal only to ruin it, throwing herself under the table making Camilo flinch. This only led to worse things as Dolores quickly said what she knew to everyone at the table and the vision was slid across it towards Abuela. Camilo had managed to get a quick look at it, not exactly the clearest one but all he needed to see was Mirabel herself in it to know what was said was true. The vision itself was cracked, broken into many pieces only to be put together on that tray by Antonio's animals. As Abuela looked at the vision in utter shock casita began to break, the walls cracking slowly, Camilo threw his hands over his head and put his head on the table until the cracking came to an eventual stop. He cast a quick glance at Mirabel seeing her standing in front of the cracked wall, for once he couldn't tell the emotion that Mirabel was feeling. His mother's cloud has grown to an enormous size, only to incorporate wind within it as well, as if rain wasn't bad enough already. The door was flung open by the wind revealing multiple townsfolk who held a banner, Camilo couldn't help but feel embarrassed. After his mum left the room he soon followed, he knew his mum need to be calmed down or there was no way the rain would ease. He saw the look on Mirabel's face as they all left, he heard the shouted apologies, he heard the despair in her voice. It hurt him to leave her like that, it hurt him that he left her again but his mum needed him more.

He wasn't happy.

When he sat his mum down, he hugged her before leaving to grab a cup of tea. He closed his eyes, mentally making a note to apologize to Mirabel after all of this was other. If it ever was. He held the cup of tea in his hands carefully, walking towards his mum trying to speak in his softest and most calming voice.

"It's okay mamí, deep breath in, deep breath out," he handed the tea to his mum just before the walls shook, almost as if someone had been inside them. His mum had flinched just like him, the only difference being that he flinched as a result of his mum's lighting from her cloud hitting him. It didn't hurt much, it wasn't nearly as powerful as actual lighting, just a little stinging sensation left. That only lead to him walking into the wardrobe and letting out a yelp. He grabbed his leg, taking in a breath as his mum apologized, assuring her that it was okay and that he was fine. Camilo put his leg back down again, before leaving the room only telling his mum that he would go get an arepa for himself if there was any. His mum nodded and he left quickly. He wasn't really going to get an arepa, or at least that was the main reason why he left (he would always go try and get an arepa anytime he could), he wanted to look for Mirabel. He wanted to apologize.

"Mirabel?" he asked with no response to be heard, only some rustling. He sighed walking further into the center of casita looking around.

"Mira-" Camilo cut himself off as he unwillingly shifted, he sighed, he was losing more and more control over his gift and the uncontrolled shifts were becoming more and more frequent, "Mirabel!"

No answer again. He wondered casita for longer in whatever form he had shifted into trying to shift back into himself and as he walked through casita he finally shifted back into himself, just as he was about to go back to where his mum was. A slight sadness filled him as he couldn't apologize to Mirabel, though he would be a liar if he didn't admit that he hear tío Bruno, he would be a liar if he didn't see his tío and Mirabel crouching close to the railings by Dolores' room. He closed his eyes and sighed, walking into his mum's room immediately putting on a smile to not worry his mum more than she already was. So let him be a liar, at least he wasn't betraying Mirabel again.

Chapter Text

Camilo was now in his room sitting on his bed, his eyes focused on the floor as he thought about what he's seen. Tío Bruno and Mirabel, together, talking. Camilo let himself fall on his bed and sighed, after all these years his tío wasn't gone, he was still there alive and more or less well. Where had his tío been this whole time? Did he ever leave? Camilo held the bridge of his nose before standing up, he fixed his poncho making sure it was even before going outside his 'bedroom' part of his room standing atop of his stage looking at the empty space, he couldn't turn it into anything anymore, not even if he tried. The room was left as a void while he watched from the side as his gift slowly slipped away, Camilo didn't know what to think of it. After all, his gifted didn't affect him, too much. Right? He shook his head, jumping off the stage, walking past the mirrors towards his door. He couldn't stop his eyes from glancing at the reflections, even if he didn't want to. Subconsciously he pulled at his poncho and looked at the floor whenever he looked away. Was this really him? He left his room, quietly closing the door behind him before leaving casita altogether. He kept a lookout for Mirabel as he left, but she was nowhere to be seen. He wanted to apologize.

They didn't know where they were going, what they were going to do, or why they left casita, they just wanted to get away from where most of his problems seemed to originate from. They didn't end up going far, sitting near the river right on the bank, watching as it flowed past them at a moderate speed. Their knees were tucked to their chest, chin resting on them while their arms wrapped around his legs. Thoughts raced in his mind he couldn't stop any of them to think on them, they just passed him leaving him more confused than he was before, leaving him more lost than he was. He was getting nowhere when it came to sorting his problems out, if anything this 'attempt' at sorting the problems out only allowed his thoughts to engulf him. His lips formed a thin line as he started at the small ripples in the river. This was getting him nowhere. To be honest, Camilo was never good at sorting his problems and emotions out, sure he could make everyone smile within a second, comfort them, but when it came to himself he couldn't help but think too much about the littlest things, he couldn't help but think about who he wanted to be, who he was. Camilo's head perked up as he noticed a butterfly fly in front of him, his eyes following it towards casita. He stood up at the sight of bright colors on top of casita's roof, blinked as he noticed the two figures who seemed to be the cause of it: Isabela and Mirabel. He watched as the two ran around, as Isabela formed new flowers, colorful powder filling the air painting her dress and hair. Camilo watched the two in awe before running over to casita, wanting to see it all better, he didn't believe still. Just as he made it to casita, expecting to be met with Isabela and Mirabel, he saw Abuela in front of Mirabel, he couldn't see her eyes, only her back but he could see Mirabel's eyes, the sadness in them, and he could certainly hear the words as casita slowly cracked. He stopped in the doorway, his parents a few meters in front of him, Mirabel's almost next to them while Isabela and Luisa stood to the side. His hands dropped limply by his side as he watched the argument escalate, his eyes taken away when he felt a hand on his shoulder, Dolores.

"Bruno left our family because you only saw the worst in him," Mirabel's voice sounded like it was about to break, like she was about to cry but it was still tinted with anger as she looked at Abuela, the sadness in her eyes gone replaced with something else.

"Bruno didn't care about this family!" Abuela's voice was hoarse, almost in denial.

"He loves this family. I love this family. We all love this family," Mirabel walked closer to Abuela, and Camilo stood frozen in shock at his cousin's outburst of emotions, "You're the one that doesn't care. You're the one breaking our home."

Abuela jumped to defend herself and Camilo thought it was going to be over, that Mirabel would stay quiet, that it would all end. He prayed silently that the cracks would go away, that this was a dream, no, a nightmare. His hand unwillingly went to hold Dolores' hand that was still on his shoulder.

"The miracle is dying, because of you."

No one moved for a second, not even an inch. Until casita cracked again, this time down the middle, splitting the house in two separating everyone from Mirabel. He saw his mum move in fear as casita shook, he flinched back towards the door, his instinct telling him to run, to get as far as he could from casita. He saw Mirabel run forward towards the candle, and at that moment he threw his instincts out the window rushing up the stairs, he wouldn't leave her this time. He hurried across, dodging any debris falling, using any remaining magic within him to shift. He ignored the screams from below as his mum screamed his name, and tía Julieta screamed Mirabel's. He caught a glimpse of Isabela jumping forward as well, only to fall to the ground soon after, casita softening her fall as much as it could. He leaped, about to catch the roof and join Mirabel next to the candle to try and convince her to get out, even force her to get out, he still hasn't apologized. He thought he made it until he suddenly shifted back into himself, and fell towards the ground, he swore in his mind grabbing onto whatever casita put out to soften his fall. He landed hands first, scratching them up, but surprisingly not breaking anything. Camilo looked up at Mirabel, who was already by the candle, at that moment casita began pushing everyone out, wanting them to leave. It was protecting them, but what about Mirabel? His eyes clouded with fear as he watched Mirabel while being forced outside by casita. He yelped as he fell on his back, sliding across the grass, his shirt lifted a bit causing him to scratch his back a slight bit. When he came to a stop next to all his other family members, his poncho covered his face, and he could feel the stinging of the blood that wanted to escape from the scratches that he received from trying to help out.

When he felt stable enough he stood up, wiping as much dirt as he could off his poncho, though this didn't do much as it was still torn and covered in dirt. He took a look at his hands before looking at casita, everything was falling, crumbling. He wanted to run in, try again to help Mirabel, but he knew he couldn't. So he stood outside and watched without a word as casita fell.

Chapter Text

As he watched his face remained blank, no emotion covering it, he didn't know what to feel anymore. What would they find under the rubble? If they found anything at all that is. Camilo's eyes started at the fallen casita, watched as the dust cleared his feet glued to the ground as he watched tía Julieta walk into the ruins first to look for her daughter. Camilo stared at his tía as she started running, screaming her daughter's name. Was she gone? He didn't move until his dad put a hand on his shoulder and led him forward towards the rubble, Camilo looked away not wanting to accept what had happened but he couldn't help as his eyes wandered the scene looking for Mirabel yet she was nowhere. He stopped himself from crying, looking at his dad when he got a small nudge.

"Camilo, mi hijo, are you alright?" his dad looked at him, worry filling his eyes as Camilo looked back at him with no smile or emotion whatsoever, he only nodded. His dad sighed giving him a small pat before walking away to his mum. Camilo blinked and walked away, he didn't know what he was looking for if there was anything to even look for. Camilo stopped in his tracks and turned around looking at his whole family gathered around Abuela. Did they truly forgive her? Did they not care about Mirabel? Camilo shook his head, no, they had to care at least tía Julieta had to. He tried to shift, hoping for something to ground him to bring him comfort, to let him know he was alright but he couldn't nothing changed, not even his eye color. Camilo looked at his hands, shaking, his gift was completely gone. He thought that what happened while casita was collapsing was purely because of his loss of control, after all the candle was still burning at the time, had it gone out?

"My powers, they're gone... I don't. What about Antonio?  What will he do?" He turned to his brother who was crying in their mum's arms, Camilo stopped himself from crying at the sight. They truly lost everything, anything that made them themselves. Everything was gone in a matter of seconds. He let himself fall to the floor, his hands falling limply between his legs as he sat away from his family. He shouldn't be sad, he shouldn't be feeling like this, he was still himself he could pull his pranks without his gift, he could still be the mischievous child in the family. Even without his gift, he was still himself, wasn't he? Yet despite this he could feel the small void in himself, the part of him that was missing, except now he couldn't do anything about it, it was gone for good. He wasn't himself, not truly anyway. All he knew was his gift since the age of 5, he couldn't remember much of who he was before that after all his whole family made the gifts such a big deal how could he? His head turned to the hand on his shoulder, Dolores once again, a small smile tugged his lips. Even without her gift his sister still knew whenever he wasn't okay, she still noticed the small things and heard the littlest differences in his voice. He allowed Dolores to help him up, standing up slowly, his family was still for the most part gathered around Abuela, but this time talking.

"Camilo, me and padre are going to go look for Mirabel," she paused her sentence looking at Camilo who still stood there silently, even looking away at the mention of the name, "I was going to ask if you want to join us."

"No thanks, Dolores..." Camilo looked past their sister at Antonio who was sitting outside on the grass, staring at the town, "I'll stay with Antonio."

His sister sighed but let Camilo do his thing and stay behind. Why didn't he go help look for her? He wanted to find her so badly, wanted to apologize, see her again, hug her yet he decided to stay and not help. Camilo watched as everyone left, splitting into different directions shouting her name, looking for her hoping to hear an answer. They sighed walking towards their little brother who was hugging his knees, looking away from everyone and towards the town. Camilo quietly sat down beside their brother, rubbing their hand on his back in circles, he couldn't make him laugh with his shapeshifting anymore but he could still comfort him. Antonio looked at him with glassy eyes, fresh tear tracks down his cheeks. Camilo hated seeing their brother cry, hated to see their hermano upset. Camilo was taken aback when Antonio jumped to hug him, sobbing into his chest. He quickly wrapped his arms around his brother, he didn't know what to do anymore. He was lost.

"Shh, mi hermano they'll find Mirabel, I'm sure of it," They tried to make their voice as soft as possible, as sure and calm as it could be. They tried to seem unsure like they were lying.

"And what if they don't? What if Mirabel is gone..." Antonio's voice broke between sobs, more tears began streaming down his face as he looked at Camilo, hoping for reassurance, hoping for some sort of confirmation but Camilo couldn't give him that. He didn't want to lie to his brother, he didn't want to give him too much false home because what if they didn't find her? What if Mirabel was really gone? As much as he wished he could comfort Antonio, he couldn't allow himself to be the one Antonio knew as a liar. Camilo let go of Antonio and took off his torn poncho putting it on Antonio instead, he smiled before patting his lap hoping Antonio would fall asleep. His brother gave him a quiet 'thank you' before laying down on his lap and closing his eyes. Camilo smiled and began playing with his hermano's hair lightly, humming a lullaby he knew Mirabel used to hum to Antonio when the two still shared a room a couple of days ago.

This time, he was left alone.

Chapter Text

Days have passed and Mirabel was still nowhere to be seen, everyone was slowly losing hope, Camilo joined their efforts in searching, going with Dolores and his dad while Antonio stayed with their mum instead. Tía Julieta began searching closer to the house, too tired to venture further after days of sleepless searching, to Camilo's surprise Abuela was the only one who has yet to return, ever since he left a day ago, deciding to go outside of The Encanto through the crack that formed in the mountains surrounding it hoping it would lead her to her granddaughter. Camilo didn't understand why she would go that far to find Mirabel, was it the guilt? Did she even feel guilty? Camilo sighed calling Mirabel's name one more time, there was no point in doing so, but each time he called he hoped for a response for an "I'm here" or "I'm okay" but it was never returned. His attention was caught by tía Julieta's shout, it wasn't a sad, hopeless shout like it usually was, Camilo ran out the bushes and towards the rubble, he saw his tía turning the corner and coming to a pause, a smile forming on her face. Camilo blinked, confusion written on his face before looking in the same direction that tía Julieta was looking in, the confusion forming into shock and relief. Mirabel. He wanted to run forward, hug her but he forced himself to stand still and simply smile as he watched Mirabel hug her mum tightly, he ignored the absence of Abuela, what was more important is that Mirabel was back, finally. He watched as the family reunited, as they hugged and cried tears of joy. Camilo looked back to see his dad emerge and stand beside him, Dolores soon following. Though the now reunited family didn't say much and just hugged, tío Agustín had to express his hatred for bees only to finish it with an "I'll be alright". Camilo couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"Uhh, not if we don't have a house," Camilo lifted his eyebrows only to be elbowed by his dad, he let out a quiet 'ow' before returning a confused look, "What? We don't have a house, I can't say we don't have a house? What is that? Not a house?"

He saw his dad roll his eyes and smile, he was probably glad Camilo was back to his 'old' self, or at least as close as he would be. Camilo looked at Mirabel and watched her smile at his little comment about their house, he couldn't help but smile back. Mirabel broke away from her parents, a warm smile on her face. Now that he thought about it, Mirabel didn't seem upset since she returned, if anything she seemed happier than she's ever been. Did she not care that casita crumbled? He ignored his thoughts as he watched Mirabel move to what remained of the entrance, turning to face the whole family that was standing in front of her, confusion and relief on their faces.

"Look at this home, we need a new foundation," Mirabel turned away walking in a bit further, taking a careful look at the rubble and dirt that had gathered, "it may seem hopeless but we'll get by just fine."

A smile formed on her lips towards the end, and everyone jumped to help clean out the rubble, especially Luisa, Camilo couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness as Luisa tried to stand a rather large piece of rubble up. Unlike Luisa, Camilo decided to stick to smaller things that lay on the floor, the family was working together again. He couldn't help but stop and just admire the sight in front of him, everyone working together with no arguments at all. Though he had to double-take when he saw Abuela enter the scene, it was almost like everyone paused the moment she appeared, everyone but Mirabel, who walked a bit closer a smile on her face. Did she forgive Abuela after all of this?

"I'm sorry I held on too tight," Abuela walked into the scene apologizing, she closed her eyes before continuing, almost as if this was taking everything out of her, "I was just so afraid I'd lose you too."

Camilo noticed Dolores had once again moved next to him, he looked at her almost as if to confirm what he was hearing was real, he felt like he was dreaming again. All of this felt even more like a dream when tío Bruno had entered the scene, settling to stand behind Abuela. Camilo stood to the side as his mum and tía Julieta ran to hug their brother who has been hiding for 10 years. He was completely at a loss for words for the situation, it seemed as if Mirabel going missing changed everyone's opinions on everything.

"Okay, so we gonna talk about Bruno?" Camilo asked, hoping for something to stay the same, for them to say no, he didn't like the amount of change that was happening. He rolled his eyes jokingly when Antonio confirmed that the person standing in front of him was in fact, tío Bruno. He watched as Bruno apologized for hiding for so long, for ruining his parents' wedding only for them to ignore it and hug him instead. Camilo watched Bruno, realizing how wrong his impression of the man had been, his uncle was barely 5'5, certainly not 7', if only he could change it. Camilo sighed, he couldn't he was stuck with the guilt of having a monster as his uncle's impression.

"I knew he never left, I heard him every day," His sister nudged him pretty hard, and he just looked at her in utter confusion. Was that really necessary?

"What's that sound?" Abuela turned to look towards the town, Antonio soon walking out to see what it was.

"I think it's everyone in town."

Camilo, once again taken-aback turned to see everyone walking to their house, or what was left of it, with tools and anything that would help rebuild it. Couldn't they have turned up sooner? Camilo rolled his eyes but was glad that they'd finally get help, maybe they could finally have a house again. The whole family stepped outside greeting everyone, thanking them for the help. Soon enough everyone began working, clearing the rubble and laying out the foundations for the new house. Even with the number of conflicting emotions within Camilo, he couldn't help but be overwhelmed with joy as the house was coming together, slowly rising, and as everyone helped each other out. Camilo gasped remembering that he had to apologize to Mirabel, he still hasn't forgotten even after so many days since he promised himself that he would. He walked over to Mirabel who was standing on top of a barrel, directing people on what's meant to go where.

"Mirabel?" He asked looking up at his cousin, who immediately looked down at him giving him a questioning look, "Ah, well, I'm sorry for... everything, for leaving you so often and not being on your side when the family left you out, for not noticing sooner."

Mirabel laughed, "Camilo you don't have to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong."

"But-"

"Mhm, whatever, here take this and go help out," Mirabel handed him a shovel, which he took with a smile. Camilo tried to look cool, flipping the shovel just to almost hit himself on the head and then fail to catch it as it fell, he winced looking back up at Mirable checking if she had seen what he's done.

After months it was all coming together again, the house was starting to look like one again, even looking similar if not the same as casita, just a bit duller. In the months that had passed, Camilo managed to get closer to Mirabel again, promising to allow her to have sleepovers in each other's rooms once they were furnished again, he even managed to get a couple of conversations in with Bruno. When the house was finally built, finally finished Camilo took a step back, admiring it, it truly looked like casita, just of course not alive. He couldn't help but be excited for Mirabel as he remembered the gift that they had prepared for her.

"Just one more thing, before the celebration," Abuela looked at Mirabel who was standing beside her.

"What?"

Bruno came up behind both of them, holding the gift in his hand, Antonio following, "We need a doorknob."

Camilo looked at them with pride in his eyes, he was proud of all of them, for all that happened they were still able to all stand together. Mirabel looked at the doorknob in her hand, tears welling up in her eyes. Camilo smiled, she'd finally get to experience what they had at the age of 5, just a bit less magic, or so he thought. As Mirabel put the doorknob in place on the door, the house began to glow, turning into multiple colors, just like casita. In fact, it was casita again. He put a hand over his mouth from shock, unsure if he should go in or not, he watched as Mirabel waved as casita, clear happiness in her voice. They all stared for a while until casita took it into its own hands to make them enter, playfully pushing Mirabel inside first before everyone else. Camilo laughed as he was swept into casita, one of the brightest smiles yet on his face. He looked around, it was exactly the same, he couldn't help but let out a few tears of joy fall as he watched the family walk around. He looked towards Isabela, noticing color in the corner of his eyes, she had flowers in her hands, and her dress was once again painted brightly. She got her gift back, the magic was fully back, not just casita. Camilo took this chance to transform into Dolores just like he had when he originally got his gift, this time was different though, he could hear everything. He transformed into his mum straight after, a rainbow over his head, before going back into himself. The magic had come back stronger, he smiled. Casita pushed them into a group to have a family photo taken, though it was seemingly unhappy with how spread out they were, pushing them closer causing everyone to end up in an awkward position but with a smile on their face.

This time his gift wouldn't be all of him.