Work Text:
"Miraboo~"
Ugh.
Mirabel was in her room, brainstorming a new dress she wanted to make for an upcoming friend's birthday, crumpled paper was scattered all over her room.
"What are you doing, mi querido prima?" Camilo smiled, leaning on her frame door. Mirabel sighed, she didn't bother to face him an continue on sketching.
"Well, mi querido primo, I was trying to draft a design for a dress until someone decided to barge in and made me lose focus."
"Oh my! Who would do such a thing? How cruel! Unfathomable!" he gasped dramatically, putting his right hand on his chest and the other on his forehead with his eyes shut. He opened one eye to peek at her reaction. Mirabel snorted and gave him a quick look, which he returned with a smirk. He went into the room and closed the door behind him.
Mirabel and Camilo are very close to each other, well, they used to be at least. When they were living in the nursery together, the two were practically inseparable. The town calls them 'Las Traviesas Mellizas Madrigales' because they keep doing pranks and creating havoc around the town.
You bet they carry that title damn proudly.
That all changed when it was time for Camilo to get his gift. When he touched the doorknob, and at first nothing happened. But as soon as he saw Mirabel watching him from the side, the crowd gasped. He became Maribel! The whole family was ecstatic. Especially Camilo, he became his twin!
She and Camilo cried a lot when he had to sleep separately from each other for the first time. He snuck out a lot of time to have sleepovers with her though, while talking about what gift Mirabel will get at her ceremony and planning pranks that they can do using both of their gifts. They'll do that until midnight until one of their parents will come in to either tell them to go to sleep or put Camilo back to his room. The latter option won't go down without Camilo putting on a fight though.
Then the day of Mirabel's ceremony came, the door that was supposed to give her a gift, that was supposed to make her special , vanished and vaporized from her sight as soon as her tiny 5 year old hands touched the doorknob. Everyone was horrified, including little Camilo who was watching from the sidelines.
Mirabel cried a lot in the nursery later that night, and Camilo came in to comfort her.
'I won't stop till I make you smile today, prima!' he said. Either making jokes or shifting into other people in an attempt to make her laugh. In the end he got it, although it was half-hearted, but Camilo takes what he can get. The rest of the night he spends providing warmth for her in his embrace, sleeping together in the small bed under the heavy blanket. For the first time in a while, nobody really stopped him from staying with her.
After that, their relationship continued to strain. Because of Camilo's gift, Abuela often calls him to help out the townsfolk. So even for a five year old, he was pretty busy. He always makes time for Mirabel though, visiting her in the nursery every day just to chat.
But the older he gets, the more stuff Abuela wants him to do. So he got busier and busier, and didn't have time to visit Mirabel as much. And so everyday becomes once every three days, then becomes once a week, then once a month, and so on before he stopped visiting her completely. Ever since then, he and Mirabel weren't that close at all, they still talk to each other when they can but not exactly actively finding time to spend with each other.
After Casita was rebuilt though, the Madrigals aren't as busy. Abuela is not as stern as she used to be and the townsfolk became a lot more independent and didn't rely on them as much. Thus they have a lot more free time for them to relax and do their own thing now. And Camilo decides to use some of that freetime to catch up with his once twin, frequently coming to her room just to talk to her. Mirabel finds the sentiment very sweet, and she also likes to go to his room to help him rehearse a play script, sometimes Tío Bruno will join them as well.
But dios if only he wasn't so annoying-
Mirabel got her own room now. It's not much, in it is just a bed and a desk besides for her to design stuff, with some other things such as sewing machine, a wardrobe, a container for her tools, and other knick knacks to make the room livelier. It may not be magical or fenomenal like her other family members' room, but it wasn't the nursery anymore, and for her that's enough.
"Sooo what have you got?" he asked, plopping his head onto his younger (by a few months) cousin. Mirabel grunts as she accidentally makes a wrong stroke on her paper from the sudden weight. His poncho draping over her face.
"I'm still thinking about it-" she answered, "and get off! You're heavy!"
She lifts her shoulders to get the boy off of her. He laughed in response, putting his hands up as he stepped back from her.
“Besides, don't you have anything to do at town?” she asked him, erasing the stroke that got out of line.
"Aw, my wittle pwima is so cold~!" he wailed, plopping himself on her bed. “None of the townsfolk needed me for anything, there's also nothing urgent going on, so Abuela just let me do whatever I wanted," he explained.
“So my kind and considerate self thought ‘why not keep my lonely cousin some company?’ and yet here I am! Shoved away-” he laid down on her bed, an arm covering his eyes. Mirabel just kept on listening to his drama king of a cousin.
”And to think we used to be twins, I am heartbroken… my heart is shattered like Isabelas flower petals flowing down the wind…" Camilo faked a sob, Mirabel turned to him with an unamused look, before letting out a small giggle from herself. She continued drawing the sketch of the dress she wanted to make, “Yeah right, you’re probably just bored.”
The shapeshifter scoffed. "Guess you prefer hanging out with Dolores huh? After all, she is your favorite older cousin after all," Camilo jeered, but there's not a trace of venom heard in it whatsoever.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Mirabel stopped drawing to turn to him and defended herself, "I only said that so she would talk to me!" Camilo simply replied with a whistle. Mirabel pouted.
"Okay, first of all, you're only a few months apart from me-"
"Still older."
Mirabel let out an 'ugh' before she breathed in and continued her sentence. "-second of all, stop being dramatic and help me choose a color for this," Mirabel whipped to the side to take two fabrics off her desk.
"Which one do you think is better?" she asked enthusiastically, holding up a red and magenta fabric in each of her hands. Camilo sat up, letting out a 'hmm' as he eyed the fabric intently. Before scooching closer to her to get a good look at the sketch on her desk.
"Well, if you're aiming for a dress like this, then probably warm colors would suit best. It'll make it really pop out you know? So red," he answered. Mirabel hummed, puffing her cheeks, she looked at the fabric at her sketch.
Mirabel doesn't hate having Camilo with her most of the time. In fact, she genuinely enjoys his presence. It's nice to catch up with him after all these years, besides she can always ask him some suggestions for stuff she's working on. He may not look like it, but he actually got a good eye for fashion.
"Hmm, you're right. Then I'll use red and mix up some oranges in there, now I can move on to the embroidery designs. Gracias Cami!" she exclaimed, turning back to her desk. "Y'know, you're actually pretty good at this stuff huh?"
"¡Por supuesto!" Camilo answered proudly. He scooted away from her and laid on her bed again, "be grateful I'm your cousin, you hear?"
"I'm always grateful, primo," Mirabel said. Camilo gave her a warm smile. She didn't lie, she genuinely appreciates it when he took her questions seriously and gives helpful advice instead of joking around all the time.
" Although," she started, not looking up her sketch, "seems like my cousin is not very good at not remembering his Tío as a seven foot tall person who feasts on screams-"
"Ay!" Camilo yelled, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit when Mirabel suppressed a laugh "I said that because I wanted to scare you! I didn't actually think that!"
"Sure, sure," she answered flatly. "How do you sleep these days, Camilo? I hope Tío Bruno didn't see your dreams."
"Oh, shut up," Camilo laughed, throwing a pillow at her. She paused for a moment when the pillow got in contact with the back of her head. Oh god, did he throw it too hard?"
"Uh, Mira-"
Before he could finish, Mirabel stood on her feet and turned to face him. Towering him over her bed.
Camilo was worried he made her mad, but the feeling quickly vanished as soon as he saw the playful glint in her eyes.
"You will regret starting a battle you cannot win, Camilo Madrigal," Mirabel tries to intimidate, though it's hard to take it seriously with the small tug at the corner of her lips going upwards. She picks up the pillow from the floor that he used to hit her earlier. Camilo smirks.
"Oh yeah? Bring it on then!" her cousin taunted, taking another pillow that was on her bed.
This was war.
The next thing they knew, they were hitting each other hard (not enough to hurt of course) with their designated weapon. Mirabel used the white pillow Camilo threw at her, and Camilo used a cactus shaped pillow that looks like it was handmade by Mirabel.
Soon enough, Camilo got the upper hand. Mirabel was pushed on her bed with the pillow smooshed onto her face, making her immobilized.
"Haha, victory is mine!" the shapeshifter dramatically announced. "Give up Mirabel, then it'll be easier for the both of us~"
Mirabel struggled for a bit, and she considered giving up before remembering a certain weakness her dear cousin had that she used against him a lot when she was little. She wonders-
Face still smooshed between the bed and the cactus pillow, Mirabel managed to lift up one of her arms and squeezed her primos side.
Letting out a surprised yelp, Camilo lets go of the pillow to hug himself in defense. He looked at Mirabel in horror who had a smug look on her face.
"Don't you dare- "
He tried to threaten her, but Mirabel soon scribbled her fingers across his side. Camilo let out a shriek and dropped to the side of the bed. Mirabel quickly straddled his hips so there's no chance for him to escape.
"Mira!" Camilo screamed, trying to hold the giggles that's bubbling on his throat.
"Cami!" She replied with a laugh, her fingers still dancing up and down on his side. Camilo tried to hold on a bit longer, but he was always laughably ticklish when he was little, and it seems like it’s a trait that he carried until today. Not another second passed before he bursted out into bright and mirthful laughter.
"N-no thihihis is c-cheheating!" he manages to get out between his laughter, trying his hardest to shove her away, his hands pushing her face, but Mirabel stood strong.
"Nu-uh! Now surrender!" she taunted, laughing and moving her hands to his underarms. This earned a high pitched squeal from the boy and he slammed his arms to his side in reflex.
One of the many things that Camilo and Mirabel both have in common, is that they’re incredibly stubborn.
"Ohover my dehead bohody!” he shouted. Mirabel just hummed, “Suit yourself~”
Casita slammed her windows gently for a few times, Mirabel replied it with a laugh.
“I know right? Camilo is so stubborn sometimes. You'd think he'd be wiser in choosing his battles after all these years huh, Casita?” The house responded again with a quick slam from the wooden floors. Hearing the two conversing(?) about him makes him all the more embarassed.
Laughter echoed loudly through the Casita. Camilo was so thankful that no one was home to witness his predicament. Not a couple seconds later, they both heard the door to her room open. Mirabel stopped, giving a chance for poor Camilo to take a breather. Their heads turned to see Dolores standing at the door. What the heck, when did she came in?
“Oh! Dolores hi!” Mirabel waved at her happily, still straddling Camilo. “You’re finished already?” she asked. Dolores looked at her little brother, breathing heavily with a big goofy smile plastered on his face.
“I asked to go home early because I was wondering what’s making Camilo laugh so hard, seems like I’ve gotten my answer,” she giggled. Hearing this, Camilo’s ears became a noticeable shade of red and Dolores could hear his heartbeat increasing. Damn it, how could he forgot about his sister stupidly enhanced hearing?
“Help me, hermana! ” Camilo cried out to her. Dolores stared at him for a bit, before saying “Hmm, no. I’m not getting involved in this. Besides, me and Mariano have a date this evening,” she answered as she walked away.
"Oh, and Mirabel," she peeked from the corner, "you should try between his ribs, he'll crumble immediately," she lets out her signature squeak before running off again.
"Traitor!" Camilo screamed. Mirabel gave her a thankful nod before continuing her attack, using Dolores advice to drill her fingers between his ribcage. Camilo let out a shrill shriek before bursting into a full belly laughter.
"No! Mirabel- Stop it!" he protested, his limbs flailing all over. Camilo can’t seem to focus enough to use his shapeshifting gift.
“Do you give up?” she asked again. Her fingers not stilling.
"N-never!!" Ah, stubborn as always Camilo.
After a few minutes though, he was starting to reach his limits. So the only thing he could do was do as she says.
"Okay okay I g-give, I surrender!" he cried, letting out a squeak when Mirabel squeezed his sides. " Detente- ¡por favor!”
Mirabel stopped immediately. Camilo rolled onto his side facing the wall as he greedily gulped in air, his eyes were shut tight and his arms wrapped around his stomach in defense in case there's a counterattack. Mirabel got off of him to lay down by his side and get a good look at his face.
"Heh, seems like victory is mine this time," she said with a smug grin. Camilo opened his eyes to look at his primas face besides him and groaned before closing it again.
"I… hate you…" he breathed out, trying to even out his breathing and stop the residual giggles from tumbling off of his mouth.
"Oh, you know you love me," she poked his stomach, earning a squeak from him before he rolled onto the other side, his back facing her now. He wiped a couple of tears from his eyes with his poncho.
"Aww, is my big bad pwimo cwying~? " she teased, using the same tone Camilo used on her earlier. When he didn't answer, that's when Mirabel became a bit worried and sat up. "You okay? I hope I didn't overdo it…" she nudged him lightly.
"Oh, I'll be okay… " he huffed out once his breathing stabilized, before pouncing up screaming "Right after I get my sweet revenge!"
"Oh, nope!" Luckily for her she managed to evade him fast enough. She quickly sprinted out of her room trying to escape her cousin's vengeful grasp.
"Hey! Get back here!" Camilo yelled, as he soon followed her out.
Now here they are, chasing each other around the Casita. At some point, Camilo managed to pounce on Mirabel with the help from Casita. They tumbled into Camilo's room and he returned the favor from Mirabel earlier and attacked. She laughed as hard as he did, but she was not going down without a fight. Soon they were wrestling with each other, tickling the other when they had a chance. Camilo even took advantage of his power and shifted into someone bigger than her to get the upper hand. Before both of them being too tired and calling it a truce.
They laid next to each other on the big theater stage that's in his room where the two would rehearse telenovelas script with Tío Bruno. They stayed like that for a while, silent with the only sound being their heavy breaths and residual giggles as the stage floor felt cold against their skins.
"Man, it's like we're kids again," Mirabel was the first to break the silence, although still a little tired from the early chase. Camilo responded with a low chuckle.
"Yeah, I used to kick your butt though," he said. Earning a soft shove from Mirabel as she lets out a soft laugh, "So not true."
They both went silent, feeling comfortable in each other's presence. They both missed this, spending time with each other and just generally messing around to have a good time. It's been years, but the joy that they get from it stays the same.
“...you wanna go mess with Isabela?” This time Camilo was the one to break the silence. Mirabel got up a bit too quickly, eyes twinkling with excitement “Do I ever!”
Camilo smirked up at her. Now they’re discussing what prank will work best to push their sister and cousin buttons. Unfortunately for Isabela, she seems to become one of the people the two love to mess with the most, mainly because her reactions are the most interesting and funny to them. Of course, they'll always have a mouthful of flowers after though.
“Hey,” Mirabel nudged the boy besides him, he turned to look at her. "Is this the comeback of 'Las Traviesas Mellizas Madrigales'?" she asked.
Hearing that, Camilo couldn't help but break into a wide grin as he beamed.
"You bet, the town better be prepared."
For the first time, they felt like twins again.