Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Bruno had been away from Casita, being told to stay out of the way, that this day needed to be perfect. This was his sister's wedding day after all so he needed to make sure he didn’t set her off, with her emotions being as high strung as they were the past few days even if he tried to give her good news it might be swung back, right into his face. 

He walked in through the door of Casita, surely the women in his family weren’t there anymore, he looked around happy that it seemed he was alone, now to get ready, he was so excited to see his big sister get married. A smile on his face as he walks more inside, stopping at the courtyard as he noticed the air was chilling then the stairs started to form quickly, and down walked Pepa, gorgeous in her white dress, so similar to her everyday one, her make up was done, her hair was loose but braided lightly, showing off her wonderful curls. 

But the thing that stood out the most to him as he watched her descend the stairs was the cloud, dark, above her head. He wondered what it was, hail? Snow? "looks like rain…" He says, his heart-stopping in his chest as he realized he spoke aloud, his eyes met Pepa's as she stopped in her tracks.

Her eyes looked glassy, her lips parted, "What did you say…" She muttered, the sound strained in her throat, oh no … " What did you say !? Did you see something?! What did you see?!" She was frantic now, he stepped back, no this wasn't good, there weren't clouds there before, his eyes met the sky, clouds formed rapidly, the sky going dark, and the winds picking up harshly.

“ No , no! I… I didn’t-” He tried to defend himself.

“What did you see? What did you see ?!” She yelled, causing Julieta and their Mamá to come running to see what the commotion was about. Headed straight to comfort the now hysterical Pepa.

Their Mamá’s brows knitted down, “Bruñito… you weren't supposed to be back for another hour .” She says loudly, turning to the courtyard to see how quickly the weather was changing, “Pepa… mija … calm down, this is a joyous day, you should be happy.” She tries to console her daughter, a subtle glare being directed to Bruno which makes him avoid eye contact. It felt cold and harsh, this was bad.

“Sorry… I… didn’t realize I wasn’t gone that long.” He says, fiddling with his fingers under his ruana, he should’ve knocked on wood before coming home, maybe it would’ve helped, ”I… could go-” His words were cut off as the winds picked up, and rain started to fall harsh and loud on the courtyard. His reflection being slapped into his face, he felt small, he could see the way the other 3 were looking at him.

“ Shit … it’s a hurricane out there…” Julieta says, then looks at her sister, she looked like she was going to have a full-on breakdown, her breathing shallow as she tried to hold it together. Julieta looked up toward Bruno, he looked so guilty, he hated making his family feel like this.

“I… I can go…” He says quickly, pointing with his thumb, he was hunched slightly, walking past the women quickly, his knuckle knocking on the wooden post of Casita, hoping that may help keep the day from getting worse,  as he moved ahead and towards the stairs, just wanting to stay out of the way. Maybe he should’ve suggested he stay in his room, and their Mamá could’ve just knocked on his door to tell him they had left. 

He looked back seeing how they were consoling Pepa, their Mamá going towards a small closet by the door to grab some umbrellas, he could hear their small talk and how they tried to make her laugh or feel better, but it wasn’t helping. Pepa looked up at him, something in her eyes made him break slightly. He’d ruined her day, he shouldn’t even try to get ready, he knew he was uninvited. His head down he walked to his room, he really fucked up .

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They couldn’t find Isabela, it was nearing the middle of the day and they had wanted to see what flowers she had made, everyone was looking, Bruno had stayed at the Casita to look. She was still only little, having only gotten her gift the year before.

He’d found her crying just outside near the right side of Casita, he frowns, “Isa?” He asks, walking over slowly, she’d wiped at her eyes frantically when she heard him, “Hey, it’s okay… why’re you crying?” He asks.

She sniffles, “I-it’s hard to make the pretty flowers perfect…” She says looking up to him as he sits down beside her.

He nods, “I bet it is. But flowers aren’t always perfect, sobrina…” He says, lips pressed into a tight line.

“They have to be when I make them…” she mumbles, looking at her hands, she looked back up when he’d looped an arm over her shoulder to pull her into a side hug.

He smiles, “Well they don’t have to be yet , you have a lot of growing to do after all. Here … let me tell you a secret. I saw some of your future, your power is gonna grow, you’re gonna grow too.” He says, “Would you want to see?” He asks.

She nods, and they both stand. He takes her little hand as they walk, “So… Why do you think your flowers have to be perfect?” He asks her gently, brow knitted.

She shrugs, “Cause Abuela said…?” She says, looking up with a small pout.

He presses his lips into a thin line, he knows that feeling, “Ah.” He nods slowly, they get inside, no one’s returned yet so they were in the clear to head to his tower, “So… What sort of things do you want to make? Anything in the world that you can think of?” He asks as they ascend the stairs to the second floor.

She thinks, putting her hand to her chin, “ Hmm , maybe… a yucca brevifolia.” She smiles, since getting her gift it was as if she had every plant in her mind, even ones they had never seen before.

“What’s that one look like?” He asks, having never seen or heard of the tree, she pulls from his hand to go over to an empty pot to show him, the plant looked prickly and what she made was small but Bruno smiled, “Very cool.” He says, patting her head, she grins happily with the compliment.

“Thank you.” She says, quickly making the plant disappear and putting a nicer and more pretty tree in it’s place then looking away with a pout, “They wouldn’t be good here cause they’re plants that like dry places and with Tía Pepa it’d be too wet.” She shrugs, which made Bruno laugh slightly hiding it behind a light cough.

“Right, well if it likes dry places I’m sure you could put a few in my room.” He suggests, with all the sand it was pretty dry, he pushed open his door for her, “Would you want to be carried?” He asks, knowing the long trip up his stairs usually tried everyone but Luisa out, that kid really liked running up his stairs it was pretty fun to see.

She moved forward, going to walk through the sand but Bruno stopped her, “Hey, wait. Remember the rules with my room?” He says quickly, looking over to the sand as it falls and his eyes glowed green slightly, his room listening to him as the sand stopped falling and then stone steps started to jut out of the rock to make a path for them to walk down. She watched with awe, hoping one day she’ll be able to do the same sort of magic with her room.

She looked up at him then at the steps, holding out her arms, she may be 6 but she preferred not to walk that many steps. He chuckles picking her up, “Ya know one of these days you’ll have to make the trek yourself.” He smirks as he walks, it was a breeze for him, he’s never gotten out of breath as he walks down then up his many steps to get to his cave.

He moved deeper into the cave towards the area he used for visions, Isabela still on his back as he ran a hand over the wall, the area lighting up slightly in green as he moved toward the middle of the room. He sat down with her, placing her before him but she crawled into his lap for a better look at what he’ll see. He chuckles, “You don’t have to do that Isa.” he says but she crosses her arms in an act of defile, “Fine, fine .” He continues to get things set up with her sitting where she was and he takes her hands, the sand around them flying up with a green hue to it as it swirls with magic, he points out moments for her to focus on and she grins. 

After a few moments, a plate of green sat in their hands, “Do you like what you see?” He asks, the image being Isabela grown up surrounded by unique plants, a huge grin on her face, “You seem happy here, remember your sadness is only temporary… okay?” He says softly, she nods.

“Thank you T í o… Can I keep this one?” She asks softly. 

“Of course, you can.” he nods, standing with her, “Should we head off now? Everyone wants to see what amazing things you’ve made today.” He says.

She frowns, “I made… these .” She says, holding out her hand and a little succulent appeared with a pop in her palm, “But I don’t think Abuela would like it.” She shrugs.

“That’s okay, I think it’s really neat.” He says, patting the little plant with his finger which made her laugh softly.

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“T ío Bruno…” Dolores says hushed, knocking on Bruno’s door then pushing it open, she’d heard some of the boys in town talking about her, how she was plain compared to her cousin.

She walked in more, the sand wasn’t falling meaning he was inside, she followed the stairs, determined to get to the top it was about 2 hours before she got there, needed to stop for a few minutes to catch her breath. She stared across a bridge, “Tío Bruno..!” She says a bit louder staring into the cave that held her uncle.

He moved into the cave opening, “Dolores?” He blinks, “Ah, sobrina what’re you doing up here? You could have yelled, I would’ve come down.” He says quickly, coming out to see what she was doing up here.

She looked up, she was tall for her age, only aged 9, her lower lip trembled slightly, “Can… Can you give me a vision?” She asks, voice trembling, “Th-the boys in town s-said I’d never find love w-with Isabela a-around.” She says, gripping her dress tightly to try and keep her emotions calm, sure she wasn’t her mama but she still liked to keep her emotions in check.

He frowns, “What?” He blinks, “Of course sobrina!” He says, walking over to rub her back and lead her into his cave, “What do you think we’ll see?” He asks her softly.

“T-that I’m alone…” She pouts.

“Hey, you’ll never be alone, mija… not when you’re a Madrigal.” He says trying to cheer her up, but he frowns, knowing that feeling all too well, he’d just accepted he wouldn’t find love and had built his bridge.

She sniffles, not replying as she and Bruno walk into the cave more, he holds open the door, the room lighting with a green glow as they move to the circle full of sand.

They sit on the knees opposite each other, Bruno getting things ready as Dolores watched, rubbing her eyes slightly. Once lit he takes a deep breath and holds out his hands for her, she takes them as his eyes begin to glow and the winds pick up. The sand pulled up and around them like a dome, swirls of green flicked through the white of the sand, Dolores looking up and around at the sight, how did anyone find his visions scary this seemed so… fun .

The sand morphed, changing into figures, Bruno concentrated, trying to follow the paths towards her future with love. She watched, seeing a handsome man, he seemed familiar, like she’d seen him before, younger. The sand shifts, over and over, “I can see it… nearly…” He mutters as he looks off past Dolores, she turns her head. 

There in the sight stood the handsome man with a woman with long straight hair, she seemed happy in his arms, then there was Dolores in the back, it changed a few more times before the sand burst, signalling the end of the vision as a green slate floated, Bruno let go to grab it.

He frowns, brow knitted, “Oh…” he frowns, he didn’t want to show her the image on the plate, but she walked over to look.

“Is… Is this my future..?” She asks, “So… the man I love… is… with someone else..?” She asks, her eyes brimming with tears.

He tosses the plate, pulling her into a hug, “Sobrina… Mija… listen to me , this could be a part  of your future, but there’s always more, you couldn’t have been over 20 in that, you have so many years ahead of you before you even get to a point where you have to think you can’t date.” He says softly, rubbing her arms gently, “Look at me, I still have time to find the right person right?” He chuckles.

She sniffles, nodding, “Y-yeah… y-you’ll find someone Tío.” She smiles, rubbing her eyes.

He smiles, “Here how about I take you back down? Then you can tell me on the walk what those boys were talking about.” he says softly, she nods, she felt embarrassed to care so much about this. But Bruno understood and he was going to see what he could do to help.

Chapter Text

Camilo was 5 when Tío Bruno left, they’d spent 2 years looking for him. They’d never found him, even Casita was sad about it, but during that time Camilo saw a ghost. 

Well, it wasn’t a ghost. 

So little Camilo finally figured out how to become a perfect replica of his sister, Dolores. Sure it wasn’t perfect but it fooled anyone outside of the family. It was late at night when he’d thought about it, sneaking out as Dolores to get something to eat. 

He’d left his room, quiet as a mouse, snaking down toward the courtyard, he shushes Casita as he makes his way down, but as he made his way through the courtyard toward the kitchen, he stopped abruptly, a green glow sneaked through the doorway, he shrunk back to his normal self, he looked around worried, no way would Casita let someone into their house without them knowing!

He slowly creeps toward the doorway, staring inside at what he saw from his slightly crouched position, a man… in a green, a very familiar green, ruana… rats sat on his back, but what struck him was the eyes, green and glowing, it hid a lot of the features in the darkroom. His ears were ringing as he stared, then the glowing eyes looked at him quickly and all sound rushed back to him.

“Camilo?” The figure sounded familiar but Camilo didn’t have time to react as he faints, the shock of not only the stranger being there but also the fact they knew his name had him light-headed. 

In his sleeping phase a memory struck him, when he was 3, he was playing with his sister and cousins, in Dolores’s room, their Tío coming in to check on them, a rat named María sat on his shoulder. The room was dark, and so Bruno had made his eyes glow slightly, which made Camilo jump. 

“Ah, sorry mijo…” Bruno says quickly, turning on the light in the room, “Didn’t mean to scare you.” He chuckles.

Camilo frowns, crossing his arms, “Wasn’t scared… You’re not scary Tío.” He says, looking up at him, he was so much taller then he was.

“Glad you think that. Lunch is nearly ready, so up up, let's go.” Bruno says, motioning with his arms, the girls and little boy jumping to their feet, all racing past Bruno but Camilo stopped by his side.

“I mean it Tío… You’re not scary. Padre says so.” He smiles, holding out his little hand, Bruno chuckles, taking it as Camilo drags him along.

The memory seemed to shift and change, merging with what Camilo had seen in the kitchen, Bruno shifting to be taller, his skin paler, the rats multiplied, and the hood sat up higher on his head, eyes glowing bright even as the sun illuminated them.

Young 3-year-old Camilo practically trembled at the sight, and before Camilo knew it he was waking up, feeling like he hadn’t slept a wink as he looked around, “My room..?” He was confused, how’d he get here, he was sure he was in the kitchen just before.

He stretches, “Just a bad dream…” He says, shaking off the feeling as he goes about his usual morning shenanigans.

He walks into the kitchen to find Tía Julieta frowning at some empty containers, “Why does this keep happening…” She mutters.

He frowns, “What keeps happening?” He asks, looking over to the counter.

“Hmm? Oh, mijo… Well, you see… We seem to be having some problems with rats, I left some full containers out and now they’re empty… Maybe I should store my leftovers in my room, what do you think mijo?” She asks, brow up as she thinks aloud, then meets his eyes.

His eyes were wide, maybe it wasn’t a dream? “Um… Tía… was I sleeping on the floor?” He asks, “Like… on the kitchen floor..?”, he fiddles slightly with the hem of his ruana.

She frowns, “No… why ? Are you confessing to eating my Empanadas ??” She asks, brow up, she didn’t seem mad, maybe a bit irritated.

He blinks, “Ah! No, no , I’d never Tía!” He says, and that was sort of half the truth, he’d only take food when everyone else was eating… sometimes , “I… uh it’s nothing. But uh, you should definitely do, uh, that thing you said you’d do!” He says, quickly dashing out of sight taking on Dolores’s form as he thinks about last night more and more. Maybe he could ask her about it… Maybe she heard something.

He quickly runs off to go looking for her, once far enough away, taking on his normal form. He asks people if they’d seen her, one man pointing off toward the orchard where they had apples growing, he heads there, finding her spying on someone.

“What… are you doing?” He asks, tilting his head at her.

She whips around fast, “Um, uh… nothing !” She says in a hushed yell, he looks past her, there were two people. Oh. it’s that boy Dolores likes but she’d introduced him to Isabela… why was she spying on them? 

Well, his unasked question was answered when he saw Mariano try to kiss Isabela but she had turned her head causing his kiss to peek her cheek.

He blinks, “Are you… jealous ?” He asks a sly smirk going over his little face. Oh, he was going to tease her about this later…

She glares, “No.” She says sternly then storms off, Camilo forgetting why he was there for just a split second then running after her.

“N-no! Wait…” He says quickly, “H-hey… Dolores… Hermana, did you hear anything last night? Like… I don’t know… around midnight?” He asks, she blinks at him, something flashed across her face before she shook her head, he blinks, “ Hey I saw that! You totally heard something!” He says, now determined.

She rolls her eyes, “Only thing I heard was you running around.” She frowns, “Can you be any louder?” She says, throwing up her hands then going to storm off again, Camilo frowning.

“I didn’t run around.” He says, trying to catch up to her again, but she refused to look at him, he knew she was hiding something… He just needed to find out what.