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Pepa and Julieta were young and in love.
The two girls would sneak out every night for months to see the men that stole their hearts: Félix and Agustín.
They’d dance the night away with them.
They'd have overnight picnics, with Bruno tagging along, talking about their days and weeks, reminiscing about memories. They were all living the dream. It worked out for Bruno just as well as it did for his sisters, as thanks to these relationships he had two cool bros he could always rely on. During the day, the couples always pass their interactions off as friendly goofing so the triplets’ mother wouldn't get too suspicious of their sudden closeness. Not that Pepa really has to worry, as Félix was pretty much considered the town's heartthrob. He was always friendly and helpful to everyone, and had helped Alma on more than one occasion. She grew to love the young man's nature and, unbeknownst to her children, secretly wanted one of her daughters to marry him.
As for Julieta, she did have to worry. Alma didn't really approve of Agustín's entire family, as awful as that sounds. She didn't like how his parents were too easy going with how clumsy and reckless their son was, even if anyone could tell he clearly was just accident prone and meant no harm. That meant nothing to Alma - she saw him as an imperfection. A blemish to the Encanto. Julieta didn't really have to talk to her mother to pick up the vibe that she couldn't stand Agustín, so they had to be extra careful when doing anything romantic.
Then one day, Old man Arturo saw the couples on a double date on the outskirts of the farm, and he playfully shared the news with Alma thinking she’d be happy. As the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and Arturo definitely did just that with all of the good intentions and innocence in the Encanto.
Now, he wasn't wrong - Alma was happy. She was just happy that Pepa was with Félix, as her wish had come true there. But Agustín and Julieta...she did not enjoy hearing that part at all...though she didn’t let Arturo know that. Deciding she needed time to process the good news and the news that nearly made her pop a blood vessel, she decided to wait to mention this. Not until dinner, though, but the next morning at breakfast.
The four sat at the table, and the triplets immediately knew something was off. The tension was present without anything being said. They could feel that their mother was about to lay into one or more of them for whatever reason, and just prepared for it. After all, it wouldn't be the first time in the 20 years they've had their gifts.
After 5 minutes of them continuing to eat their breakfast in some odd awkward silence, Alma finally spoke up.
"It's come to my attention that there's been some secrets kept from me," She started with a firm tone in her voice that caused the three to simultaneously flinch and gulp. Without her even calling them out specifically or saying what exactly she'd heard, she had them cornered. They knew they could never keep anything from her, especially not Pepa, but the girls were internally cursing themselves. Julieta knew she shouldn't have agreed to a double date in the middle of the day. They broke their usual tradition, and they didn't ask Bruno for a vision on what could've happened because they just assumed it would be fine. What were they thinking...
"Julieta."
They were ripped from their thoughts by the ripple of her mother's stern voice calling out to the oldest triplet.
"How dare you get together with that boy? Of all of the men in the Encanto!"
"What do you mean by that?" Julieta stood defensively. "There's nothing wrong with Agustín!"
"Nothing wrong? That boy couldn't take a step without crashing into something and destroying it!" Alma yelled in annoyance. "I expected better from you! Think of the family! What kind of image will-"
"I don’t care what you expect of me!" Julieta said, startling Pepa and Bruno with how hard she pounded the table. Now, it was rare for her to ever stand up to her mother, but the way she was just casually trashing her lover and talking like he was the worst person in the world…she refused to hear any of it. She was the only one at that table that truly knew Agustín for who he really was deep down, and she would be damned if her mother would just stand by and tear down his image.
Enough was enough.
"Agustín may be clumsy. He may be accident prone. He may be first in line whenever I pass out food every morning. But I love him!" Julieta yelled, tears daring to prick her eyes as Pepa and Bruno stared in shock.
Alma was also shocked at her daughter's sudden outburst, but she wasn't going to step down from her stance. "How do you know you love him? You couldn't have been together for-"
"We've been together for months and months and every time we've been with each other, I've only grown more and more certain that I want him!"
"You don't know what you want!" Alma shot back.
"How would you know? You never bother asking me what I want! You never bother asking any of us what we want!" Julieta fired right back. She didn't need Bruno or Pepa to confirm it, because they both knew it was true. Alma never asked the triplets what they wanted or asked what made them happy. Since the age of 5, she just made them focus on their gift and never themselves. She never asked about their interests or hobbies or anything like that. She'd only ever ask questions related to the community and the magic. And it made all three of them furious deep down.
But that fury was certainly showing up in Julieta at this very moment. "He helps me with my recipes, he listens to what I have to say, he cares about me and loves me for more than my gift!"
Especially when it was just getting more and more clear that Alma wasn't even trying to hear what she had to say.
"I won’t allow it! I don't approve of him and I forbid you from seeing him again!"
If Julieta was like Pepa, she'd probably be lunging at her own mother. But despite the rage boiling inside of her, she had a lot more restraint than that. Between the tears now streaming down her cheeks, the breaks in her voice showcasing just how upset she was, and the fire that burned on her cheeks and forehead, Julieta looked like she was seconds away from having an emotional rampage. The sight had slightly frightened but more so worried Pepa and Bruno.
"I don't care if you don't approve of him!" Julieta stomped closer to her mother, her words getting louder and the pain in her voice becoming more apparent. “I love him more than anything! ”
Pepa and Bruno weren’t sure whether to jump to their sister’s defense or just remain seated. The way this was going, they were sure that Julieta was about to strike their mother. They wanted to chip in and back her up, but they felt like it wasn’t their place. None of Julieta’s words were wrong, but it was a battle that was a long time coming. They knew this would happen, Pepa especially. Pepa knew full well that Alma hated Agustín, and she felt awful about her own relationship as a result. She often fell into deep thoughts, but they’d have to wait for now.
For a brief moment, words became replaced with light sobs. She felt like she was losing a lot of mental strength in trying to get this off of her chest. Thankfully, Alma was, at the moment, too stunned to come up with something else to say. That didn't mean she wasn't less stubborn, but all she had time to do before Julieta spoke again was be hit in the chest with the realization of what Julieta had said. She took away their childhood. She took away their free will. They never truly got the chance to have fun if it didn't somehow involve their gifts. She made their lives revolve around their gifts, like they didn’t matter as human beings.
In such a heartbroken tone, all she could mutter was a small, “He makes me happy, and you want to take that away...why don’t you want me to be happy?”
After a few more moments, Alma's facial features finally softened and she was beginning to process her daughter's words. But it was too late for her to say anything, as Julieta had taken off running. It took a few seconds, but soon Pepa and Bruno were taking off after her, giving Alma nasty glances of disapproval on the way out.
The two tried catching up with her, but Julieta was out of sight. She managed to disappear in the crowd and they had no idea where she could have gone. With a quick plan, they split up - Pepa would go get Félix and Agustín and Bruno would search the town as discreetly as possible.
Pepa fell back into her thoughts. She found the whole thing to be completely unfair. How could their mother approve of Félix but be so spiteful of not only Agustín, but his whole family too? She could only chalk it up to personal disagreements, but that was still no excuse to threaten her own daughter’s happiness. Pepa was rebellious, so she fully supported their relationship. She knew it would anger their mamá, but it would also give their families a chance to finally make peace again.
Despite how often she envied Julieta when it came to Alma’s approval, this time was very different. Pepa was on the opposite end, and it made her feel even worse. She was okay to date her boyfriend but Julieta would have to dump hers? Not a chance. She would stand by the couple and she knew Félix would as well. He and Agustín were best friends and she knew Félix wouldn’t allow Alma to mistreat someone he considers to be a brother.
After some searching, she found them in the barn resting on hay bales. They had been working in the farm all day, and Agustín looked like he’d been cut from head to toe in who knows what. Luckily, Pepa picked up Julieta’s habit and carried some of the latter’s goods around, so she was prepared.
“Amor! So nice to see you!” Félix said in his usual cheeriness, climbing off the hay to greet his beloved. As he approached her for a hug, he quickly noticed that she was bothered by something. “Is everything alright?”
Pepa sighed as Agustín made his way over. He somewhat assumed it was because of his current physical state, but he also could pick up that something was wrong. “Where’s Julieta and Bruno?”
Pepa didn’t respond right away. She handed the man an arepa as she felt her boyfriend’s arms wrap around her. She met their concerned glances with a look of sorrow and anger.
“Something…happened at breakfast…”
Bruno searched literally everywhere for his oldest sister, growing more and more worried as he searched. He was fairly angry with his mother, disgusted by how she could be so blinded by her own need to impress the town that she forgot that they were human beings with emotions. She actually tried to force Julieta to give up something that made her genuinely happy, and for what? Because he’s a klutz? Bruno scoffed; he personally fucks up every day but it’s not like she’d ever thought to get rid of him…at least he hoped not.
He sometimes wondered how their father would have felt. Sure he knew next to nothing about the man, but he couldn’t imagine that his father would ever condone this…everyone deserves to be happy, especially Julieta. The most hardworking and overworked of the three, the one who had to be absolutely perfect to be accepted, the one who had to single-handedly feed the whole town every single day. She deserves happiness more than anyone.
As he started to stop looking, he ran into Pepa, Félix and Agustín. The two men were both concerned, Gus moreso. He had a feeling as to where she went.
Julieta sat in the small forest leading to the top of the mountains. It was a place where the five of them would often go to stargaze and talk about life. She sometimes came here to think to herself, but only he had known that. Pepa wouldn’t have guessed, and Bruno wouldn’t think to use a vision. If she wanted to be alone, usually they could respect that, but not this time.
They found her crying to herself and quietly approached her. She didn’t look up, but she knew it was them. He moved closer and kneeled in front of her, while the other three kept their distance. He looked back at the three, Pepa looked at Félix and then Bruno. They all kinda gave him the same look and silently encouraged him to keep doing what he was going to do. Agustín turned his attention back to Juli and sat beside her. Not knowing what to do at first, he held her close and leaned on her.
“Julieta,” He said softly. “I’m here…”
She looked up and he met her weary eyes. He could tell that she was crying about more than an argument with her mother. Seeing how much pain she was in, he held her tighter and gently kissed her forehead. He gently moved her hair away from her eyes and pet her soft locks without saying much else. It had slightly grayed, but he saw that as another unique part of being in the Amazing Madrigals.
She cried harder from this, as if she couldn’t fully let go of anything else hurting her until he got there. The three in the back cautiously made their way closer and sat down, not hugging her or anything, but just being there. She appreciated this more than anything.
But she cried...so hard. Harder than even Pepa and Bruno had ever seen. It was borderline wailing. And once she was finally done, Agustín did something that caught her and Pepa off guard.
He pulled out the arepa that Pepa gave him. There was half of it left, but he offered it to her. She could barely see it through her teary eyes but she managed to take it.
“I know you said they can’t heal what’s inside, but...it never hurts to try, right?” He said softly. Pepa was quite impressed by this.
Julieta smiled sadly and nodded. Taking a bite, she may have felt better on the outside, but inside she was still reeling. She was still upset with her mother. But as always, she’d get over it. After all, she wasn’t going to stop seeing him. Even if it meant being more careful. As distraught as she was, she wouldn’t allow her mother to take this away. It didn’t matter how long they had been together, she’d known long enough that he was the one for her, and she loved him. She loved him for who he was, and he loved her for who she was. There wasn’t a damn thing wrong with that.
“Juli, um...I don’t know if it’s the right time to do this, but...”
Thoughts interrupted. Incoming sweet gesture from Agustín. He was pulling out a rose and a ring from his pocket. She looked at the flower and her eyes widened a bit. Firstly, the rose was pretty. It looked like it had been freshly grown from his mother’s garden. It was a beautiful shade of blue and it was always her favorite kind.
A faint smile formed along her lips. “It’s beautiful...”
Then he got onto a knee and held up the ring. See, now this is the part where nervousness kicks in. Rose was fine, and got a grin. But the ring?
Full on smile. So much that she covered her face and got on her knees herself. Pepa and Bruno were taken aback, too shocked about this revelation. Hell, even Félix was shocked. Now don’t get him wrong, that’s his best friend in the whole world, but he did not think he’d do it.
But he’s doing it. He’s finally proposing. And she’s all for it.
He honestly didn’t even have to ask, because she was slightly nodding before he could, but he still did. Whether it was her saying yes or her encouraging him to ask so she could say yes...did it matter?
“Julieta Madrigal...you always told me that you weren’t perfect...I’d say that you aren’t.”
Internal gasp. And some audible gasps from the three present. But Agustín carried on. “R-R-Rather...you’re perfect...j-just the way you are. You’re perfect to me...you’re everything that I want and you’re the only one for me.”
Crisis averted. Plus, the happy tears were starting to prick everyone’s eyes.
“I’ve long decided that it’s you I want to be with and I could go on forever about how you’re an angel among us...you’re so kind and nurturing…and you’re one of the strongest women I know...and you don’t make me feel ashamed when I get stung by 1,000 bees and come to you looking like one of Bruno’s rats.”
Bruno will get back to him on that one.
“Out of everyone in this place...I knew from the first few times I stepped in line to get healed and from our first date that I wanted you...not because you healed the pain I was experiencing physically, but because you healed what hurt me inside. And I spend every day of my life wanting us to forever be together, so...”
He shakily held up the ring...then somehow dropped it.
Luckily, Félix was quick on it and caught it in midair. He dusted it off and passed it to the man, shaking his head and chuckling to himself.
Thank the gods for this man. Clearing his throat, he finally popped the question.
“Juli, will you marry me...”
In case her nodding every so often wasn’t too clear,
“Yes...Yes of course!”
As he slid the ring on her finger, she hugged and kissed him. And the three audience members were clapping and cheering. Mostly because they did not see this coming and they were so proud of them both. They deserved to be happy together, and they especially deserved to marry. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought of them and their love…no one could take away their happiness.
The five of them returned to Casita, and planned out how they’d tell Alma. The conversation came just before dinner, when the matriarch returned home to find the five of them waiting for her at the table. No one said a word at first, but it was ultimately Alma who broke the silence.
“What is the meaning of this?” She asked in a calm, yet firm voice. Julieta stood up and stepped forward.
“Mamá, I’m marrying Agustín whether you like it or not.” She responded in a stern voice.
Alma responded with a stern look, but Julieta wasn’t backing down. She wasn’t going to let her mother control her love life like she’d controlled everything else. She was tired of being so unhappy and being forced to live life like a princess, she deserved freedom too.
Alma sighed, “I cannot change your mind, so if that is what you want, then fine.” She walked away without saying another word.
Dinner was going to be awkward as hell, but they were all satisfied. They were sure that wasn’t the end of it. It all felt so easy… too easy. They knew this was just the beginning of a potential hailstorm, but they were ready to brace it.
If Julieta had to fight like hell to marry this man, she’d go to war. If she had to jump through hoops to get her blessing, then she would. She would not back down, and she would not stop until her mother stopped being so stubborn. And lucky for her, she had the support of two amazing siblings, a supportive and caring friend, and a wonderful fiancé.
Julieta was young and in love.
And no matter what, she was going to marry the love of her life.