Work Text:
Mirabel sat at the dinner table with excitement. They’d be having her favorite, pescado frito, and for once it had been a good day.
She and Camilo got to hang out for once, Isabela had ignored her, and she helped Señora Lintu dye the new fabric and create designs for the future.
Things had been hard in the last four years since her ceremony, but she and Camilo still made a small effort to try to still play together. It was happening less and less though.
But, instead of dwelling on it, she put on a happy face and licked her lips at the half of a fish on her plate. Camilo got the other half since they were the youngest.
Sparing him a glance from directly across the table, she noticed he was eyeing the fish with a wild hunger in his eyes. He picked up his fork and stated to attack the poor creature until his mother stopped him.
“Camilo. Wait for grace at least,” she said gently.
He sighed and put the fork down, “Yes, Ma-” The sudden cough cut him off and he covered his mouth. It lasted for a couple of seconds and he tapped his chest before being thrown into another fit. Pepa tapped his back carefully.
“Mijo are you alright?” she asked with her cloud darkening at his troubled coughing.
The coughs seemed to shift and everyone at the table was staring at him in concern.
Finally, he waved his hand in front of his face and opened his eyes. “I’m fi-”
Woah.
That was… different.
“Camilo what happened to your voice?” Mirabel asked at the deep voice that escaped his mouth.
He covered his mouth with wide eyes and and focused on Mirabel before trying to speak again. “I don’t kn- Ah!”
Félix placed his hand on his son’s shoulder and patted. “Calm down, mijo. Your voice is just changing.”
“Change it back.”
The adults smiled and laughed lightly at the innocence. “Ha! That’s not how it works Camilo. Every boy has to go through this. It’s perfectly normal… even though it’s a little early,” he raised an eyebrow at Agustín.
Mirabel had no idea what that was about. Maybe a boy thing?
Abuela cleared her throat, “It happens early for… the men on this side of the family.” It was so careful and uncertain, Mirabel wondered who she was referring to. Abuelo? Who knew?
Félix seemed to understand fully, nodding at her admission. “Well, it’s okay, Camilo. It’ll take some getting used t-”
“How can I get used to it?! It’s-” he tried to say, covering his mouth again in shame. Fat tears started to form in his eyes. Mirabel knew he could shift his voice if he really wanted, but he was probably too upset to even think of that. His father rose from his seat and pulled him up with him.
“Come on, Camilo. Let’s talk,” he gestured towards Agustín, who followed behind closely.
Luisa cleared her throat, “That was weird.”
Julieta smiled, “It’s an inevitable change. You’ll go through it too, though it won’t be as drastic.”
“ My voice is gonna get deeper?”
Isabela rolled her eyes, “That seems hard to imagine.”
Abuela frowned, “Isabela, mind your manners.”
“Yes, Abuela. I apologize,” she said to Luisa, sitting up straight and turning her chin up.
It was still so weird how different she acted nowadays. Like she was some princess among peasants. Much like everyone else, she grew apart from Mirabel. It didn’t bother her too much considering how mean she could be, but her other wavering relationships did.
Especially…
She looked towards the corner where the two men were trying to comfort the distressed Camilo. He was the only boy in the family with a gift and had to feel alone in that. Plus, he’d be the only one to go through a scary change like this.
Apparently they both were isolated.
“Does it hurt?”
Camilo looked up at her from his crouched position under the stars and shook his head.
Dinner was an exercise in silence for him, something he was definitely not used to. He probably would have skipped the meal but that for sure wasn’t happening no matter how uncomfortable he was.
Mirabel sat next to him, legs folded while her skirt skimmed his foot. The tickle made him flex and he pursed his lips. “…I hate it.”
“Why?”
With a gulp, Camilo wrapped his arms around himself and sat back on his rear end. “It sounds so weird. And it doesn’t fit how I look at all!”
She had to admit, hearing this voice coming out of him was a little jarring when paired with his outward appearance of a young boy. He was only nine years old, but the voice screamed adult.
Mirabel couldn’t argue. It was weird. But it didn't necessarily turn her away. He was her cousin, though she could feel them drifting apart. Plus…
“I like it.”
He stared at her in surprise, eyes appearing even younger than before. With a bite to his bottom lip, he smiled in appreciation.
“Thanks.”
Mi niña bonita, brillante lucero
Te queda pequeña la frase “Te Quiero
Mirabel awoke to the most beautiful sound in the world.
Por eso mis albinos te dicen te amo
Her body was so exhausted. Twenty hours of labor ended in the birth of their beautiful baby girl. It was the most pain she had ever been in.
And she would do it all over just to see and hear what she saw when she woke up.
Cuando estamos juntos más nos enamoramos
Camilo’s sweet voice was serenading their daughter, bathed in moonlight. He rocked her gently and stroked her face with a knuckle. His eyes were bright with unshed tears.
Cómo sabía que esto pasaría
Que ibas a ser mía
Their first kiss, their wedding, their wedding night, finding out she was pregnant? Nothing compared to seeing Camilo hold their baby as if she were the most precious thing to ever exist.
And she was.
But, to see it unfold in front of her eyes and hear him sing it was filling her heart with a love she’d never known.
Y que you querría
Amarte por siempre, mi niña bonita
Mirabel laid her head back down and let the tears of joy fall down her face onto the pillow.
She’d fallen in love with Camilo’s voice a long time ago. Never had she thought that she’d ever hear it so passionately.
His voice serviced its purpose, to let their little daughter sleep. But it also ended up lulling her to sleep as well.
Their baby was in good hands, so she surrendered to her heavy eyelids and let herself drift to the sounds of a father’s love for his daughter.
Aquí hay amor
They’d be alright.
Now and for the rest of their lives.