Archive of Our Own ^beta

Bruno grunted to himself, finishing up harvesting the last row of potatoes. Even with such a small garden, it still took a lot of work to harvest the crops and Bruno admitted he didn’t have much experience in that. It was taking some time to get used to all the physical labour he now had to take care of, but hey! He was getting some nice muscles out of the whole ordeal.

Once all the potatoes had been chucked into their basket, Bruno carried them inside his little shack. He lived deep within the forest, past the river, maybe a day’s trek from the Encanto. That was fine by Bruno. It had been made clear a long time ago that he would never fit in with the town, that he was never wanted after he got his gift, that all he just did was bring doom and misery.

So when the opportunity provided itself ten years ago, he packed up and left.

Grunting again at the bitter memories of mistreatment and alienation, Bruno kicked his door open and set the potatoes down on the table. The sound startled Pepa, who was sleeping in her chair, causing her to jolt awake with a squeal.

“Relax,” Bruno told her. “Come on, Pepi! It’s just me! I mean, let’s be real…who else would it be? Only we live out here.”

Pepa did not relax at her brother’s words, and continued to glare at him. Bruno ignored her as he turned to the two pots of water he had sitting out; one for washing potatoes and one for boiling them to make dinner.

“Thht lkk grs tddmh,” Pepa muttered into her gag, watching her brother lazily. Bruno rolled his eyes at her. She didn’t do any helping with the gardening and cooking, and she still had the audacity to complain about the food?

“Hey, I don’t see you helping out!” Bruno retorted.

Pepa didn’t even dignify that with more gagged talk. She just sent him a simple look: “Really?” she seemed to be saying.

Bruno sighed. The potatoes were now completely scrubbed of dirt. “Okay. I know our food situation is nowhere near as glamorous as it was in the Encanto. But I’m still trying, alright? Because I’m your brother and I love you. I think you forget that sometimes.”

He dried his hands on a ragged towel, before crouching down next to the chair Pepa was tied to. Bruno reached out to caress his sister’s face. Pepa tried to pull away, but Bruno just firmly grasped her with both hands, seemingly squeezing her stuffed cheeks. Even though Bruno was pretty sure Dolores wouldn’t be able to hear them this far out, he still didn’t want to risk anything. So therefore, he kept Pepa gagged to limit her noise. There was an old scarf of hers currently crammed into her mouth, filling it up with fabric. A handkerchief had been tightly tied around her lips to prevent her from spitting the scarf out.

Understandably, Pepa didn’t like being gagged. Well, she didn’t seem to like a lot of things about living out here with Bruno. That made him a bit sad.

“Pepa. I mean it. We’re family. And that means we look out for each other. I get that this isn’t the greatest place in the world to live. But we’re still living and that’s what matters. Anyways, if you stop heckling me while I cook, I’ll let you have the bigger bowl. Cool?”

Pepa scowled behind her gag, but her stomach suddenly growled and the hunger seemed to win over her annoyance. She relented and dropped her head. Bruno chuckled, ruffled his sister’s messy hair, then let go of her to finish preparing dinner.

Once the potatoes were boiled and cut up, Bruno filled the two bowls. As promised, he took the smaller one for himself and saved the bigger one for Pepa. He dragged her chair closer to the table, then sat down next to her.

“I’m gonna remove your gag now,” Bruno told her. “And you’re not gonna scream again, right?”

Pepa shook her head. The second Bruno untied the handkerchief, Pepa spit up the balled up scarf onto the table. “Eugh! Would it kill you to wash the scarf once in a while, Bruno? That was a gift from Félix!”

“I do wash it!” Bruno insisted. He pierced a chunk of potato with his fork and held it up to Pepa’s lips. “Open wide!”

“Why can’t I feed myself?”

“Because if I let you out of that chair, how will I know you won’t take off running again?”

“I won’t,” Pepa told him. “I…I promise! I just want to stretch my arms, that’s all. I promise, I swear, I’ll stay put. I won’t try to escape anymore. Please.”

“I know, Pepi.” Bruno said mournfully. “But still. It’s hard to trust you sometimes, you know. I want to be able to, but you just make it so difficult. And it stings. I just want us to be siblings again, but then you go and pull stunts like that.”

“Bruno…”

“Like that whole rule you guys put into place about me,” Bruno continued, chewing on his own dinner thoughtfully. “I thought we were family! It really hurt, Pepa. Having my own sister unperson me like that.”

“I’m sorry,” Pepa whimpered.

“I know you’re sorry. But…still. It’s gonna take a long time before you can earn my trust back.” Bruno just shook his head in disappointment. “All I want right now is to have my sister back. Can I at least have that?”

Pepa chewed on her lip. If they were within range, the house would definitely have been filled with her clouds. It was so surreal to see her without them. “I-”

“Please. Just that one thing. You’re the only family I have left.” Bruno widened his eyes sadly. “Everyone else has turned their back on me. But you’d never do that, right? You know how it feels to be outcasted over your gift. Remember how when we were little, we’d always look out for each other? Can we do that again?”

The only response he got was a soft whimper. Pepa had tears in her eyes, which were downcast and avoiding him. But slowly, she nodded.

“Good girl,” Bruno hummed, giving his sister a pat on the head. “Now, let’s have dinner. You must be starving!”

He was right; Pepa practically downed the potatoes in only a few minutes. Once she had been fed, Bruno ate the rest if his own dinner. Then he picked up the scarf again, which caused Pepa to sigh. “This seems excessive.”

“Gotta take precautions.”

“Can I at least go to the bathroom?”

“Of course,” Bruno replied sweetly. “Come on, Pepi! What kind of monster do you think I am? If you let me gag you, then yes, you can go to the bathroom.”

Pepa huffed again, but relented, clearly anxious to get out of her chair and stretch her legs. Bruno re-gagged her, then untied her from the chair. He quickly grabbed Pepa’s wrists and pinned them behind her back, before leading her to the outhouse right next to the shack.

Once Pepa had finished that, it was time for bed. Mercifully, she didn’t complain this time, just accepted her fate as Bruno tied her down to one of the two little cots in the back. “Goodnight, sis,” he whispered. “Sweet dreams.”

Pepa didn’t respond. She always seemed rather drained as of late, a far cry from the whirling yellow ball of energy Bruno knew her as. Maybe she was lonely and missed her family. Bruno didn’t blame her; he missed them too.

That did give him an idea, though. He’d have to make a trip into the Encanto eventually to try and steal more supplies. Perhaps, he’d even stop by Casita. Julieta would be there, she always was. And they just weren’t complete without their missing triplet.

Finally, the family would be just right.