𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒 ᶜᵐ

07 ┃ 𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐣𝐨𝐬

Still shifted as an elderly man, Camilo playfully twirled his withering beard. "Hmm, and may I ask why?"

In the blink of an eye, you grasped Camilo by his shirt, yanking him towards you. The movement was so sudden that it shocked him to the point of changing back into his original form.

"I'll say this once, and only once," you hissed, glaring into his wide eyes, your face a centimeter from his own. "I will not allow you to take him from me and corrupt him with your little shenanigans, you chameleon. So take this as a warning; you're threading on thin ice."

Seemingly coming out of shock, a smirk grew on Camilo's lips. "Well, I have no idea what you're talking about, but if you wanted a kiss, all you had to do was ask, muñequita."

Your brain short-circuited for a moment, unable to register what he said. After a second, it dawned on you.

Muñequita?

Feeling as if your face were on fire, you pushed Camilo back into his seat before sitting down on your own, embarrassment filling your whole being.

He used my father's nickname for me against me! You thought in horror.

When your father returned with a plate of breakfast for you, he was met with silence.

Camilo continues to enjoy his toast, and you scowl at your hands.

Shaking away his curiosity, he sat on the plate before you, giving your head a gentle ruffle. "Here you go, muñequita."

"Thank you, Pápa," you grinned before digging in.

Though your father wasn't as talented as others when it comes to cooking (read: when it comes to Julieta), you still appreciated that he tried, which made it all worth eating the soggy eggs and semi-burnt toast.

"If you don't mind my asking, Camilo, why did you come by this morning? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy having you for breakfast, but you don't come by unless it's to help me pack my wagon to barter with those outside of Encanto."

"Yeah," you spoke up, picking up your cup of orange juice. "Why are you here, Camilo?"

"I'm here because it's your turn to have the Amazing Camilo help assist you with today's chores."

You couldn't stop the spray of orange juice that left your mouth and nose at his words. "My what?"

Your father immediately jumped into action, grabbing a nearby napkin to help you clean the juice, fretting over your now ruined shirt.

An amusing grin grew on Camilo's lips at the enraged look on your face. "Oh, don't you remember what was said at our last meeting? Abuela thought it would be beneficial if I used my abilities to help take a bit of the load off of everyone's shoulders," he explained, leaning back into his chair. "So today's your lucky day because I'm all yours."

"B-But..." you felt your head swimming, trying to decipher his words. "How could you even help? You don't have my gift! You can't do what I do!"

"Oh, but I can~" Camilo sang, doing jazz hands. "My gift entails me being able to take the form of whomever I wish. This includes gifts."

Your father halts his fretting at this, the confusion apparent on his face. "But wouldn't that make youㅡ"

"ㅡoverpowered. That would be absolutely correct, Señor L/N. But instead of being able to copy my family and Y/N's gifts, I can only replicate about 1/2 of them while shifting into their forms. For example, while shifting to Antonio, I can only understand broken sentences from animals. Or when I shift into Tío Bruno, I can only see a bit of the future, kinda like riddles."