TW: Social Rejection/Ostracism, Familial Manipulation, Toxic Mindsets.
A.N. - Since this guy has the same English voice actor as Sid the Sloth, a part of me is tempted to rewatch Ice Age and write about Sid. In the meantime, enjoy the prophet.
Platonic:
The town of Encanto has long since marked Bruno with a reputation for villainy. It is not the prophet's intention, but his friend is rapidly branded as a vile cohort of evil and comes to be shunned just as much as Bruno. With the fake threat of the oracle cursing them for wronging his friend looming over everyone, the town becomes ever rifer with superstition and is split into two different reactions.
Half of Encanto resigns themselves to life as a chronic pushover who allows his friend to do anything they want without question, and the other half is one incident away from forming a mob and demanding that they leave the town. Bruno tries to relieve his friend's distress with humour and offers to play with his rats, inwardly chastising himself for the fact they have been forced to be an outcast because he wanted to talk to someone without foretelling the next tragedy.
This, as much as the revelation about Mirabel, drives him to seclusion. It is a decision that Bruno laments on days when he finds himself wishing for someone to remind him that he is wanted, but he tries and fails to comfort himself with the thought that his friend is living a better life for his lack of involvement in it. The idea of them forgetting him and even thanking his disappearance is a constant source of nightmares, frightening him away from the possibility of looking into their future and confirming it.
Regardless of his friend's true opinion of him, Bruno views them as his closest companion and deeply misses their presence. This grief festers until he is pretending that they came to visit and are always behind him to explain why he cannot see them. Invisible food is eaten while one-sided conversations are had about his rat telenovela and what he assumes their life may be now, and he jokes about the farce being a way to hone his acting skills to bridle the urge to go knock on their door in the middle of the night.
Bruno combats these anxieties by telling himself that his friend appreciates the reasoning behind his choice and would be happy to welcome him back someday. After Mirabel helps him rectify his relationship with the rest of the family, one of his first tasks is tracking down his friend for an overdue reunion. If they are nowhere to be found, it is akin to losing all his rats at once.
Romantic:
Observant eyes on the streets notice how a quick hello every day and awkward glances blossom into Bruno seeking his partner to chat and vent all the bad news and equally horrible responses he endured. The town's initial consensus is that his partner is slated to die soon or suffer from a life-changing hardship, but this perceived disaster never happens. As the other citizens begin to act like the two of them together are a bad omen, Bruno expects the same from his partner.
Once it becomes common knowledge that the local oracle is interested in someone, the denizens of Encanto avoid them for fear of upsetting Bruno and earning a deadly prophecy. There is some pity and well-wishes to be found in the braver citizens, but predominantly, his partner is treated as a sacrifice to appease a dark force. The saving grace arrives in the form of Bruno's family, who worry about his partner's safety and tell him not to disturb them.
Their concern is derived less from a genuine understanding of the relationship and more from the belief that any association with Bruno is unwanted and ill-fated. Bruno is susceptible to pressure from his family and agrees to limit his time with them lest he incurs the wrath of Alma, only breaking the promise when he is especially frustrated with his family's treatment of him or his partner approaches him first.
During his time in the walls of Casa Madrigal, Bruno has many years to dwell on the relationship. The solitude does nothing beneficial for him and inspires greater impatience and regrets about not being honest with his partner when he had the chance. Many times, he considers looking into the future in hopes of having even the semblance of a connection with them, but his fears of seeing a grave or them with someone else convince him that, at least for the time being, ignorance is better.
After he returns to his family's good graces, Bruno asks what has become of his partner. Alma and his sisters are not prone to lie to his face, but there is some hesitation if the update is an undesirable one. If they moved far away from Encanto or got married, it crushes him emotionally. A long period of quiet despair results where Bruno debates the ethics of using his gift to see what they are doing, ultimately requiring his family to persuade him not to search for them and try to rekindle a dead relationship.