a/n: this is your author no.2 writing, also watching encanto rn, much to my mother's disappointment and confusion. but anyway, hope you enjoy this one-shot :)
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45 years ago-
The music was slightly overwhelming as everyone celebrated in Madrigal casita, as the Madrigal triplets had just gotten their Gifts, and the sound of laughter and chatter echoed through the walls. The whole town was there to witness the miracle, and you were one of the many people.
Your mama was friends with Alma, which meant that you were close with Pepa, Bruno, and Julieta. The four of you had been friends for as long as you could remember, but you had always been closest to Bruno, who seemed like the quietest and most awkward, but was actually one of the nicest people you had ever met.
You watched as Bruno closed his eyes, and sand started to swirl around him. The crowd "oohed" and "ahhed" as the wind became stronger. When Bruno opened his eyes again, they were a shocking bright green, and everyone waited in anticipation as he stared at something no one could see. Then, slowly but surely, a picture formed in the air. It looked like a grown up version of Bruno, and he was dancing gently with a woman, he slowly placed his hand around her waist and pulled her in for a hug.
Suddenly, the sand dropped to the floor and everyone was silent. Then a loud eruption of cheers exploded from the onlooking crowd, and everyone congratulated Bruno on his Gift, before he ducked under everyone's embraces and disappeared.
To you, the music and celebrations were a bit much, and you started searching for an exit to go outside.
"Y/N?" You felt a hand on your shoulder, and you turned around to see Bruno, with a wide smile on his face, his eyes shining as he looked at you.
"Bruno!" You wasted no time in pulling him into a hug, hearing him chuckle before wrapping his arms around you tightly. You pulled away, and stared at him proudly. "I can't believe you have a Gift."
He shrugged. "It's cool, but not exactly useful to the family, it's not like I can have a vision whenever I feel like it. I just saw Julieta run off to the kitchen to make arepas." He smiled sheepishly.
You winced when someone in the crowd whistled particularly loudly when Pepa made a rainbow appear above her head, and another loud clatter of applause thundered from the crowd. This didn't go unnoticed by Bruno, and he took one of your hands in his.
"Wanna get out of here?" He asked.
You nodded gratefully, and the two of you ran to the main door, dodging all the legs and decorations before running out into the night.
"Casita!" Bruno called to the house. "Get us up to the roof!" The wooden frames jumped to life as they formed a ladder in front of you, and Bruno wasted no time in scrambling up the ladder. You followed at a slower pace, not wanting to fall.
Before you got to the top, Bruno's head popped out from the roof and he offered you a hand with a grin. You grasped it tightly as he pulled you up.
You made your way over to a part of the roof and laid down, feeling Bruno lie down next to you. You stared at the stars in the night sky, watching them twinkle.
"I wish you could have a Gift too." He said randomly, tracing the outline of the stars with his finger as you turned to look at him. "It would be so cool."
You sighed, and turned back to look at the stars. "I wonder what my Gift would be."
"You certainly have a talent for annoying me." He snorted, before shrieking when you sharply turned your head to glare at him.
You laughed. "Scaredy cat, I didn't even do anything and you're already shrieking your head off."
He huffed in embarrassment, but eventually smiled. "You've always been good at dancing, maybe you could...I don't know. Maybe you could make arepas fall from the sky when you dance."
The two of you erupted into laughter at his idea, and it took you a few minutes to stop giggling. "The town would never go hungry again." You laughed.
Neither of you spoke for a while, simply enjoying each other's company, before Bruno spoke up again.
"Promise to stay like this forever?"
You knew exactly what he meant when he said "this", the bond you two had was more than a friendship, a relationship no one could come close to understanding, but you smiled anyway.
"Promise." You answered, as the first firework flew into the sky.
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Present day:
You were hanging out the washing, watching your friend's daughter play with Antonio and Camilo on the grass. Your friend was busy for the day, so you had offered to take care of her daughter, and it had ended in mayhem. They were running through the washing wildly, but the threat of not having ice cream after dinner quietened them down. You reached into the basket and pulled out a poncho, and you froze.
It was the one Bruno had loved to wear. It was a dark sage green, with waves of darker and lighter shades of green, and you were flooded with memories as you held it in your hands. When Bruno had disappeared, Abuela had thrown away all his old belongings, but you had managed to keep this one. To remind you of your closest friend and soulmate.
You were pegging it up along with the other clothes when you suddenly heard Pepa yelling at the top of her voice.
"Y/NNNNN!!! Y/N Y/L/N GET HERE RIGHT NOW!" You blinked as Pepa came charging towards you, skidding to a halt before she crashed into the washing line.
"Y/N..you have to...see this...Mirabel and Bru-Bruno." She gasped for air, flopping onto the floor, catching her breath, but you were already running though the town, towards the direction of the Madrigal house.
You ran as fast as your legs would carry you, and you eventually reached the front lawn of the casita, and you couldn't believe your eyes.
Bruno.
Bruno, the boy who used to lay with you on the grass, weaving daisies into your hair. Bruno, who used to place a bucket on his head and pretended to be a different person and made you laugh. Bruno, who held you close in his arms as you cried, doing everything he could to make you feel better.
Bruno.
He was currently being embraced by Abuela, but his eyes widened in recognition when he saw you. He smiled quickly at his mother before running towards you as fast as he could. You started to walk towards him at the same time before picking up the speed.
The two of you nearly crashed into each other before you practically leapt into his arms as he wrapped them around you in a tight embrace. You buried your face into his neck, holding him as close as possible, never wanting to let him go, scared that if you released him, he would suddenly disappear.
After what felt like only seconds, he pulled away to look at you, his eyes gentle as they scanned your face. You couldn't stop smiling as you took in the sight of him.
"You still have that annoying smile that I remember." He whispered, and you half-laughed, half-sobbed.
Before you knew what you were doing, you raised your hand to smack him across his head, and hugged him again.
"Bruno Madrigal you will be the death of me." You murmured into the crook of his neck.
He chuckled quietly. "I guess I deserved that."
"Y/N!" You raised your head to see Pepa, storming towards you with a large thundercloud over her head.
"Incoming." Bruno grinned.
"Did you forget something hmm?" Pepa raised a brow, and you racked your brain for an answer before she practically exploded. "THE POOR CHILD YOU LEFT ALONE WITH ANTONIO AND CAMILO."
You gasped as you remembered the girl you were babysitting. "Oh God I-."
"You are LUCKY I was there." She sighed, walking over, bringing her cloud with her.
"Wait Pepa-!" Bruno started, but didn't get to finish his sentence before the two of you were showered with raindrops from Pepa's cloud.
He grabbed your hand and swooped you away from the water, pulling you off balance, and you had to rest your hand against his chest to keep yourself from falling over.
You chucked nervously as you felt your cheeks heating up slightly. Before you said anything you might regret, Abuela clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.
"Everyone! To celebrate the return on my beloved son Bruno, we are holding a party at the Madrigal casita tonight! Put on your party hats and be ready in 3 hours!" She smiled warmly at the sight of you and Bruno still in each other's arms.
~time skip to the party~
"BRUNO!" You yelled, trying to get his attention from across the room, waving at him. He shot you a grateful look as he politely excused himself from a horde of people asking him questions.
"Y/N, you look...beautiful." He smiled, flicking a strand of his fluffy black hair away from his face.
"Since when did you give me compliments?" You raise a brow, watching his eyes widen in protest.
He mocked an offended expression, placing his hand against his chest. "I have always given you compliments. You have too many things about you that simply have to be complimented." He shrugged playfully.
"Alright alright, steady on the flirting." You teased, pulling him onto the dance floor in hopes of hiding the blush creeping up to your cheeks.
He grinned and grabbed one of your hands, spinning you in a small circle before pulling you back to him. From the corner of your eye, you saw Mirabel watching you and Bruno, and she smirked before whispering something to the band.
Almost instantly the music's mood shifted from an upbeat and wild song to a slow and gentle guitar.
When you turned back around to Bruno, he was sweeping into a dramatic bow, his eyes playful as he extended out his hand, and you couldn't help but laugh gently.
"May I have this dance?" He smiled sweetly.
"Why of course you may." You winked, taking hold of his hand, and the two of you began to spin around the room in an elegant dance.
You saw Bruno's face panic for a split second, and you remembered that he had never been a dancer, so you took matters into your own hands, and you began to lead him, guiding his steps, placing his hand on your waist confidently.
His face flushed as his grip on your waist tightened slightly, and you swayed to the music, looking at his face the whole time. And for a second, the noise faded out. It was just you and him, like it always had been. The music disappeared, the people faded away, and it was just him.
When the song ended, you pulled him into a hug before pulling him out of the house. You ran outside, breathing in the cold air of the night.
"Casita!" This time, the wooden frames immediately formed a ladder, and Bruno's face lightened up as he realised what you were up to. He laughed and he scrambled up the ladder, and just like the first time, offered you a hand up to the roof.
You sat down onto the tiles, leaning back on the palms of your hands. Bruno flopped down next to you, and slowly rested his hand over yours, searching your face for any sign of resistance. None. You shot him a gentle smile as you looked up at the moon and stars.
"Remember the first time we came up here?" He asked, turning his head to look at you.
You nodded with a smile. "Of course I do."
He sighed. "It's like nothing's changed."
You smiled sadly. "Really? I feel like a lot has changed."
Bruno stared at the reflection of the moon of your eyes. "No not really. The moon was beautiful then, it's beautiful now. You could hear the party raging, and you can hear it now. I was madly in love with you, and I still am."
You whipped your head around to see him looking at you with tears in his eyes. "You- love me?"
"Of course I love you! How could I not?" He blurted, making wild gestures with his hands. "You're perfect and so caring and loving and I couldn't imagine my life without you in it and I've always loved you! Since that night on the roof I knew that I'd never love anyone as much as I love you-."
You leaned towards him and silenced his words with a kiss, threading your fingers through his hair, as he wrapped your arms around your waist, gently pulling you closer to his body.
After a few moments you pulled apart, and he rested his forehead against yours, closing his eyes.
"I love you." He whispered.
And in that moment, you realised that you loved him too. You had always loved him, and you knew you would never stop loving him. It was Bruno, and it had always been Bruno. And then you said the very words you had always wanted to say.
"I love you too Bruno Madrigal."
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word count: 2274 💚