"(Y/n)! Whatcha doing up there?"
You snap out of your confused thoughts and search for whoever had called for you. A familiar figure stood down near the pond, waiting for you to answer.
"Luca?"
Your voice came out weak, and he could barely hear it. Your friend frowned, wondering why you weren't searching for Mirabel. He had came up to the pond where you and your family had taken him one afternoon, just in case your sister had decided to go there, but instead found you there. He wasn't unhappy about it, of course, he was worried for you as well after you disappeared with Abuela, but you didn't seem to be fine.
He puts his hands on his hips, thinking for a moment before sighing.
"Wait a minute, I'll be right there!"
You let out a confused mumble that he doesn't hear, and decide to repeat yourself louder.
"But you're scared of going up that boulder!"
You weren't sure why you climbed it yourself after realising Mirabel wasn't here. It was your last option of the spots she liked, and when you reached it, out of breath from running, you felt like taking a small break. But the small break turned into a long one, and somehow you found yourself above the waterfall from which you and Mirabel had once pushed Luca.
She had said she was there for you that day. Even though those were mindless words thrown to add to a joke, you wished you had taken them into account.
To be honest, you had been pondering on everything you could have done to stop this from happening for the last thirty minutes, just staring blankly into the void, blind to the view of your dead Encanto in front of your eyes.
Luca just smiles at you, shrugging before running towards the boulder he so dreaded to approach only months ago. Would he need help? You couldn't even bring yourself to move a finger right now. That wasn't good. You didn't exactly want him, or anyone, to see you like that. But hey, what could you do?
You waited a few minutes, head lazily tilted towards the way he was supposed to come. Soon enough, he appeared, carefully walking along the boulder, as close to the wall as possible. You unconsciously let out a giggle, watching him warily detach himself from it to approach you. You were sitting at the very edge, legs hanging into the void, something he couldn't bring himself to do - or like seeing you do.
"You're... very close to that edge."
"Don't piss your pants. I do that all the time."
"Yeah, well, that makes me uncomfortable. That boulder might as well just collapse, like that mountain that cracked over there."
You hum to yourself, not moving an inch. His words didn't even give you the motivation to do that. You just felt empty. Your sister was gone, your house was gone... And so was your gift. You wondered whether that was where that emptiness came from. Your fingertips felt cold, freezing, even. It was as if that buzzing sensation you felt before the house collapsed left your fingers as dead as the magic that used to flow through your veins.
Was that how Mirabel always felt?
"Hey, uh... You good?" Luca finally says when you don't answer, and you shrug, swinging your legs in the air.
"Dunno. My house collapsed. My sister's nowhere to be found, which I don't find very funny. Also, I had a talk with my Abuela."
Luca sat next to you, well, as near to the edge as he could, which meant he was still a good half a meter behind you. " Yeah, I've seen you take her aside earlier. Maybe I should have waited until you were done instead of going to look for Mirabel."
"No! No, what the heck. You did good. Thank you for your help, by the way."
"I mean, of course. Mirabel's my friend."
You smile at his words.
"So, how did it go with your Abuela?"
Your smile drops. You sigh deeply, trying to think about your next words carefully.
"I don't know. I told her what was on my mind, I guess. That she should have listened. Because that was the problem, in the end, she never listened. I think this time, she did. I mean, what else was she supposed to do, her house collapsed and her family's a mess. Might as well hear the edgy granddaughter out, ya know?"
You tried a smile, that Luca returned, but he didn't comment on anything. He was listening, encouraging you to tell more.
"So yeah, I blamed her for everything. I was really angry. I didn't even realize she was crying until I couldn't find anything more to accuse her of. After that I felt kind of guilty."
"Oh."
"Yes. I apologized, and she told me I didn't need to. Because she didn't deserve an apology. And I was like, woman, who broke you? And then she told me about all this stuff she was doing to protect our family, and how my grandpa died - to be honest I already knew the story, but it was rougher than I thought it was for her. So yeah, I guess I never realized that in a way, she cared. The bad way, of course, but hey, just a detail. A detail that blew the Encanto up, so I feel kinda conflicted, you know. Also, I lost my gift, that I thought I hated but now I feel weird about it, and I'm worried sick for Mirabel, she's out there alone, and feeling guilty, and- I don't know, I-"
You're surprised by your own sob, trying to keep it in as you speak, but inevitably, it comes out. You don't cry, you do feel like it, but nothing comes out; it's just a sob that you can't contain for the good reason it had to be left out.
"Hey, hey! (Y/n)..." Luca says softly.
You refuse to turn around and look at him, afraid more will come out. Now was not the time for a mental breakdown. You had to search for Mirabel. The sun would be setting down soon, you realize as you gaze upon the mountains, and Mirabel would be outside alone.
"We should probably go look for Mirabel now." You manage to let out, still sitting at your edge and knowing you won't be able to get up if Luca's still there worrying for you.
And Luca was still there worrying for you. You felt a hesitant hand on your shoulder, that tugged at it a bit when you refused to turn your head. Eventually, an arm wrapped around your waist and pulled you backwards, and your back met a chest as the hand that was previously on your shoulder dropped on your lap.
"I'm sorry." Luca's voice in your ear is low, as if he didn't want to startle you. "I really can't get closer to the edge than this, so I had to pull you like that."
Overwhelmed. That's how you felt. You were searching for that emotion for the last hour, wondering what had made you feel so empty when you should have been nervous, sad, angry. You were overwhelmed with your problems and didn't know how to deal with all of that, creating one big problem from which you couldn't see the end.
Luca was the solution.
His arm on your waist shifted; he was about to pull away. You clung onto it, held it closer, and grabbed his hand with your free one. Another sob came out of you, and he understood. He held you tighter, leaning his head on your shoulder as he stroked your arm gently, waiting for you to get it all out.
And so you cried, finally, or again since you had basically spent the last night crying. It felt great, liberating, and warm, thanks to Luca's hug. Usually, you'd be extremely flustered, but right now it just felt right. You now held his free hand with both of yours, and your fingers were tightly intertwined. It was a big mess.
"Sorry, I'm not much help right now. I've never had to comfort anyone." Luca says after a bit, when you've calmed down. You chuckle as you wipe some tears off.
"You're pretty good, actually."
You sit straighter, and he lets go of you so that you can turn around. You do so before he can really push himself away a bit, but none of you seem to mind.
"Was I? I was looking at the sky the whole time so I wouldn't see the ground below."
You puff out, eyes still red and cheeks shining with trails of dried tears.
"Really?"
"Well," Luca says, containing a scoff, which made his voice crack. "At first, yes. Then I looked elsewhere and I was okay."
"Where did you look?"
He simply looks at you, a dark blush slowly growing on his cheeks. You get the answer immediately and immediately feel very hot. Boiling, actually.
That's when hundreds of butterflies fly above your heads, making you look up. A golden light was reflected on both of your faces, giving the moment a magical atmosphere that even the Encanto couldn't have provided before. Everything was just so perfect, and the butterflies weren't even all gone when you both looked back at each other.
"I-I was looking at you." Luca judges useful to add, voice growing higher-pitched at the end of his sentence.
"Luca," you say after blinking once. "That's so very cheesy."
He blinks as well. "What? Bitch, say that again!"
You snicker ungracefully, before getting pushed backwards, right towards the edge. You get flashbacks from the day he pushed you over onto the pound and quickly plant your feet on the ground, resisting his push. You and Luca soon both find yourself standing near the edge, struggling to push the other by grabbing their forearm. Unfortunately, Luca was about to win, motivated by his phobia of heights and unwillingness to fall in that pond, so you decided to do something bold.
After all, you were pretty sure he had feelings for you. And you knew you returned them.
As your feet dangerously neared the edge, you suddenly pulled instead of pushing, making panicked Luca step towards you. Without thinking twice, you plant your lips on his, only for a few seconds, but enough to make him stop fighting and process what was happening. You could have sworn you felt him kiss you back, but you had a goal to fulfill.
Profiting from his confusion, you swiftly swap your places so that he's the one standing near the edge and push softly. It was enough to make him fall backwards.
"I win!" You exclaim, ready to beam at your own success and not noticing the hand that grasped your wrist and the arm that barely had enough time to grip your waist. "Uh oh."
"You're coming down with me!" Luca laughs manically, before remembering he was really scared. "Oh shit, shit, shit!"
You crash into the cold water before you can shout insults at him, but then welcome the fresh feeling of it against your skin. You were feeling too hot.
You almost don't want to go back to the surface and consider drowning so that you don't have to face Luca, but he doesn't share that idea. You are pulled up and towards a ground you can reach. Forced to meet his eyes, you smile awkwardly at his blushing face.
Maybe you assumed wrong. Maybe he didn't like you like that at all. Maybe you had made a fool of yourself.
"Sorr-"
He takes your hand, making you go quiet instantly. This time, he's the one pulling you closer, slower than you did less than a minute ago. You both turn awfully serious and stare at each other in silence before he leans in and kisses you. The hand he took intertwines your fingers together.
It feels great, but doesn't last too long before you both pull apart.
"What do we do now?" He murmurs, blushing crazily. You weren't sure of the colour of your face either right now.
"I don't quite know." You whisper-yell back. "I've never kissed anyone before. I'm a bit lost."
"That's reassuring. Me too."
There's a slight silence, during which you awkwardly stand still in the water that reached your waist.
"We should probably get out now." You say, and he nods. You successfully wade out of the pond and somehow try to dry your skirt by wringing it. After that, it was rather awkward.
"So, uh..."
"We should probably go look for Mirabel again." You cut him. "We can talk on the way."
"Alright, yeah."
He sounded disappointed, at least until you shyly scooted closer to him and took his hand. He squeezed yours as an idiotic smile made its way to your lips, and you began walking together.
You were feeling better. It took a bit of a mental breakdown, but, hey, it was worth it. You were still hella worried about Mirabel, of course-
"(Y/N)! (Y/N), THERE YOU ARE!"
You and Luca exchange a curious gaze. You turn towards the person that just screamed your name, barely distinguishable behind the trees. Yet you recognize that voice very well.
"I've been searching for you for ages!" Dolores rushes to you, barely noticing your hand in Luca's, too excited to tell you the news. "Abuela found Mirabel. She's back!"
Next thing you knew, you were sprinting as fast as your legs could run towards your house, distancing Luca and Dolores in no time and forgetting everything else than the wind in your hair and your drenched skirt clinging onto your legs, trying to weigh you down.
But nothing could have stopped you in that moment; Mirabel was back.
___
words: 2317
note: hello y'all, hope you enjoyed this chapter tho I wasn't really sure where I was going with that.
also my eye stopped twitching lol
by the way I'm already thinking of my next fanfic (it's not the end of this one yet, DW) and I thought I'd let you know that I have two ideas already:
- a Stranger Things one
- an Umbrella Academy one
bcz I've already written three about Encanto and it's getting a bit repetitive. and I've been rewatching those shows lately so why not.
in the Stranger Things one (Y/N)'d be Steve's sister so yeah there would be no romantic dynamic with him (sorry not sorry)
in the Umbrella Academy one (Y/N) would be part of the family as well, so no weird ass relationship like with Luther and Allison in the first season
both would have one book for every season of the concerned show btw
so you guys can start telling me which one you'd like more in the comments! :) I'll keep count (will try)
hope you like the ideas btw lol
see ya!