Love's Premonition (Bruno Madrigal x Fem Reader)

7

Once the two had calmed down a little (they had both been getting a bit emotional), Bruno showed Y/n around his room.

"It's not so bad here," he said. "It's much easier to get around than my tower, with all those stairs, and it's next to the kitchen, so it's easy to sneak food!" He seemed happier now that he had been assured Y/n didn't hate him. 

Outside the room, in the dining hall, the noise that had happened had quieted down. Neither of them had caught exactly what had happened, but it seemed calmer now.

Y/n went over to the semi-window and looked at the little table he had placed next to it. Painted onto it was a plate with floral designs and the name Bruno around the edge. 

He came over to see what she was looking at and winced a little. "Ah.. yeah.. I sit there sometimes, to pretend I'm eating with all of you.. I would have stolen my real plate, but- uh never mind-" He cut himself off, seeming to think he had said too much.

"Wait- wait why didn't you? I'm sure Julieta wouldn't have noticed, or Casita would cover for you somehow-"

Bruno muttered something she couldn't quite catch, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

"What?"

"They broke it.. It's no big deal though, it makes sense, since I left."

This was news to Y/n. She thought that all of Bruno's things had just been left alone, untouched for all these years. The fact that they- probably being Abuela- had broken it was strange. She thought that they still loved Bruno, despite how his prophecies were interpreted and his disappearance. 

She knew Pepa and Julieta did, and Camilo, Mirabel, and Antonio don't remember him. Isabela, Luisa, and Dolores mostly just avoid conversation about him- something that makes perfect sense in Dolores' case, now that Y/n understood why she was protecting him.

Only Abuela, who gets so furious at the slightest imperfection, would do that.

"No.. no, it doesn't make sense. Even though you left, you're still part of their family. The fact that they treat you like a disgrace to be forgotten- I hate it." Y/n was frustrated on Bruno's behalf, and wondered why he wasn't more angry about it.

"Even if they sometimes forget I'm their family, I always remember that they're mine," replied Bruno simply. "I love my family."

Y/n looked at Bruno as though she understood but didn't understand. Then, she smiled the way she always did when Bruno said something sappy. "I will never understand how you're so forgiving, osito"

"And I will never understand how you hold grudges,querida," he said. 

Y/n could see him becoming more comfortable, relaxing slightly as they talked. It was good to see him relaxed, and it helped her relax a bit.

"This conversation is getting too deep for our reunion. How have you been down here?" asked Y/n.

"Eh," he said with a shrug. "It's not so bad. The rats keep me company. I've already told you about the free food. And look," he said, picking up two rats. "Free entertainment!"

"Um. What?" said Y/n, not understanding how rats equaled entertainment.

"Look!" said Bruno, getting a little excited. He placed the two rats on the mini stage next to the chair, then showed her the little cardboard pieces he had to replicate different sets. "I can make my own telenovelas!"

Y/n was suddenly reminded of that one afternoon when they were young, when Bruno had made a stage out of twigs and Y/n had suggested that the rat she had found could be an actor.