Falling Sand (Encanto fanfic)

Migraine

     Ugh, mi cabeza! I moaned, wincing at the sunlight coming through the casa's window. It looked like it was barely daylight yet, but already I was contemplating hiding in the walls to avoid the painful rays. I glanced at the bucket lying by the sofa. Or maybe I could just be Jorge for the day.
     "Ahhh!" I exclaimed as the casita lifted me off my makeshift bed, before the tiles swept me into the kitchen. "House, what are you--?"
     "Bruno? What are you doing in here?" Julieta questioned, flipping the arepas she was cooking for breakfast.
     "I don't know." I shrugged, looking at the floor in bewilderment. "The house just--ohhh." I grinned, realizing the casita was trying to help me get food from Julieta so my head would feel better.
     I muttered a quiet thank you, before clearing my throat. "I, uh...I was wondering if I could have an arepa?" I asked, my hands fidgeting.
     Julieta laughed. "You're just as bad as Camilo! You know the rules—you have to wait until breakfast!" She scolded lightly, turning to flip the arepas onto a plate.
     I flinched slightly at the sound of her loud voice. "Maybe just this once? Please? I—"
     "No exceptions Bruno!" She wagged her finger at me. "Now, if you really want to eat sooner, why don't you help set the table, hmmm?" She suggested, handing me a stack of plates.
     I nodded, giving her a tight grin, before turning around and heading to la mesa. I fought back a groan, the sound of my own feet on the tiles like dozens of little rat claws digging into my brain.
     I set the plates down on the table, and they slid to their spots quietly. I blinked, surprised.
     "Thanks, casita." I murmured, giving the floor a small smile."For this, and for trying to help earlier. I appreciate—"
     Footsteps came thundering down the staircase, one set after another. Clenching my teeth tightly, I sat down, holding my head in my arms. Please let that be everyone. I just want to eat, and have this stabbing pain go away!
     "—you knew I was saving that to give to Mariano for his birthday!" Dolores shouted.
     "Come on, Dolores. How was I supposed to know!" Camilo protested.
     "It had his name on the package!" Dolores screamed.
     "Well, I—"
     Their arguing was joined by the sound of more pounding footsteps coming down the stairs. I tried to massage the pain in my head away, but nothing I did seemed to help.
     "Luisa, I told you not to go near it because I knew this would happen!" Isabela complained.
     "I just wanted to touch it! It looked so beautiful." Luisa frowned, holding the broken fragments of Isabela's new figurine gently in her hands.
     "Yes, and I told you not to, because the same thing happened with the last figurine I had!" Isa yelled, cacti sprouting up all around her.
     "You can't blame me for that! I—"
     Antonio and Mirabel walked calmly into the room, their excited chattering only adding to the noise. At least they're not shouting, I suppose.
     "Familia, can you please be a little more quiet?" I asked weakly, trying to hold back tears. "I don't—"
     Augustín and Félix burst into the room, loudly singing the new song they'd heard in the town yesterday. I squeezed my hands tightly, the pain becoming unbearable as black spots danced in the corner of my vision.
     "Please." I pleaded, tears falling silently down my face. "Could you—"
     "Who painted my door?!" Abuela roared as she entered the room.
     I sat amidst the chaos, crying soundlessly as the black spots slowly overtook my vision. Clenching my teeth, I fought back a scream at the hurricane of agony raging in my head. Finally, after what seemed like hours of torment, I heard the clacking of shoes on tile drawing nearer. I was so close, I bemoaned, watching Pepa and Julieta walk into the room with a platter of food, right before my vision went completely black, and I knew no more.

Third person POV
     "Quiet everyone!" Julieta hollered over the chaos. Immediately, everyone stopped talking.           "Now, why don't you—"
     Thud.
     Everyone's head turned as one to face where the noise had come from.
     "Did he just fall back asleep? Even with all of us arguing?" Camilo asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
     "Bruno?" Julieta called, setting the platter down on the table as she walked over to his spot.     "Are you okay?" She shook him gently, but he didn't even stir.
     Alarmed, she jostled him a little harder, with no response. "Isa, go get the coffee I made this morning, quickly." She ordered.
     Isabella raced out of the room. Carefully, Julieta lifted Bruno up from his chair and set him on the table.
     She grimaced at the sight of his pale face and the dried tear tracks on his cheeks. Brushing her fingers against his neck, she quickly checked his pulse. "His heartbeat is fine, if a bit fast." She reported.
     The rest of the family gathered around her as Isa came running back into the room with the dark liquid. Thanking her, Julieta grabbed the mug.
     "Camilo, lift his head slightly." Julieta instructed.
     Camilo silently sat on the table, raising Bruno's head and placing it in his lap. Carefully, Julieta eased Bruno's mouth open, pouring the warm liquid inside. She closed his lips, softly rubbing his throat to help him swallow.
     La familia stared at Bruno, waiting for the drink to take effect. They inched closer to him, the room completely silent except for the sound of Bruno's harsh breathing gradually easing into quiet snores.
     "Bruno?" Abuela called, gently rubbing his shoulder.
     He groaned slightly, his eyelids fluttering. A moment passed, before they opened completely, revealing his glazed over green eyes.     
      "What...what happened?" He croaked, looking around the room.
     "We were hoping you could tell us that, actually." Pepa replied, carding her hand soothingly through his hair. Bruno leaned into the touch, giving her a small smile.
     "I, uh...I'm not sure, exactly." Bruno confessed, his eyebrows furrowing. "My head hurt a lot when I woke up this morning. The casita took me to the kitchen, and, well..." Bruno trailed off with a nervous grin.
     "Bruno!" Julieta exclaimed, grabbing his hand. "I would have let you have an arepa if you told me you were in pain. Why didn't you say anything?" She asked, rubbing his palm tenderly.
     Bruno winced. "I—I tried to tell you." Bruno protested weakly. "But, I didn't want to make you angry or upset, so I just thought I'd wait till breakfast. But then there was a lot of, uh, loud sound, and my vision went all spotty, and the pain got worse. The last thing I remember is you walking into the room, before waking up on the table." Bruno rambled, his voice getting quieter and quieter.
     "Please don't be mad." He begged weakly. "I didn't mean to ruin breakfast! I—"
     "Hermanito, we're not mad. At least not at you." Pepa assured him, continuing her gentle ministrations.
     Bruno's eyebrows furrowed. "But, you're all frowning..." he commented, looking around the room.
     "We're angry at ourselves." Mirabel responded quickly, laying her hand down on his leg. "We should have noticed that you were hurting. But because all of us were so consumed in our conversations and arguments, none of us realized you were suffering, even though you were right in front of us." She explained, pursing her lips.
     "But how were you to know? I should have tried more to speak up." Bruno protested.
     "Over all of that chaos?" Luisa scoffed. "I could barely hear my own voice, which is booming in comparison to yours." She winced, chuckling nervously. "No offense."
     "And we should have, at the very least, noticed you crying." Abuela stated, rubbing the dried tear tracks on his cheeks. "We should have seen that something was wrong. We're sorry." She whispered, as the rest of the family nodded their heads, murmuring their own apologies.
     Bruno smiled warmly. "It's alright," he yawned, blinking heavily. "I'm just glad to be back with mi familia." He muttered, fighting to keep his eyes open.
     "Why don't you get some rest, Bruno." Julieta suggested. Bruno opened his mouth, before closing it, and glancing around at his familia.
     "Don't worry. We'll be here when you wake up from your nap." Dolores piped up.
     Relaxing slightly, Bruno nodded, before finally letting his eyes fall shut. Immediately, his face went slack, and his breathing evened out.
     "He must have been really tired." Antonio whispered, the rest of la familia quietly agreeing.
     Silently, Agustín and Félix passed out the cold arepas. La familia ate in silence, the sound of the town waking up in the distance background noise to the soft snores of their exhausted loved one.
     Bruno eventually woke up, and had numerous arepas handed to him by Julieta, a guilty expression on her face. And if, for the next week, the family took care to be a little more quiet and a lot more watchful of Bruno's expressions, well—it is la familia Madrigal. A family with amazing powers, a magical home, and enough love for each other to overcome any obstacles that come their way.
So, not sure if I'll add more one shots to this story. For anyone confused by why Bruno sleeps on a sofa downstairs, well. In my mind he got tired of sleeping in piles of sand, and so decided to just not sleep in his room for the most part. Also, Pepa would have probably brought a hurricane into the house after Bruno wouldn't wake up, but my theory is that if she's in a great enough stage of shock, her powers don't do anything at all. And she was pretty shocked, so, yeah. Anywho, hope you enjoyed! P.s. comments make me happier than a kid at Disney World:)