Beautiful Bruises ~ Camilo Madrigal x Reader

Brother

"Hey," he breathed.

You were frozen, your eyes wide as you gazed up at him. He was breathing hard, trying not to fall on you. He still hadn't moved, and you found you didn't want him to.

But you should want him to.

You scowled at the thought.

Camilo's mouth twisted slightly, his eyes skirting around the upper half of your body before landing back on your eyes.

"Though you could avoid me, huh?" He reached a hand up to brush a strand of your hair off of your face, sending your heart skipping impossibly fast and leaving your skin tingling where he had touched you. His smirk faded quickly when his eyes landed on your bruise. "I'm not going to let you out of my sight after this, (Y/N)."

You groaned, pushing at his firm chest and trying to get him off of you. He stayed firm, grabbing your hands with one of his and pinning them on the floor behind you, before leaning in so close your noses nearly touched. Your breath caught in your throat.

"You got that, Cariño?" he whispered, sending chills down your spine. His eyes flicked to your lips for the briefest of moments. You tried to look away from him, but found you couldn't.

"Got it," you finally managed to say breathlessly. You had let him win - but you found you didn't mind that much. Camilo made even losing seem appealing.

"Good," he said, hovering over you for one more moment before pushing off and getting up quickly.

You looked up to see the fog clearing, and soon Mirabel's face appeared over the ledge, alongside a middle-aged man with curly black hair and a green rauna on.

"Are you two all right?" she called.

"Sorry about that," the man said apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wasn't really expecting visitors."

"We're fine," Camilo called back up. "Tío Bruno, is that you?"

Bruno nodded sheepishly, fiddling with his thumbs.

"Yeah, I... I've been here for a while."

"Do you think you can get out?" Mirabel questioned, glancing around at your surroundings. "Oh, wait - Camilo, just shape-shift into someone really tall. Then you can help (Y/N) out, too."

Camilo smirked at you, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"I must have hit my head or something - I don't think my powers will work right." As if to prove his point, he quickly shifted into Delores, Felix, and Julieta, finally landing back on himself. "Whoops."

"Oh... you'll have to wait until your powers come back, then," Mirabel said, frowning. "Sorry, (Y/N). I don't know what else to do."

You grit your teeth, forcing yourself to smile up at her.

"It's fine! Go save the miracle, Mirabel!"

She smiled gratefully at you before chasing after Bruno. The second those two were out of sight, you spun around to face Camilo.

"What is wrong with you?" you cried. "I know you didn't hit your head, and your powers are fine! Now get us out of here!"

He tilted his head at you quizzically.

"Huh? What was that? I think the fall must have affected my hearing."

You groaned, pacing around the small space. 

"You must have hit your head at birth or something."

Camilo only laughed, which made you even angrier. Defeated, you sat down in the corner.

"(Y/N)," he said, his voice suddenly serious.

"What?" you spit. He approached slowly, fumbling with his words. It was weird to see him unsure, so you payed closer attention.

"I... well... something else is off," he said slowly, sitting next to you but not too close. "Not only did Julieta's food not heal you, I also... I can't..." He looked away, his face red and ashamed.

"You can't shape-shift into me?" you guessed, watching his eyes. From the way they lowered, you could tell you were correct.

"I thought it was something wrong with me," he mumbled, barely audible. "And it might be. But I'm more scared that it has something to do with you." He looked back up, holding your gaze. 

You thought back to the night before, when your papa had lashed out, saying how the Madrigals had separated him from his family. Was his anger somehow preventing their magic from working on you? Or... was it something more?

You hesitated.

"Do you know what my papa looks like?" you asked slowly. Camilo looked confused and shook his head.

"Why?"

"Really dark brown eyes, coffee-colored hair, always wearing a red rauna..." you prompted instead of answering him.

"That sounds kind of like a boy I've seen Isabela talking to," he said after a moment. "But he's way too young to be your padre - he's probably only 20 or so."

Jude, you realized.

"Ok... try to shape-shift into that man," you suggested, an idea forming. Jude was your brother, so if preventing magic was in your blood, it would be in his too.

"Why?" Camilo questioned again, squinting at you. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Just trust me," you pleaded.

"Why should I?" he asked, his voice going cold. "Why should I trust you when all you ever do is run away from me when I try to help you, (Y/N)? Tell me. Enlighten me."

You froze, unsure of what to say. You looked away, hot tears building in your eyes.

"I deserved that," you mumbled, not letting him see your tears. "I'm sorry, I just... I don't..."

"Hey," Camilo said softly, scooting around so he was in front of you. You drew your knees up to your chest, shaking your head and sniffling.

"No, I... I'm fine, I just-"

"I know," he interrupted, carefully pulling your hands away from your face. "It's ok. I get it. I shouldn't have said that, Cariño. That's my fault." He carefully reached his hand out to dry your tears, making sure not to touch your bruise, his eyes intent and focused on the task.

You smiled weakly at him.

"Why are you always so sweet?"

"Hardly," he said with a laugh. "And I'll try, ok? I'm not sure who that man is, but I'll try if it makes you feel better."

He scooted away, standing up.

"Don't watch," he said with a fake scowl, and you giggled, turning to face the wall. When you turned back around moments later, he was still himself, standing in the room and shaking his head.

You stood up and walked over to him quickly, taking his hands.

"What does this mean?" he whispered. "Who was that?"

You bit your lip and gazed at his hair so you wouldn't have to meet his eyes.

"That was my brother."