Fairy Tales // Camilo Madrigal X Reader

[3] Invitation

"YeAh!" The children all cheered as they all played outside of the backyard. It was a little past noon, the perfect time for kids to play until they get tired and head to bed right on time.

I watched from standing under a large tree. The place where Camilo had first confessed to me. I crossed my arms over my chest, smiling ear to ear at the sound of these kids laughing without a care. I leaned my back against the tree's bark and suddenly Camilo appeared in front of me. He hung on the tree upside down, his legs wrapped on a thick branch.

"Boo!" He smirked, I jumped but I didn't scream.

"Camilo Madrigal." I sighed in short syllables and furrowed my brows at him. He laughed and the curls of his hair bounced with pleasure.

"Y/n L/n." He mimicked my attitude, crossing his arms over his chest. I cracked a smile and he winked, "Tell ya what." He whispered, and pulled himself upright before jumping off the branch, landing on his feet as smooth as a feline would've been. "I tell the kids a story tonight and you date me in return." He said with his dangerous smirk and stood in front of me, blocking my view of the kids. I stared at him and then sighed,

"Well," I began and pushed off the tree to close in the space between us. I could see that his pupils started to dilate at the sight of me inching closer. "If you were here yesterday, I might've. But you missed your chance." I joked he, however, took it literally. I laughed a little and pushed him back by the shoulders, seeing his flustered face.

He lightly stumbled back, "Wait, seriously?" He asked, his tone became innocent unlike seconds ago. "You would've? Damn it-- I swear, I can explain!" He pleads and I just shook my head,

"Sorry, what's done is done." I chuckled at his big frown. Camilo placed his hands in front of him in a prayer position just as Marco and Carlo came running to us. Although they were identical, a beauty mark that sat right at the tip of Carlo's nose simply distinguished the two.

"Camilo! Camilo!" They chanted in sync. We turned our attention to the twins, "Can we play hide and seek again?" They begged and without hesitation Camilo agreed to it with his brightest smile, revealing the whites of his teeth.

"Go, hide!" He warned and the boys cheered, announcing to everyone that Camilo was it. The Madrigal boy turned to me and grinned,

"Madame, we shall discuss this matter later." He said in a dramatic way that made me crack a smile. He approached the tree to lean his head on so he could count out loud for the orphans to hear him.

• • •

All the children from within the orphanage surrounded Camilo. They had washed up after dinner and now sat on the floor as he stood in the middle of the circle. He told the story of when Mirabel had saved Casita from its dark secrets. He dramatically swung his arms around, describing every moment like it happened yesterday.

The passion of his voice captured his audience-- and to add a cherry on top, his gift adapted to the story he told. Transforming into his cousin, the next thing we knew he dissolved into the shape of his Uncle Bruno, waving his arms into the air to scare the kids.

I laughed and watched him tell this story for the hundredth time. But no matter how many times he decided to tell his stories I would listen like it was my first.

Minutes passed and he ended with the kids applauding him for his outstanding acting.

"Thank you! Thank you!" He bowed, just as he took the form of all the people he included in his story, as if to credit them.

"Alrighty! Time for bed!" I called, disrupting the cheerful moment. Camilo met my eyes and shifted in the shape of me.

"It's bed time!" He mimicked in a mocking tone. This made the kids laugh and I rolled my eyes,

"Haha. Very funny." I said in a monotonous voice. He chuckled and averted back to himself, throwing me a guilty smile.

Eventually after some small innocent arguments, the two of us were able to put everyone to bed, promising them that they'd have the best breakfast tomorrow and that Camilo would stop by again.

I closed the door to the older kids room and Camilo waited for me out in the hall. He leaned his back against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest patiently. I held up the lantern to see his smugged expression.

"Thanks for telling them stories. I'm sure it gets exhausting." I smiled with gratitude settling in the air. He shrugged it off in a cool way,

"Hey, as long as I get to see you smile, I'm good." He admits and my grin widened at his comment. Camilo clicked his tongue, "That's the one." He pointed at my face and I laughed, shooing his hand away.

"Anyway, you should get going. It's getting late. I'm sure your parents are looking for you." I reminded and led him downstairs to the front door. He fell silent all the way until I opened to door. We stepped out into the quiet night of Encanto's village when he swiftly took my hand in his, lightly tugging me back. The door closed behind us,

"Wait." He says in a hushed tone. I turned to him and he averted his eyes to the floor. His natural slouch of his body had been straightened out and I realized how tall he's gotten. I held up the lantern,

"What's wrong?" I asked, letting him hold my hand. He cleared his throat and his cheeks burnt a bright pink.

"About yesterday," he mentioned quietly, afraid he'd wake everyone up although they were inside. "My Abuela had been planning out... My sister's wedding for weeks now and yesterday she announced the final plans." He took a deep, quivering breath. My eyes widened, happy for Dolores.

"A-anyway, I was wondering-- hoping, you'd be able to attend Dolores's wedding." He finally spits out and I stared at him then I smiled gently.

"Camilo, of course. It'd be a pleasure--"

"No, I mean..." He rubbed the nape of his neck nervously after blurting, "To be one of the bridesmaids. I-I already asked my sister for permission and she said she'd love to have you as her bridesmaid." He explained in one shaky breath. I blinked and thought about his offer.

A bridesmaid is a reserved title for someone who's close to the Bride... But I felt like it wasn't the right place for me... I mean, Dolores was always so quiet, I never got to know her that well.

"Please? We'd be paired together, so if you get nervous, you can just--"

"I'd love to, Camilo." I cut in and he did a double take, his eyes wide with relief. He tightened his grip around my hand,

"R-really? You'd take up the offer?" He asked as if he didn't hear me clearly the first time. I smiled seeing how joyful he appeared to be and I nodded.

"Yes, really--"

"Yahoo!" He cheered and snatched up my waist to lift me into the air, twirling us around. I held onto the lantern tightly and laughed, shushing him from disturbing the night. His reaction was precious and as he hugged me tightly, I wondered what his future reaction would've been when I said... yes.