El orgullo de Madrigal (Encanto x Oc)

{{𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 2}}

~💚~

"MIRABEL! What are you doing...?"

'Mirabel' and the bunch of children she had collected throughout her family introductory song, all turn to look at Abuela as she questions her granddaughter.

"Uh, they were just, asking about the family and~" Mirabel tried to explain.

"~She was about to tell us about her super awesome gift!" One of the young girls calls out loudly with a wide smile.

Abuela looks confused for a moment but Dolores pops up from around the corner and speaks quickly.

"Mirabel didn't get one." The super-hearing Madrigal commented, pulling her lips thin and shrugging her shoulders with a cute 'hmm' noise before walking off.

Abuela watches her older granddaughter leave before looking at Mirabel for another second and turning to walk away herself.

The kids look back to Mirabel, feeling like they've been duped.

"You didn't get a gift?" One of the small girls asked in confusion.

Mirabel opens her mouth to try to spin this bad news but is interrupted by a guy with a basket of party favors.

"Mirabel? Delivery!" He called out, taking the large basket and dumping it in Mirabel's arms.

"I gave you the special since you're the only Madrigals kid with no gift. I call it the "not special" special. Since uh... since you have no gift." He says cheerfully as if he weren't talking to a 15-year-old with feelings.

From behind the group, Nikolai walked up the pathway with his nose buried in a book. However, when he heard the conversation going on between his younger cousin and the delivery man, he raised his gaze at them.

"Thanks..." Mirabel responded with a tight smile.

"Oh, and tell Antonio good luck. Last gift ceremony was a bummer..." The older male slumps his shoulder as he walks away before turning back to Mirabel with a nervous smile.

"Last one being yours that did not work..." He added before leaving for good.

Nikolai sighed, closing his book and shoving his hand in his pocket, casting his eyes down and pulling up his hood before heading up to the house's front door.

"If I was you... I'd be really sad." One of the little children said again as she looked up at Mirabel.

"Well, my little friend, I am not, because the truth is, gift or no gift, I am just as special as the rest of my family..." Mirabel smiles, looking forward at Casita and the family member she can see.

Isabela grows beautiful pink flowers over the outside railing, Luisa lifts a wagon full of heavy barrels and Pepa makes a rainbow over the house. Nikolai watches all this happen before looking back down at Mirabel and wincing slightly, lowering his head with slightly gritted teeth as he headed into the shadows of la casa Madrigal. The children too watch the magic happen before looking back at Mirabel as if she is deranged.

"Maybe your gift is being in denial," The same small girl comments and they all stand there watching.

So Mirabel walks up into the courtyard where preparations for Antonio's gift ceremony are in full swing. There are flowers everywhere, Casita is creating stairs, moving furniture around to accommodate all the village folk who will be attending, and the Madrigals are running around prepping themselves. Mirabel hops up the steps nearly knocking into passing musicians.

"Oh sorry... excuse me..."

"Lift it higher... higher," Abuela called over to a tall man raising a name banner above a pictureless glowing door.

"Camilo, we need another José." She then adds, walking past and instructing her grandson.

"Jooooosé!" Camilo cheers as he shapeshifts into said male, grabbing the other end of the 'Antonio' name banner and pinning it.

"Luisa, the piano goes upstairs." Abuela looked over the railing and called to the super-strong girl.

"I'm on it!" Luisa called back, heading to grab the musical instrument and nearly running into Mirabel.

Mirabel managed to dodge but struggles to balance the party favors as the wind picks up. Pepa, who was pacing in the far corner, creates a Tornado as she nervously mumbles to herself.

"My baby's night has to be perfect and it's not perfect and people are going to be coming and nothing's ready!"

"Pepi, Pepita~ you're tornadoing the flowers! The flowers!" Her husband Felix shouts trying to calm her.

"Nikolai! Help your tia!" Abuela looks over her shoulder at the boy hunched in the corner reading.

Nikolai rolls his eyes but stands, setting his book down before trotting down the stair toward Pepa.

"Cálmate tía, everything is going to be fine," Nikolai hushes, taking his tia Pepa's hands and focusing his glowing green eyes on hers.

The thin black swirl of his pupil shifted back into a regular circle as the feeling of calm and ease settled in them both. Pepa sighed calmly, her eyes closed before she reopened them and smiled at her nephew.

"Haa, thank you, Niko,"

"No problem..." Nikolai nodded before walking away.

"Nikolai! I found the book you were missing!" Nikolai lifted his eyes to the second floor as he hears Camilo call him.

The older male climbed the steps, taking the piece of literature from his cousin and heading toward his room.

"You guys can set up over here."

"Clean your rooms, I don't care how big they are," Abuela called out, walking past Nikolai and Camilo as she heads to your room.

"Haaa," Both Camilo and Nikolai sighed, heading into their rooms.

Pushing the glowing door to his room open, Nikolai placed the book Camilo had found on the little coffee table off to the side before heading up his spiral staircase toward the main part of his room. Climbing the steps slowly, and dragging his fingers along the smooth, tinted wood the young Madrigal began humming softly to himself. Reaching the top, dragging his feet as he walked, and sitting down on his bed, Nikolai lay back and sighed deeply, closing his eyes and rubbing his temple... Dealing with all the emotions of gift ceremonies always put a strain on his psyche, and it didn't help that Abuela was pushing this one harder than usual because of the last time.

'The last time...' Nikolai opened his eyes slowly, the glowing green shimmering against the cold gloom of his room.

His bed then began to bounce, jerking his body every which way while his bedside table shook his clock toward him.

"Ah! Ok ok, stop, I'm getting up!" Nikolai exclaimed as Casita let him know it was time for the ceremony by throwing him off his bed.

"Seriously," The young empath rolled his eyes, running his slender fingers through his messy hair as he descended his stairs once again.

Reaching his door, Nikolai took a quick look to his left at the mirror hanging on the wall and sighed at the reflection. This was a common occurrence, the young Madrigal always had to check how his eyes looked before he left his room... they gave away what he was feeling... and he didn't like that they made him so easy to read, so he made sure they were normal before he was seen by ANYONE.