Mirabel rubbed her arm anxiously, "Um...Y/N this is my tio Bruno!" she said, trying to break the silence before it suffocated us.
I was still staring at him, before I pried my eyes away to look at Mirabel. "How..." I started to say but I whispered so only Dolores can hear me. "Where the hell did he come from?" I said in a hushed tone. Dolores cracked a nervous smile and whispered to Mirabel what I had said.
Perhaps talking about someone infront of their face was a little rude, but Bruno had shifted his focus to nervously picking at his hands.
Mirabel and Dolores had whispered to eachother a few more sentences before Luisa opened the front door.
"Hi Y/N!" She then glanced over at the scene unfolding in front of us. Her eye started to twitch causing Dolores to narrow her eyes at her.
"Well! This is awkward to explain so I think tio Bruno can explain it to Y/N...in private?" Mirabel said, giving a fake smile.
Bruno almost choked on the gasp he let out, which had made me less nervous about the situation. But it still didn't ease my confusion. Carmelita and I had been living here for a year, and we didn't know about one of the Madrigals? Only the most famous and talked about family in all of Encanto?
I scraped my brain for answers before I was suddenly picked up. I glanced around and saw Bruno also hanging in the air with me, both of us turning our gaze to Luisa who had picked us up like we were a kitten.
She walked into a room who I could only assume was Bruno's and dropped us on our feet before quickly shutting the door and frantically running back to Mirabel and Dolores.
I froze. Honestly it took a lot of mental preparation to talk to new people, but being stuffed inside a room with them? Yeah I wasn't feeling too good. I glanced around at my surroundings and gasped at the staircase to what I assumed to be Bruno's bedroom.
He laughed nervously, pulling at the ends of his hair "I-It used to be a lot more stairs before la casita um...collapsed..." his poor attempt at lightening the mood.
I glanced at him, not making eye contact, "Well...do you want to go to your room and you can explain what the hell is going on? Or are we just going to stand here" I said, truthfully not really digging the creepy stone work of the room.
Bruno nodded and slowly started to ascend the stairs, and I followed suit.
After what felt like 10 minutes of nonstop stairs, we had made it to his bedroom.
He walked infront of me, desperately trying to pick up little pieces of things to make the rooms appearance a bit tidier. I couldn't help but smile at his awkward movements.
He tugged at his ruana nervously, glancing at me. "Um, how do you know my family?" Bruno asked in a soft voice, not holding eye contact too long with me. "S-sorry if that's rude! I was just...curious"
His nerves must have traveled into mine, as I looked away from him and began twiddling with my fingers. "Well, um...me and my friend! Yes, my friend Carmelita and I moved her a little over a year ago. And your uh, family, was very welcoming to us" I spoke nervously, getting more flustered with every word that came out of my mouth. "And you know...the whole magic thing was intriguing" I slipped in, giving a forced laugh and trying to find anything in his room to look at besides him.
"Oh...yeah. Magic" he said in a melancholic tone.
No matter how much my eyes tried to stray away from his, I caught them. I gave him a sad smile, "So I, guess I was just confused as to why I never met you, or heard you mentioned before"
Bruno chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck, "Well actually that's kind of a long story-"
"I like to listen!" I interrupted. My cheeks became flushed with embarrassment, "I-if you wouldn't mind "
He looked a little taken aback. I felt guilty, I don't want him to tell me anything he's not comfortable with sharing. His bottom lip quivered a bit, causing him to bite it. "Well, we should probably sit down then...I think"
I nodded at him and sat at the end of his bed on the edge, while he sat more near his pillow. A pretty big amount of space between us, I looked up at him to continue the conversation.
It had been a pretty quiet 30 minutes of Bruno explaining what happened with him and the rest of the family, and why no one ever talked about him. I was relieved to hear that they had all made up, but my heart aches for him thinking about how long it had been.
"I'm..I'm sorry Bruno. You didn't deserve that" I said whilst trying to remain eye contact with him, showing I meant it.
His eyes glossed over, appearing as if he wanted to shed a tear. He blinked and gave me a slight smile "Thank you"
I returned his smile, "Have you ever told anyone this before?" I asked, my smile forming a concerned look.
He quickly shook his head, "No I mean...I've always been alone ya know?" Bruno said quietly, sadness lingering in his tone.
I nodded, I reached my hand over, wanting to grab his, but I stopped myself and let my hand grab the bed space between us. "Thank you for sharing it with me. You'll never be alone again, okay?"
Bruno looked at me with almost shock on his face. Like his eyes weren't believing what he saw, and his ears never heard such a sentence before. He gulped, nodding at me again.
My heart started to thump loudly in my chest. I just met him but I felt an overwhelming need to protect him. And if I was crazy I would think he thought the same about me. But I know that's not how reality works.
I got up slowly, straightening out my outfit and peering out his bedroom door. "I should probably get going n-" I was cut off by the gasp that emerged from me as I felt Bruno grip my wrist.
"Y/N..." he said in a soft, barely audible voice. He cautiously released my wrist and stood up, looking down at me. "Would you mind...going to...the market with me?"
I blinked in confusion, but nodded. I looked away from him because of the redness on my cheeks. "Sure Bruno, let's go"
