A Slow Burning Candle *Main story completed, additional scenes to be added*

Chapter 25: Constellation

Bruno looked over at the sleeping form of Luz. He hadn't allowed himself to drift off, wanting to make sure that dawn didn't find him in her bed. As much as he wanted it to.

Tomorrow. He only had to wait until tomorrow.

Instead, he had held her until she drifted off before carefully getting up and pulling his clothes back on. Grabbing the bottle that Carlos had given him, he opened it and took a drink, grimacing. It was strong stuff, and he guessed that the younger man had picked it because it would sit on his tongue and provide faked evidence of nightly exploits.

His sisters would be there early, so he tucked the bottle into a cabinet drawer, out of sight.

It felt strange to simply walk away though, to just leave his wife alone in bed on their first night.

Wife.

He had never thought he would be married. Even as his sisters got married and had children, it seemed as though everyone else had given up on him. His mother didn't even try after a certain point, when his visions became too much "mala suerte" for the village.

It took for someone from the outside for him to finally find someone who could love him beyond his gift, his duty to the Encanto, the rumors... everything.

Bruno took a blank piece of paper from the stack on her kitchen table and wrote a short note. He wanted to make sure she knew.

Walking back into the bedroom, he leaned over and kissed her cheek as softly as he could, trying not to wake her.

He left the note on her pillow, and walked back down the stairs, out of the escuela, and back to his home through the dark streets.

As he went, the bell tolled out the first hour of the morning.

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Even with her windows closed, Luz still woke up with the morning sun. She peeked and managed to slap her alarm clock a few seconds before it went off.

For a second, her breath caught in her throat when she realized he wasn't there, but then she remembered, he needed to return home last night to keep up appearances.

Still, waking up to Bruno being gone was not a memory she particularly liked.

She turned over and saw something on her pillow.

Picking it up, she read his handwriting - "I'll be waiting for you at the altar - again. My love."

He had anticipated her.

There was a knock on the door downstairs and Luz jumped out of bed, pulling on her nightdress. She tucked the note under her pillow before taking off down the stairs.

As soon as she opened the door, several Madrigal women and Josefa poured into the downstairs area. Conversation and celebration began in earnest and Luz felt her friend pull her into a hug, "Let the games begin!"

Julieta stepped up next, hugging her soon to be hermana and handing her a carafe of café, "From Bruno, he insisted."

Luz smelled the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and smiled, "Thank you for reminding me I made the right choice."

A loud thunderclap announced Pepa as she burst in, "I brought the makeup!"

Luz was thankful that someone did, she bought what she could from time to time, but it just wasn't high on her spending priority list on a limited salary.

From there, the women dragged her back upstairs to begin getting ready. Normally, they would have hosted her at their house with its immense amount of space, but as Bruno was there, it wasn't convenient.