chivalrous ; camilo madrigal x older! reader

♡

' I'll wait for you, babe, that's all I do, babe'

-lana del ray

♡

You were a dream, an entity so sublime that could only ever exist in the figment of Camilo's imagination, unreal, and so divine. God, he was enamored and so... deep in shit, for the reason you're almost twice his age. He's already sixteen but he feels like a dumb waddling toddler around you. You probably saw him as one, too. Did you? He wouldn't know. He didn't really know how you generally viewed him as. He's a good with observing people--it comes naturally with how his gift works--but you remained a big question mark to him, so the best way to ever really understand you is to ask.

You were idling under the shade of a tree and he had invited himself next to you. He had errands on task but he barely sees you outside of work, so grapples every opportunity he can get to be by your side.

You didn't mind. You liked the goofy chameleon's company. You were always willing to listen to whatever predicament he was in and always had some advice to spare. Sometimes, the silence can get overbearing and you liked to take a break from it for a while and Camilo was always a willing participant to occupy that job. His mouth runs like a horse in a derby, so it bemused you greatly that he's remained quiet beside you for some time now, eyes deep in the forest trees of his green irises.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Your voice cut through the silence like a bread knife through an airy sponge of a cake. His mind takes a leisure ride back to the present, immediately greeted by the curious eyes peering at him through the side of your eyes. He swallows.

"I was just thinking, it's stupid," His palms felt sticky. He wipes it on his ruana. "Well, I was wondering... what you see me as? I mean, like what you think of me."

You turn to face him fully, thus making the boy squirm with a numb face under your gaze. "Wait, no, I mean--" He was right, that was a stupid question and he shouldn't have opened his big mouth, or be allowed to ever open them again. "Never mind, pretend I never asked."

You remained silent. Oh no, did he make you feel uncomfortable? No, he told you to pretend he never asked, and you were simply complying, right?

He steals a glance from you. Your eyes were closed, a smile faint on your lips. Didn't you hear him? Wait, were you ignoring him? No, you must have been making fun of him in your head. Why else were you smiling? God, you are a conundrum. Or maybe Camilo was too young to understand women.

"Unless... you want to?" He adds, sheepish.

Your eyes open to him once more, wise and intelligent. "Do you want me to?"

Reluctant, he nods meekly.

"Well," Smell of freshly cut lemons reaches his nose when your hand approaches his face, soft fingers brushing his temple as you brush a curly strand from his forehead. "You work hard for you family everyday and you do it with a smile. Your mamá may be the one who controls the weather but you're the one who lights up the whole Encanto. I think you're a good boy." Your voice were soft, like the silk of his mamá's orange frazada, the last words that flowed like a sweet river of honey from your lips seemed to reach in through his throat to pull out all the air in his lungs. Butterflies erupt his stomach.

"You're wonderful." He says, breathless.

Camilo could've sworn little cherubs were singing in his ears when you chuckled heartily. One that came from your chest. One that made his knees buckle at your feet. "Tú eres encantador también."

Camilo was now starting to understand his Tió Bruno's obsession with the whole 'Forbidden Love' trope. It felt absolutely dreadful, he sometimes can't help but feel patronized, but he could still never get enough of the reaction his whole body goes through with just a meer look or a smile from you. The escelating pulse, the numbing cheeks, the multiple backflips his stomach does, It was addicting. The whole sentiment is bittersweet, but it's not exactly a hopeless romance just yet.

He's not gonna stay fifteen forever. He's still growing. Well, he can grow on command-- physically-wise--but he knew that wasn't gonna be enough to sway you. He needed to be perfect. He needed to be intelligent, mature, whatever makes the perfect man for the perfect woman.

He can grow into the perfect man of your dreams and he was willing to learn and wait.

--

To excuse the grammatical errors, I wrote this on the go but I don't really feel like proofreading it so yeah

Oh, and I just randomly quoted in that lana del ray quote in the beginning because why not