Encanto: After

Buenos Noches

"Mirabel?"

Alma took one last sip to empty her cup dry, and an exceedingly, tediously, infuriatingly teeth-grinding sip that outlived all of their years combined, and for what? Well, truthfully, there was never a reason why she dramatised or dragged out these things - and especially with Mirabel, but if there was an answer to toss, as much as it grinds on delicate grains - it was just Alma being that kind of abuela - or that kind of bisabuela.

Steady, yet sweaty palms printed onto the table cloth, and nails drilling into the rotting wood's surface below; wreaking the fabric with grimacing bends, Mirabel singed through clamped teeth, "Well..."

Something clipped her dress, and tugged it ever so gently, "Mira, come on!", a refined, yet gritty voice resonated, pulling her back down to her seated position. They flashed their beady eyes to Alma for a sec, a sec that was long enough to know that was a stupid action, and quickly darted back to their main girl, before stretching a toothy grin, "You'd love to do that!", they exclaimed, with an uproar echoing under their tongue, patting Mirabel's back.

Mirabel hacked out an alarming deceptive cough, "Jai-!", her cheeks bubbled up, then spluttered out shaky, uneven breaths, "Would I?", she dreadfully grinned, her eyes pulsating wildly for sweet vengeance for, and at 'Jai-!', "Well..."

'Jai-!' rested their hand on Mirabel's shoulder, "Well, señora Madrigal does expect of you to-!"

Alma snapped at them, "Jaime! I'm sure as Mirabel's prometido, you could at least show her some respect and let her speak!"

Jaime pulled his hand back to himself and straightened up his face, "Sí, señora!"

Pepa put two fingers to her head, then pointed it to Jaime, then shot it off at him, clearly wanting to punch him out of his stupidity, "Ay! She doesn't want an answer from you! Just-!", Pepa cut herself with a groan.

A little something jolted Pepa's shoulder, and that little something was a finger, carrying the same tone as her, and marked with healing cuts, "Hey, don't you think-"

Pepa muttered, "Great! Know-it-all Arthur!"

Arthur fumed out a short breath, "So I am. tía, bit of an overreaction there - don't you think?", he asked a bit warily, even though his posture indicated some sort of confidence in every word he'd tell, and his voice remained throughout.

Julieta straightened her back and slowly raised her wrinkling hand, opening her mouth; sure to spit some truth at Alma's way, but couldn't stick two mere syllables to speak. Her hand came down the way it came up, each finger curling into the palm in their timid nature. For Alma spoke, "Nieta, you've got five seconds.", she plopped the cup down, "Five...four..."

Mira's cheeks puffed red from holding a hair-wringing scream that would probably cut Alma's days short, and even though doing her best to play it off smooth - smooth wasn't her forte, as evident since her ascent onto two feet all those twenty-ish years ago, to now. She was still the same wacky klutz from all those yester-years.

"Three..."

She screamed internally.

"Two..."

Mirabel took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out.

"One-"

"-I don't know.", Mirabel tried her truest for a smile, but couldn't break one out, "Yet."

Alma nodded, "Well, you best think of an answer soon.", she advised, scooting her head over to Isabela.

Isabela gave a warm smile to her hermanita, then addressed her abuela, "Abuela, Mirabel has a lot on her plate right now. Don't you think?"

"I know, I know! Wedding and all!"