Encanto x Reader Oneshots & Scenarios

Carlos: A Surprise Exchange

Besides his bedroom, Carlos' favorite place was the public library. It was quiet, it was calm, and he didn't have to talk to anyone.

Right then, he was running his fingertips along a shelf of book spines, searching for that one specific story he wanted.

He found it, and he started to pull it off the shelf...but the book fought back.

It was suddenly yanked backwards, and peering cheekily through the other side of the shelf was none other than the most irritating, arrogant person in Carlos' life. Well, besides Camilo, anyway.

Carlos rolled his eyes. "Oh. It's you."

"You could be a little more polite, y'know," they quipped with raised eyebrows. They had a stupid smirk on their face, as they enjoyed annoying Carlos more than anything.

"Like hell I could, you nuisance," Carlos scoffed. "Gimme my book."

"Oh, this?" The nuisance held the desired book up to their face, wiggling it slightly. "This one is mine. I got to it first. Bye-bye, now."

Carlos' lip curled in irritation, knowing they were right. "You really are insufferable."

"Aw, thanks!" they replied sarcastically, placing their elbows on the now-empty spot on the bookshelf. "You're not so likable yourself."

Trying not to sulk in front of them, Carlos started off in another direction. He'd have to settle for a different story.

Behind him, the book thief huffed to themself, putting the book back in between the others. "Damn. I was hoping he'd fight back."

~~~~The next day~~~~

"Dude, I'm so bored," Camilo complained, walking beside Carlos in the street.

"You're the one that wanted to come with me, idiot," Carlos muttered.

Pepa had sent Carlos to entertain Antonio in town—because, according to Pepa, Carlos "doesn't spend enough time with him!" or something stupid like that—and Camilo, being the annoying younger brother he was, decided he had to tag along.

Antonio tugged on Carlos' hand for attention. "Can we go get some bread?" he asked in his little voice. "We're almost out."

Carlos squinted at his youngest brother. "Why does this matter to you?"

Antonio responded by pulling a tiny rat out of his coat. "The rats like bread."

Carlos jumped backwards. "Holy—!" He caught himself before Antonio could hear the curse, but that didn't stop his skin from crawling. "Do you always have to carry those things around with you?"

Camilo gave Carlos a deadpan expression. "You can turn into animals...and you're afraid of rats," he whispered where Antonio couldn't hear him.

Carlos' scowling face flushed, and he smoothed out his ruana. "I am not afraid of rats," he mumbled back. "I just don't find them particularly pleasant."

With that, he headed over to a food stand containing plenty of fresh fruit and baked goods.

"Hey," he mumbled to the girl sitting there. "Can I get...uh..." He turned to Antonio, who was hiding behind his legs. "What was it you wanted?"

Barely audible, Antonio whispered, "A loaf of sourdough bread."

"A loaf of sourdough," Carlos recounted to the clerk.

From beside him came a familiar voice: "Ooh, are you gonna share with me?"

Carlos didn't bother to conceal his grimace. "What are you doing here, you pest?"

They shrugged, the same arrogant smirk apparently stuck on their face. "Shopping, cabrón. What does it look like?"

Rolling his eyes to the heavens, Carlos turned to look for Camilo, only to see that his shapeshifting brother had vanished to wander off and get kidnapped, probably.

"You should leave me alone," Carlos muttered as the food clerk handed him his newly-wrapped bread. He handed her some money, then took Antonio's hand again to hurry off.

"Hey, is this your brother?" they asked, gesturing to Antonio. Antonio nodded and shyly waved at them. "Hey there, dude."

"Hi," Antonio whispered. He looked up at Carlos, tugging at his sleeve. "Carlos, do you want to feed the rats with me?" he asked.

Carlos felt his stomach turn a little. Besides Camilo and his parents, no one else knew about his utter disgust towards rats. He had no personal beef with the little creatures, he just couldn't stand how dirty and unpredictable they were.

"Um." For some reason, he glanced at up at the nuisance. It was obvious they could see the stress in his eyes, but they didn't say anything. Their expression was difficult to read.

Carlos looked back to Antonio. "Sure, Tonito. But do we have to go into the walls for it?"

Antonio shook his head. "I can get them to come out."

"Cool," Carlos said, trying to hide the relief in his voice.

Just then, Camilo appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and scooped Antonio onto his shoulders. "Never fear, I am here!" he announced. He looked up at Antonio. "Ready to get back, hermanito?" At Antonio's nod, Camilo looked to Carlos and co. "You cool if I leave?"

"I don't care," Carlos muttered.

"Neat!" Camilo looked over at Carlos's companion, who waved. "Nice to see you."

With that, he sped off towards the Casita, Antonio still on his shoulders.

Leaving Carlos to deal with the pestilence on his own.

"That was pretty cool of you."

If Carlos hadn't seen them open their mouth, he wouldn't have known the words were coming from them. Never, in his many unfortunate years of knowing them, had they ever let a compliment for him slip.

"Excuse me?"

Their face didn't show any sign of embarrassment or second-guessing. "You didn't have to agree to his wishes. I'm just saying it was cool."

Carlos narrowed his eyes, not sure if they were joking or not. They seemed to get the message, because they sighed. "Look—you seem to care about making him happy. Anyone like that is alright in my book."

Carlos shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. He really hoped his face wasn't as red as it felt. "Yeah, well. Thanks, I guess."

They nodded, a tiny smile coming over their face. This might have been the very first sincere moment between the two.

"But don't be surprised if you find a rat in your room tonight."

"And there's the nuisance I know."

A/N: This was my first attempt at writing a oneshot without referring to the reader as "Y/N" or "you." How'd I do? Was it too awkward? Any feedback is appreciated!