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foggyfanfic · 2 months ago

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The Jorge Situation

Welcoming Antonio

Preview: Bruno hovered awkwardly for a second, briefly lost for what to do. He had played support with each one of his sisters’ pregnancies, but childbirth could be unpredictable. He mentally reviewed his memories, forming a rough to-do list out of experience.

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Bruno hummed a little tune to himself as he mixed the spackle, he was pretty good at it by now, but wasn’t sure if it was right to be proud of himself. On the one hand, the only reason he had learned how to mix spackle in the first place was because his magic house was going through some sort of crisis. On the other, he had learned a new skill, one he thought he’d never get the hang of. Look at him, Bruno Madrigal, mixing spackle and patching up cracks like a person who knew how to do things. It was hard to not be at least a little proud.

His wife was proud of him, but these days saying Leandra was proud of him was sort of like a young kid saying their mom thought they were special. It was great having a loving wife, really great, great enough that Bruno paused to knock on the wood around him because he would really like to continue having a loving wife. So it was great, but she wasn’t the most objective of people when it came to his accomplishments. Julieta seemed impressed too, but lately Juli wasn’t that objective either. Any time Bruno interacted with Mirabel in front of either Julia or Agustín they’d get this look in their eyes. Julieta was better at hiding it than Agustín, who had pulled him aside on more than one occasion to double check that Mirabel wasn’t in any physical danger. Then he would hug Bruno and thank him for protecting her.

So, yeah. Neither of those two were good people to ask if it was alright for Bruno to be proud of his new skill.

Pepa would be perfect, if she knew about the cracks, especially if Félix was with her. He would give a low whistle and tell him it looked good, then Pepa would tell him how vocal he could be about his spackling skills without people getting all uppity. Sadly, if Pepa knew about the cracks, she would constantly be storming, so they had to keep her in the dark.

Bruno continued humming as he got out his spade and picked up a glob of spackle. Carefully, he filled in a crack, then smoothed the spackle against the wall. It was almost meditative, now that he’d gotten the hang of it. He spent a good half hour like that, feeling content, thoughts falling in and out of him while he watched the cracks disappear under his practiced hands.

Then, a new crack appeared before his eyes.

Followed by another.

And another.

Casita shivered, all of the cracks healed, then a few more were created. Slowly, Bruno stood from his stool and backed as far away from the wall as he could, watching cracks appear and disappear in rapid succession.

“Um, Casita?”

Casita shivered again, but otherwise didn’t respond. A bit of plaster landed on Bruno’s shoulder and it suddenly occurred to him he maybe didn’t want to be in the walls while whatever was happening happened. Moving as quick as he could in the dark, narrow corridor, he rushed for the hole that would take him out of the walls. After a couple turns a crack opened in the floorboards right in front of him, and he tripped on it, cutting the top of his foot. He swore through his teeth, but didn’t pause to examine the damage.

Usually, Bruno was very careful to check the coast was clear before exiting the walls, but with the whole house going crazy around him, he elected not to bother. Which was why, as he climbed out of the hole, he came face to face with Félix.

“Bruno?! What?!” Félix took a few startled steps back, dressed in a soaked yellow bathrobe and similarly damp under shirt and shorts.

The house shivered again and a burst of wind almost knocked Bruno back into the walls. Félix grimaced visibly.

“Nevermind, glad you’re dressed, can you go get the midwife?” Félix asked in a rush, already walking past Bruno to get to Julieta’s door.

“The mid-?” Bruno started to ask, thunder cut him off and realization struck him, “Oh! Oh dios! Right. The midwife, I-I’m on it.”

He closed the painting and jogged to the stairs, ignoring the way his foot stung. His sandals slapped noisily against the shivering steps, he pulled his hood over his head as he burst out of the stairwell and into the rain. The tiles shook under his feet, slick with rain as they were it took all of his concentration to get to the front door. Once he did he found that the storm was thankfully isolated to just the sky above Casita. For the time being at least.

Once he was on dry, non-slippery ground, Bruno sprinted as fast as he could to the midwife’s house. He knocked urgently, gasping for breath. Thankfully, she must have heard the thunder, because she opened the door almost instantly, already carrying a bag full of her supplies.

“The babe is early,” she shouted over the wind that was creeping into town.

“You’re telling me,” he yelled back, still catching his breath.

The Madrigal family’s preferred midwife, Alexia Moreña, was just a few years older than his Má. She had helped Julieta and Pepa with all of their pregnancies, and had helped them find Amada a wet nurse when she was brought to them. She was one of those people in town who had never looked at him with any scorn, and one of the few he would break some of his own rules for when it came to visions. She never asked for frivolous visions, she only ever came to him when it was important (usually when it involved the health of a newborn or new mother), so he never turned her away.

He led her back to Casita, and helped her cross the courtyard to the stairs. Once they had made it to the second story, she brushed him off and disappeared into Pepa’s room.

Bruno hovered awkwardly for a second, briefly lost for what to do. He had played support with each one of his sisters’ pregnancies, but childbirth could be unpredictable. He mentally reviewed his memories, forming a rough to-do list out of experience.

A door cracked open behind him, he turned and found Camilo peeking out of his room, yawning.

“Tío Bruno? What’s going on?”

Step one, check on all the kids and make sure they stay away from the birth.

“Oh uh, well um, your Má uh-. Pepa is going into labor,” he cringed over the words, rubbing at his arm.

“What?!” Camilo squawked, he began to run to Pepa’s room, but Bruno caught him around the middle.

“Whoa, whoa, hold on kid, what are you doing?”

“I-! Well-. I don’t know, going to see if I can help?” Camilo looked up at him with wide helpless eyes, “What do we do? Do we uh get towels and hot water and stuff? Like in your story?”

Bruno couldn’t help but smile at his nephew, he was a mischievous kid, but a kind soul, “If the midwife sends for them. This can take hours, uh actually, you took almost a whole day. We usually hang around the house and just sort of be ready to help if it’s needed. You know? Try to get some rest, actually. The midwife might send you into town to pick up supplies when the market opens tomorrow, so uh, s-some of us should be well rested.”

“What are you going to do?”

Bruno shrugged, “Take the first shift.”

“The first shift?”

“Yep. We do this in shifts. Even if the labor goes by quick your Má will be exhausted tomorrow, she’ll need extra support. And a lot of food.”

“Shifts. Ok, we do this in shifts. Got it,” Camilo nodded, still looking a little jittery, but also as serious as a ten year old could ever be, “I can do shifts.”

“I know you can,” Bruno said, patting him on the shoulder.

Camilo nodded again, then turned and walked back to his room, muttering something about resting up so he could be ready. Bruno smiled at his back. He’d have to tell Pepa about this, it would warm her heart.

He checked on the rest of the kids, explaining what was happening to Mirabel and Octavia, who had both been woken up. Dolores was also wide awake but already knew what was happening, she made sure he knew she was available to help, showed him where the entrance to her sanctum of silence was this week, then disappeared into it until she was needed. Lastly, he shooed Luisa back to bed, who had also surmised what was happening, but was just as panicked as Camilo had been. She only agreed to go sleep once Bruno had pointed out they might need her gift in the morning to clear away storm debris.

Leandra had apparently woken up and been shooed back to bed while he was out fetching the midwife. When he checked on her, she sleepily told him she had been assigned to relieve Julieta if needed, and keep the kids busy if not. He kissed her good night, then retreated to the bathroom and finally checked on the cut on his foot.

It had long since stopped bleeding, so he cleaned it up then mentally declared it good to go.

When he left the bathroom, his Má was just leaving Pepa’s room, frowning worriedly, she saw him and gave him a rueful smile, “I always hate this part. The waiting. If I had my way-. Well, it doesn’t matter. I am going into town first thing tomorrow to see if the crib is ready, it has been recommended I rest, however if anything happens, anything at all. Come wake me.”

“Of course Má,” he said, nodding loyally. The crib had gotten damaged while in storage, so they had sent it to the woodworker for him to replace what was cracked. Their Má was the most logical choice to go pick it up and politely pressure the woodworker to hurry up and finish it if necessary. However, it was entirely possible she had been kicked out because she always got really nervous when Juli or Pepa went into labor, and that apparently wasn’t the energy either of them needed at such a time.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Julieta once said, “it’s always nice to see how much she cares-.”

“But does she have to show it just then?” Pepa had groused, “It’s already stressful enough without Má trying to crush my hand and constantly asking me if everything feels normal!”

Juli had nodded, “Especially since-, what even is normal in childbirth?”

“Pain,” Pepa had said, “and our Má freaking out.”

Julieta had chuckled and nodded again, then the conversation moved on.

In the here and now, Bruno kissed his mother’s cheek and once again promised to fetch her if she was needed. When she was gone, back to her room to pretend to sleep, he slipped into Pepa’s room. He was greeted by less noise than he had expected, Pepa wasn’t in bed yet, instead she was sitting on the couch in her entryway with Julieta. She smiled at him in greeting, but he could see the worry around her eyes. It would seem the storm outside was not caused by the labor itself.

“H-hey,” he greeted, quietly, “how’s it going?”

“Fine, fine, the contractions are still pretty far apart. Félix and Alexia are getting the bed ready for the hard part,” Pepa said, almost managing to sound casual.

“Bruno, you had a vision of her son, sí?” Julieta did not bother to sound casual, “Will you please tell her he’s going to be perfectly healthy?”

“He’s almost a month early,” Pepa said, “it’s not unusual to be a bit worried.”

Thunder crashed outside, like a symphony running into a brick wall.

Julieta raised a pointed eyebrow at Pepa, “A bit?”

“Oh hush.”

“He will be healthy,” Bruno reassured her, “healthy and happy and a little bit shy.”

“A little shy?” Pepa asked, voice suddenly a little wobbly.

“Sí, he’ll be a sweet kid,” Bruno sat on her other side, “in my vision he was maybe a year old, and hiding his face in your blouse while the church choir cooed over him.”

“Oh,” her eyes welled with tears, she wiped at them and made an attempt to scowl at him, “Bruno, y-you can’t tell me things like that! Not now when my emotions are already all over the place. Do you want to drown the town?”

“Myeh, it’ll be good for the crops. Especially given all the sunshine they’re about to get,” he plowed on, “this kid is going to be the most fucking adorable little baby you’ve ever seen.”

She laughed a little watery chuckle at his cursing, then put her head in her hands and groaned. He made sympathetic eye contact with Julieta, and they both sat silent and still next to her, waiting.

“I hate this part,” she eventually said.

“Oh?”

“Sí. I already feel crazy enough without-. My emotions are so much right now,” she lifted her head and scowled at the nearest window. Lightning flashed in response to her frustration. With nothing to say, he rubbed her back and Juli took her hand, holding it securely.

The labor didn’t last quite as long as Camilo’s had. No sooner had Alexia returned and declared the bed ready than Pepa’s contractions started speeding up. They got her into the bed, Bruno on one side, Félix on the other, and Julieta helping Alexia. Occasionally, Bruno would run and fetch whatever the women needed, so that Félix could stay with his wife through the entire birth. He would get the occasional glance at the clock as he did so, and each time was surprised to see how much time had passed.

During his last errand, refilling the pitcher of drinking water, Bruno walked into the kitchen and was greeted by Leandra, Agustín, his Má, and all of the kids while they ate a silent breakfast. As the pitcher filled, he updated them.

“We’re probably going to need that crib sooner than later, but it’s going well, Pepa said it’s the easiest birth yet,” he said to his Má, then to Camilo, “and your Má has been craving citrus, do you think you could help her with that?”

Once the pitcher was full he hurried back. Pepa wasn’t quite screaming when he entered the room, but the noise coming out from between her clenched teeth certainly wasn’t one of serenity. He refilled a few glasses then took up his spot next to Pepa, holding her hand as she started to push.

In another universe, Bruno wasn’t there for this, in another universe he was on the other side of the wall, praying while Agustín fetched whatever was needed, Abuela left to get the crib, and the kids sat in the dining room by themselves wondering what they should do. In that universe the cut on his foot didn’t get cleaned until long after Antonio was born, until it was too late to stop the cut from getting infected and he spent the next week limping, worried he might have to cut his foot off. (It would serve him right if he did, he thought to himself as his foot throbbed, his sister had needed him and he'd sat there uselessly, listening to her scream). In that universe, he had to wait until Antonio was old enough to sleep in the nursery and Mirabel was away at a sleepover to hold his nephew for the first time. In that universe he never forgave himself for not being there, even when he came out of the walls.

In this universe he wiped his sister’s brow and backed up every encouraging word spilling out of Félix’s mouth.

Antonio came into the world with a little wail, and out the window Bruno saw sunlight and rainbows chase away the storm. Félix grinned broadly as he cut the cord and helped Alexia clean the newborn, he kept telling Pepa how great she did, how perfect their baby was. If Pepa had enough energy she would have sobbed from sheer joy, but instead she just smiled, tears slipping down her face. Bruno wiped those away too and gave her a gentle smile when she looked at him with weary gratitude.

In the meantime, Julieta noticed the cut on Bruno’s foot, she gave Bruno a spare arepa and the cut disappeared from memory just as it disappeared from his flesh. He smiled at her gratefully, and she almost smiled back, to worn out to offer anything more than a quick, loving twitch at the corner of her lips. She hugged him, then gently stroked Pepa’s damp curls and asked if she thought she could manage a couple bites of arepa.

“Ugh, unfortunately the only thing that sounds worse than trying to keep down food right now is not letting you heal me,” Pepa groaned, weakly holding a hand out for the arepa. Julieta gave it to her, and she managed three whole bites before she shook her head and shoved it away, complaining of nausea.

Félix brought Antonio over to her and she cried some more as she held her baby boy for the first time. They all cooed over him for a little, until Juli and Alexia left to rest. Then it was just Bruno and the not-so-new parents; while they basked in their joy he fetched another pitcher of water, some clean blankets, and a bucket just in case Pepa’s nausea got worse. Alexia had taken the soiled blankets to be properly disposed of, so Bruno put down fresh sheets while Pepa fed Antonio and Félix got her to eat a little more. Eventually, Pepa had drifted off to a much needed sleep and Félix tucked her in, while Bruno held his newest nephew.

“I told her you’d be the most fucking adorable baby ever,” he whispered down at the sleeping infant.

“Right as always, ‘mano,” Félix murmured then suppressed a yawn. He held his hands out and Bruno gave him his son back. Félix settled onto the bed next to his wife, propped up against the headboard, and looked down at his youngest with open adoration, "Ay, little Antonio. I don't suppose you saw what his personality will be like?"

"Shy."

"Shy," Félix repeated, he chuckled and shook his head, there was a long pause in which they both just stared at the baby, then Félix asked, "Do I want to know what you were doing behind that painting?"

"Weird seer stuff," Bruno said, the answer falling past his lips with little thought. Which was good because it bought him enough time to consider what he should say next, Leandra had told him a few times that the truth was always easier to keep track of than a lie, so if he had to answer a dangerous question find a truth he didn't mind sharing.

"Weird seer stuff?"

"You know how I uh have little hammocks for my pet rats? And um how Casita lets rats stay in the walls as long as they don't go in the kitchen?"

"You made little hammocks for the rats in the walls?"

"Yeah-huh."

Félix laughed under his breath, then yawned, "Never change Bruno, never change. But uh get out. Sorry, nothing personal. I just want to be alone with my wife and son for a little."

"That's fair," Bruno said, with a nod as he backed towards the door, "see you when- uh see you later."

Bruno heaved a yawn of his own and left. Agustín was mopping up in the courtyard below while Leandra had organized the children into a fruit juice production line. Everyone asked him questions at once. He didn’t actually understand the individual questions, so he answered the basic gist of what they were asking.

“Baby- Antonio is adorable, and healthy. Pepa is exhausted, a little nauseous, and also healthy. I am exhausted, well uh n-not exhausted as Pepa, obviously, but-. Tired. I am tired. And officially off the clock, good night,” he said, while swatting the air as if to bat away any more questions.

“Alright, you heard the man, nap time for the night shift,” Leandra told the kids, “that means we all need to be quiet and let them sleep.”

“Aye aye Capitan Má,” Octavia shouted, saluting.

“Do you know what the word 'quiet' means?” Camilo asked her.

“Right, sorry,” Octavia put a hand over her mouth.

“Do you think she still wants citrus?” Mirabel asked.

“When she wakes up she’ll probably be starving,” Agustín said, barely loud enough for Bruno to hear as he opened his door, “we should have as much food ready to go as possible.”

“We’ll make a list-,” Leandra was saying as he shut the door behind him. He trudged down the stairs to his sleeping cave, pushed through the flaps of his tent, shuffled to his bed, and collapsed onto it.

He was fast asleep before it occurred to him he should have taken his sandals off.

#bruno madrigal #encanto #love and fury #Pepa Madrigal #bruno x oc #encanto au #foggy writes

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