Beautiful Bruises ~ Camilo Madrigal x Reader

Gloves

You spent the next morning avoiding your papa and preparing for the gift ceremony. By this point, all the magic seemed to have disappeared - Camilo had now gotten you in trouble twice, and he probably would again if you weren't careful.

"Deep breaths, (Y/N)," you told yourself as you smoothed out the fancy dress that you were going to wear to the ceremony. It was a pretty (F/C) color, with a ribbon tied around the waist. You had decided not to do much with your hair, not wanting to go overboard.

"Finishing touch," you mumbled, pulling out your mama's (F/C) silk gloves, that matched with the dress. It was mainly your favorite color because it had been hers. Your papa was constantly making sure you hadn't lost them, so you had to be careful with them. "There," you said as you slipped them on, trying not to wince at the feeling of them touching the scars and bruises covering the back of your hand. "Nobody will know."

"(Y/N), time to go," Jude announced, popping his head into your room and smiling. "You look nice. Just like Mama." Your eyes teared up a little bit as he said that. "Now come on - we don't want to be late. Papa's already in a bad mood for some reason."

You nodded before following him outside. You hadn't told Jude, knowing it would only make him upset and possibly start an argument between him and your papa.

When you arrived at the walkway to Casita, you spotted Camilo shape shifting into the people who passed and generally being an attention-seeker. A lovable one, of course, but an attention-seeker nonetheless.

"Cecilia! Up top!" you heard him shout as he turned into a little girl with brown hair and eyes, leaping up to give her a high-five where she rested on her father's shoulders.

Cute, you thought with a small smile.

However, as you came closer to the door, you quickly hid behind your papa and Jude, not wanting him to say hola and alert your papa that you knew each other. Luckily, he didn't see you, even though his eyes roved over the crowd as if he was looking for someone. The three of you walked in, but as your papa and Jude made their way over to the adults, you approached Mirabel. You had seen her a few times, and she looked really nice.

"Hi," you said shyly, tapping her on the shoulder. She spun around, pushing her glasses up on her nose.

"Oh! Hey!" she cried, vigorously shaking your hand. "I've seen you selling stuff in town. What's your name? I'm Mirabel."

"Y/N," you responded, automatically liking this girl. "And yeah, I have a farm that I gather eggs and milk from to sell."

"Whoa. I always wanted to live on a farm - I would feel like I actually had a purpose." she frowned lightly. "Anyway, I have to go - Antonio might need me. See you later?"

"Sure," you said with a smile, watching her rush off.

Soon, you saw the adorable little boy arrive at the long walkway leading to where Abuela stood with her family and the candle, awaiting him.

But the curly-haired boy refused to move, even when Casita attempted to nudge him forward. He held out his hand, and you grinned when you saw Mirabel step forward to take his hand, walking up the stairs with him.

When he reached Alma, he agreed to help serve the village, and touched the candle before walking over to his door and grabbing the handle. Everyone held their breath, scared that it would be like last time - but then a toucan landed on his arm.

Antonio appeared to be listening intently, and then he nodded at it happily.

"Yes, I understand you!" He paused. "Of course they can come too!" Suddenly, the house was flooded with animals, and everyone sprinted for the doors to his room, which appeared to be a large jungle. He was caught up by what appeared to be a jaguar or leopard, and was pulled into the room, shrieking joyfully.

You decided that you didn't want to go in there quite yet and instead began to wander around the rest of Casita. You approached Camilo's door, noticing how it showed what appeared to be him, along with other people - after all, his power was shapeshifting. For a moment, you swore you felt the house quaking, but you shook it off as nerves.

You traced your finger over the glowing marks, your skin seeming to shine in their luminescence. 

Suddenly, you felt breath tickle the back of your neck and you tense up, too frightened to turn around.

"Boo," the person breathes in your ear, closer than you had thought, and you flinched away, spinning to press your back against the wall and face your offender.

"You?" you said, confused. It was the chameleon boy with the taunting green eyes.

"Did I scare you, Cariño?" he teased, drawing closer. "I thought you hadn't come. I didn't see you on the way in."

"That's because I was avoiding you," you said angrily. "You can't leave me alone, can you?"

He laughed, a ringing tone that made you clench your fists, immediately regretting it when your bruises stung.

"Why are you avoiding me? I apologized, and I gave you a ticket to this great show. You should be thanking me."

"Yeah, right. You really think I would ever thank you for that? My pap-" you froze, closing your mouth quickly. You couldn't tell anyone - you hadn't even come close to telling Lucía. What was it about this boy?

"What was that?" he asked, his eyebrows scrunching together.

"Nevermind," you said, trying to find a way to get around him, but he held his arms out and backed you into the corner. Suddenly, soft music drifted up the stairs, and Camilo smirked down at you. 

"Care for a dance, Cariño?" he asked, holding out his hand.

You snorted and turned your head, your heart racing in your chest.

"Not if you call me that." But when you glanced at him again, your heart beat faster, and you suddenly felt bold. "Fine, but only for a moment or two. I'm not supposed to be talking to yo-"

Before you could finish talking, his hand swept out and grabbed your waist. When he grabbed your hand, though, you hissed through your teeth and pulled away, wincing. He quickly let go, stepping back and looking at you with a small frown and a concerned glint in his eyes.

"What's wrong? What happened, (Y/N)?"

You shook your head, embarrassed, and quickly started walking away. Before you could go anywhere, though, you felt his hand grab yours. Before you could stop, the silk glove slipped off, dangling limply in his hand. You froze, turning to look at him.

His mouth was wide open. He was staring at your bruises.