action winter journey (Yandere!Bruno Madrigal x GN!reader)

Chapter 2

"Ah, hola Mr. Madrigal." You greet. "You can sit anywhere." You tell him. He smiles and creeps over to a table near the corner as you grab one of the handwritten menus, making sure it wasn't one of the old ones. You walk over to the table and greet him formally as you set the menu on his table. "Buenas Tardes señor. Can I get you something to start off with? Drink?" You ask, pulling out a small notepad in case he already knew what he wanted. "Just some water would be fine, gracias." He told you with a smile, taking the menu and looking over it. "Alright, I'll be right back." You go to turn before he stops you. "Actually– could I get an order of Arroz con leche?" He asks, looking up from the menu. "Ooh, that's a good choice. My personal favorite." You grin. You walk off to the kitchen to go fetch him his order. You gather some freshly made arroz con leche from this morning and fill a glass with water and ice, carrying it back out to his table. "Let me know if you need anything else, señor."

Walking away from the table, you realized that he was the only customer in the restaurante. Hey, that just meant you could take a minute to sit back and relax. You found an empty table for 2 and sat in one of the seats, stretching out and just taking a minute to breath. Your eyes wander around the restaurante, looking at all of the decorations your parents put up the week before after taking down holiday decorations. The torn and worn seats from dozens and dozens of customers over the years.

You look over to where Bruno Madrigal sat and your eyes lock. Was it one of those moments where you were both looking around and locked eyes coincidentally? Was he staring at you already? No matter the reason, your eyes dart in the opposite direction, hoping he didn't actually notice it. You tap your foot against the floor nervously and continue your search around the restaurante for nothing in particular. After a few minutes of avoiding looking in the Madrigal guy's general area, you get up and walk over, clasping your hands together softly. "Can I get you anything else?"

He tenses for a moment before scanning over the menu once again. "Could I get uh– a tres leches cake, please?" He smiles sheepishly, looking back up at you. "Sweet tooth, eh?" You ask jokingly. He laughs softly and nods. "The tres leches cake is really good here, best in the encanto, I swear." you grin. "Are you just saying that because your parents make all the food?" He inquires with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow. "Pshhh, noooo." You say before looking around nervously. You look back at him and laugh. "Kidding, kidding. Truly, some of their food is to die for."

You go off to get him a plate of the sweet desert. "Is that still the same guy?" your dad asks as you reach the kitchen. Heading to the large fridge with all the deserts. "Yeah, it's a Madrigal though." you respond as you grab a plate of the cake, making sure it was the freshest one. You head back out into the lobby and walk over to his table, setting the cake down. "Anything else I can get you?"

He shakes his head. "Alrighty, I'll be in the back, just scream bloody murder if you need anything." You grin. Of course you knew he wouldn't do that, you'd just check on him in another few minutes. He nods and you turn to head off to the back. Your dad greets you again as you pass him. He was just cleaning the grill, something he only did during work hours when he was extremely bored.

You head to the further back and grab one of the chairs, sitting and leaning back, stretching your legs. You throw your head back and let out a groan of anguish, something your dad was used to at this point. " Papá, dónde está mamá?" You call into the kitchen. "She went upstairs to nap when you came back in." He answers. You sigh and close your eyes, taking a few moments to take deep breaths. Once your legs stop hurting, you get back up and head out to the lobby, only to find Bruno Madrigal gone. You make your way over to his table to find a pile of money and the empty dishes. You felt a twang of regret for not at least bidding him farewell. You take up the menu in one hand and stack the dishes in the other, returning them to the kitchen before coming back to the table to clean it off and take the money.

______

For the next few weeks after that, Bruno Madrigal came into the restaurante every week, sometimes twice a week. You'd grown to know his usuals, but sometimes he'd take something else from the menu, to which you'd make a joke about the dish. You two held conversations when the rest of the lobby was empty, just joking and kidding around while you waited for his orders to be ready, and when there were other customers you had simple chats. One thing that always struck you as odd though, was the fact that any time your gaze drifted to his direction, he would already be looking at you. You were always too awkward to do any more than just quickly shift your gaze, so you never brought it up to him.

One day, on a particularly rainy and melancholy day, he came in and sat at his usual spot. The only customer all day. You greet him with a hello and a smile. "The usual? Or are you feeling experimental today, señor?" You ask. "Could I actually get ah– two of the usual?" He asked, his eyes darting between you, the table, and his hands which were clasped together, thumbs twiddling nervously. "Ooo~ Does señor Bruno have a date?" You tease. He shook his head. "Oh." You say awkwardly. Trying to spark up another conversation, you gaze out the window. "Is Pepa alright?" You asked about his weather-controlling sister. He followed your gaze out at the heavy downpour. "Oh, she's pregnant." he responds. "Ooh! Tell her congratulations!" You smile warmly. He looks at you and returns the smile. "I'll be back with your food." You tell him before making your way to the kitchen to get him two bowls of arroz con leche. "Bruno's back?" Your dad asks, watching you as he leaned against the grill lazily. You nod. "I swear, he's the only one who eats this much arroz con leche." He laughed. You give him a side glare and go back out to the lobby.

You set the bowls of arroz con leche in front of him. "I'll be in the back, as you know, scream if you need anything," you smile before turning to leave. "Actually–" He stops you. You turn back to face him, eyebrows raised. "Would you like to– um– would you like to have some with me?" He asked. You paused. Is that why he ordered two? "Sure," You say with slight surprise, taking a seat across from him. "But if my pap á yells at me, I'm blaming you." You jest as he slides one of the two bowls over to you. You two enjoyed the sweet food as the rain poured down. You were content with just the fact he'd offered. Something about it made your heart flutter, and warmth crept onto your cheeks. God, you hoped you weren't blushing.

Well, why would it matter anyways? It's not like you liked Bruno like that. He was just another customer. A friend. Suddenly you were jolted from your thoughts by Bruno speaking. "Do you live around here? Or with your parents?" He asked.

"Oh I live upstairs with my parents. Trying to save up enough to get myself a little house closer to the marketplace, but they're killing me with rent so I know that'll be a while." You explain, laughing a bit at the end. He gave you a warm smile. "Well I hope you can afford it soon, knock on wood." He gently tapped his knuckles against the table 3 times. Was he superstitious?

You two sit in mostly silence, the only sound coming from the rain pattering against the window, if you listened closely enough you could hear the whipping of various pieces of fabric outside and the thud of wooden signs. It was really coming down, huh? "Jeez, I hope Pepa's okay." You mutter. Bruno looked out the window nervously. "Me too."

Then the power went out.

~~~~~~~~~~

hola - Hello
Buenas Tardes - Good afternoon
señor - Sir
Arroz con leche - Rice with milk (It's just rice pudding)
restaurante - still just means restaurant
tres leches cake - three milks cake
Papá, dónde está mamá? - Dad, where's mom?

//Also I realized this is set in a time where you wouldn't need to worry about the power going out but I can't rewrite this in a way where it'll get the same affect. oopsies.