Rat Boy - Bruno x Reader

Chapter 1

- Set when you are 26 and Bruno is 28.

The Encanto is a gorgeous place, flooded by a magical atmosphere; no, really, the Encanto's founding family are all blessed with magical gifts.

They are called the Madrigals. Alma Madrigal was blessed with a candle when her husband was killed in front of her; its a tragic story, but the Encanto wouldn't exist if it didn't happen. Her three children are Pepa, Bruno and Julieta: Pepa's mood controls the weather, Bruno can see into the future and Julieta's food can heal any ailment. They all use their gifts to help out the people in town, and whenever they have kids then they will do the same.

I, on the other hand, am not magical in the slightest. I am an artist that lives a few doors down from my parents - the Encanto is a relatively small place so there isn't far to go anyway. Art is my passion: it helps me express my emotions better and allows me to escape from the bustling noise of the Encanto. I love my home, but sometimes things can get a little bit overwhelming, you know? Sometimes I wish that my art was more well-known across the town, but I am more than happy with only the people I care about taking any notice. They are the only people that matter, after all.

One of these people is my friend Agustín, who I have been friends with since we were teenagers. Another important thing to note is that he has been crushing on Julieta Madrigal since we were teenagers too; I honestly don't think that I can wait for him to make a move for much longer, it might kill me. She is a perfectly gorgeous woman, but he always adopts these puppy dog eyes around her instead of following his heart - sometimes I just feel like walking over to Julieta and saying "please date this man, he is getting desperate". It's not just his fault though: she clearly likes him back, but neither of them have the balls to say anything to each other. 

It's agonising.

Agustín and I had decided to head to the market to do some shopping, as you do. I was looking for some new oil paints when he suddenly started muttering under his breath; I looked over, curious, and saw him slicking back his hair and adjusting his tie. He turned to me with wide eyes and whispered, "How do I look?"

"Insane. Why?" I questioned, after a short beat.

He didn't reply, but instead briefly shifted his eyes to a stall a dozen feet away from us and then looked straight back at me. My eyes followed where his went and, what a surprise, he had spotted Julieta. However, she wasn't alone: she was with her brother, Bruno. I've shared a few polite words with him over the years, but never actually held a conversation with him. He seems like a nice guy though, and I probably wouldn't mind getting to know more about him.

Turning my attention back to Agustín, I raised my eyebrow at him and asked, "Are you going to go and speak to her? Or just hide from her?"

"W-well no- Wait, yes? I mean- I WAS going to speak to her, just give me a second to- uh" he spluttered pitifully, adjusting his tie for what had to have been the hundredth time in the past minute.

"Right" I dragged out the 'i' sound, making my disbelief clear. Finally, I grabbed his arm and started dragging him over to Julieta "Come on, we're going to say hi!"

He protested the whole way there (like I knew he would) and tried planting his feet to the ground.

"No no no- what are you doing to me?!"

"Helping you make a move!" I replied, implying it was obvious. Unfortunately for Agustín, he'd made so much noise trying to stop me that he had attracted the attention of Julieta, so technically my plan worked. A blush crept onto her face at the sight of him, whilst poor Bruno just looked confused by the man in front of him; at least I won't have to endure this torture on my own.

"Oh, hola Agustín," she squeaked, her hand subconsciously playing with the hair that dangled by her face. "good morning (y/n)."

I returned her warm smile and happily greeted her back.

"Hola (y/n).." Bruno murmured; I could only just hear him. He gave me a kind of half-smile, and his eyes kept darting between my own and the floor: that's sort of cute to be honest. I returned the greeting once again and gave him a warm, welcoming smile. I wanted to show him that he didn't need to be so shy and awkward around me. I know that the people in the Encanto don't appreciate him as much as the other Madrigal triplets, but I believe that it's just ignorance. Even though we haven't actually had any deep conversations, I still enjoy any time I spend around him.

My attention was torn away from Bruno when Agustín finally piped up, "Hola Julieta, how have you been?". His arms were glued to his sides as though he were a statue, poor boy.

"Very well, thank you Agustín, how about you?" she replied, a bit cooler than him.

"Good! Yeah, fine.." he stuttered.

Then they just...stared at each other for a little bit. My eyes went from him, to her, and then to Bruno, where his olive green eyes met mine; his eyebrows furrowed together and his mouth parted slightly, like he also didn't understand how two people could act like this around one another. Their performance was pitiful, honestly. After a few moments of this torture, I decided I needed to make some moves.

"Dios mio- Julieta, would you like to meet Agustín for dinner tomorrow night?" I questioned, exasperated, and my smile stretching further than I thought possible.

"I would love to." she replied, looking straight at Agustín. I could hear Bruno exhale swiftly, obviously stifling a small laugh - it made me smile more, but this time it didn't feel so forced.

"Brilliant. And Agustín, would you like to meet Julieta for dinner as well?"

"Of course I would!" He blurted out, a little bit too quickly. His arms were still glued to his sides. His response made Julieta blush, and I secretly longed for somebody to make me blush like that; to share those small moments with somebody, and watch feelings blossom into love. But right now my focus is on getting Agustín a date, not myself.

"Amazing! Well I'm glad we've finally gotten that sorted out," I chirped, clapping my hands together. "But I think it's about time that Agustín and I left you two to your shopping, whilst he thinks of where to take you tomorrow. Goodbye Julieta, goodbye Bruno." I gave them both a little wave as I grabbed my friend's stiff arm and began dragging him away once again; I didn't really want to drag him, but I feared he was stuck to the floor due to shock.

Julieta returned the wave, uttering a little "goodbye".

Bruno did the same, but he had a wider smile on his face compared to earlier; I couldn't help but notice the little creases that appeared in the corner of his eyes. It was nice to see a genuine smile on his face - I've never really seen him smile a lot out of the house.

"You're welcome." I whispered to Agustín as we strode away. He didn't bother to give me a full reply, instead just mumbling an "mhm" back at me. I knew he was grateful, he was just too stunned to think of any words longer than three letters at the moment.

Since Agustín wasn't really in a fit state to carry on shopping, I dropped him back off at his own home before taking a calm stroll over to mine. It had only just passed midday, and the sun was shining brightly in all its glory, so I decided to gather my paints and easel; I planned on heading to the woods that surrounded part of the Encanto. There are some beautiful spots in there, and sometimes I just like to go into a random part of it and paint whatever I see before me. What looks like a dull place on the outside can often hold the most beauty, and I always try to capture that beauty on my canvas.

I packed my paints into a small case, gripped my easel and started my adventure into the emerald sea of trees.

a/n - hi! idk if anyone will actually read this, but i started this when i got bored and thought i'd publish it. i have never written anything before, so i wouldn't expect this to be anything great, tbh i'll probably either forget about it or delete it at some point. if you're here then it probably means you are also obsessing over the beloved rat man, so i hope you enjoyed <3