Rat Boy - Bruno x Reader

Chapter 4

Agustín had bought Julieta some white and light pink lilies as he claimed she would like them; they truly were beautiful flowers, so I trusted him. After that, we went back to his so I could help him choose the right outfit for tonight. I kept telling him that he's old enough to choose his own clothes, but he insisted - poor guy, he really was trying his hardest. We eventually decided on a white linen shirt with black trousers: classy yet casual.

Now I'm back in my own home, alone, preparing to go into the woods again. My heart is doing acrobatics in my chest, but why?

It's only Bruno, right? So why am I nervous?

I'm just going to go into the woods to paint, speak to Bruno, take note of the way his curls bounce when he moves his head, and how his eyes light up when I compliment him- wait... stop thinking about him like that, its weird. We've spent one day together, its not that deep.

I pushed all of the confusing thoughts to the back of my mind and gathered my art supplies together. Making my way to my front door, I stopped to take a deep breath before stepping out; get a grip of yourself (y/n). My feet seemed to gravitate towards the woods, almost as though it was written in the stars for me to be with Bruno today.

Stop it. Stop making this out to be more than it is: it's just two friends hanging out.

On the way, I walked past Pepa Madrigal. She was holding hands with somebody: I think his name is Félix. Aw, they seem cute together. However, as we passed, she had a knowing smirk plastered on her face and a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Hola (y/n), have fun" she said, waving. I gave her a quizzical look and a wave back so that I didn't look rude. Félix didn't say anything, but his smirk mirrored hers.

Had Bruno told her about yesterday? My cheeks filled with heat at the idea, but I ignored them and pushed on towards the city of trees.

When I reached my destination, I was pleasantly surprised to find Bruno already there, sitting in the same place he had yesterday. Antonio was once again snuggled underneath his dark locks, asleep. Bruno was facing away from me with his legs crossed. I don't know why, but I saw this as an opportunity to just admire him, so I seized it. The way his soft fingers absent-mindedly fiddled with one another as his olive green eyes gazed off into the distance - those eyes that look like they could do no wrong, never grow angry, never cause hurt. Yet it seemed that they held so much inside.

And I wanted a peek at it, at whatever was going on inside of his head. Because despite the fact that I've only actually known him for a short time, he's the most interesting man that I have ever met. He just hides himself, his true self I mean, from the Encanto, as though scared of what people will think of him. But he's beautiful - inside and out.

I can't wait for the day he realises that.

After a while, I decided to make my presence known and walk over to him. Hopefully he doesn't figure out that I've just been staring at him silently for the past minute.

His head whipped round and a smile graced his face when he heard me approach. This fast movement disturbed Antonio, who let out a disgruntled squeak but soon fell asleep again. He rose up and greeted me, "Hola, (y/n). For a minute I didn't know whether you would come.."

"Of course I came, I've been looking forward to this all day." I smiled at him and began to set up my easel and canvas. He came over and helped me with a flustered grin, so I thanked him.

"So how have you been?" I asked as we sat down in our respective places. I began to work on my painting.

"Good actually. Julieta has a date tonight so her, Pepa and Mamá are really excited about it. I hope she enjoys herself." he relayed with a soft smile, obviously happy for his sister.

"She better," I grumbled under my breath. Bruno heard me say something, but not what I said. He looked at me with his eyebrow raised, pushing me to elaborate. "I've been helping Agustín prepare for his date with your sister tonight. He's a nervous wreck, so for both of their sakes I hope it all goes to plan."

"That's really sweet of you to do." he commented, faint admiration lacing his tone. I looked at him, and as our eyes met I could feel butterflies in my stomach. I didn't know this of course, but he felt the exact same thing.

"Yeah well, he deserves somebody nice." I paused, and my eyes fell to my feet. I hesitated slightly before asking, "What about you? Does Bruno Madrigal have a special someone yet?"

He froze at this question, his cheeks tinting crimson. "No uh- not yet," he was stuttering and stumbling over his words. "I have a feeling that I'm close to finding them though, so" he finished with a timid chuckle, crossing his fingers in the process.

"Well I hope you find them soon." He deserves somebody sweet. I imagine he'd be caring and thoughtful to whoever he does end up with. In the moment, I couldn't help but wish I were his special someone.

But I hardly know him.

So we spent the next few hours getting to know each other, just like yesterday. We spoke about simpler things, like our thoughts on different people in the Encanto or silly little topics, and we also spoke about deeper things, for example our upbringings, or how we feel about ourselves. 

Having shifted closer to me once again, Bruno opened up to me about his gift whilst I finished off my painting. "I wish I had one of my sisters' gifts, or any other gift really. Nobody looks at them the same way that people look at me - the weird stares. People don't really grasp what I can and can't do, so they get angry at me when they see something in their future that they don't like. But I can't do anything about it, you know? And I feel so bad for them." He was fiddling with his fingers again.

"Well that's not really fair on you, is it?" He just shrugged and mumbled incoherently. "You can only see the future, you don't control it; people need to wake up and understand that. They treat you unfairly for no reason. I'm so sorry you have you put up with that Bruno." I was getting pretty heated about it, wanting nothing more than to defend my newfound friend.

He smiled at me, but this was a different smile. It wasn't laced with timidity or hesitance: it was a genuine, grateful smile, like he had never been told that before. "Thank you (y/n), really. And it's okay, it's nice to know that at least one person understands me."

I returned the grin without a second thought. It was beginning to get dark again, and perfect timing too as I had just put the finishing touches on my painting. Bruno rose from the floor so that he stood behind me, looking over my shoulder at the decorated canvas.

"That's gorgeous (y/n), you're so talented!" he exclaimed, putting his hands on my shoulders and shaking me. I giggled, a lot, and thanked him.

"I suppose it's about time we made our way back." I stated. Like yesterday, he helped me pack away my supplies and we began the journey back to our homes.  When we emerged from the trees, he handed me back my things and opened his mouth to speak. 

No sound came out. It looked like there was something he really wanted to say, but couldn't figure out how to say it. Eventually, he just said, "Thank you again for today (y/n), I hope we can do it again soon."

"Me too, buenas noches Bruno." I gave him the warmest smile I could; my eyes lingered on him for a second before I waved at him, reluctantly turning around and going back to my own home.

On the way, I noticed Agustín and Julieta heading to the restaurant for their date. Their hands kept brushing against each other and from what I could see, they both had joyous expressions on their faces.

I hope they enjoy themselves. It's the least they can do for me.

a/n - hiii hope you enjoyed the chapter :) sorry that this one took a bit longer to make. i've got exams coming up so i'll try to write when i can. if anyone has any tips, helpful criticisms or suggestions for things they want to see happen then feel free to tell me <3