something imperfect || isabela madrigal X female reader

03. the donkey plushie

You were, to say the least, bored. Usually, watching the shop would be great, but today was a Monday. And everybody was busy on Mondays.

You shop provided many products, from the freshest fruits to toys and plushies, so lots of people usually came. Today, however, was different, and you had been sitting behind the counter for the last hour, your only distraction being the radio you could sing along to from time to time, when you knew the song.

So, when you heard the door open and the bell attached to it ring, you were beaming.

Not for long, though.

Miguel Santiago was now searching through the shelves, occasionally stealing glances of you. That was very awkward, and you wanted to ask him to leave immediately, but that wouldn't have been very professional. But it didn't look like he was going to buy something anytime soon.

It has been ten long minutes. You were going to die on spot if this idiot kept pretending to be checking your merchandise. He was creepy as hell.

Yes, you were anxious. It wasn't a big deal, just some guy having a crush on you, but you were socially awkward most of the time.

The sound of the bell made you jump out of your embarrassed thoughts, and your heart skipped a beat. You were getting scared too easily recently.

And it seemed it was only by Madrigals.

"Hey, (Y/n)." Isabela Madrigal smiled briefly at you from the door before heading for the plushies section of your shop. You hesitantly answered her greeting with a smile.

You had rarely talked to her, having met Dolores three years ago surprisingly didn't get you closer to the Madrigal. You knew from Dolores that Isabela was either busy with her chores or following her Abuela's orders. From Mirabel, you heard she was horrible, but you knew about their sisterly rivalry and didn't really listen to her ramblings.

If you had to make an opinion about Isabela, it would be your own.

She was beautiful, that you were sure of. Many times when Dolores invited you to join the Madrigals for dinner, you had found yourself glancing at her, not sure if you were jealous of her hair or if you just admired it.

And she was nice to you once, when you fell on your face in front of her. She lead you to her mother, Julieta, so you could eat one of her arepas, and even laughed at your lame joke, which you were grateful for. But after this, you never really talked, and when you'd go to the Casita Madrigal to visit Dolores, she'd always be busy.

Maybe it was a good thing, because for some reason she made you a bit nervous. You guessed it was because she was so impressive, always on point for every situation. You wondered how it was possible.

You noticed Miguel was gone, finally, so you decided to gather your social strength and go check on Isabela, who seemed to be struggling at the plushies section. There she was, an elephant plushie in one hand, a donkey one in the other, pouting. You had never seen her do this kind of face, and you found it oddly reassuring. And cute.

"Hi, Isabela ? Do you need... help ?"

This time, it seems like you're the one startling her as her body tenses up for a second before she turns to you with a calm smile.

"Oh, don't worry, (Y/n). I... I was just looking for a gift for Antonio's birthday."

"Oh...well, I suggest the elephant then. It's up to you !" you were about to head back to the counter when she talked again, looking at the donkey plushie with a smile.

"That's what I thought too, but then I saw this donkey and I thought of Luisa. She's been stressed out recently."

"Really ?" You didn't notice. But then again, Luisa was also very busy, and though you had more chances to talk to her than to Isabela, she always acted like everything was fine.
"Are you going to give her the donkey ? That's cute. I mean-the donkey. The donkey is cute."

You stumble on your words awkwardly, making Isabela laugh. You did it again.

"Yes, that what I planned, but I didn't bring enough money, sadly. The donkey can wait."

She was about to place it back, but you decided against it. You felt generous today.

"Nuh-uh. Don't worry, the donkey is free."

Her eyes widened a bit as you spoke. She couldn't accept it, it was too much. Then she would have a debt. But you made it seem so simple. In fact, everything with you was always so simple, you were so natural with everyone.

"Oh no, I can't accept it. It's alright, I'll come back for it."

"No worries ! Everything for Luisa. I didn't even notice she was feeling down, so let me give you a little help with this. It's nothing." you shrug and slowly make your way to the counter, watching whether Isabela agreed or not.

She smiled, looking at you and then at the donkey plushie. It wasn't much, after all. And she could always come back to pay you back.

"Alright, if you insist."

"I do insist ! Come on, gimme that. I'll wrap it up for you. Ah, you still have to pay for the elephant though. I'm not rich."

Isabela chuckled as she gave you both the elephant and donkey plushie, watching as you did your best to wrap it up in a pretty way. It ended up quite good, and you handed it back to her proudly.

"It's not perfect, but I did my best. Hope you like it." you say, hoping it wasn't too bad for the perfect Isabela Madrigal. You wouldn't want her to be embarrassed of giving her gifts because of the way you wrapped it up.

"It's very original. I like it."

You beam, hopping to sit on the counter to show her the stickers you put here and there to bring touches of colors and the bows you used 'especially for you, my very important customer Isabela Madrigal'. She laughed at that, thanking you gracefully, and when she gave you the money for the elephant plushie and waved you goodbye with a sweet smile, you found yourself smiling way after she left. Even for the two hours that followed where no one showed up, you were in a surprisingly good mood.

And for the rest of the afternoon, Isabela Madrigal was in a surprisingly good mood.

She even smiled at Mirabel.

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