43. Don't Tell Anyone

Y'all, the talented people in this fandom are soooo not helping my obsession! I am so in love with Laureli Amadeus' songs for Encanto. Let It Out, Camilo's Interlude (ft Adassa and Juanse), and On The Inside play rent-free in my head. Y'all, I really recommend listening to them on YouTube. Like, omg I teared up listening to them. But I'm also an emotional bean, so my emotional gage may not be accurate lol but still!

We are back on track! I finally got passed the roadblock in this story, and the creative juices are flowing and it's like the feeling you get after sneezing—it feels so good! It's also not stressing me out anymore, so that's also a plus lol

Anyways, here ya go! Enjoy!

~Star

Bruno didn't quite remember what his dream had been about. A vague swirl of emerald and grey, cracks inside a wall. Those images were abruptly forgotten when he felt something move within his chest.

The shift was almost painful in its intensity, a burst of warmth blossoming in his chest as something brushed against his heart. The scream left him before he could even comprehend what had happened, his eyes unseeing and ears unhearing as he focused on just breathing. When he was finally aware enough to feel arms around him, he found himself clutching tightly onto Marlena. Then he heard what she was saying.

"I got you, Bruno. Lo prometo, I got you." Marlena chanted over and over again, her voice trembling.

"Mar…lena?" He managed to pant. He felt her fingers twitch at his voice.

Marlena nuzzled her face into his shoulder, and he felt her tears wet his skin. "Don't…scare me like this." Her breath hitched. "Don't leave me like that ever again!"

Confused by her words but not wanting to let go, Bruno muttered low apologies that only seemed to make her cry harder. When they had both calmed down, his hands were in hers as they sat facing each other. Eyes on their joined hands, he asked, "What happened?"

Marlena scoffed weakly. "I should be asking you that." Still, she took a steadying breath. "You woke up screaming, amor, pero it wasn't…it wasn't like the other times. You sounded like you were in pain." She choked on a sob, taking another breath before continuing. "You were just gasping, grasping your chest. I thought you were having a heart attack when I saw your eyes dimly glowing that damn emerald green." She bit out the words, hating the color with her entire being. "You didn't even see me, but as soon as I touched you, you just…moved on your own, holding on for dear life." She squeezed his hands and he looked up, meeting her watery gaze with his own. "Bruno…what happened?"

Bruno swallowed thickly, his gaze averting back to their hands as he squeezed them. Then in a low tone, almost a whisper, "I don't remember what I saw, but it's not really important. I…," he released one of her hands to rub at his chest, just over his heart. His brow furrowed. "Our gifts rest near our hearts. A constant presence. Mine…moved." The last word came out in a whisper.

"Moved?" Marlena whispered in turn, almost scared to speak louder.

Bruno nodded, pursing his lips. "It felt…hot against my heart. It almost hurt, but it was more shocking than anything else. Like," he swallowed thickly, "like something was—stirring. Waking."

Silence.

"We need to tell your madre."

"No—"

"Bruno!" Marlena cried, and the fear and anguish in her silver eyes took his breath away. "You were in pain. Your gifts aren't supposed to hurt you! Maybe Alma can figure something—"

"She knows." His low utterance made her stop.

"What?"

Bruno bit his lip, avoiding her gaze. "Not about this, pero… I'm almost certain Mamá knows about the other timeline. I don't know how…," he took a deep breath, "she's said a few things. Things that are harmless on their own, but when you know the things I know, they're too accurate to be chance."

"I don't understand." Marlena whispered.

"When she guessed you'd have triplets, before I had the vision, she said 'Madrigals come in threes.' I never told anyone how many children Pepa and Julieta would have." Bruno confessed softly. "I knew about Antonio years ago, but I couldn't tell Pepa because it didn't feel like the right moment. But somehow, Mamá knew."

"Bruno…isn't that a bit of a stretch?" Marlena gently hedged. It sounded like a coincidence to her.

Bruno firmly shook his head. "She knew something would happen at Mirabel's ceremony. She didn't say anything, but I think she knew more than me."

"What?"

He nodded, lips pursed. "It's the way she would look at us, too. Mi madre in the other timeline was a very strict, very broken woman. She loved us deeply, but was so afraid of losing us—of losing her last connection with papá, she suffocated us. She did what she thought was best for the family, but not us." He began to trace idle circles on the back of her hands with his thumbs. "Mamá looks at us with pride, love, and guilt. Like she did something wrong."

"Diego mentions that she's always carrying a heavy guilt." Marlena whispered, and Bruno nodded. "I thought it was because of what happened with Pepa…that was so long ago. I thought she had finally forgiven herself."

"I think she has." Bruno allowed. "Pero there's…something else, and I think it has to do with the other timeline." He rubbed his face. "I don't know how, though. Time is my Gift." In a soft tone, "I don't want to tell her. Every time I've brought it up, it hurts her."

"Bruno, she could help—" She stopped talking when he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"Mamá is in constant pain. I don't want to add more to it." Bruno kissed her hand again. "If it happens again, I'll figure something out. For now, can we keep it between us, ¿por favor?"

Every part of her wanted to say no. That they needed to tell Alma right now and demand a way to help Bruno. But she stopped herself, mentally took a step back, and took a moment to observe her esposo.

As the years passed by, Bruno had grown to be more and more anxious. He was still the confident man she had married, especially when it came to their family. But when it came to the townsfolk, he was…different. Still fiercely protective and not afraid to swing, but he didn't mingle with his other amigos as much as before. Almost like he was afraid they'd turn on him. She completely blamed the Faded visions for this. Whatever he saw, it made him nervous. He didn't always tell her what he saw, but they would talk about things after a particularly bad one. Those nights, they would stay up as she tried to assure him things would never be like he saw.

She never had the courage to ask how she was like in that other timeline. She couldn't…she didn't want to imagine a life without him.

Right now, Bruno wouldn't meet her gaze and it broke her heart. She couldn't force him. She would never force him.

Untangling her other hand from his, she cupped his cheek, making him look up at her before she leaned forward to press her lips against his. It was gentle and lingering. Bruno's brow drew low, his now free hand reaching to grab the back of her neck, tilting his head to deepen the kiss almost desperately.

After a moment, they parted, foreheads pressed together. Marlena swallowed thickly.

"Okay. We'll do it your way." She acquiesced. "For now. Next time it happens, I will be telling your madre."

Bruno nodded mutely, clearly not pleased. But he understood. If their positions had been reversed, he would have insisted they tell someone. He wasn't happy, but he understood, and he was grateful she was giving him this.

Later that morning at breakfast, Dolores gave Bruno an extra long hug, gaining confused glances from their family. Diego was frowning, working on making his papá feel better from whatever had shaken him.

They all hated his Faded vision.

I really like writing their dynamic. They are just so cute. And like, it's crazy how these OCs write themselves. I had a vague idea on how I wanted Marlena to be when I first wrote her, and it was nowhere near how she is now.

I should be back to posting almost everyday as I am currently writing chapter 57! 57! O.O this is by far the longest fanfic I've ever written chapter-wise. And it's almost to the end! Eeeee!

When I'm done with the last chapter, I'll update the chapter count…that might be an emotional update lol I also might not do that, just because I've been adding chapters to the already written portions lol

This was supposed to be a reeeeeeeaally long oneshot! XD

Until next time, amigos, ¡adiós!

~Star