Chapter Text
Look, Mirabel was excited for the new addition to the family. She loved each and every part of the family. But now she had to share her room with a baby. Well, it wasn’t her room necessarily, it was actually the nursery so the baby had more right to be in there than she did. It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t have a gift, or a room made just for her.
She sighed, moving her arms from around her knees, she might as well meet this baby if she was to share a room with it for the next five years. Besides, Mama and Tía Pepa and the entire family seemed to be happy about the new baby, it had been staying in Tía Pepa and Tío Félix’s room and not everyone had met it yet because Pepa was still healing from it’s birth and had apparently went through some kind of after-birth panic and hadn’t let it from her sight at all since it was born a few weeks ago.
She walked into Casita and giggled as the floorboards moved under her feet, ushering her to where the baby currently was. She stopped outside the room, apparently it was already in the Nursery. She entered carefully, Tía Pepa was sitting in the rocking chair holding a bundle of blankets Mirabel assumed to be the baby. A rainbow sat above her head, she looked up when Mirabel walked in. A smile appeared on her face.
“Mirabel! Come meet Antonio” She walked over and peeked into the blanket and was surprised to see the baby. He was brown with curly hair and was staring right at her, he was kind of cute. Mirabel was confused, the kids in the village told her that baby’s were pink, screaming, ugly messes.
“He’s pretty light right now, but as he gets older his skin will darken” Mirabel nodded her head at her Tía's words but didn’t look up from Antonio. Pepa smiled.
“Here, go sit on your bed, put a pillow under your left elbow, sit back against the wall” Mirabel did as told, a little confused. Pepa stood and walked over to her, she rearranged Antonio in her arms before leaning down and setting Antonio down in Mirabel’s arms. Carefully moving them so Mirabel was holding him correctly.
“Now, Can I trust you to watch him for a few minutes while I go and prepare a bottle for him?” Mirabel looked up at her Aunt before looking down at the baby in her arms.
“A few Minutes?”
“Just a few minutes, you don’t have to do anything besides hold him,” Mirabel nodded. Tìa Pepa smiled at her and walked out leaving the door open. Mirabel curled her legs under her. It allowed her to set Antonio’s body on her lap while still having his head on her elbow. She held her hand above his face, carefully tracing her fingers over his features. His face seemed to turn like he was laughing, but no sound came out. His tiny fist waved around and caught her finger, holding it in a strong grip. She laughed at his little concentrated face, his eyes shooting to her face as she did. They lit up and his face split open in the biggest little smile. Mirabel cooed to him, he was just adorable. She was knocked out of her little bubble with him when she heard thunder.
Oh no, someone upset Tía Pepa. Mirabel looked back down at Antonio, only to see his little eyes water and his face twist in a way Camillo’s used to when he cried. She panicked for a second, would a lullaby work? She wracked her brain for one and sang the first that came to mind, one she thinks she heard when she was younger.
“Two oruguitas
in love and yearning
Spend every evening and morning learnin'
To hold each other, their hunger burning
To navigate a world
That turns and never stops turning
Together in this world
That turns and never stops turning” His face stopped twisting but his eyes still held the tears.
“Two oruguitas against the weather
The wind grows colder, but they're together
They hold each other, no way of knowing
They're all they have for shelter
And something inside them is growing
They long to stay togethеr
But something inside them is growin'
Ay, oruguitas, don't you hold on too tight
Both of you know it's your timе to grow. to fall apart, to reunite
Wonders await you just on the other side
Trust they'll be there and start to prepare the way for tomorrow
Ay, oruguitas, don't you hold on too tight
Both of you know it's your time to grow, to fall apart, to reunite
Wonders await you, just on the other side
Trust they'll be there and start to prepare the way for tomorrow” Now that she was singing it she realized that it seemed a bit sad. But Antonio seemed to like it, and his eyes held no more tears in them.
“Two oruguitas, cocooned and waiting
Each in their own world, anticipating
What happens after the rearranging?
And so afraid of change
In a world that never stops changing
So let the walls come down
The world will never stop changing Never stop changing
Never stop changing
Never stop changing” She whispered the last verse to him. She heard footsteps near the door and quickly fixed her legs to the way she was sitting before.
Tía Pepa came in with the bottle, and looked at it in her hand before sitting down next to Mirabel and placing the bottle in Mirabel’s hand and showed her how to feed Antonio. Pepa smiled as she did. Mirabel didn’t need to know that Pepa had already been upstairs, that Pepa had all but run upstairs after she thundered because she knew the noise scared Antonio and was preparing herself to walk into the nursery to a scared Mirabel holding a crying Antonio.
She was not prepared to see Mirabel curled around Antonio, singing the lullaby from her own distant memory. She had to take a few steps away to not cry and waited until she pulled herself together before walking in.
Mirabel stared down at Antonio, it seemed as if she was doing that a lot actually, as he ate. His little eyes drooped and one of his hands rested on the side of the bottle. She leaned back against the wall and pulled her legs back up under her. Little Antonio leaning against her chest. She watched as he fell asleep and leaned completely against her, little snores escaping him. Pepa reached over and gently grabbed the bottle.
“Would you like to set him in his crib?” Mirabel looked sharply up to her
“But-”
“You two will share a room for a while, Mirabel and we all know that you are a light sleeper. You’ll probably be awake to get him long before I’m even awake. Just set your legs back down and set your arms like I originally had them and stand up” Pepa stood with her niece.
“Now just walk over to the bassinet, and set him down carefully. There you go, he’ll be asleep for a while you should go play” Pepa shooed her off.
Tía Pepa turned out to be right, late that night when the moon shone through her cracked window, she was woken up by the sounds of Antonio crying. She sat up and pushed her glasses onto her face as she walked across the room, she peeked into the bassinet to try and figure out what could be wrong with him. Casita shook the bassinet in a vaguely rocking motion. Mirabel reached in and carefully picked him up and held him to her chest, making little rocking motions with her arms as she slowly walked around the room.
Antonio fell back asleep but woke up immediately when she tried to put him down. So she sat on her bed with him, setting him down on her blankets. She got some pillows and situated them before setting him on top of one and climbing back into her bed. She set him on her chest and put a hand on his head and back before rolling onto her side like she usually sleeps. She fell back asleep with him next to her.
She woke the next morning to slight thundering and frantic whispering.
“- knew this was a bad idea-”
“-look for him-”
“Pepa! Look, Mirabel’s got him, he’s fine” Mirabel felt more than seeing the shadow fall across her and Antonio, she couldn’t stop herself from holding him more firmly and curling around him.
“See Félix! I told you putting him in our bed when he cried at night was a bad idea. Oh, he must’ve woken her up really late!”
Mirabel felt a hand card through her hair, “Mirabel, wake up dear. It’s time to wake up and let us have Antonio” her Mama said to her.
She fixed her hold on the baby in her arms before carefully turning over and carefully rolling him off her and onto the bed, resisting from picking him back up when he whimpered. Félix cooed and picked him up. Her Mama ran a hand through her hair before leaving the room. Mirabel got out of bed and grabbed her clothes so she could bathe and get dressed before breakfast. She passed Camilo in the hall and doing their handshake.
Which consisted of them just high fiving and bumping hips. It was stupid and simple but they've been doing it for as long as they could remember. They giggled as they went their opposite ways, Casita's tiles clacking as Camilo jumped on random ones on his way down to the dining room.
After getting dressed she slid down the stairs to the ground floor and made her way to the dining room, going past the living room where Pepa was, and Antonio too if the cries were any indication.
“What’s wrong, papito?” Pepa asked, clearly keeping herself from thundering. She was humming a little song as she bounced him.
A little too hard Mirabel thought.
Pepa leaned him on her shoulder to see if he needed to be burped, but when Antonio looked over her shoulder, he stopped crying as he caught sight of Mirabel. Pepa turned around confused, only for it to turn to fond exasperation as she saw Mirabel standing there. She switched her hold on Antonio and walked over to Mirabel, she handed the baby to Mirabel and watched as Antonio’s whines that started when he couldn’t see Mirabel anymore, stopped.
“Honestly, one night and you’re now his favorite. Come along, My Mami said she wanted him at breakfast” Pepa ushered Mirabel towards the dining room, Mirabel not moving until she was sure she had a proper hold on Antonio.
As they walked and Antonio started squirming, Mirabel started humming the lullaby she had sung yesterday. Not noticing Pepa’s stuttering steps.
"Ay, mariposa, don't you hold on too tight. Both of you know it's your time to go, to fly apart, to reunite..." Mirabel quietly sang the lyrics as they entered the dining room, too quiet for anyone but Dolores to hear. If anyone was surprised to see Mirabel holding a now calm Antonio no one said anything.
Camilo got up and made sure her chair was pulled out enough, Casita could have done it but he wanted to. Once she sat down he pushed her chair before sitting back down in his chair.
Dolores looked completely confused but didn't say anything. Mirabel flashed a smile at her before arranging Antonio how she had him yesterday. Leaning against her chest and lap, leaving one of her hands free. From the milk still on the edge of his mouth, he had already eaten. Mirabel grabbed her fork and started eating, Camilo had put food on her plate as she arranged Antonio. It was a weird dance they had memorized a while ago, if Mirabel or Camilo had their hands busy when they sat down or entered the room. The other one was to either make sure their chair is pulled out enough or put food on their plate.
She kept quiet and ate, focusing on eating and Antonio, almost missing Abuela asking her a question.
"Mirabel, How did Antonio do in the Nursery last night?"
"Oh, he did well. Woke up once but it was easily taken care of" Mirabel carefully didn't say that she had put Antonio in her bed.
"That's good, since he's so young we'll expect him to wake up during the night more a while more, then he should start sleeping through the nights"
Mirabel didn't say anything but nodded as she ate. Only setting her fork down to help pass Antonio off to Camilo once he finished eating.
Breakfast finished with Abuela telling them all to head down to the village to help. Mirabel managed to land a kiss on Antonio's forehead with a whispered "see you later" before Camilo gave him to Félix.
“Mirabel, you are needed down at the Seamstress shop today” Mirabel nodded and grabbed her lunch bag and walked with the rest of her cousins and siblings into town. Doing her best not to scowl as Isabela made a big show of using her powers, Mirabel stopped walking, being at the back of the group there wasn’t a risk of someone walking into her.
She looked around, there was something wrong. She took off into the forest ignoring her cousins and siblings calls for her to come back. She stepped over logs and went so far off the path that any other time she would’ve been worried about getting lost.
She eventually came across a little kid, who looked to be around 5 or 6, who was obviously lost. “Are you okay? How did you get here?”
“I was with my Mami and there was a butterfly so I chased it but then I fell and I didn't know where I was and my leg hurts really bad!” Mirabel smoothed the kid’s hair down before looking at the kid’s leg.
“Yeah, that’s a mighty scratch, looks like you twisted your ankle too.” Mirabel stood back up
“You probably shouldn’t walk on it, here” Mirabel picked the kid up, and once they were situated with their arms around her neck she made her way back to the village. She didn’t know how she knew the way back considering how far out she was, but she didn’t question it.
As she walked she started humming the lullaby. The kid tried to hum along, but not knowing the song caused them to fail and giggle. Soon Mirabel left the forest and was back on the path to the village. She entered it to see people panicking. The kid leaned up to try and find her parents.
“Mami! Papi!” Mirabel looked to where the kid was yelling and saw two adults that she resembled, they were near her own Mama. Mirabel made her way over.
“Mama, a little help?” Her Mother looked over to her and got the attention of the two next to her as Mirabel got closer.
“How hurt is she?”
“There’s a scratch, I think she might’ve twisted her ankle too, she mentioned falling.” Mirabel sat the girl down on a chair near her Mama’s stand. Her Mom handed the girl an empanada while the girl’s parents thanked Mirabel. Once it was noticed that both Mirabel and the girl were found, people stopped panicking. Mirabel made her way through the crowd to the seamstress’ shop.
“Mrs. Sandez, I’m here! Sorry I was late, I was.." Mirabel trailed off at the sight of the amused boy in front of her. Setting her bag on the small table near the door.
- Carlos Sandez, Mrs. Nina Sandez's current youngest grandson, sometimes helps out in the Seamstress Shop. He is also, sub-consequently, her crush.
"Do I dare assume that you are part of the reason for a panicking crowd in the village square?" He raised his eyebrow and leaned on the counter he was standing behind.
"Well not exactly, the reason is cause one of the little kids had gotten lost in the forest" Mirabel told him, definitely not fidgeting with her bracelet, it was time like this she was grateful she was the only one of the Madrigal kids who worked in the shop, they would call her crush so fast.
"Right, and you just had to stumble upon them, randomly, and bring them back?"
"Well, I did go looking for her, technically"
"I knew it, you Miss Madrigal are an adventurer"
"I'm not an adventurer" She wasn't pouting, she didn't care that he had that (definitely not fond) look on his (oh-so-pretty) face that he made when she pouted, she wasn't.
"Mhm, sure you're not"
"I'm not!"
"Of course not, dork" Mirabel rolled her eyes, with a definitely not fond look.
"Oh! Mirabel there you are, dear. I was beginning to worry, Carlos isn't bothering you, is he?" Mrs. Sandez sent a sideways look to her grandson, who had fixed his face into a kind- neutral look, while looking as innocent as can be.
"No he wasn't, he was just expressing some concern over whether or not I had anything to do with the semi panicking crowd in the village square"
"Yes I saw that. Is everything okay?" Mrs. Sandez ushered her to the chairs as they talked.
"Yeah, a little kid just got lost. I brought her back, she had a little tumble in the forest" Mrs. Sandez pursed her lips and gave her something to work on. She wasn’t actually needed at the shop but when she was 7 Mrs. Sandez took pity on her being left out from her cousins and siblings and had started asking for her to come down.
"I suppose that happens around here. How's your Tía and the baby?"
Mirabel didn't look up from her sewing as she answered "Tía's good, they just put little Antonio in the Nursery last night, so I gotta get used to a new roommate"
Mrs. Sandez answered with a little hum, before humming the song she always was. It sounded old, Mirabel thought it might've been an old lullaby.