kaisou | [CLOSED] Family means nobody gets left behind

WHO: Dolores and Bruno Madrigal
WHERE: Casita
WHEN: Some time late February
WHAT: Breakfast!
WARNINGS: Noted as required

---

[Meal time was always family time in the Madrigal household, and breakfast was no exception. Abuela insisted on such things and although Dolores had never truly minded it - she does love her family, after all - being in Kaisou has given her the opportunity to experience something truly novel.

Sleeping in.

Though it isn't an indulgence she lets herself have too often, this morning she wakes up late and stretches the last threads of weariness out of her body before she gets up. With Tía Julieta around it's all but guaranteed that no one will ever go hungry, so of course there is something left for her to eat. But when she hears in a passing comment from someone walking by that Bruno had also not been present at breakfast, she needs only a moment to consider her options.

Bruno's door had been a forbidden thing for almost as long as Dolores could remember. Never spoken of, it was as if everyone tried to ignore that it existed. And going through it? Unthinkable, until Mirabel had done just that. Now, it glows in the same soft way as every enchanted door in the house and although she feels a twinge of trepidation at doing so, she turns the knob and pushes the door open.

And beyond... a curtain of sand that parts in an almost friendly manner to let her through when she approaches. A wide, open hall, a bridge, and--]

Ay Dios mío.

[Stairs.

And it's so high! Would he even hear her if she called out?

But then-- ah, wait! Call! Dolores pats the pockets of her skirt quickly and pulls out the funny little communications device that she was given on her arrival here. She prods at it until she finds her ongoing conversation with her uncle and then, looking up at the high... very high spiral of stairs, she calls him.

And, as soon as he picks up.]

Good morning, Tío. I'm-- uhm, in your room. At the bottom of the all of these stairs. Would you like to have breakfast with me?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The only really nice thing about the problems with her gift is the silence. After years of hearing everything going on for miles around herself, just being able to concentrate on the sounds in the kitchen is a wonderful thing. Her uncle's choice to be silent is noted, too, and appreciated.

But they had never really talked, had they. Dolores' tendency to hold herself a little distant from the rest of the family notwithstanding, approaching Bruno had always felt a bit... odd.]

No. [She chuckles faintly, shakes her head.] Sometimes... I wondered what you might do if I talked back. If you knew that I knew. [Dolores starts picking at her breakfast, keeping her eyes down.]

But I didn't want to drive you away completely. I know that you... did what you did because it felt like the only choice you could make.

[He chuckles- it's a sad, awkward little sound- as he rubs the back of his neck. ]

Probably some panicked screaming at first? I kinda thought I'd...stealthily got away with it.

[Obviously he had not and he knew that was impossible, really. But he knows everyone in the family was lonely. Hurting. Maybe he could have reached out to her. Made the whole thing more bearable. Hell, he knew how many years Dolores had been in pain, watching the boy she loved fawn over her cousin. He'd seen it coming long before it came to be. ]

I did. I...I don't think it was the right one...in hindsight. But I guess that's...just a lesson to learn. I'm- it might have done us both a little better, if we'd both reached out, huh?

[She gives him a 'look' when he says he thought he got away with it. When it came to everyone but Dolores he certainly had, and maybe at some point over the years she should have said something even if it was only to him. Just a few words to let him know he wasn't alone. But the weight of carrying the knowledge that he was still in the house had grown heavier over the years, to the point where it felt like the secret was stifling her.

It was a relief, now, to not have to keep that quiet anymore.

Dolores only smiles - softly and gently - and looks down at her food.]

Maybe it would. I thought about you a lot. [Another mouthful, thoughtfully chewed and swallowed, then the kettle begins to whistle and she pushes herself up from her chair.]

But we have time now, right? You don't have to hide anymore.

[He does manage a marginally abashed look in return. Look, he didn't think about it at the time. For someone who can see into the future, Bruno has an insane lack of foresight into his own actions. He stills, trying to ignore the bite of guilt.

He hid away to protect Mirabel, thinking he wouldn't be missed anyway, as much as it hurt him to 'leave'. But this is clearly wrong. He was missed. Dreadfully.]

I thought about you, too.

[He'd missed all of them so very dreadfully. He hated being in the walls. But at the time he couldn't see any other way out. ]

You're right, I don't have to hide anymore. We've got all the time in the world now.

[Dolores smiles to herself as she sets about making the tea for them both. It just feels so normal to have Bruno sat with her, but then Dolores has always known that he was sitting right there with them every meal time since the day he vanished. Having him on this side of the wall instead of the other is just a step up in the situation as far as she's concerned.

She puts the tea together quickly and brings the teapot and cups back to the table, sitting down again with a soft exhale.]

I could ask you to tell me more about what I've missed, but... [Well, she knows almost all of it, doesn't she? Her lips purse for a moment and she shrugs.]

I don't know. You probably noticed I don't really talk a lot at meal times.

[It's MUCH better to be on this side of the wall again. Awkward as it is sometimes, navigating dealing with people again, this is much better than the yearning. Than missing them while being only a heartbeat away from them all.]

There's not a lot to tell. You...probably know more than most people.

[Even all the ugly, horrible parts where he talked to himself in an attempt to break the silence around him- even if he didn't always have the...nicest things to say to himself.]

I did. I kinda assumed you were just...listening.

[Because that was Dolores. She never spoke, she listened. ]

[She knows what he means and just smiles a little awkwardly in acknowledgement. It's true, she had heard more than perhaps she should have and more than he would have wanted her to, but wasn't that the case for everyone? Very little happened without Dolores hearing about it.]

I suppose I was.

[Listening. Always listening. It's all she feels she ever seems to do.]

But I think... it's nice to talk, too. When there aren't so many people around. [And she has said it before, but she will say it again.] I'm glad you're here, Tío Bruno.

[She needs to be able to do more than just listen, he will stand by that. They all need to be more than their Gifts, difficult as it is to make that transition. ]

Yeah, it is nice to talk. And...it's good to talk to you [That needs to be said!] I'm glad you're here too, Dolores.

[CLOSED] Family means nobody gets left behind

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject