Make You Smile (Camilo Madrigal x Reader)

Holding Back

You made your way back to the decrepit nursery door, shutting it behind you as you entered the room. You didn't bother opening the window coverings to let the light through. All you did was lay down on the makeshift bed, your head hitting the pillow as you stared up at the ceiling, lost in the whirlwind of thought.

Your eyes had adjusted to the changing light as darkness began to fall, getting used to the one, dull spot on the ceiling that you hadn't broken your gaze from since earlier today.

It didn't matter what you had been missing, so long as you didn't push the burden of your being onto this family.

Your hurt consciousness hid itself in defense as your subconscious mind took over, leaving you discombobulated and spaced out. You couldn't bear to think about anything any longer. This must be a bad dream, you told yourself. I'm just waiting to wake up.

Maybe you were in a coma. Maybe you were lucid dreaming. 

Anything, anything, would be better than accepting that what was happening was real. Anything.

Knock 

Knock

You heard the hollow ring of two gentle knocks at the door of the nursery, pulling you back into your body and into the present. You blinked a few times before calling out to whoever was there.

"Hello?" You replied to the knocks, sitting up and facing the door.

"Bad time?" You heard the voice from behind the door say.

You let go of the tensing in your shoulders as you realized it was only Camilo, laying yourself back down into your original position. 

"Always," you joked, hearing the old door creep its way open. You squinted at the light that seeped through.

"Guess I didn't stop you from becoming a vampire after all," Camilo remarked at the amount of darkness that shrouded the room like a thick, heavy fog. "I thought my almojábanas would have done the trick that day."

You let out a playful but exhausted scoff as the soft glow of a flickering candle began to fill up part of the room. 

Gravity shifted your position as he sat down next to your feet.

"Where's Gabriel?" Camilo asked as he examined the room.

"Probably in Antonio's room," you guessed. "They're becoming close." A hint of brightness washed over your face as you thought about your little brother becoming more comfortable on his own.

You angled your neck to look at Camilo, only to see him smiling in response to your suddenly joyful expression. You set your head back down, restraining the butterflies that wanted to dance free in your stomach.

"I brought you something," he said, tapping your leg.

You sat up again in a perplexed surprise. "What is it?"

Camilo reached out to your wrist, turning your hand to open flat. He took out his fist and hovered it over your hand in suspension, dropping a fabric object in your palm.

As he took his hand away, you pulled yours closer, examining what he gave you.

It was a handmade bracelet. One that was laced with eye-catching shades of red, blue and yellow.

"So I'm... what cliché is it? I'm always with you?" Camilo quietly laughed as you scrunched your nose in a smile.

"I love it," you said as you immediately tightened it around your wrist.

As your gaze intricately examined every bit of the bracelet, you felt the warm drip of a salty tear that unknowingly fell from your eye.

And then another.

And then another.

You hated crying. You hated feeling so small and weak. You hated feeling so out of control. But now you couldn't stop.

"Hey, come here," Camilo said as he moved in closer to you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you in, holding so tight but so gently as if he were shielding you from incoming bullets.

You held your breath, digging your nails into the palms of your hands, the skin beginning to peel.

"Y/N," Camilo said, placing his hand atop of yours, tenderly prying them open and resting his fingers on your fresh wounds. "You don't have to feel weak around me."

That's what did it. 

You felt the brick wall in your mind burst with a wave of tears as you turned your head inwards to his chest and began sobbing uncontrollably. You could feel his touch against the back of your head, as he too began to bounce with silent sobs. You looked up at him, your vision blurry with hot tears, reaching out your hand to hold the side of his face.

"I wish I could make this go away for you," Camilo said, biting back the wobble in his voice. "For me, too. For us."

You gave him a smile through your tears and red stained cheeks. 

"You being here is enough."

He returned your smile at your assuring words, emitting a weak chuckle through his held back tears, pulling you in close once again.

Although it had been but two weeks, you had been through the fire with each other. 

There was no one else as close to you as he was. No one else you could trust with your most vulnerable thoughts and feelings. You only knew how to hide your pain and be the biggest person you could be, there was no such thing as confiding in somebody. 

Camilo was the first person you could truly trust. 

"You're so important to me, Y/N," Camilo said with a sense of desperation, as if you never would have believed him.

You tightened your grip around his waist, burying your face into his chest as he exhaled a breath of relief, resting his cheek on the top of your head.

Your mind grew clear with every unified breath you and Camilo took, hanging on in this cocooned embrace.

For a moment, everything felt okay.

SLAM

The door to the nursery swung open with haste, causing you and Camilo to jump quickly away from each other.

Mirabel stood in the frame, the same look on her face as the first time she asked you to investigate. It was careful and suspicious.

"Guys," she whispered, "I don't have time to ask what was happening," she said, partly amused.

"But uh..." she hesitated, trying to find the right words.

"What is it, Mira?" Camilo attempted to pull the answer from out of her.

"Well," she said, her eyes fixing a hard look on the two of you.

"We need to go see Bruno."