Chapter Text
On a hill overlooking the Pérez's farm, Santiago and Chepe were trying to build their mini catapult to launch some fireworks into the air.
"I thought the spring went on before the rope." Santiago pointed out.
"No, the rope goes on first." Chepe protested.
Key word being trying.
The two began to argue over how the catapult should be built. The fight drew a few eyes, but nothing remotely resembling a crowd. Then it attracted the attention of the last person Santiago wanted to see.
The reason he lost his job. The bane of both of their existences. The so-called Shining Star.
Bruno Madrigal.
The young seer was only fifteen-years-old and the youngest to ever join the Encanto Council at just fourteen. His hair was cut fairly short and he was clean-shaven due to his age. But, you can see some stubble on his chin if you squint a bit. He was wearing sandals, black shorts, and a green guayabera with vertical hourglasses where the pleats would normally be. It was too hot for him to wear his ruana and he only really wears it for ceremonial purposes. He seems to have finished delivering visions since he was carrying an empty green messenger bag which is often full of them.
He looked with curiosity and came over to see what they were arguing about. The curiosity quickly turns into surprise when he sees the horrible amalgamation of parts that was supposed to be a catapult. Then, it was just outright disbelief at the whole situation.
"Seriously?!" Bruno almost shouted, "You tontos are in your twenties and you're playing with a catapult?!"
"No..." Chepe denied, "W-we're building it for... Uh..."
"For someone's kid." Santiago helped.
"For someone's kid." Chepe quickly agreed.
"Whose kid?" Bruno probed with a raised brow.
The two fumbled with names that got increasingly more ridiculous until Chepe finally conceded, "Okay, we're playing with a catapult!"
Bruno just gave them a disappointed look.
"Yeah." Santiago nodded before pleading, "Can you help us finish this catapult? ¿Por favor?"
"Let me see it..." Bruno sighed and began reluctantly helping them work on the catapult.
"Told you the spring goes on before the rope." Santiago muttered harshly which earned him a punch on the shoulder from the farmhand.
"There." Bruno stood up from the finished mini catapult, "It's done."
The two men excitedly ran to the small machine and started filling it with lit firecrackers.
"Just be careful." Bruno tried to warn them, "That rope is really tight, the spring is a bit tense, and the trigger is—"
FLING!!!
Bruno facepalmed before finishing exasperatedly, "Sensitive..."
"Wow! Look at them go!" Chepe commented.
"Yeah, that catapult really flung them." Santiago nodded.
"I think I made the fuses too long." Chepe noticed.
"They're headed right for the Pérez's..." Santiago began to panic before the inevitable happened.
BOOM!!!
The two stared at the burning tree in stunned silence before turning to a thoroughly fed-up Bruno in horror.
"Treehouse on fire?" Bruno deadpanned.
"Yeah!" the two yelled in a panic before sprinting for the Pérez's farm.
💚🖤🐮⏳🌳⏳🐮🖤💚
It took Juan Pérez, Paula Pérez, Chepe, Santiago, Bruno, and a few others to control the fire and Pepa to put it out.
"Well," Juan sighed, "Fire's out."
"Look, we're really sorry we burned your treehouse down." Santiago apologized.
"Yeah, really sorry." Chepe agreed, "If only Bruno had warned us how powerful that catapult was."
That earned him a glowing dark emerald death glare from the seer and a lingering sense that he's gonna have to sleep with one eye open for the next month.
"Está bien." Juan forced a smile, "I'm just a bit worried about how Ricardo is gonna react. See, he can be a bit—"
"¿Papá?" A whimpering voice called.
"Oh no..." All the color drained from Juan's face, "I didn't want him to see this before—"
"¿Papá?" Ricardo came over carrying a sailboat.
He turned and saw the charred remains of his treehouse. The sight alone was enough to make him drop his sailboat and his jaw around the same time. Tears began to flood the poor kid's eyes and Bruno began stuffing cotton in his ears which made Chepe raise a brow at him. He even gave some to his madre and hermana with a pleading look before they complied and stuffed them in their ears while giving him an odd look.
"What happened to my treehouse?" he whined.
"Uh, mijo..." Paula got down to his level, "Chepe and Santiago shot at it with their catapult and burned it down."
The kid turned to the two responsible while looking absolutely distraught.
"Ricardo, we didn't mean—"
The former doctor didn't get to finish defending his actions because Ricardo let out a cry so piercing that it made several dogs start barking. Everyone surrounding the kid grabbed their ears in agony except for the crazy-prepared clairvoyant and his family. Ricardo cried for what felt like an eternity before finally stopping to wipe his face with his shirt.
"Well, that was pleasant." Chepe groaned.
"Why?!" Ricardo sobbed, "Why would you do this to me?!"
"W-we didn't mean to!" Chepe defended.
"That treehouse was the only place I could cry in private!"
Even Bruno looked weirded out by that statement.
"Está bien, niño." Alma soothed the miserable child, "I promise you, Chepe and Santiago are going to build you a brand new treehouse."
"¡¿Qué?!" Chepe and Santiago echoed.
"You heard her." Pepa thundered.
"Well, we are going fishing for the weekend." Juan noted before asking, "Are they willing to rebuild it tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?!" Chepe protested.
"No, no, that won't work—" Santiago tried.
"Of course, they are." Alma smiled.
"But, I have a..." Chepe started before realizing Alma was right there, "I have something important to do tomorrow!"
"So do I!" Santiago protested.
"Well, you should have thought of that before shooting fireworks at the Pérez's property." Alma glowered.
The two men's only response to that is to look shamefaced.
"You can go do whatever it is you want to do when the three of you finish rebuilding Ricardo's treehouse." Alma told them.
Bruno ran over to Alma to object, "Whoa, by 'the three of us', I hope you mean Santiago, Chepe, and Santiago's ever-widening shadow."
"¡Oye!" Santiago protested.
"Bruno." Alma scolded, "I know you and Santiago have had several... Misgivings. But, can you at least try to be civil?"
"Mamá..." Bruno tried.
"Santiago and Chepe told me that you helped them build the catapult." Alma argued.
"That's right." Santiago nodded.
"He did." Chepe agreed.
"Are you telling me that they lied about that?" Alma probed.
"No..." Bruno conceded.
"Then you have to help them rebuild the treehouse tomorrow." Alma stated.
"But I'll miss Hernanado's birthday party." Bruno cried before turning to the two with glowing anger in his eyes, "Tell her it wasn't my fault."
Normally, the angry display of power would frighten the two. But, all they felt at that moment was satisfaction.
"Sorry..." Santiago chuckled.
"Too bad for you, Brujo." Chepe smirked.
Bruno's glare only hardened and both of them felt like they were in for a world of hurt sooner rather than later.
"Now boys..." Alma prompted, "Apologize to Ricardo."
Bruno calmed himself enough to dim the glow as they turned to the tearful kid.
"Lo siento, Ricardo." the three chorused.
"It's okay." Ricardo sniffled.
Juan gave his son an approving smile before Paula began hugging and praising him.
"I trust the two of you have homes to go to." Alma told them.
The two nodded contritely before leaving.
"Come, Brunito." Alma grabbed his arm gently, "We are late for dinner. Though... It seems that it could not be avoided given all that happened."
Bruno nodded in agreement before allowing Alma to lead him home to have a few bowls of his favorite soup.