#love Mirabel thinking her tìa is so pretty

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Hear me out! We need a toddler Mirabel and Felix having a tea party with pretty dresses and hats!!!

This is the cutest fucking prompt to EVER hit my inbox. Let's fucking go.

Félix loved Dolores. Loved his Camilo too, and even loved Isabela and Luisa. But truth be told, he always had a sort of simpatico with Mirabel. Always in her siblings shadow for one reason or another. Now he wasn’t going to discredit Agustín or Julieta, one was a single child and the other was the pride and joy of the household, but neither truly understood this sort of sibling situation as he did. It was why he agreed that while Pepa took today off for herself, while Julieta and Agustín went on a date, he'd agree to make today about Mirabel.

Ever since her ceremony, it's been...hard for her. Abuela favored watching over the other children over her, and didn't...smile the same. Félix never had to go through this magic stuff, but he knew what disappointment looked like. Parents were good at that feeling, and as he sat here, sorting snacks to take upstairs, he hoped it was the one emotion he WASN'T good at showing.

"Tìo! You almost done?!"

"Si mija! Just one more minute!"

Didn't matter. She just needed one day for her, to make her feel special again. He pulled the chilled tea from the fridge, added it to the tray, and went upstairs to the nursery. And there she was, just so happy to see him.

"Yay! Feels like you took forever!"

"Sorry, had to make sure it was perfect! But how come you're still in your pajamas?"

"I wanted you to help me pick my dress!"

She did have quite a few. Many thought her gift would include clothes or sewing, so she had MANY dresses given to her during her birthday. He chuckled, setting the tray on the dresser.

"I'd be honored, mija. Do you need help getting dressed?"

"Nope! I'm big enough!"

"Well alright! How about I set up your table, and the little lady can just try them on for me to see? Like a little fashion show?"

"YES!!!"

She snatched a million dresses from her dresser, before diving behind her folding screen. It took up almost half the room, but she wanted it terribly, claiming it made her feel like a lil lady. Besides, he could fold it up when he was done. He set up the table, including their little plates and teacups, and added the snacks accordingly. It was a good thing Camilo wasn't here, or these would be gone. After he set them up, he carefully sat in one of the small chairs (god don't let it break under his fat ass), and waited for her to come out. It took a minute, and he was getting worried.

"Mirabel? You okay? You need help?"

"I got it! Just getting my shoes on!"

She stepped out, wearing one of her red dresses, and Pepa's heels. She took one step, and of course, almost fell. Had he not dove in when he did, she would've face planted onto the table.

"Hijole-Mirabel, where did you get those shoes?"

"...from tìa's room."

"Did she say you could have them?"

"I...i was just gonna borrow it. Tìa said I could once I was a lady."

"Well, you are a lady. Just a little one. Come on, take those off, put on some of your own shoes."

She pouted, but did as he said. She changed her shoes to something for suited for her.

"Better?"

"Much. Now, how are we feeling about this red one?"

"Hmm...I like it. But I wanna try another one. Oh- how about pink?!"

Something about him made him wince. He had a feeling if Abuela saw her in pink like hers, she'd look down upon her even more. Whatever, he wasn't gonna let her ruin a whole ass color for her.

"Sure. Let's try pink. Go ahead."

He sat at the table and waited for her to change. She did, but dressed in her yellow one, the one with sunflowers.

"Is this one pretty?"

"Si, but I thought you said you wanted to try pink?"

"I just. Really wanted them to match these."

She held out a box to him, and sure enough, they were a pair of Pepa's old earrings. The lightning ones, the same ones she wore when they were teenagers. It brought back memories, really it did.

"You wanna wear these?"

"Would tìa get mad?"

Mirabel fiddled with her little hands in nerves. He chuckled.

"No, she won't. If anything, she'd be flattered. Here, let your tìo help you."

He was careful as he took off her current pair, and put these new ones on. She giggled as soon as he was done, trying not to jump in place.

"Am I pretty like tìa?"

"No. You're pretty like YOU, mija."

He kissed the top of her head, and tried not to squeeze the life out of her. She was so small and adorable, she was practically his own. She dove into her closet real quick, before coming back with just a MESS of hats.

"Speaking of pretty, we need hats! Its. Uhm. What is it called- dress code!"

"Do I get to pick my hat?"

"Mmmmmm. No."

He shrugged as she put hat after hat on his head. A blue one, a red one, a green one, a purple one. She finally settled on a very big, very annoying sun hat. Why a small child had a hat bigger than her whole body, who knew? He just nodded in approval.

"I like it. Careful, I might keep it."

"You can keep it! You do look at tìa all day, I feel like it hurts your eyes after a while."

He knew what she meant, and it was sweet, but the idea of it being used as an insult made him smirk into his hand. Kids were just special like that. After she chose her hat (an orange bowler hat), she went to her dresser yet again, pulling out a makeup kit. Mirabel was kinda showered in gifts, suffice to say.

"We doing nails today?"

"AND lipstick!"

"Alright, just be careful with the mustache, that's my best feature."

"That's not what tìa says."

He pushed the hat back a bit to give her some room, letting her tiny hands hold onto his face as she started to add some kind of powder.

"Oh yeah? What does tìa THINK is my best feature?"

"Your hands. She said you were good with them. I asked her like how, and she got all red and said hand holding. Camilo said it was gross."

Yeah, that sounded like his Pepita.

"Well that's good. I like holding her hands too-"

"Tìo don't move too much, I don't want it to smudge."

He stayed silent as she continued to add her makeup. Some powder, some lipstick, something on his eyes. He knew she was done when she moved to his nails, finding a pretty turquoise color for him. He kept still, not wanting to make her mess anything up.

"You REALLY are going all out, huh?"

"Well yeah! I wanna make sure you look pretty! You're my special guest. Even more special than Señor Oso!"

She gestured to her stuffed teddy bear in a top hat, and he nodded.

"Well, don't I feel special. He looks fancy."

"He owns a hat store, and he likes candy."

"Oh he must be...unbearably busy."

That made her giggle, showing off her little teeth. One was missing, as it had just fallen out, but it was so cute. She finished his thumb, and after getting the command to blow on them, she handed him a small hand mirror, letting him get a look. And it looked exactly how you thought it would, honestly. Not that it mattered, she was proud, she was having fun, who cared how it looked?

"Is it good?"

"Oh it's PERFECT. Pepa is gonna flip when she sees this. Mira, I look so beautiful, I'm going to make your mami jealous."

"Mami gets jealous?"

He nodded, a flashback of their younger years coming back in his mind. She sat at her chair, and she let him do HER makeup. He was no expert, but growing up with three sisters, he knew enough to make a little girl presentable.

"Oh absolutely. Your mami once thought Pepa was trying to date your dad, before they were official- she got MAD. The stories I could tell. Let's just say there was a reason why her siblings listened to her, and not JUST because she was the oldest. I remember once, when Brun-"

He stopped himself, but it was too late. He saw her little eyes past her glasses, and pain flooded her vision. Right. They weren't supposed to talk about Bruno. He opened his mouth to change the subject, but as children did, she said what she was thinking.

"Can you tell when Bruno was mad? Was...was tìo Bruno mad when I didn't get my gift? Like Abuela?"

Félix sighed. He stopped the makeup, to cup her face in his hands. She looked so small, so frail. He was naturally a nuturing figure, and he knew he'd do anything for this little girl in front of him.

"One, your Abuela was not mad at you. You did nothing wrong. What happened is just...one of things. Bad things happen, often to people who don't deserve it. As for Bruno...I can't tell you. But I can tell you this. He was the most excited at your ceremony, practically bouncing in place, like those little jumping mice. He was not mad at you. He left because...well. He saw something that demanded his attention. And when he's done, he'll..."

He wanted to say he'd come back. It's what Pepa would say. But he couldn't lie to her, he'd never forgive himself. He sighed.

"He'll...maybe, come back. I don't know. And not knowing is okay sometimes. I'm sorry, Mirabel. You deserved a gift. But I will tell you this. You do have your family, and sometimes, that's all we need. I mean, you have me, and you like ME, right?"

"Of course! I LOVE you!"

"See? THERE'S that smile!"

He kissed her little baby cheeks like a mad man, and ahe giggled like crazy. He knew she still didn't get it, hell, even HE didn't understand what happened or why. But he did know, that he REALLY wanted to tuck into some well deserved lunch. With one more kiss, he gestured to the table.

"Now! We gonna let Oso eat all these, or what?"

She hopped into her chair, practically skipping, before putting some of the snacks onto his own little plate, and handed it over to him. He let her pour the tea (he even put just a BIT in the kettle so it'd be light enough for her) into his own tea cup, and after they gave a salut, they enjoyed. He remembered exactly which cookies to get her (the one's with the lil pineapple filling, NOT the cherry ones), and made sure the tea was just perfectly sweet. Félix looked at the other party guests, trying not to ruin his lipstick or his nails as he ate and drank.

"Okay, so we have Oso. Who else is here?"

"Oh right, I haven't properly introduced you to everyone! You know Señor Oso,"

Félix tipped his hat to the stuffed bear, before looking to the stuffed horse on the other corner.

"That's Señora Caballo, she owns a glue factory,"

He snorted loud enough to stop her flow, trying nit to lose his goddamn mind.

"She. She what?"

"Owns a glue factory. Camilo said she looked proper enough for it. Why is your face like that?"

Of fucking course it was a Camilo idea. That little shit. He forced himself to breathe, before shaking his head.

"I'm. Good. I was just. Really impressed. It's tough out there for women."

"Isn't it? She's been through five businesses, and seven husbands. Though I'm a little suspicious of the last two. I'm not accusing her, but I'm just saying the timing of the insurance was pretty suspicious."

Why the fuck were kids just endless entertainment? He nodded at her, following along with the honestly great set up she had here.

"And the Bunny?"

"Oh, that's Señora Saltos. She owns a carrot farm."

"Ah, a farmer, we have something in common."

He nodded at her, and was about to resume eating his snacks, when Mirabel gestured at her with his lips.

"Don't be rude tìo, your turn. Name and occupation, please."

"Hmm? Oh. Okay. I'm Félix Madrigal, husband of Pepa, and uncle to the cutest host ever."

"And also the ugliest guy I've ever met- the fuck are you doing, dude?"

They turned to look at the just opened door. It was his little brother, Mateo. He nodded at him, lifting up his little teacup.

"One, manners. Two, having a tea party, don't be mad that you weren't invited. How come you're here?"

"I needed some of Julieta's arepas for dad. You know him and his hip. Seriously though, you look gay, bro."

"You're just mad that you'd be ugly WITH makeup."

Mateo glared at him, before sitting at the table on the floor, and clicked his tongue.

"Screw you. Kid, doll me the hell up."

"Yay!! Surprise guest!"

Mateo was always like that. Ever competitive and angry. He did look pretty with a feather boa though, he'd give him that. Mateo got pretty into it actually, and next thing he knew, he was totally stealing the attention with his stories.

"So, this guy tells me he could punt me like a football-"

"He could. You are a small, angry little man."

"Don't interrupt, that's rude. Anyway, he was talking all that s-er. Mess. So what do I do? Kick him right in the shins, and when this tall guy comes to the floor, wham, right in the face!"

Mirabel was pretty damn excited to listen to his stories, even though they were on the violent end.

"Mateo doesn't fight properly. But he fights ANGRY, and sometimes that's enough. Not that it's appropriate dinner conversation."

"I think its appropriate? If anything, we should teach her how to fight!"

"During a tea party?"

"You don't know- maybe Señora Caballo wants to start something. I won't lay hands on a woman, but if she starts something, I want the kid to be protected."

Mirabel jumped up and down on the spot, clearly giddy.

"I WANNA LEARN HOW TO FIGHT IN A DRESS!"

"Thatta girl!"

Should he encourage it? Absolutely not. But Mateo actually bonding with the kids, and her being happy? Who was he to refuse? He sighed, and clanked his glasses against theirs.

"Fine. But that's AFTER cake. Everyone knows fighting before cake is rude."

"That sounds wrong, but I don't know enough about tea parties to dispute this."

Félix was about to get up to get the cake he bought from the kitchen, when the door opened yet again. Abuela.

"What's going on in here? We heard yell...what are you wearing?"

"We were doing a tea p-ay ay ay!"

The kids flooded in in curiosity, and every one of them gasped at the set up. Camilo immediately went for the snacks, and went on through stuffed cheeks.

"No fair Mirabel! You should've done MY makeup! Like sure for dad it's okay but for MATEO? There's NO helping that!"

Félix had to remind Mateo that he could, in fact, not throw hands with a child. Mirabel held up her makeup kit, clearly flattered that someone else wanted her to do their makeup.

"I can do your makeup if you want?"

"YES."

"Mira, me too!"

"No fair, I'M her sister! I wanna go next!"

"Can I get a unicorn nails?!"

All the kids wanted their turns, and Fèlix looked at Mirabel. She looked happy. Looked proud, as if she found her purpose. People needed a purpose in life, and even if this wasn't permanent, he was happy that she found it for right now. Camilo stuck his tongue out at everyone else, huffing like the brat he was.

"Nope! I go first!"

"Nuh uh! Girls first!"

Camilo turned into Dolores, looking as smug as smug could be. Dolores scoffed, looking at her Papi while she pointed at her brother.

"Papi! Tell him that doesn't count!"

"Sorry mija, imma count it. You can go second in line though! Come on, line up everyone!"

Camilo grinned smugly, turning back into himself as he sat in front of Mirabel, letting himself get fitted for a hat. Félix kept to the doorway to give room to the kids, when he noticed Julieta and Pepa just walked in. Pepa gave him a look, before she walked over, laughing into her hand.

"Oh my god what happened to your face?"

"What? You jealous that I look so pretty?"

He did a little pose, and it made his Pepa laugh oh so beautifully. She plucked the hat off of his head, using it to cover the view of them kissing. Yep.

He loved his family.

#asks #not transformers #encanto #we got a lil angst #lotta sweet #we got Félix not giving a SHIT that he gets dolled up #love Mirabel thinking her tìa is so pretty #listen im proud at how cute this is im ngl #and yes #Pepa thinks its sexy that hes so good with kids