julieta madrigal x fem!reader
tw: this chapter DOES include a scene of abuse
it had been a few weeks since the madrigals took you in. you were happy and felt extremely blessed. after you had settled down more, you resumed your passion for art and began to sell your paintings again. julieta had painted with you and was actually the one who encouraged you to do so.
and there you were in the town square. your stand was set up with a few of your paintings in the back. along with selling your canvases, you let people know you could paint murals and even teach. (the teaching part was inspired from antonio, he loved watching you paint and wanted to learn himself.)
although you were excited for this new experience, you missed being at the healer’s side at her own stand. you and julieta have become closer since the night you arrived. she always gave you a sense of comfort and warmth, you loved that about her. it was nice to be able to call her a close friend so quickly.
“excuse me, are you teaching how to paint? there’s never been a stand like yours and i’m interested.”
you stopped daydreaming and looked up to see a woman that seemed to look around your age. she had deep, tan skin and auburn-brown hair. the first customer to want to learn how to paint!
“yes i do! you’re luckily a first, so there’s no need to pay.”
you began to gather two blank canvases and changed your sign to one that said “teaching in session.” the girl came around the stand as you gave her a paintbrush and a small palette. a variety of paints were laid out.
you explained what to do with blending, different strokes of the brush, and pressure against the canvas. it was a fun experience for the both of you and you continued to paint together once she got the hang of it.
the stranger spoke as she paint. she was curious since she’s never seen you around.
“so what’s your name? i’m catalina but you can just call me ‘cati.’ i know you arrived a few weeks ago, i haven’t gotten a chance to speak with you until now.”
“my name is y/n. yeah it’s been a bit busy for me settling down after my arrival. the madrigals are letting me stay until my house is finished.”
cati smiled and looked at you for a couple seconds before going back to painting. the madrigals were very close friends of hers, specifically julieta.
“i assume you know julieta?”
you smiled and nodded gently. just as you were about to speak, a familiar voice called your name from behind. you turned around to see the woman spoken of. she had a glowing smile on her face as she came with a basket of food.
cati turned around as well and shrugged. without your answer she took it as a “yes” and came up to the healer with you. julieta looked at cati and immediately went to hug her. you stepped back a bit and watched them talk.
“oh i’m doing very well. y/n here is teaching me how to paint! she’s told me about your family.”
julieta turned to you and gave you a warm smile. ever since you gained your own stand, she came to visit you during her short breaks to bring you food. sometimes you didn’t pack any before leaving, so when she found out she started to pack small baskets of food. or maybe it was just an excuse to see you.
“hello, y/n. i brought you the usual. what time do you think you’ll be back at casita?”
“i’ll most likely be back in a few hours. people usually come to buy and request around sunset, hopefully not too much people.”
you reached into the basket as you pulled out your favorite. the empanadas julieta made were something you really enjoyed, so she loved making them for you.
“oh my god juli, these are so good as always.”
a pink blush spread across julieta’s face from the sudden shortening of her name. it felt right coming from you. thankfully her blush was greatly covered by her dark-tan skin. cati took notice of her mood change due to her body language, though.
“i see you guys have gotten very ‘friendly’ with each other. that makes me happy for you, julieta. you seem better these days.”
the older woman got even more flustered as she knew what cati was doing. that dumb smirk she always had on her face appeared, so she began to take her leave before anything further happened.
“well, y/n, i’ll be seeing you later if it’s not too late. goodbye to you too, catalina.”
julieta quickly walked away as she crossed her arms. you and cati shared a laugh and she continued to speak.
“julieta is wonderful, don’t you agree?”
“yes, of course. she’s the sweetest woman i’ve ever met. i don’t think anyone works as hard as she does, either.”
“ay, but her husband is the worst! that man always has something to be upset about.”
you raised an eyebrow at the statement. you have noticed agustin never seemed truly happy or relaxed. he also gave you dirty looks from time to time whenever you would be with julieta. what was his problem? jealousy, perhaps.
“thank you, y/n! i’ll for sure be coming back!”
you waved goodbye to cati as you finished cleaning up your stand. you set the paints back into your bag and all the supplies in a separate box. your work went later than expected, but you were glad you’d gotten several commissions from the townspeople. it was dark and a bit cold as you walked through the streets of encanto. it was calming and the faint lights from lit candles made the setting much better.
a sigh left your mouth as you carefully opened the door to casita. you knew everyone was most likely asleep by this time, (except for julieta), so you tried your best not to wake anyone. your dropped your stuff by the stairs to get it later since you wanted to get some water before heading to sleep. then, you heard glass break.
“julieta, why do you always have to ruin things!?”
“corazon, por favor, i’m sorry i didn’t mean to i was just distra-“
agustin slammed his fist on the hard countertop. you felt the vibration against the wall you were hiding behind. an argument this late at night? especially between these two. they would always seem so in love during the day.
“you’re always distracted nowadays! are you gonna continue being distracted? especially for mirabel? that girl barely remembers who i am and basic functions!”
“agustin, you’re going to wake the kids. especially dolores.. she could be listening right now.”
“i don’t care anymore, i never did! it should’ve been you under all that damn rubble.”
you gasped quietly as you watched everything unfold. should you intervene or would that just make things worse? you didn’t want to but something was telling you to do so.
“you don’t mean that! mi amor please, stop this! i miss us.”
agustin grabbed julieta by her shoulders and forcefully pushed her back against the stove. she didn’t want to fall backwards so she placed her hand behind her onto the hot surface. a yelp came from her and even more tears began to run down her cheeks.
“hey, agustin! let go of her!”
agustin and julieta turned their heads to look at you. the scared and confused expression on the woman’s face was enough to make you even angrier at agustin. he looked shocked and even a bit scared.
“y/n, it’s not what it looks like i-“
“go upstairs or i’ll go up there myself and get alma. don’t expect me to just brush this off.”
agustin let go of julieta and scoffed. his fists were clenched and as he walked out he mumbled to himself. but of course, he didn’t want to get caught, so he looked at you with threatening eyes. this caught you off guard but you quickly walked over to the injured woman.
her hair was a mess and the tears that rushed from her eyes began to form a small puddle on the tiles. she was shaking and held her arm with the wound on her hand. this was a side of her she did not want you to see, especially so early in your relationship. it scared her because she knew her husband would punish her for it- but another side of her thought you would protect her which brought a sense of relief.
you wrapped an arm around her and carefully grabbed her wounded hand. you bit your bottom lip and sighed. maybe if you’d gotten here earlier? or stepped intervened right when they were yelling? you looked around to see if there was any food she’d made but the only food you saw were burnt arepas on the counter.
“i… i was cooking for agustin and i wasn’t paying attention. he had a hard day and work and he asked-“
“he asked or told you to?”
the injured woman looked up at you with watery eyes. there was a sense of pleading and fear in them. your question only made her sobbing worse as she slid down on the floor, crying into your chest as you too slid down with her. you gently rubbed her back to comfort her while thinking of how to go about this. suddenly julieta spoke, so you didn’t need to do anything.
“he’s been like this.. ever since mira got lost in all the rubble when casita fell. she ended up in a short coma, but the damage to her brain was severe. he started treating me as if it was my fault.”
she paused for a few seconds in an attempt to not make the sobbing even worse.
julieta just cried and cried into your chest while in your arms. from what you know, casita fell at least a year ago. she’s been treated like this for that long? you took your free hand and cupped her cheek, wiping her continuous tears.
“juli it is not your fault. you’re only thinking that way because he’s convinced you that it is. trust me when i say it’s no one’s fault that mirabel is this way.”
her crying slowed as she caught her breath. your words felt like a tight hug that she’d been longing for. you saw yourself in her face due to your experiences with santiago. this was the same situation you used to be in. you removed your hand from her cheek and let her head rest against your chest, beginning to talk.
“i know you’ve been wondering why i ran from my old town and came here. it’s almost because of what you’re going through.”
your voice became shaky and the older woman took notice of that. she took your hand in her uninjured one in an attempt to comfort you. a small smile formed on your face as you continued.
“i lived with my ex-husband santiago. we were really close and i truly loved him. i don’t know why but he would begin to push me away and hit me and yell. i don’t know what i did but i was always convinced it was my fault.”
you removed one of your arms from her waist as you put it in front of her. you pulled your sleeve up to reveal a large scar that covered your forearm. you felt julieta tense up and heard her small gasp.
“he was yelling at me one night and he pushed me against his workbench. my arm hit the woodcutter and he didn’t even care. he left because he assumed i would tell the doctor.”
julieta gently grabbed your arm and traced your scar with her finger. this made you shiver a bit but you found it comforting.
“i’m sorry y/n. you didn’t deserve that. i’m glad you could tell me, though. i didn’t mean to seem pushy about it before.”
you placed your arm back around her waist and noticed casita brought a bandage wrap along with a burn treatment over to you. you grabbed them and shifted so that julieta was now facing you. your faces were only a few inches away from each other.
you took her injured hand and gently spread the burn treatment over it. she sharply sucked in air and winced as you let out a quiet “sorry.” julieta placed her forehead against yours while you wrapped the bandage around her hand. she wasn’t able to make any more food to heal herself because there weren’t enough ingredients, so she’d have to go into town early to buy some.
at this point she was sitting on your lap, arms wrapped around your neck. you rested your hands on her waist and let the comfortable silence continue. all you did was stare at each other like that’s all there was to do in the world. her warm breath hit your lips as yours did to hers.
you were feeling perfectly fine, but julieta felt sick to her stomach. it wasn’t a sick feeling though, it was the feeling of butterflies and much more. this moment with you made her feel like there was no one else. just the two of you.
“julieta? are you down there? i heard a crash.”
the both of you immediately got up and rushed to the other side of the house. alma was coming down and she didn’t want her mother to see her hurt. you grabbed your things and led her upstairs once alma was in a different room.
you entered the nursery where you’d been staying and set your things down. julieta carefully closed the door behind her and watched as you set up a makeshift bed on the floor.
“julieta i don’t want you to continue sleeping with agustin. it’s not safe, i don’t want anything else to happen.”
she sighed and nodded with a smile. a wave of relief washed over her as she watched you sit yourself on the makeshift bed.
“you don’t have to sleep down there, i can just take that instead of the bed.”
“it’s alright, i can manage.”
julieta climbed into the bed and laid there facing you. she fiddled with the fabric of her pajamas and let out a sigh.
“so are you gonna turn around and let me change, or is it something you want to see?”
the older woman covered her eyes and blushed in embarrassment as you laughed and quickly changed into your own pajamas. you’d been teasing her quite often and it entertained you. julieta always found it annoying, but she didn’t hate it.
you blew out the candle that lit up the room. just as you were about to lay down on the makeshift bed, julieta grabbed your wrist gently. she didn’t have to say anything for you to know what she wanted. you felt your heartbeat quicken slightly and hesitated before climbing into the bed with her.
you faced each other with her hand resting on your waist. you gave her comfort and that’s what she needed right now. your hand moved onto the back of her head as you massaged it gently. the little snores that came from her let you know she was asleep.
this was something you never experienced. you considered julieta a close friend, but is this what having a close friend felt like? it had to be. a smile formed on your face thinking about it. just being able to call julieta a friend was something that made you happy. you closed your eyes and fell asleep shortly, the thought slowly fading from your mind.
