Chapter Text
Mirabel didn’t know how it started, but her day was one of the bad ones. Her head pounded,
Her skin prickled where even the lightest of fabrics hit it, her nose felt like she was walking through a Bath & Body Works, and her headphones did little to block out the sounds of the city’s day.
So she lay in her room, staring at a half-done commission that she really ought to be working on, in nothing but a tank top and loose sweats. She wordlessly raised her left arm and stared blankly at the patterns that had stopped growing after she started therapy. They looked more like faded tattoos at this point, but on bad days, they still glowed slightly
That’s of course, when there came a knock from her door; Mirabel ran a series of calculations in her head, Zoey had left with their mom, her girls, and Celine, the twins were at their friend's house, and Hwan had gone out. Whether he was out working off his debt of shredding the highway on his bike, Mirabel didn’t know, but regardless, he wasn’t in the house.
In fact, Mirabel was pretty sure she was supposed to be the only one in the house at the moment. The heartbeat on the other side of the door sounded relaxed, not a burglar, then, plus if it was a burglar, they wouldn’t have knocked.
The door was eased open, and she stared at a familiar head of pink hair.
“I thought you went with Zoey.”
_____________________________
Mira stared at Zoey’s younger sister with wide eyes. The girl looked like shit for lack of better terms. Her hands were twitching every few seconds, her head was lowered, and one her lower arm were faint markings, barely there but purple enough that they stood out like a sore thumb, markings that made Mira’s blood run cold.
She knew that a few members of her family had fallen prey to Gwi-Ma, and it made sickening sense that he would target Zoey’s family. The only reason Mira hadnt’ drawn her weapon yet, was that the marks were a violent violet-red, and they were so hard to see, even if you do know what to look for. That, and she was Zoey’s sister, so Mira would give her the benefit of the doubt.
Mirabel didn’t look demonic; no slit
Eye, or fangs, though the canines were slightly sharper, she just looked tired. Like the world had become something that she was physically incapable of dealing with.
Which made a sad sort of sense, because Mirabel was a meta, everyone in Zoey’s family knew that much, her enhanced senses and healing must be a pain to deal with, and it made Mira very, very glad that she was not burdened with such a power.
The young teen stared at Mira with a gaze that could’ve halted bullets, before she tilted her head slightly, pulling the headphones off her ears, even if her brow twitched slightly because of that.
And the show of effort to pay attention was nice. Mirabel barely knew Mira beyond what she had seen and what Zoey had told her, so the fact that she was quietly listening was nice.
“I thought you went with Zoey.”
That was true, Mira was still in her jeans and shirt from the planned excursion, but she had opted out last second when she learned what the outing would entail, loud bass, lots of people, and loud speakers.
While Mira normally would’ve been fine, she had work with a bit of a headache, and while she loved her girls- in a totally platonic way of course- she did not have one of her full-blown migraines.
“I thought Zoey would’ve told you that I opted out last second.” Mira mumbled, leaning against the frame, “you uh, you doing anything interesting?"
Mira knew she was treading on thin ice. Mirabel had been welcoming, but standoffish when left alone with just Mira or Zoey. Mirabel did not react outwardly for a few moments before she smiled slightly.
“Are you asking to come in?”
Mirabel stepped aside.
And Mira, in an attempt to save face, made a bit of a show.
“I mean, if you insist.” She grumbled padding into the room. The room was tinged a slightly gray, like you would get at night when the light was off and your bedside lamp was on, there was scraps of fabric, design sketches, a computer opened to a photo editing site and while it wasn’t as chaotic as Zoey’s room, it wasn’t squeaky clean either, it had signs of being lived in.
A wrapper here, a few posters, a cork board with loads of photos and other small things tacked on, a book shelf, a tangle of cords in the corner, and a small laundry basket.
They stood for a moment before Mirabel gestured to the bed.
“Feel free to sit there, all my chairs have been taken up by the favor monster.” Mirabel explained to her, and sure enough, her desk chair, and stool were covered in bolts, thread and other small scraps.
Mira snorted slightly and stared at the piece that was coming together on a mannequin, it looked like something that she would wear to a concert, or an outing, but also might wear at the apartment. It was some sort of flannel jacket mix, the colors were dark and had hot pink accents.
“What are you working on?”
“A commission. Someone wants a couple of custom prices for her friends. “ Mirabel mumbled, clearly leaving out some details, but also completely at ease simply pinning the outside fabric, the flannel, to the inside which appeared to be a chunky fleece of some sort.
“Oh, metal. “
They sat in silence for a few moments before
Mira began to ask Mirabel questions about Zoey.
“What are her interests?”
“Does she have a favorite food type?”
“Restaurant?”
“Does she have a favorite type of turtle?”
Each question was met with a small list and a bit of a look, finally after about the 39th question mirabel set down her thing of pins, and turned to Mira.
Mirabel spent a solid two seconds staring at Mira, who was quiet before tilting her head and smirking.
“You like-like my sister. “
“What?! No!”
Mirabel arched her eyebrow. Mira seemed to realize what she just said and scrambled to correct.
“I-I mean not like like like but I do enjoy her company and -“
Mirabel snorted and rolled her eyes again.
“Mira, I had to guess who was coming up the stairs towards my room, and their mood, don’t give me that bullshit.”
“….what?”
__________
Mirabel shrugged, honestly she had gotten past that point, she didn’t care about that anymore, but during the time between 12 and 14 when she ran away? Mirabel had gotten good at identifying who was coming to her room based on footsteps.
And reading people.
It had been a whole phase, she wasn’t stupid, despite what her family loved to think, she had actually picked up on the small, insignificant detail that her family was keeping everything from her.
Their super-hero lives.
Their powers.
The whole damn truth?
Mirabel, at the age of ten, decided she was going to figure out the truth, and she almost wished she hadn’t.
At least living in ignorance, hadn’t been as painful as knowing what they had thought about her.
Circling back to the present, Mirabel blinked, and turned around to look at Mira, who was staring at her with eyes that saw and understood the pain that had buried itself in Mirabel’s soul, the inherent sadness that Mirabel carried herself with.
“Why did you have to learn how to do that?” Mira finally asked, her voice soft. Mirabel bit her lip, worrying the skin as she turned back to her project.
The truth was complicated.
It involved lies and her family, as was previously stated, as well as explaining that the Madrigals were the team of superheroes that defend the southern parts of California.
The half truth sounds like a five year old made it up.
And the falsehood she had been using wouldn’t work in this situation.
Mirabel shrugged.
“My family was fucked up.” She decided to say. “I was a bit of a black sheep, the one that didn’t fit the mold so to speak.” She sighed and turned around, continuing. “At ten I learned that they were keeping secrets and began to prod at my siblings and cousins. This created tension, no one hit me, but I learned how to tell if someone was mad based on how heavy their footsteps for that day were.”
Mira stared at her like she was seeing Mirabel through new eyes.
Mirabel shrugged again.
She had made her peace a long time ago, peace that her childhood wasn’t normal, that she was a weirdo in the highest regard, that she was the freak and the unwanted one.
She was used to it as well.
So the next words weren’t a lie.
“No biggie, I left after I discovered the stupid reason for it all. “
Mirabel turned to sort through some fabrics looking for the shade of silver that Zoey wanted for this jacket. Mira moved and Mirabel paid no heed, until she was standing right in front of Mirabel.
“Er-“ Mirabel started, “-listen I know you and your girls are touchy feely but I’m not really okay with surprise hugs and-“
“It wasn't your fault, was it?”
Those words made Mirabel freeze.
Actually freeze, as if the words had struck her very heart and resonated outwards like a ripple in a coal pond.
Mirabel’s heart slammed against her ribs.
She wanted to refute, claim responsibility as if it were the last thing she could give her biological family, a sort of closure so they wouldn’t feel like this was their fault.
So they would think it was Mirabel’s fault instead.
Because it wasn’t.
The factors had been out of Mirabel’s hands in her genetic makeup even.
And despite what her mom, and therapist, and Hwan and Evangeline said, it still felt like she had been the one to fail. Like she was the family disappointment because she wasn’t as shiny as her sisters or as brilliant as her cousins.
Like she would always be the dumb one, the unattractive one.
The one who caused everything bad to happen because she kept screwing up.
She exhaled and forced a smile on her face.
“I know.” She lied.
‘I’m at fault’
_______
Mira didn’t know what drug Zoey’s sister thought she was on, but that was a lie if she had ever heard one, and she lived with Rumi.
The girl stood stiffer, as if waiting for judgment to be dealt with, for Mira to decide that she wasn’t worth her time and effort to hang out and get to know her.
Mira sighed and tried again.
“I know the feeling. I was my family’s black sheep. The unwanted one, my brother said the only reason I exist is because my parents forgot to use protection. “
Mirabel snorted lightly, as if that thought was amusing.
Mira sighed and sat back down on the bed
“I’m just saying? You aren’t as alone as you thought you were. “
Mirabel smiled slightly.
“Thanks. “ she mumbled, facing the jacket again and beginning to pin the fabrics.
They sat in silence for a few more minutes. MIrabel pinning fabrics to a board to test out the color schemes, pinks against grays and blacks, slivers that nearly blended in to silvers that flashed in the slightest of light.
Mira watched quietly, noting the patterns and reminding herself to tell Zoey that one of her family members was being targeted by Gwi-Ma.
She knew Celine knew a few techniques to seal the body from Gwi-Ma; she had one hidden between her shoulder blades, same as Rumi and Zoey.
She knew Celine enough to know the woman would give Mirabel one of these shields, and she also knew the woman might do more to protect Zoey’s family.
‘Alright Mira, you’ve got this.’ Mira thought to herself. ‘Hang out with the sketched out teenager until they get back, wait until bed. Drop the bomb. ‘
It was fools proof except…
“You aren’t fooling anyone, you love my sister.”