Chapter Text
“This is unbelievable. Why don’t you ever listen?” Cornelius scolded as he treated Mirabel’s injuries.
After her initial freak out about breaking the time stream which led to her---cursing Wilbur out in Spanish, Cornelius brought them into the empty home, helping them push the time machine into the garage.
He immediately called for Carl to bring the first aid kit when Mirabel continued to wipe at the blood on her head.
The moment that had happened outside left him in awe as he looked at the girl who stood in front of him. She was a nervous wreck and so unlike Wilbur who was so bold. A trait he got from Franny.
They had explained the situation to him, and he couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Mirabel and disappointment with Wilbur.
“I thought I was doing the right thing, Dad.”
“Even then, you should have listened to your sister. If I said no time machine, no time machine.”
Wow. Wilbur’s sister. His older daughter. She looked like she could be 12 with her baby features and her height. But her maturity made him see who she truly was.
“I know I know. I was just mad and scared. We just adopted her. I didn’t want to lose her so quickly!”
“you make it sound like I’m an animal,” She said rolling her eyes as the bandage wrapped around her head. She got up once she was done and reached into the backpack to take out the blueprints.
“Now please, leave me alone while I listen to music to drown out the fact that I have to fix this machine,” she said, taking out her headphones and putting them on, her music loud as she looked at the blueprint.
Cornelius looked at the girl, watching her every move. For an adopted daughter----she did have a lot of his habits.
Her eyebrows furrowed when she was in deep concentration. She bit the end of her pencil when she looked over equations. She even rolled her shoulders and her neck back before she started a new segment. She was timid and quiet. She kept to herself but observed everything.
But it wasn’t only his habits that he saw…he saw much more of Franny in her.
She scrunched her nose when something wasn’t making sense, her eyes narrowing at the paper. When she’s not biting her pencil, her fingers and wrist are moving in soft rhythmic motions, mimicking a beat that played through her headphones. She would hum, her head swaying with every hum, hitting runs and riffs underneath her breath before she softly sang, moving around to assess the task at hand.
Her sarcastic quips…the way she tosses her hands up when she’s fed up with Wilbur…every smile, every habit, every gesture…those were picked up from his wife.
Well, his future wife.
He watched her wince as she grabbed her head, trying to stabilize herself when she swayed. She was more injured from the crash, Wilbur coming out unscathed. He deduced that she protected him from getting hurt.
He felt a harsh nudge to his arm.
“Ow—Wilbur.”
“Stop trying to burn a hole into her back, Dad.”
His cheeks colored.
“Huh---oh sorry. I just—”
“You’re finding the similarities.”
“yea. She…picked up a lot from Franny.”
“Oh yeah. You should see her in Muay Thai. That is definitely mom’s mini-me right there.”
Cornelius groaned playfully.
“Wilbur, you said that we adopted her.”
“Yeah, like 9 months ago. We were able to finalize it before her quinceanera.”
“I’ll ask more about that later----but what happened? Surely, she had a family—unless—”
“Oh no she had a family. The worst family you could ever possibly want…ugh…those drowned rats,” he said, making Cornelius pinch his shoulder.
“Be nice—”
“To them? Don’t be so hilarious, Dad. They don’t deserve my respect. Not after what they did to my best friend,” he said, knowing the girl wouldn’t hear him since she was currently fixing the wing of the time machine.
Cornelius noticed the protective look in his eyes, his stance angry.
“How bad was it?”
“Do you consider second-degree attempted murder a good thing?”
“WHAT?!” Cornelius said, getting up from his chair. Wilbur shushed him as they looked at Mirabel who was staring at the unwired wing with disdain.
“What—who—”
“her eldest sister. Mirabel’s the baby girl of the family. The youngest girl of 8 grandchildren---actually—wait…no…yeah Esme is 16-17…wait,” he said, trying to get his facts correct before his face fell in confusion.
He grabbed Mirabel’s phone and paused the music.
“Miri. How old is Esme?”
“she turns 18 today---shhiittttt, send her a birthday message quickly! You can sign off on it,” she said as he gave her a thumbs up, sending a quick message to the girl before turning the music back on.
“Sorry about that. Anyways, her entire family sans her sister Luisa and her Tio Bruno’s side of the family hates her guts. They used her as a scapegoat, hurt her, gaslit her, and left her emotionally and mentally fucked,” Wilbur said nonchalantly as he watched the girl finish up the wiring in the wing before sealing it.
Cornelius looked at Wilbur.
“You’re just going to drop all of that on me??”
“You’re her dad too. Might as well get to know her past since I’m going to drag her along with me now.”
“I have a feeling she cleans up your messes.”
“She does…while she’s cursing me out.”
They watched the girl climb into the machine, taking off her sweater since she was sweating and covered in soot. Cornelius felt his heart stop when he saw the raised scar running down the center of her exposed abdomen from her hazardously cut shirt.
“She was stabbed right above the belly button. Even though it “wasn’t premeditated,” the knife was thrust in a certain way that it cut her abdominal aorta,” Wilbur said, remembering everything that happened exactly a year ago.
“her—what—”
“Yea. It was bad. Doctors said that if she didn’t react as quickly as she did, she would have bled out. But she made it to the company just as you were about to come out. She won’t admit it…but she was terrified at that moment…she didn’t know if she was going to make it that night and wanted you and Mom to be there with her,” Wilbur said sadly, his voice full of emotion.
“She---she’s alive…she---”
“Technically, I would say this is her second chance at life since you know she died—”
“She DIED?!”
“yup, cardiac arrest. Dead for 17 minutes. Mom gave her blood for a transfusion, and she was reprogrammed somehow. It was the worst day ever,” he said, slouching as Mirabel’s head popped back up, her headphones still over her ears.
“hey Wilbur, can you pass me the tool bag that’s on the table?”
“Coming!” he said before he looked at Cornelius shrugging as he ran off.
Cornelius’ eye twitched.
“You’re seriously going to drop a bombshell and leave?!”
“totally dude.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I said put the water in here!”
“I did!”
“Not!” Mirabel said as she kneaded the cornmeal dough in the glass bowl. When Cornelius passed out a little over 5 hours ago, the two went on an adventure to the 24/7 supermarket that they knew…duh it was their afterschool spot, and the owner loved them.
With the extra money she kept on her at all times, the two brought bags of groceries since 1) the fridge was as empty as a Madrigal’s promise and 2) they were hungry as fuck and knew Cornelius couldn’t cook for shit. Well…. Franny and Wilbur also couldn’t cook for shit so that left Mirabel in charge.
As always.
“You would think mom and dad picked up some type of cooking skill during college but Noooo. Leave it to the 13- and 15-year-old,” Wilbur said as he grated the mozzarella cheese before pouring it into the bowl that Mirabel continued to knead.
“You’re just shredding cheese. You didn’t start learning how to cook until abuela forced you, Dad, and Mom into the kitchen with me…4 months ago,” she said rolling her eyes.
“Hey, I’ve gotten better—”
“then explain how the heck you started a fire while boiling WATER?” she emphasized, remembering the incident that happened a couple of days ago in their time.
Wilbur went to argue before he paused.
“Ok, you have a point. I suck at cooking. I don’t have 7 years of experience under my belt like someone I know and love,” he said dramatically, making her snort.
“7 years and a good memory means replicating a lot of Julieta’s skills and recipes.”
“I’ll say. I still want more of that changua you made,” he said as he put another serving of cheese into the bowl.
“you mean the one that I made for the family, but you decided to be greedy and hide it in your room?”
“Exactly.”
The two laughed as she began molding the dough.
“is the griddle on?”
“hot and buttered for 3 arepas.”
Once they were the perfect size and shape, she placed them on the griddle top, the sizzle immediately making Wilbur’s mouth water.
“Wow—”
“Don’t even think about it,” she said as she wiped her hands and moved to the espresso machine, Wilbur having ground the beans earlier.
“Seriously were you a royal chef or barista in your past life cause what the heck—”
“Did you forget who made breakfast and packed lunch every morning for the Madrigals?” she said as the smell of espresso filled the air, moving to flip the arepas one by one.
Soon enough there was a plate piled high, Wilbur immediately grabbing his plate and the cups of orange juice. She was serving his plate when a shuffle and yawn came from the hallway, both turning to Cornelius.
“Morning, Dr. Robinson,” she said, the title sliding off her tongue so naturally. It made the men in the room pause, waking Cornelius from his slumber haze.
He looked at Wilbur who was looking at the girl’s back with wide eyes before he looked at Cornelius with disbelief written on his features.,
“What did you say?!” Wilbur mouthed to his father.
“I don’t know?!”
He didn’t know why but the way she addressed him struck a deep chord in his heart. His future daughter was standing just a counter away from him…and yet those 2 words built a chasm.
This entire time she never once called me dad like Wilbur does.
“Uhhhh-hmm, Good morning you two,” he said, sitting next to Wilbur just as Mirabel set down a plate and mug of coffee.
Just the way he liked it too.
“How did you—”
“She studies everyone’s preferences in coffee when she’s in charge of breakfast. So, she knows how everyone drinks their morning cups by heart now” Wilbur said through a mouthful of the cheesy arepa.
A balled-up napkin hit the side of his head.
“Chew with your mouth closed. You weren’t raised in a barn.”
“Sorry, Miri,” he said, sitting up straight. It made Cornelius blink.
“You just listen to her like that?”
“she’s the only person I respect—”
“I am your father---”
“No offense, but you guys are---either too lenient or too strict with him. I get he’s mischievous but…” Mirabel said as she sipped her cup of orange juice, planning on slapping on 2 caffeine patches before she began her work again.
“We are---wait are we?” he said looking over at Wilbur who nodded exaggeratedly.
“Either you’re too lenient or mom’s too strict which makes me rebel more. I find loopholes and immediately all the charges are dropped against me. Sometimes you’re both just so busy that I’m just grounded and nothing else. Grounded is my middle name now,” he explained, handing his plate to Mirabel who placed a fresh hot arepa on there.
“Thanks. But anyway, Miri keeps me in check. It’s not that you aren’t relatable, it’s just that…I don’t know…Mirabel gets me even though we have different stories. She’s strict but also flexible, she’s honest and not smothering,” he said, looking knowing at Cornelius who shrugged nonchalantly.
“She’s someone I look up to, dad. Someone I want to make proud and protect. Whenever I am in trouble, she’s the first one to save me from threats or defend me from anger…she’s my ride or die---” he said, looking softly at the girl who was now blushing.
“Shut up before I hit you with my arepa.”
“She’s also the only person who can chew me out and make me regret what I had done. Cause sheesh, she has an anger that is worse than you and mom combined,” he said, remembering the time he messed up her project before her quinceanera.
She disintegrated his ego and then proceeded to chase after him. He didn’t leave that closet for 3 hours.
“…Just how much of Franny did you pick up? It’s like talking to a small version of her.”
Mirabel shrugged as she drank her juice again, the man squinting his eyes when she decided to pick her hair up into a messy bun, her glasses falling on the tip of her nose. She looked vaguely familiar.
“I have a question.”
“Yeah?” she said, taking a bite of her arepa.
“Do you happen to know a Julie Mendoza?”
Food had fallen on the table; a cup had shattered on the floor.
Wilbur, who had gotten up to refill his cup, stood there his eyes twitching as he waved his hands behind his sister, trying to get their dad to stop talking.
Mirabel swallowed heavily, annoyance creeping into her skin.
“Why?”
“You just happen to bear a striking resemblance to her--- OW! WILBUR!” Cornelius yelled out as his coffee spilled on his clothes. The boy had roundhouse kicked Cornelius in the back when he wouldn’t shut up.
Mirabel just bit the inside of her cheek and grabbed her plate, stalking to the sink and shoving it into the well before she opened the cupboard and grabbed a box of caffeine patches, taking 3 of them.
“I have work to do,” she said, sidestepping the glass to take the travel tube down.
Wilbur wanted to follow after but decided that she needed space. For now, he just turned to his dad.
“You still don’t know how to pick up social cues, dude?!”
“Why the hell would you kick me?!”
“Never mention that name in her presence. EVER!” Wilbur said, clenching his fists. This was the angriest Cornelius had ever seen him.
“It’s just an observation—”
“An observation that always reminds her that she was never wanted in the first place!”
“What?”
Wilbur made a frustrated noise before he took a deep breath, pressing his bracelet until he heard a beep, which meant that Mirabel knew he needed her help somehow.
Slowly, the bracelet beeped before pausing. It continued that pattern, Wilbur taking a breath each time and letting it go. The metal slowly warmed, meaning that she was holding it against her wrist.
He slumped into his chair.
“Sorry, Dad. I forgot we’re in the past. You don’t know anything…I shouldn’t have---”
“hey...it’s ok. I should have been more perceptive,” he said, ruffling the boy’s hair.
“her story isn’t mine to tell, but I can tell you that Julie Mendoza is her birth mom. The one who failed her. So please don’t mention that name again,” he said, playing with the bracelet.
“I will not push her for the truth or say that name. I promise,” Cornelius said before he paused, looking down the hall.
“I thought you said she calls me dad?”
“She does. I guess the time travel thing is still new and seeing you so young, she just---feels weird.”
“I’m still young in the future—”
“How old are you?”
“I just turned 24?”
“NO dude, you’re old in the future.”
“Gee. Thanks, son. Appreciate it.”
“No Problem.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 days later saw Cornelius drinking from his coffee mug, his thoughts racing as he tried to figure out everything. Wilbur had passed out on the couch, but the girl had yet to come up from the garage.
From what Carl told him, the girl had locked herself down there, working endlessly on the time machine, taking naps here and there.
When he went up to the kitchen, he pressed down on the toaster oven, gently crisping the bagel before he covered it in cream cheese and strawberry jam. He grabbed a cup and filled it with orange juice before he called for Carl to help him.
The humanoid robot took the food before they went down the travel tube.
“I have a feeling this kid is just like you. She fixed most of the machine already,” Carl said, making Cornelius smile.
“Yeah. She is,” he said as they opened the garage door, the girl now freshly changed into a cropped t-shirt and spandex shorts covered by grey sweats that fell right on her hips. Her hair was braided, the thick braid falling down her back with tendrils of curls falling in front of her face as she clipped two wires and fixed them into the box, sealing it shut.
He took the food from Carl who nodded and went his way before he slipped into the garage.
“Knock knock,” he said, gently knocking on the machine to get her attention.
She looked up and he got lost in her rare eye color. Not only brown…not only blue… her eyes were the perfect mix of him and Franny. Her natural doe eyes reminded him of his dark-haired lover.
“Oh. Hi, Dr. Robinson,” she said nonchalantly as she pulled off her headphones. He paused again. There was that ache in his heart.
“Uhhhh—hi. I got you food,” he said, giving her the plate that she took with wide eyes, and a smile on her lips.
“Did Wilbur tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“That this is how I eat my bagels? How else would you know?” she said, taking a bite out of the bread, feeling the easiness of her stomach now. Ever since they became best friends, they knew everything about each other, learning their differences while also celebrating their similarities when it came to their meals of the day, especially breakfast then and now.
He still loved to eat waffles that were covered in cream cheese and peanut butter for breakfast. She still loved bagels with cream cheese and strawberry jam.
He preferred chocolate croissants while she preferred buttered croissants.
They both love a steaming cup of hot chocolate and also share the occasional iced glass of milk, sweetened with a bit of sugar and vanilla.
He probably told the blonde man about it. How else could he know her favorite breakfast treat?
“He didn’t tell me…that’s how Franny eats her bagels when she comes over. I figured since you’re so much like her…you probably have the same love for food,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
She looked at him wide-eyed, surprised he found the similarities between her and Franny. She swallowed her piece and smiled timidly, sitting on top of the worktable for a quick break.
Cornelius felt awkward…but this was his daughter. She was going to probably be a recurring appearance in his life if Wilbur continued time travel.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I—I didn’t know—”
“it’s ok. We’re 18 years into the past…it doesn’t matter now. What happens, happens and we can’t change that. As long as Wilbur gave you some reason, then all is forgiven and forgotten.,” she said, biting her bagel as she swung her legs on the high table.
The silence was palpable, but her smile of quiet reassurance helped him sigh in relief.
“So…”
“So…” she copied back. It made him laugh.
“my future kid, huh?”
“yup. Your older daughter,” she said, still eating as she wrinkled her nose playfully.
“I’m guessing this has something to do with Wilbur?”
“Oh definitely. We were best friends for a long time. He—he was the best thing to happen in my blue-colored world. We’re more alike than different. Something the family sees as a win when I got adopted,” she said with a soft tilted smile on her face.
“At least you know your way around inventing. Wilbur just likes to test the end product…or blow it up,” he said with a shrug making her laugh.
Holy shit she has Franny’s laugh.
“As if he ever changes. Do you know how many messes I cleaned up?”
“Well, at least you have the knack for it. You’re just like me.”
“The family would beg to differ… Sure I have the brains and skills, but everyone says I have a stronger resemblance to your wife. Two different worlds, the exact same person,” she said rolling her eyes playfully.
There was that ache in his heart again. Why is she avoiding those words he’s been dying to hear himself?
“Mirabel.”
“Yes?” she said, eating the last of her bagel as she dusted her hands.
“You do know that I’m still your father, right kiddo? 18 years into the past or not.”
He watched her freeze, her hands tensing as they sat on the table’s edge. She blinked her eyes…
“I—please don’t say that---”
“It’s the truth,” he said sitting on the table next to her.
“I know we’re in the past but…it makes a lot more sense for Wilbur to call you dad because of the whole-time travel fiasco that happened. I kind of feel like an intruder and it’s just—I feel out of place right now,” she said, remembering the amount of time she fought herself over calling him dad. It was weird seeing the younger version of her future father.
Sure, he never changed…he was still awkward half of the time and a workaholic...he was still Cornelius Robinson.
But he didn’t know her heart as the future version of him did…and it wasn’t his fault.
“Time travel or not, I’m still the same person. Sure, I’m younger and sure it’ll be awkward, but you aren’t an intruder…I’ll always be your dad, and you will always be my daughter,” he said, her eyes snapping up at him. He gave her a sincere smile that made the tears build up in her eyes as she looked back down.
“hey. Why are you crying? Was it something I said?”
She shook her head, wiping her cheeks with the heel of her palm.
“You say that a lot to me…when I feel out of place. I just miss you and Mom. The future version of you and mom,” she said, emphasizing the word future. She really needed a hug from her parents right now.
His heart ached for her, watching her slump into herself.
“Ohhhh my sweet child, come here,” he said dramatically, tugging her arm and pulling her into an embrace that made her giggle.
She melted into the hug. Even though his build wasn’t like his future self, he still had that same warmth that she loved.
He held her tightly, pressing his cheek to her hair as they stayed embracing on the table. He let a smile form on his face when he felt her arms around him, returning the embrace.
“I hope I hug you a lot in the future.”
“You do. Every time you see me in the morning, at the company, or just at random moments of the day. Just like how mom randomly kisses my face whenever she sees me,” she said, smiling at how affectionate the two were with her.
Wilbur was never an affection-loving person and often avoided the advances, gagging every single time. So, Franny and Cornelius moved on to the next person who was way very affectionate and carried too much-unshared love.
“Maybe it’s because you look like the type to enjoy affection while also protecting others…Speaking of that, I know you protected Wilbur during the crash,” he said softly, moving her hair to check on the bruising on her forehead. It was a dark purple but no longer bleeding.
“He’s hard-headed but he’s my priority. I was his best friend first and we leaned on each other. Now that we’re family… it’s my job to protect him when you guys aren’t available” she said, her voice soft before she looked back down. He hated that look in her eyes.
“Say...how about we get out of this garage for a bit? Maybe cook lunch—”
“Hit the gym?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“—Fine we can go to the gym. At least the punching bags are up,” he said, remembering the last time he used them when he decided to try boxing with Goob…and then completely forgot.
He watched her swing her legs back and forth before she jumped off, grabbing her phone.
“Miri?”
“Yeah, Dad?” she said, turning around to look at him. It made that achy feeling in his heart go away.
“I don’t want to hear that you feel like an intruder or out of place again. I’m probably going to remember this, and we are going to have a long talk about it when you get back. Maybe I will keep you under house arrest,” he said in a scolding tone making her toss her head back.
“Dad, I’m 15—”
“that’s still a baby age. You don’t get to grow up until your mother and I say so,” he said, making her laugh as he approached her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and ruffling her hair.
“Now come on. You need to get out of here.”
When they went up the tube and walked to the large home gym, Wilbur had come running in and changed into his dad’s old workout clothes.
“Did you go through my closet?”
“that is an excellent question,” he said before he grabbed the boxing gloves for himself and Mirabel, setting them down on the floor. She was looking through her backpack when a doorbell rang through the house.
Cornelius looked at his watch. His parents didn’t come back until the 27th.
“Stay right here. I’m going to go check who’s at the door,” he said, watching Mirabel wrap her hands with tape before doing the same for Wilbur when his wraps came out weirdly done.
“Sounds good. We’re just going to warm up.”
He nodded, ruffling their hair before walking to the front door.
“Now who can that be? It’s snowing like crazy outside,” he said to himself as he approached the door.
He opened it and his jaw fell slack, eyes widening.
Standing in front of him, covered in a big snow jacket and earmuffs over her ears was his dark-haired lover, his current girl. His future wife, Francesca Framagucci.
Her nose and cheeks were pink from the cold, her skin glowing because of the white snow. The brown of her eyes seemed to brighten.
"Cornelius--"
“Franny? What are you doing here? It’s freaking snowing—get in here!”
“You haven’t answered any of my calls or text messages. Where have you been for 4 days, Neil?” she said, Cornelius pulling her inside so she could warm up. After shutting the door, he helped her remove her coat, hanging it up for her. She removed her earmuffs, her cowlick bouncing back to its usual swoop.
When he turned around, her arms instantly wrapped around his waist, his fingers gently caressing her face as she tiptoed to kiss him. Her lips were cold as she giggled into the kiss.
“I missed you, so much.”
“I missed you too, honey,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose as he wrapped her in a hug, kissing her head as they swayed, the hum of the world's silence filling the air.
“So, are you going to answer my question?”
“Sorry about that…it’s been a crazy couple of days,” he answered honestly.
“oh?”
“Yeah…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Any way that I can help? Lucille asked me to check on you just until they came back. I was planning on just staying here anyways,” she said, pulling back to look at him.
“Uhhh---” he said, trying not to look down the hall where his children currently were. THEIR FUTURE children.
How the heck was he going to sneak them around if she planned on staying?
“You sure you want to stay---”
“you know I love being around you. My parents are also out of town; Gaston and Art went on a trip so yes. I want to stay with you,” she said pressing another kiss to his lips.
“You’re tense. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing—”
“Neil, I know when you’re lying to me,” she said softly, her hands caressing his cheeks.
He was about to break when a loud shout sounded in the hall.
“WHY ARE YOU HEAVY HANDED LIKE THAT?!”
“I BARELY TOUCHED YOUR ASS!”
Cornelius seemed to turn red.
“I thought you were alone,” Franny said, her eyebrow raised before she turned and speed-walked down the hall.
“Wait-Franny—” he said, chasing after her as she walked through the open door. In there, Wilbur was rubbing his leg as he glared at the older girl who was cross-armed, her hip cocked to the side.
She was in her 2-layer shorts, tape wrapping the center of her feet and ankle as she stepped on the blue padded mat.
“esto es abuso.”
“No puedes llorar cada vez que te toco,” she said exasperatedly
“¡Ese no fue un pequeño golpe!” he said, the girl throwing her hands up in exasperation, turning to the door as she froze.
Hazel Blue locked with familiar Russet Brown.
“What---oh shit---” Wilbur said, moving to hide behind Mirabel, messing up his sweaty hair more.
“Cornelius, what is going on here?”