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im-fairly-whitty · 6 years

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Cecilia de Verde: Coco “no-murder AU” Update/Final Chapter

Hey guys, so some of you may have read my old unfinished fic titled Cecilia de Verde, which was a “no one dies” Coco fic where Ernesto and Hector are called back to Santa Cecilia for the funeral of Ernesto’s father before the whole poisoning thing goes down. This results in Ernesto having to work through his issues like a normal human instead of murdering people, and he ends up falling in love with Imelda’s sassy childhood friend Ceci.

So this is a story that I really enjoyed when I started, it was the second Coco fic I ever started writing, but as I got into other projects I ended up losing the fire I once had for it, especially as my understanding of the characters continued to grow and evolve. It got overwhelmed by the other projects I had, like teacher and villain au, and I wasn’t sure I was ever going to go back and finish this story.

I know there’s a lot of readers that enjoyed it though, like the lovely @scribblrhob who jumpstarted me back into writing another chapter for it, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll never properly finish it in fleshed out prose form. Such is the way of writing and projects in general, a lot of them go unfinished and that’s just how creativity works.

BUT

I hate leaving things unfinished, especially since I actually know how this story ends, I’ve just run out of desire to write it out in full since it aged out of my interest too quickly.

So, for everyone who was hoping to have the end of this story, here you are. I’ve pulled together the end of Cecilia de Verde just for you so you aren't left hanging, it’s not in full prose, but it’s all here. Not every story started is finished, (especially in fanfiction) but I wanted you all to still have the closure you were looking for.

Cheers,

- Wit

(Complete series wrap-up under the cut)

Part 8 - The Other Shoe Drops

It’s a week or two since the last chapter and time has flown by in a beautiful dream. Ernesto and Ceci have spent some mornings playing in the plaza, sometimes walking through the trees in the hills outside town to talk, afternoons spent at her family’s shop, evenings spent with the Riveras or her watching him perform across town. And many more stolen moments together like the one behind the fruit stand at the plaza.

This afternoon they are walking together with her nephew to Ernesto’s house and he invites her in (she loves his mama) but she says he has work to do that evening but she’ll see him later. They kiss and he feels like she’s being torn away as she heads down the street, leaning against the wall of his family’s compound and watching her walk off until she disappears, looking back and rolling her eyes as she waves, then turns the corner.

He stands there, leaning against the wall, savoring the sweet, warm feeling inside him. He realizes that he wants her to be part of his life forever, that he doesn’t want to let her go.

He starts thinking about how he could provide for a family, just with his music? No, he’d have to find something else at least on the side if he had a wife to support, and even at some point children. The thought of children throws him for a loop. And yet it was so easy to imagine them together, in this house, with their own family. But would he really want to have a family in this house? There was no where else he would go, but for some reason the thought makes him uneasy.

His mother comes to the door and sees him, says she remembers his father looking like that when they were courting. She sighs, not seeing how disturbing that is to him. He would never allow his father to come anywhere near Ceci.

His mama tells him he has a visitor and to hurry up and come in. He wonders what’s up and sees a polished looking man sitting in the courtyard. He stands to greet Ernesto and gives him his card, and Ernesto recognizes the name of an important music company and is immediately self-conscious about his own clothes since he’s toned it down in the last few weeks, having been more worried about other things with Ceci recently.

The man says he’s a talent scout and has heard great things about Ernesto and Hector, that it’s taken quite a while to track him down after they vanished, but that he heard them in Mexico city a while back and was going to approach them but then they disappeared overnight. But he hasn’t been able to get them out of his head. He wants to know if he and Hector would be interested in potentially getting a record deal/performing gig.

Ernesto is shocked, he hadn’t realized he’d been slowly closing a door inside him until it slammed open again, the thought of making it big in the music world, of playing for the world. He tumbles over himself for a moment, summoning back the old Ernesto. He explains that his partner has settled down with a family and wouldn't be interested in traveling again. The man says that’s too bad, but that Ernesto is the one with the face for show business anyway and asks if he has a family. Ernesto hesitates, thinking of Ceci, but says no.

The scout says that if he had to choose between the two he’d choose Ernesto anyway and asks him to refresh his memory, to play him something so he can see how good he is alone. Ernesto says of course and pulls out his guitar, whipping out a couple of their tried and true songs. The man is smiling and nodding, saying this just might work, but then asks him if he has anything new he could play.

Ernesto hesitates, but then pulls out the Cecilia de Verde song he wrote for Ceci, pouring himself into the song, thinking of her. But he feels a little odd after he’s done, like he’s given away something precious since Ceci wasn’t there to hear it. Is that how Hector had felt everytime Ernesto had convinced him to let them play his new songs? He’d never gotten him to let go of the sweet little tune he sang only for Coco. He now understands.

The scout applauds when its over, telling him it was beautiful, that he is sure he could get Ernesto a record deal if he wants to come to Mexico city with him. Ernesto’s mother is excited, saying it’s what he always dreamed of. Ernesto feels like he’s being torn down the middle even though he knows he should be overjoyed. He asks the scout if he can think it over, that it’s a really big decision and that, uh, he’d like to run it past Hector. The scout says of course, but to hurry since he won’t be in town long.

The mom sees the scout to the door and then comes back, asking Ernesto what he’s waiting for, that he’s always wanted to play for the world. He asks what about Ceci. She tears up and tells him that she had her dreams dashed once she was married and that she doesn’t want him to miss seizing this moment. He says he’ll have to think about it, he leaves for Hector’s, completely in a daze, not a happy one.

Part 9 - Insecure

Ernesto starts walking to Hector’s house, thinking along the way. He wants to be with Ceci, but, well, what would he support her with? He’s nearly out of money. Would she even say yes if he asked? And if she did say yes? He might be just like his father. A chill runs down his spine.

He gets to Hector’s and find him in the shop. He tells Hector about the scout and Hector is shocked, but then flatly refuses, saying he won’t leave his family again. Ernesto assures him that’s what he said to the scout and Hector is surprised and touched by the non-forcing gesture. Hector asks him what the scout said to him, why he looks so worried, and apologizes since he assumes not being a package deal ruined things for Ernesto.

Ernesto says no, that he was offered a spot alone. Hector is shocked, slowly congratulates him? He’s unsure, obviously something is wrong. He hesitantly asks about Ceci. Ernesto reaches the end of his rope in his head and the building emotion inside him starts tumbling out, all his insecurities come out directed at Hector, asking him how he could corner him into a relationship with Ceci.

“Amigo,” Hector said gently, “I would never make you do something you didn't want to do. Imelda and I have just been encouraging you to have a little fun, to loosen up and enjoy life with someone. If it’s giving you pain I apologize from the bottom of my heart.”

But Ernesto re-realizes in that moment that he’s forced Hector to do things he didn’t want to do in the past, things that had even strained his relationship with his family, which is another dangerous thing about himself. “I can’t be a father Hector!” he bursts out, “My father was a piece of trash, if I turn out to be like him it’ll be a hell on earth for anyone in my house! I can’t do that to Ceci, I would never let anything happen to her. She deserves the stars and the moon and everything under it, she doesn’t deserve someone like me.”

“You are not your father Ernesto.” Hector said. His rare serious side showing through as he set his guitar aside. “You are already better than him. Could you be like him? Of course, if you choose to. I cannot tell you what path to take hermano, but your father’s ghost isn’t going to push you down any path unless you choose to go down it.”

Ceci arrives and walks in, says Ernesto’s mother told her that he was here. They both look at her and Hector scoops up his hat and looks at Ernesto meaningfully as he walks out. A kind of “choose carefully” look.

Part 10--The Real Thing

Seeing Ceci undoes the tight places inside Ernesto, but then he remembers it all again, and it cuts at him deeper than anything ever has. He explains to her about the scout, about the choice he needs to make, and haltingly explains his fears about how they wouldn't work out together, that he doesn’t want to trap her in a marriage that he’s scared he’ll ruin.

Ceci tells him that she loves the genuine him, it’s only the fake mask he puts on that he should be afraid of. The real Ernesto is kind to children and animals, it’s his rabid attachment to fame in order to prove his father wrong that would destroy him.

“But music is a part of me, I can't leave it behind.”

“Yes Ernesto, you love the music, and I love you for it, that is genuine, but the part of you that so desperately wants to be loved by crowds of strangers, that is not the real you, that is fear. That is what I am afraid will destroy you inside is you go chasing after it.”

He thinks back to how he was on tour, how he could feel the emptiness inside him growing, edging him closer to some ledge that would tip him into a free fall to try and fill it. How insistent, how pushy, how greedy had he become? How far would he have gone? What would he have done? Would he have hurt someone he loved in order to get what wanted?

“I love you Ernesto.” she said, stopping his heart as she stood. “But you need to decide between these two parts of you, come and find me when you do.”

She bends down and softly kisses his forehead. He reflexively reaches for her hand as she turned and left, but too late. With a swish of white skirts and a glimpse of green hair ribbon she’s gone.

Ernesto stares at the empty doorway for a long moment. Outside crickets chirp, heedless of the battle inside of him.

He stands, then walks to the doorway.

He needs to talk to his father.

Part 11 - Choice

Ernesto is at the Santa Cecilia graveyard, at the still-new grave of his father that he hasn’t seen since the funeral three months ago. He talks out his thoughts to his father, telling him that he is never going to be like him, that he was awful and is no longer a part of his life. That he is choosing now to avoid anything that would make him more like him.

He says that he thought that being famous would show him, but no Ernesto thinks that it is by being happy that he’ll do it instead. He’s going to use love to erase the memory of the darkness that his father brought to their home. He’s going to choose to be different.

He makes peace with his father, telling him he’s never going to be like him, he’s going to be married to the love of his life and make sure she feels valued every day of her life.

He walks away from the grave, leaving a single candle flickering on the grey stone.

The End:

He goes to find Ceci at her house, she turns and he sees fear in her eyes and he promises himself that it’s the last time she’ll ever feel fear because of him. He drops down to one knee and stutters out something about how he’ll do his best, that he’ll start making shoes with the Riveras if he has to to keep them in a home that he can fill with music.

She’s crying and scrubbing tears away with the palm of her hand, he starts to stand and she throws herself into his arms. For the first time Ernesto feels like he is standing on something really solid, that maybe this is a foundation that they can build the rest of their lives on together.

Epilogue:

He and Ceci are married and they devote themselves to Ceci’s career as a seamstress, Ernesto turns his schmoozing/performing/networking skills to market his wife’s designs across the country, pulling them into the fashion industry. After many years of hard work the Ceci brand is internationally recognized as they push themselves to work harder and perform their best.

Ernesto runs the business and PR side quite happily while Ceci grows and works to be even better than she was yesterday over and over and over. They end up coming into quite a bit of money with their combined talents and have the nicest home in Santa Cecilia (which Ceci wanted), as well as one in Mexico City (which Ernesto wanted.)

They remain very very good friends with the Riveras and their children are best friends growing up. Hector and Imelda go on to have the twins (Matty and Leti, OCs belonging to @whattimeisitintokyo), Victor (known as Teto in the villain!au), and Rodrigo. Ernesto and Ceci have three daughters, Lucinda, Jasmine, and Valentina.

Victor and Jasmine especially grow up to be best friends, only Victor being oblivious to their parent’s un-subtle hopes that they’ll eventually get married. Victor is always more focused on his projects than thinking about his relationship with Jasmine, until one day Hector asks him about the fact that he and Jasmine are very close. Victor suddenly realizes that “just best friends” probably don’t kiss each other and spend every second of the day with each other. Victor asks Jasmine if they’re courting to which she basically responds “have been for two years now, but thanks for noticing.” They are married soon after and go on being best friends, delighting their parents. Two of their great-grandchildren born many years later are named Jazmin and Marco, who are distant primos of Miguel’s.

Ernesto is a great terrible papa. He spoils his daughters shamelessly but loves them very much, even though he leaves most of the actual parenting to Ceci. (After all, the mothering of daughters is up to the mother, right?) He was always terrified of having a son, but after Valentina was born and they decided they were done he was relieved. He’s able to be a good tio to Hector’s boys, since there’s a separation there, but he was always afraid his father’s bad habits would bleed through if he had to raise boys of his own.

Ernesto and Ceci are a happy team as they grow old together, taking joy in their career success and daughters. Ceci dies a few years before Imelda and Hector do, at the age of seventy. Five years later Imelda and Hector die within a month of each other. Ernesto is the last one standing for two years longer than the others before passing away at eighty, secretly smug at having outlived the others.

When they all reconnect in the Land of the Dead there’s much teasing and joking and settling in to enjoy the afterlife together now that they’re all together again. All in all, it’s a very happy ending, with wonderful family legacies left behind for their descendants to enjoy.

#the end #coco #cecilia de verde #and so it goes #im on a roll with wrapping up projects right now to clear off my desk for new projects #villain and ruia and verde are wrapped up #giving me space to work on teacher and riptide and lost music #wit writes #there's more villain wrap up to do but im trying to space it out some #since i nearly DIED on too much ruy sadness yesterday

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im-fairly-whitty · 6 years

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*Gives jar of cookies* in the Full HousexFamily Matters crossover, if Ernesto is uncle Jesse, then who is Urkel in the famous "Jesse shows him how to walk" scene? (my guess is that it's Ruy.) thx bye.

youtube

Okay, well first off thanks for the cookies.

Second I haven't actually watched this show, but every time I watch clips on Youtube for research I die laughing.

Third, I beleive this is the scene you’re talking about? In a universe where Hector lives and Ernesto is the good Tio (like in Cecilia de Verde) I’m having trouble imagining anyone being genuinely quite as akward as this for Tio Nesto to have to deal with, but I can imagine Ruy pretending to be this awkward about something just to see Tio Nesto look like a fool for a hot minute as he demonstrates the “right” way to go about it.

I must admit, I do love the “Tio Ernesto is Uncle Jesse” comparison more and more every time I watch a clip with Jesse in it. x)

#hector doesnt die au #cecilia de verde #tio ernesto #ruy #full house

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im-fairly-whitty · 6 years

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No murder hector au, do the kids like uncle ernesto? I have a feeling he would encourage ruy to be wild

Tio Ernesto is a wonderfully awful influence on Hector and Imelda’s kids.

First and foremost, Ernesto is not a baby person. He can grin and bear it when he’s handed an infant, but it’s not until the kids are walking and talking that he starts corrupting connecting with them.

Coco was the first one he connected with, he hadn’t realized that children could be genuinely sassy without even knowing it and seeing a kid push back against an adult without even realizing it makes him grin.

He was an only child growing up and especially loves finding ways to spoil the girls, he has trouble connecting with the boys since he doesn’t have any positive father figure memories to pull from.

Tio Ernesto is the master of candy bribes and giving presents that Hector and Imelda have just told their children that they can’t have. He’s the kind of tio that shows up with a pony at a kid’s birthday just to see the horrified looks on Hector and Imelda’s faces.

That said, he is only generous when he wants to be. If he’s tired or annoyed or just plain done he has no problem pushing one of the boys off the couch to make room for himself. (Only the boys though.) Coco and Leti have much more luck with Tio Ernesto and are allowed to pester him much longer than the boys are.

Ernesto doesn’t care too much for Matty or Victor, but surprisingly he actually clicks with Rodrigo. Or maybe it’s not that surprising since Rodrigo is just like Hector was when he was young.

By the time Ruy is in his difficult teen years neither Hector or Ernesto are young anymore, but seeing Rodrigo acting out and getting in trouble in exactly the kinds of ways that he and Hector used to makes Ernesto laugh and laugh and lauuuugh.

There are many times when a steamed Ruy stomps his way over to Tio Ernesto’s place and they have a great time trash talking his dad together, but once Ruy cools off a little, Ernesto (who is much older and wiser by now) manages to bring it back and help Ruy see things a little differently, to help him realize that maybe his papa had a point.

Ernesto is also able to bring up tidbits about Hector that Ruy would never have guessed.

“He just doesn’t understand Tio Nesto, Papi doesn’t know what a soulmate is.”

*extremely prolonged and eventually wheezing laughter*

“What?”

“Okay kid, let me tell about the million girls who were “the one” that came before your mama.”

“…no…”

“Yes.”

Tio Ernesto is ultimately a balancing influence on Ruy during the awful and combative years. Ernesto knows better than anyone his best friend’s flaws, but he’s also Hector’s biggest defender. He’s also the one that can take Hector aside to say “you know this kid is exactly like you right?” He helps take some pressure off both sides during the years that Hector and Rodrigo are having their hardest times.

Overall, even though some of Ernesto’s Tio-ing choice have Hector and Imelda groaning, he’s an important part of the family. He spoils the girls, tolerates the boys, and helps to bring perspective to the struggling years between Hector and Rodrigo.

All in all, the Rivera family couldn’t imagine life without him.

#cecilia de verde #no murder au #coco #tio #ernesto #rodrigo #ruy #kids

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im-fairly-whitty · 6 years

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Cecilia de Verde

A “No-Murder AU” Ernesto Love Story: Fanfic for Pixar’s “Coco”

[Part 1: Verde] [Part 2: The Name of the Enemy]

[Part 3: Trapped] [Part 4: An Interesting Evening]

[Part 5: Possibility] [Part 6: Seizing the Moment]

[Part 7: Genuine] [Part 8: Doubt] [Part 9: Different Cloth]

Part 10: Performing Face

“Ernesto, stop being so stiff,” Ceci pulled on his arm, “I feel like I’m walking with a mannequin.”

“I’m not the stiff one.” Ernesto traded his lit candle to his other hand as they walked down the moonlit road. He chanced a quick look over his shoulder. Their stern-faced shadow was still close behind, carrying a candle of her own. “Couldn’t you have asked your primo to be our chaperone again instead of Sophia? He was nice.”

“It’s not too late,” Ceci said innocently, “we could still turn back and get Sophia’s mother-in-law?”

“Ay, no gracias.” Ernesto grimaced.

“What was that?” Sophia asked, walking up beside them to join in the conversation.

“I was saying that I can feel your breath on the back of my neck.” Ceci said, rolling her eyes at her older sister. “We’re going to Posadas, not into the woods alone.”

“Well, until you can chaperone yourself you’d better get used to it, hermana.” Sophie said dryly.

Everything Ernesto had seen of Ceci’s family over the last two weeks had been amazing. No one ever screamed or threatened each other, the children running around the hacienda were all well taken care of and energetic. It seemed like everyone genuinely cared for each other. They all kept an eye on him whenever he was over, but Ernesto didn’t mind nearly as much as Ceci seemed to, he was used to putting on a good performance.

“Thank you again for chaperoning us,” Ernesto said with his most Ernesto smile. “It really is very generous of you.”

“Here’s hoping that some of your politeness rubs off on my sister.” Sophia said.

Ceci stuck out her tongue, getting a playful shove in return from Sophia.

“Don’t get wax on my dress!” Ceci yelped with a laugh, letting go of Ernesto’s arm to frantically check her skirts, “I just finished stitching the hem, I don’t want the whole thing ruined before we even get to the Ramirez’s!”

“You could just tell them it’s the fashion in New York.” Sophia said with a trace of a smile.

“It’s not funny,” Ceci said, “This fabric is expensive.”

“I’d buy you more.” Ernesto said with a chuckle, taking Ceci’s candle-free hand in his. “No woman of mine is going to wear stained dresses.”

“Well, I’m glad someone in my life has good priorities.” Ceci said, lacing her fingers through Ernesto’s and kissing him on the cheek.

Sophia rolled her eyes with a smile as they continued to walk. Soon they joined up with the much larger group of people with Posada candles that came onto the main road as they all made their way through town. At the front of the group was Joseph leading Mary on a donkey, or rather, Senor Lopez dressed in a long robe leading the family donkey that his wife was riding.

“Ernesto!”

Someone walking beside him in the growing group of Posadas revelers slapped him on the shoulder good-naturedly as they joined the crowd, “Who’s this beautiful senorita you’ve got on your arm?”

“May I introduce you to Senorita Cecilia Luciana Rodriguez, the most clever seamstress you’ve ever met.” Ernesto said with proud smile, pulling Ceci forward a bit so the others could see her.

“It’s true,” a woman nodded, “she mended my daughter’s blouse last week and I’ve never seen a tighter stitch.”

“Muchas gracias, I’m glad the blouse turned out well.” Ceci said.

Ernesto was about to jump in on her behalf, that blouse had been horribly ripped and Ceci deserved far more credit for the job she had done, but their candle-bearing crowd was approaching the Ramirez house. Tonight’s hosts for Posadas.

As the crowd approached the closed doors of hacienda Ramirez they began singing.

“En el nombre del cielo

os pido posada,

pues no puede andar

mi esposa amada”

Ernesto could barely keep himself from rolling his eyes at the ragtag lack of singing talent around him. The song was a small tune for the holiday celebration, requesting entrance at a now long gone Jerusalem inn for Mother Mary and the unborn Christ child.

He’d always had the opinion that the singing of such a meaningful song should be from people who could actually sing, like himself and Héctor. The beating he’d gotten as a child when he’d mentioned the idea to his father had dissuaded him from mentioning it ever again though.

Sure enough, the Ramirez family was soon singing back in a tolerable, if distinctly out of rhythm, style.

“Aquí no es mesón sigan adelante, yo no puedo abrir, no sea algún tunante.”

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Ceci whispered.

“Just trying to focus on the song.” Ernesto whispered back.

She always took more stock in these kinds of things than he did. He suspected now was not the time to share his artistic critique.

“No seas inhumano, tenos caridad, que el Dios de los cielos te lo premiará.”

As the two groups sang the verses back and forth Ernesto let his voice carry just loud enough to lead the crowd’s verses without being obnoxiously overwhelming. Soon enough the singing was over and they were allowed inside the Ramirez’s home. Only a bit more of the traditional singing and praying left before they could get to the fiesta.

“You really do have such a beautiful singing voice, Señor De la Cruz.” A woman in the crowd said as they finally walked through the gates.

“Gracias.” Ernesto said with a smile, the satisfaction of the complement doubled at the use of his preferred name.

“It’s because he’s famous you know.” someone else said, “He and Señor Rivera have traveled all across Mexico playing their music.”

“It’s a talent we’re glad to share with the world.” Ernesto said, his familiar crowd-pleasing smile coming back to him easily, despite having rarely used it for weeks now.

“Say, would you two be able to play at my wife’s fiesta next week?” another man asked, “I’ve been meaning to find musicians to play for it.”

“I’m sure we can arrange something.” Ernesto said, acting casual despite knowing very well that he was starting to run low on money and would certainly be glad to take the job.

It had been too long since he’d been serious about getting musical work. Instead he had been spending most of his time with Ceci or helping Héctor with odd jobs around town and the shoe shop. He hadn’t played at the plaza in weeks, hadn’t really been to a proper social gathering in weeks.

Now that he thought about it, it probably wasn’t a good sign that he and Héctor hadn’t been asked to play tonight. Not that Héctor would have been able to, Imelda had come down with a nasty cold earlier that day, keeping their family from joining them for Posadas.

“Don’t forget we promised to bring Coco something.” Ceci said.

“I won’t forget.” Ernesto said absently, already scanning the crowd, planning who he could talk to that evening to leverage some business out of them.

Soon enough the traditional parts of the celebration were finally over and the real celebration began in the courtyard.

Ernesto had nearly forgotten what it was like to be the life of the party and he’d missed it.

Every time he successfully remembered someone’s name, every time someone was drug through to crowd to meet him, every time one of his stories drew a rapt audience (many of them having never left Santa Cecilia) it all filled him with an addictive buzzing energy.

By the time someone struck up a song and everyone started clearing the courtyard for dancing, Ernesto felt back on top. He’d already smoozed his way into three different future performing jobs, had been told dreamily how amazing he was to have traveled so much, and had been complimented on his choice of woman more times than he could count.

Ernesto drank the last of his ponche, scanning the festive crowd for Ceci. He couldn’t remember when exactly she’d disappeared, but it must have been a while ago. He didn’t remember seeing her when he’d been telling his heroic story of when he’d saved Héctor from absently stepping in front of a train.

He set his cup down, frowning as he continued to look.

“Ernesto!” Senor Lopez called, “Where’s your girl? The dance is about to start and we want you two as the lead couple.”

“Uno momento, por favor.” Ernesto called back.

He relaxed as he finally spotted Ceci through the crowd, sitting off by herself at the edge of the compound for some reason.

Ernesto descended into the crowd, dodged nimbly through the dancers lining up to reach Ceci on the far side of the compound. She looked up as he approached, smiling up at him from her seat against the courtyard wall.

“Senorita, would you join me for this dance?” He asked, bowing and offering his hand.

“No thank you,” Ceci said sweetly. “I’m really not much for dancing.”

Ernesto blinked, feeling a little like he’d just been slapped.

“They’re about to start,” he said, still smiling, “they’ve asked us to be the lead couple.”

“Lo siento, I’d really prefer not to.” Ceci said with a good-natured grimace, “I don’t like dancing in front of people, especially people I don’t know very well.”

Ah ha, a reluctant performer. Well, if there was one thing Ernesto had learned from years of traveling with Héctor, it was how to get someone onstage when they “didn’t feel like it.”

“What?” Ernesto said, keeping his voice playfully light, “You’re going to rob everyone here of the chance to see the most beautiful woman in Mexico dance? I promise I’m not that bad of a dance partner.” His dancing was actually the best in town, but he needed to flatter Ceci, not himself.

“Ernesto, I really don’t like dancing in front of people.” Ceci crossed her legs and settled back further into her chair. “You can dance with someone else if you want, I promise I don’t mind.”

Ernesto didn’t exactly feel angry. It was more of the stiff, stubborn feeling he always got when he had to make Héctor do what he needed.

“Ceci, please,” Ernesto said, his voice no longer playful, “they’re expecting us, you have to dance at least once.”

“No, I don’t.” Ceci raised her eyebrows, looking both amused and unimpressed. “You aren’t budging me on this one.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Ernesto frowned. Héctor had never put his foot down like this before, Ceci wasn’t leaving him the least bit of room to even try convincing her. “What will people think if they see me dancing with someone else?”

“They’ll think that I don’t like dancing.” Ceci stood and calmly brushed off her skirts, “Come find me when you’ve got your genuine self back, you have your performing face on right now.”

She rocked up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek, then turned and walked away towards the refreshments.

Ernesto watched her go, utterly speechless.

He straightened, pulling his hat forward as something hot and unpleasant rose inside him. She couldn’t just, just turn him down like that, he had a reputation to keep up. He hadn’t asked anything unreasonable, she was just being nervous, she would be glad later that he’d convinced her to dance. Ernesto nodded to himself and squared his shoulders, starting after Ceci.

Now that he thought about it, it as little wonder that his Héctor tricks hadn’t worked on her, Ceci was a completely different person. Ernesto just had to find out what would get Ceci to do what he wanted, what would make her bend. It was just like his father had always said, everyone has their weaknesses if you can just figure out where to-

Ernesto stumbled sideways into a table, physically blindsided by the eviscerating twist in his gut as he realized what he’d been thinking.

No.

Something sour kicked up his throat and he began to cough, moving away from the table he’d nearly knocked over. Too-loud music began to play behind him. He spotted a side gate leading out of the compound and ducked out through it into a back alley.

The cold, shadowed silence of the empty alleyway encased him as he continued to cough, leaning back against the stucco wall. The muted music drifting high over the wall floated right past him.

Was that really it? Was that the reasoning he’d really been using on Héctor all this time? Was that the reasoning that he was using on Ceci? He’d been doing so well at forgetting his father ever existed, scrubbing every trace of him out of his mind. He hadn’t thought about him in a whole week.

Ernesto pressed his palms to his eyes, grimacing. This was the same kind of anger that he had felt towards Héctor during their tour, this anger that had him acting like his father when he had to get others to do what he wanted.

He’d known he was ignoring this same kind of anger that he’d felt on tour with Héctor and that there was something ugly in it, but he’d been trying to chalk it up to travel fatigue, not this.

But it was fine. It was all fine. This didn’t mean anything, he’d just...just slipped was all.

Ernesto clenched his fists until his fingernails dug into his palms, waiting for the awful feeling in his stomach to pass.

All those times he’d gotten that stiff feeling before, was that how his father had felt when he’d thrown out his own son for refusing to obey him?

Maybe Ernesto was overreacting. He hadn’t done anything, hadn’t even thought of doing anything to Ceci. He’d have backed down if she’d refused him again, he would have let it go, absolutely would have. And Héctor? Ernesto had felt that stiff feeling more times towards Héctor than he could count, but he’d never...

Well.

Héctor had forgiven him for that one time.

He’d expressly forgiven Ernesto for that.

They’d both been tipsy when they’d started arguing over Héctor’s plans to propose to Imelda, and the verbal argument had turned to shoving when Ernesto’s frustration had become too much.

Ernesto had been horrified, and had immediately agreed to pay for the golden crown on Héctor’s shattered tooth. They’d laughed it off together over tequila they next day, but it was still something Ernesto hated to think about.

And it had been because Héctor had refused to do what Ernesto wanted.

But that was years ago.

But what about the same twisting frustration that had been building up in Ernesto during their last tour? Anger that Héctor wouldn’t play his new songs, that Héctor wanted to go home, that Héctor wasn’t performing with his heart anymore and it was starting to affect their performances. The whole last month was a hazy frustrated memory of shouting matches and passive aggressive pleading.

How much farther might it have escalated if they’d stayed on the road instead of coming back for the funeral?

“Ernesto?”

He jumped, for a moment panicked that someone had heard his thoughts.

“What are you doing back here?” Ceci asked, closing the side gate behind her as she joined him in the ally. “Are you alright? You look sick.”

“I’m fine.” Ernesto said, pulling himself together as quickly as he could, taking an unconscious step back as she approached.

She was so beautiful in the low light of the ally.

“You’re not fine if you’re hiding, what’s wrong?” Ceci said, looking worried as she took his hand, “I didn’t realize the dance meant that much to you. Really Nesto, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“No, no, it’s not that.” Ernesto said, trying to smile as he covered her hands with his to keep them warm in the chill night air. “I just needed some air. And I apologize for becoming flustered before, that was very tasteless of me.”

He hadn’t done anything. He could still move on like it had never happened as long as he didn’t look back.

“Well, I imagine it’s been a while since you’d had someone beautiful around to turn you down.” Ceci teased, stepping on the toes of his boots.

“We should probably get back inside before Sophia notices we’re gone.” Ernesto said, his smile softening as he relaxed a little despite himself, putting his arms around her waist.

Maybe forgetting all about it was the best thing he could do. He could move on like it had never happened, cover it over.

“Sophia’s busy.” Ceci said, leaning up against him,“But if you like, I don’t mind dancing with you alone.”

“Here?” Ernesto looked around the empty back alley. Nothing but moonlight was there to keep them company, and the music from the party drifting over the compound wall.

“I’ve never liked performing in front of people, it always makes me anxious.” Ceci said, her smile fading a little. “It always makes me feel sick, ever since I was a little girl. I nearly threw up at my own quinceanera when I had to dance in front of everyone, I’ve always been like that.”

“I understand.” Ernesto lied, trying to wrap his brain around what she had just said.

He’d been eager to get up in front of a crowd ever since he could remember, dragging Héctor up onto wooden crates in the market square to sing, or hanging around the edge of the town plaza to play guitar for passersby. The thought of being anxious in front of a crowd, of becoming genuinely ill at the thought of performing, had never occurred to him.

Héctor had been reluctant to perform on their tour, something else Ernesto hadn’t understood, but he’d always been able to force him anyway.

After all, the show must go on. Right?

“You said that I had my ‘performing face’ on.” Ernesto said, “What did you mean by that?”

“It’s that thing you do when you’re around too many people.” Ceci said, putting a hand on his arm and taking his hand with the other. “You put on a different face, you turn into a different person for a while. You don’t think about anyone else until you come back to yourself.”

“I, well, is that a bad thing?” Ernesto asked, walking them through the steps of a dance as the fiesta music drifted over the wall towards them.

“Only if you let it be, I think.” Ceci said, shrugging.

Ernesto didn’t know what that actually meant, but it felt like he was supposed to, so he didn’t ask.

They danced together in silence for a few minutes, the dancing becoming much closer than a chaperone would have permitted. Soon they were not so much dancing as much as swaying back and forth as Ceci leaned up against him.

But Ernesto could barely focus, his mind far too busy trying to untangle what she’d said.

Ceci had said he became a different person, and he was pretty sure he knew exactly who that person was.

And if he became his father whenever he performed, Ernesto was no longer sure about a lot of things in his life.

--------

Special thanks to @scribblrhob who motivated me back into actually finishing this story. <3

According to my outline there are three more chapters left in this story, thanks for reading!

#cecilia de verde #part 10 #performing face #coco #ernesto de la cruz #ceci

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im-fairly-whitty · 6 years

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Cecilia de Verde

A “No-Murder AU” Ernesto Love Story: Fanfic for Pixar’s “Coco”

[Part 1: Verde] [Part 2: The Name of the Enemy]

[Part 3: Trapped] [Part 4: An Interesting Evening]

[Part 5: Possibility] [Part 6: Seizing the Moment]

[Part 7: Genuine] [Part 8: Doubt]

Part 9: Different Cloth

Ernesto knew that Ceci wanted yellow thread, he’d remembered when she’d off-handedly mentioned it weeks ago, but now that he was walking into her family’s compound he found himself second and triple guessing himself. What if he’d somehow mixed it up and it really had been purple thread?

“Ernesto!” José cried, the little boy spotting him entering the courtyard. The seven year-old pranced up to Ernesto, brandishing a stick like a sword when he reached him. “En garde!”

“Is your Tia Ceci here?” Ernesto said, looking down at the boy with an amused smile. He wasn’t anywhere near as cute as Coco, but in Ernesto’s limited sobrino experience José was a pretty good kid.

“Maybe.” José said mischievously, “Do you have candy?”

“Not for robbers.” Ernesto scoffed, “I could have you arrested for this stick-up.”

“No! I’m not robbing you, I’m a vaquero.” José said, his stick dropping to his side, “I’m the good guy, you’re the bad guy.”

“José, leave Ernesto alone.” They both looked over to see that Ceci calling to them from the veranda, having just come out of the house. “Everyone knows he’s the good guy.”

“See? Your tia knows what she’s talking about.” Ernesto ruffled José’s hair as he walked past him to Ceci.

José squawked indignantly behind him, but Ernesto was already ducking out of the hot afternoon sun and into the cool shade of the porch.

“You’re late today.” Ceci said, folding her arms in mock sternness.

“I had to stop by the postmaster’s this morning.” Ernesto said.

He pulled a small paper carton out of his satchel and handed it to her, savoring the bright look of excitement that danced in her eyes as she took it.

“What is it?” She asked, shaking it by her ear experimentally.

“Open it and see.” He chuckled, leaning back against the veranda railing.

He watched with a smile as she began fighting with the twine. He would have offered her his flip knife, but already knew from experience that she would wave it away, insisting that she “nearly had it.” After courting her for three weeks now Ernesto had learned a lot of small things like that about her.

She made a small noise of victory as she worked the string over a corner of the box and pried the side open, carefully tipping its contents into her hand.

“The tuscany yellow!” Ceci cried in delight, holding up the three spools of canary-colored thread, “How did you know? Where did you get it? The depot’s been out for months!”

“I pulled a few...strings.” Ernesto said, feeling positively Héctor-ish as he grinned at his own joke. Ernesto had always prided himself in his ability to figure out what made people tick, and he’d discovered that few things made Ceci feel as happy as an especially thoughtful gift.

“Thank you, it’s perfect!” Ceci hugged him excitedly, then pulled back to look inside the carton again, “There’s something else in here.”

She pulled out a small paper envelope and carefully opened the flap, tipping several shining buttons carved from mother-of-pearl into her palm.

“Oh, Ernesto,” she said, looking at him with a pleased expression that made him want to shout with victory. “They’re beautiful, I know exactly what I’m going to use these for. How can I pay you back?”

Ernesto couldn’t help smugly congratulating himself on his cleverness. He’d guessed on the buttons, but their high price tag had been a good clue and it seemed that he’d guessed right.

“You could let me watch you work this afternoon?” Ernesto said, resting his hands back against the railing.

“Hmm.” Ceci considered him with a calculating look as she carefully tipped the buttons and thread back into the carton.

All Ernesto wanted lately was to be around Ceci, but she’d never let him into her workroom before, claiming that no one got to come in and distract her while she worked.

But that was hours every day that Ernesto couldn’t be around her, meaning he’d been trying to earn his way in right from the beginning.

“And what exactly would you do all afternoon, if I let you in?” She asked, testing him.

“I’ve got letters to write.” Ernesto held up his satchel, having come prepared. “And if you wanted to talk while you worked, I wouldn’t be opposed to that either.”

Ceci squinted at him for a long moment. Ernesto silently willed her to say yes as hard as he could.

“You’re on trial today.” Ceci said, turning to lead the way to the side room at the back of the house. “I reserve the right to kick you out whenever I like.”

“Si, Señorita.” Ernesto grinned as he followed her in.

He toned down his smile of self-congratulations as he politely nodded to the family members they passed on their way to Ceci’s workroom. He’d done it, he’d convinced her. As an extra bonus, Héctor hadn’t believed it would work, meaning Ernesto would get to lord it over him later.

“You realize the sacrifice I’m making for you by keeping the curtain open.” Ceci said, sweeping aside the curtain in the doorway, then fastening it open for propriety.

“Which is why I’ll be the perfect guest.” Ernesto assured her, seating himself in a large wicker chair, in full view of the doorway should any of her family members happen to look in.

He hadn’t quite realized how much of a reputation around town he had for being a ladies’ man until courting Ceci. For the first couple weeks her family members were constantly hovering over them, always as cheerfully respectful of him as he was of them, but always with an underlying implication that under no circumstances was he to misuse her trust.

And Ernesto couldn’t exactly blame them either. Being attractive meant he’d never struggled to get feminine attention, but he’d never cared to hold onto it for more than a week or two before moving on. Apparently a track record of quantity over quality gave a man a less than savory reputation among the families of young women.

But Ceci wasn’t like the other girls. While other women constantly wanted to be held and kissed, something of a chore in Ernesto’s opinion, Ceci hadn't made these demands. Ernesto had never realized how taxing it had been until he was suddenly with someone who didn’t care about those things. She cared more about him than physical affection, and it was an incredible, albeit entirely unexpected, relief.

Ceci always greeted everyone with a hug, and there were of course the hello and goodbye kisses that would be expected of any courting couple, but overall Ernesto had been pleasantly surprised to find that their most comfortable and frequent moments were not spent in each other’s arms, as most women seemed to expect of relationships. He’d never been so at ease spending so much time around anyone other than Héctor before.

“So how much mail from fans are you answering today?” Ceci asked as Ernesto unpacked a stack of letters onto the workbench in front of him.

Her workroom wasn’t very large, but there was a tall chest of drawers near a clothing dummy with what looked like a half-formed skirt pinned to it. She was already putting her new yellow thread into a woven hamper on a stool and pulling out a small pincushion that she strapped to her wrist.

“I wish it was fanmail.” Ernesto sighed, pulling out his pen knife and starting to cut open envelopes. “Just keeping up old contacts so Héctor and I can actually get out of this town again someday. We were so close when we were in Mexico City, Ceci, we were so close to something big. I could feel it.”

“Well if you got that close once, you’ll do it again.” Ceci said, setting to work on the half finished skirt.

Ernesto hummed in response as he ripped open another letter.

It had been easy to think that when he and Héctor had first come back for the funeral, but the longer they stayed, the less confident Ernesto was that things would be able to go back to normal.

He and Héctor still practiced and played together regularly, at least they both still agreed that music itself could never be stripped from their daily lives, but Ernesto had the uneasy feeling that when the time came, convincing Héctor to leave was going to be a brand-new kind of difficult.

He unfolded a letter and scanned it. Snorting, he tossed it into the pile of read mail.

“What’s so funny?” Ceci asked around the pins in her mouth, not looking up from where she was bent over the waistline of the skirt.

“Nothing.” Ernesto said out of habit, reaching for the next letter. Héctor only ever had eyes for letters from his family, meaning Ernesto had always had to take care of all other correspondence.

“Nonsense, you thought it was funny.” Ceci insisted, looking up. “I’ll kick you out of my workroom you don’t tell me.”

“Alright, alright,” Ernesto smiled, raising an eyebrow and reaching for the letter again. “I just don’t think you’ll find it all that interesting. It’s from a stage manager of a cantina in Oaxaca we played at a year ago, he writes sometimes to see if we still play for free.”

“Well he’s in luck then, coinless music is your specialty isn’t it?” Ceci teased.

“Not if we have to travel all the way to Oaxaca.” Ernesto said, folding the letter back up.

“Well good, you two are too talented to be giving away your skill for nothing anyway.” Ceci said, nodding firmly. “You should tell him that next time you’re traveling his way for your other paid performing jobs, you’d be willing to perform for him at a discounted rate. For old times sake.”

Ernesto stared at the letter critically. He’d been planning to just ignore it, let the unknowing insult get thrown into a wastebasket, but Ceci’s suggestion actually did sound better if he thought about it. It would keep a possible connection open while boosting their reputation as professionals.

“You give much better advice than Héctor.” Ernesto said, reaching for the box that held his fountain pen and a fresh sheet of paper.

“Well I should hope so.” Ceci said, “I love Héctor dearly, but there’s a reason that it was Imelda that started the shoe shop. That man lives for the moment, not for the future.”

“Truer words have never been spoken.” Ernesto chuckled, smiling as he began to write the opening of his response. He paused and glanced up at her. “Of course this means that I’ll actually have to make another tour at some point.”

“Such is the life of a traveling musician.” Ceci said absently as she continued to work.

“I would probably have to be gone for several months.” Ernesto said, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

He’d never actually tested this with her before, the thought of him traveling. He didn’t really like the thought of being away from her, any more than the prospect of perhaps leaving Héctor behind. But if things were to...progress...for the two of them, he had to know if she would try to tie him down like Imelda had with Héctor.

“Probably three months at the very least,” Ceci said, rifling through her thread hamper again.

“if you’re going to get you money’s worth on traveling fare anyway.”

“So...you mean to say that you’d be alright having a husband who was on the road all the time?” Ernesto asked, knowing how obvious he was being, but also knowing she wouldn’t mind.

“I don’t know, I’ve never had a husband before.” Ceci said, glancing up at him and smiling at his bluntness, “But I imagine I would. I have plenty of my own projects. As long as said husband wrote often and didn’t stay away too much longer than he had to, I think I could manage. Especially if it was for a good reason and I knew it wasn’t a permanent arrangement.”

“See? You get it,” Ernesto said, pointing his half drafted letter at her, “that’s what I try to tell Héctor, but he always says he needs to be home with Imelda. Maybe you could finally talk some sense into them, make them see that they’re being ridiculous.”

“Absolutely not.” Ceci said, defly stabbing a fold into place without so much as looking at him.

Ernesto blinked. “But you just said-”

“Why would you assume that what I want is what someone else wants?” Ceci asked, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Imelda and I are completely different people, we’re cut from entirely different cloth. I said I could make do, I’m used to the men in my life being absent, I could cope, but not Imelda.”

Ceci shook her head as she pulled another pin from the pincushion strapped to her wrist. “She has a child Ernesto, do you have any idea what happens to her when Héctor leaves? She’s completely brittle until he comes back, she’s constantly on edge, worrying something will happen to him. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spent the night at her place because I can tell she’s lonely, even if she won’t say it. She looks tough on the outside, and she is, but she and Héctor need to be close. You’ve seen them together, you know that.”

Ernesto was stunned. All he’d said was...well...

He distractedly shuffled some of his papers together while his thoughts scrambled, but Ceci didn’t seem to notice as she continued to pin and stitch.

“So...you don’t think that I should travel?” He asked carefully.

“I never said that, I’m only saying that Imelda and I have different needs.” Ceci said simply.

Ernesto squinted at the pile of letters on the workbench in front of him. Sure it was hard for Imelda, but it wasn’t exactly easy for him and Héctor either. He and Héctor both had to make sacrifices for their careers.

We’re cut from entirely different cloth.

Ernesto shook his head as Ceci’s words rang in his ears, starting on his his half-finished letter again.

He and Héctor both still wanted to play for the world, Héctor was just getting too comfortable was all, settling into their break a little too much. He’d snap out of it when money got low again.

Ernesto continued to write his reply, using Ceci’s suggestion about the discount on a future tour.

He wasn’t exactly sure why he still felt uncomfortable, something itching in the back of his thoughts as he wrote.

He would have to figure it out later.

Read Part 10

---------

And we’re back, thanks for your encouragement and kind words over the hiatus on this story, it helped provide a lot of great motivation to keep me going when I felt stuck. <3

Updates are going to be a little spaced out with the work I’m doing on teacher!au and other projects, but will hopefully be about one every week or two. I’ve already got most of the next chapter drafted, so hopefully it’ll be on its way before too long.

(Also I’ve recently realized how to make the little é on my English keyboard, so I’ll be trying to write Héctor’s name correctly in everything I do from this point on.)

- Wit

#cecilia de verde #different cloth #part 9 #ernesto #fan fic #ceci #pixar #coco #romance

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im-fairly-whitty · 6 years

Text

Cecilia de Verde Update

Finally busted through the plot obstacle on this fic! :D (My no-murder!au Ernesto romance story.)

Working on finishing up the next chapter today, if all goes well I will be posting it tomorrow (Tuesday).

*fingers crossed*

#geeez #this storyline is probably the mist emotionally complex i’ve ever tackled #but i think im getting it #thank you for your patience and encouragement <3 #cecilia de Verde #wit talks

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im-fairly-whitty · 6 years

Note

It's not an exact match, but the song "One Day She'll Love Me" (/watch?v=T13Xc-ykONk) has me thinking of Cecilia de Verde, especially the line "I'm liking him better that he's not his arrogant self."

youtube

THIS IS TOO GOOD. And so accurate to Verde, ESPECIALLY that line for Ceci. x)

How have I never known this song existed?? And I call myself an ENG fan…

Also imagining Kuzco and Ernesto in the same room is hurting my brain, I’m thinking either their combined egos would blast a massive crater where South America used to be, or they would throw the WILDEST fiesta in the history of fiestas.

#THANK YOU FOR SHOWING ME THIS #cecilia de verde

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im-fairly-whitty · 6 years

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Cecilia de Verde: Update

Hey guys, so I’ve been struggling to write the next chapter of Cecilia de Verde for over a week now and finally realized today that the direction I was planning to go with the story isn’t going to work.

The good news is that I’ve figured out where the hangups are and will be overhauling my outline over the next bit.

The better news is that the story is going to be much stronger for these changes and the overall quality of the fic will be improved!

Thank you guys so much for your patience and your excited support, I want to make sure I do this story justice for you guys. :)

- Wit

#wit talks #cecilia de verde #yall can drop me Verde headcanon asks in the meantime if you want

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im-fairly-whitty · 6 years

Note

Hi! Chich from Cecilia de verde is the same grumpy old Chicheron right? Does he get along well with Hector in this au?

Yep! Chich lived in Santa Cecilia the same time as Hector and Ernesto, but he died a lot older than they did, which is why there is such a visible age difference between his skeleton and Hector’s.

Hector’s always gotten along with all the kids in town, Chich included. (After all, Hector’s only 21 in Cecilia de Verde, not too much older then the 16 year-old Chich.)

Hector used to spend a lot more time goofing off with the other young people in Santa Cecilia, but over the last few years all his extra time has been split between caring for his family and traveling with Ernesto, meaning Chich hasn’t seen Hector in a while (if he had, his guitar playing might already be better.)

As for how this links to movie headcanon:

Hector was excited to see Chich again when they met up in the land of the dead. He revived their friendship and laughs at how he’s now the younger and more energetic one, but still tries to keep an eye on Chich just like old times.

Chich has always been a “collector” (hoarder) so he doesn’t like seeing his possessions walk out the door in Hector’s hands, but he does remember looking up to Hector as a kid and feels sorry for him. Hector died so early and has spent decades ostracized from his own family, so Chich tries to humor the young old man whenever he can, even if he gets aggravated when his possessions don't make it back to him.

#Cecilia de verde #chich #hector #headcanon

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im-fairly-whitty · 6 years

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Cecilia de Verde: Prompts Wanted

So I’ve got the rest of Cecilia de Verde all planned out, (and it’s gonna be great) but I’ve decided that this next chapter needs some extra Ernesto x Ceci fluff before rubber really hits the road for them in next week’s chapter.

If you’ve ideas for cute dating/courting prompts you’d like to see worked into their next chapter, this is your chance to drop me an ask with your ideas! I can’t promise it’ll be used, but if I like and use it I’ll tag you when I publish the next chapter. :)

#show me what you got #calling all 1920's fluff #Cecilia de verde

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im-fairly-whitty · 6 years

Note

In the Cecilia de Verde AU, has Ernesto let anyone else Dante?

Good question! First off, Dante is technically the family horse, meaning that Ernesto didn’t have access to Dante after his father threw him out of the house a few years ago. (Even though Ernesto was the one that took good care of Dante.)

This wasn’t a big deal when Ernesto and Hector were traveling though since they often took trains. Now that Ernesto’s back and has full ownership of Dante he takes him everywhere, preferring to ride over walking since it makes him look more impressive.

Ernesto really doesn’t like loaning Dante to anyone (the same way you don’t really let people borrow your car) but he has let Hector use him a couple times in emergencies.

Once they started dating, Ceci is the first person that Ernesto gives full Dante access to. The funny thing is that Ceci doesn’t actually feel comfortable riding horses unless Ernesto’s with her, which Ernesto’s just fine with since it means sending more time with her.

Is Ceci lying about not being able to ride a horse alone just so she can ride with Ernesto? Idk, you decide. ;)

Also here’s a pic of Dante, he’s a Spanish Mustang, so a little stockier than the average American horse, but also pretty hardy. He’s a good boy.

^^I mean, look at that sweet face. :3

[My headcanon is that movie!Ernesto came back to get Dante after he got all famous. He might be a trash monster, but he likes his pets. After all, we do see him riding a skeleton horse during the game of polo during the movie!]

#wit writes #cecilia de verde

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im-fairly-whitty · 6 years

Text

Cecilia de Verde

A “No-Murder AU” Ernesto Love Story: Fanfic for Pixar’s “Coco”

[Part 1: Verde] [Part 2: The Name of the Enemy]

[Part 3: Trapped] [Part 4: An Interesting Evening]

[Part 5: Possibility] [Part 6: Seizing the Moment]

[Part 7: Genuine]

Part 8: Doubt

What if it hadn’t been real?

Ernesto stared at the stucco ceiling of his bedroom, the warm morning light from the window painting a bright patch against it. The question ringing in his head felt like it was weighing him down to the mattress.

He’d been fine when he’d first woken up half an hour ago, an oddly content feeling in his bones that turned to excitement when he’d remembered the night before. He’d spent it with Ceci, he’d played for her and they’d watched the fireworks and he’d kissed her. It had been well after midnight when he’d walked her home after a perfect evening together.

That’s when the content feeling had started to fade as he realized last night had been almost too perfect, dreamlike even. The possibility that it might have just been a dream paralyzed him, making him lie still rather than get up and risk the memory of it fading.

Ernesto propped himself up on one elbow to look across the room. His white mariachi pants were draped over the back of a chair, the fabric on one leg ripped all the way up to the knee.

So last night really had happened then, which raised an even worse question.

What if it hadn’t been real?

Ernesto tried to push the question out of his mind, forcing himself up off the bed and into the day, but the worry gnawed at him as he got dressed, as he ate breakfast, as he swept the front steps as he tended the garden patch behind the house.

By the time he entered the stable to groom Dante, his stomach was so tied up in painful knots that he might have suspected food poisoning where his thoughts any less tangled.

Ernesto had courted plenty of women in his day, attracting attention had never been difficult for him, but every one of those relationships had ended up being brittle and shallow. There would be a kiss, maybe a present, occasionally something more, and then whatever spark of interest that had existed between them snuffed out the next day when one of them abruptly moved on.

Ernesto had decided long ago that long-term relationships must just be when two people decided to tolerate each other long enough for children to arrive.

He had tried his hand at courting every now and then when he’d had the time, after all, it was what young men were supposed to do. But he’d never felt the kind of deep concern and devotion for another person that he’d always heard romantics like Hector describe.

Until now.

Ernesto retrieved a round curry comb from a box in the corner of the stable and started rubbing it in rough circles across Dante’s stiff coat, knocking off the dust and loose horse hair as he went.

Ernesto had no way of knowing if Ceci felt the same way he did, but chances were she was just as superficial as the other girls, chances were she was just idly trifling with his feelings.

No. Ernesto shook his head, scoffing at the thought and scrubbing the curry comb harder. Ceci wasn’t shallow, she wasn’t like any other girl he’d ever met. If anything, the real danger was that he was taking things far more seriously than she was probably reasonably expecting. He could expect her to be intelligent, but suddenly he wasn’t so sure about if he could expect the same of himself.

They’d known each other for less than a month, what if he’d moved too fast last night? Or what if she’d just been having fun and it was a one-time thing? Last night had a been a holiday after all, everyone’s energy had been running high. She might not have really meant to kiss him, or at least not really meant the kiss.

What if the next time he saw her she rolled her eyes, said something teasing and they never went any further than that?

These kinds of things had happened to him before and he’d been strong enough to shake them off, but this time was different, this time it felt like something inside him might break.

And it would all his fault for getting attached so quickly.

Dante knickered, swinging his big grey head around to look at Ernesto, making him realize he’d been working away at the same patch on the horse’s shoulder for a full minute now.

“Aye, sorry amigo.” Ernesto said, patting the horse’s shoulder and moving the curry comb further down his back.

He glanced up at the saddle sitting on the stall’s railing and sighed. There was really only one way for him to find out whether or not he was imagining all of this. It would be better to bite the bullet sooner than later.

***

Ernesto kicked his boot through a pile of marigold petals lying in the gutter as he walked from the hitching post and into the town plaza. The colorful papel picado flags strung overhead would last until either the next rain storm or until someone was industrious enough to get out a ladder to take them down.

The market square was quieter than usual, especially for the early afternoon. Only a few vendors were out with their wares, most of the town undoubtedly enjoying a lazy morning after last night’s festivities.

It was really very unlikely that Ceci would come today, she’d been out late last night and with the market this slow she wouldn’t have a reason to come buying.

Besides, if he had overestimated their friendship, which at this point he was convinced that he had, keeping her distance would be Ceci’s first step to letting him down easily.

Ernesto looked up, hearing the sound of a struggling guitar as he approached the plaza pavilion. There was already someone seated inside, the teenager from a couple weeks ago.

The boy looked up as Ernesto approached, eyes widening and jumping to his feet.

“Señor De la Cruz!” He squeaked, quickly getting to his feet as Ernesto ascended the steps, “I’m sorry, I didn’t think you were coming today, I can leave.”

Ernesto hesitated, hand on the railing. He should gracefully accept the boy’s deference, this was his spot after all, but for some reason Ceci’s words from the night before were echoing in his ears.

You’re really not so bad when you’re being genuine.

The boy looked...nervous as he stood there, waiting for his response.

It should have felt validating for Ernesto to know that his very presence made lesser musicians self-conscious, but really the whole concept suddenly seemed very tasteless.

“No no, don’t worry about it.” He said, motioning for the boy to sit back down again. “Would you mind if I joined you this morning?”

The boy’s eyes widened, “I, uh, are you sure?”

“Of course,” Ernesto said, walking into the pavilion and taking a seat on the rough cement floor. “if you’re interested, maybe I could teach you a few things?”

“That, that would be great!” The boy looked stunned but quickly sat, as if worried that Ernesto would disappear if he hesitated.

“What’s your name?” Ernesto swung his guitar around and began tuning it. Maybe he could start with some of the drills Hector used to run him through when they were young, it would give the kid more confidence when he transitioned between cords.

“Chicharrón,” the boy said eagerly, scooting forward a bit. “But everyone just calls me Chich.”

“Alright Chich,” Ernesto said, “let’s start with the basics.”

It was a little painful at first. Since Hector had always been the more talented musician, Ernesto had never needed to teach anyone guitar before, but soon Chich’s transitions were already sounding smoother as they played through “Pocco Loco” together over and over again as the sun rose in the sky.

When they finally paused for a break an hour later, Ernesto couldn’t help feeling pleased with himself. His student had noticeably improved. It made him wonder how good Chich might already be now if Ernesto had given him tips the first time they’d met instead of brushing him off. This all was nearly enough to make him forget that-

“You two having fun?”

Ernesto’s heart jumped and he turned, looking up to see Ceci leaning on the railing behind him, watching them with a smile.

“I didn’t think you were, were coming to the market today.” Ernesto said, his suddenly dry throat breaking the middle of his sentence.

“And miss seeing my favorite musician?” Ceci said, “I dropped by Imelda’s since I thought you might be there, but she said you hadn’t come by yet. I see you’ve got a new duet partner.”

“Señor De la Cruz has been giving me some lessons,” Chich said, standing. “but we just finished.”

“You don’t have to go.” Ernesto said, an inexplicable panic fluttering inside him at the thought of being alone with Ceci.

She had actually come, she had come looking for him. What if he messed this up? What if...if....he didn’t know, something went wrong and he blew it?

“It’s okay, I need to get home anyway.” Chich said, glancing between Ernesto and Ceci with a knowing smile. “Could I maybe play guitar with you again sometime Señor?”

“Anytime.” Ernesto nodded as Chich left the pavilion, abandoning him to the mercy of the most beautiful woman in Mexico.

“That’s very sweet of you to give him lessons.” Ceci said, watching Chich walk away across the plaza, guitar in tow.

“Everyone’s got to start somewhere.” Ernesto said, moving over as Ceci came into the pavilion, sitting down right next to him.

She was close enough that their knees were touching.

All the panicked and anxious feelings inside Ernesto slipped away with her this close, fading like the last note of a finished song. Her hair was done up in a different kind of braid than usual and she was wearing a dress made of soft blue cotton, the skirts expertly pleated, probably by her own hand.

And she’d come looking for him.

“And how are you this morning?” He asked, unable to keep a smile off his face.

“Very well, no thanks to you keeping us up so late last night.” she smiled that sweet but sassy smile that always drove him absolutely crazy.

“Oh, that was my fault?” he chuckled, trying not to think about how much he wanted to kiss her.

But no, he needed to keep his head, needed to match her pace, to not overreact. He could handle that, he could go without kissing her if it meant she would stay.

“We can share the blame if you really want.” She pushed his shoulder playfully. “Also, Imelda wants to know if you’ll be coming in time to have lunch at their place.”

“Will you be there?” Ernesto asked.

“I don’t see why not.” Ceci said, “As long as you carry my basket for me.”

“I can probably handle that,” he stood and offered her his hand. “but you realize Hector and Imelda are going to be teasing the two of us the whole time.”

“I think we’re a match for them, just follow my lead if you get lost.” Ceci chuckled as she took Ernesto’s hand and let him pull her to her feet.

He should have taken a step back as she stood, but somehow didn’t quite manage it, leaving them standing very close to each other.

She smiled up at him, their several inches of height difference obvious this close together. “What, something on your mind?” she asked.

“Have I already mentioned that you look beautiful this morning?” Ernesto asked.

“No, but you really should have.” Ceci teased. She pulled on the lapels of Ernesto’s jacket, making him lean down as she rocked up on her toes to playfully kiss him on the mouth.

“My mistake.” Ernesto grinned, his mind reeling in entirely pleasant shock as she let go of his jacket.

“Don’t let it happen again.” Ceci said, handing him her basket, “We’d better get going if we don't want to give Hector and Imelda too much to hold over us.”

“Well, we can’t have that.” Ernesto said, picking up his guitar as Ceci swept out of the pavilion in a swirl of navy skirts that brushed against his shins.

He heard the beginning of a new tune playing in the back of his head as he followed her across the plaza, the notes as gentle and playful as that kiss had been.

Ernesto wondered if maybe he would be able to write her another song tonight.

Read Part 9

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Thanks for your patience everyone, between school starting up again and the teacher!AU things got a little mixed up. My goal is to have this be a weekly update from here on out. :)

- Wit

#Cecilia de verde #ernesto #coco #fanfic #part 7 #part seven #doubt

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