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Año-tras-Año (Year-by-Year)

Summary:

A year and eight months after they get together, five months after Mariano popped the question, it’s time for Dolores and Mariano’s wedding day. That’s slow enough, right?

Right?

Or: a through the years look at Dolores and Mariano’s relationship, and marriage. Their life together, and their children.

Formerly titled: “Tómalo con Calma (Take it Slow)”.

Chapter 1: Wedding Day Preparations

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Pepa, you know you’re going to make it rain on Dolores’ and Mariano’s wedding day anyway,” Bruno stressed out, following behind his equally as stressed older sister. A large gray rain cloud hovered above the pair, yet it appeared to rain on only Pepa. “You’ve rained at pretty much every wedding that’s ever taken place in the Encanto-”

“I don’t want to be reminded of mine and Félix’s wedding day.”

“Rain on a wedding day is a good thing,” he told her and she stopped and turned towards him. “Because it makes the knot harder to untie. And besides… you and Félix are still together after three decades, aren’t you?”

Pepa considered this, before slowly nodding.

“I… guess.”

“Not to mention you made it rain on Julieta and Agustín’s wedding day and they’re still together,” Bruno continued.

“That was different. I was happy for our older sister.”

“Aren’t you happy for your hija and her boyfriend?”

“I am…” Pepa paused, biting her lip. She seemed a little bit unsure of how to continue. “Oh, I’m gonna go help mi hija get ready!” she called, beginning to rush up the stairs.

“Aren’t Isabela, Luisa and Mirabel already doing that?!”

Bruno waited. But he got no answer. Pepa had already gone up to her eldest’s room.

Pepa stopped just outside the door, her hand raised and ready to knock on it. But just then Pepa remembered her daughter heard her coming up the stairs. And only a few seconds passed before Dolores was heard on the other side of the door.

“It’s fíne, mama. I don’t need you in here too.”

“Are you sure?”

“Sí.”

Pepa said nothing, and left to go and rejoin the rest of the family who were home at the time downstairs.

At that, Dolores turned her attention away from her door.

“You know, it just seems typical that you would choose those for your wedding, D,” Isabela commented, peering over her cousin’s shoulder at the Guzmánia Bromeliads in Dolores’ hands. “Do you want me to decorate the church with those?”

Dolores nodded, but said nothing. She just kept on with studying the flowers.

Besides that, the wedding was to take place at around one that afternoon, with the following reception and dancing having been limited to an hour for Dolores’ sake. In fact, Dolores hadn’t quite realized she’d been daydreaming about her and Mariano’s future together until Isabela tapped her on the shoulder with the stem of a flower she just created.

“I just asked you if you wanted more than just the bromeliads you asked for, you know, ” Isabela said stoically when Dolores looked up at her, resting an arm across her cousin’s shoulder now. “You’re super lucky I didn’t have to use a cactus to grab your attention.”

“Just the bromeliads are fine, Isa.”

“Are you sure?”

“Sí.”

“Are you sure you’re sure?”

“I said sí, Isabela.”

Isabela nodded. “Well, I’m going to go decorate the church with them now,” she said as she turned and began to exit her prima’s room. “What time is it now anyway?”

“Eleven, Isa,” her youngest sister replied. “We have two hours before Dolores and Mariano’s wedding-”

But Isabela had already left, slamming Dolores’ door behind her and causing her cousin to cover her ears in pain. Dolores quickly recovered though, and turned her attention to Mirabel.

“Is my dress ready, prima?” she asked.

“I have it in my room,” Mirabel replied, adjusting her glasses. “I just got a few more finishing touches to make to it then I’ll hand it to you.”

“Gracias. Luisa…” Dolores tilted her head a little then focused her attention towards her other prima. “Could you go and help move some heavy stuff in the church. Namely the pews. And one of the columns of the altar fell over.”

“Got it. Let me guess, the donkeys are out again too?” the tallest of the three asked, moving to stand up. Dolores tilted her head to listen out again.

“Only a couple. But you can ask Antonio to ask them to go back into their pen.”

Luisa nodded firmly and started towards Dolores’ door. Casita opened it gently and closed it behind Luisa so she didn’t have to end up breaking it. Dolores turned her attention back to Mirabel and stood up at the same time as her youngest prima.”

“What say we go have you try on your dress so that I know what adjustments to make and what to add,” Mirabel said, moving to stand near Dolores’ door. Dolores joined her within seconds and Mirabel opened the door for the both of them to exit and head to Mirabel’s room.

Casita opened up Mirabel’s door and Mirabel hurried inside with Dolores not far behind, closing the door silently behind her and focusing her attention on her wedding dress: entirely yellowish white, with a pattern of sound waves covering it. Much like her everyday clothing.

“Do you need to make any final adjustments to it, Mira?” Dolores commented, stunned into silence at the sight of the dress. “It’s so beautiful. I like it as is.”

Mirabel looked from the dress to her only prima. “I don’t have to but I’d still like you to try it on just to see if it fits.”

Dolores nodded, taking the dress as Casita pushed it over to her.

She chose to put it on when Mirabel turned around, picking up its skirt and twirling around in it a few times. “Okay, Mira,” she said after a few minutes. “You can turn around now.”

Mirabel did, smiling at her older prima. She looked away after a moment.

“Casita, how much time do we have left?”

Casita sent over an alarm clock. Mirabel bent down for a moment before standing up again and looking at Dolores. “We’ve got an hour and a half left before your wedding. Should we head down to the church now?”

“What about your dress? And Isa and Luisa’s?”

“I embroidered that one over there a few days ago for myself to wear.” Mirabel pointed a hand in the direction of a purple dress with black butterflies covering it. “I’m pretty sure Isabela’s going to wear her normal dress and I made a purple and white dress with donkeys and weights on it for Luisa to wear. So I think we’re all set. Give me some time to get myself ready and we’ll head on down to the church with the rest of the family.”

Dolores nodded before turning to leave Mirabel’s room. And, as she did, all she could think about was Mariano.

Notes:

This is completely unrelated to my Next Gen series, so Dolores and Mariano will have different kids.

On a side note, I met Adassa yesterday and she was super sweet.

Chapter 2: The Big Day

Chapter Text

"Quédate quieto, hermano grande!" Mariano's younger sister, Abigail, stressed, chasing after him with a black suit jacket in hand as he rushed about the backroom of the Encanto's local church. Equally as stressed out and making sure everything was ready. Well...... technically speaking, he didn't actually need to. But he wanted to. The wedding was an hour away from now and, yet, he still wasn't ready? "Why can't you slow down enough to let us help you get ready?"

She pointed at the suit jacket in her hands with her lips and then gestured one of her hands out towards a waiting, but mischievously grinning Camilo standing in the back.

Mariano stopped, turning around to face his sister. "Forty minutes and everything's still not ready," he stressed out. Abigail rolled her eyes and stepped forwards to help her brother into the suit jacket.

"Isabela's handling the flowers, Luisa's moving the pews and fixing the altar, Camilo and I have been trying to help you get ready for the past two hours," she spoke softly. "Antonio's handling the rings— and the candles...." She stopped, turning and focusing her attention towards Camilo. "Camilo, where are the candles?"

"They're in the main part of the church," the now seventeen year old responded with a false shrug.

Abigail sighed, then returned her attention back towards her  brother — who had since gone back to stressing and rushing about the back room of the church. Letting out another, softer, sigh, she stopped him and began to lead him into the main room of the church. Hopefully as a way to keep him from stressing out about his and Dolores' wedding, Abigail supposed.

Dolores held the skirt of her wedding dress as she came down the stairs to join the rest of her family, them all turning their attention up to her. She stopped to allow Mirabel to pin the veil to her hair and attach the train to the back of her wedding dress before she moved to stand in front of her mama and papa.

Pepa and Félix both had huge smiles on their faces as they embraced their daughter, their daughter who would soon get married. Tears of joy streamed down both their faces and hit the floor amidst the light rain from the cloud above Pepa's head.

"Mi hija," she said, her cloud disappearing and getting replaced by the sun peeking out from behind it. "Getting married soon."

"Mami!"

"Lo siento, lo siento," Pepa apologized, planting a kiss on her daughter's head.

Dolores felt a few tears form, but she wiped them away before they even hit the ground.

She stopped, tilting her head to listen out. "It's almost time. I can hear people already starting to file into the church. I don't exactly want to be late to my own wedding now, do I?"

By now, Casita had opened the front doors for the Madrigals to exit and head on their way.

Mirabel picked up her oldest prima's train as she exited last, Casita closing the door behind her. As they got to the church and entered, they left Dolores standing in the main entrance of the church with ring bearer Antonio and Isabela, who was to be her flower girl (and, in all her honestly, Dolores couldn't think of anyone better than her older prima).

When Dolores grew nervous, hearing her own heart start to beat faster, Isabela placed one hand on top of hers to calm her down. Which worked. Dolores heard her heartbeat slowing down.

"Gracias, Isa," Dolores spoke.

Isabela nodded. "You always calmed me down when I was nervous, so I figured I'd do the same for you," she replied. "So, what kind of flower petals did you want me to create and scatter as we walk down the aisle?"

"Rose petals would be fine, Isa."

Isabela rarely created roses nowadays, and brides set to get married usually requested the petals of their favorite kind of flower get scattered. So this was a bit of an odd request. Even for Dolores. "You sure you don't want Guzmánia Bromeliads, Dol?"

"I'm wearing some in my hair. Not to mention I'd like my bouquet to be of those."

Isabela nodded, creating a basket of multicolored rose petals for herself and a bouquet of Guzmánia Bromeliads for Dolores. The music started, and Isabela turned, guiding Antonio into the main part of the church with Dolores following. Everyone in town was attending the wedding, Dolores noted, as she walked down the aisle. And everyone's eyes being on her didn't make Dolores nervous. In fact, she smiled brightly and softly. And, as far as she could tell, everyone's heartbeats seemed relatively normal.

But as she went to stand next to Mariano, with Antonio stood next to the priest and Isabela having gone to sit beside her parents and sisters, Dolores felt herself start to get nervous and her heartbeat elevate just a little. But she quickly calmed herself down and turned her attention to the priest at the same time as Mariano did.

This was the man of her dreams she was getting married to anyway. Which was something Dolores had thought wouldn't have ever happened. But she was glad it did. Yet she was glad that her future wasn't set in stone like she previously had assumed.

As soon as the priest finished his first small speech, Dolores and Mariano turned, focusing on each other for a moment before looking back at the priest.

The priest turned his attention to Mariano first. "Do you, Mariano Guzmán, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live together in matrimony, to love her, comfort her, honor her and keep her, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Mariano spoke, with a warm smile.

The priest turned to Dolores. "Do you, Dolores Madrigal, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together in matrimony, to love him, comfort him, to honor him and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Dolores replied.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. May I see the rings?" the priest spoke. Antonio stepped forward, holding the pillow containing the two rings up to the priest, who took and handed them over to the newlywed couple. Mariano slipped the ring he was holding onto Dolores' right ring finger and she did the same.

The priest stepped aside, allowing Dolores and Mariano to step towards the candles. With Mariano lighting the candle on the left and Dolores lighting the one on the right. They then picked up their respective candles, using them to light the third, unlit one before blowing their candles out.

"You may now kiss the bride," the priest finished.

Mariano dipped Dolores into a kiss as the witnessing crowd, not bothered by the light drizzle pouring onto them, all stood up and clapped for the newlywed couple, albeit a little bit quietly, for Dolores' sake.

As she and Mariano pulled out of their kiss and turned their attention to the still applauding crowd, Dolores couldn't wait to see what their future together would bring. Both for her and Mariano. Maybe she should ask Bruno? She didn't even need any time to think this over?

"Oye, tío Bruno!" she called out, upon spotting her uncle in the second row. He looked up at her and Mariano in surprise. "Could you, perhaps, do us a favor?"