#carmy loves to give gifts

[thoughtfulchaos773]

Syd is his everything. The naysayers use the word platonic or mentor student to dismiss Syds role in his life. To downplay it.

BTW, Tina asked Carmy for a signature at the wrong time. I would have loved to see Carmys face as syd opens the gift.

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[carmyboobear]

Zorrasucia here 💜

I love that Carmy really listens to what people say. He remembers that Claire wanted her partner to make her dinner, he remembered Sydney saying his chef whites were cool. Hell, Richie's throw away comment about how he was supposed to have fun haunted him the entire season.

He's so thoughtful, the sort of person that gives tailored presents and knows about the likes and dislikes of his entire staff but only mentions it when it's absolutely necessary.

(just another fun and whimsical way he and I are literally the same person - the amount of thought I put into every gift is ~ridiculous~)

hey there!!💙💙

I love that he does that too ;_; God I need to rewatch s2 I completely forgot that Richie’s comment stuck with him like that. He sees and hears everything and it all sticks with him (imo that’s his hypervigilance from trauma but im also projecting)

He’s a mess but he shows up for the ones he loves in beautiful ways <3 he’s so sweet and so thoughtful YES!! He acts so impersonable and closed off at times BUT he’s actually a big sweetheart AND he is humble AND he is scared of receiving affection so he plays it on the down low AND (cue me talking about this for several hours)

[ahoymultiships]

To someone who "I love you" is weaponized at, I'm not surprised at Carmy breaking down when he heard Claire say I love you in the voicemail, it was the start of the end

[violentdelightsandviolentends]

hii congrats on 5k!! i love your writing ! if you’re still celebrating could i request a carmy blurb where maybe you’re syd’s besite and carmy has this biggggest crush on you (im talking this mf is Yearning) and she gets on him sooo hard about it like teasing him and reader and him end up together ? TIA <3

Not So Secret.

carmen berzatto x female reader

warnings - cursing.

written for my 5k celebration- post here, masterlist here, inbox here.

“You’re gonna stare a hole through her fuckin’ head.”

“Shut up.”

Richie laughs, following Carmens eyeline to where it’s fixed on you.

You’re stood in the restaurant with Sydney, both of you giggling at something she’s showing you on her phone. When you look up, you smile at Carmy, all soft and sweet and like butter wouldn’t melt. He almost melts, a puddle of yearning on the kitchen floor.

Sugar appears next to the two of you, holding out a piece of paper.

“This is a really rough draft of what we kind of want them to look like. Obviously you have full control, but this is kind of the vibe?”

When Carmen mentioned wanting a more personal touch on the menus, Sydney quickly offered your services. You’re the most artistic person she knows, gifted with naturally gorgeous handwriting that almost looks like calligraphy. Plus, she knows how much everyone at The Bear likes you, having been a part of their transformation. It’s a win - win.

“Yeah, I get you. So you want the title words like Dessert in more of a cursive, and then the actual dishes and descriptions in a typeface?”

“Yes! Do your thing. We trust you.”

She gives you a side hug, careful not to hit you with her bump.

“I’m gonna need some nice paper, and probably a new calligraphy pen so I can start from scratch. I’m gonna head to the craft store, and I’ll be back.”

“Carmy will go with you!”

Richie shouts it from the doorway, where he’s been not so subtly watching the conversation. Carmy blushes, clearly caught off guard.

“He needs to go to the craft store too, right Cousin? Good. Go. Bye!”

Carmy’s practically being pushed out the door, uncomfortable and flustered. You smile reassuringly, grabbing your bag and walking over to your car.

“You’re okay with me driving?”

“Course. Shouldn’t I be?”

You laugh, and he can’t help but grin, the sound settling nicely into his ribcage to warm him up.

“I’m a good driver, I promise. Despite what Sydney might say.”

He looks worried but gets in anyway, ever trusting you and anything you do.

He can’t help but sneak glances at you as you drive. You’re completely focused on the road in front, bottom lip pulled between your teeth as you concentrate. Carmy feels heat bloom across his chest at the action, wishing he could reach out and release it for you before you draw blood.

A text chimes through the air, startling you both. You press the button on your steering wheel so your car can read the message out loud.

From Sydney: Carmy. Tell her immediately or I’ll lock you in the walk in freezer. Sick of you acting like a lovesick puppy. This is your chance. Don’t blow it, asshole. We’re all tired.

Both of you freeze, your hands tightening on the wheel. Carmy wants to throw himself out of the moving car, but decides against it at the last minute.

You pull the car into the craft store parking lot, choosing a space and yanking the handbrake on. You turn to him, looking at him for the first time since the bombshell.

He’s blushed all over, chest heaving and bottom lip pulled between his teeth. You almost want to reach out and release it for him, before he draws blood.

“Carmy.”

“I think, uh, yeah, I just - that was clearly sent to the wrong person. Not meant for you.”

You laugh, suddenly, and it spooks Carmy so much that he jumps out of his skin.

“Yeah, Carm. That I figured.”

He laughs with you then, unsure and nervous. You reach out and place a hand on his knee, trying to calm him down. It just makes his heart lurch.

“What’s Syd talking about? Tell me what?”

He looks down at his lap, hands knotted together.

“I think you know.”

“Wanna hear you say it,” you whisper.

He finds the courage to meet your gaze, taking a deep breath.

“I like you. So much. I can’t stop talking about you to anyone and everyone that’ll listen - to the point that everyone at The Bear gives me so much shit for it. Sydney won’t get off my back, either. She says I’m ‘yearning’.”

You chuckle, rubbing patterns into the material of his jeans with your thumb.

“They’ve all made bets,” he continues, “about if I’ll ever tell you or not.”

“Who bet on you? And who against?”

“Syd and Richie against me. Marcus too. Tina and Sugar are on my side. Not sure why.”

“Wanna make Tina and Sugar some money?”

He quirks a brow questioningly, eyes going wide when you lean over the centre console and plant your hands on either side of his face. You’re so close to him that your breaths tangle together, one set of lungs working overtime.

“Kiss me, Carm.”

He doesn’t think twice, closing the gap and pressing his lips to yours. You tangle your fingers in his hair, trying to pull him impossibly closer. His hands find your back, tugging you into him as much as the limited space allows.

You whine when he bites at your lip gently, and he has to pull away to take a steadying breath before he passes out.

“You should get your eyes checked.”

He tries to process for a moment.

“Huh?”

“You must be blind if you can’t see how much I like you, Carm. How much I’ve always liked you.”

He grins at you, bright and white, and you shake your head before leaning in to kiss him again.

When you don’t make it back into the restaurant that day, everyone has never been happier to not see the both you.

[unbearableblog]

My Christmas gift for you.

Messages (Carmen Berzatto x reader)

Summary Carmy’s actions towards the reader might eventually lead to consequences.

Word count ~2,8k

Warnings 18+, No use of Y/N (there is rarely a name but it’s just for aesthetics, you are welcome to insert your own name), action set in S2 so possible spoilers, cursing, angst, relationship problems, possible mentions of smut

A/N God this took a lot from me! Legit flew to Copenhagen haha. I am very grateful to each and every one of you who read, liked, commented or reposted and supported this! I would never think that this would happen. I hope you’re not going to crucify me over the plot. Thank you so much for waiting!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Chapter 1 (the one with departure, Denmark, and desserts)

Things were a little different at the Beef lately.

“Richie, shut the fuck up!”

“You first, child!”

Well, maybe not so different. But they certainly were different with you. Amongst the neverending screaming, cursing, and fighting, you somehow survived getting shot at, losing the power, dealing with the IRS, and everything else that constantly went wrong with this cursed place. The amount of experience you had in this short amount of time has topped anything you've done before. You couldn't catch your breath. But that's what you do for the ones you love, right?

It's been some time since you started helping Carmen with the Beef - serving the customers on a particularly busy day, calming down Carmen, sometimes giving Richie a pep talk when he needed to keep his shit together. But mostly you just chatted with Sydney and sat in the kitchen, doing your college assignments while watching Carmen work. You could never get tired of it - he looked so professional and smart. It was his element. Well, when everything was going well.

The entire time, you were there, talking to Carmen as he prepped for the day, giving him a smile and getting one back, just watching him go on about his day and move so swiftly like a well-oiled machine. Seeing him in an apron drove you wild. You'd have to stop yourself from going up to him and touching his god-given curls or rubbing his back through his white T-shirt (but more often you failed to do so). Most of the days you patiently waited to go home and show him everything that was on your mind all day.

One time he caught you staring, mind far away from the Beef. His voice brought you back.

“Are you thinking about my fingers again?” He said while putting his arms at his hips, almost offended.

You bit your lip and looked at him with a guilty smile.

His hand went up to brush through his curls.

“You’re not gonna get any work done if you keep thinking about that. And with the way you look at me, can say the same thing about myself.”

You whine and playfully pout, not wanting to keep studying.

“Come on, princess,” he comes closer to you and whispers in your ear so that his whole voice goes through your body and his lips brush your ear “And when we get home you can tell me all about it while you sit on my ‘pretty’ cock”

Sometimes he would explain what he was doing or why things weren't going the way they were supposed to, sometimes you would share something you found fascinating in your assignment. He would always listen, even if he didn't fully understand, but you knew he was trying to. It made you feel so special - you got the whole attention of this hot 3 Michelin star chef, covered in tattoos and buff, but he looked at you with such care and softness. His muscular arms touched and wrapped around you with strong tenderness and appreciation. Sometimes you saw the same attention to the details in the food he was making - he really cared.

Everything changed after the Beef closed down.

Carmen was a little taken aback when you told him you were going to Copenhagen with Marcus. You were at the restaurant, like any other day, figuring out a thousand things that were wrong before the opening, when you heard Denmark being mentioned amongst the guys.

“Someone's going to Denmark?” you asked, turning around on your chair.

“Marcus is,” Carmen brushed off, and continued having his conversation with him.

“Wait, to Copenhagen? Why?” you felt ignored.

“Uhh, to learn everything about desserts,” Marcus answered. Carmen didn't even look in your direction.

“When? Why didn't you tell me?” you sounded excited because you were, but your heart felt like it was placed into an iron cage. Carmen knew how much that city meant to you, and to not even mention that your friend was going there felt neglectful. But maybe you were overreacting - he was probably busy, he doesn't have to tell you everything, and it surely wasn't for long anyway.

Berzatto shrugged his shoulders. “Why? It's just for some time.”

“I was actually thinking about going there too. I haven't seen my sister in a while. Maybe we could fly together? I know everything there,” you were ready to help Marcus as a bonus. You really appreciated him as a friend, and returning the favor for all those delicious pastries he made at your request would be terrific. You could also use a fucking break from Chiberia.

“For real? That would be awesome!” Marcus exclaimed with his arms, his smile releasing your heart from its prison.

“Uhh… yeah-yeah, sure, I guess,” Carmen squinted his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “I- uhhh, have to go out for a minute. Umm,” he swallowed “-meet that rep for me, yeah?”

An entire work shift of flying has gone by the time you started seeing the bronze-roofed houses sprinkled like decorations on a Red Velvet cake. You made Marcus promise you not to judge the country by its airport, as it usually was surprisingly dirty. Nevertheless, there were hints of what life there was like - a burst of energy, culture, and flavour. You walked what seemed like forever through the endless white halls with blue sections, wondering how many times Carmen had been here and whether you ever crossed paths. You kind of wished he was there. Your excitement rubbed off on your friend - Marcus was beaming with happiness, anticipating your time there. He knew it was going to be life-changing.

The moment you went outside felt like you could breathe again. The weight of The Beef, Carmen, stress, problems problems problems dropped off, was left behind, and never got on the plane. Your chest wasn't encircled by snakes that only pushed until you suffocated. Your mind was clear.

You helped Marcus settle in his awesome boat, and after reading the owner's note to "keep the water in Coco's bowl", searched for the cat for like 20 minutes. Unfortunately, your efforts were fruitless.

Marcus only let you go back alone because you assured him of your safety (you gave him a speech about how it wasn't like Chicago) and experience. Still, he made you text him when you got to your sister's. The two of you were always trying to make your relationship work, but the distance didn't make it easy. That did not mean that you were going to give up - you were used to making a lot of effort for the people you love. She was ecstatic and grateful to see her little sister. The rest of the evening was spent eating, sharing your lives, and talking about your mysterious boyfriend.

“I don’t know, he’s just so… distant. He always leaves somewhere, does god knows what when he knows we don’t have much time! Sometimes it feels like I care about the restaurant more than him. Which is so weird because he was so into it before! He planned the whole thing! And I am so fucking stressed from it all! I never even wanted to work in a restaurant but I was there for him!” you expressed your pain very loudly.

“Have you thought of… breaking up with him?”

You exhale and almost completely give up mentally.

“I don’t know… it feels like we don’t have much of a relationship at all anymore. We don’t go out, all the time is spent on the opening. I swear sometimes I’m there just for our friends and his sister, I can’t just leave them without help while he’s wandering somewhere”.

You couldn’t sleep because being in bed without Carmy by your side felt plain wrong. You were also jetlagged which meant that the peaceful world of Morpheus was avoiding you like a plague. The same thing happened to Marcus, so you both were just texting about what you were doing.

“idk, i gave up and went to get some tea” you typed, a warm mug in your hand as you cozied up on the couch with a blanket.

“yeah, same shit here. bout time to get ready anyway”

Your whole house was asleep, and probably would be so for a while. It was too dark to go out for your liking. Boredom kind of crept in.

“what is it exactly u're gonna do there?”

“uhhh i wish i knew. make some things from the pics i showed u i guess”

“can i watch?” Was it too much of a request? Who even knows if you'll be allowed there?

“yeah i think so. i'd love to not have to do this alone”

You smile, finish your tea, and get up to find some clothes.

You finally reached the place and were met by a tall man in an apron. He introduced himself as Luca, and you heard a very sultry voice softened by an accent. You wondered where he was from.

“I'm Chef Marcus. That's Liv. Is it cool if she just hangs around and watches me?”

“Hi,” you smile at him.

“Hello. You could also join in. What kind of a chef are you?”

“Oh I'm not, I'm -”

“Well, with the amount of time Liv spends in our kitchen listening to every word of the CDC, I'd say she might as well be a chef by now,” Marcus only half-jokes. You give him a look anyway.

Luca prepared everything and soon he and Marcus were working. You were sitting on the other side of the table, able to see everything. Only now you were starting to notice how strong he was, you have to be, you thought, if you stay on your feet all day. His arms were also covered in tattoos that didn't seem to make sense, like Carmy's.

“So who are you?” Luca's question doesn't sound rude, just curious.

“I'm his boss' girlfriend,” you nod as you speak.

“Wow,” he seems to be thinking something, but maybe it's just him being focused on putting the peanuts on dessert, “What are you doing here?”

“Uhh, visiting my sister? It was time and I thought Marcus here could use someone to show him around. As for here, I was really jetlagged and bored.”

Luca was amazing. The way he coached Marcus even when he made mistakes was consistently calm, stern, and leading. Not once did any of you feel berated or hear his voice go louder, all you knew was to just try again. His entire presence excreted stability and equilibrium.

After an extensive lesson, it was Marcus' turn to try. All of you leaned closer to the dessert in hopes of seeing more. You held your breath as you watched Marcus carefully place a tiny piece in the clockwise direction of the dessert when in the blurred background of your vision you felt something change. Instinctively, you looked up from the dish, and your eyes met the gaze of your friend's teacher. There he was, almost lying on the table, looking at you. As if he wasn't busy right now. As if the dessert didn't matter. Hypnotized. “Got it!” Marcus smiled and stood straight up. “Great job, chef,” Luca switched back to Marcus.

Suddenly a firework of spice embraced you in its scent, making your head go round from the all-encompassing desire to taste it.

“Oh my god, are those cinnamon buns?” you had to put your hands on the counter to keep yourself up. “Yeah,” Luca stood straight. “You like them?” “They smell amazing!” you could swear you saw a quick prideful smile brush Luca's lips.

“They are her favourite. And she's very specific about'em too,” Marcus threw you under the bus.

Luca seems interested. “In what way?”

“I'm not, okay? I just believe that cinnamon buns should have a lot of sugar and cinnamon, or else they're just buns. There was this place near the park, and the pastry they sold was like 90% dough. I didn't like that at all” you defend yourself, and Marcus scoffs, having heard you rant about it many times at The Beef.

“Abomination,” Luca shakes his head.

“Exactly! I love it when there is so much sugar that it's oozing out, that's how it'd supposed to be.”

Your lighthearted banter somehow led to Luca opening up and talking about his life and experience. He also shared a couple of stories about determination, his acceptance of not being the best, and some of his failures. Soon all of you were joking around and laughing at your pasts. You felt your heart warm up to him and thought that leaving the house was a good idea.

Marcus stepped outside to check on his mom. He called her sitter as often as he could, and every time you hoped that everything would be alright. Luca was silently doing his work, kneading some dough. It was a demanding process, but so meditative, and you couldn't help but float away watching his big hands grab and squeeze the smooth dough, throwing it back onto the table occasionally, his long fingers dug into it, leaving an impression. “So where is he now?” you ask. “Who?” “The chef who was better than you. Where is he now?” you wondered if Carmen knew him or told you about him. “Well, you tell me. Apparently, opening up a new restaurant,” the chef said, as he threw a careless nod in your direction. Huh? Your heart drops. What? You let out a nervous scoff. “You're saying it was… Carmen??” Your question was met with a simple nod as he kept working. “Carmen Berzatto, the chef that was better than you at everything?” you almost spell out. Luca just takes his eyes off the dough and watches your reaction. He is also confused. “God, he really is the best?” the question sounds more like an exhale. “People keep saying it, but I guess I didn't realize” you sit down, defeated, and stare off. Your mind keeps pacing - what happened to Carmen? How did he go from being the best to being a yelling mess of chaos? Why is someone who looked up to him so calm and collected but still successful? Why can't he be like that? “You sound surprised. What, he doesn't feel like it?” He asks while kneading the dough, this time slower and a little softer. You look at him, then shake your head away and look down. You want to tell him everything about the way Carmen treats you, and how different that is from what your beginning used to be, how he doesn't appreciate you even though you spent so much time in and on The Beef, and how unfair that is, and have his deep voice tell you the answer, but you can't. That would be weird. Luca notices your hesitation. “You know, when we worked together, he would often be… difficult,” there is a pause after he says it because he is reading your face, trying to understand if he's walking on thin ice. He isn't, so he continues. “Partly why I didn't become better than him was because he wouldn't let me.” “Yeah, he shared something like that.” His brows went a little higher, and his grip on the dough hardened and stayed there. “My point is, being with a person like that can't be easy. Man, we only worked together and I already wanted to smother him, can't imagine being in a bloody relationship,” his smile makes you laugh and for a second you forget every bad thing in the world.

Later that day you wanted to call Carmen. “Carm, you free?” You wished to tell him everything - how much you loved the city, how nice his friend was, the fun you were having, and how good this was for you. Kinda wanted to beat his ass for being so mean to Luca too. “not rn, Liv, busy”

Of course.

“Olivia! Come here!” your sister screamed to get your attention. You noticed she was standing at the door, talking to somebody, so you got up and approached her. “What's up?” you asked. She closed the door and turned to you, holding something in her hands. “It's a gift from your boyfriend,” she said in a teasing tone, and you could swear that the last time you saw her that giddy was in high school. “What? How do you know?” A drop of hope celebrated its birth in your chest. “The delivery guy said it's from a chef,” the last word she playfully stretched out, so it came out a little funny, like Tina says it. You couldn't believe it. There it was, a white box carefully tied with a red ribbon. Finally Carmen realised how distracted he was and decided to apologize. Obviously, you were gone, so he missed you. Your heart filled with warmth and you smiled to yourself - you knew things would get better. You take the hefty precious gift from your sister's hands, sit on the couch, and open it with anticipation. Inside, 9 breathtaking gourmet cinnamon rolls with caramelized sugar barely fitting, leaking out of the mouthwatering, well-kneaded dough. And a note.

"You deserve all the best in the world - Luca"

I hope you enjoyed it! Part 2 might come quicker if you comment how you liked it

Snippet from the next chapters

🏷️ Tagged everyone in the comments! If you want to be excluded, just let me know♥️ @carma-fanficaddict @eternallyvenus @sia2raw @helloheyhihowdyheya @soursopsista @m1dnightsnackz @custarrds

Dividers by @saradika

[mayfieldss]

Oooo for Secret santa can I please request a Carmy x fem!reader where he proposes on Christmas?

Our boy is stressed

Carmen was not in any way calm. He was trying to be, but in his mind there were a thousand possible things that could go wrong. He'd never been afraid of the word no—he didn't like it, but he wasn't afraid of it—but today, he was terrified.

He had a ring in his pocket, simple and elegant, picked with the helped of Sugar, and she'd promised Carmen that you would say yes. She said she was sure of it, that nothing was going to go wrong.

You loved him and he loved you. Nothing could break what you had. Except maybe a ring and a question he'd wanted to ask for weeks now. He knew asking you to marry him on Christmas would either make or break the special day, and considering how bad Berzatto Christmas day's had been in the past, Carmen really didn't want anything to make it worse. Like you saying no for example. But maybe, if you said yes he could ignore everything else crashing down around him, because he would have you, and the knowledge that he would get to be your husband.

He'd woken up early that morning and snuck out of bed to prepare the scene, but the more he looked at it, it all seemed too much. Would he scare you off with the roses he'd placed in a vase on the table, or with the gingerbread scented candle he'd lit that morning?

When you woke up though, stepping groggily into the kitchen for coffee, you seemed happy.

"Merry Christmas, Carm." You mumbled as you came in for a good morning kiss. The small peck left him feeling flushed on the cheeks even though it was a common enough occurrence, and when you turned to see the flowers on the table a smile lit up your features.

"For me?" you whispered in delight and Carmen gave you a gentle nod, following you to the flowers with his hand placed softly against your back.

"Only if you want 'em." he jokes, and you grin over your shoulder as you pull one of the roses from the vase, inhaling deeply.

"Thank you." You coax him forward to give him another kiss, showing him just how much you appreciate the gesture. Carmen feels fulfilled for a moment, and the stress leaves him as he digs his fingers into the flesh below your hips. He thinks maybe he can convince you to stay like this the whole day, and you can, together, ignore the madness of Christmas from everyone else's perspectives. But he knows that isn't possible, that you have to go see your family, and then his to keep the peace. The peace is important.

He cooks you breakfast and you eat together, in no rush as the morning drags by, and when Carmy finally convinces you to head to the lounge so he can give you a gift or two, it's almost midday.

"Me first," You say, picking up a gift with "Carmy" written on it in scribbled letters. You hand it to him gently, cautious as if you're afraid he won't like it. He takes it from you just as softly, and you shuffle closer, legs crossed on the couch beside him.

When he opens the gift, its a hand decorated frame, a picture of you and Carmen standing outside the restaurant placed behind the glass. It's simple but it warms his heart, and he reaches out for you, tugging you into his side.

"I love you, baby." he mutters against your hair, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. There's a wide smile on your lips when he pulls back to look at you, and a hopeful glimmer in your eye.

"You like it?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course I like it. I love it."

He hands you a gift, which as you unwrap it, is a pathetic box of heart shaped chocolates, but you smile and thank him anyway, not caring about the gifts at all. He gets from you a denim jacket, new and unique, and finally the time comes for him to face his fears.

"I've got one more thing," He says, clearing his throat nervously, "Well, it's more a question than a thing, I don't know, fuck, you'll see." He can feel the weight of the ring in his pocket and he wonders how he should do this. In the movies they always get down on one knee, hold up the ring like it's a crown waiting to be worn, but to Carmen that doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like you and him.

He sits on the couch facing you, legs crossed and mimicking your position until you're looking at each other in something kind of like a trust exercise. You're grinning as Carmen sits anxious in front of you and the eye contact makes you snort a quiet laugh.

"What is it?" You ask, poking his knee affectionately.

"I uh, fuck." Carmy reaches into his pocket, and now there's no turning back. You're looking at him expectantly, a little nervous yourself with how much anxiety is radiating from his being. When you see the small box in his hand, the navy blue velvet square makes your eyes widen. "I love you. I know I don't say it enough but I do, and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, if you'll let me." He opens the box, gently, presenting you with the ring inside. "Will you marry me, baby?" His voice is shaky and he watches as your hands come up to cover your mouth in shock, eyes flickering from the ring in front of you to Carmen's face in disbelief.

"Yes, I'll fucking marry you, oh my god!"

Before Carmen can think of putting the ring on your finger you're leaping into his lap, wrapping him up in the tightest hug ever as you both tumble off the couch from the force of your embrace. He doesn't have time to say anything either, because you're kissing him like a madwoman, you're excitement clear.

"Merry fucking Christmas." Carmy mumbles when he can finally get a word in, holding you tight against his body.

I hope you like it! thanks for joining in the celebration!

CARMEN BERZATTO TAGLIST: @thrutheburnout @diorrfairy @norriebunny @yeschefthankyouchef

THE BEAR TAGLIST: @live-love-be-unique @kpopgirlbtssvt

[thebearer]

Omg omg omg I LOVE your dad Carmy fics so much! And idk if you’re taking requests rn but can I please request a dad Carmy x wife reader it’s their little girls first birthday and one of the staff members gifted her a little play kitchen with pots and pans and she just loves it bc she wants to be like her daddy since she sees him in the kitchen all the time and she even “makes” him food and Carmy playfully critiques her meals😭🙌🏻🥹

“What’s this Teddy Bear?” It’s a sight to see. Carmen Berzatto smushed and crouched into a teeny tiny plastic chair, sitting at the “best restaurant in Chicago”… if the category was for plastic food.

Teddy babbled in the kitchen, flinging plastic lids and ripping apart velcro fruit and vegetables that she’s was “cutting”, before flinging the other half into the bin.

“Pretty angry chef.” Carmen muttered to you teasingly. “Seems like a hot head.”

“I just hope the foods good.” You played along, your own knees near your chest in the tiny table set. “She didn’t even take our order.”

Carmen snorted, looking at the small kitchen. It was a gift, from Richie of all people, for Christmas. He’d cackled when he gave it to her, watching as she giggled with glee. “Got your own prodigy now, Cousin.” Richie grinned.

Carmen didn’t realize how much Teddy caught on to in the kitchen until she’d carry her little plates and shout “corner!” just like she’d seen her daddy do. It made Carmen’s heart melt, grinning so hard his cheeks hurt.

“Chef,” Carmen called, Teddy’s little curls flying when she looked back at him. “How much longer?”

“Jus’a minute.” Teddy’s tiny, sing-song pitched voice had your own heart aching with pure adoration, your hand smoothing down your growing belly. You hadn’t told her about the baby yet-she’d just became a chef, not yet ready for the title of big sister.

“All done!” Teddy brought the bowls out, an interesting combo of plastic clumps of peas, banana, and chicken in Carmen’s bowl. In your bowl the cut apple slices, carrots, and what appeared to be a Barbie doll shoe.

“Thank you, chef.” Carmen looked down at the bowl, raising a brow at you, biting back his own smile. “Chef, can we have a fork?”

“No.” Teddy shook her head, holding onto her little chef’s hat. “You no need fork.”

“Teddy.” You laughed at the three year old. “We need a fork, silly! How do we eat with no fork?”

“Hands.” Teddy shrugged, clambering back to the ‘kitchen’ in her little plastic heels. She returned with a plastic knife and a pair of tongs. “Here.”

Carmen looked at the small knife. “This is a weird place.” He muttered to you playfully. “Chef is a little pushy.”

“You’re telling me.” You grinned, using your wooden tongs to pick up the Barbie shoe. “I’m scared to tell her about this.”

Carmen laughed, nearly falling back in the plastic chair. “I’m sure it’s a garnish.” He grinned, making you snort. “Kinda looks like your pregnancy cravings.” He motioned towards his bowl.

You gaped, dramatically at him. “Watch it, Berzatto.” You but back a smile. “Before I make you make me another Nutella grilled cheese.”

Carmen gagged dramatically, alerting Teddy. “No good?” She asked, little lip jutting nearly pitifully.

“No, no, no,” Carmen said quickly. “Very good. So yummy. All done. Good job, Chef.”

Teddy grinned, giggling and throwing her arms around Carmen’s neck, launching himself in his lap. Carmen caught her easily, tickling her sides so she squealed. “Really hands on experience, huh?” He smirked, looking at you.

You posted this photo on your Instagram:

with the caption:

eating good tonight thanks to chef teddy bear🧸🍼🐣 five stars, best restaurant in the us. giving @/carmenberzatto a run for his money!!

[carmenberzattosgf]

It's 💙💙💙me again !I've Come to be annoying ! Lol . Okay so hear me out , it's cold as shit in Chicago during the winters and the reader just moved there and isn't used to it and her clothes arent warm enough and it makes carmen annoyed as hell BECAUSE ITS COLD AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING ?? So he's always giving you his coat and reader is always like "no no no , you're gonna be cold 🥺🥺🥺" while she's grabbing his biceps but at the same time she's like all "heheheeh" on the inside and giddy and he just gives her a stern look and spank on the ass for being irresponsible 🫣 but at the same time he loves her wearing his jacket and now she's only allowed to wear his jacket basically 💙

You could never annoy me friend!!

But yes I sooo agree with this. I’m thinking pre relationship you would show up to work after walking there when it was FREEZING. All you have to keep you warm is a flimsy little jacket. You suck it up and don’t complain.

Carmy notices though when the day is over and you’re about to head out back into the cold with your sad excuse for a jacket.

“Y/N. Did you forget your jacket in your locker or something? It’s freezing you need to go grab it.”

“This is all I’ve got! I haven’t had time to buy a proper winter jacket since moving here. I’ll be fine though. I made it this morning just fine.” The concerned look on Carmy’s face turns into one of complete shock.

“What the hell were you thinking? It’s like 20 degrees outside.” Carmy begins to unbutton his thick fleece-lined denim jacket and shrug it down his shoulders.

“Woah, woah, woah. What are you doing?” You grab at his arms to stop his movements. His biceps flex beneath your palms. You knew he was ripped, but to feel his muscles under your own hand is much different than just looking at them.

“I’m letting you wear my jacket.” You two argue back and forth before you finally give in. He stands behind you and helps you slip the jacket on. It’s soft and cozy, and the smell of Carmen overwhelms you. “There we go. That’s much better now, isn’t it?”

You couldn’t lie. He was right. “Thank you Carmy. I’ll get this back to you tomorrow. Promise.”

“No. Don’t worry about it. You said you didn’t have time to get a jacket, right? Consider it a ‘welcome to Chicago’ gift.”

“You don’t have to do that! This is a really nice jacket. I don’t want to take it from you.”

“Trust me. I have plenty just like it. Besides, it looks nice on you.”

Now once you two are in a relationship? Yeah you forget your (his) jacket on purpose just so you can wear whatever one he wore to work back home. The main reason behind this is so you can smell like him for however long the jacket retains his scent.

He’s come to expect this and actually keeps an extra jacket in his locker so he doesn’t freeze to death in Chicago winter.

But yes. Every single time it happens he will playfully scold you and slap you on the ass because he knows you love it.

He truly cannot get enough of you in his clothes. He would walk home in the blistering cold if it meant he got to see you wearing one of his jackets

[portraitofariel]

Controversial Post

Carmy used Claire.

An opinion I have yet to come across in the discourse regarding the dreaded Carmy/Claire pairing is the following--Carmy was fully content never calling/making Claire his girlfriend. Because he never had to do anything to get her to like him. She provided pussy, car rides, an ear to bounce ideas off of, no resistance or intellect, and no effort he had to put in.

Allow me to elaborate.

From their first interaction at the market to the moment in the walk-in, Claire has been a nuisance in his life. She consistently disregarded his boundaries in the following ways:

Ignoring the fact that he struggled to remember her name; there's also no mention of her last name to this day.

Misreading their initial conversation at said market and not reading his body language for what it was: a lack of interest in her. If a woman has to ask a man for his number and he doesn't ask for hers, he isn't interested in pursuing things further. Argue amongst yourselves about that.

Numbergate. In the real world, this would be extremely concerning. Skirting around someone's clear sign they don't like you by giving you a fake number is a huge red flag. It screams desperation and a lack of self-respect. Who chases a man that purposely obstructs their advances then goes to his good friend to extract information? Shame on Fak as well for giving out Carm's private information to a woman he hasn't mentioned in five years. wtf Fak.

When she does call him, she badgers him to get a clear answer as to why he gave her a fake number, instead of taking the hint when she realized it was fake. Once again not taking his hesitance while dictating the numbers to her as a sign he doesn't want her.

"Speaking of dead brothers, do you wanna go to a party?" wtf even was this. By Claire's own admission, she and Carmy never talked in their youth. She essentially hung around his family but never interacted with him so why is she so obsessed with him? I will never understand this. Her tasteless attempt at breaking the ice regarding Mikey's death is so heavy-handed and odd.

Freezergate. Even before she found out he was stuck in the walk-in, what was Claire's urgency to get to back-of-house? Why would she think it would ever be appropriate to just walk back there? Sugar's husband, Pete, has never done that in the show so what makes Claire think she's special enough to do so? I always wonder what might have happened had Sydney been back there when Claire crossed that boundary.

Now the juicy part. Unpacking Carmy's disinterest.

Ever notice that Carmy only ever asked her surface-level questions about her life? He never asked about her interests outside of work, her family, her passions, her last name, or anything else. The entire relationship is on Carmy's terms/timeline. Nothing we've seen on-screen indicates he's been to her apartment or hung out with her friends (aside from that one juvenile ass party in 2x05). Every time they have sex, it's at his place. The overwhelming majority of their conversations center around his needs/grievances about the restaurant. He never buys her flowers or gifts (cooking dinner one single time doesn't count), never has deep conversations with her about her, nor did he call her his girlfriend until Sydney, of all people, pressured him to do so. The subsequent conversation with Fak, "is Claire my girlfriend? What's a girlfriend?" is bullshit. Carmen has been around couples his whole life. He knows what a girlfriend is. He knows what a wife is. He's a 30+ year old man who surely had romantic interests before and after Claire. He just didn't want her to be his girlfriend until he felt immense pressure from his circle to make her that.

How do I know this? In 24 hours, Carmy went from "I love her a lot" (and this is only after Fak straight up asks him if he loves her) to "I like her". In the course of one day, he went from love to like. That says it all. Not to mention this is after the mother of all panic attacks where his hidden feelings for Syd bubble to the surface. A lot of people forget that Carmy is a man and because of this, he does what men tend to do. Whether he was conscious of it or not, he took advantage of a desperate girl like Claire because she threw herself at him with abandon. She willingly put herself in a position to be used by a man she barely knew, then cried to Richie when things didn't go her way. Their 'relationship' went the way it was always going to go because I'd argue she was never truly his girlfriend. Claire was a stopgap between the restaurant and Carmy running away from his problems.

[fatesmono]

carmen berzatto hcs

✮⋆˙ warnings : language

✮⋆˙ readers gender is female :3

✮⋆˙ a.n : this is my first post so pls go easy on me, just some headcannons + little lines i think he would say if you two were dating

✮⋆˙ enjoy loves !! <33333

✩ only drinks black coffee , saw what your order was one time and almost had a heart attack

✩“you’re just drinking caramel…why?”

✩ loves going thrifting with you, you helped him find vintage jeans one time and he almost fell in love with you then and there

✩ the eye contact ??? mans will hold eye contact with you for minutes and not understand why you’re getting flustered over it

✩bonus : he was taught to always keep eye contact with those he respected and doesn’t want you to think he doesn’t respect you

✩ loves when you try his food, you genuinely just love to eat and won’t pick out random bullshit to criticize abt his food

✩ “can you try this for me ?”

✩ hates when you call him chef after dating, will let you be the only one to call him “carmy” in the kitchen (besides richie), loves when you call him "carm" 

✩ using any pet names will land you in his office for a make out session, you called him “baby” one time by habit and spent the next hour on his desk making out until tina had to collect you two

✩ “can you make a shopping list for me ?”

✩ will gladly teach you and specifically asks you before he cooks if you want to watch him and will explain every little step and smiles at your blatant confusion on what “blanching” is

✩ he stopped smoking specifically for you, you two kissed one time and you slightly cringed at the taste and he immediately went out and bought nicotine patches along with gum and rolled his eyes at richie comments 

✩ will not let ANYONE comment on you, will not hesitate to beat the living shit out of someone for a slick comment on your presence 

✩ “i don’t give a fuck what they think of you, my love. you’re my girlfriend and that's all that matters”

✩ “i could make that for you”

✩ never thought about starting a family until he met you, you helped him with a kid’s party gig and he saw how easily you handled the kids (“little shits” as richie called them) and he knew then and there you would be the perfect mother

✩ you cut yourself one time during prep and he immediately ran over to check on you once he heard your little wince.

✩ “idc if its little, i need to make sure you're okay”

✩ loves the smell of your perfume and keeps going out to buy that specific one whenever he wants to get you a gift.

✩ secretly loves physical contact; you wrapped your arms around him while he cooked one time and now he can’t cook without you touching him in some way

✩ only cries around you, hearing you tell him that it’s going to be alright makes him melt every time

✩ you told him once that you could bartend/worked as a foh a year ago and immediately put you on the staff (couldn’t care what anyone had to say about it)

✩ loves hugging you, there's something about how soft your skin is that he can’t help but just embrace you the second he sees you

✩ rarely uses your real name, stopped using it the day after you two began dating

✩ “baby i can do the dishes tonight”

[cillian-gets-me-wetter]

silver springs - carmy berzatto x fem!reader

a/n: this is a part 2 for casual (read before continuing this for context). the live performance of this song changed my life tbh. as a little gift, a third and final part is in the works so stay tuneddd 👀

warnings: angst, slow burn, cameos from syd and richie (we love them in this household), mentions of claire (again, my apologies, ms. girl)

summary: after you found out that carmy had a girlfriend, claire. tension between you two grew intense as you rarely talked to him unless it involved work while he tried everything possible in order to talk you about what happened. it wasn’t until a former classmate of yours came in and asked you out while working, making him come to a sudden realization.

disclaimer: i do not own characters mentioned in this story. this is for fictional purposes only. do not copy or claim my work as your own. comments, reblogs and constructive feedback are appreciated!!

here are resources for supporting palestine and gaza 🇵🇸

masterlist

you’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loved you

ever since you found out that carmy was dating claire, the past three months felt as if it had been a year. the tension in the restaurant was so thick that you can slice through it with a knife. while carmy was trying everything to get you to speak to him, you did your best to avoid him except if it involved work. as much as you thought about putting in your two weeks, you simply couldn’t afford to.

you look into the mirror in your locker as you inspect your hair, being pinned back by a red claw clip. the hair accessory coordinated with the outfit you decided to wear today, which consists of a cropped red cardigan, black dress and doc martens. you reach for the makeup bag you keep so you can freshen up before your shift, unzipping it and pulling out a tube of clear mascara.

you twist the wand out of the tube and apply a layer of mascara on your upper eyelashes when syd walks in the locker room, just arriving for her shift. you both smiled at each other as you thanked god that it wasn’t carmy who walked through the door. she walked up to her locker next to yours, “hey, how did your night go?”

you shrugged as you applied a layer to your lower lashes, “not too bad, just watched a couple of episodes of sex and the city, took an edible then went to bed.” she laughed, “you seriously like that show?” she set her belongings in the locker as she left out her apron and head scarf, placing them both on the bench next to where you both stood.

you joked, “whenever anything goes wrong in my life, i do ask myself about what would carrie bradshaw do?” she rolled her eyes playfully as she laughed. she styled her hair with the scarf as you moved to putting on a soft pink lip liner over the outline of your lips. as syd put on her apron, she asked, “hey, can you tie the back for me?”

you nodded, setting your lip liner down and helping her tie the back strings of the apron in a comfortable, secure knot. as soon as you finished, carmy walked into the room, him and syd greeted each other while you and him made awkward eye contact but not saying anything to each other. syd sensed the unease in the room, deciding to go in the kitchen and see what they needed help with preparing for the day ahead.

this left you and carmy alone for the first time in a while. you felt his eyes on you as you continued putting on a light pink lipstick. he took off his jacket and placed in his locker as he finally decided to make another attempt at breaking the ice. “i think we need to talk.” you avoided him as if he was a ghost trying to make contact with a human.

he let out a sigh, growing more frustrated at the silent treatment you were giving him. he thought things between you both was supposed to be casual, no strings attached. while he understood why you were hurt, he also felt that he didn’t do anything wrong by not telling you about claire. he asked, “are you seriously going to ignore me?”

you pushed your bag back into the locker, slamming the door. the impact of the metal door made carmy startled, not being used to seeing you this angry. you snapped, “there is absolutely nothing we need to discuss.” as you try to walk out of the room, he gently grabs your wrist, turning you around to face him. “please, just talk to me.”

you groaned, “i don’t want to fucking talk to you, carm. just leave me alone.” you pulled out of his grasp and walked out of the room as he watched you leave. he felt this physical pain in his chest, sitting down on the bench as he ran his hand through his hair. he couldn’t help but wonder what went wrong and how could he make things right with you.

a couple of hours into your shift, the lunch rush was starting up as the restaurant was filled with people and you were on your feet, doing your best to keep with your section. you bring a drink to one of your tables, being one man who looked like they were in their early twenties. you placed his drink on the table and asked, “is there anything else you need?”

he shook his head and spoke, “no, i’m good. do you mind if i ask you a question though?” you politely nodded, “yeah, sure!” he continued, “this may sound a little weird but weren’t you in ms. klein’s homeroom?” you then remembered your freshman year homeroom teacher who had a whole wardrobe consisting of cat sweaters.

you nod, a bit confused at specificity of the question, “yeah i did actually..” you internally cringed at the person you were back then, wearing band merch and constantly straightening your hair to the point it was fried. he then explained, “i don’t know if you remember me but i’m dominic. i used to sit behind you.”

you suddenly remembered him, realizing you had a short lived crush on him until he moved schools after the first semester. you gasped, “oh my god, i thought you looked familiar! how’ve you been?” he had gotten a lot better looking than the last time you saw him, looking more taller and lean. his blonde hair was styled in a slightly disheveled wavy mullet and wore a white long sleeved shirt with blue jeans.

he grinned at you, his arctic blue eyes looking into your honey brown ones. “i’ve been good. i’m in town for a couple of days so i decided to explore what’s new here. enough about me though, how are you?” you smiled, feeling heat flush against your cheeks. “i’m doing good, life hasn’t been too bad.”

as you caught up with dominic, you began to realize why you had a crush on him in the first place. he was charming, make you blush as if you were a fifteen year old girl again. he admitted, “to be honest, i did like you but i never got the chance to tell you before i moved.” you laughed in disbelief, thinking it was a lie.

you shook your head, “that’s bullshit.” he insisted, “oh, it’s not bullshit. i regret not asking you out a lot sooner.”

carmy was on his smoke break outside the restaurant, he kept his eye on how you and dominic were interacting with each other. he felt himself growing more irritated at the sight of him making you laugh and smile. he broke up with claire a few weeks ago while he was locked inside the walk-in. he had feelings for her when he was in high school so of course, he thought it was something he wanted still but whenever he was with her, visions of you would cloud his mind.

you shrugged, “i mean.. i think you still have a chance.” dominic smirked, “oh really?” you nodded, “i definitely think so.” he replied, “well, we can go grab drinks after you get off work.. if you’re down.” you blinked, not knowing what to say. he was the first guy who asked you out since your situationship with carmy.

you made your choice on a whim, smiling at him. “i’m down.” he smiled back at you, “cool, can i get your number so i can text you where to meet at?”

he never viewed himself valuable to be loved by anyone, not by claire and especially not by you. his stomach churned and nausea set in when he looked over again, seeing you texting something onto dominic’s phone. he couldn’t bare to see the sight anymore, flicking the remains of his cigarette onto the ground.

he decided to walk around and enter through back of the restaurant, not wanting to see you. as he walked up to the back entrance, he sees richie, taking his own smoking break. “how’s your day going, cousin?” he shrugged, “i don’t know.. kinda shitty.” richie looked at him with concern but knew him well enough to know why he was upset.

he asked knowingly, “you’re thinking about her, aren’t you?” he sighed, “i broke up with claire weeks ago, man.” richie scoffed then responded, “i’m not talking about her, dipshit.” he swallowed the lump in his throat as he knew his cousin was right. “some dude came in and he asked for her number..”

richie’s eyes widened slightly, “oh shit, did she give it to him?” he reluctantly nodded. richie winced, “damn, dude. what are you going to do about it?” he laughed sarcastically, “what do you want me to do? it’s not like she wants to talk to me.” richie sighed, “look, you really like her right?”

carmy nodded, “i think like is an understatement for how i feel about her.” his eyes widened as he never thought he would genuinely be in love with someone but was glad that the person he loves was you. he asked, “what if i’m too late to tell her? i don’t know what i’d do if i was..”

richie shook his head, “i don’t think you’re too late, cousin. if she was getting married or some shit, that’s different. you still have a chance… go make things right with her.” he questioned, “but what if she still doesn’t want to talk to me?” richie shrugged, “then at least you tried. that’s better than putting in no effort at all.”

carmy nodded, taking in everything that his cousin had said. he knew that he had to talk to you and attempt to make things right again. he took in a deep inhale then let the air exhale through his mouth. he looked over at his cousin and said, “thank you.” richie nodded, “no problem.. now, go get your girl back.”

as you got ready to go out with dominic, butterflies fluttered around in your stomach while you looked through your closet to find the perfect outfit. you threw your clothes around as you looked in the mirror, holding them in front of you seeing what looked good or not. you tossed them to the side as you didn’t like how you looked.

your hair was wrapped in a towel while you wore an oversized shirt with shorts underneath to lounge around in before actually getting dressed and ready for the night. you were interrupted when you heard an urgent knock on your front door. you checked your phone and see no texts from dominic that indicated that he was here when another knock on the door rang through the house.

you walked out of your room through the small living room area to the front door and reluctantly opened it. to your surprise, carmy was standing there. you rolled your eyes and sighed, “what do you want?” he looked and stared at you in awe, seeing you in the t-shirt he gave you.

he then blurted out, “i don’t want you to go with him.”

[faerygrant]

what’s carmy like on your birthday? i feel like he’d pretend it’s all casual, pressing a kiss to your temple and murmuring a happy birthday but on the inside he’s like i am going to explode if i can’t make this a good day

You’re so right! He starts off the day so chill, just peppers soft kisses against you as you slowly wake. Holding you close as he whispers a calm and sweet “Happy Birthday” to you. He tries to act nonchalant, telling you to stay in bed as he brings you a tray of breakfast, with your favourite omelette, a granola parfait and freshly baked pan au chocolates that Marcus had dropped off earlier in the morning per his request.

He spends 10 minutes along on organising the tray, overthinking even the smallest details like stray pieces of chive that fell of the egg or the placement of the flowers in the tiny little vase he’d placed on the tray. When he finally does bring it upstairs he feels somewhat at ease at your sweet reaction.

He spends the rest of the day giving you a myriad of heartfelt gifts, so much love and affection and takes you out to one of the fancier restaurants in your neighbourhood. All while acting like it was no big deal when you burst into tears of joy, while asking him how he was able to get reservations for the normally fully booked place. He just shrugs, telling you it was no big deal. Little did you know he’d planned the whole day out in his head almost three months ago, calling in a favour from one of his fellow chefs from New York, overall just making sure your day was the best.

[galaxysgal]

rosy cheeks for carmy~ reader and carmy are spending their first christmas holidays together and they are v much in love but not super out there about it’s just lovey dovey and a lot of kissing and love love love ❤️

rosy cheeks || carmen berzatto

pairing: carmy x fem!reader

warnings: fluff fluff and more fluff!

a/n: im sooooo happy with this :') short n sweet

the lock on the front door clicks and the door swings open. your boyfriends arms are full of paper grocery bags, his cheeks pink from the cold. there's a dusting of white in his hair too, and only then do you realize it's started to snow.

"hey baby," he says with a soft smile as you come to his side to take the bags. and of course, your sweet carmen won't let you lift a finger. "hey, 's okay i got it." he kisses your forehead and takes the bags to your small kitchen.

you trail after him, your christmas slippers squeaking softly against the tile. you grab the matching pair you had ordered for him and hide the bag behind your back. "i've been decorating, and wrapping your gifts," you tell him with a cheeky grin.

"yeah? wha' kinda presents, hm?" he asks, placing milk and eggs in the fridge. "get me anything exciting?"

you giggle softly, stepping up behind him and resting your head on his shoulder as he begins to wash the fruits. "you know i can't tell you that!"

carmy turns, wet hands going to circle around your waist before you step back. he eyes you, seeing your hands tucked politely behind your back, and his face breaks into a devilish grin. "whatcha got there?"

"an early present..."

"an early present! how'd i get so lucky, huh sweet girl?" he steps closer, lands a peck on your lips, and holds his hands out for the gift.

you chase his lips, giving him a few more sweet kisses because he deserves them. he deserves everything. you do your best to give him the world.

you slip the shoes out of the bag before placing them in carmy's open hands. "merry christmas baby."

he examines the slippers, eyes sparkling. "aw, thank ya baby," he toes off his sneakers, peeling off his socks and tossing them in the direction of the laundry room. he tosses the slippers onto the ground and slips his feet in, leaning in to kiss you once more on the lips.

you pull your phone out and open the camera, holding it up high to show you, carmy, and your matching slippers. he kisses your cheek for the photo, and you grin widely.

carmy smiles, looking down at the picture. "send that to me, will ya? 'm gonna start dinner. chicken parm, just somethin' simple."

you send it to him and get back to decorating the apartment. carmy chimes in with sweet compliments while he cooks, "you're so good at this," and "you've really got an eye f'decorating," and "baby, y'really make this feel like home."

end.

my masterlist. my winter sleepover.

[thatone-brightstar]

The Bear & The Fox (Carmy Berzatto x Fem!Reader)

Chapter 3: Pin a Fox skin to the wall, call it decoration

Words: 4.9k

Summary: With a few drinks in, you both confess your feelings. But there's always something getting in the way.

a/n: I am the gift that keeps on giving! So here's the next chapter cuz I feel shitty just leaving it in my documents and you all have been so nice! Enjoy! xx

P.S. Reader is Latina in this, so there's gonna be melanin for daysss.

“How much longer do you think you're gonna be?!” Syd yelled at her phone through the noisy bar.

Everyone was on a different wave of conversation, ranging from sports to food to whatever new show they were hooked on. The buzz of chatter around them combined with the pulsing music and lack of food in his system was enough to create a growing migraine in Carmy’s head. He gladly took a swig of the beer in front of him to dumb out the increasing sensation as he waited for Syd to hang up on you. He thought their reaction to joining them would be one of distaste or discomfort but his first drink had been on Sweeps, who was glad to finally see him outside the perimeters of The Beef. 

“I like what you’ve done to the place.” He said after finishing the second beer. “But you gotta lighten up, man. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Also you could use a tan. Try going out in the sun every once in a while!” He joked and a genuine laugh had left Carmy’s lips for the first time in forever.

“She’s on her way!” Sydney yelled to the table and everyone acknowledged it before returning to their conversations.

“Does she know I’m here?” He asked her over the noise, a bit concerned whether he wanted to know the answer or not.

“Yeah! I told her we’re all here!” She answered and of course she would tell you, because as far as they were concerned, nothing out of the ordinary had happened between you two.

His hand began to grow clammy and he took another hefty swig of the amber liquid to try and calm the nerves down. At least the music was loud enough to drown out the sound of his thoughts, he'd have to make due with that for now. The chatter transitioned into anecdotes about the stupidest things they had done as teens and they spent the next ten minutes debating whether Angel stealing single batteries from the family packs at Walmart counted as kleptomania or not. By his third beer, he felt his shoulders lose a bit of the perpetual weight that had been sitting on them since he had arrived back in Chicago; the music felt more bearable, his laughs lighter and his nerves almost down to a hum. 

They had been lucky enough to get a booth table by the windows, the sight of River North’s night life was in full bloom behind the old stained glass and his eyes wandered to the new perspective he had been granted of the old neighborhood. Between neon signs and moving cars he saw you from afar. Standing patiently for the little human to move on the crosswalk light. You looked like a radiant ray of moonlight, with loose curls framing your face like a dark halo and even though he had found you absolutely beautiful with your paint splattered overalls, this was something entirely different, something that would have him losing his balance if he wasn’t already sitting down.

He watched you move your boot-covered feet closer towards the bar, and with each stride on the long skirt, the slit up your thigh revealed a glimpse of lovely tan skin with swirling designs he had known no existence of until then, but now wanted to discover more of. Golden rings contrasted against the black jacket covering your arms as you raked your fingers through your hair and turned towards the window where he had shamelessly been gawking at you. A small smile covered your previous serious features and you waved nervously before disappearing through the entrance.

He shuffled in his seat and wished he would have at least run some water through his hair before leaving, but looking around at everyone’s post work attire, he figured he’d be fine. A cheer of ‘Hey's was heard through the group as you approached the table and you made a little dance once you reached them. You scooted into the booth beside the edge by Carmy and threw a nervous smile in his direction.

“Sorry I’m late! Two fuckin Ubers canceled on my last minute. I swear I was about to start walking!” You yelled exasperated.

“Well you’re already two drinks behind so start catchin’ up!” Marcus said, calling the waiter over and ordering another round of beers and a double  shot of tequila for each one.

“Oh it’s gonna be like that then, huh?!” You asked him with raised brows and a smile.

“Uhh, yeah!” He mimicked you in a pitched valley girl accent and the table roared in laughter.

They went around talking about their day and how Richie, as he does, had death threatened Fak for suggesting he should go to anger management classes. Your shoulder rubbed alongside Carmy’s in the small booth as you laughed at their stories and the friction along with your delicate perfume was making it hard to concentrate on anything at all. He took a couple of fries from the dish at the center of the table to keep his mouth occupied as he listened to Syd and you argue about the best contestant in a new baking show you were both watching. 

The shots came with cheers, and as everyone took the small glass in one hand and a lemon wedge in the other, they went around the table to say something they cheered for,

“I’m thankful that I got tomorrow off so I can get as hammered as I want!” Cheered Sweeps and it was followed by a choir of Boo’s from everyone.

“I guess I'm thankful that I got a job that I actually like.” Marcus continued and the Boo’s turned to Aw’s.

“And I’m very thankful for you, bunch of idiots.” You finished shily and only Marcus, who was sitting across from you, noticed your eyes linger a little too long on Carmy.

Their little glasses clinged against one another and everyone downed the transparent liquid with a scrunched face. 

The conversations broke into groups again, and he took his shot at catching your attention before anyone else. He gently bumped his shoulder against yours while he took a sip of alcohol for courage. From his side view he saw you had turned up to look at him and noticed you swallow hard scanning his features. When he turned to you, a soft smile covered your face and it was hard not to smile back.

“Hey” You whispered, bumping your shoulder back to his softly.

“You..um, you look really nice.” He said leaning towards you so you could hear him better above the music, and also so no one else would  notice his words. 

His breath ghosted over the skin of your ear and you were thankful for the jacket covering your already bumpy skin.  

“Thank you.” You whispered, cheeks warm.

“Look, I’m sor-“ 

“I’m sorry for-“

You interrupted each other, then laughed waiting for the other to continue. 

“You go.” You insisted.

He breathed in deep and turned his torso towards you to give himself a false sense of privacy in the crowded space. “I’m really sorry If I made you feel uncomfortable… back at the office.” He started and his eyes jumped between yours trying to decipher your thoughts through your expressions. “That was not cool and kinda creepy and I don’t want you to go because of me-”

“Wait-”

“You’re a great addition to the team, honestly one of the best, you’re good at calming Richie when he gets stressed and you're fast and precise, and you're good for me too-” He kept rambling, his gaze now focused in his hands.

“Carmy-” You tried to interrupt again with no avail.

“And I’d hate for you to leave cause I’m an impulsive jackass and I wouldn’t know what to do if I.. couldn’t see you.. anymore.” He finished swallowing hard, his eyes dragged slowly from his hands to your features and he grew scared of the confession that had left his mouth under the rambling.

All his words separately meant something different, they meant a thank you, a praise, a gentle pat on the back. But not like this, not all together, jumbled and tied with a string of revelation that there might be something more than what he was saying. He saw your chest raise with the motion of a heavy breath and your eyebrows were scrunched in concentration over his face. The background noise had been covered over by the thumping of blood rushing to his head and for a second his heart stopped at the idea that he had dug himself a deeper grave than he had wished for. He stared back at your eyes unable to look away, the ‘Fuck it’ from a couple hours ago now sour on his tongue.

“Do you wanna talk outside?” You whispered leaning forward so he could hear you, brows still knotted together.

You didn’t wait for his answer as you reached down to his tightly clasped hands and wedged your fingers carefully to get them to separate. You held on tightly then began to slip out the booth telling everyone you were gonna get more drinks for the table, before getting lost in the sea of bodies standing around. He let you guide him through the free spaces between the swaying crowd of drunks as he did his best to calm the growing anxiety in his chest. All he could concentrate on were your delicate fingers brushing softly around his hand.

This is what he wanted, right? This is why he had come knowing you would be here, to tell you how he felt, to clear things up, and since the cat’s head was already out the bag, might as well let the rest of the body out. 

‘Let it rip’ his brother’s words danced in his mind and he smiled humorlessly at how they teased him with how easy it sounded to do so.

**********

Fuuuck. You had not planned this far ahead. At least not this early into the night. You expected to do this with maybe another three drinks in your system, when you could still hold a serious conversation without crying for getting rejected cause the voice in your head would slur that it was his loss and that you were still a bad bitch. It also didn’t help that you had smoked a bit while getting ready and the cloudy haze around your brain had not subsided. You were coherent, yes, which was important, however you were not very good with your self control and with the way your throat had closed up at the sight of his profile while he simply took a drink, god you knew this was gonna be hard. 

His confession still swam in the swampy waters of your foggy brain as you pulled both of you through the crowded space. Your hand was tightly wrapped around what you could hold of his and when you finally spotted an exit, your heart leaped in your chest at the idea of how the conversation would go. The emergency door stood tall between the bathroom entrances, an inaudible creek vibrated through the metal as you pushed yourself against it and a cold breeze of air welcomed your face when you both stepped out into the alley. You expected a few smokers to linger around, but then again many who did choose to smoke did it in front of the place, not the side alley like rats; so you were alone. Great.

You finally let go of his hand, a cold absence replacing it, then leaned against the wall in front of the metal exit, staring at him. He took a cigarette from the packet inside his jacket and lit it, mimicking your actions by the door. He took a couple calming drags while both of you thought about what you were gonna say next. 

You could play this two ways: One. Pretend like you hadn’t understood what he said at the booth and say the whole office thing had been a misunderstanding. A little gaslighting wouldn’t hurt, right? It was for your own good anyway, the both of you. The pessimist in you was sure Carmen didn’t know what he was getting into and he already had enough problems trying to get the restaurant off the ground to add yours to the mix. 

And two, Tell him how you felt, fuck the rule. You had known him long enough to know he wasn’t the type of guy you established the rule for in the first place. He was nothing similar to the mutherfuckers you had met in your other jobs, he was nice and patient and cared more about others than he liked to admit; and for fuck’s sake if the bar was already on the floor, finding someone like that and also have him be hot, was not a common occurrence. 

You took your eyes off your boots scraping the pavement to look at him. ‘Why is he so hot and so miserable?!’ you thought as you watched him with his cigarette, the gloss in your eyes making any source of light into twinkling stars. His eyes met yours and normally you would avert your gaze. Normally, however, you would not be in this situation and normally you would not be feeling this angry all of a sudden. 

“You thought I was gonna leave?” You asked. ‘Solid start’.

“I thought I freaked you out.” He shrugged. “You walked out on me.”

“Yeah, and how did you expect me to react?” You respond a little more defensive than you intended. 

“Look, I know it was fucked and I’m sorry, okay? I just-” He took another drag to calm himself down then looked back at you, ocean eyes harboring a storm. “I don’t know what happens to me… when you're around. You make my chest not hurt as much and I- It feels easier to breathe with you.” 

You stayed silent, staring at him through hooded eyes and heavy breaths, trying to keep your mind clear because how could you concentrate on anything when he spoke so sweetly about you? You had to keep reminding yourself that this was for the best. Around you, the low rumble of the music vibrating past the walls could still be heard, like a distant world existing outside your current bubble of angst.

“Wh-what did you mean?” He asked after a long silence and he noticed the confusion in your blank stare. “When you said you needed to get me out your system, what was that?” 

Carmy noticed the subtle change in your expression, how your shoulders tensed and you diverted your gaze to anything else but him. You wanted to shout that it meant exactly that, he was so deep in your thoughts that some days you had caught yourself shamelessly daydreaming about the two of you together, in any way possible. But the last rational part in your brain held your tongue from speaking, you couldn’t say it, there was too much at risk to do so and he was not helping with the way his words were making your chest swell. You were getting angry because this would be so much easier if he was just another asshole. 

You shrugged looking at him. “Nothing, i-it just came out.” ‘Gaslighting it is.’ 

He exhaled a humorless laugh, his eyes still trained on you. “You’re a shitty liar, you know that?” He said with a last drag of his cig before flicking it to the ground and stomping on it.

He raked a hand through his hair and shameful observation had taught you that this meant Carmy was getting stressed.

“Okay, fine! You wanna know?!” You finally spat with anger, “Because I fuckin’ like you, Carmen!” You raised your arms in exasperation. “Because you have no fuckin’ idea what it does to me when you look at me like-like that!” His gaze was fixated on you, head slightly tilted down and to the right, jaw tensed. His brows dropped lower in a scowl and a jolt of lightning traveled down your back at his expression.

“And why didn’t you say anything!” He yelled back.

“Oh, seriously?! What did you want me to say? I need two roast beef sandwiches, hold the peppers and FYI Carmy, I got a crush on you?!”

“How the fuck was I supposed to know then?!” He said in frustration, taking a step closer to you and the height difference was significantly more noticeable when he wasn’t shrinking into himself.

“You weren’t supposed to, that’s the fuckin’ point!” His shoulders fell slightly and the strength in your voice lowered. “I just... needed to get over you and you’d never know. Get you out my system with someone else and never have to mention it.”

Carmy tried to ignore the flashes of your rosy cheeks and short breaths, panting under someone else. ‘This is not the time.’ he reminded himself.

“So, what? You were just gonna leave me believing I did somethin’ wrong to you when you actually liked me?”

“I wasn’t gonna leave.” You whispered. The words get caught on your tongue and you take a deep breath before continuing.

“But the last time I liked someone at my job it… It didn’t turn out right.” You struggle to calm your racing thoughts, his eyes a distracting lighthouse guiding you back in. His brows knitted together. “I don’t wanna go through that again, Carmy” You said defeated.

“You don’t know if it’s gonna be the same.” His voice pleaded just above a whisper, lower than you were used to when it came to him or his cousin.

“I don’t think I can risk it.” You whispered back, doing your best to keep the tears under control.

You were both silent for a while, until Carmy began to shake his head slowly.

“No, no, no you don’t get to do that, okay? You don’t get to tell me you like me then immediately blow me off cause some asshole in the past hurt you.” He took the last two strides in your direction, his chest now so close you could feel the heat radiating from his body.

You pushed yourself against the wall from the sudden proximity. Your breath seized in your lungs as you felt both his hands cup the sides of your face and tilt it up to stare deep into the pits of your eyes. You swallowed hard at all the scenarios flashing through your head, the turn of events giving you whiplash. He lowered his forehead slowly to yours, your eyelashes fluttered trying to close, but your eyes were fixed on his. Carmy’s face was so close, you could feel the heat off his breath. The smell of tobacco that lingered around you and mixed with the smokey wood scent that seemed to cling to him after a long workday, had your head grasping onto the last threads of self control left in  you.

“Tell me to stop. Tell me to stop and I’ll do it, I’ll never touch you again or mention it, I promise.” He rambled, a soft desperation clear in his voice. “I won’t even look in your direction but please, please don’t ever think for a second that I would do anything to hurt you.” He whispered.

Even in the darkness of the alley, you could tell his irises had swallowed the last drop of blue, now so dark and glossy you could see your own despair reflected back to you. You swallowed hard to get rid of the cottonmouth and his eyes flickered towards your lips for less than a second. ‘God, why couldn’t you just say yes?!’ Your head screamed at you through the dissipating smog of weed and untampered emotions.

He had not only given you his heart on a golden platter, but had plated it himself and set the table for you, too. Now it was solely your decision if you wanted to take it or not, if you wanted to guard his heart next to yours for safekeeping or let it finish crumbling on the grime covered pavement. You stared at his features in contemplation and scanned your brain for all the ways it told you this could go wrong. And yet, even after a thousand scenarios came up, you held in protective arms the few ones that bloomed a warm excitement in your chest. You wanted to, even if it was just this once, to be fearless, jump into the unknown regardless of the outcome. You truly did.

“It’s not that easy.” You whispered, shutting your eyes to avoid the look of hurt haunting over his. His hands faltered their grip on your face and soon a cold rush of air replaced the warm contact.

You reopened your gaze to see him standing with his hands now resting on the brick beside your head, defeated. His stare was glued to his tattooed skin, not even daring to look directly at you anymore and you knew, he was withdrawing back to the depths of his mind where one goes when you’ve been completely shattered. You could see his jaw tense up, probably in anger and he was well in his right to be so. He had bared his feelings to you and you had massacred them all over the walls in less than five words. ‘It’s better like this.’ You tried to convince yourself.

“I’m so sorry Carmy, but I-I can’t-”

He cleared his throat then pushed himself back with enough force that it almost felt like he had pulled on an invisible string against your chest.

“No- uh, no I get it.” he sniffled “You’re right, it’s better this way.” He did his best to avoid your gaze, settling it on anything around the empty alley. “I’m gonna go buy the drinks and then head home.”  He said walking back to the door.

You watched still from your position by the wall how he reached for the handle pulling the metal open. An immediate rumble of bass surrounded the once empty area as Carmy walked halfway in then stopped. He slightly turned his head in your direction, eyeing you over his shoulder.

“Don’t-uh.. don’t worry about.. this.” He said to you over the music. “I meant what I said about not sayin’ anythin’.” He rose his head to the sky for a couple seconds then back down. “So, don’t worry about it.” The gravel under his feet groaned as he turned to look at you one last time, “See you at work, chef.”

He was gone with a slam of the door. You stayed motionless, fixated on the space his body had occupied only seconds before. The ghost of his touch still tingled on your face and it took you an unspeakable amount of strength to not break down for the second time that day. It was already atrocious enough that you had committed what was probably the second worst mistake of your life by letting him go, but if you let yourself fall apart in a dingy unlit back alley of some bar, you have truly found a point lower than you thought possible. So with a very, very shaky breath and with the vast expertise as a teen with an overprotective mother, you pulled yourself together, sniffled back the tears and made your way inside ready to pretend like the last fifteen minutes had never happened.

When you reached the booth with your friends, a tray of five shots sat untouched on the table and a sour taste invaded your mouth to see the sixth had been downed and turned upside down at the end of the tray. 

“Carmy said your mom called, is everything okay?” Sydney asked as soon as you were in earshot, the pit in your stomach grew again  because even after hurting him, he still considerate enough to cover for your absence.

“Uh… yeah she’s fine. Just wanted to know when I’d be back.” You lied as you slid back into the booth.

With no hesitation, you reached for one of the glasses and downed it straight, no lemon. Syd gave a confused look to your expressionless face and even reached for one of the glasses to prove it was actually alcohol when you were laughing at Angel and Macus’ arm wrestling.

The liquid burned a distracting path down your throat and kept your attention diverted enough from the emotions you knew you’d have to figure out when the fog had lifted. For now, at least you would allow yourself to play with the idea that everything was fine and that your chest wasn’t shattering with every whiff of his lingering scent that permeated on your jacket.

The rest of the night was a blur of strawberry daiquiris, tequila shots, terrible karaoke and the guys competing over who could throw the furthest a traffic cone they found off the side of the road while walking you and Syd home, at almost four in the morning. They had dropped you off with a chorus of slurred ‘bye byess’ and kept walking in the direction of “Adventure” as Sweeps had called it. On your way up, the usual still stairs had become a workout to climb and Syd had almost landed on her ass on the second and third floor, before tripping on the forth and sliding belly first down half the flight of stairs. You did your best to contain the laughter after seeing her reaction to finally landing with nothing but a bruised chin and ego, but her surprised face was enough to have you slumping on the last step and heaving with tears in your eyes. After you both caught your breath, you reached towards her and held her hand until you were in the safety of your room.

You giggled drunk while changing into your pajamas and turned to Sydney, telling her about your foolproof plan of going home with a stranger to get Carmy out of your head.

“I don’t get it.. why not jus’ like, bang Carmy, right? And get it over with?” She said between hiccups as you both climbed into your bed.

“It’s jus’ not the same!” You whined, turning off the light. “He’s too good for that.” You heard Syd groan beside you and you’re glad the lights were off so she couldn’t see you rolling your eyes at her. “He is!”

You shimmied under the covers and stared at the glow in the dark stickers on your ceiling, the alcohol making them swim around the blank canvas like shooting stars.

“He’s sweet and kind and… funny in like a fucked up, kinda tragic way..” you giggle “and he’s so fuckin’ hot, Sydney! So hot! Every time he looks at me with those eyes I want him to bend me over the expo an-“ you feel a soft smack against your face and the plushness of the pillow drowns out your laughs. 

Syd groaned in disgust at the image you planted in her head “Dude gross! Why would I ever need to know that?!” She said taking the pillow back from you. 

You giggled again and turned to Syd’s silhouette, softly combing back the braids that rested on her shoulder to distract yourself. “I think I really fucked up tonight, Syddy.” You finally admitted in the darkness of your safe space and heavily intoxicated. 

Sydney hummed in question and you knew you only had a few moments of clarity before falling unconscious. You took the end of one of her braids and used it to tickle under her nose to keep her awake a little longer while you failed to understand the many emotions in your head.

“I think he hates me now.” You said softly, a small tear sliding out your eye and quickly disappearing into the soft fabric of your pillow.

She scratched at her nose in frustration then slightly slapped her palm against your forehead. You laughed softly but continued to bug her.

“He could never hate you, he loves you too much.” She mumbled carelessly, readjusting herself and swinging a leg up on your hip under the duvet.

Your cheeks felt warm at the idea of love and even though you knew it was too soon to call it that, you couldn’t avoid the fuzzy feeling the word brought to your insides. ‘Oh to be loved’ you thought ‘and by Carmy of all people’. 

“You can’t know that.” You said with a sniffle, caressing the tip of her braid now on your own nose. You liked how it tickled.

Syd sighed before lifting her head as best she could in her drunk and half asleep state and slurred your name “Please, that man has been tripping-over-his-feet in love with you since day one.” She paused to pull her hair from your hands and adjust the pillow under her. “You two are the only idiots who haven’t noticed.” Then laid her head back down with a soft smack.

A new sensation filled your chest, one you hadn’t really given a name to before because there hadn’t been a reason to. It was a warmth that spread from the crown of your head down to the tips of all your extremities as your friend’s words floated in your head. A slow smile extended across your face and with the last waves of consciousness you decided to put an end to all the doubt and talk to him tomorrow, the stupid rule be damned. 

Capter 4.

Taglist: @pearlstiare and that’s it lmao

[thebearer]

teddy and/or willow doing Girl Scouts and everyone is obsessed with buying cookies. Richie buys like 10 boxes and is literally always eating them , maybe some of the regulars who know carmy will buy a few boxes cause they love the girls, uncle jimmy is buying obscene amounts to make sure they sell the most in their troop. Marcus absolutely tries to replicate the cookies

marcus comes up with an excuse to buy a bunch of boxes and makes a dessert with them. like a thin mint truffle that is a limited specialty and a HIT with the customers. their troop ends up winning and teddy and willow are just smitten lol.

also uncle jimmy buying in bulk. you and carmen try to tell him he doesn't have to and he waves them off. "i'll give 'em to my guys as christmas gifts."