#this is definitely a jaw thing more than a carmy thing

[heardchef]

carmy + licking his lips

[newtkive]

Carm would be so so clueless when you’re flirting with him and would take stuff so literally and you’re just head in hands shaking coz even with your terrible and obvious flirting he isn’t picking up a hint and that means you need to verbalise it even more explicitly and that’s just so embarrassingggggg

this is so cute but sooo REALLL. he has next to no experience w people romantically so he more than likely either doesn't detect it, or can't believe someone like you would even flirt with him.

like after awhile of yall knowing each other and you coming to terms w your feelings for him you finally decide to just be playful and go for it. maybe you start w thoughtful things like you knew he'd been staying up all night at the restaurant so you bring him a yummy coffee homemade in a to-go cup in the morning. you'd set it on his desk in cute, loopy cursive letters and a heart facing him, so the first thing he sees is '𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓶𝔂 ♥'. he literally would get so confused but once he looks up from his pile of paperwork that comes with opening a new place he'd get butterflies at the sight of you standing there, your cheeks cute, red, and round from your big smile, too stunned to say smth.

"for you! i made it." you'd motion to the cup once you realize he isn't going to speak and he almost jumps a bit in surprise. the look on his face unbelieving like, 'for me?? thats for me??'

he would thank you softly, cheeks even redder than yours. but not because he thinks you're flirting with him, no-- it's because he's giddy at the thought that you brought him a coffee and he shouldn't be because you don't mean it as anything more than a friendly offering.

after a little moment of awkward silence, carmy taking the cup and thumb rubbing over his name, you'd clear your throat a bit. "you're welcome.. you know, the barista thought you were pretty cute." the words just tumbled out a bit ungracefully, a little stutter cutting in along the way.

at that carmy looks up at you, brows knitted in total, earnest confusion. "i thought you said you made it yourself?" he'd say and your jaw would literally fall open, because how daft could he be? that was the point of the joke?

a chorus of 'uuhhh's and 'nevermind just enjoy' would come stringing along from your mouth and you turn to exit the office. behind you watching the whole thing is sydney with her jaw on the floor and richie with a smirk, taking a bite of a muffin. you approach them, head shaking and palm hitting your forehead, asking if they saw that.

richie would give it a few minutes to gossip with you two, laugh about how stupid carmy was, before sauntering into the little office. "you, cousin, are a fuckin' idiot. you know that?" richie would say, towering over the man, earning a confused look from carmy just like he gave you before. ignoring carmy (because he definitely isn't gonna tell him since that was much too fun to watch) richie grabs the cup and takes a swig, an appreciative frown growing on his lips as he nodded in appreciation. "good."

"that's mine, freak, give it back." and carmy snatches it because you made it for him and now he cherishes it and yeah it's good as fuck.

[drabbles-mc]

It'll Get Done (Pt. 2)

Richie Jerimovich & F!Reader

Carmy Berzatto & F!Reader

Find Part 1 Here

Warnings: 18+, language, alcohol, canon-typical vibes

Word Count: 1.8k

A/N: My writer's block has been brutal lately because of lift things, which is deeply unfortunate because I wanted to NaNo this month. But! I did write this for these guys. I just want to put them in rooms and let them talk to each other forever.

The Bear Taglist: @garbinge @withmyteeth @narcolini @hausofmamadas @ashlingnarcos @darqchilddaydreamz @justreblogginfics (If you want to be added to any of my taglists, plesae let me know!)

Richie didn’t make it back before the end of the day. You only noticed because the kitchen was a little quieter. Not quiet, of course, but quieter. There was one less person that Carmy was yelling at and arguing with. It was amazing how much it cut down on the noise level.

Every now and then as Carmy raced back and forth between the front and the back of the house, you could feel him lingering behind you. The kid exuded stress in a way that you didn’t know was possible. You understood why, because most people if they were thrown into his position would’ve jumped off the sinking ship rather than trying to scoop the water out with a soup ladle, but sometimes you still felt like you should strap him to the chair in the office and force-feed him some of Richie’s Xanax.

You empathized with him. Or you empathized with him at least more than Richie did, which was a low bar these days. But despite the compassion you were dredging up to give him, there were still plenty of times when you felt him standing behind him and all you wanted to do was spin back around to him and ask him what his fucking deal was. It was easier to refrain from doing that on days when Richie was there because he would say it for you.

Carmy came all but skidding back through the kitchen towards the register, going back and forth between muttering and shouting, “Behind,” as he made his way through.

“Calm down, Jeff,” Tina said with a laugh as she went to take her pot off the stove.

You felt your jaw clench on Carmy’s behalf. Tina was knowledgeable about a lot of things and one of those things was, most definitely, how to get under Carmy’s skin. It wasn’t a difficult code to crack but there were so few people in the world who could do it with such expert precision. Her and Richie were two peas in a pod that way.

“It’d be easier for me to calm down, Tina,” Carmy snapped as he kept walking, “if we were able to pay our goddamn vendors!”

She was shaking her head at him—you caught it out of the corner of your eye. But you also noticed that she didn’t say anything more about it. Content to go back and lie in wait for something else to pop up that she could nettle him about. The end of the day might’ve been approaching quickly but you had the feeling in the pit of your stomach that she would be able to find something else before she clocked out without having to work too hard.

When Carmy came back into the kitchen a little while later, he was walking at a much slower pace than he had been before. You were sure that some of that had to do with the fact that the last of the customers had left, and presumably whatever vendor that had showed up looking for money had also left.

He looked on as everyone slowly but surely worked through their cleanup processes. He wasn’t looking at you, but you still asked him, “All good?”

His head snapped in your direction. “What?”

You couldn’t help the laugh that slipped out of you. It wasn’t funny per se, but if you didn’t laugh about it you’d end up crying. “What can I help you with, Carmen?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. N-nothing. No one can help me with,” he let out a huff, raking his hands through his hair, “fuckin’ anything.”

“Little dramatic,” you replied honestly, sarcastic but kind, “but alright.”

It got a weak chuckle out of him. “You know what the fuck was going on in Mikey’s head with all that shit?” he asked as he gestured to the office.

You didn’t have to turn and look where he was pointing to know how bad the mess was. You’d seen it while Mikey was making the mess. You’d been seeing it as Carmy made almost no headway in cleaning any of it up. You didn’t blame him for that. If you’d been in his position, you wouldn’t have any idea where to start either.

“Thank fuckin’ god no,” you finally answered him.

He pressed his lips into a thin line for a second as he nodded. “Yeah. Yeah that seems to be…yeah.”

“You should—”

“You can head out, Chef,” Carmy cut you off, and you didn’t know if he even realized that he’d done it. “I’ll finish cleaning up.”

You shook your head. “I can clean up my shit.”

He motioned for you to leave. “It’s fine. I got it.”

“Carm…”

“Seriously,” he reiterated. “Go.”

You looked at him for a moment, and that’s when you could see it in his eyes, the silent plea to just let him have some time to himself. You knew that feeling—it was the whole reason you’d shown up as early as you had that morning in the first place anyway. You knew better than to tell him that he should leave. He wasn’t going to and all it was going to do was turn into an argument. You didn’t need another one of those.

“Fine,” you said with a nod. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You ditched your apron and switched back into your casual shoes, stuffing everything else into your locker while you grabbed your bag and your jacket. Neither you nor Carmy spared each other another goodbye, or any other words in general as you headed out.

There was no point in getting your car keys out of your bag, not when the bar you went to with Richie all the time was within walking distance. The couple blocks felt way longer when it was cold out, but it wasn’t that bad yet.

The bartender recognized you when you walked in, giving you a smile and a nod as he moved to start pulling your drink together before you even sat down. He waited for you to get situated before asking, “Flying solo tonight?”

You laughed as you pulled your phone out of your bag. “That’s an excellent question. Let me call—” The rest of the sentence died on your tongue when the door to the bar flung open and Richie strode through. You instantly let it drop right back into your bag, eyes fixed on Richie even though you were talking to the bartender. “I’m not flying solo tonight, no.”

“Can’t believe you came over here without me!” Richie said as he walked over to you.

“Yeah, well,” you looked up at him from the stool you were sitting on as he clapped his hands down on your shoulders, “least I ordered you a drink.”

He laughed, leaning more onto you. His tone shifted completely as he spoke. “Have I ever told you that I love you?”

You rolled your eyes. “You can always tell me again.”

He kissed the side of your head. “I love you.”

“Damn right,” you said with a nod as Richie plopped down on the seat next to you. You waited until he was comfortable in his seat, leaning forward with his arms braced against the edge of the bar with his breathing evened out, before you tried to have anything resembling a real conversation. “Where the hell did you go all day?”

“What do you mean?”

“You expect me to believe that it was guys and places all day?” You were only bringing it up because, much to Carmy’s dismay, Richie usually was at the restaurant all day every day the place was open. He’d pop in and out briefly for whatever errands he assigned himself, but other than that he was present and accounted for. Being gone all day was noticeable, at least to you if no one else.

It was written all over his face that he was thinking about not elaborating. You saw the shifts in his expression as he tried to come up with a joke, or a lie, or anything besides getting into the reality of it all. But then when he looked you in the eyes again, all he could do was be honest with you. “Tiff called. Had to go pick Eva up from school.”

You nodded. “Got it.” You paused. “Wanna talk about it or—”

“No, no,” he laughed, shifting back into his usual demeanor. “We’re not doing that. You don’t get to do that.”

You let out a confused laugh. “I don’t get to do what?”

“You don’t get to try and use Eva to get out of telling me what the fuck your dumbass boyfriend did!” He paused as the bartender set both your drinks down, taking a moment to thank him before shifting his attention right back to you. “You first.”

You huffed, wishing that you could get out of it again. Even with things that were much lower-stakes, there was only so long that you could dodge Richie and his endless line of questions. You took a long sip of your drink as you tried to figure out what you wanted to say, how you wanted to try and say it. There was no way that you could tell the story that would end with him being anything but pissed off about the entire situation. You couldn’t blame him for that, either. After all, you were still pretty pissed off about it yourself.

“It’s nothing new,” you said, a cop-out you knew that he wasn’t going to accept.

He shook his head, looking down at the glass in his hands before looking at you again. “Tell me the old news, then.”

“I’m done being angry about it, Richie.”

“I’m not,” he replied with no hesitation.

It got you to laugh, at least. “That’s because you’re never done being angry about anything.”

He waited for you to look at him. “You’re really not gonna tell me what he did?” He paused, and when you didn’t say anything, he added on, “That bad?”

You shook your head, drumming your fingers on the outside of your glass. “That pointless.”

“Ah,” he waved you off with that same smirk you’d seen from him so often over the years, “another drink or two and I won’t be able to get you to stop talking shit about him.” He missed the look on your face as he looked back down at his drink and shook his head. “Fuckin’ jagoff.”

You chuckled, nodding. “Yeah—that we can agree on at least.”

“Speaking of which,” he gestured towards the door of the bar, “how was the fuckin’ executive toddler chef the rest of the day?”

You smiled, rolling your eyes. “An absolute gem once you walked out the door.”

For a split second you could see it on his face that he almost believed you. Then he smartened up and gave you a playful bump against your shoulder with his own. “Fuck you.”

[thebirdandthebee]

Easy As

A/N: I don’t know, I just liked this gif haha. I know we’re all pumped for JAW winning his first Golden Globe! This is lightly inspired after I got an ask for Carmy winning an award. This doesn’t have smut, but it is VERY fluffy! Also, no giveaways at gender of baby Berzatto if anyone has guesses :)

That being said, I am taking requests for this series again!

Vanessa Monaghan is the breath of fresh air that Carmen had been gasping for.

Page 29: Beard

“My love are you almost ready?” Vanessa called, putting in her diamond earrings as a finishing touch. She turned in the mirror to take in the final look. Though Carmen was insisting it wasn’t as big of a deal as she was making it out to be, Vanessa knew how big of a deal the James Beard Awards were.

Carmen was nominated for Best Chef: Great Lakes and if he won tonight, he’d be one of the few in history to win Best Emerging Chef and a Best Chef designation.

It was also a great reason to take a trip, with the awards taking place in New York – one of Vanessa’s favorite cities. Carmen had less fond memories of the Big Apple, but he was grateful Vanessa was here with him. Honestly, he’d much rather skip the event all together.

Vanessa sprung for a hair and makeup team to help put her together. After all, at six months pregnant, sometimes doing her hair took too much energy. Old Hollywood waves with kohl-lined eyes and red lips to top it all off would definitely be too much to do on her own. Just getting into her red velvet dress was effort enough. It was fitted across the middle to show off her baby bump with a sweetheart neckline, which Carmen appreciated as each passing months it felt like her breasts grew bigger and bigger.

“I need help with this thing,” she could hear him murmur as he walked back toward the bathroom suite.

“Carmen you look so handsome,” she smiled, clicking toward him in her heels that put her about two inches taller than him. Carmen looked up from the mangled bowtie around his neck and gave his wife the same look as when she walked down the aisle.

“Ness, you – you’re stunning,” he complimented. She was everything he’d ever dreamed of. As she stepped in his personal space to properly tie his bowtie, his hand slid naturally over her form, one landing on her waist the other on her baby bump.

“It might be silly of me to ask, but there is food at this thing, right?” She tilted her head.

“There’s not dinner,” Carmen shook his head. “There’ll be hors d’oeuvres but there ceremony itself is only an hour long. We can order some food up when we get back,” he assured.

“Good, we’re starving,” Vanessa said, sliding his bowtie into place. “God you look good in a tux,” she complimented, making him grin.

“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” he said earnestly, leaning forward to peck her lips just lightly enough that it wouldn’t muss her red lips.

“I love when you get to wear your real ring,” she said, holding his hand and running a finger across his gold wedding band, which was usually replaced by his silicone work bands. “Like it actually is making me a little horny,” she added, but then again, pretty much everything did in her second trimester.

“Really?” Carmen asked, brows pushing up his forehead.

“Come on, don’t let me tempt you – you have an award to win,” she said, “and our car should be here any moment.”

Carmen dutifully lead his wife, grabbing the car door and holding her hand as they pulled up to the historic theater the ceremony was being held inside.

“How do I look?” Vanessa asked, standing at the end of the red carpet.

“Incredible,” Carmen replied. “Ready?” He asked as the coordinator ushered them in front of the step and repeat. It wasn’t a crazy paparazzi-filled stretch, but there were a handful of photographers there.

Vanessa stayed close to Carmen who proudly placed his left hand on her baby bump.

“This is way more fun than walking at graduation,” Vanessa said, looking at her husband who smirked with a small laugh. She decided in that moment she’d buy each and every photo taken of them that night.

It was fun for Carmen to catch up and see some familiar faces from his days living in New York, at least, the ones he enjoyed seeing.

He knew he wasn’t going to win Best Chef tonight anyway, so he just wanted to make sure that Vanessa enjoyed the evening and there was nothing more she loved than meeting new people.

“When are you due?” Miles Regent, a chair member of the foundation who awarded Carmen his first James Beard medal six years ago asked.

“Valentine’s Day,” Carmen replied proudly.

“Congratulations, Carmen, seems like you’ve got it all,” Miles, an older man with a perfectly groomed beard winked.

“I do,” Carmen countered, smiling as he remembered his fortune.

“Baby, do you know where we’re sitting?” Vanessa asked as the lights in the theater dimmed as a warning.

“Uh yeah, they put the nominees in a specific spot,” he said, looking around for the signage.

“I can’t wait to take these shoes off,” Vanessa said as she walked alongside her husband, who found their table and pulled out her chair.

“Want me to get you a bite to eat quick?” He offered, to which she nodded with complete adoration in her eyes. Carmen darted off toward the refreshments as music began to play, and by the time he came back with a small plate of pregnancy-friendly treats, Vanessa had already made friends with everyone else at their table.

Carmen took the time used by the presenters to talk about the Foundation and history of the awards to study Vanessa’s hand that he kept in his lap. He admired her wedding ring, her freshly manicured nails and the little veins that ran from her palm up her arm. He also was glad to take a bite of any of the hors d’oeuvres she couldn’t finish for one reason or another. He thought the food was actually pretty spectacular and made a note to as Miles who catered the event. How do you pick a caterer for a room full of the best chefs in America?

Then, the awards began. Best Emerging Chef, Outstanding Chef, Outstanding Restaurant... and on and on. Vanessa was making a mental list of all the places she wanted to visit after baby arrived.

Before they knew it, they were calling the category Carmen was nominated in was being presented. His division included chefs from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

“The 2024 Best Chef: Great Lakes is Carmen Berzatto,” the presenter read off the card. Vanessa’s head whipped around to face her husband who looked equally as stunned. He impulsively stood up, his legs acting on their own accord and Vanessa followed, giving him a big hug and a soft kiss to his cheek – both of them a little shocked.

“Get up there!” She giggled, eyes wide. He nodded, still in complete surprise. The presenter elaborated as he found his bearing.

Carmen Berzatto is only the second chef to be named both Best Emerging Chef and Best Chef in the history of the foundation.

Carmen made his way to the stage, standing at the podium as the medal was slipped around his neck. Now, he had to say something.

“Wow, not to sound cliché but I really was no expecting this,” his fingers grazed the medal which sat not too far below his collarbone. “Of course I would not be up where without the work of my amazing team at The Bear, it’s entirely a group effort,” he began. “When we changed my family’s restaurant over from what we’d been doing for fifty years to something entirely new, I don’t think in our wildest dreams we’d reach something like this,” he said honestly, “we mostly just needed to stay in business,” he added, earning a laugh from the crowd. Vanessa’s eyes flooded with tears. She was so proud of her husband she was sure she could take flight.

“This is entirely impossible without my beautiful wife who is patient, understanding, encouraging and supports me endlessly, no matter what,” he said, barely finding Vanessa’s gaze from under the stage lights. “I think anyone here can understand what it’s like in this industry and the demands it makes on us, but also our families, and she’s my partner in everything I do – there is no me without her.” Vanessa let out a wet laugh. “Thank you,” he said simply before being applauded off the stage.

As the next presenter took the stage for the final award of the night, Carmen appeared from beside the table, hastily taking his seat with his medal still around his neck. The moment he was settled in his seat, Vanessa pounced with a big, firm kiss.

“Carmen,” she said with wide eyes. “What just happened?” she whispered aggressively, a wild smile on her face.

“I have no idea,” Carmen whispered back, their hands clasped together. Thankfully, there was only one more award for the night and soon the ceremony came to a close. However, everyone wanted a piece of Carmen as the scheduled agenda wrapped up.

He did his best to accommodate those who approached him, shaking lots of hands and forgetting many names, but being as gracious as possible nonetheless. Soon, however, he could tell Vanessa was powering through and he wanted to get her back to the hotel.

Carmen, from across the room, encountered a familiar face. Not a friendly face, but familiar nonetheless. His former director who lived and died to make Carmen’s life fucking miserable.

He gave Carmen a smile, which was not returned. And as soon as Carmen made eye contact, he broke it again, ushering his wife out of the front door to where a car was already waiting to take them back to their hotel.

Vanessa let out a scream of excitement as soon as the car door closed behind Carmen.

“You did it!” She laughed, “Carmen! Congratulations!” She squeezed his hands in hers. “I’m so proud of you!”

“I can’t believe it,” he laughed, thoughts of his former director already banished from his mind.

“I can!” Vanessa insisted, scooting closer to him as the car pulled away from the theater. “I’m so happy for you, you earned this,” she said, kissing him again.

They bribed their driver to stop by a by-the-slice pizza spot where Carmen loaded up a box with all kinds of options and a fistful of cannoli.

“I don’t think it gets any better than this,” Vanessa smiled, laying back on their plush hotel bed in her plush hotel robe, double-fisting two pieces of pizza beside Carmen.

“I think it will get a little better,” Carmen reminded, sliding his hand over her belly.

“Okay, fair,” she giggled, making him smile. They shared a comfortable silence as they ate their pizza.

“Last time I won a James Beard,” Carmen spoke up. “I was so fucking miserable,” he said quietly, tearing off a piece of crust. “I was leaving Madison Park – not sleeping, living off of Xanax, cigarettes and kitchen scraps,” he listed off, Vanessa listening intently, slowly shifting to lay on her side and face him fully. “I hated waking up, hated going to work, hated leaving work, hated going to bed,” he tallied, “and I was sure that was as good as it was ever going to get. I was being rewarded for living the most miserable life.”

Vanessa reached over, resting her hand on his bicep.

“I guess I didn’t think I could do this while also being happy,” he said sincerely. “I meant what I said, Ness,” he scooted a little closer, turning so they were nestled closely, sharing a pillow. “You make me happier than I’ve ever been – sometimes I forget how hard shit was before you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Vanessa smiled softly.

“You’re a star, Carmen,” she replied gently. “I feel fortunate just to be in your galaxy,” she pecked his lips. “We love you so much,” she added, gently grasping his hand and setting it on the bump.

“You make all my dreams come true,” he said, thumb rubbing back and forth over her little belly.

“Do you know what would be a dream come true for me?” She asked, taking advantage of her captive audience. “If I can have that last cannoli.” Carmen laughed, loudly and carefree before acquiescing to his wife’s demand.

“Anything for you, Ness.”