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zorrasucia · 1 year

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Teach Me Tonight - Part 3

[Part 1] [Part 2] Part 3: [Deleted Scene] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Deleted Scene] [Part 8]

Reader x Carmy Berzatto (The Bear FX)

Rating: Explicit (5k)

Tags: Smut, Set sometime after the opening of The Bear, Porn with a little plot, Virgin!Carmy, Oral (M and F receiving), Phone sex, Dream sex, P in V sex, a sprinkle of SoftDom!Carmy at Reader's request, Both Carmy and Reader have a bit of a praise kink

Summary: With everything you had heard earlier, it seemed like sex was another facet of his life where he wouldn't let himself just enjoy stuff. "I want to make you feel good too," you insisted.

It was a foggy day, the cold of Chicago promised a quiet afternoon with few customers. Sydney showed up at the store and invited you to family, saying something about a surprise for Carmy. You quickly closed up and followed her back to the restaurant. Most of the staff knew you by now; Tina cupped your face lovingly, Nat hugged you, and Richie showed you to your seat. Everyone was there except Carmy.

"What's going on?" you asked Nat in a whisper.

"He didn't tell you? Of course he didn't tell you," she rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. "It's his birthday," she said simply.

"Oh!"

You felt a weight settle in your stomach. How could you not know? You bit the inside of your cheek, trying to hide your nervousness and stopping yourself from crying at the same time.

"Oh, sweetie," Nat put her arm around you. "You shouldn't feel bad about it. He doesn't tell anyone. The only reason I know is because I'm his sister. We don't do presents or candles or sing because of all the- Well, you know," she gestured vaguely. You nodded.

You didn't know the whole story but Carmy had let you know bits and pieces of his unstable childhood and the fraught relationship with his Mom, from way before Mike died.

"But Syd wanted to cook something nice for him and Marcus wanted to test a cake recipe, so," she shrugged. You managed a smile. "He'll be happy to see you," she squeezed you to her side.

"Okay, everyone start eating and act fucking normal," Richie bellowed. "We don't want the birthday boy to feel ambushed or whatever. We're having a nice meal, with our neighbor, and there's a random ass cake here for absolutely no reason, okay?"

"Your ass is random, man!" Marcus replied from the other side of the table, cutting slices of what looked like tres leches cake. Fak chuckled between forkfuls of salad.

Sydney had already started passing plates around, it was lamb and salad and it smelled delicious.

"Thanks for inviting me," you told her once she got to you.

"I mean, you're practically family, right?" she smiled.

By the time Carmy appeared, you were all eating and talking, and he could sneak in and sit by your side almost unnoticed.

"What's all this?" he asked, looking frantically around the room.

"They asked me to come over for family," you smiled innocently. "It's very good," you added pointing at your plate.

"No, I mean-" he hesitated, his eyes kept searching for Nat. She was leaning against the door frame and when she saw Carmy, she put her fingers to the corners of her lips and pushed them up, to shape a smile. 'Be happy, okay?' she mouthed.

Carmy nodded, then looked down, a relieved smirk curving his lips. He tried to relax, leaning back on his seat and placing an arm behind your chair. He took the plate Richie brought him and started eating with gusto.

"So, you know?" he asked after a while.

"No presents, no candles, no singing," you repeated, knowing it would calm his anxiety a little. "I want to make a suggestion though."

Carmy turned his head quickly. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," you smiled mischievously. "I think this cake should be like a staple at the restaurant. No way I'm waiting for your next birthday to have it again."

Carmy laughed. After his first bite of the cake he had to agree. "That's fire," he hummed.

His face looked bright and lovely. Your hand didn't leave his thigh for the rest of the meal.

You leaned against Carmy's side; he kissed the top of your head and sighed, burying the two of you deeper into the cushions of the sofa. It had been a beautiful day. With his arms around you, you asked him.

"Why don't you like presents on your birthday?"

"Uh- I'm not sure," he replied honestly. His fingers drew pretty shapes on your shoulder. "I guess if you're not expecting anything then you can't be disappointed, right?"

"I get that," you said after a while. "I just think it's a waste that I sell vintage, and you love vintage, and you don't ask for presents, you know?" you added playfully.

He smiled. "I guess. I think I like it better when it's on a random day, for no reason at all."

"Yeah," you nodded. "Can I do something nice for you, though? Just because I want to, not because it's your birthday," you clarified.

He turned to face you. "Uh- Okay."

You disentangled from his embrace and knelt between his legs on the floor . He tilted his head in confusion. You smiled and grabbed a hair tie from your pocket, making a show of putting your hair in a ponytail. Carmy's eyes widened when your hands ran up and down his thighs, slow, sensual motions that sent shivers up his spine.

"You don't have to-" he started protesting.

"I want to," you said.

It had come up a couple of times. You'd offer to reciprocate after he'd eaten you out and he would refuse, saying he would rather be inside you. With everything you had heard earlier, it seemed like sex was another facet of his life where he wouldn't let himself just enjoy stuff.

"I want to make you feel good too," you insisted.

He seemed torn, one of his hands reaching to caress yours.

"You're absolutely free to say no. There's other ways we can have fun but don't say no just because you feel you don't deserve it, Carm. You do. I promise," you said earnestly.

He bent over to kiss you fiercely. "Alright. Yes. Please," he said.

You moved slowly, undoing his belt and unbuttoning his trousers, watching the rise and fall of his chest as his breathing became more erratic. You pulled his trousers down, towards you, and started touching his thighs gently, raking your fingers through the coarse hair that went down his stomach, palming at the growing bulge over his boxers.

"Uh-" Carmy swallowed. "I have never- So if I don't last just-"

"Hey, it's okay," you reassured him. "Listen, if you last five seconds but you enjoy it, then I'm happy."

He laughed at that and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll aim for six then," he quipped.

You removed his boxers carefully, his cock was already hard. He groaned when your breath touched his bare skin. You suspected he was right, he wasn't going to last, so you tried to make it worth his while.

You started by kissing his head, licking the drop of precum in a quick flick of your tongue. It made him shudder with pleasure - and it made you feel powerful, the effect you had on him.

"Let me know if there's something you don't like," you said, your right hand closing loosely around his shaft. He nodded. He was hardly moving and his hands were fisting the cushions of the sofa. "You need to breathe, Carm," you reminded him, your voice had turned husky. You took one of his hands and placed it on your head, his fingers intertwined around your ponytail and you heard him exhale. "Good."

You leaned forward again, kissing around his head, making the kisses open mouthed as you went, letting him get accustomed to the feeling of your lips on him. Your hand started pumping his length, softly, no rhythm to it yet, more a caress than anything.

"You're going to fucking kill me," he rasped, his hand holding tighter to your hair, loosening the ponytail when he massaged your scalp. You moaned against his skin, which made him writhe his hips in return.

You opened your mouth, taking the first couple of inches of him. You couldn't deep throat, but he didn't seem to mind- your hand was pumping and making up for the rest of his length. He moaned and it made your pussy tingle.

"You sound so pretty, Carmy," you praised. He chuckled, out of breath.

You licked the length of his shaft, wetting it enough to help your hand glide easier. You took him again, a little deeper this time, not far enough to make you gag, just enough that he threw his head back in pleasure, the veins of his neck visibly pulsing and his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried in vain to breathe normally. It was all quick gasps and the occasional groan. That was enough teasing, you decided.

You started going back and forth, the rhythm of your mouth echoed with your right hand, the left rested on his knee. He intertwined his fingers with yours, holding tight.

"Please, don't- don't stop," he begged. His face was downwards now, looking you straight in the eye, his pupils were blown and his mouth hung open. "It feels so fucking good. Please, please..."

You sped up, hollowing out your cheeks, moving your left hand so that you were sinking your nails into the muscle of his tattooed forearm. Your underwear was wet with arousal and the sounds he made weren't helping, you pressed your thighs together to get some relief and ended up moaning on his cock.

"Holy fucking shit," he gasped. "I'm sorry, I'm gonna-"

You felt him twitch inside your mouth, every muscle in his body growing tense. He groaned over and over, going quieter each time, letting go completely. Salt covered your tongue in spurts and you did your best to swallow most of it, a little bit of it fell down the corner of your mouth. You slowed down, pumping him until he pulled you off his softening cock, mumbling something about "so good" and "too much". His hand let go of your hair and cupped your face, his eyes were glazed over and blissed out, a loving look to his sweaty face.

"So fucking good," he managed to say in an exhale. His thumb cleaned the drop of cum off your chin - so carefully, so gently that it warmed your insides. "You're beautiful."

You laughed in disbelief but then you remembered how gorgeous he looked when he emerged from in between your thighs, half of his face completely wet, a turned on blush on his cheeks...

He pulled you up on his lap and kissed you senseless, his tongue caressing your tired lips, humming contentedly into you. You were both a mess: him naked from the waist down, you with your hair completely undone and your underwear soaked.

"Best birthday I've ever had," he said against your lips, his forehead to yours. "Thank you."

You smiled. "You're welcome. Happy birthday, Carmy."

You had slowly gotten used to sleeping in a bed that smelled like Carmy. Whether it was at your place or his, even if the sheets on his side were cold they still had a hint of salt, smoke, and his expensive aftershave.

"Get a fucking grip," you reprimanded yourself in a low voice.

Call me when you get home?

You sent the text before you could chicken out. He wouldn't leave the restaurant for another hour or so, so you settled on the hotel room bed, the unfamiliar cream colored covers suffocating, the sound of a movie on the TV only making you more antsy.

When the phone rang, it was a little before midnight. You were comfortable and warm - and completely awake.

"Hey, you okay?" Carmy's voice sounded raspy on the phone.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just- I couldn't sleep and-" you chuckled without a hint of humor. It felt silly: it was an overnight trip, you were staying at a nice hotel, and you couldn't sleep because Carmy wasn't there. It was so fucking silly. "Never mind. I'm okay, it's late. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Hey!" Carmy stopped you from hanging up. "Talk to me. What's up?"

"Fuck," you looked at the ceiling. "I don't know. Nothing bad happened. Actually, the estate sale went great. Uh. This lady had a big collection of dresses, fifties and sixties, beautiful pieces. And shoes! Just tons of them, barely used, Gucci and shit."

"And you got them?" Carmy asked, you could almost hear him frowning.

"Yeah! It's all good stuff and I think it will sell well too."

"That's good," he said, his tone soothing. "So, what's wrong?"

"Uh- I don't know," you repeated. "I came back to the hotel and it was so- just so fucking quiet and it feels wrong, you know?"

Carmy hummed in agreement.

"I get it," he said after a beat. "When I got here, uh, the apartment was very fucking quiet too. Creeped me out a bit."

You sighed. Maybe it wasn't so silly.

"It helps, though," you said after a beat. "Talking with you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," you smiled. "How was your day?"

"It was absolute shit," he replied.

"Too bad I'm not there to fuck about it," you said.

Sometimes, when Carmy's day was too bad to even talk about, you would fuck - hard and fast - and then talk about it. Hence, fuck about it.

Carmy chuckled. "Yeah," you could hear him exhale as he fell heavily on the couch or the bed. "That would actually help a lot."

You bit your lip, feeling your stomach flip a little. "Um, Carm?"

"Mmm?"

"I know you said you hadn't been with anyone before me-" you prompted. "Does that mean you never had phone sex either?"

He coughed loudly on the other side of the line. You pictured him choking on his own cigarette smoke, a deep blush to his cheeks.

"Sorry?" he asked after a moment.

"I mean that we can still fuck about it... If you want," you offered. "You know, you can say what you would like to do to me, or maybe tell me what I should do... That sort of thing."

"Uh," he hesitated. "I do- I'd like to try but I- I'm not good at playing pretend, you know? Never been, not even as a kid."

"If I do the talking? Would that be better?"

"Maybe?" his voice sounded ragged but not just from coughing.

"I've never, uh, taken the lead before but that would, like, even out the playing field, right?" you reasoned, your heart beating faster.

"What- what would that be like?"

"I could tell you about the nice pajamas I'm wearing," you lowered your voice. "The blue ones?"

"With the shorts and the little bows?" Carmy asked. "You look good in those..."

You opened your legs, your free hand playing with the elastic of your shorts.

"I wish you would take them off for me, Carm. I wish you would touch me like only you know how. I want your fingers inside me," he cleared his throat on the other side of the line. "Would you like to do that?"

"Yes," his voice was breathy, "I would, yes."

"I want you to do something for me, Carmy," you started teasing between your legs over the fabric of your shorts. "Remember when we first fucked? You closed your eyes and touched yourself to get hard again. Can you do that?"

"Yeah. Yeah," you could barely hear his intake of breath and it still made you shiver.

"You looked so fucking hot, I still think about it when I finger myself," you confessed. You could picture him clearly, the veins of his arms and neck bulging, his head thrown back.

"Shit..." he rasped.

"Can you hold the phone close, Carm? I want to hear you while you touch your cock."

"I want to hear you too... Ah, fuck!"

The sound made you curl your toes with anticipation. You got your hand inside your underwear and traced lines on your folds, caressing slowly.

"I'm already so wet," you said. "Are you hard for me, Carmy?"

"So fucking hard," he drawled and you moaned.

"What would you like me to do?" you asked, trying to keep your voice steady. "If I was there, Carm, what would you like me to do?"

"Ri- Ride me," he managed.

His breathing was a quick staccato that made your hand pick up speed, spreading wetness around your clit. You sat up on the bed, imagined Carmy underneath you, holding tight to your hips, your hands on his sculpted chest.

"How? How do you want me to- oh, God- ride you?"

"Just- hard," he groaned but it was a muffled sound, he was holding back.

"Carm..."

"I want you to fucking wreck me," he blurted out.

If he felt like he had fucked up, like he had done something terribly wrong at the restaurant, he liked it to hurt a little, you knew that by now. Maybe the rhythm was punishing, maybe it was way too fast, maybe you denied him his orgasm for a while. Anyway, he was atoning.

"I want you to touch you like I would, Carmy," you said. "Can you do that for me? Put lube on your hand, hold your cock tight, and go as fast as you can, okay?"

"Yes," it was barely a whisper. But suddenly you could listen - deep growls from way within his chest, rhythmic gasps that grew quicker and quicker. You struggled to catch up with him, your middle and ring fingers pumped in and out of you in tandem with his sounds.

"Oh, fuck," he rasped. "I can hear it. Jesus Christ."

"It's not the same without you, Carm," you said honestly. Your hand was wet to the palm but you still wanted that fullness only he could make you feel. "I need you inside me, I need you."

"Oh, fuck!"

He got quiet for a second, then groaned a few times, your pussy clenching while he did. You were so close. He sighed into the speaker, relieved and spent - you wanted to be happy for him but you were still on the edge and desperate for release. You kept moaning.

"Have you come?" Carmy asked.

"Not yet," you managed to say.

"Shit."

"I'm close though. Just stay on the line, please."

You could feel it slipping out of your grasp. It wasn't enough to have him listen, you needed something to hold on to. You let out a needy whine.

He read your mind, and in that fucked out voice he said: "That was- holy shit- that was so, so fucking hot. You made me come and you didn't even touch me," you fluttered against your fingers. "Can’t believe you're mine. You're my good girl."

He had never called you that. That was it. The tension within you snapped and you could breathe again. Eyes shut and forehead to the duvet, you could almost feel Carmy's hands touching up your back, tickling at your sides. You let out a shaky laugh.

"Fuck, Carmy. Fuck," you repeated, something warm settling in your belly.

"You okay?" he said. You had dropped the phone and you heard him far away.

You wiped your hand on your hip and settled back on the bed, tired and a little sweaty. You'd have to shower again in the morning but you found you didn't care right now.

"I'm okay," you replied when you could pick up your phone. "So okay. You?"

"So okay," he repeated with a chuckle.

"Okay," you let out a big exhale. "Now tell me about your day."

You were at The Bear, it was late at night, the lights were dimmed down and there were no patrons. You turned around and found the place empty - ghostly and quiet.

"Hello?" No one replied.

Now that you thought of it, you didn't know how you got there - couldn't remember, actually. But Carmy was suddenly there too, hands on his hips, wearing his pristine chef's whites. The blue of his eyes popped with the ambience lighting in a way that felt supernatural.

"Carmy," you called but he didn't move.

"On the table," he said brusquely, pointing with his head at the only piece of furniture left in the restaurant. There was no tablecloth or cutlery on it.

"What?" you asked.

"On the fucking table!" he yelled and you obeyed, sitting quickly on it, facing him.

"What's going on?" you asked.

He laughed - it wasn't his usual laugh, soft and floaty - it was a cruel sound, glass like.

"What's going on, sweetheart, is that I'm going to fuck you, on this table, until you come three times," he said and it sent a shiver down your spine. "Or until you beg me to stop, whatever happens first."

You didn't say a word, you couldn't: he kissed you violently, biting on your lip and grabbing your throat.

"Carmy, holy shit! Slow down," you pleaded when you parted to catch your breath.

He stopped but only to spread your legs wide open, his fingers digging into your thighs forcefully, then going up your skirt. He leaned to whisper in your ear:

"You sure you want that?"

His voice was low, caramel like, delicious. You ran a hand up his chest, fisting white fabric, bringing him closer.

"Good," he said. His fingers shoved your underwear to the side and teased mercilessly.

"Fuuuck," you whined as he made you melt in his hands.

He was touching you just right, having you soaked and pliant so fast it left you dizzy. He thrust two fingers inside you and started pumping fast, his thumb circling your clit - you thanked your stars that you had showed him early on where it was. Your moans grew louder and longer.

"Are you gonna cum for me?" he asked but it sounded like an order.

You nodded frantically.

"Are you gonna let me bend you over this table, fuck your pussy as hard as I want?"

"Yes, please, fuck," you whined.

Just before the knot within you could unravel, the bright light of morning rushed through the window and made you squeeze your eyes and cover your face. And suddenly you weren't at The Bear, you were at Carmy's place, warm in his bed. It was Sunday, you remembered.

"Oh, fuck," you mumbled.

Carmy was right next to you, twisting to face you as he woke up too.

The mornings you shared were few and far between, the occasional day off, the days when you had to get up early to take a train for a sale out of town... They were precious, you loved to see Carmy with sleepy eyes, reaching out for you from under the covers. You smiled and stared at him.

"Morning," you said, feeling a little weird about your dream.

"Mornin'," he slurred with his eyes closed. "You sleep okay?"

"Uh-huh," you tried to sound casual. "You?"

"Yeah," you let him pull you in closer, his nose brushed the side of your neck. And his hard on brushed your thigh.

"Oh!" your heart raced - the one thing that still remained from your dream was the wetness between your legs.

"Shit," Carmy covered his face with his hand. "I'll, uh, I'll take care of it. Don't worry about it."

You cleared your throat nervously. "Actually-"

You didn't know where to begin so you simply grabbed his hand and showed him how wet you were, even through your underwear he could tell. His eyes widened.

"Wh- What- Why?"

"Uh, I dreamt of you," you said simply.

"What about?" he asked. You shrugged. "I mean, if you liked whatever happened in your dream that much, we could..." he let the offer float. He had that curious look about him.

You bit your lip. It had been good, so good. But it made you feel a little embarrassed about the things that you wanted, what they meant about you.

"We were- Well, you fingered me and- yeah," you hoped he would be satisfied with that.

"Oh," he sounded a little disappointed but he obliged. "Sure, we can do that."

He scooted closer still, his hand and the way he moved was gentle and sweet. And completely wrong. You took his wrist and stopped him.

Carmy looked up in concern. "Did I hurt you?"

You shook your head. "I'll- I'll tell you about my dream but promise me you won't laugh," you pressed your hands on his chest. He nodded solemnly. "Even if we don't end up doing it because it's not your thing just- Don't laugh, okay?"

"I won't," he promised.

"Okay," you took a deep inhale. "So I dreamt that we were at the restaurant. We were all alone, it was late at night and you- Well, you told me to get on a table and that you would make me come three times," you blushed furiously. "You kissed me and you fingered me. You said you would bend me over on the table and fuck me hard. And then I woke up."

"Shit," Carmy said.

"Yeah."

"Was I- Was I different?" he asked.

"You were a little mean."

"And you were into it?" nothing about his tone betrayed disgust or revulsion.

"I didn't think I would be, but yeah," you replied honestly.

Carmy ran a hand through his hair and stared at you for a little bit.

"You know I'm not good at the pretending thing," he said and you nodded. "But I think I can fuck you on the table until you come three times."

You felt like you had the wind knocked out of you.

Before you knew it, you were both naked, kissing in the middle of his kitchen, his hands under your thighs as he placed you on the table.

"I'm gonna need you to keep count for me," he said, lowering to his knees between your legs. That was the last thing he said before devouring you.

You knew Carmy was competitive but you didn't know it would extend to a dream version of him. He became laser focused: his only goal was to be a better lover than dream Carmy, make you come undone faster and harder than he ever could. Without preamble, he hooked two fingers inside you, curling non-stop, making you gasp for air. His mouth worked tirelessly licking and sucking at your clit, getting satisfaction every time you pulled at his hair. In minutes, he had you bucking your hips frantically, trying to fuck his face. You screamed and heaved and cursed, grabbing to the edge of the table for dear life.

"How many?" he demanded once he got up from between your legs, wiping his face clean with his forearm. His voice sounded rough and you could see a glimpse of the cut-throat chef he used to be back in New York. You felt the aftershocks of your orgasm go through you one more time.

"One," you replied.

He grabbed your hips and brought you down from the table, then flipped you over. You heard the condom wrapper hit the floor, then, immediately felt his breath on the back of your neck as he lined up his cock to your pussy. He wasn't careful before and he wasn't careful now, going all the way inside you in a swift motion. It was pleasure and pain in even measures, it was exactly what you asked for. Your knees trembled underneath you but Carmy held you upright.

"Holy shit," was all you could say before succumbing to the rhythm of his hips against yours.

It was slow, purposeful. One of his hands played with your nipples while the other pressed on your clit. It was too much. You took the hand on your clit and placed it on your neck instead, remembering the way Carmy had kissed you in the dream, holding you possessively. Your Carmy didn't press at all, he caressed the column of your throat with careful fingers, kissed the side of it with devotion. It made you melt onto the tabletop. The feeling of your bare chest on the wooden surface and the sound of his hips clapping against yours turned you on even more. It took you by surprise when you started fluttering on Carmy's cock, your release almost gentle, a series of soft needy moans the only outer indication that you had come.

When you regained your bearings, your cheek to the table and your ass up in the air, you said with an unsteady voice:

"Two."

One of his hands soothed down your spine, a silent question being asked: Do you still want to go on? Can you do one more? You reached for his hand and squeezed it, using the strength you had left to get off the table and turn to face Carmy. He was a sweaty mess, curls falling on his forehead, red in the face from edging his orgasm to give you three. You didn't think you could love anyone more than you loved him right then.

"Carmy."

"I'm here. I'm right here," he maneuvered you gently to lay on your back over the table, his eyes on yours. You hummed contentedly. He lifted your legs, placing one on each shoulder and giving you a shy smile - you realized he had actually read the sex book you had bought him as a joke. You giggled. He didn't do anything in half measures.

This time, his motions weren't calculated and cold. The tenderness when he soothed your back and caressed your neck had bled into everything else. His hips stuttered every now and then, his fingers touched your ankles gently, and his eyes were fixed on you. It was perfect.

"I'm close," you whispered, one of your hands playing with your chest, the other reaching behind you to the edge of the table. You felt weightless. "You can let go, Carmy."

It was all a blur: the swirl of electricity down your body, the beautiful sounds that you made together, and the feeling of him falling on top of you.

"Shit! I'm sorry I'm crushing you," he mumbled on your skin, his arms flexing as he lifted himself up. You looked up at him and cupped his face, the post-coital glow and the morning light making him look angelic.

"Thank you," you said and he smiled. "It was good, better than I imagined."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Right then, your stomach growled audibly. You covered your face with your hands, mortified. He peeled them off and leaned to nuzzle against your cheek.

"Pancakes?" he offered in a whisper.

You laughed and turned your head to kiss the tip of his nose. "Yes. Please."

[Deleted Scene]

[Part 4]

#still not done with this apparently #soon the virgin!carmy tag will be completely obsolete and it makes me a little sad #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x you #carmy berzatto x reader #carmy berzatto x you #carmy x reader #carmy x you #carmen berzatto fanfiction

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hwere · 4 months

Text

like violets | SydCarmy | T | 1.5k words.

Summary: There’s two flights of stairs between her new place and Carmen’s car, so of course Sydney takes her sweet time moving the lighter boxes first, allowing Carmen to put his solid wall of muscles to good use | AO3 version.

Sydney sits in silence in Carmen’s car. He offered to help her move out of her dad’s house and she agreed to. Things haven’t been good between them lately, due to Carmen’s erratic, obsessive and self-destructive behavior and all of the endless problems regarding the restaurant, but he offered with his pleading blue eyes and she said yes. She said yes because she needed the help and didn’t want to bother her dad.

So far, the only words exchanged between them have been “hey,” “yo,” “wait, there’s more boxes inside,” and “let me type in the address.” So, Sydney sits in silence in Carmen’s car, paying attention to the passing world outside the passenger window, feeling and seeing through her peripheral vision his gaze ever so often drifting in her direction, his mouth opening to say something, only for him to click it shut, his eyes back to the road ahead.

It’s awkward, but it’s fine. Awkward is better than arguing for the umpteenth time about the restaurant. It’s fine. They don’t have to talk. It’s not like they have anything to talk about besides the restaurant. They aren’t friends. Just partners. Partners, what a funny word.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take long for them to reach what’s going to be her new home. It’s a bit distant from the restaurant, but that’s another thing that is fine. She is, once again, out of her childhood bedroom, no roommate and the rent is payable. She’s an adult, she can absolutely manage whatever life throws her way. Having to wake up an hour earlier than usual to be able to get to the restaurant and work alongside her maniac of a partner? A piece of cake.

There’s two flights of stairs between her new place and Carmen’s car, so of course Sydney takes her sweet time moving the lighter boxes first, allowing Carmen to put his solid wall of muscles to good use. It also doesn’t take long for her plan to backfire.

She’s in the middle of the second flight of stairs when Carmen walks out of her place without his coat. Over the top of a heavier box, Sydney notices his too tight white tee clinging to his chest due to sweat. The sight makes her lose balance momentarily and Carmen, ever the attentive, notices and rushes to help her.

“Yo, lemme take this one,” he’s trying to pry the box out of her hands, but Sydney clings to it, using the box as a protective barrier between them.

“No, I can handle it. It’s fine,” she shakes her head, tightening her grip. “I think there’s only two or three more left. You, uhh, you can take care of those.” Carmen stares at her for a second too long before nodding and backing into the railing, giving her space to pass.

Sydney drops the box on the side of the others, heaving a sigh. She fills two glasses of water and sits on the floor, waiting for Carmen to finish bringing her stuff inside. There ended up being four more boxes left, but nothing that he couldn’t handle. He sits down beside her when it’s done and she pushes one glass in his direction.

“Thanks.” Carmen downs the glass in two big gulps and Sydney allows herself to watch his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat, the sweat running down the side of his face. When he’s done, she averts her gaze to the boxes.

“Thanks again for offering to help me out.” Sydney says, still staring at the boxes.

“Oh. It’s nothing, really. The least I could do.”

Then, they’re sitting in silence again. She couldn’t say for how long they sat there, shoulders almost touching, in absolute silence. Carmen’s the one to cave in first.

“Syd.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry.” That makes her look at him and she’s expecting to see him drawing circles in his chest, another meaningless apology to a perpetually buried conversation, but he isn’t. He doesn’t. “Talk to me, please.”

“Why?” Sydney crosses her arms over her chest.

“Why? ‘cause that’s what we do. We’re partners,” he says matter of factly.

She chuckles humorlessly, “Actually, we don’t, Carmy, and that’s the problem.”

“Well, I’m asking you right now to, Syd. So, can you please talk to me?”

Sydney doesn’t know if it’s due to the change in scenario—not being in the confines of the restaurant—or due to Carmen’s earnest eyes, but she gives in to her months-long tiredness.

“Why, Carmy? I’m sorry, but—there’s no point in wasting my breath talking when I already know you’re not gonna listen to me,” she doesn’t hide anything, doesn’t hold back any punch. “Honestly? I am… tired. Tired of the arguing, tired of you doing whatever the fuck you want and then rubbing in my face that you’re doing it for me, that you’re ‘giving me what I want.’ I’m tired of you behaving like a piece of shit with everyone in the kitchen, tired of your apologies, of the back and forth… So why even bother?”

Carmen stays silent for a minute, digesting her words; eyes on her all the while. “I’m trying, Syd.”

“Oh, I know. That’s another problem,” a rueful chuckle. “I need you to stop trying, Carmy, and to start listening,” she uncrosses her arms, pointing a finger to his chest. “That day that I came back? I came back for my last check. You offered me that,” she motions to the open window, meaning the restaurant, “and I agreed ‘cause I trusted you. I’ve been trusting you since my very first day there, hence applying for the sous position in the first place. But it was the same thing with the loan, with you running the menu by whoever, with every decision regarding the renovation… and even after all that, I kept trusting you. I still do. We were supposed to be doing this, all of this, together.

“You’re not alone, Carm. And I’m tired of waiting for you to realize this; that you can trust us—me. You don’t have to carry the restaurant on your back all by yourself. I’m right here, giving just as much blood, sweat and tears as you. I don’t need you to assume what I want; I need you to listen to me. ‘cause when you self-destruct, you’re not only hurting or making yourself miserable. You take everybody else with you, and that includes me.”

Only when she’s done, does she realize how many different and conflicting emotions she had been bottling up inside of her. She feels her body grow warmer with embarrassment due to her rant, but she can’t take it back now and even if she could, she wouldn’t. More than anything else, she was tired of keeping everything to herself, of burying conversations with a fist to her chest.

“I trust you, Syd. I trust you more than I trust myself.”

“You’ve got a funny way of showing it, man,” she snorts.

“I’m serious, Syd,” he runs a hand down his face. “I trust you and I didn’t lie when I said that I couldn’t and didn’t even want to do this without you. I’m just… I’m just trying to make it all work, y’know? I fucked up during F&F, things haven’t been great since the opening and you said you wanted a star—”

“Fuck the star, Carmy,” she interrupts him, saying with so much force that both of them are taken aback. “Not… literally. Yeah, I do want one of those bullshit stars, but above all else, I want the restaurant to be different from all of the other places we’ve been at, remember?”

So much has happened between her first month at The Beef and now, that their conversation at the alley feels like it happened a lifetime ago. It may as well have been.

“I’m gonna do better, Syd,” Carmen nods, circling his fist on his chest, looking at Sydney in the same way he always does; she still doesn’t know what to make of it—and by it she means her feelings regarding her partner that have nothing to do with their professional partnership.

“Heard, Chef.” She mimics his action, offering him her first smile of the day.

For both theirs and everybody else’s sake? She hopes so.

“It’s getting late. I’m gonna let you—” he motions to the boxes a few feet away from them. “Yeah.” They get up on their feets at the same time.

Sydney bends down to grab their empty glasses from the floor.

“I know I already said that, but thanks again.”

Then, they’re awkwardly standing there for a few seconds, with Sydney holding their empty glasses in hand and Carmen pinching his bottom lip between two fingers, watching her through his eyelashes, nodding his head like one of those bobbing head toys that people put in their car’s dashboard. Carmen abruptly stops nodding his head, drops his hand and straightens his back, hooking a thumb over his shoulder.

“See you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow.”

His body is halfway out the door when he stops and turns around.

“Yo, congrats on moving out. That’s huge, Chef,” he says smirking.

“Dude, shut the fuck up.”

Carmen finally leaves, laughing.

Sydney doesn’t know what awaits them tomorrow and the days after, but she hopes for the best; hopes that her rant doesn’t go in vain and that Carmen keeps this one promise. On top of everything she has already been doing, that’s all she can do, honestly.

#the bear #sydcarmy #carmy x sydney #sydney adamu #carmy berzatto #fanfiction #y writes

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gingergofastboatsmojito · 2 months

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Syd has been part of the Family since Bolognese 02x08, which means the agreement is just a formality

All things Sydcarmy are already happening at a deeper, unconscious, symbolic, level. Under the surface. Unspoken. Implicitly.

S3 was nothing but the climax of how they failed to bring it all to the surface.

That can't last.

Richie has been saying it.

Cicero, in his own way too.

Nat as well.

The ones that keep failing at it are Syd and Carmy. They keep dancing around it, saving it for later. They are afraid of what will be unleashed once they dare to say the words.

They already know and decided to put all that knowledge away in a forbidden sealed vault, they do not intend to open.

The no-brainer reason why they don't want to open it and let it all out is like I said: fear.

The other one is inconvenience, because of all the obvious reasons.

But there's more.

If they do go for it and then fail, (or even if they don't fail) there's a lot to lose. And I'm not just talking about their relationship/friendship or even money. That happens all the time in the restaurant industry and they know it. The stakes in their case are particularly higher because if they ever admit they may have feelings for one another that far exceed their current status, they will also have to admit that they want each other in their lives.

And they don't.

Carmy definitely doesn't want Syd to be part of what has always meant pain and suffering for him. Of what has always ended up ruined.

And Syd, well... to me is kind of a mystery, in that aspect, unlike Carmy who is an open book when it comes to his family trauma.

I'm inclined to believe that the reason why she doesn't want to add Carmy to her family, no matter how she feels for him, is because it has always been just the two of them, Emmanuel and her. And altering that delicate balance must feel like a complete kamikaze endeavor. Whoever she ever dares to do that with, HAS TO BE THE ONE, the keeper. Can't be someone as volatile as Carmy. I pressume her subconscious thought process has got to be along those lines. She never invited Carmy to her place, when she lived with her father. She had no problem inviting Marcus over though because he was the king of the friend zone, so there was no conflict there:

But Carmy... Carmy is a different shade of RED for her.

So that's why actually they don't dare to take it to the next level. Because of the implications, they can guess that will put their relationship on the line, from day 1 and that they will only be at the top of a looooong list of very valid reasons why they shouldn't do this.

Bonus track: When Syd signs the agreement, which she most definitely will, she will not only be FORMALLY part of the Family. She will also become, in time, the new Donna because the Berzattos are a MATRIARCH. And Carmy is scared shitless of that. He doesn't want Syd to come close to that, not even symbolically. All this happens at a very unconscious level for him, of course. But either way...

The clash of the Mothers of Victory is something Carmy does not want to cause or see. (maybe, at some level, to protect Sydney).

The only way out of this family baggage mess is to take a leap of faith. I'm talking about both of them.

Remember to follow my tag #Gingerpovs 💋

#sydcarmy #the bear #sydcarmy meta #the bear meta #the bear season 4 gingerpredictions #carmy berzatto #sydney adamu #the bear fx #carmy x sydney #the bear hulu #gingerpovs #the bear season 4 #sydcarmy endgame #carmen berzatto #donna berzatto #mothers of victory #syd x carmen

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ciaomarie · 5 months

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Part 3: What Then?

This was supposed to be a three part series, but it will probably be 4 or 5 parts. Sydcarmy is a tangled mess of intense care interlaced with anxiety and denial. So they need HELP from their friends and family along the way! Here's a convo with Natalie and Carmen. It takes place just a few days after he found out that he'd made Sydney's best meal ever. Then he inadvertently confessed she's the best part of his day and his heart's dearest wish...j/k, but not really ;)

On a brisk Monday afternoon Carmen rang the bell at Pete and Natalie's home. The doorbell's speaker answered back, with Natalie's hurried voice. "It's open Bear! Just come up to the nursery." He entered their home noting the new family photos hanging on the wall leading up the stairs. They were black and white shots with Pete and Nat walking into the hospital, the next just after Baby Angeline was placed in Natalie's arms, another with Pete and the baby, one shot of her curled bitty toes, and the last was all three of them in the hospital bed. Pete had hired a hospital photographer and as antithetical as that was to anyone with an ounce of Berzatto blood, Natalie let him do it. The result was so unexpectedly tender and beautiful that he paused on the stairs to soak it in. Pete is really a good guy. He was made from an entirely different mold than any man Carmy had grown up around. "Carm?!" Natalie called. "Coming." He turned into the nursery to find Natalie bundling up "Angie" and fastening her into one of those baby slings. Then with one fluid motion before he could speak, she slipped the sling over his shoulders. "Okay, Uncle she's yours!" "So, how does this work?" he asked, looking down at his tiny niece, his eyes as big as beach balls. Angie blinked back at him extremely unbothered.

Natalie rolled her eyes and chortled.

"It's already working. It's fool-proof! Okay, let me get my coat and we'll head out." They strolled down the older suburb's tree-lined streets past others pushing babies, walking dogs, and the occasional Amazon delivery truck. "Carmy, this is really nice and you're welcome to drop by anytime, but what did you want to talk about?" Natalie enquired. He had texted her the other night asking to discuss something important. He kept his eyes on Angie's blissful little face, swallowed, and began. "I'd like to split my share of the restaurant with Syd. She's put in so much work, took several months without pay, and even though I'm the EC she's the main developer of at least half of the menu and the weekly specials. When I was sick recently, she ran the place like a pro. She deserves it. Also, I think if I give her a financial stake she'll stay for at least 5 years. We need that. What do you think?"

Natalie contemplated him for a moment. "Well, part of me agrees and the other part...Carmy, please don't get defensive." "Nat. How can I not when you’ve said that?" "Is this a solely a business decision? Because if it isn't I don't think you need to or should do this to keep her. " Carmy stopped walking, his face falling with frustration and shame. "Have you been talking to Richie?" Natalie stopped and took his arm in hers. "No, I haven't. Look, sorry. What I meant is things are so good between you two." They resumed walking. "Yeah, and that's a problem?" "Not at all. The way you are together...maybe it's the hormones but I've cried sometimes because you are just yourself with her. I've never seen you smile so much with anyone else. Your freakin’ posture is more relaxed when she comes in the room. I could go on, Bear." "You see all that? What about-what about her? Am I any good for her?" he asked in a low, wistful tone. Natalie pulled his arm tighter. She paused, to choose her words carefully. She and Camry were no strangers to family interference in their love lives. "Well, I haven't known Sydney that long, but she tends to spiral, and she pushes through until she's sick or lashes out. Kinda like you do. I noticed that it’s gotten better though. Since we opened, you've been consistently checking in with her, collaborating with her, encouraging her, making her take breaks, and pouring time into her. She's far less doubtful; she believes in herself."

Carm nodded slowly, reflecting on Sydney's growth. "Well, she deserves that. I promised her that she wasn’t alone in this. My focus was not where it should’ve have been during the reno and Friends and Family.”

He exhaled heavily and went on.

“So, it sounds like she lights up my life and for her, I'm a good boss or even her big brother."

Natalie shook her head, smirking.

" Yeah, you’re a great boss now, but little sisters don't look at their brothers the way Sydney does you. Do you remember when we were all talking in my office and you spilled hot coffee on your shirt? You peeled it off and the poor girl looked at you, as your sister it pains me say this, like she wanted to jump you. When you left to get a clean shirt, she didn't remember what she had been saying." " What!?!? Okay...." Carm scoffed trying and failing to suppress a huge smile. "Also, does she ever leave before 11 instead of sitting in those greasy whites with you every single night for how long? One to two hours!?" She continued. "My point is if you want to divide your share with her because it's good business and fair, and I agree it is, then let me do it too so we're even. Otherwise, I think you’re already three-quarters of the way there with her. She doesn't need to be bought."

They walked in silence for a few minutes. "Natalie, I understand, but I still want to split my share. I think it’s the right thing to do. You don't need split yours though." "First I don't want the largest share of the restaurant and second.... Pete and I may move to be near his parents next year." Natalie bit her lip and glanced at Carmy worry etched in her brow.

"We think it would be good for Angie. You know, to be close to her grandparents and she'd have young cousins nearby too." Carm squeezed her arm, missing her already. "Yeah, I met them at the wedding. They were...Pete’s parents for sure. Angie would have a normal set of grandparents around." Natalie took a deep breath, a gamut of emotions crossing her face. "Choosing Pete was the biggest act of rebellion of my life. I honestly felt repulsed by him at first, until I realized that he was real, and I didn't have to be on guard all the time. Angeline should have that from the start." She bent over to kiss her baby's head which was protected from the cool air by a lilac-colored beanie. "Sydney's a really good choice too. Businesswise and/or otherwise. So, if you're certain about this call Uncle Cicero. This won't change anything with our loan repayment, but his lawyer could help draft a contract. Then we'll ask Sydney if she wants to accept and if she refuses...just give her one of those Sydney-land stares of yours."

Carmy groaned. "You did talk to Richie!"

Natalie erupted into a storm of giggles. Carmen dropped her arm.

"Look, he started it. I told him to chill, but that Sydney-land thing...You have an season pass, bro! It’s very cute though.”

Next time on "What Then?"- Sydney's workversary (work anniversary)

#the bear #sydcarmy #sydney x carmy #carmy the bear #carmy x sydney #sydney adamu #carmen berzatto #syd adamu #fan fiction #natalie berzatto #fluff

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justamakeshifttorch · 4 months

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posting the longer version of my previous reblog bc it was being weird and glitchy

Thoughts after watching this trailer a few times:

Are we seeing this quasi-ragtag group just getting their bearings? Or could this possibly be a glimpse into the struggle they will continually face. I've thought about this before (as im sure many have) but this trailer has me wondering again: will the lack of cohesion in the kitchen and the looming deadline to pay Cicero back cause The Bear to crumble?

We love an underdog story. We root for the characters we love to beat the odds, making the impossible possible. However, this show hasn't shied away from showcasing the way many restaurants in the area have failed. How unrelenting and unforgiving this industry is, in general. One of the restaurants Sydney went to on her "tour" shut down soon after that visit. So it isn't unrealistic to think that The Bear is being set up to be an example of putting blood sweat and tears into this industry and coming up short.

I'd hate for this to happen mostly because Sydney has already dealt with this heartache. She's already started a business from the ground up and suffered from its failure. At one point, when talking to her dad, she expresses that she doesn't think she could do this again, if she has another one in her. Her feelings are understandable. But our girl is just too good, too talented for this to be the end. Yet, I can also understand feeling burnt one too many times by an industry you thought could be a forever one.

I also want The Bear to succeed for Richie. His time at Ever showed him how he could grow and change with The Bear. He doesn't have to be stagnant. He can see his purpose. He talks about struggling with that in S2 'Beef'. I don't want the potential failure of The Bear to derail Richie's growth. If The Bear is destined to fail I want everyone to come out of it with other prospects, but I especially want Richie to continue to pursue this new purpose. Maybe at Ever. Maybe somewhere else.

As for Syd, I truly want to the world for her. If this is the end of The Bear I hope she becomes CDC (or EC) somewhere else. Maybe she's able to open up her own place (brick and mortar) down the line. I want her to get her stars because she deserves them. I want her to love going into work every day (or atleast most days like let's be realistic lol).

#the bear #sydney adamu #richie jerimovich #musings and ramblings from someone whos probably too invested #id love to know what other people think #the bear fx

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cosmic-light-fics · 1 year

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I'm sorry, I just can't take the break up with Claire seriously. The way that it happened felt so... off-putting compared to the rest of the show. It felt so forced. First off, she is told by the Faks that she can't go into the kitchen to see him. They only tell her that it's not a good time to go back there, and yet she presses them for more information, just like she pressed Carmy to know why he gave her a fake number. On the day of your boyfriend's soft opening for his restaurant, if one of the employees say now isn't a great time to go into the kitchen, why not just leave it at that? Like you can see him when they close down for the night, which wasn't going to take that long. But no, she goes into the back. Just as Sydney leaves. The writers having Syd experience her anxiety-induced vomiting right at the moment Claire comes into the kitchen is so not subtle, like at all. What do you think Sydney would have done if Claire came into the kitchen when she was still in there? It was a narrowly dodged confrontation between them. No way would Sydney have been okay with her being back there.

So then Claire goes to the walk-in door and just stands there, not announcing herself, just quietly listens to Carmy's ranting. At that point, I just throw my hands up. Why didn't she say anything!?!?! Why is she just standing there listening to him?!?!? And then she won't even wait for him to explain himself????????????? So she can stand there and hear him say all that stuff about their relationship being a waste of time, but she won't ask him why? Now is the freaking time she doesn't press for more information???????? Like gtfoh.

Oh and just to twist the knife more into Carmy's chest, the writers decide it'd be the perfect time for him to listen to a voicemail from Claire. An ooey-gooey, sappy voicemail about how proud she is of him, how she's always had "like this really big crush on him", and how Mikey would be proud of him. And she drops the "I really love you." Via voicemail. It's so forced. The pain it causes him just to hear those words in that moment is like a nail in the coffin. That voicemail stomped Carmy even lower into the ground. The Carmy we see in season 3 (hopefully we get another season) is going to be so freaking different in the worst possible way. I just wish it was executed a bit better.

#still the writing on this show is immaculate #that scene tho had me rolling my eyes #sydney adamu #carmy berzatto #claire the bear #the bear fx #the bear #the bear hulu #the bear season 2

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ayoarticulate · 3 months

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one line from the bear s2 that i think doesn’t get enough dissection (or that i personally haven’t seen given much dissection) is when syd says “i just need your attention like need mine. i don’t want to share it, i’m sorry” and how it acts as a segue/gateway to the table scene

sydney finds herself in a place where she is more vulnerable with carmy than most, if not all people in the show (besides her dad). even then, she is still hesitant to share some things with him, like her fears of failure, the truth about her mom, her health issues, and honestly rightfully so! those things are decidedly more personal than some of the other things she’s shared, and at that point in time he hadn’t been been giving her much reason to be that open again, and he had just given her another one by not calling the fridge guy

DESPITE THIS!! she still shares!! do you know how open you have to be with someone to tell them YOU need their attention?? not the restaurant, not “we” as in the whole crew, but her! cause he’s the one that asked her to do this with him. and even tho that moment gets swiftly interrupted by natalie, he still holds onto that statement from her. it sits with him enough to bring it up and validate her feelings and need for his time in all of this.

i think his understanding had been amplified because of his panic attack and him realizing how important she is to his stability, but either way he still heard her and that, in a lot of ways, gave us the table scene we all know and love and cherish so much to this day. he creates this space and energy for her, like he had been in the first few episodes of the season, to express her concerns and quell her worries.

anyways! that’s all i had to say, goodbye dolls 😛

#this has been in my drafts for a solid six months #i still stand by it but i know he’s gonna absolutely nuke this in season three #let us join hands and pray #the bear #carmy berzatto #sydney adamu #sydcarmy #ayo edebiri #jeremy allen white #jaded talks

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blaque-honeyy · 3 months

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*sigh* I have so much to say about The Bear S3.

I think s3 exists in this type of limbo where there are soo many things happening but none of it is really moving the story forward. My confusion lies in not knowing if this was intentional or not.

I feel dissatisfied, but I'm slightly okay with it (?) knowing that we were told some of these events were going to happen and it wouldn't be authentic if these problems were resolved within the season. Whether or not I remain okay with the events of this season depend on figuring out what the purpose of s3 was.

There is this parallax effect happening throughout the entire season: where Syd & Carmy start out AGREEING to go through this together but once Carmy starts slipping into old behaviors, their perspectives on how to get to that goal become different. Opening the restaurant was supposed to be a big point of unity and fulfillment for them but it has only created more distance and promoted an unequal power balance between them. They are stuck and it feels like chaos moving in slow motion.

The silence between them is so damn loud it's unbearable. Watching the individual descents of both characters is so rough and exposes the toxicity of trying to create something new without addressing unhealed wounds.

I think the restaurant is a toxic relationship for Sydney. She loves and admires Carmy so much, and doesn't want to walk away from something that she's put so much effort into, but there's only so much compromising you can do before you start losing yourself. Syd is rightfully scared that she will forever live in Carmy's shadow.

Carmy is spiraling, blinded by tunnel vision to reach "success", and has lost the fucking plot. It was so interesting to see flashbacks of his career and seeing how compassionate and nurturing his mentors were and instead of trying to embody that, Carmy, DEEP in his trauma, is actively imitating the one man he accuses of destroying his physical and mental health.

Of course he still cares about Sydney. He wants to make her happy, give her the star she wants. But in his obsession to gain that success, he has completely pushed her (and everybody else) aside. His mission to prove himself individually (based off insecurities around his competency as a chef/business owner & not being able to provide for his friends & family) has taken precedence over his commitment to her. As painful as this evolution of their relationship is, I do like the direction and I think it was handled pretty well.

Points of contention for me:

I couldn't give two shits about Claire–sorry. The fact that they retroactively added soo many scenes from when they were together seems contrived and looks like another bid to put another relationship above Syd & Carmy's. Neil telling Claire "you're the peace"???? DON'T PISS ME OFF.

Is this The Bear or The Fak Show? There were a lot of Faks introduced in this season and their banter seemed like it was created to fill in dead air. It was very annoying at some points. (John Cena was great though I can't say anything bad about that man.)

Adding too many tertiary characters. The Faks, the old employees of The Beef to help Ebra. Adding all these characters instead of fostering interactions between the core group.

This might be a hot take but they spent WAY too much time on Nat's pregnancy before the birth. Also, she had this baby and NOBODY but the Faks came to see her in the hospital?? BYE.

Things that I solidly liked:

T's episode! Her struggle with unemployment, losing hope, and then meeting Mikey was easily the most endearing moment of the season for me. Then watching her start to develop her own ideas and creativity in the kitchen was just 🤌🏾🤌🏾🤌🏾.

Again, although I'm team SydCarmy, I like this stage of their relationship. Exposing the flaws, and exploring ways they need to improve for themselves and for each other. I WANT Syd to leave The Bear because 1) it would be good for her health and to see how a good restaurant is supposed to operate 2) I firmly believe that will be the catalyst to making Carm get his shit together. I want him to PANIC. I want him to BEG. I want him to CRY. 😊

As you can see, the latter list is not long enough. There were plenty of things I didn't touch on but that would make this post 5x longer.

I can see how s3 could be the low point of the series. A lot of these episodes would be considered fillers in plenty of other television shows. I appreciate the change of pace but would like it more if it was handled better. And I'm mad that I have to wait a YEAR to get REAL story development after this.

#carmy x sydney #sydney adamu #carmy berzatto #the bear season 3 #the bear #thinking more about this is making me mad actually #fuck carmen #insert rick&morty gif of morty telling summer to get her shit together

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chefkids · 7 months

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I love your meta!!! It’s amazing that you’re still able to identify and connect new things that the rest of us overlooked. Do you have any predictions for next season? Not just with SydCarmy but also any thoughts about where the show may take us

Thank you!

I think a big focus of next season is going to be on their lives intertwining and their families coming together. Season 3 ended with Richie, Nat, Carmy, and Sydney all coming together to open the restaurant and including her in their core group like family. And like Ayo and everyone in the show has said, this is all about chosen family and real family. But I also think a lot of bad shit is going to happen, especially at the very start of the season.

After Carmy practically begging to meet Sydney's dad, I do think Emmanuel and Carmy will finally meet. I do not think he is going to like Carmy at the start. He is very sceptical of their whole arrangement, he knows Sydney quit for a minute and might have heard Sydney talk shit about him. And if he ever finds out what went down on opening night, I don't think he'll be too happy with Carmy. But I do think they will eventually bond and get to know each other, I think including that Sydney's dad was sober from alcohol is going to be a big conversation for them.

I think they were alluding for Natalie having some sort of complication maybe preeclampsia with her shoulder pain. I think she's going to give birth sooner rather than later. Natalie giving birth is going to bring Donna back and is what is going to get Carmy and his mother to finally see each other again after seemingly years apart.

I also think Donna and Sydney will meet. I think Natalie and Sydney are both going to try to get Carmy to at least try to give his mother a chance because they are both much more optimistic and forgiving people than him. I think it's going to cause a lot of tension between all of them because Carmy doesn't want Sydney seeing that side of his family.

Sydney's share/ownership of the restaurant comes back into question. I also think Carmy getting more credit/recognition than her in reviews or press will bother her. I think she will basically say that this place is not really hers. Someone tries to poach Sydney, Carmy freaks out. Sydney starts to consider if it is worth staying if another good opportunity comes along.

Marcus' mom is dead and gone. RIP to that lady. I think grief and how they all deal with it differently will be a big theme. Carmy ignored his grief for a long time and tried to use work to fix things. Sydney and her dad still keep her mom's memory alive but she still struggles with letting others know about her grief. I think Marcus will be letting others help him and be there for him and Sydney will be there for him. I think this will bring back things Carmy about his own grief and how he's still dealing with it.

Luca returns to fill in for him for a bit and emotional support for Marcus. Which I think will also bring us to see Competitive Carmy in full force as goes into Michelin Mode, for Syd's sake. No amusement or enjoyment. I also think this will kinda turn the crew against Carmy as they'll prefer Sydney, they kind of already do. Especially considering she was more involved in training them and in the build than he was. Plus she's just nicer than him.

Sydney will overwork herself and burn out, she won't trust Carmy on his own and will inevitably put a lot of pressure on herself. She's not going to want to quit or stop but Carmy and her Dad will be pressuring her to slow down because she's making herself sick. I think a large focus of Season 3 will be on their energy. In Season 1 it was all about the pressure of money, Season 2 about time pressure, and now they need to find the energy to keep going because they need to make back money in a set time frame. The focus on energy and their internal dynamics between them, rather than external issues like things in restaurant being broken.

Jealous Carmy. When he realizes Marcus likes Syd more than a friend, he's going to view everyone as competition and a threat, even though he's still to scared to do anything about it. I think Sydney will grow closer to Marcus and Richie and maybe even Luca or new guy Connor, not in any romantic way, but it is going to bother Carmy a lot that she never spends any time with him and that they know her outside of work but he doesn't.

Menu overhaul is inevitable, aside from Marcus dishes, most of the menu is not that remarkable and they really need to pull out new interesting ideas if they want a star. I'm sure we will see a lot more of Syd and Carmy actually testing recipes together. Carmy is just not as creative as Sydney when it comes to food, he struggled with the chaos menu. Mostly as Carmy's way to force proximity with Syd when she doesn't want to be around him.

I'm also still rooting for the return of the short rib risotto and the missing acid chaos ingredient. They have to bring it back.

Tina and/or Richie straight up comment on Sydcarmy. I think Tina knows and suspects a lot more than she lets on. She is very observant and protective over Sydney. She's overheard and seen a lot of what has been going down between them. She's going to put Carmy in his place and scare him a little on Sydney's behalf.

Richie on a similar note is going to put 2 and 2 together on what Carmy is feeling and basically tell him to stay away from Sydney because he doesn't want a Claire 2.0 to happen to her and he probably feels like Carmy does not even deserve Sydney in any way and he would just fuck things up for everyone at the restaurant.

Natalie finally says something to him and that's what finally gets him to do something and stop bottling everything in. She never commented on his relationship to anyone except Sydney, and that was more so to get her in the loop and protect her, because she knew Carmy was leading her on while seeing Claire and not telling her. She's going to subtly or not so subtly ask him wtf he is doing. I also think Jimmy fully thought Sydney was his girlfriend.

Fire Suppression System will tested for real with an actual fire. I have a lil theory that Sydney is going to be the one to accidentally start a fire next season. The fire suppression test was all a metaphor for Syd and Carmy suppressing their feelings and the spark/fire that they have. At the end of season 1 Carmy started a grease fire after Sydney quit, because he couldn't suppress his sadness and feelings for her. In season 2 they passed the fire suppression and Carmy decided to declare Claire his girlfriend. They managed to contain their feelings, but eventually they still came out with Carmy and his panic attack. But now I'm sure Sydney is going to be the one trying to suppress feelings because of how everything went down, and I think it will just blow up in her face literally and metaphorically. They spent so much time explaining the fire suppression system and the electrical wiring and the amperage of it all, that I think it's going to come into play again.

Carmy uses Sydney for emotional support without her realizing. When he texted her because he needed her comfort and forgiveness before opening Mikey's note, she didn't know that was what was happening. When he had panic attack and thought of her to calm down he used her for comfort, but she doesn't know all that. I think he's going to tell her or show her that she is his comfort person. I also think we will also see Sydney eventually reach for him for support and comfort as well.

Sydney's catering days and UPS flashback. Please I am begging. We need more of her lore. I think next season will be a lot of seeing her as more independent and being the boss, we only just started to see her at her peak performance in the last episode. I think we'll see more of her evolution, and also her flighty nature. She went from restaurant to restaurant. I think the idea of her leaving The Bear will hang around all season, but she won't leave.

Claire apology then goodbye within the same episode. Sorry to that girl. I think Carmy was already planning to breakup with her after he had the panic attack and the talk with Uncle Jimmy, which is why he freaked out when after he saw her at dinner. I don't think there would be much place for her unless they throw her into some hospital scenes with maybe Nat or Sydney being sick. I think her work here is done. I think she might make other appearances with the Faks. They are close family friends. Maybe she's friends with the elusive Francie Fak that everyone is dying to know what happened between her and Nat.

I think Richie will try to work elsewhere for a bit. He wants to prove that he doesn't need Carmy and that he can succeed without him. I think he'll come back when Sydney asks him to. The situation with him and Tiff feels very 50/50 to me. On the one hand I think it could be him learning to move on from his ex, on the other hand I think Chris and Joanna are all about second chances and I could see Tiff seeing Richie change and wanting to give things another chance.

I also think there's opportunity to see another city like we did with Copenhagen. I'm still rooting for Carmy to take Syd to Noma before it shuts down. I could also see a New York flashback episode with Carmy working at Eleven Madison and Sydney going on her NYC food tour and their whole invisible string coming together.

Not in this season, but The Bear Cookbook will happen. Trust.

And The Psychedelic Musical Episode. A girl can dream. But I do think we'll get another karaoke scene, maybe with the whole crew going out after a shift and just letting loose for once.

#the bear #the bear meta #sydcarmy #sydney adamu #carmen berzatto #chefs kiss #the bear fx

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poorlittlegreenie13 · 6 months

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Scenes From an Italian Restaurant:

WC: 2,000

Syd/Carmy falling in love to the soundtrack of Billy Joel, idk

It's past midnight, but Carmy & Syd still haven't finished closing. It might have something to do with the fact that neither of them can sleep without nightmares at home, and that there's something uniquely comforting about having another person with an equally fucked up sleep schedule to silently work with well into the early hours of the morning. They rarely talk while they're working like this; a blurry, unfocused period somewhere between opening and closing, things that do not strictly need to be done, but that they both take pride in doing anyway. It's their fucking restaurant, they both seem to enjoy treating it like a child they're co-helicopter-parenting.

This particular night, Carmy is in the kitchen doing food prep & Syd is sweeping up the dining area. It's quiet enough to hear herself breathe in, and the silence is getting annoying, so she finds herself sweeping toward the kitchen, peeking through to look at Carmy. As she gets closer to him, she hears him... muttering to himself, maybe? No, that's not it. She walks closer, slipping into the kitchen as quietly as she can, and realizes he's... singing. Carmy Berzatto. Singing. In the kitchen.

Her first impulse is to laugh but she stops herself.

He's kind of... good.

She listens for a little while, mesmerized, trying to make out the lyrics.

A bottle of red, a bottle of white. It all depends on your appetite. I’ll meet you anytime you want, in our Italian restaurant.

She moves slightly and Carmy freezes like a scared deer in the fucking forest, of course. His eyes are so wide and scared, Syd almost feels bad, so she tries to break the tension.

“Didn’t realize you moonlighted as a singer,” she says with an awkward smirk, leaning on her broom. “Did you write that?”

Carmy’s eyes narrow. “Did I— did you just ask me if I wrote that?”

Syd shrugs slightly, sensing she’s made an error.

“It’s Billy Joel,” Carmy says, looking genuinely concerned that she’s lacking this crucial piece of information.

“Okay, sorry, I’m not, like, Italian… and into 70’s music,” Syd says, with a dry, sarcastic smile.

“No, no, but this is a classic song,” Carmy says, “I mean, this is just a good song.”

Sydney just stares at him blankly. “I wouldn’t know,” she says.

“Alright, something’s gotta be done about this,” Carmy says with a disapproving shake of his head, tone as serious as it might be if he was noticing a typo on a menu or a smudge on a plate. He unplugs his headphones from his phone, walking to the restaurant’s sound system and connecting his phone.

A jazzy piano song overtakes the speakers, Carmy pausing to crank up the volume to far above their normal level before turning back to Syd with a smile on his face.

“Cold beer, hot lights, my sweet romantic teenage nights,” the voice of Billy Joel (apparently) sings out over the speakers of their restaurant. Carmy looks at her expectantly. Syd raises an eyebrow.

“It’s… loud,” she says.

“No, no, no,” Carmy says, rolling his eyes, infuriatingly smooth Italian-American vowels softening out as he speaks, an unquantifiable accent that Sydney is pretty sure is going to actually kill her one day. “It tells a story,” Carmy insists, turning back to his prep, chopping vegetables to the beat of the song, talk-singing along with the song, back turned to Sydney. “Brenda and Eddie were still going steady in the summer of ‘75, when they decided the marriage would be at the end of July.”

Sydney can’t help the laugh she lets out. Carmy spins around, an indignant smile on his face.

“Stop looking at me like I’m crazy,” he says, “you’re the one who doesn’t know Billy Joel.”

“I do know some Billy Joel,” Syd says. “Just not this Billy Joel.”

“Well I'm showing you this Billy Joel,” Carmy says. “Listen. Come on, you’re not listening to it. This is good music.”

He sets down his knife, walking over to her, holding out a hand.

Something in the pit of Sydney’s stomach fires off like an over-excited fire-cracker.

“Are you seriously trying to dance with me right now,” she asks flatly, glancing between his face and his extended hand, trying her very best to hold her sarcasm out in front of her like a shield against whatever fuckary this is.

Carmy’s smile fades, just for an instant. Sydney can’t stand it. She rolls her eyes, and takes his hand. Immediately, he grins, spinning her around him. She can’t help but smile. Carmy reaches out for her other hand, pulling her in on one side and pushing her away on the other, awkward high-school-dance moves that a grown man should probably not be pulling on her right now, and should certainly not be working as well as they are.

She meets his eyes, wide grin, slight flush, hair even more disheveled than usual. For a second, she just stares at him, forgetting to dance, forgetting to smile. Carmy, oblivious, is still singing.

“They parted the closest of friends, then the king and the queen went back to the green, but you can never go back there again, no no.”

Fuck.

She shakes her head ruefully, spinning him around to break their eye contact. And okay, maybe she spun him away from her slightly too hard because his hand slips out of hers and he stumbles a few steps away from her, laughing, and then, in a flash of movement, moving back to her, one hand coming to her lower back, the other settling around her shoulders pulling her into his chest, still laughing, still red in the face, breathing slightly heavier than usual, vocalizing Billy fucking Joel right into her ear.

What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck?

Is she slow dancing with Carmen fucking Berzatto in their kitchen right now?

He’s ridiculously warm in a white tee shirt and jeans, solid and impossibly, weirdly soft, leaning heavily against her, breathing against her neck, smelling like kitchen spices and sweat. This is simply not fair. This is… seriously outside anything normal or manageable. Carmy’s hand on her lower back is keeping her in place against him, stomach to stomach, fingertips splayed out across her back.

She’s stopped moving, she realizes. Carmy stops too after a moment, but he’s still pressed against her, still smiling slightly. Syd lets out a short, nervous laugh.

“Is this weird?” Carmy asks, voice low, unsure, still holding her close—maybe so he doesn’t have to look her in the eye, maybe so he can just rest his chin against her shoulder for a little longer.

Very slowly, Sydney brings a hand to the space between Carmy’s shoulder blades, just resting it there. “Kind of, yeah,” she says. “But not bad weird.”

“Fuck, sometimes… it’s like I forget to be nervous in front of you,” Carmy says—quick, breathless words, slowly pulling back from her, an embarrassed little smile on his face. “And I make a fuckin’ fool of myself before I realize I’m doing it.”

Sydney smirks back at him. “Well it’s kind of too late to fool me into thinking you’re cool,” she says. “Might as well stop being nervous about it. I mean, that ship has sailed.”

Carmy laughs, shaking his head, going a bit redder in the face. “I just really want you to like Billy Joel,” he says.

Syd smiles. “No, I do,” she says. “I totally do like him. I really like him.”

“He has other good songs,” Carmy says. “I always liked this one though. I was like fourteen, thinkin’ I was gonna meet a girl and take her to an Italian restaurant and get… fucking married at twenty. Talk about a ship that’s sailed.”

He goes quiet.

Over the speaker, Billy Joel is still singing.

“A bottle of red, oh a bottle of white, whatever kind of mood you’re in tonight. I’ll meet you anytime you want, in our Italian restaurant.”

“It kind of did work out though,” Sydney says, over the last few chords of the song, “I mean, you do in fact own an Italian restaurant.”

“Yeah,” Carmy says, a boyish smile crossing his face. His expression lingers on her for a long moment.

The song ends, and abruptly, loud guitar chords blare through the kitchen.

“Oh my God,” Carmy says, grinning, the tension of the moment entirely shattered. “Fuckin’ love this one.”

He crosses back to his prep station, picking his knife and returning to his work like nothing happened, bobbing his head and singing, “You had to be a big shot, didn’t you?”

Syd watches him for a little while longer before going back to her sweeping, making a mental note to never think of this night ever again. She’s not sure she could withstand the sheer force of her own stupid fucking yearning. Minutes pass. Half an hour. Carmy cycles through ten odd Billy Joel songs, and then—

“Hey, Syd!” Carmy calls from the kitchen.

Sydney turns, white-knuckling her broom handle, collecting herself for a moment before walking toward the sound of his voice.

When she reaches him, he gives her a crooked, slightly unsure smile.

“If it’s not bad weird," he says, "can we keep doing it?”

Her face burns. She stares at him for a long moment, trying to gauge whether he’s joking or not.

“I mean, can you come here again?” Carmy says, quieter, sounding slightly desperate, while she’s still trying to gauge his sincerity.

Wordlessly she steps toward him, heart pounding. He wraps his arms around her waist, exhaling heavily, chin returning to its place on her shoulder, An Innocent Man playing through the empty restaurant.

“Some people live with the fear of the touch, and the anger of having been a fool.”

Sydney’s not entirely sure how the night ends. It sort of blurs together; Carmy holding her against him, clasped hands, kitchen knives, food prep, sweeping, laughing, blushing, Billy Joel and Carmy’s singing voice. Eventually, Sydney in the doorway, bag slung over one shoulder, Carmy flushed and breathless from laughter, Sydney mentally filing away exactly how it sounds when Carmy says her name, out of breath and slightly desperate.

“I feel like I should apologize to you,” he says, but he's still smiling.

"Yeah you should apologize for not finishing your prep," she says, clinging to the remaining shreds of her self-respect as she stares at him. "Get that done. I need some fucking sleep."

"Yes, chef," Carmy promises softly, with a rueful look on his face. She turns to leave, but he speaks again. "Hey. "Thanks, Syd."

She turns back.

"For what?"

He shrugs, looking down at his feet.

"I just had a nice night."

"Yeah, me too, Bear," Sydney says, and then forces herself to walk away from him, out the door and into the Chicago cold.

Maybe the sleeplessness is making them both crazier than she realized.

Or maybe it's not just the sleeplessness.

Because she's pretty sure she's going to be thinking about exactly how Carmy's arms felt wrapped around her for the rest of her fucking life. And if that's not insanity, she doesn't know what is.

#the bear #sydcarmy #carmy x sydney #sydney adamu #carmy berzatto #i had a vision and wrote this in two hours on the train #bon appetit #the bear fx #sydney and carmy #featuring: carmy's inexplicable brooklyn accent that's never explained in canon #that boy is NOT from chicago #he is from new york #i can tell

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answer2jeff · 1 year

Text

SICK DAY // CARMEN BERZATTO BLURB

i wrote another blurb to make up for not finishing the smut. please don't murder me >:(

song: forwards beckon rebound.

warnings: lots of detail, kind of a sad blurb :(, fem!reader, established relationship, fluff but like sad, making out, Carmen being protective and clingy and worried, living with Carmen, just very touchy feely, sorta angst.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEEP!

"Ugh..." You groaned, your 6:35am alarm disturbing your sleep after your 6:15 and 6:25 already failed to wake you up. Carmen, while half asleep, tossed and turned beside you. His arms finally found their way wrapped around your waist and pulled your back close to his chest. You took a deep breath, sighing and muttering incoherent complaints.

"You gotta get up, baby." Carmen mumbled, his cheek smushed against your shoulder before he planted a kiss on the nape of your neck. His hands caressed the shape of your torso as your stomach fluttered to his touch. Even after months of living together, months of calling this bed "ours," months of you telling everyone you knew that he was yours.

"I don't wanna." You pouted, pulling the covers back over the two of you. Carmen quickly yanked them back, his other hand still occupied by your waist.

You'd been called into work outside of your business hours 4 different times that week, and your team still hasn't considered having a conference to address your coworkers blatantly not showing up. You were losing sleep, and you waited until the last minute to change out of your work clothes and get ready for bed. Sometimes you even waited until Carmen got home, which could take hours.

"Baby, you've gotta go. What's the matter?" Carmen cooed, picking his head up and trying to look over at you. The sunrise beamed on your face perfectly highlighting your pretty face: the face he was so proud of kissing and cradling like it would break if he ever let go.

You rolled over to face him, and his hands remained on your waist. His fingers moved up and down your hips, rubbing little circles with his calloused thumbs against the small bit of skin that peaked between your shorts and your t-shirt. Your hands cupped his tired face, your eyes gazing back into his.

"I feel like shit, Carmy." You whined, your expression resembling something of a wounded puppy. Carmen only nodded his head as he brought a hand up to soothe your shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Carmen mumbled back to you. He knew that you weren't getting enough sleep, that you weren't drinking enough water, that you weren't finishing your plate when he'd take an extra 20 minutes to make sure you'd have real food after work. It didn't matter how many times you told him you were just having "one bad day," he knew this wasn't normal for you.

"I'm just gonna call in sick." You whispered, your eyes shutting again as your head sunk back into your pillows, which smelled like Carmen's cologne. If everyone else thinks it's my job to cover for them, then I deserve a day off, you thought.

"But I'm not gonna be home." Carmen lightly shook your shoulder to get your attention again, his worried eyes focused on you.

"I know. You've got that thing with Syd." You replied, trying to keep your tone calm even if you were slightly annoyed with Carmen's persistence.

"Uh-huh, and then I'm gonna head back to the restaurant 'cause—"

"'Cause Richie's gotta pick up Eva. Yeah, I know. Why exactly is this a problem?" Your eyes shot open, glaring at Carmen. He almost revolted back at your annoyance, his eyebrows furrowing. Carmen shrugged his shoulders, his hand moving down and grazing along your plush thighs. His mouth gaped open, his breath caught in his throat as he tried so say something.

"I don't know. I just—I don't wanna leave you here." Carmen glanced at your lips, his rough hand caressing your arm while the other reached to cup your jaw. He knew you hated being away from him for too long before you moved in together, but it hadn't become an issue for him until fairly recently.

Carmen was used to not seeing you as much as he'd originally hope, but it was like he couldn't go a day without thinking about you these past 3 weeks. He started texting you throughout the day, every 4-5 hours or so, just to check in with you. He never expected you to answer, since he really only did it to calm his nerves between closing hours. Even if you didn't need him today, (which you did) he needed you.

He'd daydream about you rubbing his shoulders or kissing his temples on his smoke breaks when he needed you most. He wondered if you ever thought about him the way he did about you. Whenever he'd get up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, he'd turn his head to see you sleeping peacefully, bundled up in the covers.

He wished he didn't wait until you were asking him why he was so distant to tell you how much he needed you. Carmen thought about that night all the time; the two of you on his couch, lips inches away from each other when he said, "I wanna do this with you. I want you." From that point on, everything seemed to change. Carmen remembered every little thing about you. He never stopped trying to get to know you better; he tried to learn something new about you every single day. Whether it be how you liked your coffee, or how much you loved when he left little notes on the fridge for you.

You placed a hand on the nape of his neck, his gold chain feeling cold against your skin. You melted into his hand as he cupped your cheek, so much that you leaned in and placed your lips on his. Carmen's jaw dropped just a bit, his tongue slipping past your own. You couldn't help but giggle into every open-mouthed kiss when he pulled you on top of him by your waist.

Your legs were straddling Carmen's hips while your foreheads pressed against each other. He whispered "you don't have to go, I love you so much," and even a "I don't want you to go," whenever your lips parted. Hot tears clawed at your waterline. Neither of you knew what came over yourselves, but you needed each other more now than you did any other early morning. Your hands on Carmen's shoulders supported your weight while his rubbed circles on your back.

With your breath hitched in your throat through gentle sloppy kisses and while you tried so hard not to break down into his Carmen's arms, it was like he'd never been more sure about anything in his life.

"I can tell syd I can't make it today." Carmen tried convincing you, planting a kiss on your forehead and earning a smile from you. Your hands grazed over his tattoos, reminding him of how much he missed you. He was willing to bail out to make sure that you'd be okay.

"Thank you, Bear."

"I've got you."

#hope u guys like this little blurb <3 #this made me so sad idk why #carmen berzatto #carmen x reader #carmy x reader fluff #fluff with angst #reposts are appreciated #the bear

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