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unnamed-locomotive · 2 months ago

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getaway car.

pairing: Carmen Berzatto x gn!OC (or reader with a name)

description: eikka’s bad night at the bear is carmen’s best

warnings: nothing besides the way i mischaracterized everyone including my own character

notes: i hate this lol. eikka is my oc for the bear, but for the sake of posting, eikka is written entirely as gender neutral.

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Pacing back and forth, burning a track into the floor. That’s what Carmen was doing before tonight’s service. This could’ve been solved if they kept their fixed menu, like they had planned. If Carmen didn’t take everything he and Sydney, mainly Sydney, had built and thrown it away.

Maybe an Italian menu. It was easy.

‘You don’t deserve easy. You know to be better than “easy”. Get ahold of yourself.’

He had managed to pull something complicated enough together. It was still Italian, but challenging enough that he would stop berating himself so harshly he could feel the air getting stuck in his throat.

It was seconds before showtime, and Sydney could feel her anxiety settling in for the next few hours until close. Until she’d have tomorrow to worry about too. Carmen was being a right twat, as always, and it continued through the night. It hit a high when Richie tried sneaking out a free slice of chocolate cake for a customer.

“We can’t fucking be giving these things away, Richie! Cicero’s already been up my ass about the fucking super-soaker bullshit. Put it down!”

As always, Richie said “Fuck you!” and took it out to the table anyways.

The table was a couple. Well, two people on a date. Or technically, a douchebag and a person putting up them solely to get their meal paid for.

The guy was a Class A Jackass, and it was obvious from simply watching him speak. He had seemed cute enough at the bar Eikka was peer pressured to go to. He was all blushes and stutters, and Eikka had found it endearing. Now, he was spitting some crybaby nonsense about how his ex was a “good for nothing whore” for having male friends other than just him.

This idiotic rant wasn’t the first thing to make Eikka dream of an alternate reality where this Friday night was spent home alone playing some Red Dead Redemption 2 and nursing a homemade margarita.

It started with the cab.

“You realize it’s more cost efficient to drive a car, right?”

‘It’s Chicago. How about using your gas money on a new and less fugly pair of jeans?’

Then it was the hand on the thigh.

‘We just met. What’re you awkwardly reaching across the cab for?’

“I’m taking you to this reservation I’ve had for a while. It’s this new place that opened up. It’s called ‘The Bear’.”

“Oh, that sounds cool. I think I’ve heard of it. It’s really fancy, right?”

“The term is ‘High-end’.” This comment ensued the first hidden eye-roll of the night.

“So why are you taking me here if you’ve had the reservation for a while?”

“My mom was supposed to go with me, but she was tired of going with me places.”

‘Oh my god. Calm down. They’re just close. It’s fine. Give him a chance.’

“You hang out with your mom a lot?”

“Yeah, I haven’t moved out yet. I’m saving for a house.”

“How big of a house are you wanting?” The first question of the night he elected to ignore.

When Eikka went to pay for the “oh so expensive” cab ride, the man insisted on paying for everything that night.

Eikka bit back the sarcastic remark about saving his money for his mansion.

Eikka ended up paying for tip on the cab. ‘Maybe he doesn’t know you’re supposed to tip. It’s clear he’s been living under a rock, or his mother, his whole life.’

A very long hour later of Eikka being forced to eavesdrop on the table next to them for some sort of entertainment, the man left for the bathroom.

It didn’t matter how agreeably nice the place was, Eikka‘s forehead was down on the table, praying to gain a strong enough mean streak to just bolt. Like all the others Eikka had ever sent up, it wasn’t answered.

Richie had been noticing the tension at the table since they walked in. It was his job, and the fact that it was blatantly obvious Eikka didn’t want to be there made it easier to tell as well.

“Are you alright? I’m sorry, I know it’s none of my business, but I can’t help but notice you’re not having a good time.” Richie said on one of his many sweeps.

“I’m alright. It’s not the food, it’s-“ Eikka paused, sighing, “Date’s not going well. At all. But really, this place is amazing, you’ve been excellent and the food is honestly the best thing I think I’ve ever had in my life.”

“But the date’s ruining it?” Richie asked with a smile.

“Oh, absolutely. I mean, this guy-“

“Oh, I’ve been able to tell.” Richie speaks, making them both laugh.

“This guy has to be one of the biggest pieces of work I’ve ever met, or at least tolerated this long. Man, this guy- I- I apologize for him… being the way he was with his order.”

Richie smiled empathetically at Eikka, “It’s alright, it’s my job. I’m not allowed to make your whole meal free, but let me see what I can do.”

“Oh, you don’t need to-“ Eikka starts protesting frantically, but Richie’s already headed off.

Carmen’s yelling at Richie as he heads out the door. He leans back to see what the hell Richie thinks he’s doing, when he sees Eikka. Sitting alone at the table, drinking red wine and looking around. Carmen freezes for precious seconds, his gaze unfaltering as the doors swing back and forth. Eikka was by far the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen. Denmark was no comparison.

Eikka suddenly notices Carmen looking through the doors, but by then it’s too late, and the doors have shut. Eikka has looked off, sulk evident in every feature. Carmen blinks and focuses back on his plating. Both pairs of blue eyes have moved on.

Richie sets the chocolate cake down on the table. Eikka looks up at him like he was hand-delivered by some deity.

“You really don’t need to do that. Really, at least let me pay for it.”

“No, no. I want you to enjoy your time here,” Richie leans down a little and whispers, “Even if it means ignoring the jagoff in front of you.”

Eikka laughs softly with a wide smile. The beautiful smile manages to stay there, even as Richie walks away to another table and tonight’s godforsaken date sits back down.

“There’s that smile. Haven’t seen it all night.”

“That would be because you’re a dick.”

“Excuse me?”

“What? I didn’t say anything.”

“Yes, you did. You just-“

“Jason, are you alright? I didn’t say anything. Maybe you were hearing from a table over.”

“Oh… um, yeah, I’m alright. Where’s that waiter with my check?”

Eikka takes a bite of the cake Richie brought, and it was probably better than all the sex Eikka’s had in the past six months. Combined.

“Oh, honey— I was wondering, can I get another chocolate cake to go? A full one?”

“You need a full one?” Eikka surpresses the offended scoff and nods.

“Yeah, I’d love to bring one to your mom when we go back to your place tonight.” Eikka winks. Jason immediately orders another cake.

Once the check had been paid, the bottle of wine gets emptied into the glass nearest Eikka.

“You’re supposed to savour it,” he says as Eikka chugs the glass down.

“You’re supposed to be nice. You were supposed to take me out and I was supposed to have a good time. Instead, I had to listen to you bitch the whole evening about every little thing you could possibly bitch about. Your ex sounds like a completely reasonable person, and I commend them for being able to put up with you for as long as they did because in these couple hours, I have found you to be a completely insufferable human being, if you could be called that. You’re a gluttonous pig, leeching off your poor mother and as far as you’ve told me, everyone else around you. If you seriously believe that your significant other can’t talk to other people besides you, then you should never be in a relationship, ever, because in no way could the other person be happy. The only thing I can thank you for tonight is for showing me a great restaurant and reaffirming that I should keep doing my makeup this way because I look fucking stunning. I’m gonna stay and leave a great tip for the waiter that you continuously disrespected throughout our meal.”

Jason’s mouth hangs open.

“I-I paid for this reservation!”

“With Mommy’s money?”

Jason’s face falls flat. He stands and immediately storms out like a child not getting their way. The place was mostly empty by now, giving Richie a good opening to waltz over.

“I take it everything went well?”

“Great. Thanks for the cake…?”

“Richie.”

“Eikka,” Richie stares blankly, “It’s Finnish. Along with my accent?”

“Oh! Ooo, fancy.”

Eikka raises an eyebrow, “You know where you are, right?”

Richie laughs, “Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

He looks around, his gaze stopping on the window into the kitchen.

There’s a moment of silence. Reflective, contemplative. Nice.

“I’m gonna go ahead and take these from you, and I’ll be right back with something,” Richie starts with a small smile, grabbing the dirty plates on the table.

“Oh, no you don’t. You’re not bringing me more free food,” Eikka points his finger at the older man.

“Who said it was food?” Richie asks, beginning to step away.

“What else do you have back there?” Richie catches the comment and laughs with a shake of his head.

Richie pushes the kitchen doors open. Carmen doesn’t look up at him, focusing on starting to close. Sydney just passes him a glance as he crosses the kitchen to be right behind Carmen.

“What’s up, Richie?” Carmen asks, not wanting to be told there’s a problem with anything.

‘If there was, it’d be his fault,’ He thinks childishly.

“Cousin,” Richie starts, hands clasped behind his back appeasingly.

“Aren’t you supposed to be checking on five?”

“Fak’s checking it.”

“That’s not Fak’s table.”

“Would you stop being such a fucking jagoff and just fuckin listen to me?”

Carmen looks up at him finally.

“I want you to come out to this table.”

“Did they ask for me? I don’t have time to talk to tables-“

“Okay, let me rephrase, you’re coming out to this fucking table. You’re gonna fucking talk and flirt and be charming and not an ass, alright?”

“I’m not gonna fucking do that, Richie-“

“Yes, you are-“ Carmen’s trying to yell over him to stop ordering him around, but Richie’s not listening, “Yes! You are! You’re gonna fuckin come out there, you’re gonna fuckin talk to ‘em, you’re gonna be all sorts of sweet and shit because a customer has had a rough night!”

“Fuck you! Like talking to me is gonna make it fucking better?”

“I think you’d fucking hit it off! Just hear me out, cousin.”

“Will you never talk to me about her ever again if I do this?”

“Her?”

Carmen swallows, “Claire.”

“You still need to apologize to her.”

“I said, will you fucking leave me alone about it?!”

“Yes, yes, fucking fine, you fucking asshole.”

Carmen rolls his eyes and shrugs, aggressively gesturing Richie to show him to the table.

Richie walks up to the table to find it empty. He frowns. Carmen’s just about to bitch when Eikka walks back up to the table from the bathrooms.

“Ah, sorry. I had a feeling you were gonna come back out when I went to the restroom.”

“It’s okay! It’s okay- Eikka, meet Carmen. Head chef and owner.”

“Oh- uh- Hi, um,” A hand is extended over the table, “Everything about tonight was astounding,” Eikka couldn’t be more surprised and nervous.

Carmen stares like a deer in headlights, like a man who just saw a miracle take place before his very eyes. Richie smirks and nudges him.

“Thank you,” Richie nudges him again, “Ri- Richie tells me you had a rough night?”

Eikka cringes internally, ‘Richie, why?’

“Uh, yeah. But nothing to do with the food or staff! Just a lackluster dinner partner,” Eikka gives a nervous half laugh, mortified inside.

Richie urges Carmen to sit down at the table with Eikka. Carmen resists, but eventually loses as Richie kicks him in the shin and pushes him down into the chair by his shoulder. He points at him sternly and strides into the kitchen, leaving them alone.

“Uh… a lackluster dinner partner?” Carmen attempts, fingertips nervously going to his lips. Eikka’s eyes track the movement, lingering.

“A bad date,” Eikka confesses, eyes flickering up to Carmen’s.

‘God, he’s beautiful. He looks my age too. I wish he was my date instead of that stupid fuck- Oh my god. Did my waiter just set me up with the chef?’

“Well… I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. It’s not the first and it won’t be the last, most likely. I mean, I’m 25, I’ve probably got a long way to go. Unfortunately.”

“Yeah…” Carmen doesn’t know what to say. It’s clear Eikka doesn’t either.

“Where’s Carmen?” Sydney asks Richie as she strides around the kitchen. The last of the food has gone out and now it’s just a matter of cleanup.

“I sent him out to a table.” Richie states, trying to get a peek out into the dining room with neither Eikka or Carmen noticing.

“You… sent him out… to a table? Richie, what does that even mean? Did they ask to speak to the chef?” Sydney’s face scrunches up in confusion as she picks up different dirty knives.

“Uhh, sure.”

“Richie. What does ‘Uhh, sure’ mean?” Sydney inquires, following him.

“It means don’t fuckin worry about it, Syd.” He barely glances at her over his shoulder before turning back to the window.

“Well, I’m worrying about it, Richie!” She exclaims, sending him a frustrated glare.

“The night’s over, do you really have to keep arguing?” Natalie asks, rubbing her forehead. Spending all this time here was hard on her already, having to listen to the constant bickering. The baby wasn’t any help.

More fighting broke out. The baby was going to come out with a permanent migraine.

“Well, uh, you look good. You’ll probably find someone in no time,” Carmen tries to “flirt” like Richie told him to. He’s never been good at this.

Despite Eikka’s suspicions, the room feels hotter at Carmen’s words, “Thanks. You too- er, um, if you haven’t already. Sorry.”

“Thanks. I haven’t.”

More awkward silence.

“Well, I’m sure you’re probably busy. You don’t have to sit with me. I’m gonna probably get going anyway.” Sure, Carmen was pretty. Nice face. Was Eikka gonna stay and hopelessly flirt at some stranger? No.

“Okay, uh, yeah! You have a better night,” Carmen was already shooting out of his seat. Sure, Eikka was pretty. Nice face. Was Carmen gonna stay and hopelessly flirt at some stranger? No.

Was Richie going to let them? No.

Richie sees them stand from within the kitchen. He quickly rushes out to their table with whatever desert was closest to him. Cannolis.

“Woah, where are we going? I got some leftover cannoli’s here for you both to enjoy together… here we are…” He sets them down on the table, one in front of Carmen and Eikka. He forces Carmen down with another shove to his shoulder.

“Oh no, no, no- You don’t have to-“ Eikka’s beginning to feel extremely guilty about all the free items; probably just as much as Carmen is pissed about it.

“Oh, don’t be stupid! Here, you kids enjoy.”

The first thing the two shared besides awkward silence that night was a confused glare at Richie as he strides away. ‘Kids?’

The next thing would be cannoli’s, apparently.

“Okay, I’m going to just go out and say this. I know this is going to sound so egotistical, but.. if he’s trying to set us up, it’s okay. You can just go back in the kitchen. You’re cute and all, you seem sweet, but I’m sure you’re just trying to get through your night-“

Carmen debates for a second. Part of him is already gearing to leave, but he can hear Sydney and Richie raising their voices at each other in the kitchen, and he’s so tired of the yelling.

“No- no, I’ll stay. Kinda don’t wanna have to go back in there and manage that.”

Eikka laughs, “Understandable.”

A smile creeps its way onto Carmen’s face as he sees Eikka’s face light up.

“Tell me about the date. How’d you get wrapped up into it?”

“Oh god, are you sure you wanna hear about that?” Eikka’s head shakes with mirth.

“As long as it means you’re talking.”

Eikka’s brows furrow, “What’s that mean?”

“It means you’re cute and all.”

Eikka gives the chef a curious look with a slight smirk forming.

“What? You said it first.”

#carmen berzatto #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x oc #my fic #the bear #the bear fic #one shot #oc #the bear (2022)

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