#mikey berzatto the bear
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I saw your post about Mikey so I hope this is okay & what you were looking for. Mikey meets a girl that is like sunshine whenever she walks in the room & makes him finally feel worthy/valued so heâll do anything to make her feel special in return
Sunshine (Mikey Berzatto x Reader)
Warnings: Swearing, mentions of weed and alcohol.
Word Count: 4.2k
I found a good boy and he's on my side You're just my eternal sunshine, sunshine
âJohn, John- you listeninâ to me?!â Mikey was pacing his office, trampling over receipts and month-old sticky notes while aggressively combing his hands through his tussled black hair. âIâll have your money. When have I not paid you, goombah? I didnât see the invoice, you should see this fuckinâ office, not enough time to organize this damn shit showâ he responded, kicking a stack of papers in the process.Â
Bending down, he began rummaging through the various papers littering the office floor, attempting to compile them into categories. âJohn! You there?! Fuck.â Mikey frantically pat himself down, a sudden yearn for nicotine overcoming him. Finding his carton of Marlboros, he slipped the end of a cigarette in the corner of his mouth.
Letting out a sigh, John grunted, âYeah, Iâm here, Mikey. Iâll give you a couple more d-â before being interrupted by the vibrations of Mikeyâs phone.Â
âFuck me, that jagoff is callingâ Mikey thought out loud. âListen, John, I hear you, youâll have your money, mmkay? On my ma, I swear to ya, I gotta go though thereâs another ball-buster on the other line. K? Ciao.â Before John could respond, Mikey stood up to accept the other call.
âMark, brother, hey, before you start⊠I know, I know.â He picked up his phone, taking it off speaker to slip it under his ear. âIâ Listen, I know. I hear you. I- Hey, you gonâ let me speak, or whaâ?!â Speaking with his hands he continued to pace around the room, his booming voice stifled by the cigarette.Â
The lunch rush at The Beef was dying down, exposing you to increasingly longer bits of the chaotic conversation occurring in the office. This was Mikeyâs typical presentation; disheveled, malnourished, and overexaggerately buzzed off of caffeine, nicotine, and italian-ness. Although he was impossible to reason with in this state, you took it upon yourself to fix him up his favourite; a mortadella sandwich with sundried tomatoes, pesto, and mozzarella.
âYou think I donât know that? Pft, câmon! Mark, man, youâre killinâ me!â You stood in the doorway, observing Mikey as he stood with one hand on his hip, the other flailing around to exemplify his frustrations. In one of your hands was the plate holding the lunch you made; in the other was a Chicago Bears BIC lighter.
Subtly knocking on the already open office door, Mikey whipped around to face you, his inconvenienced facial expression seamlessly evaporating into his wide-tooth grin. Mouthing âmeet me outsideâ was all it took for him to fake an excuse off of the phone and trail in your footsteps.
Albeit cheesy, you had that captivating effect on him, your hidden-well insecurities and past failed relationships blinding you to the fact that Mikey was infatuated with you. That, in combination with the 15-year age gap between you two. For Mikey, none of those factors changed the fact that you were his daylight, sunshine in human form.
Outside in the back you sat on a milk crate, the pre-Spring Chicagoan air fluttering over your skin. Moments after, Mikey joined you by sitting on an adjacent crate close to you after propping open the door. âThanks, Bellaâ he said as he leaned over, his palm squeezing your thigh in an attempt to physically communicate the appreciation he held for your act of service.Â
You offered out the plate to him, prompting him to begin devouring. He gruffly moaned after taking his first bite. âMhhhh, shit, this is like Marry Me chicken but in sandwich form.â You giggled in response with your hands resting in your lap, watching as he attacked it hungrily. Mid-bite, he motioned with his head towards the other sandwich on the plate, âAinât gonna eat itself, Italiana.â
âIâm not hungry right now, Mike,â you responded, suddenly losing your appetite as you thought of the most effective way to check in on him without him brushing it off. Mikey had a fortified âIâll deal with it maselfâ attitude; his hard-headed, traditional Italian, âGodfatherâ persona caused him to keep you far away from the messes he had gotten himself into. In his eyes, you are more than capable of dealing with lifeâs bullshit, but his innate urge to protect you from harmâs way and unnecessary stress made it difficult to involve you.
âWhat was going on in there?â you motioned towards inside with your head. âAh, nothinâ doll.â He shrugged his shoulders in an attempt to brush off the topic, wiping his mouth with a napkin. âJust some bills that need payinâ, I got it covered. Business good today? Any jagoffs give you trouble?â He frantically read your face, urgently hoping youâd buy his not-so-discreet attempt at changing the topic.
âCâmon, Mike. Cut the shit. Youâre suffocating in that office.â The only person whose bluntness Mikey could listen to happened to also be the only person heâd accept âMikeâ from. He took the cigarette that had been hanging from his lips in his office out of his shirt pocket and proceeded to light it. Taking the first drag of it, he flicked it, holding it out to you.
Pursing his lips to blow out his puff, he responded confidently. âI got it all figured out, sunshine. Plus, I got cousin helpinâ me with the books and shit. Just gotta pay back those muthafuckas who keep callinâ me. Theyâre all, âwhereâs my money!?ââ he playfully rolled his eyes, making hand gestures and displaying a funny face as he imitated the callers. You both knew damn well they had every right to be calling him.Â
âYou telling me that Richie is on the books is supposed to bring me a sense of comfort?â Asking him that question with pure seriousness and handing him back the cigarette, Mikey stifled a laugh. âHey, him and the IRS are like thisâ he crossed his middle finger over his index while winking and making a clicking noise with his tongue.
âCousin, where the fuck are the receipt rolls, the office looks like an abandoned and pissed-in office depotâ Richieâs exclaiming became increasingly louder the closer he got. âFeels like we change the damn paper in that thing ever- oh shit, pardon my interruption to your rendezvous. Were you guys about to fuck? I can leaveâ Richie pointed with his thumb towards the kitchen as he sported a fake-worried and devious expression, slowly inching backwards.
Now it was your turn to roll your eyes. âNo oneâs fucking anyone, Rich.â Mikey looked to the ground as he faked a chuckle, ignoring the slight pang of hurt in his chest.
âYou want a mortadella sandwhich?â You held out the plate to Richie, knowing he couldnât resist. âUh, DUH,â Richie grabbed an additional crate to join the two of you, immediately beginning to eat.
âOh fuck, are you fucking serious right now?! Mikey, if you donât marry this girl Iâll do it for you. âS like a mouf orgathmâ Richie had just begun eating yet he already had food on the corners of his mouth. You chuckled, choosing to ignore the marriage comment. âHere, you child. Youâre such a slobâ you threw him a napkin you had stored in your apron.Â
âHey, the real slob is right over thereâ he pointed directly at Mikey, not even bothering to wipe his mouth but proceeding to take a another massive bite. âSomethingâs gotta be done about that cesspool of an office,â Richie shook his head disapprovingly, despite also functioning well in chaotic enrivonments. Mikey took yet another drag, the stress of you and Richieâs indirect demand to get his shit together getting to him. âItâs organized chaos, I know where everything is, sâall that matters.âÂ
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This was the third night in a row that you had difficulty falling asleep. You had tried everything in your arsenal of melatonin-producing activities, and yet, your brain was spiraling, most of your thoughts pertaining to Mikey.
You werenât going to kid yourself. You needed something and you knew exactly who to get it from. Picking up your phone, you made the call.
âRich?? You awake?â You rolled over to your side, holding yourself up by your elbow and propping your head up with the palm of your hand. âYeah Iâm awake, but why the fuck are you awake, missus?â âI need a favourâŠâÂ
Richieâs dirty mind figured any call from a woman at this hour was for sex, but he also knew about Mikeyâs schoolboy yearn for you and wouldnât dare make any advancements. The silence on his end was telling. âNot that type of favour, God, Rich! Stop being a man for a second. I need weed.â You huffed out, a whiny tone of desperation heavy in your voice.Â
âNow that I can help you withâ he chuckled.
âYES thank you, Rich, oh my godâ You sprung up out of bad as if there were hot rocks in it. âI will meet you at The Beef, okay?!â And that was where he met you.
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You and Richie sat at the back of The Beef, exactly where you had had lunch earlier that day. âYou want to do the honours, stoner?â Richie held out the joint and lighter for you. You faked an annoying look and exaggerately took them from him. âIâm not a stoner, Rich. I just have an undiagnosed sleeping problem.â You put the joint between your lips and lit it, taking an ungodly large pull from it.Â
âWoahhhhh cheech and chong, relaxâ Richie practically yanked the joint from you. You immediately began coughing as you hadnât smoked in a while. âWhat or who the fuck are you trying to forget, Italiana?â Richieâs joking tone didnât conceal his concern as he took a puff himself. You looked at him, tilting your head to the side to signify confusion.
Richie took another pull before returning the joint to you. âIf youâre calling me at 12am to smoke because you couldnât sleep, it tells me your big brain was overthinking.â You took a moderate inhale this time, the buzz beginning to radiate out to your extremities. âWhat were you thinking about, Richie? Something tells me you were awake for similar reasons.â
âIâm not sayinâ anything âtil you doâ he responded whilst shrugging.Â
Making a sour face, you attempted to restore the saliva in your mouth. âI have cotton mouth like a bitch, Iâm going to get something to drink. You want anything?â you asked, heading inside before he could interrogate you further. âGet me a brio!â You chuckled to yourself, shouting back âYou know youâre not Italian, right?!â
You walked over to the walk-in fridge, grabbing Richieâs Brio and a Fresca for yourself. On the way back out, Mikeyâs office door caught your attention, and you suddenly had an idea. âRich. Oh my god. I know exactly what we can do.âÂ
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âI⊠I think we just made things worse.â Looking up at Richie in horror, he mirrored your reaction. âYeah, we fucked up cousin. Weâre in some deep shit.âÂ
You and Richie were both sat on the office floor, waist deep in the paper equivalent of a small forest. You took a swig from your Fresca, attempting to decipher where to start. âWe can do this. For Mikey. He deserves this, and fuck, letâs face it, he was never gonna do it himself!â You attempted to motivate Richie, knowing his child-like attention span and patience were on their last legs.Â
Picking up various pieces of paper, you attempted to make sense of them. âOkay⊠Iâll make one pile for receipts, and Iâll sort them by date, and then-â You felt Richieâs eyes burning a hole into you, causing you to look at him and flail your hands around. âWhat?!â Impatiently waiting for his response, you began gnawing on the inside of your cheek, nervous that he was onto you.Â
âYou like him.â Richie slowly grinned from ear to ear as he stated it matter oâfactly. âYou like like him.â You flung your head back and groaned. ââLike like?â Câmon, Rich, what are you, 12? Shut the fuck up and help me.â The blood rushed into your cheeks almost immediately at his accusation, the THC physiologically betraying you and making it impossible to put on a front. âYou like him. Oh my god. I fuckinâ knew it,â he giggled.Â
âI donât know whether itâs the weed or the fact that itâs 3am and Iâm reaching the point of delirium, but since Iâm not a pre-teen, Iâll admit that youâre not wrong. But itâs never going to happen. Heâs mentally ill with a fucked up family and so am I- that doesnât tend to be the ideal romantic combination. Now, lets finish this so we can still go home and get some rest before shift starts.â You looked at Richie with a stern look; he was shocked at your mini rampage, and internally, you were petrified about the fact that you had just spilt your guts to Mikeyâs bestfriend.
âAnd donât get any ideas, because this conversation does NOT repeat itself, you hear me, Jerimovich!â When you addressed someone in the kitchen by their last name, they knew you meant business. âUh-huh, yup, yes maâam.â Richie gulped, considering you just displayed more emotions in the last 5-minutes than you had for the entire length of time he has known you. It didnât help that he was beyond stoned and couldnât quite comprehend the nature of what you had told him.Â
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âCousin! What the fuck is this? Why can I see the floor?â Mikey was standing at the doorway of his office in utter disbelief that morning. Richie jogged over peaking his head into the office. âIt was Italianaâs doing, she just told me what to do. We were preeeetty friedâ he chuckled to himself, recalling last nightâs events. âSurprisingly, we didnât throw anything out. Sheâs got a real knack for organizing, shouldâve let her do this months ago. The IRS and I arenât going to have anymore beef, see what I did.âÂ
Richie couldnât keep his big mouth shut. His nervous rambling was an attempt to not tell Mikey about your confession. Knowing how much Mikey admired you, it was killing him to not be able to tell his own bestfriend that the girl of his dreams reciprocated his feelings. Mikey slowly turned to look at Richie, hands still on his hips. âWhat the fuck did you smoke, crack? Why are you acting all fucked?â
You had walked into the kitchen at perfect timing before Richie blabbed your secret. Going to hang your purse up, Mikey called you over; he didnât even need to see you to feel your presence. âItaliana, come âere!â You sped walk over and stood in the entrance, your hands folded in front of you with a nervousness. A part of you was worried that messing with Mikeyâs âorganized chaosâ was going to disorient him, but you wanted to lessen the stress he was experiencing. That was what you did for the people you loved; especially the man you loved.Â
âYou did this?â He looked directly at you; despite being an expert in Mikeyâs nuances, you couldnât tell whether he was pissed or overjoyed. âUh, yeah! Itâs all pretty self-explanatory but I can go through it with you if you want? I just thought itâd make your life a lil easier. And Richieâs! Of course.â You rubbed your arm with your hand as a means of self-soothing.
âThis is great, Bella. Truly. I canât believe you went through all this trouble, I mean, I donât think Iâve seen it look like this everâ he motioned towards the filing cabinet and the paper baskets you had labelled appropriately, using his other hand to comb through his hair in shock. âI couldnt of done it without Richie. And Richieâs weed! It was nothing, Mikeâ you smiled at him and showed yourself out as nonchalantly as possible.Â
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You were waiting the last tables of the day - mainly consisting of left behind beer bottles and plastic sandwich baskets - when Mikey came up behind you putting one hand on your waist. âMeet me in the office when youâre done here, yeah?â As he whispered into your ear, you had to keep your knees from buckling. âYeah, Mike! Okay!â Fucking Richie.
You attempted to stall for the inevitably painful conversation that awaited you, slowly walking towards the kitchen. While washing your hands, your brain began to spiral. Wiping your hands on your apron, you attempted to bravely walk towards the office, standing in the doorway.Â
âWhatâs up?â You halted in your tracks almost immediately as you noticed the charcuterie board Mikey was standing in front of and the bottle of red wine in his hands. âFuck me. Okay, listen.â You walked closer to him. âBefore you say anything, I donât know what Richie said to you, but as someone who doesnât know the difference between your and youâre, he has no idea what heâs talking about. You didnât have to do any of this.âÂ
Mikey looked at you like a deer in headlights. âWhat the fuck are you talking about,â he chuckled. There was that dimpled smile. And now you were confused (and distracted) before you realized Richie didnât say anything.
âI wanted to thank you for organizing the officeâŠâ Mikey explained, twisting the bottle of wine open and pouring you a glass. âI know how much you like your charcuterie. If Starbucks ever stops selling those little boards Iâll wonder what youâre gonna eat.â He earned a laugh from you for joking about your mild salami addiction.
You sported the fakest wide tooth grin you could muster. âHey, Iâm Italian. I canât help it. I think Iâm keeping them in business thoughâ you joked in response. He held out the glass for you and winked. âThanks, Mikeâ you smiled, hoping he couldnât pick up on your nervousness.Â
âOkay, let me show you what weâve got here.â He clapped his hands together, excited to introduce you to his concoction of Italian meets and cheeses. Hunched over his desk with both of his hands planted on the surface to support him, he pointed at each meat and cheese as he went through the boardâs contents.Â
âWeâve got cacciatore, prosciutto, mortadella, then I added parmesan - I know how much you like it - along with romano and gorgonzola. I was thinking we can add it to the menu. Weâre no hipster yuppies but throw some olives and overpriced crackers on here and I mean, weâre talkinâ business, baby.â Looking up at you, he attempted to read your face for your thoughts.
Mikey was passionate. That was his entire nature. And when he presented you with ideas, he seemed to put your approval and opinion on a pedestal. You had helped significantly with business at The Beef, assisting in bringing Mikeyâs visions to fruition while also providing your input where necessary; he valued your insight more than you realized.Â
Taking a baguette slice, you added cacciatore and parmesan onto it and bit in. âFuck, Mike.â Your eyes rolled into the back of your head and you let out a near moan. âWe gotta add this. It could even be part of a date night special. The charcuterie as an antipasto, a soup or salad, a main, and then dessertâ you presented.
Mike glanced up at you with a smirk, content with your proposal. âHave I ever told you that I love your brain, Italiana?â You giggled as you continued to devour the board, attempting to ignore his blatantly obvious attempt at flirting as you couldnât believe he could possibly be interested in you.Â
The rest of the evening was spent brainstorming business ideas, reminiscing on memories shared between you, Mikey, and Richie, and consuming copious amounts of wine.Â
âOh my god, Mike. You remember when Richie tried picking up that blonde girl at the bar with a magic trick, and you- y- oh my god.â You flung your head back as you cackled; you were wine drunk and snortling to the point of incoherence. You were sat across from Mikey who was planted behind his desk, his ankle resting on top of his other knee. His forearms rested on the arms of his chair, and he loosely held a glass of whiskey as he watched you with amusement and a sly grin of admiration.Â
âYou had to go over there and save him from the embarrassment. Poor thing.â You chuckled. âIâm pretty sure the chick he was tryna bag had started flirting with me,â Mikey said, taking a sip of his whiskey and raising his eyebrows as he attempted to recall the events of that evening.Â
You looked intently at him, not breaking eye contact. âCan you blame her?â The wine encouraged a new-found confidence to emerge from within you. There was no way you wouldâve been this direct with Mikey while sober.Â
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â Mikey leaned forward to put his glass on his desk then returned to his laid back position. With a dumbfounded look on your faced, you laughed then displayed a look of annoyance. âDonât play stupid. Look at yourself, Mike.â You stood up, put the wine glass down, and rested both of your hands on his desk, leaning forward until you were mere inches away from his face.
Looking into his right eye, glancing down at his lips, and looking back up to his left eye, he began to shift in his seat. It was evident that you were both under a hazy and horny alcohol-induced influence, the sexual tension very obviously suffocating the room. âNow take me home before I say or do something Iâll regret.â
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As Mikey walked you back to your apartment, you held onto the side of his frame with all your might. He guided you through the streets of Chicago with ease; he was nowhere near the level of drunk that you had achieved. âYou okay, darlinâ?â He looked down, a slight smile on his face as he recognized your drunken effort to walk in a straight line. âYeah, Mike. Thanks for tonight. No oneâs ever gone through such an effort to appreciate me.â
You peered up at him with a smile; you wanted to put into perspective how much his actions meant to you, however, Mikey felt an even stronger urge to spoil you moving forward. Quite frankly, he was bewildered that his small gesture that evening exceeded all that youâve known.Â
Arriving to the door of your apartment, you began rummaging through your purse for your keys. Finding them, you held your arm out straight and dangled them in front of Mikey. âYouâre gonna need to unlock the door, mister. I do not currently possess the fine motor skillsâ you joked, earning a laugh from him.
You caught the glimmer in his eyes. Mikey felt like your fierce protector. You both knew you didnât need protecting- while this was a part of you he admired, his masculinity often fought for dominance; for the chance to show you how well he could look after you and how much you deserved it.Â
He opened the door, propping it open for you as you stumbled through, immediately attempting to take off your shoes. You hadnât thought this out thoroughly as you ended up toppling over, Mikey catching you in the process. âEasy, doll. Here, sit down,â he motioned toward the ottoman in the foyer of your apartment, guiding you as you lowered yourself.Â
He crouched down at your feet and placed the heel of your foot on his thigh, proceeding to untie your shoes. Grasping your ankle one at a time, he wiggled your feet out. You looked down at him, admiring his gentle touch, the concentration present in his furrowed brow; you loved to watch him, whatever he was doing, and youâve known for a long time that youâve loved him.
âLetâs get you to bed, yeah?â Holding out both of his hands for you, you stood up, letting him walk you through to your bedroom. You had a case of the over-tired drunken giggles, prompting you to laugh as you slurred your intentions to take off your make-up.
Mikey picked out some pjs for you, then proceeded to pour you a cold glass of water while you got changed. Opening the door to your bedroom, you motioned for him to come inside. âSleep next to me?â You proposed with a curious tone despite knowing heâd decline as he (annoyingly) insisted on being a respectful gentleman at all times. âSâall good doll, Iâll be good on the couchâ he motioned to the living room with his head. âLemme tuck you in.âÂ
As you got under the covers, Mikey offered you the glass of water to which you happily obliged. Handing it back to him, he placed it on your bedside table as you snuggled yourself into the sheets. He turned off the lamp, the room engulfing with darkness save for the midnight blue hue that the window cast in.Â
Mikey began to walk out of your room when you called out to him. âHey Mike, câmereâ you turned over, watching him as he slowly approached. Motioning for him to come closer, you whispered into his ear. âI like like you.âÂ
Knocking out after the words escaped your lips, as if they were made of melatonin, Mikey smiled to himself as he looked down at you. âAnd I love you, sunshine.â
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EEEEEEEEK my very first Mikey imagine! Which means I am still learning to integrate his personality into my writing- itâs hard when he has extremely minimal screentime. ALSO I am writing this in whatever year Mikey was operating The Beef, so Carmy, Syd, and the others arenât there, and Richie and Tiff are still together. I am completely open to feedback and would also love to get more requests for Mikey. Let me know what yâall think!!! :)
#mikey#mikey berzatto#mikeyberzatto#the bear#the bear fx#the bear hulu#carmen berzatto#carmy berzatto#richie jerimovich x reader#richie jerimovich#richie#jerimovich#michael berzatto#berzatto#sydney adamu#syd adamu#syd and carmy#sydcarmy#carmy x sydney#syd x carmy#syd x richie#richie the bear#the bear mikey berzatto#mikey berzatto the bear#sugar berzatto#natalie berzatto#the berzatto family#the berzattos#donna berzatto#chicago
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CW: dub-con incest, age gap, minor mention of drug abuse and being high
Minors DNI 18+
A/N: happy birthday to me! hope yâall enjoy :)
~~~
You stuff your hand over your mouth, hot tears burning tracks down your cheeks as a strangled sob rips from your throat. Christmas dinner at the Berzattoâs has always been a stressful time but your mom is really on a warpath tonight, scrutinizing everything you do to try to help.
âBaby Bear? Whereâd you disappear to?â
Your eyes fly open at Mikeyâs gravelly voice just beyond the closed door of the pantry and you clear your throat, roughly scrubbing your sleeve over your eyes as you call out, âin here, Mikey!â The handle rattles as he pulls the door open and you shoot him a weak half-smile, stretching up to reach a box of crackers on the top shelf. âMama wanted me to get some crackers for Tiff.â Mikey cocks an eyebrow at your weak excuse, easily reaching up to grab the box for you.
âI donât think grabbing some fuckinâ crackers takes ten minutes, whatâs really going on?â His voice is soft as he hands you the box and your face falls at the question, fresh tears burning your eyes. He sighs and pulls you against his chest, trapping your arms between your bodies.
âI canât do anything right, Bear. Mama- she just keeps screaming at me and it-it feels like everyone else doesnât want me here.â You sob, the cardboard box collapsing underneath your tightening grip.
Mikey rests his cheek on the top of your head, running a soothing hand down your back, âNow you know that ainât true, baby, youâre such a good girl all the time, it'd be a crime not to want to be around you.â You let out a quiet hiccuping laugh and his lips curl into a smile, turning his head to press a kiss to your hair.
You pull your face away from his chest to wipe your eyes and he grins, cupping your cheek to pull your forehead against his. âThereâs my girl.â He says quietly with a grin, âdonât let mom ruin Christmas for you, yeah? Keep being good and once everyoneâs gone, Iâll give you your present.â
You let your eyes flutter shut, a small smile sneaking onto your face. âOkay, I promise.â You grin at him, âdo I get a hint on what you got me?â
Mikey laughs and pecks your cheek, brushing his lips over the corner of your mouth, âCheeky girl, whereâs the fun if youâre not surprised, huh?â You giggle and wind your arms around his waist, squeezing him tightly.
âNever hurts to ask, right?â You tease, eyes sliding shut as you linger in his warm embrace, âThank you, Bear.â
He hums, bending down to press a kiss to the top of your head, âItâs nothinâ, Baby Bear, Iâm always gonna be here for you.â
More tears threaten to spill and you squeeze your eyes shut, taking in a deep breath to let the smell of his cologne calm you before stepping away. âI should really get these to Tiff.â You say, shaking the half crushed box, âyou promise they donât hate me?â
âIf they do, theyâll answer to me, yeah? Donât let them get in that pretty head of yours.â Mikey shares a reassuring smile with you, dropping down to kiss your head one last time before heading back to the gathering. You press your lips together as he returns to being his boisterous self, loud voice spilling through the rest of the house.
After dropping off the crackers with Tiffany and fussing over her when another wave of nausea ran through her, you drag your feet back to the living room, loitering in the doorway as your heart pounds at the constant chatter between guests.
You force a smile when Mikey notices you, curling in on yourself as he gestures you over to him. Without a stutter in his words he wraps an arm around your waist and guides you onto his lap, smoothing a reassuring hand down your back as he talks. You curl into him, tucking your face into his neck to hide from the eyes of everyone, perfectly content to just listen as Mikey commands the room.
âAnd I thought incest was a southern thing! Whoâd have thought weâd see it from my own son and daughter!â
Mikey stiffens under you and your body burns with mortification, pulling away from your hiding place in Mikeyâs neck to look at your mom, âMama!â
âWhat?â She laughs, nearly choking on her last sip of wine, âIâm just saying what everyone else is thinking, Baby Bear, what kinda siblings sit like that?â
Mikey glares at Donna, opening his mouth to defend himself when you slide off his lap, curling in on yourself. He resigns to glaring at her and touches your back gently, leaning down to whisper, âDonât listen to her, sheâs just trying to start shit.â You just nod, shifting away from his touch as tears burn your eyes.
An awkward air fills the room as the conversation tries to move away from Donnaâs outburst and you take your chance to slip away, busying yourself with readying the table for dinner. The heavy thud of boots makes you glance up, your stomach twisting at the sheepish look on Mikeyâs face. âBaby Bear, you know Iâd never-â
âSo this is where you ran off to!â
A cold trickle runs down your spine as Lee wraps an arm low around your waist, fingers just barely brushing against your hip bone through your jeans. Lee shot Mikey a shit-eating glare and tugs you against his side, âwhat are you doing, hiding away in here with him?â He spits the last word like an insult and Mikey bares his teeth in a snarl, stepping forward to pull you away from him.
âI-I just wanted to make sure the table was set, I know Mamaâs almost done cooking.â You answer nervously, eyes flickering between the two men. âI should actually⊠see if she needs help, please excuse me.â You extract yourself from Leeâs grasp, shuddering as his hand glides over the globe of your ass. You hurry to the kitchen, plastering a smile on your face as Donna turns to you with a dish full of food.
âPut this down and go tell everyone itâs time to eat. Go, hurry!â
You nod frantically and carefully balance the hot dish as you move as quickly as you dart back into the dining room, barely sparing a glance at the two men still locked in a standoff before dipping your head into the living room to call out, âfoods up!â
You go back to the kitchen to help your mom and by the time you get into the dining room with the final platter, the only seat available is between Mikey and Lee. You take a deep breath, slowly letting it out as you move to sit down. You stiffen in your seat as Leeâs hand drops to your lap to squeeze your knee. Mikey lets out a deep growl and glares at Lee, reaching over to force his hand off your leg, âhow about you keep your fucking hands to yourself, huh?â
Lee laughs, âYeah like you could follow that rule! You think I donât know what you and Baby Bear have been up to? Maybe if you stopped dreaming about your dick in her mouth maybe tonight wouldnât have been so stressful for your mom.â
Your eyes widen, nails digging into your palms as Mikey scoffs, slamming his hand against the table before pointing accusingly at Lee, âDonât you dare say shit like that in front of her! You know damn well you couldâve gotten your head out of your ass and helped too!â
You gently touch Mikeyâs arm, sharing a pleading look with him, âHey. Just leave him, Bear, okay?â You shake your head as you speak softly, âThis isnât worth it, please.â His face softens and you give him a small smile.
âDonât act like I didnât catch you in her bedroom the other day! Your poor motherâs at her witâs end because youâre just some sick junkie pervert that canât keep his hands off his own sister!â Lee yells, âHow long has it been going on, huh? Did you get addicted to the pills first or was the guilt of fucking your little sister too much to handle sober?â
The room falls silent, everyone exchanging silent glances, trying to decide who to believe. No one could believe Mikey would ever hurt you but⊠the Mikey they saw in front of them, the one high on pills, who knows what he could do. You stand abruptly, knocking your chair over as you look around the room for a moment, almost pleading with them to come to your defense. Tears of humiliation burn your eyes as you rush from the room, finding solace in your bedroom as the first sob rips from your chest.
Youâre curled up on your bed when someone knocks lightly on your door. Sniffling, you sit up, calling out for them to open the door. Michelle pokes her head in and you manage a small smile, wiping your face with your sleeve, âWhat a shitshow, huh? Sorry for just running out like that.â Your voice cracks and she shoots you a sad smile, moving to sit next to you.
âNone of that was your fault, honey. What they were saying about you and Mikey, IâŠâ She trails off into a deep breath, âI was talking to Carmy earlier and I invited him to come stay in New York with me for a couple weeks.â
You nod, picking at your nails, âHeâd love that, I know things have been stressful for him recently.â
âFor you, too.â You look up at her questioningly and she sighs, turning to face you, âBaby Bear, I think you should come with us.â She begins, placing her hand on your knee, âwith everything going on, I think you need some space from M- from everything⊠you could spend some time with Carmy and maybe find a good school to go to out there.â
You press your lips together in a firm line to stop them from wobbling as a fresh wave of tears builds in your eyes, âfrom Mikey, you mean? You want me to just leave Mikey like that?â A look of betrayal washes over your face, âwho would he have if Iâm gone? No. No, I can't go with you.â You finish with a shake of your head, pushing her hand off your leg.
âHoney, donât say no yet, okay? Iâm not leaving until next week, youâve got time.â Desperation laces her voice as she stands up from your bed. âJust⊠think about it?â You turn your head to avoid her gaze and she sighs, lingering for a moment before leaving.
You take a shuddering breath and flop back down onto your bed, letting your comforter muffle your quiet sobs. Another knock causes you to jump, scrubbing your eyes furiously to hide the evidence as you croak, âD-doors open!â You steel yourself for more nosy relatives, pressing your lips together as you will back your tears.
âBaby Bear?â
Your facade breaks when Mikeyâs face comes into view and you jump off your bed to crush him into a hug. âIâm sorry for leaving you down there alone I just- I just couldnât-'' Your voice cracks as the words of your Uncle Lee replay in your mind, pressing your face hard against his chest âYouâre not what he says! Youâre my big brother, you'd never hurt me, why canât people see that!â
His laugh vibrates through your body as his arms come up to wrap around your shoulders, âPeople see what they wanna see, Baby Bear, you know that.â His voice is laced with hurt and you look up at him, heart twisting painfully at the defeated look on his face.
You tighten your arms around him, âWell theyâre wrong, youâre the only one that really cares âbout me.â
Your words bring a smile to his face and he leans down to kiss your forehead, âIâll always care about you, youâre my baby bear.â
âCome cuddle with me,â You demand and tug at him, sending him stumbling against you as you walk backward toward your bed.
He lets out a shocked laugh, grabbing your shoulders to steady himself before heâs sent sprawling on top of you across the bed, âCareful, Baby Bear! Nearly made me crush you.â
A pout forms on your lips and you tug at him again, pulling him down nearly on top of you on the bed, âIâm not that fragile!â
Mikey snorts but lets you maneuver him to your liking before curling up against his chest. He grabs the hand you slung over his chest, pressing a gentle kiss to your fingers, âno, youâre not. Youâre a big, strong bear like me, huh?â
You giggle and lace your fingers with his, marveling as his hand engulfs yours, âYeah! That way we can take care of each other.â
âThatâs right, baby.â He smiles and leans his head back against your pillows, running his thumb over your shoulder as a comfortable silence falls over the room. He looks out of place against the frills of your bedding, the same sheets youâve had your whole childhood.
You trace invisible shapes into his chest, letting the slow movement of his breathing calm you. âMichelle came to talk to me after the fight.â You whisper, not wanting to disturb the peacefulness, âShe wants me to go back to New York with her for a while. Says it would be good for me.â
âOh yeah?â
You nod against his chest, âI donât know⊠maybe itâs a good idea with everything that⊠that Mama is accusing you of.â
His breathing stutters and you look up at him questioningly. âYouâd leave me, just like that?â He asks, speaking over you as you open your mouth to reply, âYouâre all I got Baby Bear, if you leave thereâd be nothing left for me here.â
Grief fills your face and you shake your head furiously, sitting up farther to pepper his face with kisses. âDonât say things like that, Mikey! Youâll always have me, âm not going anywhere!â You exclaim, wrapping yourself around him in a tight hug.
Mikey nods and leans up to catch your lips with his, missing his mark and catching your cheek instead. His hands glide over your sides, gripping your waist tightly as he twists to pin you underneath his weight. âI love you, Baby Bear.â He whispers as he finally finds your mouth, forcing his tongue past your lips in a sloppy kiss. You gasp and grip his shirt, too shocked to respond as he kisses you slowly.
Heâs breathing heavily when he pulls away, resting his forehead against yours. âM-Mikey, I think you need to go to your room.â You say hesitantly, pushing against his chest, âWhat if Mama catches us, you could go to jail.â
He shakes his head and dips down for another kiss, hand slipping down your body to grab a handful of your ass. A reluctant moan slips from your throat as he drags your core over his hardening bulge and he groans in response, grinding harder against you.
âYouâre always so worried about everyone else, just think of us for once.â He murmurs, trailing hot kisses down your neck, âEveryone already thinks weâre having sex, why fight it?â You shake your head, letting out a gasp as he nibbles your pulse point. He dips his fingers between your thighs, humming quietly as he finds your panties soaked with your wetness.
You throw your head back with a whine as Mikey pushes his fingers past the barrier of your panties and sinks his fingers into your core. He slowly thrusts them into your cunt, groaning at each quiet whimper slipping past your lips. âM-Mikey stop! Theyâre going to hear us!â
He shakes his head, curling his against your sweet spot, âDonât worry, Baby Bear, theyâre too shit-faced to care what weâre up to.â Mikey presses his lips against yours as he coaxes a third finger into you, drinking in your moans. Your hips stutter, torn between arching towards the pleasure and away from it.
Mikey hums, other hand dropping down to free his cock from his jeans, âthaâs it baby, ready for my cock?â You shake your head, a gasp catching in your throat as he grinds his cock against the softness of your inner thigh. He curls his fingers inside your cunt, forcing a loud moan out of you and grins, âYeah you are, donât worry baby, Iâll make you feel good.â
He pulls his fingers out, chuckling softly at your whine, and blindly wraps his hand around his cock. You squirm underneath him, pressing your palms against his chest as he glides the tip through your folds, âI-I donât think we should be doing thi-â you lose your words on a choked gasp as his cock sinks into your cunt.
Mikey lets out a shaky breath, resting his forehead against yours as he rolls his hips, slowly pushing deeper with each thrust, âbeen wanting this for so long, Baby Bear, feel so good around me.â He growls, gritting his teeth as he bottoms out inside you. Your breath comes out in short pants, cunt clenching around his thick length.
âMikeyâŠâ You whine as he grinds against you, a hot shock of pleasure jolting through your spine, âWe should s-stop.â He shakes his head, forcing his mouth over yours in a heated kiss. His hands grip your thighs, using the leverage to drive his hips harder into you. The room fills with quiet squeaking, your bed frame thunking gently against the wall with each thrust.
You throw your head back against your pillows with a loud moan as his cock angles perfectly against your sweet spot. Mikey slaps his hand over your mouth and shushes you, leaning close to your ear. âYâneed to stay quiet, princess, want Ma to hear? Or Uncle Lee? I saw how he was touchinâ you tonight, I think heâd try to join. Donât want that, do you?â
You shake your head frantically, biting down hard on your lip as another moan bubbles from your chest. Mikey gives you a mock pout, thrusts speeding up as he murmurs, âI know, I know Baby Bear, it feels too good, huh? Love your big brother's cock in your little pussy.â Mikey loses his rhythm as he looks down at you, nearly angelic with your eyes half-lidded with pleasure, your hair sprawled across the princess pink of your pillows like a halo.
Mikey grinds his fingers against your clit and the taste of blood fills your mouth as your teeth break through the skin of your lip in your attempt to stifle your noises. You clench around him as his fingers push you closer to the edge and he grins, thrusting harder into you. âI can feel how close you are, Baby Bear. Câmon, you can let go.â His fingers move against you faster and your body arches against him, muscles tightening as you teeter on the edge. âYeah jusâ like that, cum on your brotherâs cock.â
Tears burn your eyes as your orgasm rips through you, shaking beneath him as overwhelming pleasure frays your nerves. Mikey lets out a choked grunt, hands moving to pull your hips flush against his as you clench around him, drawing his orgasm from him.
Mikey carefully shifts onto his side, his frame dwarfing the small bed as he pulls you tightly against his chest to keep you from falling off. He presses a gentle kiss to your lips, mouth curving into a smile as you kiss back. âMerry Christmas, Baby Bear.â
#mikey berzatto#mikey berzatto the bear#mikey berzatto x reader#mikey berzatto smut#mikey the bear#the bear#the bear hulu#the bear fx#jon bernthal x reader#jon bernthal#jon bernthal smut#smut#writing
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Jon Bernthal:
âą One of the biggest zionists in Hollywood and a massive supporter of the IDF
âą Supports domestic abuser Shia LaBeouf and had him on his podcast to start his redemption tour
âą Friends with sexual abuser Marilyn Manson
âą Supports police fascism
âą Worked with Roman Polanski post conviction
#jon bernthal#free gaza#free palestine#the punisher#frank castle#the bear#mikey berzatto#the walking dead#shane walsh#mcu#marvel#daredevil#kastle
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#this is so real
#the bear#the bear fx#thebearedit#cinemapix#dailyflicks#dixonscarol#filmtvcentral#televisiongifs#thebeartv#tvedit#underbetelgeuse#userbarrow#userdiana#useremz#userrlaura#userstream#usersugar#*edits#tina marrero#mikey berzatto#michael berzatto
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geyser
series masterlist
pairing:Â luke castellan x daughter of poseidon!reader
summary:Â percy learns about the first girl luke castellan ever loved.
a/n:Â this is a lil sad. sorry about that. but i really like it and it came out of nowhere in like 2 days so i hope you enjoy despite the sadness. title from the mitski song
wc:Â 6.5k
warning(s): major character death; not shown but hangs over the whole fic. angst made angstier by fluffy flashbacks. mostly told through percyâs pov but includes luke, annabeth, and reader povs
also if you saw this before on another account DONT WORRY... that account was also me. im just doing some stuff behind the scenes right now as i figure stuff out lol i promise no plagiarism is going on
Percy thought that his head might explode.Â
He didnât know how he was still walking, honestly. His mom died, he killed aâ no, theâ Minotaur, all the Greek myths were real and his dad was one of them, and now he had to deal with that freak accident with Clarisse and the toilets.Â
At least he would be ready next time she tried to beat him up. Percy had been the new kid enough to know there would be a next time.
All he could do was stare at the Minotaur horn in his hands, the only sign that what happened outside the border was real. The horn in his hands and the hole in his heart.Â
Percy swallowed the lump in his throat. Heâd been thrown into the deep end, and the only thing on his mind was when he would start to drown.Â
âHey.â Percy looked up to see the counselor heâd met earlier with AnnabethâLuke. He tossed a ziploc bag at him and he caught it, taking a moment to look at what was in it.Â
âI stole you some toiletries from the camp store,â he explained. âThought it might make you feel more at home.âÂ
ââŠThanks.â He didnât know if Luke was joking, but the damage had already been done. And it was the nicest thing someone had done for him so far. He set it down next to his Minotaur shoebox. âIs this the best that it gets?âÂ
Lukeâs lips quirked up in a slight smile. âFor now. Weâre a little crowded, if you couldnât tell.âÂ
âJust a little bit.â Percy stood up from his sleeping bag and worked out the knot in his shoulder. âWhereâs your bed? Assuming you have one.âÂ
âI couldnât wrangle all these cats without some back support,â he said, and he pointed to a bed in the corner. It was the only one on its own without a bunk, and he had a fair amount of decorations. Counselor privileges, he figured. Percy walked over, Luke trailing behind him.Â
âNice place,â he said. Percy picked up the Yankeeâs cap on his bedside table and nodded as he looked back at him. âNice taste.âÂ
âItâs for Annabeth,â Luke said. âShe wanted us to match.âÂ
Percy nodded again in approval. âGood taste for both of you.â
Luke had various other things around â an alarm clock knocked over next to the baseball cap, a huskie sticker on the wall half-scraped off, a poster for an album he didnât recognize.Â
But the thing that caught his eye was a polaroid hanging on the wall, surrounded by a smattering of others varying in size.Â
The first one had to be an old pictureâLuke didnât have his scar, and the biggest smile stretched across his face. He had a girl close with an arm slung around her waist, and she mightâve been smiling even more than Luke. A bright energy emanated around her, something that must have transferred through the picture, because Percy found himself feeling a little better just looking at her. He wondered if she was a camper.Â
His eyes flicked to the next picture, which was another one of Luke and that girl. They were both laughing as she tried to put a blue hat on Lukeâs head, and he protested with a hand on her wrist. They were in the forefront of a baseball game, Percy noticed.
There were other pictures, tooâLuke, a girl dressed all punk, and what looked like a young version of Annabeth, most notablyâbut a majority of them were either Luke and that girl, or the girl all on her own. In every single one, she beamed brighter than the sun.Â
Percy pointed at the picture of Luke and the girl at the baseball game, his curiosity getting the better of him. âWhoâs that?â
That seemed to catch Luke off-guard, his lips parting for a moment as if he wanted to say something. It barely took him any time to get back on track, but Percy found himself frowning.Â
âThatâsâŠâ Luke cleared his throat, wet his lips, shook his head. âA friend. A very good friend.â
âDoes she go here?â Percy asked.Â
âShe did.âÂ
He frowned. âWhere is she, then?âÂ
âPercyââ Lukeâs voice was strained, but he didnât really notice as he went on.Â
âI didnât see her around,â he continued, âand you look pretty close.âÂ
Luke blinked a couple times, and Percy swore he could see the telltale glimmer of tears starting in his eyes. A muscle worked in his jaw, and suddenly Percy was worried that heâd said something horribly wrong. He had a talent for that, it seemed.Â
Fortunately, he was saved by the bellâconch shell?âand something like relief flooded through Lukeâs expression. Tension still coiled in his body.Â
âCome on,â he said, that camp counselor smile coming back as he put his hand on Percyâs shoulder and guided him away from the enclave. âThat means dinnerâs about to start.â
Percyâs frown deepened as curiosity won out again. âWas she yourââ
âYou donât wanna be late,â Luke continued, ignoring his attempt. âI assume youâre pretty hungry after two days spent out?â
Well, that only made him want to push harder. But Percy figured he wouldnât get anything out of himâespecially not now.Â
ââŠYeah,â Percy said. âStarving.â
An odd look flickered across his face, but again, it only lasted for a second before he was back to normal. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, âEleven! Fall in!âÂ
Percy was at the back of the line by virtue of him being the new kid, and he found himself looking back at that picture of Luke and the girl. He didnât know why, but something drew him to her. Before Percy could think about it more, the line was moving and his growling stomach drew his attention away.Â
He would have plenty of time to ask Luke about it later.Â
Or rather, ask him and piss off the only person whoâd tried to be his friend so far.Â
âŠGods.Â
Maybe he was going to drown sooner than he thought.Â
-
âLukeââÂ
âNo!âÂ
âLuke, please!âÂ
âAnnabeth will kill me if she knowsââÂ
âShe wonât know!âÂ
âAlright, alrightâ stay still, you two!âÂ
Your mother laughed from behind the camera as you and Luke fought with each other, you trying your damnedest to get your Red Sox cap on his head as he tried his damnedest to stop you. The frantic laughter on both sides made it a little difficult for either of you to succeed in your quest, but eventually, you got the rock up the hill and the hat on his head.Â
âTake the picture, Mom!â you exclaimed, pulling Luke even closer by his arms so he couldnât get it off. âI need the proof!âÂ
âI knew this was a bad idea,â Luke groaned, staring at the camera as you wrapped your arm around his side and leaned into him. He could already imagine your victorious smile, brighter than the sun beating down on them in the stadium, and just the thought of it made one of his own flit across his lips.Â
âOh, shut up, Castellan,â you said. âYou chose to come to this game. Everyoneâs gonna know youâre a Red Sox fan now.â
âYou said you wouldnât tell her!â Luke defended, wrenching his arms free of your control to take the hat off his head. âI donât even care about baseball!âÂ
âYou care so much about it,â you said cloyingly, âand youâre ride or die for the Boston Red Sox.âÂ
âIf you say a single wordââÂ
âOkay, kids!â Your mother pointed at the seats next to her. âThe gameâs about to startâyou can keep arguing, but only if you sit down so I can see.âÂ
âSorry, Mom.â You grinned at her as you pulled Luke over to your seatsâthey were a step up from nosebleeds, but they were the ones closest to the balcony so you could at least peer over the railing down to the diamond.
âItâs alright, sweetheart.â She glanced at Luke with a smile, and he could really see where you got it from. âWeâve gotta make him a fan somehow.âÂ
âI guess I can live with the brand.â Luke set the cap back on your head once you were seated, purposefully pulling the brim a little over your eyes, and he smiled at you. âEven though it looks better on you, anyways.âÂ
âYou just donât have what it takes to be a Red Sox fan in the heart of Yank territory,â you mused, pushing the hat back up so you could see. âItâs fine.âÂ
Luke rolled his eyes, but he could hardly bite back his smile.Â
âI am glad you came, though,â you said, glancing back at him. âIâm glad you came with me in the first place. This is gonna be the best semester.â
âThanks for having me,â Luke said. âItâs⊠itâs been a while since Iâve left camp.âÂ
âFingers crossed for no monster attacks, eh?â You held up your hand. âAt least, not during the game. I could live with it happening any other time.âÂ
âDonât speak it into existence,â your mom said. âWeâre going to have a monster-free school year.âÂ
To humor her, you made a claw over your heart and pushed out. She hummed in satisfaction, and you looked over at Luke. âItâs gonna be fine.âÂ
âYeah,â he said. âBecause two kids like us arenât gonna draw any attention.âÂ
âOh, I know we will,â you said. âBut I know itâll be fine.âÂ
Luke frowned. âHow can you be so sure?âÂ
You shrugged with a smile. âIâve got you.â
And in that moment, he was thankful for the freakish heat that honestly made no sense in the springâat least it covered up any sign of what your words did to him.Â
Luke thought you were joking when you asked him if he wanted to come back home with you for the school year. He didnât know why you wanted to go back in the first place, being a Big Three kid that apparently had a death wish, but the thought of him leaving camp was almost inconceivable.Â
Even after you assured him you werenât joking, he still wasnât sure. He was on the run with you for three years, thenâŠÂ
Well, he couldnât think about it for too long. But Luke had been on the outskirts of regular society for so long, doing nothing but fighting for his life, that he didnât know if he could actually function at a normal school.
But it felt right for you two to get some normal time together after you were separated for so long. It took him a semester to decide, but one day during your usual Iris message conversations, he told you heâd love to spend the rest of the year in Boston with you. Luke still remembered the grin you wore, your disbelieving but victorious cheers, the apology you yelled back at your mother for your noise.Â
Luke watched you as you talked with your mom, discussing Bostonâs chances and player statistics and baseball jargon he didnât think heâd ever understand, and he knew he would sit through a thousand Red Sox games if it meant he would get to keep seeing your smile.
You must have felt his eyes on you, because you glanced over at him. âAre you okay?âÂ
Luke smiled. Gods, he was so glad you were here.Â
âNever better.âÂ
-
âThat one nearly got me,â Luke said.Â
Percy huffed as he picked up his sword from the groundâhe was pretty sure he would officially lose his mind if Luke disarmed him with that stupid move one more time. One benefit to the Hermes cabin being too scared to associate with him after getting claimed was that he wasnât making a fool out of himself in front of other people.Â
âMaybe I can only beat you when I pour water on myself,â he said.Â
Luke chuckled as he took a bottle from the cooler on the side and held it up. âWanna try?âÂ
He shook his head. âI think my arms will fall off if I keep going with you.âÂ
He tipped his shoulder. âFair.âÂ
Percy stared at the ground as Luke gathered himself, trying to put the free range thoughts roaming around his head in order. It didnât help that heâd gained a million questions after Poseidon claimed him, and it didnât help that thereâs been a newest addition to his dream last night.Â
He still felt strange asking Luke about it, but he had to know more about her. Percy didnât know why it felt like his mission to find out who this mysterious girl was, or why he felt that strange connection to her. Maybe it was the way Luke acted whenever he brought her up, maybe it was that sheâd popped up in his dream next to him at the very end, maybe it was just plain old curiosity.Â
âIâm not supposed to be alive,â Percy said, breaking the silence. âI could die at any time in a bunch of different horrible ways. So will you tell me more about that girl on your wall?â Â
Again, Luke seemed to be caught off guard by it. Percy heard the crunch of plastic as his hand clenched ever so slightly around the bottle, and he tried to cover it up with an arched eyebrow. âWhy do you want to know so badly?âÂ
He shrugged. What was he supposed to say?Â
âIâm curious,â he decided.Â
Luke huffed a dry laugh before he took a sip of water, and he stared off into the distance for a while. He did a lot of staring whenever this girl was brought up. They looked like they were best friends in those pictures, but maybe whatever they had ended badly. And if she was a demigod tooâŠ
Well, it would make sense why he didnât want to talk about her.Â
âYou know that phrase about curiosity?â Luke asked.Â
âAnd how it killed the cat?âÂ
He nodded, drinking some more. âIt goes double for demigods.âÂ
âEverything else wants to kill me,â Percy said. âSo curiosityâs gonna have to get in line.âÂ
Lukeâs laugh was a little more genuine this time, and he shook his head. âI guess I can tell you a little about her. You actually probably have a right to know.âÂ
âIs she a half-blood?â Percy asked immediately.Â
He nodded. âYeah.âÂ
âWhoâs her parent?âÂ
Luke capped his water bottle and looked at Percy for a good, long moment. His face glowed in the warm afternoon sun, his scar cast in a softer light than usual. The scar used to unnerve him, but heâd gotten used to it after weeks staring at it during sword fighting.Â
âShe was a child of Poseidon, Percy,â he said. âJust like you.âÂ
Percy felt short of breath, like Luke had just knocked his sword out of his hand and shoved him to the ground. But he stood on his own two legs that somehow still worked, and Luke hadnât moved.Â
He had a sister?Â
âI have a sister?âÂ
ââŠHad,â Luke corrected. âShe⊠she died a few years back.âÂ
A vice latched onto Percyâs heart. He was still having a hard time breathing. No wonder Luke always used past tense when he was talking about her.Â
He had a sister, he wasnât alone, but he was because she was dead. And if Luke was one of her friends, that meant she died young.Â
Gods.Â
âWhat about their oath?â Percy asked, trying to ignore the aching in his chest. âIâm already on thin ice for my whole existing thing. How did Poseidon get away with two kids so close to each other?âÂ
Luke shrugged. âIâve never known why gods do things. Her mother was a great woman, thoughâI could see what drew Poseidon to her against the oath.âÂ
One half of Percy wanted to ask every question that kept popping into his head. The other side of him wanted to break down and cry.Â
âHow did you meet her?âÂ
âWe ran into each other when we were both young,â he said. âBoth child runaways, both demigods, both New Englandersâwe decided to rough it out on the road together. Couldnât be any worse than doing it on our own.â
Percy tried to imagine it. A young Luke and a younger version of that girlâmaybe Percyâs ageâliving together in the wilderness and fighting monsters. Surviving off of nothing but their wit and skill, facing death each day before theyâd even reached middle school.Â
âIt⊠it didnât happen then, did it?â he asked hesitantly.Â
Luke shook his head. âCouple years later. All we did was watch each otherâs backs out there.âÂ
Percy couldnât help himself. âWhat happened to her?â Â
âThe same thing that happens to everyone,â Luke said flatly. âThereâs a reason Iâm the oldest one here.âÂ
âThat doesnât make it better,â Percy insisted. âItâ it makes it worse, Luke. You see that, right?â Â
Luke stared at his empty water bottle then tossed it back into the cooler. When his gaze met Percyâs, he was shocked by how⊠tired he looked. Beyond exhaustedâbone-weary. Percy wanted to say more, but he didnât get the chance.Â
âThis isnât good conversation,â Luke said, âand itâs getting late. You should hit the showers before dinner.âÂ
The sun still beat down on them, bright and angry in the sky, but Percy provided no argument. He had a lot to think about.Â
Before they went their separate ways, Percy stopped and looked back at him. âIâm sorry sheâs gone, Luke.âÂ
Lukeâs gaze went unfocused for a moment, his eyes growing glossy. âSo am I.âÂ
-
Percy sat on the floor of the Hermes cabin in the corner that used to be his, staring at his meager belongings. He had to decide what to take on his quest, which was made easier by the fact that he hardly had anything to his name. Things could always be worse, though. At least he would have a change of clothes.Â
He shouldâve been doing this in his own cabin, but it felt too empty, too suffocating in its silence. Eleven was still more familiar. He heard the door open and saw Luke walk in, and his eyes lit up when he saw Percy.Â
âHey,â he said. âI wanted to see you before you left. Howâre you feeling pre-quest?âÂ
âLike the worldâs about to end,â he said.Â
Lukeâs lips twitched into a smile as he sat on the bed across from Percy. âUnderstandable. It kinda is.âÂ
âItâs just overwhelming.â Percy shoved the unfolded clothes into his backpack. âI have to clear mine and my dadâs names and get Zeusâs bolt back, or else war will start. No pressure at all.âÂ
âYou were chosen for a reason,â Luke said. âYou may not see it, Percy, but youâve improved a lot since you got here. If anyone can do this, I think itâs you.âÂ
Percy looked up at him, and he was reminded of the way their last conversation went. He was asking before he could really stop himself.Â
âI could die on this quest and never see you again,â Percy said. âSo could you tell me more about my sister before I go?â Â
Luke smiled wistfully and sighed. âYou really wonât let this go, will you?âÂ
âItâs not really something you just let go,â he said. âBesides, I⊠I saw her in my dream last night.âÂ
Lukeâs smile faded. âYou did?â Â
Percy nodded. âFor a split second, but I know it was her. I felt the same way I did whenever I looked at her pictures. And⊠itâs the second time sheâs shown up.âÂ
He let out a long sigh and shook his head, his gaze trailing off to the wall. He always looked so much older when he talked about this girl, like he was a war veteran reminiscing on his lost love. And from what heâd gathered, it might not have been too far off.Â
âI told you we ran together when we were young,â he said, and Percy nodded. âWe were both nine, and it shouldâve been terrible, but she had a way of making everything better. Always found the bright side of things, was always able to make me laugh.âÂ
âShe was from Massachusettsâright in the middle of Boston.â Luke chuckled as he looked at Percy. âHuge Red Sox fan.âÂ
Percy grimaced. âWe all make mistakes.âÂ
Luke smiled, though it faded a bit. âWe got separated for a while, but we found each other again when I got to camp. Things were more peaceful than they are now, so sheâd been claimed at camp pretty quickly. I figure Poseidon wanted her to have the protection of him openly standing behind her after what happened.âÂ
He frowned. âWhat do you mean, âwhat happenedâ?âÂ
Luke shook his head. âThat would be an awful story to send you off on.âÂ
Percy wanted to protest, but he didnât. Luke was probably rightâPercy didnât want to make him relive it and then have to go on a death quest right after.
âA happier part, then,â he suggested.
âShe ran away from home as a kid to protect her mom, but now that she had an idea of what she was doing, she started going back to school. She invited me to stay with her during the school year one year, and I accepted. Thatââ Lukeâs throat bobbed, and the other hand clenched into a fistâ âthat was when she died.âÂ
In his stunned silence, Luke got up and went over to his alcove. He pulled the drawer open on his bedside table and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. It mustâve been folded and crumpled a million other times in messier ways by all the creases he could see, but when Luke opened it, he could see handwriting all over the front.Â
A letter.Â
âWe Iris messaged each other constantly while she was at school,â he said, âand we wrote back and forth when we couldnât. This was the last letter she sent me.âÂ
Percyâs first instinct was to say he wouldnât be able to read it, but he realized that he didnât really care. These were words that his sister wroteâhe would sit here the rest of the day forcing sentences to make sense if that was what it took.Â
So he took the letter when Luke offered it.Â
To the one and only Luke Castellan,Â
My mom said yes! After a very long interrogation (she now knows basically everything about you) and a million promises that you would be as careful as possible and that you were good enough at sword fighting to take down anything that could come after us, she said you can spend the year here. We spent a couple hours every day making my momâs study into a guest room, so you have a place to stay.
Iâm an idiot that didnât bring enough drachmas so thatâs why I have to send this letterâhopefully it gets to you soon enough, because weâre gonna come get you a week before my winter break is over. Mom is letting me drive down because she says I have to get my permit soon. It makes sense that my first big test is getting to you. If we donât make it, itâs because we died in a fiery crash.Â
Just kidding. Iâm a great driver. But tell me some of your favorite songs when you reply and Iâll burn a CD for the rideâI figured out how to use LimeWire. Oh, and throw in a couple drachmas with the envelope so I can Iris message you next time. I miss your face and your voice, and my hand is cramping up writing all of this.Â
But this is so exciting! I canât wait to introduce you to all my friends at school, and show you my favorite places in the city, and make you into a Red Sox fan. And you can come to my soccer gamesâ Iâm the greatest forward there is.Â
Jokes aside, Iâm going to make sure you have the best time. Weâll spend every second together, Luke. Weâre gonna make up for the time we lost.Â
I canât wait to see you again.
Your hurricane. Â
It took Percy a long time to get through it with the words swimming all over, and it didnât help that his vision had grown blurry.Â
Tears, he realized as he blinked, and he did it again to make sure they wouldnât fall. He couldnât cry in front of Luke, not over a girl he didnât even knowâeven if she was his sister. But maybe he was grieving thatâthe fact that he would never get to know her.Â
âGod, man. Iâ Iâm sorry.â Percy couldnât think of anything else to say. âShe sounds like she was great.âÂ
Luke couldnât even manage a smile this time as he stared at the wall. Percy was surprised he could even talk to him about it.Â
âShe was,â he murmured. âYou wouldâve liked her. And gods,â this time, a bit of a smile broke through despite it all, âshe would have loved a little brother.âÂ
âIâm gonna make her proud on this quest,â Percy vowed. âIâm gonna clear our dadâs name for her.â
Something in Lukeâs gaze had changedâsadness, almost regret. âYouâre a good kid, Percy. I hope your quest doesnât change that.âÂ
I hope I come back alive, he wanted to say. But given the topic matter, he didnât. Percy carefully folded the letter back up and handed it to Luke.Â
âThank you for telling me about her, man,â Percy said. âI⊠I know it canât be easy.â
Luke let out a shuddering breath as he stared at the closed letterâPercy wondered how many times he must have sat in this same position, reading her words. âNo better way to honor her memory than helping her brother.â He glanced at Percy. âI see a lot of her in you.âÂ
Heâd been wondering if he had anything in common with her. Percy felt a sudden flare of anger shoot through himâit wasnât fair that she was dead. Poseidon was a god, and she was a teenager. He should have saved her.Â
Percyâs mouth was drier than a desert. A part of him wanted to curl up in a ball and sob over the sister he never got the chance to know, but the other part of him knewâfrom what little Luke had told him about herâthat she wouldnât want him to.Â
âI should get going,â Percy said, standing up from the floor. âWe have to leave for the quest soon, and Annabeth and Grover are probably wondering where I am, andâŠâÂ
Percy trailed off, and Luke nodded in understanding. He turned around and took one of the photos off the wallâone of you alone in the middle of a park, wearing a bucket hat and absolutely beaming.Â
âYou deserve to have a part of her with you,â he said. âFor good luck.âÂ
He felt himself choking up, and he pushed it down as he accepted the photo. âThanks, man. It means a lot.â
âGood luck, Percy,â Luke said. âYouâve got a lot of people rooting for you.â
Percy found himself studying the picture of you once he made it outside, trying to memorize your face. With your wide, infectious smile that emanated pure sunlight, he could have mistaken you for an Apollo kid. But when he looked at you, he got that same warmth that he felt every time he imagined his father.Â
âI wonât let you down,â he murmured. âI promise.âÂ
-
After sleeping in his train seat for half the day, Percy vowed to never complain about his bed in Cabin Three again. He was gonna be going down to the Underworld with permanent cricks in his neck.Â
Grover was still sound asleepâPercy envied him for how easily it came to him in the worst conditionsâbut thankfully, Annabeth wasnât. Her gaze was focused on the view as their train chugged along.Â
Percy cleared his throat in a flawless attempt at getting her attention, and it worked.Â
âYouâre awake,â she said.Â
âUnfortunately.â Percy sighed. âHow much longer do you think itâll be?âÂ
âAnother day, at least,â she said. âAnd weâve got a layover in St. Louis.âÂ
âSt. Louis,â he hummed. âNice.âÂ
They sat in silence for a whileâthere wasnât much to talk about when they were coming off of twoâ or was it three, now?ânear-death experiences. But eventually, Annabeth cleared her throat, taking a page from his book, and it worked again.Â
âThereâ thereâs probably something you should know,â Annabeth said, and that worked even better than clearing her throat. âYouâre not the only Big Three kid to come through Camp Half-blood lately.âÂ
âI know,â he said. âGrover and Luke explained it.âÂ
Her eyes widened slightly and she leaned forward in her seat. âLuke did?âÂ
ââŠYeah. You all already told me about Thalia.â Percy glanced away, suddenly feeling a chill in the train car. âLuke told me about my sister.âÂ
Annabeth went silent.Â
âItâs okay,â he said. âI kind of annoyed Luke until he told me. Doesnât really seem like a subject people at camp like to talk about.âÂ
âIâm just surprised he did,â she murmured. âThey were⊠they were close, Percy. Her death destroyed himâThalia and your sister. All of itâs complicated.â Â
âYeah,â he sighed, âI got some of that.âÂ
âI only knew her for a year at camp, but everyone loved her,â she said. âShe was nice. Popular. Always helped when she could, always had the biggest, most infectious smile on her face.â Annabeth looked down at her hands. âShe didnât deserve the fate she got.âÂ
Percy didnât think heâd ever grieved so much for someone he never knew. âBut her and Lukeâwere theyâŠ?âÂ
âYeah,â Annabeth said, âthey were a thing, later on.âÂ
That seemed to be all she wanted to say on the matter. Percy decided not to push.Â
âHow did you meet her?â he asked.Â
Annabethâs lips pressed into a thin line. âI met her on the day I thought I would die.â
-
For the first time in her life, Annabeth Chase couldnât think.Â
It had all happened so fast. One second she was running with Luke and Thalia and Grover, praying to her mother and any other gods that would listen to make the horde of monsters let up even a centimeter.
The next, sheâd collapsed on the ground, never so grateful to have grass and dirt and dust in her face. But she could hear Luke yelling, barely able to make it out in her delirious stateâshe didnât know when sheâd last had a sip of water, and theyâd been running for at least three milesâbut he sounded hysterical.Â
She remembered her last clear thought: they werenât going to make it.Â
But they had. They had, so why was Luke losing his mind?Â
Annabeth pulled herself up from the groundâhow long had she been bleeding out of those slashes on her arm?âand looked for the rest of her friends. Luke wasnât yelling anymore, instead arguing with someone she didnât recognize in a bright orange shirt. Groverâs furry legs trembled as he stared down the hill theyâd just gotten up, completely silent, and ThaliaâÂ
Where was Thalia?Â
Annabeth tried to get up but her legs gave out almost immediately, and steady arms caught her before she could fall to the ground again. Kind eyes served to ease some of her panicâshe was older than Annabeth, maybe around Luke or Thaliaâs age.Â
ThaliaâÂ
âHey, youâre okay,â the voice said, and Annabethâs attention was drawn back to you. âIâve got you.âÂ
âWhereâs Thalia?â she blurted out, because now she couldnât think of anything else.Â
Your brows creased and you glanced back down the hillâAnnabeth did too, and she saw Grover and Luke arguing with each other. Or rather, Luke was yelling at him as Grover anxiously hooked his hands through his hair.Â
âI donât know,â you said, âbut right now, I need to make sure youâre okay. Are you hurt?âÂ
Annabeth absentmindedly held up her arm, but she was only focused on her friends. Why wasnât Thalia with them? Why was Luke so upset?
You cursed under your breath in Ancient Greek as you cradled her arm, and you looked back down the hill. Annabeth could see at least half a dozen other kids.Â
âWeâve got two half-bloods and a satyr, one injured!â you yelled back. âGet Molly and Brayden!âÂ
âThree,â Annabeth found herself saying. âThereâs three half-bloodsââÂ
âAnnabeth!âÂ
Her head shot up at the sound of Luke calling her name as he bounded over, and her eyes widened at the blood steadily spidering across the fabric of his shirt.Â
âLuke, youâre hurtââÂ
âIâm fine,â he insisted. âItâs fine.âÂ
âWe have Apollo kids coming,â you said, looking up at him, still cradling Annabethâs arm. âWeâll get yââÂ
Your sentence stuck in your throat, and Annabeth could see tears welling in your eyes as your brows furrowed. She thought Lukeâs eyes might burst out of his skull as he stared at you, his lips parted but nothing coming out. Neither of you were able to form words.Â
When he finally did get something out, it was a single name. One Annabeth knew by heart, one that heâd mourned for years.Â
âLuke?â you whispered.Â
Before he had the chance to do anything, two teenagers got over the hill and called out your name, the same one Luke used. He always said you were dead, but you clearly werenât dead, because you were here and you had her arm in your grasp and while your hands were cold, they werenât cold enough to be deadâÂ
âMollyâs gonna take care of you,â you said, looking back at Annabeth and cutting off her inner dialogue. âSheâll get you to the infirmary and heal you up, okay?âÂ
âMy friendsââÂ
âTheyâre gonna be okay too,â you said. âI promise.âÂ
Annabeth looked up at Luke, and he nodded. âWeâll be with you soon, Annabeth. Weâ we have to talk about some things.âÂ
So she went with Molly down the hill, and Annabeth put pressure on her bleeding wound when she told her toâit had started to sting like hell now that her adrenaline was fading.Â
She looked back just in time to see you and Luke share the tightest hug ever.Â
The hug of two people who realized they werenât seeing ghosts, Annabeth thought.Â
-
You bolted up in bed, eyes wide and your chest heaving as you rapidly sucked in air. Your fingers found purchase in your bedsheets, desperate for something familiarâit took a second for you to recognize your surroundings, that you werenât in an endless void, but your childhood bedroom offered little comfort. Â
You ran a hand over your forehead, damp with sweat, as you tried to calm down. Your breathing slowed, but you couldnât shake that awful feeling that hung over you in your sleep.Â
Your nightmares were getting worse, you knew that much. That raspy, demented voice used to be a rarity, and now it appeared every night. You could usually deal with your nightmares, but the sense of absolute dread that voice and the pit fostered in you was too much. You hadnât managed to sleep through the night once since you came home for the school year.
You could deal with the monstersâto you, this was the worst part of your godly blood.
A knock rattled on the door out of nowhere, and you nearly jumped out of your skin. The only thing that calmed you down was the thought that monsters didnât knock.Â
âCome in,â you croaked, your throat drier than a desert.Â
Thankfully, a monster hadnât come to make your night even more miserable. Luke stood in the doorway, his eyebrows creased in concern, messy curls hanging just above his eyes. He wore the Red Sox t-shirt youâd bought for him at the game you dragged him to, and in your addled state, you didnât even think to tease him about it.Â
âAre you okay?â He shouldâve been as disoriented as you, but his alerted eyes told a different story.Â
You could only think of one thing. âHow did you know?âÂ
Lukeâs lips parted for a moment, as if he hadnât even considered it. âI could just feel it.â
You managed a smile despite every atom in your body screaming at you. âI think that means you can come in.âÂ
He closed the door behind him, and you shifted over in your bed to make room for him. There wasnât much in a twin, but you made it work. Lukeâs weight pressed into the mattress, making you adjust your position, and it was more comforting than any amount of blankets.Â
âYouâre so cold,â he murmured, laying the back of his hand against your arm. âHow do you live like that?âÂ
âBlame my dad,â you said. âIâve got water in my blood.âÂ
âI think thatâs probably a bad thing,â Luke said, and you knocked your shoulder into his with a huff.Â
âYou know what I mean.âÂ
Luke let his hand fall back in his lap, and as you brought your knees up to your chest, you pulled the covers with them.Â
âSo,â Luke said, glancing at you, âwhatâs got you awake at the witching hour?âÂ
âThe usual,â you mumbled.Â
âNightmares that might be prophetic?â he asked.Â
You made a lazy gesture with your hand. âBingo.âÂ
âThe worst sense of dread imaginable?âÂ
âBullseye.âÂ
âIâm sorry,â he said.Â
You shrugged. âItâs nothing I canât deal with.âÂ
âYou donât always have to put on a front, yâknow,â Luke said. You felt his eyes on you. âYou donât always have to be strong.âÂ
âIâm naturally strong,â you said with mock austerity. âComes with the god for a dad.âÂ
Luke chuckled and shook his head. âYou know what I mean.âÂ
âYeah,â you murmured.Â
You leaned into his side, fitting your head into the crook of his neck. Luke wrapped his arm around you, pulling you closer, and you let out a contented sigh.Â
That voice in your nightmares seemed so small when you had Luke.Â
âCan you stay?â you asked softly.Â
He didnât hesitate. âOf course.âÂ
âJust like old times,â you whispered.Â
âJust like old times,â he agreed.Â
Luke ran hot, and youïżœïżœïżœd never been more thankful for it as you fully settled into his side. Icy blood ran through your veins, and you let out a shaky sigh. You could hear his steady breathing, feel his heartbeat through his chest, and the anxiety from earlier began to steadily fade. You never felt safer than when you were with Luke.Â
There was something between youâyou werenât that stupidâbut you hadnât talked about it. With you and Luke, it was just⊠you and Luke. You didnât have to put a label to it.Â
How could you put a label to your relationship, when youâd spent your first few years together fighting for each day, and then the next few thinking the other was dead?Â
Maybe someday, you would talk about it. But for now, this was more than enough.Â
âDonât worry,â Luke murmured in your ear as your eyes began to droop. âIâm not gonna let anything happen to you.âÂ
And by the gods, you believed him.Â
#reader is the mara of she ra the mikey berzatto of the bear the nellie crain of hill house DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME#luke castellan x reader#luke castellan fic#luke castellan angst#percy jackson and the olympians x reader#pjo x reader#x reader#daughter of poseidon#child of poseidon#sadie writes
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"I saw you before...it looked like you were crying." "I don't think I was really crying." "I don't know. You looked like you were really crying to me."
THE BEAR, 3x06, "Napkins" (2024)
#the bear#the bear spoilers#thebearedit#tvedit#mikey berzatto#tina marrero#*#tuserjyn#mialook#userkimmy#tuserpris#tuserhan#tuserdanni#userjessica#userlaro#trueloveistreacherous#useraudrey2#usergiu#usermimsi#tusermalina#userbaz#usermorgan#userjuniper#userdanahscott#tusermimi#userabs#usertiny#dailyflicks#tvarchive#televisiongifs
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The Bear + Season 3 Episode Titles
#the bear#thebearedit#the bear fx#richie jerimovich#sydney adamu#carmy berzatto#mikey berzatto#tvedit#jackpearcsn#userpayel#userallisyn#userzaynab#useriselin#tuserlou#usergreta#userconstance#userrobin#tvandfilm#useraurore#userrlaura#nessa007#dailytvfilmgifs#userkd#userk8#chewieblog#useroptional#kane52630#gifs#tv#spoilers
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Richie & Mikey | 3.06 Napkins THE BEAR (2022-present)
#the bear#jon bernthal#ebon moss bachrach#thebearedit#tvedit#richie jerimovich#michael berzatto#mikey berzatto#cinematv#cinemapix#dailyflicks#userlolo#userthing#mediagifs#dailytvfilmgifs#darlingedits#i need to see more of these 2 idiots#who is she gonna scare tho?#there's literally nobody in there
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You ever know somebody who knows exactly what it is in this world that they want to do? Like, fucking knows it, and not only do they know it, but they're really fucking good at it. Mm. Sounds like a dream. I'm telling you, I genuinely really think that that is the dream.
The Bear 3.06 | "Napkins"
#the bear#thebearedit#michael berzatto#tina marrero#liza colĂłn zayas#jon bernthal#trueloveistreacherous#useranimusvox#usergreta#userrobin#mine and only mine#mikey bearrrrrrrr#oh this broke my heart#i wanna fix him so bad#this whole conversation with tina was so special#and at the end of it you could tell how much it meant to him#just to have someone to talk to#oh you could never make me hate him
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HOW THEY DEAL WITH DISRESPECTFUL NEIGHBORS â MULTI [Summer Preferences]
A/N: thanks for voting on my poll, which I already knew who was going to win that but I still wanted to do a preference anyway since I never got around to writing what I originally wanted for my other characters on my summer prompt list rip to that idea! Iâm writing in the order of which was voted from most to least highest minus one character.
WARNINGS: language, violence is sometimes the answer đ€ + FC changed for Mikey due to recent news unfortunately, *GIF DOES NOT BELONG TO ME, not here to argue with anyone that feels different and youâre always welcome to keep imagining JB or simply do not engage with this.
<- read my previous summer anthology prompt here.
àŁȘ ïżœïżœÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ
~ARMANDO~
He doesnât take disrespect lightly.
The both of you lived just fine in your condo out in Miami, although Armando preferred the privacy more than anything he just kept this to the back of his mind that he was going to provide for your dream house together. Having your four year old daughter, Isaura only gave him more drive to get out of here.
The neighbors that lived on the floor directly above you, were all wide smiles and friendly making it their special job to try and introduce themselves to whoever they caught. They found you three at the pool one Sunday evening before dinner. Armando immediately felt they were weird telling you later that night in bed beside you, âthey look like they eat people.â
âArmando!â You scolded as you slipped a bonnet on a half sleep Isaura, âthey do but maybe theyâre just the over friendly type.â
Armando sucked his teeth as he reached around you to snatch the sleepy toddler into his chest, âniña, can you say oblivious? tell mama thatâs exactly what she is.â
Isaura just shifted her head looking away from the both of you.
âSee, even your own daughter doesnât want to listen to your mess. Give me my baby back so I can put her down,â you waved your fingers while Armando swings his legs to the edge of the bed.
He shifts the tiny girl against him and shakes his head, ânah, I got it. Got to make sure the fucken weirdos arenât hiding in her room since you donât want to believe me.â
âHey, watch your mouth!â You lecture while Armando rolls his eyes, peeking down to see if Isaura even budged at his foul language before you continued, âI donât know what goes in your mind sometimes,â you sigh with a shake of your head as Armando makes his way to the door, ââŠnow you know Iâm going to be up half the night checking on her.â
âDonât worry about it, daddyâs gonna take the daybed just in case.â
Frowning you respond, âSo youâre just going to abandon me?â
Armando snorts, âthereâs enough of me to go around but if you wanna stay hold up in here by yourself, when we have the hills have eyes lurking from the floor above, thatâs on you.â
âBastard.â You muttered just as Armando was about to shut the door.
âWhat was that, mami?â
âI said Iâm getting my neck pillow.â You answered as Armando laughs to himself, leaving the door open just a crack before carrying on down the hallway.
Armando would peep the disrespect more than you would but mostly on separate occasions. First it started with the husband constantly taking Armandoâs assigned parking spot with one of his many cars, he would always turn up right when Armando had to circle around to take someone elseâs, and when he was face to face with the husbandâs false apologies and story about how he had to keep his monster truck locked away in storage thirty minutes away from the building, yet he always decided to take it out when Armando worked late nightsâŠwhich was pretty convenient if you asked Armando.
Then you would tell Armando how the wife would makeâŠinteresting comments about how many more kids you two planned to have. âHopefully a soccer team with your good looks!â She would laugh as she gripped your wrist. She would also ask: How you two managed to have free time with a four year old and if she was receiving enough attention between the two of you? That last question was off putting because why was this woman worrying about your child? Then if you listened closely enough, around the time it was time for Isauraâs nap or bedtime, whether Mike, Marcus and his family, or your best friend or family were watching her while the both of you were at work, the couple would decide to either start salsa lessons (according to the wife, Amy) which ended up turning into salsa lessons with no clothes directly on the floor, the husband winked at Armando who was not the least bit impressed.
âI think itâs common courtesy that you two learn to keep it down for not only us who have a childâŠwho also has a routine but for your other neighbors as well. Iâm sure thereâs plenty of classes out in town you two can get into outside of this building.â You hinted to them.
âOh sorry! I told Kit we were being too loud, see honey?!â She weakly slaps the wannabe WWE star against his buff chest, âWeâll definitely keep everyone more in mind this time, again sorry about that.â Amy apologizes.
âA man has needs though, am I right?â Kit would laugh, clapping his hand down on Armandoâs shoulder who peeked at it, wondering why this man was so comfortable touching him.
Armando sniffed, âand you need to have some respect is all that weâre saying. Along with removing your hand from me.â
âHey now! No need for the animosity, weâre all friends here neighbor!â Kit says as he applies a little more pressure on his hold of Armandoâs shoulder but that only causes Armando to darken his stare.
Even Armando knew that statement was fake. Next thing he knows, when heâs heading out to work the morning after, heâs got a broken side mirror on the driverâs side and a large scratch on the passenger door with Kitâs carâthatâs usually parked to the right of Armandoâsâalready gone for the day. Armando doesnât take long to assess the situation, jaw tight as he looks around the garage for where exactly the cameras are. He would be hacking those as soon as he clocked in and didnât give a damn who had something to say about it. He ended up calling you on the way to work, thanks to him phoning Dorn to carpoolâhim and Kelly had a disagreement so she drove to work on her ownâto tell you exactly what happened since it was one of those days where you clocked in earlier than he did.
âIâll try and keep him from doing something stupid.â Dorn calls out to you from the driverâs side.
You whisper as you stepped out briefly from working with a client as an aesthetician, âwould you? I know itâll be hardâ
âIâm right here.â Armando reminded, âIâm done dealing with their creepy asses, Kit better hope I donât see him when I get home tonight because his ass might turn up missing.â
You didnât even argue because once Armando had something made up in his mind, it was hard for him to ever see another perspective. Also you didnât doubt that Kit had something to do with it.
The last straw was when Kit and Amyâs German shepherd nipped towards Isauraâs face, when you had a minor confrontation with Amy, who you ran into while out shopping. She tried to sweep over the fact that she admitted to wishing that it was Armando on top of her instead of her actual husband and that it wasnât a big deal because Kit was doing the same with you. Not only did she fix her mouth to say that, she also said she thought about what a kid would look like with her looks and Armandoâs. âThereâs nothing wrong with daydreaming.â
She said and it felt like she had spit in your face at how wicked her smile was on her overfilled lips. Again she was too close in your space but once Isaura ripped a cry so loud below along with the sounds of snarling from Amyâs dog, you didnât hesitate to pull your child up into your arms and to kick at the dog.
âWhatâs wrong with you?!â Amy yelled pulling on her petâs leash, âHeâs just an animal!â
âAn animal who tried to bite my kidâs face off! Youâre lucky my foot didnât connect but next time my fist wonât miss yours.â
âAre you threatening me?!â
âItâs not a threat, Itâs a promise.â You concluded, âStay away from my family if you know whatâs good for you.â
âExcuse me? What does that mean?â Amy kept a tight hold on the leash now, âThese are the things Kit and I get for being good neighbors?!â
You stopped in your tracks as you turned to give Amy one last look while you cradled a scared Isaura to your chest, âit means exactly what you think it means. Yâall keep saying your good neighbors but is that in the building with us or in your sick delusions? Iâm warning you Amy, back the fuck off or youâll really be sorry.â
Amy sticks her nose up in the air, âmy uncle is the best lawyer in the city. If youâre thinking about harming my family then Iâll sue both of you so hard that little Laura will have no choice but to have a new family. Kit and I have been trying for months for a little one and Laura is the cutest thing.â
Laughing you found it hilarious that Amy thought she could continue to try you with her mind games. She really didnât know who she was fucking with.
âI can guarantee that your uncle doesnât have shit on my man. Also my father-in-law is a pretty good detective and heâs already heard about you two, just waiting for the word. The difference between you and I, is that I love only one man. And sweetie, itâs no competition when Iâve already won. Now you enjoy the rest of your dayâŠbefore it expires.â It was your turn to send her a sickeningly charming smile as you spun back on your heels.
Leaving her like a gapping fish, you make your way back to your car, strapping Issy in with another caress to her face, quadruple checking that the dog didnât do anything to her face and handing Issy one of her toys to cuddle with on the way back home. As you started your engine, you immediately called Armando through the carâs Bluetooth before pulling off from the curb.
Itâs game night when thereâs a knock on the door. Since Armando is helping Issy with the game piece on the game board, you push off the couch to get the door.
âOh hi!â You greet, which makes Armando also move to get to his feet.
âWeâre your new neighbors on the floor above who just moved in and we wanted to say thanks for the blueberry crumble and bottle of wine you sent our way, you really didnât have to do that! We just thought it would be the kind thing to find the time to come down and introduce ourselves.â The woman speaks first with her hand held out.
You grasp her hand with a warm smile as you say, âmostly everyone is to themselves here but we gotâŠpretty close with our old neighbors and my boyfriend, Armando and I thought weâd keep the tradition going.â
Armando gives a short wave at the two new faces as he stands beside you now, âhello,â he addresses the two while he bounces a giggly Issy on his hip.
âAw, sheâs so precious! Isnât she, Steven?â The girl at the door elbows the guy beside her.
You take in her expression carefully, âdo you two have any kids?â
She jabbed a thumb at the taller man, âOh Iâll leave that all to my brother here.â
âI donât have anyâŠat least no oneâs ever told me anything.â He nonchalantly shrugged while he looked off in thought up from his phone, while his sister rolls her eyes at him.
Armando snickers, which makes you quirk up a brow at him.
âDo you guys know where the other tenants moved off to? The agent says it was pretty abrupt but we got a steal on most of their furniture.â The young girl chats.
Armando speaks up, âheard they really wanted to explore more of EuropeâŠguess Miami living inspired them to see what else the world has to offer.â
âSweet,â Steven nods, âthat would be a dream.â
âThat is what they say life is,â Armando adds as he sends a quick wink to you while you lightly shake your head at him. He then slips an arm around your waist appearing as a Kodak moment to the siblings outside the door, âbut welcome to the neighborhood you two, Iâve got a feelinâ youâll be good neighbors.â
In short: he eliminates the problem.
~RIO~
He had been away on a business trip when he gets back home earlier than expected. He likes to do this sometimes, liking to surprise you with his pop-inâsâtake that how you will. What he wasnât expecting was his ex sitting in the sitting room with you, the two of you chatting to the right of the home from the foyer over a bottle of tequila.
ââŠso the hell are you gonna tell lollipop king?â
âGirl, who?â
âYou know his name, Christopher!â
You laugh followed by a groan, âheâll find out sooner than later since old man Stewart and him are practically golfing buddies who act like they donât gossip.â
Rio used that moment to clear his throat from his leaned position against the doorway. He didnât like how your guard was down as he just lingered there, you slouched on the couch and Rhea balled up in one of the living chairs but that was another conversation. He needed to know just what you were hiding from him and now.
âTell me what, mama?â Rio rasped, hands clasped in front of him.
Rheaâs mouth formed into an O-shape, getting ready to collect her things but Rio cuts his eyes at the short haired woman too, ânah, you donât gotta leave on my account.â
âBelieve me Iâm not,â Rhea sassed as she collected her square glass and the almost empty bottle, âIâm going to check on our son while you guysâdebrief.â
You gasped, âthis involves you too, you know?!â
âI donât live here!â
âCould have fooled me.â Rio adds as Rhea makes her way by him, bumping her shoulder with his.
Rio just snorts as the woman heads across the hall towards the side entrance of the kitchen. When he sets his eyes back on you, he watched as you used one of your hands to pinch in between your brows as you pulled your bottom lip into your mouth. The buzzed haired man then plops down beside you, lolling his head to meet your gaze but you just quickly down the rest of your drink.
âWhatâs going on?â Rio questions.
You exhale, âoh nothing much, itâs good to see you though!â
âYouâre tipsy on a Wednesday afternoon and not on wineâŠsomethingâs up?â Rio analyzed you pretty quick, which was to be expected.
Exhaling you close your eyes, thinking if maybe you just dozed off then Rio would leave you alone and Rhea would sneak out with Marcus out the back. You knew that was a slim chance since that boy loved his father a lot and would want to see him before heading back home with his mom.
Your eyes were widened as Rio gripped your bandaged hand, making you wince as he did so. You were hoping that he wouldnât notice but you couldnât be that much of a fool, not when it came to your husband.
âIâm going to ask only one more time before I start looking for answers myself, so tell me what happened?â Rio quizzes one last time.
Sighing you meet Rioâs eyes as you tell him, âPollyâs mother is visiting and she started shit with Marcus while he was outside playing in the front yard. I was bringing the plants from the garage up front when this all happened but Stewart saw it happening from his window and came out before I got up front. I handled it, she got HOA involved, and now apparently thereâs a meeting on Saturday morning.â
The shift in Rio was instant as he sat up, still holding your hand in his lap, âshe donât even live here and she thinks she can say something to the kid? Did she do this to your hand? Give me the details, mama.â
And so you did. You told him how Marcus was running around out front keeping himself entertained while you were dragging the outdoor plants that you thought would look nice in the backyard up front from the garage. It took some time for you to pick up on the yelling, making the palm of your hand get impaled by one of agave leaves that you tossed to the ground at the familiar rebuttal of Marcusâ voice. Your instincts kicked in even if your hand bled like crazy and hurt like hell, you didnât take kindly to strangers screaming at kids.
You were once an elementary school teacher before becoming a housewife to Rio. There was always a certain way that you needed to speak to people, especially kids and you werenât having it with Pollyâs mother who always visited in the summer. Polly was cool, even her mother-in-law was tolerable (although she was a yapper) but you just didnât understand how someone like Polly had a mother as nasty as this Karen who was drilling into Marcus who she didnât even know. In her mind she believed that Marcus specifically shouldnât be playing around the sidewalk, that it was against the ârulesâ of this community that she wasnât sure Marcus even belonged to and should be playing in a different area instead.
You guys had a fence but Marcus said that he hit the ball too far and it ended up on the sidewalk so thatâs the only reason he came around the fence. You didnât care what the reason was, he knew not to play near the street of the gated community but you trusted his word regardless and old man Stewart confirmed this with a nod of his head. He had the both of your backâs and you guys spent the holidays every so often at each otherâs houses.
âIt got ugly, babe. Told her to keep her finger out my face and to not ever speak to my kid like that again. She tried to chest bump my back so I turned around and shoved her on her ass. Sheâs lucky I didnât smack the shit out her wal-mart Glenn Close looking ass. Which was enough ammo for her to call HOA but weâve got cameras just as much as Pollyâs got her ring camera so Iâm not worried. I just didnât want Marcus to deal with that bullshit.â
Rio ends up smiling at you and you widen your eyes at him. âIâm glad you find this amusing.â
âOh itâs notâIâm just proud of you.â
âFor not going to jail?â
Rio tilts his head to the side, âThe verdicts probably still out on that one, knowing the kind of woman she is.â
âYouâre right.â
âIâll have to talk to Polly.â Rio decided as he caressed your fingertips.
âSheâs already sent mountains of texts, sheâs with us and says sheâll work on talking to her demonâI mean mother.â You canât fight against the liquor but even still, you said what you said.
Rio nods, âyou donât even got to worry about the rest. I got us.â
ââŠdo I want to know?â
âNah,â Rio shrugged as he used his other hand to caress your face, âjust continue being the best thing that happened to me. I know I donât have to thank you but I want to, for looking at Marcus as your own.â
You laugh, âheâs a great kid, part of you, which makes me love you guys even more so of course I willâwithout question.â
Rio pulls you by the chin to his lips, which youâve been missing all week and when he lets you slip your tongue into his mouth, he pulls back with a grin. âLater mama, I got to make sure you two are good first.â
âHuh?â Your eyes fluttered open as Rio holds your own hand up in front of your face to prove his point, âthatâs just a scratch.â
âOur girl will be the judge of that.â Rio tells, âCanât believe you didnât try and sneak her over here.â
âThought she was on business with you guys.â
âWe got more than one medic, mama. I kept the best here with yâall.â
âHow kind.â
âIâm a kind guy.â
âI donât think the dust bag will think so when youâre finished spooking her.â
Rio doesnât fight his grin but replies, âWho says Iâm gonna do it? I got people for that but the message will be real clear.â
âRioâ
He shushes you as he pecks your lips once more, making you lean your forehead against his, happy that heâs home before heâs sending out a code to your number one medic girl to stop by the house ASAP.
the both of you break away as the thudding of steps decended down the steps, revealing Marcus who called out Rioâs name, who he needed further reassurance from.
âHey bud,â Rio starts as he embraces the young boy before knocking their fist together, âyou good?â
He slowly nods but Rio knows heâs not, although he had a feeling Marcus held his own. It usually took a lot to bring it out of him to defend himself but Rio would see for himself once he looked at the footage tonight.
âYou know what? Letâs go play outside while the ladies finish up.â Rio gets to his feet and the slight panic in Marcusâ face is evident, making your heart break while Rhea tightens the folding of her arms.
Rio squeezed Marcusâ shoulder, âhey, when youâre with me you remember youâre the king of your own castle, aight? Nobody can tell you nothing, move how you wanna move and own it. This is your neighborhood too, you understand?â
ââŠyes dad.â
âAlright? I got goalie.â
Rio sends a firm look to you two ladies before he heads outside with Marcus right beside him.
He attentively analyzed the situation before deciding what else needs to be done. One thing you could never do was go against the family he built and that was always serious to him. Anybody that messed with his family, immediately became his target and if it had to be a part time neighbor from across the street?
So be it.
Theyâll learn soon enough.
They always do.
~LUCA~
âBabe! Youâre not gonna believe this.â Luca calls out to you as he slams the front entrance door from down below shut, before making his way upstairs.
You can always tell when Lucaâs home because he has a tendency to be heavy handed, always slamming the door that it tends to shake the house. Itâs not something he purposely does, majority of the time he doesnât even notice but it is a thing and even your neighbors in the townhouse to the left of you mockingly mentioned it.
They were assholes anyway and should be the last ones to talk about noise. Having loud company over every other day and some type of event at their home every other weekend, also crowding up the streets, without inviting you guys on multiple occasions. There were eight specific units on this street that were all grouped and managed underneath the same property and you would think they would also include you two. The both of you quickly learned that Chicago was much different than Copenhagen.
And what Luca remembered.
âI wouldnât take it to heart and give it some time, yeah? Otherwise? They can piss right off!â Lucaâs older sister that heâs reconnected with while being back in the states tells you two, laughing lightly as sheâs helping you two unpack weeks ago.
You wouldnât have if you didnât decide to be neighborly, bringing them their mail when it accidentally got mixed in with yours, waving at them in passing as you chatted with the other residents, and then actually going over to introduce yourselves with a platter. It was all fraudulent and they just didnât want to be bothered with you two, Luca gradually started to forget about it after finding a new position at one of the top three upscale restaurants in the city until you would bring it up. And of course he listened to anything that bothered you.
Their music was too loud for hours at a time sometimes until two in the morning on a week night, Luca would calmly address the situation to the guy of the household when he would get a hold of him on his way in from running around the city in sweats and a hoodieâyes in the middle of a scorching August, the both of you always had early mornings with you being a medical assistant down at the hospital and with Luca always having to do prep. You didnât have the patience to stick around for the guy and his significant other never came to the door when you both knew she was home probably hungover.
Luca was friendly in his approach about it and at first, the athlete told Luca that they were just celebrating as much as they could before he was back on the road to get in the box yet he couldnât help but to throw in a jab, âThey do have these things called single family homes. Maybe you two should consider that.â In the end he said theyâd try to keep it down. That still rubbed you the wrong way when Luca slipped up and told you that part.
Which only meant turning the music up even louder that the house rattled on their end. If their garbage was over filled, they would dump some of it into yours attracting raccoons but would then claim it had to be one of the other neighborsâyou two had a ring cam, it wasnât. The last straw was the fiancĂ©e drunkly pissing right in the path of your garage, which you stepped in the next morning when you were running late to work.
Humming you turn your attention from the street view of the balcony to Luca who stood in the doorway. You sat comfortably in the outdoor chair, paperback turned over on the table as you finished sipping at your fruit water.
âHey baby,â you greet with a smile, relaxed and bare faced on your day off in the summer light as you held your face up for Luca to place a quick kiss to the corner of your mouth before he sat in the chair across from you.
Luca stretched his arms across the table as he greeted you back, âhello darlingâŠyouâre not gonna believe this!â He continues.
âWhat? That you suddenly caved and like Chicago dogs now?â You quizzed, folding your own arms as you leaned against the table, ready to listen.
Luca chuckles, ânot likely, babe. Guess I wonât ever fit into their standards, yeah?â
âI think the world will still turn.â
âI think so too,â Luca agrees with a small smirk, âlisten to this. I went to the bakery, the one Marcus is working part-time at now because of the whole thing with Carmyâs uncleâjust to check on him you know? Guess who was also in there?â
You raise your brows after finding it sweet that Luca made it his mission to check in on Marcus. The two hit it off when Marcus trained underneath him for a couple of weeks back then and heâs been over to the flat a few times along with Sydney. Luca didnât give you much time to guess since he was so adamant about telling you about his day. Usually when something was on Lucaâs mind, his words went haywire out of excitementâdepending what it was of course.
âRyan!â
You blinked at the news of your boyfriend running into your problematic next door neighbor in slight confusion, âokayâŠa little surprised he likes baked goods since he gives the impression that he drinks egg yolks and eats raw meat for fun.â
It was Lucaâs turn to furrow his naturally arched brows, âIâm not quite sure how youâve gotten that idea and you might want to cut back on your time watching Santa Clarita Diet. It might help.â
You snort as you wave your fingers along for the now buzzed blond to continue. It wouldnât be the first show that you watched where Luca passed judgment on. He is definitely the one to ask a thousand questions while youâre trying to watch something.
âRyan told me, Leah was rushed to the hospital yesterday morning.â Luca informs you, âWant to know what for?â
Sitting back against the chair, you keep your arms crossed and fight the urge to roll your eyes, ââŠnot particularly, no.â
Luca bites down on his bottom lip trying to hold it in but doesnât, âshe crapped out a parasite.â
Your mouth drops open, âYouâre lying.â
âHonest to flavor town.â Luca does the praying motion before pointing to the sky and you knew it was serious business if he mentioned Guy Fieri.
Clasping a hand against your mouth you try to hide your snickers but Luca picks up on the fact that you found this a little too amusing.
ââŠwhat have you done?â He points an accusatory finger at you.
Lifting your shoulders, your lips twist around in laughter and you dared peeked back at Luca who was awaiting your answer. You wouldnât leave him in the dark much longer, âfine! I sent a cleanse her way after all that day drinking and with my medical knowledgeâŠI thought Iâd give a helping hand.â
âWhich means what?â Luca pressed, sitting back as well as he listened to you.
âI may have or may not have used the papayas that Grace left here before she went back to Texas when we went to that farmerâs market,â you slowly admit of your time with your old friend who came to visit with her baby girl Charlie, informing your boyfriend of the slight clues, âwe both know Iâm allergic and I didnât want them to go to waste. So I made our lovely neighbors some papaya cereal with the seeds, put it up real nice in a jar for them to enjoy. Left it by their door and watched Ryan bring the bait in.â
Luca exhales, âyouâre actually starting to scare me.â
âRemember that old nutritionist whoâs heavily spiritual I told you about that we always end up seeing once a month at the hospital?â You ask while Luca nods his head, âshe experienced the same thing partygirlLeah99 did but herâs was intentional.â
The bomb that you dropped had Luca clenching his eyes shut, âwhat youâre telling me isâŠyou basically gave our neighbor some form of a laxative?â
âJust removed the toxins and clearly Leah has some. How many parasites was it?â
Luca shook his head, âno, no, no. Weâre not just going to skip over the chaotic evil youâve just done.â
You tilted your head to the side, âI think it was more lawful evilâŠmaybe even good. She pissed on our property, Luca! And Ryanâs a dick.â
Luca holds his forehead now stressed, âYeah and he can K.O. us if he really wanted to if he ever found out! Heâs a professional boxerâ
âI donât care! Lessons need to be taught and heâs out of here in the fall anyway so thatâs one less problem we have to deal with.â You shrug as you reach for your water again but Luca snatched it back.
He sighs, âwe talked about thisâŠyou canât just go and take matters into your own hands without discussing it with me first. I said I would talk to them about the peeing situationâ
âYou tried talking to them before! They donât care about us, and sure they donât owe us anything but I worked really hard on that charcuterie board, then they excluded us constantly and probably will do it again once Halloween comes aroundâ
âSo thatâs what this is about? Youâre worried about Halloween?â Luca questions, knowing it was one of your favorite Halloween parties.
âHow dare they throw a summerween party when Iâm the number one queen of the spooks!â You childishly turn your head to peek out into Chicagoâs scenery from your first balcony.
Luca sips at your water now and exaggerates as he lets out an, âah! Thatâs refreshing but I donât know what to say about my girlfriend being upset over some people that we donât even know well enough to care about their perceptions of us, if they even have any.â
Both of your professions caused you to be around all sorts of people, especially some downright mean ones but you both persevered. Luca would always take it as a learning curve, whereas you tended to take things more personal majority of the time. Yes you were the type to cry when angry, go ahead and sue your sensitive heart! Luca was only a little older than you and slightly better at communicatingâwhen he wasnât a nervous wreckâbut you on the other hand tended to proceed with action rather than words or a conversation like Luca.
âDonât say anything to me, just love me, choose me,â you playfully recite while Luca scoffs, âand wish those bitches an early happy Halloween, specifically from me to them. What she wonât know what hurt her.â You wink while Luca runs a hand over his buzzed summer look in shock.
âWell it actually did,â Luca frowns with his hands held out although youâre still unphased, âand doesnât this count as assault?â
There goes the panic everybody!
You knew a good lawyer that shared the same blood as Luca (if it ever came to that) you werenât worried and maybe you were chaotic evil after all? Depends who you ask.
Pouting you say, âDid she die?â
âNo!â
âThen everybody wins!â You clap as you push back from the table, âSoâŠWhatâs for dinner?â
âNot fucking papayas thatâs for sure.â Luca states while you laugh, beginning to collect your things to bring back inside.
Luca sits outside for a moment longer, you briefly kiss his lips, him shaking his head at you afterwards once more as he whacks your backside before you head in to search the fridge, and he stares out into the city just wondering what else this place will bring.
Hopefully better understanding of being neighbors in the states!
MIKEY
âThe hell happened to you?â Mikey asks, sneaking up behind you in your kitchen.
Which wasnât unfamiliar for him to do but you did let out a yelp as you stood by your coffee and tea counter. You turned to your old friend, who scanned his eyes all over your filth covered clothes.
âMy neighbor Lorraine is mad that I called her son out for being a pervert. Then she tried to argue that my dog is barking at all times of the night so I donât have the right to speak on her son!â You paced the floor.
Mikey crosses his arms, âwell she isnât too bright because that thing in there is far from a dog,â he starts while you give him the side eye for talking shit about your Maine coon, âand whatâs this about a pervert?â
You sigh, â..her son is just this college dropout whoâs apparently into astronomy and thinks I donât catch him with his telescope set out on the front sidewalk, right where the living room window is, as if heâs gone camping with my body being the view!â
It wouldnât be Mikeyâs first time catching you streaking around the house eitherâthat was your fault for giving him a keyâbut this random kid? He had a problem with.
Mikey rubs at his facial hair, âWas he the one that did this to you?â
You huff, âthat little bitch ran as soon as mommy Lorraine thought it would be nice to dump her trash on me out in the courtyard.â
There was always something going on in your courtyard out back, whether it was random cookouts even in the winter!, residents fighting over which outdoor seating technically belonged to them (it didnât belong to anyone, everybody at the condo had access to it), to Lorraine overpopulating the backyard with her garden and horrible smelling manure, and fires being started by the little kids for fun, Mikey can never say itâs a dull moment on Sunnyside Ave.
ââŠand what did you do?â Mikey questioned, his lips twisting at the corners, knowing he wasnât the best influence, especially if the shoe was on the other foot.
Which you knew, hanging out with him, Richie, and even Michelle always had the potential go left very quickly.
âThereâs onion juice or some shit in my eye,â you start using your wrist to wipe at your red eye before saying, âand if I somehow end up blind before I get in to my eye doctor this yearâŠitâs a wrap for her.â
âSo youâre going in for the silent kill?â Michael summarizes, âthat leaves the creeper to me then, is he home? Iâd love to have a talk with âem!â
He points towards the back door which leads out to the courtyard. You leap forward, latching onto Michaelâs wrist, âwhich Iâm sure youâll get your chance but I see you bought something for me?â
Michael rolls his eyes as he glanced back at the counter that contained a bag, âyouâre real observant arenât ya?â
âIâm also hungry but I need to get this stench off me first.â You slap your hands beside your thighs.
He jokingly steps forward to take a whiff towards you, ââŠI wasnât going to say anything but whew!â
âShut up, Mikey!â You shove him back but he just laughs.
Mikey pinches a piece of your hair on your way by, pulling something from it, âlooks like she got you good with some shallot skin and soil if you ask me! But I got a nice Cubano waiting for ya when you get out.â
Your mouth watered at the mention of your favorite sandwich Mikey always brought over to you every other Tuesday, âcanât wait for that baby to bring me the biggest serotonin.â
Mikey grins at you.
When you drag your eyes back to meet his you ask, âso how was your day, bub? Good?â
âYeah! I think itâs going to be alright.â
You hold your hand out, âtell me about it?â
He takes your hand as you lead him to the bathroom. He sits on the toilet as you quickly get into your skincare, terrified of skin mites thanks to some shit Sugar sent to a group chat between you, her, and Michelle. Michael doesnât mind watching you do your routine, falling into quiet chatter before you strip out of your clothes.
He tries not to let his stare linger but he always thought you were a goddess, even with your clothes on. The comfortability between you two was strong, that at times it felt like there was nothing to ever be afraid of, especially when it came to showing your most vulnerable selves to each other. Itâs not long before heâs joining you behind the shower liner, helping each other clean away whatever the day held before youâre embracing each other, arms tucked underneath each others as your now loud conversation fights against the pressure from the shower head.
He tells you all about the possible new hire, her name being Tina and how he feels like sheâll be the one to keep Chicagoland on their toes and in shape. Heâs got that spark in his eye when he talks about her, finding a connection and in hopes that she will turn up when sheâs ready but he has no doubt that she will.
âMaybe you can call her for backup if you ever come face to face with string bean nose Lorraine.â Mikey jokes over the water.
You scoff, âif the garbage can actually hit me, Lorraine just might need to tap Tina in for her to get me off her ass!â
Mikey chuckles, leaning forward to place a kiss on your forehead before you tuck your head underneath his chin. If you couldâve, you would have held onto him for eternity.
ButâŠthatâs not the way life played out in later episodes.
When Tuesdayâs hit, sometimes it still feels like heâs here around your condo trying to scare the shit out of your cat, when heâs the one whoâs actually terrified of him. And when you catch yourself staring at Lorraineâs nose a little too long during your small morning chats before youâre both leaving for workâthatâs rightâyou two are now cordial enough to have civilized conversations, and yes you had Michael Berzatto to thank for that.
For constantly seeing the best in everybody, even crazy gardening neighbors who loved composting and believing their son could do no wrong.
Who only knows what Mikeyâs conversation with that kid was like. You had a feeling that Richie knew, there was a slim chance that Richie was his ride along when you were off at work or someplace else but Richie would always be Mikeyâs keeper.
And you were fine with that, as long as you never saw a telescope again.
ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ ÖŽÖ¶ÖžâŸ. àŁȘ
SUMMER â24 PROMPTS FIN. (For now!)
#Armando Aretas#Armando aretas x reader#jacob scipio#bad boys for life#bad boys ride or die#preferences#summer writing#queued#Rio good girls#good girls nbc#Rio x reader#manny montana#Luca the bear#Luca the bear x reader#will poulter#Michael Mikey berzatto#Mikey berzatto#Mikey berzatto x reader
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i couldâve fixed him
#in my head i still can#michael berzatto#mikey berzatto#the bear#the bear x you#the bear x reader#the bear smut#the bear fx#jon bernthal#jon bernthal x you#jon bernthal x reader#jon bernthal fluff#jon bernthal smut#michael berzatto x you#michael berzatto x reader#michael berzatto fluff#michael berzatto smut#let it rip#frank castle#frank castle x you#frank castle x reader#frank castle smut#shane walsh#shane walsh x you#shane walsh x reader#shane walsh smut#miss mitten posts#credit: @djoekeery on tiktok âč àŁȘ Ë#i added ao3 to my home screen and have been reading so much mikey x reader this past weekend yall
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WHOLE TEAM EATING
#the bear#the bear cast#the bear s2#the bear fx#emmy nominations#the emmys 2024#sydcarmy#sydney adamu#carmen berzatto#carmy berzatto#ayo edebiri#jeremy allen white#richie jerimovich#cousin richie#ebon moss bachrach#liza colĂłn zayas#tina marrero#tina the bear#lionel boyce#marcus brooks#marcus the bear#mikey berzatto#michael berzatto#jon bernthal#bob odenkirk#uncle lee lane#lee lane
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Two Steps Back. | Advanced Payment
logline; it's time to retrace your steps. both of you.
[!!!] series history, this is the thirteenth; nothing distresses me more than when i see people read this out of order PLEASE BABY PLEASE
Spotify Playlist, if you like to listen while you read. I listen to it when I write :) Constantly gettinâ added to. constant headache was actually in season 3? my brain. my power.
Or, maybe you'd like a playlist made especially for this chapter? Consider this my Fishes special.
portion; 17k new record again, please god tell me it gets shorter from here on i'm so. tired..
possible allergies; you will know exactly what trigger warnings you need upon reading seeing the first line. Also! I watched Season 3, and injected some lines from it into this, including the finale. I don't consider it full spoilers, because it's an entirely new context, but you might wanna catch up before you read this one!
pairing; Carmen âCarmyâ Berzatto & Fem Reader so excessively gendered, in this chapter. my bad.
it's my birthday so if you typically lurk legally you have to tell me your thoughts on this one! Also it's once again the new longest, so like. cmon.
âWhat are you, Amish?â
You blink, craning your head back to look up at this annoying giant. Youâre too tired for this shit. This is your one day off this week and youâre spending it fixing faulty lights with your dad, at some shit diner. Why did you agree to start coming on jobs? Whyâs this guy gotta bother you on your lunch break? Whatâs wrong with you not wanting to smoke? Pardon you for not wanting to kill yourself with tobaccoâ
âAh, no, Iâm just uhmââ You gesture your hand to your head. âI get migraines, kinda easy, so I canât, uhâ Canât indulge.â
He nods, he opts to stand next to you, while youâre sitting on the curb. At least the smoke will blow over your head, this way. You try to eat your lunch in peace. He does not let you have this moment of peace.
âJack, right?â He nudges your foot with his. âThatâs what your popâs calls you, at least?â
âYeah. Everyone calls me Jack.â You nod. Guess this is a conversation now, whether you want it or not. âYouâre Mikey? The owner?â
âThe Original Chicago Beef, in the flesh.â He nods, and he says it like heâs proud but he doesnât look it. He leers at your partially consumed tin foil wrapped sandwich. âYou bring your own lunch?â
You shrug. âUh, yeah, grilled cheese with porkââÂ
âWhy would youââ The door to the kitchen swings open, as Mikey grimaces. You both turn your heads to see another guy come outâ Oh itâs that one, the one that cannot stop talking about his divorceâ Mikey consults him. âYo, Rich, do I look like some jamoke, to you? Just wonderinâ.â
Rich, tilts his head, and his legs follow after him, âNo, cousin, whatssup?â He takes the cigarette from Mikey, when itâs offered up.
âWell, our little fixer friend hereââ Mikey nudges you, again. ââseems to think me a fuckinâ ass.â
Now when did you say anything like that? âWhaââ
âStop making lunches, Iâve been watching you come in here with your little lunch pail the past few jobs, you eat free âere, aright? Youâre workinâ.â Doesnât matter what you said. Mikey sees you. Mikeyâs always seen you.Â
âworkinââ is a bit generous. The most you do is hand your dad tools, hold a flashlight, and ask too many questions. You definitely could do more, but he knows you're too tired. He really just wants to spend time with you. You pretend to not know his ulterior motives.
âWeâre gentlemen here, sweetheart.â Rich bends down, so you can see him past Mikeyâs frame, at your level. He reaches a hand out for you to shake. âRichie. Jerimovich.â
Youâre not gonna remember that. You take his hand and shake it. âJack. Itâsâ Iâm just Jack.â
Youâve only got one hand on your sandwich, to shake Richieâs hand. So, like a school bully, Michael takes your loosened grip as his opportunity to grab it from you. âYoinkâ!â
You whine, âCâmonââ âLet me make you a real fuckinâ sandwich, sweetheartââ âIâd just like my sandwich, alright?â âOh, itâll be your sandwich, alright? You think I donât make good sandwiches? Richie, she doesnât think I make good sandwiches.â
âFuckinâ insane, cousin.â
You attempt to defend yourself from the peanut gallery of one guy. âNot what I said!â
âWhy do you keep bringing lunch, then?â
Because itâs easy? Because itâs orderly? Because youâve been in a full state of autopilot for the last threeish years and every day youâve eaten the same breakfast and made the same lunch and then you go on your shift and then someone nearly dies and sobs in your arms and then you sit on the edge of the ambulance and you eat your grilled cheese and pork? Because if you break the routine itâs all gonna hit?
âI just like making my own lunch.â
âWell, stop. Youâre breaking my heart.â Michael takes a bite of your sandwich. You click your teeth. Germs. Youâre going to chastise him, but he doesnât let you. âYou like pork more than beef?â
âI think beef is fine.â
âNot what I asked.â
You take too long to respond, meaning the lie wonât be believable, so you have to tell the truth. You have to tell The Original Chicago Beef thatâ âI⊠I like pork more.â
âHow dare youââ Barks Richie, the guard dog, apparently. Mikey stops him, putting a hand up.
âNo, no, I asked the lady a question. Sheâs wrong but I asked. Fairâs fair. We express our fury like gentlemen, Cousin.â He nods, to himself. Thinking. About what is beyond you. God, so much for a lunch break. You point to your sandwich in his hand.
âCan I have that backââ âNo. Iâm makinâ you a goddamn real sandwich.â
You all but growl, really. You start to stand up. God, this guy is pushy. âI just said, I preferââ
Mikeyâs already making his way back into the kitchen, with the last half of your lunch as hostage. âOh, Iâll make you a fuckinâ pork sandwich, aright?â
Mikeyâs guard dog stamps out the butt of the shared cigarette, walking backwards into the kitchen, following Mikey but watching you. âHeâs gonna make you fuckinâ pork, aright?â
âAright!â Is all you can yell back, at your wits with the two dumbest most stubborn middle-aged geezers youâve ever met.
Richie holds the door open for you, so you donât get locked out. Alright, maybe he is a gentleman. You hear Mikeyâs voice ring, from inside the kitchen. âAnd if youâre not doinâ nothinâ for your dad, try to fix the fuckinâ coffee machine, would you?â
This fucking guy.Â
You have waved at him a couple times, here and there, while helping out your dad. But now, youâve officially had Michael Bear Berzatto in your life for a solid ten minutes. Doesnât feel like it.
Carmen Anthony Bear Berzatto has officially not had you in his life for ten minutes. Doesnât feel like it. Feels like youâve been gone for years. But youâre probably still just outside, talking to Richie and Syd. How is it still Friday? What time is it? Almost six? Theyâve still got four fucking hours of service to go? No, thatâs a good thing. This is a good thing. Doesnât give him time to think. Everyone needs to stop staring at him.Â
What a fucking monster. What did he even say? He canât remember anymore. He remembered ten minutes ago, and now itâs gone. Completely walled off in his memory. What did he say? Why did you make that face? What did he say to Richie, again? Why did you step in front of him? What did you say, again? What did Richie say? What happened? He canât remember. He knows he did something fucked up but Carmen cannot remember what happened twenty minutes ago. Thatâs bad, right?
âI need hands!â Carmen does not recognize the fact that heâs working until he hears his own voice.
Right. Heâs on expo. Heâs doing expo. Thatâs what was happening twenty minutes ago, he thinks. Thatâs what was happening, right? Doesnât matter. This is what heâs doing now. Fak comes back in and takes the tray to run. He looks around for a moment, confused.Â
âWhereâs Tony?â
âSheâs gone.â
Fak pauses. You donât leave, that doesnât match up in his brain. It doesnât really match up in Carmenâs either, but this is whatâs happening now. âWhatâdâyou mean sheâs gone?â
âI mean sheâs fucking gone, Fak.â Carmen barks back, practically. Such a fucking monster. Could Fak tell him what he said? Doesnât matter. Carmen nods to the plate. âTable twenty-five, go.â
â...Whereâd she goââ âFucking go, Fak!â
There is a loud, thrumming buzz. The type that goes off after a game. Or maybe after a wrong answer. Expo clock. Since when did it have a sound setting? The kitchen flinches, including Carmen, including a meek-made Neil, and look to the clock behind them.Â
Time has stopped. 0ERR is all it displays now. The sign âEVERY SECOND COUNTSâ is real ironic, now. What the fuck happened? You would know. Youâre still outside, Carmen could get you. Carmen could get you and say heâs sorry for whatever happened. The back of his head feels like itâs hemorrhaging. He needs to go to a doctor. Maybe a paramedic. Carmen could get you, ask you what he said, and also ask if he is actively dying, right now.
âFak.âÂ
âCarm?â
âTable twenty-five.â Carmen points at the plate again, with his sharpie. Then points behind him, to the broken clock. âThen fix that.âÂ
âWhy not call Toââ âDo you want a fucking job here or not?â âIâI doââ âThen do your fucking job, Fak.â
Carmen doesnât need you. The Bear doesnât need you. They can function just fine. Everythingâs fine, without you. Everythingâs normal. Everything is the way that it should be. He is shaking so muchâ When did he eat? Has he eaten? What the fuck is wrong with him? What happened twenty minutes ago? Or was it twenty-five? No. Thatâs table twenty-five, heâs mixing up his numbers. What time is it? He doesnât know. The whole kitchen doesnât know what time it is, anymore. You are gone and so are the minutes.Â
Fak leaves, with the plate. Shrunken. Following orders. Carmen just turns everyone into himself, doesnât he? What a fucking monster. He knows how bad it is to be him, and yet he still does it. Look at the orders, Carmen. Run fucking expo. So fucking slow, Carmen. Look at the orders.Â
The crumpled piece of paper you handed him twenty minutesâ Thirty? Fuck. The fucking note you handed him some amount of time ago. It sits on his table, next to all the actual orders. He rereads it, instead of the five cavatellis heâs supposed to be yelling about, right now.
Walk-In Hotfix, $80
Plumbing Repair (Service + 4 Hours), $250
Oven Wiring Fix (House call), $70
Oven Hotfix + Replacement Thermocouple, $120
Non-Gratis: Pinot Grigio, -$20
Advanced Payment, M. Berzatto. -$2,500
You forgot the booths. And taxes. And you should probably get paid a half day, for serving for the past half hour. You also forgot all the times he called you, texted you, came over, the bookshelf you brought him, the basil, the rosemary water, cleaning up his trash, every time you tried food for him, every time you told him everything was going to be okay, every time you made everyone breath in here like it was going to be okayâ You forgot everything you do. Priceless. Easily, you are owed millions, from Carmen.Â
He flips over the note. He reads Sweepsâ quick scribings from David, the fucking asshole out front, the fucking asshole in his head.Â
Cherry + Lamb, good flavour. A lot of elements. Fresh, Unique. Overall good? Ig? Weird tone.
Said heâd like to speak to âWine Girlâ (ick), mentioned Michelin connect? Number = Connect? (Ick)
You didnât eat the cherry and lamb dish. That just connected, in his head. You didnât get to eat it. Not only did you not get to eat it, the motherfucker outside did. Fuck. You were trying to be nice, but youâve fucked him. Unique is practically a slur to his Exec. Carmen has fun when he makes things for youâ He playsâ Thatâs not what his Exec wants. He wants two elements, max. The fact that David actually liked the flavour is nothing short of a fucking miracle. Carmen could throw up. Heâs definitely getting an ulcer, again. Whereâs your Tums? Fuck, you took it with you, didnât you?Â
Itâs embarrassing how many rules he forgets to implement, when he cooks for you. Boundless, unrestrictedâ When he cooks for you. Doesn't cut a single concept. Itâs mortifying that someone other than you ate it, let alone David fucking Fields.
Carmenâs eyes feather, almost closing, but not completely. He scratches his fingers through his hair, destroying the cast of gel itâs been stuck in. His curls are desperately trying and failing to reform. It doesnât matter how much he runs his hands through it, he cannot get it to smell like you again. He cannot find you in himself, he cannot find you in his kitchen. Thatâs what annoyed him, earlier, wasnât it? That you were everywhere? That you were carved in, everywhere? He thought he didnât want that?
His knees bounce where he stands, he bumps into his jacket under the table. Right. You left it. Are you cold? Turtleneck was thin. You looked so good. You always look good. Better, in his clothes, but you always look good. Did he remember to tell you that? Probably not.
âWhereââ Fuck, he really is going to throw up. âWhere we at on Booth Twelveâs dessert tray, Chef?â
You said it was okay for Carmen to give your number out. You gave your dish out. You shelled yourself out, for Carmen. It feels like a cave is being hollowed out, in his throat. He is so angry and he doesnât know who itâs for. He doesnât know where to put it. Is that what happened twenty-threeâ twenty-four minutes ago? Did he give it to you? No, he gave it to Richie, right? Thatâs how it started. Marcus hands off the dessert paddle to expo, silently. No one wants to talk to Carmen. Thatâs probably fair. What did he say? Probably bad. Itâs already huge they havenât walked out on him, yet. Has anyone walked out, yet?
Marcus is here, Syd is still out backâ Well, actually, she mightâve left with you, she should if she can. Are you still out there? Tina wipes her eyes, working at the oven you fixed thirtyâ No, fortyâ Fuckâ Earlier. Itâs probably the onions from the broth making her tear up. No, it definitely is. Fak is out front, Sweeps is out front, Richie is still out back.
What did he say to Richie? Something about kids? There are no servers to hand off dessert to stupid fucking booth twelve. Carmen cannot keep looking at the family heâs ruined, in whatever way he managed to ruin it. He grabs the dessert tray. Heâll deliver it himself. He can do it all himself. Heâs good by himself.
Youâve been out of Carmenâs life for 0ERR minutes. Yeah. Thatâs exactly how long it feels like.
âTry it try it try it.â You mumble, hurriedly, excitedly, to Marcus. The bread guy. Heâs the nicest of the bunch, so far. You hand him the mug. He takes a sip of the coffee youâve been perfecting for the last six jobs here, give or take. Youâve been in The Beefâs life for two months or so.
âHoly shit.â He nods, digesting itâ Actually digesting it, which meansâ âItâs edible.â
âI know!â You all but shout, too excited to hide it. Youâve finally figured out how to make this thing produce what itâs supposed toâ Instead of what is essentially arsenic with coffee flavouring.
Your excitement makes a line cook behind you grimace. The one youâve still got yet to win over. âMy ears, kid.â
âSorry.â You reply lightly. Your back is turned to her, so she canât see you cringe to Marcus, crying for help, practically. Heâs sympathetic. He kept saying you just need to prove yourself, but itâs been taking forever, what else can you prove?
He decides to fast track you. âYo, T.â She nods. She respects Marcus. But youâre just some girl thatâs been in her walkway for the past seven weeks. âTry it.â He hands her your edible coffee.
She rolls her eyes, already nonplussed, but she takes the coffee. She is genuinely impressed, for a split second, before it turns into a coy sarcasm. âWowâ Youâve made not poison, great job, baby.â
âIâm gonna get better.â You respond instantly. Thatâs something you noticed Tina likes. Quickness. âIâm gonna make you a good coffee.â Determination, too.
âBold.â
âThank youââ
âNo.â She pushes the coffee to your chest; you grab it before it spills. âI like it bold.â
God, sheâs so scary. âHeard.â Sheâs so cool.Â
She watches you, for a second; wants to see if you crack. You donât, thankfully. She folds. She finally kinda likes youâ Or rather, is willing to admit it, in some small way. âYou can come tonight.â
You can come to family, tonight. It takes everything in you not to cheer. You should mix them drinks. Or is that too try hard? No, itâs the perfect amount of tryâ Right? It was your old party trick in college, you should use it. Prove yourself.
âCool.â Is all you can say, without seeming like a desperate nerd.Â
You've been slowly cutting away at every relationship in your life, par for your familyâ And even that hangs by a threadâ And you thought you were fine with that. You thought you were good like that, but once you got used to The Weirdos of The Beef, you cannot help but desperately want friends, again.
Every moment you get outside of your twelve to twenty-four hour EMS shifts, you spend it here. Youâre tired, but it might actually be worth it; to talk to people instead of rotting in your apartment for half a week every week.
What month is it? March? When's Squid's birthday again? Did you miss it? It's the one time a year you get to talk without the underlying pressure that you have to hang out now.
Happy Birthday, what have you been up to? Oh, same thing as last year? You're irrevocably a different person now but you're also still the same? Nothing much? Same here. We should see each other soon. We won't. I won't say I love you because I don't want to be weird. Even though we used to say it every day. I will never know you like I used to, and so I won't even try. Same time next year?
Working in The Beef reminds you of her. Reminds you of the other stubborn cook in your life. Was in your life? Donât think about that. Sometimes you hear her dad's voice out front, buying himself a half-hot half-sweet braised beef sandwich. Sometimes you think about going out there and saying hi. Sometimes you think about asking about Syd. Sometimes you think about asking how the catering gig is going. Sometimes you think about asking if she needs you anymore.
You never do.
âAye.â Mikey claps your shoulders, bringing you back to earth. You didn't even realize he was behind you. He digs his hands in, a sudden and always painful massage. His preferred way of saying stop fucking tweaking. He leans over your shoulder, looking at the coffee cup that doesn't look as pitiful as it usually does. âGood job, kid.â
âThank youââ âNow figure out how to make it worth drinking.â
You scoff, rolling your shoulders to push him off you. âI'm fuckinâ trying!âÂ
His hands stay in place, but his massage does become gentle, and actually decent. Per usual. Youâre not sure how he always manages to get the knots. âT say you can come to family?âÂ
You had to get all yeses that you are now in fact family to join for family. You look over your shoulder to face him. âMhm.âÂ
âGood.â He looks around. âYour dad here?âÂ
You nod. âIn the basement, something about your furnace? It's fucking beyond my skill set, so I'm up here until he needs me.â As much as your dad started doing this to hang out with you, heads got too hot with you fucking up which tools to hand him one too many times; repeatedly yelling same team in a more and more distressed tone did not seem to be helping either. Whatever. Gave you more time with the coffee machine. Youâre going to make this thing your bitch, one day. One day this thing is going to sing for you.
âOh, good.â And with that, he's already pulling you to his station. âYou can help me with family brisket, then.âÂ
âNoooooââ âIf you want family you gotta be family, Jack.âÂ
You whine, but you don't mind this at all. Mikey sees you. Mikey knows you; probably better than he should. He knows you always need something to do.
âPork?â âPork.â âFine.â It's your recipe, so you must oblige.
He's good. Mikey is good. Mikey pays attention. Mikey's made the cycle break in a way that doesn't hurt.
Carmen needs to apologize to Richie, for never taking his stress over running front of house seriously.
Carmen hates being out front already and heâs only just stepped out. Why is everyone looking at him out here, too? He should also apologize for whatever he said forty minutes ago. Thirty-five? Doesnât matter. Whatâs important is handing this dessert tray to the fucking jagoff. The man who Carmen dreamed of becoming, the man who heâs now scared heâs become. David Fields. Former Executive Chef. Too many accolades to list.Â
âDessert is served, hope you enjoy, Chef.â Carmen manages to bite his tongue for this guy, so why canât he do it for the people he actually gives a fuck about? Heâs a fucking coward. He swallows, setting the dessert paddle down in front of the stupid five fucking guests. Far too big a party, for a fucking walk in. And all they got for dessert was the fucking tasting paddle? Why are they skimping now? Assholes. All of them. Carmen knows all of these people. Well. Knows their faces. Remembers working with them, but never really talked to any of them. Why would he? He was focused. He was good.
âThank you, Chef.â Says David. It feels like lightning, to hear those words. But not in a good way. It should feel like an accomplishment, to hear this guy say anything remotely positive, to Carmen, but it doesnât. It feels the opposite, honestly. Feels like somethingâs wrong. Getting this guyâs approval is wrong.
This is the part where Carmen is supposed to leave. This is the part where the server goes back to the kitchen and continues their job. But he canât. Heâs stuck in place. Heâs back in front of the fire, and heâs not putting it out. Carmen swallows hard and his spit feels like glass all the way down his throat. His Exec stares at him, nearly coyâ Like he knows. Like he can see the invisible snake coiling around Carmen. Like he knows that Carmen desperately has something to say.Â
âLetâs have it, Chef.â David goads.
Fuck it. Fuck everything, fuck it. Not like the night can get worse. âCan we step out, for a second, Chef?â
âLookit this.â Mikey pivots his phone to you, for you to see a photo he's just been sent.
It's of⊠âWhat the fuck is that?â You've got no clue. Some weird spiralling array of colours.Â
âI've no fucking clue. Food? Apparently?â
It's April, and Mikey has let you in. You will not realize how big a deal this is until it's too late. But right now, you're just happy to be hanging out with him before open. Without your dad, too.
Their most frequent regularâs favourite chair broke, one of the legs just fully gave out underneath him. It's an easy fix. Mikey could probably do it himself. Fak or whatever the fuck his name is could absolutely do it himself. Mikey called you, instead. Called you. Not your dad. You think this'll be your first and last solo job. Naive.
âCarmy?â You assume, he's the only person that's on that rich people shit. Michelin Star Chef, baby boy with big dreams.
âYessir. Heâs still killinâ it.â Is all Mikey says, tucking his phone away. You frown at him, screwing the chair leg in, sitting on the floor. He groans. âDon't gimme those eyes, Jack.â
âYou should reply!â
âHe doesn't need a fuckin' reply.âÂ
You tilt your head, the look you give him translates to âAre you forreal?â
He just sighs, exasperated. âYou don't get brothers, Jack.â
âI literally have brothers, Michael.â
âYeah but it'sââ He gestures to the general air, attempting to explain nothing. âIt's different. We communicate different.â
âSure.â You can admit that. âI'm sure the dynamic is very different brother to brother, brother to sister. But likeââ You jiggle the chair leg, alright maybe it's not that easy of a fix. âIt sucks beinâ the baby, I know that much.â
âYou're the baby?â
âYeah, why?â You lift your head from the chair back to him. âI got middle child energy? Iâll fuckinâ kill you.âÂ
âNo, noâ Oldest.â He takes a sip of his coffee. âThought you were one of me, Jack. My own blood.â
You scoff. But itâs not something you havenât heard before. Youâve got the blood of people whoâve had to take care of people. âWell, being the only sister kinda made me the oldest sister.â
You pad your hand around the floor, searching, before looking up to Michael, again. âYou see the fuckinâ?â
He tosses you the chair leg cap, before you can finish asking for it. âYouâd like Nat. Similar ideologies.â
âI would love to know how your younger sister fuckinâ survived you, thatâs for sure.â
He laughs, at that. âSheâs a trooper. Surrounded by some of the worst men Chicago has to offer.â He looks at the coffee that you painstakingly crafted for him, this morning. âThis is actually kinda fuckinâ good, Jack.â
âDo you have to add actually and kinda?â
He rolls his head back, neck straining. âFor what you had, itâs fuckinâ perfection, alright? Happy?â
âFuckinâ delighted.â You throw the chair up onto its legs, and it stands. âYou?â
He gets up from his seat to try out the chair. He takes the coffee with him. Thereâs a split second where youâre scared that actually this was too hard a job for you and Mikey is going to fall and the hot coffee is going to careen everywhere and fucking scald him and you told him he needed to get a first-aid kit in here but he hasnât gotten around to it yetâ
Mikey sits, and the chair works. He takes another sip of your chai coffee blend, like a vote of his confidence. He never had any doubt you could get the coffee machine to work, never had any doubt you could make a good coffee, never had any doubt you could get the chair to stand strong. Mikey has always always believed in your capabilities, even when you havenât, and has always been happy to prove yourself to yourself. Mikey is really good at being an older brother, you think. And forget that he never texted back the real baby of his real family.
âFuckinâ delighted, Jackie.â
âNever fuckinâ call me Jackie.â
âHeard.â
Two executive chefs stand in front of a restaurant, thereâs probably a joke in here somewhere. Carmen doesnât care to find it. He watches your car drive out onto the road, out of the corner of his eye. Thatâs it, then. Youâre gone. He fishes a pack of cigarettes out from the chest pocket of his chefâs uniform.Â
âYou should quit.â Says David, so high and fucking mighty. As if he doesnât house a bottle of wine daily.
âIâm aware.â Carmen lights it anyways. You donât smoke. Did his mouth taste bad, every time heâd kiss you? Probably. You probably just bore it for his sake. Maybe thatâs why you so rarely went for his lips. He takes a puff, it doesnât calm him down.Â
âYour hair is fucked.âÂ
âAnd the food?â
âBusy. You can lose the basil and eggplant. Youâll re-learn.â David tilts his head, thinking, smarmy. âSomeone got in your head.â
âSomeone other than you, yeah.â
âAwe.â David smiles, something he so rarely did in the kitchen, but perfected in public. His tone is so perfectly pouty, like itâs disappointing heâs not the only one living rent free in Carmenâs brain anymore.
Carmen steadies his eyes forward, to the street. He cannot look his own personal nightmare in the eyes, but he can say what heâs always wanted to say. âWhy are you such a fucking asshole?â
âHow am I an asshole?â âCan you stay âtil after close?â âYouâre welcome.â
Carmen turns his head to face him now, eyes wide like plates. âIâ Iâm welcome? ForâFor-for what?â
âYou were an okay chef, when you started with me.â David doesnât fear eye contact. Davidâs probably never had a bad day in his fucking life. âAnd you left an excellent chef, so youâre welcome.â
Carmenâs never even heard the fucking word excellent come out of this manâs mouth. Let alone to describe him. It doesnât feel good, for some reason. It still doesnât feel good to receive praise from him, despite the fact that heâs everything.Â
âYouâŠâ Carmen needs a second, to catch his breath. He probably should quit smoking. âYou gave me ulcers, and panic attacks, andâ and nightmaresâ Youâ You know that? You understand that?â
âYeah.â Davidâs entirely unfazed. All heâs heard is a list of benefits, in his head. âI gave you confidence and leadership and abilityâ It fucking worked.â
Is this what it working is supposed to feel like? Is this what it feels like to function? Is this what it means, to make it? If it is, then what the fuck does not making it feel like?
âIâmâ Iâm, Iâmâ Iâm actually fuckinâ stunned, right now, Iââ Carmen rubs his hands over his eyes. âMy life stopped.â
âThatâs the point.â
âThatâs the point?â
âYou wanted to be excellent. You got rid of all the bullshit, you concentrated, you focusedâ And you got excellent. And it worked. Youâre here.â
Youâre not bullshit. Youâre not bullshit and he shouldnât have done whatever he did to make you leave. Carmen is anything but excellent, without the people behind him, and heâs realizing that now. Heâs an idiot, because you told him this, the second day of knowing him you told him this. He has a wonderful teamâ A familyâ A family he now considers you a part of. And he tanked all of it, everyoneâ Why? Because he had a bad fucking day? Because a dish got sent back? Because he fucked up tremendously? Boo-fucking-hoo, Carmen. It takes an idiot like David, who thinks heâs a genius, for Carmen to realize they look exactly the fucking sameâ And that is the actual thing thatâs mortifying, tonight.
The real mortifying thing, isnât that you were so fucking sweet and considerate of his stupid fucking brain and his stupid insane aspirationsâ It isnât your dish. The mortifying thing is he prioritized the man in front of him, in any regard. Itâs mortifying that Carmen made you feel like you had to prioritize the man in front of him.
âI justâ I just made theâThe only fuckinâ good thing in my life leave becauseâ Because you got in my fucking head.â
David just raises his brows, like Carmenâs fucking stupid. Like thereâs not a problem here. Because to him, there isnât. And once again, the stupid fucking Exec repeats. âYouâre welcome?â
âIâmââ The door opens, and for a moment, despite the fact that he watched your car disappear minutes ago, Carmen still thinks thereâs a chance itâs gonna be you; begs a higher power that itâs going to be you. Itâs not. Itâs Richie.Â
âHey assholeââ Richie stops, when he sees David. âAh. Youâre needed, Chef Carmen.â
âCousinâ Youâre needed, pronto.âÂ
âNot your Cousin.â
âHeard and resented.â
Richieâs had a habit of calling you cousin, lately. You pull your head out of the back of the Ball-Breaker arcade machine. Its controls are allegedly on the fritz, but youâre pretty sure Chi-Chi just sucks at this game. âWhaddya need? Do I have to run front a-fucking-gain?â
That was a fun out of nowhere three hour shift with zero restaurant experienceâ Par for bar. It will not be the last.
âNonoâ Just a cuppa coffee? More like six.âÂ
You kiss your teeth, tutting him. âYou know how the fuckinâ machine worksââ
âWant your coffee?â He corrects, like stroking your ego will make you fold. It does. You stand up, stretching your legs. Â
âFine. Just get me a list of everyoneâsââ He slaps a folded note against your forehead. âOrders.âÂ
âFucker.â You take it off your head to read. âWhatta âbout Mikeyâs?â Heâs missing from the list.
Richie shrugs. âSurprise him, heâs out backâ In one of his moods.â
You donât know how uncommon it is for Mikey to be so out of it. Youâre meeting Mikey during his slow but certain downward spiral, but you donât know that. No. How could you? No, so you think itâs normal for Mikey to occasionally leave rooms and turn inward.Â
âAye aye, Rich.â
He kisses your temple as you pass him, making an all too aggressive âmuahâ noise, because thatâs what fake Italians do, as a form of thanks, and lets you go work your magic on the coffee machine.Â
Youâre pretty integrated into The Beef, at this point. How long has it been? You donât really need this list of orders, but itâs good to visually ingrain in your brain. Youâre thankful to Mikey for investing in a bunch of Toraniâs syrups for your coffee dreams. Youâre here enough for it to be worth it, anyways.Â
Youâre probably gonna start being here a lot more, soon. Well, maybe.
You havenât told anyone yet, about what your dad told you this morning. That heâs gotta retire, soon. Like soon, soon. Now, youâre faced with a decisionâ Keep going with this EMS thing until your body fails and you need to be wheeled out by your own coworkers, or take on ownership of a small family business directly after the fucking pandemic. Really good options, here.
Youâre leaning towards the latter, at the moment. Youâre leaning towards being called here, for half your jobs. Itâd be hard to make ends meet on just whatever crack change Mikey is able to pay youâ But you used to bartend in collegeâ You could work dailies whenever youâre short. Probably. It probably wonât be that hard. Could it be harder than what youâre doing now? Could it be harder than watching someone flat line? Probably not.
Ebra, watered down black coffee. T, two sugars, one milk, cinnamon and chocolate syrup. Marcus, spiced coffee. Sweeps, water in a deli cupâ A delicacy. Richie, two sugars, cinnamon syrup, ideally boiling hot.Â
But to be fair, people need someone like you. People need paramedics. Is it selfish for you to decide you canât handle it anymore? Should you let your body break before you let yourself go on one? Fuck. Fuck. Whereâs Mikey? Youâre feeling the knots build up again.Â
Out back. Richie said heâs out back. You pick up your coffee, and Mikeyâsâ cinnamon and caramel, this timeâ And head out back.Â
And you see a sight that youâve actually seen plenty of times.
Youâve just never seen it in the back alley of The Beef. Youâve just never seen it happen to a friend. Youâve just never seen it happen to Mikey. You donât drop your coffee cups in some sort of dramatic shock, or anything like that. Because that would take time. Itâd take too much time to be shocked. You just turn around, immediately, partially crashing into the door as you run back in, breaking the mugs and spilling scalding hot coffee over your hands and chestâ You donât feel it, you donât give a fuck.Â
âCousin!âÂ
Youâre a mom friend. Thatâs what Syd used to say. You carry Tums, painkillers, cough drops, peptoâ All in your purse or pockets. You keep a lighter on hand. You keep safety pinsâ All ranging in size, just in case of a clothing mishap. You keep kidâs band-aids in your wallet. Youâre a mom friend. Everyone used to find you also carrying a naloxone kit a bit dramatic, like you were overdoing it. You always hoped they were right; that it would never be used. Regardless, you'd always replace it when it expired.
âCousin get my fucking bag, now!â
âRight.â Carmenâs honestly kind of surprised, to be needed. But itâs probably just cover, to talk. People donât typically need people like him, especially not Richie. He nods to David. âChef.â
âChef.â David nods back. He looks at Richie. âWhereâd your translator go?â
The fuck? Richie does not look phased, at all. He also looks like heâs been cryingâ So it might just be that nothing phases him, right nowâ But at the very least, Carmen would expect some surprise. So this disrespect must not be new. Why didnât he tell him?
Maybe he did, actually. Maybe thatâs what happened forty minutes ago? Howâd that lead to you leaving?Â
âMy what?â Richie knows exactly what Davidâs getting at, but he asks anyways, to embarrass the fucker.
But David doesnât feel embarrassment, itâs just not in him. âYour somme.â
âShe had to leave early.â
âAh,â He nods, âYouâve got her number, by chance?â
A deep and sharp exhale, through Richieâs nose, as he desperately tries to be a good host. Tries to be star material. But he runs his tongue across his top teeth and he just canât bring himself to bite it. Richie hates both of the men in front of him right now. âI do, I do, actuallyâ Iâve had her number for three years, memorized, yâknow why?â
David shrugs, delighted to upset someone. âShe your wife or something?â
A sharp, terrifying chuckle, honestlyâ One that hides any sign of a smile. Rich steps forward. âOh, I should be so lucky. I would be so fucking lucky, if a woman like thatââ And he pivots his head, to speak very deliberately, to Carmen. âDecided for some Godforsaken fuckinâ reason, that I was worth an ounce of her precious timeâ Let alone her hand.â
âIf only, truly, David.â Still looking at Carmen, squarely in his face. âIf fuckinâ only. If I had someone like thatâ Iâd be on hand and fucking knee, for her.â
âChef.â Carmenâs talking to David but looking at Richie, but that might also be because he canât look anywhere else.Â
âChef.â David shrugs, whatever fight here is beyond him. He doesnât fucking care. Carmen knows the Michelin thing was bullshitâCertainly David can put in a good word, but inspectors are anonymous, thatâs the whole point. But his stupid fucking Exec wanted to see if Carmen would stoop so low as to take the bait. It also wouldnât hurt to get your number, youâre perfect. Carmen doesnât think heâd have taken the bait, but the fact that heâs not sure speaks volumes.
David steps back into The Bear, and an Executive Chef and his dead brotherâs best friend stand outside their restaurant. Thereâs a joke in here somewhere, and itâs probably Carmen.
âIâd fucking kill him.â You shake your head, when Mikey tries to brush off the end of his story like itâs no big deal. âI canât believe no one fuckinâ said anything.â
âThey mightâve.â He sniffs, arms crossedâ Guarding himself. He sits opposite of you, both sitting on the floor of his office, backs against either wall. âBut I couldnât fuckinâ hear anything but himâ And then the fucking car, obviously.â
You can tell heâs trying to move on. He wants you to ask if his mom was okay. You donât honestly care, and you donât care if that makes you a bad person, either.Â
âYouâre not nothing, Mikey.â
Itâs close to midnight, a humid but cool August midnight. A week or so, since Mikeyâs overdose. Youâre finally christening your jumpsuit with a patch from The Beef, on the left shoulder. You do keep stabbing yourself with the sewing needleâ If you were sleeping beauty youâd be fucking dead.Â
âI know.â
âMikey, youâre not.â
âDonât fucking Good Will Hunting me.â
âYeah, thatâs fair.â You both laugh, but youâre still stuck with him, at that dining table, in your head. Youâre still hearing Uncle Lee screaming, despite never actually hearing it. âThey shouldâve said something.â
âItâs different when youâre there.â He shrugs, again. âHard to speak in those rooms.âÂ
Your lips stay tight, for a moment. Thereâs a long silence of just staring at each other, because you want him to know that youâre completely serious when you sayâ âI wouldâve said something.â
âSug tried to say somethinââ âShe told you to stop, thatâs bullshit.â âShe was mediatingââ
âAnd why the fuck were you the one that needed to calm down, exactly?â You frown, deeply. You donât have anything against Sug, but this story just rubs you the wrong way. The way no one was on his side verbally. âJust cause youâre the guy, means you canât stick up for yourself? I hate that shit.â
He thinks on that, for a moment; because no one has ever said the thing out loud, never acknowledged it. He nods, tucking one knee up to rest an arm on it. âIt sucks, being the guy.â
âIt fucking sucks to be the guy!â You shout back, emphatic, practically jumping to agreeâ You jab yourself again. âFuck, owâ Yes, it sucks.â
âAndââ Youâve really opened a faucet for him. âAnd no one wants you to acknowledge that youâre the guyâ Like you can take the compliment, but you can never say âI know, Iâm doing it on purpose.ââ
You poke at the tip of your nose with one hand and then to Mikey with the other, bang on. âNo one wants the guy to know theyâre the guy!â
âWe always know!â âWe always fucking know!â âWeâre the guy on purpose!â
Itâs rare for people like you two to talk and actually get along. The typical stereotype is that two sweethearts will always end up butting heads, too intimidatedâ But instead, youâre both just able to honestly commiserate over being who you are. The Guy. The Dependable One. The Head.
âYou shouldnât have to always be good andâand like, understanding of every single fucking personâ Especially when theyâre a dick!â You yell, exasperated. âYou are allowed to fucking stick up for yourself!â
He tightens his lips in a line, because he agrees, but he has been so trained to lay down and take it. To take the teeth; itâs one of the many many jobs of being the guy. You know it just as well. He sighs, âI know.â
âYouâre worth standing up for, Mikey.â You emphasize. They shouldâve said something. It shouldnât have been on you. You shouldnât have had to defend yourself. They shouldâve protected you, like you did for them. Like you always do for them.Â
His eyes flicker, a bit. He clears his throat and punches his chest, shaking his head out of it, because if he doesnât, he might actually fucking cry, and thatâs not what the guy does. âOkay.â
You nod. âOkay.â
He kicks your foot with his. âNow tell me some fucked up thing that happened to you, Jack.â
You laugh, and it quickly turns into a groan as you try to come up with something. âI uh⊠Oh! I fuckinâ hate the nickname âJackâ, thatâs something.â
âOh?â He leans forward, teasingly intriguedâ Youâve thrown him a bone, because youâre the guy, too. Heâs able to focus on this in lieu of himself.
You nod and continue. âMy dad gave it to me, when I was really really little, like five or sixâ And it was âcause I likeâ For a kid, I was really into uhm, likeâ Like everything?â
âLike a nerd?â âLike a nerd.â
You chuckle. âI liked helping him go on jobs, and barely being able to hold flashlights. And I liked learning what all the wires and the pipes doâ I liked doing chores and likeâ Making shit for people, or doing shit for people, if it made âem happy.â Youâre a little too zoned in, on your sewing. The motion helps keep you grounded. âAnd so he would go like Awe, my helpful little Jack of all Trades, you can do it all.â
You pull the string up and out of the fabric, taught, dramatically high. âWhich like, of course he was trying to be like, a good dad and hype me upâ But my kid brain just garbled it and translated âyou can do it allâ to âyou have to do it all.ââ
âDamn.â He cringes but laughs, sympathizing. âYou got âguyâdâ at fuckinâ five?â
âWell, when did you get âguyâd?!â You snap back, he takes a moment to think about it, sighing.
He shrugs. âProbably five.â âExactly!â
You both laugh, a bit too aggressively, honestly; compensating for the sting. Mikey sniffs, adding. âSo thatâs why you hate it? âCause of the weight?â
ââCause of the weight.â You nod. âLike a constant reminder, that I need to be likeâ constantly at service.â
âYeah.â He nods, eyes looking down. Thinking about far too much, and though you have become his closest confidant, there are still parts of him that he wonât show. âDrinking helped?â
âDrinking helped.â You close the last stitch on the patch. âWhich is funny, because that whole thing started from wanting to be helpful.â
âOh yeah? Howâs that?â
âThere was uhmââ You canât help but laugh a little, at the ridiculousness of it. âThere was this girl, and she was my best friend, and she fucking lovedâ Or I guess still lovesâ Cooking. And even as a dinky little highschooler, sheâd have me try shit, and itâd be likeâ So luxe.â
âRight.â Mikey smiles, thinking of all the dishes that have been foisted on him by the precocious cook in his life.
âAnd I wanted to be like⊠equally impressive. So I started doing research on wine pairings and shit, so I could have something to talk to her about, have somethinâ to say other than wow great jobâ Because I could tell she always wanted more.â
âAnd so you became an alcoholic?â âI havenât gotten there yet!â âWell stop burying the lead!â âOh donât you point a finger when it comes to burying a fucking lead.â âOh, fuck you.â
âAnyways!â You clap a hand on your knee, casting aside the completed sew job. âIâd give her pairings based on researchâ still teens, so we couldnât drink yet, but she appreciated the thought. And then I went to college and she went to CIA and we were talking and then we graduated and suddenly we werenâtâŠâ You knock your fist against your hand a couple times. âWe werenât talking, anymore.âÂ
âAnd so you became an alcoholic?â âKinda.â âOh. I was being sarcastic.â âYeah, dontchu feel guilty as fuck now?â âWhat happened?â
âIt was easy.â You shrug. âI started working at pubs in college, I was getting free drinks all the time, I was trying more wines for herâ I didnât really see it as a problem, because like, I didnât do it to function, I never reached for anything like âoh I fucking need this.ââ
âThatâs how it starts.â
âThatâs how it fuckinâ starts.â You nod. âThen suddenly we werenât talking and I became an E-M-T, and then suddenly I was watching people yâknow, live through the worst moment of their lives or die, and Iâ Suddenly I did need that drink.â You shouldâve just called her. She wouldâve done a lot more for you than a bottle could. But you were stupid and tired, and still are.
âWho coulda thunk it?â âI know! Ridiculous.â
âHow long you been stable, again?âÂ
âSix months, four days⊠But whoâs counting?â You laugh, and so does he.
Youâre both very literally counting. And the buzzer of a timer going off on your phone reminds you of that. You both stare at it, in a daze, as it officially hits Twelve in the morning. Once you silence it, you look to Mikey.Â
âMichael The Bear Berzatto, you have officially been sober for twenty-four hours.â
He smiles, no teeth, but he smiles. âGimme.â
âBe patient!â âI am being the most patient a person can be.â âYeah thatâs fair.â
You opt to go for the cupcake first, a big One candle sticking out of it. âThis is stupid.â Says Mikey. âHave some fucking whimsy in the face of adversity.â Says you, pulling out your disposable camera.Â
âDo we need photos?â âWhat the fuck else are we gonna put in my folder?â âI dunno, write me sonnets.âÂ
âDo you want sonnets?â You ask, and the worst part is Michael can tell youâre being sincere. You would write him sonnets, if he only asked. You would do anything, if he only asked. You quit being an EMT, immediately after seeing the state he was in, last week. You are here for Michael, and he only has to ask.
He shakes his head and blows out the candle when you lift the cupcake to his face, and he makes a wish to whatever higher power exists, that he wonât drag you down with him.Â
You thread a 24 Hours in Recovery chip onto the embroidery thread you were using and tie it off. When you present it to him, he bends his head down. âChip me.â
âThatâs not what chip me means.â âIt means something?â âIâm pretty sure chipping someone means shooting someoneââ âWell Google it, Chip.â âWell, fuck, okâ Chip?â
He shrugs, âBetter than Jack, no?â
You throw the necklace over his neck, like youâre knighting him. You grow a great degree softer. Even when heâs deliberately not supposed to be The Guy, when heâs supposed to be working on himself, heâs still your guy. Still looking out for you just as much as you look out for him. He will never realize that you consider the exchange equal.
âYeah, better than Jack.â
âThis sobriety thing is going to be easy.â â âOkay, soâ The thing is, everyone kinda says that after twenty-four hours and then a week or two in, it actually hitsââ âItâs gonna be so easy.â âI love that you think that and I want you to keep that hope up, I also think maybe letâs just be easy on ourselves if it gets hardââ âItâs not gonna get hard.â âThatâs what she saidââ âFucking gross!â
He throws his arm over your shoulder, a loving noogie, but a noogie nonetheless. You try to hit him from below, itâs a failed flailing. You both start laughing and he stops, opting to just hold you there. You hold his forearm with your hands, and sigh.
â...Even when itâs not easy, weâre on the same team, okay? Donât forget that. That weâre on the same team and I love you.â
He squeezes you a little, bicep curling. In fifteen seconds you will complain that heâs choking you, but right now, he says, âIâm not gonna forget you love me, Chip.â and neither of you know this is a lie, yet.
âIâm sorry.â Carmen sniffs, is he actually going to cry? Holy shit, he might cry. âI donât know what I saidââ
âYou donât know what you said?â Richie scoffs, he canât help but laugh. âYou donât know what you fuckinâ said? Ahâ Itâsâ Itâs all good, man. You donât know what you said, so itâs all goodââ
âIâm apologizingââ âNononoâ Noâ Itâs all good, I donât need a fuckinâ apology. I know how you feel now, so itâs all fuckinâ good.â
âI love youââ âYou love me? You love me? Oh, that wouldâve been nice to hear half a fucking hour ago.â
Has it really only been thirty minutes?
âNoâ No, you know what?â Richie takes a choked breath, pressing his index finger over his nose and mouth, then points it to Carmen. âIf thatâs what your fuckinâ love isâ I donât fuckinâ want it. And I donât want that shit for Chip, eitherâ So leave her the fuck out of your fuckinâ love or whatever the fuck you think that is, too.â
That one hurts, because itâs true. Carmen canât say anything to that; the silence just eggs Richie on more. âOh, was that a low blow, to you? Cause Iâd say saying it was her fault was a pretty low fucking blowâ Kinda below the belt shit, if you ask meââ
âWhat?â
A silence louder than anything either of them have ever heard hangs in the air.
âFuck you mean what?â
âI said what?â Carmenâs spit still feels like glass, he is destroying his throat. âWhatâWhat did I say?â
Stunned, Richie is stunned. And he canât tell if Carmâs lack of cognizance in the situation makes him more or less angry. Heâs pretty sure itâs more. âYouâre fucking kidding me.â
âCousin, what the fuck did I say to her?â
âYou said she failed him.â
Yeah, Carmenâs gonna cry. Carmen is absolutely going to cry. Not weeping, but a tear. Just the one. Just the one, and the dry heaving. The dry heaving and just short of falling over, managing at the last minute to fall onto his rear. He slides his back against the full length window of The Bear. All the guests will get to witness his full blown meltdown. Who fucking cares. He cards through his semi-matted hair, againâ Itâs not fucking working. Itâs not working and he might as well tear his hair out because thereâs no reason for it anymore if you're not in it.
âI am a monster.â Not said like a question, not said with emphasis, not choked. Completely monotone. Zero pulse. Said as a fact as simple as the sky is blue. And it is. Because now that he remembers that one thread, he can follow it back. âI am bullshit.â
Itâs hard to kick someone, when theyâre down. Itâs hard to say all the things you want to say to a person, when theyâre just saying it about themselves. Richie just stares, debating his options. He could so easily choose to destroy whatâs left of Carmen. Frankly, Carmâs sitting at the perfect angle to kick his fucking teeth in. Richie came out here with full intent of throwing Carmen through the window. Came out here with the full intent of proving heâs a fucking problem.
â...I donât know how to fix it.â But Carmen looks up at him, with a never before seen level of humility. âHow do I fix it?â
His best friend loved this guy, and unfortunately you also seem to be on the verge of loving this guy. And even more regrettably, Richie loves this guy. He shrugs, and to any onlookers, his response would seem to be lacking any level of empathy.Â
âStop being you.â
âYou donât love me!â
âOf course we fuckinâ love you!â
âYou donât fucking love me!â
Like tidal waves, Richie and Mikey crash against either side of the walk-in freezer door. Mikey desperately trying to escape the freezer; you and Richie desperately trying to keep him in.Â
Your phone rings, in the middle of this. âAh, shit, sheâs calling back, hold onââ You slide your back off the door slowly, giving Richie time to place extra weight where your body was to keep it closed as Mikey relentlessly slams. Heâs pivoted to screaming likeâ Well, a bear, now.Â
You move just a few feet awayâ Enough to fog up the yelling, but not enough that you couldnât run back to Richie if his arms start to numb.Â
âYo, T.â You answer, thankful that somebody has finally returned your fucking calls. To be fair, itâs painfully earlyâ But how is no one awake an hour before they have to clock in? Câmon.
âWeâre doing this because we love you, fuckinâ numb nuts!âÂ
âDonât be fuckinâ mean when heâs in a vulnerable state!â You kiss your teeth, yelling to Richie behind you, just as Tina tries to say hi.Â
âI am not a fucking patient, Chip!â Another slam, another violent jiggling of the door handle. Youâre pretty sure that shit is going to break off one day, if he keeps doing that. You donât know how right you are now, but you will in a year or so. âOpen the fucking door!â
You only remember youâre on the phone with Tina when she pipes up, vaguely hearing the yelling on her end. â...Two week milestone going well?â
âJust fucking peachy, T.â You grimace, rubbing the space between your brows. âYou think itâs healthy to lock him in the freezer? I feel like we are fucking this up.â
âWhyâs he in the freezer?â
âGuess who wasââ You turn your head to Richie, when you speak into the phone. âSo fucking stupidâ And left his fucking xanax just out in the open with his unfinished breakfast?â
âI apologizedââ âYou didnât do nothinâ wrong, Cousin! Now open the fucking door!â
âYeah, I think freezer is the right call.â Says Tina; youâre both not sure if thatâs true, but at the very least when heâs in there he canât hurt himself or either of you. But fuck, he must be cold. Maybe thatâs good for his nervous system? Every yell just mounts with guiltâ But youâre his sponsor now. You are not his friend right now, youâre his mentor and youâre meant to do this. This is definitelyâ slamâ the right thingâscreamâto do.
âYeah, probably.â You nod, to no one. âWell, basically, if you can let everyone know to justâ Not fucking come in, today, or at the very least not come in for likeâ At least three hours. Maybe six. Itâs not like you can work anyways, the freezerâs off limits until further notice.â
âYou sure you donât need us to come in?â
âAh, T, thatâs a nice thought butââ You wince, as you hear a crash from inside the walk-in. âI donât know if itâs better or worse, for more people to witness this.â
Richie can tell what the crash is, because he himself has dropped shit an innumerable number of times in that walk-in before. ââDid you just knock over the fuckinâ stockââ âFuck yourself! Fuck yourself! This is my fucking restaurant! Let me the fuck out, Richard!â
âLetâs just say call me back in three hours.â Is what you settle on. You donât want to see this, and you donât want anyone else to have to see this. And when Mikey eventually comes out of his rage state, he will be glad that the only two people that actually saw him like this, are his two closest friends. âCan you let everyone else know?â
âYeah baby, Iâll let âem know.â First time Tinaâs called you baby with sincerity instead of sarcasm, you wish you could savour it, but youâre so distracted with everything else that you really donât even notice it. âKeep yourself safe too, alright?â
âOkay, Mama.â You reply with what is really only half sarcasm, and let her go. You sidle up to Richie, back on holding the door closed duty. Backs against the walk-in door, holding Mikey in, despite punch after punch after punch. Heâll wear himself out, eventually, but youâre terrified about how long thatâs going to take. So is Richie.
He nods to your phone. âHow long?â
You donât need to check to know. âIn six hours, heâll be at two weeks.â You wince as one of Mikeyâs hits against the door very directly targets your back, putting it in knots. âBut itâs not like heâs suddenly going to go, oh well itâs been two weeks so Iâm normal now, though.â
Richie just nods, pensive. âMâsorry.âÂ
You shake your head. âI was just beinâ a bitch, weâre all getting used to it, I gettit, just try to be safer.â
He nods again, looking down at you as the beating seems to slow down. Richie tries to imagine a world where you two arenât here right now; for some reason, he finds that universe more miserable. âWeâre so fucked.â Because here itâs you two. Youâre so fucked but itâs you two. It will take more than a year for you to figure out thatâs how Richie feels.
âI know.â You punch back against the door, alerting Mikeyâ Not that he wasnât already alert, and speak to both of them. âSame team, though!â
One last resounding body slam into the door, with everything Mikey hasâ It moves, just a bit, but not at all enough to open it. And then, a long silence. To the point where you and Richie look at each other, worried if Michael has somehow just died in there. But then a quiet voice speaks, like a white flag being raised.Â
âSame team.â
You look to Richie for permission, heâs just as clueless as you are here, as to what the right call is. With the most trepidation one could have, you put your hand on the handle and just start to pull on it, not even close to opening it. But Mikey notices the way the hinge moves by a hair, on the other side.Â
âDonât open it.â You know heâs up to the door, just opposite of you. Not capable of looking at you; not capable of looking at him. âSix hours. Itâs just six hours.â
But you can hear each other. And maybe thatâs all you really ever needed. To be able to hear each other, even when heâs not here.Â
âSix hours. Same team.â
âI donât know how.â Carmenâs nose twitches. âI donât know how to stop being fuckingâGarbageâ Iâve triedââ âHave you?â
Itâs a bit knife twisting, from Richie, but necessary. âHave you done the work? Cause itâsâ I donât think you have, Carm.â
â...What the fuck kinda work can I do, to fix meâ?â Richie snaps his fingers, pointing at Carmen, interrupting him. âThatâ That is the exact fuckinâ problem with you, Cousin.â
Carmen almost rolls his eyes, putting his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. âWhat, that Iâm self-aware?â
âThat you just fuckinâ give up.â âI donât just give upââ âYou do! You give up and you go wah, Iâm a Chef with issues and Iâm gonna make it everyone elseâs fucking problemââ âI am asking for helpââ âAre you? Because the last person that helped you just ran out crying.â
Richie exhales, eyes closed. Thereâs a long forced silence, as a few tables full of patrons exit The Bear, awkwardly shuffling past what is clearly a crisis between the people that have been serving them tonight.
âThat was below the belt, Iâll admit.â Says Rich, once theyâre out of earshot.Â
Carmen just shakes his head, though he cannot look at Richie, though he canât refute anything.Â
Richie steps next to where Carmen sits, and like an olive branch, Carmen lifts up his arm to offer his cigarette. Richie accepts, thank Godâ Thank you, for softening him up, because if you hadnât, again, Carmen would be going headfirst through the fucking window right now.
âDonât yell ât meââ That honestly hurts more than getting thrown through a window. âBut I donât think you got Andrea, at all.â
Andrea? Oh. âChef Terry?â The Everâs owner, Richie means.Â
âAndrea.â Richie nods, taking a puff. âEvery second countsâ I donât think you got it.â
Carmen just shrugs, shaking his head, sure, he worked there for years and Richie worked there for days, but sure, heâs the one that didnât get it. âYeah? Whatâd I miss?â
âItâs not meant to make you fuckinââ He gestures to the general form of Carmen. âTweak. Itâs not about speed orâ orâ like firinâ off on all fuckinâ cylinders.âÂ
âThen what is it?â
âIt counts because it counts.â Richie hands the cig back to Carmen. âItâsâ The fuckingââ He kisses his teeth, trying to figure out the best way to explain. âWhen you took like, a million goddamn years to make that fuckinâ montâ Montâ What was it?â
âMontmorency.â Your cherry sauce. Carmen spent too fucking long reducing it, yesterday. He redid it like five times. Heâd redone it so many times the autopilot in his brain fucked up that fucking plate yesterday, and it threw his entire life into a spiral. No. That's not what happened. He threw his life into a spiral.
âThat was worth it, cause itâ Cause it took time. Does thatâ Am I making any fuckinâ sense? Terry did this shit better, fuck.â Richie rubs a hand over his face, youâd probably be able to explain this better too. âItâs not the thing youâre doing that makes it count, it counts because youâre doing it.â
The value is in the time, not what is delivered. It does not need to be the most special, hyper condensed, hyper focused, upper echelon second to count. It will count because it counts. Time spent is worth it, no matter what was bought. Every second you spend, will always count. All the work and the not work and the love and the not loveâ It all counts. It counts because it counts. You care therefore you care. Any effort made is good effort.Â
Why does Carmen keep taking eons to learn what you are always trying to tell him?
The door opens, again. Instead of more patrons, Syd steps outâ Wondering where the fuck her Exec and Host have gone. âAre we good?âÂ
âNo.â Says her Exec and Host. She nods, thatâs good, cause sheâs not good either.Â
âWhoâs runninâ house?â
âNo one.â Lies Syd, Tinaâs running the back, Sweeps is running the front, but she wants to freak Carmen out a little. She grabs the cigarette from Richie. âBurn the money, I say.â
âSo, what youâre asking me to doâ If Iâm understanding, correctly, whichâ I might not beâ You want me to take all my money, okay, and place it in a fucking furnace? Is that right?â
âSo Iâm sensingââ You curl your hand in the air. âA touch of hostility, which is fair.â
Bargaining with Uncle Jimmy isnât the easiest thing in the worldâ Especially when this is your first time meeting himâ And youâre begging him for money. Well, helping Mikey beg him for money.Â
âListen, Uncle, please.â Mikey swallows, leaning in, elbows on the table. Itâs nearly the end of January. New year, fresh start. No better time to pitch a half-baked pipe dream in the middle of The Beefâs dining room. âItâs not like Iâm brand new to the restaurant gigâ We turn profit, here, we can fuckinâ pay people.â
âCan you pay me?â âWe willââ âOr you could just let me cut my lossesââ âI wanna do something real, Uncle.â
âWhyâs she here, again?â You shrink, when Cicero points at you. You swallow.Â
âIâm here as⊠Proof⊠That he wants to do something real.â You have to stop yourself from doing jazz hands, doubling down on the awkwardness will not make it go away, that is sadly not how that works.
Jimmy stares, for a moment, the cogs in his brain almost audibly whirring, as he stares at the space between you and Mikey, where you sit, at the other side of the booth. âAre you having a fuckinâ baby or somethin?â
The visceral reaction from your side of the booth is immediate. The worst part is heâs not even the first one to ask something like thisâ No, the manager at Wells Fargo was.
âWhat the fuck!â âCome on, UncleâŠâ âDo Iâ Do I look like a Milf, what the fuck is going onââ âShe could be my daughter!â âAlrightâ So that is a little far, but the sentimentââ
âAlright, shut the fuck up, what is so fucking real that Iâm suddenly going to hack upââ
Mikey tosses his necklace onto the table. It shouldnât be physically possible, because itâs on a string, but it still manages to roll for a comically long time, like a coin, over to Jimmy. To thine own self be true. One Month.
âYou will not be giving your money to some fucking junkie, Uncleââ
You wave a hand, interrupting Mikey. âVerbiage.âÂ
He swallows and nods, taking the note. A hard lesson to learn. âYou will not be giving your money toâ Toâ Youâ Youâre gonna give your money to someone who is trying, alright?â
Uncle Jimmy hasnât looked up from the chip since it landed; Mikey continues. âAndâ And Iâm gonna bring Carmy on, and weâre gonna do likeâLike high level shit. Like a real fuckinâ Michelin levelââ
âHow many times have you gotten to a month?â
âFirst time.â
Jimmy frowns, crossing his arms. âHow many times have you tried getting to a month?â
âFive.â Michael says, âSix.â you correct. Christmas was hard. Christmas was extremely fucking hard. You werenât with the Berzattos, upon Mikeyâs requestâ And neither was Carmen, upon Mikeyâs ignoring him completely. And that made things a little fucking hard.Â
Jimmy just nods, arms still crossed. Heâs forming some sort of plan, in his head, youâre just not sure what it is yet. He looks to you. âSo youâre his sponsor, then?â
âYessir.â âDo you feel qualified to do that?â âNo-sir.â
Mikey kicks you under the table, your proclivity for honesty is not doing a great job selling this whole restaurant idea. You kick him back. âI donât think itâs possible for me to feel qualified.â
âYou sober?â âNot really.â âWell thatâs kind of a key factor, Iâve heard.â
You sigh and lean forward, putting your hands in your lap. This is Mikeyâs Uncleâ Well, is he, actually? Unsure. But he gives as much of a fuck as you do, so you spill your guts, because you know heâs poking because heâs worried that some kid is taking care of Mikey and itâs the blind leading the fucking blind.Â
âIâm stable. I drink, sometimesâ But never more than one glass, and never multiple days in a row. Iâm coming up on a year, I still attend A-Aâ Though not as often as Iâm told I shouldâ And Iâve told Mikey that turbulent month long benders and a full blown decade long opioid addiction are not the same thing and I really shouldnât be his sponsor.â
Mikey leans forward as well, then, meeting your level. âAnd I told Chipâ And our coordâ That I wonât do the program without her.â
After a long moment of silence, taking his time to digest every bit of information, Jimmy nods to the folder on the table. âNâ this?â
âItâs like a⊠Proposal?â You look to Mikey for help, he shrugs. This motherfuckerâ Youâre not even a stakeholder in this, why are you talking? You turn back to Jimmy. âItâs like a promise.â
You open the folder, thereâs loose sketches youâve put together of The Bearâs signage, plus Carmenâs original pieceâ It was fun and weird, to work off of an artist youâve never met before. Thereâs also cut outs from the New York Timeâs and Food and Wine magazine showing off his award winning talents.Â
âWe make money now.â Mikey finally chimes in, crossing his arms. âImagine what we could do with him.â
âIt would be cool!â You wingman. A little too excited for someone whoâs never even breathed in a Michelin restaurant. âItâd be cool to have, like, a fine-dining establishment on North Orleans.â
âOr youâd completely cut out the audience that already likes The Beef.â
Mikey defends, âThe people donât know what they like, yet.â while you spread out some more papers across the table, showing off screenshots of food Carmenâs texted, that Mikey has never replied to. âThey will like this shitâ Itâsâ Itâs art, Uncle. When they see this, they wonât give a shit about sandwiches.â
âTheyâll give a shit about the price.â
âUncle, Iâm the guy.â Mikey uncrosses his arms, straightening up his posture, because now itâs serious. âI canâ We can do this.â
As you continue to spread out papers, Uncle Jimmy stops you, seeing a peculiar page in the pile. He points to it, so you fish it out and hand it to him. He squints. âJoint bank account?â
You nod. âItâs so I can keep an eye on his spending and withdrawals.â Mikey tries not to wince at the fact a kid is in charge of managing his finances. You try not to wince at the fact that despite managing his finances, he's still reset six times.
âYâknow banks are a fuckinâ scam, right?â
You do not entertain Jimmy for a second, finally losing your whimsy. Your leg is shaking underneath the tableâ Thank God these tables are bolted. âI know that this is the first time in twenty years that my best friend is keeping savings.âÂ
Not just living paycheck to paycheck, anymore. Not spending every penny on painkillers, anymore. Mikey is saving up because now there is a future to spend it on. Cicero swallows, nodding, eyes looking down, thinking deeply.Â
When he speaks again, itâs to say the most insane thing youâve ever heard. âTen grand a week.â
Your reply is in sync with Mikey, both jumping forward in your seats. âWhat?â
âEvery week.â Jimmy pushes the chip back to your side of the table. âEvery week that you keep going, thatâs ten grand.â
You flail your hand under the table, grabbing for Mikeyâsâ He does the same, and itâs like a contest for whoâs going to break whoâs hand first, with how hard youâre holding each other.Â
Mikeyâs first to ask the question, âIs that⊠Starting now or starting since Iââ
âIâm so glad you asked, fuck no, thatâs starting now.â He points to you, now. You flinch. âYouâre gonna piss test him every fuckinâ week. Iâm not fucking around about this.â
âRight. Heard.â You can only nod, because if you express anything else, it might just be screaming forever and ever. He pivots back to Mikey.
âAnd itâs gonna be cashâ Itâs not going in that fuckinâ joint, aright?â âHeard.â
â...Alright. Deal.â Cicero comes forward in his seat, and shakes Mikeyâs hand. And despite not being a stakeholder, he reaches for yours, too; you shake it, and after a moment, he ruins this excitement stirring in the room, moving out of the booth. âI gotta piss, now.â
When he leaves for the bathroom, Mikey leans his head to you, putting his chin on your shoulder, whispering, âArt of the deal.â
You push his face away immediately, laughing. âShut the fuck up! Why did you make me lead that shit!?â
Tomorrow Mikey will relapse again, and youâll reset his necklace for the seventh time, but you donât know that yet. Carmenâs gonna be so excited, when he finally comes back to Chicago and gets a sober brother and his dream restaurant. Youâre excited to meet the guy, one day. Fingers crossed he likes you.Â
âThat was fucking nuts.â Sydney decides thatâs the best way to surmise it. âLike more than usual.â
âIâm aware.â Carmen can only nod, and despite the fact that heâs just going to lie down and take this, it does not remove the bitter feeling in her heart at all. Sydâs fucking mad, and she wants him to know.Â
âIâveâ Iâve literally only ever seen her cry like, like during Pixar movies or when we graduated. Like she justâ Thatâs not a thing she does. I, Iâm soâ I literally donât know what the fuck to do, right now.â For a second, she thinks her vision is flickering. âOh my god, am I finally having a stroke?â
The three restaurateurs look up to see their neon white logo of a bearâs head, flickering and occasionally buzzing out. Richieâs the first to speak, as they all blankly stare at it. âWho are we gonna call, fâthis?â
If this was yesterday, or maybe even if this was an hour ago, it wouldnât be a question as to who theyâd call. Carmen scratches the back of his head, the flaking hair gel is getting itchy. âTed?â
âWhoâs Ted?â Asks Syd; thatâs not Tony, Terry or Tommy.
âTed Fak.â Richie and Carmen answer at once, she almost gasps.Â
âTheyâre multiplying?â
Richie rolls back into his memory. âThereâs eightâ No, fuck, nine of themâ I always forget Avery.â
Sydney just nods and hugs her shoulders for warmth. They all keep staring at the flickering bear, like moths.
âI donâtâI donât have anyone, except her, yâknow?â Syd sniffs. âLike after my dad, itâsâ itâs literally just her. Sheâs my best and only friend.â
Carmen presses the palms of his hands over his eyes, âHeard.âÂ
âI donât want to choose between her and my career.â Carmen thinks sheâs pausing, so he waits, but sheâs not talking. That was the end of the sentence.
âHeard.â
âIf thatâs what getting a star takes, I donât want it.â Thatâs huge. Thatâs a big statement, from Syd of all people. That gets the men to turn their heads from the light to her.
Syd continues to stare at the flickering bear, which lights up the two single straight streams of tears perfectly. Itâs silent. Sheâs not snivelling or anything, she just shakes her head in tight swivels, biting her inner cheek. âItâs justâ itâs just not worth that.â
âHow can I fix it?â Maybe Syd will have a better answer than Richie did, something a little more actionable. She finally flits her gaze from the light down to Carmen, where he sits.Â
âCan you stay after close?â
ââNobody in this motherfucking city knows transit etiquetteâ Why does everyone get on and go âwow I love standing in the walkwayââ Iâm soâ There was so much seating just ahead of the blockage, Mikey, Iâm so pressed, Iâm literallyââ You massage your brows, finishing up your rant from this morningâs commute. âI canât. I canât.â
âIf you werenât a little passenger princess, this wouldnât be a problem, Chippy.â âI have my fucking license! I just donât have a car!â âThen buy one!â âWith whoâs money!?â âMine?â
A terrible running joke, from Mikey, is telling you to spend his moneyâ The money he gets from staying sober. The money heâs saving for The Bear. The reason why he thinks this is funny, is because you have no fucking idea where heâs been putting it. But you know he hasnât spent it, so thatâs all that really matters.
You just huff, leaning back against the wall of his office as you watch him work, arms crossed and cringing as he futzes with the wiring. âYouâre going to light us up like a Roman fucking candle.â
âItâs Jewish lightningââ âTop twenty-thousand reasons we do not say thatâ Number Oneââ âItâs gonna work! Just trust me!â
Mikeyâs office looks a lot more lively, lately. He never cleans up the mugs of coffee you give him, every morning. He says itâs his way of tracking which flavour is his favourite, since youâre always switching up. It will never change from the chai spiced blend, and you both know that. Itâd be more accurate of him to say he likes the sticky notes you tack on to each mug, saying you love him and saying he needs to keep going.
âI could fix it, yâknow.â At that, Mikey turns away from his distressing handiwork to look at you.Â
âI know. But I wanna prove I can, too.âÂ
That hits you right in the chest. You want to tell Mikey that he never has to prove anything, with you; never has to lift a goddamn finger. But he would hate to hear that. âOkay.â
You hear from outside the office, the back door opening. âChild incoming, no expletives please!â
âWhat the fuck is an expletive?â Mikey asks you, whispering.
You whisper back, leaning forward off the wall to close in on him. âItâs what you just did.â
Eva runs in, the way that kids doâ The way they kinda waddle. Immediately up to you and Mikey. Uncle Mike and Aunty Chip, she calls you both. Sometimes Uncle Jackâ Because she hasnât completely grasped the concept of gender yetâ Good, no one should.
âWatch!â You have yet to even say hi, before she immediately attempts to do a cartwheel in the middle of this very small office.Â
âGood job, Evie!â You clap, after she just barely lands safely on her shins.
She nods, âCan you do that?â
âHonestly? I donât think I can.â You look up from her to Mikey. âCan you?â
âCan I cartwheel?â He stumbles back, slapping his hand over his chest. Gutted. âCan I cartwheel? Eveâ She doesnât think I can cartwheel.â
âInsane, Uncle.â
âNot what I said!â You canât hold back your laughter, what a shining this kid has taken to her dad. âIâd love to see it, I really would!â
Mikey just shakes his head, kissing his teeth. How dare you offend his honour, in this way? This forty-two year old man can absolutely cartwheel with the best of them. In five minutes he definitely isnât gonna eat shit in the dining room of his restaurant. He pats Eva on the shoulder. âYou go with your dad and clear out some tables out front, Iâm gonna need space.âÂ
âYouâre gonna break your neck, Mike.â Richie chimes in, standing in the doorway now, waiting for Eva to return to him. âI donât wanna plan your funeral.â
âPlease, you would plan a terrible funeral.â âThatâs bullââ
âExpletive!â You cover Evaâs ears. She just laughs, looking up at you with that cute and bizarre blank kid stare. What a little patoot.Â
Richie looks to you, forgetting the bit for a moment, âY'need a grocery run, tonight?â
You nod, removing your hands from Eva, but then she holds them there. Goddamnit, kids are an awful idea but she's fucking cute. âPay you gas money in the form of Wendy's?â
âMarone!â Richie exclaims, poorly, grabbing your face by the chin and top of your head to kiss your cheek just short of a million times. âThe perfect womanââ
âNot Italian!â is the synchronous reply from you and Mikey.
Richie rolls his eyes, âNot Italianâ Fuââ
Eva interrupts him, taking as much as a shining to you as she does her father. âExpâExpultive!â She looks at you for approval and you nod in delight.
âJust go set up front, would âya?â Mikey brushes Rich off, the man just rolls his eyes, picking up his daughter from you to fly her off like an airplane.Â
âLet's set the stage for your Uncleâs neck injury, sweets. Bwwwwrrrââ Richie makes good airplane noises. Richieâs a good dad. You will never find a good time to tell him this. You watch Mikeyâs back flex, as he cracks back into the hole of wires in the wall. He's been working hard on a lot of little things lately.Â
You will not realize he is trying to make things clean and square, until it is too late. Right now, youâre just happy, because, âYouâre already at three weeks again, and you havenât even noticed.â
âOh, I fucking noticed.â He doesnât face you, when he says it, but itâs with a hearty chuckle. Heâs noticed it violently, heâs just getting very good at the first month, nowâ Well acquainted with the burn out. âBut now thereâs money on the line, I canât lose.âÂ
Itâs not that moneyâs on the line. Itâs that his brother is on the line now. And Mikey couldnât do this for himselfâ but the guy could do it for his brother. So heâll just be the guy, thatâs what the guyâs do. Six hours, same team. Nine weeks, Mikey, come on.
âWell youâre doing good, Iâm proud of you.âÂ
âYou believe in me?â He says it like he doubts your conviction. You nearly punch him in the back of the head.
âOf course I believe in you.â
Mikey bites his inner cheek, though you canât see his face. â...Why are we keeping the candles?â
Ah. Youâve still got the one and two candles in his drawer with a lighter, ready for the next cupcake. Theyâre slowly but surely melting with each reset, eventually theyâll be incomprehensible. Do you believe in me? If you do, why are you saving them? Do you think weâll need them? Thatâs what Mikeyâs asking. You scoff.Â
âYouâre so stupid.â âWhat theâ I confide in you and I get thisââ
You interrupt him, arms crossed. âOne day, one week, one month, one year, fuckinâ When we get to double digits? Ten months? One decade?â
Heâs mum, at that. You add. âWeâre getting our fucking mileage out of these candles, Mikey. I believe in you.â You think Mikey has a future, still. Mikey knows he doesnât. He changes the subject because if he doesnât, heâll tell you everything and you will stop it.
âI want you to start talking to Carmen, when he comes back.â You shouldâve asked Mikey why he was so certain Carmen would be coming back. But you werenât smart enough.Â
âWhat the fuck?â You snort. âOkay, out of literally nowhereââ âYouâd like him.â
âHe sounds very nice.â âHeâs not. Heâs aââ âBall buster, yes, youâve told me.â âHeâd like you.â âWhy?â âCause youâre you.â
âWow, pretty inarguable there.â You can only smile, unable to see the wheels turn in Michaelâs head. âGuess weâll be besties.â
âI meant talk like talkââ âAre you trying to hook me up right now?â âHeâs a virgin, so itâs definitely not a good deal for youââ âAndâ And why are we talking about your brother's sex lifeâ Did we already explode and this is hell?â âI just want you to be prepared for what youâre getting into, he gets performance anxiety soââ âMikey!â
âYouâll talk to him?â Mikey turns away from the wall, wanting you to look him in the eyes and promise him.
You shake your head and roll your eyes, but stick a hand out for the Berzatto to shake. âYes, Bear, Iâll talk to your virgin Michelin star ranked brother.â
âThank you! I ask for so little.â
After close, after everyone but Carmen, Sydney, and Richie leave, the three make plans to meet in Michaelâs office. Carmen will go in ahead to hide your folder because he doesnât want to see it himself and he absolutely doesnât want anyone else to see it. Even if one of them could very well explain it, because heâs fucking in them. Itâs fine. He looks at your wrapped up painting in the corner of his office. Carmen considers for what feels like a decade, whether or not he should open it. But he hasnât earned a gift from you, so he doesnâtâ Not for now, at least. He hasnât earned your art right now.Â
Underneath your ICE folder is his notepadâ The one he was scribbling recipes for his Exec into, the one he scribbled your recipe into, and underneath all that torn up paperâ His list, from this morning. The non-negotiable rules he wantedâ Wants? To add to The Bear. Thereâs twenty-seven. Half of them are spelt wrong as he wrote them while absolutely losing his shit, this morning. This list did not go over well, when it was proposed during family, at two in the afternoon. Some of these could still work though, right? At least the technique and the boxes and theâ
Richie comes in, not knocking, and immediately spots the list. âOh good.â He grabs the notepad and rips off the twenty seven points. Leaving only the title, NON-NEGOTIABLES.Â
âCome the fuck onââ Says Carmen. Richie rolls his eyes, tossing the list onto the desk. Richie can tear him and his stupid fucking list a new one another timeâ Richie and Carmen can sort out their own part of the fight in a week, when they take a twelve hour road trip. Right now though, they are both completely focused on you.Â
Sydney comes in with two labelled deli containers of coke. Time codes and everything, she can't turn it off. She hands one to Rich, the other one is for herself. Thatâs fine, soda on Carmenâs shredded throat really wouldnât be great right now anyways. She takes a sip, looking over Carm's shoulder. âOh, weâre doing a real list, now?â
Carmen just sighs, letting the dig go, because he deserves it. He clicks his pen, sitting down, ready to write, without hesitation. âGo.â
Richie leads, âYou need to fucking relax.â
âLay off her,â Sydney waves her hand over her neck. âLeave her the fuck alone, for like a week, minimum.âÂ
âNoâ What? Noâ You should call her like nowââ âAbsolutely not the right moveââ âSolve it hard and fastââ âWhy hardâ?â
âIâm just gonna wait.â Carmen decides, typically Syd is the right one, anyways. Plus if he hears your voice right now he might throw up and he doesnât have your tums, anymore. âNext?â
âAn exorcism.â Richie doesnât laugh, when he says it. âAlso read fuckinâ Runninâ on Emptyâ By Doctor Webb.â
The two cooks just look at him, like Richieâs grown five thousand heads. He groans before they even say anything. âIâm fuckinâ well read, shut the fuck upâ Itâsââ He snaps his fingers, pointing to Carmenâs list, âItâs an audiobook, too, on fuckinâ Spotifyâ Listen to that shit on your commute you have no excuse.â
âYes, Chef.â Carmen writes it down, he also writes down under things to look into, catastrophizing, while heâs at it. Richie watches over his shoulder, and adds, âLook into sublimation and behavourial dysfunction.âÂ
Sydâs still reeling over the sudden character growth. âYou need to relax with the self-help books.â
âYeah, well you need to read Mark Wolynnâs âIt Didnât Start With You.ââ Richieâs got lists of books now, instead of zingers. They somehow hit harder.
Sheâs got no come back for that other than a surprised pout and nod, taking her own phone out to write it down. âYes, Chef.â
Carmen pipes in, not looking up from his list of to dos âShould I also read that oneââ âYes.â âHeard, Chef. Next?â
âIt cannot be on Tony to be your fucking punching bag. If youâre tweakingâ Keep that shit between you and your therapistââ Syd switches from her notes app to search, âWeâre finding you a fuckinâ therapist.â
âIs that covered in our contract?â Didnât he write it? Carmen doesnât know.
âDoesnât matter. Also I donât know, but doesnât matter.â Syd hasnât read it yet. She also doesnât know.
You are worth a couple out of pocket fees. Well, more importantly, Carmen is worth a couple out of pocket feesâ Well, alright, heâll discuss his weaknesses of self-prioritization with the therapist.Â
Before Carmen can even say next, Richie adds. âAlso you smell like shit.â The hair gel is pungent in a bad way.
And before he can defend himself, Sydney adds, not looking up from her phone, âWeâre going to fuckinâ Kohlâs after this and weâre getting you a skincareâ And haircareâ routine. Youâre seconds away from breaking out, I bet you use fuckinâ Palmolive dish soap.â
âWellâ Iâve been using Tonyâs, actuallyââ âWe know.â Itâs a completely synchronized interruption.Â
âItâs been her signature scent, since highschool.â âWho do you think took her grocery shopping when she didnât have a car?â âI thought I was having a flashback everytime you walked by in the kitchen, this past week.â âYou should go back to it.â
âI know. I will.â Heâs got every intention of re-upping on your shampoo and conditioner, when heâs taken on a shopping spree to get his shit together. Hopefully you wonât mind him copying you. âNo more Five in One.â
âYouâve been using fucking five in one!?â
Carmen thought, yesterday, naively, that he would do right by you on Friday. He didnât, he did the very oppositeâ But even if he did, thatâs weak shit. Carmenâs not gonna do right by you for just one single fucking day. Carmenâs gonna do right by you, for the rest of his life. The three get to well over twenty seven points, and he has every intention of showing up to it. Heâs gonna be your man, and heâs going to fucking earn that title. Heâs going to prove it.
âOkay. So can you tell me what happened on February 22nd?â Sheâs a shit therapist. Youâre imagining both you and her dead in your head. Youâve been imagining a lot of people dead in your head, for the last two weeks. Every time your dad comes to check on you, you imagine that heâs a ghost.Â
You imagine having a passing conversation with someone, maybe catching up with Syd, one day. And sheâll ask you âMeet any interesting people?â and youâll say âYeah. But he killed himself.â Thatâs gonna suck. You didnât prepare for that one. So you need to prepare now. Look at all of your friends and family, and imagine they are deadâ And introduce them as such. âThatâs my friend Richie, he died.â Make it hurt now, so it doesnât hurt then.Â
You didnât prepare enough. Didnât do enough. Countless little mistakes and moments you missed. The therapist is looking at you, oh right, itâs your turn to talk again. Youâve told her all these cute little stories but now she wants to hear how the sad shit went. Or maybe it was all sad shit. Maybe itâs all coated in a film of grief, now.Â
Youâll tell her that Mikey was very thorough, with his plan that you didnât know about. He waited until he thought you were out of the cityâ When he knew youâd be out of the city. When your sister in law delivered your nephew and you went to Oak Park to visit.Â
Just days before, you celebrated three months of sobriety with him and Richieâ Youâll tell the therapist, excitedly, that this was his longest streak so far, it took him a year to reach three monthsâ It was a big fucking deal. You were beaming all day. You didnât realize, however, that days after Uncle Jimmy had made his deal with you two, that Mikey did the math. Figured out exactly how many weeks heâd have to be sober, to get three-hundred grand.Â
Thirty weeks. Roughly seven months and two weeks. He did it. Not in sequence, but he did it. Youâre still not sure where that money is. Uncle isnât either. Maybe Carmen will figure it out. Itâs meant for him anyways. Youâll say that Carmen will figure it out in such a way that she asksâ âAnd do you hold animosity? Towards his younger brother?â
You look at her like sheâs a psycho, because she is. Replying incredulously, âI donât fucking know him.â
âMy best friend Michael is dead.â âMy best friend, Mikey, is dead.â Doesnât sound right. Doesnât quite roll off the tongue.Â
âDo you wish you did?â
âI really couldnât say I give a shit, maâam. Can I tell you about the guy I did know, though?â
She nods, you roll the fuck on. You tell her that the morning after you got to your brotherâs placeâ February 22nd, you all decided instead of staying for the week, as youâd planned, as Mikey planned, youâd instead go home early. Because as much as you wanted to be helpful, having more people in the house was stressing the new mom the fuck out. Understandable. So you took a train back to Chicago early.Â
You got home, and you found that youâd gotten some mail, waiting for you on the floor, shoved through the mail slot of your door. Bill, bill, invoice, spam, coupons, handwritten envelopeâ Ah. Mikeyâs handwriting. A deep unsettling feeling burrowed its way into you. It just says For Chip. Thereâs no letter inside. No. Thereâs a debit card, his, of your joint bank account, thereâs a key, yours, a copy of your key to this apartment, and a necklace, hisâ With his three month sobriety chip hanging off of it.Â
You call him, immediately. He doesnât answer the first time. You call him again. He answers on the last possible ring.Â
The inciting incident, the thing that pulls you in, and permanently alters the trajectory of your lifeâ        Is honestly quite boring, because itâs just a phone call with an old friend.
âYo, Ice-y!â A classic nickname, reserved purely for phone calls with Mikey. Because in his phone, youâre 0ICEChip, so youâll show up at the top of his contact list, if heâs ever found unresponsive. Typically a pro-tip reserved for those in hospice care.
You donât entertain him. âWhere are you?â
âIâm just out for a walk, sweetheart.â âShut the fuck up out for a walkâ Where the fuck are you?â
He hums at your snarky tone. âNephew didnât take a liking to you?â âI came home early.â
The silence is long, and you can hear the heavy wind coming through his phone. Heâs outside. Heâs somewhere outside. Itâs a cold night. Itâs usually not this cold at the end of February, but it really fucking came down, this morning.Â
âOh.â
âWhy did you leave this shit at my door? Where are you?â You thought of 0ICE but you didnât think to have him turn his location on? Fucking idiot. Fucking idiot. You didnât do enough. âMy friend, Bear, is dead.â You didnât prepare enough. âBear, câmon, whatâs going on? I told you, if we need to reset, itâs two steps forward, one step back, itâs okayââ
âItâs not.â âIt is! We will get there!â âIâm not. Youâre gonna get there, Iâm not.â âThatâs not true!â âI love you but we both know this was a pipe dream.â
âMikeyââ
âChip, Iâm not going anywhere. Youâreâ Youâre fucking going somewhere. I canâtâ I canât letâ We both know where Iâm going and itâs nowhere you should begin to be.â
âYou donât get to make that choice for me. You donât get to make that call. I decide what I bet onâ Mikey, where are you?â Youâre walking out of your place, you hadnât even closed the door before leaving again.
Fucking idiot, you shouldâve bought a car. How are you supposed to get to him on foot and train? Fucking idiot. The snow is beating down, the wind is cutting into your face. âMy best friend died on February 22nd. On the State Street Bridge.ââ Why didnât you get a fucking car? You didnât do enough. You canât remember any of your training, right now. What are you supposed to say? âAre you using?â
âNo. No. Iâmâ This is me, Chip.â âNo itâs fucking not, Mikey! Shut the fuck up, where are you!?â
âI love you, I didnât want this to beâ I-IâIâm not killing myself, Chip.â
âYouâre not?â
You shouldnât have believed him. You shouldâve just kept walking. You wouldâve figured out where he was, eventually. You shouldâve called the coast guard, or some shit. Shouldâve just figured it out.
âIâm not. Iâmâ Iâm okay, Iâm really just going for a walkâ I-I justâ I had a⊠Iâ I donât want you to be my sponsor anymore. Thatâs it.â It made sense. He didn't want you to feel hurt, so he was hesitant. It made sense.
âWhy?â
âCause youâre a kid, and I canât make you responsible for what I do.â
âIâm not a kid.â âTo me, you are.â âThen weâll find you someone else.â âYeah, okay.â
You pause, for a good bit, listening to the shakiness of his breath. âYouâre cold, Mikey.â
âIâm okay.â
âYouâre just cold.â Thatâs all thatâs wrong. Heâs just cold and he doesn't want you to be his sponsor anymore. âGo inside, soon. Come home.â
âI will.â
Mikey always had that way of making you think everything was going to be okay, even when it wasnât. âOkay.â
âI want you to start treating our joint like an advanced payment, by the way. A million things are always fucking breaking at The Beef, thereâs no point in wiring all the time.â
Mikey wants this to be clean and square, too. Because he couldnât figure out the wiring by himselfâ He needs to make sure his baby brother is taken care of, he needs to make sure his restaurant is taken care of, he needs to make sure that you have something to do because Michael fucking saw you.Â
âYeah, that makes sense.â You nod to no one. âI think your toilets fucked, speaking of.â You laugh, everythingâs okay. Thereâs a long silence, and you think heâs hung up.Â
âGood. Okayâ You shouldâ You should come fix it, sometime soon⊠Love you, Chip.â
âLove you, Bear.â
You will tell your therapist that after that phone call, you went back inside, cleaned yourself up, unpacked unused toiletries, changed out of your borrowed brotherâs sweats into your nice pajamas, because Mikey said he would come home. He said he would come home and you believed him because he never lied to you before. You set up the things he left for you in your handmade clay dish tray; so he can take them back. Just because youâre not his sponsor, doesnât mean he shouldnât keep his chips.Â
You will tell your therapist that you fell asleep on the couch, waiting for Michael. You will tell her you woke up to a phone call from Richie, and all he said, wavering, was, âYou should come over.â Richie doesnât ask things. Richie will always say, come over. You donât know why thatâs the signal you get, since you seemingly must have missed so many other obvious signs, but you know then that yourâ Yourâ Your bestâ Fuck, the knots are fucking debilitating, fuck fuck fuck.Â
You will not come over. You will walk, in the cold, to your dadâs place. You will not bring anything with you. You will stay there and rot for two weeks, as will everything in your apartment. He will force you to go to this several hour long therapy appointment because he canât keep watching you do this, and you will resent the woman you are telling all this.Â
You will continue to see her, for five more sessions, because the first six are covered under your insurance. She will help in a lot of ways, she will hurt in others.
Wells-Fargo will ask if you want to close your account. You donât want to, but itâll accrue monthly banking fees, so you take the money out and close it. You buy a shitty maroon 2004 Dodge Intrepid off Facebook Marketplace with the two and a half grand. It barely functions as a car. But it will drive. The next time someone needs you. You can drive. Next time youâll think of everything, next time you wonât fail.
You stop paying the phone bill, for your business line. It goes defunct. You just donât think you should be trusted to be helpful, for the next little while. You will blame your father for this, when people ask about it.
On the day of his funeral, you will go. You will go, and you will sit on the curb across from the church, and you will not go inside. It's just not possible. You will buy a pork chop-cheese sandwich from a bodega nearby and you will eat it on that curb and itâs only then, after shoving it down for so long, that you will scream and cry.
You will leave before anyone sees you, and you will go to State Street Bridge, and you will set up a small vigil. You will finnick with the candles and the flowers until you feel they are perfect. They will never get perfect. You just donât want to leave. You have a tendency to do that.Â
You will stare at the little stuffed bear, the roses, the picture frame of him, and you will finally say it aloud.Â
âMy best friend, Mikey, died.â
When Carmen shows up, two hours later, not honestly that long after you finally left, he will add a bouquet and a prayer candle. He will readjust all of your work, to his preference, and then readjust it again and again and againâ and he will finally say it aloud.Â
âMy brother, Mikey, shot himself.â
No matter how you say it, it wonât roll off the tongue.
And about thirty-nine weeks from that day, you will be in New York, at a wedding, talking with the virgin Michelin star ranked brother, as you promised.
You will have abandoned your bar after making confessions under the counter, and have instead co-opted the single stall gender-neutral bathroom to have ample time and space to tell each other everything youâve told your therapists. Even now, neither of you can get the words to roll off the tongue.Â
But Carmen manages to make âIâm sorry. Iâm so fucking sorryâ I will never be able to surmise, how sorryââ roll off well enough. Alas, heâs interrupted, by a knock on the gender-neutral bathroom door, made by the only fuckers that knows you two are in here.Â
âGuys Iâ Guys I donât know how to run bar, and I donât think I shouldâve been trusted, with this.â
Carmen will not look away from your bleary-eyed face, he will not break his focus even when you laugh at the sudden tension break. He will just tell the Faks to fuck off and figure it out.
âIâm gonna fix it.â Carmen will tell you, and you will nod and say, âI will too.â
Because itâs not just on one of you, anymore. It can be both. The shared burden. The shared grief. No more fucking shoes, because it's all out now.
Itâs not negotiable.
I love when tumblr drafts fully start to lag and my macbook lights on fire because the post is too fucking long. I have so much to say about this chapter but I think I will just make a separate post entirely about this. Because Iâm. Iâm really proud tbh not to toot my own horn but I think I kind of maybe a little bit ate with this one.Â
Fun fact, that you may or may not believe: The Carmen scenes? Not planned. Fully did not plan to do any of that. This was going to be entirely Mikey flashbacks, originallyâ There mightâve ended up being more honestly, if I didnât add Carmen, but after Something to Do when I started writing I was like,,, these cats arenât cooking, Carmenâs side is missing a second beat before the third. And so, here it is.Â
I know everyone was expecting a depression week for Carmenâ And to be fair, I also kind of was. But I then thought, nah. Theyâd done too much work, and I donât think Rich/Syd would allow him to wallow. Like get your shit together, not for you, for her. Ugh.Â
Speaking of Rich and Sydâ FUCK man my heart. The way their scenes from the past and present meshed together in such a deeply painful way Iâm sooo SICK WITH IT!!! WHAT DID YOU THINK?!?!! Just fuckinâ The way Tony was too scared to reach out to Syd but itâs SO FUCKING OBVIOUS that Syd was on the other side of Chicago thinking the exact same shit iâm SO SICK!!!!! IâM HACKING UP A LUNG HERE!!
Anyways itâs my birthday send me well wishes and an essay on what you thought Iâd love to hear it. I know this was a tough one. Thank you for getting through it with me lmao. Tag list! Hope I didnât forget anyone, pwease note i ownwee add pweople who swend theiw twoughtsâ It also may or may not hurt my feelings when people donât read this text at the bottom. It might. It might a lot.
@anytim3youwant @navs-bhat @whoknowswhoiamtoday @gills-lounge @slut4supersoldiers @sinceweremutual @itsallacotar @catsrdabestsocks101 @popcornpoppin @renaissance-painting @lostinwonderland314 @v0ctin @ashtonweon @sharkluver @fridavacado @hoetel-manager @mrs-perfectly-fine
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#carmen berzatto#carmen berzatto imagine#carmen berzatto x reader#carmen berzatto x you#carmen x reader#carmy berzatto#mikey berzatto#michael berzatto#carmen x oc#carmy x reader#the bear fanfiction#the bear x reader#the bear#the bear hulu#the bear fx
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Carmy drawing in season 3
#artist!carmy means so much to me#the bear#the bear s3#carmy berzatto#dyou think mikey ever caught on to carmys love for drawing#dyou think he bought him a pack of really expensive markers at one point#dyou think theyre the ones that carmy saves for his most important drawings#dyou think he finally visits the grave when one of them starts to dry out
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(unedited) carmen berzatto comes home after a long day at the beef.
your eyes momentarily shift towards the front door at the sound of keys and you slowly sit up from your curled position on the couch, dog-earing the page to your book and setting it on the table next to the armrest. checking the time on your phone, you let out a soft groan as you realize it was late - much later than the usual time he arrives home.
the door finally creaks open and you smile softly as your boyfriend walks through the threshold, closing the door behind him gently and locking it. he was tense, more so than usual when it came to dealing with âthe beefâ and its employees, and your smile dropped gradually into a small frown.
âcarmy?â
you're greeted with silence from him and the sound of his bag hitting the floor with a resounding thud at the entrance. you can see the exhaustion in his eyes as he pads over toward you after shedding his boots, leaving behind the remnants of the outside world, he surrenders himself to vulnerability and sinks to his knees before you, wrapping his arms around your waist and nestling his face into your tummy. you can't help but smile softly, and run your fingers through the beautiful tangle of curls atop his head.
âhi,â you murmur softly, your thumb delicately tracing over his forehead to ease away some of the wrinkles that seem to always etch themselves there. carmenâs like jell-o in your lap, slumped and boneless. his body relaxes, the tension melting away, and you can feel the weight of his exhaustion dissipating. it's a rare sight to witness him so vulnerable, so unguarded, âhey,â is what he whispers back to you, itâs weary, strained, and lost. it makes your heart hurt like nothing you've ever experienced.
âtough day?â
carmen groans quietly into your stomach before flipping his head to the side, sighing weakly when your fingers move the brown curls from his eyes. it takes a moment but heâs finally able to sort through his mess of jumbled thoughts to communicate to you, âi don't know what iâm doing wrong, i don't understand.â
you hum and brush your thumb over his cheek, exhaling deeply. âwith the team?â you inquire, a grunt of agreement, you hum softly once more. âsometimes, carmy, change and even big changes at that can be scary to some people." you detangle one of his curled strands. "the loss of michael has also affected them, and the thought of losing the things heâs implemented for so long can be hard.â
heâs silent, azure eyes flickering here and there as he processes, his brows knitting together and his tongue peeking out to moisten his lips. âiâm not saying they're right in the way they're treating you, iâm just saying you should wait a little, give them time. things will fall into place." you lean in closer, your voice dropping to a whisper. "remember, carmy, you're a leader. your guidance and support can make all the difference. encourage them, believe in them, and help them realize their own potential."
carmy lifts from his position on your lap and without hesitation, you lean in and plant a gentle kiss on his lips, hoping he can feel the love that you have for him without having to say it. when you pull away, he places his forehead against yours.âwhat would i do without you?â he utters; you grin and hum in a playful manner, âcrash and burn, maybe?â he chuckles, his warm breath caressing your skin as he affectionately nods against your head. "you know, you're probably right," he admits, his tired eyes reflecting the amusement in yours.
you pat his cheek and pull away. ânow, go shower. you smell like richieâs horrible cologne and sweat.â he dismissively rolls his eyes, but lovingly plants a tender kiss on your temple before getting up from the floor.
âyeah, yeah.â
#carmen berzatto#carmen berzatto x reader#the bear#the bear fx#carmy the bear#carmy berzatto#carmy x reader#carmy x fem!reader#carmy x you#carmen x reader#carmen berzatto x female reader#mikey berzatto#richie jerimovich#carmen berzatto blurb#carmen berzatto fluff#deunmiu dessie#the bear season one#carmen berzatto x you#the bear spoilers#carmy berzatto x reader#fanfiction#carmen berzatto fanfiction#the bear fanfiction#carmen berzatto smut
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mikey berzatto really just had an innate urge to believe in the people around him and their ability to do great things
#lived believing there was no hope for him but saw great things in everyone else#the bear season three#the bear spoilers#the bear s3#the bear hulu#mikey berzatto#michael berzatto#berzatto family#the bear fx#the bear meta
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