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gingergofastboatsmojito · 3 months ago

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Watermelon Sugar

Sydney was jamming with Tina on a Sunday evening, while the restaurant was closed and the summer was raging outside. They were locked in that kitchen for hours, AC at 68° and just letting their creative juices flow.

Syd loved anything and anyone who brought out the teacher in her, she loved Tina, and Tina loved Sydney and the molecular gastronomy masterclass she was giving her.

They were both giving some love to the Gariguette variety, which Syd said tasted a lot like Alpine strawberries and at some point, when Tina nailed the strawberry foam she was working on, following Syd's instructions to the T, she burst into song:

Tastes like strawberries on a summer evenin' And it sounds just like a song I want more berries and that summer feelin' It's so wonderful and warm

Syd's jaw dropped. "Mr. Styles! Way to go, T!"

"Yes, ma'am. Raising a Gen Zer has its perks, you know..."

Tina kept going and this time Syd sang along:

Watermelon sugar high Watermelon sugar high Watermelon sugar high Watermelon sugar high Watermelon sugar!

They even started dancing a little bit and all.

About 2 hours later they called it a day not before sharing all their creations in the group chat.

The one that got the most praise was the watermelon tequila cocktail Tina had come up with to end the masterclass on a high:

She actually named it: "Watermelon Sugar High" and made a point of clarifying that the alcohol-free version of it was delish too because she knew Natalie was still breastfeeding.

Syd totally backed that up by saying that she had tasted both versions and both were indeed delicious.

The only one who hadn't chimed in the chat was Carmy. As usual.

What no one knew at that point was that he was too busy apologizing to Claire across town, and flopping at it, hard.

A casual conversation that started at the same store where they once ran into each other after years of not even ranking within the top 100 on their respective minds and where Carmy had trouble remembering her name before giving her a fake number to cut her off, once again, quickly turned into a forced apology that he could barely voice out. But after trying extra hard he was able to finish the sentence:

"I-I...um... I'm so sorry, Claire. I didn't mean to end things like that. And I was ashamed about how I-I just let things..."

"It's OK, Carmy. Don't even bother."

"No, no, I-I-...I want to-"

"Really, no need. I'm OK. I just-I- I really gotta run now, take care."

Every part of Claire was yearning for Carmy to try to stop her when she turned around and started walking away, and he did. She smiled on the inside. She got him.

He grabbed her arm, firmly, without hurting her, but not letting go. She slowly turned around, not looking at him and holding her breath. Her eyes were glued to his strong hand, that held her arm tightly, and she found his tattoos fascinating, as she always had. Old feelings of lust crept up on her, and for a fleeting moment, she remembered how those hands felt on her skin back when she thought they actually had a fair chance to be happy together. Not that long ago, actually. But it felt like an eternity ago.

"Claire, I am sorry. Really, you have to believe me. I never meant to-to hurt you."

Those words ignited a fire in her that she hadn't felt in a while, a fire fueled by anger.

"So you're sorry about the result of what you did, not about what you did, which means you'd do it again if given the chance. Geez! Thanks, Carmen. I really appreciate it. Now can you please let me fucking go?!?!?"

He hadn't thought about it that way but turns out she was right. He was definitely not sorry about what he did and would definitely do it all over again, with only 3 differences: First, he would not stand Sydney up in Kasama to help Claire move shit, second he wouldn't have given Claire the wrong number, because after re-playing that sequence in his head over and over for months, he had come to the conclusion that not giving her his number at all would have been the best way to go and would have prevented the shitstorm from breaking altogether. And lastly, he would have let her go, that same night they first ran into each other, he wouldn't have attempted to engage in any sort of small talk, he would have let her go. That's what he would have and should have done.

She must have seen the realization that was hitting him, like a ton of bricks, all over his face because she started crying, broke free from his grip, and got the hell out of that store. Again, she was hoping he would chase her and not let her go. Every tear was a calculated effort to that end.

Carmy didn't say a word to refute her and just stood there. Petrified. Now he not only knew exactly what he was sorry for and what he was actually at peace with, he also knew why he felt that way about all those things and why he didn't feel in any other way.

He walked home melting the fuck down with every step he took and reflecting on how he should have thought about all of that sooner. And also on how much of a monumental fucking idiot he was.

At that point, he finally checked his phone only to find the group chat exploding with compliments and emojis directed at Tina.

He saw the picture of the cocktail she created and literally started salivating. He needed nothing more than that icy watermelon drink, with extra tequila.

"How can I get some of that, T?"

Richie was the first one to reply "Who the fuck are you and what the fuck have you done with Carmy?"

Carmy: "WTF"

Richie: "We all know he doesn't text back and he sure as hell never checks the group chat. Who the fuck are you?!"

Carmy: "Ha ha. Very funny, never quit your day job, Richie."

That's when T cut in and said that she had let Syd take the leftover tequila mix home because she didn't want to entice her son with it.

Syd: "Yep, I took one for the team because Tina's boy is a minor and is not allowed to drink."

Richie: "How thoughtful of you."

Syd: "IKR?"

Carmy showed up at Syd's place and she could not believe it was him when she buzzed him in.

But there he was standing right in front of her, Carmen Berzatto, the one and only, asking:

"Do you still have some of that watermelon stuff?"

"Sure do... C'mon in."

And so he did as he awkwardly smiled at her and she disappeared into the kitchen to start fixing the drinks.

Carmy followed her and offered to help her but she refused.

"Make yourself comfortable, I got this."

"K. Sure..."

Taking the hint, he left the kitchen and made his way back to the living room, finding a spot on her couch and fixating his eyes on the chair right in front of it that substituted the coffee table, which simply wasn't part of the landscape.

"Sorry, I have no tables yet. Getting there."

"Oh, no problem at all. Actually, I have a spare table that I think-"

"Thanks, but nope. I already ordered mine. Should be here by next week."

"Oh, ok."

"Here, let me show you. You're gonna love it, it's Italian but looks like Nordic."

Syd put the drinks on the chair and took her phone to show him the picture of the coffee table she ordered that was basically a geometric design with a top disc that rested on a base composed of 2 symmetrically superimposed truncated cones and that could be elevated by turning the top, which was hinged on the central-screw trunk of the base, allowing the top disc to be isometrically lowered and elevated at will, to make it more comfortable for other uses.

Syd's eyes sparkled as she described her new coffee table to Carmy and the excitement in her voice was like music to his ears. He needed that.

The short conversation he had had with Claire at the store, had left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, but also a much clearer picture in his mind of what he needed to do with his life and what he had been screwing up with lately. Well, for a while now, he admitted.

Carmy was more sure than ever before about his motivation. He had always known that everything he did, he did it for Syd and for Michael. But he had never thought about why Syd meant so much to him. Well, never was too strong of a word. It did cross his mind but only briefly, during and after a couple of panic attacks. He had to sweep all that under the rug to keep going and he did and after doing that he never let himself go there again. He couldn't function at the level he needed to if he did, so that was not an option for him. Not to mention how positive he was about Syd surely not being on the same page, so what was the point anyway? However, Claire hit a nerve when she said that he was not sorry about what he did and that he would do it again. Because he would. He would go to hell and back for Syd a thousand times if he had to. And he had been thinking about that all the way to her place.

He had to see her, so he basically invited himself over when Tina said that the watermelon sugar potion was in Syd's possession.

They talked and talked and one thing led to the other and they started cooking.

And he was absolutely aware by the time she bent over to put those short ribs in the oven, that what they had been talking about when they came up with that recipe, felt a lot like foreplay to him. Maybe it was the watermelon drink talking in his head, and telling him to grab her by the waist, make her turn around, and kiss her with all he had and more but he couldn't stop thinking about that.

When she took the ribs out of the oven and closed her eyes saying "Mmmmm, smells sooo fucking good!" Carmy couldn't help but wish she breathed him in like that.

He wanted to taste her more than he wanted to taste those short ribs. Again, maybe it was the watermelon sugar high, but he kept thinking about how he'd kill to know how she tasted.

And later that night he sure did. He feasted on her.

And after that, Carmy just didn't know how could he have ever gone without that.

A/N: Obs this fic is inspired by the song, which I love and it just made me think about how funny it'd be to make a Sydcarmy love potion out of watermelon sugar. LOL! I also wanted to write a little bit about Tina, whom I think is a very underutilized character on the show. I have the feeling that when Storer starts writing her character in more scenes, those scenes will definitely be Sydcarmy scenes. Tina is one of the captains of the Sydcarmy troupe, we just haven't been shown that yet, but it's gonna happen, chefs. Let's just be patient. In the meantime, having her kickstart this Sydcarmy fic, just felt right to me. The dividers are by @animatedglittergraphics-n-more and the picture of the watermelon drinks is from Big Flavors from a tiny kitchen. Enjoy! (and cheers!)

Thanks for reading 💋

#the bear #sydcarmy #carmy berzatto #watermelon sugar high #sydney adamu #carmy x sydney #the bear fx #s4 ginger wishlist #carmen berzatto #the bear hulu #syd x carmen #gingersydcarmyFF #harry styles #for some reason adding styles to the sydcarmy universe seemed just right

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