Work Text:
It took some months but The Bear was thriving. Turning a profit. Richie and Carmy had made up. Nat had given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Michelle. And Carmy finally felt like Syd didn’t hate him anymore for the whole Claire-Fridge-Friends and Family weeks of their relationship.
Carmy’s phone buzzed with a text: Lawson (French Laundry).
Hey, Carm. Couldn’t get a rez at The Bear. Gin and I are coming into town and would love to see the place.
Carm fired off a quick text to Richie to let him know to give one of their friends and family slots to his French Laundry pals.
You don’t need a reservation. Just let me know when you want to come in.
Carm went back to his drawings, only pausing to send Richie a confirmation text that Lawson and Gin would be swinging by that night.
—-
Lawson had texted Carmy asking if they could come see the kitchen prior to service. He agreed. But during prep early in the day.
“Hey, Syd?” Carmy called out, drawing her attention from the carrots she was chopping.
“Yes, Carm?” A smile in her voice.
“I wanted to let you know some old friends from the Laundry are stopping by.”
“Cool. Good friends that we want to be nice to? Or friends who made you throw up in the alley? I can put extra chili oil in their dinner.”
“Good friends.”
—
Mike Lawson and Ginny Baker walked through the front of The Bear escorted by Richie about 30 minutes later.
Carmy was not notified by either of them or Richie. Instead he was broken out of his staring at a Sydney by her pushing his bicep.
“You ass. You didn’t say it was Mike Lawson and Ginny Baker.”
Mike and Ginny had worked at the French Laundry with Carmy for awhile. They recently returned to San Diego, Ginny’s hometown, and opened up a spot.
“Hey, Ass.” Carmy was greeted by the unison of Mike and Ginny’s voices.
“Syd…this is” Carmy began before he was cut off.
“The Lawson-Bakers of The Bases fame. I loved your profile on bringing cultural twists to Americana classics in Food & Wine.” Syd extended her hand to Ginny first.
Ginny used her grasp on Ginny’s hand and pulled her into a hug, “And you’re the famous Sydney, the Bear tamer.”
Sydney drew away confused but smiling. Mike for his part shook her hand before removing his hand from her palm and placing it on the small of Ginny’s back.
“Tour?” Syd and Carmy said at the same time.
“Please.” Mike and Ginny said as the same time.
Richie looked between Mike and Ginny. Then Carmy and Syd. And then at the group as a whole.
“Fucking weird.” He muttered.
Richie excused himself to the front of the house.
“Famous?” Sydney leaned over and whispered into Carmy’s ear. Her warm breath tickling his ear and making his body feel like it was on fire.
He turned to her and smiled, placing his hand on hers where it was resting on the prep table .
“Famous.”
—-
After the tour of the restaurant all four decided to grab a quick lunch. Syd and Carm threw together some classic Italian beef’s and they all found themselves in a booth laughing and sharing kitchen horror stories.
“Fuck you I can’t believe you’re telling them about my obsession with grape soda, I’m supposed to have a refined palate.” Ginny playfully shoved Mike’s shoulder, the light catching her simple but beautiful wedding ring as she did.
And as if in slow motion, Carmy saw it and knew he was going to have to have a talk about it now.
Mike raised his fist to his chest and rubbed small circles with it. Ginny smiled and signed back.
He could feel Syd stiffen beside him and like the coward he was couldn’t bring himself to look at her.
“What is that?” Sydney asked placing her fist over her own chest. She knew the answer, but she asked anyway.
“Oh Mike had this friend who was deaf so he knew how to sign. It means “I’m sorry” slash “we can talk later.” We started doing it in the kitchen to avoid fighting.”
Syd was about to ask about follow up but Mike beat her to it.
“It started off as I’m sorry. And then eventually it started meaning I’m sorry and I love you. Sometimes it just means I love you.”
“Ohh.” Syd whispered.
“Yeah. One day we realized we weren’t just saying sorry, and that’s when we decided to give it a go…us.”
Carmy felt like he couldn’t be more red if he tried. He never counted on Syd finding out that their sign was from a now married couple.
—-
Not long after Mike and Ginny left excusing themselves, and saying they were looking forward to dinner.
Carmy searched for Syd in the kitchen, and he found her. Or she found him.
“Married, Carm?!?! Married?!?!?” Her voice was slightly raised as she pushed herself off the counter she had been sitting on.
“Yeah…look.” Carmy tried to begin.
“I’ve been just making signals at you that you learned from a married couple?! Not just a married couple?!?! The First Couple of West Coast dining?!?!?” If she wasn’t angry Carmy would find her being all worked up cute.
“Syd.” Carmy said gently trying to break through her racing thoughts. Saying her name? Calmed his.
Her breath hitched. And she locked eyes with him.
“Look, I know it’s weird but chefs who run a kitchen together are kind of married in away. And I hate upsetting you,” he shakily took a breath, “I needed to find away to say sorry easily because—“
“Because you piss me off a lot?” She chuckled.
“Yes. And when you’re upset with me…it warps my focus.”
She stepped closer.
“Do you know when we tore the wall out?” Carmy held her gaze.
A soft smile graced her lips, “you mean when you tore down a wall without calling me?”
“Yeah.” He still looked ashamed all these months later.
“What about it?” She looked confused.
“You didn’t sign back. I spent the whole night tossing and turning over it. I thought you’d never forgive me.” Carmy wasn’t even able to hold her gaze. He was embarrassed.
A beat. Then Sydney balled her fist up and brought it to her chest.
“Look if you don’t want to do it anymore because of where it came from I understand.” Carmy said as he signed back.
Sydney reached out to stop his fist circling his chest. Her hand clasping around his wrist, lighting his body on fire.
“Why? Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked her hand still around his wrist. They were standing so close.
“Oh sure I’ll just tell the woman I had feelings for that I’m making a sign at her that means I’m sorry and love you, after inviting her to my place to cook.”
“You had feelings for me?” She looked genuinely taken aback.
“Syd…I forgot what UPS was when I met you. I wanted to open my shared dream with my brother with you….hell when you get mad at me my stutter comes back.”
“I—-“ Syd tried to begin.
“Can can I just finish?” Carmy sputtered.
Syd nodded her head and it was in this moment he had realized she had brought his hand away from his chest and she was holding it. Using her thumb to rub delicate and calling circles onto his hand.
“It not that I had feelings for you. It’s that I have them for you. And I know you don’t so this is how I can say how much you mean to me without you know…saying it.”
She dropped his hand.
“You’re an idiot, Carmen Berazatto.”
Before he could respond, Sydney leaned in and gently brushed her lips against his. It was brief, a flash in the pan.
She pulled away, but before she could go to far, Carmy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back.
This kiss wasn’t tentative. It was fire. All tongues and teeth. Carmy’s arms tightened around her as he moved away from her lips and began kissing down her throat.
Sydney let out a low moan and all of a sudden Carmen had a new favorite sound.
He moved his way back up her neck, kissing her jaw. Then each cheek. Finally returning to her lips.
Eventually they pulled away for air. And when they looked into each other’s eyes they started laughing.
“I think that’s was a health code violation.” Carmy laughed as he rested his forehead against hers.
“Well we should be more careful, that health inspector is just waiting for us to caulk it all up again.”
Carmy laughed. Fully. Without reservation.
“God, you’re just…I feel like I made you up sometimes, ya know my head works a little different. Sometimes I worry I am gonna wake up I’m still at The Beef and I just dreamed you coming in.”
She leaned in a placed soft peck on his lips, “I’m here.”
“Yeah and so are the kids so mom and dad should stop making out like horny teenagers.” Richie was standing in the doorway with a smirk.
—-
Mike and Ginny showed up that night for dinner and loved every minute of it.
And when they came back to the kitchen after service, they saw Carmy and Syd cleaning up and bickering.
“I’m just saying that we should continue to add more vegetarian dishes to the rotation. I’m fine listening to Richie complain.”
“Okay but he isn’t going to complain to you he’s going to complain to me.” Carmy argued back knowing that Richie and Syd were begrudgingly “besties” as Sugar described them and he wouldn’t annoy her.
And before Mike and Ginny could alert the pair to their presence, they saw the place their fists over their chests, rubbing gentle circles with soft smiles gracing their faces.
They looked at each other and silently fist bumped.
“Now we’re coming back to compliment the chefs…” Ginny began.
“…but now we see Carmen Berazatto smiling? Maybe we’re in the wrong restaurant.” Mike laughed as he walked over his hand grasped around his wife’s.
“Ohh stop it Lawson, don’t tease the boy, we might scare away this rare sight.” She said as she dropped his hand and moved to hug Sydney.
Richie came into the kitchen. Clearly exhausted but happy. He looked between the four chefs and laughed.
“Bizzaro Carm and Syd, thanks for coming by. You really inspired these two idiots.” Richie extended his hand to both of them.
—-
When Syd and Carmy finally took a vacation. They knew their first stop.
San Diego. They had some friends to repay.