Chapter Text
Talk to me in your love language
Show me, yeah, how to connect to you
Help me understand
How you speak your love language
SZA - Love Language
January 7th 2024.
"Alright lizards, just did a last check on the front of the house, everything is good. You guys are ready to leave?" Richie asks, entering the kitchen.
It is the end of another exhausting day—or rather, week—at the Bear. Nine months have passed since the restaurant's opening, and The Bear is now running like a well-oiled machine. As soon as they got a bit of good press, people rushed to get a reservation. And, according to Natalie, if business stays steady for the next 6 months, they could easily repay Cicero.
Don't get it wrong, there is still plenty of chaos in that kitchen. They often have to deal with occasional delivery issues, and inflation is kind of kicking their asses with certain product prices. However, customers are still showing up at the restaurant, leaving glowing reviews, and for Sydney, that's what truly matters.
After years of bouncing between restaurants and a failed catering business, Sydney is finally happy to have found something stable (at least for now) with a good team, and an even better business partner.
"Almost, I just have this station left to clean and I'm all done," Sydney answers without lifting her eyes from the spot she was scrubbing.
"Cousin, what are you still doing here?" she hears him ask Carmy. "Don't you have Al-Anon on Sunday nights?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I was just leaving." Carmy replied, before moving through the kitchen to stop next to Sydney. "Hey, Syd."
"Hm?" She lifts her eyes to look at him, caught off guard by how close he is standing. He seems all set to leave, having changed out of his chef's whites and slinging his backpack over his right shoulder.
Carmy casually puts one hand on her arm and asks, "Are you sure you don't need me to drop you off? I can wait for you if you're almost done."
"I swear, I'm good. Plus, I don't want to make you late," she answers with a warm smile.
"You sure?"
His hand hasn't moved from her arm. She can feel his thumb lightly stroking her bicep, and she is pretty sure Carmy isn't even aware he's doing it.
"Yeah, don't worry," she insists. "Richie will help me close the restaurant. Right, Richie?" she shoots a quick glance at Richie waiting for a confirmation. Instead, he just stares at them with a weird look, his eyes bouncing back and forth between her and Carmy.
After observing them for a few seconds, he finally answers, "Yeah, cousin. You can go, we're good."
"Alright," Carmy nods before turning back to Sydney, "Still on for tomorrow? I can pick you up around 11 if that's okay ?"
"11," she repeats with a nod. "Noted, Chef."
"Great," he gives her arm a final squeeze before removing his hand. "Okay, have a great night you two," he says walking toward the back door.
"Bye, cousin!" Richie yells.
At the sound of the back door closing, Richie turns toward Sydney, a smirk forming on his lips.
"What was that?" Sydney asks suspiciously.
"What do you mean 'What was that'?"
"You know exactly what I mean. What was that weird look?"
"What weird look, that just my face," he replies, feigning innocence.
"Dude!" she throws the sponge she was holding at him. "Don't play with me, I've had a long day."
"Okay, okay," he says, tossing her the sponge back at her. "I'm just thinking of something. Have you - and Sydney, I'm gonna need you to be real with me here - have you ever heard of the love languages?"
"Seriously, Richie? I don't have time for this."
He holds his hands up, "Hold on, let me finish! Okay, so, when I staged at Ever, one of the staff members, Garrett, told me that what he liked about his job was being able to serve other people and make their days better."
Richie walks around the kitchen as he continues, "So, the other day, I decided to go buy some books about hospitality to try to learn how to be better and to find a way to make our guests' experience here even more special, and, you know, blow their minds. Anyway, so one of the books had a chapter about love languages, explaining how, even though love languages are technically seen in relationships, they can also relate to hospitality."
"Okay, and why are you telling me all this?" she asks, as she begins to put away her cleaning products.
"Because I thought you'd be interested in that chapter," he replies with certainty.
Sydney raises her eyebrow "Uh… why?"
"Because, my dear Sydney, it looks like a certain someone in this kitchen is trying to tell you something but you haven't noticed it yet."
Sydney scoffs, "If you're talking about Marcus, we are just friends, there's nothing going on there."
Things were a bit weird between her and Marcus after Friends & Family night. His mother passed away on the same night and he was absent for a few days afterward. Sydney had to wait a few weeks before finally mustering the courage to go talk to him. Surprisingly, that conversation went better than expected. Marcus apologized for misreading the situation, and Sydney apologized for reacting weirdly when he asked her out. They both agreed they were better off as friends. And they've been good since then.
But Sydney isn't dumb. She knows Richie was not talking about Marcus. It's not the first time he has alluded there was something going on between her and Carmy. Which she has always denied.
"Come on, you know I wasn't talking about Marcus." He says, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Richie" she sighs, rubbing her temples. "I really don't have the energy for that right now."
"You know what?" he says, moving toward his locker to retrieve a book and placing it in front of Sydney. "I'm just gonna lend you my book so you can read the chapter I was telling you about. And then, you'll see for yourself."
"Seriously, dude? You just happened to have it in your locker?"
"I know, right? What a happy coincidence! And, oh, look at that! There's already a bookmark in the chapter I mentioned," he says, pretending to be surprised.
"Yeah, what a crazy coincidence," she sarcastically replies before pushing the book back toward him. "Anyway, you can keep it because there's nothing to see!"
"Listen Syd, part of my job here is to listen to people, notice things and read their minds. And, as you know, I'm actually really good at it. So I'm telling you, that boy is definitely in love with you."
Sydney hates to agree with Richie, but he was right. Not about the Carmy thing, of course, that would be silly, but about him being really good at his job. Customers adore him for that very reason. He has a knack for noticing even the tiniest details about them to make their time at The Bear unforgettable. He's genuinely great with people.
Sydney scoffs, moving to her locker. "I didn't know that being a Maître d'Hôtel suddenly made you an expert in love."
"I may not be an expert in love, but I know Carm. And let me tell you, this man clearly has feelings for you. I've been having doubts for a while now, but the more I see how he acts with you, the more obvious it is to me," Richie declares with certainty.
"That is ridiculous" she assures him, removing her chef's coat to put it in her locker. "He's just being a good friend. Stop reading into it too much."
Richie's eyes glanced at the coat for a few seconds before he adds, "Hm, well, I've been friends with him for years and he doesn't gently caress my shoulder or bring me on a date every other week."
"Th- those aren't dates!" she stutters, feeling her face growing hot. "We're just looking for inspiration for the menu."
"Oh, so that what the kids are calling it these days?"
"Fuck off. It's not my fault you don't have friends," she retorts, putting on her green puffer jacket before closing her locker.
"Sure, sure. I still think you should read that chapter though," he says, holding the book toward her.
Sydney sighs. "If I agree to read it, will you leave me alone?"
"Sure. But you'll see that I'm right."
She rolls her eyes and grabs the book from his hand before putting it in her tote bag. "I highly doubt that. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, chef!" Richie replies picking up his bag and moving toward the back door.
While Sydney locks the door behind them, Richie pulls out a cigarette from its pack and lights it.
"You know, I'll just add one last thing."
Sydney glares at him. At this point she just wants this conversation to be over.
"When I said I noticed things, I was not only talking about Carm. That boy might be dumb and clueless but I can see how you look at him," he adds, pointing at her.
"I don't-"
"Anyway," Richie interrupts, not giving her a chance to respond. He retrieves his car keys from his pocket and heads toward his car. "Have a good night, Chef. And think about what I said." With that, he hops in his car and drives off, leaving Sydney alone on the parking lot.
Sydney gently shuts her front door before leaning against, releasing a big sigh. She kicks off her shoes before moving to the living room to lay down on her couch, staring at her celling.
She spent the entire journey back to her apartment trying not to think about her conversation with Richie (which she obviously failed).
Sydney isn't fooling herself anymore. A few weeks back, she finally admitted to herself that her feelings for Carmy were more than friendly. Of course, she knew she had a little crush on him when she started working at the Beef, but it quickly died down. But now, her feelings for him have resurfaced, evolving into something more than just a simple crush.
Yet, she decided not to do anything about it.
Firstly, because he is her business partner, and that would obviously be a really bad idea. Everyone knows mixing business with pleasure often leads to disaster. The restaurant is doing really well, and they finally have found a good rhythm, so why would she jeopardize that because she has feelings for him?
And secondly, Sydney is certain that Carmy doesn't feel the same way. She's well aware she's not his type. She is, after all, the complete opposite of Claire - in career, in personality, and even physically.
Well… almost certain.
Now, she can't stop thinking about what Richie has said earlier. Her mind is now revisiting her last interactions with Carmy, trying to think if there were any subtle shifts in his behavior that might have led Richie to think Carmy's feelings were more than friendly.
The glint of the small golden bracelet on her right wrist caught her eye. Her fingers softly trace its contours. What if Richie was right, though? Would it be the worst thing? (Well, yes, Richie being right about something is not a good sign).
Maybe she should just read that stupid book to prove Richie wrong…
She groans out loud before getting up to retrieve the book from her tote bag. She opens it where Richie had left the bookmark before sitting back down on her couch.