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"Sydney, please."
"Natalie, no."
"It'll only be like, two minutes tops."
"No, Pete, you don't understand. Even going near him compromises everything I stand for."
Natalie's face scrunches as she sits back. "That's a little dramatic."
"He's arrogant, rude, and has a serious staring problem."
"Okay, he is not rude."
"Whatever. He's an all-around asshole who's very easy to dislike."
"That's my brother you're talking about there."
"And I feel sympathy for you every day." Natalie giggles before schooling her features and taking Sydney's hands.
"Sydney, my love, please do me this favor. Us this favor. It's our wedding." Sydney looks her friend in the eyes and discovers that she can't really say no to her. Natalie is one of the nicest people she knows and has been one of her most trusted companions for years now.
"How long is the aisle?"
"It's short. Trust me. You won't have to hang onto his arm for long." Sydney sighs dramatically, kicking her head back to look at the ceiling. "So, is that a yes?" Natalie prods, looking at her hopefully.
"It's not a no." She answers slyly and Natalie jumps up from her chair and drags her into a hug that makes her grin.
"Oh, Sydney, thank you! This is so exciting!"
The euphoria the blonde feels eventually transfers to Sydney herself and she forgets to be annoyed by Carmy for a second. "Holy shit. It's actually happening. You're getting married."
"I'm getting married!" Pete can do nothing but watch as they both start yapping at a mile a minute, Natalie's squeals of joy interlaced between the words.
Mikey comes back into the dining room of the Beef and puts Sydney's iced tea down on the table before joining their huddle so he can tease them. "Oh. My. Gosh. You're gonna be a bride!" He exclaims in this awful attempt at a feminine voice and Natalie rolls her eyes.
"Fuck off, Mikey."
"Fuck you, nerd." Sydney ducks out of the way when Mikey pulls Nat in and messes up her hair.
"Michael! Stop! Where the fuck is Carmen when you need him?" As Natalie wrestles herself out of Mikey's arms, Sydney sits down across from Pete and they share a cringe as they watch the siblings fight.
"What's up, motherfuckers?" Richie claps his hands together as he comes in the room, "oh, are we wrestling?" He posts himself up in a fighting stance and Natalie yells out a "no!" as she escapes her brother and squeezes herself into Pete's side.
"We were talking about whether I'd be a bridesmaid or not." Sydney announces as she sips her tea, and both of the men sit down, Mikey right next to her.
"And what, pray tell, is the verdict?" Richie pries and Sydney cracks a smile.
"Your downton Abbey obsession is showing, Richard."
"Don't hate me for having taste."
"Did you say yes?" Mikey turns toward Sydney. She hasn't told him this but she sort of adopted him as her older brother. Sure, he annoys her and when they met she thought they'd never be friends but he's often a very comforting presence and she genuinely enjoys spending time with him. Richie, however, is more like a pesky dog that you can't really get rid of. And Carmy? A vague acquaintance.
"Yes sir."
He drums his hands on the table, instantly hyped up by this information. "Hell yeah. Nat, do I get the honor of walking Queen Syd down the aisle?" She shoves his shoulder at the nickname that he gave her after he saw her eat with a knife and fork 'cause apparently he eats chicken like a fucking animal at all times.
"No, actually."
"Carmen gets that honor." Pete finishes and Richie and Mikey both start to whistle.
"Exactly." Sydney agrees with their reaction and Richie claps his hands.
"This'll be fun to watch."
Mikey picks up her drink and sips from it and she hits him again, snatching it from him, "get your own damn tea."
He only laughs and turns back to Natalie, "that's why you called him here to this little meeting?"
Sydney nearly chokes at what Mikey says, "what do you mean you called him here?"
"I mean that I called him here."
"Yeah, I fucking got that. Why?"
"Because unfortunately, I have to convince him to do this too and I wanted to do it all at once."
Sydney covers her face with her hands, "but I'm not prepared!"
"You know, all this wouldn't be so hard if you both just got over your little crushes on each other." Mikey remarks, stealing her drink again but this time she's too shocked at his accusation to stop him.
"I do not have a crush!" The whole table starts mumbling and her jaw drops. But then it gets worse because the rest of the kitchen comes out and starts setting the table for family, now in on the conversation.
Marcus gives her a sideways look, "you kinda do, Syd."
"You all can suck my fucking dick!"
"Woah!" Chuckles and hollers erupt at her response along with a quick jab from Mikey, "Sydney coming out swinging!"
"I think the lady doth protest too much." Richie jabs and they all ooo like school children.
"I will smack every single one of you."
Tina pitches in with a plate of plantains in her hand, "truth hard to swallow, mama?"
Before she can respond, the front door opens up which catches their attention and Carmy's dog, Freddie the German shepherd, comes trotting in. He goes around the room, looking for love and attention that no one hesitates to give him. Even Syd. She may not like his owner but she'll never be mean to a cute animal.
"Yo!" He comes around the corner with Luca trailing behind him, his childhood friend and Marcus' boyfriend - even though they don't know that yet. Idiots, Sydney thinks as she watches them flirt from across the room.
"What's up, bear?" Carmy puts his hand on Mikey's neck and shakes him affectionately, his brother pats his back in return.
"What're you so fucking sweaty for?" Richie sticks his nose up in disgust and Carmy pushes at his head.
"Was at the cages."
"Without me?" Sweeps speaks up from his chair. "That's messed up, Carm."
"I was training so I could be better than you next time."
Sweeps lets out a confident laugh, "we both know that's not possible."
"A guy can dream." Carmen grins and shrugs.
While this conversation is happening, Sydney is trying her best to regain her focus because well, he is very sweaty. And it's making her think confusing things that contradict her usual musings about him. The thing is, she really doesn't have the best reason to hate him. He's just one of the Berzattos that she never connected with. Which made it awkward and sometimes weird, curt, and frankly rude. On both ends. So both just tried to avoid each other all together.
But his shirt doesn't have sleeves and what the fuck is he doing with muscles as a fucking artist? And don't get her started on the cigarette dangling from his lips.
Mikey catches her looking and smirks at her. She snaps her eyes away and ignores him nudging her side. "Carmy and Sydney sitting in a tree..." He starts to whisper and she snaps at him quickly to shut the fuck up.
Carmy sits down on the other side of the table, right next to his sister who looks at him like she's offended, "you're being an asshole." She smacks his chest and he scoffs.
"I just got here."
"You're really not gonna say hello to Syd?"
He blows out smoke and trails his eyes over to her, "Sydney."
"Carmen."
"I honestly didn't even notice that you were here." Carmen leans forward on the table and she leans toward him too in a challenge that is really unnecessary but she wouldn't be herself if she wasn't stubborn.
"I'm surprised you can see anything through that big ass ego."
He chuckles and leans back into his chair again, "heh, that's cute."
"Okay, can we leave the bickering for later please?"
"You told me to say hello."
"Yes and clearly, that was a mistake. Now, to get to the matter at hand," Natalie turns more toward her little brother, "as you know, you're one of the groomsmen."
"Uh-huh."
"And, um, Sydney is one of my bridesmaids." Natalie's hands start to wring together and she glances quickly at Syd, who just shrugs.
"...Okay."
"Well, I paired you two. Together."
"What do you mean, Sug?" He looks genuinely confused and now Nat is getting annoyed so Sydney sucks at her teeth and just says it for her.
"We gotta walk the aisle together." He looks at her and squints his eyes, causing a moment of tense silence that makes her lean into Mikey's shoulder a bit. Why are they so blue and like, piercing? Ugh.
"Cool." He licks his lips and moves his gaze down to the dog who placed his head in his lap, passing his cigarette over to Mikey in favor of petting him.
"That's fucking it?" His brother asks and Carmen nods his head.
"Really?" Pete's expression is shocked when he asks because none of them thought it would be that easy.
"Yup." Carmen pops the p and scratches behind Freddie's ear.
"No comments under your breath?"
"It's not my wedding, is it Nat?"
"Dammit!" Richie swears, slapping his hand against his knee and pouting, "I thought there was gonna be fucking drama."
"Sorry I'm not a damn child like you Richie."
"No, you're a fucking baby. You're the fuckin' baby."
"I can make Freddie bite you, y'know."
"Freddie loves me! He's the only fucking reason I don't kick you out on your ass."
"Alright cousin." Mikey says, "take a smoke, calm the fuck down."
"You're gonna kick me out my family's restaurant?" Carmen raises his brow but Tina steps in before Richie can retort.
"Leave my nephew alone, pandejo." She points at him and Carmen flips him off with a smile of triumph but Tina smacks at his hand. "And you be nice. Come help me set the table."
Next thing Sydney knows, she's sat at the table for family and eating so much rice and pulled pork with these sweet little bell peppers that she forgets her entire dilemma with the man sat across from her.
"Momma, for real. He's a little bitch."
"Syd, for real. You're being dramatic." Her mother smirks at her as she makes coffee. "I met the boy. He comes around with Mikey and Richie to help with the yardwork. He's sweet."
"I know I usually agree with you when it comes to boys but your mom is right. I don't understand why you two never got along. Maybe this will help you both do that."
"I don't want to get along with him, dad."
"Baby, you're close with his siblings and probably will be for the rest of your life. You want to just tolerate him for that long or actually make nice?"
"I'd much rather be mean to him for the rest of our lives. I think that'd bring me a lot of joy." Her dad shakes his head, amused at her stubbornness as he sips his coffee.
"If it makes you happy."
"Don't encourage this Emmanuel."
"If she's anything like us, we can't change her mind Lucille."
"That's very true." Sydney snags a piece of toast before kissing her parents goodbye. "Gotta go to work. I'll see you guys on thursday."
On the train, Sydney scrolls through her phone aimlessly, waiting until Ariana, her best friend (and the person who helped her get the line cook job she currently has at her mom's restaurant) joins her in a few stops. Her mind drifts to her bridesmaid duties and she sighs. She can be an adult about this. It's just a two minute thing anyway. It won't be that bad.
"Girl!" Sydney whips her head to the side and Amy crashes into the seat next to her. "You'll never guess what happened last night."
"Spill."
"Remember that guy I told you about?"
"Yeah, Sam, right?"
"Mhmm. Guess what he did last night?" She starts to hop up and down in the seat and Sydney chuckles as she holds her still.
"Just tell me."
"He came in the diner like he usually does you know, and I'm about to seat him but then he's like, oh, I'm not eating today. So now I'm thinking okay, what the fuck are you here for then? He asks me to come outside to talk for a minute and I do but I'm a little suspicious but then he pulls out this huge like, ridiculously big bouquet of dahlias which I told him was my favorite and then he asked me to dinner." She finally takes a breath after she finishes the story.
"No fucking way!" Sydney squeals too loudly and cowers when people turn to stare but she slaps at her friends hand anyway, fully exhilarated over the news.
Ariana leans back in her chair, grinning behind her hands, "I can't fucking believe it. I'm nervous, though."
"Oh please. You have nothing to worry about. If he doesn't like you that's his loss."
"I'm not really worried about him liking me. It's more about the fact that I'm doing this whole first date thing over again. After having so many fucked ones, I don't know how much faith I have in this one being good."
"Ari. Listen to me." Sydney takes her hand and leans her head back to connect their gazes. "If it's supposed to work, it will. Trust me."
"Yeah, yeah, you're right." She sighs, squeezing her hand. "Alright. Enough about me. What's up with you, babe?"
"Well, while you're getting dicked down, I will also be dealing with a dick."
"Huh? Like a real one?"
"What? No! I mean figuratively."
"Ohh, got you. So who am I running over?"
"No. You will not be running anyone over. I'm sort of a dick in the situation too..I guess."
"Girl, elaborate." She snaps her fingers to emphasize her point. It's a long and winding story and she finishes it right before they start their shift because the conversation kept veering off course to random topics as their conversations usually do. "That's definitely...interesting." Her friend comments, brows furrowed together.
"Yeah, like not exactly a bad situation-"
"But not really a good one-"
"But not really bad at all-"
"Just annoying?"
"Mhmm. Exactly. But I love Nat so I'll stick it out."
Once they finish preparing, they both go to their respective stations, Ariana to the host stand and Sydney to the kitchen but before she can start her duties, her friend comes rushing right back. "Some guy is here for you."
"What guy?"
"He didn't tell me his name. A little short. Cute. Got a dog. Very blue eyes."
"Oh shit!" Sydney drops her gloves and scrambles to hide behind the counter so he won't see her through the window where they pass the food. Ariana quickly follows her lead, hiding behind her.
"Who are we avoiding?"
"That's him! It's Carmen!" She whisper-yells.
"That's Carmen?" Ariana stands up straight, getting a better view, "damn girl, y'all need to stop fighting and start fu-"
"Ari!"
"What?"
"Just get rid of him, please? Tell him I'm not here."
"Ugh, he's fine, Syd. And I don't even like white boys."
"Please?"
"Yeah, alright, you know I got your back."
"Thank you."
Sydney waits a few minutes before moving out of her hiding spot and breathes a sigh of relief when she finds him gone. That was a close one.
She picks up the cardboard boxes she was breaking down and takes them outside. The cool wind of autumn immediately greets her face and she calms at the familiarity of it. But her demeanor quickly shifts when she hears a voice at the end of the alley.
"Thought you weren't here!"
"Fuck!" She startles and jumps back, the boxes falling to the ground in her frenzy as she finds herself looking at Carmy on the sidewalk right next to the street. "What the fuck, dude? Were you just standing out here and waiting for me like a fucking creep?"
"No. I was grabbing a smoke and you just so happened to come out here. Where I am."
"That's a damn lie and not a good one."
"Well...you lied first."
"No, I didn't."
"Oh, so you really are sick at home right now and I didn't see you through that window? I'm making up this whole interaction in my head?" He makes his way toward her and bends down to help her pick up the broken down boxes.
"Well, no, obviously, dumbass, but technically, I didn't lie."
He gives her a skeptical look, "ok so, technically, what happened?"
"Ariana is the one who lied. That's what happened." His dog sits right next to her and starts licking her face, effectively ending her interest in this conversation. "Oh, hi Freddie."
"Uh-huh, right." He puts the boxes in the recycling bin for her and she should thank him but she doesn't. Pretends she's too preoccupied by the canine in front of her. "Look, I really didn't come here to bother you-"
"And yet, you are."
"Just...wait for a second, okay?" He scrubs his hand down his face and takes another drag. "Whatever the fuck this thing is between us? We need to figure it out. Even just temporarily. I'm not ruining this for Nat."
"I agree." She answers promptly because she does. Nat will not have any trouble from her if she can help it. The girl has been through too much already, she deserves to enjoy her wedding day.
"Okay, well...good."
She pets Freddie's dark brown coat and wonders how a dog so nice can have an owner like Carmy. "Fred, my love, he doesn't deserve you." She scratches behind his ears which she is now discovering is his favorite spot. "No, he doesn't."
"Don't shit talk me to my dog."
"He needs to know his worth."
"Alright, fuck this. Can you come over to mine tonight? Nat wants to ask you something, or us something and she'll be over there."
"Sure, I guess." She shrugs and Carmy nods in answer, snapping his fingers for Freddie to follow him as he walks away. "Wait! I don't know where you live!"
"Ask Mikey or Nat! You'll figure it out!"
"Why can't you just tell-" she cuts herself off because he's already gone around the corner. She scoffs as she brushes the dirt off her pants when she stands, "asshole."
Sydney is sweaty and reeks of onion and garlic but she's here at his apartment anyway. She whips the scarf off her head so she can massage her scalp between her braids. She loves her job but sometimes at the end of the day when every part of her body is aching, she still thinks about quitting.
Luca is the one who opens the door, a bright smile on his face and she's momentarily confused before she remembers that he's Carmy's roommate. "What's up, Luca?"
"Just got off?"
"Yes sir."
"Yeah, me too." She chances a look at his chef whites, covered in some sort of orange sauce and she cringes.
"At least you don't smell like onions."
"I'm not entirely sure this is better?"
"Probably not."
"Come on in, Syd. Nat's in the living room."
Sydney kicks her shoes off at the door when Luca tells her to make herself at home. She takes stock of the place around her. The walls are kind of plain, only a few pictures of family hung up almost carelessly. Decent kitchen. The apartment actually isn't as messy as she assumed it would be. It's not pristine but still for two guys in their twenties, it's impressive. And she actually feels like she can sit on their couch without being covered in a unidentified substance.
When her legs meet the cushions, it becomes very obvious that her body is two minutes away from giving up on her. "Nat, this has to be quick. My brain is already shutting down."
"I can see that. You're looking a little pale too. Let me get you some water." The glass she gives her is cold and the drink is refreshing and she really needs to work on better water intake when she's working because water should not taste this life changing.
"Don't worry. This'll only take a minute. Just gotta wait for Luca to get out of the shower." Natalie puts her hair up in a bun and continues scrolling her phone. "Syd? How do we feel about a lake wedding?"
"Uh...moderate."
Natalie starts ranting about the pros and cons of an outside wedding but Sydney's attention is caught by movement coming from the hallway. She leans her head over to the right and watches as Carmy comes down the corridor. There's paint smeared on his cheek, a deep lonesome burgundy and there's a lively green covering his arms. He pops the tab on a coke and rummages through the fridge. She should stop watching. This is getting creepy.
"Bear, can you make dinner? I'm fucking starving."
"Yes, mom."
"Eat shit."
"I'll do you one better. I'll make that for dinner."
Sydney manages a chuckle at the siblings bickering in front of her. She had always wanted a sibling, as the lonely child she was but finding friends that actually cared about her when she became an adult made up for that.
She had been so lost in thought that she didn't realize Carmy padding towards her until he was right in front of her. "Give me your hand."
Her eyes shoot up to his, "what?"
"I said give me your hand. Please."
"Ha, yeah no."
"I'm not gonna do anything, c'mon." Despite her suspicion, she does what she's told, lifting her arm up toward him. He takes it in his and his fingers are warm and calloused and wait, what's happening?
"Sorry, what'd you say?"
He taps at a bright red stain on her sleeve as he moves her arm closer to his face to get a better look, "what's the stain?"
"Uh, oh, marinara." She mumbles and he moves her sleeve left and right.
"I like this color." He mutters, almost to himself and he looks over at Nat. "Sug, does this look more like maroon or maybe, falu red?"
"I don't know Carm, you're the painter."
Carmen sighs and drops her hand gently, "you're no help."
"You need to take a break. You've been at this all day."
"You just want me to make your dinner."
"Obviously."
Sydney hates to admit it but the zucchini and mushroom pasta Carmy made is fucking fire.
She hadn't even realized Natalie was trying to get her attention because she was too busy scarfing the food down. "Syd, slow down."
"Fuck you. I haven't eaten since this morning."
"Alright, backing off." Natalie chuckles and pushes her own plate away. If she knows one thing about Sydney, it's to never come between her and a good plate of food. "Okay so I wanted to talk to all three of you about this and I'm just gonna say it now, I really need you to say yes."
"What is it Nat?" Luca puts his fork down and crosses his arms.
"Well, weddings are fucking expensive."
"And?" Carmen encourages her to keep going.
"Catering is a big part of that expense. And you know we're kinda in debt right now, not to mention Pete hasn't graduated yet and it's really just me and him trying to pay for all this so I was wondering if you three could maybe take care of that for us? Please?" She clasps her hands together in a pleading motion as a chorus of sighs ring out.
They're not going to say no.
Carmy rubs at his forehead, "why me? I'm not a chef anymore."
"No but you know what I like and don't like and I really don't want to think about this at all. So, if you all could just handle this for me, I would be really fucking grateful."
"Of course we will." Sydney nods her head and squeezes her friend's hand before craning her neck to look at the guys with a pointed stare. "Right?"
"Yes, of course we'll do it."
"Why the fuck not?"
"Oh, thank fuck. You guys don't understand how much this means to me."
"You owe me." Carmy points his finger at her and she scoffs.
"I don't owe you shit."
The front door swings open and Mikey comes striding in, his backpack falling off his shoulder and onto the ground as he makes his way over to the table. "Ate without me?"
"There's a plate for you on the counter."
"Thanks little brother. Hiya Syd."
"Hey, Mike."
Mikey takes a big bite of the pasta and doesn't even finish chewing before deciding to speak again. "Why does everyone look so fucking exhausted?"
"Close your mouth Mikey!"
"Can you swallow first?"
He waves his hand to shush them and sits down next to Natalie, gesturing for them to answer his question with a flick of his eyes.
"We're on catering duty."
"Oh shit. Wait, why didn't you just use the beef?"
"Look, I love a hot beef just as much as the next Chicago girl but that's not flying at my wedding."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Ms. Holier than thou."
Everything about the dinner after that is blatantly familial. There's a lot of times that Sydney forgets she didn't actually grow up with Mikey and Nat. There's relentless teasing and weird conversations about specific obscurities in life that one can only have with people they deeply know. And even though she and Carmy are not close at all, their connections to his siblings creates a feeling of comfort despite the rift between them, making her think that maybe this won't be so bad.
After all, when this is all over they can go back to avoiding each other. They can act right for a couple months. Easy.
Sydney spins around in The Beef's office chair, yapping to Mikey about how a customer said her meat and potato mash was too salty.
"Salt wasn't even the main seasoning I put in there! They just wanted to fucking bitch about something."
Mikey chuckles, "you know, sometimes you really remind me of Carmy."
"That's an insult to my character." Mikey snorts, putting a hand on the back of the chair to stop her spinning. "Woah." She mutters, her eyes trying to adjust to the lack of movement.
"Why is that a fucking insult?"
She gives him a look of disbelief and rolls her eyes, "I don't know man. Maybe it's 'cause your brother is cold and weird...and sometimes a little bit scary."
"Scary?"
"Terrifying."
"His eyes?"
"He stares. So much."
The corner of his mouth lifts upwards and he shakes his head, rifling through a box in the corner filled with paperwork he's never understood. "Don't think that means what you think it does, Syd."
"Oh yeah?" She starts spinning around again, "enlighten me, Michael."
"He likes you."
It's her turn to snort this time, the sound condescending, "that's funny."
"It's true."
She's the one who stops herself from spinning so she can look him in the eyes. "When we first met, I said hi and he watched me for like, two whole minutes and then stormed away. I thought I did something wrong."
"He didn't watch you, he checked you out and 'cause the little fucking idiot couldn't talk to girls back then, he ran off."
"And he can talk to girls now?"
"Not much. But it's better than before."
"Well...he doesn't know how to talk to me. That's for sure."
Richie sweeps into the room dramatically, his shades hanging low on his nose as he chews on some beef jerky way too loudly, "what's up? Shit talking Carmy without me?"
"Cousin, leave him be, will ya?" Mikey demands but Richie brushes him off with his hand.
"We were discussing how bad his game is." Sydney answers and Richie laughs loudly.
"His lack of it is fucking astonishing."
"Definitely something to be in awe of." She rarely agrees with Richie on things but Carmen Berzatto is a topic they both find fun to rip apart. "Anyway, wish me luck. I gotta go meet him right now."
Mikey chuckles, "Don't need luck, Syd. He's at his best in his hide out."
"I offer you sorrows and prayers." Richie claps his hands together and she brightens at the reference.
"Finally watching queen Charlotte?"
"At your behest."
She snorts, "verdict?"
"Fucking life changing. Exquisite rendition of old English culture."
"I told you!"
Sydney is decidedly not an enjoyer of modern day art. It's not that she thinks it's ugly or overrated, it just doesn't click for her. So when she walks into the brightly lit warehouse that Natalie told her was Carmy's 'office', she doesn't pay much attention to the colorful and messy canvases around her. Instead, her face is stuck inside the heavy binder she had brought, filled to the brim with recipes she only saved for special occasions.
Her mother always told her to watch where she was going when she's walking but unfortunately, Sydney's too preoccupied with a sweet orange reduction to remember that.
A firm squelch echoes slightly in the big space, not only alerting her to the fact that she steeped in something squishy but also announcing her presence to Carmy.
"Oh, shit." He says and she peeks over the edge of the binder to find the whole of her left converse engulfed in a puddle of green paint.
"C'mon, man. Seriously? Did you fucking leave this for me to step into?" She pulls her foot out of the mess and rips her shoe off with a frustrated groan.
"Of course not." He moves to a work table and searches through a bunch of rags with dried paint patches stuck to them. "If you had told me you were here I would have told you what spots to avoid or maybe if you were watching where you were goin-"
"Can you not right now? My shoe is ruined."
"You asked me a question. I answered." He shrugs simply, his expression blank. "Gimme that. And take your other one off."
Because she can't navigate an awkward situation without cracking a weird joke, she says, "trying real hard to see my feet, aren't we Carmen?"
And that actually makes him laugh, which stuns her for a moment. He laughed in front of her before but she's never been the reason for it. It's a nice sound. More of a giggle than a full blown laugh, but it lights up his features like night turned to day. He always looks so haunted or rather, jaded. Tired. That's how she's used to seeing him but even as his laughing fades, the warmness in his expression remains.
He's at his best in his hide out.
Maybe Mikey was right.
She huffs a sigh after she hands him the other shoe which he leaves on the worktable, already scrubbing at her now-emerald sneaker. "You alright with those socks getting ruined?"
Sydney takes a quick glance at the pair of batman socks, there's a hole between her toes and they're stained with dirt. "Yeah, I think I'll be okay." She finally manages to look at her surroundings and her train of thought leaves her immediately. The walls are stained several different colors and there's several different canvases lining the walls but the one in the center, which he was still working on, is what holds her attention.
It's a boat, nestled gently on water that looks a bit too real, gleaming under an unfinished skyline.
"That's uh," she swallows, sounding timid and unsure because when has she ever complimented him before? "It's very nice." His eyes shift toward her, catching the quick gesture she makes toward the piece and he sighs, still scrubbing at her shoe.
"I fucked it up."
"Oh?"
"I don't know. Everything is just...off."
"I don't think so...but I'm not a painter. Anyway, we need to figure out this meal plan. Like now."
"We still have one month."
"A month will quickly turn into two weeks and then that will quickly turn into the day of the wedding so, can you lock in, please?"
Carmen heaves a sigh and she rolls her eyes, turning away from him when she senses some out of the blue statement from him. "I don't even know why Nat chose me for this. I don't do this anymore."
Her senses were correct. "Well, you're her brother so you know what she likes to eat."
"So is Mikey."
"If Mikey were doing this the main courses would be sandwiches, spaghetti, and maybe chicken. If he's feeling fancy."
"I like chicken." Carmen shrugs, sniffing through his nose.
"It's not your wedding, is it?" She throws his statement from a few days ago when they found out about this mess back at him.
He points his head up to the ceiling, "fair."
"Alright, good. Now let's go. Unlike you, Luca and I have real jobs that require a proper sleeping schedule that we have to follow."
"I have a real job."
"You're a glorified paint spreader. How'd you get a whole warehouse anyway? It's kinda shady."
"Uncle J."
"Well, that explains it being shady then."
They take the L to meet Luca at his job, barely saying a few polite passing words on the way but it's better than fighting. The restaurant he works at is fancier than Ariana's mom's. It has a comforting farmhouse look though, despite its elevated menu. It's allegedly even in position to gain a michellin star. Which is probably why Luca has been more stressed than usual.
Carmen pulls open the front door for her and she nods passively in thanks. Without even looking up the hostess speaks, "we're not open yet. Come back at five with the name of your reservation. I apologize for the inconvenience." Her voice is completely devoid of excitement and there are noticeable bags under her eyes. Knowing what Ariana goes through as a hostess, Sydney sympathizes with her.
"Uh, we're not customers." The hostess looks up then, sparing her a curious glance before she sees Carmen and brightens.
"Oh, Carmen, hi! Sorry about that."
"All good, Sadie. Just here to pick up Luca for lunch."
"Yeah, sure. I'll let him know. Who's this?" She gestures to Sydney, smiling politely.
Carmen looks back at her, "this is Sydney. She's my..."
Sydney puts her hand out to shake, deciding to intervene before he says something stupid like he's her 'friend' just so they can avoid questions being asked. "I'm friends with his siblings and right now we are reluctant coworkers."
"Wow. That's um, something." Sadie shakes her hand and breathes out a laugh, "I've actually heard about you from this guy," She turns to Carmy and gives him a pointed look, "but you don't seem very fond of him."
"I'm not."
Sadie smiles again at her blunt response, holding in a laugh before pointing to the kitchen. "I'll go get Luca."
Sydney whips around toward him, smacking his arm. "Fuck. What did I do?"
"You've been shit talking me to people I don't even know? That's really fucking low." She spits at him and he chuckles at her outburst, slightly shocked.
"I wasn't shit talking you. Jesus, Syd."
"Don't call me Syd. It's Sydney."
He puts his hands up in surrender, "alright, Syd-ney. Why the fuck are you always so pressed around me?"
She rolls her eyes and walks off to sit at the table closest to the door. "Because you're a pain in the ass, Carmen!"
As she sits down, Sadie comes back, telling them Luca will be out in a few minutes. Sydney nods and opens her binder again, trying not to be nosy when she watches Sadie pull Carmy behind the host desk. She almost succeeds at minding her business until she hears them whispering and gives in.
"What did you do to that poor girl, Carm? There's a vein popping out of her neck." Sydney quickly puts a hand against her pulse, embarrassed that he got her so visibly worked up.
"Nothing." Sadie purses her lips, not believing him. "I swear. She just hates me."
"Well...maybe you should try being more welcoming, instead of always brooding. You kill people's moods, y'know." Sydney stifles a laugh at that.
"You're on my ass now too?"
"If you answered your texts, I wouldn't rag on you so much."
"I'm busy."
"Doing what? Fucking a canvas?"
"Christ, Sadie."
"You can make time."
"I'll do my best. We still on for Saturday?"
"Of course. Which you would have known if you checked your phone." Sadie pokes his chest, grinning and Carmy shakes his head.
"Fuck off. I get it." She wraps her arm around his shoulder and he moves his own to pat her back gently. Sydney suddenly feels like a lonely third wheel, as if she's intruding and she puts her head down to look away. The sight of Sadie with her perfectly clear brown skin, and immaculate curls, and electric smile with an arm around him making her stomach feel upset for some odd reason.
"You nervous about it?" She asks him and he shrugs.
"Little bit." Sadie giggles which leads to him laughing too and now Sydney is just pissed. She got a taste of that laugh just under an hour ago for the first time in the many years they've known each other and is it weird that she's mad that Sadie seems to get it whenever she wants?
Yeah, that's fucking weird. You don't even like him. She thinks and shakes her head.
Luca burst through the door, saving her from sinking into the confusion of her current mental process. "Let's go before she ropes me into another chore." He rushes them both, physically pulling Carmy from his...whatever they are and gesturing out the door to Sydney.
She picks up her stuff and follows them out and Sadie calls out behind them. "It was nice to meet you, Sydney!"
"Uh, yeah, same to you." She avoids eye contact and motions a half hearted wave behind her.
"And Luca, can you get me another coffee?"
"Sure. Back in an hour."
"Natalie hates corn. Despises it, in fact." Carmy chews on a bite of the pulled pork sandwich he ordered. It drips onto his plate and Sydney really wants to try it. But she already had her plate of spaghetti carbonara so she can't order a whole other meal and she can't ask Carmy for a bite so she sits and wonders over it instead.
"No corn then." Luca nods, cutting a piece of potato on his plate. "At least we have the rest of the menu set. Just need one more side."
"We could do stuffing with Mikey's beef incorporated...it'll give it a tangy flavor that could balance it with the sweetness of Sydney's sweet potatoes." Carmen suggests and Sydney purses her lips. He's given several great ideas at this meeting and she's sort of in awe. He really seems to care about this and he's not being immature about it. Huh.
"Yeah, that's actually good. Really good." She scribbles it down in her notebook and closes it. "I think that should do it right? We have eleven sides and three mains to accommodate everyone, even the fucking vegans."
"Fucking grass eaters." Carmen mumbles and Sydney really tries not to laugh but Luca chuckling makes it particularly hard.
"That was the most Italian thing you've ever said." He comments, clapping him on the shoulder.
"I'm in a very Italian time of my life."
"You go on tiktok far too much."
"I got that from Reddit." Sydney finally loses it then, even though it's really not that funny. Carmen sits back, studying her for a moment.
"Didn't know you could do that." He says, tilting his head to the side.
"What? Laugh?"
"Let me clarify. I didn't know you could do that 'cause of me."
"Don't get used to it. You're usually too busy being a little bitch to say anything noteworthy or humorous." She snaps.
He whistles, "alright, don't blow your top, baby. Truce, remember."
Her stomach flips over but still, "don't call me baby either, motherfucker."
"Okay. Geez, you two are like children together." Luca speaks up, looking between the two of them.
It goes silent for a second and the air is a little awkward until Carmen sucks in a breath and puts his half eaten sandwich up to her face. "What are you doing?" She asks.
"You've been staring at this thing for half an hour. Go ahead."
She almost rejects but her mouth starts to water and it's just sitting there waiting for her...she reaches for it but he pulls back. "No, if you take it you're gonna fucking eat it all. Just bite it."
She sneers. She's not a fucking dog. She should be able to hold it for herself if she wants to, not eat it out of his hand.
Not only does she want it, but now she wants to be petty too.
She grabs his wrist, biting off a sizable chunk between her teeth. She doesn't let go of his hand and he doesn't pull away, eyes trained on her mouth with a twist in his brow. Trying to work her out. She takes another bite and licks down the side of it like how kids do when they're trying to get their siblings hands off their food. Hoping it will piss him off and gross him out enough to give it to her. Juvenile? Sure. Is she ashamed? That's to be determined.
She sits back, smirking before licking her lips, not breaking eye contact, "fantastic."
He looks between her and his sandwich before biting down on the exact spot where she licked it. "Fucking fantastic."
She swallows.
Luca clears his throat awkwardly, "um. What the fuck was that?"
"What?" Sydney and Carmy ask him simultaneously and he sighs.
"This is going to be a long fucking month." He mutters.