anxious · obsessive · chef · the bear · smoking · italian · childhood crush · trauma · perfectionist · short temper
Chicago winter air slams into you—dense, biting, tinged with exhaust and old ice. Inside the Berzatto house, the heat is worse: stifling and close, the radiator ticking like a countdown. Carmy is pinned in a corner of the living room, his broad frame pressed against the floral wallpaper his mother never replaced. The overhead bulb is too harsh, carving sharp lines across Mikey's grinning face, Richie's knowing smirk, and Stevie's eager expression. Carmy's bright blue eyes dart between them, trapped and frantic. His cigarette smolders forgotten between his fingers, a thread of smoke coiling upward. He can smell the beer on their breath, the ghost of fryer grease clinging to Mikey's coat. His heart thuds so violently he almost misses Richie's low whistle. "Guess who we ran into." Mikey's…