Work Text:
The first time Carmy said it Sydney thought she was dreaming. She was standing in the storage room of The Bear, trying not to have a panic attack about their restaurant’s sudden lack of chicken stock. She was frantically moving items around on the shelves, as if Marcus’ inventory check could have been wrong.
Sydney felt Carmy enter the room but she continued looking through the shelves.
“Relax, baby,” he said, his voice soothing yet gruff from the cigarettes he'd smoked during break.
Sydney looked up at him immediately, her breath catching at the name. Warmth spread across her cheeks as their eyes met. His eyes held their usual intensity, as if he hadn’t called her a pet name that felt way too intimate for their current relationship as coworkers. Still, if his goal was simply to catch her off guard to the point that she relaxed, his strategy was effective. Sydney took a deep breath and released the tension from her shoulders with a sigh.
“Well.. what are we going to do, chef?”
“We’ll put Tina on stock for tonight. It’ll slow us down, but by tomorrow we’ll be fine. It’s all good.”
“Okay,” Sydney nodded, still in a bit of a trance. With the way her brain was buzzing right now, she would probably accept any solution he suggested. Carmy leaned forward and placed a hand briefly in the middle of her back. If she wasn’t mistaken, his eyes held the slightest bit of amusement. When had Carmy fucking Berzatto become the calm one?
“You good, chef?” he asked.
She looked away from him and up towards the ceiling of the tiny room as his hand slipped away.
“I’m greatttt, chef,” she stated sarcastically, turning towards the door. If she stayed in that room for even a few seconds longer beside Carmy, she was convinced that she wouldn’t survive the night. And it was fucking OPENING night. She'd have to shake it off and pretend that the unattainable, infuriating, object of all her wet dreams hadn’t just called her “baby.”
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Carmy watched as Sydney retreated from the room, her braids swinging as she closed the door behind her. He hadn’t meant to call her “baby,” the words had just slipped out but he found himself strangely not embarrassed that they had. He and Sydney had been skirting around the tension between them for months now. The more they worked on the restaurant together, the closer they became and the more she took Carmen’s breath away when she entered a room. He was sure, at this point, that the level of affection he held for her was different than affection between friends. He found himself treasuring her opinions, seeking her out in the kitchen for no reason, watching her from across the table at family dinners. He’d gotten quite obvious with it, to the point that sometimes Richie and Tina teased him about it. They teased him, but he didn't think they truly thought he had feelings for his business partner.
He wasn’t sure how Sydney felt, but sometimes he swore he could feel her eyes on him too. And the look she had just given him when he touched her back was one of both shock and desire. Knowing she had reacted like that to a simple term of endearment was enough for him, for now.
————-
The second time Carmy called her “baby” it was somewhat of a joke.
Sydney was talking about one of her new ideas for the decor of The Bear, a multicolored mural in the dining room. Carmy was listening to her, but at this point he hoped she knew that he trusted her with complete creative control. He’d already approved every one of her other ideas.
Now, she was showing anybody who would listen the various Instagram profiles of possible artists for the mural. She would pull up an account show whoever was around, and ask them to rate the artists work. Carmy really didn’t mind Sydney’s chatter, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the others started talking shit.
And they did. She heard Richie and her arguing eventually, their voices rising as they disagreed over one of the artists in consideration.
“I think he’s a ducking creative genius. I mean, look at that post!”
“It’s just his graffiti tag, Richie. ALL of his posts are graffiti tags.”
“Exactly! Which is why I think we forget this whole mural shit and get him to tag the front of the store: The Bear. All in favor?”
Sydney audibly groaned in frustration.
Carmy slipped into a small smile at the sound. He was like 90% sure Richie was just being a shithead.
“Carmy!” Sydney called him. He could hear her footsteps getting closer until she was right beside him. “Carmy.”
He put down the onion he was chopping, turning around to look at her.
“What, baby?” He quipped, fighting a smirk.
For moment it seemed like Sydney forgot to cover her reaction to his words and he smiled at how wide her eyes became. She paused for way too long, eyes scanning his face as of trying to decipher a thousand piece puzzle. Although Sydney didn’t blush, her tell for bashfulness was fixing her hair. Sydney pushed a braid behind her ear before she spoke again.
“You think the mural is a good idea, right?”
“Of course. Stop listening to Richie.”
Syd smiled a little, looking back down at her phone.
Carmy hoped his own grin hadn’t gotten too large. He loved to reassure her.
“Which artist do you like?” Sydney proceeded to show Carmy two Instagram profiles. Both artists were Chicago based, but the first clearly had a more, more detailed vibe to their work while the other's paintings had a darker vibe, with bold, simple lines.
“I think the second one better fits what we’re building here, right?”
“That’s the one I like too,” Syd knocked her shoulder against his arm, looking up at him with a grin.
“Oh yeah? Let’s do it then,” Carmy reveled in her touch for a moment, before turning back to his work station.
“Let’s ducking do it,” Sydney echoed, walking away.
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The third time was during a particularly rough day at the restaurant. Orders had been coming in steadily since they opened, which was a good thing. But whenever things were going smoothly in the kitchen, Sydney felt it in her bones that someone or something was going to fuck things up.
She always hoped that as kitchen manager it wouldn’t be her. But sometimes it was. It was a Friday afternoon, and Carmy had actually left for a few hours to handle some business with his uncle so Syd was entirely in charge. They restaurant was also grossly understaffed because a few people had called out. Sydney was picking up the slack as best as she could. She'd held it together for most of the day, until they had a particularly unruly customer that got in one of the server’s faces about the slowness of their service.
Syd was busy with to-go orders, so Richie had tried to handle the issue himself.
“If you’re not going to wait for a new order, you can just get the fuck out!!” she heard him yell.
Sydney’s eyes widened as she stirred the sauce for tonight’s pasta dish. What a friendly way to handle an impatient customer. She sighed, turning the burner on low and then wiping her hands on her apron. “The service here has been shitty since I walked in the door! How the hell is this a 5 star restaurant?” she heard the customer respond. Sydney walked out into the dining area of the restaurant and immediately spotted Richie standing a few feet away from a middle aged white man, who had risen from the booth he was sitting in.
Richie swept his hand dramatically towards the entrance of the restaurant. “ Because most of our customers aren’t assholes!”
Sydney quickly stepped forward between the two men. She motioned for Richie to get back to work, assuring him that she would handle the customer. Sydney introduced herself to the customer, summoning her calmest voice to explain that his entree would either be out as soon as humanly possible, or he could cancel his order and not be charged for anything. The customer (surprisingly) chose to stay, returning to his seat without an issue.
With that settled, Syd headed back to the kitchen, stopping a few times to talk to the servers. When she was back in the kitchen, Tina was scolding Richie over how he handled the customer and he was being his usual defensive self.
Suddenly, Sydney was so tired of being the person responsible for making sure this all didn’t go to shit.
“Can you all just get back to work please? We’re behind on orders,” She said sharply, returning to the stove. She stirred the sauce for a few minutes more and sprinkled in some more salt before she decided it was good enough. She then proceeded to try to plate the sauce, with one arm around the pot and her other hand spooning sauce onto dishes on the counter. This was fine. This was good. That customer would have his fucking dinner in no time. She pushed the plates forward through the window to be picked up. Just as she was turning to place the pot back on the stove, a server zoomed through the kitchen yelling “Behind!” They brushed her shoulder and she stumbled on her feet, losing hold of the pot. With a loud clang it landed sideways on the ground and sauce began spreading across the floor. For a few moments Sydney just looked at the scene in disbelief. Then she bent down on the ground and pressed her palms to her eyes.
Okay. Okay. The stupid pasta a la vodka was off the menu for tonight. She just needed to clean this up and then let the servers know–
“Hey,” she heard a low, soft voice in front of her. Carmy. She opened her eyes, taking in her business partner-turned- friend in his typical white tee and jeans. He was putting on his apron, his tattooed, steady hands working to tie a knot behind his back. His eyes were soft.
“I dropped the sauce,” Syd said, stating the obvious with a sigh. “The night is going to shit.”
Carmy, strangely, quirked a small smile. “It’s fine, baby,” he said. His voice held a tenderness that as of late had only been reserved for her.
Syd found herself taking a deep breath and letting her panic recede at his words. Carmy was admittedly pleased as he watched her visibly relinquish some of her stress.
“I’ll help you clean up,” he reassured her, bending down beside her to pick up the pot.
Sydney nodded and grabbed a cloth from the counter.
Behind them both, Tina stood watching them with surprise on her face.
“Baby?” she mouthed. She’d never heard chef talk like that.
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The fourth time, Carmy felt the words slip out in passing. She’d told him the week before that she’d booked a one-time gig as a private chef for a dinner party. The client was paying her well. So well in fact, that Syd was taking a Friday afternoon off at The Bear to prepare for the part on Saturday. Syd showed up in the morning to help supervise prep for the day, then she came by Carmy’s office to let him know that she was leaving. She rushed to take off her apron, not stopping long enough for Carmy to ask her any questions about her plans for the events. Regardless, she had Carmy’s full attention as she grabbed her purse and pulled out her phone to check times for the train.
“Okay. Bye Carmy. I’ll see you on Sunday,” she said, walking towards the door.
“Alright, Syd. Call me if you need anything.”
“Oh trust, I will,” she turned back around momentarily to look at him with a smile.
Carmy hoped she did.
“Good luck, baby,” Carmy said, turning his gaze back to the paperwork on his desk.
Sydney noticeably paused in her steps. “Thanks, Carmy,” she said quietly. She continued out the door.
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On Sunday night, Sydney found herself calling Carmy to let him know how the event had gone the night before.
He listened intently on the phone as she explained the dishes she had made and how well received they were by the partygoers.
“That’s awesome, Syd. Do you think you’re going to do more events for them?” he asked.
“Well, I mean, I’m thinking about just sort of going in on this private chef thing. Like being a private chef for parties or date nights. Branding it as an experience,” Sydney explained.
Carmy hummed to indicate that he was listening to her. “But anyway, the family that I did the party for has already booked me for two more events this year. I’ll take on other work slowly. Don’t want anything to interfere with the Bear, really.”
Carmy frowned at her words. “I mean Sydney– do what makes you happy. I know you’re always going to pull your weight at the Bear. Just don’t burn yourself out,” he chose his words carefully. Carmy absolutely wanted her around at the Bear, but recently he’d come to the realization that Sydney was so young, so brilliant, so eager to make an impact in the culinary world that he would encourage her in whatever she chose to do. There was also the small fact that he was head over heels in love with her. He was in no position to try to discourage her from pursuing other work or exploring new avenues in her career. His biggest wish at the current moment was just to be permitted to witness her growth as closely as possible.
“Carmy– thank you for saying that. I just– I want to do everything right, you know?”
Sydney chewed her lip as she opened the fridge in her apartment. It was barren. Post-event, she had acknowledged that she had nothing to eat in her apartment, but she was too hyped up on the success of last night to care. However, the hunger was currently eating her alive and it was way too late to walk somewhere to get food.
“Well, I think you’ve been doing great Syd.”
“And I know that, I do, but I just–” she paused, more engrossed in shuffling through her pantry than finishing her thought.
“You just?” Carmy prompted her to continue.
“Yeah, I just–” Sydney paused again, turning a box of crackers upside down to read the expiration date.
“You just…what, baby?” Carmy asked, genuinely beginning to grow concerned that there was something she felt she couldn’t tell him.
Sydney startled at his question. There he went calling her baby again in that tender voice of his. It did things to her that surprised her but she tried not to think too much when he called her that. Carmy liked her well enough if he was willing to talk to her for hours on a Sunday night, but he didn’t like like her. Baby was probably just a word to him, though it felt very intimate to her.
“To be honest I actually don’t know what I was about to say. I just kept pausing because I’m trying to figure out what I’m eating for dinner.”
“You haven’t eaten dinner yet?” he questioned, his voice still laced with concern.
“No. Have you?”
“Oh, uh, no, actually,” Carmy responded. He hadn’t even really thought about eating since she called him an hour ago.
Sydney laughed. “You sounded so offended that I hadn’t eaten!”
Carmy ran a hand through his hair. He was offended that she hadn’t eaten. He looked over at the clock on his wall. Before he could think too much about it, he was asking her if she wanted to go out to eat. He held his breath while he waited for her to respond.
“Oh, I mean, I’m literally in my pajamas but yeah.”
“Do you want me to pick something up and bring it over there?”
“Yes please. Yes, Carmy, if you do that I will love you forever!”
Carmy blushed. He quickly pulled on a pair of shoes and grabbed his keys.
“Say less, Syd. I’ll be over in 30.”
Sydney placed a hand over her mouth to cover her smile.
“Okay. Thanks, Carmy.”
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Carmy brought her food from a 24 hour burger joint. The place was decent, but for the most part his options at this time of night were just limited.
Sydney immediately greeted him with a hug after opening the door to her place. He relished in the scent of her hair as she hugged him, and maybe he held on too long, but Sydney didn't call him out on it. He followed her over to her couch, scanning her casual outfit of biker shorts and a U Chicago sweatshirt with appreciation. Carmy looked down at his watch. 12:07 AM. He wanted to kick himself. It was way too late in the night for him to hang out with the woman he's in love with and not make a fool of himself.
Sydney thanked him again as she sat down and began tearing into her food. Carmy was so content to watch her enjoy her meal that he almost forgot about his.
"Anytime, baby," he replied and then shook himself out of his thoughts. As he began to peel open his takeout container he noticed that Sydney had stopped chewing. He glanced up and found she was already looking over at him.
Her lips had curled into an amused smile. "Baby?" she echoed, raising her eyebrow at him.
Not sure how she was going to react, Carmy nodded. "Yes. Baby."
Sydney's face heated. "I like when you call me that."
Carmy was sure he wore a ridiculous smile. "Oh yeah?" he said, putting down his burger and angling his body towards her. He'd expected at some point that Sydney would confront him about his little "slips" of the tongue, but had he thought she would actually admit that she liked him calling her baby? No. It was a pleasant surprise. Possibly one of the best things he'd heard in months.
He refocused on Sydney, who again wasn't looking at him, though she was fiddling with her hair and smiling slightly. "Yeah," she affirmed.
Carmy cleared his throat, not entirely sure how to proceed. "Well, I can keep calling you that," he said awkwardly. His statement snapped Sydney out of whatever shyness she was experiencing. She looked at him and let out a loud laugh. "You knew I liked it. If not I would have been on your ass about it a long time ago."
He had subconsciously known she was okay with him calling her "baby." But it felt so special to him that she was comfortable enough to let him know that she liked it.
Sydney went back to eating her burger. Carmy started on his, sure she could see him smiling and sneaking glances at her between between bites. He couldn't have cared less.
When she was done, he set down his half-eaten burger, eager to talk. "Sydney," he started, placing his hand on her knee to gain her attention.
She regarded him fully, an amused sparkle in her eyes.
"What else do you like?"
Sydney rolled her eyes playfully, but she had already decided to take the bait. How could she not? Carmy's face was more open and sincere than she'd ever seen it before.
"You," she said, grabbing his hand. "I like you."
His face lit up and he pulled her towards him, wrapping his arm around her waist. Sydney went willingly, delighted by his enthusiasm.
"Good," he said into her hair, clear fondness in voice. "I like you too."
"Oh?" Sydney beamed. "A little or a lot?" she asked, though at this point she was sure she knew his answer already.
Carmy had no issue reassuring her. "A lot, baby."