Chapter Text
"Rabbit's out there!" Fak exclaimed. He was visibly excited as he came back inside from the alley.
"We got a rabbit in the alley?" Syd asked, sipping at her water.
Richie stopped whatever he was doing with the caulk (it wasn't caulking; that's for sure) and looked up.
"What the fuck is a rabbit doing in the city?" Marcus laughed.
"Great. So what? Call fucking animal control or catch it? We can catch it right?" Carmy groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Richie dropped the caulk and practically sprinted for the back door.
"I can catch it," Ebraham told Carm with extreme confidence. He grasped the other man's shoulder firmly.
"Are we having rabbit stew tomorrow, Jeff?" Tina chuckled, elbowing Ebra in the side.
"Catch and release, Ebra. Please," Carmen stressed, "Cousin, yo, where the fuck are you going?"
There wasn't a response. Richie was already gone.
"Not like a rabbit-rabbit," Fak clarified loudly. "Mikey's wife."
"Mikey's what? No. He wasn't — Fak, what the fuck?"
"Wife, dude. They got married when we were kids," Fak clarified. It didn't actually explain anything to Carmen. He was still gobsmacked. Fak, unphased, continued rambling. "I think she was pregnant? That's what Chi-Chi always said. Otherwise Mikey never would have bagged a babe like her. Chi-Chi's words. Not mine."
Carm took off outside after Richie. Curious, Sydney followed. In the short seconds it took to get to the alley, she let her imagination run wild. Were Michael and his wife estranged? Was she a glamorous mob wife? Is that why Michael killed himself? Was it actually mob hit?
She wasn't what Syd was expecting. No Louboutin heels, no clingy dress, no fur coat. Her nails had been done at some point, but the polish was chipped; her dark hair was blown out. And she did have heels. Syd could see the bottom of them; they weren't the red bottoms. The heels, and the legs they were attached to, were wrapped around Richie's waist. She could see the woman's nails because her arms were around his neck. Syd wanted to throw up because why on God's green earth would anyone be in Richie's arms kissing him.
But there she was. Rabbit. Or who the fuck ever she was.
Carmen didn't say anything; Sydney didn't say anything (she did throw up a little in her mouth though). They both watched, soon joined by the rest of the employees (and Fak), as Richie just held Rabbit up, kissing her repeatedly. She noticed the small crowd and frantically hissed his name. Richie finally set her down after she flicked his ear. Rabbit tick-toked her hips as she pulled her jeans up and smoothed her t-shirt. She grabbed the handle of a suitcase, gripping it tightly.
"Okay, show's over, assholes," he announced with a huff, "Back inside."
Sweeps was the first to go back, pulling Marcus and Ebra along with him. Fak next, giving Rabbit a feeble wave, which she returned. Tina finished her cigarette first.
"Good to see you, mama," she said, "Wasn't sure you were coming back."
"Me either, T," Rabbit admitted sheepishly.
"Cousin, what the fuck," Carm finally managed after a few awkward long seconds.
"Don't blame me because Mikey never told you he was married," Richie shrugged. He had an arm snaked around the woman's waist.
"No, I think he meant 'what the fuck' because you were kissing Michael's widow," Syd pointed out.
"No. Yes. Both maybe. I don't — Excuse me, who the fuck are you?" Carmen was exasperated.
"Gabi uh Rabotti—" she said.
"Berzatto," Richie interrupted.
"It was Rabottini." Gabi pinched the back of his arm. Richie hissed and swore, but he didn't take his arm off her.
"Rabbit, right. I get it," Carmen nodded, fury building, "Look uh I don't know if you're estranged or separated or what the fuck ever. I've never even met you."
"That's on Mikey," Richie argued.
At the same time, Rabbit and Carmen both told Richie to shut the fuck up. Sydney tried to hide her smile.
"Did you take the kid and fucking run? Whatever you're here for, you're not gonna find it." Carmen started to blow up. Richie tried telling him to calm the fuck down, but it wasn't working. It was only making him louder; angrier. "I don't care what you think you're entitled to, being his fucking wife and all, but you and whatever bastard —"
Richie was off Rabbit (although she did try to grab him) in an instant. His fist connected with Carm's jaw, and they both went to the ground from the momentum. Sydney staggered back. Rabbit lunged forward, yanking Richie off the youngest Berzatto.
"Richie, what the fuck! Go get him some fucking ice," she scolded, shoving him toward the restaurant. Rabbit crouched down and gently cupped Carm's chin, inspecting his face. "It's gonna bruise."
"Like fuck am I leaving you out here alone with this jagoff. No fucking way, sweetheart," Richie argued.
"I'm not alone," Rabbit pointed at Syd, "Hi, honey, what's your name?"
"Uh Syd. Sydney," Syd stammered.
"Sydney's here with me. Get him some fucking ice, Richard," she hissed.
Richie stormed off muttering about toddlers and ice packs and always being told what to do. With some effort, Rabbit sat on the ground across from Camern. Sydney was unsure where to stand.
"I'm fine," Carm insisted, "But thanks. I guess."
"I'm sorry," Rabbit said, "For Richie and showing up out of the blue like this."
"When uh when was the last time you saw him? Mikey."
"Oh, hmm. November."
"In the 90s?"
Rabbit laughed, "No, last November."
Carmen stared at the ground between them. He pulled his knees up and rested his forehead against them. His jaw was throbbing.
"So I got what a nephew my age or some shit?" he mumbled, "Fuck you, Mikey. Secret family bullshit."
"I… No. No secret kids," Rabbit practically whispered. Carm looked up at her; she looked like she was gonna cry. "We uh lost…"
Syd's eyes widened and she couldn't help the sharp gasp that escaped. She covered her mouth. Rabbit didn't even flinch or look on her direction. Her attention was on Carmen, who seemed visibly paler than before.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Carmen breathed. He hesitantly reached for Rabbit's hand. "I'm such a fucking asshole."
"You didn't know." Rabbit forced a smile and squeezed his hand.
"Okay, cousin," Richie barked, kicking the back door open with a bang, "I got your fucking ice."
Carm stood and helped Rabbit to her feet. He took the ice and carefully pressed it against his jaw with a hiss.
"Cousin, can you go caulk that shit, please," Carmen said.
"Caulk this," Richie retorted, grabbing his dick.
"I can." Syd volunteered immediately, "Or I can watch Fak do it. Or anything not out here."
"I uh yeah. Please, thanks, chef."
"Don't fucking touch it. I said I'd do it. I'll do it," Richie snapped. "Just give me a fucking minute, cousin."
"Fine. Just — Fine."
Sydney nodded and couldn't get inside fast enough. Richie watched her with a confused look on his face.
"What the fuck is her problem?" he scoffed.
"You, probably," Rabbit sighed.
She extended a hand out toward Richie. He took it. The three of them sat against the fence, Rabbit between the two men. Carmen fumbled for his pack of smokes, not finding them, while Richie lit two, passing one to Rabbit. The older man settled an arm around her shoulders.
"So you uh got pregnant, got married and then… Lost the kid and stayed married for… How many years is that?" Carmen stammered, "How old am I? Mikey was married for like 24 years?”
“Yeah,” Rabbit and Richie said.
“And he didn’t tell me. What a fucking asshole.”
“Yeah.” the other two repeated.
"They weren't all good years," Rabbit admitted quietly, "Especially after 2004."
"What happened in 2004? Carmen inquired.
Rabbit didn't respond, so Richie did for her.
"Lost another," he said, uncharacteristically softly. He kissed the side of her head.
"He tried to slide down a fucking railing at the hospital to cheer me up and busted his ass," Rabbit added. "Broke his tailbone."
"Sounds like Mikey," Carmen forced a chuckle.
He tried to remember that year; he would have been 12. Carm had vague memories from that age. Most of his childhood memories were in bits and pieces. Mikey was in and out of Donna's house a lot. He was there almost every morning to send Carmen and Sugar off to school, but Mikey wasn't always there at night. Sometimes it would be Richie, sometimes Donna. Maybe even Rabbit.
"They gave him Norcos," Richie explained. His gravelly voice knocked Carmen out of his thoughts. "That's how all that shit started."
"Jesus fucking Christ."
"Yeah."
"Who knew? Knows. I guess Tina and Fak know," Carmen mumbled.
"Sugar," Richie added.
"I don't think he ever told Natalie we were married." Rabbit rested her head on Richie's shoulder.
They smoked in silence. Carm watched the two out of the corner of his eye. They were close. Of course. Richie was Michael's best friend. Of course he'd be close with his best friend's wife. But Carmen couldn't remember if Michael was ever close with Richie's ex-wife.
"You missed the funeral," Richie said suddenly.
It took Carmen a second to realize Richie wasn't talking to him, to realize Carmen may as well not even exist in that moment. He kept watching them. Something simmered under his skin at their ease; their familiarity. Jealousy. Rabbit was another thing Mikey kept him from. The Beef, his wife apparently.
"I was in the hospital," Rabbit shrugged, "Hit a patch of black ice and flipped my dad's car on my way here. You would have gonna nuclear if I showed up in a cast anyway."
"How… Was that? Michigan."
"I don't know."
"You going back?"
"No. No point. He died in January."
"Jesus fucking Christ, Rabbit." Richie pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"Hell of a couple of months," Carmen remarked.
"You're telling me," Rabbit said softly.
"You hungry, sweetheart?" Richie asked her.
"I'll just get something on my way to the hotel," Rabbit said.
"Where you staying? No. Fuck that. Doesn't matter. You're not wasting money on a hotel," Richie decided, "You're staying with me."
Carmen snorted, "If she already has a room, she's probably paid a deposit. Ow! Asshole."
Richie had reached over and smacked Carm in the ear. He untangled himself and stood up, extending his hands for Rabbit to grab.
"C'mon," he beckoned, "Italian hospitality and all that shit decrees I gotta feed you and give you a place to stay."
"You aren't even Italian," Rabbit and Carmen both said with an eyeroll.
Richie raised an eyebrow and looked between them both with a grin. He dragged Rabbit's suitcase behind him as he led the other two inside. Everyone inside had busied themselves with actual work. Carm followed Richie and Rabbit to one of the tables; he sat across from her.
"So whaddya want? I'll make you something," Richie said, heading back toward the kitchen. "Then I'll finish caulking that shit."
Carmen tried not to make a face, but he wasn't sure he was successful. Rabbit seemed to notice. She quickly looked between Richie and Carm.
"I haven't had good fucking giardinara since I left, Rich," she smiled.
"What you want just the fucking peppers? Or that ghetto ass salad Mikey always made?"
"I would kill for a ghetto salad," Rabbit assured him.
Richie snorted, "Fine." He turned around mumbling about "gone for eight months, doesn't want hot beef, wants a fucking salad."
"I heard that, Richard!" Rabbit called after him.
"You didn't hear nothing, sweetheart!" Richie shouted from the kitchen.
Carmen watched, soaking it in. He wondered if this was what it would have been like. If Mikey was alive. If Carm had known. He studied Rabbit; she studied him. He wanted to ask how much she knew; what she knew. Did Michael talk about him? Was she involved with The Beef at all? He broke eye contact, with a frown, to glance at the C in the window.
"So um what's a ghetto salad?" Carmen asked instead.
"Shredded lettuce and whatever Mikey felt like throwing in there. Cheese, giardinara, tomato," she shrugged.
"Why'd you leave? Go to Michigan, I mean."
Briefly, just briefly, her hand moved to her stomach then settled back at her side. Carm watched intently. He felt a little weird as he watched her, but he desperately wanted to place her in memories. He noted the tattoos on her arm, piercings in her ears, the faint wrinkles by Rabbit's eyes.
"My dad was sick," Rabbit told him after a beat, "And Mikey all but threw me out."
He racked his brain. Sugar had said Mikey moved back home before last Christmas. He had a million more questions, but Richie returned, to-go box in hand. Presumably full of salad. He probably made a mess for Carmen to clean too.
"You guys good?" he asked, glancing between the two.
"Mhmm," Rabbit nodded.
"Okay, well let's go. Otherwise we're gonna get fucking stuck in traffic."
"I can take an Uber to a hotel, Rich," Rabbit rolled her eyes.
"Surge prices, sweetheart. You're not taking shit anywhere except my car to my apartment."
"Better let her drive," Carmen spoke up, "You still don't have a license."
"Hey, fuck you, cousin. It's just suspended." Richie pointed at him with the box. "Ow!"
Rabbit pinched him again. That time it looked like she got his nipple. Carm bit the inside of his mouth so he wouldn't smile.
"You still haven't gotten that back?" she scolded, swatting him on the arm. She snatched the box from Richie and started back toward the kitchen. "I'll fucking drive."
"Hey, you want 'em, you gotta get 'em," he teased and gestured to his pants pocket.
Undeterred, Rabbit held eye contact as she stuffed a hand down Richie's pocket. Carmen watched, confused, and still a little jealous. He had missed a lot of his brother's life. Not all by choice. But it looked like this feature was still alive and well. Rabbit didn't seem at all bothered by Richie's antics, so it seemed he was always Just Like That.
"You'll uh you'll be around?" he asked
Rabbit stopped at the door, turned to him, and nodded. "Yeah. If you don't mind."
"No, I don't mind. As long as you don't want a job here or nothing."
She laughed, "Sounds like a deal."
"Cousin, I'll be right back," Richie said. He grabbed Carm's shoulder on his way by.
"Yeah, okay," Carmen mumbled.
He sat there, alone, for a few minutes. There were a few actual customers. The C wasn't stopping everyone. Carmen got up to clean whatever mess Richie had left, but it didn't look like there was one. Everything Richie presumably used had been put back where it came from. He slipped into the office.
"You calling Pete?" Sugar asked.
"You weren't picking up the phone," Carm replied.
"I'm making dinner."
"Did you hear I apologized?"
"So?" his sister sighed.
"Cicero was here," Carm continued.
"Yeah, I heard," Sugar said, "I also heard there's a C in the window? Nice."
"Listen, Sugar. I woke up in the middle of the night cooking a bunch of frozen shit. I almost set my apartment on fire," Carmen confessed.
"… Does that happen a lot?" she asked, concerned.
"Sometimes."
"Did you look at the thing?"
"No, I didn't look at the thing."
"Pete and I have been going lately, and it's been really nice."
"Yeah, of course Pete would go," Carmen scoffed.
"Oh, shut the fuck up," Sugar chastised him.
She paused to say something to Pete. Carmen's stomach did flips. He had to tell Sugar.
"Sugar, I uh I met Rabbit," he commented, trying desperately to keep the anxiety out of his tone.
"Gabi Rabottini? I didn't think she'd ever come back since she wasn't at the funeral," Sugar said, "I knew her and Mikey had a fight, and it was bad enough he moved back in with Mom."
"Said something about being in the hospital."
"Was Richie all weird with her?"
Carmen snorted a laugh, "Yeah. Overly friendly I guess."
"Well, he's been in love with her since they were kids," Sugar informed him.
"How the fuck do you know that?" Carm scoffed in disbelief.
"Wait, do you seriously not remember her? I guess she stopped coming to Christmas after a few of them."
"Don't blame her there."
Carm tried to think about his childhood Christmases. They weren't all bad. The first one after their dad left was rough. The one when Donna drove into the house as probably the worst one. He vaguely remembered Mikey having someone with him for a few; someone who wasn't Richie. That was probably Rabbit. After Lee came into the picture, Carm couldn't remember Mikey bringing anyone else. She must have stopped coming around then.
"I don't either. She was the photographer for Richie's wedding," Sugar added.
"I uh didn't go," he coughed, "I was in Denmark. Why wasn't she in the wedding party? Like a bridesmaid or some shit."
"Tiffany didn't like her."
"Because Richie was in love with Rabbit?" Carm guessed.
"Bingo."
Neither of them said anything for a moment.
"D'you know they were married?" Carm practically whispered.
"Are you fucking kidding me," Sugar groaned, "I knew they've been together since high school… Were togeher. For how long?"
"Fak said since we were kids."
"And how would Neil know?"
"He was around Mikey more. Maybe he said something to Fak. I dunno." Carmen rubbed his face. "What are you making?"
"Mom's chicken," Sugar said with a sigh.
"You want a line change?" Syd offered as Carmen joined them in the kitchen.
"No. No, stay. I'll tournant," Carm said. "Thank you for taking Richie today."
"Oh yeah, no sweat. You uh… They just came through here… Um, you good?" Syd stammered, "I think I overheard a lot of family business that I wasn't supposed… To hear. Do you want me to come in tomorrow?"
"Please," Carm nodded, "You're hired."
"Yeah? Because I know your family secrets now?" Syd asked with a smirk.
"Yes. No other reason. Your pass, chef."
"Thank you, chef."
"Yo. Fix that hole?" Carm asked Richie as he stepped outside.
"Yeah, yeah," Richie nodded, "Is the Health Department coming back?" He fiddled with the towel in his hands.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Fucking Cicero."
"Cicero," Carmen agreed.
"We all good in there?" Richie pointed toward the door.
"Yeah. All… Good at your place?"
"She said I need new sheets," Richie snorted. "And until I get new sheets, she ain't sleeping in my bed."
"What's wrong with your couch?"
"Hey, I'm a fucking gentleman, cousin," Richie balked.
"Never said you weren't." Carmen shook his head with a smile.
"The lady gets the bed."
"Without you in it?"
"Why would that matter?" Richie scoffed.
"I'm just gonna burn one. I haven't had one all day. I'll see you in a sec, alright?"
"Alright."
Carmen leaned against the wall as Richie went inside. He patted himself back down for his cigarettes, but still couldn't find them. He had taken them out of his back pocket at some point. The realization clicked; Carm had set them on the stove while he was cleaning. He never picked them back up.
"Fuck."