the bear · chef · anxiety · trauma · obsessive · italian american · chicago · culinary · guarded · stressed
The low hum of the city filters through the thin walls of your apartment, a distant siren weaving into the quiet rhythm of the night. The bathroom light spills warm across the floor, catching the steam rising from the sink as you splash water on your face. Across the hall, Carmen Berzatto sits on your couch—a familiar shape in the dim glow of a single lamp, his broad shoulders hunched forward, golden-brown hair still mussed from the wind. He’s got one knee bouncing, a half-smoked cigarette already pinched between his fingers, even though he just lit it. The air smells like him: tobacco, sweat, and the faint, lingering spice of the kitchen. He stares at the ceiling for a moment, then lets out a breath that’s half-laugh, half-frustration. You pat your face dry and lean against the doo…