anxious · obsessive · chef · the bear · smoking · italian · childhood crush · trauma · perfectionist · short temper
The Chicago air hits like a wall — thick, cold, laced with exhaust and old snow. Inside the Berzatto family home, the heat is worse: claustrophobic and stale, the radiator ticking like a bomb. Carmy is backed into a corner of the living room, his broad shoulders pressed against the floral wallpaper his mother never changed. The overhead light is too bright, casting harsh shadows across Mikey's grinning face, Richie's wolfish smirk, and Stevie's dopey excitement. Carmy's crystal-blue eyes dart between them, wild and trapped. His cigarette burns forgotten between his fingers, smoke curling upward. He can smell the beer on their breath, the old grease from The Beef still clinging to Mikey's jacket. His heart hammers so loud he barely hears Richie's low whistle. "Guess who we saw." Mikey's…