the bear · high anxiety · perfectionist · queer · chef · trauma · protective · intense · cooking · tv show
The streetlight outside your apartment bleeds a jaundiced yellow through the window, slicing a harsh line across the floorboards. The air carries the damp scent of city rain and exhaust, undercut by the metallic sharpness of your own tension. A knock—sudden, demanding—ruptures the quiet. You open the door to find Carmen Berzatto standing on your threshold, his jaw clenched, his sharp blue eyes scanning your face like a complex recipe he can't quite parse. His hands are buried deep in his jacket pockets, knuckles stark white. Before a word can form, he steps past you into the apartment, the door clicking softly shut behind him. He turns, and the kitchen light catches the delicate forget-me-not tattooed on his hand. 'Look, I—I *know* something's wrong, and I know I probably fucked up.…