Good? - Carmen Berzatto x reader (Strays part 3)
âJesus fuckâ Carmy whispered under his breath as they pulled onto the street that Y/Nâs apartment was on, Carmy knew of it more than he knew it. It was rough, one of the roughest streets in all of Chicago. Y/N tucked herself further into her jacket at his comment.Â
âItâs just this one on the rightâ She said quietly,Â
Carmy held the rest of the comments to himself, but if he wasnât worried about Y/N before he certainly was now.
âThis one?â He asked pulling up on the side of the roadÂ
âYeahâ Y/N nodded, fishing around in her bag for a key, âthanks for the rideâÂ
âLet me walk you up?â Carmy said, it was a pathetic excuse to make sure she was safe inside.Â
âNo thank you, you have already done more than enoughâÂ
âNo,â Y/N said, it was a step too far even for her. She knew what kind of building it was, she knew the street she lived on. She didnât need Carmy seeing the inside of it. It was better staying in his imagination for now.
âY/N look I know I was a fucker at service today butââ
âIâd really appreciate it if youâd drop it? I have classes in the morning and I really just want to go and sleepâÂ
âIâll take you in to your classes?â He suggestedÂ
âWhat timeâ Carmy said, he was clutching at straws but something in his body told him he had to protect her with everything he could.Â
âIâll see you for serviceâ Y/N wasnât fighting anymore, she turned on her heel and walked towards the building.Â
Carm didnât mean to be weird about it, but he was. There was something about Y/N that made him worry, a knot in his chest he couldnât get rid of. So when it was time for family and Y/N wasnât there again he portioned a plate out and put it in the office. Away from prying eyes or sticky fingers, just for Y/N, no big gesture. But it was his way of keeping an eye on her. Once she stepped through the door Carmy pulled her to the side and sat her down in the office with the plate of food without an argument. Y/N thanked him quietly and began eating. The way she ate was cautiously at first, like she was waiting for him to step in and take the meal away and then it was hungry. Carmy had seen it before, it was the kind of hunger where he could tell she hadnât had a hot meal for a few days at least, weeks maybe, and he didnât like that.Â
It bothered him all service.Â
âI want to give bonuses to the serversâ He said to nobody in particularÂ
âWith what money?â Natalie answeredÂ
âSug, please I think they need it. They hold service up and we donât ever thank themâÂ
âWell I actually agreeâ Richie quipped thinking about his strays that needed that food more than they needed extra hours.Â
âWe donât have the moneyâÂ
âThen a care package, we can parcel up some food, left over steaks, dried pastas that kind of thingâÂ
âWhere is this coming from?â Sugar askedÂ
âItâs just something Iâve been thinking about for a while and I think we should do itâÂ
âI will look into itâ Sugar said,Â
âWeâve got left overs from tonight, why donât we just package them up and give them to the servers nowâ Carmy suggested,Â
âFine do what you want with your leftovers, but keep my budget out of itâ Sugar replied with a sigh, Carmy was going to do whatever he wanted, heâd made that clear. And so each server went home with a parcel of food, except Y/N who sat hers in her locker and looked at it quizzically.Â
âYou good?â Carmy said,Â
âDo you want this?â She asked quietly,Â
âSomething wrong with it?â Carmy asked, but he knew there wasnât. Heâd packed it specifically for her
âI donât know how to cook with any of this, wouldnât even know where to startâ She mused, handing it to Carmy.Â
âHow about I come over and cook for you?â He suggested,Â
âI couldnât ask you to do thatâÂ
âIâm offeringâ He said with a smile âSunday good for you?â
âPerfect, Iâll come over then. Just keep it in the fridge til then yeah?âÂ
âAre you coming in tomorrow?âÂ
âNo, I asked Richie for the extra shifts but clearly someone else got there firstâÂ
âYou need the extra shifts?âÂ
âNot desperately, it would help but Iâm fineâÂ
âIâm down a pot washer tomorrow if you wanted the hoursâ Carmy offered,Â
âYeah, you need to be here for family thoughâÂ
âGood, Iâll see you tomorrow thenâ He smiled,Â
Y/N took the hours gratefully, she washed each dish meticulously. Laughing a little with the other pot washers as she did, but she made an effort to keep her head down and make sure Carmy didnât regret giving her the chance. At the end of service Y/N pitched in as the others detailed the kitchen, making sure it was up to standard for the next day.Â
âThank you for today chefâ Carmy said softly, coming up to Y/N as she stood at her lockerÂ
âI was thinking. I can still come over tomorrow and cook up that steak for you, but Iâve got two portions of lamb left over from todayâs service if you fancied it?âÂ
âI donât know what youâre asking meâÂ
âIâll cook it for us, you come to mine?âÂ
âI canât ask you to do thatâÂ
âYou didnât ask, give me a few minutes to finish my station and lock up and weâll goâ Carmy said certainly. There was no room for argument.Â
Y/N stood in the staff bathroom and splashed a little water on her face, she was sweaty and tired and her eyes looked more sunken in than usual. She was tired, and hungry. The gnawing in her stomach was almost unbearable when she thought about it, but most of the time she had it settled down to a quiet hum in the background. But with the tuition fees and her rent and the bills she could barely afford a full meal each day, Carmyâs offer was nothing short of a sweet gesture but the idea of a warm, home cooked meal almost made Y/N sob. A knock cut through the bathroomÂ
âReady when you areâ Carmy said,Â
Y/N exhaled tightly shaking herself a little to get the hunger out of her head before leaving the bathroom and following Carmy to his car.Â
The journey was short, and silent. The two of them decompressing from service, Carmy hummed a little to the radio as his tattooed fingers drummed mindlessly on the steering wheel, Y/N wasnât sure if it was nerves or an anxious tick but she smiled at how human it made Carmy feel, sometimes in service he acted similarly to a robot so seeing this side of him was nice.Â
Inside his flat was strangely homey, despite the lack of much furniture and the scribbled notebooks on the table, it felt comfortable. Like somewhere she could spend hours at a time with a good book.Â
âHow was service for you?â She asked softly as Carmy began flitting around the kitchen expertly.Â
âGood, today was surprisingly smoothâ He chuckled âHow was the back of house for you? You like it?âÂ
âI prefer talking to people, but it was fun. Change of scenery and all thatâÂ
A small silence settled over the two of them,Â
The both cut the silence togetherÂ
âYou firstâ Y/N saidÂ
âHow are your classes?â Carmy asked, realising he knew very little about her life outside of the restaurant.Â
âBusy, fun mostly, its a lot of specialisms and extra reading but I do love itâÂ
âWhat are you studying?âÂ
âWowâ He mused as he chopped some vegetables,Â
âI always wanted to be a writer, so I thought the most I could study of other writers the better I would getâÂ
âHowâs it working?âÂ
âConsidering I donât have any time to write, with balancing classes, and work⊠really greatâÂ
âYouâll get thereâÂ
âThats what everyone saysâÂ
âMust be true thenâ He said dipping a spoon into the sauce he was making on the stove âTry this,â He held the spoon to her lips, she had to hold back the moan that tried to escape her lips,Â
âGood?â He asked, studying her face intently, âWhat does it need?âÂ
âSo good,â She said letting the flavour linger on her tongue for a moment âMaybe a little salt?âÂ
âIâll make a chef out of you yetâ Carmy grinned,