AN: holy shit it's been awhile!
1. sorry for taking literally a month off without letting you guys know and
2. this chapter is more of a filler chapter to get the story moving in the direction i need it to go 🫣
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the beach - the neighbourhood
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Waking up at 5 am, Carmen decided to head to the restaurant to get a headstart on food prep.
And to avoid seeing Margaret that morning.
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As her alarm blared loudly next to her, Margaret's hand lazily searched for her phone. She groaned, sitting up as she turned it off the repetitive noise. Padding out through the short hallway, she approached the living room, expecting to see Carmen still there.
"Carmen?" she called out, looking around her house. She walked up to the front door, turning the door knob. The door was unlocked, although she knew she had locked it last night.
"What the fuck Carmen?" she mumbled to herself as she went back into her room to get dressed for work. "No note or anything at least?" She left her house, making the short walk to work wearing a sour expression.
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"Hey chica." Tina greeted, wearing a warm smile. Margaret gave her a half smile, walking past her to drop her belongings off in her locker.
"What's your deal?" Sydney asked, leaning against the wall. Margaret sighed, not looking up from the locker as she hung her coat up.
"It's so stupid, honestly." she said, pulling her apron out and over her head. She finally looked up at Syndey, who was studying her facial expressions carefully.
"Well, it's obviously not that stupid if it's got you worked up like this." Sydney gestured to Margaret's sulking state, dropping her hand back down. "What is it?"
Margaret sighed, rapidly shaking her head as she walked past Sydney, "I'm good." she called out as she walked to her station. Sydney followed her, basically breathing down her back with how close she was.
"Margaret.." she started but was cut off.
"Syndey," Margaret stopped moving, looking up at her, "I'm good." she said, overannoucating both words.
Sydney threw her hands up in surrender, slowly walking back from Margaret, "Whatever you say Margy."
Margaret let a smile slip through her lips, jokingly smacking Syndey's arm before she returned back to prepping. As the kitchen prepped for lunch, Carmen went through and did his daily checks on everyone.
"How we doing, Chef?" he asked, leaning over her shoulder. Sydney nodded her head, focused on her cooking.
"I'm good, Chef." she replied, still not looking up.
"Smells nice, Chef." he called over his shoulder as he moved on to Margaret.
She didn't greet him with a sarcastic jab, instead keeping her lips tight and eyes down. She furiously chopped an onion, picking up speed the longer Carmen stood there.
"How are you doing, Chef?" he asked lowly. She gave him a curt nod, grabbing another onion from her bin. Carmen drew in a breath, exhaling slowly in means to control his temper. "I need a verbal response please."
"I'm good."
Carmen stared at her, examining her face. She sported dark circles under her eyes, hair messily pulled back in a low bun, skin paler than her normal complexion.
"Didn't sleep much." he half joked, trying to draw more than 2 words from her. He wasn't an idiot ; he knew that her sour mood was because of him.
She huffed, still continuing to cut onions, "Like you would know." she spat, her tone frigid.
Carmen felt his cheeks grow hot with anger, brushing past her without a word. He did his remaining checks on the other cooks before returning to his office. He sunk into his chair, running a hand through his hair.
It didn't make sense to him why she was so mad. Her bubbly personality had changed into a cold front towards him since their first disagreement. Sure, her attitude might have resulted in the buildup of their problems, last night being the breaking point. But he didn't do anything that should've drastically changed her mood to this.
With Carmen out of her eyeline, she set down her knife, gripping the counter as she leaned against it, taking in a breath. She truly had no reason to be mad, she thought to herself. All he did was go home, he could have had a multitude of reasons why.
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As the day went on, Carmen and Margaret basically avoided each other, trying to keep one another out of their eyesight. Both of them were extremely stubborn, not wanting to be the first to apologize to the other. What she had said earlier had put him in a bad mood, her snarkiness striking a sense of frustration within him. Sure she had been mean before, but most times were just sarcastically. She usually never stayed mad at him for more than a day, but this was vastly different than previous instances.
After the work day ended, he ended up catching Margaret by the lockers. She was collecting her belongings, getting ready to leave when he approached her.
"What's your problem?" he asked, watching her shove her stuff into her backpack.
"Nothing." she said, keeping her response short.
"What is. your. problem?" he asked again, emphazing each word.
She finally looked up, eyes blazing with frustration, "You left without a word!" she raised her voice.
"You cant seriously be mad about that. Jesus, Margaret." he shouted back, throwing his hands into the air, exasperated with her incessant attitude.
"Well I am." After slamming her locker shut, she tugged the zipper of her bag closed and pulled it over her shoulder.
She took a step past Carmen, but he grabbed her bag and pulled her backwards. After almost falling into him, Margaret's eyes went wide for a millisecond before her expression snapped into a disgusted cringe.
"You could have at least left a note!" she said coldly, taking a step away from Carmen.
He forced a dry laugh, "You wanted to me to leave a note for not sleeping over?" he recited, dumbfounded by her response.
Margaret walked past him, stopping a few feet away from him. She turned around to face him, her lip tugging downwards as she spoke. "Do you have to have an answer for everything?" she asked, ultimately defeated. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she waited for a response, but he didn't say a word.
She left Carmen alone in the restaurant, walking out the door with a harsh shove. "Fuck!" he yelled out, smacking a locked with a clenched fist.
For next week, work was extremely rocky for them. They constantly argued over the smallest things, mostly concerning the way the kitchen was ran.
Needless to say, they both dreaded coming work.
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"Carmen, what the fuck is with the books?" Richie asked, rifling through stacks of papers.
Carmen pinched his eyebrows together, "I'm trying to handle it but I don't fucking know what to do with these." he explained, dropping a pile of files onto the desk.
"I-I mean what the fuck?" Richie stuttered, drawing out his last word. Carmen just shook his head, leaning back in defeat. "I would suggest that we ask Margy, because she's the voice of reason, but you two are fighting like a couple of kids." Richie jabbed.
Carmen's attention peaked when he heard the mention of Margaret, "Do not bring her up in this." he said, standing up from his chair.
"Woah!" Richie teased, following Carmen out of his office. "Don't get your panties in a bunch." he joked around, earning a snicker from Marcus who happened to overhear him.
"Fuck off Cousin." Carmen called out, half annoyed but half entertained with his comment. As Carmen went to check on the staff and their cooking, Margaret and Sydney experimented with a new cooking procedure.
The restaurant hadn't opened yet and they had some time to kill, so they elected to choose this as a pastime. "I'm going to go get some vegetables." Sydney said, excusing herself from their makeshift station.
Margaret nodded, stirring their concoction in the largest pot the restaurant had to offer. Carmen noticed her on her tiptoes just to see into the bottom of the pot. "Careful chef." he said, walking over to her. Although he was mad at her, he still wanted her to be safe.
"Thanks but I'm fine." she said, lowering herself back to the ground.
Carmen walked up behind her, shadowing her dish. He looked into the pot, to see a thick, dark roux cooking. He looked to the side of the counter, the space being covered by a large cutting board that housed a pile of celery, bell peppers and onions. "What is this, huh?" he asked Margaret.
She turned around to open her mouth before being cut off by Sydney, "It's gumbo, white boy." She said, holding a small bag of shellfish in one hand and a small, wrapped sausage in the other. "We're fine, get outta the way." she said, moving past him.
Margaret shot Carmen a look, a piece of hair flying out from her bun as she turned back around. "Hey, put your hair back sweetheart, nobody wants that in their food." Richie called out at Margaret, waking towards her.
She smiled, rolling her eyes, "You wish you had hair to put back." she fired back, surprised with her own response.
Richie widened his eyes, looking around at no one in particular, "Look who finally grew some balls. Good for you, Margy." He laughed before leaning against the counter, "If ignorance is bliss, you must be the happiest person alive." he replied in a sarcastic tone, jutting his chin at her.
Sydney snicked beside her, making Margaret swat at her arm. "That's where you wanna go? Ok..." she also leaned against the counter, relaxing into it. "Do you want me to tell the group how I caught you singing a Taylor Swift song while on your smoke break?" she asked in a sweet tone.
Richie's eyes went wide, pointing a finger at Margaret, "Hey, watch-"
"Shut the fuck up and get back to work." Carmen said, fed up with their back and forth.
Richie put his hands up in defense, "Sorry your royal fuckin majesty. If you haven't seen," Richie motioned around the kitchen, "we're done with prep."
He huffed, about to walk off before turning back to her, eyes practically boring into hers. "Knock it off and get back to work" he said lowly after Richie and Sydney had left their sides.
Margaret felt her frustration boiling up at just his words. Their closeness ticked her off, making her want to shove him backwards. He was treating her like she was new again, like a child.
She turned to him glaring, "I'm taking my break." she said through gritted teeth.
As she walked away, pulling off her apron, he called out, "And you can take it at the register!"
Margaret muttered a string of insults under her breath as she shoved her apron into her locker. She trudged to the counter, putting on a forced smile, "Hey what can I get ya?"
The heavyset man in front of her grinned, "How about your number?" There was an awkward beat between the 2 before he spoke again, "God lighten up, I'm just kidding." he stopped talking, giving Margaret a chance to let out a dry laugh. "Can I get a uh..beef sandwich?"
"Sure thing. Anything else?" she wrote the order down a notepad, looking back up at him.
"You sure I can't get your number? I mean, you're gorgeous." He tried again, walking closer to the register.
"Sorry I have a boyfriend." she lied in an attempt to ward the man off. "Is there really anything else I can get you?"
"No, just that ass and a bottle of wine for the night." he said lowly, his voice rough with lust.
"What the fuck did you just say?" Carmen asked, basically appearing being Margaret. She looked back, startled by his presence.
"Are you the boyfriend?" the man asked.
"Am I the what - no, I'm not the boyfriend." He said raising his voice, walking around the counter.
"Then you heard what I said." his gaze focused back on Margaret, "I meant what I said." he waggled his eyebrows.
Carmen's hands appeared on the man's shoulders, pushing him backwards, away from the register.
Away from Margaret.
The man whipped around, backhanding Carmen in the face. Carmen stumbled back, holding his cheek before charging at the man.
He took him to the ground, connecting a few good punches to the man's face before Richie pulled him off. "Margy, go take him to get his hands cleaned. Who knows how much cholesterol that motherfucker has in his blood."
Margaret nodded her head, any animosity she had towards Carmen disappearing in that moment. The caretaker in her overrode her ability to stay mad at him. Margaret grabbed him by his forearm, dragging him into the back.
She practically pushed him down in his chair as she fumbled for the first aid kit. As she opened it, Carmen saw how badly her hands were shaking. She pulled out the bottle of rubbing alcohol, pouring a little bit onto a cotton ball.
As she gently pushed down on his split cheek, he inhaled sharply, grabbing the arm of his chair. "I know." she said quietly, turning back to the kit.
He watched intently as her hands tried to open a Steri-Strip. Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed the strip out of her hands. After opened it, he set the crumbled wrapping on the desk and handed the strip to her. Margaret mumbled a quiet, "thank you" as she carefully put the strip on. He watched her relax, the tension slowly leaving her body.
"I thought you were angry with me." he said quietly, his light eyes flicking up to meet her gaze. Her teeth were clamped down on her bottom lip as she focused on putting the strip on.
She lowered her hands, her eyes only meeting his for a second before turning around. "I am, but I'm also not an asshole." she said, snapping the first aid kit closed and putting it away.
Margaret nodded him a goodbye before turning and walking out of the office. Carmen sighed, leaning back in his chair and exhaling, his sides already beginning to bruise.
There was 2 sharp raps coming from the doorway of his office, causing him to turn in his head. Richie stood there, arms crossed.
"What?" Carmen asked, confused by the smug look on Richie's face.
"I thought you were angry with me." Richie mocked as he walked into Carmen's office.
Carmen shoved him, then rolled his eyes. "You know what, shut the fuck up."
Richie let out a dry laugh, "Everyone can see that you're dumb over that girl, Cousin."
"If you're referring to what just happened," he scoffed, standing up, "I would do that for any one of you guys." he jabbed a finger at Richie's chest, resulting in Richie smacking his arm away.
"Carmen.." Richie teased, a toothy grin spreading across his face.
"I'm not doing this." Carmen said, walking out of his office, leaving Richie behind.
"Keep saying it's not a crush," Richie called behind him. Carmen huffed, turning back around and walking into the office, pushing Richie in with him.
"Stop it." he said lowly, closing the door.
Richie loved seeing him squirm in denial, furthering his need to keep teasing Carmen, "The only pair in the room that can't see shit by now is you two."
"Rich, cut it out." Carmen said, enunciating every word. He gave him one last cutting look before opening the door to leave the office.
"P.S. do something about it." Richie yelled, making sure anyone within a 5 mile radius heard him.
Carmen shook his head, mumbling a string of insults under his breath as he snatched his coat from the locker. Richie brushed past him to leave out the back door.
"Why you leavin' out the back?" Carmen asked, about to zip his coat up.
Richie fumbled for words before spitting out, "Smoke break."
Carmen slung his bag over his shoulder, walking over to Richie, "Are you fucking dealing again?" There was a long pause between them before Richie gave an ever-so slight nod. "Cousin, what the fuck?"
"It's just to make a little extra cash for the restaurant until it gets back up on its feet." he reassured, his hand reaching for the door handle.
Carmen watched him for a moment with intense eyes before waving him off, "I don't even care anymore. Night." he said, leaving Richie behind him.
As he approached the front, he saw the silhouette of Margaret standing outside. He walked out, perplexed, "Why are you still here?"
Margaret clutched her heart, "Holy fuck you scared me." she regained herself before answering, "I'm just waiting for a ride."
"I see." Carmen answered curtly. His gut clawed at him to say something, literally anything to fill the silence. "I can walk you home."
Anything but that.
Margaret looked over at him, the bright city lights casting a plethora of colors over her soft features, "It's fine, I'm sure he's almost here anyways." she dismissed, glancing down at the ground as she answered.
"He?" Carmen asked.
"Just a friend. Neighbor really."
Carmen drew in a long breath, "See ya, Adler."
"Night, Berzatto." He began to walk down the street to his apartment complex, only making it a few feet before he heard Margaret mumbling. "Shit."
He turned around, seeing her face lit up with the light from her phone screen. "You good?"
"Yeah." she clicked it off, looking at Carmen, "I just have to walk home, I could use the steps anyways." she lightly joked. She tugged her jacket tighter over her shoulders, then began to walk in the direction to her apartment. Carmen watched her as she left, debating if he should go with her or not.
"Let me walk you home." He said, catching up behind her.
Margaret looked over at him in surprise, then continued walking. "Suit yourself." she shrugged.
Without a word, Carmen gently slid his hand on her waist, guiding her to his left side ; away from the road. Her breath hitched at the foreign contact, turning to look at him. He stared straight ahead, his expression unchanging but she saw his jaw clench.
"I'm sorry," she broke the silence as they approached her apartment complex. "I really shouldn't have gotten that upset about that night. It was so stupid."
Carmen looked down at her for a beat, "It's not stupid," he looked back up, "I can understand where you're coming from."
They reached the complex, stopping in front of the few stairs that were presented at the entrance of the apartments. Margaret drew in a shaky breath, "I blew it way out of proportion. I just-" she cut herself off, rubbing her eyes tiredly, "Nevermind, I'm going to bed. Night."
She turned to walk up the steps when Carmen caught her by the end of her bag, "No, what were you gonna say?" he asked, genuinely intrigued.
"No, I'm just gonna trauma dump everything on you and I hate those type of people." she said, shutting down his question.
"Alright." he backed off, figuratively and literally. He backed up from the steps, saying his goodbyes.
As Margaret slid the key into the lock of the main complex door, she couldn't help but look at Carmen walk away. Her stomach fluttered, foreign feelings rising in her. She huffed, turning the her key and opening the door.
END
AN: SOOOOO what did we think of this cute little filler chapter?? also i'm so so sorry for not updating in literally a month guys 🫣