"A lone sword" -a one-shots book

" truffles "

the bear x reader
platonic
+mental health

"

You were sad once. Horribly so. It consumed you, completely trumping any other emotion, it was so overwhelming you had to learn to survive through it or else it'd kill you. But, and not to put too much pressure on yourself, cooking changed that. Even when you couldn't even motivate yourself to brush your teeth you just had to get up to try the newest recipe revealed to be a Chef Berzatto staple.

Even at your lowest, cooking was your saving grace, from so far the influence of famous chefs saved your life time and time again. But as you grew happier and more sane, as each day became easier and easier to bear. Your love for cooking began to wane.

You told yourself that maybe it was a phase. That'd return to the cookbooks in no time, that putting them into storage boxes meant nothing. When you pushed your assortment of unique utensils that only had purpose to the most devout of cooks in a cupboard you could barely reach, you told yourself that it was because you didn't cook so often anymore. But when you looked down at your rare truffle you had bought in a pair at a revered restaurant, in regret? You knew you had grown to fall out of love with your saving grace.

So when your childhood friend invited you to try out her award-winning little brother's new restaurant you were surprised by your excitement. The same rewarding motivation that got you into your marble clad high-rise and out of closets cosplaying motels.

..

'Chicago is colder than I remember.' I had expected a light chill, but the weatherman must've been playing a joke on me since it was colder than anywhere in Nashville. Man am I missing Nashville.

I huffed the thought out of my head and looked up at the pale building. Apparently it used to be Mikey's place, it was hard to believe that since Mikey's place was warm and confident, whereas this place was just as cold as its surroundings and had an odd peace about.

"Y/N?" I twisted my head to face an excited smile from the girl- woman I hadn't seen in three years.

"Hey Nat-" She tossed herself at me, carrying more weight than she had last. "You're pregnant." I noticed as she let go, her wide smile still present.

"Yeah." She trailed off, she had a lost look on her face whenever she looked at me. It was the same look she gave her mom, and the same she gave Carmen. That low kind look, that basically begged me to spill my inner secrets. "Here, why do you come in. I'll have them whip a quick sandwich for you." I nodded, thankful she decided against her impromptu therapy session.

I followed her in and tried to ignore the new decorations before sitting down in an expensive looking chair to catch up with Natalie.

"What do you think of the place?" Her smile was more subdued, but still visible as she got comfortable. "It's so different now right?"

I only nodded as subconsciously took a menu, my heart unexpectedly skipping several beats at the complex recipes provided.

Natalie laughed breathlessly and I looked up her immediately. "What is it?"

"You're still the same." She giggled out loud this time. "I'll tell Carmen, or Sydney, or whoever's in the kitchen to make you something real quick." I gave another nod before letting myself return to the menu, my body shifting in an excitement I had been missing at every treat I saw. Two in particular caught my eye, one for it's name, and another for it's ingredients.

One citrusy desert with the name sake of the past owner, and a simpler dish that was credited to a simple Sydney. I tried to imagine the flavors of the salmon that was plated with the dish, it was served sweeter than savory. Which was pretty normal for salmon seeing as it was a sweeter fish. The real intrigue came from the candied fruits it was paired with, plated cold, frozen actually. I wondered how that'd would taste, of maybe the intent was to have it melt onto the plate next to the steamed salmon to create a sauce and feel of interaction.

..

"Carmen, could I get that sandwich I asked for?" Natalie had a sparkly look in her eye as she entered the kitchen. Made Carmen wonder about the familiar voice from inside the dining room.

"I finished a while ago." Carmen tilted his head in the direction of the odd sandwich, a pepperoni and salami salad basically. "Who's it for?"

Natalie collected the sandwich and after a quick failed attempt to hold it like sever she clutched it safely with both her hands like a child showing off their masterpiece. "It's just Y/N." But it obviously wasn't just Y/N because she was so excited that she actually had to take a breath to say their name at the same level as she started the sentence with.

"Y/N huh, how are they?" Carmen asked haphazardly, he was trying to do a better job at small talk, Claire was better at that sort of thing.

The way his sister took a breath told Carmen all he needed to know.

"Good. They look very good, I didn't expect you to ask." To be fair Carmen wouldn't have asked. "They'll probably come back soon, you know how much they love your food. How much they love the Berzattos." Natalie had an air of arrogance and a tone of relief on her breath.

"That's nice."

"It is nice, once they leave I'll get back to you on the schedule for this week." Natalie smiled as she basically skipped out with the peculiar sandwich, Y/N's favorite.

...

974 words

Authors Note:

This story was made in excitement for season 3 of 'The Bear'. Kinda wanted a lost ending for this since I'm imagining it's set at the end of season 2, it's more of a story to think about than a full story. Which I hope isn't too annoying.