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KITTY AND RICHIE LEFT THE Bear together. The journey to Kitty's place was quiet, with her driving whilst Richie sat in the passenger seat, a deep frown on his face, his brows scrunched up together, eyes watching the scenery go by.
Kitty had briefly grabbed his hand, squeezing it before placing it back onto the steering wheel. When she did that, Richie had turned to look at her. His face relaxing as he stared lovingly at the woman sitting beside him. A woman that meant so much to him. A woman that was there for him even when he messed shit up as he tried to better himself. A woman that he had never thought he'd end up loving as deeply as he did.
"I don't deserve you."
Kitty's brows raised as she parked the car outside her apartment block. She switched the engine off and turned her body to face Richie – who was refusing to look at her now. His eyes finding something outside to hold his attention on instead.
"What?" She asked, shaking her head.
Richie let out a sigh and looked down at his hands, "You deserve better."
Kitty reached forward and placed her hand in his, squeezing his fingers, "Don't say shit like that, Richie. Take your own advice."
Richie raised a brow as he tilted his head, letting himself glance briefly at Kitty. His chest aching as he stared at her. The love he felt for her was overwhelming, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that she was far too good for him. That even when he was trying to be better, he'd mess up and say the wrong thing or act out in anger. She was so much better than him – and he couldn't understand why she stayed.
"Let something good happen to you," She reminded him of his words. The words he spoke earlier to Carmy when it was Carmy that was the one sabotaging his own life, "You're a good man who deserves good things. And I'm most certainly not good, but you allowed me in and I allowed you in. That should be good enough. We deserve each other because we're both messy as shit, but we're tryin' – I see you tryin' so much. Maybe you said things you regret to Carmy tonight, but he was being a piece of shit to you – he brought Eva into it. He's family, and families fight sometimes, but it doesn't reflect on your worth."
Richie stared as her as he held onto each and every word that came from her lips. It felt as if a spark had been reignited in his heart. Warmth spreading through his chest. He had never heard her so sincere before.
"I love you, Richie."
He couldn't fight the smile that fought its way upon his lips. It was literally impossible with her staring at him the way she was.
"Who are you and what have you done to Kitty Fak?" He teased, a smirk appearing on his lips as he felt the dark cloud that loomed over him dispersing.
Kitty grinned back and pointed at him with a fake glare, "Tell anyone I said any of that and I'll have your head."
"There she is," Richie grinned before pulling her into a kiss.
The walk upstairs to her apartment was much lighter than the car ride had been. Although there was still some tension in between Richie's furrowed brows and in his shoulders, the conversation they had in the carpark clearly helped to release some of it. He couldn't control Carmy and the way he acted, but he had control over his own life and he needed to remember that. That he also needed to stop sabotaging the good things that were happening to him. And if Kitty was beside him, willing to stay, then he would do whatever he could to make sure he wasn't going to ruin it all.
It was almost terrifying at how much his life had changed.
How this wasn't anything like he thought his life would be like at thirty-seven, yet, it was even more beautiful than he had wanted when he was younger – messy, but beautiful.
The second they entered Kitty's apartment, Richie's phone rang. He fished it out his suit jacket and stared at the caller ID – Carmy. His whole body becoming rigid. Kitty turned to look at him, watching as he sighed and stared at the screen but made no attempt to answer the call. He looked over towards her, as if silently asking her what he should do, but she didn't tell him anything and instead, she shrugged and walked further into the kitchen to grab them a couple of beers.
Richie watched as the call rang out, until the caller ID disappeared and was replaced with a notification of a missed call, then seconds later a voicemail came through. He let out a long sigh before walking into the kitchen and taking a seat at the counter. He grabbed one of the opened beer bottles, placed his phone on the counter and pulled Kitty towards him before she could go off into the living room.
He needed to feel her beside him and she knew that even without him saying the words. So, she came to stand by his side as he unlocked his phone and pressed the voicemail message.
It was silent for a second before Carmy's voice came through.
"I-I don't--I don't really know what I said, but I know I didn't mean it. And...I know you didn't mean it. And, um...Yeah, I think we just, um..."
Kitty squeezed Richie's hand. His eyes were glued to his phone, jaw tightly locked, brows furrowed, eyes swarming with hundreds of different emotions.
"I'm sorry," Carmy said after a long pause, there was pain in his voice and unlike earlier, he sounded much calmer and coherent, "And I love you. And I'm sorry. And, um-- And I'll see you tomorrow. Okay, bye."
And then the message ended.
Richie sniffled and reached a hand up to wipe at his eyes.
A silent enveloped the couple as Richie sat on the stool and Kitty stood beside him. Both of them staring at the phone. It was clear that it would take some time before the ice would thaw over between Richie and Carmy, but Kitty was certainly glad to see that Carmy had taken the first step in apologising for his shitty behavior, otherwise she knew it would have become even more unbearable to work with the two of them.
Before, when The Bear was still The Original Beef, anytime Carmy and Richie fought the entire kitchen felt it. It was like the world was off balance, at an uncomfortable tilt that caused strain to everyone who tried to climb it. If they wanted this restaurant to work, they didn't have to love each other – hell, they didn't even really need to like each other, they just needed to get their heads out of their asses and stop arguing over everything and show each other respect – something that Carmy had wanted from Richie for a long time, but respect was a two way street.
Kitty ran a hand over Richie's back.
He let out a sigh and spun around on the stool. Without saying anything, he wrapped both of his arms around her, pulling her into his chest as his legs parted slightly, giving her enough space to slot between them. She heard him sigh as he dug his face into her neck, his eyes fluttering close. She didn't say anything, but she just stood there, her arms around him, her hand rubbing the back of his neck softly. They stayed that way for a while longer. Just the two of them. Trying to climb out of the chaos of their world.
