marina ⋆ ༅˚🌺 •

You were making a simple steak dinner. Throughout the filming process, you explained each step. You weren’t much a cooker before you got casted in The Bear. In all honesty, you were very picky with your food and you desperately wanted to change that. Thankfully, by going to culinary school for your role, you were able to change your habit.

“I feel like I’m back in my apartment making dinner for my boyfriend. He loves when I cook steak.” You said as you sliced some potatoes.

“Does your boyfriend cook?” A producer asked.

You stopped your actions. “He tries and I love his effort. But I do most of the cooking. I don’t mind. I found comfort in cooking and I learned that it’s peaceful.”

“Have you tried teaching him?” The same producer asked.

“Our schedules sometimes don’t align. He has road trips, I have meetings or I’m filming in another city. But during the off season I do teach him some things, but it always ends up with me cooking the entire meal by myself.” You replied.

Eventually you were done with your steak and potatoes. You looked into the camera as you did the outro for the video. “Not going to lie, I think this might be the best steak I have ever made,” you picked up a piece and ate it. You were right. “I don’t know if this is crazy but I’m tearing up right now because I just thought about Anthony Bourdain,” you laughed through your incoming tears. You surely sounded crazy. The camera crew laughed at your words. “Local woman eats a piece of steak that makes her cry and think of Anthony Bourdain.”

You cleaned your hands and tears away and continued with the video. “Season five of the bear is coming soon. Thank you for watching me get emotional while eating. Um. . . Oh! Connor, I know you’re watching, love you and I’ll make you steak when I see you!”

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liked by franknazar14, ayoedebiri and others

yourusername goodnight from chef bitch 🫶🏼 season 5 of the bear out now. ❤️

franknazar14 yes chef 🫡

ebonmossbachrach *cousin chef bitch

yourusername miss you cousin ❤️

_connorbedard when she kicks you out of the kitchen 😝

yourusername see you in the kitchen tonight gorgeous 🥰

bedsyvibes LMAO SHE DEFINITELY SAW THE TWEETS

not only was it nice to get away from the hustle and bustle that is being a professional hockey player, but nobody noticed him. he was a rookie player at the time, so unless you were a fan of the san jose sharks especially, the likelihood of someone knowing him out in the world was pretty low.

it was awesome.

when he came to your city, he'd been feeling especially down.

but then he saw you.

you were working as a barista in his favorite coffee shop of your city. he'd been there lots of times before, so much so that he recognized a lot of your co-workers, but not you.

you were so bubbly and kind, even suggested a change in his usual order. a creature of habit, william was hesitant, but you were just so excited about it, and he wanted to see you smile more, so he agreed.

turns out, it was amazing. now that's how he orders his coffee everywhere.

the two of you talked a lot that first time he saw you, but then they had to leave for their game in the next city.

when they came back to your city, william rushed to your cafe. you just so happened to be working.

by the third trip, he asked for your number. and then the two of you were talking constantly. texting, calling, facetiming. pretty much, if will wasn't actively on the ice playing a game, he was talking to you in some way.

you got together pretty quick after that.

you couldn't figure out how you'd gotten so lucky. not only were you dating a pro hockey player, but he's an amazing guy. he always texts you good morning and good night, asks how your shifts were, literally everything that you ever dreamed of your perfect guy doing, william did without thinking, without having to be asked. he did it because it made him happy, and that made it ten times better.

it's been around two years since the two of you got together, and even though you love each other so much the long distance doesn't affect you very much, it still sucks that you can't be together.

you don't live in san jose, and you can't move there right now, because you're still in college. you're getting close to being done, to finishing your major, but until then, you're stuck in your hometown. that means that you can only see william in person if he's on a break, or if he's playing in your city. which happens, yes, but not very often. and even when he does come to your city to play a game, it's always hard to find time to actually spend together. usually he stumbles into your apartment after a game, and the two of you watch a movie and cuddle. any time spent together is good time spent together.

but you're sick of it. you want to go on a date with william, a real date. you've been on dates before, obviously, but it's been a long time.

so you decide to surprise him.

you decide to fly into san jose, since the two of you rarely spend time at william's apartment. you've only been there once or twice, and the few times you have, you've only been there for a few hours. usually he comes to you, and you spend the night in at your apartment. you've never spent the night at william's place, and you want to change that for this trip.

you fly in before a home game. they'll play the game tonight, and then have a day off tomorrow, perfect time for the two of you to spend together.

when you arrive in san jose, you have about an hour before the game starts. you change in the airport bathroom, putting on your "eklund" jersey and his favorite skirt of yours, something tiny and black, then uber to SAP center in time to see some of warm up.

you made sure to buy the best tickets, right behind the sharks bench.

he doesn't notice you right away, busy shooting pucks at the goal and doing his stretches. you're sat by yourself, smiling excitedly at will and macklin as they see you. they'd agreed not to tell william, or to alert him when you arrived. you thought it would be best if he noticed you organically.

it happens right before the game starts.

you're sitting behind the bench, looking at your phone, when something in you tells you to look up.

he's in the bench area, standing up and turned around, eyes on you. there's a soft look on his face, cheeks pink, and starting open-mouthed at you in shock.

you smile and raise a hand in a soft wave, which he immediately returns.

william knows in that moment that the sharks have to win this game. for you.

he gets a hat trick. he's playing harder than he probably ever has, his mind switching between thinking about you and hockey every other second.

with every goal he makes, you stand up and cheer louder than anyone else, banging on the plexiglass that separates you from your boyfriend, your heart filling with pride, smiling so wide your face hurts. every time, he comes off the ice and looks straight at you, blowing you a kiss and placing his hand on the glass for a few seconds.

after the game, you rush to the family room. he comes out of the locker room faster than usual, having rushed through a shower and getting ready.

he practically runs out, the two of you colliding so hard you fall back a little bit, but he's there to catch you.

william wraps his arms around you and picks you up off the ground, swinging you around a few times. the two of you laugh together, holding onto each other tight, both of you so, so glad to be together again.

a few of the other wags around "awww" and make cute faces at the two of you, but you barely acknowledge them. the only thing you and will can think about right now is finally being able to hold each other in your arms.

"you surprised me!" he says as the two of you walk out together, hand in hand. "i didn't think i wqas going to see you again until we play in your city next month!"

you giggle. "i know!" you lean into his side, inhaling the familiar scent of his cologne. every time the two of you part, you exchange something drenched in the other's perfume or cologne. the sharks hoodie you requested from him was fading, so being this close to the scent in person makes you smile. "i just couldn't wait any longer to see you,"

"i'm so happy," he says, sounding like he's on cloud nine.

william opens the passenger side door for you to climb in, then gets in the driver's side. it doesn't take long for his hand to settle on your thigh, the weight comforting after so long apart. he doesn't want to be not touching you for even a second, a feeling you relate to heavily. you place your hand over his, caressing the back of his hand with your thumb.

when he stops at a red light, you lean over and kiss his cheek. "i'm really happy, too,"

you two spend that night cuddling and watching your favorite movies. you talk a lot, catching up with each other. he tells you about everything going on with his teammates, all the games they've played, how they've gone good or bad. you tell him about all the drama at the cafe, how you have a new manager and he's being too nitpicky about everything, and how it's frustrating you to no end.

you also mention about how one of your co-workers found out you were dating him, and told everyone else.

"it was a chaotic few days," you say. the two of you are laying on his couch, you're cuddled into his chest, fidgeting with his fingers. "everyone was asking me questions, and people were acting weird around me. it kind of sucked, but it's blown over,"

william's heart squeezes. he hates the thought of you struggling with anything, especially if it's directly related to him. "i'm so sorry, alskling," he murmurs, kissing your hairline. "i wish i could fix everything for you,"

you smile. he says this a lot. probably 30% of what william says to you is him wishing he could solve every problem you ever face, get rid of everything you've ever struggled with. he hates seeing you upset about anything, and has even offered to fly out immediately after a game when you had a bad day.

of course, you didn't let him, saying he needed to go back to the hotel and rest, but said that you guys could facetime.

your favorite song right now is the song "stateside" by pinkpantheress, because of one specific lyric that reminds you of you and your boyfriend's relationship.

kissing my swedish boy over facetime

that lyric always makes you smile, because it's something you and will do. at the end of every facetime, you both lean in and make loud, exaggerated kissing noises to each other. it's not actually kissing, because you're not together, but it makes you both laugh and makes you feel a little bit better about the situation. at least, for a minute.

tonight, the two of you fall asleep in each other's arms. you're cuddled in william's bed, his thick comforter over the both of you. falling asleep together has always been one of your favorite things, and william's even happier, because this was completely unexpected.

tomorrow, the two of you will go out and have a day with each other. probably go for a walk in the park, have lunch at a cute place, then dinner at a fancy restaurant. he loves spoiling you, and does it every chance he gets.

he'll probably surprise you with a trip to the lego store, and buy you something you've wanted for a while. his favorite thing to spoil you with is legos, because you have trouble justifying that purchase with yourself, so he buys them for you.

but tonight, the two of you are focused on each other, in the comfort and privacy of william's apartment.

he's thanked you a million times since reuniting with you after the game today. every time you tell him that he doesn't have to thank you, that you did it because you want to. and it's true.

william does so much for you. every once in a while, it will hit you like a truck how lucky you are, how amazing he is and how you have absolutely no idea how you managed to convince him to date you (even though he was the one who asked you to be his girlfriend).

the two of you are nearly asleep, the movie you put on fading into the background as you drift off.

right before you slip into sleep, you hear him murmur, "i'm so lucky to have you. you're the best thing that's ever happened to me,"

you smile wide as you're consumed by unconsciousness.

he has no idea how lucky you are.