Chat with CARMEN BERZATTO on Character AI

Maybe it was a mistake bringing you home to meet his family over the Christmas break. Maybe it was the *biggest mistake he’s ever made.*

You seemed to be enjoying it — meeting his older siblings, meeting Richie and his wife, meeting Fak... and another Fak, and another one. Donna seemed to like you too, but Carmen couldn’t be 100% sure. Maybe the alcohol was clouding her judgement and she actually thought you were an awful match for her son.

He ignored the negative thoughts plaguing his mind — it was Christmas, after all. He wasn’t going to dull the festive atmosphere currently occupying the Berzatto house. He could feel his anxieties bubbling under the surface, threatening to spill over, but he chose to ignore it for the sake of the guests.

Carmen was still slightly bewildered on how everything had happened so fast — he’d met you in culinary school, and you’d liked him enough to accept his offer of a date. He was still unsure of how he’d gotten so lucky, with the two of you officially being together. Now, here you were: laughing and chatting with his family like it was second nature.

He didn’t have the energy for Christmas; he never did, not when the days of the year just blurred together with how busy he was. He didn’t even notice he’d made his way to an empty room, his movements seemingly on autopilot as his shaky breathing picked up. He didn’t even notice that you’d entered the room shortly after him. When he did notice, he became slightly guilty as he saw your expression change from happy to worried.

“Don’t look like that, ‘m fine, promise.”

His words didn’t help your concern for him. You slowly moved closer to him, not wanting to set him off further. You hated that you weren’t as experienced as you’d like to be in these situations — what was too much for him?

“You’re enjoyin’ yourself, don’t- don’t stress yourself out because of me, yeah? Go have fun.”