Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandom:
Relationship:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Series:
Part 8 of The Cook, The Handyman, His Wife (They're Lovers)
Stats:
Published:
2023-02-18
Words:
547
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
8
Kudos:
44
Bookmarks:
2
Hits:
536

Their Compliments to the Chef

Summary:

Bob doesn't take compliments well. That doesn't stop his partners at all. Bob loves them for their tenacity.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

Linda’s never at a loss for a compliment. Although she’s blunt and sometimes unintentionally hurtful, so is Bob. And when push comes to shove, Linda always knows exactly what to say to cheer Bob up. That’s just one of the many reasons that Linda is Bob’s sunshine, no matter the weather.

 

Teddy’s never been stingy with his words, either. Besides talking a mile a minute, the burly man compliments everyone constantly at the slightest excuse. Teddy is similar to Linda (and Bob himself) in that, sometimes, he says the quiet part out loud. But he always knows exactly what to say to make Bob smile. That’s just one of the many reasons that Teddy is Bob’s best non-Linda friend, regardless of Teddy’s oddities.

 

Thus, when Bob and Linda start dating Teddy, Bob doesn’t expect much to change in regards to how often Linda and Teddy compliment him. Bob doesn’t have the greatest self-esteem so he notices nice words more readily (because of course his brain wants to find ways to make those words into weapons). Bob does his best to accept compliments with grace and ignore the little stabs of “they’re lying or they’re wrong or they’re both” that hit him with every word of praise.

 

“Bobby, this burger is your best yet!” Teddy says with his mouth full, pulling Bob from his thoughts. “Seriously, you make the best caramelized onions! And gravy on a burger? It’s genius!”

 

“The Gravy of Shallot” Burger isn’t Bob’s best pun but it is a good burger. Bob had whipped up the recipe first, unusual with his specials, and then worked backwards to find the proper name. Bob was just thinking how cliche that name was, grumbling under his breath behind the grill, when Teddy spoke up.

 

Linda reaches over to take a fry from Teddy’s plate, scooping up some gravy with the potato and moaning with pleasure. It’s a little unprofessional, though Bob does feel his face flush at the sound. “Oh my God, Bobby! He’s not kiddin’! Good Lord!”

 

“You ever done crack, Lin?” Teddy teases. “‘Cause this is like–like, crack on speed or something!”

 

Bob wants to argue but Teddy’s words draw him up short. “Wait. Have you ever done crack, Teddy?”

 

Teddy smiles at Bob behind the order window and Linda at the counter. “Nah, I always figured I’m anxious enough without drugs. But I can imagine and this gravy is top dollar crack gravy!”

 

Linda laughs and kisses Teddy’s temple. “Bobby’s the best cook I’ve ever met. His gravy doesn’t need crack in it.”

 

The other two continue to chat, somehow oblivious to Bob’s blatantly-obvious adoration. He may not take compliments well but he does appreciate them and love the people who say them for beating away his self-doubt. And despite his initial thinking, dating Teddy makes Linda and Teddy both even more admiring. They feed off of each other. Teddy can now say all that he feels without any worries about coming on too strong or being weird. Linda now has someone just as in love with words of praise as her. They’re going to drown Bob in compliments, each as genuine and sincere as they themselves.

 

Bob flips Teddy’s second Burger of the Day and smiles. He’ll just have to learn to swim.

Notes:

I wrote this fanfiction for jimmyjrsmusoems on Tumblr, using A Valentine's Day prompt list. This story uses Prompt 14, cupid's arrow (your choice). I chose prompt 24, compliments. Linda and Teddy canonically give compliments a lot and I headcanon that "words of affirmation" are a shared love language for them. Bob also uses words of affirmation, but his tend to be in big speeches when things are dire. Bob also canonically has terrible self-esteem. I channeled my own issues with self-worth to write Bob in this one and I'm a little proud of how well I managed to get down the feelings of disbelief countered by love that people with depression et al. often have.