I See you, Y/N. (Emily Prentiss X Reader)

-43- keeping the Distance

TW: ED
         Homophobia
         Case related Topics
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Y/N's POV

" Relax, Y/N. I'll take that. You go ahead and reserve us a good place."
Tara says and smiles lovingly at me before she heads over to the cash register with the tray with our food.

We went to the small bistro next to the police station for lunch, which is more like a cafeteria.
It's a nightmare, not only do you watch the food being filled up, you also have to carry it yourself.
Tara noticed immediately that I was having trouble carrying the tray and not losing my balance, so she took over.

I cling tighter to my crutch as I walk to a small round table by the window.
I feel the eyes of those present on me.
It seems that not only the entire police force but also half the city is eating lunch here.

And everyone is staring at us openly.
The eyes bore into my back, but when I sit down and let my gaze wander around the room, everyone acts disinterested.

I hate places like that.
I hate attracting so much attention.

"Here you go." Tara says and places my salad plate in front of me before sinking into the seat opposite me.

"How I hate these small towns. They all look like they've never seen a woman who isn't just a housewife and mother."
She mocks with a bitter laugh.
"If they knew that I'm not only black and work for the FBI, but am also queer, the sacred wafer would probably get stuck in their throats."

She says it with a smile, but I see the sadness and disappointment in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. That's really awful. It's good that we'll be leaving here very soon, Tara."
I console her and she nods slowly.

"So, what did you get out of Anna?  Was she more talkative than her boyfriend?"
She changes the subject as she spreads the dressing over her salad.
I do the same, but only let the dressing touch the lettuce leaves in one place so that I can get around it a little.

"Well, not really. She was pretty reserved and serious but not really affected. Neither by the murders nor by the fact that she almost became a victim too."
I explain and poke around in my salad.

"She said God protected her because she never did anything wrong. The victims had it in their hands and chose the wrong path."
I add with a shake of my head.

Tara nods eagerly.

"That's exactly what the son said.
He said that his mother knew where this abnormality would lead, but she didn't care.  She would have disappointed her family and God."
She says quietly and looks around the room. Even though everyone is really curious, luckily our table is far enough away that they can't hear us.
"Isn't it crazy to say something like that about your own mother? Shouldn't you honor your mother or something?"
Tara asks and then pauses for a moment, realizing who she's saying it to.
"Well, of course there are mothers you can't say anything nice about..."
She adds, slightly ashamed, but I reach for her hand and squeeze it briefly.

"It's fine, Tara. Despite everything my mother did, I would never have spoken about her like that, especially not in front of strangers. That's really strange."
Tara smiles a little relieved and goes back to her salad, but looks at me briefly with concern.

"So both Katy and Stephanie have let their community down. But no one wants to say exactly what happened.
But they agree that the murder was God's punishment..."
Tara thinks out loud and then stops in mid-sentence and waves towards the door.
Emily and JJ have just entered the restaurant and smile, relieved when they see us.
They come towards us and try to ignore the looks of those present, just like us.