Eyes on You(Forenzik x Reader)

Chapter 12: You and Me

(Tw: Home invasion, assault, kidnapping, voyeurism, mentions of sexual behavior, references to history of sexual assault/abuse, very poor coping skills, flashbacks.)

(Y/n) brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear while grabbing her things before work. A set of house keys, her wallet, and a flip phone. That was all she needed for work. No more purse, no more work locker, no more purpose for the medical degree she spent her whole life working for. She sighed as she grabbed her apron and shoved it into an old drawstring bag she found in Gerasim's old bedroom which she was free to stay in thanks to his family. She gave a polite wave to Georgi and Nata, who smiled and waved back. She didn't understand a word of what they said to her and they didn't understand her, so nonverbal communication quickly became common use in the Yakovlev family house. Which was a bit uncomfortable at first, but gradually became more normal for (Y/n).

She didn't have to talk at all. She could save her voice for work, not that she had to though. She really only worked at a coffee shop until she could get her citizenship. Once she got that, she could apply to much bigger, more in her field jobs.
Until then, she just had to stick it out.

(Y/n) made it to her shift early, giving herself time to mentally prepare for a whole day of not speaking to anyone. She couldn't remember the last time she spoke, she's only had to take orders for tourists a small handful of times. This new life of hers became so isolated so quickly.
In some morbid way, she kind of missed the constant company of the followers. Some of them waved at her when she noticed them, but they never spoke to her. She would have less of an issue if they actually made small talk with her. She sighed and took out an English to Russian dictionary from her drawstring, flipping through the pages to try and practice some basic sentences.

Once her shift officially started, she got to work just making the orders. Her coworkers were, for the most part, incredibly patient with her. They would just point at the menu behind the counter and would stop her if the drink was modified at all. One of her coworkers would help her try to read the order, they were super nice to her.

While she was making a simple latte, her coworker called her over. There was a man at the register, he was tall and skinny. His hair looked soft, it was a coffee brown that shined in the light. He had a navy blue pinstripe suit that hugged his figure, and he seemed to be on the phone. His leg impatiently bounced as he stared at the two.

"Does she know English?" He asked, with what sounded like a New York accent. He gestured at (Y/n), still looking at her coworker. They turned their attention to (Y/n), clearly not understanding what he said.

"Yes, sir I know English." She nodded, staring at the register.
"Good, I don't have much time.." He stopped with his mouth half open, eyeing her up and down. He smiled a little. "..I can push my meeting back a little if you need some time though."
She smiled back at him. "I won't hold you up, what can I get started for you?"
He leaned into his phone for a second, "Let me call you back, okay? Okay." He hung up and turned back to her. "Right, uh.. What do you usually like here?"
(Y/n) pressed her lips together while she thought. "There's this lavender honey latte that we just got-"
"Hot or iced?"
(Y/n) smiled and giggled. "Usually I'm supposed to ask that."
"Figured I'd beat you to it." He winked. She felt her face heat up a little, getting a little nervous as he chuckled.
"Cute, just ring me up for that and a croissant. Ham and cheese if you can."

She bit her lip and nodded. "Sure thing, what's the name for the order?"
"Daniel, thanks for the suggestions Miss.." He reached out and tilted her name tag up to get a good look at it, (Y/n) felt a familiar chill down her spine as he did so. It wasn't the good kind though.
"... (Y/n). Noted."
(Y/n) gulped and took a deep breath. His face looked familiar, yet not familiar enough to truly freak out over. It couldn't be him, there was no possible way for it to be him. He paid for his food and coffee and went to the waiting area, where it felt like he always had direct line of sight of her. She felt nervous, sweating as she tried to make his order right.