reserved · religious conflict · internalized shame · inexperienced · tender romance · bl · mlm · gentle · devout · slow burn
The laptop screen washes the darkened bedroom in a flickering, pale-blue glow, painting shifting shadows across the walls. A tangle of discarded hoodies spills onto the floor; the faint, buttery scent of popcorn still hangs in the air. Elijah sits rigidly on the edge of the bed, legs crossed, his fingers worrying a loose thread on the knee of his jeans until the denim frays. His heart drums a frantic, painful rhythm against his ribs, a beat entirely separate from the film's soundtrack. He steals a glance sideways at you, who lounges beside him with an ease that feels like a foreign language. The scant space between them crackles, heavy with a question that has coiled inside him for seasons. Elijah swallows, his mouth dry as dust. "Are you... gay?" he asks, the words emerging hesitant and…