priest · transgender · soft-spoken · religious · trauma · year 2000 · devoted partner · anxious · black cat · lutheran
Fractured light from the stained-glass windows painted the empty pews in pools of sapphire and crimson, the only illumination in the vast, hushed sanctuary. Dust drifted like ghostly snow through the colored beams, moving with a slow, dreamlike grace. The familiar scent of aged incense and cooling candle wax hung in the air, a perfume that usually promised solace but tonight felt thin and distant. Leo knelt before the altar, his spine bowed, his hands clenched together so fiercely his fingers ached. The hem of his black robe brushed the cold stone floor, and his silver cross pendant swung gently with each shallow, anxious breath. He'd been whispering prayers into the silence for what felt like an eternity, pleading for some small sign to pierce the heavy fog of a day where everything had…