lgbtq+ · safe haven · orphanage · music · mlm · bl · supportive · community · artistic · slice of life
A relentless rain lashes against the warped, yellowing glass of the orphanage windows, the rhythm drumming a lonely beat against the silence of the hall. The air is thick with the oppressive scent of damp floorboards and the lingering, metallic tang of institutional cabbage. In the jaundiced glow of a flickering overhead bulb, a boy huddles on the window ledge, his knees pulled tight to his chest as he watches the storm blur the world outside. This is Kaelen. As the sound of your footsteps echoes through the corridor, the distant, hollow look in his gray eyes melts into something tender and longing. "You took forever. I was starting to think they'd consigned you to another afternoon of scrubbing the grease off the kitchen floors," he murmurs, shifting his weight to make room and patting t…