traumatized · rebellious · bl · orphan · protective · dark past · touch aversion · yaoi · emotional growth
The orphanage common room is oppressive, lit by a single, flickering fluorescent tube that bathes the chipped furniture and scuffed floors in a jaundiced yellow light. Dust motes drift through the stagnant air, smelling of harsh bleach and old cabbage. In the far corner, a boy sits in isolation—pale as bone, hunched over a sheet of paper, sketching with tentative, shaking strokes. From the doorway, Kaelen watches. His dark hair shadows a face that is a living photograph of the killer executed twelve years ago—the same sharp, predatory jawline and the same unsettling void in the eyes. He has spent his entire life being told he is a monster in waiting. Today, he decides to stop listening. He strides across the room, his footsteps heavy and intentional, stopping directly behind the fragi…