It had been weeks. Weeks with no response at all, not a call, not a return letter, not even a post card to show that he'd even written to the orphanage. Micah passed by this one in particular almost every day on his way in to work, and every day he gazed longingly at the freshlings frolicking about. He had Levi, not to mention their occasional third, which honestly should have been enough, but he couldn't help but want a small fluffy child of his own. He'd neglected to mention this to Levi, though he was sure his partner knew; he always did. Instead, Micah had sat down nearly two months ago to pen a letter to the orphanage. In it he'd gushed about wanting a kid, how happy they'd be, what sort of things they could expect if they let a child into his care. He'd even mentioned that he was hallowed, so he wouldn't be discriminating against any child he would get.
And yet: nothing. Not a single thing in response. So today, after work, he'd come to the decision he would simply have to physically show up. After all, it'd be a bit harder to ignore him that way. The building's exterior was exactly the same as it had been every other time he'd walked by: a bit run-down, but still perfectly functional. A sharp sign sat outside proclaiming it to be "No Stone Unturned Orphanage" in looped handwriting. A mural sprawled across the front of the building, the small hand prints outside decorating it a sign that the children had helped along its' construction.The door softly jingled as he entered and once he'd explained his desire to adopt and eagerness to meet some of the children, he was ushered into one of the playrooms.
There were a handful of children in the room, left to play before dinner with just a single caretaker and a pair of visitors in addition to himself to watch them. His gaze wandered the room but he didn't feel like any particular child needed his attention. Since Micah towered over the freshlings, so he was quick to find the smallest chair he could to sit in. Without fail, this was something that made others giggle, this large imposing imp scrunched into this tiny chair that definitely couldn't fit him. Sure enough, within moments of him taking a seat, one of the freshlings approached him.
"Mister, you're too big for that chair!" They said between giggles, hands over their mouth. "You're gonna crush it!"
"Oh no, anything but that!" he dramatically declared, scooting out of the chair to sit on the floor in front of the little one. He spent the next few hours conversing in turn with each of the children, playing with them and then helping out with dinner. As it drew to a close, he woefully bid farewell to the little tykes. While he would have loved to find one to take home with him that night, he should probably speak with his partner about it.
However, as he made his way through the sparse waiting room, there was a lone child waiting there. They had a couple small bags beside them and looked to be waiting for something. "What's goin' on little buddy?" he asked them, crouching down to their level to make them comfortable.
"I'm going home!" they proudly stated, a ragged doll in hand. "I've got a new daddy and he says I'm a surprise!" Micah grinned, delighted to hear the news. To himself, he wondered what kind of surprise the nightmare in question had meant. Instead of standing and saying goodbye, the imp decided to wait a few minutes to meet the nightmare in question. He learned some very interesting facts about the cute little tyke while he waited and he was more than a bit bummed that he hadn't managed to arrive in time to adopt this freshling.
The door to the 'office' of the orphanage clicked open behind him and he turned to see who was adopting this precious child. The poor thing was concerned when he burst into laughter so hard that the sound petered out and he had to hold his stomach because it hurt so badly. For standing there, a sheepish look on his face, was Levi, his mate.
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