Title: "Relating in years"
Summary: Holli and Lina have gone to Morningside Orphanage to try and find a child to adopt.
Author's 1st note: That's 100% the worst summary I've ever written, but I had no idea what else to say honestly x'D Another Hollina one-shot for Hollina week!
[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]
"Here we are… Morningside orphanage." Lina almost whispered, scanning the building in front of them. She took Holli's hand in hers and observed her face. "What are you feeling?"
Holli hated when her wife asked her that so bluntly, she wasn't very fond of nor very good at answering that question, but she had grown accustomed to it over the years. "I feel… a little scared that we won't find someone who we can connect with. But I think mostly I'm looking forward to this. I have a good feeling about this place."
"Me too." Lina reassured. "I think… I really think this is the place."
Holli lifted Lina's hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles. "Well then, what are we waiting for?"
With an excited spring in her step, Lina pulled her wife into the orphanage. They were immediately greeted by the head of the institution, Mrs. Darling. "Welcome, you must be the two Mrs. Benson, correct?"
"Yes." The women answered in unison, still holding each other's hands tightly.
"Welcome!" the woman repeated and gestured for them to follow her through the orphanage. Mrs. Darling talked to them about the paperwork and how everything was already in order. She told them that they seemed like very lovely people with plenty of love to share, and that she was certain that they could find a child perfect for their family.
"Excuse me, um… Who is the oldest child here?" Lina asked gently.
Mrs. Darling turned around in surprise, before she made a low, thoughtful hum. "Let's see… Most of my children here are around 4 to maybe 6 years old, but… there are a few a bit older. Are you looking to adopt an older child?"
"Yes." Lina answers with a bright smile. "We know how difficult it is for an older child to get adopted, so we want to adopt an older child."
"How absolutely wonderful!" Mrs. Darling bellowed, clapping her hands together. "I have a few older children, two of them being 8 and a girl who will turn 10 years old in a month."
Holli and Lina immediately looked at each other, Holli giving a tense smile. "I was the same age…"
"Oh, were you adopted at her age?"
"Nope." Holli declared before letting go of Lina's hand to walk outside where she could see some children playing.
Mrs. Darling looked questioningly at Lina, who smiled apologetically. "My wife became an orphan when she was 7 years old and… she was at an orphanage for three years before some people took her in."
"But wasn't she adopted then?"
Lina shook her head. "No, the people who took her in were her mother's colleagues. They kept hoping a family would adopt her, but when they realized that wasn't going to happen, they all took her in and took care of her… but no, Holli was never officially adopted."
"I'm very sorry." Mrs. Darling said, holding Lina's shoulder for a moment. "Shall we join your wife outside?"
Lina nodded enthusiastically and went to hold the door open for the woman, who thanked her politely. They went outside, scanning the crowd of children for Holli. It was Lina who found her first, but not because she saw her, but because she heard a child singing. She knew Holli was attracted to singing, one of the things she had been attracted to in Lina as well. So Lina followed the singing, knowing Holli must have gone in the same direction. She soon found her wife who noticed her immediately as well. She looked at her over her shoulder and gestured towards the girl singing.
"My own home… my own home…"
"Want to talk to her?" Lina whispered, which Holli nodded at. The women approached the girl carefully in order not to scare her. "Hello. What's your name?"
The little girl took her eyes away from the blue bear in her hands and looked up at them. She was quite beautiful, having medium brown skin, big, brown eyes and long black hair tied into two low pigtails with little purple bows. She was wearing a purple dress, matching the bows, which was cut in a straight line over her chest and went all the way to her ankles. A pink sash was tied around her stomach and she was wearing golden hoop earrings.
"Hello." The girl greeted with a smile. "My name is Shanti. What are yours?"
"I'm Lina and this is Holli." The shorter of the two women replied and crouched next to her. "Who do you have there?"
Shanti looked at the blue bear in her hands. "This is Baloo." She answered cheerfully. "One of the boys here gave it to me when he was adopted. I promised to take good care of it. He really loved this bear."
"Oh, how sweet of you." Lina complimented, causing the girl to blush a bit.
"Thank you." Shanti replied, looking down at the bear shyly. Lina smiled brightly up at Holli who gave a tender smile back. An unspoken conversation went through them. A shout interrupted their thoughts and all three of them looked towards it. "Ranjan!"
The girl got up on her feet quickly, about to run towards the boy. She stopped short though and went back to Holli and Lina, holding out the bear for Holli to take. She took and held it securely to her chest. The girl smiled thankfully at her before running towards the small boy who had yelled before. Lina got up on her feet as well, watching with Holli as Shanti was checking on the boy. He seemed to have fallen while running and was now crying. She was comforting him, while also scolding him for being so careless.
"I see you got to meet Shanti and that she even trusted you with Baloo." Mrs. Darling said, finally approaching Holli and Lina. "She's the girl I was talking about before, about to turn 10 years old and the oldest child at Morningside Orphanage. She was originally born in India before she came here. She's like a big sister to everyone, she can be very strict and a bit bossy, but she's also very caring and sensible. She gets along with everyone here splendidly. So if you were ever to get another, younger child, she'd be a great big sister."
Holli and Lina smiled at each other, their former unspoken conversation continuing. It almost felt like fate, meeting someone like Shanti; someone who seemed so perfect for what they imagined their family to be like. Holli held up the blue bear and booped Lina's nose with it, causing the shorter woman to giggle.
"Mrs. Darling?" Holli said, earning the woman's undivided attention. "I believe we've made our choice."
Author's 2nd note: Hope you enjoyed this little dive into Holli and Lina's story :D