#anYWAYS THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR READING RBIGN AND LIKING!!

[gastricpierrot]

Title: Heartbeat

Series: Promare

Pairing: GaloLio

Rating: T

Summary:

Lio turns himself in after the final battle, the start of a new life he must get used to.

This is a story of how Lio Fotia navigates through the days that follow, learns that support comes in more forms than he’s ever familiar with, and deals with his alarmingly developing feelings for Galo Thymos.

Also on AO3

[Prologue][Chapter 1][Chapter 2][Chapter 3][Chapter 4][Chapter 5][Chapter 6]

[Chapter 7 (END)]

There’s scarcely a twitch in Galo’s expression.

“Oh. Um. Okay.”

“I’m being serious here, Galo,” Lio says, casually turning to thank the waitress as she places their food on their table as though he hadn’t said what he said. Galo runs a hand over his face, gesturing for him to not misunderstand with the other.

“I know. I... I just need a bit of time to process that.” He covers his mouth and takes a deep breath. Lio notices a wave of red gradually spreading from his ears to his cheeks. “This is bad. I really want to hug you right now.”

“It’s not the best place.” Some embarrassment is finally sinking in for Lio as well, though overshadowing that is a much stronger, much more intense sense of sheer, unadulterated fondness. “Bear with it just a little longer?”

Galo nods, but he refuses to meet his gaze. He absently shoves a forkful of food into his mouth, mumbling, “God, you’re so unfair, Lio. Why did you have to say that here and now...”

Lio doesn’t know either. He doesn’t know why he’d chosen this timing to tell him, why the words have insisted on spilling out before he even had a chance to ponder over them and their consequences. He's in love with Galo. The realization could’ve terrified him, could’ve sent him into fits of anxiety because what if that ruins everything between them? What if it’s just... not meant to be?

Yet right now, Lio has never felt as liberated. He doesn’t have to worry about what-ifs. He doesn’t have to fear anything when he’s with Galo.

They finish lunch at record speed, all the while hyperfocusing on their food and not exchanging even the slightest eye contact. Galo asks Lio if he’s got time once they’ve settled the bill, words blurred so badly together that Lio barely catches what he mutters. He responds that he’ll have the rest of the day free, he just maybe needs to get back by nighttime to do some last-minute revisions for a quiz.

Galo nods, then grabs Lio’s hand and holds on as he drags him along to go retrieve his bike. Lio keeps a bit of distance between himself and Galo when they both climb on, sensing Galo’s tension and not quite sure what he should do. He’d never imagine he’d even make it this far, honestly—much less how he should handle everything else that happens afterwards. What’s Galo thinking? How should he thread the now ambiguous boundary between them?

“Galo,” Lio begins at one point, deciding that perhaps it’s best to slowly talk it all out, but Galo only asks to trust him and wait.  

There’s really not much he can argue with, so Lio listens and slips back into the strange silence.

Galo brings him out of the bustling roads of the city, into a highway, and eventually to the forests near the hills in the outskirts. He parks his bike under a tree that flowers despite the winter; its branches heavy with bloom serving as a landmark with the large contrast to the barrenness around it. Lio climbs off first, then follows Galo as they continue their way to this unknown destination by foot along some beaten paths.

It’s even colder here than in the city. Lio tugs his jacket a little tighter around his body, nose and throat stinging from the cool air. It'd snowed in Promepolis during the height of its winter, and although most of the snow in the city has melted, patches of them still remain here. Untouched, barely even melting.

It takes a bit of time, but the trees eventually clear, and they come to stand before a frozen lake.

“This is...” Lio trails off, words lost to the breathtaking scenery before him. The lake’s surface is a pristine sheet of ice, reflecting the blue of the sky and glistening wherever sunlight hits. Opposite where they stand is the slope of a hill, one covered with an even denser forest of trees sprinkled with snow. Somewhere in the distance, a wild bird cry echoes through the air. The minutes seem to come to a standstill.

Galo’s told him about this place before, in one of the many insignificant conversations they’d shared to pass time, to get to know each other just a little more. Galo used to have a favorite lake he’d go to calm down when he gets much too agitated—but it had been the very same one they’d fallen into and completely evaporated during the whole Parnassus ordeal. The one now is the second lake Galo has managed to find and taken a liking to; he’d even once promised Lio to bring him here one day when there’s a chance.

And to think that the chance would be now, under these circumstances.

Galo proceeds to step onto the ice and make a show of inhaling huge, wheezing breaths; wildly swinging his arms and slapping his cheeks. He even hollers toward the distance for good measure as he skates in wide circles, getting whatever he’s been suppressing thoroughly out of his system. Lio quietly watches it all unfold, just a tad bit worried about the way he’s acting.

He really worked hard controlling himself back there, huh?

Galo does manage to calm down enough, eventually. It’s only then that he turns around, and stomps back to shore to place both hands on Lio’s shoulders.

“Right. Now let’s do that all over again,” he says, in all seriousness. Lio, understandably, blinks at him in abject confusion.

“Do what??”

Galo's ears start turning red once more. “Say the things you said earlier!!”

Lio is still a little taken aback, but his amusement brings a lopsided smile to his lips. “You want me to confess my feelings all over again?”

“T-The previous one doesn’t count because it wasn’t in the right time and place!!”

“Do you have to be so particular?” And such a hopeless romantic, on top of that. Lio finds himself barking out a laugh, sparks bursting within his chest as Galo sputters more excuses about wanting to react timelier and properly and all kinds of nonsense. Lio’s mirth fades as he listens to him ramble on, morphing into a pleasant tingle that spreads all the way to his fingertips. He takes a step forward, shutting Galo up the moment he closes the distance between them.

“I’ll say it as many times as you want to hear, Galo Thymos,” he states, holding his gaze as he reaches out to cup his cheek with his palm. “My heart’s on fire for your love.”

His voice comes out rawer than he expects, charged with so much emotion that he can’t seem to breathe right. He has the chance to hear Galo’s breath catch, to spot his eyebrows draw together—before he’s yanked forward and enveloped in a tight, almost desperate embrace.

“That’s not what you said,” Galo protests weakly. Lio smiles, struggling to free his other arm so he could hug back with just as much intensity.

“Same difference.”

“I can’t believe you actually just blurted all that so casually back there!” Galo’s sounds unnecessarily distressed. “What if I don’t feel the same about you!?”

“Hmm,” Lio gives it a brief, halfhearted ponder. “Then I’ll just eat my feelings until I die, I guess.”

“Liooooo!!!”

Lio lets out another laugh, only patting the back of Galo's head gently in response to that. Galo is still somber when he continues, arms hugging tighter by a fraction.

“But why me? You know I’m not—”

“You’re enough,” Lio insists. “You’re already more than I will ever deserve.”

“There you go again, yappin’ about deserving this, deserving that!” Galo immediately complains, moving to part them and face him properly as if he’s one to whine. “We’re having a Moment here so can’t you stop that for one hot second? Please??”

“Sorry.” Lio shrugs. “It’s still true, though.”

“Lio, I will kiss you if you don’t stop talking.”

“Can’t you do that even if I do?”

Galo obviously isn’t expecting that brazen return, immediately getting extremely flustered and making more incoherent noises. Lio calls his name once, just to get his attention for that split second.

Then he shifts his weight to his toes, and tilts his head up to press his lips against Galo’s.

The first kiss is just a peck, his eyes shut and breath held and Galo’s frozen in place.

The second kiss, Galo leans down and chases after his lips, their noses brushing as they try to adjust better to the unfamiliar posture and contact.

The third kiss, they hold each other closer, closer, and Lio’s heart soars.

xXx

As with everything else, Lio gets used to his new schedule and all its challenges.

He gets used to the headaches, the voices of his roommates, the taste of stale coffee he’s probably come to rely too much on to keep himself awake after the long days. He gets used even to the strain on his muscles, to the burn of ice on his skin, the weight of a gun in his hands. Everything, over time, he grows used to them all.

One of the more unexpected things is, though, the fact that Lio eventually chooses to specialize in command and support. His first choice had actually been learning how to pilot Gears, him thinking it’s probably not too difficult because Galo and his team make everything seem to smooth and natural. They’ve come so far with technological innovation, surely mecha suits are designed to seamlessly respond to their pilots’ wills. Surely all pilots must do is think of a certain movement and maneuver, and computers would interpret their brain signals and command the suits to respond. Surely, it can’t be too much harder than driving a normal vehicle.

Except it is. The first time Lio sits in the cockpit of their training Gear, he immediately notices how he's surrounded by a ridiculous number of knobs and cranks and handles. The good news is that the basic movements are mainly controlled a single pair of handles and pedals; the bad news is that Lio, for the life of him, can’t seem to understand how it’s all supposed to work in coordination. He almost launches himself out of the cockpit maybe about a hundred times through the first week.

He doesn’t even blame the instructor for later walking up to him and suggesting to consider transferring into another stream. Lio might fail his way out of training at this rate even if his grades for other classes are decent. So he ends up in the command and support course instead after some deliberation, and fortunately realizes he enjoys it much more than piloting. He’s eventually one of the top scorers for most mission simulations, his ability to take charge and lead calmly not lost despite all the time he’s spent inactive. He could still be brash and rely way too much on himself at times, too, but he knows it’s a work in progress. It will take time for him to unlearn these habits.

As for his relationship with Galo, nothing much has actually changed. They still hang out together when they have the chance, they still bicker, they still goof around and let loose through impulsive pizza binges. Perhaps the main difference is that their physical boundaries seemed to have thinned out; they hold hands more frequently now, they’re less awkward about huddling close together in public when it gets too cold, and the little pecks and kisses they exchange have begun to feel more comforting than embarrassing.

It's just the little things. The phone calls made through the payphone when he misses his voice, their outings that can now sometimes be called dates. The hair-touching, the hands on waists. Yet at the very core, it all still feels the same.

Three months eventually pass, through days of hard work, of frustration and doubt and unexpected fun.

Lio goes over his parts of the room one final time to make sure he hasn’t left anything behind, before zipping his duffel bag close and slinging its strap over his shoulder. His roommates have all left earlier in the afternoon after the graduation ceremony and a quick celebratory buffet at the cafeteria. He steps out and turns around to lock the door, swallowing the sudden sense of forlornness that assaults him.

It... really is over.

Three months isn’t a long time; it’s the daily hecticness that made it feel like it would never pass. Lio had somewhat expected it to resemble his time in detention to some degree, yet he ends up enjoying himself much more here. Training activities are miles more engaging than community service, he’s got Gueira and Meis with him this time, and it had been so much easier to get along with everyone else around him. Fire training hadn’t necessarily been an experience he genuinely wanted, but it’d turned out to be something he unconsciously needed. A sense of reconnection, a chance to act and feel his age.

A chance to simply be Lio Fotia, and not Lio Fotia of Mad Burnish.

Lio leaves after returning his keys and settling some final documental revisions at the office. His brothers have gone off just a bit earlier, hurrying to deal with some sudden issues with the apartment they’d managed to find and temporarily rent. Lio walks through the deserted hallways alone, trying not to think about missing the place too much. He exits the building, crosses the courtyard, and his pace once again quickens as he makes his way towards the gates.

Galo greets and congratulates him with a hug, one that’s warm and just a little suffocating. And it’s when Lio laughs, it’s when they part and he sees the infinite pride and affection in Galo’s gaze, that he feels like he’s finally come home again.

xXx

Early one particular morning not long after Lio’s completed his training, he nearly burns the eggs.

Galo reacts faster than any fire detector, rushing in to snatch the pan out of Lio’s hands and save the food before it all goes to waste. Lio apologizes, though he never quite manages to say more than an “I’m sorry.” He realizes that his mind is filled with static, his fingers trembling.

“You okay?” Galo asks when he notices his disquiet after plating their breakfast, waiting for him to nod before walking over to where he stands by the sink and circling his arms around his waist from behind. Lio sighs, leaning into the contact while he tries to get his thoughts in order.

“Just didn’t sleep too well,” he admits. He could feel the tremors from Galo’s chest when he responds.

“Nervous about your first day?” he asks, and snickers when Lio hums affirmative. He starts swaying side to side, coaxing Lio into some strange little dance. “Don’t worry too much about it, Lio! It’s not like it’s your first time meeting the team!”

Lio idly matches his movements, shifting his weight from left foot to right, right foot to left. “It’s still my first time doing the job, though.”

“You’ll be fineeee! You’re not expected to help out in operations so soon after joining, anyway,” Galo reasons. “And I’m sure the Cap’n and the girls would be more than excited to teach you how things work.”

“I’m just hoping I won’t disappoint them.” Lio broods. He truly hopes he wouldn’t hold the team back when it matters; he can’t drag them down when they too, have done so much for his sake even when they were still virtually strangers. Lio stands here as a result of their goodwill just as much as he does from Galo’s.

“It’s normal to struggle at the start when you’re still getting the hang of things,” Galo assures as he guides him to their table. “Some might take a little more time than others and that’s okay, too! Not everyone could be as cool as your boyfriend here!”

“Not everyone’s as reckless as my boyfriend here, either.” Lio reaches to pinch Galo’s nose lightly, fully familiar with the stunt he’d pulled on the very day he joined Burning Rescue. Rushing into danger with minimal preparation and scarcely a plan, then saving someone but still ending up being burnt in the process. It's truly something so on brand for him that it’s amusing.

Galo only laughs gently to his retort, shifting out of his grasp to nuzzle against his hair. “But you love me for that, firebug.”

It’s only recently that he’s learnt to utter that as a statement and not a question. It's only recently that he’s learnt to accept that gosh, yes, Lio does love him for that. He loves him for all the heart he has to give, for all the silly things he does, and for even more, even the parts of him he still struggles to love himself.

Galo’s voice is soft, husky with a wonder Lio understands too well. Often Lio would lie in Galo’s arms, surrounded by his warmth and comfort, filled with an unrelenting sense of disbelief that he’s where he is. Often their kisses would end with silence basked in the very same amazement, with awed gazes and hushed voices followed by heated touches desperate to make sure it all isn’t just a dream.

And it’s not. They’re here, where they’re meant to be, surely.

“Stop, you’re gonna make me lose my appetite even more,” Lio protests, though they both know it’s just another excuse on his part. Lio has never quite gotten used to the pet names just yet. Galo happily obliges, nonetheless, and they finally sit down to have their toast with eggs just a little overcooked.

They’re silent as they eat, as they often are. Don’t speak while you chew or you’ll bite your tongue, Galo would nag despite doing the very same thing himself. Lio savors the present simplicity, basks in the normalcy and warm morning sunlight seeping through the windows. He listens to the idle hum of the refrigerator, the soft drone of the ventilation system. The scent of their favorite hand soap wafts mutedly in the air.

Lio breathes. His hands have stopped shaking.

“Have you gotten everything?”

Galo asks later as he waits for Lio to tie his shoelaces at the entryway. Lio pulls the final knot tight, then stands up to pat his bag and pockets. ID, documents, a water bottle. A foldable umbrella, boxed leftovers from dinner the night before to be heated up for lunch. His wallet, keycard.

“I think so.” He seems to have brought all the important things, anyway.

Galo nods, then moves to push the front door open. He turns around, and holds out a hand to Lio.

“Let’s go, then!”

And it’s like this, hand in hand with Galo Thymos, that Lio takes his first step towards a new tomorrow.

#promare #galolio #liogalo #lio fotia #galo thymos #we're finally at the end laddies!!!! #its been a ride...wow #theres a slightly longer a/n in the ao3 post so if anyone wants to have a read there hhh #the song that inspired the fic is also linked there!! #tumblr messed with my blog layout tho... hope the new one's okay i havent really done anything i just picked one #that looks the closest to what i originally had #anYWAYS THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR READING RBIGN AND LIKING!! #SEE YALL AGAIN IN THE NEXT FIC!!! #fanfiction