Title: Burning a Hole in Your Pocket [Lio/Galo]
Rating/Warnings: NC-17
Summary: Lio and Galo living the hot firefighter civil service life.
AN: Written for Shiritori. PROMARE. PROMARE PROMARE PROMARE. Yeah so this movie wrecked me and I’m so mad it’s not playing close enough for me to see it over and over like UGH.
Burning a Hole in Your Pocket
Employment wasn’t anywhere on Lio’s radar, so he was puzzled, to say the least, when the third Friday after the crash of the Parnassus, Ignis showed up with a stack of envelopes and Lio’s name was on one of them.
“What’s this?” he asked, brow furrowed.
“Your paycheck,” Ignis answered, voice flat as a pancake, but Lio could see the spark of amusement behind his sunglasses.
“My what?” Lio asked, looking at the envelope again.
“Your paycheck!” Galo laughed, already tearing his open. “Didja think you were doing all this rescuing for free? How the heck is my soul supposed to burn without any pizza for fuel, huh?” Galo wrestled his check free and frowned. “Oi, Ignis! What about the all the overtime we’ve been pulling!”
“Some idiot wrecked half the city,” Ignis replied, already turning to go distribute the rest of his stack. “Budget’s a little tight.”
“Awww, man!” Galo whined. “I saved the whole planet, you know!”
“Yeah, by punching it,” Aina laughed from the next locker over. “You’re lucky the city isn’t making you pay them!”
Looking back down at his hands, Lio slid his thumb under the envelope flap and peeled it up. There it was, sure enough, a check, with his name typed right there in black on the crisp, white paper. He could read the numbers, but they were basically meaningless since he had no idea what a high or low number would be for two weeks’ worth of work.
“What do I do with it?” Lio asked, feeling stupid, stupider when Galo and Aina both laughed at him.
“Take it to the bank, of course!” Galo said. “Which one do…oh, Burnish probably don’t have bank accounts, huh.”
“You think?” Lio asked, voice sharp from embarrassment.
“We’ll go to mine after work!” Galo rallied, like it was all settled. “You can cash it, or start an account…oh!” Galo pounded his fist into his other hand, face lighting up. “We should go celebrate! Your first paycheck! We can go get—”
“Don’t say pizza!” Aina interrupted, pulling her head out of her locker where she was tucking her own paycheck away.
“Why not?” Galo demanded. “Pizza’s the best! Lio likes pizza!”
“I’m sure he would like other foods too if you ever took him to eat them,” Aina scolded. “If you’re going to celebrate, at least take your boyfriend on a real date for once, someplace nice! Like sushi or something!”
“Sushi?” Lio repeated skeptically.
“Boyfriend?” Galo asked, head tilted.
“Ugh, you’re both hopeless,” Aina pronounced, slamming her locker door and going on her way. “Go eat a pizza, it’s what you idiots deserve.”
“Don’t lump me in with him!” Lio protested, but it was hard to argue the point when he’d seriously been coming to work for three full weeks without once asking about getting paid for it.
Lio spent the last few hours of his shift mulling that over as he dug through a bottomless pile of paperwork, trying to get official identification and housing for displaced Burnish. He just hadn’t needed money for anything, since he’d been spending all his time either doing field rescue work, at the FDPP station, or in Galo’s apartment. He’d been eating Galo’s food without question all this time, which obviously was coming out of Galo’s paychecks, now that Lio was thinking about it. He hadn’t even bought new clothes yet, wearing station gear while at work, and one of Galo’s unused sweatshirts at home, when he was wearing anything at all.
He’d been a charity case for weeks, and that thought sat like a rock in Lio’s stomach when he met Galo outside and climbed onto the back of Galo’s bike. Just because Galo was too nice to bring that up, didn’t make it all right.
“You should take it,” Lio said when Galo was parking the bike next to the bank. Galo looked over his shoulder, confusion obvious. “The check. For rent and food and…whatever.”
“What? No!” Galo protested as he climbed off the bike. “I can’t take your first check!”
“You’re using your money on me,” Lio argued, crossing his arms. “You’re letting me live with you!”
“Aw, I don’t care about that stuff,” Galo shrugged. He wiggled his eyebrows, reaching to pinch Lio’s waist. “It’s not like I’m not getting anything out of it.”
Lio slapped Galo’s hand down. “That doesn’t make it all right! Just because we’re…” Lio hesitated; ‘fucking’ sounded crude, and they hadn’t really called it anything yet, the way they fell into bed together every night, twisted tight around each other as if they couldn’t ever be close enough. Aina had called them boyfriends. “Boyfriends.”
Galo tilted his head, the same way he had when Aina had called them that, and the unpleasant knot in Lio’s stomach pulled tighter. Maybe it wasn’t anything more than sex and closeness to Galo, a convenient outlet for adrenaline, a distraction from the reality of the horrors they’d been dealing with.
“Forget it,” Lio said, voice brittle. He turned to go inside, but Galo caught him by the shoulder and turned him gently back.
“Hey, don’t do that,” Galo said, voice soft. He cupped Lio’s chin in one hand to tilt it up, so that he could look Lio in the eye. “Don’t get mad. If it’s important that you feel like we’re even, we can split next month’s rent. I just thought there’s other stuff you’d need first, like clothes and stuff. It’s not like our paychecks are good for much more than one thing at a time.”
“That’s why you shouldn’t be spending yours on me,” Lio said, but the heat had drained out of his argument.
“It’s fine with me! Burning Rescue’s spirits are sky-high, even if our salaries aren’t!” Galo exclaimed, striking a heroic pose, hands fisted on his hips. “Oh, and I’ll take you somewhere really great to celebrate, too, wherever you want. If you’re sick of pizza.”
“You know,” Lio said, a tiny smile fluttering at the corner of his mouth, “I’ve actually been craving pizza ever since you mentioned it earlier.”
“Right?!” Galo exclaimed, relief flooding his features. “That’s because it’s the BEST! Aina doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
Lio braved the bank with Galo at his side, and if the teller had some reservations about starting an account for known Burnish terrorist boss, Lio Fotia, she had the sense not to voice them out loud. Emerging triumphant, they extended their victory lap to the pizza place, Galo announcing loudly to everyone that they were celebrating “ONE WHOLE PAY PERIOD OF BURNING EXCELLENCE” which apparently meant splurging on garlic knots. It was mildly embarrassing having Galo shout about him in public, but also endearing with Galo’s arm heavy across Lio’s shoulders, obvious and possessive. When a few of the customers glared their way, muttering in recognition, Lio only smirked and leaned harder into Galo’s side, hooking fingers in the back of Galo’s belt loops.
Suck on that, peons. Lio Fotia had an official pardon, a paycheck, a hot fireman boyfriend, and an Inferno Volcano Margherita Megamax.
Galo wasn’t done celebrating, apparently, because as soon as they were in the apartment, he lifted Lio by the waist, kicked the door shut, and pressed Lio’s back against it to kiss him soundly. Wrapping legs around Galo’s waist and his fingers in Galo’s hair spikes, Lio kissed back fiercely, catching Galo’s lower lip between his teeth until Galo’s whole chest was vibrating on a groan.
Lio tugged on the collar of Galo’s T-shirt. “Off.” With Lio’s weight balanced against the door, Galo reached back with one hand and yanked his T-shirt over his head, tossing it aside carelessly. He flashed Lio a sharp grin before diving back into the kiss.
The weight of Galo pressing Lio firmly against the door sparked want down Lio’s spine, Galo’s bare skin hot under his hands. It wasn’t enough, though, even when Lio squeezed his legs tighter around Galo’s waist, rolling his hips up to rub off against Galo’s abs. He wanted more, more weight pressing him down, more naked skin against his, more heat, more Galo.
“Bed,” Lio pulled back to order, or tried to, because Galo only chased Lio’s mouth with his own, muffling the word.
“‘N a minute,” Galo muttered into the kiss. Lio scratched fingers across Galo’s undercut, humming in pleasure himself as Galo’s mouth trailed down his jaw, down to the hollow of his throat. He tipped his head back for more, whacking it on the door with a whunk.
“Ow,” Lio complained breathlessly. Without interrupting the way he was mouthing Lio’s pulse point, Galo reached up with one hand to work in between Lio’s head and the door, holding Lio’s weight up just as effortlessly with only one hand hooked under his ass. Galo palmed the whole back of Lio’s head, his hand huge and hot. “Bed,” Lio insisted again.
“Nnhnn,” Galo said against Lio’s throat. He obeyed this time, though, turning around and carrying Lio back to his bedroom as easily as he’d carry a bag of groceries, tucked against his chest.
When he got to the end of his bed, he peeled Lio off to lay him down across the sheets they’d left unmade that morning. Lio stretched out lazily on his back, eyes low-lidded but open enough to see the way Galo watched him, gaze dragging slowly down Lio’s body.
“You’re so pretty,” Galo said, reaching for Lio’s borrowed FDPP shirt and drawing it up, over his head. His hands trailed back down Lio’s body, fingers trailing over Lio’s shoulders, his pecs, his belly, until they reached the waistband of Lio’s work pants. Galo tugged those off just as patiently, touching Lio’s hips, his knees, circling Lio’s ankle with his fingers. “Damn, you really get me burning.”
“Do I?” Lio murmured as Galo pulled his ankle up to kiss the thin skin over the bone. Galo ran his mouth in bed, just like everywhere else, and Lio encouraged it shamelessly.
“Hell yeah.” Galo dropped Lio’s ankle and crawled in between Lio’s legs, looming over him on hands and knees. “You too, right?” Lio hummed noncommittally, but Galo pressed lips against Lio’s chest, right over his racing heart. Lio felt Galo’s grin spread wide against his skin. “I knew it.”
“Shut up.” An echoing grin spread over Lio’s face. He cupped Galo’s face in his hands, running thumbs along the strong edge of his jaw. Galo nuzzled his cheek against Lio’s palm, his lips dragging against the inside Lio’s wrist, then a flicker of his tongue. “Shut up and take care of me.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Galo nipped at the pad of Lio’s thumb, and then he was kissing his way down Lio’s chest, down until he was half off the bed and his mouth was hovering over Lio’s dick, breath hot and damp. Galo wrapped lips around him, eyes locked with Lio’s, and heat rushed through Lio’s blood. Lio arched up, but Galo’s hands were already on his thighs, holding him down. He was so strong, and it just made Lio burn hotter.
Sometimes when they were like this, like now, it felt like firing up the Lio de Galon again, Galo knowing what Lio wanted without words, their bodies in easy sync. Lio wound his fingers through Galo’s hair but Galo was swallowing him deeper before Lio ever pushed him down, pulling back just as Lio trembled on the edge of being overwhelmed. With Galo’s mouth busy, there was only the slick, wet sounds of Galo’s mouth on Lio’s skin and Lio’s breathless whines.
When he was close to his limit, Lio yanked on Galo’s hair hard enough to bring his head up off his dick, then kept pulling Galo up until he was climbing back onto the bed, over top of Lio. Lio wanted to come with Galo hot against his skin, Galo’s weight pressing him into the mattress. Galo reached between them to wrap one of his hands around both of their dicks, stroking them together, murmuring affectionate nonsense into Lio’s ear. Heat shimmered over his skin as Lio hovered deliciously on the edge of coming, until Galo dragged his thumb over the head of Lio’s dick, and Lio wailed his release into the curve of Galo’s neck.
The wet pulse of Galo coming against his stomach was distant, Lio slow to come down. Even when he was mostly back to reality he pretended he wasn’t for much longer, enjoying Galo’s hands rubbing his skin in warm, soothing circles and the way Galo hummed tunelessly when he was satisfied for the moment.
“I know you’re awake,” Galo said after a while. Lio opened his eyes to find Galo watching him, propped up on one elbow, blue eyes bright with heat and adoration. He stroked Lio’s hair back from his face, tracing the shell of Lio’s ear with his thumb. “You good?”
“Mm. Mm-hm.” Lio lifted one hand to trace fingers along the line of Galo’s old burns, over his shoulder. Now that he was warm under Galo’s weight, Lio felt secure enough to ask, “Why did you make that face when Aina called us boyfriends?”
Galo shrugged with one shoulder. “Sounded weird. Not right.”
“We live together, though,” Lio pointed out, frowning. “We’re fucking. We go on pizza dates. We drift pilot a giant alien-powered mech together. How are we not boyfriends?”
“Boyfriends can break up.” Galo leaned in until their noses were brushing, until Lio’s whole field of vision was filled by Galo’s eyes, burning with the depth of his devotion. His grin sent goosebumps chasing up Lio’s bare arms. “We aren’t like that. I’m never letting you go, Lio Fotia.”
A molten flame ignited in the center of Lio’s chest, so much heat spiraling out to his fingertips that they tingled where he was digging them into Galo’s shoulders. “Well. All right, then.”
