Chapter Text
For the first time in his life, Galo started a fire. Nothing like what he'd expected.
Leading up to it, there had been a series of awful events: almost dying, almost losing, seeing someone newly important to him start to physically crumble to nothing. Hearing someone who'd been important to him for years speak with such cruelty. It was almost as though it was a contender for worst day of his life, but he wasn't that negative of a person - the day his parents died and the week Kray had locked him up were pretty awful, but he'd look back on this day as the day he started a fire and saved the world from the brink of destruction (and from Kray's monstrous ego). It was the day he joined with Lio and piloted the coolest robot ever, and the day that they would start to build their new world.
And he could've sworn it was the day his heart skipped a beat when Lio smiled and called him an idiot. That was a curious reaction.
(But it would be planted in his memory forever, the way Lio's eyes lit up like burning in the sunrise.)
He couldn't stand to go home and sleep after such an ordeal, adrenaline still firing him up as intensely as it had been when he fought Kray's mech - and the dread of going home to an empty apartment, if it was still standing, was haunting him.
So he and Lio worked side-by-side, yanking open doors to the pods and freeing burnish for hours. The ones that could still stand usually stayed to help them, and Galo found that socializing with them about little, unimportant things was a great distraction. He especially liked asking them about their 'boss'. The stories were amazing, and Lio was a hero, even if every time Galo glanced at him when he heard something else incredible about him he was bright red and scowling.
The hours wore on, and the burnish in the pods were less and less likely to be responsive, having gone so long without food or water, bound in a single position for so long that their limbs ached (if they were even still attached, he noted; some had indeed been burned away by the Parnassus). And over time, both his and Lio's mood soured significantly, but they kept working.
Galo couldn't go home yet. Even when Ignis relayed a message from rescue workers in other parts of the city that his block was relatively untouched, he didn't want to be there, alone in the quiet.
He'd rather have Lio's quiet, driven company, and keep saving as many people as possible until his arms felt like jelly.
See, nights were difficult.
He didn't want to think about it, but in the silence he had fleeting moments of sinking, of worry that he'd be trapped in his small apartment later, alone.
He didn't spend nights alone, if he could help it. Often, he did have a solution.
One of the first things Galo learned about being a firefighter was that firefighting stories got you laid. No, that was never an aim of his, but it wasn't as though he'd never accepted rewards for his heroics either. He'd wanted to be a hero, just like his hero, and if people were impressed enough to invite him to bed, well, he must be doing something right. That was the logic of his tired brain, of his empty bed.
The trouble was, it didn't feel so heroic in the morning, when his partner would wake up hurriedly and rush out the door with a "it's been fun, let's do this again." None of them were eager to stick around, have breakfast, talk about future plans - and that was fine! Galo didn't need to date anyone, though he liked having a companion. So long as there was some pillow talk, he was pleased enough.
And on the nights his bed felt too empty, darkness closed in from all corners as his eyes fell shut, nightmares plagued him and woke him at odd hours, making him miserably tired the following day. So… Even if it wasn't ideal, he wanted to have a partner with him at night.
Someday he'd have a partner in the daylight as well, but he wasn't in much of a hurry.
His routine was normal, he thought. Go to work, go out with friends, socialize at a sports bar maybe. By the end of the night there would be a woman leaning on his arm, breasts strategically pressed against his skin, and an unabashed invitation on her lips. Even if there was nothing special about her in his eyes, if she seemed nice enough, or praised him and got his attention, he'd offer to show her home. They were never conquests to him, he asked to be friends more often than not. A few would keep coming around if he kept asking. He liked them, even if he wasn't romantically interested.
Occasionally, men would approach him too, and Galo thought he might prefer that. But anything was better than an empty bed.
Nights were about to get worse. When he'd slept on the floor of that empty cell he'd had nothing but unpleasant dreams, all feeling too deeply personal to talk out with anyone (at least most of the time, it was just the fire that killed his family; well-publicized information anyone would know about, things an empathetic person who wanted to get into his pants would coo over. "Oh, you poor thing," they'd say, a hand on his shoulder and another hand squeezing his thigh invitingly). His face hurt every morning as though Kray had punched him all over again, but really it was from sleeping on a hard metal floor.
After this whole ordeal, he began to wonder as he thought about the grand, colorful dragon's tears streaming by, if Lio Fotia was perhaps a kindred spirit, someone else just as haunted. If not before, he probably was now; he couldn't possibly fathom the pain the man had felt bound in that engine, being suddenly ripped apart and burned to dried, flakey pieces. It would contribute to Galo's nightmares from just a secondhand perspective. He knew that, and he worried for Lio's mental health.
Night crept up on them, and neither stopped working until Aina showed up and shoved a pill bottle into Galo's hands.
"It's a sleep aid," She told him, frowning. "Give some to Lio, too. You two look like shit."
He heard Lio make a disapproving sound behind him.
"I think we're okay for now," Galo tried to smile at her and hand it back, and she pinched his nose and tugged his face down to her level.
"Look here, Rookie. You and your new little friend have been working non-stop for twenty-nine hours, not counting the whole robot fight. Not okay. Get some sleep and then come back."
"But--"
"No buts!" She demanded, shoving his face away again.
There was so much more to do; they'd freed most of the burnish, but the crash meant that some pods were inaccessible without moving debris out of the way, and the people inside were probably starving and tired too. He had no excuse to stop if he really wanted to help. When he tried to argue again, she glared.
"Lucia's got a new suit to help move the crap out of the way, okay? As soon as it gets here, we'll have all the rest of the burnish out within the hour. I swear it."
"Well," Lio hadn't stopped working, and was trying to lift half of a heavy girder from in front of one of the pods, "Within the hour of it arriving, I guess I'll find time to rest."
Aina shot Galo an unimpressed look. "He's worse than you are."
Galo shrugged and moved to help him so he didn't hurt himself. Something he'd noticed throughout the day was that Lio's strength was more than halved without his fire, and he kept overestimating his own ability because of it.
Aina, who was a good person, also helped them move it. It fell to the floor with an extremely loud thud once it was far enough to open the door to the pod, and Lio jumped over it to rip at the handle as soon as he could. He'd been going at it all day with exactly that level of urgency.
The burnish inside (well, ex-burnish now, Galo supposed) fell into Lio's arms, completely unconscious and disfigured. One arm was missing at the elbow, and both of their feet were gone. Lio cringed and held them tightly, as though it could give the unconscious person comfort.
"I've got this one," Aina said gently, lifting them into her arms and frowning down at Lio. "Seriously. We can keep up your work, but you need at least some rest or you'll be worse than useless to these people."
"You're not in charge of me," Lio snipped at her without any venom, and Galo almost felt like laughing because of how tired he was. That was the bite of a man who knew he'd lose, but wanted to fight anyway.
He tried to pat Lio's shoulder reassuringly, but the second he made contact he flinched. "Lio? You're shivering… Shit, you're so cold, why didn't you say something?"
Aina adjusted her grip on the unconscious burnish and leaned to see what Galo was feeling, but Lio shied away from her. "...Hey, Galo, I don't think we have any extra blankets at the station. Do you have any at your place?" She paused, "Come to think of it, do you still have a place?"
"Yeah, my block seems to be standing fine," Galo said, tugging Lio a little closer. "Come stay with me tonight. Might not be your size, but I'll load you up with some winter clothing."
Lio hissed and wrenched free, scowling, "I'm needed here."
"Galo," Aina gave him a look of concern that was easy to read.
"On it," He answered, lifting Lio over his shoulder and tucking those sleeping pills into his pocket. Lio tried to hit him repeatedly and snarled.
"Put me down, Galo Thymos, or I swear, I--"
"Five hours, then you can come back. I'll be right there with you." Galo promised, and Lio seemed to relent. After Aina had walked ahead of them with the sleeping burnish, Lio calmed.
"...How much do you trust them?" Lio demanded pointedly. "After what happened with Kray, how much can you still trust them?"
Galo paused and set Lio down, watching him shiver. "With my life! We're a team!" He declared, fist to his heart with conviction.
Lio stared for a few extra seconds and then looked away. "...Fine. I'll trust them. But if they show the burnish any disrespect, I--"
"You're the only one we're disrespecting," Galo assured him, earning another scowl. "C'mon. Don't let them see their leader looking like this. You need a bath and a nap."
He combed fingers through Lio's hair to flatten it down where it had gotten messy, and Lio eyed him suspiciously through the action.
"You seriously feel freezing," Galo frowned. "Has it been like that since…"
"Since the promare left," Lio confirmed.
"You could've asked for clothes." Seriously, he'd been half-naked this whole time, someone could've given him a jacket or something if he'd just asked. Galo took a deep breath and picked Lio back up, ignoring the immediate struggle. "Here, my burning soul can warm you up on the way home," He teased, enjoying the way Lio turned bright red in the face.
"You-- You're an idiot!" He sputtered.
"Yep! But a warm one," Galo agreed, and kept carrying him. "With a working hot water heater, a cozy bed, and loads of blankets."
Lio was unwilling to outwardly relax, but he put up less of a fight as Galo got him home. His expression looked defeated as he silently scrutinized the apartment.
Galo would be the first to admit he didn't live some extravagant lifestyle; his apartment was a studio, there were just a couple of partitions set up in the room to divide it up. His kitchen was kept clean enough, but there wasn't enough storage for all the pots, pans and utensils he used, so they sat out on the countertop. His fridge was wide and had a lot of magnets with newspaper clippings all over it, which he made a mental note to dispose of.
He had a couch set in front of his TV with a few tray tables, but no dining set. Not necessary, since he usually ate alone. There was a bookcase that carried a few books on one of the shelves, but was otherwise dedicated to photo frames (that he also needed to dispose of) and a few various items that he had no other place for.
There was a low table he kept toward the center of the apartment, a special kind from Japan that he'd actually never used properly, but he still liked it.
His bed hadn't been made before he'd left to confront Kray. It had been a sleepless night, the city restless outside of his window and keeping him awake with the sounds of distant traffic until he'd left.
There wasn't enough time for dust to gather in a significant layer, but it had been over a week since anyone was in the apartment. Lio was out-of-place and quiet, walking through the space warily.
"So this is where you live…"
"Yep, home sweet home. Hope you don't mind staying tonight."
Lio glanced up at him, then continued surveying the space.
"You can take a bath or shower first if you want."
"...No. You first," Lio commanded, distrust in his tone. Well, he was out of his element, so Galo would let it slide.
"Okay. Want anything to eat?...I'm not sure anything in the fridge is good still, but there's plenty of stuff in the cabinets."
"...I'll look."
Lio really didn't seem happy. "Okay, but no running away, okay? It's just one night. Promise."
"Fine," He spat, wandering to the kitchen and starting to rifle through the random assortment of easy-to-make boxed foods.
Galo was pretty sure Lio could manage to make something like that without much supervision, so he started going through his drawers to find clothes to change into, and something Lio might be able to wear. He settled on a sweater and sweatpants with a drawstring for Lio, hoping it'd keep him warm, and he picked pajama pants for himself. No need for a shirt, he never wore one to sleep in.
He rarely wore clothes in bed, actually. Maybe underwear at most.
He rushed his shower and dried off, setting out the clothes and a spare towel for Lio before going to check on him. He'd found something canned and was eating it right out of the can with a fork, but Galo didn't have the heart to lecture him about it. He knew Lio had a rough life. A table manners lecture could come after he was better adjusted.
"Okay, your turn."
Lio looked up at him with a glare, and Galo saw that the articles from the fridge were scattered across the counter in front of him.
"...I'll throw those away."
"You should."
They lapsed into silence while Lio finished eating and reading the clippings, the sour look still on his face. Galo wasn't sure why he was tormenting himself, but… Well, Lio was a little strange. He finished and wordlessly wandered to the bathroom, and Galo heard a click as the door was locked behind him.
He sat the bottle of pills on the counter and swept the articles into his fist, crumpling them up and dropping them in the garbage. He hadn't decided if he needed a sleep aid, but he'd keep it around. Lio might, for one. And if Lio didn't like the idea of sharing space with him to stay warm, maybe Galo would need it too.
Would Lio be open to that though? He was so annoyed the whole time, it was hard to imagine him settling peacefully into bed. They'd gotten along so well before that, setting the world on fire, saving the burnish, saving each other… Galo might've dared to call it chemistry.
That's what it was, right? Something like that, or destiny, or whatever else it might've been. He was glad to have met Lio, no matter the circumstances, and he definitely wanted to keep him around.
But in his bed… It couldn't hurt to try. He'd had partners he knew way less about before, and Lio was definitely attractive enough to get him fired up. If Lio was into it, anyway; he couldn't push anything, but regardless, he would make an invitation to keep Lio warm that night. However it'd be interpreted, he'd live with. He'd already kissed him, sorta. It wasn't coming out of nowhere.
There was leftover adrenaline in his system, and he thought Lio might be the same.
When the bathroom door opened, Galo was greeted with an adorable sight of Lio in clothes way too big for him. He didn't comment on it, but he smiled. "How was it?"
Lio was still shivering, and Galo's smile faltered.
"You okay? Did you dry off well enough?"
"I don't know," He said, lips trembling and looking almost blue. "I'm used to fire, I don't know that any of this is right."
Galo put an arm around him, tugging him to the couch to sit down. "So losing your fire-buddies put you into shock, maybe?"
"I don't know," Lio seethed, not thrilled at being pulled around but not fighting it either.
"Hey," Galo said, combing back Lio's slightly-damp bangs to get him to make eye contact. It was possibly too affectionate, but Lio didn't push him off or anything.
No, Lio kept staring, ever wary.
"We should share tonight. I'll keep you warm," he said, knowing full well how that could be taken, but not putting any suggestive tone behind it because it didn't have to be taken that way.
Lio's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Is this what you invited me here for? Is this taking responsibility? You're a sick man, Galo Thymos."
"No! I mean it, I just want to keep you warm while you sleep!" He backpedaled right away, knowing it was the most cowardly thing he'd done all day but hoping to smooth things over. He did genuinely care that Lio was freezing cold, and he wanted to help out. Sex would've been fun, but it was definitely not his real goal.
Lio said nothing, frowning.
"I won't touch you any way you wouldn't want me to," Galo declared, sincerely. "But I'm a pretty comfortable space-heater, okay?"
With a long sigh, Lio relented. "Fine. Only because I'm desperate."
"Want the sleeping meds Aina gave me?"
"I don't trust her that well."
"Gotcha," Galo eyed the bottle on the counter and knew he'd probably need it. "Well… Get cozy, I'll grab the winter blankets for you."
It may have been a little awkward, but it worked. There was a mountain of heavy blankets and Galo thought he might end up melting, but it was fine as long as Lio was comfortable. The bed was large, and Lio fit well under his chin, cuddled close that night. At some point, he stopped shivering, and Galo could allow himself to sleep.
The warming body against him fought off the creeping darkness of his nightmares, simply by being there. He wanted to stay Lio's space-heater if only to keep Lio in his bed, even if all they ever did was sleep.
It had been many years since Lio had slept in a proper bed, and never with another person, but he didn't find it unpleasant. Galo's body was firm, and he'd thought that wouldn't be so comfortable, but it was. A steady, warm presence through the night.
Though he was comfortable, he'd been shaken by that invitation; not because Galo was unattractive, nor because he actually hated the idea, but because he'd avoided the experience for so long that it shocked him. He didn't care so much, but he wasn't going to start with a stranger, either.
And yet, a part of him couldn't keep calling Galo a stranger. They'd united as one, saved the planet, and somehow he felt as though he really knew the man. Sickeningly earnest, sweet. The invitation was at odds with what he knew, in his opinion. Maybe he was a little too closed-minded. Or maybe he kept remembering that moment he'd asked Galo if he'd saved him. Galo exploded into a nervous fit and tried to punch him over embarrassment about a kiss.
When he closed his eyes and thought enough about it, he could remember Galo rescuing him, what his lips felt like, and Lio hated that after all the years he'd closed himself off from people, from ever being touched by anyone, he found himself wanting to kiss the idiot again now. Just to see if it still felt incredible without the fire. It couldn't though. He couldn't. He had so much to accomplish still, so many people to protect, he couldn't give in to such dumb impulses.
Galo would hinder him, he knew that, and yet when morning came he didn't move until Galo did. He was warm and staying there was better than exposing himself to cold air, so he waited.
Finally Galo stirred, and Lio sat up, pulling a blanket around his shoulders and the rest fell behind him. For whatever reason, they'd been facing each other. Too weird, he wouldn't be doing that again. But it wasn't so bad.
"Can we go back now?" He asked sharply, waiting for Galo's response.
Galo rubbed his eyes and sat up, and Lio noticed the worn elastic waistband had fallen lower on his hips overnight. He didn't know why it had drawn his attention, but it had. "Uh. First, good morning. How'd you sleep?"
"I slept," Lio answered. There wasn't much more to it. He wasn't going to say anything Galo could misunderstand.
"Warm enough for you?"
"Yes."
"Want breakfast? I think I have pancake mix."
"...Yes," Lio admitted. "But then we go back?"
Galo leaned close to him, and for a moment Lio panicked, but he was just reaching past him for the bedside table, where his phone sat charging up. "Here," He said, unlocking it with the screen tilted just so, making sure Lio could see the pattern. "Looks like Aina's been sending updates. Get yourself caught up and we can leave after breakfast."
After handing off his phone, he climbed out of bed and walked toward the kitchen area. Lio watched him for a few moments, then turned his attention to the messages.
"You might want to ask her if she has clothes that might fit you better," Galo called back to him while setting up a pan on the stove.
Lio frowned at that, but he had a point. He was practically swimming in Galo's clothes, if not drowning in them. He'd deal with that later, he decided as he fought down a shiver and scrolled through Aina's updates.
The pods were all cleared. She gave a full detail of the body count, the number of burnish that had been transported to the nearest functioning hospital for their sudden deformities, and the blessed number of able-bodied survivors, which lined Lio's eyes with relieved tears he wiped away quickly. There were fewer deaths than he'd thought. He remembered his own pain, and he'd thought that all of them had felt some level of the same thing, but perhaps it wasn't quite as much after all.
And then he shed a tear for those who'd died anyway, swiping the sweater sleeve over the phone screen to get rid of it. He was feeling a lot of things, just seeing the numbers. The burnish weren't numbers to him, he had to apply names and faces to each of the deceased and he had to properly mourn them.
The messages continued, telling of non-burnish injured that he admittedly cared just a bit less about, but he was still relieved to see the numbers so much lower than he'd expected.
Continuing on, she'd also listed essential facilities that were no longer standing. Not surprising, considering how many of them Kray was taking aboard the Parnassus. Surprisingly, she also said their firehouse was half-collapsed, and even more surprising, Lio felt a pang of guilt, wondering if he'd done that or if the crash had. He'd caused a lot of damage before Kray did.
To that end, he wasn't sure why he'd been so surprised when Galo had demanded his help while they stood over the wreckage. Of course he was going to help, provided he wasn't chased out of town. Maybe it was just the way he'd said it that had caught him off-guard. Presumptuous.
Before calling Aina to address that clothing issue, Lio had to do something about Galo's home screen; he snapped a quick picture of his hand with his middle finger up and changed the wallpaper. Better than leaving Kray's face on there.
And then he hit the call button.
"Galo, how'd you sleep? Is Lio still with you?"
"This is Lio."
"...Oh! Galo's still alive, right?" He didn't think she was serious, but if she was then she was more callous than he was. Unlikely.
"He's making pancakes."
"And did you sleep okay? A lot of burnish are in a state of shock, and their body temperature is too low, is that the case for you?"
"...I'm fine," he lied. His nose felt cold more than anything, because he couldn't cover his face with blankets while talking on the phone. "Galo told me to ask you about clothing that might fit me better."
She took a moment, and then said "Huh." Her voice was thoughtful. "I guess I have a few things that might work for a guy, but they won't look that flattering on you," she warned. "But they'll do for the time being. I'll run home and grab them, and meet you guys at station two, okay?"
He agreed and hung up.
From what he knew of Galo, the news about the station might upset him, so he approached carefully (still bundled in a blanket).
"Almost done," Galo said, grinning.
"She said we have to meet at station two," He said, and Galo's smile faded slightly, just for a moment. It was odd, the way Lio's heart sank seeing it, but Galo recovered quickly and shook his head. It was… interesting, seeing Galo, an idiot, read between the lines so quickly. He was perceptive, no matter how dumb he could act.
"Everyone at station two seems pretty nice, from the couple times I met them. I'm sure it won't be bad."
"Even though your firehouse is unusable, you're okay with that?"
"We'll rebuild it," he answered simply, handing Lio a plate with a stack of way more pancakes than he thought he'd be able to eat.
But he surprised himself, and then Galo took him to station two, where Galo's captain and vice-captain were talking to the station two leader, a tall woman with broad shoulders that were slightly more decorated than most in her field. She didn't look too happy, but waved and offered a tired smile when they pulled up on Galo's bike.
"There are your heroes, Ignis. I'd better get back to work," she regarded them again with a nod as she walked past them to head to her office.
Galo had his arm around Lio as they approached, meaning to keep him warm but having the additional effect of making Galo's coworker look at them weird.
"Lio, this is Ignis and this is Remi. They're nice, I promise," Galo gestured at each of them and beamed at him. "You guys remember Lio, right?"
"...Yes, Galo, we're not stupid," Remi said, running a hand through his hair. "Everything is a mess right now. We've got a power vacuum on our hands, so we're working without pay until we can get a new governing body in place."
Lio listened with interest, but only so much. He wasn't looking to fill that void, no, but he was very concerned with who might.
"Don't worry too much, Fotia." Ignis had noticed. "We're trying to get Vanessa in the seat. She's a decent type." From a slight gesture, he figured out that 'Vanessa' was that more-decorated-than-captain person, and from his words Lio could conclude that Ignis knew what his immediate concerns would be. It was only ever about protecting the burnish for him, so maybe he was a little predictable.
"Working without pay is pretty rough." In spite of the words he'd used, Galo didn't sound all that upset about it. "Hope the landlord's gonna be cool about it."
"We'll see what we can do," Ignis agreed, folding his arms. From there, he started talking seriously about what their duties would be - Lio thought he might be able to just ignore it, but he listened anyway. Ignis wasn't his boss, but it was important to know where the pieces were positioned. Galo's Burning Rescue unit was going to be leading the crash site cleanup, along with the second unit they'd currently be sharing headquarters with. The entirety of Freeze Force was detained alongside Kray Foresight, which was a blessing. Ignis also detailed where other units were going to be, and what they'd be doing there, but Lio's attention wavered.
"...Should I have turned myself in?" He interrupted, knowing full well that it was rude, but he was going to be haunted by the question. He'd caused destruction to the city as well, after all, whether in retaliation or not.
Ignis looked at him - or at least, it seemed so, behind the sunglasses - and shook his head. "As long as you're not useless out here, no one's interested in putting you away."
"I see," Lio said, looking aside.
"You can work with us if you need guidance," Ignis told him, "But I'm going to assume you have your own priorities, and that's fine, as long as you're not hindering anyone else's work."
Lio nodded. The burnish were always his priority, with or without their flames, and it was a good thing that people knew it. He wasn't going to fight for just anyone, he wasn't as pure-hearted as Galo. He'd seen too much.
It was about that time that Aina pulled up with a shopping bag strung over her arm, and Lio frowned when he remembered the kind of clothing she actually wore. He wouldn't enjoy this, but sometimes function was just that much more important than form, and he couldn't walk around wreckage in something baggy.
He wished he could conjure flames. His armor would serve him well here; he hated feeling small and ineffectual.
"Special delivery!" Aina cheered, holding out the bag for him. "I went through everything I had, and I think these are the safest bets for you."
He took the bag and reluctantly muttered "thanks."
"Galo, I'm kidnapping him for a bit," She said, nudging Lio's shoulder so he'd follow her guidance to a room in the back.
"Have fun!" Galo called after him. As if any part of this was fun.
The back room was apparently storage, but he found a few things brought over with unit three hanging off the shelving unit in the middle; some jackets and fragments of the weird mech suits they used, spare parts, weapons. A young woman was sitting cross-legged on the floor, grinning over a piece of equipment with a fired-up welding torch, which she cut off to raise her protective visor and wave at them. She had a rat on her shoulder that waved too. Lio gave them an odd look.
"Hey Lucia. Lio's going to be changing, so do you mind scooching over that way?" Aina gestured to the other side of the shelves.
"Sure thing," She agreed, showing teeth. Lio's instincts told him to be terrified of this woman.
But Aina, fearless, pulled a set of clothing out of the bag. Thankfully, it was black and not bright orange, but it was clearly cut for a woman, not a man. "I've never worn this shirt, so it shouldn't be stretched out anywhere," she told him. "And the leggings were too tight on me in places that I'm pretty sure will make them an easier fit for you. There's also a pair of jeans and a belt if these don't work."
After that, she moved around the shelves to give him privacy and apparently went to help Lucia with something.
The shirt had a logo on it he didn't recognize, and three quarter sleeves. It fit okay, though it seemed a touch too long. The leggings were snug, so maybe the longer shirt was a good thing. In the bag, along with the jeans, was a jacket (not leather), and a pair of gloves (leather). He'd done his best to hide how cold he'd been, and yet he found himself grateful, slipping the gloves over his hands and putting the jacket around his shoulders to make sure of the fit.
"Everything okay?" Aina asked from the other section of the room. He stepped out and she grimaced, which made him scowl. "How do you look better in my clothes than I do?" She complained, catching him off-guard.
Lucia snorted. "It's true! Man, attractive people are just the worst."
"Are you saying I'm una--"
"Thank you, Aina," Lio cut her off, knowing that they were just going to get caught up in friendly banter. That seemed to be the way Burning Rescue Three got along.
She was startled, "Oh, yeah. You're welcome," she said, and smiled at him. "After we've gotten things cleaned up more, I'll help you find more clothes if you need. Now that you're not a burnish anymore, I guess you'll have to sweat and smell like the rest of us, so you'll need to have more than one set."
"...You're right about that, but," Lio pointed out coldly, "I will always be burnish."
He adjusted the sleeves of the jacket and turned to leave.
"That was so cool." He heard Lucia say.
It was the truth. He didn't need the flames to prove it anymore.