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Galo doesn’t remember much about his life before the fire that burnt down his childhood home. He remembers the smoke and the panic that filled his lungs as he woke up, bundled in his bed in the dark night. Frantically searching the hallways, looking for his parent’s bedroom, lost in the smoke. Flames licked at his face as he ran through the haze and into Kray’s broad, safe chest.
After the embers had burned out and left ashes where a building once stood, Kray brought Galo back, to let him sift through what was left. With the trauma fresh in his mind, he finds a charred picture that helps him remember his mother’s laugh and his father’s tight, warm hugs. It still bothers Galo that he has trouble summoning memories from before the fire tore everything away.
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Galo always feels too much. Too loud, too big, too everything. Going back to school after Kray helped give him a new home is difficult. Kids aren’t understanding or as sympathetic of the way that the grief of losing everything causes Galo’s feelings to spill over like an overflowing cup. He gets bullied a lot and lashes out in anger and frustration in return. The teachers and counselors are there to help, but he always notices the disappointment that flashes across Kray’s face briefly when he gets picked up after punching another kid at recess.
So he tries harder. Kray has given him everything, so the unaddressed disappointment hurts more than the verbal scolding he received from other adults. Galo tries to funnel his energy into productive things that make others smile. Seeking praise instead of terse admonishment. Making jokes and being outgoing wins over the other kids and keeps them from singling out his flaws. Even if the effort of trying to be perfectly pleasant takes a lot out of him, it’s worth it to bring joy to others.
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Kray is almost never home in the place that he gave Galo after the fire. He’s always busy with the responsibilities of governing the city and the upcoming Foresight Foundation. So Galo floats around between clubs at school delaying the time before he has to return to an empty home.
He meets Aina in his forays into karate.
She’s strong and doesn’t back down from him, especially when sparring, but most of all she sees beyond his facade. Everyone else tiptoes around Galo, probably because of Kray, but it drives him nuts the way he’s treated with kid gloves. Aina is different. All smiles and bubblegum pink hair, but she has no problem laying him out on the mats, or being blunt with advice or criticism.
Aina and Galo grow close, and Galo treasures the openness and trust that he can have with her. They push each other physically by sparring in karate, and share what’s on their mind afterwards drinking grape soda and playing Mario Kart 64 at Aina’s house. There’s rumors that they’re dating with how much time they spend together, which is just as well since Galo isn’t interested in any one of his classmates, but their relationship goes beyond holding hands and kissing in hallways. Galo knows that he can tell Aina anything, and she knows that he would do the same for her. And that’s much more valuable to them than any more intimate relationship could offer.
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Graduation quickly approaches and Galo is wavering in the face of what to do next. Around him everyone has a career, a future, guidance and support from family. Despite participating or helping with nearly every club at school, decent grades, and a promise from Kray of financial support for any university he wanted Galo draws a blank. He loves to help people, but a small part of his mind tells him that he isn’t skilled enough at anything to keep from troubling people by helping. The fear of bothering or disappointing Kray looms large on his mind.
Aina wants to become a pilot, and is planning on taking a special program at the university for aeronautics engineering. Galo can’t help but be scared of how everyone seems to have their lives figured out.
After graduation, with no plans in place for university, he takes to working out at a breakneck pace. It's more productive than sleeping at quieting the anxious voices inside his head and is a good use of his energy. Galo finds peace in the repetition, solace in the burn of his muscles, satisfaction in the measurable progress that he makes as his body tones. He begins to encounter Varys as a regular at the gym, since the times that they work out overlap. Varys doesn’t say much at first, so they fall into an easy silence. They spot each other when they need to, and encourage one another through punishing workouts. They form a friendship, Varys loves cooking and food almost as much as Galo does. So they start having dinners together post-workout trying to find new restaurants to explore in Promepolis. Somehow Wednesday becomes pizza night, and they return to the same restaurant again and again.
The workouts and meals with Varys become a routine, something reliable, it helps Galo get out of bed with something to look forward to. All of the strength training comes in handy when Kray suggests that he uses his passion of helping others by joining the Burning Rescue. Varys is part of a Burning Rescue company as well, so it seems like a natural fit and having a friend is encouraging.
All of the hours spent pushing weights around helps prepare him for hefting equipment and civilians out of burning buildings. His tuned empathy borne out of anxious habits and observing others makes him particularly adept at setting people at ease in rescues and dangerous situations.
After weeks of basic training and classes, Varys convinces Ignis to take him on in company 3. Ignis certainly admires skills, but with a parental air keeps Galo from the front lines for weeks. Their station is in the heart of Promepolis, and sees a lot of Burnish fires, so it’s at his captain’s insistence that Galo is eased into service.
He goes on simple rescue calls, cats in trees, medical emergencies, small fires, helping service the equipment and engines at the station. When Galo is allowed to ride along on bigger calls, Ignis makes sure to admonish him when his brashness gets the best of him. Galo can pick up how much Ignis genuinely cares about the safety and health of every one of the Burning Rescue crew, and it shows in how close everyone is.
After a particularly difficult call, it’s Ignis that recommends Galo to go to therapy. The call to the Rescue had gone out late, and by the time that Galo had attempted resuscitation on the victim they were already too far gone. But the guilt of not being enough and feeling their life slip from his hands causes Galo to spiral into his anxiety. His mind swirls with the memory of the night of the fire, searching for his parents, if only he had been able to find them. If only he had woken up earlier, he’s never enough.
Galo has trouble sleeping, nightmares of fire and smoke choking him in his dreams. During the day his focus wanders, never enough to jeopardize the safety of rescues of course, but enough that he forgets to bring his lunch to work or mixes up the stock of bandages with a different size.
Unable to go against his captain’s orders, and willing to admit that his thoughts were getting in the way of his duties, Galo does as he’s told. He visits a gentle looking building up town with a park across the street, and finds a whole new level of peace of mind.
Therapy helps him work through the struggles he’s had with his anxiety, piece through the trauma of losing his family, allows him to be compassionate to himself when he makes mistakes. Galo finally understands the value that comes with strengthening his mind too. It’s some of the hardest work he’s done, and it frustrates him that the results aren’t as clear as lifting a progressively heavier weight. But it also helps Galo continue forward in life with a renewed passion that he didn’t think that he had.
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Aina ends up joining the Burning Rescue as a pilot, rounding out their crew and significantly brightening Galo’s days. It frustrates him that she’s folded into field work quicker than he was, but she also worked at another Rescue before transfering. So he has to admit to himself that she was always a step ahead.
Admittedly his first day fighting a Burnish blaze in the field doesn’t go as spectacularly as planned. Landing in the burn ward after one of his rescues went Burnish wasn’t expected, but Galo wears his compression sleeve like a badge of pride, no longer wanting to hide his mistakes. It’s made easier by the fact that his shirts always seem to burn off on calls. Ignis takes notice, and much to Galo’s surprise lets him ride along on every call after that. Galo grows closer to the Burning Rescue crew. Varys and him introduce them to their favorite pizza place, bringing more people into the Pizza Wednesdays fold. Remi comes to tolerate Galo’s enthusiasm, even practicing with him in the Rescue Robots, his experience helping Galo learn new techniques to fight fires. Lucia continues to indulge in Galo’s desire for a cooler Matoi tech, she blooms like a flower in sunshine from his praise of what she accomplishes, and Galo doesn’t even mind being the test subject for her other experiments from time to time. He missed Aina’s steady presence from school, and with her at the Burning Rescue they quickly fall back into the friendship that they had shared before like slipping into a warm bath. Even on the toughest days Galo knows that the Burning Rescue has his back, because he’s found the family that he didn’t know that he was missing.
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Galo is finally thankful for all of his experience with his own anxious mind when Lio moves into his apartment. It’s been a month since the world burnt and the Promare left for their home universe and Lio’s still busy with helping the Burnish. Despite all that he gives of himself to help with the resettlement, Galo found out that Lio himself still lacked a permanent residence.
So naturally the world’s greatest firefighter is willing to help out the person that he saved the world with.
The first night Lio sleeps on the couch Galo shoots awake to the sound of gasping in the living room. Adrenaline dumps into his system as he begins checking through his EMT training, dashing in to see Lio clutching his chest, blanket pooled around his waist, and his hair clinging to his sweaty neck. By now Galo definitely recognizes a panic attack when he sees one.
Rubbing Lio’s shoulders gently, he gains his attention, then begins to help guide him through some deep breathing, murmuring encouragement softly. Lio’s breaths eases into a steady rhythm, his eyes meeting Galos with a weary gaze and small smile. He thanks him quietly, and Galo offers to make him a cup of warm tea.
They stand in the kitchen listening to the microwave hum, Lio with a fluffy blanket wrapped around his shoulders and his eyes moving over the patterns on Galo’s pajama pants. Galo watches his fuschia eye move slowly, memorizing the details of the little fire engines and dalmations. Aina gave them to him as a gag gift not knowing how much Galo would be delighted by the cartoonish illustrations.
The microwave beeps, Galo tears open a pouch of tea and dunks it a couple of times into the mug before offering it to Lio. Lio hasn’t said much, and Galo doesn’t want to pry. He trusts that Lio would share with him when he felt comfortable.
Satisfied that Lio was comfortably tucked back into the couch with a cup of tea Galo begins to pad back to his bedroom before Lio’s soft voice reaches his ears.
“Wait-”
Galo turns with a warm smile, taking in Lio’s face. His eyes gaze at him shyly from under his bangs, Galo simply offers his hand in response.
They fall under the comforter of his bed together, Lio tucked into the safety of Galo’s arms, and Galo thinks he feels the warmth of the Promare that was alight in his chest when they piloted the Galo de Leon. Lio smells fresh and clean with his head right under Galo’s chin, and he gently strokes his hair as they lay listening to each other’s hearts. As Lio’s breath grows steady with little puffs into the crook of Galo’s neck, Galo feels himself drifting off to sleep.
He remembers the warmth of being tucked into bed, a gentle melody sung by his mother, falling asleep in the crook of his father’s arm. There might not be much of his memories left from before the fire, but the way he feels now echoes what he felt then. The comforting familiar sensation of being thoroughly loved.