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It had been 7 years since the PROMARE were extinguished by the Burning Rescue Team, now led by worldwide hero, Galo Thymos. It took every bit of those next 7 years to repair the damage left behind by the incident and, as he told everyone at the city square from his little podium, he couldn’t complete the clean-up without the help of the people, and his new partner, Lio Fotia.
“So,” he said, letting his voice resonate through the crowd before he continued. “I’d like to give a proper thanks to everyone standing in front of me today and to you--”
He turned and reached his hand out to the side where Lio stood among the rest of the Burning Rescue team. Lio had his own matching uniform, a red jacket and straps that wrapped around his bare torso to hold his baggy trousers up over his boots. He had a sharp gleam in his eyes that went well with the grin that split across his cheek. He threw his hand down on Galo’s and took his support to step up on the pedestal beside him. There was little room for the two of them to stand and, quite possibly after 7 years together, Galo’s recklessness was rubbing off on Lio too. He caught his foot on the edge and stumbled back. The team rushed for him but it was Galo, who had a firm grip on his hand, that pulled him back upright, smirking as Lio’s face hurdled straight into his chest.
“I caught you twice just now,” Galo teased, letting Lio separate them once he had his footing on the pedestal. “I think that’s coming up to around 50 times total? You’re getting easier to catch. Looks like I’ll have to bump up that--”
“Galo,” Lio successfully cut him off by surprise. Galo blinked out at the crowd, blushed and scrambled to the podium to shout. “Here he is! The real hero! Keeps me on my game! If it wasn’t for Lio--”
He let himself trail off as he gave Lio another heart swelling smile. Lio gave him more than just a game of chase to play. He gave him courage with that reassuring nod of his and filled him with this inner fire every time he saw the sun reflect in those purple eyes. Those purple eyes, Galo thought. They were a circular horizon, a sunset that he could stare at as long as he wanted, without the risk of being blinded by anything other than love. His blonde hair, light and fluffed around his ears, was hard to resist running between his fingers as his hand travelled across his cheek, behind his ear and straight into the bob. If he didn’t stop, he feared he wouldn’t be able to, in front of all these people that came here.... They were waiting to hear his hopeful words, his promises to rebuild their city bigger and better than it had ever been before.
Galo had prepared the speech for months. He wrote it down and circled his apartment reading it aloud to the empty space while Lio was on call. When Lio was home, he’d read it again when they sat down for tea, and then again in the mirror to himself and, finally, once more before bed. He was certain that if he hadn’t already driven Lio mad, then he was about to. When he looked back out at the crowd, it was as if the words were floating right off of the page. He glanced at the lines of the speech he had pinned on the podium, but they were smearing together in his head. He couldn’t read them. He forgot what he was going to say.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Lio.
“If it wasn’t for Lio,” he repeated, timidly, as he searched for something in the puddle of ink spreading across the pages in his head.
“We’re a team.”
Galo jumped when Lio stepped up to the microphone to speak over him. He passed him a smirk as if to say ‘you can do this’, though the words never left his lips. Galo received them in through the muddled mess in his head and put his hand on Lio’s shoulder as the dizziness from his panic subsided.
“We are. All of us, together. We’re a team, and the only way we’re going to make a difference in our community is if we start acting like one! It’s time to work together to start anew!”
Two members of the security team brought a pair of scissors up to them. Lio grabbed one handle while Galo grabbed the other and together, they opened the scissors and shh--iink! The ribbon behind them was sliced between the two blades and fluttered apart. The cannons on either end of the stage shot rounds of confetti into the crowd as they cheered. The rest of the Burning Rescue Team and security personnel clapped politely. All of them stood before the grand opening of the city’s newest monument, a tribute to their heroes’ ultimate form: Galo de Lion. Surrounding the monument was the city park, lined with shopping centres, apartments and office buildings that gleamed with fresh design. They had all been rebuilt, replaced or improved by the city’s efforts, led by the programs spearheaded by the Burning Rescue Team. Lio and Galo oversaw the development of the programs and monitored them regularly. They wanted to be sure that the city was getting back-on-track.
Like the people in the crowd before them, they wanted to move forward with their lives. They wanted to heal.
They wanted to love.
“And--” Galo snatched the mic and caught the whole crowd off-guard with a blaring screech. “--Uh, sorry but I have one more thing I have to say. It can’t wait.”
Lio’s eyes narrowed on the back of his head. Galo had a tendency to veer from their plans and leave an extra hurdle in his wake. He wanted the first set of restoration programs to be called “Galo de Lion X” and caused city-wide confusion (“The suit or the program?”). When they first met, he went rogue and nearly had his butt handed to him for it. Sometimes Lio wondered if they were really a “team”, or if they were a last resort to Galo’s reckless decisions.
Like right now. Galo was making another reckless decision. He was going rogue, creating confusion and chaos--and Lio couldn’t stop him in time. He would be damage control.
“I--” Galo dug through his pockets, grunting and puffing through the mic. With the scissors hanging in one hand, Lio reached with the other to take his arm. He turned him to ask what he was doing when he saw the little black box cradled in Galo’s palm.
“What?” Lio’s voice cracked through the speakers.
“Lio Fotia,” Galo’s teeth sparkled in his nervous grin. “Would you marry me?”
You’re asking me this now? Lio glanced over his shoulder at the crowd of a thousand eyes, each one pinned on him. He felt the heat rising in his cheeks and his heartbeat throbbing beneath his burning eyes. He thought he’d said it aloud, but his lips were stuck together.
“Hey--” Galo cupped his face to turn his attention back on him, then he offered another smile. That proud, driven smile. Lio could see the past in it. He saw the light of the Burnish fire spreading over the earth, it’s purple and green flames eating away at their enemies. He saw Galo leaning his head back to look at him, shouting words of encouragement.
Don’t hold back!
Lio also saw the future in that smile. He saw the flowers that would be birthed in the ashes across their city park, where they might be married in suits of black and white. His heart leapt into his throat and he coughed into the mic before he could sputter out a reply.
“I-idiot,” he mumbled, casting his eyes down at the open box. There was a ring inside with an opal centre. Galo picked it up and the light blazed through the stone as if there was fire burning between the cracks.
“Please?”
Was he begging?
The great, mighty Galo knew how to beg?
Lio couldn’t bear it much longer, watching the desperation flicker in his eyes as he searched him for an answer. He would give him his answer, of course, in the same way that Galo had presented the question. On screen, in front of the whole world, Lio threw his arms around Galo’s neck and planted a firm kiss on his lips, pulling him into it despite his alarm. Galo fumbled with the ring, dropping the box in the process as his other hand supported the small of Lio’s back.
The crowd roared in a second round of cheers. The sound of a thousand hands clapping trickled into their ears and reminded them of where they were, and why. The monument behind them burst into the sunlight and shone over them. They glowed.
Lio didn’t have to say anything more as he dropped onto his heels and spread his fingers for Galo to put the ring on. He held his hand high, tilted it, and watched the opal sparkle.
“And there you have it. Celebrity couple, Galo and Lio, are finally engaged and we’ll be getting back to you on---”
Lio set a tray of hot tea down in front of Galo and rolled his eyes at the news reporter on TV. Her voice echoed through the narrow space of their shared apartment. At first, it was endearing. By the 10th rewind, Lio was determined to pry the remote out of Galo’s cold, dead hands if he had to.
“You’re watching this again?” he sighed, glancing at the remote. He could get it if Galo went for the tea. Go for it, he thought. Come on.
“Hm? Oh--” Galo turned the power off and caught Lio by the waist to pull him down into his lap. He hugged around him and snagged one more look at the ring on Lio’s finger as he raised his hand for a kiss. The kiss was enough for Lio to forget all about the news reporter. Galo’s embarrassment was his personal reward.
“Sorry, I’m just excited. I wasn’t--I thought you might say ‘no’ or--,” Galo was cut short by a kiss on the lips this time.
“I love you,” said Lio as he brought their foreheads together. He smirked at the dumbfounded eyes popping out of Galo’s head. Red swept across his cheeks. He juggled sounds instead of words on his tongue then blurted out, “I love you too!” with his signature smile.