Work Text:
“Oh, hey, you’re the costume guy, right?”
Lio turned to see that he was no longer alone in the cramped, cluttered costume storage room. He slid the hanger in his hand onto the rack before giving the new comer his full attention.
“Yes,” he said, wishing that he could hide behind the costumes. He hadn’t anticipated running into the star of the production at this late hour, and he was caught off-guard.
“What’re you still doing here?” Galo Thymos asked as he began to rummage around the room, as if in search of something.
“Some of the pieces needed mending.” Lio couldn’t help the annoyance that slipped into his voice. He wished that everyone would be more careful with the costumes. Someone had actually gotten paint on one costume, and Lio had to replace it.
“You could have done that tomorrow. A-ha!” Galo surfaced from under a table with a scarf in hand. “I knew I left it here. Phew. Aina would kill me for losing this. It’s her mother’s.”
Why did Galo have Aina’s mother’s scarf? Lio was about to ask the question when he heard the door of the room close.
Huh?
Galo didn’t seem to notice as he was busy shoving the scarf into his bag. The lock clicked.
A strong sense of foreboding rose in Lio’s gut as he strode toward the door. He tried to open it, but it didn’t budge.
“Meis? Gueira?” he called. His friends were still out there, working on the sets. They’d surely hear him…
“Night, Lio,” came Gueira’s voice through the door. “Have fun with Mr. Romeo.”
The fuck?
Lio slammed his fist into the door. “Hey?!” he yelled through it. He caught the sound of laughter, fading as Gueira walked away.
Shit!
“What’s going on?”
Lio jumped, spooked to find that Galo had come up right behind him. Galo reached past him to try the door, his arm brushing Lio’s in the process.
“It’s locked,” he said.
Yes, you dumb idiot, Lio thought but didn’t say.
“My idiot friends seem to think they’re being funny,” Lio hissed. “I’m going to string them up by their ankles and use them as piñatas. I’m going to pin them to the wall and use them as dart boards!”
Galo took a giant step back from Lio, as if he thought that Lio might actually do those things.
“Um, can you pick the lock?” he asked.
“Me? Why the fuck would I be able to pick the lock? Do I look like a criminal?” Lio snapped.
“…Well, maybe? I mean, the way you dress…” Galo cowered as Lio stepped closer to him, a dangerous expression on his face.
“The way I dress,” Lio said, putting emphasis on the word ‘dress’. “What’s wrong with the way I dress, Mr. Blue Mohawk?”
“Nothing? I mean, it’s…edgy, but hot? Please don’t kill me.”
Galo had nowhere else to go, and he clearly knew it. His back was pressed up against a rack of costumes. Lio paused, realising that he was right up in Galo’s face…and the guy had some damned pretty eyes. Lio backed off, turning red. Suddenly, he couldn’t remember why he’d been angry at Galo.
Galo let out a breath of relief. He seated himself on the floor and shoved his bag underneath a rack of clothing.
“What are you doing?” Lio questioned.
“Getting comfortable,” Galo replied as he shrugged off his jacket.
“Shouldn’t we be trying to get out of here?” Lio asked.
“How? Do you have a phone? Because if you did, you’d probably have mentioned that already. Mine’s flat.”
“Mine’s with the rest of my stuff on the stage where Meis and Gueira were painting,” Lio admitted. He sat down on the floor and ran his fingers through his hair.
“So until your friends come back, or until everyone comes in tomorrow morning, we’re stuck,” Galo said.
“You could break the door down,” Lio suggested.
“Uh, no? They’d make me pay for the damage!” Galo protested. “Besides, we’ll only be here for a few hours at most. Is it really that much of an inconvenience?”
What the hell was wrong with this guy? Who wouldn’t think being locked in a small room overnight was an inconvenience? Lio certainly found it to be an inconvenience.
Though, admittedly, his company had a large part to do with that. If he were here with Meis and Gueira, he’d probably actually enjoy the time. But he wasn’t here with his friends. He was here with the school play’s star, Galo Thymos. The very hot star, Galo Thymos. Lio’s very secret crush, Galo Thymos.
Their high school was putting on a production of a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet, and Galo had landed the role of Romeo. Classmate Aina Ardebit would be playing Juliet. Lio, Meis and Gueira were working backstage, Lio on costumes and Meis and Gueira on the sets.
Meis and Gueira had promised to not give Lio a hard time about his crush on the play’s male lead, but they’d clearly found a loophole, and Lio was going to kill them.
“It’s an inconvenience for me,” Lio mumbled. He rested one arm on his knee.
Galo rifled around in his bag and pulled out a sheaf of papers.
“What’s that?” Lio asked curiously.
“The script,” Galo said. “Might as well work on memorising my lines. Do you mind?”
“No.”
Galo studied him for a moment before asking, “Do you want to help? You could read Juliet’s lines for me.”
“Me? But I’m a guy,” Lio protested.
“Yeah? But it’s just the two of us here,” Galo pointed out. “Your friends will never know.”
“Okay,” Lio agreed.
Galo stared at him expectantly, and Lio wondered what he was waiting for.
“Uh, you have to come over here. There’s only one script,” Galo pointed out.
Way to look like an idiot, Fotia, Lio chastised himself. How else would they do it? It wasn’t like Lio had the lines memorised or anything…even though he had attended every rehearsal, and knew more than he ought to.
Lio settled in beside Galo where he had line of sight on the script, which Galo considerately turned his way. Lio was all too conscious of how large and warm Galo’s body was. Lio felt safe tucked up beside Him, as if Lio were curled up beneath a heavy blanket on a winter’s night. Lio thought it would be nice to be tucked in with Galo on a winter’s eve. Just the two of them, with a crackling fire and snow falling beyond the window pane.
Then Lio realised which scene Galo intended to practice and he was brought out of his dreamy daze with a violent jolt. His cheeks turned bright red.
“Galo, isn’t this the kissing scene?” he asked.
“Yeah…is that a problem?”
Lio realised that Galo’s own cheeks were red.
“No. But, um, do we have to…?”
“Do you want to?” Galo’s voice sounded a bit shaky, and Lio fixed his eyes on the script instead of Galo.
“Are you asking if I’d kiss you?”
“Just as part of the play? I mean, I’ve never…we’ve never practiced that part, and honestly, it’s terrifying.” Galo laughed awkwardly. “I guess I’d feel better if I could practice it with…you?”
Lio dared to look Galo in the face, and discovered that Galo’s cheeks were still bright red. “Okay,” Lio said quietly.
Maybe Lio wouldn’t kill Meis and Gueira. He’d definitely still make them suffer though. On principle.