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Recovery was an adjustment none of them were ready for.
Hospital beds weren't exactly luxurious, but lounging on one all day felt like a luxury. Not that he could do much else; his body was too weak after so long unable to move. There was an IV attached to him because eating normally just made him vomit so far, but his body needed nourishment. It was a long process in a way healing was never meant to be for him as a burnish.
His wounds would heal quickly still, wounds kissed away by flames every time he so much as bumped his hand on something - something nurses complained about while trying to attach the IV to him. The flames kept him alive, but they didn't make sure his muscles wouldn't waste away, they weren't able to take over his limbs so he could walk unassisted. After what he'd been through, well, he ought to be grateful to be an invalid at least. Most humans would just be corpses.
The biggest adjustment of all, though, that was Galo Thymos.
A scent of smoke sometimes trailed after the man, which was a small comfort for someone like Lio. He spoke to him frequently about being a firefighter, and wanting to save people, and he seemed genuine. There was a chair pulled up next to his bed that he would sit in, and a vase on the side table that was frequently changed before Lio had even bothered acknowledging the flowers in them. Lio never spoke much. Not to him.
His temporary hospital roommates were two other burnish that he'd suffered with, and were in a similar condition, and notably, Galo never brought them flowers - he wasn't unfriendly to them, but it raised suspicion. If Lio's body hadn't grown so weak, he'd have confronted him already. Normal men didn't behave like Galo unless they wanted something, and Lio wasn't entirely sure he wanted to see into Galo's heart if he was trying to catch the eye of an invalid burnish who barely regarded his presence as much more than an almost daily disturbance.
"Can I ask, um…"
Lio glanced at him and he took it to mean 'go ahead', though certainly no one in the room had said it.
"Did they ever… take your eyes?"
Meis snorted from the bed to his left and Galo nearly jumped.
"'Course they did," he answered for Lio, "What, you think there's any part of us they wouldn't scoop out for a profit?"
Galo's brows furrowed worriedly. "I– sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
"...Not mine." Lio spoke quietly and Galo's attention snapped back onto him instantly.
"Ah, true. Yours would stand out a bit much, I guess." Gueira answered, flipping through a skymall catalog he'd mysteriously gotten and browsed to alleviate boredom.
"I thought so…" Galo nodded, "Your eyes are really nice. I think it would be weird to see them on anyone else, for sure."
"It's not as though we had much say in the matter," Lio cut in sharply before Galo could say anything else stupid. His voice still sounded so wrong to him, too worn and raspy and weak. He decided to stay silent again, clenching his jaw.
The flowers that time, they were daffodils. A sign of early spring and renewals. Lio, however, would remain anchored to a hospital bed for months to come. After his legs stopped giving out under him, he'd probably be imprisoned somewhere else for being burnish.
He'd always done his best to escape, and all except for once he'd succeeded. There were marks around his wrists where molten metals had prevented the flames from healing in the correct form after his attempt to burn away the bonds in his previous prison. Blessedly, the ugliest scars were covered by a paper hospital bracelet and he didn't have to dwell on them.
Nothing would hold him back the same way again, he'd resolved. He'd already begun plotting a way out of the hospital before he could be placed in another cold cage.
"My friends want to come and check on you guys sometime, too. Is that okay?"
"When did you ask for permission?" Meis asked, apparently reading Lio's mind. He was amused by the firefighter's interest in Lio, and made no secret of his disapproval (though he knew Lio could speak for himself, and never outright demanded Galo leave).
"Yeah, good point," Galo smiled back at him. "I mean, they're part of the same rescue team, it's normal for us to want to see that you're doing okay."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess," Gueira agreed, also not hiding his amusement.
Lio didn't respond, and Galo looked disheartened, but not by much. "Well, I'll see you next time?" He waited a couple seconds before standing to leave. "Want me to bring you anything next time?"
"A whole ass movie theater," Meis answered, while Gueira raised his voice and said "Snacks!"
Lio just sighed and waited for Galo to leave.
"May as well make use of the guy if he likes you so much," Gueira pointed out, though Lio wasn't sure Galo had gotten out of earshot before he'd said it.
"Don't encourage it."
"Fine, fine."
That day, Lio watched Gueira toss one of the magazines he'd collected over to Meis's bed, and he wondered if he'd have the strength to do even that much. Maybe his recovery was too slow. Maybe he'd been there too long, maybe he was too broken.
The next bundle of flowers were hyacinth. Another spring flower, this time with a powerful fragrance that Lio was awkwardly grateful for, as someone who couldn't clean himself. He was at the mercy of the hospital staff's schedule to be cleaned up every couple of days. The physical therapy wasn't going all that well.
It wouldn't be as much of an issue if alarms didn't start blaring the second he summoned flames, if anti-burnish chemicals weren't deployed the second they appeared. Lio wasn't enough of a monster to set a hospital ablaze, but no one had enough trust in the burnish or their humanity. All he'd wanted to do with his flames was claim a small shred of his dignity and independence back.
"Why do you always bring me things?"
"Huh?" Galo turned a little bit red, which confirmed a few of Lio's suspicions. "Oh, I just–"
"Do you even visit any of the other burnish you rescued? Or do you expect something out of me?"
Galo clammed up, shook his head, and left abruptly with a "see you next time."
At the time, Lio foolishly wondered if Galo would ever come back.
Of course, Galo did.
The next visit was marked with tulips in assorted colors, and this time there were small bud vases next to Meis and Gueira as well.
"I think these are yours," Galo announced proudly, handing off neatly-folded leather clothing.
"What makes you think they're mine," Lio demanded, rather than questioning him.
"Wishful thinking," Meis said quietly, making Gueira snicker.
"Well, they're your size? Nothing else looked quite your size."
Indeed, the clothing belonged to Lio. His height was likely the giveaway. "Thanks," he murmured, annoyed that he felt any obligation to say so. "You're still going through that facility?"
"We salvaged a lot of it right away," Galo explained, "Now we're just trying to figure out what belongs to who. The building itself was already demolished."
Again, Lio felt awkwardly grateful, but he didn't say so.
"So, uh. If you guys have anything you're hoping was in there, I can look for it for you?"
While Gueira was creatively describing a sex toy that likely didn't exist just to mess with Galo, Lio drowned them out and looked at the window.
At first, the light had bothered his eyes after so long without daylight, but his vision had readjusted. The physical therapy was going somewhat well at last, he thought, even though he couldn't walk on his own still - he wasn't really allowed to, any movement in the room and a nurse would pop in through the door asking if everything was okay in a forcefully cheerful tone. Sure, burnish could be dangerous, but it was getting ridiculous. None of them had given any reason for the suspicion on them.
It was overcast and he hoped it would rain. An amused smile crossed his face when he thought about what Galo's hair would look like drenched in water.
"I'm missing a few organs, if you find any of those lying around."
Galo let out a startled, awkward laugh, seemingly surprised by Lio's change in mood.
Lio was scratching irritably at the skin under the cuff on his ankle the next time Galo arrived. Judging by the expression on Galo's face, he hadn't realized Lio was still technically a captive. His eyes were very easy to read, and the mix of anger and pity was obvious.
And if it hadn't been obvious, the way he yelled at a nurse about it and got himself banned from the ward that day was also a giveaway.
It hadn't been for nothing, though. The next time Galo came by, he got someone to remove the cuff and helped him into a wheelchair. "What are you doing?" Lio asked, slightly panicked.
"I wanted to take you outside for a bit. Do you not want to?"
Lio wanted to, but he didn't say so. Galo read between the lines and started pushing the chair along.
"I can't believe they don't let you move around on your own. It's so unfair."
"It's the way things are."
"And it's unfair."
"...Yes."
"You look out the window a lot, so I thought you might like to be outside for a bit," Galo explained, "When you're feeling up to it, there's a neat walking path behind the hospital they use for rehab."
"Why?" Lio asked. "Why are you so fixated on me? Heroes aren't meant to play favorites."
Galo blushed and scratched the back of his neck. Maybe he hadn't known that Lio would see that broadcast in which Galo declared himself a hero to a newscaster who'd just wanted details on a fire downtown. Well, Meis and Gueira were endlessly entertained by Galo's antics, so of course the little outdated TV in the hospital room had to be used for watching that.
As they walked down the hall, Galo waved at a few doctors and nurses he seemed friendly with. He gestured at a nondescript, empty room in a long hallway and beamed. "Last time I was here, that was my room. I had to go through a lot of PT, so I got really familiar with the place."
He kept rambling, not answering Lio's question - and if his hospital stories were interesting, it wasn't because he'd been there at all, it should be expected that a firefighter would end up hurt on the front lines sometimes. No, the interest came from the differences in their experiences. Lio was stifled, and Galo, without using the words to say so specifically, had been lonely.
At least that filled in some of the gaps. Galo hadn't wanted the burnish to feel lonely.
But why him ?
Galo parked the chair outside on a dull, undecorated terrace. The scenery was strangely beautiful.
Lio was determined not to show as much progress as he was actually making; if they still thought he was weak, then he could make his escape when he felt strong enough and they wouldn't be prepared to stop him.
Galo was the wild card in Lio's plans, and it was hard to figure out where to place all the pieces if Galo kept involving himself in everything. If he was interested in Lio the way he suspected, he probably wouldn't stop him - he wasn't that type of man, and he was too much of an idiot to hide any part of himself. Stupidly honest, painfully sincere.
"You look so much healthier now," Galo said with relief, as if he hadn't been seeing the progress in every visit he'd made to Lio's bedside. "Are you feeling strong enough to walk around much?"
Lio looked at his lap, not wanting to outright lie to Galo for some reason. "I can get around the room okay," he admitted. When he was well-rested and he'd eaten real food, he felt enough strength to jump, maybe even run, but he continued to act as though he were about to fall over in a slight breeze.
"You don't have to be embarrassed or anything, you know," Galo pointed out, completely misunderstanding his awkwardness. "You've been through hell, it'd take most people a lot longer to recover."
"Most people wouldn't have survived ," Lio corrected him sharply, and Galo bowed his head in concern.
"...I'm really glad you did, though."
Lio had no response to that.
"I heard it was worst for you, because you were the fastest to heal," Galo continued, voice lower.
Lio turned his head away, trying not to let himself think about it.
"The scientists that were arrested… they said that not many burnish survived having their hearts removed more than once–"
"Hey, genius. Read the room. It's kind of a touchy subject." Meis cut him off, reminding him that they weren't alone in the room. Gueira and Meis had started to kindly be a little less invasive now that Lio had started speaking for himself more, but they still looked out for him.
"It's true," Lio whispered, deciding to end the conversation his own way. "They found out I'd survive it, and what kind of timing was needed to keep me from dying. Foresight himself was the one to pull it out first." And it was burned into his memory, blurry visions of Foresight's pristine white suit spattered with blood as he carelessly handled a human heart and dumped it on a tray. It was not the first time he'd tested such a thing out on a burnish. It wouldn't be the last.
When Galo stayed silent, Lio glanced at him and was surprised to see tears in his eyes. Sure, it was tragic, but Galo's reaction still seemed too strong to him.
"Sorry." Galo stood and rubbed his eyes. "I'll let you guys get more sleep. See you next time."
Once again, Lio said nothing as Galo left, but his heart felt oddly heavy.
Well, he could just grow a new one if he had to.
Between Galo's visits, Lio had made an attempt at escape. The only reason he'd failed was because he kept looking for more burnish to bring with him, and he'd gotten caught and subdued and sedated and placed into a room with higher security measures. For whatever reason, Galo had still been allowed to visit him.
The sedation was possibly overkill, and left him feeling tired and dizzy, but the fire was fighting it off. It would win eventually, no matter how high the dosage.
Galo was gently brushing Lio's hair the next time Lio felt conscious enough to acknowledge him. "Hey, bud." Galo smiled. "You okay?"
Lio frowned at him.
"I get why you wanted to run away," Galo said in a soft tone, "but you don't have to worry about that sort of thing. Even if you're burnish, no one's going to try that again. As long as you don't start fires, no one's going to hurt you." Lio wanted to argue, and maybe Galo sensed that, so he continued. "Foresight's been ousted. He's in jail, and his trial is gonna start soon. Everyone is doing their best to forget all his propaganda."
If only it were so easy to see the world in such simple ways. No, it wouldn't be so easy. No one would trust the burnish. They never had.
"I know it sucks, but… If you're okay with it, when you're ready for release, I was gonna offer for you to come stay with me while you get back on your feet? Uh, it's not just me, though, there's a whole burnish outreach program and a lot of volunteers, so–"
"Why the hell–" Lio almost regretted speaking when his voice cracked tiredly "--are you so fixated on me ?"
Galo fell silent, but this time it was going to be temporary. Lio wasn't sure how he could tell, but he waited, staring at Galo's face for some kind of tell.
It took a few minutes, maybe longer. Following time was a little difficult when sedated, but Galo did speak again. "About a year ago, I had some bad timing in a burning building. I got really messed up." Lio noted a quiver in his voice. "I was known to be connected to Kr– Governor Foresight, so the hospital pulled out all the stops to save me. I shouldn't have survived."
There was a meaningful, heavy pause as Lio realized where he was going.
"I'd wanted to send flowers to the donor's family, or their grave, but it was listed as anonymous, and, well… I couldn't leave well enough alone. I got some people mad, and eventually I found out what… was happening to you guys."
Lio forced himself to sit up, staring sharply at Galo's sheepish expression. He wasn't sure how to feel, the neatly-woven story threads getting too tangled to follow. The single-minded fixation Galo followed him with saved all the burnish in that facility, but Galo had directly benefited from the slaughter as well. If not by forcefully carving out Lio's heart over and over again, Galo wouldn't ever have existed in Lio's world. Lio's world would still be an endless cycle of meticulously-timed harvests.
Without much thought, Lio reached over and placed a hand on Galo's chest, and felt sparks rather than a heartbeat. His breathing hitched and he sobbed, crumpling forward and into Galo's arms.
Perhaps he ought to be amused that there was a scar on Galo's chest while Lio's was still clear of any markings. He stared with interest at it, but was far too embarrassed to touch it again, even if he'd be the one to ask to see it.
"I… would willingly donate," Lio said, not making eye contact. "I don't like the thought of being able to save someone and doing nothing." He didn't like the thought that he could have ever refused to save someone like Galo. It wasn't really a choice.
Galo beamed at him. "You'd make a good firefighter."
"Shut up," Lio was amused, regardless of his words.
"I'm sure there's a safe way to let you donate in emergencies, Lio." Galo agreed eventually. "Maybe paced better and medicated so you don't have to be hurt at all."
"Maybe," Lio nodded.
On the bedside table was a small stack of articles from Lio's attempts to catch himself up with the news, and next to that were camellias, freshly cut from someone's yard rather than from a florist. Lio liked them.
He was allowed to go home, but he didn't really have one. As much as Galo was willing to offer, Lio wasn't taking advantage of his guilt, or any other feelings Galo might be holding. Maybe he would, if Galo kept insisting, but for now he stayed in his hospital room -the shared one - as he continued his physical therapy.
"Ugh, put a shirt on already," Meis grumbled as he walked back in. He and Gueira took advantage of their freedom enough to at least take their lunch outside, and Lio suspected they were trying to give him privacy. It was unnecessary, but kind of them.
Galo didn't look the slightest bit embarrassed anymore. "Jealous?" He asked, a challenge in his tone as he flexed his muscles.
"Okay, get out," Lio commanded, holding in a laugh. Meis flopped back onto his bed with an annoyed groan.
"Alright. I'll see you again soon, okay?"
"Out," Lio repeated, firm.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Bye." Galo pulled his shirt back on and stood to leave. He wasn't offended, just playing along.
"Bye," Lio responded. Galo shot him a grin on the way out.
In his chest, his heart felt warmed. He wondered if it was warm in Galo's chest as well.