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There was a lot to get used to now that the Promare had left him. Lio had grown far too accustomed to the surface healing he'd been granted, and adjusting to its absence was more than a little challenging.
Of course he wasn't a beginner, he knew how to handle himself. When the front wheel of his motorcycle hit a ledge too steep and jolted out of Lio's control, he knew to bail before he fell beneath the vehicle, knew to let himself fall limp to the ground so the impact wouldn't tear him apart. He was fine, and he knew he was fine. This was far from the first time he'd had an accident and it for sure wouldn't be the last.
Of course, he hadn't even begun to process the repercussions of the fact that he didn't have his Burnish powers anymore. And so, as he returned home, having given a cursory wave goodnight to the rest of Mad Burnish and slumped against the closed front door exhausted, it was with a growing sense of dread that he pulled off his jacket to reveal the mess of black and purple snaking down his right arm.
God, he was a fucking idiot. He'd become so used to walking away from injuries without breaking a sweat that he'd become careless, the assumption that any visible wounds would be healed over within the hour so ingrained in him that he hadn't even considered that he'd ever feel long-term consequences from anything of the sort.
Lio picked himself up from where he'd braced himself against the door and made his way into the apartment proper. No use having a crisis just standing in the entrance, might as well do it somewhere a little more comfortable. He flashed a quick smile hello at Galo, sprawled unceremoniously across the couch, who responded in kind.
"Hey Lio, finally made it b--"
He trailed off upon seeing Lio's sorry expression, and jolted himself forward when the sorry state of his arm came to his attention.
"Shit! You okay?"
Lio shrugged. "Just ran off the road a bit. I'm fine."
And, just as unceremoniously as the former, he threw himself onto the flaking faux-leather couch beside Galo. He'd decided that the best course of action right now was to distract himself from whatever existential dread was brewing in the corners of his mind. He tried his best to reassign his focus to whatever drivel was on TV this time of night, rather than the concerned stare of his roommate or the heavy feeling of blood blooming irregularly forth beneath his skin.
After a few seconds of Lio's terse stare at nothing in particular, Galo reached out to rest his arm on his shoulder, watching as he flinched at the sudden jolt of pain.
"Well. You don't look fine." He gave that trademark lopsided smile as he added, "You don't need to pretend you're invincible, y'know."
Lio sighed, exhausted, and relented, leaning in to rest against Galo's side. "You're so insufferable."
"Right back at ya." Galo punctuated his retort with a soft peck to Lio's temple. "Sure you're all good?"
"I said I'm fine."
"Right. Sorry. I've just- never seen you like this before, y'know?"
"...Yeah. Me neither."
Another deep sigh and the pair fell into silence. Galo, the same protective idiot he'd always been, held Lio tenderly as if afraid he'd injure him further, leaning over almost distractedly now and then to press chaste kisses along his jawline. Lio, as usual, had zero clue how to respond to the affection being piled upon him by the other man, and simply resigned to resting himself in place and half-losing himself in thought. He had a lot to think about, it turned out.
He couldn't tell how many minutes had passed (five? thirty?) until Lio finally gathered himself and broke his empty stare forward, bringing his eyes up to meet Galo's for the first time that night. Once again with that stupid smile (but still with a sheen of concern in his eyes), Galo took advantage of the new angle and pressed his lips against Lio's forehead. Sentimental bastard.
Lio cleared his throat. "I've, uh, I've been thinking.
...I want more."
Galo raised an eyebrow, a silent request for elaboration.
"I... I've never been affected like this before." He gestured sharply to his arm, stained deep red and blue in uneven patches. "Nothing ever used to stick around. Nothing seemed to matter in the long run, y'know? It'd all fade away in a couple hours, and I'd be the same person I'd always been.
If the actions I take can finally effect me, if I can finally have something leave a scar on me, then..."
He spent a few seconds fumbling with his words. "I... want to choose where they come from.
...I want you to mark me. I want more -- more proof that I'm living, more proof that something's a part of me. More proof that you're a part of me."
Lio reached up with his uninjured hand and took Galo's cheek gently in his palm, running his thumb down his jawline.
"Can you do that for me?"
Galo held the eye contact for just a moment longer, the intensity of Lio's gaze palpable in the air, before finally bridging the gap between the two and drawing Lio into a deep embrace. He buried his face into Lio's neck, painting a line with his kisses beginning just below his ear and inching lower, slowly lower.
Lio's face was already more than red by the time his partner had made it to the base of his neck, only flushing deeper as he felt Galo's teeth scrape against his collarbone. Having found his mark, Galo latched onto the soft skin, canines leaving deep indents in Lio's flesh as he tasted his offering. Slowly, far too slowly, he pulled away, the space where he'd been marked by a bloom of dark red and the sheen of saliva.
Galo looked up at Lio as he repositioned himself just further down; the calm smile in Lio's eyes reassuring as Galo pressed his mouth to him once again, the soft moan resounding through his chest. Galo had the taste of sweat and lavender on his tongue, the other body burning beneath his contact. It made a frankly obscene noise as he pulled away a second time, the tension below his lips releasing and once again staining the pale skin a deep blush.
He continued to work downward, drawing a leisurely path down Lio's chest in warm reds and greens, slowly unbuttoning his shirt until it was eventually discarded altogether. Somewhere, he wasn't quite sure in the haze of the moment, Lio had entwined his hand in Galo's hair, pulling him in yet closer. Tiny sounds escaped his mouth at the soft pricks of pain as the bruises his partner had trailed behind him darkened, carving their bond into his flesh. Galo, having reached his chest, was mouthing soft circles around his nipple, causing Lio to squirm under his touch. He gave an experimental bite, his teeth closing just barely around it, and Lio struggled to choke back a whine, back arcing into the touch.
"Fuck, Galo, I- I need you." Lio's breaths were shaky and uneven, and the soft quavers in his voice traveled straight to Galo's cock.
"H", replied Galo, words failing him. "I mean... God. Yes, Please. I, -yeah, please. I... I need you too. Just... please."
Galo leaned forward to slowly unfasten Lio's pants; with his arm in such a state, Galo didn't trust he'd be able to undo all the goddamn belt buckles on his stupid outfit. Stupid fucking sexy leather outfit. What kind of dumbass would wear something like this, Galo mused to himself, until he was no longer wearing something like that and the heat from his groin radiated into the air between them as Galo pressed one last kiss to his hipbone.
Moving back to deal with his own (admittedly sparse) clothes, Galo kept his eyes fixated entirely on Lio. He was usually so clean, so pristine, that it was almost jarring to see his skin discoloured by the bruises that now extended deep into his torso; but there was something unplaceably beautiful about it all. Lio, not wanting to put any strain on his ruined arm, resorted to tearing the condom packet open with his teeth, and it was the sexiest fucking thing that Galo had ever seen.
"Lio. If you don't put your dick in me right now I'm going to die."
Lio obliged.
Positioning himself over the larger man, Lio leant down to toy with Galo's sex, earning a series of stifled noises as he slid two fingers into him, closely followed by a third. Satisfied, Lio took his hand to his face and licked his middle digits clean, before gripping onto Galo's side with his free hand and slowly sliding into him. Reaching his depth, he took a moment for them to collect themselves, reaching his arms around Galo's shoulders and pulling him close, Galo once again resting his face against his partner's neck.
When Lio began to move, it was with shaky hips, knees already threatening to give up underneath him. His mind was far too clouded by the gentle burn spreading across his torso and the soft embrace of his partner to focus on moving any other way than with his arrhythmic, stuttering thrusts; but if the noises he was making were any indication, Galo didn't seem to mind.
Without warning, Galo bit down on Lio's shoulder, and Lio stuttered to a halt, a string of shouts escaping his throat before he had the time to quiet himself.
"God, fuck, do that again." Lio's voice was strained, trying (and failing) to maintain a sense of composure. Galo only smiled in response, replying with a gentle bite to the neck, which rewarded him with another high-pitched moan.
Whatever sense of order Lio had had was quickly lost, his body moving desparately against Galo's, breath growing erratic as he canted shallowly upwards into Galo's heat. Their bodies damp with sweat and slick, neither moving in time with the other but somehow making it work nonetheless. Galo whined into Lio's shoulder, the vocalisation a warm vibration on his skin, signalling that he was as close to completion as the other was. Understanding, Lio slipped one hand into the space between the two, reaching down to stroke Galo's long-neglected cock.
As Galo came, he bit down hard, and Lio saw stars.
When Lio came down from his high it was to the sensation of liquid running down his back, and he realised all too slowly that he'd drawn blood. He couldn't help but laugh a little at the enthusiasm.
==
The next morning, Lio slipped out of bed far earlier than was reasonable to most. Galo had fashioned his right arm into a makeshift sling amid promises he'd take him to the hospital tomorrow, after coming to the conclusion that it was most certainly broken. Careful not to wake the man sleeping in the other room, Lio made his way to the bathroom, opening the door as quietly as he could with his non-dominant hand. When Galo woke, he found him still standing in the mirror, intently observing the canvas that he had become.