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They’re sitting in this field of flowers. Or, Galo is sitting, Lio is laying down comfortably on their stomach. Anyway, they have been here for nearly two hours, in close to complete silence, save for the sound of Galo’s quill scribbling on the pages of his journal. Lio is nothing if not patient, so they’ve had no qualms with observing, maybe breaking Galo’s concentration a few times to give a fun fact about the flowers he can take down. They also don’t mind because it’s nice to see Galo like this, so focused, quiet but excited, and about knowledge no less. They have to wonder if he always gets like this when he’s studying the world around him.
Still so much to learn about the enigmatic Prince Thymos, they think.
Galo suddenly reaches his arms up, stretching his body towards the warm sun. When he’s done, he looks at Lio and smiles like he wants to say something. Break time, then.
“Hey, Lio.”
Lio hums. “Hi Galo.”
“Thanks for comin’ out here with me. I thought it’d be kinda boring to take notes by myself, and you know so much about this forest that I don’t think I could have gotten this far in my study without you!”
Lio still finds themself a little surprised in the moments when Galo opens up his heart to them. It’s not like he‘s ever had a problem saying something so nice, but there’s just a part of them that feels some shock that so much genuine gratitude is directed at them for doing things that...well, that friends do. Perhaps Galo’s heart is just too big for his own body.
In any case, they smile back and reach out to pat Galo’s knee. “You’re welcome, you sap. Honestly, you don’t have to thank me every time we have an outing. You know I’m happy to spend time with you.”
“Yeah, I know,” Galo says, smiling impossibly brighter. “Just want you to know I appreciate it.”
He reaches down into the flowers then, plucking a bright purple ophryre right out of the ground. He holds it close to his face, twirling it around and inspecting its petals. “I got some thoughts about this one, though,” he mutters. “Wanna help me test a hypothesis?”
Lio raises a brow. “Sure?” They aren’t sure what Galo’s thinking, because they’re certain he’s already written everything there is to write about ophryres.
Galo rests his journal in the flowers beside him before laying on his stomach, same as Lio, and directly in front of them. Before they have a chance to ask what he’s up to, Galo slides the flower gently behind their right ear and tucks it into place.
Lio’s cheeks flush instantly and they struggle to form a sentence, tripping over their tongue. “Wh-wh- Galo-!”
“My hypothesis was,” Galo starts, blatantly ignoring Lio’s sputtering. “That dragons would look really cute if you put ophryres in their hair. And I’m definitely right.”
Lio pauses, and then stares, and then huffs, and then smiles. If there’s one thing they know, it’s that the prince is nothing without his mild ( or major, depending ) theatrics. Putting on a show just to be flirtatious is so like him. So endearing.
They wrap their fingers lightly around his wrist as his hand is still on their ear, rubbing their thumb against the pulse at his wrist. “You’re silly, is what you are,” they say, and then softly add, “But very sweet.”
They revel in the blush that blooms on Galo’s face, the way he looks away as if to hide, bites his lip. “Aha, yeah, you’re, um. You’re sweet, too.”
A laugh bubbles up out of Lio’s throat, and shortly after, Galo is laughing right along with them. And everything just feels right, like they were meant to meet and to be in each other’s company. There’s just something to the way they make each other feel that’s oh so comfortable — even if they won’t touch on how this would work for them. Not yet.
“Come on, prince,” Lio says, pushing themself up off the ground once their giggles die down. “The sun’s going down and I still haven’t started on dinner.”
Galo’s heart might flutter a bit, the thought of sharing more intimate moments with Lio enough to make him feel faint. But that is nobody’s business but his.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
*****
It’s when they’re back at Lio’s tower that they notice something strange. While reading Galo’s findings that day ( they claim to do it to check for inaccuracies, but Galo writes just how he speaks and they love to read his entries ) they notice that the sketches he’s taken of the flowers are three days old, as the prince dates all of his work. When they point it out to him, he damn near jumps out of his skin.
“Oh! You, uh, noticed that, huh?” Galo tries to laugh it off, but Lio’s questioning gaze doesn’t waver. He sighs a long sigh. “Okay, I didn’t actually need your help today. I’ve already studied that field and inviting you out there with me was just an excuse to try and...woo you. Just a little.”
Lio rolls their eyes, but they’re smiling. “You absolute buffoon,” they scoff, rising up from the dining table. “You utter goose.”
“ I know,” Galo groans, hiding his face in his hands out of embarrassment. But then his head shoots up, and he’s staring Lio down with those hopeful eyes of his. “But, um...did it work? Maybe?”
Walking up to him, Lio reaches out and trails the ghost of a touch along his jaw. They hum thoughtfully for a while before finally saying, “Help me cut these herbs and I’ll think about it.”
Galo pouts about Lio’s deflection, but he’s a good helper regardless. It leaves his mind once they get into the swing of putting a meal together, anyway. Lio, however...simply can’t stop thinking about it.
Trying to woo me, huh , they ponder with a grin.
They aren’t sure how to tell him that he already has.