Chapter Text
It was a clear memory. Meis and Guiera had arrived at midday where Burnin’ Rescue’s Team Three had been helping in the cleanup of the city, three weeks after the initial incident.
“Meis! Guiera! Where have you two been, shift begins at seven AM!” Ignis’ words sounded stern, but it was an honest question. They, and Lio, were normally right on time to help in daily cleanup shifts.
“Sorry, Chief. It’s just...” Guiera’s mouth drew into a thin line. “The cops showed up at our apartment this morning. They arrested the boss and held us for questioning. We just now got out,” Meis supplied, expression grim.
Although the news caught everyone’s attention, Galo got to them first. “Why was Lio arrested?” he asked, hoping in vain that he’d just wildly misheard.
“The cop said he was being held accountable for everything Mad Burnish did, since he was the boss. He just... agreed, and they took him,” Guiera said. “Did you hear anything else regarding his arrest?” Ignis asked, coming over. He considered Lio a member of the team, in all honesty. And yet, hearing that he’d been arrested didn’t quite surprise him.
Galo was a different story. “He saved the world! That’s enough of a pardon for everything he did, isn’t it?” he asked. “After they were done asking us stuff, they said that we had to be at his trial. And they wanted you to come too,” Guiera said, looking at Galo.
Before the firefighter could speak up, Ignis cut in. “Alright. I’ll speak to the police to see if I can get any specifics,” he said. Then, he sent Meis and Guiera to help work, and turned back to Galo, who was still sputtering and trying to accept that his new best buddy was now in custody. “You can’t forget what he did beforehand. Someone has to take accountability. Even if this doesn’t seem right,” he said.
For once, Galo fell silent. His mind was racing, a thousand different questions on his mind. All that came out was a meek, “We can help him... right?”
Ignis nodded. “We’ll do what we can. Back to work, rookie.” Galo remained relatively quiet for the rest of the shift.
XxX
One week after his arrest, Lio was tried and arrested for the crimes of Mad Burnish. As soon as possible, though, Burnin’ Rescue began their work to get him out. It wound up taking a year, a lot of paperwork, countless meetings and legal battles, and hours of effort that seemed like it would amount to nothing. But finally, it was made official.
Lio would be pardoned and allowed to help the Burnish people reintegrate into society properly.
Galo didn’t share the news during his weekly visit. Rather, he did what he always did during his weekly visits; chat with Lio about how reconstruction was going for both Promeopolis and the Burnish community, and about how he was holding up behind bars. When the next week came and Lio’s cell door was opened, he assumed it was for Galo’s usual visitation. He expected his ankles and wrists to be cuffed, as they usually were when he was led to the visiting room. However, that didn’t happen.
“Today’s your lucky day, Fotia. You’ve been pardoned.” Lio blinked. “Pardoned?” he echoed. “Yeah. If it were up to me, you wouldn’t be. But I don’t have a say in the matter,” the officer said. He led the way to the room where Lio had initially been stripped of his meager possessions and changed into a prison jumpsuit. “Clothes are in the plastic bag. Be quick about it,” the officer said.
Lio had never expected something as simple as putting on his old clothes to feel so good. His tight leather pants, white tee shirt, and leather jacket had never felt as comfortable as they did in that moment. Putting them on felt like reclaiming a piece of himself that had been left behind when the officers had put him in cuffs upon his arrest. He pulled his hair back into a low ponytail—it had grown out to just past his shoulders over the recent months.
“Your ride home’s here.” Lio’s reminiscence was broken by a different officer entering the room. He checked the plastic bag one last time to make sure that he hadn’t forgotten anything. Then, he went to the exit of the prison he thought he’d spend the rest of his life in.
He expected Meis or Guiera to pick him up. After all, they were who he’d been living with originally after tensions between Burnish and the rest of society had settled. Instead, waiting there was one idiot firefighter, dressed in sweats and actually wearing a shirt for once.
He parked his motorcycle, leaning it on the kickstand before going to the smaller man. “Surprise,” he said.
Lio smiled up at him. “You led this charge, didn’t you?”
Galo blushed slightly. “I couldn’t just let my new best buddy sit in jail for the rest of his life! I was prepared to fight for years to get you out of there! Burnin’ Rescue also helped a lot,” he said. “Only you would be willing to go that far, huh?” Lio asked, smiling. “Maybe. But it all worked out in the end, right?” Galo asked, extending his arms for a hug.
Lio rolled his eyes, but accepted the hug, and with a smile, nonetheless. He yelped slightly when Galo picked him up in said hug, but he didn’t object. Galo’s embrace was warm, secure. Strong and cozy. It felt like home. He felt like home.
“I hope you don’t mind staying at my place for a bit. The police needed an address for where you would be sleeping tonight, and I didn’t know Meis and Guiera’s address,” Galo admitted.
“Let’s get out of here,” Lio said. Galo jumped onto his motorcycle, Lio sitting behind him and putting on the offered helmet before wrapping his arms around the taller man.
“First day of the rest of your life, huh?” Galo said, revving up his bike.
Lio nodded, and they took off into the night.