text | un: fotia

[burningfree]

[It was like, 3 in the morning, and Lio was laying in bed while restlessly typing this on his phone, the subject of the post laying next to him and almost certainly drooling in his sleep.]

To whom it may concern.

If you see an idiot firefighter running around the city shirtless at any point, look with your eyes, not your hands. Actually, I'd prefer if you kept your eyes above the chin.

He's mine.

[Happy first day of Sanguis!]

Comments

[burningfree]

[Lio was starting to realize there'd been a slight misunderstanding about what's happening to all those shirts.]

To be fair to him, he apparently keeps losing them by getting in too close contact to fire. They're burning off. Or, most recently, he lost one by getting into a fight with a cultist. I don't think he's purposefully destroying them.

[affectueux]

[ ............. ]

My apologies for assuming the worst.

[ he almost wants to block this person to avoid further embarrassment, but he’s come this far. he adds another message. ]

But I suppose the method hardly changes the end result.

[burningfree]

[Lio is grinning ear to ear.]

Wait, your roommate throws off his clothes on purpose??

[affectueux]

Well, yes!

He’s sort of like a wild animal in that respect. We’re only spared of it by the fact he isn’t here with me.

[ the world doesn’t need two shirt-haters running around… ]

[burningfree]

Don't worry, I wouldn't stare. I have my own shirtless idiot, you can keep yours.

[affectueux]

I didn’t realize what a comfort those words would be until I read them. :)

Have you tried talking to him? Better yet, surely this world has some fireproof technology for clothing.

[burningfree]

I only officially claimed him for my own roughly

[Lio checked the time on his phone, and did some quick mental math.]

eight hours ago.

I haven't had the chance to tell him, and he's asleep now. I couldn't stop thinking about it, though. It kept me up.

[affectueux]

[ claimed… ]

Oh! Congratulations! I think.

I guess he’ll see this for himself whenever he wakes up. Though I do realize the announcement is less for him, and more for us.

[burningfree]

[Lio realized, in retrospect, that probably sounded like he and Galo had sex. Which, they probably would have, if Galo hadn't been injured. Dumbass.]

I'm not worried about him, regardless. He isn't the kind to be unfaithful. I'm worried about others trying to take advantage of his inability to keep a shirt on.

[affectueux]

[ props to lio for openly admitting it, in serge’s eyes. he could never. ]

He must be very attractive.

[burningfree]

I'd say as much, except he might let that get to his head.

[affectueux]

I won’t tell.

By the way, if I were you, I would survey his coworkers. Maybe they can help.

[burningfree]

As far as I can tell, none of his coworkers came here with us. Otherwise I would.

[affectueux]

Ah, a terrible dilemma.

One would think that a firefighter would be able to keep himself clothed, for safety if nothing else.

[burningfree]

[Lio wasn't going to mention that Galo already had some impressive burn scars. Not his place to talk about, given Galo kept them covered up, not to mention a shirt wouldn't have protected him from those burns anyway.]

He's kind of an idiot.

He got into a fight with me and my generals once without a shirt. Granted he had some fancy equipment, but I wrecked it pretty badly and left him pretty much naked save for his pants. If I hadn't let him win, he could have gotten seriously hurt.

[Good memories!]

[affectueux]

[ generals… ]

I’m sorry. Was this before or after you two were “properly acquainted”?

[burningfree]

It was the first time we met.

A firefighter fighting with an arsonist.

[He'll freely admit to arson in a nostalgic way, why not? As far as he was concerned, his work with Mad Burnish was something to be proud of, not to hide.]

[affectueux]

It’s an odd first meeting, but somehow, I can see how a romance of sorts would have blossomed from it. The line between hate and love is very thin, after all.

[burningfree]

[Lio had to blush at that assessment. Wow. He was pretty sure no one else would have come to that conclusion based on what he'd just said, but now he was starting to wonder if it'd always been that obvious.]

Wait, don't get me wrong, it wasn't 'love at first sight' or anything.

[Shit, even typing the word 'love' when talking about Galo made his stomach twist into a tight knot, because he was still figuring all of this out.]

I never hated him, either.

I just became fond after we went through hell and back together.

Sorry. It's

That's a little embarrassing to talk about.

[He wasn't sure why talking about the 'romance' aspect was so much more embarrassing to him than the physical attraction part.]

[affectueux]

[ oh, has serge happened upon something sensitive? it doesn’t seem like the person he’s talking to is angry, though. just embarrassed. ]

Non, you have no need to apologize. I think I’ve been through something similar.

And even if I haven’t, it’s not my place to understand it. The only people who need to know how you feel are you, and the person you’re with.

[burningfree]

[Lio definitely wasn't mad, just flustered. He didn't ever really consider that he'd be involved in anything that could be described as "romantic" until now.]

Yeah, I guess.

I think Galo has an easier time understanding his own emotions than I do mine, though. Sometimes I think he knows what I'm feeling better than I do.

I'm still not sure what to call this thing between us yet.

[affectueux]

[ serge nods at his device, not really realizing that he can’t be seen. he’s just that empathetic to lio’s situation here. ]

You don’t have to call it anything at all, but if you’re worried, you can always talk to him. Preferably when he’s awake and clothed, though. The latter part has helped me considerably.

[burningfree]

I can imagine it's easier to think straight if the person you like is actually wearing a shirt. We'll see if I get so lucky.

[Probably not.]

[affectueux]

[ been there, done that… he really feels for you, lio. ]

As I said, if you must, dress him by force! Though that’s good advice for any day of the week.

Good luck with your firefighter.