Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

God, did Lio not want to go to Hooters for dinner. 

He finds just the thought of it ridiculous as he sits in the backseat of Guiera’s car, head leaned up against the glass to watch the city pass by in a bright blur while his roommates chat and flirt in front of him like he’s not even there. It’s nothing malicious of course - they’ve all been best friends ever since they were children, to the point that Meis and Guiera still called him boss to this day; albeit in a more joking tone than the childlike wonder that they used to have for the “leader” of their little trio. But they had officially gotten together a few months ago, and while they weren't out of their honeymoon phase just yet, Lio preferred it over the infuriation of watching them awkwardly flirt around the bush.              

Pretty unfair that they get to just easily outvote him on where to eat tonight though. Or like, every night. But hey - a free meal’s a free meal, and even though Lio could easily pay for it himself, he wasn’t about to just let himself eat some microwave mac n’ cheese for dinner all alone. Again.

“Boss?” Guiera laughs, making Lio jolt a bit as he blinked out of his thoughts only to find that his roommates had already been holding his door open. “C’mon, we’re here! Are you already distracted by the thought of some tiddy?”

Rolling his eyes, Lio simply shook his head and slid out of the car with a huff. “No, but I am thinking about why you guys chose Hooters of all places to eat tonight. Don’t you two already have each other?”

“Yes, but the best kind of ass is one that you can appreciate together. Plus, we have coupons!”

“I told you that I could pay-!”

“Nah, nah~” Meis interrupts, throwing his free arm around Lio’s little shoulders while his other hand slipped into Guiera’s. “Boss, you already paid for the past, like, fifty - let us handle this for once.”

At that, Lio had no choice but to admit defeat, a shadow of a smile tugging at the edge of his lips as he’s dragged inside by his roommates. They’re dumb, sure, but he wouldn’t want to pass their company up for anything, even if he is third wheeling. Yet that sentiment starts to drain away once the loud and busy atmosphere of your typical Hooters makes him cringe, shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket as he tries not to let his eyes shrivel up from the tacky decorations while Guiera asks the hostess for a table. She’s bright and bubbly as she leads them over to their booth, tits nearly spilling out from her tank top as she leans over to hand them their menus. “Don’t worry, your server will be out with you shortly!”

“Thanks,” Lio hummed as he sat across from his roommates, glancing over the food listed for just a few moments before peeking over the top of the menu with a smirk dancing in his eyes. “Do you think that they rely so heavily on sex appeal because they know that their food isn’t good enough to keep them in business?”

“Well obviously.” Meis snorted, letting his boyfriend lean up against him so that they could use the same menu. But why? When they were both given menus?? “Don’t be such a big baby, Boss, food’s food! Sorry this isn’t first class steaks or whatever~”

Lio puffs up at that and shoves his face back into the menu, trying to find something here to settle on. Being called out on not usually eating this kind of greasy fast food isn’t the best, and really just makes him feel bad, but it’s not as if it’s his fault – so what if his father was a famous scientist and he had his own personal chef up until he went to college, he literally couldn’t care less! None of it was his fame, his fortune, or his hard work. But now that he went to the University of Promepolis, he could finally write out his own legacy and future instead of having to just be some trust fund bitch relying on his dad’s money to cruise on through life like some-

“Hey, I’m Galo Thymos, and I’m gonna take care of you guys today!”

Honestly, the fact that someone as big as their waiter could sneak up on him so easily has Lio nearly jumping out of his seat, instead just snapping down the menu so he could at least be polite and look the dude in the eyes. Yet that turns out to be almost impossible, because Lio wasn’t prepared for what was waiting right before him in the slightest.

Fuck, he doesn’t know where to look first. His lips purse into a taut line as his eyes try to stay focused on Galo’s while also darting around to take in everything at once – bright eyes, strong jaw, handsome features, huge, firm pecs that threaten to rip that thin white crop top apart, muscular arms that make him wonder what it’s like to be held down or held by them, every single muscle and crease in his body showing so prominently despite being barely hidden by what little fabric clings onto that perfect skin…

He doesn’t know if he’s lucky or not that he can't see below Galo’s waist because of the table, but either way, it’s just bothering him more knowing what was hiding from him right there.

“Oh, hey Lio!” the guy loudly laughs, and suddenly his roommates are staring at him as Lio attempts to blink out of the absolute shock that has him just gawking at this dude like he’s seen the light for the first time. “Do you remember me? From our public administration class?!”

Of course I remember you, dumbass! “…H-hah, yeah, I thought you looked familiar.” Lio awkwardly hummed in response, trying to play it off as if he had only been staring because he had simply recognized a classmate. Yup! Just that. Absolutely nothing else. “Should’ve known from the hair.”

Lio swears that he can feel his heart stop for a second or two once Galo flashes him a bright grin right back as he gestures up at his spiky blue hair. “Hey, you got me there! And sorry, I’d love to stay and chat more, but I have like fifty other tables to wait on right now. I promise to be back though~” he teases, flipping open his notebook that has a bunch of illegible scribbles over it, as if he had stolen it from a toddler. The motion draws Lio’s eyes though – everything else going on kind of distracted him from the fact that Galo was only wearing a sleeve on his left arm. Huh. Okay. Fashion, he guesses? “Anyways, can I start you guys off with something to drink? Or any starters?”

I’m not surprised that you’re so popular. “Just water, please.”

“Sure, sure! And you two?”

While Galo took Meis and Guiera’s drinks before they playfully bickered over whether or not they should get a starter, Lio just kept staring down at his menu, forcing himself to glare at the individual words and pictures printed there as if they were responsible for this current hell that he was burning alive in. And he continues to reread the menu even after his roommates finish up, and even after their waiter walks away and he can catch a hint of that perfect body from the corner of his eye. Don’t look at his ass, don’t look at his ass, don’t you dare-

“So! Public administration, huh?” Meis laughs once Galo is out of earshot, a waggle to his brow as he leans forward and props his chin up on his elbows with an amused gleam in his eyes. “How come you didn’t tell us that your boring ass classes apparently serve snacks in them?”

“Your boyfriend is right next to you, you know.”

“Oh, I am - and I agree. So????? You know a dude like that and you just didn’t tell us??? How dare, I thought we were best friends!”

A sigh hisses out of Lio as he harshly tries to rub out the burning embarrassment on his face with his hands. “Will you guys stop? God, look - I only know him because he’s so loud and friends with like, everyone. Even the teachers. Okay?”

“But not you?” Guiera muses, the shit eating grin on his face making Lio defensively puff up even more in annoyance.

“Wh- yes, not me. It’s not like I hate him or anything, we just don’t talk because he sits in the front and I’m usually around the back. And after tonight? I’m planning on keeping it that way.”

“What? Why??"

“Why?! How the hell am I supposed to look him in the eye after I’ve seen him in his, his “work” uniform??? Wouldn’t it just seem shitty if I suddenly started talking to him because, oh, I guess he’s hot?”

At that, Guiera's devilish grin stretched even wider. “So you admit that you think he’s hot?”

“OF COURSE HE’S-”

“Sorry that took so long!” Galo interrupted, Lio’s mouth instantly snapping shut as his wide eyes watches their waiter slam down their drinks and slide a tray of Tex Mex Nachos^TM  onto the middle of the table. Everything about him is flashy and showy, with even such simple movements and loud, boisterous voice demanding the attention of the whole damn restaurant. It’s honestly enough to make Lio start to slide down in his seat with the desire to hide under the table, but then he thinks about the possibility about accidentally finding his face right in Galo’s crotch and instantly stops. Well. He debates about it, at least. “Got the order wrong for a customer a few tables down – I'm just lucky that she was really forgiving though! Anyways, do you guys know what you wanna order, or will you need a few more minutes?”

“Oh no, I think we’re ready.” Meis hummed as he tilted his head at Lio with a mischievous yet innocent looking smile stretched across his face. “You can start with him.”

Once all eyes are on him, Lio stopped glaring at his roommate from over his menu before he set it down and politely cooled off enough to at least look in Galo’s general direction – but maybe it’s a little too obvious that he’s staring at the tips of the dude’s spiky blue hair instead of… y’know. He’s not quite ready to look anywhere near that soft skin, because he knows that if he even gets a glance of muscle his eyes are going to get drawn to the rest of it like a ship being helplessly sucked into a whirlpool. Wait stop don’t think about sucking-

“Er, uhm – I’ll just have the, the, um,” he muttered, soon clearing his throat and naming off the first thing he could think of when it came to Hooters. That wasn’t tiddies. “Wings? Er, traditional, please.”
“Sure! What sauce?”
“Uh,” shit I didn’t think this far “Hot?”
“Any sides?”
Oh thank fuck that’s an actual sauce here. “Mm- uh, no?”

“Awesome, thanks! And what will you two have?”

History seems to repeat itself as Lio is barely given any time to recover by glaring a hole through the menu while Galo takes his roommate’s orders, blocking out everything the three of them are saying until their waiter snatches up their menus and effectively jolts him out of his embarrassment. “Alright, thanks guys! I’ll have that out to all of you shortly.”

“Right, thanks,” Lio muttered, unable to look away in time and save himself as Galo turns around and shimmies away with that ass barely held back by those tight black shorts that threatened to ride up with every step.

Okay, now that’s just not fair.

“Boss, you don’t even like spicy food…” Guiera snorts, quickly biting back his words once the kid across from him whips around with fire in his glaring eyes.

“Oh, I am more than aware. But tonight seems to be the night to try new things, so why not!” Lio groans as he exasperatedly throws his hands into the air before quickly pointing an accusatory finger at Meis. “And you. What the hell was that?”

“What the hell was what?” Meis asks in amusement, twirling strands of his long hair between his fingers only to roll his eyes as Lio continues to glare at him. “Oh come on Boss, you know I’m just kidding around! I’m sure he didn’t hear anything. Besides… we’ve been telling you for a while now that you need to put yourself out there more in the dating scene.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Lio lets out a long, deep sigh as he slumps back against slightly uncomfortable cushioning of the booth. “First off, I haven’t even been near him before tonight. I’m shocked he even knows who I am. And second, I told you guys, I’m just… not feeling it right now. I just want to focus on my studies and get out of here as fast as possible.”

“Yeah, but you should really stop a bit and enjoy college too. This is when you’re supposed to live, make friends, start acting like an adult! Not hiding at the back of the classroom or eating microwave mac n’ cheese all alone in our apartment every night.”

“Hey, but I’m involved in-”

“I know, I know you’re involved in a ton of student organizations and charity groups, but I’m talking about having an actual social life – at least in college. You get along well with everyone in your activities, sure, but how about in your classes?”

“…Well…”

“See?" Meis sighs, effectively cutting Lio off as he flashed him a soft yet concerned look. "You need to start having a life for yourself outside of bulking up your resume or helping others, because while both of those are noble and great and all, you also need to focus on yourself, Boss.”

That has Lio going quiet, pausing for a few moments as his gaze dropped to his glass so he could raise it up to his lips and sip some iced water to cool himself down. “…Fine, fine. Maybe I don’t want to be friends with just you two anyways~” he faintly teased before raising a brow at his roommates. “But seriously, I haven’t even talked to Galo before today, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try to set me up with any guy within five feet of me. I’ll jump into dating when I feel ready for it again – besides, I’m pretty sure he’s dating his friend Aina anyways.”

“Sure, as long as you’re trying boss.” Guiera snorted, going right ahead to snack at the nachos – they’re paying for this shit and it’s getting cold, after all. “Anyways, how are y’all’s classes going so far?”

They all end up reaching for the nachos as the conversation eases up, comparing shitty teachers or boasting about their favorite ones, competing to see who has the most workload or who doesn’t get enough sleep, the typical college stuff. Through it all, Lio can hear Galo’s cheerful voice bounce off the walls from all over the restaurant, ringing out clear as day even with all of the noise of a football game blaring from the TVs or the busy conversation around them. Every now and then he can see Galo’s ass rush by out of the corner of his eye, and it takes a bit for him to recover and return to talking normally with his roommates – thankfully, if they notice, they don’t say anything.

By the time that Galo rolls back around they hardly even noticed that their plate of nachos and their glasses were completely empty, making Galo laugh as he traded out all of their empty dishes for new ones. He almost drops all of the stuff in his arms, but hey, they pretend that didn’t see it. “Sorry for the wait again, we’re a little backed up tonight!” he said with a mocked yet playful pout, sliding their orders in front of them and announcing each one to make sure he got it right - he didn’t, and they had to trade around plates to the correct person. “OKAY! Cool, cool, well enjoy your meals then!”

“You too.” Lio hummed back in response, not even realizing what he had said until Galo was gone and he could face palm himself in peace. Well, whatever. It’s not like he hasn’t been making a fool of himself this whole night anyways. And as he looks down at the spicy wings whose presence is making his eyes water, it seems like he will continue to be a dumbass – thankfully though, Galo isn’t around to see any of it.

“…Boss, we can order you something else you know.” Guiera awkwardly hums, quickly silencing himself once he takes a huge bite of his burger.

Shaking his head, Lio took off his gloves and rolled up the sleeves of his leather jacket. Since when the fuck has he been scared of a little heat? “No, no, I’m good. I don’t want us waiting around another half hour for some room temperature food again anyways.”

Yet the second he pops a wing into his mouth he instantly regrets those words. He can barely bring himself to bite down on it from how badly his tongue stings, his nose scrunching up and his eyes watering from the heat alone. Yet, Lio Fotia has never been a little bitch and refuses to be one now, so he somehow manages to devour a wing and feel proud of himself for it – and he’s totally willing to ignore the fact that it burns on the way down and leaves his throat completely dry as a result.

He doesn’t know who he’s putting this show of pride on for though. Meis and Guiera are too busy feeding each other and getting maybe a bit too touchy feely for a Hooters, and, well, even Galo isn’t here!

Careful what you ask for though. “HEY Y’ALL! How’s everything tasting?”

Lio choked on a wing to whip his head towards his waiter in surprise, surely looking like a mess with wide, watery eyes and sauce burning all around his mouth. In an attempt to answer, he quickly swallows while reaching for a napkin at the same time, which only makes things worse as he starts violently coughing while wiping at his lips. Shit, shit-

“Woah, Lio, are you okay?! Do you need help?!” Galo yelped, drawing more eyes their way as he quickly knelt down and firmly patted a large hand against Lio’s small little back. “I’m medically trained, y’know!”

Roughly shaking his head, Lio tries to ignore how the warmth of Galo’s hand lights up a fire along his spine as he scoots a bit away. “NO! Nononono, no, I’m fine, I’m good, everything’s good-” he wheezed, clearly not good as he attempts to straighten up with a reddened face. “Ah, just. The food. It’s, uh, good!”

“…Oh! Well that’s great!” Galo laughed as he stood back up, somehow casually shrugging it all off with pure, dumbass bliss alone as he turned his attention to the other two sitting at the table. “You two doing good as well?”

The couple awkwardly nods, making Galo beam as he cheerfully told them to enjoy their meal before quickly skirting over to the next table. Both of them shift forward as if to check on Lio as well, but one commanding glare from him has them both reeling back to mind their own business. Eventually they’re fine enough to leave the pissy baby to sulk all alone in the corner of the booth, but noticeably his face looked slightly more pinched than usual with one of his arms clutched over his stomach as his other hand tried to get his mind off of things by messing around on his phone. Yet even as their dinner draws to a close with empty plates and tired chattering, Galo’s appearance with the check doesn’t bring its usual rise out of Lio as he curls around himself, and once the waiter was gone he quickly gets up onto his feet and rushes away with just one word. “Bathroom.”

Neither of his roommates even have the time to react as Lio swiftly darts between tables and other people, trying to stay nimble even if he’s feeling nauseous from how heavy his stomach feels. But then he sees Galo rushing right towards him and he instinctively freezes, and of course the dumbass doesn’t see him as he laughs to another customer over his shoulder before completely body checking the much smaller man right in front of him.

Despite it happening within a split second, it certainly feels like Lio’s experiencing everything in slow motion while also not registering a single bit of it. His face smooshes smack dab in the middle of Galo’s broad chest, and he’s still trying to get over how warm and firm it was by the time that the momentum has him bouncing off of Galo and slamming onto the floor with the guy tripping right on top of him as he tried to process what had happened. Why was his chest wet? Why was Galo so heavy??

Lowkey highkey though, why did it not feel bad?

“Oh my god! Lio, are you okay?!” Galo yelps right into his ear, and that’s when Lio realizes that their faces are just barely a few inches apart before Galo straightens himself up and tries to untangle them. “I’m so sorry - wait, I have napkins!”

Lio was confused at that as he tried to sit up, only then noticing that his shirt was soaked in whatever drink Galo had apparently been carrying beforehand. “No, no it’s fi-”

He instantly stops and is left slack jawed once he notices that Galo is soaking wet as well, even more so than himself, that thin crop top absolutely not doing its job as the soaked fabric clung to every crease and contour on Galo’s chest. And of course his fucking muscles were glistening from the spilled drink that was dripping down his front, of course.

“Lio?!” Galo shouts again in worry since he wasn’t getting a response, making Lio rip his eyes away from what’s obviously Galo’s nipple only to stiffen once a bunch of napkins are pressed to his soaked shirt and leather jacket. And, well. Maybe it’s the warmth of Galo’s hand on his chest, or that chest, or strong, muscular legs unintentionally wedging his own open – but whatever it is, it’s in this moment that Lio realizes that he’s got a half-chub pressing against his inner thigh.

Overwhelmed by just, everything, not even from just this moment but from everything leading up to it, Lio quickly smacked away Galo’s hand as he scrambled back up onto his feet with a harshly reddened face. “Idiot! Don’t touch me!”

Galo doesn’t even have any time to respond before Lio whips around and makes a beeline back to his table, ignoring all of the eyes on him now that he and the loudest waiter in the universe had demanded the entire restaurant’s attention. “Guys, c’mon, let’s go!” he hisses, embarrassment fueling his desire to get the hell out of there. He doesn't accept any arguments as he digs into his pocket for his wallet, opens it up, grabs all the cash in there, and slaps it down onto the table with Guiera’s coupons before grabbing onto his roommates' wrists and dragging their asses out of the restaurant before their waiter or a manager could come over to try and stop them.

They all hurriedly pile into the car like they’re running away from the cops or something, Guiera and Meis easily playing along with their Boss’s antics as they slam the doors shut and Meis floors it out of the parking lot and screeches onto the road without a moment of hesitation. The two of them are stuck between trying not to laugh and also feeling horrible for their little roommate, but they’re polite enough not to say anything as they roll on back to their apartment near the university.

Eventually Guiera turns with an awkward smile tilted across his face as he hands a handkerchief to Lio, who looked traumatized as he curled up in the back seat, completely frozen with wide eyes staring at nothing in particular. “…Well! That sure did happen. But like, it was an accident! And I mean, it’s okay Boss, it's not like anybody could get mad with a tip like that!”

“...Huh? What do you mean?”

“Our bill was only like, 47 bucks.” Meis explained, peeking at Lio from his rear view mirror with sympathy and amusement dancing in his eyes. “But I’m pretty sure I saw you slap down two one-hundred dollar bills, Boss.”

A more than 300% tip.

God, does Lio not want to go to class tomorrow.

Chapter Text

“Galo? Everything alright?”

“Hmm?” Galo grunted, snapping out of his racing thoughts just to find everyone else in their group staring back at him. Huh. Had they been looking at him the whole time they had been walking to class? “Sorry, what’d you say?”

“I said, are you alright?” Aina sighed, reaching over to tug at the sleeve of his letterman so that he’d catch up with the rest of them. “You’re awfully quiet today.”

That made Galo pout as he slapped his hand over his heart. “Am I? I feel just the same as always!”

“Yeah, well, you aren’t babbling on about whatever the hell comes from that empty head of yours~” Lucia snorted as she stretched up on her tip toes to playfully knock on Galo’s forehead, making his face scrunch up as he swatted her little hand away with a laugh.

“Or charging ahead of us because it’s your favorite class.” Remi chimed in, brow raised as he tried to examine his friend up and down. “You know that if something’s wrong you can tell us, man.”

“Guys, guys, I’m fine!” Galo insisted as his hands defensively tried to wave away the onslaught of concerned accusations. His usual, bright grin split across his face as if to reassure them, even if a little forced. “Just spacing out is all!”

A hearty laugh boomed out of Varys as he slapped a large hand against Galo’s back, nearly toppling him over in the process – which would surely be an impressive feat considering how big he was, if only Varys wasn’t even bigger. “You better snap outta it then! Prof’s gonna string you up if he catches you not paying attention. Again!”

“I know, I know!” he groaned, shaking his head as he gestured back at Lucia again. “Sorry, what were you saying about your labs again?”

Lucia’s face instantly lights up at that, luckily taking the attention back off of Galo as she eagerly goes off about her current research, to which Galo nods along with everyone else and occasionally laughs at her wild hand gestures. But it was just… hard to focus when he had so much on his mind after what had happened last night during his shift. (Also, lowkey highkey, but he absolutely cannot understand a word Lucia is saying, bless her heart.) Thankfully his manager wasn’t too mad about the drink accident and even reassured him that customers could just be over-dramatic sometimes, but that wasn’t what was bothering him at the moment. It was the fact that, despite having been completely knocked over and looking clearly pissed off before storming away, Lio still left him a 300% tip.

It just didn’t make any sense. It just didn’t feel right.

Luckily or unluckily, he was about to go see the dude in his next class - but honestly? He could easily just avoid Lio Fotia if he wanted to. He and his friends always sat in the front, and Lio always hid away in the far back or at the top of the lecture hall. Other than these few classes they had with each other, their worlds had absolutely no overlap.

Neither had an impact on each other's lives, neither said a single word to the other, neither would even have to see one another unless absolutely necessary for their classes. Neither even thought about the other man unless they physically saw them, and even then it would only be for a fleeting moment, thinking along the lines of "Oh, it's him." before moving on. This has been going on for a few months now ever since they happened to start college the same year, a graceless dance that neither knew that they were participating in, blindly stumbling along to a barely audible tune.

And it could have easily continued to be that way for the rest of their lives. Even with the minor hiccup from last night at Hooters, Galo could have just pocketed that ridiculous tip and avoided looking at the back of the class until he and Lio eventually forgot about it. It would just be another embarrassing yet funny memory that they could bring up in the future like at a party or alone with their partner, just mindless conversation fodder that would give them something to laugh at for a while until something else came up.

But being the man he is, for better or worse, he refused to let it go.

Instead, when he and his friends stepped into the large lecture hall, he immediately tilted his head up and locked in on that bright green hair shining at the top row. “Wait, you guys go up front without me. I’ll catch up in a sec.” Galo said, further confusing his friends with his unusually serious tone as he started climbing the stairs two or three steps at a time without even waiting for their response.

The person he was heading for didn’t even notice him at first, headphones popped over that short dyed hair as he quietly scrolled on his phone in the top row at the very back of the class. But it’s kind of hard to ignore an absolute powerhouse like Galo, making Lio look up in confusion once he catches movement out of the corner of his eye only to freeze once he realizes who it was that had plopped down in the seat next to him.

Well. At least it’s easier to maintain eye contact now that Galo wasn’t in his, uh, “work uniform.”

Galo, on the other hand, had the opposite problem, unable to stop his eyes from flicking up and down the other’s form. He had never noticed until yesterday, because he had honestly never even seen Lio up close like this before, but Lio was small. Really, really pretty though, with perfectly styled hair and long eyelashes that perfectly framed those big eyes of his. Nice round little nose, soft looking lips, piercings here and there, slender figure fashionably dressed in a leather jacket, black tights, combat boots…

He snaps out of it once he realizes that he’s staring and making Lio more nervous and uncomfortable as a result, finally being the first to speak as he clears his throat and reaches into the pocket of his letterman. “Here, from yesterday.” Galo awkwardly laughs, pulling out the two one-hundred dollar bills that Lio had left behind and gently placing them in front of him on the desk.

Galo watches Lio blink down at that money in confusion before looking back up at him, slowly sliding his headphones off. “Uh… wait, you can keep-”

“No, it wouldn’t feel right if I did. Besides, my boss said that after something like last night, we would usually make the meal free anyways.” Galo sighed as he quickly shook his head, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair so that Lio wouldn’t have any opportunity to try and return the money to him. “Look… I’m really, really sorry about what happened yesterday. It may have been an accident, but I can see how stressful and embarrassing it would’ve been, and it’s my fault for not looking where I was going.”

There’s a pause before Galo suddenly shifts forward to flash a thousand watt grin and a big thumbs up at Lio. It's honestly a miracle that Lio doesn't go blind from the smile or snaps his neck from the whiplash. “But!!! I promise to make it up to you! I work every night from six to eleven except for Sundays and Tuesdays, and I work the lunch shift Wednesdays and Thursdays, so if you come around again then I’ll make sure everything’s perfect!”

It’s worrying when he doesn’t get a response at first and Lio just blankly stares back at him, making hesitation start to creep up on him and dim that wide smile down just a bit. But once he sees a hint of a smirk tug at the corners of those soft lips, Galo can practically feel victory rush through his veins and leave him buzzing in his chair as a result. "...Idiot.” Lio quietly snorts with exasperation and amusement dancing in his eyes. “Fine, fine. If I have time and nothing else to do, I’ll try to swing by. No promises though.”

Despite the vague answer, Galo pumps his fists and laughs like he’s just won the super bowl, yet quickly stops once the chattering in the class starts to die down. Thankfully not because of how loud he’s being, but because the teacher had finally arrived at the bottom of the lecture hall. “Awesome! And well, sorry Lio, but my friends are waiting for me at the front. Catch you later though!” he hollers, jumping back up onto his feet and playfully saluting him before practically leaping down the stairs to join his friends in the front row – but not before eagerly waving to their teacher, of course. “Mornin’ Professor Foresight!”

“Good morning, Galo. Good to see you’re on time for once.” The professor chuckled, shooing Galo away with a flick of his hand. “Please, take your seat.”

Lio is thankful that Galo had left when he did, because then the other wouldn’t have to see how sour his expression was now that Professor Foresight was in his line of vision. If this wasn’t a mandatory class for him, and if that bastard wasn’t the only teacher who taught it, then Lio wouldn’t be within fifty feet of this damn lecture hall. But he bites back whatever bitter emotions may be broiling up inside of himself in favor of pulling out his laptop, slender fingers already quickly tapping away at the keys as Kray wastes no time to dive right into today’s lecture.

Yet Lio finds his eyes flicking down to the front row every now and then, unable to help the soft smile that would sneak onto his lips just at the sight of that spiky blue hair. Galo seemed to be back to normal, living it up with his friends as they quietly made little jokes or comments here or there, and Galo’s bright smile just wouldn’t stop beaming as he paid a surprising amount of attention to the professor or messed around with his friends.

Well. At least both of them were in a better mood now than when they had first come in here.

What was he doing here. God, what was he doing here.

Well, he did say that if he had the time and nothing else to do, then he would come. But it didn’t meant that he had to. Just, return to form, return to gracelessly dancing around each other, and pretend as if he had at least thought about Galo’s offer before completely forgetting about it altogether. Another face, another embarrassing memory – and sure, it cost him like two-hundred dollars before it got returned to him, but he’d honestly rather pay a thousand rather than put himself through any more awkwardness or humiliation.

“Hi, table for one?” Lio asked instead, glancing around the restaurant that was thankfully pretty empty save for a few customers here or there. The last time he had come with his roommates must have been a game night or something.

“Oh, you must be Galo’s friend! Lio, right?”

“Uh… yeah? How did you know it was me?”

“He told me to look out for you! Short, green hair, the like.” the same blonde hostess from last time giggled, leading him to a two-person table instead of a booth and placing a menu in front of him once he was seated. If she remembered him from a few nights ago, nothing about her behavior gave it away. “Galo will be over soon!”

Humming out a thanks, Lio glanced over the menu before setting it down with a pinched look on his face. Yeah, no, his stomach’s already not feeling too hot just remembering the wings he had gotten last time. And when he can see Galo already striding towards his table just a few seconds later, his stomach flips again just looking at the dude in that crop top and bright orange booty shorts – it hits Lio just as hard as when he had seen that perfect body the first time. Kind of unfair that it’s always been hidden away from him in class, right there, under ratty jeans and a worn out letterman, but whatever.

“Hey, Lio! Glad you could finally come around!” Galo laughed, his usual bright smile seeming to light up the whole damn restaurant. “I was worried you’d never show up or something!”

That pulled an amused smile across his lips, and now that there was a lot less pressure with only a few other people around, and he was also more familiar with Galo this time, Lio actually felt confident enough to carry a conversation. “I told you, I would come by if I wasn’t busy or anything. I never promised I’d come anyways."

“I know, I know, but that didn’t stop me from hoping though!” Galo snorted as he whipped out a pen and his messy notepad to match. “Here, lemme get your order out of the way first. Can I start you off with something to drink or any starters?”

“Nah, I’m alright. Just water please. And actually, I’m already ready to order – I just want a Chicken Caesar Salad.”

“Sounds good! I’ll get those out soon as I can!”

Lio tries to ignore the fact that Galo’s ass looks like it’s going to bust out of those shorts any second now, instead pulling out his phone as if to distract himself by checking up on anything and everything going on in any of his social media accounts. Sure, it might be Galo’s job to be so obviously out on display like this, but seeing as the dude was his classmate and this wasn’t a strip club or something, Lio didn’t want to risk being a creepy asshole.

(Doesn’t mean he can’t sneak a peek and appreciate, of course.)

However, he was surprised when Galo eventually returns with a whole tray of food, sporting his salad alongside two other plates piled up with wings, a burger, and fries. Confused, he raises a brow and wants to clarify that Galo had gotten his order wrong, maybe even tease a little about how the other had hyped up making this dinner perfect to make up for last time, but then he’s silenced as his salad is slid before him with a glass of water before Galo sits in the chair across from him and takes the rest of the plates for himself. He doesn’t even have time to process any of it as Galo just digs right in, unable to help himself but stare as he watches the other hastily scarf down those wings like his life depends on it.

“…Are you usually allowed to eat and rest on the job?” Lio eventually chuckles, surprised to find that he was actually welcoming of this sudden turn of events as he starts to poke at his salad with a fork.

Choking a bit on a bite of his burger, Galo laughs as he shakes his head and wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand. “Mmph? Oh, no, usually not – but we in my opinion we should get to if it’s slow like this!” He snorts before gesturing at the empty tables all around them. “But I’m on my break for dinner right now, and boss said I can eat out here with you!”

When Galo gestures to an older man at the cash register, Lio peeks over his shoulder to get a look at who is presumably the manager since he’s the only one wearing actual clothes like slacks and a polo shirt with the Hooters logo on it. “Ignis is really chill about this kinda stuff. You don’t mind, do you?”

Humming, Lio taps his finger on his chin, pretending to actually be debating it until he can’t keep up the façade anymore and cracks a smirk once Galo starts pouting at him with those big puppy dog eyes. “Hmm, alright. I’ll allow it.”

His smile can’t help but stretch even further once Galo absolutely lights up and flashes him that signature grin that’s slightly stained by some wing sauce. “Awesome, thanks! It’s a lot better than eating on your own, you feel?”

“Yeah, I do.” Lio hummed, popping in a bit of his salad into his mouth and becoming straight up relieved that he can actually stomach it. “You know, I’m curious though – how long have you been working here?”

“Just started recently actually!”

“What made you want to work here, though?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

Snorting, Galo flashed a cheeky little smile Lio’s way before he chomped down on his burger with a laugh. “Ha! You goff me der.” He laughed, quickly swallowing so that he could actually talk properly. “I mean… seemed easy enough, y’know? And not to brag or anything, but I knew that someone like me would get a hell of a lot of tips!"

That made Lio laugh out of genuine surprise more than anything else. “Oh? So you do know what you’re doing, huh?”

“Maaaayyybbbeee~” Galo sang, waggling his brow as he raised his arm up and flexed it, making those large muscles really pop out now that he was putting in the effort. “Might as well get paid, right?~”

Ignoring the fact that such a simple action has him sweating, Lio rolled his eyes but still allowed himself to peek over just a little bit. Well, at least he doesn’t have to feel weird about it now, knowing that Galo’s doing it all on purpose. Surprisingly, he's not as much of a dumbass as he had initially thought. Or he could be wrong, judging by how Galo is still messily eating even with that sleeve on his left arm. “Put the guns away, idiot – we’re eating.”

“Sorry, sorry. Anyways, did you do the homework for Kray’s class yet?”

“No, not yet honestly.”

“Ha! Me neither. I mean, we do still have a few more days, sooooo…”

Galo continues on to whine about all of the homework that he’s gotten on top of football practice and working this job, and Lio finds himself feeling rather bold and shoots back by listing off all of the clubs and charity groups he’s part of. It starts with a competition to see who’s the most sleep deprived, but then interest is piqued on both sides, talking about everything they’re involved in, then the classes they have to take this year, the high schools they went to, the friends they have, everything and anything that would mean getting to learn more and more about the other even if it was only scratching just a bit below surface level. Like how Lio was surprised to find that Galo was a volunteer fire fighter, and in return, Galo got to hear about how he served a lot of charities to help with the poverty crisis in the worse parts of their city.

It was surprisingly the smoothest conversation that Lio had had in the longest time. Not a single bit of it felt uncomfortable in the slightest because, somehow, Galo just has some kind of energy that you can’t help but get caught up and relish in. It practically felt like catching up with an old friend he hasn’t seen in years – and as dangerous as it was, Lio allowed himself to just ease up and get dragged along to Galo’s quick pace without any complaints. Much better than just having to awkwardly avoid eye contact with the guy for the rest of their college careers, at least.

He speaks in-between bites and nearly forgets about eating altogether in favor of just talking the most he has in a long time – that is, if he can get a word in with how much Galo eagerly rambles on and on, even if the idiot is speaking with his mouth full half the time. But he doesn’t mind, occasionally stealing a fry here or there, nibbling on the end of it with a smile slightly curled across his lips as he just watched Galo laugh or tell a story about something dumb he had done a week or two ago.

Bite by bite, sip by sip, their plates and glasses dwindle down until there’s nothing left but some grease stains or a couple of leaves from Lio’s salad. It’s obvious that Galo could’ve easily stayed there forever, mouth already opening to launch himself even deeper into this conversation than they have already found themselves in, but he quickly stops mid-sentence as he catches Ignis waving at him over Lio’s shoulder from the front register. The older man points at his watch and makes a motion for Galo to wrap it up, to which Galo scrunches his face in confusion until Ignus just pinches at the bridge of his nose and finally points to a clock on the wall.

“Oh, shit, I didn’t even realize my break was already over! Time sure does fly when you’re in good company, huh?” Galo laughed as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. He was in the middle of piling up their dishes back onto the tray before pausing in confusion as he watches Lio casually pull out his wallet and slide a card across the table. “Wh- huh? Wait wait wait, you don’t gotta-!”

“Galo, if I have a meal, obviously I’m going to pay for it. You guys may have covered it last time, but that’s because there was just an accident.” Lio chuckled, leaning back in his chair as his nose crinkled up like it pained him to admit this despite the softness in his eyes. “And surprisingly… you lived up to your word. This went by perfectly in my opinion.”

There’s hesitation in Galo’s eyes, but eventually that bright grin returns and Lio can’t help but think that he’d easily fork over his whole wallet to make sure that it always stayed there, perfectly framed by the rest of Galo’s face. “Alright, alright! If you insist~” Galo sang, swiping up that card in one hand while balancing the tray in the other as he walked off to take care of everything. “Be back in a sec!”

Nodding, Lio sighed and sank back into his seat now that the whirlwind that was Galo Thymos had passed. And he finds himself… surprisingly sad? Disappointed, really, that things were already over, not having noticed how fast their dinner had gone by either.

So what now? Return to form? Go back to a life that was just gracelessly dancing around Galo’s? Would it be too much to try and push further into whatever’s going on here, try and become friends, just anything more than a head nod of acknowledgement or faint eye contact the few times they shared the same space on campus?

Is that what he wanted? Is that what Galo wanted? Or was Galo just being nice to him, making up for the mess that had happened the first time he had come in here?

And now that things were made even, was there even any reason for this anymore?

He snaps out of his racing thoughts once his eager puppy of a waiter bounces back over to his table, smacking down the check along with a pen onto the table. “Y’know, most people would jump at the opportunity to get a free meal! You’re a good guy, Lio~” Galo sang, grinning down at him and flashing a big thumbs up. “Thanks for coming in tonight! You’re more than welcome to visit again anytime, man.”

Lio wants to ask, god does he want to know if he can get the other’s number, or if they can at least consider themselves friends now, but by the time he gets over the way his heart stutters from that bright grin, the way he’s genuinely called a “good guy”, Galo is already skipping away to take care of a group of women who come in through the door. He tries to get over it by convincing himself that it was for the better, because asking such questions didn’t seem appropriate right now.

Maybe he was also scared for any rejection or reluctance to become friends on Galo's end, but, y’know. Whatever.

Ignoring the way that the new customers easily ogle Galo as he leads them to their table, Lio ducks his head down and stares at that check before quickly scribbling down a tip and and his signature. $8.99 for a salad? Fuck it, he’s got twenty bucks to spare.

He quickly gets up and walks out before Galo can see the tip and stop him – because, hey, at least it’s not as ridiculous as last time! Still, Lio gets to wave at him before he leaves, eyes admittedly dragging down that body one last time before he has to rip himself away and return to the cool night air of Promepolis. God, would it be so easy to just leave everything like this. Just wrapped up in a nice little bow, any awkwardness or tension dispelled, leaving them as nothing more than classmates who could now grin at each other from across the lecture hall or make light conversation here or there without it being weird.

Yet as he boards the subway car that would bring him back to his apartment, he’s already on his phone, checking his schedule to find the next time he’d be available for some more Hooters.