【GaloLio】The way home

※<GaloLio: BetterMen> Series 1.

※About a year and a half after this article, the story of Lio joining the Flame Fire Fighting Team.

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Do you become a better person because you want to be with your significant other and protect them?

?Recycle?／Retreat

"When I grow up, I want to be like my sister and be a handsome firefighter!" The little girl hugged Aina's thigh tightly, her raised face was flushed, and her immature words and actions almost made the flames and firefighters present The hearts of the members melted.

The girl with pink hair smiled and rubbed that little head: "Then you have to work hard! Come on, this is a gift for everyone." Varys handed her the big box full of small gifts tacitly. With the effective bait of presents, the children who were timidly hiding in every corner of the hall of the orphanage came up one after another.

Gallo and Leo, who were walking behind the two, looked at each other and smiled, and found a space to put down the boxes on their hands.

After unpacking the gift box he was in charge of, Leo was obviously stunned—it was a whole box of miniature teddy bears.He picked up one of them and stroked it gently, muttering, "...there are so many of them."

"Well, Varys said that the children in his family like this one the most, so the captain directly approved to buy a lot." Gallo answered while unpacking the big box containing the small trees for landscape use, seeing that Leo didn't respond for a long time. , stopped what he was doing, turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

Leo gave him a forced smile.

The young man pouted his chin in displeasure, strode over to the young man, pulled him to sit down together, and raised his hand to wrap his shoulders: "If you have sad thoughts, you should speak them out."

Leo's smile quickly disappeared, he lowered his eyes, and swallowed unconsciously when he spoke: "Where is the temporary residence?"

He was recalling the settlement near the volcano that had once been home to the original Burners.

He accompanied Gallo once more than half a year ago, presenting flowers with no meaning other than condolences to his past companions.More than a year after being destroyed by the Frozen Guard, the ruins that were far away from the lives of ordinary people were only hastily cleaned up earlier due to plague considerations, and they are still included in the forbidden area.

"The children in the temporary residence also like teddy bears very much. But for us with extremely limited finances, such small toys are always a luxury. Until Kanro once picked up a teddy bear near the playground Yes, after cleaning, let them take turns hugging and sleeping." The boy's eyelashes trembled due to the ups and downs of emotions.Since the temporary residence collapsed into a cave, even a person with special authority like Captain Ignis cannot confirm how many children survived the disaster and what kind of life they will face in the future, let alone the fire brigade. member of him.

The children of those burners are different from adults. The flames they generate are light and gentle, and they don't yet know how to use flames as a tool for attack and defense.

The children would make the pale yellow and purple flames into the shape of flowers, strung them in a circle, and gently moved them onto the boy's soft hair.The other adults would smile and praise the children as they saw the light against the youthful lime-gold hair.Then those little bodies would hug him happily and say, "Leo is like a beautiful little prince."

In the only Christmas they spent together, he used his own hands to build the most special Christmas tree decorated with flames for the children—this is the small blessings that the burners pass on to each other in the escape and cramped life gap.

The former leader of the Freezing Guard had mocked him—or should I say accused him—of "naively" gathering the Burners together, making the makeshift colony a more obvious target.More than a year ago, when he was still in court pending trial, he had thought countless times, if he was really naive, he could come up with a more rigorous and safer plan? Could it be that fewer people would be sacrificed? So many people have left indelible painful memories.

It was Gallo who, after knowing his thoughts, said to him seriously, "The ones who are wrong are those who wantonly do evil, not those who just want to build their own homes but are persecuted." He just pulled him out of his deep regret. .This person always accompanied him, guided him, and comforted him—at this moment, the movement of the other party's big hand stroking his hair was the same as a year ago, which made people feel reassured and warm.

The boy quietly closed his eyes, and gently leaned on the strong and thick arm beside him.

"You two, I brought him..." The middle-aged woman who was the head of welfare approached and interrupted the brief laziness of the two of them softly.

The boy's gaze was a little lower than that of Gallo, and he could clearly see the figure hidden behind her calf at a glance. It was a shy little boy.

——That's what they heard, the orphan of the original burner discovered by the temporary security team during the recent patrol, was taken in by this orphanage only two days ago.I don't know if it is because of long-term malnutrition, the child in front of me feels thinner than the description they heard before, and the calf supporting the body is weak.

There was a great sadness and heaviness in Leo's heart.

There are many tragically killed and displaced Burners outside their temporary settlements.Leo Phthia felt that he was almost unforgivably lucky. Even though he suffered great pain and malice, after being rescued, he had important people by his side, loyal companions and new companions to support him. Slowly embark on the trajectory of integration into society.

But what about those who weren't as lucky as him?

After the end of the huge disaster, this society has fallen into a long recovery period that hones the will and patience more than the disaster. However, as an "ordinary person", what he can do for the victims of the former burners is to participate as much as possible. Such a community exchange activity can only be regarded as a little compensation.

And even such an activity that does not require too many resources is far from being a mainstream voice.

For the National Fire Service, which has close ties with citizens, interaction with the community is part of the firefighting work. The projects are usually randomly drawn by each brigade, and representatives can also be sent out to negotiate and select.

This year's community activities are as diverse as usual. Going to kindergartens for fire drills, giving lectures on fire protection knowledge to elementary school students, and visiting welfare homes are all popular activities in previous years.

And when I heard that a welfare home became a lottery in the eyes of other teams because it took in the original Burner, Aina, who was the representative of the third team, stepped forward to pick this project. Calm, but the anger in his heart is concentrated on the blue veins on the back of his hand.

After Aina came back to explain to other members of the fire brigade, Lucia specially rewarded her with a new cranberry flavored lollipop, touched the girl's head, and said, "As expected of the best of our fire brigade! Representative." In exchange for other people to smile knowingly.

Today's event was decided in this way. Later, with the instruction of Captain Ignis, he bought various gifts with the abundant operating funds due to the government's financial adjustment this year.Remy and Lucia, who did not come to the headquarters, provided many suitable purchasing stores, and one of them also provided two small trees for landscape use, so that children can hang their favorite small toys and crayon drawings on the branches superior.

Gallo stood up, probably because of the intimidating force of his huge figure, the body of the child opposite him trembled unconsciously.

The young man scratched his head in frustration, Leo half-bent and stretched out his hand to stop him, while he took a step forward, gently stretched out his hand to the child, and said, "...Come here." His purple eyes were soft and watery Run.

It was as if some strange breath was flowing and rising, and the child's expression slowly lit up. He carefully put his hand into Leo's palm, and leaned over.

"Oh..." The head of welfare looked at this scene in surprise, let out a soft cry, and then backed away at the right time.Gallo thought for a while, and turned around wisely to move the small tree to the middle of the hall for decoration.

The child curled up in Leo's arms, blinked a few times, and whispered in the boy's ear, "I like that little tree." He pointed to the one-meter-high plant beside Gallo, but He quickly lowered his head.

"Let's go and have a look together?" The boy's voice was still soft, and he encouraged the children with his eyes and tone.

The little boy replied hesitantly: "But if you get too close, it will burn... Then everyone will have no young trees."

Leo's eyes widened, his body stiffened instantly as if hit by an ice cube.

It wasn't until the child in his arms raised his skinny fingers to touch his face, and asked: "Brother, what's wrong with you? Does it hurt anywhere?", he replied with a muffled lips, "No... not anymore. It's burning again."

There is no more Promea, no more Burner, and no more fire and damage from it.

The boy gently hugged the child into his arms, closed his eyes to feel the temperature of that small body, for fear that the fragile life would suffer further harm.

When Gallo returned to them, Leo raised his face, and the big, healthy-skinned palm was being tightly held by the shy little girl.

Leo thought that Gallo's popularity with women covered a wide range of ages, but he heard the girl timidly say to him: "I want to be hugged by Brother Leo too..." A young man's laughter came from above his head.The boy pursed his lips and smiled, opened his other arm, and gently hugged the little girl.

The little girl whispered in his ear: "My brother's hair and eyes are so beautiful?"

"Isn't it like a shining gem?" The tall young man, who was not only physically strong but also had excellent hearing, squatted down and rubbed the little girl's hair with a smile.

"Like a little star in the sky!"

"It's like delicious candy!" The two children in the boy's arms suddenly laughed together, tentatively stretched out their hands towards each other, and slowly held them.

"Ah, Brother Jialuo!" With a cry, a lively little boy jumped from behind and hung on Jialuo's back. big!"

The little boy smiled smugly: "Because I want to be a firefighter like my brother!" Then he hugged Gallo's head with a dazzling cockscomb hairstyle, stared at Leo for a while, and suddenly said: "If Leo is a brother? ? Then Gallo is no longer the big brother, but the "uncle"! Just like Uncle Varys!"

"Huh? I'm not that old!"

"Hey, I'm not old either," Varys called out, raising his arms not far from them.

"Uncles and brothers and sisters want to play games with us!" The timidity and shyness of the children at the beginning almost disappeared, and they frolicked around them.

The young man scratched his head helplessly: "You brats with excess energy...?"

He turned his head to look at Leo, and found that the young man was also looking back at him, his pursed lips curved upwards, and his eyes were warm and soft.So he also raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.

-

In the evening, after putting the children who had eaten snacks and were tired from playing to sleep, the four-man team of the fire brigade recycled the huge gift boxes into the pickup truck, and Aina and Varys drove back to the headquarters first.

Gallo and Leo stayed in the orphanage for a while longer, and after the teenager explained to the dean some possible situations that might happen to the children who took care of the original burners, they felt relieved and walked slowly back to the distance with Gallo. Not far from headquarters.

"Fortunately, the dean of this family is a kind and patient woman."

"Huh?" The boy looked back at the building behind him.

"Leo," said the young man, patting him on the back, "don't worry too much."

"It's not that I'm worried," Leo shook his head, "I'm thinking... When the child grows up, as the time of no longer having the flame grows, he will gradually forget the sense of gap... For him , is a good thing."

And Leo Phthia, probably in the unknown long or short life in the future, will still carry that heavy experience and memory on his back.

Gallo stared at Leo's profile, thought for a while, and suddenly asked, "Can I sit on the side of the road for a while?"

The young man nodded suspiciously, and then the two randomly found a place on the side of the road where the grass was not so lush, and it was quite comfortable to sit lazily under the setting sun.

"The child of the burner just now," Gallo raised his arm on his knee, rubbed his nose subconsciously, "reminds me of my childhood... I was also like that, very afraid of unfamiliar environments."

Gallo Timos is an energetic and talkative person, he can talk about the things and people he cares about, but he rarely brings up the topics of his childhood; so Leo Phthia, who is similar to him in this respect, does not Will take the initiative to ask.He thinks that everyone in this world, whether they are former burners or ordinary people, everyone has their own secrets and pains that they don’t want to talk about, and rashly asking questions will only increase the harm—and therefore, if It was an active confession, and it must have given great trust.

"When I was young, I once asked Gulei,...Fawcett," Gallo added the surname after mentioning the name that brought disaster to the world and mankind, as if a statement, "I asked him, Can I see my parents again... or something like that."

Leo just looked at the young man beside him quietly, making eye contact, and the complex expression on the other side gradually settled down.

"It's so stupid to think about it, to ask the person who burned his family to death and used me as a political cover when I was a child." Gallo clenched his fists. I lost my life... But at that age, I don't have a very practical concept of "death"."

"At that time, Guray Fossett touched my head and said, "If Gallo works hard to grow up, I will see them soon." I was really happy from the bottom of my heart. Target, I think that person not only bravely saved me, but also gave me great encouragement. Now that I think about it carefully, such an answer is simply a curse, "Hurry up and see your dead parents" or something." He said in one breath After finishing, he scratched his hair as if to cover up his embarrassment, and finally smiled wryly.

Leo sat closer to Gallo, put his shoulder on the young man's arm, and asked, "Do you hate him?"

Gallo was stunned for a moment: "I don't know if that counts as hate." He thought about it seriously, "I will feel angry, and disgusted, the feeling of trust being betrayed... But it's not to the level of 'hate', right? .”

"I hate him. During the time I was waiting in the court... I was always thinking about what happened before that," Leo turned his face calmly, "If you don't define this emotion clearly, It’s like I can’t get out of the abyss inside.”

"Leo..." The young man was speechless for a moment, and he looked at the young man's eyes which turned warm under the setting sun, beautiful but sad.

"I am very clear that there is no longer a burner in this world. But the identity of the original burner is a part of me, and the memory of the burner is my memory, shaping my personality, and I will never forget it. Together with the past gratitude Love and hatred will always follow me." Leo's shoulders relaxed slowly, he rested his head on Gallo's arm, and from the youth's perspective, he could only see his light eyelashes trembling slightly, "I hear you After what I said just now, the "hate" towards that person seems to have deepened."

Jia Luo, who was listening attentively, opened his eyes wide in surprise, and then the boy's voice lowered slightly: "Although you have seen me in a lot of distress...but I still hope that you won't hate me because of it."

"Huh??? How come?!" The young man came to his senses, he raised his arms and took the young man's body into his arms, "I'm very happy that Leo is willing to tell me this. This is not embarrassing at all! And haven't you listened to me a lot too?"

Gallo bent down slightly and approached the boy's face, his blue eyes, which were also dyed with warm light, were extremely bright: "Leo, you can rely on me a little more."

Looking into those eyes, the boy replied honestly, "I've already got enough from you... If there is more, it will be full."

"Hmm... I should put a bigger cup in your heart." Gallo gestured in the air with his hands seriously.

"Haha, what?" Leo couldn't help laughing, and the young man took the opportunity to tickle his wrist like a prank. The young man couldn't dodge, and fell into a ball of laughter in his arms, his eyes narrowed. Innocent as a child.

-Fin-

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Remarks:

1. Afterwards, the two of them really bought a cup with a super large capacity, which can be used for two people to serve the seafood cup noodles of the far eastern island country (laughs)

2. The English title does not use "Recycled" but "Retreat", which has meanings such as "taking back, retreating", and wants to interpret it as a psychological state; in addition, this word also has the meaning of "habitat".