Work Text:
They’re walking home from a movie date when it catches their eyes: a little sparkle of something on the ground. Something familiar, something that shouldn’t be there.
“Ryuko-chan, look!” Mako dives for it first, of course, all curiosity and no caution, even ten years later. Ryuko pulls her back by her shirt collar just before her fingers graze the shining red thread.
“Jeez, don’t just grab it, Mako!” Ryuko scolds.
“But Ryuko-chan, it’s-”
“I know, so let’s just be careful, okay?”
They crouch down on the ground, Mako munching on leftover popcorn as they examine what looks to be a single Life Fiber. Slowly, Ryuko brings her hand down to touch it, and when she does, it lights up pink, along with the streak in her hair. Mako gasps loudly, before shoving more popcorn in her gaping mouth.
“It can’t be…” Ryuko mutters, her face illuminated by the unearthly glow. She picks it up, gives it a tug, and it goes taut. Looking up, she follows the thread’s path with her eyes until it disappears around a corner.
“Where do you think it goes?” Mako wonders aloud through a mouth still full of popcorn
“I dunno,” Ryuko answers, standing upright, “But the fact that it’s here at all means something , and probably not something good.”
“It must be destiny!” Mako exclaims, also standing, spraying bits of popcorn everywhere. “Ryuko-chan, whatever’s at the end of this Life Fiber has gotta be meant just for you! I mean, even if its just another scary white suit guy, you’re the only one who could deal with it anyway, and what if it’s something else! Something good , like-”
“No, it’s not that,” Ryuko cuts her off, “But you’re right. Whatever it is, I have to be the one to handle it.”
“Alright! Let’s go!” Mako says, linking her arm with Ryuko’s, her face set with determination.
Ryuko smiles - she’s learned better by now than to try to push Mako away in times like these. Mako would go to the ends of the Earth at her side, and for better or worse Ryuko has come to rely on that just as much as Mako relies on her. And besides, what was a little Life Fiber threat gonna do to the formidable Mankanshoku Mako? She was a veritable tamer of the unruly things, and one only had to look at Ryuko herself to see the evidence of that.
“Right. Let’s.”
The two women follow the thread through the city streets, passing through alleys and parks, by bus stations and convenience stores. Ryuko absorbs the thread as she goes, her hair continuing to glow. Mako keeps her arm linked with Ryuko’s, while the other one holds the popcorn bucket to her chest, allowing her to dip her tongue in and grab a piece every few seconds. They are dead set on reaching the end of the thread, and both tend to be a bit myopic when their goal is within reach, so they continue their journey through the streets of Tokyo without so much as a single glance upwards at the people they passed by, who luckily did not care to give the glowing girl and her companion a second thought either.
Mako has eaten so much of her popcorn that she now has to dip her head entirely into the bucket to get a new piece when they hear it - footsteps running their way. They both look up, and see two men headed directly towards them. Instinctively, Ryuko swings Mako around behind her, though she doesn’t let go of the thread. But before she can shout a warning at the assumed assailants to stay back or else, Mako cries out, pointing at something ahead of them on the pavement.
“Ryuko-chan! Look out!” Ryuko’s eyes drop from the men to the thing they appear to be chasing after, a bright pink flame eating up the other end of the Life Fiber. She barely has time to register a reaction before the little spark makes it all the way to her hand, searing her skin and causing her to drop what little remains of the thread. It burns up at her feet as she curses and shakes her hand.
“Oh no! Ryuko-chan!” Mako steps around to face Ryuko, gently taking the burned hand in both her own.
“Hey, are you okay?” The taller of the two strangers, a man with broad shoulders and a shock of brilliant blue hair, asks as they come to a stop in front of Ryuko and Mako, “I’ve got lots of experience dealing with burns, let me help.”
“Back off, buddy!” Mako snaps back at him, outstretching her hand in a clear ‘STOP’ motion. Her cheeks are puffed out in anger in that way Ryuko just adores. “I happen to be the daughter of a back-alley doctor and her girlfriend, so I can handle this, thanks!” The man is stunned into silence, glancing at his companion, also wearing a look of bewilderment.
“All it needs is a kiss,” Mako continues, as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world, and plants a big wet smooch in Ryuko’s palm. Sure enough, the angry red burn begins to heal before their eyes, until there’s no evidence it had been there at all. The two men’s baffled expressions become ones of amazement.
“Are you…” the shorter blond man begins a question, but is interrupted by someone shouting at the four of them.
“Oi, Mako, Ryuko!” A waiter waves at them from the patio of the restaurant across the street. “On a double date? You should come on in, we’ve got pineapple and ham fresh from the oven!”
“Double date!? We don’t even-” but Ryuko is interrupted by Mako squealing.
“Ooh, Ryuko-chan, I want pizza, I want pizza so baaaaaaaad, pleeeeease?” she pleads, clinging to Ryuko’s arm and staring at her with big shining eyes.
“Lio, pizza! That’s like, our thing!” The blue-haired man says excitedly to his companion, shaking his shoulder a bit and pointing at the restaurant, “and our favorite toppings! And you were just complaining you were hungry before we started chasing that flame,”
“See, Ryuko-chan? Destiny! I told you!” Mako points a finger at them. “The universe wants you to have pizza with these guys!”
Ryuko, head spinning a bit from the breakneck progression of events, looks at the blue-haired man, and as he looks back at her, a shock seems to run through her body, unlike anything she’s ever experienced before, which is really saying something. Like something bigger than the universe snapping into place in her mind.
In unison, the two of them ask, “Do I know you?”
Maybe Mako was right about destiny.
“Table for four, please,” the blond man tells the waiter.
“Hey, did you know?” Mako says through a mouthful of pineapple and ham pizza, “Clothing is aliens!”
“OH SHIT!” Galo shouts, and immediately grabs the hem of his shirt and begins pulling it off over his head. Lio smiles fondly, resting his cheek in his hand and watching as Galo struggles with the fabric of his shirt, eventually ripping it off entirely out of desperation. He stops smiling when Galo then goes for his pants. Lio dives to stop him, pulling his hands away from the belt buckle. Ryuko laughs loudly at the two of them while Mako chews thoughtfully, unperturbed by the chaos her comment has wrought.
“Lio, what are you doing? The aliens are gonna eat us! Here, let me help you-” Galo says, and begins to grab at Lio’s shirt instead, causing the other man to flush pink and slap his hands away.
“Galo, stop and think for a second." Lio chides, " They’re wearing clothes, don’t you think that might be an indication that it’s safe?”
“Ahah, yeah,” Ryuko begins, after finally getting her laughter under control, “Mako likes to sensationalize. You’re not gonna get eaten, at least, not anymore you’re not.”
“‘Not anymore’? What’s that supposed to mean?” Galo asks, somehow more confused by her phrasing than the concept of his t-shirt devouring him.
“Well, there were these things called Life Fibers, see? Little alien threads that lived in clothing.” Ryuko explains, “And yeah, they did wanna swallow up the Earth and everyone on it-”
“Until Ryuko-chan set ‘em straight!” Mako interjects, a few bits of partially-chewed ham flying from her lips. “She said, ‘Hey, you Life Fibers! People are people, and clothing is clothing! Cut it out!’ And they did! And the world was saved!”
“What she said,” Ryuko finishes with a shrug and a smile.
“Huh. You know, that sounds a lot like-” Galo begins, and Lio finishes his thought.
“The Promare.” Galo nods back with a noise of confirmation.
“The huh?” Ryuko questions.
“Promare.” Lio says more deliberately. “Aliens from another dimension, made of fire.”
“More aliens?” Ryuko wonders incredulously. Mako gasps.
“Wait, so you mean, every time I turn off the stove, I’m killing a little alien? That’s horrible! I’m gonna leave the stove on permanently from now on-”
“PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT!” Galo shouts, slamming his hands down on the table as he shoots up. “I mean, that’s a huge fire hazard! You could burn your whole house down that way!”
“I don’t live in a house!” Mako shouts back as she too stands, glowering at him. “Me and Ryuko-chan have a very nice apartment! But you can’t just ask me to kill someone every time I finish making dinner!”
“Oi, Mako, maybe we should hear the rest of what they have to say,” Ryuko says softly, putting a hand on Mako’s shoulder. Lio speaks up again.
“The Promare are gone now, like your Life Fibers. There’s nothing to worry about.” He says, sounding as though he’s forcing the words out. Mako and Galo both sit down again, Galo of his own accord, seeming concerned as he looks back at Lio, while Mako is pulled down by Ryuko.
“Some people, the Burnish, were able to communicate with the Promare and use their power.” Lio continues, eyes downcast. “But they had to leave and return to their own dimension in order to keep the Earth and everyone on it from dying.”
“So that fire earlier…” Ryuko realizes, eyes widening. Lio nods. Galo places his hand palm-up on the table, and Lio gratefully takes it, lacing their fingers together and giving it a squeeze. Galo looks at him with a soft smile, and the corners of Lio’s lips twitch upwards, just a bit.
“Believe it or not, I can relate to that,” Ryuko sighs, leaning back in her chair and staring up at the clouds. “I was afraid to say it, but I was following that thread for the same reason you were following that flame.”
“Oh Ryuko-chan!” Mako exclaims, throwing her arms around Ryuko and nuzzling into her neck, which was a bit difficult given the chair arms separating them. “I knew you were thinking about Senketsu-chan too, I just knew it!” Ryuko returns Mako’s awkward embrace, closing her eyes and pressing a kiss to Mako’s head.
"Did she just say Saskatchewan?" Lio asks in a whisper.
“Senketsu-chan is Ryuko-chan’s Sunday best! Her best friend, practically her soulmate, but different from how her and me are soulmates and best friends.” Mako tells them, turning back to the two men and explaining with wild gesticulations.
“Senketsu was a Life Fiber being, and my battle partner.” Ryuko clarifies. “When I bit off more than I could chew, he… he sacrificed himself to save me.”
“But even if he really is gone, he’s always gonna be in our hearts!” Mako says, placing one hand on her own chest and one hand on Ryuko’s, though it seems more like she is grabbing one of Ryuko’s boobs, causing her to blush.
Lio smiles at this. “So not all the Life Fibers were bad, then.”
“Nope! There was Senketsu-chan, and the Life Fibers in my Fight Club uniform, they knew a lot of funny jokes!…” Mako lists, counting on her fingers. “Oh, and Ryuko-chan, of course!”
“Wait, so you’re an alien too!?” Galo balks.
"I mean, I'm not from space ," Ryuko huffs, "I'm a human-Life Fiber hybrid. That's how I was able to heal from that burn so fast, by the way," she adds, to which Galo and Lio both reply with a prolonged "Ohh,"
Ryuko laughs. "You didn't really think it was Mako's kiss that did the trick, did you?"
"I mean-" Galo starts, flushing faintly pink as Lio bites back a laugh, but the four are interrupted when a server approaches their table.
"I-I'm really sorry, but," the server stammers out, struggling to make eye contact with Galo, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave,"
"What? Why?!"
"U-um, we have a... no shirt, no shoes, no service policy,"
The table goes silent.
"W-we can box up your food to go-"
"Man, I saved the world shirtless, and this is the kinda thanks I get?" Galo grouches, standing up to go as Lio digs a bill out from one of his outfit's many zippered pockets.
"Hey, same here!" Ryuko concurs, also throwing some yen on the table. Mako finishes off what's left of the pizza in two big bites, and the four of them leave.
"So what brings you to Tokyo, anyway?"
"Actually, we're on our honeymoon!" Galo says with a grin, wrapping an arm around Lio's shoulders to pull him closer as the four walk down the street. Lio answers by lacing their fingers together and pressing a kiss to the back of Galo's hand.
"No kiddin'? Our anniversary was a month ago!" Ryuko laughs.
"March 27th!" Mako adds, happily swinging her and Ryuko's clasped hands in time with her steps. "Hey, can we see wedding photos? What did you wear? What flavor cake did you decide on? Because I thought that was gonna be the hardest part but it actually was super easy, once I remembered duh , Ryuko loves lemons!"
"Well, truthfully, we're not married quite yet," Lio explains, "We're doing the honeymoon early since this was the only time we could both get time off work,"
"The actual date is next month, the 24th! And we're having piña colada cake!" Galo answers Mako.
"What do you guys do for work then that keeps you so busy?" Ryuko queries.
"I'm a firefighter!" Galo says, seemingly bursting with excitement at being asked the question. "And Lio works in local government!"
"Wow, so you're like the mayor of a whole city!?" Mako gasps.
"Oh god no," Lio laughs, "I'm just in charge of community outreach, finding out what the citizens want and need and passing that on to the people who make the actual decisions."
"Maybe one day though!" Galo nudges him, "I'm telling you, 'Mayor Fotia' just sounds right!" Lio smiles and rolls his eyes at this, faintly blushing.
"Still, that's really impressive!" Ryuko tells him. "I mean, I haven't known you long but it makes sense to me you'd both wanna keep helping people. Me, I'm just a motorcycle mechanic," she shrugs.
"But that's so cool!" Galo exclaims, and Lio nods in agreement, a sparkle of excitement (or jealousy?) in his eye. "And I haven't known you long, but I think after saving the world you should get to do whatever makes you happy!"
"Besides, she's selling herself short!" Mako insists. "She cuts people's hair too! For free sometimes! And always tries hard to return lost stuff she finds! And fixed my dad's truck, and Gamagoori-senpai's car, and Iori-senpai's sewing machine..."
"What about you, Mako?" Lio asks.
"I'm a housewife!" Mako says proudly.
"Now who's selling herself short?" Ryuko gently pokes her, "she's also taking online classes to become an accountant,"
"I keep telling you, Ryuko-chan, being your wife is more important to me than anything else!" Mako replies.
"Aww," Galo and Lio coo in unison, and Ryuko flushes, looking away. Mako squeezes her hand, and Ryuko squeezes back.
"Oh, we're here!" Galo says, walking over to their rental motorcycle.
"Galo, you should probably put on a new shirt, I'm sorry to say," Lio tells him.
"Ugh, fiiiine," he groans, opening the storage box on the back of the bike and taking out a branded paper bag. "Gives me an excuse to wear my new tee at least,"
"Oh, of course you guys went to the Fire Museum," Ryuko laughs as Galo pulls the shirt on, the logo of the museum emblazoned on the breast.
"It was the number one reason I wanted to come to Tokyo!" Galo grinned, turning around to show off the design on the back of an Edo-period firefighter hoisting a great big-
"Nothing gets my soul burning like matoi!"
Mako hugs Ryuko close.
"Me too!"
Emails are exchanged, along with fistbumps, handshakes, and a hug. Galo revs up the motorcycle, Lio hugging him close, and the two fiancés speed off into the cool Tokyo evening.
"Bye! Take care! Don't forget to send us your registry!" Mako calls after them, waving exaggeratedly. Once they disappear from sight, she yawns, leaning heavily on Ryuko.
"Let's get you to bed, then," Ryuko says, placing a kiss to the top of Mako's head. "We'll take the train back,"
"Ryuko-chan, do you think we'll see them again someday?" Mako wonders sleepily.
Ryuko looks to the darkening sky, at Venus and Mars beginning to shine under a sliver of moon.
She covers Mako's hand with her own.
"I'd count on it,"