Whumptober 2022 Oneshots + Alt List Oneshots

Prompt 10 : Poor Unfortunate Souls

Subprompt : Waterboarding
Fandom : Promare
Pairing : Galo/Lio
Chronology : Post-canon
Headcanon : FTM!Lio
Warnings : PTSD flashbacks over trauma involving waterboarding, false accusations, and unjust law enforcement

Lio was pretty delirious and out of it when he saw Galo slowly approaching, a bucket of water in one hand and a rag in the other. Maybe that's why he reacted the way he did, quickly shooting up out of bed despite the chill he felt as he did so, backing into the corner with a mix of fear and anger in his eyes. Galo tilted his head in confusion.

"Lio?" he asked cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"Fuck off" Lio replied sharply, leaving Galo more confused. "I told you, I don't know anything"

"Lio, what are you talking about?" the taller man asked, concerned. He stepped closer but the clenching of Lio's fists made him retract his step. Sure, it wouldn't hurt all that much if Lio did punch him since he no longer had the powers of the promare and he was about a foot shorter anyway, but the fact that Lio was ready to attack made it clear that it'd be a better idea to just take a step back. "I'm not here to hurt you. You have a fever, I'm just-"

"No"

Galo frowned. He knew the shorter man was out of it, but why did he look so afraid? It didn't make sense, but he was still in his defensive position, so Galo slowly set the rag and bucket on the ground to show his empty palms. "See?" he asked. "I don't have any weapons"

"I told you" Lio repeated, increasingly desperate. "I told you all I know, please"

"Lio, can you... See me right now?" Galo asked carefully, stepping closer to the blonde, who began to hyperventilate slightly. His knees gave way and he sunk to the floor, tears gathering in his eyes and blurring his vision, not that he could tell. "Lio"

"I don't know anything"

"Lio" Galo repeated softly, crouching to the other man's level but still staying a few feet away. "Whatever you're experiencing right now isn't real" he said gently. "Or, well" he backtracked. "It's probably a real event that happened, but it's over now... Is that what's going on?" he asked, more to himself than to Lio. "Is this a flashback?"

Lio didn't respond. Instead, he just frantically looked around for an out. Galo sighed. It always slightly pained him, knowing all the mental burdens his husband dealt with on a day-to-day basis, what with the loss of the promare and all the trauma that came along with being a burnish in the first place.

"Lio, you're safe now" he assured gently. "You're in our apartment. Whoever you're picturing isn't here right now. It's just me, Galo" he soothed. He hadn't bore witness to any of Lio's flashbacks before, but they'd had conversations about them and Lio said that saying where they were would likely help him. Sure enough, Lio went from complete panic to dazed confusion.

"Galo?"

"That's my name. Don't wear it out" Galo confirmed with an awkward chuckle. He knew then wasn't really the time for jokes, but he couldn't help himself. It helped make the whole ordeal seem a bit more tangible, and Lio seemed to think so as well, as he quickly began to calm down. "You're okay"

"Fuck" Lio coughed out, tears of exhaustion finally spilling from his eyes.

"Can I hug you?" Galo asked softly. Lio nodded, so he crawled over to the other man and pulled him into his lap. "I missed you there" he muttered, getting a humorless chuckle in response. "Do you want to explain what that was?"

"I was out of it" Lio responded. "I'm definitely more aware now" he joked. "Um..."

"You don't have to tell me"

"No, I want to" the blonde insisted. "It's just hard"

"Take your time"

"Um..." Lio swallowed thickly, taking a deep breath to try and soothe his nerves as he curled up more against Galo, who rubbed his back slowly and softly. "Back when I was in Mad Burnish, I got captured at one point by the Freeze Force" he explained. "I couldn't use my powers, and they were interrogating me, asking about some other burnish that killed someone, and I..." he trailed off again, taking another deep breath. "I didn't know anything about it, but they didn't believe me, and so they... Waterboarded me"

"Oh shit"

"Yeah"

"Lio..."

"I'm sorry I flipped out on you"

"No, Lio" Galo hugged him tighter. "Don't apologize. You were out of it, and I accidentally triggered those memories" he continued. "If anything, I should be sorry for not waking you up first before bringing the stuff in"

"You didn't know"

"But-"

"We can just say we're even on this, okay?" Lio pleaded. "Besides, I don't wanna... Talk about it anymore" he shivered. "And I'm really cold right now"

"You're actually very warm" Galo countered. "Can I put the rag on your forehead now?"

"Yeah, you should"

"Also take your binder off"

"I'm not-"

"I can feel it through your shirt" Galo cut him off. "Quit being a dumbass"

"Okay, okay"