Lio Fotia opened his eyes slowly, blinking at the bright light filtering through the window by the bed. He glanced at the bedside table, and at the digital clock that read 1:58. Sleeping in was a new luxury to the former outlaw, one he liked to take advantage of every chance he got. For a moment, he groggily wondered why Galo wasn't next to him as he usually was, before the events of the previous night cascaded back into his mind.

That week had been an unusually busy one for Burning Rescue, with repairing the most damaged areas of Promepolis being stacked on top of their usual firefighting duties. To top it all off, Friday morning had been spent in a grueling battle against an out-of-control blaze at a power plant. It was enough to leave even the usually indomitable Galo exhausted.

As he and Lio had begun winding down for the night, he broached a request to his boyfriend. He wanted Lio to eat him. It wasn't that unusual of a request, as the couple had done this a few times before. This time however, Galo wanted to take it a little further. He asked Lio if he would be willing to digest him. Being churned into chyme, he reasoned, would be a perfect way to de-stress and recharge after a difficult week. Of course, he would only be gone temporarily, reformed good as new on Monday morning. Ever willing to experiment, Lio had decided to oblige Galo's request. After a tender makeout session, he gently gulped down his boyfriend. Quickly becoming drowsy, he lay down to sleep with his arms wrapped around the man cuddled up inside him.

Now awake, Lio sat up and looked down at his stomach. The outline of Galo's solid form was no longer visible. It was also much softer, offering little resistance when he pressed his hand into it. Overnight, the proud firefighter had been broken down into a nutrient-rich slush. Even so, Lio knew he was still conscious, and would be throughout the whole process. "Mornin' hotshot." the blonde said sleepily, not expecting an answer.

The ex-burnish heaved himself out of bed and slid off his unbuttoned pajama top. Looking through the apartment's shared closet, Lio was pretty sure that none of his shirts would fit him in his current state. He briefly contemplated borrowing one of Galo's tees, but decided against doing so without his permission. Still, he disliked being cold, so he settled for the pink bathrobe that Galo had bought for him when he moved in.

Having woken up satisfyingly full, Lio saw little point in preparing an afternoon "breakfast." Going out like this was also out of the question. He wanted to keep this private, for both his sake and Galo's. The ex-burnish decided that the best way to spend the day was to take advantage of the peace and quiet, and begin to chip away at the mountains of emails and paperwork that came with his involvement in the investigation into Kray Foresight. He sat down at the apartment's small desk, where his laptop sat. Before he could open it, however, his phone vibrated. Pulling it out, he was met with a notification reading "Incoming video chat request: Meis" He adjusted his position to make sure that his stuffed gut wouldn't be visible on camera, and accepted the call.

The screen turned to a view of Meis sitting at a booth in what sounded like a crowded restaurant. Beside him was Gueira, busy scribbling on the napkin in front of him with a red crayon. "Hey boss!" Meis said cheerily.

"Hi there." Lio replied. "Good to see you."

Media held up a menu. "They let us take a lunch break, so we stopped at this joint. I called to ask if you wanted anything. They got wiiiiiiings!"

"No thanks. I've… already eaten."

"Oh. Alright. Is the big guy with you?"

Lio nodded sheepishly. "Yes, but he's… resting right now." He glanced down at his full belly, reassuring himself that he wasn't entirely lying to them.

Meis's gaze darted to something off camera. "Waitress is on her way. Gotta go."

"Alright, I'll see you round. Enjoy the meal." Lio hung up, and gave a small sigh of relief. He leaned back, and placed his hands on his stomach. It was ever-so-slightly smaller than it had been that morning. He could tell that the next stage of the process was well underway, ensuring that tomorrow, their situation would be a lot more interesting.