lesterzeppelin | mask or menace

Food. I'm starving. Like I ain't ate in weeks. [He looks down at his arms, and blinks. Does he look...thinner? No. It's just his mind playing tricks on him. Everything is playing tricks on him.]

Got it.

[ for a second, he's tempted to let Max leech off of him again - it worked for the clone just fine - but given Max's state, all bets seem to be off. ]

I'll grab your usual and then some too, so give me an extra ten?

Sure, sure, Apo. It's not a big deal. Just need to get my feet under me.

[He takes another deep breath and then the sound of his generator kicking on can be heard.]

You okay? How did everything go?

With the dreams? [ he scoffs, ] They've been going.

I've been at Helix way more than I'd like, and you know I'm not even full-time. It's all hitting the fan, metaphorically and literally.

Shit...I'm sorry. I should have been there. I didn't...I don't even remember how many days it's been.

[One day, three days, a year and a half...it's all jumbled inside his head.]

How much have we handled the clean up? What...What can I do?

[He should be helping, right? He's a helper. A doer. People need help.]

What? No, you should be resting. Recharging, literally.

[ He draws in a breath, ]

You can help me by taking it easy and not going off to be a big hero. Okay? Just until I come back with real food and I can see your face and - you know.

Make sure all my parts are where they're supposed to be?

[He's tired, exhausted, his body feeling stretched thin, but he's not dead. Somehow. He could kill a thousand people but--

--no. That was a dream. No matter how real it feels. It had to be a dream. That wasn't him. That wasn't his life.]

I'll behave, promise.

[ Nnnot what Apollo was going to say, but wow. Max's dream must've been rough. ]

Good. [ he allows himself a laugh, ] You can misbehave all you want after you get some food in you.

Only if you're there misbehaving with me.

[It comes out easily. This is easy. His skin may feel like its crawling and something is definitely Not Right but at least he knows Apollo hasn't changed. It's just him.

It's always him, isn't it?]

Sure thing.

[ He pauses, his attention on background voices and the hustle and bustle on the restaurant ahead, ]

I'm grabbing your order now, so uh. Hang tight, I'll see you soon.

Hanging by my fingers. I don't deserve you, Apo.

[It's supposed to sound happy, sappy, and maybe even flirtatious, but it comes out soft. Honestly thoughtful.]

[ Hold up. Usually Apollo's the one acknowledging all of Max's efforts and hard work – not the other way around.

If he weren't in the middle of ordering food, he would counter this, maybe pry into what the heck that dream had been about, but as it stands... there's no point. Not when Max seems so disoriented. ]

Pretty sure it's the opposite way around, babe, [ he laughs, keeping his voice light, ] but sure. I'll be there.

And who was the one traveling the world saving lives and helping the sick recently?

[Max hadn't been saving any lives in a long time--or it felt like a long time. That dream had felt so real.]

[ Why does everyone keep saying that?? Apollo would bask in that praise if it were remotely true – as it is, this feels like Python 2.0. ]

This isn’t a comparison. [ he laughs, ] You’re more heroic than me any day of the week and you know it, so... no contest.

Yeah? [It comes out far more questioning than Max wanted it to, but hoped to play it off.]

As long as I get to be your hero as much as you're mine, I think we're doing good with this whole relationship thing.

[ another odd shift in Max's voice. Apollo's going to ask about this later - as in, in-person later. ]

I'd hope so. [ pause, ] Okay, I gotta go for real, so hold on.

[ With that, he hangs up and grabs Max's order.

In about another five minutes, though, there's a knock at his door. Apollo can let himself in (he's got a spare at this point), but you know. He figures he should at least be polite. ]

[Max stumbled out of his bed, changed his clothes into something comfortable--it took some time to find something that fit him and didn't completely hang off his body--and then gets downstairs just as he hears the knocking. He didn't bother to check himself in a mirror before going to open the door, and Apollo is going to notice something is very different about Max. Like twenty pounds of difference.]

Hey. [Is he out of breath? Why does it feel that way?]

[ Oh boy. Oh Gods of Mount Olympus, what happened?

Apollo assumed that Max had been sleeping from illness or something worse, given how busy he had been with Aegis, not... this. Not his babe being skinnier and worse for the wear, with those exhausted eyes and shallower breaths. Like he had been through Hell and back (and then some).

He swallows, forcing on a smile despite his entire body and soul wishing he had noticed sooner - ] Hey yourself.

[ He gestures to the takeout, ] Hope you're as hungry as you said you were.

Starving. [He is. His body feels like it did when he was years younger. Ravenous to the point it might just start to cannibalize itself. But Apollo's here and things feel more real now. The dream in his head isn't going away, but being with Apollo makes it easier for him to tell himself that it wasn't real. That maybe everything he's feeling and dealing with was just an effect of the dream's effects.]

Come on in. Want to eat at the table or up in my room?

[Max does actually look around then to see if anyone else is there.] I don't know who else is here.

Either-or. [ his expression softens, ] I think your roommates can live with a little PDA, but I'm fine with your room if you wanna talk.

[Max reaches out to take one of the bags from Apollo so he can hold his hand with his free one.]

Yeah, they could, but I want you to myself for a bit, too.

[He rubs his thumb over the back of Apollo's hand, letting the feel of it soothe him. This is real. He can feel him, right here.]

[ He melts at Max's touch, his shoulders slumping over with relief - ]

Okay. [ No further questions, not even as Apollo's faintly glowing - not unlike he put on some shimmery make-up (even if he did no such thing). ] Let's go.

[Is he seeing things? Max isn't sure. He's already twisted around because of the memo--dreams. Maybe he's seeing a glow because he missed Apollo so much. He pulls him along up the stairs to his room.

He opens the door to let him in and moves to set the bag he had on the desk. The room isn't a huge mess, but the bed is very rumpled, blankets all over the ground. Clothes are on the ground by the end of the bed. The generator in the corner is off as it usually is during this time of day. Everything about it feels so familiar and yet wrong to Max. He takes in another breath.]

...Take a seat? Plenty of space.

Yeah, of course. [ Apollo pulls a chair up next to Max's bed, taking a seat and pulling one leg up around him. The scene is familiar, even if the mess isn't. He can't help worrying, even if that won't change a damn thing. He's here now. He can help now.

So when he asks, he asks like a doctor, with the same cursory glance he would give any of his patients:]

You okay? Like, physically speaking?

Me? Yeah. Yeah.

[He says it like he's dismissing even the need to ask the question. Doesn't he look like he's okay? He opened the bag and started pulling containers out of it onto the desk.]

I mean--I was kind of dizzy? And those dreams took a lot out of me, but nothing a good couple meals won't fix. Nothing big. Which do you want first?

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