maskormenacelogs | we are running around till our hearts break down.

He'd hoped there would be a balcony - or maybe just a really big set of windows - but between Nonah and De Chima Apollo had the realisation that a door would probably give a better impression. 'Responsible adult' is what Ronan had said, and responsible superheroes don't have to enter every building through a window.

And true to form, Apollo does look every inch the responsible adult and a proper superhero to boot, clad as he is in his typical white and gold uniform and carrying a grim air of determination. He knocks on the apartment door sharply and does his best to ignore the unhappy little knot of apprehension that twists away in his stomach; Apollo has no real idea of what he and Ronan are going to do, but they're going to do something proactive and that's what counts. Hopefully.

Maybe it just starts as a weird feeling at the door, but as Declan moves closer to answer it, the reach of him nulling power shifts. It seems to follow him, which meant staying in the apartment with Ronan.

When he answers the door, Declan finds himself staring at--a guy in a superhero uniform? What the fuck. There's something familiar about the face, but he can't place it right then. The young man staring at Apollo is clearly related to Ronan and also several magnitudes of less noticeable than Ronan.

"Can I help you?"

He can feel that unsettling creeping feeling through the door and it isn't until Apollo glances down at his hands - pale, a few shades removed from his usual diffuse glow - that he realises. The guy's a power null. Which... isn't the greatest feeling in the world, and is perhaps a little too soon after the lingering nightmare of the City and Apollo's stint in the cold, lonely dark.

As the door opens Apollo winces and takes a healthy step backwards, as if that extra foot could possibly improve the feeling of that nullifying smother as it settles over him. Apollo belatedly realises that it's a good thing he didn't fly up to the window; he'd probably be dead on the ground floor by now.

"Yeah. Hi. I'm Apollo. We were texting earlier today, I think," He replies briskly, offering the guy - the brother he realises - a warm smile. A warm smile that belies the brisk and entirely no-nonsense way he solemnly informs him:

"I'm here for Ronan."

Declan will have to get used to people looking at him like that. At least Apollo hasn't tried to kill him or otherwise incapacitate him yet.

"We did," he confirms. Ronan's been on and off his phone since then, for which Declan is generally grateful. People care about Ronan and they should know that he's more or less in one piece. All Declan wants is to keep him that. way. He returns Apollo's smile with one of his own: mild, banal.

"Are you." It isn't a question. Apollo is very clearly here for something and he might have asked to come in by now if he intended to stay. He finds himself trying to figure out how old Apollo is, tries to place why the name feels so familiar beyond their text conversation. For a few breaths it seems like Declan will leave it at that, but then he moves out of the way and holds the door open.

"Well, he's here. Come in." He turns his head and calls, "Ronan, visitor!"

The door to the guest bedroom swings open a moment later. Though Ronan has spent most of his time at Declan's either passed out on the floor or curled up on a more reasonable piece of furniture someone has thoughtfully dragged him onto, he is fully alert now and dressed like he was expecting company. Actually, like he was expecting to leave with company. He's already wearing his boots.

As he stomps over, he casts an appraising look at Apollo and seems to notice something off about him, because he then turns to Declan and says, "Don't be a douchebag. Turn off your thing."

Are you, Declan asks and Apollo nearly returns a fiery Yeah, I am. He stays rooted to the spot as Declan offers him inside if only because stepping closer into the null field feels like a terrible idea. Apollo can already feel his solar cells grinding to a painful half as the horribly normal processes of having to breathe kick in. Breathing isn't something that he's had to do in years, thanks.

So he stays where he is, lingering on the threshold with absolutely no desire to step into the apartment, and visibly brightens (emotionally, if not with any actual sunshine involved) as Ronan emerges. Better to focus on them having to leave - and quickly - than to get too comfortable. Apollo isn't here for tea and cake.

"Hey. Are you ready to go?"

Declan frowns and, for a moment anyway, it seems like he won't do it. What's keeping Ronan from doing something stupid, possibly suicidal, if he lets go of this? But how long can he keep it going, reasonably? How long can he actually keep Ronan here if his brother has decided to leave?

That's a fight they've had before. Several times. Several different iterations over the years.

Turn it off, Ronan says, and Declan has to remember how it feels to do that. For the other two it might be a fog lifting, a blanket peeled away. For Declan, it makes him realize how fucking tired he is, like he's finally letting go of something heavy. He's kept it going since Ronan asked him to do it, shifting from wanting to help his brother sleep to just--not wanting him to disappear.

"Where are you going?"

He doesn't like this and he asks the question of Apollo as much as he does of Ronan.

The evidence of their disagreement about his leaving earlier is still apparent in the bruising on both Declan and Ronan's faces. But Ronan seems fully prepared to launch into another fight if he has to. His hackles go up at the question and he takes a step closer to Apollo as if to confirm that this time the fight will be two against one.

"Wherever I have to."

Ronan would walk straight into Hell to rescue Kylo. He doesn't need Declan's permission to do it.

Turning to Apollo, he confirms, "Ready if you are."

There's something at play here, between the two brothers - a dynamic that Apollo isn't a part of and isn't about to wade in to. The bruises don't alarm him - each of them can clearly give as good as they get and sometimes caring for someone is punching them in the face - so he tactfully keeps his thoughts to himself as the two exchange terse words.

"We're going to get Kylo back," He levelly explains to Declan, ignoring the fact that when said out loud it sounds completely ludicrous. Back in his homeworld popping into alternate realities was as easy as opening a door - literally - but Apollo isn't blind to how impossible the task before them is here. He just isn't going to let that stop him. Either of them.

Declan doesn't hide his concern. Between wherever I have to and getting Kylo back, he feels he has a right to that concern, and plenty of good reasons. But he also knows that look on Ronan's face - Declan would have to knock him out to make him stay, or do something else that would end with I hate you in so many words. Again.

He looks at Apollo.

"Don't let him die."

It comes out like Make him wear a coat, but there's an edge beneath Declan's otherwise mild exterior. He's spent years trying to keep Ronan alive and he doesn't want a stupid stunt for the sake of Kylo Ren to be the end of him. Because he knows what Ronan is capable of when people he cares for need help. His gaze drifts to Ronan and he takes in the stubborn tip of his brother's chin.

"Just--" What? Be safe? Ronan will brush that off; safety is not his concern right now. Or ever. "Let me know what happens."

It's the closest he can get to let me know you're alive. Jesus, he's tired.

Honestly, death is the least of their concerns. It's the outcome most likely to result in Ronan simply reappearing at the Porter in a day or two. No, the real worry is that they'll succeed in opening a door, but it'll be one-way, and Ronan will end up trapped wherever Kylo is.

He's not going to be the one to point out how likely that is.

"Get some fucking sleep," he tells Declan instead, as long as they're issuing orders. He sure as shit knows his brother hasn't been able to shut his eyes for a minute since he got here.

"Nobody's dying," Apollo promises, as much for Ronan's benefit as it is for his brother's. He hadn't been joking when he'd said that he really doesn't want to Romeo and Juliet this situation.

"And yeah, sure, we'll let you know."

Perhaps that isn't his place, considering how clear it is that he's wandered into a very prickly family dynamic, but it's the least he can do. Declan cares, that much is evident. Some kind of reassurance that his brother isn't dead is probably the least Apollo can offer him.

we are running around till our hearts break down.

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