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It seemed to the both of them that they’d never get a single moment of peace, that’s why they cherished every time it was just the two of them.
Apollo didn’t take off his white and gold suit, he was just too tired to do so anyway, which was a sharp contrast from Midnighter who just kicked off his boots and threw off his leather trench coat and pants. Apollo gazed dreamily as he watched his lover take off his dark mask, it was a sight that he rarely ever saw recently.
But Apollo didn’t want to be depressed, hell, that was Midnighter’s job.
“Well, handsome, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”
Midnighter turned his head to face Apollo and grunted in return before flopping down onto their shared bed.
“I always see your face, you’re like a damn uv light.” He chuckled, moving to make room for Apollo on his side of the bed before closing his eyes and trying to get some rest.
Apollo shuffled onto his side in bed, facing Midnighter’s relaxed face, to which he ran his hand down the side of his head and through his hair. He couldn’t dismiss the fact that they were a tad overworked, they couldn’t even squeeze one date night in their busy schedule of saving the world.
“Midnighter?”
Midnighter groggily opened his eyes and sighed. “What is it?”, he didn’t understand why Apollo seemed so…strange tonight.
Apollo sighed and ran a hand through his long white hair and he shook his head slightly. His mind was filled with thoughts back to Henry Bendix, how he’d taken control of Midnighter and how he’d almost killed their daughter, Jenny.
“Do you think he’ll come back?, Bendix, I mean.”
Midnighter on the other hand was unsure about the whole past scenario, he couldn’t deny the fact that he was a little ashamed of what he’d done, despite his stoic outer shell there was a visible uncomfortable shadow that loomed over him. He grumbled something inaudible under his breath.
“Why should we care?, He’s always coming back. I can’t help the fact that I've got a stupid computer in my damn brain.”
Apollo could feel Midnighter’s frustration, like it was a spot of mold on a piece of bread. He moved closer and placed his hands gently on his ribs. “Well I can’t help that I love every part of you, even that fighting computer in your cranium.” He placed his fingers against the side of Midnighter’s face, gently tapping the side of his head.
The room was quiet with an unspoken tenderness, the amount of intimacy was heavy yet controlled, just the way they both liked it. That was until there was a knock on the door. Midnighter shuffled up and pulled his sheets up to his waist. “Who is it?”.
The door opened, pouring light from the sterile hallways of the carrier into their bedrooms. Standing in the doorway was none other than Jenny Quantum, she lit a cigarette with a hint of annoyance in her gait and took a puff before answering the silence.
“Jack called for a meeting, not my idea.” She huffed before walking down the corridor and out of sight, she clearly wasn’t a big fan of meetings, especially so early in the morning.
Apollo glanced over at the alarm clock on his side of the bed on the nearby table, which read ‘01:24’ in glowy green numbers. He sighed before he shuffled upright into a sitting position, he stretched his back for a moment before looking back at Midnighter and reaching over with his hand to wake him back up again.
“Look, it’ll probably only be a minute, you don’t have to get dressed up or anything.”
Midnighter huffed in frustration and got up and stood on his feet, without the sheets on though it was revealed that he slept naked more often than Apollo originally thought.
Apollo didn’t look down though and he kept his eyes firmly on his lover’s tired face. “Put some pants on, and a tank top, remember, there are ladies around.” He joked, a small smirk on his face.
Midnighter chuckled slightly and went over to his drawers where he picked just a pair of boxers and a black tank top to cover his body, he looked over at his helmet and debated putting it on, he wasn’t a big fan of not wearing it in front of most people, except for Apollo and Jenny. So he slid the dark metal mask on his head, which covered his face and made him look like the vigilante he was.
Apollo reached out and wrapped his hand around Midnighter’s upper arm and they began to make their way down the long hallways towards the main room, where the other members of The Authority stood there, surprisingly all dressed up in their respective suits.
The Engineer looked at the two of them and snickered slightly, placing her hands over her mouth to resist a louder giggle. “What are you two wearing?”.
Midnighter glared at Apollo with a look of anger furrowed in his brow, he had a short temper and it really didn’t help that he’d suggested that he didn’t have to wear his full suit. He crossed his arms in frustration before turning around and walking back down the hallway to his room.
Apollo smiled and watched as his husband seemed so angry, he enjoyed the occasional moments of riling him up, like he was a puppy dog. He looked over at Jack and crossed his arms.
“So, what’s going on?, what’s this about?”
Jack huffed and walked down from the higher platform of the room down to the main area. He could feel the cities on Earth calling to him from miles away, like a siren call which was hard to resist.
“It’s New York, she-..I mean, It’s been overrun with damn aliens.” He was clearly tired too, he had dark circles underneath his eyes and a slump in his body expression.
Apollo raised an eyebrow, they hadn’t dealt with aliens in a while except for that time everyone got pied by a strange intergalactic being, which had to be sorted out by Kev and Midnighter, but Apollo didn’t remember too much of it.
“Alright then, let's head to America.”
-
By the time that The Carrier had ended up in the place they needed it to be, it floated high up in the sky, which gave The Authority a good look at what was going on down there. Swift spread her wings and flew down to the city, while The Engineer carried Jack in her arms and they slowly fell down to Earth, Jenny used her abilities to create a bright blue orbit around her and the doctor which allowed them to float down. But Midnighter and Apollo still remained on The Carrier, debating on the severity of the situation.
“What if it’s all just an illusion or a trap?” Midnighter murmured, gazing down at the clouds below.
Apollo put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. “We can handle it, we’ve handled tons of evil guys. I’m sure one more wouldn’t add too much damage.”
Midnighter huffed and leaned closer to Apollo’s touch, he was a defensive person but he had to keep an open mind, for Apollo’s sake at least. “Fine, let's just get down there.”
Apollo smiled and wrapped his arms around Midnighter’s chest from behind before he jumped out of the carrier and swiftly flew down, the cold night air breezed on their faces, creating a dim atmosphere.
When they reached the streets of New York City it was a mess, civilians running around seeming incredibly stressed, some attacking each other like they viewed them as threats. It seemed more akin to mind control than anything else, like they were seeing things that weren’t real like a schizophrenia patient.
Apollo used the telepathic communication to his advantage to try and see what was going on.
‘Engineer, any clue what’s gotten into these people?’
‘Yes. It’s the aliens, they’re a race called the Syndoims, they have the ability to spit out a hallucinogen that can cause irrational fear or anxiety, so be careful and make sure it doesn’t get in your eyes.’
Apollo looked over at Midnighter, who was fighting one of the aliens himself, the Syndoim was a tall slender purple being, with large yellow eyes and an animalistic hunch in its body. Midnighter swung his bo staff into the alien’s body, beating it to a purple hunk of flesh with ease.
He wiped off the purple bloody goop from off of the end of his weapon and looked back at Apollo with a small grin on his face. “That was easier than I thought-”, but before he could finish his sentence he immediately jutted forwards, “Apollo watch out!”.
Apollo quickly turned around and came face to face with the creature, it was larger than the rest of them, twice the size and twice as deadly, but before he could react, Midnighter stepped forwards and got a gross spray of a reddish brown slimy spit across his face.
Midnighter landed on the ground and he annoyingly wiped off the sludge from his face, but when he blinked his mind felt..different, he could hear a familiar voice inside his head, it was Henry Bendix. He gripped his forehead, sweat dripping down from his skin. “No..”.
Apollo used his powers to disintegrate the alien with ease, turning into a pile of bones and ashes. But when he saw Midnighter he noticed what had happened. He lifted his hands up in a placating way, he didn’t want to hurt him.
“Midnighter, are you okay?”
Midnighter looked up at him, but in his mind he didn’t see the man he loved, instead he saw an enemy, the computer in his brain was wiring, telling him that he had to destroy it. He lunged forwards with a yell and hit Apollo with his bo staff, but it didn’t knock him to the ground so easily.
Apollo stepped back, he knew what was going on but he wasn’t sure how he was going to handle the situation without harming his lover. “Please Midnighter, don’t do this.”
But Midnighter seemed completely out of it, his eyes were wide and animalistic, like he was in full fight or flight mode. And he chose to fight. He continued swinging at Apollo, the computer giving him tactics and outcomes in a matter of seconds. He didn’t stop until Apollo was down and beaten on the ground.
Apollo spat out blood from within his mouth, his body was bruised and weakened, he wanted to use his powers, but not if it meant killing the man he loved the most.
“Fine, kill me my love, prove to them that you're just the killing machine you say you are.” He mumbled between breaths, weaker than ever before.
Midnighter stood above him, panting. But as soon as he heard Apollo’s soft voice he dropped his bo staff and looked down at his leather-gloved hands. It was like the effects of the spit had worn off, leaving Midnighter standing there exhausted. That was until he passed out right on top of Apollo.
-
A few hours later, Midnighter awoke in his room, he found his body was bandaged up. But he couldn’t remember what he’d fought or how’d it had happened, it was all blank to him. He sighed and sat up on the bed before he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders, gently massaging the area.
Apollo placed his head on Midnighter’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “I’m glad you’re alright, I was scared, I thought you were going to kill me.”
Midnighter seemed confused by his statement, he hadn’t remembered yet of the events that had unfolded not too long ago, but he thought it was probably best for him if he didn’t.
“I wish I met you.”
“What?” replied Apollo, “What do you mean?”
“I wish I met you before all of this, before we became like this. If only we could remember.”
“Yeah, Yeah me too.”.