"Kid," is the first thing Zack hears the morning after his short but exhilirating return to the WWE during the Royal Rumble. He groans and tries to roll over but there's a warm arm on his chest and he can't get away from it so he opens his eyes and stares up at Dolph, displeased until he actually speaks again. "Raw's been canceled," he explains, waving his phone in front of Zack's face until he wakes up enough to snag it and read the text waiting there himself.
"Damn," he breathes, voice thick with sleep. As Dolph shifts, he sits up and rereads the text advising the talent to remain in their hotel rooms except for those needed for post-Rumble interviews at headquarters since they're contractually obligated to air something. It's a short list and leaves most of them stranded in Hartford for a few days until the week's Smackdown, which would be live to make up for the lack of a Raw this week. He leans back against the headboard and looks out of the window, frowning. "I finally return and this happens... that sucks, bro."
Dolph sits down next to him and nods, also staring out at the dull grey sky. "We should get some stuff to hold us over for the next few days... but first, lunch. How do you feel about Denny's?" Zack murmurs his ascent but Dolph can tell he's already half-asleep, the thought of being stuck here not giving him enough energy to stay awake for too long. He rolls his eyes, craving Denny's pancakes and some hot coffee, and leans closer, tugging Zack's face towards him to press a kiss to his lips. "C'mon, kid, wake up."
"Five more minutes," Zack hums against his mouth, barely responding until Dolph wiggles his hands under the bedding and presses his cold fingers against Zack's back, finally waking him up completely. "BRO!" He slaps at him until he manages to escape his touch, rolling over and pouting as he tries to reclaim that delicious, sleepy warmth that had been so cruelly taken from him.
Dolph merely laughs at him and leans over, kissing his neck. "C'mon, if that isn't proof to you that I need warm food and hot coffee, then I don't know what to tell you, kid." Even though he grouses through the entire thing, Zack is up only a couple of minutes later, dressed and ready to go with Dolph for lunch and supplies. "Look at it this way, kid. When we're actually snowed in and can't go anywhere, I'll let you sleep as much as you want," Dolph promises, smirking as Zack reaches out and tugs him closer by the lapels of his hoodie.
"I'll be holding you to that," he grumbles, kissing him before turning him around and pushing him towards the door.
Dolph obliges him, aware that he's cranky when he hasn't had his coffee yet, and drives them in silence towards Denny's, handling ordering for the both of them so he doesn't snap at the pretty waitress that stares at them in some awe, appearing to recognize them. "Blueberry pancakes meal with sausage for me, Fit Slam meal with toast for him," he tells her, handing over both menus. "And coffee for both of us." She glances at Zack curiously, Dolph quickly distracting her so he's not disturbed from his intense examination of the sheet pushing their new omelette options. "Thanks, babe." When she looks back at him, flustered, he winks and she all but runs from the table after stammering out something almost nonsensible about returning with their coffees soon. He nudges Zack's leg under the table and smiles slightly when he looks up. "Fit Slam sound alright?"
"Yeah, thanks, bro," he mumbles. He leans over and runs his fingers through his hair, sitting slumped like that until the waitress slides coffee before him. He almost dives on top of it in his eager need for caffeine but Dolph knowingly pushes the sugar and creamer towards him and he pauses just long enough to dump some in his coffee, turning it a lighter shade than Dolph's before downing an almost desperate sip. When he comes up for air, Dolph examines him, glad to see he already seems a little more awake. "Ya know, since this is our first full day back on the road together, we should do something," he comments, the first full sentence he'd managed since Dolph had pulled him out of bed.
He shakes his head, almost scared to ask. "What, kid?" It's not as bad as Dolph had feared, but still. Within minutes, they have matching pictures of their Denny's mugs either on Instagram or Twitter and he can only imagine what people on Twitter are thinking about that, especially the overly observant fangirls on there... Once their food arrives, however, it matters very little, the meal perking both of them up. They eat quickly, both starving after sleeping through breakfast and, after paying and leaving a decent tip for the waitress, find themselves once more walking side by side through the bitterly cold air back to the car so they can find a Walmart to stock up on food and other necessities for the next few days.
Which ends up being multiple boxes of corn dogs and other junk food for Dolph and protein mixes and oatmeal for Zack, along with clothes and other weird things that he finds around Walmart that he wants. They exchange a roll of their eyes when they see what each other has bought, Zack poking at the stack of boxes precariously stacked in Dolph's arms. "Are you serious, bro?"
Dolph makes a face at him before catching a glimpse of the shirts in his arms. "I'm stealing that one, just so you know, kid."
Zack shrugs as he leads the way to the check out lanes. "Figured." He doesn't seem too concerned and Dolph blinks at him for a moment before slipping in behind him before someone could try to separate them in line to get rung out. "We could probably share the oatmeal, as long as you don't get too greedy and eat it all," he says almost teasingly and Dolph makes a face at him, despite being pleased with the offer.
On second glance at his armful of food, he had bought very few things that would constitute as anything nourishing much less healthy... which is something Zack actually tends to beat him at. "Thanks, kid," he sighs. Things move fast once they leave Walmart, the snow really just starting to pick up by the time they arrive at the hotel. They're walking towards the hotel when there's a weird thumping sound and Dolph pauses, trying to figure it out when...
"ARE YOU SERIOUS, BRO!?" Zack cries out, followed by shrill giggles overhead. Dolph glances back at him, then up, to find Rosa, Alicia and Paige leaning out of their hotel room window on the second floor and staring down at them, scooping more snow off of the windowsill and forming snowballs. "Rosa, what-!? I thought you liked me!"
"I do, papi," she calls down at him. "But it's still funny, si?" In his attempt to dodge the next snowball they toss down at them, he almost slips on some ice and the women giggle as he regains his footing, Dolph breathing a little easier once he stops envisioning Zack re-injuring himself.
"Come on, kid, let's get this inside," Dolph says, staring up at the windowsill, relieved to see that the three women are now gone. Zack is grumpy and shivering, snow trickling down the collar of his coat, as they make their way through the hotel entrance to the elevator. Once back in their room, they drop everything onto the beds before Zack ducks into the bathroom to change his clothes, leaving Dolph to stuff what needs to be chilled into the fridge. "Better?" he asks once Zack returns to the main room, dropping his clothes distastefully by the heater to warm up, dry off.
"I guess," he huffs, rubbing his hair with a towel so roughly that it looks painful. Dolph takes the towel from him and massages the last of the ice from the limp strands more carefully, Zack finally relaxing back into his chest as he warms up. "What're we gonna do now, bro?"
"Well, I'm not sure if you want to get wet again, but I hear that the pool is heated," he offers, his hands slipping down to rest against Zack's shoulders, where he lightly rubs some warmth into his skin, paying careful attention to his freshly rehabbed arm. "What do you think, wanna go for a swim before we curl up in bed and make fun of everyone stuck up at the WWE HQs?"
"Sure," he murmurs. "But first, I have another idea for something that we can do."
"Great," Dolph sighs, resting his forehead against Zack's. "What?" He blanches at Zack's suggestion but eventually gives in, following him out to the hallway. They then go from door to door, knocking on them. Most if not all of the rooms on the second and third floor had been booked to the WWE superstars, so it's not hard to find their coworkers.
"It took you long enough," Mike snaps, peering out into the hallway. "Oh. You're not room service," he grouses.
Ziggler rolls his eyes at him, peering back at Mizdow, who is mimicking Mike's every action, and Alex Riley, who is trying not to laugh at the look on Zack's face as he comes face to face with Miz and his stunt double for the first time in months. "We most definitely are not," he responds, thinking about the food back at their room and how glad he is he won't have to share it with anyone but Zack.
Speaking of whom, the broski pats him on the arm and continues speaking to Miz. "Just checking in on everyone, bro. Long as you're doing alright, we'll be on our way..." Dolph is relieved that he doesn't mention the pool, not wanting to deal with Mike's prissiness over that as well.
"Yeah, we're fine, Zack. Hey, since we'll probably still be here, don't forget to come over tomorrow, I'm having a screening party for my episode of Sirens! Starts at 10 PM!"
Before Zack can respond, Dolph snags his collar and drags him down the hall, breathing heavily until they reach the next door. "Don't worry, I'll think of some way to get us out of that," he tells him with a knowing grin.
Dolph shakes his head in amazement that Zack knowns what he's thinking before he even says it, not even giving him a chance to say or do anything else when he kisses him, holding him in place by tangling his fingers in the unbuttoned slots in his shirt. "Thanks, kid," he murmurs, only releasing the other man when he's breathless and a little dazed.
After regaining control of himself, Zack's about to reach out and knock when Dolph stops him, their hands tangled together as they listen. "But, really, all you have to do is-" a highpitched, deceptively innocent voice exclaims.
"I swear on everything in me, if you say bolieve one more time, I will punt you clean out of that window. Now shut. up." Orton's voice is the extreme opposite of Bo Dallas', evil and gruff, and it has both Dolph and Zack grabbing at each other, to continue on down the hall so as not to get wrapped up in that drama.
"Whose brilliant idea was it to put Orton and Bo together?" Zack mutters, still tugging aimlessly at Dolph's sleeve as they walk towards the next door.
"Authority's payback to Orton for everything?" Ziggler responds before knocking on the last door on this side of the hall, freezing when he realizes what he'd done. Zack merely grins at him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as he hangs his head, not meaning to encourage this whole check on fellow superstars thing.
The blast of cool air that greets them when the door is slung open causes both of them to take a step back, Zack gaping at Wade Barrett as he glares out at them. "Damn, bro, do you have the air conditioner on in there?"
"Bloody well we do not, bro," he snaps at him. He's dressed in layers but still shivering. "Keep your voice down, Heath's asleep. I think." He glances over his shoulder and it's only then that Zack and Dolph spot the other man, curled up in sheets and blankets, only his bright hair visible. "Our heater's broken, and there are no other rooms available. Neither of us want to drive around and try to find some place else to stay if the weather turns. So we're trying to brave it out." He unconsciously massages his arms through his sweaters again. "I'm used to cold weather in Britian, this is nothing, but Ginger is from the south..." He glances over his shoulder uncomfortably and releases a breath.
Dolph can tell the moment Zack gets hit by an idea, inching into the freezing room past Wade and kneeling down by the bed, trying to wake Heath up enough for him to sit up. He eventually looks up and nods at Wade. "Why don't you collect your things, I'll get him up..."
"Kid," he tries to intercede, but when Zack turns to look at him, a determined, cheerful look in his green eyes that, yes, fine, Dolph's missed all too much for the past couple of months, he gives in. "Fine."
"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Wade snaps. "He's unaware of the cold when he's asleep, leave him alone."
Zack seems nonplussed, pulling Heath up and murmuring to him as Dolph stands near Wade, watching them as Zack finds Heath's shoes and helps him to put them on. "Get your stuff, Barrett," Dolph says, backing Zack up. "You and Slater can stay with us, we have a second bed and our room is nice and toasty warm."
Wade freezes for a moment, clearly inclined to deny the offer due to basic pride, before glancing once more at the miserable expression on Heath's face, shuddering so hard that his teeth are chattering as Zack helps him up and towards the door, his eyes barely open. "Fine," he sighs, moving towards the fridge and stuffing as many things as he can into a sack before snagging their duffels, throwing their other things into them, and following Zack out. Dolph snags the bag of food from him before he can drop it while trying to shut the hotel door behind them, and he glances over at him with a brief moment of gratefulness before the four of them make their way down the hall to Zack and Dolph's room.
As soon as Zack unlocks it, even Wade almost melts at the pure warm goodness filling the room and Heath all but sinks into the bed that Zack guides him to, glad that only a few things are left on it, his shirts, socks and briefs easy to clear away as the frozen man curls around a pillow and hugs it as he shivers against the warmth. Wade sits down next to him and rubs his back, trying to help him warm up. Dolph starts to put their food up, finding room for it around all of his own clutter in the fridge. By the time he's done, Heath's more with it, sitting up and blinking lazily at them as Wade helps untangle him from some of the layers he's wearing, the extra clothes now unneccessary now that they're in a room with proper heating.
It's going to be a long few days with all four of them stuck in a room but Dolph is glad to do it when he sees the smile on Zack's face as he stuffs his things on the shelf in the closet. "Hey, bros," he calls out, finishing with that and settling in at the bottom of Heath and Wade's bed. "Dolph and I were gonna go swimming... now that you're here, you should join us. The indoor pool's supposed to be heated and everything, I think it's just what we need right now. What do you say?"
Wade ordinarily wouldn't be caught dead in a public swimming pool, especially a hotel swimming pool, but he takes one look at the hope in Heath's eyes, and feels himself swayed already. "Very well." Heath looks surprised but then grins, leaning up to kiss Wade on the mouth. "No singing though," he mumbles against Heath's lips, the ginger immediately pouting. "I know how you two get when you're together. We're all under enough stress, we don't need any of that as well."
"Fine," he grumbles. "I guess I'll just make do with seein' you in a hotel pool for the first time ever." He smirks as Wade rolls his eyes and nudges him over to find something to wear suitable to swim in, Heath watching him go before turning back to Zack. "We're totally gonna sing something-"
"I heard that!" Wade yells from the bathroom but it only makes Heath grin harder as he too gets up and begins digging through their bags.
Zack leans against Dolph as they watch them bicker and discuss swimming, the reality of the next few days sprawling out unceasingly before them. "Sorry I kinda sprung this on you, bro. But we couldn't really let them freeze..."
"I know, kid," he sighs, curling a hand loosely around Zack's midsection and pulling him closer. "I was looking forward to having a few days of peace and quiet with you, snowed in, but I'll deal..."
Zack smirks and kisses his way up Dolph's jaw, staring at him. "Considering I live in New Jersey, I'm sure we could try out this snowed in thing some other time, when it's more convenient..."
"You've got a deal," he promises, smirking back at him with a fond look in his eyes..