Zack laughs, his face still covered in Summer and Layla's lipstick. He'd just beat Fandango thanks to them, and they had repaid him kindly, even continuing it in an app exclusive. He smirks as he walks down the hall, in no hurry to clean the signs of the ladies' affection from his flesh. Everyone's whispers and giggles as he passes encourages him on, his smugness growing until he's outside of the main locker room, Dolph waiting for him with his arms crossed bitterly over his chest. His grin slowly slips and he raises his eyebrows. "Bro?"
"Did you enjoy that?" Dolph mumbles, clearly displeased with what had just happened, the interview that followed, all of it.
Zack stares at him, confused. "Wha-?" Dolph rolls his eyes bitterly as Zack sits next to him. "Bro, what are you mad about? This isn't that different than what Summer did with you a couple weeks ago..."
"Yes it is," Dolph snaps, still staring at him darkly. "Summer and I was just some meaningless kiss, those two were all over you for a good five minutes!" Zack stands there blankly as he pushes past him, grabbing a paper towel and a bottle of Purell. "Go wash your damn face, kid, you look pathetic."
Zack takes the towel and the bottle, shaking his head. "I'm not the pathetic one right now."
Dolph laughs. "What did you just say?" he demands, grabbing at Zack's hand before he can leave the room.
"Get off," Zack snaps, shaking his hand free. "You're jealous because they attacked me, I didn't reciprocate any of those kisses. Yeah, I may look kind of ridiculous, but if you and Summer were nothing, then all of this was nothing too." They stare at each for a minute until Zack turns and leaves, his face flushed with anger.
It's not until he's outside that he realizes he still has the paper towel and Purell crunched up in both hands, gritting his teeth angrily. "Dammit." Sitting down grumpily, he brushes the paper towel over his face roughly, smearing the lipstick all over his skin as he stares at the night sky overhead. Time passes as he slowly cools off, taking deep breaths and aimlessly pouring some of the Purell in his hands and wiping at his face some more.
He barely notices when the door opens once more but he does observe familiar, hesitant footsteps as they approach. Neither man say a word when Dolph sits next to him, reaching over to take the bottle and mangled paper towel from him, carefully wiping off the last of the lipstick from his flesh. His skin is bright red from being rubbed so roughly at first and it stinks of the disinfectant, Dolph cringing when he gets a good look at him. "I'm sorry," he mumbles.
"Of course you are." Zack purposely looks anywhere but at him, trying to breathe normally. "What are you doing out here, finding some other reason to yell at me?" He can't help it, finally looking over at Dolph and taking in the stricken look on his face. "It wasn't my fault, bro. I was booked in this match, and I didn't know what Layla and Summer were going to do. Just like you apparently didn't know what Summer was going to do a few weeks ago. So why am I the one getting yelled at, when you expected me just to forget everything so easily when it happened to you?"
Dolph grimaces, seeing the truth behind his words. How Zack had forgiven him and allowed them to move past it, unlike himself, who shamed Zack in the locker room in front of everyone and threw cleaning supplies at him until he'd given up and left. "I don't know," he murmurs. "I guess... it just brought me back, you know. When I took things too far and screwed up with Princess Leia and you started getting interested in Eve. We didn't make it through that, and I don't... want to see it happen again, I can't allow it to. Didn't go about it the right way, of course, but..." He groans and presses his hands into fists. "I don't know."
Zack reaches over and rests a hand over the nearest fist, squeezing lightly. "It's just something we have to work through together, bro. That's what broke us apart last time, we didn't... communicate well... and things kept getting between us. At least now when things go wrong, we generally at least try to talk them out." He strokes Dolph's tense knuckles until he relaxes his fingers and turns his palm to grip Zack's hand back, squeezing lightly. "It's progress, right?"
He sounds desperate, young, and Dolph sighs, nodding. "Yeah, it is, kid." They sit side by side, staring into each other's eyes for a few moments, before Dolph leans in, closing his eyes. "I guess you won't mind the lack of lipstick when I..." His words fade away when Zack rolls his eyes, grips him by the back of the neck and kisses him. They sigh as one, all of the arguments and tension fading away as they give into the moment. "I love you," he mumbles.
"Love you too," Zack returns, not bothering to break the kiss even when he feels Dolph start to smirk.