Zack's relaxed, having a fairly good day. Fans had been happy to see him outside of the arena, his favorite grilled chicken salad was being offered at catering, and he's content to sit back and watch the show with Heath and a handful of others while he waits for his tag match later in the evening when everything crashes down around him with the suddenness of a tidal wave. Barely an hour after getting rejected by Rusev, Lana comes to the ring following Dolph's match and win against Stardust and smiles at him awkwardly as he stares back at her, eyebrows quirking curiously.
Zack pales when Lana grabs Dolph and kisses him, urged on by the crowd to kiss him again, deeper. All he can do is watch as Rusev storms down, goes after Dolph and ultimately is left flailing in anger when Dolph hits the zigzag on him and escapes up the ramp to safety with Lana. His match is literally next. There's nothing he can do about Lana or Dolph or anything else, he has to join Fandango in the ring against Harper and Rowan. Not that he probably would've had much of a chance to begin with, but he's distracted. Sloppy. Everything goes wrong, memories of Lana kissing Dolph flashing repeatedly before his eyes. They lose within a couple of minutes, Zack laying limply on the mat while Fandango struggles to get to him to check on him. "I'm sorry," he tells him wearily, rolling out of the ring slowly and leaning against the side of the turnbuckle post while Fandango shrugs.
"I saw what happened earlier. Don't worry about it, it was terrible timing." Zack nods, blinking hard as Fandango claps him on the shoulder. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm around."
"Thanks, bro. I'll keep that in mind," Zack says. Walking backstage feels like he's walking towards the gallows. He can imagine Dolph telling him they're over, throwing his wedding ring back at him, and leaving with one hand low on Lana's back. She's pretty, probably easier to be with for a lot of reasons- no one would judge or question Dolph for being with such a loser if he was with Lana, they'd just see a beautiful blonde woman with an accent, and...
Zack closes his eyes and makes his decision. He'd left his bag in the locker room closest to gorilla, so he goes to collect his things quickly, only stopping long enough to pull some clothes on before he's out of the door. He takes a taxi, not quite willing to leave Dolph stranded, though he thinks it's just going to result in Dolph traveling out with Lana, and it twists his insides in a way that makes him feel nauseous so he says very little as the taxi driver picks him up and takes him to the nearby airport.
There's a 9 PM flight out to New York and he only just gets tickets bought, his bags checked, and to the gate in time to board before it's too late. He finds his seat and collapses into it, burying his face into his hands before something gives him pause and he stares down at the glinting band of his wedding ring. This shatters him and he starts to cry, careful not to look at his seatmates as the plane hits the runway and takes flight. The flight is relatively short, and they arrive in less than two hours, which is all Zack can really ask for.
He lurks by the doors and stares out at the inky black evening, fingers thick and clumsy as he dials a familiar number on his cell phone. "Hey bro, sorry to bug ya like this, but do you know anyone who could come pick a bro up from the airport?"
Hawkins' voice is sleepy and hesitant when he answers. "Sure...?"
To his credit, he's at the airport within the hour, looking perplexed as Zack drops his things in the back and settles in next to him. "Thanks, bro. Promise I won't be in your hair for too long, I just... I needed somewhere to go for a little bit to get my head back on straight."
"What happened?" he wonders, glancing from the road to Zack's face and back in record time.
"Lana," Zack says quietly. "Uh, well, she came out and kissed Dolph, and... I guess he liked it enough, because they kissed a few times, and..." He runs his fingers through his hair, ignoring how limp it is as he stares out at the traffic. "He fought Rusev for her, so I guess... I don't know. I guess he likes her. Or liked the kisses. Or something."
"Did you talk to him?" Hawkins asks after a few moments of surprised silence.
"No," Zack admits. "I... I wrestled a match, lost in almost record time, and then just... left. I didn't want to see them hanging out backstage." At Curt's knowing look, he glances down at his hands as they twist together, the ring glinting morosely. "I didn't want to hang around just to hear him break up with me anyway."
Curt scoffs. "You honestly think he'd break up with you over this? Lana probably startled him as much as she startled you. Besides you know Dolph, trouble's always finding him and he always finds ways to make it seem ten times worse before taking a step back and realizing just exactly what he's done." He rubs a thumb over the steering wheel. "He'll know where you've gone and if he calls me, I'm not going to lie about it. And when he comes over, I'm not going to force you, because ultimately you've been my friend longer than I've even known him, but just letting you know now I think you should definitely talk to him."
Zack sighs, knowing that Curt's probably right about everything. Still, when they arrive at Curt's place, he says very little, offers an apologetic smile to Curt's significant other and escapes to the guest room for some sleep. He can hear them whispering and moving around, laying on his side and staring at the wall. Sleep doesn't soothe his tormented thoughts, always teasing him just out of reach.
He's still laying there, staring pointlessly at the sun shining in onto the wall opposite his bed, when he hears a knock down the hall. Hawkins answers it and familiar murmurs pick up once more, the guest room door slowly getting pushed open and there he is. Zack closes his eyes as tears prick at them, trying not to breathe too heavily as Dolph walks quietly in and kneels down next to the bed, the door clicking shut behind him. "I know you're awake, kid," he says softly, running his fingers through Zack's hair tenderly. "You kinda gave me a heart attack, y'know. When you disappeared after your match, I thought maybe the Wyatts kidnapped you or something. I had the whole locker room searching for you." He smiles weakly, watching Zack closely. "C'mon, kid. Talk to me."
Zack trembles. Shifts forward and, while still laying down, buries his face awkwardly into Dolph's chest, feeling his breathing hitch. "I just... the walls were closing in," he mumbles, breathing Dolph in. Trying to comfort himself in the fact that Curt was right, that his husband had come for him after all. "All the worst case shit was running through my mind... I could... just imagine you deciding you wanted her instead of me, and... I couldn't take it. I just needed some time to myself. So I came here." He does sit up now and Dolph winces, seeing his red-rimmed eyes, how pale his skin is. It's clear he's not slept at all, barely holding on by a thread.
He reaches out and cradles Zack's face in his palms, staring at him intently. "I never wanted or will ever want anyone more than you, alright? I love you. I will always love you. I know I'm a thoughtless jackass who flirts too much, and I haven't always treated you right, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm your thoughtless jackass, alright? All of the women in the world could come up and kiss me, and it wouldn't change matters." His voice grows soft, very serious in a way that Zack can't remember hearing before. "But I can't leave Lana to deal with Rusev alone either, that's just asking for trouble. We both know how domestic abuse can be really subtle until it's not, and by then it's too late to do anything. I'm not going to stand by and watch when there's something I can do."
"Can't you do that without kissing her?" Zack grouses, understanding what he means no matter how much he hates it, and Dolph smiles sadly at him.
"I'll try, kid. I promise. It wouldn't have been my first option, there was someone I would've much rather kissed than her, but you know, things didn't go according to plan at all."
Zack smirks a little, still exhausted, still close to breaking apart in Dolph's arms but clinging with both hands to the lifelines he's been given in the last few minutes. "Oh yeah? Who's that, bro?"
"My husband," he says decisively, tugging Zack closer and kissing him slowly, softly, sighing as Zack responds, parting his lips partially and groaning when Dolph teases him with shallow swipes of his tongue. They cling to each other until Zack yawns and Dolph chuckles, slowly breaking the kiss. "Let's get some sleep, kid. Then we'll go home and talk some more, ok? Or maybe other things than talk." He winks at Zack. "Whatever you want."
The bed isn't huge, and it's kind of awkward fitting them both on it, but they eventually make it work, Zack only just feeling the cool plaster of the wall against his back while hugging Dolph close. Still, he feels so much relief and calm that he drifts quickly, only just hearing Dolph's whisper. "I love you so much, kid."
He snuggles into Dolph's warmth and smiles. "I love you more, bro." If Dolph tries to argue the point, one up him in the depths of their feelings for each other, Zack doesn't hear it as he falls into the kind of peaceful, deep sleep that he thought would've never been possible again a few hours prior.
