"Take the night off, please." Punk's pleading voice managed to merge slightly with the bustle of the arena outside of Punk's locker room, and Dolph half tuned it out, as he'd tuned out almost anything the other man had said to him since he'd woken up in the other mans arms. He didn't want to hear it so he simply didn't. "Hunter wouldn't mind, you know that. I don't think the pressure of working tonight is going to help you. Please, Dolph." Dolph just continued to get ready, putting on his wrestling boots and making sure everything was in order. His match wasn't for a little while, but it was soon enough that he felt he needed to get ready now. He didn't notice when Punk slipped from the room, but when he did he was a little glad, he needed some space and the constant nagging, even though it was with the best of intentions, wasn't helping him. Especially since Punk was trying to convince him to not work, he needed to work, it was what he loved, it was his everything right now, the only real thing that didn't hurt him or bring up painful memories, he needed it. It kept him sane with something real to think about, to worry about. He certainly didn't appreciate Punk trying to meddle with that, even though he knew it was just him trying to help him, which was why he chose to tune it out rather than reply; he knew that he would snap at him and right now he didn't want that, so leaving him to his own devices was the best option. Not to mention the fact that he was still waiting for Punk to punish him for disobeying his rules. He knew it was coming sometime, and who knew how he would go about it, who knew what screwed up thing Punk would do, because no doubt it would be different to what he was used to...if Punk even was going to punish him...he wasn't really hugely sure for the moment. He knew he deserved it, but Punk was weird. Sighing he just got to his feet and ambled over to where he would have to wait to go out and do his thing, anxiously hopping from foot to foot. His opponent, who by now was waiting there with him, threw him an odd look. Frowning he turned to ask them about it but was interrupted as Justin Gabriel approached them, a puzzled look that mirrored his own on his face. An awkward silence flowed between them and Dolph continued his anxious shifting, although it was for a different reason now. "I thought you were taken out of the match...?" Justin asked slowly, confused, and it took a second for Dolph to register. "...Taken off the match..." he said trying to wrap his head around it, and his confused look quickly morphed into a scowl. He was taken out of the match. Wrestling was being taken away from him; he'd done something wrong again, hadn't he? He angrily pushed past Justin, leaving him to take over his match.
He ignored everyone, not bothering to get changed out of his ring gear he barged through into Hunter's office, not caring if he was interrupting anything. "Why the fuck have I been taken off the card for tonight?!" he snapped at him, eyes glaring at him accusingly. Silence consumed the room and yet again he found himself having created an awkward silence. His eyes didn't leave Hunter as he waited for his explanation and he could feel his hands start to tremble slightly, he fought to control them, not wanting to give any further reason why he shouldn't be working. "Because, Blondie, I asked him to take you off on your behalf." Punk's voice startled him, not having noticed him there, been too trained on Hunter. He took a deep breath and struggled to calm his rapidly raising anger, not wanting to say something, to lash out again, god knew he'd done that often enough. "I was worried, Dolph. Really. I just didn't want you going out there and pushing yourself too much, having something happen, making shit worse, you know? Looking out for you." That deflated him a bit, the anger vanishing and leaving behind a rapidly growing empty feeling. "Whatever." He muttered and decided that he'd had enough of this conversation by now; it was too much right now. He was about to leave but was commanded by Hunter to sit down, so reluctantly he took a seat, sinking into it and looking anywhere but at the two men staring at him. "Punk and I have been talking-" Dolph scoffed, interrupting him "clearly." He spoke bitterly, but the bite was gone and he fell silent to let him continue. Hunter gave him an unimpressed look and waited to make sure he'd gotten that out of his system. "Like I said, before being interrupted, we've been talking and from what Punk's told me, I think I might have to force some time off onto you. I'm not letting you back into the ring until you've been checked out by a doctor or someone else qualified for this type of thing. I don't want you working until we're sure you're alright, I know it's not what you wanted, but I think, and Punk thinks, that it's necessary. We don't want you to run yourself down and somehow end up worse." Dolph just stared at the ground, feeling angry tears start to build in his eyes. He tried to force them down, but he couldn't help the panic that made his hands start to shake. He didn't want this, he didn't need this. He needed to work. He didn't want to be left at home with his thoughts, with no distraction, no wrestling, nothing...Not until he got checked out, which was not going to happen, and they all knew that... He shook his head, not really trusting himself to speak. Wrestling had been what had kept him going for so long, to have it just taken away... "Whatever. Just...whatever." he muttered, shifting a little uncomfortably, wanting to leave now. "You'll still get to travel and shit with me, Dolph. Just...time out of the ring and stuff, it'll be good for you." Punk sounded almost desperate to make sure he'd made the right choice and Dolph just shrugged, "like I said; whatever." He muttered. "Are we done here?" Hunter looked hesitant and he nodded, indicating that they were, even though there were things he clearly still wanted to stay. But he didn't care. He took this as an opportunity to leave and did just that. He slipped from the room, ignoring a call from Punk saying to wait and just headed to the locker room.
He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there by now. Just sitting on a bench in Punk's (and his) locker room, still in his gear with his head in his hands, defeated. Totally defeated. Wrestling was being taken from him. Everything was gone. He took a deep breath and willed himself not to cry. Crying was bad and he didn't want to do it. But he couldn't will himself to move, to face the world, it was all too hard. He didn't know what he was going to do now. He didn't know what he could do. He let out a shuddering breath and fought to control his emotions. "Blondie?"He heard Punk speak softly, he hadn't even realised the door had opened. He didn't bother responding, didn't see the point. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder and that caused him to break free of his heads and glance up at the other man, feeling guilt swarm him at the look of concern he was receiving. After a few moments of neither of them doing anything Punk sighed "Dolph..." he started but then thought better of it. "Get dressed, let's head back to the bus, come on." Punk gently nudged him to get up and followed the order, slowly getting out of his ring gear and back into casual clothes, once he had, Punk gently guided him back to the bus where he promptly curled up on his couch, staring out the window blankly, staring at nothing. Punk was staring at him, he could feel it. "You know why I talked to Hunter, right?" Punk asked, frowning over at Dolph, who sat there unresponsive and still staring out the window. "I did it because I care, you know that, right? Just want to make sure you stay okay." Dolph still didn't reply. The view from his position obviously much more interesting, able to hold his attention for longer. "Please, Dolph...talk to me, I just...those panic attacks are scary, and that's from me, they must be like a thousand times worse for you, don't you want to get rid of them? Learn how to deal with them and everything?" he was sounding a bit desperate now, fairly certain he'd just made a huge mistake. "What do you want me to say, Punk? That I'm okay with you taking away the one fucking thing I could always count on, the thing that kept me fucking sane? I'm sorry, but I'm not going to tell you that you did the right thing, because you didn't. And I'm not even mad or angry, how could I be? You thought you were doing the right thing..." he trailed off, shaking his head, eyes still glued out the window, even though the bus hadn't even started to move yet. He caught Punk's reflection in the window and felt a prick of guilt at the look on the others face, Punk looked plenty guilty and he felt bad. He should've kept his mouth shut. "I'm so sorry, Dolph...I just..." he trailed off and Dolph turned his gaze to him. "Wanted to help." Dolph finished for him, nodding, he did understand. He did appreciate the gesture somewhere deep down. Punk's face lit up with an idea, some of the guilt washing away. "We could train together! I mean...it's not the shows or anything, but it's something, right?" Punk looked eager to make things right...or at least a little better and Dolph warily nodded. "Guess so." He sighed, it didn't make up for it, but he guessed it was worth seeing the small amount of relief creep onto Punk's face.
Punk, seemingly still trying to make amends, decided to cook some dinner for them both, some vegan stuff, but Dolph had to admit that it looked and smelled pretty good. Punk smiled at him and handed him his plate, looking at him waiting for approval, after a hesitant look at the food and at Punk he took a bite, nodding approvingly. "It's good." He complimented. Punk looked satisfied with that and took his own seat, digging into the food like it was the last meal he'd ever have. Dolph ate his more slowly, savouring it seeming as he didn't eat shit like this often. He had meant it when he said it tasted good. Sure he preferred a good burger, but this was still pretty up there. He couldn't eat it all though, not wanting to eat too much. Punk watched him, a curious expression on his face. "What?" Dolph asked warily, shifting a little uncomfortably in his seat, eyes flicking down to the floor. Punk shrugged at him, brushing it off. "Nothing, don't worry." Dolph looked back at him, frowning slightly, clearly not buying that as an answer. "It's just weird, never thought I'd have Dolph Ziggler eating vegan food with me on my bus, just a little strange, but good." He grinned at him and Dolph shrugged slightly. "Life likes to surprise you like that, usually before ripping shit away from you, leaving you crumbled and broken, builds you up to tear you down." He spoke causally, lightly, like what he was saying was nothing. Punk was a little taken aback at the words, not expecting that from Dolph's mouth. But it served as a reminded that even in these peaceful moments, the side to Dolph Punk guessed no one ever really saw was still lurking there, waiting to surface with these casual comments. Punk felt a stab of guilt, he guessed those types of thoughts wouldn't have been made any better by him ruining what had been the constant in the other man's life. But that thought and those feelings just made him more determined. He would make sure to become another constant.