After Hook finishes his video directed to Jericho, a promise and a warning in one for what he has planned upon his official return Wednesday, he stays outside, listening to people wander around on the pavement behind him.
He ordinarily would've stayed in New York a little longer, but Taz had encouraged him to go, and Hook had considered the possibility of Jericho being around and maybe getting an opportunity against him for pushing Taz, for making his knee issues worse, for upping the schedule of when he'd need treatment. It ended up futile, but Orange is here, wanting to hang out and support Chuck in some indy show he's doing Sunday evening, so it's not all a waste of time, since Hook's been recovering from the concussion caused by Jericho's bat shot, and haven't gotten to spend as much time with Orange as he'd like the last few weeks.
His mind wanders, thinking about what he's going to do when he sees in person the way Jericho has bastardized the title that means so much to him, to his father. It's only when he hears familiar footsteps approaching him that he re-focuses on his surroundings, waiting patiently as Orange walks up to the steps next to him.
"Hey," he says.
Hook glances at him. "Hey," he says.
"Trent's match is soon," Orange says, his voice clipped and tense in a way that Hook has never really heard it until the last few weeks. "Chuck could use some company for it."
Hook blinks, staring at him. Not sure why he's out here if Chuck is alone back in the hotel room.
"I could use some company for it," he clarifies, searching Hook's face.
"Oh," Hook says, pieces falling into place. "Yeah, ok, I'm done out here anyway." He gets to his feet, clapping his hands briskly on his pants.
They walk side by side back down the street towards the hotel. "Finished your message to Jericho?"
"Yep," Hook says, pushing the door open and holding it for Orange before following him in. They walk past the elevator and turn to the left, Orange unlocking their room once they reach the door.
Chuck is settled on a chair by the desk, his bad leg propped up on a couple of pillows on another chair. Hook nods at him as he shrugs out of his jacket, but leaves the beanie, settling down on the edge of the bed. "Hey."
"Hey," Chuck says. He smirks at Orange as he sits down next to Hook. "Feel better now that your boyfriend is back?" He glances at Hook. "He was really antsy while you were gone."
Orange sighs, his hands twitching a little until Hook laces their fingers together, squeezing his hand. He glances at Hook with a small smile on his face, ignoring the over-exaggerated kissing noises Chuck is making from the other side of the room.
"We could just go home in the morning and leave him here in Canada," Hook offers quietly and Orange chuckles as Chuck sputters in horror.
"Hey! Haven't I been going through enough lately?" he demands.
Orange sighs and rests his head on Hook's shoulder, Hook humming as they half-watch the rest of Collision. Trent's match against Dalton Castle starts off Rampage and Hook keeps his thoughts to himself as Chuck and Orange watch intently, varying degrees of anger and hurt on their faces, held in the tension of their shoulders.
On commercial break, however, the silence that fills the room after Orange mutes the TV becomes just a little too much and Hook speaks up. "D'ya think anyone saved his Boys from those Canadian bears?" He blinks when both men look over at him, slightly incredulous. "What?"
Orange shakes his head fondly and kisses Hook on the side of the face before the commercial break ends and they immediately turn their focus back onto the match.
Chuck makes a disgusted noise when ultimately Trent defeats Dalton, gingerly getting to his feet. "I'm going to bed," he announces to the room in general before disappearing into the bathroom.
Hook sighs and glances over at Orange. "You alright?"
"Yeah," he says tensely, getting to his feet too and putting the remote down with measured movements like if he did anything too quickly, he might throw the thing through the screen instead.
Hook watches him for a few moments before getting to his feet. "Hey, wanna get out of here for awhile?"
Orange blinks. "And go where?"
"I'll show you," Hook says with a small, secretive smile.
Orange stares at him for a moment before walking over to the bathroom door, tapping on it lightly. "Hook and I are going out for a little bit, call if you need anything."
"Ok," Chuck calls back, muffled. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Orange ignores his cackling before snagging Hook's hand and exiting the room.
They walk back through the hotel lobby, Hook leading the way around the building towards the parking lot. He unlocks their rental and waits for Orange to get in before starting it up.
Orange stares at him, eyebrows raised curiously. "So... where are we going?"
Hook smirks at him before leaving the parking lot, driving through the city streets until they hit the outskirts of Vancouver. Orange doesn't ask again, deciding to trust in Hook and just take in the sights as they drive around. It's not until Hook finds a side road and pulls over, parking on the shoulder of the road, that Orange gets it.
Here, the light pollution is at a minimum and Orange gapes as he looks up at the colorful lights streaking across the night sky. "Oh," he breathes out.
"I saw it a little bit, while I was filming my video," Hook says. "Figured we could see it better from here." He checks the road, then pushes his door open, getting out of the car.
Orange follows suit and looks up, immediately overwhelmed by the various shades of green and purple bleeding through the night sky. "Wow," he mutters before realizing Hook's rounded the car and is leaning against the trunk, still staring up, mesmerized. Orange joins him and they sit shoulder to shoulder, taking it all in.
They watch in silence for a few minutes, enjoying this marvel of a show, before Orange glances over and sees how the colors are dancing off of Hook's eyes, lighting up his features. "You're beautiful," he blurts out before he realizes what he just said, face flushing a deep red as Hook turns to look over at him, startled.
"Huh?" he says, lips twitching up a little.
Orange stutters, looks away. "Uh," he mutters.
Hook laughs a little, pressing his shoulder into Orange. "Mind saying that again?" he teases.
Orange flushes harder, feeling like he's about to combust right then and there. "You heard me," he says sheepishly.
"I did," Hook admits. "Wouldn't mind hearing it again."
Orange huffs and leans into him, sighing as his face slowly cools, his heart rate easing off.
"Don't really want to ruin the moment," Hook says a little later. "But there is something I... want to ask, while we've got a minute."
Orange frowns at how serious he suddenly sounds, turning to look at him. "What?"
Hook fiddles with the edges of his jacket, exhaling slowly. "There was something commentary said during Trent's match," he says slowly, words a little stilted. "Uh, said you and Callis were flirting."
Orange scoffs a little, remembers vaguely hearing that, but had been too busy focusing on the actual match to react to it at the time. "Uh huh..."
"Well, I mean, it's not true, right?" Hook asks, looking at him. "Like, look, I'm not judging. I got involved with Jericho even though I knew he couldn't be trusted, but-"
"Hook?" Orange asks quietly, not sure how to take the uncertainty in his eyes, the building tension in his jaw.
"Flirting? It's not..." He huffs out a breath, takes off the beanie to run his hand through his hair, tugging at it. "It's not that, right?"
Orange suddenly understands and wraps an arm around Hook, pressing him closer. "No, Hook, it's not that. I wouldn't do that to you. It's... I don't know. He, uh. He's just around. I'm still dealing with this whole mess with Trent and Chuck. I haven't really thought about anything career wise past that yet."
Hook nods. "Ok, just. Uh. Just making sure. Not that I don't trust you," he hastens to add. "It's just... I've heard stories about how Callis can be, and I..." He exhales. "I can't lose anything else right now."
Orange's eyes soften. "Hey," he says, reaching over and squeezing Hook's hand. "You're not losing me, ok?" He frowns, toying with Hook's fingers restlessly. "I, uh. I've lost a lot lately too, and I... I'm trying to hold on to what I have left, but it's not easy. I don't know what's going to happen next. But... if you- if you'll just be patient with me while I figure that out..."
"Yeah," Hook says. He searches Orange's face before leaning in to kiss him. "Not necessarily my strong suit, but I'll do my best to for you."
Orange smiles at him, brushes back some of Hook's hair and nods, resting his forehead against Hook's. "Thanks," he whispers.
They lean into each other for a few more minutes before turning their attention back to the colors sweeping through the night sky.