"Hey, Hook," Joe says on Sunday morning, when he, Shibata and Hook are standing around a training area, trying to strategize. Not an easy task after Jeff Cobb took them all out the night before, but they'd agreed to at least try to come up with a revised game plan. "Had a thought earlier."
Hook looks up, frowning. "What, bro?"
"How many Judas Effects did Jericho hit you with?" Joe asks. "At Dynasty?"
Hook grimaces, tugging at his hair as he looks away. "Two," he says shortly.
Joe hums. "Had a thought. Your suplexes and Redrum are good, but one more move wouldn't hurt." He watches as Hook glances from him to Shibata and back.
"Bro..." he says hesitantly.
Joe shrugs, smirking a little as he reaches over and taps Hook's elbow. "Think you could do some damage with this bony ass thing. Don't you?" He tosses over boxing pads to Shibata. "Go for it, kid."
Hook swallows, looking over at Shibata, who nods at him, waiting patiently as he tests his footing. The first few times, the motion is weird, trying to figure out how to place his elbow, the way his body is supposed to flow into it, and he loses his balance more than he has any hope of actually taking anyone out with the move. When it does finally click though, and Hook's body spins into motion and his elbow impacts with the boxing pads, he freezes and blinks, surprised he hit it.
"There ya go," Joe says with a chuckle. "Practice it a few more times, then we gotta get moving."
Hook nods, and continues trying to get used to the motion and how the impact of the strike feels.
-x
It works. Joe's suggestion is the deciding factor in their match. Hook can barely believe it, even as Joe grabs his hand and lifts it in victory. After months of feeling like a failure, barely able to eat or sleep consistently because all he can think about is how he'd lost to Jericho, kept losing to him, how much of a disappointment he's become to himself, his father, and everyone else around him, he'd succeeded in beating Jericho finally.
The walk backstage is nice for once, Hook feeling settled and a little less angry for the first time in he's not sure how long. There is a group scattered around who'd also been annoyed by the Learning Tree bullshit the last few weeks and they cluster around, congratulating the trio on the victory, Hook nodding in thanks now and again, but his focus is on Orange, who is waiting against the far wall, careful to avoid the crowd.
Joe and Shibata notice, thankfully, and distract everyone so Hook can slip past, walk up to Orange. "Hey," he says quietly, leaning next to Orange's arm.
"Hey," Orange says, glancing over at him. "Congratulations. Using the Judas Effect was a nice touch."
Hook smirks a little. "Thanks. It was Joe's suggestion."
Orange nods. "Told you he'd have a strategy."
"You did." Hook leans in and presses his forehead against Orange's temple, just breathing in slowly for a few moments. "Are you ok?"
"Not really," he says simply, nuzzling against Hook's hair. "Glad you're happy though."
Hook pulls back and searches his face. "We can go if you want," he says.
Orange blinks. "What?"
"Well, I'm done here, I figured you'd want to just go home and relax," Hook says, frowning a little.
Orange grimaces, then shrugs. "I thought you'd want to go and celebrate with Joe and Shibata, or something."
"Well, we didn't really talk about it beforehand," Hook mumbles, glancing towards his partners. "If you want me to come with you, though-"
Orange reaches out and squeezes Hook's hand. "I'll be ok, really. You go, have fun. It's been a long time coming, Hook."
Before Hook can respond, Shibata makes it through the crowd. "Hook, Joe wants to go get something to eat. Are you and Orange coming?"
Hook casts a quick glance over at Orange, but he shakes his head. "Go ahead, have fun. I'm just going to go home. I'll see you later."
"But-" Hook tries to protest, Orange cutting him off with a quick kiss.
"I'll see you at home later," he insists with a weary smile before backing away and walking down the hall away from them.
Hook watches him go with a frown on his face before glancing over at Shibata.
"Do you want to come?" he asks. "Joe will understand if not."
Hook wavers, but ultimately follows Shibata. "I think Orange would feel worse if I didn't go," he says, still a little conflicted in his decision.
Shibata nods, rejoining Joe. "Hook wants to come," he says.
"Great, c'mon, let's get out of here," Joe says, making his way through the people still scattered around, parting the way for the other two following close behind him.
Hook is about to change out of his gear when an idea comes to him and he falters, not wanting to bother Joe with it and deal with his exasperated teasing, so he turns to Shibata. "Hey, uh. You mind taking a video for me?"
Shibata stares. "What kind of video?"
Hook swallows, feeling a little nervous. "Uh. Just a... kind of video of my gear?" He feels ridiculous, trying his hardest not to drop his gaze from Shibata's and reveal how embarrassed he really is.
Shibata looks down for a moment, then back up. "It is nice gear," he says. "My phone or yours?"
Hook's shoulders relax as some of the humiliation fades and he hands over his phone. "Thanks," he says, standing against the wall as Shibata prepares to start recording.
Hook watches as Shibata aims the phone at the floor, slowly panning it up his body, Hooke waits patiently until the camera is on his face, a small smile on his face as he stares into it. It's an impulse more than anything when he winks at the camera.
Shibata hands the phone over a few moments later. "There you go," he says.
"Thanks." Hook swipes through his gallery, watching the video back. He feels silly all over again, especially when he sees himself wink, his finger immediately hovering over the delete button. He winces and swipes away, switching tabs and sending the video in a message to Orange, exhaling slowly.
Joe joins them a few moments later, freshly showered and in jeans and a dark print shirt. "What's going on with you two?" he asks, looking from Shibata to Hook.
Hook coughs, running his hand through his hair. "Nothing," he says. "Gonna change, bro, and then we can go."
"Yeah, sure," Joe says. "What's going on with him?" Hook hears him ask Shibata before he grabs his clothes and ducks into the shower area, not wanting to hear Shibata's explanation.
-x
Orange makes his way back to the apartment, relieved that the event was somewhat local so he could sleep at home again. He rests his head against the wall for a minute, squinting at the door as he unlocks it. He's just sore in general, Sabre's submissions rough on his joints. He considers eating, or maybe turning on a movie until Hook comes home, but he's just worn out and desperate to try to escape the doubts and negative thoughts haunting him, so he kicks his shoes off and heads towards the bedroom, wiggling out of his jeans as he goes. He collapses into bed and groans, burying his face into his pillow.
He's restless, any good sleep avoiding him. He drifts off now and again, but keeps jerking awake, blinking into the darkness. He keeps dwelling on losing to Sabre, the empty space in the bed next to him mocking him even worse. A selfish part of him wishes he had asked Hook to come home after all, but he shakes it off, knowing that it's pointless for both of them to be struggling to sleep. He grumbles under his breath, rolling over towards Hook's side, squinting at the cool sheets pooled there. He sleepily reaches out and presses into Hook's pillow, inhaling slowly. It still smells like Hook and brings him some comfort, his eyes slipping closed finally.
He's fast asleep when he feels the bed shift next to him and mumbles softly as Hook wraps an arm around him, tucking him in close. "Pillow thief," he says fondly, kissing the top of Orange's head.
"You're home," Orange mumbles sleepily. "What time is it?"
"A little after 1 AM."
Orange squints over at the clock, then back at him. "You didn't stay out as long as I thought you might."
Hook shrugs. "Yeah, we ate, but none of us really wanted to go anywhere after that, so I came home."
"Right," Orange says dryly. "Worrier." He pokes Hook, causing him to huff out a laugh before snagging Orange's hand, lacing their fingers together.
"Have you checked your phone lately?" he asks, a sheepish little smile on his face.
"No, why?"
Hook shrugs, and Orange squints up at him. "You left it on the floor with your jeans," he says, handing it over.
Orange sighs and flicks through his messages, pausing. "You sent a video?" he wonders, playing it. "Oh." He feels pleasantly warm as he watches it, replaying it a couple times over, before looking up at Hook. "Warn a guy next time, would you?"
Hook coughs, flushing in embarrassment. "It was bad, wasn't it? I looked so-"
Orange rolls his eyes and cups Hook's jaw. "We could see your eyes and you winked? On top of that gear in general? It's unfair to do that to me when I'm sleep deprived and sore."
Hook falters, his hands resting lightly on Orange's shoulders. "How bad is it? Is there anything I can do? Pain meds, or...?"
Orange sighs, dropping his head on Hook's shoulder. "Just hold me?"
"Yeah, sure," he says quietly. "Sorry I woke you up."
"It's ok," he mumbles. "The video made it worth it."
Hook laughs softly and settles them back against the pillows, carding his fingers lazily through Orange's hair. "Think you can get back to sleep?"
"Maybe. Think you can sleep at all?"
"Maybe." He smirks a little, still a little keyed up after finally getting the win against Jericho even with the numbers advantage working against them.
Orange shakes his head and laughs. "We're horrible."
"Kind of." Hook kisses his forehead and snuggles in closer, reaching out to pull the sheets over them.
Orange blinks slowly, squeezing Hook around the waist. "You're going to keep that gear, right?"
Hook scoffs, scratching gently at Orange's scalp. "I guess."
Orange chuckles. "Good," he mumbles, words starting to slur a little.
Hook continues with the slow, steady ministrations for a few minutes longer, until he looks down and finds Orange finally sleeping peacefully. He then relaxes his fingers, blinking up at the ceiling. "Good night," he whispers, smiling into Orange's hair before he sinks down into the pillows, exhaling deeply and trying to relax his muscles so he can sleep as well.
Finding calm in Orange's steady breathing, Hook lets his thoughts drift, remembering the amused look on Joe's face during the match when he and Shibata had dodged Jericho's dive, Taz's proud laughter after Hook defeated Jericho with his own move. The only thing that would've made the night perfect would've been Orange winning too, but despite that, he looks relaxed pressed into Hook's neck, deeply asleep, so Hook can't really complain right now.
It takes almost too long, the sky starting to lighten through the window, but Hook eventually falls asleep too, a soft smile on his face.
