Hook breathes slowly as he sits in medical, head lowered while one of the staff checks his ribs and spine after the hard impact he'd made on the steel steps early in the match. He feels a dull ache, but nothing too worrisome, so he just waits for her to finish, easing her hands away from his skin. "Felt nothing concerning," he tells her and she nods, moving over to the other side of the room, making note of this for Doctor Samson.
"Alright," she says, glancing over at where Joe and Shibata are standing by the door, talking among themselves. "I'm going to give you some ice. Keep it on for about 20 minutes, and I'd suggest icing it again later. Just to keep inflammation down. Take pain meds every four to six hours, and if you experience any problems, come back or give us a call."
He nods. "Thanks," he says, slowly slipping off of the cot and standing with a barely hidden wince. By the look on Joe's face, he can tell he didn't hide it well enough, sighing as he leaves the office, ice held half-heartedly to his back. Shibata and Joe are following behind him, their voices echoing through the hall. Hook pushes the locker room open and grits his teeth as he grips his bag, pulling it over to the nearby bench. He collects a few things then looks over at them. "I have to wash the stink of that turtleneck off of me, I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Aren't you supposed to keep ice on that longer?" Joe asks pointedly and Hook sighs, tossing the bag of ice at him.
"Maybe I'll just sleep in the snow later." He heads off to the showers.
"Brat," Joe mumbles, tossing the dripping bag into Max Caster's locker.
-x
Hook stands under the hot spray, breathing slowly. His back is aching a little more now that he's been moving around without the ice, but he doesn't think it's too serious. Waking up tomorrow might suck, his muscles will probably have seized up and leave him struggling just to get out of bed, but it'll be ok. He'll at least be home, and he and Orange can deal with their various aches and pains together. He turns slowly and lets the water beat down his back, flinching at the pressure against his sensitive muscles.
He washes his hair perfunctorily, then turns the water off, resting his head against the cool wall for a few moments before forcing himself to move. He steps out onto the cool floor, reaching out for the clothes he'd left there, just to pause, frowning at the pile. "What the hell..." he mumbles, lifting up the top item to get a good look at it. "Huh."
When he returns to the locker room a few minutes later, he glances from Shibata to Joe, holding out the sweatshirt he'd found on top of his clothes. "What's this?"
Joe barely glances away from the monitor, watching the rest of the show with a scrutinizing stare. "It's a mock up of my new sweater," he says. "Merch department forced it on me earlier, I don't want it, so you can have it." He waves a hand dismissively. "Maybe it'll help keep you warm when you're sleeping in the snow. Unless Orange feels weird about you wearing another man's shirt." He smirks.
Hook makes a face but smooths his hand over the thick fabric before pulling it on over his head, hissing as his back aches a little when he twists to get it on properly. "Shit," he mumbles, dropping back down onto the bench. His red eye is still a few hours away, and he's not sure how he's going to be able to handle the wait. He just wants to go home.
"Main event's starting," Joe says, still watching the monitor shrewdly.
Shibata sits next to Hook and holds his phone out towards him, Hook tilting his head and waiting for something to be said. When nothing happens, he finally turns to look at him and realizes that he's got a video call screen up instead of his translator. Shibata nods at him and Hook carefully takes the phone from him, staring down at it. He exhales when the screen lights up and Orange appears. "Hey," he says. "You're not Shibata."
Hook's lips twitch up and he shakes his head. "No, I'm not," he says quietly. "Hey, Orange."
"Hey," Orange smiles. "How are you?"
"Not great," he says. "Sore. Frustrated." He sighs, trying to roll some of the tension out of his shoulders. "How are you?"
Orange grimaces. "Sore and frustrated too. Your flight is in a couple of hours, right?"
Hook nods. "Yeah. I'll be home before the sun rises." He scrubs a hand through his hair and sighs. "I'll do my best not to wake you up."
"Don't worry about it," Orange says. "I'll be happy to see you no matter what hour."
"Ok," he says with a small smile. "How's my puppy?"
"Good," Orange says, shifting the phone to aim towards Rocco, whose eyes shift up to stare at the phone while he sprawls out on the couch, chewing at one of his many balls.
"Looks like he's having fun," Hook says.
"He is," Orange confirms. "Are you near a monitor? My feed is a little delayed from yours."
"Yeah," Hook says, turning the camera slowly to show Joe watching the main event, before turning it towards Shibata, who waves at Orange. "We're waiting for the show to end, for Dad."
"How'd Taz do with his first real travel day since the surgery?" Orange asks.
"He did good," Hook says. "You know him. He gets a goal in mind, and that's it. It's as good as done."
"I'm glad he was there for you tonight," Orange says.
"I wish you were here too," Hook admits. "But yeah, it was good to have Joe and Dad back." He makes a face at Joe when he holds his hand over his heart, overly dramatic, and turns back to the phone with a small smile. "Looks like the main event is wrapping up, I should go."
"Alright." Orange glances at the TV before turning back to the phone. "I'll see you soon. I love you."
Hook smiles. "I love you too." He holds onto the phone until the screen goes dark and quietly hands it back over to Shibata, who bows his head as he reclaims it. "Thanks," he says.
"So they're still disgusting," Joe says, glancing over at Shibata, who discreetly nods, looking innocent when Hook turns to stare at him.
Finally the main event ends and the three of them head out into the hall to wait for Taz. Eventually the show wraps up and Taz carefully makes his way backstage, looking at them over his shades. "Hey," he says, making his way to Hook.
"Hey."
"Back alright?" he asks, frowning a little as Hook rubs at his nose.
"I need to ice it later, but it's alright."
"He was supposed to ice it earlier, but nooo, of course not," Joe says, Taz sighing.
"C'mon, kiddo, let's get out of here," he says. "I wanna hit up that diner we saw near the highway. Get some food in you before our flight home."
Hook makes a face, but nods. "Alright," he sighs, glancing back at Joe and Shibata. "You guys coming?"
"Yes," Shibata says.
"Is Taz paying?" Joe asks, smirking as Taz glowers at him. "What? You can afford it."
"Oh my god," Hook mumbles, motioning to Shibata. The two of them head for the exit while Joe and Taz argue behind them.
The diner is a cozy enough place, the warmth that greets them welcoming after spending even the few minutes it'd taken to drive from the arena to here. The menu contains a special all day breakfast selection, and Hook stares at that while the others choose their meals, a waitress bringing sodas for Joe and Hook, a coffee for Taz, and tea for Shibata. "Have you decided?" she asks, standing ready with her notepad and pen.
Joe selects a bacon cheeseburger, Taz a meatloaf plate, and after some thought, Shibata chooses a chicken breast meal. They all turn their attention onto Hook, who's still sitting, staring at his menu. "Got something, kid?" Joe asks, tapping his fingers impatiently.
"Oh," Hook mumbles, glancing up and realizing he's the only one who hadn't ordered yet, flushing a little under their stares. "Uh. I'll take two eggs and toast," he says, folding the menu up and handing it over. "Thanks."
"Hang on," Taz says, stopping the waitress. "Sorry. Just a sec." He casts a knowing look at his son, well aware of his worst habits before a match like tonight's, and frowns. "Did you eat anything else today?"
Hook huffs, staring down at the table. "Dad, c'mon," he mumbles.
"Tyler," Taz says.
Hook flinches and slumps down. "No," he admits.
Joe rolls his eyes and looks at the waitress. "Add sausages to his," he says.
"And the loaded hash browns," Taz adds.
The waitress looks at Shibata, as if expecting him to add something too. "Two hot cakes," he suggests.
She glances at Hook. "Alright?"
He sighs. "Fine."
She scribbles all of this down and forces a smile. "Alright," she says. "I'll be back soon with your orders."
"I can't eat all of that," Hook grumbles, the purest sign of misery as Joe and Taz exchange glances.
"Of course you can," Taz says. "You're always starving after a big match. What's different about this?"
Hook mumbles something into the collar of his sweatshirt, not legible to any of them.
"Tyler," Taz says. "My hearing is shit for various reasons, so please speak up. I want to know what's eating at you. No pun intended," he adds quickly, scowling at Joe before he can say anything to derail this further.
"I was so close," he finally speaks up. "I should've done more to keep Nick and Kip at bay. If I had just... I don't know. Done something differently, they wouldn't have been able to get him out of the Redrum. You were right there watching all of it, and I promised I'd get back at them for you, but... I fucked it up. I failed. I didn't... I would've done anything to keep from disappointing you like that."
Taz sits with this for a few moments, Shibata and Joe watching them quietly. "Tyler," he says finally, "Look at me."
Time passes, tense, each second feeling like it's lasting forever, Hook pale and visibly bracing himself for what's to come as he finally looks up and meets his father's eyes.
"You listen to me," Taz says, leaning forward and resting a hand on the table between them. "I know you've been struggling to get your balance back since retiring the FTW title. Then a week later, Christian attacked me. Either of those things would've been enough for you to be vulnerable to his bullshit, alright? Those two things happened so close together, and you still didn't flinch once," he says. "And you were seconds away from knocking his ass out tonight, that's why he panicked and had to call in Kip and Nick before he passed out. Trust me, that's more than enough for me. You're not a disappointment, you're not a failure. I said it on commentary earlier, and I'm going to say it again right here, right now. I am so proud of you, Tyler, and I always will be."
Hook breathes deeply, staring back at Taz. "Yeah?"
"Yeah, of course," Taz says. "Look how many people have fallen prey to Christian's crap the last few years. You're the only one who didn't waver once despite it all, no matter what he did or said. You're the strongest person I know, kiddo. I never want you to doubt that, alright?"
Hook nods. "Alright," he murmurs. "I'll... I'll do my best to hold onto that."
"Good," Taz says, shifting backwards and moving his hand out of the way as the waitress returns with a large tray, placing plates down in front of them. Once she's done, he points his fork at Hook. "Now eat."
Hook's lips twitch upwards. "Yessir," he says, staring down at the overwhelming amount of food in front of him before pouring syrup over the hotcakes, digging in after taking a deep breath.
Outside of Joe stealing a couple of the sausages off of Hook's plate until Taz smacks his hand away when he goes for a third, the two of them glaring at each other until Shibata interrupts by pushing some of his fries onto Joe's plate, Hook succeeds at eating everything else, leaning back against the seat with a sigh and watching the others finish their meals.
Taz examines Hook as he drinks the last of his coffee. "How are you feeling now?"
Hook considers this for a minute. "Better," he admits. His back still hurts, but his mind feels clearer. A weight that he didn't even fully realize was there has eased. Not completely, but enough.
Taz nods. "Alright, kiddo, let's get you home," he says, standing up and digging his wallet out. He glares pointedly at Joe as he walks over to the counter to pay, Joe looking amused and smug as he finishes off his soda.
The three of them hang out by the door while Taz finishes up, Hook showing Shibata new pictures of Rocco while they wait. "All around, a very successful evening," Joe says cheerfully, clapping Shibata on the back.
"Yes," Shibata says, smiling down at one of the more recent pictures taken of Rocco and Orange fast asleep together. "He gets along with the puppy now, yes?"
"Yeah," Hook says with a smile. "I knew he would eventually."
Shibata nods and they look up as Taz joins them. "Ready to go?" he asks, shrugging into his coat with some help from Hook. "Next stop, the airport."
"Yes," they all say, eager to get home.
-x
The apartment is dimly lit as Hook unlocks the front door as quietly as possible and enters, pushing it shut behind him and relocking it. He sets his luggage down by the couch and stretches, still sore and stiff after the flight to get from Ohio to New York. He knows he should get some ice, but he's still chilled from being outside, so he shrugs out of his coat, toeing his shoes off by the door.
Once he's a little more comfortable, he makes his way down the hall to his and Orange's bedroom, making his way carefully over to the bed. He lays down slowly, trying not to jostle Orange or Rocco as he settles back against the pillows. He breathes deeply and closes his eyes, smiling when Orange stirs and rolls towards him, draping an arm around his waist and cuddling in close, his head tucked under Hook's chin.
"You're home," he mumbles.
"Yeah," Hook says, breathing Orange in as he wraps an arm around him and holds him. "Missed you."
"I missed you too," Orange murmurs.
They lay quietly for awhile, Hook drifting off slowly, until-
"Why are you wearing a Samoa Joe shirt?"