It's Thursday morning. Hook should be home soon, Orange had received the notice that his plane had landed, and he thinks that they'll have a fair bit to talk about, so he's been wasting time tossing one of Rocco's many balls to him, keeping his mind occupied from everything going on. Rocco yips and tosses the ball and it goes a little far, landing next to the digital clock on the table next to the couch. Orange blinks and reaches over for it, before registering the time. "Wait, what?" he mutters, forgetting the puppy for a little bit as he registers that it's been almost an hour since Hook's plane landed.

He grabs his phone and thumbs through, frowning upon finding no new texts waiting for him. He gently nudges Rocco aside and stands up. Where are you? he texts Hook, scraping his fingers over his beard as he waits. No response comes and he grimaces, kneeling down to rest a hand on Rocco's forehead, the puppy squirming around uncertainly at his feet. "Hey, little guy, I gotta go outside for a minute. You stay here, alright? I'll be back soon."

Rocco whines and tilts his head, staring up at Orange in confusion, but Orange just pets him for a few more seconds before standing back up. "Alright," he mumbles, heading for the door. "Where are you, Hook?" He takes the stairs down to the main floor and steps outside, turning in a slow circle. Sometimes Hook will have a lot on his mind and sit outside on the steps, working on how to word a future video promo, but he isn't in his usual spot and Orange's worry grows as he glances back up at the building. "Dammit."

Something clicks with him and he heads back inside, going up to their floor. He glancing at their apartment door before turning and heading back down the hall. The window leading out to the fire escape is open slightly, and he grimaces, realizing that his second suspicion is correct. "Alright," he mumbles, pushing the window open the rest of the way and climbing out onto the steel grating. He looks around, then down, and sure enough, there Hook is, staring blankly out at the buildings across from theirs, his knees hugged to his chest. Orange sighs and leans against the building, slumping down to sit next to him. "Hey," he says after a few moments, examining Hook's face.

Hook exhales slowly. "Hey," he says.

Orange frowns when Hook still doesn't bother to de-tangle himself, scooting closer to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Hook mumbles into his knees. He sits for a few moments before glancing over at Orange. "It's cold, you should go back inside."

"Not until you come with me," Orange says.

Hook sighs, finally sitting back and stretching his legs out in front of him. "You saw Joe's promo," he says quietly, more a statement than question.

"I did," Orange says. "New team name, and a potential title opportunity. I'd have thought you'd be happier about it."

Hook grimaces. "I guess I thought I would be too," he admits slowly. "It's just... it..." He sighs. "Joe called me his brother."

Orange nods, watching him closely. He's tempted to say something, but he thinks if he does it'll distract Hook from his own thoughts. Keep him from speaking out about the emotions that are weighing him down right now.

"When I was a kid, I... I wondered a lot about what it would be like to have a brother," Hook muses. "It was pretty much just me and Mom, Dad was always traveling around for wrestling, and I... I was pretty lonely." He bites his lower lip. "I guess it kinda... clicked, when Joe said it. Cause, yeah. He is like a brother to me. And I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not."

Orange frowns. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because," Hook sighs heavily. "I... I'm not great with family. You've heard Dad, I don't respond to texts, and I... I've just completely fucked it all up the last few months, Dad needed me and I wasn't there, and Christian... Christian got him because of it, and I still can't get revenge for all of that shit, and it's been months. If I fuck up and fail Joe too..." He shakes his head, gritting his teeth. "He says he wants to end all of this with Christian once and for all and then go after the trios titles, but..."

"But," Orange says quietly, feeling like he knows where this is going.

"But I was a shitty champion while I held the FTW title, and I don't think Joe realizes just how bad things were towards the end," Hook says. "Dad had to take it back before I tarnished its legacy any further, and..." He shakes his head. "He and Shibata deserve a better partner than me."

"I'd say they don't agree with that," Orange says softly. "Joe could have come back and gone after Jericho for what he did last summer. He could've gone after Mox for the world title. But he didn't, he came back to help you against Christian. That tells me a lot, right there. I know the last few months haven't been easy for you, but Joe and Shibata still want to team with you. And Taz doesn't hold it against you, anything that's happened the last few months. We all know you're doing your best."

"It's not enough," Hook mumbles, folding back in on himself and shaking his head. "Just isn't enough."

Orange sighs and wraps an arm around him, tugging him in close, pressing a kiss to the top of Hook's head. "You expect too much of yourself," he murmurs, brushing his fingers through Hook's hair. "I've had a shitty few months too, and you never look at me like this."

"Of course not," Hook says, tensing under Orange's fingers. "It's different, though-"

"How?" Orange asks. "I've lost every title opportunity I had, I've gotten myself injured repeatedly between Mox and Page, I've been absolutely no help to you or Taz in everything you both have been going through, but you and your family never faltered in taking care of me, even when it ruined the holidays. I don't see why it's ok for you all to help me out even when I'm at my lowest, but Joe and Shibata can't do the same for you."

"I hate when you talk all logical to me," Hook mumbles, turning and pressing his face into Orange's neck.

Orange huffs out a soft laugh and begins running his hands through Hook's hair, adjusting subtly until they're both more comfortable. "Well, someone has to," he teases gently. They sit for awhile until Hook pulls back and looks up at him. "Wanna go inside?"

"Yeah," he sighs, leaning in to kiss Orange really quickly before standing up. "C'mon." He holds a hand out to Orange, helping him up to his feet. "Fuckin' cold out here."

"Yeah," Orange says dryly. "Get you inside and cuddled up with Rocco, and I'll make hot chocolate."

"You're too good to me," Hook mumbles, grabbing his backpack off of the grating and pushing the window up a bit, stepping out into their hallway. He turns, holding it in place as Orange follows him through. They walk side by side down the hall to their door and Orange unlocks it, holding it open while Hook reaches down and snags Rocco, holding him close. "Hey, there, little guy," he says, kissing the puppy between the eyes. "How are you?"

Rocco squirms and yips and licks at Hook, happy.

"Pretty good, huh? Well, I'm glad," Hook says, walking over to the couch with him and dropping down onto the cushions with a sigh as Orange wanders into the kitchen. He comes back a few minutes later with steaming mugs and Hook smiles up at him, taking his while Rocco nuzzles in, steadily growing sleepy as Hook brushes his fingers down his back in lazy strokes. "Thanks."

Orange nods. "My pleasure," he says, settling in next to them and sipping his drink slowly. "There is something we need to talk about."

Hook makes a curious noise and looks over at him, eyes dark and worried. "What's wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Orange says. "But you're not the only one with something big happening Wednesday." He swipes through his phone until he gets to his emails, holding it out to Hook.

Hook frowns and reads the email, before blinking and reading it through once more. "Oh," he says softly. "You're returning on Wednesday?"

"Yeah, I am," Orange says, shifting slightly. "I'm wrestling Roddy for an opportunity at Takeshita, for the International title."

"I'm glad you're cleared," Hook says, looking up at him. "And I'm glad you're getting another chance at that belt."

"Yeah, me too," Orange says. "But mostly I'm glad I'll be there for you Wednesday. Whatever comes."

Hook nods, blinking. "Yeah. Me too. It, uh. It's been fun, traveling with Joe and Shibata, don't get me wrong, but I... I've missed you."

Orange smiles. "I've missed you too," he says, reaching out for Hook's hand. Their fingers lace together and Orange sighs, squeezing gently. "It's going to be alright," he says.

"Yeah," Hook says. "Of course it is." He adjusts Rocco against him and reaches over for his mug before cuddling up close to Orange.

Orange hums and holds him, his mind wandering. His own path is pretty clear, for once, but Hook's... well. If he, Joe and Shibata succeed against Christian, Kip and Nick at Dynamite, then that means they have an opportunity for the Trios titles. Which means... the Death Riders. He thinks about Danielson, he thinks about himself. Smothered by a bag, suffering chemical burns because of cleaning agents poured down his throat so intense that he couldn't even eat or talk. Neither thing he would ever want Hook to suffer through. But he can't tell Hook not to do it because Hook never stepped in and demanded such things of him when he was chasing after Mox throughout the tail end of 2024, just supported him through the aftermath. At the very least Hook will have Joe and Shibata at his back, while Orange was all alone, and he'll have to hold onto that, hope that it'll be enough. That Hook will be safe through it all.

Come morning, Hook gets a phone call from Joe. Tony Khan had sanctioned the match against Christian, Kip and Nick, but had decided against the trios title stipulation. Joe clearly isn't thrilled with this, and Hook seems neutral about it, but Orange... well, Orange breathes easier. For now.