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With time, Hook's symptoms ease. He doesn't need Dramamine just to function anymore, his dizziness fades. With a couple more days, he's able to play with Rocco almost normally. He still tires easily, but it's progress. It makes him optimistic that Wednesday will go fine. That he'll carry his weight against the Death Riders. That he won't let Joe and Shibata down.
Orange watches him pack, holding Rocco against his leg. "So, Boston, huh?" he asks.
"Yep," Hook says, stuffing a couple of pairs of pants in before sitting up and staring at Orange with a small smile. "Gonna miss me?"
"Like you really have to ask," Orange says, stretching his leg out and pressing his toes against Hook's hip, nudging playfully. "Think you'll be able to pass medical?"
Hook frowns and sighs. "Well, I'm going to try," he says. "It's all I can do, you know?"
Orange sighs and nudges at his hip a little harder. He understands, even if he may not like it. He's done things as risky, if not worse, than this while defending the International title, so he really can't judge Hook. If anything, however, it makes him worry more.
Hook smiles wryly and rests his hand over Orange's foot, stilling his toes. "Don't make me tickle you," he says.
"You wouldn't dare," Orange says, aghast. "I'm injured."
"True," Hook concedes, squeezing his foot gently. "Fine. I'll keep track of this and catch up with you once your pec's healed. How's that sound?"
"Like torture," Orange says, grimacing as Hook's grin grows, his dimples showing. It's been awhile, Orange leans back and enjoys the view as Rocco yips and leaps towards Hook, panting happily.
"Hi, little guy," Hook laughs, hoisting Rocco up and kissing his forehead. "Are you gonna have fun with Orange while I'm gone?"
Rocco licks at him, panting happily.
"Gonna take that as a yes," he chuckles, tucking Rocco in close. He rocks him back and forth and looks over at Orange, exhaling slowly.
Orange stares back at him. "What's up?"
"I know this might be a little too much to ask," he says slowly, rubbing Rocco's ears.
"But?"
"But could you tell me that things are going to be alright?" Hook asks quietly. "Tonight. With the trios titles. I... guess I just need some reassurance, considering how last week went."
Orange's face softens. "Everything's going to be fine, Hook," he says.
Hook nods, lips twitching up slightly. "Thanks," he says softly, enthusiastically rubbing Rocco's tummy as the little guy squirms and pants happily. He gets up after a couple of minutes of that, Rocco immediately flopping over and watching him, loafing on the bed contentedly. Hook chuckles at him as he collects his bag and heads to the top of the bed, leaning in to kiss Orange slowly. "I'll call you after the show," he promises.
Something weighs on Orange, maybe the lingering seriousness of their conversation earlier, and he curls his fingers around Hook's neck, drawing him back in for a longer, deeper kiss. "You'd better," he murmurs, kissing Hook again before letting him go.
"Not making it easy on me," Hook sighs before brushing his hand restlessly through his hair. One last pet for Rocco and he heads for the door, turning to wink at Orange. "Wish me luck."
"Good luck," Orange says obligingly, watching him leave, still feeling strange as the door clicks shut.
-x
It's not the first time that Hook and Taz have roadtripped to a show, neither of them quite willing to risk anything going wrong by taking a flight, especially considering Hook's condition still being a little shaky after last week. Hook drives the longest, but Taz takes over the last portion of the ride. They make it to Boston with plenty of time, making their way downtown to the hotel to get checked in before the show.
Once they're checked in and inside their room, Hook drops down onto the foot of the bed. "Hey, I think I'm gonna hang out here for awhile, maybe take a little nap before the show. I'll get an uber to the arena, you should go on ahead."
Taz frowns and looks over at him. "Everything ok? You feeling alright?" He reaches over to check his son's temperature and Hook sits still, patiently allowing it.
"Yeah," he says. "I'm fine. Just... you know, wanna take it a little easy before the trios match later. Why risk it, right?"
"Hm, yeah, guess that makes sense," Taz says, letting his hand drop from Hook's forehead. "Well, give me a call or something when you're heading in. I'll see you later, kiddo."
"Will do, dad," Hook says, sitting there and watching as his dad collects a couple of things and then leaves, lifting his hand in a quick wave as he goes. Hook sets his alarm for an hour and a half and kicks his shoes off, crawling into bed and curling up under the sheets. It's not the worst bed he's ever been in, and he dozes off pretty quickly, tired out after the last week of doing all he can to recover, to be at the top of his game for the trios match.
He drifts in and out at times, people in neighboring rooms a little loud, but he gets a decent amount of sleep, feeling a little steadier by the time his alarm goes off. He stretches and yawns, shutting it off before sitting up. "Alright, time to go," he mutters, checking his appearance in the mirror before grabbing his backpack and scheduling an uber.
While he waits, he texts his dad that he's up and on his way to the arena. He taps his finger against his phone case before exhaling. Sends another text to Shibata, echoing basically what he'd told Taz. Finally, the uber pulls up and Hook pockets his phone, walking up to it.
The drive to the arena is average, Hook nodding to the driver as he gets out of the car. He checks his backpack and adjusts his hoodie before walking towards the building. He's just through the door when he hears something behind him, only just turning around to see a streak of black in his peripheral, squaring up for a fight- just to get slammed from behind with something solid. There's a sharp pain up the back of his skull and then everything goes dark.
-x
"The hell is he?" Joe asks, glancing over at Shibata. "How long ago did he text? The hotel isn't that far away."
"A little over 20 minutes," Shibata says, frowning down at his phone. "I will go look for him."
Joe frowns. "I have a bad feeling, I'm gonna come with you."
Shibata nods and they move together down the hall, keeping a close eye out for any sign of Hook. Joe leads the way to the side door they'd been directed to use, still looking around, when Shibata stops short. "Hook?" he asks, not even bothering with his phone's translator as he lunges forward.
Joe curses, seeing familiar sneakers poking out of the shadows and follows Shibata over, scrubbing at his face as he turns the flashlight on his phone on and traces it up Hook's prone body, stopping on his slack face. "Fuck," he mutters. "Shibata, stay with him, I'm going to get Samson."
Shibata nods, resting a hand on Hook's chest, feeling him breathing in and out shallowly. "You're ok," he says. "I am here." He winces, remembering last week. Hook begging him not to leave him alone, that he didn't want a repeat of when they'd left him last year and he'd gotten fireball'd. "I am sorry," he says. Something comes to him and he tugs his phone out, texting Taz.
He's still kneeling there when he hears footsteps rushing up to them, instinctively standing protectively in front of Hook until he sees that it's Joe and Samson, Taz behind them. "What the fuck happened?" Taz demands, voice cold and dangerous, echoing off of the walls around him.
"Don't know," Joe says. "He texted Shibata when he was leaving to come to the arena, then we didn't hear anything. It was taking too long so we came to look and found him like this."
Dr. Samson is leaning down, lightly tapping at Hook's face, trying to get him to regain consciousness. There's no response from him and Samson grows more and more concerned, pulling his phone out. "He's been unconscious for too long," he says. "I'm calling the ambulance in for him."
As he calls, Shibata and Joe exchange grim glances, Taz's lips pressed tightly together. "What the hell happened to my son? What fucker did this?"
"Death Riders, I'd guess," Joe says grimly.
"We should have met him when we knew he was coming," Shibata says, frowning darkly.
Taz looks like he's about to say something but then the EMS come up with a stretcher, preparing to transport Hook. Taz grits his teeth and stands nearby, watching the men tend to his son. By the time they have him in motion towards the doors where the ambulance is parked, waiting, Taz storms up to where Joe and Shibata are standing and pokes at Joe violently. "You listen to me," he snaps. "I don't care what you gotta do. You make sure you get those belts off those assholes, yeah?"
"Yeah," Joe says, staring Taz in the eye, determined. Angry. "We will, Taz. They won't be champs for much longer."
"We will be by after the show to check in on him," Shibata says when Taz turns to look at him.
Taz looks far from appeased, but he squares his shoulders and storms off after his son to make sure he gets to the hospital alright.
Joe and Shibata exchange glances. "C'mon, we got work to do," Joe grumbles, storming off in the opposite direction.
Shibata hesitates, peering back towards where the ambulance sirens are still audible, before sighing and turning to follow Joe.
-x
Taz sits in the hospital room, watching Hook breathe slowly, his eyelids fluttering. He's been in and out since they'd arrived, barely with it whenever he does claw his way back to consciousness, and Taz feels sick, holding his hand loosely. "I'm here, Tyler," he mutters, seeing his son's eyes open again. "It's gonna be ok, kiddo."
"Dad," Hook mumbles, fingers restlessly flexing in Taz's hand.
"Hey, yeah, I'm here," Taz says, standing up and leaning over so Hook can see him easier. "Good to see you awake, kiddo."
Hook grimaces and blinks slowly. "Dad," he mutters. "The- the..." He wrinkles his nose, struggling. "Trios..." He sighs and slumps deeper into his pillows, energy failing.
Taz dips his head forward, eyes dark and pained as he examines his son's face. "Sorry, kiddo. That's not in the cards right now." He strokes Hook's knuckles, gritting his teeth at the reality of Hook losing out on this opportunity. "Fuck. I'm so sorry." Finding Hook slipping back under, he sits back down and pulls his phone out of his pocket, reluctant to make this call. Hating having to relay this information.
He calls Orange first, listening to the ringing sound with growing dread. Finally it clicks and Orange says, "Hey, Taz," a strange tone to his voice. "What's up?"
Taz breathes in deeply and looks back over at Hook. "Orange," he says grimly. "Hook's in the hospital. We think Death Riders got him when he was walking into the arena earlier. Head injury, we're not sure how severe yet. I'm about to call his mama, but I wanted to talk to you first."
Orange doesn't say anything for a long, painful moment. "He... is he awake?"
"No," Taz says. "He's been in and out of it since we got him to the hospital. I think... you should come. But lemme talk to T first. You can come up together. I don't want either of you to be alone. Alright?"
"Yeah," Orange says, strangled. "Yeah. Sure. I'll... I'll wait."
"Alright, son," Taz says. "Just breathe. It's gonna be ok." He looks back at his son, troubled. "I'll call you back after I figrue some things out with T."
"Ok," Orange says faintly. "Thanks, Taz."
Taz hangs up and sits for a second, still struggling just to find the words. Especially with T, when they'd both been so worried for Hook already after the concussion last week. He's distracted further when Hook turns his head against the pillow, whimpering lowly. "Hey, it's ok," he says, resting his hand lightly over Hook's. "You're gonna be alright, kiddo. Your mama and Orange'll be here soon."
-x
Orange exhales shakily, his hands twisting together as he holds Rocco close, waiting. Eventually, there's a knock at the door and he rushes over, answering it to find Mrs. Senerchia there. She stares at him, eyes wide and wet, and Orange steps aside to let her in. "James," she says shakily, holding her arms out. He doesn't even hesitate, just tucks himself and Rocco in to her, hugging back as best as he can with his injured arm. "A head injury," she murmurs into his hair, sounding as dazed as he feels.
"Yeah," he says. "Uh. Yeah. You drove, right?"
She nods. "Yes. Are you ready to go?" One bonus about AEW touring around New England is that it's not a horrible drive, although Orange feels guilty that his arm is still too busted for him to drive for long periods, so he won't be much help.
"I am," he says, relieved when Mrs. Senerchia helps him collect a couple of Rocco's things that he couldn't manage with one hand. They could've left the puppy with someone and flown, but neither were willing to do that, especially since they weren't sure if they could find someone to take him on such short notice. Nor really knew how long they would be in Massachusetts. "Getting a little too used to these unexpected road trips, aren't you, little guy?" Orange asks, feeling more than a little choked up as he thinks about driving to Pennsylvania with Hook for Dynasty weekend, and how quickly things went wrong after that.
Rocco whines and looks up at him, clearly feeding off of their emotions.
"It's gonna be ok," he soothes him. "We'll get to Hook, and he'll be alright."
"Come on, boys," Mrs. Senerchia says softly. "Let's get on the way, sooner we go, sooner we'll be there with Tyler."
"Yes ma'am," Orange says, squeezing Rocco close as he follows her out the door, pausing long enough to double check the locks on the door before they walk to the elevator. He's just desperate to be with Hook, to make sure he's going to be ok.
-x
Taz sits next to Hook's bed quietly. He notices when the clock strikes 8, Dynamite now on, but he doesn't even consider turning the TV in the corner on. He just sits and holds Hook's hand and pays attention to him, observing when he regains consciousness, when he drifts back off, and everything in between. Nurses and doctors are in and out, examining Hook, checking his vitals regularly, testing his awareness whenever he's awake. They keep Taz informed of any changes, but so far, he's holding steady, responding a little more each time, so Taz takes it for what it is.
Based on texts, Orange and his wife should be arriving soon, Taz sighing and scrubbing his hand over his face, looking grimly at his son. "Dammit, kid," he breathes, wondering if this is how Hook felt after he'd gotten taken out in the parking lot by Christian Cage and the rest of those assholes months back. Helpless, and angry, and just kinda ill, watching and waiting for answers.
It's almost 9 PM by the time Orange and Mrs Senerchia arrive, Orange hovering by the doorway, watching with a tense, horrible look on his face as she moves immediately to Hook's side, gentle and careful as she presses a kiss to his cheek, searching his face. "Peter," she says, choked.
"Hey, T," he says, standing to hug her. "He's hanging in there. Been sleeping a lot, but that's probably a good thing. His vitals have been stable. Doctor's optimistic, he'll be in to talk to us again in a little bit, you both can ask him questions then."
Mrs Senerchia nods, staring at her son. "Alright," she says quietly. Turning, she glances back at Orange. "James," she says, motioning towards him. "Come in here."
As he ventures in, she reaches her hand out towards him and he shudders, taking it and allowing her to draw him closer to the bed. "Hook," he exhales, looking at his boyfriend.
Mrs Senerchia wraps an arm around his shoulder, staring down at Hook too. "My poor boy," she murmurs, eyes sad and a little wet.
Orange exhales shakily and brushes a hand against Hook's chest, tentative. Unsure where to touch that won't hurt him, or disturb his rest. Feeling his breathing, steady and deep, under his fingers does comfort Orange at least a little. Mrs Senerchia sits on a chair next to the bed and curls her fingers around Hook's lax hand, watching him while Orange sits gingerly on the bed next to him. "Hey, handsome," he says quietly. "I'm here, your mama's here. It's... it's gonna be alright."
"We dropped Rocco off at the hotel," she says shakily. "Asleep in his carrier. Fresh bowl of food and water waiting for him. When you're... when you're released from here, you can see him."
Hook doesn't respond to their voices and Orange exhales, smoothing his fingers over Hook's shirt before looking up at Taz. "Death Riders?"
"Think so," he says grimly. "Waiting for word from security, but seems likely."
"Please don't talk about that right now," Mrs Senerchia says. "Not where he can hear."
"Ok," Taz acquises. "Sorry, T. Just... you know."
She doesn't say anything, but her eyes flicker from her son to her husband and back, and he knows. She does.
None of them are sure how long it's been when Hook stirs again, letting out a weary little breath. "Dad?" he mumbles, fumbling for the weight pressing against his chest. He blinks in recognition as soon as he grazes his fingers over it, slowly looking over to find Orange next to him, his mom sitting close to the bed. "Oh."
Orange smiles down at him, continuing to stroke his hand. "Hi, handsome. Glad to see those eyes again."
"Orange," he murmurs, reaching out towards him. Orange obligingly leans over and gently hugs him. "It... I..." He sniffs, then looks over Orange's shoulder at his dad. Taz is staring at his phone and Hook exhales, not liking the look on his face. "Dad, is it... Is it over?"
Taz sighs and looks up. "Yeah, kiddo. It's over."
"Did they win?"
"Yeah, Tyler." Taz pockets his phone and stands up, resting his hand over his son's foot, squeezing it gently. "They won."
"By themselves?" Hook asks, still confused, in awe that it's happened- the Opps are trios champs, the-
"No, uh. They, they asked Hobbs to step in. The three of them won, kiddo."
Hook blinks, then says quietly, "Oh."
Orange stares at him, a sick feeling growing within him as Hook takes this in, still groggy, still hurt, and now...
Mrs Senerchia makes a soft noise as Hook, slow and uncoordinated, clearly still in pain, shifts, struggling to roll over onto his side, his back to the rest of them.
"Easy, easy," Orange murmurs, trying to help support him as he moves. "There you go." Once he helps Hook move safely onto his side, he sighs and rests a hand on Hook's shoulder, rubbing up and down his arm slowly. "It's gonna be ok, Hook."
Hook doesn't respond and his parents exchange a troubled glance as Orange continues to sit there, trying to quietly comfort him. Some time has passed when Taz's phone lets out a shrill little noise, attracting everyone's attention.
"Sorry," he mutters, pulling it out and staring at it for a long, tense moment. Before anyone can ask, he stands up. "Gonna go out and get some air. Orange, why don't you come with me, give Hook a minute with his mama?"
Orange really doesn't want to go, but there's a tone in Taz's voice that makes him hesitate in denying him, and he slowly stands. "Alright," he says, leaning over to kiss the side of Hook's face. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He glances over his shoulder as he follows Taz out, watching Mrs Senerchia take his place on the bed next to her son, and he aches for Hook. Sighing, he waits until they're in the main hallway, heading out towards the exit, before asking. "What's going on?"
Taz shakes his head, eyes dark and grim as he glances over at Orange. They walk the rest of the way in silence, and Orange falters upon stepping out into the parking lot to find Joe and Shibata waiting, tense looks on their faces. "Hey," Taz says, walking up to them. "What'd you find?"
"Security sent the footage in to us," Joe says. "Not really clear, but you get the gist." He holds his phone out and Taz stares at it, lips tight. Orange isn't sure he wants to watch this, but he thinks he owes Hook this much, so he stands behind Taz, watching as well.
The footage is grainy, not exactly focused on the right spot to see everything, but they all notice as Hook walks into the arena on the edge of the screen. Then he slows, as if hearing something, and looks around as Yuta steps out of the shadows and distracts him- in time for Marina to come up, a flash of silver just visible behind Hook before he collapses. "Shit," Taz breathes out, tense. "She clocked him with the briefcase."
"Yes, she did," Joe says through gritted teeth. "Fucking cowards."
Orange's hands clench into tight fists at his sides, barely registering the sharp sting of pain from his injured arm, and Shibata shifts next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. It's only then that Orange realizes he's trembling with anger, gasping out a sharp breath after not breathing for the last couple of minutes. "Dammit," he hisses.
"I feel ya," Taz says. "Fuck." The four of them stand in a tense circle, staring at the video as it repeats.
Afterwards, Joe digs his hands into his pocket, staring off into the distance. "We're not going in," he says after a few minutes, glancing over to Taz. "Visiting hours are over, and all. Don't want to disturb him. But this isn't going to be forgotten, we'll handle it. You tell him that."
"I will," Taz says. He nods grimly towards Joe. "Thanks for bringing the footage. Wasn't really something we didn't already guess at, but it's good to know for sure."
Joe nods. "We'll talk later. Shibata and I are gonna go and get some sleep before our flights tomorrow."
"Alright. Bye," Taz says, watching them walk off towards their rental. He sighs heavily and turns to look at Orange. "Ready to go back in?"
Orange exhales slowly, then nods. "Yeah. I am." They walk back to the hospital, about to head back to Hook's room when they notice Mrs Senerchia standing off to the side, a slice of fear stopping both of them in their tracks.
"T?" Taz asks, walking up to her. "What's going on?"
"Oh, Peter," she says, reaching out and lacing her fingers through his. "Uh, they want to keep Tyler overnight for observation, so they're moving him upstairs to a room." Her lips tremble for a minute before she shakes her head, steadying herself. "They made me wait out here while they get ready to move him."
"Ah," Taz says, walking up to her and rubbing her back. "That's good, he'll be taken care of here. We can go back to the hotel and come back in the morning to see how he's doing."
"But I don't want to leave him alone," Mrs Senerchia says plaintively.
"I'll stay," Orange speaks up before Taz can respond. She turns to look at him, but before any of them can say or do anything else, Hook's door opens and his bed is rolled out into the hallway. He's still curled up tight on his side and Orange steps forward, his chest aching as he looks down at him. Hook looks so vulnerable right now. "Excuse me," he says to one of the nurses. "I know that visiting hours are over, and we're supposed to leave soon, but is it possible... Can I stay with him tonight?"
She stares at him, her eyes flickering down to his arm in its sling, then looking back at Hook. She mulls it over, glancing at the other nurse at the top of the bed. "We'll bring you a cot," she says finally, moving to continue transport.
Orange exhales and turns back to Hook's parents, Mrs Senerchia looking relieved and teary as she walks up to him. "Thank you, James," she says quietly, cupping his face. "Thank you so much for not leaving him alone tonight." She leans up and kisses him on the forehead.
He smiles at her. "It's going to be ok, Teresa," he tells her, hugging her back when she wraps her arms around him. "He's gonna be ok."
She nods and pulls away, wiping at her face. "Thank you," she says softly.
"C'mon, T," Taz says, wrapping an arm around her and turning her in the direction Hook's bed's been pushed. "Let's go with Tyler, we'll tell him goodnight, and then we'll go try to get some sleep."
She nods and the three of them walk towards the elevators, catching up with Hook's bed. Mrs Senerchia rests a hand on Hook's shoulder, rubbing lightly before they have to shuffle aside to make room for the bed. The nurses are quick and efficient once they're out of the elevator, pushing Hook into the room selected for him, and the one that had talked to Orange earlier turns to him. "We'll be in in a little bit with your cot."
"Thanks," he says as she and the other nurse bustle back off.
Mrs Senerchia brushes Hook's hair out of his eyes and presses another kiss to his forehead, lingering for a minute. "We're gonna go get some sleep, baby boy," she says softly. "James is going to stay with you, and we'll see you in the morning."
Taz comes up to the bed and squeezes Hook's hand. "You be good for the nurses," he says, the worry deep in his eyes as he looks down at his son. "We'll see you tomorrow."
Hook doesn't really react and Orange thinks he may have actually fallen asleep at some point, which he isn't too surprised by after everything he's been through, and the pain meds.
"If you need anything," Mrs Senerchia says to Orange, "call us."
He nods. "I will. I'll see you in the morning."
She smiles shakily and pats his cheek. "Good night, James."
"Good night, Teresa."
Taz walks up to them. "Know it isn't gonna be easy, but try to get some sleep, Orange."
He nods. "I'll do my best. You both too."
Mrs Senerchia smiles wearily at him, casting one last look back at Hook, before hesitantly leaving, Taz at her side.
Orange watches them go before scrubbing a hand over his face, turning back to the bed. He's still standing there, listening to Hook breathe, when one of the nurses from earlier returns with a cot, setting it up for him. "Thank you," he says.
"You're welcome," she says. "Good night." She checks Hook's vitals once more before leaving, shutting the door quietly behind her.
Orange looks from the cot to Hook, thinking about how much space there is next to him as he lays on his side, curled up tight. He shrugs his good arm and walks between the cot and hospital bed, carefully pulling the sheets back and slipping in after kicking his shoes off. He scoots up against Hook and wraps his arm around him, holding him close.
Hook makes a soft, sleepy noise, sounding a little distressed even in his sleep, and Orange presses a kiss to the back of his neck. "It's just me," he soothes him. "You're ok, go back to sleep, handsome."
Hook breathes in sharply and shifts, but before Orange can worry, he presses his hand to Orange's, fitting his fingers between Orange's and squeezing lightly, some of the tension seeping from his body as he settles back against the pillows and drifts back off, his breathing turning deep and steady once more.
"That's it," Orange murmurs, kissing him again before laying his head back down as well. "That's my guy."
He doesn't know if sleep will come easily tonight, but it helps to be next to Hook, feeling him breathing, comforted by the warmth of his back pressed to Orange's chest while they hold hands.