#danhausen would never do what jack did to hook

[jungleho0k]

junglehook breaking up during pride month is homophobic

[thesupreme316]

I’ll never be over with Jungle boy turn on hook

Therefore I’m in need for something, anything with either

- the reader being at ringside/ JB side when he turn ( in shock ex:when Seth turned on the shield and the reader having the same reaction as Dean/Jon did)

- Reader’s backstage reaction plus Anna Jay next to them ( reader could be angry and Anna having to hold them back;Confused( Reader and Anna are tag partners in this one); or no reaction as they felt that this was gonna happen

- Reader joining in on turning on Hook

- Reader taking it to Twitter like how Bowers and Danhausen did(love them for that😌)

- Reader being at the announcer table with Taz and him having to hold them down

- Or (personally my favourite) reader beating the ever loving shit out of Jungle Boy either the same night or the following Wednesday

The reader can be any gender, can be a champion

Much love ❤️

SHIT I DID ALL THE ABOVE AND YALL GONNA READ IT choose your adventure bitchesssss

You Reacting to Jungle Boy Turning on Hook:

Word Count: 1.5K

Supreme Speaks: hiii, i did all the above! I left Y/N gender-neutral and entirely up to the reader's design (i hope). Thank you to @hookerforhook for requesting this ❤️. I did both a heel and face reaction. Please know that you are loved and appreciated.

Warnings: things that are said about Jack Perry are not true and come from a very deep (AND HURT AND INSULTED) place within me, fake twitter pic, not proofread.

Taglist: @hookerforhook @hooks-martin @wwenhlimagines @sheinthatfandom

If you wanna be a heel:

You were backstage with your best friend, Anna Jay (who’s a part of JAS ew)

The two of you were watching Jack’s (Anna’s boyfriend and your other best friend) match against Sanada on the monitor

You were also watching Hook; a person you didn’t have any particular way of feeling towards

Nothing against him, just particularly didn’t care for him (imagine that) or this little partnership they have

At times you would help them out, evening the odds with JAS or other teams; but still no attachment to Hook (despite the media calling you the 3 Amigos)

Over the course of weeks, you knew something was gonna happen…you could just feel it

Jack was getting nastier and more aggressive over the past month

Maybe it was Christian getting under his skin, or the comparisons to Hook, or maybe even the doubtful opinions of the fans

But one thing is for sure, something was bound to happen this week

After Jack lost to Sanada, they were walking back up the ramp when Jack tackled Hook; resulting in the entire arena booing him and gasping

“Holy shit!” Anna exclaimed, not believing what she saw. She looked over at you for a reaction, but you didn’t have one. 
Not a single emotion ran through your body.

“Y/N? Are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here. I’m not surprised.” You said as Jack stood over Hook’s body. Then, an idea came into your head, making your eyes gleam with mischief. “But I’m gonna do something.” You started to walk away from Anna, towards the stage.

“Y/N! Be careful, and don’t be stupid!” Anna yelled as you went through the curtains.

And as if a switch went off in you, your emotionless face was replaced with a concerned one, making the crowd grow antsy yet sad. You looked at Jack with fear as you went over to “check” on Hook.

You got him up on his feet to the crowd cheering…but then the audience grew with anger as you delivered a roundhouse kick to Hook, knocking him back down again. Looking around the arena, you heard and saw all the negativity that was being thrown at you. You turned around to see Jack with a smile on his face, you two high-fived each other. Both you and Jack raised your hands in victory. As you two walked to the back, Taz was screaming at you and vowing that Hook would get his revenge.

You didn’t care.

It was just business….

nothing personal.

If you wanna be a face (this is much longer my bad):

You were in a tag team with Anna Jay (who was freed from the shackles from JAS)

The two of you held tag team championship gold (either a women’s tag team or a mixed tag team championship; whatever you choose)

On the other hand, you were really good friends with Hook and Jack Perry

Going to the point where JungleHook would team up with you and Anna to take on various teams

For Jack’s match at Forbidden Door against Sanada, Jack invited you and Anna to observe his match while Hook accompanied him

After your title defense earlier that night, you and Anna decided to take that offer

Instead of crowding the ring, you and Anna sat at the commentary table with Taz, Hook’s dad

After the match, you and Anna were gonna go up to Jack to comfort him

Until he attacked Hook, leaving everyone speechless and you with a beyond shocked look on your face (that also became a viral meme in the wrestling community)

Sidenote: like everyone and their momma referenced your picture like that one dude when Undertaker’s streak ended

Even though you were shocked and blindsided, you had to contain Taz, who was begging to punch Jack

“Nah! Nah! Lemme beat his ass! I’ll show him what’s up!” Taz said trying to get out of his seat. You took off your headphones and tried to hold him back. But as you turned around, you saw Jack gloating and making fun of Hook to the audience. Immediately, anger rose within you, making you jump out of your chair and almost over the table to get to Jack. But you were held back by Anna as Jack ran backstage.

Looking at her, something clicked in your mind, “Did you know?” You asked with betrayal and disbelief in your voice. The thought of one of your best friends would keep a secret this hurtful from you made you sick. Anna’s eyes widened as she shook her head.

“No! No! I didn’t know anything! I swear!” Anna said with her eyes pleading for you to believe her. You sighed as you and Taz walked over to Hook, who was making his way to his feet. The four of you went backstage as Hook put ice on his neck and Taz stared daggers into the floor. “Guys, I’m so sorry about that. I honestly didn’t know, and if I did I would have told you.”

You nodded your head, as you know that her words rang true. You just sighed before looking at Hook, who was fuming mad. “What do you wanna do now, Hook?

“I’m gonna kick the living shit out of him.” Hook said before turning to Anna. “I want to apologize to you in advance, cause after I’m done with him, you won’t be able to recognize your little boyfriend.”

Anna shrugged, “He has it coming. I just don’t want this to drive our friendship apart.” She looked at you for reassurance, but you were typing away on your phone. “Y/N?”

“Oh yeah, we’re good. I was tweeting something, but Anna, we’re okay.” You said putting your phone down. Immediately (just like your initial reaction) your tweet went viral as you told Hook that you have an idea. Hook turned to you, motioning for you to continue. You smirked as Taz and Anna both leaned in.

—Time Skip: Wednesday, AEW Dynamite—

Granted, seeing Jack like this was horrible (given the circumstances) but what is worst is this promo he was doing. He was dissing the audience and Hook all in one breath. To you and Anna (who was standing right beside you), it was unnatural, as if he was paid or brainwashed into doing this. Since Sunday, Anna hasn’t talked to Jack like they normally do. She’s still in love with him but is just confused and angry about the fact that she is placed in the center of the feud.

You on the other hand was mad as hell. If your face didn’t show it, your Twitter page sure did. You and Jack had a quick yet heated exchange on Twitter, with your tweets going viral just like your initial reaction.

It was safe to say as of right now it was you had 1 point and Jack also had 1 point.

“I’m still banging the hottest bitch in this place!” Jack said, making the crowd gasp and slightly cheer.

You shrugged your shoulders, quickly glancing at Anna. “I mean-he ain’t wrong.” You said making Anna giggle. “I don’t know why he had to refer to you as bitch.”

“Right! When I get to him, he’s gonna wish that Hook killed him.” Anna said through her teeth. As if it was right on cue, Hook’s theme song hit the arena and Hook quickly shuffled past you and Anna. “It’s go time,” Anna whispered.

Hook ran down the ramp and slid into the ring, right after Jack slipped out of the ring and started to run around the arena through the crowd. Hook was right on his tail, as he was a D1 athlete. They both made their way backstage where you quickly got into position. You told Anna to stay out of the plan as you didn’t want to complicate things for her.

Jack ran backstage and started to knock things down to trip Hook, he turned around to see if it worked (and to no one’s surprise, it did not). When he turned back around to start running again, he was met with your boot as you gave him a bicycle kick out of nowhere. The audience cheered very loudly for you as Jack laid across the concrete. Hook looked at you before he started to stomp his ribs. With no hesitation you joined him, hitting Jack with elbows, forearms, and eventually a steel chair.

You were separated by security briefly before Hook went around and duplexed Jack through the snack table. You delivered the final blow by performing a spinning back kick to Jack’s face before throwing him into the car he was gonna make his getaway in. You slammed the door and gave Hook a fist bomb. The crowd cheered even louder as you two walked out of the frame.

You and Hook started to trend as people really liked you teaming up against Jack. Now, one can only hope that this really doesn’t conflict with your friendship with Anna.

But until that moment comes, the score is…

You- 2

Jack- 1

[cannibalgh0st]

I've known for a long time now that one day your art and enthusiasm and great taste in tropes would pull me into some fandom I never thought I'd join, but I'll be honest, I always guessed it was going to be one of those live action Gotham shows. Sports feels so wholly, entirely out of left field that I don't even know how to react. I've been going through the backlog of Jungle Boy's lore and taking furious notes! Like, he lost his father, then his father figure mentor turned on him and became his nemesis with a thousand personal remarks? And then his bestie joined his ex-mentor? And then he had to fight his ex mentor and beat him and then kissed him goodbye on the forehead before (symbolically?) killing him and then burying him like he did his father? And by doing so, his ex-mentor committed one final act of cruelty against him by forcing him to make that choice, to make Jungle Boy an agent of his own loss and deterioration, take part in it. And from that point on, Jungle Boy became more focused on going after what he wants and taking it no matter who is in his way? Did I understand all of that right?

And then he becomes best friends and partners with a guy who is like the perfect foil to him: an unstoppable 2nd gen fighter - young, even younger than himself. They have so much in common, and they like each other so much. But. Hook keeps winning. He hasn't lost his father. He hasn't lost his mentors or his friends. He hasn't sacrificed anything. And he. Still. Keeps. Winning. And it's always right there in Jungle Boy's face. And when JB turns on him, out of the blue, the first thing he does is drop to his knees as if...mourning himself? And then the next time he shows up, he's dressing, talking, and acting just like his (dead? is he dead in-universe or...? idk how that works) ex-mentor--

--ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! WRESTLING HAS JUST HAD THIS THE WHOLE TIME? I am going to show up every damn week from now on, and I'm going to have no idea what the moves being yelled out by the commentators are, and I am going to wait on the edge of my seat for the dialogue much like impatiently skipping paragraphs of description. And I'm going to make chips for it! WTF what the actual fuck there's enough for 2/3 books of a novelization trilogy here wtf wtf sports??? I am losing my mind

@emma-d-klutz how I enjoy out convos! ✨️

Yes, AEW actually has really good storylines- especially recently with Jungle Boy! That burial match was one of my favorites when he fought Christian Cage - it was so personal, but I appreciated the end results. Effing great, so choice. I'm wondering when they'll have another reunion soon? Now that Jack went heel *bad guy* and said a few nights again when he was in a team, he was a champion... maybe he'll team up with Cage and Luchasaurus again? Or he'll just be his own bad guy???

SO, the drama with him and Hook kinda felt off to me. A lot of people felt Hook was going to betray Jungle Boy, but I never saw that? Hook has always teamed up with people who've been good to him, and surprisingly, Hook is super chill with them, lol. But now the betrayal of Jack kinda makes me think if Hook will ever have another team up :( unless it was Danhausen or the Hardy Boys etc.

JungleHook was a very young and cool team up! I kinda wish they would've gone for tag titles... but alas...

The side drama is ongoing this upcoming Wednesday! I love AEW and how they have a variety of drama going on in between the fights. LOL - even better when the drama is in the ring...!!!

[aerodaltonimperial]

Prompt "finally... fucking finally" for junglehookhausen.

(🧡🖤💚)

When Jack comes to, the sunlight is streaming in through the cheap hotel curtains—cheap in that they don't block everything out, leaving them at the mercy of the dawn for an alarm clock—and it takes him a moment to right himself. There's an arm thrown over his stomach, and another wedged up against his side. He can feel the arm on his stomach because he's not wearing anything. Right, he isn't...wearing anything.

Oh. Oh, coming back into reality from unconsciousness is a helluva shock this morning, that's for sure. Jack's lungs sort of constrict, in that tremble-y, jittery way that means he's barrelling down the road to a really fantastic anxiety spiral, and he must tense up enough to alert at least one of his current bedmates, because the hand against his stomach twitches. Fingertips glide along his skin. That's Hook; even if Jack couldn't see Hook's arm crossing his torso, he'd be able to tell from the well-worn callouses, and that's only because last night he'd run his tongue over the same skin when Hook's fingers had been in his mouth.

Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no—Hook's waking up fully, rousing, and Jack rushes to find something to fill the space between them that's not the memories, tripping over the words. "Uh, so...so that's a thing that happened."

"Finally," Hook grumbles into the pillowcase where his face remains smashed, the tangles of his hair curled up beneath his forehead. "Fucking finally."

"Too early," comes Danhausen's voice from Jack's other side, groggy and distinctly annoyed. He probably needs coffee, and Jack would normally be the same, except that the morning after has injected a heart-stopping amount of adrenaline directly into his bloodstream.

Hook's fingers graze over Jack's side. "Stop freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out," Jack lies, the words running together in his haste to spit them out. "Who's freaking out? Not me. I never freak out."

Is this a thing now? Should this be a thing now? How did this even work in the first place, with the three of them? And is this the sort of thing they can ever tell anyone? Is this a thing that people do?

"Jack's panicking," Danhausen says, muffled by the arm he's got cradled beneath his face.

"I'm not panicking!" Jack panics.

Hook scratches at his stomach, at the skin there that's undoubtedly sporting a few teeth-shaped bruises and Jack is very resolutely not looking down to check. "He'll be okay."

"Will I?" Jack asks. Hook sounds so sure, so...maybe? And it's Hook, so he's probably right. Hook always seems to know what he's doing, even now.

Hook lifts his head, offers Jack a slow smile. "Yeah, you will be."

[ur-fav-alien]

No one find out.

Orange Cassidy x Danhausen fic! mentions of hookhausen, cheating and kissing woah!! Danhausen finds himself alone with Orange, which is perhaps the worst thing he could've let happen, especially with Hook nowhere near.

The hotel door closed, Danhausen and Orange were now left alone. Chuck and Trent had left to go get their food from some Italian restaurant, and Kris was in the room over. 

They were alone. 

This shouldn’t have been as nerve-wracking as it was for Danhausen. They were on opposite beds, looking in every other direction, no words were even falling from their lips. There was nothing Danhausen had to be worried about. 

But of course he was. 

Danhausen felt awful for being nervous. He always knew that if he thought he was going to cheat on a partner; he shouldn’t have been with that partner. 

Hook wasn’t here, he never stayed with the Best Friends. Danhausen could’ve gone to stay with him in some luxury suite, have robes wrapped around his body, and get fed grapes, but Danhausen stuck with his friends. This was probably a terrible decision, especially since a gaze in Orange Cassidy’s eyes influenced it. 

Danhausen was sure that being in some hotel suite definitely gave you an advantage when you wanted to ignore the tension between you and your best friend. 

It’s not like he would ever know. It’s not like he did know. 

It was one time, when they were on a break, and Danhausen was feeling especially low on his luck. In his defense, Hook had done it too—with Jack Perry, of all people. And! At least Danhausen waited a while; the day that they started their break, Hook was off with Jack in some seedy club down the street. Danhausen only knew that because a friend of theirs had seen. 

Danhausen found out officially a couple of days later when he saw the two of them kissing in the locker room. He couldn’t get mad. They were on a break. 

Now they weren’t, and Hook could get mad if he wanted to. 

But god… it’s not like he would know, right? 

There was always something between him and Orange. The two of them had met years before at a wrestling event that surely every wrestling fan had forgotten about by now—neither of them had forgotten it, though. Danhausen had reunited back with Orange when he entered AEW. Since then, they had been inseparable. They slept in the same hotel beds, still did sometimes. They’d save each other from people who wanted to do them harm. Orange had been the one advocating for Danhausen to be in the best friends’ group. Orange was his wingman when he started crushing on Hook, and he was also the one to make him feel better when Hook had broken his heart. 

Had he been a little weird and Hook and him got back together? Yeah, but he was also dealing with every wrestler in every promotion, wanting his title. Danhausen was sure he was looking too deep into things. He shouldn’t have been worried about anything, considering Orange and Hook were teaming up on some matches.

Orange’s lips were then on his. 

Danhausen hadn’t even felt the man get onto the bed he was on, but his lips were on his and he could feel the soft press of his beard against Danhausen’s paint-less face. His body was immediately a million degrees. 

Danhausen pushed him back, both of them breathing hard for very different reasons. 

“What?” was all that Danhausen could let out. He wanted to curl into the back of his skull and never think about this again. 

Orange straddled him, with his legs pressing against Danhausen’s thighs, and his hands pressed against the headboard of the bed they were on. Their faces were so close together Danhausen couldn’t think straight—it wasn’t like he could ever think near Orange. 

“What?” Orange repeated for a different reason. 

Danhausen couldn’t get any of the words out. He could feel their outlines pressing against his throat. “We can’t.” He whimpered out as Orange’s hands caressed his face. 

“Why not?” 

His hands had found Orange’s thighs. It all felt so right—but it was all so wrong. Danhausen was aware of this. There were alarms ringing off in his brain—He could see Hook. 

He felt the air get pulled out of his lungs as his hands traced the outline of Orange’s body, moving up his torso. He couldn’t believe how this was happening—how Orange had chosen him before anyone else. His hands settled on the man’s forearms, squeezing ever so gently to feel the muscle around his fingertips. 

Orange’s face looked so gorgeous in this warm hotel lighting. The parted lips, red face—Danhausen couldn’t help but pull him in. 

Their kiss lasted forever. Danhausen kept wanting more—but he forced himself to stay put. If they did anything more, it would’ve crossed the line, not that they hadn’t already crossed the line months ago. 

Kissing was fine. It meant nothing really—people kiss all the time and nothing happens. That’s what was going on: nothing. 

Danhausen continued to press against Orange’s face, hoping that neither of them would need air because all they needed was each other. It was awful; it was evil; it was the worst thing that Danhausen had done and he just needed more. 

There were a million thoughts swimming through his mind, all of them convincing him that they really needed to do this more. Maybe Hook wouldn’t be so heartbroken if Danhausen left, he was sure he’d understand—especially if he never found out. 

The click of their door opening interrupted Danhausen’s thoughts, and his heartbeat began beating at a million miles per second. Hiding the fact that they were making out was no difficult feat, as Orange was sitting next to Danhausen on his phone in a second. 

Danhausen could only stare at the wall in front of him in shock, not understanding how quickly the man had moved to his side. He was sure that it was just some illusion and several minutes had passed to cope with the fact that the two of them had just gotten caught. 

That theory of his dismantled right before his eyes when Trent and Chuck walked through the door with a couple of brown bags of takeout food. Danhausen could not process what had happened. 

Trent smiled at the two as he put the food down. “Orange, you gonna sleep with him tonight?” 

The demon sat frozen in shock, unable to even imagine the dumbfounded expression on his face. He looked over at Orange, who appeared as unamused as usual. 

He shrugged his shoulders carelessly. “Sure.” he replied, as if it was the most mundane thing in the world. 

Danhausen’s heart was pounding in his head. 

God, he just hoped no one would find out.

[logicstates12]

Title: Gjensynsglede

Ship: Hookhausen

Word count: 1226

Implied Character death

For @wrestleprompts Week 3: Proposal at the Beach

Also available at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45657166

”You're late." The words fall out before Hook can stop himself.

Danhausen flashes him a wry smirk, as he lowers himself to the bench. He still looks the same as he did the day they'd met- it's remarkable. One hand snakes over, resting on Hook's knee. "Traffic. Danhausen hates it."

Hook holds back a laugh, as he rests his hand on top of Danhausen's hand. This is the sort of thing he misses-the way Danhausen blurts out exactly what he's thinking.

"Interdimensional travel has traffic?"

"Well-" Danhausen squeezes Hook's fingers. "When you can only leave one day a year..."

One day a year.

4 simple words that still manage to break Hook's heart.

It's been close to 50 years. One would think he'd be used to this by now.

Apparently not.

"Don't remind me." Hook clears his throat. "47 years is... too long."

"Feels like a minute to Danhausen." Danhausen shifts in his seat, focusing harder on the crashing waves. "How is Jack?"

His breath catches in his throat. He'd expected he'd have to tell him eventually but definitely not now.

Maybe next year?

"Ah." Danhausen nods knowingly. "Danhausen is sorry to hear that."

Hook will never understand how they're able to communicate without words.

No one else has ever been like that.

"Thanks." Hook stares forward, breathing in the salty sea air.

How'd it all come to this?

One misplaced move- something he'd taken dozens of times. One second flying through the air. The next surrounded by frantic people shouting at him not to move.

He hadn't the heart to tell them he couldn't.

Then, darkness.

He can't tell you where he'd been or how he'd gotten there. An all-white room and Danhausen, looking extremely impatient.

Am I dead?

Ah, Danhausen is not a doctor. He doesn't think so though. Not yet anyway!

Reassuring.

Danhausen knows there isn't much time.

Time for what?

My gift.

They called his recovery miraculous. They'd never seen anything like that. It defied medical science. From practically dead to perfectly normal- things like this just didn't happen. All they could do was release him from the hospital, and tell him to enjoy his new lease on life.

His mom thanked St. Raphael the Archangel for bringing her boy back. His dad didn't say anything directly, just thanking the doctors for helping his son, even if they weren't quite sure what they did.

"Why did you do it?" Hook turns his head, meeting those eyes he knows oh so well.

"Do what?" Danhausen chews on his lip.

"You know." Hook gestures down, indicating his presence.

It had taken several months for his dad to broach the subject.

You're here because of Danhausen.

What?

He disappeared the day you woke up.

"It was an accident." Danhausen tightens his hold on Hook's hand. "You didn't deserve that. I gave you a gift."

Hook doesn't know how to tell him it's a gift he's never been able to repay. All of the years he lived- they technically belonged to someone else.

A simple thank-you had never sufficed.

"I love you." It's the first thing Hook can think of, as he focuses harder on their intertwined hands.

His skin is wrinkled, marred with age. There's a bruise, probably from the blood thinners he takes for his atrial fibrillation. They're a sharp contrast to Danhausen's perfect skin, minus a tiny scary here and there.

"I love you too." Danhausen sighs, his head resting on Hook's shoulder. "That's why Danhausen did it."

It had taken Hook almost a year to meet Danhausen again in the all-white room.

Not again.

Oh no. This is just how Danhausen has to communicate now.

Are you dead?

Doubtful. Just... home. Imagine being 3000 and living with your parents.

Well, why'd you come?

It turned out there was a day every year when the portal opened between Danhausen's home dimension and Earth. It would take copious amounts of paperwork, especially since Danhausen had renounced his citizenship, left for Earth and come back. The good thing was that once he had a permit, he would never have to apply again.

They would just have to pick a place to meet, as the permit was only good for a single day at a predetermined location. It could be <i>any</i> branch, they would just need to know what type of space it was.

Danhausen did not pretend to understand demonic law.

They chose the beach.

"Did Hook have a good life?" Danhausen's voice drops to a near whisper.

"Well, I didn't have you." Hook exhales, tears threatening to fall. "But..."

He'd shown up to the beach, not expecting Danhausen to actually show. Dreams were just that- dreams. It didn't matter if they mirrored your near-death experience.

Still, Hook knew he would never forgive himself if he didn't try to find out.

To his amazement, Danhausen had wandered up to him, like no time had passed at all.

You came.

Danhausen keeps his promises!

Can I come with you?

Not yet.

Why not?

Hook would waste Danhausen's gift. And Danhausen knows Hook is not a rude person!

Danhausen instead suggested Hook finally say yes to that lovely Jumping Jack Jungleman. He wanted Hook to be happy. They would be good together.

Hook reluctantly agreed.

"Danhausen wants to know."

"You already do."

"Tell me again."

And he does.

Hook, still focusing on the waves crashing against the dunes, begins to speak.

They'd been together 45 years, and married for 40. Jack understood about the whole '1 day a year to be with my ex- the demon' thing. He still hadn't gotten over Luchasaurus betraying him. It was honestly just one of those things. They loved each other in a way that really only made sense to them. Hook loved being the weird couple on the block. There had been kids- 3 of them- 2 girls and a boy- in a small house on the end of a quiet street. They could have afforded something much more opulent but neither of them had wanted that. Their kids grew up, and one by one left the house. Then, it had just been the two of them with a spaniel puppy. Eventually, they couldn't deal with how quiet the house was and so, they traveled the world. Then, the kids started having kids.

All in all, it hadn't been a bad life.

Hell, it had been downright marvelous.

"Hook looks tired." Danhausen sighs.

"I am."

"Can Danhausen ask you a question?"

Hook stiffens. Part of him wonders if Danhausen's about to ask the question. He'd dreamt of this moment for as long as he could remember, and yet, he hadn't quite believed it would actually come.

"What?"

"Are you ready to come home?"

Hook nods.

"Close your eyes."

Hook does.

Danhausen pulls his hand back, and cradles Hook's face between his palms. He leans in, and covers his mouth in a chaste kiss.

It's the first time they've kissed in almost 50 years.

The next time he opens his eyes, they're off the beach, and in an airport lounge.

Hook gives him a questioning look.

"Danhausen has to declare Hook's arrival." Danhausen shrugs. "Technicality."

It's then that Hook realizes he's young again.

-fin-

[aerodaltonimperial]

Prompt: Hook calls Danhausen. It's impulsive as hell, he regrets it at the first ring. The line clicks mid ring and THANK GOD it's only voice mail! So he empties his heart and he gets ready to hang up, maybe try to re-record it, be less vulnerable- then Hook hears a throat clear on the other end OR behind him. Your choice!

(I can't FUCKING WORDS today ugh this is like pulling teeth but I'm DESPERATE lol)

The line rings. Rings. Rings. And that's good, that's fine, that's better, because this way Hook can just record a voice-mail and then retreat to the safety of his hotel room again, and it won't matter, and they’ll never have to talk about it, he can pretend it never happened, he can ignore--

"Leave a message at the tone. When you are finished recording, hang up, or press * for more options."

"So I guess you didn't see what happened today," Hook says, launching straight into the whirlwind of thoughts without even thinking of marking it with a greeting. "Which doesn't really make sense, because I watch you? I mean, not you-you, but like, I watch what happens?"

He takes a breath, planting his toes against the nearest wall. "And I just...I thought that, y'know, you would be there if...if something went wrong, I thought...I...okay, well, now that I'm saying this out loud, yeah, I didn't help you when the Factory targeted you. But it wasn't because I didn't want to? I thought you and the Best Friends had it covered, right? Because you have people?"

Fuck. Maybe this isn't going well. He's rambling. He probably should have practiced. "Well, I don't. You know? I don't have people. I don't...I had Jack, and now I don't, and that’s it." Hook’s head hurts. God, his head is throbbing from where Ethan fucking Page threw him into the god damn ring post. "And I just...I just..."

This is awful. He runs a hand through his hair and grabs it to try and keep his eyes from filling, from stinging, from overflowing. "I don't have anyone, D. And they fucking ambushed me today. They ambushed me, and I couldn't do anything about it." There's a spot on his chest that will bruise, long and sharp from being manhandled over the ropes. "I needed...I wanted you to be there. I wanted you to help, but I can't..." He tries to swallow the lump that's formed and can't. "I don't have anyone, D."

He drops his voice as his body sort of collapses on itself. "I wish you had come to help. I don't know how to ask for it. I don't know...you know I don't know how to ask, I don't..."

Someone clears their throat behind him, close enough that it sends shivers down Hook’s spine. He whirls, heart in his throat, chest constricted in a panicked vice.

"Hook doesn't know how to ask?" Danhausen says, low and soft. His hands twist in front of him. "He just did."

Hook can't reply. He can't breathe. The phone, still pressed against his ear, has warmed his skin so much it stings. He stares at Danhausen, who stares back.

Finally, breaking the stalemate, Danhausen reaches for Hook’s phone and gently tugs it away from his ear. He thumbs the red END button before his mouth twists, lopsided. "Danhausen is sorry he wasn't there."

It takes too much effort for Hook to wrap his tongue around the syllables. He's painfully slow, but eventually manages to grit out, "You are?"

"Yes." Simple. Painfully honest. Danhausen shrugs slightly. "Danhausen wants to be there for Hook."

"Then why aren't you?" Hook knows he's whining. It would be pathetic if his skin wasn't still screaming, temples throbbing, legs aching.

"You sent me away," Danhausen says. "Hook said he had it."

"Well, I..." Hook inhales, sharp and wet. "I don't. I don't."

Danhausen nods, like he understands. His fingers move to the side of Hook's face and slide gently along the curve of his cheek. "Okay."

"Okay?" Hook repeats, a little wild. "So...you'll stay? You'll be here?"

"Yes," Danhausen tells him.

Hook’s muscles are starting to unclench, one at a time. They've suddenly gotten permission from the palm cradling his face as though he's valuable. "It's that easy?"

"All Hook had to do was ask."

"Now what?" Hook whispers.

Danhausen pockets Hook’s phone, and yeah, that makes more sense considering Hook’s still in his ring gear with a hoodie thrown over the top, too rattled to do anything more, his skin wearing the aftermath of salt. Then Danhausen smiles. "Danhausen takes Hook upstairs and patches him up."

"Okay." Hook can manage this, right? He can deal with things now, because the world isn't so fucking empty. Lonely. Bitter. "I, uh...I..."

Danhausen is still smiing, like he gets it. "I know."

"Do you?"

Danhausen’s free hand cups the other side of Hook’s face, holding him with an unbearable gentleness. He nods. "Yes. Danhausen knows. He will take care of Hook from now on."

"I missed you." Hook swipes his tongue across his lip and gets a burst of copper. "I really missed you."

"Come," Danhausen tells him, and if Hook isn't seeing things, the man's smile had gone a little sad, bittersweet at the edges. "We can talk while Danhausen patches you up."

[aerodaltonimperial]

a follow-up of sorts to that angsty junglehook bestie-break-up fic, in case it was TOO MUCH PAIN for you (i respect this, because it was for me, too lol)

His apartment is quiet, save for the television steadily going through infomercials. He should have turned it off hours ago, and didn’t. Now, he’s too focused on his phone to give much care as to what’s playing in the background. None of it really matters, anyway.

Danhausen’s shoulder aches. He frowns, rubbing at it. He opens up the message thread that dropped off in September. It’s not the first time he’s done this. In fact, he used to do this daily, and then weekly, and each time, he lacked any idea of what he ought to say. Now, though, things feel different.

He types, do you understand how it feels now? Deletes: too harsh.

Types, Hook never should have trusted Jumping Jungle Jerry anyway. Deletes: too blunt.

Danhausen chews on his thumb. Part of him doesn’t want to text, an ugly part of him he doesn’t like. That would be deserved, wouldn’t it? The texts had gone so very, very cold with no warning, and Danhausen had been left to pick up the pieces. He ought to walk away. This, they might say, is a taste of one’s own medicine.

But something in his chest stings. He doesn’t like that option. He’s not built for that level of bitterness, that quantity of spite. Not for this; not for Hook. Not for the only person who ever really burrowed down deep beneath Danhausen’s skin and stayed there, long after he’d disappeared.

He types, If you want, Danhausen can call you. Deletes: too kind.

He is aware that this moment will be a chain reaction. What he does now will set the tone for weeks and months to come. If he ignores it, then life will continue on as it has been for nearly a year. Danhausen has made it this long, hasn’t he? Why should the future be any different?

But he’s also aware that this could fundamentally change the trajectory of his future. If he chooses to be the bigger person here, now, he stands to gain everything.

An olive branch, then; something just long enough to be grabbed, only if the other wishes to.

Danhausen types, Are you okay?

Hits send.

++

His room is quiet. Thank fuck for that, honestly, because his head is throbbing. Fucking Jericho and the fucking metal steps, and now he’ll be nursing a headache for who knows how long. At least he won’t need stitches, though bleeding all over the floor was never part of his plan for the evening.

Darby sits on the bed, leaning against the headboard. He probably ought to go to sleep. Toronto is kind of a shit show. But he’s stuck with his phone in his hand, contact pulled up - the number he’s not even ever used, but still has, just because.

He should have seen this coming. Everyone should have seen this coming.

He types, you stupid son of a bitch you let MJF get in your head. Fuck, that’s too harsh: deleted.

Tries, congrats on destroying everything you had going for you. Fuck, that’s way too harsh: deleted.

He doesn’t know how to send a message like this. He doesn’t even know why he’s trying, except that he does, and he hates it. He hates that he gets it. He hates that he was the only one MJF didn’t bother trying to manipulate, for whatever reason, but that Jack was too trusting to immediately disregard everything the man said. He hates that Jack, living primarily on self-doubt, fell prey to MJF finding the most vulnerable part of him and pressing down on the bruise.

And Darby gets it, gets the fear of being alone. He’s got a countdown going until it’s his turn. Might not look the same, but all roads end up at the same spot.

He types, i know this isn’t really who you are but what you’ve learned. Oh hell no, that’s giving away far too much: deleted, with speed.

Why did he end up being the only one left standing, at the end? How have the pillars fallen like dominos? Shit, he’s the worst sort to use as a role model, too.

Finally, in the absence of anything else, Darby writes: Are you okay?

Maybe Jack will answer. Maybe he won’t. But at least Darby can say he tried.

He sends it.

[aerodaltonimperial]

Prompt: "That's not what it sounds like."

(Oh no I am not having a good day LMAO)

"I don't...I don't know how to do this stuff," Hook admits, and the words burn their way down his tongue in their honesty.

"That's okay," Jack replies. He reaches out, pats Hook on the shoulder. It doesn't really help, but maybe it should. "Emotions are hard. We'll figure it out together, okay?"

Hook purses his mouth flat. Nods. "Yeah. I guess."

It's not a guarantee, though at least it's something. Hook desperately needs something. A twinge of hope flares in his stomach. But when they round the next corner, Hook finds himself staring into angry, wounded blue eyes ringed with red and black.

"I see," Danhausen says. His voice is low and rough and awful, and it tugs Hook’s stomach down to his feet. "Danhausen understands now."

"Wait," Hook says. His thoughts whirl. How much did...how much did Danhausen overhear? What all did he say? "Wait, it's..."

Danhausen turns and begins to walk away, his shoulders hunched in a miserable arch. "No. Danhausen understands. Emotions are hard, right?"

Wait, wait, wait-- he's practically running in his haste to put distance between them, and Hook has to lengthen his strides to keep up. "D, that's not what it sounds like, let me--"

"Hook disappeared for months." Danhausen stops, whirls to face Hook. His expression pulls twisted and hard. "Months. And Danhausen thought he just needed time, so he gave it. I thought Hook would come back. But I understand now; Hook has new feelings. Hook has always struggled with this, but Jack is there to help now." He shrugs. It looks horrible. "Danhausen will not bother you again."

"D," Hook tries, but it's useless. Danhausen slips through the door to the Best Friends' locker room, marked with a cheery sign held aloft with a single piece of Scotch tape. Hook stares at the door that closes and latches resolutely, a click that echoes.

He got it all wrong, all messed up; Hook had just needed someone to talk to, someone who could help. And now, even though the whole conversation had started with him spilling his guts to Jack, stumbling his way through trying to explain how terrifying and overpowering everything was, how he never could find the words to tell Danhausen how he felt...even though he had tried, really tried, he's still here. With a door slammed in his face.

With nothing, all over again.

He sucks in a ragged breath, and fights to stay upright as misery smacks into his knees in its cruel attempt to take him down.