Chapter Text
"Hey! Good to hear from you!" Hop said into his rotophone after seeing Gloria's name pop up on the screen. "How's champion life treating you?"
"It's been cool," Gloria replied. Her voice was echoing, indicating she was located in some cave or tunnel. "Really demanding though. How's Sonia treating you back at the lab?"
"She's a slave driver!" Hop said loudly. Sonia peered out from around a pile of books and glared at him.
Gloria laughed.
"Good! I hope you're enjoying the work, at least," she said. "I called because it's our year anniversary, in case you forgot."
"Our what?" Hop asked.
"C'mon, you know!" Gloria said, her voice reverberating. "It's been one whole year since you 'n I finished the gym challenge."
"Oh! I had no idea, sorry! I would've called you first!!" Hop said. "Is that gonna be a yearly celebration from now on?"
"I mean, if you want," Gloria said sheepishly. "I just thought- well, y'know, we haven't seen each other in so long even though we message every day. So I was actually thinking of stopping by with some curry for you and Sonia, just to slow down and catch our breath. It's been a hectic year, that's for sure."
"I'd-" Hop paused. His cheeks were warm and he felt his heart speed up. She was visiting? Today? "I'd really like that!" Why did he feel so... weird? He used to see her all the time and never had this kind of reaction before. "When will you be here?"
"In three hours or so, is that alright?" Gloria asked.
"Soniaaa?" Hop covered the rotophone with his palm and called out to the professor. "We good to eat with Glo in a few hours?"
"We can take a break for that, sure," Sonia replied, adjusting her glasses and smiling. "Be good to see her again. But as soon as we're done dinner you HAVE to find those papers ASAP!!"
"I promise!" Hop said, flashing his boss a grin. "Alright, we're good for this evening. Can't wait to see you!"
"Ditto!" Gloria said, but the connection was a little fuzzy. "Sorr- going th-ough a st-rm, gon- h-ng up n-"
The call cut off. Hop stared at his phone, listening to the sound of his heartbeat in his ringing ears.
Gloria spread a plaid blanket on the ground, setting a picnic basket in the center. She dusted off the hem of her dress and sat down, cross-legged, next to Hop.
"Thank you so much for bringing the food, Glo," Sonia said, sitting across from the two of them. "Wow! It's been such a busy year, it just flew by, eh?"
"Yeah, it really did..." she replied. "Being champion is a lot of work, people are always calling on you to help them, plus with my first time as the final opponent in the gym challenge... I'm really worn out. I really needed this."
"We're glad you decided to unwind here!" Hop said, nudging his friend. "You'll be back home for Christmas, right? Your mom would be devastated if you weren't."
Gloria grinned and nodded. The three of them grabbed servings of spicy leek curry from the picnic basket and dug in enthusiastically, chatting casually as they stuffed their faces. The sun began to dip behind the trees of Slumbering Weald, the Wooloo in the fields curling up on the ground together. Their food was gone and the winds began to pick up, ruining the comfortable atmosphere of friends reuniting.
"It's been real great, guys," Gloria said. "I hope I get a chance to see you again soon, before Christmas."
"If you don't-" Hop said, jumping up from the blanket. "Can we at least make this a yearly tradition? Meeting on our journey anniversary?"
Gloria opened her mouth but paused. She was clearly worried about making any long-term promises; who was to say she'd be free the same time every year from now on? After thinking about it for a moment, she sighed and smiled.
"Sure, Hop. It's a deal."