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Eternatus. The Pokemon from the Darkest Day hundreds of years ago was right before them at the very top of Rose tower. "Cmon, Victor, we have to help Lee out! Before it's too late!" Wait, was that... Hop! Watching his friend run up and stop a few feet ahead of him, he tried to move his legs, reach out his hand, or atleast say a word. But he was still. Stuck in place as if somebody had put his joints and bones in lock-down mode, only able to open his mouth. "Hop, wait! Please, don't go over there!" Seeing him begin to turn away, he felt fear flood into him, eyes wide and voice shaking with desperation. But it seemed to be that whatever he said didn't matter, that whatever he spoke was never heard, because as he stood there, Hop ran.
Him, with his feet glued to the ground, and Hop, with his hitting the ground with worrisome amounts of force. Looking a bit over to the side he saw Leon, the red in his team's pokeballs turned grey from their fainting, the champion himself knelt down on the ground with all six clutched close to him in his arms. Not even Leon could beat this thing... what was Hop thinking?! "Hop! Hop, please! Get away from it, now!" Yelling now Victor's voice was raised louder and more powerful than usual, angry at the boy who only pulled out one of his pokeballs. He had to run! He had to move! If he didn't then- "Hop get the hell away from it, now!" Practically screaming Victor tried to move his feet, still stuck in place as he furiously looked at the sight laid out in front of him, rage boiling in his blood until he saw what was happening.
It was waiting. Eternatus knew that if he took out Hop's pokemon, that someone else would step in and make things even harder. As soon as it hit him, Victor felt every ounce of anger leave him in a split second, eyes widening in terror as he watched it's caged stomach begin to grow brighter and brighter. Then, he looked back over at Hop, seeing him take a step back and slowly begin to see what was happening. "Hop, get out of there! Get of there now, please! Hop!" Screaming with fear clinging to his throat now Victor tried to thrash against whatever force kept him from moving, heart speeding up as worry filled his thoughts, tears growing and streaming down his cheeks. But Hop wasn't backing out, he was just standing there! Now his stomach was sinking in on itself, heavily sobbing as he looked at Hop. The Hop that was his friend. His best friend. His rival. His crush. Before he could cry out for him to run, buzzing filled the air, the sound so loud and horrid his ears rang. And Victor found himself unable to do anything but stand, stand and watch as the caged beam then stilled. And then it fired.
"Hop!"
Screaming out loud Victor woke up in a cold sweat, shooting up to sit from his bed, chest tight and arms trembling. Looking around he found himself in his bedroom, chest rapidly rising and falling as his hands tightly grasped the blanket covering him. Wait, Hop! Immediately he turned to his side, remembering that he had been supposed to spend the night with him. Now he found himself looking at purple hair, dark brown skin, and worry-filled bright yellow eyes. "Vic?" His voice. Victor only now realized just how wet his cheeks were as more tears began streaming down his face, crumbling down as he choked on a sob, lips and chin trembling as he looked down at Hop. "Hop?" Saying his name he realized just how pained and broken his voice sounded, feeling his emotions growing even more overwhelming just at speaking. In that instant he felt arms wrap around him, pulling him down and holding close. Hop was holding him. Processing this he felt everything boil to the surface, hands shakily grabbing handfuls of his shirt as he let his pained and hurt sobs out from his throat. Slowly melting back down into the mattress he felt himself being pulled closer to the boy in his bed, trembling as he held him even tighter, feeling a hand move to tenderly rub his back in slow circles. Then fingers were running into his hair, shivering a bit for a moment to then relax into the gentle touch, shakily exhaling as he buried his face under Hop's chin.
"Vic, mate... do you want to talk about it?" Quietly whispering to him Hop kept the crying boy close to him, feeling his heart sink and chest tighten at how much he was trembling, frowning softly as he rested his chin atop his head. Just asking him this caused the hands to cling even tighter to him, frowning more as he held him tighter, "Hey, it's okay, forget I asked. I didn't mean to hurt you more... it's okay now, Vic..." Speaking even quieter Hop apologized for even mentioning it, telling himself he should've known better than to even bring it up in the slightest. Twirling a few strands of brown curly hair around his fingers Hop noticed that the sobs were beginning to quiet down now, giving a small smile as he quietly hummed. Maybe this would help? Leaning close to his ear Hop ran his fingers in light circles up and down Victor's back, taking a deep breath and making sure his voice was at least loud enough for him to hear. "I've got you, Vic. I'm not letting go."
Those words. Those words alone had Victor going silent, Hop growing worried at first before hearing a small sniffle, feeling his head moving up and looking down at the boy held to his chest. "You... you really mean it?" In a trembling voice Victor looked into Hop's eyes, hands slowly letting go of the shirt to gently rest on his back, feeling his shivering and shaking body slowly stilling. Actually, he felt warm. He felt warm all over. He couldn't help but feel a pout growing to his lips when feeling the hand on his back move and pull away from him, about to open his mouth and ask if something was wrong before watching the hand then move close to his face, heart racing as he felt warm envelop one of his dried tear-stained cheeks. Hop's hand was cupping his face, shutting his eyes and leaning into the touch as his thumb gently wiped the tears away, softly exhaling and feeling a small smile grow on his lips before opening his eyes again. "Of course I mean it. I've been with you all this time, there's no way I'm leaving you now." Not once did they look away from one another, Victor feeling every inch of his body heating up, heart pounding against his chest. Of course Hop wouldn't leave him, he did nothing but stay by his side during their journey to be Champion!
Victor didn't know what to say in return, simply giving a warm and thankful smile as he felt his cheeks warming up, hoping it went unnoticed and slowly laying his head back against his chest. This must've been okay with Hop, because instead of saying 'get off' or 'stop', he only gave him a gentle squeeze and wrapped both arms back around him, resting his head onto the pillow again. Slowly Victor cuddled closer up to Hop, resisting the urge to just entirely lay on top of him, one arm already under him as his other hand rested on his shoulder. It felt so nice to be held. To be held so close and dear by Hop, the boy he used to call ‘bestie’ and now spends most of his free time adoring. How could he not admire him, though? "Thank you, Hop. Sorry for waking you up." Wearing a warm smile he felt the blanket being pulled up a bit over his shoulders now, calmly exhaling as he felt even warmer now. Hearing the boy speak Hop gave a bright and gentle smile, adjusting the blanket a bit so that it covered Victor up better. "You're welcome, and it's okay. Get some rest now though, alright?" They didn't need to say 'goodnight' to one another to know they were both going to sleep, shutting their eyes and letting the peaceful silence with each other's warmth overtake them.
Stirring awake Hop felt something keeping one of his legs from moving, smacking his lips together to try and get rid of the just-drooled-a-whole-ocean feeling off of them, tilting his head back to let out a long quiet yawn. Slowly he opened up his eyes, blinking a few times as he stared up at the baby blue ceiling, moving his gaze lower to see a mess of dark brown curls. Victor? Feeling his heart skip a beat he then realized it was a leg that was swung over his, almost all of the other boy's body laying right on his own, cheeks a bright red as he also noticed the hand gently resting over his chest. Victor looked beautiful, even if he was growing extremely aware of the drool puddle soaking into his shirt. He couldn't help but notice just how breath-taking he was in the glow of the sunlight, the way his whole being seemed to radiate at the touch of the warm rays of light. At the sound of mumbling it took a moment for him to snap out of his trance, blinking his bright yellow eyes a few times and bringing himself back down to Earth. Watching Victor's deep brown eyes slowly open was the most beautiful sight to Hop, especially when he had more than just a front row seat to the view, insides fluttering as he saw the boy moving so he was looking back up at him.
"Mornin', love." Victor spoke in a English accent, voice quiet and slightly slurred from having just woken from his slumber, staring up at Hop with only the fondest of smiles. That was it. That was what killed Hop. That absolutely angelic being laying on top of him calling him 'love'. In literally any other scenario he would've gotten extremely flustered, freaked, or just speechless. But having been awake for only a few minutes, Hop didn't really linger on thoughts of what to do next. Giving a loving smile back in return he pulled Victor up closer to him, arms wrapped around waist as he could hear his heart thumping out from his chest. "Morning, mate. I take it you slept well?" Whispering in a sweet voice Hop could see the way the other's smile seemed to grow even happier, tenderly rubbing his lower back in small slow circles. Seeing the nod of his head Hop gave a small warm chuckle, humming peacefully as he stretched his legs out underneath the blankets. "That's good... I think you owe me something though." Giving a small mischievous smirk he watched as Victor now looked up at him in sleepy confusion, tilting his head a bit to the side, bedhead hair moving along with the motion. "Mmmm... like what?"
This was his chance! He couldn't miss this opportunity! Gently taking Victor's chin into his hand Hop leaned close to him, snickering a bit before wearing a wide grin on his face, "I want you... to make me the Hopip Special!" As soon as he spoke the words his smirk turned into a bright and joyous smile, eyes shining as he looked at Victor, seeing the worry go away to be replaced with a side smirk. Playfully he rolled his eyes, chuckling a bit and moving his arms to swing them around Hop's neck. God, this dork was way too cute for him sometimes, and by sometimes he meant all the time. Feeling hands then hold him still he gave a startled gasp as Hop moved to sit up, wearing a warm smile as he looked up at the flustered boy. "What's wrong, something got your tongue?" Laughing a bit he couldn't help but gently pull him close, hugging him and enjoying the warmth that he gave off. Hop had learned to give others their personal space, having became the exact opposite of the clingy child he had been. Now though, the clinginess was starting to return, and that was another thing Victor couldn't complain about.
"Well, if you want the Hopip Special, then you're going to have to help me pick some berries. Still got that garden in the yard?" Victor was honest to god out of berries. With how many times he cooks his curry for his pokemon, and mostly Hop and mum, he's been forgetting to go grab some more. Whenever he's tried to visit the local food market, the guy there has always just stood in front of the door and saying that he couldn't enter the shop, giving him a dead stare in the eyes until he backed or walked away. After some time the two eventually managed to drag themselves out of the bedroom, getting ready and dressed to head out on a quick adventure. At least, what they hoped would be a quick trip.
It wasn't quick, not at all. Multiple times they ran into people with level 30 or 40 Pokemon challenging them, some pesky wild's chasing them to the far reaches of the route, and weather changes that had them basically camping in the Poke-center for an hour. After all of that was dealt with though, it was fairly easy to collect berries, Hop being the one to shake them as Victor caught them before any pokemon could nab them away, and once they fought the Skwovet in the tree, they moved onto another. After about ten berry trees, the two began to head back to Victor's house, setting up everything in the backyard and letting their Pokémon run around as well. Dropping the correct berries, and super special ingredient, into the pot Victor then had to fan the fire. Grabbing his on-the-go purple fan he did his best to go fast, Hop coming over and helping him out with it himself. He should just take Hop as his fan! When it came time to stir the two made sure to crack up a conversation, knowing it’d be some time before the food was entirely ready, laughing and giggling as they made jokes and called each other silly names. Victor has called Hop ‘Chocolate Addict’, and Hop simply called Victor ‘Teeny Mush’.
Now as he hung the spoon on one of the handles Victor stepped back and wiped his forehead, wearing a satisfied grin as he stared at the pot, feeling his joy and flustered state greater. The Hopip Special. Honestly it’s his favorite dish of all of them. It was his first custom dish of his own, and no matter how many times he’s tried to outdo it, this one has always managed to make his taste-buds go into heaven itself. After eating it time and time again, he realized just how much the curry was like Hop. No kidding. It screamed Hop to him honestly, every bite making his heart flutter as thoughts of him filled his head. When he told Hop about it, Victor expected to be shamed or judged for naming it after him, but instead he was met with a hug and tears of warmth. Hop still hasn’t gotten over the fact that Victor dedicated a dish all to him, better yet the most amazing dish he’s made yet! Imagine having something as amazing as that share your name!
Filling up their plates Victor made sure to give Hop’s a little extra, knowing he’d only ask for more as soon as he finished up a normal sized amount of it, knowing by now to make sure he took more than what he thought would be enough. After getting enough for both of them he carried the dishes over to the picnic table, feeling everything inch of him grow warmer and warmer at the sight of Hop’s growing smile. “Oh heck yes! Finally, some good food! Honestly, I think Leon’s more pants with directions when it comes to cooking rather than traveling!” Laughing happily the two of them stared fondly at one another Victor thinking for a moment before taking his place right beside Hop. Setting their plates down he then picked up his spoon, taking as big as a scoop he could, glancing over at Hop from the corner of his eye to go still. Immediately he let out a snort, seeing the goofy smile on his face as he had one of the biggest piles of food on the plastic spoon, Victor swearing he was laughing much harder than he should be. Something so small was just so gosh darn hilarious! Putting the spoon down Hop joined him in laughing, the two cracking up as if they had just seen the funniest thing to exist. After some time they calmed down and began eating away, Victor’s cheeks a furious shade of red at every word of praise spoken to him, even if it was slightly muffled by Hop’s mouth full of food.
Finishing up their meals Victor let out a satisfied hum, hands resting on his lap as he then looked over at Hop, wearing a smitten look at the warm bright smile the other was wearing. He swore those eyes shone brighter than the sun, heart beating faster when their eyes met. "Do I have something on my face?" Yes, you have adorableness, it's smeared all over you. Victor always said he would confess whenever he got the chance to, but no matter what he found himself chickening out, only giving a small chuckle and playfully rolling his eyes, "Just right beside your mouth." Reaching out Victor gently wiped the curry off of Hop's face, heart racing at just how warm his face was, wishing he could keep his hand there forever. Just as he was standing up and taking their plates though, he felt a hand gently grab his wrist, unable to help the small surprised gasp he gave while turning to look at Hop. Setting the plates down he grew a bit worried, eyes locking onto one another before he felt the fear go away, replaced by the beating of his heart. Victor swore it could be heard through his chest.
"I, uh... I wanted to say..." Stuttering a bit Hop did his best to speak, only finding himself going quiet and tongue tied, feeling Victor's gaze burning through him. He couldn't, not yet. Not when he didn't have enough courage to, still. Shaking his head a bit he gave Victor a warm smile, letting go of his wrist and happily exhaling. "Thank you for the curry. It tasted even better than usual, and I really liked it!" He could thank him. That's the very least that he could do for the boy of his dreams, Butterfree growing in his stomach at the way Victor lit up at the praise he received. It seemed that the two were soaking up just how nice the peace and serenity of their silence was, finding themselves entertained by being right beside one another. Clearing his throat he found his face growing red at the gratitude being given, moving a hand to shyly rub the back of his neck, sheepishly looking off to the side and down at the ground. "You think it was that good?" Slowly looking back up at Hop he felt his breath being taken away right again, swearing he was going to forget how to breathe at some point.
For a few moments he looked shocked at the question asked, the boy in front of him running a hand through his purple hair only to then start trying to hold back his laughter, smile growing and lips trembling until it bursted out. "Of course I do! Your curry is the best food I've ever eaten, you goof!" No matter how many times Victor heard it, Hop's laugh was more than just contagious, it was easier to catch than frost bite in the coldest of winters and sweat in the hottest of days. Every time he heard it he only fell more and more in love with him, brown eyes softly watching as he happily cried while practically wheezing out in joy. "Let's go back inside before you start inhaling bees." Joking around he gave a small but happy laugh himself, patting Hop's back and waiting until he caught his breath to lead him into his house again, subconsciously moving hands as they walked in from the backdoor. With fingers intertwined with one another, hand-in-hand, and heart-in-heart, they went back up to the bedroom and played the day away.