Chapter Text
“Goodnight, Lunatone...Goodnight stars; Goodnight air; Goodnight noises everywhere.” With a close of a book. Ten-year-old Helian smiled and ruffled his brother’s hair as the latter snuggled up in his bed. A small gleam spread across the boy’s eyes as he looked up at his brother.
“Thanks for reading that story to me, Li-Li.” Six-year-old Oliver giggled as Helian ruffled his hair. “Good night!”
“Night, Ollie; make sure you get some rest, okay?”
“Yeah! Good night!” Helian brushed back his brown hair and shut the door behind him, paying extra close attention to his brother, who fell asleep immediately.
“Alright, Oliver is asleep; time to watch some of Dad’s matches!” Helian quietly crept through the halls of their home and peered into a small lit room. There he spotted his father, Professor Hop, quietly working on whatever late-night project he was working on. Something about Pokemon, one would assume. Helian quietly shut the door, stepped into the living room, sat down on the floor, and turned on the telly.
‘Here comes out challenger from Motostoke...can they take on our esteemed Champion and defeat Victor?’ The announcer’s voice echoed through the living room. Helian made extra sure to close all nearby doors and dimmed the lights to not arouse suspicion, and kept his eyes glued to the telly.
“I wonder what Pokemon Dad’s gonna use?” He wondered as he waited for Victor to appear on the screen.
“I think his Inteleon for sure!”
“Probably...wait…” Helian looked over and spotted Oliver sitting next to him. “OLLIE?” The brown-haired boy fell back in surprise, causing Oliver to quickly turn to him.
“Shhhh, Papa is working!”
“What are you doing here?”
“Watching Dad’s matches with you! What’s it look like?” Oliver giggled and pushed up his glasses, and planted his bottom on the floor.
“No! You should be sleeping, little man!” Helian stood up and placed his hands on his hips, and glared at his younger brother. “Papa is gonna get mad that you’re up!”
“But, Li-Li!” Oliver stood up and frowned at his older brother. “I couldn’t sleep, and I wanted to come find you, but you weren’t in your room. Then I heard the telly and found you!” He waved his arms around and smiled brightly at Helian. “So can I stay with you?”
“Absolutely not!” Helian raised his voice slightly, causing Oliver to tense up and step back.
“Oh...I’m sorry…” A single tear fell from the young boy’s face, causing Helian’s eyes to widen.
“Oh, crud! Ollie, I didn’t mean to!” He waved his hands around and hugged his brother. “I’m sorry, please don’t hate me!” He crouched down and brushed the tear with his thumb. “Tell you what, if you’re good, you can stay with me to watch Dad’s match. How’s that sound?”
“Really?” Oliver’s eyes sparkled as his brother nodded at him.
“Just be extra quiet, okay?”
“You got it!” Oliver gave a reassuring nod and held up his blanket to Helian. “I brought this with me so we wouldn’t get cold!”
“Smart.” Helian ruffled Oliver’s hair and held the dark blue blanket. He sat down and gestured towards his brother to sit next to him. Promptly throwing the blanket over them both as they turned back towards the telly.
“There’s Dad!” Oliver pointed at the figure of their father as he walked onto the field. “Wow! He’s so cool!”
“Yeah!” Helian smiled wide with glee as he too saw his father, Victor, facing the camera. “He’s pretty cool.”
“You think we can be like that one day, Li-Li?” Oliver leaned against his brother’s shoulder, who looked down and pondered a bit.
“Probably! We just gotta train hard and learn all we can from Dad and Papa!”
“Yeah!” Oliver stood up and pointed to the sky. “I can’t wait to see you be awesome like Dad, Li-Li!”
“Oh, you got a long way to go if you want to be like Vic.” A low voice appeared from behind the boys, causing them to freeze in place.
“OH...HI PAPA!” Oliver looked up at Hop, who raised a brow at his two sons.
“Papa!” Helian stood in front of Oliver and chewed his lip. “Don’t get mad at Ollie; it was all me.”
“But, I was the one who went here when I should’ve been sleeping! Punish me instead!” Oliver loomed behind Helian’s shoulder and pouted at the Professor, who stared at his boys then glued his eyes to the telly.
“So you’re telling me, you two are watching Vic’s matches…” Hop tapped his foot as his two boys nodded and looked to the ground. “Without me?”
“What?” They both looked up as Hop chuckled and scratched his beard.
“Yeah! Let me join you two!” Hop sat on the couch and tapped the couch, and smiled as they sat close to him.
“You’re not mad, Papa?” Oliver tilted his head and sat on Hop’s leg, who ruffled his son’s hair.
“Course not! I needed to take a break anyway, and who doesn’t want to watch your dad kick butt?”
“You make a good point, Papa.” Helian laughed as he leaned against his Papa’s body.
“What was it like battling Dad, Papa?” Oliver asked, causing Hop to smile.
“Oh, man, he was strong! He and I were rivals once, did you know?”
“Yes, we do…” Helian raised a brow and shook his head as Oliver giggled.
“What?” Hop blushed and tilted his head at his sons.
“You tell us this all the time!” Oliver smirked and pushed up his glasses, and spiked up his hair. “Back in my dad, Vic and I were rivals and the best of friends! He and I battled each other lots of times, but he always came out on top.” Oliver coughed as he couldn’t keep up the impersonation of his Papa.
“Wow, I guess I did say that a lot, huh?” Hop laughed and hugged Oliver. “Also, wow, that’s a good impression of me, Ollie!”
“Thanks! I worked hard on it!”
“That’s my boy!” Hop bellowed and held his son close to him. “Your father and I; we faced a lot of hardships together; someday, you both will do the same. But…” Hop’s voice grew quiet for a bit before smiling at them both. “That’s why your father and I will do our best to raise and support you guys!”
“Thanks, Papa!” Oliver yawned and laid his head on Hop’s chest and watched the battle ensue on the telly.
“Papa…” Helian whispered.
“Hmm?”
“What was your greatest battle against Dad?” Hop thought for a moment and laughed as he looked down at Helian.
“Well, there was the finals, but there was also the time I proposed to him during battle.”
“What?” Helian shouted and quickly covered his mouth before continuing. “You did?”
“Yep!” Hop nodded and held up his hand, which had a ring on it. “Now, this is a story you all need to hear.”
Later that evening, the door quietly opened, followed by the sounds of shuffling. “I’m home!” Victor took off his cap and looked around the house, and furrowed his brow. “That’s weird; why is it quiet; and dark!” He turned the corner and stopped in place as he spotted the telly. “Hop? Oh!” He smiled and spotted Hop, Helian, and Oliver sleeping on the couch together. “Someone’s been busy.” Victor walked over to the three of them and planted a kiss on each of their heads before throwing Oliver’s blanket over them and turning off the telly.
“Good night, my little angels.”