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The forest was unusually silent that evening when Hop decided to take Dubwool into the thicket of trees for a bout of training. The day before had done wonders for his confidence, after taking on Kabu in the gym challenge, earning Hop his Fire Badge, and he was bursting at the seams to continue on the journey, hoping to reach the top as soon as he could. It was a nice, quiet evening, the sun only just then deciding to dip in the sky, casting the whole area in an orange hue that Hop would have otherwise enjoyed—had it not been for the nagging voice in the back of his head constantly berating him for losing to Bede.
All the confidence in the world Hop exuded couldn’t contend with Bede’s skills. Honestly, he assumed after all the mouthing off he did, that the guy was all talk, but he made damn sure to prove to Hop just how much of a shoddy trainer he actually was. Throughout his whole challenge, Hop had been defeating trainers left and right, excelling in the gyms themselves, and even with how difficult Kabu had proven to be, Hop earned his badge right alongside Victor, assuming he would only continue to rise up the ranks at this pace. Maybe even give Leon a run for his money once the both of them proved they were good enough to be able to call themselves trainers in the first place.
Until Bede decided to trash talk them. Not just Hop, but Victor as well. Hop had already been dealing with his own slew of stunted feelings when it came to Victor, but Bede had tossed dirt at both of them, even going so far as to insult Hop and compare him to Leon. What would people think if Hop couldn’t contend with the gym challenge? If they knew he had lost to Bede in a battle while trying to defend his honor, they’d all laugh at him. He had no right to call himself a proper trainer if he couldn’t even win a proper Pokémon battle.
But, that’s why he had decided to train out in the woods with Dubwool. Maybe if they could pick off a few weaker Pokémon, or even come across a trainer or two, Hop could prove he was still in this thing for the long haul. Victor may have been blazing a trail of his own, but Hop was determined to be the new champion, even if it meant crushing Victor at some point.
Although, if Hop couldn’t even hold his own against Bede, there was no way in hell he would be able to face Victor at any given point. He had already battled him a few times, and lost those few times, but fighting Victor was always different. Those times before, Hop was simply glad to be able to spend time with him, and he didn’t care that he lost, because the battles were always about having fun, not really winning. And for there to be winners, there had to be losers, which Hop was all too familiar with. Come to think of it, he had no idea if Victor had ever lost a single battle, none that Hop was privy to anyway. If he ever hoped to compete with Victor, he had to get stronger.
Hop’s cheeks gushed with heat as he found a suitable spot underneath a crowd of trees, spotting a few Pokémon that were scattered around, perfect for training his partner. Yeah...those feelings when it came to Victor were complicated to say the least. Hop didn’t want to say he liked him—well no, that would be a lie. Of course Hop liked him. He had liked Victor as a close friend for a long, long time, years even. He admired him from afar, jealous of his natural talents and skills, but he also found that lately, his feelings for his neighbor were becoming more and more romantically inclined. Hop found himself daydreaming about kissing him, holding onto him tightly while they shared a tent for the evening, cooking curry together underneath the starlit night, discussing battling strategies together, all the while Hop would gush and blush, because he doubted Victor ever realized how deep his feelings for him actually went.
It started off as simple friendship, though when Hop started noticing those feelings began to change, not necessarily for the worse, he caught himself staring away from Victor’s eyes more often than not, paranoid he would immediately know that Hop had a crush on him just by looking at his face somehow. But, Hop could never confess. Not while they were this deep into their challenges. Victor had his own baggage to worry about, and there was no guarantee he would even reciprocate. If Hop confessed only to have Victor reject him, it would break his heart, but he wouldn’t blame him or anything like that, but he feared rejection and making things awkward between them. What if Victor never wanted to talk to him afterward? That would hurt Hop way more than simple rejection.
So for now, he had to build himself up. He had to prove he was good enough to compete in the gym challenge, and he had to prove that the endorsement his brother gave him wasn’t in vain. And more importantly, he wanted to prove to Victor that he was good enough. Maybe if Victor saw he wasn’t just a lowly trainer, and that Hop possessed just as much skill and talent as both he and Leon, he might not reject him completely should Hop ever gain the courage to confess, though that was asking for a lot, and Hop knew that. Still, he was determined, if not for himself, then at least for Victor. He wasn’t sure if he could even face him knowing he had lost to Bede like he had.
Hop spent more time talking and boasting about who his brother was, how much confidence he had in his abilities, that he never even stopped to consider people around him might think differently of Leon if he were to wind up being a horrible trainer. And worse yet—if people knew Victor was associated with him, they might start speaking badly of him as well. And Hop couldn’t take that.
His Dubwool looked up at him curiously when they arrived underneath the brush, and he set to work taking out a few weaker Pokémon for his Dubwool’s benefit. Maybe if they focused on the small fry now and worked their way up, he and his partner could learn a few things together. Hop didn’t think he was an awful trainer by any means, because defeat came eventually to any trainer, but he couldn’t stand the idea of someone thinking his brother was rubbish because of his own shortcomings.
Or even worse—thinking that Victor was rubbish. And that wasn't fair to him.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
The rather gruff voice pulled him straight out of his daydreams, causing Hop to jolt on the spot, whirling around to see a rather stout looking trainer had wandered into the area. The guy was quite obviously looking for a battle, but Hop stood in front of his Dubwool out of instinct, knowing the recent training had probably tuckered him out. He hadn’t bothered taking any of his other partners for training, focusing mainly on Dubwool, but with the sun having mostly set, he was already preparing to head back to Motostoke to the Pokémon Center and call it a night.
“Nothing. Just training a little. If you’re wanting to battle, I can’t oblige you right now. My team is a little worn out.”
“Who said I wanted to battle?”
The way the man said that put Hop on edge, and his Dubwool nudged his nose against his palm, agitated himself by the way he let out a low bleat. Hop swallowed, trying to keep his cool. The man looked rather rough, maybe some street ruffian or whatever, but he tried not to let it show that he was nervous. He didn’t want to put the man off by letting him think Hop was scared, but the truth was, he was in the middle of nowhere, far away from the outskirts of Motostoke even, and if this man wanted to do something, he had every ample opportunity to do so.
Hop swallowed, trying to keep his trembling voice steady. “Th-then I’ll just be going now. I need to get back to Motostoke, I have people waiting for me.” That last part was a lie, but he hoped by saying that, it would deter any ill intentions the man might’ve had.
The man snorted through his nose, reaching down to grab one of his poké balls from his belt. “You ain’t got nobody waiting for you, kid. You’re one of them gym challengers, right? Bet you’ve got a lot of money on you from all that battlin’ and whatnot. How about handing it over?”
At that, Dubwool took a step in front of Hop, staggering a bit, though trying to stand tall. Oh shit—Hop knew he was tired, but he didn’t think he was this worn out. “I don’t have that much money on me—look, I don’t want any trouble, just—” But before Hop could even finish his sentence, the man had thrown his poké ball, a Machamp busting out before it rushed at his Dubwool, tackling the poor, unprepared Pokémon before Hop could even shout a command. His Dubwool was thrown off his feet from the attack, and before Hop could rush to his partner’s aid, the man moved.
In the blink of an eye, he was on him, having crossed that distance while Hop was distracted to punch him straight in the face. The force was so hard that it threw Hop to the side, away from Dubwool who was down and not getting up anytime soon. Hop landed hard on the ground, sliding onto his back, and making to stand to his feet, grab Dubwool, and run like hell, but the man was already on him. Immediately, he was on him, straddling Hop’s waist, pinning him to the ground, and unleashed a barrage of punches to his face.
Instantly, Hop reached up with both arms to protect himself, feeling the man’s fists collide, hitting his cheeks, his head, and despite how Hop cried out in pain, he wouldn’t stop. The man beat him without mercy, as though unable to even stop, as though he held some unbridled rage toward Hop, though he was certain he had never laid eyes on this person before.
“Stop! S-stop! I’ll give you my money!” But even still, the man continued punching him, even to the point he forced Hop’s arm away to hit him in the face, and Hop knew there was no way he didn’t have a black eye, and the dribbling from his nose that entered his mouth until he tasted metallic let him know his nose was bleeding as well.
“Thought you said you didn’t have any money.”
“I’ll give you what I have!”
This time, the man slapped his face, forcing Hop’s head to loll to the side from the force and his eyes welled with tears from the sting. Why on earth was this man doing this to him? What had Hop ever done to him? This couldn’t be about some petty thievery—this man had a vendetta against him. If all he wanted was Hop’s money, he would have just taken it and run already, but he was relentless in the way he beat him. No matter how Hop begged, he was only met with a swift slap, a harsh punch, a fist colliding with his head, until he was certain this man was going to pummel him to death.
With no Pokémon to protect himself with, Hop not able to reach his belt and call out any of his other partners, all he could do was lie there and take it. Maybe the man would continue until Hop was unconscious, only to rob him afterward, or maybe he would just kill him, but either way—Hop did all he could to protect his face and head by holding his arms up, until the man simply started punching him elsewhere.
The moment he punched Hop’s stomach, he felt all the air escape from his lungs, and he coughed, attempting to double over and protect his vulnerable areas, but he couldn’t with the man sitting on top of him. Hop wanted to beg him again to stop, to just fucking take his money if that’s what he wanted, and just stop —but before he could open his mouth and suck the air back in, the man was thrown off him. Just as soon as the assault began, Hop completely at the man’s mercy, something shoved the man until he rolled a few feet, and Hop scrambled to his knees, coughing, trying to gain his breath back, while clutching his sore stomach, one of his eyes swollen shut, and it took him several seconds to realize what had even happened.
Victor’s Inteleon had come from nowhere and shoved his body against the man’s, throwing him off Hop. Only taking a quick second to scan the area, even in Hop’s rather confused and dazed state, he spotted Victor just off to the side, shouting commands at Inteleon once the Machamp tried to come to his trainer’s aid.
In only a few seconds, Inteleon had thrown Machamp back with a snipe attack, leaving the man who had attacked Hop exposed and shaken. In an instant, Victor had placed his body in front of Hop’s, his Inteleon in front of the both of them in case the man ordered Machamp to attack again. “Where do you get off attacking innocent trainers like that, you tosser?!” Hop had never heard Victor sound so angry before, and he didn’t doubt if Victor ordered Inteleon to snipe the man out of sheer spite, but he only continued shouting at him. “Get out of here before I do something worse to you than what you did to my friend!”
Even though Hop knew Victor would never outright attack another trainer like that, the way the threat lingered in the air seemed almost tangible, to the point even the man grabbed his injured Machamp, scampering away through the thicket of trees, until the area was once again quieted and peaceful. Well—peaceful enough.
The moon had crept higher in the sky by the time Hop had finished Dubwool’s training, and now both boys were casting shadows on the ground, giving the indication it was much later than Hop realized. With his head still in the clouds, probably still dazed, it took him a few seconds too long to come to his senses long enough to stand to his feet and hobble over to where Dubwool was. His partner had only been knocked out, but Hop was finally given the opportunity to return him to his poké ball, and he did so immediately.
Sinking down to his knees, Hop took a few moments to breathe, a few drops of blood plopping down onto his trousers before he realized his nose was still bleeding.
“Are you okay, mate?”
Victor had crouched beside him, Inteleon hovering over the both of them like he was making it his duty to protect the two against any more threats, which Hop was grateful for, but even now, he found it difficult to meet Victor’s eye. Obviously, the answer to that question was no, but while Hop had just been assaulted, his limbs trembling now that he was coming to more and more, he couldn’t even bring himself to ask why Victor had been out here, how he had even happened upon them.
And yet again, it was Victor who was coming to Hop’s defenses, having to save him from trouble like this, because Hop was too stupid to get himself out of it—or maybe just stupid for having gotten himself in this mess in the first place.
“What was that guy’s problem? Why was he beating the hell out of you like that?”
Hop shook his head. “Damned if I know, mate. I think he wanted to rob me, but…I kept saying I’d give him my money, but he wouldn’t stop.”
“Bit of an odd way to rob someone, if you ask me.” Upon saying that, Victor had fallen to his knees, much in the same position Hop was sitting in, and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We should get you to Motostoke and get you cleaned up.”
No…
Hop shook his head, still not able to meet Victor’s eyes, even when he knew his friend was probably worrying over him, but Hop wasn’t worth it. If he couldn’t even save himself, his own stupid self, from an attack like that, what right did he have to think he was worthy of even taking on the gym challenge?
His heart sank at the thought, because Bede was only proving his point that Hop was giving Leon a bad name, and now he was probably going to do the same to Victor, just like a fucking virus, Hop was going to infect both his brother and his crush by simply being associated with them, and neither of them deserved that. They didn’t deserve having someone like Hop dare call himself a trainer in the same breath—what the fuck did he think he was going to do? He couldn’t even train properly. He couldn’t even save Dubwool. He couldn’t even save himself.
Fuck—Hop really was pathetic.
Fighting to try and figure out what the hell to say, Hop bit his bottom lip, just as Victor rummaged around in his bag for a cloth Hop could use to stop his bleeding nose “Th-thanks…” With the cloth pinching his nostrils shut, Hop kept his face level so no blood would trickle back down his throat before he side eyed his friend. “What were you doing out here?”
Victor shrugged. “We said we’d meet up in Hammerlocke, yeah? You never showed up. I came back to look for you.”
Oh… He’d honestly forgotten he promised to meet Victor there tonight. And he found Hop in that kind of situation. Hell, Victor was too good a trainer to put up with a failure like Hop. This even—hanging by Hop’s side was probably Victor’s way of pitying him, because he knew he wasn’t ever going to be a great trainer.
How in the everloving hell did Hop think he could confess now? If he dared open his mouth, Victor would probably laugh at him, call him silly or insane even for thinking he could even begin to call himself equal. How was it possible for Hop to feel so left behind when both he and Victor started out on the same path with the same goal? Hop even had Wooloo with him from the start. He should have been better than Victor—but it was just the opposite.
Victor was moving so fast that Hop could barely keep up with him.
“Oh… S-sorry, mate. I headed out here to do some last minute training. Lost track of the time.”
Victor shifted on his knees until he sat on his bottom, letting out a sigh as he did so. “You did a lot more than that, Hop.”
Nodding, Hop pinched his nose again, removing the cloth to see a bright red blood stain and he cringed, not necessarily at the sight of his blood, but just the fact it had happened in the first place. With one of his eyes swollen shut, he had no idea what kind of state his face was in, but before he could think anymore on the matter, Victor leaned into him, reaching up with both hands to cup Hop’s face, pulling him up—and Hop’s brain shut off.
Now faced with Victor, he could do little but blush furiously, already feeling the heat seep from his pores, and he was forced to look Victor in the eye, noting that pitying expression on his face. Though Hop wasn’t sure which was worse, being rescued by Victor because Hop was too stupid to take care of himself, or having his friend look down on him this way. Fuck… Hop really was hopeless.
“Your eye is pretty red. It’ll probably turn black, but I don’t think he messed up your face too bad. Where else did he hit you?”
Caught up in the trance of Victor’s face being so close, it took Hop way too long to snap himself out of it in order to reach up and pry his hands away. “N-nowhere. Why don’t you head back and I’ll catch up later?”
“I’m not leaving you out here. If you don’t think anything is broken, we should still get you to the nurse just to make sure.”
“I don’t need a nurse. Dubwool needs one more than me.”
“You both need one.”
“Then why don’t you just take my team and leave me here?”
“Hop, that’s asinine. I’m not leaving you.”
Sighing, realizing this conversation was going nowhere, Hop eventually settled down on his bottom as well, removing the cloth to find his nose had finally stopped bleeding. He sure as hell wasn’t about to go to Motostoke just to embarrass himself in front of a nurse, because they would ask questions. Why was his Dubwool knocked out, why didn’t he protect his Pokémon, why did he allow himself to get caught up in such a situation? And all Hop could say was that he fucked up. He couldn’t do anything right. He couldn’t save his partner. He couldn’t protect himself.
Hop really was a failure.
He grumbled, trying not to sound annoyed when he spoke, but he just couldn’t help it. “Then I’m staying right here.”
Though he had since lowered his face so that he wouldn’t have to look at Victor anymore, Hop could see him nod out of the corner of his eye. “Then I’m staying with you. We’ll camp out for the night, but I really, really, really think we should go to the nurse tomorrow morning before we head to Hammerlocke.”
Hop scoffed, unraveling his bag from over his shoulder to fish out his camping gear. “I don’t even know if I’m going to Hammerlocke anymore.”
“What—”
Ugh, his ugly emotions were starting to surface again, and despite his better judgement yelling at him to shut the hell up and let it lie, Hop couldn’t deny having Victor sitting right next to him, pitying him, having to save him from something Hop should have had no problems getting himself out of—it caused his resolve to crumble, tears threatening to surface, no matter how hard he tried to blink them away, and he whipped his head up to glare at Victor who blanched backward. “Just leave me alone, okay? I’m not good enough to do this. I was never good enough to be a trainer. Just because the champion is my brother doesn’t automatically mean I’ve got what it takes—a-and I mean, look at you. You’re so amazing, you’ve annihilated this competition like it was nothing for you, and I still can’t keep up. I still can’t even grasp the basics, even though I studied so hard, I was so determined, I was so ready to come out here and build myself up, build my team up—and I still can’t even save myself.”
Hop had to turn away from Victor once more, not able to take the look in his eyes. Maybe his friend didn’t realize he was doing it, but all Hop could see was a look that suggested how pathetic he was being. Maybe Victor was belittling him. Not that Hop didn’t deserve it. Victor had every right to condescend him when Hop couldn’t even hold his own in one insignificant battle.
“I’m just not cut out for this and maybe I never was. Maybe this is a sign to give up on the challenge altogether.”
Victor leaned forward, placing his hand to the top of Hop’s, but he flinched away. No—don’t even touch him. Don’t pity him. Hop didn’t want Victor’s misplaced conception of comfort. “Hop, don’t say that! We started out on this thing together, and we’re going to make it together!”
“That’s easy for you to say!” Now he was heated, his voice rising in pitch, though try as he might, Hop couldn’t help the hysterics starting to bubble up in his throat. “It’s so fucking easy for you! You barely have to do anything and people love you! They’ve already started flocking to you, because you’re making this whole challenge look so damn easy, when I’m struggling so much, especially with Leon being my brother. If I can’t even handle the basics, I’m just going to make the both of you look like rubbish.”
“Hop!” Victor’s loud voice cut through Hop’s increasingly emotional outburst, and before Hop could brace himself, his friend had leaned forward to throw his arms around him. Stunned, all Hop could do was sit frozen, his bag long forgotten to the side where he’d been in the middle of pulling his camping gear out, but he felt like he blacked out in that moment. Victor clung to him, holding him close, squeezing Hop’s back as he pressed him close, and it hurt. That man had sucker punched him in the stomach a few times, maybe even in the chest, but Hop couldn’t tell what was hurting, because everything seemed to be hurting. “Don’t ever say things like that, Hop. You do not make me or your brother look like rubbish. I don’t know if someone got into your head—if Bede said something to you, but it’s not true, okay?”
Hop blinked his tears away, not able to hold Victor back even as his friend tightened the hug. All he could do was sit there and swallow the lump in his throat. “H-how can you even say that when you know it’s true? You’re just trying to make me feel better.” And that hurt worse than the truth.
“No, I’m not! Didn’t you earn your badges alongside me? Didn’t you face the exact same challenges I did? You aren’t a failure, Hop. You’re doing so well—who cares what other people think? I’m sure I don’t have to be the one to tell you that Leon of all people doesn’t think any differently of you should you lose a battle here and there.” Victor sighed, burying his face against Hop’s neck, and his cheeks were so hot by that point, Hop was almost sweating. He only hoped Victor didn’t realize how much he was trembling, having him so close, how hard it was for Hop to keep his mouth shut and not just spew out his confession already. “Losing sucks, it really does, but you can’t expect yourself to be perfect all the time. You can’t compare yourself to me or your brother, because we aren’t the same people. You aren’t Leon. You aren’t me. You’re you, and you’re working harder than either of us, and you’re still holding your own in this challenge.”
His arms unlooped from around Hop, until Victor leaned away from him, and Hop could see a very evident tinge of red against his cheeks as he stared up at Hop, reaching down once more to hold onto his hand. Hop allowed it this time. He couldn’t move even if he wanted to.
“What that man did to you wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. You can’t beat yourself up over a fight that held you at a disadvantage from the get-go. He wasn’t just some ordinary trainer—he was a bad person. He was out to hurt you. Now, how is that fair for you to give yourself a hard time over something you couldn’t even control?”
Shivering just slightly, Hop shook his head, somehow not able to tear his gaze away from Victor’s own. He was mesmerized once again, but his tears that had become stagnant finally spilled down his face, until Hop reached up to smear them on his already heated cheeks. “I-I don’t know. I-I just don’t want to be the reason why people say horrible things about you or Lee.”
“Who cares? Let them. If people want to make judgements about you based on something as stupid as that, then maybe they aren’t to be taken seriously in the first place.”
Hop swallowed, but he couldn’t help to glance over toward his bag, just to have an excuse not have to look at Victor right now. Why were his cheeks so red? Hop didn’t want to make any assumptions about Victor hugging him like he had, but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit it felt so nice. If he wasn’t already ashamed of himself, Hop was tempted to ask him for another one, but he settled on biting his lower lip instead and nodding.
Victor squeezed Hop’s hand in his own. “Hop, I’m not saying this just to make you feel better—I’m telling the truth. You’re a great trainer. You’re different from me and Leon, of course you are, but that doesn’t make you a bad trainer. I’m proud that you’re my friend. I’m very happy that you’re out here with me. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to be on this journey with me.”
“I…” I love you.
Those words were right on the tip of his tongue, but Hop swallowed them before they could escape. No. If he said that now—this wasn’t the right moment. Not when he’d just had the shit beat out of him, and had to be rescued. Maybe Victor would reject him, but maybe he wouldn’t. Hop couldn’t ask this now, though.
Maybe one day. Maybe once he’d proven to Victor without a shadow of a doubt that Hop was just as skillful a trainer as he was. Maybe if he could defeat Victor in battle, then he would confess.
One day. Hop would do it. No matter the rejection, no matter Victor’s response, he would wait until he could proudly call himself a great trainer, and then he would tell him. But until now, Hop merely nodded, the day’s events having left him exhausted, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up inside his tent and sleep it all off.
“Th-thank you, Victor. I’m sorry you had to get caught up in the mess from earlier.”
“Don’t apologize. You’re my best friend, I’m not going to stand by while some tosser throws himself on you like that.” Victor gave him a rather sheepish stare as he removed his hand away from Hop’s, his lips thinning. “Hop, are you sure you don’t want to head on to the nurse tonight? We could stay at the capsule rooms in the Pokémon Center.”
Hop shook his head, already rifling around in his bag once more to pull out his things. “I’m sure. If anything looks too bad in the morning, I’ll head over there, but I’m tired right now.”
“Yeah...me too.” Victor twiddled his fingers, looking oddly adorable, his cheeks flushing red so much that even Hop could see it from the corner of his eye. “Um...feel free to say no—I-I don’t wanna seem like I’m pressuring you, but…” Stopping what he was doing to face Victor, Hop watched as his entire face turned a dark shade of red. “W-would you wanna share the tent? It’s been a while since we really got together like this, and I miss spending time with you. The challenge both feels like it’s passing by like a bullet train, and like we’ve barely made any progress, but I-I mean, yeah. I just miss hanging out.”
Hop had to blink a few times to make sure he was still awake. It wasn’t unusual for them to share a tent, but… Victor was right, it had been a long time since they took the chance to hang out with one another and just enjoy the company. “Y-yeah! Absolutely. I’d love that.” He hoped he didn’t sound too desperate, but Hop was over the moon at the prospect of sharing his sleeping space with Victor, and the way his friend’s face lit up at the fact he was on board was enough to send Hop’s heart soaring.
The nagging voice in the back of his mind was still berating him for having gotten himself in that situation earlier, and Hop was grateful his friend had the sense to come looking for him when he realized Hop had never shown up. It only proved Victor cared about him, and Hop was forever happy Victor of all people even gave him the time of day. He would never want to do anything to sully their friendship, or drag his friend’s name through the mud.
He would see. Hop would prove himself to Victor.
And maybe.
Maybe Hop would confess his feelings one day as well.
With the moon climbing high in the sky, the two boys set to work gathering their camping gear until the tent was pitched, until they both settled in for the evening, and Hop could safely say he felt content once they snuggled under the blankets, Victor’s smiling, cheerful face one of the last sights he saw that night before he dozed off to sleep.
One day. Hop would become a great trainer. Victor would see. Victor would be proud enough to call Hop his equal.
Hop loved him. He just wanted to prove he was good enough to call himself a trainer, to call himself worthy of Victor’s feelings. That’s all he wanted.
Until then, the pair slept by one another, and despite everything that had occurred that evening, Hop could admit he was happy simply being by Victor’s side this way.