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Over the years, Hop had grown fairly used to their apartment being a mess.
Neither he nor Gloria were particularly organized and meticulous with the way they lived, and they never usually felt inclined to pick up after themselves.
Though she had since retired as Champion, handing over the title to her younger brother, Victor, Gloria still found herself with quite the busy schedule. She was a celebrity who was never left looking for ways to make money, especially when various companies were clambering to secure her as a brand ambassador. She also assisted Leon at the Battle Tower and helped Victor to keep in shape even while the Gym Challenge wasn't up and running. Truthfully, she was quite the busy lass and didn't have too much time to spend cleaning their apartment.
Similarly, Hop had countless responsibilities as one of Galar’s two most prominent Pokémon professors. He and Sonia were constantly conducting research and comparing notes and experimenting. Though he'd set up shop in Wyndon and Sonia had since moved her lab from Wedgehurst to Hammerlocke so that she could be closer to Raihan, they often worked together remotely, and they’d had several breakthroughs in the past year or two that were still being spoken about in academic circles. He was rarely ever home in his shared apartment with Gloria, and when he was, he was often making a mess, not cleaning one, covering his desk in colorful sticky notes.
So, narrowly avoiding a few piles of dirty clothing wasn't a surprise to him, nor was stepping into a fairly messy bathroom.
Tired, he gripped the edge of the sink, fairly certain that he had bags under his eyes. Reaching for his toothbrush, he forced himself through the motions of getting ready for bed, stripping out of his day clothes and pulling on his pajamas.
Despite all the clutter, he took his glasses off and placed them on the sink counter. He'd take a shower in the morning, but for the night, he could get away with just washing his face.
Just before leaving the room, Hop caught sight of something unusual. No matter how many years had gone by, he'd never seen one in their apartment before, and he stared at it in shock.
Then, barely recovering, voice shaking, he called out, “Gloria?”
“Yeah, Hop?” Gloria sounded as exhausted as he felt while responding from their bed.
Hop blinked once, then twice, still not even sure if he's imagining all this. “Why’s there a pregnancy test in the trash?”
The bed creaked as Gloria shifted on it. She was silent for a moment, and his heart thundered wildly in his chest.
“Gloria?” Finally, he poked his head out of the bathroom to look at her, hardly daring to hope.
Lacing her fingers over the small curve of her belly, Gloria just grinned. “Yeah, Dad?”
The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. “Gloria?!” Not even bothering to flick off the bathroom light, he went stumbling across the room, flinging himself onto the bed and into his wife's arms.
With a delighted laugh, Gloria weaved her fingers through his hair and hugged him close.
Hop nestled close beside her, and they both shifted to accommodate for his tall frame. “Are you for real?”
“I wouldn't lie to you, Hop,” Gloria promised, pressing a kiss to his hair. “We're having a baby.” The news sounded so sweet coming from her lips that he couldn't care less about how messy their room was or how disheveled their sheets were.
“I'm… I’m a dad,” Hop managed to say in spite of his disbelief. “And you're a mom.”
Placing one of his hands over the swell of her stomach, Gloria nodded, clearly delighted by the excitement in his eyes. “Yes.”
Suddenly, Hop was overwhelmed with emotion, voice cracking. “I… I can't believe it.”
“It's a lot to take in,” Gloria agreed. “But I think we're ready.”
“Yeah,” Hop whispered. “We are.” The mattress dipped twice as he crossed the room to flick off the lights before returning to the bed. “I love you and our baby so much.”
Snuggling into his arms, Gloria smiled, “You're going to be a great dad, Hop.”