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Ever since they were kids together taking on the Galarian Gym Challenge, Hop was always ready for a Pokémon battle, and Gloria was no stranger to the way he'd pump his fists up and down with excitement during a match.
Though she had sort of expected him to lose his desire to battle now that he was well on his way toward becoming a Pokémon professor one day, Hop still enjoyed a good battle every now and again, and occasionally, he even went looking for them.
“I don't know, Hop,” Gloria sighed, unlocking the door to her apartment with a sigh. “You know I always love a good battle, but it's pretty late out, and I had a long day at the Battle Tower with Leon.”
As they kicked their shoes off by the front door, Hop pouted, glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose with his change in expression. “It would be loads of fun, though!”
“It would be,” Gloria acquiesced, hanging her bag and coat up on a rack. “But we hardly get any time together now, and I want to treasure each little moment we can get.”
No matter how disappointed Hop might be with her decision, she knew he wouldn't push her to do anything she didn't want to do. “I suppose you're right.” His excitement dropped considerably as he followed her into the living room. “I guess we can just watch TV.”
Shaking off her nerves, Gloria shuddered. It was now or never.
“…Or we could make out…”
Hop’s intake of breath at that was so sharp that she worried he might have actually begun choking on something. “We could… We could… Gloria, what?”
Glancing up at him through her lashes, Gloria shrugged. “Only if you want to.” He’d gotten so damn tall.
Stumbling toward the couch, Hop examined her features closely. “Do you want to?”
“If you’re down, then I’m down,” Gloria offered simply. Though they'd known each other their whole lives and had been dating for several months now, they'd never done this before, and her heart was thundering in her chest at the mere thought of it.
Breathing in shakily, Hop was silent for a moment as he considered her words carefully.
Gloria tried not to be impatient. Somehow, this seemed like a pretty big step. They'd shared their first kiss when they were ten, and they'd begun dating at sixteen, occasionally trading kisses back and forth… But actually making out? Were they ready for that?
“Okay, Gloria,” Hop agreed. “Let’s do it.”
Lowering herself onto the couch to join him, Gloria laughed a bit to hide just how nervous she felt. “I’m sure you know this already, but I've never done this before.”
With a careless grin, Hop kissed the top of her nose. “I know. I haven't either.”
Feeling a bit more at ease, Gloria hooked her leg around his waist, surging forward to meet him in a kiss. “You know that I love you, right, Hop?”
“Yeah,” Hop mumbled against her lips, dazed. “Yeah, I do. And I love you too, Gloria.”
Seizing the opportunity to slip her tongue into his mouth, Gloria laughed as he fell backwards against the couch in surprise. Shifting so that her limbs were now caging him in place, she teased him for a bit, nibbling at his bottom lip as he became more comfortable with their kissing.
They stayed like that for a while, trading kisses and exploring each other’s mouths, before Hop had finally had enough of being on the bottom. With one swift motion, he flipped them both so that he was hovering above her while wearing a boyish grin.
“You’re so beautiful.” His smile was sincere even as she took hold of his hands and led him to the edge of her shirt. As his fingers slipped beneath her shirt, tracing a path up her midriff, he peppered kisses along her jawline.
“I can’t believe it took us so long to do this,” Gloria sighed, leaning into his touch.
Venturing a bit farther upward as he explored her body with his hands, Hop kissed her again. “You were right, Gloria. This is way better than having a Pokémon battle.”