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Though Gloria knew that Hop liked to think of himself as a pretty fearless man, when it came time for their honeymoon flight to Alola, she’d never seen him more scared.
They were flying first class both ways (the seat upgrades were a wedding gift from Leon), and after boarding the plane, Hop had sunk into his seat shakily, holding onto the armrests at either side of him with a vice grip. “Do you… Do you think you can handle our luggage, Gloria?”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” Gloria was strong, and with the help of a flight attendant, she managed to get all of their bags up in the overhead compartment. “Are you… feeling okay, Hop?”
They hadn’t even taken off yet, and Hop was already turning slightly green. “Yeah, yeah,” he tried to reassure her with a wave of his hand. “I’m… I’m doing great.”
Dropping onto her seat beside him, Gloria buckled her seatbelt as other passengers continued boarding the plane. “I think you’ll do just fine. The flight shouldn’t be long.”
A twinge of worry colored Hop’s features. “How long’s the flight again?”
“Sixteen hours?” Gloria guessed. She couldn’t quite recall. “Give or take an hour, I think.” She placed a hand on his arm and rubbed it soothingly. “It’s gonna be alright. I’m right here with you.”
Hop blanched. “I honestly don’t know if I’ll make it for sixteen hours, Glo.”
With a reassuring smile, Gloria promised, “You’ll make it. I’ll be right here beside you, I swear.”
When the plane was finally full and the boarding door closed, Hop turned paler than usual. As the flight attendant began strolling down the aisles, preparing everyone for take off, his grip on her arm became a bit stronger.
Shifting so that he was now holding her hand, Gloria arched a worried brow. “You have a strong grip, you know.”
“Sorry,” Hop winced. His knee was bouncing up and down anxiously as the plane rolled slowly down the runway. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
After ten minutes of a slow taxi forward, the plane finally began picking up speed.
As she squeezed Hop’s hand, once, then twice, Gloria smiled at him sympathetically. “Be brave, sweetheart.” She met his gaze. “We’ll be there soon.”
Clutching at his stomach with his free hand, Hop did his best to smile (grimace) in return. “If… If you say so, Gloria.”