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Victor yawned in exhaustion and slumped in his seat, practically melting onto Hop’s seat and therefore, Hop’s lap. The plane ride from Wyndon to Mauville was taking foreeeever, and he just wanted to get to Hoenn already so their vacation could begin.
Hop laughed and joked, “Don’t fall asleep on me now; we’ll be there in less than an hour, and I wanna hit up the casino right away.”
Victor laughed sleepily. “You and your games…” He thought for a moment, then frowned. “The casino’s probably closed by now; it’s past one in the morning in Hoenn.”
Hop smacked his forehead dramatically and exclaimed, “Fuck! I forgot time zones exist.”
Victor smiled and sat up in his seat, yawning again. “I’m ready to turn in for the night anyway. We can gamble our life savings away tomorrow.”
Hop nodded. “Can we at least hit up a pub first? I’ll beat you in pool,” he teased. “Again.”
Victor sighed. “A Magikarp could beat me in pool when I’m this tired… But I guess that’s fine.”
They chatted a bit for the rest of the plane ride, and Hop succeeded at making Victor blush as red as a shiny Gyarados several times. Victor hated how absolutely head-over-heels he was for Hop; they were supposed to be friends, and rivals, and Victor couldn’t even do that right. Hop knew it, too, even if he acted oblivious. There was no way for Victor to hide his feelings. He was just glad Hop didn’t seem to mind, even if he was sad his feelings weren’t reciprocated.
Hop and Victor were nineteen now, and Victor had been champion from the ages of twelve to seventeen before finally losing his title to an up-and-coming trainer from Stow-on-Side. He was now only a former champion, but in Galar, he was something of a local celebrity, getting special treatment from most people and businesses. He was honestly kind of looking forward to being treated as a normal person when they got to Hoenn; he was tired of the spotlight, and just wanted a break.
Finally, just when Victor was about to fall asleep in his seat again, the pilot came over the intercom as Victor felt the plane begin to tilt downward.
“…Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be beginning our descent into Mauville International One, approximate landing time is 1:57am after an eleven hour flight; today’s flight has been a pleasure and I hope you all enjoy your time in Hoenn.”
Victor stretched and checked his watch; only ten minutes to go. He glanced over at his friend, who was staring intently out the window at the twinkling lights and dark, misty ocean. He smiled to himself; how could Hop be so Goddamn cute?
The plane landed shortly thereafter, and Hop stood from his seat and scooted past Victor to retrieve his carry-on bag from the overhead bin. He handed Victor his own bag, and the two began slowly shuffling forward to exit the plane.
They made it off, and made their way over to baggage claim to collect their belongings. Then, walking out of the airport into the dark but warm night air, they went to the taxis and climbed into one.
“The nearest pub, please,” Hop said, putting his luggage in the trunk.
Victor laughed, then said, “No, actually; Hotel Altaria. We have to at least unload our luggage into our room.”
Hop chuckled, blushing slightly. “I forgot about our reservation. Right, Hotel Altaria then.”
The cabbie nodded and, driving off, told the two boys, “There’s a bar two blocks down from there, to the left if you’re facing the front of the hotel.”
Hop grinned and turned to Victor. “What luck! We don’t even have to call another taxi.”
Victor nodded and closed his eyes, resigning himself to simply resting. He felt as though he had just relaxed when Hop shook his shoulder, saying, “Victor, we’re here, mate.”
Victor shook his head to wake himself up. “Jeez, already?”
Hop laughed, a sound that made Victor’s heart flutter. Hop then said, “Mate, that was a thirty minute ride.”
Victor yawned and said, “I must’ve fallen asleep…”
“You definitely did,” was Hop’s only response.
The two got out of the taxi and collected their luggage from the back, then went into Hotel Altaria. When they got to the front, Victor told the concierge, “Hi, we have a reservation for a penthouse room, under Victor.”
The concierge frowned and said, “Right, about that…”
“Oh jeez, here we go…”
The concierge, who’s name tag read, “Delilah”, continued, “Steven Stone needed a room, and that was the one he wanted. He’s the champion of Hoenn, and our hands were somewhat tied… We tried to call, but we never got ahold of you.”
Victor pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Before he could respond, Hop suddenly yelled, “Just ‘cause he’s the champion doesn’t mean you can let him do whatever he wants! We booked that room! It was expensive, too!”
Victor simply said, “I at least want a refund.”
Delilah nodded and said, “Of course. We’ve already credited your card for the $1,200 you paid. He needs it for two nights; I know you had it booked for five nights, so we can at least give it to you for the last three, and for the inconvenience, we can give it to you for free those nights.”
Hop calmed down a bit at this. “Okay… That’s, uh, somewhat reasonable. But where are we supposed to stay tonight and tomorrow?”
Delilah shifted in place, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Well, we’re completely booked up, and usually are for months in advance. If I were you, I’d try the motel down the street a bit, called The Fiery Torchic.”
“A motel?!” Hop exclaimed.
Victor held his hands up to calm his friend down. “A motel’s not that bad,” he said. “We can just-”
“Victor here is a former champion himself, of Galar. We need a proper hotel.”
Victor snapped in his exhaustion, and said, “Hop, please. We’ll be fine. You know I don’t like people knowing that.”
As if on cue, Delilah exclaimed, “You’re THAT Victor? Can I ask for your autograph?”
Hop blushed and grinned slightly, looking quite sheepish. “Uh… Sorry…”
Victor sighed and attempted his best smile at the concierge. “Uh, sure. Gimme a pen and paper.”
After signing his name for Delilah, Victor promptly turned around and began walking out of the hotel. He heard Hop say, in his most flirty voice, “You know, my brother Leon is also the former champion of Galar… I could get you his-”
“Hop!” Victor exclaimed. “Come on, mate, I’m exhausted. Let’s go.”
Hop winked at Delilah and rushed out of the hotel to join up with his friend. Victor glanced at him and rhetorically asked, “Do you have to flirt with every girl you meet?”
“It’s fun,” Hop replied. “It’s a bad habit, I guess, but it’s fun.”
“For you,” Victor thought moodily. “For me it just hurts…”
As they made their way down the street, they passed the bar their taxi driver had mentioned. Hop lit up and said, “Come on, one game of pool. The sign says they’re open another two hours.”
Victor couldn’t help but laugh in his frustration. “Do you ever get tired and sleep?”
Hop shrugged. “Not really.”
Victor frowned. “That’s not healthy,” he said.
Before another word was said, Hop bounded into the hotel with his luggage still in hand, and Victor sighed deeply. Guess he was going in after all… He followed Hop inside and walked up to the bar, where Hop was sitting with an empty seat next to him. He sat down, and soon, a bartender came over.
“Anything I can get you two?”
“A couple shots of your best whiskey for both of us,” Hop said, without bothering to check in with Victor first.
“Two each or two for both of you?” the bartender asked.
“Two each!” Hop answered, closing his eyes and grinning widely.
As the bartender went to retrieve the whiskey, Victor turned to Hop and began, “Mate, we gotta talk about this impulsivity. I’m exhausted and just wanna get to bed, and you keep-”
“I’m sorry,” Hop interrupted. “I don’t even see a pool table, so we can leave after this, promise.”
Victor stared at Hop blankly. “You better mean that.”
Hop smiled again. “I do!”
Victor couldn’t help but be head-over-heels for this sometimes dumb, always impulsive boy, and no matter what happened, he always immediately forgave Hop; he was too deep in love to really care too much.
The bartender came back with four shot glasses and a bottle of expensive looking whiskey. He poured them their shots, then returned to the other side of the bar. Hop grinned and picked one up, and Victor, wanting to go along, picked one up as well.
“Cheers, then!” Hop exclaimed. They drank their shots at the same time, and as Hop slammed his glass back onto the bar, Victor shuddered. He never liked drinking that much, and only ever did when Hop did (which was fairly often). Victor yawned again and said, “You should’ve checked with me before you ordered; I don’t want my other shot.”
Hop shrugged and responded, “That’s okay, I’ll drink it.”
“You’re gonna get drunk,” Victor warned.
“Eh, I’ll be fine.”
Hop ordered a bowl of crisps, then took the other two shots back-to-back. The two of them had just finished the crisps when Victor stood from the bar and said, “Come on, let’s pay and get out of here.”
Hop nodded and said, “I’ll pay.”
Victor shook his head. “I got a credit for the hotel, I’ll pay.”
Hop shook his head right back, replying, “No, I feel bad for dragging you here in the first place, let me-”
Victor laughed and said, “Come on, you always pay, I’ll-”
Suddenly, an older man from across the bar, clearly drunk, chimed in, exclaiming, “Jeez, you two, get a room already.”
The bartender frowned and sternly said, “Mark, you know better than to mess with other customers.”
Victor blushed a deep scarlet, and Hop laughed awkwardly. Hop said, “Uh, just lemme get this one, yeah?”
Victor just nodded, silent. Hop ordered a beer in a bottle, then paid for everything and received his beer. The duo left the bar with their luggage in tow, and Hop, now a bit tipsy, asked Victor to carry some of his bags.
Victor rolled his eyes playfully and said, “Only because you insisted on paying.”
They walked a ways further down the street until finally they came to The Fiery Torchic. It looked like any other cheap motel, but not too bad, all things considered. Victor was content staying at a place like this for a few days.
Hop, on the other hand, sighed and groaned loudly. “This is where we’re staying?”
“Come on, mate, it’s not that bad,” Victor replied. “You won’t even notice the difference.”
Hop snorted. “Yeah, right.”
The two walked into the motel and went right up to the front counter. Victor yawned again and said, “A room with two beds, please.”
The front desk attendant frowned and said, “We’re mostly booked up for the night. We only have one room available, and it only has one bed and a couch.”
Hop groaned again, and Victor quickly said, “We’ll take it.” He turned to Hop and said, “I’ll just sleep on the couch. I’m so tired I could sleep anywhere right now.”
Hop tilted his head and said, “Nah, you’re clearly exhausted. You can have the bed.”
Victor shrugged. “I won’t argue.”
Hop laughed and joked, “I kinda hoped you would.”
Victor frowned and replied, “Then why did you offer?”
Hop laughed again and said, “Mate, I’m joking. You take the bed.”
The attendant gave Victor the room key after he paid, and the duo set off for their room. They unlocked the door and went inside, and almost immediately Hop exclaimed, “Jeez, look how small the TV is! And old, too.”
“Hop, can it.”
Hop frowned. He started, “I know you’re tired, but you’ve been kinda short with me all night. Is everything okay?”
The truth was that everything wasn’t okay. Not to Victor, anyway. He could barely keep his feelings for Hop to himself anymore, and he felt like he was about to burst. Victor blurted out, “Hop, I’m just stressed.”
“About what?” Hop asked.
“I can’t tell you,” Victor replied. “It would mess everything up.”
Hop glanced down and thought for a moment. He finally replied, “Is this about you liking me?”
Victor’s heart sank. So he did know. Victor shuffled uncomfortably and nervously said, “Yeah, maybe a little…”
Hop couldn’t make eye contact, or wouldn’t. Victor’s heart sank even further; fuck, had he fucked up? Would Hop hate him now? What would Hop even think of this?
“Mate,” Hop began. “I don’t really know how to say this…”
“Fuck, here it is. The end of my life.”
“I think I might be bi?”
“Wait, what?”
Hop still couldn’t make eye contact as he blushed and continued, “I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and I think maybe I like you, too. It was obvious you liked me, but I didn’t want to mess things up if I felt different later; I’ve been so confused lately. But honestly, I really think I know now. I like you, Victor. A lot.”
Victor’s heart leapt to the top of his chest, as light as a feather. He stammered out, “Oh, uh, you, uh, yeah, no, yeah… Wait, you what?”
Hop laughed and finally looked Victor in the eyes. “I’m only able to say this ‘cause I’ve got liquid courage in me now. But yeah… You mean a lot to me. More than anyone else. And it felt weird at first, being attracted to you too. Physically, that is. But now I’m kinda over the weirdness, and… Can we kiss?”
Victor blinked, now wide awake. “Uh… Yeah, of course.”
Hop grinned and walked closer to Victor. They stood mere inches from each other, foreheads nearly touching, until finally they both closed their eyes and closed the distance between their lips.
Victor was surprised at how soft Hop’s lips were. Were his this soft, too? They kissed for a moment before, with little warning, Hop parted his lips and began making out with Victor.
Victor obliged, kissing his friend passionately. He ran his hand through Hop’s dark hair, and finally, after a couple minutes of this, they broke off the kiss.
Victor smiled and pressed his forehead to Hop’s. “That was…” He paused, then said, “That was perfect. I’ve been wanting to do that for years.”
Hop smiled back and whispered, “I loved that. We gotta do that more often.”
Victor blushed and asked in a hushed tone, “So are you my boyfriend now?”
Hop laughed and pulled Victor into a tight embrace. “Of course, mate. You and I, we’re kinda perfect for each other, don’t you think?”
Victor leaned his head into Hop’s and replied, “Yeah, I think we are.” He paused and broke their embrace, looking directly at Hop. He hesitated, then asked, “Do you wanna share the bed, then? Cuddle, maybe?”
Hop smiled warmly and responded, “I’d love nothing more.”