On the verge of broken dreams (Hop x Reader) Part 6 - End
author’s note
That’s the last part for this, hope you’ll enjoy it :) Any feedback is welcome !
Art by indigo2070 on Twitter
It had been a few months since you last went back to Postwick for your bite sized vacations. This time, you went to really relax. You had been pestered by people every day and you craved silence, nature, something else than the eternal buzzing of the big city.
So you went early in the morning, leaving your pack at your mum’s and then you walked to the Slumbering Weald. The forest was so dense it blocked any noise other than its own, the spots of light filtering through the canopy revealed only part of the scenery to your eye. The relative darkness soothed you, and when you crossed the small stone bridge, you relished in hearing the sounds your boots made on it. You could hear Pokémon frolicking in the grass and bushes, lively yet discreet sounds all around you. When you arrived at the heart of the forest, where the small arch and altar was, you felt serene. The light was more abundant because of the clearing above the lake, but it wasn’t harsh or direct. The underside of the trees was lit by the reflection of sunlight on water and it gave the place a magical atmosphere. The small stone platform, partially gone to time, was warm and had something nostalgic about it. It was old, broken, forgotten, part of a time it wouldn’t see again, but there you were. Even though the two heroes of the legend had found a new place, you couldn’t help but dwell on how they must have felt, living in here for centuries.
You sat on the steps leading to the ruins and took your sketchbook out of your bag. Using a simple pencil, you started drawing things that made you feel good. Flowers, cute Pokémon, the arch, the light on the water, people smiling… You were very absorbed in your drawings when you noticed some movement at the periphery of your vision. So you looked up, and you saw Hop. It was a Saturday, but he still had his lab coat on. His hands were tucked inside his pants pockets and he looked serene. Without saying anything, he sat down next to you on the warm stone.
Your heart missed a beat when you saw him, his face barely lit up in the penumbra of the undergrowth, yet his eyes caught glimpses of light and looked like molten gold.
You put down your sketchbook as quietly as you could, for you didn’t want to break the peaceful harmony of the place. Then you laid your hands behind you to support yourself and stared at the maze of branches hovering above you, for you didn’t dare to look at Hop. Neither of you said anything for a long time, until Hop’s voice rose from the ambient chirping and chittering.
“When are you gonna stop hiding behind the fact that you beat me ?”
You felt like you were doused in a bucket of cold water. You lowered your eyes, still not looking at him, ashamed. Your hands tensed up a bit on the stone, its rough surface helping you stay anchored to reality.
“It’s been a year, you know ?” he continued. You couldn’t tell what look he had on his face, but he sounded casually serious. In an effort, you managed to stammer out a few words.
“Since I became the champion ?”
“No, just a day before that”
A day before you became the champion. The day you beat Eternatus. That one memory that you had kept the farthest away from your mind came back, flooding your brain and leaving it a mess. Your breath hitched in your throat, but Hop didn’t leave you the time to process.
“When I kissed you”
You felt his hand lay onto yours, so warm and bigger when your fingers had gone cold from anxiety. Your eyes fluttered to look at it, a reflex, but you couldn’t help yourself. You were almost trembling out of stress, body cold but you were also warm inside, your head, cheeks, chest burning. Caught up in your inner turmoil, you were unable to say anything back.
“And whatever I did afterwards, you never pushed me away” Hop murmured with a low voice, maybe a little strained.
You felt him lean a bit closer to you, his hand still on yours and preventing you from getting away. Your heart was beating like crazy and you were almost out of breath. Still not looking at his face, your eyes wandered on his body. You saw his chest grow closer and then his breath was fanning on your lips, sending shivers throughout your body. You couldn’t move, you couldn’t close your eyes, so you stayed still, tingling all over.
Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, Hop closed the gap between the two of you and pressed his lips against yours. At first it was warm and soft, then he tilted his head a bit and deepened the kiss. His mouth melted on yours and you tasted faintly of Pomeg berries again. The memories of your first kiss came back full force and you couldn’t think anymore. It was just Hop, everywhere, everything. The sensations were amplified, taking over your whole body and coursing through you like lightning. You were almost seeing stars when he sucked gently on your bottom lip before parting with you, and you were left there in a daze.
Resting his forehead onto yours, Hop whispered
“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do this…”
His hand left yours and wrapped around your waist, bringing you closer to him.
“To hold you”
His other hand rose and gently grabbed your chin, making you finally, finally look at him. He was gorgeous. His eyes shone like never before, lidded, a bit glazed over. He had a tinge of red on his cheeks and ears, subtle and enticing. His lips were slightly parted and shone from your previous contact.
“To kiss you”
And he kissed you again, a bit more urgently, maybe a bit more desperately, his arm tight around you like he was afraid you’d escape his embrace. That’s when your walls crumbled, and you started crying. Hot tears rolling out of your eyes, unable to contain them, but that didn’t stop him from kissing you again, and you from responding. Maybe you were the desperate one after all. You couldn’t resist anymore, you were putty in his hands as he nibbled and sucked at your lips, breathy moans stuck in your throat. And in between scalding kisses, he started talking again.
“I knew you used your responsibilities as the champion to avoid me. But last time…”
He started kissing you in the neck, leaving a discreet hickey after each sentence, his voice so tantalizingly close to your ear.
“I saw how you looked at me. During the challenge, I became a rival for you, just a rival. You didn’t look at me, you just saw a team you had to beat. But last time, you were finally looking at me again.”
Another kiss, and you clung to him hopelessly.
“I kept thinking about that day, when you faced Eternatus, and how you acted like nothing had happened.”
A pause.
“… why ?”
Hop was still holding you close, his eyes boring into you. Why, he asked…
“Because I took your dream away” you uttered, looking down again.
He pressed you against his chest, engulfing you in his arms.
“That was a year ago… I’m okay now, I never resented you for that. I told you…”
You felt his own composure starting to crack, his hands trembling slightly around you.
“You’ve been punishing yourself for that way too long, please, stop it now”
He hid his face in your neck, abandoning himself to you a bit more.
Your tears having stopped, you managed to croak out a question with a shaky voice.
“Why did you kiss me then ?”
You felt him sigh against you, his breath spreading warmth all over you.
“I was scared you might not come back. And if you didn’t, everything was over. So I thought that if we might die, I might as well have one less regret in this world” he chuckled on the last part.
The last of the barriers you had put up to restrain your feelings went down. You whispered his name like a prayer, a rush of sadness, regret, but also the exhilaration of freedom taking over you. You grabbed his face and kissed him, again and again, hungrily, passionately.
You had wanted him for so long. But you never dared, because you thought you would be a bother, because you thought he hated you. Because you had broken him once and were terrified you would do it again. You had forgotten how warm he was and how touchy-feely you’d get as kids. You had forgotten he was your best friend before being your rival. You had pushed away all the fond memories of him so you could bear to battle him, because it hurt so much.
But little by little, Hop had made his way again to your heart and freed you from your self-inflicted shackles. Every time he held you, he melted a bit more of the ice that had settled in your chest. And now you were abandoned in his arms, his touches stoking the fire inside of you and making your body chant with his. You craved all of him and more, like you wanted to get back all those months you had spent wallowing in self-pity, too absorbed to notice what was right in front of you.
The sun was high when Hop and you emerged from your haze, disheveled, panting a bit, lips swollen.
“Hey, isn’t it like, noon already ?” you breathed out
Hop adjusted his clothes a bit.
“Looks like it, wanna grab a bite ?”
The words came naturally, like they had before that whole ordeal.
“Sure thing”
Picking up your stuff, you stood up next to Hop and your hands latched together. You were walking towards the bridge when Hop stopped you, right before the threshold.
“If anything’s wrong, promise me you’ll tell me. I’m here for you, I’ve always been. You don’t have to bear everything alone.”
You nodded, threading your hand in his hair to bring him to you once more, joining your lips one last time before returning to the rest of the world.
Going to church just really stresses me out. Like how do so many people just do that shit??? I'm always just like okay is my dad sitting next to me so I can sleep on his shoulder through the service? Is my dress too short for these old people? Do I have enough candy/Easter eggs/doughnuts/muffins to last me through the service? Should I braid the little ribbons on the book marks? The songs are jams but do they have to be so like creepy obsessive? Are we getting bread? Are we getting grape juice? Do we get goodie bags? Idk.
beanies are not just hats... they protect me from all the hate in the world like what elts is going to stop all the shit that flys out of peoples mouths?
