#readerxhop

[honeyandhondewberries]

Leon trying maybe a little too hard to set up a moment where Hop can finally confess to his crush but there is always just this awkwardness whenever Hop and his crush talk to each other. Like it’s obvious to anyone watching they like each other it’s just they can’t say it

AUGH i LOVE awkward i love HOP YES. I hope I made this sufficiently awkward and cringe-worthy. ((& I added Raihan & Sonia to wingman w/ Leon, hope you don’t mind!!)

~~

Not a Date (HopxReader)

“What’re you getting so fancy for if this isn’t a date?” Leon calls from behind the door. 

Hop was pulling on his shoe and nearly rolled his ankle at the sound of his brother’s question.

“Hair done? Sweater and blazer?” Leon continues. “And just to be clear, this isn’t a date?”

“Nope,” Hop replies as he double-checks his appearance in the bathroom mirror. “Not a date.”

It’s certainly not a date, certainly not with you. Certainly you and Hop are both just friends, and certainly this is just dinner with a friend.

Which just so happens that friend is, well, you know, you.

Just because Hop has been attracted to you for eons and you got Raihan to get you a reservation at Hammerlocke’s finest restaurant doesn’t mean it’s a date. Just because you texted him about it and he immediately responded yes doesn’t mean it’s a date. Just because he couldn’t stop thinking about it at the research lab so he almost caught his hair on fire, just because he flew out to meet Leon at the Hammerlocke hotel without thinking what to wear, doesn’t mean it’s a date. That did lead to a frantic call to Sonia, however, who then told Hop everything he needed to know about going to dinner with a special someone (who was just a friend), and just because that led to stopping into the Hammerlocke boutique since he didn’t have anything that wasn’t his lab coat or dirty, and just because that led to him spending a little too much time picking out an outfit that accented his legs and his height and his eye color (according to Sonia’s recommendations), and just because you sent him a picture of what you were going to wear and the thought of you in that outfit made his stomach tie itself in knots, that didn’t mean this was a date.

Certainly not.

Hop smooths down his blazer for the umpteenth time, fixes up his hair, and checks his teeth again. It’s certainly not a date with you, so why is he so nervous? He’s not nervous, certainly not, since this isn’t a date.

“You gonna get your first kiss tonight?” comes Raihan’s voice from behind the door, and Hop nearly jumps out of his skin.

“Raihan?!” Hop spits, and he yanks open the bathroom door to see the smug Gym Leader raising an eyebrow at him. “What’re you doing here?!”

“Ooh, easy killer,” Raihan grins as he gives Hop’s outfit a once-over. He lets out a long whistle. “Look at you, trying to give your date a heart attack?”

“It’s not a date,” Hop growls, and he glares daggers at Leon, who only offers a sheepish shrug.

“He wanted to help,” Leon says apologetically.

“Help with what?!” Hop asks. 

“Help you on your date,” Raihan answers. “Help you get your first kiss.”

Hop’s jaw drops, and he again glares at Leon, who in turn offers a guilty smile.

“I’ve kissed people,” Hop mumbles as a blush creeps into his cheeks. 

Leon’s eyebrows raise but before Hop can defend his blatant lie, a harsh knock comes from the hotel door. Raihan opens the door and Sonia comes bolting in.

“Where is he? Did he leave?” she splutters. When she meets Hop’s gaze, she sharply inhales, then exhales an, “Oooh, Hop!”

She rushes over and fiddles with his blazer, and Hop immediately swats her away.

“Oh, it looks so much better in person,” Sonia coos. “Look at you, so handsome!”

“Who are you, his mum?” Raihan scoffs. Sonia ignores that, and continues smoothing down Hop’s outfit, and Raihan turns to Hop again. “When’re you leaving?”

“Um, soon, I think,” Hop mumbles, and he checks his phone. 

If you’re punctual, you should be knocking on his door any minute. Once Sonia is done cooing, Hop sits on his bed, then stands, then sits again. He chews on his nail as the other three chat, he crosses his legs, just to uncross them, then he paces around the room. Why is his heart beating so hard? Why is he sweating? Why can’t he stop fumbling with his fingers?

“Oh, look at him,” Sonia swoons. “So nervous for his cute little date to arrive.”

“I’m not nervous,” Hop huffs. “Why would I be nervous? It’s just dinner with a friend.”

Suddenly there’s a knock on the door, and Hop’s soul nearly leaves his body. Leon steps up to him and gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“You’ll be fine, Hop,” Leon says gently, and Hop nods.

After a clap on the back from Leon, then a light shove when he doesn’t move, Hop heaves in another breath, heads to the door, then pulls it open.

There you are, not a minute early, not a minute late. You’re standing just as stiff as he is, with your hands behind your back, and it seems like you’re also holding your breath. You both simultaneously puff out the air you’re holding at the sight of each other, neither of you accustomed to the other looking like this. Hop stares for a few seconds, opens his mouth, closes it, then swallows.

“Hi,” you say.

“Hi.”

When he makes no other semblance of a response, you shift your weight to your other foot and glance over his ensemble. His hair isn’t as messy as usual, and his usual lab coat is traded for a cable-knit sweater, blazer, and dark jeans.

“You look nice,” you say stiffly.

Hop nods.

“Um, th-thanks,” he mumbles in return. “Sonia picked everything out for me, actually. Said I couldn’t wear a lab coat on a da-er. Dinner. On a dinner… time… event… with a friend.”

“Oh, that’s funny,” you say. “She helped me with my outfit too.”

You smile and nod, then gesture to your own Sonia-compiled outfit. Hop nods as well. What you're wearing is tighter in certain places - tight enough for Hop to notice how well this outfit compliments your figure. Not that he doesn’t normally notice. Or, er, not that he does normally notice. He clears his throat again.

“Yeah, y-you, look, um, ah,” Hop stammers as his eyes trail down your body. His gaze lingers a second too long, then a second after that, until he flicks his gaze back to yours. “Um, y-you look grood. Good, I mean. Great. You look nice too, is, uh, is what I meant.”

“Hop, dude, get it together,” comes a mutter from behind Hop.

“Shh, Raihan!”

Hop whips around. He had been holding the door open with his foot, and Sonia, Leon, and Raihan had jammed themselves into the small crack of the door. They’re like a ladder in that sliver of space, with Sonia at the bottom, then Leon, then Raihan. All of their eyes widen when a furious fire blazes around Hop.

“Get out of here!” Hop hisses as he shoves at them with his foot. They all scamper back and Hop slams closed the door. When Hop turns back to you, you’re holding a massive bouquet out to him.

“I got these for you,” you say quickly. “I, um, I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I just got one of each.”

Hop blinks a few times, then processes that you certainly had. The bouquet is bursting with color, and some of the flowers are practically falling out of the cloth holding them together. He’s not actually quite sure how you’re holding them all with one hand.

“Oh, thanks,” Hop says quietly. “They’re beautiful. I’ll go put them in some water.”

Hop turns, fumbles his hotel key out, and you hear faint hisses from behind the door.

“Shit, he’s coming!”

“Go, go, go!”

“Act natural!”

There’s a flurry of rustling, and when Hop opens the door, he’s surprised he doesn’t break his jaw from how hard his teeth are clenching. Leon is lounging on the bed, and he offers a nonchalant glance.

“Oh, what’s that you got there?” Leon asks as he pretends to watch the tv that isn’t turned on. “Flowers, nice.”

“Yep,” Hop mutters through gritted teeth.

Hop motions to scrounge around for a glass, only to see that one is already prepared with water on the counter. Sonia whistles as she faces the wall.

“How convenient that somebody left this out,” Hop growls as he shoots daggers at the back of Sonia’s head. She flinches.

“Hm? What? Are you talking to me?” Sonia asks as she casually turns around. “Oh hey, flowers, nice.”

“Uh huh,” Hop grunts as he plunks the flowers into the glass. The sheer mass of the bouquet nearly topples it over, so he props it up with the tissue box and a coffee mug. The toilet flushes, and out comes Raihan.

“So when you go in for the ki- oh hey, flowers, nice.”

“Don’t.” Hop warns, and the word jerks out from his teeth like poison. Raihan offers a thumbs up. “I am leaving now, and you are all going to stay here and not follow us or bother us or do anything stupid, got it?”

Leon, Sonia, and Raihan all nod in unison. Hop threateningly points at all of them, slips out again, and he nearly runs into you.

“Everything alright in there?” you ask.

“Just fine,” Hop growls as he glares into the room. Leon, Sonia, and Raihan all offer a toothy grin, and Raihan even adds a wink. Hop quickly pulls the door closed, though you both hear a faint rustling, hushed and frantic whispers, and the sliding of a window. Hop chooses to ignore it.

You walk down the hotel hallway, neither saying a word, and step into the elevator together. The tinny music crackles around you, and you both stand a few inches farther from each other than you normally do. Hop tries to whistle, but his dry mouth only produces a faint ‘pfflbflff.’

“Did you say something?” you ask.

“Huh? Oh, no,” Hop says.

“Oh, I thought you said something.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Right, right.”

“Yeah.”

What should he say? Arceus, what do you both normally talk about? Anything? Pokemon? Yeah, you talk about Pokemon. Hop’s voice squeaks in his throat, and he quickly covers it with a cough when you look at him again.

“How was your day?” you ask quickly, and Hop coughs again.

“Good, good, it was good,” he says.

“Good,” you say. “That’s… that’s good.”

“Yeah.”

The tinny elevator music dinks in the background. Hop chances a glance to the floor number.

Only ten more floors to go.

“H-how was yours?” he asks in return.

“Good too.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

Hop bites his lip. Maybe he could have just met you at the restaurant and you wouldn’t have to endure this. Normally he talks non-stop, but for some reason, you always seem to make him forget all the words he knows.

“How’s work?” you ask.

“Good. That’s good too.”

“That’s good.”

Well, this is going great.

The elevator stops and a family walks in, and their chatter helps ease the tension between you. The children bounce around each other, and you step closer to Hop to give them more room. His hand brushes your waist, and you both tense at the feeling. Neither of you move after that, though.

The fresh air of downtown Hammerlocke continues to ease the tension between you, and when you ask about Hop’s research, you both finally delve into conversation. The restaurant is nice (a little dark and moody, and for some reason the waiter insisted that you both sit in a private booth with a candle in the middle of the table), and it’s your turn to talk. You tell him about your own work, your Pokemon team, and Hop rests his cheek on his fist as he listens.

This isn’t a date, but Hop really wishes it was.

The way your eyes glitter like they have little stars in them, the way you smile when you talk about your passions, the way your laugh rings in the air like bells… Hop lets out a melancholy sigh because of all of it. Maybe he could tell you tonight.

You finish your dinner (after Hop accidentally spilled water on you, which made your outfit cling tighter, not that he noticed), you both head back out into downtown Hammerlocke. The moon is high in the sky now, casting a soft glow over you as you walk down the purple-bricked street.

“You’re shivering,” Hop says. “Are you cold?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” you say with an awkward laugh. “The water hasn’t dried all the way, and it’s weirdly windy tonight.”

Hop nods and glances around. It does seem strangely windy, as if the wind is only blowing on the both of you. Your hair is tousled because of it, and Hop squints his eyes at the roof of a building. Three shadows quickly duck away, and Hop squints harder.

“Here,” Hop says, and he shimmies out of his blazer, then wraps it around your shoulders. “I run hot anyway, and it’s my fault you’re freezing.”

“Thanks,” you say bashfully, and you tuck his blazer closer. A light pink ebbs into your cheeks, and Hop decides that that’s his favorite color now.

“Strangely windy right here, though,” he says, too loudly for a conversation between two. “Almost unnaturally windy, like a Pokemon caused it.”

He squints his eyes at the rooftop again, but there isn’t any scuttling or frantic whispers like he thought there would be. Instead, there’s a gruff construction worker and a Conkledurr that block your path.

“Road’s closed.”

“What?” Hop asks. He peers around the construction worker, then his brow furrows as multiple pedestrians meander past him. “No it’s not.”

“Yes it is. Gotta go another way.”

“Those people are going in,” Hop huffs.

“Go to the plaza,” the construction worker grunts “Ain’t no work bein’ done there.”

“There’s no work being done here,” Hop huffs again, but he stops arguing when you pull on his hand.

“Let’s just go that way,” you say. It doesn’t seem this construction worker and this Conkledurr are leaving anytime soon.

Hop glances to your eyes, to your hand curled around his, and he nods, almost in a daze. You pull him along by his hand, though Hop can’t manage to figure out how to hold your hand properly. He wonders how sweaty his hand feels.

You make it to the plaza, and the center fountain bubbles as a stream of water rises into the air. Lanterns frame the plaza, glowing gold and purple, just like the rest of the city. It’s not a festival or anything, why are there lanterns? Where are the rest of the people? The only person here is a guy plucking an acoustic guitar. Well, there’s a flute player too, and they start up once you step close enough. 

“Oh man,” the guitar player bemoans. “Here we are, playing this beautiful music, and there’s no one here to dance to it.”

“Hark!” the flute player says. “Arceus has blessed us this day, here come two numb nutters now!”

You hear a hiss.

“Young lovers, not numb nutters, you twit!”

“Here come two young lovers now!” the flute player corrects.

They immediately start playing again, and you and Hop glance at one another. You step towards him, and he quickly steps back.

“Oh, I-I don’t know how to dance,” Hop stutters.

“What?! Yes he does, I literally showed him in the lab two days ago!”

Hop’s brow furrows as a memory flashes - an awkward memory of Sonia forcing him to dance when he was trying to study a lake sample. He sniffed her coffee afterwards, but he couldn’t identify anything pungent.

“Sonia?” Hop says.

“Shut up, Sonia!” someone who sounds strangely like Leon hisses. “I-I mean, I’m just a Pidove! Coo, coo!”

“Oh, that’s okay,” you say quietly, and Hop’s attention redirects back to you. “We don’t have to.”

“B-but if you want to we can!” he splutters. He steps forward again curves his hand around your waist, and pulls you into his chest. When your eyes widen, he suddenly pushes you away again. “Sorry! Sorry, I-I just, I, um…”

You shake your head to recover, but when Hop reaches for you again, you hear another hiss.

“It’s too late for that, just go in for the kiss!”

Hop’s heart thumps, hard and heavy, at the thought. He grabs you again, then quickly loosens his grip.

“Sorry,” he mumbles again. “I-I, um, just thought I heard a Pidove.”

“Me too,” you say quietly. Your hands are braced against his chest from how quickly he pulled you in, but you don’t step back. “Um… you could… if you… if you wanted to.”

“Wanted to what?” Hop asks stupidly.

You hear a groan, then a smack from behind the fountain.

“Well, you know,” you mutter. “What that Pidove said.”

Hop’s eyebrows furrow, then shoot high on his forehead when he processes what you just said.

“You… you want me to…”

“W-we don’t have to!” you quickly splutter. “I-I, um, I-I just thought-”

“No! No, we can, we can,” Hop yelps in return. “I… yeah, yeah we can.”

A nervous anticipation flares between you, deep and intense, pulling and curling your stomach in the best way. There’s a few awkward breaths, shy smiles, Hop leans in, and ever so cautiously, bashfully, almost, he presses a soft kiss against your lips. You can’t help but smile, and he can’t either, when you both slowly pull away.

“I was so nervous to ask you out in the first place,” you say with a bashful smile, and you’re not quite sure why Hop’s eyes widen. “But this was the perfect ending to the perfect date.”

“This was a date?!”

You hear three distinct groans from behind the fountain.