A/N: Wow wow wow, we're over 100,000 words! How fitting that this milestone comes at the chapter titled Pecha Berries. This is officially the longest thing I have ever written. As always, thank you all so much for reading, and it is invigorating to hear your thoughts and comments! I greatly appreciate you all. Thanks again, happy reading (or disgruntled reading)! - missusk

Team Roster: Jackson (Cinderace), Hudson (Mudsdale), Rosa (Bellossom), Theodore (Corviknight), Rouge (Weavile)

Chapter 21 - Pecha Berries

Dolly was standing alone in her Hammerlocke hotel room and she tore her hands through her hair. She had never been a violent person, but her knuckles throbbed from punching that hole in the wall. She probably fractured something, too.

That didn't matter. She deserved it.

She was pacing back and forth, her thoughts swarming, often infiltrated by the image of that pure despair on his face. It was her fault. She was a monster. But no, he was the one that said such cruel things, but she was the one that left him, she wouldn't let him talk to her, she wouldn't let him come back.

She opened the door, closed it again, and paced around her room. Her mind was shooting back and forth as she simultaneously attacked and defended herself. The ground was fuzzy as she stared at it, and she smeared the tears off her face again. Her head and her hand throbbed, and Dolly tripped over the blankets strewn on the ground.

She wouldn't let herself lay down. She didn't deserve to sleep. She was poison.

She needed to throw that Pecha berry charm out the window. She didn't deserve to wear it.

When Dolly motioned to grab at her necklace, she only scratched her skin.

She froze, then set her hand over her collarbone.

Where was her necklace?

Her mind flashed to Spikemuth, when Rouge held it out to her. She never put it on, did she? Idiot.

Dolly didn't take her bag. She didn't take her Pokémon. She wouldn't be long, and it was a straight shot to Spikemuth. She would go, grab it, then come back. Then, maybe, maybe, maybe, she would let herself sleep. Maybe she would talk to Jackson, and maybe he would help her from escalating further. Maybe she would try to rationalize and try to believe that she could somehow possibly be worthy of love.

The blinding sun was starting to set, only paling the sky a tinge. She hated how everyone kept looking at her as she stormed through Hammerlocke, she hated how they were all probably wondering. They might all swarm around her, throw things at her, ask her why she was so terrible. She wouldn't blame them.

Each step that pounded into the ground pounded behind her eyes. Where was she going? What was she doing? Oh, Spikemuth, necklace, idiot, right. It was as if her sinuses were full - as if everything within her were swollen and ready to burst. Her lips and skin throbbed where Raihan nipped her and she wondered if she was bleeding. Was there any purple sludge gurgling out of her? Were her tears laced with poison as they tapped against the pavement?

There was Spikemuth. There were the crates. Is that where she sat? No, yes… she couldn't remember. Nothing on it, nothing around it, nothing below it, only dirt and grass and no gold glinting in the setting sun.

The tension was too much, the pressure was unstable, and the dam finally burst.

Dolly coughed a sob as she gently felt over the wood of the crate with shaky fingers. She lost it. She lost her necklace. She lost her charms. She lost her Pokémon.

His voice echoed.

Dolly's eyes shot up.

There he was again, talking, laughing, smiling with a group of Gym Challengers as they walked out of Spikemuth together. There was that beautiful girl from the Hero's Bath festival.

Dolly wasn't thinking straight as she turned and rushed away. The days without sleep were catching up with her, and every faltering step reminded her how exhausted she was. Her head throbbed and her thoughts rambled, all of them disjointed and cruel. Although it was trying to valiantly fight, that little bud of self-love was being overshadowed by the habitual pattern of negativity she was so accustomed to.

Eyelids, path, darkness, path, darkness again. Tunnel? Where was she? The tunnel, right, to Spikemuth, no, wait, to him. No.

Dolly clung to the railing of the tunnel as she tripped again. Her eyes kept closing, her vision kept blurring, as she tried to force herself to continue. The world was jostling, jolting, and she stumbled again, ignoring as he called her name. It was probably just in her head, anyway, he didn't care about her.

Dolly's thoughts jostled just as the ground did and tremors shook the earth as she heard screams coming from the tunnel leading back to Hammerlocke. She had to catch herself on the railing again as rubble fell from the ceiling of the tunnel. Was she imagining that? She followed the cries to see a crowd forming at the mouth of the tunnel, and she tugged on the sleeve of a construction worker.

"What's going on?" Dolly asked.

"You better get out of here, kid," the construction worker said. "Wild Pokémon are Dynamaxing everywhere!"

Dynamax? Was she in the Wild Area? No, this was the tunnel to Hammerlocke...

The sun shot into her eyes as Dolly emerged from the tunnel, and the light flickered as a Dynamaxed Perrserker tore trees from the ground on Route 7. Its shadow blocked out the sun as it turned to stare at her.

Dynamax Perrserker. Dark-type? No… Steel-type. Weak against Fire-type. Cinderace. Save the people in the tunnel. Go. Now. Don't be useless.

Dolly sprinted to the middle of the bridge and reached for her bag, only to grasp at empty space.

Where...?

Hotel.

Hotel.

Idiot.

The cacophony of sound ripped against her ears as the Perrserker wrenched another tree from the ground. Dirt and twigs tore into her skin as the trunk hurdled towards her, past her, then over the side of the bridge. Screams were echoing through the air, tearing into her, as the Perrserker locked eyes with her. The world shook when it stepped onto the bridge and shook again when it took another step towards her.

Her legs were frozen, everything was frozen, as the Perrserker took a final step toward her. Its claws glistened in the sun. In one solid swipe, it knocked her to the side and her head hit the stone, then her body slipped under the railing.

Darkness again.

No… what was that? Mist?

"Hello?"

Her voice didn't even echo.

"Hello?" she called again.

Dolly glanced around. Everything looked the same in this darkness, the only movement was her breath swirling the mist around, or when she tried to push it out of her line of vision. It thickened when she took a step, and thickened again when a voice rumbled around her.

"You will save the region and break the Curse."

It reverberated through the air, as if it were contained in every particle of the mist. She whipped around, only to watch the mist swirl again.

"What? Where are you?" she called. She wasn't even sure where to turn. "Show yourself!"

"Do not lose heart, Shield of Galar," the voice said again. "Trust yourself, trust your Pokémon, and prepare yourself for the hurdles ahead."

The mist was growing stronger, the white swirling around her.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" she called again. Her voice sounded muffled as the mist swirled thicker still.

Then, the mist thickened until she only saw white, and her ears were starting to ring. She could feel her hair whipping around. What was that ringing noise? It wasn't that voice… Did mist make noise? She felt like she was falling.

No, that couldn't be right. Even when she opened her eyes, she still saw white. Then, the air was knocked out of her and her body lurched upward. It was getting hard to breathe.

"...ank yo...rizard…"

The wind wasn't whipping at her as intensely anymore. Hardly at all, now, as she felt something beneath her. It was still hard to breathe.

"...ee, get a doct…"

What was that? Dolly's thoughts swirled, and she could only focus on trying to breathe. Was she finally melding into the earth? Did she finally ooze beneath the ground? It was warm, soft, sturdy.

Shield of Galar… save the region… that part was new. It said to trust her Pokémon again, so maybe she hadn't imagined it in the Slumbering Weald. Or perhaps she was hallucinating?

Somebody was saying something, but the voice wasn't clear. She wished it would stop, she was so, so tired. She leaned further into the soft warmth.

The noise started again. She could faintly pick out a few syllables. Well, no, just one syllable, over and over. Was it that voice that told her to save Galar? No, this one sounded different… The sound broke through.

"Dolls."

Were there dolls around here? No, there wasn't anything here... Whoever wanted dolls would have to look somewhere else. She felt her body rock.

"Dolls," the voice called again. "C'mon Dolls, please, please wake up,"

Whoever this person was, they sounded pretty worried. She hoped they would find a doll soon. She could relate, though, to being so worried. She had a favorite stuffed animal when she was younger.

"Please."

Something wet tapped her face, then something else brushed her cheek. She had felt something like that before. A faint memory brushed through her mind as soft as this something. Everything around her was shifting, though she couldn't move along with it. Something brushed her face again, and Dolly's eyes fluttered open.

"Hop...?" she whispered hoarsely.

He quickly curled his arms around her and pulled her into him.

"You're alive," came his voice from by her ear. "You're actually alive."

His voice cracked against her ear when he let out a sob. Hop was shaking as his hand curled into her hair, and he was pulling her against him with everything he had. Soft cloth and tears swayed as he wrapped his arms and legs around her until she was flush against him.

Dolly blinked, her mind like television static. His body racked against hers as his tears leaked onto her skin.

"...You're crying..." Dolly mumbled.

Hop hiccupped, heaved in a breath, and loosened his grip just enough so he could see her face. He was still very much curled around her, holding her head, fingers tangled in her hair.

"I thought you died, of course I'm crying. You nearly got killed by a mad Perrserker, then it swiped you off the edge of the bridge. Lee's Charizard caught you right before you hit the ground,"

Then, the sob escaped his throat and he pulled her against him again.

"I thought you died, Dolls, you weren't breathing, and you wouldn't open your eyes."

Everything came flooding back. The tremors, the construction worker, the Dynamaxed Perrserker, the world going black, that voice, the feeling of falling. Her head and her shoulder and her hand throbbed, and really, her entire body was sore.

"Hop," Dolly said weakly. "Please don't cry,"

"You're so important to me," he continued, hiccupping against her ear. "You're so special to me,"

"...And you're squeezing me too hard and I can't breathe,"

Hop flinched and loosened his grip apologetically. She tried to move, just to see if she still could, but when she squirmed Hop held onto her defiantly.

"Take it easy," Hop said gently, then lowered her down onto his lap. "Please don't run away, you just almost died, don't leave me yet. Just another minute, then you can go back to Raihan. You can go back to him and be with him and do whatever you want with him and I won't say anything, I promise, just… just please, let me have one more minute with you, just one, then I'll leave you alone forever and never bother you again."

The tears were falling freely from his eyes, and he wasn't even trying to stop them. Though she couldn't move much of her body, Dolly's eyebrows pulled together. She slowly reached a hand to his face, and gently broke the stream of tears with her thumb. He sniffled and caught her hand, and wove his fingers around hers. He swallowed another sob and pressed her hand against his cheek.

"You're safe now, don't go, just one minute. Lee took care of that Perrserker in a flash, see?" he said, setting her hand down to show her the article on his phone. "He ran off to get a doctor for you, or a healing Pokémon, whichever he ran into first. So just, just wait until after that, and then I'll leave you alone."

Dolly nodded weakly and Hop sighed.

"He probably wasn't the best person to send, now that I think about it," Hop continued as he glanced behind him. "He'll probably make it to Jhoto by accident first. I would have gone but I followed you into the tunnel to see if you were okay, then you almost died and once Charizard brought you back up I… I couldn't leave you."

As he said, this, Hop brought his hand to her face again, and brushed his thumb over her cheek. The feeling was familiar, just as it was when she could see nothing but black. It was like his touch had grounded her yet again and Hop gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The movement was almost instinctive, as after a beat it seemed like Hop realized what he had done. He jerked his hand back apologetically.

"Look, I know we're supposed to be mad at each other but that's rubbish," he started. "When I saw you get hit, then fall off the side of the bridge, I couldn't just rush off. You're my best mate, Dolls, alongside my greatest rival. I shouldn't have said any of that in Circhester, and I feel terrible. Really, you're like, one of the best people in the world."

Dolly breathed out a laugh. As soon as she smiled, Hop smiled too, and a few more tears tumbled out of his eyes.

"You have a team of Pokémon who would do literally anything for you," he said as he reached down, took her hand, and pressed it to his chest. His heart thrummed beneath her fingers. "And you have a mate here that would do the same. That's why I had to come after you, even after all that with Raihan. You just looked so tired and so worn out. I thought that if I… if I could just help, just take some of that pressure off of you, then you wouldn't look so defeated. When I was coming out of Spikemuth, it just shot through my head that I needed to do whatever I could to see you smile again. I'm so sorry for what I said, and I hope you can forgive me."

She nodded, and Hop curled his fingers around hers.

"What I said about you and poison was rubbish," he continued. "What I really meant was that you... affect people. You've made... people... a-and Pokémon fall in love with you because of who you are, because you're gentle, and you accept anyone and everyone."

"Oh," she said quietly. "...Really?"

He nodded, and Dolly's eyebrows pulled together.

...Perhaps she wasn't so terrible after all.

"Really really. You're my best mate, truly, and I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you and the last thing I said to you was something dumb."

"That's pretty likely though," Dolly said softly as the corners of her mouth twitched up.

Hop grinned too and rolled his eyes.

"Guess you're feeling fine now. Here I am opening my heart up, and you go and tease me like that? Brutal…" he said. "I'm really sorry for saying all of that, Dolls, I'm a real arse..."

"Yeah."

Hop smiled, then his brow furrowed.

"I swear I'll make it up to you. I'll be the best mate there ever was and I would rather die than see you cry again."

"That's… a little dramatic," Dolly said as she breathed out a laugh. "I cry a lot."

"Hm. Yeah, you're right," Hop said as he scratched his chin. "But I mean it, I'll work as hard as I have to so you'll forgive me, I swear it."

Instead of a response, Dolly struggled to sit up, then she curled her arms around him. The sunset cloaked the bridge, the wind whispered through their hair, and Hop heaved out a sigh. His body melded against hers, and Dolly's eyes fluttered closed when she rested her cheek on his shoulder.

"Of course I forgive you," she said quietly. "I just hope you can forgive me too for all the stuff I said."

She felt him nod, and Dolly pulled back to look in his eyes.

"What I said wasn't even true, anyway," she continued. "You're one of the best people I know. Even though I can speak to Pokémon, most of the time you're better at identifying what's going on than I am. I've never met somebody who has that skill like you do, Hop, not even Leon."

She paused. Her thoughts were rambling, and there wasn't much of a filter to stop her words.

"And on that too," she said as her brow furrowed. "You're amazing because you're you, Hop! Not because you're related to some other bloke. What Bede said was all rubbish, anyway, and what I said was rubbish too. Sure, Leon's been the Champion for years now, but who cares? Your Pokémon love you because you're you! Everyone loves you! You're kind, you're fun, and you care about people and Pokémon more deeply than anyone I've ever seen!"

"Dolls, be careful," Hop said, though he couldn't hold back the small smile that was blooming. "Don't get too worked up."

She tried to sit up, only to stumble into Hop again. She started counting on her fingers in exasperation.

"You're authentic, you're encouraging, you're honest, you're motivated," she continued. "You know how to make people smile, no matter what it takes. You don't change who you are just because of something someone said. You're worth looking at, looking up to,"

She smiled, looking up into his eyes as her voice quieted.

"You inspire me, Hop, you always have. You're the reason why I started this adventure, and I wouldn't want it to be with anyone else. You're my best friend, you're so special to me, and I need you in my life."

The intensity in Hop's eyes suddenly made Dolly a little dizzy. But perhaps that was just because she almost died and hadn't slept for two days... Dolly looked down and bit her lip as a warmth spread over her cheeks. She fiddled with her thumbs, but when Hop wasn't responding she dared to look back up.

His mouth was hanging open like a Victreebell. He scratched his head, opened his mouth again, closed it, opened it, and closed it a few times before letting out a 'huh.' And then, it was Dolly's turn to gape in shock.

"No way. After all these years of knowing you, this is the first time you have ever been speechless. Is that all it took? A compliment or two?"

"N-no!" Hop said as his cheeks tinged pink. "That was probably the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me, is all."

"Well you were talking about how great I was," Dolly muttered as her eyes flicked to the ground.

Hop seemed to be sitting a little taller than he was a few minutes ago, and something fluttered in her stomach as she saw him smile. He pulled her into another hug, and after a rejuvenating ten seconds, Hop muttered against her ear.

"I forgive you, Dolls," Hop said. "Thanks for saying sorry."

Dolly nodded and let her eyes close. She yawned again, and her body melted against his with ease. Hop was... awfully comfortable…

"But, um," Hop continued. "I… that's all I wanted to say. You can go back to Raihan, now, if you want. I won't say anything to you or him."

When Hop tried to hide his sniffle, Dolly muttered against his ear.

"Oh, I'm not going back to Raihan."

Hop had to pull her up to look in her eyes.

"What?"

"I don't want to be with him, and nothing even happened," Dolly shrugged. "We kissed, yeah, but he wasn't even that good at it."

"Really?" he asked softly.

Dolly nodded.

"Yeah. He kept biting at me and I think he thought it was sexy but really it was kind of annoying and-"

"No," Hop interrupted, squeezing his eyes closed and shaking the image out of his head. "I mean, you don't want to be with him?"

"Oh," Dolly replied, breathing out a laugh. "No, I don't. I told him to stop."

Hop's eyebrows pulled together.

"But… why? After all that in Circhester… and then him in your room I thought..."

Dolly looked to the side, mulling it over in her head. It certainly was confusing.

She wanted Raihan, but she also didn't want Raihan. He made her feel wanted, but he didn't make her feel loved. It was all so confusing too because Dolly certainly didn't expect her heart to shatter into a thousand pieces when Hop looked at her so brokenly in the hotel doorway. Even just remembering it made her feel sick to her stomach. How could she be so stupid?

Well, no, she wasn't stupid. She was a girl who liked Raihan, liked what they were doing, until she didn't. Then, she so vehemently didn't want it she couldn't wait to be out of the room with him. Raihan didn't alleviate that insecurity, his long-awaited touch didn't make her feel loved like she thought it would. The entire time she was with him she was nervous, and he didn't make her feel safe. The danger was fun until she couldn't control it.

The juxtaposition was blinding as she sat there with Hop. His words and his touch and his honesty made her feel like herself, made her feel empowered. It didn't matter if the world hated her, because he helped remind her of her friends, of her Pokémon, that all loved her, even when she couldn't see it.

"When was the last time you slept, Dolls? Are you sleeping with your eyes open?"

Dolly jolted at the sound of Hop's voice.

"Um, no, sorry Hop. Look, Raihan is charming and dangerous and exciting, sure, but… he doesn't know me. I'm trying to… I'm trying to learn how to love myself, and he wasn't helping with that. I finally had the courage to say no, because I wanted to do what was good and healthy for me. I'm trying to care about myself enough now to not need his attention. That was part of it, at least."

"What was the other part?" Hop asked.

"You."

He raised his eyebrows.

It was his smile and his words and his friendship and the fact that she hadn't stopped thinking about him for a second. Although Dolly had so vehemently pushed that rational out and steeled herself behind the robust filter of her mind, that filter withered like paper mache as her complete exhaustion overpowered every thought.

"I wanted him to want me because this whole country has only ever looked at me like I'm a dirty waste of space," Dolly continued. "Like a thing instead of a person. It was different, but the bottom line was that… that didn't really change with Raihan."

Wingulls were gliding through the air, tossing a few white and blue feathers over the bridge. They glowed in the light of the setting sun, flicking even more colors to add to the pinks and oranges of the sky. Hop breathed out, a small smile twitching up the corners of his mouth. At this, Dolly gently squeezed his hand, hoping to to express with her entire self what she was trying to say.

"Hop, you make me feel safe, and you make me feel supported, and you look at me for who I am. You care about me even though I'm dirty and flawed and cry all the time. So, I'm done with Raihan because… because of you. I'm an actual person and not just a problem that needs resolving, and that's something that you, my best friend, have helped me learn. And that's why I left, and that's why I don't want to be with him. So… yeah," she ended with a shrug.

Hop's smile was almost blinding, and having it so close made Dolly's heart kick. When she pulled him into another hug, he heaved out a sigh and quickly deflated against her. They sat there, time unimportant, as the Wingulls and sunset drifted around them. Hop hugged her a little closer, and Dolly unintentionally let out a hum. With the sun and him curled around her like that, Dolly couldn't help but let another yawn escape, and her breathing slowed when he rubbed her back.

"I am so glad you said that," he said. "Ever since I first saw you two interact, I dunno, it's just been weird because he always just looked so, like, hungrily which is weird but he's got that dragon-animal thing going on and I hated how he looked at you like that like some piece of meat-"

Dolly blinked a few times.

"And how he would, ugh, touch you like that and even Lee said he was worried too because he knows how Raihan gets and he noticed the way he was looking at you too and he even mentioned how he could tell it was really bothering me and I know I even said it in Circhester and it's not like I don't trust you it's that I don't trust other guys or really just Raihan and I just want you to be safe but it's not like I'm the only one who can provide that for you because you're perfectly capable I mean obviously look at your Pokémon team and how far you've come-"

She leaned back, just enough to see his face and watch Hop fumble through his winding sentence.

"Hop?"

"-which is honestly really impressive and it was just frustrating seeing that picture Raihan posted of the two of you and then reading all those comments from people who don't even know you just talking about what you looked like and they didn't even care that you're strong and fun and clever and determined and it just made me upset when I thought that Raihan wasn't appreciating you for you and how hard you worked to get to where you are because he probably just wanted something else from you so that's what I was thinking when I saw you two in your room together and stuff but now that you've said all of that it really makes sense and-"

Hop was still curled around her, holding onto her waist. She smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Ho-op..."

"-and I know I've told you a billion times too but I am really so so so so so proud of you and this entire time I knew you could do it and I'm so glad that you came out with me to do the Gym Challenge and I've learned so much from you too and you've grown so much and it's been so ace seeing you love yourself more because you really are so amazing Dolls and inspiring and it just makes me so proud as your best mate and I'll do whatever I can to help you and-"

She put her hand over his mouth, but he still kept talking, albeit muffled. Dolly's eyebrows pulled together.

"-mmph pher mphhanph mhammph anph mphour pumph anf phampf mmphh hmmph pherphon phmamph phi muph phomph fphoo pho mumph phanph phi mmphf phomph pho mphour mphammph anph pumph anph mmphh-"

Dolly slid her hand up to cup his face, and lightly pressed her lips against his cheek.

Hop stopped talking. It took another couple seconds, but he finally looked to see Dolly gazing at him apologetically.

"Sorry, I didn't know how else to get you to stop talking..."

Hop cleared his throat and his cheeks stained a deep red.

"Um. Right. Yeah, sorry, that uh, that-" he cleared his throat again. "That happens, um, that happens sometimes."

She bit her lip to hold back a laugh.

"Yeah I've noticed. Thanks for caring about me, Hop. I'll be more conscious of your feelings from now on."

His eyes widened at her sentence, and his hands shot back. She nearly toppled over and grasped at his shoulders to keep from falling.

"N-no, it's not that I have, not that I have feelings, you know, not like, not like that. I mean, I care about you because you're my best mate, and, and, of course I care about you, but it's not because I have, you know, not because I, um, not those, those types of, um, of feelings, because I don't because, I-I um-"

She kissed his cheek again.

"Right okay done talking."

After another second, Dolly flopped against him and yawned again. Her hands that were clutching at his shoulders slid down his back, and she nestled her face in the crook of his neck.

"Seriously, when was the last time you slept?" Hop chuckled when Dolly yawned again. "Is this even comfortable?"

"I 'unno," she mumbled. "It kind of makes my back hurt."

"Come on," Hop said as he adjusted beneath her. "Let's get you to bed."

She grumbled when Hop helped her stand, and he sighed when she flopped against him again. He pushed her off, only to lunge forward when she nearly toppled over. The oranges and pinks were blanketing the bridge, growing bolder as the sun lowered on the horizon, and Dolly let out another yawn. Then she let out another whine when Hop jostled her again.

"Be gentle, Hop, geez," Dolly huffed. "I'm probably concussed,"

He stiffened, then smiled as he softly shook his head.

"Are you sure you're okay? Want me to go with you to the doctor?" he asked. "Seeing as Lee probably is in Jhoto by now?"

That familiar heat rose to her face as he tucked another strand of hair behind her ear. That motion seemed almost second nature to him at this point.

"I'm okay. I'll probably be like, super sore tomorrow, though," she sighed.

"Yeah, you always bruised pretty easily… like a little berry."

Well alright, now that was just embarrassing. She scrunched up her face and Hop grinned.

"Yep. That's what you are," he continued. "You're a little Pecha berry, small and pink and trying her best to heal those around her."

"Hop..." she grumbled. "Can't I be something cool? Like a Tyranitar or something?"

"Nope. You're a little pink Pecha berry."

She sighed, and slumped against him again. He was just… so comfortable...

"You must be tired, I've never gotten so many hugs in one day," he said softly. He held her head against his chest as he lightly swayed them back and forth. "I suppose we do have to make up for all of that time."

"Hop, it wasn't even a day," Dolly laughed into his shirt.

"Shh, little pink Pecha berry," he hummed. He pulled her closer, and tangled his fingers into her hair again.

That little bit of self-love that was dwelling in the bottom of her heart grew another inch. Hop held onto her, again protecting her from the rest of the world. Dolly let out another sigh despite herself, and her eyes fluttered closed. A little pink Pecha berry, huh? Leave it to Hop to say something so endearing and stupid at the same time.

"I missed you," she breathed.

Even when they were apart, she had the security in knowing he would be there for her, wherever they were, and the time without that security was draining. The world started to fade in and out as her breathing slowed. Hop was gently combing through her hair, and she breathed out a satisfied hum. It was so good to have him here with her again. It was hardly any time, but she hadn't realized how intensely she felt his absence, especially now that he was here and hugging her and he was so safe and so warm and so soft and she was so tired… A sweet darkness crept over her eyelids as her body started to feel heavier.

"Dolls...?"

She hadn't slept in days and it was very quickly creeping up on her. Dolly yawned again, nestling into his warmth as her consciousness slipped. His fingers lightly stroked over her forehead and through the hair by her ear, and it was like his arms and the sun were a warm blanket around her. The black of sleep swirled through her senses and water-logged the noises in the air.

"Do-olls," he quietly sang.

"Hmng…?"

"Yeah, you need a nap."

"I'm fine," she mumbled, settling in against his chest again.

He was, unfortunately, incredibly comfortable. She breathed out another hum when he brushed her hair off her neck.

"You are literally falling asleep standing up. It took you two seconds before you started snoring."

"I wasn't snoring…" she yawned. "I wasn't sleeping."

He was still combing through her hair and she melted into the touch. She felt the embrace of sleep descending like a fog over her again as the weaving of fingers through hair continued, until after a minute his hand came to rest on her cheek. She expected him to brush against her skin, tuck her hair behind her ear, gently and softly, as warm as the sun.

Instead, he pinched.

Dolly shot back with a yelp, grasping her now throbbing cheek. The fog of sleep had retreated like a Ducklett after a Thunderbolt, and what stood before her was a smirking Hop, his fingers threatening to pinch again.

"What was that for?!" she spat.

"You wouldn't get up," he said with a shrug. "And as much as I wish we could stay here forever, you need to go to an actual bed, and I need to train so I can destroy Raihan. Well, his Pokémon team, I mean,"

"Fine," she grumbled.

Then, before she could stop herself, she pulled him against her again. He was so comfortable.

"Dolls, come on," he laughed. "You're making it really hard to leave."

"Just one more Hop hug, I almost died."

She gave him one final squeeze and dropped her arms. Hop stepped back and she smiled up at him, adjusting her glasses and rubbing at her eyes. Her face was warm from lying against him and a soft pink still tinged her cheeks. The rays of the sunset were blanketed over them, casting a warm orange glow over the bridge, and something shifted in his eyes as he gazed down at her. His grin had faded, and that intensity in his eyes was back. What was he thinking, when he looked at her like that?

"One more thing, actually..." he started.

"Hm?"

"I… I, um…"

His hands trembled as he moved to hold hers, and she watched as he swallowed. Was he okay?

"I… um…"

She breathed out a laugh as the sunset cast orange and pink rays over the bridge. This was the second time in her life she had ever known Hop to be so cautious. Hop heaved in a breath, then stared into her eyes.

"I think you're really beautiful."

And suddenly Dolly was much more alert than she was seconds ago. He was still trembling as he held her hands.

"You said that no man has ever called you beautiful except for Raihan and I do and I've always thought so but I could never tell you because I thought it would be weird but honestly you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. S-so. Um. Yeah."

She stared at him in shock as his cheeks reddened, and he dropped her hands to shove his in his pockets.

"Especially when you smile," he added quietly, scuffing at the ground with his shoe.

When he flicked his eyes back up to hers, his cheeks were even darker, and Dolly's mouth was still hanging open.

"Dolls, say something! I feel like a twit now!"

Dolly closed her mouth to swallow and something bloomed inside her chest. As much as she wanted to say something, it was as if every single word she had ever learned had suddenly catapulted itself off the bridge beside her. She let out a small grunt instead.

"You, you just… you smile, um, you smile... good, and your eyes are sparkly a-and… and I love it when you laugh, and you always smell like flowers and… you're just really pretty… and augh I sound like an idiot," he huffed, rubbing his hands over his face.

When she made no response, Hop peeked through his fingers, and huffed again.

"A-and when we were in Circhester I couldn't stop looking at you when you came downstairs and I sounded like an idiot then too but you're so beautiful Dolls and I could never tell you and why aren't you saying anything?!"

Hop quickly stepped forward, cupped her face in his hands, and pressed his lips against her forehead. When she froze, he froze, then shot back.

And suddenly every sound she could ever think to make had also catapulted itself off of the bridge beside her. As she stood there, mouth agape like a Victrebell, Hop stared down at her with just as much shock. Well, more so panic by that point.

"You weren't saying anything! Arceus, don't just stand there!"

She just stood there.

Then, one word crawled up from under the bridge and kindly offered itself to Dolly after being so unceremoniously thrown off into oblivion.

"Why…?"

"M-my family does that!" he sputtered out. "It's… uh… it's for good luck! Or something,"

"No we don't," came a voice from beside them.

Dolly and Hop both jumped away from each other and whipped around. There was Leon, his hands held loosely behind his back, sauntering up to them.

"Lee?! How long have you been standing there?!"

"Eh, long enough."

If Dolly's face was hot before, it was burning now. Hop's was the same as his eyes darted from Dolly to his brother smirking slyly at the both of them.

"Great!" Hop squeaked. "Well now that you're here I'll train a spot more!"

He waved a flustered goodbye and booked it into Hammerlocke, leaving Dolly standing next to Leon on the bridge.

"Yeah, we definitely don't kiss each other 'for good luck or something,'" Leon scoffed. "As much as I love my little brother, he has never been a very good liar."

Dolly held up her hand to her mouth as she yawned. She wished Hop were back so she could lean on him again.

"Weren't you supposed to be getting a doctor or something?"

Leon shrugged.

"Got all turned around, but when I came sprinting back here you seemed fine here with Hop," he said. She could see a smirk out of the corner of her eye. "Maybe even a little better than fine,"

"Not sure what you're on about," she spat defensively.

"You know 'Dolls,' we definitely don't kiss each other's foreheads, and I think I've only ever seen Hop hug one person besides me and our mum, and that person was our Nana… And now you," he ended with a sly grin.

"What are you talking about, he hugs people all the time," she huffed. Dolly couldn't even count the number of hairs she had accidentally eaten from all the times her face was shoved into the fur on his jacket - he was easily the touchiest friend she had, even counting all of her affectionate Pokémon.

"No," Leon continued. "He hugs you all the time."

She opened her mouth to retort but her mind was still fuzzy. If she wasn't so tired, she would have really put him in his place. So instead, she just crossed her arms and Leon laughed again.

"And it's about time he told you you're beautiful. I tried to tell him that blabbing about it to me wasn't going to get him anywhere, and he actually had to spit it out to you. Kinda wish it wasn't so awkward though, it was really challenging not to audibly groan at how cringe-worthy that whole situation was. Like, 'you smile good'? Come on, Hop, we're not cavemen."

Dolly's eyes widened and Leon grinned.

"He's… you… to… said it?"

"Okay I guess we are cavemen."

When she stood there, mouth gaping like a Feebas, Leon stuck his hand out and tousled her hair.

"Alright, anyway, enough teasing from me. Dolly, honestly, I'm glad Hop has someone like you to rely on. He needs someone to ground him, and you're not a half bad Pokémon Trainer, either. I may even send you two off with my blessing," he said with another smirk.

Dolly shoved his hand off her head.

"What happened to no more teasing?" she grumbled.

"It's just so easy with the two of you, little Dolly. Well anyway, hop on," he grinned, pointing behind him.

Dolly's eyebrows pulled together. Was she hearing things now? Hop already left?

"Come on up, time for a piggyback ride from your favorite big brother."

The corner of Dolly's mouth twitched up.

"What are you talking about?"

"If Hop were an actual gentleman, he would have taken you to your hotel so you don't keel over on the way there. I may have come into him 'wishing you good luck,' but I also saw how you fell asleep standing up. So,"

Before Dolly could reply, Leon had unclasped his cape and furled it over her shoulders. It sat like a soft weighted blanket, probably double her size. She snuggled against the soft fur - it felt strangely like Hop's jacket.

"Oh please, I can walk…" she said half-heartedly, though her eyelids were already feeling heavy.

She glanced toward Hammerlocke. Eh… yeah actually it was a pretty far walk.

Leon knelt down and she clambered onto his back. He hoisted her up as she laughed, feeling leagues taller and grander than she was only moments ago. He plodded along to Hammerlocke as she rested her head down, pulling the fuzzy cape around her more snuggly.

"So are you guys thinking a spring or summer wedding?"

Leon chuckled as she shoved his hat over his eyes.